{"data":[{"id":13268,"author_name":"E.H. Broadbent","author_id":108,"title":"The Pilgrim Church - Part 1","slug":"the-pilgrim-church-part-1","scriptures":"Matt. 10;Matt 10:26;Luke 20;Luke 20:17;John 3;John 3:16;Matt. 18;Matt 18:20;1Cor. 12.7;Rev. 2;Rev 2:3;Acts 15.36;Acts 1:8;Acts 8;Acts 8:4;1Thess. 1;1Thess 1:8;Acts 15;Acts 15:36;Psa. 74;Psa 74:4;Psa 74:8;Matt. 18:20;Acts 15:21;Luke 4;Acts 13:15;John 19.20;Gal. 2;Gal 2:16;Acts 20;Acts 20;1Peter 1;1Peter 1:1;Acts 18;Acts 18:2","type":"","topic":"","content":"
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\nThe Pilgrim Church
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\nby E. H. Broadbent
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\nBEING SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CONTINUANCE-----
\nTHROUGH SUCCEEDING CENTURIES----
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\nOF CHURCHES PRACTISING THE PRINCIPLES TAUGHT----
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\nAND EXEMPLIFIED IN ----
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\nTHE NEW TESTAMENT
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\nLONDON_PICKERING & INGLIS LTD.___
\nPICKERING & INGLIS LTD._29 LUDGATE HILL, LONDON E.G.4_229 BOTHWELL STREET, GLASGOW, C. 2_Fleming H. Revell Company, 316 Third Avenue, New Jersey_Home Evangel, 418 Church Street, Toronto___
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\nFirst Impression ...1931_Second ...1935_Third ...1946_Fourth ...1950_Fifth ...1955___
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\nPreface
\n[To Pilgrim Church Index]
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\nThere is one history, which, though it contains the darkest tragedy, yet by common consent is called \"The Good News\", \"The Glad Tidings\", or by a name which it has captured and made its own: \"The Gospel\".
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\nIts four historians are uniquely known as \"The Four Evangelists\", or tellers forth of the Good News. This history tells how, by a miraculous birth, God entered into a relationship to man which even creation had not established, and by a sacrificial death and mighty resurrection vanquished death, put away sin its cause, and to His glory as Creator added that of Redeemer.
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\nThe foundations of this history, the preparation for it, indeed the actual foretelling of it and evidences of its truth precede it in the Scriptures of the Old Testament. Interwoven with these, inseparable from them, is the History of Israel, which is therefore itself one of universal value.
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\nThe History of the Church or company of those who by faith have received Christ and become His followers, is still in the making, not yet complete. On this account and because of its immense extent, although it is of supreme importance, parts only of it can be written and from time to time. First one, then another, must relate what he has seen or has learned from trustworthy records, and this must be taken up and added to as stage after stage of the long pilgrimage is traversed.
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\nThe following pages are a contribution to the unfolding story. Much that others have searched out and related has been made use of, repeated, woven in, so that this book is a compilation, to which is added the writer's individual share in the growing narrative. It is hoped and expected that the frequent quotations from and references to the works of several authors will lead the readers of this volume to turn to the books from which so much has been derived, and thus come to share more fully in the fruits of the patient labours and able expositions of their authors. An attempt is made in this book to introduce those who have not much time for reading or research, into some of the experiences of certain churches of God which, at different times and in various places, have endeavoured in their meetings, order, and testimony to make the Scriptures their guide and to act upon them as the Word of God, counting them as sufficient for all their needs in all their circumstances.
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\nThere have always been such churches; the records of most have disappeared, but what remain are of such volume that only a selection can be given.
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\nGeneral history is left out of account, except where the course of some of these churches requires reference to current events. Neither is any account given of what is usually understood by \"ecclesiastical\" history, except in its relation to the churches or congregations of believers carrying out the teachings of Scripture, which are the subject of this narrative.
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\nSome spiritual movements are considered which only partially accepted the principle of taking the Scriptures as sufficient guide, because in their measure these too throw valuable light on the possibility of such a course.
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\nIn addition to the works mentioned below, and others also, advantage has been taken of the help so richly provided and placed within the reach of most by such works as the \"Encyclopaedia Britannica\" and Hastings' \"Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics\".
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\nA beginner may look up the subject in one of these standard works of reference, where he will be directed to some of the literature considered as authoritative. In reading a selection of this he will be referred to the original authorities and also (as these are not always available) to their most trustworthy expositors. In the present volume the books used and referred to are mostly well known and accessible; sometimes a popular work has been chosen in preference to one more erudite, so that anyone interested may get fuller information more easily. Where books written in languages other than English are made use of, translations are referred to if they are to be had, but sometimes there are none, and then the original works are named for the benefit of those who can read them.
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\nIn the beginning of the History, \"The Ante-Nicene Christian Library\" provides a store of information from which much has been drawn. When the time of Marcion is reached, \"Marcion Das Evangelium vom Fremden Gott\" by Ad. v. Harnack is used, and for matters connected with the Roman Empire, \"East and West Through Fifteen Centuries\" by Br.-Genl. G. F. Young C. B. For Augustine \"A Select Library of the Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church\" translated and annotated by J. C. Pilkington, M. A. edited by Philip Schaff, is a guide. \"Latin Christianity\" by Dean Milman, helps in several periods. We are indebted to Georg Schepss for the true history of Priscillian and his teaching. His book, \"Priscillian ein Neuaufgefundener Lat. Schriftsteller des 4 Jahrhunderts\" describes his discovery in the W\u00fcrzburg University, in 1886, of the important MS. of the Spanish Reformer. This MS. is examined and explained by Friedrich Paret in his \"Priscillianus Ein Reformator des Vierten Jahrhunderts Eine Kirchengeschichtliche Studie zugleich ein Kommentar zu den Erhaltenen Schriften Priscillians\", and much has been drawn from this valuable commentary. Important information as to those called Paulicians is given in \"Die Paulikianer im Byzantischen Kaiserreiche etc.\" by Karapet Ter-Mkrttschian, Archdeacon of Edschmiatzin, the centre of the Armenian Church. An invaluable book for the period is \"The Key of Truth A Manual of the Paulician Church of Armenia\" translated and edited by F. C. Conybeare. The document was discovered by the translator in 1891 in the library of the Holy Synod at Edjmiatzin; his notes and comments are of the utmost interest and value. The discovery of the \"Key of Truth\" raises the hope that other documents illustrating the faith and teaching of the brethren may yet be found. The history of the Bogomils in the Balkan Peninsula is largely drawn from \"An Official Tour Through Bosnia and Herzegovina\" by J. de Asboth, Member of the Hungarian Parliament, and from \"Through Bosnia and the Herzegovina on Foot etc.\" by A. J. Evans, the distinguished traveller and antiquarian, later Sir Arthur Evans. \"Essays on the Latin Orient\" by William Miller, has also been made use of. The chapter on the Eastern Churches, especially the Nestorian, owes very much to \"Le Christianisme dans l'Empire Perse sous la Dynastie Sassanide\" by J. Labourt; to \"The Syrian Churches\" by J. W. Etheridge; and to \"Early Christianity Outside the Roman Empire\" by F. C. Burkitt M. A. The account of the Synod of Seleucia is taken chiefly from \"Das Buch des Synhados\" by Oscar Braun, while \"Nestorius and his Teachings\" by J. Bethune-Baker, has supplied most of what is given about Nestorius, and \"The Bazaar of Heraclides of Damascus\" by the same author, has especially been quoted; these give a vivid picture of Nestorius and should be read in full if possible. For the description of the spread of the Nestorians into China, \"Cathay and the Way Thither\" by Col. Sir Henry Yule, published by the Hakluyt Society, is of great interest and has been freely drawn upon.
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\nComing to the times of the Waldenses and Albigenses, \"The Ancient Vallenses and Albigenses\" by G. S. Faber, and \"Facts and Documents illustrative of the History Doctrine and Rites of the Ancient Albigenses and Waldenses\" by S. R. Maitland, have been referred to very fully. Perhaps the largest use has been made of the works of Dr. Ludwig Keller, especially for the history and teaching of the Waldenses. His position as Keeper of State Archives, giving access as it does to most important documents, has been used by him to investigate the histories of those known as \"heretics\", and his publications are an invaluable contribution to the understanding of these much misunderstood people. Dr. Keller's book, \"Die Reformation und die \u00e4lteren Reformparteien\" is a mine of information and all who can do so should read it. Use has also been made of his book \"Ein Apostel der Wiedert\u00e4ufer\" and of a number of others written or issued by him. Of the time of the Reformation, the \"Life and Letters of Erasmus\" by J. A. Froude, gives a vivid picture, and \"A Short History of the English People\" by John Richard Green, is a constant help by giving in an interesting and reliable way the historical setting of the particular events related. \"England in the Age of Wycliffe\" by George Macaulay Trevelyan has been used, and much has been taken from \"John Wycliffe and his English Precursors\" by Lechher (translated). \"The Dawn of the Reformation the Age of Hus\" by H. B. Workman, has been used; his references to authorities are valuable. Considerable quotations have been made from Cheltschizki's \"Das Netz des Glaubens\" translated from Old Czech into German by Karl Vogel. The description of the Moravian Church is based to a large extent on the \"History of the Moravian Church\" by J. E. Hutton, issued by the Moravian Publication Office, while for Comenius \"Das Testament der Sterbenden Mutter\" and \"Stimme der Trauer\", both translations into German from Bohemian, the former by Dora Pe_ina, the latter by Franz Slam_nik, are quoted. One of the books most used is the very valuable one, \"A History of the Reformation\" by Thos. M. Lindsay. \"Die Taufe. Gedanken \u00fcber die urchristliche Taufe, ihre Geschichte und ihre Bedeutung f\u00fcr die Gegenwart\" by J. Warns, is of great value, especially for the history of the Anabaptists, and its many references to authorities are useful. The important and deeply interesting records of the Anabaptists in Austria are taken from \"Fontes Rerum Austriacarum\" and other publications by Dr. J. Beck and Joh. Loserth, which are referred to in more detail in the footnotes to the pages where this part of the history is related. The history of the Mennonites in Russia is chiefly found in \"Geschichte der Alt-Evangelischen Mennoniten Br\u00fcderschaft in Russland\" by P. M. Friesen, who was appointed by the \"Mennoniten-Br\u00fcdergemeinde\" as their historian, and supplied by them with the documentary evidence they possessed; use is also made of \"Fundamente der Christlichen Lehre u.s.w.\" by Joh. Deknatel. Of the book by Pilgram Marbeck, \"Vermanung etc.\", summarized, only two copies are known to exist, one of which is in the British Museum. Very considerable use has been made of the valuable book by Karl Ecke, \"Schwenckfeld, Luther und der Gedanke einer Apostolischen Reformation\". The chapter on events in France is indebted to the \"History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century\" by J. H. Merle D' Aubign\u00e9, translated by H. White and for Farel, to the \"Life of William Farel\" by Frances Bevan, one of several interesting works of similar character by the same authoress. Another work by Merle D' Aubign\u00e9 here made much use of is \"The Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin\", \"The Huguenots, their Settlements Churches and Industries in England and Ireland\" by Samuel Smiles, gives much of value about the Huguenots. \"Un Martyr du D\u00e9sert Jacques Roger\" by Daniel Benoit, tells of the \"Churches of the Desert\" after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
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\nReturning to England, the \"Memoir of William Tyndale\" by George Offor, is quoted and otherwise referred to. The book most used in the account of the Nonconformists in England is \"A History of the Free Churches of England\" by Herbert S. Skeats, which would well repay reading; and \"A Popular History of the Free Churches\" by C. Silvester Horne, gives an interesting account of these churches. The \"Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity\" of Richard Hooker, is referred to. The \"Journal of George Fox\" supplies the best information as to his life. Three books which give excellent histories of the spiritual movements in Germany and surrounding countries after the Reformation have been largely made use of: \"Geschichte des Christlichen Lebens in der rheinisch-westph\u00e4lischen Kirche\" by Max Goebel; \"Geschichte des Pietismus und der Mystik in der Reformirten Kirche u.s.w.\" by Heinr. Heppe; and \"Geschichte des Pietismus in der reformirten Kirche\" by Albrecht Ritschl. \"John Wesley's Journal\" is the best source for an account of his life. \"The Life of William Carey Shoemaker and Missionary\" by George Smith, supplies most of what is told here of him. The account of the brother Haldane is taken chiefly from the \"Lives of Robert and James Haldane\" by Alexander Haldane. For Russia and the Stundists, in addition to the \"Geschichte etc.,\" of P. M. Friesen, a useful book is \"Russland und das Evangelium\" by J. Warns. In the history of the rise of the German Baptists use is made of \"Johann Gerhard Oncken, His Life and Work\" by John Hunt Cook. For later movements in England etc., some MSS. have been available, and \"A History of the Plymouth Brethren\" by W. Blair Neatby, has been consulted. Extensive extracts have been made from the \"Memoir of the late Anthony Norris Groves, containing Extracts from his Letters and Journals\" compiled by his widow, illustrating the important part the teaching and example of Groves played in the history of churches of the New Testament type. \"A Narrative of some of the Lord's Dealings with George M\u00fcller\" has been used as the best account of M\u00fcller's influential testimony; and details of the life of R. C. Chapman have been taken from \"Robert Cleaver Chapman of Barnstaple\" by W. H. Bennet, his personal friend. \"Collected Writings of J. N. Darby\" edited by William Kelly, is used to show Darby's teaching. \"Nazarenes in Jugoslavia\" published in the United States by the \"Nazarenes\", and various pamphlets, give information as to the movement connected with the people bearing this name.
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\nThe tragedy and glory of \"The Pilgrim Church\" can only be faintly indicated as yet, nor can they be fully known until the time comes when the Word of the Lord is fulfilled: \"there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known\" (Matt. 10. 26). At present, albeit through mists of our ignorance and misunderstanding, we see her warring against the powers of darkness, witnessing for her Lord in the world, suffering as she follows in His footsteps. Her people are ever pilgrims, establishing no earthly institution, because having in view the heavenly city. In their likeness to their Master they might be called Stones which the Builders Rejected (Luke 20. 17), and they are sustained in the confident hope that, when His kingdom is revealed, they will be sharers in it with Him.___
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\nPILGRIM CHURCH
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\nContents
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\nINDEX
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\nChapter I------Beginnings
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\n29-313
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\nThe New Testament suited to present conditions--The Old Testament and the New--The Church of Christ and the churches of God--The Book of the Acts provides a pattern for present use--Plan of this account of later events--Pentecost and the formation of churches--Synagogues--Synagogues and churches--Jewish Diaspora spreads the knowledge of God--The earliest churches formed of Jews--Jews reject Christ--Jewish religion, Greek philosophy and Roman power oppose the churches--Close of the Holy Scriptures--Later writings--Clement to the Corinthians--Ignatius--Last links with New Testament times--Baptism and the Lord's Supper--Growth of a clerical caste--Origen--Cyprian--Novatian--Different kinds of churches--Montanists--Marcionites--Persistence of Primitive Churches--Cathars--Novatians--Donatists--Manichaeans--Epistle to Diognetus--The Roman Empire persecutes the Church--Constantine gives religious liberty--The Church overcomes the world.
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\nChapter II---Christianity in Christendom
\n313-476, 300-850, 350-385
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\nChurch and State associated--Churches refusing union with the State--Donatists condemned--Council of Nicaea--Arianism restored--Athanasius--Creeds--Canon of Scripture--The Roman world and the Church--Break up of the Western Roman Empire--Augustine--Pelaginus--Change in the position of the Church--False doctrines; Manichaeism, Arianism, Pelagianism, Sacerdotalism--Monasticism--The Scriptures remain for guidance--Missions--Departure from New Testament Missionary principle--Irish and Scottish Missions on the Continent--Conflict between British and Roman Missions--Priscillian.
\nChapter III-----Paulicians and Bogomils
\n50-1473
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\nGrowth of clerical domination--Persistence of Primitive churches--Their histories distorted by their enemies--Early churches in Asia Minor--Armenia--Primitive churches in Asia Minor from Apostolic times--Unjustly described by their opponents as Manichaeans--The names Paulician and Thonrak--Continuity of New Testament churches--Constantine Silvarius--Simeon Titus--Veneration of relics, and image worship--Iconoclastic Emperors--John of Damascus--Restoration of images in Greek Church--Council of Frankfurt--Claudius Bishop of Turin--Mohammedanism--Sembat--Sergius--Leaders of the churches in Asia Minor--Persecution under Theodora--The Key of Truth--Carbeas and Chrysocheir--The Scriptures and the Koran--Character of the churches in Asia Minor--Removal of believers from Asia to Europe--Later history in Bulgaria--Bogomils--Basil--Opinions regarding Paulicians and Bogomils--Spread of Bogomils into Bosnia--Kulin Ban and Rome--Intercourse of Bogomils with Christians abroad--Bosnia invaded--Advance of Mohammedans--Persecution of Bogomils--Bosnia taken by the Turks--Friends of God in Bosnia a link between the Taurus and the Alps--Bogomil tombs.
\nChapter IV-----The East
\nB.C. 4-A.D. 1400
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\nThe Gospel in the East--Syria and Persia--Churches in Persian Empire separated from those in Roman Empire--Eastern churches retained Scriptural character longer than those in the west--Papa ben Aggai federates churches--Zoroaster--Persecution under Sapor II--Homilies of Afrahat--Synod of Seleucia--Persecution renewed--Nestorius--The Bazaar of Heraclides--Toleration--Influx of western bishops--Increase of centralization--Wide spread of Syrian churches in Asia--Mohammedan invasion--Catholikos moved from Seleucia to Bagdad--Genghis Khan--Struggle between Nestorianism and Islam in Central Asia--Tamerlane--Franciscans and Jesuits find Nestorians in Cathay--Sixteenth century translation of part of Bible into Chinese--Disappearance of Nestorians from most of Asia--Causes of failure.
\nChapter V-----Waldenses and Albigenses
\n1100-1230, 70-1700, 1160-1318, 1100-1500
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\nPierre de Brueys--Henri the Deacon--Sectarian names refused--The name Albigenses--Visits of brethren from the Balkans--The Perfect--Provence invaded--Inquisition established--Waldenses--Leonists--Names--Tradition in the valleys--Peter Waldo--Poor Men of Lyons--Increase of missionary activity--Francis of Assisi--Orders of Friars--Spread of the churches--Doctrine and practices of the Brethren--Waldensian valleys attacked--Beghards and Beghines.
\nChapter VI-----Churches at the Close of the Middle Ages
\n1300-1500
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\nInfluence of the brethren in other circles--Marsiglio of Padua--The Guilds--Cathedral builders--Protest of the cities and guilds--Waltlier in Cologne--Thomas Aquinas and Alvarus Pelagius--Literature of the brethren destroyed--Master Eckart--Tauler--The \"Nine Rocks\"--The Friend of God from the Oberland--Renewal of persecution--Strassburg document on persistence of the churches--Book in Tepl--Old Translation of German New Testament--Fanaticism--Capture of Constantinople--Invention of Printing--Discoveries--Printing Bibles--Colet, Reuchlin--Erasmus and the Greek New Testament--Hope of peaceful Reformation--Resistance of Rome--Staupitz discovers Luther.
\nChaper VII------Lollards, Hussites, The United Brethren
\n1350-1670
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\nWycliff--Peasant Revolt--Persecution in England--Sawtre, Badley, Cobham--Reading the Bible forbidden--Congregations--Huss--_i_ka-- Tabor--Hussite wars--Utraquists--Jakoubek--Nikolaus--Cheltschizki-- The Net of Faith--Rokycana, Gregor, Kunwald--Reichenau, Lhota--United Brethren--Lukas of Prague--News of German Reformation reaches Bohemia--John Augusta--Smalkald war--Persecution and emigration--George Israel and Poland--Return of brethren to Bohemia--Bohemian Charter--Battle of the White Mountain--Comenius.
\nChapter VIII-----The Reformation
\n1500-1550
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\nA Catechism--Brethren of the Common Life--Luther--Tetzel--The ninety-five theses at Wittenberg--The Papal Bull burnt--Diet of Worms--The Wartburg--Translation of the Bible--Efforts of Erasmus for compromise--Development of the Lutheran Church--Its reform and limitations--Staupitz remonstrates--Luther's choice between New Testament churches and National Church system--Loyola and the Counter Reformation.
\nChapter IX-----The Anabaptists
\n1516-1566
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\nThe name Anabaptist--Not a new sect--Rapid increase--Legislation against them--Balthazer Hubmeyer--Circle of brethren in Basle--Activities and martyrdom of Hubmeyer and his wife--Hans Denck--Balance of truth--Parties--M. Sattler--Persecution increases--Landgraf Philip of Hessen--Protest of Odenbach--Zwingli--Persecution in Switzerland--Grebel, Manz, Blaurock--Kirschner--Persecution in Austria--Chronicles of the Anabaptists in Austria Hungary--Ferocity of Ferdinand--Huter--M\u00e4ndl and his companions--Communities--M\u00fcnster--The Kingdom of the New Zion--Distorted use of events in M\u00fcnster to calumniate the brethren--Disciples of Christ treated as He was--Menno Simon--Pilgram Marbeck and his book--Sectarianism--Persecution in West Germany--Hermann Archbishop of Cologne attempts reform--Schwenckfeld.
\nChapter X-----France and Switzerland
\n1500-1800
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\nLe F\u00e8vre--Group of believers in Paris--Meaux--Farel's preaching--Metz--Images destroyed--Executions--Increased persecution in France--Farel in French Switzerland--In Neuch\u00e2tel--The Vaudois and the Reformers meet--Visit of Farel and Saunier to the valleys--Progress in Neuch\u00e2tel--Breaking of bread in the South of France--Jean Calvin--Breaking of bread in Poitiers--Evangelists sent out--Froment in Geneva--Breaking of bread outside Geneva--Calvin in Geneva--Socinianism--Servetus--Influence of Calvinism--The Placards--Sturm to Melanchthon--Organization of churches in France--The Huguenots--Massacre of St. Bartholomew--Edict of Nantes--The Dragonnades--Revocation of the Edict of Nantes--Flight from France--Prophets of the Cevennes--War of the Camisards--Churches of the Desert reorganized--Jacques Roger--Antoine Court.
\nChapter XI----English Nonconformists
\n1525-1689
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\nTyndale--Reading of Scripture forbidden--Church of England established--Persecution in the reign of Mary--Baptist and Independent churches--Robert Browne--Barrowe, Greenwood, Penry--Dissenters persecuted in Elizabeth's reign--Privye church in London--Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity--Church of English Exiles in Amsterdam--Arminius--Emigration of brethren from England to Holland--John Robinson--The Pilgrim Fathers sail to America--Different kinds of churches in England and Scotland--Authorized Version of the Bible published--Civil war--Cromwell's New Model army--Religious liberty--Missions--George Fox--Character of Friends movement--Acts against Nonconformists--Literature--John Bunyan.
\nChapter XII-----Labadie, the Pietists, Zinzendorf, Philadelphia
\n1635-1750
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\nLabadie--Forms a fellowship in the Roman Catholic Church--Joins the Reformed Church--Goes to Orange--To Geneva--Willem Teelinck--Gisbert Voet--van Lodensteyn--Labadie goes to Holland--Difference between Presbyterian and Independent ideals--Reforms forms in the Middelburg church--Conflict with Synods of the Reformed Church--Conflict on Rationalism--Labadie condemns Synods--He is excluded from the Reformed Church--A separate church formed in Middelburg--The new church expelled from Middelburg--It removes to Veere--Then to Amsterdam--Household church formed--Anna Maria van Sch\u00fcrman--Difference with Voet--Household troubles--Removal to Herford--Labadie dies in Altona--Removal of household in Wieuwerd--Household broken up--Effects of testimony--Spener--Pietists--Franke--Christian David--Zinzendorf--Herrnhut--Dissensions--Zinzendorf's Statutes accepted--Revival--Discovery of document in Zittau--Determination to restore the Bohemian Church--Question of relations with the Lutheran Church--The negro Anthony--Moravian Missions--The Mission in England--Cennick--Central control unsuited to expanding work--Philadelphia Societies--Miguel de Molines--Madame Guyon--Gottfried Arnold--Wittgenstein--The Marburg Bible--The Berleburg Bible--Philadelphian Invitation--Hochmann von Hochenau--Tersteegen--Jung Stilling--Primitive and Reformed and other churches--Various ways of return to Scripture.
\nChapter XIII-----Methodist and Missionary Movements
\n1638-1820
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\nCondition of England in the 18th century--Revivals in Wales--Temporary schools--Societies formed--The holy club at Oxford--Mrs. Wesley--John and Charles Wesley sail to Georgia--John Wesley returns and meets Peter Boehler--Accepts Christ by faith--Visits Herrnhut--George Whitefield--Preaches to the colliers at Kingswood--John Wesley also begins preaching in the open air--Lay preachers--Strange manifestations--Great revivals--Charles Wesley's hymns--Separation between Moravian and Methodist Societies--Divergence in doctrine of Wesley and Whitefield--Conference--Separation of Methodist Societies from the Church of England--Divisions--General benefit from the movement--Need of missionary work--William Carey--Andrew Fuller--Formation of Missionary Societies--Difference between Mission Stations and churches--The brothers Haldane--James Haldane preaches in Scotland--Opposition of Synods--Large numbers hear the Gospel--A church formed in Edinburgh--Liberty of ministry--Question of baptism--Robert Haldane visits Geneva--Bible Readings on Romans--The Lord's Supper in Geneva--A church formed.
\nChapter XIV----The West
\n1790-1890
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\nThomas Campbell--A \"Declaration and Address\"--Alexander Campbell--Church at Brush Run--Baptism--Sermon on the Law--Republican Methodists take the name \"Christians\"--Baptists take the name \"Christians\"--Barton Warren Stone--Strange revival scenes--The Springfield Presbytery formed and dissolved--Church at Cane Ridge--The Christian Connection--Separation of Reformers from Baptists--Union of Christian Connection and Reformers--Nature of Conversion--Walter Scott--Baptism for the remission of sins--Testimony of Isaac Errett.
\nChapter XV-----Russia
\n1788-1914, 850-1650, 1812-1930, 1823-1930, 1828-1930
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\nMennonite and Lutheran emigration to Russia--Privileges change the character of the Mennonite churches--W\u00fcst--Revival--Mennonite Brethren separate from Mennonite Church--Revival of Mennonite Church--Meetings among Russians forbidden--Circulation of Russian Scriptures allowed--Bible translation--Cyril Lucas--Stundists--Various avenues by which the Gospel came into Russia--Great increase of the churches--Political events in Russia lead to increased persecution--Exiles--Instances of exile and of the influence the New Testament--Decree of the Holy Synod against Stundists--Evangelical Christians and Baptists--General disorder in Russia--Edict of Toleration--Increase of churches--Toleration withdrawn--Revolution--Anarchy--Rise of Bolshevik Government--Efforts to abolish religion--Suffering and increase--Communists persecute believers--J. G. Oncken--A Baptist church formed in Hamburg--Persecution--Tolerance--Bible School--German Baptists in Russia--Gifts from America--Nazarenes--Fr\u00f6hlich--Revival through his preaching--Excluded from the Church--The Hungarian journeymen meet Fr\u00f6hlich--Meetings in Budapest--Spread of the Nazarenes--Sufferings through refusal of military service--Fr\u00f6hlich's at teaching.
\nChapter XVI-----Groves, M\u00fcller, Chapman
\n1825-1902
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\nChurches formed in Dublin--A. N. Groves--Leaves with party for Bagdad--Work begun--Plague and flood--Death of Mrs. Groves--Arrival of helpers from England--Colonel Cotton--Removal of Groves to India--Objects to his stay there--To bring missionary work back to the New Testament pattern--To reunite the people of God--George M\u00fcller--Henry Craik--Church formed at Bethesda Chapel, Bristol, to carry out New Testament principles--M\u00fcller's visit to Germany--Institutions and Orphanage carried on for the encouragement of faith in God--Robert Chapman--J. H. Evans--Chapman's conversion--His ministry in Barnstaple and travels--Circles accepting the Scriptures as their guide.
\nChapter XVII-----Questions of Fellowship and of Inspiration
\n1830-1930
\n
\nMeeting in Plymouth--Conditions in French Switzerland--Darby's visits--Development of his system--\"The church in ruins\"--August Rochat--Difference between Darby's teaching and that of brethren who took the New Testament as the pattern for the churches--Change from Congregational to Catholic principle--Spread of meetings--Letter from Groves to Darby--Suggestion of a central authority--Darby and Newton--Darby and the church at Bethesda, Bristol--Darby excludes all who would not join him in excluding the church at Bethesda--World-wide application of system of excluding churches--Churches which did not accept the exclusive system--Their influence in other circles--Churches on the New Testament pattern formed in many countries--Rationalism--Biblical Criticism--Increased circulation of the Scriptures.
\nChapter XVIII-----Conclusions
\nCan churches still follow New Testament teaching and example?--Various answers--Ritualistic churches--Rationalism--Reformers--Mystics and others--Evangelical Revival--Brethren who throughout all the centuries have made the New Testament their guide--Spread of the Gospel--Foreign Missions--Revival through return to the teachings of Scripture--Every Christian a missionary, each church a missionary society--Difference between a church and a mission station--Difference between an institution and a church--Unity of the churches and spread of the Gospel--New Testament churches among all people on the same basis--Conclusion
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n_________________________________________
\n
\nChapter I
\n
\nBeginnings
\n
\n29-313
\n
\n
\n
\nThe New Testament suited to present conditions--The Old Testament and the New--The Church of Christ and the churches of God--The Book of the Acts provides a pattern for present use--Plan of this account of later events--Pentecost and the formation of churches--Synagogues--Synagogues and churches--Jewish Diaspora spreads the knowledge of God--The earliest churches formed of Jews--Jews reject Christ--Jewish religion, Greek philosophy and Roman power oppose the churches--Close of the Holy Scriptures--Later writings--Clement to the Corinthians--Ignatius--Last links with New Testament times--Baptism and the Lord's Supper--Growth of a clerical caste--Origen--Cyprian--Novatian--Different kinds of churches--Montanists--Marcionites--Persistence of Primitive Churches--Cathars--Novatians--Donatists--Manichaeans--Epistle to Diognetus--The Roman Empire persecutes the Church--Constantine gives religious liberty--The Church overcomes the world.
\nThe New Testament is the worthy completion of the Old. It is the only proper end to which the Law and the Prophets could have led. It does not do away with them but enriches, in fulfilling and replacing them. It has in itself the character of completeness, presenting, not the rudimentary beginning of a new era which requires constant modification and addition to meet the needs of changing times, but a revelation suited to all men in all times. Jesus Christ cannot be made known to us better than He is in the four Gospels, nor can the consequences or doctrines, which flow from the facts of His death and resurrection be more truly taught than they are in the Epistles.
\n
\nThe Old Testament records the formation and history of Israel, the people through whom God revealed Himself in the world until Christ should come. The New Testament reveals the Church of Christ, consisting of all who are born again through faith in the Son of God and so made partakers of the Divine and Eternal Life (John 3. 16).
\n
\nAs this body, the whole Church of Christ, cannot be seen and cannot act in any one place, since many of its members are already with Christ and others scattered throughout the world, it is appointed to be actually known and to bear its testimony in the form of churches of God in various places and at different times. Each of these consists of those disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ who, in the place where they live, gather together in His Name. To such the presence of the Lord in their midst is promised and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is given in different ways through all the members (Matt. 18. 20; 1 Cor. 12.7).
\n
\nEach of these churches stands in direct relationship to the Lord, draws its authority from Him and is responsible to Him (Rev. 2 and 3). There is no suggestion that one church should control another or that any organised union of churches should exist, but an intimate personal fellowship unites them (Acts 15.36).
\n
\nThe chief business of the churches is to make known throughout the world the Gospel or Glad Tidings of Salvation. This the Lord commanded before His ascension, promising to give the Holy Spirit as the power in which it should be accomplished (Acts 1:8).
\n
\nEvents in the history of the churches in the time of the Apostles have been selected and recorded in the Book of the Acts in such a way as to provide a permanent pattern for the churches. Departure from this pattern has had disastrous consequences, and all revival and restoration have been due to some return to the pattern and principles contained in the Scriptures.
\n
\nThe following account of some later events, compiled from various writers, shows that there has been a continuous succession of churches composed of believers who have made it their aim to act upon the teaching of the New Testament. This succession is not necessarily to be found in any one place, often such churches have been dispersed or have degenerated, but similar ones have appeared in other places. The pattern is so clearly delineated in the Scriptures as to have made it possible for churches of this character to spring up in fresh places and among believers who did not know that disciples before them had taken the same path, or that there were some in their own time in other parts of the world. Points of contact with more general history are noted where the connection helps to an understanding of the churches described.
\n
\nSome spiritual movements are referred to which, though they did not lead to the formation of churches on the New Testament pattern, nevertheless throw light on those which did result in the founding of such churches.
\n
\nFrom Pentecost there was a rapid spread of the Gospel. The many Jews who heard it at the feast at Jerusalem when it was first preached, carried the news to the various countries of their dispersion. Although it is only of the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul that the New Testament gives any detailed record, the other Apostles also travelled extensively, preaching and founding churches over wide areas. All who believed were witnesses for Christ, \"they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word\" (Acts 8. 4). The practice of founding churches where any, however few, believed, gave permanence to the work, and as each church was taught from the first its direct dependence on the Holy Spirit and responsibility to Christ, it became a centre for propagating the Word of Life. To the newly-founded church of the Thessalonians it was said, \"from you sounded out the word of the Lord\" (1 Thess. 1. 8). Although each church was independent of any organization or association of churches, yet intimate connection with other churches was maintained, a connection continually refreshed by frequent visits of brethren ministering the Word (Acts 15. 36). The meetings being held in private houses, or in any rooms that could be obtained, or in the open air, no special buildings were required.[1] This drawing of all the members into the service, this mobility and unorganised unity, permitting variety which only emphasised the bond of a common life in Christ and indwelling of the same Holy Spirit, fitted the churches to survive persecution and to carry out their commission of bringing to the whole world the message of salvation.
\n
\nThe first preaching of the Gospel was by Jews and to Jews, and in it frequent use was made of the synagogues. The synagogue system is the simple and effectual means by which the national sense and religious unity of the Jewish people have been preserved throughout the centuries of their dispersion among the nations. The centre of the synagogue is the Scriptures of the Old Testament, and the power of Scripture and synagogue is shown in the fact that the Jewish Diaspora has neither been crushed by the nations nor absorbed into them. The chief objects of the synagogue were the reading of Scripture, the teaching of its precepts, and prayer; and its beginnings go back to ancient times. In the seventy-fourth Psalm is the complaint: \"Thine enemies roar in the midst of Thy congregations ...they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land\" (Psa. 74. 4, 8). On the return from the captivity it is said that Ezra further organised the synagogues, and the later dispersion of the Jews added to their importance. When the Temple, the Jewish centre, was destroyed by the Romans, the synagogues, widely distributed as they were, proved to be an indestructible bond, surviving all the persecutions that followed. In the centre of each synagogue is the ark in which the Scriptures are kept, and beside it is the desk from which they are read. An attempt under Barcochebas (A.D. 135), which was one of many efforts made to deliver Judaea from the Roman yoke and seemed for a short time to promise some success, failed as did all others, and only brought terrible retribution on the Jews. But though force failed to free them, the gathering of the people round the Scriptures as their centre preserved them from extinction.
\n
\nThe likeness and connection between the synagogues and the churches is apparent. Jesus made Himself the centre of each of the churches dispersed throughout the world, saying, \"where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them\" (Matt. 18:20), and He gave the Scriptures for their unchanging guidance. For this reason it has proved impossible to extinguish the churches; when in one place they have been destroyed they have appeared again in others.
\n
\nThe Jews of the Diaspora[2] developed great zeal in making the true God known among the heathen, and large numbers were converted to God through their testimony. In the third century B.C. the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek was accomplished in the Septuagint Version, and as Greek was, both at that time and long afterwards, the chief medium of intercommunication among the peoples of various languages, an invaluable means was supplied by which the Gentile nations could be made acquainted with the Old Testament Scripture. Equipped with this, the Jews used both synagogue and business opportunities in the good work. James, the Lord's brother, said: \"Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day\" (Acts 15:21). Thither Greeks and others were brought in, burdened with the sins and oppressions of heathendom, confused and unsatisfied by its philosophies, and, listening to the Law and the Prophets, came to know the one true God. Business brought the Jews among all classes of people and they used this diligently to spread the knowledge of God. One Gentile seeker after truth writes that he had decided not to join any one of the leading philosophical systems since through a happy fortune a Jewish linen merchant who came to Rome had, in the simplest way, made known to him the one God.
\n
\nThere was liberty of ministry in the synagogues. Jesus habitually taught in them--\"as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read\" (Luke 4.:16). When Barnabas and Paul, travelling, came to Antioch in Pisidia, they went to the synagogue and sat down. \"After the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on\" (Acts 13:15).
\n
\nWhen Christ the Messiah came, the fulfilment of all Israel's hope and testimony, large numbers of Jews and religious proselytes believed in Him, and the first churches were founded among them; but the rulers of the people, envious of Him who is the promised seed of Abraham, the greatest of David's sons, and jealous of a gathering in and blessing of the Gentiles such as the Gospel proclaimed, rejected their King and Redeemer persecuted His disciples, and went on their way of sorrow without the Saviour who was, to them first, the very expression of the love and saving power of God toward man.
\n
\nAs the Church was first formed in Jewish circles the Jews were its first opponents, but it soon spread into wider surroundings and when Gentiles were converted to Christ it came into conflict with Greek ideas and with Roman power. Over the cross of Christ His accusation was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin (John 19.20), and it was in the sphere of the spiritual and political power represented by these languages that the Church was to begin to suffer, and there also to gain her earliest trophies.
\n
\nJewish religion affected the Church, not only in the form of physical attack, but also, and more permanently, by bringing Christians under the Law, and we hear Paul in the Epistle to the Galatians crying out against such retrogression: \"a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ\" (Gal. 2. 16). From the book of the Acts and the Epistle to the Galatians it is seen that the first serious danger that threatened the Christian Church was that of being confined within the limits of a Jewish sect and so losing its power and liberty to bring the knowledge of God's salvation in Christ to the whole world.
\n
\nGreek philosophy, seeking some theory of God, some explanation of nature and guide to conduct, laid hold of all religions and speculations, whether of Greece or Rome, of Africa or Asia, and one gnosis or \"knowledge\", one system of philosophy after another arose, and became a subject of ardent discussion. Most of the Gnostic systems borrowed from a variety of sources, combining Pagan and Jewish, and later Christian teachings and practices. They explored the \"mysteries\" which lay for the initiated behind the outward forms of heathen religions. Frequently they taught the existence of two gods or principles, the one Light, the other Darkness, the one Good, the other Evil. Matter and material things seemed to them to be products of the Power of Darkness and under his control; what was spiritual they attributed to the higher god. These speculations and philosophies formed the basis of many heresies which from the earliest times invaded the Church, and are already combated in the later New Testament writings, especially in those of Paul and John. The means adopted to counter these attacks and to preserve unity of doctrine affected the Church even more than the heresies themselves, for it was largely due to them that the episcopal power and control grew up along with the clerical system which began so soon and so seriously to modify the character of the churches.
\n
\nThe Roman Empire was gradually drawn into an attack on the churches; an attack in which eventually its whole power and resources were put forth to crush and destroy them.
\n
\nAbout the year 65 the Apostle Peter was put to death, and, some years later, the Apostle Paul.[3] The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (A.D. 70) emphasised the fact that to the churches no visible head or centre on earth is given. Later, the Apostle John brought the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to their close, a close worthy of all that had gone before, by writing his Gospel, his Epistles, and the Revelation.
\n
\nThere is a noticeable difference between the New Testament and the writings of the same period and later which are not included in the list or canon of the inspired Scriptures. The inferiority of the latter is unmistakable even when the good in them is readily appreciated. While expounding the Scriptures, defending the truth, refuting errors, exhorting the disciples, they also manifest the increasing departure from the divine principles of the New Testament which had already begun in apostolic days and was rapidly accentuated afterwards.
\n
\n[Clement to the Corinthians]
\n
\nWritten in the lifetime of the Apostle John, the first Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians gives a view of the churches at the close of the Apostolic period.[4] Clement was an elder in the church at Rome. He had seen the Apostles Peter and Paul, to whose martyrdom he refers in this letter. It begins: \"The church of God which sojourns at Rome to the church of God sojourning at Corinth\". The persecutions they passed through are spoken of with a calm sense of victory: \"women ... \" he writes, \"being persecuted, after they had suffered unspeakable torments finished the course of their faith with steadfastness, and though weak in body received a noble reward.\" The tone is one of humility; the writer says: \"we write unto you not merely to admonish you of your duty, but also to remind ourselves.\" Frequent allusions are made to the Old Testament and its typical value and many quotations are given from the New Testament. The hope of the Lord's return is kept before his readers; he reminds them too of the way of salvation, that it is not of wisdom or works of ours, but by faith; adding that justification by faith should never make us slothful in good works. Yet even here the beginning of a distinction between clergy and laity is already evident, drawn from Old Testament ordinances.
\n
\nIn his last words to the elders of the church at Ephesus the Apostle Paul is described as sending for them and addressing them as those whom the Holy Spirit had made overseers (Acts 20). The word \"elders\" is the same as presbyters and the word \"overseers\" the same as bishops, and the whole passage shows that the two titles referred to the same men, and that there were several such in the one church.
\n
\n[Ignatius 35-107]
\n
\nIgnatius,[5] however, writing some years after Clement, though he also had known several of the Apostles, gives to the bishop a prominence and authority, not only unknown in the New Testament, but also beyond what was claimed by Clement. Commenting on Acts 20,[6] he says that Paul sent from Miletus to Ephesus and called the bishops and presbyters, thus making two titles out of one description, and says that they were from Ephesus and neighbouring cities, thus obscuring the fact that one church, Ephesus, had several overseers or bishops.
\n
\n[Polycarp 69-156]
\n
\nOne of the last of those who had personally known any of the Apostles was Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who was put to death in that city in the year 156. He had long been instructed by the Apostle John, and had been intimate with others who had seen the Lord. Irenaeus is another link in the chain of personal connection with the times of Christ. He was taught by Polycarp and was made bishop of Lyons in 177.
\n
\nThe practice of baptising believers[7] on their confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, as taught and exemplified in the New Testament, was continued in later times. The first clear reference to the baptism of infants is in a writing of Tertullian in 197, in which he condemns the practice beginning to be introduced of baptising the dead and of baptising infants. The way for this change, however, had been prepared by teaching concerning baptism, which was divergent from that in the New Testament; for early in the second century baptismal regeneration was already being taught. This, together with the equally striking change by which the remembrance of the Lord and His death (in the breaking of bread and drinking of wine among His disciples) was changed into an act miraculously performed, it was claimed, by a priest, intensified the growing distinction between clergy and laity. The growth of a clerical system under the domination of the bishops, who in turn were ruled by \"Metropolitans\" controlling extensive territories, substituted a human organisation and religious forms for the power and working of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of the Scriptures in the separate churches.
\n
\nThis development was gradual,[8] and many were not carried away by it. At first there was no pretension that one church should control another, though a very small church might ask a larger one to send \"chosen men\" to help it in matters of importance. Local conferences of overseers were held at times, but until the end of the second century they appear to have been called only when some special occasion made it convenient that those interested should confer together. Tertullian wrote: \"It is no part of religion to compel religion, which should be adopted freely, not by force.\"
\n
\n[Origen 185-254]
\n
\nOrigen, one of the greatest teachers,[9] as well as one of the most spiritually-minded of the fathers, bore a clear testimony to the spiritual character of the Church. Born (185) in Alexandria, of Christian parents, he was one of those who, in early childhood, experience the workings of the Holy Spirit. His happy relations with his wise and godly father, Leonidas, his first teacher in the Scriptures, were strikingly shown when, on the imprisonment of his father because of the faith, Origen, then seventeen years old, tried to join him in prison, and was only hindered from doing so by a stratagem of his mother, who hid his clothes. He wrote to his father in prison, encouraging him to constancy. When Leonidas was put to death and his property confiscated, the young Origen was left the chief support of his mother and six younger brothers.
\n
\nHis unusual ability as a teacher quickly brought him into prominence, and while he treated himself with extreme severity, he showed such kindness to the persecuted brethren as involved him in their sufferings. He took refuge for a time in Palestine, where his learning and his writings led bishops to listen as scholars to his expositions of the Scripture.
\n
\nThe bishop of Alexandria, Demetrius, indignant that Origen, a layman, should presume to instruct bishops, censured him and recalled him to Alexandria, and though Origen submitted, eventually excommunicated him (231). The peculiar charm of his character and the depth and insight of his teaching devotedly attached to him men who continued his teaching after his death. This took place in 254, as a result of the torture to which he had been subjected five years before in Tyre during the Decian persecution.
\n
\nOrigen saw the Church as consisting of all those who have experienced in their lives the power of the eternal Gospel. These form the true spiritual Church, which does not always coincide with that which is called the Church by men. His eager, speculative mind carried him beyond what most apprehended, so that many hooked upon him as heretical in his teaching, but he distinguished between those things that must be stated clearly and dogmatically and those that must be put forward with caution, for consideration. Of the latter he says: \"how things will be, however, is known with certainty to God alone, and to those who are His friends through Christ and the Holy Spirit.\" His laborious life was devoted to the elucidation of the Scriptures. A great work of his, the Hexapla, made possible a ready comparison of different versions.
\n
\n[Cyprian 200-258]
\n
\nVery different from Origen was Cyprian,[10] bishop of Carthage, born about 200. He freely uses the term \"the Catholic Church\" and sees no salvation outside of it, so that in his time the \"Old Catholic Church\" was already formed, that is, the Church which, before the time of Constantine, claimed the name \"Catholic\" and excluded all who did not conform to it. Writing of Novatian and those who sympathised with him in their efforts to bring about greater purity in the churches, Cyprian denounces \"the wickedness of an unlawful ordination made in opposition to the Catholic Church\"; says that those who approved Novatian could not have communion with that Church because they endeavoured \"to cut and tear the one body of the Catholic Church\", having committed the impiety of forsaking their Mother, and must return to the Church, seeing that they have acted \"contrary to Catholic unity\". There are, he said, \"tares in the wheat, yet we should not withdraw from the Church, but labour to be wheat in it, vessels of gold or silver in the great house.\" He commended the reading of his pamphlets as likely to help any in doubt, and referring to Novatian asserts, \"He who is not in the Church of Christ is not a Christian ... there is one Church ... and also one episcopate.\"
\n
\nAs the churches increased, the first zeal flagged and conformity to the world and its ways increased also. This did not progress without protest. As the organisation of the Catholic group of churches developed there were formed within it circles which aimed at reform. Also, some churches separated from it; and others, holding to the original New Testament doctrines and practices in a greater or less degree, gradually found themselves separated from the churches which had largely abandoned them. The fact that the Catholic Church system later became the dominant one puts us in possession of a great body of its literature, while the literature of those who differed from it has been suppressed, and they are chiefly known to us by what may be gleaned from the writings directed against them. It is thus easy to gain the erroneous impression that in the first three centuries there was one united Catholic Church and a variety of comparatively unimportant heretical bodies. On the contrary, however, there were then, as now, a number of divergent lines of testimony each marked by some special characteristic, and different groups of mutually-excluding churches.
\n
\nThe numerous circles that worked for reform in the Catholic churches while remaining in their communion, are often called Montanists. The use of the name of some prominent man to describe an extensive spiritual movement is misleading, and although it must sometimes be accepted for the sake of convenience, it should always be with the reservation that, however important a man may be as a leader and exponent, a spiritual movement affecting multitudes of people is something larger and more significant.
\n
\n[Montanists]
\n
\nIn view of the increasing worldliness in the Church, and the way in which among the leaders learning was taking the place of spiritual power, many believers were deeply impressed with the desire for a fuller experience of the indwelling and power of the Holy Spirit, and were looking for spiritual revival and return to apostolic teaching and practice. In Phrygia, Montanus[11] began to teach (156), he and those with him protesting against the prevailing laxity in the relations of the Church to the world. Some among them claimed to have special manifestations of the Spirit, in particular two women, Prisca and Maxmillia.
\n
\nThe persecution ordered by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (177) quickened the expectation of the Lord's coming and the spiritual aspirations of the believers. The Montanists hoped to raise up congregations that should return to primitive piety, live as those waiting for the Lord's return and, especially, give to the Holy Spirit His rightful place in the Church. Though there were exaggerations among them in the pretensions of some to spiritual revelations, yet they taught and practised needed reform. They accepted in a general way the organisation that had developed in the Catholic churches and tried to remain in their communion; but while the Catholic bishops wished to include in the Church as many adherents as possible, the Montanists constantly pressed for definite evidences of Christianity in the lives of applicants for fellowship.
\n
\nThe Catholic system obliged the bishops to take increasing control of the churches, while the Montanists resisted this, maintaining that the guidance of the churches was the prerogative of the Holy Spirit, and that room should be left for His workings. These differences soon led to the formation of separate churches in the East, but in the West the Montanists long remained as societies within the Catholic churches, and it was only after many years that they were excluded from, or left, them. In Carthage, Perpetua and Felicitas, the touching record of whose martyrdom has preserved their memory, were still, though Montanists, members of the Catholic church at the time of their martyrdom (207), but early in the third century the great leader in the African churches, the eminent writer Tertullian, attaching himself to the Montanists, separated from the Catholic body. He wrote: \"where but three are, and they of the laity also, yet there is a church.\"
\n
\n[Marcion]
\n
\nA very different movement, which spread so widely as seriously to rival the Catholic system, was that of the Marcionites,[12] of which Tertullian, an opponent of it, wrote: \"Marcion's heretical tradition has filled the whole world.\" Born (85) at Sinope on the Black Sea, and brought up among the churches in the Province of Pontus, where the Apostle Peter had laboured (1 Peter 1. 1), and of which Aquila (Acts 18. 2) was a native, Marcion gradually developed his teaching, but it was not until he was nearly sixty years of age that it was published and fully discussed in Rome.
\n
\nHis soul was exercised as he faced the great problems of evil in the world, of the difference between the revelation of God in the Old Testament and that contained in the New, of the opposition of wrath and judgement on the one hand to love and mercy on the other, and of Law to Gospel. Unable to reconcile these divergences on the basis of Scripture as generally understood in the churches, he adopted a form of dualistic theory such as was prevalent at the time.
\n
\nHe asserted that the world was not created by the Highest God, but by a lower being, the god of the Jews, that the Redeemer God is revealed in Christ, who, having no previous connection with the world, yet out of love, and in order to save a world that had failed and to deliver man from his misery, came into the world. He came as a stranger and unknown, and consequently was assailed by the (supposed) creator and ruler of the world as well as by the Jews and all servants of the god of this world.
\n
\nMarcion taught that the duty of the true Christian was to oppose Judaism and the usual form of Christianity, which he considered as only an offshoot of Judaism. He was not in agreement with the Gnostic sects for he did not preach salvation through the \"mysteries\", or attainment of knowledge, but through faith in Christ, and he aimed at first at the reformation of the Christian churches, though later they and his followers excluded each other.
\n
\nAs his views could not be maintained from Scripture, Marcion became a Bible critic of the most drastic kind. He applied his theory to the Scriptures and rejected all in them that was in manifest opposition to it, retaining only what seemed to him to support it, and interpreting that in accordance with his own views rather than with the general tenor of Scripture, even adding to it where that appeared to him desirable.
\n
\nThus, although he had formerly accepted, he later rejected the whole of the Old Testament, as being a revelation of the god of the Jews and not of the Highest and Redeemer-God, as prophesying of a Jewish Messiah and not of Christ. He thought the disciples mistook Christ for the Jewish Messiah. Holding that the true Gospel had been revealed to Paul only, he refused also the New Testament, with the exception of certain of Paul's Epistles and the Gospel of Luke, which latter, however, he freely edited to get rid of what ran contrary to his theory. He taught that the remainder of the New Testament was the work of Judaizers bent on destroying the true Gospel and that they also had interpolated, for the same purpose, the passages to which he objected in the books which he received. To this abridged New Testament Marcion added his own book, \"Antitheses\", which took the place of the Book of the Acts.
\n
\nHe was an enthusiast for his Gospel, which he declared was a wonder above all wonders; a rapture, power and astonishment such as nothing that could be said or thought could equal. When his doctrines were pronounced heretical he began to form separate churches, which rapidly spread. Baptism and the Lord's Supper were practised, there was a greater simplicity of worship than in the Catholic churches, and the development of clericalism and worldliness was checked. In accordance with their view of the material world they were severely ascetic, forbade marriage and only baptised those who took a vow of chastity. They considered the body of Jesus to have been not material, but a phantom, yet capable of feeling, as our bodies are.
\n
\nAny error may be founded on parts of Scripture; the truth alone is based on the whole. Marcion's errors were the inevitable result of his accepting only what pleased him and rejecting the rest.
\n
\nDeparture from the original pattern given in the New Testament for the churches met very early with strenuous resistance, leading in some cases to the formation within the decadent churches of circles which kept themselves free from the evil and hoped to be a means of restoration to the whole. Some of them were cast out and met as separate congregations. Some, finding conformity to the prevailing conditions impossible, left and formed fresh companies. These would often reinforce those others which, from the beginning, had maintained primitive practice. There is frequent reference in later centuries to those churches that had adhered to Apostolic doctrine, and which claimed unbroken succession of testimony from the time of the Apostles. They often received, both before and after the time of Constantine, the name of Cathars, or Puritans, though it does not appear that they took this name themselves.
\n
\n[Novatian--Third Century]
\n
\nThe name Novatians was also given to them, though Novatian was not their founder, but one who, in his day, was a leader among them. On the question which so much agitated the churches during times of persecution, as to whether or not persons should be received who had \"lapsed\", that is, had offered to idols since their baptism, Novatian took the stricter view. A martyred bishop in Rome named Fabian, who in his lifetime had ordained Novatian, was followed by one Cornelius, who was willing to receive the lapsed. A minority, objecting to this, chose Novatian as bishop and he accepted their choice, but he and his friends were excommunicated (251) by a synod at Rome. Novatian himself was martyred later, but his sympathisers, whether called Cathars, Novatians, or by other names, continued to spread widely. They ceased to recognise the Catholic churches or to acknowledge any value in their ordinances.
\n
\nThe Donatists[13] in North Africa were influenced by the teaching of Novatian. They separated from the Catholic Church on points of discipline, laying stress on the character of those who administered the sacraments, while Catholics considered the sacraments themselves as more important. In their earlier years the Donatists, who were given this name after two leading men among them, both of the name of Donatus, were distinguished from the Catholics generally by their superior character and conduct. In parts of North Africa they became the most numerous of the different branches of the Church.
\n
\n[Mani--c. 216--?]
\n
\nWhile Christian churches were developing in various forms there was also a new Gnostic religion, Manichaeism which arose and spread widely and became a formidable opponent of Christianity. Its founder, Mani, was born in Babyl","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=article&aid=29739","source":"collect","new_content":"The Pilgrim Church
\n
\nby E. H. Broadbent
\n
\n
\n
\nBEING SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CONTINUANCE-----
\nTHROUGH SUCCEEDING CENTURIES----
\n
\nOF CHURCHES PRACTISING THE PRINCIPLES TAUGHT----
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\nAND EXEMPLIFIED IN ----
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\nTHE NEW TESTAMENT
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\nLONDON_PICKERING & INGLIS LTD.___
\nPICKERING & INGLIS LTD._29 LUDGATE HILL, LONDON E.G.4_229 BOTHWELL STREET, GLASGOW, C. 2_Fleming H. Revell Company, 316 Third Avenue, New Jersey_Home Evangel, 418 Church Street, Toronto___
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\nFirst Impression ...1931_Second ...1935_Third ...1946_Fourth ...1950_Fifth ...1955___
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\n
\nPreface
\n[To Pilgrim Church Index]
\n
\nThere is one history, which, though it contains the darkest tragedy, yet by common consent is called \"The Good News\", \"The Glad Tidings\", or by a name which it has captured and made its own: \"The Gospel\".
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\nIts four historians are uniquely known as \"The Four Evangelists\", or tellers forth of the Good News. This history tells how, by a miraculous birth, God entered into a relationship to man which even creation had not established, and by a sacrificial death and mighty resurrection vanquished death, put away sin its cause, and to His glory as Creator added that of Redeemer.
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\nThe foundations of this history, the preparation for it, indeed the actual foretelling of it and evidences of its truth precede it in the Scriptures of the Old Testament. Interwoven with these, inseparable from them, is the History of Israel, which is therefore itself one of universal value.
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\nThe History of the Church or company of those who by faith have received Christ and become His followers, is still in the making, not yet complete. On this account and because of its immense extent, although it is of supreme importance, parts only of it can be written and from time to time. First one, then another, must relate what he has seen or has learned from trustworthy records, and this must be taken up and added to as stage after stage of the long pilgrimage is traversed.
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\nThe following pages are a contribution to the unfolding story. Much that others have searched out and related has been made use of, repeated, woven in, so that this book is a compilation, to which is added the writer's individual share in the growing narrative. It is hoped and expected that the frequent quotations from and references to the works of several authors will lead the readers of this volume to turn to the books from which so much has been derived, and thus come to share more fully in the fruits of the patient labours and able expositions of their authors. An attempt is made in this book to introduce those who have not much time for reading or research, into some of the experiences of certain churches of God which, at different times and in various places, have endeavoured in their meetings, order, and testimony to make the Scriptures their guide and to act upon them as the Word of God, counting them as sufficient for all their needs in all their circumstances.
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\nThere have always been such churches; the records of most have disappeared, but what remain are of such volume that only a selection can be given.
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\nGeneral history is left out of account, except where the course of some of these churches requires reference to current events. Neither is any account given of what is usually understood by \"ecclesiastical\" history, except in its relation to the churches or congregations of believers carrying out the teachings of Scripture, which are the subject of this narrative.
\n
\nSome spiritual movements are considered which only partially accepted the principle of taking the Scriptures as sufficient guide, because in their measure these too throw valuable light on the possibility of such a course.
\n
\nIn addition to the works mentioned below, and others also, advantage has been taken of the help so richly provided and placed within the reach of most by such works as the \"Encyclopaedia Britannica\" and Hastings' \"Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics\".
\n
\nA beginner may look up the subject in one of these standard works of reference, where he will be directed to some of the literature considered as authoritative. In reading a selection of this he will be referred to the original authorities and also (as these are not always available) to their most trustworthy expositors. In the present volume the books used and referred to are mostly well known and accessible; sometimes a popular work has been chosen in preference to one more erudite, so that anyone interested may get fuller information more easily. Where books written in languages other than English are made use of, translations are referred to if they are to be had, but sometimes there are none, and then the original works are named for the benefit of those who can read them.
\n
\nIn the beginning of the History, \"The Ante-Nicene Christian Library\" provides a store of information from which much has been drawn. When the time of Marcion is reached, \"Marcion Das Evangelium vom Fremden Gott\" by Ad. v. Harnack is used, and for matters connected with the Roman Empire, \"East and West Through Fifteen Centuries\" by Br.-Genl. G. F. Young C. B. For Augustine \"A Select Library of the Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church\" translated and annotated by J. C. Pilkington, M. A. edited by Philip Schaff, is a guide. \"Latin Christianity\" by Dean Milman, helps in several periods. We are indebted to Georg Schepss for the true history of Priscillian and his teaching. His book, \"Priscillian ein Neuaufgefundener Lat. Schriftsteller des 4 Jahrhunderts\" describes his discovery in the W\u00fcrzburg University, in 1886, of the important MS. of the Spanish Reformer. This MS. is examined and explained by Friedrich Paret in his \"Priscillianus Ein Reformator des Vierten Jahrhunderts Eine Kirchengeschichtliche Studie zugleich ein Kommentar zu den Erhaltenen Schriften Priscillians\", and much has been drawn from this valuable commentary. Important information as to those called Paulicians is given in \"Die Paulikianer im Byzantischen Kaiserreiche etc.\" by Karapet Ter-Mkrttschian, Archdeacon of Edschmiatzin, the centre of the Armenian Church. An invaluable book for the period is \"The Key of Truth A Manual of the Paulician Church of Armenia\" translated and edited by F. C. Conybeare. The document was discovered by the translator in 1891 in the library of the Holy Synod at Edjmiatzin; his notes and comments are of the utmost interest and value. The discovery of the \"Key of Truth\" raises the hope that other documents illustrating the faith and teaching of the brethren may yet be found. The history of the Bogomils in the Balkan Peninsula is largely drawn from \"An Official Tour Through Bosnia and Herzegovina\" by J. de Asboth, Member of the Hungarian Parliament, and from \"Through Bosnia and the Herzegovina on Foot etc.\" by A. J. Evans, the distinguished traveller and antiquarian, later Sir Arthur Evans. \"Essays on the Latin Orient\" by William Miller, has also been made use of. The chapter on the Eastern Churches, especially the Nestorian, owes very much to \"Le Christianisme dans l'Empire Perse sous la Dynastie Sassanide\" by J. Labourt; to \"The Syrian Churches\" by J. W. Etheridge; and to \"Early Christianity Outside the Roman Empire\" by F. C. Burkitt M. A. The account of the Synod of Seleucia is taken chiefly from \"Das Buch des Synhados\" by Oscar Braun, while \"Nestorius and his Teachings\" by J. Bethune-Baker, has supplied most of what is given about Nestorius, and \"The Bazaar of Heraclides of Damascus\" by the same author, has especially been quoted; these give a vivid picture of Nestorius and should be read in full if possible. For the description of the spread of the Nestorians into China, \"Cathay and the Way Thither\" by Col. Sir Henry Yule, published by the Hakluyt Society, is of great interest and has been freely drawn upon.
\n
\nComing to the times of the Waldenses and Albigenses, \"The Ancient Vallenses and Albigenses\" by G. S. Faber, and \"Facts and Documents illustrative of the History Doctrine and Rites of the Ancient Albigenses and Waldenses\" by S. R. Maitland, have been referred to very fully. Perhaps the largest use has been made of the works of Dr. Ludwig Keller, especially for the history and teaching of the Waldenses. His position as Keeper of State Archives, giving access as it does to most important documents, has been used by him to investigate the histories of those known as \"heretics\", and his publications are an invaluable contribution to the understanding of these much misunderstood people. Dr. Keller's book, \"Die Reformation und die \u00e4lteren Reformparteien\" is a mine of information and all who can do so should read it. Use has also been made of his book \"Ein Apostel der Wiedert\u00e4ufer\" and of a number of others written or issued by him. Of the time of the Reformation, the \"Life and Letters of Erasmus\" by J. A. Froude, gives a vivid picture, and \"A Short History of the English People\" by John Richard Green, is a constant help by giving in an interesting and reliable way the historical setting of the particular events related. \"England in the Age of Wycliffe\" by George Macaulay Trevelyan has been used, and much has been taken from \"John Wycliffe and his English Precursors\" by Lechher (translated). \"The Dawn of the Reformation the Age of Hus\" by H. B. Workman, has been used; his references to authorities are valuable. Considerable quotations have been made from Cheltschizki's \"Das Netz des Glaubens\" translated from Old Czech into German by Karl Vogel. The description of the Moravian Church is based to a large extent on the \"History of the Moravian Church\" by J. E. Hutton, issued by the Moravian Publication Office, while for Comenius \"Das Testament der Sterbenden Mutter\" and \"Stimme der Trauer\", both translations into German from Bohemian, the former by Dora Pe_ina, the latter by Franz Slam_nik, are quoted. One of the books most used is the very valuable one, \"A History of the Reformation\" by Thos. M. Lindsay. \"Die Taufe. Gedanken \u00fcber die urchristliche Taufe, ihre Geschichte und ihre Bedeutung f\u00fcr die Gegenwart\" by J. Warns, is of great value, especially for the history of the Anabaptists, and its many references to authorities are useful. The important and deeply interesting records of the Anabaptists in Austria are taken from \"Fontes Rerum Austriacarum\" and other publications by Dr. J. Beck and Joh. Loserth, which are referred to in more detail in the footnotes to the pages where this part of the history is related. The history of the Mennonites in Russia is chiefly found in \"Geschichte der Alt-Evangelischen Mennoniten Br\u00fcderschaft in Russland\" by P. M. Friesen, who was appointed by the \"Mennoniten-Br\u00fcdergemeinde\" as their historian, and supplied by them with the documentary evidence they possessed; use is also made of \"Fundamente der Christlichen Lehre u.s.w.\" by Joh. Deknatel. Of the book by Pilgram Marbeck, \"Vermanung etc.\", summarized, only two copies are known to exist, one of which is in the British Museum. Very considerable use has been made of the valuable book by Karl Ecke, \"Schwenckfeld, Luther und der Gedanke einer Apostolischen Reformation\". The chapter on events in France is indebted to the \"History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century\" by J. H. Merle D' Aubign\u00e9, translated by H. White and for Farel, to the \"Life of William Farel\" by Frances Bevan, one of several interesting works of similar character by the same authoress. Another work by Merle D' Aubign\u00e9 here made much use of is \"The Reformation in Europe in the Time of Calvin\", \"The Huguenots, their Settlements Churches and Industries in England and Ireland\" by Samuel Smiles, gives much of value about the Huguenots. \"Un Martyr du D\u00e9sert Jacques Roger\" by Daniel Benoit, tells of the \"Churches of the Desert\" after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
\n
\nReturning to England, the \"Memoir of William Tyndale\" by George Offor, is quoted and otherwise referred to. The book most used in the account of the Nonconformists in England is \"A History of the Free Churches of England\" by Herbert S. Skeats, which would well repay reading; and \"A Popular History of the Free Churches\" by C. Silvester Horne, gives an interesting account of these churches. The \"Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity\" of Richard Hooker, is referred to. The \"Journal of George Fox\" supplies the best information as to his life. Three books which give excellent histories of the spiritual movements in Germany and surrounding countries after the Reformation have been largely made use of: \"Geschichte des Christlichen Lebens in der rheinisch-westph\u00e4lischen Kirche\" by Max Goebel; \"Geschichte des Pietismus und der Mystik in der Reformirten Kirche u.s.w.\" by Heinr. Heppe; and \"Geschichte des Pietismus in der reformirten Kirche\" by Albrecht Ritschl. \"John Wesley's Journal\" is the best source for an account of his life. \"The Life of William Carey Shoemaker and Missionary\" by George Smith, supplies most of what is told here of him. The account of the brother Haldane is taken chiefly from the \"Lives of Robert and James Haldane\" by Alexander Haldane. For Russia and the Stundists, in addition to the \"Geschichte etc.,\" of P. M. Friesen, a useful book is \"Russland und das Evangelium\" by J. Warns. In the history of the rise of the German Baptists use is made of \"Johann Gerhard Oncken, His Life and Work\" by John Hunt Cook. For later movements in England etc., some MSS. have been available, and \"A History of the Plymouth Brethren\" by W. Blair Neatby, has been consulted. Extensive extracts have been made from the \"Memoir of the late Anthony Norris Groves, containing Extracts from his Letters and Journals\" compiled by his widow, illustrating the important part the teaching and example of Groves played in the history of churches of the New Testament type. \"A Narrative of some of the Lord's Dealings with George M\u00fcller\" has been used as the best account of M\u00fcller's influential testimony; and details of the life of R. C. Chapman have been taken from \"Robert Cleaver Chapman of Barnstaple\" by W. H. Bennet, his personal friend. \"Collected Writings of J. N. Darby\" edited by William Kelly, is used to show Darby's teaching. \"Nazarenes in Jugoslavia\" published in the United States by the \"Nazarenes\", and various pamphlets, give information as to the movement connected with the people bearing this name.
\n
\nThe tragedy and glory of \"The Pilgrim Church\" can only be faintly indicated as yet, nor can they be fully known until the time comes when the Word of the Lord is fulfilled: \"there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known\" (Matt. 10. 26). At present, albeit through mists of our ignorance and misunderstanding, we see her warring against the powers of darkness, witnessing for her Lord in the world, suffering as she follows in His footsteps. Her people are ever pilgrims, establishing no earthly institution, because having in view the heavenly city. In their likeness to their Master they might be called Stones which the Builders Rejected (Luke 20. 17), and they are sustained in the confident hope that, when His kingdom is revealed, they will be sharers in it with Him.___
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\nPILGRIM CHURCH
\n
\nContents
\n
\nINDEX
\n
\n
\n
\nChapter I------Beginnings
\n
\n29-313
\n
\nThe New Testament suited to present conditions--The Old Testament and the New--The Church of Christ and the churches of God--The Book of the Acts provides a pattern for present use--Plan of this account of later events--Pentecost and the formation of churches--Synagogues--Synagogues and churches--Jewish Diaspora spreads the knowledge of God--The earliest churches formed of Jews--Jews reject Christ--Jewish religion, Greek philosophy and Roman power oppose the churches--Close of the Holy Scriptures--Later writings--Clement to the Corinthians--Ignatius--Last links with New Testament times--Baptism and the Lord's Supper--Growth of a clerical caste--Origen--Cyprian--Novatian--Different kinds of churches--Montanists--Marcionites--Persistence of Primitive Churches--Cathars--Novatians--Donatists--Manichaeans--Epistle to Diognetus--The Roman Empire persecutes the Church--Constantine gives religious liberty--The Church overcomes the world.
\n
\n
\nChapter II---Christianity in Christendom
\n313-476, 300-850, 350-385
\n
\nChurch and State associated--Churches refusing union with the State--Donatists condemned--Council of Nicaea--Arianism restored--Athanasius--Creeds--Canon of Scripture--The Roman world and the Church--Break up of the Western Roman Empire--Augustine--Pelaginus--Change in the position of the Church--False doctrines; Manichaeism, Arianism, Pelagianism, Sacerdotalism--Monasticism--The Scriptures remain for guidance--Missions--Departure from New Testament Missionary principle--Irish and Scottish Missions on the Continent--Conflict between British and Roman Missions--Priscillian.
\nChapter III-----Paulicians and Bogomils
\n50-1473
\n
\nGrowth of clerical domination--Persistence of Primitive churches--Their histories distorted by their enemies--Early churches in Asia Minor--Armenia--Primitive churches in Asia Minor from Apostolic times--Unjustly described by their opponents as Manichaeans--The names Paulician and Thonrak--Continuity of New Testament churches--Constantine Silvarius--Simeon Titus--Veneration of relics, and image worship--Iconoclastic Emperors--John of Damascus--Restoration of images in Greek Church--Council of Frankfurt--Claudius Bishop of Turin--Mohammedanism--Sembat--Sergius--Leaders of the churches in Asia Minor--Persecution under Theodora--The Key of Truth--Carbeas and Chrysocheir--The Scriptures and the Koran--Character of the churches in Asia Minor--Removal of believers from Asia to Europe--Later history in Bulgaria--Bogomils--Basil--Opinions regarding Paulicians and Bogomils--Spread of Bogomils into Bosnia--Kulin Ban and Rome--Intercourse of Bogomils with Christians abroad--Bosnia invaded--Advance of Mohammedans--Persecution of Bogomils--Bosnia taken by the Turks--Friends of God in Bosnia a link between the Taurus and the Alps--Bogomil tombs.
\nChapter IV-----The East
\nB.C. 4-A.D. 1400
\n
\nThe Gospel in the East--Syria and Persia--Churches in Persian Empire separated from those in Roman Empire--Eastern churches retained Scriptural character longer than those in the west--Papa ben Aggai federates churches--Zoroaster--Persecution under Sapor II--Homilies of Afrahat--Synod of Seleucia--Persecution renewed--Nestorius--The Bazaar of Heraclides--Toleration--Influx of western bishops--Increase of centralization--Wide spread of Syrian churches in Asia--Mohammedan invasion--Catholikos moved from Seleucia to Bagdad--Genghis Khan--Struggle between Nestorianism and Islam in Central Asia--Tamerlane--Franciscans and Jesuits find Nestorians in Cathay--Sixteenth century translation of part of Bible into Chinese--Disappearance of Nestorians from most of Asia--Causes of failure.
\nChapter V-----Waldenses and Albigenses
\n1100-1230, 70-1700, 1160-1318, 1100-1500
\n
\nPierre de Brueys--Henri the Deacon--Sectarian names refused--The name Albigenses--Visits of brethren from the Balkans--The Perfect--Provence invaded--Inquisition established--Waldenses--Leonists--Names--Tradition in the valleys--Peter Waldo--Poor Men of Lyons--Increase of missionary activity--Francis of Assisi--Orders of Friars--Spread of the churches--Doctrine and practices of the Brethren--Waldensian valleys attacked--Beghards and Beghines.
\nChapter VI-----Churches at the Close of the Middle Ages
\n1300-1500
\n
\nInfluence of the brethren in other circles--Marsiglio of Padua--The Guilds--Cathedral builders--Protest of the cities and guilds--Waltlier in Cologne--Thomas Aquinas and Alvarus Pelagius--Literature of the brethren destroyed--Master Eckart--Tauler--The \"Nine Rocks\"--The Friend of God from the Oberland--Renewal of persecution--Strassburg document on persistence of the churches--Book in Tepl--Old Translation of German New Testament--Fanaticism--Capture of Constantinople--Invention of Printing--Discoveries--Printing Bibles--Colet, Reuchlin--Erasmus and the Greek New Testament--Hope of peaceful Reformation--Resistance of Rome--Staupitz discovers Luther.
\nChaper VII------Lollards, Hussites, The United Brethren
\n1350-1670
\n
\nWycliff--Peasant Revolt--Persecution in England--Sawtre, Badley, Cobham--Reading the Bible forbidden--Congregations--Huss--_i_ka-- Tabor--Hussite wars--Utraquists--Jakoubek--Nikolaus--Cheltschizki-- The Net of Faith--Rokycana, Gregor, Kunwald--Reichenau, Lhota--United Brethren--Lukas of Prague--News of German Reformation reaches Bohemia--John Augusta--Smalkald war--Persecution and emigration--George Israel and Poland--Return of brethren to Bohemia--Bohemian Charter--Battle of the White Mountain--Comenius.
\nChapter VIII-----The Reformation
\n1500-1550
\n
\nA Catechism--Brethren of the Common Life--Luther--Tetzel--The ninety-five theses at Wittenberg--The Papal Bull burnt--Diet of Worms--The Wartburg--Translation of the Bible--Efforts of Erasmus for compromise--Development of the Lutheran Church--Its reform and limitations--Staupitz remonstrates--Luther's choice between New Testament churches and National Church system--Loyola and the Counter Reformation.
\nChapter IX-----The Anabaptists
\n1516-1566
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\nThe name Anabaptist--Not a new sect--Rapid increase--Legislation against them--Balthazer Hubmeyer--Circle of brethren in Basle--Activities and martyrdom of Hubmeyer and his wife--Hans Denck--Balance of truth--Parties--M. Sattler--Persecution increases--Landgraf Philip of Hessen--Protest of Odenbach--Zwingli--Persecution in Switzerland--Grebel, Manz, Blaurock--Kirschner--Persecution in Austria--Chronicles of the Anabaptists in Austria Hungary--Ferocity of Ferdinand--Huter--M\u00e4ndl and his companions--Communities--M\u00fcnster--The Kingdom of the New Zion--Distorted use of events in M\u00fcnster to calumniate the brethren--Disciples of Christ treated as He was--Menno Simon--Pilgram Marbeck and his book--Sectarianism--Persecution in West Germany--Hermann Archbishop of Cologne attempts reform--Schwenckfeld.
\nChapter X-----France and Switzerland
\n1500-1800
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\nLe F\u00e8vre--Group of believers in Paris--Meaux--Farel's preaching--Metz--Images destroyed--Executions--Increased persecution in France--Farel in French Switzerland--In Neuch\u00e2tel--The Vaudois and the Reformers meet--Visit of Farel and Saunier to the valleys--Progress in Neuch\u00e2tel--Breaking of bread in the South of France--Jean Calvin--Breaking of bread in Poitiers--Evangelists sent out--Froment in Geneva--Breaking of bread outside Geneva--Calvin in Geneva--Socinianism--Servetus--Influence of Calvinism--The Placards--Sturm to Melanchthon--Organization of churches in France--The Huguenots--Massacre of St. Bartholomew--Edict of Nantes--The Dragonnades--Revocation of the Edict of Nantes--Flight from France--Prophets of the Cevennes--War of the Camisards--Churches of the Desert reorganized--Jacques Roger--Antoine Court.
\nChapter XI----English Nonconformists
\n1525-1689
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\nTyndale--Reading of Scripture forbidden--Church of England established--Persecution in the reign of Mary--Baptist and Independent churches--Robert Browne--Barrowe, Greenwood, Penry--Dissenters persecuted in Elizabeth's reign--Privye church in London--Hooker's Ecclesiastical Polity--Church of English Exiles in Amsterdam--Arminius--Emigration of brethren from England to Holland--John Robinson--The Pilgrim Fathers sail to America--Different kinds of churches in England and Scotland--Authorized Version of the Bible published--Civil war--Cromwell's New Model army--Religious liberty--Missions--George Fox--Character of Friends movement--Acts against Nonconformists--Literature--John Bunyan.
\nChapter XII-----Labadie, the Pietists, Zinzendorf, Philadelphia
\n1635-1750
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\nLabadie--Forms a fellowship in the Roman Catholic Church--Joins the Reformed Church--Goes to Orange--To Geneva--Willem Teelinck--Gisbert Voet--van Lodensteyn--Labadie goes to Holland--Difference between Presbyterian and Independent ideals--Reforms forms in the Middelburg church--Conflict with Synods of the Reformed Church--Conflict on Rationalism--Labadie condemns Synods--He is excluded from the Reformed Church--A separate church formed in Middelburg--The new church expelled from Middelburg--It removes to Veere--Then to Amsterdam--Household church formed--Anna Maria van Sch\u00fcrman--Difference with Voet--Household troubles--Removal to Herford--Labadie dies in Altona--Removal of household in Wieuwerd--Household broken up--Effects of testimony--Spener--Pietists--Franke--Christian David--Zinzendorf--Herrnhut--Dissensions--Zinzendorf's Statutes accepted--Revival--Discovery of document in Zittau--Determination to restore the Bohemian Church--Question of relations with the Lutheran Church--The negro Anthony--Moravian Missions--The Mission in England--Cennick--Central control unsuited to expanding work--Philadelphia Societies--Miguel de Molines--Madame Guyon--Gottfried Arnold--Wittgenstein--The Marburg Bible--The Berleburg Bible--Philadelphian Invitation--Hochmann von Hochenau--Tersteegen--Jung Stilling--Primitive and Reformed and other churches--Various ways of return to Scripture.
\nChapter XIII-----Methodist and Missionary Movements
\n1638-1820
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\nCondition of England in the 18th century--Revivals in Wales--Temporary schools--Societies formed--The holy club at Oxford--Mrs. Wesley--John and Charles Wesley sail to Georgia--John Wesley returns and meets Peter Boehler--Accepts Christ by faith--Visits Herrnhut--George Whitefield--Preaches to the colliers at Kingswood--John Wesley also begins preaching in the open air--Lay preachers--Strange manifestations--Great revivals--Charles Wesley's hymns--Separation between Moravian and Methodist Societies--Divergence in doctrine of Wesley and Whitefield--Conference--Separation of Methodist Societies from the Church of England--Divisions--General benefit from the movement--Need of missionary work--William Carey--Andrew Fuller--Formation of Missionary Societies--Difference between Mission Stations and churches--The brothers Haldane--James Haldane preaches in Scotland--Opposition of Synods--Large numbers hear the Gospel--A church formed in Edinburgh--Liberty of ministry--Question of baptism--Robert Haldane visits Geneva--Bible Readings on Romans--The Lord's Supper in Geneva--A church formed.
\nChapter XIV----The West
\n1790-1890
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\nThomas Campbell--A \"Declaration and Address\"--Alexander Campbell--Church at Brush Run--Baptism--Sermon on the Law--Republican Methodists take the name \"Christians\"--Baptists take the name \"Christians\"--Barton Warren Stone--Strange revival scenes--The Springfield Presbytery formed and dissolved--Church at Cane Ridge--The Christian Connection--Separation of Reformers from Baptists--Union of Christian Connection and Reformers--Nature of Conversion--Walter Scott--Baptism for the remission of sins--Testimony of Isaac Errett.
\nChapter XV-----Russia
\n1788-1914, 850-1650, 1812-1930, 1823-1930, 1828-1930
\n
\nMennonite and Lutheran emigration to Russia--Privileges change the character of the Mennonite churches--W\u00fcst--Revival--Mennonite Brethren separate from Mennonite Church--Revival of Mennonite Church--Meetings among Russians forbidden--Circulation of Russian Scriptures allowed--Bible translation--Cyril Lucas--Stundists--Various avenues by which the Gospel came into Russia--Great increase of the churches--Political events in Russia lead to increased persecution--Exiles--Instances of exile and of the influence the New Testament--Decree of the Holy Synod against Stundists--Evangelical Christians and Baptists--General disorder in Russia--Edict of Toleration--Increase of churches--Toleration withdrawn--Revolution--Anarchy--Rise of Bolshevik Government--Efforts to abolish religion--Suffering and increase--Communists persecute believers--J. G. Oncken--A Baptist church formed in Hamburg--Persecution--Tolerance--Bible School--German Baptists in Russia--Gifts from America--Nazarenes--Fr\u00f6hlich--Revival through his preaching--Excluded from the Church--The Hungarian journeymen meet Fr\u00f6hlich--Meetings in Budapest--Spread of the Nazarenes--Sufferings through refusal of military service--Fr\u00f6hlich's at teaching.
\nChapter XVI-----Groves, M\u00fcller, Chapman
\n1825-1902
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\nChurches formed in Dublin--A. N. Groves--Leaves with party for Bagdad--Work begun--Plague and flood--Death of Mrs. Groves--Arrival of helpers from England--Colonel Cotton--Removal of Groves to India--Objects to his stay there--To bring missionary work back to the New Testament pattern--To reunite the people of God--George M\u00fcller--Henry Craik--Church formed at Bethesda Chapel, Bristol, to carry out New Testament principles--M\u00fcller's visit to Germany--Institutions and Orphanage carried on for the encouragement of faith in God--Robert Chapman--J. H. Evans--Chapman's conversion--His ministry in Barnstaple and travels--Circles accepting the Scriptures as their guide.
\nChapter XVII-----Questions of Fellowship and of Inspiration
\n1830-1930
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\nMeeting in Plymouth--Conditions in French Switzerland--Darby's visits--Development of his system--\"The church in ruins\"--August Rochat--Difference between Darby's teaching and that of brethren who took the New Testament as the pattern for the churches--Change from Congregational to Catholic principle--Spread of meetings--Letter from Groves to Darby--Suggestion of a central authority--Darby and Newton--Darby and the church at Bethesda, Bristol--Darby excludes all who would not join him in excluding the church at Bethesda--World-wide application of system of excluding churches--Churches which did not accept the exclusive system--Their influence in other circles--Churches on the New Testament pattern formed in many countries--Rationalism--Biblical Criticism--Increased circulation of the Scriptures.
\nChapter XVIII-----Conclusions
\nCan churches still follow New Testament teaching and example?--Various answers--Ritualistic churches--Rationalism--Reformers--Mystics and others--Evangelical Revival--Brethren who throughout all the centuries have made the New Testament their guide--Spread of the Gospel--Foreign Missions--Revival through return to the teachings of Scripture--Every Christian a missionary, each church a missionary society--Difference between a church and a mission station--Difference between an institution and a church--Unity of the churches and spread of the Gospel--New Testament churches among all people on the same basis--Conclusion
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\nChapter I
\n
\nBeginnings
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\n29-313
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\nThe New Testament suited to present conditions--The Old Testament and the New--The Church of Christ and the churches of God--The Book of the Acts provides a pattern for present use--Plan of this account of later events--Pentecost and the formation of churches--Synagogues--Synagogues and churches--Jewish Diaspora spreads the knowledge of God--The earliest churches formed of Jews--Jews reject Christ--Jewish religion, Greek philosophy and Roman power oppose the churches--Close of the Holy Scriptures--Later writings--Clement to the Corinthians--Ignatius--Last links with New Testament times--Baptism and the Lord's Supper--Growth of a clerical caste--Origen--Cyprian--Novatian--Different kinds of churches--Montanists--Marcionites--Persistence of Primitive Churches--Cathars--Novatians--Donatists--Manichaeans--Epistle to Diognetus--The Roman Empire persecutes the Church--Constantine gives religious liberty--The Church overcomes the world.
\nThe New Testament is the worthy completion of the Old. It is the only proper end to which the Law and the Prophets could have led. It does not do away with them but enriches, in fulfilling and replacing them. It has in itself the character of completeness, presenting, not the rudimentary beginning of a new era which requires constant modification and addition to meet the needs of changing times, but a revelation suited to all men in all times. Jesus Christ cannot be made known to us better than He is in the four Gospels, nor can the consequences or doctrines, which flow from the facts of His death and resurrection be more truly taught than they are in the Epistles.
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\nThe Old Testament records the formation and history of Israel, the people through whom God revealed Himself in the world until Christ should come. The New Testament reveals the Church of Christ, consisting of all who are born again through faith in the Son of God and so made partakers of the Divine and Eternal Life (John 3. 16).
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\nAs this body, the whole Church of Christ, cannot be seen and cannot act in any one place, since many of its members are already with Christ and others scattered throughout the world, it is appointed to be actually known and to bear its testimony in the form of churches of God in various places and at different times. Each of these consists of those disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ who, in the place where they live, gather together in His Name. To such the presence of the Lord in their midst is promised and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is given in different ways through all the members (Matt. 18. 20; 1 Cor. 12.7).
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\nEach of these churches stands in direct relationship to the Lord, draws its authority from Him and is responsible to Him (Rev. 2 and 3). There is no suggestion that one church should control another or that any organised union of churches should exist, but an intimate personal fellowship unites them (Acts 15.36).
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\nThe chief business of the churches is to make known throughout the world the Gospel or Glad Tidings of Salvation. This the Lord commanded before His ascension, promising to give the Holy Spirit as the power in which it should be accomplished (Acts 1:8).
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\nEvents in the history of the churches in the time of the Apostles have been selected and recorded in the Book of the Acts in such a way as to provide a permanent pattern for the churches. Departure from this pattern has had disastrous consequences, and all revival and restoration have been due to some return to the pattern and principles contained in the Scriptures.
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\nThe following account of some later events, compiled from various writers, shows that there has been a continuous succession of churches composed of believers who have made it their aim to act upon the teaching of the New Testament. This succession is not necessarily to be found in any one place, often such churches have been dispersed or have degenerated, but similar ones have appeared in other places. The pattern is so clearly delineated in the Scriptures as to have made it possible for churches of this character to spring up in fresh places and among believers who did not know that disciples before them had taken the same path, or that there were some in their own time in other parts of the world. Points of contact with more general history are noted where the connection helps to an understanding of the churches described.
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\nSome spiritual movements are referred to which, though they did not lead to the formation of churches on the New Testament pattern, nevertheless throw light on those which did result in the founding of such churches.
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\nFrom Pentecost there was a rapid spread of the Gospel. The many Jews who heard it at the feast at Jerusalem when it was first preached, carried the news to the various countries of their dispersion. Although it is only of the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul that the New Testament gives any detailed record, the other Apostles also travelled extensively, preaching and founding churches over wide areas. All who believed were witnesses for Christ, \"they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word\" (Acts 8. 4). The practice of founding churches where any, however few, believed, gave permanence to the work, and as each church was taught from the first its direct dependence on the Holy Spirit and responsibility to Christ, it became a centre for propagating the Word of Life. To the newly-founded church of the Thessalonians it was said, \"from you sounded out the word of the Lord\" (1 Thess. 1. 8). Although each church was independent of any organization or association of churches, yet intimate connection with other churches was maintained, a connection continually refreshed by frequent visits of brethren ministering the Word (Acts 15. 36). The meetings being held in private houses, or in any rooms that could be obtained, or in the open air, no special buildings were required.[1] This drawing of all the members into the service, this mobility and unorganised unity, permitting variety which only emphasised the bond of a common life in Christ and indwelling of the same Holy Spirit, fitted the churches to survive persecution and to carry out their commission of bringing to the whole world the message of salvation.
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\nThe first preaching of the Gospel was by Jews and to Jews, and in it frequent use was made of the synagogues. The synagogue system is the simple and effectual means by which the national sense and religious unity of the Jewish people have been preserved throughout the centuries of their dispersion among the nations. The centre of the synagogue is the Scriptures of the Old Testament, and the power of Scripture and synagogue is shown in the fact that the Jewish Diaspora has neither been crushed by the nations nor absorbed into them. The chief objects of the synagogue were the reading of Scripture, the teaching of its precepts, and prayer; and its beginnings go back to ancient times. In the seventy-fourth Psalm is the complaint: \"Thine enemies roar in the midst of Thy congregations ...they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land\" (Psa. 74. 4, 8). On the return from the captivity it is said that Ezra further organised the synagogues, and the later dispersion of the Jews added to their importance. When the Temple, the Jewish centre, was destroyed by the Romans, the synagogues, widely distributed as they were, proved to be an indestructible bond, surviving all the persecutions that followed. In the centre of each synagogue is the ark in which the Scriptures are kept, and beside it is the desk from which they are read. An attempt under Barcochebas (A.D. 135), which was one of many efforts made to deliver Judaea from the Roman yoke and seemed for a short time to promise some success, failed as did all others, and only brought terrible retribution on the Jews. But though force failed to free them, the gathering of the people round the Scriptures as their centre preserved them from extinction.
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\nThe likeness and connection between the synagogues and the churches is apparent. Jesus made Himself the centre of each of the churches dispersed throughout the world, saying, \"where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them\" (Matt. 18:20), and He gave the Scriptures for their unchanging guidance. For this reason it has proved impossible to extinguish the churches; when in one place they have been destroyed they have appeared again in others.
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\nThe Jews of the Diaspora[2] developed great zeal in making the true God known among the heathen, and large numbers were converted to God through their testimony. In the third century B.C. the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek was accomplished in the Septuagint Version, and as Greek was, both at that time and long afterwards, the chief medium of intercommunication among the peoples of various languages, an invaluable means was supplied by which the Gentile nations could be made acquainted with the Old Testament Scripture. Equipped with this, the Jews used both synagogue and business opportunities in the good work. James, the Lord's brother, said: \"Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day\" (Acts 15:21). Thither Greeks and others were brought in, burdened with the sins and oppressions of heathendom, confused and unsatisfied by its philosophies, and, listening to the Law and the Prophets, came to know the one true God. Business brought the Jews among all classes of people and they used this diligently to spread the knowledge of God. One Gentile seeker after truth writes that he had decided not to join any one of the leading philosophical systems since through a happy fortune a Jewish linen merchant who came to Rome had, in the simplest way, made known to him the one God.
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\nThere was liberty of ministry in the synagogues. Jesus habitually taught in them--\"as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read\" (Luke 4.:16). When Barnabas and Paul, travelling, came to Antioch in Pisidia, they went to the synagogue and sat down. \"After the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on\" (Acts 13:15).
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\nWhen Christ the Messiah came, the fulfilment of all Israel's hope and testimony, large numbers of Jews and religious proselytes believed in Him, and the first churches were founded among them; but the rulers of the people, envious of Him who is the promised seed of Abraham, the greatest of David's sons, and jealous of a gathering in and blessing of the Gentiles such as the Gospel proclaimed, rejected their King and Redeemer persecuted His disciples, and went on their way of sorrow without the Saviour who was, to them first, the very expression of the love and saving power of God toward man.
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\nAs the Church was first formed in Jewish circles the Jews were its first opponents, but it soon spread into wider surroundings and when Gentiles were converted to Christ it came into conflict with Greek ideas and with Roman power. Over the cross of Christ His accusation was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin (John 19.20), and it was in the sphere of the spiritual and political power represented by these languages that the Church was to begin to suffer, and there also to gain her earliest trophies.
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\nJewish religion affected the Church, not only in the form of physical attack, but also, and more permanently, by bringing Christians under the Law, and we hear Paul in the Epistle to the Galatians crying out against such retrogression: \"a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ\" (Gal. 2. 16). From the book of the Acts and the Epistle to the Galatians it is seen that the first serious danger that threatened the Christian Church was that of being confined within the limits of a Jewish sect and so losing its power and liberty to bring the knowledge of God's salvation in Christ to the whole world.
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\nGreek philosophy, seeking some theory of God, some explanation of nature and guide to conduct, laid hold of all religions and speculations, whether of Greece or Rome, of Africa or Asia, and one gnosis or \"knowledge\", one system of philosophy after another arose, and became a subject of ardent discussion. Most of the Gnostic systems borrowed from a variety of sources, combining Pagan and Jewish, and later Christian teachings and practices. They explored the \"mysteries\" which lay for the initiated behind the outward forms of heathen religions. Frequently they taught the existence of two gods or principles, the one Light, the other Darkness, the one Good, the other Evil. Matter and material things seemed to them to be products of the Power of Darkness and under his control; what was spiritual they attributed to the higher god. These speculations and philosophies formed the basis of many heresies which from the earliest times invaded the Church, and are already combated in the later New Testament writings, especially in those of Paul and John. The means adopted to counter these attacks and to preserve unity of doctrine affected the Church even more than the heresies themselves, for it was largely due to them that the episcopal power and control grew up along with the clerical system which began so soon and so seriously to modify the character of the churches.
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\nThe Roman Empire was gradually drawn into an attack on the churches; an attack in which eventually its whole power and resources were put forth to crush and destroy them.
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\nAbout the year 65 the Apostle Peter was put to death, and, some years later, the Apostle Paul.[3] The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (A.D. 70) emphasised the fact that to the churches no visible head or centre on earth is given. Later, the Apostle John brought the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to their close, a close worthy of all that had gone before, by writing his Gospel, his Epistles, and the Revelation.
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\nThere is a noticeable difference between the New Testament and the writings of the same period and later which are not included in the list or canon of the inspired Scriptures. The inferiority of the latter is unmistakable even when the good in them is readily appreciated. While expounding the Scriptures, defending the truth, refuting errors, exhorting the disciples, they also manifest the increasing departure from the divine principles of the New Testament which had already begun in apostolic days and was rapidly accentuated afterwards.
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\n[Clement to the Corinthians]
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\nWritten in the lifetime of the Apostle John, the first Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians gives a view of the churches at the close of the Apostolic period.[4] Clement was an elder in the church at Rome. He had seen the Apostles Peter and Paul, to whose martyrdom he refers in this letter. It begins: \"The church of God which sojourns at Rome to the church of God sojourning at Corinth\". The persecutions they passed through are spoken of with a calm sense of victory: \"women ... \" he writes, \"being persecuted, after they had suffered unspeakable torments finished the course of their faith with steadfastness, and though weak in body received a noble reward.\" The tone is one of humility; the writer says: \"we write unto you not merely to admonish you of your duty, but also to remind ourselves.\" Frequent allusions are made to the Old Testament and its typical value and many quotations are given from the New Testament. The hope of the Lord's return is kept before his readers; he reminds them too of the way of salvation, that it is not of wisdom or works of ours, but by faith; adding that justification by faith should never make us slothful in good works. Yet even here the beginning of a distinction between clergy and laity is already evident, drawn from Old Testament ordinances.
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\nIn his last words to the elders of the church at Ephesus the Apostle Paul is described as sending for them and addressing them as those whom the Holy Spirit had made overseers (Acts 20). The word \"elders\" is the same as presbyters and the word \"overseers\" the same as bishops, and the whole passage shows that the two titles referred to the same men, and that there were several such in the one church.
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\n[Ignatius 35-107]
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\nIgnatius,[5] however, writing some years after Clement, though he also had known several of the Apostles, gives to the bishop a prominence and authority, not only unknown in the New Testament, but also beyond what was claimed by Clement. Commenting on Acts 20,[6] he says that Paul sent from Miletus to Ephesus and called the bishops and presbyters, thus making two titles out of one description, and says that they were from Ephesus and neighbouring cities, thus obscuring the fact that one church, Ephesus, had several overseers or bishops.
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\n[Polycarp 69-156]
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\nOne of the last of those who had personally known any of the Apostles was Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who was put to death in that city in the year 156. He had long been instructed by the Apostle John, and had been intimate with others who had seen the Lord. Irenaeus is another link in the chain of personal connection with the times of Christ. He was taught by Polycarp and was made bishop of Lyons in 177.
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\nThe practice of baptising believers[7] on their confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, as taught and exemplified in the New Testament, was continued in later times. The first clear reference to the baptism of infants is in a writing of Tertullian in 197, in which he condemns the practice beginning to be introduced of baptising the dead and of baptising infants. The way for this change, however, had been prepared by teaching concerning baptism, which was divergent from that in the New Testament; for early in the second century baptismal regeneration was already being taught. This, together with the equally striking change by which the remembrance of the Lord and His death (in the breaking of bread and drinking of wine among His disciples) was changed into an act miraculously performed, it was claimed, by a priest, intensified the growing distinction between clergy and laity. The growth of a clerical system under the domination of the bishops, who in turn were ruled by \"Metropolitans\" controlling extensive territories, substituted a human organisation and religious forms for the power and working of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of the Scriptures in the separate churches.
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\nThis development was gradual,[8] and many were not carried away by it. At first there was no pretension that one church should control another, though a very small church might ask a larger one to send \"chosen men\" to help it in matters of importance. Local conferences of overseers were held at times, but until the end of the second century they appear to have been called only when some special occasion made it convenient that those interested should confer together. Tertullian wrote: \"It is no part of religion to compel religion, which should be adopted freely, not by force.\"
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\n[Origen 185-254]
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\nOrigen, one of the greatest teachers,[9] as well as one of the most spiritually-minded of the fathers, bore a clear testimony to the spiritual character of the Church. Born (185) in Alexandria, of Christian parents, he was one of those who, in early childhood, experience the workings of the Holy Spirit. His happy relations with his wise and godly father, Leonidas, his first teacher in the Scriptures, were strikingly shown when, on the imprisonment of his father because of the faith, Origen, then seventeen years old, tried to join him in prison, and was only hindered from doing so by a stratagem of his mother, who hid his clothes. He wrote to his father in prison, encouraging him to constancy. When Leonidas was put to death and his property confiscated, the young Origen was left the chief support of his mother and six younger brothers.
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\nHis unusual ability as a teacher quickly brought him into prominence, and while he treated himself with extreme severity, he showed such kindness to the persecuted brethren as involved him in their sufferings. He took refuge for a time in Palestine, where his learning and his writings led bishops to listen as scholars to his expositions of the Scripture.
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\nThe bishop of Alexandria, Demetrius, indignant that Origen, a layman, should presume to instruct bishops, censured him and recalled him to Alexandria, and though Origen submitted, eventually excommunicated him (231). The peculiar charm of his character and the depth and insight of his teaching devotedly attached to him men who continued his teaching after his death. This took place in 254, as a result of the torture to which he had been subjected five years before in Tyre during the Decian persecution.
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\nOrigen saw the Church as consisting of all those who have experienced in their lives the power of the eternal Gospel. These form the true spiritual Church, which does not always coincide with that which is called the Church by men. His eager, speculative mind carried him beyond what most apprehended, so that many hooked upon him as heretical in his teaching, but he distinguished between those things that must be stated clearly and dogmatically and those that must be put forward with caution, for consideration. Of the latter he says: \"how things will be, however, is known with certainty to God alone, and to those who are His friends through Christ and the Holy Spirit.\" His laborious life was devoted to the elucidation of the Scriptures. A great work of his, the Hexapla, made possible a ready comparison of different versions.
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\n[Cyprian 200-258]
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\nVery different from Origen was Cyprian,[10] bishop of Carthage, born about 200. He freely uses the term \"the Catholic Church\" and sees no salvation outside of it, so that in his time the \"Old Catholic Church\" was already formed, that is, the Church which, before the time of Constantine, claimed the name \"Catholic\" and excluded all who did not conform to it. Writing of Novatian and those who sympathised with him in their efforts to bring about greater purity in the churches, Cyprian denounces \"the wickedness of an unlawful ordination made in opposition to the Catholic Church\"; says that those who approved Novatian could not have communion with that Church because they endeavoured \"to cut and tear the one body of the Catholic Church\", having committed the impiety of forsaking their Mother, and must return to the Church, seeing that they have acted \"contrary to Catholic unity\". There are, he said, \"tares in the wheat, yet we should not withdraw from the Church, but labour to be wheat in it, vessels of gold or silver in the great house.\" He commended the reading of his pamphlets as likely to help any in doubt, and referring to Novatian asserts, \"He who is not in the Church of Christ is not a Christian ... there is one Church ... and also one episcopate.\"
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\nAs the churches increased, the first zeal flagged and conformity to the world and its ways increased also. This did not progress without protest. As the organisation of the Catholic group of churches developed there were formed within it circles which aimed at reform. Also, some churches separated from it; and others, holding to the original New Testament doctrines and practices in a greater or less degree, gradually found themselves separated from the churches which had largely abandoned them. The fact that the Catholic Church system later became the dominant one puts us in possession of a great body of its literature, while the literature of those who differed from it has been suppressed, and they are chiefly known to us by what may be gleaned from the writings directed against them. It is thus easy to gain the erroneous impression that in the first three centuries there was one united Catholic Church and a variety of comparatively unimportant heretical bodies. On the contrary, however, there were then, as now, a number of divergent lines of testimony each marked by some special characteristic, and different groups of mutually-excluding churches.
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\nThe numerous circles that worked for reform in the Catholic churches while remaining in their communion, are often called Montanists. The use of the name of some prominent man to describe an extensive spiritual movement is misleading, and although it must sometimes be accepted for the sake of convenience, it should always be with the reservation that, however important a man may be as a leader and exponent, a spiritual movement affecting multitudes of people is something larger and more significant.
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\n[Montanists]
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\nIn view of the increasing worldliness in the Church, and the way in which among the leaders learning was taking the place of spiritual power, many believers were deeply impressed with the desire for a fuller experience of the indwelling and power of the Holy Spirit, and were looking for spiritual revival and return to apostolic teaching and practice. In Phrygia, Montanus[11] began to teach (156), he and those with him protesting against the prevailing laxity in the relations of the Church to the world. Some among them claimed to have special manifestations of the Spirit, in particular two women, Prisca and Maxmillia.
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\nThe persecution ordered by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (177) quickened the expectation of the Lord's coming and the spiritual aspirations of the believers. The Montanists hoped to raise up congregations that should return to primitive piety, live as those waiting for the Lord's return and, especially, give to the Holy Spirit His rightful place in the Church. Though there were exaggerations among them in the pretensions of some to spiritual revelations, yet they taught and practised needed reform. They accepted in a general way the organisation that had developed in the Catholic churches and tried to remain in their communion; but while the Catholic bishops wished to include in the Church as many adherents as possible, the Montanists constantly pressed for definite evidences of Christianity in the lives of applicants for fellowship.
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\nThe Catholic system obliged the bishops to take increasing control of the churches, while the Montanists resisted this, maintaining that the guidance of the churches was the prerogative of the Holy Spirit, and that room should be left for His workings. These differences soon led to the formation of separate churches in the East, but in the West the Montanists long remained as societies within the Catholic churches, and it was only after many years that they were excluded from, or left, them. In Carthage, Perpetua and Felicitas, the touching record of whose martyrdom has preserved their memory, were still, though Montanists, members of the Catholic church at the time of their martyrdom (207), but early in the third century the great leader in the African churches, the eminent writer Tertullian, attaching himself to the Montanists, separated from the Catholic body. He wrote: \"where but three are, and they of the laity also, yet there is a church.\"
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\n[Marcion]
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\nA very different movement, which spread so widely as seriously to rival the Catholic system, was that of the Marcionites,[12] of which Tertullian, an opponent of it, wrote: \"Marcion's heretical tradition has filled the whole world.\" Born (85) at Sinope on the Black Sea, and brought up among the churches in the Province of Pontus, where the Apostle Peter had laboured (1 Peter 1. 1), and of which Aquila (Acts 18. 2) was a native, Marcion gradually developed his teaching, but it was not until he was nearly sixty years of age that it was published and fully discussed in Rome.
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\nHis soul was exercised as he faced the great problems of evil in the world, of the difference between the revelation of God in the Old Testament and that contained in the New, of the opposition of wrath and judgement on the one hand to love and mercy on the other, and of Law to Gospel. Unable to reconcile these divergences on the basis of Scripture as generally understood in the churches, he adopted a form of dualistic theory such as was prevalent at the time.
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\nHe asserted that the world was not created by the Highest God, but by a lower being, the god of the Jews, that the Redeemer God is revealed in Christ, who, having no previous connection with the world, yet out of love, and in order to save a world that had failed and to deliver man from his misery, came into the world. He came as a stranger and unknown, and consequently was assailed by the (supposed) creator and ruler of the world as well as by the Jews and all servants of the god of this world.
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\nMarcion taught that the duty of the true Christian was to oppose Judaism and the usual form of Christianity, which he considered as only an offshoot of Judaism. He was not in agreement with the Gnostic sects for he did not preach salvation through the \"mysteries\", or attainment of knowledge, but through faith in Christ, and he aimed at first at the reformation of the Christian churches, though later they and his followers excluded each other.
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\nAs his views could not be maintained from Scripture, Marcion became a Bible critic of the most drastic kind. He applied his theory to the Scriptures and rejected all in them that was in manifest opposition to it, retaining only what seemed to him to support it, and interpreting that in accordance with his own views rather than with the general tenor of Scripture, even adding to it where that appeared to him desirable.
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\nThus, although he had formerly accepted, he later rejected the whole of the Old Testament, as being a revelation of the god of the Jews and not of the Highest and Redeemer-God, as prophesying of a Jewish Messiah and not of Christ. He thought the disciples mistook Christ for the Jewish Messiah. Holding that the true Gospel had been revealed to Paul only, he refused also the New Testament, with the exception of certain of Paul's Epistles and the Gospel of Luke, which latter, however, he freely edited to get rid of what ran contrary to his theory. He taught that the remainder of the New Testament was the work of Judaizers bent on destroying the true Gospel and that they also had interpolated, for the same purpose, the passages to which he objected in the books which he received. To this abridged New Testament Marcion added his own book, \"Antitheses\", which took the place of the Book of the Acts.
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\nHe was an enthusiast for his Gospel, which he declared was a wonder above all wonders; a rapture, power and astonishment such as nothing that could be said or thought could equal. When his doctrines were pronounced heretical he began to form separate churches, which rapidly spread. Baptism and the Lord's Supper were practised, there was a greater simplicity of worship than in the Catholic churches, and the development of clericalism and worldliness was checked. In accordance with their view of the material world they were severely ascetic, forbade marriage and only baptised those who took a vow of chastity. They considered the body of Jesus to have been not material, but a phantom, yet capable of feeling, as our bodies are.
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\nAny error may be founded on parts of Scripture; the truth alone is based on the whole. Marcion's errors were the inevitable result of his accepting only what pleased him and rejecting the rest.
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\nDeparture from the original pattern given in the New Testament for the churches met very early with strenuous resistance, leading in some cases to the formation within the decadent churches of circles which kept themselves free from the evil and hoped to be a means of restoration to the whole. Some of them were cast out and met as separate congregations. Some, finding conformity to the prevailing conditions impossible, left and formed fresh companies. These would often reinforce those others which, from the beginning, had maintained primitive practice. There is frequent reference in later centuries to those churches that had adhered to Apostolic doctrine, and which claimed unbroken succession of testimony from the time of the Apostles. They often received, both before and after the time of Constantine, the name of Cathars, or Puritans, though it does not appear that they took this name themselves.
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\n[Novatian--Third Century]
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\nThe name Novatians was also given to them, though Novatian was not their founder, but one who, in his day, was a leader among them. On the question which so much agitated the churches during times of persecution, as to whether or not persons should be received who had \"lapsed\", that is, had offered to idols since their baptism, Novatian took the stricter view. A martyred bishop in Rome named Fabian, who in his lifetime had ordained Novatian, was followed by one Cornelius, who was willing to receive the lapsed. A minority, objecting to this, chose Novatian as bishop and he accepted their choice, but he and his friends were excommunicated (251) by a synod at Rome. Novatian himself was martyred later, but his sympathisers, whether called Cathars, Novatians, or by other names, continued to spread widely. They ceased to recognise the Catholic churches or to acknowledge any value in their ordinances.
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\nThe Donatists[13] in North Africa were influenced by the teaching of Novatian. They separated from the Catholic Church on points of discipline, laying stress on the character of those who administered the sacraments, while Catholics considered the sacraments themselves as more important. In their earlier years the Donatists, who were given this name after two leading men among them, both of the name of Donatus, were distinguished from the Catholics generally by their superior character and conduct. In parts of North Africa they became the most numerous of the different branches of the Church.
\n
\n[Mani--c. 216--?]
\n
\nWhile Christian churches were developing in various forms there was also a new Gnostic religion, Manichaeism which arose and spread widely and became a formidable opponent of Christianity. Its founder, Mani, was born in Babyl","processed":-1,"summary":"The Pilgrim Church by E. H. Broadbent BEING SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CONTINUANCE----- THROUGH SUCCEEDING CENTURIES---- OF CHURCHES PRACTISING THE PRINCIPLES TAUGHT---- AND EXEMPLIFIED IN ---- THE NEW TESTAMENT LONDON_PICKERING & INGLIS LTD.___ PICKERING & INGLIS LTD._29 LUDGATE HILL, LONDON E.G.4_229 BOT","published":1,"contents":null,"content_processed":0,"created_at":null,"updated_at":null,"author":{"id":108,"status":1,"author":"E.H. Broadbent","slug":"EH-Broadbent","date":"","image":"https:\/\/img.sermonindex.net\/pdf\/ehbroadbent.png","description":"

E.H. Broadbent (1861 - 1945)<\/h1>\nlived at a time when documents and books \u2013 many of them now lost or very rare \u2013 which told the true story of the Christian church could still be found. His scholarship is attested to by the scores of books in several languages available in his day, from which he drew much of the vital information he has passed on to us. The Pilgrim Church of which he writes so eloquently and accurately was persecuted to the death for a thousand years before the Reformation.\n

\nThe story has been almost lost to the present generation and desperately needs to be retold.The Pilgrim Church. Edmund Hamer Broadbent, a Plymouth Brethren travelling missionary, is the author. You can purchase a hardcover copy of the Pilgrim Church<\/a> on the Gospel Folio website.
<\/p>","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=category&cid=675","selected":0,"selected_reason":null,"article_amount":10,"quote_count":112,"book_count":4,"wiki_summary":"

Edmund Hamer Broadbent<\/b> was a Christian missionary and author. John Bjorlie wrote that he was a \"tidy-looking English gentleman with a bookish side who discovered ways of slipping into and out of countries that others just assumed were 'closed doors.' He was not a big man, and his pleasant, easygoing manner would not have conjured in your mind the picture of the fearless missionary.\"<\/p>","wiki_url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Edmund_Hamer_Broadbent","wiki_name":"Edmund Hamer Broadbent","goodreads_link":"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/4623942.E_H_Broadbent?from_search=true&from_srp=true","names":null}},{"id":14849,"author_name":"John Chrysostom","author_id":208,"title":"Homily 34 on the Acts of the Apostles","slug":"homily-34-on-the-acts-of-the-apostles","scriptures":"Acts 15:36-39;Acts 15:39-41;Acts 15:35;Acts 15:36;Acts 15:37-40;Acts 15:41;Acts 16:1-3;Acts 16:6;Acts 16:7;Acts 16:8;Acts 16:9;Acts 9:12;Acts 16:10;Acts 15:36;Acts 15:38;Numbers 12:14;Exodus 32:32;1Samuel 15:35;Ephesians 4:26;2Thessalonians 3:13;2Timothy 1:5;2Timothy 3:15;Acts 16:4;Acts 16:5;Acts 16:9;Acts 10:20;Matthew 1:20;Matthew 2:13-19;Acts 16:10;Acts 16:11;Acts 15:39","type":"","topic":"","content":"
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\nActs XV. 35
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\nPaul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
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\nObserve again their humility, how they let others also take part in the preaching. And some days after Paul said to Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good (\u1f21 \u03be\u03af\u03bf\u03c5 see note 3, p. 213) to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention (or exasperation) was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other. Acts 15:36-39 And already indeed Luke has described to us the character of the Apostles, that the one was more tender and indulgent, but this one more strict and austere. For the gifts are diverse \u2014 (the gifts, I say), for that this is a gift is manifest \u2014 but the one befitting one, the other another set of characters, and if they change places, harm results instead of good. (b) In the Prophets too we find this: diverse minds, diverse characters: for instance, Elias austere, Moses meek. So here Paul is more vehement. And observe for all this, how gentle he is. Thought not good, it says, to take him with them that had departed from them from Pamphylia. (a) And there seems indeed to be exasperation (\u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03bf\u03be\u03c5\u03c3\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2), but in fact the whole matter is a plan of the Divine Providence, that each should receive his proper place: and it behooved that they should not be upon a par, but the one should lead, and the other be led. And so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; and Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the Churches. Acts 15:39-41 And this also is a work of Providence. For the Cyprians had exhibited nothing of the like sort as they at Antioch and the rest: and those needed the softer character, but these needed such a character as Paul's. Which then, say you, did well? He that took, or he that left? *** (c) For just as a general would not choose to have a low person always to his baggage-bearer, so neither did the Apostle. This corrected the other's, and instructed (Mark) himself. Then did Barnabas ill? say you. And how is it not amiss (\u1f04 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd), that upon so small a matter there should arise so great an evil? In the first place then, no evil did come of it, if, sufficing each for whole nations, they were divided the one from the other, but a great good. And besides, they would not readily have chosen to leave each other. But admire, I pray you, the writer, how he does not conceal this either. But at any rate, say you, if they must needs part, let it be without exasperation. Nay, but if nothing more, observe this, that in this too is shown what was of man (in the preaching of the Gospel). For if the like behooved to be shown (even) in what Christ did, much more here. And besides, the contention cannot be said to be evil, when each disputes for such objects (as here) and with just reason. I grant you, if the exasperation were in seeking his own, and contending for his own honor, this might well be (reproved): but if wishing, both the one and the other, to instruct and teach, the one took this way and the other that, what is there to find fault with? For in many things they acted upon their human judgment; for they were not stocks or stones. And observe how Paul impeaches (Mark), and gives the reason. For of his exceeding humility he reverenced Barnabas, as having been partner with him in so great works, and being with him: but still he did not so reverence him, as to overlook (what was necessary). Now which of them advised best, it is not for us to pronounce: but thus far (we may affirm), that it was a great arrangement of Providence, if these were to be vouchsafed a second visitation, but those were not to be visited even once.
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\n(a) Teaching and preaching the word of the Lord. Acts 15:35 They did not simply tarry in Antioch, but taught. What did they teach, and what preach (evangelize)? They both (taught) those that were already believers, and (evangelized) those that were not yet such. And some days after, etc. Acts 15:36 For because there were offenses without number, their presence was needed. (d) How they do, he says. And this he did not know: naturally. See him ever alert, solicitous, not bearing to sit idle, though he underwent dangers without end. Do you mark, it was not of cowardice that he came to Antioch? He acts just as a physician does in the case of the sick. And the need of visiting them he showed by saying, In which we preached the word. And Barnabas determined, etc. Acts 15:37-40 (So) Barnabas departed, and went not with (him). (b) The point to be considered, is not that they differed in their opinions, but that they accommodated themselves the one to the other (seeing), that thus it was a greater good their being parted: and the matter took a pretext from this. What then? Did they withdraw in enmity? God forbid! In fact you see after this Barnabas receiving many encomiums from Paul in the Epistles. There was sharp contention, it says, not enmity nor quarrelling. The contention availed so far as to part them. And Barnabas took Mark, etc. And with reason: for what each supposed to be profitable, he did not forego thereafter, because of the fellowship with the other. Nay, it seems to me that the parting took place advisedly (\u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u1f70 \u03c3\u03cd\u03bd\u03b5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd), and that they said one to another, As I wish not, and you wish, therefore that we may not fight, let us distribute the places. So that in fact they did this, altogether yielding each to the other: for Barnabas wished Paul's plan to stand, therefore withdrew; on the other hand, Paul wished the other's plan to stand, therefore he withdrew. Would to God we too made such separations, as to go forth for preaching. A wonderful man this is; and exceedingly great! To Mark this contest was exceedingly beneficial. For the awe inspired by Paul converted him, while the kindness of Barnabas caused that he was not left behind: so that they contend indeed, but the gain comes to one and the same end. For indeed, seeing Paul choosing to leave him, he would be exceedingly awed, and would condemn himself, and seeing Barnabas so taking his part, he would love him exceedingly: and so the disciple was corrected by the contention of the teachers: so far was he from being offended thereby. For if indeed they did this with a view to their own honor, he might well be offended: but if for his salvation, and they contend for one and the same object, to show that he who honored him * * * had well determined, what is there amiss (\u1f04 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd) in it?
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\n(e) But Paul, it says, departed, having chosen Silas, and being commended to the grace of God. What is this? They prayed it says: they besought God. See on all occasions how the prayer of the brethren can do great things. And now he journeyed by land, wishing even by his journeying to benefit those who saw (\u03c4\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2 \u1f41\u03c1\u1f65\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2) him. For when indeed they were in haste they sailed, but now not so. (c) And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the Churches. Then came he to Derbe and Lystra. Acts 15:41 Mark the wisdom of Paul: he does not go to other cities before he has visited them which had received the Word. For it is folly to run at random. This let us also do: let us teach the first in the first place, that these may not become an hindrance to them that are to come after.
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\nAnd, behold a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters; for they knew all that his father was a Greek. Acts 16:1-3 It is indeed amazing, the wisdom of Paul! He that has had so many battles about circumcision, he that moved all things to this end, and did not give over until he had carried his point, now that the decree is made sure, circumcises the disciple. He not only does not forbid others, but himself does this thing. (b) Him, it says, he would have to go forth with him. And the wonder is this, that he even took him unto him. Because of the Jews, it says, which were in those parts: for they would not endure to hear the word from one uncircumcised. (a) Nothing could be wiser. So that in all things he looked to what was profitable: he did nothing upon his own preference (\u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03bb\u03ae\u03c8\u03b5\u03b9). (c) And what (then)? Mark the success: he circumcised, that he might take away circumcision: for he preached the decrees of the Apostles. And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the Apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. And so were the Churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily. (v. 4, 5.) Do you mark fighting, and by fighting, edification? Not warred upon by others, but themselves doing contrary things, so they edified the Church! They introduced a decree not to circumcise, and he circumcises! And so were the Churches, it says, established in the faith, and in multitude: increased, it says, in number daily. Then he does not continue to tarry with these, as having come to visit them: but how? He goes further. Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, Acts 16:6 having left Phrygia and Galatia, they hastened into the interior. For, it says, After they had come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. Acts 16:7 Wherefore they were forbidden, he does not say, but that they were forbidden, he does say, teaching us to obey and not ask questions, and showing that they did many things as men. And the Spirit, it says, suffered them not: but having passed by Mysia they came down to Troas. Acts 16:8 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. Acts 16:9 Why a vision, and not the Holy Ghost? Because He forbade the other. He would even in this way draw them over: since to the saints also He appeared in a dream, and in the beginning (Paul) himself saw a vision, a man coming in and laying his hands upon him. Acts 9:12 In this manner also Christ appears to him, saying, You must stand before C\u00e6sar. Then for this reason also He draws him there, that the preaching may be extended. This is why he was forbidden to tarry long in the other cities, Christ urging him on. For these were to enjoy the benefit of John for a long time, and perhaps did not extremely need him (Paul), but there he behooved to go. And now he crosses over and goes forth. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the Gospel unto them. Acts 16:10 Then the writer mentions also the places, as relating a history, and showing where he made a stay (namely), in the greater cities, but passed by the rest. Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; and from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony. (v. 11, 12.) It is a high distinction for a city, the being a colony. And in this city we were tarrying certain days. But let us look over again what has been said.
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\n(Recapitulation.) And after some days, Paul said, etc. Acts 15:36 He put to Barnabas a necessity for their going abroad, saying Let us visit the cities in which we preached the word. But Paul begged, etc. Acts 15:38 And yet no need for him to beg, who had to make an accusation presently. This happens even in the case where God and men are the parties: the man requests, God is angry. For instance, when He says, If her father had spit in her face Numbers 12:14: and again, Let me alone, and in Mine anger I will blot out this people. Exodus 32:32 And Samuel when he mourns for Saul. 1 Samuel 15:35 For by both, great good is done. Thus also here: the one is angry, the other not so. The same happens also in matters where we are concerned. And the sharp contention with good reason, that Mark may receive a lesson, and the affair may not seem mere stage-playing. For it is not to be thought that he who bids, Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, Ephesians 4:26 would have been angry because of such a matter as this: nor that he who on all occasions gave way would not have given way here, he who so greatly loved Paul that before this he sought him in Tarsus, and brought him to the Apostles, and undertook the alms in common with him, and in common the business relating to the decree. But they take themselves so as to instruct and make perfect by their separation them that need the teaching which was to come from them. And he rebukes others indeed, but bids do good to all men. As in fact he does elsewhere, saying, But you, be not weary in well-doing. 2 Thessalonians 3:13 This we also do in our common practice. Here it seems to me that others also were alike displeased with Paul. And thereupon taking them also apart, he does all, and exhorts and admonishes. Much can concord do, much can charity. Though it be for a great matter you ask, though thou be unworthy, you shall be heard for your purpose of heart: fear not.
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\nHe went, it says, through the cities And, behold, there was a disciple, by name Timothy, who had a good report of the brethren which were in Lystra and Iconium. (v. 41; 16:1.) Great was the grace of Timothy. When Barnabas departed (\u1f00 \u03c0\u03ad\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7), he finds another, equivalent to him. Of him he says, Remembering your tears and your unfeigned faith, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and in your mother Eunice. 2 Timothy 1:5 His father continued to be a Gentile, and therefore it was that (Timothy) was not circumcised. (a) Observe the Law already broken. Or if not so, I suppose he was born after the preaching of the Gospel but this is perhaps not so. (c) He was about to make him a bishop, and it was not meet that he should be uncircumcised. (e) And this was not a small matter, seeing it offended after so long a time: (b) for from a child, he says, you have known the Holy Scriptures. 2 Timothy 3:15 (d) And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep. Acts 16:4 For until then, there was no need for the Gentiles to keep any such. The beginning of the abrogation was the Gentiles' not keeping these things, and being none the worse for it: nor having any inferiority in respect of faith: anon, of their own will they abandoned the Law. (f) Since therefore he was about to preach, that he might not smite the Jews a double blow, he circumcised Timothy. And yet he was but half (a Jew by birth), his father being a Greek: but yet, because that was a great point carried in the cause of the Gentiles, he did not care for this: for the Word must needs be disseminated: therefore also he with his own hands circumcised him. And so were the churches established in the faith. Do you mark here also how from going counter (to his own object) a great good results? And increased in number daily. Acts 16:5 Do you observe, that the circumcising not only did no harm, but was even of the greatest service? And a vision appeared unto Paul in the night. Acts 16:9 Not now by Angels, as to Philip, as to Cornellius, but how? By a vision it is now shown to him: in more human sort, not now as before (i.e., v. 6, 7) in more divine manner. For where the compliance is more easy, it is done in more human sort; but where great force was needed, there in more divine. For since he was but urged to preach, to this end it is shown him in a dream: but to forbear preaching, he could not readily endure: to this end the Holy Ghost reveals it to him. Thus also it was then with Peter, Arise, go down. Acts 10:20 For of course the Holy Spirit did not work what was otherwise easy: but (here) even a dream sufficed him. And to Joseph also, as being readily moved to compliance, the appearance is in a dream, but to the rest in waking vision. Matthew 1:20; 2:13-19 Thus to Cornelius, and to Paul himself. And lo, a man of Macedonia, etc. and not simply enjoining, but beseeching, and from the very persons in need of (spiritual) cure. ch. 10:3; 9:3 Assuredly gathering, it says, that the Lord had called us. Acts 16:10, that is, inferring, both from the circumstance that Paul saw it and none other, and from the having been forbidden by the Spirit, and from their being on the borders; from all these they gathered. Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course, etc. Acts 16:11 That is, even the voyage made this manifest: for there was no tardiness. It became the very root of Macedonia. It was not always in the way of sharp contention that the Holy Spirit wrought: but this so rapid progress (of the Word) was a token that the thing was more than human. And yet it is not said that Barnabas was exasperated, but, Between them there arose a sharp contention. Acts 15:39 If the one was not exasperated neither was the other.
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\nKnowing this, let us not merely pick out (\u1f10 \u03ba\u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd) these things, but let us learn and be taught by them: for they were not written without a purpose. It is a great evil to be ignorant of the Scriptures: from the things we ought to get good from, we get evil. Thus also medicines of healing virtue, often, from the ignorance of those who use them, ruin and destroy: and arms which are meant to protect, are themselves the cause of death unless one know how to put them on. But the reason is, that we seek everything rather than what is good for ourselves. And in the case of a house, we seek what is good for it, and we would not endure to see it decaying with age, or tottering, or hurt by storms: but for our soul we make no account: nay, even should we see its foundations rotting, or the fabric and the roof, we make no account of it. Again, if we possess brute creatures, we seek what is good for them: we call in both horse-feeders and horse-doctors, and all besides: we attend to their housing, and charge those who are entrusted with them, that they may not drive them at random or carelessly, nor take them out by night at unseasonable hours nor sell away their provender; and there are many laws laid down by us for the good of the brute creatures: but for that of our soul there is no account taken. But why speak I of brute creatures which are useful to us? There are many who keep small birds (or sparrows) which are useful for nothing except that they simply amuse, and there are many laws even about them, and nothing is neglected or without order, and we take care for everything rather than for our own selves. Thus we make our selves more worthless than all. And if indeed a person abusively call us dog, we are annoyed: but while we are opprobrious to ourselves, not in word, but in deed, and do not even bestow as much care on our soul as on dogs, we think it no great harm. Do you see how all is full of darkness? How many are careful about their dogs, that they may not be filled with more than the proper food, that so they may be keen and fit for hunting, being set on by famine and hunger: but for themselves they have no care to avoid luxury: and the brute creatures indeed they teach to exercise philosophy, while they let themselves sink down into the savageness of the brutes. The thing is a riddle. And where are your philosophic brutes? There are such; or, say, do you not take it to be philosophy, when a dog gnawed with hunger, after having hunted and caught his prey, abstains from the food; and though he sees his meal ready before him, and with hunger urging him on, yet waits for his master? Be ashamed of yourselves: teach your bellies to be as philosophic. You have no excuse. When you have been able to implant such philosophic self-command in an irrational nature, which neither speaks nor hears reason, shall you not much more be able to implant it in yourself? For that it is the effect of man's care, not of nature is plain: since otherwise all dogs ought to have this habit. Do you then become as dogs. For it is you that compel me to fetch my examples thence: for indeed they should be drawn from heavenly things; but since if I speak of those, you say, Those are (too) great, therefore I speak nothing of heavenly things: again, if I speak of Paul, you say, He was an Apostle: therefore neither do I mention Paul: if again I speak of a man, you say, That person could do it: therefore I do not mention a man even, but a brute creature; a creature too, that has not this habit by nature, lest you should say that it effected this by nature, and not (which is the fact) from choice: and what is wonderful, choice not self-acquired, but (the result of) your care. The creature does not give a thought to the fatigue, the wear and tear it has undergone in running down the prey, not a thought to this, that by its own proper toil it has made the capture: but casting away all these regards, it observes the command of its master, and shows itself superior to the cravings of appetite. True; because it looks to be praised, it looks to get a greater meal. Say then to yourself, that the dog through hope of future pleasure, despises that which is present: while you do not choose for hope of future good things to despise those which are present; but he indeed knows, that, if he tastes of that food at the wrong time and against his master's will, he will both be deprived of that, and not get even that which was apportioned to him, but receive blows instead of food: whereas you cannot even perceive this, and that which he has learned by dint of custom, you do not succeed in acquiring even from reason. Let us imitate the dogs. The same thing hawks also and eagles are said to do: what the dogs do with regard to hares and deer, the same do those with regard to birds; and these too act from a philosophy learned from men. These facts are enough to condemn us, these enough to convict us. To mention another thing:\u2014 they that are skilled in breaking horses, shall take them, wild, fierce, kicking, biting, and in a short time so discipline them, that though the teacher be not there, it is a luxury to ride them, their paces are so thoroughly well-ordered: but the paces of the soul may be all disordered, and none cares for it: it bounds, and kicks, and its rider is dragged along the ground like a child, and makes a most disgraceful figure, and yet no one puts curbs on her, and leg-ties, and bits, nor mounts upon her the skilful rider \u2014 Christ, I mean. And therefore it is that all is turned upside down. For when you both teach dogs to master the craving of the belly, and tame the fury in a lion, and the unruliness of horses, and teach the birds to speak plainly, how inconsistent must it not be \u2014 to implant achievements of reason in natures that are without reason, and to import the passions of creatures without reason into natures endowed with reason? There is no excuse for us, none. All who have succeeded (in mastering their passions) will accuse us, both believers and unbelievers: for even unbelievers have so succeeded; yea, and wild beasts, and dogs, not men only: and we shall accuse our own selves, since we succeed, when we will, but when we are slothful, we are dragged away. For indeed many even of those who live a very wicked life, have oftentimes changed themselves when they wished. But the cause is, as I said, that we go about seeking for what is good for other things, not what is good for ourselves. If you build a splendid house, you know what is good for the house, not what is good for yourself: if you take a beautiful garment, you know what is good for the body, not for yourself: and if you get a good horse, it is so likewise. None makes it his mark how his soul shall be beautiful; and yet, when that is beautiful, there is no need of any of those things: as, if that be not beautiful, there is no good of them. For like as in the case of a bride, though there be chambers hung with tapestry wrought with gold, though there be choirs of the fairest and most beautiful women, though there be roses and garlands, though there be a comely bridegroom, and the maidservants and female friends, and everybody about them be handsome, yet, if the bride herself be full of deformity, there is no good of all those; as on the other hand if she were beautiful, neither would there be any loss arising from (the want of) those, nay just the contrary; for in the case of an ugly bride, those would make her look all the uglier, while in the other case, the beautiful would look all the more beautiful: just so, the soul, when she is beautiful, not only needs none of those adjuncts, but they even cast a shade over her beauty. For we shall see the philosopher shine, not so much when in wealth, as in poverty. For in the former case many will impute it to his riches, that he is not superior to riches: but when he lives with poverty for his mate, and shines through all, and will not let himself be compelled to do anything base, then none claims shares with him in the crown of philosophy. Let us then make our soul beauteous, if at least we would fain be rich. What profit is it, when your mules indeed are white and plump and in good condition, but you who are drawn by them are lean and scurvy and ill-favored? What is the gain, when your carpets indeed are soft and beautiful, full of rich embroidery and art, and your soul goes clad in rags, or even naked and foul? What the gain, when the horse indeed has his paces beautifully ordered, more like dancing than stepping, while the rider, together with his choral train and adorned with more than bridal ornaments, is more crooked than the lame, and has no more command over hands and feet than drunkards and madmen? Tell me now, if some one were to give you a beautiful horse, and to distort your body, what would be the profit? Now you have your soul distorted, and care you not for it? Let us at length, I beseech you, have a care for our own selves. Do not let us make our own selves more worthless than all beside. If anyone insult us with words, we are annoyed and vexed: but insulting ourselves as we do by our deeds, we do not give a thought to it. Let us, though late, come at last to our senses, that we may be enabled by having much care for our soul, and laying hold upon virtue, to obtain eternal good things, through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, honor, now and evermore, world without end. Amen.
\n","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=article&aid=44701","source":"collect","new_content":"Acts XV. 35
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\nPaul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
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\nObserve again their humility, how they let others also take part in the preaching. And some days after Paul said to Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good (\u1f21 \u03be\u03af\u03bf\u03c5 see note 3, p. 213) to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention (or exasperation) was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other. Acts 15:36-39 And already indeed Luke has described to us the character of the Apostles, that the one was more tender and indulgent, but this one more strict and austere. For the gifts are diverse \u2014 (the gifts, I say), for that this is a gift is manifest \u2014 but the one befitting one, the other another set of characters, and if they change places, harm results instead of good. (b) In the Prophets too we find this: diverse minds, diverse characters: for instance, Elias austere, Moses meek. So here Paul is more vehement. And observe for all this, how gentle he is. Thought not good, it says, to take him with them that had departed from them from Pamphylia. (a) And there seems indeed to be exasperation (\u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03bf\u03be\u03c5\u03c3\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2), but in fact the whole matter is a plan of the Divine Providence, that each should receive his proper place: and it behooved that they should not be upon a par, but the one should lead, and the other be led. And so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; and Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the Churches. Acts 15:39-41 And this also is a work of Providence. For the Cyprians had exhibited nothing of the like sort as they at Antioch and the rest: and those needed the softer character, but these needed such a character as Paul's. Which then, say you, did well? He that took, or he that left? *** (c) For just as a general would not choose to have a low person always to his baggage-bearer, so neither did the Apostle. This corrected the other's, and instructed (Mark) himself. Then did Barnabas ill? say you. And how is it not amiss (\u1f04 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd), that upon so small a matter there should arise so great an evil? In the first place then, no evil did come of it, if, sufficing each for whole nations, they were divided the one from the other, but a great good. And besides, they would not readily have chosen to leave each other. But admire, I pray you, the writer, how he does not conceal this either. But at any rate, say you, if they must needs part, let it be without exasperation. Nay, but if nothing more, observe this, that in this too is shown what was of man (in the preaching of the Gospel). For if the like behooved to be shown (even) in what Christ did, much more here. And besides, the contention cannot be said to be evil, when each disputes for such objects (as here) and with just reason. I grant you, if the exasperation were in seeking his own, and contending for his own honor, this might well be (reproved): but if wishing, both the one and the other, to instruct and teach, the one took this way and the other that, what is there to find fault with? For in many things they acted upon their human judgment; for they were not stocks or stones. And observe how Paul impeaches (Mark), and gives the reason. For of his exceeding humility he reverenced Barnabas, as having been partner with him in so great works, and being with him: but still he did not so reverence him, as to overlook (what was necessary). Now which of them advised best, it is not for us to pronounce: but thus far (we may affirm), that it was a great arrangement of Providence, if these were to be vouchsafed a second visitation, but those were not to be visited even once.
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\n(a) Teaching and preaching the word of the Lord. Acts 15:35 They did not simply tarry in Antioch, but taught. What did they teach, and what preach (evangelize)? They both (taught) those that were already believers, and (evangelized) those that were not yet such. And some days after, etc. Acts 15:36 For because there were offenses without number, their presence was needed. (d) How they do, he says. And this he did not know: naturally. See him ever alert, solicitous, not bearing to sit idle, though he underwent dangers without end. Do you mark, it was not of cowardice that he came to Antioch? He acts just as a physician does in the case of the sick. And the need of visiting them he showed by saying, In which we preached the word. And Barnabas determined, etc. Acts 15:37-40 (So) Barnabas departed, and went not with (him). (b) The point to be considered, is not that they differed in their opinions, but that they accommodated themselves the one to the other (seeing), that thus it was a greater good their being parted: and the matter took a pretext from this. What then? Did they withdraw in enmity? God forbid! In fact you see after this Barnabas receiving many encomiums from Paul in the Epistles. There was sharp contention, it says, not enmity nor quarrelling. The contention availed so far as to part them. And Barnabas took Mark, etc. And with reason: for what each supposed to be profitable, he did not forego thereafter, because of the fellowship with the other. Nay, it seems to me that the parting took place advisedly (\u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u1f70 \u03c3\u03cd\u03bd\u03b5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd), and that they said one to another, As I wish not, and you wish, therefore that we may not fight, let us distribute the places. So that in fact they did this, altogether yielding each to the other: for Barnabas wished Paul's plan to stand, therefore withdrew; on the other hand, Paul wished the other's plan to stand, therefore he withdrew. Would to God we too made such separations, as to go forth for preaching. A wonderful man this is; and exceedingly great! To Mark this contest was exceedingly beneficial. For the awe inspired by Paul converted him, while the kindness of Barnabas caused that he was not left behind: so that they contend indeed, but the gain comes to one and the same end. For indeed, seeing Paul choosing to leave him, he would be exceedingly awed, and would condemn himself, and seeing Barnabas so taking his part, he would love him exceedingly: and so the disciple was corrected by the contention of the teachers: so far was he from being offended thereby. For if indeed they did this with a view to their own honor, he might well be offended: but if for his salvation, and they contend for one and the same object, to show that he who honored him * * * had well determined, what is there amiss (\u1f04 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd) in it?
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\n(e) But Paul, it says, departed, having chosen Silas, and being commended to the grace of God. What is this? They prayed it says: they besought God. See on all occasions how the prayer of the brethren can do great things. And now he journeyed by land, wishing even by his journeying to benefit those who saw (\u03c4\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2 \u1f41\u03c1\u1f65\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2) him. For when indeed they were in haste they sailed, but now not so. (c) And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the Churches. Then came he to Derbe and Lystra. Acts 15:41 Mark the wisdom of Paul: he does not go to other cities before he has visited them which had received the Word. For it is folly to run at random. This let us also do: let us teach the first in the first place, that these may not become an hindrance to them that are to come after.
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\nAnd, behold a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters; for they knew all that his father was a Greek. Acts 16:1-3 It is indeed amazing, the wisdom of Paul! He that has had so many battles about circumcision, he that moved all things to this end, and did not give over until he had carried his point, now that the decree is made sure, circumcises the disciple. He not only does not forbid others, but himself does this thing. (b) Him, it says, he would have to go forth with him. And the wonder is this, that he even took him unto him. Because of the Jews, it says, which were in those parts: for they would not endure to hear the word from one uncircumcised. (a) Nothing could be wiser. So that in all things he looked to what was profitable: he did nothing upon his own preference (\u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03bb\u03ae\u03c8\u03b5\u03b9). (c) And what (then)? Mark the success: he circumcised, that he might take away circumcision: for he preached the decrees of the Apostles. And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the Apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. And so were the Churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily. (v. 4, 5.) Do you mark fighting, and by fighting, edification? Not warred upon by others, but themselves doing contrary things, so they edified the Church! They introduced a decree not to circumcise, and he circumcises! And so were the Churches, it says, established in the faith, and in multitude: increased, it says, in number daily. Then he does not continue to tarry with these, as having come to visit them: but how? He goes further. Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, Acts 16:6 having left Phrygia and Galatia, they hastened into the interior. For, it says, After they had come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. Acts 16:7 Wherefore they were forbidden, he does not say, but that they were forbidden, he does say, teaching us to obey and not ask questions, and showing that they did many things as men. And the Spirit, it says, suffered them not: but having passed by Mysia they came down to Troas. Acts 16:8 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. Acts 16:9 Why a vision, and not the Holy Ghost? Because He forbade the other. He would even in this way draw them over: since to the saints also He appeared in a dream, and in the beginning (Paul) himself saw a vision, a man coming in and laying his hands upon him. Acts 9:12 In this manner also Christ appears to him, saying, You must stand before C\u00e6sar. Then for this reason also He draws him there, that the preaching may be extended. This is why he was forbidden to tarry long in the other cities, Christ urging him on. For these were to enjoy the benefit of John for a long time, and perhaps did not extremely need him (Paul), but there he behooved to go. And now he crosses over and goes forth. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the Gospel unto them. Acts 16:10 Then the writer mentions also the places, as relating a history, and showing where he made a stay (namely), in the greater cities, but passed by the rest. Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; and from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony. (v. 11, 12.) It is a high distinction for a city, the being a colony. And in this city we were tarrying certain days. But let us look over again what has been said.
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\n(Recapitulation.) And after some days, Paul said, etc. Acts 15:36 He put to Barnabas a necessity for their going abroad, saying Let us visit the cities in which we preached the word. But Paul begged, etc. Acts 15:38 And yet no need for him to beg, who had to make an accusation presently. This happens even in the case where God and men are the parties: the man requests, God is angry. For instance, when He says, If her father had spit in her face Numbers 12:14: and again, Let me alone, and in Mine anger I will blot out this people. Exodus 32:32 And Samuel when he mourns for Saul. 1 Samuel 15:35 For by both, great good is done. Thus also here: the one is angry, the other not so. The same happens also in matters where we are concerned. And the sharp contention with good reason, that Mark may receive a lesson, and the affair may not seem mere stage-playing. For it is not to be thought that he who bids, Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, Ephesians 4:26 would have been angry because of such a matter as this: nor that he who on all occasions gave way would not have given way here, he who so greatly loved Paul that before this he sought him in Tarsus, and brought him to the Apostles, and undertook the alms in common with him, and in common the business relating to the decree. But they take themselves so as to instruct and make perfect by their separation them that need the teaching which was to come from them. And he rebukes others indeed, but bids do good to all men. As in fact he does elsewhere, saying, But you, be not weary in well-doing. 2 Thessalonians 3:13 This we also do in our common practice. Here it seems to me that others also were alike displeased with Paul. And thereupon taking them also apart, he does all, and exhorts and admonishes. Much can concord do, much can charity. Though it be for a great matter you ask, though thou be unworthy, you shall be heard for your purpose of heart: fear not.
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\nHe went, it says, through the cities And, behold, there was a disciple, by name Timothy, who had a good report of the brethren which were in Lystra and Iconium. (v. 41; 16:1.) Great was the grace of Timothy. When Barnabas departed (\u1f00 \u03c0\u03ad\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7), he finds another, equivalent to him. Of him he says, Remembering your tears and your unfeigned faith, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and in your mother Eunice. 2 Timothy 1:5 His father continued to be a Gentile, and therefore it was that (Timothy) was not circumcised. (a) Observe the Law already broken. Or if not so, I suppose he was born after the preaching of the Gospel but this is perhaps not so. (c) He was about to make him a bishop, and it was not meet that he should be uncircumcised. (e) And this was not a small matter, seeing it offended after so long a time: (b) for from a child, he says, you have known the Holy Scriptures. 2 Timothy 3:15 (d) And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep. Acts 16:4 For until then, there was no need for the Gentiles to keep any such. The beginning of the abrogation was the Gentiles' not keeping these things, and being none the worse for it: nor having any inferiority in respect of faith: anon, of their own will they abandoned the Law. (f) Since therefore he was about to preach, that he might not smite the Jews a double blow, he circumcised Timothy. And yet he was but half (a Jew by birth), his father being a Greek: but yet, because that was a great point carried in the cause of the Gentiles, he did not care for this: for the Word must needs be disseminated: therefore also he with his own hands circumcised him. And so were the churches established in the faith. Do you mark here also how from going counter (to his own object) a great good results? And increased in number daily. Acts 16:5 Do you observe, that the circumcising not only did no harm, but was even of the greatest service? And a vision appeared unto Paul in the night. Acts 16:9 Not now by Angels, as to Philip, as to Cornellius, but how? By a vision it is now shown to him: in more human sort, not now as before (i.e., v. 6, 7) in more divine manner. For where the compliance is more easy, it is done in more human sort; but where great force was needed, there in more divine. For since he was but urged to preach, to this end it is shown him in a dream: but to forbear preaching, he could not readily endure: to this end the Holy Ghost reveals it to him. Thus also it was then with Peter, Arise, go down. Acts 10:20 For of course the Holy Spirit did not work what was otherwise easy: but (here) even a dream sufficed him. And to Joseph also, as being readily moved to compliance, the appearance is in a dream, but to the rest in waking vision. Matthew 1:20; 2:13-19 Thus to Cornelius, and to Paul himself. And lo, a man of Macedonia, etc. and not simply enjoining, but beseeching, and from the very persons in need of (spiritual) cure. ch. 10:3; 9:3 Assuredly gathering, it says, that the Lord had called us. Acts 16:10, that is, inferring, both from the circumstance that Paul saw it and none other, and from the having been forbidden by the Spirit, and from their being on the borders; from all these they gathered. Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course, etc. Acts 16:11 That is, even the voyage made this manifest: for there was no tardiness. It became the very root of Macedonia. It was not always in the way of sharp contention that the Holy Spirit wrought: but this so rapid progress (of the Word) was a token that the thing was more than human. And yet it is not said that Barnabas was exasperated, but, Between them there arose a sharp contention. Acts 15:39 If the one was not exasperated neither was the other.
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\nKnowing this, let us not merely pick out (\u1f10 \u03ba\u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd) these things, but let us learn and be taught by them: for they were not written without a purpose. It is a great evil to be ignorant of the Scriptures: from the things we ought to get good from, we get evil. Thus also medicines of healing virtue, often, from the ignorance of those who use them, ruin and destroy: and arms which are meant to protect, are themselves the cause of death unless one know how to put them on. But the reason is, that we seek everything rather than what is good for ourselves. And in the case of a house, we seek what is good for it, and we would not endure to see it decaying with age, or tottering, or hurt by storms: but for our soul we make no account: nay, even should we see its foundations rotting, or the fabric and the roof, we make no account of it. Again, if we possess brute creatures, we seek what is good for them: we call in both horse-feeders and horse-doctors, and all besides: we attend to their housing, and charge those who are entrusted with them, that they may not drive them at random or carelessly, nor take them out by night at unseasonable hours nor sell away their provender; and there are many laws laid down by us for the good of the brute creatures: but for that of our soul there is no account taken. But why speak I of brute creatures which are useful to us? There are many who keep small birds (or sparrows) which are useful for nothing except that they simply amuse, and there are many laws even about them, and nothing is neglected or without order, and we take care for everything rather than for our own selves. Thus we make our selves more worthless than all. And if indeed a person abusively call us dog, we are annoyed: but while we are opprobrious to ourselves, not in word, but in deed, and do not even bestow as much care on our soul as on dogs, we think it no great harm. Do you see how all is full of darkness? How many are careful about their dogs, that they may not be filled with more than the proper food, that so they may be keen and fit for hunting, being set on by famine and hunger: but for themselves they have no care to avoid luxury: and the brute creatures indeed they teach to exercise philosophy, while they let themselves sink down into the savageness of the brutes. The thing is a riddle. And where are your philosophic brutes? There are such; or, say, do you not take it to be philosophy, when a dog gnawed with hunger, after having hunted and caught his prey, abstains from the food; and though he sees his meal ready before him, and with hunger urging him on, yet waits for his master? Be ashamed of yourselves: teach your bellies to be as philosophic. You have no excuse. When you have been able to implant such philosophic self-command in an irrational nature, which neither speaks nor hears reason, shall you not much more be able to implant it in yourself? For that it is the effect of man's care, not of nature is plain: since otherwise all dogs ought to have this habit. Do you then become as dogs. For it is you that compel me to fetch my examples thence: for indeed they should be drawn from heavenly things; but since if I speak of those, you say, Those are (too) great, therefore I speak nothing of heavenly things: again, if I speak of Paul, you say, He was an Apostle: therefore neither do I mention Paul: if again I speak of a man, you say, That person could do it: therefore I do not mention a man even, but a brute creature; a creature too, that has not this habit by nature, lest you should say that it effected this by nature, and not (which is the fact) from choice: and what is wonderful, choice not self-acquired, but (the result of) your care. The creature does not give a thought to the fatigue, the wear and tear it has undergone in running down the prey, not a thought to this, that by its own proper toil it has made the capture: but casting away all these regards, it observes the command of its master, and shows itself superior to the cravings of appetite. True; because it looks to be praised, it looks to get a greater meal. Say then to yourself, that the dog through hope of future pleasure, despises that which is present: while you do not choose for hope of future good things to despise those which are present; but he indeed knows, that, if he tastes of that food at the wrong time and against his master's will, he will both be deprived of that, and not get even that which was apportioned to him, but receive blows instead of food: whereas you cannot even perceive this, and that which he has learned by dint of custom, you do not succeed in acquiring even from reason. Let us imitate the dogs. The same thing hawks also and eagles are said to do: what the dogs do with regard to hares and deer, the same do those with regard to birds; and these too act from a philosophy learned from men. These facts are enough to condemn us, these enough to convict us. To mention another thing:\u2014 they that are skilled in breaking horses, shall take them, wild, fierce, kicking, biting, and in a short time so discipline them, that though the teacher be not there, it is a luxury to ride them, their paces are so thoroughly well-ordered: but the paces of the soul may be all disordered, and none cares for it: it bounds, and kicks, and its rider is dragged along the ground like a child, and makes a most disgraceful figure, and yet no one puts curbs on her, and leg-ties, and bits, nor mounts upon her the skilful rider \u2014 Christ, I mean. And therefore it is that all is turned upside down. For when you both teach dogs to master the craving of the belly, and tame the fury in a lion, and the unruliness of horses, and teach the birds to speak plainly, how inconsistent must it not be \u2014 to implant achievements of reason in natures that are without reason, and to import the passions of creatures without reason into natures endowed with reason? There is no excuse for us, none. All who have succeeded (in mastering their passions) will accuse us, both believers and unbelievers: for even unbelievers have so succeeded; yea, and wild beasts, and dogs, not men only: and we shall accuse our own selves, since we succeed, when we will, but when we are slothful, we are dragged away. For indeed many even of those who live a very wicked life, have oftentimes changed themselves when they wished. But the cause is, as I said, that we go about seeking for what is good for other things, not what is good for ourselves. If you build a splendid house, you know what is good for the house, not what is good for yourself: if you take a beautiful garment, you know what is good for the body, not for yourself: and if you get a good horse, it is so likewise. None makes it his mark how his soul shall be beautiful; and yet, when that is beautiful, there is no need of any of those things: as, if that be not beautiful, there is no good of them. For like as in the case of a bride, though there be chambers hung with tapestry wrought with gold, though there be choirs of the fairest and most beautiful women, though there be roses and garlands, though there be a comely bridegroom, and the maidservants and female friends, and everybody about them be handsome, yet, if the bride herself be full of deformity, there is no good of all those; as on the other hand if she were beautiful, neither would there be any loss arising from (the want of) those, nay just the contrary; for in the case of an ugly bride, those would make her look all the uglier, while in the other case, the beautiful would look all the more beautiful: just so, the soul, when she is beautiful, not only needs none of those adjuncts, but they even cast a shade over her beauty. For we shall see the philosopher shine, not so much when in wealth, as in poverty. For in the former case many will impute it to his riches, that he is not superior to riches: but when he lives with poverty for his mate, and shines through all, and will not let himself be compelled to do anything base, then none claims shares with him in the crown of philosophy. Let us then make our soul beauteous, if at least we would fain be rich. What profit is it, when your mules indeed are white and plump and in good condition, but you who are drawn by them are lean and scurvy and ill-favored? What is the gain, when your carpets indeed are soft and beautiful, full of rich embroidery and art, and your soul goes clad in rags, or even naked and foul? What the gain, when the horse indeed has his paces beautifully ordered, more like dancing than stepping, while the rider, together with his choral train and adorned with more than bridal ornaments, is more crooked than the lame, and has no more command over hands and feet than drunkards and madmen? Tell me now, if some one were to give you a beautiful horse, and to distort your body, what would be the profit? Now you have your soul distorted, and care you not for it? Let us at length, I beseech you, have a care for our own selves. Do not let us make our own selves more worthless than all beside. If anyone insult us with words, we are annoyed and vexed: but insulting ourselves as we do by our deeds, we do not give a thought to it. Let us, though late, come at last to our senses, that we may be enabled by having much care for our soul, and laying hold upon virtue, to obtain eternal good things, through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, honor, now and evermore, world without end. Amen.
\n","processed":-1,"summary":"Acts XV. 35 Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. Observe again their humility, how they let others also take part in the preaching. And some days after Paul said to Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every c","published":1,"contents":null,"content_processed":0,"created_at":null,"updated_at":null,"author":{"id":208,"status":1,"author":"John Chrysostom","slug":"John-Chrysostom","date":"","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/c\/cf\/Johnchrysostom.jpg","description":"

John Chrysostom (349 - 407)<\/h1>\nRead freely text sermons and articles by the speaker John Chrysostom in text and pdf format Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic sensibilities. The epithet \u03a7\u03c1\u03c5\u03c3\u03cc\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 (Chrysostomos, anglicized as Chrysostom) means \"golden-mouthed\" in Greek and given for his celebrated eloquence.

\nThe Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches honor him as a saint and count him among the Three Holy Hierarchs, together with Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzus. He is recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church as a saint and as a Doctor of the Church. Churches of the Western tradition, including the Roman Catholic Church, some Anglican provinces, and some Lutheran churches, commemorate him on 13 September. Some other Lutheran churches and Anglican provinces commemorate him on the traditional Eastern feast day of 27 January. Chrysostom's extant homiletical works are vast, including many hundreds of exegetical homilies on both the New Testament (especially the works of Saint Paul) and the Old Testament (particularly on Genesis). Among his extant exegetical works are sixty-seven homilies on Genesis, fifty-nine on the Psalms, ninety on the Gospel of Matthew, eighty-eight on the Gospel of John, and fifty-five on the Acts of the Apostles.
<\/p>\r
John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, and his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders.\r
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Chrysostom is known in Christianity chiefly as a preacher, theologian and liturgist, particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church. \r
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During a time when city clergy were subject to criticism for their high lifestyle, John was determined to reform his clergy in Constantinople. These efforts were met with resistance and limited success. He was an excellent preacher. As a theologian, he has been and continues to be very important in Eastern Christianity, and is generally considered the most prominent doctor of the Greek Church, but has been less important to Western Christianity. \r
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His writings have survived to the present day more so than any of the other Greek Fathers. He rejected the contemporary trend for allegory, instead speaking plainly and applying Bible passages and lessons to everyday life.\r
","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=category&cid=1037;http:\/\/christian-quotes.ochristian.com\/John-Chrysostom-Quotes\/","selected":1,"selected_reason":null,"article_amount":535,"quote_count":98,"book_count":391,"wiki_summary":"

John Chrysostom<\/b> was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom<\/i>, and his ascetic sensibilities. The epithet \u03a7\u03c1\u03c5\u03c3\u03cc\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 means \"golden-mouthed\" in Greek and denotes his celebrated eloquence. Chrysostom was among the most prolific authors in the early Christian Church, although both Origen of Alexandria and Augustine of Hippo exceeded Chrysostom.<\/p>","wiki_url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Chrysostom","wiki_name":"John Chrysostom","goodreads_link":"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/4589154.John_Chrysostom?from_search=true&from_srp=true","names":null}},{"id":15248,"author_name":"John Nelson Darby","author_id":218,"title":"1 Corinthians 10","slug":"1-corinthians-10","scriptures":"Numbers 15;Numbers 14;Ephesians 4;Acts 7:42;John 1;Matt. 11;1John 2:13;1Cor. 10:21;Ephesians 5:29;Acts 15","type":"","topic":"","content":"
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\nThis chapter is a continuation of the same subject. All Israel were baptised unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them; and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness.\" They were, as we may say, in the Christian profession, standing in this world. Paul is proving that a person might persist in the outward observance of Christianity, and yet be lost. But there may be such a thing as having the shield of faith down as a chastisement perhaps, but that would be the only case I can recognise of loss of assurance where it has been really known; that is, I mean where a man is given up to it, and to the fiery darts as a kind of chastisement.
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\nI remember a person who was away from fellowship for fourteen years, and a high Calvinist spoke to him as a child of God, which became the means of bringing him in again. He had got puffed up, was a kind of prophet, Irvingite, and so on, and the devil had blown him over. Very solemn indeed! But I do not want a soul to lose his assurance; it may be the power for bringing him back. I do not say of a child that is naughty, he is not a child, neither do I wish him to think he is not. If you find a person in despair, you may feel it is the divine nature there. God reconciles absolutely His holiness and His faithfulness, and all else. We may be taking them apart, but He never does.
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\nWe have in this chapter certain truths typically presented - the keeping of Israel as a whole, or to the end, as well as the fall of these individuals. In Numbers 15 we have the security of God's purpose most beautifully set out. In Numbers 14 He says their carcases shall fall in the wilderness. He pronounces judgment on the whole nation, save two persons. The entire people refuse to go up and take possession of the land, and the Lord says, \"doubtless ye shall not come into the land,\" save Joshua and Caleb. Then in chapter 15, \"The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land,\" etc., and goes on with His own intentions just as quietly as if nothing of chapter 14 had happened.
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\n247 \"Baptised unto Moses,\" is what we call being associated with him in these ordinances. \"Baptised with the baptism of John,\" was objectively the thing to which they were brought: so it was baptised \"unto\" instead of \"into.\" The Greek preposition eis refers to the point you are going to, unless hindered. I might say I am going to Rome, but robbers might come in and stop me, but eis has that force. Pros is \"towards\" with the accusative; with the dative it is rather \"there,\" but with the accusative it is distinctly objective. The sickness is not unto (pros) death, but for the glory of God, that is, it was with that object in view. In Ephesians 4 ministers were given with a view to (eis) the work of the ministry, eis the edifying of the body, and pros the perfecting of the saints. The prominent thought is the perfecting of the saints, the more immediate point is eis: the former was, that is, an eternal thing, but the work of the ministry was a present thing, and what they were at then; the perfecting is a definite result in view.
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\nIn the middle of this chapter we go from the outward thing to the inward. We have had not merely those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus, but those who were baptised to Moses, and did eat the same spiritual meat, and so on. These really partook of the privileges and yet were lost. You may have really Christ, and yet God be not well pleased with you. A person who is living after the flesh shall die. He therefore cannot have the real thing. This passage is not a warning against having a thing and in any way perishing, but against having the signs of the thing and then perishing. It is addressed to saints \"with all those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus,\" however bad they might be at Corinth. It would be a very dangerous thing to say that people were outside warnings and dangers because they themselves are so bad.
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\nWe have here a kind of Sardis, and a terrible thing it is to have a name to live, and yet be responsible. \"I gave her space to repent, and she repented not.\" The whole professing church will be cut off; they wax worse and worse, but still the responsibility is there, though they have left their first love. To the Thessalonians Paul had written, \"Ye are not of the night that that day should overtake you as a thief.\" It will overtake the world so, and the Lord writes to Sardis, \"lest I come as a thief,\" that is, treat you as the world. There will be a testing-time, and then some will be cut off. In the beginning of all, the Lord added daily to the church such as should be saved; but when we come as far as Jude, we see apostasy coming in, evil men creeping in unawares. In verse 8 fornication refers to the particular danger they were in. All their relatives around them went on in that kind of thing, and they themselves were therefore in danger of slipping into it. Fornication was not a type. These were the things that happened then in Israel, not the figures of things for us, but the judgments that came from them are our warnings.
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\n248 As to their idolatry, I doubt if a single sacrifice, unless an official one, was offered to God all through the wilderness. In Acts 7:42, Stephen says, \"Have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them.\" The official ones probably were maintained, or might be; and at large what they did offer might be professedly to the Lord; for when they made the golden calf, Aaron made proclamation, \"To-morrow is a feast to Jehovah.\" God had ordered them to bring the blood of every beast they slew to the tabernacle. or rather the beast itself.
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\nIn verse 11 the \"ends of the world\" is the completion of the ages. To me the world now is not under any dispensation, but the whole course of God's dealings with it are over until He comes to judgment. Man was under responsibility from Adam to Christ, and then our Lord says, \"Now is the judgment of this world.\" Historically I see this: up to the flood no dealings of God, but a testimony in Enoch. We see a man turned out of paradise, and presently God comes in by a solemn act, and puts that world all aside. Then after the flood we see various ways of God with the world. He begins by putting it under Noah. He gave promises to Abraham, then law raising the question of righteousness, which promise did not. Law was brought in to test flesh, and see whether righteousness could be got from man for God. Then God sent prophets until there was no remedy, and then He says there is one thing yet I may still do: I will send My Son; and when they saw the Son, they said, \"This is the heir, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours,\" and then, so far as responsibility went, God was turned out of the world. Then comes the cross, and atonement for sin, and a foundation for a new state of things altogether, and that was the completion of the ages. God is not now dealing with man to try if he is lost or not, and so in John's Gospel man is gone from chapter 1. The first three Gospels present Christ to man, and then He is rejected; but in John 1, \"He came to his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.\" There we find God's power coming into the world, and the Jews all done with: only some receive Him who have been born of God, and so John's Gospel is thoroughly what men call Calvinistic.
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\n249 As to invitations, it is not incorrect to say to an unconverted man, \"Come to Jesus.\" We may go \"as though God did beseech you by us . . . be reconciled to God.\" God is obliged to have ambassadors for Christ now that Christ is gone. Beseeching is, so to speak, more than saying, Come. Christ says, \"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,\" in the chapter where H. had already said, \"We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented,\" Matt. 11. Thereon He begins to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, declaring woe unto them; and then comes, \"I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.\" And then He says, \"Come unto me,\" etc. He speaks of the judgment as already come upon them; then there is nothing for it, for no man knows the Son but the Father, neither knows any man the Father save the Son. He bows to His Father completely in rejection, and it is consequent upon that rejection, that, like Noah's dove, He finds there is no single place for Him to put His foot upon; and so now He says, If you want to get to heaven, come to Me outside the world. The gospel tests, and people will not receive the gospel any more than they could keep the law.
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\nIn 1 John 2:13 we read, \"I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning\"; that is, they knew Christ had come into the world. They knew a great deal about Him, but no man can fathom the Son but the Father. \"Son\" is that being who was in the form of God, Christ, who \"made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant\" and so on; but if you ask how God can be a servant, you plunge into difficulty by getting into the reasonings of men.
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\n250 Returning to our chapter, we have now identification with the table; the eaters are partakers of the altar. In eating of it, you identify yourself with the body of Christ, for \"we are all partakers of that one bread.\" Someone once wrote to ask what was the proof that it was the body of Christ! And I found from another that it was understood only to speak of the unity of those who were actually partaking. But what the apostle is saying is, If you go and eat of these idolatrous altars, you identify yourself with them. As Israel after the flesh, if they ate of the altar, they identified themselves with it; so if you partake of the table of the Lord, you have a common part with others with it. It is not itself identity with the body, but that which is the sign of it. You cannot partake of Christ and of demons at the same time; this is, \"cannot\" morally. The peace-offering gives the understanding of it: some was burnt on the altar, but of the flesh the priest ate the part offered to God, and they themselves, the offerers, ate the rest.
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\nThe principle was that the eaters were identified with the altar. If it were a thanksgiving, it must be eaten on the same day, but two days were allowed in the case of a vow, because there was a stronger energy in it, and none might be eaten on the third day at all. And so, if they were at table at a feast, he says, Eat what is set before you, unless it is given you as having been offered at an idol's temple, and then eat not. Of course you could do the act of eating of idols' sacrifices, but you cannot eat to God and to the demon together. Then comes the question, whether it is only those who are eating who are identified; and the local church is spoken of as the body of Christ, but I must take in all Christians when I go out into the mystic body. The communion (koinonia) is merely the external act of partaking, but if it is of Christ, it is the whole body. I cannot call an assembly the body of Christ, except so far as it may represent the whole body. At the altar there is identification, I am in communion with it; you do not get communion with the Lord's table, but taking a part in it; 1 Cor. 10:21.
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\n251 There is a distinction: the Lord is the One who is over me. I do not think Christ is ever called the Lord of the assembly. He is the Lord of the individual, but not of the assembly. Head of the church implies union. Head of the body is not the same thought as the head of every man; that includes wicked men as well as good. The head of my body is head, and therein is union; but when I speak of head of every man, it is lordship over man. In Ephesians 5:29, \"Even as the Lord, the church,\" should be \"Christ the church.\"
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\n\"He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit\" is spoken of us, because He is a glorious person, and I by the Holy Ghost am one with Him who is such; but that is very different from the thought of Lord of the assembly as such. The thought destroyed the unity of the body, and this was the use that was made of it. He is Lord in the assembly. I suppose every Christian would own the title of authority in the Lord. Christ is generally the official name; it is not an absolute rule, but in most cases we have lost the the Christ in the English. There is a Greek rule, that if you have the article and the thing that governs the genitive, you have the article with the name, and there is a question then whether you say \"the Christ,\" or \"Christ.\" \"The Christ\" may contemplate the church too, as in \"so also is the Christ.\" In \"whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ,\" he takes the lowest character first, and says, \"He that believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,\" that is, he that has faith in His person.
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\nThe thought that was put out as a difficulty is, that the unity is merely the unity of those who are actually partaking. The bearing of it all is to make independent churches, whereas the apostle is here looking at them in connection with the fact of their partaking at the table; but he adds it is the communion of the body of Christ; and then we have the whole body, while those who may be present stand as such for the time.
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\nIn chapter 12 you have two statements. Verse 12, \"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ,\" literally the Christ. Then in verse 27, \"Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular,\" takes in the whole thing, and the character that belongs to them. In our chapter we have two things; for if I speak of Christ's body, there is His literal body and His mystical body. His literal body is broken, and His mystical body is a united one.
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\n252 The \"one bread,\" in verse 17, represents Christ; it is the loaf on the table. We all partake of it, and are therefore one body; \"for we are all partakers of that one bread.\" Before it is broken, in a certain sense, it represents the body of Christ before it was broken; but it does not form a sacrament in that state, because we have not the figure. It is true I eat Christ as the living bread that came down from heaven, but I go back to do that after I have eaten of Him as broken. I cannot think of the body of Christ without bringing in the mystic body, and verse 16 identifies me with the thought of the body it belongs to. The communion of the blood is always identification with the blood of Christ as shed for us. I do not know another word so good for it as that. Israel had their character from that with which they are connected; so with us, it is with Christ, with His body and His blood. It is not the spiritual feeding of my soul, but it is in the sense that my hand is partaker of the life of my body. \"Joint participation\" does not express it, because that is rather the act of partaking, or might only go so far. I may partake and not be in communion with; but it is in the latter way we are identified with Christ as His body.
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\n\"Demons\" refers to idols' temples as such, because it was to demons they offered, and not to God. It is monstrous to apply it to any professing Christianity. In verse 20 we have distinctly what is the meaning of \"the cup of demons.\" If any tried to eat of the Lord's table, and also of the table of demons, that would be saying, \"I can eat with a demon, and I can eat with you.\" This would be provoking the Lord to jealousy, as in verse 22.
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\nThe difficulty we started with seems all cleared to my mind by chapter 12:27. The Corinthian church was not the body of Christ. It is a sheer attempt to make one meeting independent of another. That is not the apostle's mind through this chapter at all. But it is what was attempted by connecting the lordship of Christ with the assembly as such. Some said Christ was Lord, and they obeyed the Lord, and acted under obedience to the Lord in any one place, and nobody else had anything to say to them. At first I could not think what they were aiming at, insisting on His lordship in this way, though a man surely is not a Christian if he does not own the lordship of Christ. \"Calling on the name of the Lord\" is a sort of definition of a Christian. What we have been considering is ecclesiastically a less vigorous attempt at the same purpose. They asked what proof we had that the Lord's supper was an expression of the unity of the body. It was this that made the separation in - . Now what brought me out of the Establishment was the unity of the body: otherwise I could have gone into some independent church or set up one for myself, perhaps. I do not think many would deny that there is one body in words; but the practice denies it.
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\n253 I could not go to any loose table as the Lord's. People do and call it the Lord's, of course; but I do not call it so or I should be there. Many go with a good conscience, I doubt not; but they do not meet on the principle of the unity of the body. If all the Christians in any place come together, they would not be a church and members; there are no members of a church. The idea and the term are unknown to Scripture altogether. Members of Christ's body, and therefore members one of another, is right, and that only. There is not the most distant approach to the common idea.
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\n\"All things are lawful\" (v. 23) is connected with what is sold in the shambles. The apostle alludes to the custom of selling carcases for food in the common way after the animal had been offered in an idol's temple. But suppose we were sitting at a table with a person just come out from idolatry, and he said, \"That joint was offered to an idol.\" His conscience is not free, and for his sake I do not eat it. To me it is all common meat.
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\nIn Acts 15 the commands to abstain from blood, from things offered to idols, and from fornication, are obligatory on a Christian now. They are not from law, but from Noah. Not that I should think if I had eaten blood, that I was defiled by it, for it is not the things that go in that defile. The above three things are special: one is life, and belongs to God; then idols are the giving up of the true God altogether; and fornication is giving up the purity of man. They are the three things which form the standard elements of what I have to say to God in. The two are plain enough: the third may be less clear. If a man came to me and said, 'That rabbit was caught in a trap,' I could say, 'Well, I will not eat it, simply for his sake.' To me these three principles are the expression of man as belonging to God, and not to his own lusts. As to blood, it is the life, and clearly belongs to God, but I leave every man's conscience to himself.
\n","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=article&aid=40911","source":"collect","new_content":"This chapter is a continuation of the same subject. All Israel were baptised unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them; and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness.\" They were, as we may say, in the Christian profession, standing in this world. Paul is proving that a person might persist in the outward observance of Christianity, and yet be lost. But there may be such a thing as having the shield of faith down as a chastisement perhaps, but that would be the only case I can recognise of loss of assurance where it has been really known; that is, I mean where a man is given up to it, and to the fiery darts as a kind of chastisement.
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\nI remember a person who was away from fellowship for fourteen years, and a high Calvinist spoke to him as a child of God, which became the means of bringing him in again. He had got puffed up, was a kind of prophet, Irvingite, and so on, and the devil had blown him over. Very solemn indeed! But I do not want a soul to lose his assurance; it may be the power for bringing him back. I do not say of a child that is naughty, he is not a child, neither do I wish him to think he is not. If you find a person in despair, you may feel it is the divine nature there. God reconciles absolutely His holiness and His faithfulness, and all else. We may be taking them apart, but He never does.
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\nWe have in this chapter certain truths typically presented - the keeping of Israel as a whole, or to the end, as well as the fall of these individuals. In Numbers 15 we have the security of God's purpose most beautifully set out. In Numbers 14 He says their carcases shall fall in the wilderness. He pronounces judgment on the whole nation, save two persons. The entire people refuse to go up and take possession of the land, and the Lord says, \"doubtless ye shall not come into the land,\" save Joshua and Caleb. Then in chapter 15, \"The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land,\" etc., and goes on with His own intentions just as quietly as if nothing of chapter 14 had happened.
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\n247 \"Baptised unto Moses,\" is what we call being associated with him in these ordinances. \"Baptised with the baptism of John,\" was objectively the thing to which they were brought: so it was baptised \"unto\" instead of \"into.\" The Greek preposition eis refers to the point you are going to, unless hindered. I might say I am going to Rome, but robbers might come in and stop me, but eis has that force. Pros is \"towards\" with the accusative; with the dative it is rather \"there,\" but with the accusative it is distinctly objective. The sickness is not unto (pros) death, but for the glory of God, that is, it was with that object in view. In Ephesians 4 ministers were given with a view to (eis) the work of the ministry, eis the edifying of the body, and pros the perfecting of the saints. The prominent thought is the perfecting of the saints, the more immediate point is eis: the former was, that is, an eternal thing, but the work of the ministry was a present thing, and what they were at then; the perfecting is a definite result in view.
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\nIn the middle of this chapter we go from the outward thing to the inward. We have had not merely those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus, but those who were baptised to Moses, and did eat the same spiritual meat, and so on. These really partook of the privileges and yet were lost. You may have really Christ, and yet God be not well pleased with you. A person who is living after the flesh shall die. He therefore cannot have the real thing. This passage is not a warning against having a thing and in any way perishing, but against having the signs of the thing and then perishing. It is addressed to saints \"with all those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus,\" however bad they might be at Corinth. It would be a very dangerous thing to say that people were outside warnings and dangers because they themselves are so bad.
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\nWe have here a kind of Sardis, and a terrible thing it is to have a name to live, and yet be responsible. \"I gave her space to repent, and she repented not.\" The whole professing church will be cut off; they wax worse and worse, but still the responsibility is there, though they have left their first love. To the Thessalonians Paul had written, \"Ye are not of the night that that day should overtake you as a thief.\" It will overtake the world so, and the Lord writes to Sardis, \"lest I come as a thief,\" that is, treat you as the world. There will be a testing-time, and then some will be cut off. In the beginning of all, the Lord added daily to the church such as should be saved; but when we come as far as Jude, we see apostasy coming in, evil men creeping in unawares. In verse 8 fornication refers to the particular danger they were in. All their relatives around them went on in that kind of thing, and they themselves were therefore in danger of slipping into it. Fornication was not a type. These were the things that happened then in Israel, not the figures of things for us, but the judgments that came from them are our warnings.
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\n248 As to their idolatry, I doubt if a single sacrifice, unless an official one, was offered to God all through the wilderness. In Acts 7:42, Stephen says, \"Have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them.\" The official ones probably were maintained, or might be; and at large what they did offer might be professedly to the Lord; for when they made the golden calf, Aaron made proclamation, \"To-morrow is a feast to Jehovah.\" God had ordered them to bring the blood of every beast they slew to the tabernacle. or rather the beast itself.
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\nIn verse 11 the \"ends of the world\" is the completion of the ages. To me the world now is not under any dispensation, but the whole course of God's dealings with it are over until He comes to judgment. Man was under responsibility from Adam to Christ, and then our Lord says, \"Now is the judgment of this world.\" Historically I see this: up to the flood no dealings of God, but a testimony in Enoch. We see a man turned out of paradise, and presently God comes in by a solemn act, and puts that world all aside. Then after the flood we see various ways of God with the world. He begins by putting it under Noah. He gave promises to Abraham, then law raising the question of righteousness, which promise did not. Law was brought in to test flesh, and see whether righteousness could be got from man for God. Then God sent prophets until there was no remedy, and then He says there is one thing yet I may still do: I will send My Son; and when they saw the Son, they said, \"This is the heir, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours,\" and then, so far as responsibility went, God was turned out of the world. Then comes the cross, and atonement for sin, and a foundation for a new state of things altogether, and that was the completion of the ages. God is not now dealing with man to try if he is lost or not, and so in John's Gospel man is gone from chapter 1. The first three Gospels present Christ to man, and then He is rejected; but in John 1, \"He came to his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.\" There we find God's power coming into the world, and the Jews all done with: only some receive Him who have been born of God, and so John's Gospel is thoroughly what men call Calvinistic.
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\n249 As to invitations, it is not incorrect to say to an unconverted man, \"Come to Jesus.\" We may go \"as though God did beseech you by us . . . be reconciled to God.\" God is obliged to have ambassadors for Christ now that Christ is gone. Beseeching is, so to speak, more than saying, Come. Christ says, \"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,\" in the chapter where H. had already said, \"We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented,\" Matt. 11. Thereon He begins to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, declaring woe unto them; and then comes, \"I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.\" And then He says, \"Come unto me,\" etc. He speaks of the judgment as already come upon them; then there is nothing for it, for no man knows the Son but the Father, neither knows any man the Father save the Son. He bows to His Father completely in rejection, and it is consequent upon that rejection, that, like Noah's dove, He finds there is no single place for Him to put His foot upon; and so now He says, If you want to get to heaven, come to Me outside the world. The gospel tests, and people will not receive the gospel any more than they could keep the law.
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\nIn 1 John 2:13 we read, \"I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning\"; that is, they knew Christ had come into the world. They knew a great deal about Him, but no man can fathom the Son but the Father. \"Son\" is that being who was in the form of God, Christ, who \"made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant\" and so on; but if you ask how God can be a servant, you plunge into difficulty by getting into the reasonings of men.
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\n250 Returning to our chapter, we have now identification with the table; the eaters are partakers of the altar. In eating of it, you identify yourself with the body of Christ, for \"we are all partakers of that one bread.\" Someone once wrote to ask what was the proof that it was the body of Christ! And I found from another that it was understood only to speak of the unity of those who were actually partaking. But what the apostle is saying is, If you go and eat of these idolatrous altars, you identify yourself with them. As Israel after the flesh, if they ate of the altar, they identified themselves with it; so if you partake of the table of the Lord, you have a common part with others with it. It is not itself identity with the body, but that which is the sign of it. You cannot partake of Christ and of demons at the same time; this is, \"cannot\" morally. The peace-offering gives the understanding of it: some was burnt on the altar, but of the flesh the priest ate the part offered to God, and they themselves, the offerers, ate the rest.
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\nThe principle was that the eaters were identified with the altar. If it were a thanksgiving, it must be eaten on the same day, but two days were allowed in the case of a vow, because there was a stronger energy in it, and none might be eaten on the third day at all. And so, if they were at table at a feast, he says, Eat what is set before you, unless it is given you as having been offered at an idol's temple, and then eat not. Of course you could do the act of eating of idols' sacrifices, but you cannot eat to God and to the demon together. Then comes the question, whether it is only those who are eating who are identified; and the local church is spoken of as the body of Christ, but I must take in all Christians when I go out into the mystic body. The communion (koinonia) is merely the external act of partaking, but if it is of Christ, it is the whole body. I cannot call an assembly the body of Christ, except so far as it may represent the whole body. At the altar there is identification, I am in communion with it; you do not get communion with the Lord's table, but taking a part in it; 1 Cor. 10:21.
\n
\n251 There is a distinction: the Lord is the One who is over me. I do not think Christ is ever called the Lord of the assembly. He is the Lord of the individual, but not of the assembly. Head of the church implies union. Head of the body is not the same thought as the head of every man; that includes wicked men as well as good. The head of my body is head, and therein is union; but when I speak of head of every man, it is lordship over man. In Ephesians 5:29, \"Even as the Lord, the church,\" should be \"Christ the church.\"
\n
\n\"He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit\" is spoken of us, because He is a glorious person, and I by the Holy Ghost am one with Him who is such; but that is very different from the thought of Lord of the assembly as such. The thought destroyed the unity of the body, and this was the use that was made of it. He is Lord in the assembly. I suppose every Christian would own the title of authority in the Lord. Christ is generally the official name; it is not an absolute rule, but in most cases we have lost the the Christ in the English. There is a Greek rule, that if you have the article and the thing that governs the genitive, you have the article with the name, and there is a question then whether you say \"the Christ,\" or \"Christ.\" \"The Christ\" may contemplate the church too, as in \"so also is the Christ.\" In \"whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ,\" he takes the lowest character first, and says, \"He that believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,\" that is, he that has faith in His person.
\n
\nThe thought that was put out as a difficulty is, that the unity is merely the unity of those who are actually partaking. The bearing of it all is to make independent churches, whereas the apostle is here looking at them in connection with the fact of their partaking at the table; but he adds it is the communion of the body of Christ; and then we have the whole body, while those who may be present stand as such for the time.
\n
\nIn chapter 12 you have two statements. Verse 12, \"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ,\" literally the Christ. Then in verse 27, \"Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular,\" takes in the whole thing, and the character that belongs to them. In our chapter we have two things; for if I speak of Christ's body, there is His literal body and His mystical body. His literal body is broken, and His mystical body is a united one.
\n
\n252 The \"one bread,\" in verse 17, represents Christ; it is the loaf on the table. We all partake of it, and are therefore one body; \"for we are all partakers of that one bread.\" Before it is broken, in a certain sense, it represents the body of Christ before it was broken; but it does not form a sacrament in that state, because we have not the figure. It is true I eat Christ as the living bread that came down from heaven, but I go back to do that after I have eaten of Him as broken. I cannot think of the body of Christ without bringing in the mystic body, and verse 16 identifies me with the thought of the body it belongs to. The communion of the blood is always identification with the blood of Christ as shed for us. I do not know another word so good for it as that. Israel had their character from that with which they are connected; so with us, it is with Christ, with His body and His blood. It is not the spiritual feeding of my soul, but it is in the sense that my hand is partaker of the life of my body. \"Joint participation\" does not express it, because that is rather the act of partaking, or might only go so far. I may partake and not be in communion with; but it is in the latter way we are identified with Christ as His body.
\n
\n\"Demons\" refers to idols' temples as such, because it was to demons they offered, and not to God. It is monstrous to apply it to any professing Christianity. In verse 20 we have distinctly what is the meaning of \"the cup of demons.\" If any tried to eat of the Lord's table, and also of the table of demons, that would be saying, \"I can eat with a demon, and I can eat with you.\" This would be provoking the Lord to jealousy, as in verse 22.
\n
\nThe difficulty we started with seems all cleared to my mind by chapter 12:27. The Corinthian church was not the body of Christ. It is a sheer attempt to make one meeting independent of another. That is not the apostle's mind through this chapter at all. But it is what was attempted by connecting the lordship of Christ with the assembly as such. Some said Christ was Lord, and they obeyed the Lord, and acted under obedience to the Lord in any one place, and nobody else had anything to say to them. At first I could not think what they were aiming at, insisting on His lordship in this way, though a man surely is not a Christian if he does not own the lordship of Christ. \"Calling on the name of the Lord\" is a sort of definition of a Christian. What we have been considering is ecclesiastically a less vigorous attempt at the same purpose. They asked what proof we had that the Lord's supper was an expression of the unity of the body. It was this that made the separation in - . Now what brought me out of the Establishment was the unity of the body: otherwise I could have gone into some independent church or set up one for myself, perhaps. I do not think many would deny that there is one body in words; but the practice denies it.
\n
\n253 I could not go to any loose table as the Lord's. People do and call it the Lord's, of course; but I do not call it so or I should be there. Many go with a good conscience, I doubt not; but they do not meet on the principle of the unity of the body. If all the Christians in any place come together, they would not be a church and members; there are no members of a church. The idea and the term are unknown to Scripture altogether. Members of Christ's body, and therefore members one of another, is right, and that only. There is not the most distant approach to the common idea.
\n
\n\"All things are lawful\" (v. 23) is connected with what is sold in the shambles. The apostle alludes to the custom of selling carcases for food in the common way after the animal had been offered in an idol's temple. But suppose we were sitting at a table with a person just come out from idolatry, and he said, \"That joint was offered to an idol.\" His conscience is not free, and for his sake I do not eat it. To me it is all common meat.
\n
\nIn Acts 15 the commands to abstain from blood, from things offered to idols, and from fornication, are obligatory on a Christian now. They are not from law, but from Noah. Not that I should think if I had eaten blood, that I was defiled by it, for it is not the things that go in that defile. The above three things are special: one is life, and belongs to God; then idols are the giving up of the true God altogether; and fornication is giving up the purity of man. They are the three things which form the standard elements of what I have to say to God in. The two are plain enough: the third may be less clear. If a man came to me and said, 'That rabbit was caught in a trap,' I could say, 'Well, I will not eat it, simply for his sake.' To me these three principles are the expression of man as belonging to God, and not to his own lusts. As to blood, it is the life, and clearly belongs to God, but I leave every man's conscience to himself.
\n","processed":1,"summary":"This chapter is a continuation of the same subject. All Israel were baptised unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them; and that Rock was Christ. But with many o","published":1,"contents":null,"content_processed":0,"created_at":null,"updated_at":null,"author":{"id":218,"status":1,"author":"John Nelson Darby","slug":"John-Nelson-Darby","date":"1800-1882","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/c\/ca\/JohnNelsonDarby.jpg","description":"

John Nelson Darby (1800 - 1882)<\/h1>\nwas an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism and Futurism (\"the Rapture\" in the English vernacular). Pre-tribulation rapture theology was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, and further popularized in the United States in the early 20th century by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible.\n

\nHe produced a translation of the Bible based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby. Darby traveled widely in Europe and Britain in the 1830s and 1840s, and established many Brethren assemblies. He gave 11 significant lectures in Geneva in 1840 on the hope of the church (L'attente actuelle de l'\u00e9glise). These established his reputation as a leading interpreter of biblical prophecy.
<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John Nelson Darby was an Anglo-Irish evangelist, and an influential figure among the original Plymouth Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism. He produced a translation of the Bible based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John Nelson Darby graduated Trinity College, Dublin, in 1819 and was called to the Irish bar about 1825; but soon gave up law practice, took orders, and served a curacy in Wicklow until, in 1827, doubts as to the Scriptural authority for church establishments led him to leave the institutional church altogether and meet with a company of like-minded persons in Dublin.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Darby traveled widely in Europe and Britain in the 1830s and 1840s, and established many Brethren assemblies. These established his reputation as a leading interpreter of biblical prophecy. He was also a Bible Commentator. He declined however to contribute to the compilation of the Revised Version of the King James Bible.<\/p>","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=category&cid=336;http:\/\/articles.ochristian.com\/preacher336-1.shtml","selected":1,"selected_reason":null,"article_amount":535,"quote_count":7,"book_count":197,"wiki_summary":"

John Nelson Darby<\/b> was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism and Futurism. Pre-tribulation rapture theology was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, and further popularized in the United States in the early 20th century by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible.<\/p>","wiki_url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Nelson_Darby","wiki_name":"John Nelson Darby","goodreads_link":"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/2082721.John_Nelson_Darby?from_search=true&from_srp=true","names":null}},{"id":15612,"author_name":"John Nelson Darby","author_id":218,"title":"Reading on the Christian Position","slug":"reading-on-the-christian-position","scriptures":"Ephesians 2:5;Ephesians 2:6;Ephesians 1:22;Acts 13;Acts 1;Isaiah 66;1Corinthians 5;Acts 9:32;Acts 15:7;Acts 15:8;Acts 15;Acts 15;Isaiah 6","type":"","topic":"","content":"
\n
\nAs to the difference between the opening out of our position, in Romans, Colossians, and Ephesians, it may be well to note that, in Romans, we are dead with Christ; in Colossians, we are risen with Him; and in Ephesians, we are dead and risen with Him, and seated in the heavenlies in Him.
\n
\nQues. Why is there the introduction of circumcision in Colossians?
\n
\nThe immediate object is the setting aside of Judaism, for now that we have the true circumcision, we are viewed as complete in Him. Circumcision does not go beyond the putting off of the body of the flesh, either historically or in Colossians; it does not go beyond \"putting off\" (chap. 2:11). But though this is only negative, it is a big negative.
\n
\nWe do get something additional, and that is, what is put on; but, in itself, circumcision is not putting on. One must be in a new place before one can put on.
\n
\nIsrael had no one for them in Canaan, but we have Someone in the heavens. Until we are in Christ, and Christ in us, I do not believe we can be really circumcised, for I cannot reckon the body dead until I have got some other life. Life must come before death. That is the controversy we have with monks, and with the Irvingites; they said, death must come first; we said, life first. We cannot reckon ourselves dead to sin until we have another life in which to reckon ourselves. The apostle is insisting that we are complete in Christ - Christ complete before God, and we in Him.
\n
\nAll the fulness of the Godhead goes out to us, and we are complete in it before God, and we have nothing else to look for.
\n
\nQues. Does circumcision bring out a heavenly Christ as that which is characteristic in Colossians?
\n
\nYes; all that we must have - One who is the Head of all principality and power. Circumcision is brought in here because they were in danger of going back from their position.
\n
\nQues. Should it read, \"in whom,\" or, \"wherein,\" in chapter 2: 3?
\n
\nI think myself it should be wherein. In verse 12, \"wherein\" is in baptism.
\n
\n281 Ques. Does Scripture ever say that we are risen in Him?
\n
\nNo, you could not say risen in Him, but with Him.
\n
\nThis is the only place where resurrection is connected with baptism. In Ephesians 2:5, 6, we are first of all quickened together with Christ, and then Jew and Gentile are raised up together. Generally speaking, baptism is death, but this passage in Colossians recognises risen with Him, but the object is, baptised to His death. And there we should remain if it were not for the faith of the operation of God. We have not 'raised with Christ' in Romans, either in baptism or out of it. We are looked at there as alive through, or rather, in Christ, but not alive with Christ.
\n
\nQues. Would you view the bread and wine in the same way as bringing before us not only Christ, but Christ as dead?
\n
\nYes; we are in Christ in heavenly places, and we partake of the Lord's supper in anticipation of the time when we shall all sit in glory with Him in our midst; it is as belonging to heaven, but if I ask, how did we get this place? there, we find the answer - the sufferings of Christ have brought us into it.
\n
\nThe great distinction is, that in Colossians it is life; in Ephesians, union and the Holy Ghost. In Colossians, we are risen with Christ, but not yet in heaven; the hope is laid up for us, and we are to set our affections there; but in Ephesians, we are viewed as sitting together in heavenly places in Christ, i.e., as gone to heaven!
\n
\nQues. In Ephesians 1:22, is it, or is it not, 'gave him to the church'?
\n
\nIt does not make much difference. He gave Him to the church, i.e., gave Him as Head to the body. That, at any rate, is the sense of it. It is the character in which He has been given. One cannot leave out the connection of Head with the church.
\n
\nIn Acts, we have the planting of the Church. This was the work of Peter and Paul, with a certain free ministry in between these two, such as that of Stephen, Philip, and Silas, etc.; and also of those who went everywhere preaching the word. The first apostles were at Jerusalem, taking up the Luke commission, for we have a distinct commission in each of the gospels.
\n
\nIn Matthew, they are sent out from Galilee, to disciple the Gentiles.
\n
\nIn Mark, they were to \"preach the gospel to every creature.
\n
\nHe that believeth and is baptized,\" etc.
\n
\n282 In Luke, repentance and remission of sins were to be preached, beginning at Jerusalem.
\n
\nIn John, the Lord says, \"As my Father has sent me, even so send I you . . . whose soever sins ye remit,\" etc. And he breathes on them that they may receive the Holy Ghost. They are sent from Christ, in the power of the life in which He had been sent from the Father, to go to the world.
\n
\nIn the Acts, it is the Luke commission, and no other, carried out as far as it goes.
\n
\nThe testimony of Paul at Antioch in Pisidia in Acts 13 is just the same thing as Peter's in chapter 2. Both proclaim the fundamental facts of the gospel. Paul begins with the Jews there, though it was not Jerusalem. The Matthew commission would not have done for them at Jerusalem. But the baptism they were baptized to was before Mark's commission. Matthew says, \"baptizing them,\" that is, not the Jews but, \"all nations\" Luke's commission extended to the nations as well, but beginning at Jerusalem.
\n
\nPeter would not let Cornelius in, until God, so to say, had forced him. Acts 1 goes out to Samaria, Judea, and the ends of the earth.
\n
\nThe twelve begin at Jerusalem and go on to Samaria, but they would not let in the Gentiles until God compelled them to do so, after giving Peter a vision about it.
\n
\nQues. Is Matthew's commission still future?
\n
\nIt will, I suppose, be carried out in the future.
\n
\nQues. Will the Church at Jerusalem be resumed at the last?
\n
\nThe blessing will begin at Jerusalem, and they will go out and tell the nations that the glory has appeared, according to Isaiah 66.
\n
\nAfter Matthias had been chosen, and the Holy Ghost had come down, the first thing we find is opposition from without; the apostles are put in prison, etc., etc., but there is real triumph, and back they go to their own company.
\n
\nThen a difficulty arises from within, the widows murmuring, but grace completely overcomes that; the power of the Holy Ghost meets the need.
\n
\nThen something worse occurs - the fall of Ananias and Sapphira. This is overcome by judgment. Divine power is there to meet every evil that comes in. Not that there is no evil, but it is met completely, and that, too, in a gracious way.
\n
\nBut the church is now no longer in her Pentecostal character.
\n
\nNot that the power has ceased; there is still power enough now, if there is faith to use it. The coming in of power is according to what suits the need of the time.
\n
\n283 Ques. It has been said that the closing verses of 1 Corinthians 5 cannot now be carried out, because there is not power to deliver to Satan?
\n
\nThat is confounding power with duty. When he says \"Put away from among yourselves,\" it is a question of duty, not one of power. What you speak of is the denial of responsibility. If you mingle it with the delivering to Satan, there you want power, and if you have not got it, you make yourself foolish. Of course, God is able, as ever, to work a miracle. But suppose God should confer this power, say, on Romanists, or on the \"Broad Church,\" He would be putting a seal upon that state of things. And so, too, with Independents, or any others. It would be putting in some shape or other a [kind] of testimony upon that which was out of the way. As long as there was unity in the church, if there was a rush of people to power there, they would find Christ behind it.
\n
\nSuppose it were given to brethren, it would be like saying, 'you are right,' 'you are the church and no one else is.' We may of course fail in ministry; but the moment there arises a need in the church, faith may surely count upon Christ for supply.
\n
\nQues. When you put out anyone, where do you put him to?
\n
\nYou do not put him anywhere but \"out.\" Say, it is out of this room, well, we put him out of the room, I do not know where to, we do not put him anywhere but out. Paul told the Corinthians that they ought to have prayed that such an one might be taken from them, that God would remove him; they ought, at any rate, to have felt that it was intolerable to have him in. I might suppose a case where we had to deal with one where there was not any Scripture for putting out, and yet it was felt that such an one was doing mischief \"Cut off which trouble you,\" is not a question of discipline, but the putting such out of the way would be so. In connection with the deacons appointed, I should say that power met everything at the time. What was going on did not shew the activities of grace as they had been seen heretofore; those appointed were acting more officially than from the simple power of grace.
\n
\nQues. Many argue that in the state of decline in which we are now found, that is an example for us to put up with what we can; how would you meet this?
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\n284 It is all a question of what the thing is. Take the case of deacons. Suppose you have a large gathering, and there is difficulty in distributing; I see no objection to certain ones taking the charge of it. But I could not say so of elders, because there are no apostles to appoint them. But, in such a case as I have supposed, I see no difficulty for two or three, at the wish of the others, to undertake this service.
\n
\nAbstractedly, I see no difficulty. But the moment we find an elder among the churches formed by Paul, it is he and Barnabas that choose and ordain elders for them; Paul and Barnabas did it. There is the authority descending from Christ to the apostles, and again from the apostles. It might prove a failure, and no doubt it did.
\n
\nDeacon (diakonos) is but a servant. Phoebe was one, and perhaps she swept the room where they met; I cannot tell what she did. \"Diakonos\" is not a slave.
\n
\nSpeaking of the seven, it says, \"whom we may appoint over this business.\" All the names are those of Hellenist (Greekspeaking) Jews; grace was still working, though it was a proof of failure, too.
\n
\nWell, that continues; Peter then goes throughout all quarters (Acts 9:32), and Antioch now comes in.
\n
\nThese deacons purchased to themselves a good degree; one of them, Philip, goes out, and we have a free ministry in exercise.
\n
\nThe Lord raises up these men.
\n
\nWith Paul, who has a direct, definite, apostolic calling, another characteristic is seen.
\n
\nThen, over the matter of Stephen, a persecution breaks out, and all were scattered abroad, the apostles excepted.
\n
\nOur Lord said to His disciples, that when they were persecuted in one city, they were to flee to another; but the apostles stayed at Jerusalem, carrying on the Jerusalem church as a centre. Those scattered went everywhere preaching the word. God uses persecution as a means of spreading the truth, and that is the first thing that carries it-to the Gentiles at large. Some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene. The apostles might have expected the Lord up to the time that Stephen was killed, but henceforth Christ must sit down and wait, because both He and the Holy Ghost had been rejected.
\n
\n285 Ques. Have you any thought as to there being a lapse of time between chapters 2 and 3 of the Acts?
\n
\nNo, nothing that I know of. There must have been some lapse of time, for their numbers had multiplied.
\n
\nThe prayer of Christ, \"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,\" stopped for the time being the effect of the cross as regards the condemnation of Israel. Ministry went on, founded upon the coming of the Holy Ghost, and Peter calls them to save themselves from this untoward generation (chap. 2:40), and he adds, \"I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers,\" chap. 3:17. He puts the nation upon their responsibility. It shewed that the man who owed ten thousand talents had been previously forgiven.
\n
\nIn rejecting Christ, they got into the debt; it was suspended in a sense - will you repent? But they would not repent, and they became resisters of the Holy Ghost come down. They were thus breakers of the law, killers of the prophets, killers of Christ, and resisters of the Holy Ghost. Stephen sees Christ standing on the right hand of God, not having yet sat down there, and the Jews take then the full character of adversaries, so that Christ must sit down until His enemies be made His footstool. When that time comes, He will rise up. Meanwhile, the offer to the nation has been closed.
\n
\nThereupon the disciples were all scattered from Jerusalem, which ceased to be any longer a church centre; but the apostles stayed on, and the ministry of the gospel went out. Next, we see Peter bringing in the first Gentile, that the unity of the church may still be seen. It was after Paul had been called, that Peter brings the first Gentile in; and then Paul is sent out to the Gentiles.
\n
\nPaul has a distinct mission. He gets, so to speak, his credential letters which are peculiar: \"Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee.\" Paul was not really a man on the earth at all, for his calling had delivered him from both Jew and Gentile, and he belonged to Christ in glory; he did not know Christ after the flesh; but still, after calling Paul, the Lord took care to have Cornelius brought in by Peter, so that there should be no division. And Peter refers to this in Acts 15:7, 8.
\n
\nCornelius is called in in the general unity. Paul first goes up to Jerusalem, and disputes in the synagogues, and then he goes off to Tarsus. He is set aside for the time being, in order to learn that God does not want him, but that he wants God.
\n
\n286 Then the work begins at Antioch, and Barnabas goes down there, and he and Paul set to work together with a Gentile church. A new ministry commences which had its practical credentials in Paul at Damascus, a man who had been smashed to pieces and delivered from the people and from the Gentiles, and then was sent to Gentiles; a man who now belonged to heaven.
\n
\nBut this ministry was connected with the body of Christ, for He says, '\"Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?\" All these people are Myself.' The church was thus connected with a glorified Christ in heaven, and with a Jerusalem centre on earth. The danger of division was averted in Acts 15. Antioch had begun quite separately by the ministry of Paul and Barnabas. The Jews then come down, and they say, \"You must be circumcised,\" etc., etc., and so the question is raised. Meanwhile Paul and Barnabas go out to preach, and we find elders are first appointed in chapter 14.
\n
\nQues. Is there any proof that our Lord did not sit down?
\n
\nHe is seen standing in chapter 7, and when He sits down, He sits down \"until.\"
\n
\nAt Paul's conversion, the glory was revealed without anything being said to him of Christ's position.
\n
\nQues. What is the force of, \"Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?\"?
\n
\nHe saw Him on the way to Damascus.
\n
\nQues. He surely saw the Lord personally, and not in heaven?
\n
\nJust so, and therefore it had nothing to do with His position in heaven. The Lord was in no place then at all but Paul's eye and vision.
\n
\nPaul saw Him afterwards in a trance in the temple, but these visions prove nothing as to the place He is holding in the dispensations of God.
\n
\nSome went down from Jerusalem to Antioch with a Judaising scheme. A fresh start altogether had begun at Antioch where we have the mission of Paul sent forth by the Holy Ghost, in contrast with the mere free ministry such as Stephen's, and there was thus no longer any gathering to Jerusalem.
\n
\nThe great thing that then came out was, that looked at as a centre on earth, the Jerusalem church was gone, i.e., gone from the time of Stephen's death.
\n
\n287 The Jerusalem church was not, however, given up because of Peter's opening the door to the Gentiles. Peter had followed Christ right up to the cloud - the glory; and as far as he was an eye-witness, he could say, 'The Man that you have rejected is the Man that God has exalted.' But Paul begins with a glorified Christ, and so takes another step forward; delivered from both Jews and Gentile, he knows only a glorified Christ, and saints united with this glorified Man. Paul starts on this ground, and the Holy Ghost, quite independently of Jerusalem, sends him out in keeping with his own special commission.
\n
\nA fresh difficulty arises in chapter 15.
\n
\nThese Judaisers are not sent, but they go down and require circumcision; God did not, however, allow Antioch, nor the mission to Antioch, to settle that question. Supposing they had done so, it would not have been settled at Jerusalem, and there would then have been division. So after much disputation, Paul has a revelation that he should go up, with others, to the apostles, with the result that Jerusalem gives up her title to enforce Judaism. A very gracious dealing of the Lord.
\n
\nQues. Was the apostles' ministry founded on Luke's commission?
\n
\nYes. But free ministry was not founded on any particular commission.
\n
\nThe disciples were first called Christians at Antioch, and this was, I think, by men, not by the Holy Ghost. Peter recognises the name. A Christian is a person connected with Christ. They never could have given them that name at Jerusalem from the name Messiah. Christ is a Greek word.
\n
\nAs to the history of the Acts, we now drop Peter (except in prison), and all the rest is, you may say, the history of Paul and his labours until he gets into prison.
\n
\nThey make Antioch to be three years after Paul's conversion at Damascus, and then, \"fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem.\"
\n
\nThat which was enjoined in Acts 15 had nothing to do with the law. Before the law, blood had been forbidden to Noah; as to the other matters, these were (I) faithfulness to God, and (2) faithfulness to man or woman as regards the marriage bond that God had created. Blood, idolatry, and fornication.
\n
\nIt was not a question of the law, but of God's tide; that is to say, life belonged to God, and man was not to corrupt himself as a creature. And God secured unity so far, though there always remained the difficulty with the Judaisers.
\n
\n288 Ques. The question is sometimes raised, as to whether there is any warrant for a kind of synod of elders?
\n
\nWell, in the first place, I do not suppose a synod would be bold enough to say, \"It seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us.\" I have no idea of this representing all the churches and so acting; it was head of the Jewish system.
\n
\nQues. Do you suppose the apostles and elders were alone?
\n
\nWe read of none but apostles and elders; but the letter is addressed from all (verses 6 and 23). The people had been disputing ever so long before the apostles said anything. Peter and Paul were wise to let them expend themselves first.
\n
\nQues. How did it seem good to the Holy Ghost?
\n
\nThe apostles had authority and could say so; \"the Spirit of truth . . . shall testify,\" and so \"ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.\" It was thus through the Holy Ghost they bore their witness. The Holy Ghost is sent down to bear witness of what Christ is in heaven, and the apostles bore witness of what He was on earth.
\n
\n\"It seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us.\" I do not think this was their assembly, but what was done before. The letter was written in the name of the church, but the decree was in the name of the apostles and elders, and God bore them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost.
\n
\nIn James' citation (and he is quoting from the Septuagint), the point is, \"all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called\"; they were therefore not to trouble the Gentiles. As for \"the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down,\" this has nothing to do with his object in quoting the passage.
\n
\nPaul's ministry continues until we come to the elders at Miletus (chap. 20); and there, in a certain sense, he gives up his ministry though he might still preach. And he commends the elders to God, etc.
\n
\nQues. Can you link verse 21 with verse 28, putting verses 22-27 in a parenthesis, so as to connect the name of Jesus with the words, \"His own blood\"?
\n
\nWell, I am satisfied God has purchased the church with the blood of One who belonged specially to Himself. If you take the 'editors,' you do not get \"God\" in that sentence at all. Athanasius condemned altogether the expression, 'blood of God.' My own conviction is that the 'editors' are right. In order to avoid the 'blood of God,' some have put in Kurios, the Lord, there.
\n
\n289 Ques. Paul preached the \"kingdom of God\" everywhere, though he does not here enter into the full doctrine of it?
\n
\nThat is so. God is setting up a kingdom. The Church generally has lost the idea of the kingdom of God; people talk about 'being saved,' and say very little about the kingdom of God. We find an important testimony here, namely, that the loss of the apostles would leave an opening, in a way that did not exist before, for perverse men and wolves to enter in (a ground for watchfulness!) who would not spare the flock. There, is what the giving up of apostolic ministry leads to. In applying to the Jews the prophecy of Isaiah 6, the apostle Paul realty closes up the ministry of the gospel to them.
\n
\nThe gospel goes into prison, and the Jews have their judgment sealed on them. The earthly thing had been merged in Paul's ministry, in which we see a special power raising him up with a special commission. But this ends in prison at Rome.
\n
\nIt is curious to notice that the church at Rome was founded, with Paul in prison and not in free apostolic ministry; and to me it is a very solemn thing to see where it all ends. I hope the Lord is keeping the present testimony unto His coming, and that because it is, in a sense, a testimony to failure - that the Church is in ruins; for then there wilt be no pretension to power, no apostles, no elders. The Lord has blown upon pretending to constitute anything, yet He is just as faithful as ever to minister to the need of the Church. It is for us to be faithful in the condition in which we are, but in accordance with that condition. There are two reasons for desiring the Lord to come; an affectionate desire for Himself, and seeing the state of things is so far from His glory, that He would come and put things right in a heavenly way. And yet it is just the time for us to be strong. I believe we have as much to lean on as Paul had, though we have not the same things to do. It is a time, I believe, of very great blessing if we are but content to follow Scripture with a single eye; but people get muddled up with the crooked ways going on around them.
\n
\nI have sometimes seen upon a mountain that there is but one path which is simple and right; and a comfort indeed it is to know it, though there are ever so many crooked ones going over the heath. That is just where we are now. If a person has the right path, he does not need to inquire about the fifty wrong ones. \"Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.\" If I look on, I see Christ, and then all is easy, and with my eyes on Him, I go straight.
\n
\n290 A broad path means a broad conscience, not a broad heart.
\n
\nWe have a narrow path, but it is a known path, and a straight one.
\n","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=article&aid=41178","source":"collect","new_content":"As to the difference between the opening out of our position, in Romans, Colossians, and Ephesians, it may be well to note that, in Romans, we are dead with Christ; in Colossians, we are risen with Him; and in Ephesians, we are dead and risen with Him, and seated in the heavenlies in Him.
\n
\nQues. Why is there the introduction of circumcision in Colossians?
\n
\nThe immediate object is the setting aside of Judaism, for now that we have the true circumcision, we are viewed as complete in Him. Circumcision does not go beyond the putting off of the body of the flesh, either historically or in Colossians; it does not go beyond \"putting off\" (chap. 2:11). But though this is only negative, it is a big negative.
\n
\nWe do get something additional, and that is, what is put on; but, in itself, circumcision is not putting on. One must be in a new place before one can put on.
\n
\nIsrael had no one for them in Canaan, but we have Someone in the heavens. Until we are in Christ, and Christ in us, I do not believe we can be really circumcised, for I cannot reckon the body dead until I have got some other life. Life must come before death. That is the controversy we have with monks, and with the Irvingites; they said, death must come first; we said, life first. We cannot reckon ourselves dead to sin until we have another life in which to reckon ourselves. The apostle is insisting that we are complete in Christ - Christ complete before God, and we in Him.
\n
\nAll the fulness of the Godhead goes out to us, and we are complete in it before God, and we have nothing else to look for.
\n
\nQues. Does circumcision bring out a heavenly Christ as that which is characteristic in Colossians?
\n
\nYes; all that we must have - One who is the Head of all principality and power. Circumcision is brought in here because they were in danger of going back from their position.
\n
\nQues. Should it read, \"in whom,\" or, \"wherein,\" in chapter 2: 3?
\n
\nI think myself it should be wherein. In verse 12, \"wherein\" is in baptism.
\n
\n281 Ques. Does Scripture ever say that we are risen in Him?
\n
\nNo, you could not say risen in Him, but with Him.
\n
\nThis is the only place where resurrection is connected with baptism. In Ephesians 2:5, 6, we are first of all quickened together with Christ, and then Jew and Gentile are raised up together. Generally speaking, baptism is death, but this passage in Colossians recognises risen with Him, but the object is, baptised to His death. And there we should remain if it were not for the faith of the operation of God. We have not 'raised with Christ' in Romans, either in baptism or out of it. We are looked at there as alive through, or rather, in Christ, but not alive with Christ.
\n
\nQues. Would you view the bread and wine in the same way as bringing before us not only Christ, but Christ as dead?
\n
\nYes; we are in Christ in heavenly places, and we partake of the Lord's supper in anticipation of the time when we shall all sit in glory with Him in our midst; it is as belonging to heaven, but if I ask, how did we get this place? there, we find the answer - the sufferings of Christ have brought us into it.
\n
\nThe great distinction is, that in Colossians it is life; in Ephesians, union and the Holy Ghost. In Colossians, we are risen with Christ, but not yet in heaven; the hope is laid up for us, and we are to set our affections there; but in Ephesians, we are viewed as sitting together in heavenly places in Christ, i.e., as gone to heaven!
\n
\nQues. In Ephesians 1:22, is it, or is it not, 'gave him to the church'?
\n
\nIt does not make much difference. He gave Him to the church, i.e., gave Him as Head to the body. That, at any rate, is the sense of it. It is the character in which He has been given. One cannot leave out the connection of Head with the church.
\n
\nIn Acts, we have the planting of the Church. This was the work of Peter and Paul, with a certain free ministry in between these two, such as that of Stephen, Philip, and Silas, etc.; and also of those who went everywhere preaching the word. The first apostles were at Jerusalem, taking up the Luke commission, for we have a distinct commission in each of the gospels.
\n
\nIn Matthew, they are sent out from Galilee, to disciple the Gentiles.
\n
\nIn Mark, they were to \"preach the gospel to every creature.
\n
\nHe that believeth and is baptized,\" etc.
\n
\n282 In Luke, repentance and remission of sins were to be preached, beginning at Jerusalem.
\n
\nIn John, the Lord says, \"As my Father has sent me, even so send I you . . . whose soever sins ye remit,\" etc. And he breathes on them that they may receive the Holy Ghost. They are sent from Christ, in the power of the life in which He had been sent from the Father, to go to the world.
\n
\nIn the Acts, it is the Luke commission, and no other, carried out as far as it goes.
\n
\nThe testimony of Paul at Antioch in Pisidia in Acts 13 is just the same thing as Peter's in chapter 2. Both proclaim the fundamental facts of the gospel. Paul begins with the Jews there, though it was not Jerusalem. The Matthew commission would not have done for them at Jerusalem. But the baptism they were baptized to was before Mark's commission. Matthew says, \"baptizing them,\" that is, not the Jews but, \"all nations\" Luke's commission extended to the nations as well, but beginning at Jerusalem.
\n
\nPeter would not let Cornelius in, until God, so to say, had forced him. Acts 1 goes out to Samaria, Judea, and the ends of the earth.
\n
\nThe twelve begin at Jerusalem and go on to Samaria, but they would not let in the Gentiles until God compelled them to do so, after giving Peter a vision about it.
\n
\nQues. Is Matthew's commission still future?
\n
\nIt will, I suppose, be carried out in the future.
\n
\nQues. Will the Church at Jerusalem be resumed at the last?
\n
\nThe blessing will begin at Jerusalem, and they will go out and tell the nations that the glory has appeared, according to Isaiah 66.
\n
\nAfter Matthias had been chosen, and the Holy Ghost had come down, the first thing we find is opposition from without; the apostles are put in prison, etc., etc., but there is real triumph, and back they go to their own company.
\n
\nThen a difficulty arises from within, the widows murmuring, but grace completely overcomes that; the power of the Holy Ghost meets the need.
\n
\nThen something worse occurs - the fall of Ananias and Sapphira. This is overcome by judgment. Divine power is there to meet every evil that comes in. Not that there is no evil, but it is met completely, and that, too, in a gracious way.
\n
\nBut the church is now no longer in her Pentecostal character.
\n
\nNot that the power has ceased; there is still power enough now, if there is faith to use it. The coming in of power is according to what suits the need of the time.
\n
\n283 Ques. It has been said that the closing verses of 1 Corinthians 5 cannot now be carried out, because there is not power to deliver to Satan?
\n
\nThat is confounding power with duty. When he says \"Put away from among yourselves,\" it is a question of duty, not one of power. What you speak of is the denial of responsibility. If you mingle it with the delivering to Satan, there you want power, and if you have not got it, you make yourself foolish. Of course, God is able, as ever, to work a miracle. But suppose God should confer this power, say, on Romanists, or on the \"Broad Church,\" He would be putting a seal upon that state of things. And so, too, with Independents, or any others. It would be putting in some shape or other a [kind] of testimony upon that which was out of the way. As long as there was unity in the church, if there was a rush of people to power there, they would find Christ behind it.
\n
\nSuppose it were given to brethren, it would be like saying, 'you are right,' 'you are the church and no one else is.' We may of course fail in ministry; but the moment there arises a need in the church, faith may surely count upon Christ for supply.
\n
\nQues. When you put out anyone, where do you put him to?
\n
\nYou do not put him anywhere but \"out.\" Say, it is out of this room, well, we put him out of the room, I do not know where to, we do not put him anywhere but out. Paul told the Corinthians that they ought to have prayed that such an one might be taken from them, that God would remove him; they ought, at any rate, to have felt that it was intolerable to have him in. I might suppose a case where we had to deal with one where there was not any Scripture for putting out, and yet it was felt that such an one was doing mischief \"Cut off which trouble you,\" is not a question of discipline, but the putting such out of the way would be so. In connection with the deacons appointed, I should say that power met everything at the time. What was going on did not shew the activities of grace as they had been seen heretofore; those appointed were acting more officially than from the simple power of grace.
\n
\nQues. Many argue that in the state of decline in which we are now found, that is an example for us to put up with what we can; how would you meet this?
\n
\n284 It is all a question of what the thing is. Take the case of deacons. Suppose you have a large gathering, and there is difficulty in distributing; I see no objection to certain ones taking the charge of it. But I could not say so of elders, because there are no apostles to appoint them. But, in such a case as I have supposed, I see no difficulty for two or three, at the wish of the others, to undertake this service.
\n
\nAbstractedly, I see no difficulty. But the moment we find an elder among the churches formed by Paul, it is he and Barnabas that choose and ordain elders for them; Paul and Barnabas did it. There is the authority descending from Christ to the apostles, and again from the apostles. It might prove a failure, and no doubt it did.
\n
\nDeacon (diakonos) is but a servant. Phoebe was one, and perhaps she swept the room where they met; I cannot tell what she did. \"Diakonos\" is not a slave.
\n
\nSpeaking of the seven, it says, \"whom we may appoint over this business.\" All the names are those of Hellenist (Greekspeaking) Jews; grace was still working, though it was a proof of failure, too.
\n
\nWell, that continues; Peter then goes throughout all quarters (Acts 9:32), and Antioch now comes in.
\n
\nThese deacons purchased to themselves a good degree; one of them, Philip, goes out, and we have a free ministry in exercise.
\n
\nThe Lord raises up these men.
\n
\nWith Paul, who has a direct, definite, apostolic calling, another characteristic is seen.
\n
\nThen, over the matter of Stephen, a persecution breaks out, and all were scattered abroad, the apostles excepted.
\n
\nOur Lord said to His disciples, that when they were persecuted in one city, they were to flee to another; but the apostles stayed at Jerusalem, carrying on the Jerusalem church as a centre. Those scattered went everywhere preaching the word. God uses persecution as a means of spreading the truth, and that is the first thing that carries it-to the Gentiles at large. Some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene. The apostles might have expected the Lord up to the time that Stephen was killed, but henceforth Christ must sit down and wait, because both He and the Holy Ghost had been rejected.
\n
\n285 Ques. Have you any thought as to there being a lapse of time between chapters 2 and 3 of the Acts?
\n
\nNo, nothing that I know of. There must have been some lapse of time, for their numbers had multiplied.
\n
\nThe prayer of Christ, \"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,\" stopped for the time being the effect of the cross as regards the condemnation of Israel. Ministry went on, founded upon the coming of the Holy Ghost, and Peter calls them to save themselves from this untoward generation (chap. 2:40), and he adds, \"I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers,\" chap. 3:17. He puts the nation upon their responsibility. It shewed that the man who owed ten thousand talents had been previously forgiven.
\n
\nIn rejecting Christ, they got into the debt; it was suspended in a sense - will you repent? But they would not repent, and they became resisters of the Holy Ghost come down. They were thus breakers of the law, killers of the prophets, killers of Christ, and resisters of the Holy Ghost. Stephen sees Christ standing on the right hand of God, not having yet sat down there, and the Jews take then the full character of adversaries, so that Christ must sit down until His enemies be made His footstool. When that time comes, He will rise up. Meanwhile, the offer to the nation has been closed.
\n
\nThereupon the disciples were all scattered from Jerusalem, which ceased to be any longer a church centre; but the apostles stayed on, and the ministry of the gospel went out. Next, we see Peter bringing in the first Gentile, that the unity of the church may still be seen. It was after Paul had been called, that Peter brings the first Gentile in; and then Paul is sent out to the Gentiles.
\n
\nPaul has a distinct mission. He gets, so to speak, his credential letters which are peculiar: \"Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee.\" Paul was not really a man on the earth at all, for his calling had delivered him from both Jew and Gentile, and he belonged to Christ in glory; he did not know Christ after the flesh; but still, after calling Paul, the Lord took care to have Cornelius brought in by Peter, so that there should be no division. And Peter refers to this in Acts 15:7, 8.
\n
\nCornelius is called in in the general unity. Paul first goes up to Jerusalem, and disputes in the synagogues, and then he goes off to Tarsus. He is set aside for the time being, in order to learn that God does not want him, but that he wants God.
\n
\n286 Then the work begins at Antioch, and Barnabas goes down there, and he and Paul set to work together with a Gentile church. A new ministry commences which had its practical credentials in Paul at Damascus, a man who had been smashed to pieces and delivered from the people and from the Gentiles, and then was sent to Gentiles; a man who now belonged to heaven.
\n
\nBut this ministry was connected with the body of Christ, for He says, '\"Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?\" All these people are Myself.' The church was thus connected with a glorified Christ in heaven, and with a Jerusalem centre on earth. The danger of division was averted in Acts 15. Antioch had begun quite separately by the ministry of Paul and Barnabas. The Jews then come down, and they say, \"You must be circumcised,\" etc., etc., and so the question is raised. Meanwhile Paul and Barnabas go out to preach, and we find elders are first appointed in chapter 14.
\n
\nQues. Is there any proof that our Lord did not sit down?
\n
\nHe is seen standing in chapter 7, and when He sits down, He sits down \"until.\"
\n
\nAt Paul's conversion, the glory was revealed without anything being said to him of Christ's position.
\n
\nQues. What is the force of, \"Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?\"?
\n
\nHe saw Him on the way to Damascus.
\n
\nQues. He surely saw the Lord personally, and not in heaven?
\n
\nJust so, and therefore it had nothing to do with His position in heaven. The Lord was in no place then at all but Paul's eye and vision.
\n
\nPaul saw Him afterwards in a trance in the temple, but these visions prove nothing as to the place He is holding in the dispensations of God.
\n
\nSome went down from Jerusalem to Antioch with a Judaising scheme. A fresh start altogether had begun at Antioch where we have the mission of Paul sent forth by the Holy Ghost, in contrast with the mere free ministry such as Stephen's, and there was thus no longer any gathering to Jerusalem.
\n
\nThe great thing that then came out was, that looked at as a centre on earth, the Jerusalem church was gone, i.e., gone from the time of Stephen's death.
\n
\n287 The Jerusalem church was not, however, given up because of Peter's opening the door to the Gentiles. Peter had followed Christ right up to the cloud - the glory; and as far as he was an eye-witness, he could say, 'The Man that you have rejected is the Man that God has exalted.' But Paul begins with a glorified Christ, and so takes another step forward; delivered from both Jews and Gentile, he knows only a glorified Christ, and saints united with this glorified Man. Paul starts on this ground, and the Holy Ghost, quite independently of Jerusalem, sends him out in keeping with his own special commission.
\n
\nA fresh difficulty arises in chapter 15.
\n
\nThese Judaisers are not sent, but they go down and require circumcision; God did not, however, allow Antioch, nor the mission to Antioch, to settle that question. Supposing they had done so, it would not have been settled at Jerusalem, and there would then have been division. So after much disputation, Paul has a revelation that he should go up, with others, to the apostles, with the result that Jerusalem gives up her title to enforce Judaism. A very gracious dealing of the Lord.
\n
\nQues. Was the apostles' ministry founded on Luke's commission?
\n
\nYes. But free ministry was not founded on any particular commission.
\n
\nThe disciples were first called Christians at Antioch, and this was, I think, by men, not by the Holy Ghost. Peter recognises the name. A Christian is a person connected with Christ. They never could have given them that name at Jerusalem from the name Messiah. Christ is a Greek word.
\n
\nAs to the history of the Acts, we now drop Peter (except in prison), and all the rest is, you may say, the history of Paul and his labours until he gets into prison.
\n
\nThey make Antioch to be three years after Paul's conversion at Damascus, and then, \"fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem.\"
\n
\nThat which was enjoined in Acts 15 had nothing to do with the law. Before the law, blood had been forbidden to Noah; as to the other matters, these were (I) faithfulness to God, and (2) faithfulness to man or woman as regards the marriage bond that God had created. Blood, idolatry, and fornication.
\n
\nIt was not a question of the law, but of God's tide; that is to say, life belonged to God, and man was not to corrupt himself as a creature. And God secured unity so far, though there always remained the difficulty with the Judaisers.
\n
\n288 Ques. The question is sometimes raised, as to whether there is any warrant for a kind of synod of elders?
\n
\nWell, in the first place, I do not suppose a synod would be bold enough to say, \"It seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us.\" I have no idea of this representing all the churches and so acting; it was head of the Jewish system.
\n
\nQues. Do you suppose the apostles and elders were alone?
\n
\nWe read of none but apostles and elders; but the letter is addressed from all (verses 6 and 23). The people had been disputing ever so long before the apostles said anything. Peter and Paul were wise to let them expend themselves first.
\n
\nQues. How did it seem good to the Holy Ghost?
\n
\nThe apostles had authority and could say so; \"the Spirit of truth . . . shall testify,\" and so \"ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.\" It was thus through the Holy Ghost they bore their witness. The Holy Ghost is sent down to bear witness of what Christ is in heaven, and the apostles bore witness of what He was on earth.
\n
\n\"It seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us.\" I do not think this was their assembly, but what was done before. The letter was written in the name of the church, but the decree was in the name of the apostles and elders, and God bore them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost.
\n
\nIn James' citation (and he is quoting from the Septuagint), the point is, \"all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called\"; they were therefore not to trouble the Gentiles. As for \"the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down,\" this has nothing to do with his object in quoting the passage.
\n
\nPaul's ministry continues until we come to the elders at Miletus (chap. 20); and there, in a certain sense, he gives up his ministry though he might still preach. And he commends the elders to God, etc.
\n
\nQues. Can you link verse 21 with verse 28, putting verses 22-27 in a parenthesis, so as to connect the name of Jesus with the words, \"His own blood\"?
\n
\nWell, I am satisfied God has purchased the church with the blood of One who belonged specially to Himself. If you take the 'editors,' you do not get \"God\" in that sentence at all. Athanasius condemned altogether the expression, 'blood of God.' My own conviction is that the 'editors' are right. In order to avoid the 'blood of God,' some have put in Kurios, the Lord, there.
\n
\n289 Ques. Paul preached the \"kingdom of God\" everywhere, though he does not here enter into the full doctrine of it?
\n
\nThat is so. God is setting up a kingdom. The Church generally has lost the idea of the kingdom of God; people talk about 'being saved,' and say very little about the kingdom of God. We find an important testimony here, namely, that the loss of the apostles would leave an opening, in a way that did not exist before, for perverse men and wolves to enter in (a ground for watchfulness!) who would not spare the flock. There, is what the giving up of apostolic ministry leads to. In applying to the Jews the prophecy of Isaiah 6, the apostle Paul realty closes up the ministry of the gospel to them.
\n
\nThe gospel goes into prison, and the Jews have their judgment sealed on them. The earthly thing had been merged in Paul's ministry, in which we see a special power raising him up with a special commission. But this ends in prison at Rome.
\n
\nIt is curious to notice that the church at Rome was founded, with Paul in prison and not in free apostolic ministry; and to me it is a very solemn thing to see where it all ends. I hope the Lord is keeping the present testimony unto His coming, and that because it is, in a sense, a testimony to failure - that the Church is in ruins; for then there wilt be no pretension to power, no apostles, no elders. The Lord has blown upon pretending to constitute anything, yet He is just as faithful as ever to minister to the need of the Church. It is for us to be faithful in the condition in which we are, but in accordance with that condition. There are two reasons for desiring the Lord to come; an affectionate desire for Himself, and seeing the state of things is so far from His glory, that He would come and put things right in a heavenly way. And yet it is just the time for us to be strong. I believe we have as much to lean on as Paul had, though we have not the same things to do. It is a time, I believe, of very great blessing if we are but content to follow Scripture with a single eye; but people get muddled up with the crooked ways going on around them.
\n
\nI have sometimes seen upon a mountain that there is but one path which is simple and right; and a comfort indeed it is to know it, though there are ever so many crooked ones going over the heath. That is just where we are now. If a person has the right path, he does not need to inquire about the fifty wrong ones. \"Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.\" If I look on, I see Christ, and then all is easy, and with my eyes on Him, I go straight.
\n
\n290 A broad path means a broad conscience, not a broad heart.
\n
\nWe have a narrow path, but it is a known path, and a straight one.
\n","processed":1,"summary":"As to the difference between the opening out of our position, in Romans, Colossians, and Ephesians, it may be well to note that, in Romans, we are dead with Christ; in Colossians, we are risen with Him; and in Ephesians, we are dead and risen with Him, and seated in the heavenlies in Him. Ques. Why ","published":1,"contents":null,"content_processed":0,"created_at":null,"updated_at":null,"author":{"id":218,"status":1,"author":"John Nelson Darby","slug":"John-Nelson-Darby","date":"1800-1882","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/c\/ca\/JohnNelsonDarby.jpg","description":"

John Nelson Darby (1800 - 1882)<\/h1>\nwas an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism and Futurism (\"the Rapture\" in the English vernacular). Pre-tribulation rapture theology was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, and further popularized in the United States in the early 20th century by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible.\n

\nHe produced a translation of the Bible based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby. Darby traveled widely in Europe and Britain in the 1830s and 1840s, and established many Brethren assemblies. He gave 11 significant lectures in Geneva in 1840 on the hope of the church (L'attente actuelle de l'\u00e9glise). These established his reputation as a leading interpreter of biblical prophecy.
<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John Nelson Darby was an Anglo-Irish evangelist, and an influential figure among the original Plymouth Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism. He produced a translation of the Bible based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John Nelson Darby graduated Trinity College, Dublin, in 1819 and was called to the Irish bar about 1825; but soon gave up law practice, took orders, and served a curacy in Wicklow until, in 1827, doubts as to the Scriptural authority for church establishments led him to leave the institutional church altogether and meet with a company of like-minded persons in Dublin.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Darby traveled widely in Europe and Britain in the 1830s and 1840s, and established many Brethren assemblies. These established his reputation as a leading interpreter of biblical prophecy. He was also a Bible Commentator. He declined however to contribute to the compilation of the Revised Version of the King James Bible.<\/p>","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=category&cid=336;http:\/\/articles.ochristian.com\/preacher336-1.shtml","selected":1,"selected_reason":null,"article_amount":535,"quote_count":7,"book_count":197,"wiki_summary":"

John Nelson Darby<\/b> was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism and Futurism. Pre-tribulation rapture theology was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, and further popularized in the United States in the early 20th century by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible.<\/p>","wiki_url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Nelson_Darby","wiki_name":"John Nelson Darby","goodreads_link":"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/2082721.John_Nelson_Darby?from_search=true&from_srp=true","names":null}},{"id":15657,"author_name":"John Nelson Darby","author_id":218,"title":"The Acts of the Apostles - Part 2","slug":"the-acts-of-the-apostles-part-2","scriptures":"Acts 3 - 17;Acts 5:12;Acts 2;Acts 4;Acts 3:21;Acts 5;Acts 7;Acts 7:2;Isaiah 53;Acts 8:22;Acts 26;Acts 8:16;Acts 11;Acts 13;Acts 13:47;Isaiah 49:6;Acts 14;Acts 20;Acts 15;2Tim. 4:11;Acts 14:26;Acts 16;Acts 17;Acts 18-20;Acts 16;Acts 20;Acts 20:21;Romans 3;Matthew 24;John 21:22;2Timothy 3;Matthew 18:17;John 4;Acts 2;Acts 20:11","type":"","topic":"","content":"
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\n100 Acts 3 - 17
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\nWhat is striking here is that, after the setting up, in a sense, of the church, and saying \"Save yourselves from this untoward generation,\" Peter then addresses himself to Israel as such, and tells them \"Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,\" not \"when\" but \"so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.\" God had raised up His Son Jesus, and now He deals with the nation and that after having called upon them to separate from the nation. God is still dealing with Israel on the ground of Israel. In verse 13 he says \"the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers hath glorified His Son Jesus,\" he goes as far as that.
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\n101The prophets, the covenant, and the fathers are all brought in, in connection with this fulfilment? (Ver. 25.)
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\nYes. The heavens must receive Him until the times of the restitution of all things; and that is still going on in fact. He proposes to them in this way the return of Christ; and he says, \"I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.\" But it was supplementary dealing with Israel on the ground of the intercession of Christ, \"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.\"
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\nBut then the apostles are not allowed even to finish their speech, and Israel rejects the supplementary grace; \"as they spake unto the people the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people.\"
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\nIn verse 26 does \"raised up\" refer to the fact of the Lord's coming amongst the Jews?
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\nI have no doubt it does.
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\n\"Sent him to bless you,\" is that by the ministry of the apostles?
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\nIt takes in Christ's life on earth as well.
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\nIs it \"God was in Christ reconciling\"?
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\nAh, that is \"the world;\" here it is, \"ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers.\" This is an address to Israel, when Christ was gone, to say that He would come back again if they repented; as indeed He will when they do repent. But the priests stop their mouths altogether, and tell them that they must not preach; and then they say they must obey God rather than man. The priests let them go, and they go to their own company; but they have got their own company to go to, notice that.
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\n102 Then we get another manifestation of the power of the Holy Ghost and its effect in making them all of one heart and of one mind too. (Acts 5:12.)
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\nHad Peter this in his mind in Acts 2?
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\nNo; there it was \"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,\" and \"save yourselves from this untoward generation.\" Here the return of Christ promised on repentance; but Acts 4 is present christian testimony, the other was supplementary grace.
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\nWere they thoroughly given up until the last chapter?
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\nWell, this was outside Jerusalem.
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\nThere is no offer that Christ should return after this?
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\nNo, not at all.
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\nWould you explain Acts 3:21?
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\nIt is what the prophets had stated, that is all. Nothing more is to be restored than they had said should be. In Acts 5 you get evil coming in inside; then you find the power of judgment, and they fall down dead; and fear comes upon all within and without. It was the manifestation of God's presence encouraging His disciples. Ananias and Sapphira were lying to God as in the assembly, and the Lord's presence shewed itself in judgment.
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\n103 Does Peter allude to this when he says judgment begins at the house of God?
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\nNo; though it is the same principle. Then comes another character of evil - murmuring about the temporal provisions; and the seven are appointed. An important principle is connected with this, and that is the free action of the Holy Ghost shewn even in Jerusalem, in Stephen, and afterwards in Philip too. It was not apostles merely bearing witness, but you now see this free action in those who had the serving of tables.
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\nI suppose Judaism was not thoroughly judged until Jerusalem was destroyed?
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\nWell, not externally; but the patience of God still went on with them. You do not get the closing of all that, until the Epistle to the Hebrews and the going outside the camp.
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\nIs the Epistle to the Hebrews supplementary and lingering?
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\nUp to going outside the camp, and then there is no lingering after that.
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\nWhat is \"durst no man join himself to them\"?
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\nThe people magnified them, heard them gladly, but not the grand folks, it would not do for them. On the contrary, it was they who put the apostles in prison. And then comes something more - angelic power is employed to minister to the heirs of salvation; the Lord sends His angel who opens the prison doors, and the apostles come out and preach as before. That is a wonderful display of power. \"Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.\" And Peter testifies to the council, \"We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, and hanged on tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost.\" Then God has providential things ready for them by the hand of Gamaliel. You get our New Testament Joshua here.
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\n104 At what point does the primitive church lose its full power of blessing?
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\nIt gradually died down; though you get a point in \"I know this that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.\" Then comes a question whether the apostles did not fail in staying at Jerusalem, because the Lord had said, \"When they persecute you in one city, flee ye to another,\" and they did not do so.
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\nYou never find a church among the Gentiles in such a state of outward attraction as at Jerusalem?
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\nNo. But you get here at Jerusalem, Ananias and Sapphira trying to deceive the Holy Ghost; and then the Hellenists murmuring, and so on. Then comes this action of the Holy Ghost in Stephen, preaching and confounding his hearers; and they bring him up to the council.
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\nMurmurings soon came in?
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\nBut the murmurings are met by the Spirit of God. First, there is a display of blessedness, everybody giving up what he has; then comes in this murmuring, about it all; and then power by the Holy Ghost to meet that. And power goes on in testimony all the while, and in Acts 7 Stephen is put to death, and that closes that scene. A person is sent to heaven, and that closes up Christ's coming back, because He has got some one gone up there, and that begins another thing entirely. In his speech in chapter 7, Stephen goes through all the dealings of God from Abraham down, from beginning to end, and shews the result as to man. Really the cross had finished everything. Abraham was the beginning of all the dealings of God; there were no dealings before, but a testimony only, not positive institutions or dealings {nor indeed promise to fallen man, though in the judgment on the serpent a revelation of Christ which faith could lay hold of), and that testimony ended with the flood. Then in the beginning of the world, after setting up authority in it in Noah, when that declined, God calls out a person who thereupon becomes the father of the faithful, he is the father of the race of God, just as you had the father of a wicked race in Adam, but in Abraham you get the root of the olive-tree.
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\n105 Well, Stephen begins there, and gives the whole history of Israel, summing it up with this, they received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it; their fathers persecuted the prophets, and slew those who told before of the coming of the just One; and of Him they themselves had now been the betrayers and the murderers, \"ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, as your fathers did, so do ye.\" You have there the law broken, the prophets killed, Christ crucified, and the Holy Ghost resisted. And so that chapter is the turning-point of Israel's, and indeed of man's history.
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\nWhat are we to understand by the Lord standing at the right hand of God?
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\n106 I believe He had not sat down to say it was all over with Israel, until they had killed Stephen. It is a figure of the thing. The whole scene is exceedingly beautiful: the stones are flying about Stephen, and he kneels down and prays for those who throw them, \"Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.\" You see in him the effect of the perception of Christ in glory; Stephen is formed into the same image. The heaven is opened too; it was opened on Christ at His baptism, but then heaven looked down on Him as perfect, here Stephen looks up into heaven. The difference is total as to the person.
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\nWhy in Acts 7:2 does Stephen call God \"the God of glory\"?
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\nThat was the natural title as to Israel. And here it is that you first meet Saul. We have been tracing the rejection of the truth, not only in a humbled Christ, but in a continued course of history which is over now, and that is where Saul comes in; he is the expression of the condition of man, who is an open enemy to the very last possible expression of God.
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\nAnd that is why he calls himself the chief of sinners?
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\nNo doubt. Well then, persecution arose and God allowed it. And Philip's service in Samaria follows. Then the offer of Simon Magus to buy the power of giving the Holy Ghost. Philip is a beautiful character of promptness and readiness; he is sent off, when in the full tide of service in Samaria, into the desert; he purchased to himself a good degree and great boldness in the faith.
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\nWhat was the character of his preaching?
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\nJesus.
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\n107 How far does that go?
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\nTo the eunuch. He explained Isaiah 53. The eunuch asks, \"Of whom speaketh the prophet this, of himself or of some other man?\" and Philip began at that scripture, it goes on even to the glory, for you get \"he shall divide the spoil with the strong.\"
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\nWhat is \"the kingdom of God\" in the Acts?
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\nIt was the great truth that the kingdom of God was come now, in the form of the kingdom of heaven.
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\nWould preaching the second coming include the kingdom of God?
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\nIt brings it in. Preaching the kingdom is not dealing with the world merely, but it was setting up a kingdom.
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\nWhat is the meaning of \"ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel until the Son of man be come\"?
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\nThey will not have gone over them until He comes again.
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\nWas Simon's administrative forgiveness when he was baptized?
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\nIt was external, and there was nothing real in any part of it; but he had the form of it.
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\nBut the judgment of him was not brought out until afterwards?
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\nJust so. He let the truth out when he saw the power working, that he thought it would be a fine thing to have that. And the apostle says, Thy money perish with thee, thou hast no part or lot in the matter.
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\nAre the Samaritans here treated as a separate class?
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\nRather so.
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\n108 They do not appear to have made the same difficulty about them as they did about the Gentiles?
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\nNo, you see the Lord had been in Samaria.
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\nIt speaks strongly for the unity that the apostles did not say, They are only Samaritans, let them alone?
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\nIn Acts 8:22 he says, \"Pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee,\" what is that?
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\nPossibly he might get forgiven if he bowed to God; it does not exclude him from hope; that is all.
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\nThere is something in that word, \"his life is taken from the earth;\" was it not important at that moment to press that?
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\nThat is what he was reading, there was no pressing it more than any other part.
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\nIt was going from Jerusalem that this took place?
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\nYes, he was a proselyte. So now we get Jews, Samaritans, and proselytes, not Gentiles quite. And then we get Saul, the apostle of what brought final judgment on man; by final, I mean, after God had done everything, and Christ was utterly rejected.
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\nAnd the whole testimony is rejected from the earth.
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\nYes. And Saul's place is an exceedingly special and peculiar one. Afterwards you get Peter receiving the Gentiles.
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\nWhat marks Paul's place?
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\nHe tells us in Acts 26 \"I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness, both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee.\" Paul was neither a Jew nor a Gentile, but taken out of both and connected with Christ in the glory. Sovereign grace had taken out this person, guilty as he was of final hostility - hostility to the very end, and in the moment when he was occupied in carrying out this violent hostility of man against God, notwithstanding all that God could do in grace, he is taken out, is identified with God's servants, and sent out in service; \"delivering thee from\" is really \"taking thee out of,\" so that he was neither a Jew nor a Gentile. He did not even know Christ after the flesh. And you get a new truth at Saul's conversation, in \"Why persecutest thou me?\" \"I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:\" that is, all the Christians were Christ Himself, in Christ's estimate of them. As you have \"so also is Christ.\" The whole mystery is involved if not developed in that word \"Me.\"
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\n109 How do you understand the Lord's appearing to him?
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\nIt was because he was to be a witness for Him.
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\nDid Paul forget this when he said, \"I am a pharisee, the son of a pharisee\"?
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\nI suppose so. It is not like his counting it all dross and dung at any rate.
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\nWas Paul right in saying, \"Is it lawful to scourge a Roman\"?
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\nWell, I do not know that there is any objection there.
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\nAnd at Philippi?
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\nAt Philippi he was right; but his using the plea that he was a Roman sent him to Rome.
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\n110 Did you mean just now that Paul was put into any other position than that of a believer in Christ?
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\nNo; but he was put into the position of a vessel and witness of the truth specially.
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\nIn what peculiar sense was he entirely a heavenly man?
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\nBecause he was neither a Jew nor a Gentile, and so totally different from what went before.
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\nWas he more heavenly than any other christian man?
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\nPractically he was; but not as to true position. If I receive Paul's testimony, I get into Paul's place. He is a special vessel of testimony; God might have used other instruments as well, and did, and they preached . . . . by the Holy Ghost.
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\n\"Filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ,\" what is that?
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\nPaul had his share, and a special share too, of the afflictions of Christ. Christ had to suffer for His love to the church, and so had Paul.
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\nPaul says that by revelation the mystery was made known unto him, but was it not revealed by the Spirit to the \"apostles and prophets\"?
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\nI do not doubt others had it revealed. But the first time Paul preached, he preached that Jesus was the Son of God; now Peter never preached that once, so far as we get in scripture.
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\nDid the other apostles get their knowledge of the mystery from Paul?
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\nI do not know. Peter knew Paul's writings, and thought some of them hard to be understood. In Galatians \"privately\" is what Paul communicated to them when alone. We get great truths shewn out in him, and this remarkably, that sovereign grace takes him up when in the extreme of hostility against Christ, and makes him the instrument of declaring sovereign grace to those who were in that condition themselves. . . . His opposition was a terrible thing; conscience told him he ought to do it, and all the religious authorities told him too; and then he found that he was fighting against the Lord of glory. He found out that all that was right in him (in one sense it was right) had just set him to destroy Christ. It was a complete smash - an utter smash - not of a wicked man at all, but a smash of a man in his most cultivated capacity; and the man was gone too. It was sovereign grace entirely above everything.
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\n111 It seems to have always characterized Paul's ministry - this revelation of the mystery?
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\nYes. . . .Then as soon as Paul is called, we get back to Peter, with not only the power still going on, but all Lydda and Saron turned to the Lord, and then, though Paul is called the apostle of the Gentiles, Peter is used to bring in the first Gentile.
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\nWhy was that?
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\nBecause it must all be brought in in unity; if Paul had started apart, then it would have been a Gentile church, as well as a Jewish church, and that would not do at all.
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\nPeter was naturally averse to going to the Gentiles?
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\nYes. You do not get unity at first, but blessing for Gentiles in itself.
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\nIs this Peter's having the \"keys\"?
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\nAnd the Holy Ghost is given them too?
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\n112 After the testimony of a crucified Christ and faith in Him. . . . You must get blood before you get oil, and the oil may come immediately after the blood, as in the case of the leper. When I am cleansed by the blood of Christ, then the Holy Ghost can come and dwell in me.
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\n________
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\nWhen you come to understand and know the condition of man, you will find there are no promises belonging to him, any more than righteousness. Wherever you have promises, you will find man in some measure owned. There are no promises to man as man, at least Gentiles have none. That is what I see in the Syrophenician woman, and in what she was brought to own.\" \"It is not meet to take the children's bread, and cast it to the dogs.\" She acknowledges that is true, but \"the dogs eat the crumbs,\" she says - takes the dog's place, and looks to God's sovereign love to send to those who have no title, and then gets everything she wanted; but as long as she talked about the \"Son of David,\" she got nothing.
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\nWhat is \"the Holy Ghost fell on all\"?
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\nPeter says it is the same thing happened to them - the Gentiles - as did to us at the beginning.
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\nIn Acts 8:16, it says, \"for as yet he was fallen upon none of them\"?
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\nThat is the Samaritans. And now you have Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles, all made partakers of the Holy Ghost.
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\nJust a word again about the water, and blood, and oil: do you put the washing with water as the new birth?
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\nYes; then the sprinkling with blood, the remission of sins.
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\n113 And an interval between that and the oil?
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\nThere often is.
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\nAnd an interval between water and blood?
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\nWell, there may be, but not in a general way so much, at least, where Christ is preached. And here the oil is at once: \"they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.\" Cornelius was a converted man, and now he is more than that, he is \"saved\" by Peter's word, and the Holy Ghost fell on him.
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\nWas he not a Christian until then?
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\nA person is not entitled to be called a Christian until he has the third thing; \"if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of him.\"
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\nIf we have no promises, what is meant by \"all the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ Jesus\"? And Peter speaks of - \"whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises?
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\nThat is the second Man, \"yea and amen in Christ Jesus.\" And Christians have promises of course. But not the first man - not Gentiles, I said.
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\nWhat is the meaning of the place being shaken?
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\nIt shewed the power in an outward way.
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\nThere is no mention of the Holy Ghost in the case of the Ethiopian?
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\nNo; but he went on his way rejoicing, and to this day the Abyssinians are half Jews and half Christians.
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\nWhat of Cornelius himself?
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\nHis alms, it says, came up before God, and his prayers; and he was a devout man. He may have heard of Christ, for this thing was not done in a corner; anyway he must have known of Christ, much or little, but he did not know the gospel, as we call it. It is important to see on this question to notice that the word \"saved\" has a force which is not generally given to it. Take the word \"delivered,\" and then Israel was not delivered until they had passed the Red Sea, they knew they were to be, but were not really.
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\n114 Would you call it a transition state?
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\nYou may call it so, or what you please, but they were not saved. Only remember, I do not go and preach about a transition state to a mass of supposed unbelievers. . . . Strictly, salvation is not believed in. Conversion is. Quickening is. But that a person is taken out of the state he is in naturally, in bondage in the flesh, and delivered from it, is not. And that is \"saved.\"
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\nThen what is the difference between conversion and salvation?
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\nConversion is when a man turns to God, through the Spirit of God working in Him.
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\nWhat is conviction? Is that there?
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\nIt would include that, and be conversion too, if the will is bowed. But salvation is positive deliverance from the state the man is in. The prodigal son was converted when he turned and came to his father; but he had not Christ on him until he had the best robe. He would be glad before if he could but get a corner in the house.
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\nIn Acts 11 you get the gospel preached first to the Jews, and then some spoke to the Gentiles. Then Barnabas gets hold of Paul, and that is where the new ministry comes in. The church at Antioch is started.
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\n\"As far as Antioch,\" the distance did not hinder them.
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\n115 Were Grecians Gentiles?
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\nHellenes were, but Hellenists were not. Here the whole point is that they were Gentiles.
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\nYou have faith there before conversion, they \"believed and turned to the Lord\"?
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\nYes, you always get belief first in that way. If they did not believe, they could not turn to Him. Then we get persecution and other things. The Lord delivers Peter out of the prison, but Herod cuts off James' head. The first persecution was by the chief priests, but this is a royal persecution. In the dealing with Herod we get the government of God outside the church. This is the end of Peter.
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\nIn Acts 13 we start from Antioch. There you get the public testimony with this important element, that they are sent forth by the Holy Ghost. Christ had called Paul, but now you get the immediate action of the Spirit for carrying out his ministry.
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\nWould \"ministering to the Lord\" be worship?
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\nPartly so, I suppose; partly worshipping and partly praying, they were together before the Lord. It would be like Israel, they kept the charge of the Lord until the cloud was taken up, or came down.
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\nIs there anything special in Saul's name being changed?
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\nWell, I believe he had got among the Gentiles, and Paul is a Latin name . . . .
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\nIn Acts 13:47 Paul takes Isaiah 49:6 for a command; it is really a prophecy spoken for the Lord.
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\nIn Acts 14 \"elders\" are chosen, and this is the first intimation of that arrangement.
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\nIs it \"ordain?\"
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\nThe word really means choose, but in ecclesiastical Greek, to ordain. Calvin put in the words, \"by the advice of the assembly.\" In chapter 1 the translators put in \"ordain,\" simply from their own views. The etymological meaning of the word, \"by show of hands,\" is quite lost.
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\n116 What about these elders now?
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\nWell, if you want them, you must first get me the church, and then apostles too. In Acts 20 Paul speaks of \"the flock of God, over whom the Holy Ghost has made you overseers.\" If you were to choose elders amongst you now, you would be just a little sect with its own voluntary arrangements. Christ was the source of authority: He appointed apostles, apostles appointed elders. Authority came down, never went up. There is no kind of choosing by the church in that way in scripture. There is scripture for subjection to those who labour in the word, and so on; that is on moral ground. In Hebrews and Thessalonians you have, \"esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake.\"
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\nBut to appoint them needed either an apostle or an apostle's delegate?
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\nYes.
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\nHow do you understand that \"from themselves\" grievous wolves should arise?
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\nI do not confine that to the elders, though such might come even from them.
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\nIn Acts 15 we get the question of what was to be done with the Gentiles - were they to be circumcised?
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\nAntioch and Jerusalem were tending towards a split; now, if Paul had settled it, each would have gone on its own way, and we should have had two churches. God hindered that, and made Jerusalem set the Gentiles free; so keeping up the unity practically. Then, as they went through the cities, they delivered the decrees to them for to keep.
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\n117 There is one verse that I should like to get at the bottom of, and that is, \"it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us.\" What is the force of that?
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\nI do not know that it is not Cornelius there.
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\nWas it that in the assembly the Holy Ghost spoke?
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\nIn verse 25 the Holy Ghost is not mentioned; and in verse 23 you have apostles, elders, and brethren. They were decrees of the apostles and elders. . . . You see the Holy Ghost had let in a Gentile without making him a Jew . . . . I see one very wise thing; the apostles let all the brethren tire themselves with discussing, and then they (the apostles) come in lively. James quotes a passage, the scope of which has nothing to say to the matter - one that is in the Septuagint - \"that the residue of men might seek after the Lord,\" but which in the Hebrew is, \"that they may possess the remnant of Edom.\"
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\nWhat is it quoted for?
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\nFor one single word, \"the Gentiles, on whom my name is called;\" that is all that he quoted it for.
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\nWhat is the principle of a decree of the council?
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\nMerely that there were certain things they would do right to attend to. There were three things - the proper claims of God; the relationship of man and wife, purity in man; and then, that life belonged to God.
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\nJews in every city?
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\nYes, that there are plenty everywhere to plead for Moses. But spiritual intelligence will take up the defence of blood. It is not law only, but before it.
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\n118 Are these binding upon us now?
\n
\nNot in the shape of a decree now; but it is clear enough as to two of them. As to things offered to idols, if a thing were sold in the shambles I should ask no questions about it.
\n
\nPaul's higher truth could not abrogate this?
\n
\nNo, certainly not. And as to fornication, in Thessalonians Paul presses the same thing; but it was ingrained in their habits, they were so degraded. Then we get Barnabas and Paul disputing. I do not doubt, after all, God's hand was in it, because Paul had to stand alone in the place he takes up. Barnabas takes Mark. John Mark, was sister's son to Barnabas, and so he was not above connection with nature as Paul was; that was the secret and therefore he would not be a suitable person to be with Paul.
\n
\nI suppose it is distinct that the Holy Ghost was with Paul?
\n
\nYes, but he may have lost his temper about it. It is beautiful to see how, afterwards, he says (2 Tim. 4:11), \"Take Mark, and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry.\"
\n
\nThe brethren recommend Paul to the grace of God?
\n
\nYes. He is ordained twice; here, and in Acts 14:26, we read what it meant, \"Whence they had been recommended to the grace of God.\" It was laymen ordaining an apostle, if you take it as ordaining, and done twice over. It is very simple if you really take it as stated; they had what we should call a prayer-meeting about it, and that might be done a dozen times.
\n
\n119 Would there be any danger in doing it again now?
\n
\nNo; doing it honestly.
\n
\nWhat of laying on of hands?
\n
\nLaying on of hands was always used as a sign of blessing.
\n
\nIn Acts 16 we come to an important principle for evangelists, and that is, that while they are called to preach the gospel to every creature, there is Christ's authority too for being here or there, as He sees fit; while their commission is universal, their direction is particular. Paul was not to go into Asia or Bithynia then (though he was allowed to go into Asia afterwards); but he is directed by a dream, and then says, \"assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us.\" When he comes to Macedonia with Luke, then we get \"we\" for the first time. And we get the wisdom of God needed to defeat Satan. You see how subtle Satan is; if Paul had accepted this woman's testimony, this Pythoness, he would have accepted the devil; and if he put the spirit out of the Pythoness, then he raised the devil against him. And he does nothing for some time, and then he is stirred in spirit, and cannot help himself. Another thing: though he was very glad to preach in the synagogue, when he comes to Philippi, he goes and sits down by the river side with a number of poor women, and that is the commencement of one of the brightest churches we have in scripture. He does not put out any handbills or such things. He goes to the Jewesses. Lydia was a proselyte. And this was the commencement of the work in Europe.
\n
\nWhy did not Paul cast the evil spirit out at once?
\n
\nWell, it is evident he avoided meddling with it for many days; at last he cannot stand the pretended co-operation of Satan, and then he arouses, and casts it out.
\n
\n120 Will Satan co-operate now-a-days?
\n
\nTo be sure he will, if you will let him.
\n
\nNot in the same manifest way?
\n
\nManifest! how so, how manifest then, except to the spiritual perception of the apostle? Many an infidel would come and work with you now, in some respects, if you would let him. It teaches us how important it is to see what we accept in the way of help in God's service.
\n
\nIn Acts 17 it is all Paul's ministry. And then you get him at Athens. Then you have Paul's defence, not sermon, from verse 22. He had preached (v. 18) Jesus and the resurrection.
\n
\nHe preached repentance, and that characterized his gospel preaching?
\n
\nOnly you must not call this preaching. Paul is here brought to Areopagus to answer for himself.
\n
\nActs 18-20
\n
\nThis is general history of Paul's service; and we may see how cast on the Lord we are in work. Corinth was a frightful place of luxurious wickedness, and he continued there a year and six months. Then he must by all means keep the feast at Jerusalem, and he goes away, and through Galatia. I suppose at this time the Epistle to the Galatians had hardly been written. You get his first preaching in Acts 16, and now he is confirming the disciples.
\n
\n121 Is Apollos introduced here for any special purpose?
\n
\nI do not know, except that he was a very eminent labourer afterwards. He went over to Achaia, so that they could say, \"I am of Paul, and I of Apollos,\" there. Then Paul went to Ephesus, and there was an uproar. We do not know when he went to Crete, though it is supposed that it was when he was at Ephesus. Just after that uproar he wrote the Epistle to the Corinthians; then Titus came back with the answer to the first letter, and Paul wrote the second. It tells us he was three years at Ephesus.
\n
\nWas this trouble in Asia, what he alludes to in 2 Corinthians?
\n
\nYes, only it must have gone further.
\n
\nIt says \"disputing?\"
\n
\nWell, it was discussing the things of God; as an old term disputing was used in that way, not with bad feeling.
\n
\nIn chapter 19 we get very distinctly the Holy Ghost consequent upon believing - \"Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?\" And in Acts 20 he calls the elders of Ephesus, and shews them that all would go thoroughly bad after his decease. \"Of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things,\" etc. It is the religious body that is the spring of persecution; so at last, no doubt, the beast kills people, but the blood of the saints is found at Babylon . . . .
\n
\nWhat are the chief points in his address to the elders?
\n
\nThere is, first, the gospel of the grace of God; then the kingdom of God, and then the whole counsel of God.
\n
\n122 What is that last?
\n
\nIt would have special reference to what Paul had to communicate. . . . It was not that man was a moral being, and so on; it was much more objective than subjective; but the effect is to produce the subjective state, and the subjective state is always formed by an object.
\n
\nIt is not preaching about repentance that produces it?
\n
\nNo; but still you must preach that they repent; and it is repentance towards God too.
\n
\nThat is stated before \"faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ?''
\n
\nBut that sentence (Acts 20:21) is abused in a violent way, putting repentance before faith; if it is faith in the full efficacy of Christ's work, of course it can, and will come after repentance; it is impossible that repentance can go before faith, because when a man goes with a testimony, if it is not believed, it produces no effect.
\n
\nIs not this the first historical notice of the great deflection of the church?
\n
\nI suppose so. The Epistle to the Thessalonians was written before this; and the second to the Thessalonians was written after Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
\n
\nSuppose a person took the ground that this was limited to Ephesus, how would you meet it?
\n
\nWhy, there is nothing about Ephesus in it. Paul is speaking in a general way, \"after my decease.\" And you get the same things in Peter. It is Paul's ministry closing - that is the point.
\n
\nBut is it not fatal to all apostolic succession?
\n
\nYes, entirely, so called. But I get apostolic succession in scripture, and that is in the binding and loosing which is conferred on two or three gathered together in Christ's name; and that is the only thing the power is passed on to. But here, in the vulgar sense of apostolic succession, it is positively denied.
\n
\n123 Do you think that the mystery had been fully revealed to Paul at this time?
\n
\nI do, because he had written to the Romans before this, and there refers to it. You could scarcely have the whole counsel of God declared without the mystery being in it.
\n
\nCould you call that view of apostolic succession uninterrupted?
\n
\nWell, no, not quite, because it must come to \"two or three.\" It is remarkable how literally this has been fulfilled . . . . It is given when they are a remnant getting out of an old system. Then the Lord tells them to count the cost, etc.
\n
\nOught an evangelist now to preach as Christ preached?
\n
\nYou never get the gospel from Christ at all; you get it practically stated, but His is the gospel of the kingdom.
\n
\nBut you get \"salvation,\" and \"go in peace?\"
\n
\nYes, to one individual, but that is not His preaching about the country.
\n
\nBut the gospel now is the gospel of God?
\n
\nYes, it is God's glad tidings.
\n
\nIs that practically now, \"He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life?\"
\n
\nYes.
\n
\nDid people who were quickened on earth know Christ's salvation?
\n
\n124 No, nor the 120; at least Peter, the first of them, did not.
\n
\nBut \"thy sins are forgiven thee,\" to the man?
\n
\nThat was no \"gospel\" at all; it was administration on earth. I do not understand any effort to shew that the Lord could preach what is our gospel; how could He preach His own death and resurrection for salvation as an accomplished thing? You get some of the truth prophetically, in a way, as to His death, and so on, but that is all.
\n
\nBut you find in Romans 3 that the ground is now established, \"to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness?\"
\n
\nExactly; that is the very thing I am saying. There is no formula or rule as to preaching, but, taking all things together, here Paul characterizes the whole of his preaching by these two words, \"repentance\" and \"faith.\"
\n
\nIs \"the word of his grace\" the written word?
\n
\nWell, wherever they could get it, this was partly written, but not all; it would be all of it when it came. When you get decay brought out fully in Timothy, then it is, \"Continue in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them,\" and \"the holy scriptures.\"
\n
\nIs it \"God,\" or \"the word,\" that is able to build you up?
\n
\nI think it is the word of His grace, but it is not without God - I am sure of that.
\n
\nAnd no state of ruin can at all hinder the full blessing of that?
\n
\nNo, but on the contrary, it is the state of ruin that throws us entirely upon it. Only, as I said, in Timothy, I must know \"of whom\" I have learned, and \"the scriptures.\" Cyprian says, if I get a channel choked from a spring, I go back and see if the spring has failed, or it the channel is choked. Chrysostom says of Matthew 24, that flying to the hills and mountains is flying to the scriptures. Not that I know much of the Fathers, for when I began to read them, I found them such trash, I could not go on.
\n
\n125 How soon was church authority insisted on?
\n
\nIn the second and third centuries; it grew up gradually. It was rather official authorities at first than the church.
\n
\nDid Paul write the last of all?
\n
\nJohn was the last writer, not Paul; all John's writings, so far as known, were after Paul's. There has been a controversy about the date of the Revelation, but, according to the most received evidence, it was thirty years after Paul: at least it was after Paul was killed. That is why the Lord says of John, \"If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee.\" He was the one who watched over the church until the last. Many learned Christians have put John's gospel as the last thing written.
\n
\nWhat coming did the Lord refer to in that John 21:22?
\n
\nHis own coming again.
\n
\nNot the destruction of Jerusalem?
\n
\nThe destruction of Jerusalem had nothing to do with Christ's coming; that was the judicial action of setting aside the people on earth. Morally it was done before, so that there was nothing left after that but his return. And the Lord says, Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled. I think it is most important to notice that passage in 2 Timothy 3: \"In the last days perilous times shall come: men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.\" And then he refers Timothy, as we have said, to the things he has learned; and from a child Timothy had known the holy scriptures. John says, \"He that knoweth God heareth us, he that is not of God heareth not us; hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.\"
\n
\n126 Then it is by means of the scriptures we are to know the truth?
\n
\nI do not know how else. You cannot hear them (the writers) so you must read them. The principle of church authority is gone in \"the seven churches;\" there I am not called to hear what the church says, but I am to listen to what the Spirit judges about the church.
\n
\nWhat is \"hear the church,\" Matthew 18:17?
\n
\nThat is the assembly in discipline, not about doctrine at all, or anything of that kind. It is not for teaching - the church does not teach, the church is taught. Teachers teach, apostles teach, and the gifts the Lord has given. Take away this horrid word \"church,\" and say assembly; then how can the assembly teach? I do not know a more mischievous word than that word \"church.\" If the church were teaching, you would have a hundred people talking together.
\n
\nThey say \"a teaching body?\"
\n
\n127 Ah, the teaching body of the church, says the Romanist, and that comes to the clergy.
\n
\nThe \"pillar and ground of the truth?\"
\n
\nThe church confesses the truth, and so is the pillar and ground of the truth, but it does not teach. Suppose I were to say here to Mr. O. \"Now I cannot believe you, 'O.' until Mr. B. guarantees what you say.\" What would that prove? Just this, that I do not believe Mr. O. at all, I should be believing B., not O. And if I do not believe what is in the word until the church says it is right, I do not believe the word at all, but the church . . . . I am sure I am very thankful to have been brought up to confide in the word; but if you come to real power, then you never believe in the word, but by its power over your own conscience. I remember a priest saying to me \"How do you know that it is the word of God?\" And I asked him, suppose I give you a deep gash in your arm, how do you know what I have got in my hand is a knife? The trouble is, such things silence people at the moment, but they do not bow; it shews mere infidelity. How did the woman in John 4 know that Christ was a prophet, and not merely own that what He said was true? What He said was true, but because it was true, and came to her conscience, she knew that He was a prophet. . . . I quite admit there is external testimony to the word, but I do not believe that gives faith. You get the power of the word in your conscience, and you have the testimony of it there. As for the Apocrypha, in the preface of the Maccabees, the writer says, \"I have abridged five books because they were too long.\" What authority can that carry? And there are numerous \"gospels,\" so called, with horrid stories about Christ's power as a child, so that one says they were obliged to shut Him up, lest He should kill everybody. But you do not find people quarrelling with the Koran as they do with the Bible; it is because it is the word of God that they will not let it alone. They do not quarrel with Homer, or books that have no power of conscience.
\n
\n128 Does the word ever act on the affections before it acts on conscience?
\n
\nOh yes, I quite admit it may.
\n
\nAnd the different books of the Bible?
\n
\nThe word is like a dissected map, I do not want proof that it is all there; there it is, and all the parts fit in. The only book, as to external evidence, that you can cast any doubt upon is the Second Epistle of Peter; rather, there is less for that than for any other - not that I have the least doubt about it at all.
\n
\nCould you give us all idea how the canon of scripture got welded together?
\n
\nThe canon of scripture is nothing to me, and the putting it into canon nothing either. You have the whole thing adapted and fitted in together. There may be more apparent difficulty about the Old Testament than about the New; but if you accept the history at all, then the Lord Jesus and the apostles distinctly recognize the Old Testament.
\n
\nAre all quoted in the New Testament, as a whole, as well as separately?
\n
\nWell, if I believe Christ is the Son of God, then I get Him taking a book which, on infidel shewing, is not genuine, and opening their understandings to understand from it things about Himself. You get all in the law, the prophets, and the psalms; they are the three divisions. Then there are a great many moral proofs. Infidels will tell you there is nothing like the life of Christ, and yet they say it is an imposture - a man who set up to be the Son of God, and He was not.
\n
\n129 But they deny that He said He was the Son of God?
\n
\nWell, that is not true. Besides, when a man comes and tells me, God ought this, and God ought that, what is that?
\n
\nPeople say He was not called Son of God in the synoptic gospels?
\n
\nHe is commonly called Jesus, and Jesus is Jehovah-Saviour; you must get the facts first.
\n
\nIt is said that they read Clement in the churches of old, and Hermas too?
\n
\nBut then I do not admit that the church has authority in that. As for Hermas, what is the account you get there? It is that God took counsel with His Son, and with the holy angels, to put a pure spirit into a body, and then sent His servant - Christ - to set up stakes, and stake out a vineyard, &c., that is, apostles, and so on, in the church; but he did a great deal more than he was told, for he set to work to pull up the weeds, that is, take away their sins; and then God takes counsel with His Son, the Holy Ghost, His angels, what shall we do to Him for this, and they agree to make Him a joint-heir with the Son. Now, if the church authenticated that, then I get the epistle is authenticated, but the church itself unauthenticated. Origen said that that thing of Hermas I have quoted was inspired, but that does not make it inspired. Irenaeus too.
\n
\n130 What about the Book of Jasher?
\n
\nThe Book of Jasher was not inspired; but the king says to Ammon, \"Go and look at that record, and see if this country is not ours.\" . . . .
\n
\nI suppose there is no doubt that it was Saturday night when the disciples came together to break bread?
\n
\n. . . . Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.
\n
\nIn Acts 2 they broke bread from house to house?
\n
\nNot from one house to another, but at home.
\n
\nIs that the Lord's supper?
\n
\nYes. Then we get general facts as to Paul going up to Jerusalem.
\n
\nIn Acts 20:11, is that the love feast?
\n
\nI do not know; but they used to have it generally.
\n
\nWas it breaking of bread on board the ship?
\n
\nNo, not on board the ship.
\n","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=article&aid=41162","source":"collect","new_content":"
\n
\n100 Acts 3 - 17
\n
\nWhat is striking here is that, after the setting up, in a sense, of the church, and saying \"Save yourselves from this untoward generation,\" Peter then addresses himself to Israel as such, and tells them \"Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,\" not \"when\" but \"so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.\" God had raised up His Son Jesus, and now He deals with the nation and that after having called upon them to separate from the nation. God is still dealing with Israel on the ground of Israel. In verse 13 he says \"the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers hath glorified His Son Jesus,\" he goes as far as that.
\n
\n101The prophets, the covenant, and the fathers are all brought in, in connection with this fulfilment? (Ver. 25.)
\n
\nYes. The heavens must receive Him until the times of the restitution of all things; and that is still going on in fact. He proposes to them in this way the return of Christ; and he says, \"I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.\" But it was supplementary dealing with Israel on the ground of the intercession of Christ, \"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.\"
\n
\nBut then the apostles are not allowed even to finish their speech, and Israel rejects the supplementary grace; \"as they spake unto the people the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people.\"
\n
\nIn verse 26 does \"raised up\" refer to the fact of the Lord's coming amongst the Jews?
\n
\nI have no doubt it does.
\n
\n\"Sent him to bless you,\" is that by the ministry of the apostles?
\n
\nIt takes in Christ's life on earth as well.
\n
\nIs it \"God was in Christ reconciling\"?
\n
\nAh, that is \"the world;\" here it is, \"ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers.\" This is an address to Israel, when Christ was gone, to say that He would come back again if they repented; as indeed He will when they do repent. But the priests stop their mouths altogether, and tell them that they must not preach; and then they say they must obey God rather than man. The priests let them go, and they go to their own company; but they have got their own company to go to, notice that.
\n
\n102 Then we get another manifestation of the power of the Holy Ghost and its effect in making them all of one heart and of one mind too. (Acts 5:12.)
\n
\nHad Peter this in his mind in Acts 2?
\n
\nNo; there it was \"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,\" and \"save yourselves from this untoward generation.\" Here the return of Christ promised on repentance; but Acts 4 is present christian testimony, the other was supplementary grace.
\n
\nWere they thoroughly given up until the last chapter?
\n
\nWell, this was outside Jerusalem.
\n
\nThere is no offer that Christ should return after this?
\n
\nNo, not at all.
\n
\nWould you explain Acts 3:21?
\n
\nIt is what the prophets had stated, that is all. Nothing more is to be restored than they had said should be. In Acts 5 you get evil coming in inside; then you find the power of judgment, and they fall down dead; and fear comes upon all within and without. It was the manifestation of God's presence encouraging His disciples. Ananias and Sapphira were lying to God as in the assembly, and the Lord's presence shewed itself in judgment.
\n
\n103 Does Peter allude to this when he says judgment begins at the house of God?
\n
\nNo; though it is the same principle. Then comes another character of evil - murmuring about the temporal provisions; and the seven are appointed. An important principle is connected with this, and that is the free action of the Holy Ghost shewn even in Jerusalem, in Stephen, and afterwards in Philip too. It was not apostles merely bearing witness, but you now see this free action in those who had the serving of tables.
\n
\nI suppose Judaism was not thoroughly judged until Jerusalem was destroyed?
\n
\nWell, not externally; but the patience of God still went on with them. You do not get the closing of all that, until the Epistle to the Hebrews and the going outside the camp.
\n
\nIs the Epistle to the Hebrews supplementary and lingering?
\n
\nUp to going outside the camp, and then there is no lingering after that.
\n
\nWhat is \"durst no man join himself to them\"?
\n
\nThe people magnified them, heard them gladly, but not the grand folks, it would not do for them. On the contrary, it was they who put the apostles in prison. And then comes something more - angelic power is employed to minister to the heirs of salvation; the Lord sends His angel who opens the prison doors, and the apostles come out and preach as before. That is a wonderful display of power. \"Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.\" And Peter testifies to the council, \"We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, and hanged on tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things, and so is also the Holy Ghost.\" Then God has providential things ready for them by the hand of Gamaliel. You get our New Testament Joshua here.
\n
\n104 At what point does the primitive church lose its full power of blessing?
\n
\nIt gradually died down; though you get a point in \"I know this that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.\" Then comes a question whether the apostles did not fail in staying at Jerusalem, because the Lord had said, \"When they persecute you in one city, flee ye to another,\" and they did not do so.
\n
\nYou never find a church among the Gentiles in such a state of outward attraction as at Jerusalem?
\n
\nNo. But you get here at Jerusalem, Ananias and Sapphira trying to deceive the Holy Ghost; and then the Hellenists murmuring, and so on. Then comes this action of the Holy Ghost in Stephen, preaching and confounding his hearers; and they bring him up to the council.
\n
\nMurmurings soon came in?
\n
\nBut the murmurings are met by the Spirit of God. First, there is a display of blessedness, everybody giving up what he has; then comes in this murmuring, about it all; and then power by the Holy Ghost to meet that. And power goes on in testimony all the while, and in Acts 7 Stephen is put to death, and that closes that scene. A person is sent to heaven, and that closes up Christ's coming back, because He has got some one gone up there, and that begins another thing entirely. In his speech in chapter 7, Stephen goes through all the dealings of God from Abraham down, from beginning to end, and shews the result as to man. Really the cross had finished everything. Abraham was the beginning of all the dealings of God; there were no dealings before, but a testimony only, not positive institutions or dealings {nor indeed promise to fallen man, though in the judgment on the serpent a revelation of Christ which faith could lay hold of), and that testimony ended with the flood. Then in the beginning of the world, after setting up authority in it in Noah, when that declined, God calls out a person who thereupon becomes the father of the faithful, he is the father of the race of God, just as you had the father of a wicked race in Adam, but in Abraham you get the root of the olive-tree.
\n
\n105 Well, Stephen begins there, and gives the whole history of Israel, summing it up with this, they received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it; their fathers persecuted the prophets, and slew those who told before of the coming of the just One; and of Him they themselves had now been the betrayers and the murderers, \"ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, as your fathers did, so do ye.\" You have there the law broken, the prophets killed, Christ crucified, and the Holy Ghost resisted. And so that chapter is the turning-point of Israel's, and indeed of man's history.
\n
\nWhat are we to understand by the Lord standing at the right hand of God?
\n
\n106 I believe He had not sat down to say it was all over with Israel, until they had killed Stephen. It is a figure of the thing. The whole scene is exceedingly beautiful: the stones are flying about Stephen, and he kneels down and prays for those who throw them, \"Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.\" You see in him the effect of the perception of Christ in glory; Stephen is formed into the same image. The heaven is opened too; it was opened on Christ at His baptism, but then heaven looked down on Him as perfect, here Stephen looks up into heaven. The difference is total as to the person.
\n
\nWhy in Acts 7:2 does Stephen call God \"the God of glory\"?
\n
\nThat was the natural title as to Israel. And here it is that you first meet Saul. We have been tracing the rejection of the truth, not only in a humbled Christ, but in a continued course of history which is over now, and that is where Saul comes in; he is the expression of the condition of man, who is an open enemy to the very last possible expression of God.
\n
\nAnd that is why he calls himself the chief of sinners?
\n
\nNo doubt. Well then, persecution arose and God allowed it. And Philip's service in Samaria follows. Then the offer of Simon Magus to buy the power of giving the Holy Ghost. Philip is a beautiful character of promptness and readiness; he is sent off, when in the full tide of service in Samaria, into the desert; he purchased to himself a good degree and great boldness in the faith.
\n
\nWhat was the character of his preaching?
\n
\nJesus.
\n
\n107 How far does that go?
\n
\nTo the eunuch. He explained Isaiah 53. The eunuch asks, \"Of whom speaketh the prophet this, of himself or of some other man?\" and Philip began at that scripture, it goes on even to the glory, for you get \"he shall divide the spoil with the strong.\"
\n
\nWhat is \"the kingdom of God\" in the Acts?
\n
\nIt was the great truth that the kingdom of God was come now, in the form of the kingdom of heaven.
\n
\nWould preaching the second coming include the kingdom of God?
\n
\nIt brings it in. Preaching the kingdom is not dealing with the world merely, but it was setting up a kingdom.
\n
\nWhat is the meaning of \"ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel until the Son of man be come\"?
\n
\nThey will not have gone over them until He comes again.
\n
\nWas Simon's administrative forgiveness when he was baptized?
\n
\nIt was external, and there was nothing real in any part of it; but he had the form of it.
\n
\nBut the judgment of him was not brought out until afterwards?
\n
\nJust so. He let the truth out when he saw the power working, that he thought it would be a fine thing to have that. And the apostle says, Thy money perish with thee, thou hast no part or lot in the matter.
\n
\nAre the Samaritans here treated as a separate class?
\n
\nRather so.
\n
\n108 They do not appear to have made the same difficulty about them as they did about the Gentiles?
\n
\nNo, you see the Lord had been in Samaria.
\n
\nIt speaks strongly for the unity that the apostles did not say, They are only Samaritans, let them alone?
\n
\nIn Acts 8:22 he says, \"Pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee,\" what is that?
\n
\nPossibly he might get forgiven if he bowed to God; it does not exclude him from hope; that is all.
\n
\nThere is something in that word, \"his life is taken from the earth;\" was it not important at that moment to press that?
\n
\nThat is what he was reading, there was no pressing it more than any other part.
\n
\nIt was going from Jerusalem that this took place?
\n
\nYes, he was a proselyte. So now we get Jews, Samaritans, and proselytes, not Gentiles quite. And then we get Saul, the apostle of what brought final judgment on man; by final, I mean, after God had done everything, and Christ was utterly rejected.
\n
\nAnd the whole testimony is rejected from the earth.
\n
\nYes. And Saul's place is an exceedingly special and peculiar one. Afterwards you get Peter receiving the Gentiles.
\n
\nWhat marks Paul's place?
\n
\nHe tells us in Acts 26 \"I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness, both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom now I send thee.\" Paul was neither a Jew nor a Gentile, but taken out of both and connected with Christ in the glory. Sovereign grace had taken out this person, guilty as he was of final hostility - hostility to the very end, and in the moment when he was occupied in carrying out this violent hostility of man against God, notwithstanding all that God could do in grace, he is taken out, is identified with God's servants, and sent out in service; \"delivering thee from\" is really \"taking thee out of,\" so that he was neither a Jew nor a Gentile. He did not even know Christ after the flesh. And you get a new truth at Saul's conversation, in \"Why persecutest thou me?\" \"I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:\" that is, all the Christians were Christ Himself, in Christ's estimate of them. As you have \"so also is Christ.\" The whole mystery is involved if not developed in that word \"Me.\"
\n
\n109 How do you understand the Lord's appearing to him?
\n
\nIt was because he was to be a witness for Him.
\n
\nDid Paul forget this when he said, \"I am a pharisee, the son of a pharisee\"?
\n
\nI suppose so. It is not like his counting it all dross and dung at any rate.
\n
\nWas Paul right in saying, \"Is it lawful to scourge a Roman\"?
\n
\nWell, I do not know that there is any objection there.
\n
\nAnd at Philippi?
\n
\nAt Philippi he was right; but his using the plea that he was a Roman sent him to Rome.
\n
\n110 Did you mean just now that Paul was put into any other position than that of a believer in Christ?
\n
\nNo; but he was put into the position of a vessel and witness of the truth specially.
\n
\nIn what peculiar sense was he entirely a heavenly man?
\n
\nBecause he was neither a Jew nor a Gentile, and so totally different from what went before.
\n
\nWas he more heavenly than any other christian man?
\n
\nPractically he was; but not as to true position. If I receive Paul's testimony, I get into Paul's place. He is a special vessel of testimony; God might have used other instruments as well, and did, and they preached . . . . by the Holy Ghost.
\n
\n\"Filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ,\" what is that?
\n
\nPaul had his share, and a special share too, of the afflictions of Christ. Christ had to suffer for His love to the church, and so had Paul.
\n
\nPaul says that by revelation the mystery was made known unto him, but was it not revealed by the Spirit to the \"apostles and prophets\"?
\n
\nI do not doubt others had it revealed. But the first time Paul preached, he preached that Jesus was the Son of God; now Peter never preached that once, so far as we get in scripture.
\n
\nDid the other apostles get their knowledge of the mystery from Paul?
\n
\nI do not know. Peter knew Paul's writings, and thought some of them hard to be understood. In Galatians \"privately\" is what Paul communicated to them when alone. We get great truths shewn out in him, and this remarkably, that sovereign grace takes him up when in the extreme of hostility against Christ, and makes him the instrument of declaring sovereign grace to those who were in that condition themselves. . . . His opposition was a terrible thing; conscience told him he ought to do it, and all the religious authorities told him too; and then he found that he was fighting against the Lord of glory. He found out that all that was right in him (in one sense it was right) had just set him to destroy Christ. It was a complete smash - an utter smash - not of a wicked man at all, but a smash of a man in his most cultivated capacity; and the man was gone too. It was sovereign grace entirely above everything.
\n
\n111 It seems to have always characterized Paul's ministry - this revelation of the mystery?
\n
\nYes. . . .Then as soon as Paul is called, we get back to Peter, with not only the power still going on, but all Lydda and Saron turned to the Lord, and then, though Paul is called the apostle of the Gentiles, Peter is used to bring in the first Gentile.
\n
\nWhy was that?
\n
\nBecause it must all be brought in in unity; if Paul had started apart, then it would have been a Gentile church, as well as a Jewish church, and that would not do at all.
\n
\nPeter was naturally averse to going to the Gentiles?
\n
\nYes. You do not get unity at first, but blessing for Gentiles in itself.
\n
\nIs this Peter's having the \"keys\"?
\n
\nAnd the Holy Ghost is given them too?
\n
\n112 After the testimony of a crucified Christ and faith in Him. . . . You must get blood before you get oil, and the oil may come immediately after the blood, as in the case of the leper. When I am cleansed by the blood of Christ, then the Holy Ghost can come and dwell in me.
\n
\n________
\n
\nWhen you come to understand and know the condition of man, you will find there are no promises belonging to him, any more than righteousness. Wherever you have promises, you will find man in some measure owned. There are no promises to man as man, at least Gentiles have none. That is what I see in the Syrophenician woman, and in what she was brought to own.\" \"It is not meet to take the children's bread, and cast it to the dogs.\" She acknowledges that is true, but \"the dogs eat the crumbs,\" she says - takes the dog's place, and looks to God's sovereign love to send to those who have no title, and then gets everything she wanted; but as long as she talked about the \"Son of David,\" she got nothing.
\n
\nWhat is \"the Holy Ghost fell on all\"?
\n
\nPeter says it is the same thing happened to them - the Gentiles - as did to us at the beginning.
\n
\nIn Acts 8:16, it says, \"for as yet he was fallen upon none of them\"?
\n
\nThat is the Samaritans. And now you have Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles, all made partakers of the Holy Ghost.
\n
\nJust a word again about the water, and blood, and oil: do you put the washing with water as the new birth?
\n
\nYes; then the sprinkling with blood, the remission of sins.
\n
\n113 And an interval between that and the oil?
\n
\nThere often is.
\n
\nAnd an interval between water and blood?
\n
\nWell, there may be, but not in a general way so much, at least, where Christ is preached. And here the oil is at once: \"they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.\" Cornelius was a converted man, and now he is more than that, he is \"saved\" by Peter's word, and the Holy Ghost fell on him.
\n
\nWas he not a Christian until then?
\n
\nA person is not entitled to be called a Christian until he has the third thing; \"if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of him.\"
\n
\nIf we have no promises, what is meant by \"all the promises of God are yea and amen in Christ Jesus\"? And Peter speaks of - \"whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises?
\n
\nThat is the second Man, \"yea and amen in Christ Jesus.\" And Christians have promises of course. But not the first man - not Gentiles, I said.
\n
\nWhat is the meaning of the place being shaken?
\n
\nIt shewed the power in an outward way.
\n
\nThere is no mention of the Holy Ghost in the case of the Ethiopian?
\n
\nNo; but he went on his way rejoicing, and to this day the Abyssinians are half Jews and half Christians.
\n
\nWhat of Cornelius himself?
\n
\nHis alms, it says, came up before God, and his prayers; and he was a devout man. He may have heard of Christ, for this thing was not done in a corner; anyway he must have known of Christ, much or little, but he did not know the gospel, as we call it. It is important to see on this question to notice that the word \"saved\" has a force which is not generally given to it. Take the word \"delivered,\" and then Israel was not delivered until they had passed the Red Sea, they knew they were to be, but were not really.
\n
\n114 Would you call it a transition state?
\n
\nYou may call it so, or what you please, but they were not saved. Only remember, I do not go and preach about a transition state to a mass of supposed unbelievers. . . . Strictly, salvation is not believed in. Conversion is. Quickening is. But that a person is taken out of the state he is in naturally, in bondage in the flesh, and delivered from it, is not. And that is \"saved.\"
\n
\nThen what is the difference between conversion and salvation?
\n
\nConversion is when a man turns to God, through the Spirit of God working in Him.
\n
\nWhat is conviction? Is that there?
\n
\nIt would include that, and be conversion too, if the will is bowed. But salvation is positive deliverance from the state the man is in. The prodigal son was converted when he turned and came to his father; but he had not Christ on him until he had the best robe. He would be glad before if he could but get a corner in the house.
\n
\nIn Acts 11 you get the gospel preached first to the Jews, and then some spoke to the Gentiles. Then Barnabas gets hold of Paul, and that is where the new ministry comes in. The church at Antioch is started.
\n
\n\"As far as Antioch,\" the distance did not hinder them.
\n
\n115 Were Grecians Gentiles?
\n
\nHellenes were, but Hellenists were not. Here the whole point is that they were Gentiles.
\n
\nYou have faith there before conversion, they \"believed and turned to the Lord\"?
\n
\nYes, you always get belief first in that way. If they did not believe, they could not turn to Him. Then we get persecution and other things. The Lord delivers Peter out of the prison, but Herod cuts off James' head. The first persecution was by the chief priests, but this is a royal persecution. In the dealing with Herod we get the government of God outside the church. This is the end of Peter.
\n
\nIn Acts 13 we start from Antioch. There you get the public testimony with this important element, that they are sent forth by the Holy Ghost. Christ had called Paul, but now you get the immediate action of the Spirit for carrying out his ministry.
\n
\nWould \"ministering to the Lord\" be worship?
\n
\nPartly so, I suppose; partly worshipping and partly praying, they were together before the Lord. It would be like Israel, they kept the charge of the Lord until the cloud was taken up, or came down.
\n
\nIs there anything special in Saul's name being changed?
\n
\nWell, I believe he had got among the Gentiles, and Paul is a Latin name . . . .
\n
\nIn Acts 13:47 Paul takes Isaiah 49:6 for a command; it is really a prophecy spoken for the Lord.
\n
\nIn Acts 14 \"elders\" are chosen, and this is the first intimation of that arrangement.
\n
\nIs it \"ordain?\"
\n
\nThe word really means choose, but in ecclesiastical Greek, to ordain. Calvin put in the words, \"by the advice of the assembly.\" In chapter 1 the translators put in \"ordain,\" simply from their own views. The etymological meaning of the word, \"by show of hands,\" is quite lost.
\n
\n116 What about these elders now?
\n
\nWell, if you want them, you must first get me the church, and then apostles too. In Acts 20 Paul speaks of \"the flock of God, over whom the Holy Ghost has made you overseers.\" If you were to choose elders amongst you now, you would be just a little sect with its own voluntary arrangements. Christ was the source of authority: He appointed apostles, apostles appointed elders. Authority came down, never went up. There is no kind of choosing by the church in that way in scripture. There is scripture for subjection to those who labour in the word, and so on; that is on moral ground. In Hebrews and Thessalonians you have, \"esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake.\"
\n
\nBut to appoint them needed either an apostle or an apostle's delegate?
\n
\nYes.
\n
\nHow do you understand that \"from themselves\" grievous wolves should arise?
\n
\nI do not confine that to the elders, though such might come even from them.
\n
\nIn Acts 15 we get the question of what was to be done with the Gentiles - were they to be circumcised?
\n
\nAntioch and Jerusalem were tending towards a split; now, if Paul had settled it, each would have gone on its own way, and we should have had two churches. God hindered that, and made Jerusalem set the Gentiles free; so keeping up the unity practically. Then, as they went through the cities, they delivered the decrees to them for to keep.
\n
\n117 There is one verse that I should like to get at the bottom of, and that is, \"it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us.\" What is the force of that?
\n
\nI do not know that it is not Cornelius there.
\n
\nWas it that in the assembly the Holy Ghost spoke?
\n
\nIn verse 25 the Holy Ghost is not mentioned; and in verse 23 you have apostles, elders, and brethren. They were decrees of the apostles and elders. . . . You see the Holy Ghost had let in a Gentile without making him a Jew . . . . I see one very wise thing; the apostles let all the brethren tire themselves with discussing, and then they (the apostles) come in lively. James quotes a passage, the scope of which has nothing to say to the matter - one that is in the Septuagint - \"that the residue of men might seek after the Lord,\" but which in the Hebrew is, \"that they may possess the remnant of Edom.\"
\n
\nWhat is it quoted for?
\n
\nFor one single word, \"the Gentiles, on whom my name is called;\" that is all that he quoted it for.
\n
\nWhat is the principle of a decree of the council?
\n
\nMerely that there were certain things they would do right to attend to. There were three things - the proper claims of God; the relationship of man and wife, purity in man; and then, that life belonged to God.
\n
\nJews in every city?
\n
\nYes, that there are plenty everywhere to plead for Moses. But spiritual intelligence will take up the defence of blood. It is not law only, but before it.
\n
\n118 Are these binding upon us now?
\n
\nNot in the shape of a decree now; but it is clear enough as to two of them. As to things offered to idols, if a thing were sold in the shambles I should ask no questions about it.
\n
\nPaul's higher truth could not abrogate this?
\n
\nNo, certainly not. And as to fornication, in Thessalonians Paul presses the same thing; but it was ingrained in their habits, they were so degraded. Then we get Barnabas and Paul disputing. I do not doubt, after all, God's hand was in it, because Paul had to stand alone in the place he takes up. Barnabas takes Mark. John Mark, was sister's son to Barnabas, and so he was not above connection with nature as Paul was; that was the secret and therefore he would not be a suitable person to be with Paul.
\n
\nI suppose it is distinct that the Holy Ghost was with Paul?
\n
\nYes, but he may have lost his temper about it. It is beautiful to see how, afterwards, he says (2 Tim. 4:11), \"Take Mark, and bring him with thee, for he is profitable to me for the ministry.\"
\n
\nThe brethren recommend Paul to the grace of God?
\n
\nYes. He is ordained twice; here, and in Acts 14:26, we read what it meant, \"Whence they had been recommended to the grace of God.\" It was laymen ordaining an apostle, if you take it as ordaining, and done twice over. It is very simple if you really take it as stated; they had what we should call a prayer-meeting about it, and that might be done a dozen times.
\n
\n119 Would there be any danger in doing it again now?
\n
\nNo; doing it honestly.
\n
\nWhat of laying on of hands?
\n
\nLaying on of hands was always used as a sign of blessing.
\n
\nIn Acts 16 we come to an important principle for evangelists, and that is, that while they are called to preach the gospel to every creature, there is Christ's authority too for being here or there, as He sees fit; while their commission is universal, their direction is particular. Paul was not to go into Asia or Bithynia then (though he was allowed to go into Asia afterwards); but he is directed by a dream, and then says, \"assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us.\" When he comes to Macedonia with Luke, then we get \"we\" for the first time. And we get the wisdom of God needed to defeat Satan. You see how subtle Satan is; if Paul had accepted this woman's testimony, this Pythoness, he would have accepted the devil; and if he put the spirit out of the Pythoness, then he raised the devil against him. And he does nothing for some time, and then he is stirred in spirit, and cannot help himself. Another thing: though he was very glad to preach in the synagogue, when he comes to Philippi, he goes and sits down by the river side with a number of poor women, and that is the commencement of one of the brightest churches we have in scripture. He does not put out any handbills or such things. He goes to the Jewesses. Lydia was a proselyte. And this was the commencement of the work in Europe.
\n
\nWhy did not Paul cast the evil spirit out at once?
\n
\nWell, it is evident he avoided meddling with it for many days; at last he cannot stand the pretended co-operation of Satan, and then he arouses, and casts it out.
\n
\n120 Will Satan co-operate now-a-days?
\n
\nTo be sure he will, if you will let him.
\n
\nNot in the same manifest way?
\n
\nManifest! how so, how manifest then, except to the spiritual perception of the apostle? Many an infidel would come and work with you now, in some respects, if you would let him. It teaches us how important it is to see what we accept in the way of help in God's service.
\n
\nIn Acts 17 it is all Paul's ministry. And then you get him at Athens. Then you have Paul's defence, not sermon, from verse 22. He had preached (v. 18) Jesus and the resurrection.
\n
\nHe preached repentance, and that characterized his gospel preaching?
\n
\nOnly you must not call this preaching. Paul is here brought to Areopagus to answer for himself.
\n
\nActs 18-20
\n
\nThis is general history of Paul's service; and we may see how cast on the Lord we are in work. Corinth was a frightful place of luxurious wickedness, and he continued there a year and six months. Then he must by all means keep the feast at Jerusalem, and he goes away, and through Galatia. I suppose at this time the Epistle to the Galatians had hardly been written. You get his first preaching in Acts 16, and now he is confirming the disciples.
\n
\n121 Is Apollos introduced here for any special purpose?
\n
\nI do not know, except that he was a very eminent labourer afterwards. He went over to Achaia, so that they could say, \"I am of Paul, and I of Apollos,\" there. Then Paul went to Ephesus, and there was an uproar. We do not know when he went to Crete, though it is supposed that it was when he was at Ephesus. Just after that uproar he wrote the Epistle to the Corinthians; then Titus came back with the answer to the first letter, and Paul wrote the second. It tells us he was three years at Ephesus.
\n
\nWas this trouble in Asia, what he alludes to in 2 Corinthians?
\n
\nYes, only it must have gone further.
\n
\nIt says \"disputing?\"
\n
\nWell, it was discussing the things of God; as an old term disputing was used in that way, not with bad feeling.
\n
\nIn chapter 19 we get very distinctly the Holy Ghost consequent upon believing - \"Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?\" And in Acts 20 he calls the elders of Ephesus, and shews them that all would go thoroughly bad after his decease. \"Of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things,\" etc. It is the religious body that is the spring of persecution; so at last, no doubt, the beast kills people, but the blood of the saints is found at Babylon . . . .
\n
\nWhat are the chief points in his address to the elders?
\n
\nThere is, first, the gospel of the grace of God; then the kingdom of God, and then the whole counsel of God.
\n
\n122 What is that last?
\n
\nIt would have special reference to what Paul had to communicate. . . . It was not that man was a moral being, and so on; it was much more objective than subjective; but the effect is to produce the subjective state, and the subjective state is always formed by an object.
\n
\nIt is not preaching about repentance that produces it?
\n
\nNo; but still you must preach that they repent; and it is repentance towards God too.
\n
\nThat is stated before \"faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ?''
\n
\nBut that sentence (Acts 20:21) is abused in a violent way, putting repentance before faith; if it is faith in the full efficacy of Christ's work, of course it can, and will come after repentance; it is impossible that repentance can go before faith, because when a man goes with a testimony, if it is not believed, it produces no effect.
\n
\nIs not this the first historical notice of the great deflection of the church?
\n
\nI suppose so. The Epistle to the Thessalonians was written before this; and the second to the Thessalonians was written after Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
\n
\nSuppose a person took the ground that this was limited to Ephesus, how would you meet it?
\n
\nWhy, there is nothing about Ephesus in it. Paul is speaking in a general way, \"after my decease.\" And you get the same things in Peter. It is Paul's ministry closing - that is the point.
\n
\nBut is it not fatal to all apostolic succession?
\n
\nYes, entirely, so called. But I get apostolic succession in scripture, and that is in the binding and loosing which is conferred on two or three gathered together in Christ's name; and that is the only thing the power is passed on to. But here, in the vulgar sense of apostolic succession, it is positively denied.
\n
\n123 Do you think that the mystery had been fully revealed to Paul at this time?
\n
\nI do, because he had written to the Romans before this, and there refers to it. You could scarcely have the whole counsel of God declared without the mystery being in it.
\n
\nCould you call that view of apostolic succession uninterrupted?
\n
\nWell, no, not quite, because it must come to \"two or three.\" It is remarkable how literally this has been fulfilled . . . . It is given when they are a remnant getting out of an old system. Then the Lord tells them to count the cost, etc.
\n
\nOught an evangelist now to preach as Christ preached?
\n
\nYou never get the gospel from Christ at all; you get it practically stated, but His is the gospel of the kingdom.
\n
\nBut you get \"salvation,\" and \"go in peace?\"
\n
\nYes, to one individual, but that is not His preaching about the country.
\n
\nBut the gospel now is the gospel of God?
\n
\nYes, it is God's glad tidings.
\n
\nIs that practically now, \"He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life?\"
\n
\nYes.
\n
\nDid people who were quickened on earth know Christ's salvation?
\n
\n124 No, nor the 120; at least Peter, the first of them, did not.
\n
\nBut \"thy sins are forgiven thee,\" to the man?
\n
\nThat was no \"gospel\" at all; it was administration on earth. I do not understand any effort to shew that the Lord could preach what is our gospel; how could He preach His own death and resurrection for salvation as an accomplished thing? You get some of the truth prophetically, in a way, as to His death, and so on, but that is all.
\n
\nBut you find in Romans 3 that the ground is now established, \"to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness?\"
\n
\nExactly; that is the very thing I am saying. There is no formula or rule as to preaching, but, taking all things together, here Paul characterizes the whole of his preaching by these two words, \"repentance\" and \"faith.\"
\n
\nIs \"the word of his grace\" the written word?
\n
\nWell, wherever they could get it, this was partly written, but not all; it would be all of it when it came. When you get decay brought out fully in Timothy, then it is, \"Continue in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them,\" and \"the holy scriptures.\"
\n
\nIs it \"God,\" or \"the word,\" that is able to build you up?
\n
\nI think it is the word of His grace, but it is not without God - I am sure of that.
\n
\nAnd no state of ruin can at all hinder the full blessing of that?
\n
\nNo, but on the contrary, it is the state of ruin that throws us entirely upon it. Only, as I said, in Timothy, I must know \"of whom\" I have learned, and \"the scriptures.\" Cyprian says, if I get a channel choked from a spring, I go back and see if the spring has failed, or it the channel is choked. Chrysostom says of Matthew 24, that flying to the hills and mountains is flying to the scriptures. Not that I know much of the Fathers, for when I began to read them, I found them such trash, I could not go on.
\n
\n125 How soon was church authority insisted on?
\n
\nIn the second and third centuries; it grew up gradually. It was rather official authorities at first than the church.
\n
\nDid Paul write the last of all?
\n
\nJohn was the last writer, not Paul; all John's writings, so far as known, were after Paul's. There has been a controversy about the date of the Revelation, but, according to the most received evidence, it was thirty years after Paul: at least it was after Paul was killed. That is why the Lord says of John, \"If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee.\" He was the one who watched over the church until the last. Many learned Christians have put John's gospel as the last thing written.
\n
\nWhat coming did the Lord refer to in that John 21:22?
\n
\nHis own coming again.
\n
\nNot the destruction of Jerusalem?
\n
\nThe destruction of Jerusalem had nothing to do with Christ's coming; that was the judicial action of setting aside the people on earth. Morally it was done before, so that there was nothing left after that but his return. And the Lord says, Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled. I think it is most important to notice that passage in 2 Timothy 3: \"In the last days perilous times shall come: men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away.\" And then he refers Timothy, as we have said, to the things he has learned; and from a child Timothy had known the holy scriptures. John says, \"He that knoweth God heareth us, he that is not of God heareth not us; hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.\"
\n
\n126 Then it is by means of the scriptures we are to know the truth?
\n
\nI do not know how else. You cannot hear them (the writers) so you must read them. The principle of church authority is gone in \"the seven churches;\" there I am not called to hear what the church says, but I am to listen to what the Spirit judges about the church.
\n
\nWhat is \"hear the church,\" Matthew 18:17?
\n
\nThat is the assembly in discipline, not about doctrine at all, or anything of that kind. It is not for teaching - the church does not teach, the church is taught. Teachers teach, apostles teach, and the gifts the Lord has given. Take away this horrid word \"church,\" and say assembly; then how can the assembly teach? I do not know a more mischievous word than that word \"church.\" If the church were teaching, you would have a hundred people talking together.
\n
\nThey say \"a teaching body?\"
\n
\n127 Ah, the teaching body of the church, says the Romanist, and that comes to the clergy.
\n
\nThe \"pillar and ground of the truth?\"
\n
\nThe church confesses the truth, and so is the pillar and ground of the truth, but it does not teach. Suppose I were to say here to Mr. O. \"Now I cannot believe you, 'O.' until Mr. B. guarantees what you say.\" What would that prove? Just this, that I do not believe Mr. O. at all, I should be believing B., not O. And if I do not believe what is in the word until the church says it is right, I do not believe the word at all, but the church . . . . I am sure I am very thankful to have been brought up to confide in the word; but if you come to real power, then you never believe in the word, but by its power over your own conscience. I remember a priest saying to me \"How do you know that it is the word of God?\" And I asked him, suppose I give you a deep gash in your arm, how do you know what I have got in my hand is a knife? The trouble is, such things silence people at the moment, but they do not bow; it shews mere infidelity. How did the woman in John 4 know that Christ was a prophet, and not merely own that what He said was true? What He said was true, but because it was true, and came to her conscience, she knew that He was a prophet. . . . I quite admit there is external testimony to the word, but I do not believe that gives faith. You get the power of the word in your conscience, and you have the testimony of it there. As for the Apocrypha, in the preface of the Maccabees, the writer says, \"I have abridged five books because they were too long.\" What authority can that carry? And there are numerous \"gospels,\" so called, with horrid stories about Christ's power as a child, so that one says they were obliged to shut Him up, lest He should kill everybody. But you do not find people quarrelling with the Koran as they do with the Bible; it is because it is the word of God that they will not let it alone. They do not quarrel with Homer, or books that have no power of conscience.
\n
\n128 Does the word ever act on the affections before it acts on conscience?
\n
\nOh yes, I quite admit it may.
\n
\nAnd the different books of the Bible?
\n
\nThe word is like a dissected map, I do not want proof that it is all there; there it is, and all the parts fit in. The only book, as to external evidence, that you can cast any doubt upon is the Second Epistle of Peter; rather, there is less for that than for any other - not that I have the least doubt about it at all.
\n
\nCould you give us all idea how the canon of scripture got welded together?
\n
\nThe canon of scripture is nothing to me, and the putting it into canon nothing either. You have the whole thing adapted and fitted in together. There may be more apparent difficulty about the Old Testament than about the New; but if you accept the history at all, then the Lord Jesus and the apostles distinctly recognize the Old Testament.
\n
\nAre all quoted in the New Testament, as a whole, as well as separately?
\n
\nWell, if I believe Christ is the Son of God, then I get Him taking a book which, on infidel shewing, is not genuine, and opening their understandings to understand from it things about Himself. You get all in the law, the prophets, and the psalms; they are the three divisions. Then there are a great many moral proofs. Infidels will tell you there is nothing like the life of Christ, and yet they say it is an imposture - a man who set up to be the Son of God, and He was not.
\n
\n129 But they deny that He said He was the Son of God?
\n
\nWell, that is not true. Besides, when a man comes and tells me, God ought this, and God ought that, what is that?
\n
\nPeople say He was not called Son of God in the synoptic gospels?
\n
\nHe is commonly called Jesus, and Jesus is Jehovah-Saviour; you must get the facts first.
\n
\nIt is said that they read Clement in the churches of old, and Hermas too?
\n
\nBut then I do not admit that the church has authority in that. As for Hermas, what is the account you get there? It is that God took counsel with His Son, and with the holy angels, to put a pure spirit into a body, and then sent His servant - Christ - to set up stakes, and stake out a vineyard, &c., that is, apostles, and so on, in the church; but he did a great deal more than he was told, for he set to work to pull up the weeds, that is, take away their sins; and then God takes counsel with His Son, the Holy Ghost, His angels, what shall we do to Him for this, and they agree to make Him a joint-heir with the Son. Now, if the church authenticated that, then I get the epistle is authenticated, but the church itself unauthenticated. Origen said that that thing of Hermas I have quoted was inspired, but that does not make it inspired. Irenaeus too.
\n
\n130 What about the Book of Jasher?
\n
\nThe Book of Jasher was not inspired; but the king says to Ammon, \"Go and look at that record, and see if this country is not ours.\" . . . .
\n
\nI suppose there is no doubt that it was Saturday night when the disciples came together to break bread?
\n
\n. . . . Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty.
\n
\nIn Acts 2 they broke bread from house to house?
\n
\nNot from one house to another, but at home.
\n
\nIs that the Lord's supper?
\n
\nYes. Then we get general facts as to Paul going up to Jerusalem.
\n
\nIn Acts 20:11, is that the love feast?
\n
\nI do not know; but they used to have it generally.
\n
\nWas it breaking of bread on board the ship?
\n
\nNo, not on board the ship.
\n","processed":1,"summary":"100 Acts 3 - 17 What is striking here is that, after the setting up, in a sense, of the church, and saying \"Save yourselves from this untoward generation,\" Peter then addresses himself to Israel as such, and tells them \"Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,\" not ","published":1,"contents":null,"content_processed":0,"created_at":null,"updated_at":null,"author":{"id":218,"status":1,"author":"John Nelson Darby","slug":"John-Nelson-Darby","date":"1800-1882","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/c\/ca\/JohnNelsonDarby.jpg","description":"

John Nelson Darby (1800 - 1882)<\/h1>\nwas an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism and Futurism (\"the Rapture\" in the English vernacular). Pre-tribulation rapture theology was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, and further popularized in the United States in the early 20th century by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible.\n

\nHe produced a translation of the Bible based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby. Darby traveled widely in Europe and Britain in the 1830s and 1840s, and established many Brethren assemblies. He gave 11 significant lectures in Geneva in 1840 on the hope of the church (L'attente actuelle de l'\u00e9glise). These established his reputation as a leading interpreter of biblical prophecy.
<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John Nelson Darby was an Anglo-Irish evangelist, and an influential figure among the original Plymouth Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism. He produced a translation of the Bible based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John Nelson Darby graduated Trinity College, Dublin, in 1819 and was called to the Irish bar about 1825; but soon gave up law practice, took orders, and served a curacy in Wicklow until, in 1827, doubts as to the Scriptural authority for church establishments led him to leave the institutional church altogether and meet with a company of like-minded persons in Dublin.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Darby traveled widely in Europe and Britain in the 1830s and 1840s, and established many Brethren assemblies. These established his reputation as a leading interpreter of biblical prophecy. He was also a Bible Commentator. He declined however to contribute to the compilation of the Revised Version of the King James Bible.<\/p>","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=category&cid=336;http:\/\/articles.ochristian.com\/preacher336-1.shtml","selected":1,"selected_reason":null,"article_amount":535,"quote_count":7,"book_count":197,"wiki_summary":"

John Nelson Darby<\/b> was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism and Futurism. Pre-tribulation rapture theology was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, and further popularized in the United States in the early 20th century by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible.<\/p>","wiki_url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Nelson_Darby","wiki_name":"John Nelson Darby","goodreads_link":"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/2082721.John_Nelson_Darby?from_search=true&from_srp=true","names":null}},{"id":15698,"author_name":"John Nelson Darby","author_id":218,"title":"The Lord's Relations","slug":"the-lord-s-relations","scriptures":"John 19:25;Matthew 27:56;Matthew 27:61;Mark 15:47;Mark 16:1;Mark 15:40;Luke 24:10;Jude 1;Matthew 10:3;Luke 6:16;Mark 3:18;Luke 6:15;Mark 6:3;Gal. 1:19;Mark 6:3;Luke 6:16;Acts 15;Luke 6:16","type":"","topic":"","content":"
\n
\nMARY
\nHis mother and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas,
\nand Mary Magdalene; John 19:25.
\nMary Magdalene, and Mary mother of James and Joses; Matthew 27:56.
\nMary Magdalene, and the other Mary; Matthew 27:61, and chapter 28:1.
\nMary Magdalene, and Mary (mother) of Joses; Mark 15:47.
\nMary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James; Mark 16:1.
\nMary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less, and Joses; Mark 15:40.
\nMary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary (mother) of James; Luke 24:10.
\n
\nJAMES
\nJude brother of James; Jude 1.
\nJames son of Alpheus; Matthew 10:3.
\nJudas (brother) of James; Luke 6:16.
\nJames son of Alpheus; Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15.
\nJames, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon, Christ's brethren,
\nand His (Christ's) sisters; Mark 6:3.
\nJames the Lord's brother; Gal. 1:19.
\n
\nOn comparing these statements, there cannot, I think, be any doubt that Mary the mother of Jude, James and Joses, and \"The other Mary,\" constantly associated with Mary Magdalene, are the same, nor that Mary the wife of Cleopas is also. Jude is brother of James, and James is son of Alpheus, alleged to be the same as Cleopas, and James Jude) and Joses sons of Mary, I suppose wife of Cleopas. Thus the identity and connection of persons is evident. Mary called \"The other Mary,\" the constant companion of Mary Magdalene, was wife of Cleopas and mother of James, Jude, Joses, and Simon, and these were immediate relations of Christ; whether by Cleopas or Mary does not appear. This does not affect the question as to Mary's having a family after the birth of Christ, nor her living with Joseph, of which I think Scripture leaves no doubt. But further, this would determine that James the Lord's brother is the apostle James the less, because James the Lord's brother is brother of Jude; Mark 6:3. And James the apostle is Jude's brother; Luke 6:16; and son of Alpheus. And, I think, from the place James holds in the Acts, and in the Galatians, it is the same James, and not another. For in Galatians it is \"James the Lord's brother,\" and \"Certain came from James\"; and in Acts \"Tell it to James,\" and James presides, in a sense, in Acts 15. The absence of all addition in the case of James is the natural proof of his being the well-known James.
\n
\n376 It would have been quite incongruous to introduce the Lord's Name in an epistle, whereas \"Jude (the brother) of James\" was the distinctive name he had acquired in contrast with Iscariot; Luke 6:16.
\n","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=article&aid=41207","source":"collect","new_content":"MARY
\nHis mother and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas,
\nand Mary Magdalene; John 19:25.
\nMary Magdalene, and Mary mother of James and Joses; Matthew 27:56.
\nMary Magdalene, and the other Mary; Matthew 27:61, and chapter 28:1.
\nMary Magdalene, and Mary (mother) of Joses; Mark 15:47.
\nMary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James; Mark 16:1.
\nMary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less, and Joses; Mark 15:40.
\nMary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary (mother) of James; Luke 24:10.
\n
\nJAMES
\nJude brother of James; Jude 1.
\nJames son of Alpheus; Matthew 10:3.
\nJudas (brother) of James; Luke 6:16.
\nJames son of Alpheus; Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15.
\nJames, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon, Christ's brethren,
\nand His (Christ's) sisters; Mark 6:3.
\nJames the Lord's brother; Gal. 1:19.
\n
\nOn comparing these statements, there cannot, I think, be any doubt that Mary the mother of Jude, James and Joses, and \"The other Mary,\" constantly associated with Mary Magdalene, are the same, nor that Mary the wife of Cleopas is also. Jude is brother of James, and James is son of Alpheus, alleged to be the same as Cleopas, and James Jude) and Joses sons of Mary, I suppose wife of Cleopas. Thus the identity and connection of persons is evident. Mary called \"The other Mary,\" the constant companion of Mary Magdalene, was wife of Cleopas and mother of James, Jude, Joses, and Simon, and these were immediate relations of Christ; whether by Cleopas or Mary does not appear. This does not affect the question as to Mary's having a family after the birth of Christ, nor her living with Joseph, of which I think Scripture leaves no doubt. But further, this would determine that James the Lord's brother is the apostle James the less, because James the Lord's brother is brother of Jude; Mark 6:3. And James the apostle is Jude's brother; Luke 6:16; and son of Alpheus. And, I think, from the place James holds in the Acts, and in the Galatians, it is the same James, and not another. For in Galatians it is \"James the Lord's brother,\" and \"Certain came from James\"; and in Acts \"Tell it to James,\" and James presides, in a sense, in Acts 15. The absence of all addition in the case of James is the natural proof of his being the well-known James.
\n
\n376 It would have been quite incongruous to introduce the Lord's Name in an epistle, whereas \"Jude (the brother) of James\" was the distinctive name he had acquired in contrast with Iscariot; Luke 6:16.
\n","processed":1,"summary":"MARY His mother and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene; John 19:25. Mary Magdalene, and Mary mother of James and Joses; Matthew 27:56. Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary; Matthew 27:61, and chapter 28:1. Mary Magdalene, and Mary (mother) of Joses; Mark 15:47. Mary Magd","published":1,"contents":null,"content_processed":0,"created_at":null,"updated_at":null,"author":{"id":218,"status":1,"author":"John Nelson Darby","slug":"John-Nelson-Darby","date":"1800-1882","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/c\/ca\/JohnNelsonDarby.jpg","description":"

John Nelson Darby (1800 - 1882)<\/h1>\nwas an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism and Futurism (\"the Rapture\" in the English vernacular). Pre-tribulation rapture theology was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, and further popularized in the United States in the early 20th century by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible.\n

\nHe produced a translation of the Bible based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby. Darby traveled widely in Europe and Britain in the 1830s and 1840s, and established many Brethren assemblies. He gave 11 significant lectures in Geneva in 1840 on the hope of the church (L'attente actuelle de l'\u00e9glise). These established his reputation as a leading interpreter of biblical prophecy.
<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John Nelson Darby was an Anglo-Irish evangelist, and an influential figure among the original Plymouth Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism. He produced a translation of the Bible based on the Hebrew and Greek texts called The Holy Scriptures: A New Translation from the Original Languages by J. N. Darby.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John Nelson Darby graduated Trinity College, Dublin, in 1819 and was called to the Irish bar about 1825; but soon gave up law practice, took orders, and served a curacy in Wicklow until, in 1827, doubts as to the Scriptural authority for church establishments led him to leave the institutional church altogether and meet with a company of like-minded persons in Dublin.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Darby traveled widely in Europe and Britain in the 1830s and 1840s, and established many Brethren assemblies. These established his reputation as a leading interpreter of biblical prophecy. He was also a Bible Commentator. He declined however to contribute to the compilation of the Revised Version of the King James Bible.<\/p>","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=category&cid=336;http:\/\/articles.ochristian.com\/preacher336-1.shtml","selected":1,"selected_reason":null,"article_amount":535,"quote_count":7,"book_count":197,"wiki_summary":"

John Nelson Darby<\/b> was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism and Futurism. Pre-tribulation rapture theology was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren, and further popularized in the United States in the early 20th century by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible.<\/p>","wiki_url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/John_Nelson_Darby","wiki_name":"John Nelson Darby","goodreads_link":"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/2082721.John_Nelson_Darby?from_search=true&from_srp=true","names":null}},{"id":22429,"author_name":"Principles For The Gathering Of Believers","author_id":497,"title":"38 - Principle 34 The Body of Christ: An Army of Evangelists","slug":"38-principle-34-the-body-of-christ-an-army-of-evangelists","scriptures":"John 12:24;Luke 15:7;Matthew 28:16-20;Romans 2:4;Romans 10:14-15;Acts 15:35;Acts 13:4-12;Jeremiah 8:20;Matthew 9:36-38;Luke 9:23;Acts 12:24","type":"","topic":"","content":"
\n
\nAccording to the Chinese rural underground Church witnessing, evangelizing and making new disciples is the number one task of the Church. Their cry to go and make new disciples is backed up with their very lives. In many cases if they speak to the wrong person about Jesus, they face prison, torture and even death. The task of sharing the Gospel is for every Christian, even if they give their life as a martyr. Chinese Christians teach us that when their seed (their life) has gone into the ground and died it will multiply and produce much more fruit.544 With their blood new growth is coming. The seed, their body that died now produces 100 fold, 1000 fold or even more.
\nWhen we consider that the angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner repents545 we know that God\u2019s heart is touched and He rejoices also. Modern Christians say: No, the number one task is to worship and love God. The answer: Then show how much you love and worship Him by doing. Witness and give joy to the Father. There are many excuses: I don\u2019t have the gift to witness, witnessing is for the pastor and missionaries, I don\u2019t want to upset people, I want to respect other religions, I don\u2019t know the Bible enough, what will the people think of me, and I am not an extremist. All are lies from Satan, the world and our own sinful flesh. We don\u2019t trust God that He will help us and empower us. Please read the promise in Acts chapter 1 verse 8: \u201cBut you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.\u201d If you feel you cannot speak out, would you be willing to give out a tract?546
\nImagine gatherings of believers meeting regularly that are equipped with tract booklets so that during the week they can hand them out as the Spirit of God leads them. These tracts can be of great help for seekers to find the truth. You can add your contact information to the tract for them to contact you. As you invite them to your fellowship they will learn of Christ and become a disciple through the witness in your fellowship and the work of the Holy Spirit. We believe there is a need for a radical movement of believers who are fully engaged in evangelism during their work week no matter what vocation or work they are in. Imagine an army of believers who are constantly engaging in Gospel witness to the lost world around them! The evangelization and discipleship of the world is not an option but it is a command547 from the Lord Jesus Christ. Men are ignorant of the Gospel message, they do not know the Scripture nor Christ. We must proclaim to them the Gospel and the messages of Scripture through our lives and through our mouths, so the Holy Spirit can bring men and women to repentance.548
\nA time is coming when we will not be able to do the work of spreading the Gospel to our neighbor as easily. We must be active now! Only those believers who are awake to God will have this burden. Many do not have any tears for lost souls around them because they have grieved the Holy Spirit in their lives. When our Christianity has little self-denial we will be lead by the lusts of the flesh and not share the spiritual burdens from the Lord. One reason for the exceptional growth of the Church in China is this one fact: All believers in the house Church movement are considered evangelists!
\n\u201cHow, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: \u2018How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News!\u2019\u201d549 May God raise up an army of the bearers of this Good News today!
\nWe want to encourage gatherings of believers to have printed tracts available for the Lord's people as you assemble so they can distribute them in your local area.
\nIn Scriptures we see Antioch as a larger gathering of believers where many prophets and teachers were.550 Also this place was a missions sending base where the Apostle Paul and others were sent out551 and came back to rest, be edified and encouraged. In the same way we can look and see each home gathering as a missions sending base to send the Gospel out to the entire neighborhood and local area. May the Lord grant a broken heart for the lost552 and a passion to reach out with the Gospel of our Lord. May we realize that every Christian is a Missionary!
\nThe Church has never expanded without sacrifice, to have a harvest means hard work to sow, plow and reap. We must be willing to be a follower of the Lord and deny our selfish ways553 in this matter so that the Gospel can go forward. Therefore we will be able to say as in the days of the Apostles: \u201cThe Word of God continued to spread and flourish.\u201d554
\n
\n
\n
\n544 John 12:24
\n545 Luke 15:7
\n546 There are many good Biblical tracts that can be obtained freely or printed from home. Be in prayer for what strategy and tract that the Lord would lead you to use in your local area. We must be led of the Holy Spirit in every way we reach out with the Good News.
\n547 Matthew 28:16-20
\n548 Romans 2:4
\n549 Romans 10:14-15
\n550 Acts 15:35
\n551 Acts 13:4-12
\n552 Jeremiah 8:20, Matthew 9:36-38
\n553 Luke 9:23
\n554 Acts 12:24
\n
\n","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=article&aid=33227","source":"collect","new_content":"According to the Chinese rural underground Church witnessing, evangelizing and making new disciples is the number one task of the Church. Their cry to go and make new disciples is backed up with their very lives. In many cases if they speak to the wrong person about Jesus, they face prison, torture and even death. The task of sharing the Gospel is for every Christian, even if they give their life as a martyr. Chinese Christians teach us that when their seed (their life) has gone into the ground and died it will multiply and produce much more fruit.544 With their blood new growth is coming. The seed, their body that died now produces 100 fold, 1000 fold or even more.
\nWhen we consider that the angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner repents545 we know that God\u2019s heart is touched and He rejoices also. Modern Christians say: No, the number one task is to worship and love God. The answer: Then show how much you love and worship Him by doing. Witness and give joy to the Father. There are many excuses: I don\u2019t have the gift to witness, witnessing is for the pastor and missionaries, I don\u2019t want to upset people, I want to respect other religions, I don\u2019t know the Bible enough, what will the people think of me, and I am not an extremist. All are lies from Satan, the world and our own sinful flesh. We don\u2019t trust God that He will help us and empower us. Please read the promise in Acts chapter 1 verse 8: \u201cBut you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.\u201d If you feel you cannot speak out, would you be willing to give out a tract?546
\nImagine gatherings of believers meeting regularly that are equipped with tract booklets so that during the week they can hand them out as the Spirit of God leads them. These tracts can be of great help for seekers to find the truth. You can add your contact information to the tract for them to contact you. As you invite them to your fellowship they will learn of Christ and become a disciple through the witness in your fellowship and the work of the Holy Spirit. We believe there is a need for a radical movement of believers who are fully engaged in evangelism during their work week no matter what vocation or work they are in. Imagine an army of believers who are constantly engaging in Gospel witness to the lost world around them! The evangelization and discipleship of the world is not an option but it is a command547 from the Lord Jesus Christ. Men are ignorant of the Gospel message, they do not know the Scripture nor Christ. We must proclaim to them the Gospel and the messages of Scripture through our lives and through our mouths, so the Holy Spirit can bring men and women to repentance.548
\nA time is coming when we will not be able to do the work of spreading the Gospel to our neighbor as easily. We must be active now! Only those believers who are awake to God will have this burden. Many do not have any tears for lost souls around them because they have grieved the Holy Spirit in their lives. When our Christianity has little self-denial we will be lead by the lusts of the flesh and not share the spiritual burdens from the Lord. One reason for the exceptional growth of the Church in China is this one fact: All believers in the house Church movement are considered evangelists!
\n\u201cHow, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: \u2018How beautiful are the feet of those who bring Good News!\u2019\u201d549 May God raise up an army of the bearers of this Good News today!
\nWe want to encourage gatherings of believers to have printed tracts available for the Lord's people as you assemble so they can distribute them in your local area.
\nIn Scriptures we see Antioch as a larger gathering of believers where many prophets and teachers were.550 Also this place was a missions sending base where the Apostle Paul and others were sent out551 and came back to rest, be edified and encouraged. In the same way we can look and see each home gathering as a missions sending base to send the Gospel out to the entire neighborhood and local area. May the Lord grant a broken heart for the lost552 and a passion to reach out with the Gospel of our Lord. May we realize that every Christian is a Missionary!
\nThe Church has never expanded without sacrifice, to have a harvest means hard work to sow, plow and reap. We must be willing to be a follower of the Lord and deny our selfish ways553 in this matter so that the Gospel can go forward. Therefore we will be able to say as in the days of the Apostles: \u201cThe Word of God continued to spread and flourish.\u201d554
\n
\n
\n
\n544 John 12:24
\n545 Luke 15:7
\n546 There are many good Biblical tracts that can be obtained freely or printed from home. Be in prayer for what strategy and tract that the Lord would lead you to use in your local area. We must be led of the Holy Spirit in every way we reach out with the Good News.
\n547 Matthew 28:16-20
\n548 Romans 2:4
\n549 Romans 10:14-15
\n550 Acts 15:35
\n551 Acts 13:4-12
\n552 Jeremiah 8:20, Matthew 9:36-38
\n553 Luke 9:23
\n554 Acts 12:24
\n
\n","processed":1,"summary":"According to the Chinese rural underground Church witnessing, evangelizing and making new disciples is the number one task of the Church. Their cry to go and make new disciples is backed up with their very lives. In many cases if they speak to the wrong person about Jesus, they face prison, torture ","published":1,"contents":null,"content_processed":0,"created_at":null,"updated_at":null,"author":{"id":497,"status":1,"author":"Principles For The Gathering Of Believers","slug":"Principles-For-The-Gathering-Of-Believers","date":"","image":"https:\/\/img.sermonindex.net\/pdf\/principlesbook.png","description":"

Principles For The Gathering Of Believers ( - )<\/h1>\nRead freely the free ebook Principles For The Gathering Of Believers in text and pdf format. We need revival in our countries like what we see in the underground house Churches in China. Learn the following from this volume: Prepare for coming persecution in non-persecuted countries. Learn Principles of how to gather as the Church from the Book of Acts and current underground Churches.\n

\nAccess resources that will help your gathering or house Church meeting. Experience personal revival and the Spirit\u2019s empowerment. In response to reading the Principles book consider starting a fellowship group under the Headship of Jesus Christ in your local area. Access also this free christian ebook in many other formats. Learn more at Gospel Fellowships.
<\/p>","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=category&cid=907","selected":0,"selected_reason":null,"article_amount":79,"quote_count":0,"book_count":0,"wiki_summary":null,"wiki_url":null,"wiki_name":null,"goodreads_link":null,"names":null}},{"id":22467,"author_name":"Principles For The Gathering Of Believers","author_id":497,"title":"76 - Chronological Bible Reading of Scriptures","slug":"76-chronological-bible-reading-of-scriptures","scriptures":"1Corinthians 2:13;James 1:22;Psalm 119:11;Luke 24:27;Psalm 119:15-16;Genesis 1-3;Genesis 4-7;Genesis 8-11;Job 1-5;Job 6-9;Job 10-13;Job 14-16;Job 17-20;Job 21-23;Job 24-28;Job 29-31;Job 32-34;Job 35-37;Job 38-39;Job 40-42;Genesis 12-15;Genesis 16-18;Genesis 19-21;Genesis 22-24;Genesis 25-26;Genesis 27-29;Genesis 30-31;Genesis 32-34;Genesis 35-37;Genesis 38-40;Genesis 41-42;Genesis 43-45;Genesis 46-47;Genesis 48-50;Exodus 1-3;Exodus 4-6;Exodus 7-9;Exodus 10-12;Exodus 13-15;Exodus 16-18;Exodus 19-21;Exodus 22-24;Exodus 25-27;Exodus 28-29;Exodus 30-32;Exodus 33-35;Exodus 36-38;Exodus 39-40;Leviticus 1-4;Leviticus 5-7;Leviticus 8-10;Leviticus 11-13;Leviticus 14-15;Leviticus 16-18;Leviticus 19-21;Leviticus 22-23;Leviticus 24-25;Leviticus 26-27;Numbers 1-2;Numbers 3-4;Numbers 5-6;Numbers 7;Numbers 8-10;Numbers 11-13;Mar 1;Numbers 14-15;Psalm 90;Mar 2;Numbers 16-17;Mar 3;Numbers 18-20;Mar 4;Numbers 21-22;Mar 5;Numbers 23-25;Mar 6;Numbers 26-27;Mar 7;Numbers 28-30;Mar 8;Numbers 31-32;Mar 9;Numbers 33-34;Mar 10;Numbers 35-36;Mar 11;Deuteronomy 1-2;Mar 12;Deuteronomy 3-4;Mar 13;Deuteronomy 5-7;Mar 14;Deuteronomy 8-10;Mar 15;Deuteronomy 11-13;Mar 16;Deuteronomy 14-16;Deuteronomy 17-20;Deuteronomy 21-23;Deuteronomy 24-27;Deuteronomy 28-29;Deuteronomy 30-31;Deuteronomy 32-34;Psalm 91;Joshua 1-4;Joshua 5-8;Joshua 9-11;Joshua 12-15;Joshua 16-18;Joshua 19-21;Joshua 22-24;Judges 1-2;Judges 3-5;Judges 6-7;Judges 8-9;Judges 10-12;Judges 13-15;Judges 16-18;Judges 19-21;1Samuel 1-3;1Samuel 4-8;1Samuel 9-12;1Samuel 13-14;1Samuel 15-17;1Samuel 18-20;Psalms 11;Psalms 11:59;1Samuel 21-24;Psalms 7;Psalms 7:27;Psalms 7:31;Psalms 7:34;Psalms 7:52;Psalms 56;Psalms 56:120;Psalms 56:140-142;1Samuel 25-27;Psalms 17;Psalms 17:35;Psalms 17:54;Psalms 17:63;1Samuel 28-31;Ps 18;Psalms 121;Psalms 121:123-125;Psalms 121:128-130;2Samuel 1-4;Psalms 6;Psalms 6:8-10;Psalms 6:14;Psalms 6:16;Psalms 6:19;Psalms 6:21;1Chronicles 1-2;Psalms 43-45;Psalms 43:49;Psalms 43:84-85;Psalms 43:87;1Chronicles 3-5;Psalms 73;Psalms 73:77-78;1Chronicles 6;Psalms 81;Psalms 81:88;Psalms 81:92-93;1Chronicles 7-10;Psalms 102-104;2Samuel 5:1-10;1Chronicles 11-12;Psalm 133;Psalms 106-107;2Samuel 5:11-6:23;1Chronicles 13-16;Psalms 1-2;Psalms 1:15;Psalms 1:22-24;Psalms 1:47;Psalms 1:68;Psalms 89;Psalms 89:96;Psalms 89:100-101;Psalms 89:105;Psalms 89:132;2Samuel 7;1Chronicles 17;Psalms 25;Psalms 25:29;Psalms 25:33;Psalms 25:36;Psalms 25:39;2Samuel 8-9;1Chronicles 18;Psalms 50;Psalms 50:53;Psalms 50:60;Psalms 50:75;2Samuel 10;1Chronicles 19;Psalm 20;Psalms 65-67;Psalms 65:69-70;2Samuel 11-12;1Chronicles 20;Psalm 32;Psalm 32:51;Psalm 32:86;Psalm 32:122;2Samuel 13-15;Psalm 3-4;Psalm 3:12-13;Psalm 3:28;Psalm 3:55;2Samuel 16-18;Psalms 26;Psalms 26:40;Psalms 26:58;Psalms 26:61-62;Psalms 26:64;2Samuel 19-21;Psalms 5;Psalms 5:38;Psalms 5:41-42;2Samuel 22-23;Psalm 57;Psalms 95;Psalms 95:97-99;2Samuel 24;1Chronicles 21-22;Psalm 30;Psalm 108-110;1Chronicles 23-25;Psalm 131;Psalm 131:138-139;Psalm 131:143-145;1Chronicles 26-29;Psalm 127;Psalms 111-118;1Kings 1-2;Psalms 37;Psalms 37:71;Psalms 37:94;Psalm 119:1-88;1Kings 3-4;2Chronicles 1;Psalm 72;Psalm 119:89-176;Proverbs 1-3;Proverbs 4-6;Proverbs 7-9;Proverbs 10-12;Proverbs 13-15;Proverbs 16-18;Proverbs 19-21;Proverbs 22-24;1Kings 5-6;2Chronicles 2-3;1Kings 7;2Chronicles 4;1Kings 8;2Chronicles 5;2Chronicles 6-7;Psalm 136;Psalms 134;Psalms 134:146-150;1King 9;2Chronicles 8;Proverbs 25-26;Proverbs 27-29;Ecclesiastes 1-6;Ecclesiastes 7-12;1Kings 10-11;2Chronicles 9;Proverbs 30-31;1Kings 12-14;2Chronicles 10-12;1Kings 15:1-24;2Chronicles 13-16;1Kings 15:25-16:34;2Chronicles 17;1Kings 17-19;1Kings 20-21;1Kings 22;2Chronicles 18;2Chronicles 19-23;Psalms 82-83;2Kings 1-4;2Kings 5-8;2Kings 9-11;2Kings 12-13;2Chronicles 24;2Kings 14;2Chronicles 25;2Kings 15;2Chronicles 26;Isaiah 1-4;Isaiah 5-8;Amos 1-5;Amos 6-9;2Chronicles 27;Isaiah 9-12;2Chronicles 28;2Kings 16-17;Isaiah 13-17;Isaiah 18-22;Isaiah 23-27;2Kings 18:1-8;2Chronicles 29-31;Psalm 48;Hosea 1-7;Hosea 8-14;Isaiah 28-30;Isaiah 31-34;Isaiah 35-36;Isaiah 37-39;Psalm 76;Isaiah 40-43;Isaiah 44-48;2Kings 18:9-19:37;Psalms 46;Psalms 46:80;Psalms 46:135;Isaiah 49-53;Isaiah 54-58;Isaiah 59-63;Isaiah 64-66;2Kings 20-21;2Chronicles 32-33;2Kings 22-23;2Chronicles 34-35;Jeremiah 1-3;Jeremiah 4-6;Jeremiah 7-9;Jeremiah 10-13;Jeremiah 14-17;Jeremiah 18-22;Jeremiah 23-25;Jeremiah 26-29;Jeremiah 30-31;Jeremiah 32-34;Jeremiah 35-37;Jeremiah 38-40;Psalms 74;Psalms 74:79;2Kings 24-25;2Chronicles 36;Jeremiah 41-45;Jeremiah 46-48;Jeremiah 49-50;Jeremiah 51-52;Lamentations 1:1-3:36;Lamentations 3:37-5:22;Ezekiel 1-4;Ezekiel 5-8;Ezekiel 9-12;Ezekiel 13-15;Ezekiel 16-17;Ezekiel 18-19;Ezekiel 20-21;Ezekiel 22-23;Ezekiel 24-27;Ezekiel 28-31;Ezekiel 32-34;Ezekiel 35-37;Ezekiel 38-39;Ezekiel 40-41;Ezekiel 42-43;Ezekiel 44-45;Ezekiel 46-48;Daniel 1-3;Daniel 4-6;Daniel 7-9;Daniel 10-12;Ezra 1-3;Ezra 4-6;Psalm 137;Zechariah 1-7;Zechariah 8-14;Esther 1-5;Esther 6-10;Ezra 7-10;Nehemiah 1-5;Nehemiah 6-7;Nehemiah 8-10;Nehemiah 11-13;Psalm 126;Luke 1;John 1:1-14;Matthew 1;Luke 2:1-38;Matthew 2;Luke 2:39-52;Matthew 3;Mark 1;Luke 3;Matthew 4;Luke 4-5;John 1:15-51;John 2-4;Mark 2;John 5;Matthew 12:1-21;Mark 3;Luke 6;Matthew 5-7;Matthew 8:1-13;Luke 7;Matthew 11;Matthew 12:22-50;Matthew 13;Luke 8;Matthew 8:14-34;Mark 4-5;Matthew 9-10;Matthew 14;Mark 6;Luke 9:1-17;John 6;Matthew 15;Mark 7;Matthew 16;Mark 8;Luke 9:18-27;Matthew 17;Mark 9;Luke 9:28-62;Matthew 18;John 7-8;John 9:1-10:21;Luke 10-11;John 10:22-42;Luke 12-13;Luke 14-15;Luke 16-17:10;John 11;Luke 17:11-18:14;Matthew 19;Mark 10;Matthew 20-21;Luke 18:15-19:48;Mark 11;John 12;Matthew 22;Mark 12;Matthew 23;Luke 20-21;Mark 13;Matthew 24;Matthew 25;Matthew 26;Mark 14;Luke 22;John 13;John 14-17;Matthew 27;Mark 15;Luke 23;John 18-19;Matthew 28;Mark 16;Luke 24;John 20-21;Acts 1-3;Acts 4-6;Acts 7-8;Acts 9-10;Acts 11-12;Acts 13-14;Acts 15-16;Galatians 1-3;Galatians 4-6;Acts 17-18:18;Acts 18:19-19:41;1Corinthians 1-4;1Corinthians 5-8;1Corinthians 9-11;1Corinthians 12-14;1Corinthians 15-16;2Corinthians 1-4;2Corinthians 5-9;2Corinthians 10-13;Acts 20:1-3;Romans 1-3;Romans 4-7;Romans 8-10;Romans 11-13;Romans 14-16;Acts 20:4-23:35;Acts 24-26;Acts 27-28;Hebrews 1-6;Hebrews 7-10;Hebrews 11-13;Revelation 1-5;Revelation 6-11;Revelation 12-18;Revelation 19-22","type":"","topic":"","content":"
\n
\nThere is a great need in the body of Christ for consistent reading of the Holy Scriptures in their entirety, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. In this case we are encouraging a chronological reading of the Scriptures. Most of the confusion is created when certain teachers, groups, or denominations take singular verses out of context and compare them with others. Though it is a good spiritual principle to compare spiritual truths with spiritual truths,1139 yet this must all be done in the larger context of God\u2019s Word. Therefore we are encouraging all of God\u2019s saints to have a consistent discipline of reading through the whole Scriptures once a year as a supplemental reading plan.
\nThis plan takes just 10-25 minutes of your day to read through the given chapters. One recommendation is to mark or underline one verse that stood out to you that you can apply into your life or memorize.1140 In your reading, see the person of the Lord Jesus Christ in all the chapters for our Lord said that the Scriptures testified of Him.1141 Learn of the character of God and spend time praying to the Lord what you have learnt. Also, we recommend that believers spend extra time reading through the Book of Acts on an ongoing basis for it is a clear blueprint for the Church and need for the Holy Spirit.
\nLastly, we highly recommend you spend much more time in the Scriptures on your own where the Holy Spirit is leading you to meditate on.1142 Let this plan be a possible solution for you to ensure you are reading through all the Scriptures at least once per year. You can check the boxes * beside each passage as a checklist.
\n
\n
\n1139 1 Corinthians 2:13
\n1140 James 1:22, Psalm 119:11
\n1141 Luke 24:27
\n1142 Psalm 119:15-16
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nREADING SCHEDULE
\n
\nJan 1: Genesis 1-3 *
\nJan 2: Genesis 4-7 *
\nJan 3: Genesis 8-11 *
\nJan 4: Job 1-5 *
\nJan 5: Job 6-9 *
\nJan 6: Job 10-13 *
\nJan 7: Job 14-16 *
\nJan 8: Job 17-20 *
\nJan 9: Job 21-23 *
\nJan 10: Job 24-28 *
\nJan 11: Job 29-31 *
\nJan 12: Job 32-34 *
\nJan 13: Job 35-37 *
\nJan 14: Job 38-39 *
\nJan 15: Job 40-42 *
\nJan 16: Genesis 12-15 *
\nJan 17: Genesis 16-18 *
\nJan 18: Genesis 19-21 *
\nJan 19: Genesis 22-24 *
\nJan 20: Genesis 25-26 *
\nJan 21: Genesis 27-29 *
\nJan 22: Genesis 30-31 *
\nJan 23: Genesis 32-34 *
\nJan 24: Genesis 35-37 *
\nJan 25: Genesis 38-40 *
\nJan 26: Genesis 41-42 *
\nJan 27: Genesis 43-45 *
\nJan 28: Genesis 46-47 *
\nJan 29: Genesis 48-50 *
\nJan 30: Exodus 1-3 *
\nJan 31: Exodus 4-6 *
\nFeb 1: Exodus 7-9 *
\nFeb 2: Exodus 10-12 *
\nFeb 3: Exodus 13-15 *
\nFeb 4: Exodus 16-18 *
\nFeb 5: Exodus 19-21 *
\nFeb 6: Exodus 22-24 *
\nFeb 7: Exodus 25-27 *
\nFeb 8: Exodus 28-29 *
\nFeb 9: Exodus 30-32 *
\nFeb 10: Exodus 33-35 *
\nFeb 11: Exodus 36-38 *
\nFeb 12: Exodus 39-40 *
\nFeb 13: Leviticus 1-4 *
\nFeb 14: Leviticus 5-7 *
\nFeb 15: Leviticus 8-10 *
\nFeb 16: Leviticus 11-13 *
\nFeb 17: Leviticus 14-15 *
\nFeb 18: Leviticus 16-18 *
\nFeb 19: Leviticus 19-21 *
\nFeb 20: Leviticus 22-23 *
\nFeb 21: Leviticus 24-25 *
\nFeb 22: Leviticus 26-27 *
\nFeb 23: Numbers 1-2 *
\nFeb 24: Numbers 3-4 *
\nFeb 25: Numbers 5-6 *
\nFeb 26: Numbers 7 *
\nFeb 27: Numbers 8-10 *
\nFeb 28-29: Numbers 11-13 *
\nMar 1: Numbers 14-15; Psalm 90 *
\nMar 2: Numbers 16-17 *
\nMar 3: Numbers 18-20 *
\nMar 4: Numbers 21-22 *
\nMar 5: Numbers 23-25 *
\nMar 6: Numbers 26-27 *
\nMar 7: Numbers 28-30 *
\nMar 8: Numbers 31-32 *
\nMar 9: Numbers 33-34 *
\nMar 10: Numbers 35-36 *
\nMar 11: Deuteronomy 1-2 *
\nMar 12: Deuteronomy 3-4 *
\nMar 13: Deuteronomy 5-7 *
\nMar 14: Deuteronomy 8-10 *
\nMar 15: Deuteronomy 11-13 *
\nMar 16: Deuteronomy 14-16 *
\nMar 17: Deuteronomy 17-20 *
\nMar 18: Deuteronomy 21-23 *
\nMar 19: Deuteronomy 24-27 *
\nMar 20: Deuteronomy 28-29 *
\nMar 21: Deuteronomy 30-31 *
\nMar 22: Deuteronomy 32-34; Psalm 91 *
\nMar 23: Joshua 1-4 *
\nMar 24: Joshua 5-8 *
\nMar 25: Joshua 9-11 *
\nMar 26: Joshua 12-15 *
\nMar 27: Joshua 16-18 *
\nMar 28: Joshua 19-21 *
\nMar 29: Joshua 22-24 *
\nMar 30: Judges 1-2 *
\nMar 31: Judges 3-5 *
\nApr 1: Judges 6-7 *
\nApr 2: Judges 8-9 *
\nApr 3: Judges 10-12 *
\nApr 4: Judges 13-15 *
\nApr 5: Judges 16-18 *
\nApr 6: Judges 19-21 *
\nApr 7: Ruth *
\nApr 8: 1 Samuel 1-3 *
\nApr 9: 1 Samuel 4-8 *
\nApr 10: 1 Samuel 9-12 *
\nApr 11: 1 Samuel 13-14 *
\nApr 12: 1 Samuel 15-17 *
\nApr 13: 1 Samuel 18-20; Psalms 11, 59 *
\nApr 14: 1 Samuel 21-24 *
\nApr 15: Psalms 7, 27, 31, 34, 52 *
\nApr 16: Psalms 56, 120, 140-142 *
\nApr 17: 1 Samuel 25-27 *
\nApr 18: Psalms 17, 35, 54, 63 *
\nApr 19: 1 Samuel 28-31; Ps 18 *
\nApr 20: Psalms 121, 123-125, 128-130 *
\nApr 21: 2 Samuel 1-4 *
\nApr 22: Psalms 6, 8-10, 14, 16, 19, 21 *
\nApr 23: 1 Chronicles 1-2 *
\nApr 24: Psalms 43-45, 49, 84-85, 87 *
\nApr 25: 1 Chronicles 3-5 *
\nApr 26: Psalms 73, 77-78 *
\nApr 27: 1 Chronicles 6 *
\nApr 28: Psalms 81, 88, 92-93 *
\nApr 29: 1 Chronicles 7-10 *
\nApr 30: Psalms 102-104 *
\nMay 1: 2 Samuel 5:1-10; 1 Chronicles 11-12 *
\nMay 2: Psalm 133 *
\nMay 3: Psalms 106-107 *
\nMay 4: 2 Samuel 5:11-6:23; 1 Chronicles 13-16 *
\nMay 5: Psalms 1-2, 15, 22-24, 47, 68 *
\nMay 6: Psalms 89, 96, 100-101, 105, 132 *
\nMay 7: 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17 *
\nMay 8: Psalms 25, 29, 33, 36, 39 *
\nMay 9: 2 Samuel 8-9; 1 Chronicles 18 *
\nMay 10: Psalms 50, 53, 60, 75 *
\nMay 11: 2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 19; Psalm 20 *
\nMay 12: Psalms 65-67, 69-70 *
\nMay 13: 2 Samuel 11-12; 1 Chronicles 20 *
\nMay 14: Psalm 32, 51, 86, 122 *
\nMay 15: 2 Samuel 13-15 *
\nMay 16: Psalm 3-4, 12-13, 28, 55 *
\nMay 17: 2 Samuel 16-18 *
\nMay 18: Psalms 26, 40, 58, 61-62, 64 *
\nMay 19: 2 Samuel 19-21 *
\nMay 20: Psalms 5, 38, 41-42 *
\nMay 21: 2 Samuel 22-23; Psalm 57 *
\nMay 22: Psalms 95, 97-99 *
\nMay 23: 2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21-22; Psalm 30 *
\nMay 24: Psalm 108-110 *
\nMay 25: 1 Chronicles 23-25 *
\nMay 26: Psalm 131, 138-139, 143-145 *
\nMay 27: 1 Chronicles 26-29; Psalm 127 *
\nMay 28: Psalms 111-118 *
\nMay 29: 1 Kings 1-2; Psalms 37, 71, 94 *
\nMay 30: Psalm 119:1-88 *
\nMay 31: 1 Kings 3-4; 2 Chronicles 1; Psalm 72 *
\nJun 1: Psalm 119:89-176 *
\nJun 2: Song of Songs *
\nJun 3: Proverbs 1-3 *
\nJun 4: Proverbs 4-6 *
\nJun 5: Proverbs 7-9 *
\nJun 6: Proverbs 10-12 *
\nJun 7: Proverbs 13-15 *
\nJun 8: Proverbs 16-18 *
\nJun 9: Proverbs 19-21 *
\nJun 10: Proverbs 22-24 *
\nJun 11: 1 Kings 5-6; 2 Chronicles 2-3 *
\nJun 12: 1 Kings 7; 2 Chronicles 4 *
\nJun 13: 1 Kings 8; 2 Chronicles 5 *
\nJun 14: 2 Chronicles 6-7; Psalm 136 *
\nJun 15: Psalms 134, 146-150 *
\nJun 16: 1 King 9; 2 Chronicles 8 *
\nJun 17: Proverbs 25-26 *
\nJun 18: Proverbs 27-29 *
\nJun 19: Ecclesiastes 1-6 *
\nJun 20: Ecclesiastes 7-12 *
\nJun 21: 1 Kings 10-11; 2 Chronicles 9 *
\nJun 22: Proverbs 30-31 *
\nJun 23: 1 Kings 12-14 *
\nJun 24: 2 Chronicles 10-12 *
\nJun 25: 1 Kings 15:1-24; 2 Chronicles 13-16 *
\nJun 26: 1 Kings 15:25-16:34; 2 Chronicles 17 *
\nJun 27: 1 Kings 17-19 *
\nJun 28: 1 Kings 20-21 *
\nJun 29: 1 Kings 22; 2 Chronicles 18 *
\nJun 30: 2 Chronicles 19-23 *
\nJul 1: Obadiah; Psalms 82-83 *
\nJul 2: 2 Kings 1-4 *
\nJul 3: 2 Kings 5-8 *
\nJul 4: 2 Kings 9-11 *
\nJul 5: 2 Kings 12-13; 2 Chronicles 24 *
\nJul 6: 2 Kings 14; 2 Chronicles 25 *
\nJul 7: Jonah *
\nJul 8: 2 Kings 15; 2 Chronicles 26 *
\nJul 9: Isaiah 1-4 *
\nJul 10: Isaiah 5-8 *
\nJul 11: Amos 1-5 *
\nJul 12: Amos 6-9 *
\nJul 13: 2 Chronicles 27; Isaiah 9-12 *
\nJul 14: Micah *
\nJul 15: 2 Chronicles 28; 2 Kings 16-17 *
\nJul 16: Isaiah 13-17 *
\nJul 17: Isaiah 18-22 *
\nJul 18: Isaiah 23-27 *
\nJul 19: 2 Kings 18:1-8; 2 Chronicles 29-31; Psalm 48 *
\nJul 20: Hosea 1-7 *
\nJul 21: Hosea 8-14 *
\nJul 22: Isaiah 28-30 *
\nJul 23: Isaiah 31-34 *
\nJul 24: Isaiah 35-36 *
\nJul 25: Isaiah 37-39; Psalm 76 *
\nJul 26: Isaiah 40-43 *
\nJul 27: Isaiah 44-48 *
\nJul 28: 2 Kings 18:9-19:37; Psalms 46, 80, 135 *
\nJul 29: Isaiah 49-53 *
\nJul 30: Isaiah 54-58 *
\nJul 31: Isaiah 59-63 *
\nAug 1: Isaiah 64-66 *
\nAug 2: 2 Kings 20-21 *
\nAug 3: 2 Chronicles 32-33 *
\nAug 4: Nahum *
\nAug 5: 2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chronicles 34-35 *
\nAug 6: Zephaniah *
\nAug 7: Jeremiah 1-3 *
\nAug 8: Jeremiah 4-6 *
\nAug 9: Jeremiah 7-9 *
\nAug 10: Jeremiah 10-13 *
\nAug 11: Jeremiah 14-17 *
\nAug 12: Jeremiah 18-22 *
\nAug 13: Jeremiah 23-25 *
\nAug 14: Jeremiah 26-29 *
\nAug 15: Jeremiah 30-31 *
\nAug 16: Jeremiah 32-34 *
\nAug 17: Jeremiah 35-37 *
\nAug 18: Jeremiah 38-40; Psalms 74, 79 *
\nAug 19: 2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chronicles 36 *
\nAug 20: Habakkuk *
\nAug 21: Jeremiah 41-45 *
\nAug 22: Jeremiah 46-48 *
\nAug 23: Jeremiah 49-50 *
\nAug 24: Jeremiah 51-52 *
\nAug 25: Lamentations 1:1-3:36 *
\nAug 26: Lamentations 3:37-5:22 *
\nAug 27: Ezekiel 1-4 *
\nAug 28: Ezekiel 5-8 *
\nAug 29: Ezekiel 9-12 *
\nAug 30: Ezekiel 13-15 *
\nAug 31: Ezekiel 16-17 *
\nSep 1: Ezekiel 18-19 *
\nSep 2: Ezekiel 20-21 *
\nSep 3: Ezekiel 22-23 *
\nSep 4: Ezekiel 24-27 *
\nSep 5: Ezekiel 28-31 *
\nSep 6: Ezekiel 32-34 *
\nSep 7: Ezekiel 35-37 *
\nSep 8: Ezekiel 38-39 *
\nSep 9: Ezekiel 40-41 *
\nSep 10: Ezekiel 42-43 *
\nSep 11: Ezekiel 44-45 *
\nSep 12: Ezekiel 46-48 *
\nSep 13: Joel *
\nSep 14: Daniel 1-3 *
\nSep 15: Daniel 4-6 *
\nSep 16: Daniel 7-9 *
\nSep 17: Daniel 10-12 *
\nSep 18: Ezra 1-3 *
\nSep 19: Ezra 4-6; Psalm 137 *
\nSep 20: Haggai *
\nSep 21: Zechariah 1-7 *
\nSep 22: Zechariah 8-14 *
\nSep 23: Esther 1-5 *
\nSep 24: Esther 6-10 *
\nSep 25: Ezra 7-10 *
\nSep 26: Nehemiah 1-5 *
\nSep 27: Nehemiah 6-7 *
\nSep 28: Nehemiah 8-10 *
\nSep 29: Nehemiah 11-13; Psalm 126 *
\nSep 30: Malachi *
\nOct 1: Luke 1; John 1:1-14 *
\nOct 2: Matthew 1; Luke 2:1-38 *
\nOct 3: Matthew 2; Luke 2:39-52 *
\nOct 4: Matthew 3; Mark 1; Luke 3 *
\nOct 5: Matthew 4; Luke 4-5; John 1:15-51 *
\nOct 6: John 2-4 *
\nOct 7: Mark 2 *
\nOct 8: John 5 *
\nOct 9: Matthew 12:1-21; Mark 3; Luke 6 *
\nOct 10: Matthew 5-7 *
\nOct 11: Matthew 8:1-13; Luke 7 *
\nOct 12: Matthew 11 *
\nOct 13: Matthew 12:22-50 *
\nOct 14: Matthew 13; Luke 8 *
\nOct 15: Matthew 8:14-34; Mark 4-5 *
\nOct 16: Matthew 9-10 *
\nOct 17: Matthew 14; Mark 6; Luke 9:1-17 *
\nOct 18: John 6 *
\nOct 19: Matthew 15; Mark 7 *
\nOct 20: Matthew 16; Mark 8; Luke 9:18-27 *
\nOct 21: Matthew 17; Mark 9; Luke 9:28-62 *
\nOct 22: Matthew 18 *
\nOct 23: John 7-8 *
\nOct 24: John 9:1-10:21 *
\nOct 25: Luke 10-11; John 10:22-42 *
\nOct 26: Luke 12-13 *
\nOct 27: Luke 14-15 *
\nOct 28: Luke 16-17:10 *
\nOct 29: John 11 *
\nOct 30: Luke 17:11-18:14 *
\nOct 31: Matthew 19; Mark 10 *
\nNov 1: Matthew 20-21 *
\nNov 2: Luke 18:15-19:48 *
\nNov 3: Mark 11; John 12 *
\nNov 4: Matthew 22; Mark 12 *
\nNov 5: Matthew 23; Luke 20-21 *
\nNov 6: Mark 13 *
\nNov 7: Matthew 24 *
\nNov 8: Matthew 25 *
\nNov 9: Matthew 26; Mark 14 *
\nNov 10: Luke 22; John 13 *
\nNov 11: John 14-17 *
\nNov 12: Matthew 27; Mark 15 *
\nNov 13: Luke 23; John 18-19 *
\nNov 14: Matthew 28; Mark 16 *
\nNov 15: Luke 24; John 20-21 *
\nNov 16: Acts 1-3 *
\nNov 17: Acts 4-6 *
\nNov 18: Acts 7-8 *
\nNov 19: Acts 9-10 *
\nNov 20: Acts 11-12 *
\nNov 21: Acts 13-14 *
\nNov 22: James *
\nNov 23: Acts 15-16 *
\nNov 24: Galatians 1-3 *
\nNov 25: Galatians 4-6 *
\nNov 26: Acts 17-18:18 *
\nNov 27: 1 Thessalonians; 2 Thessalonians *
\nNov 28: Acts 18:19-19:41 *
\nNov 29: 1 Corinthians 1-4 *
\nNov 30: 1 Corinthians 5-8 *
\nDec 1: 1 Corinthians 9-11 *
\nDec 2: 1 Corinthians 12-14 *
\nDec 3: 1 Corinthians 15-16 *
\nDec 4: 2 Corinthians 1-4 *
\nDec 5: 2 Corinthians 5-9 *
\nDec 6: 2 Corinthians 10-13 *
\nDec 7: Acts 20:1-3; Romans 1-3 *
\nDec 8: Romans 4-7 *
\nDec 9: Romans 8-10 *
\nDec 10: Romans 11-13 *
\nDec 11: Romans 14-16 *
\nDec 12: Acts 20:4-23:35 *
\nDec 13: Acts 24-26 *
\nDec 14: Acts 27-28 *
\nDec 15: Colossians; Philemon *
\nDec 16: Ephesians *
\nDec 17: Philippians *
\nDec 18: 1 Timothy *
\nDec 19: Titus *
\nDec 20: 1 Peter *
\nDec 21: Hebrews 1-6 *
\nDec 22: Hebrews 7-10 *
\nDec 23: Hebrews 11-13 *
\nDec 24: 2 Timothy *
\nDec 25: 2 Peter; Jude *
\nDec 26: 1 John *
\nDec 27: 2 John; 3 John *
\nDec 28: Revelation 1-5 *
\nDec 29: Revelation 6-11 *
\nDec 30: Revelation 12-18 *
\nDec 31: Revelation 19-22 *
\n","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=article&aid=33265","source":"collect","new_content":"There is a great need in the body of Christ for consistent reading of the Holy Scriptures in their entirety, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. In this case we are encouraging a chronological reading of the Scriptures. Most of the confusion is created when certain teachers, groups, or denominations take singular verses out of context and compare them with others. Though it is a good spiritual principle to compare spiritual truths with spiritual truths,1139 yet this must all be done in the larger context of God\u2019s Word. Therefore we are encouraging all of God\u2019s saints to have a consistent discipline of reading through the whole Scriptures once a year as a supplemental reading plan.
\nThis plan takes just 10-25 minutes of your day to read through the given chapters. One recommendation is to mark or underline one verse that stood out to you that you can apply into your life or memorize.1140 In your reading, see the person of the Lord Jesus Christ in all the chapters for our Lord said that the Scriptures testified of Him.1141 Learn of the character of God and spend time praying to the Lord what you have learnt. Also, we recommend that believers spend extra time reading through the Book of Acts on an ongoing basis for it is a clear blueprint for the Church and need for the Holy Spirit.
\nLastly, we highly recommend you spend much more time in the Scriptures on your own where the Holy Spirit is leading you to meditate on.1142 Let this plan be a possible solution for you to ensure you are reading through all the Scriptures at least once per year. You can check the boxes * beside each passage as a checklist.
\n
\n
\n1139 1 Corinthians 2:13
\n1140 James 1:22, Psalm 119:11
\n1141 Luke 24:27
\n1142 Psalm 119:15-16
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nREADING SCHEDULE
\n
\nJan 1: Genesis 1-3 *
\nJan 2: Genesis 4-7 *
\nJan 3: Genesis 8-11 *
\nJan 4: Job 1-5 *
\nJan 5: Job 6-9 *
\nJan 6: Job 10-13 *
\nJan 7: Job 14-16 *
\nJan 8: Job 17-20 *
\nJan 9: Job 21-23 *
\nJan 10: Job 24-28 *
\nJan 11: Job 29-31 *
\nJan 12: Job 32-34 *
\nJan 13: Job 35-37 *
\nJan 14: Job 38-39 *
\nJan 15: Job 40-42 *
\nJan 16: Genesis 12-15 *
\nJan 17: Genesis 16-18 *
\nJan 18: Genesis 19-21 *
\nJan 19: Genesis 22-24 *
\nJan 20: Genesis 25-26 *
\nJan 21: Genesis 27-29 *
\nJan 22: Genesis 30-31 *
\nJan 23: Genesis 32-34 *
\nJan 24: Genesis 35-37 *
\nJan 25: Genesis 38-40 *
\nJan 26: Genesis 41-42 *
\nJan 27: Genesis 43-45 *
\nJan 28: Genesis 46-47 *
\nJan 29: Genesis 48-50 *
\nJan 30: Exodus 1-3 *
\nJan 31: Exodus 4-6 *
\nFeb 1: Exodus 7-9 *
\nFeb 2: Exodus 10-12 *
\nFeb 3: Exodus 13-15 *
\nFeb 4: Exodus 16-18 *
\nFeb 5: Exodus 19-21 *
\nFeb 6: Exodus 22-24 *
\nFeb 7: Exodus 25-27 *
\nFeb 8: Exodus 28-29 *
\nFeb 9: Exodus 30-32 *
\nFeb 10: Exodus 33-35 *
\nFeb 11: Exodus 36-38 *
\nFeb 12: Exodus 39-40 *
\nFeb 13: Leviticus 1-4 *
\nFeb 14: Leviticus 5-7 *
\nFeb 15: Leviticus 8-10 *
\nFeb 16: Leviticus 11-13 *
\nFeb 17: Leviticus 14-15 *
\nFeb 18: Leviticus 16-18 *
\nFeb 19: Leviticus 19-21 *
\nFeb 20: Leviticus 22-23 *
\nFeb 21: Leviticus 24-25 *
\nFeb 22: Leviticus 26-27 *
\nFeb 23: Numbers 1-2 *
\nFeb 24: Numbers 3-4 *
\nFeb 25: Numbers 5-6 *
\nFeb 26: Numbers 7 *
\nFeb 27: Numbers 8-10 *
\nFeb 28-29: Numbers 11-13 *
\nMar 1: Numbers 14-15; Psalm 90 *
\nMar 2: Numbers 16-17 *
\nMar 3: Numbers 18-20 *
\nMar 4: Numbers 21-22 *
\nMar 5: Numbers 23-25 *
\nMar 6: Numbers 26-27 *
\nMar 7: Numbers 28-30 *
\nMar 8: Numbers 31-32 *
\nMar 9: Numbers 33-34 *
\nMar 10: Numbers 35-36 *
\nMar 11: Deuteronomy 1-2 *
\nMar 12: Deuteronomy 3-4 *
\nMar 13: Deuteronomy 5-7 *
\nMar 14: Deuteronomy 8-10 *
\nMar 15: Deuteronomy 11-13 *
\nMar 16: Deuteronomy 14-16 *
\nMar 17: Deuteronomy 17-20 *
\nMar 18: Deuteronomy 21-23 *
\nMar 19: Deuteronomy 24-27 *
\nMar 20: Deuteronomy 28-29 *
\nMar 21: Deuteronomy 30-31 *
\nMar 22: Deuteronomy 32-34; Psalm 91 *
\nMar 23: Joshua 1-4 *
\nMar 24: Joshua 5-8 *
\nMar 25: Joshua 9-11 *
\nMar 26: Joshua 12-15 *
\nMar 27: Joshua 16-18 *
\nMar 28: Joshua 19-21 *
\nMar 29: Joshua 22-24 *
\nMar 30: Judges 1-2 *
\nMar 31: Judges 3-5 *
\nApr 1: Judges 6-7 *
\nApr 2: Judges 8-9 *
\nApr 3: Judges 10-12 *
\nApr 4: Judges 13-15 *
\nApr 5: Judges 16-18 *
\nApr 6: Judges 19-21 *
\nApr 7: Ruth *
\nApr 8: 1 Samuel 1-3 *
\nApr 9: 1 Samuel 4-8 *
\nApr 10: 1 Samuel 9-12 *
\nApr 11: 1 Samuel 13-14 *
\nApr 12: 1 Samuel 15-17 *
\nApr 13: 1 Samuel 18-20; Psalms 11, 59 *
\nApr 14: 1 Samuel 21-24 *
\nApr 15: Psalms 7, 27, 31, 34, 52 *
\nApr 16: Psalms 56, 120, 140-142 *
\nApr 17: 1 Samuel 25-27 *
\nApr 18: Psalms 17, 35, 54, 63 *
\nApr 19: 1 Samuel 28-31; Ps 18 *
\nApr 20: Psalms 121, 123-125, 128-130 *
\nApr 21: 2 Samuel 1-4 *
\nApr 22: Psalms 6, 8-10, 14, 16, 19, 21 *
\nApr 23: 1 Chronicles 1-2 *
\nApr 24: Psalms 43-45, 49, 84-85, 87 *
\nApr 25: 1 Chronicles 3-5 *
\nApr 26: Psalms 73, 77-78 *
\nApr 27: 1 Chronicles 6 *
\nApr 28: Psalms 81, 88, 92-93 *
\nApr 29: 1 Chronicles 7-10 *
\nApr 30: Psalms 102-104 *
\nMay 1: 2 Samuel 5:1-10; 1 Chronicles 11-12 *
\nMay 2: Psalm 133 *
\nMay 3: Psalms 106-107 *
\nMay 4: 2 Samuel 5:11-6:23; 1 Chronicles 13-16 *
\nMay 5: Psalms 1-2, 15, 22-24, 47, 68 *
\nMay 6: Psalms 89, 96, 100-101, 105, 132 *
\nMay 7: 2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17 *
\nMay 8: Psalms 25, 29, 33, 36, 39 *
\nMay 9: 2 Samuel 8-9; 1 Chronicles 18 *
\nMay 10: Psalms 50, 53, 60, 75 *
\nMay 11: 2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 19; Psalm 20 *
\nMay 12: Psalms 65-67, 69-70 *
\nMay 13: 2 Samuel 11-12; 1 Chronicles 20 *
\nMay 14: Psalm 32, 51, 86, 122 *
\nMay 15: 2 Samuel 13-15 *
\nMay 16: Psalm 3-4, 12-13, 28, 55 *
\nMay 17: 2 Samuel 16-18 *
\nMay 18: Psalms 26, 40, 58, 61-62, 64 *
\nMay 19: 2 Samuel 19-21 *
\nMay 20: Psalms 5, 38, 41-42 *
\nMay 21: 2 Samuel 22-23; Psalm 57 *
\nMay 22: Psalms 95, 97-99 *
\nMay 23: 2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21-22; Psalm 30 *
\nMay 24: Psalm 108-110 *
\nMay 25: 1 Chronicles 23-25 *
\nMay 26: Psalm 131, 138-139, 143-145 *
\nMay 27: 1 Chronicles 26-29; Psalm 127 *
\nMay 28: Psalms 111-118 *
\nMay 29: 1 Kings 1-2; Psalms 37, 71, 94 *
\nMay 30: Psalm 119:1-88 *
\nMay 31: 1 Kings 3-4; 2 Chronicles 1; Psalm 72 *
\nJun 1: Psalm 119:89-176 *
\nJun 2: Song of Songs *
\nJun 3: Proverbs 1-3 *
\nJun 4: Proverbs 4-6 *
\nJun 5: Proverbs 7-9 *
\nJun 6: Proverbs 10-12 *
\nJun 7: Proverbs 13-15 *
\nJun 8: Proverbs 16-18 *
\nJun 9: Proverbs 19-21 *
\nJun 10: Proverbs 22-24 *
\nJun 11: 1 Kings 5-6; 2 Chronicles 2-3 *
\nJun 12: 1 Kings 7; 2 Chronicles 4 *
\nJun 13: 1 Kings 8; 2 Chronicles 5 *
\nJun 14: 2 Chronicles 6-7; Psalm 136 *
\nJun 15: Psalms 134, 146-150 *
\nJun 16: 1 King 9; 2 Chronicles 8 *
\nJun 17: Proverbs 25-26 *
\nJun 18: Proverbs 27-29 *
\nJun 19: Ecclesiastes 1-6 *
\nJun 20: Ecclesiastes 7-12 *
\nJun 21: 1 Kings 10-11; 2 Chronicles 9 *
\nJun 22: Proverbs 30-31 *
\nJun 23: 1 Kings 12-14 *
\nJun 24: 2 Chronicles 10-12 *
\nJun 25: 1 Kings 15:1-24; 2 Chronicles 13-16 *
\nJun 26: 1 Kings 15:25-16:34; 2 Chronicles 17 *
\nJun 27: 1 Kings 17-19 *
\nJun 28: 1 Kings 20-21 *
\nJun 29: 1 Kings 22; 2 Chronicles 18 *
\nJun 30: 2 Chronicles 19-23 *
\nJul 1: Obadiah; Psalms 82-83 *
\nJul 2: 2 Kings 1-4 *
\nJul 3: 2 Kings 5-8 *
\nJul 4: 2 Kings 9-11 *
\nJul 5: 2 Kings 12-13; 2 Chronicles 24 *
\nJul 6: 2 Kings 14; 2 Chronicles 25 *
\nJul 7: Jonah *
\nJul 8: 2 Kings 15; 2 Chronicles 26 *
\nJul 9: Isaiah 1-4 *
\nJul 10: Isaiah 5-8 *
\nJul 11: Amos 1-5 *
\nJul 12: Amos 6-9 *
\nJul 13: 2 Chronicles 27; Isaiah 9-12 *
\nJul 14: Micah *
\nJul 15: 2 Chronicles 28; 2 Kings 16-17 *
\nJul 16: Isaiah 13-17 *
\nJul 17: Isaiah 18-22 *
\nJul 18: Isaiah 23-27 *
\nJul 19: 2 Kings 18:1-8; 2 Chronicles 29-31; Psalm 48 *
\nJul 20: Hosea 1-7 *
\nJul 21: Hosea 8-14 *
\nJul 22: Isaiah 28-30 *
\nJul 23: Isaiah 31-34 *
\nJul 24: Isaiah 35-36 *
\nJul 25: Isaiah 37-39; Psalm 76 *
\nJul 26: Isaiah 40-43 *
\nJul 27: Isaiah 44-48 *
\nJul 28: 2 Kings 18:9-19:37; Psalms 46, 80, 135 *
\nJul 29: Isaiah 49-53 *
\nJul 30: Isaiah 54-58 *
\nJul 31: Isaiah 59-63 *
\nAug 1: Isaiah 64-66 *
\nAug 2: 2 Kings 20-21 *
\nAug 3: 2 Chronicles 32-33 *
\nAug 4: Nahum *
\nAug 5: 2 Kings 22-23; 2 Chronicles 34-35 *
\nAug 6: Zephaniah *
\nAug 7: Jeremiah 1-3 *
\nAug 8: Jeremiah 4-6 *
\nAug 9: Jeremiah 7-9 *
\nAug 10: Jeremiah 10-13 *
\nAug 11: Jeremiah 14-17 *
\nAug 12: Jeremiah 18-22 *
\nAug 13: Jeremiah 23-25 *
\nAug 14: Jeremiah 26-29 *
\nAug 15: Jeremiah 30-31 *
\nAug 16: Jeremiah 32-34 *
\nAug 17: Jeremiah 35-37 *
\nAug 18: Jeremiah 38-40; Psalms 74, 79 *
\nAug 19: 2 Kings 24-25; 2 Chronicles 36 *
\nAug 20: Habakkuk *
\nAug 21: Jeremiah 41-45 *
\nAug 22: Jeremiah 46-48 *
\nAug 23: Jeremiah 49-50 *
\nAug 24: Jeremiah 51-52 *
\nAug 25: Lamentations 1:1-3:36 *
\nAug 26: Lamentations 3:37-5:22 *
\nAug 27: Ezekiel 1-4 *
\nAug 28: Ezekiel 5-8 *
\nAug 29: Ezekiel 9-12 *
\nAug 30: Ezekiel 13-15 *
\nAug 31: Ezekiel 16-17 *
\nSep 1: Ezekiel 18-19 *
\nSep 2: Ezekiel 20-21 *
\nSep 3: Ezekiel 22-23 *
\nSep 4: Ezekiel 24-27 *
\nSep 5: Ezekiel 28-31 *
\nSep 6: Ezekiel 32-34 *
\nSep 7: Ezekiel 35-37 *
\nSep 8: Ezekiel 38-39 *
\nSep 9: Ezekiel 40-41 *
\nSep 10: Ezekiel 42-43 *
\nSep 11: Ezekiel 44-45 *
\nSep 12: Ezekiel 46-48 *
\nSep 13: Joel *
\nSep 14: Daniel 1-3 *
\nSep 15: Daniel 4-6 *
\nSep 16: Daniel 7-9 *
\nSep 17: Daniel 10-12 *
\nSep 18: Ezra 1-3 *
\nSep 19: Ezra 4-6; Psalm 137 *
\nSep 20: Haggai *
\nSep 21: Zechariah 1-7 *
\nSep 22: Zechariah 8-14 *
\nSep 23: Esther 1-5 *
\nSep 24: Esther 6-10 *
\nSep 25: Ezra 7-10 *
\nSep 26: Nehemiah 1-5 *
\nSep 27: Nehemiah 6-7 *
\nSep 28: Nehemiah 8-10 *
\nSep 29: Nehemiah 11-13; Psalm 126 *
\nSep 30: Malachi *
\nOct 1: Luke 1; John 1:1-14 *
\nOct 2: Matthew 1; Luke 2:1-38 *
\nOct 3: Matthew 2; Luke 2:39-52 *
\nOct 4: Matthew 3; Mark 1; Luke 3 *
\nOct 5: Matthew 4; Luke 4-5; John 1:15-51 *
\nOct 6: John 2-4 *
\nOct 7: Mark 2 *
\nOct 8: John 5 *
\nOct 9: Matthew 12:1-21; Mark 3; Luke 6 *
\nOct 10: Matthew 5-7 *
\nOct 11: Matthew 8:1-13; Luke 7 *
\nOct 12: Matthew 11 *
\nOct 13: Matthew 12:22-50 *
\nOct 14: Matthew 13; Luke 8 *
\nOct 15: Matthew 8:14-34; Mark 4-5 *
\nOct 16: Matthew 9-10 *
\nOct 17: Matthew 14; Mark 6; Luke 9:1-17 *
\nOct 18: John 6 *
\nOct 19: Matthew 15; Mark 7 *
\nOct 20: Matthew 16; Mark 8; Luke 9:18-27 *
\nOct 21: Matthew 17; Mark 9; Luke 9:28-62 *
\nOct 22: Matthew 18 *
\nOct 23: John 7-8 *
\nOct 24: John 9:1-10:21 *
\nOct 25: Luke 10-11; John 10:22-42 *
\nOct 26: Luke 12-13 *
\nOct 27: Luke 14-15 *
\nOct 28: Luke 16-17:10 *
\nOct 29: John 11 *
\nOct 30: Luke 17:11-18:14 *
\nOct 31: Matthew 19; Mark 10 *
\nNov 1: Matthew 20-21 *
\nNov 2: Luke 18:15-19:48 *
\nNov 3: Mark 11; John 12 *
\nNov 4: Matthew 22; Mark 12 *
\nNov 5: Matthew 23; Luke 20-21 *
\nNov 6: Mark 13 *
\nNov 7: Matthew 24 *
\nNov 8: Matthew 25 *
\nNov 9: Matthew 26; Mark 14 *
\nNov 10: Luke 22; John 13 *
\nNov 11: John 14-17 *
\nNov 12: Matthew 27; Mark 15 *
\nNov 13: Luke 23; John 18-19 *
\nNov 14: Matthew 28; Mark 16 *
\nNov 15: Luke 24; John 20-21 *
\nNov 16: Acts 1-3 *
\nNov 17: Acts 4-6 *
\nNov 18: Acts 7-8 *
\nNov 19: Acts 9-10 *
\nNov 20: Acts 11-12 *
\nNov 21: Acts 13-14 *
\nNov 22: James *
\nNov 23: Acts 15-16 *
\nNov 24: Galatians 1-3 *
\nNov 25: Galatians 4-6 *
\nNov 26: Acts 17-18:18 *
\nNov 27: 1 Thessalonians; 2 Thessalonians *
\nNov 28: Acts 18:19-19:41 *
\nNov 29: 1 Corinthians 1-4 *
\nNov 30: 1 Corinthians 5-8 *
\nDec 1: 1 Corinthians 9-11 *
\nDec 2: 1 Corinthians 12-14 *
\nDec 3: 1 Corinthians 15-16 *
\nDec 4: 2 Corinthians 1-4 *
\nDec 5: 2 Corinthians 5-9 *
\nDec 6: 2 Corinthians 10-13 *
\nDec 7: Acts 20:1-3; Romans 1-3 *
\nDec 8: Romans 4-7 *
\nDec 9: Romans 8-10 *
\nDec 10: Romans 11-13 *
\nDec 11: Romans 14-16 *
\nDec 12: Acts 20:4-23:35 *
\nDec 13: Acts 24-26 *
\nDec 14: Acts 27-28 *
\nDec 15: Colossians; Philemon *
\nDec 16: Ephesians *
\nDec 17: Philippians *
\nDec 18: 1 Timothy *
\nDec 19: Titus *
\nDec 20: 1 Peter *
\nDec 21: Hebrews 1-6 *
\nDec 22: Hebrews 7-10 *
\nDec 23: Hebrews 11-13 *
\nDec 24: 2 Timothy *
\nDec 25: 2 Peter; Jude *
\nDec 26: 1 John *
\nDec 27: 2 John; 3 John *
\nDec 28: Revelation 1-5 *
\nDec 29: Revelation 6-11 *
\nDec 30: Revelation 12-18 *
\nDec 31: Revelation 19-22 *
\n","processed":1,"summary":"There is a great need in the body of Christ for consistent reading of the Holy Scriptures in their entirety, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. In this case we are encouraging a chronological reading of the Scriptures. Most of the confusion is created when certain teachers, groups, or","published":1,"contents":null,"content_processed":0,"created_at":null,"updated_at":null,"author":{"id":497,"status":1,"author":"Principles For The Gathering Of Believers","slug":"Principles-For-The-Gathering-Of-Believers","date":"","image":"https:\/\/img.sermonindex.net\/pdf\/principlesbook.png","description":"

Principles For The Gathering Of Believers ( - )<\/h1>\nRead freely the free ebook Principles For The Gathering Of Believers in text and pdf format. We need revival in our countries like what we see in the underground house Churches in China. Learn the following from this volume: Prepare for coming persecution in non-persecuted countries. Learn Principles of how to gather as the Church from the Book of Acts and current underground Churches.\n

\nAccess resources that will help your gathering or house Church meeting. Experience personal revival and the Spirit\u2019s empowerment. In response to reading the Principles book consider starting a fellowship group under the Headship of Jesus Christ in your local area. Access also this free christian ebook in many other formats. Learn more at Gospel Fellowships.
<\/p>","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=category&cid=907","selected":0,"selected_reason":null,"article_amount":79,"quote_count":0,"book_count":0,"wiki_summary":null,"wiki_url":null,"wiki_name":null,"goodreads_link":null,"names":null}},{"id":23958,"author_name":"A.B. Simpson","author_id":546,"title":"(Present Truths or the Supernatural) 7. THE SUPERNATURAL WORK","slug":"present-truths-or-the-supernatural-7-the-supernatural-work","scriptures":"Eph. 2:10;Acts 1:8;Acts 15","type":"","topic":"","content":"
\n
\n\"We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.\" (Eph. 2:10.)
\nThe apostle here declares that our works are \"prepared,\" for that is the true translation of the word \"ordained,\" \"that we should walk in them.\" They are not our works, but His supplied to us through the Holy Ghost and the inworking of Christ, and we just work out \"according to his working, which works in (us) mightily.\" Our whole life must be supernatural to the close, and our very service must be received before it can be performed. \"Receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.\"
\n
\nWe must have supernatural power for our work. We must pass the sentence of death upon our natural enthusiasm, energy and zeal; and, dying to our own strength, we must receive power through the Holy Ghost and do our work in Him.
\n
\nMoses had to be rejected when he stepped forth at the age of forty in his own enthusiasm to deliver Israel. Afterwards, when he came back at eighty, a broken man, humbled and conscious of his inefficiency, God could use him, like His own rod, an instrument in the hands of Jehovah.
\n
\nChrist Himself continually recognized His power for service as divinely supplied. \"I can of my own self do nothing,\" He said; \"as I hear, I judge.\" \"The Father that dwells in me, he does the works.\" Therefore He did not begin His public ministry until He received the Holy Spirit and there was added to His divine Personality a second divine Personality -- the third Person of the Godhead. And as He went through His earthly ministry there were two Persons united in His life work, the Son of God and the Spirit of God. He chose to be dependent upon the Spirit in order that He might be the more perfect type of us in our dependence.
\n
\nTherefore His disciples were bidden to tarry in Jerusalem until they should be endued with power from on high. They were not suffered to go out in their own strength, but had to lean upon the Spirit for their wisdom, courage, faith and complete efficiency.
\n
\nNo man is fit for the humblest service in the church of God until he receives the divine baptism of the Holy Ghost. The mother needs it in the nursery, the Sunday school teacher in his class, the preacher in his pulpit, the soul winner in his dealings with the inquirer and the saint in his ministry of prayer in the secret closet.
\n
\nThere is no truth that needs to be more emphasized in this age of smartness and human self-sufficiency than the imperative necessity of the baptism of the Holy Ghost as the condition of all effective Christian work. We must tarry before we go.
\n
\nIt pays to wait. The traveler pursued by his enemies lingered five minutes at the blacksmith's shop to have his horse reshod, and while some might have thought he was foolish thus to delay, yet he was truly wise, for as they drew near at the last moment and shouted their expected triumph he leaped into the saddle and was soon far in the distance. A week spent at the source of faith and power will bring more effective service than years of human effort in the energy of our highest gifts and loftiest genius.
\n
\nWe must have a supernatural plan. In the working out of a military campaign the commander relies upon the intelligent cooperation of his subordinate officers. If one division of the army were to rush into the attack heedless of the plan of the leader, it might hinder instead of help. A very small force judiciously used at the salient point of attack or defense often turns an enemy's flank and changes the outcome of a decisive battle.
\n
\nChrist has a plan in His mediatorial work. He does not send us forth to draw our bow at a venture and run wherever our fancy may dispose us, but He wants us to understand His method and work according to His great purpose. It is foreshadowed in the promise of the Spirit (Acts 1:8), the gospel for the center first, and then for the circumference, and then for the uttermost parts of the earth.
\n
\nThat plan was more fully unfolded at the first great council of the Christian church in Acts 15 and consists of three great sections: first, a visit to the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name; second, the return of the Lord and the restoration of Israel; third, the millennial reign with the ingathering of all the Gentiles.
\n
\nA wise worker will work according to this plan. He will not attempt today the ingathering of all the Gentiles, but will be occupied with the outgathering from them of the few who are to be the firstfruits for His coming. He will not be devoting his attention to Israel supremely, for the restoration of Israel is to come with the return of the Lord. His chief business will be to give the gospel to the Gentile and gather out of them a people for His name.
\n
\nThis will save us many a bitter disappointment. We will not be found trying to convert all the people in the world and stop all the abuses of our time. This belongs to the next dispensation. Rather, we are to be busily occupied in the great missionary work of the age and the bringing back of our King.
\n
\nWe must have supernatural direction. It is possible to have a divine plan and yet run at our own impulse in the direction of our work. This was Saul's mistake. God sent him as Israel's king to destroy his enemies, but Saul took the reins into his own hand and, instead of waiting for Samuel to lead, stepped out in front, and by his presumption destroyed himself and his kingdom.
\n
\nThis was Joshua's danger. God had sent him and promised to bless him in bringing Israel into the Land of Promise. Joshua had an idea that he was to lead the armies of Israel, and so God had to meet him with a drawn sword and lay him on his face at the very outset of his career, and remind him that He, not Joshua, was Captain of the Lord's host. Then Joshua became conqueror when he simply followed his conquering Leader.
\n
\nVery early in the Acts of the Apostles Philip had to learn this lesson. Preaching in Samaria with wonderful success, it seemed on all human principles that was his immediate duty. But suddenly the Spirit commanded him to go down into the desert, and he was wise and faithful enough to obey, to leave his work in Samaria and to go down a hundred miles into the lone wilderness until at last the leading was made plain, and the prince of Ethiopia was converted to God and became the pioneer of the gospel in the great continent of Africa.
\n
\nEven Paul and Silas had to be severely taught that they must go every moment at the direction of their supernatural Leader. Rushing forward in the accomplishment of their plans into Bithynia, Mysia and Asia, they were suddenly stopped by the Holy Ghost, \"The Spirit suffered them not.\" They had gone beyond their personal Leader, and they were compelled to retrace their steps and get still before God and wait for new orders. They seemed to be doing good, but God was not pleased and would not have it.
\n
\nHe does not even want good work if it is not His very work for us at that very time. It is not true to say, I am doing some good, I am doing the best I know how. True service is doing the very thing that God has for us, doing it in His strength and wholly pleasing Him. If we are not doing this we may be hindering Him by our very Christian work. It is a serious question whether much of the religious work today is not entirely out of God's will. I believe that many a man that is preaching today in an American pulpit ought to be in some heathen field, and because he is not in God's will, he blights his blessings and lets his church run into foolishness, worldliness and sometimes infidelity.
\n
\nSo Paul called a halt and waited for his Leader to point the way, and then he found that way led them out of the field that he was cultivating across the Aegean Sea into the continent of Europe and the kingdom of Greece.
\n
\nGod had a great ultimate purpose in that which Paul could not foresee. He knew that the nations of modern history were to have their theater of action in that great continent. There our forefathers were to be born and thence were we to spring, and well may we thank God that Paul obeyed that divine leading and gave up his own work to the work of the Master.
\n
\nBeloved, are you doing the very work God has for you? Did He redeem you for the purpose of spending your life in selfish amusement, or even in half-hearted conventional formalism which you call Christian work? Go to your knees and find out whether your life at last is going to prove a failure, and whether you are going to discover too late that you have lost your way and have spent your strength in vain.
\n
\nLast, we need supernatural efficiency. God must give the increase and bring the fruition as well as lead the way, and He does give efficiency for the humblest ministries which are performed in Him. The seed may have seemed to lie in silence, but it is sure to spring forth and bring the harvest.
\n
\nA single sentence spoken by Mr. Spurgeon in an empty hall that the carpenters were fixing for his next Sabbath's service reached the ear of a mechanic at his workbench in an adjoining shop. Twenty-five years later Spurgeon found, when that man was on his deathbed, that he had been saved through that arrow shot at a venture because it was in the Holy Ghost.
\n
\nA little English girl lived and died unknown to all but her family and her pastor, but the beautiful story of her life was written by her minister, Leigh Richmond, in a tract called The Dairyman's Daughter. That little tract fell into the hands of a young English noble who was wasting his splendid intellect in dissipation, and William Wilberforce arose from his perusal a consecrated Christian and became the emancipator of all the slaves in the British Empire. William Wilberforce wrote a little book called The Practical View of Religion, and it fell into the hands of an easy-going Scotch preacher who was actually thinking of giving up his pulpit to teach mathematics; but out of that little book was born the mighty soul of Thomas Chalmers, and out of his life came the Scottish Disruption, the Free Church, and the great movement for Christ and missions which that noble church has led and to which many of us owe our Christian hopes.
\n
\nHow marvelous the chain of divine working! How mighty the efficiency of a little word! How immortal the Word of God which lives and abides forever!
\n
\nWe will not always be conscious of the power. Indeed it is our weakness that God most frequently uses. A little message spoken in great humility will become a seed in some other heart whose fruit will shake like Lebanon, and the blessing cover the earth and fill the heavens. \"God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, yes, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.\"
\n
\n\"Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that plants anything, neither he that waters; but God gives the increase. . . . Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours, and you are Christ's; and Christ is God's.\"
\n","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=article&aid=39963","source":"collect","new_content":"\"We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.\" (Eph. 2:10.)
\nThe apostle here declares that our works are \"prepared,\" for that is the true translation of the word \"ordained,\" \"that we should walk in them.\" They are not our works, but His supplied to us through the Holy Ghost and the inworking of Christ, and we just work out \"according to his working, which works in (us) mightily.\" Our whole life must be supernatural to the close, and our very service must be received before it can be performed. \"Receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.\"
\n
\nWe must have supernatural power for our work. We must pass the sentence of death upon our natural enthusiasm, energy and zeal; and, dying to our own strength, we must receive power through the Holy Ghost and do our work in Him.
\n
\nMoses had to be rejected when he stepped forth at the age of forty in his own enthusiasm to deliver Israel. Afterwards, when he came back at eighty, a broken man, humbled and conscious of his inefficiency, God could use him, like His own rod, an instrument in the hands of Jehovah.
\n
\nChrist Himself continually recognized His power for service as divinely supplied. \"I can of my own self do nothing,\" He said; \"as I hear, I judge.\" \"The Father that dwells in me, he does the works.\" Therefore He did not begin His public ministry until He received the Holy Spirit and there was added to His divine Personality a second divine Personality -- the third Person of the Godhead. And as He went through His earthly ministry there were two Persons united in His life work, the Son of God and the Spirit of God. He chose to be dependent upon the Spirit in order that He might be the more perfect type of us in our dependence.
\n
\nTherefore His disciples were bidden to tarry in Jerusalem until they should be endued with power from on high. They were not suffered to go out in their own strength, but had to lean upon the Spirit for their wisdom, courage, faith and complete efficiency.
\n
\nNo man is fit for the humblest service in the church of God until he receives the divine baptism of the Holy Ghost. The mother needs it in the nursery, the Sunday school teacher in his class, the preacher in his pulpit, the soul winner in his dealings with the inquirer and the saint in his ministry of prayer in the secret closet.
\n
\nThere is no truth that needs to be more emphasized in this age of smartness and human self-sufficiency than the imperative necessity of the baptism of the Holy Ghost as the condition of all effective Christian work. We must tarry before we go.
\n
\nIt pays to wait. The traveler pursued by his enemies lingered five minutes at the blacksmith's shop to have his horse reshod, and while some might have thought he was foolish thus to delay, yet he was truly wise, for as they drew near at the last moment and shouted their expected triumph he leaped into the saddle and was soon far in the distance. A week spent at the source of faith and power will bring more effective service than years of human effort in the energy of our highest gifts and loftiest genius.
\n
\nWe must have a supernatural plan. In the working out of a military campaign the commander relies upon the intelligent cooperation of his subordinate officers. If one division of the army were to rush into the attack heedless of the plan of the leader, it might hinder instead of help. A very small force judiciously used at the salient point of attack or defense often turns an enemy's flank and changes the outcome of a decisive battle.
\n
\nChrist has a plan in His mediatorial work. He does not send us forth to draw our bow at a venture and run wherever our fancy may dispose us, but He wants us to understand His method and work according to His great purpose. It is foreshadowed in the promise of the Spirit (Acts 1:8), the gospel for the center first, and then for the circumference, and then for the uttermost parts of the earth.
\n
\nThat plan was more fully unfolded at the first great council of the Christian church in Acts 15 and consists of three great sections: first, a visit to the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name; second, the return of the Lord and the restoration of Israel; third, the millennial reign with the ingathering of all the Gentiles.
\n
\nA wise worker will work according to this plan. He will not attempt today the ingathering of all the Gentiles, but will be occupied with the outgathering from them of the few who are to be the firstfruits for His coming. He will not be devoting his attention to Israel supremely, for the restoration of Israel is to come with the return of the Lord. His chief business will be to give the gospel to the Gentile and gather out of them a people for His name.
\n
\nThis will save us many a bitter disappointment. We will not be found trying to convert all the people in the world and stop all the abuses of our time. This belongs to the next dispensation. Rather, we are to be busily occupied in the great missionary work of the age and the bringing back of our King.
\n
\nWe must have supernatural direction. It is possible to have a divine plan and yet run at our own impulse in the direction of our work. This was Saul's mistake. God sent him as Israel's king to destroy his enemies, but Saul took the reins into his own hand and, instead of waiting for Samuel to lead, stepped out in front, and by his presumption destroyed himself and his kingdom.
\n
\nThis was Joshua's danger. God had sent him and promised to bless him in bringing Israel into the Land of Promise. Joshua had an idea that he was to lead the armies of Israel, and so God had to meet him with a drawn sword and lay him on his face at the very outset of his career, and remind him that He, not Joshua, was Captain of the Lord's host. Then Joshua became conqueror when he simply followed his conquering Leader.
\n
\nVery early in the Acts of the Apostles Philip had to learn this lesson. Preaching in Samaria with wonderful success, it seemed on all human principles that was his immediate duty. But suddenly the Spirit commanded him to go down into the desert, and he was wise and faithful enough to obey, to leave his work in Samaria and to go down a hundred miles into the lone wilderness until at last the leading was made plain, and the prince of Ethiopia was converted to God and became the pioneer of the gospel in the great continent of Africa.
\n
\nEven Paul and Silas had to be severely taught that they must go every moment at the direction of their supernatural Leader. Rushing forward in the accomplishment of their plans into Bithynia, Mysia and Asia, they were suddenly stopped by the Holy Ghost, \"The Spirit suffered them not.\" They had gone beyond their personal Leader, and they were compelled to retrace their steps and get still before God and wait for new orders. They seemed to be doing good, but God was not pleased and would not have it.
\n
\nHe does not even want good work if it is not His very work for us at that very time. It is not true to say, I am doing some good, I am doing the best I know how. True service is doing the very thing that God has for us, doing it in His strength and wholly pleasing Him. If we are not doing this we may be hindering Him by our very Christian work. It is a serious question whether much of the religious work today is not entirely out of God's will. I believe that many a man that is preaching today in an American pulpit ought to be in some heathen field, and because he is not in God's will, he blights his blessings and lets his church run into foolishness, worldliness and sometimes infidelity.
\n
\nSo Paul called a halt and waited for his Leader to point the way, and then he found that way led them out of the field that he was cultivating across the Aegean Sea into the continent of Europe and the kingdom of Greece.
\n
\nGod had a great ultimate purpose in that which Paul could not foresee. He knew that the nations of modern history were to have their theater of action in that great continent. There our forefathers were to be born and thence were we to spring, and well may we thank God that Paul obeyed that divine leading and gave up his own work to the work of the Master.
\n
\nBeloved, are you doing the very work God has for you? Did He redeem you for the purpose of spending your life in selfish amusement, or even in half-hearted conventional formalism which you call Christian work? Go to your knees and find out whether your life at last is going to prove a failure, and whether you are going to discover too late that you have lost your way and have spent your strength in vain.
\n
\nLast, we need supernatural efficiency. God must give the increase and bring the fruition as well as lead the way, and He does give efficiency for the humblest ministries which are performed in Him. The seed may have seemed to lie in silence, but it is sure to spring forth and bring the harvest.
\n
\nA single sentence spoken by Mr. Spurgeon in an empty hall that the carpenters were fixing for his next Sabbath's service reached the ear of a mechanic at his workbench in an adjoining shop. Twenty-five years later Spurgeon found, when that man was on his deathbed, that he had been saved through that arrow shot at a venture because it was in the Holy Ghost.
\n
\nA little English girl lived and died unknown to all but her family and her pastor, but the beautiful story of her life was written by her minister, Leigh Richmond, in a tract called The Dairyman's Daughter. That little tract fell into the hands of a young English noble who was wasting his splendid intellect in dissipation, and William Wilberforce arose from his perusal a consecrated Christian and became the emancipator of all the slaves in the British Empire. William Wilberforce wrote a little book called The Practical View of Religion, and it fell into the hands of an easy-going Scotch preacher who was actually thinking of giving up his pulpit to teach mathematics; but out of that little book was born the mighty soul of Thomas Chalmers, and out of his life came the Scottish Disruption, the Free Church, and the great movement for Christ and missions which that noble church has led and to which many of us owe our Christian hopes.
\n
\nHow marvelous the chain of divine working! How mighty the efficiency of a little word! How immortal the Word of God which lives and abides forever!
\n
\nWe will not always be conscious of the power. Indeed it is our weakness that God most frequently uses. A little message spoken in great humility will become a seed in some other heart whose fruit will shake like Lebanon, and the blessing cover the earth and fill the heavens. \"God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, yes, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.\"
\n
\n\"Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that plants anything, neither he that waters; but God gives the increase. . . . Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours, and you are Christ's; and Christ is God's.\"
\n","processed":1,"summary":"\"We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.\" (Eph. 2:10.) The apostle here declares that our works are \"prepared,\" for that is the true translation of the word \"ordained,\" \"that we should walk in them.\" They are not our","published":1,"contents":null,"content_processed":0,"created_at":null,"updated_at":null,"author":{"id":546,"status":1,"author":"A.B. Simpson","slug":"AB-Simpson","date":" 1843 - 1919","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/3\/30\/Simpson.gif","description":"

A.B. Simpson (1843 - 1919)<\/h1>\nSimpson is the founder of the Christian Missionary Alliance Movement that began in Canada with a desire to promote missions and global evangelism. He was used powerfully of the Lord to unify many brothers and sisters in a common purpose of fulfilling the great commission.\n

\nA.W. Tozer joined with the Missionary Alliance denomination because of the teachings of A.B. Simpson and specific his writings on holiness: \"A Larger Christian Life.\" He wrote many hymns and added a great emphasis on the person of Jesus Christ in church-life.
<\/p>FOUNDER OF THE<\/b> Christian and Missionary Alliance, Albert Benjamin Simpson was born in Canada of Scottish parents. He became a Presbyterian minister and pastored several churches in Ontario. Later, he accepted the call to serve as pastor of the Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. It was there that his life and ministry were completely changed in that, during a revival meeting, he experienced the fullness of the Spirit.\r
\r
He continued in the Presbyterian Church until 1881, when he founded an independent Gospel Tabernacle in New York. There he published the Alliance Weekly and wrote 70 books on Christian living. He organized two missionary societies which later merged to become the Christian and Missionary Alliance.\r

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Albert Benjamin Simpson was a Canadian preacher, theologian, author, and founder of The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), an evangelical protestant denomination with an emphasis on global evangelism.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In December 1873, at age 30, Simpson left Canada and assumed the pulpit of the largest Presbyterian church in Louisville, Kentucky, the Chestnut Street Presbyterian Church. It was in Louisville that he first conceived of preaching the gospel to the common man by building a simple tabernacle structure for that purpose. Despite his success at the Chestnut Street Church, Simpson was frustrated by their reluctance to embrace this burden for wider evangelistic endeavor.<\/p>

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Simpson\u2019s heart for evangelism was to become the driving force behind the creation of the C&MA. Initially, the Christian and Missionary Alliance was not founded as a denomination, but as an organized movement of world evangelism. Today, the C&MA denomination plays a leadership role in global evangelism.<\/p>","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=category&cid=126;http:\/\/christian-quotes.ochristian.com\/A.B.-Simpson-Quotes\/;http:\/\/articles.ochristian.com\/preacher126-1.shtml","selected":1,"selected_reason":null,"article_amount":710,"quote_count":88,"book_count":190,"wiki_summary":"

Albert Benjamin Simpson<\/b>, also known as A. B. Simpson<\/b>, was a Canadian preacher, theologian, author, and founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), an evangelical and Keswickian denomination with an emphasis on global evangelism.<\/p>","wiki_url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Albert_Benjamin_Simpson","wiki_name":"Albert Benjamin Simpson","goodreads_link":"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/2833763.A_B_Simpson?from_search=true&from_srp=true","names":null}},{"id":29553,"author_name":"Greek Word Studies","author_id":555,"title":"Address (1941) epikaleomai","slug":"address-1941-epikaleomai","scriptures":"Acts 7:59;Mt 10:25;Acts 1:23;Acts 2:21;Acts 4:36;Acts 7:59;Acts 9:14;Acts 9:21;Acts 10:5;Acts 10:18;Acts 10:32;Acts 11:13;Acts 12:12;Acts 12:25;Acts 15:17;Acts 22:16;Acts 25:11;Acts 25:12;Acts 25:21;Acts 25:25;Acts 26:32;Acts 28:19;Ro 10:12;Ro 10:13;Ro 10:14;1Co 1:2;2Co 1:23;2Ti 2:22;Heb 11:16;James 2:7;1Pe 1:17;Joel 2:32;Acts 2:21;Ro 10:12;Ro 10:13;Acts 7:59;Acts 22:16;Acts 22:16;Acts 9:14;Ac 9:21;Acts 15;Acts 15:17;Ge 4:26;Ge 12:8;Ge 13:4;Ge 21:33;Ge 26:25;Ge 33:20;Ge 48:16;Ex 29:45;Ex 29:46;Nu 21:3;Deut 4:7;Deut 12:5;Deut 12:11;Deut 12:21;Deut 12:26;Deut 14:23;Deut 14:24;Deut 15:2;Deut 16:2;Deut 16:6;Deut 16:11;Deut 17:8;Deut 17:10;Deut 26:2;Deut 28:10;Deut 33:19;Jos. 21:9;Jdg 6:24;Jdg 15:19;1Sa 12:17;1Sa 12:18;1Sa 23:28;2Sa 6:2;2Sa 20:1;2Sa 22:4;2Sa 22:7;1Ki. 7:21;1Ki 8:43;1Ki 8:52;1Ki 13:2;1Ki 13:4;1Ki 16:24;1Ki 17:21;1Ki 18:24;1Ki 18:25;1Ki 18:26;2Ki. 5:11;2Ki 23:17;1Chr. 4:10;1Chr 13:6;1Chr 16:8;2Chr. 6:20;2Chr 6:33;2Chr 7:14;2Chr 28:15;Esther 4:8;Esther 5:1;Esther 9:26;Job 5:1;Job 5:8;Job 17:14;Job 27:10;Ps. 4:1;Ps 14:4;Ps 18:3;Ps 18:6;Ps 20:9;Ps 31:17;Ps 42:7;Ps 49:11;Ps 50:15;Ps 53:4;Ps 56:9;Ps 75:1;Ps 79:6;Ps 80:18;Ps 81:7;Ps 86:5;Ps 89:26;Ps 91:15;Ps 99:6;Ps 102:2;Ps 104:35;Ps 116:2;Ps 116:4;Ps 116:13;Ps 118:5;Ps 138:3;Ps 145:18;Ps 147:9;Pr 1:28;Pr 2:3;Pr 8:12;Pr 18:6;Pr 21:13;Is 18:7;Is 43:7;Is 55:5;Is 55:6;Is 63:19;Is 64:7;Je 4:20;Je 7:10;Je 7:11;Je 7:14;Je 7:30;Je 10:25;Je 11:14;Je 14:9;Je 15:16;Je 20:8;Je 32:34;Je 34:15;Lam 3:55;Lam 3:57;Ezek 10:13;Ezek 20:29;Da 2:26;Da 9:18;Da 9:19;Da 10:1;Ho 7:7;Ho 7:11;Joel 2:32;Amos 4:5;Amos 4:12;Amos 9:12;Jon. 1:6;Mic. 6:9;Zeph. 3:9;Zech. 13:9;Mal. 1:4;Genesis 4:26;Genesis 12:8;Genesis 13:4;Genesis 21:33;Genesis 26:25;Ge 13:4;Ge 26:25;Ge 33:20;1Ki 18:27;1Chr 16:8;Mt 10:25;Lk 22:3;Ac 4:36;Ac 10:5;Ac 10:18;Ac 10:32;Ac 11:13;Ac 12:12;Ac 12:25;Ac 15:22;Acts 25:11;Acts 25:12;Acts 25:21;Acts 25:25;Acts 26:32;2Cor 1:23;1Peter 1:14;1Pe 1:15;Mark 14:36;Ro 8:15;Ga 4:6;1John 3:1;Acts 17:28;Jn 1:12;Jn 1:13;Lk 11:2;2Cor 6:18;1Pe 1:17;2Co 5:10;Mt 25:19;1Co 3:14;1Pe 1:17;1Pe 1:17;Ac 10:35;1Pe 1:17;Eph 5:8;1Peter 1:17;Mt 6:9;Heb 12:9;Heb 12:10;Ps 143:2;Ps 26:2;2Co 5:10;Gal 6:7;Re 22:12;1Jn 4:18;Pr 14:16;1Peter 2:23;1Peter 4:5;2Chr 19:7;Job 34:11;Job 34:19;Ps 62:12;Je 17:10;Mt 22:16;Acts 10:34;Acts 10:35;Ro 2:10;Ro 2:11;Gal 2:6;Eph 6:9;Col 3:25;Ps 51:16;Ps 51:17;2Chr 19:7;1Peter 2:23;Ephesians 2:1;Romans 5:12;John 3:3","type":"","topic":"","content":"
\n
\nAddress (1941) (epikaleomai = middle voice of epikaleo from ep\u00ed = upon + kal\u00e9o = call) literally means to call upon and was often used in secular Greek to refer to calling upon deity for any purpose, especially for aid. It also means to invoke (to petition for help or support, make earnest request) a deity for something (Acts 7:59).
\n
\nEpikaleo is used 30 times in NAS (Mt 10:25; Acts 1:23; 2:21; 4:36; 7:59; 9:14, 21; 10:5, 18, 32; 11:13; 12:12, 25; 15:17; 22:16; 25:11,12, 21, 25; 26:32; 28:19; Ro 10:12-note, Ro 10:13-note, Ro 10:14-note; 1Co 1:2; 2Co 1:23; 2Ti 2:22-note; Heb 11:16-note; James 2:7; 1Pe 1:17-note) and is translated: address, 1; appeal, 2; appealed, 4; call, 7; called, 14; calling, 1; calls, 1.
\n
\nVine explains that epikaleo
\n
\nhas the meaning appeal in the middle voice, which carries with it the suggestion of a special interest on the part of the doer of an action in that in which he is engaged.\" (Vine, W: Vine's Expository dictionary of Old and New Testament words)
\n
\nEpikaleomai was used as in this verse to call upon deity for some purpose, as in Peter's quotation from Joel 2:32...
\n
\nAND IT SHALL BE, THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED. (Acts 2:21, used in this same sense in Ro 10:12, 13)
\n
\nStephen with his dying words called upon the Lord...
\n
\nAnd they went on stoning Stephen as he called upon the Lord and said, \"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!\" (Acts 7:59, similar sense in Acts 22:16)
\n
\nAnanias addressing Paul after his conversion declared
\n
\nwhy do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on (epikaleomai) His name. (Acts 22:16)
\n
\nThe idea of calling on God includes includes calling upon Him in the sense of prayer...
\n
\nand here he (Saul before conversion) has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon Thy name (descriptive of believers).\" (Acts 9:14, cp Ac 9:21)
\n
\nComment: This is a fascinating \"description\" of a believer - those who \"call upon Thy Name\", which undoubtedly includes the initial calling upon His Name for salvation, but does not exclude calling upon Him in prayer. Would it be true of us all that we were well known as those who \"call upon Thy Name\"!
\n
\nIn Acts 15 James addressed the Jerusalem counsel in which the Jewish leaders were discussing the fate of the Gentiles who were coming to faith in Christ...
\n
\n'AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, IN ORDER THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,' (Acts 15:17)
\n
\nComment: Here \"called by My Name\" is synonymous with the description of those Gentiles (non-Jews) who had been chosen by God unto salvation. The original version of the NLT paraphrases it as those \"called to be Mine\"!
\n
\nEpikaleo is used 134 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ge 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33; 26:25; 33:20; 48:16; Ex 29:45, 46; Nu 21:3; Deut 4:7; 12:5, 11, 21, 26; 14:23, 24; 15:2; 16:2, 6, 11; 17:8, 10; 26:2; 28:10; 33:19; Jos. 21:9; Jdg 6:24; 15:19; 1Sa 12:17, 18; 23:28; 2Sa 6:2; 20:1; 22:4, 7; 1Ki. 7:21; 8:43, 52; 13:2, 4; 16:24; 17:21; 18:24, 25,26; 2 Ki. 5:11; 23:17; 1 Chr. 4:10; 13:6; 16:8; 2 Chr. 6:20, 33; 7:14; 28:15; Esther 4:8; 5:1; 9:26; Job 5:1, 8; 17:14; 27:10; Ps. 4:1; 14:4; 18:3, 6; 20:9; 31:17; 42:7; 49:11; 50:15; 53:4; 56:9; 75:1; 79:6; 80:18; 81:7; 86:5; 89:26; 91:15; 99:6; 102:2; 104:35; 116:2, 4, 13; 118:5; 138:3; 145:18; 147:9; Pr 1:28; 2:3; 8:12; 18:6; 21:13; Is 18:7; 43:7; 55:5, 6; 63:19; 64:7; Je 4:20; 7:10, 11, 14, 30; 10:25; 11:14; 14:9; 15:16; 20:8; 32:34; 34:15; Lam 3:55, 57; Ezek 10:13; 20:29; Da 2:26; 9:18, 19; 10:1; Ho 7:7, 11; Joel 2:32; Amos 4:5, 12; 9:12; Jon. 1:6; Mic. 6:9; Zeph. 3:9; Zech. 13:9; Mal. 1:4).
\n
\nThe first 5 uses of epikaleomai are fascinating (What is the focus?)...
\n
\nGenesis 4:26 To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon (Lxx = epikaleomai) the name of the Lord.
\n
\nGenesis 12:8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon (Lxx = epikaleomai) the name of the Lord.
\n
\nGenesis 13:4 o the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on (Lxx = epikaleomai) the name of the Lord
\n
\nGenesis 21:33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on (Lxx = epikaleomai) the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.
\n
\nGenesis 26:25 So he built an altar there and called upon (Lxx = epikaleomai) the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac\u2019s servants dug a well.
\n
\nThese uses of epikaleo in Genesis \"speaks volumes\" about the priority of worship in the life of this great man of God (used with a similar meaning in Ge 13:4). In fact epikaleomai is used in the LXX to describe all three great patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac in Ge 26:25 and Jacob in Ge 33:20 where Lxx into English is not \"called it\" but \"called on the God of Israel\") calling on God.
\n
\nAnd so we see that addressing God as Father includes the idea of worship.
\n
\nIn a famous encounter with the prophets of Baal hopping around and calling out to their \"god\" Elijah
\n
\n\"mocked them and said,' Call out (Lxx = epikaleomai) with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.\" (1Ki 18:27)
\n
\nAsaph sings
\n
\nOh give thanks to the LORD, call upon (Lxx = epikaleomai) His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples.\" (1Chr 16:8) (As an aside, have you obeyed this injunction beloved? If you have given thanks from the heart, the natural outflow of such a life is to let others know His great and mighty works in your life and the life of your family.)
\n
\nEpikaleomai also means to to address or characterize someone by a special term, to call or to give a surname (see Mt 10:25)
\n
\nEpikaleomai is used most often in the NT in the sense of calling someone by name (Lk 22:3, Ac 4:36, 10:5, 18, 32, 11:13, 12:12, 25, 15:22).
\n
\nEpikaleomai was a technical legal term which referred to putting a request before a higher judicial authority for review of a decision of a lower court and so to make an appeal. Paul was cognizant of the fact that an appeal to the Roman emperor was the right of a Roman citizen and so he ended his defense in Jerusalem before Festus with the words \"I appeal to (epikaleomai) Caesar.\" (Acts 25:11), to which Festus answered
\n
\nYou have appealed to (epikaleomai) Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.\" (Acts 25:12, cp Acts 25:21, 25, 26:32, 29:19)
\n
\nEpikaleomai was also used as a legal term to invoke an oath or to call on someone as a witness. Paul in explaining to the Corinthians why he said he was coming but did not (he wanted them to have time to repent and correct their sinful behavior) declared
\n
\nI call (epikaleomai) God as witness to my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. (2Cor 1:23)
\n
\nHere in first Peter, epikaleomai describes praying saints whose habitual practice was to call upon their Father (address is present tense indicating continual action). They appealed to God as one would appeal to an earthly father for help. Peter alluded to this blessed truth of God as their Father in (1Peter 1:14 [note]) when he referred to his recipients as \"obedient children\". In (1Pe 1:15 ([note]) God called them to be His own so that now they have the privilege of calling upon Him as their Father. Peter's acknowledgement of God as their Father is even more notable in view of the fact that in Judaism (and the OT) God is rarely referred to as \"Father\".
\n
\nAddress as Father - All who are by faith in Christ are sons of God the Father. The call is not so much an appeal, but a claim of kindred and an acknowledgment of close, tender relationship (cp Abba - Mark 14:36, Ro 8:15-note, Ga 4:6). The fact that the readers acknowledge God as their Father clearly indicates that Peter is writing primarily to believers...
\n
\nSee how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (1John 3:1).
\n
\nJohn writes that
\n
\nas many as received (and welcomed) Him, to them He gave the right (authority, power, privilege - see word study of exousia) to become children of God (in the full spiritual sense, not as mere offspring of God which is true of all men as in Acts 17:28-note), even to those who believe (see word study on pisteuo) in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.\" (Jn 1:12, 13)
\n
\nJesus taught His disciples...
\n
\nWhen you pray, say: \u2018Father, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. (Lk 11:2)
\n
\nOne of the most beautiful passages in the Bible records God's declaration that
\n
\nI will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me\" says the Lord Almighty. (2Cor 6:18)
\n
\nAs Wuest says
\n
\nWhat a blessed thought to give us encouragement in our praying, faith that the answer is sure, and a sweet feeling of nearness to God. To think that He is our Father and we are His children. To think that He regards us as His children, and thus the objects of His special care and love. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)
\n
\nF B Meyer in his exposition of 1Peter entitled \"Tried by Fire\" has the following section on 1Pe 1:17 (see note) which relates to the Bema Seat of Christ...
\n
\nGod's children are to be judged, not at the great white throne, but at the judgment seat of Christ (2Co 5:10-note). That judgment will not decide our eternal destiny, because that has been settled before; but it will settle the rewards of our faithfulness or otherwise (Mt 25:19; 1Co 3:14).
\n
\nThere is a sense in which that judgment is already in process, and we are ever standing before the judgment bar. \"The Father who judges.\" The Divine verdict is being pronounced perpetually on our actions, and hourly is manifesting itself in light or shadow.
\n
\nBut it is a Father's judgment.
\n
\nWe call on Him as Father. (1Pe 1:17-note) Notice this reciprocity of calling. He called us; we call Him; His address to us as children begets our address to Him as Father. We need not dread his scrutiny--it is tender. He pities us as a father pities his children, knowing our frame, allowing for our weaknesses, and bearing with us with an infinite patience.
\n
\nBut for all that it is impartial.
\n
\n\"Without respect of persons.\" (1Pe 1:17-note) Many years before, this had been revealed to the Apostle from heaven in a memorable vision, which affected his whole after-ministry (Ac 10:35). Not according to profession, or appearance, or any self-constituted importance, but according to what we do, are we being judged.
\n
\nThe holy soul realizes this; and a great awe falls upon it and overshadows it--an awe not born of the fear which hath torment, but of love. It passes the time of its sojourning in fear (1Pe 1:17-note). Not the fear of evil consequences to itself, but the fear of grieving the Father; of bringing a shadow over his face; of missing any manifestation of his love and nearness to Himself, which may be granted to the obedient child. Love casts out fear; but it also begets it. There is nothing craven, or fretful, or depressing; but a tenderness of conscience which dreads the tiniest cloud on the inner sky, such as might overshadow for a single moment the clear shining of the Father's face. So the brief days of sojourning pass quickly on, and the vision of the Homeland beckons to us, and bids us mend our pace. (F. B. Meyer. Tried By Fire) (Bolding added)
\nNow Peter makes the point that if believers have such a special relationship with God by virtue of His effectual call and gift of new birth, it is all the more urgent that they not become complacent in their conduct but that they remember their Father is also the Judge of both believers and non-believers.
\n
\nPRACTICE
\nYOUR POSITION!
\n
\nEdwards adds that
\n
\nBecause of our position in Christ, we should live according to our family heritage, i.e., in holiness. \"'For you were once darkness, but now are you light in the Lord, walk as Children of light\" (Eph 5:8). It has been well said that the goal of the Christian life is \"to practice your position.\" (Edwards, D in 1 Peter Well done Exposition )
\n
\nAlexander Maclaren sermon on 1Peter 1:17 The Father and Judge...
\n
\nThe injunction here and the reason for it are equally strange. Both seem opposed no less to the confidence, hope, and joy which have been glowing in the former part of this chapter than to the general tone of the New Testament.
\n
\n\u201cLive in habitual fear, for God is a strict Judge,\u201d strikes a note which at first hearing sounds a discord. Is not Christianity the religion of perfect love which casts out fear? Is not its very promise that he who believes shall not come into judgment? Is not its central revelation that of a Father who hath not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our transgressions? Yes; God be thanked that it is! We cannot too earnestly assert that, nor too jealously guard these truths from all tampering or weakening. But these solemn words are none the less true.
\n
\nI. THE TWOFOLD REVELATION OF GOD AS FATHER AND JUDGE.
\n
\nIf we adopt the translation, \u201ccall on him as Father,\u201d we shall catch here an echo of the Lord\u2019s Prayer (Mt 6:9), and recognize a testimony to its early and general use, independent and confirmatory of the Gospels. We need not dwell upon the thought that God is our Father. There is little fear of its being lost sight of in the Christian teaching of this day. But there is much danger of its being so held as to obscure the other relation here associated with it. Men have often been so penetrated with the conviction that God is Judge as to forget that he is Father.
\n
\nThe danger now is that they should be so occupied with the thought that he is Father as to forget that he is Judge. What do we mean by \u201cjudgment\u201d? We mean, first, an accurate knowledge and estimate of the moral quality of an action; next, a solemn approval or condemnation; and next, the pronouncing of sentence which entails punishment or reward.
\n
\nNow, can it be that he who loves righteousness and hates evil should ever fail to discern, to estimate, to condemn, and to chastise evil, whoever does it? The eternal necessity of his own great holiness, and not less of his own almighty love, binds him to this.
\n
\nOur text distinctly speaks of a present judgment. It is God who judgeth, not who will judge; and that judgment is of each man\u2019s work as a whole, not of his works, but of his work. There is a perpetual present judgment going on. God has an estimate of each man\u2019s course, solemnly approves or disapproves, and shapes his dealings with each accordingly.
\n
\nThe very fact of this Fatherhood, so far from being inconsistent with this continual judgment, makes it the more certain. He is not so indifferent to his children as to let their deeds pass unnoticed, and, if need be, unchastised. \u201cWe have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence.\u201d (Heb 12:9) They would have deserved little of it while we were children, and would have almost deserved our malediction when we became men, if they had not. Our Father in heaven knows and loves us better than they. Therefore he judges from a loftier point of view. Standing higher, he looks deeper, and corrects for a nobler purpose \u2014 \u201cthat we should be partakers of his holiness.\u201d (Heb 12:10)
\n
\nTo the Christian God\u2019s judgments are a sign of his love. So we should rejoice in and long for them. Do we wish to be separated from our sin, to be drawn nearer to him? Then let us be glad that \u201cthe Lord will judge his people,\u201d and while in penitent consciousness of our sins we pray with the psalmist, \u201cEnter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord!\u201d (Ps 143:2) let us also cry with him, \u201cJudge me, O Lord; try my reins and my heart!\u201d (Ps 26:2) Abundance of Scripture teaching insists on the fact that there is a future judgment for Christians as for others. \u201cWe must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ.\u201d (2Co 5:10) True, \u201cin the course of justice none of us should see salvation.\u201d But though we are saved, not according to works of righteousness which we have done, it is also true that our place in heaven, though not our entrance into heaven, is determined by the law of recompense, and that, in a very real sense, \u201cwhatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.\u201d (Gal 6:7) A saved man\u2019s whole position will be affected by his past. His place will be in proportion to his Christian character, though not deserved nor won by it. Let us ponder, then, the solemn words, almost the last which come to us from the enthroned Christ, \u201cBehold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.\u201d (Re 22:12)
\n
\nII. THE FEAR WHICH CONSEQUENTLY IS AN ELEMENT IN THE CHILD\u2019S LOVE.
\n
\nPerfect love casts out the fear (1Jn 4:18) which has torment, but it deepens a fear which is blessed. By fear we oftenest mean an apprehension of and a shrinking from dangers or evils, or a painful recoil from a person who may inflict them. Such fear is wholly inconsistent with the filial relation and the child\u2019s heart. But the fear of God, which the Old Testament so exalts, and which is here enjoined as a necessary part of Christian experience, is not dread. It has no trembling apprehension of evil disturbing its serenity. To fear God is not to be afraid of God. It is full of reverential awe and joy, and, so far from being inconsistent with love, is impossible without it, increases it and is increased by it. It is a reverent, awe-stricken prostration before the majesty of holy love. Its opposite is irreverence. It is, further, a lowly consciousness of the heinousness of sin, and consequently a dread of offending that Divine holiness. He who thus fears, fears to sin more than anything else, and fears God so much that he fears nothing besides. The opposite of that is presumptuous self confidence, like Peter\u2019s own earlier disposition, which led him into so many painful and humbling situations. \u201cA wise man feareth and departeth from evil.\u201d (Pr 14:16)
\n
\nThe fear enjoined here is, primarily, then, a reverential regard to the holy Father who is our Judge, and, secondarily and consequently, a quick sensitiveness of conscience, which knows our own weakness, and, above all else, dreads falling into sin. Such sensitive scrupulousness may seem to be over-anxiety, but it is wisdom; and, though it brings some pains, it is blessedness. This is no world for unwary walking. There are too many enemies seeking admission to the citadel for it to be safe to dispense with rigid watchfulness at the gates. Our Father is our Judge, therefore let us fear to sin, and fear our own weakness. Our Judge is our Father, therefore let us not be afraid of him, but court his pure eyes and perfect judgment. Such fear which has in it no torment, and is the ally of love, is not the ultimate form of our emotions towards God. It is appropriate only to \u201cthe time of our sojourning here.\u201d
\n
\nThe Christian soul in this world is as a foreigner in a strange land. Its true affinities are in heaven; and its present surroundings are ever seeking to make it \u201cforget the imperial palace\u201d which is its home. So constant vigilance is needed. But when we reach our own land we can dwell safely, having neither locks nor bars. The walls may be pulled down, and flower-gardens laid out where they stood. Here and now is the place for loins girt and lamps burning. There and then we can walk with flowing robes, for no stain will come on them from the golden pavements, and need not carefully tend a flickering light, for eternal day is there.
\n
\nWHO IMPARTIALLY JUDGES: ton aprosopolemptos krinonta (PAPMSA): (1 Peter 2:23, 4:5, Dt 10:17; 2Chr 19:7; Job 34:11, 19; Ps 62:12, Je 17:10, Mt 22:16; Acts 10:34,35; Ro 2:10,11; Gal 2:6; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25)
\n
\nMoses in his exhortation to Israel to circumcise their hearts (referring to spiritual circumcision = not relying on works or sacrifices to attain righteousness, but personally expressing faith in God's promised, prophesied Messiah - see discussion of meaning of circumcision related to Covenant) spoke the following words to motivate them to seek the LORD while He could be found...
\n
\nFor the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. (Dt 10:17) (for God...\"does not delight in sacrifice, [nor] with burnt offering [but] the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart [God] will not despise) (See Spurgeon's notes on Ps 51:16 and Ps 51:17-note)
\n
\nIn a similar passage Jehoshaphat the king of Judah warned the judges he appointed throughout Judah to think carefully before pronouncing judgment and to
\n
\nlet the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness, or partiality, or the taking of a bribe. (2Chr 19:7)
\n
\nGod is a righteous Judge, as Peter declares in explaining how Jesus did not seek to revenge evil for...
\n
\nwhile being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously (see note 1 Peter 2:23)
\n
\nAnd again Peter alludes to God as Judge writing that...
\n
\nthey (those who are surprised you as a new creation in Christ no longer desire to join them in their unrighteous activities) shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living (believers) and the dead (spiritually dead [note Ephesians 2:1], born into Adam [Romans 5:12-note], but never born again, John 3:3).
\n
\nThe fact that God is going to judge all of us ought to cause us to become very sober minded and to give a little more attention to the life that we are living.
\n
\nAs J Vernon McGee says
\n
\nMy friends, we need to make sure that we are not superficial. The Gospel does not sprinkle rosewater on a bunch of dead weeds. The Gospel transforms lives and brings us into a living hope which rests upon the resurrection of Christ. (McGee, J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or Logos)
\n","url":"https:\/\/www.sermonindex.net\/modules\/articles\/index.php?view=article&aid=33484","source":"collect","new_content":"Address (1941) (epikaleomai = middle voice of epikaleo from ep\u00ed = upon + kal\u00e9o = call) literally means to call upon and was often used in secular Greek to refer to calling upon deity for any purpose, especially for aid. It also means to invoke (to petition for help or support, make earnest request) a deity for something (Acts 7:59).
\n
\nEpikaleo is used 30 times in NAS (Mt 10:25; Acts 1:23; 2:21; 4:36; 7:59; 9:14, 21; 10:5, 18, 32; 11:13; 12:12, 25; 15:17; 22:16; 25:11,12, 21, 25; 26:32; 28:19; Ro 10:12-note, Ro 10:13-note, Ro 10:14-note; 1Co 1:2; 2Co 1:23; 2Ti 2:22-note; Heb 11:16-note; James 2:7; 1Pe 1:17-note) and is translated: address, 1; appeal, 2; appealed, 4; call, 7; called, 14; calling, 1; calls, 1.
\n
\nVine explains that epikaleo
\n
\nhas the meaning appeal in the middle voice, which carries with it the suggestion of a special interest on the part of the doer of an action in that in which he is engaged.\" (Vine, W: Vine's Expository dictionary of Old and New Testament words)
\n
\nEpikaleomai was used as in this verse to call upon deity for some purpose, as in Peter's quotation from Joel 2:32...
\n
\nAND IT SHALL BE, THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED. (Acts 2:21, used in this same sense in Ro 10:12, 13)
\n
\nStephen with his dying words called upon the Lord...
\n
\nAnd they went on stoning Stephen as he called upon the Lord and said, \"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!\" (Acts 7:59, similar sense in Acts 22:16)
\n
\nAnanias addressing Paul after his conversion declared
\n
\nwhy do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on (epikaleomai) His name. (Acts 22:16)
\n
\nThe idea of calling on God includes includes calling upon Him in the sense of prayer...
\n
\nand here he (Saul before conversion) has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon Thy name (descriptive of believers).\" (Acts 9:14, cp Ac 9:21)
\n
\nComment: This is a fascinating \"description\" of a believer - those who \"call upon Thy Name\", which undoubtedly includes the initial calling upon His Name for salvation, but does not exclude calling upon Him in prayer. Would it be true of us all that we were well known as those who \"call upon Thy Name\"!
\n
\nIn Acts 15 James addressed the Jerusalem counsel in which the Jewish leaders were discussing the fate of the Gentiles who were coming to faith in Christ...
\n
\n'AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, IN ORDER THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,' (Acts 15:17)
\n
\nComment: Here \"called by My Name\" is synonymous with the description of those Gentiles (non-Jews) who had been chosen by God unto salvation. The original version of the NLT paraphrases it as those \"called to be Mine\"!
\n
\nEpikaleo is used 134 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ge 4:26; 12:8; 13:4; 21:33; 26:25; 33:20; 48:16; Ex 29:45, 46; Nu 21:3; Deut 4:7; 12:5, 11, 21, 26; 14:23, 24; 15:2; 16:2, 6, 11; 17:8, 10; 26:2; 28:10; 33:19; Jos. 21:9; Jdg 6:24; 15:19; 1Sa 12:17, 18; 23:28; 2Sa 6:2; 20:1; 22:4, 7; 1Ki. 7:21; 8:43, 52; 13:2, 4; 16:24; 17:21; 18:24, 25,26; 2 Ki. 5:11; 23:17; 1 Chr. 4:10; 13:6; 16:8; 2 Chr. 6:20, 33; 7:14; 28:15; Esther 4:8; 5:1; 9:26; Job 5:1, 8; 17:14; 27:10; Ps. 4:1; 14:4; 18:3, 6; 20:9; 31:17; 42:7; 49:11; 50:15; 53:4; 56:9; 75:1; 79:6; 80:18; 81:7; 86:5; 89:26; 91:15; 99:6; 102:2; 104:35; 116:2, 4, 13; 118:5; 138:3; 145:18; 147:9; Pr 1:28; 2:3; 8:12; 18:6; 21:13; Is 18:7; 43:7; 55:5, 6; 63:19; 64:7; Je 4:20; 7:10, 11, 14, 30; 10:25; 11:14; 14:9; 15:16; 20:8; 32:34; 34:15; Lam 3:55, 57; Ezek 10:13; 20:29; Da 2:26; 9:18, 19; 10:1; Ho 7:7, 11; Joel 2:32; Amos 4:5, 12; 9:12; Jon. 1:6; Mic. 6:9; Zeph. 3:9; Zech. 13:9; Mal. 1:4).
\n
\nThe first 5 uses of epikaleomai are fascinating (What is the focus?)...
\n
\nGenesis 4:26 To Seth, to him also a son was born; and he called his name Enosh. Then men began to call upon (Lxx = epikaleomai) the name of the Lord.
\n
\nGenesis 12:8 Then he proceeded from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon (Lxx = epikaleomai) the name of the Lord.
\n
\nGenesis 13:4 o the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on (Lxx = epikaleomai) the name of the Lord
\n
\nGenesis 21:33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on (Lxx = epikaleomai) the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.
\n
\nGenesis 26:25 So he built an altar there and called upon (Lxx = epikaleomai) the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac\u2019s servants dug a well.
\n
\nThese uses of epikaleo in Genesis \"speaks volumes\" about the priority of worship in the life of this great man of God (used with a similar meaning in Ge 13:4). In fact epikaleomai is used in the LXX to describe all three great patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac in Ge 26:25 and Jacob in Ge 33:20 where Lxx into English is not \"called it\" but \"called on the God of Israel\") calling on God.
\n
\nAnd so we see that addressing God as Father includes the idea of worship.
\n
\nIn a famous encounter with the prophets of Baal hopping around and calling out to their \"god\" Elijah
\n
\n\"mocked them and said,' Call out (Lxx = epikaleomai) with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.\" (1Ki 18:27)
\n
\nAsaph sings
\n
\nOh give thanks to the LORD, call upon (Lxx = epikaleomai) His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples.\" (1Chr 16:8) (As an aside, have you obeyed this injunction beloved? If you have given thanks from the heart, the natural outflow of such a life is to let others know His great and mighty works in your life and the life of your family.)
\n
\nEpikaleomai also means to to address or characterize someone by a special term, to call or to give a surname (see Mt 10:25)
\n
\nEpikaleomai is used most often in the NT in the sense of calling someone by name (Lk 22:3, Ac 4:36, 10:5, 18, 32, 11:13, 12:12, 25, 15:22).
\n
\nEpikaleomai was a technical legal term which referred to putting a request before a higher judicial authority for review of a decision of a lower court and so to make an appeal. Paul was cognizant of the fact that an appeal to the Roman emperor was the right of a Roman citizen and so he ended his defense in Jerusalem before Festus with the words \"I appeal to (epikaleomai) Caesar.\" (Acts 25:11), to which Festus answered
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\nYou have appealed to (epikaleomai) Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.\" (Acts 25:12, cp Acts 25:21, 25, 26:32, 29:19)
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\nEpikaleomai was also used as a legal term to invoke an oath or to call on someone as a witness. Paul in explaining to the Corinthians why he said he was coming but did not (he wanted them to have time to repent and correct their sinful behavior) declared
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\nI call (epikaleomai) God as witness to my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. (2Cor 1:23)
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\nHere in first Peter, epikaleomai describes praying saints whose habitual practice was to call upon their Father (address is present tense indicating continual action). They appealed to God as one would appeal to an earthly father for help. Peter alluded to this blessed truth of God as their Father in (1Peter 1:14 [note]) when he referred to his recipients as \"obedient children\". In (1Pe 1:15 ([note]) God called them to be His own so that now they have the privilege of calling upon Him as their Father. Peter's acknowledgement of God as their Father is even more notable in view of the fact that in Judaism (and the OT) God is rarely referred to as \"Father\".
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\nAddress as Father - All who are by faith in Christ are sons of God the Father. The call is not so much an appeal, but a claim of kindred and an acknowledgment of close, tender relationship (cp Abba - Mark 14:36, Ro 8:15-note, Ga 4:6). The fact that the readers acknowledge God as their Father clearly indicates that Peter is writing primarily to believers...
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\nSee how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. (1John 3:1).
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\nJohn writes that
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\nas many as received (and welcomed) Him, to them He gave the right (authority, power, privilege - see word study of exousia) to become children of God (in the full spiritual sense, not as mere offspring of God which is true of all men as in Acts 17:28-note), even to those who believe (see word study on pisteuo) in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.\" (Jn 1:12, 13)
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\nJesus taught His disciples...
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\nWhen you pray, say: \u2018Father, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. (Lk 11:2)
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\nOne of the most beautiful passages in the Bible records God's declaration that
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\nI will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me\" says the Lord Almighty. (2Cor 6:18)
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\nAs Wuest says
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\nWhat a blessed thought to give us encouragement in our praying, faith that the answer is sure, and a sweet feeling of nearness to God. To think that He is our Father and we are His children. To think that He regards us as His children, and thus the objects of His special care and love. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)
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\nF B Meyer in his exposition of 1Peter entitled \"Tried by Fire\" has the following section on 1Pe 1:17 (see note) which relates to the Bema Seat of Christ...
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\nGod's children are to be judged, not at the great white throne, but at the judgment seat of Christ (2Co 5:10-note). That judgment will not decide our eternal destiny, because that has been settled before; but it will settle the rewards of our faithfulness or otherwise (Mt 25:19; 1Co 3:14).
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\nThere is a sense in which that judgment is already in process, and we are ever standing before the judgment bar. \"The Father who judges.\" The Divine verdict is being pronounced perpetually on our actions, and hourly is manifesting itself in light or shadow.
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\nBut it is a Father's judgment.
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\nWe call on Him as Father. (1Pe 1:17-note) Notice this reciprocity of calling. He called us; we call Him; His address to us as children begets our address to Him as Father. We need not dread his scrutiny--it is tender. He pities us as a father pities his children, knowing our frame, allowing for our weaknesses, and bearing with us with an infinite patience.
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\nBut for all that it is impartial.
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\n\"Without respect of persons.\" (1Pe 1:17-note) Many years before, this had been revealed to the Apostle from heaven in a memorable vision, which affected his whole after-ministry (Ac 10:35). Not according to profession, or appearance, or any self-constituted importance, but according to what we do, are we being judged.
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\nThe holy soul realizes this; and a great awe falls upon it and overshadows it--an awe not born of the fear which hath torment, but of love. It passes the time of its sojourning in fear (1Pe 1:17-note). Not the fear of evil consequences to itself, but the fear of grieving the Father; of bringing a shadow over his face; of missing any manifestation of his love and nearness to Himself, which may be granted to the obedient child. Love casts out fear; but it also begets it. There is nothing craven, or fretful, or depressing; but a tenderness of conscience which dreads the tiniest cloud on the inner sky, such as might overshadow for a single moment the clear shining of the Father's face. So the brief days of sojourning pass quickly on, and the vision of the Homeland beckons to us, and bids us mend our pace. (F. B. Meyer. Tried By Fire) (Bolding added)
\nNow Peter makes the point that if believers have such a special relationship with God by virtue of His effectual call and gift of new birth, it is all the more urgent that they not become complacent in their conduct but that they remember their Father is also the Judge of both believers and non-believers.
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\nPRACTICE
\nYOUR POSITION!
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\nEdwards adds that
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\nBecause of our position in Christ, we should live according to our family heritage, i.e., in holiness. \"'For you were once darkness, but now are you light in the Lord, walk as Children of light\" (Eph 5:8). It has been well said that the goal of the Christian life is \"to practice your position.\" (Edwards, D in 1 Peter Well done Exposition )
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\nAlexander Maclaren sermon on 1Peter 1:17 The Father and Judge...
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\nThe injunction here and the reason for it are equally strange. Both seem opposed no less to the confidence, hope, and joy which have been glowing in the former part of this chapter than to the general tone of the New Testament.
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\n\u201cLive in habitual fear, for God is a strict Judge,\u201d strikes a note which at first hearing sounds a discord. Is not Christianity the religion of perfect love which casts out fear? Is not its very promise that he who believes shall not come into judgment? Is not its central revelation that of a Father who hath not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our transgressions? Yes; God be thanked that it is! We cannot too earnestly assert that, nor too jealously guard these truths from all tampering or weakening. But these solemn words are none the less true.
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\nI. THE TWOFOLD REVELATION OF GOD AS FATHER AND JUDGE.
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\nIf we adopt the translation, \u201ccall on him as Father,\u201d we shall catch here an echo of the Lord\u2019s Prayer (Mt 6:9), and recognize a testimony to its early and general use, independent and confirmatory of the Gospels. We need not dwell upon the thought that God is our Father. There is little fear of its being lost sight of in the Christian teaching of this day. But there is much danger of its being so held as to obscure the other relation here associated with it. Men have often been so penetrated with the conviction that God is Judge as to forget that he is Father.
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\nThe danger now is that they should be so occupied with the thought that he is Father as to forget that he is Judge. What do we mean by \u201cjudgment\u201d? We mean, first, an accurate knowledge and estimate of the moral quality of an action; next, a solemn approval or condemnation; and next, the pronouncing of sentence which entails punishment or reward.
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\nNow, can it be that he who loves righteousness and hates evil should ever fail to discern, to estimate, to condemn, and to chastise evil, whoever does it? The eternal necessity of his own great holiness, and not less of his own almighty love, binds him to this.
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\nOur text distinctly speaks of a present judgment. It is God who judgeth, not who will judge; and that judgment is of each man\u2019s work as a whole, not of his works, but of his work. There is a perpetual present judgment going on. God has an estimate of each man\u2019s course, solemnly approves or disapproves, and shapes his dealings with each accordingly.
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\nThe very fact of this Fatherhood, so far from being inconsistent with this continual judgment, makes it the more certain. He is not so indifferent to his children as to let their deeds pass unnoticed, and, if need be, unchastised. \u201cWe have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence.\u201d (Heb 12:9) They would have deserved little of it while we were children, and would have almost deserved our malediction when we became men, if they had not. Our Father in heaven knows and loves us better than they. Therefore he judges from a loftier point of view. Standing higher, he looks deeper, and corrects for a nobler purpose \u2014 \u201cthat we should be partakers of his holiness.\u201d (Heb 12:10)
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\nTo the Christian God\u2019s judgments are a sign of his love. So we should rejoice in and long for them. Do we wish to be separated from our sin, to be drawn nearer to him? Then let us be glad that \u201cthe Lord will judge his people,\u201d and while in penitent consciousness of our sins we pray with the psalmist, \u201cEnter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord!\u201d (Ps 143:2) let us also cry with him, \u201cJudge me, O Lord; try my reins and my heart!\u201d (Ps 26:2) Abundance of Scripture teaching insists on the fact that there is a future judgment for Christians as for others. \u201cWe must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ.\u201d (2Co 5:10) True, \u201cin the course of justice none of us should see salvation.\u201d But though we are saved, not according to works of righteousness which we have done, it is also true that our place in heaven, though not our entrance into heaven, is determined by the law of recompense, and that, in a very real sense, \u201cwhatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.\u201d (Gal 6:7) A saved man\u2019s whole position will be affected by his past. His place will be in proportion to his Christian character, though not deserved nor won by it. Let us ponder, then, the solemn words, almost the last which come to us from the enthroned Christ, \u201cBehold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.\u201d (Re 22:12)
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\nII. THE FEAR WHICH CONSEQUENTLY IS AN ELEMENT IN THE CHILD\u2019S LOVE.
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\nPerfect love casts out the fear (1Jn 4:18) which has torment, but it deepens a fear which is blessed. By fear we oftenest mean an apprehension of and a shrinking from dangers or evils, or a painful recoil from a person who may inflict them. Such fear is wholly inconsistent with the filial relation and the child\u2019s heart. But the fear of God, which the Old Testament so exalts, and which is here enjoined as a necessary part of Christian experience, is not dread. It has no trembling apprehension of evil disturbing its serenity. To fear God is not to be afraid of God. It is full of reverential awe and joy, and, so far from being inconsistent with love, is impossible without it, increases it and is increased by it. It is a reverent, awe-stricken prostration before the majesty of holy love. Its opposite is irreverence. It is, further, a lowly consciousness of the heinousness of sin, and consequently a dread of offending that Divine holiness. He who thus fears, fears to sin more than anything else, and fears God so much that he fears nothing besides. The opposite of that is presumptuous self confidence, like Peter\u2019s own earlier disposition, which led him into so many painful and humbling situations. \u201cA wise man feareth and departeth from evil.\u201d (Pr 14:16)
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\nThe fear enjoined here is, primarily, then, a reverential regard to the holy Father who is our Judge, and, secondarily and consequently, a quick sensitiveness of conscience, which knows our own weakness, and, above all else, dreads falling into sin. Such sensitive scrupulousness may seem to be over-anxiety, but it is wisdom; and, though it brings some pains, it is blessedness. This is no world for unwary walking. There are too many enemies seeking admission to the citadel for it to be safe to dispense with rigid watchfulness at the gates. Our Father is our Judge, therefore let us fear to sin, and fear our own weakness. Our Judge is our Father, therefore let us not be afraid of him, but court his pure eyes and perfect judgment. Such fear which has in it no torment, and is the ally of love, is not the ultimate form of our emotions towards God. It is appropriate only to \u201cthe time of our sojourning here.\u201d
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\nThe Christian soul in this world is as a foreigner in a strange land. Its true affinities are in heaven; and its present surroundings are ever seeking to make it \u201cforget the imperial palace\u201d which is its home. So constant vigilance is needed. But when we reach our own land we can dwell safely, having neither locks nor bars. The walls may be pulled down, and flower-gardens laid out where they stood. Here and now is the place for loins girt and lamps burning. There and then we can walk with flowing robes, for no stain will come on them from the golden pavements, and need not carefully tend a flickering light, for eternal day is there.
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\nWHO IMPARTIALLY JUDGES: ton aprosopolemptos krinonta (PAPMSA): (1 Peter 2:23, 4:5, Dt 10:17; 2Chr 19:7; Job 34:11, 19; Ps 62:12, Je 17:10, Mt 22:16; Acts 10:34,35; Ro 2:10,11; Gal 2:6; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25)
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\nMoses in his exhortation to Israel to circumcise their hearts (referring to spiritual circumcision = not relying on works or sacrifices to attain righteousness, but personally expressing faith in God's promised, prophesied Messiah - see discussion of meaning of circumcision related to Covenant) spoke the following words to motivate them to seek the LORD while He could be found...
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\nFor the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. (Dt 10:17) (for God...\"does not delight in sacrifice, [nor] with burnt offering [but] the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart [God] will not despise) (See Spurgeon's notes on Ps 51:16 and Ps 51:17-note)
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\nIn a similar passage Jehoshaphat the king of Judah warned the judges he appointed throughout Judah to think carefully before pronouncing judgment and to
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\nlet the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness, or partiality, or the taking of a bribe. (2Chr 19:7)
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\nGod is a righteous Judge, as Peter declares in explaining how Jesus did not seek to revenge evil for...
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\nwhile being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously (see note 1 Peter 2:23)
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\nAnd again Peter alludes to God as Judge writing that...
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\nthey (those who are surprised you as a new creation in Christ no longer desire to join them in their unrighteous activities) shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living (believers) and the dead (spiritually dead [note Ephesians 2:1], born into Adam [Romans 5:12-note], but never born again, John 3:3).
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\nThe fact that God is going to judge all of us ought to cause us to become very sober minded and to give a little more attention to the life that we are living.
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\nAs J Vernon McGee says
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\nMy friends, we need to make sure that we are not superficial. The Gospel does not sprinkle rosewater on a bunch of dead weeds. The Gospel transforms lives and brings us into a living hope which rests upon the resurrection of Christ. (McGee, J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or Logos)
\n","processed":1,"summary":"Address (1941) (epikaleomai = middle voice of epikaleo from ep\u00ed = upon + kal\u00e9o = call) literally means to call upon and was often used in secular Greek to refer to calling upon deity for any purpose, especially for aid. It also means to invoke (to petition for help or support, make earnest request) ","published":1,"contents":null,"content_processed":0,"created_at":null,"updated_at":null,"author":{"id":555,"status":1,"author":"Greek Word Studies","slug":"Greek-Word-Studies","date":"","image":"","description":"

Greek Word Studies ( - )<\/h1>\nRead freely Greek Word Studies from the Austin Precept text commentary of the Bible in text and pdf format. Precept Austin<\/a> is an online free dynamic bible commentary similar to wikipedia with updated content and many links to excellent biblical resources around the world. You can browse the entire collection of Commentaries by Verse<\/a> on the Precept Austin website.\n

\nWe have been \"bought with a price\" to be \"ambassadors for Christ\" and our \"salvation is nearer to us than when we believed\" so let us \"cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God\" \"so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.\" (1Cor 6:20, 2Cor 5:20, Ro 13:11, 2Cor 7:1, 1Jn 2:28)
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