VOL.
LVIII. September/October 1975 No. 5
The Apostle Paul and "His" Gospel Things Coming to Pass"When ye see these things come to
pass, know ye that NOT
THE least in importance among the "signs of the times," those
evidences of the proximity of the long looked for Kingdom of God, is the tremendous
increase in intellectual achievements of these latter days. How often has the
prophecy of Daniel 12:4 been quoted by students of the Bible as far back as a
century ago to substantiate the belief that the world-wide increase in
knowledge and invention which so particularly distinguishes the age in which
we live, are but the initial stages in the preparation of humanity for the yet
more wonderful blessings ("the feast of fat things" Isa. 25:6) which
will flow out to all under the beneficent reign of the King of kings during the
Millennium. But to the present generation the very abundance of these blessings
has rendered them commonplace, and the reverent Christian alone' realizes
their vast significance and true portent of "things to come." Few men
realize the astonishing changes that have come to pass during the past century.
We quote some paragraphs in point from Achorn's European Civilization and Politics Since 1815: "For the ordinary man, the main facts of human toil and enjoyment did not change appreciably from the days of Cheops, the pyramid-builder, to those of Washington. Indeed since the days when Rome was at the height of her glory there has been in many ways a distinct retrogression; and since the Middle Ages, only a slight recovery. The food had changed little-it is hardly an exaggeration to say that the typical peasant lived by bread alone; the clothing less (except in style), for wool remained the staple cloth; and methods of production and distribution least of all. The technique of industry and of agriculture had remained almost stationary. The hand loom had existed for generations without any fundamental improvement. Most plows, a bough tipped with iron, were essentially the same as those used by the pastoral peoples who first began to till the soil. The same may be said of the harrow, hoe, rake, sickle, fork, spade, and flail, and of the principles of cultivation. The only sources of light were the candle and the open-flame whale oil lamp, without any chimney. The printing-press was the hand-operated device invented during the Renaissance. The only means of locomotion-animal power, the oar, and the sail-had been known to the ancestors of Homer; and news was disseminated by these selfsame slow, uncertain methods. Try to imagine the modern world without the railroad, the steamship, and the telegraph-to say nothing of the airplane, the telephone, and the radio! Then, a generation before the storm of 1789 disrupted the Old Regime, a burst of inventive attainment in England gave rise to a revolution in culture beside which the transformations wrought by the political revolution in France pale into insignificance -- a revolution that ushered in a new world and, coupled with the nineteenth century developments in science, was to affect mankind more profoundly than any previously recorded in history. Not only was the economic and consequently the social structure remade, so that the private, everyday life of every individual was affected, but the repercussions on politics and thought were equally far-reaching." Unprecedented Increase in KnowledgeUntil
the middle of the nineteenth century, in fact, most of the outstanding
inventions that characterize our present civilization were unknown and undreamt
of by the vast majority of men. Since that time the pages of history have borne
witness to an unprecedented and ever accelerating increase in human knowledge
and inventions. Especially from the turn of the twentieth century and - more
particularly since the World War, a span within the lives of men living today,
there has' been witnessed an astonishing array of intellectual attainments. So
vast, in fact, has been this advance in science and learning, and so ramified
and specialized, that knowledge has grown. faster than popular education, and
no man, however learned and characterized by breadth of interest, can even
fully appreciate, much less master, the achievements in all the different
fields, while- the ordinary man has, no conception of the present state of
knowledge. And this scientific specialization is rapidly developing a caste of
intellectuals who alone are able to roam the fields of advanced knowledge,
although popularized works are published that the average man may keep up
better with the onward march of civilization. It is hopeless to even briefly
enumerate some of the advances in the
various fields of learning. Each has been tremendous. Medicine and surgery,
chemistry, biology, psychology, geology, physiology, mathematics, physics, and
astronomy have forged ahead by leaps and bounds which, while redounding t. the
blessing of man, have far outstripped the ability of the majority to keep pace
intellectually, though the average man today has more education than the
scholar of the Middle Ages. We live in a day of electrons, X-rays, quanta,
radioactivity, hormones, vitamins, chromosomes and genes, with innumerable
other mysteries in the offing. The horizon seems unlimited both in the
macrocosmic and the microscopic world. With his enormous telescopes man has
discerned a vastness which makes him all but shrink into insignificance. The
sun with a diameter of 110 times that of the earth, is found to be a
comparatively minor star rushing through space with its attendant plants, one
of 100 billion stars which compose our galaxy hose boundaries are the Milky
Way, that wonderful belt if stars visible to the naked eye, and whose diameter
is estimated to be more than 160,000 light years -- a light year being the
number of miles light travels in a year, moving at the speed of 186,000 miles,
per second. And beyond its borders astronomers have not only discovered the
galaxies similar to our galactic system or sidereal universe, but have located
or isolated what seem to be actual clouds of galaxies. Observers have already
begun to conceive not only of a galaxy of galaxies but of a galaxy of galaxies
of galaxies, and there seems to be no logical reason for stopping at this
point. Man stands amazed before the revelations of the vastness of the heavens
and can well repeat with the Psalmist: "The heavens declare the glory of
God." World by Wisdom Knows not GodAt the opposite extreme from
the magnitude revealed by she astrophysical measurements of sections of the
cosmos, the new physics has set the minuteness and complex ty of the atom and
its constituent electrons. This represents the core of the striking progress of
electromechanics in the twentieth century. Physicists have sho n that the supposed
basic and integral atom (the constituent of the molecule--the chemical
subdivision of matter) is actually a highly composite and intricate physical
system, almost as complex as the solar system itself. Far from being inert,
matter is now known to be built up of minute units of a smallness that staggers
the human imagination and which revolve at tremendous speeds approaching the
velocity of light, and which are manifested by the phenomena of electricity,
X-rays, radioactivity, etc. It
is remarkable that thus, in these closing scenes of the 6,000 years permission of evil, the learned of this world
have come to an impasse in the study
of the large and the small. Man's accomplishments have been great in many ways
but he has failed to find in them the happiness sought for and has failed to
find by his intellectual pursuits the Cause of all things. The world by wisdom
knows not God and will not seek for the wisdom that cometh from above. And
though He has not left Himself without witness, "for the invisible things
of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even His eternal power and Deity; so that they are
without excuse," yet man will not learn, and his very advance in human
knowledge but mocks his attempt to find the happiness he longs for. Even now
this is being realized. We quote from Barnes' History of Western Civilization: "The
twentieth century has witnessed a decisive alteration in our attitude towards
the doctrine of progress. In the nineteenth century the theory of progress was
very generally accepted by the great majority of advanced minds. The emotional
optimism that produced the theories of progress characteristic of the late
seventeenth century and the eighteenth was taken over by nineteenth century
thinkers and given seeming vindication through the theory of evolution. The
doctrine of progress appeared to be founded upon a basic law of nature. Only
the more optimistic thinkers of the twentieth century have been able to
subscribe unqualifiedly to any such dogmatic conception of inevitable
progress. Vast and unprecedented progress can be demonstrated in science and
technology. Of the vast material progress since 1850 there can be no doubt
whatsoever. But this material advance does not mean human progress unless man
shows himself capable of controlling material gains in the interest of social
well-being. The World War taught us a shocking lesson in this respect.
Stupendous advances in science and technology
were then used to expedite a type of group insanity and mass slaughter that
came dangerously near being the suicide of Western civilization. A decade later
the deep and prolonged economic depression demonstrated that unparalleled
capacity to produce goods does not necessarily mean general prosperity or mass
welfare. Democratic government and majority rule also seem recently not to be
able to produce political rulers competent to cope with the ever-increasing
complexity of human' problems. It is quite possible, therefore, that these very
scientific and technological advances which seem to some the best proof of
progress may prove the major cause of the downfall of civilization as a
whole." That
mankind will be unable to utilize present blessings to establish a just order
is known to all Bible students who look for the new heavens and earth promised
wherein dwelleth righteousness. Despite his increased intelligence in these
days, man will be unable to cope with the rising tide of discontent, and will
learn the lesson that material possessions without inward transformation cannot
satisfy. Man must first be led up the "highway of holiness" to
mental, moral, and physical perfection under the tutelage of the Millennial
Kingdom rulers, Christ and the Church, ' and then, when perfected and dwelling
in a perfect earth, intellectual pursuits will be one of the blessings enjoyed
by those who will have "the right to eternal life, the gift of God. - 1
Timothy 2:5, 6; Rev. 20:6; Isaiah 35:8, 10; Romans 6:23.
-
W. J. Siekman. The Apostle Paul and "His" Gospel
"According to my
gospel." - 2 Timothy 2:8. IF
ANY one word could be used to describe St. Paul's influence in the Church, it
would be the word "progress," and we shall not do wrong if we think
of him as the "Apostle of Progress." Indeed our Lord himself
indicated this at the time of his selection to the Apostolic office, when he
said: "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles,
and kings, and the children of Israel." - Acts 9:15. To
him was allotted not only the stupendous task of freeing the Church of Christ
from the Jewish wrapping which had served as its cradle, but of extending the
witness to the uttermost parts of the earth. Through his preaching men turned
not only from Moses to Christ, but from Pagan idolatry to the worship of the
one true God. As another has said: "He was the traveled ambassador of
Christ, who snatched Christianity from the hands of a local faction and turned
it into a universal faith, whose powerful word shook all the gods from Cyprus
to Gibraltar, who turned the tide of history and thought." THE EPISTLES ARE OUR SOURCE OF INFORMATIONIt
is to his Epistles we must turn if we would really know St. Paul. While we
might, from other sources, especially the Book of Acts, have learned what he did
and suffered, yet apart from his Epistles we should have very little
idea of what he was. But in them we meet the man himself. This
is most important, for, as is well known, while abstract truth, discussed from
an academic standpoint, might result in very exact theology, it is only what
has been termed "truth through personality," that is to say, truth
which has become part of the very life of the one presenting it, that gets very
far in the remolding of other people's lives. One whose life is not in harmony
with his teachings, even though his theology might be excellent, is apt to
remind us of sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal; so also will another who,
speaking beyond his depth, talks parrot-fashion of things of which he little
knows the meaning. But when one has had written into his own life and
experience the truths the Apostle brings to our attention in his letters, he
suggests to us the spirit and power of God. Thus it is that while truth which
is written with pen and ink merely, may mean much, truth which is written in
the lives of men and women, means much more. Once it was that God wrote his law
on tables of stone; in a day not far distant, if we understand the signs
of the times correctly, the writing is to be done in the hearts of the
people, with gloriously different results (Exod. 32:15, 16; 34:1; 2 Cor. 3:3;
Heb. 8:10; 10:26). Jesus himself not only preached important truths, he
personified truth. So,
in lesser measure, was it with the Apostle Paul. When he appeared before men,
he narrated the outward facts of his conversion. He told them of the
light which he had seen, above the brightness of the noonday sun; he mentioned
the voice which he had heard speaking with him: "Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9:4; 22:7; 26:14). But in his letters we find
his inner life laid bare-lived over again for us, and brought before our mind's
eye in a wordpicture. We have in them not merely instructions on how to live
the Christ-life; we have what is of still more value to us -- a cross section
of that life as he lived it. It
is not possible, of course, but if, without violating confidence, we could
"listen-in" to the private prayers of one who walks close to the
Lord, it would mean infinitely more to us than any discourse such an one might
give us on the subject, "How to pray." But in his Epistles we may
actually "listen-in" to the heart struggles of the Apostle, as he
grapples for himself with the problems that for ages had baffled mankind. Here
we see this great seeker after righteousness discovering through personal experience
how God could be just and yet the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus
(Rom. 3:26). We are given an opportunity to see how the Apostle became a
New Creature (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15), and how that New Creature
grew. Here we have his thought processes and may see, not alone the happy
conclusions he reached, but what is of equal importance, how he reached them. For
example: when he bears Israel witness, as he does, that they have a zeal for
God, but not according to knowledge (Rom. 10:2), the mere statement of this
fact might leave us measurably unmoved. When we realize, however, that he is
speaking of the zeal he himself used to have, we begin to understand his
earnestness, and his words take on a new significance. When he discusses the
believer's baptism, and likens it to a burial of the old life now to be
reckoned dead (Rom. 6:4), we find ourselves admitting that the picture is well
drawn, and the doctrine sound; but as the thought comes to us that the writer
is one who has given proof after proof that he himself had died, and that his
life since then had been hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3); that he himself
had been crucified with Christ, and that what life he lived henceforth was as
though Christ lived in his stead (Gal. 2:20) -- when this thought comes
home to us, we find ourselves occupied more with him than with his argument,
masterly though it be. His words, backed by his life, catch fire in our
hearts, causing us to long to share his rich experiences of fellowship with the
Master, and to determine that by God's grace we will so do, cost what it may.
We find in his epistles the proof, not only that he was in the truth, but what
was of far greater importance, the truth was in him, and it is this, which
makes his letters pulsate with the throb of life. "HIS" GOSPELPaul,
a servant of Jesus Christ, a divinely commissioned Apostle, was, he tells us,
separated unto the Gospel (Rom. 1:1). With him the Gospel was not incidental to
other matters more important. It was not even one important thing among others
that held place in his life. No! it was the business of his life, to
which all else was incidental, to which all else was subservient -- was held
subservient. And in this, in the complete, whole-hearted abandonment
to the Gospel, which, from his conversion and call he devoted his life, his
strength lay. To
see the Gospel in all the fullness that St. Paul preached it one must read, and
not only read but study, the Epistle to the Romans. Here we must content
ourselves with very brief observations on the twofold work of Christ his
Gospel unfolds, namely, first, Christ's work for us, or the ground of
our justification; and, second, Christ's work in us, or our
sanctification by his spirit. CHRIST'S WORK FOR USFrom
first to last the Gospel of St. Paul has to do with a Person. The sum and
substance of "his" Gospel is Jesus. The one purpose of his preaching,
never at any time lost sight of, even in the midst of his most involved
doctrinal discussions, is to put the individual hearer and believer of his
message in personal and vital touch with his own risen and living Lord. How
shall he do this most effectively? His own experience tells him. He who had spent the years
prior to his conversion seeking to establish his own righteousness, well knows
that the first essential to salvation is a righteousness which may be possible
for man to secure as a gift,
for to
merit same, he has found from his own experience, is an impossibility.
Ah! no wonder he is not ashamed of the Gospel, for therein is revealed a
righteousness which may be procured by faith, a righteousness which has its
origin and which is, therefore, entirely acceptable, with God. - Romans 1:17. Any
sincere
seeker after righteousness -- all who hunger and thirst after it -- will
undoubtedly be intensely interested in his message, and since the offer (of
this righteousness as a free gift to all who will accept it) is made possible,
by the redemptive work of Christ, small wonder that he says: "I delivered
unto you first of all that which [in my own personal experience] I also
received first of all, how that Christ died for our sins." - 1 Cor. 15:3. CHRIST'S WORK IN USBut if by his death on
Calvary's cross our Lord performed a work for us, which constitutes the
basis of our righteousness or justification, he is today, in his risen and
glorified condition, carrying on by his spirit, a no less important work in
us. "For," says the Apostle, "if, when we were enemies, we
were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more, being reconciled,
we shall be saved by his life" -- his resurrection
life, of course. - Romans 5:10. It is a blessed experience to
have the peace with God which comes from being justified by faith in the
precious blood of Christ (Rom. 5:1), but a true lover of righteousness could
never be satisfied with an imputed righteousness only. His ardent desire is to
be saved, not only from the guilt and punishment of sin, but from its power.
The words of the Psalmist express the sentiment of the true believer's heart:
"I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness" (Ps. 17:15).
And he will not be satisfied until then. By faith in Christ's work for
us righteousness is imputed, or reckoned to us; and when, by his
spirit, Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, righteousness begins to be imputed
by God, imparted to us. Christ in us, therefore, that
is to say, the Christ -- spirit or the Christ -- mind in us, is indeed, as the
Apostle says, the hope of glory. - Eph. 3:17; Col. 1:27. Though, therefore, our
outward man perish, the inward man is renewed. "When?" does one ask. "Daily," replies the Apostle. "Give us day by
day," we pray, "not our temporal food only, but the Living Bread
from heaven" (Luke 11:3). "If any man would come after me, let him
deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me," said our
Lord (Luke 9:23). In harmony therewith the Apostle writes: "Though,
therefore, our outward man perish, the inward man is renewed, day by
day" (2 Cor. 4:16). Under the gracious influence of the spirit of
Christ, that blessed promise of the Father, we are to be no longer conformed to
the spirit of this Age, but are to be, gradually, day by day transformed
by the renewing of our minds. - Acts 1:4; 2:33. Concerning Christ's work for us, the all-sufficient ground of our acceptance with
God, our Lord cried from the cross, "It is finished" (John 19:30).
In regard to Christ's work in us, the Apostle writes: "Being
confident of this very thing, that he who hath begun a good work in you
will continue to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." - Phil. 1:6. A FAITHFUL MINISTERSuch, briefly told, is the
Gospel according to Paul. Let us now turn to some of the lessons his life has
for us. Out of many we will mention only two. First -- his faithfulness. He
who taught others "It is required in stewards that a man be found
faithful" (1 Cor. 4:2), had learned this lesson well himself. Oh! surely
if his practice kept pace with his preaching anywhere it did so here. He was
entrusted by God and by Jesus with the Gospel, and he guarded it, dear
brethren, for you and for us. He kept watch over it as of a sacred treasure, as
the keeper of a holy fire, which must never be allowed to die out. His faithfulness is easily
seen in his fearless defense of the truth before the Jews, before Festus and
Agrippa and numerous others in high places (Acts 24:25; 25:9; 26:28), but to
our mind it is still better demonstrated when he withstood Peter to the
face (Gal. 2:11); when, lest the glorious Gospel which had been committed to
his trust should be jeopardized, he separated from such a friend as Barnabas
had proved himself to be (Acts 15:36-40; Gal. 2:13). Our Lord had said:
"I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake"
(Acts 9:16), and of all the things he suffered none could have cost him more.
To defend the truth against its enemies! -- that were easy -- but what agony
must it have been to his heart of gold when his loyalty to Christ compelled him
to take issue with his friends! A BELOVED BROTHERThen too, he was a beloved
brother, as well as a faithful minister. Such a combination of qualities is
rare. (Eph. 6:21). We wonder if all realize fully just how difficult it is to
attain this combination of character quality and development. It is so easy to
be beloved; -- to be lovable, easygoing, gentle, agreeable, at the expense
of faithfulness. On the other hand, to be faithful is little more than an
attainment of the flesh, when faithful adherence to and defense of the truth of
the Gospel is maintained in a rough, uncouth, unloving, contentious spirit of
strife. It is possible for a brother to be a very faithful minister; he may be
able to pick out our faults to a "T," but we would hardly call him a
beloved brother, would we? But if the Apostle John was one who taught us to
love in truth (1 John 3:18), it is not less certain that it was the Apostle
Paul who taught us to speak the truth in love. - Eph. 4:15. In concluding these brief
remarks on our beloved Brother Paul (2 Pet. 3:15), perhaps we cannot do better
than refer to a picture in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress: You will remember that early
in his journey to the Celestial City, Christian was taken into the
Interpreter's house, and there shown a number of things which were designed to
be of value to him along the way. One of the things Christian was shown was the
picture of a man. "And this" says Bunyan, "was the fashion of
it: It had eyes lifted up to heaven; the best of books was in its hand; the law
of truth was written on its lips; the world was behind its back; it stood as if
it pleaded with men; and a crown of gold did hang over its head." Then said Christian:
"What meaneth this?" The Interpreter replied: "The man whose picture
this is, is one of a thousand. He can say in the words of the Apostle: 'Though
ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers; for
in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel."' - 1 Cor. 4:15. In another place, the
Apostle, in defending himself against false teachers, urges the brethren to
remember, not merely what he had taught them, but how he had conducted himself
in their midst, and says: "In our relations to you we showed ourselves as
gentle as a mother is when she tenderly nurses her own children. Seeing that we
were thus drawn affectionately towards you, it would have been a joy to us to
have imparted to you not only God's good news, but to have given our very
lives also, because you had become very dear to us." - 1 Thess. 2:17, Weymouth. Thank God for Paul, and for
all those noble men and women who, though commissioned to a lesser place in the
ministry, have shared his fatherly and motherly spirit -- for those who have
resolutely refused to permit their names to be added to the already too long
list of mere instructors, or would-be instructors, in Christ, but have
earnestly coveted a place amongst the few--the "not many" fathers and
mothers in spiritual Israel. And may we be blessed with a sufficient measure
of the holy spirit to be able to recognize any of those who, by the good favor
of God, may chance to be laboring in our midst today, and, viewing attentively
the result of their conduct, as the Apostle, in the Diaglott translation
of Hebrews 13:7 suggests, imitate their faith and their lives. Thus may it be,
for Jesus sake. Amen. -P. L Read "Count It All Joy"
- Celia Thaxter Called Saints
"Giving thanks unto the
Father, which bath made us meet MANY have testified that when
reading the Bible it seems to be a closed book to them; they cannot understand
it, cannot comprehend its message. The reason for this is that the Scriptures,
especially the epistles of the New Testament, were written to and for a
special people, and consist of matters of peculiar interest to them only. For
instance, the letter of Paul to the Romans, although addressed to "all
that be at Rome," is qualified by the words following -- "beloved of
God, called to be saints." Also, the first epistle to the Corinthians is
to "the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in
Christ Jesus, called to be saints." Generally speaking, the word
saint has now come to have the significance of referring to someone who has
been canonized by a council of the Roman Catholic church; one who has been
judged as having become, during his earthly lifetime, almost sinless; or one
who had rendered outstanding service to the church; or had been martyred for his
faith. But the Apostle, writing the epistles which constitute much of the New
Testament, used the term saint to designate all who "call upon the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ." The words "called to be saints" might
seem to express the idea that the calling is to be saints in an afterlife. But
observe that the words "to be" in the Authorized Version are in
italics, indicating that they were supplied by the translators to give fluency
to the reading. Omitting the words "to be," we read simply,
"called saints"; not only in some future life, but now! This is seen
by reading Philippians 1:1, which letter is addressed "to all the saints
in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi." That this is not meant for a
special few who might have been outstanding in worship and service, the
salutation includes within its scope, "the bishops and deacons." WHAT IS A SAINT?Incorporated into the English
language are words from many tongues-Latin, German, French, Greek, etc. It has
been estimated that the Old Testament employs only 8000 different Hebrew words,
and that an unabridged English dictionary contains about 240,000 words. Thus we
often have a choice of words to express a shade of thought. Many languages do
not have this variety, only one word being available to express the idea of a
saint; that is, one who is "holied." Our English word saint is
derived from the Latin sanctus, from which also come the terms sanctify, and
sanctification. The word sanctify as used in the Old Testament may give us some
idea as to what the word saint means. Things, days, persons, offices, were
sanctified; they were set apart for a specific purpose in the worship and
service of Jehovah. For instance, Aaron was a sanctified man, not because he
was especially righteous (was it not he who had made the golden calf, and led
in its worship?), but because God had set him apart for the High Priesthood.
Aaron, alone, might enter into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement with
the blood of the sin-offering; he, only, might wear the garments of "glory
and beauty" which themselves -were holy garments, sanctified to be worn
on special occasions. The tabernacle, with all its parts and purtenances, was
sanctified for no other purpose than for carrying out the appointed rituals of
service. Even the ground on which the tabernacle was reared was sanctified as
long as the tabernacle occupied the space. Certain days were sanctified, such
as the seventh day, the new moon, the Passover week, the Day of Atonment,
etc. The whole nation of Israel was sanctified-a holy nation set apart from
all other peoples of the earth to be the witnesses for one God, and to be
light-bearers of the law of righteousness and truth to other nations (Deut.
4:1-8; Isa. 53:10). Applying this illustration to "all who call upon the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ," a saint is one who is holy, set apart,
sanctified for the worship and service of God. ADAM NOT A SAINTTrue, "God created man
in his own image" (Gen. 1:27). "And God saw everything that he had
made, and, behold, it was very good" (Gen. 1:31). But even though
pronounced "very good" as coming fresh from the creative power of
God, Adam was not a saint. We must understand the condition and situation of
our first parents before the temptation and disobedience: they simply obeyed
the laws implanted in them, just as every order of creation acts according to
the laws of its nature. This can be illustrated by the robin migrating south
as cold weather approaches, and north, again, as Spring arrives. Who taught it
this cycle? And who taught it to build its nest in the crotch of a pear tree,
or an apple, or a cherry, and not out on the swaying branches of a willow as do
the orioles? They build nests, just as have robins from the beginning, of bits
of grass, hair, string, or whatever of such material they can gather. There are
capable engineers and artisans in the world, but not one of them can build a
nest like a robin, who has no education or instruction but only responds to an
implanted law. So with the man Adam. Before his disobedience he simply obeyed
the laws of his nature; he did not need to try to be perfect, he was perfect in
all his created parts and instincts. But when tested for obedience he failed to set himself apart
to obey his Creator's expressed will, and this by an act of deliberate
disobedience. Thus Adam was not a saint, not a sanctified man. ADAM'S STRUGGLE AND FALLWhere
there is a strong pulsation of life there is no desire to die, to cease to
exist; death, and thoughts of dying, are abhorrent. No youth of today, enjoying
the full vigor of manhood, contemplates dying. Every fiber of his being
exults in living. How much more, then, the man Adam with his undeteriorated
life forces, and with unlimited time in which to glory in the powers of
investigation into the secrets of the earth, of nature, and of the universe of
which he was a part, and all with the sweetness of communion with his Creator.
All instincts would be to live! The transgression in Eden was not (as is so
often idiotically expressed) that Eve ate an apple, gave one to Adam, and that
then God sentenced them to death for this! God did not penalize; the introduction
into their nature of a law of disobedience, which estranged them from their
source of life was the penalty. This was the waning: "In the day thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."(Gen. 2:17). Adam must have had a
tremendous inner struggle to bring himself o do that which he knew to be
contrary to the expressed will of his Creator, and contrary to his own
instincts. How long this struggle lasted is not revealed, but we have a
counterpart of this in the experience of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. As
with the man Adam, so with the man Jesus, it required no effort to be perfect,
he was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" (Heb.
7:26). But even though he understood from the Scriptures that was God's will
for him (Ps. 40:6-8; Heb. 10:5-9), yet in the crisis hour, wearied and sorrowful
"even unto death," he prayed "Father, if thou be willing, remove
this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done."
"And being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were
great drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:39-44). When he thus
prayed, he was struggling with his perfect human nature and instincts and
desire for life, to bring these into subordination to the will of God for him.
So must it have been with Adam; but unlike Jesus, who sanctified himself,
crushing out the possibility of his ever willing to do anything contrary to the
will of God, Adam yielded to disobedience. So great must have been the
struggle, that in yielding he introduced into himself a seed of disobedience,
unbalancing his nature, with the result that the whole race derived from him
has been unbalanced ever since, "sold under sin." Disease,
calamities, death are the result of being out of harmony with the laws and will
of the Creator, the source of life. "In Adam all die" for the same
life force that was in him is the same life force that is in all his posterity,
coming down from father to child. HOW DO WE BECOME SAINTS?It
being so that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God"
that was in the unfallen Adam, how, then, do we become saints? First of all, it
is by coming to a realization of being "children of wrath" (Eph.
2:1-3) and the necessity of a change of nature. "Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). The nature derived from
Adam is blind to spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:14), and has no tendency to be
subject to the rule and authority of God (Rom. 8:6-8). In fact it is at enmity
with God. The change of nature
is not a reformation of the old which Paul denominates "the old man";
nor is it even the old nature with a better informed mind. It is a transformation,
a complete changing over to a new mind, a new will, a new heart (Rom. 12:1,2).
But how and where does this take place? We might illustrate it by citing the
occasion of Moses approaching the burning bush (Ex. 3:4-6), when the Voice
spoke to him saying: "Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy
feet, for the place whereon thou standeth is holy ground." So, too, the
ground whereon we stand before God is holy: not material earth, but the
spiritual ground of our acceptance before God. "Being justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set
forth to be a propitiation [Gr. hilasteerion, propitiatory, mercy seat] through
faith in his blood" (Rom. 3:24, 25). Here is the secret of reconciliation:
God can recognize the sacrifice of Christ, for it was the Father who sent the
Son into the world to accomplish our redemption; and we, aware of being
estranged from God, confess faith in that sacrifice as the basis of
reconciliation. Here we meet God, and God meets us. Truly holy ground, but spiritual,
not earthly. Christ assumed the place of the sinful nature and "was made a
sin-offering for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him" (2 Cor. 5:21). But Christ not only died for our sins, he was raised
for our justification" (Rom. 4:25), and our being baptized into Christ
has the significance of our having been raised with him to walk in a new life,
dedicated, consecrated to "walk not after the flesh but after the
spirit" (Rom. 8:1, 4). This constitutes us saints, sanctified ones. A NEW CREATION"If
any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold,
all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17). But even though a new creation,
we still have the "old man" to deal with. "Put off," writes
the Apostle, "the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts;
and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and put on the new man, which after
God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Eph. 4:22-24). And
again: "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 who created him." - Col. 3:9, 10. "Ye
see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not
many mighty, not many noble are called: but God bath chosen the foolish things
of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world,
and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not,
to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his
presence" (1 Cor. 1:26-29). Many saints are called from the lowest strata
of society, but they stand on equal footing before God with the fairest of those
who have responded to the call to sanctification (Rom. 12:1, 2). For each one
Christ Jesus, of God, is made wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption (1 Cor. 1: 30). It is "doing the will of God from the
heart" that marks one as a saint, a new creation, no matter how
imperfectly the will of God is done. An
incident in the life of Jesus may be inserted here. He had been teaching in a
home, and "while he yet talked to the people, one said unto him, behold
thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he
answered and said unto him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he
stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and
my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven,
the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." - Matt. 12:46-50. VICTORIOUS SAINTSIn
Romans 6:12, 13 the Apostle urges "Let not sin therefore reign in your
mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your
members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto
God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God." Now, this "let not" implies that
whereas formerly we did not submit to the will of God, and, in fact, were not
concerned with such submission, now we can make a decision as to whom and to
what we will yield obedience. Previous to being reconciled to God, we were
under the law (rule) of sin, "fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of
the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others" (Eph.
2:3). Even though, in times past, we made strivings against sin and
uncleanness, we were aware, because of a weakened will, that we were unable to
lift ourselves out of the degrading tendencies of the Adamic nature. By habits
of years, any wall of resistance had been broken down. We had, as the Apostle
writes, "yielded ourselves as servants to uncleanness and to
iniquity," which always eventuated into more iniquity (Rom. 6:19). Because
of the fallen nature, accentuated by our own willful ways, we were a prey to
all manner of wickedness; we were "like a city that is broken down and
without walls" (Prov. 25:28). Now a new wall has to be erected-a strong
tendency to resist temptation and to obey the will of God when an issue
involving that will is placed before us. What we have now in Christ is a new
spirit of life, a spirit that helps our infirmities (Rom. 8:26), for "if
the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his
spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom. 8:11). Here is the adequate power to
give victory over each temptation. It is no sin to be tempted; for the "old
man," though reckoned dead, (Rom. 6:11, 12) does not yield without
resistance to the new mind of the spirit. Each temptation is an occasion to be
exercised in godliness, to gain the victory over the "old man." As
the poet expressed it: "Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin.
Each victory will help you some other to win." So build up a wall of
resistance against yielding, and thus grow in grace and in the knowledge of
God, fortifying the new mind in the will of God. One may not realize it at first,
but "it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good
pleasure." Phil. 2:13. "And the very God of peace sanctify you
wholly." - 1 Thess. 5:23. - F. A. Essler God Our Great Caretaker
"The
Lord is my shepherd." - Psalm 23:1 IN THE 23rd Psalm we have a
beautiful illustration of the Lord’s care for His children. This Psalm praises
Jehovah as the Shepherd and Host of His own. This Psalm breathes throughout a
spirit of the calmest and most assured trust in God. It speaks of a peace so
deep, so profound that even the thought of the shadow of death cannot trouble
it. Theme is an absence of all doubt, misgiving, fear, and anxiety. A most beautiful description
of rest and safety and trustful happiness is given in the picture of the sheep
lying down in the deep, rich meadow grass, beside the living stream, under the
care of a tender and watchful shepherd. This feeling of confidence
is expressed in three different ways. "I cannot want"; "I will
fear no evil"; "I will dwell in the house of Jehovah forever."
God’s care for the Christian is expressed in a twofold image: Jehovah is ‘the
true Shepherd, and He is the bountiful Host. The essential idea in this
Psalm of David is that God would provide for him, that he would never be left
to want. ‘This is the thought with which the Psalm commences. "The Lord is
my shepherd, 1 shall not want." And this thought is carried all the way
through. This is illustrated by two facts: (1) That God was his shepherd; that
‘He had always manifested toward him the care which a shepherd takes of his
flock. (2) That God had prepared a table for him in the very presence of his
enemies, when they were endeavoring to .destroy him, thus giving him the
assurance that He would never leave him. "He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures" -- pastures of tender grass. It is properly
applied here to places where flocks and herds lie down for repose. And it is
not merely a flock enjoying repose, it is a flock whose needs have been
supplied, lying down in the midst of abundance. As applied to children of the
Lord it would mean that their needs are met and satisfied, and they have the
confidence that their needs will always be supplied. The words, "He leadeth
me beside the still waters," would denote the calmness, the peace, the
repose of heart when the heart is at peace with God, and His peace ruling in
the heart. "He restoreth my
soul," -- He quickens me. God vivifies or quickens the spirit when
exhausted or weary or sad. The Great Shepherd reanimates, brings back its vigor,
encourages to new effort, and fills it with joy. "He leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness, for His name’s sake,"-He leads me in right paths.
He does not suffer me to wander in ways that would lead to ruin. As the
shepherd in the East always ; precedes his flock, so our Shepherd goes
ahead-leads us. He leads us in these paths of righteousness for His own sake,
or that His name may be glorified. It is that He may be honored. "Yea though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death."-We do not believe that this
verse applies merely to death itself, though it embraces that, but we believe
that the whole human family have been walking through the valley of the shadow
of death for more than six thousand years past. But the Lord’s children have the
assurance that they will be guided and led by the Great Shepherd. They have
nothing to fear in this dark valley, "for Thou art with me." "Thy rod and thy staff,
they comfort me." -- It seems that the rod is the symbol of the shepherd’s
defending power. It is the weapon by which he strikes down our adversaries, and
this suggests the protecting grace of our Shepherd, who is ever on the alert to
ward off threatening ills. The staff might be called the shepherd’s crook. The
sheep pass beneath it one by one to be numbered; and by this staff the shepherd
also restrains them from wandering, or hooks them out of holes into which they
have fallen. So the rod and -the staff comfort us. They impart confidence that
He will not leave us alone and that He will defend us. "Thou preparest a table
before me, in the presence of mine enemies." It is very helpful to us to
think of our being sheep and. God our Shepherd, but in this verse the Psalmist
seems to say, "I am more than Jehovah’s sheep, I am Jehovah’s guest."
To sit with a man at his table is a mark of great intimacy. It is not only a
means of satisfying hunger, but of intimacy and affectionate love. So the
Christian can think of himself as sitting at God’s banqueting table feasting on
things which He has prepared. God has prepared this table of spiritual food,
showing how He has anticipated our needs. And it is very necessary that we
continually partake of the food which our Father has prepared. He prepares this
table for us in spite of our enemies. They cannot cut off the supplies that
come continually from above. "Thou anointest my head
with oil." -- At an Eastern feast the welcome of the guest is expressed by
the precious ointment with which he is anointed on entrance into the home. If
this were omitted the failure would be noticed. We recall what our Master said:
"My head with oil thou didst not anoint." How blessed it is that we
too can say with the Psalmist, "Thou anointest my head with oil:"
This oil seems to be indicative of joy and gladness. And so we have been
anointed with the "oil of gladness:" "My cup runneth over"
showing how abundantly the Lord provides for His children. The Lord gives
liberally, more than we can use for ourselves. So brethren let us see that the
overflowing of our cup does not run to waste. "Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life" -- We who have Jehovah as
our great Shepherd have the promise of His continual care. We shall always have
the two God-sent messengers: Goodness aced Mercy-Goodness to supply every need,
Mercy to forgive every sin. .Surely Goodness and Mercy shall follow us, because
He has set His love upon us. "And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever." "I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever." -- We may always and everywhere find our
dwelling-place in God, under the shadow of His wing. He is our refuge, our
fortress, our strong tower. May we more and more realize
the possibility of living in the house of the Lord hourly where care cannot
invade, and where the Good Shepherd leads His flock into green pastures so that
they cannot hunger, and beside still waters so that they cannot thirst, and in
cool deep glens so that the sun cannot smite by day nor the moon by night. And
if faithful we know that we shall finally dwell in the "house of the Lord
forever" in its truest and highest sense, for heaven itself where God
dwells will be our eternal home. But it is our privilege
while here to sit together with Christ in heavenly .places; dwelling in the
secret place of the Most High; risen with Christ. Full of Joy and gratitude
every child of God may say confidently "Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever." - I. I. Margeson Under His Wings
"In
the shadow of thy wings
will I make my refuge." -
Psalm 57:1. WITH TWO distinct pictures
in mind the Psalmist uses wings as symbolic of Divine protection. Since, in the
instance we will consider first that of Psalm 57:1 -- these are the wings of
the Most Holy, the lesson is only for those who, by faith, live the resurrected
life. (Eph 2:4-6; Rom. 8:9.) If our affections are set on only such things as
can come under the protection of the overshadowing wings, business depressions
will cause us no disappointments. It is the repentant sinner who realizes
himself a criminal, that flees to the Tabernacle, his refuge from life’s
calamities. ‘The artist who is satisfied with his picture is not much of an
artist. The Christian who can think highly of his attainments, instead of classing
himself as the chief of sinners, probably has not very high ideals. If the deliverance of Dan.
12:1 does not loom larger in our minds than the time of trouble of the previous
phrase, then the lesson of trust has not been well learned. What would we not
do to have our names written in the book of those who are to have deliverance
-- engage in every kind of work and subscribe to every fund, get to all the
meetings on time? Yes, surely there is no excuse for one of us trying to
convince himself that the witnessing is finished as long as there is any hope
of reaching one more person. It is a splendid thing to put out; tracts or sell
books in some other brother’s territory; a better thing, for you, to put them
in the hands of those who know you, though it may perhaps injure your
reputation or even your business; but the thing that counts in getting your
name into God’s Book is your success in adding His likeness to your character.
(2 Pet. 1:5-12) and so lining the Christian life that those who know you must
realize that you have been sitting at the feet of Jesus. Jesus quoted Daniel’s
prophecy, adding the information that the culminating trouble of the Age would
come after we would see the abomination that maketh desolate sitting in the
holy place. We who have lived to see a desecration of holy things such as we
never dreamed could take place, have sweet consolation in being able to flee
for refuge to these wings in the time of the Church’s greatest need, and in
knowing that, even though we should enter the trouble which is to follow the
seeing of this abomination, we still need fear no evil. Just as beautiful and just
as comforting is the Psalmist’s picture of Psa. 91:4. For the chick nestled
close to the hen’s warmth, danger does not exist outside. If you are not fully
enjoying the happiness and peace of Rom. 14:17, you are probably represented by
one of the chicks with his head outside looking for something to get nervous
about, thinking of meat and drink instead of the blessings of Divine fellowship.
You can go a long while without food, but not without peace, and you must not
be satisfied with the peace Jesus left with His disciples, the peace that comes
from having food and clothing assured and taxes paid, but must seek the peace
He promised to give after His departure -- His peace, the peace of God (God’s
peace), the peace of having "all power." (John 14:27; Phil. 4:7; Col
1:11.) As long as you can say, "Thy will not mine be done" that power
and the resulting peace can be yours, but it is easier to say, Thy will be
done, in my way. Many a one has dropped out of the race when the Father’s plan
did not; work out according to his interpretation of it. Illustrating the Father’s
care over us, Jesus intimated that He who watched the sparrow’s fall would
surely count us of more value. How Satan would like to have us spend all our
time considering whether it is literally true that the Father sees every
sparrow that; dies and counts every falling hair! I am afraid he has gotten a
great deal of satisfaction out of many Bible studies where the whole hour is
spent in settling some point of no value to the new creature. The lesson this
is intended to teach is that of the Father’s interest in us, and Jesus picked
the most useless things to illustrate how minute is that interest. Jesus’ peace
came from knowing God, and He gave this lesson that we might know Him better.
When that knowledge is yours, no one will have to threaten you with the second
death to make a faithful witness of you. You will be more anxious to tell that
than to tell about the great people of the earth you have met, if you really
know Jehovah. The Bible was not given primarily to reveal God’s Plan, but to
reveal God through the Plan. You would even be willing to change your
understanding of God’s Plan if by that change you would learn to know more of
His goodness. There are a number of texts
in the Bible that promise bread and water to the Lord’s people. If you had to
choose between applying them to your physical nourishment or your spiritual, would
you not a thousand times rather have the assurance that you would never suffer
spiritual want, especially in this day when the thousands are starving at our
very right hand? Imagine yourself a farmer and then get before your mind the
picture of Hab 3:17, your farm swept clean of all food. Now, if you can join in
the exultation of the next verse, you have learned to know God enough to trust
Him for physical comforts. But can you apply it to our spiritual treasures,
saying, Although the Jewish nation (fig tree) shall not return to Palestine,
the fruit of the Church (vine) shall be contention and strife, peace (the labor
of the olive) shall fail us, the restitution blessings shall not come to the
world (field), there shall be no people anywhere that we could call the Church
(flock), the ancient worthies (herd-Hebrew, bullocks) shall not stand in their
lot, although every idea I have had of God’s Plan should prove to be false,
"yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."
This should not be such a difficult thing to say as it might at first seem, for
would it not mean that anything we had to lay aside had been man’s thought, and
are we not assured that when God’s thought takes the place of man’s we will
find it as much higher as the heaven’s are higher than the earth? We might even
hope to find we had been wrong if it were not that it does not seem possible
there could be anything much more glorious than that which we have already
received. -P. E. Thomson Jesus the Joy of the Desolate
In memory of my beloved son, WALTER M. BLACK, and to all that love
righteousness and long for Christ's Kingdom he did, following lines are
dedicated.
- Margaret H. Black. The Question Box
"For our conversation is
in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: who
shall change our vile body, Question: Does
this passage refer to the bodies of individual Christians, or to the one body
of Christ (described by the Apostle in the 12th chapter of 1st Corinthians) of
which each true Christian is a member? Regardless
of the answer to the foregoing, how are we to understand the word
"vile" in this connection? (According to modern dictionaries the word
"vile" means worthless, despicable, morally base, depraved.) Answer: Let
us first study the Greek word here translated "vile." For the benefit
of English students who have had little or no experience with Greek word
studies, may we suggest the following procedure: 1.
Turn first to Strong's Concordance, under the word "vile." This will
be found listed on page 1098. On that page it will be noted that the word
"vile" (in Phil. 3:21) is a translation of Word No. SG5014. 2.
Word No. SG5014 appears on page 70 in the Greek dictionary at the back of the
concordance, and is the Greek word "tapeinosis." 3.
"Tapeinosis," it will be seen, means "depression (in rank or
feeling). " 4.
Refer next to the Englishman's Greek Concordance of the New Testament, to the
English and Greek section, commencing on page 873. In
this section turn to the word "vile" (page 939). It will be noted
that the word "vile" is used to translate a number of Greek words.
However, our present study has to do with only one of these, namely,
"tapeinosis," which is the third on the list, the reference being to
page 720. 5.
On turning to page 720 we find all the verses in which "tapeinosis"
occurs, listed in scriptural sequence. We note also that they are four in number,
and that "tapeinosis" is only once translated "vile."
(Scholars are agreed that "vile" is a poor translation here; the
word "humiliation" is preferred.) Let
us now consider the four scriptures in which "tapeinosis" appears,
postponing our consideration of Philippians 3:21 until after we have examined
the other three scriptures. (1) Luke 1:48"For
he bath regarded the low estate
(tapeinosis)
of his handmaiden. " The
Virgin Mary is the speaker here. She is making no reference to her body. (If
she were, it is inconceivable that she would call it vile.) Actually she is
contrasting her then lowly social status with the lofty status of the house of
David from which she sprang. (2) Acts 8:33"In
his humiliation
(tapeinosis)
his judgment was taken away." The
reference here is to Jesus, he who was "holy, harmless, undefiled"
(Heb. 7:26), and whose body, therefore, could not have been, at any time,
vile. Actually
the body of Jesus is not under consideration in this passage. Instead, the
entire period of his life on earth is under review. From the cradle to the
grave, his whole career had been one of humiliation, and it is to this that the
prophecy of Isaiah, expounded by Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch, drew
attention. (3) James 1:9, 10"Let
the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: but the rich, in that he is made low (tapeinosis)." A
rich brother is not here exhorted to rejoice that his body is made vile. (Such
an exhortation would surely fall on deaf ears, if anyone were so foolish as to
offer it.) The
rich brother may, however, (and, indeed, he must, if he is to be a
more-than-conqueror) learn to distinguish the true riches from those of earth,
and to lay them up, "where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves do not break through nor steal" (Matt. 6:19-21). If, in the Lord's
providence, the best way for him to learn this lesson is by being "made
low" (by being stripped of his earthly riches and social status) he is to
rejoice therein. This concludes our review of the meaning of "tapeinosis" in 3 of its 4 occurrences in the New Testament (4) Philippians 3:20, 21Let
us now turn to our text, and see if the foregoing study throws any light on the
word here. While not conclusive, the fact that in none of the other three
occurrences does "tapeinosis" refer to an individual's body, but in
each case has reference to his (or her) lowly social status; this fact, we say,
suggests that the same meaning is likely to hold true here, too. First,
however, we must secure a better translation than the Authorized Version given
at the head of this question. (All scholars are agreed that our Authorized
Version, in this text, leaves much to be desired.) A preferred translation is
submitted below: "For
our citizenship [margin: commonwealth] is in heaven; whence also we wait for a
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation [tapeinosis] that it may be
conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to
subject all things unto himself" (American Revised Standard Version, 1901
edition). Now
for our question: In these two verses, is the Apostle contrasting the
individual flesh and blood bodies of the members of the Church on earth with
the spiritual bodies they will have in heaven, or is he contrasting the lowly
status of Christ's body (the Church) on earth with the lofty status it will
have when the Lord returns for her? As
indicated in the foregoing, there is a strong presumption (from our examination
of the other three occurrences of "tapeinosis") that the reference is
not to the individual bodies of Christians, but to the mystical body of Christ. However, the
context must decide this question. This being true, the question remains one of
interpretation. In all matters of interpretation, there is room for different
opinions. Our own understanding, submitted with due regard for the views of
others who may think differently, is that the context supports the viewpoint which interprets the passage
as having reference to the mystical body of Christ, not to the individual
bodies of its members. St.
Paul's general line of argument seems clear: In the company of professing
Christ-followers there are two main groups--the true and the false. They are
easily distinguished, not by slight differences of viewpoint on some
"hard to be understood" points of doctrine on which even inspired
Apostles differed (2 Pet. 3:16), but by the general tenor of their lives. The
false are described as of earthly mind who live as enemies of the cross of
Christ (Phil. 3:18, 19). The true are not to be content with merely adding to
their store of knowledge, but, as Moffatt's choice translation puts it,
"We must let our steps be guided by such truth as we have attained"
(Phil. 3:16). This must be true both of the mature and the immature (Phil.
3:15). It is mandatory in the Christian experience that each fresh item of
truth understood be promptly put into practice. At once it is to have its place
in "guiding the steps." This principle was so elementary with Paul
that he could, in all humility, consistently urge upon the brethren not merely
that they pay attention to his teaching, but that they copy him -- and even
were to take note of those who lived by the example he set (Phil. 3:17, 18, Moffatt). Then
comes the great contrast, which we may well believe was ever present to his
mind-the state of humiliation in which the true Church, the Body of Christ, was
to complete its course, and the state of glory to which she would be changed.
"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear
with him in glory" (Col. 3:4). "Then," as Brother Russell
has so well expressed it (Reprints, p. R1102), "the Church shall in
reality be a glorious body, a body suitable in every way for the high position
she shall fill as the Bride of Christ -- the companion of the Son of God for
all eternity, his joint-heir in all things, and his efficient and thoroughly
capable coworker in the great mission to which Jehovah bath appointed the
Christ -- Head and Body --Bridegroom and Bride. Together they shall constitute
the great Prophet, Priest, and King whom Jehovah hath anointed; and their glory
shall appear to all intelligent creatures in heaven and earth." - P. L. Read Importunate Prayer
- Leta Hatcher. Entered Into Rest
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