Chapter XX.
Standing and State
There are “Three Classes” of Professing Christians.
1. Those who
are saved and
KNOW IT.
2. Those who
are saved and are
NOT SURE OF IT.
3. Those who are
not saved but
THINK THEY ARE.
When asked if they are saved, some
Christians say, “I hope
so,” others say, “I
trust so,” while many think it
presumptuous to be
positive and say we cannot know until we die. The reason why
so many Christians are not sure that they are saved is
because they do not distinguish between their “STANDING,”
their “STATE,”
and their “EXPERIENCE.
I. THE CHRISTIAN’S STANDING
The only place we can find out as
to this is in the Word of God. What does the Bible say about
it? It says that the Christian’s
“Standing” is that of
a SON. “As many as
received Him, to them
gave He power to become the
SONS OF GOD.” John 1:12-13. We become a
“Son of God” by
receiving Christ as
our personal Saviour. And we are a
“Son” NOW. “Beloved
NOW are we the
Sons of God.” 1 John
3:2. And this “Sonship”
makes us HEIRS.
“And if ‘Children,’
then HEIRS; heirs of
God, and joint heirs with Christ.” Romans 8:17. And
this “HEIRSHIP”
guarantees our PRESERVATION,
for we are kept
by the “POWER OF
GOD,” unto an inheritance incorruptible, and
undefiled, and that fadeth not away,
“RESERVED IN HEAVEN”
for us. 1 Peter 1:4-5. And no man shall be able to
pluck us out of our FATHER’S
HAND (John 10:27-29), for we are
“SEALED” unto the Day
of Redemption (Ephesians 4:30), and our
“life” (Spiritual
Life) is HID WITH CHRIST IN
GOD. Colossians 3:3. If my
“life” is “hid in
Christ” by God for
safe keepingIhave it not and therefore
cannot lose it. But I
think I hear some one say, “How about the words
‘fall way’” (Hebrews
6:4-6), and if we sin wilfully’ after that we have received
the knowledge of the truth? Hebrews 10:26. Are you a
JEW? Then those words
are intended for you, but if a Gentile, then not. Those
words were spoken to apostate Jewish professors of
Christianity and are not intended for Gentile believers. The
moment the Children of Israel put the
blood of the Passover
Lamb on the doorposts of their dwellings the inmates
were safe, and the
promise of God that “when HE (not them)
saw the BLOOD,” He
would “pass over them,”
(Exodus 12:13), made them sure. So the “Blood of
Christ” makes us SAFE,
and the “WORD OF GOD”
makes us SURE. See
the Chart
“Standing
and State” Here.
II. THE CHRISTIAN’S STATE
While the Christian’s
“Standing” is
SETTLED and
SURE his
“State” is
VARIABLE. This is
owing to the fact that after our “New Birth” we have
“TWO NATURES” where
before we had but one. We do not lose the “Old Adam” or
“FLESH Nature” when
we receive the “New Adam” or
“SPIRITUAL Nature,” for that which was born of the
“Flesh” is still
FLESH, and only that
which is born of the “HOLY
SPIRIT” is SPIRIT.
John 3:6. This explains the
“SPIRITUAL WARFARE”
so vividly portrayed by the Apostle Paul in Romans 7:14-25.
This was the Apostle’s own experience after his conversion
and reveals the fact that the Believer has a
DUAL NATURE, and he
is sinless or sinful according to which nature is uppermost,
for that which is “born of
God” in him, his “Spiritual Nature,”
CANNOT SIN. 1 John
3:9. But as long as we permit our
“FLESH Nature” to
control us, we cannot say
“we have no sin,” if we do we
“deceive ourselves,”
and the “truth is not in
us.” 1 John 1:8-10. Here we must distinguish between
“SIN” and
“SINS. “ ”SIN” is
that disposition to do wrong that we inherit from Adam
called “Original Sin” or “Natural Depravity.”
“SINS” are the
specific acts of sin that we commit due to the disposition
to sin in us. Jesus died on the Cross to remove the
disposition to sin from us, and by accepting Him as our
personal Saviour we get a
NEW NATURE in which there is no disposition to sin.
It is that Nature therefore that cannot sin. See the Chapter
on “The Two Natures.”
But you say does not the Apostle
Paul say that we are “dead
to sin,” and ought not to live any longer therein?
Romans 6:1-2. Yes. But what he means is that we are
JUDICIALLY DEAD. That
is, we are in our “New Nature” dead to the
“LAW OF SIN,” that
“Law” has no further power over us, therefore, the Apostle
adds, we should “RECKON
OURSELVES DEAD” (Romans 6:11), that is, we should
consider ourselves dead to
sin and live and Acts like a man who had died to his
old manner of life. How is it to be done?
“Walk in the SPIRIT,
and ye SHALL NOT FULFIL THE
LUST OF THE FLESH.” Galatians 5:16. We are told not
to let sin “REIGN” in our
mortal body, and the promise is –
“sin shall not have DOMINION
over you.” Romans 6:12-14.
We see from all this that while a
“Believer’s Standing” is “Settled”
and “Sure,”
his “State” is VARIABLE
and will be sinful
or sinless
according to whether the “Old” or “New Nature” is in
control.
III. THE CHRISTIAN’S
EXPERIENCE
As to
“Experience” the
Believer may be in any one of three places. (1). He may be
in EGYPT, the
“Type of the WORLD.”
(2). He may be in the
WILDERNESS, the “Type
of the FLESH.” Or (3) he may be fighting for the
possession of CANAAN,
the “Type of the DEVIL.
The “Children of Israel” were
safe in Egypt the
moment they sprinkled the
“Blood” of the “Passover Lamb” on the doorposts of
their dwellings. So the Believer is
Saved the moment he
applies the “BLOOD OF
CHRIST” by faith to his soul though he may in
experience be still living in the world of which Egypt is a
type, though he should not be content to dwell there. Some
Believers have left Egypt behind, but as to experience they
are still wandering in the Wilderness, sometimes on the
Egyptian side of the Wilderness longing for the leeks,
onions, and garlic of their old Egyptian life, at other
times on the Canaan side longing for the new corn and wine
and figs and pomegranates of the Promised Land, but mostly
wandering in the centre of the Wilderness, in a state of
murmuring, restlessness and unfruitfulness.
Some have visited Kadesh Barnea and
taken a journey over into Canaan and tasted of the “Grapes
of Eshcol” but have been frightened by the “Giants” and
“Walled Cities” and refusing to go in and “possess the land”
they have been compelled to wander for many years in the
Wilderness to the great loss of themselves and their loved
ones, due to their lack of faith. Numbers 13:1-33.
Other Believers have left the
Wilderness and entered Canaan and are now under the
leadership of their Joshua (Christ), endeavoring to drive
out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites,
Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites of their soul that they
may get posession of the land, for they have the promise
that they shall get “possession” by “dispossession,” and
control every portion of territory over which their feet
shall tread. Joshua 1:1-3. While Canaan is a type, not of
Heaven, for there is no conflict in Heaven, but of the “Rest
of Faith” or the “Victorious Life,” it is also a
“Type of the Devil,”
for the Devil is satisfied to have the Believer remain in
Egypt (the World), or in the Wilderness overcome by the
“Flesh,” but when the Believer gets over into Canaan the
Devil is going to contest every foot of the way, and prevent
if possible a “Life of
Victory.”
From what has been said we see that
our “Fellowship” with
God can be broken, but our
RELATIONSHIP never. The Prodigal Son severed his
“Fellowship” with his father by going off into a “far
country,” but he did not lose his
“SONSHIP” for as a
SON he was welcomed
back. Luke 15:24. “Who then shall
SEPARATE us from the
‘Love of Christ’.” Romans 8:35-39.
Chapter
XXI. Regeneration and Baptism
There is more or less confusion as
to the relation of Baptism to Regeneration. Some teach that
Baptism is a saving ordinance, and that in the
administration of the rite the candidate is regenerated or
“born again,” and for this reason it is called a
“Sacrament.” Because of this belief many parents hasten to
have their infants baptized for fear that they will be
eternally lost. F.or a proper undertanding of the subject it
is necessary that we ascertain the Scriptural meaning of the
words “Regeneration” and “Baptism,” and we shall find that
one is an “Inner Experience,” and the other is an “Outward
Acts.”
I. REGENERATION
In the third chapter of John’s
Gospel we find two “Divine
Necessities.” First, “Ye must be
BORN AGAIN,” (John
3:3, John 3:5), second, “The Son of Man must be
LIFTED UP.” To whom
did Jesus utter these words? Not to a gambler, a drunkard, a
thief, a libertine, a heathen, a non-church goer, but to a
Church Member. To Nicodemus, a Ruler of the Jews, a
Pharisee, a Rabbi, a member of the Great Sanhedrin, learned
in the “Law” and “Holy Scriptures,” one of the Religious
Leaders of his day and a “Master in Israel.” As a Jew he was
entitled to all the “Birthright Privileges” of a son of
Abraham, and to be told by Christ that all his boasted
“Birthright Privileges” did not entitle him to a place in
the “Kingdom of God” was
startling. “How,” said Nicodemus, “can a man be born
when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his
mother’s womb, and be born?” Surely not! And if he could
there would nothing be gained by a second
NATURAL birth more
than by the first. If a natural man could re-enter 10,000
times into his mother’s womb and be born he would be naught
but a NATURAL man
after all, for “That which is born of flesh is
FLESH.
Why must men be born again? Because
– “That which is born of flesh is
FLESH, and that which
is born of the ‘Spirit’
(Holy Spirit) is
SPIRIT.” John 3:6. Men are not by nature the “Sons of
God,” they are the “Children of the Devil,” (1 John 3:10),
and Jesus so informed the Jews. John 8:37-44. There is a
restricted “Fatherhood of God” and “Brotherhood of Man.” It
is only those who receive Christ as their personal Saviour
that can become the “Sons of God.” John 1:12. There is much
being said in these days about “Building Character,” which
is only another phrase for the “Moral Evolution” of human
nature, and by selection, or the intermarriage of the
“Physically, Morally and Intellectually Fit,” to produce a
race of Supermen and Women. But this is impossible, being
contrary to the history of the race and to Scripture.
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Can the Ethiopian change his
skin, or the Leopard his spots?
The
“New Birth” is not a change of the “Old Nature” into a “New
Nature” by either a gradual or sudden transformation, called
development or reformation. Religious reformation may very
much improve the flesh,
but after all it is only
religious FLESH. To
use a Scriptural illustration, if we were to take a “nettle”
from the roadside and bring it into a garden or hothouse,
and watch over it, dress and water and warm it, we might be
able to produce beautiful and different varieties of
“nettles,” but they
would only be “NETTLES,”
we could never get
“FIGS” from them. “Do men gather
grapes of
thorns, or
‘FIGS’ of
‘THISTLES’?” Matthew
7:16. “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his
spots?” Jeremiah 13:23.
What then is the “New Birth?” “It is the
COMMUNICATION OF A NEW LIFE,
the IMPLANTATION OF A NEW
NATURE by the ‘SPIRIT
OF GOD.’”
There is no such thing as
“Spontaneous Generation of
Life.” All life must come from
PRE-EXISTING LIFE. We
speak of the “Inorganic” and “Organic” Kingdoms. The
Kingdoms of “No-Life” and of “Life.” A dead stone cannot
pass of itself from the “Inorganic” into the “Organic”
Kingdom. There is a door between the two Kingdoms, but it
opens on the Organic Kingdom side. While the stone cannot
open that door the plant can, and by thrusting its rootlets
into the soil can disintegrate the stone and take of its
chemical constituents and give them of its own life.
Likewise there is a door between the “Vegetable Kingdom” and
the “Animal Kingdom,” but it opens on the “Animal Kingdom”
side. The plant cannot turn itself into flesh, but the
animal by eating the plant can change it from “vegetable
life” to “animal life.” So there is a door between the
“Natural” and “Spiritual” worlds, but it cannot be opened
from the “Natural” side. Therefore a man to have “Spiritual
Life” must be born from above. A sculptor may take a piece
of marble and carve from it a lifelike figure, but it is
still MARBLE and
LIFELESS.
In the “Human Kingdom” there can be
no life without parentage. There must be a father and a
mother. The same is true of the “Spiritual Kingdom.” In the
“Spiritual Kingdom” the Holy Spirit is the
FATHER, and the
“Human Heart” is the WOMB
(Mother) into which the
“SEED” of the “Word of God” is dropped. “Being
born again, not of
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the
WORD OF GOD.” 1 Peter
1:23. If seed in the Natural World, either of plant, animal,
or man, is lifeless,
there will be no new life, and if the “Seed of the Word of
God” is not VITALIZED
by the Holy Spirit when it falls into the human heart there
will be no “New Birth.”
This explains how men and women can read and study
the Scriptures and not be converted. To illustrate, a man
may have heard or read a thousand times the words – “Ye will
not come to me, that ye might have life.” John 5:40. But one
day on the street he is handed a card on which those words
are printed in large letters. Angered by the publicity of
the act, and offended at the intimation that he needs to be
saved, he tears the card into pieces and throwing it into
the gutter with an oath he passes on. But he cannot dismiss
the incident from his memory. Do what he will it persists in
returning. He finds himself unfitted for business. The
evening is spent in a place of amusement, but the words on
the card haunt him, and he leaves the theatre to go home and
spend a sleepless night. What is the matter? Why that “text”
was no longer “lifeless,” it had been
“vitalized” by the
Holy Spirit, it had fallen into the womb of the man’s heart
and was in the process of generating a “New Life” in the
man. Leave it alone and it will do its office work and the
man will become a “New Creature” in Christ Jesus. If in our
experience we can remember or recall the verse of Scripture
that was the means of our conversion then we can point to it
as the Holy Spirit vitalized seed of the Word that caused
the generation of the “New Life” in our heart.
HOW TO BE BORN AGAIN
If I must be “born again,” I
may be born again,
for God never commands an
impossible thing. We have considered the manner and
the means of the communication of the New Birth, it now
remains to show how it may be secured. In the night
interview of Nicodemus and Jesus, Jesus used three
illustrations. (1) That of a
BIRTH. (2) That of the
“BRAZEN SERPENT.” (3)
That of the WIND. We
have explained the first, let us now consider the second.
“AS Moses lifted up
the ‘Serpent’ in the Wilderness, even
SO must the ‘Son of
Man’ be lifted up.” Nicodemus being a “Master” in Israel
knew well the incident of the “Brazen Serpent.” Numbers
21:4-9. He knew how that when the Children of Israel essayed
to compass the land of Edom and became discouraged, that
they murmured against Moses, and the Lord sent “Fiery
Serpents,” and they bit the people and many died, and Moses
was commanded to make a “Brazen Serpent” and put it on a
pole, that whosoever looked upon it should be healed of the
poisonous bite. The “Fiery Serpents” were a type of the
Devil, and the “Brazen Serpent” was a type of Jesus lifted
up upon the Cross to counteract and destroy the work of the
Devil. From this we see that it is not Jesus as an example,
but Jesus “lifted up”
and CRUCIFIED that
saves. The “Brazen Serpent” was “lifted up” that all Israel
might see it, and Jesus was “lifted up” that all men might
see HIM. “And I, if I
be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This
He said, signifying what death he should die.” John
12:32-33. How forcibly that night interview must have been
recalled to Nicodemus’ memory as he and Joseph of Arimathea
bent over the body of Jesus preparing it for burial. I think
I can hear Nicodemus say to Joseph, “Joseph, He told me it
would be this way that night I visited Him at John’s house
in Jerusalem and He explained to me how I might be born
again. He said as Moses lifted up the ‘Brazen Serpent’ in
the Wilderness so He must be lifted up, and now He has been
‘lifted up.’ Handle Him tenderly Joseph, for He is our Lord
and Saviour.”
Let us study that Wilderness scene,
for if we can grasp its lessons we will know the steps we
must take to be saved.
1.
The first thing necessary for an Israelite to know was that
he was BITTEN.
Not until he felt the sting of the
serpent’s bite would an Israelite feel concerned about his
health. So the sinner has no concern about his spiritual
health until he realizes that the “poison of sin” will
desttroy his soul.
2.
The second thing for an Israelite to know was that there was
a GOD-PROVIDED REMEDY.
Now an Israelite might have been
bitten and not have known about the “Brazen Serpent” and
have perished for want of knowledge. So there are many who
know that sin is destroying their lives but do not know of
the way of deliverance. It is necessary that they learn in
some way of God’s “provided
remedy” for sin –
JESUS.
3.
The third thing for an Israelite to know was that the
God-provided remedy was of no account UNTIL APPLIED.
If a bitten Israelite, knowing of
the “Brazen Serpent,” refused to look at it he died. So the
sinner, who, conscious of his sinful state, refuses to
accept Christ as his Saviour will die in his sins.
We can imagine a bitten Israelite
when asked to look at the “Brazen Serpent,” saying – “Oh! I
have got no faith in that piece of brass. I will just try a
poultice or drink
this medicine that I
have in the house.” So men and women today instead of
looking to Christ, resort to man-made remedies to soothe the
pangs of conscience, such as good works, penances, music,
worldly entertainments, and religious fads.
We can imagine another bitten
Israelite saying – “I will not have anything to do with the
‘Brazen Serpent’ until I know
how it cures. I want
to know the philosophy
of the thing. If God had told us to rub the bitten
place with a piece of brass in the form of a serpent, or to
take a piece of brass and boil it with some herbs and make a
medicine that we were to take, then I could understand the
philosophy of the thing, but to simply look at a ‘Brazen
Serpent’ on a pole that is all foolishness and I will perish
before I do it.” So men and women argue today. They say, “I
cannot understand the
philosophy of the Atonement, and I will not accept
the work of the Cross until you make it plain to my reason.”
Again we can imagine a bitten
Israelite saying – “I will wait until tomorrow to see if I
am not better, and if I am no better then I will go and have
a look at the ‘Brazen Serpent’ to see whether there is
anything in it.” So men and women today live in the hope
that tomorrow there will be an improvement in their
spiritual condition, and if not, they say they will have a
“try” at religion.
Another bitten Israelite comparing
his wound with that of his neighbor may have said, “My wound
is not half as bad as my neighbor’s, so I will not do
anything as long as he lives.” So men and women compare
their spiritual condition with that of their neighbors and
say, I am not as bad as they are and if they are saved I
will be.” But comparing ourselves with others, or
looking at the wound
will not do, we must look to
the REMEDY. It was not the “Brazen Serpent” that
healed, it was the “LOOK OF
FAITH.” It was because the bitten Israelites believed
the “Promise of God”
that a “LOOK” would
save them, that they were saved. So it is not necessary for
us to understand the philosophy of the “Plan of Salvation,”
but simply believe what God has said that if we accept the
“Crucified Christ” as
our Saviour we shall be saved. Let us then take our eyes off
of our neighbor, off of ourself, off of the Church, off of
the ordinances, off of the Priest, and fix them on the
“Cross of Calvary,”
and accept the finished work of Christ.
The Israelites were shut up to the
“Brazen Serpent,” so we are shut up to Christ. He is God’s
only remedy for sin. There is no salvation in any other.
Acts 4:12. As every bitten Israelite who refused to look at
the “Brazen Serpent” died, so all who refuse to look to
Christ for salvation—“shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the Presence of the Lord, and from the
Glory of His Power.” 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10.
HOW MAY I KNOW I HAVE BEEN
BORN AGAIN?
This leads us to the consideration
of Jesus’ third illustration, that of the
WIND. “The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it
goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” John
3:8. You cannot see
the wind, it is in itself
invisible. The only way you can tell that it is in
motion is by its effects,
as seen in the swaying trees and the clouds of dust.
So it is with the Holy Spirit, He is invisible and the only
way you can tell that He is at work is by His influence on
the hearts of men. When we see a vile and wicked sinner
changed into a new creature in Christ Jesus, then we know
that the Holy Spirit has been at work. Here are some of the
“BIRTH-MARKS” of the
“New Born” child of God.
1. He that is “Born of God”
hath the witness IN HIMSELF.
1 John 5:10. Romans 8:16.
2. He that is “Born of God”
ABIDETH IN HIM. 1
John 3:24.
3.He that is “Born of God”
LOVETH THE BRETHREN.
1 John 3:14.
4. He that is “Born of God”
OVERCOMETH THE WORLD.
1 John 5 : 4.
5. He that is “Born of God” is
LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Romans 8:14.
He that is “Born of God” will have
a new nature and disposition. He will have a
“New Tongue.” He will
speak the language of Canaan and love to talk about Heavenly
things. He will feed on “New
Food.” It will no longer be the novel and light
literature, but the Word of God. He will have a
“New Song.” No longer
operatic airs and minstrel melodies, but sacred music. He
will seek “New Society.”
Old companionships will be broken off and he will
seek the society of God’s people.
II. BAPTISM
Having seen the meaning of
Regeneration and that it is an “Inner Experience,” let us
now examine the meaning and purpose of Baptism that we may
see that it is but an “Outward Acts” that symbolizes the
“New Birth,” and is to be observed not as a means to our
salvation, but because we have been saved. Right here
someone may ask, “Did not Jesus say to Nicodemus – ‘Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of
WATER and of the
SPIRIT, he cannot
enter into the Kingdom of God’ (John 3:5), and does not
WATER mean Baptism,
and does it not therefore require both the
‘New Birth’ and
‘Water Baptism’ to save a soul?” No. The word “Water”
does not mean “Water Baptism.” Water stands in the
Scriptures for- the “Word of God.” “Of His own will
‘begat’ He us with
the WORD OF TRUTH.”
James 1:18. “Being ‘born
again,’ not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the WORD
OF GOD.” 1 Peter 1:23. It must not be forgotten that
Baptism is only for
BELIEVERS. Acts 8:36-37. Therefore a person must be
saved, or “New Born,” before they should be baptized. This
forbids the Baptism of infants, but not of children who have
reached the age of accountability and are old enough to
believe and exercise saving faith.
What is the purpose of Baptism ?
First it is to symbolize the “Death” and “Resurrection” of
Christ.
“Know ye not, that so many of
us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His
DEATH? Therefore we
are BURIED with Him
by Baptism into DEATH;
that like as Christ was
raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the
likeness of His DEATH,
we shall be also in the likeness of His
RESURRECTION.” Romans
6:3-5.
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BELIEVER'S BAPTISM
Writing to the Corinthians Paul said – “I declare unto you
the Gospel which I preached unto you . . . how that Christ
DIED for our sins . . . that He was
BURIED, and that He
ROSE AGAIN the third
day.” 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Here we have the Gospel in a
nutshell. It is the proclamation that Jesus
DIED, was
BURIED, and
ROSE AGAIN for our
sins according to the Scriptures. So we see that Baptism
symbolizes the “Death,” “Burial” and “Resurrection” of
Christ, and that only one mode of Baptism can symbolize
them, and that is complete
IMMERSION IN WATER.
In the second place Baptism is a
public confession that the
“Believer” has died to the “old life” and risen to a
“New Life,” and what can better symbolize this than the
Believer being buried in the watery grave of the Baptistry
and rising again from that liquid tomb to walk in
resurrection life. And this symbolism can only be expressed
by baptizing the candidate backward in the water but once.
For we do not bury people
face downward, nor
three times.
In the third place Baptism
symbolizes our death, burial, and resurrection
with Christ. That is,
it expresses our union with Him. See the Chapter on “The
Reciprocal Indwelling of Christ and the Believer.”
From what has been said we see that
the “New Birth” and “Baptism” are not the same. That the
“New Birth” is supernatural and can only be brought about by
the Holy Spirit, while Baptism is an “Outward Acts”
performed for us by a properly qualified administrator, and
that it simply symbolizes what has already taken effect in
us by the “New Birth.” Therefore there is no regenerating or
saving power in Baptism. Why then should I be Baptized you
ask? First, because your Saviour has commanded you to be.
Mark 16:15-16. Secondly, because it is the mode prescribed
for a public confession of your faith in Christ. Acts
8:36-37, Acts 16:1415, Acts 16:27-33. Thirdly, because as a
Believer you should connect yourself with some body of
Believers, and the door to such a connection is Baptism.
Acts 2:41-42.
Chapter
XXII. Election and Free-will
There is no question but that the
“Doctrine of Election” is taught in the Scriptures, and that
it applies not only to “service,” but to “salvation.” It is
equally true that the “Doctrine of the Freedom of the Will”
under certain conditions is also taught. We may not be able
to reconcile the “Sovereign Will of God,” with the
“Free-will of Man,” but that is no proof that they are not
reconcilable. They are the corresponding halves of the
Doctrine of Salvation, “Election” is the Godward side, and
“Free-will” the manward side. The perversion of the
“Doctrine of Election” leads to the “Doctrine of Inability”
or Fatalism, which denies the freedom of man’s choice, and
therefore his accountability or responsibility for his
salvation. It was this Doctrine that the Revelation. Charles
G. Finney thundered against during all his evangelistic
ministry.
Election does not mean that God has
chosen some to be saved and others to be lost. The
Scriptures clearly teach that all men
are lost. “For there
is no difference: for all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God.” Romans 3:22-23. Election simply means that
God for some purpose best known to Him, and for which He can
justify Himself, has chosen certain ones to be saved, but as
we shall see He has not limited the number that shall be
saved to those, for the door is left open for the
“Whosoevers.” The
Election of God is seen all through the Scriptures. God
chose Abel instead of Cain, Shem instead of Ham and Japheth,
Abraham rather than Nahor, Jacob the crafty rather than Esau
the generoushearted, Ephraim the younger is preferred before
Manasseh the elder, and so all down through the Old
Testament we see the selecting hand of God, not only in the
choice of individuals but of nations. As proof texts we have
“For He saith to Moses,Iwill have mercy on whom I will have
mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have
compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of
him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.” Romans
9:15-16. “Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have
mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.” Romans 9:18. “Hath
not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make
one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?” Romans
9:21. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.” John
15:16. “As many as were
ordained to eternal life, believed,” Acts 13:48.
“According as He hath chosen
us in Him before the foundation of the world . . .
having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children . . .
according to the good
pleasure of His will.” Ephesians 1:4-5. “God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13. “Who
hath saved us, and called us
with an holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to His own purpose
and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus
before the world was.”
2 Timothy 1:9.
From these scriptures we see that
God has “elected” some even before the foundation of the
world. The passage in Acts 13:48, “As many as
were ordained to eternal
life, BELIEVED,” is most striking. It shows (1) that
“Believing” is the
consequence, and not the cause of God’s decree. (2) That
only a limited number
are ordained to eternal life. (3) That this ordination is to
salvation and not service. (4) That among those hearers all
who were ordained believed, no more, no less.
[Larkin
has a Calvinistic interpretation of Acts 13:48 that does not
consider the very words of Acts 13:46 which plainly state
that salvation had been offered to this specific group of
Jews who had rejected the offer and judged themselves
unworthy of eternal life. Acts 13:46 does not say that the
Jews were FOREordained
to everlasting death. Nor does Acts 13:48 say that these
Gentiles were FOREordained
to everlasting life. Was that whole group of Jews
predestined to hell individually? No, because if they were
then it would be a waste of time to preach to them. Acts
13:48 makes it plain that all Gentiles who believe are
ordained to eternal life. By direct inference both Acts
13:46 and Acts 13:48 indicate that all Jews who reject the
offer of salvation are ordained to hell. This whole passage
in Acts 13:44-52 is not focused upon particular individuals,
but rather on the eternal destiny of both the Jew and the
Gentile who either accept or reject the gospel. Here, Larkin
also pushes the doctrine of Limited Atonement. God has not
limited the atonement to a specific number. However he has
limited the application of the atonement only to those that
believe. For a thorough and complete refutation of the
doctrines of Calvinism see Dave Hunt’s book “What Love Is
This” and Laurence Vance’s book “The Other Side Od
Calvinism”. ]
On the other hand we have the
“Freedom of the Will” taught. “All that the Father giveth Me
shall come to Me, and him that
cometh to me I will in no
wise cast out.” John 6:37. “God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that
WHOSOEVER believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John
3:16. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to
become the Sons of God, even to them |that believe on His
name.” John 1:12. “Ye will
not come to me, that ye might have life.” John 5:40.
The last call of the Bible is a general call. “And the
Spirit (Holy Spirit) and the bride (the Church) say, Come.
And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is
athirst come. And whosoever
will, let him take the water of life freely.”
Revelation 22:17.
How are we to reconcile these apparently contradictory
statements of Scripture? The “key” is the use of the word –
“FOREKNOWLEDGE.”
Elect according to the
FOREKNOWLEDGE of
God.” 1 Peter 1:2. “For whom He did
FOREKNOW, He also did
predestinate to be
conformed to the ‘Image of His Son,’ that He might be the
first born among many brethren.” And the Apostle goes on to
add – “Moreover whom he did
predestinate, them He also
CALLED; and whom He
called, them He also
JUSTIFIED: and whom He justified, them He also
GLORIFIED.” Romans
8:29-30. One important step seems to be here omitted, that
of SANCTIFIED, which
belongs between the last two, but it is implied in the
phrase “to be conformed to the Image of His Son” of the
preceding verse, and is supplied in the first reference from
Peter – “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, through
sanctification of the Spirit.”
[We would strongly state
that the predestination here is NOT to salvation but to be
conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.]
In the Epistle to the Ephesians
Paul uses three words: “Chosen,” “Predestinated,”
“Foreordination” (before ordained). The word “Chosen” refers
to our choice in the “Eternal Past” (Ephesians 1:4), the
word “Predestination” to our inheritance in the “Eternal
Future” (Ephesians 1:11), and the word “Foreordination” to
our “good works” in the “Living Present” (Ephesians 2:10),
and links us with the first two, thus showing the
co-ordination of “God’s Will” and “Man’s Will” in the actual
process of salvation. All prophecy is based on God’s
Foreknowledge, but it does not predetermine human conduct or
events. God’s Foreknowledge of what men will do does not
compel men to do those things. God foreknew that Adam would
fall, and that Judas would betray Jesus, but His
foreknowledge of what they would do did not compel them to
do what they did. They did those things because’ they wanted
to do those things, and God held them responsible for their
choice.
From what has been said it is clear
that God’s choice or predestination of individuals is based
on His foreknowledge or prescience of what they would do
when the Gospel was offered to them. It is therefore no
arbitrary or compulsory choice and does not conflict with
the “Freedom of the Will.” For illustration God foresaw in
eternity past, before the creation of this earth, that on
the 28th day of October, 1850, the Author of this book would
be born, and that on a certain evening in May, 1869, in a Y.
M. C. A. prayer meeting, he would accept Jesus Christ as his
personal Saviour, and because of that foreknowledge He
ordained him unto Eternal Life, and had his name recorded in
the “Lamb’s Book of Life.” Philippians 4:3. Revelation 3:5.
More, He foresaw that the Author would have certain
temperamental and artistic gifts that would fit him to
present Scriptural truth in chart form, and to that end He
imparted to him, through the Holy Spirit, the needed wisdom
to “Rightly Divide the Word,” so that he might write and
publish such books on the Holy Scriptures, as he has by the
Grace of God been permitted to do.
Now the Author confesses that he
would not have naturally done this, though he was born with
a religious temperament, but that it was the outward or
external influence of the Holy Spirit that led him to accept
Christ. In that sense he admits that he was called or
elected of God. On the other hand he disclaims that he was
in any sense forced or coerced to take the stand, against
his own will. The step was voluntary on his part and was in
harmony with his desire. Therefore he holds that there is a
harmonious relation between the “Sovereign Will” of God, and
the “Free-will” of man.
This leads to some remarks on the
“Human Will.” The “Will” is the faculty of choice. The will
does not originate. It is not the mind. It is simply the
instrument that decides the course that is to be taken. The
governing part of man is the heart. If a man’s heart is bad,
his will is bad and vice versa. In the natural man there is
no good thing, the disposition of his heart is to do evil
continually, therefore if his will is to Acts contrary to
the natural tendencies of his heart it must come under the
governing control of some power outside of himself. This
power is that of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the unregenerate
man cannot come to God until his will comes under the power
of the Holy Spirit. When it does the man of his own free
will will turn to God. In unfallen Adam the will was free,
free to choose good or evil. Adam was created in a state of
innocence. He was neither holy nor unholy. His will was in a
condition of “Moral Equipoise.” There was no bias toward
good or evil. But it is not so with fallen man—he has a bias
toward evil, his will is not in a state of “Moral
Equipoise.” His heart is “deceitful above all things and
desperately wicked.” Jeremiah 17:9. The “will” of the “Last
Adam” (Christ) was not like that of the First Adam, in a
state of “Moral Equipoise,” but it was the reverse of the
will of the natural man, it had no bias toward evil, but
only a bias toward “Holiness,” therefore there was no
possibility that the will of Christ would have permitted Him
to sin..
Because the choice of the human
will, governed by a bad heart, is toward evil, nothing can
prevent the Natural man from going to the bad but the “Grace
of God.” And by badness is not necessarily meant wickedness,
but a hardening of his heart against all good influences and
a yielding to the carnal desires of the flesh. The nature
that is under the dominion
of sin, cannot of itself originate that which is
holy. Jesus said – “No man can come to me except the Father
which hath sent me draw him.” John 6:44. And Paul said – “No
man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.”
1 Corinthians 12:3. From this we see the
impotency of the
natural man. But this does not excuse the natural man from
seeking salvation. For the moment he realizes that if he is
to be saved it must be by a power
outside of himself,
it is his duty to inquire where that power may be found.
That is why we are commanded to preach the Gospel, for it is
the “POWER OF GOD UNTO
SALVATION TO EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH.” Romans 1:16.
But as “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
WORD OF GOD” (Romans
10:17), a man cannot believe
unless he knows what to believe. The instrument the
Holy Spirit uses to convict a man of his need of salvation,
and to produce a “New Nature” in him is the “Word of God.”
John 3:5.
It is right here that a man may
exert his “Free-will” by resisting the tender wooing of the
Holy Spirit. Stephen’s charge against his persecutors was –
“Ye stiffnecked (stubborn) and uncircumcised in heart and
ears, ye do always resist
the HOLY GHOST.” Acts 7:51. .Therefore it is true
that a man in the exercise of his “will,” governed by a
proud and stubborn heart, may refuse the pleadings of the
Holy Spirit to his own destruction. This refusal of some men
to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit, shows that they
cannot be saved against their will.
If the “forgiveness of sins” is
preached through Christ to all men (Acts 13:38), and God now
commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30), and we
are to beseech men to be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians
5:18-20), surely the work of Christ on the Cross was not
limited to the elect only. God does not mock men. When an
offer of salvation is made to
“whosoever will come”
it is a “BONA-FIDE”
offer. It is not true that because God has chosen a certain
person to salvation that he will be saved whether he
believes or not. He must be saved through the God-ordained
method of salvation. You cannot be elected unless you are a
candidate. As it has been well put – “The elect are the
“whosoever wills,”
and the non-elect are the
“whosoever won’ts.”
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF
ELECTION?
1. A Consciousness of the New
Birth.
2. The Fruits of the Holy
Spirit in the life.
3. A progressive
Sanctification.
4. A consistent walk.
5. A perseverance in the faith.
Chapter
XXIII. The Reciprocal Indwelling of Christ and the Believer
The thoughtful and observing reader
of the New Testament will notice a number of paradoxical
statements that clearly teach a “Reciprocal Indwelling.”
First of the Father and Jesus. “I am
in the Father and the
Father in Me.” John
14:8-11. “The Father in Me,
and I in Him.”
John 10:38. “That they all may be one ; as Thou,
Father, art in Me,
and I in Thee.” John
17:21. Secondly as to Christ and the Believer. “He that
eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood,
dwelleth in Me, and
I in him.” John 6:56.
In the Parable of “The Vine” we read – “Abide in
Me, and I in
you . . . He that
abideth in Me, and
I in him . . . If ye
abide in Me, and My words abide in you.” John 15:4, John
15:5, John 15:7. It is botanically true that the branches
abide in the vine, and the vine in the branches. As the two
grow they grow into each other. Any attempt to separate them
will tear the fibres that interlock with each other and
mutilate both. This “Reciprocal Indwelling” is beautifully
illustrated in nature. Take the four elements, earth, air,
water and fire. The plant is in the soil, and the soil is in
the plant. The bird is in the air, and the air is in the
bird. The fish is in the water, and the water is in the
fish. The iron is in the fire, and the fire is in the iron.
The mutual interrelation of the plant to the soil, the bird
to the air, and the fish to the water, is necessary to their
life. So the mutual indwelling of Christ and the Believer is
necessary to the Spiritual life of the Believer. When Jesus
was about to depart He said – “Because I live, ye shall live
also. At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and
ye in Me, and
I in you.” John
14:19-20. Let us look at these two “Cardinal Facts” of the
mutual indwelling of Christ and the Believer.
![](Images/53ReciprocalIndwellingOfChristAndTheBeliever.gif)
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I. IN CHRIST
This is the position of the soul
that has accepted Christ as its personal Saviour, and has
been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This particular phrase
with its equivalent “In
Christ Jesus,” or “In
Him,” or “In Whom,”
etc., occurs over 130 times in the New Testament, and
means organic union
with Christ, as the vine to the branches, and the head to
the body. In the Diagram, just above, this union is
illustrated in concentric circles, but a better illustration
would be that of a sphere.
If you should draw a circle on the floor and step
within it, it would surround you, but only on one plane, but
if you were to take a position in the centre of a
spherically shaped room you would be surrounded on all
sides, and equally protected in every direction from all
external foes and perils, and dependent upon the atmosphere
of that spherical room for your life and safety. To
illustrate, the unborn infant is encompassed within the
mother, and is protected from all outside perils, and its
life is sustained from the mother’s life, as, her life blood
flows through it, and it can be said of it that it is in the
mother and the mother in it.
This phrase, “In Christ,” is the “Key” that
the “Heavenly Interpreter” uses to unlock every separate
book in the New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation. For
illustration take the Epistles of Paul, counting the
Epistles to the Corinthians as one, and the Epistles to the
Thessalonians as one:
Romans – “In Christ
JUSTIFIED.” Romans
3:24.
Corinthians – “In
Christ SANCTIFIED.” 1
Corinthians 1:2.
Galatians – “In
Christ CRUCIFIED.”
Galatians 2:20.
Ephesians – “In
Christ ASCENDED.”
Ephesians 1:3.
Philippians – “In
Christ SATISFIED.”
Philippians 1:11.
Colossians – “In
Christ COMPLETE.”
Colossians 2:10.
Thessalonians – “In
Christ GLORIFIED.” 2
Thessalonians 1:10-12.
The Believer’s POSITION
“in Christ” is the same as that of Christ Himself.
Believers “In Christ” are –
1.
CRUCIFIED together
“with Him.” Romans
6:6.
2.
BURIED together
“with Him.”
Colossians 2:12.
3.
QUICKENED together
“with Him.” Ephesians
2:5.
4.
RISEN together
“with Him.”
Colossians 3:1-3.
5.
HEIRS together
“with Him.” Romans 8:17.
6.
SUFFERERS together
“with Him.” Romans
8:17.
7.
GLORIFIED together
“with Him.” Romans
8:17.
This does not mean that when Christ
was crucified, like one of the thieves, I was crucified on a
separate cross with Him, or that when He rose from the grave
I also arose from a nearby grave, but it means that when He
was crucified and arose I was so identified as a Believer in
His Crucifixion and Resurrection as to be said to be
crucified, etc., with Him. When Adam sinned he died to God,
and as I am by nature the child of Adam, I died
“in Adam” to God. But
the very moment I accept Christ as my personal Saviour I am
born into the family of the Second Adam (Christ), and thus
become a partaker of the Christ life, and it follows that
whatever was done by Christ was done in and for me, so that
when He died on the Cross I died with Him, when He was
buried I was buried
with Him, when He arose
from the grave I arose with Him, when He
ascended I ascended
with Him, when He was
glorified I was glorified with Him, and when He shall
come again I will
come with Him.
When a child is born into a family
the law of heredity
entitles that child to all the past history, tendencies
(good or bad), social and political rights and privileges of
the family as far back as the lineage can be traced. And
there is another law, the
law of inheritance that guarantees to that child the
future possession of the family inheritance. So the person
who is born by the Holy Spirit into the family of God, and
thus becomes a “partaker of the Divine Nature,” is not only
entitled to the future inheritance of a Child of God, but to
all the past experiences of Christ.
Christian experience is the making
real in our life of what is true as to our standing in
Christ, and means that we are to make
actual in practice
that which we in the Scriptures are declared to be. That is,
we are to Acts in accordance with our standing. A king will
Acts like a king, a millionaire like a millionaire, a beggar
like a beggar, and a child of God like a child of God. When
our Lord arose and came out of the tomb He had no further
use for grave-clothes and so He left them behind. They would
have been unbecoming and hindering to the risen body of
Christ. But He went not forth naked, He was clothed upon
with garments befitting His Resurrection state. Have you
been crucified, buried and risen with Christ? Then leave in
the grave the garments of the
“Old Man.” “PUT OFF
all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy
communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another,
seeing ye have PUT OFF THE
OLD MAN WITH HIS DEEDS ... and
PUT ON therefore, as
the elect of God, holy and beloved,
bowels of mercies, kindness,
humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one
another, and forgiving one another, . . . and above
all these things PUT ON
CHARITY (love) which is the bond of perfectness.”
Colossians 3:8-14.
How am I to get into this “Sphere
of Life” in Christ Jesus? By regeneration. But it is not.
enough to get into this sphere, I must have capacity to
live and breathe in its atmosphere. Every form of
life has its sphere for which it is adapted, as the bird to
the air, the fish to the water. To live in these spheres
there must be conformity to their laws. To pass from one to
the other needs a new creation. So if I am to pass from the
Natural.to the Spiritual I must be recreated. “Therefore if
any man be ‘in Christ’ he is a
NEW CREATURE.” 2
Corinthians 5:17. It is a great privilege to be “Insphered
in Christ” – to have the security that position insures to
the Believer, and to be sure of the glorious inheritance
that awaits us in Christ, and to know that “when Christ, who
is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear
with Him IN GLORY.”
Colossians. 3:4.
II. CHRIST IN YOU
While the “New Life” is conditioned
on our being “In Christ,” the manifestation of that “Life”
is dependent on “Christ
being in us.” The only way we can manifest life is by
activity or fruitfulness. The test of true Discipleship is
FRUITBEARING. “By
their ‘FRUITS’ ye
shall know them.” Matthew 7:16, Matthew 7:20. To illustrate
this Jesus spake His last and Master Parable of “The Vine.”
John 15:1-8. As much as to say—“What that vine is in the
‘Vegetable World,’ I
am in the SPIRITUAL WORLD.”
The first thing that the vine suggests is
UNITY, not mechanical
unity but organic
unity. From the lowest root to the tip pi the highest
branch, the root, the trunk, the branches, the leaves, the
blossoms, and the fruit are
ONE. Jesus said – “I am
THE VINE, YE are
THE BRANCHES . . . WITHOUT
ME (apart from me) ye can do
NOTHING.” The mission
of the vine is to bring forth
fruit. The mission of
the child of God is the same. Here we must distinguish
between “Works” and
“Fruit.” “Works” are
external, such as Christian service of various kinds.
“Fruit” is internal
and is the work of the Holy Spirit in the Believer. “The
‘Fruit of the Spirit’ is
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance.” Galatians 5:22-23. Here
we have nine kinds of “fruit” that the “Child of God” is
expected to bear. To some of God’s dear children the effort
to be good and fruitful is a continuous strain, but they
have not learned the secret;
it is not trying to be good, but it is to let the
Holy Spirit have His way with us. It is His business to
bring forth fruit in our lives if we will let Him. The
branch is not responsible for fruitbearing, that is the work
of the Vine. It is the “sap” that produces fruit. All the
branch has to do is to let the “sap” flow through it and do
its office work and fruit will of necessity follow.” But if
something prevents the proper flow of the sap then there is
little or no fruit. So the obstruction of worldliness,
pride, covetousness or other things may prevent a child of
God from bearing much fruit. This leads to the use of the
“Pruning Knife.” “Every branch that beareth fruit, He
PURGETH (pruneth)
IT, that it may bring
forth more fruit.” Vs. 2. Here we have the secret of
chastisement. Notice that the pruning is not because the
branch bears no fruit, but that it may bear
MORE fruit.
There are two things peculiar to
the vine. (1) It has the largest capacity for producing
SAP, and (2) the
largest capacity for producing
WOOD. If you would
have fruit, then you must prevent the sap from producing
wood, and compel it to produce fruit. This is done by
pruning. That is, pinching off the end of the stem back
to,the bud. So the “Divine Husbandman” when He would produce
“More Fruit” in our lives, pinches off by chastisement the
excess of woody growth of riches, undue love of worldly
things, etc. This is a very precious thought, that while our
fruitfulness depends on our abiding in the vine, the
AMOUNT of our
fruitfulness is largely due to the careful pruning of the
“Divine Husbandman.”
![](Images/54ChristTheVine.gif)
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But not only is our “Fruit-bearing” dependent
on “Christ being in us,” but also our “Prayer Life.” “If
ye abide in Me, and my words
abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be
done unto you.” John 15:7. Here are two conditions of
prayer and one promise. The conditions are – “If
ye abide in me,” and
“My words abide in you.” The Promise is –
“Ye shall ask what ye will
and it shall be done unto you.” Here is the “Magna
Charta” of prayer. The first condition then of answered
prayer is that we be IN
CHRIST – “If ye abide
in Me.” The second is that
“CHRIST BE IN US” – “My words abide in you.” The
Apostle John tells us – “That if we ask anything
ACCORDING TO HIS WILL
He heareth us.” 1 John 5:14. Now how can we know the
“Will of God” or the
“Mind of Christ,” or
the “Mind of the Spirit”
unless we know the “Word of God,” the Holy
Scriptures. We cannot pray for a certainty unless we know
what God has promised to give. Jesus promised His Disciples
that after His Ascension He would send the “Holy Spirit” to
them and that He would bring all things to their
remembrance. That is
He would recall to their memory all the sayings and promises
of Christ. Then they would be able to pray with certainty
and whatsoever they should ask the Father in “Christ’s Name”
at that Day (the Day of Pentecost), He would give unto them.
John 16:23-26. So we not only have the Scriptures to tell us
what we may ask for with certainty, but we have the “Spirit
of Christ” (the Holy Spirit) to make intercession for us. In
Romans 8:26-27 (we read – “26
Likewise
the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not
what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself
maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the
MIND OF THE SPIRIT, because he maketh intercession
for the saints according to the
WILL OF GOD.’”
[We removed a quote here from the Revised Standard
(per) Version for Romans 8:26-27]
“Now we know that if we ask
anything according to HIS
(God’s) WILL, HE
HEARETH US, and if we know that He hears us,
whatsoever we ask, we know
THAT WE HAVE the petitions that we desired of Him.” 1
John 5:14-15. To pray the “Prayer of Faith” then it is
necessary that not only shall we be
IN CHRIST, but that
CHRIST SHALL BE IN US.
There is a promise that all Christians love to quote for
their assurance in prayer—“If
TWO of you shall
AGREE ON EARTH as
touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 18:19. The
common opinion of this promise is, that when two or three
persons mutually agree to pray for a certain person or
object, that their prayer will be answered. But that is not
the idea at all. The word here translated
“AGREE” is a very
suggestive one. It is the Greek word from which our word
“SYMPHONY” comes. The
thought is, if two shall
“ACCORD” or
“Symphonize” in what they ask they have the promise.
Ananias and Sapphira “agreed
together” to tempt the Spirit of the Lord. Acts 5:9.
There was mutual accord,
but guilty DISCORD
with the Holy Spirit, for as in tuning a musical instrument
all the notes must be keyed to the standard, pitch, else
harmony were impossible, so in prayer, it is not enough that
two persons agree with each
other, they must accord with a
third – THE LORD, and
the Holy Spirit the “Divine Tuner” must put them in accord.
The “key” to the promise is found in the next verse—“For
where two or three are gathered together
IN MY NAME, there
amIin the MIDST OF THEM.”
Matthew 18:20. That is to say, if there are two
persons present and praying, there is also a third, if there
are three persons present, there is a
fourth. But this
fourth person is invisible and is no other than the Lord
Jesus in the person of the Holy Spirit, who causes the
supplicants without previous
agreement to symphonize and thus accord with the
“Divine Will” and the condition of “My Words abide in you”
being fulfilled the prayer is answered.
When Jesus said – “Verily, verily,
I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father
‘IN MY NAME,’ He will
give it you” (John 16:23), and the expression
“IN MY NAME” is six
times repeated, it was a new teaching. No one in Old
Testament times asked in “JESUS’
NAME,” neither had the Disciples up to that time,
because the unity of Jesus with His Disciples had not yet
been revealed, and it was not until Jesus spake the “Parable
of the Vine” that the Disciples understood. their union with
Him. When I ask anything in another’s name, not I, but they
are the Asker. It
follows then that when I ask in
“Jesus’ Name” He is
the suppliant and not I. But Jesus is not supposed to ask
anything that is not according to the “Will of God,”
therefore to have my prayers answered when I ask in “Jesus’
Name” I must not only be “In Christ,” but He must be
“In Me,” or our wills
will not be in accord. To illustrate, if I am to paint like
Raphael, it is not enough for me to copy his paintings and
try to imitate him, I must have him in me and it must be he
who uses my brains and hands. And if I am to pray as Christ
would pray I must have Christ in me to enlighten me how to
pray as He would pray, otherwise my prayer in “His Name”
will be of no avail.
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