September 1928
531
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
Is Jesus Christ Man Now? R. H. B oll Editor of Word and Work
S ECENTLY a friend told me that he had listened to a labored radio-sermon setting forth a num ber. o f “ reasons” why Christ would not and could not return in body, as man. The first rea son given was that Christ had already come in body once; that he would not come thus the •second time. Another was that He had given His body (and all His humanity and human nature) as a ransom (a “ corresponding price” ) for all. And so forth. That radio-sermon was o f course a “ Russellitic” ser mon. Mr. Russell’s speculative reasonings are to the effect that Jesus, though pre-existent before He became man, was but a creature— chiefest o f God’s creatures, but only a creature; that when He became man, He was man purely and simply, and nothing more; that when He died He passed out o f existence for three days; and when He was raised His body ¡was not raised :— He was raised “ a spirit-being.” Therefore, o f course, that at His promised return He would come back as a spirit—yea, accord ing to Mr. Russell, has already done so, and has been here ever since 1874. Such enormous fuhdamental errors put Russell's entire doctrinal system outside our consideration. When a man is fundamentally wrong, nothing that he teaches can be safe: all is tainted and warped by the essential falsehood underlying the whole system. When the foundations are wrong we can place no value on any part o f the walls or roof. C hrist ’ s B ody W as R aised The Word of God is perfectly clear and conclusive as to the fact that the body of Christ rose from the tomb. “ Destroy this temple,” He said to the Jews, “and in. three days I will raise it up.” , . . “ But he spake o f the temple o f his body” (John 2:19-21). .This not only puts Jt beyond dispute that our Lord’s body was raised up, and also that He took part in His own resurrection: though God raised Him up, H e arose and it was He that raised up that temple o f his body on the third day. “H e is not here, for he is risen,” said the angel in the tomb (Matt. 28 :6 ). The rea son why He was not there in the tomb was that He had arisen. “ Come, see the place where the Lord lay,” the angel added. It is hardly needful to call attention to the demon stration the Lord gave His disciples of the actuality and the identity of His body : “ See my hands and my feet, that it is m yself; fo r a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye behold me having . And when he had said this he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbe lieved fo r joy — [disbelieved what?] he said unto' them, Have ye here anything to eat? And they gave him a piece o f a broiled fish and he took it and ate before them” (Lk. 24:39-43). T o say that Jesus’ body was not raised, that after His resurrection He was a^spirit, but that he assumed a body “ for purposes of identification” and thus made the dis ciples believe that He was not a spirit, is to charge the Lord with deliberate deception and fraud. That His body was endued with a life of a higher order than before, is plainly manifest; and that His body was endued with powers and qualities that transcend our conception—
power to come and go, to be seen and to disappear, to pass through solid doors and walls, we are also told. Never theless, the testimony of the Word is "conclusive that .His body was identical with the body in which He was crucified and which was laid in the tomb—henceforth incorruptible, glorified, immortalized, no longer subject to physical laws (except as He chose to act in accordance with them), but always the same body. “ Jesus came and stood in the midst o f them and said, Peace be unto you. And when he had said this he showed unto them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad when they saw the Lord” (John 20:19, 20). For doubting Thomas’ sake the Lord came once again a week later, and said to Thomas, “ Reach hither thy finger and mee my hands [for Thomas had said, ‘‘Except I shall see in his hands the print o f the nails, and put my finger in the print o f the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” \f and reách hither thy hand and put into my sidei and be not faithless, but believing” (John 20:25-28). Let those whose perverse doctrinal systems compel them, wrest this Scripture testimony tor save their theories: Christians have no such necessity.: And to us this testimony is> sure and conclusive that our Lord rose bodily from the tomb where He had been laidJ “ T h is J esus ” By the space o f forty days our Lord Jesus Christ remained on the earth, appeared to His disciples, “ ate and drank” With/them after he rose from ithe dead (Acts 10: 41) and “ showed himself alive by many infallible proofs." When at last on the Mount of Olives He was parted from them, He .went up visibly before their eyes, His hands out spread in blessing over them; »until a cloud received Him out of their sight. As they still looked into heaven, two men in White apparel said to them,“ Ye men o f Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven” (Acts 1 :11). “ This Jesus” was the One who was received up from them into heaven. Now “Jesus” was His distinctive human name. That was the name given to the unborn child (Matt. 1:21) and formally bestowed on Him at His cir cumcision (Luke 2 :21 ). By this name was He known among men in His humiliation; and this was the name affixed to the cross. Our confession (carefully worded so as to counter the budding Gnostic error which tried to distinguish between Jesus, the man, and “ Christ,” a holy spiritual principle or power, that for a time was identified with “ Jesus” ) — our confession is that Jesus is the Christ, and everyone who denied this (John declares) is a liar and anti-christ (1 John 2 :22 ; comp. 4:3 and 5: 1) . It is significant that the heavenly messengers used this name and no other to designate Him who had ascended and is to come again: “ Jesus”— “ this Jesus”— “ this Jesus.who was received up from you 'into heaven” — He, even He, and no other, “ shall so come in like manner as y e beheld Him going into heaven.” Some have gathered accordingly that this has reference to the manner of His coming—namely, that He would come back in a cloud. Yes, He will that; and that is not all, but the same Jesus that went away, with
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