however, to ask for the hand of your daughter in marriage you would want to know these things. Mark gives no genealogy because he is pre senting Christ as a Servant. John is writing to prove that Jesus of Naza reth always was and ever shall be the eternal Son of God. This purpose is stated in John 20:30, 31. And who would presume to say that, as the eternal Son of God, our Lord had a beginning? As the eternal Word of God (John 1:1-14) He is the Crea tor of all things. He had neither beginning nor ending. Thus it is that the opening verses of the Gospel of John link Him with eternity and the eternal God. This is a beautiful illustration of how the Holy Spirit, who inspired all the .“ holy men of old” to write these sacred things, manifested His purpose by the parts omitted as well as by the facts included in the record. Blessed Among Women What do you think of the exalted position given Mary by the Roman Church recently? Well, I think if God had intended Mary to occupy the place which she has recently been given by the Ro manists, He would have said more about her in His Word. Acts 1:14 is the last reference to Mary in the Bible. The record of the virgin birth of Christ as chronicled in the Old Testament prophecies and in the Gos pels (indeed permeating all the New Testament) is exceedingly important. We acknowledge that the mother of our Lord, according to the flesh was “ blessed among women.” But it is significant that after the story of Jesus’ nativity and boyhood there are few references to Mary in all the New Testament, and in none of these is there the least inference that she is given a position more exalted than any other believer. Men or Angels? Who were , the sons of God as out lined in Genesis 6:2-4? I understand that these “ sons of God” were from the godly line of Seth; whereas the “ daughters of men” were from the godless line of Cain. Satan is ever endeavoring to break down barriers that God has set up. God has, in all ages, called His people to walk the pathway of sepa ration. But from the very beginning
The Will of God What does a Christian lose by not being obedient to what might be called the w ill of God? This question is partially answered in the June issue of T he K ing ’ s B usi ness . The disobedient child of God does not lose his sonship, but he does lose his fellowship with God; the joy is gone out of his heart and will not return until he confesses his dis obedience to God. Consider, if you will, the unhappy state of the dis obedient, but natural, child to his parents. His relationship is not dis turbed, but his fellowship is at a low ebb as long as he rebels. A Personal Devil Do you believe in a personal devil? Most assuredly I believe in a per sonal devil; he is not a dragon with a red body, horns and a forked tail as some billboards picture him. He is the instigator of such caricatures. It is his purpose to lead men to believe that he is a myth and a joke. But let me assure you that he is no joke. He is called in Isaiah 14:12, “ Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” Very evidently Satan was a powerful angel. There is no definite statement in the Bible to prove that, in his fallen state, he was given dominion over the earth in its original beauty, yet there are inferences and intimations which seem to point to this fact. Our Lord Jesus called him “ the prince of this world” (John 14:30; 16:11). Paul wrote of him as “the God of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Read Genesis 3:1-19. This is the story of the Fall. Omission in Mark and John W hy do the Gospels of Mark and John give no human ancestry of Christ, and no record of His nativity? I would say that primarily Mark is presenting the Lord Jesus as the faithful Servant of Jehovah; his key verse is Mark 10:45: “ For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Who asks for the genealogy, or for the story of the birth, of a servant? If a man came to mow your lawn you would set him to work: you would not ask him for his ancestry. If he came,
Satan’s aim has been to destroy this characteristic mark of God’s people, thus bringing about an unholy union between the saved and the unsaved. How often this occurs in the mar riage relationships of tile present hour, and what tragedy has followed in its wake! God ever warns His people to be “ separate” from the god less world. Read Second Corinthians 6:14-18, and James 1:27, as well as repeated warnings to His people, Is rael, not to intermarry with the heathen nations about them, not to worship their idols, but to remain a separate people. There are those who teach that these “ sons of God” were the fallen angels, but all Scripture contradicts such an interpretation. The angels „are never spoken of as having sex; on the contrary our Lord definitely denied that they do in His statement found in Matthew 22:30. Temple and Synagogue What was the difference between the Jewish temple and the synagogue? These buildings differed in that the temple was the only place where sac rifices could be offered, while the synagogue was a place for reading and prayer. Special Revelation How do you explain Paul’s experi ence as described in Secohd Corin thians 12:9? This seems to have been a special revelation, does it not? When Paul was “ caught up to the third heaven . . . into paradise,” that experience was doubtless a part of God’s special revelation to him. To Paul was given the special revelation concerning the church, which had hitherto not been revealed. Some Bible students think this episode to which you refer may have occurred when Paul was stoned at Lystra, and left, for dead. Whether at that time, or on some other occasion, Paul was certainly given a glimpse of heaven that he might be prepared for his great ministry. However, such experiences are not given to God’s people today. We must remember that at the time of Paul’s experience the Bible was in the pro cess of formation, and God’s revela tion was not then complete. But we have the full revelation of God as found in His Word, and are called to “ walk by faith, not by sight.”
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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