April 1931
166
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
What we now wish to see is that the doctrines and éxperiences of the Christian faith follow the same prin ciple of progress, clustering around and growing out of these progressively fulfilled feasts. (Note their past, pres ent, and future aspects.) ' Only we must go back a step for their true Biblical basis. A. Condemnation under Sin. The reach of sin; its shame and degradation; its consequent separation from God ; its guilt, whereby we are pronounced “worthy of death” (Rom. 1 :32)—these and many other like affirma tions of God’s Word constitute a well-defined doctrine of sin. It is based upon a universal fact, concerning which God reasons with us thus : “There is no difference, for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:22, 23). It therefore reflects a universal need. B. Justification by the Son. What Jesus did for us in the court (B), His sinless life given up on the cross (2), the fact that He “loved us and ggve himself for us,” followed by the glorious fact that God gave Him to live anew in triumphant resurrection (3)p-this is our accep tance with God. It is not a dead Christ who saves us, but one who, having died, is alive forevermore. Our justifica tion rests upon His twofold work: “delivered for our of fenses, and raised for our justification” (Rom. 4:25). ■ C. Sanctification in the Spirit. In its primary sense, sanctification is the state of being set apart. This the Spirit accomplished at Pentecost. A.nd now, as sons, we live our life in our Father’s house (C), in fellowship with Him, with two walls of separation (see floor plan) —separated from the world, and separated unto Him. Experimentally, sanctification is the adjusting of our living to the fact and the power of His indwelling pres ence. Thus the epistles exhort to a holy life as a mere matter of being true to this most stupendous of facts ; namely, that the Holy Spirit of God lives in us: “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols ? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you” (2 Cor. 6:16, 17). D. Glorification with the Father. Christ has al ready gone into the glory (D ), pledge of the day when we will share that glory with Him. Thus the crowning doctrine of Scripture is the coming of Christ, effecting the resurrection and glorification of His saints, His and their reign in righteousness, all to the glory of God the Father, eventuating in a world in which God is “all in all” ( 1 Cor. 15:28). It would be immensely profitable to tracé these taber nacle truths in terms of a progressive Christian experi ence : a reproving sense of sin, leading to a saving faith, unfolding in a life so lived as to be pleasing to Him, ushered at last into His glorious presence. We can only suggest this rich vein of truth, leaving the reader to med itate and appropriate. We cannot close, however, without noting this one precious nugget, that we are saved by be lieving and confessing the twofold fact of His death (2) and resurrection (3 ): “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteous ness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salva tion” (Rom. 10:9, 10). May some even now enter into this salvation, only to pass on to a life of separation.
a new idea of the mystery of iniquity in the universe and of her own need and all men’s need of a Saviour. And so she started for Jerusalem. She longed for something concrete. That was the city where He had last been. And God had you on board the Steamship Adriatic, Miss Althea, with your warm, generous heart.” “I loved her right away!” Althea exclaimed. “So she tóld me! T was looking-—at least, I had come to the point where I told myself I was looking—-for the end of the rainbow, the pot of gold, you know!’ That is what she said. ‘I kept telling myself in odd moments that I should reach Jerusalem only to find further dis illusionment—more disappointing people—nothing to build my house of life on ! Shifting sands under my feet—thát was what the world had become to me. But not far from me was the very thing I longed for, and did not realize I needed. A warm, loving heart, full of under standing, dedicated to Christ, and so sweet with His fra grance that I could not resist Him! In loving Althea, I found that I loved Him, and gave myself to Him forever.’ This was the young girl’s tribute to you, a fisherman of souls, Miss Althea. You were her ‘end of the rainbow!’ A true and loving Christian!” ' {To be continued ) Sale of Biola Press The Bible Institute of Los Angeles takes pleasure in announcing that the Biola Press has been acquired by the Stationers Corporation of Los Angeles. Therefore, the Institute pauses to thank the many pá- trons of the Press for their valued business, and at the same time to express the hope that these friends will con tinue their cordial relations with the new management. The Stationers Corporation maintains its head office at 525 South Spring. Street, Los Angeles, and operates branches in Hollywood and San Diego. In ordef:to meet present business conditions, vastly different from those existing when the Press was estabr lished, and to conform to efficient methods of administra tion, the Board of Directors of the. Institute has deemed it wise to dispose of the Biola Press at this time. I t i s firmly believed that the Lord, in answer to earnest prayer, is daily unfolding plans for extension and ex pansion of the Institute’s strong and far-reaching minis try and that this sale of the Press is a vital part of these great plans. the story of the Revelation, symbolized in the glory room of the tabernacle. So the Revelation records the reach ing of its goal in the words: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,;and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Rev. 21:3), D octrinal D evelopment Reflecting upon the above, a structural principle of the New Testament comes clearly to light; namely, that its progress is in terms of the three great Jewish feasts: (B) Passover; (C) Pentecost; (D) Tabernacles. These, as we have noted, the Old Testament people were required to act Out year by year, prophetic of their New Testa ment fulfillment in the Redeemer and the redeemed. Structure in Scripture {Continued from page 156)
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