CHAPTER V
THE CHURCH
(CONTINUED)
IN ITS RESPONSIBLE HISTORY
We will now consider the responsible side of the church as seen at the commencement of its history, and then the public failure and breakdown
which
soon
followed
in
connection with systematic departures from the truth.
TESTIMONY AND ADMINISTRATION
IN RELATION TO THE HOUSE OF
GOD
The church as presented in the New Testament has an important position on earth in connection with the ways of God in time, taking the place of Israel, during the present period, as the vessel in which the divine testimony is now maintained. As in the kingdom all authority and power are vested in Christ as Lord, so also Christ has supreme authority in the church, where there are different administrations or services, but one Lord, 1 Cor 12. He is also Son and great Priest over God’s house (Hebrews 3 and 10), and only as He is given His right place can divine order be maintained and the divine service be carried on in accordance with the mind of God.
79
We may commence by referring to some New Testament Scriptures which deal with the question of church order and administration.
The first time the Lord speaks of the church is in connection with its spiritual constitution as built by Him and this we have considered in chapter IV. The next mention of the church has to do with its place in the administration of the principles of the kingdom, as seen in the example given by the Lord in Matthew 18: 17-18. Here the local administrative setting of the church is implied as being the final court of appeal on earth for the decision of questions arising between brother and brother. The authority to bind and loose on earth committed to Peter in Matthew 16 is given to the church in identical terms in Matthew 18.
Following on this instruction the Lord gives His power and presence to two or three gathered together to His name, verses 19 and 20. His Father’s ear will be open to their petitions, and they are qualified to be here in the Lord’s interests and to represent Him during His absence. This is significant in view of the general unfaithfulness that developed in the history of the church.
Already before the last of the apostles had passed away, we find in the third epistle of John a warning against the perversion of ecclesiastical authority in the case of Diotrephes, an autocratic, self-willed leader who in the exercise of an assumed position of 80
pre-eminence,
was
casting
approved
brethren out of the church.
In the account given in the book of the Acts, of the apostolic labours from the beginning of the church’s history at Pentecost until the imprisonment of the apostle Paul at Rome, covering a period of more than thirty years, we have many details as to the formation of local churches and their relations with the apostles, with Jerusalem, and with each other, and the appointment and functions of elders, also the maintenance of unity in spite of
natural
prejudices
and
national
differences. All this is full of instruction, especially when taken in conjunction with the epistles written by Paul to several of these local churches and also to some of his fellow-labourers. Two of these epistles especially concerned with church order we will now touch upon briefly, before dealing at some length
with
certain
departures
and
corruptions of the truth in the subsequent history of the church.
Paul’s first epistle to Timothy, whilst having special reference to conditions existing in the church at Ephesus, deals with the question of conduct and order in the house of God generally, and the moral qualifications needed for overseers or elders and for deacons. The church is the pillar and base of the truth and it is there that the divine interests are to be cared for and the faith maintained in its integrity. It is from the 81
house of God that the testimony of the gospel goes out to men, and the preaching is to be supported by the life and conduct of believers, who should be a true witness to God’s character and His attitude towards all men as a Saviour God. The church itself does not preach or teach, nor according to scripture does it appoint those who do, but it should be a living witness in support of the truth ministered by those who have received gifts from the Lord as preachers and teachers.
As having the Spirit, the church would normally be competent to judge as to the character of what was ministered and to accredit those who are approved. In this epistle there is instruction in regard to the maintenance of the truth, and the normal order and conduct proper to the house of God, in view of threatening elements of opposition. We must remember that the saints as indwelt by the Holy Spirit constitute the house of God at all times, and not only when gathered together in assembly.
In the first epistle to the Corinthians amongst whom serious disorders had crept in, the apostle begins by addressing them as the church of God in Corinth, sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by divine calling, in everything enriched by the grace of God given them in Christ Jesus. He then brings before them the true character of the Christian fellowship to which they had been called by God, a spiritual
partnership
with
wonderful
82
privileges and corresponding responsibilities.
They were God’s building on the foundation of Jesus Christ, God’s temple as indwelt by His Spirit. Dealing with their practical failure to maintain suitable conditions in answer to the calling, the apostle goes on to instruct them in the divine order for the administration of the local church in a city, and the comings together of the brethren in assembly. In correcting their failure in the exercise of discipline (chap 5), he makes no mention of overseers or elders, but presses the responsibility of the whole church at Corinth, and seeks to arouse the consciences of all, associating his apostolic authority with their collective act of excommunication. The regular, normal church (or assembly) meeting stands in relation to the Lord’s supper (chapter 11) and we learn elsewhere that the brethren came together for this purpose on the first day of the week, Acts 20: 7. The apostle, after correcting the disorder at Corinth in connection with the eating of the Supper, then gives instructions in chapters 12 and 14 as to the principles and order governing the liberty in assembly for the intelligent exercise of priestly functions in prayer, singing, blessing and thanksgiving, and similarly for the exercise of the gifts of the one Spirit under the control of the Lord with a view to the edification of the church. As in the normal human body with its many members there is diversity of functions with 83
complete harmony, sympathy and unity, no member either envying or despising another, such also is the spiritual constitution of the members of the body of Christ. Having received the Spirit, they can be spoken of as
“the Christ”, the anointed vessel. From various natural associations and social conditions, they have all been baptised by one Spirit into one body, and have all been given to drink of one Spirit, chap 12. There is an implied challenge by the apostle as to how far the truth of this Christian unity in analogy with the members of the human body was being worked out practically in the church at Corinth. The fact that all Christians partook of the one loaf as the expression of the fellowship of the body of Christ (1 Cor 10: 17) was a confession that they were one body, but at Corinth they were not in moral correspondence with this, for in practice there were divisions and strifes amongst them in allowing a party spirit to work and the principle of sectarianism. Christian unity can only be realised and carried out in the spirit of the “more excellent way”, the way of divine love that never fails, without which the possession of the greatest gift would avail nothing. It is striking how the apostle brings this forward in chap 13, in the midst of his instructions. This divine way of love was perfectly expressed by the Lord in His death, and He brings it vividly before our minds and hearts as we partake of the Supper so that we 84
may be able, responding to His love, to follow Him in the same way.
CLERICALISM
It may be noted here that this liberty of the Spirit and the New Testament order of divine service when come together in assembly, were nullified and set aside early in the church’s history after the departure of the apostles, by the development of the system of clericalism, by which the exercise of both priestly and ministerial functions was limited to an official class. This was sought to be justified for the better maintenance of order by going back to the example of the priestly and levitical orders of service in Israel which were distinct and separate from the people.
This plea ignores the fact that under the dispensation of the old covenant, the nation of Israel was dealt with according to the moral status of men “in the flesh” under probation (Rom 7: 5; 8: 8), with a material tabernacle and temple , carnal ordinances, and sacrifices which could not take away sins, and consequently the people were kept at a distance from God, and “the way into the holiest was not yet made manifest” (Heb 9: 8
KJV); in contrast to the true position of Christian worshippers, as having “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus”
(Heb 10: 19 KJV) consequent on the witness of the Spirit to the efficacy of the redemption work of Christ as having accomplished the 85
will of God, Heb 9 and 10. The history of Israel
and
its
various
institutions,
ordinances, sacrifices and ritual, as recorded in scripture, are full of instruction for us in a typical way, though only having “a shadow of the coming good things, not the image itself of the things”, Heb 10: 1. In Christianity the temporary material types in the legal system have disappeared, having received their fulfilment and being replaced by the spiritual system with its divine realities brought in by Christ and the Holy Spirit. All believers having received the Spirit, belong to the “holy brethren”, the “sanctified” company, the “holy priesthood” and each and all have also their individual place and function according to the grace given, in the levitical service as
“members one of another” in the “one body”, Rom 12: 1 Cor 12. It is not difficult to understand the readiness with which the early church adapted itself to clericalism, when it had lost the true spiritual liberty of the Christian position, for very soon after apostolic days there was a general departure through going back to the legal principles of Judaism, against which Paul had so strongly warned the Galatian churches, as being a return “to weak and beggarly principles” (Gal 4: 9) of bondage, in contrast to the Christian liberty of sonship.
In addition to this misuse of the Old Testament, there was confusion as to the New Testament offices for the care of the local 86
church (1 Tim 3) performed by presbyters or elders who acted as bishops or overseers, and also by deacons (as in Acts 6); these offices being confounded with the special spiritual gifts not limited to the local church, such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, given by the exalted Head for the building up of His body, Eph 4.
This clerical system with variations in detail and degree has been adopted in nearly all sections of the church, its greatest development
together
with
kindred
sacerdotalism being seen in the exaltation of the official class of priests in the Roman hierarchy.
In several church systems liberty of worship in spirit has been definitely excluded by restricting divine service to a fixed form of liturgy drawn up and prescribed in a ‘Prayer Book’, perhaps centuries ago. It is alleged that the church order laid down by the apostle Paul, and for which he claimed the Lord’s authority (1 Cor 14: 37) is not practicable, thus ignoring the presence and limiting the operations of the Spirit of God in the church, and setting aside the authority of the Lord and His supremacy as Son over God’s house.
The fact that sign-gifts such as miracles and tongues (1 Cor 12: 10; 14: 22) having served their purpose then ceased does not in any way affect the general application of the 87
apostle’s instructions in these chapters, which extend universally to “all that in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”, 1 Cor 1: 2. That there might be defects and shortcomings through human infirmity, in carrying out the apostolic instructions as to church order, etc., can be easily understood, but this would have been met if there had been subjection to the Lord, by seeking grace to answer more fully to His mind and will. It was a very different thing, however, to introduce and establish a system which involved a definite departure from the apostolic order and the spirit of New Testament Christianity.
Many high churchmen contend for the exclusive validity of the episcopal system, in which the name of “bishop” is taken from the New Testament (KJV), but applied to a totally different position and function, and they state that this system was generally adopted before the end of the second century. In attempting to justify it they even argue that this early date entitles them to suppose that so great and general a departure from the New Testament must have been made under the guidance of the Holy Spirit! It was soon followed by the adoption of the theory that the official consecration of bishops constituted them successors to the apostles. It was held that the bishops were thus invested with authority to confer on others, by the rite of ordination, special powers to perform 88
ministerial and sacerdotal functions.
This is an example of the way in which these ecclesiastical traditions have been developed.
THE SYMBOLS OR EMBLEMS OF
CHRIST’S DEATH
Along with clericalism there came in other departures from the truth, of special importance being those connected with the two symbolic institutions of Christianity, both referring to the death of Christ. The one, baptism by water as we have seen is the appointed way of introduction into the kingdom. It effects a change of outward position by the professed acceptance of identification with the death and burial of Christ for salvation and cleansing from the sinful state of nature. By it the converted Jew or heathen with his household put on the profession of Christ and came on to Christian ground, where God is now to be known in the full light of revelation—the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The washing or change of state set forth figuratively in baptism is made effective in the believer by the renewing of the Holy Spirit. As we enter into and obey the teaching involved in baptism (Rom 6) a moral change is evidenced, and it becomes the way of practical righteousness,
deliverance
from
the
dominion of sin, and liberty to walk in newness of life as we reckon ourselves alive to 89
God for His will in the risen Christ. With regard to the children of believers, it may be added that they are committed to the Lord by baptism in order to share in this place of kingdom privilege, and they are to be brought up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord, Eph 6: 4. When the children as a result of their own exercises commit themselves to the Lord in faith, they qualify for the full privileges of the Christian fellowship, as forming part of the church.
The other institution, the Lord’s supper, or the breaking of bread, stands in relation to the church as come together in assembly on the first day of the week, and it was intended to be the expression of the fellowship or communion of the saints as one body in partaking together of the loaf and the cup which set forth the love of Christ manifested in His death, and the blessings of the new covenant based upon it. The death of Christ was the accomplishment of God’s will and it is the abiding witness of His love, and by it Christ as Mediator has secured for God a people on earth bound to Him in responsive affection in the spirit of the new covenant. It is in this way that the Lord would have us to call Him to mind during the period of His absence, and it is to continue till He returns, Acts 20: 7; 1 Cor 10 and 11. It involves identification in mind and heart with Christ and His death, and with one another engaging us to be true to Him in the scene of 90
His rejection. Christ is thus to be continued here in the saints who form a vessel for the will of God, not only individually as in the kingdom, but collectively as “one body”. As we respond to the love expressed in the memorials the Supper also becomes the entrance leading into the present enjoyment of the highest privileges of the church in relation to the spiritual sphere of blessing, referred to in chapter IV, where in heavenly association and relationship the presence of Christ is known in a spiritual way, taking His place as the risen and ascended Head in the midst of His brethren and leading their praises to the Father.
It is remarkable how soon after apostolic times the true scriptural significance of both of these institutions was lost and their meaning perverted by the development of the system known as sacramentalism. The outward Christian position conferred by baptism was confused with the work of God in the soul in new birth, and also with the reception of the Holy Spirit consequent on faith in Christ, and thus by this ordinance a person was supposed to be constituted a child of God and a member of the body of Christ. Similarly the scriptural blessing or thanksgiving for the bread and the cup in the Lord’s Supper was changed into an official act of so-called consecration, by which the material elements were supposed to be invested in some way with the sacrificial 91
efficacy of the death of Christ, even to the extent, with some, of being a continuation of the incarnation and of His offering for sin, and thus necessary for salvation and eternal life. Support for this error was supposed to be found by a misapplication of the Lord’s teaching in the Jewish synagogue at Capernaum (John 6) as to the necessity for individual appropriation of His death, as the end morally for the believer of man’s natural condition of life in flesh and blood, in order that he might have eternal life, which is the present portion of everyone who eats the flesh and drinks the blood of the Son of man. It is evident that this teaching does not refer to the memorial institution of the Lord’s supper, and those who confuse the two lose the distinctive character of the truth connected with each.
In the extreme development of the system as seen in the Roman Mass, the symbolical idea of a sacrament is departed from, as it is held not only that in the bread and wine there is a sacrifice offered by the priest for the living and the dead, but also that these elements are actually changed in substance by the priest’s act of consecration into ‘the body and blood with the soul and divinity of Christ’, and thus become an object of worship. This error was followed by a flagrant departure from the original institution of the Lord’s supper, in that their congregations are allowed to partake of the bread only, on the fictitious 92
ground that according to their doctrine of transubstantiation, each of the elements is converted or changed into ‘the whole Christ’.
This does away with the emphasis in Scripture on the death of Christ, as set forth in the symbols representing His body and blood being separated, and partaken of in this way by the communicants. They do not refer to Christ as alive on earth in His body of flesh and blood, nor as He now lives in His body of glory, but to Christ in death, His body given and His blood shed, Luke 22: 19-20: 1
Cor 11: 23-25.
The practical effect of sacramentalism, in proportion to the measure of its development, is not only to lose the true significance of these institutions, but also to obscure and nullify the truth of the gospel in its present results for the believer—justified by faith, standing in divine favour, accepted in the Beloved—and to take Christians back into the position of worshippers under the law with repeated sacrifices, see Hebrews 10: 1-14. In the case of unconverted professors, it tends to delude them with the mistaken idea that they are in vital relation with Christ by means of sacramental ordinances, which take the place in their minds of faith and the Holy Spirit.
The Reformation leaders in the sixteenth century were not all of one mind in the matter, and although they agreed in rejecting the Roman sacrifice of the Mass and the 93
doctrine of transubstantiation, deliverance from the system was not complete and it still exists in various degrees in some of the sections of Protestantism.
PRESENT-DAY RELIGIOUS
MOVEMENTS AWAY FROM THE
TRUTH
Reference may be made in this connection to the Anglican state church, not in any invidious way (and not ignoring the large amount of Christian service according to their measure of light as to the Lord’s will, performed by devoted workers, many of whom are not in agreement with either of the extreme parties referred to below and yet have not light as to the scriptural principle of separation from evil in church associations), but having regard to the important position which this church holds in Christendom, and to its world-wide influence; also because the departures referred to, though widespread in the Christian profession generally, are perhaps most clearly represented in Anglicanism, and thus afford an opportunity for emphasising the truth by way of contrast.
This church is well known to be in an acute state of internal division not only in the matter of sacramentalism but also on other fundamental questions, and it has thus become perhaps the most striking and representative example of the lawlessness, lack of authority and confusion which are 94
characteristic of a great part of the Protestant side of Christendom, consequent largely on the different present-day movements away from the measure of scripture truth as to the gospel recovered in the sixteenth century, in the maintenance of which devoted men suffered to the laying down of their lives. One well known instance of this may be recalled, where at Oxford two of the leading Reformation bishops suffered death at the stake in the Marian persecution, and one (Latimer) cried out from the flames to encourage his fellow (Ridley) with the hope that their martyrdom would result by the grace of God, in such a candle being lit in England as should never be put out.
Amongst
the
religious
movements
antagonistic to this gospel light we may refer to two which are conspicuous, the first of which will afford an occasion for some further remarks on Romanism.
ANGLO-CATHOLICISM
At the one extreme there are many who are dissatisfied with the defective church principles of Protestantism, but instead of going back to the true constitution of the church in accordance with the apostolic teaching as set forth in the New Testament, to which the present voice of the Holy Spirit has been calling attention during the past hundred years, they lay stress on the supposed importance and authority of 95
ecclesiastical traditions handed down during the course of history subsequent to the days of the Apostles.
They hold that the Protestant Reformation was a mistake, and seek to undo it by insisting on the adoption of practices which are evidently an imitation based upon the practices and doctrines of the Roman church.
The logical end of this movement would seem to be union with Rome, which involves submission to its claims, and individuals from the High Church or Anglo-Catholic party have been taking this course for many years past, attracted and misled by the imposing character of this great system.
Weakened though its world-wide power and influence have become by the loss of the Protestant nations in the sixteenth century, and in recent times by the general spread of scepticism, its principles are unchanged, and Rome still claims to speak with authority amidst the confusion of voices in Christendom, occupying as it does a position of pre-eminence in some respects amongst the various Christian churches, with insistent and exclusive pretensions to be the one true universal church.
ROMAN CATHOLICISM
Attention may be called at this point to some characteristic errors of the Romish system, which whilst professing to stand for the truth 96
and authority of scripture, and holding in terms many of the truths of Christianity, in practice nullifies and sets aside some of the first importance by many traditions gradually added to and corrupting the one apostolic faith of the New Testament.
In addition to the full development of clericalism and Sacerdotalism already dealt with, it has often been pointed out that the leading
characteristic
institution
of
Romanism is the continually repeated sacrifice of the Mass, which is a denial of the one offering of Christ by which as we have seen believers are sanctified and perfected for ever, Heb 10: 10-14. Connected with the Mass there are also various superstitious practices, rites and ceremonies, based upon the fictitious dogma of ‘transubstantiation’
already referred to.
So also the Roman tradition as to a place of purgatory or purifying after death, out of which it is held that deliverance may be expedited by good works during a person’s lifetime, and also by ‘indulgences’ or remissions of penance and punishment granted even for money payments, and after death by means of masses and prayers for the deceased. (It is well known that the Reformation movement was commenced by the protest of Luther, aroused by the activities of the Roman agents in pressing the sale of these ‘indulgences’ by the authority of the Pope, in order to raise money for the 97
rebuilding of the great metropolitan cathedral of St Peter’s, at Rome.)
All this system
is a practical denial of the perfection of Christ’s atoning work and the fact that His blood cleanses from all sin, 1 John 1: 7. It also sets aside the divine provision made for restoration in case a believer has sinned, by which self-judgment and confession lead to forgiveness and cleansing as the result of the gracious activities of Christ as our advocate or helper. He maintains our relations with the Father according to His own perfection as the righteous One, and the abiding value of what He has accomplished as the propitiation for our sins, 1 John 1: 9 to 2: 2.
Their teaching as to the mediation of the virgin Mary and of canonised saints, virtually nullifies the truth that there is one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2: 5), for misrepresentation of the character of the true Mediator has led to acceptance of the fiction that Mary and other deceased saints are more accessible, sympathetic and merciful than the Lord Jesus Himself. Similarly, the invocation and worship of angels is taught and practised, on the ground that it is more in accord with humility to approach God indirectly through these intermediaries, notwithstanding the New Testament warnings against this, in Col 2: 18; Rev 19: 10; 22: 8-9.
Also with regard to the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures and the authority of the 98
Word of God over the conscience of the hearer, this is falsified by the Romish claim that the sanction of the church was necessary to give validity to the Scriptures, for the practical result of this claim has been to substitute the authority of the Roman priesthood for that of God Himself speaking by His Spirit through the inspired writers.
The common argument in this connection, that as the church existed before the New Testament was written, the latter therefore derived its authority from the church, is a mere fallacy, as may be seen for instance in the epistles to the Corinthians and the Galatians which were addressed to the churches by Paul as an apostle of Jesus Christ. No doubt in the early church there was divine guidance through those who exercised spiritual judgment in discerning the character of the New Testament writings as a whole, when they were eventually collected into the recognised ‘canon’, but this is a different matter from the claim to give them validity or authority. The truth is that the church like the individual is called on to recognise and receive the Word of God on the ground of its own intrinsic authority, 1 Cor 14: 37; 1 Thess 2: 13; Rev 1: 11; 2: 7, etc..
What the church was responsible to do was to keep and guard the sacred deposit, like Israel of old to whom the oracles of the Old Testament were entrusted, Rom 3: 1-4. In this Rome has proved unfaithful like the Jews 99
who, although the Scriptures were preserved, yet made the Word of God void by their traditions, Mark 7: 13. Not only so, but it has gone further astray than the Jews, for after attention had been called by the Reformers in the sixteenth century to the true character of the Jewish literature known as the Apocrypha (which was not included in the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament), the Romish church deliberately decreed by the general Council of Trent that it must be received as of equal authority with the Holy Scriptures. The feeble apology for his work by the writer in the last two verses of 2
Maccabees might in itself have warned them against such a misguided decision.
Not only does the Romish system nullify the truth of Christianity as to the present relations of the believer with God and with Christ, but it also misrepresents and totally falsifies the relation between Christ and the present world system, claiming as it does in His name the present possession of worldly power, riches, honour and glory during the time of His absence.
These are only a few examples (not of the moral corruptions and abuses which history records as having often arisen in the practice of the system, and which many Romanists would deplore and be ashamed of, but) of the ecclesiastical traditions which Rome boasts in and seeks to justify by the claim that they are the outcome of the prophetic voice of the 100
church as a living teacher, with the Pope as its infallible head on earth.
All this may well remind us of the Lord’s solemn rebuke to the church in Thyatira for permitting false prophesying and corrupt teaching leading to unholy associations with the world, also His threat of judgment, with the word of encouragement to the rest or remnant who have not known the depths of Satan, and His call to every one who has an ear, to hear the voice of the Spirit to the churches, Rev 2: 20-29. The full development of the system and its final judgment, after the call from heaven to God’s people to come out of her, is seen in the prophetic vision of great Babylon in Revelation 17 and 18.
MODERNISM
Returning to the Anglican church there are at the other extreme those under the influence of the widespread intellectual movement known as ‘Modernism’, who, trusting in the assumed competency of the natural mind and human learning to deal with “the things of God” (1 Cor 2: 11), seek to extend to the utmost the claim to ‘the right of private judgment’ asserting their title not merely to question and explain away their church creeds and formularies, but also to deny the divine authority and truth of the Holy Scriptures, as to the moral and spiritual bearing of which they have lost their way.
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Ignoring the Spirit of God and insensible of the unique divine quality of the inspired records, they have turned aside into the quick-sands of the sceptical school of ‘the higher criticism’, mistaking its speculative theories for the solid ground of truth; theories originally advanced by men who were antagonistic to the thought of divine revelation, and who did not believe either in the prophecies or the miracles and special interventions of God recorded in the Bible.
Out of these theories there have been spun elaborate systems of error in attempts to discredit the divine inspiration of scripture, and to nullify the witness borne to Christ and His redemption work by the Old Testament.
Dealing with the New Testament on similar lines, has resulted in attempts to discredit the truth of the scriptural account of the miracles of Christ, of His atoning sufferings for sin, and with some, even of His resurrection, and of His Deity. In attempting to reduce scripture to a merely human level, and to subject it to a detailed and microscopic intellectual study, these critics have shown the folly and futility of their methods, and have
demonstrated
to
their
own
condemnation the truth of the sayings, that
“the letter killeth”, and “the flesh profiteth nothing”, 2 Cor 3: 6; John 6: 63 KJV.
Persistence on this line might be expected to end in judicial blindness as with the unbelieving Jews of old (Matt 6: 23; John 12: 102
37-40; Acts 28: 26-27), and in the final apostacy of those who succumb to such influences, 2 Thess 2; Heb 6: 4-6.
It is sad that any Christians should be carried away or even affected by theories as to the Scriptures which have such an origin, and which issue in such results, and it is surprising that they should look to such quarters for light and guidance in regard to the things of the Spirit of God. There is a
“spirit of error” abroad especially influencing many of those who take the place of Christian leaders and teachers, which inspires much of the teaching in theological colleges, and affects in their thoughts as to Scripture many others besides those who accept the name of
‘Modernists’4.
The Lord in His teaching bore clear and definite testimony to the divine character and authority of the Scriptures (see Matt 5: 17-18; Luke 16: 29-31; 24: 25-27, 44-46; John 5: 39, 46-47; 10: 35), whilst distinguishing temporary ordinances imposed upon Israel under the Mosaic law (Matt 5: 31-48; 19: 7-8.
He Himself is the spirit of scripture, and the bond which gives unity to the inspired record of the development of God’s varied dealings 4 See also the remarks in chapter VII, as to the influence on men’s minds, of the scientific theories popularised in much of the literature and education of the present day.
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with men, of their failure and the breakdown and ruin of everything God had committed to their hands, and of the final issue of His ways in His purpose to head up all things in Christ.
God who spoke in Old Testament times in the prophets has now spoken to us in the Son.
Our security as to the truth still remains as it was stated by the apostle John in writing to his children to guard them against deceivers, viz., that what they had heard from the beginning should abide in them, even as they had received the anointing of the Spirit for true intelligence, 1 John 2. If God has spoken, the true moral principle for the believer, instead of the right to judge would emphasise rather the duty to hear His word and to do it. The increasing religious confusion
in
this
day
of
boasted
enlightenment, only emphasises the value and importance of the Holy Scriptures as the divinely authoritative standard of faith and practice—the word of truth. By the overruling providence of God, the inspired writings of both the Old and New Testaments have been preserved in a remarkable state of integrity throughout the centuries, notwithstanding the unfaithfulness found amongst the Jews before the Christian era, and in the church after apostolic times. The same Spirit who inspired the writers, speaks to-day as the Spirit of truth, opening up the Scriptures and illuminating the spiritual vision of those who are prepared to give heed to Him, and thus 104
furnishing them with divine light for present guidance. See 2 Tim 3: 10-17; Rom 15: 4; 1
Cor 2: 1-16; 10: 11; 14: 37. The testimony of scripture in regard to the foreseen failure of the professing church, and the instructions furnished in view of the last days, will be dealt with in the next chapter.