From: L-Soft list server at ASUACAD (1.8c) <LISTSERV@ASUVM.INRE.ASU.EDU> To: Stephen Kingston <spk@ABER.AC.UK> Subject: File: "BTR19 TXT" Date: Wednesday, October 22, 1997 2:51 PM

The Bible Truth Review

Issue No. 19 ( April 1992 - June 1992)

In This Issue

"The Christian Home" in Bible Explorations, Mar/Apr 1988, Vol. 2 No. 3. Thoughts about the home life.

"Eternal Life #2" by Charles H. Welch in The Berean Expositor circa 1917. A quest to discover as far as possible all that Scripture says regarding eternal (eonion) life. This time contrasting John's gospel against Matthew's (from previous installment).

"God the Holy Spirit" by Oscar M. Baker in Truth For Today, Vol. 41 No. 5, February 1992. We have already written about God the Father, and God the Son. Now we take up God the Holy Spirit.

"What is the Hope of His Calling?" by Oscar M. Baker in Truth For Today, Vol. 41 No. 5, February 1992. Before we can tell what the hope is, we will have to settle the question of His calling, what it is and where it is. Then, whatever that may be and wherever it may be, will tell us what the hope of our calling is.

"The Ministry of Paul. Its relation to dispensational truth. No. 3. His Commission. "I will show him how great things he must sufer for My name's sake" (Acts ix. 16).

"The Parables No. 14. The Marriage of the King's Son (Matt. xxii. 1-14)" by Charles H. Welch in The Berean Expositor circa 1916.

Subscription Information and Permission to Distribute by Leo Wierzbowski, editor of The Bible Truth Review.

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"The Christian Home" in Bible Explorations, Mar/Apr 1988, Vol. 2 No. 3.

There's nothing in all the world more beautiful than the Christian home. I believe they're getting scarcer. I used to live in a community where there were a number of Christian homes, and we liked to visit back and forth. It's in such a home as that, that each member gets training for getting along with others in the world. If a family can get along under a Christian spirit, a person can go out and be meek and not quarrelsome and bossy in the world. They learn politeness, unselfishness, kindness, and all the other fruits of the spirit you find in Galatians. Those are cultivated in a Christian home.

And here is another thing I think we should think on once in awhile. If we didn't have a Christian home, and a father to take charge of that home, and to teach the Word, and to give an example as to how to live, how would anyone have any concept of what God would be like as a father. So you see there has been a design. There has been a reason for things being as they are. When God constituted holy matrimony and the family, it was to help them to learn a relationship to Him and how to get along. And so Satan is doing his very best today to destroy the family so that children will not get any exalted idea of what a father is. And Satan is doing a good job of it. He's getting his job well done! And children go to school and have no idea of what obedience is. They come from a home (we can't really call it a home) where members are constantly yelling at each other and fighting and quarreling. A child from a home like that goes to school and you can see the problems the teacher has. Then sometimes the teacher isn't any better because she came out of a home like that, too. And so this thing permeates society everywhere we go. So if we don't have a Christian home, we'll have no real concept of what God the Father is. If we can't realize that, how can one ever realize what it means to be a child of God. And, of course, what would home mean if it were a godless one, or would it be a home? You see, we have some very practical things given to us in the Word, right down to our home life, individual conditions and our actions.

As Christ is the Saviour of the church, or rather its Preserver, as that Word really means, so ought the husband be to the wife, protecting and cherishing in every way possible. A husband should try to keep his wife from suffering any hardship and the like.

In the first book of the Bible, the wife is designed to be a 'help meet' for the husband. A 'help meet' is a helper, one that is suitable for the job, 'meet' for it. In other words, if you've got a job to do, some repair work, well, she's the one that brings the tools and holds the light. Just simple things like that. In God's economy, there's probably no higher honor than this. It was an honor to the woman to be a 'help meet' to the man.

The true church recognizes Christ as Head. And so the church recognizes the headship of Christ, so the wife the husband. "Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it." If the husband loves the wife as Christ the church, what will be the home atmosphere? Will it make any difference? Well, it's bound to! You can't keep a light shining too long before somebody begins to see it. If the husband loves the wife there's little question of obedience.

We come to the children now. The first commandment to children is obedience to parents. Well why? Simply because it is right! Now there may be times when you can take a child into your confidence and explain why, but a parent isn't required every time to give a reason when he is asked, except that it is right to obey. When children are brought up in a home where they have the Bible, they reflect their home conditions!

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"Eternal Life #2" by Charles H. Welch in The Berean Expositor circa 1917.

In our issue of July 1916 we drew attention to the way in which aionian life was used in Matthew's Gospel. There is a marked difference when we consider the teaching of John's Gospel. While works are constantly associated with aionian life in Matthew, faith is the constant accompaniment in John. The first occurrences are typical. John iii. 14-16.- Here aionian life is definitely linked with faith, and with the offering of Christ. The reference to the serpent lifted up, shows very definitely that faith in Christ as the offering for sin is in view. The Lord Himself used the expression "lifted up" to signify "what death He should die" (John xii.33). The last verse of John iii. testifies to the same truth. "He that believeth on the Son hath aionian life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God awaiteth for him."

John v.29 is one of the passages introduced by the solemn words "verily verily," the terms are somewhat different, but faith is still the essential, "He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath aionian life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." John vi. records the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, and the subsequent effect upon the people. The Lord rebuked their mere desire for food, saying to them, "Labour not for the meat that perisheth, but that meat which endureth unto aionian life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for Him hath God the Father sealed. "The argument is continued throughout the chapter. It reappears in the words of John xvii.3; that argument is faith in Christ as the sent One. "This is aionian life, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent. "Speaking of the disciples the Lord says, "they have believed that Thou didst send Me" (xvii.8). Again, in verse 18, the Lord refers to being "sent into the world." His prayer continues and looks forward to the time when the "world may believe that Thou hast sent Me" (verse 21); and finally, "that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me." This is evidently a most important theme.

Returning to John vi. we make the following correction in verse 27, "Work not" instead of "labour not." The reason for this is found in the question of verse 28: "What shall we do in order that we might work the works of God?" The answer that Christ gave to this question was, "This is the work of God, in order that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent" (29). "They said therefore unto Him, What sign shewest Thou?" It is important that we follow the argument here. What is the cogency of the word "therefore"? In answer to their question about working the works of God, the Lord said, "This (i.e. this miracle already witnessed) is the work of God, with the object that ye might believe on Him whom He hath sent." Their unbelief at once seized upon the words "the work of God." This miracle then is the work of God, "What sign showest thou therefore, that we may see and believe thee, what dost thou work" (i.e. of thyself). For, the argument continues, Moses who was sent by God proved his mission by the miracles he wrought, as for example the fact that the Scriptures record, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat" (31). Again they had to be corrected. "Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven." The correction is two-fold. First, Moses did not give the manna in the wilderness, but God; and secondly, the manna in the wilderness was not the true bread, the real thing, it was but a type.

"For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto Him, Lord, evermore give us this bread, and Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst . . . For I came down from heaven not to do mine on will, but the will of Him that sent Me" (verses 33-38).

He is the sealed one (27) and the sent one (38). In connection with this emphasis upon being the sent One is the will of the Father and the election unto life. Verse 37 is very strong, "All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me." Verses 39 and 40 emphasize the will, the gift, and the sent One. Of those given to Him He was to lose nothing. In John vii. these thoughts recur. Aionian life He gives to as many as the Father gave Him (2); "Thine they were and Thou gavest them Me" (6); "I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine" (9). In verses 11 and 12 we have the fact stated "that none of them is lost" who were given to the Lord. Judas being known from the commencement as being "a devil" is mentioned in verse 70, of the chapter (vi.) which we are considering. The elective character of the subject of chapter vi. is emphasized by the Lord, for continuing in verse 44 He says, "No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him."

The Lord also makes reference to resurrection. In verse 39 being raised again at the last day is supplemented in verse 40 by having aionian life. Verse 44 and 45 say the same thing. Aionian life therefore is resurrection life, life which is something different from the life that is possessed by creatures in this world. The fathers who ate the manna "are dead." The Lord, as the sent One, is the living bread, and He gives "to live unto the age" (51). He testified that man by nature had "no life" in him. The utter dependence upon Christ for life is further brought out by the parallel in verse 57. "As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me (the living bread, the sent One), even he shall live by Me." Many, even of the disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is an hard saying; who can hear it?" Again the Lord emphasizes His place with the Father (62), the elective character of the subject (64, 65). All but the twelve "went back." The Lord asks them:-

"Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of aionian life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God."

Here then is the full meaning of believing the Lord as the sent One. It is a faith in Him as "the Christ, the Son of the living God." Towards the close of the book the Apostle clearly indicates its purpose:-

"These (signs) are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through His name" (xx.31).

The opening chapter records the blessing that follows belief "in His name" -- power to become the sons of God. This too is in a setting that emphasizes election unto life.

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"God the Holy Spirit" by Oscar M. Baker in Truth For Today, Vol. 41 No. 5, February 1992.

The great commission of the kingdom age (Matt 28:19) included baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Spirit). The word name is in the singular, not plural. So Father is not a name. Son is not a name. Holy Spirit is not a name. But there is a name that includes all three. Do you know that name? It is the name that is given to Jesus (Ph'p. 2:8-11). It is first mentioned in Psalms 7:17. It is Jehovah Elyon (Jehovah, the most high God). That is the name of the one individual which consists of three persons. What name was Israel to make known?

We have already written about God the Father, and God the Son. Now we take up God the Holy Spirit. The subject would fill a book, so for a sample we take the 9 occurrences in Eph. and set them forth.

1. 2:18. The Holy Spirit is the means of access to God,the Father. This person is one.

2. 2:22. The Holy Spirit is the Builder of the holy temple which is a habitation of God. It is built of living stones, believers.

3. 3:5. The Holy Spirit is the Revealer. He revealed the mystery of Christ to the apostles and prophets.

4. 3:16. The Holy Spirit is the Giver of all power and might. Here is a purpose.

5. 4:3. The Holy Spirit is the Origin of the spiritual unity. Here it is the genitive of origin, a figure of speech.

6. 4:30. The Holy Spirit can be grieved or offended. Read the next two verses and see what offends the Spirit.

7. 5:18. The Holy Spirit is the Filler. He can so fill a believer that he will overflow with psalms, hymns,and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in his heart to the Lord. He runs the cup over.

8. 6 17. The Holy Spirit carries the sword. He also provides it for the believer to make up his panoply of armor. The Holy Spirit has given us the Word of God.

9. 6:18. The Holy Spirit is the source and power of all prayer. When we know not what to pray for, He can make intercession for us.

Although we find much about the nature and attributes of the Father and the Son, we do not find so much about the Spirit. And the reason? He does not speak of Himself, but gives testimony of the Son. Christ is the theme of the Bible from beginning to end. And our Lord said that when the Holy Spirit was come He would not speak of Himself, but of Christ.

So although we find a great deal about the activities of the Holy Spirit in the Word, we do not learn very much about Himself. He is there all the way through. He is just as omnipresent as any other person or the Godhead.

This should set you out on a search for further information. You will not find Him in Colossians. Look through the rest of the post-Acts epistles of Paul for Him.

References: See notes on above texts in the Companion Bible, Appendices 9 and 101 in the same, and "The Giver and His Gifts" by E. W. Bullinger.

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"What is the Hope of His Calling?" by Oscar M. Baker in Truth For Today, Vol. 41 No. 5, February 1992.

Before we can tell what the hope is, we will have to settle the question of His calling, what it is and where it is. Then, whatever that may be and wherever it may be, will tell us what the hope of our calling is. For those that are in Christ are identified with Him very closely. In fact, this is their baptism. So now for the context.

Our question comes from Eph. 1:18. Beginning with verse 20 we read of Christ being raised from the dead, set at the right hand of God in heavenly places, far above all principality, power, might, dominion, and every name that is named, both in this age and the age to come. All things are put under His feet, and He is Head over all to the church. This church is His body, His fulness.

Please note that there is nothing here about Christ being a high priest in the heavens, that He will take the throne of His father, David, or that He will be King of kings and Lord of lords. He was all of that in the dispensation of the promise and those that were in Him in that dispensation would have a hope in keeping a place on the earth or land which was promised to Abraham, they would look for a great millennial kingdom here on earth, and if they were overcomers, they would look for a ruling position under the great King. They would also look for His coming and the so-called rapture as a part of their hope.

But there is no such context in Eph. 1, and so then these things of another dispensation cannot possibly be a part of His calling, and that being the case, these things cannot be a part of our hope.

Our hope then is definitely linked with His session in the heavenly places - made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. If we suffer (endure), we shall also reign with Him - this in connection with principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

When we are exhorted to walk worthy of our calling, it is with these things in view. Have we made our calling and election sure?

Furthermore, the hope of His calling is in connection with a promise made in Him before age times concerning eternal life. This had nothing to do with the promise made to Abraham. It was not mentioned anywhere in connection with the dispensation of promise. The reason; it had to do with all creation, not just the earth. It included the heavenly places. So it was not revealed till Eph. 3:6, 2 Tim. 1:1, and Titus 1:2. It has to do with the church, not the kingdom. There is a difference.

We do not see Him as yet meeting His hope in its entirety, for He is still sharing His Father's throne. But some day He will be manifested in glory, but not without the church which is His body and of which He is the Head. So again our hope is intimately linked with His hope. So we cannot know what is the hope of our calling till we have first learned what is the hope of His calling. Why all the confusion about this? Confusion is ignorance.

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"The Ministry of Paul. Its relation to dispensational truth. No. 3. His Commission.

"I will show him how great things he must sufer for My name's sake" (Acts ix. 16).

In our last study of the ministry of Paul we finished at the clause which spoke of his testimony to the children of Israel. We would now seek to understand the second clause -- the suffering for the sake of Christ's name. There is no word "great" in the passage, the expression is rather "how much," or "how many things," he must suffer. The word "must" is important. "It is necessary," "it must needs be" is the meaning (cf. John iii. 7, 14, 30). There was a Divine necessity that Paul should suffer as well as preach, and he himself in his last epistle has written that all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

The epistle that gives us an insight into the heart of the apostle more than any other is the second epistle to Corinthians. The predominant note of this epistle is affliction or tribulation. In 1st Corinthians the apostle sought by the application of sound doctrine and sanctified argument to bring back the wayward Corinthians to the path of virtue; in 2nd Corinthians we find him maintaining with all the zeal of his nature his apostolic claims, so that this epistle becomes the most striking instance of what is the case more or less with all his writings, "a new philosophy of life poured forth, not through systematic treatises, but through occasional bursts of human feelings." We shall find that the sufferings of Paul, as recorded in 2nd Corinthians, arose from several causes, among them that embittering source of affliction -- misrepresentation.

Everything he did seemed to afford but fresh opportunity for the calumniator. Judaistic feeling ran very high at Corinth. Cephas was exalted at the expense of Paul. They said among themselves, "His letters are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible" (2 Cor. x. 1O). Why did not this Paul rectify the wrongs of the church as Peter had done in connection with Ananias and Sapphira? The fact that he refrained from receiving financial help was misinterpreted. What depth of feeling must there be in his words, "I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved. But be it so. I did not burden you, nevertheless being crafty, I caught you with guile" (2 Cor. xii. 15, 16). This insinuation he immediately repudiates, "Did I make a gain of you?"

Again, his apostolic authority was questioned. This was a matter of great delicacy and yet of superabounding importance. As we read, for example, the two opening chapters of Galatians, we realize as never before that the defence of Paul's claims to apostleship was nothing less than a defence of "the truth of the gospel." The "certain men which came down from Judaea" could possibly produce their "letters of commendation," and "remember with advantage" before the Corinthians their personal acquaintances among the "pillars at Jerusalem." This Paul could not and would not do. He had not been appointed by the twelve. He had not received his authority from Jerusalem. The difficulty of proving his claim, to such a nature as Paul's, must indeed have been great. He tells them that they compel him to be a fool in his boastlng:-

"Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? or have we need, like some, of commendatory letters unto you, or from you?" (2 Cor.iii.1).

"We commend not ourselves unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that you may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance and not in heart. For whether we have been beside ourselves (they had said that he was demented), it hath been for God, or whether we are sober-minded (they had complained of the severe tone in his letters), it is for you, for the love of Christ constraineth us" ( 2 Cor. v. 12-14).

"Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, . . . be trying yourselves whether ye are in faith, be putting yourselves to the test! or do ye not recognise yourselves (this uncharitable attitude had destroyed their vision), seeing that Jesus Christ is in you, unless perhaps ye fail in the testing. I hope however that ye shall come to know that we fail not in the testing" (2 Cor. xiii. 3-6).

The way in which the other apostles were magnified to the detriment of Paul and his authority may be gathered from the strange colloquialism, ton huperlian apostolon, "the extra-super apostles" (2 Cor. xi. 5). The indignation of this sarcastic title is levelled not at the twelve, but at those who sought to gain authority and to displace Paul by emphasizing the claims of the twelve at Jerusalem. The apostle, with many interjected disparagements of the cause of apparent boastfulness, lays before the Corinthians at least six different points wherein he compared favourably with the twelve, viz., in knowledge (xi. 5, 6), self-denial (7-21), privileges of birth and race (22), labours and sufferings (23-33), the pre-eminent character of his revelation (xii. 1-10), and the signs of his apostleship (11, 12). They are arranged as follows:-

A | xi. 5, 6. Not one whit behind the extra-super apostles in knowledge.

B | xi. 7-21. Contrast with the false apostles and messengers of Satan.

C | xi. 22. Favourable comparison with their higher claims (birth and race).

C | xi. 23-33. Favourable comparison by reason of superabounding sufferings.

B | xii. 1-11-. Vision of such magnitude, that a mesenger of Satan is sent to buffet him.

A | xii.-11, 12. Not one whit behind the extra-super apostles in miraculous signs.

One writer has said that 2nd Corinthians is the least systematic of all Paul's writings, yet, upon examination, the most impassioned and personal sections bear witness to that "inspiration of God" which lifts them above the words of man to the authoratative "thus saith the Lord."

Examining the structure more closely we find:-

A (2 Cor. xi. 5, 6).--The apostle concedes that the other apostles may be his superiors in eloquence, but he yielded no point with regard to his knowledge. "And even if uncultured in my discourse, certainly not in my knowledge."

B (2 Cor. xi. 7-21).--Other churches he had taken from readily (it wounded his sensitive nature to have to do it), but though he was in positive want among them he was not burdensome to anyone. "And in everything without burden unto you I kept myself--and will keep." This boast he declares no one shall silence, not because he loved them not (God knew), but that he may cut off any handle or occasion from those who seek it.

The false apostles had pointed out the fact that they did not require support, and the apostle declares that so far as that is concerned, they meet on equal terms. How loathsome to such a high spirit as Paul must all this self- vindication have appeared. "What I am saying, not according to the Lord am I saying, but as to foolishness, in this my boastful confidence! Since many are boasting after the flesh, I also will boast" (xi. 17, 18). He continues by saying that since the Corinthians were so discreet, they would surely tolerate this boasting of a mere fool, since they tolerated such as enslaved them, or devoured them, or took them in, or who assumed the most arrogant pretensions, or who even smote them! "By way of disparagement I am speaking; it shows how weak and foolish I was in not adopting similar tactics. Yet, when one comes to compare their foolish claims with mine (continues the apostle), I can meet them. Whereas in whatsoever any one dareth (in foolishness I speak), I also dare."

C (2 Cor. xi. 22).--So far as birth and race privileges were concerned, Paul was their equal:-

"Are they Hebrews? I also. Are they Israelite? I also. Are they seed of Abraham? I also."

C (2 Cor. xi. 23-33).-When it came however to that ministry which resulted from grace rather than race, the apostle could say, "I something more." Then follows one of the most wonderful biographies ever written. The sufferings of the martyrs with all their harrowing details cannot compare with the sufferings of this chosen vessel. Besides, we know that this list is but a fragment; how much and how many things he suffered, "that day" alone will disclose:-

"In labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, onco was I stoned. Thrice I suffered shipwreck (this is before Acts xxvii). A night and a day I have ben in the deep. In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers in perils of mine own Countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches" (2 Cor. xi. 23- 28).

What depths are here! It seems that the apostle would have these Corinthians see that the anxiety for the churches, and for their's among them, was harder to bear than the perils and dangers which were without. He seems to have had this external and internal trouble before him when he wrote:-

"For, even when we came into Macedonia, no relief at all had our flesh, but in every way were we in tribulation, without were fightings, within were fears, baut He who encourageth them that are brought low encouraged us, even God, by the presence of Titus" (2 Cor. vii. 5, 6).

"If to boast is needful," adds the apostle, "in the things that concern my weakness will I boast," and then he recounts his ignominious escape from Damascus. This event seems to have impressed itself upon his mind, for he gives this special prominence, after mentioning the long list of perils and sufferings encountered afterwards.

B (2 Cor. xii. 1-11).--The apostle now turns to the visions and revelations which he received, and here, once again, suffering was an inevitable result:-

"On behalf of myself will I not boast, save in my weakness . . . but I forbear, lest anyone should recokon unto me above what he beholdeth me to be, or heareth from me, even by the exceeding greatness of the revelations. Wherefore, lest I should be unduly lifted up, there was given to me a stake in the flesh, a messenger of Satan that he might buffet me ... most gladly, therefore, will I boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may spread a tent over me. Wherefore, I take pleasure in weaknesses, in insults, in necessities, in persecutions, in pressure of circumstances, for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong. I have become foolish, ye compelled me. I, in fact, ought by you to have been commended" (2 Cor. ii, 5-11).

A (2 Cor. xii.-11, 12).--

"For not a whit have I become behind the extra-super apostles; even if I am nothing ... the signs indeed of an apostle are wrought among you in all patience, both in signs, and wonders, and in mighty works" (2 Cor. xii, 11, 12).

In connection with his claim to be "an ambassador for Christ," we find the same undercurrent of opposition:-

"In everything commending ourselves as God's ministers, in much endurance, in tribulations, in necessities, in pressure of circumstances, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in toilings, in spells of sleeplessness, in fastings, in sanctity, in knowledge, in long suffering, in kindness, in holy spirit, in love unfeigned, in the word of truth, in the power of God, through the armour of righteousness on the right hand and left, through glory and dishonour, through ill report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true, as being ignored, and yet recognized, as dying, and behold we live; as being chastened, yet not being slain, as grieving, yet ever rejoicing, as destitute, yet making many rich, as having nothing, yet as having all things in full possession" (2 Cor. vi 4-10).

The apostle appeals to this outburst of feeling to show how indeed his mouth and his heart are opened and enlarged towards them, and urges them to give up the narrow jealousies, "straitened in their hearts' affections" (2 Cor. vi. 12), to dissolve their unseemly unity with darkness and infidels, and perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord, let them "receive us, for no one have we wronged, no one have we corrupted, no one have we defrauded." All such are black calumnies, not repeated here to condemn, "for I have already told you that ye are in our heart to live and die together" (2 Cor. vi. 13- vii. 3).

Ever before the apostle is the desire to vindicate the sacred office which he held, and the truth committed unto him, yet at the same time to count himself as nothing. He was a chosen vessel, but an earthen vessel too. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves." Weak in themselves, yet strong in the Lord, on every side:-

"pressed hard, but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned, flung down, but not destroyed."

We may now be better able to appreciate the opening of this second epistle, with its emphasis upon tribulation and consolation:-

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all Consolation, Who consoleth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to console those who are in any tribulation by the consolation wherewith we ourselves are consoled by God" (2 Cor. i. 3, 4).

"For we do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, as to our tribulation which happened in Asia, that exceedingly beyond power were we weighed down, so that we despaired even of life. But we ourselves, within ourselves, have had the sentence of death, that we might rest our confidence not upon ourselves, but upon God Who raiseth the dead" (2 Cor. i. 8, 9).

Here is the key to the problem of Paul's sufferings, all were to direct his attention and hope to resurrection. Resurrection and its power are prominent in such a passage as Phil. iii.10,11:-

"That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death, if by any means I may attain unto the out-resurrection out from among the dead."

Here, it will be observed, resurrection power and resurrection hope stand on either side of the sufferings. It is the same in 2 Cor. iv. 17-v. 1:-

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding age-abiding weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are age-abiding; for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved; we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, age-abiding in the heavens."

"Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal body" (2 Cor. iv. 10).

The sufferings of Paul, moreover, had close connection with His peculiar ministry of the dispensation of the mystery:-

"Whereunto I am appointed a preacher .... for which cause I also suffer" (2 Tim. i. 11, 12).

"Remember .... my gospel, wherein I suffer" (2 Tim. ii. 8, 9).

His sufferings, moreover, had a special connection with the church of the one body and the present dispensation:-

"Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with age-abiding glory" (2 Tim. ii. 10).

"Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake, which is the church, whereof I was made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which was given me to you-ward to fill up the word of God, even the mystery which hath been hid since the ages and since the generations" (Col. i. 24-26).

One word more. The suffering apostle, though neglected, forsaken and forgotten, and having to write in his old age the sad facts that all in Asia had left him, and that all men had forsaken him (2 Tim. i. 15; iv. 16), desiring Timothy to bring his rough sleeveless travelling cloak (2 Tim. iv. 13), realized that the last drops of his heart's blood were soon to be poured out as a libation (2 Tim. iv. 6), yet above it all his eyes beheld the "crown of righteousness." He had written, "If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him" (2 Tim. ii. 12); now the race was nearly finished, the fight nearly over, the glorious "henceforth" gilded his last moments, and his hopes were centred in "His appearing" (2 Tim iv. 8).

May we who believe the same precious truth be made willing to endure, in some degree, the "afflictions of the gospel," realizing that they are after all but "light," and "but for a moment," in comparison with the age-abiding weight of glory.

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"The Parables No. 14. The Marriage of the King's Son (Matt. xxii. 1-14)" by Charles H. Welch in The Berean Expositor circa 1916.

On page 53 of Volume IV. we gave the arrangement of the Parables occurring in Matt. xvi.-xxv., but as some of our readers may be unacquainted with it, we will take out the two corresponding members in order that the place of the parable we are to consider may be seen:-

B | xx. 1-16. The Householder and Vineyard. -The call of the labourers:-

1. Early. Many 2. Third hour. called, 3. Sixth and ninth hours. but few 4. Eleventh hour. chosen.

B | xxii. 1-14. The Marriage. -The call to the guests:-

1. Bid those who were bidden. Many 2. Again tell them. called, 3. Go therefore to highways. but few 4. The wedding garment. chosen.

It will be seen that we have something of a parallel, yet a contrast, for instead of a householder we have a certain king, and instead of labourers we have guests. The concluding words of each parable, however, are the same in the A.V., "Many called, but few chosen." The retention of these words, however, in Matt. xx. 16 is extremely doubtful, and we may be on more certain ground if we say that the closing words of the Parable of the Labourers are, "So the last shall be first, and the first last," while the closing words of the Parable of the Marriage Feast are, "For many are called, but few are chosen."

The parable, like those which have already been considered, was addressed to the Pharisees (cf. xxi. 45, and xxii. 1). "Jesus answered, and spake unto them again by parables." It will be noticed, by the use of the word "again," that in the Parables of the Householder, the Wicked Husbandmen, and the Marriage Feast, there is an emphasis upon the fact that an action was repeated.

xx. 5. "Again, he went out about the sixth and ninth hour," after having hired two set before.

xxi. 36. "Again, he sent other servants, more than the first," after the first messengers were beaten and killed.

xxii. 4. "Again, he sent forth other servants," after the refusal to come to the feast.

This element of longsuffering and renewal of invitation is a feature that is essentially a part of the parable. Let us first of all examine the figures used, and then attempt with the knowledge gained to understand its import.

The characters introduced are, a king, his son, servants, and guests. The parable centres around a marriage feast. This parable contains the first reference to a marriage feast in the N.T., and apart from this the word occurs but once more in Matthew, namely, in xxv. 1O. It is the same word that comes in Rev. xix. 7, 9, and is connected by the added word "supper" of the latter verse to the parallel parable of Luke xiv. 16..

The king's son of course is Christ Himself, and the marriage feast is the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. xix.) It will be seen that the servants of the king go out three times, twice to the same people, and once, after the destruction of their city, into the highways. Those to whom the servants went the first time are called, "them that were bidden." The expression is almost a title, and is rendered, "the persons invited," by Darby. The chief thought is that the servants did not give the original invitation, but that it had been given already. They went out to invite them that had been invited. This message met with refusal. Again the king sent the message of invitation, adding the words:-

"Tell them that have been invited, behold, I have prepared my dinner, my bullock and the fatlings having been killed, and all things ready, come unto the marriage."

These added words are by no means accidental. These two invitations, together with their differences, give us in parable form the ministries that occupy the period commencing with John the Baptist and ending with the close of the Acts of the Apostles. "Them that were bidden" are the people of Israel. Readers of these pages will not need citations from the Scriptures to prove or to demonstrate this statement. John the Baptist, the last of the prophets according to the Old Testament order, announces the good news, "The kingdom of the heavens hath drawn nigh," and further is spoken of as "the friend of the Bridegroom." The Lord Himself, the twelve, and the seventy continue this witness. We know how sadly true the words of the parable are, "they would not come." The second invitation commences with the Acts of the Apostles. There, Peter and the twelve, and those associated ("them that heard Him," Heb. ii. 3, 4), went forth again with the invitation, this time being able to add, "all things are ready."

The message of Matthew differs from that of the Acts in this particular. Matt. x. for instance shows us the servants going forth to proclaim the good news, but Matt. xvi. 21,22 makes it clear that those who carried that invitation could not have said "all things are ready," for not only was Peter ignorant of the fact that the Lord must "suffer...and be killed and be raised again the third day," but he even urged the Lord to abandon the idea. Peter's attitude in the Acts is very different. Every recorded address that he gives has the suffering, the death and the resurrection of the Lord as its basis:-

"But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer, He hath so fulfilled, Repent ye therefore" (Acts iii. 18, 19).

The initial ministry, that of John the Baptist, was to "prepare the way of the Lord" (Matt. iii. 3), "prepare" being the same word as "ready." It was also "to make ready for the Lord a prepared people" (Luke i. 17). Note, not to make everyone ready, but to make ready a prepared people. In Rev. xix. 7 we read:-

"Let us rejoice and exult, and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb is come and His wife has made herself ready."

And in xxi. 2:-

"And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heavens from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

In the second ministry, that of the Acts of the Apostles, the servants who gave the invitation could indeed lay emphasis upon the fact that all things were ready. "But they neglected it." The word translated "made light of," is the word which occurs in Heb. ii. 3:-

"How shall we escape if we have been negligent of so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord (the first invitation), and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him (the second invitation), God also bearing witness both with signs, and wonders, and with divers miracles, and distributions of holy spirit, according to His will?"

This is the second invitation of the parable. That "the signs, wonders, divers miracles, and distributions of holy spirit" are to be read as equivalent to "All things are ready," may be seen by reading Acts ii. 1-4, 22, 23, 43; iii. 12-16; iv. 9-12 (note the reference to the stone rejected by the builders, and Matt. xxi. 42, which immediately precedes the parable of the Marriage Feast), and v. 30.

What was the result of this added testimony? "They neglected it." The parable says that "one went to his own field, and one unto his traffic." Readers may remember that in the Parable of the Sower the third sowing indicated the ministry of the Acts (without necessarily precluding the thought that, at the end, all these sowings will be true of the period then). That third sowing "fell among thorns, and the thorns choked them," which by interpretation means:-

"That which among thorns being sown, this is he who hears the word and the cares of this age and the delusion of riches, choke the word and it (he) becomes unfruitful" (Matt. xiii. 22)

This same cause is expressed in the words, "his own field," and "his traffic." Here is the divine statement as to the failure of the second invitation. This is not all, however. While some "did not care for it," but preferred the things of this age, "the rest" violently opposed. "They seized the servants, insulted and killed them." The Lord Jesus had told His disciples that if the world had hated Him, it would hate them, that He sent them forth as sheep amid wolves. That the days would come when they should be delivered up to be afflicted, hated and killed. This we find in measure in the Acts. Some were imprisoned (Acts iv. 3; v. 18; viii. 3; ix. 1, 13, 21). Stephen was stoned (Acts vii. 59); James was killed with the sword (Acts xii. 2). At the first rejection, which culminated in the betrayal and brutal death of the Lord Jesus, the Lord in wondrous mercy withheld the punishment of which they themselves had thought themselves worthy (Matt. xxi. 41) and sent to those who were guilty of such sins the second ministry of pardon and invitation. The neglect of this "so great salvation," accompanied by the ill-treatment of His servants, was not a second time passed over. This time they had "crucified unto themselves afresh the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame," and "that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected and is nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned" (Heb. vi. 8). They had "trodden under foot the Son of God." "For if they escaped not who refused Him that spake on earth (first invitation), much more shall not we, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven" (Heb. xii. 25) (second invitation). And so we read:-

"But when the king heard thereof he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city."

Between verses 7 and 8 of Matt. xxii. comes the dispensation of the mystery, just as it comes between "the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God." When the Lord once again takes up the threads of this purpose, the words of verse 8 onwards become true. "The wedding feast is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy." Because of their rejection of the head stone of the corner, "the kingdom of God will be taken from them, and given to a nation producing the fruits of it." Because of their refusal and neglect they made themselves "unworthy," and failed. The day will come when they shall see those who have come from the east and the west, and from the north and the south, sitting down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens, but themselves cast out. They knew not the day of their visitation. To no generation of Israel or of men had such exceptional favours been given. They proved unworthy, and forfeited their place. The day will come when the dispersed sons of Abraham will be gathered from the four corners of the earth to sit down in the kingdom. Those who so miserably failed during the two ministries of the Gospels and the Acts will be there, but not in a position of blessedness such as shall those who have thus been gathered in. Weeping and gnashing of teeth (terms that demand a separate study) accompany the vision they have. They were not worthy. It is interesting to note that the word axios, "worthy," and the word hetoimazo, "to make ready," occur prominently in Matthew and in Revelation. Axios occurs seven times in the Revelation. Hetoimazo occurs seven times in the Gospel of Matthew, and seven times in the Revelation. It seems that there is a connection between the being made ready, and the being worthy.

If we view the parable and its teaching from the standpoint of the Epistles of the Mystery, we shall be conscious of a difficulty to reconcile the very distinct aspects of truth presented. If we keep within the sphere of the kingdom, the teaching will be clear. In Matt. x. the twelve who were sent forth were to enquire in each village for a "worthy person," and a "worthy house." Verses 37, 38 tell us what constituted "worthiness." Axios occurs seven times in the Acts. There we read that the Jews "judged themselves to be unworthy of eonian life" to the blessing of the Gentiles (Acts xiii. 46-52; compare verse 51 with Matt. x. 14), and that Paul had echoed the words of John the Baptist (Matt. iii. 8) in urging "fruit worthy of repentance" (Acts xxvi. 20).

In Rev. iii. 4 we read of some who shall walk with the Lord in white (robes), "for they are worthy," and in xvi. 6 of some who shall have blood to drink because "they are worthy." Of similar import is Luke vii. 4 and xii. 48. It is evident from the usage of the word that it carries with it the idea of meriting or deserving. This is further substantiated by referring to the following:-

"Those who are accounted worthy to obtain that age..." (Luke xx. 35).

"And take heed to yourselves lest at any time your heart be burdened with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of life, and that day come upon you unawares...watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things... and to stand before the Son of man" (Luke xxi. 34-36).

Here is a close parallel to the condition of heart indicated by "the one to his own field, the other to his traffic," and "the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches." Such attitude of mind is observed in the "wicked servant" of Matt. xxiv. 48-51, where the unexpected coming of the Lord, and the intemperance of the servant, are brought together. It will be observed, further, that the statement concerning the fate of the wicked servant is immediately followed by the words, "Then shall the kingdom of the heavens be likened unto ten virgins," etc., which introduces under another set of figures the two classes of those who have entrance into the marriage feast in view. The same thought (unreadiness) is noticeable; it is that and that alone which distinguishes the two classes of virgins.

In the parable before us, those who finally are gathered together, who are found in the highways, are "bad and good"; worthiness is no longer spoken of. These seem to be the elect, who are gathered together by the angels from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. A somewhat parallel change is seen in Luke xiv. 16-24, where, after the servants had been sent to say, "Come, for all things are now ready," and those who were invited made various excuses of a shallow nature, the Lord is angry with them, and sends out first to the streets, and lanes of the city, and causes to be brought in the poor, the maimed and the halt and the blind, and subsequently sends as far as the highways and hedges, compelling them to come in. No worthiness attaches to these, neither are they invited, they are "brought" and they are "compelled."

The scenes of the parable in Matt. xxii. change at verse 11, and we are taken into the feast room. The King enters to see the guests, and observes one not clothed with a wedding garment. Upon being questioned as to his entry in that condition, the man is speechless. The King gives orders to his servants to bind him hand and foot, and to thrust him into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The reason that is given, and with which the parable closes, is, "For there are many invited, but few elected."

The wedding garment given by the King to all who were brought into the feast was an outward symbol of election. The Lord had said, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of the heavens." "Fine linen is (or represents) the righteous acts of the saints" (Rev. xix. 8). Peter says to the dispersion, "Give all diligence, add to your faith...give diligence to make your calling and election sure" (2 Pet. i. 5-11). Just as fruit is the sign of growth and life, so the wedding garment is the sign of election.

There are other aspects to be considered, and further truth to be discovered along this course which will be the more clearly understood by continuing the study of the parables rather than by attempting an exhaustive study of this one. By way of application, it is well for us, although having something very different from the marriage supper of the Lamb before us either as bride or guests, to remember the exhortation to "walk worthy," and to note particularly the reference to "reigning," a "crown," and a "prize" in the Prison Epistles.

The question of the difference between the bride, the wife, the virgins, and the guests will be dealt with in subsequent articles, either in those which deal with the Parables, or those which deal with the Revelation.

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