THE K I N G ’ S BU S I NE S S
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Dr. Talbot'sQuestion Box Questions for answer in this depart ment should be sent to the Editorial Department, THE KING'S BUSINESS, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 13, Calif. QUE.: How can our Lord’s words recorded in John 3 :1 3 : / ‘And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven” be recon ciled with the fact that “Elijah w e nt up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Ki. 2 : 11 ) ? QUE. t Do the words, the “ crown of ljfe” in Reyelation 2 :10 refer to salvation? From a careful study of God’s Word we learn that crowns are to be given as rewards, and have nothing to do with salvation. Salvation comes by faith (cf. Eph. 2:8, 9), and rewards are granted for service performed unto the Lord by the Christian (cf. Matt. 6:20; 1 Cor. 3:11-15). There are five crowns named in the Scriptures, one of which is the “crown of life.’! This particular reward was promised to the church of Smyrna (Rev. 2:8-11) whose members were being persecuted and otherwise sifted by Satan. They were to receive this precious crown for remaining faithful
to their Lord even to the point of death. To know that this reward is being reserved not only for this specific group, but also for others, is an en couragement to all believers. In James 1:12. we read that it will be giyeri to any Christian “that endur- eth temptation.” Briefly, the other four crowns are mentioned as follows: (1) Crown of Righteousness (2 Tim. 4:8)—the re ward for the Christian’s eager antici pation of the Lord’s c o m i n g ; (2) Crown of G l o r y (1 Pet. 5:1-4)—the fadeless reward to be given to min isters, “undershepherds,” who dis charge their God-given, sacred re sponsibility as examples to the flock; (3) C r o w n of Rejoicing (1 Thess. 2:19,20)—the reward for faithfulness in service; ,14) Incorruptible Crown (1 Cor. 9:24-27)—the reward for the Christian’s faithful exercise of self- control and self-discipline.
From the context of the Scripture from which our Lord’s above-men tioned words are taken, we note that Christ was endeavoring to tell Nico- demus of “heavenly things” (John 3:12). The Lord could well claim the knowledge of these things, for He was God; He had the fullness of knowl edge inherently. Though He was liv ing on earth, He had the immediate vision of heaven, for He was in the “ bosom of the Father” (John 1:18). He could rightly say that no man had ascended up to heaven; for truly no human being ever had entered into the experience of l o o k i n g into the face of God, and being able to declare Him unto man. Our Lord was the only One who had come down from heaven, His home, and who while on the earth was in heaven, and could therefore assert the heavenly truths. In this sense of the word, the ascen sions of Elijah and Christ were not parallel cases. QUE.: In 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 P a u l mentions one who was “ caught up to the third heaven.” Why did he say that to relate what was heard would be unlawful? The thought of unlawfulness here pertains neither to the breaking of the Mosaic law, nor to the disobedi ence of the laws of Paul’s day. It concerns the respect for God’s wishes relative to His sacred words—the con versation in heaven—and the scenes of heaven. The marginal rendering of the word “lawful” is “allowed to man.” Evidently, God does not wish the words spoken in heaven to be known to man now, except as He reveals them. What a joyous revelation and ex perience will be the Christian’s when he enters the presence of the Lord, hears the words spoken by the One whom he loves, and becomes a par ticipant in the activities of the heav- enlv life end home!
O UR hearts are silent before God. The smoke of battle again has cleared from the “Rice Bowl” teh and not Changsha has paid an awful price for victory. One reporter, cabling an account which described the destruction of the once second larg’est city in Hunan Province, titled it “The Cremation of a City.” Two years ago, an attack was made on Changsha, the home of Biola in China. At that time, the large Yale- in-China campus was destroyed by a deliberate act of firing on the main buildings. The Hunan Bible Institute compound- still remains intact, and at this hour is proving a haven of relief for thousands wljo .need immediate hospitalization and refuge. And among them, evangelistic work is constantly going on. Yes, our hearts are silent before, God, for what is His purpose in per mitting this beautiful compound to escape the full fury of war, unless it* is that missionaries must return and complete His testimony in that vast locality? Pray for the Hunan Bible Institute—-its present and its future ministry in Christ’s name. What of the Christians in the “Rice Bawl” area? Their cry is like that of the Psalmist: “Evening, and morning,
and at noonday, will I complain, and moan; And he will hear my voice” (Psa. 55:17, R. V.). Their suffering is great. Can we live on serenely iri America, not sharing in some way the difficulties of our brethren in Hunan? Many of these sufferers have been led to Christ by members of the Biola Evangelistic Bands. Now they stand in need of food, medicine, the rebuild ing of churches and of homes. Gifts for this purpose may be sent through the Hunan Bible Institute (558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 13, Calif.) to the International Relief Committee in Changsha. The cost ,of living in Free China for both missionaries and their Chinese colleagues has risen 300 to 400 per cent. In the old days, before the war, the exchange was three Chinese dol lars to one American dollar, and thus the missionary lived fairly well on his meager salary. The present of ficial rate ,is forty to one. A recent issue of Time magazine stated: “This autumn [1943] the cost of living is 164 times what it was w’hen China’s war began in 1937. A year ago, it was eighty times the prewar level.” Facing this startling reality, can the church of Jesus Christ do less for its brethren overseas than every loyal American is glad to do for the soldiers v*T*o In Ms st??d?
in China. This time, the city of Chang-
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