by Charles H. Welch
This PDF booklet compares and contrasts the different approaches of the four Gospel accounts.
Berean Bible Fellowship of Australia
by Charles H. Welch
This PDF booklet compares and contrasts the different approaches of the four Gospel accounts.
Audio series by Peter Ward
01 Ecclesiastes No.1 – Introduction
11 Ecclesiastes No.11 – ch1-6 recap + ch7v1-4
16 Ecclesiastes No.16 – ch7 v 19-29
25 Ecclesiastes No.25 – Summary
(more instalments from this series will be added when available)
by Stuart Allen
Resurrection and the Purpose of the Ages (PDF)
The resurrection of Christ is of supreme importance in the purpose of God. Mr. Allen in this small booklet deals with this most vital subject in a logical and helpful way, letting the Scriptures themselves support each step.
or “Pure From the Blood of All Men”, by Charles H. Welch
Hell – Pure from the Blood of all Men (PDF)
A discussion of the traditional ideas of the immortality of the Soul, Hell, and kindred subjects. Relevant texts are considered in their true context and setting.
Contents (and page no):
A word of explanation………………………………………………………………….5
The pattern of sound words ……………………………………………………….. 5
What constitutes sound doctrine?……………………………………………….. 5
Would Paul pass the orthodox test? ……………………………………………. 6
Pure from the blood of all men …………………………………………………… 6
What did Paul teach about hell?………………………………………………….. 6
Paul uses the word but once………………………………………………………… 7
A specious argument exposed……………………………………………………… 8
Matthew’s terms examined………………………………………………………….. 8
Hell (hades) ………………………………………………………………………………. 8
Gehenna, or hell-fire ………………………………………………………………….. 9
Gehenna in Matthew …………………………………………………………………. 10
Gehenna and its contexts……………………………………………………………. 11
Gehenna and its dispensational setting………………………………………… 11
Everlasting punishment……………………………………………………………… 12
Terms of eternal life in Matthew 25……………………………………………… 13
Try the things that differ…………………………………………………………….. 14
The Hebrew word sheol……………………………………………………………… 15
Hell in old English …………………………………………………………………….. 15
Sheol as used in The Old Testament…………………………………………….. 16
An orthodox witness – A.J. Pollock ……………………………………………… 17
Ecclesiastes compared with the Psalms……………………………………….. 18
For ever, everlasting, and eternal ……………………………………………….. 18
F.W. Grant on aion …………………………………………………………………… 19
The root meaning of olam …………………………………………………………. 19
Tradition versus truth ………………………………………………………………. 20
The usage of olam in the Old Testament……………………………………… 20
The fitness of the word “age” ……………………………………………………… 21
The doctrine of the soul……………………………………………………………… 21
Nephesh in the book of Genesis………………………………………………….. 22
Article VI of the “Thirty-nine Articles of Religion” ……………………….. 22
Immortality of the soul a doctrine of demons ………………………………. 23
Immortality in Scripture…………………………………………………………….. 24
“Endless Being” quoted………………………………………………………………. 24
The use of torment in the Scriptures…………………………………………….. 25
The rich man and Lazarus ………………………………………………………….. 25
Luke records several “contrast” parables………………………………………. 26
Statement or Question? ……………………………………………………………… 26
Is Luke 16:19-30 Pharisaic tradition?…………………………………………… 27
Two parables exposing the Pharisees in their doctrine and practice….. 29
As touching the resurrection ………………………………………………………. 29
The Old Testament a faithful witness…………………………………………… 29
Death as sleep. The testimony of Old and New Testaments………………. 29
Do Paul, Job and Daniel agree? ………………………………………………….. 30
Conclusion and concordance ……………………………………………………… 31
A concordance key. …………………………………………………………………… 31
A concordance to the word sheol. ………………………………………………. 32
A concordance to the word hades. ……………………………………………… 35
by Stuart Allen
We are very conscious that the glory of God is vast – all too vast for our complete understanding or for the small limits of these little messages, but as it is so bound up with our hope, so interwoven in the Prison Epistles, we are encouraged to set down what the Scriptures record concerning it, praying always the Holy Spirit may give opened eyes and understanding.
What is glory? We think the reader would be hard put to it to give a clear definition of the word. In the Greek, the root meaning of doxa (glory) and its derivatives is TESTING. This can be seen in 1 Peter 1:7, ‘the TRIAL (DOKimion) of your faith, being much more precious than of gold … though it be TRIED (DOKimazomenou) with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and GLORY (DOXan)*’. [*Footnote in the original article – We have put the root of the original words in capitals to show they are allied.]
The glory of God seems to be linked with RIGHTEOUSNESS or absolute rightness and perfection. It is that test when applied to man, which shows him to be the frail creature that he is, coming utterly short of it (Rom. 3:23). It is the great standard of God Himself, all His ways and all His purposes can be measured by it and never will they be found to deviate a fraction. Therefore it is fitting that the symbol of glory should be LIGHT – just as the symbol of what falls short of its standard i.e. sin – is darkness. God is absolutely right; He is the God of glory and so we read, ‘God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all’ (1 John 1:5).
Now, just as the Lord Jesus Christ sums up all that God is (John 14:9), so in Him we find the glory of the Godhead concentrated. He is the King of Glory (Psa. 24:8-10) the Lord of Glory (1 Cor. 2:8) the Brightness of the Glory (Heb. 1:3). The last reference seems to be an allusion to the holiest of all in the earthly tabernacle. There, the blazing shekinah light covered the cherubim and mercy seat, the symbol of Jehovah’s presence with His people, and in the Lord Jesus is this glory vested.
We find Him linking glory with the completion of the Divine will concerning righteousness. ‘I have GLORIFIED Thee on the earth: I have FINISHED the work which Thou gavest Me to do’ (John 17:4). The completion of God’s will is connected with and manifests His glory.
We note next that the glory of God is connected with DWELLING with His people. This could only be upon the basis of redemption. ‘Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may DWELL among them’ (Exod. 25:8) and when completed, the Tabernacle, or Tent, was filled with Jehovah’s glory (Exod. 40:34). Likewise with the Temple when Israel were come into the land (2 Chron. 5:14 and 7:1-3). This is a picture in miniature of the purpose of the ages brought to its conclusion as far as the earth is concerned – when sin, the barrier to glory – is finally removed completely and God’s original purpose in connection with glory can proceed unhindered (Rev. 21:3,10,11).
Previously God had likened the heavens to a tent (tabernacle) for His dwelling (Isa. 40:22), and this too
shows forth His glory (Psa. 19:1).
Coming to the Lord’s earthly life, we have one glimpse given us of the glory of God shining through the human body of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is at the Transfiguration – ‘His raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them’ (Mark 9:3). Peter refers to this in his second epistle when he says the Lord here received honour and glory from God the Father. Just as the robes of Aaron the High Priest, were for ‘glory and honour’ (LXX), so at the Transfiguration we have the consecration of the Great High Priest, and glory is definitely associated with His priestly work. ‘He shall bear the glory … and shall be a priest upon His throne’ (Zech. 6:13). If the glory of God is linked with righteousness, then sin is a definite attack on His glory and we can understand it being associated with His work as High Priest and putting away of sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
We now come to the Second Advent. Matthew 16:27 tells us the Lord is coming in His Father’s glory. Luke 9:26 couples with this His own glory and that of the angels. What majesty is here! Revelation 19:11-16 describes in detail this overwhelming scene. No wonder the man of sin is consumed with the brightness of His coming (2 Thess. 2:8). And if this is the effect on a supernatural being, what about poor puny mortal man outside of Christ, how can he hope to face this tremendous thing, in and of himself, as a sinner? Yet, in his state of innocence, the Creator crowned him with glory and honour (Psa. 8:5). This Psalm looks at the first and the last Adam. It would seem God intended all the human race to bear His glory – but sin has temporarily spoilt that purpose.
We, as sinners, all come short of the glory of God, but Redemption, which undoes the effect of sin and cancels it, restores the Divine plan, for all the redeemed now can rejoice in HOPE of the glory of God (Rom. 5:2). God is now preparing a new seed, all of whom will in resurrection conform to the Image of the last Adam (Rom. 8:29), and reflect His glory. One cannot help noticing how closely connected is the great theme of God’s glory with righteousness, sin and redemption.
Next, we notice this – that in Scripture symbolism, God’s glory is continually linked with the cherubim. In Hebrews 9:5 they are termed the ‘cherubim of glory’. Ezekiel’s prophecy revolves around the theme of the cherubim, and the glory of God appears there vitally linked with them. In the early chapters it is seen leaving the temple and completely departing from the prophet’s sight. Thus God withdraws the symbol of His presence from His people owing to their sin and apostasy. The reverse occurs at the end of the prophecy. We are given a wonderful description of the millennial temple and the glory of God comes back by the way of the east gate from which it departed (Ezek. 43:2-4).
The reader is asked to consider the following verses:
This insistence in symbol of connecting the cherubim with Jehovah’s glory tells us one thing: THE THEME OF THE CHERUBIM AND WHAT THEY STAND FOR IN GOD’S PLAN AND PURPOSE IS INDISSOLUBLY LINKED WITH HIS GLORY IN THAT SAME PLAN.
We now should ask ourselves what is the theme of the cherubim?
It would be impossible to deal with this exhaustively in this little leaflet. We append, therefore, a few notes which may be of service.
The first occurrence of cherubim is in Genesis 3:24, and they are placed at the east of the Garden of Eden to keep or guard the way of the tree of life. We have seen some of the references in the prophecy of Ezekiel. They are found again in the book of the Revelation where the A.V. wrongly translates them ‘beasts’. It should be ‘living ones’. Revelation 4:6-8 give their description, and with these agrees Ezekiel 1:10. They are composite beings consisting of man, lion, ox, and eagle. The lion is the representative of the wild beasts – the ox of tame beasts and the eagle of birds … THIS WAS THE SPHERE OF DOMINION GIVEN TO ADAM (Psa. 8:6-8; Gen. 1:26). The meaning of the cherubim now is surely clear.
They stand for man and his lost dominion. When Adam, as a sinner, was turned out of the Garden he could look back and see the cherubim protecting the way of the tree of life. He would see HIMSELF and the dominion he had just lost, and having received the promise of the Seed of the woman who should bruise the serpent’s head, the theme of the cherubim would naturally fill him with HOPE. He saw the tree of life (immortality) guarded until the last Adam should come and undo the work of the serpent and sin, and then he, in resurrection, would enter into his dominion, and all the true seed, being linked with the Kinsman-Redeemer, would have the right to the tree of life. (Rev. 22:2,14).
But as a sinner – ‘lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and LIVE FOR EVER’ – he is placed out of the reach of immortality. It is most apparent that one thing above all God will not tolerate is an immortal sinner, for this would nullify the great purpose of the ages in bringing all things to completion and perfection.
Immortality can now only be granted to man when the problem of sin is settled and can be found only in the Lord Jesus Christ and is brought to men through the gospel and there alone (1 Tim. 6:16; 2 Tim. 1:10). Note the word ‘immortality’ here is literally ‘incorruption’. Incorruption and immortality are definitely linked together in 1 Corinthians 15:53,54.
But we have to point out in connection with the cherubim that Genesis 3:24 is not the first reference in time of the word ‘cherub’. Ezekiel’s prophecy reveals the cherubim and THE CHERUB. By this we refer to chapter 28, where, under the title of the King of Tyre, one is addressed who cannot be an ordinary mortal man. The prophecy of Daniel refers to supernatural beings who are connected with the earth and are given earthly titles. The angelic messenger who came to Daniel was withstood twenty one days by the ‘prince of the kingdom of Persia’ – surely no ordinary being; (Dan. 10:13) he was Satan’s vice-regent over the earthly kingdom.
So in Ezekiel, we have the description of one who can only be Lucifer – son of the morning – Satan in his UNFALLEN state (Ezek. 28:15). This marvellous personage, God declared to be His standard of perfection and beauty (28:12). Although this passage is exceedingly difficult to interpret, one thing stands out namely, that he was connected with praise (28:13) and glory (28:14). Now note his title, ‘Thou art the anointed CHERUB that covereth (or protecteth); I have set thee so’ (28:14). The word ‘anointed’ is ‘Christ’. What a volume of truth is wrapped up here!
This cherub was linked with the glory of God and the Garden of Eden (28:13) and from this he fell. The next link in the chain of God’s purpose is MAN and he is created and crowned with GLORY and HONOUR (Psa. 8), and put in Eden. We can thus understand the enmity of the serpent to the man and the woman in their perfect state and sphere. Man now falls and completely comes short of that glory and dominion originally his, and the cherubim pick up this theme and point forward to the Lord Jesus Christ as the great antitype. So we are given four accounts of the Lord’s earthly life; Matthew – the King (lion), Mark – the Servant (ox), Luke – the Man and John – God (eagle). When we come to the Book of the Revelation the question of dominion earthwards is finally settled and hence the cherubim (the ‘living ones’) figure largely. They occur eighteen times and are definitely connected with God’s purpose EARTHWARDS and the removing, step by step, through the judgments of the seals, trumpets and vials, of all barriers to the dominion of the great King-Priest (Rev. 1 and 19:11-16). The lover of the Word is asked to note specially Ezekiel 6; 15:7; and 19:1-4.
Moreover, the ‘living ones’ are not seen in the Book of the Revelation apart from the twenty four elders. These heavenly beings are connected with RULE, for they have crowns and are seated on thrones (Rev. 4:4), and PRIESTLY WORK, for they offer ‘golden vials (bowls) full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints’ (5:8).
David’s twenty four courses of priests were most evidently appointed by the Holy Spirit as the earthly type of these – see 1 Chronicles 28:13; 19-21. Consequently, they are not only priests but governors – 1 Chronicles 24:5. The twenty four elders are the priestly leaders and governors of Heaven’s worship.
Thus we find the theme of the glory of God linked with the cherubim – dominion earthwards – and the cherubim linked with the twenty four elders – dominion heavenwards. The elders are clothed in WHITE raiment (righteousness, Rev. 4:4 and 19:8). There are more references to ‘white’ in the Revelation than in the rest of the New Testament for here it is that sin (darkness) the great negation of glory, is finally dealt with.
Lastly, we wish to note that glory is not only an attribute of God and indissolubly linked with the purpose of the ages, but is used in a special way in Paul’s Prison Epistles as a PLACE. In these epistles is revealed the great climax of Divine revelation consequent upon Israel’s failure at Acts 28; THE SECRET hid in God from all past ages and generations (Eph. 3:9 and Col. 1:26).
This concerns God’s secret purpose to take some of His redeemed children and place them where the Lord Jesus Christ is exalted at His right hand. The sphere is unique, and is found nowhere else in Scripture as a SPHERE OF BLESSING. It is described in six ways:
1. Heavenly places; or literally ‘on-heavenlies’ far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion (Eph. 1:20-23).
2. The right hand of God (Eph. 1:20 and Col. 3:1).
3. The Majesty on high (Heb. 1:3).
4. Far above ALL heavens (Eph. 4:10).
5. The holiest of all.
6. Glory-the last two being definitely linked together.
Philippians 4:19 and 1 Timothy 3:16 indicate that glory is a PLACE. The Old Testament describes it as being ABOVE the heavens (Psa. 8:1 and 113:4). When God wished to teach men what heaven was like, He gave them the Tabernacle (Heb. 9:23,24). Hebrews 9 describes its two parts; the sanctuary and the holiest of all (Greek ton hagion, Heb. 9:8 and 10:19). The English reader is possibly not aware that exactly the same words occur in the original in Ephesians 1:18; 2:19 and Colossians 1:12, and had the A. V. translators rendered these passages as they have Hebrews 9:8 and 10:19, we should have had the following:
May the Holy Spirit enable both writer and reader to grasp something of the tremendous fulness contained in these verses.
When one compares the last reference with 1 Timothy 6:14-16 ‘our Lord Jesus Christ … Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see’ – surely we can realise the great difference the Son’s redeeming grace has wrought! The believer, during the Acts period, had ACCESS, by prayer, into the holiest of all through the new and living way – but nowhere was it promised that he should one day DWELL there. That would have savoured of blasphemy to him. He could learn of a seated priest in that exalted sphere, but knew nothing of a seated church there with Him in the Glory!
Moses wished to see God’s glory but was told the truth of 1 Timothy 6:16. Isaiah caught a glimpse of it and cried, ‘I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips’. Daniel, the man greatly beloved, had all his natural comeliness turned to corruption. The apostle John, confronting the Lord in resurrection glory, falls at His feet as dead. The same glory strikes down Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus and blinds him for three days. ‘Above the brightness of the sun’, he describes it (Acts 26:13). O the need then for bodies fashioned like the body of His glory! (Phil. 3:21).
One day that tremendous glory now hidden within the veil – will be manifested, and then shall we be manifested in glory with our glorious Head (Col. 3:4). May this blessed hope (Titus 2:13) ever be before us, and God grant that we ever realise what it means for grace to have placed our inheritance there in Him, at the right hand of the Father in the light of heavens’ holiest of all.
Here indeed is the permanent home of the Church, and not only this, it will be the permanent home of God, for He is now fashioning this Church to become ‘a holy Temple in the Lord’. Ephesians 2:21,22 continues ‘In whom ye are builded together FOR AN HABITATION (DWELLING PLACE) OF GOD through the Spirit’.
The Creation (Isa. 40:22) and the Tabernacle in the wilderness (Exod. 40:34) were only anticipations of this glorious dwelling place for God, and just as these were entered into by God and filled with His glory when completed, so the Body of Christ, when the last member has been gathered in, will merge into the holy Temple, and, in a richer sense, become ‘the Fulness of Him that filleth all in all’ (Eph. 1:23).
This Church will have found its permanent home in the heavenly holiest of all with the Lord Jesus Christ where He is now enthroned and He will have found His home in this Church of glory, now transformed into a holy Temple for His dwelling place.
Let us seek these precious things which are above where He is seated on the right hand of God and endeavour to reflect in full measure that glory here and now. Surely we can sing then with fulness of heart contemplating the work of Father, Son and Spirit to this end:
‘These, these prepare us for the sight
Of Majesty above;
The sons of ignorance and night
May dwell in the Eternal Light,
Through the Eternal Love’.
by Charles H. Welch
Is God a Person (PDF)
Full title: “Is God a Person? The Bible’s answer, including a reflection on the creeds of orthodoxy.”
This PDF booklet discusses the above question, and several other issues concerning the being and nature of God. A deep and thought-provoking work.
Contents:
1 The Being of God
2 `God is Spirit’
3 Elohim and Jehovah. Titles of relation
4 God in His relation to creation and redemption
5 Why is Elohim, the plural form, employed?
6 Jesus Christ is Jehovah
7 The Doctrine of the Trinity, and the use of the word `Person’
8 The term `Economy’ as applied to the doctrine of the Trinity
9 To Whom is Creation ascribed in the N.T.?
10 The Father
by Charles H. Welch
Deity of Christ (PDF)
Written in the style of a two-person conversation, this PDF booklet addresses many of the objections raised concerning the doctrine of Christ’s deity. 21 short chapters (each only a page or two long), plus an appendix.
Contents:
The Subject Stated
A Dividing Doctrine
No Philosophy of God in Scripture
JEHOVAH, the Age-Title
God – Relatively
God – Manifest
The Concordant Method
A Parallel Usage
The Image of the Invisible God
Firstborn of Every Creature
God Hath Spoken ‘IN SON’
The Brightness of The Glory
The Image and The Substance
A Threefold Testimony
The Form of God
The True Meaning of ‘FORM’
Hooker and Bacon
Form and Fashion
The Testimony of a Quotation
Jehovah not limited to Israel
The Willing Servant
Appendix
PDF booklet – “Christ the Centre And Circumference of Paul’s Ministry”, by Charles H. Welch.
Christ – Centre and Circumference (PDF)
The full title of this PDF booklet is: “Christ the Centre And Circumference of Paul’s Ministry, exhibited by selections from his epistles.”
A suggested outline study of the fourteen epistles of Paul, with the thought offered that the Lord Jesus Christ is the main focus (i.e. both the “centre and circumference”) of the apostle’s ministry. Special attention is given to the study of this subject in Galatians and 1 & 2 Corinthians. Included is a structure of Paul’s epistles and the prominent place given to Christ in each of them.
by Charles H. Welch
1. THE DECLARATION.
2. SCRIPTURAL GROUNDS.
‘It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him: if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us: if we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself’ (2 Tim. 2:11-13).
‘ … Made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light’ (Col. 1:12).
‘Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ’ (Col. 3:24).
‘In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight’ (Col. 1:22).
‘ … warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus’ (Col. 1:28).
‘In Whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him’ (Eph. 3:12).
‘ … Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling’ (Phil. 2:12).
‘ … I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities … shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Rom. 8:38,39).
‘Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain … I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached (heralded) to others, I myself should be a castaway (disapproved)’ (1 Cor. 9:24-27).
‘Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus’ (Phil. 3:13,14).
‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness’ (2 Tim. 4:7,8).
3. AN EXPANSION AND APPLICATION OF THESE SCRIPTURES.
Much mischief is wrought among the children of God by teachers failing to distinguish between those things which belong to the believer in Christ as a free gift of grace, and those things which are held out to him as a reward in connection with his service.
Such words as prize, crown, reward, win and gain have no place in a salvation that is by grace, through faith, without works. It is impossible for the same believer at the same time and connected with the same thing to be confident and yet in fear and trembling. It is specially harmful to the truth of the One Body to attempt to teach from Philippians 3 that membership of that Body is held out as a prize to be won. It is equally untrue to speak of the prize of Philippians 3 as the hope of the church; for if we do, then we must also teach that Paul, when he wrote Philippians, had not then attained membership of the One Body, and was not certain of the blessed hope of resurrection. Leave Philippians 3 as the record of an added prize that may be won, associated with perfection and the high calling, and all is clear.
Let us examine some of the scriptural grounds for this distinction, taking as an example 2 Timothy 2:11-13. The subject here is twofold: living and reigning. Living is one thing; reigning is another. Now, living with Christ depends upon our having died with Him, but reigning with Him depends upon suffering and enduring.
In the realm of life – none can pluck us out of His hand; ‘once in Him, in Him for ever’. No member of the One Body can ever forfeit his membership. The whole standing is by grace. We are chosen by God alone and assured of eternal security, so that it can even be said: ‘If we are unbelieving, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself’ (2 Tim. 2:13, Author’s translation). Once having died with Him, there can be no forfeiture or loss. ‘Who died for us, that, whether we be watchful or sleepy, we should live together with Him’ (1 Thess. 5:10, Author’s translation).
Reigning, however, is quite another matter, and depends upon enduring. In this sphere, we can lose or forfeit. ‘If we deny Him, He also will deny us’. These words must not however be made to contradict what follows in verse 13. The contradiction may be avoided if we distinguish the two spheres. Set out in line with the subject, the verses appear as follows:
A v. 11. If we died with Him, we shall live. Life and free grace.
B v. 12. If we endure, we shall reign.
B v. 12. If we deny Him, we shall be denied. Endurance and reward.
A v. 13. If we are faithless, He abideth faithful. Life and free grace.
Another passage that demands the same discernment is 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. The foundation, Christ Himself, once laid is unalterable. No ‘if’ can be admitted there. What a man builds, however, on that foundation is subject to quite a different principle. He may receive a reward or he may suffer loss; but even if he should suffer loss: ‘He himself shall be saved: yet as by fire’.
The same principle of distinction obtains in 1 Corinthians 9:27. Paul had no thought that he could ever be a ‘castaway’ from grace or from Christ, but in respect of the prize he realized that the flesh was a danger to his hopes of winning it. He kept under his body, lest he should be disqualified regarding the prize, but no amount of keeping under of the body would ever save Paul or anyone else from the wages of sin.
The next chapter in the epistle (verses 1-5), with its contrast between ‘all’ and ‘many’, emphasizes the lesson. Moses was a man of God; he appeared on the mount of transfiguration, but he forfeited entry into the promised land. Every one of the Israelites whose carcases fell in the wilderness had been redeemed by the Passover lamb.
So when we come to Philippians let us remember to keep it in its place. Referring to the structure given above of 2 Timothy 2:11-13, A.A. correspond to Ephesians, where we have boldness, confidence, acceptance. Philippians corresponds to B.B. of the same structure, where we have fear and trembling. Here we have an ‘if’ – ‘if by any means’. Paul reaches out to attain the prize which God has attached to the high calling. Sir Robert Anderson has pointed out that those who quote Philippians 3:14 as ‘the on-high calling’, meaning thereby a summons that will call them up to glory, do not regard the implications of the whole verse. The words, ‘the high calling of God in Christ Jesus’, do not fit a future summons. The ano calling is the calling of the church of the One Body, and attached to it, but quite distinct therefrom, is a prize. This prize may or may not be attained, but in no case can the hope be forfeited or membership of the One Body lapse.
So with the two references to the inheritance in Colossians 1 and 3, already quoted in this section. In the first case God has made us meet; nothing remains for us to do to qualify for it. In the second it is the reward of the inheritance for faithful service. So with the two ‘presentings’. In the first case we are presented through the death of Christ holy and unblameable, yet Paul warns and teaches that he may present every man perfect in Christ. Paul could not and did not touch here the presenting of Colossians 1:22. It is most important that these things that differ should be clearly defined. Those who do not thus rightly divide the truth are preparing for disapproval and shame in that day (2 Tim. 2:15).
* * *
This article by Charles Welch was originally published in “Things Most Surely Believed” (Chapter 11 – Standing and State).
by Charles H. Welch
1. THE DECLARATION.
2. SCRIPTURAL GROUNDS.
‘I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do’ (John 17:4).
‘After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst … When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His Head, and gave up the ghost’ (John 19:28-30).
‘Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God … by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once … This Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God’ (Heb. 10:7-12).
‘Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God’ (Rom. 6:9,10).
‘Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin’ (Rom. 6:6).
‘Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification’ (Rom. 4:25).
‘He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things’ (Eph. 4:10).
‘ … henceforth expecting’ (Heb. 10:13).
‘ … He shall send Jesus Christ … Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began’ (Acts 3:20,21).
‘When Christ, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory’ (Col. 3:4).
3. AN EXAMINATION AND EXPLANATION OF SOME ASPECTS OF THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST.
It is the unspeakable joy of the believer that the work of Christ on his behalf is finished. Man had utterly failed, both under the law of conscience and creation (Rom. 1:18-32, ‘without excuse’), and as favoured under the law of Moses (Rom. 2:1-29, ‘inexcusable’).
The Cross
It is usual in considering the work of Christ to focus attention upon that supreme moment when the Lord Jesus offered Himself without spot to God, the one sacrifice once offered for ever. This we believe to be right, and all that He will ever accomplish both for us, and in the outworking of the purpose of the ages, must take its root at the cross.
The Resurrection
While yielding to none our emphasis upon the place of the cross and the sacrifice there offered, we believe Scripture would have us remember that all the work of Christ is vital, and every phase complete. No one could lay a charge against the apostle Paul regarding his faithful witness concerning ‘Jesus Christ and Him crucified’, yet the very epistle that emphasizes the cross contains the following sweeping statement: ‘ … if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished’ (1 Cor. 15:17,18).
It is well to remember that a more accurate translation of Romans 4:25 reads: ‘Who was delivered BECAUSE OF our offences, and was raised again BECAUSE OF our justification’. The resurrection of Christ is vital to the purpose of God.
As Zion’s King, He must be raised from the dead:
‘I will declare the decree; the LORD hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee’ (Psa.2:7; cf. Acts 13:33).
‘ … David … therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ’ (Acts 2:29-31).
As the last Adam, the second Man, Christ must be raised from the dead, to give new life, to open the way to immortality and glory for all ‘in Him’ (1 Cor. 15:45-58).
As Head of the Church, and Head of all things, He must be raised from the dead:
‘For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived (lived again), that He might be Lord both of the dead and living’ (Rom. 14:9).
‘And He is the Head of the body, the church: Who is the Beginning, the Firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the pre-eminence’ (Col. 1:18).
The Ascension
Even when we have united the death and the resurrection of Christ, we have not exhausted the work which He finished. As we read John 17, we become conscious that one further step beyond resurrection is needful to complete the work.
‘ … I have finished the work … and I come to Thee’ (John 17:4,11).
‘Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He was come from God, and went to God’ (John 13:3).
The first message sent to His disciples by the risen Christ was this: ‘ … Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ASCEND … ‘ (John 20:17).
This ascension is vital not only for the church of the mystery, but for the whole purpose of the ages:
‘He … ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things’ (Eph. 4:10).
‘ … He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world (age), but also in that which is to come (the coming one): and hath put all things under His feet’ (Eph. 1:20-22).
The ascension and the seated Priest speak of a finished work:
‘ … every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool’ (Heb. 10:11-13).
It is the seated Christ of Whom it is written, ‘from henceforth expecting’. He came from God, and He went to God, the Apostle (sent from) and High Priest (went to) of our profession. We would therefore remember His death on the cross, His resurrection, and His ascension as three phases of one mighty work. The present period at the right hand of God is of unspeakable blessing to His saints, for He is able to save to the uttermost, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.
The Future
This period is but for a time. The moment will come when He Who is now hidden and veiled, the unseen and absent Christ, shall be manifested in glory. Then the church of the One Body will realize its blessed hope, the manifesting of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ (Tit. 2:13, Col. 3:4). He will then be revealed, coming with His mighty angels to execute wrath and judgment upon the anti-Christian world, and to deliver His people, both those who sleep and those who are alive at His coming. He will then set up His throne and reign with the saints whose calling associates them with earthly blessings for the thousand years, generally spoken of as the Millennium.
After the thousand years have expired He will sit upon the great White throne to judge the rest of the dead. This judgment is two-fold. First, a judgment out of ‘the books’ according to works, and then a judgment out of ‘the book of life’ deciding destiny. It is quite unscriptural to affirm that all who stand before the great white throne will be cast into the lake of fire. The word ‘whosoever’ in Revelation 20:15 is misleading, for the Greek here is in the singular number. After speaking of a vast multitude beyond computation, the record continues: ‘And IF ANYONE was not found written in the book of life, HE was cast into the lake of fire’. ‘The end’ is now at hand and commences with the introduction of ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ (Rev. 21:1). No more sea is to be found here; no more death; no more sorrow; no more curse; the former things have passed away.
We now approach the glorious goal. He Who once hung upon the cross and said, ‘It is finished’, shall one day sit upon the throne and say, ‘It is done’ (Rev. 21:6).
‘For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (the names in the book of life, and the principle given in Romans 9:6-8).
But every man in his own order (so the two resurrections in Rev. 20): Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming. Then cometh the end (i.e., the goal, the object in view, not “the end rank”) … that God may be all in all’ (foreshadowed in the tabernacle of God with men, in Revelation 21:3, and going on to the consummation of the age) (1 Cor. 15:21-28).
Before this consummation is reached, Christ must reign until every principality, authority, and power (same words used in Ephesians 1:21), are put down, and until all enemies are placed under His feet, the last being death (which we see cast into the lake of fire and so destroyed for ever – Revelation 20:14). Then when all things are subjected unto Him, the crisis of the age is reached, the supreme moment arrives: the Son, the mighty Victor, the glorious Redeemer, the Head over all, lays the restored kingdom at the feet of the Father, that God once more may be all in all.
Here is the finished work of Christ, blessed fruit of the cursed tree, blessed contrast to the death, sin and revolt brought in by the first man. Here no more shall sin rear its ugly head; no more shall the tempter seduce the children of God; no more shall the curse descend upon the earth. Redemption and resurrection have forged a bond stronger than creation. All things are new, all things are of God.
Let us glory, therefore, in the finished work of Christ:
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This article by Charles Welch was originally published in “Things Most Surely Believed” (Chapter 8 – The Finished Work of Christ).