EDITORIAL
"Jesus said . . . Give ye them to eat." Matthew 14:15-21.
That is our intent through the pages of this periodical. We have about five thousand persons whom we are obligated to give to eat. The time is late and we dwell in a wilderness place. We have little personally to offer but when little is touched by Jesus' omnipotent hands, it becomes sufficient for the multitude and everyone is fed and satisfied, with plenty to spare. What little we know and have experienced of the Lord Jesus Christ we offer to you with the prayer that He will fill and satisfy you with Himself.
"About five thousand men" had eaten, "beside women and children." Maybe there were five thousand women and five thousand more children. We have around five thousand on our mailing list. If you would elect yourself as a committee of one to pass your copy on, and if everyone on the mailing list did the same, then instead of five thousand, we would be reaching ten thousand. And if you would suggest to the one you give your copy that he pass it on to someone else, the ten would grow to 15 thousand.
For our mailing list to grow to 15 thousand in a short time would load us with work physically impossible to do, but with your cooperation, in just a month's time, we could be easily reaching that number. I'm sure you know someone who could benefit from reading about our wonderful Lord and Saviour. Many of you have told us that you do pass the paper on. Thank you.
When we send our paper to you, that is our witness to you. When you give it to someone else, that is your witness to them. This is what might be called "chain reaction." That's how the Gospel reached us. Paul witnessed to people in Macedonia; they witnessed to others throughout Europe; Europeans carried the witness to America; one generation passed it down to another; until you and I heard the Glad Tidings of the Saviour. Now we must spread it everywhere we can.
God has given us the privilege of publishing His Word about Christ through this paper, but without your help in passing it on, we can reach only a minimum of souls. With your help the message can reach out to the multitude. Pray for God to lead you in sharing your copy. Pray that God will use this witness unto Jesus to draw many to Himself for salvation and for comfort and encouragement.
-- The Editor.
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"Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands
. . . but into heaven itself, now to appear
in the presence of God for us."
Hebrews 9:24
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NEVER MAN 'DIED' LIKE THIS MAN
Jesus was unique. Never was there one born as He, never one lived as He, never one spoke as He, and never man died as did Jesus. The miraculous touched every phase of His life, including its consummation -- His death. Jesus' death was unique. He died as no one else ever had, or could.
Jesus' death was unique, not because He died on a cross, others had died thus, not because He died nobly, others had done likewise, not because He died unjustly, many have been unjustly executed. Jesus' death was unique in that it was a voluntary death, it was a substitutionary death, and it was a propitiatory death.
Jesus volunteered to die. He did not have to die. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The wages of sin is death. But Jesus never sinned. He could have lived on as He was forever. Unlike other men, His body was not subject to corruption, neither His soul to destruction. He need never experience separation of body and soul, not yet separation of His soul from God the Father. These are the results of sin. He had no sin. Nevertheless, He voluntarily suffered both.
Unlike other men, no outside force could take His life from Him. "No man taketh it from me." He testified, "but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." "The good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." When He expired on the cross it is said that He "dismissed His spirit." Who else could die in this manner? He could have summoned ten thousands of angels to prevent this miscarriage of justice, or called down fire from heaven to consume His adversaries. He did not have to "give up the ghost." But He volunteered His life and voluntarily lay it down. That's why He came -- "to give His life a ransom."
Jesus' death was unique in that it was substitutionary. Christ died FOR the sinner. He had no sin, but He died for those who did. He took our place in death, that we might enjoy His life. He went to the grave and hell, that we might go to be with Him in glory. We were slated to die as punishment for our sins; He died in our stead, bearing our punishment, exhausting the wrath of God against sin. Most people would give their life for a loved one; few would give their life for a friend; but Jesus gave His life for His enemies. Some might die for a good man; but Christ died for the ungodly. The Just for the unjust. What other man can make this boast?
God commanded Abraham to take his only son Isaac into the land of Moriah and there to offer him for a burnt-offering. This was not just a test of Abraham's faith, but a testimonial to future generations of God's faithfulness. On the way to the place of sacrifice, Isaac asked his father. "Where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?" The godly father answered, "God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering." And so He did. Before Abraham could plunge the knife into the heart of his son the Lord stopped him and showed him the substitute in the form of a ram caught by its horns in a thicket nearby. And so in these last days He has provided Himself a Lamb for us who were condemned to die. John the Baptist heralded His coming in these words, "Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
Finally, Jesus' death was unique in that it was propitiatory. Christ Jesus hath God "set forth to be a propitiation." "And he is the propitiation for our sins." He is the mercy-seat and His blood is that which is sprinkled upon the mercy-seat for our atonement.
In the old economy, on the day of atonement, the mercy-seat was sprinkled with atoning blood (of a sacrificial animal) in token that the righteous sentence of the law had been (typically) carried out, so that what would have been a judgment-seat could righteously be a mercy-seat.
Christ came not to destroy the law but to fulfill it. "By his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heaven should be purified with these (animal sacrifices); but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many." (Hebrews 9).
Jesus Christ became the God-acceptable-sacrifice for our sins. His blood was shed and sprinkled upon the mercy-seat (otherwise, judgment-seat) in heaven. God saw the travail of His soul and was satisfied. Now we may be accepted in Him. The holy demands of the Law were met and judgment passed over for all who believe. Propitiation through faith in His blood.
God is satisfied with Christ's sacrifice; but are we? His blood makes atonement for sin; but have we been loosed from our sins, redeemed by His precious blood? The Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world; but has He blotted out our sins? This you must answer for yourself.
Christ Jesus has done what no one else could do. He has through death become the propitiation for our sins. No man can lay claim to this distinction. No matter how wealthy or mighty, "None can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him." Indeed, "Never man 'died' like this man."
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CHRIST -- ALL IN ALL
By David Doan
Colossians 3:1-11
Jesus Christ is the one dominant, all-important thought that pervades the whole Bible.
Christianity is not a system which promulgates a creed. It is not an accumulation of dogmas. It is not a setting forth of ethical idealisms. Christianity is Christ.
Every other religion could well afford to do without its founder; in fact, many of the religions of this world would be better off if separated from their originators.
However, when we come to Christianity, it is so insolubly linked to Jesus Christ that the one is inseparable from the other. The whole Church is built upon Christ crucified. He is its solid rock foundation. The whole Church is in vital touch with the risen Christ: He is the Head of the Church.
Jesus Christ is more than the inseparable Christ, He is the incomparable Christ. Men may contrast Him with others, but they can never compare Him with others. Saul, the son of Kish stood head and shoulders above the men of Israel; Jesus Christ stands so far above man that He remains forever in a class to Himself.
It is the purpose of my message to notice how Christ is "all-in-all" in the life of a believer. If Christianity cannot live severed from Christ -- the Believer cannot live severed from Christ.
The Christian is God's masterpiece. It was with His fingers that God created the heavens and the earth; it was with His fingers He threw innumerable worlds into space; but, when God created man anew in Christ Jesus, He brought into play His whole omnipotent Diety to work out His plan; He emptied Heaven of His Son, and gave Him to die upon Calvary's cross. Man's redemption and regeneration was made possible only when Jesus Christ, God's Son, travailed in the agonies of death.
The second chapter of Ephesians, verses 2 and 3, describes what we were when we were dead: "We walked according to the course of this world," we fulfilled "the desires of the flesh and of the mind," we were "by nature the children of wrath" -- then, God passed by and we were quickened in Christ, created -- born anew. We need to consider the mighty power which God wrought in Christ when He produced our life.
Salvation is not achieved by cultivation. It is a new birth. It is a life produced -- a life begotten. We hear much of evolution these days and some are so foolish as to speak of the evolution of a rose or of a chrysanthemum. But it is impossible for any man by cultivation, or by fertilization, or by any method known to man, to evolve a rose from a dead rose bush.
The sinner is dead; the saint is made alive -- created in Christ Jesus. Men talk of "producing" and, in a sense, they do produce, but they never create. Everything that man has is borrowed. If he wears a silk necktie, he borrowed it from a worm. If he wears a wool suit, he borrowed it from a sheep. If he wears shoes, he borrowed them from some animal's skin. Christians are created anew. Nothing in the new life is borrowed from the old.
We are commanded to "put off the old man," which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts. We are told to "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."
God is the Father of our spirits and we are children of God. Our life did not lie within our breast, waiting for some outward power to fan the smoldering embers into a new birth. Our life did not evolve from some embryo, which lay dormant without our own breast. We were born from above -- born anew -- our life was produced by Christ.
Beyond all doubt, when Paul said, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain," he meant, "for me to live is to produce Christ." The Holy Spirit transfigures the believer "from glory to glory" until he is the very image of the Master. Every phase of the perfect character of Christ is brought in and developed in the life of the believer by the Holy Spirit. If we are to produce Christ, we must have resident within us the character of Christ.
Let me give you a few passages of Scripture well worth noting.
"The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost" (Romans 5:5). We are not trying to imitate God in His love, we have His love placed within us. When this love is produced, Christ is produced -- for it is the love of God which is shed abroad.
"That My joy might remain in you" (John 14:27). When we sit down and consider the perfect peace of the spotless Christ, we know well enough that children of the flesh can never produce such a peace. But Christ says He will give us peace. Thus, in us, Christ is living out His own blessed attributes, and He becomes the product of our lives.
The ideal Christian life is not imitating Christ, but producing Christ. If we are to walk as He walked, He must walk in us. If we are to work out; He must work in.
Second Corinthians 5:20 says: "Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." If then we are His ambassadors, if we are in Christ's stead, how all-important it is then that we truly represent Him. Yet, in order to represent Him, we must have Christ in us. It is not bringing our humanity up to the standard of His Deity, but it is Christ bringing the power and the holiness of His Deity and making that resident by the Holy Spirit within us.
This is just what we mean when we say that Christ is the product of our life. He Himself said, "I will take up My abode in you" (John 14:23). If therefore He dwells in the believer, what we must do is to so yield ourselves to Him that He will find an outflow through our words and deeds.
If Christ is the producer of my life and the Product of my life, then everything that I have and everything that I do, should center in Him. It should all be done to His glory. David said, "I have set the LORD alway before my face" (Psalms 16:8). Alas, many of us have set many ideals before our face other than Christ. Some are rushing along after the goddess of pleasure. Some are pursuing fame, some seeking riches. All of these things the Spirit-filled believer will cast behind him. Everything that he does will be to the glory of Christ. Everything will sum up in HIM.
Paul said sadly, "All seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's" (Philippians 2:21). Paul even recognized this tendency in his own life when he wrote, "I count not myself to have apprehended," (Philippians 3:3). How few there are who have sunk out of self and into Christ!
The Apostle Paul counted no service too hard, no trial too severe, to endure in behalf of Christ. Where is the believer today who has suffered more, borne more, or served more than Paul?
If for a moment he did think of himself, it was but for a moment; for his life even until he drew his last breath, was poured out as a drink offering to his Lord. May the passion which possessed Paul possess every one of my readers today. May our lives have one aim, one purpose -- to live for Christ.
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OUR FATHER . . .
THINE THE KINGDOM,
POWER,
GLORY
Jesus taught His disciples to pray: "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil . . .
"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." (Matthew 6:9-13).
"Thine is the kingdom." Let us earthlings never forget it. The rulership of the universe belongs to God. Satan tried to userp His authority and led many angels in rebellion, but they had to pay dearly for their escapade. So will the humans who try to overthrow God's rule to establish their own. The trend today is to throw off God's restraint. But though man apparently is having some success in usurping God's authority in His universe, we may be sure, the Biblical declaration is still true, and only remains to be proven true in due time: "THINE is the kingdom."
The Day of the Lord approaches when He will put down all authority and rule and will establish in righteousness His own kingdom. Then He shall reign over all -- all nations and all peoples.
What is His name who shall reign? JESUS CHRIST THE LORD. A graphic description of His person and the future establishment of His kingship is given in Revelation 19:11-16.
"And I saw heaven opened," writes the divinely-inspired seer, "and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
"And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron.
"And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
Yes, blessed Lord Jesus, truly, "THINE is the kingdom." The Father hath given Thee authority. We gladly submit to Thy Lordship.
THE POWER
"For thine is the kingdom, and the power . . . " This is a power-mad age. Atomic power is the present rage. We speak in "megatons." Power unimaginable in the hands of unpredictable men. Power unlimited in the hands of limited intelligence. World-destroying power at the disposal of madmen. Move over Mr. Ostrich. No, this is not the answer.
We must recognize that "THINE is the power." God is the power of the universe. He is the dispenser of power. He made the atom. He created man who has discovered and harnessed it. The powers that be, are ordained of God and under His control, though they might be ignorant of the fact.
One man boasts that he can push a button and destroy the world. The fact is he could not lift his hand to push the button unless God willed it so. Jeroboam, an ancient monarch in Israel, discovered this one day shortly after he took office, when he pointed his finger in accusation and condemnation at one of God's prophets. "And his hand, which he had put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him." Indeed, Thine is the power.
But God is Spirit, and thus invisible. We humans want power that is visible, that we can see and touch and know by experience. What good is all the power in Boulder Dam if the residents cannot plug into it.
God has met this need in Jesus Christ His Son. Christ is God's power personified. He was in the beginning with God and was God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made. He became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld Him. He upholds all things by the word of His power. "All power," said He, "is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Would you see the very power of the invisible God? Then behold Jesus Christ.
This power is available to us. The Good News of Christ is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth. As many as receive Him, to them He gives the power to become children of God.
The power of God was manifested in a singular and dramatic way when He raised Christ from the dead. This same power is operative in the believer, raising him through Christ to newness of life here, and hereafter to incorruptibility and immortality. Truly, "Thine is the power," and we joyfully depend upon Thee, oh God omnipotent, for our natural and our spiritual life, through Christ Jesus our Lord.
THE GLORY
"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."
"Thine is the kingdom;" but man is determined to establish his own. "Thine . . . the power;" but man tries to operate in his own strength, independently of God. "Thine . . . the glory;" but man takes the glory to himself.
Who gets the glory in Russia for any advancement they make technologically or otherwise? Man does. Are we any better? Who gets the glory in America for some great achievement? Do we hear any praise and glory ascending Godward? Very little. What glory does God receive in the chambers of the U.N. in New York? What glory does He receive in our public institutions? Do I need remind you of the most recent divestiture of God of His glory in our public schools by the highest court in our land? "Thine be the glory" . . . but where?
We repeat this in our churches on Sunday morning, but does He really have the glory in our world, in our country, in our hearts and lives? I'm afraid the truth is that we have "changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man." We have "changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator."
But how have we changed His glory into corruptibility and His truth into a lie? Inasmuch as we have done this unto His Son, we have done it unto God. Jesus Christ is the glory of the Father. God has in these last days revealed Himself to us by His Son, who is "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person." "For God . . . hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." "And we beheld his glory -- the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
Jesus Christ is God's Truth. "I am the truth," says Jesus. But what have we done with the Truth? -- turned it into a lie! Jesus claimed to be the ONLY way to the Father; man says there must be OTHER ways. And what have we done with God's Glory? -- reduced it to corruptibility! The Bible says that Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh; but mankind "glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."
What then is God's exhortation to the citizens of a country which is going farther and farther from God and which is more and more taking the glory which belongs rightfully to Him? "He that glorieth, let him glory IN THE LORD." For indeed it is true, as all lovers of Christ recognize, "THINE is the glory, for ever."
And all God's children say, "Amen."
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