Philemon~Philippians~Colossians

Philemon ~ Philippians ~ Colossians Growing in Love, Joy and Knowledge1 The “Prison Epistles” “And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” (Acts 28:30, 31)

“Four men left Rome in A.D. 62 bound for Turkey. These men had four of the most sublime compositions of the Christian faith. When these men bade farewell to the Apostle Paul, each was given an epistle to bear to his particular constituency. These four letters are in the Word of God, and they are designated the “Prison Epistles of Paul,” since he wrote them while he was imprisoned in Rome. He was awaiting a hearing before Caesar Nero. The four men and their respective places of abode were: (1) Epaphroditus from Philippi who had the Epistle to the Philippians. (2) Tychicus from Ephesus who had the Epistle to the Ephesians. (3) Epaphras from Colosse who had the Epistle to the Colossians. (4) Onesimus, a runaway slave from Colosse who had the Epistle to Philemon, his master. These epistles present a composite picture of Christ, the church, the Christian life, and the interrelationship and functioning of all. These different facets present the Christian life on the highest plane.” ~ Bible Studies on Doctrine of the Church by Jerald Finney (cited 10/25/2017) {Philemon} is one of three {to five (seven if you count 1&2 Timothy)} “prison epistles” (the others being Ephesians and Colossians {with Philippians and Hebrews}) written by Paul during his house arrest in Rome, and delivered by Tychicus. Evidently Onesimus accompanied Tychicus (Ephesians 6:21; Colossians 4:7-9) as he carried the three letters to Asia.

The act of sending Onesimus back to Philemon with the request that he be received as a brother beloved, with the offer to repay any debt incurred by the flight of Onesimus, gives a unique insight into the character of Paul. It was not politically expedient in that day to argue for the abolition of slavery, but a brotherly relation between master and slave would render it almost meaningless. In fact, this little epistle was widely used centuries later for the very purpose of promoting the abolition of slavery in Christian countries.

“If this disposition was adopted, then Onesimus would have remained a slave no longer—at least practically speaking. This is virtually a “proclamation of emancipation” without the specific words, “free him,” being spoken. There may be no document in all history that has done more to remedy the evil of slavery than has Paul’s letter to Philemon.”2 Perhaps this is one reason why the Holy Spirit inspired such a short and personal letter and led to its incorporation in the canon of Scripture. In any case, the epistle of Philemon 1) A suggested theme “Title” from the A.B.A. “Through-the-Bible Series” 2017 Fall Adult Quarterly; Bogard Press.

2) Jackson, Wayne. “Paul’s Two-Year Roman Imprisonment.” ChristianCourier.com. Access date: September 6, 2017.

has always been accepted both as Pauline and as canonical by all scholars, even by liberal critics.

The epistle to the Colossians was apparently written at the same time as that to Philemon, both being carried by Tychicus from Rome in connection with the return of Philemon’s runaway slave, Onesimus (see Colossians 4:7-9, 17; Philemon 2, 10). As noted in the Introduction to Ephesians, it is very likely that Tychicus also brought Paul’s letter to the Ephesians on this trip.

The Ephesian epistle thus seems clearly designed for use in any church at all, and the probability is that Paul meant it as a circular letter, to be shared with all the churches in Asia.

It may even be the same as the letter to Laodicea mentioned in Colossians 4:16. ... he made several allusions to his imprisonment in this Ephesian epistle (Eph. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20) “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, ...”

Paul introduces himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. It is said that Ephesians was the first of the prison epistles written by him. The fact of his literally being in prison furnishes the occasion for his expression of his relationship to Christ. That is, he had no choice but to be fully obedient to Christ if he would be acceptable with Him. We are not t o understand that he was forced to do the will of Christ. He was a prisoner of Christ on behalf of the Gentiles. He has been called as an apostle to preach the gospel to those nations who were not Jews and to further the cause of the church among them. 3

Like Ephesians and Colossians, Philippians was one of Paul’s “prison epistles” (note Philippians 1:7, 13-14, 16), though it was probably written some time later than the others.

Tychicus carried the Colossian, Ephesian and Philemon epistles to Asia, whereas Philippians was taken to Philippi by Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25). The prison from which Paul wrote these epistles has been taken by some as being at Ephesus, on the strength of such Scriptures as 1 Corinthians 15:32 and 2 Corinthians 1:8-10, even though the accounts of Paul’s several visits to Ephesus and the two years and more which he spent there (e.g., Acts 19:10) make no mention of any imprisonment at Ephesus.

It seems more likely that Paul wrote Philippians during his house arrest at Rome. Note the references, for example, to “the palace” and “Caesar’s household” (Philippians 1:13; 4:22).

Although it cannot be proved beyond question, there thus seems a strong probability that Paul was the author of Hebrews, which would mean that the New Testament contains fourteen Pauline epistles and seven general epistles. The date of writing must have been well before a.d. 70 (this also would fit a Pauline authorship); otherwise this exposition for Hebrew Christians would surely have alluded in some way to the Roman destruction of the city that year. The comment that “they of Italy salute you” (Hebrews 13:24) might suggest that the epistle to the Hebrews of the dispersion (that is, those “scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia”—1 Peter 1:1) was one of the prison epistles, written while Paul was under house arrest in Rome (Acts 28:30).4

TWO YEARS UNDER HOUSE ARREST. These verses constitute the end of the book of Acts; however, they do not relate the end of Paul’s life or ministry, nor do they tell the end of the gospel era. It is certainly safe to 3) Fred G. Stevenson, 26 Studies in Galatians and Ephesians, “Studies In, Ephesians 3.”

4) Henry M. Morris, Morris Bible Notes, from the Introduction to Philemon, Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians and Hebrews.

assume that Paul continued to preach and teach as long as he had the opportunity to do so, and this should be true of all of God’s churches and people. May we always preach and teach “with all confidence.”

Dwelling in a “Hired” House. As was noted previously, Paul was permitted to rent a house in Rome at his own expense in which he was kept under house arrest. Although a guard was with the apostle constantly, he did have freedom of movement within the house and was allowed to entertain friends and any others who wanted to visit with him. What happened after the two years had passed is not known. Some biblical scholars believe Paul was released for a while and imprisoned again later, after which he was executed. Others believe that he went from house arrest to a cell where he remained until he was executed.

There is no factual evidence in the Scriptures or otherwise that substantiates either of these views. It is generally held that Paul wrote the epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon during the two years which were mentioned in this verse. Some scholars believe that 1 Timothy, Titus and Hebrews—if Paul is the author of Hebrews—were also prison epistles. The Epistle of 2 Timothy, Paul’s final letter, was definitely written from a cell with the apostle’s impending execution a foregone certainty (2 Tim. 4:6-9).

Preaching and Teaching About Jesus.

This (verse 31) recounts Paul’s final triumph in the book of Acts. Although he was a Roman prisoner, he continued to witness faithfully and fearlessly for his Lord. He was not free to come and go, but he was able to minister to all who visited with him. The phrase no man forbidding him was translated from a single Greek word which essentially meant, “openly and without hindrance.” An example of the effectiveness of Paul’s witnessing during his imprisonment can be seen in the fact that Onesimus was saved during that time (Philemon 10). Paul undoubtedly also used his contacts with his guards and other Roman officials to witness to them. (Compare with Phil. 1:13; 4:22.) Whether he was fettered or free, Paul’s greatest concern was “the furtherance of the gospel” (Phil. 1:12).5

Paul and the Welsh Baptists About fifty years before the birth of our Savior, the Romans invaded the British Isle, in the reign of the Welsh king, Cassibellan. This effort to conquer the Welsh nation failed, due to diversion to other and more important wars. However, the Romans made peace with them, and lived among them many years.6 Davis further elaborated, “During that period many of the Welsh soldiers joined the Roman army, and many families from Wales visited Rome; among whom there was a certain woman of the name of Claudia, who was married to a man named Pudence. At the same time, Paul was sent a prisoner to Rome, and preached there in his own hired house, for the space of two years, about the year of our Lord 63. Pudence and Claudia his wife, who belonged to Caesar’s household, under the blessing of God on 5) ADULT LESSON COMMENTARY, Sunday School, Vol. 4, No. 1, Lesson 14 A Missionary’s Ministry in Rome, issued June 1, 2003. Prepared by Charles Law, Clayton Shook and O. H. Griffith. BAPTIST SUNDAY SCHOOL COMMITTEE of the American Baptist Association, 4605 N. State Line Ave., Texarkana, TX 75503-2928.

6) J. Davis, p. 6, The History of the Welsh Baptists, from the Year 63 to the Year 1770, Pittsburgh: D.M. Hogan, 1835 —

Paul’s preaching, were brought to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, and made a profession of the Christian religion.”7 Whether any of the apostles ever preached in Britain cannot be proved,... The fact, we believe, is this: the Welsh lady, Claudia, and others, who were converted under Paul’s ministry in Rome, carried the precious seed with them, and scattered it on the hills and vallies of Wales; and since that time, many thousands have reaped a most glorious harvest. They told their countrymen around, what a dear Savior they had found; they pointed to his redeeming blood, as the only way whereby they might come to God. The Welsh can truly say: if by the transgression of a woman sin came into the world, it was through the instrumentality of a woman, even painted Claudia, that the glorious news of the gospel reached their ears, and they felt it to be mighty through God, to pull down the strong holds of darkness.

How rapidly did the mighty gospel of Christ fly abroad! The very year 63, when Paul, a prisoner, was preaching to a few individuals, in his own hired house in Rome, the seed sowed there is growing in the Isle of Britain. We have nothing of importance to communicate respecting the Welsh Baptists, from this period to the year 180, when two ministers by the names of Faganus and Damicanus, who were born in Wales, but were born again in Rome, and there becoming eminent ministers of the gospel, were sent from Rome to assist their brethren in Wales.8 In his “Introductory Essay” to Orchard’s History, J. R. Graves made reference to the statements of J. Davis. He further wrote, “These, together with other Welshmen, among the Roman soldiers, who had tasted that the Lord was gracious, exerted themselves on the behalf of their countrymen in Wales, who at that time were vile idolaters.

That the gospel was extensively spread in Britain during this period, we learn from Tertullian and Origin. In the year 130 there were two ministers by the name of Faganus and Damianus, who were born in Wales, but were born again in Rome, and there becoming eminent ministers of the gospel, were sent from Rome to assist their brethren in Wales (Crosby vol. 11, p. 13)”9 Concerning the reference to Tertullian, who wrote about the middle of the second century, Davis first made reference to the words of David in Psalm 19:4, “Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. After mentioning several nations, he stated “...but also the boundaries of the Spaniards, all the different nations of the Gauls, and those parts of BRITAIN which are inaccessible to the Romans, are become subject to Christ.”

7) J. Davis, p. 7 and citing 2 Timothy 4:21, Fox’s Acts and Monuments, p. 137. See also Dr. Gill and Matthew Henry, on 2 Tim. 4:21. Godwin’s Catalogue. Crosby’s History of the English Baptists, preface to vol. 2. Drych y prif oesoedd, p. 179.

8) J. Davis, pp. 6-7 and citing Dr. Heylin’s Cosmography, lib. 1, p. 257. Drych y prif oesoedd, p. 190.

9) J. R. Graves, “Introductory Essay,” Orchard’s A Concise History of Baptists, pp. xxi-xxii.

Davis cited Origen, who posed the question when he wrote about 220 A. D, “...when, before the advent of Christ, did the land of Britain AGREE in the worship of one God? He answered his question concerning the extensive and rapid spread of Christianity by emphasizing the “persuasion of the apostles of Jesus Christ was given of God, persuading men to believe by the efficacy and power of the Holy Spirit; and therefore quickly and swiftly did the word run through the world,...”

Davis also quoted Eusebius who enumerated several nations as people among whom the apostles preached the gospel of Christ, ...he mentions particularly that some of them passed over the ocean to the British islands. That some of the apostles preached the gospel in the British islands, he was probably informed by Constantine himself, to whom he was well known; or received it from some of the emperor’s countrymen, who were then in his court; or of the British bishops, summoned to the council of Nice, where, in all likelihood, some of them made their appearance.10 Davis also suggested, The supposition that Paul preached the gospel in Britain is not altogether without foundation. About six years ago [1829], a polished stone, of about eight feet in length, was found embosomed eight feet in the earth, near Llandilo Vawr, in Carmarthenshire, with this inscription upon it in the Welsh language: “Near this place has the apostle Paul been preaching the gospel—A. D. 64.”11 The origin of the Welsh Baptists is accounted for by Davis in his history, ... as follows: In A. D. 63, while Paul was a prisoner at Rome, a Welsh lady and her husband, whose name was Pudens, visiting in Rome, were converted under Paul’s preaching. They were referred to in Acts 28:30 and II Tim. 4:21. These people carried the gospel into Wales.12

~> An Important Reminder for New Testament students <~ The late inimitable Dr. Fred G. Stevenson, instructor in Bible languages and Bible subjects at the Missionary Baptist Seminary, repeatedly said: “The great doctrinal point I have tried to put over in recent years, with doubtful success, is that the New Testament is not the discussion of a new plan of salvation, but it is rather the discussion of a new way of God’s dealing with His special people in the world, this special people being the church.”

This axiom, with its many corollaries, you must understand and apply in order to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be a s h a m e d , r ig h t ly d i vi d in g t h e wo r d o f t ru t h .”

10) Davis, pp. 176-179.

11) Robert Ashcraft, Contending For the Faith.

12) Ben M. Bogard, etc., Sermons & Lessons: The Baptist Way-Book; PART II ~ The Historical Way, CHAPTER X ~ The Way Traced From America to Palestine.

~ “PHILEMON” ~ “He, the dearly Beloved” “SALUTATION” Key words: “for loves sake” (v. 9)”a brother beloved” (v. 16), “receive” (v. 17).

Doctrinal: “Imputation” (v. 18).

{“put that on mine account”}1314 Paul greets Philemon, and all at his place, Praises their conduct, and wishes them Grace, Pleads for Onesimus, calling him son, Pledges to right any wrong he has done. {KJB Intro & text} ~ 1 - Paul, 4 - rejoices to hear of the faith and love of Philemon, 8 - whom he desires to forgive his servant Onesimus, 9 - and lovingly to receive him again. ~

Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother,

unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house: Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother. ¶ Wherefore, though I might be much bold in Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient, Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me: Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels: Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel: But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.

13) I. M. Haldeman, How to Study the Bible: “the meaning and purport of each book of the Bible.”

14) v. 18 on mine account. Paul, by his own signature, offers to repay anything Onesimus owed Philemon (Philemon 19). This is a striking human application of the divine principles of imputation (Romans 4:4-8), and substitution (II Corinthians 5:21).

Onesimus was unable to pay his debt, just as we are unable to satisfy our own debt of sin against our Maker. Paul, however, was willing to pay the price because of his love for his young convert, just as the Lord Jesus Christ “loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).~ Henry M. Morris: The Defenders Bible notes on Philemon.

For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever; Not now a s a servant, but a bov e a serva nt, a broth er beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord? If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself. If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account; I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides. Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the L o rd: r efresh m y b ow els in t he L ord.

Ha v ing confi denc e in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say. But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.

There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus; Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. ¶ Written from Rome to Philemon, by Onesimus a servant.

Onesimus.

I. — A Runaway Slave. Onesimus had fled from the mountains of Phrygia, to escape from the service of a master conspicuous for his goodness and love (Philemon 5). By doing so he cast a slur on Philemon’s character as a master: the service which, as a slave, he owed, he refused: he set an example of lawlessness to Philemon’s other slaves: and — to reach Rome — he probably had robbed his master’s till. Behold us all, the Lord’s Onesimus! My sin casts a slur on the God who made me: I have robbed him of the lifelong service that was his due: my unregenerate life has been full of evil example to others: I have wandered far away into the prodigal’s land. And the extreme penalty against a runaway slave was crucifixion.

2. — A Letter. Philemon, wealthy, loving, wronged, hurt; Onesimus, a runaway, a thief, an outcast, a criminal: — now there appears one between, — Paul, a sufferer, a sympathiser, an intercessor, a surety. What does Paul do? “Whom I have sent back to thee in his own person.” The first thing Christ does with a soul is to send it back to God. Sinner or saint, pure or foul, saved or unsaved, we must all get back to God. But how?

With a covering letter only. No excuses, no denials, no vows, no promises; no offers to pay our debt, or to work out our own liability: Onesimus, silently pointing to the letter in his hand, stakes everything on Paul’s influence with Philemon. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (I John i. 2).

3. — Vital Union. Paul presents Onesimus in a way the most awkward possible for Philemon to refuse.

“I beseech thee for my child, Onesimus; — whom I have sent back to thee in his own person, that is, my very heart: . . . if then thou countest me a partner, receive him as myself.” Onesimus comes back, not Onesimus, but a part of Paul: for Philemon to refuse him now, would be, as it were, to strike out Paul’s eye, or to pluck out Paul’s heart. What a picture of Christ’s love! “I in them, and Thou in Me, . . that the world may know that Thou lovedst them even as Thou lovedst Me” (John xvii. 23). Philemon must receive him, so.

4. — A New Birth. ‘But,’ Philemon may say, ‘how can I take back one so false and untrustworthy? a second time he may ruin me utterly.’ Therefore Paul gives back another man. “My child, whom I have begotten in my bonds: [who] perhaps was parted from thee for a season, that shouldest have him for ever.” Paul gives back one born over again; one re-created in his own likeness; the new nature, one with the Holy Father. The child of God is begotten in the bonds of Calvary: Christ reproduces Himself in me, and then He gives me back to God. What a philosophy, too, of the Fall! “Perhaps he was parted from thee for a season, that thou shouldest have Him for ever:” — have in full, have exhaustively. Paul gives back far more than Philemon ever lost: the re-created in the last Adam is a more wonderful being than the Adam who fell.

5. — The Debt. But Onesimus is a bankrupt slave and the debt remains. ‘If my slave,’ Philemon may say, ‘can rob me with impunity, and I merely cancel his debt, how can this be just to my other slaves?’ Paul answers: “If he hath wronged thee at all, or oweth thee aught, put that to mine account, . . . I will repay it.” Paul had not robbed Philemon: but the liability for the debt, by this offer, now passes from Onesimus to Paul: after this, Onesimus is no more in debt. Crucifixion, the extreme penalty of a runaway slave, has been paid in full:

“having blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us, nailing it to the cross” (Col. ii. 14). The redeemed soul is in debt to God no more: the bond is cancelled, because the debt is paid.

6. — A Brother Beloved. So Paul takes the whole liability: Onesimus takes a full discharge: and what is he to Philemon now? “No longer as a slave, but more than a slave” — that is, a slave still, but much more — “a brother beloved.” He was Philemon’s in body before: now, in body and soul. Why? Because the soul has now understood its God; that our God is love, essential, originating, all-comprehensive love: and it has found salvation in simply letting God love it. The state of salvation is the state of love between God and the soul.

“Every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God” (I John iv. 7). Nothing, in heaven or earth, is nearer the heart of God than His redeemed child.

7. — Coming Home. In one point — perhaps the loveliest — the picture fails. Paul had to work on the sympathies of Philemon, to win back his love to Onesimus: in the Gospel it is Philemon who sent Paul after his runaway slave.

And none of the ransomed ever knew How deep were the waters crossed; Nor how dark was the night that the Lord passed through, Ere He found His sheep that was lost: Out in the desert He heard its cry, Sick, and helpless, and ready to die.

O Onesimus, will you present Christ’s letter, on your behalf, to God? God will be certain to hear that plea: none ever came to Him through Christ in vain, “Are you there, Mary?” a blind girl, dying, said to her attendant.

“Yes.” “Have you got a Bible?” “Yes.” “Turn to Heb. vii. 25.” “I have got it.” “Read it.” “He is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him.” “Yes, that is it. Now take hold of my hand, and put my finger on that verse. Is it there?” “Yes.” “Now, my God, I die on that verse.”

“I AM THE DOOR: BY ME IF ANY MAN ENTER IN, HE SHALL BE SAVED” (John x. 9)15

True Christian Fellowship

by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D. “That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus” (Philemon 6).

This one-chapter epistle of Paul to his friend Philemon is essentially a personal request

by Paul that Philemon forgive his runaway slave, Onesimus, and receive him back into “the church in thy house” as a new Christian, recently won to Christ (vv. 2, 10, 15-16). Our text is Paul’s prayer for Philemon and is similar to prayers by him for other believers (e.g., Colossians 1:9-10). It is an appropriate prayer on behalf of any fellow Christian. Its emphasis is on the blessings and responsibilities of true fellowship.

The “communication” of which Paul speaks is the Greek word, koinonia, meaning “fellowship.” That is, genuine Christian faith involves a sharing of one’s life with others of “like precious faith” (II Peter 1:1). That fellowship becomes “effectual” (literally, “full of power,” from the Greek energes, “energizing”) only through recognizing and appreciating all the blessings we have received through Christ.

Paul pointed out that he himself should be counted as a “partner” with Philemon (v.17). Here the Greek is koinonos, practically the same as koinonia. Both Philemon, the wealthy Colossian master, and Onesimus, his runaway bondservant, were Paul’s spiritual children (v.19), so they all theoretically shared “every good thing” in fellowship through Christ. Thus Paul offered to repay anything Onesimus had stolen or any other losses, should Philemon so insist (vv.18-19).

15) D. M. Panton, The Panton Papers.

The demands of Christian fellowship thus might cost Onesimus his freedom, Paul his helper, and Philemon his property. True fellowship is not mere Christian socializing. It is the sharing of love and concern, time and talents, possessions and even life itself, as need and circumstance demand, with others in the household of faith. HMM

~ “PHILIPPIANS” ~ {The Mind of Christ.} 16

{“Being” “Be-ing” ... Let Be: THE Be-Attitude} Doctrinal: Small Reproof, i.e., More Personal And Specific.

“The letter to the Philippians does not reveal any serious problems in the church, in contrast to the problems that had developed in Corinth and Galatia, although there was a certain amount of disharmony that Paul sought to correct before it could develop into something serious (e.g., Philippians 2:2-3; 4:1-3). He also warned them of any potential false teachers from outside, and tried to encourage them in relation to the persecutions which were confronting them (e.g., Philippians 3:2; 1:29){“Beware...Beware...BEWARE“}.

There are many classic passages in this short epistle, especially the marvelous section on the incarnation and future exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5-11). One great theme is that of joy, even in suffering. The words “joy” and “rejoicing” occur some seventeen times in its four chapters.”17

Garner-Howes Commentary: INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPIANS

“This book was written by Paul about A.D. 64 from Rome to the Church at Philippi in Macedonia and to be circulated by bishops and elders among other churches of the Macedonia fellowship of churches. The letter is a receipt of thanks and gratitude for Missionary help from the Church at Philippi in particular. The theme of the Book is Christian experience.

The matter of soundness in doctrine and orderliness in worship and service are assumed to have existed in the Church. The book logically falls under a four part analysis in presenting the Christian experience of each obedient servant of Christ in the Church.

Chapter I considers Jesus Christ as the source and sustenance of the believers life and joy in the face of afflictions and sufferings.

Chapter II considers Christ as the believer’s pattern of humility and joy in lowly service.

Chapter III considers Christ as the believer’s object of faith, desire, and expectation.

Chapter IV considers Jesus Christ as the source of the believers strength and ample help, even in rejoicing over anxieties.”

Key words: RE-JOY-CE. Key verse(s): 1:21; 2:5 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: ”

16) I. M. Haldeman, How to Study the Bible: “the meaning and purport of each book of the Bible.”

17) Henry M. Morris, Morris Bible Notes.

Philippians 1: “Thanksgiving.” {KJB Intro & text} ~ 1 - Paul, ~ 3 testifieth his thankfulness to God, and his love toward them, for the fruits of their faith and fellowship, in his sufferings, ~ 9 daily praying to Him for their increase in grace: ~ 12 - He sheweth what good the faith of Christ had received by his troubles at Rome, ~ 21 and how ready he is to glorify Christ either by his life or death, ~ 27 - exhorting them to unity, ~ 28 - and to fortitude in persecution. ~ Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, wi th the bishops and deacons: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. ¶ I thank my God upon ev ery rememb ra nce of y ou, Alw ay s in ev ery pray er of m ine for y ou a ll making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: ¶ Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.

For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. ¶ And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of right eousness, which a re by Jesus Christ, unto the g lory and praise of God. ¶ But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: But the other of love, k n o w i n g t h a t I a m s e t f o r t h e defence of the gospel.

W h a t t h e n ? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. ¶ For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: y et w ha t I sha ll choose I w ot not. F or I a m in a strait b etw ix t tw o, hav ing a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue

with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. ¶ Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

{Expo} Philippians 1 The Epistle takes up the saints in Philippi at the point where the history in Acts leaves off. They were believers in Christ, and were baptized; before Paul and Silas leave the city.

The epistle is designed to conduct them a stage onward in the faith and hope of the Gospel, both in knowledge and practice, till the coming of Christ to take the millennial kingdom. The Apostle teaches them to seek a place in the glory of the Thousand Years, as the great object set before them by God and Christ. The first stage is, faith in Christ for pardon; and baptism. There is in consequence a natural, though a silent comparison, between the Emperor of the fourth great kingdom of earth, his city, and people; and Christ the King of kings, and the city of God on high.

The spirit of the king and people of Rome is greatly unlike the spirit of Christ. Hence the strong directions given for the formation of an opposite character, in chapter two. The people of Christ are to be humble, gentle, loving, in place of being proud, self-satisfied, and boastful of the city of Rome and her privileges. The kingdom indeed is not named in this epistle: instead of it we have “the Day of Christ,” and “the First Resurrection.” We have in the letter two views of Rome and its spirit; the first as seen in its colony, at a distance from the mother city. (1) In the colony the Apostle is maltreated; (2) in the mother-city he is a prisoner in peril of his life; and the last epistle that he wrote (2 Timothy) shows us his end, in the same city, as very near.

Law appears in two forms in the epistle. First, as in the colony, and at Rome. Then, as exhibited under the emperors. Justice was the nominal principle of government. The law given to Israel was real righteousness. But the principle to be obeyed by those in preparation for the kingdom of Christ, is grace. Over the kingdom of earth, Daniel tells us, that “God setteth up over it the basest of men.” But over the coming kingdom of God, Christ, the one example of perfect righteousness, is to be enthroned in the coming [millennial] Day. And the epistle is designed to teach baptized believers how to reach that millennial glory.

1, 2. “Paul and Timotheus, slaves of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus that are at Philippi, joint-bishops and deacons. Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul commences this epistle taking no title of dignity; but he and Silas enroll themselves as ‘slaves of Jesus Christ.’ It is not said, ‘to the church (assembly) of Philippians;’ but the assembly is divided into (1) saints, (2) elders {bishops}, and (3) deacons. There were several bishops in one city, who ruled the assembly; while the younger men, who were appointed to be deacons, served.

The epistle begins with “Grace {be}unto you.” This is the key to the whole. It shows that the Old Testament, which was founded on law, is set aside. Then follows “peace.”

Settled ‘peace’ cannot be found under law imposed on sinful man. Law works wrath and war; as we see at Mount Sinai. In forty days the sword was sent, and three thousand idolaters slain.

“From God our Father.” This is not said of all men, as if God were the Father of unbelievers; but God is Father of those who are regenerate.

“And from the Lord Jesus Christ.” It is through Christ that the saints have fellowship with God. 3-11. The theme of the epistle is Christ. The state of the Philippians in all but one point was pleasing to Christ, and to His servant Paul. He gives thanks to God, prays on their behalf with joy, glad of their interest in the Gospel, and help toward its advancement. As the Lord had begun to work in them, He would continue it up to ‘the day of Christ’s manifestation and reign.’ Here is a new standard of time. Men in the flesh say, ‘till death.’ But the day of Christ’s revelation might occur before the death of those then alive.

The Apostle had very affectionate feelings towards them, in consequence of their being members of Christ. His affections were attuned to those of Christ.

We are then introduced to the subject of his prayers for them. They had love in their hearts; but they needed the after-knowledge proper to the believer, and observations wisely directed: “Wise as serpents, harmless as doves.”

10, 11. “That ye may distinguish things that differ; that ye may be sincere, and not occasion any to stumble, up to the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of a righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”

They had been good citizens of Caesar and of Rome; but they had now passed over to obey Jesus as their Lord. Caesar was no longer to receive a worship suited to God alone.

They were citizens now of a new kingdom, and of the City of God. Before them were set new standards suited to its new life beyond the grave. Great should be the difference in feeling and conduct between the men of ‘grace’ and ‘peace,’ as compared with the citizens of Rome, professing justice, and living by war. The Spirit that should rule and guide the saint, was not that of Python; but of God, and of Jesus Christ. Much, therefore needed to be laid aside of what was approved at Rome; much to be added to the Philippians of a holiness not approved by the Great City of earth.

The new work of sanctification by Christ and His Spirit, would cause them to bear richly the fruit of the Gospel. This was to spring from the possession, not of their own righteousness [alone]; but [primarily] of that [righteousness] of Christ, imputed to them.

Romans might boast of their own brave and just deeds, before men; but the fruits of their righteousness would bring glory to God. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven;” who had, in infinite wisdom, love and goodness, devised a way, whereby the unrighteous and condemned may be made righteous before Him. ‘The day of Christ’ is twice named; the first time in reference to the work of God, then in reference to their own character: 1:6-10, 12-18.

The Holy Spirit calls on the saints to “distinguish things that differ.” There were before them the systems, (1) of Rome, (2) of Jerusalem below, and (3) of Jerusalem above {“the mother of us all” Ga 4:26}. They had chosen Christ, and they were now to unlearn the maxims and spirit of Rome, and of God’s city of earth, in order that they might be sincere,

and not either stumble themselves, or cause stumbling in others - the limit of the action of these principles being, “till the day of Christ.”

11. “Being filled with the fruit of a righteousness, which (fruit is) by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”

The true reading is ‘Fruit,’ not ‘Fruits.’ The imputed righteousness of Christ is the tree; good words and works are the fruit which arises out of peace with God, through Jesus Christ. The participle “being filled” is in the perfect. The filling is going on now. And this tree does not cast its fruit; but it abides till the day when reward shall be given.

Both the tree and its fruit proceed from Christ and His work. He is the worker of the completed righteousness in which we stand. As in Christ, we are able to bring forth good fruit.

The work of [eternal] salvation is God’s. The Father is the Deviser of the great plan: the Son, the Fulfiller of the righteousness; the Holy Ghost applying the work. It is all to “the glory and the praise of God.” It is not like Paul’s righteousness of law, which bore no good fruit, but led him to boast in the flesh, and to persecute those really righteous before God through the work of Christ.

The Apostle now turns to describe his position at Rome, a matter of the utmost interest to his Philippian converts. And he encourages them to expect his release, and a visit again at Philippi. He does not rest his hope on any view of the state of parties at Rome, or on the effect of any influence of his friends on the mind of Nero; but on the higher ground of the need of the Church of that day, specially at Philippi.

While many supposed that the effect of Paul’s imprisonment would be a heavy blow at the cause of Christ; better results had arisen, than the fears of his friends had suggested.

He was delivered up to be guarded in the Praetorian camp (Acts 28:16), just outside Rome - the barracks of the Emperor’s body-guards. There it soon became known, that his imprisonment was due, not to any crime, or breach of Roman political law; but on religious grounds. The door was open to Romans and others to visit him, and to hear his story. The effect on Christians also was good. It showed that God was able to uphold His servant in the most trying circumstances. They took courage therefore themselves to speak.

Verse 14: There is some difference of reading here.

And it is of importance.

14-16. “Many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the Word of God18 without fear. Some, indeed, proclaim the Christ, even of envy and strife; but some also of goodwill. Some, indeed, out of party-spirit proclaim the Christ, not purely, thinking to add affliction to my chains. But the others of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the Gospel.”

The word spoken of in verse 14, is “the Word of God.” That is a more general expression than “the Word of the Lord.” The latter refers more directly to the New Testament proclamation of Christ.{The “anointed” risen coming King with the ruling class being now called-out as kingdom churches.} 18) “... the word ‘of God’, as the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions read; and so the Alexandrian, Claromontane, and two of Stephens’s copies: meaning either the essential word, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was the subject of their ministry; or the written word, the writings of Moses and the prophets, the books of the Old Testament, according to which they spoke; or the Gospel, called often the word, and sometimes with an addition, the word of truth, the word of faith, the word of reconciliation, the word of righteousness, the word of life, and the word of our salvation, from the several subjects of it: ...” cf. Gill on Php. 1:14.

In the Acts 13:5 we have the preaching both of “the Word of God,” and “the Word of the Lord.” At Salamis in Cyprus, Paul and Barnabas “preached the Word of God in the synagogues of the Jews:”. The deputy of the country “called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the Word of God.” At Antioch, of Pisidia, “came almost the whole city together to hear the Word of God:” ver. 44. The references in these cases relating to the synagogues, and Gentiles seem to show that Paul’s appeal was to the Old Testament Scriptures.

But when at Philippi {Acts 16}, the aroused jailor asks: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” the answer is: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” “And they spake unto him the Word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.”

What is said also in regard of the conversion of Lydia confirms this: Acts 13:14, 15.

In the present passage of Philippians, “the Word of God” introduces the proclamation, not of ‘Christ’ only; but of “the Christ.” By that expression, I believe that ‘the Mystic Christ,’ or Jesus the Head, and believers {“saints”} His members, are meant. Twice we have the proclamation of “the Christ” Php. 1:15, 16. And this suggests, how the opponents of Paul might seek to injure him, through the ignorance at Rome concerning the new faith. The very name ‘Christ’ was one which the Romans were slow to learn; and it seems as if at Rome some spoke of ‘Chreestos’ instead. It was easy to enemies to insinuate, that ‘the Christ’ of Paul’s preaching meant an association dangerous to the authority of the Emperor; and it was expected, that this would draw down on him further affliction. So then Paul’s imprisonment was the means of spreading the knowledge of Christ, and in that, in spite of the partial bitterness it caused to himself, he rejoiced.

19. “For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”

Salvation is, in this epistle, regarded, not in respect of present peace in the soul arising out of reconciliation with God; but as the complete deliverance of spirit, body, and soul “in the Day of Jesus Christ.” The threatenings of foes were to be to the Philippian saints the token of salvation given by God: ver. 28. They were to work out their [future] salvation* in co-operation with God: 2:12. For, like Paul, they were to be pressing on, to gain [by effort = ‘attain’ (3:11) R.V.] a place in the First Resurrection. [* Here is, I believe, the reference is to a future “salvation of souls” mentioned in 1 Peter. 1:5, 9, 13, R.V. Cf. Heb. 10:39; Jas. 1:21, R.V.) etc.]

20. “According to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now, Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.”

“I shall not be ashamed” - that is, at the appearing before Christ. Some will then be ashamed: 1 John 2:28.

“Christ shall be magnified.” In this case, and in the next verse, there is no article before ‘Christ.’ ‘Jesus Christ’ is spoken of, without His members. It was Paul’s aim to glorify Him; and that would be effected, whether the Emperor released him, or caused him to be executed.

21. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

‘All things are working together for good, to those who love God, and are called according to His purpose.’ While Paul lived, he sought the [coming millennial] glory of Christ, and was sustained in his services by the Spirit of God.

But even if he were slain, he would find his new place in ‘Paradise’* to be gain. To be there is to be “with Christ, which is very far better.” [* See Luke 23:43, R.V.] That death should be gain, would not be believed in Rome: it was the King of Terrors.

It is true, and is an immense advance upon law. Under law, death was the judge’s inflection on the transgressor. “I the Lord have said, I will surely do it to this evil congregation, that are gathered together against Me; in this wilderness shall they be consumed, and there shall they die.” At once the unfaithful spies are cut off before the Lord. Even under the prophets, and though Hezekiah was a servant of the Lord, he took it sorely to heart, when sentence of death was passed upon him; and besought a reversal of the sentence. The Lord so far listened as to lengthen his life fifteen years: Isa. 38. Even Hezekiah must say [with reference to the time of Messiah’s coming millennial reign and manifested glory]: “Hadees (Heb.) cannot praise thee; Death cannot celebrate thee.”

The believer’s departing is not now the going into Abraham’s bosom; but the being with Christ.* What joyful news, even though resurrection must be waited for! [* Is there any difference made in Scripture between saved Jews from saved Gentiles?

Do not all dead saints go to the same place in “Sheol” / ‘Hades,’ immediately after their Death; and from there, wait for their Resurrection? Look and see: (Psa. 139:8b; Luke 16:22; 23:45; Rev. 6:9, 11, R.V.] { Faithful “saints” are “set-apart” and “Paradise” is the King’s private reserve, the “Abraham’s bosom” of the N.T. where all true “saints” go. See same vs. in KJV. Baptism is swearing fealty to the King of the resurrection and the coming 1000 year reign; fulfilling the promise of Abraham’s seed and land.} 22-26. “Now if I live in the flesh, this is to me fruit of labour: and what I shall choose I know not. For I am in a strait between two things, having the desire to depart, and be with Christ; for it is very far better; but to abide in the flesh, is more necessary for you. And having this confidence I know, that I shall abide and continue with you all for your advance and joy in faith, in order that your boasting in Christ Jesus in me (my release) may abound, through my presence again with you.”

What would be the consequence to Paul, if his life was spared! Life is the time of labour; and he would so spend it in the service of the Redeemer, that he would receive increased reward. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”1Co 15:58 But there is a better life than that in the flesh. What if he died? Service would be finished; but greater blessing begun. His desire was to depart. For the work of Christ has altered for the better the believer’s sojourn among the dead; while he is waiting in confidence for the resurrection. But Paul, as filled with the Spirit of Christ, regards rather the needs of others, than his own enjoyment. There was much needing to be done for the benefit of the Church, which Paul alone was commissioned to do.

Hence he is persuaded, that, even in the crisis of his appearing before Nero, his life would be spared. For the advance of the people of God in faith, knowledge, and holiness, is of great moment to Christ. And the sparing of the Apostle’s life would make Philippian believers rejoice, when they welcomed him again to their city. Thus Paul, whose politics were of heaven, and not of earth, decides, that the alternative most desired by the Church of Christ should come to pass.

27-30. “Only conduct yourselves as becomes the Gospel of Christ: in order that, whether I come and see you, or whether absent I may hear the news about you; that you are standing fast in one spirit, with one soul

striving together for the faith of the Gospel. And not in anything terrified by the enemies: which is to them a token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it is granted, on behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him, you having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear of, as affecting me.”

In this paragraph the Apostle glances at the internal danger threatening the peace of the Church there. He exhorts them therefore to unity. This prepares the way for his teaching in the next chapter on the tempers required in order to move together in harmony.

They were not to be terrified by opponents who threatened them. Such were themselves manifestly on the way to damnation, in striking at those who were members of Christ. Saints were persecuted, not because of their evil doing; but for their obedience to God. To themselves it was a token, that they were on the right road to the First Resurrection, and its millennial glory. And they were to regard even suffering for Christ’s sake as a gift from God; which, rightly met, would redound to their [millennial and] everlasting glory. To some it is given to believe only. But to suffering with Christ belongs present consolation; as well as millennial reward. Persecution for Christ is a manifest token of the coming righteous judgment of God, “that ye may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God for which ye even suffer:” 2 Thess. 1:5. “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time, are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed unto us:” Rom. 8:18.

The Philippians were in trouble for Christ. The Apostle’s position was still one of conflict. They had seen him in it, when he was in the colony. It was going on more fully in the metropolis. The affliction of the two parties drew them nearer to each other. * * *19

REJOICING WHILE FACED WITH SUFFERING “Paul and Timothy, bondslaves or servants of Jesus Christ,” are senders of this letter. The message is by Paul with Timothy considered to be the scribe, or writer, as directed by Paul.

Though in prison, Paul yet served Jesus Christ.

“To or directed to all the saints in Christ Jesus;” to all the “holy ones” refers to members of the church not only “in” Christ as believers, but also “in Christ” in the sense of the covenant fellowship work of Christ in the church at Philippi.

“To the ones (especially) being in or abiding in Philippi.” This term limits and restricts the persons to whom the letter was addressed to “the saints” (the ones) in Philippi, the particular church, congregation, or assembly that had supported Paul and his mission helpers and projects from the first time he was with them, Php 1:5.

“In colleague or close association with bishops and ministers, or deacons.” The Greek term “sun” means in colleague, or close association with bishops, or pastors, and deacons.

Because the definite article is absent in relationship to plurality of bishops and deacons --- it appears that this letter, first addressed to the Philippian saints, was also to be shared with other bishops (overseers, pastors) and deacons of the greater Macedonian association of churches, who had once begged Paul to take upon him certain missionary and benevolent administrative labors, on their behalf, 2Co 8:1-4,19,20,23,24; 9:1,12,13. There may exist a plurality of elders, (ordained mature brethren of approved pastoral or deacon qualifications) in one church, or a plurality of deacons, but never a plurality of bishops (or overseers) in one 19) Govett, Robert. Select Writings. N. p. {e-Print} The Millennial Kingdom ~ Govett on Philippians. 2017.

church. Though the term elder or elders may sometimes refer to pastors, this is not always true.

“Grace to you all,” let be, or may there be. Grace brings salvation to sinners that results in peace with God, in which Paul gloried, Tit 2:11; Eph 2:8, 9; Ro 5:1.

“From (even the) Father of us.” In the plan of redemption, grace and peace came from the trinitarian God, even the Father, 1Pe 1:18-20.

“And (the) Lord Jesus Christ;” Both grace and peace in regeneration and Christian experience have their initiative source or origin of existence in the Lord Jesus Christ, Joh 1:17; 14:6; 8:32,36.

“I thank the God (trinitarian Deity) of me.” Paul was a person with gratitude toward God for his salvation and call to service, and to individuals and churches which shared with him in the gospel ministry, Ro 1:8,9; 1Co 1:4; Eph 1:16. Every child of God is grateful or grouchy -Which am I? “At or upon every memory {remembrance: or, mention} of you.” The surrendered lives and devotions to Christ which Paul in prison recalled, of the Philippian brethren, caused or was an occasion for his thanksgiving to God for them. See also Col 1:3; 1Th 1:2.

“Always in every petition of mine.” Paul petitioned, stormed the throne of grace often on behalf of the Philippian church and bishops and deacons in colleague with them, Heb 4:15,16.

“On behalf of you all.” Note Paul believed that prayers of saints to God, on behalf of other saints, would be granted, 1Ti 2:1; Jas 5:16.

“Continually making the petition with joy or gladness,” so much like the church began its witnessing ministry and fellowship, Ac 2:42-47.

“Over the fellowship of you in the bearing of the good news.” This refers to the Philippians’ common fellowship in sharing in the gospel of Christ through prayers for and gifts sent to Paul for his mission needs.

“From the first day of our fellowship until the very moment,” again referred to in Php 4:10.

“Being certain, assured, or confident of this very thing,” 2Ti 1:12. “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” {believed: or, trusted} “That the one having begun an inner good work in you;” a work of grace that motivated the brethren to work out or manifest their salvation, Eph 2:10; Php 2:12-13; Jas 1:22; 2:18.

“Will continue, {perform: or, finish}, or complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” This expresses Paul’s assurance of eternal salvation to every child of God. “The work of God” within the believing saint, the operation and sealing of the Holy Spirit, guarantees the soulsecurity of every child of God from the dangers of hell to the bliss of heaven, Joh 6:27-29; Eph 1:13-14; 4:30; Ro 8:11.20

“Prophecies Fulfilling and To Be Fulfilled Before the Coming of Christ.”

The times of the Gentiles must be fulfilled, and their fullness be brought in.

20) Garner Baptist Commentary. Author: Dr. Albert Garner and Elder J. C. Howes; Blessed Hope Foundation. Power BibleCD Phil Lindner: Copyright ©2010 Online Publishing, Inc. bible@mail.com

It is clearly predicted that the present desolated condition of the Jews, and of their city and country, must continue until this second prophecy is fulfilled. The prophecies referring to both events are : 1. “And for the overspreading of abominations he [the king of the North,] shall make it desolate even until the consummation and that determined, shall be poured upon the desolate.”—Dan. 9:27.

2. “And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”—Luke 21:24.

3. “That blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.”—Rom. 11:5, 25.

4. “But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.” —Rev. 11:2.

There are a variety of opinions as to the meaning of these passages. Commentators are divided between these two : (1.) Until the time appointed for the domination of the Gentiles and their oppression of the Jews is accomplished, after which the Jews will return to their land, and rebuild their city.

(2.) Until the full number determined by God to be saved out of the Gentile nation shall come in—i. e., into the kingdom—and be saved.

It is quite clear to my mind that both these views are established by these predictions.

Daniel, Luke and Revelations certainly refer to the time, and Paul manifestly to the complement of a definite number to come in; i. e., to be converted out of the Gentiles.

Let the thoughtful reader examine these suggestions:

1. That Christ and his saints are to reign over all the earth, in the Dispensation to come, is taught in both Covenants. No unregenerate person is to have any share in the government or instruction of the nations in that age.

2. The number of saints required for this “high vocation” will be many millions, since it will require not less than five per cent of the population of a country to govern and instruct it properly.

3. Christ can not come and establish his reign on this earth, until there have been a sufficient number of Jews and Gentiles converted to be associated with him as rulers and instructors—i.e., to subserve the ends of good government and the most perfect instruction of the entire race.

4. If a sufficient number has not yet been saved to accomplish this, Christ can not come to establish his jurisdiction over the nations.

5. When this number is converted and prepared for his service, “he will come and will not tarry.”

6. The mission of his churches, by the preaching of the gospel and the energizing influences of the Holy Spirit, is to gather in this full and required number. The greater, therefore, their zeal, activity and sacrifice, the sooner this end will be accomplished. This appears to me a satisfactory explanation of this perplexing passage, viz.:

“Expecting and hastening the presence of the day of God” (literally translated). The passage, as it stands in our Common Version, is inexplicable.

2Pe 3:12 “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” {hasting…: or, hasting the coming}.~ {cf., Isaiah 16:5}

Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: {perform: or, finish} While all the true lovers of Christ must certainly expect and earnestly long for his coming, they are exhorted to hasten his coming by their efforts, as instruments in God’s hands, to complete the number that must be saved before Christ can come and reign. May we not, therefore, conclude, with reason, that as Jewish saints will in that day reign over the seed of Abraham, when the fullness of Israel has been gathered, that the Dispensation of the Gospel closed to that race, and was given to the Gentiles; so that this Gentile Dispensation of gospel privileges, will be continued until the fullness—the requisite number, known only to the Omniscient— shall have been saved out of all the nations to be associated with Christ “as kings and priests” for the Gentile nations, and will then be suddenly closed by the coming of Christ “to take to himself his great power and reign?”[see also Gal. 4:9; Acts 15:14-17, 18 -ed.]

This is my view of the subject, and, therefore, as I long for the speedy coming of my Saviour, and, that it may even be in my day, I am anxious for the gospel to be preached and the Bible sent to every nation and people of earth, that the fullness of the Gentiles may be speedily gathered in. {“in His time” Isaiah 60:22.}21

“Parable of the Tower.”

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.” Luke 14:28-30.

Deductions.

(1) The establishment, development, and completion of the Church, is here compared to a man “intending to build a tower.”

(2) Jesus Christ evidently intended to build the Church, and certainly He has “counted all the cost,” and is abundantly able to “finish” what He has undertaken, cf. Zechariah. 4:9; 6:12-13; Isaiah 53:10-11 and Philippians. 1:6, et al.

(3) If the Church of Christ ever apostatized, then He was not able to finish the work He has undertaken, and hence, He would justly lay Himself liable to the “mockery” of His enemies, verses 29-30.

Logical Statement.

(a) To say that the Church of Christ apostatized or ceased to exist, is to subject Jesus Christ to the mockery of His enemies. (b) Jesus Christ has not, and will not be thus mocked. (c) Therefore the Church of Christ has been perpetuated to the present moment, and will continue to be so perpetuated, until its final triumphant and glorious consummation.22

21) J. R. Graves, GRAVES’ LANDMARKS, excerpts from Part III Chapter 7 of Seven Dispensations.

22) Frank Lascelles DuPont, The Origin and Perpetuity of the Church of JESUS CHRIST.

Spiritual Boldness In verses 2 to 10 in the third chapter we have the record of Ruth claiming of Boaz the part of kinsman redeemer. Here is spiritual boldness. The law of Moses, which Naomi without doubt had taught her, justified her in this bold request of Boaz. So the Word of God and His rich promises to the believer in Christ justifies us in relying upon and claiming those same promises. “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.

When Ruth claimed of Boaz that he perform the part of kinsman redeemer he told her there was a nearer kinsman than he, and if this man would not do the part of a kinsman that he would do so. This nearer kinsman represents our old nature which is unable to redeem us from sin, and which is unwilling to sacrifice of the things of self for the glory of God. We find in Chapter 4 and verse 6 that this nearer kinsman refuses to redeem the inheritance lest he mar his own. Here is the selfishness of the flesh asserting itself. The name of this man is forgotten, while the name of Boaz who was willing to perform the part of kinsman redeemer became famous. In saving his life he lost it, while Boaz in losing his found it. “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Matt. 16:25.

When Ruth informed Naomi of the promise of Boaz, Naomi said unto her, “Sit still my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing today.” Ruth 3:18. So will Christ finish what he hath begun. “He that hath begun a good work in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ.” Phil. 1:6.23

Physical and Emotional Circumstances First, while it is true that Paul was granted some rather unusual liberties, as mentioned earlier (see Acts 28:16, 30-31), nonetheless, he was still a prisoner. This circumstance in itself imposes considerable stress. Hence, in his correspondence, he refers to himself as “the prisoner of Christ” (Eph. 3:1) or “the prisoner of the Lord” (Eph. 4:1), who is an “ambassador in chains” (6:20). Chains were commonly viewed as an object of shame (cf. 2 Tim. 1:16). Note the multiple references to his “bonds” or to his state as a “prisoner” (Phil.

1:7, 13, 14, 17; Col. 4:18; Philemon 1, 9, 23). It is obvious that the apostle’s status as a prisoner was a constant reminder of the sacrifices that sometimes are a necessary component of the Christian life. {The crime? “that blessed hope” ... “for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”}

Second, there is another factor which doubtless was a source of considerable grief to this rugged soldier of Jesus—as reflected even in a letter known for its joyful tone (the Philippian epistle). It was a spiritual wound more devastating than any physical injury.

As Paul began his work in the seven-hilled city, he attracted considerable attention and his influence was staggering. The labor of the Christian-prisoner became known “throughout the whole praetorian guard” (Philippians 1:13). The praetorian guard was a body of ten thousand specially selected soldiers in Rome. They had unusual privileges (e.g., double pay), becoming so powerful that even the emperors had to court their favor (Robertson 1931, 438).

The apostle’s influence even went beyond this group unto “all the rest,” which probably indicates that his reputation was known throughout the entire city. Amazingly, there is even a reference to saints in “Caesar’s household,” i.e., those in and about the emperor’s palace (Phil. 4:22).

23) The Teachings of Elder G. E. Jones: “The Gospel In Ruth“ A Story of How Christ Purchased His Bride.

The gospel had penetrated deeply into the heart of this metropolis. Through Paul’s example, the majority of the Roman Christians were “more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear” (Phil. 1:14). What thrilling times these must have been.

But there were disappointments as well. Unfortunately, some members of the Roman congregation apparently did not like the notoriety Paul had generated. They were characterized by “envy” (a feeling of displeasure caused by the success of Paul) and “strife” (selfish ambition) (Phil. 1:15).

Fueled by these base attitudes, this renegade group went forth “preaching Christ.” The content of their message did not warrant censure; rather, it was their motives that elicited the apostle’s rebuke—they were insincere and pretentious. But what was their goal? Incredibly, they hoped “to raise up affliction” for the already-burdened Paul. It is not difficult to imagine a scenario. They might have proclaimed that Jesus Christ is “King”—a point very sensitive to the Roman authorities (cf., Acts 17:7). When interrogated by the officials, these antagonists might well have suggested, “You can take this matter up with Paul, the prisoner. He is the most prominent leader of our movement.” Can anything more wicked be imagined?

Surely the weary apostle spent some sleepless nights praying for the regeneration of these evil hearts. In spite of all this heartache, however, Paul could still muster a generally jubilant spirit. “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice,” he would write (Philippians 4:4). As unpleasant as his circumstances sometimes were, he could affirm that the things which had happened to him had worked for the “progress” {“furtherance” KJB} of the gospel (Phil. 1:12).

“Progress” is from the Greek term prokopen, derived of two roots (pro, “forward,” and kopto, “to cut”). Originally the word was employed of “a pioneer cutting his way through brushwood” (Vine 1991, 334). Paul views his troubles in the most positive light possible; they were like an advance party, preparing the way for the success of the gospel. He even believes that these difficulties will work out to his “salvation” (Phil. 1:19), i.e., his “deliverance” (NASB) from this perilous situation in Rome.

An analysis of contexts of this nature, in these “prison” epistles, therefore, can throw a floodlight on Paul’s trials and his courageous spirit during this two-year confinement period.24

“MEN NOT TERRIFIED” John Noyes, kissing the stake, said, “Blessed be the time that ever I was born for this day.”

To his fellow-martyrs he said, “We shall not lose our lives in this fire, but change them for a better, and for coals have pearls.” John Huss said to a countryman who threw a fagot at his head, “Oh, holy simplicity, God send thee better light! You roast the goose now, but a swan shall come after me, and he shall escape your fire.” Huss, a goose in the Bohemian language; and Luther, a swan. Castilla Rupea:-- “Though you throw my body down off this steep hill, yet will my soul mount upwards again. Your blasphemies more offend my mind than your torments do my body.” Doctor Taylor, as he was going to martyrdom: “I shall this day 24) Jackson, Wayne. “Paul’s Two-Year Roman Imprisonment.” ChristianCourier.com. Access date: September 6, 2017. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/144-pauls-two-year-roman-imprisonment

deceive the worms in Hadley churchyard,” and fetching a leap or two when he came within two miles of Hadley, “Now,” saith he, “lack I but two stiles, and I am even at my Father’s house.” --Bib. Ill.

Phil. 1:23 Considered.

We give the following rendering of the Emphatic Diaglott: “Therefore for me to live is for Christ, and to die gain. But if to live in the flesh, this is to me a fruit of labor; and what I should choose I do not exactly know.”

Paul could not choose between life and death, but another thing he lusted for, because it was “by far more better.”

“I am indeed hard pressed by the two things—(I have an earnest desire for the returning, and being with Christ since it is very much to be preferred). But to remain in the flesh is more requisite on your account.”

Then the following foot note: “The loosing again or returning, being what Paul earnestly desired, could not be death or dissolution, as implied by the word depart in the common version, because it seemed a matter of indifference to him, which of the two-life or death-he should choose; but he longed for the analusai, which was a third thing, and very much to be preferred to either of the other two things alluded to. The word analusai occurs in Luke 12:36, and is there rendered return. “Be you like men waiting for their master when he will return,” etc. Jesus had taught his disciples that he would come again, or return. John 14:3. Thus, also, the angels said to them at the ascension. Acts 1:11. Paul believed this doctrine and taught it to others, and was looking for and waiting for the Saviour from heaven. Phil. 3:20; I Thess. 1:10; 4:16-17, when his mortal body would put on immortality and so he would “ever be with the Lord.”

“Return,” in its ordinary sense, does not exactly express the idea of the Greek word, and yet it is used in Luke 12:36, in reference to the return of our Lord to earth, and I think the Greek word is appropriate to such a return.

Christ has engagements in heaven. “The heavens must retain Him till the time of restitution of all things.” “He is gone to appear in the presence of God for us.” “He ever lives to make intercession for us.” So those who earnestly desire to see him must wait until he is disengaged—loosed again.

When the master of the parable leaves home to get married, he has engagements enough for one time, and the servant who would see him, must wait till he is loosed again from these obligations. The Master is bound by the engagement, but becoming unbound by their fulfillment, the return is a matter of course. Like the wife who writes the Governor to unloose her husband or son, their return is effected by the unloosing. And so with Christ. If it had not been needful he would not have gone away. He is now performing the service in the Holy of Holies, and when he is unloosed, he will “surely” and “quickly” return. The one implies the other. If a man should leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and if we being evil know how to obey the law of marriage, by returning to our wife, being unloosed, surely Christ will leave his Father and be joined to his wife, and Paul said that concerning Christ and his church.

As to 2 Tim. 4:6, where the noun analusis occurs, the idea is the same. Paul had a work to do, a race to run, a battle to fight, and these must wholly engage him until they are finished. “I

have finished my course, I am ready to be offered.” Then he will dissolve, return to dust, having finished the work assigned him, he will no longer be engaged, but unloosed, and his return to dust is the operation of law, a divine appointment, unfailing in its operation like the Master returning from the wedding (with his bride), or the husband from the prison, or Christ to earth.

Immediate personal presence with Christ, “seeing him as he is,” was not in Paul’s mind, for he consoles himself in the next verse with these words: “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me at that day, and not to me only, but to them also that love his appearing.”

When Christ who is our life shall appear, then we shall appear with him in glory. Not when we die. We know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Why can’t we see him as he is before he appears, if we enter at once at death into his presence? We must not make one Scripture fight another. There is a glorious sense in which we will be with Christ after death. “With you always to the end of the world.” A blessed presence in this life; more so after death, and superlatively so after the resurrection. See last note quoted from Jameson, Faucett & Brown. Also this from American Commentary: “The immediate connection of these words with ‘to depart,’ shows that Paul did not conceive the intermediate state to be a condition of unconsciousness, but a far higher and more blessed existence than this earthly life; a state of conscious and intimate communion with Christ, beyond anything known on earth, although as we collect from other passages, it is not the full and perfect fruition of a Christian’s joy and reward. In this intermediate state the soul is bodiless (2 Cor. 5:8), and not until the resurrection of the body will our redemption be complete (Rom. 8:23); but even with this drawback, the state of the Christian between death and the judgment is an advance upon our earthly condition.”

The Comprehensive Commentary gives these words from Dr. Doddridge: “This plainly proves that the separate spirits of good men are with Christ in such a manner that their state is far better than while they continue in this world, which a state of insensibility cannot possibly be. But Fleming very justly observes, that it will not at all disprove that large accession of happiness after the resurrection which other Scriptures plainly declare.”

The following show the condition of those in the Intermediate State. They show companionship with our people, comfort, rest, special communion with Christ, yet incomplete happiness: 2Sam. 12:23; Job 3:17-19; Dan. 12:2, 13; Rev. 14:11-13; Luke 16:22, 25.

The following show incomplete happiness: Job 19:25-27; Ps. 17:15; Rom. 8:17-23.

The following show complete happiness after the Intermediate State: 1Pet. 4:13; Jude 1:24; 2Thess. 2:13-14; 1 Thess. 2:8; 1Pet. 1:8, 9, 13.

Here we have exceeding joy and joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving our crown and reward, and seeing Christ as he is, being with him forever more25 “He would even stay out of heaven a while for their sakes. Oh, to live only to do good!

This is to live indeed.

Were the whole realm of nature mine That were a present far too small:

25) J. B. Moody, J. N. Hall, J. R. Graves, and J. M. Pendleton, Death and After, CHAPTER XXI.

Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.”26

Philippians 2: “Be Like Christ.” {cf. John 17}

{KJB Intro & text} ~ 1 - He exhorteth them to unity, and to all humbleness of mind, by the example of Christs humility and exaltation: ~ 12 - To a carefull proceeding in the way of salvation, that they be as lights to the wicked world, ~ 16 - and Comforts to him their Apostle, who is now ready to be offered up to God. ~ 19 He hopeth to send Timothy to them, whom he greatly commendeth, ~ 25 as Epaphroditus also, whom he presently sendeth to them. ~ ¶ I f t h e r e b e t he r e f o r e a ny c o n s o l a t i o n i n C h r i s t , i f a n y c om f o r t o f l ov e , if a n y fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with G od: But ma de him sel f of no reput a t ion, a nd took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ¶ Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. ¶ Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked an d perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.

But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel. Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. But I trust in the L ord tha t I a lso my self sha l l com e short ly .

Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellow soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered 26) C. H. Spurgeon, The Interpreter: Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1964), 713.

to my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation: Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.

{Expo} Philippians 2 1-4 (1) “If therefore there be any comfort in Christ, (2) if any consolation in love, (3) if any joint participation in the Spirit, (4) if any compassion and acts of pity, Fulfil ye my joy, (1) that ye be of the same mind (2) having the same love, (3) sympathetic, (4) having one mind. Let nothing be done through party-spirit or vainglory, but in humility esteeming each other more than yourselves. Regard not each his own interests alone, but each those of others.”

The Apostle does not find any evil doctrine among the Philippians. He has only to call them to practice. In 1:27 the Apostle uses a remarkable word for ‘conduct’ {i.e., “conversation”} It hints at the change induced by their becoming citizens of the heavenly city, and requiring to alter their sentiments and conduct, from what they had been as proud citizens of the great worldly metropolis. Then they looked up to the Emperor and to the city of Rome, as the standard of their dispositions and life. They were proud, ambitious, selfish, glorifying themselves, ever ready to split into parties, valuing themselves on their independence, standing jealously on their rights; and men of war.

But now the principle of their life was to be grace they were at peace with God, and were to look up to Christ as the standard of present perfection, and the Dispenser of future rewards.

Christ was their “Lord,” and they were to be lowly, seeking to benefit others; studying how to maintain the unity of the new body, into which they had, in God’s mercy, been engrafted.

Four are the grounds of appeal with which the chapter begins; and four the exhortations which the Apostle derives from them.

Both Paul and the Philippians were sufferers from the world; they, in the colony; Paul, in Rome. Would they wish to add any new trial to the Apostle’s troubles? Far from it; they sought only how they Might comfort and help him. Then let the spiritual mercies that were granted of God, whether derived from Christ and the Holy Ghost, or shown by answering tempers in themselves, persuade them to that unity which the Apostle so much desired to hear of, and to see in them.

The four ‘ifs’ do not question the existence of the four excellencies noted; they are rhetorical, designed to press the appeal for unity.

The Apostle then shows how they might comfort him by their obedience to the directions given.

vs. 2 “Fulfil ye my joy.”

How mighty, how blessed were those principles and aids, which could give joy to the Apostle under his present circumstances of imprisonment, and hazard of life! His joy would be full to the brim, if he could learn of their unity, humility, obedience, and sympathy.

There is, I believe, an intended correspondence between the four principles announced in verse one, and the exhortations given in verse two.

1. ‘If there be any comfort in Christ’ — ‘let them be like-minded one with another.’ The flesh in Adam divides; but the Lord and the Spirit show their power by uniting those in Christ.

2. ‘If any consolation in love’ — ‘let them have the same love one to another.’ Lawlessness is opposed to love. “Because lawlessness shall abound, the love of the majority shall wax cold.”

3. ‘If participation in one spirit’ — ‘let them be sympathetic one towards the other.’

4. ‘If any compassion and acts of pity’ — ‘let them be of one mind.’

vs. 3 & 4, The Negative View.

Let them put off and keep out party-spirit, and vainglory. These were ever moving in Rome, as they are also the tempers of fallen flesh, and of the world. They might, indeed, be as ambitious as they would, if only they sought glory from Christ to be bestowed in His day.

“Whosoever shall wish to become great among you, let him be your servant; and whosoever shall wish, to be first among you, shall be your slave.” “Even as the Son of man came not to be waited on; but to wait on others; and to give His soul a ransom for many.”

“In humility let each esteem the other more than himself.” Law could say: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Here is esteeming a brother more than himself! Selfishness, that turns the eye solely on a man’s own interests, is then rebuked: in the natural body each part ministers to the other, does not isolate itself; but is sympathetic towards every other part.

5, 6. “For let that mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought not the being equal with God a glory to be jealously retained; but emptied Himself; taking the form of the slave, being made in the likeness of men.”

{Must see below most excellent comments from Dr. Rimmer’s The Magnificence of Jesus} The Saviour is here named ‘Christ Jesus’ - the superior name being put before His name as a man - ‘Jesus.’ As you are in Christ, seek to resemble Him as your standard; especially on the points now urged.

The Apostle begins with the Lord Jesus’ original position of glory, that we may in some measure be able to estimate the depth of His condescension.

vs. 6 “Who being in the form of God.” He had existence from eternity, before He appeared as man. What is “the form of God“? It consists chiefly in two things. 1. The light and glory proper to the Creator and Ruler of all. 2.

The corresponding place and service of the creature.

Let us take some examples.

1. Victoria is in the form of a Queen, when seated in her throne-room in her robes, crown, and sceptre, with her officers and subjects before her.

2. “I saw,” says Micaiah, “the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing

by Him, on His right hand, and His left. And the Lord said: ‘Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ And one said on this manner, and another said. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ And the Lord said unto him, ‘Wherewith?’ And he said, ‘I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth and do so:’” 1 Kings 22.

Here is God in His place as Ruler, and the creatures in their place as subjects, subservient.

3. Take another example: Isaiah 6. “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” “And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, ‘Woe is me! for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips: and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Here we have God in His majesty, and the creatures in their worship before Him. And John tells us, that the glory which the prophet thus saw, was Christ’s. “Esaias said again, ‘He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and turn, and I should heal them.’ These things said Esaias when he saw His (Christ’s) glory, and spake of Him:” John 12:39-41.

In Rev. 4. and 5. we have glory restored to Christ at the throne of God, after His suffering unto death, and after the unworthiness of angels and men, and of spirits departed has been manifested; together with the burst of worship which greets the Father and the Son at the close of the chapter.

“Thought not the being equal with God a glory to be jealously retained.” {“thought it not robbery to be equal with God” KJV.}27

We have arrived at a passage confessedly very difficult. And the centre of the difficulty lies in the Greek word ‘Harpagmos.’

There are two main views concerning its meaning. 1. Some say it means the ‘thing seized,’ and so should be translated ‘booty, prize,’ 2. Some, that it means ‘the act of seizure.’ This can be better substantiated from passages in the Greek. Does it then mean ‘robbery,’ as our translators give it?

That rendering supposes a forcible act, seizing on something valuable possessed by another, and taken for one’s own self. But such a sense is unsuitable here. For what perfection can be possessed by the creature which God has not? There is nothing valuable in the creature which God would seize on.

But there is another view of the word which falls in easily with the argument here.

There are two modes of seizure, one the laying a forcible hold on some treasure to take it for ourselves. But we must refuse the idea of God’s seizing of any creature-perfection, to take it to Himself. All creature-perfection comes from God. But there is also the retaining with firm grasp by the lawful possessor of something valued by himself; resenting the invasion of it by those to whom it belongs not.

This is the sense appropriate to the passage: the glory of God was the due of the Son of God. He might justly have held it fast, repelling all attempts to infringe, or abstract it. He knew it was His right. It was supported by the Father and by the Spirit.

Does any say ‘that the possession of the form of God’ does not prove the possession of Godhead? Nay, but it does. Who could support for eternity the form of God or His glory, but 27) “I hate robbery for burnt offering” Isaiah 61

One who was God? And the passage goes on to claim for Christ the being equal with God. That asserts the Saviour’s nature to be God’s. None but He who was God had a right to make the choice here given. None but He who was free from the duty and obligation which cling to the creature, and call for his obedience to the Most High as his King, could rightly so act. And where would be the humility of a creature’s not claiming the Godhead!

vs. 7 “But emptied Himself.” {“But made himself of no reputation” KJV.}

1. He gave up, not His divine nature, but its manifestation. He stripped Himself of the intense light in which God dwells. “Dwelling in the light which none can approach unto.” For “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” {not the Kenosis theory} 2. He withdrew from the service and worship of his creatures. What a contrast to the Roman emperors and their keen and deadly resentment against any infringement of the divine glory which they stole, or of the honour they possessed, as kings of Rome.

Her Majesty might if she would, leave her palace and attendance, her table, and robes, and be found dressed as a servant-maid, waiting at a farm-house in an obscure corner of her kingdom.

She would then be the queen in the form of a servant, while her rights as a queen and empress would still be hers.

“And took upon Him the form of a slave.” {“and took upon him the form of a servant” KJV}

This supposes the Saviour’s pre-existence, and divine glory, before He appeared as Son of man. He divested Himself of His dues as Supreme Ruler “over all, God blessed for ever,” to take the place of the subject and the creature. “Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered:” Heb. 5.

But this very voluntary choice to descend, bespoke Him to be God. No creature has a right, nor a power, to change his place as given him by God. Because of so doing, angels fell in the days of Noah, and at the Flood were cast into Tartarus; being confined in cells of darkness: 2 Pet. 2.; Gen. 6.

“And was born in the likeness of men.” {“and was made in the likeness of men” KJV.}

This refers to the Saviour’s incarnation, and entering into the world of men by the humiliation of birth, and the feebleness of infancy. He might have taken the place of an unfallen angel; but He humbled Himself still further. The Great Creator became passive, taken up and laid down at the pleasure of others. So His humility was doubly shown; both by what He put off and by what He put on. And that, too, at a time, when Rome’s Emperors were putting to death at their pleasure whom they would, without form of trial; and robbing even their great men and officers of their wives; while they impiously assumed the rights of God, and were worshipped with temples, altars, and priests.

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made* of a woman, made* under the law, to buy out those under law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

The Most High owned Him as His Son at His baptism: and at the Transfiguration. * Or, “Born of a woman, born under the law.”

8. “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Here we have the further consequences of the Saviour’s humiliation. He was found on the earth, and in the ordinary visible conditions of men, (1) by man; and was treated with unbelief and cruelty by those whom He came to save. (2) He was found by God - also, as a man; and as one who had become from a Son His servant. The further consequences are stated at the close of the verse. (3) He was recognized as man, yet as more than man, by the demons. “What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, the Nazarene? I know Thee, who Thou art, the Holy One of God.”

vs. 8 “Being found in fashion as a man.”

This does not assert that the doctrine of the Phantomists, - ‘that He was a man in appearance only, being unpossessed of man’s body and blood.’ On the contrary, He is here described as born and dying; truths which were rejected by those errorists.

He was at once taken for a man by all who saw Him. The woman of Samaria after an hour’s converse with our Lord, says, “Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did; is not this the Christ?” John 4. But He was more than a mere man, as being the Christ.

So the word ‘Being found in fashion as a man’ is used, because the interior nature within the manhood was different. The Son of God became a man. “The Word was made flesh, and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth:” John 1:14. He was really a man; but He was more; and that is what is implied here. Of a mere man it would not be said, “Being found in fashion as a man.” It was the effect of His choice.

Men were displeased at One in all points apparently like themselves, yet asserting His Godhead. “‘Is not this Jesus,’ the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He saith, ‘I came down out of heaven?’” John 6. “Jesus answered them,” when they attempted to stone Him, “Many good works have I showed you from My Father; for which of them do ye stone Me? The Jews answered Him, saying, For a good work we stone Thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that Thou, being a man, makest Thyself God:” John 10. On the contrary, He being God, had humbled Himself to become man.

This verse, then, treats of the Saviour’s conduct after infancy and boyhood were past, and when, as the man He chose to humble Himself, aware of all that was coming upon Him. He might have chosen, when He was found on earth, to be an emperor’s son. But no, having become a Man, He stooped yet lower. After, being obedient to Joseph and Mary as the Child, He earned His bread by the sweat of His brow, as the Workman.

He did not exempt Himself from any of the trials of the life of man by putting forth the energies of Deity. Satan tempted our Lord in the wilderness so to act. “If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.” Jesus replies, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Great generals have endeared themselves to their soldiers by themselves voluntarily partaking in the hunger, thirst, and fatigue, forced on them by the hardships of wars. The Saviour did more.

“And became obedient unto death.”

In one view, the Saviour’s life was the result of His own choice. In another, it was the command of His Father. “Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down my life (soul), that I may take it again. None taketh it from Me but I lay it down of myself, that I may take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father:” John 10:17, 18.

Even after the Lord Jesus had become Man, He was under no necessity of dying: for He was the Righteous One under law. “And the man that doeth these things shall live in them.” “In the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death.”

Here then we are led to the great crisis of Gethsemane. Could the Redeemer’s perfection of life and of prayer avail to save us without His death? “Abba, Father, all things are possible with Thee, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless not what I wish, but what Thou wilt.” But “without shedding of blood takes place no remission.” The Prince of Life must bow to death, and its dishonour, as if He were the chief of malefactors.

“The death of the Cross.”

He must endure a death, the deepest in shame from men, Himself in pain, surrounded by foes, that took pleasure in adding to His sufferings, by taunts, and lies, and sneers. But the sorest portion of the cross was, that it set the person so dying under the curse of God, because of the sin of Eden, and the law of Moses.

But how could law curse One who was without sin? This point Paul in Galatians 3. settles for us. ‘How,’ says he, ‘did you receive the anointing of the Holy Ghost? By law? or by faith in the Gospel?’ It came as the consequence of your having received the righteousness of Christ; thus were you justified by faith, like Abraham your father, and set under blessing. For by birth and transgression you lay under the curse of law. How then could you arrive at blessing? By the Saviour’s enduring the curse of the law for you.

But how could law curse the Blessed One? “The doers of the law shall be justified:” Rom. 2:13. And Christ was the great Doer of the law. God had provided for that difficulty in the manner of His death. “If a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance:” Dent. 21. Thus came the curse on our Lord. But the same word made it brief. He was not to hang under the curse beyond a day. Here the great woe of Satan is seen by contrast. He was in emblem hung on the tree in fetters of brass, as the serpent lifted up by Moses in the desert; and never can he escape from wrath into blessing.

1. Our Lord here is the moral opposite to Adam. Made out of dust, and put under law, Adam attempted to gain likeness to God by disobedience; disbelieving the threat of death; but finding death, and corruption after death, affixed to himself and his seed.

2. Herein our Redeemer is the moral opposite to the Roman Emperors. The four empires are described as “wild beasts.” As iron bruises and breaks all things, so would the fourth empire. Yea, its king would seize on God’s glory, and blaspheme. The Emperors tightly held the booty they had seized. They slew those who questioned their deeds. Julius Caesar, the first of the emperors, began to steal divine honours, and the populace after his death gave worship to his statue. My authority for this and the following facts is Suetonius.

The taking off the head from the statue of Augustus was punished with death. Nero pulled down the statues of victors in the games, and put to death an actor superior to himself.

Domitian threw to the dogs in the circus one of the spectators in the games for “Impious Words,” against himself the Lord and God. Wherefore God gave up more than two or three to the sword of the assassin. But there is one yet to arise, who shall outdo all former transgressors, coming forth for awhile from God’s prison of the lost, only to scoff at the

majesty of Jehovah seated in His temple. But as he is enormous in guilt, he shall be preeminent in woe.

9-11. “Therefore God hath super-exalted Him; and granted Him a name that is above every name, in order that at the name of JESUS every knee should bow, of those in the heavens, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.”

It is God’s principle, that ‘he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’ And who has humbled Himself like Jesus? His astonishing humility, His divine obedience, His perfect benevolence even to foes, call for this glory. Man’s disobedient exaltation of himself was founded on unbelief, and he was sentenced to death and to dust. Twice Christ stooped; (1) from heaven to earth; (2) from earth to Hadees. He ‘emptied’ Himself as Son of God; He ‘humbled’ Himself as Son of man.

Therefore God, when His trial was over, raised Him above all creatures. He raised Him [out] from among the dead to the land of those living on earth. He lifted Him up from earth, by ascension to His own Presence of glory.

vs. 9 “He granted Him a name above every other name.”

Jesus’ humiliation was brief: His glory is for ever. No name in the past, the present, or the future will ever come up to its dignity and power. But as yet the glory of the Saviour is concealed from the sons of men. It is, therefore, God’s purpose in the Day of the [Millennial] Kingdom appointed Him, visibly to glorify Him; and to make all intelligent creatures show their assent.

While the Saviour surrendered His divine glory to save the lost, God shall restore it again to Him as Son of man in the appointed day.

1. The children of Israel “shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy Mount at Jerusalem:” Isa. 27:12, 13; Psa. 95:6.

2. “It shall come to pass that from one new moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me, for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh:” Isa. 66:23-24.

3. “Every one that is left of all the nations that came up against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles:” Zech. 14:16.

4. When the Father a second time introduces the First-begotten into the habitable earth, He saith, “And let all the angels of God worship Him:” Heb. 1:6 (Greek).

It was much more to the Apostle’s purpose to show that equality with God, which of right belonged to Christ; than to speak of the Saviour’s not coveting or not attempting to seize on a perfection belonging to another. And the Philippians were to be taught, not tightly to retain their privileges as Roman citizens, to which they had right by their birth; but to stoop to inferiors. Paul does not accuse the saints at Philippi of an attempt to snatch things desirable from others; but he instructs them, like Christ, to give up what was theirs. Lowliness and unselfishness were to drive out the spirit of caste.

When the Father declared the Saviour to be His Son, it led Him at once into conflict with Satan in the wilderness. And Israel resisted with increasing hatred His declarations of

His being the Son of God till, they put Him, to death. Even after death His name is scornfully rejected. In their accusation of Stephen we read: “We heard him say, that this Jesus, the Nazarite, shall take down this place (the temple), and change the customs which Moses handed down to us.”

“God granted Him a name” - “Jesus” - before His birth. The angel of the Lord says: “She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins:” Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:31. Simple as is the name, it contains within it the promise of the salvation of a multitude whom none can number.

The gift of a name by a king was an honour not bestowed, save on those with whom he was well pleased. So Pharaoh in exalting Joseph calls his name Zaphnath Paaneah: Gen. 41.

And to Daniel is given the name of Belteshazzar, by way of honour: Dan. 5:11.

So Jehovah changed in part the names of Abram and of Sarai. And he says to David, “I have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth:” 2 Sam. 7. But the name of the Son of David is greater far. David’s was great on earth; but here is one who is to be ruler of three worlds. Caesar, the name of Rome’s king, is great: ‘Jesus’ is Lord of heaven and earth.

vs. 10. “In order that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those on earth, and those under the earth.”

This glory is to be manifested in the coming day appointed by God. Of this Joseph’s exaltation from the dungeon to be next the throne of Pharaoh, was a type. Heralds shouted before Joseph “Bow the knee!”

When the hour of the Saviour’s humiliation had come, His dignity was mocked. The soldiers clothe Jesus, when condemned, with a scarlet robe, plait a crown of thorns, and “put it on His head, with a reed in His right hand; and they bowed the knee before Him, and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail (rejoice), King of the Jews!’ And they spit upon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head:” Matt. 27:28-30.

But in the coming day the bending of the knee will be the adoration of Him as divine. “As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God:” Rom. 14.

In this Gospel-day some gladly bend the knee to Christ, and confess Him Lord, not by the lip only, but with the heart. He calls believers to confess His Lordship by being immersed: Acts 2:38.

Intelligent beings are here divided into three orders, according to their abode. They are to celebrate Christ by the posture of the body suited to adoration; and by the tongue, which bespeaks intelligent worship rendered Him by both soul and spirit.

So we read in Rev. 5:13: “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.”

Christ has belonged to the three classes.

1. Originally residing in heaven, He stooped to become a man on earth. And at length He died, and descended among the dead [in the underworld of ‘Hades’]. But God by resurrection lifted Him out from Hadees, and set Him for forty days among the men of earth. Then He

caused Him to ascend to the angels. But beyond the highest of those, He lifted up Jesus to His own right hand. His divine glory shall one day be manifested by the obedience and worship of the elect angels.

The saved of earth shall, most of them, pass through these three classes. Inhabitants of earth, at death they go down among the dead; but shall be raised and ascend to dwell in the heavenly city of God. The immersion of the believer represents him as one with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, and ascent. Till then they are not fully ready to go up to Christ.

For when did our Lord ascend? Only after His death, and burial, and resurrection.

Some may doubt, whether those of the underworld are departed spirits in Hadees. Let us then look at some texts which speak on this point.

What says our Lord, when speaking of His death?

“An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas; for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth:” Matt.

12:39-40.

Does that mean that His body should lie in the tomb of the rock? By no means. The rock was hardly the skin of the earth. Jonah was in the deep interior of the fish and was sensible of his situation. The corpse of the Saviour was not sensible, while laid in the tomb.

He expounded the matter to us more clearly when He said to the penitent robber, “Verily, I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise.” The Paradise then of the departed is “in the heart of the earth”.{Until after His resurrection, Eph. 4:8-12.} Peter at Pentecost says of the Saviour, “He (David) seeing this before spake concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His, soul was not left in Hadees, neither did His flesh, [in the tomb] see corruption:” Acts 2:31.

And Paul says: “Who shall descend into the bottomless pit?” (Greek) that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead:” Rom. 10:7. And in Ephesians: “Now that He (Christ) ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?:” Eph. 4:9.

Then, in relation to the saved departed, our Lord says, “On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hadees shall not prevail against it.” As neither did they prevail against the Great Head. “Because it was not possible that He should be holden by it:” Acts 2. Our Lord says: “I have the keys of Hadees, and of Death:” Rev. 1:8.

When the Lamb takes the Book - “Every creature which is in (1) heaven, and on the (2) earth, and (3) under the earth, and such as are in the sea, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever:” Rev. 5. Also at the final judgment - when the earth flees away. “The sea gave up the dead which were in it, and Death and Hadees gave up the dead which were in them:” Rev. 20.

vs. 11”And every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

Already evil spirits that have entered into men are obliged to come out when commanded in this Name. Through using effectually this Name to the Pythoness, Paul and Silas were degraded, and made to suffer. If any Jew should confess, that Jesus was the Christ, it was agreed among the rulers, that he should be put out of the synagogue: John 9. Peter at

Pentecost testifies, that “God had made the same Jesus whom they had crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

Many already confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, by immersion into His name (Acts 2:38), and by acts of worship, as prayer and thanksgiving.

1. Jesus is the Saviour’s human name, given Him before He was born.

2. ‘Christ,’ or ‘the Anointed’ is the name given to distinguish Him from Joshua, who was not, anointed. It is a name applied to the Saviour after His baptism, when the Holy Ghost descended on Him as the dove.

3. “Lord” is the name given after His resurrection. “God hath made that same Jesus whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ.” The Saviour was ‘Lord’ by nature. But He emptied Himself of that glory, to become a servant. He is promoted to be Lord, or Ruler and Disposer of all things, and of all beings: Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24. He has purchased all by His self-humiliation unto death: 2 Pet. 2:1; Jude 4; Rev. 6:10. He shall resume ‘the form of God,’ which for awhile, for our sakes, He had given up.

The Roman emperors stole this title of our Lord, and their subjects proclaimed and enforced the worship of the emperors, in opposition to the worship of Christ. When the full time of wickedness is come, a Roman emperor exalts himself above every God and every object of worship, speaking blasphemy against Jehovah. The height of his sin is his session in the temple at Jerusalem, demanding and receiving sole worship; while he sets up an image of himself, to which adoration is to be paid; to the glory of Satan, who has exalted him to his throne: Rev. 13.

“To the glory of God the Father.”

The Saviour’s Jewish foes declared, that He cast out demons through Beelzebub, prince of the demons: Matt. 12. When He was crucified, they sneered at Him, for presumptuously calling Himself ‘Son of God;’ as was proved, to their minds, by His not being delivered from the cross. “He trusted in God let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him; for He said: ‘I am the Son of God:’” Matt. 27.

The rejection of Christ by men was a reproach to God the Father. It shall be seen in the coming Day of His Glory, that God is indeed His Father. “For unto which of the angels said He at any time, ‘Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee!’ And again, ‘I will be to Him a Father and He shall be to Me a Son.’ And when He again bringeth in the First begotten into the habitable earth He saith: ‘And let all the angels of God worship Him:’” Heb. 1. The Righteous Judge cannot but exalt His Son, as the One alone worthy to have dominion over all the works of His hands.

So, while we cannot descend from our place at our own choice, as did Christ; we may yet imitate Him by a kind and condescending spirit. And as we are made ‘sons of God’ by grace, we may, if counted worthy, reign with Him a thousand years.

12, 13. “So then, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, with fear and trembling work out your own salvation. For it is God who worketh in you both the willing and the doing, in pursuance of His good pleasure.”

Here we have set before us the practical consequences of the preceding instructions of the Apostle, Obey!

vs. 12 “Work

out your own salvation.”

Salvation as it was a gift, was already theirs. But there was to be yet seeking on their part for the ‘prize’ of their calling. And in order to this, care, and adhesion to the commands given, were required. Of the blest result at last, and of the spotless obedience on the way, Christ is the perfect example.

The spirit in which the prize was to be sought, was “Fear” and “trembling.”

The first of these words relates, I believe, to their feeling toward God. It was to be, as our Lord tacitly hints, the contrary to Israel’s vain-glorious promise at Horeb. “All that the Lord hath said, will we do, and be obedient.” They knew neither the strictness of Jehovah, nor their own unruliness; and the covenant was broken in forty days. Writing to the Hebrew Christians therefore, Paul says: “Wherefore let us, receiving a kingdom unshaken, hold grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear; for moreover, ‘Our God is a consuming fire:’” Heb. 12:28, 29.

So in Romans the Apostle puts the fear of God as the contrast to vain trust in self, “Because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear;” Rom. 11. “Trembling” rather becomes you in view of your weakness, and the danger of the loss of the great [Millennial] glory proposed to you.

“Work out,” or “work down” to the end set before you. God has given you a height from which it is comparatively easy to work on to the completion of the task. He has made you sons, and then He calls on you to “seek first the Kingdom of God.” vs. 13 He

works in you...

both the willingness to run the race, and the steady pursuit of it. Beware, then, lest you provoke Him, as did Israel of old, till His oath went forth, that they should not enter His rest. If the Most High leave you to yourself, you will fare no better than provoking Israel, and lose the splendid object which God presents to you.

He works in you to this end, not as a matter of justice, but of grace. For, “He resists the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” “Fear not, little flock; it was your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” “Now the righteous by faith shall live; but if he draw back, My soul hath no pleasure in him:” Heb. 10. vs. 14-16 “Do all things without murmurings and disputings, that ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God without spot in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye appear as light-bearers in the world: Holding up the Word of Life; a boasting to me in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, or laboured in vain.”

Just the contrary to this was the course of Rome, and of her colonies; indeed ‘tis the nature of men generally. Ambition seeking self-exaltation was abroad, party-spirit too, envy, and strife. It was the sad contrast to the Saviour’s self-humbling, and seeking the good of others in lowliness and love.

The Philippian believers were by nature of the world’s spirit; and the Apostle bids them become, by the power of God, of the opposite tempers. Outsiders complained of the perpetual elbowing and strife; evil words flew fast; and out of them came the plotting and doing mischief. They were to be “children of God” without spot; a contrast in spirit, word, and deed to the ambitious, envious, dissatisfied, around them.

The generation around them were seed of the Old Serpent, “crooked” and deceitful, choosing a life against God, and against their own real interests. The world is dark, and they as saints were to be God’s light-bearers. This the Saviour appointed at the opening of His first sermon. “Ye are the light of the world.” “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Is there here an allusion to the jailor’s call, when awaked by the earthquake, and hampered by the darkness around, he called aloud for ‘Lights!’ God’s truth is light: and it shows the Christian the path he is to tread. The worldly man is a lamp unlit; the Christian a lighted lamp; not designed for himself alone, but to benefit others.

He is a lighthouse for the tempest-tossed. He shows life to be within the reach of the lost. It is “the Word of Life.”* As presented at first to them, it was given from the lips of Paul. It was now confirmed by his pen. * Some of the Roman emperors bore with them ‘books of death.’ They wrote down in them the names of those whom they intended to slay.

‘The Acts’ shows us how the foundation was laid. But the foundation is to be followed by the superstructure. Faith is the true foundation; but Christ looks for works as the fruit. Reward is at last to be granted according to works.

So would they be a recommendation of Paul, and of the commission given him by the Lord Jesus. They would show in the Great Day of Christ, that he had behaved with all diligence and uprightness. Not vain were his travels from Jerusalem to Rome. Not in vain had the Lord called him from Asia into Europe. How beautiful to the eyes of God were these children of His! beautiful even to the eye of the candid of the world. vs. 17, 18. “But even if I be poured out as a libation on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all. In like manner do ye also joy and rejoice with me.”

Even if Paul should be slain, as he was a little later on, he would be as the drinkoffering of wine poured over the sacrifice and service of the Philippians’ faith. This marks the new style of Christian sacrifice brought in by the Gospel.

Under the law it was, “And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat-offering of the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire to the Lord:” Ex. 29. “Then shall he that offereth his offering unto the Lord bring a meal-offering of a tenth-deal of flour, mingled with the fourth part of a hin of oil. And the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink-offering shalt thou prepare with the burnt-offering or sacrifice, for one lamb:” Num. 15:5.

Paul would rejoice in the fulfilling of his course, conformed to the pattern of Christ’s death, and [as a consequence, the] assurance of a place in the First Resurrection.

Here is the new light brought in by the resurrection of Christ, which scatters the darkness of the tomb. That rests on nature, and on the law of Moses. The death of a believer, yea, not even his violent death is to be celebrated with heavy sorrow such as we read of in the Acts after the stoning of the Lord’s servant, Stephen. It was a time of great persecution; before which the Church of Jerusalem was broken up. “But (not ‘And’) pious men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him:” Acts 8:2. While Christians were afraid and fled from Jerusalem, earnest men of the Law mourned over Stephen unrighteously cut off.

The Philippian Christians were not to seek to avenge Paul’s death, as under the law.

Nor would he say, as did Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, “The Lord look upon it [my blood] and require it :” 2 Chron. 24: 20, 21. vs. 19-24. “But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy quickly to you, that I also may be of good cheer, having learned news of your affairs. For I have none like-minded who will genuinely be careful for your interests. For all are seeking their own interests; not those of Christ Jesus. But ye know the proof of him, that as a child with a father, he has served with me in the Gospel. Him then I hope to send, immediately, as soon as I shall see clearly the issue of my own case. But I trust in the Lord, that I also shall come quickly.”

Twice the Apostle ‘hopes’ to send Timothy. He speaks more confidently concerning himself. ‘I trust,’ and not ‘in the flesh, but in the Lord;’ to come myself in person.

He praises greatly both Timothy and Epaphroditus. So also does the Lord Jesus freely give praise wherever He can.

In our day and land, there is great parsimony of praise among believers. Some would tell you, they are afraid of puffing up those whom they commend. How is it that men are wiser than God? What says Paul? “I am become a fool in boasting; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended by you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing:” 2 Cor. 12.

The Apostle in the verses under notice is tacitly acting out himself the instructions he has given in verses 3 and 4 of this chapter. “In lowliness of mind let each esteem others more than themselves.” How he praises, and so heartily, Timothy and Epaphroditus! About his own praises he is silent: ver. 24.

Again: “Look not each on his own interests, but each also on the interests of others.” Would not Paul, in the lowliness of his imprisonment have wished to retain with him both the brethren whom, he so praises? No doubt! But the Philippians’ interests required him to send away both; and without a murmur he submits.

Even in the Apostle’s day [regenerate] believers were pressing on to secure their own temporal interests, rather than those of Christ. But Timothy might be trusted with heartiness to seek the spiritual interests of the Philippians. He would second the commands given by Paul, and lead them on zealously to secure the prize of their calling. vs. 25-30. “But I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus, my brother, and fellow-labourer, and fellow-soldier, but your apostle, and waiter upon my need. For he was longing after you all, and cast down, because ye heard that he was sick. And indeed he was sick, and near death; but God had mercy upon him, and not on him alone, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

“The more diligently, therefore, did I send him, in order that when ye see him again ye may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful.

“Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such worthy of honour; because for the work of Christ he drew near to death, not regardful of his life, that he might fill up your lack of service to me.”

But little need be said on these verses. They exhibit a beautiful picture of Christian affection and sympathy.

By the statement that Epaphroditus was ‘their apostle,’ I do not think it is meant, that he was commissioned by the church to travel to Paul with their gift; but that he was angel, or

stationary Apostle of the Church at Philippi. And then we have the three orders of church officers noted in this epistle, (1) apostle, (2) joint-bishops, and (3) deacons.

Epaphroditus was indeed sick, almost to death, by having overworked himself in service to Paul.

Some in our day seem to think that the Christian ought never to be ill; that it bespeaks some sin in him, which God has visited with illness as a token of His displeasure. What shall we say then of the Christian’s death? Ought he ever to die; at least by internal, disorder? He must be sharp-sighted, who can see such an implication here! The good man is praised for such hard work as he engaged in on Paul’s behalf. And such are worthy of honour, says the Holy Spirit; for work for Christ, or for His body, the Church, is of more importance than life. The world might count Epaphroditus a fool for jeopardizing his life; but they were not so to regard the matter. It was service to Christ, and that is a matter more important than life. * * *28

A Few Devoted Souls “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”

(Revelation 3:19).

Even in the Laodicean church the Lord had a FEW that were His. No matter how dark things may be, or how far the majority have strayed from God’s will, He has an Elijah, a weeping Jeremiah, a Daniel, and Zacharias and an Elizabeth. If you have been born again you belong to the Lord, and He loves you, and will not forsake you, though He has to chastise you, and call you to repentance.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20).

Here the Lord sets Himself forth as standing on the outside of this church seeking an entrance. What a shame! What a tragedy! What a grievous sin! The Lord shut out of a church that claims to be His. He is shut out, and the world is shut in. No room for Him, but room for everything else - room for entertainment, church suppers, play parties, for prizes, for personal honor, but no room for Him. Room for ball clubs (many churches have their ball clubs), but no room for Him - everything for the flesh, but little for the spirit of man.

Can’t we hear Him knocking? Do we not hear His patient and kind invitations? Do we not long for the blessed fellowship of other days? Do we not yearn for the blessed fellowship which He offers to us?

This is the Lord’s earnest plea to His churches. Within the lukewarm churches of today there are some of His very own whom He desires to draw into a closer fellowship with Him. Let us shut out our new and man-made methods, innovations and entertainment long enough to hear that knock, and to heed that call. We have better and more comfortable buildings, but where is our spiritual power? We have contests in our churches, and among our churches. We have this class and that class working and striving for the banner. We have our young people in our churches competing with each other for the banner. Is this the right way? Is this the right motive for us to have in the Lord’s service? Listen for a moment at the Word of God. “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory…” (Philippians 2:3). “How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” (John 5:44). How do we expect to increase the spiritual power of our churches and the spiritual welfare of our people by such questionable methods? And all this is called working for Christ. Let us get down to basic facts. Is this working for Christ? Or is it working to gain some honor and distinction for our class or our 28) Govett, Robert. Select Writings. N. p. {e-Print} The Millennial Kingdom ~ Govett on Philippians. 2017.

organization? Can we really work for Christ unless we first live for Christ? Can we take in the picture shows, go to the bowling alleys, fill our minds and hearts with all the pleasures this world has to offer, take part in all the tournaments, fill our minds and our children’s minds with the ungodly things which the television brings into our homes, and then get up before a congregation and sing a special, or render a part on some program, and really be working for the Lord? Does the Holy Spirit need our multiplied organizations through which to carry on the work of our Lord? Isn’t the thing He wants is us? Have we made Christ our all in all? Are we living each day in the secret of His presence? Are we willing to give up honor, popularity, the favor of men, and the love of the world for Him? Are we willing to live each day as He would have us live? Are we willing to be considered off, peculiar, and out of step with the spirit of the times in order to know and to have His blessed fellowship? Are we willing, like Paul, to be considered fools for Christ’s sake? Until we are, we can take part in every religious program, sing specials, and make talks and it will all avail nothing.

Let us have more talk about LIVING for Christ, and less about working for Christ. If we will only abide in Him the Spirit of God will do the work. He does not need our programs so much as He needs us. Let us have more preaching on fruit bearing. Let us talk more about what He is doing for us, and less about what we are doing for Him. Listen at Jesus in John 15:4, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” Go look at the branch on the vine. Do you see it toil and work? Not at all. It simply abides in the vine drawing the life-giving power that the vine sends into it. Then on that branch is seen the ripe, luscious fruit. What is the fruit of the Spirit? “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Our progress in our spiritual life, if rightly measured, is to be measured by these things. It would do every church member good to ponder over these words every day, and ask ourselves are we showing forth the fruit of the Spirit? No matter how well we can sing a special, or teach a class, or deliver a sermon, unless we are growing in the fruit of the Spirit we are as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal.

Have I said something which goes contrary to popular opinion, or to something which you deem important, before you reject it find where I have taught anything contrary to the Word of God. If what I have said is according to the teaching of the Word of God, then, regardless of your cherished opinions, receive it. Receive it for your own good, and for the glory of Christ. I realize that many things that I have written will not meet with popular favor, or the approval of some of my closest friends. But, if I write, I must write to please my Lord, and it is to Him I must someday give an account. It is my sincere desire and prayer that what I have written will be used of the Lord to bring to us a conviction of our failures, to create in our hearts more humility, and an intense longing for a closer and sweeter walk with our Lord.29

Philippians 3: {The Consecration Chapter: to “‘Know’ ‘Him’”} “GOAL OF LIFE.” {KJB Intro & text} ~ 1 He warneth them to beware of the false teachers of the Circumcision, ~ 4 - shewing that himself hath greater cause then they, to truſt in the righteouſneſſe of the Law: ~ 7 - which notwithstanding he counteth as dung and loſſ, to gain Christ and his righteouſneſſe, ~ 12 - therein

29) George Elliott Jones, A Verse by Verse Commentary on Revelation.

acknowledging his own imperfection. ~ 15 - He exhorteth them to be thus minded, ~ 17 - and to imitate him, ~ 18 - and to decline the ways of carnal Chriſtians. ~ ¶ Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. ¶ Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doub tless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, ¶ And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but t ha t which is throug h the fa ith of Christ, the rig hteousness w hich is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the m ark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. ¶ Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. ¶ Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

{Expo} Philippians 3 SEE ALSO: NOTE B THE FOUR VIEWS OF PHILIPPIANS 3:1-11. vs. 1 “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.

To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not irksome, but for you it is safe.”

The kingdom being taken away from Israel and given to the Gentiles, the Jews are regarded ecclesiastically, so to speak. The subject of rejoicing, and that a joy in Christ, occurs more than once in this epistle.

The grounds of the rejoicing of the men of law were very different from the Christian’s under grace. In the law, or the five books of Moses, we have never mention, I believe, of rejoicing in the Lord. The Jew must rejoice in his portion in the land; he could not rejoice in his own righteousness.

1. He was to rejoice before the Lord seven days, when he had gathered in the fruit of the land; it was the Feast of Tabernacles, when he was to dwell in booths made of the branches of trees. And he was to keep the feast in Jerusalem. When they had arrived at the land of promise, and were dwelling in peace and safety, they were to rejoice together, families, servants, and the Levites, at the city of God’s choice: Deut. 12:7 “There shall ye eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.”

This is the first ‘finally;’ another occurs in Deut. 4:8. If I mistake not, the first ‘finally’ refers to the joy arising out of the first knowledge of Christ, as our Righteousness; the second relates to the after-knowledge, connected with the hope of the First Resurrection.

The phrase ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ occurs first in the Psalms, and very significantly the command is given in connection with righteousness. “Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous:” Psa. 33:1. See again Isa. 61:10: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation; He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness.” A third example of joy in the Lord is found in the ninety-seventh Psalm, where the joy is over the [messianic] Kingdom of God and of [Messiah’s] glory come.

The sentiment and the phrase occur also in the New Testament, and the call to joy is given by our Lord. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven:” Matt. 5:12; Luke 6:22, 23. That must be a robust joy, which can find occasion to arise in the midst of trouble. It is a joy derived from [Messiah’s millennial] glory to come. Reviled on earth, the Christian is to rejoice over a name written in heaven: Luke 10:20. It is a “rejoicing in hope,” for God will anoint His [‘accounted worthy’*] people in the coming day with “the oil of gladness.”[* Luke 20:35, R.V.] “To write the same things to you, to me is not irksome, but for you it is safe.”

What are ‘the same things’ which Paul was not tired of repeating, and that were profitable to the Philippian saints? I think it is the rejoicing in the Lord, which is noticed in various forms some eighteen times in this brief epistle. {18 =“bondage”} This falls in very readily too with the following context, where the righteousness of the Gospel is contrasted with that of the law. vs. 2, 3 “Beware ... of the dogs, beware of the evil workmen, beware of the slashing. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and boast in Christ Jesus, and trust not in the flesh.”

Thrice the article is used in the description. The parties were well known. {There is a strong correlation to Mt. 16 where our Lord warns of “the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” I am convinced we Must pray hard to “get it” else lose the first resurrection reward and His 1000 yr. rule. See below parts one & two of: “Believers of the Church left to the Great Tribulation!“ by Govett}

1. “Beware of the dogs.”

The Gentiles were “dogs,” as being unbelieving and unclean. The people of Israel were God’s ‘holy people.’ “Ye shall be holy men unto Me; neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs:” Ex. 22:31; Lev. 22:8; Deut. 7:6. But now Israel, as unbelieving in Christ, was no longer holy. They had refused John the Baptist, and the Prophet promised by Moses, and God was requiring it of them: Deut. 18. We have been washed.

2. “Beware of the evil workmen.”

1. They were ‘evil workmen,’ in misinstructing those whom they drew over to law. “Ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves:” Matt. 23.

2. They were ‘evil workmen’ in resisting the Gospel of God’s grace and in seeking to slay those that belonged to Christ. Observe, Paul does not teach, that one religion is as good as another, if you are only ‘sincere.’

3. “Beware of the slashers”* (literally, ‘slashing.’) They regarded the mark in the flesh alone, and refused the reality which was intended to be set forth in emblem. *This seems the true reading.

The two forms of law: (1) the law of man and of Rome, and (2) the law of God, were both opposed to the Gospel of the grace of God; and the men of law, both men of Rome, and men of Israel, joined to afflict Paul. In neither of the two forms of law was righteousness before God to be found. This then is a caution like that given to the Galatians.

‘Be not led back from Christ and grace, to Moses, flesh, and law. There is in law nothing but a curse for the sinner.’

Dr. Morris on Philippians 3:2. dogs. The epithet of “dogs” was sometimes applied by Jews to Gentiles in general, but Paul would not do this; indeed, he was writing to Gentile Christians. In the Old Testament, sodomites were called dogs (Deuteronomy 23:17-18). In view of Paul’s strong condemnation of this typically pagan Gentile sin (Romans 1:25-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9), it is probable that Paul’s warning here had reference to the sin of homosexuality or bestiality. In Deuteronomy 23:18 “price of a dog.” It is evident from the parallel structure of these ordinances that the term “dog” is here used as an equivalent to “sodomite,” presumably because of similar behaviors of the two. Since homosexuality is an “abomination” in God’s sight (e.g., Leviticus 18:22), it is understandable that Paul should warn Christians to “beware of dogs” and that, in describing the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem, the Lord Himself says that “without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie” (Revelation 22:15). concison. This word, from a Greek word meaning “cutting down,” seems to be cited as in contrast to “the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, ... and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). That is, the Judaizers who were trying to force Gentile Christians to be circumcised had no concept of the spiritual significance that had once been attached to circumcision and which was now fulfilled in spiritual circumcision. To them it was merely a ritual and amounted to nothing more than a mutilation of the flesh; and Paul called them “the concision” instead of the circumcision, warning the Philippians against their legalistic heresies. See his discussion in Galatians 5:1-6, 11-13; 6:12-15. This is the only occurrence of the word in the New Testament.30 30) Henry M. Morris, Defenders Bible Notes.

vs. 3 “For

ye{we} are the circumcision.”

Even under Moses, the reality of holiness, of which circumcision was the sign, was called for. “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked:” Deut 10:16; 30:6; Lev. 26:41. “Behold their ear is uncircumcised; and they cannot hearken:” Jer. 6:10. “Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so do ye:” Acts 7:51.

It is remarkable, that baptism, as the sign of the acceptance of the Gospel, is not named here; while such stress is laid on circumcision. But [believers’] baptism is not forgotten; it has a prominent place given it in the history of the preaching at Philippi; and in reference to the two groups of which the Church there at first consisted.

1. Lydia “was baptized and her household.”

2. The jailor “took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his straightway.” Acts 16. The baptism too of Paul, the preacher at Philippi, is thrice recorded in the Acts.

Now come three characteristics of the true circumcision, in opposition to three characters of ‘the slashing.’

“Who worship by the Spirit of God.” The Jews worship by the fallen flesh of man; and the flesh is unclean. We worship the Father in sincerity and truth: John 4. Theirs is ceremonial religion without heart, But the Holy Spirit has begotten again those who are Christ’s; that they may worship in faith and love.

“And boast in Christ Jesus.”

Israel boasts in Moses, and in their superiority over the Gentiles. And Moses condemns them.

“There is one that accuseth you, even Moses in whom ye trust.” They boast of Abraham; but Abraham owns them not as true sons. We boast in Jesus, the Second Adam anointed with the Holy Ghost, and able to bring His people into their inheritance; while Moses is shut out of the land. “Neither they that are circumcised keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh. But God forbid that I should boast, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified to me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation:” (Greek) Gal. 6. We boast in Christ as our Righteousness, and His being our round of resurrection.

“And trust not in the flesh.”

[Redeemed] Israel trusted in the flesh, its promises and performances. “All that Jehovah hath said we will do, and be obedient.” We know how soon that promise was falsified. Fallen flesh, in which dwelleth no good thing, is unfit to serve God. “Blessed are the poor in spirit [the opposite to the boasters in the flesh], for theirs is the kingdom of heaven;” the kingdom of the thousand years. The visible entrance into the Church of Christ, is by immersion, which is the death and burial of the flesh.

Moses, at the conclusion of the law promises from God that circumcision of the heart, and love of God, which we have now: Dent. 30:1-6; Col. 2:11. vs. 4-6. “Although I am in possession of ground of confidence, even in the flesh.

Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the Church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law having proved blameless.”

He who here calls Gentiles away from trusting in the law is not a Gentile, nor one who could not boast in the flesh. He had more and weightier boasts on this ground than most of Israel, or perhaps than any one who rested on Moses and his own deserts. Men of law could not say against Paul, ‘You cry ‘The grapes are sour;’ because they are beyond your reach.’

Seven are Paul’s boasts; divided, as usual, into four and three; or more accurately still 1 + 3 + 3 = 7.

The four first relate to his purity of descent, and to the initial rite of law. Confidence in the flesh or distrust of it made the great difference between Jew and Christian.

The three last give us a view of his life as a son of the law. When he arrived at manhood he acted out the principles of which he boasted.

1. “Circumcised the eighth day.”

He was no proselyte, circumcised in later life: but he was bound over to keep the whole law on the very day named in the covenant of circumcision made with Abraham.

2. “Of the stock of Israel.”

A son of Abraham by the line of Jacob.

3. “Of the tribe of Benjamin.”

He belonged not to any of the ten tribes, that fell away to idolatry; but was one of the two that adhered to David and his house. The temple too was fixed in the lot of Benjamin.

4. “An Hebrew sprung from Hebrews.”

His line was not defiled by the admission of any Gentile, on the male or female side.

Now come the three boasts resting on his conduct after having attained to manhood.

5. “As regards law, a Pharisee.”

He belonged not to the unorthodox sect of the Sadducees.

6. “As regards zeal, persecuting the Church.” - An evil workman.

No doubt this was in the eyes of the Jews a merit and a boast, that scarce any other Jew could assert.

7. “As it regards the righteousness that is in the law, having proved blameless.”

So he said, while trusting in the flesh.

It is not said “Having been found blameless.” He is speaking of himself as looked at by Israel. At the time he broke away from Moses, he was not, and never had been, under any censure, as a defaulter or transgressor against law.

‘How then could he be condemned by law?’ The last of the ten commandments overthrew all his righteousness. “Thou shalt not covet.” He had never stolen but he had coveted. “For I was alive without the law once; but when the [10 th] commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment which was for life, I found to be unto death:” Rom. 7.

When the Jewish rite is looked at by Paul the Christian, it is put last with a note of displeasure.

“Slashing.”{(cutting off). Paul used “concision” to refer to Jews who demanded that circumcision was necessary for salvation (Ph. 3:2).~David Cloud} When regarded by Paul, as a Jew, it is called by its usual name, “circumcision,” and is put first in the picture of righteousness under law, because it bound a man to observe all the law.

vs. 7. “But the things that were to me gains, these I counted loss because of the Christ.”

These seven boasts were to Paul’s mind of nature, his ‘gains.’ But he stands here upon the ground of the Saviour’s parable about the Pearl of Great Price. “Again the kingdom of the heavens is like to a merchant-man seeking beautiful pearls.” His seven boasts were seven pearls according to law, for Israel was set by Moses to win righteousness. “Righteousness, righteousness shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live and inherit the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee:” (Hebrew) Deut. 16:20.

“But when he had found one pearl of great value, he went away, sold all that he had, and bought it.”

This is what the Apostle tells us here that he did. He gave up all the previous pearls of his acquirement, smitten with a sense of the superiority of the righteousness of the Christ.

It illustrates also for us the parable of the Wedding garment. The king, before his son enters, casts a look around on the guests mustered for the feast; and finds one who has come into the banquet-room in his working-clothes. “Comrade, how camest thou in hither, not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.” Men in general are but too ready to justify themselves even at the expense of truth. And here was a ready excuse for him; that he had been invited, from working on the highway, to enter the marriage feast. ‘Whence should a poor man like himself be able to procure apparel suited to a royal feast?’ This, then, was a defence which he knew he could not offer, without being condemned. That supposes then, that on entering the palace, he had had presented to him a robe, which the servants told him was provided by the king for all who would have part in the wedding-feast of the king’s son.

He must, therefore, have refused it in pride. And though, on entering the hall, he finds the other guests apparelled in the wedding-garment provided by the king he still doggedly keeps his place, and his soiled garments.

“Then said the king to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and take him away, and cast him into the darkness outside: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth:” Matt. 22.

He who will keep [only]* his own righteousness has no right to a place in the coming [millennial] glory.* [* See Matt. 5:20; 7:21. There must be a distinction made between the eternal ‘glory’ in “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1), from the coming millennial “glory” which will, after Messiah’s second advent, be established and seen throughout this sin-cursed earth, (Rom. 8:18-22, R.V.).]

Paul esteemed his previous gains “loss.” So entirely were his views changed. And his soul was in harmony with the testimony of the prophet. - “We are all as an unclean thing; and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags:” Isaiah 64:6.

One of his former boasts proclaims him (1) persecutor of the members of Christ. The seven boasts kept (2) him from accepting the righteousness of Christ, by fostering his pride.

(3) They kept him from eternal life and [millennial] glory.

“Loss, because of the Christ.”

The article before ‘Christ’ is important; as it presents to us ‘Christ the Head, and His members in union with Him,’ or ‘The Mystic Christ;’ as we find it written in another place.

“For as the Body is one, and hath many members, but all the members of the one Body, being many, are one Body; so also is THE CHRIST:” 1 Cor. 12:12.

Now this truth is vividly presented to us on the occasion of Paul’s arrest by the Lord Jesus. “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou ME?” “Who art Thou, Lord?” “I am Jesus whom

thou persecutest.” The persecuted saints are identified by Christ with Himself. And Paul was struck with astonishment and dread, at his guilt, and his danger. This testimony of the Lord Jesus was the foundation-principle of his new faith. And none seems to have felt with so overwhelming a force this blessed truth, as the Apostle who was once the chief persecutor unto death of the members of Christ. Therefore this scene, and in almost the same words, is given thrice in the Acts.

1. First it is recorded by Luke in its place in the history: Acts 9.

2. Then twice is it appealed to by Paul, as the warrant for his change from Judaism to Christ. First at Jerusalem, before the people, infuriated at his alleged defilement of the temple: Acts 22.

3. Then before King Agrippa the Jew, and Festus the Roman governor, at the Gentile capital, Cesarea Acts 26.

This view of the Christ on high in the glory of God confessing believers of this dispensation to be His members, overpowered all resistance in the Apostle’s mind. He beheld “Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption:” that, according as it is written, ‘He that boasteth, let him boast in the Lord:’” 1 Cor. 1:30, 31. And so he ever after did. With all his heart he sought thenceforward to be one of the members of that Risen and Glorified Head, Christ Jesus. What was Israel, (God’s people after the flesh,) what were his boasts under law, to be compared with the glory of the Son of God? Let us glance at the blessings promised by law; and we shall see how shallow and brief they seemed to the Apostle, as compared with the glories which he beheld in ‘the Christ,’ or the Son of God risen [out] from the dead, and in His companions.

The blessings to be gained by obedience are detailed both in (1) Leviticus, and in (2) Deuteronomy. Why? Israel, if obedient, was to be blessed, as kings and priests to Jehovah.

Leviticus takes up their portion as priests; Deuteronomy, their blessing as kings. To us that is given, which they were called to earn. “Unto Him that loveth us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood; and made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen:” Rev. 1.

(1) Israel, if obedient, was to have rain from heaven, heavy crops of the field and from the trees, splendid vintages, bread to the full, and safety in their land. They were to enjoy peace; or if enemies came against them, they were to be scattered and slain. Their children were to be numerous, their stores of provision large. God would dwell with them in His tabernacle, in their land; He would be their God and they His people: Lev. 26. Then comes a view of the curses on disobedience. After that, if they repented, God would return to them, and fulfil the unconditional promises made to Abraham.

(2) In Deuteronomy 28. we have the twelve tribes divided into two bodies, one of six tribes to proclaim the blessings; and one of the remaining six to proclaim the curses. But the curses come first {in chap. 27}, and shut out the blessings.{“Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with JOYfulness, and with GLADNESS of heart, for the abundance of all things”cf, v.47}

If obedient, Israel was to be exalted above every nation of earth. They were to be blessed whether in city or country; blest in their families, and their crops; victorious over foes, a holy people. The nations should be afraid of them, because of their favour with Jehovah. Heaven should be open to them to pour down its rain for blessing. They should be

the rich nation, lending to other nations, and not borrowing. But if they became disobedient, all this would be reversed. They should be taken back into Egypt, and sold into slavery.

But a hope is attached to God’s grace, to be put forth on them in the latter day: Deut. 30.

Which then would they choose? Life or death?

We can see, then, how Paul’s eye, enlightened to discern the righteousness of Christ and the spiritual and eternal blessings in Him, could look with comparative contempt on these national and earthly blessings, when viewed in the light of the glory of Christ, and of those united to Him, “His fellows.”

In verse 8 we have Paul’s present mature thoughts as compared with his first sentiments.

‘But the Greek verb is in the perfect tense, and that includes the present effects of his change of view.’

Yes; but the sentiment of verse 8 is a new one, greatly enlarged beyond the statement in verse 7. His previous knowledge was that of law, and of his own righteousness in accordance therewith. But now he rejects everything that stands in the way of the knowledge of Christ, and he accounts all to be not only ‘loss,’ but ‘dung.’ vs. 8. “Yea, moreover, and I count all things to be loss, because of the superiority of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count them but dung, that I may gain Christ.”

Here is advance upon the statements of the preceding verse. Not merely did he count his seven boasts ‘loss,’ but all other things that would turn him away from the knowledge of the new object, Christ.

He had previously been learned in the law of Moses, and the traditions of the Pharisees, beyond his equals in age. He had learned concerning Adam, his first brightness, his fall and his sentence. But here was the last Adam, arisen out of death [and ‘Hades,’ the place of the dead*], bringing righteousness and eternal life not to be won from law. Law properly lowered man’s vain thoughts of himself by weighing him in God’s balances; but it did not supply his need of a righteousness in which to stand before the Judge. Moses displayed to man his debts which he could not pay. But in Christ he now saw the Law Fulfiller. The unclean, upon touching the fringe of the robe of Jesus – “the Lord our Righteousness,” became cleansed and righteous. [* Acts 2:31, R.V.] Moses was once Paul’s master, now it is “Christ Jesus my Lord.” “This is My Beloved Son hear Him!” Observe here the change in the description of the Saviour. It is no longer “the Christ” Mystic; the Apostle speaks of “Christ Jesus my Lord.” He is now speaking of Christ as the individual, the risen Son of God. Moses was a sinner, shut out of the land, and buried by God in some spot unknown. But ‘Christ Jesus,’ who was laid in the sepulchre for others’ sins, has left the tomb empty, to seat Himself at God’s right hand in heavenly places.

“For whom I have suffered the loss of all things.”

With the giving up of Moses as his master he lost the earthly heritage and benefits attached to law. While obedient to the Old Covenant, he was to enjoy all fleshly blessings in earthly places. When he turned away he lost his former reputation, and became a turn-coat and a madman. What a proof it was of the reality and intensity of his convictions, that he was content to be so despoiled! But the truth he taught others, he felt himself. “Through many troubles we must enter the [millennial] kingdom of God.”

“And I count them but dung.”

What was the value of all that he had lost? What was it, in comparison of what he had gained instead? ‘Dung!’ He had won instead “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” He made no effort to recover, in whole or in part, what he had been despoiled of. As the father of Mr. Wesley said of his burning house, after his children were set in safety, “Let the house go, neighbours; I have here all my children.” How unlike to robbed Micah, “Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away, and what have I more?”

The Saviour when advised to add a fast to those appointed by the law, refused. His was new wine, which required new bottles of skin.

“In order that I might gain Christ.”* * No article before ‘Christ.’

The gaining of Christ takes place now. Else he would not be ‘found in ... Christ’{v. 9} in the coming day of account. He was at first a foe of Christ. He passed over to belong to Christ, as Peter had taught. “Repent, and be immersed every one of you on the authority of Jesus Christ, unto the remission of sins.” Or, as Ananias sent by Christ instructed Paul, “And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be immersed, and bathe away thy sins, having called on the name of the Lord.” Therein was a visible testimony to his nation, to the Church, and to himself, that he had left Moses. He put off at once both Adam and Moses. “Wherefore the Law was {not “is”} our school-master up to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” “For ye are all sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many as have been immersed into Christ have put on Christ.” Immersion compels a man to carry out the figure. The old wet clothes must be put off; the new and clean put on. There is also the coming up ‘out of the water’ (no more to enter it) at Christ’s command. He gains Christ then who puts off his own righteousness, and unrighteousness; and who, putting on Christ, continues of the same mind and faith to the end. {Read this short piece about the “TOGA“ by G.E. Jones; could this be the “wedding garment” of Mt. 22?} vs. 9. “And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which comes out of law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is out from God on faith.”* * Or ‘on that faith.’ [See Greek.] See Note A. Appendix.

This refers to the coming day of judgment, when a man’s trial is over, and when, after examination by the Judge, he reaps the result of life. ‘Found’ is a word often occurring in law. ‘All persons found trespassing will be prosecuted.’ ‘The verdict was, ‘Found guilty.’

“Thou art weighed in the balances, and found wanting.” “I find in Him no fault at all.” See also 2 Cor. 5:3; 2 Tim. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:7; 2 Pet. 3:14; Rev. 20:11, 15.31

31) {“If so be that being clothed we shall not be FOUND naked.” (2 Corinthians 5:3) “The Lord grant unto him that he may FIND mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.” (2 Timothy 1:18) “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be FOUND unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” (1 Peter 1:7) “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be FOUND of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” (2 Peter 3:14) “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was FOUND no place for them. “And whosoever was not FOUND written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11, 15 AV)}

Now there is present choice, and activity; then comes the being set passively before the Judge, to receive the award. Paul would abide in Christ, and so be adjudged in that day to be ‘in Him.’ For Paul would continue of the same mind to the end.

“Not having mine own righteousness, which comes out of law.”

Where Moses speaks of righteousness, as demanded by God from man, it is to discourage the thought that they had it. “Speak not thou in thy heart saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land:” Dent. 9:4. Job at first holds fast to it. “My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go:” Job 27:6. But afterwards he withdraws the vain attempt to establish his righteousness before God. The true “My righteousness” is where God speaks, commending it as provided by Himself for lost man. “Hearken unto Me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness: I bring near My righteousness; it shall not be far off, and My salvation (dependent thereon) shall not tarry:” Isaiah 46:13. And again, “My righteousness is near; My salvation is gone forth,” 51:5.

Paul has set before us his boasts, as the man obedient to law. Twice is ‘law’ named in his boasts. “As touching law, a Pharisee.” “Touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”

Moses commanded Israel to seek after righteousness, by obedience to every part of the law. None could furnish such a righteousness. But now Gospel-grace first provides a righteousness, and then calls for its fruits.

When righteousness is said to be, “in the law,” it is where Paul is describing his choice of law, and his abiding in it. But here it is “Righteousness out of law.” Law is the field - by diligence in cultivation of which, righteousness was to be obtained, as the harvest. Here it is supposed that the harvest is come, and that righteousness is borne away as the result.

“Not mine own righteousness.” Here Paul strips off his apron of fig-leaves, to put on the coat of skin, of Jehovah’s making. He puts away, not his sins, but the best products of his life. He saw the fatal defects of his own righteousness. “The mind of the flesh is enmity against God:” Rom. 8. How should enmity love God with all the heart? Law forbids lusts. “I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not lust” (covet): Rom. 7:7. But wherever the flesh is found, there are “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.”

Righteousness then is “of faith; that it might be by grace:” Rom. 4:16.

“But that which is by means of faith in Christ.”

The righteousness is that which was wrought by Christ during His life. “Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” Jesus Christ is “the Righteous.” Faith in Christ is the hand that puts on Christ. We are made one with Him, and His righteousness becomes ours. He who is ‘in Christ’ is righteous with the righteousness of Christ. “If any sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous, and He is the propitiation for our sins:” 1 John 2:1. Under law each one was to stand and be judged by his own individual righteousness. “The man that doeth those things shall live in them” Rom. 10:4. But now there is only one righteousness for all the saved. It is that which once belonged to Another, but is now made available to every one that believeth. Law’s means of righteousness is doing, or obedience to God’s commands. The Gospel’s means is belief in the Son of God as our righteousness. Faith is not righteousness. It is only the hand that puts it on. As there is but

One owned of God to be righteous by law, “Ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus:” 1 Cor. 6:11.

And righteousness is needed; a spotless righteousness, in the Great Day. “For the wrath of God from heaven is revealed on all ungodliness, and unrighteousness of men:” Rom. 1:18.

“The righteousness which is from God on faith.”

Literally, the righteousness is “out of God.” Therefore it cannot be, as some would have it, the attribute of justice, which must ever dwell in God. It is a righteousness which derives its origin not from man, but from the Most High, and which proceeds from Him to us, and for us. “Their righteousness is from Me, saith the Lord:” Isa. 54:17. “Let the skies pour down righteousness, let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation; and let righteousness spring up together; I Jehovah have created it:”... “Surely shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength:” Isa. 45:8, 24. “He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation:” Psa. 24:5. It was to be obtained as Abraham obtained it: Isa. 51:1, 2.

Hence it is called in Romans, “the righteousness of God.” “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God by faith is revealed to faith as it is written, ‘Now the righteous by faith shall live.’ For the wrath of God from heaven is revealed on all ungodliness and unrighteousness:” Rom. 1:16-18.

And again, “But now the righteousness of God without law hath been manifested, being witnessed by the law, and the prophets. I mean the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ for all, and on all that believe:” Rom. 3:21, 22.

“On faith.”

1. The Greek preposition may also be translated as a particle of time. ‘On faith,’ as soon as it exists.

2. Or ‘For the benefit of faith.’

3. But the translation of the preposition as related to place and the destination of God, is far superior; it means a garment resting on the shoulders of the man of faith. It is thus brought into connection with other passages.

1. After the entrance of sin by our first parents’ disobedience to law, we read as the immediate result: “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” They feel the need of covering, now that they have received the knowledge of right and wrong.

But when they appear before God, they are sensible still of nakedness, and Adam’s defence of himself because of his hiding from God, but draws out the proof of his guilt. “I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” Unrighteousness is nakedness before the Judge; and Adam finds that the covering of his own manufacture is worthless. But then comes grace. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

2. Again: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness:” Isa. 61:10.

3. Again: “When the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment. And he saith unto him, ‘Comrade (not ‘friend’), how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?’” Matt. 22. He was just the opposite to Paul, who put off his own righteousness to take that provided by God. 4. Again: “Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision? or upon the uncircumcision also? For we are saying, that faith was reckoned to Abraham unto (not ‘for’) righteousness:” Rom. 4:9.

5. “What then shall we say? that Gentiles who were not pursuing after righteousness, have obtained righteousness, I mean the righteousness which is by faith. But Israel pursuing after righteousness has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they sought it not by faith, but as (something to come) out of works. For they stumbled at the stumbling stone. ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling, and rock of offence;’ and, ‘Every one that believeth on Him shall not be ashamed:’” Rom. 9:30-33.

6. Once more: “For they (Jews) being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and attempting to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of law, unto righteousness to every one that believeth:” Rom. 10:3, 4.

7. “For ye are all sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were immersed unto Christ, put on Christ:” Galatians 3:27. {Read this short blog on the “Toga“ by G.E. Jones; could this be the “wedding garment” of Mt. 22?}

8. “And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be upon them, and mercy; and on the Israel of God:” 6:16. See also Job 29:14; Lu 2:22; Matt. 3:{13-}16; Mark 1:11; John 1:32-33{-36; 3:25-30; 2 Ti 2:5; Rev 19:7-8}32 9. But now without law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ, for all [provided of God for whoever will] and UPON all them that believe:” Rom. 3:22.

Here is the result of the offer; - that righteousness clothes all who believe.

10. “And a great sign was seen in the heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.”

32) “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment [was] as a robe and a diadem. ... And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present [him] to the Lord; ...

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer [it to be so] now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: ... And there came a voice from heaven, [saying], Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. ... And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. ... And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! ... Then there arose a question between [some] of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying.

And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all [men] come to him. John answered and said, ... He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I [must] decrease. ... And if a man also strive for masteries, [yet] is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. ... Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

The woman here is Jerusalem; but not Jerusalem in the attitude of Paul’s day. She is not trusting to law for her salvation. Law, - “the moon” - is “under her feet.” But she is “clothed with the sun.” And Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness, the Lord our Righteousness.

Only when law is no longer our dependence, can we be clothed with this sun.

The source of this righteousness is, not law, but God. The righteousness is not of my working, but of Christ’s; but as I wear it, and it clothes me, it is mine. Its effect is God’s glory, who devised it, fulfilled it, and applies it; and not my glory. Law gives not, and cannot give us the knowledge of our [imputed or accredited] righteousness. “For by the law is the knowledge of SIN:” Rom. 3:20.

11. And the effects of both sin and righteousness are given in that word: “The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him; and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him:” Ezek. 18:20. vs. 10, 11. “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship in His sufferings, being conformed unto His death; If by any means I may attain unto the select resurrection that is from among the dead.”

This, I believe, gives us a second and further view of “the superiority of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord,” named in verse 8. That was in the next verse, shown to be the finding in Christ a righteousness, which neither Adam nor Moses can bestow.

Here we have the second step, after the surrender of hopes springing from flesh and from law. When we take the righteousness of Christ as ours, we become one with Him by faith. “We are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus:” 1 Cor. 6.

Law would have us justified in our own name, if we had wrought righteousness ourselves. While Paul was under Moses, he was high in reputation with Israel; when he took the righteousness of Christ, he was voted “mad.” But then he came to know Christ as a person, far more really than before. He began then to resemble Christ in his character, as under grace; and in his history, as finding men and Satan against him. But then also there arose to view the prospect of the prize of [millennial] glory set before him.

I. Take now the Saviour’s final commission to the disciples in Matthew. The believers go to the appointed Mount in Galilee, to see the Saviour. Some worship Him; some doubt whether they ought to do so. Jesus, instead of reproving the worshippers, encourages the doubters to give Him adoration. He is Lord of all in heaven and on earth. {And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.} “Go ye therefore, (travel) and disciple all the nations, immersing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

1. Here we have the FIRST KNOWLEDGE of Christ, as (1) the Risen One, and (2) as the Lord. On this foundation at once immersion into the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit is to follow. God is One - and therefore we have - “the Name;” not “names.” In the Unity of God there is a Trinity of Persons.

2. Then comes the AFTER-KNOWLEDGE. “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you all the days unto the end of the age.{alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.}” After the reception of baptism comes the being instructed in many new truths, even all that was taught by the Saviour. And His mighty power as Immanuel, ‘God with us,’ is to be experienced day by day, till the ending of this evil age in judgment is come; and obedient disciples are to be caught away out of earth to

meet the Saviour in air, and to receive a place in the millennial kingdom of glory. The believer is to seek first this kingdom, and all that is necessary by the way shall be added.

II. Take as a second example the Lord’s commission as given in Mark. The eleven are rebuked

by Christ for unbelief in His resurrection, although more than two or three messengers of the truth had been sent them.

They are to go forth to spread the good news of the Redeemer’s resurrection, far as the world extends. “He that believeth and is immersed shall be saved; but he that believeth not [though he be immersed] shall be damned.” What a proof of the necessity of faith to a right immersion before God! Baptism without faith avails not to save !

Then are given signs of the coming millennial kingdom of power and glory.

1. “In My name (believers) shall cast out demons.” This is a token and testimony of that happy day when Satan and his angels shall be cast into the Bottomless Pit, and the nations shall no longer be deceived.

2. “They shall speak with new tongues.” Grace came with the Holy Spirit; and the power of speaking languages never learned, was one of His gifts. Probably this may indicate that but one language shall prevail on millennial earth.33 3. “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.” The serpents of earth are the representative of the Tempter, who deceived our first parents, and brought them under death and the curse. Paul at Malta was an example of the powerlessness of the serpent and his venom against the man of faith. So shall it be in the Day of the Kingdom.

4. “They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.” This gift, token of the kingdom in which diseases shall be removed, and death checked, was given as soon as the Holy Spirit came down.

III. Let our third and last example be Paul’s leave-taking at Miletus. He addresses the elders of Ephesus: Acts 20. Many were his troubles, past and to come. But he had taught Jews and Gentiles repentance toward God, and faith in Christ. At Jerusalem, to which he was going up, he might be called even to lay down his life. But his great object was to fulfil the ministry of the Gospel of the Grace of God, with which Christ had entrusted him. He had proclaimed among them the Gospel of the Kingdom of God also, which is a reward to those obedient to Christ, which shall be distributed according to works. Having presented both these parts of the counsel of God, he was clear from any reproach by them in the Great Day. But troubles would arise even from among the elders against which they were to watch.

He committed them to God, and to the word of His grace, which was able to build them up, and to give them inheritance among the sanctified. Here are both the knowledge of Christ, and the after-knowledge, stated together.

We have in this passage, I believe, an example of the two great divisions of Christianity: (1) KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST; (2) and AFTER-KNOWLEDGE. This distinction appears in the two different ways in which Philippi is brought before us.

33) {“I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent.” ~ Zephaniah 3:9 ... a verse important to Edenics: ... the unmixed or “pure” language, ... also means clear, evident and lucid, ... When Zephaniah 3:9 writes that a Pure Language will overturn and unite humanity, the verb ‫ ךפה‬HeyFeKH is used.

Edenic can turn us right-side up. www.edenics.org, by Isaac E. Mozeson.}

1. First we have Paul’s testimony outside the city, his oral teaching beside the river.

Lydia, a worshipper of God, as a proselyte of the law, hears the Apostle’s word, and the Lord (Jesus) opens her heart to attend and believe. She is baptized, and her household. Her heart opens to receive Paul and Silas into her house.

Here is the first-fruit of faith.

Within the city, Paul, shamefully treated and imprisoned, preaches to the jailor Christ, as Lord. “Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” He speaks to them the word of the Lord. They are all baptized, and there is joy in God. In these two examples we see what is necessary to constitute a disciple. There must be preaching of the word. Here it was oral discourse. The foundations of the faith are declared

by God’s messengers; and received by man. The mouth and heart are won for Christ; and then follows reception of the rite, which proves the man’s acceptance of the truth; and shows, in emblem, the believer’s coming out from the world. We are taught by Romans 10. that there is first, faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection; and then confession with the mouth, that Jesus is Lord.

Hence come righteousness and peace; the man is justified before God. But no sooner is this attained at Philippi, than the messengers are sent away. How then shall the superstructure be carried on?

With the cessation of oral teaching comes the word written, and it is addressed to all the servants of Christ at Philippi. The Apostle takes them up from the point at which he had left them, and proceeds to tell them of the further truths which are to guide their life. The justified are to be led on to sanctification; by the truths not yet made known to them.

After faith is begun, the hope of their calling, is set before them. They know Christ as their righteousness; they are now to regard Him as coming back to earth, to bestow reward on His obedient ones. They are taught concerning the First Resurrection, or the coming forth of God’s approved ones from the tomb to enjoy a thousand years of power, and of joy with Christ. “Ought not the Christ to suffer, and to enter into His glory?”

They are then instructed in the course of life well-pleasing to God. They are to be “a peculiar people; zealous of good works.” They are to await the return of Christ Jesus, in obedience to all His commands. This is the AFTER-KNOWLEDGE OF CHIRIST. And in regard of these further truths, disciples are to be forbearing one toward another; and differences of belief are to be borne with.

“If in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule; let us mind the same thing.” {Php. 3:15} Let me add a few confirmatory passages on this great truth concerning knowledge and after-knowledge.

The Jew’s knowledge of Moses was shown, first in the two tables of stone outside the hearts of the covenanters. They carried with them condemnation and death. But Paul bore with him the righteousness of Christ which saves, and the Holy Spirit who sanctifies; while on the receivers of Christ he laid hands, and they received the gifts of the Holy Ghost.

Paul knew the Lord Jesus Christ experimentally, and not merely the doctrine contained in His words. He found new difficulty in living on the principle of grace, and not of justice.

“And the power of His resurrection.”

This refers, I am persuaded, primarily to the Saviour’s own resurrection. He was to be the first that should arise from among the dead: Acts 26:23. Thereby He was manifested to be “the Son of God by the power (according to the spirit of holiness) [Christ’s own Spirit] of the resurrection from among the dead:” Rom. 1:4.

The resurrection of the Saviour is that of the Head of the body, the Church.

Then comes the application of His resurrection to individuals, members of His body.

The special passage asserting this is found in Ephes. 1:16-23. Paul, after he heard of the Ephesians’ faith, and love to all saints, lifted up his prayers on their behalf. “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, might give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your heart being enlightened.”

1. “That ye may know what is the hope of his calling” [the first Resurrection, the prize set by God].

2. “And what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”

3. “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the energy of the might of His strength, which He wrought in the Christ [the Head and body together] when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His right hand in the heavenlies, far above all rule, and authority, and power, and lordship, and every name named, not only in this age but also in the coming one; and put all things under His feet.”

“And gave Him to be Head over all things to THE CHURCH, which is His Body, the complement of Him that fills all in all.”

The next step to faith is our visible acceptance of the truth of Christ’s death and resurrection, by our being immersed. In it the believer dies, is buried, and rises again with Christ. The history of the great Apostle, Paul is an example of this counsel of God. As soon as his eye-sight is restored to him, though he has neither eaten nor drank anything for three days, he is at once baptized. Ananias, visiting him by Christ’s command, reminds him of his meeting the Lord Jesus on the road; and tells him of the intention of Christ that he should be His witness to all. At once then comes the exhortation: “And now, why tarriest thou? Arise, and be immersed, and bathe away thy sins, having called on the name of the Lord:” Acts 22.

It was not fitting that he should be Christ’s witness, till he had received the visible cleansing of the whole man, appointed to set forth God’s great pardon by faith in Christ. The first thing one whose eyes are spiritually open should do, is ‘Be immersed.’

Thereon begins our spiritual education by the Holy Spirit, leading out, from — the pursuit of the world’s prizes, so strenuously sought by most. The Holy Spirit makes use of the doctrine, and of the baptismal rite, to wean us from the earth, and to prepare us for the [blessings from] heaven. “If then ye are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Set our affections on things, above, not on things on the earth. For ye have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our Life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear together with Him in glory:” Col. 3:1-4.

“And the fellowship in His sufferings.”

Peace with God means war with the devil as long as he is at liberty. The Saviour conquered Satan’s temptations in the wilderness. But he was to assail Him again when He is

made the sacrifice for sin. “That the Christ should suffer,” was one of the main testimonies of Moses and the prophets. Our Lord foretold it Himself: Matt. 16:21; Luke 24:46; Acts 3:18.

Paul had already suffered. He had learned the difference between persecuting, as the man of law; and the being persecuted by the Seed of the Serpent, as a man under grace.

Specially at Philippi. And to the Colossians he says: “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is lacking in the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for His Body’s sake, which is the Church:” Col. 1:21.

But suffering was not destined for apostles alone.

“We must through many troubles enter into the kingdom of God:” Acts 14:22. Here ‘the kingdom of God’ cannot mean the present day of grace, but must respect the day of glory and reward. It is in the present day of grace that the troubles come. As members of Christ, the Seed of the Woman, we receive the bruising of the heel, if we occupy our true position. Paul would have the Philippians regard it as a gift: 1:29. “To you it is given, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”

And to the men of nature and of law it is a strange portion. Law said, if only obedient, “All people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of thee.” “And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah thy God:” Deut. 28:10, 13.

But very differently does Peter speak. “If when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called;* because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow in His steps:” 1 Peter 2:20, 21. [* NOTE. At the time this commentary was being prepared for a C.D. and ‘themillennialkingdom.org.uk’ the website, I had been reading accounts of the sufferings which Christians endured for their faith in Richard Wurmbrand’s book: “Tortured For Christ.” “…and [but] joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him:” (Rom. 8:17b. R.V.) This joint-heirship is conditional; and it depends upon suffering for the truth, which Messiah and His Apostles taught to the redeemed people of God.]

The Saviour spoke this out strongly, when the two apostles desired to have a throne on His right hand, and a throne on His left, in His [millennial] kingdom of glory.* He assured them that they did not know what they were asking for. They did not see, that such a special glory was bound up with special suffering. “Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” Matt. 20. [* Hab. 2:14. cf. Rev. 20:4, R.V.]

Sufferings now with Christ look onward to Christ’s return, and carry glory with them in the Day of Reward. “Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy:” 1 Peter 4:13, 14; 5:1-9.

The millennial reward is indeed God’s compensation of comfort to those who suffered loss with Christ. “Woe unto you that are rich [disciples], for ye are receiving your consolation.” “Woe unto you when all shall speak well of you; for so did their fathers to the false prophets:” Luke 6:24, 26. [* Keep in mind: “There is something far nobler than the right to own, even the right to give up one’s right” (G. H. Lang). When Christ put the ‘rich young ruler’ to the test, he failed it miserably! He was not prepared ‘to give up’ that which he loved, for the inheritance he asked Christ for!]

“Being conformed to His death.”

The Saviour’s was not only a sacrificial death, but a martyr’s death. And Paul here testifies his desire to be like Christ in this respect also. The Apostle was one of the violent ones, of whom the Saviour spoke, who would break through all obstacles to win the thousand years of glory: Matt. 11:11, 12.

Observe that the four times ‘him’ and ‘his’ of verse ten all refer to Christ. (1) “That I may know Him, and the (2) power of His resurrection, and (3) the fellowship of His sufferings, being (4) conformed to His death.”

Here then we have two steps or stages of the wonderful and super-excellent knowledge of Christ.

1. The first attests Paul’s rejection of his own righteousness to take that of Christ, with the loss of all things in consequence of it: vs. 8, 9. This ensued very soon after his baptism, immediately after which he began his testimony to Christ as the Son of God. He received Christ as his righteousness, and took his stand on grace. He possessed JUSTIFICATION before God. So far the Philippian saints are carried in Acts 16. They believed in the Lord Jesus, and were immersed into His name. At that point they are parted from the Apostle, who moves onward to Thessalonica.

2. The epistle then now before us takes them up at the point they have reached, to lead them on to the second stage of the knowledge of Christ. It is observable, that the foes of the disciples fix on their baptism. That, at least, was one of the “customs, which were not lawful for them to receive, not to observe, being Romans.”

The first step or stage is called ‘the Knowledge of Christ.’ The second is called ‘the After-knowledge of Christ.’ That is found in the second chapter, in the Saviour’s humiliation and sufferings which are to have their reward in His Coming “Day.” The third chapter applies these points through the immediate example of Paul if we seek to have part in the [coming] kingdom and [manifested] glory of Christ for disciples. Baptism, or immersion is the portal, which prepares the way for our entrance into the main building beyond.

Christ, as the new object of experimental knowledge, was welcomed by Paul, though involving both suffering, and perhaps death with Christ. “For he had respect to the recompence of reward.” He would be, one of the ‘Fellows’ of Christ: Heb. 1. Here is a mighty advance beyond law. Law set its subjects to work out, by their own obedience, a righteousness in which they might live; though none could attain thereto. Grace bestowed a righteousness on all those that believed on Christ. Then it set before them a new object, a ‘prize’ proposed to the righteous in Christ, the glory of the First Resurrection; or the millennial kingdom, as the first fruits of eternal life.

First we believe in Christ’s death for us: Rom. 4:25; 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:3. Then in immersion we die with Him in emblem: Rom. 6:8; Col. 2:13; 3:3, 4.

The reality of this distinction between the First Knowledge and the After-knowledge is proved by the Saviour’s words at the Great Commission. “Go ye, therefore, disciple all the nations, and immerse them, into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

Here is the first step then.

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you all the days unto the end of the age:” Matt. 28:19, 26.

To this second step belong sanctification by the Spirit, and the running for the ‘prize’ of our heavenly calling. vs. 11. “If by any means I may arrive [‘attain,’ i.e., to ‘gain by effort’] at the select resurrection (that is) from among the dead.”

This phrase implies (1) something very desirable, (2) but encompassed with difficulty and danger; so that there would be its loss on the part of any who did not strive to attain it.

Let us look at occasions where this phrase is used.

1. Paul warns his fellow-voyagers of dangers ahead, because the stormy time of the year had arrived, and sailing was dangerous. “O men, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives (‘souls’).”

Nevertheless, he was not believed. The majority, “because the haven was not commodious to winter in, advised that they should sail thence, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there winter:” Acts 27. All confessed the danger, but hoped for good success with careful seamanship. But they were grievously disappointed; till the severity of the tempest took away even the hope of escape with life.

God sends them a hope through an angel’s message to Paul. The tempest carries them to the north of Malta. “And when it was day they knew not the land; but they discovered a certain bay with a beach into which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship.”

2. “God is my witness,” says Paul, “how without ceasing I make mention of you in my prayers, making request, if by any means I might be sped on my journey, by the will of God to come to you.” “I would not have you ignorant brethren, that often I purposed to come unto you, but was hindered up to the present:” Rom. 1.

3. “For I speak to you, Gentiles, inasmuch as I am Apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my service, If by any means may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh, and might save some of them:” Rom. 11:13, 14. How difficult a task it was Paul knew, and few were the results to his prayers and efforts.

The expression, then, “if by any means” supposes (1) something very desirable; but also (2) very difficult, with determination to break through all difficulties to get it.

What is the object desired in this case?

“If I might attain [gain by effort] unto the select resurrection* from among the dead.” * Literally “the out-resurrection.” See the critical editions.

What is meant by this expression?

It is generally believed, that there is but one resurrection, at which both the righteous and the ungodly will together appear, and receive the judgment of Christ at the same time. But Scripture testifies that there are two resurrections, a thousand years apart. The First Resurrection is one of honour and reward the second mainly of judgment and condemnation.

“I saw thrones and men sat upon them, and judgment was given to them; and I saw the souls of those beheaded for (1) testimony to Jesus, and to (2) the Word of God; and whoever had not worshipped the Wild Beast [Antichrist] nor his image [his statue], nor had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they came to life, and reigned with Christ a

thousand years. But the rest of the dead came not to life until the thousand years were ended.

This is the First Resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath a portion in the First Resurrection; over these the Second Death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of the Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

After the completion of these thousand years of blessing the rest of the dead are assembled before the [‘a great white] throne’ of judgment. And then, after the books containing the deeds of the wicked are produced, “another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.” In it are found the names of [regenerate] believers not judged worthy of the glory of the millennium; but they are saved by grace.

“The hour is coming in which all that are in the tombs shall hear His (Christ’s) voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment:” John 5:29.

This doctrine of two resurrections was new to the Jews.

1. Mark 9:9, 10. “As they came down from the mountain, He (Jesus) charged them that they should relate to none what they had seen; until the Son of man should have risen from among the dead. And they kept the saying among themselves, questioning what is the meaning of the rising from among the dead?”

2. At the resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus says to Martha, “Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto Him, I know that he shall rise again at the resurrection in the last day:” John 11. She knows but of one resurrection.

The First Resurrection is of necessity a resurrection [out] from among the dead. Those favoured by God arise; but the main body of the dead remain in the tomb, till the day of reward is over. “The rest of the dead (beside those who live and reign with Christ) came not to life again, till the thousand years were finished.” And this ‘rest of the dead’ consists of two portions: (1) believers not accounted worthy of the millennial kingdom; and (2) unbelievers, who are condemned after the kingdom.

Hence, when the Great White Throne is set, there are two classes discovered to us; (1), those condemned according to their works, as testified by the open books: ver. 12. (2) But another book is opened, “the Book of Life,” beside the books of death.

Now while those not written in the Book of Life are cast into the lake of fire, those enrolled* in that book are able to enter the city of God: 21:27. * That characteristic word - “found” - occurs here. “And if any was not found written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the lake of fire.”

Of the select resurrection from among the dead, Christ is the first example: Acts 26 23. He has won this place by His perfect righteousness. He is raised two thousand years before His Assembly, the Church. After that time comes another resurrection of honour. And those not ‘accounted worthy’ of it have to wait [in ‘Hades’ – the place of the dead ‘in the heart of the earth’ ({Jonah} Matt. 12:40. cf. 16:18{gates of H not prevailing})] a thousand years; before they enter in the inheritance [promised to Messiah (Psa. 2:8), and] provided for those who believe and are saved {i.e., saints & survivors}.

This [millennial] glory of the Lord Jesus was presented in a figure, when Israel under Joshua entered the land of promise through the Jordan. “After three days [Jesus rose the third day] the officers went through the host. And they commanded the people saying, ‘When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites bearing it, then ye shall

remove from your place and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure; come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go; for ye have not passed this way heretofore.”

“And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves {i.e., as saints & survivors}, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you:” Josh. 3:3-5.

The ‘about 2000 cubits by measure’ refer to the about 2,000 years since the Saviour’s resurrection, and ascent to His Father. And till we cross into the land, God calls on us to look to our sanctification.

We see then, that the Select, or First Resurrection, is the desirable object to be sought.

The entry on this demands first - Faith. But faith alone, without answering works, is not enough. Those who enter the kingdom of millennial glory enter as “the righteous,” not as [regenerate] believers only. (1) Those Christians who make feasts after the new (or Gospel) pattern, says the Saviour, shall be “blessed;” for the guests in them cannot not recompense their hosts; “for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the righteous:” Luke 14:14. (2) “Then shall the righteous shine out as the sun in the kingdom of their Father:” Matt. 13:43. (3) “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life everlasting:” Matt. 25.

SEE ALSO: NOTE C PHILIPPIANS 3:9-11 NOTE D ETERNAL LIFE A GIFT: THE MILLENNIUM A PRIZE vs. 12 “Not that I have already received, or am already perfected; but I am pursuing, if that I may also lay hold on that, with a view to which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” {“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” AV}

Paul a man of strong faith, of great losses for Christ, and heartily at work for Him, had not yet obtained – What? It cannot be spoken of ‘the First Resurrection’ as a fact already fulfilled. None could imagine that he had. But he had not attained yet the title thereto before God. That is morally equivalent to obtaining the ‘prize’. And of this other passages speak. In the Epistle to the Hebrews he blames the main body of the saints; and urges them to put forth the same diligence and steadiness of pursuit manifested by some; for so would they attain the full assurance of hope. “That ye become not slothful, but imitators of those who through faith, and patience [perseverance] are inheriting the promises.” And then he sets before us the history of Abraham; who, after patient endurance obtained the oath of God over Isaac offered up: Rom. 2:7-9, 16.

While in the Philippians the Apostle confesses he was not sure of the ‘prize,’ yet, in his last letter, he testifies his assurance of it. “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me at that day:” 2 Tim. 4:7, 8.

“Or am already perfected.”

I understand this to assert, that his internal sanctification was not complete. His education for glory, by the changes wrought within him by the Holy Ghost, and without by the trials of the way, was not finished. The change from Adam and Moses to Christ is not effected fully in a moment. The Saviour, in more than one place, speaks of His own

perfecting. “The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto Him, ‘Get Thee out, and depart hence; for Herod is wishing to slay Thee!’ And He said to them: ‘Go, and tell that fox, Behold, I am casting out demons, and effecting cures to-day, and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected:” Luke 13.

So in the word addressed to disciples the Saviour says: “Become ye therefore perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

“But I am pursuing, with a view of laying hold on that.”

The Apostle was not seeking to attain eternal life. That was his already by the gift of God. Redemption belongs to faith. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life:” John 3:14-16. “He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life:” ver. 36.

Salvation belongs at once to the believer. “Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And in Him all that believe are justified:” Acts 13.

“IF that I may apprehend that.”

Here is doubt expressed; and effort to attain certainty of reward in the way of obedience and diligence.

To get a place in the First Resurrection is more difficult than Christians think. It is also more valuable. Both of these things call for sustained pursuit.

“For which I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”

The time supposed is that of the Apostle’s arrest by Christ on his way to Damascus.

Here then we learn, that the ambition to attain the ‘prize’ was no vain fancy of his own mind; but a part of Christ’s design of good for him. To have a part in the First Resurrection is desired by Christ, for those regenerate by the Holy Spirit. And so we find in the parable of the Talents — that the Saviour says of the two approved servants — “Well done, good and faithful servant,” “Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,” that is, partake of His millennial reward.

This context shows that the Apostle has specially in view his arrest by Christ when on his mad career of persecution. (1) Then was he stopped, cast to earth, and blinded. (2) Then it was, that a view of the Saviour and His disciples of this dispensation united in glory, as One Body, — ‘the Christ’ — was presented to his mind. Then too was shown the reality of Christ’s resurrection to one who blasphemed.

Here is one aspect of the prize, for Christ was now seen to shine in heaven in the glory of God. It was then that the Saviour taught him, through the ministry of Ananias, the suffering on which he was about to enter. On that occasion he learned the difference between the earthly calling of law, and the heavenly calling of grace. It was Christ in heaven speaking to Saul on earth, and telling him of the forgiveness of sins, and of eternal inheritance, by faith in Himself, the Risen. Moses, as the man of law, was called on earth by a voice out of the bush on fire in the desert. He was to lead Israel from bondage and idolatry, to the land of freedom and of true service, promised by Jehovah. But Paul saw Christ no longer in the bush on fire, but victorious over all the persecution of men; danger now threatening any who should attempt to persecute.

13, 14. “Brethren, I count not myself to have laid hold (on the prize). But one thing (I do), forgetting the things behind, but reaching forward to those in front, I press forward to the goal, for the prize of God’s calling on high in Christ Jesus.” {“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”—AV} vs. 13 “Brethren.”

The Apostle here sets all believers on the same footing as himself, though he was an apostle. The call was directed to them, as well as to himself.

“I count not myself to have laid hold (on the prize).”

The stress lies on ‘count not myself.’ Thereby he introduces us to the thoughts of his fellow-believers concerning himself. They felt sure, that a man who had made such sacrifices, had endured such sufferings, and wrought so unflinchingly, and steadily for Christ, would certainly receive the [millennial] kingdom of God of which he was in pursuit.

But he was not so flattered by their thoughts of his merits, as to slacken his efforts; as if they were no longer necessary. He knew more of the value of the prize than they did. He was aware that the standard of God’s requirements was higher than theirs. The goal was not yet reached; and till that was won, he wisely refused to relax.

He was an enthusiastic racer; and while his friends bade him look back on the past, and on what he had done, had lost, and had suffered for Christ, he kept his eyes fixed on the space before him, esteeming nothing done, till all was accomplished. The course and the goal had been fixed by God {election}. Now is the time of activity; in the Day of Christ comes the rest of God, when the winner shall cease from his present labours, as God did on the first Sabbath after His work was complete.

Verse 13 gives us the Apostle’s care and exertion to win for himself the prize. But the call to seek first the kingdom was not given to himself alone; but was open to other saints. Hence in this verse he sets before us the hope of God’s presenting, as open to them.

Twice he names his pursuit; but he regards it from different points of view. (1) “I pursue, ‘if that I may lay hold:’” ver. 12. (2) “I pursue to the goal for the prize:” ver. 14.

Paul was not like the fleshly Christians of Corinth (third chapter), where envy, strife, and parties ruled; and where false doctrine seems to have been taught. These, in the day of the future testing by Christ, would have to escape as out of a house on fire.

Good works were called for, as well as the abstinence from evil ones: Rom. 2:6, 7.

Christ will judge each of His people according to their works: Rev. 2:23; 22:12: And the workers of iniquity will be shut out: Matt. 7:23.

How oft is the word, “He shall not enter the kingdom” addressed to the [regenerate] believer!

1. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father in heaven:” Matt. 7:21.

2. “Except your righteousness shall exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees ye [disciples] shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven:” Matt. 5:20.

3. “Verily I say unto you (a word to apostles), Except ye repent and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven:” Matt. 18:3 (Greek).

4. “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich (man) to enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

5. “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of heaven as a little child, he shall not enter therein:” Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17. And how many [genuine] Christians deny the millennial glory!

6. After a long list of works of the flesh, Paul adds, “Of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit (have part in) the kingdom of God.” 7. “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any part in the kingdom of the Christ and God: Eph. 5:5: ‘Then you teach a maimed Bride!’

By no means! That is an objection, of force only to those who hold, that the millennium, is the time when the whole Church, (or the saved of this dispensation) will reign with Christ. Please to prove it! Till then this objection has no force. It is only an opinion: which is set aside by denial. The millennium is not the Day of Grace, but of reward to the obedient, and to sufferers for Christ: Rev. 11:14-18; 2:22-28; 22:12.

The gift to faith is eternal life; not part in the reign of the Thousand Years: Rom. 6:23.

It is only after the millennium, when the Book of Life is opened before the throne (Rev. 20:12), that those not accounted worthy to partake of millennial reward will enter on their eternal heritage of grace; and [after]* the ‘Bride’ is complete. [*NOTE Not all of the redeemed are to be the Bride of Christ! The ‘Bride’ will be taken out of the ‘Body’: that is, out from amongst God’s redeemed family members(, Gen 2:22; 24:4. cf. Rev 19:7, 8. “The man and the woman were to rule together (Gen. 1:26) – the man as king, and the woman as consort queen. This forms an unchangeable principle which God established at this time. The man could not rule alone. Rather, he must rule as a complete being. Christ, the Second Man, the Last Adam, will one day take the sceptre [from Satan] and rule the earth.” (A. L. Chitwood.) “Ask of me, and I will give thee [Messiah] the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession:” (Psa 2:8.) cf. Rev 3:21; 11:15; 20:2-4.

R.V.] {(The “set” of all begotten of God or “family,” (Eph. 3:14-15) out of which the ‘Body’ (or Church institution) i.e., the “saints” are a subset, out of which the ‘Bride’ is a subset: ‘Bride’ < ‘Body’ < “family” < Humanity. We need this extra layer to make sense of it all; besides, it’s scriptural.}

“For the prize.”

Is a PRIZE the same thing as a GIFT? Many shut their eyes to a truth, which is understood by boys and girls of a the Sunday School. To obtain a gift it is only necessary to accept what is offered.

But a prize demands care and exertion. It may be lost by simple neglect; much more by offences against the rules. All turns on the decision of “the Righteous Judge,” who will weigh the work of each. And thrice the conduct of Israel as coming short of the hope set before them is laid before us; to awaken the sluggish, and to make us fear, lest conduct like theirs should shut us out of the hope.

Through unbelief and disobedience [the accountable generation of] Israel was kept out of the land [which God promised them as an inheritance]. And in [regenerate] believers of our day the flesh is as strong and as evil, as in theirs: Heb. 3. & 4. A race demands zeal, and temperance in all things, with the keeping under of the flesh: 1 Cor. 9. Hence Paul in the next chapter shows us, how the flesh of Israel unrestrained led them into offences, which excluded them from the hope: 1 Cor. 10.

vs. 14 “The

prize of God’s calling on high in Christ Jesus.”

This is not the only place in which ‘the Prize’ is spoken of. (1) “Know ye not that they which run in a race, run all, but (only) one receiveth the prize:” 1 Cor. 9:24.

(2) “Let no one defraud you of the prize in an affected humility and worshipping of angels” (Greek): Col. 2:18. And none will obtain the prize, who do not believe there is such a thing. Not all will be “accounted worthy.” While Abraham will enter in, Lot will not.

So here the First Resurrection is a third time presented to us from another point of view.

1. It was first shown us, as a something arising out of ‘the knowledge of Christ,’ at once closed with by Paul, from a sense of its surpassing value: ver. 10, 11.

2. Then, as the design of Christ, toward any whom He turns away from the paths of death: ver. 12.

3. And now, as the crown of the heavenly calling forming part of the counsels of God: ver. 14.

Not only did Christ call to Paul from on high, but, He is calling us out of earth up to Himself, and to the heritage of heaven. We are to be waiting for the shout, voice, and trump of God; on the sounding of which those ready will be caught up to the Lord’s Presence on high. The heavenly calling is more difficult and trying than the calling of Moses and Israel; and hence a special “consolation” is by God annexed to the call: Luke 6:20-2634. But most disciples prefer to have their consolation now, and hence will lose the one to come, in the millennial glory.

Much was made of Rome, much of the Jerusalem of earth in those days. But our city is above. “Jerusalem which is above, is free, which is our mother:” Gal. 4:26. And our affections are to be above, where Christ is: Col. 3:1, 2.

It is “the calling on high in Christ Jesus.”

It is something open to believers in Christ only, and so only available in this dispensation. In the next, Christ awards the prizes, and “His fellows” accounted worthy, reign with Him. Suffering for the truth will be over; faith swallowed up in sight.

The striving in the games of Greece for the perishable crown was permitted to freemen only: slaves were excluded. So the seeking after the glory of the [millennial] kingdom is open to those only who are sons of God in Christ Jesus.{cf. Mt. 17:26 “the children free”} vs. 15. “Let then as many as are perfect... be thus minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even that unto you.”

‘But had not Paul said, that he was not perfect?’

34) And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

He had said that he was “not already perfected.” But here he is speaking of a previous perfection at starting, enabling him to run the race.

The seeker of the prize must have given up his own righteousness, and have faith in the millennial day. He must have been immersed as a man of faith, taking his standing outside Adam and Moses.

1. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, ‘Except a man be born out of water and Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God:’” John 3:5. ‘But we don’t believe that water is there to be taken literally.’ What have we before and after this word of our Lord? “That He (Christ) should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come, immersing in water:” John 1:31. “He that sent me to immerse in water:” ver. 33. “Jesus and His disciples came unto the land of Judea, and there He tarried with them, and immersed. And John also was immersing in Ænon near to Salim, because there was much water there:” John 3:22, 23.

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were immersed into Jesus Christ were immersed into His death? We were buried with Him, therefore, by means of the immersion, into death; in order that, as Christ was raised from among the dead by the glory of the Father, so also we should walk in newness of life. For IF We became fellow plants in the likeness of His death, why we shall be also of the resurrection:” Rom. 6:3-5 (Greek).

How few [regenerate believers] obey this command! and how many tell us ‘tis ‘not necessary,’ ‘tis ‘unimportant.’{“Non-essentials”?}35 But the Holy Spirit says: “But even if any wrestle, he is not crowned, except he wrestle according to the laws (of the games):” 2 Tim. 2:536. And accordingly Paul, who is our pattern herein, was immersed three days after his conversion, though he had neither eaten nor drank since his being struck blind.

Before that any seek the prize, they must give up modes of life inconsistent with their profession. Moses allowed the taking of oaths, and the being a man of war. Christ forbids these things: Matt. 5:38-48. There is to be no pursuit of the prizes of earth, if we seek that of the heaven: Luke 6:20-26.

The rich young man asked our Lord if there were any higher standard than that of the law? And the Saviour replies: “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” Matt. 19.

The young man declines. Peter and some other of the apostles had performed that to which Jesus called the young man; what then should they have? A throne in the coming day of the [messianic] kingdom! And whosoever should give up anything for Christ’s sake, and the kingdom’s, should receive a hundredfold now, and in the coming millennial age, eternal life should begin [in a much greater sense of satisfaction and enjoyment]* for him. [* See Luke 22:28-30. cf. Isaiah 61:8, 11, R.V.]

35) “It is aside from present purposes, but it may not be amiss to say to those who speak of non-essentials, that if the word nonessential is not connected in their minds with some other word, their language is meaningless, and they deceive themselves by supposing that they are saying something when they are saying nothing. Non-essential to what? That is the question. Without an expressed or implied answer to this, the word non-essential conveys no idea whatever. When they speak of this or that being nonessential, do they mean non-essential to salvation? If so, let them remember that it may still be essential to duty. And to speak lightly of duty is to speak lightly of law, and to speak lightly of law is to speak lightly of God. Let us therefore be careful in speaking of non-essentials, lest we fall into the folly of talking about nothing, or the sin of casting contempt on the holy law of God.” ~ C. A. Jenkens, Baptist Doctrines, (Roger Williams Heritage Archives, 1890), 186.

36) {strive (or, fighteth in a battle. -Wycliffe) for masteries, ... except he strive lawfully (or, as he ought to do. -Geneva). AV}

{“¶ And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth. Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. ¶ For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed. ¶ I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.” ~ Luke 22: & Isaiah 61: A.V.}

This exhortation is one of the main points of the epistle. Paul knew, that multitudes of converted men would not believe in, or seek for the prize. He knew that some who would believe in the millennium, would suppose that it would come to them, like eternal life, as a gift. And that many would refuse to take the steps, and make the surrenders required for seeking the prize. What are they?

1. Determined seeking of the world’s prizes.

2. Refusal of the immersion of the believer: Luke 7:28-30.

3. Refusal of the new system of the Sermon on the Mount, and a cleaving to the old basis of the law of Moses.

4. Refusal of the imputed righteousness of Christ.

5. Refusal of the cross of the Christ, in the many ways it attacks one bent on obtaining the [coming messianic] kingdom.

A name in the Book of Life carries with it glory eternal in the new heavens and earth.

But Peter, after the Lord Jesus had declared him ‘Blessed,’ as enlightened by the Father concerning Christ as Son of God, was declared immediately after to be ‘Satan;’ because he resisted with all his might this new truth, the further counsel of God on the appearing of Jesus.

“And if in anything ye be otherwise minded, even that shall God reveal to you.”

The Apostle knew full well, how many at this point would break away from him. ‘I don’t agree with you, Paul; you have exceeded your instructions.’ At this time, too, how many turn a deaf ear to this doctrine!

The first time the Saviour announced this truth, He met the most stout resistance from Peter.

What is to be done in such a refusal of this truth? Was the inspired Apostle to excommunicate him? By no means. The opponent was to make his appeal to God, to show him who was right!

Thus after the Saviour’s rebuke of Peter, God the Father, on the Mount of Transfiguration revealed His mind on the subject. Moses and Elijah are set aside. “This is My Beloved Son; hear Him.” Of course, in this appeal to God, a true heart ready to yield to God’s testimony, is supposed. Do we not remember the rebuke administered through Ezekiel? “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling-block of their iniquity before their face; should I be enquired of at all by them?

If the millennial glory belongs to each disciple already, how does the Apostle make all this stir about it? How could he say, that after his faith, his zeal, his losses, his persecution endured for Christ’s sake, he was not sure of the prize? vs. 16 “Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.”

The words - “let us mind the same thing” - are probably not genuine. {says who?} It might be said to the Apostle, ‘If you introduce these two stages of faith and practice, you will split up the Church of God into two parties. (1) The men of the Gift; and (2) the men of the Prize.’ The Holy Spirit foresaw this, and, therefore, adds this caution. The Assembly of Christ is to be but one; though the diversity of attainment may be great.

As far as we see our way traced in Scripture, let the men of the Prize walk with the men of the Gift, both in doctrine and practice. Keep unity in fundamentals, and move onward in increase of knowledge. Both parties are cared for together by the Apostle in one epistle; both are in Christ, members of His body. The rule of walk is the same for both. vs. 17.{Brethren} “Become ye... together imitators of me, brethren; and observe those who are walking so as ye have us for an example.” {¶ Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.}

Men by nature know not of this counsel of God. It is a new position to be taken by those converted. Great was the difference of Paul’s principles and practice under the Gospel, as compared with those of law. Christians were to follow him both in doctrine and practice; they were not to regard Paul’s example alone. Timothy and Epaphroditus are both set forth to guide us. Timothy was great in his likeness to Paul’s conduct. He was one of a pastor’s spirit; zealously caring for the things of Christ in their bearing upon the spiritual welfare of those in Christ.

Epaphroditus is set before us in his great relations first with Paul, and then with Philippian believers.

1. He was Paul’s ‘brother’ in faith; believing and observing the truths of the Gospel, and their visible results in practice.

2. He was a “companion in labour” for the good of the converts.

3. He was also ‘fellow-soldier,’ bearing with patience and grace the troubles falling on all those that work for Christ.

He was also “apostle” of the Philippians; perhaps he was set up by Paul, when he took his leave, to look after their spiritual interests. I do not admit the meaning that the Philippians constituted him “their apostle,” because of his bearing their gift to Paul. I

suppose the title here and in 2 Cor. 8:20, to be nearly equivalent to our Lord’s word ‘angel’ in the Apocalypse a stationary apostle, presiding over a church.

Neither of these holy men was following his own worldly interests, but those of Christ and His people. So attached was Epaphroditus to Paul, as to have brought on himself a severe attack of illness through overwork. This was to be regarded by them, not as fool-hardiness, but with honour. For this mortal life is not the chief point to be consulted. vs. 18. “For many are walking, of whom I often spoke to you, but now speak, even weeping, as the enemies of the cross of the Christ.”

The prize depends upon THE WALK after conversion, or SANCTIFICATION; just as justification depends on faith.

Paul was of Christ’s spirit, and wept over the lost, as Jesus did over Jerusalem.

“They were the enemies of the cross of the Christ.”

An article precedes both ‘the cross’ and ‘the Christ.’ By ‘the Christ’ is meant as before, ‘the Mystic Christ,’ consisting of the Head and the Members. It is confirmed by Galatians 6:12, where we read: “As many as wish to make a fair show in the flesh, these compel you to be circumcised, only lest they should be persecuted for the cross of the Christ.” “The cross of the Christ” - is that which by God was attached to the Seed of the Woman, in Eden. And so the Saviour says: “If any man will follow Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Peter showed himself of this unbelieving disposition at first.

“Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not be unto Thee.” Like minded was Judas; but he did not speak out like Peter. And Peter submits to the Saviour’s rebuke; while Judas holds fast his unbelief.

‘The cross of the Christ’ was peculiarly obnoxious to both Jew and Gentile. To the Roman, it was the ‘lowest depth of degradation’; to “Jews a stumbling-block, and to Greeks foolishness. But unto the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” To the Jews the cross is the curse of God under law. Jews would welcome Messiah the King. But a crucified Messiah was their abhorrence. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us, the saved, it is the power of God.” The parties here spoken of are, I doubt not, the unregenerate; as the next verse shows; but many of the regenerate answer closely to features of the picture. vs. 19. “Whose end is destruction; whose God is their belly; whose glory is in their shame; who mind earthly things.”

‘Destruction’ is a word characteristic of the lost. It is the opposite of “life.” “Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth unto destruction, and many there be that go in thereat: Because strait (narrow) is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life; and FEW there be that find it:” Matt. 7. “In nothing terrified by your adversaries; which is to them an evident token of perdition; but to you of salvation.” “But we are not of them that draw back unto perdition [destruction]*; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul:” Heb. 10: 39. [* NOTE. “The saving of the soul” is shown in 1 Peter 1:8, 9 to be future salvation: “at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”]

“Whose God is their belly.”

A like sentiment, yet with difference, is spoken of those Christians who were walking so badly as to draw forth the Apostle’s rebuke. “Mark them which cause the divisions, and the offences contrary to the doctrine ye have learned, and avoid them. For they are such as serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly:” Rom. 16.

“Whose glory is in their shame.”

I understand this to refer to their boasting in the goodliness and power of their bodies, and their subserviency to natural desires. Our bodies in this life lie under sin and death, about to turn to corruption; according to the sentence of the Judge on Adam, our father. They boast in “the body of our humiliation,” the signal of the Fall, to be removed by Christ. It is only fit for the seventy or eighty years of this shadowy life.

“Who mind earthly things.”

If the hopes which Christ has brought, the glories of heaven in resurrection be refused, what remains, but the things of earth and death? Many of the saved come near to this description. We doubt. Are they Christ’s or of the world? vs. 20, 21. “For our city is in the heavens; out of which also we are expecting as Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Who shall transfigure the body of our humiliation to become like to the body of His glory, according to the energy of His ability to subdue even all things unto Himself.” {For our conversation {conversation … : or, we live or conduct ourselves as citizens of heaven, or, for obtaining heaven } is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.}

The word rendered ‘city’ in this verse is taken by some to signify (1) ‘commonwealth,’ ‘civil constitution;’ by others, (2) citizenship, - and here I take it as (3) ‘city.’

I know but of one passage where it clearly means ‘city.’ It is found in 2 Maccabees xii.

6: “And when the town was shut up, he went backward, as if he would return to root out all them of the city of Joppe.”

The differences of rendering do not greatly alter the sense, but the translation ‘city’ seems to me the most appropriate. The refusers of Christ here spoken of, if they were Philippians, looked to Rome, as the chief city of earth; and were jealous of their dignity as Romans. If they were Jews, their city was the old Jerusalem of earth, in bondage with her children. But our city, as Christians, is the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. It can be reached only in resurrection. Philippi, the colony, was shaken by an earthquake, showing the insecurity of all the cities of the earth. But the citizens of the Jerusalem of heaven are enrolled in the Lamb’s Book of Life; and the New Jerusalem shall rest on its twelve foundations, unshaken for evermore.

“Out of which.”

Does it mean (1) ‘Out of this city’? It would naturally and grammatically mean so; but this city of the heaven does not yet seem to be inhabited, either by our Lord or by any one of its citizens: Gal. 4. “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother” (omit ‘all’).

“For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she that hath the husband:” Gal. 4.

It is generally supposed to refer to ‘the heaven, out of which.’ But the Greek has ‘the heavens;’ and ‘out of which’ is in the singular.

Out ‘of the heaven’ then, or ‘of the city,’ - I do not feel sure which, but prefer ‘the heaven.’ Christ will descend: Heb. 9:28. His people are expecting Him thence. Out of Rome full oft came ‘Destroyers,’ great in war. But He who is coming now, descends as the Saviour of His saints. Could the emperor of Rome so save his subjects? or even himself?

In the great and terrible day of the Lord a king of Rome is coming up out of the Bottomless Pit, and his “name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon” (Destroyer), but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon” (the same): Rev. 9. When he comes, he compels all to mark their bodies as devoted to his service, and really to the wrath of God, and of His Christ.

“If any worship the Wild Beast and his image” (the opposite to Christ, the Lamb of God), “and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God:” Rev. 14:11.

‘We are expecting’ (but it is very far from being now true of all believers) “the Lord Jesus Christ.” This is the full title of His Majesty, who descends as King of kings, and Lord of lords in the glory of His Father and of the holy angels.

Who is your ‘Lord’? was the critical question between the Roman and the Christian.

The Roman’s ‘Lord’ was the emperor, the object of obedience, both civil and religious. This comes out very pointedly in the martyrdom of Polycarp. Those who seized him conducted [him] to the city of Smyrna. “He (Polycarp) was met by Herod, who was the irenarch, and his father Nicetes; who taking him into their vehicle, persuaded him to take a seat with them, and said, “For what harm is there in saying, ‘Lord Caesar,’ and to sacrifice, and thus save your life?” He, however, at first did not make any reply; but as they persevered, he said, ‘I shall not do as you advise me.’ Failing, therefore, to persuade him, they uttered dreadful language, and thrust him down from the car with great vehemence, so that as he descended from the car, he sprained his thigh:” Eusebius, book iv., chap. 15. vs. 21. “Who shall transfigure the body of our humiliation.” {Who shall change our vile body,}

The souls of the Lord’s people are redeemed, and sanctification is going on in them.

Their bodies lie still under the sentence of Eden. The bodies of those in Christ, as yet moulder in the tomb, just as the bodies of those in Adam. We are not to find our salvation as ‘glorified spirits,’ the body never more to be re-knit to the soul. But Christ is coming down, to change the bodies both of the living and of the dead saints. For “flesh and blood,” or the bodies of the living saints, cannot have part in the millennial kingdom on high. Much less can “corruption,” or the bodies of the dead saints, enjoy the glory of the thousand years. But after resurrection the body will be glorious; and glorious for ever. For Paul and Silas no more of the scourge, and of the bruising of the heel in the stocks! For Christ is the Saviour of the body; no less than the Saviour of the soul.

He who bore suffering unto death is no more to suffer, but to subdue by power all things. This present body is the body of our humiliation, because of sin. Of this body unbelievers boasted. But what of its aches and pains during life? what of its turning to dust in the tomb? Who should give it the resurrection provided for those put to sleep by Christ? Our Lord! He shall change the body of dishonour to become like His own body, radiant as the sun.

Jesus, then, was no phantom, as the Docetists taught. He has a body on high a body never to grow old, or decay. And we are to be like Him in body, no less than in soul.

False systems, such as Swedenborg’s, teach, that at death the soul comes forth from the corpse; and the body is never to be used again. So it was not with Christ. He left no portion of Himself behind in the tomb of the rock. Of His people’s appearing before Him we read: “I pray God your whole spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless so as to be in the Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it:” 1 Thess. 5. And in His Presence the deeds done by means of the body will be accounted for: 2 Cor. 5:10. The “fellows” of Christ, now like Him in spirit, will then be like Him in body also.

This great work is consigned to the power of Him who is Almighty. “Afterward cometh the end, when He (Christ) shall deliver up the kingdom to God,* even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. For He must reign [upon and over this earth ‘for a thousand years’ (Luke 22 28-30; Rev. 3:21; 20:4)], till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be struck powerless is death:” 1 Cor. 15. [*”The radical error in the matter has been to confound terms that differ. By both schools ‘inheriting the kingdom’ has been wrongly taken to mean simply saved from hell; and so ‘not inheriting’ has been wrongly deemed synonymous with everlasting perdition. But once it is seen that receiving [eternal] salvation from wrath is one thing, and that rising [‘out from the dead’ (Phil. 3:11b)] to the glory of rule in the [millennial] kingdom [of Messiah] is another thing, and IS AN ATTAINMENT that follows, then the Gordian knot is united; for it at once becomes a possibility [for a disobedient, carnal and regenerate believer] to forfeit the [millennial] kingdom by personal misconduct, (and to incur in addition abundantly severe chastisement - [from a loving Father toward His disobedient and redeemed children] - proportionate to the offences, and sufficient, if apprehended, to deter from carnality,) whilst yet retaining eternal life by the pure grace of God, exercised on the ground of the merit of Christ alone.” - (G. H. LANG, (edited.)]

* * *37

“How Paul Received The Gospel” While the scripture covered in this lesson discusses the manner in which Paul received the gospel he preached, this introduction will survey the religious background of the greatest of the apostles in labors and zeal. This subject is vital to a full understanding of the matters discussed in this {Galatians} epistle. The religious background of Paul was essentially the same as that of the average Jew or of any other group which relies on keeping law to maintain their status of favor with God. Paul tells us at Acts 23:6 that he was a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee. At Philippians 3:5-6 he tells us he was circumcised the eighth day, he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and he was a Pharisee. Concerning the righteousness which was of the law, he was blameless. Concerning zeal, he persecuted and ravaged the church. Surely no one can read such statements as these and still argue that one man’s religion is just as good as any other so long as he is sincere in it.

Now with the case of Paul specifically before us let us go back and note briefly the history and background of the Jews in general: The nation Israel had been chosen in Abraham as a special people unto God. From then on, regardless of their existing conditions, they were the chosen people of God, under the unconditional terms of the Abrahamic covenant, which promised them final righteousness and an everlasting inheritance as a nation.

37) Govett, Robert. Select Writings. N. p. {e-Print} The Millennial Kingdom ~ Govett on Philippians. 2017..

In due time, after they had been under the Abrahamic covenant four hundred and thirty years (Gal. 3:17), God led them out of the Egyptian bondage and He gave them the law by the hand of Moses. It would be inconsistent to suppose God gave Israel a law to save them at Sinai when they had already been His people for more than four hundred years. Someone will hasten to say that the law was not given as a way of salvation; however, when pressed on the point, we usually say the law made provision for the Israelite to be saved by faith just as we are. When we say this, which seems to be true, we still have not answered the question as to why the law was given to Israel.

The plain fact of the matter is that the Law of Moses was not given as a plan of personal salvation to the Israelites. Personally, Israelites were saved after the giving of the law exactly the way they were before it was given, which is repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ. The Law of Moses was given as a rule of conduct to a people who were already the people of God. By the same token exactly, the New Testament does not come setting forth a new plan of salvation for sinners, but it comes setting forth a new plan of God’s dealings with a special people whom He has taken to Himself in His crucified and risen Son, which is the body of people called the church.

All this is to impress the idea that the Law of Moses miserably failed as a rule of conduct for Israel, and it failed because of the weakness of the flesh. The flesh of the Israelites was no weaker than the flesh of any other group of mankind. Any other group would have failed under like circumstances. It failed because it majored in the purifying of the flesh, which cannot be purified so long as it lives in the present world. Jesus then came upon the scene and gave the church a rule of conduct wherein the works of the flesh are ignored by having spiritual works substituted for them. These spiritual works are no more nor less than doing what the New Testament teaches.

When Jesus came into the world the nation of the Jews was in spiritual darkness. This is not to say there were no saved Jews at the time. There were such saved people as Zacharias, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, Simeon, and Anna. Who will say there were not thousands of others? But they were all to a great extent influenced by that spiritual night that had settled upon the nation. It is likely that Paul was not saved until Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus. But could he not have been a saved man laboring in spiritual night until the vitality of the kingdom message came to him on the road to Damascus? Will you say there are no saved Protestants today, or will you not rather say a number of them are saved but are dwelling in darkness as to the great body of New Testament truth? This latter is exactly what is suggested as the position of many of the Jews when Jesus came to call them out of the old order of things into the new.38

38) Fred G. Stevenson, Studies in Galatians, Lesson 2 on Galatians 1:10-24 “Introduction.”

Philippians 4: “Think of Excellence.” {KJB Intro & text} ~ 1 - From particular admonitions ~ 4 - he proceedeth to general exhortations, ~ 10 - ſhewing how he rejoiced at their liberality towards him lying in prison, not ſo much for the ſupply of his own wants, as for the grace of God in them. ~ 19 - And ſo he concluded with prayer and ſalutations. ~ ¶ Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.

Rejoice in the L ord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. ¶ But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.

Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.

Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. ¶ Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar ’s household. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. ¶ It was written to the Philippians from Rome by Epaphroditus.

{Expo} Philippians 4 vs. 1-3. “So then, my brethren beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, thus stand fast in the Lord, beloved. I beseech Euodias, and I beseech Syntychee, that they be of one mind in the Lord. And I ask thee also, true yoke-fellow, help those

women that laboured with me in the Gospel; with Clement also and my other fellow-labourers whose names are in the book of life.”

Paul has, in the preceding chapters, shown, how the Philippians were to stand fast in the Lord.

It would seem that the two named in the second verse had fallen out in the service of the Lord.

It was the result of the high-mindedness which was natural to the Roman, and against this spirit Paul all along is striving.

The service of women who labour in the Gospel is very valuable - provided only they keep to the path marked out for them. Both men and women are citizens of the New Jerusalem, enrolled in the Lamb’s Book of life. This one ‘Book [‘of life’] is the contrast to the many ‘books’ [Rev. 20:12] of men’s unpardoned deeds which, brought forth at the Last Judgment, are the ground of their sentence to [the eternal place and state of the lost, after their resurrection, in] ‘the lake of fire’. vs. 4-7. “Rejoice in the Lord alway: again I say, rejoice!

Let your candour be known unto all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious in nothing; but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which exceeds all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.”

If, under the circumstances named, Paul could call upon the Philippian saints to rejoice, all ought to rejoice. Around may be many circumstances of trial but one field is ever open to joy - their place and portion in Christ.

The saints are to be candid; not one-sided; but able to take a fair view of the true state of the question. Seek in nought to be disapproved by Christ, when He shall come to take account of His servants.

While both they and Paul were suffering persecution, they were not to be anxious as to the event. “Care,” is taken in two different senses. In the sense of diligence in things under your hand, be careful! “Be careful to come to me before winter:” 2 Tim. 6:21. “Be careful to be found by Him (Christ) in peace:” 2 Peter 3:14.

But the care here forbidden is that, wherein we step beyond our province. A mother is right in using all carefulness to watch over her child’s health. But when it falls ill, and she worries herself about what may befall him, she is offending against the word here given. Let her give the medicine - that is within her reach, and her allowed diligence. But when she frets over the possible effects of the medicine, she has travelled beyond her province. The issue of life or of death must ever rest in the hand of God: Matt. 6:25-34. The Holy Spirit’s cure for anxiety is, prayer to the Most High, joined with thanks for the precious promises which assure us, that all that befalls us shall tend to our good; and with praise to God for His former answers to our supplications. The Lord promises the cure of anxiety to all who will observe this prescription of the Heavenly Physician. Or, as it is put here, He assures us, that a sentinel shall be set over our house, to keep out the irruption of anxious care. Our hearts and thoughts shall be kept in “the peace of God” which rises above man’s comprehension, both in its source and its effects. vs. 8, 9. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are suitable, whatever are righteous, whatever are pure, whatever friendly, whatever are of good report, if there be any virtue, and any praise, take these into account.

What ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”

This is the second - “Finally” - and it serves to point out the last division of the epistle.

A second time Paul’s example is set before them. They were to respect his conduct and objects of pursuit, not only in view of the prize, but in all his other conduct.

There is always an opening to further advance in grace.

The result of obedience herein would be, that “the God of peace should be with them.” Under the Law Jehovah was “the God” and “Lord of hosts;” or of armies, and of war. In the day of battle, the priests were to encourage the troops of Israel to fight; they were to sound the silver trumpets, made after the pattern given by Jehovah, and the Lord would give them courage for the conflict, and victory: Num. 10; Dent. 20.

Just before the millennial day, and during it, when righteousness shall be the ruling principle, Jehovah will again take the title of “Lord of Hosts;” and will act in accordance with it. “Then shall the moon be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients (elders) gloriously:” Isa. 24.

“The Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, saith, ‘Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods:’” Jer. 46:25.

But in this dispensation the Christian is to be a man of peace, like his Father loving enemies, and not slaying them. Hence no Christian can, with Christ’s leave, be a soldier. “Blessed are the peace-makers.” Woe then to the war-makers, and those that live by their sword! Luke 6:20-26; Matt. 26:52.

Now Jehovah is “the God of peace,” that brings peace to the unworthy, and guards our heart with “the peace of God.”

THE PHILIPPIANS’ GIFT TO PAUL vs. 10-13. “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care for me hath thrown out a new shoot; on which matter you had taken thought, but you had not a good opportunity of carrying it into effect. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned in the circumstances in which I am found, to be content. I know how to be humbled, I know also how to abound: at all times, and in all circumstances I have been initiated, both to be full, and to be hungry; both to abound, and to be in straits. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

We hear but little of the financial report of Paul’s mission. He was able to trust the Lord to maintain him in His service. A long season it would appear, had intervened between the two gifts sent him at Thessalonica, and this third one.

He did not wish to treat of it, as it respected the straits in which be had found himself; for he had been taught by Christ, how to conduct himself in the varying events of life; now having abundance and now again in need, even to hunger.

He excuses the Philippians, that they had thought of his necessities, but did not know how to transmit to him the money. That matter was not so easily arranged as in our day. vs. 14-16. “Nevertheless, ye did well ... in contributing to me in my affliction. But do ye also, O Philippians, know that in the beginning of the Gospel, when I went out from Macedonia, no church had fellowship with me in the matter of giving and receiving, but you alone. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again to my need.”

This, Paul’s statement, was not to give them the idea that he was displeased with their contribution. It was an honourable trait in the history of the Church at Philippi, that they alone sent him aid in the way of money. vs. 17-20. “Not that I am seeking an additional gift; but I seek in addition the fruit that may abound unto your account. “But I have now all things, and abound: I am filled full, having received from Epaphroditus the things from you, a scent of perfume, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. “But my God shall fill up all your need, according to His riches in glory, in Christ Jesus.

“Now to God and our Father be glory for ever and ever Amen.”

Paul’s enemies would be ready to say that he spoke so much of his need, because he was angling for a further gift. But it was not so. Far, indeed, from that was he. But he would gladly encourage them to give in the Lord’s cause; for in the Great Day it would be found a benefit to themselves. “Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward:” Matt. 10. And on the other hand, “Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his own flesh shall out of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the spirit, shall out of the spirit reap life eternal*:” Gal. 6. [* NOTE. The Greek adjective before the word “life” is ‘aeonian’; and, in this context, - a context of works the clause should therefore be translated: “… of the spirit he will reap life age-lasting”, (Lit. Gk.)]

This gift was one of the fruits of the righteousness of Christ, which God had bestowed on them. It was one of the New Testament sacrifices, which had superseded the gift of bulls and goats to the altar. With it, as taught of Christ, God was well pleased. It was a token of the new nature imparted by the Holy Spirit. It would surely be rewarded by Christ in the Coming Day. Paul was robbed of his worldly goods, and seldom had money. How then would he have fruit, that might abound to his account in the Great Day! “If I live in the flesh, this is to me fruit of labour...” Php. 1:22. Christ would remember and reward that. The Philippian saints had money; and in bestowing some of it on Paul they would have fruit, which the Saviour would put to their account. Both the poor labourer in the Gospel, and the saint that has well used his money shall be rewarded. God was well pleased with this sacrifice: ver. 18. vs. 21-23. “Salute every saint in Christ Jesus.

The brethren with me salute you. All the saints salute you; but especially those of the house of Caesar. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

God had His elect saints, even in the idolatrous and most profligate house of the emperor Nero. And they are not ashamed to confess themselves as servants of Christ, and of one body with the despised Christians.

Paul begins his epistle with grace and peace, and ends it with the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, so necessary to every believer. In His fulness we stand. * * *39 39) Govett, Robert. Select Writings. N. p. {e-Print} Found at: The Millennial Kingdom ~ Govett on Philippians. 2017.

“moderation” Philippians 4:5, “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” There is not the slightest evidence, either from the original word or the context, that this text has the remotest reference to moderate drinking. The Greek word epieikees occurs five times: thrice it is rendered gentle, once patient, and once moderation. In each case, reference is made to the state of the mind, and it might be properly translated, Let your moderation of mind be known unto all men. Robinson renders it meet, suitable, proper. The reason given for moderation is, “The Lord is at hand.” How strange to say to the drinkers, Drink moderately, for the Lord is at hand! But to the Christians at Philippi, then suffering persecutions, the exhortation had point: Let your moderation - that is, your patience, gentleness, mildness, propriety - be known to all men, as a testimony in favor of Christianity. “The Lord is at hand” is a motive of encouragement. 40

~ “COLOSSIANS” ~ {The Deity of Christ.} 41

Doctrinal: CORRECTION. Philemon is another letter to this church.

Key word(s): CHRIST THE HEAD; CHURCH HIS BODY. Key verse: 2:9 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. ”

Creation and the Fall in Paul’s Epistles Paul’s epistle “to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse” contains some of the most important references to creation in the New Testament. Note the following tremendous passage in particular. (Col. 1:15–20). This is perhaps the greatest of all Christological passages. Note the repeated references to “by him” and “all things,” recording the past, present, and future works of Christ with reference to the whole creation, all things in earth and heaven.  By Him were all things created.  By Him all things consist (literally, are sustained).  By Him (it pleased the Father) to reconcile all things.

Again Paul stresses (as he does in Ephesians) that Jesus Christ was the person in the Godhead by whom all things were created in the beginning. It is noteworthy that here — as well as in all other passages in the Bible that mention the creation of all things — creation is in the past tense. All things were created, in the beginning; they are not still being created, as evolutionism assumes. This confirms again the statement that “God rested” from all His work of creating and making all things during creation week. Christ is not only the Creator but also the Sustainer of the creation, by His infinite power keeping all its systems from collapsing into chaos. Finally, He will ultimately reconcile all things to Himself, having already paid the redemption price with the blood of His Cross.

He is twice called “the firstborn.” He is the eternally begotten (therefore the firstborn) Son, in the bosom of the Father. He is also “the firstborn from the dead,” having defeated the great 40) William Patton, Bible Wines, (Redding, CA: Pleasant Places, 2004), 90.

41) I. M. Haldeman, How to Study the Bible: “the meaning and purport of each book of the Bible.”

enemy, death, and been raised from the dead. He has “the preeminence” in all things, both because He created life and all things in the beginning and also because He conquered death after dying for the world’s sin. Therefore, whenever anyone boasts that he does not preach about creation but only about the person and work of Christ, he is really preaching “another Jesus,” not the real Jesus Christ. The real Jesus was Creator and created all things long before He became Savior and Redeemer. The very reason we need Him as Savior is that we have all rebelled against Him as our Creator. In continuing the same discussion, Paul says that “the gospel … was preached to every creature which is under heaven” (Col. 1:23). This has been a controversial verse because it seems impossible that the gospel could have been preached to every person in the whole world of Paul’s day in just 30 years. However, the phrase “to every creature” can better be translated “in every creation,” and this would tell us (as per Ps. 19:1; Rom.1:20; etc.) that the very nature of creation in its every aspect is bearing witness to the existence and nature of God, and even to His sacrificial love and grace. Furthermore, “in [Christ] are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). There then follows a subtle reference to the promised victory of the seed of the woman over the serpent in Genesis 3:15. “Having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:15). Another significant verse refers to Genesis 1:26 and the creation of man in the image of God. Even though Adam sinned and marred that image, it is still there and can be made new by the new birth. “Ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Col. 3:9–10)42 HMM

Colossians directs our attention to the head of the body who is Christ.

The body itself is secondary. Christ is the theme. He is the center of the circle around which all Christian living revolves. Christ is the fullness of God. The dominating thought is that Christ is all I need; He is everything. He is the primary object, and the thought passes downward to the church as the body of Christ.

Colossians was written to the local church at Colosse (with the principles to be applied by all local churches and believers) to counteract the heresy of Gnosticism, the first heresy in the church. There were many forms of Gnosticism, and in Colosse there were the Essenes. There are three points of identification for this group: (1) They had an exclusive spirit. They felt that they were the people—they had knowledge in the jug and held the stopper in their hands. Thus, they felt that they were super-duper in knowledge and knew more than anyone else, including the Apostles. (2) They held speculative tenets on creation.

They taught that God did not create the universe directly, but created a creature who in turn created another creature, until one finally created the physical universe. Christ was considered a creature in this long series of creations. Paul refutes this in Colossians 1:15-19.

(3) They practiced asceticism and unrestrained licentiousness. They got the asceticism from the influence of Greek Stoicism and the unrestrained licentiousness from the influence of Greek Epicureanism. Paul refutes this in Colossians 2.16, 23; 3.5-9. See, J. Vernon McGee, Colossians for more on this.43 42) Henry M. Morris, Biblical Creationism.

43) Cited at Jerald Finney‘s blogsite: Separation of Church and State Law; ... Lesson 1 on Colossians ~ 9-27-2017.

Colossians 1: “Thankfulness for Spiritual Attainments.” {KJB Intro & text} ~ 1 - After salutation Paul thanks God for the Colossians’ faith, ~ 7 - confirmeth the doctrine of Epaphras, ~ 9 - Prayeth further for their increase in grace, ~ 14 - describeth the true Christ, ~ 21 encourageth them to receive Jesus Christ, and commendeth his own ministry. ~

¶ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ¶ We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. ¶ For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unt o a ll p lea s ing , b ei ng f ru it f u l in ev e ry g oo d w o r k, a nd in c rea s in g i n t he knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

¶ Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principa lit ies, or powers: a ll things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have

heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body ’s sake, which is the church: Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

Introduction: Colossians 1.1-8: Paul: was an apostle of Jesus Christ and was in his position by the will of God. God made Paul an apostle. He was therefore in the will of God when he was an apostle. It is important for a believer to function in a local New Testament church body of believers in the right way. Our gifts are different. Therefore, and we are each going to function differently. If you have a brother who has a gift, do not belittle or marginalize him because you do not like his style, because you do not like the way he does things, or because you are jealous. If he speaks the truth from the Word of God according to knowledge, love him and give him the freedom and encouragement to exercise his gift. Paul is talking to one group of people: to the saints and the faithful brethren at Colosse. ..., who are the same group of people. Those to whom Paul is speaking are “in Christ” and “at Colosse.” They had an address in heaven and on the earth.

We must know the grace of God in order to experience the peace of God. We can go directly to God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Colossians 1.4-5, Paul links the trinity of graces for believers: (1) faith—past, (2) love— present, and (3) hope—future. Paul lists these three graces in 1 Corinthians 13.13 where he puts love first because love is the only thing that is to abide. Love is for the present, but it will make it to eternity. Faith rests upon historical fact—the truth of the Gospel. Too many saints, no matter their God-given role, look down on their fellow believers for one reason or another. If we have disagreements with our brethren, we are to bear with them, pray for them, to honor them, and to love them. The “hope that is laid up in heaven” is the blessed hope. {The 1000 yr. reign of Christ in order to fulfill the oath of God to Abraham and the faithfull “Seed” i.e., to His people in the promised land: Israel. This will showcase the secured blessings “once for all.”}

Paul, says that the gospel has come to the Colossians as it has come to “all the world.” {Then} calls Epaphras our “dear fellowservant.” Apparently, Epaphras was the leader or the pastor of the church in Colosse. {Then} emphasizes the Holy Spirit. He makes clear that the Colossian believers would not have been able to exhibit this love unless it were by the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s Prayer: Colossians 1.9-14: The first thing Paul prayed was that they might be filled with knowledge. The Gnostics, the heretics there at Colosse, boasted that they had a super knowledge. But Paul confines this

knowledge to knowledge of the will of God “in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” {vs.

9. See article below on: SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING.}

The second petition (verse 10) is that they might be pleasing to God. His third request is that they might be “fruitful in every good work.” His fourth request is that they be “increasing in the knowledge of God” (growing in the Word of God).

The fifth request (verse 11) is that they be “Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.”

In verses 12, 13, and 14, Paul gives a list of things for which Paul is thankful: (1) for God’s grace which has given us an “inheritance of the saints in light,” (2) that we have been delivered from the “power of darkness,” (3) that we have been “translated into the kingdom of his dear Son,” and (4) that we have been redeemed “through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”44

T

John Gill‘s Ver. 13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness,....

hat is, from the power of Satan; see Acts 26:18, who, though once an angel of light, is now darkness itself, and is reserved in chains of darkness; he is a ruler of the darkness of this world; his kingdom is a kingdom of darkness; and he blinds the minds of them that believe not, keeps them in darkness, and increases the natural darkness of their minds; he delights in works of darkness, and tempts men to them; and his everlasting state and portion will be blackness of darkness: his power over men, in a state of unregeneracy, which he usurps, and is suffered to exercise, is very great; he works effectually in them, and leads them captive at his will; and nothing less than the power of God, who is stronger than the strong man armed, can deliver out of his hands; and which is at least one part of the mercy for which thanks are here given; See Gill on “Luke 22:53”; with the Jews, one of the names of Satan is ‫חשה‬, “darkness”{thick darkness}. Moreover, the darkness of sin, ignorance, and unbelief, with which God’s elect, while in a state of nature, are surrounded, and, as it were shut up and imprisoned, so that they have not the least spark of true spiritual light and knowledge, may be also meant; under the power of which they are to such a degree, that they know nothing of God in Christ, of the way of salvation by him, or of the work of the Spirit on their souls, or of the doctrines of the Gospel in an experimental manner; and so they continue, till, by an almighty power, they are turned from darkness to light; when, by powerful grace, they are plucked as brands out of the burning, and delivered from wrath to come, and from that utter darkness of misery and destruction their ways of sin and darkness led and exposed them to.

This deliverance is wrought out for them in the effectual calling, when they are internally called, and powerfully brought out of this darkness, by introducing light into them, revealing Christ in them, causing the prince of darkness to flee from them, and the scales of darkness and blindness to fall from their eyes; and which is both an instance or the wonderful grace of God, and of his almighty power, and in which lies in part the saints’ meetness for the inheritance; for these words are, in some sort, explanative of the former; for so long as a person is under the power of darkness, he cannot be meet for an inheritance which is in light: it follows, as another branch of this mercy, for which thanks are given,

44) Cited at Jerald Finney‘s blogsite: Separation of Church and State Law; ~ Lesson 1 on Colossians ~ 9-27-2017. {My adds in these brackets-SM}

and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of his dear Son;...”

Not into the kingdom of glory; for though the saints are heirs of it, and rejoice in hope of it, they have not yet an entrance into it; which they will have abundantly when Christ shall introduce them into it, not only as his Father’s, but as his own kingdom and glory: but the kingdom of grace is here meant, or that state of grace, light, and life, which such are brought into, when rescued out of Satan’s hands, and recovered out of their former state of ignorance and infidelity; when they are by the drawings of the Father, by his powerful and efficacious grace, brought to Christ, and, in the day his power on their souls, are made willing to submit to his righteousness, and to embrace him as the alone Saviour and Redeemer, and be subject to him as King of saints, observing his commands, keeping his ordinances, and walking in his statutes and judgments with other saints, in a Gospel church state; which is Christ’s kingdom here on earth, where he reigns as King over God’s holy hill of Zion, being set there by his Father, from whom he has received this kingdom, and will deliver it to him, when it is complete and perfect. Now those whom Jehovah the Father snatches out of Satan’s hands, and breaks in upon their souls with divine light and knowledge, he brings into such a state, and into this kingdom of Christ, who is called “his dear Son”: or “the Son of his love”; or “his Son of love”; who being his Son by nature, of the same nature with him, and equal to him, always was, is, and will be, the object of his love, complacency, and delight; as he cannot be otherwise, since he is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person; and even as this Son of his is in an office capacity, as the Mediator between God and man, he is his elect, in whom his soul delights; and he is always well pleased with all the chosen ones in him, who are the sons of God through him, and always beloved in him. This clause is added, partly to distinguish the kingdom of Christ, into which the saints are brought in this life, from the kingdom of the Father, or the ultimate glory they shall possess hereafter; and partly to express the security of the saints, and their continuance in the love of God, being in the kingdom, and under the care and government of the Son of his love; and also to make way for what the apostle has further to discourse concerning the person, office, and grace of Christ, in the following verses.45 The Results of Ruth’s Choice

{cf. Matthew 11:28-30} First of all Ruth’s choice meant that she ceased to be a citizen of Moab and became a citizen of the nation of Israel. So our choice of Christ means a transfer of our allegiance and citizenship. It means that we have been delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. Col. 1:13.

Secondly, Ruth’s choice meant that she had given up her former friends and associates.

But it also meant that she gained new and better friends. So the acceptance of Christ may mean the giving up of old friends and acquaintances, but it also meant that we shall gain others which are far better. One hour of fellowship with the people of God as they are made to sit together in heavenly places is worth more than a decade of pleasure with the unbelieving world. What child of God would want to trade his new friends and associates for the old ones again?

Next, Ruth’s choice brought her into covenant relationship with God. Before this she was a stranger to Israel and the covenants of promise. “At that time ye were without Christ, being 45) John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, Col 1:13. Gill preached in the same church as C. H. Spurgeon over one hundred years earlier. Yet most people today have never heard of John Gill. This is unfortunate, since his works contain priceless gems of information that are found nowhere except in the ancient writings of the Jews.

aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” Eph. 2:12. Now she is no more a stranger and foreigner, but a fellow citizen of Israel. So our acceptance of Christ will take us out of the place of strangers and make us “fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.” Eph. 2:19.

Ruth’s choice also made her famous in the nation of Israel and the annals of sacred writ.

Had she stayed in Moab she would probably have found a nameless grave. She became the wife of Boaz and the mother of Obed, who was the grandfather of David. Thus she gained the distinction of being one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ our Lord. “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Matt. 16:25.

Faith caused her to be willing to lose her life, and in losing it she found it. Through self-denial she was lifted from a place of obscurity to a pinnacle of lasting fame. How many today, unlike Ruth, are losing their lives by saving them.

Last, her choice meant that she was brought under the protecting wing of the God of Israel. We find Boaz saying to her, “The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel under whose wings thou art come to trust.” Ruth 2:12. What a beautiful picture of God’s protecting care. As the mother hen gathers her brood under her wings in time of danger, so the Lord of heaven and earth will shield His children. One stormy night when the rain was falling in torrents and the wind was raging I went out to see about a hen in a coop with a brood of chicks. I found that hen hugging the ground as closely as possible. Hastily I threw some more weights on the cover over the coop. In the morning I found that the hen had brought her chicks safely through the storm. So God shields his own from the storms and perils of life, and when the night of tempests and fears is over, and that eternal morn shall break, we shall find that God’s protecting wing shall have carried all his children safely through the storm into the sunlight of that unending day. “In the shadow of thy wings I will make my refuge until these calamities be overpast.” Ps. 57:1

Ruth Labors in the Harvest Fields “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal.” John 4:35-36.

In the opening of the second chapter we find Ruth going out into the harvest fields to glean.

Right here I wish to point out the order of things in this beautiful story. In Chapter one we have Ruth choosing. This choice carried her out of the land of Moab into the land of Judah. This typifies our choice of Christ which takes us out of the kingdom of darkness and translates us into the kingdom of His dear Son. Col. 1:13. Salvation comes before service. Eph. 2:8-10. In chapter two we find Ruth laboring in the fields of Boaz. We are saved for service in the fields of our Lord.

Ruth labors until the end of the harvest period. So are we to labor for Christ until the end of the harvest. In chapter three we find Ruth resting. Ruth 3:1. So at the end of our period of labor for Him we shall rest at the end of the way. In the fourth and last chapter we find Ruth rewarded.

So will our rewards come for our services when Christ comes. “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22:12.

We do not find any record of any labor that Ruth did while in the land of Moab. That did not count in the annals of the Word of God. So all that we do while unsaved is of no value in the sight of God. Our service for Him commences when saved.

Last, I wish to call attention to the stedfastness of Ruth in her work. “She kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of the barley harvest and of the wheat harvest.” Ruth 2:23.

We should pattern after her in our service for our Saviour. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor. 15:58.46

Person of Christ: Colossians 1.15-19: {Must see below most excellent comments from Dr. Rimmer’s The Magnificence of Jesus} Paul is specifically attempting to answer one of the oldest heresies of the church, Gnosticism. Other heresies included Arianism. Arius of Alexandria said that the Lord Jesus Christ was a creature, a created being. Socinus later propagated the heresy that Jesus was not God and that mankind did not need a Saviour from sin, that man is not totally depraved. This is the basis of Unitarianism and some of the cults, including Jehovah’s Witnesses.

There are here nine marks of identification given here which make Him different from and superior to any other person who has ever lived: (1) He is “the image of the invisible God.” He (God) was born flesh. (See Jn. 1.1, 14). If He were not God, He could not have been the image of the invisible God. (2) “He is the firstborn of every creature.” This reveals His relationship to the Father and His position in the Trinity. His “goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5.2). The child (Jesus) was born, but the son is given (Isaiah 9.6). Paul is destroying one of the philosophies of that day—that God created a creature, then that creature created a creature, etc.; until finally a creature created this universe. Paul is answering that and saying that Jesus Christ is the firstborn of all creation; He is back of all creation. The Greek word is prōtotokos meaning before all creation. See John 1.1-3. God the Father is the everlasting God the son is the everlasting son. The Lord Jesus is called the firstborn from the dead (Col. 1.18). This is what the psalmist spoke of in Psalm 2.7 and explained by Paul in his sermon at Antioch of Pisidia (See Ac. 13.32, 33). Christ created all things. Other verses that make clear that Christ was not a mere creature include Hebrews 1.3 (the second person of the Godhead); Hebrews 1.7, 8 (Speaking of Jesus: “Thy throne, O God is for ever and ever….”); Matthew 16.16 and Luke 1.35 (He is the Christ, the Son of the living God).

(3) “By him were all things created” (verse 16). Thus, he was the one who did the creating.

There are two kinds of creation, the visible and the invisible. Paul mentions different graduations of rank in spiritual intelligences: thrones, dominions, principalities, powers. Our spiritual enemies, Satan and his followers, have different gradations of rank.

(4) All things were created “for Him.” This all shows that this is God’s universe. And we are joint–heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ!

(5) “He is before all things.” All fullness dwells in the preincarnate and the incarnate Christ (Col.2.9).

(6) “By him all things consist.” He holds everything together. He maintains and directs creation. He is the Elmer’s Glue of the universe. See also, He. 1.3.

(7) “He is the head of the body, the church.” In Ephesians, the emphasis was on the fact that a church is a spiritual body. In Colossians, the emphasis is on the head of the body, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Philippians we see a church with feet, walking through the world—we see the experience of a church, of a believer. “The firstborn from the dead.”

When a saved loved one dies, the body is put to sleep, but the individual has gone to be with 46) Excerpts from, The Teachings of Elder G. E. Jones: The Gospel In Ruth.

the Lord. The body, sown in corruption, will be raised in incorruption (1 Co. 15.42) on the basis of His resurrection. We shall be as He is (1 Jn. 3.2).

(8) “That in all things He might have the preeminence.” God is moving toward one goal— to put Jesus on the throne of this world which is today in rebellion against God. He will achieve that goal (See, e.g., Ps. 2.6).

(9) “It pleased the Father that in him should all the fullness dwell.” In Philippians, Christ emptied Himself of His glory, not his deity, and became a servant. Here, we see that Jesus was 100% God. Another way to outline Colossians 1.14-20 would be: Christ’s relationship to the Father—verse 15 Christ’s relationship to creation—verses 16, 17 {cf., Jesus and the Creation by Lambert Dolphin47} Christ’s relationship to the church—verses 18, 19 Christ’s relationship to the cross—verse 20 Objective Work of Christ For Sinners: Colossians 1.20-23: “Having made peace through the blood of his cross” means that by His paying the penalty on the cross for your sin and my sin, peace has been made between God and the sinner.

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ro.5.1).

“By him to reconcile all things unto himself.” Reconciliation is toward man; redemption is toward God. 2 Co. 5.18-20: “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” God is reconciled. He is asking man to be reconciled to Him. “Reconcile all things.” The “all things” is limited to all things that are to be reconciled, those which are appointed to reconciliation.

“Whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Notice that Paul does not mention things under the earth as he did in Phil. 2.10. The things under the earth are not reconciled to Him at all. Notice that heaven must also be reconciled. (See v. 21) God reconciled us to Himself when we were in rebellion against God and we were doing wicked works.

“The body of his flesh.” Christ suffered in a real body.

“To present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.” Unblameable means without blemish. Unreproveable means unaccusable or unchargeable. He is able to present us unblameable because: He took our place.

Sample explanation: 2 Co. 5.21: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

47

LAMBERT DOLPHIN'S Library featured on Blue Letter Bible.

If you are a child of God today, you will {may} continue in the faith grounded and settled. The “if“ in verse 23 is the “if” of argument. It means that something was if something else is true. Paul’s point is that we have been reconciled—it is an accomplished fact.48 Subjective Work of Christ for Saints: 1.24-29: vs. 24 says “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church.” Paul was suffering in his body for the sake of Christ’s body. When Paul (and other believers) suffer for the body (the local church), it completes the suffering of Christ. Thus, there is still something to be done. Paul is writing from prison and here he says he has fulfilled all his sufferings in fulfillment of Ac. 9.1516: “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” These sufferings of Paul were not redemptive.

There are two kinds of sufferings: ministerial suffering and mediatorial suffering. Christ’s sufferings were mediatorial. Mediatorial sufferings are of two kinds: Those which Christ endured and in which we cannot. This is His human suffering which he endured as a man. These sufferings would include: hunger and thirst; loneliness; anguish, pain, and sorrow; weariness.

Christ experienced two types of suffering which He could not share: The first suffering which Christ could not share was His human suffering. Paul wrote, “For every man shall bear his own burden” (Ga. 6.5). Thus, there are certain burdens we must each bear alone. We are born alone, feel pain alone. We must face certain problems alone. There is a sorrow that comes which no one can share with us. No one can take our place when we become sick. You cannot take your child’s place when he or she becomes sick. No one can go through the valley of the shadow of death for another.

The second suffering which Christ could not share was His suffering as the Son of God. We see this suffering in Psalm 69. In verses 11 and 12, we learn that He was the song of drunkards and that He made sackcloth His garment. Because He was the son of God, He was arrested by the Roman soldiers. The soldiers of the high priest mocked Him. They played a game in which they blindfolded him, and all the soldiers hit him with their fists. Even when he named the right one, they would not admit it but would blindfold him again and play the same game. He was marred more than any man. His face was beaten to a pulp. He suffered in a way no man has ever suffered because he suffered as the Son of God.

48) Cited at Jerald Finney‘s blogsite: Separation of Church and State Law; ~ Lesson 2 on Colossians -McGee Notes- 10/18/2017.

Christ also endured sufferings which we can share: a. There is the suffering for righteousness’ sake. Jesus suffered for righteousness’ sake. “But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God” (John 8:40). Believers are to continue in the example of Paul and the other Apostles. When they do so, they will experience ministerial suffering. They will suffer persecution. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). If you are going to live for God, if you are going to take a stand for the right, you will find that you will be passed by. God’s men are passed by today in the distribution of earthly honors. “The world and many ‘Christians’ will damn the man of God with faint praise, and they will praise him with faint damns.” That is the way many believers as well as lost people treat God’s men. Athletes are lauded; people in the entertainment world are praised; politicians are praised; professors are honored; Christian lawyers who have forsaken Bible truth concerning church organization teach their lies at seminaries, Bible Colleges, and churches and sell their heretical books to Christians who blindly follow their teachings; and heretical teachers and pastors within the “Christian” sphere are lauded, praised, and looked up to by millions and their books, sermons, heretical and apostate teachings, etc. are believed and followed. But the believer who teaches the truth about certain matters is vilified. If you stand for the things that are right in this world, you will suffer for righteousness’ sake. Paul understood this. That will be the lot for anyone who stands for God using God’s methods. b. Then there is the suffering in the measure we identify ourselves with Christ for the proclamation of the Gospel. The Lord Jesus made this clear, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18-19). “The popularity of the world and the ‘Christian’ community is in inverse ratio with his popularity with Christ.” If you are popular with the world and with the general “Christian” community in America, you will not be popular with Christ. The child of God is to take his rightful place and identify himself with Christ. When we suffer for Christ, the Lord Jesus is also suffering through us, through His local church you are a member of.

Remember what the Lord Jesus said to Saul on the road to Damascus, “Saul, Saul, why persecuteth thou me” (Acts 9.4). Saul thought he was persecuting Christians. He was shocked to learn that he was actually persecuting the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus suffers when His children are persecuted.

If the Gospel and the truths of the Word of God are to go forward today, someone must suffer. Believers who take the Word of God seriously and act upon the truths therein will suffer. Local churches who take the Word of God seriously will understand that they “are no more strangers and foreigners, but

fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ep. 2:19-22).

“Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God” (Col. 1.25). “Dispensation means: economy.

All of God’s dispensations have been based on the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

In Colossians 1.25, Paul makes clear that this is a new dispensation of God, given Paul, “for you” (believers).

A mystery is something that had not been revealed in the Old Testament but is now revealed. The mystery spoken of in Colossians 1.26 is that God would now put Israel on the same basis as the Gentiles. God is now saving both Jews and Gentiles, people of all races, and making them part of the family of God. God also ordains local autonomous New Testament churches made up of born again believers. This mystery was now made manifest not only to Paul, but also to his saints. Christ in the believer is the “hope of glory” (Colossians 1.27).

The gospel is (see Colossians 1.28): whom we preach. “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” This verse commands believers: to preach the gospel in order to win sinners to Christ and to save them from the wrath that is to come, and to build up believers so that they may grow in grace and be faithful members of and serve Christ in the local assembly. {Warns gifters to not lose rewards} According to Colossians 1.29, Paul is laboring according to His working, which worked in Paul mightily, to do the things commanded in verse 28. Oh, would the desire of every believer be to get out the gospel that men might be saved, baptize them into a local New Testament church, build them up in the faith.49 WISDOM. But the beauty of the Book of Proverbs lies hidden in the meaning of the word Wisdom. Clearly this word, as used here, means more than an attribute. We cannot doubt that the Wisdom of Proverbs is identical with the Incarnate Word of the New Testament. Wisdom is represented as dwelling with God from all eternity, “from everlasting, from the beginning,” as being “His Artificer” by which He founded the earth and established the heavens Pro. 2:4; 3:19; 7:22. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of the way, before His works of old. Col. i. 17. He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. “If thou searchest for her (Wisdom) as for hid treasure.”

Col. ii. 3. In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.50

49) Cited at Jerald Finney‘s blogsite: Separation of Church and State Law; ~ Lesson 3 on Colossians -McGee Notes- 10/20/2017.

50 A. M. HODGKIN, Christ in All the Scripture.

Colossians 2: “You Are Built Up In Christ.” {KJB Intro & text} ~ 1 - He still exhorteth them to be constant in Christ, ~ 8 - To beware of Philosophy, and vaine traditions, ~ 18 - worshipping of Angels, ~ 20 - and Legal Ceremonies, which are ended in Christ. ~

¶ For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ¶ And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ.

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Beware 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. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

¶ And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. ¶ Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; ha ndle not; Which a ll a re to perish w ith the using;) a fter the comma ndm ent s a nd doct r ines of men? Wh ich t h i ng s ha v e indeed a shew of w i sd om in w i ll worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

How Do We Choose the Correct “Ultimate Standard”?

S

ince we must appeal to some ultimate standard, the next question is how to determine the right one.

One—and only one—logical solution is available. The standard itself must be “self-attesting” and “selfauthenticating.” In other words, it must speak for itself and defend itself in such a way that it (1) passes all its own standards of truth and (2) gives a foundation for successfully interpreting all other claims to truth.

Even before modern logicians recognized this limitation to every logical argument, God’s Word had already acknowledged and solved it.

Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, said, “I am the truth” (John 14:6) and “God’s word is truth” (John 17:17). Jesus claimed to define what truth is, and He said God’s Word is the ultimate judge of truth (John 12:48). No truth exists apart from Him. As the Bible explains it, “In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). So the Bible clearly claims an exalted position as the ultimate authority.

Moreover, God’s Word concludes that all other standards outside of Christ must be “empty” because they depend on “the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8). For the Bible to appeal to any other authority would be to deny its own place as the ultimate standard. (We don’t need to bludgeon people with this truth, but the rightness of our position should encourage us.)

As it turns out, the only ultimate standard that can be logically self-authenticating is one that exactly matches the unique God of Scripture, who is true, holy, just, eternal, unchanging, and “cannot lie” (Titus 1:2).

He alone provides a solid foundation for knowledge and attests to His own truthfulness.

Your hearers won’t find an alternative that comes close to matching the biblical God, no matter how hard they try. But you don’t have to belabor this point. (They could spend many lifetimes searching!) A positive proclamation of the reasonableness of the Christian faith is enough to highlight the shortcomings of alternative worldviews.51

Pandita Ramabhai‘s Testimony:

“On my arrival in New York, I was told that a new religion was being taught in New York, and that it had won many disciples. I found that the name of the new religion was Christian Science; and when I asked what its teaching was, I recognized it as the same philosophy that had been taught among my people for four thousand years. It has wrecked millions of lives and caused immeasurable suffering and sorrow in my land. It is a religion that knows no compassion or sympathy. It means just this—the philosophy of nothingness. You are to view the whole world as nothing but a falsehood.”

“Beware 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” (Col. 2:8).52 “Since, as we have already seen, Colossians and Hebrews credit Jesus with holding all things together and with sustaining the entire universe "with His mighty word of power," then it is possible that the apparent vast reservoir modern scientists perceive as being an inherent, resident power potential of the vacuum---a property of "empty space" itself has its source in the Upper Story of the universe. That is, it is the power of God Himself we now feebly glimpse, or "see through the glass darkly." This power is seen at the boundary between two worlds, the physical and spiritual.

From behind the curtains of our present world, God supplies not only force but it would seem He also supplies also vast amounts of energy to sustain the Creation. In more ways than one we owe not only our lives but the moment by moment sustenance of the physical universe to His energetic involvement, both now discernible in the conceptual understanding modern physics has given us. Knowing the Creator personally gives us every reason to feel secure and to stand in awe of Almighty God who has by no means left us alone in the cosmos--it's very existence is a direct expression of His power and His will.” Jesus and the Creation by Lambert Dolphin.53 {Must see below most excellent comments from Dr. Rimmer’s The Magnificence of Jesus} 51

Can We Prove the Bible Is True? The Ultimate Proof by Mike Matthews on April 1, 2011; last featured November 11, 2014 WM. C. Irvine, Heresies Exposed.

53 LAMBERT DOLPHIN'S Library featured on Blue Letter Bible.

52

C OLOSSIANS 3: {T HE H OUSEHOLD C HAPTER : (T HE A BOVE L IFE / THE

BELOW

D EATH ).}

“Put on the New Self.”

{KJB INTRO & TEXT} “The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath. The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow. ... For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: ... For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. ... For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: ... Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. ... For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, 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?” (Pro 15:24-25; Heb 12:6, 25-28; 1Pe 2:20; 3:18-21; 4:5-7, 17-18.) ~ 1 - He sheweth where we should seek Christ. ~ 5 - He exhorteth to mortification, ~ 10 - to put off the old man, and to put on Christ, ~ 12 - exhorting to charity, humility, ~ 18 - and other several duties. ~ ¶ If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above , where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on thing s above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. ¶ Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. ¶ But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. ¶ Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of

perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. ¶ Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

C

olossians 2 teaches, that the believer is complete in Christ, buried with Him in baptism, risen with Him, forgiven. And yet: ‘Beware of losing your reward by turning to the commandments of men.’ ‘If risen with and Christ, let your life be in the things heavenly. But you have also members on earth; put them to death:’ Col. 3:1-6.54 ... Our present and complete forgiveness is made the ground on which we are to forgive offences against ourselves. “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any have a quarrel (‘complaint,’ margin) against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” Col. 3:13. “Be ye kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God lit Christ forgave you:” (Greek) Eph. 4:32. This is the Christian’s abiding position. “He (God) made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace:” Eph. 1:6-7; Col. 1:14. “We have” - it is a present an abiding possession. The blood of Christ which brings it, alters not with our failures.55 If Christianity be a scheme from God, it is essentially MEDIATION. That is, it proclaims, - that to the holy, just, and pure God, man, at his best estate, is unworthy and unfit to approach. It is the provision of a substitute to bear the just consequences of his sins, and a perfect righteousness in the obedience of another. It is the proclamation of an intercessor already in the presence of God, by whose pleadings alone our prayers or praises are accepted. To the Christian mind, proofs of this can scarcely be needed.

It is the first truth that rises to light from the pages of the New Testament. Priesthood is mediation: and Jesus is High Priest. "There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus:" 1 Tim. 2:5. "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises:" Heb. 8:6. Had Israel under the Old Covenant direct access to God? 54 55

Robert Govett, excerpt: THE BELIEVER UNDER RESPONSIBILITY ~ SINS AFTER FAITH. Robert Govett, excerpt: THE BELIEVER’S PRESENT STANDING IN GRACE: OR SINS BEFORE FAITH.

Nay, they could only draw near indirectly through the priest. So it is now; Jesus being that atoning and mediating priest. "For this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance:" Heb. 9:15.

“Jesus saith unto him, ‘I am THE WAY, and the truth, and the life; NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER BUT BY ME’” John 14:6.

"We have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ" "Through whom also we have access (approach) by faith into this grace wherein we stand." Rom. 5:1-2; Eph. 1:5, 7; 2:18; {“...giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”} Col. 3:17, etc.56

HOME. The home and family is God's plan. God gave Adam a wife, brought them together in the first wedding, and instructed them to be fruitful in bearing children (Ge. 1:28; 2:18-25). "God is the author of the family constitution. He has conceived the plan and executed it. Its laws are stamped in nature and declared in the Word. The equal numbers of the sexes born into the world, the feebleness of childhood at first, and the returning frailty of age, are so many features of the family institute left by the Creator indented on his work. They intimate not obscurely the marriage of one man with one woman, the support of children by parents, and the support of decayed parents by the children grown. There are many such laws deeply imprinted in nature; and in nature, too, a terrible vengeance is stored up, which bursts with unerring exactitude on the head of the transgressor. In practice, and for safety, keep families together as long as it is possible. When the young must go forth from a father's house, let a substitute be provided as closely allied to the normal institution as the circumstances will admit" (William Arnot).

The Importance of Good Relationships in the Home:

(1) The family is the foundational building block for society and the church; it was the institution first established by God (Ge. 2:18-25). (2) Marriage is a picture of Christ and the church (Ep. 5:22-33). (3) Good relations in the home are commanded by God (Col. 3:18-19).

(4) Poor relationships in the home is a bad testimony that reflects on Christ (Tit. 2:4-5). (5) Poor marriage relationships hinder prayer (1Pe. 3:7). (6) Poor marriage relationships disqualify men from being pastors (1Ti. 3:2, 4-5; Tit. 1:6). (7) Poor parent-child relations populate jail cells (Pr. 29:15) and hell (Pr. 23:13-14).

The Husband's Duty toward His Wife:

(1) He is to love his wife (Ep. 5:25). (2) He is to leave father and mother and dedicate himself to his wife (Ge. 2:24). (3) He is to nourish his wife (Ep. 5:28-29). (4) He is to cherish his wife (Ep. 5:29). (5) He is not to be bitter against his wife (Col. 3:19). (6) He is to honor the wife as the weaker vessel (1Pe. 3:7). He is to treat the wife as part of his life and ministry (1 Pe. 3:7). (7) He is to meet the physical needs of his wife (1Co. 7:2-4). (8) He is to meet the financial needs of his family (1Ti. 5:8). (9) He is to be trustworthy (Pr. 5:15-21).

56

Robert Govett’s “Warrant of Scripture Concerning New Testament Priesthood.”

The Wife's Duty toward Her Husband:

(1) She is to love her husband (Tit. 2:4). (2) She is to submit to her husband (Ep. 5:22-24, 33; Col. 3:18). (3) She is to maintain a meek and quiet spirit (1Pe. 3:4). (4) She is to keep the home (Pr. 14:1; Tit. 2:5). (5) She is to be trustworthy (Pr. 31:11). (6) She is to do him good and not evil (Pr. 31:12). (7) She is to be virtuous (Pr. 12:4; Tit. 2:5; 1Pe. 3:2). (8) She is to preach to him by her manner of life, not by her words (1Pe. 3:1-5). (9) She is to meet the physical needs of her husband (1Co. 7:2-4).

“After the wedding, the woman is to be under the authority of her husband.

This is God's explicit command (Ep. 5:22-24; Col. 3:18; Titus 2:5; 1Pe. 2:1-6).

What if the husband makes mistakes? No doubt, he will! But what if his leadership and love are not perfect? No doubt it will not be! Even so, she is to submit to him as unto Christ. In the same way, a church is to submit to its pastor, though he will no doubt make mistakes and no doubt be imperfect in many ways.” ~ {article “DEACON”} Children Are Their Oppressors and Women Shall Rule over Them The prophet Isaiah, in describing the apostate condition of Israel, said, "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths" (Isaiah 3:12).

The apostate ecumenical movement is enjoying the fulfillment of this prophecy today. At the World Council of Churches Seventh General Assembly in Canberra, Australia, many who stood to preach and to lead the business meetings were women. Angry women! One of the two keynote addresses was delivered by radical Korean feminist Chung Hyun-Kyung. "Reverend" Violet SampaBredt of Zambia told the ecumenical gang that Junia in Romans 16 was an apostle and that anyone who is involved in the work of the church is an apostle. She spoke of "the lie that only men can be ministers." Aruna Gnanadasan of India, director of the WCC's Sub-unit on Women, spoke disparagingly of the "male-dominated structures of the churches" and said, "It is urgent for the whole church to be in solidarity with women." Andrea Carmen spoke on "that most important women," Mother Earth, and longed for the return to the days of the strong "matriarchy which saw clans being passed on through women." After describing the supposed exalted status of women in ancient North American Indian culture, she complained that "Western education and Christianity placed women on the bottom and not as a source of leadership."

Margot Kaessman came up with a unique interpretation of Genesis 3, asking, "Is it really sin to long for knowledge?" She claimed that Eve "was filled with the spirit of freedom," and said, "Eve's sin had nothing to do with sexuality, and yet the common interpretation is filled with hints at sexuality." She was denying the traditional apostolic interpretation which says that Eve was deceived because she was the weaker vessel and that she was not supposed to make such decisions on her own. Or course "Ms." Kaessman is from Germany, which has been on the cutting edge of theological weirdness for almost two centuries.

"Reverend" Constance Parvey of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America claimed that the issue of the ordination of women was a unity issue. Men and women are one in the "body of Christ" and therefore should be allowed the same functions. "In the early life of the Church women were at the center but a patriarchal reading of the Scriptures had marginalized them. Now a separate ecclesiology for women and men existed in the church." Of course, this "patriarchal reading" could

not possibly have anything to do with the fact that the Apostles plainly limited the women's role in the church in regard to leadership, could it? She urged women to enter the theological arena and equip themselves as theologians.

The children had their say at the WCC meeting as well. Roughly 200 youth delegates and stewards "expressed concern at the failure of member churches to send the recommended proportion of youth delegates" (CCA News, Jan-Mar. 1991, Christian Conference of Asia, pp. 12, 13). The Assembly repented and agreed to appoint a youth as one of the seven WCC presidents.

Priyanka Mendis, 25, executive secretary of the Committee for Justice and Peace of the NCC in Sri Lanka, was later elected. (A youth is defined by the WCC as someone under 27 years old.) This didn't satisfy the clamoring youth, though. They held up a banner warning the Assembly that it was committing "ecumenical suicide" by ignoring the youth. They were angry because only eight percent of those elected to the WCC Central Committee were youth. All of this reminds me of something I read in the book Isaiah one time.57 {for more see below at: WOMEN PREACHERS.}

The New Testament and the Labour Problem “Servants,” (A.V.). “Servants [Gk. ‘bondservants’],” (R.V.). “Slaves,” (R.S.V.). “Slaves,” (N.I.V.).

It is a most valuable fact that the Holy Spirit has chosen a slave—a class so low in the social order that none can be lower—to show that every man’s handicraft can be a divine work. The vast majority of servants in the Greek and Roman worlds, at the moment when Paul was writing, were slaves, and in most districts the slaves were much more numerous than the free population—in Attica, for example, four to one. The slave was a man who was bought and sold, the Palestinian price being thirty pieces of silver; and the philosophers of Greece taught, and the lawyers of Rome assumed, that a slave was a chattel, and so had no rights. By selecting the lowest of all ranks in the social order—so low that it does not exist in modern civilized communities—and by defining its duties, and revealing its destinies, the Holy Spirit lifts the entire Labour problem into the light of God, and revolutionizes our whole conception of common work.

THE MASTER So first the Spirit fills the horizon with a new Master. “Slaves”*—slaves by calling, Christians by character—”obey in all things them that are your masters according to the flesh”—only in the flesh masters, no lords over conscience or the soul; so a lordship, because in the flesh, extremely temporary: “not with eye service”—only while under the master’s eye—“as men-pleasers”—thinking of the employer’s approval, rather than the efficiency of the work (see Note 1)—“but in singleness of heart”—an undivided devotion to excellence of workmanship—“fearing the Lord” (Col. 3:22)—in whom all lordships are swallowed up, serving in awe of Christ. “And ye masters, do the same things”—act on identical principles—“unto them, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven” (Eph. 6:9); “render”—‘supply on your side, as far as you are concerned the force of the Middle’ (Lange)—(Col. 4:1): “Treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven” (4:1, R.S.V.). ‘He must remember that in heaven the servants’ Master is his own also’ (Westcott). Our labour is manward: our heart is to be Godward. Here is the complete and profound solution—if ever it was accepted and obeyed of the labour problem; for, by making God the central and final employer, instead of what Dr. Chalmers called “the dream of making universal selfishness do the work of universal love,” it substitutes the working fact of a universal devotion such that both employer and employed are devoted to each other’s interests, because both are devoted to God’s. “It was not Christ’s plan,” as Dr. R. W. Dale observes, “to effect an external revolution, but to change the moral and spiritual life of the race.” [* Peter uses another Greek word for domestic servants. (1 Peter 2:18)]

THE SERVICE For the Spirit next buries deep in the Christian slave’s heart a dynamic and revolutionary principle.

“Whatsoever ye do, do all”—everything on which the labourer’s hand rests—“from the soul”—with your 57

Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible and Christianity - 6th Edition by David W. Cloud: articles, “HOME” and the “WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES”.

whole soul, as we say; the ‘soul’ being the sum of the human faculties: act from inward principle, not from outward compulsion—“as UNTO THE LORD, and not unto men”—the earthly employer, often unworthy, thus lost to sight in the heavenly, always worthy of our best. Paul, the greatest of the Apostles, and so of all Christians, describes himself as ‘the slave of Jesus Christ’ (Rom. 1:1)—as equally bought, indentured, owned, as any other slave: for the Lord Jesus is Master as well as Saviour: so, therefore, ours is to be a devotion to our work even more than a devotion to our employer, for the work is Christ’s. This transfigures the office, the farm, the factory, the shop, the kitchen, the nursery, the school: as it stands, no such work is Christian, for it is equally done by the ungodly; but it can be instantly made so by being done consciously to Christ. As a surgeon’s or nurse’s may be disgusting work, yet it saves life, so the menial drudgery of a slave can match the manual labour of an angel. So the Christian lay-worker is to do his work as though the universe were a huge factory in which there is but one employer—Christ, and but one workman—himself: “with good will doing service, as unto the Lord, and not unto men” (Eph. 6:7).

THE RECOMPENSE

To enforce this utterly unearthly conduct, the Spirit now strikes strongly the double chord of hope and fear. “Knowing”—keeping wide awake to the fact; ‘seeing ye know,’ causal participle, giving the reason for the preceding command (Ellicott); knowing for a certainty “that from the Lord”—a Master (no article) as though there were but one in the universe, the munificent Rewarder who stands in the background of every life—“ye shall receive”—receive in return, receive in proportion—“the recompense of the inheritance”—‘an inheritance which is a recompense; the inheritance which is the compensation’ (Alford).* No ingenuity of reasoning, no subtlety of intellect, can evade the fact that the inheritance here is a reward, dependent solely on conduct: what the Roman Catholic expositors, fastening on this verse to establish merit for salvation, have missed is that there are two inheritances, the Eternal and the Millennial; and that this is not the Eternal inheritance, unconditionally ours on simple faith; but the Millennial fellow-heirship with the Christ, dependent on a share in His obedience and sufferings. Paul has summed up both once and for ever:—“If children, then heirs”: two inheritances follow—one a sheer gift, one a reward for obedience and sanctity: “heirs indeed of God” an inheritance unconditional, absolute, ours for ever; “but [ See Greek ] joint heirs with Christ, IF SO BE that we suffer with Him”—a sharply imposed condition—“that we may be glorified with Him” (Rom. 8:17).** So then “in the hope of it—and the enjoyment of it could not be very distant—they were to work and suffer and wait, and in the possession of it they would find immediate and ample compensation” (Eadie): “the utterly disinherited—for a slave to be an ‘heir’ was a paradox” (Lightfoot)—would become the most wonderful of inheritors; and the righteous master would acquire an estate beyond stock exchange collapse, and beyond the jeopardy of death. For “whatsoever good thing each one doeth, the same shall he receive again”—‘as a deposit, or as seed sown’ (Wordsworth)—“from the Lord, whether he be bond or free” (Eph. 6:8) . [* “The recompense with the article denotes a recompense in prospect, while the preposition (See Greek) indicates that it is one compensating for the present privations” (Lange): “the double compound involves the idea of exact requital” (Lightfoot).] [ ** “‘If, at least, we are suffering with Him’: i.e., ‘if (provided that) we are found in the course of participation in Christ’s sufferings’” (Alford). Wherever the millennial Kingdom is named in the Apocalypse—four times, the earth-number for the earthly Reign—it is described as the kingdom of Christ, the human Messiah: so here it is joint-heirship with Christ. As heirs of God, the inheritance is eternal: as co-heirs with Christ, the inheritance is millennial. The Eternal Inheritance is never a reward, and never made dependent on unfaltering fidelity: on the other hand, “he who suffers with Christ, and conquers in Christ, will, with Christ, be gloriously exalted”(Lange)]

PENALTY

The Spirit now strikes the second chord of fear, by disclosing a tribunal to which all forcible redress of social or individual wrongs must be postponed, and which reserves to itself all ultimate jurisdiction. “For”— that is, ‘what follows is to be a motive of conduct’ (Lange)—“he that doeth wrong”—whether master or slave—“shall receive again”—receive as recompense: ‘receive back, as it were a deposit’ (Ellicott)—“for the wrong that he hath done”—‘not the wrong itself, but for it, the wrong in the form of punishment’ (Eadie); “and there is no respect of persons”—which therefore sweeps into the ambit of judgment—for one recompense or the other, for reward or penalty—every slave of Jesus Christ. “This,” as Dean Spence observes, “is the judgment of Christians: we are inclined to forget this while warning publicans and sinners of coming judgment.” A penal recompense is thus balanced against a recompense of reward, and both are the other side of the grave. Neither the recompense nor the penalty falls in this life.* “The Divine judgment,” says Bishop

Westcott, “lies essentially in each deed of man. The good which we do remains ours still, and the evil also. The doer in each case will receive what he has done: ‘that each may receive the things done in the body’ (2 Cor. 5:10).” The adverse recompense is again stated by Paul to be Millennial and it is a forfeiture of the secondary inheritance:—“know ye not that wrongdoers”—the same word as here, (see Greek) shall not inherit the Kingdom of God?” (1 Cor. 6:9)—that is, the inheritance which is a recompense, and not a gift, is the inheritance which is lost. There are Christian employers, in thousands, who may well dread the issue; for it is an exceeding painful fact that the straitest evangelical orthodoxy can go with a total disregard (if not contempt) of the Sermon on the Mount. “How hardly,” exclaims our Lord again and again, “shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matt. 19:24). Such need Luther’s spirit who, when left a legacy, refused it, saying, “Lord, Thou shalt never put me off with my portion in this life!”

Thus before the eyes of the whole Church the Spirit of God erects the purging vision of the Judgment Seat of Christ; and so transfigures all daily drudgery—if consciously and deliberately done to our Lord as part of our work for Him—as an alchemy changes all base metal into gold. That there is no respect of persons establishes a tribunal of incorruptible impartiality. As Ambrose says:- “the judge discerns causes, not persons”; and the idea that the slave is more exempt than the master is wholly unscriptural—“thou shalt not favour a poor man in his cause” (Ex. 23:3). The face of Christ is not against either master or servant, either employer or employed, either spiritual believer or carnal, but He is against all wrong-doing in all: so that the want of bias in God as judge is equally a terror to the deceitful wage-earner and the tyrannous capitalist; and the wrong-sufferer of every class and kind will find that his wrong-doings are not cloaked by his wrong-sufferings. So also, on the contrary, the lowest drudgery done for Christ is coining royalty. The slave gets his keep, or otherwise he would die, and his master lose him; and the employee gets his wage, for in a slaveless community labour can only be purchased; but the keep may be beggarly, and the wage a pittance: nevertheless—and even if both are adequate and generous—all work fully and faithfully done to Christ, either by master or slave, is recompensed with a coming glory inconceivable, to which no royalty now on earth can be compared. [* Thus the drawing of the sword for freedom, bitter class conflict, or armed rebellion—all forcible redress on this side of the grave—is swallowed up in the Tribunal to which alone forcible redress is finally possible, and which alone is absolutely competent. Even to the slave Paul’s word, paraphrased by Bishop Westcott is this:—“Seize not liberty by force but embrace it with joy” (1 Cor. 7:21).]

------1. NOTE. ‘The efficiency of the work’ is being impaired by those who refuse—(either because of the fear of man, the possible loss of earnings, or friends)—to disclose much of what they recognise as scriptural truth. We often hear how we ought to act as responsible servants of Christ, but we seldom hear of the dire consequences facing all unrepentant servants who do not so act as they ought. “The whole delineation of the terrific punishment prepared for the unfaithful servant [slave] bears the character of the justitia retributiva {Retributive justice}. Those who believe that from the evangelical position one cannot properly speak of any punishment in the judicial sense, but only affectionate chastisements for the moral amendment of the misled, can hardly measure aright the fearful earnestness of declarations such as those of Luke 12:45-48.”

“Is the ambassador of an earthly potentate at liberty to decline the duty which he has deliberately undertaken, and with which he has been entrusted, on account of obloquy or even danger attending the faithful performance of it? or is he at liberty to alter or modify the terms of his instructions in order to shield himself from reproach or from peril? Assuredly not. And shall the ambassadors of the King of kings venture to tamper with and distort the message which they were commissioned to deliver? Shall they presumptuously attempt to amend the terms on which the Lord of heaven and earth declares that He will treat with His rebellious subjects? Or shall they leave out of the proclamation whatever it may be unpleasant to these subjects to hear?”—P. HOPE, B. D. (See 1 Cor. 4:2).

[Such cowardly behaviour is prevalent in Christendom today: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables” (2 Tim. 4:3-4).]58

58

D. M. Panton, The Panton Papers cited 2017 at: W. H. Tindle’s The Millennial Kingdom.

A Real “PUT ON” by Ben M. Bogard {cf., The Roman TOGA and Gal. 3:27 by G. E. Jones}

“The believer is a child of God. Gal. 3:26-27 says that as ‘many of you as have been baptized into Jesus Christ have put on Christ.’ Salvation which means becoming a child of God, comes when we believe and then in baptism we outwardly express that fact by ‘putting on’ Christ. What is meant by ‘putting on’ Christ? It means to IMITATE Christ. The words ‘put on’ come from a Greek word (enduo) which means to IMITATE. So after we become children of God we IMITATE CHRIST BY BEING BAPTIZED. Jesus was baptized and we IMITATE HIM by our baptism. Nobody but a child of God could put on Christ, that is, imitate Him. Christian people, those who undoubtedly had already been baptized, were also told to ‘put ye on the new man’ (Col. 3:9-10; Eph. 4:24). So while being baptized is indeed imitating Christ it is not the only way we can imitate Him. We imitate Christ, ‘PUT ON CHRIST’ by living a correct life. It only proclaims the fact that we belong to Christ after having become the children of God by faith in Jesus.”59

‘Believers of the Church left to the Great Tribulation!’

Some may say: ‘Then the writer does not believe in the rapture of the Church!’

No, brother, he does not! He has heard read a good deal about ‘the rapture of the Church,’ but he never yet saw the passage of Scripture which speaks of it! He admits with thankfulness the glorious place which God has given to believers of this dispensation. But he has never yet beheld the passage which states, that all the members of Christ will at one time be rapt to Christ; and that this is one of the privileges attached to simple saving faith in Christ. Let us then look into the matter!

First of all, neither of the two Epistles which speak of ‘the Church’ mention the rapture!

1. Paul in Ephesians tells us of God’s gracious counsels toward the Church, the body of the Risen Head. He does not name the rapture. That silence then gives us to understand, that the rapture is not one of the privileges attached to this wonderful calling.

‘Oh, but the reason why it is not named, is, because we are there considered as being already in the heavenly places with Christ:’ Eph. 2:6.

Could not the Holy Spirit, when telling us of God’s counsel concerning the fulness of times (Eph. 1:10) have thrown in a clause, stating, that by the one all-inclusive rapture saints would enter it? Was there no other way in which the All-wise God could show us, in the same epistle both privileges, if they were really attached to simple faith?

2. There is no notice given in the Colossians, that rapture is one of the privileges belonging to simple faith in Christ.

‘How can you say so? when it is written there – “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory :”‘ Col. 3:4. Now in order that the saints may appear on high with Christ He must have previously come for them. Moreover God has already translated believers into the kingdom of the Son of His love: Col. 1:13.’

It is true, that all believers are translated as soon as they believe, into the kingdom in mystery {cf., The 3 Stages of Christ’s Kingdom~Church~Bride}, during the present time of grace. But the rapture takes place in another day of an opposite character; in the day of 59

Ben M. Bogard Sermons & Lessons, “Faith” Baptist World, 6-71. Listen at Sermon Audio:A Voice from the Past • 1/29/1947

justice, when each is to be rewarded according to his works: Matt. 12:18-26; 2 Thess. 1:5; 1 John 4:17{1Pet. 4:17-18}. Of which more by and by. And the question is, Will all believers enter the kingdom in manifestation?

Next, the Epistle to the Colossians has some strong warnings {cf. the BEWARES of Php. 3:2} of possible loss to the believer arising from disobedience. Let us look at them. The apostle tells us of believers already reconciled to God through the death of His Son, and of their presentation, “holy and unblameable and irreprovable in His sight IF“ AT LEAST “ye” (1) “continue in the faith grounded and settled,” (2) “and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel which ye have heard:” Col. 1:22, 23.

Now, are all believers grounded and settled in the faith? Have none been moved away from the hope of the Gospel? Do not many refuse the personal coming of Christ at any moment, and look rather for death as their hope?

Again, after presenting to the believer the glory of the Mystery of God and the necessity of our cleaving to Christ as Head, what says He? “Beware lest any man spoil (rob) you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ:” Col. 2:8.

Are there no Christians led away from simplicity in Christ to philosophy and the traditions of men? These then will suffer loss as it regards the Christian’s reward and hopes.

The believer is to remember his completeness in Christ, with whom he was “buried in baptism, whereby also he rose again by faith in the operation of God who raised him from the dead:” Col. 2:12.

Here again is another opening for loss. How few believers have been immersed after their faith in Christ slain, buried, and raised again! And if Moses, God’s commissioned deliverer of Israel, had nearly been slain by the Lord because of his neglect of the first rite of the law (Ex. 4:24-26), how much more shall these lose privileges attaching to obedience, in the day of the Lord?

But inspired warning to disciples steps in again.

“Let none beguile you of your reward in a voluntary (affected), humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by the mind of his flesh, and not holding the head, out of which all the body, by joints and bands having nourishment ministered and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. IF, therefore, ye died with the Christ,” why listen to the commands of men, as if still alive in the World? They may have a show of wisdom but as being to the satisfaction of the flesh, are not to be honoured by any Christian. “If, therefore, ye rose with the Christ, seek the things which are above.” Set your affection there, and not on things of earth. For you died, and your true life is on high with Christ. And when He shall be manifested, then shall you too be: Col. 2:18; 3:4. {“... then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”} Here then is another opening of responsibility, at which disobedience may come in. Nay, all these warnings discover to us points at which many believers have actually gone astray.

Hence they will not partake of the privileges attached to obedience.{cf., 1 Sam. 15:22-23 “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as

the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”} And this promised manifestation with Christ is

presented in the hortatory part of the Epistle, under three ‘ifs.’ Moreover, the Epistle witnesses of certain sins on which the wrath of God is coming,* and into which many believers have fallen. It also assures us, that while the obedient will receive the reward of the inheritance, yet that the wrong-doer, believer though he may be, shall receive for the wrong he has done; and God is, in that day of justice, no respecter of faces: Col. 3:22; 4:1.

According to deeds He will render to each, whether elect, or non-elect. * Col. 3:6. “On the children of disobedience” is to be omitted here. See the critical editions of the New Testament. Wrath is coming on all doers of these evils.{KJB correct; cf. Eph 2:2; 5:6; 1Pe 1:14; 2:20; 3:19-20}

While then all Christ’s people are to be presented before Him “at His Presence,” yet that does not decide the question, whether all believers will be rapt together. For “the Presence” of Christ covers a considerable space of time, during which the Antichrist is manifested, and the Day of Great Trouble takes place. So that, during that time more raptures than one may take effect.60 {more of this “TRACT“ below.}

Colossians 4: “Fellow Workers.” {KJB Intro & text} ~ 1 - He exhorteth them to be fervent in prayer, ~ 5 - to walk wisely toward them that are not yet come to the true knowledge of Christ. ~ 10 - He saluteth them, and wisheth them all prosperity. ~

¶ Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven. ¶ Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds: That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. ¶ Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. ¶ All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.

Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellow workers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me.

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of 60

Robert Govett’s BAPTISM AND THE KINGDOM; “Unwatchful Believers of the Church Will Be Left in the Future Great Tribulation—A TRACT ON THE KINGDOM” cited 2017 at: W. H. Tindle’s The Millennial Kingdom. {WayBack}

God. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. And when this e p i s t l e i s r e a d a m o n g y o u , c a u s e t h a t i t b e r e a d a l s o i n t h e c h u r c h o f t h e Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you.

Amen. ¶ Written from Rome to the Colossians by Tychicus and Onesimus.

Col. 4:1. Masters, give unto your servants,.... This verse properly belongs to the preceding chapter, with which it should have been concluded. It is indeed strange, that those who made the division of chapters and verses should separate this from the former chapter, to which it so manifestly belongs, and begin a new one with it, when it has no connection with what follows; for the apostle having observed the duty of servants to their masters, proceeds to direct masters to the discharge of their duty to their servants, by giving them that which is just and equal: proper food and raiment, which is sufficient and fitting for them; the wages due unto them by law or contract; using them with gentleness and humanity, taking care of them when under affliction, and in sickness; encouraging the diligent and laborious by an addition to their salaries; correcting the disobedient within just bounds, not with too much rigour and severity; and carrying it with an even hand to all, not preferring or indulging one before another, without any reason: knowing that ye also have a master in heaven: See Gill on “Eph 6:9”. {which says} meaning Christ, who employs, provides for, and uses well all his servants, and to whom masters must be accountable for their usage of servants; for he is the common master of masters and servants; and so the Alexandrian copy, and Vulgate Latin version, read, “their and your master”: and the place of his habitation is mentioned, to distinguish him from earthly masters; and the more to move and excite masters to their duty, since he being in heaven overlooks and takes notice of all their actions, as the omniscient God; and being omnipotent, has it in his power to plead and avenge the cause of the injured: neither is there respect of persons with him; as whether they are of this, or the other nation, Jew or Gentile; whether in this, or that state and condition, or in such and such circumstances of life; whether masters or servants, bond or free, or whether Canaanitish or Hebrew servants; between which the Jews made a difference, and allowed of rigour to be used to the one, but required mercy and kindness to be showed to the other; and so were respecters of persons.61

Dr. Morris on Colossians 4: Master. “The word “Master” in this verse—referring both to human masters and our heavenly Master—is actually the Greek word kurios, normally rendered “Lord.” It is not the usual word for “master,” which is didaskalos, meaning “teacher.” This exhortation here suggests great responsibility, with eternal implications, on the part of both masters and servants—or, in modern terminology, of employers and employees.

Colossians 4:3 open unto us a door. Note that it is not human strategies but God, in response to prayer, who opens doors of witness for His people. Note also 1 Corinthians 16:9; Revelation 3:8.

Colossians 4:5 redeeming the time. Time is our most valuable possession and should not be squandered. Lost health can often be regained, and so can money and earthly possessions, but time wasted is gone forever. See notes on Psalm 90:10-12: threescore years and ten. Moses contrasts the seventy years of a normal life span in his day (even though he himself providentially lived 120 years) with the thousand-year life-span of men before the Flood (Psalm 90:4). It is remarkable that, after over three thousand more years of human history after Moses, including the great medical advances of recent centuries, seventy to eighty years is still the normal life-span. Number our days. Compare Deuteronomy 32:29 in Moses’ valedictory address to the children of Israel. A person has only about eighteen thousand days in which he could apply his life to eternal values, so it is vitally important to be “redeeming the time” Ephesians 5:16.

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John Gill‘s Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Colossians 4:6 speech. “Speech” here is the Greek logos, often translated “word.” In addition to being “gracious” and tasteful (i.e., “seasoned with salt”), the speech of the Christian should be “sound” (Titus 2:8), “edifying” (Ephesians 4:29), meaningful (Matthew 12:36), “quiet” (1 Thessalonians 4:11), trustworthy (Colossians 3:9) and clean (Colossians 3:8). with grace. If we have “grace in [our] hearts” (Colossians 3:16), we can exhibit grace in our speech. answer. The word “answer” is the Greek apokrinomai. In its 250 occurrences in the New Testament, this is the only place where it is not used as a simple narrative statement (e.g., “he answered and said”). In other words, we can (and should) know just how to reply to every statement or question in any conversation, and to do so graciously and tastefully.

It is different from the word “answer” in 1 Peter 3:15 (“be ready always to give an answer ... ”); there the word is apologia, meaning “systematic defense.” When the Christian faith is attacked, we need to be able to give an “apologetic” in defense thereof. In ordinary conversation, on the other hand, we need to have a gracious and helpful reply to whatever is being said or asked.

Colossians 4:7 Tychicus. Colosse was a small city of Asia Minor not too far from Laodicea (see Colossians 4:16).

Paul had never visited there, and so addressed them a little more formally than he did the church at Ephesus, even though the doctrinal content of the two epistles is often similar. He apparently wrote while he was in prison at Rome (note Colossians 4:18) and sent the letter to them by Tychicus, by whom he also sent the Ephesian letter, presumably at the same time (note Ephesians 6:21-22), as well as that to Philemon.

Colossians 4:9 Onesimus. See Philemon 10. Evidently Onesimus, a run-away slave belonging to a Christian master named Philemon living in Colosse, had been led to Christ by Paul in Rome. This suggests that Tychicus and Onesimus carried letters from Paul to the churches at Ephesus and Colosse and also a personal letter to Philemon in Colosse.

Colossians 4:10 Aristarchus. See Acts 19:29; 20:4; 27:2; Philemon 24. In Colossians 4:7-17, Paul mentions more people by name than in any other epistle except in Romans 16:1-23. If any should wonder why these personal references should be included in a divinely inspired document intended by the Holy Spirit to be used in all churches of all the centuries, the intent may be to assure us that God is interested in individual believers as well as in the church as a whole.

All believers have their individual names written in the Lamb’s “book of life” in heaven (Revelation 20:15). As a token and surety of this, some of these names have also been written in His book on earth.

Marcus. See also Acts 15:37; 2 Timothy 4:11. Evidently Mark, who had once left Paul, had also come to see him at Rome, and had at least begun to reconfirm his commitment to Christ in Paul’s judgment.

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras. There is no actual record in Scripture that Paul ever actually visited Colosse, or that he established the church there. Nevertheless, he seemed to know personally many of the Colossian believers, especially Philemon (note especially Philemon 19, 22). Perhaps Epaphras, who had served as one of their pastors and teachers, kept in close touch with Paul, and possibly had even been in prison with Paul and Aristarchus at the time Paul was writing this epistle. Epaphras also had evidently ministered in the nearby churches at Laodicea and Hierapolis (Colossians 4:13). always labouring fervently. Ephaphras was a true “prayer warrior,” always interceding for the Christians at Colosse.

The word translated “labouring fervently” is agonizomai. The same word is translated “strive” in Luke 13:24 and “fight” in 1 Timothy 6:12. In English it is transliterated as “agonize.”

Colossians 4:14 physician. It is from this verse that we know that Luke, Paul’s companion on his voyage to Rome (see Acts 21:2) was a physician.

Demas. Demas was still Paul’s fellow worker at this time, though later he went back into the world (Philemon 24; 2 Timothy 4:10).62 Colossians 4:16 epistle from Laodicea. It seems unlikely that the Holy Spirit would inspire this command to read the Laodicean epistle, and then allow it to be lost. It is more likely that the Ephesian letter (which contains no personal names) was intended for all the churches of the region. Tychicus would have left it at Ephesus, whence it was to be circulated to Laodicea and eventually to Colosse.63

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In Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress Demas is “1. A pilgrim met by Christian and Hopeful after they leave Vanity Fair. He makes it his aim to avoid any hardship or persecution that Christians may have to undergo. He supposedly perishes in the Hill Lucre (a dangerous silver mine) with three of his friends, Hold-the-World, Money-Love, and Save-All, at the behest of Demas, who invites passersby to come and see the mine. A ‘by-end’ is a pursuit that is achieved indirectly. For By-Ends and his companions, it is the by-end of financial gain through religion.” “2. A deceiver, who beckons to pilgrims at the Hill Lucre to come and join in the supposed silver mining going on in it.” [WordWeb.info {custom}] 63 Henry M. Morris, DEFENDERS BIBLE Notes.

The Churches Circulate Scriptures That these Scriptures were passed from one church to another church is clearly indicated in Colossians 4:16 where it says, "And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea." This verse shows that there was a sharing of copies of the Word of God from church to church. Because such a prominent leader as Peter considered the words of Paul as Scripture and said that he knew about those who would wrest the Scripture, is it not evident that the churches would take even greater care to watch over these Scriptures? This is obviously the case because the early churches, led by the Holy Spirit, rightly concluded that the words of Paul were the inspired Word of God. They took every precaution to watch over these Scriptures by comparing them with faithful copies held in trust by other churches.

Although false teachers deliberately changed the text in an effort to support their false teachings, it was a simple matter to correct a text and bring it back to the original reading.

Naturally, when the first Greek New Testament was printed in 1516, the readings, which varied with the majority of the other texts, were disallowed and the readings of the majority were accepted. This is how the churches had preserved the Word of God for 1,516 years. By this simple, but completely accurate method, the Word of God was watched over by the Holy Spirit who worked through the churches who were faithful custodians of the Scriptures they cherished.

God preserves His word through His true believers.

God’ s pure word can be found among His true believers. The Jews were committed the oracles God gave to them (Hebrew OT, Rom. 3:2) and preserved them throughout the millennia. New Testament believers are the means God uses to preserve the New Testament Scriptures. They are the “ priesthood” which cherished, copied, and circulated the pure Scriptures (Col. 4:16).64{cf., must see article,“Note on Our Attitude to Laodicea.”} A “DEFENSIVE” {of an “Old Landmark” by J.R. Graves} The current pleas of liberal “Baptists” considered: 1. That preaching is not an official duty. 2.

That we do not recognize those societies as churches by accepting their ordinances. 3. That we do not recognize those ministers as scriptural ministers, by accepting their official acts. 4. That we do not indorse their erroneous doctrines and practices by affiliating with them.

“Then said Pilate to the chief priests, and to the people, I find no fault in this man. And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. ... And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together; for before they were at enmity between themselves” (Luke 23:4-5, 12).

It argues a degenerate state of affairs when Baptists have to defend themselves against the attacks of their own brethren, for consistently maintaining the time-honored principles of their own denomination. When professed Baptists make friends with a common enemy, they even show a more “fierce,” and bitter, and persecuting spirit, than those who once put our fathers to death for holding the self-same sentiments that Landmark Baptists hold today. But this is the case, while the impartial and candid world renders the verdict: “We find no fault in these men,”—conceding that our course is strictly consistent with Baptist principles, while that of our opposers is not.

Affiliationists deny— 64

From Why the King James Version? by Charles V. Turner, Ph.D. ©2014 Baptist Bible Translators Institute; and A concise Outline of Scriptural Reasoning for Believing the King James Bible, Compiled by Timothy S. Morton.

1. That preaching of the gospel is official or strictly ministerial work but equally the duty of all.

We oppose to this, 1. The plain teachings of the Scripture. Jesus specially called and ordained— i.e., commissioned those who preached during His public ministry—John the Baptist, the seventy, and the apostles. The very term he selected to designate their work, Kerusso, is used in the Greek to indicate the special official duty of proclaiming as a herald. 2. “Paul distinctly declares that he was specially called, ordained, and put into the ministry” (1 Tim. 1:11, 12 and 2:7). He reminds both Timothy and Archippus that they were specially designated for this office (1 Tim. 4:14; Col. 4:17).

He also declares that evangelists, pastors, and teachers are special gifts to the churches. He commanded Titus to ordain elders in every city, and left Timothy in Crete for this purpose. Why ordain men to do a specific work—as preaching and administering the ordinances—if all Christians are equally obligated to do it? 3. We oppose to their position the almost united voice and practice of all denominations of Christendom, in all ages, and the unbroken practice of Baptists founded upon the Word of God. 4. The unvarying practice of these very brethren themselves. They invariably require a Baptist to be baptized and ordained, by the authority of some church, before they deem him qualified to preach and administer the ordinances. Not one of them, if a member of a Presbytery, would lay his hands upon a brother who should confess he was not convinced that he had any special call to preach, or any impression of duty in that direction that members in common have not; nor would he presume to lay his hands upon him if he knew he was unbaptized. If “it is as much the duty of one Christian as another to preach the gospel,” then the doctrine of a special call and the duty of ordination should both be repudiated, and all men, women, and children, if only church members, should proceed to preach and baptize when, where, and whomsoever they please!

The preaching of the gospel, and administering the ordinances, belong strictly to a specific officer of a local church—can only be done by its authority and under its guardianship. The minister is then a church officer, and his work is official work. Should not Baptists promptly reject a theory that would so completely anarchize the whole polity of the church? Let all decide who are revolutionists and distractionists—those who plead for the “Old Landmarks” or modern “liberalists”—who are laboring to undenominationalize our people, and lead the denomination into open communion!

Despite all their sophistries, it is as certain as the teachings of the Scriptures are true, that the preaching of the gospel and administering its ordinances, is official work; and that no one may take this office or work unto himself but “he that is called of God, as was Aaron” (Heb. 5:4). 65

~ APPENDIX ~ N OTE A. P HILIPPIANS 3:9. “¶ And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”

(1) “The righteous by faith (2) shall live.”

Thus should be translated a leading passage, which might be called ‘Paul’s banner.’

The exact words occur three times in Paul’s epistles, and once virtually in Phil. 3:9.

Our translators render the words in their three occurrences, - ‘The just shall live by faith.’ {cf. Hab. 2:4 awesome audio of J. Vernon McGee from BLB; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38.} But the order of the Greek both in Habakkuk and in Paul’s citation, is different. It is ‘THE RIGHTEOUS BY FAITH SHALL LIVE.’ 65

J. R. Graves, GRAVES’ LANDMARKS: Old Landmarkism: What is It? CHAPTER XII, point 1 excerpted, pg. 70-71.

Nor is the difference unimportant. Luther, Calvin and our translators understood the words to refer to the believer’s present life before God. D’Aubigne gives us an example in the life of Luther which attests this. Luther was at Rome.

“One day, amongst others, wishing to gain an indulgence which the Pope had promised to every one who on his knees should climb up what is called Pilate’s Stair, the Saxon monk was humbly crawling up the steps, which, he was told, had been miraculously transported to Rome from Jerusalem. But while he was engaged in this meritorious act, he thought he heard a voice of thunder, which cried at the bottom of his heart, as at Wittenberg and Bologna, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ These words, which had already on two different occasions struck him like the voice of an angel of God, resounded loudly and incessantly within him.

He rises up in amazement from the steps alone, which he was dragging his body. Horrified at himself, and ashamed to see how far superstition has abased him, he flies far from the scene of his folly:” vol. i. chap. vi.

Now that faith is the sustaining principle of spiritual life, is a great truth; but not the one here designed, as appears by the order of the prophet’s words, and by Paul’s use of them.

Let us look then at the three occurrences of them.

I. The first occurrence of them is in Rom. 1:16-18.

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of the Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every believer. For the righteousness of God by faith is in it revealed unto faith; as it is written, ‘The righteous by faith shall live.’ For the wrath of God from heaven is revealed on all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.”

The text in question is divided into two parts.

(1) “The righteous by faith (2) shall live.”

That the ‘righteous’ is a better rendering than ‘the just,’ will, I suppose, at once approve itself. It is thus brought into close conjunction with the occurrences of ‘righteousness’ so frequent in this epistle. The employment of another word interrupts the flow of the argument to the mind of an English reader.

1. The 16th verse contains a statement of the two parts of the text. (1) ‘The Gospel, to every believer, (2) is the power of God to save.’

2. The 17th verse shows us that jewel of the Gospel on which depends salvation. It is “the righteousness of God” provided by the Most High in the work of Christ, for those who were unrighteous and condemned.

3. The 18th verse sets before us the necessity of righteousness, if we would not lie under the wrath of God lying upon ungodliness toward Himself, and unrighteousness to our fellow-men, for ever. As (1) ‘the righteous by faith (2) shall live,’ so (1) ‘the unrighteous by his own works (2) shall be lost in the Second Death.’ Thus the three verses together are an establishment of the two parts of the text of the prophet.

We are not righteous by our own works before God, as the law insisted, ‘He, that doeth them shall live in them.’ But (1) “he, that is righteous by faith in the work of Christ, (2) shall live.” And the life promised relates to the eternal life, belonging to an eternal righteousness.

For “My salvation shall be for ever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished:” Isa. 51:6. “My righteousness shall be for ever; and My salvation from generation to generation:” verse 8. (1) The good news of the Gospel relates to a righteousness wrought by Christ, and (2) carrying with it life eternal. Thus the two parts of the prophet’s text are proved. (1) ‘THE

RIGHTEOUS BY FAITH (2) SHALL LIVE;’ and that for ever. And that is the “salvation” brought by faith. Grace “reigns through righteousness, unto eternal life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

Put together the two statements in Rom. 1:16-18, and we have: 16, 17. The (1) Gospel bringing righteousness (2) to every believer, is (3) salvation.

(1) “The righteous (2) by faith (3) shall live.”

Here then ‘shall live’ means ‘salvation,’ or eternal life.

This citation from Habakkuk is the key to the whole epistle. The Apostle shows, that righteousness to the sinner cannot come through law and works; but through faith in the righteousness of the Second Adam, Christ. Then the “shall live” is further expounded for us, as relating also to the millennial life of a thousand years, a matter of reward to the obedient.

“For if ye live after the flesh, ye are about to die; but if ye through the Spirit mortify the works of the body, ye shall live:” 8:13. Here are a life and a death suspended on our conduct after faith. The context tells of the time, when the glory shall be revealed unto the sons of God; and when creation, which has suffered through Adam’s fall, shall be delivered. “That as sin hath reigned in death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Here is eternal salvation, the fruit of [impeccable and] eternal righteousness.

II. The second occurrence is in Galatians 3:11.

The Christian is justified, “not by works of law, but by the hearing of belief, even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him unto righteousness.” So then they who believe as Abraham did, are his sons. The nations, and not Israel alone, are blessed, wherever they are possessed of Abraham’s faith; according to the promise made to the patriarch. But the men of law are cursed as disobedient. Not one loves God with all his heart.

None is justified then by law before God. For “THE RIGHTEOUS BY FAITH SHALL LIVE,” says the prophet. And justification by law can only take place on the opposite principle. ‘He that doeth the law’s commands shall live in them.’ None but Christ could take away the curse of law from off us; and that only by bearing it Himself on the tree of death.

Law cannot give life, and from a dead soul and spirit, righteousness cannot flow.

We are justified then by faith. Immersed into Christ, we have put off Adam and Moses, and put on Christ; and become in Him one person, possessed of one righteousness before God. Walk not after the way of the flesh; otherwise you shall not enter the millennial kingdom of God: Rom. 5:16 [See Jas. 2:20]. Those alive in the spirit are to walk in the spirit.

Reaping in the Day of Christ shall be as the sowing. ‘He who sows to his own flesh shall reap corruption’ (he shall be confined to the tomb, when the approved are enjoying the First Resurrection); ‘but he that soweth to the spirit shall out of the spirit reap life eternal [agelasting]:’ Gal. 6:8. * This verse then gives us the sense of the “SHALL LIVE” of the prophet. [* Another good example, of where this same Greek word ‘aionian’ should be translated ‘age-lasting’ instead of ‘eternal’ or ‘everlasting,’ is found in Heb. 5:9-10: “he (Christ) became to all those obeying him a cause of salvation age-lasting, having been declared by the God a high-priest according to the order of Melchizedek:” (Lit Greek.) Here is reference made of a future salvation for those: “guarded through faith, for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time (or ‘season’):” (1 Peter 1:5, (Lit. Greek.)]

III. The third occurrence of this weighty sentence is found in Hebrews 10:38.

We cannot go through the whole epistle; but begin the consideration of it with chap. 10.

Pardon and access to God in the Holiest above have been granted to us through the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ. Therefore let us draw near.

But it is possible for the justified by faith to draw back through unbelief; in the wilful returning to flesh and law. This is an offence for which no sacrifice can be found. Be patient [persevering], then, believers, in the path of faith, and the troubles into which it leads you.

Cast not away your confidence in Christ, which will bring great reward at His appearing: ver.

35. Then will you receive the blessings promised.

37, 38. “For yet a little while, and He that is coming will arrive, and will not tarry. Now the righteous by faith shall live; but if he draw back, My soul hath no pleasure in him.”

Here we see again that “shall live” means the future life of spirit, soul, and body, which Christ is coming to bring.

Paul, on this occasion only, cites from Habakkuk, the context. And he has been insisting on the awful effects of turning away from grace to law; the peril which was then threatening many of the Hebrew Christians. Such drawing back could only be to perdition [destruction].

But the “shall live” of the righteous by faith is stated again in chap. 12:9.

“Furthermore, we had fathers of our flesh as our correctors, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and we shall live?”

IV. Of the passage in Philippians 3:9 but little need be said.

It contains virtually the sentiment of the prophet as accepted by Paul.

He refuses his own righteousness to take that of Christ, and accepts the trials thereto attached, desirous of the life promised.

But his eye is chiefly on the glory of millennial life. “If by any means I might attain unto the select resurrection that is from among the dead.” Such “lived and reigned with the Christ a thousand years.” “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the First Resurrection.” * * *

NOTE B T HE F OUR V IEWS OF P HILIPPIANS 3:1-11.

1. First We Have - The Standing Of Jews Under Law, During Gospel Times: Phil. 3:1.

Verse 2. “Beware of the dogs; beware of the evil workmen; beware of the slashers.”

2. Then We Have The Standing Of Christians.

Verse 3. “For we are the circumcision; who serve by the Spirit of God; and boast in Christ Jesus; and have no confidence in the flesh.”

3. Then Paul’s Standing Under Moses.

Verses 4 to 6. “Though I have ground of boasting even in the flesh. If any other think, that he has ground of trust in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised the eighth day, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; an Hebrew descended from Hebrews (only); concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the Church concerning the righteousness, which is in the law, having attained to being blameless.”

4. Then His New Standing Under Grace: ver. 7-11.

“But what things were gains to me, those I counted for the Christ’s sake, loss. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things to be loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I account them to be dung, that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which comes out of law, but that by faith in Christ; the righteousness which comes from God upon faith. That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and fellowship in His sufferings, being conformed to His death; if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from among the dead.”

No. 1. and 2. are contrasts; as also are 3. and 4. But, taken alternately, 1. and 3. and 2. and 4. are in accord. 1. gives the standing of the Jew generally; 3. the position occupied by Paul when a Jew, the most favourable specimen. 2. gives the normal standing of the Christian generally; 4. gives Paul’s pre-eminent position as a Christian.

No. 1. shows us, the spiritual aspect of Judaism, as it regards righteousness, as seen from Christianity; law’s basis being only fallen flesh. No. 3. is Judaism’s best aspect as regards righteousness, stated by itself. In these verses (4-6) the four first of Paul’s boasts are ritual; the three last are consequences of the former, which might indeed be boasted of before men, but could give no security against the judgment of God. They were open, even in Paul’s case, to the spiritual condemnation contained in No. 1.

No. 2. is the standing of the Christian under Christ and the Holy Spirit. No. 4. is Paul’s pre-eminence in Christ, as before under Judaism. His example is to be followed by Christians.

No. 4. shows us further Paul accepting Christ as the great object of knowledge; first as his righteousness, then in regard of the Blest Resurrection. As, to one in flesh under law, there is no righteousness; so neither is there any resurrection of reward.

1. The Standing Of Jews Under Law, During Gospel Times The first verse of Phil. 3. bids the Christian - “Rejoice in the Lord.” Paul is writing against the law, and its tendency to make man either to rejoice in himself, if blind to his real condition before God; or to drive him to despair, if he beholds the sin that dwells within, which is not subject to law. The eye turned ever on self, as it must be, under law, takes away joy in Christ, and in His righteousness. The prayers of Old Testament saints, such as Nehemiah and Daniel, are full of the spirit of bondage and fear. You do not find in them, “Abba, Father.” Such also is Moses’ prayer in Psa. 110. There is no safety, save in Christ and grace.

“Beware of the dogs.” For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse [as being unrighteous], for it is written, “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them:” Gal. 3. As the tree is evil, evil are its fruits. The dogs are “the evil workmen.” Though circumcised in flesh, they were uncircumcised in heart, and so unclean, while they were trusting the flesh.

2. THE CHRISTIAN’S STANDING. – Ver. 3 To Israel it is promised, in a day yet to arrive, after the Gospel is past (Rom. 11:28), “The Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live:” Deut. 30:6. But the men of faith are already regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and are “in Christ.” “Ye are complete

in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power. In whom also ye were circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body (omit - ‘of the sins’) of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ:” Col. 2:11.

We boast in Christ “made of God unto us - Wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption,” soon to be shown in resurrection. We have no confidence in the flesh.

Whom did Israel and the Gentiles slay? We, as immersed into Christ, buried the flesh, as corrupt.

3. PAUL’S OLD STANDING UNDER LAW. Twice is Paul’s position given to us; first, as superior to that of the Jews in general, but its foundation, unsafe, as resting on fallen flesh.

Here we have the best view of one under Moses. “I more.” It is a Jew boasting before Jews. It is the word of one bound by circumcision to keep the whole law; yet guilty the moment he was set under it, as being of the flesh, which is enmity to God, and unsubject to His law. Circumcision of the eighth day pointed to Christ’s resurrection on that day; He being the only one who could bring in rest. Paul was one of the race specially set apart to Jehovah by the covenant of Horeb. In his mature age he was adopting the traditions of the fathers. As the Pharisee, he refused the counsel and baptism of John the Baptist. He hated grace and Christ, and being himself a blasphemer of the Son of God, he sought to compel others to blaspheme. As the result of his care from his youth up, no man could with justice accuse him of breach of the law. But he was a wild beast “breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord” - the chief of sinners.

4. HIS NEW STANDING AS IN CHRIST. His gains of law were given up, as not only useless to save him, but a hindrance to it.

For this imagined righteousness in himself kept him from the true .righteousness in Christ.

What knowledge had law brought him? “By the law is the knowledge of SIN.” In Christ alone are righteousness, pardon, and salvation. For the Saviour’s sake he suffered the loss of the benefits of law; and by the light of his new calling regarded them as dung. “Whosoever he be of you that biddeth not adieu to all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple:” Luke 14:33.

As having found righteousness in Christ, he steadfastly purposed to continue in Him till the Great Day, when the heritage of the truly righteous is to be bestowed. He bade farewell to his own righteousness, rejoicing in the righteousness which is the gift of God, and which bears with it assuredly eternal life. He doffed his fig-leaf apron to stand ever after clad in the coat of skin. This righteousness of grace becomes at once the believer’s. “To-day” (is the Lord’s word to the believing robber) “thou shalt be with Me in paradise.” “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.”

Out of death with Christ our righteousness, springs resurrection. But out of Adam’s unrighteousness, and the death thereto adjudged, no resurrection of blessing flows. Moses died, and was buried. Christ died, and is risen. And Paul (herein he is superior to most Christians) sought by any and every lawful means to enjoy a part with Christ, when He descends to raise His approved ones, in order to enjoy the kingdom of the thousand years.

Israel’s righteousness of the flesh only brought the blessings of the flesh in this life. But Paul’s pursuit was of glory in resurrection, at the coming of the Redeemer. He will give a body of glory, suited, not to the millennium alone, but for eternity.

Here we may ask a question of much importance.

10. “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and fellowship in His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” 11. “If by any means I might attain to the select resurrection that is from among the dead.”

Are we to understand by the words in italics that a martyr’s death is necessary to a Christian’s having part in the millennial day?

It is true, that in the picture of the First Resurrection the martyrs occupy a prominent place. But I think there is sufficient evidence to show that: Martyrdom is Not Necessary to Entry on the Millennial Day. 1. The Apostle John, it appears, died a natural death, and Mary, our Lord’s mother, also.

2. We read of entry on the millennium as granted to those saints who are alive, when our Lord descends: 2 Thess. 1. Sufferers for Christ, some of them would participate in the g1ory of that day: see also Matt. 5:11, 12.

3. Again we read, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

To the believer who makes a dinner or supper for the poor, after Christ’s instructions, our Lord says: “Thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the righteous:” Luke 14. And so also the humble of heart, now taking the lowly place, shall not only have a seat at the feast, but a higher place be given him by the Lord.

Not one of the wise virgins is spoken of as martyred, but they go in, as ready, to the marriage: Matt. 25. The approved servants of the Talents, and of the Pounds, partake the reign of glory: Matt. 25; Luke 19.

4. Not one of the second 144,000 of the Church (Rev. 14.) is said to be a martyr; yet they are on high with Christ upon the heavenly Mount, before the seventh trumpet sounds.

5. And when we look narrowly at the four classes named as partaking of the First Resurrection (Revelation 20:4-6) we see, I think, more than one class, wherein no martyr is named. (1) “I saw thrones, and (men) sat on them, and judgment was given to them.” These, I think, are the men of the army which comes with Christ: 19:14. Of these we read, “They that are with Him, are called, and chosen, and faithful”: 17:14.

(2) “Whoever had not worshipped the Wild Beast, nor his image, nor received his mark on their foreheads or in their hands; both came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

“Blessed and holy (not ‘a martyr’) is he that hath part in the First Resurrection.” * * *

NOTE C P HILIPPIANS 3:9-11 THE CLEANSING BY CAIRIST OF THE OLD AND OF THE NEW. The Apostle, in Philippians 3:9-11 regards Christ, first, as his RIGHTEOUSNESS; then as RESURRECTION. Unbelieving Israel were “dogs,” first, as being unrighteous; then as lying under death; from which law cannot cleanse or deliver them.

These two truths and their connexion are beautifully illustrated for us in Matt. 9. After our Lord’s call of Matthew, the former publican makes him a feast, at which publicans and sinners sit down with Jesus and His disciples.

Two objections are taken to this. 1. The Pharisees wish to know, why the Teacher should eat with sinners? The Saviour’s answer is, that He comes as Physician to heal the sick. The Lord by Hosea had said, that He preferred mercy to sacrifice. He would give righteousness to lost man; not receive righteousness as his due from fallen man. When Adam’s fig-leaves failed to clothe, “the Lord God made to him and his wife coats of skin, and clothed them.”

2. The second objection was that of the disciples of John. Jesus’ disciples were eating and drinking while the disciples of the Pharisees and of John Baptist were fasting. Ought not the Saviour then to follow their lead, and appoint new fasts, resting on His own authority? Our Lord replies by two parables, touching on the difference between “the Old” and “the New.” The Old is the Law; the New, the Gospel: 2 Cor. 3:14; Heb. 8:13; 1 Cor. 5:7; Col. 3:10; Heb. 12:24. On these two parables see my tract - “Wine and its Bottles.”

The general answer to this objection is derived from this, that our Lord is not Physician alone, but Bridegroom. That had been testified by John the Baptist himself: John 3: 28, 29.

As soon as this distinction is made by the Great Teacher, specimens of His power over those of the Law and of the Gospel are given.

1. A ruler of the synagogue draws near, and worships Him; declaring, that his only daughter was just dead; but if Jesus would come and lay his hand on her, she would be restored to life. The Saviour does not intimate, that He has no power over death; but at once goes with the man, His disciples following Him. 2. As He was on the way, a woman unclean under law comes behind in the crowd, touches the fringe of His robe, and is healed. She has stolen a cure. But the Saviour is not thus satisfied. She has to tell her tale before all the multitude - she had tried the power of many doctors for twelve years, none of whom could heal her. She had spent all she had, and the disorder was still growing.

But at her touch of the blue fringe of His robe, she was healed at once. The fringe of blue on the garment of an Israelite was to be a sign of their entire obedience to the whole law, or righteousness.

“That ye may look on it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them:” Num. 15:37-40.

Here, then, we have the Saviour presented as “Jehovah our righteousness.” The law leaves all who belong to it unrighteous, and accursed. And the rabbis of law are not able by any of their doctrines or practices to cure. The Saviour’s reply is of grace - “Daughter, be of good cheer, thy faith hath saved thee.” The agreement with Philippians 3:9 is very clear and strong: “Not having my own righteousness which is out of law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God on faith.”

But she is not to come on into the Ruler’s house, to see the resurrection from the dead. “Go in peace; and be whole of thy plague.” She is a specimen of the Old; and God will keep separate the Old and the New. He has one people in the flesh, and another raised from the dead: He has both the old wine and its bottles; and also the new wine and its bottles. Mix not the old with the new: Gal. 4:5.

At this moment one comes from the ruler’s house, saying to him: “Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Teacher.” Here is unbelief. ‘This Teacher may heal the sick, but it is useless to ask him to deliver from death.’ Jesus encourages the ruler: “Fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole.”

Christ suffers none of the crowd outside the house to enter, save Peter, James, and John. But He will test those within the house. Have they faith in Him as Resurrection? “All (within) were weeping and bewailing her; but He said: ‘Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. Your hired mourners, and their cries are out of place: she is not to belong to the dead, and the tomb.’ “Give place!” They laugh Him to scorn, and He drives them out of the house.

We understand by death a sleep, from which there is no awaking by man’s power. And this is the distinction between sleep and death. But here One has come, who finds no difficulty in awaking out of death. ‘The girl’s life [animating spirit] is gone, but it [‘her spirit’] shall return in less than an hour by my awaking her.’ That is more than Moses could effect. In one case, by prayer, he obtained from the Lord, power to cleanse the leper; and that leper his own sister, made leprous and unclean, because of her unrighteousness. But while Moses sent many down to death, he never raised one from among the dead. Law can give neither life, nor righteousness.

“They laugh the Saviour to scorn.” Then they shall not see the great sight of the First Resurrection. “Verily, I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God [which is founded on resurrection [out from amongst the dead]] as a little child, shall in no wise enter therein.”

“He put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying: ‘Child, arise!’ And her [animating]* spirit came again, and she arose straightway; and He commanded to give her food.” [* See also James 2:26, R.V.; Job 33:4; 34:14, 15. The animating spirit returns to God at the time of death. Eccl.

12:7; Acts. 7:59. cf. Luke 23:46, etc. The disembodied ‘soul’ is the person: there are no human phantoms in Heaven!]

Here is an advance on resurrection under the prophets. Elijah and Elisha looked to God in prayer for the restoration of life; and they used the warmth of life in their own bodies to second their prayer. But Christ simply takes her by the hand, and in His own name calls on her to arise.

Believers in Christ will find death to be but sleep; for Christ is coming to awake us. Our sleep of death is to be but a preparation for [our resurrection and coming] glory.

The parents are to keep the victory over death a secret. Unbelievers are not to know, that Christ has descended, and [will have]* taken His people out from the tomb, till He and they appear together in the heavens in glory. [* NOTE. Resurrection from the dead of all regenerate believers is yet future: 1 Thess. 4:16; John 3:13. cf.

Heb. 11:39, 40; Acts 2:34. “Hymenaeus and Philetus; men concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already…” (2 Tim. 2:17, 18, R.V.).]

The woman, the older female, has been pronounced unclean by law for twelve years. As soon as she became unclean, the girl, who represents Christ’s Body, the Church, began to live. For she is twelve years of age. She falls indeed under death: a deeper and more abiding uncleanness than the woman’s disease. But she is delivered therefrom the same day. Christ is the Righteousness of them that believe; and He shall, as “Resurrection and Life,” raise His people from the tomb.

Thus we see “the body of our humiliation” in its two infirm aspects. (1) Disease of uncleanness during life; (2) and the slavery of death, and corruption after death.

The Saviour, in this type, cleanses Israel, when He is on His way to raise the righteous dead.

What light this throws upon that passage – “For if the casting away of them (Israel) be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?” Rom. 11:15. * * *

NOTE D E TERNAL L IFE A G IFT : THE M ILLENNIUM A P RIZE :* {“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12. AV} [* A sermon preached mid-week by a Christian schoolteacher entitled: “Call yourself a teacher!” was based upon Christ’s encounter with Nicodemus in John 3. Throughout the sermon, reference was made to the necessity of the new birth, and the importance which Christ placed upon it for seeing and entering “the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, 5.). Under the heading: ‘A new kingdom’ Dan. 2:44 and Isa. 11:9-11 were given as proof texts, which Nicodemus should have understood from O.T. Scriptures. Jer. 31:33, 34. Ezek. ch. 37; Joel

2:28 and Isa. 44:3b were cited to represent “A New Spirit”. All these, it was said, should have informed Nicodemus of his ignorance by asking: “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (verse 4, R.V.). Hence the two selected titles of the sermon: “A Proud Teacher” and “Call Yourself a Teacher!”

But, I believe, the Christian teacher himself failed to understand God’s prophetic word! He didn’t make any distinction between “the free gift of God” (Rom. 6:23, R.V.), from “the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus:” (Phil. 3:14, R.V.): and since the former guarantees entrance into God’s eternal kingdom in “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1), “when the thousand years are finished” (20:7, R.V.); the “Prize” (on the other hand) warns Christians against the loss of their “Crown” (Rev. 2:10, 25; 3:11, 21), and the “inheritance” promised to Messiah/Christ (Psa. 2:8), at His Second Advent! Only then will His “Kingdom” be manifested upon this earth for “a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4)! See the Christians’ responsibility and warnings against loss, in the following conditional texts:- 1 Cor. 6:9; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5. cf. 1 Thess. 2:12; 2 Thess. 1:5; James 1:12, R.V. One scriptural text in particular, which the preacher mentioned to convince his audience that Antimillennial teachings and interpretations were correct was John 18:36: “Jesus answered (Pilate) ‘My kingdom is not of this world…” This was during a short question time after the sermon. If he had took time to examine the literal Greek, he would have read: “My kingdom is not OUT ‘ek’ of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my officers would fight, so that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but NOW My kingdom is not from this place:” (John 18:36). At His Second Advent, “this place” will THEN becomes Messiah’s “Kingdom;” and it will not be men but His “Angels” will separate the righteous from the wicked in it! Matt. 24:31. cf. Psa. 2:8, 9; 66:4; 67:4, 5; 69:34-36; 72:2, 7, 8, 11, etc.]

The following Sunday morning was prize distribution for children attending Sunday-school. The person distributing the prizes, after disclosing all the names of children who received a prize, asked the question: ‘Is there any other child here who did not receive a prize?’ Presumably, she wanted to give a prize to all children then present in the congregation, regardless of whether or not they had attended Sunday-school!

And is this not characteristic of most of the preaching we hear today, where all of what is said about God’s “Kingdom,” is believed to refer to His eternal kingdom in “a new heaven and a new earth,” - after this earth has been destroyed by fire (2 Pet. 3:10)?

Those who misinterpret prophetic Scriptures in this way, are actually depriving their Lord of His promised inheritance hereafter (Psa. 2:8; Luke 1:32, 33a). By their ignorance, they are disbelieving and ignoring God’s promises to a remnant of the nation of Israel, and to Abraham in particular; and have fallen into Satan’s trap of assuming God cannot (or will not), keep His promises, (Rom. 9:26; Acts 7:5. R.V.)! The Apostle Paul’s warnings to regenerate people of God, against disbelief in God’s promises to “Israel” and overcomers within the “Church,” have been ignored, conveniently glossed over and forgotten, (Rom. 9:26; Luke 22:28-30. cf. 1 Cor. 9:24—10:1-11; Rev. 3:21, R.V.)! and the “stone of stumbling,” through disbelief and misinterpretations, will one day put them “to shame” (Rom. 9:33, R.V.): and it can all be traced back to their failing to distinguish what they presently have - as a “free gift” - from what they should be hoping one “Day” to “attain” (2 Pet. 1:10, 11, 16-19. cf. Matt 16:28; Phil. 3:11, R.V.)! At God’s appointed time, Messiah will have His reign of righteousness and peace upon this restored earth, regardless of His peoples’ lack of faith in His prophetic interpretations, and the numerous mistakes being made today by the vast majority of Bible Teachers! Rom. 8:18-22. cf. Isa. 9:6, 7; 11:3—12:5; Hab. 1:5; 2:14; Mic. 4:3, 4; Amos 9:11-15; Joel 2:21-27; Hosea 5:15—6:2; Dan. 7:14a; Ezek. 37:12-14, 21-28, R.V.)].

I. That Eternal Life is the gift of God dependent on our faith in Christ, is easily shown.

1. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life:” John 3:14, 15. So also the next verse.

2. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:” ver. 36.

3. “Howbeit, for this cause I obtain mercy, that, in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering for a pattern to those which should hereafter believe on Him unto eternal life:” 1 Tim. 1:16.

4. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life, in Jesus Christ our Lord:” Rom. 6:23.

5. “And this is the testimony, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son:” 1 John 5:11. Eternal life is attached to justification [by faith]; and justification carries with it eternal life: Rom. 5:9; 8:30.

6. “That having been justified by His grace we should be made heirs (according to hope) of eternal life:” Titus 3:7; Rom. 5:18.

II. On the other hand, THE [MILLENNIAL] KINGDOM OF GOD is the PRIZE or REWARD, to be sought by those possessed of Eternal Life. It is made by God to be, dependent on Sanctification by the Holy Spirit.

Beside THE GIFT bestowed upon the unworthy, there is THE PRIZE bestowed on those “accounted worthy.”

1. “They who shall be accounted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from among the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage. For neither can they die any more; for they are equal to the angels, and are the sons of God, being the sons of the [First] resurrection:” Luke 20:35, 36.

2. “So that we ourselves boast of you in the Churches of God, for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure; which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye even suffer:” 2 Thess. 1:5.

3. “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling:” ver. 11.

The Prize is “one.” “There is one body, and one spirit, even as ye are called in one Hope of your calling:” Eph. 4:4. And to show us the importance of baptism in this view, we have in the next verse, “One Lord, one faith, one immersion.”

The Reward is ‘one.’ 1. The seventh angel sounds; and the kingdom is come. The elders of heaven say, “The nations were wroth, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give the reward to Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints; and to them that fear Thy name, small and great:” Rev. 11:15-18.

2. “He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man’s reward:” Matt. 10:41.

Here are differences of reward. Now a prophet’s reward is to take place in the [millennial] kingdom of God. And the kingdom of God comes only after the present age of testimony, of suffering and of service to God and His Christ is past. “When once the Master of the House is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open unto us.’ And He shall answer, and say unto you, ‘I know you not whence ye are;’ Then shall ye begin to say, ‘We have eaten and drank in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets.’ But He shall say, ‘I tell you, I know you not, whence ye are; depart from Me all ye workers of iniquity.’ There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets [therefore Moses, being one of the greatest of God’s prophets, is included for entrance*], in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out:” Luke 13:21-29. [* NOTE. Those who reject millennial truths may refer to the Scriptural account of how Moses, because of his sin (Deut.1:37), was not allowed to enter or lead the Israelites into the Promised Land!

And I am sure the question, begging to be asked by every A-millennialist is: “Now, if the Promised Land was Israel’s earthly inheritance which Moses was forbidden to enter and enjoy; then your teachings and interpretations of Paul’s warning ‘unto the Church of God at

Corinth’ (1 Cor. 10:1-13; 1 Cor. 1:1), have nothing whatsoever to do with Christians being disinherited

by God today, relative to an entrance into a Millennial Kingdom; or the possibility that they should be barred from entering it, - if there is such a ‘kingdom’! Therefore, as far as we are concerned, there is only one kingdom of Messiah; and that ‘kingdom’ will be in ‘the new heaven and new earth’ after this earth is destroyed by fire, (Rev. 21:1; 2 Pet. 3:10). How then can we, who are regenerate believers and justified by faith in Christ/Messiah be “thrust out”?

Are there no ‘workers of iniquity’ found amongst God’s redeemed and regenerate people? The Apostle Paul thought so (1 Cor. 5:11-6:8)! And is there no mention throughout the Scriptures of a future ‘inheritance’ in ‘the Kingdom of God’ which Christians can lose (1 Cor. 6:9; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5)? Is there no mention of a ‘Reward’ for those who ‘work heartily, as unto the Lord,’ (Col. 3:2325)?

The lesson which Moses learned from God—after his disobedience on one occasion (Deut. 1:37)— was that “he that doeth wrong shall receive again”—(as ‘a just recompense of reward, Heb. 2:2, R.V.) - “for the wrong that he hath done: AND THERE IS NO RESPECT OF PERSONS” (with God in Judgment)! (Col. 3:25; Luke 20:35; Rev. 3:21, 22, R.V.). Although God had pardoned all who refused to believe the two faithful spies at Kadesh Barnea (Num. 14:20), He didn’t allow the rebels to ‘see’ or ‘possess’ an inheritance in the land of promise, (verses 23, 24, R.V.)! “I have pardoned according to thy word: but in every deed, as I live, and AS ALL THE EARTH SHALL BE FILLED WITH THE GLORY OF THE LORD; because all those men which have seen my glory and my signs, which I wrought in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tempted me these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; surely they SHALL NOT SEE THE LAND WHICH I SWARE (to give*) UNTO THEIR FATHERS, neither shall any of them that despised me see it:” (Num. 14:2023, R.V.) * cf. Acts 7:3-5.

Paul, when writing to “the church of God at Corinth,” applies this warning to US! “… these things are our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted” … “these things happened unto them by way of example: and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall:” (1 Cor. 10:6, 11, 12, R.V.).

“The minute we think we are indispensable, the minute we think we are the centre of attention;” and that the “Prize” of the inheritance in the “Age to come” cannot be lost, we fall into Satan’s “celebrity trap.” Some of the most knowledgeable and gifted preachers of God’s word have fallen into this trap, and the danger of losing the promised “Rest” in “the Land.” Heb. 4. cf. Num. 14; Psa. 95:11.]

The kingdom of God is not the present Day of grace on God’s part; and of service and suffering on ours, but the day of recompence yet to appear with Christ our Lord from heaven as the verses previously cited have shown.

But take another and very decisive passage. The Saviour in Rev. 19. descends from heaven with His armies; the enemies banded together against Him are overcome in battle. The devil is seized, and confined in the bottomless pit for a thousand years: Rev. 20:1-6.

“And I saw thrones, and men sat upon them [the army that comes with Christ from heaven], and judgment was given to them. [We are not to reign now; but to wait till God appoints us]. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded (1) for the testimony to Jesus, and (2) for the Word of God: and whoever had not worshipped the Wild Beast, nor his image, nor had received the mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; they both came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished. This is the First Resurrection. Blessed and holy is lie that hath part in the First Resurrection: over such the Second Death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

“Thy kingdom come!” {see my blog on this} Not, as so many give it, ‘May Thy kingdom be extended!’ That word supposes, that the kingdom is already come. But the kingdom is yet future.

The nobleman who went away, has not yet returned, to judge and reward his servants. The

Parable of the Pounds was designed by our Lord to correct the error, that the kingdom of God “was about immediately to appear,” when He had gone up to Jerusalem for the last time: Luke 19:11-15.

At the Last Supper, the Saviour said, “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, till it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God:” Luke 22:15,16. The Saviour has never since then eaten a passover; therefore the kingdom of God has not yet come.

“And having taken a [passover] cup, He gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves; For I say unto you, that I will not drink of the product (not ‘fruit’) of the vine, till the kingdom of God shall have come:” ver. 17, 18. The Lord Jesus here took the Nazarite vow, and while He was tempted at the cross to drink wine, He refused. “And they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh but He received it not:” Mark 15:23. “They gave Him vinegar to drink mingled with gall; and when He had tasted thereof, He would not drink:” Matt. 27:34. Vinegar was as much forbidden to the Nazarite, as wine. As then the Saviour has never drank wine since that day, the kingdom of God has not yet come. {see my blog on this} “Ye are they who have continued with Me in My temptations; and I appoint unto you a kingdom, as My Father hath appointed unto Me, that ye may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel:” ver. 28-30. As then, the apostles have never [yet] been raised from the dead, and Jesus has never returned to earth, the promised kingdom has never come either to them or to our Lord.

“Let there be no misunderstanding of this point, i.e., that Christ had at this time “set up” his visible kingdom, called “the kingdom of God,” “of heaven,” “of God’s dear Son,” and that at this time, and during his ministry on earth, that body of disciples who received him as their Saviour and King, and which he called his Church— assembly—was the visible and outward form and manifestation of his kingdom. ~ Graves. {i.e., the first of the 3 phases of Christ’s kingdom (Mark 4:28).} The Transfiguration was a picture of the [millennial]* kingdom of God. “There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the Son of man coming in His kingdom.” [* See 2 Pet. 1:10-20, R.V.] Six days after, Peter, James (Jacob), and John are taken by our Lord to a high mountain. His countenance shines like the sun; His robes are white as the light. Moses and Elijah, in glory also, talking with Him about His departure out of earth at Jerusalem. Peter foolishly proposes to give to Christ the first tent; but two other tents also, one to Moses, and one to Elijah. The Father takes no notice of the other two. “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him:” Matt.

17.

This scene is not a representation of the preaching of the Gospel to sinners; but of the day of glory, when the proclamation of the Gospel of the grace of God is over; because the kingdom of resurrection and of glory is come.

The future kingdom is the kingdom of “the saints of the heavenlies:” but during the present time of the Mystery, God sets up over the kingdoms “the basest of men:” Dan. 4:17; 7:18, 22, 27.

Now is the time of work, of suffering, and of rejection for Christ. The kingdom is the time of Christ’s adjudging to His people reward and glory.

The proclamation of the kingdom by John the Baptist was - ‘Repent,’ if you would have part in the kingdom; and ‘be baptized.’ Not merely repent in word, but in [living] a new life: Matt. 3.

Immersion represents the forgiveness of sins. “John was immersing in the wilderness, and proclaiming the immersion of repentance unto the forgiveness of sins:” Mark 1:4. Very many received the tidings of the future kingdom; but the Pharisees, lawyers, and Sadducees refused it, and

have lost the blessings for which this doctrine and rite were intended to prepare men. “And all the people that heard Him, and the publicans, justified God, being immersed with the immersion of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not immersed by Him:” Luke 7:29, 30.

The Most High is now “inviting believers to His own kingdom, and glory:” 1 Thess. 2:12.

And we are taught by our Lord and His apostles, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (not the imputed righteousness, which disciples possess, but the active obedience to the words of Christ): Matt. 6:33. “Strive to enter in at the strait (narrow) gate.” “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, [Here is the resurrection from among the dead] and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God:” Luke 13:24-29.

Seek earnestly, like Paul, for the prize. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. ” Phil. 3:13-14.

“Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling,” - “ the kingdom of God, for which ye even suffer:” 2 Thess. 1:11, 5.

For the [messianic] kingdom and the return of our Lord we are to wait. “For they themselves show of us, what manner of entering in we had unto you, [what kind introduction we had to you’ lit.

Greek] and how ye turned from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, our Deliverer from the wrath to come:” 1 Thess.

1:9, 10. “For the earnest expectation of the creature is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God” in resurrection. “We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, that is, the redemption of our body:” Rom. 8:19, 23.

Christ will “present you holy and unblameable, and irreprovable in His sight, IF ye continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel:” Col. 1:22, 23.

“The grace of God bringing salvation for all men, hath appeared, teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, and righteously, and piously in the present age, expecting the blessed hope and manifestation of the glory of our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might deliver us from all lawlessness, and purify to Himself a peculiar people, zealous for good works. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority:” Titus 2:11-15; 1 Cor. 9:24; 10:12.

The prize may be lost by carelessness, disobedience, or unbelief. “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be begotten out of water, and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God:” John 3:5.

“IF we have become fellow-plants in the likeness of His (Christ’s) death why we shall be also (fellow-plants) of the (first) resurrection:” Rom. 6. Paul is here speaking of our “being immersed into Christ’s death;” buried with Him in it: and in the emersion which follows the immersion, we are taught to walk with Him in new life: Rom. 6.

Perhaps the clearest proof of this is to be found in 1 Cor. 5. and 6. In 1 Cor. 5. the Church is directed to deliver over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, the incestuous person; “that the spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord Jesus.” That is, when Christ has given up the millennial kingdom, and returns it to God. {? that person’s or that church’s spirit, for both were in jeopardy: “The saving of the spirit refers to the works of righteousness which a man will have manifested in the day of the Lord, which is the resurrection day.” Stevenson on Corinthians.}

With persons called brethren, but guilty of certain flagrantly immoral practices [not for doctrine] Christians are not even to eat. “Therefore put away from yourselves that wicked person.”

In the next chapter (1 Cor. 6.) Paul tells us of the saints judging the world, and even angels; while now they are not to go to the world’s courts seeking redress. Better were it to give up the worldly advantages on which the lawsuit is founded.

But one of the causes of the mischief of which Paul complains, was that some of the believers in Corinth were wronging their brethren in matters of property. “Know ye not, that unrighteous persons shall have no part in the (millennial) kingdom of God? Be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall have part in the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but ye were washed clean [in baptism], but ye were sanctified {by scriptural baptism}, but ye were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God:” 1 Cor. 6.

If the reader will compare the sins excluding from the Church now, with those which will exclude from the millennial kingdom when Christ judges, he will see that they are the same.

Excommunication then for immorality by the Church now is a testimony to Christ’s exclusion of the like offenders from the glory of the kingdom of the thousand years.

I will just indicate some more passages. Matt. 18:1-3; 6:1-16; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7; Heb. [chapters] 3. & 4.; 1 Cor. 3:8-17.

Before any enters the kingdom of reward, Christ must come and judge each.

“So speak ye, and so act, as those that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that showed no mercy; (the man of) mercy rejoiceth against judgment:” James 2:12, 13.

“But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God:” Rom. 14:10-12.

“For we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done by means of the body, according to that which he bath done, whether it be good or bad:” 2 Cor. 5.

See also Matt. 25:1-30; Luke 19:22; Rom. 2:5-16; Jude 15; with not a few other passages.

But Christ Himself has said, “He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath eternal life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgment):”John 5:24.

It is not so! Jesus said, “Doth not come into judgment.” ‘Tis the present tense. And so the Revised Version gives it. * * *

NOTE E What Light Does This Epistle Throw on the Question, Whether at Death the Believer Ascends to Heaven?

Our Lord is also our “Forerunner:” Heb. 6:20. He is traced for us in His humiliation. “He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God hath highly exalted Him.” Php. 2:8-9 Whither did He go at death? A number of Scriptures inform us.

I. The Saviour said (1) “As Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth:” Matt. 12:40. (2) When on the cross He said to the penitent robber, “To day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise:” Luke 23:43.

II. Peter, after Christ’s resurrection and ascension, says, that David prophesied of Christ’s death and resurrection, “Thou wilt not leave My soul in Hadees; neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.” “He, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in Hadees, nor did His flesh see corruption:” Acts 2:27-31. ‘David has not ascended; Christ has.’

III. Paul writes, “Say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven? (That is, to bring Christ down from above.) Or, who shall descend into the Bottomless Pit? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead:”) Rom. 10:6, 7. In Ephesians he says, “Now that He ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth:” Eph. 4:9.

Some have imagined that the Saviour at death ascended from off the cross to the Presence of His Father, as the disembodied spirit. This is negatived for us by some of the passages already quoted; by the fact, that while on the cross, He was under the curse; and by His words to Mary Magdalene, “Touch Me not; for I have not yet ascended to MY Father:” John 20:17.

He is now at the Father’s right hand, possessed of a body, not merely risen from the tomb nevermore to die but shining like the sun. At His resurrection, His body was not glorified. The body became glorious, after His ascent to heaven.

What says Paul on the matter?

He shows us his view of life and death. He looked for the fulfilment of his chief hope and reward, not at death, though that would be to him ‘gain;’ but he would “rejoice in the Day of Christ,” - which has not yet arrived: Phil. 2:16. He was looking for his reward in the First Resurrection. So already centuries have elapsed, and the prize of his calling has not yet arrived. He was expecting a great change to pass upon “the body of his humiliation.” The Saviour would change it into the likeness of “His own body of glory,” at His descent from heaven, which has not yet taken place. And again, “Even, we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body:” Rom. 8. Glory comes not, till the body and soul, severed by death, are reunited for ever.

Their severing is the result of the sentence of justice; they shall be re-knit in the Day of mercy. “Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock (Myself Risen) I will build My Assembly; and the gates of Hadees shall not prevail against it;” while now they do detain those {“rebellious”} fallen asleep: Matt. 16.66 {Excepting those “firstfruits” and “overcomers” promised the King’s “paradise” 1Co 15:20; Mt. 27:51-53; Ps 68:6, 18; Luke 23:43; Eph. 4:8; 1Pe. 3:18-22; 2Co. 12:2-5; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 4:4, 10, 11; 6:9-11 (multi-verse look-up)}

Spiritual Understanding “¶ For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;” Colossians 1:9.

Does the Holy Spirit Aid in Understanding the Bible, and are Christian Experiences Real?

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God . ” 1 Corinthians 2:12.

Spiritual things are not understood by a process of natural reasoning. The Bible is unlike any other book. It is not understood by the philosopher, or the wise of this world, but by the one who has the Spirit of God. If a person be sufficiently keen in intellect he can master the problem of arithmetic, science, or history. But it is not 54) Govett, Robert. Select Writings. N. p. {e-Print} The Millennial Kingdom ~ Govett on Philippians. 2017.

so with the Word of God. Unless that person has the Spirit of God he will never understand spiritual things. This is where the world blundered. They have tried to understand spiritual things by a process of natural reasoning, when a knowledge of things of God must be received by faith. JUDE writes of those who “Speak evil of things they know not; but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.”

The lost man can not understand the things of the Spirit, because he does not have a spiritual understanding. “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things.” 1 Cor. 2:14-15. We are told in Eph. 4:18 that their understanding is darkened. Paul wrote, “We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory: which none of the princes of this world knew.” 1 Cor. 2:7-8 He also tells us in the following verses that the things that eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, and that hath not entered into the heart of man, what God hath revealed unto us by His Spirit. Jesus said, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou has hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them unto babes,” Luke 10:21. It is just as true today that the wise of this world do not understand, and God has revealed these things to those the world despises. It is still true that “Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things to confound the mighty ... that no flesh should glory in His presence.” 1 Cor. 1:26-29.

The Holy Spirit Gives Further Understanding to the Saved Paul wrote to the Ephesians and said, “I cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; the eyes of your understanding being enlightened: that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, etc.” Eph. 1:15-18.

The apostle wrote to the brethren of Colosse, saying, we “do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING.” Col. 1:9.

Here we see the apostle prays that God may fill these saved people with all wisdom and Spiritual Understanding. What kind of understanding? Natural understanding that comes from studying psychology? No, but it is a Spiritual Understanding.

We are not disparaging the study of the Word of God, but we are insisting that along with our reading of the Word there must be the enabling power of the Spirit for man to understand what he reads. The Word which was given by the Spirit, must be received through the Spirit. “Seeing you have purified your souls in the obeying the truth through the Spirit, etc.” 1 Peter 1:22. There we see this Spirit revealed truth is obeyed through the Spirit. It must also be spiritually understood. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally” James 1:5. “Filled with ... all wisdom and Spiritual Understanding,” Col. 1:9 The objectors to this position ask, “If this is so why do not all of God’s children see alike on all things? “ Here man puts his own reason against the plain teachings of God’s Word. But in reply to that we will say there are many factors that enter into this. There are many who do not wish to understand the things about our Lord’s Second Coming. When that subject is brought up they shut up like a clam.

Certainly God will not give such an one understanding on that line. The same principle applies to the doctrines of election, predestination, and the security of the believer. If a person does not desire wisdom on these things God certainly will not give it. Paul wrote Timothy, “The Lord give thee understanding in all things.”{2 Tim. 2:7}

Naturalism Verses Supernaturalism The cause of Christ has suffered immeasurably by putting emphasis on mere human training, and leaving the Spirit’s work in the background. This trend is leading professed Christianity step by step into modernism. The writer has tried to maintain a safe balance on this point. He neither believes that God will impart to man an understanding of Spiritual things apart from the study of the Word; neither

does he believe that simply studying that Word independent of the enlightening work of the Spirit will lead to an understanding of the same.

The infidel and atheist try to account for the origin of the universe and man through a natural process. Thus we have the evolutionary theory. They rule God out of it. The Christian believer believes the universe and man are a product of a supernatural power. The infidel thinks the Bible is merely a human book. The Christian believes it is a supernatural revelation from God. The infidel thinks Christ was a man and that His birth was the result of natural causes. The believer believes His birth was supernatural. Some professing believers forsake the supernatural and take the ground of naturalism and make the new birth the result of mere human works. The real child of God believes the new birth is supernatural experience brought about through the Spirit’s work. When it comes to the understanding of the Word others forsake the supernatural and cross over and take their stand with the infidel and modernist, and rule out the Spirit. Others go this far with us but when it comes to the security of the believer they too leave the supernatural and take their stand with the rationalist and teach one must preserve himself by his own works. We still maintain the supernatural side and contend that our security is a matter of divine power. Now, when it comes to the resurrection of the body, Campbellites and others who believe in the resurrection are forced to leave the ground of the naturalist and come back to supernatural ground. Thus they dodge back and forth.

The Spirit wrought in creation. Gen. 1:2. The Spirit wrought in the inspiration of the Word. 2 Peter 1:21. It wrought in the birth of Christ. Matt. 1:20. The Spirit works in our understanding of the Word. Col. 1:9, and Eph. 1:17-18. The Spirit works in our security. 1 John 4:4. The Spirit will work in our resurrection unto life. Rom. 8:11. Let us keep our stand on the side of the supernatural and not be crossing back and forth. Man has ever tried to rule God out in the new birth and spiritual work. Let us guard against this subtle work of the devil which seeks to contest the supernatural. at every step of the way. If we depended more on the Holy Spirit and less on human wisdom and organization we would be better off. ~ THE END67

The Pre-Existence Of Jesus THE problem of the origin of God is shrouded in mystery so deep and impenetrable that the mind of man staggers in its very approach to the bewildering subject. The flippant and smart-aleck attitude of modern infidelity never deviates from its established pattern in sneering at this great problem. The common approach to this question is generally stated in words like this: “If God created everything in the beginning, who created God?” Of course no man of intelligence would raise such a question, and the wise believer will waste neither breath nor time answering such a palpable quibble. When confronted by this blatant query, you need only answer: “My friend, I will tell you who made God on condition that you will promise not to ask who made that fellow! For if I tell you who made the fellow who made God, you will want to know who made him, and we will find ourselves on a mental merry- go-round with no place to get off. We have to postulate something as a point of beginning. You evade the issue by erecting a nebulous figment of mental imagining which you call ‘nature.’ Suppose I should ask you in your own exact words “if nature produced this universe, who made nature?’ and we would be entangled in a verbal bout that would not lead to any finality. Since I have to start with something that will satisfactorily account for the intelligence manifested in the physical creation, I accept the clear revelation of a God Who is a Person, Who is self-existent and eternal, and Who, hence, had no beginning.” There is no legal

55) Excerpts from, The Teachings of Elder G. E. Jones: Spiritual Understanding; Christ Revealed in the Tabernacle.

reason which compels us to answer the infidel concerning problems concerning which he cannot answer us!

This whole mystery of the person of God and the impossibility of the human mind comprehending Him or His nature, reminds me of an episode which occurred in my ministry almost thirty years ago. I had been engaged by the Zyante Indian Commission to make a survey of the Indian tribes in the northern California mountains, for the purpose of finding a strategic location for the establishment of a mission among them. Among my instructions, I was directed to seek for an Indian of sufficient interest and intelligence who could be trained into a leader for his people. A long way back in the woods I found a man whom I thought would fill these requirements. His name was Will Snow, and he was a forty-year-old babe. That is to say, he had never been out of the mountains where he had been born. He had never seen an electric light, any kind of a power craft, a railroad, or an elevator. The common things of urban life were undreamed of in his simple manner of living.

With the consent of the Commission, I took him down to the city of San Francisco, where I kept him for ten days or two weeks. During that time I made him acquainted with the alleged wonders of so-called civilization. I could fill a volume with the humorous record of that strange trip, but the one thing that I remember most vividly was his experience with the ocean. The largest body of water which this Indian had ever seen was Clear Lake. His people journeyed down to the shores of that lake every year when the blackfish were running, to lay in stores of smoked and dried meat for their winter supply.

When we had been in San Francisco two days, I took him out to Cliff House and let him stand on a site overlooking the Golden Gate. He watched the ocean vessels coming and going and stared away to the far horizon under which the Pacific Ocean disappeared. We walked down a trail to the beach and strolled toward the San Mateo line. As we were walking side b y side this bewildered Indian turned to me and asked, “How big is this lake, and what is its name?”

I answered, “It is not a lake, Will; it is an ocean. Its name is Pacific Ocean.”

He nodded and asked, “How big is it?”

Of course I was stuck. I couldn’t tell him in terms of miles, area, and depth. That would mean as little to him as astronomical figures. So I built up a background of understanding by asking, “You know how big is Clear Lake?”

He nodded and said, “This is bigger.”

“Yes,” I said, “Can you put in your mind ten Clear Lakes?” After a moment he said, “Maybe.”

“Can you think one hundred Clear Lakes all in one place?” He shook his head and said, “Too much. You got that much in Pacific?”

I laughed and said, “One hundred Clear Lakes taken out of the Pacific Ocean would be like one drop of water taken out of Clear Lake.”

He made the characteristic Indian sign of astonishment and asked, “Who drinks it all?”

Again I laughed and said, “Nobody drinks it, Will; it is salty.”

He didn’t say that he didn’t believe me, but he walked down to the water’s edge, stooped down, scooped up a handful and tasted it. He spat it out with a wry face, looked at me as though I were playing a game on him, walked twenty yards up the beach, and tasted another mouthful. He repeated this action four or five times. Still apparently suspicious or unconvinced he walked out in the water until he was knee deep in the surf, and tasted it out there! As he turned to come back to the beach, an incoming wave hit him. When he was finally safe on the sand, bedraggled and soaked,

he had found out that the ocean was salty farther out than he cared to go. Of course I had to take him back to the hotel to dry him out, and not one word was said as we rode back to the city.

When our visit was approaching its close, I said to my Indian friend, “Will, tomorrow we go back to the mountains. What would you like to see all over again before you leave?”

Without hesitating he said, “Wanna see the Ocean.”

Right after lunch, we started for the beach, and I noticed that Will was carrying a paper-wrapped parcel. I thought nothing of it at the time, presuming it was lunch. He was always hungry as the average Indian generally seems to be, and the only time he didn’t have two apples in his pocket was when he had three bananas or four oranges.

Arriving at the beach we sat down for fifteen minutes and watched the surf roll in. Not a word was said until I suggested, “We had better go now. We have to pack and leave for the mountains tomorrow morning.”

My Indian rose to his feet, unwrapped his package and revealed a pint jar with a rubber and a screw top. Keeping his eye warily on the incoming waves, he stooped and filled his jar from the shallow water. As he returned, screwing down the lid tightly, I asked him, “Will, what are you going to do with that pint of salt water?”

Solemnly he held it up to the light and said, “When I go back to my people and tell them all the funny things I have seen, maybe they gonna believe, maybe not. But when I tell them about Pacific Ocean, how big, and how salty, they gonna say ‘Will Snow, he went away good Indian; come back big liar.’”

I swallowed my laughter long enough to say, “What are you going to do with the jar of water?”

He held it up and said in triumph, “Gonna take it back and make them believe.”

I have thought of this incident a thousand times. This simple son of the woods thought that he could get a conception of the Pacific Ocean into the minds of those who had never seen or heard of it, by the display of a pint of salty water! It is true, of course, that the jar was full of Pacific Ocean; but there was an amazing lot of ocean left over.

This is exactly our difficulty when we try to explain the being and nature of God to the finite mind. My little pint mentality is so full of God it can’t hold another fact or thought. But when I have filled that mind with all of God that it can contain, there is still the unfathomable, unlimited expanse of God’s being and nature that I have not yet touched. Hence the only thing that a reasoning and reasonable man can do is to accept the revelation that God has made of Himself, taste of His sweetness, experience His grace, and keep himself free from spiritual trespass.

There are some spheres in which it is presumptuous for a man to force his ideas and opinions.

Not the least of the kindnesses and graces of God to men, is the fact that He stooped to express Himself in terms that the finite mind could comprehend. Since the natural man is not capable of climbing Godward by so much as one step, the gulf that exists between God and man can only be bridged if God comes all the way down. This He did when He took upon Himself the flesh of a man and walked the earth in human form.

This was the background of the simple statement of Christ, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath made Him plain.” This is the literal meaning of that statement “declared Him.” To declare is to manifest, or to bring out into the open, with a practical demonstration which results in comprehension. No living human who knows the gospel record can honestly say, “God is beyond the reach of my understanding.” All we have to do is accept the God which is Jesus Christ and the full and complete revelation of the heavenly Father will ultimately be made through Him.

So we turn to the record of revelation depicting the nature of God and we find that pre-existence had no beginning and that God has always been in being. This, however, can only be said of God. The angelic orders which surround and serve Him were all created for their holy offices. The very heaven in which He dwells was formed by Him to be His eternal habitation. The myriad stars inside sidereal space, the flaming suns, and their accompanying planets all had a beginning in time according to the plan of God. The earth and all it contains suddenly came into being when it suited the good purposes of His will to call them forth out of nothing. Of God alone can it be said, “He always was.”

One of the unanswerable evidences of the deity of Jesus Christ is found in the fact of His preexistence. The birth of our Saviour in Bethlehem of Judea was not His origin. We shall show later that this was His incarnation. His origin is shrouded in that same mystery that baffles us when we inquire into the beginning of God. This is the consistent record of the New Testament statements concerning the man Jesus Christ. Let us remind the reader what we said in a previous chapter, namely, we are not entitled to any conception of Christ which is contrary to the description and evidence in the New Testament.

Turning to the Gospel of John, we find the pre-existence of Jesus stated in John 1:1-4: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”

There is no question of the identity of the person to whom John refers under the designation “the Word.” John says the Word was in existence with God and that He was God. In his own commentary upon this paragraph, John writes in the first general Epistle, Chapter 1, verses 1-3: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

Here John identifies the Word as being an incarnation of the Godhood, the Son of the Father, Who came to earth bearing the name “Jesus Christ.”

As a further identification of this pre-existing Word, we have the larger illumination of Revelation 19:13. This chapter of the prophetic Book deals with the coming again of Jesus Christ, and it uses several names commonly ascribed to the Saviour, such as Lamb, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Jesus, and the Word of God. The exact verse which we have cited reads as follows: “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.” There can be no question as to how and when this vesture was dipped in blood: we only need to remember that His name is also the Lamb. The Lamb of God that took away the sins of the world had this in common with every lamb of the sacrifice—His efficacy was in the shedding of His blood for the remission of sins. Thus we have in the prologue to the Gospel of John a statement that before the time implied in the first verse of Genesis, Jesus the Son of God, Who is also called the Living Word, was in existence with God, as God, sharing His nature and glory from all past time.

Lest it be considered that such a claim to deity springs from the enthusiasm and adoration of the apostles who loved the man Jesus, let its hasten to show that Christ made this claim for Himself. We will read one such instance in John 5:17,18: “But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” There is no way of escaping the significance and exact meaning of this declaration of the Saviour.

We should also weigh the suggestive conduct of the people of Israel. Deeply incensed, they sought to slay the man who claimed that He was the veritable equal of God, and had observed the works of God in creation.

We cannot take time to analyze this entire fifth chapter of John, so we pass on quickly to the second assertion of Jesus on this subject, which we find in John 10:32,33: “Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from the Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” Modern scholars may argue, as they frequently do, that Jesus Himself never claimed deity.

Certainly the Jews of His day did not so understand His utterances. It was because they did so clearly comprehend His claim that they said, “We stone you for blasphemy: because, being a man, you make yourself to be God!” Equally definite is the significance of the words of Jesus in John 12:44, 45: “And Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that beholdeth me beholdeth him that sent me.”

Adding one avowal to another, the Son of God then stated that His Father had sent Him into the world, and those who saw the visible Son were looking at the Father who sent Him! Every reader is familiar with the fourteenth chapter of John, and the bewilderment of the disciples over the strange teaching of Jesus. It was for that reason that Philip presented his sincere request and received a definite reply. Read again John 14:8, 9: “Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”

An honest reader cannot escape the intended conclusion. When Jesus said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father”; he certainly avowed His deity in the strongest words that man could use.

Go back and read that paragraph again and then consider this illustration: Suppose I should say to a company or congregation who had been listening to me lecture from night to night, “Would you like to have the President of the United States address you tomorrow night?” They would undoubtedly reply with enthusiasm, “We would.” (They might even say that any change would be for the better!) What do you suppose would happen if I were to answer them in these words: “What, have I been speaking to you all these times and you know me not? He that hath seen me hath seen the President of the United States. How sayest thou then, ‘Show us the President?’”

What do you suppose the congregation would reply? Probably some deacon would rise and say, “You people hold him and I’ll phone for the wagon!”

I recently had the great pleasure of shaking hands with Napoleon Bonaparte. At the same time I had the added joy of meeting Alexander the Great and the Duke of Wellington. In shaking hands

with these notables, I had to reach through iron bars, and I noticed that they had mattresses on the walls as well as on the beds! Sad as was the mental lapse of these poor mortals, I have never met anyone either inside an asylum or wandering at large, who was so crazy he thought he was God! But here is a man who said to His most intimate followers, “You don’t need to ask to see the heavenly Father. Look at Me and you see Him.” When we study the high-priestly prayer of the Saviour, we again meet His avowal of preexistence. Consider John 17:5: “And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”

It has been said that even though a man had no high repute for veracity throughout the days of his life, he would be inclined to tell the truth when he faced death and the prospect of meeting God. This does not apply to Jesus, as falsehood was so foreign to the nature of the living Christ that He bore as one of His names, “Truth.” He is not only the Way, and the Life, but is the Truth; and no false statement ever came from His lips. This gives added weight to the fact that as He faced death by crucifixion, He addressed His heart in prayer to the heavenly Father. In those very words of communion, He claimed to have existed as God, with God, sharing His glory before the earth was created. If pre-existence pertains to God alone, Jesus Christ was God, and deity is indeed the proper term to apply to His person.

One of the consistent and oft reiterated declarations of the Pauline vocabulary defines Jesus as “the image of God.” We find this descriptive sentence in II Corinthians 4:4: “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

There is a hidden meaning to this dictum which can be best understood in the light of the broader statement in

the second chapter of Philippians.

A great and tremendous argument has sprung up over the doctrine which is called the “kenosis.”

Due to the appearance of that word in this paragraph and its translation “emptied,” much has been written concerning the humiliation of Jesus when He came in the form of a man. Note Philippians 2:5-11: “Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name: That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

The major argument has been centered about the exact meaning of the word “emptied.” What did Jesus lay aside when He took upon Himself the flesh of a man?

Some say He laid aside His divine nature and was hence purely and exclusively human in the days of His flesh.

Some say He laid aside His divine attributes, and thus was limited by the weakness of a human nature.

Others say that He laid aside only His divine glory, the return of which He prayed for in the seventeenth chapter of John in the scripture before cited.

We shall show in the course of this study that Jesus did not lay aside His nature, and forsook none of His attributes when He was incarnated. We cite this paragraph merely to call your attention to the one strange and significant word which is used repeatedly in the scripture. In the Greek text, the word is “morphe” and is the basis for our modern scientific term “morphology.” This science deals with the gross bodily structure of the living creature and is in contrast to histology, which is the science of the microscopic structure of the cell. The word “morphe” occurs twice in this Philippian paragraph and is both times translated by the English word “form.” The sixth verse says that before Christ came to the earth He existed in the “morphe” or bodily substance of God; that He laid aside and took upon Himself the bodily substance or form of a servant, fashioned in the likeness of human morphology.

We would not cause the reader to stumble by the introduction of this term “bodily substance of God.” We use it because there is no other clear expression in human language to convey this exact meaning. The Holy Spirit caused Paul the Apostle to say, “Jesus existed in the morphe of God.” Of course we do not know exactly what this means. We are led to understand from revelation that God is a person capable of acts of individuality and sovereignty; we cannot conceive of intelligence apart from personality, nor can we grasp the fact of personality apart from some sort of bodily substance.

Our difficulty here is rooted in the fact that we are wont to conceive of all substance as physical matter. We fail to grasp the fact that spiritual substance may be as real as physical matter. The angels, for instance, have bodies formed of some spiritual material which is outside the reach of human understanding.

In the resurrection the believer in Christ receives a body which is literal and real, but which is not made of physical substance. After the resurrection, our Saviour manifested a body composed of translated flesh and bones, which was capable of passing through walls and locked doors into a sealed room. This body was not restricted by the influence of gravity. When it desired to it could exercise sovereignty over different, common, earthly factors. We are so tremendously ignorant about all things beyond the world of the senses that we are only capable of a stumbling approach to a subject which bewilders our darkened human mentality. So we just take what is written, and believe that. Whatever the “form” of God may be, Jesus existed in that “form” before He took upon Himself the “form” of a man.

We do not mean, of course, that God has two arms, two legs, eyes, ears, nose, and a mouth such as we possess. If God had that kind of a body, it would never have been necessary for Him to have been born as a babe in Bethlehem. But we do insist according to the Scripture, that God is not some nebulous gas permeating the ether of space in a pantheistic imminence.

He lives in a literal place called heaven.

He has a throne which He can share with His Son. He has mobility, intelligence, and sovereign authority; hence God is a person.

So Paul brings to us this revelation from the Holy Spirit which states that the Jesus Who died on the cross for the sins of the world, existed in the substance of God; which visible form He laid aside for the purpose of redemption through His death. This certainly establishes beyond any possible question the pre-existence of Jesus.

This fact is stated with equal clarity in

Colossians 1:15-18: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; For in him were all things created, in the heavens and upon the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and unto him; And he is before all things, and in him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence.”

There is a slight difference in the various translations of the word here rendered “creature” or creation.” The King James Version of the New Testament text states that Jesus is “the first born of every creature.” The American Revised Version says “He is the first born of all creation.” An exact rendering of the Greek text would put it in the clear words of the Moffat Translation, “born first before any creation.” So with the paragraph of Colossians still clear in your mind, summarize the statements of Jesus made in that amazing presentation.

First, although God is invisible now, Jesus was in His exact image.

Secondly, before any of the creation was formed, Jesus was in existence.

Thirdly, every physical or spiritual entity, together with all substance and structure, were created by Jesus, and were to be used for His own purposes.

Fourthly, He antedates everything that has existence. Finally, it is He who holds the physical universe together.

This is what we mean when we speak of the pre-existence of Jesus. How well assured are we of salvation and eternal happiness, when our destiny lies in the hands of Him Who created the heavens and the earth! Since He had no beginning and can have no end, the life which is hid with Christ in God is as eternal and enduring as is the nature of God. If Christ had pre-existence, if He possessed the attributes and powers of God before His incarnation, He is a wonderful Saviour indeed!

Suppose we let God have the last word on this subject. The opening chapter of the Hebrew epistle sets forth the preeminence of Jesus above all things that are, that have been, or that ever will be. Speaking of the Son of God, this great chapter says in verse 3: “Who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” Even a brief analysis of those stupendous statements is sufficient to cause the heart of the believing person to literally sing with joy. According to the text, Jesus was and is the brightness of God’s glory and is the exact presentation of God’s person. But more significant is the allegation that the man who purged our sins and sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, did so while he was upholding all things by the word of His power! Quite evidently then, in His self-emptying Jesus did not surrender His complete authority. When did He purge our sins? This was accomplished when Christ in human flesh shed His blood on the cross at Golgotha. While so doing, He continued to uphold all things by the word of His power! Having purged our sins, He then returned to sit on the right hand of the Majesty on high.

In this first chapter of the Hebrew epistle, God speaks of two spiritual orders. He addresses the angels and calls them spirits, ministers, a flame of fire. But in the eighth verse when God speaks to the Son He says, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.” So when the heavenly Father speaks to the angels He addresses them as spirits. When He speaks to His Own Son, He addresses Him as Deity. Of course this is only logical, and should be expected. God is Deity, therefore His Son must

partake of the same nature with all of its qualities, attributes and authorities. For this reason, God speaks to Jesus in the words which begin in verse ten: “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.”

Let us turn aside from interpretation and human comments and let the Lord Jesus Christ, the object of our study, settle this question with a clear avowal of His own nature and eternal existence.

This utterance we find in Revelation 1:8: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

How happy is the lot of the Christian who understands that his salvation is rooted in the nature of Christ, and that it is therefore as eternal and enduring as is the existence of the Saviour Himself!

When you came to the cross to find salvation through the merit and grace of the redeeming Lamb of God, you were not deluded by some imposter whose name and fame shall pass one day from the memory of men. Instead, you came to cast yourself into the capable and strong hands of the God Who not only created the earth, but Who died to be its redeemer. When the heavens and earth that make up the present order shall dissolve with fervent heat and melt away, the soul that is fixed on Jesus Christ will find itself unshakeable, immovable, eternally safe!

The Attributes of God as Seen In Christ {“the five outstanding moral attributes of God—the three principal physical characteristics of deity, together with every other essence that makes up the Godhead was manifested by Jesus Christ”}

PRESSING on from the study of the pre-existence of Jesus, we do not imply that we have exhausted that subject. The Word of God enumerates many other clear evidences that Christ existed with God before His incarnation, which instances we cannot afford the time to cite. We suggest that you make a complete analytical study of the pre-existence of Christ and summarize these evidences for your own blessing and benefit.

Urged on by the necessity of reaching a conclusion and presenting at least some of all the manifold types of evidence which establish the fact of the deity of Jesus, in this chapter we will note the manner in which Christ demonstrated the attributes that are peculiar to God alone, while He lived an earthly life.

The common English translation of Colossians 2:9 does not do full justice to the idiom of the Greek text. Speaking of Christ this verse says, “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” The eighth verse of ,this same chapter identifies the person here suggested by the specified name of Christ. The key word in this text is the Greek word “pleroma,” and it is an obscure Koine word which is hard to transliterate. The English editors used the word “fulness” which falls short of the understanding the ancient Greeks derived from this word. Sir William Ramsay and his equally learned colleague, Dr. James Hope Moulton, together with other distinguished archeologists, hold that the word “pleroma” should be properly translated as “attribute.” The idiom of the Koine differs from the Greek translation, so that to transliterate Colossians 2:9, we would read “In the body of Him dwelleth every attribute of the Godhead.” The verb “to dwell” is not in the past tense, but in the present tense, as is proper in speaking of Deity. Being beyond the time-space concepts that

bound all things human, we cannot speak of God in the sense of past, present or future. Being the same yesterday, today and forever, the Godhead remains Deity in every phase of His manifestation in time. Hence, if the Colossians statement is true and can be taken at its face value, we have here the manifold suggestion that Jesus, in the mysterious emptying of the Philippian record retained the attributes of God and remained God during His entire earthly ministry.

I was lecturing upon this subject one day on a university campus where I spent a week presenting the subject of Christology. At the close of the period a serious-minded lad came to me and said “I think you said more than you meant to when you said that every attribute of God dwelled in Jesus Christ while He walked the earth in the form of man.” “Not at all,” I answered.

“That is exactly what the Scripture maintains.” “In that case,” he persisted, “would not Jesus have manifested some of these attributes in His earthly life?”

“Didn’t he?” I asked. “Did he?” he insisted.

“No,” I said, “you make the case: didn’t he manifest any of these attributes?”

“No,” was the positive reply.

“You are as wrong,” I said, “as one man can be. In his earthly life Jesus Christ manifested not only some of God’s attributes, but while He walked the earth in human flesh He displayed the possession of every known attribute of deity!”

Before we present the evidence that supports this astounding statement, may we clarify the atmosphere by a few words of definition. One of the great weaknesses of the modern man is his woeful ignorance of his own language. He uses words in his common conversation, having a very vague idea of the exact connotations of those words. When we say “attributes” we have a broad idea of what the word implies, but how few of us could really give a comprehensive definition of the term. Think your own way through this simple question and decide what you understand by the word “attributes,” then let me offer this simple definition: “The attributes of God are those distinguishing characteristics of the nature of God which are inseparable from the idea of deity, and which constitute the basis and grounds for His various manifestations to His creatures.”

May I point out the importance of certain words in that definition. When we said that these distinguishing characteristics must be inseparable from the idea of God, we have offered a key to the understanding of the Creator. For instance, there are times when truth is spoken and righteous deeds are enacted by almost any man, but we cannot say that truth and righteousness are inseparable from the idea of man. There are many men in the world today to whom truth and righteousness are utterly foreign. Though occasionally manifested in human conduct, these noble characteristics are not inseparable from the idea of humanity. But you cannot separate your conception of God from righteousness and truth. Therefore, they may be denominated as attributes of God. Again, there are times in which man is moved by charity and pity toward his fellowmen. Alas, there are many more occasions when he is pitiless and unmerciful to his fellow- humans. Therefore, pity and mercy do not constitute the basis and grounds of all human manifestations to each other.

But these qualities are always seen in God’s dealings with His creatures. We must note that the attributes of God must not only be inseparable from our conception of deity, but they must actually form the reason for all His manifestations toward His creatures.

We call these physical characteristics of God “attributes” because we are compelled to attribute them to God as fundamental qualities or powers of His Being, in order to give rational reasons for certain constant facts in God’s self-revelation. Again, we must pause to emphasize that word “constant.” The phenomena observed in God’s dealing with man are not arbitrary or capricious.

The power of God is not affected by circumstances; the will of God is not diverted by opposition.

As certainly as water from the highest mountain inexorably works its way to the nearest sea, so the nature of God flows in constant channels, the banks of which are His own revelation of His own Self.

These attributes have objective existence. That is to say they are not mere names which are given to intangible phenomena to aid human conceptions and understandings. They are not the result of man’s attempt to account for certain actions which are beyond normal understanding. The attributes of God exist as qualities objectively distinguished from the divine essence and from each other. When we speak of the deity of Jesus it should be almost sufficient to say that Christ was God because all of these attributes of the Godhead were manifested in the man Jesus in His earthly career.

As you search the New Testament, you will find that the Holy Spirit has incorporated this fact in the carefully constructed biography of the Son of God, which is the Gospel record.

Let us begin with the first attribute of God, as a simple demonstration of this fact. Once again it is necessary to clarify the issue by asking you to state your conception of that attribute. In a great many educational institutions, including some notable seminaries, I have asked the simple question, “What is the chief attribute of God?” I have never received the proper reply. Nine out of ten people will say “God is love.” That is true as far as it goes, but love is the fourth attribute of God, not the first. The tenth person will almost always say, “God’s chief attribute is omnipotence.” This is a natural reply, but equally erroneous. There is something about the thought of unlimited power which thrills the human heart, but the power is not God’s first attribute.

The chief attribute of God is Holiness!

In those words we have briefly set out the entire reason for the Gospel as it is preached through Jesus Christ. We shall return to that thought.

We ask you now to define to your own satisfaction the term ‘holiness.’ Here again is a common word often heard in the daily vocabulary of the average Christian, but do you really understand its meaning?

Holiness can be defined in the simplest terms as “self- affirming purity.” This is a thing which no human being now possesses or ever would possess. There are men who have on occasion manifested personal purity, but this impulse to decency generally came from some source or power outside of their own nature. This conduct was maintained only as long as the source of power was available to them. It was sporadic, temporary and all too rare in its appearance. But you cannot separate the two ideas of Almighty God and purity.

There are some things which the human mind is not free even to imagine. You cannot conceive of a triangle with four sides or a square that is made up of five equal sides and five equal corners.

There is no such thing as a square circle. Logic does not tolerate certain self-evident impossibilities.

Therefore, you cannot conceive of a God who was pure most of the time. Also, the purity of God springs from the essence or nature of God Himself. Therefore we say, holiness is the chief attribute of God and is the impelling reason for all of His conduct and revelation toward His creatures. Not only does logic make this demand, it is also the clear, simple statement of the inspired Word.

In Psalms 145:17, it is written “The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.”

You will note that the righteousness and holiness of God are not seen in some of His ways and works, but are apparent in all that God does.

In the sixth chapter of Isaiah 6 the prophet describes his vision of the Lord God upon His throne. The seraphims which surrounded the seat of God’s authority chanted a refrain each to the other in these astounding words, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of

his glory.” Of no earthly or created being could this be said. There are some orders both angelic and human which reflect the holiness of God, or partake of its benefits by imputation, but no created being possesses a self-affirming purity: this is reserved for the Deity Himself.

Therefore, it is highly significant that in his famed address in the fourth chapter of Acts, Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost and reviewing the coming of Jesus, said in verse 27, “For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together.”

To this agrees the apostle Paul who in the Hebrew Epistle wrote in chapter 7, verse 26, “For such a high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.”

Here is a strange commentary upon the nature and person of Christ. The Old Testament claims that holiness is resident in God alone and that this holiness is constant as part of the nature of God. The New Testament stoutly maintains that this “God-nature,” as seen through the possession of holiness, was in the child Jesus who became the High Priest and Redeemer.

There are many figures in the Scripture which maintain this same teaching. In the twelfth chapter of Exodus we have the historical record of the establishing of the passover lamb. Verse five begins with the statement, “Your lamb shall be without blemish.” Later, after Christ our passover had been slain for us, the apostle Peter wrote a great commentary upon this fact in chapter one of his first epistle where he said, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” You probably know the difference between a blemish and a spot. A blemish is something which is inherently wrong with the fabric itself. A spot is dirt which has been acquired by contact with that which defiles. Being incarnated by the miracle of the virgin birth, Jesus, the Son of God, was without blemish in His nature. He lived for thirty-three years among men in contact with a world of sin from which, suffering no defilement, He was also spotless. There was no way of estimating how many millions and billions of humans have been born into this earth since the creation of Adam and Eve, but it is safe to maintain with dogmatic assurance that the virgin born Son of God is the only one of whom it could be truthfully said, “He was unblemished and unspotted,” in the Scriptural sense of that word.

In other words, in the incarnation Christ retained that self-affirming purity which is holiness, and the life which he lived among men was a practical demonstration of the chief attribute of God. What other living man could have faced his enemies as Jesus did in John 8:46 and challenged them with these words, “Which of you convicteth me of sin?”

Would you challenge your enemies that way? Personally I wouldn’t trust my friends that far.

Some of them are honest enough to start telling what they know. The manner in which His enemies sought to meet His dare is written in Matthew 26:59-60, “Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none.” The inherent purity of Jesus Christ was so perfect that not even perjured witnesses, paid to blacken His character, could prove to the satisfaction of a prejudiced court, one charge against His holiness.

So sure are we that Christ manifested holiness, we will make this offer. We stand prepared to pay one thousand dollars as a cash reward to any person who can prove conclusively that the man Jesus Christ was ever guilty of a selfish deed, a mean or unworthy act, or ever conducted Himself to the harm or hurt of His fellowman. Of course, we know in making that offer, that we are perfectly safe.

We might as well have said a billion dollars for such proof, for none can ever be forth-coming. The Colossian statement that every attribute of God dwelled in the person of Jesus, did not exclude the chief attribute of holiness, and history is a vindication of that broad and startling claim.

The second attribute of God is justice, which may be defined as that principle which affirms the certainty of the punishment of wrongdoing. Justice is given as the second attribute of God because it is the guard and defense of holiness. All sin is an offense against the holiness of God. Therefore, if holiness is to be vindicated and God is to remain supreme, all rebellion against holiness must be ruthlessly stamped out and punished. Just as no orderly nation could survive without courts and penal codes, so the divine governments must be safeguarded with powerful forces. Very often, of course, the legal procedures of human government are diverted from true justice and perverted to political purposes. Therefore, justice is not an attribute of human government. It is not constant or inseparable from the thought of government. By contrast, it is resident in the very nature of God, so that errors of judgment and mistakes in its application are unthinkable in dealing with God. We do not mean that God is just or that He is ruled by justice in His dealings with men. Rather, we mean to say in the strongest possible terms, “God is justice.” For this reason, from the very beginning of His dealings with created beings, God has operated through the dictum, “The soul that sins shall surely die.” We shall return to this thought in a later paragraph; we merely call to your mind the long record of God’s conflict with evil which is engraved alike in Holy Writ and on the page of human conduct.

It may be said that the justice of God is implacable, it never fails, it must and always does operate.

Did Jesus manifest the attribute of justice in His earthly career? Indeed He did, on many occasions! At once there will come to your remembrance the record of a roused and angry Saviour with whip in hand cleansing the temple of God of the filthy and defiling racketeers who made a graft of the temple worship. With darkened brow and flashing eyes, He thundered out the sternest denunciation that human ears could comprehend. Jesus Christ was justice in direct operation guarding the sanctuary which stood for the holiness of God and the redemption of His people.

The third attribute of God is mercy.

By way of definition we state simply that mercy is that eternal principle of God’s nature which leads Him to seek the temporal good and eternal welfare of those who have opposed themselves to His will. Very often the purposes of mercy arc attained at a cost of in finite sacrifice.

Contrary to the consistent vaporings of modernism which delights in the fable of the evolution of the God idea, the Jehovah of the Old Testament is manifested in all of His works toward men as a God of mercy. As we covered this point in chapter one we merely refresh your mind with this brief reminder. God does not manifest mercy, He is not swayed to the exercise of mercy, but mercy is an attribute of God. Hence we can say that God is mercy.

This characteristic of Deity literally directed the outpouring of the whole life of His Son, Christ our Saviour. A classical illustration of how Jesus manifested this attribute, is the record of the woman taken in adultery. When the stern and harsh guardians of the law demanded that she be stoned, Jesus defended her with the implied countercharge, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” When the self-convicted accusers had silently slunk away, Jesus said, “Woman, where are thine accusers?” Humbled and shamed before His holiness, she said “No man accuseth me, Lord.” Debased as she was, she was conscious of the fact that although his own imperfection kept man from filing an indictment against her, the holiness of God was no bar to His charges against her conduct. But because God is mercy, He said to her, “Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no

more.” We notice that Jesus did not say, “Neither do I accuse thee.” Recognizing all that was wrong and unclean in her conduct, He Who was mercy, could say “I do not condemn thee.”

The reason for that is found in

the fourth attribute of God, which is love.

I do not think that it is necessary to define love. It is the source of all that is courageous and kindly in every human relationship. It is not astonishing that the unlearned and careless reader of the Scripture seizes upon the statement of John, “God is love,” and wrests that out of its proper setting to make that his entire creed.

Because God is love, the Gospel works. I mean to say that this is the reason for all of God’s revelation of Himself to a lost and sinful age.

I believe that most of us have difficulty in clarifying our thinking concerning God and His grace because we have never reduced Christianity to a basic philosophy. Yet, this can be done in terms of such comparative simplicity a child should be able to comprehend it. An understanding of Christianity is resident in a comprehension of these attributes of God. Let us consider a philosophy of Christianity in a few short and simple sentences. We have said before that the chief attribute of God is holiness. It is a characteristic of holiness that, being purity, it can have no fellowship with sin. If God were unkind enough to take an unsaved, uncleansed, unredeemed sinner into His presence, the very holiness of God would consume and burn that vile wretch with a suffering more fierce than the fires of Hell could ever engender. So, because sin is an offense against divine holiness, justice, which guards holiness, has said, “The soul which sins must surely die.”

The word “death” in the Scriptures never means anything more than separation. We say that your body is alive because you are in it. But the minute you are separated from your body, your body is called dead. It is cut off from the source of life, hence becomes inanimate and decays. In exactly that sense, when a soul is separated from God Who is the source of all life, that soul is called dead. Hence, to guard the holiness of God from contact with defilement, divine justice says that the soul that sins must be “separated.”

But God is also mercy, and mercy desires to save the guilty sinner. Here we must note that no attribute of God can function in offense to any other attribute. They must all work together in a correlated harmony, functioning as one perfected and completed being. Therefore, as long as a soul is guilty of sin, even though mercy desires to save that soul, justice says, “You cannot. I guard the holiness of God,” and mercy cannot operate in opposition to justice.

The crux of the situation is reached when love says to justice, “I think I can solve this impasse. I will provide a substitute that will satisfy justice so that mercy can operate.” Here, then, is the mystery and wonder of what we call the Gospel. Certainly no human intelligence ever conceived a philosophy as profound as this. Because God is love, He Himself, Who was offended by the sin of man, incarnated Himself in the flesh of a man and did Himself die to expiate the sins of men.

When God had thus provided Himself as a substitute and sacrifice, divine justice said, “I am satisfied.”

Mercy then could operate because love had provided a means by which the sinner and his sins could be separated and dealt with individually.

Hence justice can now guard holiness by ostracizing sin from God’s presence, and mercy can save the guilty by bringing the separated sinner into God’s presence.

And all this comes to pass because God is love!

For this reason we have the unfathomable revelation of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

I cannot understand what men mean when they talk about a simple Gospel. The revelation of the meaning or redemption as set forth in the New Testament is so profound and incomprehensible, we must accept it by faith; it is beyond the power of the human mind to grasp. But we can have some dim conception of the magnitude of the work of Christ when we learn that He was Himself the love of God saving the world, and that God who loves Him has His every interest bound up in the thing for which He shed His blood.

I came across a rather graphic illustration of this recently in a large city in New York State where I had been speaking to a mass meeting of persons interested in evangelizing military forces.

You may know that prior to the assault on Pearl Harbor, the Gideons, through their Hawaiian chapter, had distributed to the men of the Pacific Fleet beautiful little white- bound copies of the New Testament. This work was finished some weeks before the fatal day of battle dropped so unexpectedly from the skies, so that each man of the fleet at least had had an opportunity to become acquainted with the grace of God through this work. One of my friends in Honolulu, Mr. Charles Peitsch, had presented me with one of the Pacific Fleet edition New Testaments, and I had it in my pocket as I was speaking that night. Thinking the crowd would be interested in it, I told them of this work of distribution and displayed the white-bound pocket Testament.

When the meeting was over and I was greeting some friends by the platform, a man tarried to speak to me when everyone else had gone. Rather diffidently he said, “Dr. Rimmer, I also have one of those little white Testaments.” He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to me.

The instant I took hold of it, I saw that it was stained with an ominous brown stain so highly significant that no technician would need to ask the nature of the dye which had colored the cover and the pages.

I looked at him and said, “Oh, oh.”

He smiled sadly and said, “Yes, oh, oh. I had a son at Pearl Harbor who was on duty the morning the assault was launched. In the pocket of his blouse he had this pocket Testament. With his crew he worked his piece until he fell to the deck riddled through and through with machine gun bullets. When they notified me of the death of my son they sent me his personal effects, and among them was this bloodstained Testament.”

The man took the book back from my hands and very earnestly said, “Dr. Rimmer, this little book is very precious to me. Its pages are stained with the blood of my son!”

For a moment I hardly knew what to say, then I smiled at him and said, “Yes, God feels the same way about that Book. He loves the New Testament. Its pages are stained with the blood of His Son!” The man looked at me quietly for a moment, and then he began to smile. No sacrilege was intended or implied when he said, “Me and God, huh?”

I said, “Yes Sir, you have that much in common, a Book whose pages are stained with the blood of both your sons.”

This is one of the reasons that we can say that Calvary is effective for the salvation of men. It is the place where separation was made between sin and the sinner.

But you see that a comprehensive philosophy of Christianity is resident in the understanding and correlation of all of the attributes of God.

To proceed with this study, let us note that

The fifth attribute of God is truth.

I know that it is considered smart by the pseudo-philosopher to echo the inane query of Pilate, “What is truth?” No one who understands the English language would have any difficulty defining truth. We would merely say, “Truth is any conception which coincides with fact.” This is inseparable from the idea of God. Therein is resident the assurance of salvation. There are men who under certain circumstances will tell the truth, and all men are presumed to be truthful unless their own interests are served by contrary conduct. But no normal intelligence can conceive of deity telling the truth part of the time and hedging by deceit in other dealings with His creatures. In offering men salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, the integrity of God is pledged as an earnest and a guaranty. God’s word of honor has been given that all who accept His Son as Saviour and Lord shall never perish. Since the honor of God is bound up in my salvation, I rest in warm, confident possession of a redemption which I can never lose because God is truth!

It will be noted that these five attributes of God all bear some relation to His moral being. All of the creatures whom God has formed, which possess sovereignty of conduct and understanding, must be dealt with by God on the basis of these five attributes. But because the more commonly recognized attributes of God relate to creation and are seen in the visible manifestation or works of God, they are emphasized in the thinking of men when they attempt to construct a philosophy of deity. But just as the five moral attributes of God were manifested in Jesus Christ in His life and conduct, so also the attributes of God which operate in relation to creation are all seen in the works of the man, Jesus Christ.

{Omniscience.} Some years ago I came across an apparent difficulty in the Scripture which gives a perfect illustration of this. A young lad who had been studying the New Testament asked, “Since the Jews were taught from early infancy to worship none but God and to bow to Him only, why did Nathanael apparently worship Christ the moment they first met?”

I had never thought of this matter and frankly told him so, and suggested that we make a study of it together. I got no light or help on the problem until some years later when I chanced to be in Palestine. You will remember that when they brought Nathanael to Jesus, the Lord said to him, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” {John 1:47} Without straining our sense of humor we might frankly admit that a guileless Israelite would indeed be something to behold. Nathanael was quite properly taken aback by the apparent knowledge Jesus displayed of a perfect stranger, one whom he had never seen before. He said to Christ, “What do you know about me? You have never seen me before.”

The answer of Jesus so astounded him that at once he bowed before this strange man and said, “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.”

That answer was phrased in these simple words, “Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.”

There seems to be no natural explanation for the problem raised by the action of Nathanael until you correlate the geographical positions of the two persons involved. There was nothing astonishing in the fact that Nathanael was under a fig tree. When figs are ripe that is where any sensible, intelligent man should be. I grew up in a fig growing country, and to my mind there are few fruits on this bountiful earth that can compare with a tree-ripened fig. I remember in my own boyhood days we had two enormous fig trees in our back yard which shaded the whole rear of the house.

Many and many a time my friends would say to me, “I saw you yesterday up in the fig tree.” Of

course they did. The only time I wasn’t in that fig tree was when so much of the fig tree was in me that there was no room for either of us in the other! But I never counted it supernatural that my friends saw me in or under that tree.

The people of Palestine understand this mystery. Jesus and Nathanael were separated by a span of seven miles, when Jesus claimed to have recognized this stranger. That might be called keen vision, though it is scarcely within the bounds of possibility. You try to make out the visage of your closest friend at the distance of one mile and see what chance there would be of recognizing a stranger seven miles away. But slim as that possibility is, all natural explanations are ruled out by the fact that a hilltop intervened in the span of that seven miles. Jesus was on one side of this hill and Nathanael on the other. So, when this Jew, who knew the attributes of God, met a man whose eyes could pierce the living granite of an enduring hill and recognize a stranger on the other side, he said, “This is omniscience, omniscience is an attribute of God; hence, this is the Christ.”

Whereupon he bowed to worship the fact of deity thus displayed by Christ the Prophet and Redeemer.

Certainly Christ claimed omniscience and equally positively He demonstrated it. On one occasion He described the destruction of Jerusalem in terms so graphic that when, thirty-five years later, Titus fulfilled His prediction, the record of the disruption reads like the prophecy of its event.

It is written of Christ that He needed not that any should tell Him of man, He knew what was in man. Again and again He discerned the unspoken thoughts of His enemies as they sought to debate against Him, and laid bare their motives and secret plans.

He picked up the curtain of time and peered ahead into the future ages, describing events of the past nineteen hundred years and delineating others which have not yet come to pass.

Because He had omniscience, He could stand on a hill with the fallen angel Lucifer, and see all the kingdoms of the earth.

This power of unlimited sight and unrestricted knowledge concerning all things and everything is resident by nature in the person of God. No man can claim it, nor can any human demonstrate it. Hence we say that the attribute of omniscience was manifested by Christ.

{Omnipotence.} To show how he possessed the companion attribute of omnipotence would require an exhaustive presentation of the complete Gospel record. One of the great difficulties that men have in their attempts to understand the miracles recorded in the Bible is their insistence upon considering the fact at issue instead of the Person involved. For instance, when Paul asked Felix Agrippa, “Why should it be counted a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead?”, the king’s answer would depend entirely upon which portion of the question was emphasized when Paul asked it.

If he emphasized the raising of the dead, the king would naturally reply, “Why should not this be counted a thing incredible? Romans have seen generations of people die, but all stayed dead.”

But if Paul emphasized the Person involved and said, “Why should it be counted a thing incredible with you that God should raise the dead?”, the issue becomes quite different. You cannot use the words “incredible” and “God” in the same sentence and remain logical. Not if the incredibility limits or restricts the powers and operations of God. Hence it is folly for men to seek explanation of miracles. A miracle is an orderly proceeding on the plane of a law that is higher than our present comprehension. But while there is much natural law that we do not yet know, God, Who is the Author of all law, cannot be restricted in His

conduct by our limitations. So, when Jesus said, “All power (omnipotence) is given unto me in heaven and in earth,” we have an explanation that is satisfactory when we study the miracles which He performed.

God wrought them.

Really, that is all we need to know. Never ask concerning a miracle, “Why?” Be content with the word, “Who.” Our philosophy of God should be condensed to three words, GOD IS ABLE. There are no qualifications or explanations necessary to enlarge, enhance or develop that philosophy of God. It is sufficient for every crisis of life or thought that can possibly arise or perplex. It is true that there is much in the works of Christ that baffles human understanding. Yet, in the wider sense, Christ did nothing that was contrary to reason, or that did not follow a pattern dimly set forth in the orderly process of nature.

For instance, all wine is made from water. The sun begins the process when it sends forth thermal units which expand surface water into vapor and make it rise as clouds. This vapor later condenses and falls upon the fields in the form of rain. The thirsty roots of the vine reach out and suck up this rain from the soil. In cooperation with the greater miracle of photo-synthesis, which is resident in a mysterious laboratory in the leaves of the plant, the sun, the rain and the vine together create a bunch of grapes. Men gather the crop extract the juice, fortify it and set it aside to ferment.

Or, as in the case of the ancient Greeks and the other races in the time of our Lord, they drink it as sweet grape juice and called it by the common name of wine.

Here is a miracle of transmutation.

The sun, the rain, the vine and a factor called time, transmuting water into wine. Jesus, Who created the sun, the water, and the vine, and is Himself the master of time, disdained the use of this cumber-some apparatus and in a few seconds He Himself turned water into wine. This is far less astonishing than the fact that the vine can do it! For to say the least, Christ was possessed of supernal intelligence, while the creatures of botany operate only in obedience to laws which are fixed by that same intelligence.

In like manner, God can supply bread from heaven. In our own case it is in the form of wheat.

In the case of Israel, it appeared in the form of manna. With the five thousand who shared the lunch of the tiny lad on the hillside in Palestine, it was a few soda crackers and some tiny sardines.

You see, the problem of miracles is not in the what or the how, but in the whom.

Now then, if all power is given unto Christ, and He manifests that power to the stupefaction of human mentality, there must be some reason for that operation. That reason is apparent when you read the New Testament Scriptures. Christ wrought miracles to prove that He was God. Omnipotence is an attribute of deity. In His earthly life—since Christ the man still was God in human form—it was inevitable that He show forth the attributes of His heavenly nature.

I suppose that no idea of the revelation of God is harder for man to apprehend than the thought of

Omnipresence.

I personally feel very much like the little lad in the country who was attending Sunday School for the first time. The lesson that day was from the seventeenth chapter of Acts, and the teacher was speaking upon the thought, “God is not far from every one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being.” She essayed the impossible in trying to bring to childish minds a comprehensive idea of the imminence of God. Frankly, I have always found difficulty in making plain to some person that which I do not clearly comprehend myself; but this teacher had great courage and was dealing with this wide subject.

This little fellow became lost in the demonstration and said rather impatiently, “Hey, wait a minute, lady, that don’t make sense. You’re trying to make it sound like God can be in two places at once.”

The teacher smiled and said, “That’s just what I do mean. He can be in a hundred places at once.

He is with us wherever we go.”

The little fellow shook his head in puzzlement and said, “He is with which one of us wherever we go? If I go to my house and you go to your house, He can’t be with both of us at the same time!”

The teacher insisted, “Oh, but He can. That is because He is God. He can be, and is, everywhere at once.”

The little fellow was highly agnostic and persisted in his query, “Do you mean to say that He is here in this Sunday School, now?”

“Yes,” said the teacher.

“Then, what are the Methodists doing in their Sunday School without Him?” he asked.

The teacher laughed and said, “Why, He is there too.” Greatly distressed, he said, “You mean that He is everywhere at the same time?”

“That’s right,” said the teacher.

The little boy said, “While He is here in this church, is He in our barn?”

“Yes,” said the teacher, “He is in your barn.”

“Is He in our house?”

“Yes, He is in your house.”

“Is He in our cellar?”

“Certainly, He is in your cellar,” said the teacher; “He is everywhere.”

The little fellow laughed in triumph and said, “I knowed there was something fishy about this— we ain’t got no cellar!”

I think that typifies the average human inability to grasp the idea of The imminence of God. We say very glibly, He is not limited by the time-space concepts of a physical creation; God is Spirit, and is subject only to spiritual law. And when we say that we frankly concede that we face a mystery too deep for our own comprehension. But this is a clear, indisputable fact of God’s selfrevelation; that He is omnipresent.

Jesus certainly claimed this attribute of God when He said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” The missionary in Africa, the Christian in China, the mountaineer in North America and the believer on the pampas of the sister continent of the south can all say at the same instant of time when they meet in the name of Christ, “Our Saviour is here with us.” That is imminence in the wider application.

The apprehension of this fact literally changed my ministry. When I was still young in the service I was pastor of a church in Los Angeles, and doing some study in an educational institution at the same time. My days and my nights were busy, and sometimes I think my sermons were woefully unprepared. A most dearly beloved relative by marriage, one whom we called Aunt Fanny, often dropped in to my church services to listen to my sermons. She was a devout and learned Bible student from whom I learned far more than she could have acquired from me. We went through a certain period when the epidemic of flu was abroad in the land, and I had had an amazing number of funerals to interrupt the routine of my week. I had been calling on the sick, keeping up my classroom attendance, burying the dead, and comforting the living. Sunday dawned with the necessity of preaching two sermons, neither of which was more than half prepared.

As I entered my pulpit that Sunday morning, I knew that my congregation would understand.

They knew what a terrific week I had gone through and would be very sympathetic, and I thus complacently excused my woeful condition of unpreparedness. But just as we opened the service, Aunt Fanny came through the front door and started down the aisle. At once my conscience smote me and I said to myself, “I just do not have the nerve to preach as poor a sermon as this with that great Bible student sitting there listening in sympathetic criticism.” So I turned to my assistant and said, “Al, you keep the meeting going until I get back.”

The door of my study opened off the main auditorium, right at the end of the platform. I slipped in and took down the notes of a sermon I had been working on and which I had intended to present a month later. It was only half finished but at that it was far better than the one I had left on the pulpit. I worked desperately to polish that one up while the opening services continued. By hard and fast work I stepped back into the pulpit with a handful of notes, just in time to fit the sermon into the service where it properly belonged.

If I do admit it myself, I did pretty well in that emergency; and I had my reward when Aunt Fanny kissed me at the door and said, “That was a good sermon. It showed considerable thought and study. Of course, it will be a lot better when you do more work on it, as you probably intended to do; but it was good and I enjoyed it.”

I beamed with delight at the success of my stratagem as she turned away. But a half hour later, as I was walking home to lunch, old man conscience rose up and smote me hip and thigh with everything he had. He said to me, “You claim to believe that when the people of God gather together Jesus is in their midst. You are perfectly willing to preach an unprepared sermon with Christ in the audience, when you felt it wasn’t fit for Aunt Fanny to listen to. Whose ministry are you serving—Aunt Fanny’s or Christ’s?”

I tell you, my conscience got me so far under the juniper bush that I spent all that afternoon working on my evening sermon! When the service was ready to begin, I played a little game with myself. I turned out the light in my study and pulled my big chair over in front of the door; I blocked the door open and said, “Now, Lord, you sit here in this easy chair where you can both see and hear.” That night I preached to that chair. It might sound childish to you, but I played that game for six months. I never entered my pulpit without pulling that chair in front of the door and inviting the Lord to attend the service. I preached to that chair, not to my congregation. It so transformed my ministry that within a few weeks I would not have cared if the King of England and the President of the United States and half the potentates of the world had walked in arm-in-arm to attend my morning service. I felt that if my message was good enough to present to Him Who is in the gathering wherever His people meet, no mortal ears could desire more.

I wonder how far that thought would go toward translating Christian theory into victorious living?

Do you practice the presence of Jesus Christ?

Is it an accepted and apprehended fact with you that Christ is with us wherever we go?

To enter into the full possession of this gracious fact would make our lives so pleasing to God men certainly could find no occasion for offense therein.

Add these things together: the five outstanding moral attributes of God, plus the three principal physical characteristics of deity, together with every other essence that makes up the Godhead was manifested by Jesus Christ in the years of His living among men. So the Colossian contention is vindicated — “It pleased God that in the body of Christ should dwell every attribute of the Godhead.”

If it is true that God is the sole, legitimate object of worship, the intelligent Christian will worship Jesus Christ as God and Saviour and honor Him as Master and Lord. 68~HR

We Come Then to the Passages Which Speak of Rapture.

TRACT begins above at: “Believers of the Church left to the Great Tribulation!“} 1. 1 Thess. 4.

2. 2 Thess. 2.

3. Matt. 24; 25.

4. And the passages in Revelation: Rev. 3:3, 10; 11:12; 12; 14.

1. Let us look then at 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 5:1-11.

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” {down to v. 11}

Now does this passage give us the rapture of the whole Church, as the result of grace to men possessed of faith?

Nothing of the kind! It answers the question which was then troubling the Thessalonian Christians — Whether death and burial were not effectual hindrances to enjoying a place in the millennial kingdom of Christ. And the answer is, ‘By no means! This physical barrier will in an instant be overcome by the power of Christ at His advent. The living will gain no step upon the departed; both will be secretly caught up [“in clouds”] to meet the Lord in air.’

May we now regard all modern Christians as occupying the same spiritual level with the Thessalonian Christians? Far from it! The Spirit of God praises their “work of faith, labour of love, and patience of the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1Th. 1:3. Could Christ praise all believers thus?

The Thessalonian Christians had “turned to God from idols, to serve the living and the true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom He, raised from the dead, even Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath:” 1Th. 1:9, 10.

68

Harry Rimmer, THE MAGNIFICENCE OF JESUS: The Coming King; chapters III & IV.

Now, are all converted persons serving God? Are they all waiting for God’s Son from heaven?

Are there not many who have turned away from the hope of Christ’s coming to idols, who will in consequence be left in the coming day of wrath? Are there not converted men among the Ritualists who worship the bread and wine, the Virgin, and the saints?

The world will be overtaken by the day of wrath ere they expect it. The Thessalonians would not, because they were awake to God’s invitation to his kingdom and glory: 1Th. 2:12. But most Christians are not aware of what the hope of their calling is, and are not seeking it. The majority of believers are spiritually asleep, like Sardis. And; as spiritually asleep, and like the world, they will be dealt with in the day of justice, as being of it. The rapture, as here shown, then, is something not attaching to the Church as a privilege of simple faith. The moral question is not directly touched on. But it is evident that Christians in general do not answer to the attainments of grace here given.

And the raptures are in connection with the kingdom of glory, and the day of judgment, not with faith and eternal life.

2. What says the Second Epistle?

“Now we beseech, you, brethren, by the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him that ye be not soon shaken from your intelligence as that the day of the Lord has set in.” 2Th. 2:1, 2. See the critical editions.

Here is rapture of saints, but not of “the Church” as a body. Is the Church in general in the state of grace here depicted? “We are bound to thank God always for you brethren, as it is meet because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth:” 2Th. 1:3, 5. These then were watchful saints, whom God was about “to count worthy of the, kingdom,” since they not only believed in it, but suffered for it.

They had been troubled by means of false testimony from three different quarters, to the effect, that that great and terrible period – “the Day of the Lord” - had already set in. And, if so, they were called to hide and to howl: Isaiah 2 & 13. But no! This time of the Church’s recognition by God is the day of God’s embassy of grace; and the day of justice cannot come without the watchful saints being caught away to the secret presence of Christ. The indignation of God cannot descend on the sinners of earth, till its sin has come to the height, and the False Christ, sweeping all the wicked into Satan’s net, have appeared in his power.

But the Apostle does not say that none of the believers of the Church can be in that day.

The contrary possibility was implied in the former epistle. It is implied here. While watchful saints, such as the Thessalonian Christians and Paul, who joins himself with them, would not be left on earth, he intimates the possibility of the unwatchful being left to that day. The opening for, this appears in the word “soon.” He does not say, that no evidence ought to prevail on the Christian to believe, that the dread day of God has begun; because none of the Church will be caught in that day.

He only gives them indications of the evidence which should convince any believers so left, that the day had begun. They were not soon, to be frightened out of their wits, as if the day had begun.

Before the wrath of the day be poured out, the waiters for Christ will be caught up to Him. Therefore, until a rapture of saints has taken place, we may be sure that the day of grace is lasting still. But as soon as the sudden disappearance of the watchful saints has taken place, all believers left on earth may know, that the Christ is secretly present, and the day of woe has set in. The removal of the watchful and prayerful ones will hasten on the full iniquity of earth. The Holy Spirit returns on high; He who now hinders the spirit of lawlessness will have departed. And with the removal of “the light of the world,” the world plunges into its deepest darkness. By the removal of the salt of the earth, the earth sinks into its deepest corruption. The careless and lukewarm believer, as the salt

that has lost its taste, no longer retains his place, but is cast out and trodden underfoot: Matt. 5:1314. Speedily will come the rejection by whole nations of the name of Christian, and out of that open wickedness and lawlessness springs the Lawless One, whom Christ at last ‘paralyses by the manifestation of his presence,’ which had so long taken place over earth in secret.

Let us now look at the evidence derived from our Lord’s prophetic parable:

Matt. 24:36-42 — “The Days of Noah.”

“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

1. “So shall be also THE PRESENCE of the Son of Man. “For as in the days that were before the Flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, 2. “Until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And they understood (it) not, 3. “Until the Flood came, and took away all.

“So shall be also THE PRESENCE of the Son of Man. 4. “Then two shall be in the field; one is taken, and one is left. Two (women) grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left.”

How are we to understand this parable? On two accordant principles. 1. This is THE PRESENCE parable. 2. It is to be interpreted by the HISTORY OF NOAH. The points of resemblance between the days of Noah, and the times yet future, as declared in the parable, are these:- (1) The time of God’s patience, in which we stand. (2) Judgment is threatened now, as it was by Noah then. (3) Mercy was promised to some before the judgment, and the instrument, of that mercy was the ark. (4) Till judgment came, men expressed their unbelief by a life after the flesh. So it is now, and will be increasingly so. (5) The sign given of God, was ‘Noah’s entry into the ark.’ That was a sign to the world, of wrath at the doors. (6) It was God’s last call to men to repent. But it was not understood, and passed unheeded, till judgment overwhelmed the unbelievers. (7) Then came destroying wrath on the world. (8) The answering sign then that is to be given – what is it? The taking and leaving!

1. But how are we to expound these? Some say, that it is the Jewish or earthly deliverance, that is here described. The taken are those cut off by judgment; the left are those who survive the judgments, and people the millennial earth.

2. To me it is certain, that the heavenly escape is before us; that which is designed for the Church of Christ. The taking is the deliverance in mercy; the left are those who have to pass through the Great Tribulation.

How shall the matter be decided?

1. The general subject of the prophecy on Olivet is our Lord’s coming in reference to his two peoples: (1) Israel and (2) the Church. Now, in order to meet His coming aright, the Saviour has commanded believers to maintain the attitude of watchfulness.

2. The Jewish deliverance is described in the first half of the prophecy. They are to escape by great activity. The sign once given, they are to flee without looking back: Matt. 24:16-18. In the

parable there is no activity on the part of the escaping. “One is taken, one is left.” Both are passive.

This then is not the Jewish, but the heavenly rescue.

3. Next, the word which describes the taking* does not mean destroying. The reader must distinguish between two very different words used in this parable. The one signifies “to take as a companion.” That is the word employed concerning the one taken. The other signifies “to take away, to destroy.” “The flood came, and took away them all.” This is paralleled in Luke 17:27-29, by the usual word for “destroy.” One is taken, then describes the favourable alternative. He is “taken as a companion.” This is the usual sense of the word. So Abraham “took with him” to the Mount “two of his young men and Isaac his son:” Gen. 22:3. (2) So Joseph took five of his brethren to the royal presence of Pharaoh: Gen. 47:2. It is the same word which in the New Testament our Lord employs concerning his reception of his people. “I will come again and receive you to myself:” John 14:3. For some other passages the reader may consult Acts 12:25; 15:37-38; Gal. 2:1; where there is an added preposition, which points out companionship still more definitely.* Moreover, the matter is to be expounded by the history of Noah. Now, in Noah’s day the distinction of Jew and Gentile did not exist. The flood overswept the whole earth, and the witness of coming judgment embraced the whole earth. The Saviour’s title here is not Jewish. He calls Himself “Son of man.”

That is the title which he takes when He puts away his Jewish title: Matt. 16:20, 27, 28. It is one which describes Him as acting upon the whole earth. * Two passages have been cited as exceptions to this sense: Matt. 27:27; and John 19:6. Here wicked men took the Lord as their companion. But the question is easily decided by asking, Who takes here? It is the Lord of “the Presence,” even as Noah was the taker of old.

4. Watchfulness against an expert thief is not an attitude given to Israelites; as it is here: Mat. 24:42. They are men of sight, not of faith. They are to flee when they SEE the idol lifted up on the temple. They are to see the Son of man coming in the clouds: Matt. 24:5, 30.

5. The scene is to be expounded by the days of Noah. Was there any taking and leaving then?

Yes! “Of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee. They shall be male and female; of fowls after their sort, and of cattle after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee to keep them alive:” Gen. 6:19, 20.

6. The taking then was by Noah, and in mercy. So was it also in the days of Lot, to which in the parallel passage of Luke 17, our Lord compares these days: Gen. 19:16. “The angels laid hold” on Lot and his family and led them out from the place of danger.

The taking here is to be expounded by Noah’s day. Who took? Noah! Who will take then?

Christ! into whose “Presence” the saint is to be ushered. In the old-world escape, Noah and his family had to enter the refuge on their feet. For the ark was then on earth. But now the ark of our Noah is “the Presence” in the air. And into that our powers of natural progression will not enable us to climb. Therefore, the words describing the [watchful] believer’s entry on the Presence of Christ are passive. “Watch, therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to be set before the Son of man:” (Greek) Luke 21:36.

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught away together with them in clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:” 1Th. 4:17. “Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him:” Gen. 5:24.

7. The taking in Noah’s day has two aspects, according as we look at it as affecting the taken, or the left.

(1) To the taken, it was an escape from wrath. (2) To those left, it was a sign.

Observe, our Lord is referring, not to Noah’s entry on the new earth after the Flood was past, but to his entering into the ark, in the days previous to the Flood; and to the destruction wrought by the Flood on those outside the refuge of the ark. Those left where they were, perished. Those who perished were those who remained where they were, and who were not transferred to the new sphere of safety. Those left outside were the taken away by judgment. So the saved are the taken to Christ’s Presence.

8. Whither were the rescued taken? To the ark. For what purpose? To be kept alive. They were led out of the place of sin, on which woe was coming into the place of mercy. The left outside the ark on earth were left to the flood. There was then a needed transfer from the scene, of trouble to the scene of peace. Noah and his saved ones abandoned their previous place to enter on the provided refuge. It is so here. The words, “The one was taken,” denote the needed transfer out of the world, which lies under sin and death, into the Presence on high. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” Psa. 91:1-4. All others perished in the flood: Gen. 7:23. “Thou shalt bring into the ark to keep them alive with thee.” The taking then, as viewed in the light of Christ’s choice of his companions to enter the Presence, is one of honour.

Hence the leaving is comparative dishonour. Viewed as the act of Christ coming as the thief (Mat. 24:43), it has the same signification. The expert thief discriminates between the more and the less valuable article, and while he takes the one, he leaves the other.

9. Now, as he who was left outside the ark, was left to the terrors of the flood, so it is here. The one left must pass through the Great Tribulation, which answers to the flood of old. The feasters and the marrying ones are left outside the refuge, to pass through the day of trouble; and the left one is left to the same time, and in the place of danger and dismay.

10. What was the time of that taking and that escape? “In the days that were before the Flood.”

So it is to be in the days that are coming. The taking is the sign of the coming judgment, and so cannot be the effect of the judgment already come. It is the deliverance out of the woe by Jesus.

Now, as we are taught to pray, that we may be “accounted worthy” of this escape, so Paul comforts the watchful believer with the assurance of it. The Presence of Christ shall gather him to Himself, and so he shall not be in the tempest of that evil day. “Now we beseech you brethren, by the Presence of our Lord Jesus Chrst, and our gathering together to him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled ... as if the Day of the Lord (great and terrible) had set in:” 2 Thess. 2:1.

11. Let us now regard the taking and the leaving as THE SIGN. The entry of Noah and his family into the ark, conveying thither the furniture and crockery of their house was a sign to the world. It said: ‘The hundred and twenty years of God’s promised patience are over. The clock of God is striking; judgment is at the door!’

12. A sign was needed in order to show where our day of mercy ends, and “the days of vengeance” begin. The removal of the watchful of the Church tells men that the Church’s standing and testimony are then by God removed. The Church is the witness of God’s mercy; of the acceptable time; of the day of salvation: 2 Cor. 5.

13. The sign in Noah’s day was a disappearance of the favoured ones in the ark. It is so in the coming day. The taken is caught away to the Presence in the twinkling of an eye, and is no more seen. “He was not found, for God took him:” Gen. 5:24.

14. The sign to the world in Noah’s day was a miraculous one. That birds, beasts, reptiles, the wild and tame of every sort, should come, and in the prescribed numbers, trooping to the one refuge of the ark, was a miracle. The taking here is miraculous also. It is the Lord’s lifting up to himself his people out of earth into heaven. In Luke 17 another feature of the wonder is given.

From within the locked house and the barred chamber of midnight, one shall be stolen away; so that, in the morning, of two in the same bed only one shall be found. Walls, doors, and roof remain as they were, but this Master-thief has abstracted one of them. Luke 17:34.

15. It is a sign to Israel. It is the sign of the unseen Presence. “Ye shall not see me till ye say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” They need then a sign of what they see not. It is the miraculous absence which betokens the heavenly Presence of the Son of man. One of God’s two people is made a sign to the other. The rapture of one of the superior [obedient] people into the heaven is the sign of Christ’s love to his watchful saint; a love greater far than that to Israel: Rev. 3:10. It was also foretold that so it should be. “Behold I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of Hosts:” Isa. 8:18. “What shall be the sign of thy Presence?” said the disciples to our Lord. Here it is given: ‘As Enoch was taken to heaven, and as Elijah, so shall Christ’s watchful ones be accounted worthy to disappear from earth.’

16. It is a sign also to the unbelievers of the world. It calls to them to cease marrying and feasting, to be upon their knees in sackcloth and ashes; for the day of judgment on the living is come. But the men of the old world disregarded the sign given. They were so enwrapped in the things of time, as to be insensible to this call of the Most High. They had refused the testimony of wrath coming, and were blind to the meaning of its sign. It will be thus, when this marvellous sign shall be given. Faith will see in the sudden disappearance of the Lord’s diligent seekers the reward which God gave of old. Faith will interpret it of the Lord’s hand of power. But the men of unbelief will see in it only the fraud of man, and will ridicule the idea of a miracle. For nothing is seen. And they will lay themselves to slumber afresh, with “Peace and safety” on their lips, till judgment, not to be escaped, swallows them up!

17. On the opposite view, the taking, and the leaving are only the result of judgment in men’s destruction, and therefore are no sign at all. All are involved in the same tempest, and who is to be cut off and who to be spared can only be known when the wrath is past.

18. Look also at the significance of the two in the light of Noah’s day. “Of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee. They shall be male and female.” “There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God commanded Noah.” “They went in unto Noah into the ark two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him, and the Lord shut him in:” Gen. 6:19; 7:9, 15. Accordingly we have “the two” prominent here, and the male and the female are set side by side. “Then shall TWO (men) be in the field: one is taken, and one is left. Two (women) grinding at the mill: one is taken, and one is left.”

Noah took only a selection from the animals, and those left outside the ark were cut off.

The same prominence is given to the two in the rapture of Elijah. The two cross the Jordan, and are close one to the other, when a chariot of fire appears and Elijah is caught up by a whirlwind into heaven: 2 Kings 2. Four times in the Hebrew occur the “two.”

19. The two are quite distinct from the world in its feasting and marrying. They are of the poor, working in the sweat of their brow. And such are those whom in general God has chosen to His Kingdom and glory: Luke 6:20. They are the few, in comparison of earth’s many rioters. And it was the few (that is eight souls) that were saved in the ark.

20. What shall we say is the spiritual character of the two? Are they to be distinguished thus?

‘The taken is a believer; the left one is an unbeliever.’ No; both are [regenerate] believers. This is proved by the closing words of the parable, “Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord is coming.” This gives us the certain key to the interpretation. It is not the Lord in his

sovereignty dealing with some in his good pleasure. Then the lesson would have been to bow with submission to Him who is not bound to render a reason of his dealings to any. But no! ‘tis the day of rewarding each according to his obedience to Christ. And so it is intimated, that the reason of the difference is, that the one is watchful, the other is not. Now, if they thus differ, both are believers. The same follows from the words, “Your Lord is coming.” The Presence is the Presence of Christ “the Master” of both; that is, both are his servants. Else the appropriate call to the one left had been to bid him turn to God. But the cry, “Watch,” supposes the possession of life in both.

They differ as the “ready” from the unready. Here again we tread on certain ground. That is the feature of the accepted of that day. “Therefore be ye also ready:” 44. “They that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins.” Here is the entry into the Presence of those rapt to Christ, and the left are the foolish, who are kept outside.

But the distinction of “ready” and “unready” is not a radical difference like that between the renewed and the ungodly. It is a difference only; such as obtains between two [regenerate] believers, the one of whom accepts all Christ’s truth, the other does not.

21. It has been proved, then, by many arguments, that the taking is the favourable alternative.

The parable refers all to the Saviour’s coming and presence; and to be taken to that is honour and blessing. The being left, then, is dishonour and trouble. What in Noah’s day came after the entry of the favoured ones into the ark? The Flood! The left one, then, is left for that which answers to the Flood, the period of the Great Tribulation to come.

Accordingly the parable which next follows, of the robbed householder unfolds to us the case of the left one. He is dishonoured, for his Lord in choosing his companion has passed by himself. He has lost the hope given in prophecy. He has not “watched and prayed always;” and as the consequence he cannot now escape the troubles coming on the world, while his companion has been set before the Son of man with joy: Luke 21:36. Had he been watchful, his house would not have been broken into. He differs from the favoured householder, in having slept, when he should have kept awake; and the issue is his being left amidst the increasing and outbursting sinfulness of men, and the last judgments of God. The article left by the intelligent thief is always less valuable than the one taken. And Christ is here the thief: Mat. 24:43.

22. The same truth comes out in a view of the Steward: Mat. 24:45-51. That is not a Jewish parable. For God is not now owning Israel. But there the steward is by Christ set over his household, and is recompensed according as he is watchful or not. The same thing appears on a study of the Virgins. That presents to us the presence of Christ, as it affects the dead in Christ: “the sleepers” of 1 Thess. 4.* But I will not enter minutely into either of these. [* Note. This resurrection - (in 1 Thess. 4:16) – is therefore, “at the coming of the Lord.” That is, at the time when He will return to this earth and establish His kingdom here: and it is a select resurrection from the dead from amongst those who are now in Hades, who will “inherit the kingdom” (Gal. 5:21; 1 Cor. 6:10). cf. Rev. 6:9-11; 20:4-6.]

23. This view of the taking and leaving is so greatly confirmed by three incidents of our Lord’s life, which I call ‘the Three Companionships,’ that in justice to the argument I must exhibit them.

They are all - so important does the Holy Spirit consider them - narrated by the three first Gospels, and in each of the three incidents occurs the Greek word here used.

1. THE FIRST COMPANIONSHIP: Mark 5; Matt. 9; Luke 8.

Jesus has called a publican to be an apostle, and the men of the old covenant are stumbled at the Saviour’s eating with sinners, a grace suited only to the new dispensation. He is advised to give to His disciples orders to fast, as did the law and its followers. The Saviour refuses. The time was not

suitable. Moreover, His doctrine was not a clearing of the law from the misapprehensions of its teachers; He brought an entirely new doctrine. And any attempt to mingle the new truths with the old rites would only bring destruction upon both.

Two incidents, then, at once occur, to illustrate to us, that the Saviour is ruler alike of the old things and the new. 1. He is asked to go and raise the dead and He leaves the house of the feast, in order to effect this purpose. 2. On the way, one unclean in the sight of the law, and unable to obtain a cure, touches the hem of our Lord’s robe, and is healed at once. This is typical. Unrighteous Israel, that has in vain sought righteousness by law, obtains righteousness by touching in faith the robe of righteousness woven by Christ, the Righteous One. The woman confesses her cure, and is accepted for her faith.

Jesus then moves onward to the house of Jairus. But He allows neither the healed woman, nor any of the spectators to enter the house. He takes as His companions into the [house the] scene of resurrection only three even of the apostles – “Peter, James, and John.” He next tests the faith of those within the house. This, which they are lamenting as death, is, in the presence of the Lord, only sleep. Thy laugh Him to scorn. And He puts them all out of the house. He enters then into the chamber of the dead, and at His word and touch, she arises. The woman is unclean for twelve years.

The girl raised from the dead is twelve years of age. The Church began to enter on life, when Israel was wholly rejected as unclean. She is restored to life, when the remnant of Israel finds Christ to be the Lord our righteousness.

In this instance both the taken and the left are believers; the three taken are the honoured disciples. The nine left outside are dishonoured. And the Saviour requires the first of the resurrections to be kept a secret.

2. THE SECOND COMPANIONSHIP: Matt. 16, 17.

Israel has blasphemed the Holy Ghost; and the Lord puts on the veil of parable. They will not repent, despite His awful words. He then draws out of the mouth of the twelve the evidence of His nation’s unbelief in Himself. He demands what is the disciples’ view of Him, and Peter proclaims Him the Christ, the son of the living God. The Saviour owns this confession as the result of living faith, bestowed on the beloved of the Father; and declares that to be the creed of the Church which He is about to build. “The Gates of Hades shall not prevail against it,” for the Lord will open the gates for the dead in Christ; and then shall begin “the kingdom of heaven,” or the day of the millennial reign. Those who wish to have part in that must deny themselves, and follow in His steps. For He is coming again, and that day will be the day of justice, in which He will render to each according to his conduct! In order that it may be seen that these are not empty words, He would give to some of those listening to Him a picture of that coming kingdom of glory, of which He was so continually speaking.

Accordingly, on the seventh day after, He chooses Peter, James, and John, as His companions, and “takes them up* into an high mountain apart” by night. Here is then a type of the rapture. But it is not a taking of all the disciples. Not all even of the apostles are taken, nor the major part of them. The three favoured ones behold Jesus in His glory, and two others in glorified bodies also; one, representing the dead raised (Moses); the other, those who shall be caught up without death to His presence (Elijah). * [The Greek word … here is] used by all three Gospels. Also … Matt. 17:1.

What became of the nine apostles? They were left at the foot of the Mount till the next day.

They are powerless against a demoniac brought to them. Cavillers are there taunting them with their want of power, when Jesus descends. He comes with a word of strong rebuke in His mouth.

“O faithless and perverse generation! How long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you?”

Thus the nine apostles are addressed, as among the rest. At all events, our Lord does not discriminate them.

Here again, both the taken and the left are believers. The taken are the honoured; the left, the dishonoured ones. The left are found below in circumstances which typify the time of unbelief and of trouble.

3. THE THIRD COMPANIONSHIP, OR GETHSEMANE. After the Last Supper Jesus assures the apostles, that Satan had obtained permission to sift them, and that the whole of them would that night stumble at His arrest. Peter and the others refuse to accept the warning. Peter especially is possessed with the spirit of the Old Covenant. “All that the Lord hath said, we will do.” He is not, then, one of the poor in spirit, for whom the kingdom of glory is prepared. He has to learn his need of strength divine to be able to stand in the day of trial. Such is the temper of some Christians now, who think themselves competent to face the coming storm of unbelief.

The Saviour enters the garden, and bids the disciples to watch and pray, that they might be kept out of temptation. He then takes as His companions the same favoured three, Peter, James, and John, tells them of the awful weight and anguish which are oppressing His soul, and bids them to stay there apart from the remaining eight, and watch with Him. He goes alone, and earnestly beseeches, that, if possible, His Father would remove the bitter cup.

He comes back to the disciples, and finds them asleep. He wakes them, and addresses a word of rebuke, especially to Peter – ‘So you could not watch a single hour with me!’ “Watch, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.”

He departs again and prays the same prayer. Returning the second time, He finds them asleep once more. “And He left them and departed.”

There is a brief interval, during which He prays the third time. Returning again, and finding them once more asleep, He assures them, that there was now no escape. The hurricane was upon them! While He yet was speaking Judas and his band came. Peter for a moment resists with the sword, and is rebuked. “Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.” Peter venturing in to the assembly of the Saviour’s foes, is drawn into denying his Master with oaths and curses!

Can any, in view of “the days of Noah,” mistake the bearing and lesson of this incident? Here Jesus by facts the most striking confirms His solemn warnings to [regenerate] believers: Mark 13:33-37.

“Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is, for the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch.”

In these words we see what will be the result to the unwatchful disciple. He who is seen on the former occasions as Light scattering the darkness, and as Life undoing death, is in the garden left to endure (while innocent) the burthen of sin. There Light is wrapt in darkness, and Life is pressed almost to the gates of death.

The hour of the Saviour’s foes, and of Satan’s power of darkness will once again be upon the sleepers, ere they are aware, and in the storm the left [unwatchful and disobedient] ones will fall as did Peter and the others. The three privileged to be in the former two scenes of power and glory, were then left to the day of trial. It is not with impunity, that any disciple, however favoured,

can disregard any command of the Master. Something more than the simple faith which avails for [eternal] salvation is required to escape this tempest. And the watchfulness which our Lord calls for is not possessed by the great majority of [regenerate] believers; while some leaders in His Church are defeating by their teaching this special injunction of our Lord.

Let us now examine some of

the testimony of the BOOK OF REVELATION to the same truth.

In the phrase, then, ‘the Rapture of the Church,’ two fallacies lie couched.

(1) It is assumed, that there is to be a rapture of the Church, as the Church. It is not so. The rapture of reward takes effect on the watchful [and obedient] of the Church; the unwatchful being left to the Day of Trouble.

(2.) The second assumption is, that only one rapture is to take place. Now the Book of Revelation will show seven raptures; or at all events, there are seven distinct notices of rapture; though it may be, that two or more notices may refer to the same rapture.

‘In the Apocalypse the Church is not seen after chapter 3.’

True! But it does not therefore follow, that all the Church are rapt at once, in grace. Nor does it follow, that the twenty-four elders are the Church.

After chapter 3, the Church has lost its standing as God’s witness on earth. For the Church bears witness to the day of God’s mercy: 2 Cor. 5:18; 6:12. Its standing is lost as soon as the day of judgment begins. And this is the force of 2 Thess. 2. The testimony had gone forth at Thessalonica, that the day of judgment had set in. Paul denies it, and denounces the falsehood. Else we ought not to be rejoicing in God, but to be hiding and howling: Isa. 2; 13:6; Jer. 4:6-10. The Apostle could not deny, that to be in the terrible day of wrath was woe; but he is able to comfort us with the assurance, that till the watchful of the Church are carried above, the day with its sins and its punishments, cannot come. With Rev. 4., the throne of judgment is set, and the day of grace and of the Church is past.

When the ready ones of the churches are stolen away from on earth, the great body of believers, lukewarm and careless, will be left; and while the kernel has been scooped out, the shell looks much as it was. So, after Christ had reduced the temple of the Lord to be only Israel’s house, it yet looked to all outward appearance the same as before.

The Apocalypse gives us the government of God in relation to heaven, Hades, and earth. It views every thing in the light of the coming day of the Lord. The Saviour in the first vision is not presented as the Lord of grace, but as the Risen High Priest of the heavenly places; with eyes of fire, feet of brass (Mic. 4:13), and sword of double edge.

Revelation 2. & 3.

The book of Revelation is divided by our Lord into three parts: Rev. 1:19. The first consists of the vision of Christ, the stars, and the lamps. Then come “the things that are,” or the churches in their varied states, during the time that God is pleased to recognize them. Then comes the prophetic portion, “the things which are about to be after these things.” (Greek.)

The seven churches are all assemblies of believers. No others are God’s assembly. No others are lights on high. It is not ‘the Church of Thyatira,’ or ‘of Ephesus,’ but ‘the Church in Ephesus,’ ‘the Church in Thyatira.’ It is, therefore, manifestly to err, to suppose any of these churches to signify ‘Protestantism,’ or ‘Popery.’

State establishments are Babylon, or ‘confusion.’ The angel is the apostle or chief pastor. He is not the representative of the Church. He is an individual distinct from the rest of the body, ruling

them. The separate symbols of the stars and the lamps prove this at once to the candid. {Why not the Holy Ghost in each church? cf., Dt. 33:2-3; Hab. 3:3; Rev. 1:16, 20; 2:1; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6}

The Church, in view of the coming day, is not one. Paul discovers it to us as one; for he is the witness of its standing in the day of grace. But in view of Christ’s demands on believers as the answer to privileges given, the Church is divided into seven contemporaneous portions. And the spiritual response to Christ’s claims given by each Church is different from that given by any other Church. Responsibility is not one, but diverse, and local. Ephesus is not responsible for Sardis, nor Sardis for Laodicea.

Let us now look at the four last of the seven churches. For in these the readiness or unreadiness for Christ’s appearing comes into view.

THYATIRA This Church, like all the others, is divided into overcoming believers, and believers overcome.

The promises are made to the conquerors, and the things promised are exclusive of all those who do not fulfil the conditions supposed in them. The promises belong to the Government of God as “the Righteous Judge.”

In this Church, amidst much that the Saviour could approve, the wife of the apostle (or chief pastor) was a grievous offender.* She was not only evil herself, but by false doctrine and alluring arts, she led Christ’s servants ([regenerate] believers only are Christ’s servants) back into heathenism and its corruption. Now, while the Spirit promises to those ‘who turn from idols to serve the living God, and to wait for His Son from heaven’ that they shall escape the wrath coming on the living world, this of course does not include those believers who, as in this case, turned from Christ to idols: 1 Thess. 1:9. If any are of the world’s works and on the world’s level in that day, when God in government is not regarding faces, they will be treated as the world; and left amidst the judgments which are to overtake it, after the watchful of the churches have been caught away: 1 Thess. 5. * That this is the true reading is clear. (1) What power had the angel (or the church, if you will) over a “woman” merely? (2) The documentary evidence for the reading is good. (3) The probability arising from the later doctrines current in patristic times, was that the obnoxious “thy” would be removed. (4) It is the more difficult reading.

Accordingly our Lord threatens judgment on her, her paramours [i.e., on her lovers], and her children. He alludes to Jehu’s vengeance on Jezebel and her sons. To this refer his eyes on fire with indignation. And, as Jehu trod Jezebel underfoot after she was cast down, so the Saviour significantly speaks of his feet of brass.

“I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation.” Here then some of Christ’s servants of the Church will be cast into great tribulation sent in displeasure.

Much more then, may some of Christ’s people in the Church, less grossly offending, be left in great tribulation if they be found after such warning impenitent, as Jezebel was.* * This come to its height is Babylon, as seen. in Rev. 17; 18. In 18:21, we have her casting down.

In ver. 7-10 the Trouble, and the ‘Death’ (or ‘pestilence’).

‘Ah, but no time is specified, as that in which the Great Tribulation here threatened shall take place.’

Therefore it leaves all times that suit the Lord open. The woe must be fulfilled some day; it may be fulfilled any day. And there is no time so suited, as that when the throne of judgment (chap. 4.) is set, and the day of patience is over. Here then our proposition is proved. Some of the Church will be offenders in like sort in the latter day, and retribution will be dealt out to them as here foretold;

that is, they will have to pass through the Great Tribulation, which is the consequence of the erection of God’s throne of judgment.

How clearly this is the result of the great principle announced by our Lord’s own lips in verse 23. “All the churches shall know that I am the searcher of reins and hearts, and I WILL GIVE TO EACH OF YOU ACCORDING TO YOUR WORKS.” As the conduct of each believer of the Church deserves, Christ will measure to him. If so, then, [regenerate] believers who have fallen to the world’s level will be treated as of the world.

The Saviour goes on to notice that not all the Church in Thyatira had thus fallen. Hence he, discriminates, “To you I say, the rest in Thyatira.” “I will put upon you no other burden; but What ye have already, hold fast till I open.”* That is, while some would find the ark door shut, to others it would be open, and their escape of the day of trouble secure. * I read Avoiew*. [*See correct Greek lettering for this word.] (1) It is well supported, and is (2) the more difficult reading. { ἄν ἥκω an hḗkō } The reference, “till I open,” is probably to the scene of Jehu’s Anointing. He is God’s avenger.

To him is sent a messenger prophet with a box of oil, which he was to pour on his head. “Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Israel.” “Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not:” 2 Kings 9:3, 10. So, when Christ opens the door, His obedient ones will escape, while his Avenger takes His terrible course.

Jesus is seen fulfilling this word, as soon as the churches are dismantled, and the throne of judgment is set: 4:1, 2. “After these things, I saw, and behold, a door was opened in heaven, and (there was) the first voice which I heard as it were of a trumpet talking with me [Christ, 1: 10], saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must take place after these things.”

“Immediately I became in the spirit, and behold a throne was being set in the heaven, and upon the throne a sitter!” This throne is like Mount Sinai. Out of it proceed lightning, thunders, voices; and from it go forth messengers of death and judgment.

To reign with Christ in his millennial day is a promise to the obedient and victorious ones of the churches. “He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.”

SARDIS Jesus as Son of God addresses with solemn words this leader of the Church in Sardis. Great was his reputation, but his liveliness of faith was gone. Life was still there, and he was to become watchful, and strengthen whatever of good in himself or in the Church was left: for his duties before God had been left unfulfilled. He was to repent of his coldness; and to hold fast what he retained of former truth and practice. But, “If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will arrive over thee* as a thief, and thou shall not recognise what hour I arrive over thee.” The angel then of Sardis, and the main body of the Church there would be left in the day of Great Trouble. For Christ will have descended secretly from His Father’s throne into the air. He has arrived over the earth as the Thief. He has put forth His hand, and has taken away from earth His watchful ones. But the spiritual sleepers are not aware of his arrival. Had they been caught up to his Presence, they would have known it in the best way. But here the warning of our Lord and the history of Gethsemane lend us full light. “Lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping.” And so in the eventful night of the Lord’s betrayal He came to the disciples, found them asleep, and left them. Thus will it be with believers of the Church who are spiritually asleep. They will be caught in the Day of Trouble as were the eleven apostles.

How many [regenerate] disciples (not [nominal,] “mere professors”) are in darkness, so that “the day will overtake them as a thief!”

So, Moses and Joshua arrived over the camp quite unexpectedly, and saw the feast, the idol, and the dancing and judgment encircled both Aaron and the seventy elders who had left their lofty place against orders (Ex. 24:14), as well as the multitude in general (Ex. 32:17-29). Were apostles in the trouble that began in Gethsemane? Much more shall sleeping private saints be found in the Trouble to come.

But this Church also has a remnant. “Thou hast a few names in Sardis, which have not defiled their raiment. And they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He that thus overcometh (Greek) shall be clothed in white raiment.” Some of the Church [like that] of Sardis then are [will be] on high caught up among the Great Multitude of chapter 7. But of this bye, and bye.

PHILADELPHIA Here is a chief pastor and a Church without rebuke. Jesus presents himself to them as possessed of all the treasures of David, for He holds the key of them. It is His to open and none can shut; to shut, and none can open. It is He who opens the door into heaven, at which John enters, while the throne of judgment is being placed on high. If any then be taken up by Christ, Satan cannot hinder.

And if Christ leave any, he cannot enter.

“Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee out of the hour of the temptation that is about to come on the whole habitable earth, to try the dwellers upon the earth.”

Behold then a special reward annexed by our Lord to a special excellence. The angel had kept ‘the word of Christ’s patience.’ This may be taken either as signifying ‘the doctrine of Christ’s awaiting his [millennial] kingdom,’ or (2) ‘the doctrine of the Christian’s patiently waiting for Christ’s coming and kingdom.’ Either way, the sense is nearly the same. Now, are all Christians keeping this word of Christ’s patience? Do all teach or own Christ’s kingship as “Son of David?” The large majority of believers (not “mere professors”) do not accept this truth. How then can anyone, instructed in the Scripture, assume so quietly: “Therefore the Church will not be in the Great Tribulation?” It is a special promise to some believers. Some Christians openly profess themselves “citizens of earth,” instead of being “pilgrims and strangers”. As then the promise embraces the latter, the former are excluded. The hour of temptation will seize upon those who are morally and spiritually “dwellers upon the earth.” The escaping by rapture that Day of Trouble then is not a matter of grace, but the result of a being “accounted worthy to escape:” Luke 21:36; 2 Thess. 1:5, 11.

It is fulfilled by being rapt to heaven.

LAODICEA Laodicea occupies the lowest point at which Christ can recognize a church. It is characterized by high thoughts of itself, and low thoughts and affections toward Christ. It is the lukewarm water, which is about to be cast out of Christ’s mouth. It is the tasteless salt, which is to he cast out of the house, and to be trodden underfoot by men. Thus from the beginning of His ministry our Lord foretold the falling away of some of the disciples from their love and obedience to Him, and to His words, and their consequent loss of standing before God and man: Matt. 5:13. Behold, then, the ground on which He will discriminate in the day to come. He will not act in the same way towards a Philadelphian, and towards a Laodicean believer. Their difference of lot will make known to themselves and others what Christ thinks of them. When the Philadelphian is caught on high, the Laodicean is spued out below. Some Laodiceans will be left on earth even till the last vial. The shame of their nakedness will appear. Compare Rev. 3:18, with Rev. 16:15.

No better portion of the Church, no remnant appears here. It is only, “If any one hear My voice.” Nevertheless the Lord ceases not to love them, and therefore rebukes, (19) and will chasten them, by leaving them to the fierce persecution of the coming day.

THE THRONE AND ELDERS. Rev 4. & 5.

As soon as sentence is passed on Laodicea and its angel, the scene changes. A new throne is set in the heaven, and to it John is caught up: Rev. 4:1, 2. Here is the first rapture. It is apparently destined for those who occupy the moral place of the apostle, as partakers in the tribulation and kingdom, and patient waiting for Christ: Rev. 1:9. The first rapture, then, takes place just after the day of grace is over. It is a blessing, to be meted out to the watchful ones by the new throne of judgment.

It is a thing to be attained by watchfulness, and prayer to escape: Luke 21:36. It is certain, then, that as the great majority of Christians have not this attitude, they will fail of the blessing attached to it. That day will come upon them as a snare, for they are in spirit dwellers on earth, and occupied with its cares: Luke 21:34, 35.

The throne of God here is the throne of government, and therefore of justice, which awards to each his place according to works. The kingdom is given to Christ as the worthy One, and to His disciples, if accounted worthy: Rev. 5:9; Luke 20:35; 2 Thess. 1:5, 11; Rev. 3:4; 1 Thess. 2:12.

The resurrection and entry of any one into the [millennial] kingdom of the Christ is not granted to any as a ‘believer’ simply, but as ‘righteous,’ or a ‘saint:’ Matt. 10:41. The resurrection is “the resurrection of the just,” or “of the righteous:” Luke 14:14. The kingdom is that of ‘the saints:’ Dan. 7; .1 Cor. 6:2-11; Matt. 5:6, 20; 6:33; 13:43, 49; 25:37, 46; 1 Pet. 4:18; Heb. 12:14. The day is that of “the manifestation of God’s righteous judgment:” Rom. 2. Now that cannot be shown except God deal with elect and non-elect alike, according to their works. The principle affects first Christ Himself (Heb. 1:8, 9; Phil. 2), then His members, and then both Israel and the Gentiles.

The elders and living creatures first celebrate the worthiness of God as Creator, and then the worthiness of Christ.

Who are these elders? Some say, ‘The Church.’ What is the evidence for it? The interpolated ‘us’ in Rev. 5:9. But critics are now satisfied that we should read “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and redeemedst [us] to God by thy blood (some) out, of every kindred and tongue, and people, and nation, and madest them to our God kings and priests, and they shall reign over the earth.” Now, if that be the true reading the ‘us’ must be rejected, not, only as unnecessary and as having the air of a gloss; but as making one party to be redeemed by blood, and another party to reap the fruits of it in their kingly and priestly dignity.

No other evidence is adduced in proof that the elders are the Church. But there is plenty of evidence against it. (1) Their number ‘twenty-four.’ The Church’s numbers are ‘one,’ and ‘seven.’

How do you make out the twenty-four? (2) They praise God for creation: is that the Church’s calling? Rev. 4:11. (3) They appear enthroned and crowned, before Christ is seen as the Lamb. (4) They never give Christ the glory of their salvation and their exalted station. (5) They speak of those redeemed by the blood of Christ as about to supplant them as God’s kings and priests. Will the Church ever be so superseded? (6) They never appear when the accepted ones of the Church reign with Christ: Rev. 20:4-6. (7) They do not make their appearance in the eternal state.

Who are they then? The chiefs of the angels. And they exhibit the beauty of our Lord’s words: “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” They confess their own unworthiness to reign in the presence of the slain Lamb. They retire without a murmur, and leave their dignities to Him and them. The settling of this point is of much moment; for if you place the Church where it is not, you have to deny evidence of its existence, and to displace it, where it does really appear.

THE GREAT MULTITUDE. 7:9-17.

Here are the results of the Second Rapture. Peter at Pentecost cites the signs which are to precede the great and terrible day of the Lord: Acts 2:19-21. Until they have come, it is the time of the proclamation of forgiveness of sins, and present salvation may go on. But in the sixth seal we have the “wonders in heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath.” “The sun is turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,” as Peter speaks.

The elect out of Israel’s tribes are first shown us Rev. 7:1-8. They are on earth, and are sealed on the forehead, that they may escape the woes coming on the earth.

Then we have the Great Multitude gathered out of all the nations. Who are they? Accepted ones of the Church of Christ are among them. Where are they? Mr. Darby strangely says, ‘they are on earth.’ He gives no proof. Only his theory requires that they should not be the Church, for the twenty-four elders are in heaven already, he says, as representatives of the Church.

It is, however, perfectly clear that the Great Multitude is in heaven.

1. Else they could not be “in front of the throne and of the Lamb.” Wherever this phrase is used, the things, or persons so described are in heaven. (1) Grace and peace ... “from the seven Spirits which are before the throne:” Rev. 1:4; 4:5. Is not the Holy Spirit hereby shown to be in heaven? (2) “Before the throne is a sea of glass:” Rev. 4:6, 10. That is a part of the temple of heaven. (3) The elders worship “before the throne.” Are not they in heaven Mr. D. supposes they are. They are ‘the rapt Church then found in heaven.’ If so, then, this multitude also are in heaven.

The temple is in heaven. The throne is the centre of the temple. They stand in front of the throne. Was Israel still in Egypt when they stood before the Presence of the Lord at Sinai? Neither then is this Great Multitude in front of the throne.

2. This Great Multitude are the priests risen from the dead. For they “serve God day and night in His temple:” Rev. 7:15. Now the flesh could not sustain such continuous. service.

3. Moreover, the temple in which they minister is in heaven. “A door is opened in heaven:” Rev. 4:1. John ascends, and is within the temple, and beholds in its centre the throne. See also Rev. 11:19; 14:17; 15:5; 17:17.

‘But I saw no temple,’ says John.

No, not in the final state and place, the City of God. But till the millennium is past, the temple abides. Till then, the Great Multitude is keeping “the feast of tabernacles” on high; God himself spreading tent over them: Rev. 7:15 {margin}. They are “the tabernaclers in heaven,” and therefore they are rejoicing because they are out of the reach of Satan, who in that day is cast into earth. Rev. 12:9. It is because of this deliverance from his power that Satan’s king blasphemes them, for he cannot in any other way assail them. “He opened his mouth for blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle - those who are tabernacling in the heaven:” Rev. 13:6.

(True reading.)

4. Some, if not all of them, are of the Church. They know the Father and the Son, before whom they stand. This is characteristic, of the Church: 1 John. {Fellowship & Knowledge} They celebrate the praises of the Father and the Son, ascribing to them their salvation. Salvation and the kingdom are now come to heaven.

5. As possessed of white robes, they are justified. The Church is washed, as they are, from sins, in the blood of the Lamb. White robes, to be procured by Christ, were needed by Laodicea. The remnant in the Church of Sardis should walk with Christ in white, as worthy.

These then whom Christ robes in white, and leads, are of the Church: Rev. 7:17; 3:4, 5. The knowledge of the blood of the Lamb is characteristic of the Church.

6. The expression, “the blood of the Lamb,” is only found in this book in connection with the Church: Rev. 1:5; 5:9; 7:14; 12:11; 22:14.* * I adopt the preferable reading: “Blessed are they that wash their robes.”

‘But these have all come out of ‘the Great Tribulation.’ ‘And the Great Multitude,’ (some may say) ‘are saints risen and in heaven before the last seal is broken.’ Now the Great Tribulation does not begin till the first of the woe-trumpets - the fifth: Rev. 8:13. How can these have come out of the Great Tribulation?

There are two Great Tribulations. For Abraham has two seeds: (1) the seed as the sand of earth, and (2) the seed as the stars of the heaven: Gen. 22:17. And God owns the two seeds as His two people. Their history; founded on God’s principles of grace and government, is similar in respect of both, and is presented to us in the covenant of faith made with Abraham, and ratified to Christ: Gen. 15:5, 6, 18; Gal. 3:17. “Know of a surety, that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them.” These words may apply to Abraham’s heavenly seed, fixed in glory like the stars. While away from their land they are troubled by the seed of the serpent. The time of the Church is throughout one of persecution and trouble: John 16:33 Acts 14:22; Col. 1:24; 2 Tim. 3:12. This its characteristic, appears in the Lord’s epistles. None of the Churches are exempt from trouble, but those who have left their standing and are under rebuke by Christ. Two persons are named in the seven epistles as martyrs. All the occurrences of the word “tribulation” in Revelation refer to the Church: Rev. 1:9; 2:9, 10, 22.

The trouble of Abraham’s fleshly seed was to last ‘but four hundred years. The trouble of the heavenly seed has lasted near two thousand, and with far greater severity than that endured by Israel in Egypt. But when the sixth seal has been opened, the time of mystery has ceased for the Great Multitude.

The history of their deliverance is like that of Israel. The interview between John and our Lord in the first chapter, when He is seen walking amid the golden candlesticks, is like that between Moses and Jehovah at the bush. John, like Moses, is sent with a message to the elders Ex. 4:30-31.

But the issue is not like that of Moses’s and Aaron’s embassy. The Church of Christ occupies in grace the standing which was offered to Israel, as the result of their own obedience. To Israel it was promised that, if obedient, they should be priests and kings. Of us it is written, “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and made us kings and priests to God and His Father:” Rev. 1:5, 6.

The Church has already in baptism passed through the Red Sea. The Lord in the fourth and fifth chapters of Revelation is remembering His covenant with Abraham: Ex. 2:23-25. And from the throne proceed the active measures whereby the world is judged, and His people are rescued. The sixth seal, whereby earth and heaven are shaken, answers to God’s call to Pharaoh, to let His people go. One of His two people is thereon delivered by power. Their time of trouble is over. The other people has yet to undergo theirs: for their sins are not forgiven. “It is a terrible thing that I will do with thee,” is the chief sentiment of God’s ‘covenant of marvels’ made with Moses: Ex. 34:10.

The throne of Rev. 4, in relation to the Great Multitude, is Sinai, or the Mount of God. It is also the tabernacle completed, and opened by the Moses of the better covenant. He is designated as “the Lamb.” For it is His blood, the blood of the true Passover, which has brought them near. This Lamb of God once slain and bearing the marks thereof is the deliverer out of Egypt; for He is risen, and in resurrection is become the new Moses and Aaron, the leader and high priest of the better people.

Rev. 7:9, gives us “the third day” in the morning: (Ex. 19:16), for with the Lord a thousand years is as one day, and the Great Multitude are sanctified by the better Moses. They have washed their robes, not in water, but in the blood of the Lamb. Thus the commands of the Passover in Egypt, and of the Lord at Sinai, are united. In Egypt the blood was put on the doors; at Sinai the robes were washed in water. Jehovah then descended from heaven to earth. But the heavenly people go up to their God in heaven. The Mount of God under the better covenant is still resonant with voices, thunders, lightnings; and the sixth seal recalls the day of Israel’s unwilling approach to the fiery Mount. Then notice was given, that none should touch the Mount, and the priests were commanded to sanctify themselves, lest the Lord should burst on them in fire: Ex. 19:22, 24. But the Great Multitude are God’s rescued ones, “borne on eagle’s wings” above the sky, and “brought unto Himself” in a higher sense than of old. They answer to the seventy-two elders who after the sprinkled blood go up to the presence of God: Ex. 24. They are consecrated priests also, of a better order than Aaron’s; for they draw near to the centre of the true Holiest of heaven without fear.

This, their superiority, is due to “the blood of the new covenant” in its atoning and consecrating power.

The Great Multitude are also like Israel at Sinai, that they are in tents, keeping the heavenly feast of Tabernacles. For they are still on their journey. They have not yet reached the new heaven and earth, nor are they arrived at “the fountains of life’s waters,” which spring out of the throne of God in the new city, the Holy Jerusalem: 22. But the perils and troubles of the wilderness encountered

by Israel are no more to touch them. “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them or any burning.” (Greek, Cf. Num. 11:1-3.) “For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and lead them to life’s fountains of waters.”

They once felt these troubles while on earth, as Paul testifies: 1 Cor. 4:11; 2 Cor. 11. Some were even put to death by burning. These troubles likewise befall those left on the earth through the judgments sent by the Lord.

This Great Assembly was also typed by “the Great Multitude” described by John and the three first Gospels who went up with our Lord to the temple, at His last visit to Jerusalem. The disciples, a very great multitude escorted Jesus with enthusiasm both to the city and the temple. The source of the interest awakened in Jerusalem at His coming was, that He had lately raised Lazarus from, the dead. But now the whole assembly consists of those raised from the tomb, and Jesus as Resurrection and Life, leads them. The first multitude shouted, ‘Save now!’ (Hosanna.) But this assembly rejoices over salvation come! Jesus and His attendant people did not take the priest’s place in the temple, but abode in the outer court. But now that the temple is the true one on high into which Jesus has entered, He and they are priests there evermore.

That glad throne of yore bore fronds of palm trees, for there was in it some of the joy of Tabernacles, a token of the “rest that remaineth for the people of God,” as shown in the resurrection of the saint, Lazarus. But it was primarily the procession attending Christ as the Lamb of the Passover, and its setting apart for sacrifice, on the tenth day, before its offering on the fourteenth. At that entry into the temple they washed not their robes, but strewed them, such as they were, before the Saviour’s presence as the King. He had then to hunger, thirst, and weep, that we and they might be freed from these troubles.

Jesus led that multitude to the temple; but it was garrisoned by Pharisees, elders, and chief priests, who scowled at the intruding crowd and their leader. But now all is changed; the twentyfour elders of Heaven lift up their voices in praise of the Lamb, and the angels add their attestations as did the children of old in the temple.

On that occasion, certain Greeks wished to see Jesus, and the notice of their inquiry was borne to our Lord. He thereupon utters His comparison of Himself to a grain of wheat which must die and be buried, ere it can multiply itself. Behold, then, in this vast assembly of the redeemed out of every nation, the proofs of the Saviour’s foresight, the merits of His blood, the reproductive power of His death and resurrection.

3. The next rapture is that, of the two martyred prophets: Rev. 11. Their spirit is that of the law, while their history is like Christ’s. For three years and a half they work miracles, overcoming the enmity which arises against them by slaying their foes. At length they are encountered by one who rises from among the dead; and He prevails against them, when the power of mortal men availed not. Joy bursts forth at their death. They are not allowed burial, but their corpses lie in the street of the city that slew their Lord and ours. For three days and a half they thus lie, till corruption has set in on their ghastly, pale, bruised, discoloured bodies. Then the Spirit of life from God enters them, and they stand up, to the amazement and dismay of those that rejoice over their death. But ere the breathless pause of surprise which chills their persecutors is past, they are called up to the heaven, and like their Lord ascend thither in the cloud. As an earthquake attended the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, so does it wait on their arising. But the latter earthquake, unlike that at the Saviour’s coming forth of the tomb, is the swift messenger of death to millions. Seven thousand of the firstborn of the Gentiles, and of the city spiritually called Egypt, ‘men of name’ out of all lands gathered there are cut off; and great is the woe and the consternation.

If their resurrection be like that of our Lord in another point of view, “many bodies, of saints” will arise with them, and probably ascend with them too.

THE MAN-CHILD. REV. 12.

We come next to the vision which extends from chapter 12 to 14 inclusive. It opens with a “great sign in the heaven.” We have before us the carrying out of the scene in Eden - the Woman and the Serpent. The time when the Woman’s Seed will bruise the Serpent’s head, is come.

The apostle sees a Woman “clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.”

Who is this Woman?

Not the Church. That was set aside before the prophetic part of the book began. The Church is a chaste virgin: 2 Cor. 11:2, 3. This is a wife with several sons.

(1) It is a mystic Woman, a city. There are two others of like quality in this book. (2) Babylon, the, city, which in John’s day was ruling over kings: 17. (3) The heavenly Jerusalem: 21:9.

This Woman is Jerusalem, a point which can be proved by many considerations. She is the centre of God’s previous three great dispensations, and has been glorified by God in them all. These three dispensations appear in the three classes of heavenly glory which cluster round her.

1. She is “clothed with the sun.” For Christ is her righteousness. And Jerusalem under the Gospel was glorified by the Holy Ghost’s coming down to testify of Christ and His salvation. The evil aspect of Jerusalem was shown us in the previous chapter as being the place of Satan’s synagogue, of slaying the Lord’s prophets and crucifying the Lord of Glory Himself: 11:8. But this chapter shows us Jerusalem as the holy city, the place of disciples.

This is not the first Woman vainly clothing herself with fig leaves. But she, as Eve was afterwards, is clothed by the Lord; only her clothing is much superior to the coat of skin there given.

2. “The moon is under her feet.” By the moon is signified the Law. For as the moon derives all its light from the sun, so the Law borrowed its brightness from a coming Christ: 2 Cor. 3:7-10. In

our Lord’s day Israel stood upon the Law as their righteousness, and refused to receive Christ as “Jehovah our righteousness.” But now, Jerusalem has the moon under her feet. Under the Law, Jerusalem was glorified as the centre of government and worship; the place of the palace and the temple.

3. “On her head a crown of twelve stars.” This refers to the patriarchal dispensation, characterised by the twelve sons of Abraham and Jacob. Under that dispensation God glorified Jerusalem as the abode of Melchizedec, the priest and king, who blessed Abraham.

She is in the pangs of pregnancy. She has conceived great hopes from the promises of God in His word. But the time of crisis is come. “In sorrow,” according to the sentence of the Garden, she is “to bring forth children.” Her faith draws out the enmity of the men of unbelief in the city. Moreover, the enmity of the world is now at its height. The Holy City is being trodden down by the Gentiles: 11:1, 2. Here then are the sources of her pain. And this attitude is given to, Jerusalem by her own prophets: Is. 13: 1-13 shows it. Still more clearly is it discovered to us in Is. 24.- 26. Chapter twentyfour gives us the great and terrible day of the Lord, when earth’s trial is come: 17-19. Satan and his hosts are punished: 21: 22. Then Christ and his twelve elders (“ancients”), or apostles, shall reign: 23.

In the twenty-fifth chapter we have Christ come. He shall spread the feast in Jerusalem: 6. The blindness cast by Satan over all the nations’ eyes shall then be removed: 7. Then is come the resurrection of saints and the consolation of God: 1 Cor. 15:54. Jesus has appeared in person to those waiting for Him: ver. 8, 9. The twenty-sixth chapter gives us the song of joy in Judah. Other lords than the Most High have ruled over Israel. But they shall not rise at the resurrection of the just: ver. 13, 14. The nation of Israel is now increased by God: 15. But there is the day of trouble, which must precede. “Lord, in trouble have they visited thee; they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. Like as a woman with child that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in Thy sight, O Lord.” Then comes resurrection. “Thy dead men shall live; my dead body shall they arise.* Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust:” ver. 19. Next comes a notice of the other, or earthly escape, by the flight from Jerusalem, which our Lord commands. “Come my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee. Hide thyself as it were for a little moment until the indignation be overpast.

For behold the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” The little moment of her hiding is the forty-two months of her residence in the desert, which is the time also of the Great Tribulation. See moreover Micah 4:6, to 5: 3. * In the Septuagint, “They that are in the tombs shall arise.” Much better. So John 5:28.

Another great sign appears. Satan is presented to us as possessed of power, both on earth and in heaven. He is the great Dragon; for he is the Prince of the world, the chief of rebel angels. He is the “red” dragon; for he is the murderer from the beginning. It is through him that the martyrs were slain.

And this tells us that God is about to make inquisition for blood, as He promised in his covenant with Noah: Gen. 9:5.

Satan is the liar who deceives all the nations of the earth. His are the seven heads of Anti-Christ.

The last of the Emperors of Rome who is to be in antagonism to Christ will then have come, and he is crowned. This had not taken place in John’s day: 17:9-11. Nor has it yet. Nor can it take place, till the Church is cast off as no longer God’s witness on earth.

“His tail draws the third of the stars of heaven,” for he is the ruler of the fallen angels. With these he fights against the Man-child; as with his kings of earth he troubles the Woman.

Satan stands before the Woman; for he is aware of the crisis. He sees in the Child to be born the one who will supplant him in his rule over the earth, and the conqueror who is coming into the heavens to dwell there. He attempts, therefore, to prevent by force the Child’s ascent on high. The kingdom of God’s glory is at the doors; that is, the overthrow of the kingdom of Satan. He is therefore all on the alert to destroy, if he may.

Who is this Child?

1. Some say it is Christ. Now there are so many points in favour of this, that it is well to look at them. Jesus has indeed, in the counsels of God, traversed the road to be passed over by this Child.

At the Last Supper there was a pre-figuration of the Woman, and her attitude. The twelve stars were represented by the twelve apostles, to whom were promised thrones over each of the twelve tribes of Israel. They were gathered in Jerusalem, trusting in Christ, who was for them the Sun of righteousness. For his sake they put aside the Passover of the Law for the Supper of the Lord. The moon was under their feet.

They and their Great Master were in pain and sorrow like that of A parturient woman: John 16.

Great were their hopes, conceived from the prophets, and the Saviour’s words. But it was the hour of the wicked, and the power of Satan, the Prince of Darkness. That was the night of the Saviour’s sore agony. The Chief Priests, Herod, Pilate, were against him. The horn (or sub-ordinate potentate) of the Caesar (the head) was to condemn Him to death. But Jesus would be born out of the tomb, and ascend to the Father’s presence, as King of kings. Satan and his emissaries attempted to keep Him in the sepulchre, but prevailed not. He ascended as the Conqueror, possessed of all authority in heaven and earth. He went up to God and to His throne.

In his earlier years our Lord exemplified the Flight. He and his mother were compelled to flee from the treacherous king, across the desert into Egypt. He withdrew again into the wilderness to meet the devil and was, after His hunger, fed there by angels.

When his forerunner was slain, Jesus withdrew into the wilderness with the crowds who believed in Him, and there He fed them miraculously twice, while His own ministry lasted for 1260 days, or three years and a half.

But the Child here is not Christ. If any would assume the Woman to be the Virgin Mary, and Christ to be the Child, they are refuted by the consideration that both Mother and Child are mystic beings, and not literal persons. Jesus again was his mother’s first-born, while this woman has had sons previously. Jesus, moreover, was not born at Jerusalem. His mystic birth (or resurrection) did indeed take place there. But that was in the day of grace, and this takes place in the day of righteousness. Hence, at the Saviour’s resurrection, no battle took place on high, nor has Satan been yet ejected: Eph. 6.

The ejection here takes place only three and a half years before Jerusalem is delivered, and the kingdom comes at the seventh trump.

‘But may not the Child be the Church? That would be a mystic Child. That is to ascend to heaven, and to reign over the nations.’

This Child is the promised “Seed of the Woman.” Its heel has been bruised, for it has suffered unto death. And now is come its turn to bruise the serpent’s head. Compare this with the previous chapter. There are the two prophets (who overcome) witnesses to the Lamb. “My two witnesses.”

They are sent because of the word of testimony which they are to bear, and they are faithful to it even unto death. One of these two is Enoch, belonging to the patriarchal dispensation, or that of the stars. The other is Elijah, belonging to the Law. Those who wish to see the proof of this will find it in the Apocalypse Expounded by Scripture: Vol. 2. Their resurrection and ascent tell us what are the

birth and rapture of the Child. These two prophets are indeed caught up later than the Man-Child, for when they are slain the second woe trumpet is past: 11:13, 14.

Such as the Mother is, such is the Son. The Mother is an unity, glorified in three dispensations of God. So then, I suppose, her Son is a body of conquerors out of these dispensations. But not all Christians are conquerors dispensationally.

And if some of the Church are delivered by the rapture from the days of woe coming on the earth, some are left to go through them. Wherefore, after the heavenly and earthly escape have been shown us, we are made to see that two dispensationally different bodies are concerned in this vision.

1. The Woman’s flight speaks of Israel. It pursues the path of old. 2. The rapture tells of the heavenly people, who follow Christ in His resurrection and ascent. Some then of both classes are found on earth, after the two escapes have removed a part of each of the two bodies.

It is not every believer of the Church that is to reign with Christ but those who suffer with Him those who obey, and those who are “accounted worthy:” 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 2:26, 27; Luke 20:35.

It is, however, clear, that some or many of the Church belong to this mystic Child. It seems to consist principally of martyrs for the truth and for Christ. “They loved not their lives (souls) unto death.” That is not true of every believer. The “testimony” of some believers does not resist the devil, for it is both defective and untrue. The Child wholly consists of conquerors.

“They overcame” the devil. But the Seven Churches are by our Lord divided into conquerors, and conquered.

Some of the Church are found in the mystic Child. For some are overcomers, and these are destined to rule the nations with Christ, as the promise to Thyatira shows: 2:26, 27. Some have kept the word of Christ’s patience, and they shall be preserved, as this Child is, out of the hour of the Great Temptation which is to attack the whole habitable earth: 3:10.

Their birth is the mystic birth from the tomb. The time of their ascent is somewhere between the sixth seal and the fourth trumpet. For the first woo trumpet brings Satan upon the earth as the “star fallen out of heaven,” and he opens the door of the pit to allow his false Christ to come up: Rev. 9:1, 11. As these conquerors are destined to supersede Satan in his power over earth, they are peculiarly the objects of his hatred. Unlike the twenty-four elders, Satan refuses to part with his power. It is only when superior force wrests it from him, that he succumbs. But it is God’s counsel, and it must prevail. The devil has bruised their heel in death; they in return, shall, in conjunction with Christ, bruise his head.

In spite of Satan’s intelligence and force, these are “caught up to God and His throne.” Thus is the man “born into the world,” and thereat arises joy: John 16: 21. They are caught up to God and the throne of God. “To God,” for they are His approved children. “To the throne of God,” for that is the refuge for the oppressed and the righteous: Psa. 9:7-9, 13, 14. God thus begins to act in judgment. There they are secure from the devil’s enmity and his power. And thus we bring this verse into connection with what has preceded. John, by divine command, has measured the temple in heaven, the altar, and the worshippers in the inner court. That is marked out for safety from attack, whether by angels or by men. The outer court on the other hand, which is the temple of Jerusalem below, is exposed to the wrath of Satan and to the nations’ power. The Holy City also is unsafe: 11:1, 2.

Thus this mystic child is identified with the Great Multitude of chapter 7. Those who would follow this point further will find it drawn out in The Apocalypse Expounded by Scripture, Vol. iii, 3941. In chapter 7 the saved are seen as the priests in the temple above. Here they are beheld in

relation to the kingdom of God. The elders had anticipated this their two-fold dignity, when Christ took the book: 5:9, 10.

The Woman flees into the wilderness; for she is the city of earth, and is under guilt, so that she is unable to resist Satan’s onset. Thus she fulfils the types of the law. (1) The woman after her confinement was to be unclean: if she had borne a male, for forty days; if a female, for eighty days.

But Jerusalem’s defilement is so far greater, that she becomes a ‘removed woman’ for 1260 days: Lev. 12. (2) The manslayer was bidden to flee to a city of refuge from the avenger of blood, and on entering that he would be safe till his cause was tried. Jerusalem in its unbelief slew the Two Witnesses, and the Lord Jesus, and called down the vengeance of that blood on its head. But these disciples of Jerusalem are to be cleansed after their flight. The refuge now, is not in the land of Israel, nor in any city of the habitable earth, for these are the days of vengeance, and only in the uninhabited solitudes of Arabia can she find safety. Satan pursues her, as of old he pursued the children of Israel on their flight out of Egypt. But as Pharaoh and his host were then swallowed up in the deep, so shall the mystic river of the dragon - or the army of pursuit - be by a miracle, and through the opening earth, swallowed up. The Avenger of blood is not allowed to slay. She is not to be slain as the murderess but to be forgiven. Still she has to flee like David before Absalom, till the days of her purification are past. This flight is foretold in the Jewish prophets: Jer. 4., 6.

The Woman, again we see, is not the Church. The Church [of the firstborn] has not to flee, but to be caught up out of earth into heaven. The Saviour’s prophecy on Olivet gives us a view both of the rapture of the watchful man of faith, and of the flight of the Jewish disciple in the day of great trouble.

For 1260 days the fugitives are fed in the desert, as Israel of old was fed forty years. The number 1260 is compounded of three and a half multiplied by twelve, and the product further multiplied by thirty. Now these three numbers are all implied in the three heavenly glories of sun, moon, and stars, which encircle the woman. Twelve are the stars around her head; thirty is indicated by the moon (the month of 30 days) beneath her feet; three and a half are the years measured b the sun with which she is clothed. For so many revolutions of the sun she is to be severed from her land.

The time of trouble in its various forms is stated in three ways - as (1) three and a half years (Rev. 12:14); (2) forty two months (11:2; 13: 5); and (3) one thousand two hundred and sixty days (11:3, 12: 6).

The observance of “days, months, and years,” is characteristic of Judaism. (Gal. 4:10), and is another contribution toward the proof, that the woman is Jerusalem.

Again, what is the Woman’s “place” in the wilderness? Her place, as under the old covenant is at Mount Sinai. There was the characteristic attitude of Israel in Exodus, (Heb. 12:18-21,) and Galatians. “For these (women) are two covenants, the one from Mount Sinai, which begetteth into bondage, which is Hagar. For this (word) Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and in bondage together with her children:” Gal. 5:24, 25. And conversely, if the Woman have a place in this wilderness, it is Mount Sinai that is the place; and that identifies the Woman as the old covenant “with her children.”

We have in chapter 12, first, the sketch of the Woman and Child; then, in the after-part, a more detailed history, first of the Child, and after it of the Mother.

War in heaven speedily followed the ascent of the Child. It was the natural consequence of it.

This is intimated to us by the phrase, “Then followed war in the heaven.” By this word is defined the effect of the trumpets and vials (bowls). “The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire.” “The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea; and it became blood as of a dead man.”

Satan opposes by accusation on high the prayers of the saints while they are below. But when his accusations are proved false, and the martyr-saints are to be lifted up to their place and power, he attempts to resist their entrance by force. They are not able to cope with force so great. Therefore the angels meet his power, and war ensues. He loses the battle, is cast out of heaven, together with his angels, and is never able to return thither. He is cast into the earth, and has but three and a half years in which to act before the coming of Christ.

Then follows joy in heaven. A voice cries: “Now is come the salvation and the might, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who used to accuse them before the throne of our God day and night.” The voice is angelic; it is not “Our accuser is cast down, who used to accuse us day and night.” It is in the style of the elders: “Thou hast made them kings and priests unto our God, and they shall reign over the earth.” These words give us the reason of the joy. The victory has cast out Satan the accuser of the Child, and Satan’s fellows, introducing the Child. This tells us, then, indirectly of what the mystic Child consists. All its constituents are overcomers. Some are victors of the Church. For, who is it that are called to fight spiritually against Satan and his evil spirits in the heavenlies? The Church of Christ Eph. 6.

As long as the Church is recognized below, so long does Gods day of patience with earth extend.

With the casting out of Satan from on high, and the entrance on the heavenlies by those who are the lively members of Christ, the standing of the Church ceases.

These conquerors are victorious, not by their own blood, though all or most were martyrs; but by the blood of the Lamb. They are no time-servers, as Satan alleges; they have kept the faith, though death was the consequence: 2:10, 13.

The kingdom of God has come to heaven, and “a man is born into the world.” Great is the joy.

The angels take the place of Jethro at Sinai, after Israel has been brought to God: and they are clad.

This is again mystically the birth of Isaac (laughter). God hath made me to laugh says Sarah, “so that all who hear will laugh with me.” But, as then, Ishmael and Hagar laughed, not in joy, but in mockery, and were therefore cast out: so it is here. The sons of the two covenants shall not inherit together: Gal. 4. The Son has the heritage of heaven, the Mother of the earth.

Christ had long replied to the Accuser on high as the Advocate, plea against plea. But now he shows himself the Lord of Hosts, and His angels cast out the Evil One. But while there is joy in heaven, there are sorrow and woo on earth. For the fiend has come down with deadly hate and rage against his foes on earth.

Thus come into view two principles announced in a previous vision. John ate the book that had been opened, and that was given him by the angel. The (1) eating had two opposite effects; in his mouth it was sweet, in his belly bitter. (2) He is furnished with a measuring reed, but it is like a rod, for it has two aspects. The temple above is secured from the attacks of Satan: (that is sweet), but the part which is on earth is given up awhile to his rage: (that is bitter). Satan hurls his forces against the temple above, and loses the day. It may not be forced. But woe to the temple and city of God on earth! And John is informed, as soon as he has eaten the book, that he is to ‘prophesy again.’

Accordingly he does. He goes over the same field from another point, and by another road: chapters 12—14.

Cast down from heaven, Jerusalem the City of God is the place of Satan’s vehement hatred and attack. The Woman, instructed by Christ, flees. Satan pursues rapidly with his forces of earth. To the Woman are given more rapid powers of flight still. And the host which he sends against her is swallowed up in the opened earth, as were Dathan and Abiram’s party in the days of Moses.

God interposes, not indeed by visible leaders as in the escape out of Egypt, but He makes good His people’s flight into the desert.

Satan scowls, but in vain, with baffled rage, at these who have been rescued from his grasp. But some friends of God and of Christ are still within his reach. “He went away to make war with the remnants of her seed, (1) who keep the commandments of God, and (2) hold the testimony of Jesus.”

The heavenly and the earthly escapes do not remove the whole of either class. There are two remnants. (1) The one is Jewish. They keep the commandments of God by Moses. (2) The other is Christian. “They hold the testimony of Jesus.” One should have thought this phrase to be clearness itself. But it refutes a theory, and so must defend itself before it proves victorious.

The testimony of Jesus has been sent by God. Do you receive it? You are a Christian. You hold that testimony. You have it both in your hand and in your heart. Do you refuse it? You are an unbeliever. Paul was so once. He so refused the witness as to hate the witnesses, and to slay them.

He accepted the testimony afterwards, and bore witness to Jesus. He wished to press this truth on others at Jerusalem. But Jesus warned him away. ‘They would not receive Paul’s testimony concerning Him:’ Acts 22:18. In consequence they abode in their Judaism and unbelief. This view of the words holds good, whether we understand “the testimony of Jesus,” to signify, (1) that which Jesus gave, or (2) that which is given concerning Jesus; as in the passage last quoted.

‘But might not unbelieving Jews be said to have the testimony of Jesus, seeing that they were in possession of the Old Testament prophecies, which testified concerning Messiah’s coming; for witness to Jesus is the very spirit of prophecy?’ Rev. 19:10.

No! The very passage cited in its defence condemns it. The first part of the sentence is omitted, and that says, as the angel’s reply to John’s worship of him: “See thou do it not; I am fellow-servant of thee, and of thy brethren which have (hold) the testimony of Jesus. Worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy:” Rev. 19:10. There is no doubt that John held and suffered for the testimony of Jesus (1: 9). He was a Christian, and the angel links with John his fellow-Christians. They, too, held the testimony of Jesus.

The possession of the writings of the prophets or of Moses in the house or the hand is not the having or holding them meant in Scripture. Prophecy is not received unless its meaning, as given of God, is accepted. Paul, as refusing the prophets’ testimony to Jesus, was an unbeliever, though he had possession of them, and knew them by heart.

Moreover, in the Millennial Day, these who so. practically have and hold the testimony of Jesus as to die for His sake, are distinguished beyond others by reigning with Christ. “I saw the souls of them, that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus … and they lived and reigned with the Christ a thousand years:” 20:4.

But we have further evidence in the context. The dragon calls up from the bottomless pit his false Christ, and gives him his throne and power. 13.

The False Christ blasphemes the God of heaven, and the tented camp on high of those who have escaped by rapture. But then he applies himself to war against “the saints,” (ver. 7) whether those of Israel, or of the disciples of Christ. Some of these fight against him, but they are warned not to do so. God has given for awhile all power into the enemy’s hands. The resisters will find judgment descending on themselves. Patience and prayer is their only allowed attitude: 9, 10. In the next chapter a warning angel proclaims with a loud voice the terrors of the Lord against all who shall worship this Wild Beast. Then follows the word, “Here is the patience of the saints that keep (1) the commandments of God, (2) and the faith of Jesus:” 14:12. Here the matter is clearer still. We have

the same two people of God. The Jewish body comes first, and is described by the Law and its commands as before. But the Christian body is described still more evidently. “They keep the faith of Jesus.” In these words there is no loophole of escape by reason of the supposed ambiguity of ‘have’ and ‘testimony.’ It is the keepers of the Christian faith. “I have kept the faith,” is Paul’s account of his course as a Christian: 2 Tim. 4:7.

Thus then our view of the taking and leaving in Matt. 24 is confirmed. The taken is the ManChild; the left are the Woman, and the remnants of her seed. The Jewish escape begins from Jerusalem, and takes place by strong physical effort, being consummated when the desert is reached.

Those left on earth, and unable to enter the desert are caught in the hurricane of that day of temptation which enwraps the whole of the inhabited lands of earth. The Christian on the other hand is to pray, that he may be “accounted worthy” to escape that time of sin and woe. That is then, the majority of Christians, as neither watching nor praying so to escape, are left to pass through the Great Trouble of that day. (1) Those who would have part in the earthly escape must beware of physical hindrances, impeding swiftness of flight. There is, therefore, a remnant of the earthly people who are not able to flee into the wilderness. (2) The heavenly saints are warned against spiritual perils. If asleep in spirit, they will be left to be overtaken by that day, which will entangle in its net all those that have their affections settled in the earth: Mark 13; Luke 21. Does any one need further witness? See it in the next verse. “I heard a voice out of the heaven, saying, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth:’” 14:13. Are not the dead in Christ Christians? Yet some of them were left to cope with Anti-Christ in his day, and were by him slain.

THE FIRST-FRUITS. REV. 14.

The earth has been described in chapter 13 as it will be when left under the rule of Satan, his False Christ and False Prophet, who require all to mark themselves with the name of the Wild Beast on their forehead or hand. Then God’s counter-work is shown to us in chapter 14.

A hundred and forty-four thousand stand with Christ on Mount Zion. Who are they?

Darby says, that they are a Jewish company found at Jerusalem in that day; to be blessed with all temporal blessings on earth in the Millennial Kingdom.

Set the Church out of its place, and you must deny its place, and the place of its parts where God has really placed them.

This company is distinctively Christian, and belongs to the Church of Christ. The proofs are clear and numerous. Let us consider the statements of the Apocalypse about them.

1. What is the place of this company? “The Mount Zion” Is not that on earth? No; not in this book. This prophecy regards the heavenly things as the real things. The seven candlesticks are not those of the temple of earth. The temple, the priests, the city of “the book of this prophecy” are “in heaven.” And as they are heavenly, so is the Mount Zion: Heb. 12:22. The hundred and forty-four thousand of chapter 7 are Jewish. They are sealed with the seal of God by an angel. These are sealed with the Christian name of God. The others are “servants of God.” These are companions of the Lamb. They are more honoured than the Great Multitude.

The earthly Holy City and its temple have been given up by God to the nations; yea, over all the earth Satan’s king has power. The nations tread it underfoot all the time that the Wild Beast (or False Christ) is reigning: 11:2. Then Christ’s two martyr-prophets are slain, and lie unburied. This great company then could not be standing in Jerusalem without a battle. But their employment where they are, is the peaceful one of singing a hymn to God. Hence they are in heaven, the place of safety. They are standing with Christ, as the Lamb, “before the throne.” Now, “the Lamb” is not

Christ’s Jewish name. It presents Him as the slain through weakness, and Israel refuses Him in that character.

2. This company “has the name of the Lamb and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.” That name of God is distinctively Christian. Jesus in the Gospel of John is seen continually witnessing of the Father and the Son, and is perpetually refused in that testimony. The Great False Christ is specially to deny the name of the Father and the Son: 1 John 2:22. These as strikingly assert it, by way of antagonism to the devil and his king. The name of the Father and of the Son belong especially to the Church, and is the basis of John’s Epistles 1 John 1:3; 2:24; 2 John 9.

3. They sing a peculiar song which none can learn, but themselves. This song is not Jewish; for those of Israel are already written and known.

They sing it in heaven, for John on earth hears the sound come “out of the heaven:” ver. 2. They sing it “in front of the throne, the four living creatures and the elders.” They must then be in heaven; as truly as the seven torches of fire, and the sea of glass: chap. 4. They are the Levites of the new covenant, to, whom it is given to play on harps and sing before the Lord in His temple: 1 Chron. 25:1-7. They answer to the Levites and the priests of Hezekiah’s day, who give praise in the temple and on the way to Berachah, because of their assured victory over the forces of Edom that are coming against them. They sing in faith, the victory is given by God, and His rest follows it: 2 Chron. 20.

4. Their chief characteristic, instead of being Jewish, is in the most entire contrast therewith.

They are a company of virgins. Now, that condition was one of disgrace under law. One of the distinctively Jewish promises was, “There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren in thy land:” Ex. 23:26. “Thou shalt be blessed above all people; there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle:” Deut. 8:14. Jephthah’s daughter “bewailed her virginity” before she was offered up: Judges 11. That the Jewish maidens were not given to marriage, was a curse: Psa. 78:63. The picture of the blessed fearer of Jehovah was that of one with wife and children around His table: Psa. 128.

But Jesus was not married, nor was John. Our Lord called some to be Christian Nazarites: Matt.

19.

Paul, unmarried likewise, confirms the call: 1 Cor. 7. How strange that any will symbolise the plain words of explanation, which the Spirit of God has given to instruct us as to their standing: ver. 4. “Not defiled with women” does not mean ‘bad women,’ or, sin.

This company are designedly in contrast with “the dwellers on the earth.” The dwellers upon earth rejoice in the slaughter of the two prophets: 11: 10. They also accept the Wild Beast who slays them, and they render him worship: 13:8. Now the description by our Lord of that day is that men are “marrying and giving in marriage,” and they are ready to be swept away by the flood of wrath.

But these are the moral contrasts to such a class. In the resurrection there shall be neither marrying nor giving in marriage. These then are of the first-ripe ears. They exhibit in their life on earth that state into which all the risen are to arrive. And that being the day of reward, they are presented in resurrection with honour before the throne of heaven, their character now completely established, for the mortal life is past.

Three times the Holy Spirit explains to us the peculiarity of this body, introducing each statement with, ‘These are’ or ‘These.’ The first gives us the peculiarity of their standing, from which the other points flow. They are ‘virgins.’ The second explanation describes their reward.

They were like Christ in their unmarried life. They then are made His companions in the glory, following the Lamb in His transits heaven and earth, “wheresoever He may go.”

“The Lamb” is not the Saviour’s Jewish title.

The third statement concerning this company (ver. 4) refers to their origin. Are they said to be of Israel? No; the very contrary. God has two people, and out of each people He has a first-fruits.

The hundred and forty-four thousand of chapter 7 are expressly said to be taken out of each of the twelve tribes. But here it is declared that they are “redeemed from the earth,” “redeemed from among men.” They belong then to the Great Multitude which in that seventh chapter follows upon the first-fruits of Israel, and is a Gentile body gathered out of all nations. They are “redeemed.”

They are ‘the first-born’ of the Church - the Lord’s other people. And the commands to Israel about the first-fruits and first-born are our instruction concerning them. The feasts of Israel celebrated on earth have their parallels in the feasts of the heavenly people, celebrated in heaven.

The redemption of the first-born -is specially spoken of on two occasions. (1) In connection with the Passover. The Lord smote the first-born of Egypt; and peculiarly ransomed, by the blood of the Lamb, the first-born of Israel. In the Revelation the slaughter of the first-born of Egypt has already occurred. “Seven thousand names of men,” (or ‘men of name’) have been cut off at a blow: 10:13.

These others then are the first-born of the new Israel, who now make their appearance, by strength of hand brought out of Egypt. And Egypt is now earth. (2) The first-born appear again in Num. 18.

They are Gods gift to Aaron as priest. Accordingly, Jesus is presented in connection with them. He is both the Lamb of the true Passover, and He is also the Risen Priest. They stand beside Him risen too, redeemed by Him and to Him. They are the “first-fruits unto God and the Lamb.”

The presentation of a sheaf of first-fruits was a part of the ceremonial of Israel. “When ye, be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then shall ye bring a sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you; on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he-lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt-offering to the Lord:” Lev. 23:10-12.

These then are now come into the heavenly land, and they are presented in the temple: Ex. 24:19; 34:26. The priest who presents them is with them. He is also the Lamb without blemish, who is the burnt-offering accepted for them. This sheaf of the firstfruits then is the token of the harvest at hand.

Again, it was required of the Israelite after his entrance into the land of promise - the inheritance given by the Lord - that he should take of the first-fruits, and put them into a basket and present them at the temple to the priest. He was to say, “I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come into the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers to give us. And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and shall set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God. And thou shalt speak and say unto the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage; and when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm:” Deut. 26:1-10.

Can any mistake the references here? These first-fruits were in Egypt, but in trouble there. They are a part then of the Great Multitude who have come out of the Great Tribulation. Their affliction

is over; they have entered into the land of their inheritance, redeemed by a hand of power out of earth into heaven. They are presented to the priest in the temple. The throne of God has now taken the place of the altar. For these are priests, and have access to the Holiest. The Israelite on offering his first-fruits was to utter before the Lord a special form of praise. These pour forth a special song.

They are “first-fruits to God and the Lamb!” God accepts them, not under the name Jehovah, but under one unknown to and refused by Israel, when the Saviour dwelt with them. The basket of first-fruits belonged to the priest: Deut. 18:3-5. Answerably hereto, these specially belong to the Lamb.

It would seem then that this does not exhibit another rapture, but that they form a part of the Great Multitude, and of the Man-Child. Caught up to God and His throne, they pour out their song of joy before it.

The redemption here spoken of is not the purchase of all men. It is a purchasing out from earth, as the place; and from men, as the dwellers on earth. It is then truly redemption; deliverance by price paid.

They are redeemed “as first-fruits!” They are ripe ears cut and bought for God and His temple.

They are in their place as accepted first-fruits to God and the Lamb. But the place of first-fruits presented to God is the temple. And the temple is now in heaven. They are risen then; for mortality and corruption cannot enter the place of incorruption. They were redeemed once by price; now by power. That power hath transferred them out of earth into the heaven.

The same conclusion follows from their song. Miriam and her fellows did not sing, till they were out of Egypt and past the Red Sea. These then are on the other side of death and judgment; conquerors, no more to be tried.

THE HARVEST “And I saw and behold a white cloud, and one sitting on the cloud like a Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, shouting with a great voice to the Sitter upon the cloud, ‘Send thy sickle, and reap; for the hour of reaping is come; for the harvest of the earth is dried up.’ And the sitter on the cloud cast his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.”

What is the Harvest? Mr. Darby says it is Jewish, a work of judgment. Who are the parties on whom it is exercised? The good or the bad? If the wicked, wherein does it differ from the Vintage, which is the next in succession?

No; it is not Jewish. That is proved by its being the same in kind as the First-Fruits which have preceded it. Such as the First-Fruits are, such is the Harvest: according to the principle of Scripture stated in Rom. 11:16; Lev. 23:10. This is that one of all the raptures which approaches nearest to 1 Thess. 4, or the removal of the watchful ones of the Church. Christ has come down from heaven to take His disciples to Himself. He is come as the Reaping Son of man, to complete the work which He began as the Sower. It was under this latter title that, after the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, He began a new work, suited to the Day of Mystery, which was then inaugurated. “He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man:” Matt. 13:27. By this title our Lord is also presented to His Churches in this book: 1:13.

He is come to reap the whole earth; for “the field is the world.” The wheat are Jesus’ disciples, for “the good seed are the children of the Kingdom.” “The harvest is the end of. the age,” and that season of putting an end to this evil day is arrived. The wheat ‘is dried up.’ It is dead to earth, and so fitted for the heaven. Is that Jewish? Nay, in contrast thereto, Israel’s heritage is the earth. Unlike the first-fruits, the wheat in general is still on the earth. It is now to be garnered. According to the

principle of the day of recompense, he who sowed, reaps, and reaps what he sowed. Then, as this is Christ, what he sowed cannot be anything evil. He is an accredited messenger of the temple and the throne. He is crowned, for He is the One who “goeth forth conquering and to conquer.” The sickle is a symbolic one, explained in the Lord’s parable of the wheat and the tares. “The reapers are angels.” “The Son of man shall send His angels.” “Then shall the righteous shine out as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Hence the expression used in the original, “Send thy sickle, and reap.” So also the matter is stated in a parable peculiar to Mark. “So is the kingdom of God as if a man should cast the seed, on the earth, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, how he knoweth not. For the earth of itself brings forth fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit shows itself, immediately he sendeth the sickle because the harvest is come:” Mark 4:26-29. Christ holds the sickle, because the angels are at His command. But as the “Son of man” He is the Father’s servant, and therefore waits His call.

At length it is given: ‘Reap!’ With the utmost ease it is effected. The sickle is cast on the earth by the Sitter on the cloud; the earth is reaped!

But the wheat of the harvest is manifestly left up to that moment in the time of Trouble. The twelfth chapter gives us those who are rescued before the woo sets in. Then come Satan’s time of temptation of earth, and God’s time of vengeance. The False Christ and the False Prophet rule the earth: chapter 13. Then the First-Fruits are seen on high while the Harvest has yet to be cut below. And the next event to the Harvest is the Vintage of wrath, which is another aspect of the Saviour’s coming as the Man of War against the armies of earth: chapter 19.

It was commanded, that the corners of the field in the day of harvest were not to be reaped: Lev. 23:22. Accordingly some are left, as is proved by Rev. 16:15. At the very last of the bowls of wrath, while Satan and his angels are gathering the kings of earth to fight with Christ, the Saviour says – “Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” So Moses and Joshua came down unexpectedly into the camp, where Israelites were keeping their idolatrous feast, and beheld with displeasure the naked adorers of the calf: Ex. 32:15-25.

The Vintage gives us the wrath of God on the followers of the False Christ. It is the gathering of the Tares, and binding them in bundles by the angels, preparatory to burning them. The field of earth is the [millennial] kingdom of the Son of man. The kingdom which came to heaven in the twelfth chapter, has now arrived at earth.

Out of the kingdom of the Son of man it is time to remove the doers of iniquity. The two classes, of the disciples of Christ, and the followers of the Antichrist, are beautifully contrasted. The disciples of Christ when ripe, are dry, and dead to earth; for their ripeness is the ripeness of wheat.

The followers of the False Christ resemble the grapes, whose ripeness is a fulness of the juices drawn from the earth. The wheat is borne away to the garner in the kingdom of the Father. The grapes are trodden down on earth; the [millennial] kingdom of the Son of man.

Thus also after the Lord has caught up to himself His watchful ones of the Church (1 Thess. 4), you have in the next chapter the sudden destruction of the men of the world in the midst of their unbelief (1 Thess. 5). And after the ingathering of the corn and the wine comes the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month, or the blest millennial day.

In conclusion, “the Scripture cannot be broken.” That theory must be false, which runs counter to the promises and warnings of the Saviour and His apostles. Now, in the teaching of our Lord addressed to His disciples concerning His coming, He continually lays stress upon their being watchful and ready. To those in this attitude His coming will be joy and promotion. To

those unready and asleep, it will be loss and sorrow. Do any doubt this, after the passages which have been adduced?

1. “One is taken, and one is left.” “Watch therefore for ye know not what hour your Lord is coming:” Matt. 24:41, 42. In the parallel place in Luke follows the parable of the Unjust Judge; to discover to us the day of trouble in its trial to the left ones, under the figure of a widow who has no resource in her affliction, but the importunity of prayer: Luke 17., 18.

2. Had the master of the house watched, he had not been robbed by the thief’s coming.

“Therefore be ye also ready, for in the hour ye think not, the Son of man is coming:” Matt. 24:43, 44.

3. Blessed the steward found watching by the Master. But if he be found behaving like the unbelievers at His coming, the Lord will put him among them: Matt. 24:45-51.

4. The ready virgins went in with the Bridegroom to the marriage. The unready [regenerate] believers were left, and the shut door kept them out from it. Nor would the Bridegroom open at their appeal: Matt. 25:10-12.

5. You know not when your Lord shall return. “Watch therefore.” “Lest coming suddenly He find you (disciples) sleeping:” Mark 13:35, 36. But what if they should be spiritually asleep? Then fact comes in to tell us, that to be asleep is to be left by Christ, and to be left is to be caught in the tornado of the Day of Tribulation: Mark 14:40-72.

6. Blessed the disciples who are found watchful and ready for their Lord. Such shall be honoured and promoted. But woe to them if not: Luke 12:35-46.

7. The rapture takes place, not in the day of grace, but in the day of reward according to works.

Hence if you wish to escape, “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged by surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all that are settled on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to be set before the Son of man:” Luke 21:34-36.

These seven examples will suffice for the candid, and will prove that any doctrine which says to the believer – ‘Fear not, son of God, elect unto eternal life, whether you be in pursuit of the world’s riches, pleasures, or honours, sunk to the level of the world, or even below it, you will see Christ’s face with joy, you will not be left to the coming day of woe,’ - cannot be true.

May we take heed, that our God may count us worthy of our calling that we may escape the hour of trouble, and behold the face of our Lord with joy!69

WOMEN PREACHERS. The Bible clearly states that the man is to lead in the home and church, and the woman's role is to submit to the man's headship. There is widespread rebellion against this divine plan, though, and many women are being appointed to leadership positions in churches. Consider some facts from our files: There are almost 4,000 licensed and ordained women in the Assemblies of God.

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Robert Govett’s BAPTISM AND THE KINGDOM; “Unwatchful Believers of the Church Will Be Left in the Future Great Tribulation—A TRACT ON THE KINGDOM“ cited 2017 at: W. H. Tindle‘s The Millennial Kingdom. {also at: WayBack} ~ EDITS: (RG) [WHT] {SM} ~

In 1984, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a resolution saying the Bible "excludes women from pastoral leadership." Like many things adopted by this Convention, the resolution was almost meaningless. In a September 1993 meeting of the SBC Executive Committee, a measure to expel congregations for ordaining women was rejected unanimously. The same proposal was rejected at the SBC's annual meeting in July 2008. The Fall 1997 edition of Folio, the newsletter of Baptist Women in Ministry, reported that there are 1,225 ordained Southern Baptist women.

Roughly 200 of the ordained women serve as pastors and associate pastors.

The United Methodist Church has ordained women since 1956 and today has 4,743 women "clergy."

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has 2,419 female leaders. In 1979 the United Presbyterian Church, forerunner of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., adopted a resolution REQUIRING the congregations to elect women elders. This politically correct denomination also voted to ban the ordination of any man who opposed women clergy and gave such men 10 years to change their minds or get out (EP News Service, June 21, 1980). So much for the supposed broadminded attitude of Modernists.

The United Church of Christ has 1,803 female leaders.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has 1,358 ordained women.

As of 1994, 16 of the 30 independent Anglican communions around the world have approved ordination of women priests. The Episcopal Church in the United States, which approved womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ordination in 1976, has more than 1,000. The Episcopalians ordained the first Anglican female bishop in 1989. The General Synod of the "mother church" in England endorsed the concept of female priests in 1993. In 1991 Queen Elizabeth showed her approval of all this by appointing a woman as one of her royal chaplains in Scotland.

The Church of Scotland approved the ordination of women in 1968 and now has 100 female ministers.

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, though more conservative than other Lutheran bodies, is beginning to allow women to preach in regular worship services. A survey showed that about 1,000 LCMS clergymen maintain that the Bible is not opposed to the ordination of women (Christian News, Feb. 13, 1989). "Leaders of Youth With a Mission (YWAM) appointed their first female national director in March to oversee a 200-member staff in Switzerland. At a conference last year, YWAM founder Loren Cunningham spoke out strongly against what he called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;cultural biasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; against women. He also warned that God's blessing might be removed if YWAM did not commission female leaders" (Charisma, July 1993). "Women now comprise at least a third of the student population at the leading interdenominational divinity schools; at Yale and Harvard, they're more than half" (Ibid.). "U.S. women ordained to full-time ministry in 1986 increased to 20,730 from 10,470 in 1977, and represented 7.9% of all U.S. clergy, according to a recent study by the National Council of Churches. ... The survey showed that 84 of 166 denominations ordain women to full ministry... (National & International Religion Report, March 13, 1989).

These facts are evidence of the apostasy of the of these last days. Men and women in the world, having rejected Bible truth, are confused about the most basic things. Many men are trying to be like women in dress and manner, while many women are demanding the right to be like men, to dress like men, to do the same work as men, to play the same sports as men, to fight in armies like men. They want more than equal pay for equal work; they are demanding a man's place in the home, church, and state.

The Bible speaks too clearly on this subject for there to be any confusion. The problem is that churches too often are looking to sources other than the Bible for guidance. God loves women as much as He does men. Women are as important to the home, church, and society as men are. In Jesus Christ, women enjoy the same spiritual position and blessings before God as men do. This does not mean, though, there is to be no difference in men and women in their appearance and roles. There is a basic truth which needs to be restated in the church and society today: Men and women are different! Men and women were made for different roles. The N.T. affirms that men are to be the leaders in the home, church, and state. Women were not created to rule these divine institutions; men were. The prophet Isaiah was condemning Israel when he said women ruled over them (Isaiah 3:12). In the church, according to the Bible, no woman is qualified to be a pastor or a deacon or to hold any other leadership position over men. See 1 Co. 14:34-37; 1 Ti. 2:11-14.

Some are saying that the commands quoted above were meant only for first century Christians or were only for the particular situation at Corinth. This cannot be true for many reasons.

First, Paul said that his instructions in 1 Corinthians 14 are the commandments of the Lord (verse 37). As such they must be obeyed by all Christians and by every church.

Second, the Apostle said that the instructions of 1 Corinthians 14 are a test of spirituality. He said that those who are truly spiritual must acknowledge that the instructions are the very commandments of God (1 Co. 14:37). Those who are rejecting the teaching of 1 Corinthians 14 concerning a woman's role in the church are proving themselves to be unspiritual.

Third, in 1 Timothy the Apostle gives the very same instructions concerning women, and this epistle was said to have been written to teach the proper order for churches in general (1 Ti. 3:15). The things contained in 1 Timothy are general instructions about church order to be obeyed by all churches in every century; and it is in this book, the book which contains standards for church leaders, that God has forbidden women from taking authority over or teaching men.

Fourth, in giving the instructions about women in the church, the Holy Spirit referred back to the original order of creation—Adam first, then Eve. The Holy Spirit, in guiding Paul's pen, used this order of creation to prove that women must not take authority over men. Therefore, since the order of creation has not changed since 1 Timothy was written, and since it does not change in our culture or century, we know that the instructions of the New Testament about the woman's role in the church apply to us today.

Fifth, Paul referred to man's fall to support his teaching regarding the Christian woman's subjection to the man (1 Ti. 2:14). Again this shows that the Apostle's teaching about the woman transcends any one culture or generation. Though we have been saved from the eternal consequences of the Fall when we receive the Lord Jesus Christ, we are still living under the abiding consequences and conditions of the Fall as long as we remain in this world. Redemption has three aspects that must never be confused—past, present, and future. The three are seen in Romans chapter eight. Ro. 8:1-10 speaks of the past aspect of our salvation—we have been saved from the eternal consequences of sin.

Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us on the Cross we have been made eternally free from any fear of the wrath of God or punishment for our sin by God's holy law. Hallelujah! Ro. 8:11-17 speaks of the present aspect of our salvation—we are being saved from the power of sin in our daily lives by the Spirit of God who indwells us. Ro. 8:18-25 speaks of the future aspect of salvation—we will be saved from the very presence of sin when Christ gives us our resurrection body and comes to renew this fallen creation. We have eternal redemption right now as a present possession, yet we still "groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:23). Likewise, the woman who trusts Christ receives eternal freedom in Him from the

wages of sin, but she is not yet free from some of the consequences of Eve's rebellion in the Garden of Eden. She still is to be in subjection to the man.

Sixth, Paul referred to human nature to support his teaching regarding women (1 Ti. 2:14). The woman has a different makeup than the man. She was designed for a different role in life—that of a wife and mother. Her emotional, psychological, and rational makeup are geared perfectly for this, but she was not designed for leadership. In the garden of Eden the devil deceived her. This was not true for Adam. He sinned, but he was not deceived. Eve had allowed herself to be thrust into a position of decision making she was not supposed to occupy. It is no coincidence that women have been responsible for starting many of the false Christian movements and have played key roles in spiritism, new age, mind science cults, and such. Human nature has not changed and neither has God's restrictions against women preachers.

Seventh, Paul commanded that his instructions were to be kept until Christ's coming (1 Ti. 6:14).

This command is given at the end of the epistle in which the Apostle had so clearly required that women be in subjection to men in the church (1 Ti. 2:9-15). Since Jesus has not yet appeared, we are to continue to maintain these restrictions.

Eighth, Paul's letter to Corinth, in which he spoke of women being in subjection to men, was for all Christians, not just those in Corinth. In his introduction to this epistle the Apostle tells us plainly to whom he is speaking: "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, WITH ALL THAT IN EVERY PLACE CALL UPON THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, both their's and our's" (1 Co. 1:2). It is clear that Paul's instructions were not intended merely for some peculiar situation at Corinth.

Ninth, while Galatians 3:28 says there is neither bond nor free in Christ, other passages teach that this does not mean there are no servant/master relationships. The Christian servant is free in Christ—free from the eternal wages of sin—but he is not free from his earthly position and responsibilities of servitude toward his master (Ep. 6:5-8; Col. 3:22-25; 1 Ti. 6:1, 2; Tit. 2:9-10; 1 Pe. 2:18-25). In fact, anyone who teaches against these instructions regarding submission of servants to masters is labeled proud and evil. See 1 Timothy 6:1-5. These are strong words, and they refer directly to those who try to contradict the Apostle's teaching requiring subjection of servants to masters, such as those who promote communistic "liberation theology," and those who stir up all sorts of strife between workers and business. These words also apply to those who are trying to throw off the apostolic teaching referring to woman's subjection to man in the church and home. Such are proud, ungodly, and destitute of the truth, and are to be separated from! We can see how serious this matter is.

Galatians 3:28 says there are no servants and no freemen in Christ, yet other New Testament passages teach there are indeed Christians who are servants and Christians who are masters.

Galatians 3:28 also says there is neither male nor female in Christ, but other passages show us that this does not mean all distinction between the sexes are done away in this world, nor does it mean that the original order of creation has been dissolved in Christianity.

Women Leaders in the Old Testament Why did God make DEBORAH a judge in Israel (Judges 4:4-9)? The answer is not difficult.

God's perfect will is for men to lead. That is too clear to misinterpret, but when men will not assume their responsibilities, God uses women. The men in Deborah's day were very weak and cowardly. This is seen in the fact that Barak, the captain of the armies of Israel, refused to go into battle unless Deborah went with him. What a brave man! What a hero! The woman had to remind him that God had said it is time to fight; the woman had to encourage and challenge him to go; the woman had to go with him. Deborah clearly realized that this was not right nor natural, and she

told Barak it would result in shame upon his name. Obviously it was a period in Israel's history during which God could find no man to do His will, so He used a brave, willing woman. We can praise God for women like Deborah who are willing to be strong when the men are weak. This has often happened, both in secular and church history. The root problem in Deborah's day was spiritual apostasy. When God's people turn away from Him, He renders the men powerless against their enemies and removes wisdom from their hearts. It is a judgment upon apostate people. We can see this very thing today in apostate North America and Europe. The leaders are weak and seem entirely lacking even in common sense. We cannot control our little children, and women rule over us (compare Isaiah 3:12). It is God's judgment because of the apostate condition of professing Christendom. Israel in Deborah's day was in bondage to their enemies only because of their apostasy from the true God and His revealed will recorded in the Scriptures (Judges 4:1-2). This was why the men were so weak. God had removed their power as He did from sinful Samson (Amos 2:14-15).

What about THE DAUGHTERS OF PHILIP? They were prophetesses (Acts 21:8-9). The fact that God gave gifts of prophecy to women does not mean that they are free to take authority in the church or to prophesy to men. When Paul was staying at Philip's house, God used a male prophet from another city to come and prophesy to Paul (Acts 21:8-11). There is no doubt that God gave the gift of prophecy to some women (Acts 2:18), but the Holy Spirit has placed restrictions on the exercise of those gifts. 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 11 and 14 are Holy Scripture. Paul warned that those who ignore this instruction are not spiritual (1 Co. 14:37). God richly gifts women in spiritual things, but they are restricted in the exercise thereof. The woman's ministry is focused on women and children (1 Ti. 2:15; Tit. 2:3-5). As noted earlier, there were no women apostles, and the divine standards for pastors apply only to men (1 Ti. 3:2-4; Titus 1:5-9).70 >>>â&#x20AC;&#x201D;> Monday, November 20, 2017 <â&#x20AC;&#x201D;<<<

~~~ The Shayne Moses Project Quarterly Studies

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70) Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible and Christianity - 6th Edition by David W. Cloud: article, ~ WOMEN PREACHERS ~.