======================================================================== F.B. HOLE LIBRARY - VOLUME 1 by Fb Hole ======================================================================== The first volume of Hole's theological library, titled 'Foundations of the Faith,' explaining fundamental Christian beliefs including the inspiration of Scripture, the deity and humanity of Christ, creation, atonement, resurrection, and the work of the Holy Spirit. Chapters: 97 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TABLE OF CONTENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. 000.2 Indices 2. 001 FOUNDATIONS OF THE FAITH 3. 002 The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible 4. 003 The Deity and Humanity of Christ 5. 004 Creation, and the Fall of Man. 6. 005 Atonement: Its Meaning and True Character. 7. 006 Propitiation and Substitution. 8. 007 Resurrection and Glory. 9. 008 Future Punishment: Its Character and Duration. 10. 009 The Work and Indwelling of the Spirit of God 11. 010 The last Adam — The Second Man. 12. 011 Fatherhood and Sonship 13. 012 The Believer's Present Position on Earth 14. 013 The Second Advent: The Day of Redemption. 15. 014 Summary and Conclusion 16. 015 The Great Salvation 17. 016 Forgiveness 18. 017 Justification 19. 018 Redemption 20. 019 Reconciliation 21. 020 Salvation 22. 021 Sanctification 23. 022 The New Birth 24. 023 Quickening 25. 024 The Gift of the Holy Spirit 26. 025 New Creation 27. 026 Outlines of Truth 28. 027 Faith and Works 29. 028 Peace and Deliverance 30. 029 Safety and Sanctification 31. 030 Law and Grace 32. 031 "Sin" and "Sins." 33. 032 The New Nature and the Old 34. 033 "Blood" and "Water." 35. 034 Grace and Discipleship 36. 035 Election and Free Grace 37. 036 Israel and the Church 38. 037 The Rapture and the Appearing 39. 038 Articles and Books 40. 039 A Danger to be Avoided 41. 040 A Door of Hope 42. 041 A Great Contrast 43. 042 "A Little Maid" 44. 043 A Pattern Ministry 45. 044 A Significant Injunction 46. 045 "A more excellent sacrifice." 47. 046 "A people prepared for the Lord." 48. 047 "A place for the Lord." 49. 048 "A very small thing." 50. 049 "A worm" yet "Jehovah of Hosts." 51. 050 Absolute Dominion 52. 051 Abundant Life 53. 052 All Prayer at All Seasons 54. 053 Alliances which should be avoided 55. 054 Witness. Leader. Commander. 56. 055 Are we responding? 57. 056 Are you Growing in Grace? 58. 057 "As at the first" 59. 058 Assembly Principles 60. 059 Backsliding — With a Word to Christian Workers 61. 060 Be a Man of Purpose 62. 061 "Be not deceived" 63. 062 "Begin to possess." 64. 063 Benevolent Rule 65. 064 "Blood" and "Water." What do they mean? 66. 065 Both "Arm" and "Servant" 67. 066 Christ "formed in you." 68. 067 Christ is all 69. 068 Christ: Sacrifice, Blesser, Centre, Builder 70. 069 Christ: The Divine Resource 71. 070 Christ: the Prince of Peace 72. 071 Christian Conflict 73. 072 Coincidence, or the Hand of God? 74. 073 "Come on" and "Get out." 75. 074 "Come on"-"Get out" 76. 075 Confusion and the Call of God 77. 076 "Count it all joy." 78. 077 "Cut down" — "Set on high." 79. 078 Dangers that Threaten 80. 079 "Dead to the law." 81. 080 Defeat and Victory 82. 081 Democracy in the Light of Scripture 83. 082 Disappointment and its Cure 84. 083 Disentanglement 85. 084 Disobedience leads to Disaster 86. 085 Displacement 87. 086 Effective Service 88. 087 "Elect . . . unto obedience" 89. 088 Encouragement for Parents 90. 089 "Enriched in Him" 91. 090 Eternal Life or Idols 92. 091 Evil Men, Silly Women, and the Man of God. 93. 092 "Faith" — some "better thing." 94. 093 Four Types in Genesis 95. 094 Four Types in Israel's Journey 96. 095 Free-hearted Liberality 97. 096 From Man's Wretchedness to God's Greatness ======================================================================== CHAPTER 1: 000.2 INDICES ======================================================================== BOOKLETS (longer than the rest of the articles, but still only one “chapter”) 058 ASSEMBLY PRINCIPLES. 078 DANGERS THAT THREATEN. 128 MODERN MYSTICAL TEACHINGS AND THE WORD OF GOD. 182 THE LORD IS RISEN INDEED. MAIN SCRIPTURE INDEX 093 Four Types in Genesis. 045 "A more excellent sacrifice." Genesis 4:1-26. 105 "He pleased God." Gen 5. 192 The Seventh from Adam. (Enoch.) 074 "Come on"-"Get out". Gen Ch 11. 073 "Come on" and "Get out." Gen Chs 11-13. 145 Renunciation and Communion. Gen 12. 126 Man’s Diplomacy and God’s Discipline. (Jacob). 094 Four Types in Israel’s Journey. Exodus. 202 The Work of the Spirit. Exodus 32:16; 2 Corinthians 3:1-3. 130 No Compromise. 1Ki 13. 147 Royal Service. 2 Kings 5:1-4; John 6:5-9. 042 "A Little Maid". 2 Kings 5:2-4. 053 Alliances which should be avoided. 2Chron Chs 18-20. 205 "The end of the Lord." (Job.) 228 "Why do the heathen rage?" Ps 1-2. 226 "Who will show us any good?" Ps 3-4. 194 "The Son of Man" and "The man of the earth." Ps 8, 10. 049 "A worm" yet "Jehovah of Hosts." Ps Chs 22-24. 177 The House of the Lord. Ps 23-29. 101 Grace, Guidance, and Government. Ps 25, 32-35 125 Man in Contrast with God. Ps 36. 116 How to meet Tribulation. Ps 37. 170 The Enduring Name. Ps 40-41; Ps 72. 080 Defeat and Victory. Ps 44, 45. 178 The King: His Victory, His Coronation. Ps 45-48. 149 Salvation and Satisfaction. Ps 62-63. 106 "He that ascended, descended first." Ps 68-69. 170 The Enduring Name. Ps 40-41; Ps 72. 171 "The God that doest wonders." Ps 73, 77. 096 From Man’s Wretchedness to God’s Greatness. Ps 77. 180 The Knowledge of God. Psalms 84:1-12. 077 "Cut down". "Set on high." Ps 90, 91. 127 Mercy and Judgment. Ps 101-102. 142 Poverty: Patience: Power. Ps 109-110. 207 "The headstone of the corner." Ps 114-118. 138 "Out of the depths." "Into thy rest." Ps 130-132. 198 The Upward Way. Ps 130-134. 172 The Great Hallelujah Chorus. Ps 146-150. 187 The Perfect Day. Proverbs 4:18. 131 "No profit". "Great gain". Ecc 1-2; 1 Timothy 6:6. 057 "As at the first". Isaiah 1:25-26. 146 Root, as well as Shoot. Isaiah 11. 065 Both "Arm" and "Servant". Isaiah Chs 40-66. 054 Witness. Leader. Commander. Is Chs 52-55. 099 God with us, for us, in us. Jeremiah 23:23. 102 "Great things for thyself." Jeremiah 45:1-5. 211 "They howled upon their beds." Hosea 7:14. 165 The Closing Messages. Mal 4; Revelation 22:8-21. 044 A Significant Injunction. Malachi 4:4. 183 The Lord’s Yoke. Mat 11. 217 True Greatness. Matthew 11:11. 083 Disentanglement. Matt 24-25. 109 "High time to wake out of sleep." Matt 25. 219 Warning and Rebuke. Luke 10:38-42; Luke 22:31-34. 200 The Word and the Touch. Luke 13:11-13. 219 Warning and Rebuke. Luke 10:38-42; Luke 22:31-34. 147 Royal Service. 2 Kings 5:1-4; John 6:5-9. 040 A Door of Hope. John 10:9. 051 Abundant Life. John 10:10. 132 Not Miracles, But Truth. John 10:41. 124 Life: Lost or Kept. John 12:25. 089 "Enriched in Him". John 14. 118 "In my name". John 14-16. 203 The World: Our Position and Attitude in it. John 17:1-26. 064 "Blood" and "Water." What do they mean? John 19:34-35. 201 The Work of the Lord in the World. Acts 1:6-8. 188 The Primitive Church. Acts 4-5. 122 Keeping the Unity of the Spirit. Acts 6-15. 208 "The obedience of faith". Romans 1:5. 164 The Assets of the Christian Life. Romans 5:1-11. 220 "We glory in tribulations." Romans 5:3-5. 137 "Our old man". Romans 6:6. 079 "Dead to the law." Rom 7. 153 Sin in the Flesh Condemned. Rom 7-8. 209 "The sufferings of this present time". Rom 8. 204 "The election of grace." Rom 9-11. 119 In the Kingdom of God. Rom 12. 120 Intelligent Service. Rom 12. 141 "Patience and comfort of the scriptures". Rom 12-15. 123 Liberty, Responsibility, Fraternity. Rom 14-15. 061 "Be not deceived". 1 Corinthians 3:18. 048 "A very small thing." 1 Corinthians 4:1-21. 196 The Two Headships. 1 Corinthians 15:45-49. 135 "Of God and not of us." 2Co 3-4. 202 The Work of the Spirit. Exodus 32:16; 2 Corinthians 3:1-3. 227 Why Christ died for us. 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 3:1-4; Titus 2:13-14; 1 Peter 3:18. 098 Getting and Giving. 2Co 8-9. 134 Obeying the Truth. Galatians 3:1. 227 Why Christ died for us. 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 3:1-4; Titus 2:13-14; 1 Peter 3:18. 162 "The Administration of the Mystery." Eph 3. 222 What is the Christian Calling? Ephesians 4:1. 052 All Prayer at All Seasons. Ephesians 6:18. 150 Serving and Waiting. 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10. 131 "No profit". "Great gain". Ecc 1-2; 1 Timothy 6:6. 091 Evil Men, Silly Women, and the Man of God.. 2Tim 3-4. 212 "Things which become sound doctrine". Titus 2:1. 227 Why Christ died for us. 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 3:1-4; Titus 2:13-14; 1 Peter 3:18. 221 What Manner of Persons? Hebrews 1:1; Hebrews 12:25; 2 Peter 3:7-18. 092 "Faith" - some "better thing." Heb 2. 199 The Word and the Throne. Hebrews 4:11-16. 181 The Life of Faith. Heb 10-12. 103 "He condemned the world." Heb 11. 104 "He looked for a city." Heb 11. 176 The Hope, and its Effects. Heb 11. 221 What Manner of Persons? Hebrews 1:1; Hebrews 12:25; 2 Peter 3:7-18. 223 What is the Cross? Hebrews 12:3. 151 Shakings. "Yet once more". Hebrews 12:26. 107 Hearkening to James. James 1. 076 "Count it all joy." James 1:2-5. 087 "Elect... unto obedience". 1Pe 1. 161 Testings and Trials. 1 Peter 1:3-9. 111 "His steps" and "Following his steps." 1 Peter 2:21. 210 "The trial of your faith." 1 Peter 3:1-9. 227 Why Christ died for us. 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 3:1-4; Titus 2:13-14; 1 Peter 3:18. 166 The Coming of the Kingdom. 2Pe 1. 221 What Manner of Persons? Hebrews 1:1; Hebrews 12:25; 2 Peter 3:7-18. 056 Are you Growing in Grace? 2 Peter 3:18. 156 Spiritual Growth. 1John 1-2. 140 Overcoming. 1John 2-5. 148 Safeguards for the Soul. 1 John 2:14-28. 175 The Hope that Purifies. 1 John 3:1-3. 090 Eternal Life or Idols. 1 John 5:18-21. 193 "The Son of God is come." 1 John 5:20-21. 165 The Closing Messages. Mal 4; Revelation 22:8-21. MAIN TOPIC INDEX key word is in italics 059 Backsliding. With a Word to Christian Workers. 112 How do we regard the Bible? 113 How do we regard the Bible? 075 Confusion and the Call of God. 066 Christ "formed in you." 067 Christ is all. 068 Christ: Sacrifice, Blesser, Centre, Builder. 069 Christ: The Divine Resource. 070 Christ: the Prince of Peace. 072 Coincidence, or the Hand of God? 071 Christian Conflict. 121 Just After Conversion. 169 The Declarations of God. 081 Democracy in the Light of Scripture. 082 Disappointment and its Cure. 084 Disobedience leads to Disaster. 225 "Wherefore then didst thou not obey?" (Disobedience.) 191 The Secret of the Dispensation. 050 Absolute Dominion. 206 "The fear of the Lord." 095 Free-hearted Liberality. (Generosity.) 100 Godliness. 139 Outward Circumstances and Inward Grace. 195 The True Grace of God. 213 "This grace wherein we stand." 108 Heavenly Things Introduced. 179 The Kingdom of Heaven. (Law and Grace.) 114 How do you look at life? 115 How do you look at life? 197 The Ups and Downs of Life. 043 A Pattern Ministry. 117 Human Nature. 088 Encouragement for Parents. 144 Questions as to Prayer. 039 A Danger to be Avoided. Pretentiousness. 097 Getting Ready for the Climax. (Prophecy.) 163 The Approaching Advent of Christ. (A Book Review). (Prophecy.) 167 The Day of Manifestation. (Prophecy.) 143 Propitiation. 060 Be a Man of Purpose. 229 Will ALL the Saints be caught up? (Rapture.) 230 Will He really return? (Rapture.) 160 "Ten times better". (Science.) 133 "Not by works of righteousness." (Self-righteousness). 086 Effective Service. 041 A Great Contrast. Solomon. 154 Sovereignty and Responsibility. 152 Signs and Wonders. (Spiritual Gifts.) 218 Truth is the Test. 136 One Loaf: One Body. (Unity). 185 The Lost Diadem (Version 2). (Unrest.) ======================================================================== CHAPTER 2: 001 FOUNDATIONS OF THE FAITH ======================================================================== FOUNDATIONS OF THE FAITH F. B. Hole. Contents THE INSPIRATION AND AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE THE DEITY AND HUMANITY OF CHRIST CREATION, AND THE FALL OF MAN ATONEMENT: ITS MEANING AND TRUE CHARACTER PROPITIATION AND SUBSTITUTION RESURRECTION AND GLORY FUTURE PUNISHMENT: ITS CHARACTER AND DURATION THE WORK AND INDWELLING OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD THE LAST ADAM — THE SECOND MAN FATHERHOOD AND SONSHIP THE BELIEVER’S PRESENT POSITION ON EARTH, AND CHRIST’S PRESENT SERVICE IN HEAVEN THE SECOND ADVENT: THE DAY OF REDEMPTION SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Foreword The reader of this little book is asked to remember that its pages deal with THE FAITH, since for "the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" we are bidden by Jude to "earnestly contend." THE FAITH is a God-given title of Christianity. It is not a science, i.e., knowledge arrived at by human investigation and reasoning, but "the faith," because founded on revelation which faith receives. It has been "DELIVERED TO" the saints, not reasoned out by them. And, delivered ONCE, in its perfect form, and hence we are not left to enlarge or improve upon it, but simply to contend earnestly for it lest its purity and truth be impaired. The foundations of the faith are of prime importance. We do not pretend to survey them all in this little volume, hence we do not call it "THE Foundations of the Faith." Yet as all that we do survey is fundamental in its nature we have adopted the less pretentious title of FOUNDATIONS OF THE FAITH, and may God be pleased to use our little book to root and ground believers in the truth. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 3: 002 THE INSPIRATION AND AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE ======================================================================== The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible. F. B. Hole. FOUNDATIONS OF THE FAITH F. B. Hole. The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible. Of all those great items of scriptural truth which are fundamental in their character, the one which forms our present theme stands first, for the simple reason that whatever may have been the excellence and authority of those revelations of God and of His will originally delivered orally by our Lord and His apostles, except we have, now that they are gone, those revelations conveyed to us in writings, divinely inspired and therefore of full authority, we have nothing worthy of being called THE FAITH today. At best we should have had but an ill-assorted mass of recollections and traditions, handed on from generation to generation. Until therefore the inspiration and authority of the Bible are fully and firmly settled in our souls, it is hardly worth proceeding to establish from its pages those further truths which at first sight may appear to be of a still more fundamental character. Let us open the Bible, then, with the simple thought of ascertaining what it has to say about itself, and what are its claims. In the Old Testament three things strike us. First, that in the opening chapters we are told of things completely outside the range of the observation of any human writer, things indeed clean outside any knowledge that could be possessed apart from a divine revelation, since happenings before man’s creation are recounted; and further, that these things are stated not in terms befitting human speculation but with the quiet ring and assurance of absolute knowledge, and therefore of truth. Secondly, in all the historical books we find features utterly unknown in all human histories. We may specify such a feature as the complete absence of all hero worship. Men, indeed, there are, approved of God, but even so their failings are recounted, just as any commendable feature in the worst of men is mentioned; and all with a lofty detachment from human passions and prejudices, with an impartial and serene judgment which is found only in God Himself. Or, again, we notice that matters, that we never should have even mentioned, are dwelt upon at considerable length — such as the passages Judges 17, 18: 14-26, and 1 Samuel 1:4 to 2:11 — while things we should have thought worthy of much notice are ignored; for instance, the great earthquake in the reign of Uzziah is never mentioned historically, and we should have no knowledge that the great catastrophe happened were it not for two passing allusions in Amos and Zechariah. The historical books, in short, are only "history" in so far as its recital serves the purpose of illuminating the purposes or the ways of God. Thirdly, in the prophets we cannot but feel the directness of their appeal. No hesitation, no apologies; but the most direct and emphatic "Thus saith the Lord" repeated again and again. The Word of God came through their lips and pens, and its powerful appeal to heart and conscience is perceptible today in the hostility their words still awaken in sinful men, as well as in the way of subduing men’s hearts with a view to their ultimate blessing. When we reach the New Testament, we find plain endorsements of the inspiration and authority of the Old, first from the lips of our Lord Himself (Matthew 4:4, Matthew 4:7, and 10; Matthew 5:17; Mark 12:24; Mark 14:21; Luke 21:1; Luke 16:31; Luke 24:25, Luke 24:27, Luke 24:44-46; John 5:46-47; John 10:35), and then from the Evangelists in their frequent references to the fulfilment of Old Testament scripture in the life and death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. "That it might be fulfilled," "That the scripture might be fulfilled," are words that we read over and over again. In the epistles, too, we have inspiration clearly claimed for the Old Testament writers in such passages as 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Peter 1:10-12, and 2 Peter 1:19-21. What about the New Testament? is the question which may now be asked. In its pages the Old is clearly endorsed and treated as inspired of God, but does it claim or assume inspiration equally for itself? The answer is — Yes. The New, be it remembered, has come to us from the pens of some of the apostles of our Lord and Saviour, and their co-labourers. In 1 Corinthians 2:13 we have the Apostle Paul claiming inspiration for verbal utterances of his own and of the other apostles when conveying the truths of Divine revelation. In 1 Corinthians 14:37 he asserts that his writings are "the commandments of the Lord." In 2 Peter 3:15-16 we have the Apostle Peter corroborating the epistles of Paul and putting them on a par with "the other scriptures." Further, in the introductory verses to his Gospel, we have Luke claiming a "perfect understanding of all things from the very first," and also that he wrote "in order" or "with method," so that in result Theophilus might "know the certainty" of the things he had previously received. We have the Apostle John in his first epistle declaring that he wrote it so that believers might "know" that they had eternal life (Luke 5:13). Both these statements assume for the writings in question a certainty and authority which only inspiration can account for. In the Revelation we have the Apostle John receiving the revelation, bearing record of it, and in result producing "the words of this prophecy" (Revelation 1:1-3), and finally pronouncing a solemn curse on any who should dare to tamper with those "words" as originally given (Revelation 22:18-19). Here, again, inspiration — verbal inspiration — is assumed. These scriptures are quite sufficient to show that the New Testament writers while asserting the inspiration of the Old assume it in equal measure for themselves; and that therefore while the Holy Scriptures, which Timothy knew from his childhood’s days — according to 2 Timothy 3:15 — were the Old Testament writings, the "all scripture" of the next verse covers all those writings which we know as the Bible. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God," or "is God-breathed." A remarkable expression that! Just as in creation the finely wrought vessel of clay — for "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground" — became a living entity only after God’s in-breathing — for He "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul" — so what would otherwise have been but a collection of literary fragments has by the fact of God in-breathing every part become one organic whole; living and powerful indeed, since it is the inspired Word of God. 1 Corinthians 2 is perhaps the most striking chapter bearing upon this subject, for here we are permitted to see the process that God has been pleased to ordain for the communication of His thoughts to His people. Here are three distinct steps and a distinct action of the Holy Spirit of God in connection with each. The first step is that of REVELATION. The things prepared of God for those that love Him, things unseen, unheard, and unimagined by man, have been made known by the Spirit of God, who is thoroughly competent for such work, as the end of verse 10 shows. Verse 11 goes further, and declares that the Spirit of God is the only possible source of such revelations. Now these Spirit-given revelations reached, not the world, not even all saints, but the apostles and prophets (see Ephesians 3:5), who are the "us" of verse 10; and having received them they proceeded to convey them to others. Hence the "we" of verse 13 indicates the " us " of verse 10. The second step, then, is that of INSPIRATION. God took care that the apostles and prophets should convey these revelations to others under supervision of a direct and divine kind. They were not left, so verse 13 teaches, to exercise their own wisdom as to the best way of stating the truth, but were guided by the Holy Spirit in the exact words they used. Thirdly comes the step of APPROPRIATION. The truth having been revealed to men chosen of God, and by them communicated in inspired words, it must now be received or appropriated if it is to have an enlightening and controlling effect upon men. Of this verse 14 speaks. No natural man, i.e., man in his natural or unconverted condition, can possibly receive these things. He totally lacks the faculty that would enable him to receive them. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. Believers have "the mind of Christ," and have received the Spirit of God that they may "know the things that are freely given to us of God." When we speak then of Revelation, we think of that work of the Spirit of God by which knowledge and thoughts which are purely divine are conveyed to the minds and hearts of men chosen of God. When we speak of Inspiration we refer to that second work of the Spirit of God by, which those men were enabled to set forth the revealed truth in words divinely chosen and therefore of divine fulness and precision, whether they spoke or whether they wrote them. Revelation is concerned with the transference of truth from the mind of God to the minds of apostles and prophets, so that the conception and understanding of it might be theirs. Inspiration is concerned with the transference of the same truth from the minds of the apostles and prophets to all the saints, and for this not merely thoughts but words were needed. But if human words are to be the proper expression of divine truth they must be chosen and used with perfect fitness and accuracy, and this was secured by the action of the Holy Ghost. "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21). The word translated "moved" in that passage means "carried" or "borne along." These holy men of Old Testament times spake, as borne along by the Holy Spirit. Take Jeremiah, for instance. It may be quite true that a certain tone and style marks his writings so that any man of literary discernment and familiar with the contents of the Bible may usually recognize them wherever quoted; still, the Spirit of God was the power that bore his mind along the flowing current of God’s will, and so controlled his writing that both thoughts and words were God’s. Sometimes, indeed, this action of the Holy Spirit took so powerful a form as to overleap necessary limitations that existed in the mind of the prophet in question, and caused him to write things the real and full meaning of which he knew not: and so it came to pass that some, if not all, the writers of Old Testament scripture had to enquire and search diligently concerning the meaning of that which they themselves had written. The Spirit of Christ in them had been signifying in their writings matters concerning the sufferings of Christ and the glories, to follow. In answer to their search it was further revealed to them that they were writing for the benefit of saints in the future — the saints of the present dispensation. This being so, the full import of their inspired writings necessarily remained vague and indistinct to their own minds. There was full inspiration, but no full revelation save to future generations. 1 Peter 1:10-12 tells us about this, and proves how powerful and real a thing inspiration is. With this may be contrasted the kind of inspiration alluded to by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14. In verse 19 he tells us that when giving inspired communications in the assemblies of the saints his object was to give words with his understanding, even if only five in number. He desired to speak of things which he intelligently apprehended in such a way that they were thoroughly intelligible to his listeners. The kind of inspiration spoken of in 1 Peter 1:10-12 largely characterized the Old Testament writers, and inasmuch as the prophets, who in these cases were the vehicles of the messages, were uninstructed as to the full purport of their words, it may be described, for want of a better term, as unintelligent inspiration. The kind of inspiration mentioned in 1 Corinthians 2 is that which almost entirely characterizes the New Testament writings, and may by contrast be termed intelligent inspiration. The possible exception to the rule, which leads us to insert the word "almost" in the above statement, and italicize it, is the case of some parts of the Revelation. It is quite likely that some of the visions and statements in that remarkable unveiling of the future were obscure to John the seer as they are to us, and that they will only stand out clear in their full and distinct meaning to saints of the coming tribulation period. The famous number 666 (Revelation 13:18) is the most pronounced example of what we mean. The above distinction may be helpful to those who would study the question a little more closely. It must never be overlooked, however, that whether unintelligent or intelligent, the fact and degree of inspiration is in both cases exactly the same. But let us now turn to some questions frequently raised in connection with this subject. What is the exact meaning of verbal inspiration, now so often derided even by professed ministers of the gospel; and do you believe in it? The exact meaning is: Inspiration of such fulness that it extends to the control of the very words of the utterance or writing. Verbal is an adjective derived from the Latin verbum = a word. There are those who will allow a modified inspiration, extending as far as the thoughts are concerned; an inspiration differing in degree but hardly in kind from that state of mental exaltation and rapture which produced the finest passages from Shakespeare, Milton, or Dante. We have to observe, however, first, that Scripture definitely makes its inspiration a matter of its words (1 Corinthians 2:13; Revelation 1:3, Revelation 22:18-19), and, second, that an inspiration such as suggested extending only to the thoughts would be useless, as far as giving us authoritative Scriptures is concerned. To assure us that Paul and Peter and John had wonderful ideas given of God, but that they were, left without any divine guidance when it came to be a question of expressing those ideas for the benefit of others, is to take away with the left hand what is offered by the right. You and I have no means of getting at those wonderful thoughts in Paul’s mind save by the words in which he clothed them. The difficulty of putting the simplest and lowest thought into proper and adequate words is notorious, and without inspired words we have nothing inspired at all, whatever Paul may have had. To put it in another way: if we have not Scriptures verbally inspired we have no inspired Scriptures at all, and the Bible, though interesting and elevating, would not be AUTHORITATIVE. It is exactly this authority which the modern false teacher is out to destroy. For ourselves it is enough that the Bible claims verbal inspiration for itself. We believe it. What theory do you hold as to how verbal inspiration became effective; how did it work? Quite a number of theories have been formed, but we hold none of them. We should no more think of forming a theory as to the exact working of inspiration than we should think of forming a theory as to other great mysteries of the faith, such as the truth of one God yet a Trinity of Persons, or the exact working of God’s creatorial power in bringing worlds into being, or the exact mode in which the incarnation of our blessed Lord and Saviour became an accomplished fact. Instead, we admit frankly and at once that here are these great truths clearly revealed in Scripture, yet wholly supernatural and beyond our understanding. We do not expect to understand them; we accept them in faith. We are not troubled by finding these mysteries totally beyond our comprehension, but rather confirmed. It is what we expect in a revelation which is divine. Did everything in Christianity fall within the compass of our minds — which, though renewed through grace, are still human — we should at once know it to be human in its origin. And this it is not; it is superhuman: it is of God. What have you to say as to the continual accusations of inaccuracy and mistakes which are levelled at the Bible? Just this: that if all the accusations ever brought could be collected together and classified we believe that a substantial majority would fall under the head of accusations founded upon sheer ignorance, intensified often by an admixture of cunning dishonesty. The favourite infidel question as to Cain’s wife is an example of this large class. Such difficulties exist not in the Scriptures but purely in the minds of the people who raise them. Setting aside all these, we believe that of the residue, a great majority again would prove to be genuine difficulties, but of a sort that careful and prayerful research gradually resolve into most instructive helps, often displaying much hidden beauty. An example of this class is the statement about the fourteen generations in Matthew 1:17. But we discover that the fourteen generations from David to the captivity is reached by omitting the names of the kings more immediately descended from the wicked Athaliah, the daughter of the yet more infamous Jezebel. Their names to the third generation are kept out of the genealogy. Thus the apparent error is found to be due to the fact that God’s thoughts and ways and reckonings are not ours. If apostasy supervenes He does not count the generations affected by it. A very small number of difficulties now remain to form the third class, which is composed of little discrepancies, the source of which cannot be discovered with certainty. An example of this class is the question of the age of Ahaziah when he came to the throne of Judah. 2 Kings 8:26 states it as 22, while 2 Chronicles 22:2 says 42. The error evidently crept in through a very early mistake In copying, but when and how we have no means of knowing. The fact is, then, that most of these so-called mistakes are apparent only and not real, and the very few real ones are copyists’ slips and the like on side matters of no vital importance. Is it possible to maintain the inspiration of our Authorized version since a Revision has been issued as well as many other translations in English? We do not maintain the inspiration of the Authorized or any other version and never have. What we do maintain is as follows: — 1. That the Scriptures, as written in their original tongues, were given by inspiration of God, that inspiration extending to the words employed. 2. That by means of the large number of ancient manuscript copies of the Scriptures preserved to us in the providence of God, we possess a very accurate knowledge of the Scriptures as originally written, the words or passages as to which any doubt exists being very few and unimportant. 3. That the Authorized translation is on the whole very good and faithful in its rendering of the inspired original, but that it may be usefully compared with the Revised Version, and more especially with the New Translation by the late Mr. J. N. Darby, to ensure even greater accuracy. Substantially, however, it gives us the inspired Word of God in trustworthy form. What about the Revised Version of2 Timothy 3:16 — "Every Scripture inspired of God is also profitable" — Is that correct? Pretty clearly it is not correct. In the original Greek the verb "is" does not occur at all, being understood, but not expressed. In English we must express it, and the question is as to where it should be inserted. There are eight other passages of similar construction in the New Testament, and each of these has been translated by the Revisers as in the Authorized Version. Only in 2 Timothy 3:16 have they twisted the sentence round in this way. One of these eight Scriptures is Hebrews 4:13. If we translated that according to the Reviser’s rendering of our verse it would read: "All things that are naked are also opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do," which on the face of it would be absurd. Indeed, the Scripture in Timothy looks foolish as translated by the Revisers, inasmuch as they turn it into a statement of the perfectly self-evident truth that every God-breathed writing is good. That Timothy well knew; the assurance he needed in view of the apostles’ departure was that "ALL scripture is God-breathed." How do you account for the fact that the sayings of evil men have a place in the Bible; are these inspired? By no means. It is easy, however, to account for them. The explanation lies in the difference between revelation and inspiration. Not all Scripture is direct revelation from God. Some of it is history in which the sayings of evil men and even of Satan are recorded. Again, a book like Ecclesiastes is largely the record of Solomon’s thoughts and reasonings and disillusionments while seeking happiness in the gratification of his natural desires. Yet all is given to us by inspiration of God. We have divinely accurate accounts of what was done or said; and Solomon is led to record his mental struggles with such divine fitness as to be profitable for our warning and correction. If an illustration of this be needed, turn to Ecclesiastes 2:24: "There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour." Is this a revelation from God? Is it God’s voice telling us that food and drink are, after all, the highest good? Emphatically No! What, then? It is the divinely inspired record of the extreme folly to which the wisest of men may be led if he have no light above his natural reason and observation! — and how good of God to give us a peep at this in His inspired record. Some people like just to open the Bible and take the first verse their eye falls upon as a direct message from God to them. Is this a right procedure? Hardly. We are quite willing to believe that there have been occasions when people have in that way lighted on remarkable verses that have come to them with much point, yet any such haphazard method practised in a habitual way is unworthy of the inspired Word of God. It is written not for the lazy, but for diligent searchers for truth and guidance like the Berean Jews (Acts 17), who read it in faith and dependence on God. Only thus do we, "rightly divide" (2 Timothy 2:15) its contents and obtain light and wisdom from God. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 4: 003 THE DEITY AND HUMANITY OF CHRIST ======================================================================== The Deity and Humanity of Christ F. B. Hole. There is no greater question between the covers of the Book than that which the Lord Himself raised with the unbelieving men of His day — "What think ye of Christ?" (Matthew 22:42). In these five short words He set before them the pivotal point upon which everything turns. The deepest foundations of the faith lie here, and any error or fault in this matter is sure to make its influence felt throughout the whole building. As John Newton puts it: — "’What think ye of Christ?’ is the test To try both your state and your scheme; You cannot be right in the rest Unless you think rightly of HIM." Our object is to show that the Scriptures present our Lord Jesus Christ as the true God who in grace beyond all comprehension became true Man for the vindication of God’s glory and our redemption. We will take the two parts of our subject separately, and begin by affirming the DEITY OF JESUS. First of all, turn to the Old Testament. It is a true saying that "Coming events cast their shadows before." Little events cast little shadows; great events great shadows. Commencing with Genesis 3:15, references to the coming of One who should be a Deliverer abound. The Coming One is of such majestic importance that He casts a shadow which stretches over the complete four thousand or more years before His advent. We may well enquire WHO He is. Let Isaiah 9:6 furnish us with an answer: "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Take careful notice of this remarkable prophecy. It does not speak of some passing manifestation of God as was the case when Jehovah appeared for a brief moment in human guise to Abraham as recorded in Genesis 18:1-33. "The mighty God" is the name of the Child who is to be born, the Son who is to be given, who is, as the next verse shows, to sit on David’s throne, and exercise government thence, producing an age of justice and consequent peace upon earth. Further: Isaiah 9:6 and 7 are the climax of a prophecy which began in Isaiah 7:1-25, when Isaiah encountered Ahaz, King of Judah, and gave him a sign from the Lord. The sign was, "Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" — Immanuel meaning "God with us," as explained in Matthew 1:23. Isaiah 8:1-22 makes further reference to the coming Immanuel, and His rejection is hinted at in verses 14 to 18 of that chapter; and then in Isaiah 9:1-21 we discover that the virgin’s Son is to be born not for herself alone, but as God’s gift to the whole of Israel, the coming Deliverer and King, and His Name is given us in five-fold completeness. Now, bear in mind that in Scripture a name is, generally speaking, descriptive of the one who owns it, and not a mere label without any such meaning as names often are with us today; and then ponder the meaning of "the Name" of the virgin’s Son in its fivefold character. "Wonderful." — Something singular or unique, altogether surpassing ordinary human knowledge. "Counsellor." — One marked by wisdom, resource, and authority. He who is in the secret of the divine counsels and able to put them into effect. "The mighty God." — The full title of Deity. The Hebrew word for God is in the singular El, not Elohim, which is plural. The virgin’s Son is singularly God, if one may so speak. "The everlasting Father" or "Father of Eternity." — He from whom eternal ages spring and have their being. "The Prince of Peace." — He who will ultimately end all the discords of earth under righteous rule. We may sum up the whole passage by saying that there is only one word which adequately describes the real character and being of the virgin’s Son, and that word is GOD. Turn now to Micah 5:2. Just as the prophecy of the virgin’s Son is recalled in Matthew 1:1-25, so this is quoted in Matthew 2:1-23, and both are there referred to Christ. Bethlehem was of small consequence in itself, insignificant amongst the thousands of Judah, yet was it to leap into undying fame. And wherefore? "Out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Here, notice, we have, not the Child born, the Son given "unto us," i.e., Israel, but that One who should come forth "unto Me," i.e., Jehovah, to be His Ruler in the midst of Israel. As "judge of Israel" he would be rejected as verse 1 intimates, for He was Jehovah’s "holy Child [or Servant] Jesus," against whom "both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together" (Acts 4:27). Yet was this holy Servant so infinitely great that His goings forth were from of old, from "the days of eternity" (marginal reading). There can be no evading the force of this astounding statement. The Babe who lay in Bethlehem’s manger was He whose "goings forth" had been from the days of eternity. He had gone forth as the active Worker in creation, for by Him God made the worlds (see Hebrews 1:2). He had gone forth, too, as the Angel of Jehovah’s presence in former days, but never in such fashion as when, becoming flesh by means of the virgin’s womb, He came forth unto Jehovah at Bethlehem. Again we must say that there is only one word that will adequately set forth the real character and being of the Babe of Bethlehem, and that word is GOD. We pass to the New Testament, and in Romans 1:1-4 we read that "the Gospel of God" is "concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh." It was the Son of God who became David’s seed by incarnation, and though He was rejected as Son of David yet He was declared "the Son of God with power . . . by the resurrection from the dead." This is the way the Gospel is introduced to us and it is worthy of close attention. That a Person in the Godhead, who cannot be described, became by incarnation the Son of God, is a false theory, given a fresh lease of life in our day. That the Son of God became by incarnation the Son of David is the truth presented in the Gospel of God. Then again in Romans 9:5 we read of Israel’s crowning glory, viz., that of their race "as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever." In these words we have the clearest possible corroboration of what we have just been seeing in the Old Testament. If, however, we wish for the fullest setting forth of the deity of Christ we shall find it in the first chapters of John, Colossians, and Hebrews. Let us take the first of these passages and analyse the first four verses. In this brief passage six tremendous facts are stated as to "the Word." 1. "In the beginning was the Word." He did not begin to be in the beginning, but He was, i.e., He existed in the beginning. The Word has eternal existence. 2. "The Word was with God," and if with then He must be distinguished as having a Personality of His own. The Word has distinct Personality. 3. "The Word was God." Though distinct as to His Person yet none the less God. The Word has essential Deity. 4. "The same was in the beginning with God." He is not, therefore, merely a manifestation of the Deity in time. The Word has eternal Personality. 5. "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." He was the active Creator and nothing originated apart from Him. The Word had creatorial originality. 6. "In Him was life." Here we pass from "all things" which includes inanimate creation, to that which in its lower manifestations characterizes animate creation — to that profound mystery of life which in its very nature must remain unsolved to the creature. The Word has essential vitality. And now does any lingering doubt remain as to who "the Word" is? Simply then continue reading the passage until verses 16 and 17 be reached. "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us . . . full of grace and truth. John bare witness of Him . . . and of His fulness have all we received and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The Word has assumed perfect humanity, and as such His name is JESUS CHRIST. It is a fact quite worthy of note that each of the four passages we have already examined (Isaiah 9:1-21, Micah 5:1-15, Romans 1:1-32, John 1:1-51), while emphasizing the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ quite clearly declares His true humanity. Indeed, the HUMANITY OF THE LORD JESUS would seem to lie so clearly upon the surface of the New Testament that any detailed proof of it should be quite superfluous. And yet the great adversary and corrupter of the faith has not failed to assault this truth, and from very early days in the Church’s history unto to-day there have been subtle theories afloat which while extolling Him as Man yet deny the fulness and perfection of His Manhood. This we say bearing in mind that man as created of God is made up of three constituent parts, "spirit and soul and body," according to 1 Thessalonians 5:23. The Lord Jesus clearly claimed each of these three for Himself. We find Him saying, "My spirit" (Luke 23:46), "My soul" (Mark 14:34), My Body (Matthew 26:12). The danger, however, is that some would assent to this, but proceed to whittle away the force of what they admit by claiming that these words on His lips did not mean just what they would have meant on ours; that His spirit, His soul, His body must be understood in some special sense, so that, for instance, His sacred body must not be thought of as a real human body, nor His spirit as a real human spirit. If this were true we should not have " the Man, Christ Jesus " in any real sense at all. We are not, however, left to reason in this matter. Hebrews 2:16 and 17 plainly states that since He stooped not to take hold of angels but of the seed of Abraham, "in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren." Note those three important words — IN ALL THINGS. If in all things then in spirit and in soul and in body. Hebrews 4:15 adds a further corroboration of this great fact in stating that as our High Priest He "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Again we say, note the three important words — IN ALL POINTS — qualified in this instance by the further three words "yet without sin" or "apart from sin." This is a remarkable passage, worthy of deepest study. Verse 14 emphasizes the greatness of our High Priest both in His person as Son of God and in His position in the heavens. Verse 15 emphasizes His graciousness by the fact that he has practically experienced every temptation that besets His saints, always excepting those that are only temptations to us by reason of our fallen sinful natures. Some temptations address themselves to the spirit, others to the soul, others to the body; indeed, it is not difficult to discern that in the wilderness the devil addressed his three temptations in those three directions. In Luke 4:1-13 they are presented in the ascending order: body — soul — spirit; the fiercest tests are always those that address themselves to the highest part of man. The Lord Jesus being truly and fully Man, the test was complete. He fully graduated in the school of suffering, and hence can fully sympathize in all things apart from sin. These two passages in Hebrews make it abundantly clear that the truth as to the place of our Lord Jesus Christ as our Mediator and Priest hangs upon the fact of His becoming MAN in the full and proper sense of that word; hence the emphasis placed upon His manhood in 1 Timothy 2:5: "There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus." He is, indeed, that "Daysman" whom Job sighed for, who "might lay His hand upon us both" (see Job 9:32, 33). He knew that God is not a man as he was, and hence the imperative necessity of One great enough to lay His hand upon God, yet gracious enough to lay His hand upon such an one as Job. The New Testament is the revelation of the Daysman of Job’s desire — JESUS, who is both GOD and MAN. . . . . . How do you explain such a statement as "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28) and other similar statements which, it is claimed by some, show that the Lord Jesus was not really God? Supposing we could not explain them at all, these statements, many of which occur in John’s Gospel, would furnish a very slender basis for denying the great fact of His deity, so fully set forth in John 1:1-14, as we have already seen. The explanation is, however, very simple. The Lord Jesus was the sent One of the Father, "sanctified [i.e. set apart] and sent into the world" John 10:36), and as such He became the Servant of the Father’s glory and of man’s blessing — the true Hebrew servant of Exodus 21:2-6. The incarnate Son, therefore, became subject to the Father, moving and acting in reference to Him instead of acting on His own initiative. Hence, to quote again from John’s Gospel, "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do" (John 5:19). All these and similar scriptures refer to the position which the Son took up in relation to the Father when He assumed manhood. In the business world we sometimes see a father take his sons into an equal partnership and yet retain himself a controlling voice in matters of high policy and finance. The sons are on absolute equality with their father and far more active than he in executing the firm’s transactions, yet subordinated to his ripe judgment and wisdom. Let this illustration show how amongst men these two things may be present together in perfect consistency with each other. We distinguish, therefore, between what the Lord Jesus was and is essentially — equal with God, and what He became relatively — subordinate to the Father’s will. Another difficult passage isMark 13:32, in which the Lord disclaims knowledge of the day and hour of His return. What is the force of that? Very similar to what we have just been saying. We would add, however, this: that Scripture always attributes the purposes, counsels, plans of the Godhead, the fixing of times and seasons to the Father. Note particularly Acts 1:7: "The times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power." It equally attributes action, the execution of the purposes of the Godhead, whether in creation, redemption, or judgment, to the Son. These are deep mysteries of which we know nothing apart from revelation and of which consequently we would speak with reserve and reverence. It is evident that in Mark 13:32 the Lord Jesus spoke in strict keeping with the whole tenor of Scripture. To Him alone belongs the glorious activity, the "coming in the clouds." To the Father alone belongs the times and seasons, the fixing of the day and the hour. Some people believe that the Lord Jesus limited Himself in knowledge in becoming man. They have what they call the "Kenosis" theory. How does that agree with Scripture? Like most of the devil’s lies, it has the show of appealing to Scripture. The word Kenosis is taken from the Greek word used in Php 2:7, translated "made Himself of no reputation" in A.V., and "emptied Himself" in R.V., the latter being the more literal rendering. The passage tells us how our Lord Jesus — in the form of God and equal with God. without any "robbery" or "unlawful grasping" (as was the case when Adam aspired to be as God) — emptied Himself in becoming Man. That is, He divested Himself of all that made Him externally glorious till He was only known as the carpenter’s son. Thereby He took a place in which He could receive from God all that which otherwise He might have had or done in His own right and power, rather than by the Spirit of God. It does not mean that He ceased to be what He was, or that He became ignorant and subject to the common opinions and delusions of His day, as is blasphemously asserted. The whole Gospel record denies such an evil interpretation of this text. What did He say concerning Himself and His teachings? — "My record is true." "My judgment is true.’’ "As my Father hath taught Me I speak." "I speak that which I have seen with My Father.’’ "Ye seek to kill Me, a Man that hath told you the truth which I have heard of God." "Which of you convinceth Me of sin?" All these quotations come from one chapter, John 8:1-59. Unbelieving men hold theories which are quite inconsistent with the teachings of our Lord, therefore His words must be discredited. The discrediting process is more likely to succeed if His trustworthiness can be undermined under cover of rendering homage to His condescension, and also if the whole thing can be labelled with a "scientific" name which sounds very learned while conveying little or nothing to the plain person. Hence the "kenosis" theory. A great deal has been said in current preaching and literature about "the Christ" and "the historic Jesus" as though they were hardly the same. Is there any Scriptural foundation for this? Jesus is His personal name as a Man born in this world. Christ, meaning the Anointed One, is rather descriptive of an office He fills. But Jesus is the Christ (see Acts 17:3), and there is no other Christ but He. The talk to which you allude is just an instance of that "sleight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." "The Christ" is turned by them into an empty ideal, and "the historic Jesus" is treated as One of the Christ order showing us how we too may become "Christs." Thus they deny "Jesus Christ come in the flesh," and prove themselves of that spirit of antichrist of which 1 John 4:3 speaks. No one can really confess Him "come in flesh," save those who believe in His Deity and His Manhood. He came in flesh, therefore He is Man. He — that Person — Jesus Christ, came in flesh. Therefore He is God. We mere men do not come in flesh. We are flesh. Scripture plainly teaches us that our Lord was born of a Virgin. Modern unbelieving theologians as plainly deny it, and treat it as a matter of quite minor importance. Is it after all a matter of vital concern? It is vital in, the last degree. Everything that touches the truthfulness of the Scriptures is vital, for if they are not reliable in one detail, can they be accepted as reliable in any? It is vital, further, inasmuch as the foundations of the faith are connected with it. In 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 we have the Lord Jesus contrasted with Adam. "The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second Man is the Lord from heaven" (v. 47). As a matter of mere enumeration Cain was the second man; from the point of view of this verse he was not: he was only Adam reproduced in the first generation. The people walking the earth to-day are but Adam reproduced in — let us suppose — the 150th generation. But — mark it well — the Lord Jesus was not Adam reproduced at all. He was the second Man. He was Man, indeed, for He was conceived by the Virgin Mary. He was an altogether unique Man of another order, for He was conceived of the Holy Ghost. Every other man inherits the Adamic nature; Jesus did not. Every other man comes into the world under the sorrowful entail (to use a legal word) of sin and death and condemnation, of which the latter part of Romans 5:1-21 speaks. In the case of our blessed Lord the entail was broken. He was not born according to the laws of human reproduction. He was not of the Adamic race, but Himself, the last Adam, the Head of a new race in virtue of death and resurrection. All these great facts go by the board if the virgin birth be not true. It is vital indeed! It is difficult to understand how the Lord Jesus can be God and Man at the same time. What theory do you hold to account for it? We hold no theory at all. Rather we hold that all theories on this sacred matter should be rigidly eschewed. The Lord’s own words were, " No man knoweth the Son but the Father" (Matthew 11:27), and that being so it shows that there are depths of mystery about Him which the creature, however favoured and exalted, can never fathom. There are unfathomable mysteries in creation. Is it then to be wondered at that, when He who was Creator deigned to enter the ranks of creation by becoming Man, there are mysteries connected with the manner of His doing it which for ever transcend the creature mind? The truth as to the absolute and essential deity of the Lord Jesus is abundantly stated in Scripture, as also is the truth of the reality, fulness, and perfection of His Manhood. To start theorizing as to how these things can be is but the natural impertinence of the human mind. We rather take the place of believing what is revealed, bowing our heads and worshipping. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 5: 004 CREATION, AND THE FALL OF MAN. ======================================================================== STEM Publishing:The writings of F. B. Hole: Creation, and the Fall of Man. http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/hole/index.html Creation, and the Fall of Man. F. B. Hole. The first chapter of Genesis furnishes us with the Divine account of the origin of all visible created things; and consequently it touches upon matters of which science, so called, would fain have a monopoly. This chapter has, therefore, for long been scornfully assailed by unbelief. This, however, need not disturb the mind of any true believer for one instant. The attacks levelled by unbelief are really a compliment to the truth which is being attacked; and they all find their basis in that strange mixture of a very small number of facts with a very large number of suppositions, guesses, deductions, and speculations, which does duty as "science" when the Bible is in question. If we start sifting until the small residuum of real, true facts appears — FACTS, as much beyond dispute as that there is a sun in the heavens — not one can be found, which is in any way inconsistent with the wonderful truth divinely communicated through Moses in Genesis 1:1-31. Let us note a few salient features of this wonderful chapter. The first verse gives us the great original creatorial act of God whereby the heaven and the earth came into existence, taking place for aught we know in epochs immeasurably remote. Verse 2 resumes the story at a much later stage, when the earth was in a condition far removed from the perfectness of God’s original work, apparently the fruit of some catastrophe the origin of which is not revealed. From this point God again begins to work and we read not only of God creating (Genesis 1:21, 27) but of His making (Genesis 1:7, 16, 25), and finally of His forming man (Genesis 2:7). The two latter words are used when it is a question not of producing something out of nothing but rather of fashioning in fresh forms of order and beauty the matter already in existence. Between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis 1:1-31, therefore, is a gap of an extent quite unknown to us. If scientists demand millions of years or even thousands of millions for the geologic ages which have passed, as they suppose, so be it. There is room for them all between these two verses. The chapter opens with GOD. The word used in the Hebrew is Elohim, a word, remarkably enough, of plural form. This is the more striking when we remember that the Hebrew has, besides a singular, a dual form for its nouns. Dual signifies two, plural therefore signifying three or more. Yet the verb "created" is in the singular! Why this apparent breach of grammar? Evidently in order that in the very introduction to our knowledge of God we may receive a hint of the truth afterwards plainly revealed that He is a Trinity in Unity — three Persons yet one God. We have only to read verse 2 to discover mention of the Spirit of God, and later in the New Testament we find the active work of creation consistently attributed to the Lord Jesus, the Son. "His Son . . . by whom also He made the worlds" (Hebrews 1:2). The first verse of the Bible, therefore, contains a denial of Unitarianism. It also contains a denial of Pantheism — an idea of the ancients and of the heathen world, but more recently revived in Christendom as one of the buttresses of "New Theology." The god of the Pantheist is simply the spirit or essence of Nature. He expresses himself in Nature, but is not to be known or even conceived of as outside of or apart from Nature. The Pantheist professes a god who is immanent in Nature but not transcendent above it. The God of verse 1 is clearly One outside of Nature and infinitely above it, seeing He made it, and therefore existed before it. From Him all that which we call Nature proceeds. A nineteenth-century philosopher put it on record that he judged that at least five things must be assumed if we wished in any intelligible way to account for the universe. The five things he mentioned were: Time, Space, Matter, Force, and Motion. He did not say this because he had any respect for the Bible, and yet each of these five is mentioned in verses 1 and 2: — (1) "In the beginning" — time; (2) "The heaven" — space; (3) "The earth" — matter; (4) "The Spirit of God" — force; (5) "Moved" — motion. Verse 2 opens the six days’ work. We commonly but incorrectly speak of them as the six days of creation.Exodus 20:11 says: "In six days the Lord made heaven and earth." The main work of those days was the fashioning anew of the earth and solar system that there might be a suitable abode for the man He was about to create. Beginning with the production of light, we travel up through the ranks of visible things to man, in whom rule and dominion was vested. The order observed in the account — vegetation, then trees, then fishes, birds, cattle, and creeping things, etc. — is such that no exception can be taken to it. The work of the fourth day has presented difficulties to many; partly because years ago, under mistaken scientific ideas, light (v. 3) without the sun (v. 16) was regarded as an impossibility; partly because men did not carefully note what verses 14 to 18 really do say, and do not say Sun and moon were created as given us in verse 1; they were only made as "two great lights" on the fourth day; and, further, they were so set in relation to the earth, or the earth to them, as the case may be, that they ruled over the day and over the night, dividing the light from the darkness. Two other points there are which we must not omit to notice, both concerning creation in a general way. The first is that all that God made was good. Five times over is this said (in verses 10, 12, 18, 21, and 25) about matter, whether animate or inanimate. These are important statements in view of the fact that the ordered scene of creation was so soon invaded by evil It proves that it was an invasion from without and not produced from within. All as it left God’s hand was perfect and undefiled. It is also important as giving the lie direct to that terrible deceit of Satan miscalled Christian Science, which is based upon the assertion that matter is evil of itself, essentially so; and that mind is good. The truth is that matter originally was good and mind also, but that when sin did enter it gained first a foothold in mind, i.e. Adam’s mind, as we shall see. Through mind, matter has been corrupted. It is "the mind of the flesh" which is "enmity against God" (Romans 8:7) The second point is that in this chapter, as soon as life is touched upon, life of such an order as involved reproduction of species, whether herb, tree, fish, fowl, creeping thing, or cattle, the immutable law which governs all such reproduction is laid down in the three words "after his kind." Here we have our attention called to a fact which is continually verifying itself in a thousand ways. Breeding and selection may modify a species within certain limits, but nothing can alter the species. The words "after his kind" occur in the first of Genesis no less than ten times. They are the statement, we repeat, of a great FACT, and a denial of the much-vaunted theory of Evolution. Against this let us mention that Darwin in his book, The Origin of Species, frequently uses such phrases as, "The laws . . . are for the most part unknown;" "The causes . . . are most obscure;" "So profound is our ignorance;" "As we have no facts to guide us speculation . . . . is almost useless;" "No explanation can be given of these facts." Indeed we have seen it stated that over eight hundred times he uses the phrase "We may well suppose. . ." What a contrast to the "Thus saith the Lord" of the Bible! The creation of man, male and female, was the crowning work of the six days. Man was made after God’s likeness, i.e., bearing a moral resemblance to Him, possessing intelligence, reason, will, and sinless because innocent. He was also made in God’s image, i.e. as His representative in this lower creation, and consequently he was given dominion over it. Man was made to rule, but as God’s vice-regent, and therefore in dependence upon and obedience to Him. In this respect man appears to be alone, for even angels were made to serve, not to rule. "Are they not all ministering [or serving] spirits?" (Hebrews 1:14). In Genesis 2:7, man’s creation, is again mentioned, but with another purpose in view. Here we are let into the secret of his spiritual constitution as distinguished from his bodily frame. The latter was constructed from the dust of the ground, but the former he inherited direct from God Himself by his in-breathing. Man is a living soul just as other forms of animate creation are said to be, but man is such by Divine in-breathing of life, which the beasts are not, and herein lies his distinctive glory. Next we are told of the garden planted by the Divine hand and of Adam being put therein with the happy occupation of dressing and keeping it, for he was not to be idle even in innocence; and, further, that he was put under the single prohibition of not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Chapter 2 closes with an account of how Eve was made. She was the subject of a special subsequent work of God, yet she was made out of Adam. The human race is therefore essentially one. As we close Genesis 2:1-25 we have Adam the Divine representative holding dominion over the earthly creation and Eve his helpmeet associated with him. Yet he was under law, a law of but one commandment, and therefore he stood before God on the ground of his own responsibility. Obedient, he abode in Divine favour and maintained his position. If disobedient he was surely to die. Genesis 3:1-24 brings us into the presence of the great catastrophe. The source of it is uncovered — the serpent; but in the serpent we discern the devil who is called Satan, for he had evidently entered into the serpent, then a far finer creature than now, to carry out his evil design. The woman, Eve, becomes the medium of it. Approached by the serpent, she listened, and then taking the lead, which was not her place, she acted and disobeyed. Adam, however, was the responsible transgressor. It is always Adam’s sin of which Scripture speaks, and 1 Timothy 2:14 supplies us with the reason. Eve was deceived but Adam was not. His eating of the forbidden tree was therefore an act of pure defiance of God. It was undiluted lawlessness, and that is the very essence of sin. We must carefully notice the way that the serpent went to work. It will not only instruct but also forewarn us, for his wiles are always similar. He aimed to undermine the creature’s confidence in the Creator, labouring first and foremost to produce distrust of God. He took three steps to accomplish this. The first was the questioning of Divine Revelation. "Yea, hath God said?" were his words. He knew that if once the word of God were weakened in the woman’s mind a breach would be made in the walls of defence. Notice that he misquoted the words in order to question it, "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" The woman corrected his misquotation but herself exaggerated the Divine prohibition, adding the words, "neither shall ye touch it," to what God had said. This proved that the poison of doubt had begun to work in her mind. Following up this initial advantage the serpent said, "Ye shall not surely die," thus denying the threatened penalty of ruin and death and giving the lie direct to God. He represented God’s judgment as being but an idle threat. Thus far the serpent had dealt in negatives, but now he comes to a positive assertion and dangles before the woman’s mind a tempting bait. "Ye shall be as gods," were the words by which he asserted deity for man as the result of disobedience, and he insinuated that God knew that this would be the result of their eating of the forbidden tree, and that the real reason why the prohibition was given was that He desired to withhold from them this coveted prize from motives of jealousy. Even the devil, however, does not trade in nothing but lies. He added the words, "knowing good and evil" (ver. 5), which was true as far as it went. He did not add that they would only know both in finding themselves under the power of the evil and without desire for the good. Facts partially stated often do efficient service in an evil cause. These same three things are much in evidence in the false religious systems of to-day. However varied they may appear if subjected to only a surface inspection, a deeper analysis reveals that underneath they all agree in. (1) Questioning revelation, i.e. the Word of God. (2) Denying ruin and death. (3) Asserting deity for man. Putting the three together we have "the lie" to which probably reference is made in 2 Thessalonians 2:11. The lie did its deadly work in the soul of Eve. She believed the devil and distrusted God, hence the temptation of the forbidden fruit assailed her in all its force. It appealed to the lust of the flesh in her, for she saw that it "was good for food." It appealed to the lust of the eyes for "it was pleasant to the eyes." It appealed to the pride of life, for it was "a tree to be desired to make one wise." Under this threefold appeal "she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." Thus God was abandoned for a moment of self-pleasing. The seed was sown which was to bear so fearful a harvest. The deed was done. Its consequences began to appear immediately. Self-consciousness, slavish fear of God, the disposition to prevaricate and even to blame God Himself for what had happened, are all manifest in this third chapter. Nor do we have to go outside this chapter to find the governmental consequences of disobedience as regards the serpent, the woman, and the man. Each receives an appropriate sentence under which they are to this day and which no art nor ingenuity of man can lift. The garden of delights is lost for ever. One other thing in the chapter we must not forget. It contains those first words of hope as to the coming of the woman’s seed who should reverse the issues of that fatal day. Instantly the dark night of disaster fell the first star of hope was lit by the Divine hand in man’s sky. The whole of Scripture, particularly the New Testament, is the working out in detail of all that was involved in Genesis 3:15. A few questions may now be considered. Difficulties arise in many minds as to the origin of evil and why God should permit it at all. Is there scriptural light as to this? There is ample light as to the origin and entrance of evil into this world, and with that we have been dealing. Scripture also indicates that it was through pride that sin found a place originally with the devil (1 Timothy 3:6), and under the title "King of Tyre" we appear to get a description of Satan’s original glory and irremediable fall in Ezekiel 28:11-19. But as to why God, knowing all that would ultimately be involved, ever created Satan or man, and why He permitted evil to ever invade any part of His fair creation, Scripture is silent, and we know nothing. After all, these are matters which lie beyond the reach of finite minds. Is it likely that God would reveal to us such secrets of His high and eternal counsels as must lie on the plane of infinity? If He did, should we be any the wiser? No! It is well for us to call a halt here and say with the Psalmist, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me: it is high, I cannot attain unto it" (Psalms 139:6). We are often reminded of the vast ages which must have transpired, according to the geologists, during which various strata of the earth’s surface and fossil remains were deposited, Why does not the Bible tell us about these? Because the Bible addresses itself not to the mind and its curious reasonings, but to the conscience and its awakened necessities; it is not an introductory handbook to the sciences, but a Divinely given guide to God, and righteousness, and heaven. Hence no space is wasted over matters of no importance to its purpose. Immense ages may have transpired as the geologists assert. If so, there is room for them all between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis 1:1-31, as we have seen. There is nothing in Scripture to deny the possibility of the earth being filled with vegetation and creatures, or even successive relays of them, in pre-Adamic times. The fossils unearthed may well be relics of these prior creatures.* (*Scientists who are Christians now clearly understand the flood to be the source of fossils. Note however that no ground is conceded to evolution in these papers. L.H.) What about the remains of prehistoric man, for which great antiquity is claimed? Are we to suppose that man existed before Adam, or that far more than six thousands years have elapsed since his appearance? To suppose that man existed before Adam would clearly be to deny Scripture. He is "the first man" (1 Corinthians 15:45). As to six thousand years; we speak of ourselves being separated from Adam by about that time, accepting Usher’s chronology as usually printed in our authorized English Bibles. There is, however, no certainty about that. It is a question of calculations made from the ages of the patriarchs and other historical data. Many have done it and no two agree. A few make it a little less than Usher and some a great deal more. Here, again, touching a matter of no real moment, the Bible is largely silent. We may make our calculations, but the fact is — we do not KNOW. If, however, folk come to you and talk about the proved great antiquity of human remains, tell them politely that in so talking they prove nothing but their own excessive credulity. If you wish to discover what a confused welter of contradictory assertions and suppositions the whole matter is involved in, read Evolution Criticised,* by the late T. B. Bishop, if you can obtain it. * Published by Oliphants, Ltd., London. This volume is unfortunately greatly lacking in the classification and arrangement of its subjects. It nevertheless contains much illuminating matter. Are the six days ofGenesis 1:1-31ordinary days of twenty-four hours, or do you regard them as long periods of time? The word "day" is not infrequently used in Scripture as signifying quite lengthy periods, hence we are not surprised that many have assigned that meaning to it in Genesis 1:1-31. Such an interpretation, however, lands us at once into serious difficulties. For instance: — Why the repetition of "the evening and the morning (vv. 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). All plain enough if an ordinary day be meant — the Jewish day began at 6 p.m. remember. On the larger scale it would simply assert that there was a beginning and an ending to the period; a self-obvious fact unworthy of mention and much less of repetition. Again, man was made during the sixth day, and then came the seventh of rest, between his creation and the Fall. Was this a period running into thousands of years? How could it be? Adam was only one hundred and thirty years old when Seth was born, and his total years were nine hundred and thirty. Once more, in Exodus 20:8-11, we have the fourth commandment concerning the Sabbath wherein we have the seven days of the week and the seven days of creation put together without one word of differentiation between the respective days. We could only assert that one set of days was entirely different from the other if clear proof were forthcoming from other parts of Scripture, and it is not. We therefore accept the days as being days of twenty-four hours. To faith this is no more difficult of acceptance than the interpretation which sees in them thousands of years. Objections are raised as to God placing a prohibition upon Adam, and also as to thefactthat such tremendous consequences are attributed to a cause so small as eating "an apple." How would you answer such points? Well, supposing God had left Adam without prohibition or commandment of any kind, there then would have been no sign or reminder of their relative positions; that God was Creator and to be obeyed, and that Adam was but the creature and bound to obey. The wonder is not that God put upon him one prohibition, but that He did not put many. There were many trees in the garden, and instead of with-holding the ninety-nine and giving him but one, God gave him the ninety-nine and withheld but one. As to great results flowing from an apparently small cause, is it not often thus? The first great world war sprang out of a fatal shot fired in an obscure Balkan town. The heavy express train runs through the junction and swerves from one main line to another. You do not expect it to hurl itself with a crash from the one to the other at a distance of a hundred yards. No, it slips off almost imperceptibly, and there is hardly an eighth of an inch in it at the point where the divergence takes place. So Adam slipped off the main line of obedience over what may seem a very fine point. Nevertheless he defied God, and defiance is never more flagrant and wilful than when it is in regard to some small thing, where the action is quite needless and without excuse. Is the doctrine of "original sin" a scriptural one? The term "original sin" may not be found in the Bible, but the truth which is conveyed by the term is there right enough. In Genesis 5:3 we read, "Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image." Note the words we have italicised. Originally he had been created in God’s likeness, but he did not reproduce himself during his brief time of innocence when there might have been another man also in God’s likeness. He fell first and then begat children in his own likeness as a fallen creature. The law of Genesis 1:1-31 "after his kind" at once operated. Hence in Romans 5:19 we read that "by one man’s disobedience many were made [or, constituted] sinners." All his descendants came into the world sinners in their very constitution. That is what is meant by "original sin." The solemn truth that human nature is tainted and corrupt is not popular, but even if men could erase it from Scripture it would still be shouted to heaven from every corner of the habitable earth. There the fact IS. The Bible alone explains its origin and unfolds the remedy. The penalty was, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Yet Adam lived for nine hundred and thirty years? How do you reconcile that? First by understanding what death is. It is not extinction of being. No reconciliation would be possible if that were the case. Death is separation: primarily from God Himself the source of all life and happiness; secondarily the dissolution of man’s composite estate, the separation of spirit and soul from the body. In the day that he sinned Adam died in the primary sense, that is, an infinite gulf yawned between him and God as the account shows. He became, in New Testament language, "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). Nine hundred and thirty-years later he yielded up the ghost and died in the secondary sense. Ultimately he will (except he repented and believed) be judged and consigned to the lake of fire, which means eternal and irrevocable separation from God. This is "the second death" chronologically, though it is the full thing and therefore the primary thing as regards its meaning. But, second, note that death did fall in the garden on the very day of Adam’s sin. Not on him personally but on some innocent victim, or victims, out of whose skins the Lord God made clothing for the guilty pair. Thus early was testimony given in a typical way to the fact of death as the wages of sin and also to the efficacy of a substitutionary sacrifice. Why did God make such a point of removing Adam from the tree of life, lest by any possibility he should eat of it? Because, as it says, he would then have lived for ever. That is, death could not then have touched his body and he would have been doomed to continue for ever in his sinful condition; physically beyond the touch of death’s hand, but spiritually dead and alienated from God. His exclusion from the tree of life looked like further judgment, and so it was, but it also contained within itself the seeds of ultimate blessing, inasmuch as in God’s own time Death was to become the door to eternal life. If physical death had been impossible to man then not even incarnation would have made it possible for Christ to die, and consequently Adam would have been shut up to his ruined state without hope. Thus early was God’s judgment made to subserve the designs of His mercy, and pave the way for that climax of the ages — THE DEATH OF CHRIST. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 6: 005 ATONEMENT: ITS MEANING AND TRUE CHARACTER. ======================================================================== STEM Publishing:The writings of F. B. Hole: Atonement: Its Meaning and True Character. http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/hole/index.html Atonement: Its Meaning and True Character. F. B. Hole. The atoning character of the death of Christ is of transcendent importance. No truth contained in Holy Scripture has suffered more from those who handle the Word of God deceitfully. We shall do well, therefore, to devote a chapter to it. The word atonement is found only in the Old Testament. Its one occurrence in the New is a mistranslation. We refer to Romans 5:11, where the margin of a reference Bible shows reconciliation as the alternative reading, and this latter is, without any question, the right translation. In the Old Testament it is frequently used, and it is an interesting and significant fact that the Hebrew word for it — kaphar — is one which has as its root meaning to cover. This at once links it on with the whole burden of Scripture testimony that sinful man is exposed by his guilt to wrath and condemnation, and therefore needs that which will cover him in the sight of a holy God. The significance of this will, however, become plainer as we proceed. Directly Adam fell and sin came into the world it became manifest that a guilty sinner needs covering. The sewing of the fig-leaf aprons and the hiding behind the trees of the garden proclaimed it as being the instinctive feeling of the guilty pair. Even more loudly did God’s own action proclaim it when He made "coats of skins and clothed them" (Genesis 3:21). skins, notice, which meant that death fell upon some animals that the sinful pair might be covered. Abel’s faith seized this first revelation of the Divine way of covering a sinner, and hence in chapter 4 we read of his offering a firstling of his flock when drawing near to God. Covered by the death of that offering, "he obtained witness that he was righteous" (Hebrews 11:4). Travelling down the course of time we reach the flood; and here again the need of a covering when God’s judgment is poured forth was very evident. In the ark Noah and his family were covered. Gopher wood was all around them, and not a crack was left, for the instructions were to "pitch it within and without with pitch" (Genesis 6:14). Significantly enough the very word used in the Hebrew for "pitch" is one closely related to the word for "covering" or "atonement." The covering in Noah’s case was complete. Yet even so he did not recommence his career on the cleansed earth apart from sacrifices of blood (see Genesis 8:20). Subsequent to Noah the patriarchal age was reached, and we find these men building their altars to the Lord and offering sacrifices as the basis of their relationship with Him. Judging by the record in Genesis it appears, however, that as time went on the energy of their faith declined and such sacrifices became less and less frequent. Abraham was far more active in this matter than any of the others. They had no definite command from God as to it, but they evidently acted in the light of Noah’s great sacrifice of the seventh of the clean beasts and clean fowls — those odd ones over and above the three couples — provided for in the Divine instructions. Still following the course of time, we reach the era of Israel’s servitude in Egypt, and during this period of eclipse we have no record of any sacrifices at all. Directly, however, the Lord commissioned Moses to deliver them the word was, "Let us go . . . that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God" (Exodus 3:18), and this led up to the sacrifice which stands out pre-eminently in the Old Testament — that of the lamb on the original Passover night as recorded in Exodus 12:1-51. Here again, clearly, the firstborn of Israel were covered when the stroke of judgment fell upon the firstborn of Egypt. From this point the Divine scheme of atonement by blood came fully into the light — as fully, that is, as it is found in Old Testament scripture. Brought out of Egypt and in the wilderness the law was given to Israel, and sacrifices of blood were the chief corner-stone of the whole legal system then instituted. As the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews puts it, "Almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). The use of the word almost in the verse just quoted would lead us to expect a few exceptions to the general rule. One such exception was found in the law concerning the taking of a census m Israel, as given to us in Exodus 30:11-16. Here, instead of the shedding of blood, the offering by every man of a small silver coin was commanded. Read this passage carefully for it affords very helpful evidence as to the true meaning of atonement. If a man was to be numbered amongst the children of Israel, and in that way be acknowledged by God as one of His people, he could only be so on the ground of there having been made an atonement for his soul — that is, as a sinner his soul must be covered ere it came under the Divine eye. The half-shekel of silver was the coin appointed as the "atonement money." Rich and poor alike had to offer it, for all alike were sinners with no difference between them, and it was not a question of the intrinsic value of the coin. Had that been the point then incalculable wealth would not have been sufficient, and Moses would have had to ask with Micah, "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?" The small silver coin was just a token and nothing more. But, a token of what? A token representing the animals that otherwise had died in their stead, and therefore a token of the fact that every man of Israel was A MAN OF FORFEITED LIFE, and consequently he must be ransomed, that is, bought back from the servitude to sin into which he had fallen, before he could be numbered. But perhaps these two points need a little amplification. Turn, then, to 1 Peter 1:18: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold . . ." — the inference being that their fathers had been so redeemed. But when had they been? The answer evidently is — Their redemption was always purchased thus. If a pious Israelite desired to be right with his God then must he always be expending silver and gold in the purchase of sacrificial animals which brought him by death that measure of redemption which he knew. Now at the census time God did not require, as we might have surmised, the death of sacrificial animals on an immense and national scale. Rather He cut down His requirements to a minimum, if we may so say, and only demanded this small silver coin from each man as a token that sacrifice was needful. But the atonement itself: what was the nature and character thereof? This, too, is made very clear in the law of the census. The half-shekel which each was to give is called "the atonement money." Its object is twice stated in the words "to make an atonement for your souls," and once it is put in these words: "Then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord." Pay attention to this. False theories of atonement abound, and every one of them aims at emptying the word of its proper meaning and filling it with a meaning more pleasing to the tastes of fallen human nature, but foreign to Scripture. Our passage gives us clearly its Scriptural meaning and usage. That which makes atonement, or covering, for the soul is that which ransoms the soul. But why this necessity of ransom? Because the soul is forfeit owing to sin. And what is the nature of the forfeit which lies upon the soul because of sin? The extreme forfeit of DEATH. That which ransoms the soul, by lifting the forfeit that lies upon it, is therefore the only thing that makes atonement. And what will lift the forfeit of death? This is the supreme question. The death sentence stands alone in its gravity and weight. We have never heard of the death sentence having any alternative equivalent. There is no alternative to it in the eyes of law, because it has no equivalent. Nothing but DEATH can meet the death sentence. In other words, nothing but the yielding up of life can meet the case of the one whose life is forfeit. The shedding or pouring out of the life-blood is the pledge and guarantee of life being yielded up. Hence the fact that the doctrine of the blood runs like a scarlet thread through Scripture until it reaches its climax in the Cross as recorded in John 19:34. Here we reach historically "the precious blood of Christ." The meaning of atonement and its true character were thus developed in Old Testament scripture; and yet when we turn to such a New Testament scripture as Hebrews 10:1-3 we are fully assured that there was no intrinsic value in any of the offerings of which the Old Testament speaks, for at best they were but types, shadows of the antitype, the substance. They had a value just as any promissory note payable so many months after date, or other form of paper currency has value, in view of its being ultimately realizable in hard cash. The actual worth of that promissory note for £1000 viewed as a piece of paper with ink traced upon it may be well under one penny. Its potential value at due date is exactly £1000. So with the sacrifices of old: their intrinsic value was trifling, and their value lay in their being pledges of the coming of that great sacrifice of the ages which was accomplished at the Cross. The atoning death of our Lord Jesus Christ lies right at the heart of everything. Its value is as infinite and incalculable as is the glory of His essential deity. The preciousness of His blood can only be estimated by the dignity and purity of Him who shed it. We were tainted by sin, and being defiled beyond remedy had forfeited our lives. He was God, and having become Man, proved Himself even as Man to be holy, harmless, undefiled, One upon whom death had no claim. And then He of the unforfeited life, He who both as God and as Man had every title to live, being Himself the very Fount and Origin of life, laid down that life for us of the forfeited lives. Here is the miracle of miracles indeed! "And oh! what heavenly wonders dwell In the atoning blood. By this are sinners saved from hell, And rebels brought to God." Two other observations we would make. The first is: how poor and paltry are all those false theories as to atonement when compared with the truth as we have it in Scripture. What sublime heights of Divine love are seen in the Cross of Christ! How supreme and conclusive the vindication and display of God’s righteousness there! Proud men, who have no wish to own themselves under the forfeit of death, may ridicule God’s Word and denounce atonement by vicarious suffering and death as wrong, but they have nothing to put in its place that does not violently infringe all that is righteous and holy and true. They remain satisfied with their own schemes only because they obstinately close their eyes to the true facts of the situation. Once admit the facts of man’s utter ruin and God’s essential righteousness and truth, and no solution is possible but that of the vicarious sufferings, the atoning death, of Christ. In His Cross, and there alone, every Divine attribute was harmonized as regards its dealings with sin. All was brought to equipoise and rest. There it was that "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Psalms 85:10). And because these seemingly opposite attributes of God have met harmoniously in the Cross, they meet with equal harmony in the experience of the ransomed sinner, and will yet meet harmoniously in a redeemed earth in the millennial age. Lastly we would say, remember that the word atonement does not exhaust the meaning and fulness of Christ’s death. It is, as we have said, an Old Testament word. When we come to the New Testament we find a great expansion of this fundamental truth. Indeed, we must remember in regard to every Divine reality or fact that no one word, or one side of the matter, fully sets it forth. Divine things are too big to be grasped in one embrace by finite minds. "Vicarious atonement" is a phrase often used, and to it many modern theologians raise great objection. Just what is the meaning of it? A "vicar" is a substitute or representative — the Pope claims to be Christ’s Vicar on earth, for instance — and hence the adjective vicarious simply means substitutionary. By vicarious atonement we simply mean an atonement wrought by One who stands in the room and stead of those for whom He suffers. Their sins are expiated in His blood. Those who object to vicarious atonement generally prefer to treat the word as if it were at-one-ment. Is there any real basis for this alteration? None whatever. In the first place the meaning of a word is to be decided not by its derivation but by its use; and the use of the word in Scripture is with the meaning of making satisfaction for sin by enduring the penalty, and therefore expiating, and not with the meaning of reconciling. For instance, the word prevent, according to its derivation, would mean to come before or anticipate. When the Authorized Version was made in 1604 A.D. its use agreed with its derivation, and hence the translators inserted it in Matthew 17:25 and 1 Thessalonians 4:15. Today it is never used in its derived sense but always as meaning to hinder. If we always insist on taking words according to their derivation we shall have some strange misunderstandings before we are done! Secondly, there is the fact, to which we have before alluded, that the word atonement is the translation of the Hebrew word, kaphar, which means to cover. The translators of the Bible nearly always chose atonement as their rendering of the word, just a few times using other words such as reconcile, pacify, purge, etc. The using of the word at-one-ment every time would not have altered the fact that God originally spoke of covering what was sinful by sacrifice, and that that is His meaning. The worst of it is that the men who mislead, by thus juggling with the spelling of atonement, are not usually men who are in ignorance of these simple facts. Can you explain at all why the word "atonement" does not occur in the New Testament? The only suggestion we have to offer is that the Old Testament deals with truth in a general fashion with more or less shadowy outline, whilst in the New we have it in far more clearly defined shape and fulness of detail. Atonement is a word which gives us the truth of the Gospel in its general outline The New Testament furnishes us with propitiation, justification, and other terms which give us the truth with greater precision, and it is therefore simply full of what atonement signifies, though the actual word does not occur. Nothing has been said as to the perfect life of our Lord. What part did that play in the work of atonement? No part at. all, save in an indirect way. He "bare our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). Atonement was made on the tree and there alone. Again we read: "The Son of Man came . . to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). "His life," someone may exclaim, "see it says ’His life a ransom for many.’" True but that is not all it says. He "came . . . to give His life." It was the giving of His life — the yielding of it up in death — that affected the ransom. The perfection and spotlessness of His life made the offering up of it so acceptable to God, and thus was one of His great qualifications for the sacrificial work. He was indeed the Lamb "without blemish." It has been commonly taught that the death of Christ puts away our evil, but that His life of perfect law-keeping is reckoned to our account and forms the positive righteousness in which we stand. Is this doctrine of "the imputed righteousness of Christ" scriptural? It is not. The very term "righteousness of Christ" is not found in Scripture. "Righteousness of God" we do read of, and also that righteousness is imputed to the believer in Christ dead and risen, just as it was imputed to Abraham of old (see Romans 4:1-25). Do we cast, then, any doubt on the righteous life of our Lord? Nay, on the contrary we affirm that His obedience and devotedness as set forth in that matchless passage in Php 2:1-30 far exceeded any righteousness demanded by the Law of Moses. But we also affirm that the teaching of Scripture as to the believer’s relations with the law is not that Christ kept the law for us, but that He "redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13), and in so doing He redeemed us from "under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Galatians 4:5) We had broken the law, and Christ bore its curse for us that we might never bear it. But to say He kept the law for us — which would lead to our saying He did so, that we might never keep it!! — that emphatically is not scriptural. The truth is that we are redeemed from the law itself as much as from its curse, and as now sons of God we have Christ Himself as our rule and standard and not the law. Nor is it the teaching of Scripture that a certain amount of Christ’s law-keeping is credited to us before God, but that cleared by Christ’s atoning death we now are before God in the life and standing and favour of the risen Saviour. We are "in Christ Jesus" "accepted in the Beloved" — a vastly higher thing. The only passage that might seem to support the idea of Christ’s imputed righteousness is Romans 5:12-19. But here the whole contrast lies between Adam’s one act of sin and disobedience and Christ’s one act of righteousness and obedience — clearly His death, though we would not exclude from our thoughts His whole career of righteousness and obedience which culminated in His death. A very important question is this: Does Scripture make known to us any atonement apart from blood? A very important question indeed, and the answer is NONE WHATEVER. We would even go one step further and say that Scripture knows of no atonement apart from SHED blood. Deuteronomy 12:23 tells us that "the blood is the life." Leviticus 17:11 says "the life of the flesh is in the blood." These two passages make quite clear what the meaning of blood is according to Scripture, and the latter verse ends with the words: "It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." As we have already seen, an exceptional case such as Exodus 30:1-38 can be found where silver did duty as representing the sacrifices that could be purchased with it, but when we come to the great atoning work of Christ, of which all Old Testament atonement was but a type, it is "not . . . with corruptible things, as silver and gold . . . but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (1 Peter 1:18, 19). No atonement, then, apart from the blood of Christ and apart from that blood shed, for the verse already quoted in Leviticus says, as to the blood, "I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls." The blood in the veins of the animal destined for sacrifice accomplished nothing. It was its life, truly, but only as given upon the altar, i.e. as shed sacrificially, did it make atonement and that only in type. All hinges on the death of Christ. Not life merely, but life yielded up, atones. There is undoubtedly great objection in the minds of many to the doctrine of the Blood. Can you explain why? The explanation is not far to seek; it lies in their refusal to admit that man is a creature of forfeited life. They will admit readily enough that man is not what he ought to be. They view him as a victim of misfortunes and cursed with an unpleasant environment; but with a life that is ever struggling upward and thereby evolving itself into finer and yet finer planes of existence. God’s word, on the contrary, reveals him as originally perfect yet speedily corrupted by sin, and that corruption so deep-seated and irremediable that the forfeit of his life becomes a necessity. Believers in the innate goodness of man naturally reject the truth of atonement by the Blood of Christ. Those who know their own lost and ruined state gladly receive it as their only hope. There is no Unitarianism in the Bible. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 7: 006 PROPITIATION AND SUBSTITUTION. ======================================================================== STEM Publishing:The writings of F. B. Hole: Propitiation and Substitution. http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/hole/index.html Propitiation and Substitution. F. B. Hole. The Old Testament abounds with types of the sacrifice of Christ, but not until we come to the doctrines of the Gospel as set forth in the Epistle to the Romans do we meet with the first of the two words that stand at the head of this chapter. The words themselves express the two great aspects of His atoning death. First, let us recall that all sin is against God. It affects Him and not only us who are sinners. Truly, it ruins us and brings us under the power of death and judgment; but it is also an outrage upon His holy nature, a flouting of His authority, an attempt to dishonour Him in the sight of His creatures. Hence the sacrifice of atoning virtue must not only be such as shall relieve the sinner by removing his sin, but shall also, and first, meet all the demands of God’s holy nature, and of His righteous throne, and so thoroughly vindicate Him. This is clearly recognized as a righteous principle amongst men. If an offence arises between two parties both are affected, and the first consideration must be for the offended party. Take the matter of debt, for instance. The debtor, if a right-minded man, is oppressed. He acknowledges the debt but cannot pay it and is miserable. We are sorry and anxious to relieve him, but we must not expend all our pity upon him. What about the creditor? He perhaps is not a man of wealth and cannot afford to lose what is rightly his, and hence he is oppressed as much, if not more than, the debtor. How can the situation be relieved? Only by the intervention of a third party in such a way that the creditor’s claims are properly met. The deliverance of the debtor follows as a matter of course. There can be no question as to the relative order: it is, first the creditor’s claims, second the debtor’s necessities. All this is quite simple, yet when we turn to the work of Christ, with which we as sinners are so vitally concerned, how easy for us practically to forget God’s side of the question m occupation with our own. Let us observe the way in which the death of the Lord Jesus is presented in Romans 3:1-31 and 4 as an antidote against this. The first two and a half chapters of that Epistle reveal the total bankruptcy of mankind, and from Romans 3:21 we read of the steps God has taken to meet the situation; for the great Creditor Himself has acted in the matter. What has He done? He has manifested his righteousness in such a way that it rests as a shield of protection "upon all them that believe" (v. 22) instead of falling upon them as an avalanche of destruction as we might have expected. But where was righteousness of this kind manifested? we may well ask. The answer is — at the CROSS. But how? we further enquire. What particular feature in and about the Cross of Christ accounts for righteousness of this character? What is it that has enlisted God’s righteousness on our side, and not merely sheltered us by the wing of compassion and mercy from the onslaught of the righteousness which otherwise would condemn? The answer is: PROPITIATION. At the Cross God "set forth" the Lord Jesus "a propitiation through faith in His blood" (v. 25). The word used here is "propitiatory" or "mercy seat" — not propitiation exactly but rather the place where, under the law of Moses, the propitiation was made. The force of this will be apparent if we turn to Leviticus 16:1-34 where we have the appointed order of the offerings on the great day of atonement In Israel, which occurred annually on the tenth day of the seventh month. On that day the high priest slew a bullock as a sin-offering for himself and his house, and a goat as a sin-offering for the people. The blood of these two victims was not applied in any way to the people, but was carried into the holiest of all and sprinkled on and before the mercy seat, and later was sprinkled on the altar of burnt offering. Thus in type God’s claims were met and His character vindicated in view of the sins of the people. What the mercy seat was in this typical system, this region of shadows, the Lord Jesus is in the great reality itself. The mercy seat was the place where God met with man (see Exodus 25:21, 22) and He is the One in whom God has put Himself into touch with men in a manner and degree altogether unknown before. All, too, has become effective "in His blood" just as the "mercy seat" only became effectively a seat of mercy because of the sprinkled blood. Otherwise it would have speedily proved itself to be a seat of judgment. What, then, is the effect of Christ’s propitiation as recorded in Romans 3:1-31? Just this, that God has been vindicated as regards His dealings with sin and with sinners, as shown in verses 25 and 26. In times past He had passed over the sins of His saints in anticipation of those sins being dealt with at the Cross; in this present gospel age He is not merely "remitting" or "passing over" sins, but positively justifying believers in Jesus. Propitiation thus fully made, His righteousness in both these actions is fully declared. No voice can now for one instant be rightly raised to criticise what He has done. Before the death of Christ unbelief might question, though faith, even when confronted with God’s dealings which seemed most perplexing, always said with Abraham, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Still, now such a question is needless. HE HAS DONE RIGHT. In Christ’s propitiatory work we see every satisfaction due to Divine righteousness and holiness rendered in supreme and surpassing degree. We see every sanction of the law upheld, and every attribute of the Divine nature displayed in harmonious completeness. The consequence of all this is that God now presents Himself to men universally as a Saviour-God. Verse 22 of our chapter speaks of "the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe . . . for all have sinned." The preposition "unto" indicates the scope or bearing of the thing m question, whereas "upon" indicates rather its actual effect. The need to which the Gospel addresses itself is absolutely universal. No less universal is the bearing of the Gospel offer. The actual effect of the Gospel is more limited; the words now are "all that believe." The Gospel offer in its universality thus rests upon propitiation as its basis. Because God has been completely satisfied as to all that sin is and has done, and therefore every hindrance on His side is removed, He presents Himself to man universally as a forgiving, a justifying God. Except, however, the hindrances upon man’s side be removed — hindrances such as pride, self-complacency, and unbelief — the gracious Gospel offer does not come to fruition. It is only when a sinner comes to repentance and faith in Christ that Divine righteousness is "upon" him in blessing. Justification belongs to "all them that believe," and to them alone. But this brings us to the second aspect of Christ’s atoning death. The actual word "substitution" does not occur in Scripture. That which the word expresses is found again and again: indeed in one Old Testament chapter it is found quite ten times. We refer to Isaiah 53:1-12. In one verse of that chapter we get it four times: "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed" (v. 5) The essence of substitution is that one is put in the room and stead of another, and each of the four clauses of this great verse contains that idea. The great and glorious "He" stands in the room and stead of the poor and sinful "us." The transgressions and the iniquities were ours; the wounding and the bruising were His. Ours are the peace and the healing; His were the chastisement and the stripes, that purchased it. Now if we turn to the closing verse of Romans 4:1-25 and the opening verse of Romans 5:1-21 the same truth confronts us, only stated with a clearness of detail impossible in Old Testament times. "Jesus our Lord . . . was delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Here note again the "our" and the "we." He truly was delivered up to death and judgment, but it was for our offences and not for everybody’s, though as the propitiation He has settled the whole question of sin so that the Gospel can be offered to all. He was raised again for our justification, i.e. the justification of all who believe; for we are "justified by faith," as the next verse shows. When we consider Christ’s death in its substitutionary aspect, then, we are looking at it not from God’s side but from ours. The point is not how His sacrifice has satisfied the Creditor, but rather how fully He has intervened on behalf of the debtors and of the full clearance which is theirs as a result; always bearing in mind that only those who believe can reckon upon Him as their substitute. An illustration may help to set the two aspects more clearly before us. Years ago a popular accident insurance scheme was much advertised in the daily press as offering benefits for practically nothing. All you had to do was to give a definite order for the paper in question to a newsagent, and then register as having done so. "A registered reader is an insured reader," is what one of the papers said. "How very simple!" you might have exclaimed, "have I nothing to do beyond that?" Nothing! But you must not overlook the fact that the newspaper proprietors had a very big thing to do before the offer was made. The thousands of little registration transactions cost but the stamp that posts them to the office, but behind these lies the great transaction when the newspaper proprietors drew the big cheque running into many thousands of pounds In favour of the insurance company that undertook the liability. Now that big premium payment, in view of which the offer went freely forth to all buyers of the paper, is not a bad illustration of propitiation. The offer of God’s forgiveness goes forth on the ground of Christ’s propitiatory sacrifice, and its scope and bearing is nothing less than all men. When the premium was paid no questions, as to any particular individuals benefiting under the scheme, were raised. The point was that the insurance company was so satisfied that it was able to issue the offer upon a sound basis. The act of registering under the scheme was on the other hand, purely individual. After all, only the registered reader was the insured reader, and therefore only the one who had registered had the right to speak of the premium paid by the proprietors as a substitute for the premium they otherwise must have paid, had they as individuals approached the insurance company to insure against similar risks. The registration very well illustrates what takes place when a sinner turns to God in repentance and faith. He registers, so to speak, under God’s great salvation scheme. Such an one alone can rightly speak of Christ as being a Substitute for himself, and bearing his sins in His own body on the tree. We have not laboured this point at unnecessary length, for it is a matter of vast importance. The Gospel can only be declared with clearness and consistency by those who see the relative place of propitiation and substitution, and thus make the former the great theme of their preaching when addressing themselves as heralds to men at large, and give to the latter its distinctive place as instruction to those who believe. And, further, a correct grasp of these things goes a long way towards solving those intellectual difficulties which so many have found in putting together the two things equally taught in Scripture — the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man, connected with the free offers of God’s grace. By some propitiation is derided upon the pretext that it reduces God to the level of some heathen deity who is supposed to be only kept in good temper by sacrifices of blood. How would you answer them? By asserting two things. First, that the teaching of the Bible is NOT that God is ill-disposed toward us, a frowning Deity to be continually pacified by propitiatory sacrifices which change His feelings toward us. That is the corrupt heathen conception. The Bible presentation of the truth runs thus, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10). Far from our having to change His heart toward us by a propitiatory sacrifice, His heart which is toward man is the very source of all our blessing. Our sins had made propitiation necessary, but He Himself provided the necessary sacrifice. Secondly, we point out who the propitiation was. He "sent His Son." One who Himself was God became the propitiation! A profound mystery, surely, but how far removed from the degrading heathen ideas which have been quoted. Propitiation emphatically was not needed to change God’s heart from being against us to being for us. It was rather the most perfect expression of His love. This the Apostle points out, exclaiming, "Herein is love!" If propitiation was not needed to change God’s disposition in regard to us, in what did the necessity for it lie? The answer is: In the essential holiness of His nature and the righteousness of His throne. It must never be forgotten that God is the supreme Governor of the universe. If He permits any moral laxity, any deviation from strict righteousness, who will maintain what is right anywhere? God’s righteousness, maintained unflinchingly and without compromise, is the sheet anchor upon which everything depends If that drags the whole universe would drift upon the rocks of utter wrong. Therefore it is that the maintenance of righteousness and holiness always stands first with Him, and nothing in the way of blessing can reach sinners except their every claim and demand is first met. Propitiation is the meeting of all those prior claims in such full fashion that instead of righteousness being totally against man it is now "unto all" (Romans 3:22). On the ground of propitiation righteousness stands, as it were, with outstretched arms bidding any and every man to find shelter in its bosom. And the propitiation itself is the fruit of the love of God. With propitiation we generally connect the idea of appeasing wrath. Is this correct in regard to God? Clearly it is. Righteousness and wrath stand closely connected as a matter of eternal fact. Wrath gives sanction to righteousness and enforces it. Without it righteousness would be impotent. The practice of government amongst men is an illustration of this. No matter how righteous and virtuous a government may be, without powers and penalties to enforce its decrees it comes to grief. Righteousness and wrath are also closely connected in Scripture. Verses 17 and 18 of Romans 1:1-32 are a proof of this. In the presence of sin God’s righteousness has tremendous claims. He also has infinite power and will execute wrath and vengeance as Romans 2:2-9 states. Does the fact of propitiation authorize us to go to any man and tell him that his sins are forgiven? It does not. It quite authorizes us to go to any man and tell him that Christ has died for him, and consequently forgiveness is preached to him (Acts 13:38). This we can do because as a propitiation He gave Himself "a ransom for all," He died "for the ungodly." The forgiveness of sins, however, is the portion of those who believe only, inasmuch as it involves substitution. Forgiveness may indeed be freely preached to all men, but only those who believe are forgiven. The Lord’s parable of the two debtors inLuke 7:1-50would seem to imply that Simon, the unbelieving Pharisee, was as much forgiven as the penitent woman. Is this interpretation of the Lord’s words a correct one? Our English translation runs: "When they had nothing to pay he frankly forgave them both" (v. 42), and this quite seems to support the interpretation you name. But, as a matter of fact, the word used here and translated "frankly forgave" in verse 42 and "forgave" in verse 43 is one which means to be gracious or favourable to; whereas the word used by the Lord in verses 47 and 48 is the usual word for forgive, meaning to send off or away. Any good concordance, such as Young’s or Strong’s, will show you this. The creditor of the Lord’s parable was gracious to both debtors in view of their bankrupt condition, just as God, on the ground of propitiation, is at the present acting in grace towards all men, and presenting to them in the Gospel forgiveness of sins. The woman who drew near to Jesus with tears of repentance and faith had her sins actually forgiven. "Thy sins are forgiven" — i.e. sent away — dismissed. That was never said to Simon the Pharisee. Does not such a statement, as that "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many," make it appear that Christ only died for the elect? Such a scripture views His death strictly from the standpoint of substitution and is concerned only with the actual effects of His work amongst men. From this standpoint He bore the sins only of those who believe, and these are the elect. A similar scripture is: "The Son of Man came . . . to give His life a ransom for many " (Mark 10:45). Here again the actual result of His death amongst men is in question. But we also read: "The Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:5, 6). Here, taking up the standpoint of propitiation, the value of His death before God is in question, and hence the scope and bearing of His death towards all men comes into view. Does not the teaching that Christ died for all logically lead to universal salvation? The teaching that Christ died as a Substitute for all would obviously lead to universal salvation as a logical conclusion; but the Bible teaching is not that, but that He is the propitiation for "the whole world" (1 John 2:2). This no more involves the ultimate salvation of everybody than the newspaper’s big premium payment involved the definite insurance of every one of its readers. It did involve this: That every reader was eligible for the insurance and had the offer of it; just as propitiation involves an open door into salvation for all, and a world-wide gospel message. But definite insurance was secured by registration. "A registered reader is an insured reader," was the slogan adopted. We may take upon our lips the statement that "a repentant and believing sinner is a forgiven sinner." This, thank God, is the truth of the Gospel. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 8: 007 RESURRECTION AND GLORY. ======================================================================== STEM Publishing:The writings of F. B. Hole: Resurrection and Glory. http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/hole/index.html Resurrection and Glory. F. B. Hole. No fact of Scripture is more wonderful than this; — there is a risen Man in the glory of God. It is the appropriate sequel to the wonder of God having been manifested in the flesh, as 1 Timothy 3:16 declares. It is also the basis of a third wonder, viz., the descent of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the believer on earth, according to John 7:39. We are also well within the mark when we say that no fact of Scripture is verified with such abundant care as this. In 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4 the Apostle Paul rehearses the gospel which he preached. The death of Christ for our sins and His burial are stated and left, for there was no need to verify these facts since they were beyond dispute and acknowledged by all. He passes to the third fact of the gospel, "That He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures," and in support of this he adduces a host of witnesses. The resurrection of Christ had not the same publicity and was not carried out with spectacular effect as was His death. Nevertheless, it is the very keystone of the whole arch of Divine truth, as verses 13 to 19 show. How necessary, then, for the Apostle to start by showing that the resurrection of Christ is a fact beyond dispute. In verses 5 and 8 Paul cites six different occasions on which the risen Lord was seen. He commences with an individual, Cephas or Peter; he mentions that as many as five hundred saw Him at one time, he finishes with his own personal witness, and he saw Him not only risen but in glory. The list he gives is by no means exhaustive. He does not cite the women who saw Him, nor say anything of Stephen. The wealth of witness which he does cite makes it, however, quite evident that if Christ’s resurrection be not a certain fact there is no event of history of which we can be sure. Having established the certainty of this great fact the Apostle proceeds to demonstrate its commanding importance. His argument in 1 Corinthians 15:14-19 is based upon the hypothesis of the non-resurrection of Christ. If He be not risen, what then? Why, the whole fabric of faith and blessing would collapse into ruin. The Apostle’s preaching would be vain, and they would stand convicted as false witnesses. The faith of the Corinthians, or of any Christian to-day, would be vain, and such would then be as much in their sins as anyone else. The saints who have died in Christ would be in no state of blessedness at all, but would have perished. We, the living saints, would be of all men most miserable, for we would incur certain worldly disadvantages by believing, and so merely get a little extra trouble in this life with no recompense in the life to come. Truly the resurrection of Christ is the keystone of the arch. Dislodge that, and every stone of the arch falls out. But equally we may liken it to the foundation stone upon which the temple of truth stands. It is the guarantee of the accomplishment of all God’s purposes. In verse 20 the Apostle turns from the negative supposition to the positive assertion that Christ is risen, and he proceeds to enumerate all that is involved in it. Commencing with the resurrection of the saints at His coming, he does not stop until he reaches, at the close of verse 28, the eternal state where God shall be all in all. The glory of that day will be the topstone, just as the resurrection of Christ is the foundation. The certainty of Christ’s resurrection proved, and its commanding importance stated, we have in the latter part of the chapter the bearing of resurrection in regard to ourselves, and great light is thrown on its meaning, on what it really involves, for the believer. We see, for instance, that resurrection is not mere restoration to life under the ordinary conditions that prevail in this world, as was the case when our Lord restored to life the son of the widow of Nain, or Lazarus of Bethany. These men resumed their life in this world and subsequently died again. Resurrection involves life in altogether new conditions, as verses 42-44 show. Our lives in this world are characterized by our possessing natural bodies with their attendant weaknesses, ending in the corruption and dishonour of the grave. In resurrection we shall be possessed of spiritual bodies characterized by incorruption and glory and power. Further, as the still later verse) of the chapter show, our present bodies are in the image of Adam, the earthly man, and mortal. In resurrection our bodies will bear the image of Christ, the heavenly Man, and be immortal and incorruptible. Resurrection, moreover, is the public declaration of victory over death and the grave, so that when the saints stand in their risen condition the saying, "Death is swallowed up in victory," will be triumphantly fulfilled. For this we wait, but while we wait we are already rejoicing in it, for God "giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 57) After all, the victory that is yet to be altogether depends upon the victory that already has been. In the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, the saints, as a mighty army, will stand forth in glory as a fruit of the resurrection change. Their victory will be great, their hearts full, their praises abundant. "This is our redeeming God! Ransomed hosts will shout aloud." But greater even than this was that yet more fundamental victory when the Lord Jesus, in the early hours of the first day of the week, came forth in a resurrection body from the grave of Joseph, closed with the seal and guarded by the soldiers We have no victory apart from His. All is "through our Lord Jesus Christ." This leads us again to consider His resurrection. He, too, was not restored to continue life — even His perfect life marked by every moral beauty — in this world. This was the mistake of Mary Magdalene on the resurrection day. She imagined He had come back like Lazarus on the old footing, and she had to learn He was, as risen, on an altogether new footing. He had laid down His life and taken it again as He said (John 10:17), but He had taken it up in new and heavenly conditions suited to the place of supreme glory He was so soon to occupy at the right hand of God. How clear this chapter makes it that the Lord Jesus is to-day a Man in glory. His resurrection did not involve His discarding the Manhood He had assumed in incarnation, as some seem to think. It involved rather he coming forth of His holy body, which never saw corruption, in new and spiritual conditions. His body is now altogether beyond the possibility of death, a body which, according to our chapter and Php 3:21, is the glorious pattern to which our risen bodies are to be conformed; a body, therefore, in which He abides for ever. And that risen Man is in glory! — A truly astounding fact. The Old Testament view of things is stated pretty concisely in Psalms 115:16. "The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath He given to the children of men" The earth was emphatically man’s sphere as he was originally created, and there was the place of his dominion. In keeping with this you find "heaven" mentioned about thirty-eight times only in the Psalms, and then not infrequently as only indicating the atmospheric heavens, where the birds fly and the clouds float; whereas "earth" is mentioned one hundred and thirty-five times at least. The New Testament view, consequent upon the exaltation of Christ, is very different and vastly enlarged. Read Ephesians 1:20-23 by way of contrast to the verse in Psalms 115:1-18. Note that God not only raised Christ from the dead but "set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places." In those scenes, untainted by sin, there are various ranks of spiritual beings, as well as authorities upon earth, whether in this age, in their very imperfect condition, or in the age to come when they will be perfectly controlled from heaven. Well, the risen Man is above them all. And not only above but FAR above. He is Head and Chief over every one of them, and, further, He is Head to His body the Church in a far more intimate way. Small wonder then that we who compose the Church should be spoken of in verse 3 of the chapter as blessed "with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." Here let us again note that in all this the Lord Jesus is our Great Representative. We rejoice in His resurrection and glory for His own sake, but we do not forget how great the bearing of it all on ourselves. His resurrection was the loosing of the pains of death (see Acts 2:24). Death, of course, had no claim on Him personally. It had substitutionally, inasmuch as He espoused our cause and on the Cross assumed our liabilities. Hence His resurrection involves the loosing of us from all pains and penalties. He was liberated, but so were we. He was "delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:25). In view of this His resurrection is often spoken of as the receipt which God has given into the believer’s hand, proclaiming the complete discharge of all his liabilities which were taken up by the Lord Jesus in His death. It is even more than this. It is also the pledge and beginning of that new creation into which the believer is brought. It is like the olive leaf with which the dove returned in the evening after Noah had sent her forth for the second time over the waste of waters (Genesis 8:6-12). The dove, emblematic of the Holy Spirit of God, was sent forth three times. On the first occasion it returned with nothing. There was no rest for the sole of her foot, for the waters were everywhere. This sets forth the utter ruin of the first man and of the old creation as connected with him. All were submerged in death. On the second occasion she returned with the solitary olive leaf. At last the first bit of the renewed earth had appeared above the waters. Here we see that in the second Man pleasure is found. His resurrection was the beginning, solitary as yet, of the new creation. On the third occasion the dove found not a simple leaf only, but a resting-place for her feet, just as the day is coming when in a renewed earth the Spirit of God will be poured forth abundantly, or as in the new creation scenes beyond the millennial age He will dwell in perfect complacency. How excellent the thought that in the risen and glorified Man, Christ Jesus, we see the pledge and beginning of those ". . . bright and blessed scenes Where sin can never come, Whose sight our longing spirit weans From earth where yet we roam." Modern unbelievers do not hesitate to question the fact of Christ’s resurrection, even denying the reality of His death in their effort to avoid it. What can be said to such? Very little. As a matter of fact and history the resurrection of Christ has been logically proved with a fulness and exactitude to which very few, if any, of the great events of time can lay claim. If men put the telescope to the blind eye like Nelson, and will not see the evidence, words are of little avail. Most of them probably see quite clearly that of all the miracles the resurrection stands first, and that if that be granted they cannot consistently object to much else that is in the Scriptures merely on the ground of it being miraculous. Why did the apostolic preaching, as recorded in the Acts, take the resurrection of Christ, rather than His death as its central theme? Because, as we have said, His death was admitted by all, and in regard to that they had but to explain its meaning. His resurrection was fiercely contested. Here the apostles faced the point of strongest opposition and they knew that if the Spirit of God carried home their testimony to the breaking up of resistance here, the whole position of unbelief gave way. Incidentally it shows that neither the apostles nor the men of that day were credulous people who easily received any story. Paul had to say, "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead?" (Acts 26:8). So evidently the resurrection seemed to men then as incredible as it seems now; yet the truth of it was maintained by the apostles, and multitudes who received their witness, though for all of them it meant loss in this world, and for many a martyr’s death. Is it correct to speak of the resurrection of the body? Some have insisted that it is persons that are raised. You have only to examine carefully the language of 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 to see that it is quite scriptural to speak of the resurrection of the body. Unbelieving questions were raised among the Corinthians, particularly in regard to the resurrection body. "How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?" (v. 35). . In replying the apostle likens the burial of the body of a saint to the sowing of a grain of wheat, and he points out the analogy between them. That which is buried or sown has a link of identification with that which is raised or which springs forth from the ground. Yet in both cases the risen condition is far in advance of the former condition. In verse 44 he says plainly, "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body." The resurrection of the body could hardly be stated in clearer language It is a fact, of course, that Scripture, speaking just as we often do in ordinary conversation, sometimes identifies the person with the body rather than with the spirit. "Devout men," for instance, "carried Stephen to his burial" (Acts 8:2). If we think of Stephen as identified with his spirit, he was, of course, with Christ. Actually they carried but his dead body to burial Again, John 5:28, 29 tells us that "all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth." Their spirits are with Christ, it is their bodies that actually come forth. Some of us have great difficulty in thinking of the Lord Jesus as a Man for ever. Is that an assured truth of Scripture? Well, let us look at the Scripture evidence step by step. On the resurrection day He came forth from the grave a real Man in a human body, not a body of flesh and blood as He had before the Cross, but of flesh and bones (Luke 24:39); a body in which He could eat (Luke 24:43); a body which bore the marks of His suffering and which could be handled by Thomas (John 20:27). In that same body He was "carried up into heaven" (Luke 24:51). "A cloud received Him out of their sight " (Acts 1:9). A spirit could not be said to be carried up nor are clouds necessary to receive such out of human sight. He was still a Man. Shortly after Stephen saw Him in glory. His testimony was, "I see . . . the Son of MAN standing on the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56). Later still Paul writes of Him as "The Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). He does not speak of Him as the One who once was the Man Christ Jesus. He is a Man to-day. The millennial age is to come. It is to be put not under angels but under Man in the person of the Son of Man. This is the argument of Hebrews 2:5-9. Clearly, then, He will be Man in the coming age. At the end of the millennial age He is to deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, and become Himself subject (see 1 Corinthians 15:24-28). Bearing in mind that He is God equally with the Father we might with astonishment ask how this can be, save that we remember that also He is Man. As Man, He fills perfectly man’s place of subjection without for one moment ceasing to be equal with the Father. Our blessed Lord is essentially God, yet for eternity He takes the subject place, only explicable by the fact that to all eternity He is also Man; and as such the Head and Sustainer of the redeemed creation, which is the fruit of His work. Are we right in speaking of glory as a future thing? Jesus is glorified today, is He not? He certainly is glorified to-day at the right hand of God. That does not, however, in the least clash with what the Old Testament so abundantly predicts, His coming visible glory in the very scene of His former reproach and dishonour. When Jesus presented Himself to Israel as their King, entering Jerusalem on an ass as the prophet had predicted, the hour was come that He should be glorified (John 12:23). Was He glorified? No. He had, on the contrary, to speak immediately of His death and its consequences. Yet soon after in the upper chamber He said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified," only God, having been glorified in the Cross, was going to "glorify Him in Himself " and do it "straightway" (John 13:31, 32). That is His present glory hidden in the heavens. In our Lord’s prayer, as recorded in John 17:1-26, we get three references to His glory. In verse 5 He prays to be invested as Man with the glory which He had with the Father before the world was. In this He stands alone. In verse 24 He speaks of "My glory, which Thou hast given Me." This is a supreme glory given Him in virtue of His sufferings and death in which also He stands alone though we are to behold it. In verse 22 He says, "the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them." This is the public glory of the coming age in which we, His saints, are to have our happy part. When He is manifested we shall be manifested with Him in glory. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 9: 008 FUTURE PUNISHMENT: ITS CHARACTER AND DURATION. ======================================================================== STEM Publishing:The writings of F. B. Hole: Future Punishment: Its Character and Duration. http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/hole/index.html Future Punishment: Its Character and Duration. F. B. Hole. There is no point within the whole compass of Divine truth where human thoughts and opinions are of any value. But at no point is it more necessary to rigidly exclude them than from the solemn subject which is now to occupy us. Immediately the punishment of sin is in question we are all of us alert and inclined to make our voices heard. We are none of us disinterested spectators, but rather in the position of a criminal in the dock being tried for his life. Now a criminal is never an unprejudiced judge of his own case, neither are we in this matter of future punishment. So let us begin by recognizing the very natural warp of our fallen reason In relation to this theme, and resolving to close our minds to our own thoughts as to what ought to be, and to listen to the plain declarations of what is going to be, given to us in Scripture by God the Judge of all. It may be well to begin at the very beginning and enquire if the Bible indicates that there is to be such a thing as punishment at all? There are not wanting those who would do away with the whole idea in relation to God’s government of His creatures, just as there are also those who are always inclined to bewail the bitter fate of the assassin when brought face to face with justice, whilst having scant sympathy, or none at all, to spare for his victim! Read carefully Romans 2:1 to 16, and you will find that Scripture testifies with no uncertain sound to the reality of future punishment. There is such a thing as "the judgment of God." That judgment is going to be expressed in "wrath" in the coming "day of wrath." It is going to probe beneath the surface of things in that day and deal with "the secrets of men." And if any should enquire what exactly "wrath" may mean, we are told in further detail when it is said that to those contentious, and who do not obey the truth, God will render "indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish" (ver. 9), and that without any respect of persons. There is nothing surprising in these statements. They are guise after the analogy of those dealings of God’s government which are visible to us. He most evidently has attached temporal penalties to sins, which are often clearly to be seen in this life. Why not, then, the full and proper penalties in the life to come? Another question now comes up for settlement. Granted that the future punishment of sin is a reality, what is to be its character? Is it remedial and reformatory, or is it penal and retributory? A very important question, for the answer to it will go a long way towards settlement of the subsequent question as to its duration. If punishment in the life to come is with the object of making its subjects better, it stands to reason that it cannot be for ever. Is future punishment spoken of in Scripture as an instrument of reformation? Is hell to be a great penitentiary, designed to effect that betterment in recalcitrant mankind which the preaching of grace never effected? We unhesitatingly answer, No. Not only do we answer, No, but we go further and assert that at no time do we find reformation produced by God’s dealings in judgment. In Egypt God dealt with Pharaoh, increasing the severity of His strokes. Was his heart softened? No, it was hardened. Later, God dealt in the same way with His apostate people Israel as He said He would in Leviticus 26:1-46. After foretelling some of the dreadful calamities to come He says in verse 23, "If ye will not be reformed by Me in these things . . . then will I . . . punish you yet seven times for your sins." Were they reformed? No; the extremes" punishments indicated came upon them as a nation. Concerning future judgment we read in Revelation 16:11 how men will blaspheme the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and will not repent of their deeds. Today, thank God, men do repent, but why? Because, as Romans 2:4 tells us, it is "the goodness of God" that leads to repentance. But it is this very chapter that asserts that if men do not suffer the goodness of God to take them by the hand and lead them to repentance, they will find themselves seized by the severity of God and haled to judgment. We do not need to go outside that passage to discover what character the judgment of God bears. It is said to be "against them which commit such things," for they are "worthy of death" according to the last verse of Romans 1:1-32. The sinner is asked if he thinks that he shall "escape the judgment of God." This language is not that which befits reformation but points clearly to retribution. The fact is, this idea that hell is a kind of penitentiary, which is hardly distinguishable from the purgatory of the Romanist, cuts right at the roots of the Gospel. Salvation never has been, is not today, and never will be by reformation. Salvation is by faith and on the ground of the penalty and retribution of sin having been borne — of old typically in connection with the sacrifices, now borne really and fully by the sacrifice of Christ Himself upon the Cross. Salvation by a reformation which, it is claimed, the fires of hell will produce, might be conceivable IF it were accomplished today by a reformation which the Gospel produces. Since, however, it is to-day only to be found in the bearing of sin’s righteous penalty and retribution by another, the Lord Jesus Christ, it could only be found in eternity by a similar bearing of the penalty, and this will never be; for Christ will not suffer again, and no sinner can take up the penalty and exhaust it. If a sinner passes under sin’s penalty, under it he must remain forever. No Scripture referring to future punishment treats it as a matter of reformation, and a great many of the passages are so worded as clearly to negative that idea, and show it is a matter of retribution As an instance of this latter class take 1 Peter 4:17, 18. That Apostle asks, "If it [judgment] first begin at us [Christians] what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God? and if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" He evidently knew well enough that no one with any show of truth could turn round and say, "Why, of course, the end of those that obey not the Gospel will be just the same as that of those who obey: the ungodly and sinners will ultimately appear, refined by age-long fires, in the same heaven as the godly and the saints." That which lies ahead of the ungodly and sinners as their end is "judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries" (Hebrews 10:27). Now we approach the fateful question: — Does Scripture indicate that this coming fiery indignation of God against sinners will be forever? The answer is that it clearly does so. Take as one example out of many scriptures, Matthew 25:46. The words we allude to were spoken by the Lord Himself as the climax of His description of the judgment He will execute on the living nations assembled before Him, as He begins His millennial reign. "These shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." That particular judgment, then, will have a twofold issue. It will be either life or punishment. Life in its full and proper sense will embrace all that aggregate of privileges, relationships, and blessings, the crown of all being the knowledge of the Lord, of which the earth will then be full. Punishment will embrace all those woes and penalties which are appropriate to the state of sin in which men generally are found, and to the individual sins of those in question, including the crowning one of the rejection of the Divine testimony through those whom the King acknowledges as His brethren. And both the life and the punishment are eternal. No one seems anxious to prove that eternal life is not eternal. Multitudes labour to explain that eternal punishment is not eternal. Why? It is simply a case of the prisoner in the dock revolting against his sentence! Apart from such prejudice — natural enough, but very fatal if indulged in — there is no reason for denying to eternal in the first half of the sentence what is freely admitted as to it in the second. Scripturally both parts stand or fall together. This scripture is only one out of many that might be cited, from the solemn warnings of our Lord as to the worm that never dies and "the fire that never shall be quenched," in the Gospels, to the awful words as to "the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death," in the last book of the New Testament. There really is no doubt as to what is the testimony of Scripture on the point, though the attempts to juggle with its words and make them give another voice have been, and still continue to be, without number. With all the ingenuity that has been expended and wasted in this way only two alternatives to eternal punishment have ever been imagined. The one is that in some way or other all will finally be saved. This is known as "universalism." The other is that man naturally just dies as the beasts that perish and that endless being and existence are only his as born again and in Christ. This is known as "annihilationism" or the "conditional immortality" theory. Now one verse of Scripture — John 3:36 — utterly destroys both theories. We read: " He that believeth not the Son shall not see life." The universalist theory is that ultimately, no matter how remote the age may be, he shall see life. The Lord Jesus says he shall NOT. He added, "But the wrath of God abideth on him." According to the annihilationist he is non-existent and therefore not there for the wrath of God to abide upon. According to the Lord Jesus he is there and upon him the wrath abides, without any hint of a moment when it ceases to abide. The Lord Jesus thus, with Divine foreknowledge, negatived these specious theories of a later age. By this denial of the two rival theories, therefore, we come back to the solemn fact, so abundantly stated in a positive way in Scripture, that there is such a thing as future punishment, that it is in the nature of solemn retribution for sin, and that once falling it endures for ever. That the punishment of sin should be eternal is a dreadful thought. Can it be defended as just, and therefore right? It is truly a dreadful thought, and the reality will be more dreadful still; but, then, sin is a dreadful thing. Who can measure sin’s demerit? Can we embrace within our finite minds the full bearing, the uttermost ramifications, of an act of lawless rebellion against God? No, indeed. That would be as impossible as to embrace within our arms the solar system of which this earth is a very insignificant part. Who are we, then, to form and express opinions as to what may be the just and proper punishment to fit the case? God is "the Judge of all the earth" and He will do right. Let us quit the folly of attempting to pronounce upon what He ought to do, and rather pay attention to what He has stated in the Scriptures that He will do; for that, and that alone, will ultimately stand. Is it, however, quite certain that the Greek word rendered "eternal" and "everlasting" in our version really has the force of "endless"? May it not just mean "age-long," as its derivation would indicate? As we have before observed, the derivation of a word settles little or nothing; it is its usage that matters. It is quite true that the Greek adjective aionios is built up from aion — an age, hence age-lasting may have been one of its meanings. The word, however, acquired the sense of eternal, and this is its sense in Scripture, as a good concordance will easily show you. It is used in regard to God, the Spirit, salvation, redemption, life, and many other great verities of the faith. So that we may say that except it does denote endlessness we know of nothing at all that is endless. One of the most conclusive passages we can cite on this point is2 Corinthians 4:18, where the Apostle contrasts the things which are seen with those not seen. The former, he says, are "temporal," the latter, "eternal." Here the word eternal MUST be used in the sense of "having no end," otherwise it would be no true contrast to temporal, which means "having an end." The seen things may endure for many thousands of years — for ages, as we speak. They may be age-long but they have an end. The unseen things abide not for ages merely, but for ever. They have no end. Here, then, we shall surely find used the true and proper word for eternal if the Greek language possesses it, and not merely a word meaning "age-lasting." We turn up a Greek Testament, and what word do we find? — Could proof be stronger that in Scripture usage aionios means eternal in its true and proper sense? Some people think that eternal punishment cannot be reconciled with the fact that God is love, and therefore they refuse to believe it. Is there any force in this argument? None whatever. The Scriptures reveal equally both facts, so that those who speak thus are really levelling their accusation of inconsistency at the Bible. As a matter of fact, however, there is no inconsistency at all, but the very reverse. The strongest possible abhorrence is quite consistent with the strongest possible affection; we would indeed go further and say it is inseparable from it. It is impossible to regard any one with deep love and not heartily hate all that imperils that person in any way. There is nothing, therefore, incompatible with God’s love in His declared purpose to segregate all that is evil in eternity. At present good and evil seem hopelessly mixed in this world. A day is coming in which they will be finally disentangled. Good will bask in the sunshine of His favour. Evil will lie eternally beneath His frown. Thus, evil, eternally shut up in its own place, and enduring its just penalty, will no longer be able to threaten the peace and blessing of God’s redeemed creation. No one regards the isolation of small-pox patients or the still more sorrowful life-isolation of lepers as measures incompatible with benevolence amongst men. Why, then, object to God acting with similar intent in eternity? Hell is sometimes painted in such lurid colours that minds are revolted. Is there foundation for this? Imagination has, we fear, often run riot with this solemn subject, and people sometimes mistake Dante’s Inferno for the hell of the Bible. This has furnished a useful handle to those who would deny the whole subject. The Bible speaks as ever in the language of reserve and restraint, yet the glimpses it gives are full of terror and it evidently is not intended that they should be otherwise. To be incarcerated in sin’s great prison-house for all eternity in conscious torment will be a fearful thing, and it is the kindness of God that plainly warns us of sin’s consequences. Moreover, it is evidently God’s way to have a memorial of sin’s effects, even when those effects are otherwise not visible. During the millennial age, for instance, when the face of the earth will be smiling with abundant fruitfulness, and mankind will be richly blessed, there will be certain spots of which it is written, "they shall not be healed; for they shall be given to salt" (Ezekiel 47:11), and also in some way "the carcases of the men that have transgressed" against the Lord will be preserved so that men shall "go forth and look, upon" them (Isaiah 66:23, 24). It will be salutary for those blessed in that delightful age to have before them reminders of sin’s former havoc both in nature and amongst men. May there not be an analogy between God’s action in such matters and His action in the far greater matter of an eternal hell? Who can affirm that the solemn doom of the lost in the lake of fire may not have some such service to render throughout eternity? Is it clear from Scripture that the souls of men are immortal? The doctrine of eternal punishment can hardly be maintained apart from that. In Scripture the adjectives "mortal" and "immortal" are applied to man’s body, and we do not find the phrase "immortal soul." Yet it is quite clear that the soul, or spiritual part of man, survives death. Our Lord said, "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul" (Matthew 10:1-42: 28). He used here a word of strong force, meaning "to kill utterly or entirely." A feeble man may easily thus kill the body of another, but the soul is immortal and eludes him. The Lord added, "fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell," and here He changed the word and used another, which means, "to mar or ruin, as regards the purpose for which a thing exists." It is the word used for perish in John 3:16, and for the perishing of the bottles in Matthew 9:17. It is also used in Matthew 27:20, when we read of the leaders persuading the multitude "that they should ask Barabbas and destroy Jesus." A very clear proof this, that destruction does not mean annihilation. The whole verse teaches, first, that the soul is not mortal like the body, and, second, that in hell God intends not to annihilate, but to bring down into ruin, the whole man, both soul and body. The soul, therefore, IS immortal, for man has it in connection with spirit, receiving it by the Divine in-breathing as Genesis 2:7 records. Becoming a "living soul" in this fashion, man is not as the; beasts which perish. There are many who argue that just as death is ceasing to exist, so the lake of fire, which is the second death, must imply total cessation of existence. Is this reasoning sound? Viewed as a piece of reasoning, it is about as feeble and fallacious as can be. Were we to reply in reasoning vein, we should simply observe that if death is ceasing to exist then there can be no second death. You can’t cease to exist in any proper sense, and yet exist so as to cease to exist in a second death! What strange things men will say in their efforts to overthrow the plain truth of God. Yet, superficially, the statement has the appearance of being a real objection. This is derived from the giving of a false value to one of the great words of Scripture, viz. death. This word occurs first in Genesis 2:17, and Genesis 3:1-24 is the record of how the death sentence fell on our first parents. Its use in the Bible is constant until we reach the last chapter but one of the New Testament, where we find "a new heaven and a new earth" where "there shall be no more death," and yet at the same time ’the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Now, right through, we affirm that death NEVER means "ceasing to exist," but always has the force of separation: either, the separation of the creature spiritually and morally from God, in which sense men are "dead in trespasses and sins;" or the separation of soul and spirit from the body, which is death physically; or yet again the final separation of the whole man, if unrepentant and unsaved, from God and all that is good and bright and worth possessing, in the lake of fire, and that is the second death. The first use of the word death in Genesis 2:1-25 and 3 clearly bears this out. God threatened Adam with death on the day of his disobedience. Adam disobeyed and lived on to the age of nine hundred and thirty years. Was it, then, an idle threat? Not at all. The day he sinned he died, in the first sense of the word, i.e. he became totally separated and estranged from his Maker, "dead in sins." His physical death was deferred inasmuch as the Lord brought death that day upon some other denizen or denizens of the gar ’en and clothed the guilty sinners with their skins. Centuries after, physical death supervened. Adam then passed out of all touch with this world, but he exists as regards God. As the Lord Himself said, "all live unto Him" (Luke 20:38). We therefore repeat with emphasis: Death, in Scripture, does not mean "ceasing to exist." So many people, apparently true Christians, cannot accept the teaching of eternal punishment. Is it of such great moment whether they do or whether they do not? Seeing that all the items of God’s truth are not so many isolated fragments, but one whole, each item being like a stone of an arch, it matters much. Knock out one stone and you never know which will go next. Suppose that, after all, eternal punishment is a mistake, then whichever alternative view we adopt we must at least conclude that sin is a matter much less grave than we had supposed; that its demerit, though perhaps considerable, cannot be infinite. That being so, we need not suppose that an infinite sacrifice is needed to atone for it, nor, consequently, that it must be necessary for a Person of infinite worth and value to become that sacrifice. Logically, therefore, we can abandon without difficulty the great truth of Atonement by blood, and of the Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. We could quite consistently and conveniently become of Unitarian persuasion. And as a matter of fact and history, it is to Unitarianism, full-blown, that the denial of eternal punishment has always led, though not all advance to the final conclusions with giant strides. That is why the denial of eternal punishment is a matter of such gravity. The Work and Indwelling of the Spirit of God. The third Person of the ever-blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit of God, is presented to us in Scripture as the One from whom the living energies of the Godhead proceed. He is first mentioned in Genesis 1:2 as moving in creation and there giving effect to the Word of God. He is last mentioned in Revelation 22:17 as energizing "the bride" and producing in her heart a suitable response to the Bridegroom, who presents Himself as "I, Jesus." These references to Him are highly significant. The first gives us, by way of analogy, a broad outline of His great work in connection with redemption, viz. giving effect to the Word of God. The last indicates the full and blessed effect of His indwelling, viz. producing in saints a full and adequate response to the revelation made and to the relationships which love has established. To God the Father belongs initiative. All purpose, counsel, direction, are His. To God the Son belongs administration — the execution of the Divine purpose whether in creation, redemption, or judgment. To God the Holy Ghost belongs the energy all-pervading that, acting always in perfect harmony with the Father’s counsels and the Son’s administration, produces the desired effects whether upon matter in creation, or upon the souls and ultimately the bodies of saints in connection with redemption. The redemption work of the Lord Jesus has been done for us. The work of the Holy Spirit is being wrought in us. The former is accomplished quite outside ourselves at the Cross. It is set before us as an object of our faith; we look out at it. We speak of it, therefore, as an objective work, and truth connected with it as objective truth. The latter is something accomplished within us. Instead of regarding it as an object before us we find ourselves the subjects of it. We speak of it as a subjective work, and truth connected with it as subjective truth. It is first of all necessary to observe that the Spirit’s work precedes His indwelling Man, in the flesh, i.e. in his unconverted condition, is no fit dwelling-place for the Spirit of God. This was foreshadowed both in the consecration of Aaron’s sons (Exodus 29:1-46) and in the cleansing of the leper (Leviticus 14:1-57). In both there was observed this order: first, the bathing with water; second, the application of blood; and third, the anointing with oil, typical of the fact that the Spirit can only be given when man comes under the action of the water and the blood. In other words, it is only when the Spirit has applied the water in new birth, and the blood in the knowledge of redemption, that he can take up His abode. New birth is clearly the work of the Spirit of God. A man must be "born of water and of the Spirit" (John 3:5). The water, figurative of the Word, is the instrument or vehicle: the Spirit, the Agent or Power. In 1 Peter 1:22-25 the same great truth is referred to, only the emphasis is rather laid upon the Word of God which is living and abiding, and which presents itself to us today in the Gospel which is preached unto us, and the Spirit of God is referred to as Him by whom we have purified our souls in obeying the truth. In John 3:1-36 the chief emphasis is laid upon the Spirit’s operation, and it is declared that He begets His like — "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." In John 3:1-36 there is the clearest possible distinction between "a man . . . born again" and "the Son of Man . . . lifted up." We just say this to emphasize once more the point that new birth, the beginning of the Spirit’s work, is not something done outside of us, at the Cross, once for all, but is wrought in us each individually one by one. Now, new birth having been carried into effect with any given person, there is produced within that which is born of the Spirit, and is spirit as to its nature, contrasted with flesh, the nature we possess as born of Adam’s race. This new spirit-nature is called the "inward man" in Romans 7:22, and as prompted by that inward man the believer "delights in the law of God." Verses 7-25 are the detailing of an experience and marked by the constant repetition of the pronouns "I," "me," "my," consequent upon the distress occasioned to the speaker — the "I" — by the conflicting desires of the two natures, "the flesh" on the one hand, "the inward man" on the other. But amongst the lessons learned in the course of that experience is this, that God (and therefore also faith in us) only recognizes the new spirit-nature; the old is utterly worthless. In it is no good (Romans 7:18), and in the Cross it has been condemned (Romans 8:3). The horticultural process of grafting is a good illustration of this point. The gardener selects a stock sapling quite worthless in itself and condemns it by cutting it hard back till hut the stump remains. He then inserts the twig of value, let us say some dessert apple. When once the graft is effectively made he no longer in any way owns the old nature. He always speaks of the tree by the name of the engrafted twig. It is the same tree as far as its identity goes. The two natures are there as experience will prove, but the new nature is the dominant nature and the acknowledged nature of the "born-again" tree. No matter what the time or dispensation, this tremendous operation of the Spirit of God — new birth — is necessary if a soul is to have to do with God in blessing; consequently in all ages men have been born again. The indwelling of the Spirit of God is a blessing, however, quite characteristic of the present age. Before it could be, redemption had to be accomplished; sins must be expiated and sin condemned. The Cross of Christ having become an accomplished fact and Christ having been raised and glorified, the Spirit was given as recorded in the second chapter of Acts. In Old Testament times not only were men born again of the Spirit of God, but also in different cases He came upon them in extraordinary power, energizing them for special service. In these cases He came for a brief occasion with no thought of permanency. Hence, when the Lord Jesus promised the "Comforter," as recorded in John 14:1-31, John 15:1-27, and John 16:1-33, He spoke of Him as coming to be "in you" and "that He may abide with you for ever." When the Spirit of God descended, as recorded in Acts 2:1-47, He came in a twofold way. First, He indwelt each individual saint present on that occasion. This plainly appears in the narrative. There were the "cloven tongues like as of fire," signalizing His presence, and it adds, "it sat upon each of them." But, secondly, His coming meant the formation of the Church as 1 Corinthians 12:13 tells us, "by one, Spirit are we all baptized into one body," and having formed this "one body" — the Church — He also made it the house of God by His indwelling. We are "builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22). This larger indwelling is not mentioned in Acts 2:1-47, though perhaps it is symbolized in the fact that the "sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind . . . filled all the house where they were sitting." If we enquire a little more closely as to the way the Spirit of God indwells the individual believer, we find that He comes bearing a threefold character. He is the Seal, the Earnest, and the Anointing as stated in 2 Corinthians 1:21, 22. As the Seal He secures us for God and marks us out as His (see Ephesians 4:30). As the Earnest He is the pledge and fore. taste of all those blessed realities which are yet to be ours in the day of glory (see 2 Corinthians 5:5; Ephesians 1:14) As the Anointing, or Unction — this latter word is used in 1 John 2:20 — He endows the believer with the capacity to apprehend and enjoy the things of God (see 1 John 2:27), and also empowers for worship and the service of God. This is illustrated in the case of the Lord Himself (see Acts 10:38) Then, again, if we take such a chapter as Romans 8:1-39, we find that the Spirit of God, so graciously given to the believer, is identified with and characterizes the new state formed in him by His power: i.e. the Spirit of God is the energy of that new being and nature which is the believer’s as the result of the new birth. It can be said, therefore, that "the Spirit is life" (v. 10). He is also "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" and exerts His controlling power or "law," thus setting the believer free from "the law of sin and death" (v. 2). Indeed, that remarkable chapter sets the Spirit before us as filling various other capacities in connection with the practical life of the Christian, but these we have not space to deal with particularly, for we must turn to the work He does as indwelling the believer. He works, as we have seen, before He indwells, grappling with the conscience, breaking the will, and finally producing new birth. This is something like the building of a suitable house for Himself. Then He takes up His abode so that the very body of the believer becomes the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 6:19). But we must not suppose that this is the end of everything. As indwelling He still works. In the chapters in John already referred to (14, 15, 16), the Lord Jesus especially emphasized the teaching of the Spirit as regards His disciples. He would "teach" them "all things." He would "guide" them "into all truth." This was doubtless true in an especial degree of the apostles to whom He was speaking, inasmuch as they were to be the original depositories of the further revelations which are now contained in the Epistles. Admitting this, it is still true in a general sense of every believer, even the most recently converted — the babe — as 1 John 2:27 shows. The teaching work of the Spirit goes deeper than the mere imparting of information. He instructs so effectually that the believer not only knows mentally but is also possessed by the things that he knows. They are made living and operative in his life. Then He strengthens as well as instructs. The Apostle prayed that the Ephesian saints might be "strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man" (Ephesians 3:10. The inner man itself is the fruit of the Spirit’s earlier working, but it needs to be strengthened if Christ is to dwell in the heart by faith. Connected with this is His transforming work as spoken of in 2 Corinthians 3:18. We Christians, in contrast to Israel, have before us the unveiled glory of the Lord, and not the partial and veiled glory of the law as reflected in the face of Moses. Beholding that unveiled glory, we are changed or transformed "into the same image" from one degree of glory to another, "as by the Spirit of the Lord." How vast the range of all those things which have come to light in the revelation which has reached us! Each item has its own peculiar glory which streams toward one central point of focus — the Lord Jesus Christ. His glory shines everywhere, and we may see it without a veil between. As we behold, we are transformed by the Spirit’s power, and transformed into the same image, the very character of Christ being thus produced in us. This is perhaps the very crown and climax of the Spirit’s work in the believer. He transforms, writing upon the fleshy table of the heart, Christ in His character, or moral features. This is to be supplemented and . completed, when the Lord comes again, by the body of the saint being brought into conformity to Christ’s body of glory. The Lord Himself will do this, it is true (Php 3:21), but not apart from the Spirit of God, for God will "quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you (Romans 8:11). Of great importance, too, are all the Spirit’s operations in connection with the Church as distinguished from those that concern the individual believer. He is the true Vicar of Christ upon earth. He is the "Servant" who is commissioned not only to carry the Gospel invitation but also to "compel them to come in," according to the parable in Luke 15:1-32. He it is who gives those gifts to various members of Christ’s body which are to be for the profit of all. The gifts are varied, but "all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will" (1 Corinthians 12:11), and as chapter 14 of that Epistle shows, He is the One to preside and control in the assemblies of the saints. He is here not to exalt Himself but to magnify Christ, nevertheless He is to be honoured and given His place as indwelling the saints who are God’s house. To ignore His presence in the assembly of God, or to treat Him as a nonentity there, by men (though well-meaning) usurping His place and functions, is a serious sin. How vast a subject is that of the work and indwelling of the Spirit of God! We have but hastily and imperfectly sketched its outlines. How may a believer know that he has received the Holy Spirit? By the fact that he is a believer, assuming always, of course, that he has heard and believed the gospel of the risen Christ. The Ephesian believers were sealed with the Holy Spirit after that they believed, or "having believed" (see Ephesians 1:13); This verse gives us definitely the order which is always observed. First, they "heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation"; second, they believed it; third, they were sealed with the Spirit. We have in the Acts the historic record of cases where the Spirit was received. Take, for example: — (1) The disciples in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-47). (2) The Samaritans (Acts 8:1-40). (3) The Gentiles — Cornelius and his friends (Acts 10:1-48 and Acts 11:1-30). (4) The twelve men at Ephesus (Acts 19:1-41). In each case there are differences as regards details, such as baptism, the laying on of hands, and speaking with tongues. There are good reasons for these differences on which we do not dwell, but evidently it is impossible in the face of them to formulate rules and say, for instance, that baptism must take place before the Spirit can be received: — the third case negatives that. On the other hand beneath these surface differences there is the divine order of hearing, believing, and the sealing of the Spirit, verified in each case of the four. The fourth case emphasizes that what is heard and believed must be the full gospel of the death and resurrection of Christ. It was because the twelve men had not heard and believed this that they had not received the Spirit. Ought there not, however, to be some very definite outwardsignswhen the Spirit is received; something that makes so great a gift manifest to all? There ought to be, and are, definite signs when the Spirit is received, but not necessarily of a sort to be noticed by sight or hearing. The fact that a new convert looks up to God as his Father is a sign that the Spirit is received (see. Romans 8:15). So also is the fact of the Bible becoming a new book to such (see 1 Corinthians 2:11-14); and many other such things could be specified. These are far more important than such things as speaking with tongues. True the outward signs were much in evidence in apostolic times, inasmuch as then God was publicly accrediting the Church which He had just founded. Now that stage is over and it is these less sensational and more hidden and important things which abide. We may draw an analogy between this and the human body, the most important and vital organs of which are hidden away beneath the surface. Take speaking with tongues just mentioned: some insist that unless this takes place the Spirit of God is not received. How does Scripture bear on this? Quite effectively. What we have just pointed out bears on it. So also does the fact that in the six cases of the Spirit’s reception recorded in Acts, three make no mention at all of speaking with tongues. So also does the fact that speaking with tongues is much alluded to in 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, where the whole argument of the Apostle turns upon the point that though the Spirit of God is one, yet the gifts or manifestations which proceed from Him are many and various; and that to one member of the body was given one gift such as prophecy, to another member another gift such as speaking with tongues. At the end of the chapter (vv. 29 and 30) a number of questions are raised. No answer is given because it is so obvious. "Are all apostles?" he asks. Clearly, No. "Are all prophets?" No. "Do all speak with tongues?" Just as clearly, No. Are all Christians members of Christ’s body by baptism of the Spirit? Yes. Do all the members speak with tongues? No. A clear scriptural refutation of this erroneous idea. Does the believer receive the Holy Spirit in order that he may use His influence for God? The Scriptures do not put it just in that way. The Spirit of God is a Person. He wields an incalculable influence. Yet it is as a Person He indwells. Now whether we consider Him as indwelling the individual believer or the whole Church, as the house of God, we find Him supreme and sovereign in His actions. He is not given to us as a power or influence at our disposal, but rather that we may be at His disposal. This comes clearly to light in the history of the Apostle Paul. He started on his missionary career because "The Holy Ghost said . . ." (Acts 13:2). Later, he was "forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the Word in Asia" and assaying to go into Bithynia, "the Spirit suffered them not" (Acts 16:6, 7). What is it to be filled with the Spirit? It is to be so fully under the control of the Spirit of God that He becomes the source of all the believer’s thoughts and actions, and also the energy in which they are carried into effect. In the Acts of the Apostles we find that on special occasions one or another were filled with the Spirit (Acts 4:8 and 31; Acts 7:55; Acts 13:9 and 52). He possessed them with especial completeness so that the emergency might be met in the full power of God. Yet we find in Ephesians 5:18 the exhortation "be filled with the Spirit," and this addressed to all saints in that city, so that evidently it is something that each saint should know and experience for himself and not something only attainable by the few. If it be further asked — Why then is it so little known? the answer we fear is — because with most of us the flesh is so often unjudged, and therefore active, that the energies of the Spirit are largely taken up in counteracting its power. Galatians 5:17 speaks of the Spirit and flesh as "contrary the one to the other," and we are to walk in the Spirit and so "not fulfil the lust of the flesh." The first step towards being filled with the Spirit is so to walk in the Spirit that the flesh is judged, and quiescent with the sentence of death upon it in a practical way. What is it that "grieves" the Spirit of God, and what "quenches" Him? What grieves Him is anything which dishonours Christ, or deviates from His control. The Scripture runs, "Grieve not the holy Spirit of God" (Ephesians 4:30). He will therefore be grieved by anything unholy. Not grieved away, for the next words are: "whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption," i.e. the day of the redemption of our bodies at the coming of the Lord. To grieve Him is to lose the practical benefits of His presence, for He then turns His energies to grieving us into a recognition and confession of the evil that we may be restored to communion. "Quench not the Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 5:19) is an exhortation not to hinder His action through the prophets or others in the assemblies of the saints. The next verse or two shows this. The Spirit indwelling the Church claims the right to order its gatherings and let not men under any pretext interfere with or quench His voice. This is an exhortation generally disregarded in Christendom where organizations and liturgies have been instituted in order to place everything under the control of a man or men. Under such circumstances the free and sovereign action of the Spirit would be resented as an intrusion and promptly suppressed. What, in a word, is the great mission of the Spirit of God? To glorify Christ. See John 16:14. In the preceding verse it is said, "He shall not speak of Himself," that is, of His own initiative. He has taken the place of serving the interests of Christ and hence His activities are along that line and He has not come to make Himself the prominent feature. For this reason we do not find either prayer or worship in Scripture ever addressed distinctively to the Holy Spirit. He is rather the Inspirer of both in the believer. This is important because some have taken up matters in such a way as to form a kind of "cult" of the Holy Spirit. He is talked about; His operations within the believer are analysed and discussed and even systematized in people’s minds; the effect of all this being that such get hopelessly occupied with themselves, their own state, and the operations of the Spirit — whether real or fancied — within; and Christ is eclipsed. Such self-occupation is a serious evil, and totally opposed to the real ministry of the Spirit. He is here in the Church to glorify Christ and lead our souls to Him. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 10: 009 THE WORK AND INDWELLING OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD ======================================================================== STEM Publishing:The writings of F. B. Hole: The Work and Indwelling of the Spirit of God http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/hole/index.html The Work and Indwelling of the Spirit of God F. B. Hole. The third Person of the ever-blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit of God, is presented to us in Scripture as the One from whom the living energies of the Godhead proceed. He is first mentioned in Genesis 1:2 as moving in creation and there giving effect to the Word of God. He is last mentioned in Revelation 22:17 as energizing "the bride" and producing in her heart a suitable response to the Bridegroom, who presents Himself as "I, Jesus." These references to Him are highly significant. The first gives us, by way of analogy, a broad outline of His great work in connection with redemption, viz. giving effect to the Word of God. The last indicates the full and blessed effect of His indwelling, viz. producing in saints a full and adequate response to the revelation made and to the relationships which love has established. To God the Father belongs initiative. All purpose, counsel, direction, are His. To God the Son belongs administration — the execution of the Divine purpose whether in creation, redemption, or judgment. To God the Holy Ghost belongs the energy all-pervading that, acting always in perfect harmony with the Father’s counsels and the Son’s administration, produces the desired effects whether upon matter in creation, or upon the souls and ultimately the bodies of saints in connection with redemption. The redemption work of the Lord Jesus has been done for us. The work of the Holy Spirit is being wrought in us. The former is accomplished quite outside ourselves at the Cross. It is set before us as an object of our faith; we look out at it. We speak of it, therefore, as an objective work, and truth connected with it as objective truth. The latter is something accomplished within us. Instead of regarding it as an object before us we find ourselves the subjects of it. We speak of it as a subjective work, and truth connected with it as subjective truth. It is first of all necessary to observe that the Spirit’s work precedes His indwelling Man, in the flesh, i.e. in his unconverted condition, is no fit dwelling-place for the Spirit of God. This was foreshadowed both in the consecration of Aaron’s sons (Exodus 29:1-46) and in the cleansing of the leper (Leviticus 14:1-57). In both there was observed this order: first, the bathing with water; second, the application of blood; and third, the anointing with oil, typical of the fact that the Spirit can only be given when man comes under the action of the water and the blood. In other words, it is only when the Spirit has applied the water in new birth, and the blood in the knowledge of redemption, that he can take up His abode. New birth is clearly the work of the Spirit of God. A man must be "born of water and of the Spirit" (John 3:5). The water, figurative of the Word, is the instrument or vehicle: the Spirit, the Agent or Power. In 1 Peter 1:22-25 the same great truth is referred to, only the emphasis is rather laid upon the Word of God which is living and abiding, and which presents itself to us today in the Gospel which is preached unto us, and the Spirit of God is referred to as Him by whom we have purified our souls in obeying the truth. In John 3:1-36 the chief emphasis is laid upon the Spirit’s operation, and it is declared that He begets His like — "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." In John 3:1-36 there is the clearest possible distinction between "a man . . . born again" and "the Son of Man . . . lifted up." We just say this to emphasize once more the point that new birth, the beginning of the Spirit’s work, is not something done outside of us, at the Cross, once for all, but is wrought in us each individually one by one. Now, new birth having been carried into effect with any given person, there is produced within that which is born of the Spirit, and is spirit as to its nature, contrasted with flesh, the nature we possess as born of Adam’s race. This new spirit-nature is called the "inward man" in Romans 7:22, and as prompted by that inward man the believer "delights in the law of God." Verses 7-25 are the detailing of an experience and marked by the constant repetition of the pronouns "I," "me," "my," consequent upon the distress occasioned to the speaker — the "I" — by the conflicting desires of the two natures, "the flesh" on the one hand, "the inward man" on the other. But amongst the lessons learned in the course of that experience is this, that God (and therefore also faith in us) only recognizes the new spirit-nature; the old is utterly worthless. In it is no good (Romans 7:18), and in the Cross it has been condemned (Romans 8:3). The horticultural process of grafting is a good illustration of this point. The gardener selects a stock sapling quite worthless in itself and condemns it by cutting it hard back till hut the stump remains. He then inserts the twig of value, let us say some dessert apple. When once the graft is effectively made he no longer in any way owns the old nature. He always speaks of the tree by the name of the engrafted twig. It is the same tree as far as its identity goes. The two natures are there as experience will prove, but the new nature is the dominant nature and the acknowledged nature of the "born-again" tree. No matter what the time or dispensation, this tremendous operation of the Spirit of God — new birth — is necessary if a soul is to have to do with God in blessing; consequently in all ages men have been born again. The indwelling of the Spirit of God is a blessing, however, quite characteristic of the present age. Before it could be, redemption had to be accomplished; sins must be expiated and sin condemned. The Cross of Christ having become an accomplished fact and Christ having been raised and glorified, the Spirit was given as recorded in the second chapter of Acts. In Old Testament times not only were men born again of the Spirit of God, but also in different cases He came upon them in extraordinary power, energizing them for special service. In these cases He came for a brief occasion with no thought of permanency. Hence, when the Lord Jesus promised the "Comforter," as recorded in John 14:1-31, John 15:1-27, and John 16:1-33, He spoke of Him as coming to be "in you" and "that He may abide with you for ever." When the Spirit of God descended, as recorded in Acts 2:1-47, He came in a twofold way. First, He indwelt each individual saint present on that occasion. This plainly appears in the narrative. There were the "cloven tongues like as of fire," signalizing His presence, and it adds, "it sat upon each of them." But, secondly, His coming meant the formation of the Church as 1 Corinthians 12:13 tells us, "by one, Spirit are we all baptized into one body," and having formed this "one body" — the Church — He also made it the house of God by His indwelling. We are "builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22). This larger indwelling is not mentioned in Acts 2:1-47, though perhaps it is symbolized in the fact that the "sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind . . . filled all the house where they were sitting." If we enquire a little more closely as to the way the Spirit of God indwells the individual believer, we find that He comes bearing a threefold character. He is the Seal, the Earnest, and the Anointing as stated in 2 Corinthians 1:21-22. As the Seal He secures us for God and marks us out as His (see Ephesians 4:30). As the Earnest He is the pledge and fore. taste of all those blessed realities which are yet to be ours in the day of glory (see 2 Corinthians 5:5; Ephesians 1:14) As the Anointing, or Unction — this latter word is used in 1 John 2:20 — He endows the believer with the capacity to apprehend and enjoy the things of God (see 1 John 2:27), and also empowers for worship and the service of God. This is illustrated in the case of the Lord Himself (see Acts 10:38) Then, again, if we take such a chapter as Romans 8:1-39, we find that the Spirit of God, so graciously given to the believer, is identified with and characterizes the new state formed in him by His power: i.e. the Spirit of God is the energy of that new being and nature which is the believer’s as the result of the new birth. It can be said, therefore, that "the Spirit is life" (v. 10). He is also "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" and exerts His controlling power or "law," thus setting the believer free from "the law of sin and death" (v. 2). Indeed, that remarkable chapter sets the Spirit before us as filling various other capacities in connection with the practical life of the Christian, but these we have not space to deal with particularly, for we must turn to the work He does as indwelling the believer. He works, as we have seen, before He indwells, grappling with the conscience, breaking the will, and finally producing new birth. This is something like the building of a suitable house for Himself. Then He takes up His abode so that the very body of the believer becomes the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Corinthians 6:19). But we must not suppose that this is the end of everything. As indwelling He still works. In the chapters in John already referred to (14, 15, 16), the Lord Jesus especially emphasized the teaching of the Spirit as regards His disciples. He would "teach" them "all things." He would "guide" them "into all truth." This was doubtless true in an especial degree of the apostles to whom He was speaking, inasmuch as they were to be the original depositories of the further revelations which are now contained in the Epistles. Admitting this, it is still true in a general sense of every believer, even the most recently converted — the babe — as 1 John 2:27 shows. The teaching work of the Spirit goes deeper than the mere imparting of information. He instructs so effectually that the believer not only knows mentally but is also possessed by the things that he knows. They are made living and operative in his life. Then He strengthens as well as instructs. The Apostle prayed that the Ephesian saints might be "strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man" (Ephesians 3:10. The inner man itself is the fruit of the Spirit’s earlier working, but it needs to be strengthened if Christ is to dwell in the heart by faith. Connected with this is His transforming work as spoken of in 2 Corinthians 3:18. We Christians, in contrast to Israel, have before us the unveiled glory of the Lord, and not the partial and veiled glory of the law as reflected in the face of Moses. Beholding that unveiled glory, we are changed or transformed "into the same image" from one degree of glory to another, "as by the Spirit of the Lord." How vast the range of all those things which have come to light in the revelation which has reached us! Each item has its own peculiar glory which streams toward one central point of focus — the Lord Jesus Christ. His glory shines everywhere, and we may see it without a veil between. As we behold, we are transformed by the Spirit’s power, and transformed into the same image, the very character of Christ being thus produced in us. This is perhaps the very crown and climax of the Spirit’s work in the believer. He transforms, writing upon the fleshy table of the heart, Christ in His character, or moral features. This is to be supplemented and . completed, when the Lord comes again, by the body of the saint being brought into conformity to Christ’s body of glory. The Lord Himself will do this, it is true (Php 3:21), but not apart from the Spirit of God, for God will "quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you (Romans 8:11). Of great importance, too, are all the Spirit’s operations in connection with the Church as distinguished from those that concern the individual believer. He is the true Vicar of Christ upon earth. He is the "Servant" who is commissioned not only to carry the Gospel invitation but also to "compel them to come in," according to the parable in Luke 15:1-32. He it is who gives those gifts to various members of Christ’s body which are to be for the profit of all. The gifts are varied, but "all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will" (1 Corinthians 12:11), and as chapter 14 of that Epistle shows, He is the One to preside and control in the assemblies of the saints. He is here not to exalt Himself but to magnify Christ, nevertheless He is to be honoured and given His place as indwelling the saints who are God’s house. To ignore His presence in the assembly of God, or to treat Him as a nonentity there, by men (though well-meaning) usurping His place and functions, is a serious sin. How vast a subject is that of the work and indwelling of the Spirit of God! We have but hastily and imperfectly sketched its outlines. How may a believer know that he has received the Holy Spirit? By the fact that he is a believer, assuming always, of course, that he has heard and believed the gospel of the risen Christ. The Ephesian believers were sealed with the Holy Spirit after that they believed, or "having believed" (see Ephesians 1:13); This verse gives us definitely the order which is always observed. First, they "heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation"; second, they believed it; third, they were sealed with the Spirit. We have in the Acts the historic record of cases where the Spirit was received. Take, for example: — (1) The disciples in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-47). (2) The Samaritans (Acts 8:1-40). (3) The Gentiles — Cornelius and his friends (Acts 10:1-48 and Acts 11:1-30). (4) The twelve men at Ephesus (Acts 19:1-41). In each case there are differences as regards details, such as baptism, the laying on of hands, and speaking with tongues. There are good reasons for these differences on which we do not dwell, but evidently it is impossible in the face of them to formulate rules and say, for instance, that baptism must take place before the Spirit can be received: — the third case negatives that. On the other hand beneath these surface differences there is the divine order of hearing, believing, and the sealing of the Spirit, verified in each case of the four. The fourth case emphasizes that what is heard and believed must be the full gospel of the death and resurrection of Christ. It was because the twelve men had not heard and believed this that they had not received the Spirit. Ought there not, however, to be some very definite outwardsignswhen the Spirit is received; something that makes so great a gift manifest to all? There ought to be, and are, definite signs when the Spirit is received, but not necessarily of a sort to be noticed by sight or hearing. The fact that a new convert looks up to God as his Father is a sign that the Spirit is received (see. Romans 8:15). So also is the fact of the Bible becoming a new book to such (see 1 Corinthians 2:11-14); and many other such things could be specified. These are far more important than such things as speaking with tongues. True the outward signs were much in evidence in apostolic times, inasmuch as then God was publicly accrediting the Church which He had just founded. Now that stage is over and it is these less sensational and more hidden and important things which abide. We may draw an analogy between this and the human body, the most important and vital organs of which are hidden away beneath the surface. Take speaking with tongues just mentioned: some insist that unless this takes place the Spirit of God is not received. How does Scripture bear on this? Quite effectively. What we have just pointed out bears on it. So also does the fact that in the six cases of the Spirit’s reception recorded in Acts, three make no mention at all of speaking with tongues. So also does the fact that speaking with tongues is much alluded to in 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, where the whole argument of the Apostle turns upon the point that though the Spirit of God is one, yet the gifts or manifestations which proceed from Him are many and various; and that to one member of the body was given one gift such as prophecy, to another member another gift such as speaking with tongues. At the end of the chapter (vv. 29 and 30) a number of questions are raised. No answer is given because it is so obvious. "Are all apostles?" he asks. Clearly, No. "Are all prophets?" No. "Do all speak with tongues?" Just as clearly, No. Are all Christians members of Christ’s body by baptism of the Spirit? Yes. Do all the members speak with tongues? No. A clear scriptural refutation of this erroneous idea. Does the believer receive the Holy Spirit in order that he may use His influence for God? The Scriptures do not put it just in that way. The Spirit of God is a Person. He wields an incalculable influence. Yet it is as a Person He indwells. Now whether we consider Him as indwelling the individual believer or the whole Church, as the house of God, we find Him supreme and sovereign in His actions. He is not given to us as a power or influence at our disposal, but rather that we may be at His disposal. This comes clearly to light in the history of the Apostle Paul. He started on his missionary career because "The Holy Ghost said . . ." (Acts 13:2). Later, he was "forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the Word in Asia" and assaying to go into Bithynia, "the Spirit suffered them not" (Acts 16:6-7). What is it to be filled with the Spirit? It is to be so fully under the control of the Spirit of God that He becomes the source of all the believer’s thoughts and actions, and also the energy in which they are carried into effect. In the Acts of the Apostles we find that on special occasions one or another were filled with the Spirit (Acts 4: 8 and 31; Acts 7:55; Acts 13: 9 and 52). He possessed them with especial completeness so that the emergency might be met in the full power of God. Yet we find in Ephesians 5:18 the exhortation "be filled with the Spirit," and this addressed to all saints in that city, so that evidently it is something that each saint should know and experience for himself and not something only attainable by the few. If it be further asked — Why then is it so little known? the answer we fear is — because with most of us the flesh is so often unjudged, and therefore active, that the energies of the Spirit are largely taken up in counteracting its power. Galatians 5:17 speaks of the Spirit and flesh as "contrary the one to the other," and we are to walk in the Spirit and so "not fulfil the lust of the flesh." The first step towards being filled with the Spirit is so to walk in the Spirit that the flesh is judged, and quiescent with the sentence of death upon it in a practical way. What is it that "grieves" the Spirit of God, and what "quenches" Him? What grieves Him is anything which dishonours Christ, or deviates from His control. The Scripture runs, "Grieve not the holy Spirit of God" (Ephesians 4:30). He will therefore be grieved by anything unholy. Not grieved away, for the next words are: "whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption," i.e. the day of the redemption of our bodies at the coming of the Lord. To grieve Him is to lose the practical benefits of His presence, for He then turns His energies to grieving us into a recognition and confession of the evil that we may be restored to communion. "Quench not the Spirit" (1 Thessalonians 5:19) is an exhortation not to hinder His action through the prophets or others in the assemblies of the saints. The next verse or two shows this. The Spirit indwelling the Church claims the right to order its gatherings and let not men under any pretext interfere with or quench His voice. This is an exhortation generally disregarded in Christendom where organizations and liturgies have been instituted in order to place everything under the control of a man or men. Under such circumstances the free and sovereign action of the Spirit would be resented as an intrusion and promptly suppressed. What, in a word, is the great mission of the Spirit of God? To glorify Christ. See John 16:14. In the preceding verse it is said, "He shall not speak of Himself," that is, of His own initiative. He has taken the place of serving the interests of Christ and hence His activities are along that line and He has not come to make Himself the prominent feature. For this reason we do not find either prayer or worship in Scripture ever addressed distinctively to the Holy Spirit. He is rather the Inspirer of both in the believer. This is important because some have taken up matters in such a way as to form a kind of "cult" of the Holy Spirit. He is talked about; His operations within the believer are analysed and discussed and even systematized in people’s minds; the effect of all this being that such get hopelessly occupied with themselves, their own state, and the operations of the Spirit — whether real or fancied — within; and Christ is eclipsed. Such self-occupation is a serious evil, and totally opposed to the real ministry of the Spirit. He is here in the Church to glorify Christ and lead our souls to Him. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 11: 010 THE LAST ADAM — THE SECOND MAN. ======================================================================== STEM Publishing:The writings of F. B. Hole: The last Adam - The Second Man. http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/hole/index.html The last Adam — The Second Man. F. B. Hole. At first sight the subject now before us may seem to belong rather to the superstructure of the faith than the foundations: but it is not so. It is truly fundamental, and this we shall see as we proceed. Both the expressions which head this chapter are found in the course of the great argument on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:1-58. If their force is to be grasped, verses 35 to 49 should be read. The point raised in these verses is as to the body in which the risen saints will appear, and the Apostle shows that though there is identity preserved between the body which is buried and the body which is raised, yet in condition and character the risen body will be altogether new. As to condition, the former is marked by corruption, dishonour, and weakness; the latter by incorruption, glory, and power. As to character, the former is a natural body, the latter a spiritual body. The next fact that confronts us is that just as there is a natural and a spiritual body so there is a natural and a spiritual race. "The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam . . . a quickening spirit" (ver. 45). Adam is presented to us in Scripture as the original progenitor of the human race. He came fresh from God’s hand as recorded in Genesis 2:7, as to his body formed out of the dust, but receiving the spiritual part of his constitution by God’s in-breathing, and in this way becoming a living soul. This tripartite nature of man is clearly stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. What characterized Adam’s position in creation was, however, that he was a living soul — a living soul, we may say, possessing spirit as well as body. The last Adam, who is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, bears an infinitely higher character. He is "spirit" rather than "soul"; and not merely "living " but "quickening" or "life-giving." Here there breaks out upon us the true Divine glory of the Lord Jesus. He is a Spirit — so is God. He is life-giving because the Life-Giver. "Am I God to kill, and to make alive?" asked the distracted King of Israel (see 2 Kings 5:7). No; he was not; but Jesus was and is. But then He who is the life-giving Spirit is the last Adam, i.e. really and truly Man; the Head and Source of a new race of mankind, having stamped upon it the character of spiritual as definitely as the character natural is stamped upon the first Adam and his race. Notice, too, that He is "the last Adam." The contrast here is between the first and the last, not the first and the second. Why last? Evidently because that word excludes the idea that any third or subsequent race can ever be needed, or enter upon the scene. "He taketh away the first that He may establish the second," is what Hebrews 10:9 says. He never takes away the second in favour of a third! The second is established. The last Adam abides without rival or successor, for perfection — Divine perfection and not merely human — is reached in Him. The forty-sixth verse of our chapter points out the historic order of the two Adams. First the natural, then the spiritual; though, of course, in importance and in the thoughts and purposes of God, the last was always first. Verse 47 again speaks of the two heads, emphasizing the condition that marked them rather than their respective characters, as in verse 45. The one is "of the earth, earthy," or as it may be translated, "out of the earth, made of dust." The Other is "out of heaven." In this verse they are termed "the first man" and "the second Man"; not this time "the first" and "the last." Now why is it second? Because here, where Christ’s manhood rather than His headship is before us, the object of the Spirit of God is to exclude every other man. After the first Adam and until the last Adam historically appeared no man counted at all. The last Adam was the second man, and not Cain, as we might have supposed. Who and what, then, was Cain? Simply Adam reproduced. Adam "begat . . . in his own likeness, after his image" (Genesis 5:3). "In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him" (Genesis 5:1). This likeness, alas, was marred by the Fall, and it was not until he was a fallen creature that Adam begat "in HIS OWN likeness. He reproduced his fallen self both morally and physically. Hence from the point of view of this passage in 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 there was nothing but "the first man" until the appearance of Christ, who is the second. Adam was a marvellous and complex being, and every one of his millions of descendants during that time was an individual with characteristics, that showed on the surface, if we may so put it, some fresh permutation or combination of the many features which make up the Adamic nature; yet fundamentally all were one in both nature and character. At this point we may perhaps appreciate more fully the immense importance of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ was born of a Virgin. There was a hint of this great fact in the first prediction concerning Him ever given. It was the Lord God Himself who spoke of "the woman" and "her seed" (Genesis 3:15). Hence, "when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman" (Galatians 4:4), yet conceived under the direct action of the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:35). Therefore it is that while the Deliverer was by the woman He was not an ordinary son of Adam at all. The virgin birth means that the Lord Jesus while truly Man was yet a Man of a new order. Verse 48 turns to the two races, ranged respectively under the two heads; stating that the earthy race of the first man partakes of the character and position of Adam; the heavenly race of that of Christ. To understand rightly the race we must therefore rightly understand the head. Verse 49 links on the truth of the preceding verses with the great theme of the chapter, viz., resurrection, by showing that the identity between the last Adam and His race is to be complete even as to the physical body. We certainly have borne the image of Adam in our physical bodies. So certainly shall we bear the image of the last Adam, the heavenly Man. Our resurrection bodies will be fashioned in conformity with His body of glory. The latter part of Romans 5:1-21, beginning at verse 12, should also be read. Here we find the spiritual results flowing from the characteristic actions of the two heads. Adam’s characteristic action was disobedience, whilst obedience even to the death of the Cross characterized Christ. From Adam’s sin there flowed death and condemnation. From Christ’s obedience unto death flows life and justification. The main line of the Apostle’s argument runs straight from verse 12 to verse 18. Verses 13 to 17 are parenthetical, running like a loop line between the same two points and giving details which show that what is offered in Jesus Christ the risen Head of the new order cannot be confined to any section of humanity, such as Israel. It must be as universal as the calamity it is designed to overcome. Moreover, the blessings thus introduced are of a nature to meet, and more than meet, the penalties incurred by Adam’s fall. Verses 18 and 19 are important as summing up the whole matter. One distinction which is not quite clear in our excellent Authorized Translation should be noted. We quote therefore from the New Translation of the late J. N. Darby. Verse 18 deals with "one offence towards all men to condemnation" and "one righteousness towards all men for justification of life." Verse 19 states that "the many have been constituted sinners" and "the many will be constituted righteous." In these words we observe the same distinction as we have before seen when sins were in question in Romans 3:22. It is a question of sin — the nature — here, but again the bearing of Christ’s one righteousness, consummated in His death, is distinguished from its actual effect. Its bearing is towards all with justification as the objective, only here the justification is not contemplated as being from offences, but rather as being "justification of life." The former is, of course, perfect and absolute, but somewhat negative in its bearing i.e. by it we lose both guilt and condemnation. The latter is more positive and indicates that full and perfect clearance which is the portion of every believer by virtue of his standing in the life and consequently nature of the risen Christ as Man. It might have pleased God to clear us from the guilt of our sins without cutting the old links with the fallen Adam and implanting us in the risen Christ. This further great favour is, however, ours as believers and consequently we are now "constituted righteous." While we are in this world the old nature with its unchanged tendencies is still in us, as other scriptures show; but in this verse the Spirit of God is contemplating what we are in Christ as God sees us. Romans 8:1 sums up this section of the epistle and reverts to the truth we have just considered. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." If it stated that in the day of judgment we believers should escape condemnation, that would be wonderful. What it does state, however, is that there is NOW no condemnation. The condemnation has been borne and exhausted as far as we are concerned, and we are now in the life of the risen Christ and as clear of condemnation therefore as He is. A great many Christians, we fear, have never seriously considered this important side of truth. It deals with life and nature rather than with the overt acts in which life and nature express themselves, or, as we commonly say, with what we are rather than with what we have done, and hence it is not quite so easy of apprehension. Still, it really conducts us to that which is the secret of the profound blessedness which characterizes Christianity, and we are great losers if we ignore it. What is the difference between "the first man" and "the old man?" The first man, as the context in 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 shows, is Adam personally, if the expression be taken in its primary sense. There is, however, a secondary sense, as is clear from the fact that we do not meet with the second man until Christ appears. How then shall we designate the millions of humanity that came between? They were all "first man" in character; so that in a secondary sense "the first man" covers Adam and his race. The "old man," on the other hand, is a purely abstract conception. It does not indicate any particular human being or group of human beings, but rather is the personification of all those moral features which characterize fallen Adam and his race. It is the fallen Adamic character personified. "In Christ" is a phrase often met with in Paul’s Epistles. What, in a few words, is its significance? As 1 Corinthians 15:22 shows, it is an expression in contrast with "in Adam." We are all "in Adam" by nature, i.e. we originate from him and stand before God in exactly his nature, position and status. The believer is "in Christ" by grace, inasmuch as we owe our real and spiritual existence to His quickening action as the last Adam. We therefore stand before God in exactly the nature, position, and status of the risen Christ, as Man. We might use the process of grafting as an illustration, if at liberty to exactly reverse what is actually carried out by the gardener. He grafts the good into the worthless, whereby the worthless is condemned, and the good dominates and characterizes the tree. In Romans 11:1-36 grafting is used as an illustration of God’s dispensational dealings with Jews and Gentiles, and the Apostle points out in verse 24 that he uses the figure in a way "contrary to nature" by supposing the wild olive branch grafted into the good olive tree and thereby partaking of the virtues of the good. This is the adaptation of the process we want for our illustration. The Christian is one disconnected from the "Adam" stock by God’s work and grafted into Christ, partaking of His fulness. He is "in Christ," though the flesh is still in him. Does "in Christ" then only refer to the believer’s new position or status before God? If the early part of Romans 8:1-39 be read we find that verse 1 gives us "in Christ," but this is followed in verses 8 and 9 by — "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you." Now "in the Spirit" is as clearly contrasted with "in the flesh" as "in Christ" is with "in Adam," and it indicates the new condition or state which corresponds to the position in Christ. Now these two things, though distinct and distinguished thus in Scripture, are not to be disconnected. There is no such thought as a person being in Christ and not "in Spirit," nor vice versa. They are two parts of one whole. Speaking generally, we may say, then, that the expression "in Christ" often covers the fact of our new state as "in Spirit;" yet if we come to a closer analysis, as in Romans 8:1-9, it does mainly refer to the believer’s new position rather than his new condition. Has all this anything to do with that "new creation" of which Scripture speaks? It certainly has. It says, "if any man be in Christ he is a new creature" or "there is a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). New creation clearly does not mean the destruction of personality or identity. If that reversed form of grafting — "contrary to nature" — of which Romans 11:1-36 speaks could be carried out in Nature we should see the once wild olive bearing good fruit, and generally behaving as the cultivated stock. It would indeed be new created, yet the identity of the engrafted twig would remain. Still, it is creation: as positive a work of God as the creation of Genesis 1:1-31. As Ephesians 2:10 says, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, unto good works . . . " To be God’s workmanship is a wonderful thing. The first man is evidently superseded by the second Man. When did this take place? If we consider things from the standpoint of God’s purpose, He never had any but the Second before Him. We never were chosen in Adam in any sense whatever. God has " chosen us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4). If, however, we consider things from our standpoint, we may say that the true character of the first man was fully revealed at the Cross. There he was judged, and at the same moment the perfection of the second Man also came fully to light and He was glorified (see John 13:31). Historically, therefore, the Cross was the supreme moment. The first was judged and superseded by the Second, who was tested to the uttermost and raised from the dead. In the new heaven and new earth of Revelation 21:1-7 new creation will characterize the whole scene. "Behold I make all things new" is the word. The supersession of the first by the second will then be absolute and complete. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 12: 011 FATHERHOOD AND SONSHIP ======================================================================== STEM Publishing:The writings of F. B. Hole: Fatherhood and Sonship http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/hole/index.html Fatherhood and Sonship F. B. Hole. One serious effect of sin entering the world was that mankind lost the true knowledge of God. Once lost, that highest and best of all knowledge could not be regained by any effort of man’s will or intellect. "Canst thou by searching find out God?" (Job 11:7), was the question of Zophar, whilst in a previous chapter Job confessed his inability in that direction, saying, "Lo, He goeth by me, and I see Him not: He passeth on also, but I perceive Him not" (Job 9:11). Since, therefore, we cannot discover God, it is needful that He should make Himself known to us. Revelation becomes a necessity; and the crowning point of that revelation of Himself was touched when in Christ He made Himself known as Father. It is quite clear that sin having entered, mankind did not lose the knowledge of God all at once. For evidence of this Romans 1:18-32 may be read. The Apostle Paul here draws a lurid picture of the state of the heathen world. Incidentally it reveals three things:- (1) That all, even the most degraded heathen peoples, once had the knowledge of God. It speaks of "when they knew God" (v. 21). (2) That not glorifying Him as God they gradually lost all true knowledge of Him. They "became vain in their imaginations," "their foolish heart was darkened," and so they "changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things" (v. 23). (3) That all this process took place because "they did not LIKE to retain God in their knowledge" (v. 28). They were glad to forget Him. This indictment shows that man’s departure from God was in the first instance deliberate. It then became debasing and issued in gross sins that were disgusting. Just when this darkness reached a climax subsequent to the tower of Babel, God commenced to work in the way of revealing Himself. We do not forget, of course, that some knowledge of Himself remained with chosen individuals all through, both before and after the flood, but with the call of Abram the epoch of revelation began. To him at the start the God of glory appeared, and later "when Abram was ninety years old and nine the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before Me and be thou perfect" (Genesis 17:1). The Almighty power of God came out in the birth of Isaac, which was a humanly impossible thing; When at the announcement of his birth Sarah laughed incredulously the Lord said, "Is any thing too hard for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14). Can a living child be produced from-parents as good as dead? Here clearly was involved the supreme test. Can life be brought out of death? It was brought out. Isaac was born. God is the ALMIGHTY. Four hundred years later God called the nation that sprang from Isaac out of Egypt. In so doing He revealed Himself in a fresh light. To Moses He said, "I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them" (Exodus 6:3). Notice the exact wording here. He did not say, "They did not know My name Jehovah." Abraham knew the name Jehovah, for in Genesis we find him using it. He did not, however, know God by that name; that is, the real meaning and import of the name Jehovah never dawned upon him, inasmuch as the circumstances which demanded such a revelation had not arisen. But now the moment had come for it to be unfolded, and the Almighty One stood forth, pledged in connection with Israel, as the I AM — the self-existent and therefore unchanging One, always true and faithful to His word. This was abundantly verified in Israel’s history. At the end of the Old Testament God said, "I am the LORD [i.e. Jehovah]. I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Malachi 3:6). The full revelation of God, however, awaited the coming of the Lord Jesus. The utmost that was possible even for so great a man as Moses was to see "the back parts" of Jehovah (Exodus 33:23). Certain of the divine attributes were emphasized such as His mercy and long-suffering; the full-orbed revelation of Himself was only possible in the only-begotten Son who was God and became Man. " No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him " (John 1:18). To Moses it was said, "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see Me, and live" (Exodus 33:20). Yet is it possible for the Christian to say, "God . . . hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). Man can much less look upon God in His essence and uncreated glory than he can calmly fix his gaze upon the sun in noonday splendour, yet the believer today can contemplate all that God is as revealed in Jesus. Not one ray is absent, yet they all shine with a peculiar softness which brings them within the range of creatures such as ourselves. Redemption, of course, was necessary in order that we might stand unabashed before such a revelation. But then, He who was the Revealer was also the Redeemer. Now the great name which characterizes the revelation of God in Christ is FATHER. When near, or in, the Garden of Gethsemane the Lord Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven and uttered the wonderful prayer recorded in John 17:1-26, He said, "Father . . . I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world" (v. 6). We do well then reverently to enquire: What does the name of Father mean? To begin with, it clearly means relationship. The knowledge of God as Almighty or as Jehovah did not involve this, which doubtless accounts for the way in which unconverted people use, such a term as "Almighty God" in speaking of Him and instinctively avoid "Father." In their case the relationship does not exist. Further, it means relationship of the closest kind. The correlative terms to Father are "children" and "sons," and both these are used in the New Testament of Christians. The closeness of the relationship is further emphasized by the fact that it is real and vital and not something merely assumed. We are children of God inasmuch as we are born of God (John 1:12, 13; 1 John 3:9, 10). But the crowning point in the revelation of God as Father lies in the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as incarnate is the Son. He was ever "the Son" in the unity of the Godhead, but we refer to the place He took in Manhood here (see Luke 1:35; Galatians 4:4). Hence in His advent there was the full setting forth of all that God is as Father in connection with all that He Himself is as Son; and the light in which we know God is as "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). Much depends upon this, and we urge the reader to ponder it prayerfully until he makes it his own. Our tendency is to connect God’s Fatherhood merely with ourselves, with the result that we lower it until it becomes to our minds just a matter of the fatherly care that gives us food and raiment and the mercies of this life. All these things are indeed ours from our Father’s hand, but the Father’s thoughts and the Father’s love soar infinitely beyond them. Connect God’s Fatherhood with Christ the Son — who is the worthy Object of His love, and in whom a perfect response is given — and at once you have the key that opens the subject in its fulness. That is the standard! There you see the revelation in its perfection! We are indeed sons of God with "the Spirit of His Son" in our hearts "crying Abba, Father;" but sonship is only ours as the fruit of God’s Son being revealed and redemption accomplished (see Galatians 4:4-6). Only thus was that wonderful message made possible. "I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God" (John 20:17). "Sonship," then, is the word which most fully expresses the nearness and dignity of the place of blessing which is occupied by the saint of today. The word does not actually occur in the Authorized version since the translators preferred to paraphrase it as "the adoption of sons" in Galatians 4:5, and similarly in other places. The whole passage, Galatians 3:21-29; Galatians 4:1-7, should be read, when the Apostle’s argument will be seen to be that the coming of Christ has inaugurated a new epoch. Before He came the law, with its partial revelation of God, held sway, and believers then were like minors in a family, under a schoolmaster. Having come, and consequently redemption having been accomplished, we are like children come of age, emancipated from the nursery regime and in the full liberty of the Father’s house. "Wherefore," says the Apostle, "thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ" (Galatians 4:7). Our place with God is in exact correspondence with the light in which He has been pleased to reveal Himself to us. But both the brightness of the revelation and the standard and pattern of the place, are found in CHRIST. No teaching is more popular to-day than that of "the universal Fatherhood of God." What truth is there in it? None at all, as the doctrine is popularly presented. The Scriptures clearly reveal "the universal Creatorship of God," and if this were what is meant when God’s Fatherhood is spoken of there would be little to take exception to. But this is not the case, for the theory is that Christ, by assuming Manhood, has lifted up mankind into this relationship with God, or at least that He brought to light the relationship that existed between God and the human race. In any case it means that Christ is but the finest specimen of the race of Adam and that the race as such is acknowledged and owned of God; whereas the truth is that Christ is the second Man and also the last Adam — the Head of a new race which is of His order or kind — and that those of His race are in relationship with God, and no others. God is the "Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 1:3) and consequently the Father of those who are in Him. Again John 1:12 tells us that "as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God;" and those who received Him are described, not as everybody, but as those who "believe on His name" and who are "born of God." Further, the Jews claimed a kind of "universal Fatherhood of God" in the presence of our Lord, saying, "We have one Father, even God." His answer was, "If God were your Father . . ." A big IF that! He even went further and said, "Ye are of your father the devil . . . When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it" (John 8:41-44), thus branding their true origin upon them and the doctrine they represented. Clear, cutting language this! The universal-Fatherhood-of-God idea is, in fact, a lie fathered by Satan. What, then, about the universal brotherhood of men? This idea springs out of the one we have just dealt with, and is a corollary to it. It also has some truth in a creatorial sense inasmuch as God has "made of one blood all nations of men" (Acts 17:20. It is not true in any other sense. The Scriptures draw the most distinct line imaginable between the believer and the man of the world. In his first epistle, 1 John 3:1-24 and 1 John 4:1-21, the Apostle John has much to say to the Christian as to his brother. And who is the brother in question? Any other child of Adam? No, any other child of God; any one who is "born of God." John, indeed, wields his pen in the clear and cutting style of his great Master and speaks of "the children of the devil" in contrast to "the children of God" (1 John 3:10). A universal cousinship, in very attenuated degree, exists amongst men. The only true Christian brotherhood is that which exists amongst Christians as born of God. We are sometimes said to be the adopted children of God. Is this correct? It is, thank God, not correct. If we were just adopted into God’s family there would lie no more vital connection between God and ourselves than exists between the Director and some homeless child when the latter is happily sheltered in the benevolent institutions founded by the late Dr. Barnardo. The believer is born of God and thus there is a most vital connection. The believer is not only a child of God by being born of God, but is also a son. This speaks of position and dignity, and therefore in Romans 8:23 we are said to be "waiting for the adoption [literally — sonship], to wit, the redemption of our body," inasmuch as our full entrance upon the dignity which that glorious position entails is yet future, and will take place when our bodies are redeemed at the coming of the Lord. The word "adoption" occurs in our English Bible, but in every case it is a translation of the Greek word meaning "sonship" or "placing as a son." Also our excellent Authorized Version does not clearly distinguish between the two terms "son" and "child." A good concordance will show that in John’s writings he always speaks of us as children of God and not sons; and he it is who so frequently alludes to the fact that we are born of God; whilst in Galatians we are always spoken of as "sons." If God was not fully revealed until Christ came, would that not involve a certain inferiority in Old Testament believers? In one way it would. Galatians 3:21-29; Galatians 4:1-7, as we have already remarked, contrasts the position of the Old Testament believer with the New Testament saint. The former — a child under age, "shut up" with no real liberty or access to the Father, but kept under the law as a schoolmaster, and this condition persisted "unto Christ"; that is, till Christ came and accomplished redemption. The latter — a son of full age in the liberty of the Father’s home. It did not, however, mean any inferiority in these Old Testament saints as to what one may call their spiritual calibre. The fact that they could know but a little of God in their day makes the clearness and strength of their faith in what they did know only the more remarkable. They had great faith in a partial revelation; we, alas! often have little faith in a full revelation. Is the revelation of God in Christ something which has taken place once for all? It is. The revelation is complete and absolute. The Lord Jesus could say, "He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). He is "the image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15). God spoke in time past by the prophets, but now He has spoken to us, not by or through anyone, but "in His Son " (Hebrews 1:2, R.V.) He Himself without intermediary spoke to us in that character, for the Son was and is God equally with the Father. Hence there is nothing more to be said. God is fully "in the light" (1 John 1:7) and finality is reached. This does not mean that there was no further unfolding of God’s mind and purpose subsequent to the Lord’s own ministry, for He Himself promised that there should be when the Holy Ghost was come (see John 16:12-15; and this promised ministry was carried out through the apostles and preserved for us in the epistles. Nor does it mean that the Lord Himself revealed everything as to the Father at once. The way He spoke of the Father to His disciples just before leaving them as recorded in John, John 13:1-38 to 16, and in His prayer of John 17:1-26, is manifestly far in advance of anything He said in such a discourse as that recorded in Matthew 5:1-48 to 7. In the sermon on the mount it was the making known of the Father in heaven who has a loving interest in His people on earth, whereas in John it is the Father in His own love and purposes that is presented to us and the lifting of His disciples’ hearts into communion with the Father in His own circumstances. In the sermon on the mount the Father stoops to our humble little cottage on earth. In the sermon in the upper chamber we are lifted to the Father’s palace above. THE BELIEVER’S PRESENT POSITION ON EARTH, AND CHRIST’S PRESENT SERVICE IN HEAVEN As believers, we are redeemed to God, and a day is coming when redemption in its full power will be applied to our bodies, which will mean our full entrance into the glorious estate which is ours in Christ. Meanwhile for a longer or shorter time we live on in the world. Externally nothing was changed in the hour of our conversion. That great revolution was internal, yet profoundly effective. It has put us in altogether new relations with God. How has it altered our position here? Mankind is dominated by a triple alliance of evil — the world, the flesh, and the devil. The first is that organized system of things produced as the fruit of human thought and activity, without God and in opposition to Him. The second is that corrupt nature, inherent in man as a fallen creature, which finds expression in the world, and is quite at home there. The last is the mighty personage, the very source and originator of evil itself. The world as an elaborate system has been built up by men, but unknown to them the inspiring genius of its developments has been the devil, and he controls the machine thus created. He is the god and prince of this world (see 2 Corinthians 4:4; John 12:31). From all three the death of Christ is our deliverance — a deliverance to be experimentally enjoyed even now in the power of the Spirit of God. As delivered we are set up here in witness for our absent Lord, and against these evil powers which formerly held us in bondage. Let us consider a few scriptures that deal with this important part of the truth; and first of all as to the devil. As the god of this world he has "blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ . . . should shine unto them," but the apostle immediately adds, "God . . . hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4-6). The believer is, therefore, one who is no longer kept under the blinding influence of Satan. God has, in his case, broken through the devil’s line of dark defence and let the light in. Consequently ours is the happy privilege of "giving thanks to the Father . . . who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear son" (Colossians 1:12, 13). Notice that this deliverance is stated as an act of God and not something realized progressively in our experience. It is as much an act of God as was that great deliverance wrought when God overthrew Pharaoh and his hosts at the Red Sea, bringing Israel into the light of the Pillar of His presence, and the further light of the triumphant morning on the eastern banks, when Moses and all Israel sang their thanks to Jehovah out of full hearts. Indeed this latter is the type in the material realm. The former is the far greater reality in the spiritual realm. We have been called "out of darkness into His marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9). We English-speaking Christians but feebly realize the triumphant ring of these words. What must it have been to the Eunuch of Ethiopia (Acts 8:1-40), or the Jailer of Philippi (Acts 16:1-40), or Dionysius the Areopagite (Acts 17:1-34), to step out of the dark unfathomed caves of pagan superstition and vice, whether rough and barbaric or polished and intellectual, into the clear sunlight of the Gospel! Next the world. Here too the line of demarcation is clearly and sharply drawn. The Lord Jesus Christ "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world" (Galatians 1:4). Hence anticipating the cross He prayed for His disciples, saying, "They are not of the world even as I am not of the world" (John 17:16), and consequently we are enjoined, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world" (1 John 2:15). By the Cross the world is crucified to the believer, and the believer to the world (see Galatians 6:14). Lastly, as to the flesh. This too is a condemned thing. It is utterly worthless, inasmuch as no good is found in it (see Romans 7:18). "Sin in the flesh" is "condemned" (Romans 8:3), and consequently "they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts" (Galatians 5:24). This last scripture shows that it is not contemplated that any are brought into allegiance to Christ, and so belong to Him, without their having themselves solemnly endorsed and verified the sentence executed against it at the Cross. For the believer, as well as for God, the flesh is a worthless thing and he condemns and repudiates it in its practical workings. This is possible, of course, by reason of the fact that we have a new nature and possess the Spirit of God. The bare recital of these great facts will prepare us for that which Scripture indicates as our present position on earth. The flesh being held as a crucified thing we are set in sharpest conflict with the powers of darkness (see Ephesians 6:1-24), and we are severed from the world; so totally are we severed that if we do practically’ come into alliance with it we are addressed as "adulterers and adulteresses" and told that "the friendship of the world is enmity with God; whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (James 4:4) In the light of this scripture we are safe in saying that no true Christian deliberately and of set purpose stands forth as an enemy of God and a friend of the world; but, on the other hand, there is grave danger for every Christian, even the most devoted, lest they should be allured by the world in one of its many fairer forms, and thus, deceived and decoyed, fall under its power. The man of God from Judah, you may remember, had not much difficulty in declining the proffered hand of friendship, extended by Jeroboam, for that hand was stained by idolatry and open rebellion against God. He fell an easy victim though to the wily old prophet of Bethel. His words were smooth and religious. His proffered hand was professedly pious and guided by an angel of Jehovah — "but he lied unto him." The man of God struck up an alliance and fell (see 1 Kings 13:1-34). That is our danger. What, then, is our business in the world? Why are we here? In order that we may be for Christ just as once He was here for God. His place and position in the world is just he pattern of ours. His own words were: "As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world" (John 17:18). Here He clearly views us as taken out of the world and sent back into it to be for Him. Did he appear as a great Social Reformer? He did not. On the one occasion when He was appealed to, and urged to interfere because of social and pecuniary inequality, He flatly refused to have anything to do with it (see Luke 12:13-15). Neither are we left here to be social reformers. Did He bear witness for God? Indeed He did. He came and spoke to men; He did "among them the works which none other man did;" He bore "witness unto the truth" (John 15:22, 24, and John 18:37). We, too, should be witnesses to truth by word and by work. Was He sharply antagonized and hated? He was: and that to such an extent that the scripture was fulfilled which said, "They hated Me without a cause" (John 15:25). We too are warned by His lips, "Because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you (John 15:19). Again we say — His position here is ours. We stand out, severed from the world system, and delivered from satanic authority. The powers of darkness are against us. We need the whole armour of God to stand in the defensive attitude against these unseen forces of evil. And if grace is ours to take the offensive in the service of the Lord, we must still remember that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal" (2 Corinthians 10:4 and 5). The "strongholds" may be in human hearts; the "imaginations" or "reasonings" may be in human heads; but the pride that exalts itself against the knowledge of God is satanic in its origin and we are confronted with that. If here our subject ended we should be left in a panic-stricken frame of mind, similar to that of the ten spies who felt themselves but grasshoppers in the presence of the giants. It does not end here, however. Just as Israel, fighting Amalek under Joshua in the valleys below, had Moses interceding effectually on the top of the hill (see Exodus 17:8-13) so we are left in the conflict with not only the Spirit of God to indwell us but with Christ’s continuous present service in heaven to sustain us. The Spirit of God does indeed help our infirmities and make intercession for us according to Romans 8:26, but verse 34 tells us that the Christ who died and rose again "is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." In the succeeding verses all the adverse forces are surveyed. Not only those which proceed from men, such as persecution and the sword, but also the far more terrible principalities and powers of darkness. Yet in the face of them all the Apostle triumphantly asks, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" We may sum up his answer by replying, No one! Nothing! Never! When we come to examine more closely this present service of Christ we find that it falls into two main divisions. The first is that of His priesthood, which is so largely developed in the Epistle to the Hebrews, In keeping with its great theme of approach to God. Our approach is based on the blood, but it is by the Priest (see Hebrews 10:19-22). In order, however, that He may thus serve, much priestly work of another kind is His. He concerns Himself with the "infirmities" of His saints (Hebrews 4:15), and in view of these infirmities He proves Himself "able to succour" (Hebrews 2:18), able to sympathize (see Hebrews 4:15), and "able . . . to save . . . to the uttermost" (Hebrews 7:25). The second is that of His advocacy. Scripture says, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1). As is well-known, the word here translated "Advocate" is translated "Comforter" in John 14:1-31; John 15:1-27, and 16; the fact being that we have the Spirit of God here below as Comforter (or Advocate), and Christ above with the Father as Advocate (or Comforter). As Advocate He charges Himself with our concerns, and especially acts in relation to our sins. He leads us to repentance concerning them, so that we confess them to God according to 1 John 1:9; He also is there before. the Father on our behalf as the One who has accomplished propitiation, and thus, repentance and confession having taken place, the communion that had been disturbed by the sin is re-established. Bear in mind, then, the following distinctions: — As Priest He deals with and counteracts the infirmities of His saints that He may lead them in their approach to God: as Advocate, He deals with the sins of His saints. As Priest, He acts that we may not fall in spite of our infirmities: as Advocate, He lifts us up when fallen. His Priesthood, in a word, has as its first object, prevention. His advocacy has as its object, cure. In Christ’s present ministry on high we have thus a perfect provision for our sojourn in weakness below. We are truly in the enemy’s land and in the presence of his power; yet we may be maintained in the conflict against our foes, because sustained in our approach and nearness to God by the priestly action of the Lord Jesus Christ. Should the Christian be silent in the presence of earth’s great wrongs? Ought he not to strive to put the world right? It is hardly conceivable that the Christian should be silent and thus condone the wrongs. The point, however, is this: — when he opens his mouth against them, what is his object in doing so? Have Christians been commissioned by God to set the world right? Are they set as kings upon God’s holy hill of Zion to dispense judgment and justice in the earth? They are NOT. But a day is coming in which CHRIST will be, according to Psalms 2:1-12 and 72, and other scriptures. The putting of the world right will be quickly accomplished by Him at His second coming. The prophets of old and the apostles of the New Testament were not silent as to the enormity of men’s sins. But they made more of men’s sins against God than of a man’s sins against his neighbour, and they charged home those sins on men’s consciences with the object of bringing them to repentance and thus into right relations with God. If as the result of men getting right with God they altered their ways and so abuses were reformed it was indeed well. This, however, is a secondary consequence, and not the primary object of the Christian’s witness. There can be no harm in the believer doing all he can to improve things, can there? Many useful societies exist, and he can help on their good work. If a believer allows himself to be side-tracked from the main line of God’s purpose for us, there is very GREAT harm indeed. Here is an earnest child of God most zealously labouring at work God never allotted to him, a work indeed so utterly beyond his powers that it has been reserved for accomplishment by the mighty Son of God when He comes in glory with ten thousands of His saints. Is there no harm? There is in fact a double harm. First, the waste of energy in the pursuit of what is not God’s present programme. Secondly, the neglect of what is. The Church, composed of all God’s saints, is on earth as a fortress in the enemy’s land, or, to change the figure, is like an embassy in a foreign country. Are the officials of the British Embassy in Paris — from the ambassador downwards — in that city in order to improve French life? Do they conduct an agitation, or join clubs for political reform? They do not. They are there to look after the interests of their own King and country, and to rightly represent those interests in the eyes of the French people. To interfere with French affairs would be really an insult to the French people. We Christians, being heaven’s embassage, are concerned with Christ’s interests. We represent Him. We do not meddle with world interests as though we were natives in the world-system, and not foreigners. You would surely advocate that as we go through the world we should do all the good we can? Certainly. The crux of the matter lies, however, in the question — and what good can we do? A ship, let us suppose, is grounded on the Goodwin Sands in a gale and the seas are breaking her up. The sailors are already on the masts. The lifeboat draws near. The coxswain skilfully brings it alongside the doomed vessel. See! instead of removing the sailors by rope from the battered ship into the security of the lifeboat, the majority of the lifeboat men spring on to the wreck, hammer in hand, and with a bag full of heavy nails slung on their backs. They attempt with feverish energy to undo the sea’s ravages and nail up her shattered planks. The coxswain protests, but they have an answer ready. Are they not doing all the good they can to the imperilled ship? Possibly they are. But they have forsaken their true calling. They are lifeboat men and not ship’s carpenters. Moreover, their puny efforts fail. Their nails are no match for the raging sea. Their work is destroyed, and the sailors, who might have been saved, are drowned. Need we apply our parable? Do all the good you can: but what GOOD can you do? What, then is the object of the service and activities of the Christian? To save people out of the world, as the parable just used would indicate. We cannot too earnestly press this point. Thousands of dear Christians are busy tinkering with the growing defects of the world-system. The oncoming tide of lawlessness and apostasy will submerge all their efforts, and meanwhile they are diverted from what they could accomplish, under God, viz. the saving of souls out of the world-system. The mischief, however, does not end here. By these well-meant efforts they are themselves entangled to a considerable extent in the world-system; instead of taking their stand with Paul and saying, "The world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Galatians 6:14). When Lot "sat in the gate of Sodom" (Genesis 19:1), which means that he acted as a magistrate, he, being a righteous man, must have earnestly desired to assist in improving its fearful state of unrighteousness and immorality. He accomplished nothing save the wrecking of his own power to witness against it and the destruction of his family. "He seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law" (v. 14). He himself barely escaped at the last moment, without any power to deliver others. His very wife was lost, and though the angels did extricate his two unmarried daughters, they promptly involved their backslidden father in drunkenness and immorality — the very sins of Sodom itself. What a story! How great the warning for us! Let us take heed to it. We naturally shrink from conflict. If we take up our true position is it inevitable? Quite inevitable. We must make up our minds for it. Having unfolded to His disciples their true place on earth as His witnesses in John 15:1-27 and 16, the Lord closed with these words: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Tribulation, then, in one way or another, we shall have. We shall also have the mighty power of the risen Lord on our side. "All power," said He, "is given unto Me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore . . . and lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:18-20). If we deviate from His path, if we change His programme and ally ourselves with the world, can we expect to realize His power? No. The more truly we are obedient to His word and way the more that power will be at our disposal. He wields "ALL power," and that in both spheres: heaven, the seat of those evil powers which are against us; and earth, where they operate and where we are. In Ephesians 6:12 the devil and his hosts are called "the rulers of the darkness of this world" — the Greek word for ruler being kosmokrator, or literally, "world-ruler"; i.e. they are the rulers of this kosmos — this ordered world system. But in 2 Corinthians 6:18 God speaks of Himself as "the Almighty," the Greek word being Pantokrator, i.e. the ruler of the "all-things" — the "universe" — and not merely this little "kosmos" in which we move and suffer. Do we tremble in the presence of the mighty invisible rulers of the kosmos? Above them towers the Almighty — the Ruler of the universe. He is for us. The keys of His power are in the hands of Jesus. We may well be of good cheer. How best may a Christian keep himself unspotted from the world? By keeping much in touch with the Lord in heaven. The negative is secured in the strength of the positive. The greater includes the less. The Christian is like a diver. He finds himself in an element utterly foreign to him. Why does a man don a diving dress if he wishes to spend half an hour at the bottom of the sea? Because he knows two things are necessary. Negatively the water must be kept out. Positively the air must be let in. Therefore he encases himself in an air-tight garment and sees to it that he has uninterrupted communication with the boundless expanse of air above. But if air-tight then necessarily watertight. In securing the positive air supply the water is necessarily excluded. If some one points out that after all the diver cannot keep up his own air supplies but is absolutely dependent upon a helper faithfully pumping down the air from above, we reply by affirming that this but increases the applicability of the illustration. There is, thank God, the ONE at the top, both Advocate and Priest, and His faithful services never fail. But, then, like a diver, we are in the death-element of this world but for a time, and our business is not the cleaning up of the sea or its bottom but the extrication from its depths of the pearls that our Master values. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 13: 012 THE BELIEVER'S PRESENT POSITION ON EARTH ======================================================================== STEM Publishing:The writings of F. B. Hole: The Believer’s Present Position on Earth, and Christ’s Present Service in Heaven http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/hole/index.html The Believer’s Present Position on Earth, and Christ’s Present Service in Heaven F. B. Hole. As believers, we are redeemed to God, and a day is coming when redemption in its full power will be applied to our bodies, which will mean our full entrance into the glorious estate which is ours in Christ. Meanwhile for a longer or shorter time we live on in the world. Externally nothing was changed in the hour of our conversion. That great revolution was internal, yet profoundly effective. It has put us in altogether new relations with God. How has it altered our position here? Mankind is dominated by a triple alliance of evil — the world, the flesh, and the devil. The first is that organized system of things produced as the fruit of human thought and activity, without God and in opposition to Him. The second is that corrupt nature, inherent in man as a fallen creature, which finds expression in the world, and is quite at home there. The last is the mighty personage, the very source and originator of evil itself. The world as an elaborate system has been built up by men, but unknown to them the inspiring genius of its developments has been the devil, and he controls the machine thus created. He is the god and prince of this world (see 2 Corinthians 4:4; John 12:31). From all three the death of Christ is our deliverance — a deliverance to be experimentally enjoyed even now in the power of the Spirit of God. As delivered we are set up here in witness for our absent Lord, and against these evil powers which formerly held us in bondage. Let us consider a few scriptures that deal with this important part of the truth; and first of all as to the devil. As the god of this world he has "blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ . . . should shine unto them," but the apostle immediately adds, "God . . . hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4-6). The believer is, therefore, one who is no longer kept under the blinding influence of Satan. God has, in his case, broken through the devil’s line of dark defence and let the light in. Consequently ours is the happy privilege of "giving thanks to the Father . . . who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear son" (Colossians 1:12-13). Notice that this deliverance is stated as an act of God and not something realized progressively in our experience. It is as much an act of God as was that great deliverance wrought when God overthrew Pharaoh and his hosts at the Red Sea, bringing Israel into the light of the Pillar of His presence, and the further light of the triumphant morning on the eastern banks, when Moses and all Israel sang their thanks to Jehovah out of full hearts. Indeed this latter is the type in the material realm. The former is the far greater reality in the spiritual realm. We have been called "out of darkness into His marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9). We English-speaking Christians but feebly realize the triumphant ring of these words. What must it have been to the Eunuch of Ethiopia (Acts 8:1-40), or the Jailer of Philippi (Acts 16:1-40), or Dionysius the Areopagite (Acts 17:1-34), to step out of the dark unfathomed caves of pagan superstition and vice, whether rough and barbaric or polished and intellectual, into the clear sunlight of the Gospel! Next the world. Here too the line of demarcation is clearly and sharply drawn. The Lord Jesus Christ "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world" (Galatians 1:4). Hence anticipating the cross He prayed for His disciples, saying, "They are not of the world even as I am not of the world" (John 17:16), and consequently we are enjoined, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world" (1 John 2:15). By the Cross the world is crucified to the believer, and the believer to the world (see Galatians 6:14). Lastly, as to the flesh. This too is a condemned thing. It is utterly worthless, inasmuch as no good is found in it (see Romans 7:18). "Sin in the flesh" is "condemned" (Romans 8:3), and consequently "they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts" (Galatians 5:24). This last scripture shows that it is not contemplated that any are brought into allegiance to Christ, and so belong to Him, without their having themselves solemnly endorsed and verified the sentence executed against it at the Cross. For the believer, as well as for God, the flesh is a worthless thing and he condemns and repudiates it in its practical workings. This is possible, of course, by reason of the fact that we have a new nature and possess the Spirit of God. The bare recital of these great facts will prepare us for that which Scripture indicates as our present position on earth. The flesh being held as a crucified thing we are set in sharpest conflict with the powers of darkness (see Ephesians 6:1-24), and we are severed from the world; so totally are we severed that if we do practically’ come into alliance with it we are addressed as "adulterers and adulteresses" and told that "the friendship of the world is enmity with God; whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (James 4:4) In the light of this scripture we are safe in saying that no true Christian deliberately and of set purpose stands forth as an enemy of God and a friend of the world; but, on the other hand, there is grave danger for every Christian, even the most devoted, lest they should be allured by the world in one of its many fairer forms, and thus, deceived and decoyed, fall under its power. The man of God from Judah, you may remember, had not much difficulty in declining the proffered hand of friendship, extended by Jeroboam, for that hand was stained by idolatry and open rebellion against God. He fell an easy victim though to the wily old prophet of Bethel. His words were smooth and religious. His proffered hand was professedly pious and guided by an angel of Jehovah — "but he lied unto him." The man of God struck up an alliance and fell (see 1 Kings 13:1-34). That is our danger. What, then, is our business in the world? Why are we here? In order that we may be for Christ just as once He was here for God. His place and position in the world is just he pattern of ours. His own words were: "As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world" (John 17:18). Here He clearly views us as taken out of the world and sent back into it to be for Him. Did he appear as a great Social Reformer? He did not. On the one occasion when He was appealed to, and urged to interfere because of social and pecuniary inequality, He flatly refused to have anything to do with it (see Luke 12:13-15). Neither are we left here to be social reformers. Did He bear witness for God? Indeed He did. He came and spoke to men; He did "among them the works which none other man did;" He bore "witness unto the truth" (John 15:22; John 15:24, and John 18:37). We, too, should be witnesses to truth by word and by work. Was He sharply antagonized and hated? He was: and that to such an extent that the scripture was fulfilled which said, "They hated Me without a cause" (John 15:25). We too are warned by His lips, "Because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you (John 15:19). Again we say — His position here is ours. We stand out, severed from the world system, and delivered from satanic authority. The powers of darkness are against us. We need the whole armour of God to stand in the defensive attitude against these unseen forces of evil. And if grace is ours to take the offensive in the service of the Lord, we must still remember that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal" (2 Corinthians 10:4; 2 Corinthians 5:1-21). The "strongholds" may be in human hearts; the "imaginations" or "reasonings" may be in human heads; but the pride that exalts itself against the knowledge of God is satanic in its origin and we are confronted with that. If here our subject ended we should be left in a panic-stricken frame of mind, similar to that of the ten spies who felt themselves but grasshoppers in the presence of the giants. It does not end here, however. Just as Israel, fighting Amalek under Joshua in the valleys below, had Moses interceding effectually on the top of the hill (see Exodus 17:8-13) so we are left in the conflict with not only the Spirit of God to indwell us but with Christ’s continuous present service in heaven to sustain us. The Spirit of God does indeed help our infirmities and make intercession for us according to Romans 8:26, but verse 34 tells us that the Christ who died and rose again "is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." In the succeeding verses all the adverse forces are surveyed. Not only those which proceed from men, such as persecution and the sword, but also the far more terrible principalities and powers of darkness. Yet in the face of them all the Apostle triumphantly asks, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" We may sum up his answer by replying, No one! Nothing! Never! When we come to examine more closely this present service of Christ we find that it falls into two main divisions. The first is that of His priesthood, which is so largely developed in the Epistle to the Hebrews, In keeping with its great theme of approach to God. Our approach is based on the blood, but it is by the Priest (see Hebrews 10:19-22). In order, however, that He may thus serve, much priestly work of another kind is His. He concerns Himself with the "infirmities" of His saints (Hebrews 4:15), and in view of these infirmities He proves Himself "able to succour" (Hebrews 2:18), able to sympathize (see Hebrews 4:15), and "able . . . to save . . . to the uttermost" (Hebrews 7:25). The second is that of His advocacy. Scripture says, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1). As is well-known, the word here translated "Advocate" is translated "Comforter" in John 14:1-31; John 15:1-27; John 16:1-33; the fact being that we have the Spirit of God here below as Comforter (or Advocate), and Christ above with the Father as Advocate (or Comforter). As Advocate He charges Himself with our concerns, and especially acts in relation to our sins. He leads us to repentance concerning them, so that we confess them to God according to 1 John 1:9; He also is there before. the Father on our behalf as the One who has accomplished propitiation, and thus, repentance and confession having taken place, the communion that had been disturbed by the sin is re-established. Bear in mind, then, the following distinctions: — As Priest He deals with and counteracts the infirmities of His saints that He may lead them in their approach to God: as Advocate, He deals with the sins of His saints. As Priest, He acts that we may not fall in spite of our infirmities: as Advocate, He lifts us up when fallen. His Priesthood, in a word, has as its first object, prevention. His advocacy has as its object, cure. In Christ’s present ministry on high we have thus a perfect provision for our sojourn in weakness below. We are truly in the enemy’s land and in the presence of his power; yet we may be maintained in the conflict against our foes, because sustained in our approach and nearness to God by the priestly action of the Lord Jesus Christ. Should the Christian be silent in the presence of earth’s great wrongs? Ought he not to strive to put the world right? It is hardly conceivable that the Christian should be silent and thus condone the wrongs. The point, however, is this: — when he opens his mouth against them, what is his object in doing so? Have Christians been commissioned by God to set the world right? Are they set as kings upon God’s holy hill of Zion to dispense judgment and justice in the earth? They are NOT. But a day is coming in which CHRIST will be, according to Psalms 2:1-12; Psalms 72:1-20, and other scriptures. The putting of the world right will be quickly accomplished by Him at His second coming. The prophets of old and the apostles of the New Testament were not silent as to the enormity of men’s sins. But they made more of men’s sins against God than of a man’s sins against his neighbour, and they charged home those sins on men’s consciences with the object of bringing them to repentance and thus into right relations with God. If as the result of men getting right with God they altered their ways and so abuses were reformed it was indeed well. This, however, is a secondary consequence, and not the primary object of the Christian’s witness. There can be no harm in the believer doing all he can to improve things, can there? Many useful societies exist, and he can help on their good work. If a believer allows himself to be side-tracked from the main line of God’s purpose for us, there is very GREAT harm indeed. Here is an earnest child of God most zealously labouring at work God never allotted to him, a work indeed so utterly beyond his powers that it has been reserved for accomplishment by the mighty Son of God when He comes in glory with ten thousands of His saints. Is there no harm? There is in fact a double harm. First, the waste of energy in the pursuit of what is not God’s present programme. Secondly, the neglect of what is. The Church, composed of all God’s saints, is on earth as a fortress in the enemy’s land, or, to change the figure, is like an embassy in a foreign country. Are the officials of the British Embassy in Paris — from the ambassador downwards — in that city in order to improve French life? Do they conduct an agitation, or join clubs for political reform? They do not. They are there to look after the interests of their own King and country, and to rightly represent those interests in the eyes of the French people. To interfere with French affairs would be really an insult to the French people. We Christians, being heaven’s embassage, are concerned with Christ’s interests. We represent Him. We do not meddle with world interests as though we were natives in the world-system, and not foreigners. You would surely advocate that as we go through the world we should do all the good we can? Certainly. The crux of the matter lies, however, in the question — and what good can we do? A ship, let us suppose, is grounded on the Goodwin Sands in a gale and the seas are breaking her up. The sailors are already on the masts. The lifeboat draws near. The coxswain skilfully brings it alongside the doomed vessel. See! instead of removing the sailors by rope from the battered ship into the security of the lifeboat, the majority of the lifeboat men spring on to the wreck, hammer in hand, and with a bag full of heavy nails slung on their backs. They attempt with feverish energy to undo the sea’s ravages and nail up her shattered planks. The coxswain protests, but they have an answer ready. Are they not doing all the good they can to the imperilled ship? Possibly they are. But they have forsaken their true calling. They are lifeboat men and not ship’s carpenters. Moreover, their puny efforts fail. Their nails are no match for the raging sea. Their work is destroyed, and the sailors, who might have been saved, are drowned. Need we apply our parable? Do all the good you can: but what GOOD can you do? What, then is the object of the service and activities of the Christian? To save people out of the world, as the parable just used would indicate. We cannot too earnestly press this point. Thousands of dear Christians are busy tinkering with the growing defects of the world-system. The oncoming tide of lawlessness and apostasy will submerge all their efforts, and meanwhile they are diverted from what they could accomplish, under God, viz. the saving of souls out of the world-system. The mischief, however, does not end here. By these well-meant efforts they are themselves entangled to a considerable extent in the world-system; instead of taking their stand with Paul and saying, "The world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Galatians 6:14). When Lot "sat in the gate of Sodom" (Genesis 19:1), which means that he acted as a magistrate, he, being a righteous man, must have earnestly desired to assist in improving its fearful state of unrighteousness and immorality. He accomplished nothing save the wrecking of his own power to witness against it and the destruction of his family. "He seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law" (v. 14). He himself barely escaped at the last moment, without any power to deliver others. His very wife was lost, and though the angels did extricate his two unmarried daughters, they promptly involved their backslidden father in drunkenness and immorality — the very sins of Sodom itself. What a story! How great the warning for us! Let us take heed to it. We naturally shrink from conflict. If we take up our true position is it inevitable? Quite inevitable. We must make up our minds for it. Having unfolded to His disciples their true place on earth as His witnesses in John 15:1-27; John 16:1-33, the Lord closed with these words: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Tribulation, then, in one way or another, we shall have. We shall also have the mighty power of the risen Lord on our side. "All power," said He, "is given unto Me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore . . . and lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:18-20). If we deviate from His path, if we change His programme and ally ourselves with the world, can we expect to realize His power? No. The more truly we are obedient to His word and way the more that power will be at our disposal. He wields "ALL power," and that in both spheres: heaven, the seat of those evil powers which are against us; and earth, where they operate and where we are. In Ephesians 6:12 the devil and his hosts are called "the rulers of the darkness of this world" — the Greek word for ruler being kosmokrator, or literally, "world-ruler"; i.e. they are the rulers of this kosmos — this ordered world system. But in 2 Corinthians 6:18 God speaks of Himself as "the Almighty," the Greek word being Pantokrator, i.e. the ruler of the "all-things" — the "universe" — and not merely this little "kosmos" in which we move and suffer. Do we tremble in the presence of the mighty invisible rulers of the kosmos? Above them towers the Almighty — the Ruler of the universe. He is for us. The keys of His power are in the hands of Jesus. We may well be of good cheer. How best may a Christian keep himself unspotted from the world? By keeping much in touch with the Lord in heaven. The negative is secured in the strength of the positive. The greater includes the less. The Christian is like a diver. He finds himself in an element utterly foreign to him. Why does a man don a diving dress if he wishes to spend half an hour at the bottom of the sea? Because he knows two things are necessary. Negatively the water must be kept out. Positively the air must be let in. Therefore he encases himself in an air-tight garment and sees to it that he has uninterrupted communication with the boundless expanse of air above. But if air-tight then necessarily watertight. In securing the positive air supply the water is necessarily excluded. If some one points out that after all the diver cannot keep up his own air supplies but is absolutely dependent upon a helper faithfully pumping down the air from above, we reply by affirming that this but increases the applicability of the illustration. There is, thank God, the ONE at the top, both Advocate and Priest, and His faithful services never fail. But, then, like a diver, we are in the death-element of this world but for a time, and our business is not the cleaning up of the sea or its bottom but the extrication from its depths of the pearls that our Master values. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 14: 013 THE SECOND ADVENT: THE DAY OF REDEMPTION. ======================================================================== STEM Publishing:The writings of F. B. Hole: The Second Advent: The Day of Redemption. http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/hole/index.html The Second Advent: The Day of Redemption. F. B. Hole. The Bible is so full of references to the second coming of the Lord Jesus that we shall waste no words in proving it, but rather take it for granted. It can only be denied at the cost of such a treatment of Scripture as would destroy all certainty in regard to every truth of our holy faith. Our present object is to show the place it holds as ushering in the "day of redemption;" and how thus it completes the great foundations of revelation according to Scripture, and gives consistency and stability to the whole. The first advent, together with the work of atonement which it involved, has for nineteen centuries been an accomplished fact. Then was brought to pass redemption by blood. Yet throughout all the years, and still today, is there ample scope for those who would speak injuriously of God and His ways. The love of God fully shone forth at the Cross and the anointed eye perceives it; nevertheless, the powers of darkness still dominate the earth, and sin still ravages it. Hence the creation groans; the children of God continue in affliction; the mystery of God’s ways in His government of the earth persists; and men are found who blaspheme His holy name. All this shall shortly be ended. God’s judgments will swiftly work for the disentanglement of good from evil, and for the vindication of all that is good, in the condemnation of all that is evil. Then the "mystery of God" shall be "finished" (Revelation 10:7) and "songs and everlasting joy" will supplant the "sorrow and sighing" (see Isaiah 35:10). The Second Advent will bring to pass redemptive by power. The Old Testament prophets have much to tell us of the glories of this coming Day. They indicate not only its character, both in the way of judgment and blessing, but also that it depends altogether upon the Advent of the Messiah. When first they spoke, however, it would have been well nigh impossible to determine how much of their utterances related to the first Advent, and how much to the second. Theirs was a long-distance view, and both merged indistinctly one into the other; just as there are many distant stars which to the naked eye shine as a single point of light, and no one suspected them to be anything but one until powerful telescopes were turned upon them. Then at once they were discovered to be twin or double stars. The New Testament has furnished us with telescopic powers and we can clearly see that Messiah’s advent is like a double star. Astronomers assure us that though these stars are apparently one to the naked eye yet often immense distances lie between them, and for all that they revolve mutually round each other. Even so the two Advents are mutually related, pivoted one upon the other, though we now know that at least nearly two thousand years roll between them. One of the most striking New Testament passages upon this subject is Romans 8:16-25. Give it a careful reading. The earlier part of this epistle has dwelt exhaustively upon the wonderful results of the work accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ at His first coming. The "redemption that is in Christ Jesus" is expounded in all its bearings upon the individual believer. It has resulted in his complete SPIRITUAL emancipation, so that he stands in the unclouded favour of God as a justified man; he is animated by the brightest hopes of glory; and, further, he is liberated from sin’s dominion though sin itself is still in him. He possesses the Spirit of God, and consequently he not only is a child of God, but he knows that he is. He has the consciousness of the relationship. At this point the passage we have indicated starts. The Spirit-led children of God, who are also "heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ," are still in a suffering condition. They are not yet PHYSICALLY emancipated. Their bodies truly are the Lord’s, being even "members of Christ," and "temples of the Holy Ghost," because "bought with a price" (see 1 Corinthians 6:13-20), still they are not yet redeemed. Verses 19 to 22 of our passage show us that the whole earthly creation lies under thralldom. The usurper still holds sway; the ravages of sin and death continue. Its decayed estate did not come upon it by some act of its own, or by some weakness or evil inherent in matter, as some would teach; but by reason of Adam’s will exercised in defiance of God. Adam was its constituted head, its intelligent link with the Creator. Just as the snapping of the first, or top link of a chain involves every link in its fall, so the fall of Adam brought about the fall of all creation. Is the creation, dumb and inanimate as it may appear to us, to groan and travail on for ever? No, indeed! In these verses creation is pictured as peering into the future with "earnest expectation," or "anxious looking-out," to a day when it shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption. And when shall its hopes be fulfilled? We answer, When the sons of God are manifested. When the children of God step into their glory, then into the liberty of that glory the whole creation will step with them. Then there will be the proclamation of "liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." Then will the forfeited land be redeemed. Then will men’s toil and labour cease and they will "eat the increase thereof out of the field" (see Leviticus 25:10-13). It will be the true and final year of Jubilee. But not only does creation groan; we who possess the Spirit groan also. We wait for that which will complete our glorious estate as the sons of God, viz. "the redemption of our body." When and how will this redemption of our bodies take place? Have we any clear light as to it? The answer is supplied by 1 Corinthians 15:51-54. Our bodies will be redeemed when the Lord comes, whether it takes the form of a resurrection from amongst the dead into an incorruptible condition, or an instantaneous transformation of the living into a similar condition, when "we shall all be changed." "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump" all will be accomplished. "They that are Christ’s" will rise "at His coming" (v. 23). In regard to ourselves, then, the second Advent will witness the full completion of redemption’s work. Our very bodies will be brought under its power. We may note in passing how clearly this negatives the idea, so prevalent to-day, that only a select few of superior faithfulness are to be taken when the Lord comes. He comes to redeem the bodies of His saints, and redemption is never a question of human faithfulness, but of the power and grace of God. We have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of God "unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). Every true believer is thus sealed with the great day in view. Our faithfulness, or the reverse, will mightily affect our place in the coming kingdom, but redemption lies on another plane altogether. Thus far we have dwelt upon what we get, and what creation gets in a subsidiary way, as a result of the second Advent. Reading the glowing predictions of the Prophets we might wonder if anything could exceed the blessedness of it. When The saints shine in heavenly glory, and quietness and assurance for ever fill the world; when such is the exuberant fertility of the emancipated earth that it is no exaggeration for the prophet to say, "The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands" (Isaiah 55:12), we might well imagine that the climax is reached. But it is not so. God has a good pleasure which He has purposed in Himself for the glory of Christ, and this concerns a sphere even wider than that of redeemed saints and a redeemed millennial earth. Christ is the Heir of all things. His glory is the supreme consideration. He is Pre-eminent. It is only when we view things from this angle that we reach the climax. We get this view presented to us in Ephesians 1:9-14. Here, as in chapter 4, we read of the Spirit being given to us as a seal until redemption’s hour is come, but He is also spoken of as "the earnest of our inheritance," and the redemption is called "the redemption of the purchased possession," because not only the bodies of the saints are in view, but the whole inheritance in so far as it has been marred by sin. God has a "will." As to it the world remains in ignorance and indifference. The "mystery’’ or secret of it is made known to us, however, as verse 9 states; and we find it to be according to His "pleasure," which is neither harsh nor arbitrary, but emphatically "good." And what is this "mystery of His wiI1 according to His good pleasure"? First, it is to have an age or dispensation which is to be the "fulness of times" — the climax and completion of the ages, since it is to be marked by administrative perfection, and every preceding age will be seen to have been but preparatory to it. Second, it is to administer that coming age by Christ, the MAN of His good pleasure, the One of whom it had been said prophetically "the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand" (Isaiah 53:10). When our Lord Jesus comes again in glory with all His saints it will be to take His place as Head over all things. God is going to purify the earth through judgments and then "gather together in one all things in Christ" — that is, He will head up all things in Him. Christ will be as the exalted apex of a pyramid — if we may use such a figure. The apex or top-stone of a pyramid is itself a perfect pyramid in shape. All the upward lines and faces of the pyramid converge in it. It crowns the whole. Nor will it be only earth that lies blessed beneath Him, for the "all things" is said to include both those "which are in heaven, and which are on earth." The "all things" then evidently means all things which exist in every sphere of blessing, whether heavenly or earthly, to the utmost bounds. One sphere is excluded — the sphere of judgment. Yet even this — "the things under the earth" — is to bow at the name of Jesus according to Php 2:10. It must acknowledge Him, though severed from Him and under the frown of God. All things, that then shall lie in the sunlight of God’s favour, will find their Head and supreme glory in Christ. In this way God is going to redeem His purchased possession. For long, sin has lain like a heavy encumbrance or mortgage upon a large part of the fair inheritance, upon every part of it which has in any way been touched or tarnished by evil. All was His by creation, but at the first Advent it became a "purchased possession" by the death of Christ; just as in the parable the field was purchased as well as the treasure in it (see Matthew 13:44). At the second Advent the encumbrance will be lifted from the inheritance. The Lord Jesus will put into effect by power those rights which were established by blood when He came in lowliness and humiliation, for it was — "By weakness and defeat He won the meed and crown." We add one thing: When He thus takes up the inheritance He will do so in His saints. This was indicated in Daniel 7:1-28, for when in the vision " One like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven . . . and there was given Him dominion and glory and a kingdom" (vv. 13, 14), then "the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom" (v. 22). Just as a king might occupy conquered territory by putting his troops and officials in post session, so will it be then. We shall get our inheritance when Christ gets His. This is what the Apostle means when he prays that we "may know . . . what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints " (Ephesians 1:18). It is not that the saints are His inheritance, but that He takes up His inheritance in His saints, by putting His saints in possession. That we should have any inheritance at all in the day of glory is wonderful. But how greatly will its sweetness be intensified by the fact that what we then shall be possessed of we shall hold as on God’s behalf and as joint-heirs with Christ. You have made a distinction between purchase and redemption. Can that distinction be clearly found in Scripture? Yes. Scripture speaks of some who go as far as "even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction" (2 Peter 2:1). They were "bought," for the Lord Jesus has acquired universal rights by His death and resurrection, and He is Lord of all. They were not, however, redeemed. No one can be redeemed without purchase: yet many may be purchased who are not redeemed. The fourth chapter of Ruth illustrates the point. When Boaz challenged the kinsman nearer than himself as to the redemption of Elimelech’s inheritance, at first the man proposed to act. All that occurred to him for the moment was the question of purchase, and it might have been a profitable transaction. When Boaz reminded him that redemption went further than mere purchase and involved his taking up all the rights and duties connected with the estate, the lifting up of the fallen, the entering into personal relationship with Ruth, and through her with Naomi, then he declined. This makes the distinction pretty clear. We read in Scripture of our mortal bodies being quickened. Some say that has already taken place and that therefore no Christian shouldsufferfrom sickness. Is that correct? It is not. The passage in question does not say that our mortal bodies have been quickened. It says, " If the Spirit . . . dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead SHALL also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Romans 8:11); and here we have an explanation of how "the redemption of our body," spoken of in verse 23, is going to be accomplished. God will do it: but as John 5:28 shows it will be by the voice of the Lord Jesus, and it will also be by the energy of the indwelling Spirit. All three Persons of the Godhead will be active in our final redemption. The premise thus being false, the conclusion drawn from it, as to sickness, falls to the ground. Apart from this, however, one wonders why people content themselves with such shallow reasonings. If our bodies were quickened there would be no "should not" nor "ought not" about it; we simply "could not" be sick. We could not even DIE! After all, sickness is mere child’s play when compared to death. Why do not people come boldly out with the full consequences of their theories? Because to do so would involve their folly being manifest to all men. Will the whole work of redeeming the purchased possession take place in a moment? Not in a moment, but in a comparatively short space of time. First in order the Lord will redeem the bodies of His saints. He will come for them, raising the dead, changing the living, and rapturing all into His own presence according to 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. He will espouse His bride as is typified in the peaceful way in which Boaz took Ruth. Then He "shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people which shall be left" (Isaiah 11:11), i.e. the remnant of His people Israel. This will be no peaceful process, but involve terrific judgments upon earth. Isaiah 63:1-6 gives us a description, and the victorious, all-conquering Messiah speaks in verses 3 to 6 by the prophet’s lips. He says, "The day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come." Israel will be redeemed by judgment once more, as of old out of the land of Egypt. Then, thirdly, "He will destroy . . . the face of the covering cast over all people and the vail that is spread over all nations" (Isaiah 25:7). The nations will be first judged and then blessed. Lastly, when His throne is exalted in Zion the living waters will flow forth (see Ezekiel 47:1-12) and bring amazing fertility to the very earth. This passage is doubtless emblematical of spiritual blessing but primarily must be taken in its literal sense. The curse will be lifted from off the face of creation. All this will not take long, for "a short work will the Lord make upon the earth" (Romans 9:28). We read inActs 3:21of "the restitution of all things." Does not this mean that ultimately everybody will be redeemed and brought into blessing? It does not. That verse speaks of ’’the times of restitution of all things," i.e. the millennial age of which God had spoken by His prophets from the earliest moments. Enoch’s prophecy, for instance, was concerning that day, as recorded in Jude 1:14, whilst the fifteenth verse describes the judgments that precede the ushering in of the reign of peace. That phrase exactly describes the character of the millennium. Throughout the ages God has brought forth to men many things that are His purpose for this world. He created Adam as head, and he sinned. He established government in Noah, and it was corrupted. He gave His law through Moses, and it was broken. He instituted priesthood in Aaron, and it was perverted. He set up kingly authority in David, and it collapsed. These things and every other good thing that is in His purpose will be restored in the coming age. And not only restored, but established in much greater fulness and in absolute perfection because all will then be centred in CHRIST. He will be set as God’s King upon His holy hill of Zion (see Psalms 2:1-12). He will be crowned with glory and honour as the Son of Man — the last Adam — and have dominion over the works of Jehovah’s hands (see Psalms 8:1-9). Nothing is said as to the restitution of all persons. Many plain scriptures refute this universalist theory, and to attempt to foist it into this passage is an outrage on Scripture language. How do you reconcile the fact that the second coming of Christ brings about the day of redemption, with the fact that His millennial reign closes with a great rebellion? No reconciliation is needed. If any one or anything redeemed by Christ at His second Advent were in any way again brought under the power of evil, there would of course be grave difficulty. There is, however, no trace of this. Satan, released from the abyss, is the instigator of the great final rebellion (see Revelation 20:7-10) and he is not redeemed. Vast multitudes will have been born during the thousand years. They will never have known the blighting effects of sin by sad experience, and if not born again will fall before Satan’s fresh temptations. But such were never redeemed. Nor will anything be accomplished by their mad rebellion save their own utter destruction and final judgment. They may compass about the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but not a hair of the head of any of the former nor the least stone of the latter will be disturbed by them. God will seize that occasion, however, to fold up as a worn-out vesture the present heaven and earth and perpetuate redemption’s wonderful story in a new heaven and a new earth. How then would you summarize the distinction between the millennium and the eternal state? The one is as the vestibule or ante-chamber to the other. Both are characterized by righteousness; but in the one it reigns, for sin is not finally dealt with but rather sternly repressed, in the other it dwells for, the last judgment over, it retreats from the judicial throne to the sweet freedom of love and home. The millennium will be the vindication on this earth of all God’s ways in righteous and holy government. How necessary is this! In this world His authority has been repudiated, and every thought of His has been abused in men’s hands. How appropriate then that here in this world there shall be manifested for the complete cycle of a thousand years the perfection of all His thoughts and arrangements when once taken up and put into execution by Christ. That demonstration accomplished, Satan is permitted to display once more his implacable hatred, and men their irremediable corruption by nature. This leads to the final great act of judgment. As its consequence sin, whether in the devil and his angels, or in evil men, will for ever lie under wrath and penalty in a limited and circumscribed place — "the lake of fire." As an active principle, capable of further mischief, it will cease to be. In the new heaven and new earth all will be new (see Revelation 21:5). That is, everything will then be on the basis of "new creation," and suitable to the full and unrestrained expression of all God’s nature, the fruition of His eternal purpose. We, thank God, are on that basis now as "in Christ" (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). New creation rests, as we know, upon Christ’s death as its basis. By and by the Sitter upon the throne, who is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, will say, "Behold, I make all things new . . . It is done" (Revelation 21:5 and 6). He will say that then because there was a day when on the Cross He said, "It is finished." ======================================================================== CHAPTER 15: 014 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ======================================================================== STEM Publishing:The writings of F. B. Hole: Summary and Conclusion http://www.stempublishing.com/authors/hole/index.html Summary and Conclusion F. B. Hole. We have now surveyed in brief outline some of the great foundations of the faith of Christ. There has been nothing exhaustive about our treatment of them. Other foundation truths might have been added, and there are great depths that we have not touched in those that we have considered. Still, we have had before us the authoritative Word of God, and have considered our themes in the light of its statements. Let us finish by attempting to sum up our conclusions in a general way under four definite heads. Firstly, then, we would say that The Faith is One. We speak frequently enough of the truths of Scripture, yet we must always remember that each individual item which we may call a truth is but a part of one whole, which is the truth. A wheel may have many spokes, the arch of a bridge may contain many stones, and we may concentrate our thoughts for a given time upon one spoke or one stone, yet we always have in the back of our minds the fact that it is but a part of a greater whole. So it must be as we concentrate upon any of the foundation truths of our holy faith. They are not disconnected items which may be brought together in any fashion. They are intimately connected and organically ONE. Secondly, as a consequence of this No part of truth can be denied or weakened without injury to the whole. If one spoke be broken the strength of the wheel is threatened. If one stone of the arch be dislodged the stability of the whole is destroyed. If one foundation truth of Scripture be denied the faith of Christ is imperilled, its consistency is broken up, and there is no knowing how far the mischief may spread. We gave an illustration of this at the end of the chapter on Eternal Punishment, for at this point above all others does the devil attempt to insert the thin edge of the wedge of unbelief. He knows full well that especially here are men tempted to be partial in their thoughts, and at the same time that the point appears to be one which can be left unguarded without any very serious consequences following. As we showed, however, very serious consequences do invariably follow, and sometimes those who begin by denying eternal punishment on humanitarian grounds end by denying the faith in its entirety. We entreat our readers to lay hold of this fact very firmly, for the faith is that at which Satan, the god and prince of this world, is ever aiming. Scripture presents him to us, not so much as a monster who aims at the corrupting of the morals of mankind; as transforming himself into an angel of light, that he may aim at the faith of the saints and the corruption of the faith of Christianity. For instance, in the parable of the sower the devil is mentioned: "Then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved" (Luke 8:12). The aim of the devil here is to prevent faith in God’s word. Again, when Peter was in great danger from Satan’s wiles the Lord told him, saying, "Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not" (Luke 22:31, 32). The real object of attack was Peter’s faith In 1 Timothy 4:1 the Apostle Paul predicts that in the latter times some shall give heed to "seducing spirits and doctrines of devils," the result of which will be that they "depart from the faith." The aim of the spirits of evil in all the practices of spiritism is the seduction of souls from the faith. Hence in warning the saints of Satan’s activities as a roaring lion, Peter enjoins upon them to resist him, "steadfast in the faith" (1 Peter 5:8, 9), for if the faith be held his terror departs. Let us, therefore, beware of anything which would weaken in our minds these great foundation truths or any part of them. There may be many points of detail about the superstructure, as to which believers may not see eye to eye, and as to these we have to exercise patience one with another, while seeking a clearer understanding, in the spirit of that word, "If in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you" (Php 3:15). But there must be absolutely no hesitation when the foundations are at stake. Then "no compromise" becomes the watchword, and faithfulness to our Lord and His truth demands a clear-cut separation from those who deny these foundations in any part, and from all their associates. Thirdly, we observe that when we thus view the foundations of the faith as one whole we find that While they are so great as to elude the grasp of our reason, there is nothing about them which is repugnant to reason. We are far from exalting human reason as a standard or test. We rather affirm that man’s reason, like every other part of him, has suffered as the result of his fall. His reason has become fallen reason, and hence is peculiarly unreliable, when dealing with the things of God. Even when, as the result of conversion, the Christian’s reasoning powers are restored to something at least of their proper use, they are by no means infallible; yet there is absolutely nothing about the Christian faith that is unreasonable, or that puts a strain upon reasonable intelligence as do false religions or the corruptions of Christianity. If we view items of truth as isolated fragments we may perhaps find intellectual difficulties, but never when once we gain some conception of the truth in its entirety — in the wide sweep of its majestic circle. On the other hand, any conception we may get of the faith as a whole is never complete and absolute. Being divine it lies beyond the embrace of our finite minds. We may apprehend it, yet can we never comprehend it. It transcends our highest thought just because it is OF GOD. It is very important to remember this, because a spirit of mental arrogance peculiarly marks the present age. Men have made such wonderful discoveries, and solved such intricate problems, and formulated such complex and highly-imaginative philosophies, that they feel themselves entirely competent to install themselves as masters of the Christian faith, with liberty to criticise and alter it as they please. In result they do but furnish an excellent modern illustration of the truth of the inspired words, "If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain" (1 Corinthians 3:18-20). As Christians, we are mercifully delivered from that particular form of learned folly, but we may, nevertheless, get somewhat infected with its spirit and allow our minds far too much freedom in dealing with the things of God. It is an unquestionable fact that the errors and heresies which all through the centuries have-distracted and injured the Church have had their origin not amongst the lowly and simple, the sheep and lambs of the flock of God, but amongst the gifted and the leaders, as indicated by the Apostle Paul in his farewell address to the elders of Ephesus (see Acts 20:28-30). Whilst therefore it is very right for us to follow the example of prophets of old and enquire and search diligently into what God has revealed, we must do so in that humility of mind which flows from a wholesome sense of our own mental littleness and consequent need of strengthening and enlightenment by the Spirit of God. This alone will keep us right and enable us to avoid the pitfalls which lie at either extreme. It is harmful if we fail to catch a glimpse of the faith in its oneness and entirety. Viewing items of truth as isolated fragments we lay ourselves open to being easily deceived by the plausible apostles of error. We have not the power of testing what is preached to us as truth by seeing whether it fits in with the other parts of the truth — whether that which is presented to us as a spoke of the wheel is really so or not. If we have some idea of the wheel as a whole, we can soon see if the spoke offered to us is of the right size, and length, and shape, or whether it is not. It is even more harmful if, seeing the faith in its entirety, we assume that we know all about it. A spirit of self-confidence thus engendered lays us open quickly to the wiles of a foe who is far too clever for us, and we are in danger of falling into "the snare of the devil" (see 2 Timothy 2:25, 26). In such a condition we not merely get damaged ourselves, but inflict damage upon others by our false and erroneous notions; and only divine grace and power can deliver us. Fourthly, and lastly, we emphasize that which was alluded to in the foreword — the exhortation of the inspired writer Jude. In his short epistle he begins by calling upon all the believers of his day to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (v. 3); he ends by instructing them to build "up yourselves on your most holy faith" (v. 20). In this twofold exhortation the first evidently is dependent upon the second. We therefore affirm that it is the business of all Christians to Build themselves up upon, and earnestly contend for, the faith once delivered to the saints. It stands to reason, of course, that we cannot build up ourselves upon that of which we are largely ignorant. Hence the great importance of making the Scriptures, wherein the faith is permanently enshrined, our daily meditation and food. We need not only to know them, but also to have them built into our minds and hearts, and our souls thus built up and established upon the solid basis which the faith supplies. Then we are to contend for the faith. It has been delivered, not to apostles merely, nor to prophets, teachers, evangelists, or other gifted and prominent men, but "TO THE SAINTS." The majority of those who read our simple lines will be young Christians, young in the faith at least, and probably young in years also. Well, as you close this little volume you must remember that as one of "the saints" — i.e. those who have been separated to God, by divine call, by Christ’s work and by the action of the Spirit of God — you have a responsibility as regards the faith; it has been delivered to you. How immense the privilege! How elevating the thought, if once it lays hold of you! In a battalion there may be a thousand men, and but one carries the standard. In the Church of God there are thousands of thousands, yet the feeblest amongst them has his hand upon the flag! In some degree, therefore, the faith and its integrity are in your keeping. Can you regard yourself as a kind of private individual having no vital concern in the battles of the Lord, in the light of this? No, the very reverse! You are concerned, you are interested in this great matter. To you comes the exhortation, "That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us" (2 Timothy 1:14). You are to contend EARNESTLY for this precious faith. God will preserve His own truth. We need have no fear as to that. Yet how great the privilege of being used in its maintenance. How happy for us if at the end of the earthly race we too can truthfully say with Paul, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have KEPT THE FAITH" (2 Timothy 4:7). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 16: 015 THE GREAT SALVATION ======================================================================== The Great Salvation F. B. Hole. Foreword. The Scriptures themselves speak of the "great salvation," which has reached us through the Gospel. We, who have experienced the saving grace of God, know something of its greatness, but it is only as we search the Scriptures and investigate its details that the magnitude of what God has brought to pass begins to dawn upon us. In these pages the main details are taken up one by one. If all be put together, the great salvation of God is before us; and it is important to remember that each is but one part of a great whole. They are considered separately in order that we may gain a fuller understanding of each part, and thereby more fully understand the whole. We can no more apprehend the whole Divine plan at one moment than we can see all four sides of a building from one viewpoint. We have to content ourselves with one thing at a time. If this book helps any Christians to a deeper appreciation of the wonders wrought of God through the Gospel, not only will they be spiritually helped but God will be glorified. Contents Forgiveness Justification Redemption Reconciliation Salvation Sanctification The New Birth Quickening The Gift of the Holy Spirit New Creation ======================================================================== CHAPTER 17: 016 FORGIVENESS ======================================================================== Forgiveness F. B. Hole. Forgiveness. When the first stirrings of the Spirit of God took place within us, the effect in almost every case was that we became conscious of our sins and of the guilt that attached to them, and consequently we became seekers after forgiveness. We wanted to be forgiven, and to know it. The reader has, we trust, the knowledge of forgiveness, yet it may be well if we begin by surveying the teaching of Scripture on this subject, and thus aim at obtaining an orderly understanding of this great, fundamental blessing of the Gospel. First of all then, let us observe that when sin entered into the world by the transgression of Adam, and the human race consequently lapsed into an utterly fallen and sinful condition, its effects were manifold and went far beyond the incurring of guilt. Yet the first and most obvious effect was that Adam became a guilty and conscience-stricken man. As men multiplied it had to be said that, "all the world" was "guilty before God" (Romans 3:19), and this means, since guilt is an intensely individual matter, that every individual composing the world, every one of us, is guilty. But the Scripture speaks of, "them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth" (Romans 2:8). Many such are to be found, who are by no means disposed to acknowledge their guilt, but rather challenge the foundations on which rests the very idea of being guilty before God. They assert on the contrary the innate goodness of all men, who are, so they say, always struggling upwards. Some of these contentious folk go so far as to deny all fixed standards of right and wrong. Good and evil are words of only relative force, since to them "good" is that which is approved by the most enlightened sections of humanity in any given age, and "evil" is that which their mind repudiates. It therefore follows that "right" and "wrong" are values which fluctuate according to the fashions of the age in matters of morality. The human mind is left the whole arbiter of such questions, and consequently the only guilt they know is that which may be incurred before men as the result of flouting the standards erected by the most enlightened and advanced amongst them. The utmost verdict that they can approve of is therefore, guilty before men. The epistle to the Romans, on the other hand, begins with GOD, and we do not have to travel far into its contents before we arrive at the verdict against us of, "guilty before God." In its opening chapter we read of, "The Gospel of God" "The Son of God" "The power of God" "The righteousness of God" "The wrath of God" "The glory of God" "The judgment of God" and God, whose power and righteousness and wrath and glory and judgment are revealed, is "the Creator" (Romans 1:25). At once therefore we leave the quagmire of human standards and opinions for the sure rock of divine truth, and we find ourselves standing in the presence of the Creator, who is marked by fixed and unalterable righteousness. Much may be needed indeed before the conviction of guilt is driven home effectually into the consciousness of the individual sinner. This may not be so difficult a matter with peoples who have lapsed into the barbarism that so frequently accompanies heathenism. Such are in view in Romans 1:18-32, and they stand without excuse, and consequently their mouths are shut. The mere recital of the enormous evils into which they had fallen, as a result of turning away from the knowledge of God, is sufficient. In their case no reasoning is necessary in order to convict and silence. But at different times in the world’s history, nations, though pagan, have evolved amongst themselves systems of natural culture and civilization. Such were the ancient Greeks, and to these Romans 2:1-16, is addressed. In their case the dark cesspool of iniquity was partly covered up by fine systems of philosophical thought and ethical teaching. They condemned the poor, unlettered barbarian yet they themselves did the same things in a more refined way. They too are pronounced to be "inexcusable," yet some very pointed reasoning, coupled with sharp home-thrusts of the keen blade of truth, is necessary before the conviction of it can be driven home. In the course of reasoning they are reminded that, "The judgment of God is according to truth;" that the day is coming for the revelation of "the righteous judgment of God;" and that "there is no respect of persons with God." By the combination of these three facts their escape from the judgment of God is rendered impossible. If His judgment were sometimes according to mere outward appearances, or if it occasionally lapsed from strict righteousness, or deviated because of favouritism or other personal considerations, then there might be some chance of escape. It is however "according to truth," and hence the exact reality of things will be dragged into the light of day. It is "righteous," and hence absolute and inflexible justice will prevail. There is "no respect of persons," hence nothing will turn God from a judgment of absolute righteousness in the light of absolute truth. This must shut the mouth of the most civilized and the most cultured, and convict them too as "guilty before God." Lastly there were the Jews, a people brought under a culture which was not merely natural but divine. Romans 2:17-29; Romans 3:1-20, is addressed to such, and in this passage we have not merely reasoning but the decisive evidence of their own Scriptures. Their indictment is couched in terms culled from their own law, and at the close the weight of this Scriptural evidence is driven home into their consciences by the fact that "what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law;" that is, to the Jews. The sweeping accusations and condemnation of the law was aimed therefore, not at the barbarian nor the Greek, but at the opinionated and self-righteous Jew, that even his mouth might be stopped, and thus all the world become "guilty before God." Guilt being established, forgiveness becomes an urgent necessity. Hence we find it placed in the very forefront of the instructions given by the risen Lord to His disciples. In Luke 24:45-48 He told the eleven that "remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations." In Acts 26:16-18 we have the apostle Paul’s account of how in a heavenly vision he heard the voice of the Glorified One, sending him to the Gentiles, "to open their eyes . . . that they may receive forgiveness of sins." How these commissions were carried out the Acts bears witness. To the multitude in Jerusalem, who on the day of Pentecost were pricked in their heart, Peter spoke of "the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). Before the council he again testified of "forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31). Again to the Gentile Cornelius and his friends he proclaimed that "through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins" (Acts 10:43). To the mixed crowd in the synagogue at Antioch Paul declared, "Be it known . . . that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins" (Acts 13:38). In each case, of the six quoted above, the same Greek word occurs in the original, though translated both as remission and forgiveness in the Authorized Version. It signifies simply "a sending away" or "a release" and this is just what a guilty sinner needs as regards his sins. Let them be sent away or dismissed by the One against whom his guilt has been incurred, and what a happy release is his! Now this is just what every child of God is entitled to enjoy. "I write unto you little children" said the aged apostle John, "because your sins are forgiven you [are dismissed and sent away] for His name’s sake" (1 John 2:12). It is in the epistle to the Romans, as we have seen, that the Holy Ghost pronounces the verdict of "guilty before God" against the whole human race. We might naturally have expected therefore that immediately following this we should have found a full unfolding of forgiveness. As a matter of fact however the word for forgiveness only occurs once in the whole epistle, and that when the Apostle cites David’s words from Psalms 32:1-11. The blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness without works is described by David saying, "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven" (Romans 4:6, 7). This shows us however that the imputation of righteousness — i.e justification — is in this passage practically equivalent to forgiveness. The words that are so much used in the early chapters of Romans are righteousness and justification, and they are on the whole words of great fulness. One cannot have one’s sins forgiven without being justified, nor vice versa; yet in the main the force of forgiveness is negative — we lose our sins: the main force of justification is positive — we gain righteousness. It has been asserted that everybody is forgiven. Is there any sense in which such a statement is true? No. It is of course a wonderful fact that, "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them" (2 Corinthians 5:19). Hence the Lord’s words to the sinful woman, "Neither do I condemn thee" (John 8:11). God’s overtures of mercy, in Christ present upon earth, were however rejected. It is also a wonderful fact that, His overtures being rejected, He has taken advantage of the death and resurrection of Christ to send out a world-wide message of forgiveness, so that in the Gospel today forgiveness is preached to all, and He is presented as a forgiving God. (See Luke 24:46, 47). Instead of the rejection of Christ being followed by a declaration of war, and the hurling of Heaven’s thunderbolts against a rebellious world, God has, as it were, established a lengthy armistice, during which time an amnesty for all rebels is being proclaimed. If any rebel humbles himself and turns to the Saviour in faith, he is forgiven. It is true therefore that there is forgiveness for everybody; but in no sense is it true that everybody is forgiven. In His parable of the two debtors inLuke 7:1-50, the Lord did teach however that both were forgiven by the creditor. Was not Simon, the self-righteous Pharisee, as much forgiven therefore as the repentant sinner? "He frankly forgave them both." Both therefore were frankly forgiven. The two words "frankly forgave" are the translation of one Greek word — not the usual word for forgiveness but a word meaning, "to show grace to." The Lord Jesus therefore in His parable represented God as acting in a forgiving spirit and showing grace towards men, no matter what the depth of their sin. This is exactly God’s attitude to-day. Later in the story the Lord did utter the usual word for forgiveness. He said of the woman, "her sins, which are many, are forgiven." To her He said, "Thy sins are forgiven." Her sins, then, were definitely dismissed, for she believed in the Saviour and came to Him. Grace was indeed shown even to proud Simon, and he was not brought instantly and summarily into judgment for his sins. In that sense he was "frankly forgiven," but the Lord never told him that his sins had been definitely dismissed. Only the repentant sinner is thus forgiven, in the ordinary meaning of the word. Is it a fact that when a sinner repents and believes he receives forgiveness once and for all? Certainly it is. In the argument on the subject of sacrifice, contained in Hebrews 9:1-28; Hebrews 10:1-18, that fact is one of the main points. In that great passage it is affirmed no less than six times that the sacrifice of Christ was one and offered once. It is also asserted that those who approach God as worshippers on the ground of His sacrifice are purged once, and consequently draw near with perfected consciences (Hebrews 10:1, 2). The perfection of which the first verse speaks is "pertaining to the conscience" (Hebrews 9:9), and founded upon the one perfect cleansing, or purging, that has reached them. We stand before God in an eternal forgiveness. To this it is objected by some, that if a believer is taught that at his conversion he obtained complete forgiveness, it is sure to provoke him to carelessness and license. Might it not be better to say that all is forgiven up to the point of conversion? No one would object in this way but those who deny, or at least overlook, the fact that we are not converted without being born again and thereby becoming possessed of a nature that hates evil. Once give this fact its due weight and the whole case wears a different aspect. Further, not only are we born again and forgiven but we receive the Holy Spirit of God to dwell in us, and we come under the teaching of grace, of which Titus 2:11-14, speaks. We must remember that though forgiveness is ministered to us when we believe, yet it was procured for us by the sacrifice of Christ; and all our sins not only those up to the point of conversion — were future, when He died and rose again. We must remember also that God, as Father, does deal with us, His children, as and when we sin. Upon confession we are forgiven and cleansed, for "we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 1:9-10; 1 John 2:1). But this is the Father’s forgiveness, restoring us to communion, and not the eternal forgiveness, which we receive at the outset from Him as Judge of all. What then is meant by, "the remission of sins that are past," which we read of inRomans 3:25? All depends upon what is the fixed point, in relation to which the sins are past. If verse 26 be also read, it will be apparent that the contrast is between what God did as to sins in the past time and what He does "at this time;" the great event dividing the two times being the first advent of Christ. It is evident therefore that in speaking of "sins that are past" the apostle Paul referred to the sins of the believers who lived in the past dispensation. His words had no reference to certain sins of a believer being past, if viewed from the standpoint of his conversion. The sins of these pre-Christian believers were remitted by God. "Remission" here is not the ordinary word for forgiveness, but one which means, "a passing by." The meaning of the passage is, that when the propitiatory work of Christ became an accomplished fact, it at once showed forth that God had been righteous in passing by the sins of Old Testament believers, just as it also vindicates His righteousness in this Gospel age in justifying the believer in Jesus. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 18: 017 JUSTIFICATION ======================================================================== Justification. F. B. Hole. To be justified is to be cleared from every charge that could be brought against us. That this is the meaning is very apparent in the Apostle’s words, recorded in Acts 13:39, "By Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." The law could most effectually impeach us. It could lay sins to our charge and bring a righteous condemnation upon us. Only by Christ can the believer be righteously cleared from every charge in the impeachment, so that the sentence of condemnation is lifted off him. Condemnation then is the state and position from which we pass when we are justified. It is evidently the opposite to justification, just as guilt is the opposite to forgiveness. Yet justification, as set before us in Scripture, implies more than the negative blessing of our being completely and righteously extricated from the condemnation under which we lay: it involves our standing before God in Christ, in a righteousness which is positive and divine. We must again turn to the Epistle to the Romans. In Romans 3:19 we find that, "all the world" stands convicted as "guilty before God." In verse 20 we find that the law can only convict: there is no justification for us in it. In verse 21, begins the unfolding of God’s way of justifying the ungodly. Inasmuch as "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," it is not surprising that God should bring into manifestation His righteousness. Man having manifested his sin in all its blackness it was to be expected that, by way of contrast, God would manifest His righteousness in all its brightness; condemning the sinner, and thus clearing Himself of the smallest suspicion that He in any way condoned the sin. What is so wonderful is that now God’s righteousness has been manifested in such a way as to be "unto" or "towards all, and upon all them that believe." Righteousness, God’s righteousness, is, as it were, stretching out its hands benignly towards all men instead of frowning upon them; and as for those that believe, it descends upon them as a robe, so that in the presence of God they stand invested in it. And all this is done without righteousness in any way losing its own proper character, or ceasing to be what it is. Upon first hearing this, our impulse might be to exclaim, "Impossible! Such a thing as this is absolutely impossible!" We might be disposed to reason that, while mercy might act in this fashion, but at the expense of righteousness, righteousness itself could never do so. Yet righteousness does so act, since it has now been manifested in Christ, who has been set forth by God as a "propitiation," or "mercy-seat," (verse 25). When upon the cross His blood was shed, there was fulfilled the Antitype of the blood-sprinkled mercy-seat of Tabernacle days. Redemption was wrought "in Christ Jesus," (verse 24), and the greatest display of divine righteousness, which the universe will ever witness, took place. By and by the righteousness of God will be manifested in the judgment and everlasting overthrow of the ungodly. That solemn hour will witness no mean display of divine righteousness, yet not so profound and wonderful as in that yet more solemn hour when God judged and put to grief His own spotless Son for us. The cross of Christ will remain to all eternity the greatest manifestation of the righteousness of God. It manifested equally His love of course, as Romans 5:8 declares, but had it not manifested His righteousness it could not have manifested His love. The death of Christ has displayed the righteousness of God in a twofold way. First, as regards His dealings as to the sins of believers in the past dispensation (verse 25); and second, as to the sins of believers in this present age (verse 26). Before Christ came God passed over the sins of His people, though as yet no perfect satisfaction for them had been made to Him. In this present time He is justifying the believer in Jesus. Have all these dealings on God’s part been conducted in strict righteousness? They have, and the death of Christ declares it; showing that when God passed over sins during the bygone dispensation He was absolutely justified in doing so, as also He is just in justifying the believer to-day. The death of Christ was primarily the offering of Himself to God as a sacrifice of infinite value and fragrance. Propitiation was thereby effected, and satisfaction made, so that the claims of divine righteousness have been met and vindicated in regard to the whole matter of man’s sin. Secondarily, however, His offering was for us, i.e. for all true believers. Such are entitled to view the Saviour as their Substitute, and to translate Romans 4:25 out of the plural into the singular, and say, He "was delivered for my offences, and was raised again for my justification." He was delivered to death and judgment with our sins in view: He was raised again from the dead with our justification in view. Many there are who in this matter cut the Gospel in half, and ignore the second part of it to their own great loss. Full assurance cannot be enjoyed if the meaning of Christ’s resurrection be overlooked. The bearing of our sins and their penalty was indeed accomplished in His death, but the declaration and proof of our clearance is in His resurrection. Without this second part settled peace cannot be known. To illustrate the point, let us suppose a man condemned to six months’ imprisonment for an offence, and another as a substitute permitted to take his place. When the prison gates swing to, shutting the substitute within and leaving the offender in liberty without, the latter might well exclaim of his friend, "He has been delivered to prison for my offence," but further than that he cannot go for the moment. It would be premature for him to add, "and consequently it is impossible that I should ever see the inside of that prison, as the penalty for what I have done." What if his good friend breathed his last at the end of two months, leaving four months of the sentence unexpired? The Authorities would righteously lay their hands on the original offender and demand that he himself should work out the remainder of his term. But, on the other hand, if a week or so before the six months were up he should suddenly come upon his kindly substitute walking in the street, and on expressing his surprise, learn that, having by good behaviour earned a small remission of the sentence, he was really discharged as a free man, he would instantly be able to say, "Why, you are released from prison for my justification!" He would argue in his own mind, and rightly, "If he is discharged from prison as free from all further liability, completely cleared in regard to my offence, then I am discharged, I am free, I am cleared!" Viewed in this light, the resurrection of Christ is seen to be the Divine declaration of the complete clearance of the one who believes in Him. It is, we need hardly say, much else besides. Having said this much, we must now observe that God Himself is not only the Source of our justification but He who justifies us. "It is God that justifieth" (Romans 8:33). From His lips came the sentence against us as sinners. Equally from His lips comes forth the declaration of our clearance as believers in Jesus. Our justification therefore is complete and authoritative. No one can condemn us. But on our side faith is necessary; for only believers are justified. In this sense we are, "justified by faith" (Romans 5:1). Only as yielding "the obedience of faith" to our Lord Jesus do we come in under the benefits of His work. He is "the Author of eternal salvation" only to "all them that obey Him" (Hebrews 5:9). Faith is the link which connects us with Him and the justifying merits of His blood. One further thought as to justification is presented to us in Romans 5:18. In nearly every other passage where justification is mentioned it stands in relation to our sins — "of many offences unto justification," as Romans 5:16 puts it. In verse 18, however, another view of the matter appears, and sin, the root, rather than sins, the fruit, is in question. The one righteousness of the cross has its bearing "towards" all "unto justification of life" (New Trans.). To understand this phrase, the whole passage — verse 12 to the end of the chapter — must be considered. By nature all men stand related to Adam, as the head and fountain of their race. By grace, and through Christ’s death and resurrection, all believers stand related to Him, as the Head and Fountain of that spiritual race to which they now belong. As grafted into Christ, if we may so speak, they participate in His life and nature; and as in the life of Christ they are cleared judicially from all the consequences that formerly lay on them as in the life of Adam. A very wonderful thing, this, and one that is too often overlooked by us all. Justification then, as the Epistle to the Romans presents it, not only means a complete clearance from all offences and the condemnation they deserve, but goes to the length of a complete clearance from all the condemnation attaching to our fallen Adamic nature, inasmuch as now, by God’s act, we stand in Christ risen from the dead. Blessed be God, for such a clearance as this! You have not alluded to the righteousness of Christ being imputed to us? Why? Because that idea is not found in Scripture. There is no difficulty in finding there the righteousness of Christ. That was absolutely perfect, and hence, being without blemish, He was qualified to be the "Lamb" of sacrifice on our behalf. But we are justified by His blood and not by His perfect life. He died far us, but in no place is it said that He kept the law for us. Had He done so we should after all be standing in a merely legal righteousness before God; and by that we mean, a righteousness which merely goes to the length of keeping the law of Moses. Our righteousness before God would after all be just that righteousness of the law, of which Moses speaks (see Romans 10:5); though worked out, not by ourselves, but by Christ on our behalf. The righteousness in which we stand is, "the righteousness of faith," described in verses 6 to 9 of that chapter; and that is connected, not with Christ on earth keeping the law for us, but with God raising Him from the dead after He had died for our sins. But surely righteousness is imputed, for we read inRomans 4:1-25that, "God imputeth righteousness without works," and again that, "it was imputed to him for righteousness. What then do these expressions mean? If that chapter be carefully read it will be noticed that the words, counted, imputed, reckoned, occur several times. They all three have the same force, being translations of the same word, which is most nearly expressed by the word reckoned. "Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness." That is, Abraham was reckoned righteous or held to be righteous by God, in virtue of his faith. The little word "for" is apt to mislead, as it may suggest the idea of faith being a kind of substitute for righteousness, something which may be transmuted into righteousness. "Reckoned to him as righteousness," more nearly gives the sense. If you have a New Translation (J. N. Darby) with full notes, turn up this verse and consult the footnote as to the translation, which is very illuminating. The argument of Romans 4:1-25, then, is that whether it be Abraham of old, or believers in Christ today, there is only one way by which we may be reckoned righteous before God, the great Judge of all; and that is, by faith without works. Without works, mark you! Not even the perfect works of Christ, everyone of them done in righteousness, come in here: another proof, if it were needed, that we are not made righteous by a certain quantity of His law-keeping being imputed to us. What does come in is His death and resurrection. This underlies the whole of the chapter, and is plainly expressed at the end. Read verse 25 and see. That verse has been taken to mean that just as Jesus died because we were sinners, so He was raised again because we had been justified in His death. Is this a correct view of it? You have but to read on into Romans 5:1-21 to find that it is not correct. Our chapter divisions are sometimes not natural but artificial, breaking into the middle of a paragraph. This is a case in point. He "was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God." The interpretation you mention presents our justification as an accomplished fact when Jesus died, and His resurrection to be the consequence of it. But this entirely eliminates our faith from the question; and our faith cannot be eliminated thus, in view of the first verse of chapter 5. His death was in view of our sins, and is the basis of our justification; but that is another matter. His resurrection was, in the first place, the declaration of the blessed fact, that He who stooped under the weight of God’s judgment against sin, is for ever clear of it. In the second place, it was in view of the clearance of all who believe in Him. This we have just been enforcing and illustrating. He was delivered to death with our sins in view: He was raised again with our justification in view. But the justification of each individual only becomes effective as and when they believe. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 19: 018 REDEMPTION ======================================================================== Redemption. F. B. Hole. Not only has sin plunged us into guilt, and brought us face to face with condemnation, but it has entangled us in bondage of a very fearful sort; a bondage from which we are utterly unable to extricate ourselves. Then, as regards the Gospel, not only does it proclaim forgiveness in relation to our guilt, and justification instead of condemnation, but it reveals to us God, acting as a Redeemer, delivering His people from bondage, and thereby freeing His inheritance from all the encumbrances under which formerly it lay. There is a good deal about redemption in the Old Testament, and one of the words used for it has the meaning, it is said, of, "freeing, whether by avenging or repaying." In Exodus we find the great type of redemption. To the children of Israel, who were just downtrodden slaves, Jehovah said, "I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments" (Exodus 6:6). So this was clearly a case of redemption by avenging their wrongs upon Egypt; though we also see the repayment of what they owed to God as sinners in the steed blood of the lamb. When all was effectively accomplished we find Israel on the further banks of the Red Sea, singing, "Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth Thy people which Thou hast redeemed" (Exodus 15:13). A striking illustration of redemption is given to us in the book of Ruth. Boaz redeemed Elimelech’s inheritance by payment, and this involved the raising up of the name of the dead by the taking of Ruth. Boaz took both to himself — the wife and the inheritance — by right of redemption. Both in the type and in the illustration bondage of one sort or another was in question. In the type, Israel were in sore bondage under Pharaoh, and again and again in reference to them Egypt is called, "the house of bondage." In the illustration, the inheritance of the dead Elimelech was in danger of passing into other hands, and the widow and daughter-in-law of lapsing into a condition of servitude. This disaster was averted by the action of Boaz as their kinsman-redeemer. Turning to the New Testament, we find that redemption as well as justification is mentioned in Romans 3:1-31. We are said to be, "justified . . . through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." This serves to emphasize an important point; namely, that these different aspects of the work of Christ and its effects are most intimately connected, so that we cannot have one without the other. Yet, though never to be divided the one from the other, they are clearly to be distinguished. The earlier part of Romans 3:1-31 has brought before us not only the guilt and condemnation of sin, but also its bondage. The word itself is not actually used until chapter 8 is reached, yet the idea is there, for the Apostle says, "We have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin." To be "under sin" is to be under the power of it, that is, to be in bondage to it. Christ has done the great work which avails to pay off all the liabilities under which we lay, and thus redemption is in Him for us. If we read on through the Epistle to the Romans, we discover, in Romans 6:1-23; Romans 7:1-25 and the early part of 8, how we are actually set free from the tyranny of sin and the yoke of the law; all of which had proved us to be in "the bondage of corruption." This phrase is actually used in Romans 8:21, where we learn that the whole earthly creation lies under its thrall, but that all shall be delivered and brought into "the liberty of the glory of the children of God." When the Lord comes and the children of God stand forth in their glory, then there will be proclaimed a jubilee of liberty for all creation. For that moment we wait, and in verse 23 it is said that for us it will be, "the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." Here again redemption appears, since the point in question is deliverance from bondage; and the redemption of our bodies is presented to us as a freedom gained by avenging, as it says, "I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction" (Hosea 13:14). This scripture is alluded to and applied to the resurrection of the body in 1 Corinthians 15:55. In that glad day the bodies of all God’s saints will be delivered from the grip of death, the last enemy. The redemption work of Christ also comes rather prominently before us in the Epistle to the Galatians. We read that, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law" (Galatians 3:13), and this was by paying the price on our behalf, for it adds, "being made a curse for us." But not only did we lie under the curse of the law but the law itself held us in bondage. We were "in bondage under the elements of the world" (Galatians 4:3). Lower down in the chapter, Paul speaks of, "the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage" (Galatians 4:9). The word translated "elements" has the force of "principles," and is so translated in Hebrews 5:12. We may at first be inclined to wonder that such terms as these — almost contemptuous terms — should be applied to the law, which was given of God, but the "we" of Galatians 4:3, clearly indicates Jews, just as the "ye" of verse 6 indicates the Galatian Gentiles. Both were under bondage to the principles of the world. The law of Moses made no difference as to this. It brought in the demands of God, but they were to be met according to the principles of the world. The root principle of the law was that the favour which men were to receive from God was to be wholly determined by what they rendered to Him in obedience. This is altogether a principle of the world, whereas grace is not. There was no bringing in of principles which lie outside the world altogether, as is the case in Christianity. From the principles of the world, whether found in Judaism or elsewhere, weak and beggarly as they are, Christ has redeemed us that we might receive the adoption of sons. Such is the mighty grace of God. Redemption, as we have seen, extends even to the resurrection of the body, and this side of the matter we again find in the Epistle to the Ephesians. While we read of, "redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Ephesians 1:7), we also read of the earnest of the Spirit being, "until the redemption of the purchased possession" (Ephesians 1:14), and of our being, "sealed unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). The first of these passages speaks of that which is ours today, and which never will be more ours than it is to-day. The second and third speak of redemption in a form for which we wait. All that Christ has bought by His death shall be taken from beneath the sway of the usurper and of every adverse power. As far as our bodies are concerned the moment will arrive at the coming of the Lord Jesus for His saints. That having taken place, the Lord will set His hand to the work of redeeming by power from the hand of the enemy all the rest of the possession which. He purchased by His blood. This coming redemption by power is a great theme of Old Testament prophecy. It is particularly prominent in the latter part of Isaiah. Israel needed redemption for he was being trodden down by the Gentiles and hence is addressed as "thou worm Jacob;" and Jehovah announces Himself as, "thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" (Isaiah 41:14). Having introduced Himself in this light, He continues to speak of Himself as Redeemer until Isaiah 63:1-19 is reached, where the prophet sees Him in vision, coming forth from Edom and Bozrah, because at last, as He says "The day of vengeance is in Mine heart, and the year of My redeemed is come." The redemption of the true Israel of God means vengeance upon all their foes. Yet in the midst of these striking chapters with their many promises of a coming redemption by means of the avenging might of God, we get a most marvellous prediction concerning the yet deeper matter of redemption by means of the death of Christ. We read, "Ye have sold yourselves for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money" (Isaiah 52:3). This is followed by the heart-moving chapter wherein the blessed Servant of Jehovah is portrayed as the suffering, dying One, whose soul is made an offering for sin by Jehovah Himself. The Redeemer is going to "come to Zion, and to them that turn from transgression in Jacob;" (Isaiah 59:20), but this is only possible inasmuch as He has first redeemed them without money as the result of the travail of His soul. It is to this scripture perhaps that Peter referred when he wrote, "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19). Isaiah 52:1-15 speaks of our being "redeemed without money." Isaiah 53:1-12 of the One who "had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth," and yet "He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter" for our redemption. We sometimes hear people speak of "the finished work of redemption." Is it quite correct to speak thus in view of the fact that we still wait for the redemption of our bodies? Not quite correct, no doubt. But when people speak thus they are probably dwelling in their minds exclusively upon the work of redemption by blood. That part of the great work is indeed finished, and never to be repeated. Propitiation has been made once and for ail, so when it is a question of that, or of forgiveness, or of justification, there is no future aspect to be considered. But there is a future aspect of redemption, as we have seen. And it is well to remember that, and to speak with care lest we obscure the finishing touches which are to be given to the work of redemption in the days to come. On the other hand, seeing there is this future aspect of redemption, is it quite right if we speak of ourselves as having been redeemed? Ought we not rather to speak of ourselves as being redeemed? "We have redemption through His blood." So says the Scripture twice over — in Ephesians 1:1-23 and Colossians 1:1-29. Therefore we cannot be wrong if we say with all boldness that we have it. But it is through His blood, you notice. Redemption, in that aspect of it, is wholly in the past. The redemption of our bodies is wholly in the future. But redemption is never presented in Scripture as a process which is going on. It is never said that we are being redeemed day by day, though there is such a thing as day-by-day salvation. Is it not a rather uncomfortable doctrine that redemption, a certain part of it at least, lies in the future? Might there not be a loophole here for just a little uncertainty to creep in? If redemption were a human work, or if even a small human element entered the question, there would be uncertainty right enough — not just a little creeping in, but floods of it sweeping everything before them. We may well thank God that it is a work not human but Divine. God never leaves His work uncompleted: this we may see in the history of the typical redemption which He wrought in Egypt. He did not redeem the children of Israel by the blood of the Paschal lamb and then forget them, so that they remained under the taskmasters of Egypt. No. All those whom He redeemed by blood He also redeemed by His mighty power clean out of Egypt. Each, down to the youngest child, had to go; not even a hoof was to be left behind. God will complete His work concerning us. Every one redeemed by the precious blood of Christ will be there when at His second coming He redeems the bodies of His saints. Is redemption the great end that God has in view for His people? No. It is not the end in view, but rather the all-important means to that end. In the old dispensation the purpose that God had in view was that Israel should be His own peculiar nation, serving Him in the land He had given them. He had to redeem them out of Egypt in order that this might be brought to pass, for they could not serve Him so long as they were in servitude to Pharaoh. In our case the end in view is of a much higher order. It is His purpose that we should be sons before Him in love. Ephesians 1:5-7 speaks of this; and we find that redemption is necessary as a means to that end. Colossians 1:1-29 shows that we are made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light; and again redemption is mentioned as necessary for this. Peter, in his first epistle, instructs us that God purposes to have us as a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Him by Jesus Christ; but as a preliminary to this he speaks of our having been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. Other scriptures to the same effect might be cited. God has many thoughts for us His people, but their fulfilment is only possible upon the basis of redemption. First we must be redeemed from every adverse power. Then God has His way with us to carry out His bright designs. The book of Ruth shows us that in Israel only certain kinsmen had the right of redemption. Has this any significance for us? Undoubtedly it has. To purchase was one thing — anyone might do that: to redeem was another. The nearest kinsman had the first right, but one had to be a kinsman to have any right of redemption at all. There is no kinship between angels and men: hence no angel could redeem a man even if he had possessed the power to do so. The Lord Jesus did not become an angel; He became a Man and thereby established that kinship which qualified Him to become our Kinsman-Redeemer. How important then is the true Manhood of our Lord. Hebrews 2:1-18 does not contain the word redeem. But it tells us that He did not take hold of angels, but of the seed of Abraham, when He undertook through death to annul him that had the power of death and deliver us — that is, to accomplish our redemption. We read inEphesians 1:14of "the redemption of the purchased possession." Should we then draw a distinction between purchase and redemption? We believe that we should. We might put it in this way — redemption involves purchase, but purchase very often has nothing to do with redemption. Believers are said to be "bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:20). But false teachers will go so far as "denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction" (2 Peter 2:1). The buying of believers involves their redemption. The buying of the false teachers, who go to destruction, did not involve their redemption; had it done so destruction would not be their end. By His death the Lord Jesus has acquired purchase rights over all things, even where He has not redeemed them. In Ephesians 1:14 however the point is not exactly this, but rather that what He has purchased by His death He will ultimately redeem by His power from every adverse force. It is really the distinction between redemption by blood and redemption by power. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 20: 019 RECONCILIATION ======================================================================== Reconciliation. F. B. Hole. A number of different words have been employed by the Spirit of God to convey to us the far-reaching effects of the work of Christ. Reconciliation is one of them, and it possesses great definiteness of meaning. It carries us further into the positive blessings of the Gospel than do justification or redemption. The very idea it expresses belongs to the New Testament. At first sight this hardly appears to be the case. A good concordance (such as "Young’s") shows us that the word occurs nine times in the Old Testament; but on closer inspection we discover that in seven of these it is used to translate the ordinary word for "atonement." In one case it is used for a word that has to do with offering or receiving a sin offering. The remaining occurrence of the word comes nearer to the New Testament meaning (in 1 Samuel 29:4), but there God is not n question. In the New Testament there are three passages that deal with reconciliation — Romans 5:1-21, 2 Corinthians 5:1-21, Colossians 1:1-29 — and there is also a reference to it in Ephesians 2:1-22. Justification is needed by us because of the guilt of sin and the condemnation thereby incurred. Redemption is needed because of the bondage which sin has produced. Reconciliation to God we must have because one of the gravest effects of sin has been the way it has alienated us from God, producing utter estrangement of heart on our side. The word "alienated" occurs in Colossians 1:21, where it stands in full contrast to the fact that we now have been reconciled. We shall better understand the fulness of the reconciliation if we begin by grasping the full tragedy of the alienation. One other passage refers to the state of alienation into which man has fallen — Ephesians 4:18. We get right to the bottom of things when we discover that we have been "alienated from the life of God." Connected with this alienation are such things as vanity, darkness, ignorance, blindness, lasciviousness, uncleanness. This is not surprising for the life of God is the exact opposite of all these things. Sin, having alienated us from God, has cut us off from all the things that go to make up life according to Him. Alienated from God, we have naturally no desire for Him, nor for the light and life that His presence brings. This came out most clearly directly sin had entered and the alienation had come to pass. Genesis 3:1-24 bears witness to it; the action of Adam and his wife plainly declared it. Directly the voice of the Lord God was heard in the garden they hid themselves. God did not instantly destroy them. He dealt with them in mercy; still they had erected a barrier between themselves and Him which nothing on their side could surmount, and which He ratified by placing a barrier on His side in the shape of cherubim and a flaming sword. Sin thus spoiled the Divine pleasure in man. To say this puts the matter too mildly. We have only to turn on to Genesis 6:1-22 to find that, mankind having been given sufficient time in which to develop their sinful propensities, an utterly unbearable state of affairs was produced, so that, "it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart." At the end of Genesis 2:1-25 everything, man included, was pronounced to be "very good." Once man had been very good in the Divine eye, now he was a perfect grief to contemplate. The alienation was complete. And it was complete on man’s side also. God had become as distasteful to man as man had become to God. The latter part of Romans 1:1-32 unfolds the dreadful story of man’s alienation from God. The sunken state of mankind is attributable to this, "they did not like to retain God in their knowledge" (verse 28). Romans 3:1-31 corroborates this by telling us that, "there is none that seeketh after God." When we get to Romans 5:1-21 it is plainly stated that when the reconciliation reached us we were "enemies." Here we must carefully draw a distinction. On our side the alienation was not only in life but in heart also. On God’s side the alienation in life was felt far more acutely than ever we could feel it, but there was no alienation in heart. In other words while we as sinners hated God, He never hated us. Had He hated us He could have just damned us, and left it at that. Instead of which He has Himself made available for us the reconciliation; a reconciliation brought to pass at so great a cost as "the death of His Son." The Lord Jesus came into the world in the spirit of reconciliation. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them" (2 Corinthians 5:19). This characterized His life and ministry. Not judgment but forgiveness was His work; and even where guilt was most pronounced and manifest, He did not impute it: see for instance John 8:11, and Luke 23:34. All that God could do was done by Him, yet every overture was rejected by men and He was crucified. But it was just then that God’s reconciling mercy registered its most signal triumph. Then it was that God "made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." Now it is evident that if we are made in Christ — in the Christ who died and rose again — the very righteousness of God, there can be no longer before Him that which is obnoxious and distasteful to Him. It cannot be any longer a grief to His heart to look down upon us, but the exact reverse. Christ was identified with us and our sin under the judgment of God. We are identified with Him and His acceptance as risen from the dead. In Colossians 1:21, 22, the same truth is stated, but in other words. We have been reconciled "in the body of His flesh through death," for He became a Man, thereby possessing Himself of the body of His flesh, in order that He might die. As the result of reconciliation we can now be presented "holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight." "In the body of His flesh" may seem a rather peculiar expression, but a similar form of words occurs elsewhere; Romans 7:4; Ephesians 2:15; Hebrews 10:10 and 20. If we understand the matter aright, the thought is that the Lord Jesus in His grace identified Himself with our place and condition in assuming Manhood apart from sin, so that He might lay down His life, presenting His sacred body as a sacrifice for sin; and then take up life again in resurrection, in which life believers may now be identified with Him. His death was thus the judgment and judicial ending of the old order; His resurrection the real beginning of the new. This mighty change then has been brought about for us "in the body of His flesh through death;" and consequently our whole standing before God is manifestly altered. Once we were exactly in the position of fallen Adam, and nothing could be worse than that, nothing more repugnant to God. Now, being in Christ, we have the position that is Christ’s as risen from the dead, and nothing could be better, nothing more delightful, more pleasing to God than that. This is what we may call God’s side of reconciliation; the work which He has Himself effected in the death of Christ. It is perfect and absolute; accomplished for us, accomplished for ever. It is work of a new creation order, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 shows. But there is our side of the matter which had equally to be met. It was we who were "alienated and enemies in mind by wicked works," and consequently there had to be a complete and fundamental change of mind and attitude as regards God with every one of us. There was no need that His heart should be turned towards us, but there was every need that our hearts should be turned towards Him. Hence the Gospel was committed to the Apostles as "the word of reconciliation." They carried on that ministry as "ambassadors for Christ," praying men "in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:19, 20). When we believed the Gospel, the ministry of reconciliation became effective with us, and it could be said, "we have now received the reconciliation" (Romans 5:11, margin). As the fruit of having received the reconciliation we "joy in God," whereas formerly we feared and even hated Him. We may sum up, then, this most blessed truth by saying that everything about us which was obnoxious to God and deserving of judgment has been judged in the death of Christ; and as the fruit of reconciliation we stand in a perfect acceptance before Him. His work it is, for "He hath made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). Christ’s acceptance is the measure of our acceptance: and the measure of His acceptance may be discerned in the title given to Him — "the BELOVED." And further, since we do not believe the Gospel apart from the work of the Spirit in us, by which new birth is effected, we receive the reconciliation in believing. Our thoughts Godward are altogether altered; the enmity that once filled our hearts is removed, and we joy in Him. A new day has dawned in which He can look down upon us with complacency, and we look up in answering love to Him. We can now see more clearly perhaps how reconciliation does carry us more fully into the positive blessings of the Gospel. As forgiven, we know that our sins have been dismissed. As justified, that we have been cleared from all charge. As redeemed, that our days of slavery are over. But as reconciled, we have full entrance into the wealth of the favour and love of God. It is the introduction into blessing of the highest order. An old hymn states the matter thus: "My God is reconciled, His pardoning voice I hear." that is hardly in keeping with what we have been seeing, is it? It is not. It was we who needed to be reconciled. It was God who did the reconciling through the Lord Jesus Christ. But though this is so, we must not overlook the fact that God had to be propitiated in regard to sin. The publican of our Lord’s parable knew this, for he said, "God be merciful [propitiated] to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13). God had to be propitiated inasmuch as sin was an outrageous challenge to His righteousness and holiness. He never hated us however. His heart was not estranged from man, for had it been He would never have sent His Son to be the propitiation, which was needed to meet the claims of His righteousness and holiness. Do we understand then that reconciliation has more to do with our state before God than with the guilt of our sins? It certainly has. It is worthy of note how the fact of our enmity comes into view when reconciliation is in question. The passage in 2 Corinthians 5:1-21 is an exception to this, but even here enmity, though not mentioned, is inferred, for it says, "old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Old things are passed away wherever new creation comes to pass, though they are very much in evidence in the world at present. As new creation beings we are reconciled to God. Nevertheless we must not overlook the fact that "the blood of His cross" is the basis of the reconciliation, for it was there that sin met its judgment, and everything in us that was offensive and obnoxious to God was condemned. Our guilt is not overlooked, but even here it is more a question of the judgment of our sinful state than the expiation of our innumerable sins. Why then, inHebrews 2:17, do we read of Christ as "a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people"? Simply because the translators of the Authorized Version inserted here the wrong word. It is "to make propitiation for the sins of the people," as the Revised and other versions show. Under the law Aaron the high priest made atonement by sprinkling the blood of the sacrifice on the mercy-seat. The Lord Jesus has fulfilled the type, but on an infinitely grander scale. It is an interesting fact that in the Old Testament the word for "mercy-seat" is one closely allied to the word for atonement; whereas the word in the New Testament is as closely allied to propitiation. This shews that the propitiation of the New Testament embodies the idea of atonement, yet going beyond it. Reconciliation is to be distinguished from both, though not to be disconnected from either. We have been dwelling on the fact that believers are reconciled now. What about the reconciliation of all things, spoken of inColossians 1:20? That far-reaching reconciliation is coming in its season. You will notice that the verse limits the blessing to "things in earth, or things in heaven." The "things under the earth," of Php 2:10, who are to bow at the name of Jesus, are not mentioned here. The blight of sin has affected certain parts of the heavens, through the fall of angelic beings. Wherever sin has been, there reconciliation is needed. A time is coming in which all that is evil will be swept into the place of judgment, there to lie under God’s fiery indignation; and then all things purged and reconciled both on earth and in heaven will be delightful to God, and themselves delight in God. The blood of His cross, that has already brought us into reconciliation, has power and value to accomplish even this. There seems to be a sense in which the world is already reconciled, according toRomans 11:15, What does that passage mean? The whole passage has to be read and carefully considered if we would arrive at the Apostle’s thought. He is discussing God’s ways with Israel as a nation, showing how they have been set aside for the present in order that He may pursue His purpose of extending mercy to Gentiles. Throughout the dispensation of law, God concentrated His favour and His dealings exclusively upon Israel: they were in the light of His countenance, and the nations were left in their darkness — the darkness which they had chosen for themselves, according to Romans 1:21. But with the advent of Christ and His rejection by Israel a great change in God’s ways came to pass. Israel is fallen from their place of national favour, and this has led to what is called "the riches of the world," in verse 12, and to "the reconciling of the world," in verse 15. The "world" here has evidently the force of the Gentile world as distinguished from Israel. The reconciling has been brought to pass by the change in God’s dealings which has led Him to set Israel aside from their special place of national favour, and to bring the Gentile world before Him for blessing. Formerly the position was that the Gentiles had deliberately turned their faces from God, and He had turned His from them. Now He has turned toward them; and as Paul elsewhere said, "The salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and . . . they will hear it" (Acts 28:28). This dispensational reconciliation has taken place and Paul was the chosen servant, sent to offer salvation to the Gentile world. Does the reconciliation which we receive today involve more than this? Most evidently it does. When we receive it we "joy in God," as we are told in Romans 5:11. This is a thing which the world cannot do, in spite of the fact that the mercy of God is active towards it in connection with the Gospel. When God gave His only-begotten Son He had the world in view’ and love to the world was behind the gift. This dispensational reconciliation brings to all the ministry of reconciliation, of which 2 Corinthians 5:1-21 speaks; and that is not dispensational but intensely vital. Believers are really brought to God in righteousness and love, with every stain and discord removed, and every fear banished for ever. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 21: 020 SALVATION ======================================================================== Salvation F. B. Hole. We now come to a word of very large meaning, so large indeed that it may be used in a sense that covers other gospel words such as justification, redemption, reconciliation. An instance of the large meaning which may be attached to it is found in Hebrews 3:1, where the mighty intervention of God on man’s behalf, which first began to be spoken by the Lord Himself, is spoken of as "so great salvation." In Acts 13:26, the Apostle Paul speaks of "the word of this salvation," using the term in just the same broad sense. So also in Ephesians 1:13, the whole deliverance which has reached us, in all its parts, is summed up in that one word. The Gospel which announces that mighty deliverance is, "the Gospel of our salvation." It is with this large meaning that we use the word in the title of this book. Salvation is largely spoken of in both Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament it is nearly always salvation from enemies that is before us, as Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, stated. In his prophecy he declared that the holy prophets, raised up since the world began, had said that Israel should be saved from their enemies and from the hand of all that hate them. (See Luke 1:70, 71). The New Testament in its very first chapter speaks of Jesus saving "His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). This at once lifts the whole matter on to a much higher platform. But, whether in the Old or the New, the very fact that salvation is offered infers that those to whom it is offered are in peril of some sort: they are in danger of perishing. Indeed in 1 Corinthians l: 18, the contrast is drawn between "them that perish, and "us, which are saved;" and the same contrast in almost exactly the same words appears again in 2 Corinthians 2:15: Again we read, "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). "Lord save us: we perish," was the cry of the disciples when in the storm on the lake of Galilee. It was only a matter of temporal deliverance, but then it was only in view of temporal danger Salvation and perishing are clearly directly opposed as to their meaning. As guilty, we need forgiveness. As under condemnation, we need justification. As having lapsed into bondage, we need redemption. As enemies in our minds by wicked works, utterly alienated from God, we need reconciliation. As lost and perishing, it is salvation we need. When we considered ourselves as guilty or condemned, we had a perfectly crisp and definite thought before our minds. We saw ourselves arraigned at the bar of God. We stood, as it were, in a criminal court, charged with our sins. The thought was equally definite when we thought of ourselves as being in bondage to sin and Satan or as being alienated from God. Sin now appeared to us as a taskmaster on the one hand, and as a dark cloud, shutting us out from God, on the other. But now we have to consider ourselves as lost, as threatened by innumerable dangers both present and future, and consequently in danger of perishing. We cannot deal with this matter in quite the same crisp way. But what we have lost in definiteness we have more than made up in largeness and breadth of thought. God’s salvation is a deliverance from every peril which in the past or present or future could possibly threaten us. Still, though there is this comprehensiveness of meaning about the word, we must not miss the fact that it always carries the thought of deliverance from peril; and inasmuch as sin lies at the root of every peril that threatens us, the New Testament very appropriately opens with salvation from sins. This salvation is not merely from the penalty of sins, but from the power of sins, and even from the love of them. The Gospel does not offer an exemption from sin’s penalty while leaving us free to continue under the power of sin, or in the enjoyment of sin’s temporary pleasures. Were it to do so, it would be no true salvation, for it would just encourage us to continue in sin: which God forbid! Yet again and again we find in Scripture that salvation does mean exemption or deliverance from the wrath of God. The Gospel is "the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth . . . for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven" (Romans 1:16-18). A little later in the same epistle we read, "We shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Romans 5:9). Again we read, "God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:9). And yet again in 2 Thessalonians 2:12, 13, we find that salvation is put in direct contrast with damnation. The fact is that the Old Testament has as its chief theme the dealings of God with Israel His people in view of the coming of the Messiah. Hence the consequences of sin as regards God’s governmental actings are mainly in view. When Israel sinned, God in His government brought up enemies against them, and when they repented He saved them. The New Testament brings into view the eternal consequences of sin, and the way in which every individual soul of man is subject to God’s judgment and the infliction of wrath from heaven. From that wrath we are saved. It is in this connection that salvation may be spoken of as a past and completed thing, so that believers can speak of themselves as, "us, which are saved." The Lord Jesus is our Deliverer from the wrath to come, and we can never be more secure than we are to-day, before the wrath actually falls. Yet when we speak of ourselves as saved the emphasis seems mainly to lie on the fact that once we were engulfed in every kind of evil and defilement and now we are rescued out of it all. "We ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But . . . He saved us" (Titus 3:3-5). It is very evident however, that though we can speak of God as the One who "hath saved us," (2 Timothy 1:9), we are still in a world that is full of seductions, with the treacherous flesh within us, and Satan the astute adversary without. Hence we need salvation daily — salvation of practically a continuous sort. Scripture speaks very plainly of this present salvation. The Lord Jesus is living in heaven as our High Priest to minister it to us. He is able to "save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). The present salvation, which we need and get as believers, is of course based upon the death of Christ, but it actually reaches us by His priestly activities on our behalf as He lives for us on high. We are being "saved by His life" (Romans 5:10); and inasmuch as He ever lives we shall be saved to the uttermost. We shall be saved completely, to the extremes" point of time; to the moment when the last foe has disappeared, and we are beyond the need of any further salvation forever. In order that we may enjoy this practical, everyday salvation we are granted the instruction which is furnished by the Word of God. The Holy Scriptures are able to make us "wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15). The next verse speaks of the Scriptures being profitable not only for teaching but also "for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." This shows the kind of salvation that was in Paul’s mind when he wrote, and emphasizes the great part which the Scriptures play in our daily salvation. When Paul wrote these words he of course alluded to the Old Testament Scriptures, which Timothy had known from his childhood. They abound with salutary warnings for us, and if we heed them we shall be saved from a thousand snares and dangers. We need hardly add that what Paul asserts of the Old Testament is equally true of the New, which some of us have been privileged to know from our youth. We might sum up the matter as regards this daily and present salvation by saying it is ours as the result of Christ’s High Priestly intercession, and of our having the Word of God, coupled with the possession of the Holy Spirit, whereby we may understand it and accept its instructions and its warnings. There remains a further group of Scriptures that clearly speak of salvation as a future thing. It is our hope, and is to be worn "for an helmet" (1 Thessalonians 5:8). Our hope of salvation will be realized at the second advent of Christ. It is true that He is coming as the Judge, but we do not look for Him in that character. For us it is written, "We look for the Saviour . . . who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body" (Php 3:20, 21). Hence it is that we are left here to "look for Him" when He shall "appear the second time without sin, unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:28). This future salvation altogether depends upon the crowning act of mercy which will reach us as the last delivering act of the Lord Jesus on our behalf. It will involve the raising of the dead saints, and the catching away of the living saints before the full storm of God’s righteous wrath breaks on the earth. Then all of us — both dead and living — are to be found forever with Christ in bodies of glory like to His own. This will be the final thing. Salvation as regards ourselves will be absolutely completed. The Philippians were bidden by Paul, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." How do you reconcile this injunction with what we have had before us? A long passage leads up to this injunction. If we want to get an idea of the context we have to go back as far as Php 1:27. The Philippian believers were threatened by adversaries without and dissension within. The close of Php 1:1-30 alludes to the one. The opening of Php 2:1-30 alludes to the other. The former is easily disposed of: to meet the latter the whole weight of the matchless example of Christ has to be brought in. And then the Apostle himself was no longer present for their help, for he was in a Roman prison. Under these circumstances they were to show their spiritual mettle and work out their salvation from the threatening dangers: but not as being cast upon their own resources, for "it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (ver. 13). If the next three verses were fulfilled in them, they would indeed have worked out their salvation. A present, daily salvation is in question: and our side of the matter is emphasized here. The Divine side must come first — the Priesthood of Christ, the work of God in us by His Spirit, the instruction and correction of His Word. But the human side has its importance. We have to diligently avail ourselves of the grace that God provides. On the day of Pentecost Peter exhorted the anxious enquirers saying, "Save yourselves from this untoward generation;" and those who received his word were baptized. In his first Epistle he again speaks of baptism as saving us. What is this salvation which baptism effects? It is salvation from "this untoward generation," as Peter said. Another translation puts it, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Now baptism is, in one word, dissociation. It is only an outward ordinance, yet it has a meaning: and that is its meaning. It is based upon the death and resurrection of Christ, for we are "baptized into His death, " (Romans 6:3), and so we are "buried with Him" (Colossians 2:12). Nothing more effectively dissociates us from the present order of things, cutting our links with the world, than death and burial. The particular point that Peter makes, both in his sermon and his epistle, is that baptism cut the link between the repentant and believing Jews and the unrepentant and unbelieving mass of that nation. That lies upon the surface of Acts 2:1-47, and is involved, we believe, in 1 Peter 3:21; for his epistle was addressed to believing Jews. He tells them that baptism is a "like figure" unto the waters of the flood that of old cut the link between believing Noah with his house and the world of the ungodly. Noah and his house had been saved "by" or "through" the water from the ruin and death that came in upon the godless earth. Those to whom Peter wrote had been saved through baptism from the godless mass of their nation. They suffered much from the ungodly mass but they were saved from their fate, whether in this life, at the destruction of Jerusalem, or in the world to come. When a big ship is sinking, it is not enough to let down small boats by ropes and then get into them. Unless the ropes are cut there will be no salvation. Baptism cuts the ropes, and in that sense saves. "He that shall endure unto the end the same shall be saved." In the light of this is it not premature to speak of ourselves as saved, while we are still on our way to the end? It certainly would be, IF these words of our Lord referred to the way in which sinful men might receive the salvation of their souls. These words however, which occur in the course of His prophetic discourse recorded in Matthew 24:1-51, and Mark 13:1-37, do not refer to that. The Lord was not addressing sinners but men who already had been brought into relationship with Himself — His disciples. At that moment they were representative of the chosen remnant of Israel, who will be found on earth at the time of the end. "The end" in this passage is not the end of this or that individual life, but the end of the whole time of persecution, trial and sorrow, which end will be brought about by the second coming of Christ. Endurance is the supreme virtue which is to mark these saints, for their salvation is sure when Christ appears. That is the primary bearing of this passage; but there are of course many profitable applications of it which we may make for ourselves. However to apply it so as to teach that one cannot be really sure of salvation until one dies is not one of them. Why is "confession with the mouth" so definitely connected with salvation inRomans 10:10? Because salvation is a term of such wide meaning, and includes deliverance from the world, amongst other things. We believe on Christ as risen from the dead with our hearts, and that means our justification before God. Both these however — the faith and the justification — are not observable by men. Our salvation is observable, for it is not so much a judicial fact as a practical fact — we are really saved from the power of world, flesh, and devil. The very first step towards a salvation of such a sort must be the confession of Christ as Lord, made with the mouth so that men may hear it. A silent confession of Christ in the mind — just thinking it — obviously would not do. The distinction made in this passage between the faith of the heart leading to righteousness and the confession of the mouth leading to salvation is very striking. It greatly helps to show the special force of salvation. Is that why Cornelius, God-fearing man though he was, needed Peter to come to him that he might be saved? He was told that Peter "shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved." No doubt it was so. Until Peter arrived with the Gospel message concerning the risen Christ, Cornelius could not believe in his heart that God had raised Him from the dead. Again, if he had thought of Him in any sense as Lord, it would doubtless have been as Lord of the children of Israel. Peter preached Him in the house of Cornelius as "Lord of all." Cornelius had turned from his heathenism to the fear of God very sincerely; but salvation came to him when he believed on and confessed the risen Christ as Lord. You do not wish us to understand then that salvation is a higher order of Christian blessing into which we may come subsequent to conversion? — so that, for instance, a man might be forgiven yet not saved. Such a deduction as that from the case of Cornelius would be quite unwarranted. Yet we must not miss the instruction conveyed by the fact that though he had the fear of God, and faith in Him, and even knew certain facts about Christ’s ministry on earth, he was not saved until he heard and believed the glad tidings of the risen Christ and forgiveness in His Name. Then it was that he was delivered clean out of the old world system which had held him and was brought to God. Almost all that we have been considering isin connection with what we are saved from. What are we saved to? We are saved to every blessing that is ours in Christ. And yet, if we carefully follow Scripture phraseology, salvation is mostly, if not always, connected with what we are delivered from; and if it is a question of what we are brought to the word used is "calling." God has "saved us, and called us with an holy calling" (2 Timothy 1:9). Israel was saved out of Egypt in order that they might enjoy the land to which God called them. We are saved from the world, the flesh, the devil, and the wrath of God which is to come, in order that we may enjoy God’s call to the place of sons and share the coming glory of Christ. The salvation which is ours in Christ is a very mighty and wonderful thing; and thereby we are liberated to enjoy our calling. Yet all those things to which we are called according to the sovereign purpose of God are more wonderful still. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 22: 021 SANCTIFICATION ======================================================================== Sanctification. F. B. Hole. The Scriptures have a good deal to say to us as to sanctification, in the Old Testament as well as in the New; and wherever we find it the word has the fundamental meaning of a separation, or a setting apart. In the Old Testament the word is freely used of things as well as persons. In the New Testament it is mainly, though not exclusively, used of persons; and as applying to believers it has a double significance — a primary meaning and a secondary. The trouble with so many is that the secondary meaning has obliterated the primary in their minds. Hence the difficulties which they feel in relation to this important subject. The sanctification of believers means to many people, perhaps to most, a process by which they are made more and more holy and pleasing to God; whereas its primary meaning is that by an act of God they have been set apart for Himself, and according to this their growth in holiness becomes a necessity. The root idea of the word then, whether we take its Old or New Testament use, is that of setting apart for God. A sanctified person or thing is one set apart from ordinary uses to be for God’s own possession and use and enjoyment. In contra-distinction to sanctification stands profanation. The priest of Aaron’s time was not to "defile himself . . . to profane himself" (Leviticus 21:4). The priests of the coming millennial day are to "teach My people the difference between the holy and profane" (Ezekiel 44:23). The very word used there means "common or polluted," and of course it is just when a thing is put to common use that it does get polluted. That is easily seen in connection with the ordinary affairs of life. When a piece of ground is thrown open freely to the public it becomes a "common," and at once rules must be made to keep it decent. Left to itself it would soon become more or less of a rubbish heap. In the primary sense of the word, every believer has been set apart for God. It is a fact of an absolute nature. We may speak of it as positional sanctification. In the secondary sense, every believer is to be set apart for God. It is not positional but progressive sanctification. The primary is an objective fact: the secondary is a subjective experience, which must always follow and flow out of the objective fact. Things are bound to get out of place and distorted in our minds, if we allow the subjective experience to eclipse the objective fact, as so many do. If any of our readers are inclined to doubt what we have just laid down as to the primary meaning of the word, let them consider three facts. (1) Inanimate things — altar, laver, vessels — were sanctified under the law. There could be no subjective change, no increase in holiness, in them. But they could be put in a separate position, wholly devoted to the service of God. (2) The Lord Jesus Himself was "sanctified, and sent into the world" (John 10:36); and again leaving the world He said, "I sanctify Myself" (John 17:19). There could be no subjective change in Him — no sanctification in the progressive sense. Holiness of the most intense order, divine and absolute, was ever His. But He could be set apart by the Father for His mission as Revealer and Redeemer, and then sent into the world. Also, as leaving this world and entering the world of the Father’s glory, He could set Himself apart in a new position as the pattern and power of the sanctification of His followers. (3) The instruction comes to us, "Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts" (1 Peter 3:15). Here too the only possible sense of "sanctify," is to set apart positionally. In our hearts we are to set the Lord God apart in a position altogether unique. He is to be exalted without a rival there. Now as to ourselves we have to begin with this absolute and positional sanctification which is ours by the act of God. If we do not, we are sure to get defective, if not perverted, ideas of the practical and progressive sanctification which is to be ours, since the one flows out of the other. The practical sanctification expected is according to the character of the positional sanctification conferred. The first mention of sanctification in the Bible is in connection with creation, when God sanctified the seventh day in which He rested (Genesis 2:3); the second is in connection with redemption, when He brought Israel out of Egypt. Here persons were in question, for He said, "Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn" (Exodus 13:2). Those who had been redeemed by blood were set apart for God positionally, and because they were, a very special manner of life became them, or rather became the Levites, who later on were substituted for them (see Numbers 3:45; Numbers 8:5-19). The type, with which the book of Exodus furnishes us, is a very instructive one. In Exodus 12:1-51 the children of Israel are sheltered from judgment by the blood of the lamb, which foreshadows the forgiveness and justification which reaches us by the Gospel. In Exodus 15:1-27 they are brought right out of Egypt, the power of Pharaoh being broken, which illustrates salvation. Both chapters together foreshadow redemption. But in Exodus 13:1-22 we get sanctification. The people justified by blood are set apart for God; and because He claims them for Himself, He will brook no rival claim. He made good His claim against Pharaoh’s claim. He broke the might of Egypt and, delivering His people, He brought them to Himself. All their later history had to be governed by this fact. In all this God showed very plainly that when He intended to bless a people He would set them apart for Himself, instead of allowing them to be common, polluted profaned. They were sanctified to Himself. How utterly man has been profaned by sin, His mind, his heart, the whole course of nature with him, has been overrun with every kind of evil. If grace sets itself to win him, he must, in the very nature of things, be set apart for God. We begin then by laying hold of the great fact that we have been sanctified. Scripture is very definite and plain as to this point, and perhaps the most striking example it furnishes us with is the case of the Corinthians. Of all the Christians of the apostolic age, that we have any knowledge of, they stand out as the least marked by sanctification of a practical sort. Their behaviour was open to much censure, and they got it from the Apostle Paul in very plain language. Yet in his first epistle to them he calls them "saints," as "sanctified in Christ Jesus,’’ (1 Corinthians 1:2). Later in the same epistle, after mentioning many of the abominations that filled the heathen world, he said, "And such were some of you: but . . . ye are sanctified" (1 Corinthians 6:11). Nothing could be clearer than this. We do not become God’s sanctified people by attaining to a certain standard of practical holiness. We are God’s sanctified ones, and because of it, holiness, or practical sanctification, is incumbent upon us. If the former were God’s way it would be according to the very principle of law. The latter is God’s way and it is according to the principle of grace. This absolute sanctification reaches us in a twofold way. In the first place it is by the work of Christ. "We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Hebrews 10:10). "Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate" (Hebrews 13:12). Believing in Him, we stand in the value of His offering and are thereby set apart for God just as fully as we are justified. In the second place we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit. To the Thessalonians Paul wrote in his second epistle, "God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:13). Peter also wrote in his first epistle, "Elect . . . through sanctification of the Spirit" (1 Peter 1:2). There are the workings of the Spirit in our hearts, culminating in the new birth of which we read in John 3:1-36, when "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Then further, when the Gospel is received in faith the Spirit indwells the believer, sealing him until the day of redemption. By that seal the believer is marked off as belonging to God: he is sanctified as set apart for Him. To the Corinthians Paul wrote in his first epistle, "Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us . . . sanctification" (1 Corinthians 1:30). We are set apart in Him, inasmuch as His was the blood shed for us, and also we have received the Spirit as the fruit of His work. We, as well as the Corinthians, have been, "sanctified . . . in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11). When once we have laid hold of the fact that we have been sanctified in this absolute sense we are prepared to face our responsibilities as to practical sanctification, which are based upon it. One of the requests for His own, uttered by the Lord, as recorded in John 17:1-26 was, "Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth." Hence the importance of giving all due heed to the Word of God, for the more we really know it the more its sanctifying power is exerted in our lives. "This is the will of God, even your sanctification," is what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 4:3), showing that it is not something that is optional for the Christian, something to be pursued or avoided as fancy dictates. Moreover God Himself works it out for His saints, and it is all-embracing in its scope, for Paul went on to pray for them, "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly" (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Everything about us is to come under the sanctifying touch of the God of peace. But, on the other hand, there is our side of the matter. There are measures which we are to take for the promotion of it. We are to "shun" certain things; we are to "depart from iniquity;" we are to "purge" ourselves from vessels unto dishonour, who teach error of a sort that overthrows faith; then we may be vessels "unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use" (2 Timothy 2:21). In all these ways the practical work of sanctification progresses. Indeed it is the great work which the Lord is carrying on with His church; His object being to "sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word" (Ephesians 5:26). The work of sanctification and cleansing is taking place to-day in the individuals of whom the church is composed. Again and again in the Scriptures we are exhorted to holiness. What is the difference between this and the sanctification we have been considering? There is no real difference. The same Greek word is translated by both English words, and like sanctification holiness is spoken of (1) as positional and absolute, and (2) as practical and progressive. For instance, when we read, "Wherefore holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling . . ." (Hebrews 3:1), we are not to understand this to mean that they were far advanced in practical holiness, but that they were a people set apart for God as partaking in the heavenly calling. Hebrews 5:11-14, indicate that they were not very far advanced, and presently we find that they are exhorted to "follow peace with all men, and holiness" (Hebrews 12:14), which infers the same thing. The holy brethren are to follow holiness. In the first epistle of Peter we find just the same thing. He says, "Be ye holy," (1 Peter 1:15) to the very people to whom he says, "Ye are . . . an holy nation" (1 Peter 2:9). Because we are holy we are to be holy. The holiness, which is to characterize us practically, is according to the holiness which is ours by the call of God. Believers in Christ are frequently called "saints" in the New Testament. Is the popular use of this term in keeping with the Scriptural use? By no means. A "saint" is popularly supposed to be an eminently holy person. The Romish authorities still make saints by a lengthy process called "canonization." If we lived amongst Romanists and spoke of "going to visit the saints" they would probably imagine we are going to visit some local shrine and invoke the aid from the spirit world of some of these canonized people. And many who are not Romanists have not quite shaken off these ideas. A saint is not a person of unusual piety, who after death is entitled to be represented in effigy or picture with a halo round his or her head, but the ordinary, simple believer — each one who has been set apart for God by the blood of Christ, and by the possession of the Holy Spirit. Every true believer being a saint means that we each are responsible to pursue holiness. Perhaps one reason why the Romish idea lingers so strongly is that it leads people to feel that holiness is no particular concern of theirs, but only of a few. These special ones may pursue holiness; the rest of us can live easy-going lives in the world! Let us be careful to maintain the scriptural thought. Do justification and sanctification go together? They do, as far as positional sanctification is concerned. In 1 Corinthians 6:11, where the work wrought "in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God," is in question, sanctification is mentioned even in advance of justification. The Corinthians had been cleansed and set apart for God on the same ground and by the same agency as they had been justified, and so also have we. Seeing that they do go together, are we right in speaking of sanctification by faith, just as we speak of justification by faith? We have in Scripture the definite statement that we are "justified by faith" (Romans 5:1), but we do not anywhere read that we are sanctified by faith. Nevertheless, just as, having been justified, we know it by faith and not by our feelings, so too we know that we have been set apart for God by faith and not by feelings. God declares us to be justified as believers in Jesus, and we believe Him. He declares us to be sanctified to Himself as believers in Jesus, and again we believe Him. If practical sanctification be in question it is another matter. That is progressive, and there should be increase in it to the end. We are to be "perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1), and Paul prayed for the Thessalonians to the end that they might be sanctified "unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Holiness is not, of course, apart from faith, but to speak of holiness by faith, as though faith alone produced it, is to shut out elements of Christian living which ought by no means to be excluded. What then are these elements? How is practical sanctification or holiness produced? In the latter part of Romans 6:1-23, holiness is presented as being the "fruit" of our being emancipated from the slavery of sin. Now it is "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" which makes us free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2). The more we are under the law, or control, of the Spirit the more do we enjoy freedom from the control of sin. Evidently therefore the control of the Holy Spirit is a very important element in practical sanctification, Again, when the Lord was praying for His own, as recorded in John 17:1-26, He said, "Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth" (verse 17). The Spirit of God and the Word of God are intimately connected. They were in creation, as the first three verses of Genesis 1:1-31 show. They are together also in the new birth, and again in the matter of practical sanctification. We can speak of holiness by the Word of truth as well as of holiness by the Spirit. We can also speak of holiness by love in the light of 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13. As love increases so are our hearts established in holiness. And yet again there is holiness by separation from all that is unclean, coupled with cleansing from all filthiness of flesh and spirit. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 2 Corinthians 7:1 tells us this And 2 Timothy 2:16-22, tells us the same thing, but in a somewhat different setting. Here then are four elements in addition to faith by which holiness is produced. We sometimes meet those who speak of being "wholly sanctified," in a way that suggests a claim to entire freedom from the presence of sin. Is there any support for this in the Bible? There is1 Thessalonians 5:23, to which we have already referred. But the context shows that the word, "wholly" refers to the whole man in his tripartite nature — "spirit and soul and body." There is nothing partial about God’s gracious work. Its sanctifying influence reaches every part of us, and is carried on "unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." When He comes the sanctification of the whole man will be carried to its completeness and perfection; but not before. As long as we inhabit these bodies, derived from Adam, sin is still in us; yet the more we experience God’s sanctifying work the less we come under its power. There is no excuse for the believer when he sins, inasmuch as ample power is at his disposal to preserve him. Yet we all often offend, as James has told us in his Epistle; and we shall all confess it, unless our sense of what is sin is sadly blunted, or we are just deceiving ourselves. A life of practical holiness is indeed proper and normal Christian life; but the one who most lives it talks least about his holiness. He does not live to himself nor talk about himself. The end of his living and the theme of his tongue is CHRIST. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 23: 022 THE NEW BIRTH ======================================================================== The New Birth. F. B. Hole. We are introduced to this theme by the Lord Himself, who put it in the very forefront of His teaching when He had the talk with Nicodemus by night. It is alluded to by John in the preface to his Gospel (John 1:13), but not in any way expounded until we come to John 3:1-36. Having heard of it more fully from the lips of the Lord, we find further details as to it both in 1 Peter and 1 John. We also discover from what the Lord says to Nicodemus that Ezekiel 36:1-38 alludes to it, though the term, "born again," is not used there. Nicodemus was amongst those who were convinced that Jesus was "a Teacher come from God," but he went further than the men spoken of at the end of John 2:1-25, by becoming an enquirer. Nicodemus himself was "a master [i.e. teacher] of Israel," and it was something that he should recognize in Jesus a Teacher, who spoke and acted with an authority far above his own. But recognizing it, he came as one who would make a very good scholar, being a privileged person, a member of the most favoured nation. To such a man as this the pronouncement was made that, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." The word translated "again," in this passage has also the meaning of "from above;" it is so translated in John 3:31, and elsewhere; but evidently Nicodemus did not understand it in this sense, or he would hardly have asked the question recorded in verse 4. In Luke 1:3 the same word is translated, "from the very first," and in Acts 26:5, "from the beginning," and that seems to be the force of it here. Nicodemus needed a birth which should be new in the very beginnings of its origin. Nothing short of that would do. He had been born of the stock of Abraham, and so his pedigree was of the best. He was a very fine specimen of the Abrahamic strain of humanity, yet he would not do for God. The Lord’s words clearly put the sentence of condemnation upon him as a child of Abraham, for if that first birth had sufficed there would have been no need for a new one. We Gentiles cannot boast of being children of Abraham, the friend of God: we are just the children of Adam, the man who disobeyed and fell. The new birth cannot be less necessary for us than it was for Nicodemus. He too, of course, was a child of Adam, just as Abraham was. Adam’s nature was corrupted by his sin, and all his race, generation after generation, partake of that fallen and corrupt nature. Spiritual blindness is one of the forms that the corruption takes, and so we are quite unable to "see the kingdom of God." When Jesus was on earth the kingdom was present amongst men, for He was the King; but men did not see this apart from the new birth. Nicodemus only saw a Teacher in Him, and needed to be born again to see Him in the true light. It is just the same to-day though Jesus is no longer here. Men see in Him a religious Teacher or a Reformer, but they do not see God in Him, nor do they see the kingdom of God, unless they have come under Shat Divinely wrought process of cleansing which the new birth involves. In John 3:5, the Lord carries His teaching a step further. We need not only to see the kingdom but to enter it, and for this we must be born "of water and of the Spirit." The water is the agent employed, and the Spirit the Actor who employs it. These further statements apparently only puzzled Nicodemus the more, and he asked incredulously, "How can these things be?" The Lord’s reply took also the form of a question, "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?" His teaching on this point was not something entirely new — unheard of up to this point. It had its roots in what the prophets had testified, and notably Ezekiel in his thirty-sixth chapter, where both water and the Spirit are mentioned. The surprising thing was that Nicodemus had remained in ignorance of the prophet’s meaning. The meaning of the word, "water," in John 3:1-36 has been much in dispute. We believe its true meaning is to be discerned by referring back to the Scripture to which the Lord alluded. He doubtless used the word as being just that which ought to have put Nicodemus into possession of the key which should unlock His meaning. We ought to read at this point Ezekiel 36:21-33. Having read it, we note that the passage speaks of what the Lord will do when at last He gathers Israel His people out of the lands of their dispersion and brings them into their own land. Then He will sprinkle "clean water" upon them and they shall be clean. All their filthiness and their love of idols shall be gone, for He will thereby have put "a new heart" and "a new spirit" within them. The cleansing effected by the water will be of so radical and fundamental a nature that their whole nature will be different. Once this mighty work has taken place they will look back on that which formerly they were with disgust — "Then shall ye remember your own ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations" (verse 31). A moral renovation will have been accomplished. By discarding bad habits and acquiring good habits, men sometimes achieve a considerable measure of that kind of moral alteration which lies on the surface. The moral renovation which Ezekiel predicts goes down to the deepest foundation; putting a man into possession of a new heart and a new spirit, so that instinctively he desires what is good and walks in obedience. Verse 27 shows this. No wonder then that the Lord Jesus spoke of it as a new birth; inasmuch as it is not the altering of a nature already existing, but the impartation of a nature which is entirely new. The new heart is "given." The new spirit is "put within you." It is to start anew from the very first. Verse 27 speaks of "My Spirit" which is to be put within born-again Israel in that day. Though not printed with a capital in our Bibles, it clearly should be, as it refers to the Spirit of God, and hence is to be distinguished from "a new spirit" in the previous verse. So the prophet clearly shows us that only when Israel is born again and receives the Spirit of God will they see and enter into the kingdom of God. All this Nicodemus should have known, though the Lord’s words to him carry the truth concerning it a good deal further. Now we discover that new birth is actually produced by the Spirit of God. He who is born again is born of the Spirit, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit as to its own nature and character. In other words, the new heart and new spirit, of which Ezekiel tells us, is the product of the Holy Spirit and partakes of His holy nature. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, in spite of all that may be done to it in the way of refinement, education, civilization, or Christianization. When all is done, flesh it still remains: it cannot be transmuted into spirit. That alone is spirit which is born of the Spirit. It cannot be found apart from the new birth. When Ezekiel prophesied of how God would "sprinkle clean water" upon Israel in the coming day in order that they might be clean, the mind of those who read his words would have been carried back to the book of Numbers where twice we get the sprinkling of water mentioned. In Numbers 8:1-26 we get the way in which the Levites were cleansed in order that they might enter upon their service. Moses was told to "Sprinkle water of purifying upon them." In Numbers 19:1-22 we get the way in which the ordinary Israelite was cleansed from various defilements which he might contract. From the ashes of a red heifer "a water of separation" was to be made, and that water was to be sprinkled upon people and things that were defiled. The "water of separation" which purified was made from "the ashes of the burnt heifer" — typical of the death of Christ — and "running [or, living] water" — typical of the Spirit. So we pass from the type in Numbers to the prophecy in Ezekiel, and from thence to the Lord’s declaration in John 3:1-36. Putting all together the significance of the "water" begins to appear. It is the Word of God which brings the death of Christ in its separating and purifying power to bear upon the soul. Of that Word, as well as of the Spirit, we must be born if we are to enter the kingdom of God. In later chapters of the Gospel we find the Lord connecting water with His Word in a way that confirms the matter. Compare the scene recorded in John 13:5-11, with His words, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you" (John 15:3). A further confirmation occurs in Ephesians 5:26, where "water" and "the Word" are brought together as identical. Man needs, then, to be born anew from the very beginning. The agent used for this is the Word of God, which applies to us the cleansing virtue of the death of Christ. And He who acts in this matter is the Spirit of God. In John 3:1-36 the water is mentioned but once: the remainder of the instruction concerns the action of the Spirit. But when we turn to 1 Peter 1:22-25, we find that though the Spirit is mentioned, the main emphasis lies upon that which the water symbolizes - the Word of God. We have obeyed the truth by the Spirit, and thereby purification has reached us — verse 22 views that which is accomplished from our side. Verses 23 25 view it from God’s side. The purification is effective by reason of His work in us by His Word, which, as we know from John 3:1-36, is wrought by the Spirit. We are born "by" the Word, but also "of" incorruptible seed; and we must not confuse these two things. "By" indicates agency; "of" indicates origin. As children of Adam we were born of seed which is not merely corruptible but actually and fatally corrupted. We are born again of seed which is incorruptible, because Divine. Isaiah the prophet was given a glimpse of the Servant of Jehovah, who should die and rise again; and he predicted, "When Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed" (Isaiah 53:10). He shall see those who take their spiritual origin from Himself. A thought akin to this seems to lie in these words in Peter. As born again we have a new origin which is incorruptible in nature; and the Word by which we are born again, "liveth and abideth for ever." That which is produced as the result of new birth is characterized by these wonderful things — life, eternity and incorruptibility. From all that we have seen it is very evident that new birth is that work of the Spirit of God in us which is necessitated by the corruption of our nature through sin. It was not enough that a work should be wrought for us which should bring us justification and reconciliation; there must also be this work of moral cleansing, this lifting us out of the corruption of our nature. No external work of cleansing would meet the case; nothing short of our becoming possessed of a new nature springing from an incorruptible source. No deeper or more fundamental purification than that could be conceived. From the passage in Peter, with its statement as to our being born of incorruptible seed, we pass on naturally to 1 John, where we read, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (1 John 3:9). This verse gives us perhaps the fullest development of the whole matter. No mention is made of the agent employed, the Word of God. Nor is the Spirit of God, who acts in the work, mentioned. The emphasis is concentrated upon God Himself as the Source of all. As born of God, His seed remains in us; it is irrevocable. And we partake of His sinless nature. The born again one cannot sin, just because he is born of God. In so speaking John views us abstractly, according to the essential character of the new nature which is ours. He is entitled to do so, inasmuch as when God has completed His work concerning us we shall be this not merely abstractly but absolutely. The last trace of the Adamic nature will be gone when our very bodies are glorified. Elsewhere John views us practically, and insists that we have sin in us, and that we do sin: — see, 1 John 1:8-10; 1 John 2:1-2. This practical view of things is very necessary of course; but so also is the abstract view, which we have before us. It is most important that we should know the sinlessness of the nature that is ours as born of God. Not only is it sinless — for that is a negative virtue: it is also righteous (1 John 2:29), and loving (1 John 3:10, 11). It is marked by faith (1 John 5:1), and by overcoming the world (1 John 5:4). These are positive features of great worth. Only let these characteristics come clearly into display in the believer and it becomes manifest to all men that a mighty moral renovation has been effected: a thorough-going cleansing and purification has been accomplished indeed. We read of cleansing by the blood of Christ in1 John 1:7. Do you differentiate between this and the cleansing we have been considering? And, if so, how? The blood of Christ signifies His holy life laid down in death for the bearing of the judgment due to us. Thereby we are cleansed judicially. The cleansing wrought by new birth and presented as accomplished by water, touches our characters, and involves our having a new nature. We are cleansed morally. We could not do without either. Both are ours as having received the grace of God. You do not think then that the "water," inJohn 3:1-36, has anything to do with baptism? We are sure that the Lord did not allude to baptism in using the word "water." There would have been nothing surprising in Nicodemus not knowing about it, had that been His meaning. No, He alluded to Ezekiel 36:1-38, which Nicodemus ought to have known, and that has nothing to do with baptism. John 3:5 has no more to do with baptism than John 6:53 has to do with the Lord’s supper: though in both cases we may be able to discern in the outward ordinances some reflection of the truth stated in these passages. In both cases however we have not the ordinance but the truth, to which the ordinance makes some reference. We have had before us different terms: — "born again," "born of water and of the Spirit," "born of God." Do they all mean the same thing? They all refer, we believe, to the same great work of God, wrought in us by His Spirit. There is no such thought in Scripture as there being two more different kinds of "new birth;" as though, for example, one might be "born again," according to John 3:1-36, and yet not "born of God," according to 1 John 3:1-24. On the other hand, each of these different expressions has its own significance and force. The first emphasizes the new and original character of the birth. The second, who accomplishes it, and the agent employed. The third, the Source whence all springs. Indeed we think an orderly progress of doctrine may be observed in the four passages, beginning with Ezekiel. New birth is evidently an act of God; but is it wrought by the Spirit altogether apart from the preaching of the Gospel? There is a plain answer to that question in the passage in Peter. It says, "Born again. . . by the word of God. . . and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." Whatever may have been the word by which the Spirit worked in the past dispensation, in this day the word by which we are born again is that which reaches us in the Gospel. Then are we born again by simply believing the Gospel? Some hold that we believe to be born again, others that we must be born again to believe. That is so. He who inclines to Arminianism would hold the first view. He who inclines to Calvinism would hold the second. This raises the whole question of how to adjust in our minds the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. We should answer the question by saying, No, not by simply believing the Gospel; for, if by believing only, we should be shutting out factors of even greater importance. But of course we should be equally wrong if we said it was simply by the Spirit; for then we should be shutting out the Gospel, which must not be excluded according to the passage in Peter. The fact is we need carefully to note the word of our Lord in John 3:8, where He warns us that the Spirit’s work in new birth is something beyond us. We can no more gather it all together in our minds than we can gather the winds in our fists. The passage in Peter gives us a view of things from the human side — especially verses 22 and 23 — and the Arminian seizes them. The passage in John’s Epistle views things from the Divine side, and the Calvinist seizes it. For ourselves, we seize both, and are not troubled by finding that we can no more mentally adjust the two sides to perfection than we can adjust and explain the Divine and the Human in Christ Jesus our Lord, or in the Scriptures of truth. But is not new birth the very beginning of God’s work in the soul? Are we not absolutely dead, without the smallest motion Godward, until we are born again? We all of us started in a state of absolute spiritual death: there was no hope for us except God began to work. The story of God’s work in blessing men begins with God and not with man. We are as sure of this as we are that the story of creation began with God and not with man. God took the initiative with each of us, and His Spirit began to move on our hearts just as of old He moved on the face of the waters. But, in the light of the scriptures we have considered, we can hardly call that first moving of the Spirit new birth. New birth is a larger and more comprehensive thing, if we take it as presented in Scripture. And further, new birth is not the antithesis to a state of death, but to a state of corruption. The word which in Scripture stands in antithesis to death is quickening. By new birth we become possessed of a nature which cannot sin, and, hence we have "escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:4). Are new birth and regeneration — as inTitus 3:5— the same thing? They are not. The word translated "regeneration" only occurs twice in Scripture, and both times it has the significance of the new order of things to be brought about in the millennial age. Titus 3:5 however speaks of "the washing of regeneration," and we believe that though the regeneration is not the new birth, the "washing" is; and that verse is just Ezekiel 36:25-27 put into New Testament language. Israel will be born again, and thus cleansed from their corruptions in view of the millennial age. We have not had to wait till that age dawns. The washing connected with that coming age reached the heathen Cretians so that they might be cleansed — no longer, "liars, evil beasts, slow bellies," — and therefore should "live soberly, righteously and godly." That same washing has reached us. We are no longer dominated by corruption, since born of incorruptible seed. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 24: 023 QUICKENING ======================================================================== Quickening F B Hole Only when we take a wide view of our fallen estate can we realize in an adequate way the complete havoc that has been wrought by sin, or the fulness of God’s answer to it all which reaches us in the Gospel. We have already seen that sin has brought in: — guilt, and so forgiveness must reach us; condemnation, so justification is needed; bondage, and we need redemption; alienation from God, so we need reconciliation; peril of many kinds, so we need salvation; profanation and pollution, so we need sanctification; corruption, which has affected the deepest springs of our nature, so we need the new birth. We have now to see that it has plunged us into spiritual death, and we must be quickened if we are to live to God. Our state is set forth in Ephesians 2:1, as "dead in trespasses and sins." The next verse remarkably enough goes on to speak of walking in those trespasses and sins; but that is because the death there spoken of is death towards God. Those who are dead Godward are very much alive to "the course of this world," and "the prince of the power of the air," who operates in the "children of disobedience." To be dead towards God is entirely consistent with being alive towards the world and the devil: indeed the one springs out of the other. This is the fact that underlies the solemn statement made in Romans 3:11, that, "there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." That there should be none righteous (verse 10) is bad: it is worse that none should understand, for that means a state not only of ignorance but insensibility. It is worst of all that none should desire to understand or seek after God, with whom is righteousness and understanding and life. To the natural man there is nothing that is desirable in God. Man is not right: he does not understand that he is not right: he has no desire after God who is right. In one word he is dead towards God. Once these solemn facts lay hold of us, we realize that our only hope is in God taking the initiative with us in His sovereign mercy. We are quite well able to take the initiative in evil, but as regards all that is of God we are dead; and hence all movement must spring from Him. God then must act. But how must He act? Will reformation, education or instruction meet our case? By no means: there can be nothing until He quickens, for quickening simply means the giving of life. The very word translated "quicken" in the New Testament is one compounded of the noun "life," and the verb "to make" — to make to live. Now it is a striking fact that Ezekiel 36:1-38, which shows the corruption and moral filth in which Israel lay, and prophesies as to the new birth which consequently must be theirs, is followed by the vision of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1-28. This sets forth the death towards God, in which Israel lies as a nation, and it prophesies concerning God’s work of quickening, which must touch them before they enter into millennial blessedness. They will be brought up by Him out of the graves among the nations where they lie. There will be a national resurrection, and, says the Lord, "Ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it" (verse 14). Once they are quickened they will understand and they will at once seek the Lord. The "wind," or "breath," of verse 9 seems to be identified with "My Spirit," of verse 14: indeed, the same Hebrew word is translated, wind, breath or spirit, according to the context. It is interesting to compare these verses with John 3:8. There the blowing of the wind is connected with the Spirit’s action in new birth. Here it is connected with His action in quickening. This should show us how closely new birth and quickening are connected one with the other, and that they must not be divided from each other, though they should be distinguished and separately considered, as they are in chapters 36, and 37 of Ezekiel. Now if John 3:1-36 answers to Ezekiel 36:1-38, John 5:1-47 answers to Ezekiel 37:1-28. That chapter opens with the cure of the impotent man. It was as though a fresh stream of life entered his powerless limbs, and he took up his bed and walked. When challenged as to this miracle, the Lord Jesus proceeded to speak of far greater works than this which were His to do — the quickening of whom He will and the raising of all men. The former is a limited work. Those among the spiritually dead who hear the voice of the Son of God — and only those — shall spiritually live. The latter is universal. All in the graves shall hear His voice and come forth in two classes, to life and to judgment respectively. This will take place at different times, as we learn from other scriptures. In verse 21 of this marvellous chapter in John, quickening is attributed to both the Father and the Son whereas in the next verse the work of judgment is said to lie wholly in the hands of the Son. The Son, and the Son alone, came forth into this world to suffer and be set at naught. To Him alone then shall the supremacy and majesty and honour of executing judgment belong. In the giving of life however the Son acts according to His own will equally with the Father and — we hardly need add — in fullest accord with the Father. Equally with the Father is He the Source of life, for verse 26 is evidently parallel with verse 21 in its sense. As 1 Corinthians 15:45 says, "the last Adam . . a quickening Spirit." Verses 24 and 25 give us the way in which the Son acts in life-giving power at the present moment. He quickens by means of His word. There are those who really hear His word; that is, they hear in it "the voice of the Son of God," and consequently they believe on the Father who sent Him, and they live. Quickening is not presented here as a work of the Son altogether apart from the use of means. Were it so presented we should read, "they that live shall hear." But what we read is, "they that hear shall live." Life is indeed His gift, but it reaches us in the hearing of His voice in His word. In the light of this chapter we believe we may speak of quickening as the most deep-seated and fundamental aspect of God’s work in us. Such is its importance that the Father and the Son act together as to it in a special way. A wrong use is sometimes made of our Lord’s statements in verses 19 and 30; "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do;" and " I can of Mine own Self do nothing." These words do not mean that He disclaimed all power, just as a mere prophet might have done. They expressed in the first place the fact that in becoming Man the Son had taken the place of dependent service, acting wholly by the Spirit in subjection to the Father. This thought seems specially prominent in verse 30. But in the second place they also emphasized the fact that His essential place in the unity of the Godhead was such that it was impossible that He should act apart from the Father. This thought seems more prominent in verse 19. From this inner and more hidden aspect of things it was as though He said, "I am so essentially one with the Father that it is in the nature of things impossible that I should act apart from Him." It was really the strongest possible affirmation of His essential Deity. The Father and the Son must ever act together as the end of verse 19 says. Thus did the Lord accept the charge of "making Himself equal with God," and not only accept it but amplify the thought of it. So both the Father and the Son act together in life-giving power. In John 6:63, we discover that the Spirit of God also quickens. The fist occurrence of the word "Spirit" in that verse should evidently be printed with a capital, the second occurrence of the word is rightly printed without a capital. Comparison may be made with verse 6 of chapter 3, where the distinction is rightly made. The very words of the Lord are spirit and life but it is the Spirit Himself who quickens. We may say therefore that the whole fulness of the Godhead — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — is involved in the work of giving life to such as ourselves. One further thing has to be noted. We meet with it both in Ephesians 2:5, and Colossians 2:13 — we have been quickened "together with Christ." Being "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1), and. "dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh" (Colossians 2:13), nothing short of quickening would meet our case. Quickening was thus a necessity, but there was no necessity that we should be quickened together with Christ: that is the fruit of the counsels of God in grace. Life "together with," — in association with - Christ was His thought for us, and this goes far beyond the bare necessity of the plight we were in. Life of some sort we must have, if ever we were to be in conscious blessedness; but life of this sort is the highest and most intimate that can be known by the redeemed creature. Therefore it is that we read of this quickening as being the fruit of the richness of God’s mercy, and because of His great love wherewith He loved us. Rich mercy and great love are thus expressed. We have been made to live in association with Christ, inasmuch as our life as quickened is of His own order — His life is ours. Since this is so, it is possible for us to be raised up and made to "sit together in heavenly places" in Him. Having life of such an order as this, we are fitted for such exalted seats. The wonderful story of our quickening ends in our sitting in heavenly places in the life of our Quickener. In the Old Testament we read of quickening. Ten times or more the Psalmist speaks of it inPsalms 119:1-176. Are we to differentiate between that and what we find in the New Testament? We believe that we have to do so. The Psalmist says that God’s Word has quickened him in verse 50, yet again and again he desires to be quickened. The word is evidently used more in the sense of being revived, of being restored to more vigorous life. In Old Testament times man was still under probation. The law had been given to test him, and life on earth was still proposed as the result of perfect obedience to the law. Only when we come to the New Testament is the probation period over, and man formally pronounced to be dead in trespasses and sins. Hence only in the New Testament does the full truth of quickening appear. Some have thought that quickening is very advanced truth; that, for instance, a man may be born again and yet quickening lie ahead as something to be reached much later, as a kind of climax to God’s work in him. Does Scripture indicate this? It clearly does not. Until quickened by Divine power we are dead. It is the very beginning of God’s work in us rather than the climax. It would however be true to say that it is truth into the full import of which we are slow to enter. Almost invariably we begin by understanding truth as to the forgiveness of sins and salvation. This matter of life, and more especially life together with Christ, begins to impress us later in our spiritual history. We must not however attribute to the thing itself, what may quite rightly be stated as to our apprehension of the thing. The thing itself is the fruit of a Divine act: our apprehension of it the fruit of Divine teaching. InJohn 5:26, we read that the Father (1) raises up the dead, and (2) quickens them. Are we right in differentiating between the two things? And, if so, what is the difference? We believe that there is a distinct difference. In John 11:25, the Lord Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life." Resurrection is one thing and life another; though for us they are very intimately connected. For the unconverted dead they will be divorced. They will be raised and their once dead bodies reanimated, though not quickened, since their resurrection will be that of judgment and not of life, as verse 29 shows. Colossians 2:12, 13, also presents resurrection and quickening as quite distinct things We are quickened already but resurrection in its fulness is before us. When that moment comes our bodies will be instinct with life, in keeping with what has already taken place as to our souls. We have inRomans 8:11, a word about the quickening of our "mortal bodies." Is that something that takes place in the present, or is it to be in the future? That is in the future. It is that God "shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you." In the previous verse we have, "The Spirit is life because of righteousness." Both statements refer to the indwelling Spirit. He is life to us in an experimental and practical way now. He will quicken our mortal bodies presently, whether He does it in resurrection, for the saints who have died, or by the change of which 1 Corinthians 15:51 speaks, for the saints alive when Jesus comes. Some people however claim that this quickening of our mortal bodies has to do with the healing of disease: that it is what shall be done for us in the present, if only we claim the fulness of the Spirit. Yes; and in so saying they read into the passage what is not there. There is nothing about disease or healing in the context. It is not our diseased bodies but our mortal bodies that are to be quickened. In our present condition our bodies are liable to death; when quickened they will no longer be subject to death. If the mortal body of the believer really were quickened now, he would be immortal as to his body; that is, beyond death, and not merely beyond disease. So our reply can be twofold. First, there is an "if" in the verse, but it is not, if we claim the fulness of the Spirit, but, if the Spirit dwell in us — which He does, if we really are believers. Second, it is not healing that is in question but the giving of life from a Divine source. When quickened the mortal body is no longer mortal. It is perfectly obvious that this has not yet taken place with any saint living on earth. If Paul’s mortal body had been quickened, for instance, the heads-man’s axe would never have laid him low. He would still be walking amongst us! The Lord Jesus, as the Last Adam, quickens according to1 Corinthians 15:45. We are right, are we not, in connecting this with the present? Certainly. He stands in contrast to the first Adam in that verse; not merely in being "spirit," in contrast with "soul," but in that He is not merely "living," but the Life-giver. Verse 36 of this chapter reminds us that quickening only applies to that which is dead. Now we were dead spiritually, and quickening of a spiritual sort has already reached us from the last Adam. As the Head of a new race, He has already imparted life — His own life — to us who are of His race. But then this chapter goes on to consider the case of our bodies which are still mortal. We must bear the image of the heavenly Adam even as regards our bodies, and so the great change will reach us at the coming of the Lord. Then "this mortal" will "put on immortality," and this will be the quickening of our mortal bodies, of which Romans 8:11 speaks. When that is accomplished, and "Death is swallowed up in victory" (verse 54), the work of quickening as regards ourselves will be carried to its final completion. Then the word that we "shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:17), shall be fulfilled. Not only in life, but reigning in it, and that for ever. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 25: 024 THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ======================================================================== The Gift of the Holy Spirit. F. B. Hole. We have considered many of the direful consequences of sin; there remains one further effect to be emphasized. It has reduced men to a state of powerlessness. Not only are we fallen into bondage to sin, as we saw when considering redemption, but we are totally without power to please God or to serve Him. Now one thing is certain: the creature should within its own limits perfectly serve the Creator. Power we must have; both to deliver us from the paralysis internal to ourselves, which sin has produced, and to enable us to go rightly through external circumstances, as those who serve the will of God. Power is conferred upon us, and the wonderful thing is that it should be by the indwelling of the Spirit of God. Something much less than this might have sufficed for us, but nothing short of it has been given of God. The risen Christ, about to go on high, said to His disciples, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto Me" (Acts 1:8). This promise was fulfilled ten days later on the day of Pentecost, as Acts 2:1-47 records. In Ezekiel 36:1-38 and 37, as we have seen, there are prophecies as to the work of new birth and quickening, which will be wrought in the remnant of Israel in a coming day, preparing them for millennial blessedness. In both chapters there is mention also of the gift of the Holy Spirit — "I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them" (Ezekiel 36:27): "And shall put My Spirit in you, and ye shall live" (Ezekiel 37:14). As a consequence of this there will be spiritual life in Israel, which will express itself in active obedience to God’s will. As God directs, so they will do. Other Old Testament scriptures have similar predictions, notably the end of Joel 2:1-32, which Peter quoted on the day of Pentecost, saying that what had just occurred in their midst was a sample of what Joel had foretold. We shall see however that the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost has in it a fulness and permanence hardly contemplated in Old Testament times. New birth is produced by the Holy Spirit, and in result we have, as John 3:6, indicates, a new nature which is "spirit" in its essential character. That which is produced by the Spirit’s action partakes of His own nature. This must of course be distinguished from the Spirit indwelling men already born again, which is what occurred at Pentecost; and it is very necessary to observe that power is connected, not with the new nature produced by the Spirit, but with the Holy Spirit as a Person, actually indwelling the believer’s body. This is quite manifest in the passage, Romans 7:7-25; Romans 8:1-4. In Romans 7:1-25 we are given the experience of one who is born again, for he possesses "the inward man," which delights in the law of God (verse 22). Consequently he approves what is good and earnestly desires it, yet finds himself unable to practise it. It is not until we reach the Deliverer in "Jesus Christ our Lord" (verse 25), and go on to read of "the law [or, control] of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," that we find power to overcome "the law [or, control] of sin and death" (Romans 8:2), and to fulfil those things which the law so righteously required (Romans 8:4). The power that delivers is found in Christ, and in His Spirit, who has been given to us. This passage in Romans shows us the power that delivers us from the internal paralysis that sin induces, and this of course is a prerequisite, it we are to be marked by power in witness to our risen Lord, which is what is contemplated in Acts 1:8, and also in Luke 24:49. It should be a very sobering thought for all of us, that even as saints no power is vested in us. All power for us is vested in the Spirit of God, who has been given to us. The eleven men to whom the Lord spoke were Apostles, on whom as a foundation the church has been built. There had been a powerful work of the Spirit in them, and for three years or more they had been under special instruction, such as no men before had ever had. Yet none of these things conferred the necessary power upon them. However eager they may have been to start their great work of witness, they were at a standstill until the Spirit was given. Not one word of witness did they utter until then. But then, their mouths were immediately opened, and with what astonishing results! We must not overlook the fact that on the day of Pentecost the disciples not merely received the Spirit to indwell them, but "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:4); and when a believer is filled with Him there is no force active within, as a check on His power. This filling of the Spirit is not permanent like His indwelling, for Peter was again filled with the Spirit in Acts 4:8, and yet again, as we find in verse 31 of the same chapter. When the Spirit does thus fill a believer, the flesh in him is judged and quiescent, and His power is irresistible. Stephen illustrates this; for being full of the Holy Ghost, he was "full of faith and power," and his opponents "were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake" (Acts 6:8, 10). Unable to resist, they flew to violence, and their stones battered his body to death, thus destroying that "temple" of the Holy Spirit. Though the history, recorded in Acts, shows that in practice the filling of the Spirit was occasional, even with the Apostles, we must not forget that all Christians are exhorted to be filled with the Spirit, in Ephesians 5:18. It may surprise us to find such a thing put in contrast with being "drunk with wine," but the fact is that when wine is taken in excess it assumes control of the man and carries him outside himself. All that is from beneath and is evil. The Spirit of God however can control, and carry a man outside himself, in a way that is good and divine. The very good is contrasted with the very evil. If filled with the Spirit, all that is not Himself and of Him obviously must be excluded. Now it is in these other things, that fill so much of our thoughts and time and energies, that the hindrances to the realization of power are to be found; and in this connection we have to contemplate not only things positively evil but many things that are trivial and profitless. Hence we get the word, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God" (Ephesians 4:20). If we grieve Him, we do not lose His indwelling presence, for the verse continues, "whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." We do however lose much of the benefit of His presence. Both spiritual joy and spiritual power are lost until the grieving thing is put away. Some of the things which grieve are mentioned in the verses which precede and which follow. How much the Spirit of God has been grieved by malice, evil-speaking and bitterness amongst saints. The wonder is that His power is manifested at all! The Apostle Paul was called and saved that he might be a pattern to us. This 1 Timothy 1:16 informs us. So in his life of service and witness we can see how the power of the Spirit wrought. Romans 15:15 shows the extraordinary range of his service. From Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum — the modern Albania — he fully preached the Gospel. Within about 25 years he had fully evangelized peoples living in territories covering hundreds of thousands of square miles, travelling on foot with the occasional help of a boat on the sea and an animal on the land. A miraculous feat indeed! One only possible for him as energized by the Spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 shows the simplicity of his preaching. All merely human adornments were discarded, that the central fact of the Cross of Christ might be the more plainly revealed. What marked his preachings was "demonstration of the Spirit and of power:" so that as regards those who received his message, their faith should stand not in "the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." 2 Corinthians 3:1-6, and 2 Corinthians 4:1-7, show us the life-giving power of Paul’s new covenant ministry. His converts were "the epistle of Christ," written "with the Spirit of the living God," and, says he, "the Spirit giveth life." Both life and light are connected in this passage, for he says, "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" shines through "earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 shows us the power of spiritual weapons in the aggressive conflicts of the Gospel. Satanic powers have entrenched themselves in human minds and formed strongholds of human reasonings and lofty thoughts, which can only be overthrown by such weapons as are employed by the Spirit of God. 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 and 2 give us a lovely picture of the spiritual fruits in the characters and lives of the converts, when the Gospel comes "not . . . in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance." The Thessalonian believers became followers of the Lord, ensamples to all other believers, and propagators of the Word that had saved them; as they served the living and true God and waited for His Son from heaven. 2 Timothy 1:1-18 shows us the Holy Spirit as characterized by "the spirit . . . of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (7); so that the believer is enabled to be a "partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God" (8), and also to "keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us" the good deposit with which he has been entrusted (14). The Spirit of God is the power of endurance and for fidelity. The gift of the Spirit on God’s part, as well as the gift of His Son, may well be spoken of as "unspeakable" (2 Corinthians 9:15). At the outset the power of the Spirit was very largely displayed in signs and wonders. Seeing that He is God and unchangeable, should it not be so to-day? God is indeed the unchangeable One, but this does not mean that He cannot vary His ways and dealings according to His wisdom, as He meets the changing situations that arise amongst men. He has most evidently done so in past dispensations. The display of His power in miracles has never been constant, indeed only in three great epochs has it been manifested thus. First, when through Moses He intervened to bring Israel out of Egypt and into Palestine, inaugurating the law system. Second, when He intervened through Elijah and Elisha, recalling the people to the broken law, and testifying of His goodness. Third, when He intervened in Christ, and the church was subsequently formed through the Apostles. Practically all the miracles that Scripture records come into these three periods. Of John the Baptist we read, "John did no miracle" (John 10:41). His lot was cast just before the third great miracle epoch began in connection with Christ. But are not these miraculous signs the very greatest display of His power? By no means. Most of these visible displays of miraculous energy were only temporal in their effects. In Acts 9:1-43, for instance, Aeneas was raised up from his sick bed, and Dorcas from her bed of death; but in both cases the passage of years brought them into death, and the miracles were as though they had never been. That chapter opens with the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. His fellow-travellers were speechless with amazement, yet they do not seem to have discerned the miracle. It was of course a spiritual miracle of the first order, the effect of which is felt all over the earth today — just nineteen centuries later. Every true conversion is a miracle which abides to eternity; and miracles of this sort are taking place today. Paul’s preaching was in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Can we speak of modern preaching in this way? Only in a very minor degree, we fear. The fact is that so much modern preaching is marked by the very things which Paul tells us he avoided, in order that his preaching might be in the power of the Spirit. He not only renounced the things of deceit and evil, as he tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:2, but also things of a very reputable sort, such as excellency of speech, and wisdom according to man. But even where the Gospel is faithfully preached, and that without reliance upon these human expedients, there does not seem to be much power manifested. How can we explain that? There are two scriptures which may help to explain it — Ephesians 4:30, and 1 Thessalonians 5:19. All too often the Spirit is grieved in the servant of God who labours, and hence there is little fruit in what he does. And even when this is not the case, the Spirit is grieved by the state of things that prevails amongst the mass of professing Christians. There is also a quenching of the Spirit by the introduction of much human organization, which gives no place to His free action. Then beyond this there is the terrible incubus of unbelief, and often utter infidelity, on the part of multitudes of professed servants of God, who deny practically everything they are pledged to uphold. The Spirit is grieved and quenched in the bosom of the church, and this fact alone would account for His withholding any great manifestation of His power. However, it is happily a fact that He is still working, and souls are being blessed, though His work is proceeding in quieter and less noticed ways. Power for service, though important, is by no means everything. How may we know the Spirit’s power for victory in our lives? By walking in the Spirit, as Galatians 5:16 bids us. We learn from Ephesians 1:13, that He is given to us when we believe the Gospel of our salvation. He marks us off as belonging to God. But also we are to walk in Him; that is, He is to be in a practical way the Source and Energy of our life and activities. Walking is the first and earliest activity of mankind, hence it becomes a figurative expression for our activities. Our thoughts, speech and actions are to be under the Spirit’s control. Then we shall not be fulfilling the desires of the flesh, as otherwise we should. This is what Galatians 5:17 says. The Spirit of God wields a power that is superior to the downward drag of the flesh; and we experience it, if we walk in Him. Some of us would say that though we desire to "walk in the Spirit" we hardly know how to set about it. how does it work out practically? Galatians 6:7-9, may help to answer this. Our lives in a practical way are made up of sowing and reaping. It is as though we go forth each day with a seed basket on either side of us. We may put our hand into the basket of the flesh on that side and sow to the flesh, or into the basket of the Spirit on this side and sow to the Spirit: that is we may be yielding to the things which merely gratify the flesh, and so scatter the seeds of the flesh, or we may give ourselves to the things of the Spirit, and sow seeds that will be fruitful to His glory. This is not something that God does for us, but what we do ourselves. All day long we are doing it in one or other of these two directions. In which direction does our choice lie? Into which basket are we continually placing our hand? The resolute refusal of the one, and the cultivation of the other, is the secret. That is the way to set about it. Still, many a Christian who is not guilty of serious lapses in outward conduct, is not particularly marked by the liberty or power of the Spirit. How is that to be accounted for? Such are probably marked by lack of concentration upon the things of God, or by positive laziness. They are easily diverted to things of trifling worth. The Spirit is here to take of the things of Christ and show them unto us, and He may be grieved by inattention or sloth on our side. If you went to an acquaintance with important tidings from a much roved friend, and in a few moments he were to interrupt your glowing story with irrelevant remarks about trivialities, or you found him inclined to sleep in his chair, you would cease your story, grieved and indignant. The Spirit of God is sensitive as to that which concerns the glory of Christ. Inattention will grieve Him as well as open sin. Let us each ask God to show us how much of our spiritual poverty and powerlessness is to be traced to this. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 26: 025 NEW CREATION ======================================================================== New Creation. F. B. Hole. As we have considered in detail most of the features that go to make up the "great salvation" which has reached us, we have hitherto been able to point out how each is designed of God to meet and overcome some particular result or penalty of sin. But now as we reach the last, this feature has to be absent. We have left "new creation" until the last as it seems to be the ultimate thing to which the Gospel conducts us, but at the same time it is evident that God is going to establish it, not because it meets some definite need on our side, but because it meets the need of His holy nature — it is the thing which is suitable to Himself. The havoc wrought by sin has been such that we needed forgiveness, justification, reconciliation, redemption, salvation, sanctification; and all these are brought to us in the Gospel as the fruit of the work done for us by our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross. Equally did we need the new birth, the quickening, the gift of the Spirit; and the first two of these are ours by the work of the Holy Spirit in us, while His indwelling follows the other two, and is based upon the work done for us. We could hardly say however in the same way that we needed to be newly "created in Christ Jesus;" that wondrous event has taken place to satisfy the heart of God. As in other cases so again here, we can go back to the Old Testament and discover prophecies which foreshadow the full truth, which can only be discovered in the New. For instance, we read, "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth" (Isaiah 65:17): yet when we examine the context we soon see that what is predicted in Revelation 21:1-5, is hardly contemplated in the passage, for the prophet goes on to speak of the new conditions that will prevail in Jerusalem in the millennial age, when death may possibly take place; whereas in the scene pictured in Revelation death is gone for ever. The fact seems to be, that just as with new birth and quickening, so again here, God introduces His thought; but in a limited way as befitted a dispensation in which His government of the earth was the prominent thing. In this Gospel age, life and incorruptibility have been fully brought to light, and in connection with that His full thought and action, both as regards the work of Christ for us and the work of the Spirit in us, has been manifested. The New Testament does not stop at the millennial age but carries us into the eternal state. The first mention of new creation in the New Testament is in 2 Corinthians 5:17, where we find that every one "in Christ" is brought into it. It is "new creation" in this verse rather than "a new creature," and the language of Paul here appears to be very vigorous and emphatic. He omits the verb altogether, and exclaims, "So that, if anyone in Christ — new creation!" as one who exults in this glorious fact. Nothing short of this is involved in our being in Christ Jesus. That the believer is in Christ Jesus and beyond all condemnation is made very plain in the Epistle to the Romans, but we are not carried on to the full implication of that fact until we reach this scripture. We are in Him because we are of Him, and this by an act of God Himself. This comes very definitely to view when we reach Ephesians 2:10, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus." The old creation of which we read in Genesis 1:1-31, was God’s workmanship and created by the Son. It was created by Him, but not created in Him, as the new creation is, at least as regards ourselves. Sin was able to gain an entrance into the old creation, but it will never enter the new, which derives its life and nature from Christ. The passage in 2 Corinthians 5:1-21 shows that there is a very close connection between reconciliation and new creation. The former is one of the fruits of the work of Christ for us; the latter the fruit of God’s work in us. Yet of course the act of God in making "Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin," with which the chapter closes, is the basis on which rests new creation no less than reconciliation. There must be the complete meeting of every liability and the whole state characterizing the old creation, if the new creation is to be introduced on a righteous basis. There is no patching up of the old things in connection with new creation. They pass away, and new things which are wholly "of God" are introduced. Once even Christ Himself stooped into old creation circumstances, when He was amongst us "after the flesh," though His flesh was holy and without the least taint of sin. Now, in His risen glory, he has entered into new creation circumstances, and from Him as Head the new creation proceeds. The main point in this passage however seems to be the subjective effect of new creation in ourselves. We know Christ in a new way, all things are become new to us, our lives are diverted into a totally new channel, so that we live not unto ourselves but unto Him — all this, because of God’s new creation work wrought in us. As an illustration we might take the Apostles, as they were in the Gospel and as they became in the Acts. Between the two came the new creation in-breathing of the Last Adam, of John 20:22, and the indwelling of the Spirit, of Acts 2:1-47. Formerly they knew Him after the flesh; now their knowledge of Him is according to the Spirit of God. There was undoubtedly a change in His condition, but we must not overlook the great change in their condition. This side of things is emphasized by the fact that we are said to "know . . . no man after the flesh." Now with the great mass of men there is no change at all in their condition, the only change is in ourselves. It is because we are a new creation in Christ that we know everyone in a new way. We look upon all men and everything with new creation eyes — if we may so put it. What we have just been looking at is the new creation mind found in the saints; whereas Ephesians 2:10 brings us to new creation practice and action. We are created "unto good works," in which God purposes we should walk. James, in his second chapter, speaks not of good works but of the works of faith; that is of work energized by faith, and consequently manifesting it before the eyes of men. Here we do have good works; that is, works that express the goodness of God. Being God’s workmanship, created by Him in Christ Jesus, we have the inward capacity to do works of this exalted character, and the obligation to do them rests upon us. These good works were supremely and perfectly done by Christ, and as created in Christ, we are to walk in them — works of that order, though of course not in the same measure as He. What we find in Ephesians 4:21-24, and in Colossians 3:10, is in keeping with this. The former passage agrees with the latter, for the New Translation renders it, "Your having put off.... and being renewed.... and your having put on;" that is, in both passages the great transaction is viewed as one accomplished in every believer. Formerly we belonged to the old order of man and wore his corrupt character: now we belong to the new order of man and wear his character, marked by holiness, righteousness, truth. It is not something merely external, for the very spirit of our minds is renewed. The passage in Colossians corroborates this, though it has distinctive differences. It also speaks of the new man as created. It is because we have put on this new creation character that we are to behave as indicated in the context of both passages. The things to be utterly repudiated, and the things to be cultivated, are all determined by the character we wear by God’s new creation act. We may go one step further, and in the light of Ephesians 2:15, speak of the church as God’s new creation production. By the Gospel, God is calling an election out of both Jew and Gentile, and of the two He is making "one new man." The word translated in that verse "make" is the word for "create." That one new man is God’s creation by the Lord Jesus, for He is the Actor in that verse. And He creates this one new man, which is virtually the church, "in Himself." So we may speak of the church, as well as the individual saint, as a new creation in Christ Jesus. Lastly, in Revelation 21:1-6, we are permitted to know that there are to be new heavens and a new earth, and amidst these new creation scenes the new creation church will have her eternal home, as the tabernacle of God, when He dwells with men. Are we right, in dealing with the new creation, if we give the same literal and full meaning to the word "create," that we give to it when dealing with the creation ofGenesis 1:1-31? We believe that we are. Any difficulty that is felt about it probably springs from the fact that as yet God’s new creation work has not touched any of the material things round about us. It has so far only affected us spiritually: we are renewed in the spirit of our minds. It is quite certain we are not yet newly created as to our bodies, and that probably accounts for the scripture saying, "renewed in the spirit of your mind," rather than, "renewed in your mind;" for the mind cannot be altogether dissociated from the brain, which is a part of the body. When we are in our glorified bodies, in the likeness of Christ, and dwelling in the new heavens and new earth, we shall see that no word short of "creation" will meet the case. But what we are to-day in a spiritual way, as the fruit of God’s workmanship, is exactly of that order. God says it, and we may happily believe it. The fact that we have been created "in Christ Jesus" has been mentioned. Are we to deduce from this the stability of the new creation? We certainly are: but more than that also, we believe. Since it is created in Him, it will be as stable as He is; but also it will bear His character in other things. It originates in Him, for He is the Source whence it springs. He is "the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead" (Colossians 1:18), "the Beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 3:14). Even the inanimate things of the new heavens and the new earth will spring from Him, yet we are created in Him in a deeper sense. He has entered heaven in His risen Manhood, and we now are men of His order, participating in His life, "all of one" with Him, as we are told in Hebrews 2:11. Hence the church is His body, for in it corporately He is to be expressed. The new creation will be expressive of Christ and as stable as He. InHebrews 8:13. it is pointed out that the fact of a new covenant being introduced makes the first covenant old, and the deduction is, "Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." Can we reason in the same way in regard to the new creation? We believe so; with this modification perhaps, that not all the heavens created in Genesis 1:1-31, have been touched by sin, consequently not all will be newly created. All that has been spoiled by sin is old and ready to vanish away. Nothing less than new creation will meet the case, just as nothing short of it meets our spiritual needs to-day, because all has to be lifted to the level of the Divine thoughts. In principle it is so to-day, as we see in Galatians 6:15. The Galatians were being diverted to the ordinance of circumcision as practised under the law. But any such ordinance or other fleshly observance is entirely beside the mark to-day. It might be all right so long as men "in Adam" were recognized as having a standing before God; but "in Christ Jesus" neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any account; a new creation alone avails. Because of what God is, once a thing has been touched and tarnished by sin, it has to go and a new creation take its place. Are the new creation scenes predicted in the opening part ofRevelation 21:1-27, to be distinguished from the scenes of millennial blessedness, of which the prophets have so largely spoken? The two scenes are clearly distinguished in that chapter in Revelation. Verses 1-8, deal with the eternal state, whilst verses 9-27, gives us a more detailed description of the heavenly Jerusalem in its relations with the millennial earth. Hence in the second section we read about nations and kings of the earth, and walls and gates which shut out any defiling thing. This supposes of course that there are defiling things which might enter. In the earlier part all sin and sorrow and death are gone from God’s fair new creation, and all evil lies under God’s judgment, segregated in its own appointed place. Nations, too, only exist as the result of God’s judgment upon men at Babel; so they disappear, and God will revert to His original thought and just dwell with men. He will dwell as their God in holy freedom because righteousness will then be dwelling, as 2 Peter 3:13 tells us, and not merely reigning, as it will in the millennial age. As long as there is anything to challenge its supremacy it must reign: when the last challenge is met, it will dwell in undisturbed repose. Will all differences between men disappear in the new creation? It may be that on the new earth they will: as to that we cannot dogmatize. But at all events there will be the difference between those whose seat is to be in the heavens and those on the earth. In that day the holy city, symbolic of the church, will be the dwelling-place of God. Again, in 1 Corinthians 15:1-58, where we find that already we have been quickened by the Last Adam, we also learn that His great work with us will reach its completion when we "bear the image of the Heavenly." It is a most marvellous fact that we, who belong to the church, shall enter those new creation scenes bearing the image of our Head even as regards our bodies. We do not find this asserted of others, besides the heavenly saints. It is quickening which is actually mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:1-58, though we have referred to it in connection with new creation. This rather raises the question as to what is the relationship between the two things; and indeed between all the things we have considered. How can we put them all together? There are things connected with our most holy faith which are quite beyond our powers, and this is one of them. We contemplate our Lord Jesus, we confess His Deity, whilst recognizing His true Humanity, yet our minds are not equal to the task of explaining how both go together. We see the sovereignty of God plainly taught in Scripture, and the responsibility of man taught with equal plainness, yet how exactly to adjust them together we know not. This inability of ours does not disturb us. We expect it, because the faith, which we believe, comes from God. Could we bring it all within the compass of our little minds we should thereby prove it was not Divine. Now how can we put together all the things we have been surveying in cursory fashion? We may do so in part, but we cannot do so in any complete way, especially when we deal with the work wrought in us. The attempt to do so in the past has often led to unprofitable contentions, as might be expected. We repeat that we can no more see all round the subject at the same moment than we can see all four sides of a house at once. The truth is one; of that we are sure. It is given to us in parts; and as we trace out these parts in Scripture we are instructed and profited. If we fail to distinguish things that differ, and lump them all together in a kind of indiscriminate mass, we lose a great deal. On the other hand if we divorce and divide the various parts we soon run into erroneous notions, as also we do if we attempt to work out theories as to the order in which they take place. Without dividing we distinguish, and thereby understand more fully how rich and varied is the great salvation which has reached us. And the more we do understand, the more our hearts are moved in praise and thanksgiving to God. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 27: 026 OUTLINES OF TRUTH ======================================================================== Outlines of Truth. F. B. Hole. Contents. FAITH AND WORKS PEACE AND DELIVERANCE SAFETY AND SANCTIFICATION LAW AND GRACE "SIN" AND "SINS" THE NEW NATURE AND THE OLD "BLOOD" AND "WATER" GRACE AND DISCIPLESHIP ELECTION AND FREE GRACE ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH WORSHIP AND SERVICE THE RAPTURE AND THE APPEARING ======================================================================== CHAPTER 28: 027 FAITH AND WORKS ======================================================================== Faith and Works. F. B. Hole. It has been commonly supposed that between faith and works a deadly feud exists; so much so that they are utterly irreconcilable. This is far from being true. Most mistaken ideas have, however, a grain of truth embedded in them somewhere, and this one is no exception to the rule. It is perfectly true that the popular doctrine of salvation by human merit, in the shape of works of some kind or other, is totally opposed to and inconsistent with the Bible truth of justification by faith. Yet the Scriptures speak of good works? but they are of another order altogether and are as much in harmony with faith, and as intimately connected with it as the fruit and leaves of a tree with the sap which flows through trunk and branches. If we open our Bibles at Colossians 1:21, we find the expression "wicked works." These there is no need to define. They are the hideous outcome of the fallen and depraved nature of the children of Adam. The bad fruit of a bad tree. In Hebrews 9:14, we get the words "dead works." These are works done with the object of obtaining life and blessing, such as the diligent performance of religious duties and observances. They are man’s "righteousnesses," which are only as "filthy rags" in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6) - the product of the bad tree when cultivated to the utmost. Bad fruit after all, for no amount of skill can produce grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles. In Titus 2:7, 9 we have "good works" spoken of, and strongly enforced upon Christians. They are the fruit of that new life and nature of which the Christian partakes, which has its vitality in faith, and of which the Spirit of God is the power. They are the good fruit which grows upon the good tree. In Romans 3:1-31, Romans 4:1-25, and Romans 5:1-21, justification before God is seen to be solely on the principle of faith. One verse will be sufficient proof. "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Romans 3:28). In the second chapter of James we have it laid down with equal clearness that justification - as a public thing in this world before men - is not only or mainly by faith but by works. One verse again will suffice to prove it. "Ye see, then, how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:24). Study carefully the context of these two passages, and you will see a most striking proof of the harmony that exists between faith and works. Both Paul in Romans and James in his Epistle cite Abraham as the great Old Testament example which supports their contention. In the life of that remarkable man called out of God to become "the father of all them that believe" (Romans 4:11), we see faith as a living reality between his soul and God; when gazing into the starlit heavens he "believed God" - accepting as certain that which was humanly impossible - "and it was counted unto him for righteousness." We also see a great work of faith when years afterwards, in simple obedience, he went forth to Mount Moriah to sacrifice Isaac, in whom the promises reposed. He believed in God as a God who raises the dead. This public act proved it beyond dispute before men. It was the outward evidence of the inward faith. The former we find in Genesis 15:1-21, and to this Paul appeals in Romans 4:1-25. The latter is recorded in Genesis 22:1-24, and to it James refers. Like the fable which tells of two men, one inside a hollow ball, the other outside - one declaring it to be concave, the other insisting upon its being convex - Paul gives us the inside view, and cries "by faith." James viewing things externally, says "by works" - only, unlike the fable, in so saying, they do not disagree over it. But now for some questions. What is Faith? Elaborate definitions might be given, but they would probably be less satisfactory than the answer made by a little child to this very question. She simply replied, "Believing what God says, because God says it." Faith is like a window. It receives the light. The sunlight is there. It shines upon the wall outside, but in at the window; nothing is added to it, but its rays illumine the otherwise darkened room. To "believe God" like Abraham lets Divine light come streaming into the soul. But faith is more than this. It means not only to have light, but to wholly repose on the One whom the light reveals to us. The late Dr. Paton of the New Hebrides used to tell that when translating the Scriptures into the tongue of the islanders he failed for some time to find an appropriate word for "trusting" or "believing." One day, however, he called an intelligent Christian native, and seating himself on a chair he said, "What am I doing?" "Master, you are resting," said the woman. The doctor had heard that word before; it was not what he wanted, but a bright idea struck him. He lifted both feet off the ground, and placing them under him so that they rested on the rail between the front legs of the chair, he said, "Now what am I doing?" "Oh, master!" said the woman, "you are resting wholly, you are trusting," using a word quite new to the doctor’s ears. That was the word he wanted! Faith is reposing wholly upon Christ - with both feet off the ground. What are we to understand by that verse which says that a believer’s faith is counted for righteousness? (Romans 4:5) We must not read those words with a commercial idea in our minds, as though they meant that we come to God bringing so much faith for which we receive in exchange so much righteousness, just as a shopkeeper across his counter exchanges goods for cash. Nor must we entertain a chemical idea, as though they meant that we bring our faith that it may be transmuted into righteousness, after the fashion of the fabled philosopher’s stone that turns everything it touches into gold! No! Abraham is the great example of what is meant (verse 3). He - and we - are accounted or held by God as righteous in view of faith. That is its simple meaning. Faith brings in all the justifying merits of the blood of Christ; these are the great basis of that righteousness; and further, it may safely be said that the first right (or righteous) thing in anybody’s life, and the beginning of a course which is right, is when he turns to God as a sinner, and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. There are verses which seem to connect works with salvation.Php 2:12, for instance. How should we understand them? Always strictly in relation to their context. Even if we had no context to refer to, we might be sure that "work out your own salvation" is not intended to clash with the truth of Ephesians 2:8, 9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith . . . not of works lest any man should boast." Turning, however, to the context we find that the Apostle’s subject in Php 1:1-30 and 2 is the practical walk of the believer. Adversaries were abounding (Php 1:28). Difficulties were thickening in the bosom of the Church (Php 2:2-4). Paul himself, the watchful pastor, was removed far from them (Php 2:12). In effect, he says, "Christ Jesus is your great Example. With fear and trembling, because conscious of your weakness with the flesh within, work out your own salvation from the various forms of evil which threaten you." And lest they should think of their own abilities for one moment he adds, "for it is God which worketh in you." By His Spirit He works in and we work out. Might not the preaching of "only believe" without demanding good works lead to disastrous results? Yes. To preach "only believe" in an indiscriminate way may lead to mischief. We shall not improve upon apostolic methods, so let us see what Paul did. To men generally he testified, "Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). When speaking to the anxious jailer of Philippi, in whose soul a work of repentance was already proceeding, he said only, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). There "only believe" was quite in place, and to have "demanded good works" would have been worse than vain. It is recorded, however, that within one short hour of conversion the jailer performed his first good work, the fruit and proof of his faith (see verse 33). He did it not in order to be saved, but as the result of the change that grace had wrought within. Paul further tells us that he preached that men should "repent, and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance" (Acts 26:20). This is most needful. If a man professes repentance we may safely demand that the change shall become manifest in his daily life ere we fully accept his professions. But this has nothing to do with preaching good works as an auxiliary to our justification. Not only have we "dead works"inHebrews, but "dead faith" inJames 2:17. What is this latter? It is human faith, mere head belief, and not the living faith that finds its spring in God. Demons share this faith, as the succeeding verses show. It appears superficially to be much like real faith, but on closer inspection it is seen to be spurious. It "hath not works." It is a fruitless tree, with nothing but leaves. Scripture furnishes us with examples of this dead faith. Read John 2:23-25 and compare therewith John 6:66-71. In that scene, living faith is exemplified by Simon Peter; dead faith by the many disciples who left Jesus, whilst Judas Iscariot gives us a man with much profession and no faith at all! Many professing Christians have little or nothing to show in the way of good works. What does it mean? Who can really tell but God alone? Good works are not so much like the works inside the watch as the hands upon its face, which indicate the result of the activity within. Faith is the mainspring of the activity. It may be that such people are only professors, like a toy watch with hands only painted on its face, and no insides at all! Or it may be that something has gone wrong with the works within; they are true Christians, but sunk into a low and carnal condition like the man of whom Peter speaks, who is " blind and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins" (2 Peter 1:9). At any rate, the principle holds good that "the tree is known. by his fruit" (Matthew 12:33). Remembering also that "the Christian is the world’s Bible," we can well understand the stress laid on the importance of good works in Scripture (seeEphesians 2:10; 1 Peter 2:9-12; and the whole of Titus 2:1-15). How will the believer’s works on earth affect his place in heaven? Not at all. A place in heaven is his solely on the ground of the work of Christ. The Father "hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light" (Colossians 1:12). With that our works have nothing to do. All is of grace. There is only one title to a place in heaven, and that every true Christian has. Our works will, however, greatly affect our place in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, as shown in the well-known parables of the "talents" (Matthew 25:1-46) and the "pounds" (Luke 19:1-48). The same thing is clearly taught in 2 Peter 1:5-11, where, after urging the Christians to whom he wrote to abound in every spiritual grace and work, he says, "For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into" - heaven? No. "The everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." The character of our entrance into that does depend upon our works. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 29: 028 PEACE AND DELIVERANCE ======================================================================== Peace and Deliverance. F. B. Hole Let us begin by comparing two scriptures which will bring our subject fairly before us. The first is Romans 5:1. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The second, Romans 7:24, 25. "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from this body of death? [margin]. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Peace with God, and deliverance from sin and the flesh within, are two great blessings, which the Gospel of God brings to us all. They go hand in hand, yet they are distinct! It is well for us to understand the difference between them, as also the way in which each is made our own. The cross of Christ of course is the great basis of both. We may notice in the first place that the mischievous results of sin are seen in two directions, externally and internally. Externally sin has severed the once happy link that united man, as an intelligent creature, to his Creator. Satan succeeded at the outset in using it to cut the line of communication between man and his true base of operations - God Himself, and ever since the human race has been in the position of the little city of which Solomon speaks. The great king has come against it, besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it (Ecclesiastes 9:14). Sin has thus brought in distance, estrangement, and enmity on man’s side against God, and all his relations Godward are in the direst confusion. Internally, the wreck is no less complete. The sources of life have been poisoned; the mainspring of man’s will and affection has broken. Chaos reigns supreme in the mind and heart of every sinner. Instead of his being joyous and free, moving with intelligent subjection in the sunlight of God’s favour, he is in bondage. Instead of being master of himself, sin is his master. Instead of his spirit being in control of mind and body, it has become like a captain of a vessel, overpowered and battened down beneath hatches, at the mercy of a whole crew of evil passions and lusts. Not many years ago the eyes of Europe, and indeed of the world, were specially drawn towards Russia. No nation presented just then a more pitiable spectacle. She was involved externally in a disastrous war, and internally in ruinous conflict, upheavals, and anarchy, until it looked as if her very existence as a nation was threatened. Her state at that time not inaptly illustrates our present theme. Read Romans 1:1-32; Romans 2:1-29; Romans 3:1-31, and you will find the awful state portrayed, into which sin has plunged man as regards his relations with God. Then the divine remedy in the death and resurrection of Christ is set forth, and the result of this is for faith, "peace with God." Then read Romans 7:1-25. What a revelation of internal anarchy and confusion! Into what a tangle of conflicting desires, emotions, and struggles has not sin plunged us! But out of all this we may emerge, thanks to the cross of Christ and the Spirit’s power (Romans 8:1-4), and the result here is "deliverance from the body of this death." Peace, then, is "with God," the result of having all our relations with Him placed on a righteous and satisfactory footing through the work of Christ. Deliverance is "from this body of death," i.e., from this putrid corpse of corruption, which we each of us carry about within ourselves, the result of sin in the flesh. There is, then, a clear distinction between these two great blessings, and yet both are declared to be "through Jesus Christ our Lord." His cross is the basis of both. It was at one and the same time the complete answer to all our guilt, so that we who believe are justified by God Himself (Romans 3:25, 26), and also the full condemnation of all that we were in ourselves as self-destroyed children of Adam (Romans 6:6; Romans 8:3), so that deliverance might reach us in the power of the risen Christ. But though the basis of both is evidently the same, there is a difference between the ways in which they are received by us. Peace, though it is preceded always by the anxiety, which is produced by having the eyes opened to one’s dangerous position in regard to God, is distinctly said to be by faith (Romans 5:1). Many of us remember - do we not? - when out of the anxious depths our eyes were suddenly opened to gaze in faith on the once crucified, but now risen, Saviour. We saw every question settled, every obstacle removed, every cloud once between us and God rolled away; we could truthfully sing: "From sinking sand He lifted me; With tender hand He lifted me; From shades of night to plains of light, Oh, praise His Name, He lifted me!" In one word the result was "Peace." Deliverance, on the other hand, though it cannot be apart from faith, is largely linked up with experience. We wade through the mire of Romans 7:1-25 to reach the rock which rises before us at the end of the chapter. We learn useful, but painful, lessons of "no good in the flesh" (v. 18), "no power in our best desires" (v. 23), even when those desires are the result of a new nature within, called here "the law of my mind," "the inward man." Then it is that, heartsick of sin and self, the weary soul looks for an outside deliverer, and finds one in the Lord Jesus Christ. That deliverance is found in the knowledge of the meaning of Christ’s cross as the condemnation of sin in the flesh, and in the power of the Spirit of God, who makes Christ so truly "a living bright Reality," that under His warm influence order begins to appear out of chaos, and victory is obtained over sin. Is it possible to have one’s sins forgiven and yet not have peace? Upon what, then, does forgiveness depend? Evidently upon simple faith in Christ. "Whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins" is what Scripture says (Acts 10:43). Upon what does peace depend? Upon faith in the Gospel of God, which sets before us a Saviour "who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification" (Romans 4:25). The question then resolves itself into: "Is it possible to simply believe in Christ, and wholly trust in Him as a poor sinner, without believing with equal simplicity the Gospel message, which sets before us not only Himself, but His work and its results?" The answer must be, Alas! yes. All too many pay as much, if not more, attention to their feelings than to the unchanging Gospel, and therefore have not peace, though they fully trust in Christ. Although this is so, such a state of things is not what God intends, nor what Scripture contemplates. It is the fruit of defective teaching, or the product of unbelief. Must peace and deliverance always be received together? or may they be possesses at different times? No rule is laid down in Scripture, though they are evidently treated in quite distinct fashion in the Epistle to the Romans. "Peace" is dealt with fully, Romans 1:1-32; Romans 2:1-29; Romans 3:1-31; Romans 4:1-25; Romans 5:1-21, before "deliverance" is dealt with, Romans 6:1-23 to 8. In the actual history of Christians, it would seem that most frequently the question of sins, and how to meet God, entirely fills the vision till peace is known, and afterwards the Spirit of God raises the question of sin, and the flesh, and victory over both. Yet there are not a few who would testify that in their cases both questions were involved in their anxieties and exercises, and it seemed as if light on both dawned together. The writer would testify that in his case he never had settled peace until light began to break on the subject of deliverance. Can it be possible for a person to be continually overcome by sin, as detailed inRomans 7:1-25, and yet have peace with God? Not exactly. Taking the chapter as it stands, one cannot but be struck with what the speaker does not mention. In all the verses from 7 to 24, not one allusion does he make to the redemption work of Christ, not one word is uttered as to the Spirit of God. These painful exercises are evidently those of one who, though "born again," and therefore with a new nature, is in his conscience under the law, does not know redemption, and has not the gift of the indwelling Spirit. Hence he is "carnal," "sold under sin," and absolutely nothing is right. Yet the believer, having peace with God, may have an experience of this order, but modified, since he does know redemption and possess the Spirit. Though not sold under sin, and he may be nearly always in the gloom of ignominious failure, though not without one single ray of light, as is pictured in the chapter. If a really converted person gets such an experience must it not show that something is radically wrong? Yes, indeed, but wrong with him, not with his Christianity. The pity is that so many do not seem to have the experience. There is something wrong with them, but they don’t seem to feel it. The fact is, to "get into Romans 7:1-25" - as some Christians term it - is a sign of spiritual progress rather than the reverse. It betokens a sensitive conscience, and a real desire to walk in the paths of holiness, and the lessons which are learnt during the experience, though painful, are salutary. Just as no one gets peace without previously being in the throes of soul-anxiety, so no believer reaches that deliverance from sin and self, which issues in a robust type of Christianity, without such an experience as detailed in Romans 7:1-25. What is the secret of getting this deliverance? Simply looking away from self to Christ. Note the incessant repetition of "I" and "me" - particularly the former - in verses 7 to 24, and then in this last verse the sudden change. Sickened and hopeless, the speaker lifts his eyes off himself and seeks an outside deliverer. It is not, "How shall I deliver myself?" but "Who shall deliver me?" Is deliverance a thing which, like peace, we get at a definite moment, and once for all? No. Peace is the result of receiving God’s testimony as to the finished work of Christ, and often comes like the lightning’s flash. Deliverance, on the other hand, not only depends on the work of Christ for us, but on the work of the Spirit in us. That is not something completed in a moment once for all, but a gradual work, which has not only to be maintained, but increased. There is, of course, a definite moment when the soul cries out, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?" a moment when it begins to dawn upon us what it means to be "in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1), and we first taste the sweetness of the liberty which is the result of coming under the control of "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (v. 2). That is the moment when deliverance begins, but it has to be maintained, and its measure should be increased so long as we are in this world. Some believers have spent long years in vain struggles against the power of indwelling sin. What would you advise them to do? Give it up; and look away to the great Deliverer! Lose yourself in the warm beams of His love and glory - that is deliverance indeed. A well-known minister of the Gospel uses an allegory which aptly illustrates this. Its substance is as follows: - "The drops of water on the surface of the ocean looked up at the fleecy clouds passing over the face of the sky, and ardently longed to leave the dull leaden depths and soar with ease in their company. So they determined to try. "They called upon the wind to help them. It blew fiercely, and the frantic waves flung themselves in all their force against the rocks until it seemed as if the drops, now broken into fine spray, must reach to the clouds and stop there. But no! back at last they fell in fine showers upon the cold, dark waves. At last they sighed and said, ’It never will be.’ The wind dropped and the storm was over. "Then it was that the sun shone forth in its strength, the sea lay placid beneath its hot rays, and lo I almost ere they knew it, the drops were lifted by its mighty power, and without noise or effort they found themselves floating away as vapour into the blue sky." Deliverance is even thus. Keep in the warm sunshine of the love of Christ to you, and soon you will be saying! "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 7:25). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 30: 029 SAFETY AND SANCTIFICATION ======================================================================== Safety and Sanctification. F. B. Hole. When God called Israel out of Egypt, the first thing He did was to ensure their safety from judgment by sheltering them beneath the blood of the slain lamb. Next, to sanctify the firstborn who had been sheltered. Exodus 12:1-51 gives us details of the one, and Exodus 13:1-22 starts with the other. "Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn." This is the Old Testament type, and in the New Testament safety and sanctification are again connected. In John 17:1-26, for instance the Lord Jesus declared the safety of His own. As to the pas/, He said, "Those that Thou gavest Me I have kept." As to the future, He prayed, "Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me" (vv. 11 and 12). Immediately following this He prayed concerning their sanctification (vv. 17 and 19). With these scriptures before us, we shall see that it is God’s wish that the believer should be both safe and sanctified. Let us not, however, connect our safety with our growth in grace, neither let us so widely separate them as to make them a first and second blessing, with possibly years of experience rolling between. To understand the proper relation between safety and sanctification we need to know the scriptural meaning of the terms, and upon what each of them depends. No one who reads these lines will have any difficulty as to what is meant by "safety." With "sanctification" it may be otherwise. Not many words in the Scriptures are more widely misunderstood. To some sanctification means just sanctimoniousness. It really means nothing of the sort; nor does it even mean becoming very holy, save in a secondary sense. The primary meaning of sanctify is to set apart - to separate from base uses to the service and pleasure of God. For example: - "Thou shalt anoint the altar . . . and sanctify the altar . . . thou shalt anoint the laver . . . and sanctify it" (Exodus 40:10, 11). "I [Jesus] sanctify Myself" (John 17:19). "Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts" (1 Peter 3:15). In what sense can an object constructed of wood or metal be said to be sanctified? It cannot be made holy in the ordinary sense of that word. Inanimate objects have no qualities of mind or character. They can, however, be solemnly set apart for divine use. Moses did so set altar and laver apart, and they were thereby sanctified or made holy in the Scripture use of the term. Again, how can we conceive of God Himself or the Lord Jesus as being sanctified, in whose presence the angels cover their faces crying, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts"? In this same sense alone the Lord Jesus has set Himself apart in heaven for our sakes, and we can set God Himself apart in our hearts, ever giving Him that place of supremacy and honour which is His by right. So, too, when sanctification is connected with us believers, it has just this primary meaning. The above-quoted scripture, Exodus 13:2, shows that sanctification is God claiming for Himself those whom He has sheltered by blood. We are thereby separated, or set apart, for the pleasure and service of God. We must carefully note, however, that for us sanctification has two aspects. The first positional and absolute - an act of God with which we start our Christian career; the second practical and progressive - continuing and deepening through all our pathway upon earth. Those scriptures, which speak of the believer as having been already sanctified, naturally fall under our first heading. For instance, Paul wrote to the Corinthians in his first epistle as unto "them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus" (1 Corinthians 1:2). And again, "But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified. but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11). These are striking sayings, for the Corinthian Christians were in many respects very blameworthy. They had not advanced far in the way of practical sanctification, yet the apostle does not hesitate to remind them that in the name of the Lord Jesus and by God’s Spirit they had been sanctified as truly as they had been washed and justified. They had been set apart for God. Again, in Hebrews 10:1-39 we read, "By one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (v. 14). Who are these sanctified ones? Are they believers of special attainments in holiness? No. They are all Christians without distinction or class - set apart for God in virtue of the one sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. But there are other scriptures where sanctification is presented as an object of attainment and desire. We read, "This is the will of God, even your sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). "Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it" (Ephesians 5:25, 26). "If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and meet for the Master’s use" (2 Timothy 2:21). In these scriptures, though sanctification still carries its root meaning of "setting apart," it is clearly viewed as something which is God’s intention for His people; as something which Christ - not has done - but is doing for His church today; as some, thing which we are to individually seek, and which, instead of being already ours by God’s gracious act, is to be ours if we respond to the divine instructions. In a word, it is sanctification of a practical and progressive sort. Now let us inquire, upon what do these things depend? Safely, in Scripture, ever stands related to the infinite worth and value of the atoning work of Christ, and to His power to keep. Our attainments in practical holiness after conversion, important as they are in their place, have nothing to say to it. On that fateful night in Egypt no firstborn son would have been spared if the head of the household had tacked a paper to the lintel of the door, narrating his boy’s excellencies of character or his progress in holy behaviour. The safety of every spared firstborn depended solely upon the sprinkled blood and on nothing else. So it is for us. Our safety, our forgiveness and justification hang entirely upon the precious blood of Christ. We are forgiven "through His name" (Acts 10:43), we are justified "by His blood" (Romans 5:9). But upon what does sanctification depend? In its positional aspect it is founded on the work of Christ. By His one offering we are sanctified. It also stands connected with the Holy Spirit. We are "elect . . . through sanctification of the Spirit" (1 Peter 1:2). By the Spirit we are born again, and finally, in believing the truth, we are sealed by that same Spirit. In virtue of all this, we are set apart for God. In its practical and progressive aspect sanctification depends upon the truth. "Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth" (John 17:17). Hence the sanctifying of Ephesians 5:26 is "by the Word." This being so, it is easy to see that diligence, and purpose of heart in departing from iniquity, are very necessary in this connection. If we "walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 6:16) we do not fulfil the wishes of the flesh. Christ is before us as our Object, and we are brought under the influence of the truth of the Word, and thereby practically set apart for God in mind and affections. This practical sanctification goes on through all our pilgrim days. If we disconnect safety and sanctification, will not people think they may be saved and yet live as they like? We will not disconnect them; far from it. Scripture makes it abundantly plain that those whom God shelters from judgment, He separates unto Himself. That one should be sheltered and yet left in the world under the power of sin, is simply unthinkable to the Christian mind. The unregenerate alone would entertain such an idea. But though we do not disconnect we do distinguish, for Scripture does so. Some there are who hopelessly confuse these two things. In their great desire to keep us humble and walking in the way that is right, they would have us believe that the degree of our attainments in practical sanctification determines the degree of our safety. Is this so? Is our sanctification of such a doubtful character that we must be kept in perilous uncertainty lest we should shatter it? Let an analogy answer. Is it necessary to terrify little children in order to make them behave themselves? Is this method - sometimes practised by ignorant nursery-maids - the only way to reach that desirable end, or even the best way? Why then should we suppose that God treats His children on such lines? The truth is that all right conduct flows from the knowledge that we are sheltered, and from the right understanding of what we are separated to. Does good progress in practical sanctification improve the believer’s title to a place in heaven? Not in the smallest degree, though without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Near the close of his strenuous life, marked by so high a degree of holy living and devoted service, the apostle Paul wrote: "to depart and to be with Christ; which is far better" (Php 1:23). To a dying robber, just converted, but without many hours of holy living to his credit, Jesus said, "Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43) Which of these two had the better prospects of heaven - that heaven which is summed up in the words "with Christ," "with Me"? Paul? Nay, their prospects were good alike, and as sure and firm as the finished work of Christ and the sure Word of God could make them. Fitness for heaven is not something the believer works up to - he starts with it. We give thanks to the Father "who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light" (Colossians 1:12). HATH, mark you! It is not something He is doing, but something that He has done. Good progress in practical sanctification does, however, improve our fitness for earth! We are thereby rendered much more able to take our proper place as witnesses and servants of Christ in this world. When does this progressive or practical sanctification take place? Do we receive it by an act of faith? It is impossible to name a certain day or hour and say, "Then I was sanctified in a practical sense." For then, how could it be progressive? Nor do we receive it by an act of faith. Faith, of course, there must be; faith in the fact that we are already set apart by God for Himself. And faith is not an act merely to which we attain by a kind of supreme effort. Faith truly acts, but it is itself an abiding and continuous thing. I believed. Yes, but I do believe. I believe today! Taking Scripture as our guide we learn that the Truth sanctifies, and that God’s Word is truth (John 17:17). Further, that the Spirit of God sanctifies. He is the sanctifying power, inasmuch as He it is who guides us into all truth (John 16:13). The truth presents CHRIST to us, it opens out to our souls His glory, and as by faith we behold Him we are changed into His image, from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:17, 18). That is progressive sanctification indeed! Can you tell us when a Christian is entitled to speak of himself as sanctified? Every true believer is sanctified. To each it can be said, "Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" ( 1 Corinthians 1:30). So that if truly converted and "in Christ Jesus," you may speak of yourself as sanctified with as much confidence as you would speak of yourself as redeemed. If, however, your question refers to practical sanctification, the answer is - Never! Those in whom the largest measure of sanctification is found, who - in other words - are most Christ-like, are the last people in the world to say so. CHRIST, and not attainments, fills the vision of their souls. The excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus their Lord (seePhp 3:8) is their pursuit as it was Paul’s, and if they speak of themselves at all it is to say, "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect" (Php 3:12). We read in Scripture about the believer being sanctified wholly. Would not such a believer be perfect and beyond the reach of temptation? People, who do not observe the setting of scriptural expressions, sometimes suppose that to be sanctified wholly is to have the old nature completely eradicated. A glance at the passage will, however, help us to seize the meaning of these words. It runs thus: - "Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very peace of God sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:22, 23). The apostle Paul desired, in regard to each of his converts, that the whole man might be practically set apart for God. Each of the three parts that go to make up a man - spirit, soul, and body - was to be affected, and to such an extent that he not only kept separate from evil, but also from all appearance of it. Nothing less than this should be the object of our prayerful desire even now. But "if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). It goes without saying that if the old nature be not eradicated, no believer can consider himself perfect or beyond the reach of temptation. Why does the Bible lay such stress on this positional or absolute sanctification which all believers possess to begin with? Of what practical benefit is it to us? It is of the greatest possible importance. The law may, indeed, set before us an ideal to which we are to strive to attain. God’s way in grace is to show us what we ARE in His own sovereign choice, that we may practically be consistent with it. Two boys are born on the self-same day: one is the son of a king, set apart from his birth to high estate and office; the other is the son of a pauper. Why is it that continually the young prince has it impressed upon him that he is the son of a king? Is there any practical benefit in it? Indeed there is. The two boys may often walk the same streets, but their practical life and behaviour are as different as can be. The prince is practically separated from many low and vulgar ways, because by birth he was absolutely set apart to kingly estate. So it must ever be with us. Never can we be too often reminded that by the redemption work of Christ, by the Spirit’s work and indwelling, we have been set apart for God. Nothing will prove more truly conducive to holy living. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 31: 030 LAW AND GRACE ======================================================================== Law and Grace. F. B. Hole. There are two verses which shed such light upon this subject that we must quote them at once. "The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). "Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14). The first of these shows us the great dispensational change which took place at the coming of Christ. The second, the result of that change so far as the believer is concerned. Under the new regime he obtains freedom from the slavery of sin. In one respect law and grace are alike. Both set before us a very exalted standard - though even in this the latter excels. In all other respects they are exact opposites. At Mount Sinai the law of Moses was given (Exodus 19:1-25; Exodus 20:1-26). God - but very little known, because still hidden in thick darkness - then laid down explicitly His righteous and holy demands. If men obeyed they were blessed: if they disobeyed they came under the law’s solemn curse (Galatians 3:10). As a matter of fact the law was broken and the curse merited before there was time for the tables of stone to reach the people (Exodus 32:1-35). The succeeding chapter tells us how God dealt in mercy with them. Under law not tempered by mercy they must have instantly perished. Grace, on the other hand, means that God having fully revealed Himself to us in His Son, all His righteous and holy demands have been met in Christ death and resurrection, so that blessing is available for all. To all who believe forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Spirit are granted, so that there may be power to conform them to the standard - which under grace is nothing short of Christ Himself. The very essence of law, then, is demand, that of grace is supply. Under law God, so to speak, stands before us saying, "Give! render to Me your love and dutiful obedience." Under grace He stands with full hand outstretched, saying, "Take! receive of My love and saving power. " Law says, "Do and live," grace says, "Live and do." Now we believers, as we have seen, are not under law, but under grace. Let us see how that has come to pass. Galatians 4:4, 5 will tell us: - "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." That which has made the change is in one word, redemption. But that involved the death of the Redeemer. He must needs be made a curse for us by dying on the tree, (Galatians 3:13). Hence it is that the believer is entitled to regard himself as "dead to the law" (Romans 7:4). He died in the death of his Representative, the Lord Jesus Christ. The law did not die; on the contrary, never was its majesty so upheld as when Jesus died beneath its curse. Two things, however, did happen. First, the law being magnified and its curse borne, God suspends His wrath, and proclaims grace to all mankind. Second, the believer died to the law in the Person of his great Representative. He is, to use the Scripture language, "married to Another, even to Him who is raised from the dead" (Romans 7:4), i.e., He is now controlled by another Power, and that power is in a Person - the risen Son of God. Connected with these two things are two great facts. First, the law is not the ground of a sinner’s justification. He is justified by grace, by the blood of Christ, by faith. This is fully reasoned out in Romans 3:1-31 and 4. Second, the law is not the rule of life for the believer. Christ is that. Our links are with Him and not with law, as we have seen (Romans 7:4). This is fully shown in Galatians 3:1-29 and 4. The Galatian Christians had started well, converted under the preaching of the Gospel of the grace of God by the Apostle. Then came along the Judaizing mischief-makers, who were "zealous of the law," and taught circumcision and law-keeping. Into this snare the Galatians fell. Paul’s answer is virtually this, that the law was a provisional arrangement (Galatians 3:17), brought in to show up Israel’s transgressions (v. 19), and acting as a schoolmaster "up to Christ" (v. 24), as it should read. Christ being come, redemption having been accomplished, and the Spirit having been given, the believer leaves the position of a child under age, or that of a servant, and becomes a son in the Divine household, being thus put in the liberty of grace (Galatians 4:1-7). Inasmuch as the grace platform on to which we have been lifted is much higher than the law platform which we have left, to go back even in mind from the one to the other is to fall. " Ye are fallen from grace" is the apostle’s word to such as do this. The parable of the prodigal son illustrates the point. His highest thought did not rise above law, when he said, "Make me as one of thy hired servants." He was received, however, in pure grace, and the son’s place inside was given. Suppose, however, that a few days after, under the plea of wishing to retain his father’s affection and the place and privileges so freely bestowed, he had commenced working as a household drudge and rigidly conforming himself to the laws which governed the servants, what then? He would have "fallen from grace," and sadly grieved the heart of his father, since it would have been equivalent to a vote of "no confidence" in him. How important, then, for us to have the heart "established with grace" (Hebrews 13:9). What do you say to the idea that grace came in to help us to keep the law, so that we might go to heaven that way Simply this - that it is totally opposed to Scripture. In the first place, the idea that keeping the law entitles a person to heaven is a fallacy. When the lawyer asked the Lord, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?" he was referred to the law, and upon giving a correct summary of its demands, Jesus answered, "Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live" (Luke 10:25-28). There is not a word about going to heaven. Life upon earth is the reward of law-keeping. Then, secondly, grace came in not to help, us keep the law, but to bring us salvation from its curse by Another bearing it for us. Galatians 3:1-29 plainly shows this. If, however, further confirmation be required, read Romans 3:1-31, and notice that when law has convicted and closed man’s mouth (vv. 9-19), grace through righteousness justifies "without the law" (vv. 20-24). Read also 1 Timothy 1:1-20. Law is made to convict the ungodly (vv. 9, 10). The Gospel of grace presents Christ Jesus who "came into the world to save sinners" (v. 15.). Not, be it noted, to help sinners to keep the law, and so attempt to save themselves. If the law was not given for us to keep and so be justified what was it given for? Let Scripture itself answer:- - "What things soever the law saith, it saith. . . that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19), "The law entered, that the offence might abound" (Romans 5:20). "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions" (Galatians 3:19). The law has, like every other institution of God, signally achieved its purpose. It can convict and silence the most obstinately self-conceited religionist. Grace alone can save him. Then has grace set aside the law and annulled it for ever? Grace, personified in Jesus, has borne the curse of the broken law, thereby redeeming all who believe from its curse (Galatians 3:13). Further, it has redeemed us from under the law itself, and placed all our relationships with God on a new footing (Galatians 4:4-6). Now if the believer is no longer under law, but under grace, we must not suppose that the law itself is either annulled or set aside. Its majesty was never more clearly upheld than when the righteous One suffered as a Substitute under its curse, and multitudes will quail before its impeachment at the day of judgment (Romans 2:12). What harm is there in a Christian adopting the law as a rule of life? A great deal. By so doing he "falls from grace," for grace teaches as well as saves (Titus 2:11-14). He also lowers the Divine standard. Not law but Christ is the standard for the believer. He further gets hold of the wrong motive power. Pear may impel a person to attempt, though unsuccessfully, to keep the law, and regulate the power of the "flesh" within. The Spirit of God is the power that does control the flesh and conform to Christ (Galatians 5:16-18). Lastly, he does violence to the relationships in which he stands by the grace of God. Though a son in the liberty of the Father’s house and heart, he insists on putting himself under the code of rules drawn up for the regulation of the servants’ hall! Is there no harm in all this? We venture to say there is. If you teach that the Christian is not under the law, may it not lead to all kinds of wickedness? It would, IF a person became a Christian without the new birth, or repentance, without coming under the influence of grace and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. Since, however, no one is a Christian without these things, the case wears a different aspect, and to reason in the way suggested only betrays deplorable ignorance of the truth of the Gospel. The argument simply comes to this: that the only way to make Christians live holy lives is to keep them under the threat of the law, as if they had only a kind of sow-nature, and the only way to keep them out of the mire is to drive them back with sticks. The truth is that though the flesh is still within the believer, he has also the new nature, and it is with that that God identifies him. He has the Spirit of Christ to lead him, and hence he may be safely put under grace; for after all it is grace that subdues. If people quarrel with this, their quarrel is with the Scripture quoted at first. "Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14). Unconverted men may attempt to use grace as a cloak for wickedness, but that is no reason for denying the truth stated in that verse. What truth is there which has not been abused by evil men? Does Scripture indicate how grace keeps the believer in order, so that he may please God? It does. Titus 2:11-15 supplies the answer. In Christianity grace not only saves but teaches, and what an effective teacher it is! It does not fill our heads with cold rules or regulations, but brings our hearts under the subduing influence of the love of God. We learn what is pleasing to Him as set forth in Jesus, and having the Spirit we begin to live the sober, righteous, and godly life. There is a very great difference between a family of children kept in order by fear of the birch upon misbehaviour and those who live in a home where love rules. Order may reign in the former, but it will end in a big explosion ere the children come to years. In the latter there is not only obedience, but a joyful response to the parents’ desires, the fruit of responsive affection. God rules His children on the love principle, and not on the birch-rod principle. May we live our lives in the happy consciousness of this! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 32: 031 "SIN" AND "SINS." ======================================================================== "Sin" and "Sins." F. B. Hole. We have no love for theological hair-splitting, and we shall certainly not be guilty of it in carefully distinguishing between these two things. Though closely connected, there is an important difference between them. Both are mentioned in one verse of Scripture, Romans 5:12. "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." "Sin" is that which at the fall of Adam gained an entrance into the world. Just as the poison of a snake, once injected into la man’s body, will run through his whole system doing its deadly work, so sin - the virus of that old serpent the devil - has permeated man’s moral being to his ruin. The result of this is "all have sinned." "Sins," of thought, word, or act, whether of omission or commission, are chargeable to each of us. "Sin," then, is the root principle, "sins" the shameful fruits that spring therefrom. This being granted, let us go a step further and ask, What exactly is this "sin" which has entered into the world? 1 John 3:4 answers this point, but, unfortunately, it is one of the verses where our excellent Authorized Version leads us astray. The one Greek word translated by the phrase "transgression of the law" really means "lawlessness," and is so translated in other Versions. The verse, then, should run thus, "Whosoever committeth sin practises lawlessness; for sin is lawlessness." There is an immense difference between these two things. "Transgression of the law" is, indeed, the breaking of a clear-cut commandment. There can be no transgression of the law where there is no law to transgress. There was no law in the world from Adam until the days of Moses, hence there was no transgression and sin was not imputed; yet sin was there in awful malignancy, and death its penalty was there. This is just the argument of Romans 5:13, 14. What, then, is lawlessness? It is simply the refusal of all rule, the throwing off of all divine restraint. The assertion of man’s will in defiance of God’s. Sin is just that. Such was the course to which Adam committed himself in eating the forbidden fruit. How bitter the results! Instead of being like a planet, shining with steady light, and moving evenly onward in its orbit, controlled by the sun, man has become like a "wandering star," pursuing an erratic course he knows not where; though Scripture significantly says "to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever" (Jude 1:13). Instead of being master, he is mastered by the evil thing to which he has yielded himself. Sin has dominion over him and continually breaks out into sins. And, sad to say, it exerts such a deadening and stupefying influence upon the conscience that sinners seem unconscious of their plight apart from the grace of God. When God’s grace does act, and the Spirit works in life-giving power in a soul, the first cry is that of need and pain. The past years rise up before it, burdening the conscience. SINS become the question of the hour, and the trouble does not cease until the value of the precious blood of Christ is known and the soul can say, "My sins are forgiven me for His name’s sake." Then, afterwards - this is undoubtedly the experience of most believers - the question of SIN is raised. We discover that though our sins are forgiven, the root principle from which the mischief springs is still within us. What is to be done with that? This is a question indeed. It is something gained if we discern that SIN lies at the root of our troubles. Some Christians seem to be too much occupied with the fruit to consider the root. Some years ago a youth approached an elder Christian, complaining that in spite of all his prayers and efforts sins were continually creeping into his life and behaviour. SINS, SINS, was the burden of his cry! "Upon what tree do apples grow?" was the only answer he got. "Why, an apple tree," said the astonished youth. The question seemed so ridiculously irrelevant. "And on what tree do plums grow?" "On a plum tree." His astonishment deepened! "And on what tree do sins grow?" was the next question. A pause. Then, with a smile, he said, "On a sin tree, I should think." "You are right, my lad," said this friend. "That’s just where they do grow." Note the point. The sins that we Christians have to deplore and confess are not little isolated bits of evil foreign to us, inserted somehow into our lives by the devil. Their cause lies much deeper. They spring as fruit out of that which is within us. Sin is within us. Let no man say otherwise when Scripture says, "If we say that we have no sin. we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). What, then, is the remedy for SIN? The answer is, in one word, DEATH. Death, or better still, the resurrection change, which will be the portion of us, who are alive and remain when Jesus comes. It will end sin as far as we are concerned, absolutely and for ever. The last trace of its presence in us will then be gone. Every Christian looks on in the happy anticipation of that. Do we all as joyfully look back to the hour when death the great remedy came in - the death of Jesus? "In that He died, He died unto sin once; but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God" (Romans 6:10). The matter, therefore, stands thus: He died FOR our sins, atoning for them; He died TO sin, and therefore taught by the Spirit we recognize that we are identified with our great Representative, and faith appropriates His death as ours. We, too, then, are "dead to sin," and cannot any longer consistently live in it (seeRomans 6:2). We therefore reckon ourselves "to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:11). There is just this difference: the sin to which He died was purely an external thing. "In Him is no sin" (1 John 3:5). With us it is not only external, but internal too. Sin is the ruling principle of the world without us; it is also, alas! the ruling principle of the flesh within. But there is more than this. The death of Christ was not only our death to sin, but it was the total condemnation of the sin to which we died. Romans 8:3 runs, "God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and by a sacrifice for sin [margin] condemned sin in the flesh." At the Cross SIN, in its full hideousness, stood revealed, for lawlessness reached its flood-tide height then; and in that holy sacrifice its judgment was borne, and its condemnation expressed. Let these distinctions, then, be carefully noted. Sins have been borne and their judgment exhausted. Sin has been exposed and condemned, and to it we have died in the death of Christ. The Cross was all this and more. What heavenly wonders encircle it! How does it stand alone, unapproached and unapproachable! ". . . the Tree Centre of two eternities Which look with rapt adoring eyes Onward and back to Thee." We read inJohn 1:29of "the sin of the world," and inRomans 8:3of "sin in the flesh." Is there any difference between these two? and how do you distinguish them from the sins of an individual? The expression "sin of the world," in John 1:1-51, is about as comprehensive as can be. Sin, the root of it, and every offshoot, down to its finest ramifications in the world, is to be taken away by the Lamb of God. His Cross is the basis of it, and He Himself will do it, as foretold in Revelation 19:1-21; Revelation 20:1-15; Revelation 21:1-27. "Sin in the flesh" is somewhat different. Sin is, of course, the same in essence wherever it is found in the universe of God, whether in demons or men, but as far as this world is concerned "the flesh" - the old fallen nature of the children of Adam - is the great vehicle in which it resides and works, producing sins in individuals universally. Picture to yourself an immense electric power station. Imagine a whole network of live wires, quite unprotected, radiating in every direction from it all over a vast city. Shocks, consternation, death, would be in every direction! Sin is something like the subtle and indefinable electric fluid making its influence felt in every direction. The flesh is like the wire, the seat of the electricity, and the vehicle through which it acts. Sins are like the shocks dealt out in every direction, resulting in death. The sin of the world is like the whole concern, wires, electricity, power-station and all! A clean sweep of the hateful thing will be made. Such is the value of the Cross. Well might John say, "Behold the Lamb of God!" We commonly speak of the forgiveness of sins. Might we not as correctly speak of the forgiveness of sin? No; for Scripture does not speak so. Forgiveness of sins is found continually in the Bible, forgiveness of a sin, too, forgiveness of sin, the root principle, Never! A simple illustration may help. A mother is greatly tried by her little son, who is rapidly developing a most ungovernable temper. One morning, irritated because his sister is far more interested in her doll than in the motor-car which stands throbbing outside the house, he attempts to make her look at it, and in the struggle brings her head with a crash against the window, shattering the glass, and severely scratching her face. The boy is sent to his room by his mother, and on his father’s return, shortly after, he gets very properly punished. By evening the punishment has had its desired effect. He comes to his parents in tears, confessing his wrong. Seeing that he is thoroughly repentant, they forgive the angry act. But do they forgive the evil temper from which it sprang? By no means. That would be, more or less, to condone it. No; they strongly condemn it. They lovingly, yet firmly, show him its nature and its consequences, and they seek to lead him to abhor and condemn it as thoroughly as they do. "God . . . condemned sin in the flesh." He did not condone nor forgive it; and the work of the Holy Spirit in us leads us to condemn it, even as God has condemned it, to the end that we may know deliverance from its power. How do you reconcile the condemnation of sin in the flesh with the fact that believers may and do sin? No reconciliation is needed. Condemnation is not eradication. The same Bible that speaks of the condemnation of sin (Romans 8:3) also speaks of the fact of sin being still in us (1 John 1:8), and supposes that the believer may sin, in pointing out the divine provision for such a case ( 1 John 2:1). It even plainly tells us that as a matter of fact we all do sin (James 3:2). It is God’s way to leave the flesh and sin still in the believer, that, practically learning their true nature, he may experimentally come into line with God’s condemnation of them at the Cross, and find his life and deliverance in Another, so that he can say, in answer to the cry, "Who shall deliver me?" "I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 7:24, 25). Is sin never taken completely out of a believer? It says in1 John 3:9, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin." At death, when a believer is "absent from the body and present with the Lord," he is done with sin for ever. At the Lord’s coming all believers will get their glorified bodies without one trace of sin being there. Until then we have the presence of sin in us though it is our privilege to be delivered from its power. The verse quoted does not in the least conflict with the other Scriptures we have considered. It simply states for us the nature of the one born of God. He does not practise sin. ("Practise" rather than "commit " is the real force of the word here). It is not his nature so to do. In so saying the apostle viewed believers in their nature as born of God, without reference to any qualifying feature, which may assert itself in the wear and tear of life. For instance, a man might walk along the sea-front of some fishing-village with a friend, and, pointing to a large net with innumerable cork-floats attached, say, "What a great boon to the fisherman is a substance like cork, which cannot sink." "Indeed," says his friend, "it can, for only an hour ago I watched the men recovering that very net from the bottom of the sea; the weights attached to the under side were too heavy, and, overcoming the buoyancy of the cork, dragged the whole lot down." Who was right? Both were, allowing for their respective points of view. The former was thinking of the abstract qualities of cork, the latter of a curious and abnormal thing that happened in practice. The apostle John writes from the abstract point of view, and sin in a Christian is certainly not a normal, but a most abnormal thing! Christians, however, do sin all too frequently. Do such sins do away with the settlement reached both as to sin and sins, with which the Christian starts? No. The cross of Christ is the ground of all. There sin was condemned. There atonement was made, so that forgiveness reaches us when we believe. All, too, is the gift of divine grace, and "the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" (Romans 11:29), i.e., they are not subject to a change of mind on God’s part. They are for ever. Sins after conversion do, however, greatly upset the Christian’s happiness, and dispel the joy both of forgiveness and relationship with God, until in self-judgment such sins are confessed, and through the advocacy of Christ we get the Father’s forgiveness (see1 John 1:9: 2: 1). Painful lessons in this way we all have to learn, but there is profit in them. We discover thus the true nature of the flesh within us, and that the only way to keep from gratifying its desire is to "walk in the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16). Did the Lord Jesus Christ in dying bear the sins of everybody? Would not that follow from the fact that He takes away the sin of the world, according toJohn 1:29? Scripture puts things thus: "He died for all" (2 Corinthians 5:15). "Who gave Himself a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:6). "He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). These verses indicate what we may call the Godward aspect of His work. It includes ALL within the wide sweep of its benevolent intention; and propitiation has been made on behalf, not only of believers, but everybody; the whole world. When we come, not to the intention or bearing of His work, but its actual results, we find things put differently. When we view things on the largest possible scale, and "think imperially,’’ in the best sense of the word, John 1:29 does indeed apply, but that is quite in keeping with the fact that sin and all that are eternally identified with it find their part in the lake of fire. If we think of things in detail, we cannot say He bore the sins of everybody, for Scripture says: "Who His own self bare our [i.e., believers’] sins in His own body on the tree " (1 Peter 2: 27). Hence it is that again we read: "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many" (Hebrews 9:28). Thanks be to God that we find ourselves amongst them! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 33: 032 THE NEW NATURE AND THE OLD ======================================================================== The New Nature and the Old. F. B. hole. Many Christians experience a good deal of difficulty in daily life as a result of having no clear understanding of this subject. They are conscious of a whole host of desires and emotions of a strangely conflicting nature. The apostle James may ask the question, "Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?" They, however, seem to have no difficulty in accomplishing something of this sort; for in thought, word and action they find the strangest possible jumble of good and evil until the whole problem becomes most perplexing. It is a great help to grasp the fact that the believer is possessed of two distinct natures, the new and the old, the one the source of every right desire, the other the source of only evil. A hen would be sorely distracted if set to mother a mixed brood of chickens and ducklings. Their natures are distinct, and hence their desires and behaviour are very opposite, but not more opposite than the two natures of which we speak. And many believers are like that hen! When the Lord Jesus spoke to Nicodemus He insisted upon the necessity of being "born again" - "born of water and of the Spirit," and He added, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). Let us carefully consider these important words. In the first place they plainly indicate the existence of two natures, each characterized by its source. "Flesh" is the name of the one, for it springs from the flesh, "spirit" the name of the other, for it springs from the Holy Spirit of God. Then it is evident that we rightly speak of "flesh" as the old nature, for it belongs to us as coming into the world of Adam’s race by natural generation; "spirit" is the new, and it is ours, if born of the Spirit, in new birth. Again, these words clearly distinguish between "spirit," by which we mean the new nature, and "the Spirit," that is, the Holy Spirit of God. The former is the direct product of His wonder-working power, and never does He indwell a person in whom He has not previously wrought in new birth, producing the new nature which is "spirit." Still, it would be a great mistake to confound - as some are inclined to do - the new nature with the Holy Spirit who produces it. When you were born again, then there was implanted in you by the Holy Spirit this new nature, which is spirit, and one of the first results of this was the inevitable clashing of this new nature with the old, which you inherited as a child of Adam. Both strive for the mastery, each pulling in a diametrically opposite direction, and until the secret of deliverance from the power of the flesh within is learned, the painful jumble of right and wrong is bound to continue. In Romans 7:1-25 that painful experience is described for us. Carefully read it, noticing especially verses 14 to the end, and continuing your reading as far as Romans 8:4. Do you not see in it a good many features which tally with your experiences? In that chapter the speaker reaches one very important conclusion. "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing" (v. 18). The flesh, then, is utterly and hopelessly bad, and God allows us to wade through the mire of bitter experiences that we may thoroughly learn this lesson. "The flesh profiteth nothing," are the Saviour’s own words (John 6:63). "They that are in the flesh cannot please God," are words that corroborate the story (Romans 8:8). This being so, out of it nothing but evil will come. Flesh may be left uncared-for and untrained, it then becomes heathen, savage, and possibly even cannibal flesh. It may be highly refined and educated, it is now curbed, civilized, christianized flesh, but it is flesh, for that which is born of the flesh IS flesh, no matter what you do with it. And in it - high-class flesh though it be - no good dwells. What can you do with a nature like that, a nature which is simply the vehicle of sin, in which sin dwells and works? Let us answer that question by asking another. What has God done with it? what is His remedy? Romans 8:3 supplies the answer: "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." The law from the beginning strongly censured the flesh, but it could neither curb it nor control it so that we might be delivered from its power. But what the law could not do God has done. In the cross of Christ He judicially dealt with it, "condemned sin in the flesh," i.e., He condemned it in the very root and essence of its nature. Romans 8:4 gives the practical result of this. The cross being the condemnation of the old nature in the root of its being, we have received the Holy Spirit to be the power of the new nature, so that walking in the Spirit we fulfil all the righteous requirements of the law, though no longer under it as our rule of life. God then has condemned, in the cross of Christ, the flesh - the old nature. But what can we do with it? We can thankfully accept what God has done, and treat it henceforward as a condemned thing ourselves. The apostle Paul indicates this when he says, "We are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have NO CONFIDENCE in the flesh" (Php 3:3). When one reads this scripture commencing so positively with the words "We are," one is inclined to ask, "Are we?" Am I so thoroughly alive to the true character of the flesh - no good thing dwelling in it, on the one hand, and God’s condemnation of it in the cross, on the other - that I have no confidence in it, even in its fairest forms? Depend upon it, here lies the crux of the whole matter. That point is not easily reached. Many a painful experience is passed through, many a heart-breaking failure is known, as again and again the flesh, like a Samson refusing to be bound, snaps the seven green withs of pious and prayerful efforts, and the new ropes - so carefully woven - of good resolutions. But when once it really is reached the battle is well-nigh over. The shattering of our confidence in the flesh is largely the shattering of the flesh’s power over us. Then at once we look away from ourselves, and our most earnest efforts, for a Deliverer, and find Him in the Lord Jesus Christ, who has taken possession of us by His Spirit. The Spirit is the power; He not only checkmates the activity of the old nature (seeGalatians 5:16), but energizes, expands and controls the new (seeRomans 8:2, 4, 5, and 10). Bear in mind that the new nature has no power in itself.Romans 7:1-25 shows that. The new nature in itself gives aspirations and desires which are right and beautiful, but for power to fulfil them there must be this practical submission to Christ and His Spirit - this walking in the Spirit, which is largely the result of coming into real and heartfelt agreement with God’s condemnation of the old nature in the cross of Christ. Some people are good-natured and religious almost from birth. Do such need the new nature of which you speak? Most certainly they do. The very man to whom the Lord Jesus uttered those memorable words, "Ye MUST be born again," was exactly of that type. Morally, socially, and religiously, everything was in his favour, yet the Lord met him point-blank, not only with an abstract proposition (John 3:3), but with the same truth in concrete and pointedly personal form. "Ye must be born again" (v. 7). That settles it. After all, good-natured and religious flesh is only FLESH, and will not do for God. There is a widespread idea that everybody has some spark of good in him, and that it only needs developing by prayer and self-control. Is this scriptural? It is very unscriptural, indeed it is anti-scriptural. Many passages might be cited, but I shall content myself with two. The first shall be negative evidence. In Romans 3:9-19, we have given us a full-length portrait of mankind in its moral features. The details are culled by the apostle Paul from Old Testament Scriptures. First come sweeping general statements (vv. 10-12), then incisive particular ones in hideous detail (vv. 13-18), and not one word is breathed as to this latent spark of good. How unjust, how untruthful, if really, after all, it be there! The God who cannot lie describes His creatures, and does not mention this supposed spark of good. The inference is obvious. It is not there. The positive evidence runs like this: - "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth; and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only EVIL continually" (Genesis 6:5). The apostle Paul puts the same truth in different words when he says; "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing" (Romans 7:18) - not even one spark of good. For those who believe the Bible such evidence is quite conclusive. Nothing more remains to be said. Does a person get rid of the old at new birth, or are we to understand that a converted person has both the old and the new within him? The old nature is not eradicated at new birth, else we should not read: "If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). Neither is it changed into the new nature. New birth is not like the philosopher’s stone, which was fabled to turn every object it touched into fine gold. John 3:6, already quoted proves this. Both natures are in the believer just as both natures are in that standard fruit tree in the garden. Indeed, the process of "grafting" not inaptly illustrates the matter in hand, for by it the wild stock into which the choice and cultivated apple shoot is inserted is condemned. The knife is put to it and it is cut hard back for the process to take place. Further, instantly the graft is made the gardener no longer recognizes it as a wild stock, but calls it by the name of the apple variety he has grafted in. So it is for us; both natures are there, yet God only recognizes the new, and we, having received the Holy Spirit, are "not in the flesh, but in the Spirit" (Romans 8:9). If the old nature is still there, surely we must do something. How should we treat it? We are not, of course, to be insensible to its presence, nor unaffected by its activities in us, but at the same time no amount of human resolution or effort against it will avail us. Our wisdom is to fall into line with God’s thoughts and to treat it as He does. Begin by recognizing that you are now identified with the new nature and entitled to disown the old. "It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me" (Romans 7:17). The new nature is your true individuality, not the old, just as the cultivated apple is the tree as soon as the graft is effective. This being so, your treatment of it is simple. The gardener keeps a sharp look-out on his newly grafted tree. If the old wild stock seeks to assert itself, and throws up suckers from the roots, he ruthlessly cuts such suckers down as soon as they appear. So do you bring the cross of Christ to bear like a sharp knife on the old nature and its sinful desires. "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth" (Colossians 3:3). The words I have emphasized answer pretty much to the suckers thrown up by the wild stock. What they are the remainder of verse 5 and also verses 8 and 9 of the same chapter specify. Mortify them - put them to death in detail. For this you want spiritual energy, courage, purpose of heart, which in yourself you do not possess. Your only power is in looking simply to the Lord Jesus, and placing yourself unreservedly in the hands of His Spirit. "If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live" (Romans 8:13). Is it by a great act of our own will that we finally obtain the Spirit’s power and overcome, or is it by yielding to God? Let Scripture itself answer. "Yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God" (Romans 6:13). "Yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness" (Romans 6:19). "Being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life" (Romans 6:22). The idea that the necessary power is obtained by an act of our own will looks like a last desperate attempt to obtain a little credit for the flesh somewhere, instead of totally condemning it and giving God the glory. Does the new nature in the believer ever reach such perfect growth as to reader him quite proof against the desires of the old? 2 Corinthians 12:1-21 shows very clearly that it does not. In that chapter we read that the Apostle Paul, privileged above all other Christians, was caught up into the third heaven - the immediate presence of God. After hearing there things so transporting that no human language could possibly express them, he was left to resume his ordinary life upon earth, and he tells us that God gave him from that point a thorn in the flesh - some special counter-balancing infirmity - lest he should be exalted above measure, through the abundance of the revelations. Now, admittedly, Paul’s Christianity was of a most advanced and extraordinary type, yet, even so, and with a temporary sojourn in the third heaven thrown in, he was not in himself proof against that self-exaltation which is inherent in the old nature. If he was not, neither are we. Can you give any hints that will help us to distinguish practically between desires and promptings, which spring from the old nature, and those that spring from the new I cannot give you any that will enable you to dispense with God’s Word, and relieve you of the necessity of continually going to your knees in prayer with an exercised heart. The Word of God it is which is "living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword." It alone can discern the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12), and the throne of grace stands ever available that we may find grace for seasonable help (Hebrews 4:16). God’s High Priest it is who graces that throne. The Word of God and prayer, then, are absolutely necessary, if we would distinguish and disentangle the thoughts and desires we find within. Recognizing this, however, it may help us if we remember that just as the mariner’s compass is true to the north, so the new nature is true to God, and the old nature true to self. All that which has Christ for its object is of the one, that which has self for its object of the other. This being so, a thousand perplexing questions would be solved by asking, "What is the secret motive which actuates me in this? Christ-glorification or self-glorification? Which?" ======================================================================== CHAPTER 34: 033 "BLOOD" AND "WATER." ======================================================================== "Blood" and "Water." F. B. Hole. It is an historic fact recorded by the apostle John (John 19:34) that a soldier with a spear pierced the side of the dead Christ, and "forthwith came there out blood and water." From the solemn way in which the Apostle pauses to attest this fact as a personal eye-witness (see verse 35) we might naturally conclude that he attached some very special importance to it, even if no further reference to it were made. We are not however, left to surmise, as in his first Epistle the same apostle returns to the subject, and supplements the historic record of his Gospel with instructions as to the bearing of the fact. He says, "This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water and blood" (verse 6). And further, in verse 8 he speaks of the Spirit and the water and the blood as the three witnesses to the Son of God. The meaning of these words is not by any means apparent at first sight. Two things, however, do lie upon the surface. 1. Both blood and water are connected with the DEATH of Christ. 2. Though connected they are distinct, so distinct that they can be cited separately as witnesses. They must therefore, be carefully distinguished in our thoughts. We find in the Scriptures that cleansing is connected with both blood and water, e.g. : "The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). "That He might sanctify it and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word" (Ephesians 5:26). Now let us seek to rightly distinguish between the two cleansings referred to. Speaking in a broad sense, we may say that they connect themselves with the two great effects of sin, viz., its guilt and its defiling power. The Blood sets before us the death of Christ in atonement for our sins, thus cancelling our guilt and bringing us forgiveness. We are thereby cleansed judicially. The water indicates the same death, but rather as that by which our sinful state has been dealt with in judgment and ended, so as to deliver us from the old condition and associations of life in which once we lived. Thereby we are cleansed morally and the power of sin over us is broken. Toplady was surely right when he sang: - "Let the water and the blood, From Thy riven side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Cleanse me from its guilt and power." The virtue and power of the blood of Christ are set before us in Hebrews 9:1-28 and Hebrews 10:1-39; indeed, the efficacy of that Blood in contrast with the inefficacy of the blood of bulls and of goats is the great theme of those chapters. We find there: - 1. The Blood of Christ purges, or cleanses the sinner’s conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14). 2. It has removed the transgressions of saints of old, which had been for centuries accumulating under the first Covenant, i.e., the Law (Hebrews 9:15). 3. It has ratified a new covenant of grace (Hebrews 9:15-18). 4. It has removed the believer’s sins, and laid the basis for the putting away of sin in its totality (Hebrews 9:22 and 26). 5. It has so completely done so for faith that ONCE purged, the believer’s conscience is cleared for ever so far as the judicial question of his sins is concerned (Hebrews 10:2). 6. It therefore gives the believer boldness to enter into the very presence of God (Hebrews 10:19). 7. It has once and forever sanctified - set apart - the believer for God (Hebrews 10:10 and 29). Bear in mind that the great subject here is the believer’s access to God in virtue of the blood of Christ. His judicial clearance is perfect by that one offering, and never needs to be repeated. Hence the word which characterizes these chapters is "one," "once" (seeHebrews 9:1-28: 12, 26, 28; Hebrews 10:2, 10, 12, 14). Seven times over it is repeated, lest we should overlook the sufficiency and the singular glory that is connected with the precious blood of Christ. But though judicial cleansing by Blood is the great theme of these chapters, the need for moral cleansing is not forgotten. We draw near to God having not only "our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience," but "our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:22). This is doubtless an allusion to the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priestly office recorded in Exodus 29:1-46. They were washed with water (v. 4) as well as sprinkled with blood (v. 20). They had the shadow, we have the substance - THE DEATH OF CHRIST. It acts in both directions, as BLOOD cleansing us judicially and giving us a perfect standing before God, as WATER cleansing us morally, by cutting us off from the old life in which once we lived, and bringing us into the new. In the very nature of things this moral cleansing by water needs to be kept up; the idea of repetition is therefore appropriate enough here. We find it so if we refer to the type. Aaron and his sons were bathed with water from head to foot at their consecration, as we have seen, that was not repeated, but nevertheless a laver was provided (Exodus 30:17-21), and there the priests washed their hands and feet. The instructions were most explicit: "When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation they shall wash with water, that they die not." When we turn from type to antitype the same thought appears. In the upper chamber in Jerusalem, probably just before He instituted His supper, the Lord Jesus girded Himself, and pouring water into a basin, began to wash His disciples’ feet (John 13:1-38). Peter’s reluctance brings forth the truth that such washing is necessary if communion with the Lord in His heavenly position was to be enjoyed. "If I wash thee not thou hast no part with Me" (v. 8). His rapid change to enthusiastic haste leads the Lord to say: "He that is washed [i.e., bathed] needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit" (v. 10). Here the twofold way in which cleansing by water is presented in Scripture is very carefully distinguished. Once for all we have been "bathed," The death of Christ has cleansed us from the old life, but for all that we need the application of that death to our souls day by day. We cannot approach the sanctuary nor enjoy "part with" Christ without it. With these thoughts before us we may perhaps return to the words quoted at the beginning from 1 John 5:1-21, and find a greater depth of meaning in them. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came by water and blood; by both these things was His coming characterized. The Spirit of God specially guards this point, saying: "Not by water only, but by water and blood." Why so? May not one reason be - the tendency now fast growing and ripening into apostasy, to teach that Christ did come by water only? He came, so it is now widely said, to cleanse man morally by setting before him the highest ideals, and living out those ideals Himself as an incentive to others. He came by such means to make "at-one-ment" between God and man. Such is their theory. The idea of atonement they scornfully reject. Foreseeing this dark and deadly error, the Spirit says, "not by water only, but by water and blood." Not by moral cleansing only, but by moral cleansing AND expiation for sin, and it is the Spirit that bears witness and "the Spirit is truth." And so the three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood, remain: the Spirit the living, acting, speaking Witness; the water and the blood two silent witnesses, and all three agree in one. They testify that He who came in this way is the Son of God, the Fountain of eternal life, and that in Him eternal life is ours, who believe on the name of the Son of God. Thanks be to God, we may fervently exclaim, that when a soldier with a spear pierced His side "forthwith came there out blood AND water!" Has not the life-work of Christ, the mocking and scourging He suffered at men’s hands, some part in His Atonement made for sins? Precious as these are, the Scripture plainly says, "His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:25). Nothing short of death is the wages of sin. It is sometimes urged that Romans 5:19 teaches otherwise, "By the obedience of One shall many be made righteous." But a careful reading of the whole passage, verses 12 to 21, shows that it exactly confirms the Scripture quoted from Peter. Paul is contrasting the two Heads, Adam and Christ - the sin of the one with its attendant train of disaster; the righteousness, the obedience of the other with its attendant train of blessing. It is a question of the "one offence" and the "one righteousness" (v. 18, margin). Christ’s ONE righteousness was obedience even unto His is DEATH. If the Blood cleansesusfrom all sin, what need is there for the water? Let us answer that question by asking another. Are you not conscious that you as much need cleansing from the love of sin as from the condemnation of sin? There is great need for the "water." That Christians should hate sin as God hates it is a crying need everywhere. Then as to the daily cleansing of which the laver speaks. Do we not need it in this defiling world? Is there not much about us personally that needs removing, to say nothing of the subtle influences of this world which often insensibly affect us? Every Christian with a sensitive conscience will surely agree that there is. Is it not scriptural, then, to go to the blood for dally cleansing? It says "cleanseth" in1 John 1:7. Nowhere in Scripture do we find the idea of daily recurrence for cleansing to the blood of Christ. The argument based on the word "cleanseth" in 1 John 1:7 is not admissible. True, the word is in the present tense, but it is used simply to point out the inherent property of the precious blood. We so use the present tense in ordinary conversation. For instance, the other day a man brought a sack of quicklime into my yard, and deposited it in a quiet corner out of harm’s way, remarking, "It will be all right there, the rain will soon settle it. Water slakes lime, you know." What did he mean? Not that the water was going to slake that lime repeatedly, almost every day, for lime can be slaked but once; he just referred to the well-known property of water in regard to lime, a property that holds good at all times and everywhere. It is thus that the apostle speaks in 1 John 1:7. But Scripture does speak of our repeatedly being washed in the water; and if we insist on this distinction it is not for the sake of mere theological accuracy. To teach that we must have repeated recurrence to the blood for fresh applications thereof does great harm in a twofold way. First it dishonours the blood of Christ; and second, it repeatedly puts back the saint into the place of the sinner to go through the cleansing and justifying process over and over again. The truth is that "by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). Let us hold fast to that. Tell us a little more about this daily cleansing by water. How do we get it? By the Word. The water and the Word are clearly connected in such a passage as "That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word" (Ephesians 5:26). The Word of God it is which brings home to our souls the death of Christ in its power and wealth of spiritual meaning. Sin in its true hideousness stands revealed, and our affections are cleansed thereby. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy Word" (Psalms 119:9). We often overlook this cleansing effect of God’s Word, while eager, it may be, for a better textual acquaintance with it. A believer once lamented to an old saint of riper experience the difficulty she had in remembering the points of Christian teaching to which she listened. He bade her go with the sieve she held in her hand to the pump hard by and bring him a sieve full of water. She thought it a strange request, as by the time she reached him every drop was lost. He bade her do it again, again, and yet again. She affirmed it to be a useless task, when he explained his parable by pointing out that if not one drop of water had been retained, at any rate the sieve was MUCH CLEANER for the process! Let us dwell much upon the Word of God. We may. never become deeply versed in Scriptural lore - that is a secondary consideration - our lives and ways will at all events be cleansed thereby. InJohn 3:1-36we read of being born of water; is there a connection between that and what we are speaking of, or does it refer to baptism? It links itself with that of which we are speaking. By the water of the Word applied in the power of the Holy Spirit of God we are born again - made to possess a new life and nature which carries with it the condemnation of the old. It is typified by the bathing of the priests from head to foot (seeExodus 29:4 and John 13:10). It does not refer to baptism. A quiet consideration of the passage makes this manifest. Notice (1) the Lord only speaks of one new birth. This new birth (2) is said to be "of water and of the Spirit." The water the instrument, the Spirit the Power, and (3) it is expressly declared by the Lord to be in its nature indefinable and completely uncontrolled by man (v. 8). Baptism is easily definable and completely controlled by man, and therefore NOT that of which this passage speaks. Is it only when we sin that we need the water? We do need it when we sin, but even apart from actual sins, being in a world of defilement we need it if we would worship, hold communion with, or serve God. Read Numbers 19:1-22, and you will find in type the water as purification from sin; then turn to Exodus 30:17-21, and in type you have water removing every earthly defilement in view of drawing near to God in the sanctuary without reference to actual sins. In the New Testament John 13:1-38 is more connected with the latter aspect than the former. How dependent we are upon not only the Blood, but the Water! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 35: 034 GRACE AND DISCIPLESHIP ======================================================================== Grace and Discipleship. F. B. Hole. The very essence of the grace of God is that it is free and unconditional. The way of its reception - repentance and faith - is plainly laid down for us in Scripture, but though there may be conditions for its reception, grace itself is unhampered by any such thing. Some men are adepts at the art of giving with one hand and taking away with the other, of bestowing gifts so hedged about with restrictions and conditions as to be positively useless to the recipients; but this is not God’s way. "The free grace of God" is a common expression, rightly used, and most of us believe in it. Yet it is puzzling to many when, opening their Bibles, they light upon passages in which they are unexpectedly confronted by an "IF." For example, "IF any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). What does it mean? Is salvation, after all, as free as we had supposed? Must we make a kind of bargain with the Master after these terms, ere we can be enrolled as His? Let us answer these questions by turning to Luke 14:1-35 and reading the paragraph, verses 25 to 35. The same thoughts re-appear here: "IF any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot by My disciple." Those four closing words are thrice repeated (vv. 26, 27, and 33). Not, mark you, "he cannot be saved," but "he cannot be My DISCIPLE." Now of all the four, Luke’s Gospel is the one which emphasizes grace. Indeed in Luke 14:1-35 the very paragraph which precedes the one referred to contains the parable of the "great supper" (vv. 15 to 24), which is a marvellous unfolding of the grace of God. Is it not worthy of note, then, that, having unfolded divine grace in such a way as to bring great multitudes about Him eager to hear, the Lord turns round upon them and tests their reality by proposing to them the terms of discipleship; and shall we not do well, while observing the distinction between them, to keep them together in the order in which He put them? They may be distinguished as follows: Grace is a special form or character of divine love. It is the shape it takes when it stoops to flow forth to the utterly undeserving, adapting itself to their need, though far transcending the need in the wealth of its full supplies. Discipleship is the special form taken by the love that springs up responsively in the heart of a believer. It is the backward flow of divine love to its Source. To be a disciple is to be a learner, and not a learner only, but a follower; and when the grace of God grips a soul and new life begins, its first instincts are to learn of the Saviour and to follow Him. Granting this, it is easy to see that grace is the mainspring of discipleship, and it is not without reason that they are linked together in Luke 14:1-35. In the parable of the great supper we find the door of salvation swung widely open and the very worst invited. No demand is made upon them, no condition imposed, no bargain struck. Grace shines forth undimmed by any tarnish of that kind. But He who spoke that parable was well aware of two things. 1. That many would profess to receive grace, without being real in their profession. 2. That those who really receive it have thereby had begotten in their souls a responsive love that draws them irresistibly after the One from whom it comes; and such must understand what is needful if they are to follow Him. Therefore it was that He followed up His declaration of grace with instruction as to discipleship, and added two short parables to show the importance of counting the cost. "It costs too much to be a Christian," said a gloomy-looking man one day. Was he right? Did he mean, "It costs too much to be saved"? Then he was totally wrong. The untold cost of salvation has fallen upon One who was able to bear it, and He being made sin for us has borne it all. To us it costs nothing. Ah! but he used the word "Christian" in its proper sense, for it was the disciples who were called Christians first in Antioch (Acts 11:26). He meant, "It costs too much to be a disciple." Again, then, he was wrong. It costs to be a disciple, but it does not cost too much! The fact is, our gloomy-looking friend was not saved, he had never tasted grace, and therefore had nothing to spend. When a man goes to market with no money in his pocket everything costs too much I He was putting discipleship before grace, which is equivalent to putting demand before supply, and responsibility before the power that meets it - in everyday language, "putting the cart before the horse." What does discipleship cost? It costs sacrifice in every direction, and therefore the little parables come in here. It costs a good deal of labour in fortifying one’s position, and a good deal of energy in fighting one’s foes. "Which of you intending to build a tower . . ." Have you any such intention? Certainly you have, if you propose to really follow the Lord. A tower speaks of protection; and such we need. Nothing is plainer in Scripture than that, though we are kept by the power of God, it is "through faith" (1 Peter 1:5). The responsibility to build up ourselves on our most holy faith rest upon us. Therefore "praying in the Holy Ghost" is the only attitude that becomes us, and the result is to keep ourselves "in the love of God" (seeJude 1:20, 21). With the love of God enveloping us as our tower of defence we are well fortified indeed! "Faith" is the hand that builds. "The faith" - and we find it in the Word of God - is the mighty foundation on which we build. Prayer is the attitude best suited to these building operations. The love of God, consciously known, is our tower of defence. But all this is the means to an end. We are well furnished defensively that we may act offensively against the foe. The trowel truly comes first, but after that the sword. "Or what king going to make war . . . Have you any thought of such an aggressive movement? If a disciple you ought to have. Notice, the king with ten thousand proposes to take the offensive against the king with twenty thousand. A bold movement that! Ah, but behind his back was a well-fortified base of operations, his tower was built. This is ever God’s way. David’s tower was built in the wilderness experiences of meeting the lion and the bear, and hence Goliath has no terrors for him. Luther, "the monk that shook the world," advances with his tiny book into the hot-bed of animosity at Worms. Yes, but this was his battle cry: "A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing." Discipleship means all this. It means prayer, and the study of God’s Word. It means exercises otherwise unknown, and the shock of battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil. Sit down and count the cost. Do you tremble? Then recount the cost in the full light of the power of God and the weighty stores of grace, and you will begin to "rejoice in Christ Jesus," and yet more deeply have "no confidence in the flesh." Thus grace and discipleship go hand-in-hand. Just how, the case of Bartimaeus well illustrates (Mark 10:46-52). Grace stood still at his cry and gave him all he desired freely. "Jesus said unto him, Go thy way." Then, Bartimaeus, no terms are imposed upon you; go north, south, east, or west, as you desire. You are free! Which way did he go?" Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way." Impelled by grace he entered the path of discipleship. He followed Jesus. Is every Christian a disciple, or is it only certain favoured ones that have this distinction? There are no "favoured ones" in Christianity. True it is that the world having invaded and conquered the Christian profession, clergy and laity in numerous grades, corresponding to worldly society, are found on every hand. The Christianity of the Bible, while admitting spiritual gifts and office, knows nothing of these things. The early Christians were believers, saints, disciples, all of them (seeActs 1:15; Acts 6:1; Acts 9:38; Acts 19:9; Acts 20:7). And the very foremost of the apostles was just a believer, a saint, or a disciple along with the rest, though gifted from heaven and clothed with an authority that was indisputable. We may be sure, therefore, that it is a fatal mistake to consider that discipleship belongs only to a few - a kind of clergy - and that we more ordinary folk may rest content with being saved, and getting to heaven presently, and need bestir ourselves as to nothing else. Shame on us if like Bartimaeus we receive our sight, and then, unlike him, go strolling off to amuse ourselves with the novel sights of Jericho! Yet there is a tendency in that direction, and therefore it was that the Lord said to certain Jews who believed on Him, "If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed" (John 8:31). Discipleship does truly belong to all Christians, yet many believers there are who are not "DISCIPLES INDEED." Can you summarize for us the conditions of Christian discipleship? Read carefully Luke 9:23 to 26 and 46 to 62, also Luke 14:25 to 33 again, if you would gain some idea of them. The gist of it all seems to be contained in Luke 14:26 and 33, where we find the one absolutely indispensable condition to be that Christ must be first and the rest - relations, possessions, and particularly one’s self - nowhere. We "hate . . ." not absolutely, but in a comparative sense, of course. Our love to Christ should so transcend the natural love we bear to our relations that the latter appears as hate when compared with the former. (Luke 9:59, 60 gives an illustrative case). We "forsake . . ." i.e., the affections are severed from our possessions; they are no longer ours, but our Master’s, to be held for Him. It may mean parting with everything, as in the case of the early Christians, or, like Levi, we may leave all and yet still have. Levi’s house was still "his own," and his money was used to make a great feast for Christ and draw sinners to Him (Luke 5:27-29). A very good example for some of us! But if Christ is to be first, self must go, and so we find that the disciple has to deny himself and to take up his cross daily. "Deny himself," i.e., say NO to self. Accept death - be as a dead man - as far as the working of will is concerned. An inward thing. "Take up his cross daily," i.e., an outward thing. Accept death as cutting off from the world and its glory. Say NO to the love of reputation and popularity. Stern work this. Bitter to the flesh. Sweetened by the love of Christ. These are the conditions of discipleship. It is easy to see what discipleship meant for the early Christians. We live in different days. What does it mean practically for us to-day? It means precisely the same now as then. The only difference is one of surface details. It means saying no to our own wills as much as ever. It means the cross - disallowance by the world - as much as ever. The world disallowed them by cross or sword, by wild beast or flame; it may disallow us by silent contempt, a well-timed snub, or social ostracism. The thing is the same; but in their case an acute attack, short, sharp, and all was over; in ours, chronic, not severe, but lingering and protracted. It means walking in the spirit of self-judgment, and separation from the world, even in its religious forms. It means giving up many things lawful in themselves for the sake of His name. It means making THE question at all times and under all circumstances, not "What do I want?" but "What does He want?" It looks then as if the true disciple stands to lose a good deal in this world. What does he gain? He gains "manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting" (Luke 18:30). The profit will not be of the nature that appeals to the man of the world, who estimates chiefly by the amount of his balance at the bank. It is more real than that. Here are words which indicate its character: "If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honour" (John 12:26). Companionship with Christ; honour from the Father. Who can estimate the gain of those two things? A glimpse of them was granted to the three disciples, when, having been plainly told what discipleship would involve, they witnessed the transfiguration (Luke 9:1-62) - when they were "with Him in the holy mount" (2 Peter 1:16-18). Small wonder, then, that Paul - who stood in the front rank of disciples and suffered the loss of all things for Christ - when he fixed the eye of faith on eternal things dismissed the loss side of the discipleship account as "our light affliction," and hailed the profit side as "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Corinthians 4:17, 18). Is there any difference between a disciple and an apostle? If so, what? There is a very distinct difference. We read, "He called unto Him His disciples: and of them He chose twelve whom also He named apostles" (Luke 6:13). The word "disciple" means "one taught" or "trained." The word "apostle" means "one sent forth." Every true follower of the Lord was a disciple; only the twelve were sent forth by Him as apostles. Theirs was a peculiar place, therefore, of authority and service. Moreover, the apostles had to do with the foundations of the Church (Ephesians 2:20), and have long since passed away; but ever since then and unto this day disciples of Christ are to be found on earth. Where does the power for discipleship come from, and how can we keep it up? The necessary power is not to be found within yourself, nor can it be worked up by religious exercises. It is in God alone. It reaches us, however, in a very simple way. Dr. Chalmers it was who spoke of "the expulsive power of a new affection." We may just as truly speak of "the impulsive power of a new affection." Let the bright rays of the love of God break into any heart, however dark, and straightway a new impelling power is known and discipleship begins. That which starts it sustains it. Read John 14:1-31; John 15:1-27; John 16:1-33. They are a perfect manual of discipleship. You will find that love is the spring of everything. The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, is the power, and obedience, the keeping and the doing of Christ’s commandments, is the pathway into which the disciple’s feet are led. Can you give us any hints to help us, as we seek to live as disciples of the Lord Jesus? I should just say three things: 1. You will need wisdom and discretion. Therefore you must give the Scriptures their proper place. The will of our Master and Lord is therein expressed; our business as disciples is to search out that will in dependence on the Holy Spirit’s teaching. The Scriptures must therefore be to us the Word of God, and we must make them our careful study. 2. You must maintain a spirit of dependence upon God. Therefore prayer is necessary. The disciple must needs ever cultivate the prayerful spirit. 3. You must ever seek the pathway of obedience. As disciples our great business is to obey rather than to do the greatest of exploits. Prince Rupert, of historic fame, performed great exploits in the service of Charles the First. But his exploits in large measure contributed to the smashing defeat which Charles suffered at the hand of Cromwell’s Ironsides at Naseby. and led to the loss not only of his master’s crown, but his head also. If he had thought less of his individual exploits and more of the leader’s plan of campaign, results might have been different. Obedience to God’s Word is our first business. Let us lay aside every weight that would hinder us, remembering the words of the great Master Himself: "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them" (John 13:17). ======================================================================== CHAPTER 36: 035 ELECTION AND FREE GRACE ======================================================================== Worship and Service. F. B. Hole. Christianity in its practical outworkings is a well-balanced combination of the passive and active sides of divine life in the soul. Every Christian is of necessity a receiver, not only at conversion, but all through his career. He must daily sit at Jesus’ feet and hear His Word (Luke 10:39), cultivating that quiet passivity of soul which ensures a receptive state. Otherwise he has nothing to impart. On the other hand, having received, he finds himself constrained to give. Is he rejoicing in the knowledge of sins forgiven? His joy will not be complete until he has told the news to some one else. Has some fresh truth of Scripture burst upon his view? It will not be fully his until he has acted upon it. To practise any truth is to possess that truth indeed. So the two things go hand in hand. A Christian resembles a reservoir, inasmuch as he must have an inlet and an outflow. If he becomes so enamored of the activities of Christianity that he is always attempting to give out without stopping to take in, spiritual emptiness and bankruptcy are the result. If he degenerates into a dreamy mystic, decrying all forms of Christian activity under cover of zeal for larger reception of divine truth, spiritual surfeit will supervene, and his ultimate loss will be great. "From him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath" (Matthew 25:29). This was said of the servant who received a talent, but did not give it out to usury. "For we must share if we would keep That good thing from above; Ceasing to give we cease to have, Such is the law of love." All activities of a distinctly Christian character flow from one source: LOVE, the love of God known and produced in the soul. They range themselves under two heads. First, there are those activities which have God alone for their object and end. Second, those which, though God’s glory is their end, have man in some way as their immediate object. Let us briefly consider these two things. WORSHIP must stand first. It is a spiritual activity which, having God alone as its object, confers no tangible benefit upon any one in the world. Therefore, in this utilitarian age it is greatly neglected, and its true character little understood. Let Christians, be they few or many, assemble together, drawing consciously into the presence of God and pouring out their hearts in thanksgiving and worship, and there will be not a few ready to rebuke them and say) "Why was this waste of the ointment made?" They will be told to go out and do something that will confer a practical benefit upon somebody, and abandon that which does nobody good. But things have gone even further than this. There are many professed ministers of Christ who so fully "mind earthly things" (Php 3:19) that they have no thought for "the things which are above" (Colossians 3:1), which the believer is bidden to seek. Their aim is limited to the benefit of men, and that in the most material way. Mark the pitiful spiritual degradation to which they have sunk as witnessed by their activities. Here is a flagrant example. "By training people in music, developing orators and athletes, starting ’Bible classes - with heaps of fun,’ and making the church a social centre, the writer has created a new community spirit, and as a result land-values are going up." Thus an article in an American magazine describes how a church may be "run" so as to benefit the whole community. Such activities are neither worship nor service. There is nothing in them for God, and nothing for the spiritual benefit of man. Such "ministers" and "churches" must have long ago practically banished the word worship from their vocabularies; the idea which the word properly conveys they probably never had. What, then, is worship? In the Old Testament the term frequently occurs and is often used in a purely ceremonial sense. The Hebrew word most frequently used means literally "to bow oneself down." In the New Testament the word gets the inward and spiritual meaning with which we are concerned, and signifies the up-flow of responsive love, in adoration, from the believer to God, now known as Father. In John 4:1-54 the Lord Jesus, speaking to the woman of Samaria, carefully distinguishes between the "true worshippers" and the worshippers according to the ancient rites, whether at Jerusalem or Samaria, and instructs us as to the essentials for true worship. After speaking of the Father as the object of worship, He adds: "God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." Do not these words plainly show that it is God as Father that we are to worship? and, further, that He is only to be worshipped according to what He has revealed Himself to be? "In spirit," for "Spirit" is what God Himself is. True worship, then, is not a matter of religious emotions roused by impressive ritual or sensuous music. "Spirit" is the highest part of man, and unless we worship in spirit we do not worship at all. "In truth." What is truth? We may answer Pilate’s famous question thus: The realities of God Himself, that which God has revealed Himself to be: this is truth. The One who stood, crowned with thorns that day, in the judgment hall was Himself the truth, though Pilate knew it not, nor cared to know. He, and He alone, could say: "I am . . . the Truth" (John 14:6), for He alone is the perfect revelation of God, and it is as Father that He has revealed Him. Therefore He said: "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). The Father, then, is to be worshipped "in truth," in the light of that revelation which has come to us in Christ. That which does not give Christ His right place is no true worship. Worshipping God and rejoicing in Christ Jesus go hand in hand (Php 3:3). All this is of great importance. Let the soul firmly grasp the fact that true worship is "in spirit" and it will be delivered from the ritualistic idea which supposes that God can be worshipped by men’s hands, that the more imposing the ceremony, the more gorgeous the surroundings, the more acceptable the "worship" is. On the other hand, to know that only worship "in truth" is acceptable to God is to have the rationalistic idea dispelled. Neither the torchlight of science nor the study of God’s handiwork in nature gives rise to worship. The knowledge of God Himself, revealed in Christ, is essential. After worship comes SERVICE, the outcome of the gracious activity of divine love in the hearts of believers, leading them to an endless variety of labour for the glory of God and the good of souls. Let us make no mistake here. The very essence of true service is that, while undertaken that others may be benefited, it is done for the pleasure and under the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ. In service our one motive should be to please the Lord, who has in this Himself become our great Example. Speaking of the Father, He said: "I do always those things that please Him" (John 8:29). To do right things is not enough. Right things done with a wrong motive are wrong in the sight of heaven. Neither is it enough to act even with a right motive, if we are acting simply on our own initiative and doing what seems right in our own eyes. A man employed in a workshop may be a good workman, but a poor servant. If he is opinionated and independent, he will be continually running counter to his master’s wishes and will give no end of trouble. Again, the Lord Jesus comes before us as our Example, saying: "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work" (John 4:34). Service, then, is not merely work, not even good work, Christian activity of the most scriptural sort, but rather such activity under the direction of the Lord. If an illustration of our theme be wanted, John 12:1-9 presents us with an excellent one. "Martha served." There was hard work connected with that supper, and many benefited by it, but she performed it for Him. "They made Him a supper." That was true service done out of a full heart of gratitude to the One who had brought her brother from the tomb. Lazarus "sat at the table with Him," a type of that communion with the Master which alone gives point and character to either service or worship. Mary took the costly ointment and anointed the feet of Jesus. Upon Him she lavished it all. It was the outflow of a heart concentrated upon Christ, though the odour of the ointment filled the house. The worship of the heart is fragrant everywhere. The Father is seeking worshippers (John 4:23). The Lord has need of servants (2 Timothy 2:1-7). May we respond to both desires! In speaking of worship, do you intend to refer to your form of worship as compared with that of other people? Not at all. I have no form of worship, whatever other people may have. To the Jews of old God gave what might be termed a "form of worship." But it was of a national, outward, ceremonial sort, though acceptable to God, if carried out with all the heart. Alas! it was not so, and soon Jehovah had to say: "In vain do they worship Me." But the shadow dispensation has passed away and the substance has come. Christian worship is not national, not a mere matter of the lips, not a thing made up of certain ceremonies and observances. You can no more confine worship in forms than you can keep new wine in old bottles. The thing has been attempted times without number, for again and again have even true believers drifted back in mind and understanding to pre-Christian days. The result, however, must either be that if true worship be retained the forms are burst and discarded, or that if the forms be rigidly adhered to the new wine of true worship is spilled and quickly disappears. You speak of worship and service Is there such a very great difference between them? Ought we not to worship God whenever we go to a service? There is a very distinct difference. But just as we are speaking of worship and not "a form of worship," so we are speaking of service, and not "a service." The fact is, in the minds of many the whole subject is obscured and confused to a surprising degree, until no clear scriptural idea is left. We have heard of a preacher who rose from his seat one Sunday morning and said: "Let us commence the worship of Almighty God by singing the hymn - "Come ye sinners poor and needy, Weak and wounded, sick and sore." To him "worship" evidently meant any kind of religious meeting. But it does not! It may be a true service to the Lord on the part of the preacher to conduct a meeting for the edification of believers or the conversion of sinners. It is no service (in the proper sense of the word) for the listeners. And for neither preacher nor hearers is it worship. Worship is not hearing sermons nor preaching them. Nor is it praying, or singing Gospel hymns. It is that up-flow of adoration which rises from a redeemed soul to God. Are worship and service confined to any particular class, or may all Christians have part in them? All Christians are both priests and servants. We read, for instance: "Ye also . . . are built up . . . an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5). And again: "Ye are . . . a royal priesthood . . . that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9). These words were written not to clergy, but to Christians. All such are a holy and a royal priesthood. Mark their activities! In the one character they OFFER UP spiritual sacrifices to God, i.e., worship. In the other they SHOW FORTH the praises of God, i.e., service. In connection with service it is, of course, true that not every Christian has a gift according to 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, or is an evangelist, pastor, or teacher according to Ephesians 4:1-32. Yet every Christian can serve according to Romans 12:1-21. If he cannot prophesy or teach, he can show hospitality, or mercy; he can bless his persecutors, or weep in sympathy with a weeping saint, and thus be "serving the Lord." Are there any special qualifications needed for us to rightly worship or serve God? As to worship, Hebrews 10:19-22 speaks of "boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus," and we are exhorted to draw near with "a true heart in full assurance of faith." These are two important qualifications. Faith must be in active exercise, so that there is full assurance based upon the work of Christ, not a doubt or fear left. Then a true heart would indicate that sincerity and transparency of soul which is the result of a tender conscience and self-judgment. As to service, read Acts 20:17-35. Here is one of the most eminent of Christ’s servants reviewing his career. Our service may be of the most insignificant description, yet the things that marked him should characterize us. Here are some of them: "humility of mind"; "many tears" - expressive of much exercise; "none of these things move me" - stability of soul; "I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel" - the strictest possible righteousness before the world; "I have shewed you all things" - the practice of what is preached. These are important qualifications indeed. If a person recently converted desires to serve the Lord, how would you advise them to start? I would encourage all young believers to serve the Lord by just doing that thing which, in His ordering of their lives, is next to hand. "Do the next thing," is a very sound motto, albeit that, as a rule, it is the very thing we do not wish to do. Years ago there was living in a mountainous district of Virginia a humble servant-girl who had never had more than three months’ schooling in her life. She earned four dollars a month. Out of this, one dollar went to her chapel, and one dollar to foreign missions. She was the largest local contributor in both these directions. The other two dollars went to her father, who was very poor and had a large family. She clothed herself by taking in sewing and sitting up late to do it. An earnest minister visited the place. Accommodation was scarce, so her room was handed over to him. On the table lay her Bible. He opened it and found it marked on nearly every page. But what struck him most of all was her note against "Go ye into all the world" (Mark 16:15). In firm, clear letters it stood, "Oh, if I could!" Next day he spoke to her about it, whereupon she broke into crying, and for the moment he could get nothing out of her. Later on he heard this story. She was converted at the age of fourteen, and on reaching home found a paper, "China’s Call for the Gospel," lying about. Where it came from nobody knew. That had coloured all her thoughts. For ten years she had prayed the Lord to send her to China. But lately a change had come over her. Just two weeks before, she had come to the conclusion that she had made a mistake, and that, after all, the Lord’s plan for her was that she should be a missionary in the kitchen. At once her prayer became, "Make me willing to be a missionary for Thee in the kitchen," and the Lord had answered that prayer. For ten years she had longed for the big thing, while not neglecting smaller things, as her contributions showed. At last she became willing to accept the very little thing, to shine for the Lord in that narrow circle as kitchen-maid, and then the Lord despatched her to some very blessed service in China! For the minister became convinced that he was specially sent there of God to help her, and to China she ultimately went. May service of that kind be greatly multiplied on every hand! "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much" (Luke 16:10). The Rapture and the Appearing. F. B. Hole. It is an actual fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again! Yet many people, even true believers, seem hardly to believe it. It seems to them a dreamy, visionary, mystical idea, and they cannot help thinking that the enthusiasts who announce it must be mistaking figures of speech for sober facts. But, after all, why should you be surprised? You believe that He has been here once. Then why not twice? Consider for a moment what happened when He first came. He was rejected, and His life was cut short. His public mission of three and a half years closed in His sudden death. But being God manifest in flesh, in dying He wrought redemption for His people; He rose again. Is it likely that the story ends there as far as this earth is concerned? Shall the ejection of the Creator from the world by the creature be the last word? By no means. Men despised Him in His humiliation. He will surely return in His glory. We are not left, however, to consider what seems likely or reasonable. The doctrine of the Second Advent is one of the commonest themes of Scripture. The Old Testament frequently refers to it. In the New Testament the full truth of it is plainly revealed. From the great mass of texts that might be quoted, let us select one which is singularly explicit. "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). This message has about it almost the sound of a legal document. Lawyers write a very simple statement in a rather lengthy way because they find it needful to hedge about their words from possible misinterpretations. So here there is a fulness and almost a redundancy of expression, especially designed to foil any attempt to evade or mystify this great fact. It is evident from this verse that the Lord Jesus is Himself coming just as He went. How did He go? Personally; then personally He will come. He went actually as a living Man - it was no spirit manifestation. Then actually as a living Man He will come. He went visibly; visibly He will come. He went from the earth. Then to the earth He will return. The attentive Christian reader, however, is often puzzled as he pursues his studies into this great truth, by seeming discrepancies between different passages, and he needs to have placed in his hands the key that unlocks the door of difficulty. That key is an understanding of the difference between the two stages of the Second Advent, which for the sake of brevity we term "The Rapture" (i.e., "the catching-up") and "The Appearing." Take the trouble at this point to thoughtfully read 1 Thessalonians 4:13 to 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Notice that the Thessalonian believers were troubled because some of their number had died, and they thought that they would therefore miss the glory of the appearing and reign of Christ. Paul tells them not to sorrow, because as certainly as Jesus died and rose again, God will bring WITH Jesus all such when He comes (v. 9). Then the Apostle explains how this is to be brought about, by what means the formerly dead in Christ are found with Him in bodies of glory so as to be able to share in His glorious appearing. This explanation is prefaced by "this we say unto you by the word of the Lord," indicating that what follows is not something which had been previously made known, but something newly revealed: his authority for stating it being not Old Testament scripture, nor any previous utterance, but the direct revelation of the Lord. And this is the explanation: "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout . . . and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." Now compare these words with what is written in 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, and you will find an additional fact stated. "The dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." In the light of these two scriptures we gather that: (1) The Lord Himself shall descend into the air with an assembling shout. (2) His shout will awaken the sleeping saints and raise them in bodies of glory. (3) We, the living, will then undergo a corresponding change into a glorified condition. (4) All believers, whether previously dead or living, will be caught up together, to be for ever with the Lord. Oh, most blessed hour, the fruition of our long-cherished hope! All this, however, leaves the great world untouched, save as the sudden disappearance of multitudes of saints may affect it. But the hour of retribution follows on. Hence 1 Thessalonians 5:1-28 opens by drawing a distinction between the coming of the Lord for His saints with which chapter 4 has dealt, and "the day of the Lord." That comes, not as a bridegroom for his bride, but "as a thief in the night." When the Lord Jesus in humiliation was led as a lamb to the slaughter, He said to His enemies, "This is your hour, and the power of darkness" (Luke 22:53). But the tables are to be completely turned. He comes not in humiliation, but in glory; not as a lamb to the slaughter, but as the Lion of the tribe of Judah; not solitary and alone, but "with ten thousands of His saints"; not submitting to the will of His enemies, but that His enemies may be made His footstool. It is not man’s little hour, and the short-lived triumph of evil; it is the great and dreadful day of the Lord. "The day of the Lord" is not a day of twenty-four hours, but an interval of time like "the day of salvation." It is a period in the cycle of "times and seasons" marked by the absolute supremacy and authority of the Lord. It starts with His public manifestation in the clouds of heaven - His appearing with His saints. It is to this public appearing that Old Testament prophets so frequently refer, being the consummation of God’s ways with Israel and the earth. It ushers in a short, sharp work of judgment whereby the earth is purged of its dross before the shining forth of glory in the millennial reign of Christ. Before this public appearing certain things must take place as foretold in Scripture. The Lord Jesus Himself. plainly predicted certain things (Matthew 24:1-51.; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 21:1-38). Again 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17 shows us that before the day of Christ comes there must first be "a falling away," an apostasy, and connected with that, the revelation of the man of sin, commonly called "antichrist." In him sin will find its culminating expression. He will be its very embodiment. When the iniquity of man rises then to its full height God will smite in judgment. The Lord Jesus, who once bore judgment for our sakes, is then to be its Executor, and that oldest of all prophecies given through the lips of a man will be fulfilled: "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment upon all" (Jude 1:14, 15). Previously the saints will have been "changed" according to 1 Corinthians 15:1-58, and "caught up" according to 1 Thessalonians 4:1-18, hence they are with Him in a glorified condition, and when the heavens open and reveal Him in the "flaming fire" of judgment, they are with Him, and He will be "glorified in His saints" and "admired in all them that believe . . . in that day" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). Meanwhile our business is "to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven" (1 Theses. 1: 9, 10). May not what you callthe Rapturebe just a beautiful and poetic way of speaking of the death of a saint, andtheAppearing be what is commonly called "the end of the world"? The death of a saint is thus described in Scripture: "To depart and to be with Christ" (Php 1:23). Is there no difference between our going to be with Christ and His coming for us? Further, when the saint dies and goes to be with Christ, his body is laid IN the grave. When Christ comes for His saints according to 1 Thessalonians 4:1-18, He takes all their bodies OUT of the graves. Are these one and the same thing? No. The coming of the Lord for His saints is not death, but the deliverance of His people from the last vestige of death. The appearing of Christ with His saints is not "the end of the world," by which people generally mean the winding up of the heavens and the earth in their present condition. Revelation 19:1-21, speaks of the Lord’s appearing in glory. Revelation 20:1-15 shows the result, Satan restrained and a thousand years of blessing for this weary old earth. After that - the end. In this case would there not be two comings, a third Advent after the second? No. Frequently in Scripture the coming of the Lord is spoken of in a general way without referring definitely to either of its two stages. The Rapture and the Appearing are only two parts or stages of the one coming. When the King visits the City of London in state, the Lord Mayor and sheriffs meet him at Temple Bar, and after certain ceremonies they take their place in the procession behind him and re-enter the City, accompanying him to the Guildhall or wherever he is going. Even so will it be at the coming of Christ. Caught up into the air to meet Him, we shall shortly after return with Him to share in His glorious kingdom. What signs should we look for as indicating that the Lord’s coming is near? If the appearing be in question, then such scriptures as 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17, 2 Timothy 3:1-17, and Matthew 24:1-51 supply the answer. The rising tide of apostasy in Christendom; the prevalence of false prophets deceiving many; the extraordinary awakening of the Jewish race, i.e., the fig tree putting forth leaves according to Matthew 24:32; the increasing carelessness of the world deceived into false security by its own achievements and saying "Peace and safety"; all these things and others of which we are witnesses indicate that we draw nigh to the end of this age. But all these things are portents of the Appearing. As to the Rapture which precedes it, no signs are to be looked for. It is an event outside the calculation of times and seasons. These belong to the earth, as the opening verse of 1 Thessalonians 5:1-28 shows, and there was no need for the apostle to write to the Thessalonians on the subject. But as to the Rapture, which is not connected with times and seasons, there was a very distinct need that he should write to them. There is nothing awaiting fulfilment before Christ comes for His saints. He may come at any moment. Must not the world be converted first? That question would not be asked were it not that an unscriptural idea exists on the subject. Nowhere in the Bible is the conversion of the whole world by preaching of the Gospel either stated or implied. The Gospel is preached by command of God for the gathering out of the nations a people for His Name (Acts 15:14). The world will not be converted, but rather purified by judgment which will remove the workers of evil and subjugate the earth to God. "When Thy judgments [not Thy Gospel] are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:9). Will all Christians be caught up at the Rapture? Undoubtedly. To illustrate the truth of the Rapture, the effect of a strong magnet held over steel filings when mixed with sand has been used. It is a good illustration, only this must be remembered: Christians are not only like so many individual steel filings, they are by the Holy Ghost livingly connected together. They are "one flock," one family, "one body." When the Lord Jesus comes He will take His Church as one living entity, His body and His bride. Mutilated fragments will not be left behind. The idea that some Christians will be left behind seems to crop up in two directions. First, we have the prophets of various latter day apostasies from the truth. Some of them teach that only "living," "faithful," "watching" Christians will be taken. Their "faithfulness" is manifested by their reception of the teachings of the false prophet in question! Comment on this is needless. Secondly, true Christians have run away with the idea that only "watching" believers are caught up, from such a Scripture as the following: "Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:28). After all, however, where can you find a true Christian who is not looking for Him? You can find many who are very unintelligent, who do not understand the truth of His coming, who have never heard of "the Rapture." Yet they look for Christ. He is the hope of their hearts, though they know not how that hope shall be fulfilled. The fact is, the expression "them that look for Him," like "them that love God," (Romans 8:28) is just a Bible way of describing believers. If a man does not love God, nor look for Christ, he cannot be called a Christian. After all, is not this teaching concerning the Second Advent rather speculative? Is there any real use in it? It is no more speculative than the teaching divinely given to Noah concerning the approaching flood, or the prophecies given to Israel during centuries concerning the first coming of the Saviour. Difficulties may be raised as to details where Scripture is silent, and men may disagree and mystify matters as to the second coming just as the scribes succeeded in mystifying their generation as to the first coming. But the broad outlines of the truth as to it stand clear and plain in Scripture, and the event is sure. As to the use of this truth, it will be found in practice that no fact exercises a more solemnizing effect on the consciences of sinners. No truth has a more separating effect upon believers. Shall we join hand in hand with the world which is shortly to come under judgment? No. "Every man that hath this hope in Him [Christ] purifieth himself even as He is pure" ( 1 John 3:3). He whose hope is in Christ and His speedy return puts far from him every defiling thing. Do you believe that the "Rapture of the saints" is now very near? Yes. Foolish attempts have been made to fix dates for the Lord’s return, thus contravening His own words. Earnest believers, too, have allowed themselves to use extravagant language, giving the impression that they were certain it could not be distant more than a year or two. Years have passed, and those who listened to these expressions have become sceptical as to the whole thing. The truth remains, however: He is coming, and that quickly. Everything, both in the church and in the world, points to the closing up of this age. Therefore we lift up our heads and expect Him. Entering a Christian’s room the other day my eye fell on these words framed like a text and hung on the wall, "PERHAPS TODAY." I knew what it meant. That is the right attitude. His coming is certainly near. May we rise each morning with this thought: perhaps He may come to-day; and may we so purify ourselves in holiness before Him that our unchecked response may gladly be: "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." ======================================================================== CHAPTER 37: 036 ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH ======================================================================== Israel and the Church F. B. Hole A knowledge of "dispensational truth," as it is often termed, is indispensable for the intelligent reading of the Bible. Yet many Christians seem to have hardly given it a thought. God has been pleased to deal with men at different times in various ways. Fresh revelations of Himself and of His will have ushered in new modes of dealing with men, new dispensations. "Dispensational truth" teaches us to rightly distinguish these changes, and to discern their nature, so that the salient features of each may not be obscured. The importance of this for us Christians is that we thereby learn the true character of the calling wherewith we are called from on high, and of the age in which our lot is cast. Up to the time of Christ a dispensation ran its course in which the prominent feature was Israel, the chosen nation of the stock of Abraham. The period in which we live, from Pentecost to the coming of the Lord, is marked by altogether different features. Not Israel, but the Church is prominent in God’s thoughts to-day. Before dwelling on the important distinctions between the two, let us be quite sure that we understand exactly what we are speaking about. By ISRAEL we do not mean the Jews, the scattered nation as they are to-day, nor as they were in the time of our Lord, a remnant still clinging to their ancient capital, Jerusalem. We do not allude to them as they actually existed at any time, but rather to what that nation was according to God’s original plan for them. When we speak of THE CHURCH we do not refer to any ecclesiastical building nor to any denomination, nor to any number of professed Christians banded together into what is called nowadays "a church." We use the term in its scriptural sense. The Greek word rendered "church" simply means "called-out ones." Those, who are called out of the world by God during this period of Christ’s rejection, are by this means, and by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, banded together into God’s assembly, the church. It may be helpful to notice that in Scripture the term "church" is used in three ways: — 1. As denoting the aggregate number of the Christians in any given place (1 Corinthians 1:2; Colossians 4:15, etc.). 2. As the aggregate number of all Christians upon earth at any given time (1 Corinthians 10:32; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 1:22, etc.). In this aspect the church is like a regiment which abides the same, though the units which compose it are constantly changing. 3. As the aggregate number of all Christians, called out and sealed with the Spirit between Pentecost and the coming of the Lord (Ephesians 3:21; Ephesians 5:25, etc.). Of these the last is the sense in which we use the word in this Bible Talk; though, if we speak of the church as it exists on earth to-day, we obviously allude to it in its second aspect. Be it remembered, however, that we refer, as in the case of Israel, not to what the church actually is, or has at any time been, but to what it is according to the original design and thought of God. Having defined our terms, let us observe a few necessary distinctions. 1. John, the forerunner of the Lord, was the last of the long line of the prophets of the past dispensation. With him, God’s utterances under the old covenant reached their full stop. With Christ, the new utterances began. "The law and the prophets were until John; since that time the kingdom of God is preached" (Luke 16:16). The advent of Christ into the world was described by Zacharias as the coming of the dayspring (or, as the margin reads, "sun-rising") from on high. His appearance on earth heralded the dawn of a new day. Not that this new day was there and then inaugurated. The Lord Jesus had a mission to fulfil in the midst of Israel, and He must needs present Himself to that nation as their long-promised Messiah. Moreover, the broad foundations of purposed blessing must be laid amid the sufferings of Calvary. But when all this was past, when the Son of God had died and risen again, when He had ascended to heaven and sent down the Holy Ghost, then was inaugurated a dispensation that was new indeed, utterly different from all that had gone before. 2. The characteristic feature of the old dispensation was law, that of the new is grace. The giving of the law at Sinai ushered in the former. God formulated His demands upon men. He was to receive, and they were to give, that which was His due. The fact that failure came in immediately, failure so great as to amount to a total collapse, did not relieve men of their newly incurred responsibilities in the smallest degree. God, however, announced to Moses that He would have mercy (Exodus 33:19), and withhold the threatened destruction in view of the coming of Christ. The law still held sway as "schoolmaster," and continued so to do until Christ came (Galatians 3:24). In Christ a power mightier than the law was present. The case of the sinful woman in John 8:1-59 beautifully illustrates it. Under the potent influence of grace, the hypocrites were convicted far more effectually than under law, and the sinner was forgiven, a thing which the law never professed to do. Now God gives and man receives. The new dispensation is marked by grace reigning through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:21). 3. The old dispensation centred round Israel, the new is connected with the church. The law was given not to everybody, but to one nation, Israel. Upon that nation, therefore, God’s attention was focussed. The privileges of the children of Israel belonged to them nationally rather than individually. God always had His own secret dealings with the souls of individuals, and these dealings came into greater prominence in the days of national apostasy. But at the beginning God took them up nationally without reference to the spiritual state of individuals, and their standing before Him was on a national basis. On the other hand, there is nothing national about the church.Peter declared, corroborated by James, that the divine programme for this dispensation is the visiting of the nations by God, "to take out of them a people for His name" (Acts 15:13-14). God is now making an election from all nations, and those thus gathered out for His name compose "the church." The church, then, is not national, nor is it international, it is rather extra-national, i.e., altogether outside of all national distinctions, and totally independent of them. Instead of being constructed on a national basis, it is represented in Scripture as "one flock" (John 10:16, R.V.), as "one body" (1 Corinthians 12:13), as "a spiritual house, an holy priesthood" (1 Peter 2:5), as a family composed of the children of God (1 John 2:12; 1 John 3:1, etc.). Moreover, in connection with the church God begins with the individual. It is composed of those who have personally been set in right relations with God. Only as forgiven, and as having received the Spirit to indwell them, do they become members of the one body, and "living stones" in the spiritual house. 4. Connected with Israel was a ritualistic worship, the value of which lay in its typical significance. The church’s privileges are connected with the eternal realities themselves, with the substance rather than with the shadows. Her worship does not consist of sacrificial offerings, symbolic ceremonies, and the like, but is "worship in spirit and in truth." The law had only "a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things" (Hebrews 10:1). The good things have come, and are realized by Christians to-day. Christ has established them (Hebrews 9:24; Hebrews 10:12), the Spirit has revealed them (1 Corinthians 2:9-10), and the believer may gaze upon them with the eye of faith (2 Corinthians 4:18). 5. Israel’s blessings and privileges were largely of an earthly and material order, the church’s are heavenly and spiritual. In the Old Testament instructions were given as to the way in which the children of Israel should return thanks to God when they were actually in possession of the promised land. They were to take the first of all their fruits and set them in a basket before the Lord their God, with an acknowledgment of His goodness on their lips (Deuteronomy 26:1-11). Is the Christian to approach God in this way? On the contrary, when Paul wrote to the Ephesians as to the heavenly inheritance of Christians, far from speaking of material things, he said, "Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). How complete the contrast 6. While Israel’s destiny is to be the channel of blessing to all nations, during the golden years of the millennial age, the church’s destiny is association with Christ in heaven. Isaiah 60:1-22 well describes the future of Israel. Revelation 19:1-21; Revelation 21:1-27, under various figures, presents to us the destiny of the church as "the Lamb’s wife." Was there a definite time when God’s ways with Israel ended and when the church period began? It has already been pointed out that the death of Christ marked the close of God’s dealings with Israel as a nation; and that His resurrection and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost inaugurated the present dispensation. Compare Acts 2:41-47 with 1 Corinthians 12:13. Two qualifying remarks must, however, be made. Firstly, that though God’s ways with Israel reached their great climax in the cross, He, nevertheless, continued certain supplementary dealings with them until the death of Stephen, and perhaps even until the destruction of Jerusalem. Nor were the full designs of God as to the church made known in their entirety at the very outset of the present age. They were gradually revealed through the apostles, particularly through Paul, though the church itself began its corporate existence as stated. Secondly, that God’s ways with Israel have only ended for a time. Later on, in a day still future, they will be resumed, and the glorious promises made to that favoured nation be literally fulfilled. Israel has been side-tracked, as it were, while the church occupies the rails. When the church has been transferred to heaven, Israel will again be brought out upon the main line of God’s dealings. InActs 7:38Stephen speaks of "the church in the wilderness." And the headings to many Old Testament chapters refer to the church. Does it not appear from this that the church was in existence before Christ came Israel was undoubtedly "the assembly in the wilderness." Is there anything in this which would warrant our identifying Israel with the church of the New Testament? No more than the use of the same word in Acts 19:41 warrants our confounding the church in that city with the unruly mob of Diana’s worshippers. The application to the church of prophetic utterances in Old Testament headings of chapters (which are no part of the original text) is due to the mistaken views of well-meaning men. But the mistake is a serious one, because it is by the confusion of Israel with the church that men have sought to justify the introduction into Christianity of Jewish elements and principles. Were not such men as Abraham, Moses, and Elijah in the church? Does it not put a slight upon these honoured men to deny them a place therein? By no means. Their lot was cast in the dispensation that is past. Viewed morally, these men tower as giants, while many of us Christians are but pigmies. Yet even John the Baptist, than whom none was greater, was, when viewed dispensationally, less then the least in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 11:11). He belonged to the age of servitude, we to the age of sonship (see Gal, 4: 1-7). The Lord’s words in Matthew 11:1-30 concerning John were followed by those of Matthew 16:13-18 concerning Himself. He was not a mere prophet like Elijah, Jeremiah, or John, but the Son of the living God, and on that rock, said He, "I will build My church." Mark those two words: "will build." It was a future work of which the Lord spoke, and one in which these great men of old had no part. What was God’s object in calling out Israel into the special place they occupied? They were called to take possession of the promised land for God, as a kind of pledge that the whole earth belonged to Him, in spite of the fact that Satan had usurped dominion over it. When they entered they crossed the Jordan as the people of "the Lord of all the earth" (Joshua 3:11; Joshua 3:13). Further, they were to preserve in the world the stock "of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came" (Romans 9:5). Incidentally also, in that nation as a sample separated from the corruptions of the surrounding peoples, and privileged beyond all others, was made God’s last trial of the human race. The records of their own law as cited in Romans 3:9-18 testified to their irremediable failure, and proved in this way the hopelessly fallen conditions of all. If, as Romans 3:19 puts it, the law utterly condemns the sample nation of the Jews, who were under it, then every mouth is stopped, and all the world is "guilty before God." What is God’s object and purpose in connection with the church? The church is Christ’s body (Ephesians 1:23). Therefore in it He is to be expressed; just as your body is that in which you live and express yourself. It represents Him here during the time of His rejection and personal absence in heaven. Satan has got rid of Christ personally from the earth, but He is here as represented in His people. To touch the church, or any who belong to it, is to touch Him. Do not His own words to Saul imply this: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" (Acts 9:4). It is God’s house, the only house He has upon earth at the present time. God will not be turned out of His own world! He dwells, therefore, to-day in a house which no Nebuchadnezzar, no Titus can burn to the ground, and which no Nero, no Torquemada has been able to destroy. God’s ultimate purpose is to have a bride for Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27), a people who, sharing now as heavenly strangers His rejection, find their eternal portion as sharers of His heavenly glory. Can you enumerate some of the blessings we Christians have, which even the best in Israel had not before Christ came? The knowledge of God as Father, fully revealed in Christ, is one of the greatest of these blessings. "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (John 1:18). Another blessing is, instead of promises, we have the fact of accomplished redemption. The promissory bank-note has been exchanged for the fine gold of the finished work of Christ. Further, the Holy Spirit now indwells believers (seeJohn 14:16; Acts 2:1-4). Though He had always exerted His influence upon earth, His abiding presence here is a new thing. Lastly, our relationships with God are on an entirely new footing in Christ. We are no more servants, but sons (Galatians 4:4-6). Much more might be added, but these four facts will serve to show the wealth of blessing that belongs to the Christian. Shall we not thank God that our lot is cast on this side of the cross of Christ? ======================================================================== CHAPTER 38: 037 THE RAPTURE AND THE APPEARING ======================================================================== The Rapture and the Appearing F. B. Hole. It is an actual fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again! Yet many people, even true believers, seem hardly to believe it. It seems to them a dreamy, visionary, mystical idea, and they cannot help thinking that the enthusiasts who announce it must be mistaking figures of speech for sober facts. But, after all, why should you be surprised? You believe that He has been here once. Then why not twice? Consider for a moment what happened when He first came. He was rejected, and His life was cut short. His public mission of three and a half years closed in His sudden death. But being God manifest in flesh, in dying He wrought redemption for His people; He rose again. Is it likely that the story ends there as far as this earth is concerned? Shall the ejection of the Creator from the world by the creature be the last word? By no means. Men despised Him in His humiliation. He will surely return in His glory. We are not left, however, to consider what seems likely or reasonable. The doctrine of the Second Advent is one of the commonest themes of Scripture. The Old Testament frequently refers to it. In the New Testament the full truth of it is plainly revealed. From the great mass of texts that might be quoted, let us select one which is singularly explicit. "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). This message has about it almost the sound of a legal document. Lawyers write a very simple statement in a rather lengthy way because they find it needful to hedge about their words from possible misinterpretations. So here there is a fulness and almost a redundancy of expression, especially designed to foil any attempt to evade or mystify this great fact. It is evident from this verse that the Lord Jesus is Himself coming just as He went. How did He go? Personally; then personally He will come. He went actually as a living Man - it was no spirit manifestation. Then actually as a living Man He will come. He went visibly; visibly He will come. He went from the earth. Then to the earth He will return. The attentive Christian reader, however, is often puzzled as he pursues his studies into this great truth, by seeming discrepancies between different passages, and he needs to have placed in his hands the key that unlocks the door of difficulty. That key is an understanding of the difference between the two stages of the Second Advent, which for the sake of brevity we term "The Rapture" (i.e., "the catching-up") and "The Appearing." Take the trouble at this point to thoughtfully read 1 Thessalonians 4:13 to 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Notice that the Thessalonian believers were troubled because some of their number had died, and they thought that they would therefore miss the glory of the appearing and reign of Christ. Paul tells them not to sorrow, because as certainly as Jesus died and rose again, God will bring WITH Jesus all such when He comes (v. 9). Then the Apostle explains how this is to be brought about, by what means the formerly dead in Christ are found with Him in bodies of glory so as to be able to share in His glorious appearing. This explanation is prefaced by "this we say unto you by the word of the Lord," indicating that what follows is not something which had been previously made known, but something newly revealed: his authority for stating it being not Old Testament scripture, nor any previous utterance, but the direct revelation of the Lord. And this is the explanation: "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout . . . and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." Now compare these words with what is written in 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, and you will find an additional fact stated. "The dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." In the light of these two scriptures we gather that: (1) The Lord Himself shall descend into the air with an assembling shout. (2) His shout will awaken the sleeping saints and raise them in bodies of glory. (3) We, the living, will then undergo a corresponding change into a glorified condition. (4) All believers, whether previously dead or living, will be caught up together, to be for ever with the Lord. Oh, most blessed hour, the fruition of our long-cherished hope! All this, however, leaves the great world untouched, save as the sudden disappearance of multitudes of saints may affect it. But the hour of retribution follows on. Hence 1 Thessalonians 5:1-28 opens by drawing a distinction between the coming of the Lord for His saints with which chapter 4 has dealt, and "the day of the Lord." That comes, not as a bridegroom for his bride, but "as a thief in the night." When the Lord Jesus in humiliation was led as a lamb to the slaughter, He said to His enemies, "This is your hour, and the power of darkness" (Luke 22:53). But the tables are to be completely turned. He comes not in humiliation, but in glory; not as a lamb to the slaughter, but as the Lion of the tribe of Judah; not solitary and alone, but "with ten thousands of His saints"; not submitting to the will of His enemies, but that His enemies may be made His footstool. It is not man’s little hour, and the short-lived triumph of evil; it is the great and dreadful day of the Lord. "The day of the Lord" is not a day of twenty-four hours, but an interval of time like "the day of salvation." It is a period in the cycle of "times and seasons" marked by the absolute supremacy and authority of the Lord. It starts with His public manifestation in the clouds of heaven - His appearing with His saints. It is to this public appearing that Old Testament prophets so frequently refer, being the consummation of God’s ways with Israel and the earth. It ushers in a short, sharp work of judgment whereby the earth is purged of its dross before the shining forth of glory in the millennial reign of Christ. Before this public appearing certain things must take place as foretold in Scripture. The Lord Jesus Himself. plainly predicted certain things (Matthew 24:1-51.; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 21:1-38). Again 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17 shows us that before the day of Christ comes there must first be "a falling away," an apostasy, and connected with that, the revelation of the man of sin, commonly called "antichrist." In him sin will find its culminating expression. He will be its very embodiment. When the iniquity of man rises then to its full height God will smite in judgment. The Lord Jesus, who once bore judgment for our sakes, is then to be its Executor, and that oldest of all prophecies given through the lips of a man will be fulfilled: "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment upon all" (Jude 1:14-15). Previously the saints will have been "changed" according to 1 Corinthians 15:1-58, and "caught up" according to 1 Thessalonians 4:1-18, hence they are with Him in a glorified condition, and when the heavens open and reveal Him in the "flaming fire" of judgment, they are with Him, and He will be "glorified in His saints" and "admired in all them that believe . . . in that day" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). Meanwhile our business is "to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven" (1 Theses. 1: 9, 10). May not what you callthe Rapturebe just a beautiful and poetic way of speaking of the death of a saint, andtheAppearing be what is commonly called "the end of the world"? The death of a saint is thus described in Scripture: "To depart and to be with Christ" (Php 1:23). Is there no difference between our going to be with Christ and His coming for us? Further, when the saint dies and goes to be with Christ, his body is laid IN the grave. When Christ comes for His saints according to 1 Thessalonians 4:1-18, He takes all their bodies OUT of the graves. Are these one and the same thing? No. The coming of the Lord for His saints is not death, but the deliverance of His people from the last vestige of death. The appearing of Christ with His saints is not "the end of the world," by which people generally mean the winding up of the heavens and the earth in their present condition. Revelation 19:1-21, speaks of the Lord’s appearing in glory. Revelation 20:1-15 shows the result, Satan restrained and a thousand years of blessing for this weary old earth. After that - the end. In this case would there not be two comings, a third Advent after the second? No. Frequently in Scripture the coming of the Lord is spoken of in a general way without referring definitely to either of its two stages. The Rapture and the Appearing are only two parts or stages of the one coming. When the King visits the City of London in state, the Lord Mayor and sheriffs meet him at Temple Bar, and after certain ceremonies they take their place in the procession behind him and re-enter the City, accompanying him to the Guildhall or wherever he is going. Even so will it be at the coming of Christ. Caught up into the air to meet Him, we shall shortly after return with Him to share in His glorious kingdom. What signs should we look for as indicating that the Lord’s coming is near? If the appearing be in question, then such scriptures as 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17, 2 Timothy 3:1-17, and Matthew 24:1-51 supply the answer. The rising tide of apostasy in Christendom; the prevalence of false prophets deceiving many; the extraordinary awakening of the Jewish race, i.e., the fig tree putting forth leaves according to Matthew 24:32; the increasing carelessness of the world deceived into false security by its own achievements and saying "Peace and safety"; all these things and others of which we are witnesses indicate that we draw nigh to the end of this age. But all these things are portents of the Appearing. As to the Rapture which precedes it, no signs are to be looked for. It is an event outside the calculation of times and seasons. These belong to the earth, as the opening verse of 1 Thessalonians 5:1-28 shows, and there was no need for the apostle to write to the Thessalonians on the subject. But as to the Rapture, which is not connected with times and seasons, there was a very distinct need that he should write to them. There is nothing awaiting fulfilment before Christ comes for His saints. He may come at any moment. Must not the world be converted first? That question would not be asked were it not that an unscriptural idea exists on the subject. Nowhere in the Bible is the conversion of the whole world by preaching of the Gospel either stated or implied. The Gospel is preached by command of God for the gathering out of the nations a people for His Name (Acts 15:14). The world will not be converted, but rather purified by judgment which will remove the workers of evil and subjugate the earth to God. "When Thy judgments [not Thy Gospel] are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:9). Will all Christians be caught up at the Rapture? Undoubtedly. To illustrate the truth of the Rapture, the effect of a strong magnet held over steel filings when mixed with sand has been used. It is a good illustration, only this must be remembered: Christians are not only like so many individual steel filings, they are by the Holy Ghost livingly connected together. They are "one flock," one family, "one body." When the Lord Jesus comes He will take His Church as one living entity, His body and His bride. Mutilated fragments will not be left behind. The idea that some Christians will be left behind seems to crop up in two directions. First, we have the prophets of various latter day apostasies from the truth. Some of them teach that only "living," "faithful," "watching" Christians will be taken. Their "faithfulness" is manifested by their reception of the teachings of the false prophet in question! Comment on this is needless. Secondly, true Christians have run away with the idea that only "watching" believers are caught up, from such a Scripture as the following: "Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:28). After all, however, where can you find a true Christian who is not looking for Him? You can find many who are very unintelligent, who do not understand the truth of His coming, who have never heard of "the Rapture." Yet they look for Christ. He is the hope of their hearts, though they know not how that hope shall be fulfilled. The fact is, the expression "them that look for Him," like "them that love God," (Romans 8:28) is just a Bible way of describing believers. If a man does not love God, nor look for Christ, he cannot be called a Christian. After all, is not this teaching concerning the Second Advent rather speculative? Is there any real use in it? It is no more speculative than the teaching divinely given to Noah concerning the approaching flood, or the prophecies given to Israel during centuries concerning the first coming of the Saviour. Difficulties may be raised as to details where Scripture is silent, and men may disagree and mystify matters as to the second coming just as the scribes succeeded in mystifying their generation as to the first coming. But the broad outlines of the truth as to it stand clear and plain in Scripture, and the event is sure. As to the use of this truth, it will be found in practice that no fact exercises a more solemnizing effect on the consciences of sinners. No truth has a more separating effect upon believers. Shall we join hand in hand with the world which is shortly to come under judgment? No. "Every man that hath this hope in Him [Christ] purifieth himself even as He is pure" ( 1 John 3:3). He whose hope is in Christ and His speedy return puts far from him every defiling thing. Do you believe that the "Rapture of the saints" is now very near? Yes. Foolish attempts have been made to fix dates for the Lord’s return, thus contravening His own words. Earnest believers, too, have allowed themselves to use extravagant language, giving the impression that they were certain it could not be distant more than a year or two. Years have passed, and those who listened to these expressions have become sceptical as to the whole thing. The truth remains, however: He is coming, and that quickly. Everything, both in the church and in the world, points to the closing up of this age. Therefore we lift up our heads and expect Him. Entering a Christian’s room the other day my eye fell on these words framed like a text and hung on the wall, "PERHAPS TODAY." I knew what it meant. That is the right attitude. His coming is certainly near. May we rise each morning with this thought: perhaps He may come to-day; and may we so purify ourselves in holiness before Him that our unchecked response may gladly be: "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." ======================================================================== CHAPTER 39: 038 ARTICLES AND BOOKS ======================================================================== Articles and Books ======================================================================== CHAPTER 40: 039 A DANGER TO BE AVOIDED ======================================================================== A Danger to be Avoided. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 38, 1953-5, page 193.) The formation of the church of God is recorded in Acts 2:1-47. The power that marked its earliest days though it was from the outset in the place of rejection by the world, is recorded in Acts 3:1-26 and Acts 4:1-37. Then in Acts 5:1-42 we have recorded the first evil that was manifested in the midst of it. This was the sin of pretentiousness; of posing as though a higher standard of spirituality and devotedness were possessed than really existed. Many were selling their possessions and devoting the proceeds to the Lord. Ananias and Sapphira sold theirs, and presented a part of the proceeds as though it were the whole. Ananias acted the lie. Sapphira told it. They desired to acquire a reputation of being more heavenly-minded than they were. Pretension to higher spiritual condition was the first recorded sin then, in the church’s history. It will also be the last, as we shall see. This sin of pretension began with individuals, and it is a danger which threatens every Christian as an individual; this is made very plain in the Epistles. We quote a few passages in support of this assertion. "For I say . . . to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think" (Romans 12:3). "If any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know" (1 Corinthians 8:2). "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12). "If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual . . ." (1 Corinthians 14:37). "If a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself" (Galatians 6:3). Those were the days when indeed there were men who knew the things of God, if anyone ever did. There were those who stood, who were prophets and spiritual, and therefore were something in the Divine way of reckoning, but these were just the ones who were happily occupied with Christ and His service, and not thinking of themselves. Those who were doing the thinking, and making claims for themselves, based on that thinking, were largely pretenders. This the Apostle’s language indicates. In two instances, above cited, he plainly says, "he knoweth nothing," "he is nothing;" in the others he plainly infers that the pretenders were by no means all they thought themselves to be. But the most striking exemplification of the point we are considering is found in the addresses of the Lord to the seven churches of Asia, recorded in Revelation 2:1-29 and 3. In six out of the seven this sin of pretension is alluded to. To Ephesus He speaks of "them which say they are apostles, and are not." He characterizes them as "liars." To Smyrna: "them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." To Thyatira: "that woman, Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce . ." To Sardis: "thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.’’ To Philadelphia: "the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and not, but do lie." To Laodicea: "thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked." In these scriptures notice several things. First of all, the claimants here are companies rather than individuals. It is "them," which say. Jezebel is a typical woman, representing more than an individual. To Sardis and Laodicea it is "thou," but this is said to the "angel," who represents the church! so that it indicates virtually the whole church, with the exception of a small remnant. Then it is "say" here, and not merely "think." The evil has intensified since the day of Paul’s epistles. An hour had arrived when these pretensions were not only in people’s minds, but said boldly out in the ears of all. Further, viewing these addresses to the churches as prophetic, it appears that the evil deepens as the history proceeds. Ephesus was troubled with a little band of men who claimed apostleship. This was a claim likely to deceive in the days when most of the genuine apostles had been removed by martyrdom, and the canon of Scripture was hardly complete. The same dangerous claim has however been raised in our day on behalf of men, who are deemed to be "spiritual," and whose utterances in properly convened meetings are therefore to be accepted as almost, if not entirely, as authoritative as Scripture. In the age of Smyrna there was trouble and bitter opposition from a certain clique, who claimed a place analogous to that of the Jew. They were truly a "synagogue," but it was of Satan. They were religionists and ritualists without reality. There is a distant lowering with Thyatira. Jezebel called herself a prophetess, and she indicates, we believe, the Romish hierarchy, who claim the exclusive right of interpreting the Scriptures, and thus of voicing the mind of God. Jezebel is suffered. The pretender here is thoroughly inside the church and is in power. Out of this state of things Sardis springs. Protestantism — using the word in the largest sense — has a far more respectable exterior and has established for itself a certain reputation, or "name." Yet it is pronounced to be dead. This God-given movement soon got linked up with worldly powers and politics, so that its very life was drained away in wars as well as internal contentions. It is no longer the pretensions of a clique, but the whole church is indicted, though a few things remain not yet dead. In Philadelphia we get a little glimpse of the brightness and reality which marked the church at the beginning. Once again pretension is confined to a clique outside its pale rather than inside. The religionists, who love to claim a place on earth, again appear. In Laodicea we reach the sad climax. The whole church is infected, as in the case of Sardis, but there it was only a claim to live whereas here the church actually claims to be a paragon of perfection! The claim ends, "I have need of nothing." Could pretension go further? And could the Lord’s condemnation be more severe? Notice one thing more. In every case the Lord, who scrutinizes the churches with eyes as a flame of fire, disallows the claims, and that in most incisive language. In not one case is there the smallest foundation in fact for that to which they lay claim. The very reverse. "Liars;" "Synagogue of Satan;" "Dead;" "Wretched, miserable poor, blind, naked;" are some of the terms He uses. Now all this has a very distinct voice to us. We live in an age which more and more is taking on the character of Laodicea. And more than this, alas! Many of us, who have aimed at walking in the truth, and having our church life in accordance with the order laid down in Paul’s epistles, are conscious how this spirit of pretension has been displayed in such circles, and of how we ourselves may have become infected by it. Looking back over the years, we have heard claims to be "the spiritual," or, "a new lump," or, "Gideon’s three hundred." Or, to possess "the new light," or "the needed truth," or to be "bearing the ark of the testimony’’ or "standing for God." It is a fact, thanks be to God, that there are today spiritually-minded saints, who in their measure are standing for God, bearing His testimony and ministering needed truth. He knows them all, and their secret approbation is with Him, as is also their public recognition in the coming day, as Revelation 3:9 shows. But let us beware of trying to label them, lest we fall into the folly of labelling ourselves thus. Never let us forget that to claim to be, or to have, these things is certain proof that we are or have nothing of the kind. What then is becoming in the Laodicean age? Just that which is indicated in these verses (14-22). First, to recognize the Lord as He presents Himself to us here. He is the "Amen;" the One in whom is found the completion and perfect response to all the purposes of God. He is "the faithful and true Witness," who stands forth as the complete and full representation of all that God is, when the church in its witness has failed. He is "the beginning of the creation of God," for in Him, risen from the dead, God has made a new start. He, and not the church, is the foundation of all. Thus all human pretension is demolished. Second, be it ours to accept the chastening, spoken of in verse 19, and with zeal in our hearts — the opposite of lukewarmness — to repent. Now repentance works such a salvation from the things repented of as is permanent and abiding, as 2 Corinthians 7:10 indicates. Third, as we hear Him knocking at the door of our hearts, to swing that door open, that He may enter. Then will be established communion of the sweetest and most heavenly sort. He will condescend to our table that He may know our things, and lift us to His table that we may enter into and enjoy His things. If in any measure this experience is ours we shall not only find "the things of earth" growing "strangely dim," but our own selves, in our natural self-importance, will disappear, "in the light of His glory and grace." It is evidently possible to enjoy such communion with our risen Lord even in the last days of the church’s history. In the measure in which we do so we shall be marked by the repentant spirit and the avoidance of that self-occupation which leads to pretentious claims. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 41: 040 A DOOR OF HOPE ======================================================================== A Door of Hope. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 11, 1919, page 36.) There are not many doors that lead into salvation. There is but one. Jesus said, "I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" (John 10:9). Neither are there many doors leading from a feeble or backslidden spiritual condition to one of power and nearness to God. Again, there is but one, and by that door we must enter if today we would pass from our weakness and declension into a renewed measure of devotedness and faithfulness to our Lord. Since Israel’s history was written for our admonition, the things that happened to them being ensamples, or types, for us (1 Corinthians 10:11), to that history we will turn for an illustration of this matter. First, then, it is striking to notice that their history as a nation began with the afflictions of Egypt. To Abram it was said, "Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years" (Genesis 15:13), and it was in connection with that prophecy that Abram had the vision of the smoking furnace and the burning lamps passing between the pieces of his sacrifice. Into Egypt’s smoking furnace of affliction Abram’s seed passed. It was an unpromising beginning, for Jacob and his sons were far beneath Abram’s spiritual level. They came down as a small tribe of quarrelsome and suspicious nomads into Goshen, apparently ignorant of what awaited them. God, however, took them in hand and permitted them to feel the scorching heat of Egypt’s furnace. "But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew" (Exodus 1:12). In that furnace of affliction they were welded together as a nation. They entered Egypt a feeble and disunited family: they left it a compact and powerful nation. Their subsequent history, with all its sad declension and sin is known to all of us. Nothing could surpass the blackness of their unfaithfulness and ruin save the brightness of that faithful mercy of God which plainly predicts and holds out before them the hope and way of recovery. Now, their sin had taken two great forms: first their forsaking the true God for idols, and second the rejection and murder of the beloved Son of God, their Messiah, when he appeared. Israel is to be richly blessed upon earth, and richly a blessing to the nations in the millennial age, but before ever this can be they must pass through this one and only door to recovery of which we speak. Hosea the prophet exercised his ministry in the years preceding the utter ruin of the kingdom of the ten tribes and capture of Samaria; and his book is occupied with scathing denunciations of the atrocious idolatry that was about to bring down these sore judgments. Mingled with these denunciations are predictions of ultimate recovery, and it is in his second chapter that the expression "a door of hope" occurs. "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak to her heart [margin]. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing these, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt" (vers. 14, 15). How amazing the grace that shines in these promises! To think that there shall yet be a moment at the end of Israel’s disastrous history when she shall sing the praises of Jehovah with the sweetness of her youth and with the vigour of that moment when on the further bank of the Red Sea she saw all her foes dead upon the shore! "She shall sing THERE." Where? In the valley of Achor. Not literally and physically of course, but morally and spiritually she will be there. Joshua 7:1-26 enlightens us as to the significance of this reference to the valley of Achor. It owed its name to the terrible judgment that fell on Achan within it. When Israel entered the land of promise under Joshua, they were strictly commanded to touch nothing, but make a clean sweep of the nations in possession and all their works. These instructions were sanitary precautions of a spiritual kind. Idolatry is terribly infectious as well as corrupting, and a policy of thorough isolation was the only safe one. Achan was the first who broke through the sanitary cordon that had been established. He coveted and took a little of their silver and gold and also "a Babylonish garment." Now Babylon was the seat and stronghold of idolatry in the ancient world. This garment was Babylonish, i.e. one to be used in connection with some heathen and idolatrous practice. Upon Achan summary judgment fell. He and all his surroundings, as well as the offending garment, perished beneath a judgment of stones and fire. Thus the infection was stayed — for the time at all events. It was judged and put away. Idolatry will yet be revived in Israel’s midst in connection with the Beast and False Prophet of Revelation 13:1-18, and their final clearance will only be when nationally they enter afresh the valley of Achor, or, in other words, they are brought to whole-hearted self-judgment, and an utter and radical forsaking and destruction of the accursed thing. Amongst the latter prophets, long after Hosea, Zechariah appeared. In his days a remnant had returned from Babylon, idolatry had been dropped and the first appearing of Christ was the approaching event. Hence he has hardly a word to say on the subject of idolatry, but much as to the religious formalism and hypocrisy that was developing and also as to the Messiah whose coming drew nigh. He predicts His first coming in grace, and His rejection. The rejection and death of Jesus at the hands of His wayward people was the crowning infamy of all their sins. One may well wonder if any door of hope can possibly be opened to a people guilty of such an act as this. But, such is the goodness of God, Zechariah was commissioned to predict the opening of just such a door. Zechariah 12:9 to 14 present it to us. It is a door of PROFOUND repentance. The remnant of David’s house and Jerusalem’s inhabitants, who at that time will have come through the awful furnace of the great tribulation, a furnace far worse than that of ancient Egypt, will under the hand of God be smitten with an agonizing conviction of sin that will utterly prostrate them. Notice a few points:- It will be a change, not merely of thought or attitude, but of spirit. An "unclean spirit" had been in the land (Zechariah 13:2), now a "spirit of grace" is poured upon them. It will not be mere regret for wrongdoing, nor sorrow for the consequent chastisement, but rather a profound sense of the enormity of their offence against Christ. It says, "They shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him as one that is in bitterness for his first-born," We read "there was a great cry in Egypt" when the first-born fell on the passover night. But this will evidently exceed that in intensity. Further, the conviction and feeling will be so keen that not only will families be isolated in their sorrow but even men and their wives will find it impossible to mourn together. Each and all will instinctively seek that solitude that shuts up the soul to God alone. We are familiar with the fact that Israel is to be the great channel of earthly blessing in the millennial age, but have we sufficiently considered this great work which is the moral foundation upon which their subsequent greatness rests? Objectively their glory in the age to come rests upon the finished work of Christ’s atonement; subjectively it rests upon this great work of the Spirit in their hearts. We stand in the last days of the church’s sojourn upon earth. Its shameful failure and declension is patent to all beholders. To sit in the critic’s chair and expose the wrong is an easy matter, and fruitless too, if there we stop. We need to go forward each for himself and herself, really repenting of the evil, in keeping with the spirit of Zechariah 12:1-14, and really putting away the evil in keeping with the action of Joshua in the valley of Achor. For those who do so there is the assurance of recovery and blessing. The matter may be crystallized into few words: All recovery is based upon repentance. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 42: 041 A GREAT CONTRAST ======================================================================== A Great Contrast. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 39, 1956-8, page 246.) Of all the men, whose lives are recorded in 0ld Testament Scripture, Solomon stands out supreme in his intellectual endowments. If we read 1 Kings 4:29-34, and then glance at the first verse of 1 Kings 10:1-29, we shall see that his extraordinary mental powers were given him by God, and that he was not only a literary and poetic genius with great knowledge of all natural history subjects, but that he also had great understanding "concerning the name of the Lord;" and it was the fame spread abroad as to this latter feature, that drew the Queen of Sheba to his presence. He was evidently the wonder of his age. When we turn to the New Testament, and confine our thoughts to those who were merely men, no individual stands out more strikingly than Saul of Tarsus. Like Solomon, he came of pure Hebrew stock, as he states in Php 3:4-6, and in religious matters he held a foremost place, for he wrote, that he "profited in the Jew’s religion above many my equals [i.e. contemporaries] in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers" (Galatians 1:14). In him again we find a man of outstanding intellectual powers. When, however, we consider the spirit that marked them, the course they pursued, and the end to which they came, we find the greatest possible contrast. In our consideration we must of course remember the great difference that existed between the epochs in which they lived. Solomon had to walk in the light of God as He had been made known in the law system, ministered through Moses; Saul of Tarsus, who became the Apostle Paul, was brought into the light of God revealed in Christ — in the grace of His atoning sufferings and of His risen glory. We are struck in the first place by the fact that Solomon possessed and enjoyed all the good things of this life in superabundant measure, whereas Paul enjoyed none of them. We may gain some idea of Solomon’s abundance by reading Ecclesiastes 2:4-10. We turn to Php 3:8, and find Paul saying, "I have suffered the loss of all things." And if we would know what he gained as regards this world, we read 2 Corinthians 11:23-28. Having done so, the contrast is great in the highest degree. But now consider the spirit that animated them. Ecclesiastes 2:10, shows that Solomon threw himself wholeheartedly into "having a good time," as men speak. He pursued everything that came within his reach. His motto must have been, "Everything I do," in the pursuit of pleasure and satisfaction. And what was the principle on which Paul lived? We find it again in Php 3:1-21, "This one thing I do." And what was the one thing? The things behind him, the things he had lost, he forgot, as he reached forth to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Again the contrast could not be more complete. The result of this was that Solomon became exceedingly selfish. This too comes out clearly in Ecclesiastes 2:1-26. Read the passage again, and note how he puts it, "I made me. . . I builded me. . . I planted me. . . I got me. . I gathered me. . . So Iwas great." His life became one of self-gratification, so much so that he might have said, "For me to live is — SELF." And the Apostle Paul? Well, in Philippians again we have his word, "For to me to live is — CHRIST" (Php 1:21). No greater contrast can be found than that between a life lived for self, and one lived for Christ. So with Solomon for a season all went well. He prospered in the most amazing fashion, and his fame was noised abroad in all directions; and in that same chapter in Ecclesiastes he was able to write, "Whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour." In his immense worldly success he found his joy. But when Paul wrote his epistle to the saints at Philippi he was a prisoner in Rome; he was in very unpleasing circumstances, yet he was filled with joy. Here are some of his words, "I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. . . I joy, and rejoice with you all. . . finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. . . rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, rejoice." Is he rejoicing in prosperous surroundings? Not at all, for his surroundings were anything but prosperous. His rejoicing was altogether in the Lord, and this is the rejoicing that lasts. Solomon rejoiced in his own successful achievements: Paul rejoiced in the Lord. Another complete contrast. Lastly, we notice that when Solomon wrote of his rejoicing he used the past tense: not, "my heart rejoices," but, "my heart rejoiced." We glance at the very next verse, and we find him saying, "All was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." His disillusionment was complete. And what of Paul? We turn once more to the Philippian epistle, and in its closing chapter we find him writing, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. . . I have all, and abound." So while the man who had, as men would say, everything that heart could wish, ended with vanity and emptiness the man who lost all the good things of life, yet found his sufficiency in God, was full "according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." The contrast in their finish is not less striking than that which marked their course. Now these things have a very clear and challenging voice to us today. The writer desires to accept the challenge for himself, and to pass it on to his readers. We none of us have the immense wealth and boundless opportunities of a Solomon, but we live in an age far more filled with alluring and fascinating objects and devices. The man of small means can today spend much time listening to the voices of men who speak, or to music played, hundreds of miles away. He can watch scenes that are enacted in the far distance. He can mount his car and career along the roads to his desired destination; or perhaps, sit in an aeroplane and cut through the air at 500 miles an hour. These things are very fascinating, but we have to remember that all these extraordinary human inventions are going at the finish to prove but "vanity and vexation of spirit." Many of our fellow-Christians are suffering many privations behind the "Curtains," whether "Iron," or "Bamboo." If what we hear of them be true, their joy and effectiveness in the things of God is greater than anything that we English-speaking Christians know. They have but little access to the fascinating things we have alluded to, and so they are not tempted to waste valuable time over them. Though not in a Roman prison like Paul, they do suffer imprisonment of another kind under the strong and domineering hand of Communism, but we are told they openly exhibit much joy and courage, and their numbers have greatly increased. For at least two centuries we, who are English-speaking Christians, have enjoyed much in the way of spiritual privilege and blessing, but because of this very thing we have to beware lest we become inflated and imagine we are "rich and increased with goods," of a spiritual sort, as did the Laodiceans, of whom we read in Revelation 3:1-22. If we estimate things aright, we shall, on the contrary, realize that we are far too much on the lines of Solomon, and too little on the lines of the Apostle Paul; far too much engrossed with the passing possessions and pleasures of time, that end in vanity, and far too little with the abiding realities of eternal life, though these are only known by faith in the power of the Spirit of God. Let us never forget that solemn word spoken by our Lord — "But many that are first shall be last and the last shall be first" (Matthew 19:30). When the day of Christ arrives, and we who are so privileged, stand before His judgment seat, and hear the decision as to our lives and service in this world what will His verdict be? ======================================================================== CHAPTER 43: 042 "A LITTLE MAID" ======================================================================== "A Little Maid;" or, Faithfulness in Obscurity. 2 Kings 5:2-4. F. B. Hole. Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol 3, 1911, pages 375-7. There was nothing novel about the history of this little maid. Her lot was common to thousands in those hard cruel days of inter-tribal warfare. Uprooted violently from the midst of home and loved ones by the savage enemies of her country she found herself a humble captive in the house of the conquering general. "The Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife." There in few words you have her pitiful story from the pen of the inspired historian. She is not named. Who would expect her to be? A little slave in a foreign land, alone and friendless, one’s only wonder would be that in the Book of books she should be mentioned at all. It was, indeed, through an exclamation that fell from her lips that Naaman first heard of a cure for his leprosy. But even so, that fact would hardly seem to be of sufficient importance to merit such notice. Yet it is noticed, and that in an emphatic way. "And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel." Her very words are carefully noted by the Spirit of God. They have an importance beyond that which appears at first sight. Let us not be surprised at this. Have we not seen in Scripture again and again that it is the insignificant instruments that God uses, the unexpected servants by whom He does great things? And not only this; do we not find oftentimes the rarest qualities and graces expressing themselves in the poorest, the humblest, and most retired of His people? We certainly do. One of the poets has told us that "Full many a gem of purest ray serene The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear: Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air." We may well appropriate these beautiful lines to spiritual things, only remembering that no hidden flower that God cultivates in this desert-world wastes its sweetness. If such are not appreciated by men their sweetness is a joy to the heart of their Father and God. Just such a flower as that was the little captive maid. Quietly consider her story and see if three most excellent virtues do not lie enwrapped in it. 1. She was possessed with THE MOST SUBLIME CONFIDENCE IN GOD. Without any misgiving she announces a fact "He would recover him of his leprosy." How did she know it so positively? Who told her that? She could not argue from precedent and say that what she had seen done once might be done again. There was no precedent to argue from! The cleansing of a leper was an unknown thing in the land of Israel in those days. For saying this we have the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. Preaching in the synagogue at Nazareth He said: "I tell you of a truth . . . many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian" (Luke 4: 25-7). Here, then, is a very extraordinary thing! A young girl confidently asserts that if her heathen master, who had fought against and ravaged the people of God, will only go to the prophet of the great JEHOVAH, he shall be miraculously delivered from the grip of the most deadly of diseases; yet she can produce no tangible warrant for so asserting, she cannot even cite one case of a professed follower of Jehovah being so delivered. Which is it? Preposterous folly or sublime faith? That must have been the question debated in the ranks of Israel when David descended into the valley of Elah to meet Goliath. The issue of the conflict soon decided the question for them. Men may hoot with derision while faith is calmly marching to her goal. They stand all amazed or shout with applause when her unexpected triumph is won. So too with the little maid. Her words were amply vindicated in the end. The issue of them was crowned with success. It was not folly, it was faith. Her faith in God was like a diamond of the finest water. It rested not upon human arguments. It found no support in human circumstances. It transcended human reason. It just soared aloft with eagle wings to lay hold upon GOD Himself, and there it rested. She evidently believed in the power and the compassions of God. From that she drew her inspiration, so that, laughing at the impossible, she was able to say, "It shall be done." 2. She manifested THE MOST SUBLIME COURAGE in TESTIMONY. "Add to your faith virtue [or courage]" is an apostolic command (1 Peter 1:5). This the little maid anticipated and obeyed. To have such confidence in the power and grace of God as to feel sure that, in the teeth of all experience and appearances, He will bless and deliver an enemy if only he seeks Him, is one thing. To boldly and confidently assert one’s inward confidence and convictions is quite another. Put yourself in the shoes of the little maid and think what it meant. In similar circumstances would you not have said: 1. "They have no confidence in Jehovah. My assertions will seem incredible. I shall but be laughed at for my words." 2. "May they not misinterpret my words and my motives? Will they not think it an artful scheme to decoy Naaman in a defenceless condition into the land of Israel that vengeance may be wreaked on him?" 3. "Supposing that for some obscure reason which I do not understand Jehovah is not pleased to cure Naaman, with what anger and rage he will return! How absurd he will look to the public! A great man fooled and sent on a wild-goose chase by a little girl! In such case he will wreak vengeance on me! My life will not be worth ten minutes’ purchase! I quite believe God will cure him by His prophet, but — No. It will be more prudent if I hold my tongue." We could, in fact, have doubtless found many reasons why we should not take our courage with both hands and boldly declare that which we knew of God. The little maid was proof against such considerations. What was it that nerved her for such bold witness? The answer seems to lie upon the surface of the scripture. 3. She was moved by THE MOST SUBLIME COMPASSION FOR THE LOST. The manner and tone of her utterance shows it. Here is Naaman — the hereditary foe of her people, the indirect cause, at least, of her captivity, and the news filters down to her ears that he is a lost man, doomed to a loathsome death. Is she filled with ill-concealed satisfaction? Does she exult at the thought of a miserable end overtaking him? Not at all. See her stand before her mistress. Note the tear-drop of pity in her eye. How those words spring from the tender fountain of her heart and burst the portals of her lips: "Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy." Coldness and cynicism were absent, warmth and the ring of reality were there! Lifted above all petty motives of revenge, her compassion was no less sublime than the strength of her confidence in God or the courage with which she witnessed to Him. It was indeed more than sublime. It was positively divine. Like David’s kindness to Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 9:3), her kindness too "was the kindness of God." In words and behaviour she strikingly displayed the good and gracious character of the God she served. Well done, little maid! In very trying circumstances you performed that most high and holy service of rightly representing Him with whose name you were identified. The greatest of God’s servants cannot do more than this. Your reward is on high. Naaman may have thanked you on his return or he may not. But even if no word nor look of recognition were ever given you by man, you did not "waste your sweetness on the desert air." The fragrance of your words and spirit was fully appreciated by your God, and you will hear from the lips of ANOTHER, Himself the perfect Servant, the words "Well done!" in that day. * * * * There is an application to the story of the little maid. It does not require great mental acuteness to see it. For himself or herself let each reader make it. The day in which we live has its own peculiar testings, and, in spite of the thin veneer of Christianity which Christendom carries, never was living faith in God at a lower ebb. Yet God Himself stands revealed to faith in a way in which He did not in Naaman’s day. God perfectly revealed to us in Christ should certainly inspire us with the strongest confidence in Himself. The Holy Spirit given since the day of Pentecost to us as believers should fill us with courage, for "greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4); and further, God has said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me" (Hebrews 13:5, 6). Lastly we have been saved that we may be in communion with the mind of the Saviour and display His character before the world; putting on "as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies [bowels of compassion, N.T.], kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering" (Colossians 3:12). Life’s path for many of us may lead into shade and retirement. Let none of us lose heart because of obscurity. In your small corner you may brightly shine for Christ, since "The God that lived in Naaman’s time Is just the same today!" ======================================================================== CHAPTER 44: 043 A PATTERN MINISTRY ======================================================================== A Seeming Contradiction. "Let both grow together until the harvest" Matthew 13:30. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate" 2 Corinthian 6: 17. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 29, 1937, page 268.) That there are no real contradictions in the Word of God we are well assured, though there are passages that present a contradictory appearance to the superficial reader. On closer inspection however the contradiction disappears and some rich spiritual instruction comes to light. A case in point is furnished by the two scriptures noted above. In Matthew 13:1-58, all attempt on the part of the servants of the parable to separate between the wheat and the tares, by rooting up the latter, is forbidden — the wheat representing "the children of the kingdom," and the tares, "the children of the wicked one." In 2 Corinthians 6:1-18, a separation between the believer and the unbeliever is strictly enjoined. There certainly seems to be a contradiction here. It cannot be urged that different epochs are contemplated in the two passages, and that the solution of the problem lies in that. The parable of the tares in the field is one that shows how the kingdom of the heavens in its present form has taken on its very mixed character, which is to be ended by the coming of the Lord; and consequently shows that the mixture must persist throughout the present period. Paul’s instructions as to separation are valid for just the same period. Both passages apply to the present epoch in which we live. We do notice however that it is the kingdom of heaven which is likened to this inextricable mixture of wheat and tares in the field; whilst the instruction to come out and be separate from the unbelievers is addressed to "the church of God which is at Corinth." There is a difference here. Let us consider it. The kingdom of heaven is of course not heaven but rather that sphere on earth where the rule of heaven is acknowledged. All those who profess and call themselves Christians profess to be under the authority of the Lord who has taken His seat in the heavens. In this parable ’the field" is explained by the Lord as being "the world," and it is by the sowing of the good seed in the world that the children of the kingdom have been brought forth. By the enemy’s sowing of tares in this same field have the children of the wicked one been produced. All are in the same world and thoroughly mixed together, especially in those parts which we may speak of as Christendom. Now this parable makes it very clear that it is not the business of the Lord’s servants today to attempt to disentangle the children of the wicked one and clear them out of the world. They will be disentangled from the children of the kingdom and cleared right out when the Son of Man comes and inaugurates the era of the kingdom displayed in power, and the work will be done by angels and not by men. To clear the evil out of Christendom is no business of ours. Many Christians cling to the idea that to the church has been committed the mission of converting the world; that the Christian gospel, supplemented by Christian education and influence, is going to reduce the tares and ultimately eliminate them, and that so the millennium will be introduced. There is no support for this idea in the parable, but the very reverse. The suggestion made by the servants of the householder was that they should root the tares out of the field, and this was forbidden by the householder. He saw that they lacked the necessary discrimination and skill, and that their efforts would result as much in rooting up wheat as in rooting up tares. There was a prophetic warning in this. We have only to read a little history to learn what efforts have been put forth by the great Papal system to root the tares out of the field — in other words, to eliminate "heretics" from Christendom, by destroying them out of the earth. In no country was the Papacy more successful in this work than in Spain. They piled the faggots round the "heretics" and burned them by the score, calling the solemn occasion, "auto-de-fe" which means "an act of faith." The irony of it! Much of Spain’s present day misery can be traced back to their fatal success. They did their work all too well. No one was spared who confessed faith in Christ as the only Mediator apart from His virgin mother, and saints and angels. There were not many "heretics" in Spain, so the Inquisition ended with the triumphant feeling that they had rooted all the "tares" out of the land. In reality they had rooted up every visible blade of "wheat." If any system other than the Papal system attempted the same thing to-day, they would only end by producing the same terrible result. So a brief summary of the parable of the tares of the field would be this: while the kingdom of heaven persists in its present form, the human servants are forbidden to attempt to rectify matters by rooting out of the world the children of the wicked one. But in 2 Corinthians 6:1-18 the church is in view and not the kingdom. Those who are members of Christ, and of His body, are not told to root the ungodly out of the earth, if they were, there would indeed be a great contradiction between the two passages. They are told to be separate as regards all "fellowship" with the ungodly. Just because we are not called upon to put things right in the great "field" of the "world," we are called upon to let a strong line of demarcation exist, and be very visible, between ourselves and the world. The truth here is not contradictory of Matthew 13:1-58, but complementary to it. Examine the passage for a moment and see how this is so. We are not to be "unequally yoked together with unbelievers." The word "unequally" might more accurately be translated "diversely." It is an allusion to Deuteronomy 22:10 where it is forbidden to plough with such animals together as an ox and an ass. They are diverse in nature and hence thoroughly different in habits and gait. It would be an utter misfit and entail misery for both animals. Now there is a fundamental diversity of nature between the believer and the unbeliever, which forbids anything like a yoke between them. Of course we move amongst unbelievers and have much contact with them in our daily callings, and oftentimes even in the home. We are called upon to behave with the utmost grace and to let our light shine before them. But we are not to be yoked with them. The question may be asked — What exactly constitutes a yoke? The following verses, containing a series of questions, help to answer this. "What fellowship . . . what communion . . . what concord . . . what part . . . what agreement?" These five words show what kind of thing is forbidden. Moreover they are followed by the positive instruction to "come out . . . be separate . . . touch not the unclean." — three other words which reinforce the five questions. We are not to involve ourselves in any fellowships or partnerships which would yoke us to unbelievers and commit us to the unclean things with which their world is filled. Without any question marriage is a yoke of that kind, and business partnership is another; and other things too come under the scope of this word. Again and again we have to ask ourselves when commitments are proposed to us — Will this thing involve me in an unequal yoke? Many a godly Christian has had to suffer as to his worldly prospects because he obeyed this scripture. He could have made a lot more money if he had consented to partner some ungodly man and share in his enterprises. This is just what the closing words of the chapter contemplate. We may be losers as to the things of the world, but we shall not ultimately lose, for the Lord God Almighty will take us up and father us in a very real way. We may always rely on Him. In connection with this such scriptures as 1 Corinthians 5:13, and 2 Timothy 2:19-21, have their place. Both show that flagrant evil — whether moral or doctrinal — is not to be given lodgment in the bosom of the church of God. Not only is there to be a clear-cut line of separation between the saints and the world, but evil of the types mentioned in these two passages is to have no place in their midst. And this is the more urgent and important because we are found in the midst of such a mixed state of affairs in the world. Just because we cannot root the tares out of the world field, it is so important to maintain the line of separation, which is warranted and enjoined by the Scripture. Rightly understood then, the two passages, cited at the outset, support and reinforce each other. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 45: 044 A SIGNIFICANT INJUNCTION ======================================================================== A Significant Injunction. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 39, 1956-8, page 161.) Of all the many injunctions that fill the pages of the Old Testament none is more significant than the last — Malachi 4:4. When Malachi prophesied many centuries had passed since the giving of the law at Horeb, and the nation to whom it had been given had seen many vicissitudes and disasters. This had been so much the case that there would surely have been with many the tendency to reason that legislation given when the people were in wilderness circumstances could hardly be binding in all respects when they were settled in a land of their own, or when later they were scattered in Assyria or Babylon, or even later still when a feeble remnant were permitted once more to dwell in the land of promise. In its main provisions it might stand, but hardly in all its subsidiary enactments. Thus they might have said. Knowing this tendency, the final injunction was given. The remnant in the land were reminded that the law had been given to "all Israel," and therefore it applied to them. Moreover all the "statutes and judgments," that had supplemented the main commandments, stood in their integrity, neither repealed nor altered. Changes in human circumstances do not impose any change upon the Divine requirements. It is not difficult to see that this must be the case. The law given through Moses dealt with the fundamental evils and disorders that mark men and their hearts and ways as the fruit of SIN. Changes in circumstances may produce a few ripples on the surface of the darkflowing river of sin, but they do not alter its destination nor enlighten its darkness. In His holy law with its statutes and judgments God had in view fundamental facts and not surface changes. Now something very similar to this verse in Malachi meets us when we turn to the closing words of the New Testament. True, it is not a vindication of the original law of Moses, but it is a warning of a very stringent and solemn kind against in any way tampering with "the words of the prophecy of this book." Primarily the warning applies no doubt to the words of the book of Revelation, but coming as it does at the very end, we believe it applies in a secondary way to the whole of the New Testament if not of the whole Bible. We are neither to add to it nor to take away. In the light of this we are bold to affirm that the instructions given to the saints of our dispensation — the church — stand unchanged, though many vicissitudes and disasters have marked its history as a professing body on the earth. We are not at liberty either to disregard or to alter the commandments and instructions left for us. We have, of course, to recognize dispensational changes. The coming of Christ inaugurated a new day, since He was, "the Dayspring from on high" (Luke 1:78), bringing light into the midst of the darkness. And further, the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was the beginning of a new dispensation. In His farewell discourse in the upper chamber, recorded in John 13:1-38 — John 16:1-33, our Lord spoke of new things that the Spirit would bring to pass, and of the further revelations that would reach the disciples through Him. But what has thus been made known abides with its full authority for us today. Our standing before God is not on a legal basis. The Scripture statement is very definite; "Ye are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14). So the commandments that we find connected with our Christian faith are not given in order that by our obeying them we may achieve acceptance before God. Yet commandments there certainly are; and it is remarkable how much is said about them in John’s Gospel, chapters 13 - 16, and in John’s Epistles. In the Gospel chapters we have the Lord’s farewell discourse with His disciples around Him. He spoke of a "new commandment," which He gave them, and "My commandments," and also of "the Father’s commandment," which had been given to Him and which He had kept. Their obedience was to be fashioned after the manner of His. He spoke also of His "word" and His "sayings," for He had indicated His mind and will for them in many things He had said, though not expressed in definite commandments. To those who really love Him, His will for them, no matter in what form expressed, comes with authoritative force. In John’s first Epistle we find "commandment" mentioned about a dozen times, and the last mention is a significant one — "His commandments are not grievous" (1 John 5:3). The Epistle has strongly emphasized the fact that the true believer is born of God, and hence has a nature which expresses itself in love and in righteousness, and therefore finds delight, and not a grievous burden, in the very things which are commanded. Another fact is worthy of our very careful thought. When the Apostle Paul wrote his first Epistle to the saints at Corinth, instructing them as to many things that had been very disorderly in both the private lives of many of them and in their assembly gatherings, he called upon them to recognize and acknowledge that the things he had written to them were "the commandments of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 14:37). This applied no doubt to all the instructions he had given to them in the Epistle, but with special force to what he had laid down in chapter 14. Now that chapter is specially concerned with the order to be observed by the saints in Corinth when they were gathered together as the assembly of God in that city. If they carried out the instructions given, things would be done "decently and in order," as the last verse of the chapter says. And not only so, but the church would be edified and God glorified; and this latter in such a powerful way that an unbeliever coming into their assembly would be greatly affected and constrained to confess that God was indeed amongst them. The church, according to Ephesians 2: 29, is "an habitation of God through the Spirit," therefore in the assemblies of the saints the Holy Spirit is to be supreme, and to act as He may see fit. It is He who produces all the gifts that may enrich the church, as is stated in chapter 12, and it is He who is to control their exercise as we have laid down in chapter 14. The tendency today, we venture to think, is just the same as it was in the days of Malachi. Many centuries have rolled since the Apostolic letters were written, many defections and disasters have supervened in the history of the church. Are these ancient instructions valid today? We have, on the one hand, reached a very advanced stage in the process of human civilisation and scientific discovery, and, on the other hand, fallen upon very broken and divided conditions in Christendom, so are we still to observe what the Apostle has laid down? May we not accommodate things to agree more with the spirit of our times? The answer clearly is — No, we may not. It is a remarkable fact that in this same epistle Paul was inspired to give the Corinthians his judgment on certain matters as to which they had written to him, as we see in 1 Corinthians 7:1-40. In verses 6, 10, 25, 40, he differentiates between things definitely commanded by the Lord, and what he judged to be right and pleasing to the Lord, though there was no distinct command given. Having given his spiritual judgment, he says very significantly, "and I think also that I have the Spirit of God." That being so, I trust that none of us wish lightly to set aside Paul’s judgment. But when we do have definite commands the case is decisive. Yet how often are the commands of chapter 14 set aside, or at least forgotten and ignored. All too many treat them as being merely Paul’s notions, which we may disregard with impunity. Others would not lower the word of the Lord to that extent, but would nevertheless say that though suitable for the Apostolic age they are hardly the thing for the twentieth century. And if any would say to us, Yes, but these commands were given to one special church — Corinth — and not repeated in epistles to other churches; we should have to reply, that 1 Corinthians 1:2 shows that all in the Epistle, though addressed primarily to the church at Corinth, was secondarily addressed to "all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours." The commands applied universally to all true saints in those days, wherever they might be. They apply just as universally to all true saints today. Are we obeying them? ======================================================================== CHAPTER 46: 045 "A MORE EXCELLENT SACRIFICE." ======================================================================== "A more excellent sacrifice." F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 31, 1939, page 84.) All that we know of Abel is compressed into a few verses in Genesis 4:1-26, supplemented by one verse in Hebrews 11:1-40. His name is mentioned in a few other verses of the New Testament, but not in a way that adds anything to our knowledge of him. The facts concerning him are given in Genesis, and then Hebrews 11:4 illumines the facts, making clear their deep significance. We might almost have written fact, rather than facts. We are told that he was "a keeper of sheep," but this merely makes it certain that when he brought as an offering "the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof," it was an offering of lambs. We are also told that "the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering," and this shows that he and his offering were accepted in the sight of God. The central fact is that he found the way of acceptable approach to God by means of a sacrifice, which involved the death of the victim. He was the first man to die, yet, because his act set forth the true ground of approach to God, his name is still remembered and his voice is still heard. Cain’s offering and his hatred, culminating in murder, furnish a dark background to the picture, against which Abel’s sacrifice stands out the more clearly. Cain brought his offering on rational and natural grounds. His father Adam had been driven forth from Eden "to till the ground from whence he was taken," and of the two brothers Cain was the one to follow this out, for he "was a tiller of the ground." In this he was quite unimpeachable, but, in assuming that God would be pleased with an offering of some of the fruits of his tillage, he evidently forgot that the ground had been cursed, and that he himself was under the sentence of death, and that no fruit of the labour of his hands, not even the best could lift that weighty sentence and put him right with God. Since God paid no attention whatever to his offering, he found himself rejected. The excellence of Abel’s sacrifice lay in the fact that it was of such a nature as to acknowledge his own place as a sinner before God under sentence of death. He did not bring the firstlings of his flock alive, as is shown by the words which follow, "and of the fat thereof." Read these words in the light of such a verse as Numbers 18:17, and the significance of them is clear. By bringing an offering of this character Abel owned the truth as to himself and took his true place before God. He did in principle what the publican did, as related by the Lord in Luke 18:13, and the same happy result followed in both cases. And further, the greater excellence of his sacrifice is seen in this: it was the first clear foreshadowing and type of the death of Christ. We say, clear, because there was a dim announcement of His death in the words of the Lord God, as to he bruising of the heel of the woman’s seed, and a dim type in the clothing of Adam and Eve in the coats of skins. Now however what was involved in these two things comes clearly into view, and there can be no mistaking the fact that Abel’s slain lambs, with their fat offered to God, pointed on to the great sacrifice of Calvary. The excellence of a calm full moon in winter is borrowed from the sun, which is for the moment invisible to us, so the excellence of Abel’s sacrifice was largely attributable to the fact that at the dawn of the world’s history it was radiating the light of the far-distant sacrifice of Jesus, which was yet to come. Consequently, in Abel’s sacrifice God found pleasure. Finding pleasure in his gifts, He testified to His acceptance of them in no uncertain way. Genesis tells us that God "had respect to" his offering, and Hebrews states that God testified "of his gifts," but in neither place are we told how God rendered this testimony. It may have been by fire from heaven, as on other occasions, or it may not. The mode by which He did it does not signify, the fact that He did it is of the utmost significance. It meant much to Abel, since thereby he "obtained witness that he was righteous," or, in other words, that he was right with God. It means much to us also, since in just the same way do we get evidence of our own justification. God did not testify to Abel or to the excellence of his character, but He did testify to the excellence of the sacrifice which he brought, and on the ground of which his approach was based. The moment that Abel knew that his sacrifice was accepted, he knew that he was accepted, since he stood or fell by the offering that he brought. His sacrifice being accepted, he knew that he was right with God. Our assurance of being right with God, if it is to be solid and lasting. must be based upon the fact that our approach to God is on the ground of the sacrifice of Christ, and that His sacrifice, made once for all upon the cross, has been accepted by God. How did God testify His acceptance of the atoning sacrifice of Christ? We can answer this question, thank God! without any element of uncertainty. We do not know exactly how God testified His acceptance of Abel’s sacrifice, but we know without any doubt how He testified as to the sacrifice of Christ. Verses 12-14, of the previous chapter have told us that Christ "having offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down in perpetuity at the right hand of God . . . for by one offering He has perfected in perpetuity the sanctified" (Darby’s New Trans.). His resurrection and session at the right hand of God is the Divine testimony to the supreme worth of His sacrifice. God’s testimony to His acceptance of the offering is evidence to the offerer that he is righteous. This is what Hebrews 11:4 states in regard to Abel. The same thing exactly is true in regard to us. As the believer fixes the eye of faith on Jesus seated at the right hand of God, he has all the evidence he needs as to his complete justification before God. We cannot be too clear on this point. If we attempt to obtain evidence of being righteous in any other direction, focusing our attention upon our feelings, our experiences, or even our faith, we are bound to be landed into uncertainty. God bears no witness to any of these things, for none of them is perfect, and so any witness that may be borne as to them must be human at best. God’s witness is borne to the perfect sacrifice of Christ. Perfect certainty is found in God’s witness, and here we can safely rest. Abel offered his more excellent sacrifice by faith. He brought the right kind of offering, but he did not do this by good fortune or a happy inspiration, but by faith. Now it was just this that Cain lacked. In desiring to draw near to God, he may have meant very well, but he had no understanding of God’s way and his darkened mind led him to stumble along a way of his own. But, if Abel had faith, we may ask, in what did his faith rest? Faith simply takes God at His word, simply receives the light of the Divine revelation. Now where was the word or revelation that could be laid hold of by Abel’s faith? The only revelation which is disclosed to us in the Scriptures is that provided by God’s action on the day sin entered Eden, when He clothed Adam and Eve in coats made from skins. These coats must have involved death falling upon the animals whose skins were taken for this purpose. So on the very day that sin entered the Garden, death entered too; only it was not the death of the man and woman who had sinned, but rather the death of innocent victims, whereby was provided the covering needed by the sinners. This action of the Lord God was deeply significant. It was one of those occasions when actions did indeed speak more loudly than words. God presented His mind in a pictorial way. There was something very suitable in this since the human race was at that moment in its infancy. We all know that to human individuals in infancy a picture conveys much more than a multitude of words. God set forth His way of covering guilty sinners, so that they might be able to abide His presence, in this pictorial way, and Abel had the faith to grasp and understand the Divine way. It is only by faith that we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God; and only by faith did Abel understand the right way of approach to God, or do we understand it today. Again and again we witness the sad spectacle of the wise and prudent of this world fumbling in complete darkness where the way to God is in question, and quite unconscious of the darkness they are in. They have first-class intellects and even prodigious learning, but no faith. Though in point of order we have dwelt upon faith last, it comes first in Hebrews 11:4, since there everything begins on our side. On God’s side the sacrifice of supreme and eternal value stands first: first in His mind, and first historically, if we think of ourselves, antedating our very existence by many centuries. Still on our side faith rightly stands in the first place, and there we begin, and then the other items fall into their places. The order of our verse is this: — faith, sacrifice, witness, righteousness, speaking. Does not this order suit us exactly? Our faith being centred in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, we find in His resurrection and exaltation God’s witness to its supreme sufficiency, and thus the peace! giving knowledge of righteousness takes possession of our hearts. Then, and not till then, can we open our lips in testimony, and speak that which we have discovered for ourselves. Abel’s blood spoke, and cried for vengeance. The blood of Christ speaks better things than that of Abel. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 47: 046 "A PEOPLE PREPARED FOR THE LORD." ======================================================================== "A people prepared for the Lord." F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 15, 1923, page 255, also Vol. 39, 1956-8, page 1.) The prepared people were very few numerically, and from a social and worldly standpoint were very insignificant, yet when the Lord Jesus Christ appeared in the humiliation which characterized His first advent they were there to greet Him. It was particularly the office of John the Baptist to make ready that prepared people (Luke 1:17). He was the chosen instrument of the Spirit of God, and by his preaching and the baptism of repentance things were brought to a climax, and godly souls marked by repentance and faith were manifested, just as also by his baptism the Messiah Himself was made manifest to Israel. Still, the process of preparation had been going on for long. The opening chapters of Luke give us a very attractive picture of some of these godly souls who had been prepared of God at a date nearly thirty years before John’s preaching. The book of Malachi gives us a glimpse at a similar generation of faithful saints some three or four hundred years previously. The Lord Jesus evidently appeared at an hour when the world was seething with unrest and when a general expectancy of some great event swayed the hearts of men. Scripture bears witness to this feature amongst the people of Israel (see Luke 3:15). Secular history seems to indicate a corresponding condition in the heathen world. This latter is easily explained. The devil, though not omniscient, is very farsighted and is a close observer of the Divine Word and of the hearts and ways of men. He knew when Messiah was to appear according to Daniel 9:26, even though saints neglected the sacred writings, and remained as a result in ignorance. He consequently agitated the minds of men, raising up false prophets and false "Christs" so as effectually to becloud the issue and confuse the inquiring mind. Moreover, he too had evidently been steadily working for centuries amongst the returned remnant of the chosen people, producing among them just that attitude of mind and that moral atmosphere that made the rejection of the Messiah when He appeared an absolute certainty. Just as there had been a work progressing in preparation for Christ, so had there been a work of preparation for Barabbas. Now history has a remarkable way of repeating itself. This is not surprising when we remember that in all ages and under all circumstances man is just man, and God Himself immutably the same. Hence men are continually doing the same things and God is continually acting towards them according to the principles of His holy and righteous government; the consequence being the repetition which is so frequently noticed. In keeping with this we find indications in the New Testament that there is a similar work of preparation in progress for the now near-approaching second advent. The same two currents are running swiftly in the course of present history. We do not for the moment pursue this side of the subject, and only mention it in order that with greater interest we may follow the course of the two totally opposed currents as they flowed before the first advent, and be better able to appreciate the light which it all sheds upon the path of the saint to-day. Let us then first turn our thoughts to Malachi, whose prophecies were uttered more than a century after the return of a remnant of the captivity to the land of their fathers under Zerubbabel, Nehemiah and Ezra. During these many years there had gradually supervened amongst them a haughty and self-satisfied spirit. They did not now drift off into idolatry as their fathers had done, but the devil darkened their thoughts by pride so that they were content to pursue the round of outward religious observances whilst their hearts were far from God. And not only this, but when the Lord remonstrated with them through the prophet and laid their sins at their door, they simply met such remonstrance with petulant and impertinent inquiries as to when they had ever been guilty of the sins alleged. They were utterly intolerant of criticism, and not prepared for one moment to admit that anything at all was amiss with them! Note the following excerpts:- "I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast Thou loved us?" (Malachi 1:2). "You, O priests, that despise My Name, and ye that say, Wherein have we despised Thy Name?" (Malachi 1:6). "Ye offer polluted bread upon Mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted Thee?" (Malachi 1:7). "And this have ye done again . . . insomuch that He regardeth not the offering any more . . . Yet ye say, Wherefore?" (Malachi 2:13, 14). "Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied Him?" (Malachi 2:17). "Return unto Me . . . saith the Lord of Hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?" (Malachi 3:7). "Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee?" (Malachi 3:8). "Your words have been stout against Me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against Thee?" (Malachi 3:13). These extracts show that already the mass of the people were developing the frame of mind so strikingly described by the Lord Jesus as being like the children of the market places who say, " We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented" (Matthew 11:17). When the Lord declared His love for them, instead of rejoicing, they merely asked wherein He had loved them, inferring thereby that they did not accept His assurance, since they considered His dealings harsh and that they themselves were but victims — injured innocents, in fact. When He plainly laid their sins before them, instead of repenting they simply declined to admit that any such sins existed with them. Moreover, in all the profanation of the things of God which marked those days, the priests were the ringleaders (Malachi 2:1-10). Instead of leading the people to God, they "departed out of the way" themselves; they "caused many to stumble at the law," they "corrupted the covenant of Levi." Consequently no one would open the temple doors unless he made some profit by so doing, and the people were infected by the same spirit, and if they contemplated bringing an offering, they carefully looked over their flocks so as to bring to the Lord the most miserable specimen they could find! And all the while they considered themselves in the pride of their hearts as being quite above criticism, and the weight of public opinion was altogether in their favour, for, said the prophet, "Now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up." (Malachi 3:15). Thus rolled on the current of religious iniquity that was to terminate in the cry, "Away with this Man, and release unto us Barabbas." Another current, however, had begun to run its course, gaining its impulse from the Spirit of God. It appears to have been largely beneath the surface, and hence much less conspicuous, and to have had an appearance of but little strength, still it was there. "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another" (Malachi 3:16). There began to be manifested a true remnant of God-fearing souls within the remnant of the nation that had returned from captivity. Three things characterized these godly souls of Malachi’s day:- 1. They "thought upon" Jehovah’s Name (Malachi 3:16). A person’s "name" sets forth what he is, it expresses also his reputation. These God-fearing folk cared for Jehovah’s reputation. They cared for what He was, and judged of things consequently not by the way those things affected themselves personally, but by the way they affected Jehovah’s name and interests. In short, they reversed the popular order and set Jehovah’s interests in the first place. 2. They "served" God (Malachi 3:18). Their thoughts of Jehovah’s Name found practical expression in service. They were not mere thinkers. This is a great point, for it is quite possible for the true saint whose mind is in the right direction to fall short of what is practical. To think without serving is nearly as bad and ineffectual as to serve without thinking. 3. They "spake often one to another" (Malachi 3:16). Speech as well as thoughts and actions came under Divine control. The heart being full, the mouth spoke, and intercourse and fellowship together in the things of God were enjoyed. All this was pleasing and acceptable to God. Thus far does Malachi carry us. The two currents are plainly discernible. The second current terminated in the great confession of Peter, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." We leave Malachi and come to New Testament times, only to meet with the two currents again. The early chapters of Matthew resume the history of the first: the early chapters of Luke that of the second. In Matthew 2:1-23 the scenes are cast largely among the grandees of the day. We move in thought amongst venerable priests and scribes of the Sanhedrim, and in the court circles of the godless Herod. What do we find? We find a state of things, which, had not Malachi’s prophecy prepared us, we should have deemed well-nigh incredible. The Messiah, the long-expected Deliverer is born, and Jerusalem knows nothing of it! The months roll by and still not the faintest inkling of the great event has reached the religious or civil authorities! Presently, wise men from the East, semi-pagans in all probability, arrive in Jerusalem with the tidings, and proceed to instruct the men who were supposed to be the link between God and the people. Malachi had said, "The priest’s lips should keep knowledge . . . for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts" (Malachi 2:7). Here, however, the priests had no knowledge to keep. Semi-pagans got the glad tidings of great joy before them and became the instructors of priestly ignorance. So long a time had elapsed between the Nativity and the news reaching the authorities, that Herod had to fix two years as the limit in his vain attempt to ensure that the Messiah should be slain. Thus did God pour contempt on all the priestly pride which Malachi had reproved. And this is not all. Consider the effect of the news when it came to hand. "When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." That Herod should have been troubled is not surprising; he was an alien on the throne. But the leaders of the veritable people of God and the people themselves were troubled also. Instead of hailing His advent with great joy, they were filled with consternation. It seemed to them an intrusion, a disturbing factor in all their schemes. They were not prepared for God to thrust Himself into the midst of their concerns. The current of Satanic preparation for His coming had greatly increased in volume. If the cry of "Not this Man but Barabbas" appeared a probability in the light of Malachi’s indictment, it is now a certainty, and inevitable. We turn to the first and second chapters of Luke, and what a contrast we find ! Far from the ignoble strife of the madding crowd of Pharisaic and Sadducean religionists or the vicious courtesans of Herod and his court, were at least a few saints better known in heaven than on earth. Zacharias and Elisabeth, Mary and Joseph, Simeon and Anna, the nameless shepherds caring for the flocks by night, were representatives of a larger number. How strongly that other current beneath the surface is flowing! Here is a people in touch with heaven! "An angel of the Lord appears to this one. Gabriel visits another. On a third occasion the angel of the Lord with a multitude of the heavenly host comes into evidence. By a few the advent of the Messiah was known before ever He same. His approaching birth formed the theme of conversation between holy women. When the great event was an accomplished fact, hardly an hour passed before the God-fearing shepherds were apprised of the fact. They needed no wise men from the East to inform them that the King of the Jews was born. In this people we see the three characteristics mentioned by Malachi. They thought upon Jehovah’s Name, as evidenced in the inspired utterances of Mary and Zacharias. They served God and spake often one to another, as illustrated by Anna who "served God with fastings and prayers night and day," and who, having actually seen the child Jesus in the temple, "spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." The characteristics are not only there but intensified, indeed things come to light which surpass anything mentioned in Malachi, for in Simeon the Holy Spirit was working with singular energy. Though as yet the Spirit could not indwell, yet He was upon him. Through the Spirit he had a revelation, and by the Spirit he was guided into the temple at the exact moment to meet the child Jesus. As a consequence Simeon was a prophet. His words to Mary, the mother of our Lord, show that he foresaw the rejection and death of the Messiah, and they breathe a remarkable spirit of devotion and love. Here was this aged saint who had spent a long life "waiting for the consolation of Israel," and now just before his eyes must close in death he is permitted to see as an infant the One who is the fulfilment of his hopes. The actual day of Messiah’s manifestation to Israel he can never hope to see. Might he not very naturally have bewailed his hard lot in having to die just as the fulfilment of his hopes was in sight? Yet as a matter of fact he simply said, "Lord, now lettest Thou thy servant depart in peace." Not only did he foresee the approaching tragedy of the Cross, but his heart’s love centred in the Christ of God. If the Christ is to go, he is content to go. He has no wish to live if Jesus is to die! Behold then a people prepared for the Lord morally: it remained for John the Baptist to baptise with the baptism of repentance and thus prepare them positionally. Just as in Matthew 2:1-23 we see Malachi’s picture of the people reproduced in an accentuated form, so here is Malachi’s picture of the remnant in an accentuated form, and they received the Christ with great joy. Simeon stands before us as a watcher for Christ; Anna as a witness to Christ. They were ready. It is a thrilling story. How deep the interest, whether joyous or painful, according as we look on this side or on that! Yet our situation today is no less thrilling did we but know it. It is easy, however, to discourse upon what has been, or even upon what is yet to be, and alas! so difficult to realize and correctly estimate the situation that is. We draw near to the close of the church’s history. The coming of the Lord is nigh. The rolling tide of religious iniquity that is to terminate in apostasy, yearly grows in volume. More and more bold and blasphemous become the denials and negations of men who pose as religious leaders. More and more reckless and God-forgetting become the poor men and women of the world. And the saints? What of the saints of God? Is there a corresponding movement among them? Let us narrow down this question to ourselves individually. If we do, it will certainly send us to our knees in the presence of God. The second coming is near. The two currents of which we have spoken are again plainly visible. Ask, Which of them bears me on its bosom? Am I amongst the watchers and the witnesses? Do I stand with loins girt and ready for the Lord? ======================================================================== CHAPTER 48: 047 "A PLACE FOR THE LORD." ======================================================================== "A place for the Lord." F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 36, 1948-50, page 1.) At first sight it has been to many a matter of surprise that the Lord should speak of David as "a man after Mine own heart," seeing he sinned so grievously, and gave such occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. Yet, on the other hand, the Scriptures do show that he was characterized by many excellent features, of which one of the most striking comes to light in the early part of Psalms 132:1-18, where we are given a glimpse of him in his earliest days. Many a youth, possessing a strong character, vows that when fairly launched in life he will do this or that, in order to secure wealth or fame, and so establish for himself a secure place in the world. As a youth David made a vow, but it was to "find out a place for the Lord," and not a place for himself. In this he was in strongest contrast to his predecessor, who was made to "sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden" by Samuel, when the Lord had told him that Saul was to be king. That chiefest place Saul clung to, and for it he fought with bitterness. Saul’s motto was "A place for myself." David’s was, "A place for the Lord." "Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah" (verse 6), and Ephratah was the ancient name of Bethlehem, and David’s birthplace. But what was the "it"? Clearly, the ark, which is mentioned in verse 8; for verse 6 adds, "we found it in the fields of the wood;" for thus he describes Kirjath-Jearim, whence ultimately he did bring up the ark to Jerusalem. This Psalm therefore reveals to us that David, knowing that the ark which was God’s throne in Israel, had been lost to the Philistines, and though recovered had never been properly reinstated, vowed in his earliest days that he would give himself no rest until he found that place for the Lord, where the ark of His presence might rest. Now that is the kind of man that suits the heart of God, and not the man that is merely seeking a good place for himself. Shall we test our own hearts and live in the light of this as another year opens before us? We shall find it spiritually healthy to do so. The earth was never more full of place-hunters than it is today — nations, classes, individuals are all in the furious competition. Moreover, there are not a few who have considerable ground for their place-seeking, for they belong to the unhappy category of "displaced persons," for whom we may all feel the sincerest sympathy. The fact is that in the present epoch everything is out of place, as far as the earth is concerned. Christ is not yet in the place which is rightly His, reigning as King of Israel, and over the whole earth as Son of Man. The church is not in the place of her destiny — the heavenly places — but still in the place of her pilgrimage. Israel is not in the land where her place is. The Gentile nations are not in the places which God has assigned them as subsidiary to Israel. Nothing will be in its place until the Lord gets His place. We may well cry "Come, Lord Jesus!" But we do well to remember that while we wait for Him there is a way in which we may give Him His place, for has He not said, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them", (Matthew 18:20). When He comes there will be "our gathering together unto Him" (2 Thessalonians 2:1); but while we wait we may gather together in His Name, to the exclusion of all other names; owning His authority, and recognizing His presence in the midst. In doing this, we shall in a spiritual way be happily finding "a place for the Lord." Having so done we must carefully see that He has His rightful place in all our thoughts, our heart’s affections, our service, our lives. This will be pleasing to Him, and to the Father from whom once He came. The men of the world will look upon us as fools. They will tell us that if we do not bend all our energies to establishing our place in the world no one is going to do it for us, and we shall lose our footing. We quite understand their thinking and speaking thus. How foolish the disciples must have looked as the Lord drew to the end of His earthly path. They had given up all — fishing boats, the table for the receipt of custom, and other things — to follow Him. They had lost their footing in Palestine, and now what was before them! Their Messiah was going to die! Amongst His closing words, however, were these: "Let not your heart be troubled . . . I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:1, 2). And the place He prepares and guarantees is infinitely preferable to any place any of them lost. And we can say the same. Let us then step forward with good courage. The place He has prepared for us is sure and excellent beyond words. Be it ours to catch a little more fully the spirit of David, and, while we wait for His Advent, neither to seek our ease nor to slumber, but rather to seek our Lord’s interests and be concerned to find a place for Him. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 49: 048 "A VERY SMALL THING." ======================================================================== "A very small thing." F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 14, 1922, page 85.) The life of the Apostle Paul contained many remarkable happenings. Again and again moments of crisis and exercise had to be faced by him, so much so that, considering his life as revealed in his own Epistles, and in the Acts of the Apostles one might be tempted to think that from start to finish it was one succession of great things. Such an impression, however, would be hardly correct. In 1 Corinthians 4:1-21, we have him face to face with a peculiarly trying difficulty that seems to have dogged his footsteps through the whole period of his apostolic service: yet he dismisses it as "a very small thing." The difficulty itself was one that many of the Lord’s servants have to face to-day, and almost invariably we are tempted to treat it as a very great thing; for naturally there is hardly anything that touches us to the quick more easily than criticism, and hardly anything that we cling to more tenaciously than our reputations. The position at Corinth was a grave one when the first Epistle was written. Amongst other evils partisanship ran high, and criticism of the Apostle himself and other servants of Christ was rampant. The leaders of the parties in the assembly there were apparently local men, or Judaising teachers from outside, since 1 Corinthians 4:6 would indicate that in using his own name, and that of Apollos. Paul was transferring to themselves what really belonged to others. With true Christian delicacy he thus avoided actually naming the men who were becoming the leaders of the different schools in that assembly, and he desired the Corinthians, as he says, to "learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another." And then just as they flattered the local gifts and held inflated or "puffed up" views as to their relative importance, so they looked down upon a gift from elsewhere with the disposition to criticise it, and even to flout apostolic authority. These things were indeed grave enough as regards their effect upon the Corinthian assembly; yet when the Apostle considered their criticism and judgment of himself he dismissed it as "a very small thing" (verse 3). Let us briefly examine the passage, with the prayerful desire that thereby we, too, may be helped to more largely share the holy elevation of the Apostle’s spirit. Verse 1 sets forth the true character of the apostles and their fellow-workers. They were not "men of renown" in an intellectual sphere, who would surround themselves with admiring auditors and followers. Their word was rather "Let no man glory in men" (1 Corinthians 3:21), and as to themselves they were but "ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God." The word here translated "ministers" is the one which means an official servant, one with authority derived from a master. Verse 2 emphasises the great qualification necessary in a steward. He must be faithful to the one from whom his place and authority are derived. His supreme achievement is to please his master and serve his interests, regardless of whether or not he pleases others in so doing. In verse 3 the Apostle, who was indeed a faithful steward of God’s mysteries, boldly faces his critics. "With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of man’s judgment" — or as it literally is, "of man’s day" as noted in the margin. In 1 Corinthians 3:13 he had told us that "every man’s work shall be made; manifest: for the day shall declare it." Here we have THE DAY when God’s opinion shall be heard. This is MAN’S DAY when men insist upon making their opinion heard, and it is wholly unfavourable to the Apostle and all like-minded with him. The opinion of "man’s day" was a very small thing with Paul. He uses emphatic terms. The New Translation renders it, "It is the very smallest matter." But was it not more serious that the Apostle should be judged of the Corinthians also? The New Translation renders the word "judged" by "examined," with a footnote to the effect that the Greek word "does not signify ’judgment’ but the preliminary examination, at which the accused has to answer and give an account of himself." Then, should not a saint, even an Apostle, be deeply concerned if thus examined by his fellow-believers? "But for me it is the very smallest matter that I be examined of you" (N.T.) — "of YOU": who were these? Well, sad to say, they were saints to whom it had to be said. "I . . . could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal" (1 Corinthians 3:1). They were carnal believers, and the judgment and criticism of a carnal believer approximates far too closely to that of "man’s day" to be of any real worth. It all left the Apostle quite unmoved in his own judgment. As the succeeding verses show, he was not even ruffled in his spirit by it. Not a trace of annoyance marks his words. Before going on to the succeeding verses, we digress for a moment to refer to a counterbalancing consideration. Let no one deduce from what we have just referred to that any servant of Christ, however instructed or devoted, is to consider himself above all criticism, and refuse in any way to listen to remonstrance. The very opposite. The opinion of a carnal, worldly-minded believer is evidently of little or no value, but that of a godly and matured believer may well be highly esteemed. In Galatians 2:2, the Apostle Paul himself furnishes us with an example of this. He was the Apostle to the Gentiles, and received his Gospel and: instructions how to preach it by direct revelation from the Lord: yet he was not above conferring privately with those who were reputed spiritual men in Jerusalem, lest, as he says, "by any means I should run, or had run in vain." Evidently, therefore, the servant of Christ does well when in humility of mind he considers others as better than himself, takes counsel of them, carefully considers their spiritual judgment, or even listens to and weighs their criticisms. Yet even so he must not in the last resort be guided by their opinions but by the Word of God. The passage, Acts 21:18-30, furnishes us with a warning as to this. Resuming our chapter we find in verse 4 the secret of the Apostle’s superiority to mere human judgment. He tells us at the end of verse 3 that he was not even occupied in judging or examining himself. He did not mean us to understand by this that he was not concerned to walk in self-judgment, but rather that he made no attempt even in his own mind to examine and appraise his own life and conduct. The fact was that he could say, "I am conscious of nothing in myself" — as the opening of verse 4 more correctly reads — "Yet am I not hereby justified; but He that judgeth me is the Lord." Here we find the great fact that lifted Paul far above the fear of human opinion. He walked so habitually in the light of the judgment seat of Christ that no other judgment seat had any terrors for him. This passage, then, speaks of judgment in a fourfold way. 1. The judgment of "man’s day," i.e., of the popular opinion of the world. 2. The judgment of saints who are in a carnal condition, which is of not much more weight than that of man’s day. 3. The judgment which a servant of God may form of himself. This is by no means infallible, though he who forms it may most earnestly endeavour to assume a detached and impartial frame of mind when conducting the investigation, and be conscious of nothing in himself contrary to the Master whom he serves. The fact that he is not conscious of anything wrong does not prove that he is right. 4. The judgment of the Lord Himself. Here we reach perfection and finality. Verse 5 of our chapter opens with a word of instruction in view of these things: "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come." When tempted to express strong opinions in regard to each other, or to lay down the law with emphasis in regard to things concerning other people’s lives and service which are not a matter of revelation but rather of spiritual judgment, let us remember that in doing so we are "before the time." "The time" will be when the Lord comes, for when He comes He "both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart." How searching are these words! There are hidden things of darkness on the one hand; and if we now undertake to sit on the judgment seat we pronounce our opinion without knowing all the facts of the case and with no power to enforce their production. There are, on the other hand, the counsels of heart — the counsels of the inmost heart of him whom we are inclined to criticise, those secret springs and motives which we cannot see, AND — never let it be forgotten — the secret springs and motives of our own hearts: of him who is the criticiser in the case. When the time comes, a proper investigation into the life and service of every saint will be conducted. The Lord will conduct it, and in His presence every hidden thing and counsel will come to light. Judgment when it is pronounced will be arrived at in the light of every factor which bears upon the case, "and then," says the closing line of verse 5, "shall every man have praise of God"; or as the New Translation renders it, "and then shall each have [his] praise from God": the thought being, not that every man shall somehow or other be praised in that day; but that each who is awarded praise at all will get his praise from GOD. The Corinthians undertook to criticize Paul and censure him. Conversely they approved other leaders and lavished praise upon those that they favoured as the centres of their schools of opinion. Such party circles would soon become small mutual admiration societies as they still do to-day. How pitifully small the whole thing was, and is! Carnal believers belauding to the skies other believers, possibly more carnal than themselves! The Apostle sets before us "the day." He speaks of "the time" coming, with the Lord on the judgment seat; of His presence before whom nothing is hid; and of "praise from God" as being the only praise that is worth while. And do not our hearts say "Amen" to this? Two very important principles that are most wholesome in their practical workings stand out clearly in all this:- 1. They who are tempted to criticise and censure must remember that they do not know all the factors of the case, nor the motives of hearts — certainly not in the heart of him whom they criticise, and but imperfectly in their own hearts — hence it is wiser to offer counsel than to pronounce judgment. 2. He who is criticised may be conscious of no wrong thing in himself or in his ways; yet he must remember that this is no infallible criterion of the justness of his course. The Lord will judge him in that day; and meanwhile let him cultivate a spirit of humility in the presence of others. Lastly, let it be again emphasised that what we have been saying above does not apply to matters in regard to which we have God’s will revealed in the Scriptures, but only to matters which are left to the exercise and spiritual judgment of the individual saint or servant of God. In regard to all that Scripture says we have nothing to do but to OBEY. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 50: 049 "A WORM" YET "JEHOVAH OF HOSTS." ======================================================================== "A worm" yet "Jehovah of Hosts." F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 27, 1935, page 104.) A series of great and wonderful contrasts is found in Psalms 22:1-31; Psalms 23:1-6 and 24. Psalms 22:1-31 divides very naturally into two parts, so that we have four sections in all; and the main contrast lies between the first part of Psalms 22:1-31, where the sufferings of Christ are prophetically set forth, and the remaining three parts, which furnish us with glimpses of glorious results which follow. One of the striking contrasts we have chosen as our title. The One, who speaks of Himself as a worm in the early part of Psalms 22:1-31, is discovered to be the Lord of hosts when we arrive at the end of Psalms 24:1-10. The first part of Psalms 22:1-31 ends in the midst of verse 21. The colon which occurs there in our Authorized Version is supplanted by a full stop in Darby’s New Translation, which renders it thus:- "Save me from the lion’s mouth. Yea; from the horns of the buffaloes hast thou answered me." The first sentence of the verse is thus the last cry of the suffering Messiah. The second sentence is His first utterance of triumph as He comes forth in resurrection to declare Jehovah’s Name unto His brethren. In the first place, then, we have an amazing prophetic forecast of the atoning sufferings of Christ, when as the single grain of wheat He fell into the ground and died. Then we discover how great a harvest is to be reaped from that sowing. The latter part of Psalms 22:1-31 shows that Jehovah is to reap a satisfying harvest of praise and worship. The prophetic forecast of the sufferings of the cross is given with great fulness, only equalled by Isaiah 53:1-12. We need not pause to points out how minutely all was fulfilled, as recorded in the four Gospels; and others have dwelt upon the marvel that all the physical horrors of death by crucifixion should be accurately described, centuries before that dreadful form of capital punishment had been invented. We will briefly trace the varied sufferings which combined in that dread hour. May we do so with reverent and adoring hearts. He had to explore vast fields of suffering which came upon Him as the result of the activities of fallen men and of that malignant spirit of evil by whom men fell. Verses 6 to 8 present most graphically the reproach of men which came upon Him. This was we judge the least part of His sufferings, for Hebrews 12:1-29 tells us that He "endured the cross, despising the shame." Nothing cuts us more to the quick than reproach and shame amongst our fellows. But that is just because they are our fellows. He was infinitely above those who shamed Him. Both in His Deity, and in His spotless and incomparable Humanity He towered above them so that the taunts they flung were as nothing to Him. Yet on the other hand He keenly felt it all, for He had a keenness of sensibility of which we know nothing. He despised the shame, yet He felt it according to God. Then in verses 12 and 13 we have the persecution of the Jews. The leaders of that people attacked Him with the strength and ferocity of bulls. The militant Pharisees were like strong bulls of Bashan, and, inasmuch as they were the special agents of Satan in the matter, they partook of his character. He bears the character of "a roaring lion." Verses 14 and 15 portray His bodily sufferings. In these of course He was not unique. The two thieves crucified on either side must have shared them, as indeed all others who at any time have been executed in this terrible way. What was unique was His power of feeling, for in Him no sensibility had been blunted by sin; all was tuned to the highest pitch of perfection. And all ended in "the dust of death." The power of death is terrible indeed to us, it was far more so to Him, for He knew it right well as the original judgment of God imposed on man because of sin. As such He entered into it. He was brought there by God. Then also there was the cruelty of the Gentiles, pictured in verses 16 to 18. It was the Roman soldiers who fulfilled these three verses. They were not marked by the ferocity of the bull, for they had no particular animus against the Lord; but there was an utter lack of decency and feeling. They were like the unclean dog, an assembly of evil-doers. All this He keenly felt. And behind all this, behind the sword and the dog, lay the power of Satan. It is the devil who wields the power of death, according to Hebrews 2:14; and so in going into death He was going into the very mouth of the lion. He came thus to grips with the devil in the very stronghold of his power. At this point we reach the end of the section which predicts His sufferings. But in this brief survey of the sufferings we have thus far omitted that which is immeasurably first and chief of them all — that which is indeed the main theme of the passage. There were these minor ingredients in the cup of His sufferings, but the major ingredient was this — He was forsaken of God. The atonement that He made lay in this, that He bore the judgment of God against sin, even unto death. As bearing sin He was forsaken of God who is holy, and who yet is to inhabit the praises of Israel, and of many others besides. This forsaking is, as we have said, the main theme. It fills the opening verses, and then the holy Sufferer recalls the way in which the fathers had been supported and delivered in their hours of need, which makes it all the more striking that He should be forsaken at this supreme moment. Then, in verse 11, it is again reverted to. He had been the dependent One from the very outset, never deviating from that attitude, so more than all He had the title to Divine support, all others having forsaken Him. This was the hour of trouble when most He needed the sunshine of the face of God. Then follow verses 12 to 18, in which, as we have seen, the persecution of the Jews, His bodily sufferings, the power of death, the cruelty of the Gentiles, are all recounted. They are urged in verse 19 as furnishing potent reasons why He should enjoy the sustaining presence of God; so that again the fact of His being forsaken is reverted to. When this is observed it at once becomes apparent that the fact of His being forsaken is the main theme. His other sufferings, great as they were, are only mentioned in order that the supreme sorrow of His being forsaken of God may be apprehended by us. The other sufferings, the reproach and persecution from both Jew and Gentile, even the power of Satan, were incidental. What was essential to His greet work of atonement was the fact that as made sin upon the cross He was forsaken of God, He died as the Victim. As our Psalm puts it, "THOU hast brought Me into the dust of death" — it is not viewed as the work of evil men. Isaiah 53:1-12 says, "THOU shalt make His soul an offering for sin." In both cases the act is an act of God. Men played their evil part, but the great transaction really lay between Him and God. The sin of man created the necessity. The sin of both Jew and Gentile furnished the occasion. But the work itself was wholly divine. The Father had sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world, and the work lay wholly between the Sent One and Him who sent Him. We may well rejoice that this is so. It guarantees at once and for ever all that then was accomplished. The grain of wheat having been sown, having fallen into the ground and died, the glorious harvest that is to be reaped, begins to appear. First comes the "much fruit" that is to appear for the pleasure of God Himself. Praise and worship is His rightful due, whether we consider Him as Elohim in creation, or as Jehovah in covenant faithfulness, or as Father revealed to us in the Son. That which is His due He is going to get. In the latter part of Psalms 22:1-31 we find that He who suffered is to become the Master and Leader of the praise. It is true of course that apart from His atoning death there could have been no praise. It is equally true that, His death being accomplished, He came forth in resurrection to declare God’s name, and thus start the praise, and also to take the lead in offering the praise for the word is, "in the midst . . . will I praise Thee," and yet again, "My praise shall be of Thee" (verses 22, 25). So that which was set forth typically in Asaph, Jeduthun, Heman, and "their brethren that were instructed in the songs of the Lord" (1 Chronicles 25:7), is seen antitypically in Christ, and His redeemed. Verse 22 finds its fulfilment today, as Hebrews 2:1-18 indicates. He has declared God’s name as Father to us, and in the midst of the assembly — of those called out for heavenly privilege and destiny — He leads the praise. The first notes of the song that will ultimately swell into the great universal orchestra of praise are struck in the assembly on earth today. It is indeed true that, "On earth the song begins," and the character of that song is very high, for it is in response to the declaration of the Father’s name; though on the other hand it may be very feebly taken up by us, for the assembly on earth is in a condition of weakness. After the assembly is gone from the earth there will still be found among various peoples those who fear the Lord, and more particularly so among the seed of Jacob or of Israel. These in their turn will praise and glorify Him, even amidst the afflictions that will come upon them. The Lord Jesus was pre-eminently the afflicted One, and they will find encouragement in the way in which He had been heard even from death itself. This verse 23 brings before us. Yet again there is to be "the great congregation," when all Israel is saved according to Romans 11:26. When at last He who once scattered Israel has gathered them as a born again people, redeemed, cleansed, re-united; then their great Messiah in His glory shall lead the praise of Jehovah, and incite their praises, as verse 25 indicates. Here is found the beginning of millennial praises, till all that seek the Lord shall praise Him, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship. Not only will all that are blessed and enriched — spoken of as those who are "fat upon earth" — be worshipping at His feet, but those who go down to the dust will have to bow before Him. Here apparently we have an allusion to those who are spoken of as the "sheep" and the "goats" in Matthew 25:31-46. Whichever way it is in that day, whether men are blessed or judged, they will have to acknowledge the Lord and yield glory to Him. Those who are truly "a seed" — the fruit and result of the travail of His soul — will serve Him and be reckoned as the new generation who enter into the enjoyment that God originally promised to His people. The old unbelieving generation (see Matthew 24:34) will then have passed away, and to those yet to be born as the Millennial age runs its course will be told the story of the Saviour’s sufferings, thus provoking further praise. Thus we see the harvest of praise being reaped, beginning in the church of today and extending into the world to come. Psalms 23:1-6 shows very plainly what a harvest of blessing we reap as the result of the death of Christ. He who died as the Victim on our behalf, lives in resurrection as the Shepherd of our souls. In having the living Shepherd we have everything. Not only is the wolf of "want" kept from our door, but we have satisfaction, and restoration, and righteousness, and comfort, and overflowing provision. There are found "goodness" and "mercy" like two faithful watch-dogs following all our steps, while before us stands the house of the Lord as our eternal dwelling-place. Our path is not to be marked by the absence of trouble, as the Psalm plainly shows. On the contrary, there are enemies, there is evil, there is even death, for these are all mentioned. This world becomes to the saint " the valley of the shadow of death." But here lies another striking contrast which we do well to remark. If we want to see death in all its force, death as the weighty judgment of God against sin, we have to turn to the early part of Psalms 22:1-31. Into the dust of DEATH was Jesus brought by God Himself when He stood in our place and bore our sin. Only the shadow of death is left for us. Of this fact we venture to make a twofold application. In the first place this world is for us shadowed by His death. Here He died; and this fact casts its shadow over the whole scene for every loyal heart that loves Him. In the second place, when the saint comes to the hour of dissolution and departure to be with Christ, he finds that he does not properly speaking see death at all. It is but the shadow of death that he has to face. Death itself was long ago faced by Christ on his behalf. Psalms 23:1-6 is so well known, and so much has been said as to it, that we content ourselves with these few remarks; and turn to consider Psalms 24:1-10, which shows us that He who suffered is not forgotten when the results of His death are enumerated. He is to reap a harvest of great glory. When at last the millennial day is reached the earth will be very manifestly the Lord’s and the whole world be in subjection to Him. The hill of the Lord and His holy place will be elevated amongst men, and the question is raised as to who will be fit to ascend the one or to stand in the other. The answer is given in verses 4 and 5. The fitness required is moral fitness. Those holy places are reserved for the holy; those whose hands are clean, whose hearts are pure, who have eschewed all vanity and deceit. The godly, who will enter the millennial age, will be such in a general way. They will be the generation who seek the Lord, the seed who serve Him and are accounted a generation, as we saw in Psalms 22:1-31. But there is One who was all this, not merely in a general way but in an absolute way — intrinsically and perfectly and without any qualification whatever. The Passover lambs and all other lambs used for sacrificial purposes, had to be without blemish. Their perfection qualified them to be so used. In this they were types. The Lord Jesus was the "Lamb without blemish and without spot." Had He not been He could not have suffered sacrificially on our behalf, as portrayed in Psalms 22:1-31. His perfection qualified Him to go down into death for us. It also qualified Him to go up into the hill of the Lord. The last four verses of the Psalm picture Him as ascending into the hill of the Lord, and entering His holy place. The scene is one of millennial splendour, and the holy places as pictured by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 40:1-49 to 48) pass before the prophetic view of the Psalmist. Not infrequently the passage is taken up by way of application rather than interpretation and made to refer to the entrance of our Lord into heavenly glory. This is quite permissible doubtless, for He has been glorified "straightway" in the presence of God, according to His own words in John 13:32. Still the public glory which is yet to come is strictly speaking the point here. It is not enough that He should be glorified in private (as far as this world is concerned); glory of a public sort must also be His. And, more particularly, He must be abundantly glorified in the very scene of His public dishonour. When the gates and doors are lifted up, He shall enter, not only as the One in whom all moral perfection is found, but also as the King of glory. But, "Who is this King of glory?" The question is repeated, and a two-fold answer is given. First, He is, "Jehovah strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in battle." He will come fresh from His victories — those victories foretold in Psalms 2:1-12, when He will have the kings of the earth and the rulers in derision, when He will break the rebellious nations with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. But then He who will ride in triumph to victory then, once suffered and was forsaken that He might win victory of another sort at the cross. So we may make an application of these words, rather than interpretation, and speak of how once By weakness and defeat He won the meed and crown Trod all our foes beneath His feet, By being trodden down. Because He proved Himself strong and mighty in this way He is to enter into His glory. But there is the second answer. He is the Lord of hosts, for others are associated with Him. Revelation 19:14 shows us that, when He shall come forth as a Warrior to judgment, there will be the armies of heaven who follow Him — His heavenly saints who are to wear His likeness and share His triumphs. In them, as in others besides, He will see the fruit of the travail of His soul. We began by remarking that there were many contrasts in these Psalms, taking one of them as our title. We close by pointing out a few more. Once for Him it was all reproach, despising, scorn. Ultimately He is to appear as the King of Glory. Then He appeared as the dependent One, trusting on the Lord, and made to hope upon His mother’s breasts. He shall yet be manifested as the Lord strong and mighty in battle. Then He was forsaken of God, and of men too for He had to say, "There is none to help." He shall then stand forth surrounded by the hosts of His redeemed, and He the Lord of hosts among them. Once He took the outside place of forsaking. Then the King of glory shall come in. God shall be praised. Saints shall be shepherded. Last, but not least, Jesus shall be abundantly covered with glory. May God haste the day when the King of glory shall come in. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 51: 050 ABSOLUTE DOMINION ======================================================================== Absolute Dominion. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 15, 1923, page 188.) The lives of the patriarchs as recorded in Genesis are of great value to us, since they illustrate God’s ways in grace and government with men of like passions to ourselves. Two of them are of much less interest than the others from this point of view, viz., Isaac and Joseph. Yet these are just the two that stand out pre-eminently as types of Christ; and the main object of the Holy Spirit’s record of their history is evidently to give a foreshadowing of Christ in His sufferings and glory rather than to illustrate God’s ways with His people. Isaac is spoken of as the "only son" of Abraham, for Ishmael, the son after the flesh, did not count. Joseph was the beloved son of his father. "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children (Genesis 37:3). The details we have of Isaac’s life are mainly concerned with the events which typify Christ as the chosen Seed, in death and resurrection, and the way in which, as the Risen One, a bride of His own kindred is found for Him. (Genesis 22:1-24 and Genesis 24:1-67). We have much fuller details of Joseph than of Isaac, and all seem designed to show how the One who was cast down and sold by his brethren according to the flesh, and even abased among the Gentiles, is to be exalted to a place of absolute dominion amongst them, and become not only the nourisher of His brethren, but the Saviour of the world. In Genesis 37:1-36 we see Joseph as the rejected one of his brethren. He suffers in passivity. In Genesis 39:1-23 we find him in Egypt and the hour of his activity is come. First of all he is active in the comparatively small and secluded sphere of Potiphar’s house and possessions, and he at once comes before us as a man of skilful and powerful hands, so much so that his master, finding in him a treasure, allowed all that he had to be manipulated by him. The record runs:- "His master saw . . . that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand . . . and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand . . . and he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought that he had, save the bread which he did eat." Joseph was in humiliation and obscurity, yet his abilities could not be hid. The power of his hands was such that everything naturally fell into them and he became the overseer or administrator. Everything in Potiphar’s house took its direction from him. It is not difficult to trace an analogy between this and what marked our Lord Jesus Christ when He appeared in humiliation amongst men. He stepped into our little world with its limitation and obscurity. No sooner did He come forth to serve than His power became manifest. "He could not be hid" (Mark 7:24), and wherever He went He proved Himself the Master of the situation and things simply lapsed into His hand. The Gospels are the record of this, particularly the Gospel of Mark. In the case of Joseph it is emphasised that he was what he was by the blessing of Jehovah (Genesis 39:3; Genesis 5:1-32), and if the blessing of Jehovah was upon Potiphar’s house it was "for Joseph’s sake." So too with the Lord Jesus. He "went about doing good . . . for God was with Him" (Acts 10:38), and the blessing of the Lord was manifested amongst men as never before: healing, deliverance from all kinds of evil, and spiritual life visited them, but it was "for Jesus’ sake." It is noteworthy that though all Joseph’s career was marked by Divine blessing it is at this point, when he was in servitude and obscurity, that it is mentioned, and that not once only but thrice. In the case of the Lord Jesus it was during the time of His lowly service in the restricted sphere of this world, that His mission and work had the appearance of failure. It was just then that He had to say in the words of the prophet, "I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord and my work with my God" (Isaiah 49:4). But Jehovah had just said, "Thou art My servant . . . in whom I will be glorified." The career of Joseph in Potiphar’s house, in spite of the blessing that attended it and the physical perfection that marked him — it says, "And Joseph was of a beautiful form and of a beautiful countenance" (Genesis 39:6, N. Tr.) — was suddenly cut short, and as the victim of false accusation he was thrust into prison. The end of Genesis 39:1-23 tells us of the result of this apparently disastrous reverse. "The Lord was with Joseph . . . and the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison: and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it." Joseph was simply irresistible! Placed in servitude he became the factotum in the house of his master. Cast down into prison, his feet "hurt with fetters" since he was "laid in iron" (Psalms 105:18), once more all things fall into his hands. The enchained prisoner becomes the ruler of the prison. The official keeper of the prison found in him such a treasure that he gave him full powers and "looked not to anything that was under his hand: because the Lord was with him, and that which he did the Lord made it to prosper." From Joseph we turn to the One whom he prefigured, and surely our hearts are moved to worship. Our Lord Jesus Christ, too, had His career of service cut short. As a victim of false accusation He entered into the prison house of death and to all appearance its shackles were made fast upon Him. Yet He only entered into death and the grave to prove Himself once more the Master of the situation. Instead of being enslaved by them, He subdued them to Himself. The keys of death and hades passed into His hands. He led captivity captive, though this was not manifested until He ascended on high. We may truly say that whatsoever was done in that gloomy domain, "He was the doer of it"! not a soul there but has passed into His hands. "For to this end Christ . . . died . . . that He might be Lord . . . of the dead." (Romans 14:9). He has proved His power in the lowest and darkest place. Reverting again to Joseph we learn how God in His own time publicly vindicated him. His powers could not be permanently hid, and in the hour when Egypt’s potentate and wise men were alike troubled, and baffled, and helpless, he proved himself to be to Pharaoh both wisdom and power. He knew what was impending; he knew what to do, and he was the man to do it. That which had been true of him in his obscurity, and even in his abasement, was now true of him in his exaltation. Everything in Egypt’s wide dominions lapsed into his hands, "and Pharaoh said unto Joseph, see, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt, and Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and PUT IT UPON JOSEPH’S HAND" (Genesis 41:41-42). Joseph had now reached the zenith of his glory. According to his word all Egypt was ruled, and to him every knee had to bow. Pharaoh "made him Lord of his house, and ruler of all his substance; to bind his princes at his pleasure; and to teach his senators wisdom" (Psalms 105:21-22). His dominion thus was absolute, subject only to the king in his throne, and upon his hand there reposed the signet ring of authority and it became true again that "whatsoever they did there he was the doer of it." Wielding the executive power of the kingdom he subdued all things in the realm to Pharaoh, as Genesis 47:13-26 shows. How strikingly all this foreshadows the coming glory of Christ. Risen and ascended He is already glorified at the right hand of the Majesty on high, but that is a private thing, unknown by the world. The hour of His public glory approaches when He will come forth to this world as the great Administrator on God’s behalf. All judgment will be committed to him; He will, as it were, hold the signet ring upon His hand, and not one executive act will take place without Him; the result of all being the subjugation of all things to Himself, so that ultimately God may be all in all. Then shall be fulfilled that other word in Isaiah 49:1-26, "Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to Him whom man despiseth, to Him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and He shall choose Thee." Though the day of Christ’s glory seems to tarry, we wait for it with confidence. It is the determinate counsel of God. Joseph’s advancement and glory seemed to tarry long. All seemed failure and gloom, "Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him" (Psalms 105:19), then at one mighty bound he leapt from the prison to the throne. His mighty hands at last wielded the sceptre. All was of God for, as his father Jacob said in his prophetic blessing of his sons, "His bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands WERE MADE STRONG BY THE HANDS OF THE MIGHTY GOD OF JACOB" (Genesis 49:24). We wait for Christ with a double assurance inasmuch as we are cognizant of His present glory in private at the Father’s right hand. As we wait we can rejoice. "Sing His blest triumphant rising, Sing Him on the Father’s throne Sing, till heaven and earth surprising Reigns the Nazarene alone!" ======================================================================== CHAPTER 52: 051 ABUNDANT LIFE ======================================================================== Abundant Life F. B. Hole. Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 3, 1911, page 5. The Lord Jesus came that we might have abundant life (John 10:10). This is more than mere existence. We use the word "life" in two ways in ordinary conversation. You go, for instance, to visit a friend who is, you hear, far from well. In the hall a nurse in uniform meets you, and you are shocked to hear he is hanging between life and death. Just for a moment you are allowed to stand in the darkened room. There is the unconscious form of your friend. A medical man stands by the bedside feeling his pulse. "Doctor," you anxiously inquire, "is there life?" "Yes." "Is there any hope?" "Not much, but while there is life there is hope, you know." Now let me stand by your side and, pointing to that scene, ask, "Is that LIFE?" What will you say? The word bears another sense now. If you went to the Royal Academy to see a picture by a foremost artist entitled "Life," what would you expect to see? An invalid reclining upon a couch? No. You would expect to see portrayed youth, vitality, vigour, enjoyment. A ruddy boy in the full glow of health bounding gleefully along the golden summer sands would be nearer the mark. You would say "That is LIFE!" "I came that they may have life and may have it abundantly" (R.V.). Such is our portion. Not invalid life. Not existence merely. Thank God we have spiritual existence, but we have more. Spiritual vitality, spiritual vigour, spiritual enjoyment-these things are ours in the risen Shepherd who once in His goodness laid down His life for the sheep. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 53: 052 ALL PRAYER AT ALL SEASONS ======================================================================== All Prayer at All Seasons. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 32, 1940, page 139.) The rendering of Ephesians 6:18 in Darby’s New Translation is rather striking — "Praying at all seasons, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching unto this very thing with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." It throws up into relief the fourfold repetition of the little word, "all." As one result of the fearful calamities which have smitten Europe during the past months there has sprung up some revival in the practice of prayer, for which we may well be thankful. It is to our shame however, in the light of the above scripture, that any revival should have been necessary. To the neglect of prayer much of our spiritual weakness and inefficiency is to be traced. In 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5, Paul makes it plain that our warfare and its weapons are not carnal but spiritual: in Ephesians 6:1-24 he also shows this, but adds the fact that in the struggle there are involved against us evil powers of a spiritual nature who have access to heavenly places — the world-rulers of this darkness. Against these we can only stand if clothed with the whole armour of God, and if maintained in that continual dependence on God which expresses itself in prayer. The degree in which we are conscious of this conflict depends upon the measure in which we enter into our heavenly position, as unfolded in the Epistle, and the measure of our identification with the work of setting forward the gospel, and also the "Mystery of the gospel." Paul was filled with ardent zeal for both and hence he was engaged in this conflict continually. In all ordinary times of war among the nations Christians have been driven to their knees in prayer, but it would be hardly possible to treat such prayer conflicts as belonging to the kind contemplated in Ephesians 6:1-24. We believe however that the present war is an exception; and for this reason: that Hitler evidently acts under the direction of a familiar spirit. The British Ambassador in his book giving an account of his work in Germany up to September last, bears repeated witness to this speaking of "the Voice" that guides all his decisions. This at once accounts; for the demonic craft and skill that marks all his actions, and for the way in which all are directed against true saints of God, against the true gospel, and against the Jews. There is therefore a very definite spiritual side to the present terrible war, and saints do well to recognize it, and call very fervently upon God for the sustenance of His tried and oppressed saints, and the maintenance of the open door for the gospel, and for His hand to restrain the aggressor to this end. The demonic power in control can only be countered by the power of God. We recognize of course that it may not please God to act in restraint but to translate the church to heaven, thereby closing the gospel door, withdrawing His ambassadors, and declaring war on the rebellious earth. But now look at our verse. The character of the prayer contemplated is this — "in the Spirit." It is to spring not from the flesh and its desires but from the Spirit and His desires. Now the Spirit indwells the saints in order that He may not only teach them but also control their thoughts and desires, moulding them in mind and heart after Christ. The flesh is still in us of course, and very easily we may be governed by it, so that our prayers become but a crying out for just the things which an ordinary unconverted person would cry out for under similar circumstances. Let us search our hearts as to this first point, lest our prayers become powerless by reason of their being but fleshly desires. If our minds are well furnished with the Word of God, which unfolds to us His purposes and ways, and well governed by the Spirit of God, so that the flesh in us is judged, we shall be able to pray in the Spirit. Our prayers then will bear the right character. But this spiritual prayer may take varying forms; so the word is, "all prayer and supplication." God is our Father and we may freely approach Him with our requests. There are times when our feebleness and insufficiency is specially borne in upon us, and then we draw near with a special sense of abasement and peculiarly urgent desires — we become suppliants in our prayers. Then, this may mark us in our private prayers, or on public occasions when we assemble together. Even in private prayer differences may occur. Sometimes we may have a season of quiet, even a long one and sometimes our cry may be shot up to God like a flash of lightning, as was the case with Nehemiah, recorded in Nehemiah 2:4. We are not to be satisfied with prayer of one special kind. We are to practice prayer in all its wide variety. Having done so we are to watch unto the very things we have requested with all perseverance. Here are two tests and we shall find it spiritually very wholesome to apply them to ourselves carefully. When prayer is thoroughly real and fervent our souls are all alive on the matter, and we are bound to be in a watchful spirit so that we do not miss the answer, and while waiting for the answer we persevere with our request. If each brother in Christ who leads this paper would sit down and ask himself how many times he has been guilty of going to a prayer meeting and opening his mouth to ask for things of a general and indefinite nature — often at such great length as to weary all the others in the meeting - so indefinite that half an hour afterwards he would be unable to remember himself what he had really been asking for, he might reach the conviction that he knew very little of what real prayer is. When a real burden is on our hearts it moves us, like Habakkuk, not only to cry out to the Lord but also to stand upon our watch to see what the answer is going to be. Very often the answer does not come immediately. By delay God tests our sincerity. The more earnest and sincere and instructed our requests the more we shall persevere. A full measure of these excellent qualities will mean all perseverance. On this point we have the Lord’s own teachings in Luke 11:5-10; Luke 18:1-8. The latter passage is specially to the point for us as it contemplates His second Advent and the trials of His saints just before He comes. God’s elect, chosen for earthly blessing, will have a time of unparalleled tribulation, and He will bear long as to them, being slow to strike in final judgment. They will persist in their cries and eventually He will avenge them. All perseverance will mark them as it is to mark us; but in our case it is not a cry for vengeance, but supplication for all saints. Nothing less than all saints is the scope indicated. The epistle has instructed us as to the place of privilege into which we, whether Jews or Gentiles, have been introduced. Both have been reconciled "unto God in one body by the cross" (Ephesians 2:16), and therefore a vital link exists between all saints, producing vital and mutual interest in one another. The fact that the scope includes all does not militate against prayer for each or any, as the next verse shows, where Paul desires their prayers for himself and his service. We pray of course more particularly for those that we know, while never allowing our thoughts to be narrowed below the limits of the whole church of God. This also is of much importance to us today, when over vast parts of the earth the saints are oppressed by tyrants, scattered, and often persecuted. Lastly there is the time factor. So long as we are here we are to pray at all seasons. We are certain to pass through a variety of seasons. In the earliest days of the church there were times of persecution, but after a few years the record runs, "Then had the churches rest" (Acts 9:31). So it seems to have been throughout, but there is far more danger of growing slack in prayer during times of rest than in times of trouble. In this favoured land we have now had an almost unprecedently long period of rest; and have we not grown slack? A season of dire stress is now upon us. Had we not grown so slack in times of outward prosperity, we should be more practised in prayer in these days of adversity. There is no season which is not a season for prayer, since it is to be in all seasons. In seasons of sorrow, and seasons of joy; in seasons of spiritual revival, and seasons of spiritual deadness; in seasons of gain, and seasons of loss; in seasons when the cause of one’s country seems to be crashing about one’s ears, in seasons when its cause is prospering; in seasons of gathering into the church, in seasons when the saints are being scattered and oppressed, and doors for the gospel are closing. All seasons should call us to our knees in prayer. To prayer of this sort the Apostle Paul calls us in this verse. This is a season of dire need. Let us heed his exhortation, and give ourselves to prayer. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 54: 053 ALLIANCES WHICH SHOULD BE AVOIDED ======================================================================== Alliances which should be avoided. F. B. Hole. An address given in Edinburgh on Wednesday, April 5th, 1922. Scriptures read: — 2 Chronicles 18:1-3; 2 Chronicles 19:1-3; 2 Chronicles 20:35-37. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 14, 1922, page 158.) I have but a few words to say. I wish I could use a sledge hammer, though I am afraid I have only got the kind of hammer that is used to drive in tintacks; but if I had a sledge hammer, I would like to direct a mighty blow on the end of the shaft which I hope has been directed to your hearts and consciences by the Spirit of God. I verily believe that in these days, and probably in all the days of the Church’s history, no greater havoc has been wrought amongst the people of God than by unholy alliances. Some of us, who are easy-going, kindly, amiable folk, find it rather difficult sometimes to frame a certain little word, that without any question is the most difficult word for the great majority of people to pronounce, though it only consists of two letters. There are times in every man and woman’s history when it costs them more to get that word out pat, and firm and distinct, than any other word in the dictionary, the little word "No." Have you ever had a time in your history when that little word has trembled on your lips, and you felt as if you could not say it? It was the word that the Spirit of God indicated as the very word to be said. It was the very word evidently that Jehoshaphat ought to have said at this juncture, for he was grievously damaged by his alliances. Today there are excellent Christians, unimpeachable in their piety and in their individual lives, yet entrapped by the devil in unscriptural alliances. He knows that a direct temptation will probably fail, and therefore he works round and delivers a kind of flank attack by means of alliances that will lead them into a false position, rendering their testimony to the Lord practically null and void. This excellent Jehoshaphat — a man in whom good things were found, for he took away the groves out of the land, he prepared his heart to seek God, and he cultivated individual piety — was weak, he easily yielded and he made affinity with Ahab. Now Ahab, you may remember, was very notorious amongst the Kings of Israel in this respect, that "there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up." Ahab was a man who was out and out for Baal, that is, for the devil, and Jehoshaphat made an alliance with this man. Do we know anything in modern life amongst the people of God that answers to this picture? Alas, we do, and when we bring someone who is deeply offending in this matter face to face with the Word of God, what does he say? He probably replies, "I am doing it with the very best of motives; I want to help those people. How am I to do it except I get down alongside them?" The argument then is this, that if someone tumbles into a ditch, you tumble in after them in order to help them. Far better to see to it that you get your own feet on the solid rock, and then you may be able to lend a helping hand, but do not think you are going to help them out of the mud by jumping into the mud. That was Jehoshaphat’s process, and it was a dreadful failure. Now, what happened? Why, clearly enough Jehoshaphat did not help — the reverse was the way it worked. Instead of helping Ahab up, Ahab pulled him down. An unconverted man is a man with only the old fallen nature in him, and you, a child of God, have the divine nature. You may, if you ally yourself with him, put yourself in such a position that the old nature, still in you, is refreshed and revived, and leaping into fresh life, the result is that you fall to a very low level, and you dishonour the Lord. You cannot lift up that man into the life you enjoy, because to begin with he has not got the life that he may enjoy it. Listen to the words out of Jehoshaphat’s own mouth; "I am as thou art." He did not say, "Thou hast become as I am, Ahab; I have lifted thee to a higher standard." No, but the very opposite. God has set before us parables in nature, and there we may find an illustration. The time comes when you pick your apple trees, and you put the apples in a convenient storeroom, and a few days after you carefully look them over. You want to see if even one is showing signs of rottenness as it will have a bad effect on the others. Leave one rotten apple amongst forty good ones, and you will soon have forty-one bad ones; but does goodness work in that way? I have a whole cupboard full of rotten apples. Now, how delightful it would be if you could put just one good apple amongst the rotten apples and they all became good! The greengrocers would soon flourish if they could turn all their rotten apples into good ones by putting one good apple in their midst! Now, do not ask me to believe, when I see a Christian allying himself with a lot of worldly people, who do not love the Lord, that he is going to make them all good. No, he will run a very serious risk of being himself contaminated; and not a risk merely, for if he persists in this disobedience to the Word of God, he is bound to be contaminated, and end by saying, "I am as thou art" — a terrible confession indeed. To Jehoshaphat there came Jehu the prophet asking a pertinent question, "Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord." To help a man onward seems kind, and kind it is, if he is on the right road, but not if he is on the wrong. Now you are not going to help any unconverted man by giving him a push on the wrong road. Fancy a Christian giving a helping hand to unconverted sinners on their way down to the pit! "Shouldest thou help the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord?" Should you go and link yourself up with them and join in their enterprises and despise the line of demarcation that God has made? No, indeed; to do so is of the devil, and not of God. The Word of God calls for the Christian to stand in his own proper character as a child of light, and not a child of darkness. What a wonderful effect would be produced in the Church of God if these exhortations were attended to and Christians everywhere started purging themselves from unholy associations. One word more. The third Scripture that I read emphasizes the fact that Jehoshaphat sinned in this manner more than once, and God came down in His government upon him. The word of Eliezer the prophet was very definite. He said, "Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord hath broken thy works." Oh, how many of us are going to stand before the Lord at His judgment seat, when the day of review comes, and hear a word similar to that? Will it be true of any of us that the Lord will have to say, "You were very zealous in a way; you were very diligent; you ran far and you laboured, but because you linked yourself up with the world, because you were frequently compromising your true character by unworthy alliances, I have broken your works; they count for nothing in My presence"? The only safe ground is the ground that the Word of God gives us. When you find that grave instruction in the Word of God: "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers," do not fall to arguing, and reason about it, but rather OBEY it, cost what it may. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 55: 054 WITNESS. LEADER. COMMANDER. ======================================================================== Witness. Leader. Commander. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 34, 1942-4, page 100.) Affairs on the earth, whether in war or in peace, have their ebb and flow. If we are overmuch occupied with them our spirits and feelings will be subject to a corresponding ebb and flow: we shall alternate between depression and elation. To be securely anchored in peace of heart our minds must be stayed upon the Lord; and the knowledge of His fulness, expressed in all the characters He wears and the capacities He fills, is a great help to this. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus were in the depths of depression. With them it was no ordinary ebb in the tide: events had the appearance of a tidal wave of disaster. Yet the exposition by the risen Christ of the "things concerning Himself" in "all the Scriptures" made their hearts to burn within them. We too may be disciples whose hearts are all aflame if we contemplate Him steadily and often in the same way. We may safely assume that the great Messianic passage, Isaiah 52:13-15; Isaiah 53:1-12; Isaiah 54:1-17; Isaiah 55:1-13, had a prominent place amongst those to which the Lord directed the thoughts of the two disciples. In it, we start with a prediction of the coming exaltation of the once humbled Servant of Jehovah; passing to consider Him in His rejection when His soul was made an offering for sin. We discover that His shame and suffering instead of annihilating all prospect of His glory are the secure foundation on which for ever His glory shall rest. This is emphasized in the last verse of Isaiah 53:1-12: "Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great . . . because He hath poured out His soul unto death." Then in Isaiah 54:1-17 we read of the consequent restoration and blessing of Israel, when that hitherto barren nation shall burst into song. In chapter 55 follows a call to "every one that thirsteth," which must bring in the Gentiles. From the Old Testament viewpoint the blessing of Israel comes before that of the Gentiles, but in actual historical fact the cry to the Gentiles, which results in the calling out of an election from their midst, has preceded the national blessing of Israel. In the coming day, of course, there will be an exhaustive fulfilment of Isaiah 55:1-13, in the millennial blessing of the Gentile nations in connection with Israel. Yet there is a present-day fulfilment of this chapter. Verse 5, for instance, foreshadows the announcement which the Lord made in Matthew 21:43. So also "the sure mercies of David" (ver. 3) is quoted by Paul, in Acts 13:34, as referring to Christ risen from the dead. Such mercies are now available to all who believe, whether Jew or Gentile. This makes perfectly clear the bearing of verse 4, which may now occupy our thoughts for a few moments. In this verse the word for "people" is in the plural. Speaking of the once humbled Servant, who made atonement in His death, who is now risen and dispensing the "sure mercies of David," the prophet says, in Jehovah’s name, "Behold I have given Him for a Witness to the peoples, a Leader and Commander to the peoples." In these characters He will fully be displayed in the coming age; we anticipate the spiritual blessing of that age, for we know Him thus today As the Witness to the peoples He stands absolutely alone. He only is the Declarer of God, being the only begotten Son, who abides "in the bosom of the Father" (John 1:18). He is "the faithful Witness," and again, "the faithful and true Witness" (Revelation 1:5; Revelation 3:14). Hence in Him we really know God as He is. There is much need to continually remind ourselves of this, since the men of the world always have the tendency to judge of God by what they find in the world. Thus they utterly misjudge Him, and formulate their complaints against Him; and we may often be tempted to make the same mistake in principle, complaining of His ways in permitting this or that to come upon us. If, however, we turn our eyes upon Jesus, and keep them there, we shall be dwelling in the light of the knowledge of God. In Jesus the light of His countenance has been lifted up upon us, and thus we have peace. If He stands alone as Witness, we can discern a contrast when we consider Him as Leader and Commander. Here others are necessarily in view — those whom He leads and commands. As Leader He goes before us, marks out the path and shows the way. As Commander He issues directions and instructs us in all that is the will of God. We need both: we find both in Him, for God has made that same Jesus, whom men crucified, "both Lord and Christ" As Lord He stands on God’s behalf, administering and instructing, which answers to "Commander." As Christ He takes His place as the risen and anointed Head of all redeemed creation, and Head of His church in particular. This is a fuller expansion of that which is set forth in "Leader." His own words when on earth were, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me" (John 12:32). This is a clearer statement of the fact stated in verse 5 of Isaiah 55:1-13. We Gentiles who were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise," have been called by Him, and are a kind of firstfruits of the nations that shall run unto Him, because Jehovah. As Leader, then, He puts Himself at the head of His saints, and He is their great Representative before God: as Commander, He speaks with all Divine authority in making known to us the will of God. Others are in view, as we have noted, yet in both these capacities He is solitary and singular. The offices are exclusively His. To no other do we owe allegiance. By no other can the authoritative word be spoken. The commandments He issues are not legal enactments, on the keeping of which our standing before God depends, as was the case in the law of Moses. But nevertheless they are commandments. No Apostle speaks more of them than does the Apostle John, both in his Gospel, recording the Lord’s words, and then again in his Epistle. The Apostle Paul asserts that even detailed instructions as to what is becoming in the assemblies of saints, are the commandments of the Lord (see 1 Corinthians 14:37). "His commandments are not grievous" (1 John 5:3) ======================================================================== CHAPTER 56: 055 ARE WE RESPONDING? ======================================================================== Are we responding? F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 10, 1918, page 99.) Those who are best acquainted with Eastern life tell us that the parable of the virgins exactly represents marriage customs which prevail to this day. The ten virgins "went forth to meet the Bridegroom." Such is their profession — the part they play in the ceremonies. Assembling at the bride’s house they await the Bridegroom, who does not appear before midnight. Overcome with drowsiness they all slumber and sleep. At midnight the cry is raised, "Behold the Bridegroom; go ye out to meet him." The virgins of the parable represent not the church in its corporate capacity but the saints in their individual capacity as disciples of an absent Lord. Their original place and profession was this: "they went forth to meet the Bridegroom." They were God’s called out ones. Out of Judaism, out of heathenism, they went into the church’s separate place: "to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven" (1 Thessalonians 1:9, 10). As time wore on they declined from this, however, and in the shelter of the house they lapsed into the unconscious and lifeless condition indicated by sleep. The midnight cry and the words "go ye forth to meet Him" are a call to us to not only awake to the original hope of the church — the coming of the Lord, but to revert to the original position of the church — outside the world whether viewed in its carnality or its religious. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 57: 056 ARE YOU GROWING IN GRACE? ======================================================================== Are you Growing in Grace? F. B. Hole. Growth is one of the surest signs of healthy life. It is so, whether in the vegetable or animal kingdom, nor is it otherwise in the realm of grace. Growth, therefore, we expect to see in every Christian. In Nature, at a certain point, growth stops and decay sets in, but with the believer it should continue all his earthly days. No sensible person expects the convert of yesterday to be anything but a babe. But we do not expect him to remain a babe. With a keen appetite for wholesome spiritual food, a good digestion, plenty of Heaven’s fresh air and exercise, he is bound to grow And the scripture, "Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18), applies to every one of us. WHAT IS GROWTH? Growth has no direct connection with age. — A man may be white with years, and have passed many a milestone since his conversion, and yet be spiritually a stunted child. Some of the Hebrew believers were like this. They were stumbling over the Christian alphabet when they should have been teachers, and needing milk when they should have been fit for strong meat. (See Hebrews 5:12-14). Growth is not necessarily connected with what we do. — There may be much earnestness and activity, yet no growth. The Ephesian Christians sadly exemplified this in their later years. When the Apostle Paul wrote his epistle to them, they were like a tree planted by rivers of waters, green and vigorous; but when the Lord Jesus addressed them through His servant John, though recognizing their works, labour, and patience, He had to say, "Thou hast left thy first love. Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen." The top shoot of the fair young tree had been nipped by frost, and growth was stopped. (See Revelation 2:1-7). Growth does not even depend upon what we know. — Our mental development may far outstrip our spiritual. An "infant prodigy," whatever he may be in musical or educational circles, is a pitiable object in the Christian sphere, and comes to a bad end. The novice, if capable of seizing abstractions, may speedily grasp much truth in his mind, but let him not assume that he has therefore become a giant and able to instruct his grandfather. Under this delusion some of the Corinthian believers fell. They were enriched in "all knowledge" (1 Corinthians 1:5); they assumed to be wise (1 Corinthians 3:18); they all attempted to be teachers (1 Corinthians 14:26); they even began to let their minds run riot with the cardinal truth of resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12, 35). As a matter of fact, they were ignorant (1 Corinthians 6:2, 3, 9, 15, 19; 1 Corinthians 8:2; 1 Corinthians 10:1; 1 Corinthians 12:1; 1 Corinthians 14:38; 1 Corinthians 15:36), fleshly and but babes (1 Corinthians 3:1-3). They used their "knowledge" to the damage of some of their brethren (1 Corinthians 8:11). Such knowledge only puffs up. Love builds up (1 Corinthians 8:1). Growth therefore is altogether a question of what we are. — The very epistle that exhorts us to "grow in grace" opens with a fine statement of what it really is. It runs thus: — "Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity" (or love) (2 Peter 1:5-7). With faith we all have started. But to it virtue or courage must be added, if it is to count for much. Courage needs to be controlled by knowledge. Knowledge to be tempered with moderation. Moderation to develop into patience (or endurance). Endurance begets godliness. Godliness produces and develops brotherly kindness. Love, Divine Love, crowns the whole and welds all together in the heart of the believer. These things, notice, are to be "in us and abound" (2 Peter 1:8). They are not to be put on as a man puts on a coat, but to be produced inwardly in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that they become part and parcel of ourselves. The Apostle Peter was really desiring that the features of the beautiful life of Christ should be reproduced in these believers. Growth, then, is a question of character. As we grow we are moulded more and more into conformity to CHRIST. ARE YOU GROWING? Ask yourself, then: Is this kind of thing going on with me? Is there beneath my Christian activity and increase of Bible knowledge a sturdy development of Christian character?" Having asked, answer with candour and great care. In thus doing, however, a danger lurks. While nothing is so helpful as honest self-judgment before God, nothing is more harmful than allowing this necessary inspection to degenerate into self-occupation. Beware of getting your thoughts morbidly centred upon yourself. Three children, let us suppose, have little gardens prettily marked out in their father’s grounds. How very different they look! In this one the weeds grow rank and long, the flowers few and feeble. No traces of a trowel and rake and watering-pot! In the second all is tidy, the weeds kept well down, and the flowers, if not high-class, are healthy; while the third shows marks of much labour. Indeed, it is almost painfully tidy, but every flower is either drooping or dead. How easy it is from the state of the gardens to divine the character of the children! And if the careless, go-as-you-please style of number one is to be deplored, the feverish anxiety which led number three to continually pull up one and another of the plants to see how the roots were getting on is almost as disastrous from a practical point of view. Avoid both extremes. May the good Lord deliver you from that careless and easy-going kind of religion which never allows you to honestly ask yourself the question: "Am I really growing in grace?" for fear of being disturbed; and also from the morbid self-occupation which leads YOU to be always asking yourself that question, and everlastingly tugging up everything in your poor heart by the roots in the endeavour to answer it. Hit the happy mean by facing the question with the heart in the sunshine of the love of Jesus, and if driven to the conclusion that your growth is but small, let it spur you cheerfully on to know more of Christ. IN WHAT DO WE GROW? It is important to remember that as believers we stand in the grace (or favour) of God (see Romans 5:2), and hence it is we are told by the Apostle Peter to "grow in grace." Grace, then, is the soil in which the believer is planted. Not the world, though if one judged by the ways of some Christians, one might almost think so. Though all believers stand in grace, many so surround themselves with a worldly atmosphere that all progress is stopped. It is very easy for us to abjure the world in the abstract, whilst heavily indulging in its pleasures in detail. To illustrate this. Some time ago a prayer meeting was being held. Considerable fervour was manifested in the meeting. A man commenced to call upon God. In earnest tones he cried: "Lord, save us from the world!" "Amen! Amen!" rose in loud chorus from all parts of the building. A moment’s pause, then: — "Lord, save us from the tobacco!" Dead and ominous silence! It seemed to kill the meeting. You may not approve of praying in this fashion, but it shows how easy it is to pray to be preserved from the world in the abstract and to cherish it in detail. Solomon’s vines, remember, were nipped and spoiled by the "little foxes" (Song of Solomon 2:15). There were plenty of them, and being small, they crept in without attracting much attention. Many Christians, too, suffer from living in an atmosphere of law. They live and move, read and pray, serve and worship, by rule. No one can expect to grow if encased in cast iron! How sweet is the liberty that grace gives! Liberty, I say, and not license. For the grace that brings salvation also teaches "that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus 2:12). Let us strike our roots deep down into grace. Let us bask in its sunshine. Oh! the humbling, soul-subduing effect of knowing that, in spite of all we find in ourselves, the sweet and perfect favour of God rests upon us because of Christ, and nothing can separate us "from the love of God which is in" — not ourselves but — "Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39). HOW DO WE GROW? Of late, a good deal has been said in public about the poor physique of thousands of children attending school. The practical question is, What is to be done? Will the case be met by giving them plenty to do in the way of exercise and activity? No, they have not the stamina or vigour for much of that. Shall we include some health instruction in the school studies, and teach them how the human body grows, adding cell to cell and tissue to tissue, the value of different kinds of food, and the laws governing the process of digestion? Six years of such studies will not add as many inches to their stature as a six months’ course of good feeding — substantial meals of suitable food, four times a day and seven days a week! If you would grow, then, select good spiritual food. Good food, remember. Not novels, light literature, or other worldly rubbish. And digest it. Take time to meditate and turn things over in your mind. When the ox chews the cud it generally lies down. In the same way spiritual digestion is greatly favoured by a little quiet, with the knees bent in prayer. The food of the Christian is in one word — CHRIST — "increasing in (or ’by,’ see margin R.V.) the knowledge of God " (Colossians 1:10 ) — and since it is in Christ that God is known to us Peter puts it, "Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.’’ It is good to know about Him, and everything that helps us in this direction is profitable, but the point of supreme importance is to know the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; to enjoy that holy intimacy which is the fruit of daily living and walking in His presence. Even here upon earth to be "Close to His trusted side In fellowship divine." Then bit by bit we shall discover His many-sided glories, and appreciate the various characters in which He stands related to us. In the following lines we shall try to suggest a few of them. The beginning of our acquaintance with Jesus is as SAVIOUR, — TO DELIVER. To the anxious sinner, burdened with guilt, groaning under sin, and trembling before death and judgment, Jesus stands forth as Saviour. He has grappled with sin; He has died and is risen again. How perfect and attractive He is! No wonder that the newly-pardoned sinner cares for no one and nothing else. Can you look back to a moment when you tasted the joy of salvation, as Israel did when on the further shore of the Red Sea’s judgment flood they sang, saying, "I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously . . . and He is become my salvation"? (Exodus 15:1, 2). Or as it was with Israel centuries later, when David met Goliath of Gath, and in the name of Jehovah wrought deliverance? Then the awful tension and suspense was ended. A mighty thrill ran through the watching hosts, "and the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted." (1 Samuel 17:52). It was so with us. We have been delivered. Our days of mourning and suspense are over. The victory is won, and Jesus lives! And though perhaps years have rolled away since first we knew Him thus, the thrill of that moment is in our hearts to-day We do not advance far before we see the same Jesus in another character. He is LORD, — TO COMMAND. The Gospel, of course, presents Him to us as Lord (2 Corinthians 4:5). We not only believe with the heart unto righteousness, but also confess Him as Lord with the mouth unto salvation (Romans 10:9, 10). But some little time passes ere we realize what this means. Jesus is in the place of authority. It is His to command, ours to gladly obey, and that means the surrender of our wills to His. The conversion of the Apostle Paul was an ideal one. He reached the point of surrender very speedily (see Acts 9:5, 6). While in the dust of the road to Damascus he acknowledged Jesus as his Lord, and his whole life was transformed. Most of us lag far behind him. Still, to that point all of us have to come. We were talking to a Christian young man the other day, and during our conversation he referred several times to "the old days," when he was a worldly, easy-going believer, having just a languid interest in the things of God. He said, "I really believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of my sins, and had I died I am sure I should have gone to heaven." Still, they were "the old days," for a new day had dawned with the discovery that Jesus was his Lord, a Master to live for and to serve. Passing under this new management a great alteration took place. He was a different man. Has this new day dawned in your history? If not, may it speedily come! It lies at the very beginning of Christian growth. One of the first results of a hearty acknowledgment of the lordship of Christ is that the convert gets plunged into a good bit of trouble and soul exercise, since his very efforts to do the will of his newly found Master bring him into conflict with his own will. Three things at least have to be learned. First, the true character of the flesh (i.e., the old evil nature still within us), hopelessly bad. "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing" (Romans 7:18). If "no good thing," then not even a good desire is to be found there. Yet how long it takes most of us to abandon all expectation of good or even improvement from within. Second, the terrible power of the flesh. Such power that even the fact of being born again, and therefore possessing a new nature, does not of itself enable us to overcome. We find a man saying, "The good that I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do" (Romans 7:19). He desired the good, proving the existence of the new nature within him; yet such was the power of the old that it overpowered the new, bringing him into captivity (Romans 7:23), and making him a thoroughly wretched man (Romans 7:24). Have you never started out to live, as you supposed, a valiant Christian life for the Lord, only to find yourself defeated, not by giant foes without, but by the traitor "flesh" within? This, then, is the lesson you are learning. Thirdly, what God has clone as regards the flesh in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. "God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3). What a relief it is to know this! God now treats the flesh as a condemned thing, and has done with it. It just remains for us to fall into line with God, and in our turn to treat it as a condemned thing, to be done with. This we can do, inasmuch as having believed in Jesus we have received the Holy Spirit, the new power, and He is more than a match for the power of the flesh. Led by the Holy Spirit, we lift our eyes to heaven, and Jesus now becomes to us AN OBJECT, — TO CONTROL. And this is the real secret of the believer’s practical deliverance from the power of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Satan, the wily adversary end accuser, busies himself in attacking the faith of the saints (see 2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5; 1 Peter 5:9), and hence to meet him the shield of faith is needed (Ephesians 6:16). The flesh supplies us with all those baser desires, which each of us knows too well, as also with every other desire not in accordance with the will of God. The world — the gigantic system around us, which Satan and man have engineered between them in the vain hope of making the latter happy and contented without God — like Bunyan’s great "Vanity Fair," contains within itself attractions suitable to every taste and temperament, and all appealing to the lusts of the flesh within. Though volumes could well be written as to the believer’s deliverance from this threefold enemy, and the way of it, that deliverance itself is simply and sweetly enjoyed by those who, having learnt enough of the world and self to be sick of both, turn to Jesus and find in Him — ". . . The Object bright and fair To fill and satisfy the heart." Is Jesus this to your soul — an Object to love and live for? Paul said, "the law [or control] of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law [or control] of sin and death" (Romans 8:2). A striking illustration of the power of an object to control occurred when the first military airship made a trial trip round London. During the brief hour that it hovered over the Metropolis it became the object of a million pair of eyes. Everything else was forgotten. The latest fashions lost their attraction, shops were deserted, dinners left to get cold. ’line man of business dropped his pen and the student his books. Everybody stopped and gazed at this new object in the sky, and for the moment got clean delivered from their ordinary life. It was the novelty of the thing that attracted, however. Not so with Jesus. He who has loved Him longest and known Him best most feels His blessed and permanent attractions. Summed up in one word, it is all centred in His mighty and eternal LOVE. Just as a powerful magnet will extricate a needle from a heap of sawdust, the magnetic love of Jesus will deliver a soul from any amount of worldly and fleshly rubbish. May God bring both readers and writer under its power increasingly. If all this is to be kept up, we shall know and appreciate the Lord Jesus in another character, viz., as HIGH PRIEST, — TO SUSTAIN. There are a good many Christians about who want to be more devoted, or to live "the higher life." But though their desires are good, their circumstances are trying, and their performance poor. Are you one of them? Possibly you are acquainted with the Epistle to the Hebrews, and therefore know well that Jesus is your great High Priest in heaven (Hebrews 4:14), but the question is, Do you really and practically know Him as your great High Priest who sustains your soul day by day, amidst the many trials and difficulties of life? Only those whose faces are set in the right direction need expect the help of the Priest. To help a man on the wrong road is no real help at all. Hence the careless, worldly-minded believer will not get the help of the Priest; he needs the services of Jesus as Advocate to touch his conscience and put him right. The earnest-minded believer who heartily acknowledges Jesus as Lord, and loves Him as Object, will both need it and get it, the result being not only that he is carried safely on to heaven by and by, but also carried into the holiest (i.e., the consciously realized presence of God) now (Hebrews 10:19-22). Nothing that can be said on the subject, however, will give such a sense of the grace and power of Jesus as our High Priest, as a little practical experience, gained in turning to Him in moments of difficulty and need. So take good heed to the exhortation: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). All this will teach us to look joyfully up to the Lord Jesus as THE HEAD, — TO DIRECT. Christ is the Head of the Church, even as the husband is the head of the wife (Ephesians 5:23). From Him, too, as Head all nourishment and supply for His body comes (Ephesians 4:15, 16). Wisdom, direction, and nourishment are everyday needs, and the supply of them is not in ourselves, but in Him. As Head He is the overflowing source of all. To "hold the Head" (Colossians 2:19), is to appreciate and cleave to Him as such, and thus to really find in Him that which makes us happily independent of man’s wisdom in the way of rationalism (Colossians 2:8), and his religion in the way of ritualism (Colossians 2:20-23). Christ is everything, and thus He becomes everything to the believer’s heart. We look outside Him for nothing. One word of warning. Do not think that each one of these steps in the knowledge of Christ stands alone. They are closely connected, and often merge into one another in the believer’s history. The great end is that we may be thoroughly established; no longer children, but full grown men, Christ being everything to us. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 58: 057 "AS AT THE FIRST" ======================================================================== "As at the first" F. B. Hole (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 40, 1959-61, page 177.) The of the early "Fathers" of the church are by no means to be relied on, but one of them spoke truly when he said that, whatever was first was pure; whatever was later was adulterated. The Scriptures support this. To backsliding Israel God said, "I will . . . purely purge away thy dross . . . and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and they counsellors as at the beginning" (Isaiah 1:25, 26). Again, we read as a matter of history that, "the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim" (2 Chronicles 17:3). David was the first king really chosen by God, who in spite of serious defects, adhered to the worship of God, and was not turned aside after the other gods, which later crept in amongst both the kings and the people. What was first in the history of God’s dealings with Israel’s kings was the purer thing. We turn to the New Testament and descend to individuals of a very humble sort in 1 Timothy 5:11. Here are certain "younger widows," amongst the professed believers, "having damnation," or better, "being guilty," because "they have cast off their first faith." They left a life of service for a life of ease, because the "faith," that made Christ a living, bright Reality to them, had sadly declined. Their " first faith " expressed itself in works of a devoted sort; later it was badly adulterated. The same feature meets us in Revelation 2:4. Here love and not faith is in question; and a church, and not individuals, is being scrutinized by the Lord. As the first century drew to its close the church at Ephesus had left its "first love," and this, as the next verse shows, had affected its works. They are therefore called upon to recognize how they had fallen and, repenting of it, to do "the first works." If now we turn back to Jeremiah 2:1-3 we find that a similar decline took place in Israel’s history, though the word "first" does not actually occur there. The word of God to Israel was, "I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals." When God redeemed Israel from Egypt, He espoused them to Himself; and the love of their espousals we find expressed in their triumphant song, recorded in Exodus 15:1-27. Then Israel was "holiness unto the Lord," giving, "the first fruits of his increase.’’ What fearful declension had taken place by the time Jeremiah prophesied. Turn where we will in the Scriptures, we find testimony to the fact that what is first is marked by purity and what is introduced later brings in adulteration. The same thing is obviously true if, turning from Israel we look back over the history of Christendom. Just as God granted revival in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, so He did in the great spiritual movement which we call the Reformation. The spiritual impetus that marked its beginnings soon faded out, as it lapsed into political and even warlike actions. The same thing has to be said, though often differing much in details, about revivals that followed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In each case that which was at the first was a work of God, though committed into the hands of men; and that which was introduced later was not an advance or an improvement, but an adulteration. What then is the call from our Lord, that reaches us as an admonition in these days, as we draw near to the coming of our Lord? We think that we might sum it up by saying, "First love;" "First works." These are the things set before us, as desired by our Lord, and as recorded and illustrated in the Scriptures. And the Scriptures themselves, we must remember, are the Divinely given record, that has reached us "from the beginning;" an expression that is found so frequently in John’s first epistle. Before the first century closed there arose the Gnostics — i.e. "The knowing Ones" — who claimed to give a more intellectual version of the faith than had been given by the "unlearned and ignorant men" (Acts 4:13), as the Apostles were from a worldly standpoint. Thus they turned some aside. It was an adulteration, and hence John’s repeated reference to what was "from the beginning." Nothing other or different from that is set before us in the Scriptures. There are others today, sad to say, who imagine that what they have produced altering, or adding to, that which is from the beginning is an advance to higher things. In the light of God’s word such things will prove to have only been an adulteration. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 59: 058 ASSEMBLY PRINCIPLES ======================================================================== Assembly Principles F. B. Hole. Editor’s Introduction Mr. Frank B. Hole’s Assembly Principles has been chosen as Volume Four of the Christian Update Series because of its logical, complete and unique approach to the truth of the Assembly — the true Church of God composed of all believers of this dispensation. The truth of the Assembly as presented in Scripture is almost lost today as far as the masses of God’s dear people are concerned. Believers are so caught up in the various denominations — the churches-of-men — that the truth of the Assembly as God sees it and as given in His Word seems out of place and even strange. Even those of us who have some knowledge of the Assembly tend to slip into thoughts and practices that are not supported by Scripture. We need to have our thoughts brought into line with God’s thoughts about His Assembly and I believe that this pamphlet by Mr. Hole will help us to clearly see God’s thoughts, as well as to help others learn the basic truth of the Assembly. Mr. Hole was born in England about 1880. For many years before his death in 1964, he was a well-known, beloved and respected Bible-teacher among the English assemblies. During his lifetime, Mr. Hole wrote a number of pamphlets such as Assembly Principles (which was first published about 1920). He also wrote three well-known books, The Great Salvation, Foundations of Faith and Outlines of Truth. The Great Salvation is Vol. 5 of the Christian Update Series. Foundations of Faith and Outlines of Truth, the Lord willing will be the subject of future volumes. Mr. Hole uses the word church and assembly interchangeably, which might cause some confusion. The Greek word ecclesia is used in the New Testament to describe both the true universal Church of God, comprised of all believers, and also the local church or assembly. The word means called out ones. The English word assembly is thus a better translation of ecclesia than is the word church. But as long as we know its true meaning, either church or assembly can be used without problems. The main problem with the word church is that people get it mixed up with some church-building or some denomination (the Baptist church, etc.). Neither of these is a correct use of ecclesia. I pray that the Lord will further use this 1977 edited edition of Assembly Principles to help many of the Lord’s dear people to more clearly see both the truth of the true Assembly (Church) and whether or not their own Church-position is pleasing to God as a part of His Assembly. All Scripture-quotations are from the New Scofield Reference Bible. Old word-endings have been updated to their modern equivalents. Also, the old-English pronouns thee, thou, thine have been updated to their modern equivalents except where reference is to Persons of the Godhead. Every effort has been made to include many references throughout the pamphlet. Therefore, please read this pamphlet with an open Bible. You don’t want to get Mr. Hole’s or my opinion about the Bible but the clear truth of Scripture which can only be obtained by making sure that everything that you read is solidly backed up by the Word of God as revealed to you through prayer and study by the Holy Spirit. Roger P. Daniel ASSEMBLY PRINCIPLES The question of what ground we should meet on in our church-gatherings was very important to many Christians of the past century. At the same time, that part of the Word of God which gives God’s thoughts and purposes concerning the Church became remarkably clear to them and they obeyed the truth that they discovered. But as a result of the failure that marks all that is entrusted to man’s responsibility, many of these early truths have been lost to many. Thus, today, the same question is being asked with added urgency. Therefore, we will attempt to answer it again in what follows. Our answer must still be the old one. We should meet on the ground of the whole revealed truth as to the Church of God, whether considered in its universal or local aspect. These are easy words to read but not as easy to put into practice. Therefore, we propose to investigate the matter step by step, dividing what we have to say into clearly marked sections. God reveals truth to us so that we may obey it . God does not reveal truth to us to satisfy our curiosity or to give us topics for discussion or even to simply enlighten our minds but that we, being enlightened, may obey what we learn. If the gospel is preached, it is "for obedience to the faith" (Romans 1:5). If the mystery of the Church is revealed, it is "for the obedience of faith" (Romans 16:26). If believers turn aside to law after making a start in grace, the question asked is "who did hinder you that you should not obey the truth" (Galatians 5:7)? This fact should solemnize us. We thus can understand why our Lord said, "Take heed, therefore, how you hear, for whosoever has to him shall be given; and whosoever has not, from him shall be taken even that which he seems to have" (Luke 8:18). There is a feeling of exhilaration as the truth of Scripture opens out to our minds, but such exhilaration tones down into sober and even deep exercise when we face the responsibility of a walk that expresses the truth in practice. Truth may be as sweet as honey to our mouth but when digested, the power and even the bitterness of it are felt (Revelation 10:9-10). A considerable part of God’s truth deals with The Church of God and we must obey this part as much as any other part of the Bible Much Biblical truth deals with us as individuals and we stand singly (but not alone) in many relationships. For instance, each of us is a child of God although we also are part of the family of God. A time came in the ways of God when all His children were brought into a new unity. The unknowing prophecy of Caiaphas (John 11:51-52) spoke of it. He prophesied that "Jesus should die for that nation and not for that nation only but that also He should gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad." This gathering together took place by the coming of the Holy Spirit shortly after the ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:1-26 and 2). The Church of God was thus formed. We were brought into it by the reception of the Spirit of God and thus belong to the Church whether we realize it or not. The New Testament epistles unfold to us the Church’s calling, privileges, order and our responsibilities attaching to it. That calling, those principles, its order and its responsibilities must be answered to in a practical way by each of us. No epistle is simply an exposition (a giving) of truth. Every epistle applies the truth expounded and brings it home in a practical way. In some cases, much more is said by way of practical instruction in the light of the truth than in the giving of the truth itself. We are a part of this wonderful corporation, the Church of God. Therefore, we should diligently seek to learn about that to which we belong and then obey the truth as to it. We do not need to go outside of the Bible for any detail of the truth that demands our obedience. All truth is found in the Holy Scriptures. Regardless of what some "churches" may say, the Bible says that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine . . . for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible is fully sufficient to perfect (completely equip) believers who are even so spiritually advanced as to be called "men of God." Had the verse stopped at the perfecting of the man of God, men could have argued that Scripture perfects as to broad doctrines but not to the details of practical conduct. But no, Scripture completely equips the man of God in a detailed way unto all good works. It covers all work that God can call "good." This is very important because some would set up standards for the Church of God that go beyond anything stated in Scripture. But even a love which is more loving than the love commanded in Scripture, or a holiness more holy than the holiness commanded in Scripture is neither true love nor true holiness. The Biblical truth as to The Church of God mostly falls under two headings: TheBody-of-Christ and The House-of-God. The first of these two headings is completely a New Testament idea; the second finds a place in the Old Testament. The first mention of the house of God is in Genesis 28:17, although that house was not even typically (in picture form) established among men on earth until redemption was typically accomplished (Exodus 15:2, 13, Exodus 25:8). From the moment that the children of Israel were redeemed as a nation, the house of God was found in their midst and when the house ceased to be in their midst, their national existence ceased. Then, shortly before the Roman armies destroyed the house of God (the temple) on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem in A.D. 70, God formed His house in a new way altogether. Believers in Christ, receiving the Holy Spirit, became as living stones, "built up a spiritual house" (1Peter 2: 5). They (Jew and Gentiles) were "builded together for a habitation of God through the (Holy) Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22). The house of God now involves a nearness to and an intimacy with God not possible in earlier times. We read, "You are no more strangers and foreigners but fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). Those who are of the house are also of the household of God, and by His Spirit, God now dwells in His house in a more intimate and vital way than was ever possible before. In Old Testament times, there was no thought of the body of Christ because Christ was not yet revealed. However, Christ has now come and having died and risen, the Holy Spirit came and baptized believing Jews and Gentiles into one body — the body of Christ. Previously, the Lord Jesus could say "A body has Thou prepared Me" (Hebrews 10:5) and He suffered in that sacred body. There was "the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once" (Hebrews 10:10). Now, He sits in heaven in a spiritual body, and the only body that He acknowledges here on earth is the ONE BODY produced by the baptism of the one Spirit Who came from Himself, its glorified Head. In that body, Christ is to be displayed in His moral features in this world. Both theBody-of-Christand theHouse-of-Godexpress what the Church is in actual, practical fact on the earth, and not as a mystical and theoretical idea for heaven . We commonly hear or read the phrases the mystical body of Christ and the invisible Church. Those who use these words may mean what is right but the phrases are misleading since they obscure or deny the truth that the body of Christ is actual fact. It exists on earth today as much as in the apostolic age although its manifestation is marred by the intrusion of man’s will and ways. It is true that the body of Christ can not be pointed to in concrete form as in the time of the apostles (when it was also one in practice), and thus must be abstractly thought of by us. But, these thoughts must be formed by what we find in Scripture since truth which can only be perceived in an abstract way is as true and real as truth which can be seen in concrete form. Consequently, Church-truth is intended to regulate our relationships with the Lord Jesus, with God and with our fellow saints here in the world. The truth as to the Body of Christ puts special emphasis on the supremacy of Christ as head and on the pervading energy of the Holy Spirit as power with the consequent unity, love and spiritual growth of the body. The above is evident in the verses where the body of Christ is mentioned. The first passage is Romans 12:1-21. Here, the truth of the body is only briefly alluded to, to emphasize the variety of spiritual gift found among its members. In 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, the body of Christ is explained in detail. By the illustration and analogy of the human body, the Church is shown to be an organic unity composed of various members. It was formed by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Those brought into it were submerged as to their human characteristics (whether natural or social) and consequently made one in the all-pervading energy of the one Holy Spirit. Of course, those thus formed into unity also remain individuals. Thus, the gift of the Holy Spirit also means an individual "drinking into" the one Spirit so that each member is possessed and controlled by the one Spirit Who animates the whole. Thus, in 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, we see the Holy Spirit manifested in the Body. The various gifts are manifestations of the Spirit (v. 7). But the Holy Spirit Who brings all this to pass is the Spirit of and from the ascended Christ. The body, therefore, is Christ’s (v. 12, 27) and He rules in it. In the age to come (the Millennium) His administration as Lord will cover the whole earth. However, at present, the Church is the sphere of His rule as far as the earth is concerned. The will of God is found in the Church on earth (v. 5). The practical application of Christ’s rule in the Church is seen in the care, consideration and sympathy seen in the latter part of 1 Corinthians 11:1-34, in the love of 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 and in the directions of 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 which regulate the use of gift in the assembly. 1 Corinthians 12:1-31 gives us the power of the Lord and of the Holy Spirit residing in the Assembly. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 gives us the love ruling the body and chapter 14 gives us the sound mind regulating the body (See 2 Timothy 1:7). All this sets before us the divinely functioning body of Christ here on earth. Ephesians, we have the body of Christ viewed in the height of its privilege according to the eternal purpose of God. The Cross is the basis of its formation (Ephesians 2:16). Its function is to be "the fullness of Him Who fills all in all" (Ephesians 1:23), i.e., to be Christ’s complement or counterpart — that in which He is fully expressed. The height of the Church’s privilege will be publicly displayed when Christ is manifested as "Head over all things, to the Church" (Ephesians 1:22). There was a type (picture) of this when Adam was set as head over the animal creation and when he also became head to Eve (being made of his body), as sharing in his dominion. In Ephesians 4:2-3, 15-16, we get more practical applications of these truths. It says, "with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." Hence, we will grow up "into Him in all things, Who is the Head, even Christ," and the body making increase "unto the edifying (building up) of itself in love." Lastly in Colossians, the body is only briefly spoken of since the great theme of Colossians is the glory of the Head. However, the responsibility of each member to "hold the Head" is insisted on (Colossians 2:19). We also see the Apostle Paul, a member of the body, rejoicing in sufferings for the sake of the body (Colossians 1:24) and we find the gracious and beautiful features of Christ, culminating in love and peace, coming out in the saints. Thus, the truth of the body of Christ includes all saints. There is absolute unity in union with and in subjection to Christ so that He as Head, is expressed in His body. The truth as to the House of God puts special emphasis on the presence of God by His Spirit in the Church and consequently on the Order, Godliness and Holiness that befits His dwelling place, for the House must conform to Him Whose House it is. The above can be seen from the verses where the house aspect of the Church is presented to us. Two expressions are used: house and temple. There is a shade of difference between them but both present the same general idea and thus have a similar practical meaning. In 1 Corinthians 3:1-23, the saints are "the temple of God" because the Spirit of God dwells in them collectively. Consequently, holiness is imperative (v. 16-17). This thought of holiness is greatly expanded in 2 Corinthians 6:14 to 2 Corinthians 7:1. These verses demand holiness with no unequal yoke — a definite separation from the defiling world, without even touching the unclean thing. This involves the refusal of all filthiness of both flesh and spirit. In the closing verses of Ephesians 2:1-22, the one adjective used in regard to the temple, is holy. In 1 Timothy 3:15, the Church is called "the house of God . . . the pillar and ground of the truth," and the whole epistle is full of instruction as to the order and godliness which becomes those who are of it. The character of God should be seen in those who comprise His house. Lastly, in 1 Peter 2:5, the house is called "a spiritual house," comprised of all those who, having come to the Living Stone, are living stones themselves. Each is a Peter (a little stone) built upon the Rock (Christ). The truth of the house of God excludes all evil that would defame the character of, or compromise the holiness of Him Whose house it is. The exclusion may even have to involve sinning people as shown in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 (which follows the truth as to the temple of God in 1 Corinthians 3:1-23). The same thing of a practical-action-following-a-truth is seen in 2 Timothy 2:15-22, which follows the truth of the house of God given in the first epistle: only here in Timothy, the practical action is in purging oneself out from evil associations rather than purging out the evil-doer. When we see the truth of the Church as presented in Scripture and we think about putting it into practice, we become aware that the present general condition of Christendom (professing-christianity) is a total denial of these church truths. Certain things are obviously not according to Scripture, such as the multiplied denominations which deny the unity of the Church, the deliberate union of state-churches with the world, the complete setting aside of the Lord so that man closes up the Bible and then claims to create saints and release souls from purgatory (as seen in the Roman Catholic religion) and the almost total lack of discipline so that every kind of doctrinal and moral evil goes on under the cover of nominal Christianity. Other things are not so obvious. The distinctive sin of this present dispensation has been the practical ignoring and consequent setting aside of the presence and operations of the Holy Spirit in the Church. Christian services are conducted in ways that show complete disbelief in His presence in the Church (while perhaps admitting that He is present in individuals). For instance, one man is appointed as the mouthpiece for the congregation. By such actions, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31 and 1 Corinthians 14:1-40 are reduced to dead words. The effects of redemption on our approach-to-God are denied by the building of holy places on earth with altars and priests who serve a laity or common-people who are shut out from God and often kept in greater ignorance than was the average Jew before Christ came. Human order and arrangements have displaced the simplicity of the divine order which was established by the apostles at the beginning of the Church. To human thinking, this human order may be very orderly and a deterrent to any disorder which might result from an attempt to follow what the apostles established but all order which is not divine order, is disorder. Most denominations and churches are based on certain truths (baptism, for instance) or on certain views-of-truth or as identified with godly men of past times. Consequently, these churches lack a divine inclusiveness since they only seek believers who share their views or who become followers of the leader in question. These churches also lack a divine exclusiveness because they are generally so zealous to build up their system that false teaching and other unfaithfulness to Christ and to His truth are often treated with an easy going tolerance. These things being so, are we still obliged to put the truth of the Church into practice? Wouldn’t it be better to simplymentallyhold the truth and avoid all further complications by just staying where we happen to be in our church-connections? The Scriptural answer to these questions is yes to the first and no to the second. The epistles which contemplate days of difficulty do not for one moment suppose that the truth has become a matter of mere theory, divorced from any practical expression of it. For instance in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Paul speaks of the profitableness of Scripture, not only for doctrine but for correction and instruction in righteousness. If any think that both the correction and the instruction apply only to the mind, we point them to the next verse (17) where the object of all the correction and instruction is plainly declared to be "that the man of God may be completely furnished unto all good works." This is extremely practical: it involves our actions! In 2 John and 3 John, John says much about the believer’s walk. He speaks of walking in truth and after His commandments. To walk in something is to put that thing into practice. God emphasizes this point just when anti-Christian teachers were becoming common and Diotrephes was asserting himself and causing confusion in the Church. The fact is this: The more that confusion and defection spread, the more important it is to walk in the truth — to put all the truth into practice, even if only a few will do it. Can the truth of the Church be practiced under present conditions? How is it possible today? It would be impossible to walk into any building where religious services were being performed according to a liturgy (a formal order of service) or by an ordained minister and try to gather according to the principles laid down by the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:1-31 and 14. Any who attempted it would be considered disorderly. The only way to practice the truth as to the Church is by ceasing to practice what is not the truth. This can only be done by withdrawing from all that has no approval from Scripture. Being free from disobedience, we then can be obedient. Thus, we must first cease to do evil and then learn to do good. Any attempt to go on with both would be a great disservice to the cause of truth. It would say, in effect, that there is no basic, real difference between what is purely human and what is divine and, consequently, we can go on with either or both. Some argue that withdrawing from evil only ends in making one more sect. But there is nothing sectarian in meeting in the way that is obeying the truth. (A sect is a group of persons adhering to a particular man-made religious belief, Ed.) Have we Scriptural authority to withdraw from Church-organizations unless they advocate or tolerate fundamentally false doctrines? Let me answer with a question. Is a human organization or system, introduced into God’s order for His Church, sufficiently evil that we must forsake it even if it costs much to do so? Many of today’s religious systems contain a very pretentious form of infidelity based on great claims of scholarship, called modernism. But, there are a large number of smaller and more or less independent organizations that stand on the basis of sound (correct) foundation-truth although ignoring the order of the Church as presented in Scripture. Those supporting these organizations are generally earnest and godly people. Should we stand apart from such organizations? First of all, the intrusion of any human system or organization into the divine order, to where the divine order is eventually obliterated, is a very grievous sin! It is not a sin to be attached to any one individual since it has crept in slowly: still it is a serious evil. It is a striking fact that at the close of a long passage on the divine order for the actual assembling of the church in 1 Corinthians 14:1-40, Paul warns, "If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord" (14: 37). In this way, the Holy Spirit anticipated the careless tendencies that invariably come out whenever carnality (natural human, worldly ways) prevails, which tendencies are prominent today. When spiritual power is low and worldly principles come into the Church, the tendency is to find divine order irksome because it makes certain demands on a good spiritual condition — a condition not present. It also exposes the worldly-weakness which is present. So, the strong temptation is to be careless as to the instructions of Scripture: useful on many occasions, interesting, instructive but optional — something that may be obeyed, not something that must be obeyed. All this, however, is entirely swept away by the fact that these instructions are "the commandments of the Lord." We thus are not at liberty to alter them according to our tastes and feelings: As an analogy, think of what was instituted in connection with the Law of Moses which only gave "the example and shadow of heavenly things" (Hebrews 8:5). When Moses was about to make the tabernacle, God told him to "make all things according to the pattern shown to you in the mount" (Hebrews 8:5). Moses strictly followed God’s pattern. Later, when the permanent house was to be built in Jerusalem, "David gave to Solomon, his son, . . . the pattern of all that he had by the Spirit . . . all this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing" (1 Chronicles 28:11-19). Again, every detail was divinely ordered in writing. In the New Testament, we have in writing the divine instructions as to the order of God’s spiritual house. Are we given any more liberty to tamper with these instructions than was allowed of old as to the instructions for the material, earthly-house? Certainly not! At a later date, the Jews added to the divine regulations for the material-house. What was the result? The Lord Jesus, when He visited it, said, "It is written, My house is the house of prayer but you have made it a den of thieves" (Luke 19:46). They also tampered with the divine Word generally. Consequently, the Lord accused them of "making the Word of God of no effect through your traditions which you have delivered; and many such things you do" (Mark 7:13). The strong language used by the Lord on these occasions shows us how He felt about these sins. Next, let’s look at the plain Scriptural instructions as to the believer’s position in relation to a system of outward religion. The epistle to the Hebrews was written just before the whole Jewish religious economy was swept away by the destruction of Jerusalem. In Hebrews, the Holy Spirit encourages the Jewish believers by showing them that the former system of visible religious symbols (Judaism), instituted in connection with the Law, was only a system of shadows. They who had turned to Christ possessed the realities by faith. The Holy Spirit ends with a call to them to cut their last links with the worn out system of earthly-religion and then He sets before them the Christ Who "suffered outside the gate." The Holy Spirit’s exhortation is, "Let us go forth, therefore, unto Him (Christ) outside the camp, bearing His reproach" (Hebrews 13:12-13). We are to go forth to Christ outside of the camp, not outside of the city. Hebrews consistently refers to the order of things connected with Israel’s wilderness journey — the tabernacle and the camp. Hebrews views Christians as a company with heavenly associations and on their way to a heavenly rest but still in wilderness-conditions on the earth. Israel’s wilderness circumstances were typical of our present journey. Further, in the wilderness tabernacle, God set forth His purpose to dwell in the midst of a redeemed people and to gather that people around Himself. Thus the camp was Israel, in an orderly manner, surrounding the dwelling place of God — Israel viewed religiously. When the book of Hebrews was written, the Shekinah-cloud which had been the glory of Israel’s camp, had long since departed. Yet, the camp — Judaism, Israel’s religious system — still remained. However, it had sealed its doom by crucifying Jesus outside the gate. The time had thus come for every true Jewish believer to cut his last link with that system of earthly religion even though at its beginning, it was divinely-instituted. There was now nothing left but "weak and beggarly (worthless) elements" (Galatians 4:9). Thus, if in the first century of Christianity, it was God’s will that believers who had been inside a divinely-begun earthly religious system should cut their last links with it and go outside of it to Christ, it can not be God’s will today for believers to remain inside earthly religious systems which are purely human in their origin and never were at any time instituted by God! Christ is thus outside of any religious system of human origin (although, of course, He may be much loved by, and be very near to many dear saints who remain entangled in the human system). Thus, we have divine authority to withdraw from any religious organization of human origin so that we may walk according to the divine order as laid down in Scripture. Separation from evil and from evil men is always the duty of all who fear the Lord and Who Name His Name . This fact is powerfully stated with full apostolic authority in 2 Timothy 2:14 to 3: 5 where separation is commanded six times under six different terms, as follows: · Shun profane and vain babblings (2 Timothy 2:16) · Depart from iniquity (2 Timothy 2:19) · Purge himself out from these (2 Timothy 2:21) · Flee also youthful lusts (2 Timothy 2:22) · Avoid foolish and unlearned questions (2 Timothy 2:23) · Turn away from such (2 Timothy 3:5) If something is presented to you and you shun, depart from, purge yourself from, flee from, avoid, and turn away from it, you have certainly adopted an attitude of uncompromising separation. Let’s open our Bibles and look at this passage in 2 Timothy 2:1-26 in detail. Verses 14 and 15 Paul tells Timothy to remind believers of the truth and to charge them not to argue over points of no profit and which merely have the effect of mentally overturning the hearers. Then Timothy’s personal aim should be to be a skilful workman in God’s service, handling the word of God with understanding and accuracy. Verses 16-18 Timothy was also to avoid an even worse evil — profane (common), worthless talking that leads to more ungodliness and spreads like gangrene or cancer. Such evil talk will increase in both intensity and extent if allowed to go on unchecked. So that no one could mistake what he was talking about, Paul names two men who were leaders in this profane babbling — Hymenaeus and Philetus. They were saying that the resurrection was already past. Paul points out the seriousness of this error: some had listened to it and their faith was overthrown. The error was fundamental and subversive to the faith of those who accepted it. Verse 19 In contrast to false human teaching, the firm foundation of God stands sure. Everything that is really founded by God is immovable. God’s foundation has a two-fold seal: the first is connected with God’s sovereignty and omniscience (all power) which guarantees the eternal security of His own, and the second is connected with the responsibility of all who profess subjection to Christ as Lord to depart from iniquity. All the above is stated in general terms but there appears to be an allusion to Korah, Dathan and Abiram in Numbers 16:1-50. They rose up against the Word of God as presented by Moses and Aaron and overthrew the allegiance of some. The Lord’s message on that occasion also was two-folded: "Tomorrow, the Lord will show who are His" (v. 5) and "Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men" (v. 26). Thus, this Old Testament passage throws light on our subject passage. However, our verse simply states general principles; yet the believer is always to depart from iniquity. Iniquity takes different forms so the necessary "departing" may be accomplished in different Scriptural ways but the believer is never to go on with any kind of evil. He is to depart from it in all its forms. Verse 20 Having clearly laid down the general principles governing the believer’s attitude towards all evil, Paul now illustrates the matter. In a large house, there are many vessels made from various materials and used in many different ways. Some are made from gold and silver; others from wood and earth. Some are for honourable use and others for dishonourable use. The picture is of the (professing) Church which has become like a great house containing men like Hymenaeus and Philetus — men who were like vessels put to dishonourable use. Verse 21 Paul now applies the general principle of verse 19 to the case of Hymenaeus and Philetus given in verses 17-18; an application made in the light of the illustration of the great house given in verse 20. Let’s look at verse 21 in detail. "If a man." These words show that Paul had the application of the illustration before him regarding the sad condition then being manifested in the Church. The term "a man" is used because, even though the command applies to all, the responsibility rests upon each individual believer to personally obey God. "Purge Himself from." The Greek word translated "purge" means to purify or to cleanse-out. Its only other occurrence is in 1 Corinthians 5:7 where it is translated "purge out" and applies to the normal work of purging evil out of the Church. Here in 2 Timothy, we see the abnormal work of a man purging himself out of an association which has become dominated by evil. "From these." We believe that "these" refers to Hymenaeus, Philetus and their associates. However, if any believe that "these" refers to the vessels-to-dishonour of the previous verse, the meaning is unchanged for the dishonourable vessels simply illustrate these sinning men. The rest of verse 21 clearly adopts the language of the illustration in v. 20. A believer who faithfully clears himself from all fellowship and complicity with the teachers of fundamentally false doctrine is like a vessel to honour, sanctified and useful to the Master and prepared for every good work. Verse 22 "Flee also youthful lusts" is another application of the general principle "to depart from iniquity." But this exhortation demands personal holiness, without which, separation from evil men would be mere hypocrisy. The phrase "youthful lusts" is used because Timothy was a young man. Of course, we are to flee from all sinful lusts and then follow (or pursue) "righteousness, faith, love, peace." The world is full of sin, spiritual blindness, hatred and strife, and the saint is to wear the above four-fold character of Christ in the midst of it. Moreover, these good things are to be pursued in a practical way "with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." "With" means companionship, not isolation. To "call on the Lord" means to profess subjection to Him. To do this "out of a pure (or purged) heart" (essentially the same word as "purge" in v. 21 ) means to sincerely do it with the whole-man purged from evil by both personal holiness and holiness in associations. Notice that we are not told to follow with all who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. That would be impossible under present conditions. Many godly Christians who fit this description might, for instance, decline the company of others equally fitting the description due to prejudice or wrong or incomplete information. However, we can "follow . . . with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart" — as many as are available; and truly, the more who are available, the more we shall rejoice. Verses 23-26 These verses show that the saint who obeys the above instructions must avoid foolish questions that cause strife. At the same time, he must expect opposition and then meet it in the lowly spirit of Christ so that he can be used for the blessing and recovery of the opposers. Even though the Holy Spirit took the opportunity created by the false teaching of Hymenaeus and Philetus to give these instructions, it appears that the evil hadn’t reached the stage that compelled Timothy to withdraw from the mass of professed believers. Rather, it appears that the evil was met by the energy of the Holy Spirit and that some were recovered "out of the snare of the devil" (2 Timothy 2:26), while the false teachers, repulsed in their efforts, "went out from (them)" (1 John 2:19). However, the God-given instructions remain and the time has long since come when withdrawal has become necessary. In fact, to pursue union at the expense of truth is treason against the Lord because no union which involves complicity with evil is of God. God’s unity is found only in separation from evil. Remember that the above separation is an individual responsibility even though the individual who faithfully obeys God in this, is led in v. 22 to expect to find associates in the position he thus takes up. Believers who go forth to Christ without the camp and who also purge themselves from false teachers and their teachings, must now gather according to all the truth of the Church, while always remembering that they are only a few of those who belong to it. Believers who have separated from evil have done so as the result of individual exercise and action but they are not left to proceed alone as if everything of a corporate nature had ceased to be. The body-of-Christ and the house-of-God are still realities and believers today are as much as ever members of that body and living stones in that house. Hence, the privileges and responsibilities which are attached to the body and the house are theirs as much as ever. When purged and separated believers gather together, they should gather just according to what they are and then act as directed by the Word of God. They should do this even if they are only two or three and all the other Christians in their locality remain in "the camp" or in complicity with evil. Christ is still their heavenly Head and He can be counted on for direction. The Holy Spirit is still here and He can safely be counted on for power. Further, the Bible can still be counted on for instruction. Consequently, separated believers can still enjoy a measure of fellowship according to the apostolic pattern. They can rejoice to look upon other believers simply as members of the body of Christ and can receive according to the Word all who desire to be received, providing they are not disqualified by evil practice, evil doctrine or evil associations. Every sect receives saints who are formally-prepared to "join" them, but to receive saints simply because they are members of Christ (and are not Scripturally-disqualified) is to receive people according to the truth. However, one part of the apostolic pattern is no longer available. This is the official appointment of elders and deacons for rule and service in the assembly. We today lack apostolic authority to appoint them. But officially appointed elders are not essential for an assembly. Evidently, there were none at Thessalonica when Paul wrote this second epistle to them. He said, "We beseech you, brethren, to know those who labour among you and are over you in the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). The meaning of "know" is recognize. This instruction would only be possible if real elders existed but were without official appointment. Even today, elders may be known where they exist. Note that in 1 Corinthians (the epistle of assembly-order), bishops or elders are not even mentioned. Further, in correcting the disorders at Corinth, Paul never once even suggests that elders should be appointed. For some time now, believers have endeavoured to gather together in the above ways. But experience has shown them that certain dangers constantly threaten to turn them from the truth. Some of these dangers are: Sectarianism It is very easy to slip into sectarianism (the adherence to a particular set of views and qualifications for membership). Those who have sought to gather in the Scriptural way have necessarily found themselves outside of today’s religious organizations and, consequently, externally separated from the great mass of their fellow-believers who adhere to such organizations. How easy then to become entirely separated from them in heart and affection! How easy to lapse into becoming a select community, compact and self-contained and with no interest in anything lying outside the community boundaries! This danger of sectarianism has been increased by the great knowledge of Scripture so graciously given to those who have gathered in practical obedience to the Word of God. Consequently, the natural tendency has been to use this great knowledge in the same way as the early Corinthians believers used (or abused) their gifts. They used their gifts for themselves instead of for the profit of the whole body. Great Scriptural knowledge may be misused in the same way: to give credit and distinction to the community possessing it instead of using it for the good of all saints. Then, such knowledge becomes the badge of a sect and the community becomes sectarian and light becomes darkness. Then light (or what passes for being the light at any given time) becomes the test-of-communion, and willingness to become a member of the community is the all-important thing. Then, all thought of receiving saints (not disqualified by evil behaviour, doctrine or association, or complicity with either) simply as members of Christ is ruled out and we find ourselves back on sectarian ground, only with much more exactness in our mode of meeting and in our Scriptural knowledge, but for that very reason, the more condemned by our sectarianism! Saints who gather in obedience to the truth are often accused of being a mere sect and a small one at that! Being only a very small part of the Church, they may find it impossible to refute the charge. But, let them flee from sectarianism both in their spirit and in the principle of their gathering, regardless of what others accuse them of. Laxity of Principle and of Practice This laxity is the opposite danger to the one we have been considering. Sectarianism is the special danger to those who are rigid, narrow and intellectual whereas laxity is the danger of those with large, universal ideals, and kind and generous hearts. The first type of person tends to preserve the truth and maintain holiness by exclusion of all but the most select while the second type of person tends to promote love, harmony and union by an easy-going tolerance of wrong things. Such laxity is fatal to true assembly practice because it seriously weakens the taking up of the place with Christ "outside the camp" since it compromises and hangs on to the outskirts of the camp for the sake of gaining more people. Further, laxity weakens or destroys a clear and uncompromising rejection of both fundamentally unsound teaching and separation from those who spread it (2 Timothy 2:15-26, 2 John 1:7-11). Laxity allows undue tolerance and thus (while ultimately taking action against glaring evil) allows evil to be present in a modified or disguised form. When laxity is allowed, the way is paved for abandoning a walk according to truth, not by one decisive step but by slow stages. History furnishes us with many illustrations of how laxity works. Whenever the Church has been confronted with fundamental evil, some have strongly met it without compromise but others have pleaded for tolerance and compromise and when their pleas where heeded, many were led away from the truth. Ecclesiastical Assumption The danger of ecclesiastical-assumption (church-authority) is mainly an out-growth of sectarianism. Unmindful of the fallen state of the professing church, people may assume authority for which no divine authorization exists — authority that is perhaps honestly felt to be necessary to preserve the community in its proper form. Decisions and actions of an assembly-character, even though hastily conceived and executed under personal or party pressure, may be given great sanctity and made the subject of extravagant claims. Authority may be established in certain localities or in certain cliques and thus a system of central-oversight, metropolitanism, bureaucratic-control (or whatever else you may call it), may gradually creep in and then pity the individual saint who has the rashness to question what is arranged or decided under such conditions! Ecclesiastical Independency The pendulum may swing to the opposite extreme, away from the high claims of ecclesiastical-assumption. To avoid the evils connected with ecclesiastical assumption, the system of independency may be restored to. In independency, each meeting becomes a self-contained unity, standing on its own basis, independent of any other gathering. The Church as the body of Christ, the house of God, a unity composed of all saints everywhere, outside of all questions of locality, is entirely overlooked or is treated only as an ideal, thus not demanding a practice in accordance therewith. But to adopt an order of things that gives us a number of independent local assemblies, whether closely affiliated or not, so that the largest possible measure of personal freedom is allowed, is to practice something that falls far short of Scripture! Extravagant, Unscriptural Discipline Extravagant discipline is the natural outcome of sectarianism and ecclesiastical assumption. A sectarian position nearly always calls forth an outburst of zeal in its defence. No spirit is fiercer than party-spirit and under its influence, the most extreme defence-measures are adopted. Even in the days of the apostles, the Church was threatened by all kinds of internal evil. Consequently, God gave clear and detailed disciplinary instructions by His apostles. Now, it may have the appearance of great holiness and zeal to enforce more severe discipline than required by Scripture, but it is really only presumption and self-will, as if we were wiser than God. The substitution of stern discipline for pastoral care and faithful dealing in love (which things tax our spiritual powers) has been a major cause of grievous failure. Lax Discipline Lax, careless discipline is the natural outgrowth of general laxity and independency. If universality is all-important, one must be very tolerant. If the independent, self-contained local assembly is before the mind, then any discipline is limited to that local community and even that discipline may easily be rendered useless by the contrary action of another nearby independent assembly. When Paul wrote the Corinthians and urgently called for severe discipline (1 Corinthians 5:1-13), he addressed his letter to "the church of God which is at Corinth . . . with all who in every place call upon the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:2). The local assembly at Corinth was primarily responsible for the discipline but the whole Church was implicated in it. Therefore, if the saints who seek to gather on assembly-ground and to walk in the light of the truth are called on to use discipline, they act according to this Scripture. If saints are outside human religious organizations and are walking separate from evil and are practicing truth and walking according to the truth of the Church as found in Scripture, we believe that they will be approved of God as to the position they take since they are meeting on divine ground. In all the above, however, don’t ever let it be forgotten that our personal moral and spiritual condition is the most important thing. Correct ecclesiastical position without a correct spiritual condition is as sad a sight as can be imagined. If the condition is wrong, the correct position will also soon be lost. Thus, above everything else, let us seek practical godliness, unworldliness, communion with God and devotion to Christand His interests. Only these things will make correct position a witness to the truth and something for the glory of God. Those who have endeavoured to gather on scriptural ground have failed and divisions have resulted. These divisions have hidden the outward expression of the truth of the Church and have consequently given rise to questions about "a circle of meetings." What is the truth as to a circle-of-meetings? We must first understand how things were at the beginning of the Church. There were only three things that had a definite status (or standing) — only three distinct, Scriptural entities. These were: 1. The individual saint. 2. The various local assemblies at Jerusalem, Antioch, Corinth, etc. These local assemblies each bore the character of Christ’s body. Paul told the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 12:27, JND), "Now, you are Christ’s body; " not "the body" as in the King James translation. The whole Church is the body but each assembly bears the character of the body in its own locality. Each local assembly also has its own state (condition) and responsibility before the Lord and may be scrutinized by Him separately from other local assemblies (Revelation 1:11-20; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22). In short, each local assembly has a definite status of its own. 3. The whole Church on earth at any given moment, which is the one body of Christ, animated by the one Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:4). In what follows, we will refer to these three things as the individual saint the local assembly and the whole Church. Let’s now look at a number of points to help answer the above question. Point One At the beginning of the Church, when things were still according to the divine Mind, there was no other entity which had any Scriptural status in between the individual saint and the local assembly. The attempt to create smaller circles than the local assembly at Corinth ("I am of Paul, etc.) was sternly rebuked (1 Corinthians 1:11-13, 1 Corinthians 3:1-8). There were assemblies in the homes of different saints (Romans 16:5, Colossians 4:15, etc.). We don’t know whether these were the local assemblies in their localities or simply a number of saints in some part of a large city meeting thus for conveniences’ sake. Maybe those praying in the "house of Mary" (Acts 12:12) were such an assembly but, if so, it had no status except as being a part of "the church (or assembly) which was in Jerusalem" (Acts 11:22). Neither was there anything which had a definite Scriptural status of its own in between the local assembly and the whole Church. We do read of the "churches of Galatia" and of "the churches (or possibly "church") . . . throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria" (Acts 9:31) — the church or churches within certain geographic limits. But there is no such things as "the church of Galatia" which might serve as a precedent for state-churches such as the church-of-England. Point Two When we look at things today, it isn’t too hard to find the individual saint. However, both the local assembly and the whole Church have receded (outwardly) into the realm of abstract-truth. They can not be found in any definite, clear form that can be seen and appealed to. In the early 1800’s, many Christians around the world withdrew from various unscriptural religious and worldly connections to meet as members of Christ’s body on the simple ground of the Church of God and its original principles. As a result, there could be seen in various places a definite meeting together of saints who were gathered and formed according to the Scriptural principles of the local assembly. Yet, they were by no means THE local assembly in their various localities since most believers in those localities were not gathered with them. As these local meetings grew in number, they got in touch and sought to enjoy practical fellowship with each other according to the pattern of the apostolic Church. They commended to each other by letter, etc. Thus, just as there were saints meeting locally and acting according to the principles of the local assembly (although not THE local assembly), saints also had fellowship with each other world-wide and were thus acting according to the principles of the whole Church, although not the whole Church. Things continued this way for some time. Then Satan worked, and division resulted with its effect of scattering, both as regard to the local meeting walking according to the truth of the local assembly and in regard to the large number of saints walking according to the truth of the whole Church. Due to the confusion and distress caused by division, some Christians now condemn the thought of saints attempting to walk in the light of the truth of the whole Church. They regard such an attempt as merely maintaining a circle of meetings. At the same time, they approve of and support their local meeting, even though that meeting is far from being THE local assembly since it is only one of several other meetings in the same locality, each having little or no practical fellowship with each other because of the divisions which have occurred. They then claim that since there is no Scriptural entity in between the local assembly and the whole Church, the remedy for our difficulties is to abandon any idea of a circle larger than the little circle of a local meeting. As to anything larger, each meeting and each individual in a meeting must be free to form their own "fellowship" or "circle" as they judge right before the Lord. It is true that there is nothing Scriptural in between the local assembly and the whole Church if the term "the local assembly" means not some little meeting but THE local assembly which, however, has no definite form today. Of course, it is equally true that there is no Scriptural entity in between the individual believer and THE local assembly (but those who advocate the idea that we are considering never stress this fact). But, why not be consistent? The reasoning that forbids saints from having any clearly-recognized fellowship generally with others throughout the world, so that they may walk together according to the truth of the whole Church, is equally valid against a few saints attempting to enjoy any clearly-recognized fellowship locally so as to walk according to the truth of THE local assembly. Thus, the reasoning that we are considering would force the conclusion that the whole movement of the early 1800’s was a mistake and thus not approved by God. If we have no authority to walk according to the truth of the whole Church, what authority have we for meeting according to the truth of THE local assembly? Remember that the local assembly today, we may say, is accidental not essential: it is provisional in view of the present condition of the Church.* At the Rapture, every local assembly will instantly cease to be and only the whole Church, comprising all saints from Pentecost to that moment, will remain. The whole Church is the abiding thing that is connected with the eternal purposes of God. Editor’s Note: This accidental-essential statement simply shows the situation as it presently exists with the breakdown that has come in the Church’s profession (which Mr. Hole calls accidental). This breakdown is not according to the perfect and flawless aspect of the Church (which Mr. Hole calls essential) as seen through God’s eyes. Point Three Some may ask whether Matthew 18:20 is Scriptural authority for a local meeting of saints which may not include all those in the locality. We thankfully believe so. Although this passage is not primarily prophetic of the last days, yet the Lord so framed His words that they give even two or three authority to gather unto His Name in the days of ruin that have come in during His absence. With equal thankfulness, we believe that 2 Timothy 2:22 is the Scriptural authority for the purged-saint to walk with like-minded saints in a general way. That passage is not in a local setting. It was not written to a local assembly but to a gifted servant of Christ. Of course, Timothy must have been in some locality but he did not have a local office (such as an elder) but was a man endowed with gift (which is universal and not local). The "great house" of 2 Timothy 2:20 illustrates what the professing church (Christendom) was fast becoming. Hence, the whole passage, including v. 22, must be read in a universal sense. Note however that in both Matthew 18:1-35 and 2 Timothy 2:1-26, a condition is found. In Matthew, it is "unto My Name" and in Timothy, it is "out of a pure heart." These clauses are designed to cause exercise-of-heart-and-conscience. Point Four We may also be asked whether we claim that all those saints with whom we enjoy fellowship possess that pure heart and whether all outside lack it, and whether we claim that only those who meet with us locally, gather to His Name. We make no such claims but rather make it our aim to personally meet both conditions while awaiting the coming day-of-review when the Lord will determine the measure in which we have succeeded in our aim. Neither question should frighten us from making it our aim to walk according to the truth of both the local assembly and the whole Church. Point Five We may also be asked to give a clear "Yes" or "No" answer to whether we believe in a circle-of-meetings. Our answer is "No" because we believe in something far greater than a circle-of-meetings — the true Church of God. Paul’s labours in the first century produced what had the appearance of being a-circle-of-Christian-assemblies, yet it was not that because it was more than that: he was being used to bring the body of Christ into clear evidence. The labours of godly men in the early 1800’s also produced what had the appearance of being just a little circle of meetings, yet it was not that because they believed that they were being used by God to lead some saints back into practical obedience to the truth of the Church, both in its local and general aspects. Since then, much confusion and division has occurred but we do not desire any different or lesser aim today. Our desire is to walk according to that truth and not to form or maintain a mere circle of meetings. Point Six If we now look at those who claim to have completely abandoned the idea of a circle-of-meetings (in favour of independency, etc.) what do we find? We find that, in practice, they can not get away from some kind of a circle. There are so many and such a variety of meetings that however highly-inclusive a believer may be, he can not possibly embrace them all and thus has to be content with a circle of some kind. What they have abandoned is the idea of collectively settling questions of fellowship in favour of settling them individually. Whether saints meeting here or there should be recognized as gathering in the truth and thus fellowship with, is, they judge, an individual decision no matter how conflicting the consequent decisions may be. In abandoning a circle of meetings, they are abandoning any attempt to obey and practice the truth as to the whole Assembly. Editor’s Note: You may be confused by the seeming contradiction between points 5 and 6. Points looks at a circle from the abstract, theoretical, doctrinal side. We do not find a circle in Scripture: only THE local assembly and the whole Church. Thus, our thoughts and aims should not be restricted to some circle. But, as seen in Point 6, because all saints won’t walk the Scriptural pathway or don’t agree with us on something, there are those who are with us and those who aren’t. Thus, even though it should not — must not — be our aim, we can not in practice get away from the fact of a circle-of-meetings. Point Seven We are keenly aware that there is considerable ground for someone saying that we have so deteriorated from the understanding and practice of the truth that we all have become only just so many circle-of-meetings — just warring factions, each contending for its own view-point-of-truth or its own ecclesiastical actions and decisions. If that were true, the path of faith would be quite clear. A person would have to stand outside of all parties of this sort. In 1 Corinthians, where the schools-of-opinion were all inside the one assembly, those who are approved would be those who, while excluding evil-doers (as in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13), moved freely among all saints, entirely above and outside all parties. But today, the situation is much more serious because the internal divisions of Corinth have now become open splits which, if not approved by the Lord, are very serious sin. Thus, today to move among all would be to condone all the sin which they represent. We do not believe that all have fallen so low that there is nothing left but warring factions. The considerable exercise that exists in many hearts towards others testifies otherwise. But, if we did think so, we could not adopt the remedy of "intercircle-ism" (like today’s inter-denominationalism). If we have become entangled in what has become only a circle-of-meetings, let us abandon the circle with repentance (for repentance always opens "a door of hope") (Revelation 2:5, 16, 21, Revelation 3:3, 19) but do not abandon the aim of walking according to the truth of the whole Church in favour of everyone doing, in fellowship-matters, that which is right in his own eyes. Point Eight Lastly, we realize that many things in general have cast much discredit on the truth of the Church and on any attempt to practice this truth. Consequently, there is an increasing tendency for believers to gather together outside of organized denominations, in little groups, often due to the labours of some earnest evangelist. These meetings have links with whatever body of Christians the evangelist is connected with but such links are often weak in the early history of the meeting. We believe, if the opening occurs for it, that special service may be rendered to such believers in instructing them so they may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. But any servant who values fellowship should be careful to act as far as possible in agreement with those with whom he is walking. A final point should be raised due to the rise of Eclecticism. Among the ancient Greek philosophers theEclecticswere those who refused to subscribe to any recognized philosophic system but preferred to select certain ideas from various systems and then weld these selected ideas into systems of their own. We will use this word to describe Christians who pick out and bring together the mostdesirable personsto form a select company. Is it Scriptural to gather out a select company of more desirable and spiritual people from the less desirable and less spiritual people? Anyone who is well-informed about the Spirit-led divine movement that began in the early 1800’s (which we have mentioned several times) knows that it resulted in the clear recovery and teaching of the truth as to the nature, character, present privileges, responsibility and future destiny of the Church of God. Also, saints were gathered out from many unscriptural systems so that they might assemble in practical recognition of, and in obedience to the truth thus recovered. If any argue that it was the aim of these brethren to gather together all the most select and spiritual to be found in Christendom into one body, their contention must fail in the presence of the still-available abundant writings of that period. Editor’s Note: This godly movement that began world-wide in the early-to-mid 1800’s became known as the brethren-movement and it rapidly grew. The writings of its God-gifted and godly men such as J. N. Darby, William Kelly, C. H. Macintosh, F. W. Grant, etc; are still widely circulated and read even in denominational circles. Even though often called Plymouth Brethren, these brethren (small "b") refuse any titles or names that are not true of all believers. They simply consider themselves to be brethren in Christ who are gathered to the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 18:20) and who are seeking to obey the truth of the Church and the truths of the entire Word of God. But, what does the Bible say? We believe that Scripture indicates that the only path approved by God for the last days of any dispensation is to return as far as possible to the original principles and practices which characterized the dispensation at its beginning. The history of past dispensations illustrates this principle, as we will see. God always sets up that which is according to His Mind. Hence, any deviation from His principles involves their corruption. On the other hand, man’s inventions begin crude and are improved by change. Thousands of years ago, God made His Mind known through Moses and all was perfect as far as it went. Israel, however, constantly disobeyed. Many prophets were sent to recall them to the things that God had established at the beginning. For instance, Jeremiah prophesied, "Thus said the Lord, Stand in the ways and see and ask for the old paths where is the good way, and walk in it and you shall find rest for your souls" (Jeremiah 6:16). But Israel refused and consequently went into Babylonian captivity. Later, under Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah, many Jews returned to the land. The Persian King Cyrus opened the door for any Jew by saying, "Who is there among you of all His people? His God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem" (Ezra 1:3). Now, this proclamation had a selective effect. Those "whose spirit God had raised" (Ezra 1:5) were the ones who responded and went up. Undoubtedly these were the most godly Jews but the movement was not deliberately eclectic but simply a return to the land and to the knowledge and practice of the Law as given through Moses (Nehemiah 8:1-13, Nehemiah 9:3, Nehemiah 10:29). The returned-remnant soon spiritually deteriorated in a subtle way. They did not return to idolatry or disregard the "letter" of the Law. Rather, while venerating the letter, they evaded the spirit of the Law. They became filled with a proud self-satisfaction at possessing the Law. This deplorable state was exposed by the prophet Malachi. Even then, there were a few who "feared the Lord" (Malachi 3:16). These were a remnant within the remnant but God told them to "remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statues and ordinances" (Malachi 4:4). This remnant-of-a-remnant was referred back to all the words of God originally given through Moses and reminded that all the Word was for all the people of God and not only for themselves. This was the last word from God in the old dispensation. From it, it is clear that the path-of-God’s-will at the end of a dispensation involves a return to the principles that marked it at the beginning, even if only a few will do it. The same thing is found in the New Testament, specially in the closing epistles of Paul, Peter and John. Among Paul’s farewell instructions to Timothy was, "Keep by the Holy Spirit Who dwells in us, the good deposit entrusted" (2 Timothy 1:14, JND). He also tells Timothy that all Scripture is our only safeguard (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Peter writes, "I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and Saviour" (2 Peter 3:1-2). John speaks of "that which was from the beginning" and says, "Let that therefore abide in you which you have heard from the beginning. If that which you have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, you also shall continue in the Son and in the Father" (1 John 2:24). He also warns, saying, "Whosoever goes forward and abides not in the doctrine of the Christ, has not God" (2 John 1:9, JND). In general, it will be the more enlightened and the more godly saints who will discern and respond to God’s original will and purpose for His Church. Those who will discern and obey the instructions of 2 Timothy 2:16-26 will undoubtedly be among the most spiritually-minded believers but that is incidental and not the essential feature of such a movement. The basis of the movement of the early 1800’s was and is separation unto righteousness, faith, love, peace, in association with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Righteousness begins by giving God and His Word their proper place of supremacy and authority. Faith embraces all the revealed will and counsel of God. Thus, the movement we are discussing is not basically an attempt to weld together a certain spiritual class of believers (although such may occur in practice). It is a movement according to the holiness of God so that there may be something definite that can be seen and appealed to. Its scope-of-obedience is to the whole revealed Word of God, and such obedience is practical righteousness. In view of all the above, when meeting with a few saints to the Lord’s Name, are we to regard ourselves as an eclectic company banded together by loyalty to certain religious procedures or decisions, or to a testimony that we believe has been entrusted to us, or by a superior mental condition which we think has made us more spiritual than others? Or do we meet as a few saints who value the Lord’s Name and desire to acknowledge His authority and desire to walk in practical obedience to the whole truth, thus taking true assembly-ground while awaiting His return? Now this is not a question of mere theological or academic interest. Very important practical issues depend on it. Our behaviour and actions of an assembly-character are much influenced by our answer. Misunderstandings on this point have been the cause of many sad mistakes in the past. The matter of discipline well-illustrates the differences between the two positions in the above question. There is considerable instruction on discipline in the Epistles where discipline of varying degrees of severity is commanded, culminating as a last resort in some cases in excommunication (which is really the admission that all proper discipline has failed to stop the evil). From the beginning of the Church’s history, there has been weakness in its midst. The epistles show us that the churches founded by Paul were not models of all that an assembly should be but contained many "babes," many who were "carnal," many whose hands were hanging down and whose knees were feeble and whose feet were likely to be "turned out of the way." Also, there were "unprofitable and vain talkers," men who preached Christ "of envy and strife’" and even Judaizing-teachers who tried to bring saints back into the bondage of the Law and of Judaism. Thus, it is not surprising that today, whenever saints gather together on assembly ground, a similar state of affairs is soon manifested in their midst. What is to be done? The answer is simple for those who stand on eclectic-ground. Anyone who doesn’t agree with their eclectic-association is thus undesirable and to be put out if possible. For instance, a brother can not agree with a certain ecclesiastical action or decision and he protests against it. As a result, he can not be allowed to remain in fellowship even though, having relieved his conscience by his protest, he is prepared to do so. Or someone else is unable to accept some much-advocated teaching as a sound and balanced setting forth of Scriptural truth. Since the eclectic-association is committed to this teaching, there can be no rest until he is removed from the "within" to the "without." Thus, excommunication, whether directly or by many underhanded and devious ways, becomes the remedy for all ills in an eclectic-system. If you are not completely of their system, you place is outside. This is both extremely simple and has the outward appearance of great holiness. It calls for no exercise. It doesn’t try anyone’s patience. There is no expression of the grace of Christ. It appeals to man’s sense of his own importance and it allows freedom to the will of everyone who is a part of the eclectic-system. It is therefore not surprising that eclecticism has become well established in many minds and that some seem incapable of appreciating anything else. However, the question is not so easy for those standing on assembly-ground. The very basis of their position is that the principles of the assembly are to govern them. Now, the assembly is the place where the Lord administrates and the Holy Spirit operates (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). It is the place where the inspired Word of God rules and directs. In Acts 15:13-29, (JND) we read, "Simon has related . . . with this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written . . . wherefore I judge . . . it seemed good to us, having arrived at a common judgment." The assembly is the place where God’s will as expressed in His Word is the only thing that counts. Hence, it is never permissible to enforce a discipline that is more rigorous than Scripture directs. The question is not "What suits our company?" but "what is suitable for the house of God to which we belong and what is according to the principles in which we desire to walk?" That question can only be answered in the light of the Word of God. All this calls for much exercise so that Scripture may be rightly applied. Our patience will often be tried because we will find cases for which we have no clear Scriptural instructions. We will then have to wait in prayer on the Lord so that His will may be known, rather than taking the law into our own hands and acting without Him. Grace will continually be called for. All will be made to feel their own nothingness and mere self-will will be rebuked. After all, authority to use discipline in God’s house only comes from God Himself. As gathered unto the Lord’s Name, we have authority (Matthew 18:18-20) but we can only act in His Name when we are directed by His Word. Eclecticism has often rushed in and acted where those who tremble at God’s Word have feared to tread beca use they didn’t have authority to do so. The eclectic-company or its cause had to be defended so they felt that drastic action was needed and if they had no authorization from the Lord, they used some passage with remote or obscure application to the case. Thus, again and again, that which has been called the discipline-of-God’s-house has only been used to support personal or party ends — a very grievous sin! By such acts, eclecticism betrays itself as being just plain sectarianism in a very pretentious disguise. Closing Remarks When saints, however few or weak, really gather on the ground of God’s Assembly, they walk according to the holiness of God’s house as given in His Word. Yet, they never disconnect their hearts and affections from the whole Church of God. They acknowledge Christ as their Head above and the Holy Spirit as their Power here on earth. They know that they never need to go beyond the instructions of the Word to preserve that which is of Him (2 Timothy 3:16-17). In fact, they are not greatly occupied with "saving" a cause or "the testimony" because they understand that the Lord knows how to maintain to the end His own cause and to preserve His own testimony. Their concern is to obey the whole Word of God. By such obedience, they insure salvation for both themselves and for those who may hear them (1 Timothy 4:15-16). Like the Psalmist, we do well if we can say, "Lord, my heart is not haughty nor my eyes lofty, neither do I exercise myself in great matters or in things too high for me" (Psalms 131:1). There are great matters which are far too high for us and which the Lord holds in His own hands. He carries on His own work. He directs His testimony and preserves it when necessary. He orders and controls His servants. However, when well-meaning men attempt to do these things which they were never asked to do, they usually end up by failing in what God did intend them to do! God wants us to do the less-pretentious but more practical work of walking in obedience to His revealed Mind. We are left here to obey the truth which is a sufficiently great and high matter for us. All truth has come out in Christ: He is the truth. All truth is revealed for us in Scripture, so the Word is truth. The Holy Spirit is given to us so we may know and obey the truth: He is the Spirit of truth. Thus, may we have enough grace to direct our spiritual energy in this direction of obeying the truth! F. B. Hole. (edited). 1977 edition. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 60: 059 BACKSLIDING — WITH A WORD TO CHRISTIAN WORKERS ======================================================================== Backsliding — With a Word to Christian Workers. F. B. Hole. Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 2, 1910 page 296. A friend lately remarked in my hearing that there are villages and hamlets in the British Isles where it is not so easy to find a sinner. The population seems to be composed of true Christians on the one hand and backsliders on the other. This may have been a somewhat exaggerated, if picturesque, way of putting the case; that a serious fact was enshrined in the statement does not however admit of any doubt. There are immense multitudes who have at some time or other registered a profession of religion or even of definite conversion, and yet to-day they are far — very far many of them — from the kingdom of God. Why is this? What does it all mean? Can we discern anything which accounts for it? How should we diagnose the case? It is impossible, of course, to diagnose every individual case, or indeed to diagnose with infallible accuracy any individual case. There are subtleties and intricacies in the soul of man that defy all save God alone. A divine plumb-line is needed if we would fathom the heart, and we possess it not. "The Lord knoweth them that are His." Still, while avoiding the error of announcing even our judgments with an air of papal infallibility, let us not fail to observe the clear distinctions which Scripture makes in regard to this subject. Taking the Bible into our hands we find that backsliders are divided into three classes: (1) The apostate backslider. (2) The ordinary unconverted backslider. (3) The believing backslider. The First Class. Hebrews 6:4-8) describes the first class. Every Jew who had embraced Christianity had thereby found an entrance into a most privileged circle, and became a partaker of many striking benefits, irrespective of whether at the bottom he was really converted or not. It was possible that under stress of persecution and trouble some might wish to shake off allegiance to Christ and return to their Judaism, and in these verses the Spirit of God warns such of the consequences. In order to be properly reinstated amongst their former Jewish associates they would have to "crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame." This is to "fall away" indeed! To fall from the profession of Christianity right away until the depth of apostasy is reached. This is backsliding in its most aggravated form, so aggravated as to be possible only to an unconverted person and to be worthy of the most tremendous and unsparing judgment. It is IMPOSSIBLE to renew such to repentance. Their doom is irrevocably fixed. Has this a present application? Is backsliding of this terrible character possible to-day? We certainly believe it is. When in South Africa some years ago a friend wished us to visit the Mohammedan mosque in a certain town. Permission could easily be obtained, he said, for an Englishman held a leading place in connection with it. On inquiry we were informed that he had definitely abandoned Christ for Mohammed, and the Bible for the Koran. The light, the heavenly gift, the Holy Ghost, the good Word of God, and the powers of the world to come are found exclusively in the Christian circle. Out of that into the darkness he had plunged. That such cases are rare we may earnestly hope and believe, nevertheless they are possible. Let us therefore hold aloft the warning beacon of Hebrews 6:1-20 as much as ever. The Second Class. In the parable of the sower (Luke 8:6, 13) we find the second class, to which the great majority of backsliders belong. The gospel seed is sown on the rock covered with a fine layer of soil. There is apparent result almost immediately, but there being no depth there is no root, and hence nothing permanent is done. Upon the surface of this the meaning lies. What untold thousands have at some time or other come beneath the sound of the gospel and its influences. They have been moved and have professed conversion. A little while and they have slidden back into the world, and their profession is seen to be empty and worthless. They fall away. Do not confound this class with that first named. Those fall from the profession of the Christian religion to apostasy. These from profession of definite conversion to worldliness and indifference. That this kind of backslider would inevitably appear in connection with the work of the gospel was recognized by our Lord Jesus Christ in this parable; but the terrible degree to which this kind of backsliding has prevailed in this our day should really alarm us, and lead to many heart-searchings as to what it all means. Its sorrowful effects are upon us on every hand. Such people are themselves doubly hard to win, and are the greatest possible stumbling-blocks to others. Upon all Christian workers we would seriously and affectionately urge that there has been far too much slipshod and sometimes almost flippant evangelism. We have sought to influence people far too much by that which is merely human, by sentimental hymns, charming singing, eloquent speaking, pathetic incidents, and the like; we have far too little relied upon that which is divine. We have thereby produced an unnecessarily large crop of "stony ground hearers." In the first century designing men, Pharisees and scribes, knew how to twist about the indifferent Jewish multitude until they all cried out as with one voice, "Not this Man, but Barabbas." If, in the twentieth century, we use the latest and most approved modern methods of evangelism to prevail upon the multitudes to signify their acceptance of Christ, what have we gained? Nothing, except there be those really "pricked in the heart" by the mighty convicting power of the Holy Spirit, as were the three thousand on the day of Pentecost. Nothing, and worse than nothing, for we have gained the harm and loss of poor souls, hurried into a false position which they soon fall from to their own discomfort and the discredit of the gospel. Let us eschew everything that would lead to these disastrous results, regardless of the effect on our own reputation, for success in the work of the Lord. Never daub the wall with untempered mortar, saying, Peace! peace! when there is no peace. Never hurry a soul into confession. Never treat sin lightly. Preach truth as well as grace. Emphasize repentance. Neither count your chickens before they are hatched, nor break the shell to hatch them. If you do they will not be strong. Backsliders of this class are not hopeless. They may be restored, but the only restoration possible is sound and thorough-going conversion to God. The Third Class. The third class of backslider is described in 2 Peter 1:8-10. Read the verses carefully and note that we do not here read of "falling away." It says, "If ye do these things ye shall never fall." The believer may fall, though he does not fall away. Fall from what? From communion with God, from the pursuit of the excellent Christian graces described in 2 Peter 1:5, 6, 7. Fall to what? To spiritual blindness, to insensibility and forgetfulness of the wonderful cleansing and forgiveness that grace has made his own. It does not say that such a backsliding believer is no longer purged from his sins, but that he has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins (2 Peter 1:9). These lines will meet the eye of some fallen and distressed believer. Your cry is, What shall I do? Confess your sin and backsliding to God. Forgiveness and cleansing, according to 1 John 1:9, will be yours. The cure for you is confession, so that the obstruction may be removed, and then the diligent pursuit of that which is good (2 Peter 1:10). Notice, in conclusion, that in the life of the Lord Jesus we are provided with an example and illustration of each class of backslider. The apostate backslider answering to Hebrews 6:1-20 was Judas Iscariot. He plunged in one reckless moment from his position of outward privilege and friendship to the depths of apostate treachery; and as a hopeless wreck he passed into perdition. The professed believers of John 2:23, 24 illustrate the second class. There was no real work with them and Jesus knew it. A little later (John 6:66) and they had gone back to the world where they had been before. Peter himself is the example of the third. How fitting that he should allude to such backsliding in his epistle. By confession he was recovered and restored. Are you a backslider, my reader? If so, return to the Lord, return by way of conversion or confession, just as suits your case, but RETURN! Or are you a servant of the Lord Jesus — a worker in the harvest field? Then we beseech you to seriously and prayerfully set your face against unreality in the work of the Lord, to eschew all mere surface work, that there may be some recovery from the epidemic of backsliding which has become such a scandal in the church of God. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 61: 060 BE A MAN OF PURPOSE ======================================================================== Be a Man of Purpose. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 41, 1962-64, page 165.) The Apostle Paul in his epistles revealed himself to be a man marked by intensity of purpose. Being filled and controlled by the Spirit of God, he embraced the purpose of God. Here in the actual words of scripture are some of the deep longings of his heart. "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death" (Php 3:10). "That I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus" (Php 3:12). "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22). "I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established" (Romans 1:11). What are the objects that we set before us in our lives? Are we anything like the Apostle Paul? Or do we fritter away our lives, pursuing little objects of pleasure, or of present and temporal gain in the world? Let us each seriously consider this matter. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 62: 061 "BE NOT DECEIVED" ======================================================================== "Be not deceived" F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 40, 1959-61, page 65.) The warnings against deception that are found in the New Testament Epistles are indeed remarkable. We might have imagined that Christians of the first century, many of whom were converted under apostolic preaching, would have been proof against it; but such evidently was not the case. We of the twentieth century are doubtless more liable to it than they were, so we shall be wise to take notice of the apostolic warnings against it. Deception may often assail us from without, for Satan is the great deceiver, and he has plenty of agents in this world of fallen men. Yet the most seductive sort are those that are generated within ourselves. We find such words, for instance, as, "Let no man deceive you," occurring both in Ephesians 5:6, and, 2 Thessalonians 2:3; though the former were believers of a maturer and more instructed sort, while the latter were comparatively babes in Christ. On the other hand, we find such warnings as, "Let no man deceive himself," and on several occasions, "Be not deceived," where the inference is, we judge, that the trouble was generated from within. In this paper we confine ourselves to the various forms of self-deception. If we turn to 1 Corinthians 3:18, we get the words we have just quoted. When, pursuing his evangelistic labours, Paul reached Corinth, he was well aware that as a Greek city many of the inhabitants were well saturated with Athenian philosophy and learning. Hence he approached them after the fashion he described in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; and hence, taught of God, he discerned in the infatuation for leading men of gift, that had come over them all — described in 1 Corinthians 1:12 — a reversion to their old ideas, exalting human intellect and wisdom. They were deceiving themselves as to its real nature and true value. Paul’s words are drastic indeed! "If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world [age], let him become a fool, that he may be wise." None too drastic however in the light of what follows; for he had to say, "the wisdom of this world [kosmos] is foolishness with God." Now "kosmos" signifies the world as an ordered system, and in the ordering of the system all human wisdom has been engaged. Well, what a mess the world is in! Out of it there will be no emergence until Divine power, exercised in Divine wisdom, steps in. We have to remember that knowledge and wisdom are different things. The area covered by the former has vastly increased in our day as compared with the first century, yet the Apostle could write, "We all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity [love] edifieth [buildeth up]" (1 Corinthians 8:1). With knowledge of a genuine sort there is nothing wrong, but the men, who acquire the knowledge, being fallen sinners, are puffed up by it to their own undoing; since wisdom is the ability to apply and rightly use the knowledge one has acquired. That ability fallen man has not. An able Christian writer coined an apt phrase when he wrote of "Mr. Worldly Wiseman." The man of the world, who is accounted wise, is one who possesses the practical sense that enables him to use his knowledge for his own profit, advancement or exaltation, and sometimes for the advancement of the whole human race, according to worldly standards. And besides this wisdom of a practical sort there is that of a theoretical and philosophic kind, for which Athens was famous; so that they, "spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing" (Acts 17:21). As to God and His things they had no real knowledge, hence their wisdom was completely astray. In the eyes of these ancient philosophers, whether Athenian or Corinthian, the Gospel that Paul preached was foolishness. In the eyes of God their learned thinkings and talkings were folly and ignorance. The stranger standing by as a listener on Mars Hill, might have said, "Just fancy this man talking to these learned men about, the unknown God, whom they ignorantly worshipped, and about these times of their ignorance!" But such was the case, and because of it Paul had to remind us that the man, who would be accounted wise by worldly standards, must become what the same standards would consider a fool, if he would be really wise according to God. And ultimately only the Divine wisdom is going to prevail and stand. In its essential features the modern world is no different from the ancient world, and therefore the Apostle’s warning applies equally to us. On the surface things have developed in such a surprising fashion that we may easily be deceived into thinking that the "things of God," which display His wisdom, and which have been revealed and communicated to us, as stated in 1 Corinthians 2:1-16, must be modified somewhat to bring them into line with the wisdom of the world. Against such deception we are warned, and it may help us if we remember two statements previously made by Paul. (1) God has said, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing, the understanding of the prudent." (2) "The princes of this world . . . come to naught." The wise leaders of this world and their wisdom are both coming to NOTHING. So let us not be deceived. The believers living in the intellectual city of Corinth were evidently specially liable to deception, for in later chapters we twice find the Apostle writing, "Be not deceived." (1 Corinthians 6:9, and 1 Corinthians 15:33), and each time matters of morality are in question. It is sadly possible for men of high philosophic thought and utterance to be quite dissolute in their lives. Men of evil and immoral life abounded in their city but such had no part in the kingdom of God; and in such lives many of the saints in Corinth had been involved, though now they were washed, sanctified and justified. No amount of specious talk was to blind their minds as to the purity of God’s kingdom. And further, they were not to deceive themselves as to the source from which such evils flowed - "Evil communications corrupt good manners." We are told that Paul quoted this striking sentence of five words from a Greek author, who would be well known at Corinth, Menander by name. It may well have been so, for heathen authors sometimes state what is true enough, and it is easy to forget that evil teachings produce evil lives in those who imbibe the teachings. If professing Christians at Corinth, or elsewhere, embrace philosophic notions, which affirm there is no resurrection, or at least none that affects the body, there will soon be mischievous results. It is quite common today to hear people state that it does not really matter what we believe: all that matters is the living of a good and decent life. This assertion simply means that doctrine is really of no consequence; whereas it is of all importance. The man of the world in his business affairs knows this right enough. If in his business he gets wrong advice, and so believes the state of the market to be what it is not, his affairs will soon go awry. If a saint accepts false teaching, his life will soon manifest its evil effects. So this warning is very important today, since false doctrine is abroad and knocking at our doors, so to speak, more than ever. To be sound in the faith of Christ is of first importance. Let us not deceive ourselves as to this. We pass now to Galatians 6:7, where again we get the admonition, "Be not deceived." And as the point here is the order that God has instituted in His holy government, both in natural things surrounding us, and in the moral affairs of our lives, we are told that even if we do deceive ourselves we shall not be able to mock God by altering the results. In nature every seed produces, "after his kind," as is repeated ten times in Genesis 1:1-31. The Galatian saints were warned that the same law would operate as to their daily conduct, just as also it does with us today. Though, as born of God, we have a new nature, the old nature — the flesh — is still in us. We pass through our lives like a man walking through a field with two baskets of seed. The basket on his left has in it the things of the flesh. That on his right has in it the things of the Spirit. Everything practically depends upon his action. Into which basket does he dip his hand to scatter seed? Whatever he may think, he will reap according to what he sows, for he cannot mock God by altering or evading His law. Let us not deceive ourselves into thinking that we can indulge the flesh and yet reap spiritual good and blessing. That will only be reached as we cultivate the things of the Spirit of God. It would be a profitable and healthy thing for each of us, when confronted with some trying and unlooked for event, to ask ourselves, Has there been on my part some sowing to the flesh, which has produced this distressing harvest? At any rate, if we do not deceive ourselves on this point, we shall live our lives with care and sobriety and in the spirit of self-judgment, and reap life everlasting as the result. Very closely connected with this is the warning given to us by the Apostle James in verse 22 of his first chapter, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." It is very evident that the individual, who likes merely to listen to nice sermons and unfoldings of truth, without any concern as to his life being governed by what he hears, is not likely to deceive anyone else. Even the unbelievers with whom he comes into contact, will soon detect how unreal he is. But he may sadly deceive himself. Is this warning needed today? Let us hang our heads in shame and confess with sorrow that it is. Needed specially, we judge, by many of us, who have been privileged to hear and to read many valuable and enlightening unfoldings of the truth of God. How far has the truth that we know worked itself out into expression in our lives? Have we ever heard the ironic remark made, that some Christians are marked by "high talk and low walk"? Could such a thing be justly said of ourselves? God forbid that it should be! We must not deceive ourselves on this point. Truth is made known to us that it may exert its governing effect on our lives. The Pauline epistles, for instance, not only expound truth but in their later chapters apply the truth stated, so that it may govern our lives. In Romans, for instance, the first eight chapters expound the Gospel, but in chapters 12-15, we are instructed in the kind of life that the Gospel demands. The same is true of the Epistle to the Ephesians, where the truth as to the Church, its nature and privileges is unfolded. From Ephesians 4:17, the truth revealed is applied to the behaviour of those who compose the church. It is an ever-present danger confronting the intellectual and well-instructed believer, that he should be content to become a kind of philosophic theologian, well versed in the higher details of the faith, and its heavenly privileges, without concerning himself as to the manner of life which such heavenly truth demands. We all need to utter as a prayer what some of us have before now sung as a hymn:- O make us each more holy, In spirit, pure and meek; More like to heavenly citizens, As more of heaven we speak. Lastly we may glance at 1 John 1:8, where we read, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." The Apostle wrote these words about 60 years after the coming of the Spirit of God, at a time when many false notions were found amongst professing Christians, and as a consequence false claims were being made. Notice how we get three times in 1 John 1:1-10, the words, "If we say . . . ", and again three times in the early part of 1 John 2:1-29, the words, "He that saith ...." These claims had to be tested. The true saint is born of God, and if we read carefully the verses 1 John 2:28 - 1 John 3:9, it is evident that thereby we possess a new nature which is sinless. Yet, while we are still in our present mortal bodies, we have the flesh, with all its sinful tendencies, still in us. In very easy, yet subtle ways, the flesh works, and hence, "In many things we offend all" (James 3:2), and this confession is followed by an allusion to what we say, for an idle word can so swiftly escape our lips; indeed the wise man of the Old Testament has told us that, "the thought of foolishness is sin" (Proverbs 24:9). The entertaining of a foolish thought, to say nothing of the utterance of an idle word, proves that sinful flesh is still in us. To persuade ourselves into thinking otherwise would prove that we are deceiving ourselves as to the true nature of sin, regarding it only as the committing of outward acts of reprehensible or immoral nature. The holiness to which we are called goes far deeper than merely the avoiding of wrongful outward acts. He who is not deceived as to this, will confess his sins into the ear of the Father, who is faithful and just, in the light of the work of the Son, to forgive and to cleanse; as the next verse says. Tenderness of conscience and integrity of heart will preserve us from self-deception in this matter. And the same things, coupled with humble observance of, and subjection to, the Word of God, will deliver us from all the deceptions we have had before us. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 63: 062 "BEGIN TO POSSESS." ======================================================================== "Begin to possess." F. B. Hole. Edification Vol 8, 1934 page 292. In the Gospel God has made Himself known to us as a Giver. He gave His Son. Faith, too, is His gift, as well as all those mighty spiritual blessings to which faith introduces us. Then He gave us His Holy Spirit, "that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God" (1 Corinthians 2:12). The "things" are given, and given freely; but we are to "know" them by the Spirit; not merely know about them, but know them in their spiritual reality. First of all faith lays firmly hold upon the fact that they are really ours. The divine "deed of gift" has been duly executed, as attested in Holy Scripture. Having laid hold upon this fact, we must now proceed to lay hold upon the things themselves by the Holy Ghost who is given to us. We must begin to possess our possessions. All this is presented to us pictorially in the Old Testament record concerning Israel. They had the land of promise by deed of gift from God, but they had to put in their claim for it in the presence of hostile powers; and only bit by bit did they actually take possession. In Deuteronomy 2:1-37, we read how Moses brought home to Israel their responsibility as to this. Put together two verses in that chapter and the point will become very clear: "Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle" (ver. 24). "And the Lord said unto me, Behold I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land" (ver. 31). So two things are quite definite. First, God had given. Second, He had also begun to give. The superficial reader might feel inclined to demur at this, and at least demand that, if both statements are to be accepted, they must stand in reversed order: viz., first, He began to give; second, He had fully given. The Scriptural order is however the right one. First He gives so that the title deeds are ours. Then He begins to give practically and in detail, as we begin to possess. Now the exhortation, "Begin to possess," was twice repeated. There are two reasons why we should bestir ourselves and begin to possess our possessions; and they are illustrated here. The first is that the title deeds are ours. They really are. If they were not, our beginning to possess would be utterly unwarranted; a mere lawless grabbing at what did not belong to us. And like all such lawless proceedings it would ultimately land us in disaster. Being ours by Divine gift, our beginning to possess is not a defiant trespass, but the calm assurance of faith. It is the right and proper response to the Divine gift. You have, let us suppose, a friend whom you love and highly esteem. Longing to express your feelings, you scrape your hard earned pence together for a long time and finally present her with an expensive and beautiful dress. You are so pleased to give it! A fortnight later however, calling unexpectedly to see her you discern the beautiful dress fluttering on a scarecrow, erected to keep the birds off her kitchen garden! Now, how do you feel? Pained and mortified almost beyond expression! You expected the gift to be used and enjoyed by the recipient. You thought she would really possess herself of it, and not relegate it to the scrap heap. Has God given these wonderful things to us in order that we may misuse them, or even keep them unused, like a dress carefully secreted in a draw, until such time as the age to come dawns? To ask such a question is to answer it. God has given the things to us; but we are to begin to possess them. The second reason why we should bestir ourselves and begin to possess is, that God Himself begins to give as we begin to possess. The fact is that if He did not begin to work with us, in order to give us a practical entrance to our possessions we should never gain any foothold in them at all. In Numbers 14:1-45, we read how God said that because of their unbelief, He would not begin to give the land to Israel for another forty years. Nevertheless the people insisted that they would begin to possess. "Lo, we be here, and will go up," they said. The rejoinder of Moses was, "Go not up, for the Lord is not among you." Yet they would not listen but presumed to go up and as a consequence were utterly smitten. At that time, though the title deeds were already theirs, God has not "begun to give" the inheritance to them and hence their attempt to "begin to possess" was absolutely futile. When Moses spoke, as recorded in Deuteronomy 2:1-37, the hour for action had struck. God has begun to give in a practical way, and they were to begin to possess. Now these things are written for our instruction. What about these things that are freely given to us of God? They are ours, and now is the time for us really to possess ourselves of them. This is shown by the fact that God has given to us His Spirit that we may know them in realized and happy possession. Are we laying hold upon them? Are we giving ourselves to the study of the Word of God which reveals them to us, and playing in the Holy Ghost so that we may be built up and established in them? What hinders us in this? Just our natural lethargy coupled with love of the world. Verse 31, already quoted, is followed by verses 32 and 33, which say: "Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people to fight at Jahaz, and the Lord our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people." Immediately we begin to possess opposition springs up. The old powers do not yield without a struggle. It is a stern business. It means saying, "No," to many things which are not the things freely given to us of God. It means exercise and conflict and trouble. But it is well worth it. The joy of victory follows: the joy of really possessing a little bit more of that which is ours by an incontestable title, as given of God. Do not be content with knowing that there are things which are freely given to you of God. Do not even be content to know about them. Aim at really knowing them by the Spirit given to you. Go in for the joy and satisfaction of realized possession. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 64: 063 BENEVOLENT RULE ======================================================================== Benevolent Rule. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 15, 1923, page 207.) At the present moment no one "can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" (1 Corinthians 12:3). The dying thief needed an eye illumined by the Spirit of God to discern, in the thorn-crowned Man on the centre cross, the Lord of glory. The princes of this world did not recognize the Lord of Glory, but the thief did and he said, "Lord; remember me when Thou camest into Thy kingdom." Jesus is no longer on the cross, but He is still rejected of the world, and it is only by the Holy Ghost that His lordship is recognized and confessed. When we speak of lordship, what is it that we mean? The meaning of the term can be briefly summarized in four words. It means in the first place absolute dominion, and in the second place benevolent rule. He who exercises lordship wields absolute authority, and his will is law to those beneath him; but at the same time he exercises that authority with benevolence for the good of those beneath his sway, otherwise he is not so much a lord as a tyrant. We speak of lordship as it is according to God, and as it will be realized in the Lord Jesus Christ, and as it was typically set forth in the history of Joseph. When the skill and power of Joseph’s hands had carried him to the top, and within them lay the destinies of his brethren, and of all Egypt, then there came out the tender compassions of his heart, which expressed themselves in his tears. In Genesis 39:1-23 to 41 Joseph’s hands are prominent. Genesis 42:1-38 to 50. Joseph’s tears. In these latter chapters it is recorded that Joseph wept no less than eight times, viz.: Genesis 42:24; Genesis 43:30; Genesis 45:2, 14, 15; Genesis 46:29; Genesis 50:1, 17. It is not a little remarkable that there is no mention of Joseph weeping in his earlier years. We could have well understood it characterizing those days, when we remember the seas of sorrow and affliction through which he passed, and which well might have wrung tears from his eyes. His hard-hearted brethren even had to confess "we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear" (Genesis 42:21). They saw the anguish of his soul, but as far as the record goes they never saw his tears. How reminiscent is this of that other expression in Isaiah 53:1-12, "the travail of His soul" — the soul of Jehovah’s perfect Servant, who, though the Man of Sorrows on earth, and acquainted with grief, is yet to be "exalted and extolled, and be very high." In the days of His sojourn and suffering on earth He wept, but never for Himself. When going forth to crucifixion others bewailed and lamented Him, but He said, "Weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves." Joseph wept in the days of his glory and power, in the day when he was dealing in sternness with his brethren. Yet it was a skilful sternness he exercised toward them, its object being that they might be convicted of their sin, and humbled, and brought to self-judgment and repentance. This inward heart work was an absolute necessity. To have laden them with the corn of Egypt, leaving their hearts untouched, would have been a calamity. Their stomachs would have been satisfied, but their hearts left unreached and unaltered. This was not Joseph’s way. Absolute dominion was now his, but this power he would use not for their destruction but for their good both spiritually and physically. The first time Joseph wept was when he perceived the first awakenings of conscience in the way of self-judgment in his brethren. They spoke among themselves, never recognizing Joseph in Egypt’s splendid governor, nor suspecting that he understood their speech. "We are verily GUILTY concerning our brother" he heard them say. Joseph "turned himself about from them and wept." They were tears of love and thankfulness, for he saw that his dealings were beginning to take effect, and raise in their minds questions as to the past that were bound to be raised ere his brethren could be happy in his presence. A second time did Joseph weep when Benjamin his own full brother appeared. The tears sprang out of a sense of relationship. Of that relationship Benjamin was as yet all unconscious, but Joseph knew and was moved beyond words. "His bowels," we read, "did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there." Still as yet the work of conviction and repentance in his brethren had not reached sufficient depth for that relationship to be declared, so "he washed his face, and went out, and refrained himself." Thus he exercised patience in his dealings with them. We are living in the hour which is characterized by "the patience of the Christ" (2 Thessalonians 3:5, N. Tr.). He is exalted on high, and as the Lord over all He is rich unto all that call upon Him, whether Jew or Gentile. His brethren after the flesh, the Jews, are, however, still in unbelief and unconscious of His glory. Surely His bowels do yearn upon them, and some little reflection of that yearning we find in the Apostle Paul in Romans 9:1-5; yet the time has not come for the expression of His love and the acknowledgment of the relationship that exists. There must be a deep work of conviction and self-judgment first. The next three occasions of Joseph’s weeping are all found in Genesis 45:1-28. In the latter part of Genesis 44:1-34 we have Judah’s touching speech on behalf of Benjamin. It revealed a great change in the disposition of the brethren. The old hatred against Joseph was gone, and in its place was a genuine care for Benjamin; the former indifference to the feelings of Jacob their father had been changed into the utmost solicitude on his behalf; instead of the spirit that would callously sacrifice Joseph, behold Judah prepared to sacrifice himself! The chastening of God had already had a profound effect, and the hour had arrived when at last Joseph’s love could burst its barriers and declare itself. "Then Joseph could not refrain himself . . . and he wept aloud . . . and he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept . . . moreover he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them." Here we have the full and unhindered expression of Joseph’s love, and in response thereto the repentance of his brethren reached its proper depth; "His brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence." Thus it will be in the coming time. The preliminary dealings of God with the children of Israel will produce a certain measure of conviction in their hearts, but it is when, according to Zechariah 12:10, "they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced" that "they shall mourn . . . as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness . . . as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." Then "the spirit of grace and of supplications" shall be poured upon them. Yet, even so, what will be their feelings compared with those of the One whom they have pierced? In Genesis 45:1-28 we do not read much of the tears of the brethren of Joseph. "Benjamin wept upon his neck," we read in verse 14, but that is all. As a matter of fact, Benjamin had of all of them the least reason to weep, for he was hardly implicated in their great sin. No, the great point is not the repentance of the brethren, but the magnanimous love of Joseph. He was saviour, for as he says, "God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance." He was also lord, for he added, "and He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." Joseph was lord. His dominion was absolute in that great domain. His dreams were verified. The other sheaves made obeisance to his sheaf; sun, moon, and eleven stars made obeisance to him. His brethren had said! "Let us . . . cast him into some pit . . . and we will see what will become of his dreams." Well, they had now seen! But now that such power was in his hands, what use did he make of it? His word to his father, and brethren, and all their households was, "Come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land" (Genesis 45:18). As exalted he was the minister of their blessing. "Come unto me . . . and I will give you rest" were the words of the Lord Jesus, and as the context shows that rest is in the knowledge of the Father, of His love and purposes. It is available for our hearts today. Presently He will bring rest to a weary earth after the execution of the inevitable judgments of God. He will fill the earth with rest and contentment when the knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Then He will minister to His people the good of the millennial earth, just as He now ministers to His saints of the good of heaven. Our title to the heavenly things made known in the gospel is sure and without a flaw. It rests upon His atoning blood. We need, however, not only a flawless title, but to enter upon the good of the wealthy portion that is ours. It is to be ours in present enjoyment, by faith and the work of the Spirit of God. After Genesis 45:1-28 we read three times of Joseph weeping. Once when meeting his aged father Jacob, once at his father’s death, and lastly after his father’s death, when his brethren revealed the fact that even yet they had not grasped the fulness of his grace and kindness toward them. It became manifest that all the time they had accepted his favour with a "perhaps" in their minds. Said they, "Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him." Hence the message which they sent, as if to influence Joseph’s unwilling mind by the memory of their father’s wishes on their behalf. There was on the surface the appearance of humility in their attitude, yet it was really but unbelief — unbelief not in the absoluteness of Joseph’s dominion, but rather in the benevolence of his rule, as though his kindness had been but a mask worn to please the aged father. This cut Joseph to the quick, and "Joseph wept when they spake unto him." Yet his attitude towards them did not change in the presence of this display of unbelief. His answer was, "Fear ye not; I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them." The benevolence of his rule was a reality whether they fully relied upon it, or whether they did not. The littleness of their faith in no way altered the largeness of his heart. Hudson Taylor, in addressing a large audience, once quoted the well-known lines of Miss Havergal:- "They, who trust Him wholly Find Him wholly true." Having repeated them, he paused a moment, and then quietly added, "Yes, and there is one thing more wonderful than that even — they, who do NOT trust Him wholly, find Him wholly true." Many of us are like Joseph’s brethren and do not altogether and wholly repose in His love and faithfulness, yet is He just as wholly true to us as He is to those rarer souls who trust Him with quite unshaken confidence. Divine love is like a spring which bubbles up in some heat-bound plain because its source is in distant mountains with their eternal snows. In the fiercest drought it is unchanged, gushing forth the same as ever. Of such a spring we may say what Tennyson made the language of his brook:- "For men may come, and men may go But I go on for ever." The love of God which has been expressed in Christ flows forth upon us, yet its source is not in us but in God Himself. How great the soul-liberty which lies in the knowledge of this fact! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 65: 064 "BLOOD" AND "WATER." WHAT DO THEY MEAN? ======================================================================== "Blood" and "Water." What do they mean? F. B. Hole. It is an historic fact recorded by the Apostle John (19: 34) that a soldier with a spear pierced the side of the dead Christ, and "forthwith came there out blood and water." From the solemn way in which the Apostle pauses to attest this fact as a personal eyewitness (John 19:35) we might naturally conclude that he attached some very special importance to it, even if no further reference to it were made. We are not, however, left to surmise, as in his first Epistle the same Apostle returns to the subject and supplements the historic record of his Gospel with instruction as to the bearing of the fact. He says, "This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood" (1 John 5:6). And further, in 1 John 5:8 he speaks of the Spirit and the water and the blood as the three witnesses to the Son of God. The meaning of these words is not by any means apparent at first sight. Two things, however, do lie upon the surface. 1. Both blood and water are connected with the DEATH of Christ. 2. Though connected they are distinct, so distinct that they can be cited separately as witnesses. They must, therefore, be carefully distinguished in our thoughts. We find in the Scriptures that cleansing is connected with both blood and water, e.g.: "The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). "That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word" (Ephesians 5:26). Now let us seek to rightly distinguish between the two cleansings referred to. Speaking in a broad sense, we may say that they connect themselves with the two great effects of sin, viz. its guilt and its defiling power. The Blood sets before us the death of Christ in atonement for our sins, thus cancelling our guilt and bringing us forgiveness. We are thereby cleansed judicially. The water indicates the same death, but rather as that by which our sinful state has been dealt with in judgment and ended, so as to deliver us from the old condition and associations of life in which once we lived. Thereby we are cleansed morally and the power of sin over us is broken. Toplady was surely right when he sang: "Let the water and the blood, From Thy riven side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Cleanse me from its guilt and power." The virtue and power of the blood of Christ are set before us in Hebrews 9:1-28 and Hebrews 10:1-39; indeed, the efficacy of that Blood in contrast with the inefficacy of the blood of bulls and of goats is the great theme of those chapters. We find there: 1. The Blood of Christ purges, or cleanses the sinner’s conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14). 2. It has removed the transgressions of saints of old which had been for centuries accumulating under the first Covenant, i. e. the Law (Hebrews 9:15). 3. It has ratified a new covenant of grace (Hebrews 9:15-18). 4, It has removed the believer’s sins and laid the basis for the putting away of sin in its totality (Hebrews 9:22 and 26). 5. It has so completely done so for faith that ONCE purged, the believer’s conscience is cleared for ever as far as the judicial question of his sins is concerned (Hebrews 10:2). 6. It therefore gives the believer boldness to enter into the very presence of God (Hebrews 10:19). 7. It has once and for ever sanctified, set apart the believer for God (Hebrews 10:10 and Hebrews 10:29). Bear in mind that the great subject here is the believer’s access to God in virtue of the blood of Christ. His judicial clearance is perfect by that one offering, and never needs to be repeated. Hence the word which characterizes these chapters is "one," "once" (see Hebrews 9:12, 26, 28; Hebrews 10:2, 10, 12, 14). Seven times over it is repeated, lest we should overlook the sufficiency and the singular glory that is connected with the precious blood of Christ. But though judicial cleansing by Blood is the great theme of these chapters, the need for moral cleansing is not forgotten. We draw near to God having not only "our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience," but "our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:22). This is doubtless an allusion to the consecration of Aaron and his sons to the priestly office recorded in Exodus 29:1-46. They were washed with water (Exodus 29:4) as well as sprinkled with blood (Exodus 29:20). They had the shadow, we have the substance — THE DEATH OF CHRIST. It acts in both directions, as BLOOD cleansing us judicially and giving us a perfect standing before God, as WATER cleansing us morally, by cutting us off from the old life in which once we lived, and bringing us into the new. In the very nature of things this moral cleansing by water needs to be kept up; the idea of repetition is therefore appropriate enough here. We find it if we refer to the type. Aaron and his sons were bathed with water from head to foot at their consecration, as we have seen; that was not repeated, but nevertheless a laver was provided (Exodus 30:17-21), and there the priests washed their hands and feet. The instructions were most explicit: "When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not." When we turn from type to antitype the same thought appears. In the upper chamber in Jerusalem, probably just before He instituted His supper, the Lord Jesus girded Himself, and, pouring water into a basin, began to wash His disciples’ feet (John 13:1-38). Peter’s reluctance brings forth the truth that such washing is necessary if communion with the Lord in His heavenly position was to be enjoyed. "If I wash thee not thou hast no part with Me" (John 13:8). His rapid change to enthusiastic haste leads the Lord to say: "He that is washed (i.e. bathed) needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit" (John 13:10), Here the twofold way in which cleansing by water is presented in Scripture is very carefully distinguished. Once for all we have been "bathed." The death of Christ has cleansed us from the old life, but for all that we need the constant application of that death to our souls day by day, moment by moment. We cannot approach the sanctuary nor enjoy "part with" Christ without it. With these thoughts before us we may perhaps return to the words quoted at the beginning from 1 John 5:1-21, and find a greater depth of meaning in them. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came by water and blood; by both these things was His coming characterized. The Spirit of God specially guards this point, saying: "Not by water only, but by water and blood." Why so? May not one reason be that there has always been a tendency — now fast growing and ripening into apostasy — to teach that Christ did come by water only? He came, so it is now widely said, to cleanse man morally by setting before him the highest ideals, and living out those ideals Himself as an incentive to others. He came by such means to make at-one-ment between God and man. Such is their theory. The idea of atonement they scornfully reject. Foreseeing this dark and deadly error, the Spirit says, "not by water only, but by water and blood." Not by moral cleansing only, but by moral cleansing AND expiation for sin, and it is the Spirit that bears witness and "the Spirit is truth." And so the three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood, remain: the Spirit the living, acting, speaking Witness; the water and the blood two silent witnesses, like mighty pillars rearing their heads into heaven’s blue dome through eternal ages; and all three agree in one. They testify that He who came in this way is the Son of God, the fountain of eternal life, and that in Him eternal life is ours, who believe on the name of the Son of God. Thanks be to God, we may fervently exclaim, that when upon the cross a soldier with a spear pierced his side "forthwith came there out blood AND water!" Has not the life-work of Christ, the mocking and scourging He suffered at men’s hands, some part in His atonement made for sins? None whatever. Scripture plainly says, "His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:25). Nothing short of death is the wages of sin. Hence all that He did and suffered in His wonderful life wrought no atonement for sin. It is sometimes urged that the passage which says "by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous" (Romans 5:19) teaches otherwise, but a careful reading of the whole passage, Romans 5:12 to 21, shows that really it exactly confirms the scripture quoted from Peter. Paul was contrasting the two Heads, Adam and Christ — the sin of the one with its attendant train of disaster, the righteous ness, the obedience of the Other with its attendant train of blessing. It is a question of the "one offence" and the "one righteousness" (Romans 5:18, margin). Christ’s ONE righteousness was obedience even unto His DEATH. But though Christ’s life-work and sufferings had no part in His atonement for sin, they were indeed His qualification as man, so to die. Just as no beast under the Law was eligible as a sacrifice for sin except it was "without blemish," so He could not have suffered as a sacrifice apart from the perfect life that He lived. If the Blood cleanses us from all sin, what need is there for the water? Let us answer that question by asking another. Is it not true that men as much need cleansing from the love of sin as from the condemnation of sin? There is great need for the "water." That we should hate sin as God hates it is very necessary. To be bathed all over as were the priests at the start means that, being made possessors of a new life, we abhor and forsake the old life, seeing that Christ’s death was necessary to put away all that we were. His death was ours. Moreover, that daily cleansing of which the laver speaks. Do we not need it in this defiling world? Is there not much about us personally that needs removing, to say nothing of the subtle influences of this world which often insensibly affect us? Every Christian with a sensitive conscience will surely agree that there is. Is it not scriptural, then, to speak of being repeatedly washed in the blood for daily cleansing? It says "cleanseth" in 1 John 1:7. Nowhere in Scripture do we find the idea of daily recurrence for cleansing to the blood of Christ. The argument inferred from the use of the word "cleanseth" in 1 John 1:7 is not admissible. True, the word is in the present tense, but it is used simply to point out the inherent property of the precious blood. We so use the present tense in ordinary conversation. For instance, the other day a man brought a sack of quicklime into my yard and deposited it in a quiet corner out of harm’s way, remarking, "It will be all right there, the rain will soon settle it. Water slakes lime, you know." What did he mean? Not that the water was going to slake that lime repeatedly, almost every day, for lime can be slaked but once; he just referred to the well-known property of water in regard to lime, a property that holds good at all times and everywhere. It is thus that the Apostle speaks in 1 John 1:7. But Scripture does speak, as we have seen, of our repeatedly being washed in the water; and to insist on this clear distinction is not mere theological accuracy of a technical sort. To teach that we must have repeated recurrence to the blood for fresh applications thereof does great harm in a twofold way. First it dishonours the blood of Christ, almost putting it back on to the level of the blood of Jewish sacrifices offered under the Law; and second, it repeatedly puts back the saint into the place of the sinner to go through the cleansing and justifying process over and over again. The truth is that "by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). Let us hold fast to that. Tell us a little more about this daily cleansing by water. How do we get it? By the Word. The water and the Word are clearly connected in such a passage as "That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word" (Ephesians 5:26). The Word of God it is which brings home to our souls the death of Christ in its power and wealth of spiritual meaning. Sin in its true hideousness stands revealed, and our affections are cleansed thereby. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy word" (Psalms 119:9). We often overlook this cleansing effect of God’s Word, while eager, it may be, for a better textual acquaintance with it. A believer once lamented to an old saint of ripe experience the difficulty she had in remembering the points of Christian teaching to which she listened. He bade her go with the sieve she held in her hand to the pump hard by and bring him a sieve full of water. She thought it a strange request, but complied, and by the time she reached him every drop was lost. He bade her do it again, again, and yet again. She affirmed it to be a useless task, when he explained his parable by pointing out that if not one drop of water had been permanently retained, at any rate the sieve was MUCH CLEANER for the process! Let us dwell much upon the Word of God. We may never become deeply versed in scriptural lore — that is a secondary consideration — our lives and ways will at all events be cleansed thereby. In John 3:1-36 we read of being born of water; is there a connection between that and what we are speaking of, or does it refer to baptism? It links itself with that of which we are speaking. By the water of the Word applied in the power of the Holy Spirit of God we are born again — made to possess a new life and nature which carries with it the condemnation of the old. It is typified by the bathing of the priests from head to foot (see Exodus 19:4 and John 13:10). It does not refer to baptism. A quiet consideration of the passage makes this manifest. Notice (1) the Lord only speaks of one new birth. This new birth (2) is said to be "of water and of the Spirit." The water the instrument, the Spirit the Power, and (3) it is expressly declared by the Lord to be in its nature indefinable and completely uncontrolled by man (v. 8). Baptism is easily definable and completely controlled by man, and therefore NOT that of which this passage speaks. Is it only when we sin that we need the water? We do need it when we sin, but even apart from actual sins, being in a world of defilement, we need it if we would worship, hold communion with, or serve God. Read Numbers 19:1-22, and you will find in type the water as purification from sin; then turn to Exodus 30:17-21, and in type you have water removing every earthly defilement in view of drawing near to God in the sanctuary without reference to actual sins. In the New Testament John 13:1-38 is more connected with the latter aspect than the former. How dependent we are upon not only the Blood, but the Water! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 66: 065 BOTH "ARM" AND "SERVANT" ======================================================================== Both "Arm" and "Servant" F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 36, 1948-50, page 166.) In Isaiah 40:1-31; Isaiah 41:1-29; Isaiah 42:1-25; Isaiah 43:1-28; Isaiah 44:1-28; Isaiah 45:1-25; Isaiah 46:1-13; Isaiah 47:1-15; Isaiah 48:1-22; Isaiah 49:1-26; Isaiah 50:1-11; Isaiah 51:1-23; Isaiah 52:1-15; Isaiah 53:1-12; Isaiah 54:1-17; Isaiah 55:1-13; Isaiah 56:1-12; Isaiah 57:1-21; Isaiah 58:1-14; Isaiah 59:1-21; Isaiah 60:1-22; Isaiah 61:1-11; Isaiah 62:1-12; Isaiah 63:1-19; Isaiah 64:1-12; Isaiah 65:1-25; Isaiah 66:1-24 we have a series of prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ of a very striking character, the most remarkable, we think, in the whole range of the Old Testament. In them He is presented to us in a twofold way: firstly, as " the Arm of the Lord" secondly, as "My Servant" that is "the Servant of the Lord." As the "Arm" He is the mighty Executor of all Jehovah’s pleasure whether in grace or in judgment. As the "Servant" He stoops to suffer in order that He may lay the righteous basis on which the structure of Jehovah’s pleasure is to be reared. He was seen as the "Servant" at His first Advent. He will be manifested at His second Advent as the "Arm." As Jehovah’s "Arm" He is particularly referred to in Isaiah 40:9-11; Isaiah 51:4-16; Isaiah 52:13 — Isaiah 53:1; Isaiah 59:16; Isaiah 63:5 and 12. Taking a rapid survey of these passages, we learn that by His "Arm" the Lord God is coming not in weakness but in strength, not to suffer but to rule and to give reward There will be reward in judgment for the wicked, but the same "Arm" will be gracious, acting in the tenderness of a shepherd for the smallest and weakest of the true sheep of the Lord. Then again, on that "Arm" the godly may safely trust, for it will awake and put on strength as it did in the days of old, when it smote Egypt (Rahab) and divided the Red Sea. But now far greater purposes are in view, as enumerated in the latter part of verse 16 (Isaiah 51:16). The heavens are to be planted, the foundations of the earth are to be laid; Israel in Zion is to be acknowledged as God’s people. In the present age God is preparing to plant the heavens, by calling out saints, by forming the Church, which will have its seat in the heavens when the age of glory has arrived. Then God will set His hand to the laying of the foundations of the earth in a moral and governmental sense — in the sense indicated by the Psalmist, when he declared "all the foundations of the earth are out of course" (Psalms 82:5) So they are! That is just what is wrong in the earth today and a complete relaying of the foundations is needed. Recognizing this, many politicians want to smash everything up and begin all over again. Should they succeed, the result would be worse evil, for they have no use for "the Arm of the Lord," who alone can accomplish such a work that, instead of lawlessness and evil, righteousness shall reign. Then lastly Zion will be acknowledged and Israel find her proper place, so that righteousness indeed may reign. But to bring all this to pass God’s holy "Arm" will act in drastic judgment as we see in Isaiah 59:1-21 and Isaiah 63:1-19. But another line of things is presented to us when we consider the passages which deal with the "Servant" of the Lord — particularly Isaiah 42:1-25, Isaiah 49:1-26 and Isaiah 53:1-12. There is now before us One who comes in lowly grace and humiliation, and suffering; who appears on the surface of things to fail in His mission, but who nevertheless will carry it to a triumphant issue. He is introduced to us in Isaiah 42:1-25, and we are at once told that though He will not come like political agitators amongst men, and will not break bruised reeds nor quench smoking flax; that is, not deal in judgment with such false and offensive people as the Pharisees were (see, Matthew 12:14-21); yet He will ultimately bring forth judgment unto truth, and that will be victory. It may look as if He fails, when He thus comes the first time in grace, but He will not fail, nor will He be discouraged. Moses failed, and Elijah was discouraged because he appeared to fail, but this Servant will accomplish His appointed task to perfection. Now in Isaiah 49:1-26 the same feature appears, and we hear the Servant Himself speaking in prophetic strain. He says, "I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and in vain." We turn to the Gospels and we see Him standing, the hour of His passion and death just ahead; and what was the apparent result of all His labours? Why, just a little handful of very humble folk: a few fishermen from Galilee’s lake-side, a few women who followed Him, and here and there received Him into their homes. In high-class and intellectual circles they were conspiring to arrest Him. They could ask in contemptuous tones, "Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on Him?" There could be no doubt about it: on the surface His mission had failed. But to all this the response of this perfect Servant was, "Yet surely My judgment is with the Lord, and My work with My God." In Isaiah 53:1-12 we read, "He was taken from prison and from judgment," which in Acts 8:1-40 is rendered as, "In His humiliation His judgment was taken away." In condemning Him, men violated every principle of right judgment, but He was content to maintain silence before His judges and’ remove His judgment to the highest Court in the universe. He knew that His vindication in the presence of Jehovah was sure. Therefore was He able to say, "Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and My God shall be My strength." Let us take note of that! Man’s thought and judgment is completely cancelled by God. The humbled Man — the discredited Prophet of Nazareth — as He trod His way to Calvary in the midst of the rabble throng, forsaken by His disciples, and the derision of men, was simply glorious in the eyes of Jehovah. He was about to lay the foundation for the superstructure of glory yet to be. And we are permitted in this chapter to have a glimpse of the Divine purposes. To raise up Jacob’s tribes and restore a godly remnant of Israel was a comparatively small matter. Wider and weightier things were in view. What were they? To be a light to the Gentiles and to be set as God’s salvation to the ends of the earth. Ultimately Israel will be gathered, as we know, but here is predicted what God is doing today, and into this light and blessing have we been brought by the grace of God, for now is the accepted time and the day of salvation. But we are not allowed to forget that this day of salvation is to be followed by the day of judgment, when the humbled Servant, once despised by men, shall be honoured and magnified. The great ones of the earth shall rise to their feet and do homage before Him. This theme is renewed in the closing verses of Isaiah 52:1-15, which really are the opening verses of the great chapter — Isaiah 53:1-12. Jehovah’s Servant is to be exalted and extolled and be very high, but the chapter proceeds to predict that He also is to be despised and rejected and brought very low. Now how are these two things to be reconciled? Gazing upon Him humbled and rejected, who is going to believe this unexpected report of His approaching exaltation and glory? Who perceives that the humbled "Servant" and the glorious "Arm" are one and the same Person? This has never yet been perceived by Israel. Yet in their own history there was an incident that foreshadowed it. In Genesis 35:1-29 we read how the coming into the world of Benjamin was associated with death. Hence a double name was called upon him. "The son of my sorrow" and "the son of the right hand" were one and the same person. Who then sees the glorious Arm of Jehovah in the Man of sorrows and the grief-acquainted One? Do you? Do I? We answer, Yes, thank God, we do. The rest of this marvellous chapter predicts how it all was to work out. Israel was indeed like dry ground — nothing fertile, nothing fresh, nothing living — but out of it sprang this root of all blessing, this tender plant. In the eyes of men He had no form nor comeliness — or lordliness — and hence He had not the kind of beauty that captures unconverted men. Many years ago now, the German Kaiser rode into Jerusalem in pomp, mounted on a white charger. That was the way to do it, if it is desired to impress men, and not riding an insignificant young donkey, as did our Lord. Hence the men of His day hid as it were their faces from Him. They despised Him and thought His sorrows were an infliction from God because He was an impostor. But a day is coming when the day of atonement, spoken of in Leviticus 23:27, will find its fulfilment, and there will be national repentance in Israel and much affliction of soul as the truth dawns upon them, and they exclaim: "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." We anticipate that time and appropriate these words as applying to ourselves, but that is because He has been set as a light to the Gentiles and God’s salvation to the ends of the earth. We turn the "our" into "my," and the "we are" into "I am;" and we cannot be too simple about it. Like good old Dr. Valpy, of a century or more ago, who wrote as his dying confession simple lines which have been used since to the blessing of many: "In peace let me resign my breath, And Thy salvation see; My sins deserve eternal death, But Jesus died for me." So do we say with all our hearts, for we are amongst the sheep that had gone astray. As we read down the chapter we discover how the prophet foresaw His death and burial. It is a remarkable fact that in verse 9, the word is literally "deaths," rather than "death." Remembering that "Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more," this might seem extraordinary. But we are told that according to Hebrew idiom the plural was used to express greatness and majesty. The prophet foresaw a death of such majestic proportions — ten thousand times ten thousand deaths rolled into one — that he used the plural of majesty to express it under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. Such indeed it was, and Joseph of Arimathea was specially born into the world that the words, "He was with the rich in His death," might be fulfilled. On that majestic death will hang for eternity the glory of God, and the blessing of the uncountable millions of the redeemed. It was not what men did as regards His death that was of such supreme importance, but what Jehovah did, as verse 10 makes so plain. Men put Him to grief, but the marvellous thing is that Jehovah did it, making His soul an offering for sin. There was truly the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, as we read in Hebrews, but here is something even more profound, the depth of which we shall never fathom, but out of which flow glorious results. He is to prolong His days in resurrection. And then He will "see His seed" — His spiritual progeny — who are, in the language of John 12:1-50, the "much fruit" produced by the dying of the single "corn of wheat." Moreover all the pleasure of Jehovah will prosper in His hand. In His risen glory He will bring to pass everything that is delightful to the heart of God. In all this He will have His own peculiar joy. In accomplishing the pleasure of Jehovah, He will see the fruit of "the travail of His soul," and it will fill up the cup of His satisfaction to the brim. A very little will satisfy us, for we are creatures of small capacities, but it will take an infinity of joy to satisfy Him. It shall all be His in that day for which we long. This we may speak of as His private portion. Verse 12 speaks of His public portion. These are those accounted great. The once despised Servant of Jehovah is to be amongst them — chief and foremost — for "the spoil" is His, and He divides it with those who have proved themselves strong in serving Him during the time of His rejection. But we must not fail to notice the first word, "Therefore." When He comes forth thus in splendour, it is because of His previous suffering in humiliation. Men might think that His sufferings were wholly contradictory, excluding any hope of His glory; whereas they prove to be the imperishable foundation on which His glory securely rests for ever and ever. No wonder that the first word of Isaiah 54:1-17 is "Sing." Barren Israel is to break forth into singing. In Isaiah 55:1-13 a Gospel call goes out to everyone that thirsts, and this includes Gentiles. While we wait for the glorious consummation it is for us Christians to maintain the song, and sound out the Gospel invitation until He comes. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 67: 066 CHRIST "FORMED IN YOU." ======================================================================== Christ "formed in you." F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 17, 1925, page 184.) A servant of God like the Apostle Paul, who combined in himself both the evangelist and the shepherd of souls, could not rest content with the outward profession of conversion or the outward assumption of the Christian place, no matter how many such professions there were. Nothing but inward reality would satisfy him. The churches of Galatia had their origin in the enthusiastic reception they gave to Paul and his message. In his epistle to them he does not deny their profession nor their church position, but he does express grave apprehension as to them, and an anxiety so acute as to be comparable to birth-pangs, because as yet he could not recognize that Christ was found in them and consequently he had to say, "I stand in doubt of you" (Galatians 4:19, 20). We call attention to this because the tendency to rest content with mere profession is very strong at the present day. It is good when souls profess faith in Christ, and thereby take the place of being "in Christ" — whether they realize the meaning of that term or not. What the true servant of Christ longs for, however, is to find Christ formed in ours, for then he knows they are in Christ, and all doubt of them is removed from his mind. In the latter part of Romans 5:1-21 we have man’s need, and the Divine intervention in view of man’s need considered from the standpoint, not of offences, but of nature and heredity. Adam was, as we may call him, the old fountain-head of humanity, and alas! that fountain and the stream which has proceeded from it are hopelessly defiled and corrupt. God has intervened by raising up a new fountain-head in Christ, once obedient unto death and now risen from the dead. Here all is perfection and by the full gift of grace the believer comes under this new Headship and partakes of this new source of life. We have not read far into Romans 6:1-23 before we meet with the expression "in Christ Jesus" for the first time in the epistle as applied to ourselves. We are to reckon ourselves "dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:11, N.T.). We have "eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23, N.T.), and "there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). Just as in connection with the dispensational ways of God, Gentiles who by nature are like wild olive branches have been "grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree" (Romans 9:24), so, in connection with God’s eternal purpose have we believers, who were but sinners, whether Jews or Gentiles, been grafted into Christ, and now stand in Christ. In nature the good is always grafted into the worthless stock, in grace, whether it be a question of God’s ways or of His vital and eternal purpose, the thing works in the contrary direction. We who believe are of God in Christ Jesus. (See 1 Corinthians 1:30) By a Divine act of infinite favour we find ourselves to be partakers in the very life and nature of Christ. From Him we derive and in Him we stand. We are not, however, in Christ apart from the Spirit of God. If Romans 8:1 speaks of us as "in Christ Jesus," verse 2 speaks of the spirit as "the spirit of life in Christ Jesus," and He indwells us so that He may extend His "law" or control over us, thus liberating us from the control which formerly sin and death exerted within us. As the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus He brings that blessed life into evidence in the saint. As the Spirit of Christ He forms Christ in us; and this is the subjective counterpart to being in Christ. By way of illustration consider again the matter of grafting. If in nature it were possible to work it in this contrary direction so that a branch of wild olive were grafted into the good olive tree to partake of its root and fatness, what would be the effect? Surely this, that the erstwhile wild olive branch would begin to put forth good and cultivated berries. Thus, and only thus, would it prove to the gardener the reality and effectiveness of the grafting operation. The reality of the branch being in the good olive would be attested by the good olive, in the visible shape of its good fruit, being formed in it. Now it was just here that the trouble lay with the Galatians. The true gospel had been preached amongst them, for Paul was the preacher. They had ostensibly received it and were professedly in Christ, but instead of Christ being so definitely formed in then that they were zealous for Him, they were desiring to be under law, and the apostle who was their spiritual mother was thrown again into birth-pangs of soul on their account. What would be Paul’s state of mind if he stood in the midst of professing Christians today? What travail would be his! But Paul is not here. Would it not be well then if we each endured a little travail over this question? — and possibly each endured it over his own case. Self-examination, when it has become a chronic habit, is not good; yet there are moments in all our histories when it is very profitable as leading to self-judgment. If self be judged, then Christ alone fills the vision of the soul. The spirit of self-judgment consequently is always good. The assembly at Corinth was in a poor condition. In his first epistle Paul plainly tells them that they were carnal. In his second he indicates that they were worldly (see 1 Corinthians 6:11-18). It was to such believers that he said, "Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me . . . examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates" (2 Corinthians 13:4, 5). That which is by profession the church today is swamped in carnality and worldliness. Would not the apostle then say just the same thing to us today? In writing to the Galatians he speaks of himself thus: — "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20). So Paul was a shining example of that which he desired so earnestly in the Galatians. Later on in the epistle, too, he details for us "the fruit of the Spirit," as "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22, 23). These nine features set before us the life of Christ. They preach to us Christ characteristically — the fruit of the Spirit and the outward result of Christ formed in us. Let each of us earnestly consider these things for, in a day of much outward profession, inward reality is of all importance. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 68: 067 CHRIST IS ALL ======================================================================== Christ is all. Genesis 3:14-15: Genesis 49:22-24: Numbers 24:15-17. Bangor, July 26th, 1936. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 28, 1936, page 217.) We all know that the Old Testament is the preparation for the New; so we only have to open the Old Testament at the book of Genesis and begin at the beginning to discover the first of the great prophecies concerning the coming of that mighty Personage, who is the foundation of everything and round whom everything revolves. In these few verses in Genesis 3:1-24 we have Him first as the Seed and, remarkably enough, as the Seed of the woman, and not of the man. We read on through Genesis and we don’t get many definite predictions until we come to chapter 49. True we find Him in "the seed" of Abram. The apostle Paul in the epistle to the Galatians is at pains to point out that he does not say "seeds" as of many but "Seed" as of one, and that One is Christ. This, of course, springs out of the fact that He was the seed of the woman, for the woman — Mary — was descended from Abram. This first great prediction of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ did not fall from mortal lips. Afterwards God did speak to men by prophets, but this most fundamental of all the great predictions came from the lips of the Lord God Himself, and was uttered not to man primarily, though we are permitted to hear it, but to the great adversary, Satan, under the form of the serpent. He said, "I will put enmity . . . between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." This word concerning the Seed of the woman is the great fundamental prediction of the coming of Christ. When we get to the end of Genesis, many things have happened to the race. Israel has been called, and Joseph has acted as a shepherd, since Israel himself and his descendants are now brought down into Egypt under his sheltering hand. In the fires of Egypt they were to be welded together as a nation. Seventeen years after their arrival Israel died and blessed his sons. Now we know from Hebrews 11:1-40 that Jacob’s last hours were his brightest. It was when he came to the finish that at last the power of the flesh in him was subdued, and the fire of faith that had been continually damped down by the world all his life burned with great brightness. So now he speaks as a man of faith, and when he comes to bless Joseph, he throws in that remarkable little parenthesis, printed as you notice in brackets "from thence," not from Jacob, but from the mighty God of Jacob, "is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel." So we discover that the Lord Jesus Christ is in view. He is the Seed, the Shepherd and the Stone. Genesis has been called, and very rightly, the seed plot of the Bible, and there you have three seed thoughts, which are marvellously developed as we go through the Scriptures. Then I pass on to the book of Numbers. Of course, there are types of Christ in Exodus and Leviticus. There are many things that speak of Christ, but I am thinking of the definite predictions of His coming. So we come to Balaam who was, as we know, a false man at the bottom, but who was laid hold of by the Holy Ghost. God imposed Himself upon Balaam so that he found it impossible to get in touch with the dark spirits of evil with whom habitually he had intercourse. He no longer sought these enchantments to use against Israel. God took hold of him and he was made to say things which were the Word of God. God can use a donkey, Balaam’s ass, or man, worse than the donkey, Balaam himself. And poor Balaam knew that though he would see Him he would not be nigh Him, yet he had to speak of His coming as the Star and the Sceptre. He is the Seed, the Shepherd, the Stone, the Star and the Sceptre; the five-fold presentation of the blessed Saviour whom we know. Now let us for a few moments consider these things in detail. As I was saying, the Seed is evidently the most fundamental of all. You see, God had no doubts or misapprehensions from the outset. He knew exactly the extent of the tragedy that sin had brought into the world. Adam transgressed, sin entered, and sin wholly corrupts that into which it enters. The first man and all his race was corrupted by the entrance of sin; so from the outset God made it very plain that a wholly new and original Seed must be introduced if the day was to be retrieved. Another Seed is necessary who should become the new Fountain-head of life and fertility for man — a Man of another order, a Man of another kind. A new Man is going to appear on the scene in due season as the seed of the woman. He came; and just because He was the seed of the virgin He was not of the first Adam’s race. As Son of God, He was able to step in and achieve the victory when the first man had fallen. Now we thank God that we can come in as of that Seed. When you get to Psalms 22:1-31 you find it ending with the words, "A seed shall serve Him." Well, that is what perverse man has not done. He has always gone in independence of God, instead of serving God. The natural bent of mankind is to act like a wild ass — kick over the traces — do what he likes. In the Psalm you have, "God is not in all his thoughts"; which means, if you could get all his thoughts together and examine them, you would not find one thought of God. You can see it in the world around. Man is in his thoughts, and nations, and money and pleasure. But God? — No, not God! Now there comes on the scene One who is altogether devoted to the will of God, who has God in all His thoughts. He sets the Lord, as Psalms 16:1-11 says, always before Him, and has Jehovah at His right hand so He is not to be moved. And it is not surprising, of course, that the One, who is characterised by such things, ends up at the right hand of God Himself. He was, indeed, Man of such a kind that the only possible place for Him was the right hand of Jehovah, the seat of the Majesty in the heavens. This One is the Seed of the woman, and He bruised the serpent’s head. That, of course, means the end of the serpent’s influence. He smites him in the very seat of his intelligence, though He did it, as the prophecy indicates, at personal cost to Himself — the bruising of His heel. But then we know the Lord Jesus Christ in other ways. Now the Shepherd speaks of control and attraction. The eastern shepherd goes before his sheep, exerts an influence over them, exercises control upon them. Thank God we know Jesus as the Shepherd. We have come to know His Shepherd care. We can add many details, can we not? to that which Jacob was able to express. Yes, the Shepherd has come and we know Him and we have come, blessed be God, under His mighty guiding hand. It is very evident that the people of God are like sheep; they need the Shepherd. The Shepherd has arrived. From another standpoint we need the Stone. Now a stone may speak of many things but it certainly speaks of stability. Men build their houses, make their erections, but sooner or later it all comes down. God is going to have His erection. God is the Builder and He has found His Stone. In the Old Testament that thought is greatly developed. You may remember Psalms 118:1-29. Isaiah too speaks of the Stone. We read of the sure foundation stone in Isaiah 28:1-29. In Psalms 118:1-29 we get that great word about the Stone which the builders refused having become the very Head Stone of the corner. The Lord Jesus Christ was God’s Stone. Coming from thence, He was the Stone of Israel. But He was a stone of such a character and shape that He did not, He could not, fit into men’s building, experiment as they might. The Pharisees and others who were the national builders, busy with their religious systems, would have been glad to have had someone who could do marvellous works of power. If only He would have joined with them in a mutual admiration society, and patted them on the back and let them pat Him on the back, they would have been glad. And if He had so acted as to ensure that religious power and authority and prestige should still belong to them; why, they would have worked Him in. He would have been received with acclamation. But no! He was not a stone of that sort. He could not be worked into man’s corrupt, tumble down, ramshackle building, and they rejected Him. But in spite of their refusal He is the Stone of Israel, the great Foundation upon whom everything rests. We can say with very glad hearts, And the Foundation for us also. In Genesis these things stand in a setting that relates to the earth and to Israel. As we go further on we see they have an application to ourselves. In Ephesians 2:1-22, and elsewhere, we find He is the chief corner Stone of the Church edifice — that which God is building today. When we get to the times of Balaam, although God can look upon Israel from the top of the rocks, from His own standpoint, and see them and speak of them according to His own thoughts, yet as a matter of fact the horrible perverseness of poor Israel has become manifest. What hope, we may ask, can there be if, God having called out a people to represent Him before the poor nations sunken in idolatry, they turn out like this. They were to be the centre around which God will gather the other nations for the ordering of the earth. If there is to be a settled condition of things on earth we must have Israel in the right place, the central place among the nations of the earth, and the nations blessed in and through Israel. But look what Israel is! How perverse, how bent upon going in exactly the other way to the way in which God would lead them! What is going to be done with a people like that? Why, all through the wilderness they had been running after other gods whenever they had the smallest opportunity. They had said, No, to every thought of God on their behalf. Well, through the lips of Balaam comes this wonderful word that even yet there will arise out of that people the Star and the Sceptre. The Star speaks of hope, and the Sceptre speaks of rule and government. Where is our hope? We answer, In the Lord Jesus Christ. You may say, you are not telling us anything we don’t know. I am not indeed, but do we KNOW this as we should? This prediction of Balaam’s may have led the wise men of the East to associate our Lord with the star when He came the first time. That may have been, but it is very certain that the thought of the star is taken up in the New Testament, and the Lord Jesus Christ does present Himself to us in the closing chapter of the Bible as "the bright and morning Star." He is the One who cannot be obscured by the clouds of this world, if the faith of His people is kept simple and centred in Him. He is the Star of hope for our hearts to-day, and looking abroad in the earth we can see today, perhaps more than in any other period of the world’s history, that it badly needs a righteous sceptre. Psalms 45:1-17 tells us He will wield the sceptre. But here He is spoken of as being the Sceptre. Of course, the Shepherd speaks of rule, the kindly rule of the One who cares for the sheep. But when you think of the Sceptre it is the rule of power, because the prophet goes on to say, He "shall smite;" He "shall destroy." You and I may not be much concerned about the corners of Moab or the children of Sheth, but we know the earth is full of confusion and that men seem to be bent on making things worse confounded. Thank God, we know the One who is the Sceptre and in whose hands will repose all rule and all dominion, and it is necessary that as the Sceptre He should smite. Judgment will follow just as and where it is deserved. The future, my friends, is in the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Man of the coming day. Now I particularly wanted to say these things to you for this reason — the tendency of our hearts is always to turn from Him to something or somebody else; so having pointed out these scriptures my little message this afternoon must be this: Remember that it has never been supposed from the outset that there is hope or help or deliverance or blessing anywhere else but in Christ. A great many people are looking back to Pentecost, or back to the Reformation, or back to a hundred years ago. I will not name more precisely the revival which I believe God did very graciously grant one hundred years ago, for immediately God gives a gracious reviving the tendency is to forget the Reviver and be occupied with the revival. Now there is nothing in any revival, except there has been revived something concerning Christ. When the Holy Ghost came at Pentecost He came as the Spirit of Christ. He came from the exalted Head. He was like the holy ointment that flowed from the head to the skirts of Aaron’s garments as Psalms 133:1-3 speaks. Everyone of the priestly family came under the anointing as the Man of God’s purpose the great Head went into glory and took His seat. The might and power of His Name was brought by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, and the theme of the apostles was not the Holy Ghost, but the Christ who had died and rose again. The living Christ became a great reality and a mighty work of God took place. Then there have been granted occasions when through mercy there has been some reviving of this: the Reformation, for instance. Though with many imperfections — there is no perfection outside of Christ — the faith of godly men laid hold of something of Christ, and laying hold of Him He wrought in their hearts and moved men. Each revival was wonderful and most blessed, until the minds of folk generally slipped away from the One who is the great Fountain-Head of all blessing and they became occupied with the glorious condition of things produced down here — the revival and the work. Then immediately things began to wilt and fade. That is why, my friends, whether young or old, we need continually to be recalled to the fact that there is really no hope anywhere but in Christ. It has often been said the Church is never the subject of prophecy, I suppose, for a very good reason: the Church, after all, is only that which takes its origin from Christ. All prophecy centres not in the Church but in Him. He is the Fountain-Head. There is no hope in the Church, or the brethren, or in the revival, in you, or in me, or in the most gifted man that ever lived. All centres in Christ, and the one thing that will help us, young or old, is this, freshly getting our hearts set on Christ, freshly getting our souls suffused with the glory and excellence of Christ, freshly laying hold of the fact that there has never yet been a situation, and never will be, which He is not equal to meeting. The New Translation renders Acts 13:36, "David after he had in his own age served the will of God." That is the utmost any one of us can do. It is impossible to foretell the details of the future. My business is to do the little bit allotted to me in the present as I may be enabled by His grace. I do it very imperfectly, as I can see, but the great Head on high has resources which are everlasting. To carry on His work through the years — that is His business. He will carry things through. It is getting a long time ago since as a youth I first came into a little meeting. I am glad not sorry it was a feeble concern, because I never got the idea that the movement was a prosperous thing. Still, even so, I did get an impression that here was something stable, a kind of institution for all time. I have had to unlearn that impression. There is no hope, never has been any hope, we never ought to have had an atom of hope, in men, or brethren, or movements, or reformation, or revivals. If God gives us revival we thank Him, it is all His mercy. But let us never get away from this, everything is centred in Christ, hanging on Him, and it always was so. It has never been supposed from the outset that there is any hope but in Him. He is the First, the original, as the Seed, He is the Shepherd, the Stone, the Star, and as the Sceptre He will be the Last. We have a Master on high, we belong to the risen Head, we are linked with Him, and our hopes are in Him, and He is the Master of the situation, the Star of hope. We are waiting for Him, and He will wield the sceptre and this rebellious earth will quieten into peace beneath His righteous sway. Fixyour heart on Him, and you will find that you have got a Resource that will carry you through. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 69: 068 CHRIST: SACRIFICE, BLESSER, CENTRE, BUILDER ======================================================================== Christ: Sacrifice, Blesser, Centre, Builder, Leader, Judge, Administrator. F. B. Hole. John 1:29-51. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 20, 1928, page 66.) The first chapter of John’s Gospel presents to us the Lord Jesus in the most exalted way. We are permitted to travel back in our minds to the most remote moment that we can possibly conceive of, the moment when there began to be the beginning of everything that has had a beginning, and we discover that He whom we know as our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Himself, was there then — the Word who was God, and who was with God. Then He became flesh and tabernacled among us so that those who loved Him might behold His glory and afterwards be able to write and say, "We have heard . . . we have seen with our eyes . . . we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the Word of Life " (1 John 1:1-10). He became audible, visible, tangible, even to men like ourselves, and He brought us the wonderful light of God, which shines for us today. He is the true Light. The Lord Jesus then, a Man, has appeared amongst us and what wonderful things we have in Him! To begin with, in the verse that I first read, we discover that Jesus, the Word, who became flesh amongst us, is the Lamb of God for the bearing away of the sin of the world. He is presented to us as the great SACRIFICE for sin. I can well imagine that everybody here is thinking, "Well, we do certainly know something about that; we should not be Christians at all if we did not know the Lord Jesus in that capacity." Still we must remember that the fact is stated in John 1:29, in all its greatness as God sees it. The point is not merely the taking away of your sins, or my sins, but the fact that He is the great taker-away of sin. In virtue of His sacrifice as the Lamb, God is going ultimately to take away the last vestige of sin and all its results from that great universe which will lie through eternal days beneath His smile. We pass a little further down the chapter and we discover that He who is the taker-away of sin by becoming the Lamb of sacrifice, is also the BLESSER. He is the One who baptises with the Holy Ghost, and thus, you see, He is not merely going to take away all the evil, but He is going to bring in all the blessing. He will flood the whole scene with the mighty energy of the Spirit of God. A day is coming when this baptism of the Spirit will affect all things here below, for in the bright millennial age God is going to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. We Christians through infinite grace anticipate that day, for our sins have been forgiven and we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The joys which, thanks be to God, fill the hearts of Christians, are joys which are theirs in virtue of the indwelling Spirit of God. The Lord Jesus is He who has ministered them to us by His Spirit. He has already given the Holy Ghost to us. Then we read further in the chapter and discover that He who is the Sacrifice and the Blesser, is the God-appointed CENTRE of attraction for all God’s people. When Jesus called Peter and Andrew and John and James and they followed Him, as recorded in Matthew 4:1-25, it was not the first introduction of these disciples to our Lord. These things happened after John was cast into prison; the things recorded in John 1:1-51 happened before that event, and were the very start of that sweet and blessed companionship and communion that was known by these disciples with the Lord Jesus Christ here upon earth. He was set before them by John’s remark, "Behold the Lamb of God," and hearing it they left John and followed Jesus. They instinctively discovered that here, not in John the Baptist, great man though he was, but here in the Lord Jesus, the Word become flesh, was the One worthy to be the great attractive centre for all the people of God. They left John, they followed Jesus, and when challenged by Him they said, Lord, our desire is to know where dwellest Thou? He said unto them, "Come and see"; they came and saw where He dwelt and abode with Him. Come now, my friends, have you discovered that the Lord Jesus is the great attractive centre for the people of God; that God’s thought plainly expressed at the beginning and to be realized on a grand scale at the end is to make His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the One to whom we are all united and all attracted? He is the all-important and all-sufficient Centre of God’s people. Here we have the beginning, and we might well envy Andrew. We do not know very much about him, for he was not a shining light like his brother Peter whom he afterwards brought to the Lord, yet Andrew has a distinction that is not Peter’s. Andrew and another, whoever he may be, possibly the writer of this Gospel, had a great distinction. When we get to those great scenes in glory and the Lord Jesus Christ comes forth in the midst of all the mighty host of His redeemed church, Andrew will be able to say, "Lord, of all the thousands of thousands here to-day, I was the first. It was given to me first of all these countless millions to make the discovery that it is not John the Baptist, and it is not the ancient prophets, and it is not Moses, and it is not Elijah, and it is not my brother Peter, and it is not myself; it is Thyself Lord Jesus, THOU art the attractive Centre, and Thou alone." I hope we have all made this discovery, humbly following in the footsteps of Andrew in that respect. Christ is the Centre, but when you come to verse 42, you discover from His own words, although He put it in what we might call a somewhat cryptic way, that He is the great BUILDER of that which is going to stand untouched by all the ravages of time. When Peter was brought to Him by Andrew, the Lord Jesus forestalled him, and indicating His divine omniscience, He said in effect, "I know who you are; you are Simon, the son of Jonas, and now I rename you, thereby establishing My ownership, and I call you Cephas, and that means a stone." Possibly Peter thought, What a strange name! Not until the time came recorded in Matthew 16:1-28. did Peter get an inkling of what it really signified. Jesus then said, "Thou art Peter," that means a stone — a little piece of stone — and then He said, speaking of Himself, the Son of the Living God, "Upon this rock I will build My church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." I am going to use a very homely phrase, but use it with reverence, Peter was just a chip of the block. He was not the block, for Christ Himself was the Rock. In John 1:1-51 the Lord Jesus was virtually saying to Peter, "Whatever you know or do not know, whatever you realize or do not realize, no matter what you are conscious of or what you are not conscious of, coming to Me I annex you for My structure, My building." The world we live in is like a large ant heap. Oh! what busy builders are the ants, especially when the spring comes, but then that thoughtless cow plants her ugly hoof straight into the middle of the ant hill and there is great consternation. Poor little ants! Why, my dear friends, that has been the history of the world again and again; nations have sprung at each others’ throats and the ant hill has been greatly disturbed and the builders have been destroyed. You may even build your "churches," but man himself will knock down what man himself has made and time will make ravages upon all that man builds. Oh! Christian, wake up to it! Christ is the Builder and in the mighty energy of His Holy Spirit He is making more Peters — and there are a good many Peters through grace here tonight — more stones, and yet more stones. Thus quietly, and as silently as Solomon’s temple was constructed, He is building. He is the Builder and that which He builds in the energy of His Spirit is the thing that is going to stand, when all man’s little "churches" and his best "societies" have died a natural, or it may be an unnatural, death. That which Christ constructs is the thing that counts, for it is the thing that will stand to eternity. So do not be downhearted if something is going wrong in some little society of your choice, because the sun will not suffer eclipse if it goes wrong. That which is for Christ and His glory, according to the purpose of God, is never going to be eclipsed, for it will never fail. Christ is the Builder. The next verse tells us Christ is the LEADER. We had such a wonderful leader for our cause, but he is gone — some may say. The trouble is the years roll on and the leaders go, but Christ said, "Follow Me," as He is our Leader, and He abides for ever. In verse 47 we discover that Christ is not only the Leader but the JUDGE. When Nathanael came into His presence the Lord showed him that He knew everything about him by saying, "Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile." That is not equivalent to saying "In whom is no sin." Guile is sin it is true, yet there is much sin that is not guile. Guile is hypocrisy, vain pretence, unreality, lack of uprightness and honesty. Nathanael was a man who though a sinner was honest. Beneath the fig tree he had doubtless been confessing his sins to God, and Jesus, knowing that, said, "Here is a true Israelite who is without hypocrisy and not like the rest carrying on their religious ceremonials to keep up appearances." The mass were making believe that all was going on quite well though they had not got the beautiful glory cloud, for the divine presence had left them. Still they kept up a round of religious observances when God was not there, and the power was gone and it was an empty shell without a kernel. Nathanael was not like that; I hope we are not like that. Now the Lord Jesus showed Himself to be the Critic and the all-discerning Judge, and if He approves, well you really need not be much concerned that men blame you. In the last verse of the chapter we discover that not only is He the Centre of attraction and the Builder and the Leader and the Judge, but He is the great ADMINISTRATOR of the coming age. A day is coming and our eyes, blessed be God, shall see it, when the Lord Jesus Christ as Son of man shall take the central place in God’s mighty universe, angels ascending to him from beneath and descending on Him from above. Angels are now the servants of One who is a Man — "For unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come," but unto MAN. The prophet had said, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him or the Son of man that Thou visitest him?" Jesus said, "Verily verily I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." You shall see the Son of man at the central exchange of divine authority; His word is law, His angels do His bidding in all quarters of His universe. What did He say? In regard to the gathering work that had already commenced in a small way with Andrew and Peter, Philip and Nathanael, and that was going to proceed and enlarge, He said to Nathanael, "Thou shalt see greater things than these." Well, blessed be God, so we shall. Could you gather all the children of God in Newcastle together what a large meeting we should have, much larger than this. Could we gather all the children of God in England together — let them roll up in their tens of thousands — what a gathering we should have! Yet it would be a very small affair compared with what is coming. We are going to see greater things than these. We are going to see Christ in His central place of authority, administering in power, and all things subject to Him, and the whole church of God associated with Him in His glory. Somebody may be saying, "What is the practical good of talking about these things while our surrounding conditions are so distressful?" Why, just this, what we want, is to encourage you to get into real personal, spiritual, prayerful contact, by faith for yourself, with the Lord Jesus Christ. The state of public religion in this land of ours for many a long day has been feeble, because so much of it has been of a secondhand type. The attitude of so many has been, "Let the minister do it for me, let the priest do it for me. Do we not support them, and do they not carry on our religious matters with God?" Perhaps surreptitiously you rather like it so, because such an arrangement does not put demands upon you. Christian! Christian! you are Christ’s one — the very meaning of your name — and you have to do with your Lord. You have to get into contact with Christ, and that is the end of the meetings that we have been holding to-day. We aim at persuading you to a little soul concern on this matter. You young Christians, every one of you, see to it that you are concerned not to indulge in a kind of secondhand religion, but to have personal dealings with your Lord. In faith seek it and it will be yours. Knock at this door and it shall be opened, and you will have the privilege of personal heart contact with, and knowledge of, the Lord Jesus Christ, and when you enjoy that, then you will be able to go on. You will be in touch with the one great Centre, and the great Builder Himself, and this is the secret of being carried through. Newcastle-on-Tyne, Oct. 26th, 1927. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 70: 069 CHRIST: THE DIVINE RESOURCE ======================================================================== Christ: The Divine Resource. Frank B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth, 1914, Vol. 6, page 132.) In all the long history of the conflict of good and evils never once has God been taken by surprise. In the pages of the Old Testament we trace the progress of that conflict over the space of four thousand years, during which period to all appearances every fresh joining of battle resulted in the worsting of good through the general failure of the persons or the people who were taken up by God as His servants and warriors. So universal was this failure that by the time the days of Malachi were reached it seemed as though good would have to retire from the unequal contest to make room for an outpouring of resistless judgment by which the evil might be swept away. Hence the closing words of the Old Testament, "lest I come and smite the earth with a curse (Malachi 4:6). The New Testament, however, opens with the reappearance of good livingly personified in Jesus, and at once the tide of battle was turned, and through lowliness and humility, even unto the suffering of death, was the impregnable position of REDEMPTION taken up. There mercy and truth met together, righteousness and peace kissed each other; and from thence will they ultimately go forth to final victory. All through the black night of defeat, which the Old Testament so faithfully chronicles, the children of faith were cheered by the twinkling star-light of Messianic promise, and as the centuries slowly passed, these promises concerning THE CHRIST not only increased in number but became clearer and more definite in outline, so that such a record as Hebrews 11:1-40 presents became a possibility. Of such it could be said, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." If they were so animated and affected by what they dimly saw, shall not we who live in the sunshine of New Testament revelation — we "whose souls are lighted by wisdom from on high" — shall not we gain fresh strength and courage by seeing the way in which God Himself always fell back upon His Resource in Christ: the way in which every fresh disaster encountered in the long-drawn-out testing of the first man only served to throw into fresh relief the excellency and stability and triumph that should be found when there should be revealed the "second Man," the Lord out of heaven. Though Messianic predictions and allusions, in type and song and prophecy, lie scattered over Old Testament pages much as the stars of heaven besprinkle the black face of the night sky, yet all are not of the same distinct and important type; just as, to pursue the analogy, all stars are not of the first magnitude. One striking fact, however, will be noticed; several of the greatest prophecies, true stars of the first magnitude, shone forth in moments of great crisis, when some cherished thought of God, entrusted for a moment to some representative of the "first man," had failed. Let us briefly trace a few examples. The greatest of all Old Testament crises was the fall of Adam as recorded in the early chapters of Genesis. In this first man was expressed the original thought of God for man; so much so that, set in innocence as head of creation, he becomes a type of Christ, just as when fallen he becomes His greatest contrasts This splendid creature, the intelligent head of creation, its connecting link with the Creator, became the object of the malignant attack of evil, through Satan its originator. The deceiver began by casting doubt upon the word of God; this accomplished, he easily sowed seeds of distrust of God, which soon bore heir sad fruit in an open act of rebellion against God. Thus was the wreck of the first creation accomplished in the ruin of its head. The top link — connecting the chain of creation with its Creator — being snapped, the whole chain fell away. This was a crisis indeed! The fall being an accomplished fact, a whole train of dire results was set in motion, and of these we read in Genesis 3:14-19, first in regard to the serpent, then the woman, and then the man. In all those solemn words which fell from the lips of the Lord God there is only one ray of hope. No word was said as to the recovery or re-instatement of Adam; no hope held out that in future ages, by means of education and progress, the results of that day might be reversed. In the beginning of His pronouncement, however, the Lord God did predict the appearance of the Seed of the woman, saying, "It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel" (ver. 15). This first prophecy of the coming Messiah was not entrusted to human lips, as were subsequent ones; it was uttered directly by God Himself. At least four of the great facts of the gospel may be discerned enfolded in its words. 1. The coming Deliverer should be Man. He should be "her Seed." 2. He should be a Man of a unique kind, and not one born according to the ordinary laws of human generation. God spoke not of "their seed," or "his seed," but of "her Seed." In these words were involved the truth of the "virgin birth," at which modern scepticism so ostentatiously stumbles. 3. The coming Man should enter the arena of conflict, and, turning the tables, should vanquish the victor. In bruising - or crushing — the serpent’s head, He would smite him a death-blow in the very centre of his intelligence and power. 4. This great coming victory should not be achieved without personal loss and suffering to the Victor. In the bruising of the heel of the Seed of the woman we have one of those marvellous germ-thoughts of which Genesis is full: when expanded in New Testament light it presents to us the picture of the rejected Man of sorrows overthrowing the powers of darkness by dying. ". . . the Conqueror slain, Slain in His victory!" No second man appeared until Christ came. Every man that trod the earth between was but Adam reproduced in the second, third, or fortieth generation, as the case might be. Only in the Messiah was this sad succession, with its accompanying entail of sin and death, broken. He was truly Man, but of another order to that of Adam, miraculously born of the virgin under the power of the Holy Ghost. To the appearing of this Man, who is the Son of God, did the Lord God look on that fatal day of defeat and ruin. He was uplifted as the Divine Resource; and thus there blazed forth upon the darkened sky the first star of promise for the encouragement of faith. There is no record in Genesis of any further prophecy during the ante-diluvian age, but when that dispensation had reached its close in the judgment of the flood, and a fresh period had started, marked by the establishment of government in the earth by Noah, then in connection with a fresh crisis a fresh prophecy was given. The new regime had not long prevailed when there arose in the earth a Satan-inspired system of idolatry. The first home of this frightful curse appears to have been in the Babylonian region. Its nature seems to have been the deifying of dead heroes, or rather the worshipping of Satan and his demons under cover of deified heroes. The subtle craft underlying the mythology of the Babylonian idolatry, and all the other national systems of idolatry derived from it, such as the Egyptian, Grecian, and Roman, was seen in this: that it kept in the background the dark and mysterious figure of a great and powerful god who acted as father, whilst it put in the foreground a goddess with her son, who became the great objects of veneration. This would lead one to suppose that if no one else had understood the prophecy of Genesis 3:15, Satan had done so; and that he prepared in advance to discount the coming of the real Deliverer by this wretched parody. The plague of this idolatry had overspread the earth, when, out of its very home and hotbed, Abraham was called that he might become the depository of earthly blessing; and when he had proved the reality of his faith in connection with the offering up of Isaac, there was made to him a further promise in connection with his Seed, of whom Isaac, dead and risen in figure, was a type. It was said, "In thy Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 22:18). Reading this in connection with the context, it is evident that "the Seed of Abraham" presents to us Christ as having died and risen again, so that through Him, and in Him, the blessing of God might overspread all nations. This was the resource of God just when the devil’s curse of idolatry had overspread all the nations so recently formed at the tower of Babel. Notice, too, that previously it was the crushing of the former victor; now it is the blessing of those formerly vanquished. Thus it was that another star of hope shed its beams above the dark horizon. From this point, the call of Abraham, the divine plan unfolded with greater rapidity. There sprang up from his descendants Israel, the chosen people, who were constituted a nation when delivered from Egypt under the leadership of Moses, the apostle of the law-system. They were to be entirely separated from the surrounding nations sunken in idolatry, in order that they might be God’s witness-bearers in the earth. At the beginning of their history the fortunes of that nation were largely bound up with the individual faith and energy of Moses himself, although the priesthood was almost immediately established. This was specially true after the incident of the golden calf, when both priest and people so lamentably failed. From that point more than ever did Moses, "faithful in all God’s house," stand forth as a contrast to the rest. Numbers 12:1-16 makes very plain his special place as the great prophet of God, by whom the Lord spake, and to whom He spake "mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches" (vers. 2, 8). At a later stage in Israel’s history, in the declining days of the kings, the prophets again became the chief link between the people and God, but never did they have such a place of prominence as belonged to Moses, the greatest of them all. And Moses failed! Angered beyond endurance by the irritating perversity of that stiff-necked people, the meekest man in the earth spoke unadvisedly with his lips. How grievous a sin this was may be easily seen if we remember that these hot and scorching words of anger flowed as a torrent from the mouth that had been specially set apart to convey to the people the veritable words of God upon which they might hang their souls. Another cherished thought of God had apparently come to grief, for the prophetic office, in its highest Old Testament expression, had broken down by reason of the weakness of the best of men. This was another crisis of the first magnitude. Then it was that another great prophecy of Scripture was given. The passage that records it — Deuteronomy 18:15-19 — makes it plain that Moses received the communication from the lips of God as far back as the days of Sinai, at the start of the forty years of wandering; the public announcement of it was, however, delayed until, at the end of the forty years, he had to ascend Nebo to die because of his sin. How suitable was this! How hearts must have quailed at the prospect; even those of men of faith, such as Joshua and Caleb! With what thrilling power, then, must have come the revelation of the divine words: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put My words in His mouth; and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him." "It is well," they must have said; "so God is not defeated, after all." Thus, though the sun of Moses, obscured by failure, set while yet it was high day, as far as his natural strength was concerned, there arose upon the world this fresh star of promise concerning another PROPHET who should be the perfect exponent of the mind of God, and through whose lips there should flow nothing but the clear waters of the truth. And that Prophet was CHRIST. As we have already noticed, the failure of the priestly office in Aaron even antedated that of the prophetic office in Moses; nevertheless, for some time after his death it seems to have maintained its importance, and been the main link between Israel and God. As an institution it persisted, of course, to the time of Christ; but under Eli and his sons it reached the lowest point of degradation, and from that point its importance declined. The sin of Eli’s sons marked another of those crises of which we have spoken. Another of these divinely-established offices had failed, and fallen into disrepute in man’s hands. Rottenness and corruption had invaded it to such an extent that instead of the lips of these young men "keeping knowledge," so that men "should seek the law at His mouth" (see Malachi 2:7), their sin was "very great before the Lord: for men abhorred the offering of the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:17). Another of these great thoughts of God was apparently to fall to the ground. Again, however, the Lord intervened with a new message which is recorded in the same chapter, verses 27-36. An unnamed man of God appeared with a message of judgment for Eli. God would smite his unruly house with such a curse that both the ears of all who heard it should tingle. And yet at the close of this terrible message there came a gleam of light, for he proceeded to say: "I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed forever." (ver. 35). So, after all, deep though the dishonour, the priesthood should not perish for ever. Another should take it up in faithfulness as pronounced as the previous unfaithfulness. Another should carry out the office according to God’s mind, and be established for ever. Another star of hope shone forth for the encouragement of the faith that watched through the ever-darkening night. God was not defeated, for He had in reserve One who should be not only prophet but priest. In due time there would come the faithful priest: and that priest is CHRIST. Subsequent to the days of Eli the kingdom was established in the midst of Israel, and after Saul the wilful king had been removed, David the man after God’s heart was set up. Once again the story of failure repeated itself. The seeds of decay were sown right at the beginning. David grievously broke down, and the evil rapidly reproduced itself in his house. Another great crisis arose as once more in connection with this fresh departure all appeared to be lost. But as before, the Divine Resource was speedily unveiled. As David at the end of his career surveyed the condition of his house with its incipient ruin, his soul was strangely moved, and he took up his lyre for the last time. The Spirit of the Lord spake by him, and this is what He said: ’’The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain" (2 Samuel 23:3, 4). After David’s death, oppression and injustice came in like a flood, but for the comfort of each believing heart another star of hope had risen, by the revelation once again of the Resource of God. There would be another King, marked by absolute justice and the fear of God, and beneath His beneficent sway the earth would rejoice, being brought into the light of a new and cloudless day. Again we may say with rejoicing all was not lost: kingly dominion shall not be for ever a ghastly failure. The true, the righteous King will come. He will be CHRIST. ................................ And we, upon whom the ends of the ages are come, shall not we too rejoice in the contemplation of these things? We live in days that witness the breakup and dissolution of many things; some of them doubtless but human institutions which need not be deplored; others have their roots in that which is divine, and our hearts might rightly be depressed did we not know that Christ is the Resource of God. Nothing shall fail. All shall be carried to a triumphant issue. He who has become the second Man, He who has died and risen again, He who has assumed the offices of Prophet, Priest, and King, will never fail nor be discouraged. Let us remember that man is nothing, nor was he ever anything; CHRIST IS EVERYTHING. Let none of us then glory in man. We are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made everything to us in order that we might from henceforth and for ever glory in the Lord. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 71: 070 CHRIST: THE PRINCE OF PEACE ======================================================================== Christ: the Prince of Peace. Frank B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth, 1915, Vol. 7, page 28.) It is hardly possible to imagine a greater spectacle of unrest and discord than that which the world presents at the present time. In every sphere the same phenomena are observable. Politically and industrially the whole civilised world has been shaken of late, nowhere more so than in Great Britain, where disorder of the gravest kind was only just averted by the outbreak of the colossal war of nations which is now engaging every one’s attention. With religious strife and discord we have long been unhappily familiar. Under such circumstances it is not surprising that the drift of men’s desires is in the direction of peace, and that the scriptural picture of a golden age of a thousand years’ duration, when there shall be "abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth," and "quietness and assurance for ever," has caught the popular fancy, so that the "millennium" is often referred to by people who have little idea what it means, and very mistaken notions as to how it is to be brought to pass. It is the object of this paper to point out how the age of peace is to be reached, and also how, during the present age of evil and unrest, peace amongst the saints of God may be promoted. If reference be made to the passages from which the two brief quotations above were made it will be seen at once that millennial peace depends for its realization upon authority and power being vested in Christ, and consequently righteousness being established in the earth. Psalms 72:1-20 begins with "Give the King Thy judgments, O God . . . He shall judge Thy people with righteousness," and it is "in His days" that there shall be "abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth" (ver. 7). Isaiah 32:1-20 declares that "the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever" (ver. 17). What lies at the root of all the discord so painfully manifest? The perverse and wicked will of man, which manifests itself in a thousand ways. At the present time Europe resounds with the fearful clash of national will-power, millions of units bound by racial and national ties focussing their wills upon a common end, and giving expression to them by their representatives. This is, perhaps, the most powerful display of human will, but it is seen in ever-varying degree in every kind of society and sect in which men have banded themselves together, and in every individual, down to the little child who kicks and screams and destroys the peace of his nursery, because he cannot have his own way. Moreover, self is the centre around which every thought of our wills revolves; hence God is dethroned, and all that is right displaced. To-day it is man’s will and unrighteousness instead of the rule of Christ and consequently righteousness. The history of the world is one long and dismal story of human schemes and struggles to find a satisfactory solution of the present state of things. This is particularly the case since the coming of Christ, when by rejecting Him men refused the divinely given solution. They killed the Prince of Life, who is also the Prince of Peace. Things will never be right until He returns. To the day of Christ’s return and glory the Old Testament prophets make abundant reference, and again and again they connect the peace that will characterise the millennial age with the judgments that will precede its establishment, and the strong and righteous government that will mark its duration. A couple of passages may be cited as examples of this:- "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end" (Isaiah 9:6, 7). "In the way of Thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for Thee . . . for when Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. . . . Lord, Thou wilt ordain peace for us" (Isaiah 26:8, 9, 12). The times of the Gentiles started with the most absolute autocracy the world has ever witnessed, in the world-wide dominion of Nebuchadnezzar, and prophecy indicates that they will end with the autocratic power of the "beast," in spite of the fact that at present democracy is all the rage. This latter, which has been defined as "government of the people, by the people, for the people," is about as far as possible from the divine ideal, which, as indicated in the scriptures above quoted, is government of the people, by Christ, for God; and therefore for man’s true blessing. At the present time not a few are cherishing the false hope that this war will be the last: the idea being that the curse of militarism is largely bound up with the autocratic ideals cherished by the Kaiser, and that the overthrow of his power will pave the way for the spread of broader and more democratic ideas, under the influence of which war will become impossible. Democracy and peace are to the minds of such almost synonymous terms. How pitiful a delusion! Such a thought can only be held by ignoring the fact of the essential sinfulness of human nature, attested by thousands of years of human history. The idea is denied also by experience, for the only time in the past when pure democracy held sway blazes like a lurid beacon of warning upon the page of history: I refer to the great French Revolution, with its reign of Terror. Last, but not least, it is absolutely denied by Scripture. I refer to these matters because they are by no means unimportant for the Christian. Far too many of God’s saints have never seriously reviewed the position in the light of the Word of God, and hence accept these great world movements, political or otherwise, at their face value without investigation, and get caught in the current of the world. As a result, they yoke themselves unequally with unbelievers, in plain disobedience to the Word of God, and they consecrate their energies to the laborious building up of systems which the coming of Christ will destroy - just as children labour in the erecting of sand castles, which the next tide will wash away. Would to God that each of His children were diligent and untiring in His work! — the work that is in keeping with His plan for this dispensation: viz. the bearing of witness to Christ unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8), and the taking out of the nations, as a result, a people for His name (Acts 15:14). Peace upon earth, then, will be reached when by judgments God shall remove every peace-disturber, purging out of His kingdom all things that offend: it will be maintained throughout the millennial age by government exercised in the hand of Christ. The original peace of an innocent creation was broken when man forsook his allegiance to God, and by disobedience withdrew himself from His direction; it will only be regained when men come back with chastened spirits, and submit once more to the control of God. The divine purpose to "gather together [or, head up] in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, "will then be fulfilled. The will of that great and glorious Head will prevail to the exclusion of every other will — "of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end." During the present age the church, which is the habitation of God by the Spirit, is left in this world of unrest as an abode of peace. Had it maintained this character with ranks unbroken what a testimony for Christ it would have been! We cannot, however, read further than the sixth chapter of the Acts without discovering the first symptoms of that disease which has since developed into a raging and destructive epidemic. The murmuring that arose amongst the Jewish converts to Christianity because certain Greek-speaking widows were neglected, as compared with their Hebrew sisters, might have seemed a small thing, in reality it meant a great deal. When we turn to the Epistles we find that in nearly all of them some allusion is made to the danger that threatened by reason of the inveterate tendency of the flesh toward dissension, bickerings, and fratricidal strife. In some cases, such as those to the Corinthians, to Timothy, James, and 3 John, the warnings and rebukes lie upon the surface, and occupy a substantial part of the Epistle. In other cases it is more a question of reading between the lines; comparatively minor allusions, showing us that the same danger threatened other churches in the apostolic age, amongst them the brightest and best. It will be sufficient to specify passages which may be referred to in verification: Romans 16:17-20; Galatians 5:15; Ephesians 4:31-32; Php 2:1-3, Php 4:8, 9; Colossians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 2 Thessalonians 3:11-16; Titus 3:9; Hebrews 12:12-15; 1 Peter 3:8-9; 2 Peter 3:14. A very slight acquaintance with church history suffices to show how greatly the warnings contained in these scriptures have been needed, and how much the testimony of the Lord has been marred by dissension between His saints. There have been, of course, separations which have become a divinely sanctioned necessity in order to preserve God’s truth from corruption. Of these we do not speak. By and by all the saints will stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, that everything there may be brought into the light. Read Mark 9:33 to 37 for a fore-shadowing of that day. When we are safely housed, not in Capernaum but in heaven, will He not have good reason to say to us, "What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? — What is it that through all these centuries of My absence has caused so much contention and strife? And shall we not have to hold our peace as they did: ’for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest’?" What, then, is the root of all the trouble? Self-importance, or, in other words, pride in one or other of its many forms, never more subtle and dangerous than when acting under the cloak of religion. And what is the remedy? In one word, CHRIST. This is indicated in the passage above quoted; for the Lord’s reply was to take up a child in His arms, saying, "Whosoever shall receive one of such children in My name, receiveth Me." By which He showed that the only importance any one of them had was that which belonged to them as representative of Himself. Nothing else counts. They were each nothing; He was everything. All this finds strong confirmation in the Epistles. We will confine ourselves to the two passages cited above from the Philippians. Having exhorted these earnest, devoted disciples to "be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind," and having warned them against strife and vainglory, He sets before them that which will produce the lowliness of mind so much to be desired. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus," and there follow those verses of incomparable beauty, setting forth the mind of Christ in contrast with the mind which is in Adam and his fallen race. The first man attempted by robbery to lift himself on to an equality with God, and fell into ruin and degradation; the Second Man humbled Himself even to the death of the cross, and has been by God highly exalted. The rest of the chapter concerns three men, Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus, each of whom had the mind of Christ, sinking their own interests and importance in whole-hearted devotion to Christ and His people. If it be further inquired how this mind may be produced in us we may turn for answer to the verses in Php 4:1-23. Think, says he, on things that may be characterized as true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, praiseworthy. We are not here told to meditate upon so many abstract qualities, but rather upon the things that bear that character; and there are, thank God! many such things to be found, in Scripture, in the work of the Lord, and in the saints. There is only One, however, in whom all these excellent qualities shine in equal lustre — CHRIST. Let us think, and think much, of Him. Then to your thinking add doing, practising such things as are sanctioned by the apostolic example, and the result will be this: "the God of peace shall be with you." Peace will rule amongst the people of God when their thoughts are fixed much on Christ, and their ways are regulated by apostolic example. There is no other way. Subjection to CHRIST, then, is the way of peace, whether presently in the millennium, or now amongst God’s people. One word more remains to be said. As Christians we must never adopt the policy of "peace at any price." To refuse to make a stand when the vital interests of Christ are at stake is an error of the first magnitude. On the other hand, let us beware of magnifying smaller matters, largely perhaps personal in character, until they become matters of grave contention. The former is the special danger of the indifferent, worldly-minded believer: the latter that of the earnest and devout. Not long ago there was a great whirl of controversy in the Isle of Man. It concerned the sum of £1750 to be spent in advertising the island as a pleasure resort. A wise man of the world commented on it as follows: "Everybody appears to agree that this is a wise outlay. The only point is whether it should be laid out at once or divided into two parts; one for now, one for later on. No doubt a grave principle is involved! There always is in these peddling disputes. Men are past-masters in the art of justifying their littleness by reference to principle. Anyhow, the trivial difference of opinion has been sufficient to bring the Legislative Council and the House of Keys to mortal pompous opposition, It seems too silly to be true." When I first read those words my mind instantly travelled into a different sphere, and applying them to that which has often transpired amongst believers, I felt inclined to hang my head in shame. It does seem too silly to be true, and yet, alas, how sadly true it has been. Let us accept the rebuke, even though it come from the lips of one of those children of this world who is "in his generation wiser than the children of light." Oh for that gaze of faith fixed on Christ, that happy heart-occupation with Himself, which will lift us up above all such littleness, and cause a peace, heavenly in its origin, to dwell among the people of God. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 72: 071 CHRISTIAN CONFLICT ======================================================================== Christian Conflict. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 15, 1923, page 36.) There has been so much controversy and fighting amongst believers, carried on in a not very becoming spirit, that to many Christians the whole idea of conflict has become highly objectionable, and the natural swing of the pendulum has carried them into a mental attitude which comes perilously near to being that of "peace at any price." Others again there are, who though unwilling to definitely compromise with evil and therefore prepared to separate from it in the last resort, yet cannot bring themselves to resist it in any way that would involve conflict and fighting in the cause of truth. There are of course some Christians of a combative spirit. Being naturally pugnacious they do not need to be urged to fight, they only need to be urged to fight a good fight, and to let it be the fight of faith. The rest of us, however, are more in danger of displaying the spirit of fear, rather than that of power and love and of a sound mind, and consequently of being ashamed of the testimony of our Lord; we need, as a result, to remember that we are each called to be "a good soldier of Jesus Christ." There is no escaping conflict while we are in this world. The situation is such that in one way or another we are bound to meet it, even though we diligently avoid it. We may indeed borrow the figure which the prophet Amos used in connection with the day of the Lord and say that it is, "As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him." The more we scheme to escape fightings without, the more likely we are to fall victims to the conflict produced by uneasy misgivings and fears within. One distinction must be clearly drawn at the outset; there is much conflict experienced by Christians which is by no means proper Christian conflict. Proper Christian conflict is described in such Scriptures as Ephesians 6:1-24, and 2 Corinthians 10:1-18, with sundry allusions to it in other of Paul’s epistles. What is described in Romans 7:1-25 and Galatians 5:1-26 is conflict truly, and of a sort that no Christian can well escape, yet it is of a preparatory nature, as being fitted to qualify the believer who goes through it and learns the lessons that it is designed to teach, to take up the wars of the Lord as a good soldier of Christ. Romans 7:1-25 gives us the earliest experience that can be spoken of as conflict. It is an old saying that it takes two to make a quarrel, and what that chapter details for us is an experience that must be utterly unknown until the renewed mind, the "inward man" is possessed. As born of the flesh we are flesh and nothing else, and consequently the reign of flesh is absolute and undisputed; it is only when born again that we possess the "inward man" of which Romans 7:22 speaks, and conflict becomes a possibility. True, the conflict described in that chapter is a very one-sided affair. The victory seems to lie wholly with the flesh, for the cry is, "The good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do," and consequently, "I am carnal, sold under sin." Had it been "The evil which I would not, that I sometimes do," or even, "that I frequently do," it would have left room for an occasional gleam of victory. As it is, the gloom of defeat is unrelieved. The "inward man" is there, but in practice is overwhelmed by the flesh. The "law of the mind" is subjugated and rendered impotent by "the law of sin which is in the members." If we ask — what has produced this distressing experience? the answer is — the law. The chapter opens with a statement as to the law, and the relation to it of both the Jew and the Christian. It goes on to detail the practical workings of the law upon the renewed mind, and one of its most significant features is the omission of all reference to the Spirit of God. Now it is not God’s purpose or desire that anyone should remain permanently in this distressing condition of impotence and defeat. Hence Romans 8:1-39 follows, and this chapter begins with Christ and the Spirit of God. The law is only mentioned in verse 3 to be dismissed as supplanted by God’s own act in and through the death of Christ, and the rest of that wonderful chapter is simply full of the Spirit of God, the varied capacities He fills, and His many activities. The two chapters, then, are in sharpest contrast — Romans 7:1-25, the action of the law upon the renewed mind, only making it acutely conscious of impotence and defeat; Romans 8:1-39, the action of the Spirit of God, making it conscious of liberty, life, relationship, coming glory and present omnipotent love which leads to believers being not only victorious, but "more than conquerors." Still, even so, the conflict described is in the main an internal one, preparatory to the believer being able and fit to enter into the conflict which is properly Christian. It is, so to speak, the clearing up of a condition of civil war and internal strife. Only when that is settled can the wars of the Lord be entered upon by any of us. Galatians 5:1-26 has the same internal conflict in view, but approaches the subject from a different angle. If Romans 7:1-25 is the flesh versus the inward man instructed and enlightened by the law, Galatians 5:1-26 is the flesh versus the Spirit, and the position is exactly reversed. The renewed mind, directed and urged forward by the law, is no match for the flesh; but the flesh is no match for the Spirit. Still, by the possession of the Spirit the personality and individual responsibility of the believer is not suppressed. He has to walk in the Spirit, and then, and only then, he does not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. Then it is that he does not do the things that otherwise he would. When we turn to Ephesians 6:1-24 we have a conflict contemplated which is distinctively Christian. The Ephesian epistle sets forth the Christian calling and the church’s place according to the splendour of the thoughts and purposes of God. All is made known to us that we may be in the power and strength of these great realities, and thus live our lives in this world, and fulfil our various earthly relationships and responsibility according to them. When the apostle reaches the final point in his epistle (Ephesians 6:10), he assumes that his readers are standing in the full power and enjoyment of these realities, and instructs them as to the whole armour of God which they must take and wear if they are to stand. The greatest possible testimony in this world is the saint standing in the full consciousness and enjoyment of the calling and the purposes of God. Hence the devil and his agents always make the most strenuous efforts to dislodge such an one from the spiritual condition which alone makes the position an effective testimony. His efforts consequently are directed against the truth, the righteousness, the peace, the faith, the practical salvation, the Word of God, and the prayers which are the preserving elements of Christian life; and to maintain these seven things, and wear them as the armour of the soul, needs no small measure of diligence and watchfulness. Jude, in his epistle, exhorts us to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints," and he does not close his brief word without intimating in verses 20 and 21 that our spiritual condition must be sound if we are to earnestly contend aright. Our contention, however, and the conflict it may entail — which is obviously one branch of proper Christian conflict — is carried out in the world of men. The conflict of Ephesians 6:1-24 lies behind all that. It takes place not in the visible world of men, but in the unseen realm of spirit. " Our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against authorities, against the universal lords of this darkness, against spiritual power of wickedness in the heavenlies. For this reason take to you the panoply of God ...." (Ephesians 6:12, 13, N.T.). We know but little about these great spiritual forces of evil which are at the disposal of Satan. We are permitted to get an occasional glimpse of their activities in Scripture, as, for instance, in Daniel, where we see them engaged in endeavouring to thwart God’s purposes in regard to Israel. It is probable, too — alas! — that we know still less as to any actual conflict with them, inasmuch as we are so little, if at all, in the spiritual condition, coupled with the knowledge of the full Christian position, which makes it worth while to them to attack us. Still they exist, and doubtless are the originators of many of those trying, yet obscure trials and testings, which can only be met by having on the whole armour of God. If any of our readers find the contemplation of conflict such as this rather terrifying, we would like to reassure and encourage them by mentioning a fact which is not apparent in our authorised translation. The Greek word translated "rulers . . . of this world" ("universal lords," N.Tr.) is kosmokrator, world-ruler. These evil spiritual beings bear rule, but their power is restricted to the limits of the kosmos or world-order which has been affected by sin. In 2 Corinthians 6:18 we have God assuring any of His saints, who may suffer by reason of faithfulness in separating from the world, of His Fatherly grace and protection, and He presents Himself as the Almighty, the pantokrator = the Ruler of all things. We shall not tremble before the rulers of the world-order if we realize that we are under the protection of the Ruler of all things. Another phase of proper Christian conflict comes before us in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. The conflict of Ephesians 6:1-24 is, as we have seen, mainly defensive: the only offensive weapon named being the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Here the conflict is essentially of the aggressive, offensive order, and there are weapons: the word is plural, for there are more than one. These weapons are effectual to "the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations [or, reasonings, margin] and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Here is a task which involves conflict indeed! To pull down strongholds of stone or iron is easy compared with dismantling strongholds of unbelief and of the powers of darkness, and casting down the vain reasonings of darkened yet proud and self-satisfied minds, so that the whole soul and mind, and every thought in that mind, is in subjection to God with a glad and ready obedience like the obedience of Christ. Is this the objective of Christian warfare? Does the servant of Christ go forth into the world with the Word of God with such a task before him? Then we instinctively and at once feel that nothing but superhuman and miraculous power can avail. To pit mere human eloquence, or learning, or skill, or intellect against such strongholds; to attempt to wheedle men round the corner of their rebellion and self-will by those arts and sciences which appeal solely to the sentiments and emotions, is worse folly than that of attacking Gibraltar with a pea-shooter. Nothing but the power of God will do. Yet the power of God works through His people to this end, and through weapons which are not carnal but mighty through God. What are these weapons? Well, see the apostles in Acts 6:1-15! Well clad in that spiritual armour which enabled them to turn aside the attempt of the "world rulers of this darkness" to divert them from their true service to "serving tables," they address themselves to their proper business saying, "We will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the Word." The ministry of the Word, or as 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 puts it, "the preaching" — "the preaching of the cross," is one great spiritual weapon. Prayer is another. When it is a question of the Word as the link between our souls and God the order is, first the Word of God and then prayer. He must speak to us before we speak to Him. When it is the Word flowing as testimony from us to men, the order is, first prayer and then the ministry of the Word, for we must begin by recognizing our absolute dependence on God, and speak to Him before we speak for Him. Neither prayer nor the ministry of the Word, if carried out after the apostolic pattern (see 1 Corinthians 2:1-5), would strike the man of the world as powerful weapons. As a man after the flesh he would only appreciate fleshly weapons, and if religiously inclined, he would wish to enlist, in the good cause of bettering humanity, all the usual agencies which experience has shown to exert an influence on men’s minds. His human weapons will produce human results which doubtless often carry with them a certain amount of human benefit. Spiritual weapons alone produce spiritual results. If we use these which God has appointed, then they become "mighty through God" to accomplish Divine results. The spiritual weapons we have named are not of course the only ones. In Matthew 17:20, 21, for instance, the Lord Himself mentions faith and fasting in addition to prayer, as spiritual weapons. It is of course very much easier to use a carnal weapon, if we happen to possess it, than a spiritual one. If a man is naturally brilliant and consequently able to wield "excellency of speech or of wisdom," he will find it far easier to move people by an oration sparkling with gems of rhetoric or knowledge, than to be a vessel of God’s power through faith and prayer and fasting; and he may even deceive himself into counting all the surface results of the former methods as genuine! Yet only that which is wrought by the power of God abides. Many of our readers may entirely agree with us that it is very easy to pick up carnal weapons and use them in connection with the work of the Gospel, since they are so lavishly used in Christendom to-day, and heartily applaud our calling attention to it in these pages. Yet we would remind them — and, indeed, all of us — that it is just as important to use spiritual weapons only in seeking the edification and perfection of believers, and in the necessary conflicts for the maintenance of the truth. We have before now seen well-instructed Christians use very carnal weapons in the endeavour to stop their less-instructed brethren using carnal weapons in their Gospel work! This will not do. We have been set free from servitude to sin that we may be servants of God. Then let us remember in the conflicts that His service engenders that not only must the power be that of His Spirit, but the weapons we use such as are in keeping with His Spirit and sanctioned by His Word. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 73: 072 COINCIDENCE, OR THE HAND OF GOD? ======================================================================== Coincidence, or the Hand of God? F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 15, 1923, page 77.) There is with many a Christian the habit of looking at second causes, or even at third causes, in connection with the many events which go to make up their lives, and thus they miss the joy of tracing the moving of the hand of God behind all the scenes. When this habit becomes confirmed and inveterate the whole of one’s life becomes a meaningless jumble of odds and ends, and the spirit becomes sorely tried. When, on the other hand, we look away from all secondary causes to God Himself, light and order begin to appear; though doubtless the full explanation of all circumstances contrary or otherwise, awaits that day when all the hidden things shall come to light. Of this the book of Job furnishes a striking example, as we all know. It was one of the earliest books of the Bible to be written and from this we may learn the kindness of God. Knowing the fearful perplexity that would be engendered by adverse circumstances in the minds of men, and particularly in the hearts of His saints, He caused this book to be written, which should make manifest "the end of the Lord" (James 5:11). It is possible that never again in the history of the world has such a combination of crushing blows fallen upon any one mortal man and yet all was proved to be from the hand of God, and ordered by perfect wisdom and perfect love. And all this was put on record as soon as ever the written revelation of God began. The book of Esther furnishes us with another example of how God moves behind the scenes of man’s little world, and though the subject is approached from a different angle and many of the chief actors are godless potentates dealing with matters of high policy, yet the proof of it is not one bit the less striking. It is perhaps more striking when we remember that Esther is one of the two books in the Bible in which God is not mentioned. Just where God is not seen and events move on apparently without Him, there most clearly He is at work behind the scenes. The story unfolded in Esther is well known to all our readers. It concerns itself with the fortunes of the Jews who remained behind in the lands of their captivity after a remnant had returned to the land of their fathers under Zerubabel, Ezra and Nehemiah. These latter were evidently the pick of the people, for the idea of returning to Jerusalem, and facing the privations and troubles and reproach which that entailed, would only appeal to those who feared the Lord and thought upon His Name and purposes. Those of a more worldly-minded type, who had comfortably settled down and acquired possessions and wealth in the lands of their dispersion during the seventy years, would be much less likely to face the sacrifices involved in such an uprooting. Now whilst God worked openly amongst the remnant who returned, raising up His prophets, who directed them by inspired utterances, He did not manifest Himself at all amongst the mass who remained. As they had declined from His ways so did He hide Himself from their perceptions, so much so that the whole story of their wonderful deliverance from a great impending catastrophe can be related without God being mentioned at all, and Mordecai, who was chief amongst them, and personally, as far as we can judge, a pious man, could only say to Esther, "If thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place." A certain measure of confidence he evidently possessed, but "another place" is a very poor substitute for GOD. The book ends with "Mordecai the Jew next unto king Ahasuerus," so that he was a kind of second Daniel, yet how greatly inferior! The one a successful viceroy, "seeking the wealth of his people and speaking peace to all his seed"; yet without any direct touch with the living God. The other no less great and successful as a viceroy, but also a prophet of God, instructed himself in the mind of God and the communicator of it for the instruction of others. The writer of the book of Esther tells us the story of the great deliverance granted to the Jews throughout the extensive dominions of Ahasuerus, from the spiritual standpoint of the Jews of the dispersion. He puts on record a true story which is almost stranger than fiction. The story abounds in what men would call dramatic situations and the most remarkable coincidences. Fancifulness is a thing much to be shunned in handling the Holy Scriptures. We shall seek to avoid it by not claiming as coincidences various details which many might be disposed to regard as such. We do not think that any would be disposed to deny as remarkable coincidences! the following: 1. That, when, according to the corrupt customs of those days, large numbers of fair young maidens were assembled at Shushan for the king, Esther out of them all obtained universal favour. That one maiden would obtain the king’s favour was pretty certain, but Esther obtained not only that but also the favour of the king’s chamberlain and indeed "of all them that looked upon her." (See Esther 2:9, 15, 17.) Thus was she lifted suddenly into a position of extraordinary influence. 2. That, when amongst the many intrigues of that Eastern court a plot was set afoot to assassinate the king, news of it leaked out to Mordecai, of all people in the world, and thus he was able to establish a claim upon the king’s favour. 3. That Ahasuerus promoted Haman, the Agagite (or, the Amalekite) "after these things" (Esther 3:1). Thus the sworn foe of the Jew did not Obtain his exalted position with its vast potentialities of mischief until after the lines were laid for checkmating his evil designs. 4. That, when Haman, invested with power and full of wrath at Mordecai’s lack of reverence, determined to destroy, not Mordecai alone, but all his people, he resorted to the practice of casting lots to determine "the lucky day"; and further that the lots when cast in the first month of the year indicated so late a day as the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, thus allowing ample time for the various steps that brought about the downfall both of his design and of himself (3: 7 and 13). 5. That the necessary measures for the defence of the Jews having been taken by Mordecai and Esther, the success of which so largely depended upon the king being in a favourable frame of mind on the day of the second banquet, "on that night [the night before] could not the king sleep" (Esther 6:1). Unaccountably his sleep departed from him. 6. That, having lost his sleep, the king did not, like Nebuchadnezzar, lose his temper (Daniel 2:1-49). Nor did he, as was customary in those days, send for instruments of music to while away the tedious hours (see Daniel 6:18), but bethought himself of the book of records of the chronicles and commanded it to be read before him (Esther 6:1). 7. That the officials who obeyed his orders lighted upon that part of the records where was related the treachery of the two chamberlains and the timely intervention of Mordecai (Esther 6:2). 8. That the king’s memory thus stirred on the point, his curiosity was awakened as to what reward had been given to Mordecai; and, learning that his notable services had so far been totally ignored, that his sense of gratitude, which had been hitherto unaccountably quiescent, sprang into ardent activity, and he determined to reward him in a handsome and striking fashion (Esther 6:3-6). 9. That just at that early hour of the morning Haman, intoxicated with pride and full of the imagined success of his schemes, was standing in the court, seeking an audience of the king that he might get his permission to hang Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared (Esther 6:4). 10. That Ahasuerus forestalled his petition by a question as to what should be done to the man whom the king should delight to honour, and that assuming in his pride that the man to be thus honoured could be none other than himself, Haman answered suggesting that he should be elevated into almost regal dignity and that in the most public way imaginable, and that he should be thereupon deputed by the king to carry out his own suggestions in regard not to himself but to Mordecai (Esther 6:6-11). The rest of the story proceeds quite simply. As the fruit of this remarkable series of coincidences Haman is hanged on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai, the Jews are empowered to resist any acts of aggression against them, and consequently the thirteenth day of the twelfth month only witnessed the destruction of the enemies of the Jews, the Jews being not only preserved but prospered. But were all these remarkable happenings just a series of coincidences? By no means: they were the movings of the hand of God, though He Himself remained hidden. God was behind the scenes of man’s busy little world; but then, as has very well been observed, He moves all the scenes that He is behind. Moreover He moves them in favour of His people, if not always for their temporal preservation and advancement always for their spiritual good and the advancement of His own purposes. Dispensations vary, but the ways of God both in providence and government do not vary, but proceed upon principles which remain the same whatever the dispensation. We are assured, therefore, that God is still at work behind the scenes in a similar way today. And our assurance of this is fortified by a further consideration: viz., that while His people are marked by faithfulness, power and brightness, He is pleased to make His presence amongst them very manifest; and on the other hand, when there is defection, weakness and failure, it suits Him to withdraw the manifestations of His presence in large measure, and perhaps altogether, as in the book of Esther. Defection, weakness and failure certainly mark the professing church today. Are you grieved and tried in spirit by the absence of visible signs of a genuine sort in connection with the testimony of Christ, and the Church’s pilgrim pathway through this world? Well, at any rate do not fail to look for these more hidden workings of His hand. They exist on all sides in abundance. Look for them also in the much smaller and humbler circumstances of your own individual pathway. If you feel inclined to ask, But may I do so? May I look for the moving of the hand of God amidst such very insignificant affairs as mine? The answer is, that you certainly may God does not forget one sparrow out of the five which are sold for two farthings (see Luke 12:6), not even the odd one unceremoniously thrown in by the seller, since two farthings and not one are spent. He bids you draw near to Him in prayer and supplication concerning simply everything (see Php 4:6). You may be perfectly sure then that He takes the deepest interest in all your concerns and in all your pathway here. You may confidently expect His direction and control. And if perchance you feel yourself to be weak and feeble and not equal to discerning and receiving His guidance in more direct and manifest fashion, you may the more confidently rest assured that His hand is at work behind the scenes, and you may look to see it. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 74: 073 "COME ON" AND "GET OUT." ======================================================================== "Come on" and "Get out." Genesis 11:1-9; Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 13:1-4; Hebrews 11:8-10. Notes of Address at Bangor, North Wales, August 3rd. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 26, 1934, page 249, also Vol. 39, 1956-8, page 273.) If we trace back the present world-system to its source we arrive at the Tower of Babel. There it was like a trickling stream, now it is like the mighty Amazon at its mouth, bearing all kinds of craft on its bosom. Its ramifications are so immense today that we become lost if we attempt to understand it. If, however, we consider what happened at Babel we find things much simplified, yet with the essential features present. We are not told much as to the age that preceded the flood. What we are told in Genesis 5:1-32 and 6 leads us to think that it was an age of fierce and aggressive individualism. No government had been established by God, and violence and corruption filled the earth. The post-diluvian age took on another character. Men awoke to the fact that they could achieve the desire of their hearts far more effectively by combination and co-operation. It was not that God was more in their thoughts, for they made no mention of His Name. It was merely that instead of laying all stress upon "I," they learned to substitute "us." "Let us build us . . . and let us make us a name. The beginning of their enterprise was "a city," and the city was to be followed by "a tower." Now a city is not only an aggregation of dwelling-places, but also a centre of power and influence. When men build a city they establish themselves in the earth, and having once got firm hold for themselves they can extend their power further afield. The significance of the tower may not be so apparent. It can hardly have been intended as a place of refuge should another flood come, since all the high hills had been covered in the flood that was so fresh in their minds. Personally I connect it with the fact that the idolatry that overran the ancient world had its origins at Babylon and that this terrible trafficking with the devil and his powers (which is what really lies behind idolatry), was usually carried on in some lofty place. If confirmation of this is sought, let Numbers 23:1-30 and 24 be read. As long as Balaam was seeking enchantments, by getting into touch with his familiar spirit, he went to high places: "the high places of Baal," "the top of Pisgah," "the top of Peor." As soon as he abandoned the attempt to get into touch with the powers of darkness, he lost interest in these high places, and "set his face toward the wilderness." The tower of Babel was, I judge, a first attempt to get into touch with these supernatural powers, though it may have had uses besides this. Satan, we must remember, has no objection to helping men to make a name for themselves in independence of God, for it exactly suits his designs. Now the building of a city and a tower whose top should be lifted into the heavens is a task beyond the ability of one man. It can be accomplished without much difficulty if men combine together. Hence combination became the order of the day. "Go to," they said, "let us build." "Go to," has a strange old-world sound in our ears. It is an expression that has gone out of use. The expression we should use today is, "Come on," and this is the rendering adopted in Darby’s New Translation. "Come on," they said, "let us make brick." And again, "Come on, let us build." Until the Lord Himself ultimately said, "Come on, let us go down and there confound their language." The diversity of tongues in the earth has been a great brake on the chariot wheels of human progress. However, in spite of it men have combined as far as they could, and in recent times the idea of combination has been mightily revived. All knowledge and resources are being increasingly pooled and the world is moving with giant strides. Still the cry is "Come on!" And that is the world’s cry to you, my young Christian friend, and to me. Come on! it says; we have a bright idea; we have a good plan, we wish to abolish troubles. We wish to improve conditions. We want a happier world: a world where we can all enjoy ourselves more fully and for a longer time. You believe in good causes don’t you? So do we! Ours is a good cause! Lend a helping hand! Join us! Come on! Come on! Come on! "Now the Lord had said unto Abraham, Get thee out." WHAT? Get out? Yes, "Get out." Does that strike you as extraordinary? It should not. It is just what one might have expected. The post-diluvians were busy building a very nice world according to their own tastes — a world without God. Now God does not intend to be thus excluded, and therefore He took certain measures. First, He confounded their language and so upset their plans. Second, He began to formulate His own plan, and as a first step towards its ultimate accomplishment He called out one man, making him the depositary of the promise, and the ancestor, according to the flesh, of the Messiah in whom the promise centred. The world began saying, "Come on, come on!" God began saying, "Get out, Get out!" The world has not ceased saying, "Come on!" God has not ceased saying, "Get out!" to all who have ears to hear. Abram’s separation was very complete. He left "country" — i.e. his national surroundings; "kindred," — i.e. his social surroundings; "father’s house," — i.e. his domestic surroundings. And when he left Ur of the Chaldees he did not know where he was going, as Hebrews 11:1-40 so plainly tells. A marvellous act of faith! No wonder he is called "the father of all them that believe," and "the friend of God." No wonder that God specially blessed him, and made him a fountain of blessing for all families of the earth. Not only did God promise to bless him, but also to make his name great. This is very striking. The great object of the men of Babel was to make themselves a name. The ante-diluvian world had perished. They wished to achieve something that would perpetuate their names, as names of renown, whatever might happen to them. Have their names been perpetuated? Their names are utterly forgotten, though now at length men are digging to find the ruins of their cities. When Abram turned his back on the splendid Ur of his day, his action must have appeared to be the height of folly to the men of his generation. "Why," they would say, "you are throwing away all your chances. You leave civilization and plunge into the unknown. No monument will ever be erected in Ur to perpetuate your distinguished name to future generations!" Some four thousand years have rolled and the name of Abraham is remembered by hundreds of millions of human beings! Not only Jews, Christians, and even Mohammedans venerate his name. And for thousands of years all traces of the names of the builders of Babel and Ur have vanished. "Let us make us a name" was their cry, and they are totally forgotten. "I will make thy name great," said God; and the thing is effectively accomplished. Still Abram might have said, "It is very nice to know that my name is to be great in connection with things to come; but what have I got for the present?" If he asked that question he very soon found the answer. The answer confronts us as we open chapter 13. He had a tent and an altar. His tent stood in sharp contrast to their city. They were out to establish themselves in the earth; to "dig themselves in" — if we may use a modern phrase. He had but a flimsy and moveable tent, the sign of his pilgrimage. His altar stood in sharp contrast to their tower. If they sought to the heights to get into touch with spiritual powers of darkness, he had the lowly altar whereby he was maintained in communion with God. Now here we have an indication of the immense compensation at the disposal of all those who have been called out of the world by the gospel today. Eternal blessing lies ahead, but communion with God is our privilege today. And think how much of God’s mind and purpose has been revealed to us. God did not hide from Abram a certain thing which He was about to do, but let him into the secret. God has today let us into the secret of purposes which are immeasurably greater. By the side of his altar, outside Ur and Babel, Abram had a sight of things, utterly unknown in those great cities of man’s construction. The believer of today who is in communion with God and separate from the world has the knowledge of things of which the world knows nothing. Abram did have a sight of things far beyond his present surroundings. As Hebrews 11:1-40 tells us, he "looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." The literal foundation of Babel and of Ur may have been all right: their moral foundations were all wrong. They were founded on human pride and power, and hence were doomed to destruction sooner or later. Abram wanted a city of divine construction founded on righteousness which is of God. That he looked for, and that he is going to get; for it says, God "hath prepared for them a city." In the light of that divine city the glory of Babel or of Ur was but a poor tinsel thing. We have been called out of the world-system. Let us hold fast to that. "Get out," was God’s word to us when we were converted, and never has He said, "Go back." As thus called out we have blessings, privileges and occupations which Abram never had. We have not less than he had but more. Blessed are we, with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. That could not have been said of Abram. Our place is that of Sonship with the Spirit of God’s Son in our hearts, and that Abram had not. We are called to take some part, however humble, in the great work of God’s present grace in calling out a people for His Name and called to association with Christ in the coming day of His glory. No such evangelical mission was known to Abram. Still we have what Abram had. We have a spiritual pilgrimage to pursue and we have a place of communion with God and of worship, while we journey. We are called out of the world, put out of touch with its systems and order of things, in order that we may be put into touch, and maintained in touch with God, and with His order of things which centres in Christ. No one need have pitied Abram! He was a prince moving amongst paupers! And no one need pity the out-and-out, devoted, consistent unworldly Christian! Congratulate him the rather. He is spiritually enriched today. His name will be great in the millennial age, when the great world names of today are as forgotten as though they had never been. Pity the vacillating compromising, semi-worldly Christian, if you like, but not one of the Abram type. Young people which is it going to be for us? How do we stand as to these things? The call of God has reached us in the gospel. Have we fully responded to it? Are our world-links cut? As the world continues to call us, saying, "Come on, come on!" do we turn our backs to its siren voice because we have heard the divine call, "Get out!"? God grant that thus it may be for every one of us. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 75: 074 "COME ON"-"GET OUT" ======================================================================== "Come on"-"Get out" F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 39, 1956-8, page 273.) In Genesis 11:1-32 we are given a glimpse of the descendants of Noah a century or two after the flood. The antediluvian age had been one of individualism, since as yet government had not been established. Liberty flourished, ending in license which developed into violence and corruption. Now government of an elementary sort had been established by God, as recorded in Genesis 9:5, 6. This being so, every man’s hand was no longer against his fellow, and a new age set in marked not by individualism but by co-operation. Men discovered that what they could not achieve as solitary individuals could be accomplished if they clubbed together. Hence in verses 3 and 4 of Genesis 11:1-32, we find twice repeated an expression-"Go to," which in Darby’s New Translation is rendered, "Come on." The Hebrew word means, "To give help," so that, if we today wished to stir up others to act together, "Come on," is just what we should say. But basically the spirit of the postdiluvian age was the same as that of the antediluvian, only instead of each seeking the self-exaltation, of himself, so that "I" was the great word, all together were to seek the exaltation of the great "US." It was "Let US build US a city and a tower and let US make US a name." What the Apostle John calls, "the pride of life" (1 John 2:16), was the dominating factor. At this point God acted in a two-fold way. As Creator He knew the intellectual and inventive powers He had conferred upon man, and that acting independently of Himself, with the lust of self-exaltation, "now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do." Hence He confounded their methods of speech, which largely confused and hindered their confederation. But the second thing He did came somewhat later, though it is recorded directly we commence to read chapter 12. To Abram He said, "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house." This entailed separation of a very complete kind, inasmuch as idolatry had invaded the family out of which he was called, as Joshua 24:3, 4, states. By the time he was called, the world-system had taken shape under the deluding power of Satan, and when men of the world were still saying "Come on," that they might accomplish their schemes, God said to him, "Get out." Now this has ever been God’s way. He separates His people from the world, that they may be for Himself. May we adduce a few more examples. Take first the case of Abram’s nephew, Lot. Here was a man who came out with Abram: a true saint at the bottom, for in the New Testament he is called "just [or, righteous] Lot;" though without that measure of faith that characterized his uncle. Hence, presently he drifted into the wicked city of Sodom, where their evil ways vexed his righteous soul from day to day. How different from Abram, yet when the hour came for the destruction of the city the angel’s word was, "Hast thou here any besides? . . . bring them OUT of this places" So Lot had to say to them, "Up get you OUT of this place" (Genesis 19:12, 14). They heeded him not, yet out he himself came, though like Job he might have to say, "I am escaped with the skin of my teeth" (Job 19:20). The descendants of Abraham went down into Egypt, which for the moment was a place of security and plenty under the benign rule of Joseph. Presently it became to them the house of bondage. If in Abram’s day we see the world-system as the seat of man’s progress in combination, yet under the idols of Satan’s creation; and in Lot’s day we see it as the seat of vile corruption; in the day of Moses we see Egypt as the world in its enslaving power, oppressing the people of God. Hence to Moses the word of God was, "I am come down to deliver them OUT of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them OUT of that land" (Exodus 3:8). At that epoch Egypt was a splendid and attractive place, apart from the taskmasters, but it was no place for the people, if they were to worship God. As we all know, though redeemed from Egypt, the people completely failed, falling persistently into idolatry under their kings until the captivity in Babylon took place. The predicted period having passed, under Cyrus a return to rebuild the temple was permitted, and we read, "These are the children of the province that went up OUT of the captivity" (Ezra 2:1). Once more God called His people out, though only a few responded amongst the many. Once again tragic failure ensued, as we see in Malachi, so much so that when the Lord Jesus, as the promised Messiah, came He was rejected and crucified. This brought things to a climax as the Lord Himself indicated in those wonderful words, recorded in John 12:23-33. Referring to His being "lifted up," as the crucified One, He declared, "Now is the judgment of this world." This being the case, it should not surprise us that in this age of grace, which follows on His exaltation on high and the Spirit poured forth, the calling out of the world, of those who believe the Gospel should be strongly emphasised. As regards Jewish believers, the Lord Himself announced it in advance. As the true Shepherd He entered the Jewish fold in the prescribed way, and amongst the sheep therein enfolded were some whom He called, "His own sheep." And what was His purpose in uttering His voice to them? Was it to stir them up to improve conditions in the "fold" and beautify it? NO. "He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them OUT." (John 10:3). But the Gospel has not been confined to Jews; it has gone forth to Gentiles also. This was quite a new departure in God’s ways, and what was His purpose in it? In the early council at Jerusalem the Apostle James called attention to what had been declared by Simon Peter; namely that "God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take OUT of them a people for His name" (Acts 15:14). So that is what God is doing today. And have we Christians been true to this call of God? Alas, no. Very early in the Church’s history believers forgot the nature of their calling and got entangled with the world as we see in the case of the Corinthians. They forgot, or perhaps they hardly yet realized, that there is no fellowship between righteousness and unrighteousness between light and darkness, between Christ and Belial; between the believer and an infidel, between the temple of God and idols. The Apostle Paul instructed them that the saints of today are "the temple of the living God," and so the call to them was, "Come OUT from among them, and be ye separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17). The world-system of today is no better than it was when the Apostle wrote these words, though there is a thin veneer of Christianity in English-speaking lands. We are certainly IN the world, as we pass on our pilgrim way; but we are not OF it, since we have been born OF God, and hence "the world knoweth us not because it knew Him not (1 John 3:1). From start to finish of the Bible God makes it plain that the saints, whom He owns, are to be separate from the world. This is a tremendous and far reaching fact. Let us each ask ourselves, How am I answering to it today? ======================================================================== CHAPTER 76: 075 CONFUSION AND THE CALL OF GOD ======================================================================== Confusion and the Call of God. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 15, 1923, page 54.) Of all the dividing lines which have crossed this world’s history, the flood is by far the most prominent. If we view things from an ordinary physical standpoint, it will be exceeded doubtless by the mighty purging effects of judgment to be yet executed at the appearing of Christ in glory to usher in the kingdom of God, and if we view things from the moral and spiritual rather than the physical standpoint, the flood becomes relatively unimportant and the Cross of Christ stands out as the great dividing line. Until the present moment, however, it is the only upheaval affecting at one and the same moment and equally all the human race, and it divided between "the world that then was" and "the heavens and the earth which are now" (2 Peter 3:6, 7). Morally, however, men were the same after it as before it. The spirit of Lamech, the ante-diluvian, was soon reproduced in Nimrod the postdiluvian, and Cain’s city of Enoch was succeeded by Nimrod’s city of Babel. A godly seed, too, was still preserved, and the faith of Enoch, who was translated, found its counterpart in the faith of Abraham, who became a man of heavenly hopes and consequently a stranger and a pilgrim in the earth. From dates and details given in Genesis 10:1-32 and 11 it would appear that only about a century elapsed from the time of the deluge before the building of Babel’s tower and the resultant scattering of mankind into nations occurred. The eight souls that had been saved through the waters had by this time become a considerable band, and the rebel and independent nature of mankind came again strikingly into evidence. Genesis 11:1-9 supplies us with such knowledge as we have of this great event. These early post-diluvians said, "Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth" (verse 4). In these few words not only their activities but their thoughts and motives are revealed to us. In the first place then we gather that, as at the outset, so now they distrusted the Word of God. At the outset God announced His judgment which would follow upon disobedience. Eve falling under Satanic influence did not believe that God would judge as He had said. Now God had announced that come what may He would not judge the world again by a flood consequent upon an interruption of the order of nature which He had established (See Genesis 8:21, 22), and men did not believe that he would not, and consequently proposed to build a tower whose top should reach unto heaven. By this proposition they virtually said — "Supposing that once more God interferes with our doings, and sends a flood of water rolling over our plain in the land of Shinar, let us take steps to circumvent His plans and frustrate His judgment." Unbelief thus was followed by rebellion against the anticipated judgment of God. The tower, however, was not merely for such a contingency but was connected with their purpose to make themselves "a name," i.e., that their renown should be spread abroad in and dominate the earth. This brings us to the great feature which marked Babel at the outset, and which is stamped upon Babylon all through Scripture — the glorification of man. Clearly enough these early post-diluvians had no thought of God as the proper end and object of their existence, and hence they substituted themselves as such. It was "let us build US a tower," and "let us make US a name." Their course then is pretty plain. First unbelief, then rebellion against the feared judgment of God, followed by the setting up of themselves as the great centre-piece of the picture, so that everything on earth might contribute to their pleasure and glory. All this leads to a fourth thing. These early pioneers were no barbarians, as the perpetrators of the great "higher critical" hoax would have us believe, but men of intellect and astute vision. The ante-diluvian age had been one of fierce and murderous individualism; theirs should be one of highly organized centralisation. The cut-throat policy, when every man’s hand was against his neighbour, must cease. It must be replaced by the policy of men amicably combining to assert themselves and cast off the fear of God. Moreover, how could they, as individuals, achieve the mighty works they proposed? Only by combination, organization, and centralisation could they hope to build their colossal and magnificent tower. It was a work, we may safely say, which no twentieth century contractor would dare to tender for. They truly did not carry their project far, but the pyramids of Egypt, which apparently date back to centuries not long after the flood remain to show us what gigantic works were accomplished. So the days after the deluge became days not of the great and imposing "I," but of the glorified and magnificent "US." Thus men began once more to lift themselves up in mind and achievement, and consequently the great JEHOVAH "came down." He saw their works and their projects. He recognized their unity expressed in the oneness of their language. He foresaw the possibilities and the ultimate results of this oneness, and from Him judgment proceeded — a judgment totally different from that which they had expected and were in process of arming themselves against. They were taken all unawares. By the simple act of confounding their language so that they did not understand one another’s speech, their combination, organization, centralisation and their building enterprise instantly collapsed. Their fear had been "lest we be scattered." One single act of Almighty power, and "from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth." The thing was so patent that men themselves named the spot Babel, which means "confusion." It strikes us as not a little significant that those who have studied the subject (see, for instance, Young’s Analytical Concordance under Babel; Babylon) give a second meaning to the name, viz., Bab-il meaning "gate of God." It looks as if there is here one of those plays upon words which are common in Scripture, and employed to fix the reader’s attention. Men thought it was "Bab-il" but it turned out to be "Babel." They dreamed that they were going through the golden gate to deity, in some shape or form; it may have been in making themselves gods. In result, however, they had to painfully learn that their bricks and bitumen were but a slimy gate to folly and confusion. The confusion so plainly manifested was an act of God in government. As, however, is the case with God’s judgments, it was exactly suited to the offence. Their thoughts, their actions, their tower and city all were confusion, . . . though from the human standpoint all seemed to be symmetry and order. The fact is that nothing is order outside of God’s order. There may be extra-ordinary organization,and men may act with the unanimity and precision of a well-disciplined army, but if all this order is not of God and beneath His control it is pure confusion. Babel was pure confusion, and consequently CONFUSION was written upon it large by God Himself, in so plain a fashion that men have called the place Babel from that day to this. Today the world is more closely following out the ideas which prevailed in primitive Babel than at any other time in its history. Never was so much stress laid on organization and order, and in the irony of God’s government never was confusion more plainly stamped upon the whole fabric of civilisation. To show the way in which the principles set forth in Babylon are coming to a head today would be instructive, but we must not be tempted to digress. A couple of centuries or so rolled, during which men learnt to accommodate themselves to the limitations imposed by diversity of speech and division into nations, whilst not abandoning the original principles of Babel, and then Abram was born of the stock of Shem, and Genesis 12:1-20 abruptly begins with the announcement, "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee . . . so Abram departed." The world having been judged as confusion, here we have the call of God; an altogether new departure in God’s ways. The two features that mark every call of God come plainly into view. The call of God firstly means separation. Abram had to go "out of . . . from . . . from . . . ." It entailed the snapping of links — links not only of a national sort but those social and even domestic in character. By this time the infection of idolatry had spread from Babel in many directions, and so we read, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood [i.e., the river Euphrates] in old time, even Terah the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. And I took Abraham from the other side of the flood" (Joshua 24:2, 3). Out of these idolatrous surroundings Abraham was called, and because of them the separation involved in the call was of a drastic and thorough nature. He who was eventually to be called "the friend of God" must not be left in any kind of friendship with the idolatrous world. Just as the fact of Abraham’s early surroundings being of an idolatrous nature is not mentioned in Genesis, so also no word is given to us there of the character in which God appeared to him when the call was given. We must go to the New Testament for this. Stephen commenced his final address with the statement, "The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham." This great revelation was the starting point of his remarkable career. Let us just visualise the situation. Abraham is dwelling in great Ur of the Chaldees. Archaeological discoveries make it plain that this was a splendid city of wealth and learning in those far-off days, a place where men were still making themselves "a name" and displaying their glory. In the midst of all this magnificence there appears before him the God of glory, i.e., God presented Himself to him characterized by the glory which is proper to Himself, clothed with that glory, if one may so speak. How overwhelming must have been this revelation! What a revolution it must have wrought in Abraham’s thoughts! How effectually it must have taken the glitter out of the glory of Ur! Here we have the secret of his remarkable life of pilgrimage and self-denial. The separation of Abraham from his country, his kindred, and his father’s house was not accomplished in a day. Years elapsed, and the final links were not broken until God further intervened and Terah his father died in Haran. Then Abraham stepped forth and turned his back upon the glories of the plains of Shinar for ever. He became the man of the tent and the altar. The tent proclaimed his dissociation from the mighty palaces as a pilgrim: the altar proclaimed his approach to and communion with God. The call of God, then, not only meant separation but also designation. It meant that God called Abraham not only "from" but "unto." He was called "unto a land that I will show thee." To that land was he designated, and consequently that land is his. True, he never possessed it, not a square yard of it, save a few that he purchased with money as a burying-place for Sarah. Yet he will possess it all, taking it up in the coming age in the persons of his national seed, the elect Israel of God. The land then was that to which Abraham was designated, and the knowledge of this was public property. But the God who appeared to him was more than the God of the land, or even than "the God of all the earth": He was the God of glory, and Hebrews 11:1-40 lets us into the knowledge of that which consequently Abraham had before the vision of his soul as a secret thing. "He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." He was amongst those who "declare plainly that they seek a country . . . they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He hath prepared for them a city" (verses 10, 14, 16). So after all Abraham had a city before him. Nimrod and his helpers started to build their city, the tower of which was intended to reach unto heaven — man ever attempts to work up to heaven and fails. Abraham had a heavenly city in view: God was its Builder and Maker not man, and consequently it has foundations which abide. The contrast was complete. The object of the builders of Babel was to make themselves a name. To a certain extent they succeeded, for Nimrod "began to be a mighty one in the earth." The call of God carried Abraham into a path far removed from the prowess and renown of these famous men. He started on his pilgrimage, however, with the Divine promise, "I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing"; and God has been as good as His word. Even today, when faith is still at a discount, the name of Abraham is venerated not only by Christian but by Jew and Mohammedan also. That, however, is a small thing, but how great is the honour that God Himself should speak of him as "Abraham my friend" (Isaiah 41:8). Here is true greatness, greatness which abides whilst Nimrod’s tower and city are but a mass of shapeless ruins upon the plains of Mesopotamia and his rebel name is well-nigh forgotten. Abraham became "the father of all them that believe" (Romans 4:11) and hence, as the next verse says, we are to walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham." We, too, have received the call; for to those same Roman believers Paul wrote of his own apostleship as being "for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name: among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ" (Romans 1:5, 6) Our place then in the world is after the pattern of Abraham’s. The heavenly hopes which were more or less secret in his day are clearly revealed to us and consequently the declared portion of our souls. The faith is preached amongst the nations, the effect of it where believed is to separate a people from the nations, but they are still for a time left among the nations, but responsible to walk among them as the called of Jesus Christ; for the way we know God is as the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is even more wonderful and intimate than knowing Him as the God of glory. Christian reader, what can the world offer us that is at all comparable with this? ======================================================================== CHAPTER 77: 076 "COUNT IT ALL JOY." ======================================================================== "Count it all joy." F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 33, 1941, page 6.) Nowhere has been a tendency in some quarters to look down upon the Epistle of James as being rather below the standard of the other Epistles. It is true of course that it was written rather early in the day, when the full character of that which God had instituted on the day of Pentecost had hardly come to light; and that consequently it is addressed to the twelve tribes, amongst whom the Christians were but a remnant and mainly poor and persecuted, and that mention is made of the synagogue. Still though this is so, James enforces a standard of life and behaviour which is very high, dealing with matters in a severely practical way. To listen to James — and he calls upon us to do so, saying, "Hearken, my beloved brethren" (James 2:5) — is a profitable and wholesome exercise. It is also humbling, since we discover how far we come short of the standard he sets. We have only to read the very first remark he makes to be greatly humbled. "My brethren," he says, "count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. The temptations of which he speaks are the things that try us and put us to proof. They may of course take the form of enticements springing from our own lusts, as verse 14 indicates; but on the other hand they may not. God never entices us but He does permit, and even send, many testings from without, thus working "the trying of your faith;" that is, the putting of faith to the test. Everything that is of value has to be tested, and God sets a great value on faith. Every year the Patent Office in London passes thousands of applications, but very few of them come to anything. When set before men of practical experience they shake their heads and dismiss the idea as not really workable. If they should suggest that a model be made so that the idea may be put to the test the inventor is glad. And he is far more glad if the test shows that the idea is workable and valuable. The sad thing is when it is not worth even a test. Now faith is eminently worth testing, and we may indeed praise God if we have the genuine article, and confront the testing with joy. Is this the spirit in which we are meeting the testings of the present time? We must each answer that question for ourselves, and most of us will have no ground for self-satisfaction when we have honestly answered it. The testings are certainly "divers," or "various." For many the winds of adversity seem to be blowing from all four quarters at once. Their homes are damaged and evacuated; their businesses disturbed and perhaps dispersed; their families scattered, some members injured if not killed; their enjoyment of Christian fellowship largely impaired by meetings being broken up. Others have not suffered to the same extent, yet in various ways tribulation has come in, and the old life of quietude and orderly Christian privilege and service quite dispelled. Are we counting these things to be joy? This trying situation is being met, we believe, with considerable fortitude. But this could be asserted about the populace generally. Is our fortitude definitely Christian in its character? Does it spring from the consciousness of the rich fulness that we have in Christ? We are thankful to bear witness that we have not heard the voice of grumbling and discontent: there has been quiet resignation and acceptance of what God has permitted. This is good, but it is not that of which James speaks. So often are we resigned and quiet and even trustful; yet not characterized by JOY. What will enable us under such circumstances to rejoice? Only those things of which James proceeds to speak to us. We are to know that all these things are intended to test our faith, and that the testing is going to work out endurance, which is a quality that God prizes very highly. In the very nature of things it presupposes trials which are long drawn out, and so we are told to let endurance have its fully developed and completed work. The process is one which cannot be hurried, trying though it may be. The end to be reached is well worth the process. It is nothing less than our being ourselves fully developed and complete, lacking trothing. When the testings have been thoroughly carried out we shall be the finished article, turned out as graduates in the Divine university. "Alas!" we have to exclaim, "how far from such full development we are today." Truth compels us so to speak, and our imperfection is contemplated by James in the very next verse. The objective is that we be complete, lacking nothing; but immediately there follow the words, "If any of you lack wisdom . . ." How often do the testings reveal our lack in this direction! A child howls when things go wrong and it gets hurt, largely because it lacks understanding, and it cannot imagine the reason of what has happened nor its object. The grown-up man in a similar case sets himself to understand and profits by the trouble. But wisdom is more than mere understanding. The wise man is one who can apply with discretion the things that he understands. Again and again the testings reveal to us our lack of wisdom. Very well then, we are to ask wisdom from God, who gives liberally and without upbraiding, and it shall be given to us. A wise understanding of God’s dealings and ways cannot possibly be ours unless it is given to us of God, hence He will not upbraid as though it were something that we ought not to need. Asking, it shall be ours in liberal measure, only we must ask in faith. It is our faith that is being tested; hence of course in our asking, faith is a sine qua non. We make bold to say that if God thus bestows wisdom in liberal fashion He will in the same way bestow all else that we may need as the testings run their course. In testifying to us of the benefits that flow from the testings of our faith James is not alone. Paul tells us the same thing in even greater detail in Romans 5:1-21. No sooner has he spoken of the justification which is ours by faith, than he goes on to tell us of the excellent fruits of tribulation. He mentions not only patience, or endurance, but experience, hope, and the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost given to us. So also Peter in the last chapter of his first Epistle; telling us that the God of all grace has called us to His eternal glory after we have suffered a while, and indicating that He can use that very suffering to make us perfect, stablish, strengthen and settle us. We may feel inclined to say, "All these difficulties and this suffering has an unsettling effect on my mind." Turning to the God of all grace however, things would work in just the opposite way, and we should be settled thereby. The end in view, that we may be "perfect and entire, wanting nothing" is certainly most desirable. Keeping it in view we shall be able to rejoice in some measure. James however is not satisfied with a measure of rejoicing: he says, "Count it ALL joy." It would indeed be no inconsiderable thing if we could count it fifty per cent. joy, but we are exhorted to count it one hundred per cent joy! A counsel of perfection truly! But then the faith of Christ always does set perfection before us. The high standard which James erects should encourage us to ask in faith from our God who gives so liberally. We shall then pursue our troublesome way not wearily and with dejection, but with courage and joy of heart. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 78: 077 "CUT DOWN" — "SET ON HIGH." ======================================================================== "Cut down" — "Set on high." Psalms 90:1-17 and 91. F. B. Hole (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 27, 1935, page 279.) The heading of Psalms 90:1-17, attributing its authorship to Moses, should arrest our attention to begin with. It makes it pretty certain that chronologically it is the first of the psalms, being written some hundreds of years before the rest. Moses, the writer, is spoken of not as the prophet or law-giver but as the man of God; and it is a prayer, though we find nothing in the nature of a petition throughout the first eleven verses. Two songs are attributed to Moses. The first was sung by him and the children of Israel at the beginning of his forty years ministry, when they had crossed the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1-18). It is full from beginning to end with what God is, what He had done, and what He was going to do In fulfilment of His purpose. The second was composed at the end, just before he died. It does not appear ever to have been sung. The instructions were, "Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it to the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel" (Deuteronomy 31:19). The song is written in Deuteronomy 32:1-43, and Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people. They would hardly be likely to sing it, for while in the earlier part it celebrates God’s kindly dealings with them, and in the closing part His ultimate intervention and deliverance, the main burden of it is their folly in forsaking God and turning to idols, and the chastening and retribution that this was sure to bring upon them. But in addition to the second song Deuteronomy furnishes us (in Deuteronomy 33:1-29) with "the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death." So we have in the Pentateuch the two songs of Moses and the blessing of Moses, and in the Psalms the prayer of Moses. In both the songs Moses spoke as the prophet-apostle of the law dispensation: in the blessing and the prayer he speaks more simply as the man of God. There is a definitely prophetic element in both the blessing and the prayer, but the more prominent thought is that as the man of God, called to be mediator of the old covenant, he mediates both the blessing from God to man, and the prayer from man to God. It is with the latter of these that we now have to do. All the petitions that compose the prayer are found in verses 12-17; the earlier verses recite in very graphic fashion the plight in which man is found, which leads to the petitions being offered. Man is seen, stripped of all the false glory with which he surrounds himself, as a poor, fallen, dying creature. Jehovah, as the Eternal One, is the true dwelling-place of His people in all ages. He pursues His even way from eternity to eternity without the shadow of turning. In contrast to this mortal man is turned to destruction, for as children of Adam we lie under the original sentence, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:19). In verse 3 of our Psalm the word "destruction" is literally "crumbling." In the New Translation it is rendered, "Thou makest mortal man to return to dust, and sayest, Return, children of men." Man stands before us a poor, feeble mortal creature; and the point is, that he is this by the express act of God. Various figures are laid under tribute by the Psalmist; a flood, a sleep, a bundle of withered grass. God’s sentence upon man is as irresistible as a flood. Man’s uncertain existence here is quickly over, as quickly as seems to pass a night of sleep. He is cut down and He withers as swiftly as a handful of grass. Three score and ten years were the ordinary measure of his days. This, we may observe, was specially applicable to the people amongst whom Moses moved in the wilderness. All those who were numbered from twenty years old and upward came under that word, "Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness" (Numbers 14:29); so those who were in their prime at thirty, when coming out of Egypt, cannot have lived to be more than seventy, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua. It is remarkable that God should have used a man who lived to one hundred and twenty, and who when he died at that age was still full of vigour, to declare three score and ten to be man’s days. But why is man so frail, so mortal? Because he has fallen under the Divine displeasure. It is not an unreasonable accident that he is in this plight. He was not created thus. It is simply and only that anger and wrath from God lie upon him. An hard saying this, but a true one. It is the only explanation of the sad state in which man is found. Moses does not stop at this point however: he traces the matter back one further step. Why is man under the Divine displeasure? Why does wrath lie upon him? He furnishes us with the answer in verse 8. "Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance." That is it! Sin lies at the root of the mischief; and even if men sin in secret, it avails not. All stands out clear and distinct in the light of God’s face. Such, then, is the pitiful state of mortal men, the children of Adam, as brought to light by the man of God who was also the lawgiver. No wonder that it moved the heart of Moses to a fervent prayer. Before considering the prayer let us turn aside to note the great contrast between these earlier verses of Psalms 90:1-17 and the earlier verses of Psalms 91:1-16. The one is a picture of man in extremes" weakness and misery. The other gives us a view of man honoured of God, and not to be touched by any adverse power. The one is "cut down" to wither like grass. The other cannot be touched: no evil shall befall him, and ultimately he is to be "set on high." The extraordinary contrast might perplex us were it not that we notice one thing. In Psalms 90:1-17 "man" is generic. The whole race of Adam, the first man, is in view, and consequently all through the pronouns are in the plural. It is we, us, our they, them. In Psalms 91:1-16 the word man does not occur, though clearly enough a Man is in view. The personal pronoun is used all through, but invariably in the singular. It is he, him, thou, thee, thy. Some particular Man is in the mind of the inspiring Spirit of God. We have no difficulty in identifying Him. He is not the first man, Adam, nor any of his race; but the Second Man, the Lord from heaven. And so at once the whole atmosphere is changed. Instead of feebleness and misery and sin and the dust of death, we find ourselves rejoicing in One who abides under the shadow of the Almighty, who is untouched by any snare or pestilence or terror or destruction or evil or plague; One who is the object of angelic ministry. The arrows may fly thick and fast, and a thousand may fall at His side and ten thousand at His right hand, but not one arrow can come nigh Him. He cannot be touched by any adverse force. We find something analogous to this in the history of David, who is spoken of as the man after God’s own heart, when he was still in rejection yet under the Divine protection. Abiathar the priest, having escaped from the massacre of all his father’s house, fled to David, who greeted Him with the word, "Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard" (1 Samuel 22:23). Astute observers may have characterized Abiathar’s move as great folly, as a jumping out of the frying pan into the fire — for after all was not Saul’s animosity against the priests only secondary, and all his primary animosity reserved for David? That was indeed the case, and yet at that hour there was no safer spot in all the land of Israel than standing by David’s side. David was at that moment the man of destiny, the elect of God according to His purpose, and nothing could touch him. Saul’s archers would bend their bows in vain as far as he was concerned, and to be with David was to be in safeguard. He had made Jehovah his refuge and habitation, not perfectly of course, still in a very real measure. He was a type and foreshadowing of the Perfect One who was to come. Our Psalm gives us a lovely picture of that Perfect One. He always dwelt in the secret place of the Most High and under the shadow of the Almighty. He was perfect in His dependence upon God. Hence He could pass through every form of evil and it had no more effect upon Him than the burning fiery furnace had upon the three Hebrews of Nebuchadnezzar’s day Angels had charge concerning Him. and He could tread down all forms of Satanic power, whether represented by lion, adder or dragon. That this really was so the Gospels themselves bear witness. Satan himself knew that angels were concerned as to Him, and quoted, or rather misquoted, this very Psalm. And we are permitted to have glimpses of this ministry of angels to their Lord, both after the temptation in the wilderness and the agony in the Garden. Moreover He touched the leper, but the leprosy could not touch Him. He was led, to the brow of Nazareth’s hill, but every hand that would have pushed Him over was smitten with impotence. Nothing could prevail against Him or touch Him till His hour was come. Now even Psalms 91:1-16 indicates that an hour, a great hour, was to come in His history; but before we contemplate it let us return to the actual petitions of the prayer of Moses, as recorded in the six closing verses of Psalms 90:1-17. Verse 12 gives us the first request which it is easy to see, exerts a controlling influence on all the rest. We are but the feeble dying children of Adam, and much is gained if we only recognize that fact. For so long as we do not number our days aright, and consequently imagine ourselves to be something other than what we are, we apply our hearts to pleasure or money-making or sport or a hundred and one things of small importance. When we number our days aright and realize the plight we are in, we apply our hearts to wisdom, and the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. But we have to pray to God to teach us to do this, for we shall not do it of ourselves. Moses was taught to apply his heart to wisdom in an eminent degree, hence he prayed with divinely given intelligence for exactly that which we need. He uttered a four-fold cry: — 1. "O satisfy us early with Thy mercy" 2. "Let Thy work appear" 3. "And Thy glory" 4. "And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." All four of his requests are centred in God. Man being what he is, there is no hope in him and nothing to be expected from him. God’s mercy, God’s work, God’s glory, God’s beauty were his desire. Now see how wonderfully all these things were realized in Christ. Just before His birth the prophet spoke "the tender mercy of our God; whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us" (Luke 1:78). The coming of the Son of God into the world was the supreme expression of God’s mercy. So too the activities of the Son of God in the world, culminating in the Cross, were the supreme expression of God’s work. He Himself said, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17). Again His whole life displayed God’s glory. The Word having been made flesh and dwelling among us full of grace and truth, the apostles were able to say, "We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten ot the Father" (John 1:14). Moses had desired to see the Divine glory in connection with the giving of the law, and had been refused, for no man could see that glory and live. Nevertheless he prayed that the glory might appear in due season, and it has appeared. When the Word was made flesh it shone forth, but so softened down by grace that human eyes could gaze upon it. The fourth of these requests is marked by astonishing boldness. David knew that the beauty of the Lord was to be seen in His temple (see Psalms 27:4); but to behold it is one thing, to ask for it to be upon such as ourselves, so that we should be invested with it, is quite another. It is to be "upon us," and Moses has just been telling us what sinful, mortal creatures we are. Moses, we might ask, how did you muster courage to ask for so amazing a thing as that? How came the conception of a thing even to enter your mind? There is but one answer to such questions. It was by inspiration of the Spirit of God. So great a design as that was in the mind of God for His saints, and in due time, when His mercy, His work, His glory had appeared, the basis for it was laid and the fact of it came to light. The gospel today introduces us into "the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:5, 6). Acceptance in the Beloved involves this, that we stand before God in all His favour: the beauty of the Beloved is upon us. No greater beauty than that could possibly be ours. Moses’ request was a bold one, but not too bold. It has had an abundant answer. By this time we can certainly see that the main burden of the prayer of Moses was an earnest cry for the advent of the Christ of God. A glorious answer was given at His first advent, and the finishing touches will be given at His second advent. It is not surprising therefore that Psalms 91:1-16 should foretell His excellence and sufficiency, and set Him before us as the Second Man in sharpest contrast to the first. But not only does it set Him before us thus, it also indicates in its three closing verses that the greatest hour of all would come in His story, when very opposite conditions would prevail to those stated in the early part of the psalm. An hour would strike when He should be in trouble, when He would need an answer to His call, in the shape of deliverance and salvation. How could this be? Have we not just been hearing that angels have charge concerning Him, and that not one of the forces of evil can touch Him? If He is so fully under the shadow of the Almighty that no arrow that flies by day has any terrors for Him, how is it possible that He should need salvation, or to be satisfied with long life? Many a saint of Old Testament times may have been puzzled by the paradox involved in this, and longed to arrive at an incontestable solution. That solution, thank God, is ours. The wonderful Person portrayed in this Psalm, the Second Man so different from all other men, intrinsically holy, with life untainted and altogether unforfeit, will go into death on behalf of the feeble dying men so graphically pictured in Psalms 90:1-17. The hour struck, and into death He went of His own free will otherwise He had never been there, for He said, "I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again" (John 10:17, 18). He, over whom all evil and even death itself had no power, because having no claim upon Him, went into death impelled by His love. He permitted death to have dominion over Him for one brief moment, in order that He might redeem us and recreate us for God’s pleasure. Of old it had been predicted that the Seed of the woman should crush the serpent’s head. In verse 13 we accordingly read of Him treading on the adder and trampling under His feet the dragon. But the prediction also stated that in doing this His own heel should be bruised. In verses 14 to 16 we can see something of what this means by simple yet very plain inferences. The time would come when He would need deliverance and to be shown the salvation of God: then evidently He must be in weakness and adversity. He would be set on high: then evidently He must have been brought low. He is to know what trouble is. Again He is to be not only delivered but honoured: that indicates that He must pass through a time of dishonour. And yet again He is to be satisfied with long life: that infers that He is to come face to face with death. Such is the wonderful story. When He died and came forth in resurrection, the mercy, the work, the glory of God came perfectly into view, and as a result the beauty of the Lord rests upon His saints. In all His acceptance we are accepted. One thing more remains to be said. We have noticed the opening petition of the prayer of Moses, and also the four-fold cry of verses 14 to 17. The closing words of the Psalm voice a sixth request based upon the other five. It concerns not God’s work but our work — "the work of our hands." He desired that in addition to the beauty of the Lord being upon us the work of our hands might be established upon us. What exactly did he mean? It may be difficult to say just what was in his mind, but we think we catch a glimpse of what it means for us. We know the mercy of God. Our souls rest upon the work of God. We have seen the glory of God. We stand in all the acceptance and beauty of the Beloved before God. Now we have the great privilege of putting our hands to work of such a character that in its blessed results and fruitage it may be established upon us for eternity. Work of this sort is outside the range of the man of the world. He cannot touch it. He applies his hands to work of many varieties, yet it all decays. His empires, his pyramids, his skyscrapers, his giant businesses, his elaborate scientific speculations, all of them, and much more beside, will come in their sum total to exactly — nothing. We go further, and affirm that work of this sort lies very much outside the range of the carnally-minded believer. We may well ask ourselves how we stand as to this point. Come now: what activities are really filling our lives? Are we going with the stream of present-day religion? Are we just fulfilling certain duties, attending certain meetings, and then filling up the rest of our time with pleasures of a respectable and innocuous sort? Are we seeking to get as much as we can out of the earth and the world, or are we seeking first the things of the kingdom of God? Moses, the writer of the Psalm, threw up his brilliant work and prospects in Egypt in order to put his hands to the work of God. It will be established upon him, and he must have begun to see it when he stood with the Son of God on the holy Mount. Saul of Tarsus had immense advantages, yet he esteemed them but refuse and chose a path of suffering and death, putting his hands with abundance of spiritual energy to the work of the Lord from the start of his Christian life to the finish. When the day of Christ arrives he is going to have the Thessalonian converts, and a multitude more beside from many a city between Jerusalem and Rome, as his joy and crown in the presence of the Lord Jesus. When his detractors and their works are all forgotten, the work of his hands will be established upon him in glory. And so too it MAY be for us. The early Christians at Corinth were carnal and not very promising on this line, yet to them Paul said, "Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." If we are keen in the work of the Lord, and we do it in the Lord and for the Lord, we shall not work in vain and without results that abide for eternity. We know, with Solomon, that what God does He does for ever. It is certain therefore that if God establishes upon us the work of our hands it will be forever. Just think of it! You and I have at the present moment the opportunity of putting our hands to work, the results of which will never disappear. The work of kings and statesmen, of conquerors and diplomats and builders of big business, is as nothing compared with it. We are fully blessed in Christ, yet just because of that how foolish should we be were we to fritter away our lives in the pursuit of irrelevant trivialities, instead of grasping firmly and with joy the golden opportunity that is within our reach. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 79: 078 DANGERS THAT THREATEN ======================================================================== Dangers that Threaten F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 19, 1927, page 19 etc.) 1. Deception. The church of God has an unsleeping foe. In the very earliest moments of its history his attacks began, first by persecution from without, then, and more successfully, by seduction and corruption from within. At the beginning his attacks were in measure repulsed. Apostolic vigilance discovered his movements, apostolic energy under the Spirit’s direction largely countered his devices. We may be very thankful that God permitted Satan’s power to be so early manifested in this direction, for as a consequence we have unfolded in the epistles of the New Testament the divinely-given antidote to his devices, and the divine method of dealing with them. It is a remarkable fact that both the Apostles Paul and John were taken up by the Spirit of God as vehicles of His testimony to seven assemblies. John writes to the seven assemblies of Asia in Revelation 2:1-29 and Revelation 3:1-22; Paul addresses letters to the Romans, Corinthians, the assemblies of Galatia, the Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians and Thessalonians. It is an even more remarkable fact that in each case five out of the seven assemblies had to be dealt with in correction. The epistles to Smyrna and Philadelphia alone, in Revelation 2:1-29 and 3, are not marked by reproof and correction. The epistles of Paul to the Romans and Ephesians alone are occupied with exposition of the truth followed by exhortations based upon it. The other epistles addressed to five churches clearly had correction in view though much truth is unfolded in them. Of these Pauline epistles, the two to the Thessalonians are the last in the order of Scripture. If we allude to them first it is because they were written within a short time of the conversion of the Thessalonians, meeting a danger which threatened them when still but babes in Christ. In reading them, therefore, we are warned against snares that may beset us at the beginning of our Christian careers. The devil particularly attacks the spiritual babe by false and even anti-christian teaching. This is made plain to us in 1 John 2:18-27, and what John lays down in this passage is illustrated by the case of the Thessalonian saints. They were in danger of being deceived. When Paul wrote his first letter they were suffering from self-deception through ignorance. When he wrote the second time they were being deceived by mischief-makers from elsewhere. In both cases deception was the trouble. If a comprehensive view of the 4th and 5th chapters of the first epistle be taken it will be seen that a state of distress and restlessness prevailed amongst them. They needed to be quiet and to do their own business, for some were inclined to be unruly or disorderly (see 1 Thessalonians 4:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:14). Disquietude is the product of distress, and for that comfort is needed (see 1 Thessalonians 4:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:11, 14). They were in trouble about some of their number who had died, evidently imagining that this would in some way penalise them in regard to Christ’s coming and kingdom. Their sorrow, however, was based upon an illusion. They were ignorant of truth which once known would remove all their difficulties and set the whole position and prospects of "them which are asleep" in their true light. The apostle proceeds to reveal to them what will come to pass at the coming of Christ for His saints, particularly as regards the sleeping saints. For certain details concerning the living we have to turn to 1 Corinthians 15:1-58. The tender love of the apostle for these young children of his in the faith, the solicitude for their welfare, the care for their souls, which breathe in every part of this epistle, are very beautiful. There was, of course, much excuse for their ignorant condition. But recently converted they could not be expected to know everything. The ignorance that so often marks the children of God to-day is less excusable, for the written revelation of God is complete. If we, who are not new converts but older Christians, with the New Testament, containing the full unfolding of the counsels of God, in our hands, are compelled by honesty to sing such lines as: — "I am not skilled to understand What God hath willed, what God hath planned" — then we ought to be ashamed of ourselves. What is wrong with us? Is it indifference - that we have no real interest in the things of God? Or, is it indolence - that though we have an interest, we allow the things of God to be crowded out instead of diligently pursuing them? Or what? If in difficulty by reason of cherishing delusions and deceptions, we certainly have the remedy to our hand in the written Word of God. Let it be studied in dependence upon the Spirit of God and a cure will be found. When Paul wrote his second epistle further difficulties had been created. They were "shaken in mind" and troubled (2 Thessalonians 2:2) by some who insisted that the "persecutions and tribulations " they were enduring meant that the day of Christ was "at hand" or "present." It was apparently claimed that their tribulations were a part of the great tribulation of prophecy. This deception evidently came from the devil, for the apostle writes of their being troubled "by spirit." He writes, in fact, of the methods of deceit. 1. "By spirit." The Thessalonians received what purported to be a revelation given by the Spirit of God but which really came from a spirit of darkness, and they had not been able to "try the spirits," according to 1 Corinthians 12:1-3; 1 John 4:1-6. 2. "By word." The same erroneous idea had also reached them by word of mouth through one or more men who were deceivers. 3. "By letter as from us." Those who were deceiving them even went to the length of writing what professed to be an epistle from Paul confirming their error. By this spurious document they hoped the more effectually to gain the ear of the Thessalonians. If any be tempted to wonder what particular harm would be done to the Thessalonians by entertaining such ideas, they may find some enlightenment in 2 Thessalonians 3:5 and 6. To interpret the persecution and tribulation which they were enduring for Christ’s sake as the throes of the great tribulation which has the character of wrath from the hand of God, would divert their hearts out of instead of into the love of God. It would then be a case of God counting them worthy of governmental wrath instead of His counting them "worthy of the kingdom" for which they were suffering (2 Thessalonians 1:5). It would leave them also the prey to impatient longing instead of their hearts being directed into "the patience of Christ." Lastly it produced disorder which expressed itself in not working at all but acting as busybodies. In the light of what has happened in our own day we need not be surprised at the infant assembly being troubled and deceived in this fashion. How many of the deceits of the twentieth century centre around the fact of the second advent and prophecy generally? Men are naturally curious as to what may be expected in the future, and credulous too. Hence, from the days of the Thessalonians until our own, matters concerning the coming of the Lord have provided a kind of hunting ground for those of speculative mind; and of these Satan is not slow to take advantage. The Thessalonians were not free of blame in the matter themselves. Neither are we, if we too get deceived. The apostle had already instructed them that the day of Christ must be preceded by evil coming to a head in the form of a movement - a "falling away" or an "apostasy," which should be headed up in a man - the "man of sin," the "son of perdition"; and as neither of these had materialised the day of Christ could not be present. He could appeal to them and say, "Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?" Careful attention to instructions already given to them would have preserved them from being deceived. But there was more than this. Since he had been with them he had written to them his first epistle, in which he had revealed to them the truth concerning the coming of the Lord for His saints and the way in which they would be "caught up together" to meet Him. To this he alludes in 2 Thessalonians 2:1 speaking of it as "our gathering together unto Him." How could their tribulations be those connected with the day of Christ when it had been plainly revealed that the saints should be raptured to heaven? That rapture being in fulfilment of the word, "God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:9). By this fact so firmly established in his first epistle he beseeches them not to be betrayed into theories at variance with it. A young assembly has more truth to learn, but to be truth it must be consistent with the truth with which they started. In 2 Thessalonians 2:15 Paul alludes to these two ways in which the truth had reached them. They were to hold fast the "traditions" or doctrinal "instruction" which they had been taught, "whether by word" when he had been present with them, "or our epistle" when absent from them. They did not as yet know all the truth, but it was foolish of them to let what they did know be disturbed by what they did not know. Their safety lay in the Word of God received either orally through apostolic lips, or in writing through apostolic pens. We have no apostolic lips to speak to us today, but the apostolic writings - the New Testament - we have, thank God! Here is our resource and our safeguard. The deceits of the present hour are legion, but there is no need that we fall under their power. If we do, it simply means that we are either ignorant of the Word of God, or that knowing it our eye is not single, our spiritual state is not according to God. If on the other hand "the word of God abideth" in us (1 John 2:1-29: 9) - which means that we not only know it but that by the Spirit of God it is operative and formative within us - we shall be preserved from the snares set by anti-christian teachings and indeed from all the deceptions which spring directly or indirectly from our great adversary, the devil. 2. Defection. Galatians The assemblies of Galatia had not been converted for very long when Paul had to write to them in the severe tone that marks his epistle. They were not, however, mere novices like the Thessalonians, and hence their case was a far graver one. To be deceived is indeed serious, but to start on the slippery incline of departure, which has as its end thorough-going defection, from the truth of the gospel, is far worse. And this was their plight, though evidently they were not conscious of it. The trouble entered amongst them in a very insidious way. Men who posed as teachers appeared in their midst and sought to make them, though Gentiles, conform to Jewish usages, and in particular adopt the practice of circumcision. It is quite possible that they did not advocate it as being absolutely necessary to salvation, as had previously been done (see Acts 15:1), but they evidently advocated law-keeping - of which circumcision was the symbol - as necessary to holiness of life, and also claimed the authority of the Jerusalem apostles as behind them. It is very instructive to see how Paul, inspired of God, treated the apparently trivial matter of these Gentile believers submitting to circumcision. At the close of the epistle, the apostle plainly declares that, "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision" (Galatians 6:15; see also Galatians 5:6). The thing had lost all its force and significance for those in Christ Jesus, and hence, in a place where as yet circumcision had not been made a test question by Judaizing teachers, he had circumcised Timothy so that thereby he might have full access to Jews in his service, which would otherwise have been impossible since his father was a Greek and they knew it (see Acts 16:1-3). When, however, he had previously gone up to Jerusalem, as recorded in Acts 15:1-41, about this very matter of circumcision - since the Judaizing teachers had made it a test question both at Jerusalem and Antioch - he took with him Titus, who was not, like Timothy, partly of Jewish blood, but wholly of Gentile blood, and stoutly refused to circumcise him under any consideration. This he relates fully to the Galatians in Galatians 2:1-10. Circumcision was thus being advocated as a sign of subjection to the law of Moses; if not as determining their standing before God as justified, at least as determining their place before Him in holiness. Consequently if one of these Gentile believers submitted to the rite, he thereby signified his adherence to the law and he became "a debtor to do the whole law" (Galatians 5:3). James has informed us that "whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). Paul here enforces a corresponding fact, viz., that whosoever puts himself under the law as to one detail is considered by God to be under it in all its details. We cannot pick and choose out those of the law’s commandments which we happen to like. We must be either under it all or not under it at all. Snap one link in a chain and the chain is broken. Attach a boat to but one link in a chain and to the whole chain it is made fast. The Galatians, therefore, in adopting circumcision, were being entangled in the "yoke of bondage" and Christ would profit them nothing; and if indeed Christ was "become of no effect" unto them they were "fallen from grace" (Galatians 5:1-4). To "fall from grace" has become in some quarters a rather hackneyed expression, and it has acquired a significance very different from that which it has in Scripture. The Galatians had not lapsed into the world, nor gone back as a washed sow to her wallowing in the mire, and so fallen out of the position in which God’s grace had set them. On the contrary, they were adopting a rigid legalism and pursuing justification and holiness — not licence — by going over to law-keeping; and in so doing they were forsaking, in their own consciousness and experience, grace for law. In their own thoughts they no longer stood before God on the grace platform, but the law platform; they no longer viewed themselves as sons with the Spirit of God’s Son in their hearts, but as servants under the regulations that prevail in the servants’ hall (see Galatians 4:1-7). The difference between these two platforms is so great that to step down from the one to the other amounts to a fall. Thus in their own state and experience they had fallen from grace. As to their standing before God in grace, of which Romans 5:2 speaks, this standing was theirs unalterably in Christ, if indeed they were really the Lord’s and so justified by faith. In the light of this we may more fully appreciate the indignant outburst of the apostle in Galatians 1:1-24. They had been brought into the enjoyment of the grace of Christ by God Himself who had called them into it. They had now listened to "another gospel" which based itself upon circumcision, the symbol of law-keeping. To exchange Christ for the law of Moses, to embrace the demands of the law instead of the grace of Christ, and thus depart from the One who had called them out of the one and into the other, was such incredible folly that the apostle marvelled. They were like people "bewitched," and in Galatians 3:1, he plainly calls them "foolish" or "senseless." Later on he has to say, "I stand in doubt of you" (Galatians 4:20). How would the Apostle Paul view Christendom to-day? How does modern Christianity stand in the light of this portion of the Word of God? At the doors of how many of us can similar folly be laid? Are any of us marked by defector from the truth of the gospel by reverting to the law as in any way determining our status before God? These are searching questions, and we do well to ponder them. The matter of circumcision is hardly a live issue to-day: that of the Jewish sabbath is a very live issue, however, at least in some directions where subjection to it is much pressed. Inasmuch as the sabbath was given to Israel as "a sign" between Jehovah and them (see Ezekiel 20:12), it is equally with circumcision a symbol of law and law-keeping, and the inspired reasonings of the apostle as to the one would apply to the other; and other things there are of a yet more subtle nature. It is not very difficult to "fall from grace," in the Scriptural sense of the term, if we remember that the essential principle of law is that our standing before God is determined and regulated by what we are and do: whereas the essential principle of grace is that what God is and has done determines and regulates our standing as believers in His presence. How did the apostle meet the state of defection that had developed amongst the Galatians? By bringing before them the truth, both as to the cross of Christ and as to the Spirit of God. In both cases the truth is set forth experimentally and not doctrinally. The truth of the cross is set before us doctrinally in Romans 6:1-23, but experimentally in Galatians 2:19-21 and Galatians 6:14, and consequently Paul writes there in a personal way, leaving the plural for the first person singular, for experience is of course an individual matter. The truth as to the Spirit of God is unfolded doctrinally in Romans 8:1-39, but experimentally and practically in Galatians 5:16-26 and Galatians 6:8. 1. THE CROSS OF CHRIST struck at the very roots of the ideas and practices which had started the Galatian defection, inasmuch as at the cross Christ died for us under the curse of the law which we had broken (Galatians 3:13),and consequently we believers died representatively in Him beneath its sentence. This the apostle takes up and applies to himself in an experimental way, saying, "I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ." For him, therefore, the condemning grasp of the law had been relaxed and that by the law’s own act. He was legally dead to legality, in order that he might live unto God. Let those words, "THAT I MIGHT LIVE UNTO GOD," be greatly stressed. Paul did not reckon himself to be dead to the law in order that he might live to himself and his own will, which would have been pure lawlessness, but that he might live with God Himself as the End and Object of his life. Formerly the law had controlled, or rather failed to control, him. Now God really did control him. While as yet God was only partially revealed as at Sinai, the law — holy, just and good — was set up as schoolmaster. Now that He is fully revealed in His Son we pass from under the control of law to the control of the One who gave it — which is infinitely higher and exerted upon the opposite principle of grace. This life which is "unto God" can only be lived, says Paul, "by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me," for God is now known to us in His Son, and "faith’s vision keen" alone makes Him to us "a living bright reality" and His love the moving and constraining force in our lives. We live unto God in the bright light of the Son of God and in the warmth of His love. But all this, not apart from the cross. "I," says Paul, identifying himself with the Adamic life and nature of which he participated in common with the rest of us, "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I" — the "I" here being just Paul himself, the person, the "ego," as we speak — "I live; yet not I" — here again Paul as the man who expressed the Adamic life and nature because participating in it — "but Christ liveth in me." Paul was living now in the life and nature of the Risen One who was the Object of his faith. The Cross severed him from the old life of Adam that he might live, even while here upon earth, in the life of Christ. The law with all its demands, its ceremonies and its symbols, whether circumcision or sabbaths, addressed itself to the life of Adam. The cross of Christ has severed the believer from both the life of Adam and the law which applied to it. To go back to law in the principle of it, though apparently only taking up one of its symbols, is to do violence to the cross of Christ - then, "Christ is dead in vain." 2. THE SPIRIT OF GOD is possessed by the believer as the directing power of his new life. Of old all our thoughts and actions were dominated by the flesh within us. We were sowing to the flesh and of the flesh reaping corruption. What is the remedy for this? Is it to sow to the law, and of the law reap bondage and condemnation? No. It is to sow to the Spirit and "of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Galatians 6:8). If the cross puts the sentence of death upon the flesh, the energy of the old life, the Spirit indwells us as the energy of the new life. If we walk in the Spirit we do not fulfil the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). If we are led of the Spirit we are not under the law (Galatians 5:18). The expression "led of the Spirit" carries us back to the earlier passage, Galatians 3:2 — Galatians 4:7. Formerly the law took our hand and led us about as a schoolmaster or tutor. Now, redemption being accomplished, we are sons of full age, and the Spirit of God’s Son is sent forth into our hearts saying, Abba, Father. The indwelling Spirit now fulfils the office formerly undertaken by the external law — only He does so with much greater fulness. We cannot be under the leadership of both at the same time. We live in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). We are led of the Spirit. Now let us walk in the Spirit. Walking is the most normal and universal and healthy of all man’s activities. It consequently signifies activity. All our activities are to be in the Spirit. The truth thus presented in this inspired epistle completely met the Galatian defection. Let all that is implied by the cross of Christ and the gift of the Spirit be grasped, and defection from the truth of the gospel in all its forms will be met. The cross of Christ shuts out fallen man, his wisdom, his reasonings, his world. The Spirit brings God in, His purpose, His grace, His Christ, His Word. Established in these things, Christ is formed in us (Galatians 4:19) and we stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free (Galatians 5:1). Consequently we do not remove from Him that called us into the grace of Christ. 3. Division. 1 Corinthians. At this late hour in the church’s history the state of division into which it has fallen is all too manifest. So manifest is it and so complete, that it might be thought that this particular evil could hardly go further than it has gone, and that to deal with the subject is a waste of time — a kind of shutting of the stable door after the horses are fled. We are assured, on the other hand, that however widespread may be the trouble it is one that never ceases to threaten the people of God, and that, therefore, the Scriptural sayings on the subject are always timely and to the point. When the Apostle Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians the divisions that existed among them were of an incipient nature and not as yet open and avowed breaches. Twice does the apostle speak of "divisions" (1 Corinthians 1:10; 1 Corinthians 3:3; 1 Corinthians 11:18). Once he uses the word "heresies" (1 Corinthians 1:19), and once he speaks of "contentions" (1 Corinthians 1:11). They were forming parties or schools of opinion — which is what the word "heresies" means — and those, of course, gave rise to contentions and divisions. Yet the divisions were found amongst them when they came together "in the church" or "in assembly" (1 Corinthians 11:18), so that they evidently maintained outward unity, though these sad cleavages or rents were present. It is worthy of note that the divided state of the Corinthians was brought under Paul’s notice by a report which reached him, and that in taxing them with it he plainly stated who his informants were, and also was quite specific in the charge he brought against them. How often have reports concerning the low estate or wrongdoing of some of the saints of God been brought by their fellow-believers, who having poured forth their tale have at once tried to bind down the one who has listened to their complaint to absolute silence as to their names! They are wishing to bring the charge, but not willing to put their name to it, so that should it be unfounded or only partly correct their responsibility may not be brought home to them. It was not thus with these believers "of the house of Chloe." Nor did the apostle permit the point of his charge to be lost in vague generalities of a sort that are fairly easy to establish and very difficult to deny. He made his charge quite clear. "Now this I say," or "But I speak of this," — that each of you say, "I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ." They were turning into party leaders men whom they esteemed to be great. It was not that they were actually ranging themselves under the banners of Paul or Apollos or Peter, as 1 Corinthians 4:6 shows. With Christian delicacy the apostle avoided mentioning the real names of the men who were making themselves into, or being made by the Corinthians, into party leaders. He spoke "in a figure," and transferred the matter to himself and to Apollos, desiring that in that way they might learn the lesson not to be puffed up for one man against another. The men they were really puffed up for, were either men of note in their own local assembly, or possibly some of the false and Judaizing workers who got amongst them, as 2 Corinthians 11:1-33 shows. In their unconverted days the Corinthian believers had been familiar with the philosophies of the Grecian world and accustomed to range themselves under their leaders of thought into philosophic schools. They had boasted in all this human wisdom — "the wisdom of this world" and of "the princes of this world," for without a doubt many of the leaders of Greek thought were princes in the realm of intellect, as the Romans were princes in the arts of government. They committed the folly of importing these worldly ways into the midst of the church of God, and assuming that leading Christians were to be esteemed as princes in things religious — were to be followed and magnified into leaders of schools of religion. Why did they think after this fashion? The apostle’s diagnosis of their case is very simple, and stated with great plainness of speech: "Ye are yet carnal," he said. "Whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" (1 Corinthians 3:3). Spiritually they were still but babes, in an infantile condition, and they were fleshly and not of spiritual mind. Before the eyes of the carnal believer man always looms as an imposing object. If he does not exactly see men as trees walking, he certainly sees them as of mountainous proportions, and hence in these early chapters of 1 Corinthians, Paul proceeds to put man, together with his works and his wisdom, into his proper place of nothingness, by exalting Christ and His cross. When first he arrived at Corinth he was led of God to know nothing among them "save Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). That they needed at the outset, and that they needed still. In the first nine verses of the Epistle he reminds them that Christ is all. Upon what Name did they call? "Upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:2). How had the grace of God reached them? It had been, he says, "given you by Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:4). What was the character of the apostolic witness which had reached them? It was "the testimony of Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:6). What was their hope? "The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:7). And, what the character of the time for which they waited? It was "the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." What was their position on earth while waiting? They were "called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:9). How high and holy the dignity and, privilege connected with a calling such as this! We have but to awake to it to become instantly conscious of what a poor and paltry thing it is to be of Paul or Apollos or Cephas. To say, "and I of Christ," in such circumstances — that is, to treat the Lord Himself as though He were to be ranked with His servants, as though He were but worthy to be a party leader in the church instead of being Head of the church — is even worse. It is to commit in principle Peter’s mistake on the mount of transfiguration and to suggest erecting a tabernacle for Christ alongside tabernacles for Paul, Apollos and Peter. Having set forth the paltriness of their divisions in the light of the incomparable glory of Christ, the apostle expounds the cross as the power and wisdom of God, which has "made foolish the wisdom of this world." Why had the Corinthian believers become enthusiastic partisans of one or another of the clever or gifted men who had been or still were amongst them? Because they intensely admired them. They were enamoured of the brilliant intellect of this one, or the flowing eloquence of that one, or the pushful energy of a third; instead of perceiving in them simply "ministers" or "servants" possessed it is true of differing qualities as also of differing gifts, but even these, "as the Lord gave to every man" (1 Corinthians 3:5). Hence, instead of glorifying the Lord who had gifted and enabled them, they glorified the servants who were but instruments or vessels, and it may be that they glorified clever men who could hardly be ranked as true servants of God at all. It was as though one should attribute all the virtue and glory to the jawbone of the ass instead of to the power of God that moved the mighty muscles of Samson’s arm. How often we are like these first century believers at Corinth! How little have we learned the grace and meaning of the cross of Christ from this standpoint, even though we rejoice in it as that which has wrought expiation for our sins. The very thought of "the cross" is that of a death under judgment, a death of shame; and we believe that almost invariably the passages in the Epistles that speak of the death of Christ as "the cross," contemplate it as that which puts under judgment and under the brand of shame. Let us all make sure that by the help of God we understand this point. The Lord Jesus humbled Himself to death — "even the death of the cross." Stretched forth upon a Roman gibbet, lifted up from the earth, He was put publicly under MAN’S judgment and openly branded with shame. The thing was not done by the fools and degenerates of this world. It was "the princes of this world" — princes in authority and intellect and religion — that "crucified the Lord of Glory." The central cross, then, lifted on high as an object of scorn, the LORD OF GLORY, who suffered Himself to be thus eclipsed — as we may speak — for a brief moment in the history of eternity. To all outward appearance He was judged and put to shame in man’s rebellious and foolish little world. He was not really put to shame, but rather He was glorified, and God was glorified in Him, as never before. His own words in John 13:31, anticipate this. The cross then, as God saw it, as the holy angels saw it, as believers today see it, and as presently the whole universe shall see it, was not the putting to shame of Jesus under the judgment of the superior wisdom and power of the princes of this world, but the glorifying of the Son of man and the solemn putting of the princes, and their fancied wisdom and power, under a sentence of shame and judgment from GOD. The cross was judgment indeed. But it was the judgment of this world. It was shame, indeed. But it was the wisdom of this world that was "made foolish" there. It was death — death dropping like a curtain and closing the story. But though the princes aimed to "destroy Jesus" (Matthew 27:20), it was not Jesus who was destroyed. It was rather the fulfilment of that which had been written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent" (1 Corinthians 1:19). We solemnly urge upon all our readers the question — Have you so learned the cross of Christ? If you have you will know well what "the offence of the cross" (Galatians 5:11) means, and why there are to be found "enemies of the cross of Christ" (Php 3:18), and why preaching the gospel "with wisdom of words" must help towards making the cross of Christ "of none effect" (1 Corinthians 1:17), since it would be tantamount to proclaiming with a flourish of worldly cleverness that which sets aside all worldly-cleverness. A truly stultifying procedure, since people always lay more stress on our practice than on the mere affirmation of principles. The truth of the cross clearly shuts out man and his self-importance. Be it even Paul, or Apollos or Peter, all are swept away, and the divisions that would centre in them are excluded. But if the cross shuts man out, the Spirit brings God in; and 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 is the chapter of the Spirit of God. The Corinthians might have thought that since Paul had come amongst them with nothing "save Jesus Christ and Him crucified," there was nothing further for them in the things of God. This was not so. These are "the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him" — the things which are to be ours as the fruit of the cross and according to the counsels of God. In these things are told out "the wisdom of God . . . the hidden wisdom," and hence they lie outside man’s range altogether. Of them it is written, "Eye hath not seen" — so we cannot discover them by observation; "nor ear heard" — so we shall not find them in tradition; "neither have entered into the heart of man" — so there is no hope of arriving at them by a process of intuition. If we are to know them at all we are shut up to God. Now God has acted. He has revealed them by His Spirit to the apostles and prophets (verse 10), and then empowered them to communicate what was revealed to them in words taught by the Holy Ghost (verse 13). Hence we have inspired communications. Thirdly, by the Spirit of God these things can be received or appropriated by the believer (verses 14, 15). Man in his unconverted condition — "the natural man" — cannot receive them at all. All that we know, therefore, of the things of God we know not by observation, nor tradition, nor intuition which are purely human, but by revelations and inspiration, and appropriation, which are all by the Holy Spirit of God. Let us only lay hold of the truth that centres in "the cross" and "the Spirit," and our souls are at once lifted from mere religion upon a human plane, which may have its great leaders. of thought and its schools of opinion and parties, into an order of things which is divine. We then begin to forsake the carnal for the spiritual and to get away from the spirit of division. Division is nowhere in Scripture presented as an evidence of spirituality but always of carnality. "Ye are yet carnal," was the Apostle’s indictment. How did he prove his charge? By simply saying, "whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walkas men?" (1 Corinthians 3:3). Similarly in Galatians 5:20, "heresies" or "schools of opinion" are cited as amongst "the works of the flesh." If carnality prevails, divisions are sure to raise their ugly head. Hence, when the report of the divisions at Corinth reached Paul it did not take him by surprise. "I partly believe it," he writes, "for there must be also heresies [schools of opinion] among you" (1 Corinthians 11:18, 19). Emphasize that "you." There was no such "must" in the case of the faithful saints at Ephesus, or Colosse or Philippi. But amongst "you" — the carnal believers at Corinth — there are sure to be these "heresies" as the inevitable fruit of your carnal state. That God knows how to overrule even heresies and make them serve towards the making manifest of those who are approved of Himself — those not infected with the spirit of division — is no, excuse for the heresies or divisions. 4. Disintegration. 2 Corinthians. The first Epistle which Paul wrote to the Corinthians evidently produced a very powerful effect upon them. The second Epistle makes this manifest. The evil-doer who had been in their midst had been excluded in a spirit of zealous repentance (2 Corinthians 2:6; 2 Corinthians 7:9-12) Moreover they had been largely lifted out of the sectarian spirit that had threatened to engulf them. He writes of their being established in CHRIST (2 Corinthians 1:21), and "manifestly declared to be the Epistle of CHRIST" (2 Corinthians 3:3). Not Paul nor Apollos nor Peter was written on the fleshy tables of their heart, but Christ. And, further, their intellectual doubts on the subject of the resurrection had been dispelled, for he says, "We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God . . ." (2 Corinthians 5:1), referring to the resurrection body which awaits the saints. Thus far all was well, and the Apostle rejoiced and told them about his gladness of heart in a strikingly beautiful passage (see 2 Corinthians 7:4-16); yet there were still things in their midst which caused him grave anxiety. With great warmth and tactfulness he acknowledges in the early part of the Epistle all that grace had wrought in their midst, and it is not until he reaches his farewell words that he plainly expresses his fears concerning them, and thereby indicates evils that were still at work among them. He says, "I fear . . . lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults; and lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed" (12: 20 21). In his first Epistle he had laid certain definite charges at their door upon the evidence of reliable witnesses. In his second Epistle he writes with greater freedom of spirit, which he expresses in 2 Corinthians 6:11, and consequently he is bold to tell them what he feared concerning them. The Apostle well knew the devices of Satan, as he tells us in the early part of the Epistle, and the subtle workings of the flesh. In reference to the shocking immorality exposed in the first Epistle, he had reminded them that "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Hence he deduced that the leaven of immorality had worked and that others besides the man who had been put away from their midst had been guilty, and he feared lest, their cases not having been specifically brought to light, repentance had not really been wrought in their hearts — repentance to salvation from the evils that had overcome them. Further, he knew that "false apostles, deceitful workers" had gained access into their midst, and he described the moral features of these men in 2 Corinthians 11:1-4, and 2 Corinthians 11:12 to 20. They appeared in the midst of the primitive assemblies as the very apostles of Christ, yet the effect of their teachings was to turn aside from the truth of the gospel (verse 4), and to corrupt from simplicity as to Christ (verse 3). Instead of condemning the flesh as a judged thing they gloried in it (verse 18) and they exercised, as might be expected, a highly fleshly "ministry" — exalting themselves, brow-beating the saints, devouring them by extracting money and possessions from them, and bringing them into spiritual bondage to their false teachings. All this verse 20 shows. Inspired by the Spirit of God, Paul well knew what would be the effect of the mischievous activities of these men. Glorying in the flesh themselves, they would promote the activities of the flesh in all who fell under their influence, and thus fill the assembly with strife and confusion. No less than eight words are used in 2 Corinthians 12:20 to describe the conditions which the Apostle feared must prevail in their midst — words all of which portray the out-workings of the evil spirit of jealousy and envy. Let us faithfully apply this warning portion of the Word of God to ourselves. It is true that men have always cultivated the flesh, but in our days the thing has been reduced to a fine art. Modern theories of education insist that the great thing is to instruct the rising generation in "self-expression," so that every ability and impulse may be developed and not restrained. This may mean the development of latent powers in the fields of art and science and invention. It certainly must mean a development of flesh in its most self-assertive and pugnacious form. Let the infection of these ideas spread in the church of God, and debates, envyings, wrath, strifes, back-bitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults, will be more than ever manifest; and the unedifying spectacle will be seen of even true believers filled with envyings of each other, puffed up in their mind, resulting in angry arguments, the whispering of stories to each other’s discredit behind the backs and positive disorders. When these things come to pass, a process of disintegration has set in, which, if not checked by the grace and power of God, must ultimately lead to dissolution. Can we discern, in the case of the Corinthians, anything which predisposed them to fall victims to this particular danger? Is something of a fundamental nature disclosed to us which lay at the root of all these troubles? We believe that the passage, 2 Corinthians 6:11-18, supplies the answer. They were, alas! maintaining alliances with the world. They had not accepted as yet that clear-cut separation which took them out of the zone of the world’s infection — if we may so speak. Maintaining alliance with the world-system, religious teachers who sprang from the world-system (for "religion" forms a well-recognized department of world order) found an easy means of slipping into their midst, and their teachings and influence promoted the very evils which are before us. In this great passage the Spirit of God contrasts Christianity proper with the world. Both are set forth in their essential characters. The one is characteristically righteousness, light, Christ, a believer, the temple of God. The other, unrighteousness, darkness, Belial, an unbeliever, idols. No modifying circumstances are allowed to obscure the issue. It is true, alas I that Christianity is not always displayed according to its essential character. It is equally true that the world wears many dresses fair to behold and by no means always displays itself in its true guise. Still that is what the world-system is, and from it the believer is to be free. It is unrighteousness, for it is wholly out of right relations with God, and consequently right relations as between man and man are absent too. It is darkness, for the light of the knowledge of God is lost and unknown, and no mere light of science lit by man’s devising — even if it be true science and not that "science, falsely so-called," which consists of speculations and guesses — can make up for the absence of the true sun from the firmament of man’s mind. Belial is the god or prince of this world, dominating, though secretly, its councils and its plans. Unbelievers are the units that go to the making up of the world-system. The system itself had its rise in the minds of the unbelieving, and it now utterly dominates the mind of mankind wherein it had its birth. Unbelievers are the subjects of the kingdom dominated by Belial. Idols are the many things, often trifling in themselves, which men pursue as objects of desire and which consequently usurp in their souls that place of supremacy which properly belongs to God alone. By means of idols Belial maintains his sway over the minds of unbelievers, blinding them to the "light of the glorious gospel of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:4), keeping them in darkness and in unrighteousness as regards their relations with God. With such a condition of things there can be no compromise without grave damage to the Christian. What fellowship, what communion, what concord, what part, what agreement can there be? None whatever, and if any be ever attempted it can only result in the introduction of infection from without into the assembly of God. It will also result in terrible loss of power to the assembly, since alliance with the world is like a breakdown of insulation in an electric plant. We have no need to wonder at the many ills that afflict the church of God to-day nor at the small measure of the energy of the Spirit available to counteract them. The introduction of the world and its principles, by unholy alliance with it, works disintegration in the church of God. What will act as an antidote to this state of things? The affirmation of truth, even heavenly truth as in 2 Corinthians 3:6 to 2 Corinthians 5:9; or of the searching truth of the judgment seat as in 2 Corinthians 5:10 and onwards, is not of itself enough. THERE MUST BE THE SEVERANCE OF THESE WORLD LINKS. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing." We come into contact with all sorts of men in our daily business or employment. Had we to be separate in that sense, then we "needs go out of the world" (1 Corinthians 5:10). We are not, however, to be unequally yoked with them. It is the "yoke" we have to beware of, for it is well-nigh impossible to be equally yoked with an unbeliever. Are there any "yokes" today? Why, they simply abound. They are multiplying at a great rate. Societies, unions, federations, guilds, orders, sodalities, exist in appalling profusion, and — we write it with sorrow — the Christian who is not enmeshed by them is a rarity indeed. Here, lying right before our very eyes, is the thing that largely accounts for the sad disintegration and lack of power which are so manifest and so much deplored amongst Christians. What are we going to do about it? There is only one thing to do — OBEY. "Come out . . . and touch not the unclean thing, SAITH THE LORD," and we must obey. No light as to the truth of God, no correct church position exempts us from the obligation of obedience. Obedience, however, it will be urged, is certain to entail suffering and loss. Precisely: and hence those gracious words also covered by the "saith the Lord" — "I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." These words are not the declaration of relationship as are the words in John 20:17, but rather the One who is our Father saying that if men refuse us He will receive us, if they would antagonise us, He will fulfil to us the Father’s part. He will "father" us indeed. In the light of such promises we need not fear. We should rather be encouraged to "cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit" (2 Corinthians 7:1); seeing to it that we are not content with an outward separation, however necessary, but supplementing it with that cleansing of spirit which perfects holiness in the fear of God. Shall we not, one and all, seek from God an enlargement, by obedience to this commandment from the mouth of the Lord? It would check disintegration. It would promote an integration that would be according to God. 5. Diversion. Colossians. The believers at Colosse were not babes in Christ like those at Thessalonica, nor were they in a carnal state like the Corinthians. On the contrary, the Apostle Paul could address them as "saints and faithful brethren in Christ," for "the word of the truth of the gospel" had come to them and brought forth fruit in them. They were marked by "faith in Christ Jesus" and "love . . . to all the saints." All this the apostle acknowledges in his opening words, and in Colossians 2:1-23 he supplements it by crediting them with "stedfastness" as to their faith in Christ and also with "order." Among the Thessalonians there were those who walked in disorderly fashion as regards their personal lives and behaviour (see 2 Thessalonians 3:6). Among the Corinthians there was much disorder in their assembly life and gatherings together, so that a long passage (1 Corinthians 11:17-34; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; 1 Corinthians 14:1-40) is taken up with instructions of a corrective nature, and even then the apostle has to say, "The rest will I set in order when I come" (1 Corinthians 11:34). The Colossians were in happy contrast to all this. They had received the instructions that relate to Christian life and activity, whether of a personal or assembly nature, and they were governed by them. Under the leadership of various able and gifted men Christians may have adopted in turn a dozen differing forms, all of which may appear very orderly, but which, nevertheless, would be every one of them but disorder because astray from the divine ordering. The Colossians, however, could be truly credited with "order" since they were obedient to the divine ordering. All this was very good, and the Colossian believers as a result were a cause of much thanksgiving and joy to the apostle even though, having been converted through the instrumentality of others, they had not seen his face in the flesh. Their condition was a spiritual one, and we might almost speak of them as advanced Christians. Yet Paul’s loving heart discerned a threatening danger even for them, and in Colossians 2:8 to 23 he exposes it. The danger was that of being diverted from Christ who is the all-supplying, all-sufficient Head of His body, the church. The subtle adversary aimed at bringing in that which would prevent them "holding the Head" — maintaining, that is, an intimate contact and communion with Him, so that He should be the Source and Governor of all our thoughts and ways. The Head securely "holds" us, the members of His body, but do we "hold" Him? The adversary knows well that if this diversion of the saints from Christ can be effected innumerable mischiefs, innumerable spiritual diseases, will arise. And what was it that threatened to accomplish this serious diversion for the Colossians? The answer may be thought surprising, but this is it nevertheless — human intellect. The danger was consequently one that would especially threaten intelligent and advanced Christians, such as they were. "Beware," said the apostle, "lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." The force of the word "spoil" is not to mar but to capture, i.e., to take as a spoil or prey. Nothing does more easily capture intellectual people than the philosophy of the world-teachers, because it is so very abstruse and involved. It represents the highest flights of the reflective and imaginative powers of the human intellect. Here, however, it is coupled with "vain" or "empty" deceit, which affords us a sure insight into what it really is according to the divine view. Having surveyed very imperfectly some part of the material universe and observed or deduced what they believe to be the laws governing it, men love to speculate upon the mysteries of its origin and its character. They attempt the solution of a problem only knowing, and that imperfectly, some tiny fraction of the factors involved in it. Is it likely then that their philosophies will stand? Moreover, could they become possessed of ALL the facts governing the case their minds would break down under the weight of them, for only a mind equal to the mind of God would be capable of comprehending the inter-relation of all the facts and so drawing correct conclusions. What hope is there, then, in philosophy? It is only "after the tradition [or, teaching] of men, after the rudiments [or, elements] of the world," and we Christians should know something of what men and the world are. It is not "after Christ," and hence has the effect of diverting from Him. The human intellect, however, works very busily in another sphere altogether. There is also the unseen universe — what we may call the sphere of religion — and subtle forces were at work here to divert the Colossians from Christ. There were those who would have ensnared them by a reversion to Judaism, judging them "in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." The substance, being available there must be great loss in turning back from it to that which is merely the shadow of it, and this loss is enhanced when the substance is "of Christ" — that which proceeds from and is identified with Him. Judaism, even a tinge of it brought into Christianity, diverts from Christ. This the adversary knew full well. To many minds, however, it would appear a rather feeble and reactionary thing to hark back to Judaism. "What!" they would exclaim, "are we not capable of thinking for ourselves in things religious? Let us not be bound hand and foot by the past, but let us make our own independent advance. "They have done so with sad results, which call forth another apostolic warning, commencing with the words, "Let no man beguile you of your reward" (verse 18). The passage extending from this verse to the end of the chapter is not an easy one. It is difficult even as to its translation, as may be seen if the New Translation by J. N. Darby (large edition with full footnotes) be consulted. Still it is quite clear that in it we are warned, firstly, against angel-olatry — including, of course, the worship of "saints" who after death are credited with angel-like existence and powers. Secondly, we are warned against ordinances connected with things that perish in their use, which may be imposed upon us after the commandments and doctrines of men. Thirdly, against asceticism, which, though it may appear a proceeding of much humility and denial of self, is really one which ministers to the satisfaction of the flesh in those who practise it. Indeed, this feature, the satisfaction of the FLESH, is what marks the whole movement, for the worship of angels, though apparently a very humble kind of thing, is really connected with being "puffed up" as to the "fleshly mind." We have no hesitation in identifying the danger that is unmasked for us in Colossians 2:18 to 23 as Ritualism; just as we have Judaism in Colossians 2:16, and Rationalism in Colossians 2:8. The Ritualistic error diverts from Christ as much as the other two, for those who are ensnared by it are "not holding the Head," who is Christ. Thus far we have listened to the warnings of the apostle. We now turn to the great realities which he brought before them as being in the nature of an antidote. These may be summarized under three heads: (1) The knowledge of Christ Himself personally. (2) The knowledge of "the mystery." (3) The understanding of the bearing and force of His death and resurrection. If we possess ourselves, through grace, of these three, we shall, indeed, "be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" (Colossians 1:9). On the one hand, the truth of the gospel is so divinely simple that the mind of a little child, illumined by the Holy Ghost, can sweetly take it in. On the other, the deep things of God, made known to us in Christianity, are of such scope and profundity as to overshadow the greatest human mind ever opened by the Spirit to receive them. Let us make no mistake about this. The truth revealed to us in Scripture will more than fill and satisfy the intellect of widest range and greatest powers, if that intellect is possessed by one who is self judged and under the control and teaching of the Holy Ghost. Taught by the Spirit — whatever be the range of our intellects — we have to cry with the apostle, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord?" For the truth is beyond us in its depth; yet we may lay hold of it with "spiritual understanding" as opposed to mere natural intelligence, and "in all wisdom" since it will be knowledge not merely theoretic but applied. In Colossians 1:13 to 22 CHRIST personally is presented with wonderful fulness. He is "the Son of God’s love," "the image of the invisible God," "the Firstborn of every creature" because the Creator. He is the Former of all things, the One by whom they hang together. He is "the Head of the body the church," "the beginning, the firstborn from the dead," so that He holds the pre-eminent place in every sphere. On earth He accomplished redemption, and the fulness of the Godhead dwelt in Him to that end. Moreover, that which He was on earth He is to-day, for "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily " (Colossians 2:9), and consequently, we are "complete" or "filled full" in Him. Our completeness in Christ is emphasized in connection with the danger of Rationalism. The fitness of this is evident. In order to be a rationalist you must enthrone the human intellect as supreme, and this must necessarily involve the dethronement of the mind of God as revealed in Christ. The rationalist is of necessity the enemy of Revelation, and the revelation of God in Christ is the total destruction of rationalism. Rationalism may admit a human "Jesus" as a great seer or prophet or thinker, but that is all. The knowledge of Christ as the One in whom the Godhead-fulness came into perfect display and revelation dispels the mists of rationalism for ever. And for ourselves, Christians of the twentieth century, is there any danger from this direction? Most assuredly, — very much so. The so-called "modernism" is just religious rationalism, and it is spreading as a plague. It can, however, only infect those who have no active, vital faith in the Godhead-glory of Christ. The full knowledge of Christ as presented here lifts the soul entirely out of the range of the miasma of modernism. Then, also, Paul sets before these Colossians "the mystery of God" — that particular part of truth which had been hidden from previous ages and generations, but which was now revealed as the crowning point of God’s purposes and the completing of His word. In it (for so Colossians 2:3 must be read) "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," since it was only when it came to light that the whole circle of God’s thoughts and purposes came clearly into view. A story has been told of the artist Turner standing with an art critic in his studio. The critic inspected one of his pictures, and confessed himself somewhat baffled, when Turner stepped forward and placed with his brush a single dot or splash of crimson on the canvas. The effect was extraordinary. It seemed to set everything in right perspective and make all intelligible and harmonious. So it was when the "mystery" or "secret" of God was revealed through Paul. Its effect at once was to make the whole scheme of God’s will and counsel intelligible. His ways and dealings which had before seemed dark and mysterious were made plain. It became the key to unlock the knowledge of His will. Apart from this, however, the mystery is of great excellence in itself. The apostle writes of "the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). It has its own peculiar "glory" and in that glory rich treasures are enfolded. One aspect only of the mystery is alluded to here and that the subjective. In Ephesians we have the mystery considered from an objective standpoint — the Gentiles, "fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel" (Colossians 3:6). An election of grace from amongst the Gentile nations brought jointly with an elect remnant from amongst Israel into heirship as regards the inheritance and into the same body, which is Christ’s body, and into all that is promised in Christ. The character of both the inheritance and the body are developed in Ephesians 1:1-23 and 2. The subjective counterpart to this is that Christ is in these elect Gentiles; the hope because the pledge of the day of glory when Christ will fill not merely Gentile believers but "all things" (see Ephesians 4:10). We are "in Christ," and that carries with it our fellow-heirship, our being of the same body, our joint-participation in His promise. Being of His body, Christ, the Head, is in us, and the more truly we hold the Head the more effectively will His life and character be seen in us. Christ in us, Gentiles, is a little sample and pledge of the coming day of glory when all things shall be headed up in Him, and He will fill all things over which He is Head. If we have the full assurance of understanding in the full knowledge of this, the stark-naked poverty of rationalism, whether as Modernism or in any other form, will be perfectly apparent to us. Neither shall we be enticed by ritualism. Who desires to traffic with angels or ordinances or ascetic practices when we are put into such intimate relations with the Head? Members of the Privy Council who have access to His Majesty’s person and councils never betray any desire to interview and accept orders from the chauffeur who drives the royal motor-car or the footman who opens the door into the audience chamber. Why should they? It would be a strangely inverted procedure to do so. Not more inverted, however, than the procedure of the ritualist, who, overlooking the fact that as Man Christ is his Head, desires to place angels or ordinances between. Thirdly, there is the bearing of the death and resurrection of Christ upon these matters. We believers are circumcised in His circumcision, that is, we have died with Christ. Thereby the flesh has been disowned (for Colossians 2:11 should read "the putting off of the body of the flesh"). Thereby also "the handwriting of ordinances" has been abolished and principalities and powers have been spoiled. We have also been raised with Him, and this involves being quickened together with Him. We are dead with Christ, and this being so, how can we be subject to the ritualistic ordinances, all of which recognize the flesh which the cross has disowned? We are risen with Christ, and this being so, how can we set our minds on things on the earth rather than on things above? How can we then be entrapped in a ritualistic system of religion which cultivates the flesh and occupies its votaries with earthly things? If, then, we are to be preserved from the danger of being diverted from Him we must just have Himself abidingly before us. — CHRIST in the fulness of His personal and official glory; CHRIST as the One to be expressed in connection with the mystery of God; CHRIST once dead but now risen, our position in relation to all things being simply determined by His. 6. Dissension. Philippians. Of all the early churches, of which we have any notice in the Scriptures, not one appears to have been in a more healthy condition than that at Philippi. In the epistle that Paul wrote to them we do not find anything ’hat would lead us to infer that they excelled in intelligence and understanding, nor is there any unfolding of the counsel of God. The personal note is prominent right through the epistle, for what specially marked them was their wholehearted love for, and identification with, the apostle who at so great a risk to himself brought the gospel to them, as Acts 16:1-40 records. Paul could thank God upon every remembrance of them. They had him in their hearts — as the marginal reading of Php 1:7 puts it — and consequently from the first day until the time of writing their fellowship with Paul in the gospel had been marked. Their large-hearted liberality was Remarkable and exceptional as witnessed by Php 4:10 to 18, and 2 Corinthians 8:1-5. This latter Scripture — where the apostle was writing about them to others — shows that they were then marked by four things: — 1. A great trial of affliction. 2. Abundance of spiritual joy. 3. Deep poverty. 4. Riches of liberality. They gave to their power and even beyond their power, exceeding Paul’s expectations. Moreover, they began with that which is greatest, giving their own selves to the Lord. It is easy to give of our substance without giving ourselves, whereas if we give ourselves to the Lord, our substance is necessarily surrendered also, to be used henceforth as He directs. This the Philippians did. It is evident, therefore, that love of a divine sort was very active among the Philippians, both towards the apostle and towards all saints. That love was to "abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment" (Php 1:9), for there is always room for enlargement in the divine nature; still, if love is the real measure of our spiritual stature, as 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 indicates, then the Philippians were to be reckoned amongst the spiritually great. Paul himself called them his "joy and crown" (Php 4:1). Yet there was "a fly in the ointment" even with these devoted Christians. Dissension had sprung up between two sisters in their midst, and this threatened their peace and their joy, for it is a highly infectious complaint. Nothing is easier under these circumstances than for others to have their sympathies or prejudices awakened, so that they fly to arms and side with the contending parties; and so the whole assembly may be convulsed over something that in its beginning was a very trivial matter. For the moment it may be but a disagreement between Euodias and Syntyche, but who shall say whereto it may extend if not checked, so that they be "of the same mind in the Lord" (Php 4:1-3). Paul evidently felt how important it was that these excellent Christian women should be lifted out of their dispute, and he entreats one whom he calls a "true yoke-fellow" (probably Epaphroditus) to help them seeing that they were saints of no mean worth who had laboured with him, or shared his conflicts, in the gospel. It looks, therefore, as if the dispute between them was not over some worldly matter, not a case of a quarrel based upon idle and foolish talkings, such as are at all times so common, but rather a disagreement over something connected with the Lord’s interests and service. Now Paul himself had once been involved in a matter of this sort, as Acts 15:37-40 tells us, and the contention between himself and Barnabas had been of so sharp a character as to divide them asunder as far as their future service was concerned. With this in mind we can understand how acutely he felt the situation at Philippi, and how urgently he desired that they might be of one mind in the Lord. As a consequence of this the Epistle to the Philippians is pre-eminently the epistle of the mind. The very word itself occurs a number of times. The first chapter might well be called the chapter of the devoted mind. In it Paul is led to speak of his own trying circumstances as a prisoner in Rome with his life hanging in the balance. He is, however, in no state of feverish anxiety to escape. He knew well, for he had already been caught up into the third heaven (see 2 Corinthians 12:1-7), that to depart and to be with Christ is very much better than the life of service here, yet he was well content to stay and toil on if thereby the Lord’s interests in His saints should be served. He had before him one thing, and one thing only, that Christ should be magnified in his body, whether by life or by death. Such was his mind, a devoted mind indeed, and he exhorted the Philippians to the same when he urged them to "stand fast in one spirit with one mind [one soul] striving together for the faith of the gospel" (Php 1:27). The second chapter is clearly the chapter of the lowly mind. A great deal of the difficulty which comes in amongst Christians lies just here. The apostle had just experienced most sweetly the "consolation in Christ," the "comfort of love," the "fellowship of the Spirit," the "bowels and mercies" found in the saints of God, in connection with the visit of Epaphroditus, bearing the gifts of the Philippian assembly. All this was a joy to him, but he tactfully intimates to them that one thing remained if they wished to fill the cup of his joy up to the brim. They must be "likeminded, having the same love." They must be "of one accord, of one mind" — or, more literally — "joined in soul, the one thing minding." Here we have that which lies behind the "one thing I do" of Php 3:13, for the secret of doing one thing is minding or thinking one thing. We all feel at once how desirable a thing this is. If we have any knowledge of ourselves and of the state of affairs generally among the people of God, we know that it is to all appearance an impossible thing. Yet there is a way by which it may be achieved, and verses 3 and 4 show us that way. Nothing is to be done in the spirit of contention or vainglory, but everything in that lowliness of mind which leads one to esteem others above themselves, and consider the things of others and not only the things of self. The "one mind" of verse 2 is certainly to be achieved if the lowly mind of verse 3 is produced in us all. A difficulty, however, would still be felt if the lowly mind were to us only an abstract conception. We want it to be a living reality before our eyes, and we have it thus in Christ Jesus. If there is to be only one mind, whose mind is that one mind to be? — "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." At first sight it would seem strange that to the carnal Corinthians the apostle should write "we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16), whereas he exhorts the devoted Philippians to have in them the mind that was in Christ Jesus. The two Scriptures are, however, perfectly consistent, as the words used for "mind" differ. To the Corinthians he says, "we have the thinking faculty of Christ" — inasmuch as "we have received . . . the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." To the Philippians he says, "Let this way of thinking be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." And what was His way of thinking? The succeeding verses 6-8 present it to us — a passage wonderful beyond all words. The first man, Adam, conceived the idea of exalting himself in the scale of creation, to become even as gods: and he fell. The whole Adamic race inherits by nature that way of thinking. And here is Christ, who before incarnation was "in the form of God." It was to Him no unlawful thing to be equal with God for He was God, and therefore it was impossible for Him to be higher than He was. Before Him were only the two alternatives, of staying exactly where and as He was, or of coming in incarnation upon a downward path that would not stop short of the death of the cross. His way of thinking was to come down and humble Himself. Adam’s way of thinking has filled the earth with sin and strife, and there remains with us each the tendency to think as Adam, inasmuch as the flesh is still within us. Christ’s way of thinking is life and peace, and having His nature, His Spirit, we have the capacity to think as He thinks. We infinitely prefer Christ to Adam. The contemplation of His mind fills us with adoration and worship. Let us then think as He thinks. With our present imperfections of understanding we might even then not see exactly eye to eye about everything but the element of dissension would be eliminated from our differences. The third chapter is the chapter of the heavenly mind. The Christ, who in His downward path of humiliation is so excellent an Example to us, is glorified on high as an excellent Object before us, and the knowledge of Himself as in that glory is the thing to impart a heavenly direction and character to our lives and energy and decision on our way. Paul’s first sight of the heavenly Christ on the road to Damascus led him to discard all his natural advantages as worthless (verse 7), and now writing long years after, with an enlarged experience of "the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus" his Lord, coupled with suffering and loss for His sake, he more than ratifies his early decision (verse 8). He had but one desire — to reach Him in His resurrection glory even if it meant martyrdom to do so (verses 10, 11). He calls upon us all to follow him in this (verses 15, 16). If we are "thus minded" with him we, as well as Euodias and Syntyche, will find it more possible to be "of the same mind in the Lord." The fourth chapter is the chapter of the contented mind. Paul himself in a Roman prison is no more disposed to grumble than when he first made the acquaintance of the Philippians and sang praises in their local jail. He had learned in whatsoever state he was to be content; but then he practised what he presses on the Philippians. In verse 6 of this chapter he bids them to unburden their minds of care by freely making known their requests to God, with thanksgiving. This would keep or garrison their minds with peace. Then having unloaded their minds of care he bids them fill their minds up to the brim with all that is true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report, of virtue and of praise. "Think," he says, "on these things." One thing further remains, "Those things . . . do" (verse 9). Let all those lovely things that fill our minds work out into action and practice, and "the God of peace shall be with you" - and with us. Dissension dies in the presence of the God of peace. The choicest believers and the choicest assemblies have all too often been overcome by dissension. Let us therefore pay diligent heed to the remedy. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 80: 079 "DEAD TO THE LAW." ======================================================================== "Dead to the law." F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 13, 1921, page 195.) Romans 7:1-25 is mainly a chapter of experience, yet, even so, the first six verses are occupied with what is doctrinal, with a statement of the bearing of Christ’s death upon the believer in relation to the law. Verse 4 in particular sets that forth. Verse 1 reminds us that death sets a term to law’s dominion, being, so to speak, the boundary of law’s domain. Verses 2 and 3 illustrate the working of that fact by referring to its operation in the relationship of husband and wife. Verse 4 gives the great application of the fact before the mind of the Spirit in connection with the death of Christ. The believer has died to the law in the death of Christ. His history, as under law, was judicially ended there. We say judicially ended, to distinguish from what may be historic or experimental, but perhaps an illustration may be helpful. A great lawsuit comes on before the courts, let us suppose. It turns upon the validity of a will disposing of a vast estate, and its result is a judicial decision which destroys the title of the man in possession of the property and establishes that of the claimant. Here, then, at once, the former owner’s hold upon the property is judicially ended. For a few days, however, he is still in residence in the ancestral mansion, and then he has to turn out bag and baggage, and the new owner enters amid congratulations of servants and retainers. The former owner’s hold upon the property is now historically ended. Even yet, however, there is much to be done. There are many agents and factors, and a host of accounts to be transferred and small details settled. After some months the last item is closed. The whole transfer in all its ramifications is complete. The former owner’s hold upon the property is now experimentally ended. The illustration is as usual imperfect, but it serves to distinguish between what was fully accomplished judicially at the cross, and what is reached historically at conversion; and, again, that which is experimentally learned and accepted by the believer. This last is not something which takes place once and for all, but something to be wrought out "line upon line, here a little and there a little" under the teaching of the Spirit of God. In verse 4, then, the law is considered as the old husband. Up to Christ, the Jewish saint naturally turned to it for the direction and counsel he needed, and yet, at the same time as he obtained the counsel he got also a deep sense of his own shortcoming and necessary condemnation if law without mercy were applied to his case. Psalms 119:1-176 is a fine example of "wifely" affection for the old husband. The law is magnified under many different titles, and the spirit of the whole is, "oh, how I love Thy law!" (ver. 97). Yet all through are interspersed confessions of failure judged by its holy standards, cries for quickening — the law never could quicken (Galatians 3:21) — and prayers for deliverance. We, however, have been made dead to the law "by the body of Christ," i.e., by His death, for He took the body prepared for Him in order that He might suffer (Hebrews 10:5-9). Having thus died and our connection with the law having thus been judicially dissolved, the object in view is that we should be "married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead." The believer then is to look up to the risen Christ as the One with whom his new links are formed — links of a far finer and tenderer character than ever existed in connection with law. Do we want support, direction, wisdom, counsel, all those things, in short, for which the wife should turn to the husband? — if both are according to the divine ideal — we turn to Christ risen with whom all our associations now are. He is the living Source of them all. Under His love, and direction and fostering care, the believer brings forth fruit unto God. "Beautiful!" we probably ejaculate in our minds. "The idea is wholly admirable; but, oh, when one comes to take it up as a matter of experience — to work it out experimentally — how deep are the troubles into which we are plunged." Exactly. Hence the wonderful passage, verses 7 to 25, experimental in the highest degree, which follows. These troubles and exercises, this anguish of mind, are all portrayed from the rich knowledge which Paul himself had of the practical working of the thing. It is noticeable that in this passage the first streak of light amidst the gloom is when he reaches the knowledge of the utter badness of the flesh (verse 18). The fact is that this is the "Hougomont" of the great "Waterloo" of the soul — the point around which all the battle of exercise and anguish rages. Let that point be really and decisively carried, and the believer soon learns to look away from his worthless self to Christ the risen One, and in His risen life and by His Spirit (Romans 8:2) all this "fruit unto death" is changed to "fruit unto God" and the path of victory. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 81: 080 DEFEAT AND VICTORY ======================================================================== Defeat and Victory. Psalms 44:1-26; Psalms 45:1-17. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 27, 1935, page 151.) The experiences of God’s saints, if considered in detail, present a picture of almost endless variety. The dispensation in which their lives are cast differ. The ages comprised in any one dispensation often differ greatly. The circumstances surrounding them in any given age are different. And even where the age and the circumstances are the same, the characters and temperaments of individuals differ. Yet, with all this, there are certain underlying features which are the same in all cases. These two Psalms furnish us with an illustration which is to the point. No saint is to be found, no matter what his dispensation, his age, his circumstances, but knows the bitterness of defeat: and none but shall know ultimately the joy of victory. Some there may be who lose ten thousand battles, but even they are victors in one battle — the last. Psalms 44:1-26 is very obviously a Psalm of defeat. It begins with very confident expectations which are not realized, and it ends with an agonized cry from the dust for help and succour from on high. Psalms 45:1-17, with equal clearness, is a Psalm of victory. The Victor is introduced and immediately everything is changed. Both Psalms are highly prophetic and await their fulfilment at the end of the age. Yet, of course, they abound with instruction for us. If we begin by noting their prophetic interpretation standpoint we shall better be able to make a right application of them to ourselves. In Psalms 44:1-26 we hear the voice of godly Jews, who will be a true remnant of Israel in the coming day of trouble. Right through the Psalm it is "we" and "us" with the exception of verse 6. This is striking, for practically all the preceding psalms are in the first person singular, the plural only occurring very rarely. Psalms 44:1-26 then is the voice of a company, though verse 6 lets us know that the psalm is the work of an individual, who was inspired to utter the thoughts of many. It falls quite naturally into four sections; verses 1 to 8; 9 to 16; 17 to 22; 23 to 26. In the first section this true remnant allow us to hear how confidently they expect to be used of God to accomplish a great deliverance in the earth. They unbosom to us three steps by which they have attained this confidence. The three steps follow one another in a logical sequence, in which it is not easy to find a flaw. In the first place, they have heard and believed the tidings of God’s mighty intervention for their fathers in the days of old. They are not of the liberal or modernistic type who believe in nothing miraculous, and hence discredit even the well attested facts of their own national history. On the contrary, they whole-heartedly accept them. Then, in the second place, they know that the God who thus wrought in ancient times is their God today. They can say, "Thou art MY King, O God;" and He is ever the same. He is to be trusted therefore by them, just as He was trusted of old. From this they deduce, in the third place, that victory must be on their side. In verses 5 to 8 this confidence is expressed. They do not trust in their own prowess. They know that there is no salvation in their own weapons. They make their boast in God, and they do confidently expect to push down their enemies in the name of the Lord. In the second section of the psalm their failure and disillusionment is very graphically described. Instead of victory all is defeat. They are put to shame, spoiled, scattered. They become a scorn, a derision, a by-word, a shaking of the head among the people. The transition from verse 8 to verse 9 is very striking. From confident boasting in God and the praise of His Name they fall as with a crash into dejection and shame. Two or three expressions in this part of the Psalm are very interesting from a prophetic point of view. In verse 16 an individual is mentioned as, "him that reproacheth and blasphemeth." In the same verse "the enemy and avenger" is spoken of. Both these expressions may refer to the coming of the "beast:" the first one clearly does so, in the light of Revelation 13:6, 7. The second expression also occurs in Psalms 8:2, and it may refer rather to the false prophet, the second beast of Revelation 13:1-18, who exercises the power of the first beast and avenges amongst the Jews all resistance to his authority. However that may be, we have here an unmistakable reference to the great antichristian powers of the last days; just as, in verse 9, we have reference to the armed resistance to that power which will be offered by zealous sons of Israel, many of them doubtless really godly people anxious to preserve the pure worship of God when the attempt is made to foist upon them abominable idolatry. In Revelation 13:1-18 we are told that it is given to the blaspheming beast "to make war with the saints, and to overcome them:" and in verse 10 of that chapter a warning against armed resistance is conveyed in the words, "He that killeth with the sword, must also be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints." We believe that our Psalm shows that the warning is not unnecessary, and that, notwithstanding the warning, armed resistance is just what they have recourse to, in the full expectation that God will be miraculously with them as once He had been with their fathers before Jericho, and as He had been with the valiant Maccabees when Antiochus Epiphanes defiled God’s holy land and temple. One line of Scripture foretold the doings of the Maccabees, which took place during "the four hundred silent years" which preceded the coming of Christ — "The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." (Daniel 11:32). Now it seems that, in the days of antichrist, God-fearing Jews will feel that they too know their God, and they also will do wonderful things. They overlook the Lord’s own warning recorded in Matthew 24:1-51, to the effect that, when the abomination of desolation appears, not fight but flight is to be their action. Whatever God may have done through His people in the lesser crises of earlier days, it is plainly revealed that in the last great crisis all human instruments will be set aside and He will fight the great fight, and deal the one mighty, effectual, knock-out blow by Himself alone. The word is, "I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with Me." (Isaiah 63:3). In keeping with this Revelation 19:1-21 shows us the beast and false prophet plunged into ruin and unutterable damnation, not by God working through saints on earth, but by the revelation of the Lord Jesus in flaming fire from heaven. Saints are there, but they are heavenly saints, and they do nothing but merely follow the One who does everything. When it has been a question of God acting in government, then again and again He has been pleased to use His people as instruments of His government. Now that it is a question of His grace being heralded through the earth, His normal way of acting is through human servants. But when it is neither grace nor government, but God executing wrath and vengeance on men in whom human sin has risen to its dreadful climax, then He acts alone. He has said, "Vengeance in Mine; I will repay." It is His sole prerogative. No other may share it with Him. The third section of our Psalm is very touching. In it these godly souls, though weighed down by defeat and terrible sufferings, express their integrity of heart, and fidelity to the Name of the Lord. Broken and overthrown they may be, even as Job was of old, yet their faith is divinely sustained, and it holds fast. They have been self-confident, as once Moses was, thinking that by them God was going to effect a mighty deliverance. They may not have grasped what the Divine programme really is, yet they are wholly devoted to God: killed all the day long like sheep. And in being "counted as sheep for the slaughter," approximating in likeness unto their Lord. The forth and last section of the, Psalm is one intensive cry for deliverance. All hope of any success or victory on their side is gone. If deliverance is to come it must be as the fruit of God’s redeeming mercy. It must be His work alone. They fully realize this now. So much for the prophetic bearing of this Psalm. But has it any voice for us? It most certainly has. What Christian is there, who has not tasted the bitterness of defeat? We are not face to face with antichrist, though antichristian forces are very manifestly in the world today. Still we have all the power of the world, and the flesh (that most subtle inward foe), and the devil against us; and again and again, when singly or in combination, they have come against us, we have fallen before them. We know what is right, yet we fail to perform it. So often too, our experiences run just after the pattern of this Psalm. We begin by knowing right well how God can and does deliver. We can say that we have heard with our ears of all God’s delivering power, since we listened to the "fathers" of the Christian faith. Ever since we listened to the Apostle Paul, by reading the epistle to the Romans, have we known how God commands deliverances for His people. Then we are apt to take it for granted that victory is ours as a matter of course: and then comes the disillusionment! We are shamefully defeated. Yet though broken and humbled and sorrowful, we are conscious of a certain integrity. We do not turn aside from the faith of Christ, nor do we for one moment contemplate the possibility of doing so. Sometimes, too, the Christian is oppressed by persecution, and he remains undelivered. Then the Psalm has an even closer application. Such an application is made by the Apostle in Romans 8:36, when he quotes verse 22. We may be living sheltered lives in these favoured lands, but many a saint in the last few years has suffered even unto death, apparently unheard. If it be a question of the defeats we suffer when battling against the spiritual forces of evil, we shall find in verse 5 of our Psalm that which largely explains them. What they say is, "Through Thee will WE push down our enemies: through Thy name will WE tread them under that rise up against us." The idea is that we accomplish a victory by utilizing the power of God. That is not God’s idea for them, and we think we may say it is never His idea for any. His power is not placed at our disposal for us to use as best we may. It is rather that we are to be at His disposal, for Him to use us. If God placed His power at our deposal it would leave us in the primary place with the responsibility of planning the campaign. NO, He has the primary place, and the plan of campaign must be His. Our places are very, very secondary — just instruments that He is pleased to use. It is when we realize this that we cease from ourselves, our plans, our efforts, and cast ourselves wholly upon God, in keeping with the cry that fills the closing verse of the Psalm. This is, of course, the lesson of Romans 7:1-25. It is when we cease from ourselves, and our eyes are turned to Another who is outside ourselves that deliverance comes. For so long as our attitude is, "How shall I deliver myself?" difficulties and defeat dog our footsteps. When at last our cry becomes, "Who shall deliver me?" then we discover the delivering power of Jesus Christ our Lord, and of the Holy Spirit, who is "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." As we commence reading Psalms 45:1-17, it is as though we have been transported into a new world. Excellence, splendour, victory, blessing, fill the whole scene. The agonised cry that concluded the previous Psalm is suddenly exchanged for a heart which is bubbling over with good matter, and a tongue which utters praise with the flowing ease of a ready writer. What has brought about this change? The answer is simplicity itself. The Christ of God, who acts for God and yet is God, has appeared upon the scene. As part of the heading of this Psalm appear the words, "A song of loves," or more accurately, "A song of the Beloved." We know who the Beloved is, seeing we ourselves are "accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). Well, the Beloved, in whom we are accepted is going to appear in His glory. Everything hinges upon that. He will execute judgment. He will accomplish deliverance in victorious power. And He will do it by Himself alone. In verses 3, 4 and 5, He is pictured as He comes forth to lay low every enemy. It is very similar to the picture presented in Revelation 19:1-21. He is everything and man is nothing - it is, "Thy glory," "Thy majesty," "Thy right hand." His arrows never fail of their target. The people fall under Him, and victory is achieved. The Divine Victory however will not merely be a display of power: it will also be a vindication of those qualities and features which please God. He will ride prosperously in His majesty "because of truth and meekness and righteousness." His victory will mean the establishment of these excellent things. The world, as we know it, is full of untruth and pride and unrighteousness. These former things must pass away and a new order of things be brought in. When the saints of the coming time of tribulation pass through the sad experiences of Psalms 44:1-26, they will be under the oppressive domination of "him that reproacheth and blasphemeth . . . the enemy and avenger." These men, who are elsewhere designated, "beasts," will in their characters sum up all the evil that is found in them. In them Satan’s lie will find its embodiment. In them human pride will rise to its climax. All their actions will be characterized by "the deceivableness of unrighteousness." These things are plainly seen if we read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17. When the Lord Jesus appears in His majesty He will "consume with the spirit of his mouth . . and destroy with the brightness of His coming" these evil men, and the whole system of things that they dominate, with a view to bring in an order of things wholly according to God. We too are waiting for His coming. But while we wait for Him, and for the public display of the glory of God, it is not God’s thought that we should be overcome by evil of the world without or of the flesh within. We have already noted how our spiritual experiences often run very much on the lines indicated in Psalms 44:1-26: we have now only to point out how victory for us lies exactly upon the lines which are celebrated in Psalms 45:1-17. The world is full of programmes, for fallen man is very fertile in ideas. One and all however combine in this feature — they SHUT CHRIST OUT. The Divine programme is very simple and effective — BRING CHRIST IN. Now a great many of our spiritual struggles proceed on exactly analogous lines. We want to be in the enjoyment of victory; so we resolve, and try, and pray, and seek God’s help, and yet realize we are very ready to bring Christ in, if it be a question of the forgiveness of sins and our fitness for heaven; yet are not so ready to bring Christ in, if it be a question of practical sanctification and holiness and victory. Yet there is no other way to the desired end. We have already alluded to the end of Romans 7:1-25. We refer to it once more, coupling with it the closing verses of Romans 8:1-39. In the last verse of chapter 7 Jesus Christ our Lord is brought in. Through Him God delivers the wretched men who is utterly sick of himself and all his struggles. In the last verse of chapter 8 the delivered man finds himself in the embrace of the love of God "which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." That is it. God’s delivering power is through Him: His enveloping love, from which nothing can separate us, is in Him. Christ is all. BRING CHRIST IN — that is the way of victory. Let Christ be enthroned in the heart’s deepest affections, let Him dominate the thoughts, the aspirations, the life of service, and all must be well. It is simply impossible to overthow Him. He is victorious always and everywhere. He rides prosperously in His majesty through hearts and lives, though even of the feeblest character in themselves, if simply yielded up to Him. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 82: 081 DEMOCRACY IN THE LIGHT OF SCRIPTURE ======================================================================== Democracy in the Light of Scripture. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 12, 1920, page 108.) At the present time two great ideas prevail in the world, as far as its national, political, and social life is concerned. They are radically different, and upon the surface wholly inconsistent the one with the other, yet the present drift of things would lead us to suspect that a way may yet be found by which they shall be brought together in a certain kind of amalgamation; and the voice of the prophetic Scriptures confirms us in this expectation. The two great ideas are respectively the democratic and the imperialistic. Both have fairly arrived on the scene. Democracy presents itself to us as the finished product of the wisdom of the ages. History gives us, it may be said, the long and dismal record of human experiments in the art of government, and profiting by past experience the democratic idea has been evolved, and now holds the field amongst enlightened nations. It is — to use Abraham Lincoln’s famous phrase — "Government of the people, by the people, for the people." In practice it comes to this, that the people are to be governed by a majority of the people — for they are never unanimous, and hence the minority must give way — and that majority should rule by its accredited representatives for the good of all the people and not for the majority’s interests only. Whether it really does so is of course another thing. The imperialistic idea has as its watchword that "union is strength." In national life it leads to groups of nations and powerful alliances and leagues. In politics it expresses itself in groups of parties to achieve together what they cannot hope to enforce singly. Socially it produces giant trusts, federations of industries, unions. It even threatens to appear in the religious world in the form of a federation of "churches." It is really a reversion to the old idea which animated the ante-diluvians in their schemes at Babel. (See Genesis 11:1-9). Our present concern is not at all with the political advantages or disadvantages of Democracy; we do wish, however, to get the light which the Word of God sheds upon it, thereby discerning its true character, and anticipating the sure end to which time will carry it. In the first place then we must enquire of Scripture as to what God’s way for the government of the earth may be. He has of course a mind on the subject, and the more clearly we apprehend it the more shall we be in a position to judge of any and every theory that man has proposed. In the beginning, Adam, as yet unfallen, was placed in the position of sole authority. He was God’s image or representative and had dominion over the lower ranks of created beings (Genesis 1:26). No thought of authority over other men comes in here. This point was not raised until sin had come in. His authority, such as it was, was absolute, and his responsibility was to God alone. Sin having invaded creation, a long period elapsed during which there was no further authority delegated to man by God, and hence no man had any authority over his fellow men. That age terminated in the flood. The first post-diluvian age opened, however, with a further delegation of authority. Noah and his sons after him were responsible to maintain God’s rights in man, especially as regards the sacredness of human life. (See Genesis 9:5 and 6). God hereby delegated to certain men authority over men even to the execution of capital punishment. Patriarchal authority was thus established. Among those who soon thereafter cast off the fear of God, not liking "to retain God in their knowledge," as Romans 1:28 puts it, this authority evidently changed its form. It was no longer patriarchal in character, but fell into the hands of men of prowess and renown, such as Nimrod (Genesis 10:8-10), and after the confusion of speech at Babel, nations with their "kings" appear (Genesis 12:15; Genesis 14:1 and 2). However, those who still feared God adhered to the patriarchal order until God set His hand to deliver Israel from Egypt, and raised up Moses. This marked a new departure. Moses was invested by God with an authority in the midst of Israel far beyond anything that Noah received. True, at first his authority was rejected. The wrongdoer "thrust him away saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?" (Acts 7:27) but we read also, "This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush" (verse 35). Moses was indeed "king in Jeshurun" (Deuteronomy 23:5), but it was a kingship of an informal order. Properly speaking, Theocracy was established in Israel with Moses as the spokesman and mediator, and therefore in that sense king. For centuries such authority as was administered in Israel was of that order, but the power of it declined; those who wielded it were far inferior in faithfulness and in force. "There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face" (Deuteronomy 34:10). The resultant feebleness led to an outcry for a king like the nations (1 Samuel 8:5), and after the episode of the wilful king of the people’s choice, God raised up David and established kingly authority on a proper basis. He was to be ruler over God’s people, and the executor of judgment on their enemies (2 Samuel 7:8, 9). He was also to "feed" Israel His inheritance. So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands (Psalms 78:71, 72). David’s authority was absolute, and he was to rule. He was to execute judgment if and as needs be, but also to feed his subjects and to guide them. His rule was to be absolute but wholly beneficent. With the failure of David’s descendants the glory of it departed, and at last God transferred authority into Gentile hands. It was entrusted first of all to Nebuchadnezzar, as stated in Daniel 2:37, 38, and though the great king’s dream, as recorded in that chapter, foreshadowed the changes that would supervene as to forms of government, yet it showed that the authority that lay behind government, whatever its form, would remain in Gentile hands until the sudden execution of divine wrath on all man’s pride and abuse of the entrusted power should be an accomplished fact. Then should appear the kingdom which "shall stand for ever" (Daniel 2:20), and that kingdom is to be vested in the Son of man, who will wield absolute dominion for the blessing of men (Daniel 7:13, 9). He will be pleased, however, to take up and use in connection with His government the saints "of the Most High" or "of the high places" (verses 18, 22), and also a "people" who will possess the kingdom "under the whole heaven," i.e., on its earthly side. This people of course is Israel. This rapid sketch of the course of government amongst men is enough to show that one feature marks it all through. The ultimate authority is always God — and God alone. No man has any prescriptive right to exercise authority over his fellows except he has received it from God. Hence in such passages as Romans 14:1-6 and 1 Peter 2:13-15 obedience to the ruling authorities is enjoined upon the Christian. The Apostle Paul tells us "There is no authority except from God; and those that exist are set up by God" (New Translation). Turning now from government as presented to us in Scripture to the practice of it by those to whom it has been entrusted on earth, we at once see that it has been terribly abused, as has all else that has been entrusted to fallen man. Tyranny and self-seeking have everywhere flourished, and history is a record of the long and painful struggles by means of which nations have turned from one form of government to another, or have introduced modifications into their various governmental systems, in the vain hope of evolving ideal conditions. Of all these changes Democracy is the latest, and its advent is not surprising to anyone at all versed in the abuses which gave it birth. Comparing it, however, not with its predecessors, but with the ideals of Scripture, which are to be fully realized in the millennial age, we at once see that it is more hopelessly condemned than any other form of government which has yet appeared; for the reason that it frankly and unblushingly deposes God as the foundation and source of authority and puts man — i.e., "the people" — in His place. The gulf between these two is as wide as that between heaven and hell. To the thoroughgoing Democrat only one question really matters, viz., What is the will of the people? To ask what may be right — what, in other words, may be the will of God, is quite irrelevant. What the people desire is to be regarded as the right thing, and the functions of a truly democratic government are to carry out the people’s desires, to be the humble servants of the people’s will — whether right or wrong. In this matter, as in all others, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ provides the Christian with a supreme test. At that solemn hour Pontius Pilate the governor was the representative of Caesar, and at his autocratic bar Christ was arraigned. Yet in an unusual moment of weakness autocracy abdicated its functions. The record runs thus: — "When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it" (Matthew 27:24). "And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that He might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required" (Luke 23:23, 24). As Caesar’s representative, Pilate washed his hands of the whole business, whilst, acting as executive officer of a democracy which held sway for just a brief hour, he "gave sentence that it should be AS THEY REQUIRED." Viewed as a setting forth of democratic principles, this might be passed as all right. Viewed from every other standpoint, it was the most outrageous wrong of the world’s history. Reverting again to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream as recorded in Daniel 2:1-49 we may now be better able to grasp the significance of the clay which entered into the image when the feet of it were reached. Daniel’s vision in Daniel 7:1-28 sets forth the course of the four great Gentile empires in their dealings amongst men, and they are pictured as wild beasts in their powers of destruction. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, on the other hand, gives us the same four empires but as setting forth the character and quality of their governments, and hence what marks them is a steady deterioration in the metals that appear. God started the "Times of the Gentiles" with an ideal form of government, though the man who wielded its power was far from ideal. That it was an ideal form is proved by the fact that God will revert to it for the millennial age, when the ideal Man appearing, by whom He will "judge the world in righteousness," all will soon be peace and blessing. As the empires developed, men deviated from the golden ideal, and introduced human modifications, and the government became silver, brass, and iron, as more and more divine thoughts were forgotten and human policies came to the fore. It is, however, in the last stage of the last empire — the Roman — that we find for the first time the introduction of clay — a non-metallic substance. This was an evident prediction that before the end there should be introduced into the prevailing governmental system, a principle which should be not so much a further modification of the old, as one radically and fundamentally different. Because of it "the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken" or "brittle" — see margin. Daniel’s interpretation of the clay and iron mixed is "they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay." The "they" of this passage appears to mean those in whose hands authority for the time being rests. We have no hesitation in seeing here a prediction of the uprising and prevalence of a democracy in the last days. The authority which finds its source in God, and that which finds its source in man, are as different from one another as gold or iron or any other metal from clay. The two things may be mingled — they are in part inextricably mixed in our modern theory and practice of government, but only weakness and brittleness is induced, and soon will come the death-blow administered by the stone "cut out without hands." If any have difficulty in reconciling what is said above with the prophecies concerning the coming Satan-inspired head for the revived Roman empire, we would ask them to remember that in practice the transition from democratic to imperialistic forms is very easy. Let a man of transcendent genius appear, who seems to embody in himself the very spirit of "the people," and nothing is easier than for him to assume for himself the powers that theoretically belong to the people, and the people, fickle and easily led, will be glad to have it so. The career-of Napoleon I. springing out of the French Revolution is a case in point. The coming "beast" of Revelation 13:1-18 rises "out of the sea," i.e., the masses of the people in a state of agitation and unrest. It is therefore more than likely that this coming "super-man" will quite ardently uphold democratic institutions in theory whilst carrying on autocratic rule in practice — iron mixed with clay. The reader who has patiently followed us up to this point may be inclined to ask what we hope to achieve in writing all this, if we have, as we say, no political ends before us. We therefore avow without hesitation that our aim is a far more thorough heart-separation from this present evil world for ourselves and all believers. Full well we know that nothing but an abiding sense of the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord can effectually lift our souls above the level of the world and its thoughts, yet the exposure of world politics and schemes by the light of Scripture has its value, and this has been our present endeavour. The lamp of prophetic scripture is said in 2 Peter 1:19 to be shining in a dark or "squalid" place. Let the lamp cast its rays on the much-vaunted principles of social democracy and how squalid they appear. The sticky clay may be gilded but it certainly is not gold! The enlightened Christian will not waste much enthusiasm upon it. And what clear light it sheds upon the vexed question of whether a Christian should vote and interest himself in politics generally. We are asked to accept the position of being a little cog in that machine called "the people" which has usurped to itself that function in the sphere of government which belongs to God alone. Shall we do it? YES! — if we believe in the modern humanistic "gospel" which humanizes Jesus and deifies man. But if we believe that salvation is not of the people but of the Lord, NO! The world system is doomed. Let there be no hesitancy in our witness to this fact. Out of the impending catastrophe souls are being rescued by the abounding grace of our Lord. It is ours to seek them, bearing witness to our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us then not waste time in vain attempts to shore up the tottering fabric, but let us busy ourselves in that which is the great work which our Lord has allotted to us. To be thoroughly for Him and His interests, is to be thoroughly outside the world system and its hopes. We look, not for a perfected system of democracy, but for "the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body" (Php 3:20, 21), and as for this earth, we look for the setting up of the kingdom of Christ by the God of heaven, which shall never be destroyed but shall stand for ever. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 83: 082 DISAPPOINTMENT AND ITS CURE ======================================================================== Disappointment and its Cure. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth, 1914, Vol. 6, page 28.) Disappointment is one of the most fruitful causes of discouragement amongst Christians, with the attendant consequences of soul-declension and drifting into the world; and it is to be feared that it is operating powerfully today in many directions. In times of revival, when the Spirit of God is very manifestly working, it is a comparatively easy matter for the believer to travel happily in the right direction. He finds himself borne along on the current of spiritual enthusiasm and encouraged by every contact with his fellow-believers; but, on the other hand, when, as is always the case, the revival season begins to wane, when the power of evil again becomes painfully manifest, and the flood-tide of prosperity is succeeded by the ebbtide of adversity, then depression often sets in, rendered all the more acute by great and frequently unwarranted expectations begotten by the previous success. At the present moment a season of very acute depression has set in, embracing practically all the Protestant countries and specially the English-speaking lands. The declension is widely recognized, for it has reduced congregations in all directions, and piled up big missionary deficits both in men and money. Its roots, however, lie deeper, being found in that loss of faith-contact with Christ which has let loose upon us a flood of false and fatal teachings connected with utter worldliness. As a result, disappointment and sad defections are being witnessed in many directions. We live in the dispensation of the Holy Ghost, indwelling, upon earth. It was preceded by the brief dispensation of the Son of God, incarnate, upon earth. Into those brief years were crowded the most memorable public events of this world’s history. They excited in some hearts the liveliest expectations, and subsequently overwhelmed them in the deepest disappointment. We are furnished in Luke 24:13-25 with, a touching story illustrating the inward experiences of two such individuals, revealing the causes of their disappointment, and showing the cure. Let us learn a few lessons from their history. The two disciples going to Emmaus were evidently drifting away from the centre of divine operations at that moment — Jerusalem. They were drifting because discouraged, and discouraged because disappointed in the deepest possible way. We can but little imagine, perhaps, the expectations kindled in their breasts by the advent of Israel’s Messiah. Visions of emancipation from the Roman yoke, of a national revival, and of glory and splendour under David’s Son, in which they expected to share in no inconsiderable measure, filled their eyes. "We trusted," said they, "that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel." Now, however, the vision had been rudely dispelled, for instead of ascending David’s throne to the overthrow of Caesar, He had been lifted up by Caesar’s soldiers on the cross of Barabbas, and the whole people had rivetted Caesar’s yoke upon their necks more firmly than ever, and publicly, too, saying, "We have no king but Caesar." Sick at heart and unable to solve the riddle presented by His claims which they accepted on the one hand, and His sudden and dramatic eclipse on the other, Cleopas and his companion were in the act of abandoning their discipleship and returning to their home. "Jesus Himself drew near and went with them." At first He asked but two questions which served to draw out from them the story of their disappointment and woe; but that told, also, how unerringly He was able to put His finger upon the root of their trouble, saying, "O fools, and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have spoken." Here let us observe two facts: First, that disappointment amongst believers is caused by their cherishing mistaken expectations not warranted by the Word of God. Second, that such unwarranted expectations are entertained by believers because they base them upon a partial view of Scripture rather than "ALL that the prophets have spoken." Were there no Scriptures which would warrant the belief in a Messiah who would come in power and glory for Israel’s deliverance from every yoke? Certainly there were. Multitudes of such passages could be adduced; but there were others which spoke of a humbled Messiah, despised and rejected of men, cut off for the iniquities of God’s people, and these they overlooked. Dazzled with the passages speaking of His glory, the others would doubtless seem to them indistinct, mysterious, obscure, and be speedily ignored on the plea that they were difficult to explain and of no particular interest or profit. Hence it never occurred to them that the Christ might first "suffer these things," and then " enter into His glory." Nearly two millenniums have passed since Cleopas and his friend pursued their sorrow-stricken way, but the main outlines of their history are being retraced still by multitudes of disappointed Christians. "Soon after my conversion," says one, "I sought and, as I thought, obtained ’entire satisfaction.’ I claimed the action of the ’cleansing fire’ and believed that sin within me was totally eradicated. However, as time proceeded I found to my unspeakable sorrow that still it was alive and active within me; and from the hour of that discovery my hold on God has been of the feeblest sort. I hardly know whether I am saved or not." "I used to be an earnest Christian. worker, with great zeal for missions," says another. "I fully believed in the coming of a millennium such as the Bible depicts, and the idea of the gospel triumphing and advancing from conquest to conquest until that end was reached filled me with enthusiasm. Of late, however, it has been forced upon me that the actual number of professed converts, to say nothing of the real ones, is not keeping pace with the increase in the world’s population; and worse, that the real triumphs of the gospel in heathen lands are much more than offset by the triumphs of the leaven of rationalism and ritualism in the home lands of Christianity. I cannot describe my disillusionment. I have lost heart entirely." "Years ago," says a third, "I connected myself with a religious movement which I thought was going to effect a real deliverance within Christendom. My soul was greatly blessed as truth recovered from God’s Word after long oblivion was presented to me; and I thought I had indeed found ’the model church’ instituted upon primitive and apostolic foundations, which would prove a rallying centre for Christians everywhere. But to-day, how has the fine gold become dim I Where is my model church? Ecclesiastical confusion seems to be complete, and every attempt at displaying church unity and order has ended in a mess and failure. I am sick at heart and very depressed." Many other such sorrowful complaints could be instanced, but one and all they would only illustrate, as do those quoted above, the disastrous effects of cherishing expectations not warranted by Scripture as a whole. Do we not read in Scripture of deliverance from sin as well as from its penalty? Does it not speak of "the refiner’s fire," and is not the promise that we shall be baptized with fire, as well as the Holy Ghost? Is it not said "sin shall not have dominion over you"? All these things we read — and more besides. Yet let us not overlook that "if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves," and that even the Apostle Paul, after a sojourn in the third heaven, needed a thorn in the flesh to prevent the flesh within him being "puffed up." Taking all Scripture into consideration we learn that it is indeed God’s thought that a believer may in this world be delivered from the power of sin, and we are saved from the ruinous mistake that we are already delivered from the very presence of sin, — with its resultant disillusionment and shipwreck! Again, the prophetic Scriptures are undoubtedly very full of predictions concerning a wonderful time of blessing for this earth, commonly called the millennium. Christ will extend His sway over all nations. Mighty spiritual movements will take place. A nation shall be "born in a day." The people of Israel shall be "all righteous," and throughout the wide world righteousness and peace will flourish. But let us not overlook the significant statement that "When Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:9). Or that of Peter in the council of Jerusalem to the effect that the divine programme for this age is the gathering out of the Gentile nations a people for Christ’s name (see Acts 15:9). And what shall be said to the multitude of Christians so sadly distressed because of their own failure and the failure of their fellow-believers in regard to association in service or Christian fellowship? What earnest lover of the Lord Jesus is there who does not find himself standing amidst the wreckage either of "denominations" or "assemblies" or "fellowships" or "societies" or other associations of a sacred sort? — whether originally constructed on scriptural lines or not. In some cases visible disintegration has produced nothing but fragments; in other cases, which is even worse, outward unity has been preserved at the expense of purity. Rottenness and corruption are rampant within. What about the bright anticipations formed, so ruthlessly dispelled? What can be said? From the lips of Cleopas, in our story, there fell one tell-tale sentence. "We trusted," said he, "that it had been He which should have redeemed ISRAEL." Evidently the redemption and glory of his beloved nation held the supreme place in his thoughts. He read the Scriptures and Israel was to him the great theme, with Messiah as the God-given servant of Israel’s greatness. This was the order of their relative importance in his thoughts: Israel, first, Messiah second. A great mistake, fruitful of keen distress! Is it possible that many of us have been guilty of the same error, in principle? Have "causes" absorbed too much of our attention, until we have insensibly set up little "Israels" of our own manufacture, the prosperity of which has become more dear to us than all beside? There have been many distinct movements of the Spirit of God, heaven-born in their origin, since Pentecost; and into the current of one such we may have been drawn. Many a time have saints become over-occupied with a movement till they are left clinging to it, with its vital force spent and gone. The movement has eclipsed the Master! Has it been so with us? There is, however, thank God, A REMEDY, plainly indicated in the scripture before us. In our analysis it seems to be composed of three ingredients, which we will consider separately. 1. ALL SCRIPTURE. This is of deep importance, for no less than three times is it emphasised within the compass of a few verses (25-27). "All that the prophets have spoken," "All the prophets," "All the scriptures" are the expressions used. We need to avoid favouritism in our reading of Scripture — the constant reading of certain passages the almost or entire ignoring of others. We equally need to avoid partiality in our interpretations of Scripture. "No prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20) — i.e. it is not to be interpreted as an isolated passage, but in reference to the whole body of Scripture testimony, just as the exact meaning of a small figure inserted in the corner of a great painting by a famous master may best be ascertained by a knowledge of the central idea of the picture and the picture itself as a whole. More important even than all Scripture is, 2. CHRIST as the theme and centre of all Scripture, for "He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." Not "concerning Israel," mark, but "concerning HIMSELF." What revelations were made to their wondering hearts during the remainder of that walk! No wonder that their hearts burned within them! So after all, everything was not gone, even if Israel’s redemption seemed to be indefinitely postponed. Christ, not Israel, is the glorious centre of all God’s purposes. In the course of that marvellous exposition of all Scripture, Isaiah 49:5, 6, must have been considered. "Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. And He said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." The theme of any discourse founded upon that scripture must necessarily be, "Not Israel, but Christ." One thing more was needed by Cleopas and his companion ere the cure of their disappointment was complete. The walk ended in the quiet home in Emmaus, and at the evening meal when the invited guest suddenly assumed the place of host and broke the bread their eyes were opened and they knew Him as He vanished from their sight. Here we find, most important of all — 3. CHRIST RISEN, known by faith as the rallying centre of His people. They had indeed lost their Messiah as formerly known amongst them in flesh and blood; they now had their first glimpse of Him in the new resurrection conditions into which He had entered, and that first glimpse entirely transformed them. Under His teaching they had just seen that He Himself was the theme of all Scripture; but even while they listened and their hearts as a result burned within them, they only saw Him with their natural eyes and did not know Him. Now He vanishes from sight, and they do know Him by faith. What an exchange! Then it was that their disappointment was changed into delight. Instead of everything being gone, everything was secure. Their night of weeping was over; their souls were bathed in the light that shone from the risen One. Their Sun had not set amid storm-clouds never again to rise, as they had imagined; He had but suffered a momentary eclipse for their sakes, and had now emerged from the shadow, never to enter it again! They were transformed by their discovery. Their disappointment being cured, they did not pursue their course of drifting for another hour. "They rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together . . . and they told what things were done in the way, and how He was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them." The rest and joy that filled their hearts at that moment may be the portion of every disappointed believer today, but — only in the same way. Christ, and Christ alone, is the Object before the mind of God. Consequently His object is not to make saints consciously holy and satisfied with themselves, but consciously weak in themselves and satisfied with Christ. His object in the world is not mere philanthropy in wholesale conversion movements, but the election from among the nations of a people for Christ. He is not occupied to-day in constructing ecclesiastical unity — seeing it has once for all collapsed — but in elevating Christ as the rallying point before Hid people’s faith and love, so that becoming an intense reality to them, He may be magnified amongst them, whether by life or by death. As this is produced, a large measure of unity — the unity of the Spirit — will be realized, though perhaps badly expressed in due ecclesiastical form, since the breakdown in that continues in the government of God. Let us then, dear Christian reader, carefully form our expectations in the light of all Scripture, and let Christ, His glory, His fame, His interests, and, above all, the excellency of the knowledge of Himself be our satisfying portion. Then shall we go forward through circumstances the most distressing with courage and with joy until the bright goal is reached, when — "All taint of sin shall be removed, All evil done away; And we shall dwell with God’s Beloved Through God’s eternal day." ======================================================================== CHAPTER 84: 083 DISENTANGLEMENT ======================================================================== Disentanglement. Matthew 24:37-41, 44-51; Matthew 25:1-13. An Address by F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 19, 1927, page 250 etc.) One verse of the hymn we have just sung should impress us; — "Lord, Lord, Thy fair creation groans, The air, the earth, the sea, In unison with all our hearts And calls aloud for Thee." When some seventy or eighty years ago the late Sir Edward Denny wrote those beautiful words he could hardly have foreseen what was coming literally in our days. No verse of a hymn came more strongly to my mind during the Great War than that one. The air, with the modern developments of aviation, the earth, with its thundering battalions and big guns, and the sea, with its deadly submarines, were all groaning under man’s perversity and iniquity and strife. Sad to say, man, the chiefest of God’s works, made as God’s representative, is himself the worker of all the mischief. Not the dumb creatures, but man is the mischief-maker in this sad world of ours, and everybody knows it. The world, whether you look at it politically, industrially, socially, or in any other way, is in a state of hopeless tangle. Perhaps somebody here tonight may turn and say, "Yes; but you are a Christian. You speakers are part of the Christian church, and you cannot afford to throw stones at us, who have no pretension to Christianity, for you Christians are in the most terrible state of tangle." That is honestly and at once admitted. Tangles are to be found on every hand. Striving does not help matters. It is like the fly when it goes blundering into the spider’s web. The more it struggles the more tightly it gets caught. Its very struggles only entangle it more deeply in the thing from which it desires to be free. The world has its struggles, its plans, and its schemes, but every effort, however well-intentioned, will only land it further into the tangle. Now I want to speak to you of the Lord Jesus Christ and His advent as the grand solution of every problem. He is the great disentangler of all the entanglements. This Gospel of Matthew specially emphasizes that side of things. I trust you have sufficiently read your Bibles to remember that Matthew 13:1-58 is the great parable chapter, the chapter of seven parables, beginning with the parable of the sower. I want to remind you particularly of the parable of the tares and the wheat. Though the good seed was sown in the field of the world by the Lord Jesus Christ, the devil got to work and sowed darner, a thing which in its earlier stages exactly resembles wheat, but is not wheat. In that parable we have the Lord Jesus Christ instructing us, who may be the servants of Christ in these days, that it is not our commission to put the world right. The field is the world, not the church. In the world you have this mixture. We look abroad through Christendom tonight, and we see this strange mixture on every hand. The tares are hopelessly mixed up with the wheat, and the instructions of the Master to His servants are not to attempt to sever the tares from the wheat, lest in so doing they root up the wheat. We have not the discernment necessary for the task. He shows us that what man cannot accomplish is going to be accomplished at the end of the age by God Himself, using angelic ministry. You pass on through the parables of that chapter, and the last of the seven is the parable of the net, which gathers out fish of every kind, some perfectly good for human consumption, some perfectly worthless. The sorting is going to take place. There are those who will sort every good fish out of the mass that the worthless may be discarded. That is disentanglement again. Then, passing on to Matthew 24:1-51 where we began to read, you have the coming of the Lord distinctly foretold, and when He comes He is going to differentiate. There will be two men in the field, and two women grinding at the mill — one shall be taken and the other left. Who can read the heart and act thus but One, the Lord Jesus Christ, at His advent? He will disentangle. He holds up before us in an ideal way the good servant, and then He presents to us the evil servant, and He tells us that the coming of the Son of Man is that which will put the evil servant and the good servant respectively in their places for ever. We read in Matthew 25:1-46 that the kingdom of heaven was likened unto ten virgins who went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise and five of them were foolish, but nobody knew they were wise and foolish as yet. Time had to elapse before the thing was proved. They were externally alike. The difference was that some had only lamps with wicks, but the wise had oil in their vessels with their lamps. It was not the day of glass containers to lamps, where you can easily see whether you have oil or not. It was hidden. It was an inside thing that differentiated between the wise and the foolish. When there went forth a cry heralding the return of the absent bridegroom there began to be a shaking. Then agitation was written upon many faces, and then discoveries were made. The wise had oil in their vessels and the foolish had no oil. So the line of demarcation was drawn. Someone will say, "Is not this intended to teach us the way in which the Lord will differentiate between the faithful of His people, and those who are less faithful? Is not this a picture of the devoted Christian on the one hand, and the unspiritual and worldly on the other?" My answer to that unhesitatingly is "No." My reason for so saying is the answer the Lord Himself makes to the foolish virgins in verse 12. They come afterwards, and say, "Lord, Lord, open to us." What does He say? "I used to know you, but now I have forgotten you"? "I do know you, but I am not going to own that I know you until you reform your ways, and behave rather better"? That would suit some theories, but He said, "I know you not." There is another verse that says, "The Lord knoweth them that are His," so that they represent those who are not His. There is a vast amount of mere pretension, without any corresponding reality. There are lots of people who claim the Christian name nominally, but the root of the matter is not in them. At this point, let us challenge our own hearts. Where do we stand as to this? Who is there here tonight that would say, "I am a church member, I am a deacon; I am a Sunday-school worker"? You may appeal to certain external things, but nothing that is merely external is going to stand in the presence of God. Inward reality and fidelity are the two things which the Lord Jesus is going to own when He comes again. I did not read on, for time did not permit. When Jesus Christ comes again there is going to be a great multitude of the professing church disentangled. Let every heart in the presence of God search out for itself how it stands in reference to this. Then comes the parable of the servants, and you find exactly the same thing in principle. In this parable, as given to us in Matthew’s gospel — distinguishing it from a similar one in Luke — the servants who were real and true and faithful are all welcomed and all rewarded. The man who had five talents made other five talents, and he enters into the joy of his Lord. But there was another servant who did not know his Lord. He was under the most terrible misconception about the one whom he professed to know and serve. He was judged out of his own mouth as a wicked and slothful servant. The Lord knew how to put His hand upon the man who, though a professed servant of His, was no true servant at all. Make no mistake about it, the coming of the Lord is going to see a complete disentanglement among the professed servants of the Lord. There are thousands of men taking the place of being ministers of Christ, and what a disentanglement is going to ensue! As the servants of Christ we must all of us face the fact that the coming of Christ is going to bring all into the light, and He is going to draw the line most definitely between that which is genuine and true, and that which is false. The end of the chapter, that well-known passage about the Son of Man appearing in His glory with the holy angels, shows the same solemn fact. Before Him shall be gathered all nations, not the dead but the nations. When the Lord Jesus comes back in His glory and publicly appears, living nations on this earth will have to stand in His presence, and with a master hand He will divide them as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. He will make no mistake about it. Every man will be appointed to his own place. All will be made plain with infallible truth and justice. The tangles of earth will be untied. People say, "We wish we could get things straightened." It will be a very serious matter. You will be put into your place, and I in mine, and all will be resolved in His presence. You notice, do you not? the ground on which the Lord Jesus is going to divide the sheep from the goats. Everything will depend on how these people have treated certain men whom He acknowledges as His brethren, who were His messengers. It will be a perfectly just ground of judgment. He says in effect, "You expressed your attitude towards Myself by the way you treated My representatives." That is a well-known principle amongst men. It certainly is a well-known Biblical principle. How can we express our gratitude towards the Lord Jesus Christ today? The blatant atheist may shake his poor little fist in the sky, but as a rule he vents his spleen upon the nearest Christian. That is really all that he can do. He cannot get at the great Master, so if he can find one of His humble servants he will administer a blow to him. That explains a great deal of the animosity expended against Christians today. They may glory in it, if it is for their Master’s sake. The Lord Jesus Christ is going to differentiate. His gospel is acting after that fashion today, only we await the coming of the Master Himself for the thing to be done in absolute perfection. Thank God, the crooked places are going to be made straight. The mountains of human pride are going to be brought down, and the valleys are going to be lifted up. One who can grapple with all earth’s problems is coming. He will put the world right. In that hour how will you stand? You need not wait to know. You may know as you now ask your own heart, "What is my present attitude towards Christ?" ======================================================================== CHAPTER 85: 084 DISOBEDIENCE LEADS TO DISASTER ======================================================================== Disobedience leads to Disaster. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 38, 1953-5, page 114.) When the Apostle Paul reminded Timothy that he had known the Holy Scriptures from the days of his childhood, he alluded of course to that part of our Bibles that we call the Old Testament. It was able to make him "wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." Today we have the far clearer light of the New Testament as regards the salvation of the soul, but as to the salvation, that we all so much need from the perils of the world and the seductions of Satan, the Old Testament remains full of instruction which will make us wise, if only we observe it. Let us take a striking example. There are many outstanding human figures in its pages, but none of them are more resplendent than King Solomon. We read the early chapters of 1 Kings, and observe that everything concerning him was in his favour. At his birth he was given a second name, which signified, "Beloved of the Lord." He stepped into kingship just when the Israelitish state had been enlarged and consolidated by his father David. Peace reigned on all sides. Moreover, when tested by God, the desire he expressed was very acceptable: asking for wisdom, he received it and much else beside. His knowledge of God was so exceptional that the fame of it travelled far afield, for the Queen of Sheba was attracted by it. She came to Solomon, not because she heard of his literary gifts or his vast acquaintance with natural history, that we read about in the end of 1 Kings 4:1-34, but because of his fame, "concerning the name of the Lord" (1 Kings 10:1) And then we turn to 1 Kings 11:1-43 and the record it sets before us seems almost incredible. What! this highly blessed, highly endowed King, ends his days a worshipper of abominable idols, erecting high places in their honour, bringing himself under the severe discipline of God, and sowing the seeds that finally wrecked the whole nation. This almost unbelievable disaster is vouched for by the Word of God, and its roots are laid bare, that we may be saved from anything similar. We have written, "roots," for we may discern a variety of causes, yet they all sprang from one main cause. The tap-root, if so we may call it, of the whole disaster was found in disobedience to the word of God. The first wrong step we notice is mentioned at the beginning of 1 Kings 3:1-28. Solomon "made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt" and took his daughter as his wife. In the days of Moses the people were told not to take in marriage the daughters of heathen peoples — see, Exodus 34:16. The Lord knew what evil would spring out of this, and so prohibited it for all the people. Did Solomon think that he was so lifted up above the ordinary folk that legislation that applied to them did not apply to him? Or did he think that the lapse of time since Moses and altered conditions had made this law obsolete? If now we read Deuteronomy 17:14-20, we shall see how God anticipated that when in the land a day would come when Israel would demand a king, and so in advance special laws were enacted that should apply to him. The closing verse shows that the tendency would be for the king to be lifted up in heart and consider that legislation for the multitude did not apply to him, so that he could ignore laws made for the people, as we have just suggested. But beside this there were three laws specially laid down for him. First, he was NOT to multiply horses to himself, and thereby cause the people to return to Egypt. Second, he was NOT to multiply wives to himself, that his heart should not be turned away. Third, he was NOT to multiply to himself silver and gold. It is noticeable how the word "multiply" occurs and the third time it is "greatly multiply." And in each case it is "multiply to himself." And further, in these verses the king-to-be was bidden to keep himself well posted up in the law. He was to go to the trouble of writing a copy of it and then reading therein all the days of his life. Did Solomon act in obedience with this? We fear he did not. If he did, he simply treated these three prohibitions as a dead letter. So, as regards the first, "Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen" (1 Kings 4:26). And again, "Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt" (1 Kings 10:28). What more natural since his wife came out of Egypt, and was not likely to be contented with humble asses or mules? It is to be noted that with the exception of the few that David captured and reserved, according to 2 Samuel 8:4, and of Absalom, who, when making his bid for the kingdom, prepared him chariots and horses (2 Samuel 15:1) there is no mention of a horse in Israel up to the days of Solomon. This first enactment, then, Solomon flagrantly disobeyed. The second enactment was also disobeyed in flagrant fashion, for King Solomon loved many strange women together with the daughter of Pharaoh (1 Kings 11:1). This transgression it was that wrought such havoc in his religious life, and carried away by their influence he plunged into sad idolatry — the special error which brought down upon him, and ultimately upon his people, the judgment of God. In his younger days and in middle life he may have had the strength of mind to resist the tendency, but "it came to pass when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods (1 Kings 11:4). Sowing to the flesh in earlier days, he reaped corruption when he was old. Nor was it otherwise as regards the third prohibition, as the latter part of chapter 10 testifies. He greatly multiplied gold and silver and ivory, and not only these but things that were useless, or that merely pandered to his personal vanity, like apes and peacocks. All these things he multiplied to himself. We may remember that his father David also amassed great stores of gold and other precious things. Yes, but he did it for the house of God, that he was forbidden to build. The latter part of 1 Chronicles 28:1-21, tells us about this. And the next chapter tells us that because he set his affection to the house of his God he gave out of his privy purse no less than 3,000 talents of gold and 7,000 talents of silver. David multiplied for the service of God, though he was never to see the wealth expended. Solomon used it, and then multiplied much more to himself. These things are recorded for our learning and warning. Riches may be a snare to a Christian, as 1 Timothy 6:9 bears witness; but we are thinking of the many other plain instructions laid down in the New Testament for us. Because we are not under the law but under grace, we must not imagine that we have no commandments to observe. Indeed some of us might be surprised if we counted the number of times that Scripture mentions a commandment applying to Christians, particularly in the writings of the Apostle John. If we were under law, our standing before God would be determined by our keeping, or not keeping, His commandments. We are under grace, and our standing is in Christ, beyond all forfeiture. Yet if we disregard the commandments of our Lord, we dishonour Him and bring ourselves under His discipline. There may be many details of our lives as to which the Lord has not issued any definite commandment, and we are then left to inference which with an exercised conscience we may deduce from Scripture. In such matters there may be differences of judgment. But when our Lord has spoken - as He indeed has — it is ours simply to obey. He has issued commandments in assembly affairs — see, 1 Corinthians 14:37 — as well as in matters of personal conduct, and if we fly in the face of these, or simply ignore them, we are bound for a disaster of some sort. When we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and He surveys all our earthly course, He will doubtless show us how much of the troubles and even disasters of a spiritual sort, that we suffered, we brought upon ourselves by our disobedience to His plain commands, and to the definite instructions that have reached us in the apostolic writings. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 86: 085 DISPLACEMENT ======================================================================== Displacement. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 36, 1948-50, page 49.) The Scriptures present to us in very striking contrast the life history of two men named Saul. In the Old Testament we have Saul of Gibeah, who became the first king over the tribes of Israel; in the New Testament Saul of Tarsus, who became the Apostle Paul. Both were outstanding men: the one by reason of his great stature and imposing physical appearance; the other a man weak in bodily presence, but intense and powerful in his spirit. Both of them were brought to a point where they had to face a most testing situation. They did not reach it in the same way, and the outward appearance of it greatly differed, yet in its underlying principles the situation was exactly the same. The strong contrast lies in they way they solved the problem it presented. If we tried to express it in one word, we should call it the problem of displacement. This word has been largely used of recent years. People by the ten thousand, or even the hundred thousand, have been driven from the land of their birth and find themselves aliens in a strange land having lost their nationality, their possessions and sometimes their families and friends. They are like so much flotsam and jetsam on the sea of nations. They are displaced persons, and may well call forth our sympathy and prayers. This term will suit us very well as we consider the history of the two men named Saul. With Saul of Gibeah all was bright at the beginning. His imposing appearance helped to carry him from comparative obscurity to kingship. But a test came in the matter of the Amalekites. God’s command was their utter destruction, but Saul thought otherwise. Now for the test: would he allow God’s will in this matter to displace his own will? He would not. Though to obey is better than sacrifice, he committed himself to disobedience. As a result he was rejected from the kingship in favour of David. The test now came in another form. He had not allowed his will to be displaced by God’s will: would he now allow himself to be displaced by David? No, he would not he fought against it might and main, and thereby committed himself to those months and years of self-seeking misery which only ended on Mount Gilboa, as recorded in 1 Samuel 19: 31. With Saul of Tarsus things were very different. True, at the outset of his career he attained to some eminence amongst his co-religionists. He stated it thus, "I . . . profited in the Jew’s religion above many my equals [contemporaries] in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers" (Galatians 1:14). But this only landed him into a furious crusade against the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, who was anathema to him. But on the road to Damascus everything was altered fundamentally and for ever. Jesus of Nazareth revealed Himself to him in the glory of God, and in the once despised Jesus he found a new and commanding Object, which from that moment dominated his life. As he afterwards said before Agrippa and Festus, "I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19). He became obedient, and not disobedient like Saul of Gibeah. Moreover he was wholly displaced in his own eyes by the Christ who had been revealed to him. He stated it thus: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 3:20). Saul of Gibeah, disobedient and fighting all his days against being displaced by another. Saul of Tarsus, obedient and "lady displaced by the Son of God, whose love unto death had captured his heart. The history of the one is recorded to warn us; of the other that we may find in him a pattern to follow, as he himself was inspired to tell us — "a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him [Jesus Christ] to life everlasting" (1 Timothy 1:16). So let each one of us calmly and honestly face the issue. Am I following in the steps of Saul of Gibeah or Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul — meaning, little — the Apostle of Jesus Christ? Am I disobedient and fighting against being set aside or displaced; or am I obedient to the truth of the Gospel, and glad to be set aside — displaced in order that Christ may be placed in His rightful position in heart and life? To be Christ-centred and not self-centred is proper Christianity. And now let us note how strikingly the contrast appears when we reach the closing scenes in the lives of the two men. Near the end of his sad career, and after David had for the second time spared his life, we find Saul saying, "I have sinned . . . I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly" (1 Samuel 26:21). We turn to the last Epistle that came from the pen of the Apostle Paul, just before his martyrdom, and we find him saying, " I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). Saul of Gibeah fought for his kingship and his crown, when God had displaced him. It was a bad fight. Saul of Tarsus, now Paul the Apostle, fought for the truth of the Gospel and the glory of his Lord and Saviour. It was a good fight. But could any contrast be more complete or more striking than "I have played the fool," and, "I have kept the faith." Pithy sentences indeed! And each one of us, as we approach the end of our earthly course, will find that our lives are to be summed up under one sentence or the other. Let us face the issue now, Which is it going to be? ======================================================================== CHAPTER 87: 086 EFFECTIVE SERVICE ======================================================================== Effective Service. F. B. Hole. Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 1, 1909, page 15. Christians are always affected, more or less, by the prevailing spirit of the world which surrounds them. In the days of primitive Christianity this was illustrated by the Corinthians, who, dwelling in a city noted for its luxury and license, soon had these evils springing up in their midst. (See 1 Corinthians 4:8, and 1 Corinthians 5:1). One of the most striking features of the day is its general shallowness, and lack of that force and serious purpose which deep conviction gives; and nowhere are these sad features more painfully pronounced, than in the bosom of the Church of God. Brethren, we shall not fail in our pathway of testimony upon earth because of lack of knowledge, but rather because, though knowing much, we are not utterly possessed by it, and hence feel so little. We resemble some broad but shallow lake, rather than a well of small circumference, but deep. IT IS THE MAN OF DEPTH AND FEELING WHO IS EFFECTIVE IN THE SERVICE OF GOD. As an illustration of a man who powerfully affected his fellows, take Ezra. Failure and trespass began to appear in the shattered remnant of Israel, that returned from Babylon, and the old sin of intercourse with the people of the land threatened again to ruin them. It was an emergency indeed. Ezra called together no committee; he laid no elaborate plans for reforming this abuse; he just FELT things before God, and as they affected God. He so felt things that he rent his clothes, plucked off his hair, and sat down astonished, until, realising the full extent of things, he fell on his knees, and commenced a memorable prayer of confession, by saying "O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to Thee, my God." —Ezra 9:3-6. Then as Ezra was himself moved, others were moved with him (Ezra 9:1-15: 4). Indeed, as the work of God in repentance and confession deepened in him, so the power of God radiated forth through him, until "there assembled unto him out of Israel, a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore." (Ezra 10:1) In result there was a national cleansing from their false associations, and the plague was stayed. What a contrast between the noisy and ineffective machinery of man’s making, and the quiet ease and grace of a heaven-sent movement. But that movement works through a man who feels things with God. Jonah illustrates another phase of the same thing. He was one of the most effective preachers of antiquity. Though addressing a people of great wickedness, and carrying a message of judgment — always an unpopular one — yet his simple words produced astonishing results. To a man, the Ninevites sought the face of God, and turned from their evil way. (Jonah 3:5-9). Why such extraordinary power with the message? Was it not because the man who cried "Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown," came up to his mission, fresh from an overthrow himself? Jonah learnt experimentally what it meant to be overthrown by God. When, in the belly of the fish, all God’s billows and waves passed over him, the agony of it must have burnt into his soul in a way never to be effaced. When therefore this man preaches an overthrow, there is a power, a pungency, a heaven-born velocity about his words, that is otherwise unknown. Brethren in Christ, it were better for us to master well one lesson in the school of God than to acquaint ourselves with much in a superficial way. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 88: 087 "ELECT . . . UNTO OBEDIENCE" ======================================================================== "Elect . . . unto obedience" F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 40, 1959-61, page 149.) It is a fact in which we may ever rejoice that we "are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14). Yet that fact does not absolve us from a life of obedience, as, the succeeding verses, in Romans 6:1-23, plainly show. Our unconverted lives were marked by the yielding of our members as servants, that in their varied lusts we might obey sin. Now, as converted, we yield our members as servants of righteousness, that so we may obey God. Moreover, the whole character of the service that we may render under grace is transformed. Were we under the law, such obedience as we managed to offer, would be rendered under compulsion, in order, if possible, to live and establish our position. But now, being delivered from the law and brought under the loving authority of Christ, we serve and obey "in newness of spirit" (Romans 7:6). The Gospel has brought us under the mighty influence of the love of Christ, and this produces a glad and spontaneous obedience, not to secure something for ourselves, but rather to please our Saviour. Of this obedience we read when we open Peter’s first epistle. We are "elect," for God has chosen us in His foreknowledge, and we have been reached "through sanctification of the Spirit," and that has committed us to "obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." In this sentence the words, "of Jesus Christ," evidently apply to the obedience as well as to the blood. The sprinkling of His blood was needed to clear us from all the sins that accumulated in our former life of disobedience; and now we are committed to a life of obedience, the pattern of which is the perfect obedience that He rendered in His pathway here. We are to obey as He obeyed. This imparts a very high and holy character to the life of a Christian, and our first impression may be to regard it as an impracticable ideal. But it is not so, as we may see if we carefully read the first epistle of John. We are there regarded as "born of God," and therefore we have a nature which, viewed abstractly, in its essential nature, "cannot sin," and "doeth righteousness," and therefore we have the capacity to walk as He walked, and do as He did. This will be seen, if in that epistle we read, 1 John 2:5, 6, 29; 1 John 3:6, 7, 10, 16; 1 John 4:11-13; 1 John 5:1-4, 18. We have the flesh still in us and all too often it displays its ugly features: but this is our essential character, as born of God; and so it is possible for us to obey even as Christ obeyed. In the Scriptures there are ample warnings against disobedience. We will mention but three. A very instructive Old Testament one is found in 1 Samuel 15:1-35, when Saul was sent to destroy the Amalekites. He was told why this severe sentence was to be carried out, though why it was to extend even to their flocks and herds, is not mentioned: but so it was. Now the flocks and herds were desirable possessions, and so under cover of zeal for sacrifices in the service of the Lord, Saul did not do what he was told, but spared them. This brought forth the word of the Lord through Samuel, "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (verse 22). This incident unmasks for us a very subtle temptation to disobedience in the service of the Lord. Saul was now to accomplish what God has decreed, as we see if we read Deuteronomy 25:17-19, and so serve the will of God. All true service for us is the carrying out of the will of God, but in grace, since grace characterizes the epoch in which we live. How easily, even in the service of grace, we may be tempted to spare what God has condemned, and do so under cover of honouring God. Our deviation from obedience may seem to us to be an advancement of the work of God, but thus it never is. We cannot serve God and sacrifice to Him after our own thoughts. It is for us to obey. Another temptation is to assume that the lapse of time induces some alteration in the divine instructions. There was evidently a tendency in this direction under the law of Moses, as century after century passed. In the days of Malachi over a thousand years had passed since the law was given, and hence that word in his fourth chapter, "Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments." This is the closing injunction of the Old Testament. Two sad things had happened when Malachi prophesied. First, the majority of the people had been for several centuries scattered among the nations. Second, among the minority, gathered back into the land, grave defection and disobedience had supervened. There must have been strong temptation, specially among the scattered ones, to think — I am indeed a child of Israel, but in my present abnormal conditions I need hardly concern myself with the law, given to my nation in their normal state. The word through Malachi was — The law was given for "all Israel," and therefore, if of Israel, it applies to you, whatever your state may be. Again, the temptation may have been even stronger for them to say, — But surely, if we try to remember the main demands of the law, we need not concern ourselves with all those minor details, that come under "the statutes and judgments." But this subtle error is met with equal directness. The law, the whole law in all its details, was as binding on the children of Israel as their dispensation drew on to its close, as it was at the outset. To obey it was the responsibility set before them by the prophet. A third temptation for us is to assume that small details of our behaviour, or of church order and procedure, as laid down in New Testament writings, may lapse, or possibly need alteration, as the days in which we live are marked by such extraordinary progress in human affairs. In this connection let us read 1 Corinthians 14:36, 37. Many disorders, some of them of a very grave kind, had crept into the large Christian assembly at Corinth. The word of God did not come out from them. It came unto them only, and in a very special way by this epistle, which the Apostle wrote to them. Now, in this chapter 14, quite definite instructions are given as to how things should be ordered when they came together in assembly, whether concerning giving thanks, or singing, or prayer, or even ministry of a prophetic character. Having given these instructions, Paul called upon the saints at Corinth to recognize that these, together with all the earlier instructions he gave, were not just his own ideas of what would be seemly, but were, "the commandments of the Lord." That being so, our duty is perfectly plain. It is not for us to attempt to explain them away, or to treat them as merely Paul’s view of things, or as instructions quite appropriate in the first century, but really outdated in this twentieth century of the Christian era; but rather, as far as we may understand them, to obey them. In a time of dispensational change we may find instructions given, which later are countermanded: Matthew 28:19, for instance, alters what Jesus said, as recorded in Matthew 10:5. Again, Luke 22:36, countermands earlier instructions. But when a dispensation is established, the instructions given at the outset abide until the dispensation’s end. Romans 1:5, states that the Gospel comes to all nations that it may be obeyed. The same epistle ends with the fact that the mystery, that springs out of the Gospel, is made known among all nations "for the obedience of faith." May all of us, who confess Jesus as our Lord, be more concerned as to walking in obedience — that character of glad and devoted obedience that characterized Him. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 89: 088 ENCOURAGEMENT FOR PARENTS ======================================================================== Encouragement for Parents. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 18, 1926, page 180.) To be a parent is no light thing in any case. To be a Christian parent is an even more serious and responsible thing, as is doubtless realized by those of our readers who stand in such a relationship. Here are, let us suppose, Christian parents with young children. As they gaze upon their loved little ones they realize that they are parents of their flesh — if we may slightly adopt the phrase used in Hebrews 12:9 — and that by heredity their children stand possessed of the same fallen nature as they know to be in themselves, and with probably a strong leaning towards just those passions and sins which they know to their sorrow and shame have been particularly emphasized in their own cases. For themselves they have happy experience of the grace of God and of the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit within, as a result they possess the new nature and by the Spirit given to them as believers they know themselves to be in Christ. As yet, however, they could assert no such things of their children, and they are acutely conscious that new birth and faith in Christ are not transmitted from parent to child. Such is the situation: a situation that may well cause deep and serious exercise of heart. Surprise is not infrequently expressed by onlookers at the spectacle of young people becoming notorious in ungodliness, and yet springing from eminently godly homes; and it is sometimes suggested — in agreement with the arguments and insinuations of Job’s three friends — that the explanation must be that there has been grave sin, or at least grave defect in training, on the part of the parents. If, however, what we have just stated be remembered, as also that it is frequently just those who left unconverted would have been the greatest of sinners, that converted become the most devoted of saints, no surprise need be felt. The children have inherited from their parents the Adamic nature with, probably, an emphasis laid on some particular ugly feature or features which, but for the grace of God, would have been to the fore in the case of their parents; and so they will continue until grace intervenes also with them. But have Christian parents any ground for really expecting such intervention? May they, in the midst of their exercises and even anguish of heart, repose in the confident anticipation of a work of God which in His own time shall effect a great and saving deliverance for their beloved children? We may answer this important question by referring to the Gospel record and taking note of the seven occasions on which the Lord Jesus was approached by a parent on behalf of a child. They are as follows: 1. The daughter of Jairus: recorded in Matthew 9:1-38, Mark 5:1-43, and Luke 8:1-56. The daughter was a child of twelve, she was therefore just entering upon the age of responsibility; the father, a ruler of the synagogue; the catastrophe impending was the final one of death. In his affliction Jairus found his resource in an appeal to the Lord. He was heard, yet the impending catastrophe was not averted as doubtless he expected with more or less faith. Circumstances conspired to hinder, and the Lord did not alter the circumstances. Yet Jairus’ appeal did not fall on unheeding ears. It was answered with a fulness of power that went beyond the father’s faith, and the maid was restored to life. 2. The daughter of the woman of Canaan: recorded in Matthew 15:1-39 and Mark 7:1-37 The parent here was a Gentile, springing from an accursed race. The Lord Himself was in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, a very stronghold of the devil, as Ezekiel 28:11-19 testifies, and her daughter was grievously vexed with a demon. The poor woman, though an outcast, a mere dog, brought the case of her child to Jesus. She was not heard at once. The Lord used the occasion of the intensity of her affliction to work a wholesome state of honesty and humility and confession in her soul. But, when she took her own true place and incidentally expressed her faith in the largeness of His bounty that would overflow to a Gentile dog such as she was, she got to the full the desire of her heart in her daughter’s deliverance. Her appeal was effectual. She was heard. 3. The lunatic, son of a certain man: recorded in Matthew 17:1-27, Mark 9:1-50 and Luke 9:1-62. This case has several features of special interest. In the absence of the Lord upon the mount of transfiguration, the man first brought the lad to the remaining nine disciples, and they failed to cast out the demon. The failure of the disciples cast reflections on the power of the Master, and hence, knowing all too well the peculiar malignity and stubbornness of the demon who held his boy in bondage, the father approached the Lord with weak and shaken faith, saying, "If Thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us." This gave the Lord the opportunity of demonstrating two things. First, His own supreme power, utterly beyond the possibility of challenge by the adversary. The demon did his malign worst, as though he would wreck the poor tenement of clay, if, indeed, he had to vacate it; yet the Lord raised up the lad and delivered him to his father in perfect soundness. Second, that the only "if" that could by any possibility be introduced into the case, concerned the faith of the parent, who made the application, addressed to His grace and power: "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." That great statement full of encouragement was made in reference to a parent’s application to Jesus for the deliverance and blessing of his child. 4. The little children brought that He should put His hands on them and pray: recorded in Matthew 19:1-30, Mark 10:1-52 and Luke 18:1-43. This case also is of peculiar interest. The children in question were very young. "Little children," "young children," "infants" are the descriptions given. We are not told with any exactness who brought them. In each Gospel the matter is left impersonal. Presumable the parents brought them; if brought by others, it only makes the Lord’s reception of them the more remarkable The disciples, moreover, were actively hostile to the request, yet "He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them and blessed them." 5. The mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons: recorded in Matthew 20:1-34 In this case the "children" were no longer young, but full-grown men. No: were they strangers to the Lord Jesus but His acknowledged disciples, His chosen apostles, and near the end of their period of instruction by the Lord in person. The request preferred by their mother did not concern their deliverance or blessing either physical or spiritual, but had to do with their advancement and honour in the coming kingdom of displayed glory. A mother’s natural pride and pleasure in her son sought its gratification at His hands and was refused! 6. The son of the widow of Nain: recorded in Luke 7:1-50. Special features are again prominent here. The dead son was a full-grown man and the only son of his mother, and she a widow. There is no record that the poor woman, widowed and weeping, uttered any appeal as the two crowds met — a dead man the centre of one; the Christ, the Prince of Life, the centre of the other. Yet, though no cry for help passed her lips, though she was perhaps all-unconscious of the true identity of the Living One, He saw her; He had compassion on her; He said to her, "Weep not." He "touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still, and He said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And He delivered him to his mother." Touched in His infinite compassion by the sight of a mother’s lamentations, superadded to a widow’s grief, unasked He acted; and the power that was always the servant of His compassion wrought a deliverance which she never expected, and dried up her tears. 7. A certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum: recorded in John 4:1-54. Here again we meet with the pleadings of faith. The father went personally to Jesus and besought Him to come and heal his son. True faith had to be tested. The unbelieving mass were content with nothing but signs and wonders, and faith which merely rests on visible displays is no true faith at all. Under the test the nobleman redoubled his pleading and was then met by the word, "Go thy way; thy son liveth." Here his faith triumphed, for without the slightest display which appealed to sight the man took the Lord at His word and went home, only to be met on the way by his servants with the joyful tidings of his son’s recovery; a recovery that took place with miraculous suddenness at the very hour in which Jesus uttered the word of power concerning him. No wonder that then he believed and his whole house! The thing of note was that he believed before, for faith is taking Him at His word — believing what He says, because He says it. We have briefly reviewed these seven Gospel instances that we may obtain a safe and sound — because Scriptural — answer to our question. The question was, be it remembered. Have Christian parents any ground for expecting God to intervene in the blessing of their children? The joyful answer is: Yes, they have most abundant ground for expecting it. Is their child an infant? The Lord Jesus took infants into His arms and blessed them. Is it the case of a daughter or son afflicted by the power of the devil, or near to death, or actually in death, or even a son grown to man’s estate and claimed by death as its prey and insensible to all beside? In each case He heard and wrought deliverance. True, in one case there was delay, circumstances were permitted to hinder. In another there had to be first wrought a work of honest self-judgment in the soul of the afflicted Gentile mother; in another the gentle rebuke of feeble and shaken faith in the anguished father; in yet another the testing of very genuine faith that it might the more distinctly be manifested; and all these spiritual dealings with the parents necessitated some delay. Yet in every case their cry was heard and abundantly answered. Still there was one exception, which was the more remarkable inasmuch as the applicants here were definite followers and servants of the Lord before making their application. They were, indeed, the only ones of the seven of which we could confidently affirm this, and they were the only ones that met with a refusal! Ah, but they came not for blessing and healing and deliverance, but for honour and preferment! Herein lay the secret of their disappointment, and therefore the one exception is the exception which proves the rule. We, who are Christian parents, may then with confidence get upon our knees to bring the cases of our children to the Lord. If we bring them with a desire for their prominence and glory, in order that our natural pride and pleasure in them may be enhanced by their being distinguished either in this world or the world to come, we have no ground for expecting the Lord to act. If we bring them that their desperate need may be met and their blessing accomplished, He will hear us. The varying circumstances on our side will be no hindrance. We ourselves may be Jews or Gentiles, people of little faith or defective faith, or strong faith, or even so overpowered by grief that we make no audible appeal at all — it is all the same. The children may be young or old, afflicted in mind or body, or with no affliction at all — it is all the same. He will deliver. He will bless. He will do it in His own time, so as to spiritually exercise and bless the parent as well as the child, which may mean delay; but He will do it, and do it tenderly, even taking them up in the arms of His love to bless them. No longer is He upon earth, so that the anguished parent heart may cry out before Him, "Master, I beseech Thee, look upon my son" — or "daughter" as the case may be. He is exalted in the heavens with all power at His disposal. Yet He is unchanged in His compassions as in all else, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever." Therefore your cry shall be answered by the unchanged and unchanging Christ in the same unchanging way. Is not this enough? ======================================================================== CHAPTER 90: 089 "ENRICHED IN HIM" ======================================================================== "Enriched in Him" F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 40, 1959-61, page 225.) The disorders that marked the church at Corinth indicated that they were not in a healthy state from a spiritual point of view. They had the sort of knowledge that tends to "puff up," as the opening of 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, of the first epistle, shows; but their state was "carnal," and not "spiritual," as Paul plainly tells them, at the opening of 1 Corinthians 3:1-23. Notwithstanding this, the Apostle could say to them, "in everything ye have been enriched in Him" (1 Corinthians 1:5 New Trans.). The poor conception they had of the riches did not alter the fact that the riches had been bestowed. It is indeed remarkable how these "riches" were indicated by our Lord to His disciples during His farewell discourse to them, and in His final prayer to the Father, recorded in John 14:1-31; John 15:1-27; John 16:1-33; John 17:1-26. They were stated in an elementary way, as bound up with the revelation He had made, the work He was about to accomplish, and the consequent gift of the Holy Spirit. Let us briefly notice some of these "riches," that we have in Him. As we commence reading John 14:1-31, the first is revealed. It is, "My Father" verse 7. This great enrichment indeed fills the first eleven verses. The Father so revealed that we may know Him, and the Father’s house to be our eternal dwelling-place in association with the Son Himself. The Lord Jesus was so really in the Father, and the Father so effectively in Him, while He was as a Man on this earth, that His words were the Father’s words, and the Father, dwelling in Him, was the Doer of the works. It was not, however until His death and resurrection were accomplished facts, that He could say to His disciples, "My Father and your Father" (John 20:17). In John 14:1-31, He does proceed to speak to them of "My name," verse 13. And they and we, being left to represent Him during the time of His absence, may know its virtue and power, as we make our requests in prayer. Indeed any and every request, which is really in His name, as genuinely representing His interests, is sure to meet with a favourable response. A very real enrichment indeed! But these enrichments in the way of privileges carry with them enrichments in the way of responsibilities. Hence we now read of, "My commandments John 14:15, "My words," John 14:23, "My sayings," John 14:24, "My words," John 15:7. Now His commandments consist of definite injunctions which demand our obedience. They are given, not that by keeping them the flesh in us may be restrained, and a position before God may be attained; but because we are put into a position of favour before God, and they are given with the object of directing the new nature that we possess, to the setting aside of the flesh. We are indeed enriched by having these clear-cut, definite expressions of the will of our Lord for us. In verses 23 and 24, the Greek words are similar, save that in the earlier verse the word is in the singular, in the latter it is in the plural. In the New Translation they appear as "word," and "words." Here then we have the expression of His mind in a more general way, apart from definite commands, and then the very words in which His mind is expressed. In chapter 15 the word is different, but having much the same force. All His sayings express His mind and will for us, and if they abide in us, our minds are brought into conformity with His mind, and happy obedience follows, with prayer that is acceptable and answered of God. And what an enrichment is this! In the light of what we have already seen, it is not surprising to find that towards the end of John 14:1-31 the Lord speaks of, "My peace" verse 27. The peace He leaves with them is doubtless that mentioned in Romans 5:1, the result of justification by faith in Himself, as having been delivered for our offences and raised again. But beyond this there was the peace that He ever enjoyed in His path of obedience, ever subject to His Father’s will. Now if we, under the direction of the Comforter, who was to come and abide, are subject to His word and will, peace of that kind and order will possess our hearts. He has made provision that so it may be, as His gift. Another great enrichment bestowed upon us! As in some measure at least His peace fills our hearts, we are prepared more largely to enter upon the realization and joy of, "My love" John 15:9. His love has been fully expressed. We know it, thank God, but we are to "continue," or "abide" in it. It is therefore to permeate all our thoughts and be the governing factor in our lives, and this will only be possible as we keep His commandments, and thus we are in obedience to His mind. And, as the succeeding verses show, our love will flow out to all others in the family of God. Love is the Divine nature, and as we abide in it, there is of necessity an outflow to all others in whom that nature dwells. On our side love and obedience are inseparable. The saint who dwells in love is of necessity obedient Godward, and filled with love for the brethren. Where is an enrichment greater than this? But if not greater, there is certainly more; for the Lord proceeds to speak of, My joy John 15:11, that His disciples might have their cup of joy filled to the brim, by the fact that His joy may be in us; and His utterances up to this point had this in view. His joy had been to do His Father’s commandments and thus abide in His love. Now they and we, are committed to a life of obedience to the commandments of His love, and thus abiding in His love, we shall possess a joy of the same order as His, though realized of course in a much smaller degree. That we should be able to share in a joy that is His is an enrichment of a very wonderful kind. It is not surprising therefore to find a few verses lower down the words, "My friends" John 15:14. We must notice however that here we find an enrichment that is conditional. He accounts us as His friends, if we are marked by obedience to what He commands. Now we have seen that obedience springs from, and is the expression of love. So our Lord is virtually saying that if we abide in His love, and so are marked by responsive love and the obedience that flows from it, He will bring us into the intimacy that friendship involves. We are not merely servants, but friends, as the next verse shows; but it is love and obedience that will introduce us into the understanding and intimacy that friendship really involves. One has sometimes wondered if the Apostle John when he wrote about the "friends" in the last verse of his third epistle, had this saying of our Lord in his mind. If so he was thinking of certain saints who were specially marked by love and obedience to their Lord. Such intimacy with Him is an enrichment beyond words. We have to travel on into John 17:1-26 to find the last of these wonderful things. There we read of, "My glory" John 17:24. We are to behold His glory, and we are to be in a glorified condition ourselves when we behold it, for a few verses earlier we read, "the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them." He did not say, you notice, "I will give," but rather, "I have given." The donation is an accomplished fact. The glory conferred upon Him is given to us; but there is of course the essential and eternal glory which ever was His, and this we shall behold to our abiding joy. This will be a crowning enrichment through eternal days! ======================================================================== CHAPTER 91: 090 ETERNAL LIFE OR IDOLS ======================================================================== Eternal Life or Idols. Condensed Notes of an Address on 1 John 5:18-21, given at Wooler, November 3rd, 1949. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 37, 1951-2, page 26.) In reading this short passage my main point is contained in verses 20 and 21; but just a few words, to start with, on verses 18 and 19, where we have a very important distinction. The Spirit of God draws a very clear line of demarcation between the saints as born of God and the world out of which they have been taken. We must ever bear in mind that we belong to a chosen race, to a generation that God has brought into being by His own act. The character of this new race is declared, since, "whosoever is born of God sinneth not." Now here we have one of those abstract statements that occur so often in this remarkable epistle. That is, the Spirit of God invites us to consider the matter in its own essential nature and character, abstracting it in our thoughts from all other things, and from the complications they may introduce. To consider a thing abstractly is very helpful, if we really wish to understand it. Let me use an illustration. A chemist might hand you a bottle and uncorking it might bid you take a sniff. You do so and recoil, saying it has a disagreeable smell. He now hands you another bottle containing a fluid that looks like water, and when opened you can hardly detect any odour. Yet he tells you that the most potent ingredient in the first bottle was that very liquid. In the first bottle its real nature was obscured by other substances. Only when presented in abstract form was its true nature revealed. Now we are living in a world of many mixtures. The object of the great adversary is to make the mixture as complicated as possible. The object of the Spirit of God is to differentiate, and make the abstract character of the child of God on the one hand, and of the world on the other, as plain as possible. As born of God we have a nature that is sinless. Such an one, abstractly considered, "cannot sin," as we are told in 1 John 3:9. Other verses in this epistle contemplate us in our present practical condition, and then consequently speak of our sinning. But when the Lord comes and we stand with Him in glory what is now true of us only in this abstract sense will be true of us practically, absolutely and forever. Thanks be to God! So also in verse 19, the world is considered in an abstract way. It lies "in wickedness" or "in the wicked one." You may wish to tell me that there are some very nice and amiable people in the world. Granted, if you consider the world with its strange complications, from a practical point of view. In Romans 7:1-25 and Romans 8:1-39, the "flesh" is viewed abstractly and so we read that there is no good in it, and that those who are in the flesh "cannot please God." May God help us all, and particularly those who are young, to seize the abstract point of view. Those born of God cannot sin. A man in the flesh cannot do anything but sin. The world lies in the grip of the wicked one. That may seem a strong thing to say of the world, but it is true. The devil is shaping the course of things. Men may imagine they are doing it, but they are not. When I was a small boy I was taken to see a marionette show. There were the little dolls quaintly dressed all moving or dancing on the stage. But from where I sat cracks in the boarding beneath the stage allowed me to have a glimpse of the men who were pulling the strings, so the dancing of the dolls was not so wonderful to my childish mind. Men on the world stage may look imposing — Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, and the rest — but when we see the devil pulling the strings that control their movements, they fascinate us no more. The trouble with us so often is that we ignore the line of demarcation that God has drawn. Let us see that we maintain it, for we mix things at our peril. The first statement of verse 20 is this: "We know that the Son of God is come." We do not know that some great and inscrutable Person is come, and that He became the Son of God by the manner in which He came. That is not the truth, and what our verse states is the truth. "Son of God" is a Name of most illustrious import. His coming into Manhood was an act of humiliation, a stoop of unimaginable greatness — far greater than would have been involved had it been needful for Michael the Archangel to assume the lowest form of animal life, and become a worm. "Son of God" is not a Name taken, expressive of His humiliation but the Name of His original glory, and we have some knowledge of what His coming has brought us. God has been made known, and the Father’s Name fully declared. Glimpses of the true God had been granted in previous ages, but now, "Him that is true" stands fully revealed. But wonderful as the revelation is, it would mean nothing to us had we not eyes to see it. So we get the second great statement of our verse that "He hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true." We may well bless God for a gift like that. How was that gift bestowed? Well, not only have we been begotten of God, but from the ascended Christ we have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. As we read in 1 John 2:20, it could be said even to babes in Christ, "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." In the last scenes, as recorded in Luke’s Gospel, we read how the Lord opened the understanding of His disciples that they might understand the Scriptures. That I should connect with John’s record of how He breathed into them, saying, "Receive ye Holy Ghost;" bestowing upon them His risen life in the energy of the Spirit. Hence there is given to us the understanding to take in the things of God. So in our verse we have, firstly, the revelation in the coming of the Son of God. Then, secondly there is illumination by the gift of this understanding. You may remember that the Lord Jesus said, "The light of the body is the eye." Someone might feel inclined to say "But I thought that the light is the sun." So it is, if we view things objectively. But viewing things subjectively, and as a matter of our experience, the eye is the light. The sun might be shining at noon, but if I had no eye there would be nothing but darkness in me. Twice in our verse God is spoken of as "Him that is true." Here as ever, truth stands in contrast to all that is false and unreal. In God Himself we have the ultimate Reality. Hence the sharp contrast that is drawn between Him and the world, which is so full of unreality. In its moral character the world is a vain show, but even in a physical and material way unreality is increasingly stamped upon everything. Very few things are just what they seem to be. The very food we eat is largely faked in one way or another. This epistle tells us, "The world passeth away." We need shed no tears over that statement. But verse 20 carries us a step further. Not only have we the revelation and the illumination but, "we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ." We are at a loss for one word to express this. We might say, origination, but that would better express the fact that we are "of God," as verse 19 told us. This goes beyond that, for we might have been "of" Him without being "in" Him. We are "in Him that is true," inasmuch as we are brought into His life and nature, by being "in His Son Jesus Christ;" so perhaps derivation is the more suitable word. Him that is true, then, is clearly God the Father, and we are in the Father by being in the Son. So here we have that which the Lord spoke of anticipatively in John 14:1-31. He looked forward to the day close at hand when the Spirit should be given to indwell the disciples, and He said, "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in Me, and I in you." We derive everything from Him. This is indeed a most marvellous thing — something beyond all our thoughts. The depth of our plight as fallen sinners was such that it would have been wonderful if God had redeemed us and fitted us to know and be with Him, just as a dog knows and loves his master. A dog may display considerable intelligence and great devotion, but all within the limits set by this fact — it cannot share the life and nature of its master. We are not mere spectators or observers, we have that which no angel has, being brought into the very life and nature of God, by being "in His Son." Are we then to entertain the thought that the Son is merely an intermediary, and possibly something inferior to God the Father? This false idea has always been simmering in some minds, and appearing more or less boldly from time to time. The closing words of our verse dissipate this thought. Pointing an emphatic finger at "His Son Jesus Christ," the solemn pronouncement is, "This is the true God, and eternal life." In the first verses of his Gospel, John introduces the same Person as "The Word," and asserts His essential Deity. Here He is "The Son," and His Deity is affirmed with equal emphasis. The adjective "true" is added here, since the world, which is energized by the deceiver, lies darkly in the background. But He not only is the true God, so that all that may be known of God is revealed in Him, but He is also the eternal life, the Fountain-Head of that life which now is ours, so that we may know and enjoy the revelation. Into that life have we been brought, and we have it now. This does not in any way clash with that which we find frequently in Paul’s writings — "The end everlasting life" (Romans 6:22) — that life as a future thing. You might walk into a greenhouse in this country and see a cactus growing in a pot. It looks like a spiny cucumber standing up on its end. If you ever visit the West Indies you will see the same sort of cactus in its tropical fulness, twenty feet high, and not stunted by a chilly clime. The essential life of both is the same. We have the life now, though its fulness belongs to the age that is to come. That which hinders the development of that life now may be summed up in the one word, idols. Hence the last verse of the epistle. The word, "little" should not be there. The whole family of God is addressed and not babes merely. The closing exhortation is "Keep yourselves from idols." What is an idol? We may define it by saying, an idol is anything which usurps in the heart and mind that supreme place that belongs to God alone. That which takes such commanding possession of our thoughts becomes an idol. In these words the Holy Spirit has uncovered for us the root of much failure and weakness amongst the children of God. The idolized thing becomes like a film over the eye, dimming its vision of the brighter things above. Here I feel very sympathetic with my younger brothers and sisters, for I am now sufficiently old to look back to youthful days when there were not nearly the number of clever things invented, calculated to fascinate and fill the mind to the exclusion of far better things. In my young days there were no motor-cars, no aeroplanes, no radio, no television, no cinemas, enticing you to spend time on them rather than on the service of the Lord and things of eternal value. So our closing word must be one of warning. You may hear great and wonderful things in meetings, and even yield them a ready assent in your mind, but if you are decoyed away to spend most of your time in the pursuit of other things that bear the idol character, your Christianity will be but a poor anaemic thing. So let me repeat once more John’s closing admonition, "Children, keep yourselves from idols." And may we all have grace to respond with "Amen," and really mean it. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 92: 091 EVIL MEN, SILLY WOMEN, AND THE MAN OF GOD. ======================================================================== Evil Men, Silly Women, and the Man of God. F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 14, 1922, page 210.) The one passage of Scripture which deals in direct fashion with the last days of the church’s sojourn on earth is2 Timothy 3:1-17; 2 Timothy 4:1-5. Elsewhere we get predictions concerning "the latter times" (1 Timothy 4:1), and also as to what shall happen after the church is removed, in such a Scripture as 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17. The former of these two passages, however, deals with a time a little before, and the latter passage with a time just after, "the last days" of 2 Timothy 3:1. We believe that these "last days" are now upon us, and consequently the Scripture we have indicated has a most urgent voice to us. Hence our calling attention to it in these pages. We ask that the passage be carefully read. The apostle, we notice, fixes his prophetic gaze upon the sphere of religious profession in the last days, and not upon the condition of the world as such. The sphere where Christ’s name is owned, and the Christian religion is professed, is before him, and within it he discerns three classes. 1. "Evil men" (verse 13). 2. "Silly women" (verse 6). 3. "The man of God" (verse 17). We have placed "evil men" first in order because their features are fully described in the opening verses of the chapter, though the actual words do not occur until verse 13 is reached. The "evil men and seducers" who are to "wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" are those who resist the truth after the fashion of Jannes and Jambres (verse 8), they lead captive the "silly women" (verse 6), and they are "of this sort" — i.e., they are the stamp of person described so fully in verses 2-5. Those terrible verses give us a picture of the general state of the professors of Christianity in the last days, as is clear from verse 5. which shows that all the evils of verses 2, 3, and 4 are covered with a cloak, "a form of godliness," though of course the power of godliness is totally wanting — is rather denied. In order that the import of these verses may more fully dawn upon us, we quote the rendering given in the New Translation: — "Men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, evil speakers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, profane, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, of unsubdued passions, savage, having no love for what is good, traitors, headlong, of vain pretensions, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; having a form of piety, but denying the power of it: and from these turn away." Several features of this dreadful picture are very significant. "Self" stands first. "God" comes last, and even then He is only mentioned in order to be excluded. Does not this tell its own tale? The roots of this go back as far as to the garden of Eden. The sin of Adam was virtually this, that he set up self as his object and excluded God by throwing off allegiance to Him. After "self" comes "money." Those who are lovers of self are always lovers of money, since money is the well-nigh universal medium of exchange whereby all material things that minister to self are procured. Following again are fifteen descriptions, most of which, if not all, are various manifestations of the self-assertive spirit, for instance: — "Boastful" — glorying in the supposed prowess of self. "Arrogant" — filled with an overweening sense of the importance of self. "Evil speakers" — ready to decry others that self may be the more effectually elevated. "Disobedient to parents" — self-assertion at a very early age. "Ungrateful" — self treated as of such importance that all services are taken for granted and treated as unworthy of recognition. "Profane" — self rising up in its fancied might and belittling God, — and so we might continue to the end of the list. Last on the list comes "lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." If self is the great object, and money is prized as that which enables self to be gratified, pleasure in its many forms is that which gratifies, and it is loved accordingly. In a word the whole picture presented to us is one of fierce, aggressive, unabashed self-assertion to a point where God is entirely excluded, though the outward form of piety is still retained for appearance sake. The extraordinary way in which the description fits the present age is quite apparent. A great word in educational, and other similar circles, just at present is self-expression! Education, we are told, consists in drawing out of the young that which is in them; they must be taught to express themselves. Indeed, the right of each individual to this self-expression is insisted upon. Educational ideas, now hopelessly out of date, might recognize there was latent in the child as much needing repression as that needing expression, if not more. Modern theories, denying the fall of man, also deny, or at least ignore, the ugly facts of fallen human nature, and hence repression is ruled out, and expression is all the rage. In 2 Timothy 3:2-5 we have, then, just human nature pretty fully expressed with a cloak of hypocrisy superimposed. But though the description given covers in a general way the religious professors of the last days, out of the general mass there proceeds a special class of deceivers. "Of this sort are they which creep into houses and lead captive silly women" (verse 6). "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth; men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith" (verse 8). "But evil men and seducers [or, juggling impostors] shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived" (verse 13). These three verses put together give us a full portrait of the character of the "evil men." They are first and foremost active energetic agents of the powers of darkness. They are seducers, and in effect, deceiving, yet are they themselves deceived. They maintain a certain outward Christian profession and yet are thoroughly dominated and deceived by the spiritual forces of evil that they serve. Their minds are corrupted, hence their methods are crooked. They creep into houses to do their nefarious work instead of walking in erect by the front door. Judged by "the faith" they are reprobate or "found worthless," and as to "the truth" they resist it. This last point seems to be their characteristic feature. They resist the truth, as the two Egyptian magicians once withstood Moses. Truth is the great standard by which everything is judged. Truth is the great object of the assaults of the adversary whom these evil men serve, though perhaps they are not so directly and palpably under his influence as were the Egyptian magicians of old. It is worthy of note that nothing immoral or outwardly abominable is alleged against these men, as for instance is alleged against those of whom Jude writes. The evil that marks them is of a more refined and subtle sort — evil in the region of soul and spirit rather than the body. Men "of this sort" are much in evidence to-day. Self makes up their little world. Truth they hate and resist, and souls they corrupt and capture. We need not mention various names under which they work. They adopt a variety of banners, and have differing party cries, but essentially they are one. May we all be fully warned against them! The victims of the deceiving teachings of these evil men, who are thus led captive by them, are designated "silly women." The term "women" is used, we judge, with a moral significance, i.e., it describes a class of person, and not exactly the female sex as such. The Old Testament provides us with a similar passage in Proverbs 2:10-22. There we find warnings against "the evil man" (verse 12) and also "the strange woman" (verse 16). That there is a simple and literal meaning there is obvious. It is equally clear that the two expressions personify evil in its two main features; violence on the one hand, and corruption on the other. So, here; though it is true that in the main self-assertiveness, and boasting and active propagation of seducing deceits characterizes men rather than women, and a certain foolish shallowness and inability to reach settled convictions characterizes women rather than men, yet plenty of exceptions to the general rule may be found. Hence, we judge, just as "evil men" in the passage before us indicates a class in which occasionally women may be found, so "silly women" indicates another class in which not a few men may be found. The characteristic feature of the "silly women" is that they are "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (verse 7). Always inquiring, always open to receive novelties, and yet never reaching a settled state of conviction about anything. "What is truth?" is their perpetual cry. The reason of this singular inability to reach definite knowledge is exposed for us in the words "laden with sins, led away with divers lusts." When the life is laden with sins, and various and conflicting desires and passions make a battle-ground of the heart, no divinely-reached conviction is possible. Here is another proof of what has often been asserted, viz., that the origin of all mental and intellectual trouble, all scepticism, and uncertainty and indecision, is much more frequently found in the heart than in the mind. The difficulty is far more of a moral than of an intellectual nature. And, oh! with what frequency are the "silly women" to be met with to-day. How many learned professors are bending their energies to produce just this type! Our forefathers were men of rugged beliefs and sharp convictions, whether right or wrong, and lusty blows they gave and received in the conflict engendered. Today all such loud vulgarity is condemned and eschewed and the fashionable thing is to inquire continually and be sure of nothing, so as the better to indulge one’s various lusts conveniently, and become a "silly woman" indeed! The present age is unquestionably marked by shallowness. The river of human thought and energy has so broadened out that depth has necessarily been sacrificed. Shallowness — foolish shallowness — in the things of God is greatly to be dreaded. May the Lord in His goodness deliver both writer and reader from every taint of it. Towards the end of our chapter a third class comes to light. There are "all that will live [or, desire to live] godly in Christ Jesus" (verse 12). The "evil men" are lovers of pleasures. The "silly women" are led by their various lusts. But in contrast these, far from living lives of self-gratification, "shall suffer persecution." The tide of the world is dead against them. Out of this class springs "the man of God" who is contemplated by the apostle in verse 17. Not all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus attain to that remarkable title. In Old Testament times God had many saints and witnesses; a few only are called men of God; so in the New Testament. A "man of God" is a man raised up to stand for God when the mass of that which is professedly His is marked by decay and declension and even apostasy. In this passage the "man of God" particularly before the mind of the apostle was Timothy himself, and we shall do well to notice the things that marked him. In the first place, he had fully known Paul’s doctrine and manner of life. He was thoroughly acquainted, that is, with the full truth of Christianity, and with the proper experimental effect of that truth as seen in the life of Paul, the pattern saint (see 1 Timothy 1:16). Secondly, he knew from a child the Holy Scriptures given by inspiration of God. Here he had the unfolding of God’s ways in deliverance and government, with every conceivable warning of the tendencies and workings of the fallen human heart. Thus he was to be made wise unto salvation from every pitfall which Satan would set for his feet, or the feet of saints generally. Scripture, too, is capable of so many different uses that it thoroughly furnishes the man of God unto all good works. Here we have the positive equipment of the man of God. 2 Timothy 2:21 has shown us his necessary equipment of a negative character. As a result of that he will be "prepared unto every good work," just as here he is "throughly furnished unto all good works." Lastly, he preaches "the word" (2 Timothy 4:2). Fortified by the truth himself, made wise unto salvation from the raging tide of evil, and thoroughly furnished, he wields the word of truth for the deliverance of others. Truth may fall in the street to all appearance, for the populace may "turn away their ears from the truth," and "turn to fables," still the more earnestly and insistently he preaches the Word. All this particularly characterizes the man of God. It characterizes also, though, doubtless, in lesser measure, all who will live godly in Christ Jesus. We are painfully conscious how far we come from being entitled to such a designation as "man of God." We may even be aware that we could hardly lay claim to the title "the godly in Christ Jesus," still how gracious is our God! How condescending to our littleness and feebleness in these last days! He even speaks of those who "desire to live godly in Christ Jesus." Cannot we thankfully place ourselves here? As we conclude our survey of the passage, let us notice how upon God’s side all seems to hinge on the truth; and how on our side all hinges on what we love. Whatever the "evil men" may be in themselves, the great object of the devil in raising them up is that they may "resist the TRUTH." Whether they work in open opposition, or in the more dangerous form of imitation, this is the object. If it be a question of the careless multitude that will be embraced within the capacious circle of a corrupted and worldly Christianity, they "turn away their ears from the TRUTH." They are glad enough to have teachers, but wish them to pander to their own lusts. The "silly women" are of an inquiring turn of mind, and therefore at first sight, promise better things. They, however, are marked, as we have seen, by being "never able to come to a knowledge of the TRUTH." As for the "man of God," that which above all else characterizes him is that he is thoroughly saturated with Scripture, which is to us the fountainhead of TRUTH. The word "truth" does not occur in the verses concerning the man of God. We do get, however, "my doctrine," "the Holy Scriptures," "all Scripture," "the word," and "sound doctrine," which is only another way of saying "THE TRUTH." In the last days, as in all other days, the truth is of all importance. If that be lost all is lost indeed. On our side we are coloured and controlled by what we love. The evil men are "lovers" as we have seen. "Lovers of their own selves, lovers of money, . . . lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God." Their career of evil is controlled by this. So, too, the "silly women." They are controlled and led away by their various lusts, — or unlawful loves. Demas, of whom we read in 2 Timothy 4:10, seems to be a pretty fair example of such. Unstable was he, and ultimately controlled by the fact that he "loved this present world." On the other hand, the man of God is what the evil man is not — a lover of God, and, consequently, he loves Christ’s appearing. In this he is not alone. Just as there are others who at least desire to live godly in Christ Jesus, so in anticipating "that day," he says, "not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:8). And now let us seriously ask ourselves — do we love Christ’s appearing? If, indeed, we are Christ’s we do most certainly love His coming into the air which will mean the rapture and translation of His saints. His appearing will mean the testing hour has come. The heavens and the earth will be shaken. All religious profession will be put to the test. "Evil men" and "silly women" will equally be tested and judged. The present world which ensnared Demas of old, and has so sorely tempted saints from that day to this, will be exposed in all its hollowness and sham. The truth will be gloriously vindicated, and those who are of the truth, and have held to the Word, living godly in Christ Jesus, according to it, and proclaiming it, will be rewarded with a crown of righteousness. It will be a moment when light, divine light, will be shed on all things. How does the thought of it affect us? Do we welcome it? Is His glorious appearing as dear to us as is His coming into the air and the rapture of the saints? Let us brace ourselves afresh for the path of faithful walk and witness while we wait for that Day. May God Himself help us so to do. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 93: 092 "FAITH" — SOME "BETTER THING." ======================================================================== "Faith" — some "better thing." F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 41, 1962-64, page 17.) The first verse of Hebrews 2:1-18 introduces "faith;" its closing verse alludes to "some better thing," which God had "provided," or, "foreseen" for us, who are Christians, compared with the saints of Old Testament times. This better portion which is ours does not consist of things visible to our natural eyes, and therefore faith is a prime necessity for us. Have we all realized what a remarkable chapter Hebrews 11:1-40 is? The actual word faith only occurs twice in the whole of the Old Testament. and the first of these is a negation, for Moses had to complain of the mass of the people that they had, "no faith." And this is alluded to and endorsed in Hebrews 3:1-19 and 4, where it is pointed out that Israel’s failure sprang from their unbelief; the word that reached them not being "mixed with faith." Yet in chapter 11 the Spirit of God reveals to us that all that was vital in these godly souls of pre-Christian times was the fruit of faith. What lay so largely beneath the surface in former times, now stands clearly revealed. We have long thought that this chapter might be summarized under three headings; the first of which is, Faith saves. The offering that Abel brought was not the result of a fortunate guess but the fruit of faith, which perceived that on him as a sinner the death penalty rested, and so God could only be approached on the ground of death. Thus he was accounted righteous, and he knew it. So also, faith enabled Enoch to walk with God, though surrounded by fearful evils, and at last enabled him to escape death by translation. And further, what was it that enabled Noah to persist year after year building the enormous ship on dry land? - which must have seemed ridiculous to the men of his day. It was faith, believing that God would do what He had said He would do. It resulted in salvation when the antediluvian world was destroyed. Yes, it is faith that saves. But then we pass on to Abraham, and the middle of the chapter shows us that Faith sees, for it gives a spiritual conception of things that lie outside our natural vision. Abraham departed from Ur of the Chaldees, though it was no mean city — as modern excavations have proved — to go forth into the unknown. His faith enabled him to envisage a city that had foundations that were laid by God Himself. And so we move on through the patriarchs until we come to Moses, when we find a man, who "endured, as seeing Him, who is invisible." So clearly it is faith that sees. Then in the latter part of the chapter we discover that Faith suffers. The one who possesses it is endowed with the power to endure. Indeed we may say that faith never shines more brightly than when it is confronted by adverse power. Moses chose "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." And a long list follows of those who endured persecution and suffering in the energy of faith. Thus God makes known to us that even in these earlier days, when what was revealed was often in connection with things that were visible, audible and tangible, what was of supreme importance for man was faith. Equally so, indeed even more so, is it thus for us today, seeing that the "better" thing, that we are to know and enjoy, lies outside our natural powers. Some better thing then have we. Let us notice how this word, better, occurs, as we glance over the epistle. To begin with, we have it in Hebrews 1:4. The Son, who was the Creator, had become the Revealer and the Redeemer, and is declared to be "much better than the angels." Now the law was given by "the disposition of angels," as Stephen said in his last address, recorded in Acts 7:1-60, and this is alluded to in our epistle, when we reach Hebrews 2:2. Hence this first great contrast in the epistle. The law conveyed some revelation of the mind of God, and it reached them through angels. The full revelation of God, which lies at the base of the better thing that has reached us, is found in the Son, who stands far above and better than all angels. The word "better" does not actually occur again until Hebrews 7:1-28 is reached, but there it occurs thrice. In the first case it stands connected with a type. The priesthood of Christ is "after the order of Melchizedec," and eternal. Now Melchizedec blessed Abraham, out of whom sprang the Aaronic priesthood, and he who blesses is better than the one who is blessed. The priesthood of Christ is eternal, and exists far above Aaron and his family, established under the law. Then, as verses 18 and 19 remind us, the law made nothing perfect, and so the commandment going before is set aside, and a better hope is brought in. Now why is the better thing spoken of as a hope? Our reply would be that, as stated in Hebrews 3:1, ours is a "heavenly calling," that will not be fully realized until heaven itself is reached. Hence a large element of hope enters into the Christian calling, and is of a character that surpasses any hope connected with the calling of Israel. But though this is the case its present effect is to bring us near to God. Before Christ came and accomplished His redeeming work, the way into the holiest was not made manifest. Now it is, and we have boldness of access to God, as is stated in Hebrews 1:1-14. Verse 22 makes this manifest, for a new "testament," or "covenant" has been established, and of this covenant the Lord Jesus is the "Surety." If at this point the reader will turn to Genesis 43:1-34, and particularly note verse 9, the force of "surety" will be plain. The new covenant is a declaration of the grace of God; and it is as if our Lord said, "Should it not stand imperishable and for ever, let Me bear the blame of it for ever." Stand it will for it is "the everlasting covenant," as Hebrews 13:1-25 states; and how much better it is than the old covenant of Sinai is abundantly clear. This is confirmed when we reach Hebrews 8:6, where the promises connected with it are mentioned. The hope connected with these promises we have just referred to. If we pass on now to Hebrews 9:23, we get the statement that the heavenly things themselves are purified with better sacrifices than those offered under the law for the purification of the patterns of those heavenly things. The word here is in the plural — "better sacrifices," because, we judge, the Hebrew reader is referred back to Leviticus 1:1-17; Leviticus 2:1-16; Leviticus 3:1-17; Leviticus 4:1-35; Leviticus 5:1-19, in which various offerings were commanded, all of which had typical reference to Christ. His whole pathway from the glory was marked by continual sacrifice, which culminated in the One great, atoning sacrifice of the cross, of which the rest of Hebrews 9:1-28 speaks. Here indeed was the one sacrifice of infinite value, which far outshines any sacrifice previously known. The early part of Hebrews 10:1-39 continues this theme, and shows us that sin having been put away by the sacrifice of Christ, the believer today has boldness of access to "the holiest" - the very presence of God Himself. And in the later verses of that chapter we learn that consequently we are possessed of "substance," of an "eternal" nature, which is "better" than anything that was promised to Israel under the law. Had they been obedient, they would have been prospered and multiplied in their families and all earthly possessions. The Hebrew Christian had substance that lay outside earthly things, in keeping with the fact that they, and we also, are "partakers of the heavenly calling," as Hebrews 3:1 states. It was the realization of this that enabled these early Hebrew believers to take "joyfully the spoiling" of their "goods." It would have been a great thing if, when some of their homes were smashed up by an opposing mob, they had faced the loss with resignation and meekness, but they actually faced it with joyfulness. It served to emphasize in their minds the glorious fact that their real portion lay outside earth and in heaven, far beyond the power of all their opponents. And what was it that made the heavenly portion that was theirs so real to them? The answer to this is of course found in the first verse of Hebrews 11:1-40, which in Darby’s New Translation reads, "Now faith is the substantiating of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." The better and enduring substance was substantiated to the early Hebrew Christian by faith. Exactly thus it is for us today. We, who are English-speaking Christians, are like men walking amidst a forest of pleasant and attractive things. The few of us who can look back through sixty or even seventy years, can realize how great has been the advance in pleasant and profitable human inventions. At the moment money abounds and every kind of invention and contrivance abounds; often useful and always very attractive, and therefore bidding for our attention, Our modern "goods" are very absorbing in their nature, and at the moment there is no "spoiling" of them by active opponents. But what about that unseen, yet better and enduring substance which is ours in heaven? Is faith active with us, so that the unseen, heavenly substance is really filling our thoughts and dominating our lives? "Some better thing," then as compared with what was revealed to the worthy saints of pre-Christian times, has been provided for us, and the knowledge of it, received by faith, is to dominate our lives. But we shall all be ushered into the full enjoyment of our respective portions together. They will not "be made perfect" without us, and we may add, nor we without them; for we shall all reach final perfection together, at the day of resurrection and glory, when the Lord Jesus comes again. ======================================================================== CHAPTER 94: 093 FOUR TYPES IN GENESIS ======================================================================== Four Types in Genesis F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 39, 1956-8, page 211.) Moved by the opening words of the Lord’s prayer, recorded in the first verse of John 17:1-26, the late Sir Edward Denny wrote a beautiful short poem, which he entitled, "The Hour." The opening verse is, One hour there is in history’s page Pre-eminent o’er all the past ’Twill shine and shine from age to age, While earth, while heaven itself shall last. The closing verse runs, Christian, ’tis thine alone to know And prize it more than all beside; So bright with love, so dark with woe The gracious hour when Jesus died. In so writing he expressed the spirit that breathes through the whole Bible; for the first type of the death, that signalised that hour, was given the very day that sin entered into the world, and in the last New Testament book, recording God’s ultimate victory, we are never allowed to overlook "the Lamb," in whose sacrificial death the foundation of the victory was laid. For the moment, let us consider the four earliest types of the death of Christ. The first is found in Genesis 3:21, The record is very brief. Having pronounced judgment on the serpent, on the woman, and on Adam, the Lord God covered the guilty pair, who had found their own hand-made fig-leaf aprons of no value, with coats from the skins of animals. Now, though not stated in so many words, this clearly implies DEATH — the death of the animals that furnished the skins. When this was done, there stood before God two guilty sinners, covered by that which spoke of the death of a victim. The word used here in the Hebrew is the ordinary one for clothing, but it is well for us to note that the Hebrew word, signifying a covering, is the one used for "atonement" throughout the Old Testament. In the light of the Gospel truth revealed in Romans 3:25, this is significant, for as the margin of our Bibles shows, the word, "remission" in that verse is really, "passing over." Until propitiation was actually and eternally made by the death of Christ, God was passing over the sins of the saints, in view of what Christ would accomplish. Their sins were covered from His holy eye by the offering of the appointed sacrifices. So the first of these atoning sacrifices was made by the hand of God Himself. It was provisional and typical of the great Sacrifice to come. It foreshadowed the death of Christ in what we call its simplest and most primitive aspect: that of providing a covering, which enables a sinful man to stand before a holy God. But immediately we pass from Genesis 3:1-24 to the next chapter another type confronts us, which carries our thoughts a step forward. Being sinful, we need, as we have seen, the covering which averts the judgment stroke that we deserve, but we need more than this. Sin has raised a barrier between us and God and, separated from Him, we shall never be happy. Is there any way by which approach to God may be realized? Not understanding the dire effects of sin, Cain evidently thought that approach to God was quite a simple matter, to be attained by presenting to God the best fruits of his own labour. Abel on the contrary had some sense of the fact stated in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death," for he brought, "of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof." The words we have printed in black type reveal to us that these firstlings or lambs had died. It was by faith that he did this, as is stated in Hebrews 11:4; and by it he got evidence that he was right with God and accepted in his approach. This second type has carried us a distinct step forward. It is one thing to be effectually covered from any stroke of judgment that otherwise would come from the hand of God: it is another, and yet more wonderful, to be able to approach God and find acceptance there. Moreover, here the action was Abel’s as the fruit of his faith; whereas with Adam and his wife the action was wholly God’s, and nothing is said as to faith on the part of the guilty pair. Thus far then we have seen the death of Christ typified as averting judgment on the one hand, and as the righteous basis of approach to God on the other. But now we have to move forward to Genesis 8:20-22, where is recorded Noah’s sacrifices after the judgment flood had subsided. The clean beasts and fowls had been taken into the ark by sevens, and now the seventh of each is offered as a burnt offering. The record is that "the Lord smelled a sweet savour," or as it literally is, "asavour of rest." As a result of this a new order of things was established, though the evil imaginations of men’s hearts were unaltered, and blessing descended on Noah and his sons. In this third type therefore we have our thoughts further enlarged as to the significance of the death of Christ. In it God has in the fullest sense discovered "a savour of rest." When His millennial rest is reached, and when even beyond that He rests in those new creation scenes, predicted in Revelation 21:1-6, all will be secured on no other basis than that of the sacrificial death of Christ; even as on the same basis the old fallen creation will have been removed. We may say, therefore, that just as the first and second types have portrayed the death of Christ, meeting our needs — whether as covering our sinful nakedness or enabling us to approach God in acceptance — so this third type has indicated that same death as meeting the necessity of the heart of God Himself; even the establishment in righteousness and holiness of an incorruptible order of things, the old corrupted order having been judged and removed for ever. In Genesis 22:1-24, we have the fourth of these early types of the death of Christ, granted before the law and its sacrifices were given. It is characterized by great fulness in its details. Let us note a few of them. First, in this picture there appear both a father and a son — Abraham and Isaac. Isaac is called, "thine only son" (verse 2); though Abraham’s son Ishmael had been born years before; and again in Hebrews 11:17, he is called "his only begotten son." The type is made the more striking by the fact that Isaac was a child supernaturally born, for both parents were dead from a reproductive standpoint. To the sacrifice, it is recorded, "they went both of them together," the great display of faith being on the part of Abraham, while Isaac, the son, was marked by subjection. It was Abraham who told the servants that he and the lad would "come again" to them, for he accounted, as Hebrews 11:1-40 tells us, that God was able "to raise him up, even from the dead." The only remark of Isaac recorded being the question as to, "where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" The moment came when the son was bound to the altar ready to be offered and no word is recorded as coming from his lips, prefiguring the One who, as Isaiah prophesied, was to be led as a lamb to the slaughter, and who would be dumb as a sheep before its shearers. Viewed, as we have been viewing it, the type ceases at this point, for the death stroke on the son never fell. Abraham’s hand was arrested and instead his eyes fell on the ram, caught in the thicket by its horns. The record is that "Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son." So here from another viewpoint we see a remarkable type, for the words "in the stead of," are equivalent to, "as a substitute for," and thereby we are permitted to see that the application and efficacy of the work of Christ would be on the principle of substitution. The strength of a ram lies in its horns, and by its horns the ram was held, and brought to its substitutionary death as an offering to God. So here really we have a double type, and dropping the first part, which we have considered, we now look at Isaac as he was, a sinful lad, and see him exempted from death by the offering of a substitute. The cords that bind the sacrifice to the altar, spoken of in Psalms 118:27, were, in the case of our Lord, the strong cords of His invincible LOVE. The strength of that brought Him to the place of sacrifice, when as the Substitute He died, "the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God " (1 Peter 3:18). This fourth type completes the picture, granted in those far-off days, of God’s way of blessing through the death of Christ. How far the types were understood by the early saints, if at all, it is impossible for us to say, but in the light of the New Testament they should speak loudly to our hearts. It is remarkable that there are four of them, foreshadowing such truth as was suitable to those days, just as we have four Gospels, completing for us the picture of the Lord Jesus when revealed on earth. We can view Him four-square, so to speak; observing Him from all four points of the compass of truth. So it is in these four types that we have briefly considered. His sacrificial death was prefigured as the only way in which sinful man can be covered from judgment; as the only basis of approach to God and acceptance with Him; as the foundation on which God’s eternal rest will stand. And fourthly in a twofold way: not only as to be faced by the Son in subjection and obedience to the Father, but also as really brought to pass on the principle of substitution. Let each of us therefore more and more rejoice and worship, in that we can say with adoring hearts — not in the light of the typical shadows only, but rather in the light of the accomplished sacrifice of our Saviour — "The Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). We shall never forget, "The gracious hour when Jesus died." ======================================================================== CHAPTER 95: 094 FOUR TYPES IN ISRAEL'S JOURNEY ======================================================================== Four Types in Israel’s Journey F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 39, 1956-8, page 230.) Not only do we discover four types of the death of Christ as we open Genesis and read the earliest records of the fallen human race, but again four types are seen as we follow the history of Israel, from the time of their departure from Egypt to their entrance into the land of promise. Indications of the power and significance of His death are seen more clearly in a prophetic way. The first type is found of course in Exodus 12:1-51, when on that night much to be remembered, the Passover was instituted, and the firstborn were sheltered from the death-stroke that fell upon the Egyptians. What was instituted that night was ordered so that, "ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel." (Exodus 11:7). The fact that it was needful for the Lord to put a difference plainly infers that by nature no difference existed. Here then we see typified the "no difference" doctrine of Romans 3:22, 73. The difference was established by the blood of the slain lamb; but notice, that blood not only shed but also applied to the outside of the house for the eye of the destroying angel, while the inmates fed on the body of the lamb, roast with fire, with bitter herbs and with the absence of all leaven. Thus, the no difference statement of Romans 3:1-31 is at once followed by an unfolding of the propitiatory efficacy of the blood of Christ, to be realized by those who believe. So also we have the Apostle Paul writing, "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast . . . with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:7, 8). The type therefore gives some indication not only of the objective virtue of the blood of Christ, before the eye of God, meeting His claims so that the sinner is sheltered from judgment, but also of its subjective effects in the one who is sheltered - the meaning of His death inwardly digested with the bitterness of repentance, as well as faith, and the leaven of malice and wickedness put away. These things being indicated in Exodus 12:1-51, Exodus 13:1-22 begins with the assertion of God’s claim upon the firstborn, who had been sheltered from death. They were now to be "sanctified;" that is, set apart for God, as belonging to Him. Of each firstborn God said, "It is Mine." But for many a year Pharaoh had been saying of them and of all Israel — "They are mine; slaves to do my pleasure." Among men, when two parties claim the same object, conflict is bound to ensue. So it was here. Hitherto it has seemed to be Pharaoh versus Moses and Israel, but now it is revealed to be Pharaoh versus Jehovah; and Exodus 14:1-31 relates the Red Sea episode when the people had to "stand still and see the salvation Of the Lord." That salvation furnishes us with the second type of the death of Christ, and we may say, of His resurrection also. The decisive step in this story took place while Israel stood still. The angel of God, signalised by the visible pillar of cloud, having indicated the way, planted Himself between the Egyptians and Israel, so that to strike Israel they would have to face God. Then came the march through the Sea. To live, man must be immersed in air: immerse him in water and he quickly dies. But the waters of the Sea rising up like walls on either side of them, completed their security. No direct attack from the rear was possible because of the pillar of cloud, and none from the flanks because of the walls of water. By an act of God the waters of death were turned into a means of salvation and life, as the Angel of God with Israel passed through to the further shore. They were equally death and destruction to Pharaoh and his hosts. Consequently every harrassing fear vanished from the hearts of the Israelites. They were brought into peace and they rejoiced in the hope of their inheritance in the land of promise, as Exodus 15:1-27 shows. There is no difficulty then in seeing here a type of the death and resurrection of Christ bringing us into peace and the hope of glory, as stated in Romans 4:24-25; Romans 5:1-2. A type also of that deliverance from the world and from the power of Satan, who dominates the world, as stated in such scriptures as Galatians 1:4, and Hebrews 2:14, 15. As however we read Exodus 15:1-27, we cannot help but be struck by the sad descent from the triumphant song of the early verses to the murmuring of the people, recorded before we reach the end. This people, redeemed by power from the hand of Pharaoh, revealed their perversity right through their wilderness journey. When we reach Numbers 21:1-35, we find a third type of the death of Christ, which has special reference to this. To Nicodemus our Lord said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6), and Israel’s journey served to display its incorrigible character. In their terrible complaints, recorded in Numbers 21:1, things came to a climax, and the people were bitten by the fiery serpents. Their poison burnt like fire in the bodies of those bitten, and so we have an apt type of what the New Testament calls, "sin in the flesh." And further we are told that, "sin, when it is finished bringeth forth death." This is prefigured in the fact that, "much people of Israel died." The remedy that God ordained was the brazen serpent, made by Moses, and lifted up on a pole — a type of the crucified Christ, as so plainly claimed in John 3:14. The brazen serpent was made in the likeness of a serpent which had the fiery bite, just as Christ came, "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Romans 8:3), so that in His sacrifice "sin in the flesh" might be condemned. Another feature of the Gospel is emphasised in this type — the necessity of faith. There was no obvious connection, such as human reason could appreciate, between looking at a brazen object on a pole and the cure of poison working in one’s veins. Those who looked did so because they believed the word of God in the lips of Moses, bidding them so to do. We venture to think that those who did not look, and died, were the highly intellectual who could not demean themselves so as to act on instructions that seemed so completely irrelevant to their need. The child bidden by his mother to look, would do so in his simplicity; and so would those who were prepared in this matter to become as little children. So it is in the Gospel today. How appropriately then does this type appear, as the wilderness journey of Israel was nearing its end. Sin being lawlessness, disobedience had been fully manifested as dwelling in their flesh, and there is prefigured the death of Christ as the condemnation of sin in the flesh. Had it not been condemned in His cross there would not have been for us that deliverance from its enslaving power, which the Gospel announces; connected also with the gift of the Holy Spirit, typified in the springing well. We may note too that it was after this that God defeated Balaam’s machinations, and made him bless Israel instead of cursing them; and also declare that God "hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel." Sin being judged, the saint is beyond condemnation, and may be viewed in the light of the purpose of God. For the fourth type we pass on to the Book of Joshua, to consider Israel crossing the Jordan, to plant their feet on the land of promise. If Joshua 3:1-17 and Joshua 4:1-24 be read, we notice that here the ark of the covenant is prominent. There was no ark at the crossing of the Red Sea: there it was rather the Angel of the Lord, who had acted as Destroyer at the Passover, acting as a Deliverer through the waters of death. At Jordan the waters roll back before the ark, directly they were touched by the feet of the priests who bore it. On this occasion Jordan was running in flood, yet the waters failed before the ark, and the bed of the river was dry until all the people passed over. But the people were identified with the ark, since, where it had stood, twelve stones were placed, representing the tribes just as twelve stones, taken from the spot where the ark had stood, were erected as a memorial in the promised land. In after days a God-fearing Israelite might stand at the spot and say: There, immersed in the waters our twelve tribes lie while at the same time we stand, as risen from the waters, in the land that was promised to us from God. Here therefore we have a type of the death and resurrection of Christ with which the believer is so truly identified that he can be spoken of as not only "dead with Christ " (Colossians 2:20), but also "risen with Christ" (Colossians 3:1). We consequently are to "seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." Nor is this all, for we are so truly identified with Christ in His risen life and glory, that as the Epistle to the Ephesians declares, God has, "made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6). At the end of Joshua 4:1-24, the people are found in the land that God had given them, but immediately we read Joshua 5:1-15, we find that there were kings of the Amorites holding the land, and that they had to be dispossessed. Israel was consequently committed to a time of conflict. This also is typical, for the Ephesian epistle, which shows the believer seated in Christ in heavenly places, ends with a chapter on conflict, indicating the need of spiritual armour for it. In our case it is not that we have to fight to get possession, but that, being in possession, we are in conflict to retain it. Hence in Ephesians 6:1-24, the "armour" is mostly defensive, against ’’the world-rulers of this darkness" (R.V.), whose aim is to dislodge us, and having done all we are to "stand." To sum up: it is remarkable how comprehensively these four types prefigure the wonderful results of the death and resurrection of Christ. Their significance doubtless would not have been plain, until He had come and accomplished His mighty work, but we now read them in the light of the New Testament, and discern something of their meaning. They set forth firstly, shelter from judgment in virtue of the blood-shedding of the Lamb of God. Secondly, salvation by His death and resurrection from the power of Satan and his world, so that we are brought to God. Thirdly, the condemnation of sin in the flesh, so that in the energy of the Spirit, given to us, we may be delivered from its thrall. Fourthly, our identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, so that entering in spirit into our heavenly possessions, we may live our earthly lives with our minds and affections set on things above where Christ is. Many of us may say we have heard these things often. Yes, but how have they affected us? What kind of life are we living? ======================================================================== CHAPTER 96: 095 FREE-HEARTED LIBERALITY ======================================================================== Free-hearted Liberality F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 16, 1924, page 129.) Speaking generally, we are safe in saying that there is no danger in current Christianity of overlooking the money question. The appeals for money are too loud and too frequent, and the methods adopted in order to obtain it are frequently so questionable, if not so utterly worldly, that the whole thing has become a scandal. Thirty years ago we remember seeing an anti-religious cartoon satirising the discord and contention which exists between the various sects of Christendom, and underneath were printed words to this effect: "The one point upon which they are all agreed: ’Now concerning the collection’ (1 Corinthians 16:1)." Because of the large measure of truth there was in it this was the most stinging point of the satire. What is in danger of being overlooked is the spirit and attitude and action of the saints of God where giving in relation to the interests of the Lord is concerned. The incessant cry for money may very easily provoke a reaction in our minds and lead to a careless and indifferent spirit on the subject, so that the genuine claims of the Lord are neglected. It is worthy of note that the Spirit of God has been pleased to give us two whole chapters in the New Testament dealing with this matter, besides allusions to it in sundry other passages. We refer to 2 Corinthians 8:1-24 and 9. In these chapters the apostle Paul was dealing with the specific matter of the collection on behalf of the poor saints at Jerusalem, to which he had alluded in the first epistle and also in the epistle to the Romans; consequently he does not touch upon giving to the Lord’s servants for the spread of the gospel or the work of the ministry generally. Other Scriptures deal with this side of things, notably the epistle to the Philippians, who are praised by the apostle for their "fellowship in the Gospel from the first day until now." He does, however, take advantage of this specific matter to unfold the general principles which govern all Christian giving, and hence we have before us here instructions of abiding importance. First of all in point of importance comes THE MOTIVE, for if this be wrong, all is wrong, no matter how much may be given. Giving must spring from the right source, it must draw its motive force from a worthy direction. What that direction is the apostle indicates in 2 Corinthians 8:9, saying: "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich." The grace of the Lord Jesus operating upon our hearts, produces its own effects in the way of the grace of giving and every other Christian grace. He becomes to us the fountain head of these things, so that even in this sense we rightly sing: "Lord Jesus, source of every grace, Glorious in light divine." At first sight we are inclined to exclaim, "But how great a lever for producing an apparently small result!" Yet is it not ever thus in Scripture? The weightiest considerations are brought to bear upon the simplest details of the Christian’s daily life. On second thoughts, however, we perceive that the result is not so small after all. Nothing is more ingrained in man’s fallen nature than selfishness, and it was this that accounted for the sluggish action of the Corinthians. When the subject of this collection for the poor saints first came up they willingly agreed to give; the apostle could speak of "the forwardness of your mind" (2 Corinthians 9:2), and consequently he boasted of them to others, "that Achaia was ready a year ago;" yet though there was this willingness in mind and word there was delay in action, and the thing so far had not materialised. There was "a readiness to will," but they did not readily "perform the doing of it" out of that which they had (2 Corinthians 8:11). What could stir their sluggish hearts — or ours — so effectually as a fresh sense of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? In this we have a motive which is absolutely perfect, yet even so the apostle thought it well to inform the Corinthians of something which he knew would also stir them, and act as just THE STIMULUS they needed. He turns their thoughts to the extraordinary generosity which had marked the Macedonian believers, amongst whom would be numbered the Philippians; indeed, he opens up the whole subject in this second epistle by referring to them. Several circumstances combined to make the giving of the Macedonians very noteworthy. First, they were very poor; the apostle speaks of their "deep poverty." Second, they were very persecuted, for they were in "a great trial of affliction." Third, they were very joyful, since he alludes to "the abundance of their joy." Now here we have a combination of things which would never suggest itself to the average man of the world. He would almost certainly link together poverty, persecution and misery; and wish to combine wealth, popularity and happiness. Yet he would be wrong, and the proofs of it lie thickly on every hand. True, the poor and persecuted man of the world is miserable enough; yet he is not so commonly found, for being of the world, the world loves its own: the rich and popular are seldom marked by happiness. Find on the other hand the true but poor Christian, marked by a confession of Christ’s name so courageous and consistent that it brings down upon him the persecution of the world, and you will assuredly find one whose soul has such an entrance into the favour of God and the fulness of Christ that his heart is filled with joy. Here then were these Macedonians, poor, persecuted and yet with a large spiritual entrance into the heavenly blessings and joys of Christianity, and these three things combining, they "abounded unto the riches of their liberality" ("their free-hearted liberality," N. T.). They not only gave to their power, but even beyond their power, as Paul bears them record. How interesting is the light which all this sheds on the epistle to the Philippians, and vice versa. In that epistle their poverty is only once alluded to, and that in a very delicate way, when the apostle says, "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." We have no wish to belittle the general application of these words to any saint in need, and thereby rob them of the comfort they give, but the special application of them evidently is to saints who were poor to begin with, and who impoverished themselves still further by large-hearted giving in the service of God. The persecution they were enduring is alluded to in Php 1:28, and joy, as we know, characterizes that epistle. All this was intended to have, and doubtless did have, a very stimulating effect upon the Corinthians, who were well-off and inclined to be luxurious as we gather from the first epistle (1 Corinthians 4:8). In spite of the readiness of their mind, they had been entirely outstripped in performance by these poor Macedonians. The apostle, however, does not leave it at that, but carries the matter a point further by holding up as an example THE MANNER in which they accomplished their giving. He tells us in the 5th verse that they did it in a way that exceeded all his expectations by first giving "their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God." It was good that they should give, but doubly good that they should give after such a fashion as this. They might have begun and ended by just giving of their substance; as it was, they first gave themselves to the Lord — they yielded themselves to Him, to be wholly at His disposal — and then as a consequence gave as he directed and all His love prompted; laying their possessions at the apostle’s feet, according to His will. This was giving of a very rare sort to which but few of us have attained. To have so definitely given ourselves to the Lord that we do not regard what we possess as our own but His, is not a common thing. The world may inscribe the words, "The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof," over the Royal Exchange in the City, yet within its courts, and all around, men drive their bargains with a view to obtaining as large a share of God’s earth as ever they can, and to keeping the share which they get as much in their own power as possible. Likewise Christians may very lustily sing: "Nought that I have my own I call, I hold it for the Giver," and yet betray by their outlook and actions that they are very largely holding it for themselves. But if first we give ourselves to the Lord, then all that we have is necessarily at His disposal. How many of us have reached that point in our history where this becomes an accomplished fact? It may help us to reach that point if we notice THE CHARACTER that giving bears in the case of the Christian. It is not spoken of here as generosity, though we do not deny that it has that character, but as righteousness. The apostle quotes from the Psalm, "He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever." And again, he speaks of God increasing "the fruits of your righteousness." Further it is a striking fact that in such a Scripture as Matthew 6:1-34 the word for "alms" is really "righteousness," as an ordinary reference Bible will show. From this it is evident that it is the normal and proper thing for the Christian to be a giver. If he gives, it is not to be regarded as something wonderful and unexpected for which he is to be highly complimented; the case is rather that if he does not give he is unrighteous. It is positively wrong if he receives such a wealth of blessing from God and yet gives out nothing as a result, and not only wrong but dangerous. If a reservoir has a large intake and a choked-up outflow, a catastrophe of some sort is certain. Nothing is more certain than that the believer is set in this world to be a giver, a dispenser of good things to those in need. This is an obligation which grace imposes, and it is the merest righteousness to fulfil it. If our giving is to be according to God, one thing further we must notice. THE SPIRIT of our giving must be right. This the apostle felt in regard to the Corinthians, and hence while setting before them the motive and the stimulus, and indicating the manner and character of it, he is careful in chapter 9 to exhort them to give not grudgingly but cheerfully. He instructed them to give "every man according as he purposeth in his heart," and further he took the precaution of sending certain brethren in advance of his own coming to collect that which they purposed to give, so that "the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness" ("as blessing, and not as got out of you," N. T.). Neither in appearance nor in fact did he wish their giving to be made under pressure. He had no desire to extract unwilling donations, or excite them into a generosity which went beyond the faith and grace which they possessed, and which afterwards they might regret. What they gave, whether sparingly or bountifully, was to be given with cheerfulness and joy. The fact is, of course, that though money has a place in connection with the work of God, it has relatively a small place. It is a thing of minor importance here, and if taken out of its place it becomes a curse and not a blessing. God loves a cheerful giver, but He never lowers Himself into the position of grasping from man all He can get, as though it were of importance to Him. If we give, then let us give with icy and cheerfulness. If we aim at inciting others to give, as Paul was doing here, let us avoid every method and every artifice which would be unworthy of the God whom we profess to serve. Our chapters afford us further instruction on this subject which we must notice. There is a very clear statement of THE PRINCIPLE which underlies all giving, especially when, as here, it is a case of giving between believers. The apostle states it in these words: "I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality" (2 Corinthians 8:13, 14). He goes on to confirm his words by a quotation from the Old Testament showing that the rich had nothing over, and at the same time the poor had no lack. At the moment when Paul wrote the need was amongst the saints in Jerusalem and the supply was found amongst the Gentile saints who had been reached through Paul’s labours. A tide of supply was consequently to flow from the latter to the former. In process of time the situation might be exactly reversed, and then the tide should flow in the opposite direction. In the physical creation, as we have often been told, "Nature abhors a vacuum." So it is also in the spiritual realm. We must remember, then, that the principle which governs our giving is this, if indeed we give as to the Lord. Our natural tendency is to give according to whim or fancy, according to our likes and dislikes, to give more largely to those whom we like and favour and to withhold from those whom we do not like, even though their need be great, and in so acting we serve our own pleasure and not the Lord. Another thing which comes clearly into view in these chapters is THE METHOD which should be pursued in our giving, and not only in our giving, but in the way the gift should be handled by those who have the business of dealing with it. Paul himself was the chief trustee in connection with this collection made amongst the Gentile assemblies, and he took great care that all should be administered with openness and integrity. His own words are, "Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us: providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men" (2 Corinthians 8:20, 21). In pursuance of this care he associated with himself no less than three brethren, one of them Titus, who was Paul’s nominee in the matter. The other two were messengers of the churches and chosen by them for this service. Of these two, one was much esteemed as an evangelist, the other was noted for his diligence. It is worthy of note that it is only in connection with the righteous distribution of monetary or other benefits that we find the church choosing the men to be employed. The church chose the seven men of good report who were to properly distribute the daily ration, as recorded in Acts 6:1-15. The disciples at Antioch sent the relief they collected for the brethren in Judea by men of their own choice in Acts 11:1-30. In our passage again we find men acting that were selected by the churches, so that the principle that those who give are the ones to determine who shall handle the gifts evidently has Divine sanction. We have no record in Scripture of the church choosing evangelists, pastors or teachers, or of selecting the elders or bishops who shall exercise rule and oversight. No such authority is committed to the church; it is vested in the Lord. Lastly we may consider THE EFFECT of giving such as is contemplated here. The effect upon the giver varies. If he gives sparingly he reaps sparingly; if he gives bountifully he reaps bountifully. Still, he reaps; and usually in spiritual things. He who sows seed by dispersing abroad what he has to give has to do with a God, "who is able to make all grace abound." ALL grace, be it noted — grace of every kind - grace in spiritual things and grace in material things. The consequence of this is that the liberal giver is "enriched in every way unto all free-hearted liberality" (2 Corinthians 9:11, N. Tr.). He is enriched by God so that his giving may go on and expand. This enrichment may not take the form of material things; it may please God rather to enrich him in spiritual things, so that he who began by giving a little money may end by dispensing a rich store of spiritual blessing. There is also, of course, the reward which the future will bring, the increase in the fruits of righteousness which may be expected in the coming days, but this is not the main point here. Still it is strictly true here that as we sow we reap. Many believers who have to complain of lack of joy and liberty and freshness, and who pass their time in a state of chronic weakness, would find the solution of their troubles just at this point. The explanation lies in their lack of compassion and generosity and openness of heart and hand. In one word, they are selfish. The effect upon those who benefit by the free-hearted liberality is that their hearts, discerning the real source of the gift, are lifted in praise to God. The service "is abundant also by many thanksgivings to God," and God is glorified. Thus not only are the wants of the saints supplied, but there is a harvest for God Himself in which He delights. Upon the onlooker, such as Paul himself was in this case, the effect is similar to that produced in the recipients. In thus giving, the saints were reflecting to others the grace which they had received, and Paul delighted in it. His thoughts were naturally diverted from the reflection to the great reality which produced the reflection, and lifting up his soul he closes the chapter with the joyous outburst, "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift." The smallest gift of the humblest believer, if offered in THE NAME, is a reproduction and a reminder of the unspeakable gift, and is consequently fragrant; acceptable to God, and promoting praise in those who behold it. Will it not be worthwhile for every one of us to diligently cultivate the grace of GIVING? ======================================================================== CHAPTER 97: 096 FROM MAN'S WRETCHEDNESS TO GOD'S GREATNESS ======================================================================== From Man’s Wretchedness to God’s Greatness. Psalms 77:1-20. An Address by F. B. Hole. (Extracted from Scripture Truth Vol. 11, 1919, page 74.) Introduction. One of the attractive things about the Psalms is the way they present to us experimental truth. We are permitted to see the practical working of the truth in the experience of favoured saints of old, so that, no matter what our experiences may be, we can always find in the Psalms some allusion to feelings of a like kind. We are made to feel that after all our experiences are not absolutely unique, and that there are others who have tasted the same things. Now this 77th Psalm is as highly experimental as any we can find. You will notice it is a Psalm of Asaph. There are a group of these Psalms, all written by the same sweet singer. They begin with the 73rd. The second Book of Psalms ends with that magnificent millennial Psalm, the 72nd; the Psalm which gives us such a wonderful view of the glories of the coming kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, that the Psalmist himself felt he had nothing left to pray for. He saw the consummation of all his desires in the day of the King who was coming. The glimpse he got by the Spirit of the coming kingdom was so satisfying that it left him without a prayer on his lips. The next Psalm opens in a very different strain. It is the perplexity of Asaph, the godly man, at the apparent prosperity of evil on the earth. He could not understand it. The godly seemed to be perplexed and plagued, and the wicked to flourish. He felt tempted to utterly abandon all faith in God; his steps had well-nigh slipped. But at last he went into the sanctuary of God, and there, in the presence of God — as far as he might know it in those days — he found the solution of the problem. I think you will find there is a distinct progression in these Psalms. Psalms 74:1-23 is a lament. It is the kind of lament which the godly Jews in a coming day will take on their lips, when they see the devastation wrought on the earth by the powers of evil, headed up in Antichrist. Then we pass on to Psalms 75:1-10, which announces God’s judgment, and Psalms 76:1-12., which anticipates the divine triumph at the beginning of the millennial age, when "the stout-hearted are spoiled . . . they have slept their sleep . . . and none of the men of might have found their hands." This probably had a preliminary fulfilment in the great deliverance wrought in the days of Hezekiah, but its exhaustive fulfilment will be in the coming day. That will be the time, as the ninth verse says, when "God arises in judgment, to save the meek of the earth," to make manifest before men at large the truth which Asaph says he learned in the sanctuary of God in Psalms 73:1-28. Mental and Spiritual Difficulties. In Psalms 77:1-20 Asaph unfolds to us the mental and spiritual difficulties through which he passed. He went through a very depressing and trying time, and he rehearses the matter to us from the beginning. "I cried unto God, with my voice, and He heard me." A saint never does cry to God without being heard. From verses 2 to 6, Asaph tells us what was the state of his mind. The fact is, he was afflicted with a dreadful attack of introspection, which is only another word far self-occupation. Some of us may get occupied with ourselves because we are naturally of that turn of mind and therefore very apt to turn in upon ourselves. We think that in doing so we are seeking the Lord, as Asaph did, for he says, "In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord." As a matter of fact, however, he was seeking some point of rest and comfort in himself, for he goes on to tell us, "My sore ran in the night, and ceased not; my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled." Think of that! You would expect that a saint could not think of God without a song on his lips. No, he remembered God, and was troubled, because, although he remembered God, what was filling the vision of his soul was simply himself. "I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed." He felt absolutely at the end of his resources; sleepless by night, and as though he could not speak to anybody by day (ver. 4). We might well have asked, "Asaph, what have you been dwelling upon?" If we want to be happy, we must dwell on happy subjects. If you come across one who is always dwelling on unsavoury things, you will find such a one a very unsavoury individual. A person who is always dwelling upon mournful subjects, invariably goes about with a long face. You may say, "I do get so depressed and cast down." Do not dwell on the gloomy side. Is it not possible to have the eye of your heart lifted off to that which is bright? He tells us in verses 5 and 6 the things that had been occupying his thoughts. "I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times." I have been thinking about bygone history. Old Christians are very apt to be troubled like this. They think the former days were vastly better than these. It is doubtless true that twenty-five years ago there was more interest among the saints of God, and in the work of God. We look back, and say, "Ah, those bright days of twenty-five or thirty years ago." We find Asaph had known brighter days personally. If conditions had been better, as connected with his circumstances, conditions had also been brighter in his soul. "I call to remembrance my song in the night." I was so happy; I remembered when I could have laid awake on my bed, and sung to God." "I communed with my own heart." "My spirit made diligent search." Yes, but in what direction? Evidently within. Now this is most depressing work. Some of us have experienced it. Some of us may not be as bright to-day as we might have been, because of this habit of looking within. We consult our own feelings, and are occupied with ourselves or our circumstances. There are many dear children of God being robbed of their birthright in the way of spiritual joy, and happiness and power, because of that habit. Such is the subtlety of this kind of thing that its effect is to make us doubt, not ourselves — not to make us so conscious of our own utter worthlessness that we say self is no longer worthy of being cultivated — but to make us doubt God. This was the effect with Asaph. It raised a whole host of questions — not about himself, but about God. He says, "Will the Lord cast off for ever? Will the Lord be favourable no more? Is His mercy clean gone for ever? Does His promise fail for evermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Hath He in anger shut up His tender mercies?" Here are six questions, all casting reflections upon God. You will find that is the spirit in the world around. All these calamities that have come upon the civilized world are being seized upon and made an excuse to blame God. Here Asaph actually doubts the Lord. There may be some one here who has had an experience of that kind. You have felt you would almost doubt God Himself. Then there comes that little word "Selah" — stop! It is about time we did stop when we can actually question the mercy and graciousness of God. In verse 10 Asaph appears to start as a man awakening out of sleep, and he says, "This is my infirmity." Perhaps he had been thinking previously that all this self-occupation with its attendant misery was very pious and very right. There are dear Christian people who are in a state of inward misery, and they in a way pride themselves on being in that state. If they were not miserable, they would begin to be miserable because they were not miserable. The fact is that all this kind of thing is our infirmity. It is a great thing to label things by their right names. This is INFIRMITY, and not piety! The Cure. Now what is the cure? I am afraid our circumstances have occupied a great deal of our thoughts, and we get no strength whatever from being so occupied. Look at the contrast in verse 10: "I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High." This is something which stretches far outside the little course of time’s history. The mind of Asaph was lifted up to things beyond the stars. He left himself with his wretchedness and littleness behind him when he began to remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. "I will remember," he says, "the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old." He is speaking of the God who marches through the circumstances. "I will talk of thy doings." Suppose, brethren, we could walk a little bit in Asaph’s footsteps, what a transformation it would produce. Suppose we fix the eye of our hearts, not on the seen things, not on the failings of our brethren and on the peculiar things they say and do, but on the God who marches through the circumstances, who works His sovereign will, who has revealed Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is going to let the right hand of His power be seen in a way we have never yet seen it: we should be transformed! There could not be a greater contrast than between the spirit of these early verses of the Psalm and the spirit of verse 13. He says, I will get before my soul the works of the Lord. "Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary. Who is so great a God as our God." The man begins to triumph. If I may adopt the language of Romans 7:1-25, he was previously saying, "Who is so wretched a man as I am?" Now he says, "Who is so great a God as our God?" We see here the change that was wrought in a man when he got the eye of his heart off his circumstances, and on to God. It is like Psalms 73:1-28, where Asaph went into the sanctuary and got the problems and difficulties solved. So he says here, "Thy way is the sanctuary." If we seek the presence of God, we shall understand His way. Then he tells us God’s way is a redeeming way: "Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known." Let us take it to heart. God’s way is in the sea. Amidst the masses of mankind, amidst all the jangle and strife of the various races that inhabit Europe, so like the sea, which represents people in unrest and anarchy; God’s way is there. His path is in the great waters. When men are agitated, and start their movements, not in the least knowing where they are going, God moves through all the conflict. His footsteps are not known. In another way they are known, because He has led His people "like a flock, by the hands of Moses and Aaron." Moses and Aaron have been superseded, as the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us, by One who is infinitely greater than Moses and Aaron, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. He is the true Moses, the true Revealer: and the true Aaron, the true Priest who holds up His people and leads them on. These are His footsteps through the raging billows of Europe today. While His people are here, He leads them. If you and I get into the sanctuary with God, if we get our eyes on God and His things — the eternal things, we shall see more clearly what His way is. We shall learn His strength — that which will supply us with the energy we need. ======================================================================== Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/hole-fb-fb-hole-library-volume-1/ ========================================================================