THOU HIDDEN SOURCE OF CALM REPOSE, by Charles Wesley

THOU HIDDEN SOURCE OF CALM REPOSE

Charles Wesley 1707-1788

Thou hidden source of calm repose,

Thou all sufficient love divine,

My help and refuge from my foes,

Secure I am if Thou art mine;

And lo! from sin and grief and shame

I hide me, Jesus, in Thy Name.

 

Thy mighty Name salvation is,

And keeps my happy soul above;

Comfort it brings, and power and peace,

And joy and everlasting love;

To me with Thy dear Name are given

Pardon and holiness and Heaven.

 

Jesus, my all in all Thou art,

My rest in toil, my ease in pain,

The healing of my broken heart,

In war my peace, in loss my gain,

My smile beneath the tyrant’s frown,

In shame my glory and my crown.

 

In want my plentiful supply,

In weakness my almighty power,

In bonds my perfect liberty,

My light in Satan’s darkest hour,

In grief my joy unspeakable,

                             My life in death, my Heaven in hell.

The Glorious Destiny unto which Men Have Been Created

 

The Glorious Destiny unto which Men Have Been Created

By Al Stoner

“For unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak” (Heb. 2:5).

“One in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of Thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus” (Heb. 2:6-9).

The son of man that Thou visitest him. In this particular visitation, spoken of by David in Psalm 8, God is not merely “stopping by” to pay men a visit, as the word is commonly used among men.  When God visits men, especially in the context of Psalm 8, He is bringing and bestowing unspeakably good things: things pertaining to eternal salvation and to the obtainment of eternal life. The things that God is bringing to men have become the substance of the glad tidings of the gospel.  But woe be unto men who despise and reject that which God is bringing! 

What is man? This is a question that is asked a number of times in Scripture from different perspectives (cf. Job 7:17; 15:14; Ps. 8:4; 144:3). In Job’s day thinkers, such as Job and his three “comforters” (Job 16:2), marveled that God would take any note of men at all because of man’s sinfulness and uncleanness (see Job 15:14-16). David, in Psalm 8, was given to see much more than this as he called to remembrance the reason for man’s creation as it was declared “in the beginning” in Genesis 1:26-28.

The specific reason, of course, was that men were created to exercise dominion over God’s creation. By creating man in His own image God had purposed to reveal more of His own Person and Character to the heavenly onlookers: the principalities and powers in heavenly places.   

In Psalm 144:3-4, however, David seems to have retrogressed in his reasoning more to the level of Job and his friends. We certainly do not fault him or those of Job’s day for this, for that former time was a time of lesser revelation. But we do fault current-day “theologies” which have adopted a lower view, in ignorement of the Apostolic perspective.  That is inexcusable!  In the earth-centered, earthbound church of our day there is very little, if any, talk of an eternal inheritance and dominion as a living incentive for living godly in Christ Jesus. That which calls itself “the church” in our day, for the most part, has a form of godliness, but denies the power given of God to live godly in this wicked and perverse generation.

The Times of Ignorance.  The former age (prior to the entrance of the Christ into the world) was a time of general ignorance of God with occasional glimmers of hope being given with regard to the purpose for existence and the glorious prospect awaiting those created in the image of God. The former ignorance is due to the fact that death had not yet been abolished by the Lord Jesus Christ, and life and immortality had not yet been brought to light by the gospel (cf. II Tim. 1:9-10). “And the times of” that “ignorance God winked at; but now” He commands “all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).

With regard to the purpose of man’s creation, Paul in Hebrews 2, takes up the same consideration, expressed aforetime by David regarding man, and announces an exceedingly bright and gloriously optimistic destiny for the race of men! It is that redeemed personalities have been created, and are now being prepared of God, to take possession of a rule and dominion, not in this present evil world, but in the world which is to come. It shall not be a rule over birds and fishes and cattle in this world, as was at the first indicated in the Genesis account, but over “cities” (Lk. 19:17-19) and over “many things” (Mt. 25:21-23) in the world to come. (We heartily commend to our readers this optimistic view afforded us in the Apostolic writings!)

This bright outlook is a case-in-point example of that word of the Apostle where he said, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20). Sin abounded greatly, temporarily aborting the purpose of God for man’s dominion in this world, but this was all part of the Divine purpose wrapped up in a mystery until the fullness of the time should come (cf. Gal. 4:4). “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18).  And if we may so speak, the grace of God has now much more abounded, reinstating that purpose so that it is once again on track with redeemed men being presently groomed to be made heirs of a much greater rulership in the world to come.  From the perspective of Hebrews 2, what a privileged class of personalities we are to be part of the race of men (particularly those of us that are in Christ)! All of Scripture attests to the very special regard that God has for man who is created in His image, but how much moreso now for those who are being “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29)?

However, if some members of our race choose to continue in sin and to spurn “the salvation” which God has “prepared before the face of all people” (Lk. 2:30-31), they shall certainly be rejected of Him and they shall forfeit their own participation in the glorious purpose for which God made man. Such ones shall be cast into outer darkness and into everlasting torments. (The salvation of God in Christ Jesus is for the purpose of readying men for an eternal inheritance and dominion).

And as we presently consider those around us who have rejected the gospel and who yet are engaged in sinful involvements, it ought to grieve us at our very hearts that such ones, if they do not recover themselves from the snare of the Devil, shall not be partakers of the glorious destiny for which they were made!

But We See Jesus. The exalted Savior (Acts 2:33; 5:31; Phil. 2:9), “the Man Christ Jesus” (I Tim. 2:5), is our guarantee that we shall also be invested with this promised dominion. By God’s grace we shall assuredly enter into that fullness of dominion for which man was created, as Christ is both the “Firstfruits” of the wheat harvest (I Cor. 15:23) and our “Forerunner” (Heb. 6:20).  In the present time we have been made “kings and priests unto God” (Rev. 1:6) to be sure, but our reign is not now evident to all (nor is it fully evident to ourselves), for we yet have the heavenly treasure in an earthen vessel (II Cor. 4:7), and we have presently been commissioned of God to not let sin reign in it (cf. Rom. 6:12).

In Conclusion. As we consider the glorious prospect which God has laid up for man, created in His likeness and now conformed to the image of His Son, let us saturate our minds and hearts with the words of the Scripture. Let us purge our minds of such scientifically-derogatory terms as “human,” “humanoid,” “humanistic,” and the like.  They are all of the earth, earthy.  They are words that are from beneath, and are calculated to eradicate from men’s thinking any and every vestige of consideration for “the Creator of the ends of the earth,” “Who is blessed for ever” (Isa. 40:28; Rom. 1:25). Let us be spiritually minded, having our minds and hearts filled, not with “the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (I Cor. 2:13).

 

 

On Satan’s Binding and Loosing

On Satan’s Binding and Loosing

By Dean E. Boelt 

There are at least two different senses in which the terms, binding and loosing are used in Scripture with regard to satanic activity. In Revelation 20:2-3 we read of Satan being bound for a thousand years, but afterwards he is loosed for a little season. 

There the Devil is restrained by the Lord God for an extended period of time so that he should no longer deceive the nations. But after this time period has passed the Divine restraints are lifted and the serpent is free, for a little season, to express himself more fully. 

In this apocalyptic language we have an interpretation of the restraint or outbreak, as the case may be, of wickedness and deception in the earth. In other words the principle to be seen here is this; wherever wickedness is gaining ground and increasing in popularity among men, there the Devil has been loosed. 

In this sense there are times and places where the Devil is evidently bound and his influence greatly restrained, but there are also occasions and localities where he has been obviously loosed.  And so long as we remain in this present evil world, we are still in the domain where this kind of binding and loosing occurs intermittently and repeatedly. 

The other sense in which the term, binding, at least, is used is found in such places as Matthew 12:29 and Mark 3:27. “No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.” And as Christ did with this one who was “possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb” (Mt. 12:22), so He does with all today who believe and obey the gospel. He binds the strong man, 

Satan, so that the wicked one touches them not (cf. I Jn. 5:18).  That is to say, the old serpent does not have the power to effectively turn believing men and women away from the living God, to make them quit relying on Christ and cleaving to the Lord by overpowering them. Christ has bound the strong man! Praise be to His Name! 

The Devil can still tempt, seduce, and beguile, to be sure, but this will only prove to be effective where men and women have quit believing the record that God gave of His Son. [Such unbelieving ones are open season for Satan’s devices and delusions (cf. II Tim. 2:25-26)]. 

In conclusion then, let us “keep” ourselves “in the love of God” (Jude 21; cf. I Jn. 5:18), and give thanks that, in such keeping of ourselves, this “strong man,” who would turn us away from the God of our salvation, isbound and there is no intermittent or extended loosing of him in this sense.

 

Messiah, Christ, the Christ of God (Mt. 22:42; Lk. 9:20).

Messiah, Christ, the Christ of God (Mt. 22:42; Lk. 9:20). 

 Messiah, Christ, the Anointed of God.  In this blessed name given to the Lord Jesus we see that the carrying out of God's eternal purpose has been given entirely into Christ's hands.  The government is on Christ's shoulders.  Christ came into the world that He might lay down His life a ransom for many.  (This was the commandment He received of the Father, and He kept it without spot.)  By Himself Christ purged our sins (made purification for sins). He has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.  Through death, Christ destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil.  In His death Christ spoiled principalities and powers, making a show of them openly.  In His resurrection, He Himself was the resurrection and the life (Jn. 11:25).  Christ would be the firstfruits of them that would rise from the dead.  In Christ's death He was, and is, the Last Adam.  In His resurrection He is the Second Man (see I Cor. 15:45, 47).  In His ascension to the right hand of God, Christ has become our great High Priest in things pertaining to God. He is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by Him.  In His coming again in glory, Christ has made watchfulness to be the watchword for the time of our sojourn here in the flesh.  The prospect of His coming again in glory has become the blessed hope of the church.

Christ, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls (I Pet. 2:25).

Christ, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls (I Pet. 2:25). 

He nurtures and cares for the souls of those who have believed upon His Name, strengthening them unto the warfare of faith. 

Psalm 23 and Psalm 80 are both “Shepherd Psalms”.  Psalm 23 reflects upon a lifetime of the Shepherd’s tender care.  Psalm 80 is a plea to the Shepherd of Israel to return, and “turn us again, and cause Thy face to shine”, evidencing, among other things, that the fulness of the time had not yet come (cf. Gal. 4:4). 

But now that sin has been put away by the Lord Jesus Christ, “going astray” is no longer the norm for the people of God and it is spoken of as something associated with our past. We WERE as sheep going astray and we have now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop (Overseer) of our souls.  This is the language of the work of salvation being brought to its consummation. 

In view of this, let us have done with doctrines that gloss the sin issue, as the times of ignorance has long passed, and the Day of salvation is now upon us. Believing men and women have been invested with new creatureship in Christ, enabling them to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world, looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.

The God Who Has Spoken By His Son

The God Who Has Spoken By His Son

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past  . . . . hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son . . . (Heb. 1:1-2).

God did speak in times past by the Prophets. This same God has spoken unto us by His Son.  The God who spoke is the same One who now speaks. But now He has spoken, and yet speaks, unto us by His Son.

God, the All-powerful Creator  “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).  The name Elohim occurs over 2000 times in Moses and the Prophets.

The Most High God (Gen. 14:18-20, 22; Ps. 57:2; Ps. 78:35). 

The Everlasting God (Gen. 21:33; Jer. 10:10; Isa. 26:4).

The Almighty God, Lord God Almighty (Gen. 17:1; Gen. 28:3; Gen. 35:11; Gen. 43:14; Gen. 48:3).

Lord, Master  (Gen. 15:2). Used at least 434 times in Moses and the Prophets, 200 of those in Ezekiel, and 11 times in Daniel 9.

Lord, Jehovah (Gen. 2:4). Occurs 6519 times in Moses and the Prophets.

The Lord Will Provide (Gen. 22:14).

Dwelling Place (Ps. 90:1).

The Fountain of Living Waters (Jer. 2:13).

Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:9).

King, Worker of Salvation (Ps. 74:12).

The God of Israel (Gen. 33:20; Exod. 5:1).

The Lord Who Sanctifies You, who sets you apart. (Exod. 31:13; Lev. 20:8).

The Lord My Banner  (Exod. 17:10-16).

The Lord That Heals (Exod. 15:22-27; Jer. 30:17; Jer. 3:22; Isa. 30:26; Isa. 61:1; Ps. 103:3).

The Lord of Hosts (I Sam. 1:3; I Sam. 1:11; I Sam. 17:45; II Sam. 6:18; II Sam. 7:27; I Kgs. 19:14; II Kgs. 3:14; I Chron. 11:9; Ps. 24:10; Ps. 48:8; Ps. 80:4; Ps. 80:19; Ps. 84:3; Isa. 1:24; Isa. 3:15; Isa. 5:16; Isa. 6:5; Isa. 9:19; Isa. 10:26; Isa. 14:22; Jer. 9:15; Jer. 48:1; Hos. 12:5; Amos 3:13; Mic. 4:4; Nah. 3:5; Hag. 2:6; Zech. 1:3; Mal. 1:6; Hab. 2:13; Zeph. 2:9)

The Lord Is Peace (Jdgs. 6:22-23).

The Lord Is There (Ezek. 48:35).

God with Us (Isa. 7:14).

The God who Sees (Gen. 16:13).

The Lord Our Righteousness (Jer. 23:5-6; Jer. 33:14-16).

The Lord My Shepherd (Ps. 23:1-6; Gen. 48:15; Gen. 49:24; Ps. 23:1; Ps. 80:1).

Jealous (Exod. 20:5; Deut. 4:24; Exod. 34:14; Deut. 5:9; Deut. 6:15; Heb. 12:29).

The Lord God of Recompenses (Jer. 51:6, 56).

Our Father, the Potter (Isa. 64:8).

And They Shall Be All Taught Of God

And They Shall Be All Taught Of God

By Al Stoner

“It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me” (Jn. 6:45; see Isa. 54:13).

Does God have specific matters that He teaches about?  Are the things which He teaches of a critical nature?  Is it possible for men to come to Jesus apart from receiving Divine tutelage?  The Father addressing the Son in Isaiah's prophecy declared: "And all Thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of Thy children" (Isa. 54:13).  Again, the Lord Jesus Christ, citing that Scripture in His great Galilean discourse, declared: "It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto Me" (Jn. 6:45).  From these and other examples, it at once becomes evident that the manner in which God teaches is of an entirely different order than the teaching of men, even the best of men.  If men are going to be taught of God, there must be a willingness to forsake the old values, and to embrace entirely new ones.  "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein" (Lk. 18:17).

"In Jeremiah's landmark prophecy of the new covenant it is declared by the Lord God that "they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them" (Jer. 31:34). And also as Isaiah prophesied, "they shall be all taught by God" (Jn. 6:45, RSV, cf. Isa. 54:13). The nature and content of what God is teaching are not academic, that is, not merely factual, but rather He is teaching men to properly esteem His Christ, in order that they might come to, and whole-heartedly receive the Savior. He is teaching men to take hold of "the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" (II Tim. 2:10). Consider some of the involvements of this Divine teaching.

Taught by God to Come to the Savior. As the Lord Jesus declared, "Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto Me" (Jn. 6:45). Why is Christ "precious" (cf. I Pet. 2:7) to some, but to others, despised and rejected? Yes, to be sure, it is because such ones have believed, and we would not want to obscure that matter for a moment. However, it is also because the believing ones have "learned of the Father."  They have been taught by the Father to value Jesus for who He is in truth. Yes, the preaching of the gospel was, and is involved.  And yes, men and women, who are ministers of the reconciliation were employed by God.  But the essential teaching of the heart was done by God Himself. This teaching and learning is indispensable for coming to Jesus. He is not welcomed, to say the least, by "the natural man" (I Cor. 2:14) nor by "the carnal mind" (cf. Rom. 8:7-8), which all men have inherited from Adam. 

Those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who believe that He is precious, must reason that they have been "taught of God" and that they have "learned of the Father" the great value in coming to Jesus. They now perceive the value within themselves. It is like "treasure hid in a field" (Mt. 13:44). It amounts to "riches" that are "unsearchable" (cf. Eph. 3:8). The riches are boundless and unfathomable. But the value of these riches cannot be taught or learned academically. 

Taught by Him to Put Off the Old Man and Put On the New Man. "But you have not so learned Christ; if so be that you have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Eph. 4:20-24).

Putting off the old man "with his deeds" (Col. 3:9), as well as putting on the new man, are both absolutely essential to new creatureship in Christ. This labor of putting off, and putting on must be taking place in men, or else they are simply not reckoned to be among God's sons and daughters. Such ones are still in the flesh. 

Both the old man and the new man are unidentifiable and undiscernable to men apart from the revelation of God's Word. Men have neither the ability nor the wisdom to do this without Divine assistance and counsel. Thus, they must be effectually taught and enabled by God to do this.

Taught by Him to Love One Another. "But as touching brotherly love you need not that I write unto you: for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another" (I Th. 4:9). Concerning the love of Christ's brethren, God teaches believing men and women of the preciousness of other redeemed personalities, who share a common bond of love in the Savior Himself, and a common eternal destiny in the world to come. Those who are begotten of God have a natural inclination toward all others who are begotten of Him (cf. I Jn. 5:1), to frequently associate with them, to do them good as they have opportunity, and to speak with them often concerning the things pertaining to the kingdom of God (cf. Mal. 3:16).

 

Taught by Him to Overcome Religious Seducers. "And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the Anointing which you have received of Him abideth in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same Anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, you shall abide in Him" (I Jn. 2:25-27). "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world" (I Jn. 4:4).

The Anointing spoken of here is the Holy Spirit, the "Comforter" (cf. Jn. 14:16-17), sent by the Savior to abide with us forever, as He said. "The Spirit of truth" comforts redeemed personalities by counseling them in the truth. He gives inward instruction and counsel to men by the Scriptures. He shows to believing men and women that the things which are troubling them are "common to man" (I Cor. 10:13), and that their troubles are in order that "may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God" (II Th. 1:5), for which they are suffering. This higher perspective of trouble sweetens the cup of affliction, making it easier to endure. 

The Scriptures are, as it were, the raw materials, which the Holy Spirit refines, processes, and personalizes in men's understanding as they earnestly consider them. "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom. 8:16, NASB). God has "sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts" (II Cor. 1:22; cf. Eph. 1:13; 4:30). "By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit" (I Jn. 4:13). The Anointing teaches men and enables them, not to be snared by false prophets and false teachers, thus overcoming them (cf. I Jn. 4:1-4), by bringing to their remembrance the preciousness of the Savior and of the salvation which Christ has accomplished in their behalf. --Al Stoner

 

God's Imposition of Personal Responsibility

God's Imposition of Personal Responsibility

By Fred O. Blakely

The consistent line taken by Scripture regarding believers' infirmities and sins contrasts sharply with that promulgated in some church circles. The exponents of the doctrine that God-does-it-all, so-only-trust-in-Him continually proclaim to those who are "out of the way" (Heb. 5:2), Just rely on the Lord; He will bring everything out all right. Conversely, the Spirit speaketh on this wise: Gird up the loins of your mind, your heart, your will, and your determination, and correct the deviant situation in your life, lest God summarily come and smite you for it (I Pet. 1:13-17). Thus, does God impose individual responsibility upon His people for the recovery of themselves from the snare of Satan when they are taken captive by the evil one.

Salvation in all of its aspects, it is gloriously true, is ultimately "of the Lord" (Jon. 2:9), being, in the last analysis, all of grace (Acts 15:11; Eph. 2:8). Notwithstanding, Scripture nowhere invokes this blessed circumstance either to excuse brethren in their sins or to encourage them to expect that God will deliver them therefrom independently of their firm resolves and diligent efforts to that end. Instead, it calls upon them to assiduously employ these elements of personal application. The stark fact of the matter is, There is no moral improvement in an individual without conscious and vigorous effort on his part. It is well, indeed, for us to face squarely up to this kingdom principle, so that we may effectually get on with the divine purpose of "perfecting holiness in the fear of God?? (II Cor 7:1). This is especially so, since all of us are constantly beset by sin and are always falling short of God's glory.

As specimens of the living oracles' treatment of sin in believers, we cite the following. Their number could, of course, be greatly multiplied by anything approaching a comprehensive survey of the case. These, however, will suffice to demonstrate the point at hand.

"Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:5, ASV; cf. Eph. 4:22). "Let not therefore sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof" (Rom. 6:12; cf. vv. 11, 13). "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon" (Isa. 55:6-7; cf. Acts 8:22). "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us" (Heb. 12:1-4). "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come upon thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent" (Rev. 2:5; cf. vv. 16, 21-23; 3:3, 18-19).

"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness m the fear of God" (II Cor. 7:1; cf. ch. 6:17-18; I Jn. 3:2-3). "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (II Cor. 10:5; cf. Gen. 6:5; Col. 1:21; 3:7). "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life" (Jude 20-21). "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world" (Jas. 1:27; cf. Rom. 12:1-2). "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Tit. 2:11-13). "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Lu. 9:23).  "And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple" (ch. 14:27).

A Friendship to be Avoided

A Friendship to be Avoided

By Al Stoner

"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (Jas. 4:4).

Some Alternate Translations of this Admonition.  ". . . the friendship of the world is hatred of God" (ACV).  " Don't you know that if you love the world, you are God's enemies?" (CEV).  "If you want to be the world's friend, you make yourself God's enemy" (GNB).  "friendship with the world is hostility toward God" (NASB).  "Friendship of the world" (WNT).  "Friendship with the world" (YLT). 

James is addressing this word to those who, at least by their profession of faith, had "begun in the Spirit" (Gal. 3:3), but afterwards had prostituted their heart's affection and devotion to the domain where Satan is prince (cf. Jn. 12:31).   It is as though he is reasoning with his hearers in the following manner.  Have you failed to come to this obvious conclusion from the consistent representations of Scripture?  After all that the Lord, and His Apostles, and Prophets have said about God being a jealous God, about faithfulness, unfaithfulness, sin, chasteness, holiness, and sinful defilements, ought not this to have been the resounding conclusion that would be arrived at? 

In consideration of the great cost of our redemption to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the great lengths to which all three Members of the Godhead have gone to save us, is it possible not to arrive at this conclusion?  Having believed the record that God has condemned sin in the flesh in the death of His only begotten Son, and that the world is now passing away, along with its base lusts, one could not reason otherwise, unless, perhaps, the person has been ensnared by the Devil and deceived.  And that is a veritable possibility.  As it is written, "the deceived and the deceiver are His [and in His power]" (Job 12:16, AMP).  And "Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord's hand" (Jer. 51:7).

An Adultery Far Worse than the Violation of the Marriage Bed.  The Devil has sold the masses of religious people today a lie of unfathomable proportions.  In one way or another, he has convinced them with subtlety that friendship with the world and friendship with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can be maintained simultaneously, and that affection for the accursed thing can be mingled together with affection for Him who is blessed forever.  Nothing could be farther from the truth!

In the realm of nature, only a fool would reason and act in this manner.  Taking up the language of the Prophet Malachi (cf. Mal. 1:8), let all those who labor under such delusion, offer now to their spouses the same kind, and degree, of devotion that they render to God, and see if they will accept it.   Can she that is "espoused" "to one husband" (II Cor. 11:2) flirtatiously give her affection to another with impunity?   This would certainly not take place in the natural realm (under normal circumstances, at least), and it is far more certain that it shall not take place in the realm of the Spirit!  One of the old time writers once said, "The church is the bride of Christ, and for a bride to fail in love is to fail in all things."   From one perspective, at least, a man's or an assembly's love for, and devotion to, the risen and glorified Christ, the One declared in the Scripture, is the only thing they have to commend themselves to Him.

  

This indictment of James is not against those who are "of this world" and who never "have known the way of righteousness" (cf. II Pet. 2:21), but rather against those who have known it, at least by profession.   Characteristically, among countless religious devotees today, "wickedness arrays itself in fair garments, and imitates the language of holiness; but the precepts of Jesus, like his famous scourge of small cords," must "chase it out of the temple, and will not tolerate it" (C.H. Spurgeon).  In Babylon, which is the world masquerading as the church, more often than not, those who are uncompromisingly living by faith in the Son of God will find themselves being chased "out of the temple."   "Away with such ones from the earth," are the sentiments of those who are of this world towards those who are seeking a better country, that is, an heavenly one.

New Creatureship and the World to Come.  Those who are in Christ Jesus through obedience to the gospel have been made new creatures in Him.  With such ones, "old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (II Cor. 5:17).  They have, by God's grace, made the passage from "death unto life" (Jn. 5:24; I Jn. 3:14).  This transition from darkness into light has imparted to them a new heart, new loves, new affections, and new hatreds, which they did not possess  prior to their being in Christ.  They now love things that are true and righteous, and they hate every false way.  They have come to love the ways of God in Christ Jesus, and to despise the ways of this world. 

They are new creatures, in deed and in substance, and not only in their doctrine or religious profession.  New creatures acutely sense the contrariness and animosity of this present evil world towards them.  They have been "enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and" have been "made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come" (Heb. 6:4-5).  Things of a temporal nature, and things that are contrary to the will of God, are things which now trouble, distract, and even cast them down, whereas things which pertain to the truth of the gospel, and things that are eternal, greatly comfort them, assuaging their griefs, and which also invigorate their spirits Godward.  They have learned the inseparable connection between "the sufferings of this present time" and "the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. 8:18).

Making the Best of Both Worlds???  The old adage of making the best of both worlds is false through and through, but it has been adopted as the "philosophy" of myriads of religious devotees.  The Apostle's lamentable indictment of some of the younger women that "some are already turned aside after Satan" (I Tim. 5:5), is also a truthful representation of many professing faith in Christ in our day.  Such turning aside does not necessarily entail engaging in base immorality, or becoming involved in a religious cult.  It simply means that one has surrendered one's heart's affection (and allegiance) to the world, and its prince.  It means that men have departed from "the way of holiness" (Isa. 35:8) and are now governed by "the lust of the flesh," "the lust of the eyes," and "the pride of life" (I Jn. 2:16).  It means that their flesh and blood relations are esteemed above those who are living by faith in the Son of God. With them things which are true and everlasting have become eclipsed by things which are passing away.   It means that the Lord Jesus Christ is no longer to them personally, as evidenced by their manner of living, "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (Jn. 14:6). 

After the Lord’s notable discourse in John chapter 6 where He spoke of the necessity of men eating His flesh and drinking His blood, if they would live forever, and not die in their sins, it is recorded that “many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.”  In our generation, and in every generation since that early time, the Lord Jesus Christ has had disciples who have gone back, and walk no more with Him.  However, in Babylon men are deceived in thinking that they can walk with Jesus, and at the same time, keep their religious profession to save face. But all such ones shall be exposed for who they really are by the Lord in the last day.

Incidentally, hereditary orthodoxy appears to be one of the greatest menaces to the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.  This is where a second generation of those professing the faith takes on the orthodoxy of a former generation, but not the all-essential vibrancy which proceeds from faith in the living Christ. These have a form of religion, but they do not have the Son (see I Jn. 5:11-12). They have a form of godliness, but deny the power that would enable them to live godly in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.  Such hereditariness can take place within a family, a congregation, or even a generation, where the love of many has waxed cold, due to abounding iniquities, and failure to come to grips with the sin issue, as God represents it in Scripture. 

A Word about Sexual Sins

A Word about Sexual Sins 

By Fred O. Blakely

Very much of today's society not only condones sexual sins; it actually glorifies them. Fornication among teenage boys and girls is euphemized as "sexual activity," and paraded in some circles as an acceptable norm. In case of the adults, it is dubbed "living-in," "trial marriage”, or the like. Adultery, which is the sin of sexual relation between a married person and someone other than the lawful spouse, is simply called "extramarital sex" and is increasingly practiced and "respectabilized".

Recently, on the news there has been brought to light a company that provides a service, via the Internet, enabling married persons to “cheat” on their spouses, only behind their backs.  This company made news headlines only because their database had been hacked, unveiling the confidential information of up to 32 million individuals who had used the “behind the scenes” dating site. According to one news report, there were only 3 Zip Codes in the United States that did not have records of persons who had patronized this company.  And those 3 Zip Codes encompassed areas either where there was no Internet, or had very low population levels.  The issues that were reported in the news pertained primarily to the consequences of the data breach, not to the gross impropriety and wickedness entailed in what this company is doing.

Whoredom, or harlotry, is more and more presented as something taken for granted, and is often toleratingly referred to as "the oldest profession" known to the race. Even sodomy, the ultra-degraded sex sin, is glossed as homosexuality, or “gay”, and depicted as an "alternate life-style", a life-style that is now demanding acceptance and equal rights.

But these attempts at softening the impact upon the conscience of the hard, ugly, and jarring reality of sin are wholly futile with those who know the truth of God's Word, and are determined to abide by it. Sin cannot be redefined, or reinterpreted as to its involvements and consequences by a pope.  Sin is not mitigated by majority practice, public approval, or by giving it new and more acceptable names. And certainly its direful consequences—which, if persisted in, is death—are in no degree whatever altered. Sin still separates from God, which separation in itself is spiritual death (Isa. 59:1-2), and its ultimate end is eternal death (Rom. 6:23: Rev. 21:8, 27), or everlasting exclusion from God's Presence and "the glory of His power" (II Th. 1:7-10).

 The Spirit by Paul plainly declares that "neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind [sodomites] . . . shall inherit the kingdom of God" (I Cor. 6:9-10). "Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge", the Apostle says in another place (Heb. 13:4). They shall "have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Rev. 21:8). 

Jude takes up the refrain in his very short, yet pungent epistle: "Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (v. 7). The "strange flesh" of reference is any "flesh" outside the divinely ordained husband and wife relationship.

For those in Christ, the body is "the temple of the Holy Spirit," and they are not their own, having been "bought with a price," even the precious blood of God's Son (I Cor. 3:19-20).

Thus, whoever commits fornication or adultery both "sinneth against his own body," and against God (vv. 15-18; cf. Gen. 39:8). This is because the body "is not for" such desecration, "but for the Lord" (v. 13). The commandment, then, is to "flee" both sins (v. 18). (The Greek word from which we get our word "fornication" as used here, denotes the practice of sexual immorality, irrespective of whether the involved persons are married or unmarried.)

In view of this unequivocal condemnation of fornication and adultery, it is incumbent upon the church to make it known to this wantonly wicked generation. "God is not mocked" by man's impudent defiance of His laws (Gal. 6:7-8), but will, as Solomon declared, "bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing" (Eccl. 12:14). And, as we have seen from Corinthians and Revelation, that judgment against fornicators and adulterers, unless they repent, forsake those sins, and are forgiven of them, will be eternal banishment from the Divine Presence. Today's profligates desperately need to have that grave reality drummed into their ears and hearts.

The Humanity of Christ

In This We See God’s Nearness to Us!

The Humanity of Christ

By Al Stoner

“Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God” (I Jn. 4:2-3).

The humanity, or manhood, of the Lord Jesus Christ is a subject that is both wonderful and necessary for us to consider.  It is something that every follower of the Lord Jesus Christ confesses, as can be seen in the text above.   Here it is that we behold somewhat of the great lengths to which God, in redemption, has gone to identify with us. And here it is that we see Christ to be that blessed “Friend that sticketh closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24).

We shall, in this article, devote attention to three passages of Scripture taken from Psalms and Isaiah. In each of them there is recorded a dialogue between the Father and the Son, where the Father is holding before the Son the necessary incentives that would enable Him to endure “the Cross, despising the shame” (Heb. 12:2). Passages such as these were, no doubt, of great consolation and a source of great enstrengthenment to the Lord Jesus Christ in the days of His flesh as the prospect of going to the Cross loomed ever before Him. Let us consider these three portions of Scripture now.

The Second Psalm. Verses 7 through 10 of the second Psalm are words spoken by the Father to the Son, or more precisely, those of the Son recounting what the Father had declared unto Him.  “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession” (Ps. 2:7-8).

This was a decree that was declared by the God of Heaven for the purpose of recovering lost humanity. As God’s Son, Jesus Christ would be made in the likeness of men, doing the Father’s good pleasure. He would lay down His life a ransom for many, and He would become the Head of a new and eternal order of redeemed men in the world to come (cf. Acts 13:33; Rev. 3:14; Col. 1:15).
We see here in the words of the Psalmist some of the “behind the scenes” involvements of the calling of the Gentiles and of the love of God for a lost and dying humanity. They were lost to Him because of sin and transgression. They were lost from the joys that are everlasting and from the blessed communion with, and service to, the living God.

Words of the Scripture such as this also instruct us that God does not consider the heathen to be nameless persons who shall in the end be arbitrarily discarded by Himself. Men who are created in the image and likeness of God are God's offspring (Acts 17:28-29), and in the gospel of His Son God has made abundant provision for the salvation of all men, even unto the uttermost parts of the earth. 

But if some men reject Him (cf. Rom. 3:3), He will have no choice but to cast them away from His Presence forever. All the rejecters of the gospel shall taste of God’s sore displeasure. He shall “break them with a rod of iron” and shall “dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel” (Ps. 2:9).

The One Hundred Second Psalm. “He weakened My strength in the way; He shortened My days. I said, O My God, take Me not away in the midst of My days: Thy years are throughout all generations.  Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed: But Thou art the same, and Thy years shall have no end” (Ps. 102:23-27).

This is the Son of God speaking here, the thoughts of His heart being recorded beforehand by the Holy Spirit in the Psalms. This is a commentary on the humanity of the Son of God, and how that He was “made in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7), perhaps more so than we would now dare to imagine. 

Christ Jesus was "crucified through weakness" (II Cor. 13:4), as it is declared by the Apostle, so that He might live by the power of God. In our judgment the Son of God partook of weakness that is unimaginable and incomprehensible, when He humbled Himself, and made Himself of no reputation.

The strength of the Son of God was “weakened” somewhat when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. It is written that He “emptied Himself” (Phil. 2:7, RSV). Christ’s Deity was put, as it were, in escrow during His tenure here in this world. His strength was further weakened when He went to the Cross and layed down His life a ransom for many. But this weakening was so that Christ would have to depend absolutely and entirely upon the Father for the accomplishment of the work of redemption, and also so “that God in all things may be glorified through” (I Pet. 4:11) the Son.

In the Way. It appears that the Son, in the days of His flesh, started out, if we may speak this way, as a robust young man, being a carpenter. But when He had fully embarked on the mission of redemption at His baptism, it seems that the Father began to weaken His strength, making the Son constantly and acutely aware of His dependence upon the Father. This was the strength that Christ had by virtue of His humanity.

The Shortening of Christ’s Days. In the days of Christ's flesh there was a sense in which Christ thought of His days in the flesh just as you and I think of our days in the flesh. We are speaking now of the appointed “threescore and ten” years (cf. Ps. 90:10).

Speaking as a man (cf. Rom. 3:5), Christ was “cut off” at a relatively young age. God had shortened His days. The normal tenure for men in this world is three score and ten years, and if by reason of strength, four score years.  It is as though the Father had said to Him, “Son, We must get on with the work of redemption, and of putting away the sins of the world so that We can bring the children home.”

If men are ever tempted to minimize or think lightly of the Son's humanity and of His being tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin, then let them consider well the words of the Lord Jesus Christ as, prophetically through the Psalmist, He makes this plea unto the Father. “O My God, take Me not away in the midst of My days”.  Words such as these speak volumes as to the degree that the Son humbled Himself in order to save us.  Christ was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.”  Such matters as these can only begin to be comprehended with a believing heart.

The Father’s Response to the Son. The following words (Thy years are throughout all generations . . .) through verse 27 are the Father's reply to the Son, comforting Him with unfathomable billows of everlasting consolation in His time of great weakness. The Father was putting Christ in mind of His eternal status. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever!

Thy Throne, O God, is For ever and Ever. We are not left to conjecture about the matter of the connection between Psalms 45 and 102 with Hebrews 1. Paul, in Hebrews 1:8-12, tells us that, starting at this point in the Psalm, this is the Father speaking to the Son. "But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows (Psalm 45:6-7). And, [here begins the text from Psalm 102, the Father yet speaking to the Son] 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."

A Momentary Obscurement. This conversation between the Father and the Son, among other things, demonstrates the jeopardy that is involved in simply being flesh and blood and living in this present evil world. At this particular point in time, the Son's grasp of His heavenly and eternal status had been momentarily obscured to Him and the Father was reassuring Him here of these blessed realities. The Lord Jesus Christ was living by faith in the days of His flesh and was made subject to all the jeopardies and liabilities that we presently are subject to.

Let us also learn from this that we too are destined to inherit a blessed eternal and exalted status in the world to come, but living in the body of this death sometimes has the effect of eclipsing, or obscuring, the glory that shall soon be revealed in us (cf. Rom. 8:18)!

Something else that we learn from these words is this: One of the greatest favors that one can do for fellow saints is to seek divine assistance to effectually put them in remembrance of their eternal destiny and status in Christ Jesus by the ministration of the Word of God to them.

A Critical Question. And something that all men must ask themselves is this. Is being put in mind of the eternal world a strong enough incentive, of itself, to make you want to heartily take possession of it? It certainly was with the Son of God. The thought of such a blessed prospect ought to be an abundantly sufficient incentive for those professing godliness. By way of contrast, however, wherever earthly incentives are being employed by men to supposedly attract other men to the faith, there men are being deceived. They are being sold a false bill of goods. The knowledge of God and the things of God, of themselves, are exceedingly precious and they must be the things that do the attracting!

Of Old hast Thou Laid the Foundation of the Earth. These were the words of the Father to the Son, spoken to comfort Him in the days of His flesh. The Son had indeed laid the earth’s foundation, but because He had “emptied Himself” and taken upon Himself “the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:7), His awareness of that reality was then only by faith. And when the angel appeared unto the Lord Jesus Christ, “strengthening Him” (Lk. 22:43), it is very possible that he was comforting Him by putting Him in remembrance of eternal realities such as these recorded in the Psalms and Isaiah.

This word, regarding the foundation of the earth, has reference, of course, to the occasion when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God (the holy angels) shouted for joy (Job 38:7; see also vv. 1-6) at the prospect of the launching of the great human enterprise, as some have been known to call it.

All of them shall wax old like a garment. Things of the creation apparently did not wax old before the entrance of sin into the world. This is part of the curse. And men who are caught up in the course of this world are deceived, for this is a realm that is appointed to destruction by fire (cf. II Pet. 3:7) because of sin. And this is very evident to those who, by faith in the Word of God, have the eternal perspective!

Thy years shall have no end. This was an accommodation to Christ's time in the flesh. While in the flesh men are shut up to thinking in terms of days, weeks, months, and years and so the Father assured the Son that His years would have no end. But in the ages to come we shall speak of and measure the "passage of time" in eternal units and with the language of eternity.

The Isaiah Forty-Nine Text. “And (He, the Father) said unto Me, Thou art My servant, O Israel (speaking here of Christ), in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely My judgment is with the LORD, and My work with My God. And now, saith the LORD that formed Me from the womb to be His servant, to bring Jacob again to Him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and My God shall be my strength.  And He said, It is a light thing that Thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth” (Isa. 49:3-6).

The Father is here again addressing the Son regarding the mission upon which He was sent to redeem lost humanity. He was assuring the Lord Jesus that, in spite of all the rejection that He faced, His labor was not in vain.  Verse 4 is the Son's reply to the Father. These words were recorded by Isaiah the prophet some 800 years before the entrance of Christ into the world, no doubt, to comfort the Son and to enable Him to continue steadfastly through His time of temptation in the flesh unto His death of the Cross.

When Christ was here in this world in the days of His flesh, He was subjected to great temptation and discouragement. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (Jn. 1:11). The Savior of men was “despised and rejected of men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). Men tried to catch Him in His words (Mk. 12:13). They attempted to stone Him (Jn. 10:31) and to throw Him over the brow of a hill (cf. Lk. 4:29). (But His hour was not yet come.) He was mocked (Mt. 27:29), and scourged (Mk. 15:15), and shamefully treated (Mt. 26:67), and finally crucified (Mt. 27:35).  And in the midst of all this rejection and opposition the Son of God was sorely tempted to think that He had labored in vain and spent His strength for nothing.

As a sideline, we want to see clearly that Christ, when He came into the world, was not acting arbitrarily and was not being somehow mechanically propelled along through His tenure here with divine power. No, He was sorely tempted! He had to draw on the strength of His Father in the precise same way that we do. Christ Jesus was made to feel the extremities of rejection, sorrow, pain, hunger, thirst, and weakness, more than you and I will ever feel or know. His human strength failed Him, thus causing Him to rely implicitly upon the strength of His Father. And so, in this time of being cast down, as recorded here in Isaiah 49, Christ commits His judgment and His work unto His Father.

The Father’s Reply of Comfort. Verses 5 and 6 are the Son's recounting of the Father's reply of comfort and consolation to Him.  Here we see that with the outworking of the Divine purpose, everything is right on schedule. In these words we can see the Divine foreknowledge of the Jew's rejection of Christ, of the calling of the Gentiles, and of the later salvation of all Israel. God was not taken by surprise by the Jew's rejection of Christ, as some theologies teach. [Incidentally, if God could be taken by surprise, He would not be God, for God declares the end from the beginning (cf. Isa. 46:10)].

And God was not, at this point, switching from plan A to plan B as some men teach, the calling of the Jews being plan A, and the calling of the Gentiles, plan B. Men who propagate such foolishness as this ought not to be given an audience, no not for an hour!

Conclusion. What we are saying in all these things is that Christ Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. He has identified with our plight of fallen humanity much more than is generally thought. He is, and ever shall be, our near Kinsman, by the grace of God, and the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. Let us then seek to glorify God by our faith while we are yet here in this world, and to earnestly wait for our near Kinsman to return from Heaven. --thebanneroftruthfellowship@gmail.com