I Have Appointed Thee Each Day for a Year

By Al Stoner

 

"Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it the city, even Jerusalem:  And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.  Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.  Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.  For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year" (Ezek. 4:1-6). 

In this meeting our purpose shall not be to delve into the historical involvements of this prophecy, but rather to extract from the prophecy a principle of God's working with His covenanted people: a principle that appears other places in Scripture, and therefore, we refer to it as a principle.  However, in the words of Job, we must add here, "Lo, these are parts of His ways: but how little a portion is heard of Him?" (Job 26:14). 

In Numbers 14, Daniel 9, and our text here in Ezekiel the eternal God's use of the day for a year principle, or formula, appears to be for the purpose of condescending to men who are dwellers in time, bringing them face to face with a controversy that they Most High has with them.

In the case of Ezekiel, and particularly those of Israel living in his day, God employed the day for a year formula to demonstrate His great displeasure with those who were called by His Name, but who had taken the Name of t he LORD in vain.

"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made" (Isa. 57:15-16).

The eternal God, the High and Lofty One, who inhabits eternity, dwells in the high and holy place with him that is lowly, and of a contrite spirit.

The Day for a Year Formula is a Divine formula whereby the eternal God reasons and reckons with men whose "days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle" (Job 7:6).

The Numbers 14 Text.  "But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise" (Num. 14:32-34).

In Numbers 14 we have an example of the "day for each year" formula, where men are made to consider the severity of God because of their rejection of the knowledge of Him who had made them for His own purpose and good pleasure.

I commend to you the wholesome consideration of the severity of God.  It is always a good and healthy sign when those professing faith in Christ have a receive the Word of God with all readiness of mind, simply because it is the Word of God, and where men are ready to receive it, not because a certain man said it, but because God said it.

The Reclaiming of the Sabbath Years.  "Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years" (II Chron. 36:20-21).

 

"And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it" (Lev. 26:32-35).

 

"And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes" (Lev. 26:39-43).

 

There were seventy sabbath years that were not kept by Israel, (which would have extended over a period of 490 years).  As a demonstration of His righteous judgments, God took those seventy sabbath years back unto Himself, so that the land enjoyed her sabbaths, while Israel was taken captive to Babylon for seventy years.

 

Daniel Chapter 9:24-27.  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

 

Seventy weeks, or seventy heptads, or seventy groups of seven. Seventy times seven equals 490 days, or 490 years (a day for a year)."

["Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven" (Mt. 18:21-22).]

 

Seventy weeks are determined:

To finish the transgression, the violation of an express commandment of God.

To make an end of sins, violations of the will of God through error or mistake.

To make reconciliation for iniquity, that which is simply not right, or that which is unrighteous in its essential nature.  Presumption, self-exaltation are also involved here.

All three of these are also summed up in Scripture under the heading of sin.

Sin is the transgression of the Law.

All unrighteousness is sin.

Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. 

In all of these it can be seen that, with regard to God's regard to offenses brought against Him, sin is of a very complex nature.  

To  bring in everlasting righteousness, new creatureship in Christ is a first fruits down payment of that which is coming to believing men in the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth (only) righteousness. 

To seal up the vision and the prophecy: The vision and prophecy have been sealed upon by the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ in these last days.  God has nothing more to say to men that what He has said through Christ, His Apostles, and Prophets.   

To anoint the Most Holy: To consecrate the Lord Jesus Christ as High Priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.  The Lord Jesus Christ is a High Priest of good things to come.   

A High Priest of Good Things to Come.  Christ's High Priestly ministry will be as essential for men to relate to God there in the glorified state, as He is needed here.  The Lamb shall feed them, and lead them unto living fountains of waters. 

The Most Holy One, and the Most Holy Place. To consecrate the Person and the place where He ministers. Christ is "A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man" (Heb. 8:2).

 

The going forth of the commandment

to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince

 

The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. Zerubbabel (536 BC), Nehemiah (444 BC), and Ezra (457 BC) all headed a return from Babylon for the rebuilding of Jerusalem.   

 

Messiah shall be cut off,

but not for Himself.  Christ was cut off out of the land of the living; He was cut off as the last Adam, and He came back from the dead as the Second Man.  He was cut off with no earthly seed, but He shall see His seed, a multitude which no man can number. 

Desolations are determined. 

 

He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. 

 

He shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease.  Christ's substantive work of putting away sin has completely overshadowed the shadows of heavenly things which were in the Law.

 

That determined shall be poured out upon the desolate.

 

In this determinate counsel of God there are things that were determined for the believing and unbelieving, for the righteous and the wicked, for those who serve God and for those who serve Him not.  

Time Expressions in the Revelation.  In the Revelation it seems that the purpose for the various time expressions were to hide their significance from some, and to reveal it to others. The expressions 1,260 days, the forty and two months, three days and an half, and time, times, and half a time all have reference to the same time duration. No doubt, there is a historical significance to this duration of time, but I would like us to consider them from a perspective that ministers to faith in every generation. 

 

"And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth" (Rev. 11:3).

 

"And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days" (Rev. 12:6).

 

"And he (the fourth beast) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time" (Dan. 7:25).

 

"And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished" (Dan. 12:7).

 

"And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent" (Rev. 12:14).

 

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

 

"And there was given unto him (a beast) a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months" (Rev. 13:5).

 

"And when they (the two witnesses) shall have finished their testimony" (Rev. 11:7).

 

"And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves" (Rev. 11:9).

 

" And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them" (Rev. 11:11).

The Moral Necessity of the Universal Assize

The Moral Necessity of the Universal Assize

"It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment," saith the Scripture (Heb. 9:27). Again, God "hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Acts 17: 31). These and many other Scriptures stress the fact of the coming judgment for all people. Of a truth, "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (II Cor. 5:10; cf. Dan. 7:9-10; Matt. 25:31-32; Rev. 20:11-13).

Aside from Scripture's incontrovertible declarations of the universal assize to come, there is another witness of it, which is of great weight. It is that of the moral necessity of the great judgment day, in which all people, "both small and great" shall appear before "the Judge of all the earth" for the final disposition of their cases (Gen. 18:25; Rev. 20:12). Since God is God and it is fundamentally a moral universe in which people live and have lived, logic shuts us up to the conclusion that ultimately God will call everyone before Him to account for the time they spent and the things they did in the flesh. So many things are never justly adjudicated in this life that the prevalence of any semblance of righteous authority and order demands that in the future there be a final determination and decree setting things thoroughly straight and meting out retribution and rewards.

Even on the level of earthly government, though greatly perverted in these days of general laxity and judicial corruption, this principle obtains. "In all human governments there must be an assize held. Government cannot be conducted without its days of session and trial." Obviously, this necessity is greatly intensified in the case of God's rule of the universe. "Inasmuch as sin and evil are in the world, it can fairly be anticipated that there will be a time of judgment. God will go on circuit, and will call the prisoners before Him, and the guilty shall receive their condemnation. Judge for yourself; is this present state the conclusion of all things? If so, what evidence would you adduce of the divine justice, in view of the facts in the case. The best of men are often in this world the poorest and most afflicted. The worst of men acquire wealth, practice oppression, and receive homage from the crowd.

"Who are they that ride in the high places of the earth? Are they not those, great transgressors, who 'wade through slaughter to a throne and shut the gates of mercy on mankind?' Where are the servants of God? They are in obscurity and suffering full often. Do they not sit like Job among the ashes, subjects of little pity, objects of much upbraiding? And where are the enemies of God? Do not many of them wear purple and fine linen and fare sumptuously every day? If there be no hereafter, then the "rich man" has the best of it (Lu. 16:19-30); and the selfish man who fears not God is, after all, the wisest of men, and more to be commended than his fellows.

"But it cannot be so. Our common sense revolts against the thought. There must be another state in which these anomalies will all be rectified. 'If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable', says the Apostle (I Cor. 15:19). The best of men were driven to the worst of straits in those persecuting times for being God's servants. How say ye, then, Finis coronat opus', the end crowns the work? That cannot be the final issue of life, or justice itself were frustrated. There must be a restitution for those who suffer unjustly; there must be punishment for the wicked and the oppressor."

The Fruit of Trust in God’s Love, Part 2

Trust Yields Divine Fellowship and Confidence

 

The Fruit of Trust in God’s Love

Part 2 (Conclusion)

By Fred O. Blakely

“And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him. Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, even so are we in this world. There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love” (I Jn. 4:16-18, ASV).

The Boldness before God. The ultimate outcome of such reliance upon, and fellowship with, God in the era of grace has its setting in the world to come, says the Apostle. “Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, even so are we in this world. There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear.” The firstfruits of this reliant boldness before God is experienced by the believer while yet in the flesh. Through faith and trust in the record which God has given of Himself and His Son, he comes “boldly unto the throne of grace,” entering without fear “into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Heb. 4:14-16; 10:19-22). At the great judgment seat of Christ, before which “we must all appear” (II Cor. 5:10), he will but continue in “this grace” wherein he now stands, relying wholly upon His acceptance with God “in the Beloved” (Rom. 5:5-11; Eph. 1:6).

The unspeakable glory of this deliverance from fear of “judgment to come” needs to be emphasized, that we may the more appreciate the greatness of our salvation in Christ (Acts 24:25).  “What countless fears agitate the hearts of those who are not in sympathy with God! Some men are dreading poverty; others, painful and lingering illness; others, death; others, judgment; others, God Himself. Such fears agitate and distress souls; they have torment. Perfect love will expel each and all these tormentors. It clothes our life and its experiences in new aspects, by enabling us to regard them in a different spirit. This love is of God; it proceeds from and returns to Him. It cannot dread Him and His appointments in relation to us. In this way it banishes from the heart the dread of death and of the judgment. Since God is what He is—‘Love’ (v. 16) and ‘Light’ (ch. 1:5)—we can do no other than trust Him. Hence, even now we look forward with confidence to the day of judgment. Perfect love not only expels servile fear, but inspires victorious trust in God.” “The confidence which we shall have ‘in that day,’ and which we have even now by anticipation of it, is the perfection of our love grounded on the consideration which follows, ‘Because as He is, even so are we in this world.’”

The final fruitage of our abiding in the divine love, like the “good wine” which the Lord made at the wedding feast (Jn. 2:10), is the best. “It will give us peace and satisfaction of spirit in the day when it will be most needed, or when it will be the greatest pleasure and blessing imaginable. There must be a day of universal judgment. Happy (are) they who shall have holy fiducial boldness before the Judge at that day, who shall be able to lift up their heads and look Him in the face, knowing He is their Friend and Advocate!

Happy (are) they who have holy boldness and assurance in the prospect of that day, who look and wait for it, and for the Judge’s appearance! So do, and so may do, the lovers of God. Their love to God assures them of God’s love to them (I Jn. 4:19), and consequently of the friendship of the Son of God. As God is good and loving, and faithful to His promises, so we can easily be persuaded of His love, and the happy fruits of His love, when we can say, Thou that knowest all things knowest that we love Thee (Jn. 21:17). ‘And hope maketh not ashamed.’ Our hope, conceived by the consideration of God’s love, will not disappoint us, ‘because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us.’”

“The fear which is inconsistent with perfect love is the fear of the slave dreading the lash, or the culprit dreading the verdict. But if the love of God is within us, sweetly subduing us with its tenderness, and if through that love sin is pardoned and destroyed, why, there is not lash to dread, there is not adverse verdict to fear (Jn. 5:24, ASV); for in such a case, to see the Judge upon the throne will be to look upon the face of an infinite Vindicator and Friend, in whose love we have lived here, and the enjoyment of whose love is the highest heaven for ever! And so far as the judgment will bear on others, the man of love will be more than content with the decisions of the Son of God and Son of man, and will desire nothing more than that the entire race should be dealt with by Christ as He sees fit. Evidently, if this be not our state of mind, there must be a deficiency in love in exactly the same degree as there is any restless fear.”

Our expectancy of boldness in the day of judgment is also rooted in our present conformity to Christ, John declares. “Because as He is, even so are we in this world” (v. 17). In what sense is this to be taken? Primarily, of course, we are judicially reckoned by God to be so, in that we are joined to Christ—one Spirit with Him, “members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones” (I Cor. 6:17; Eph. 5:30). In addition, we are experientially identified with our Lord.  We have God as our Father, as does He, “for which cause He is not ashamed” to recognize us as brethren (Heb. 2:11-13). We are also “separate from sinners” and the world, and “alive unto God, as He is (Rom. 6:11; Heb. 7:26). We have been raised up, as was Christ, and been made to “sit with Him in the heavenly places” (Eph. 2:6).

Hence, as He was “received up into glory” (I Tim. 3:16), so have we also been (Eph. 1:6; Heb. 10:19-22).  In our reconciliation to the objectives of the Father in the Son, and the work which He is executing through Him, we are also Christ-like. “We are looking forward to the day of judgment as the consummation of our hope, and the Redeemer is working in the world with a view to that day as the consummation of His mediatorial reign (I Cor. 15:24-28; Heb. 10:12-13). ‘This world’ (I Jn. 4:17; cf. Gal. 1:4), as distinguished from ‘the world,’ emphasizes the idea of transitoriness. Just so, Christ, in His redeeming work, and we in our believing hope, are working with the same goal in view— ‘the day of judgment.’ This world is but a passing phase of things. This is the day in which our Lord Jesus is carrying on His saving work in the world, and His educating process in the church; and all with a view to ‘the great day.’ Believers, too, are only in the preliminary period of their training, and hence they, too, believe and hope and love with a view to ‘that day.’ As their Lord is, so are they in this passing world, looking to and preparing for what lies above and beyond it.” Hence such passages of Scripture as these: Mt. 25; Mk. 13:35-37; Lk. 12:35-40; 21:34-36; Rom. 14:9-12; I Cor. 4:5; II Cor. 5:10; Phil. 1:6, 10; Col. 1:28-29; I Th. 5:23; II Tim. 1:12.

Conclusion. Since the fruit of trustfully abiding in God’s love is so precious, the work of the believer clearly is cut out for him. It is, as the Savior requested, to “continue in My love” (Jn. 15:9-10).  Or, as expressed by Jude, to “keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 21). Or, by Paul to Timothy, “That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us” (II Tim. 1:14).

As the embattled saint wages the warfare of abiding in God and permitting God to abide in him, the assurances of Scripture encourage and sustain his heart. “The anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you,” wrote John earlier in his first epistle, “and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is true, and is no lie, and as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him” (I Jn. 2:27). In his second letter, the Apostle voiced like assurance. The “elect lady,” to whom it is addressed, he loved “for the truth’s sake,” he said.

Which truth, he continued, “abideth in us, and shall be with us for ever” (II Jn. 1-2).  With full confidence in God, let us therefore determine to heed the apostolic exhortation: “And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming” (I Jn. 2:28). So shall we claim the beatitude of our Lord, proclaimed from Heaven: “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (Rev. 16:15). 

The Fruit of Trust in God's Love, Part 1

Trust Yields Divine Fellowship and Confidence

 

The Fruit of Trust in God’s Love

Part 1

By Fred O. Blakely

 “And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us. God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God abideth in him. Herein is love made perfect with us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, even so are we in this world. There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath punishment; and he that feareth is not made perfect in love” (I Jn. 4:16-18, ASV).

The evidence and fruit of love by the children of God, as here set forth by John, are immeasurably precious. Certainly they are to be earnestly desired and diligently sought by all who in truth call on the Father. Particular note should be made of the kind of love of which the Apostle speaks, however. It is not merely the gushing affection and sentimentality that so often parades itself as the paragon of godliness. Valid testimony of filial relationship to the Most Holy and effectual banishment of the cringing fear of Him obviously have a more substantial basis than that.

Traced to its ultimate source, the fruit of the Spirit clearly stems from the individual’s firm and implicit reliance upon God, not from self-determination or self-will. That is to say, it is rooted in the Divine mercy and grace, and is actually nothing more than the issue of those qualities from within the believer, who has received them from Above. Hence, one cannot evince his or her status as a child of the heavenly King by just starting to “love” people and be kind to, and considerate of, them. Neither can such ones banish their inherent fear of death and the eternal judgment by such tactics.

These blessings are not the result of loving the brethren.  Contrariwise, love of the saints and deliverance from fear themselves take the nature of results of something that lies beneath them. And that something is one’s utter dependence upon the God of all grace, as He is revealed and set forth in the holy Scriptures.

The Basis for our Dependence. “And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us.” There, there is secret of all that fortifies the heart and flows out of the life of the saint. It is whole-hearted faith in God and unhesitating dependence on the representation of Himself which He has given. “Herein was the love of God manifested in us,” the Apostle has previously declared, “that God hath sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (vv. 9-10). Again, “we have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (v. 14). And, again, “And the witness is this, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (ch. 5:10-12, ASV).

“The Apostle gives us here a startlingly beautiful succession of truths concerning love—divine love—revealed in Christ, and laying hold of men.”  The revised rendering, “which God hath in us,” rather than “toward us,” as in the A.V. (v. 16), is to be especially noted. The believer who is pressing on unto perfection in the Son (Heb. 6:1-3) has gone much further than to know the love of God to him, as that love was historically manifested in the gift of Jesus. His awareness of that love began with the belief of the record of its objective display, but it certainly did not end there. Through the Spirit which indwells him, he knows this love in himself, as “a reviving, cheering, glowing, inspiring, life-giving power.” It is in him as the living water of which Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman, “springing up into everlasting life” (Jn. 4:14). Of a truth, as Paul remarked, the love of God has been “shed abroad” in his heart by “the Holy Spirit which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5; cf. Tit. 3:5). “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself” (Jn. 5:10). “The Spirit Itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:16). So has the believer received Him who is the Life, Christ Himself now dwelling in his heart by faith (Eph. 3:17).

John’s order of thought here, it seems, may be expressed somewhat as follows: “Divine love is—1. A manifestation among us (v. 9). 2. An impartation to us (Rom. 5:5). 3. A reciprocal love, as ours has been called forth thereby (v. 19). 4. A transforming love, causing us to love as God loves (v. 12). 5. A self-consummating love, fulfilling its own ends in and through us, causing its outworking to be perfected in us, as its newly opened channel, through which it is flowing on to the boundless ocean of everlasting life and glory.”

The Reciprocal Indwelling. The Apostle goes on in our basic text to assert the mutual and reciprocal indwelling of God and the believer. “He that abideth,” or “dwelleth,” in the love of God, he declares, “abideth in God, and God abideth in him” (v. 16). In verse 15, he has set forth the same situation with reference to confession of the faith, though in reverse order. “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in him, and he in God.” Other Scriptures which represent such mutuality of fellowship include Jn. 6:56; 14:23; Rom. 8:9; II Cor. 13:5; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:18, 22; Col. 1:27; Rev. 3:20). Thus “he that dwells in sacred love has the love of God ‘shed abroad’ upon his heart, has the impress of God upon his spirit, the Spirit of God sanctifying and sealing him, lives in meditation, views, and tastes of the divine love, and will ere long go to dwell with God for ever.”

“In some passages, the Dweller in the heart is spoken of as Christ, sometimes as the Spirit, sometimes as the Father with the Son, sometimes as God by the Spirit. In all cases, the meaning is that there is a divine Life and Energy within the person, quickening, inspiring, and controlling him—a new directing and strengthening Force, leading on to all holy action, to patient endurance, to final victory. Man moves not upward and heavenward by a self-elicited force, but soars thither by a divine power imparted and sustained from Above.”

He who abides, or dwells, in the love of God and of the brethren is said to abide in God, “for God is love.” Here is truly a heavenly state. The soul is at home in God, and continually resides there. “God is not only a new life in him, but a new home for him, in which he abides, and from which he cannot be dislodged. His wanderings are over. He has a settled rest, an everlasting home.  It is the Father’s house, in the Father’s heart—the heart of boundless love. He is now seated in ‘the heavenly places in Christ Jesus’ (Eph. 2:6). Happy, happy home! It is heaven. It will never break up. No foe can invade it. Sin shall not mar it. Death cannot disturb it. Oh, to have found a home like this!” It is to be observed that the two indwellings compliment each other. “God dwelling in the soul ensures the soul continuously dwelling in its true home; and the soul, being always at home, has entire repose—it is full of God—leaving all its force free for happy, holy worship and service of God.”

John’s connection of the two indwellings with confession of faith and abiding in divine love is at once remarkable and deeply significant. The reciprocal abiding, he declares, is realized by him who lives and moves in God’s love and also by him who openly and continuously avows to the doctrine of Christ. Actually, the two practices—confessing and abiding—are concurrent, and are not to be contemplated in dissociation.

That Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, and so the Revealer of God’s love, is the message addressed to faith (I Jn. 4:14). “The Christian revelation is—what should endear it to us—the revelation of divine love. The articles of our revealed faith are but so many articles relating to divine love. The history of the Lord Christ is the history of God’s love to us. All His transactions in and with His Son were but testifications of His love, and means to advance us to the love of God.”

Faith receives Christ upon the basis of God’s revelation and with Him the love and salvation which He reveals. “Confession constantly rings out the faith, and by so doing vastly increases faith’s realizing power. This, through the energy of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 12:3), makes the love of God in Christ so real to the faithful confessor, that he actually dwells in love, and so reaches the state specified as ‘dwelling in love’ (v. 16). Thus the two conditions differ only as the terminus a quo from the terminus a quem [or, the point of commencment from that of completion]. Confession is the former; dwelling in love is the latter. This is verified by the order of the phrases, being in the one case, ‘God dwelleth in him, and he in God’; and in the other, ‘dwelleth in God, and God in him.’”

(Concluded Tomorrow)

 

A Student's Prayer

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene..
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all..
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the State..
We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks...
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong..
We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles...
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen

--Penned by a student, Submitted by Barbara Rivera

Our Satisfied God

OUR SATISFIED GOD

 

By Gene Hutchcraft

 

“He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”(Isaiah 53:11).

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The prophet speaks, more than any other under Moses’ law, of God’s great work to redeem; that which the Might One is inclined to do despite the blasphemy of His name through the generations in Israel. And He determined to do so before those things occurred. For human behavior is a minor motivation in God’s ‘eternal purpose.’ Human conduct, wicked or righteous, is not even in the category of ‘eternal.’ So, how could it be the ground of fulfillment in God’s eternal agenda? It cannot be so! As is written, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.”  (Isaiah 46:10)

 

Now, with this godly perspective, that of God’s pleasure, let us then give attention to what the prophet expounds of the impact of this life upon Him ‘Who is, was, and is to come, Who liveth forever and ever; Who created all things and for Whose pleasure they are and were created.’ (Revelation 4:8-9) He is the One with whom we have to do. He is the primary factor for Whom these events are worked, displayed, and completed. Whether or not men recognize it!

 

The subject of this text ‘grew up before Him’. The Most High observed this One while in the earth and found no spot or blemish in His sayings or doings, even that which men could not examine God did. This One grew in wisdom, favor, and stature with God Who declared publicly, ‘This is My Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.’ Then God repeated it again as the culmination of Jesus’ time in the earth approached. Adding this decree, ‘Hear ye Him.’

 

In this man God accomplished a thing that men can believe only by God’s provision in their hearts and minds. Otherwise, it would not enter them. For it is more than historical events for men to examine and then pass their jaundiced judgment. This is God’s great salvation which is found in no other place or One.

 

 

- HE SHALL SEE -

GOD LOOKED FOR AND MADE A REASON TO SHOW HIMSELF TRUE, GOOD, AND MERCIFUL

This involved His wrath, mercy, and grace. His wrath over that which offended Him, was detestable in His sight even from the beginning at the tree. His mercy because He knew that without it none would be spared the wrath or have room to stand and look to Him for cleansing and hope. His grace which is designed to enable, equip, and establish believers to abide with Him, receive from Him in that abiding, and take hold of that for which He takes hold of them.

 

HE HAD TO SEE THIS IN THE EARTH FOR HIS OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS SAKE

This is where sin and sinners are, the place from which you can come out, can recover and live by faith. God made the earth for this purpose to show Himself able, good, and faithful to Himself against great indignities or insults to His name. Yet, there was none who could intervene for a basis upon which God could then extend Himself to sinners for recovery. “Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.” (Jeremiah 5:1) ● “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” (Ezekiel 22:30).

 

THEN THERE WOULD BE A BASIS UPON WHICH HE COULD RECONCILE SINNERS

God must have a cause so He made the means by which He could reconcile the contrite heart to himself. He said that he dwells with such and so made the circumstance by which to exhibit this reality of what He esteems in the human heart, even those blemished and spotted. He would have to see a reason in this place of rebellion and hardness. Then He could send a message of good news that hope and reconciliation are real to those who flee to Him for refuge from the wrath to come.

 

 -THE TRAVAIL OF HIS SOUL -

PREVIOUSLY REPORTED OF GREAT TOIL AND LABOR IN THE SUFFERER

This is a price to be paid, full and real, of the human soul for sin against God. This debt is owed to God Most High for the offense against His name, righteousness, truth, and goodness that men accrue by their refusal to retain the knowledge of Him. This plunges them into every form of godless appetites with greediness. Bro. Paul writes of it in this manner. “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”(Ephesians 4:17-19) Such is the continuing condition of our race without the knowledge of God.

 

The prophet declares that God extracts from this man. This man was stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God of the price sinners owed for their rebellion toward God. That man bore our griefs, sorrows, transgressions, bruising,  and iniquities for our waywardness. Not His own! The Lord laid all of this grief as a charge against His soul, not ours. No man saw this suffering, only God and the heavenly hosts.

 

THAT WHICH GOD WROUGHT WITH THE SUFFERER’S COOPERATION

It was excruciating work which no other man could engage because of the weakness in their nature. Such a burden was beyond the capacity of a sinner, one of Adam’s nature. That nature is what demanded the high price and this man was willing to bear it, alone on the winepress of the wrath of God. He took up this body prepared for Him and gave His back and cheeks to the whip and those who plucked out the beard. However, it was the travail of the soul that secured satisfaction for God.

 

THIS BLAMELESS SPOTLESS ONE COULD BEAR THE BURDEN AND RECOVER

Strong in love for righteousness and justice as did His Father, He would not compromise. “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” Isaiah 11:2-5)

 

So, He entered the strongman’s house, tied him and took His possessions. By this One the kingdom forcefully advanced in the earth, gathering numbers and moving them toward the appointed destination of God’s choosing. 

 

- AND SHALL BE SATISFIED -

THERE IS GOOD REASON FOR GOD’S WRATH TOWARD MEN ON THE EARTH

Sin in human nature, bent them away from God and to corruption, things which God abhors or despises; things which never entered His mind, and that from Israel as they followed in the way of the nations rather than the path of life and peace from God. They said they wanted to become as the others and so they did! The nations as earlier declared by bro. Paul who also spoke of them without God in the world.

 

GOD’S JUSTICE MUST FIND FULFILLMENT

He cannot let this stand without answering and a resolution to the challenge of His government. The earth is a place for Him to demonstrate how He will do this while gathering for His name a people out of the earth who love and want the same as He, though they were once enemies in their minds by evil deeds.

 

So, God sent a substitute for the race out of the chosen people, all the while giving a testimony of His justice and righteousness in their law. However, the law of Moses was not meant to save, it could not do so by its nature. It proved the need for it even in a people of God’s choosing. This law also demonstrated the power of a substitute offering, and interceding priesthood, and deliverance from that which was otherwise too powerful.

 

PRIMARY PART OF HIS NATURE WHICH CANNOT BE DENIED

Holiness must remove that which offends, only God can and will act appropriately in these things. So, He does in this man of His choosing, a consistency demonstrated in the revelation granted to Israel. They suffered God’s wrath through their generations. Their status as God’s people did not protect them from it when they turned from the way revealed to them. God’s justice later found Zedekiah, who struck Micaiah the true prophet. It also found Hananiah who broke the wooden yoke from Jeremiah’s shoulders. It found false prophets Ahab and Zedekiah in Babylon, whom Nebuchadnezzar roasted in the fire.

 

 

Seeing these things fulfilled, honored, and loved by the Son on the earth was a great pleasure to the Almighty. Much more then when His Son fully submitted to the substitutionary work of the cross, bearing sin, being cursed, and becoming sin that God might spend His wrath in Him rather than in sinful men who could not recover. He recovered and returned to the Father to take up the greater and eternal work of intercession and as a conduit of provision for those who live by faith, walk in the truth, and wait for His return as promised.

 

The Way to Recover Zeal for Christ

 By Fred O. Blakely

“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent,” the exalted Lord urged the backslidden, luke-warm Laodicean church (Rev. 3:19). This also is His exhortation to all today who have lost their “first love” for Him and lapsed into carnal complacency (ch. 2:4). The tendency to become “weary in well-doing” and faint in our minds is one to which we are constantly exposed (Gal. 6:9; II Th. 3:13; Heb. 12:3). The result of succumbing to this tendency is to become merely formal and perfunctory in our devotion to God. Thus, it is vital that we know how both to avoid this snare of Satan, or to recover ourselves from it and to remain, or get back, in full fellowship with, and the hearty worship and service of, God through our Savior (II Tim. 2:5-26).

According to scholars, the word rightly translated “zealous” means literally “boiling with heat.” Christ’s call thus is an exhortation to spiritual fervor. He desires and requires that we be “hot” in our relationship to Him. Any level of devotion short of that is unacceptable (Rev. 3:15-16). Certainly, a mere casual attitude in the matter is rejected with vehemence.

The Crucial Question. How are we to recapture the fire of first-faith, once it is lost? That is the important question, and the one which confronts us in the light of the rebuke of the Laodiceans and the call to repentance and zeal. Obviously, “there is nothing in all the world worse than for a person to try to work up emotion—nothing which is so sure, sooner or later, to come to mischief, sure to breed hypocrisy and all manner of evil. If there is anything worse than trying to work up emotion, it is attempting to pretend it.”

How, then, may we rekindle the flame of zeal for the Lord?

It would seem that the way is indicated in the message to the Laodiceans as one would expect it to be. “When our Master says to us, ‘Be zealous therefore, and repent,’ we must remember that zeal in a person ought to be a consequence of knowledge. Seeing that we are reasonable creatures, intended to be guided by our understanding, it is upsetting to the whole of one’s nature if his heart works independently of his head. The only way in which we can safely and wholesomely increase our zeal is by increasing our grasp of the truth which feeds it.”

The Unmistakable Answer. When properly analyzed, therefore, the essential intent of the exhortation, “Be zealous therefore, and repent,” becomes evident. It is a call to “lay hold upon, and meditate upon, the great truths that will make your heart glow.” Observe that this exhortation is a consequence, being tied to what goes before it by the adverb “therefore.” And what precedes the exhortation? A whole series of considerations set forth by the glorified Lord such as these: “I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire ... and white raiment . . . and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve” (v. 18). “That is to say, lay hold of the truth that Christ possesses a full store” of all that you require to remedy your backslidden condition. “Meditate on that great truth, and it will kindle a flame of desire and of fruition in your heart.”

The Demonstration to John. It will be remembered that the Savior employed the identical technique in dealing with the wavering faith of John the Baptist. “Go and show John those things which you do hear and see,” He said to John’s disciples, after “in that same hour” performing numerous mighty miracles in attestation of His deity (Mt. 11:1-6; Lk. 7:19-23). It was designed that John should regain his initial conviction concerning Jesus (Jn. 1:19-34) by due consideration of this evidence of His Person.

Prominent among the qualities of our Lord which the Laodiceans were to ponder in restoring the fervency of their devotion to Him is that of His divine love. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” In other words, the call is to “grasp the great thought of the loving Christ, all of whose dealings, even when His voice assumes severity, and His hand comes armed with a rod, are the outcome and manifestation of His love. Sink into that love, and that will make your heart glow. Think of the earnest, patient, long-suffering appeal which the Master makes, bearing with all our weaknesses and our shortcomings. Let these sweet thoughts of a Christ who gives everything, of a Christ whose dealings with His people are in love--let them draw us to Him, and kindle and keep alight a brighter flame of consecration and devotion in our hearts to Him. Feed upon the great truths of the gospel which kindle zeal.”

Christ's Universal Headship

By Dean E. Boelt

"He has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of His will, according to His purpose which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and in earth" (Eph. 1:9-10, RSV; cf. Gen. 49:10; Jn. 10:16; 11: 49-52; Eph. 2:11-22; Col. 1:18-20; II Tim. 1:9-10).

Illuminated by the Spirit, Paul here envisions the accomplishment of God's "eternal Purpose" in the Son (Eph. 3:8-11). That will be the uniting of "all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth." Or, as the KJV has it, the gathering "together in one all things in Christ." So shall he "in all things" have "the preeminence," or Headship, pursuant to the good pleasure of the Father (Col. 1:18-19). 

As Paul would say, In that all things, thus, shall be "put under Him," nothing [save the Father Himself] shall be left "that is not put under Him" (Heb. 2:8-9; cf. I Cor. 15:24-28). In the diction of Isaiah: "This is the purpose that is purposed" by Jehovah of hosts, "and who shall annul it?" (Isa. 14:26-27, ASV).        

The Clear Representation. What is here clearly represented is the universal Headship of Christ. All that is in heaven and on earth—the Father only excepted—is to be united with Him. That includes the unfallen angels, as well as the redeemed part of humanity. So will be fully realized God's appointment of the Son as "the Beginning of the [new] creation of God" (Rev. 3:14), "the Firstborn of every creature" (Col. 1:15), and "the Head over all things" (Eph. 1:22).

As Adam was head of the first and repudiated creation, which shall then have been destroyed, Christ will be manifested as Head of the new and abiding one. It needs to be stressed—as Scripture does—that there will be nothing—absolutely nothing (except the Father)—that is exempt from this Headship. With that exception—as is so now in firstfruit regeneration—Christ will be "all" (Col. 3:10-11). The enemies who "would not" that He should "reign over them" will have been brought and "slain," or forever separated from Him (Lk. 19:27; cf. v. 14).         

Those today who, because of satanic blinding, have an inadequate concept of the Lord Jesus, need to redo their thinking by due attention to Scripture's representation of Him, and God's purpose for His preeminence. The Son's question of the Pharisees is one with which all humanity must deal: "What think ye of Christ?" (Mt. 22:41-45).         

The Matter of Universalism. In view of the scope of the representation made by the texts cited above, the question of universalism naturally presents itself. That such is the intended meaning of them, however, is precluded by the whole tenor of Scripture, which is against it. The gathering of all things under the Headship of Christ cannot include those who persistently rejected His rule while in the earthly body. They, together with the Devil and all false religion, will be "cast into the lake of fire," and forever banished "from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power" (II Th. 1:7-10; Rev. 19:20; 20:10, 14-15; cf. Mt. 25:41, 46). The only conceivable sense in which they could be said to remain under His authority is that they are eternally excluded from Him thereby.         

The resolution of the apparent difficulty posed by the representation of the universal gathering to Christ is apparent. It is seen by due regard for the present situation, as it is considered by God. All accountable persons not now in the Son, or under His Headship, are dead in God's view. That is, they are spiritually separated from Him. Hence, Scripture's consistent portrayal of the case.         

The Gentiles, being dead in their trespasses and sins, and the "uncircumcision" of their flesh (Col. 2:13), were "without Christ" and "without God" (Eph. 2:12). In fact, as Peter declares, they "were not a people" (I Pet. 2:10; cf. Hos. 2:23; Rom. 9:25-26). The wrath of God was actually upon them (Eph. 2:3; cf. Jn. 3:35-36). Such, it must be emphasized, is the state of all today who have rejected the Headship of Christ.         

The Intended Meaning. When, therefore, our Lord is represented as ultimately to be the Head over all things in heaven and on earth, the meaning is clear. His dominion will be over the regenerated order, as well as over that of the unfallen intelligences. In God's recognition, there will not be any other order. Everything and everyone contrary to Christ shall have been forever banished into "outer darkness" (Mt. 25:30), which term denotes total ostracism from God.        

In other words, in that eternal order of things, nothing that has not been gathered "together" to Christ will be considered as existent. So, as it is written, shall the "working" of Christ's power eventually "subdue all things unto Himself" (Phil. 3:21).

As regards the state of non-recognition that shall then prevail concerning everyone and everything that is not identified with Christ, both Isaiah and John have a clear word. "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth," declares the former, speaking for God; "and the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind" (Isa. 65:17). Beholding a preview of Christ's second coming, John records, "From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them" (Rev. 20:11).          

The lesson and exhortation from these considerations should be evident, and are certainly pronounced. If you want to have part in "the everlasting kingdom" of Christ (II Pet. 1:11), you must get into it now, and remain therein until death. If, as an accountable person, you leave this world under the headship of Adam, you shall be forever excluded from the new and abiding creation over which Christ shall reign as the Head.

The Essential Work of Feeding God's Sheep

 

The Essential Work of Feeding God's Sheep

By Al Stoner

"Because of the influence of the once-saved-always-saved teaching which has permeated the professing church with all its varied forms and guises,  religious men have neglected, for the most part, the all-essential work of believing God and His Christ (cf. Jn. 6:28-30), both for themselves and for their constituents.  Religious activities and religious recruitment have now supplanted the feeding of the flock of God (cf. I Pet. 5:2; Acts 20:28; Jn. 21:15-17; Mic. 7:14; Isa. 40:11; Ezek. 34:2-3, 23; II Sam. 5:2).

But what about God's sheep?  And what shall be done for Jesus' brethren?  Can it possibly be right that such ones as these should be neglected?  Those who are begotten of God live by every Word which proceeds out of the mouth of God, and are not able to spiritually subsist on religious duties and obligations.  And those "ministers" whose primary focus is upon "the lost", to the neglect of Jesus' sheep, are, consequently, out of step with what the Father and the Son are doing (cf. Jn. 5:17) salvationally, and such ones are at best "hirelings" (cf. Jn. 10:12-13), and possibly even betrayers. (The Lord knows their hearts.)

"The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God" (I Cor. 1:18). Thus, when the people of God come together, this is not to be a time of campaigning to recruit those who are outside the church. (Those who think that this is the case, only reveal their ignorance of the manor of the kingdom of God, and stumble at the Word of God.) Only a mere cursory recollection of Christ's Words is needed, in order to see through the blatant error of those who have given themselves wholly, or mostly, to what they call "church membership recruitment" (cf. Mt. 11:25-27; 13:10-11; Mk. 4:10-11; Jn. 9:39-41; 12:38-41; Rom. 11:8-10; II Cor. 4:3-4).

The assembly of the saints is to be a time and place where there is an abundance of "edification, exhortation, and comfort" (I Cor. 14:3). It is to be a time "for doctrine, for reproof, for correction," and "for instruction in righteousness" (II Tim. 3:16). To use an modern-day earthly analogy, the gathering of the Christ's brethren can be likened unto a "kidney dialysis treatment", where souls, weak and weary from a season of fighting the good fight of faith, are once again confirmed (cf. Acts 14:22) and rejuvenated as they give careful and diligent attendance upon the Word of God. This is to be a time when men exhorted to "continue in the faith" and to "maintain good works" (Tit. 3:8, 14). It is, after all, the love of Christ that constrains us (II Cor. 5:14) to do whatever God calls upon us to do. Therefore, when the saints of the Most High God come together, their focus, at that time particularly, is to be upon that which renews and increases that blessed and holy constraint.  When the people of God come together for such a holy purpose as this, the Lord Jesus, Himself, has promised to drawn near, and be present in the midst of the ones so gathering (cf. Mt. 18:20; 28:20; Lk. 24:13-33; Rev. 1:11-13, etc.).  And it is His sanctifying Presence alone which makes the gathering to profitable for the nurturing of one's faith.

When God's sheep are fed and nourished by the Word of God, they will, indeed, let their lights shine before men (and that, without any coercion from so-called church leaders). Such individuals, who have been regularly and duly nourished by God's Word, will regard ministering that Word to fellow men and women, not only as a responsibility, but also as a blessed and coveted opportunity and privilege. We are laborers together with God in this matter (cf. I Cor. 3:9; II Cor. 5:18-19). And what a blessed thing it is to labor together with the God of Heaven in this matter, and to know that the Most High is speaking through us, whom He has set apart to be His oracles (cf. I Pet. 4:11)!

Salvation is primarily God's enterprise (Ps. 74:12), not ours. "The ministry of reconciliation" (cf. II Cor. 5:18-19) has been given to us by God, and it is a ministry which demands abundantly more that what men, who are walking according to the flesh, are able to give. This is a ministry that is heartily engaged in by those who are new creatures in Christ (cf. II Cor. 5:17), and who have a vibrant connection to the Vine (Jn. 15:2). It is a ministry where God and men are working together, and where God is glorified through Jesus Christ, because it is evident that He is the One that is working. Therefore, it is sheer folly to even think of our engaging in this work apart from God working with us, and we with Him. --The initial thoughts were provoked by a comment by Dan Brueck, and summarized by the Banner editor. --Al Stoner

The Absurdity of the Premillennial Theory

"The theory of Premillennialism asserts that Christ came to earth for the purpose of setting up His kingdom. Quite by surprise, He was rejected by the Jews, however, and established the church instead. When He return's, He will allegedly raise only the righteous dead, after which He will restore national Israel, sit upon David's literal throne in Jerusalem and subsequently reign for 1,000 years. After this, the resurrection of the wicked dead and the final judgment are supposed to occur. It is difficult to see how a theory could be more grossly erroneous. It is false because: 

"It reflects upon the integrity of Bible prophecy by implying that the Jewish rejection of Christ was a miscarriage in God's plan. However, the Old Testament clearly foretold that rejection (Isa. 53:1; Jn. 12:37-38; Ps. 118:22-23; Matt. 21:46). 

"It denies plain Bible teaching concerning the establishment of the kingdom in the first century (Dan. 2:44; Isa. 2:2-4; Acts 2:16-17; CoL 1:13; Rev. 1:4, 6, 9). 

"It suggests that the church was not a part of God's eternal purpose, but only an interim, emergency measure (Eph. 3:10; Rev. 13:8; cf. Acts 20:28). 

"It denies that Christ is now seated on David's throne (Zech. 6:12-13: Heb. 8:1: Lu. 1:32-33; Acts 2:30; Rev. 3:21).

"It denies that we are in the 'last days' (Acts 2:16-17), and that Christ's coming will 'end' this dispensation (I Cor. 15:24: cf. Lu. 17:26-30). 

"It affirms, contrary to Scripture, that there will be two literal resurrections from the dead 1,000 years apart (Jn. 5:28-29: 24:15). 

"It denies the expressed symbolic nature of the Book of Revelation by literalizing its figures (Rev. 1:1; 20:1-6)." --from The Christian Courier, Wayne Jackson

Blessed Lord, with Us Abide

Gracious Father, guard Thy children 

From the foe's destructive power; 

Lead them, Lord, keep them from falling 

In this dark and trying hour. 

Thou wilt surely save Thy people; 

All our works are daily tried. 

As we walk the pilgrim pathway, 

Blessed Lord, with us abide. 

—Selected by Oasis