1Herein is m y Father glorified,'that ye hear much fruit** (John 1 5 :8 )»
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* OU CAN MAKE THE WOULD A BETTER PLACE TO L IVE IN Yes, you can help make this world safe for your children and for their children too. For when you help spread the Word of God to men in service, prisoners in detention and work camps overseas, civilians in liberated areas and to people in need everywhere, you help combat the pagan forces which have been destroying our world—and you speed the day mankind will live in peace and security. The need is urgent if our civilization is to survive and progress. That is why the American Bible Society must expand its World Emergency Fund. Your dollars are needed as never before! Send your contribution today! Or better still, why not secure an Ameri can Bible Society Annuity Agreement, which helps in this vital work and at the same time provides a generous lifetime income for yourself or for a loved one. Investigate this Christian Plan which enables you to both give and re ceive and which also entitles you to certain tax exemptions. Write now for tin- interesting booklet. “ A Gift That Lives!’
Daniel Rose« Director T ru ste e , B ible In stitu te of Lo s Angeles. E ld e r, C hu rch of the Open Door
: The Bible Institute of Los Angeles maintains a .1 e w i s h Department whose m inistry deals with the preach ing o f the Gospel to God’s ancient people. Israel. From this office go out thousands of pieces of literature especially prepared to interest the Jews. Also many of the students are engaged in visitation work, calling upon the Jewish people and inviting them to the meetings. Team s of stu dents hold regular street meetings in places where an audience can he se cured. Various prayer meetings are held and every Sunday at I p.m. in the lower auditorium of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles a mass m eet ing is held with fine speakers. You are invited to pray for the work of the Jewish Department, and to support this m inistry by your prayers and gifts.
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Address all communications to DANIEL ROSE, Director Jewish Department Bible Institute of Los Angeles 558 S. Hope Street Los Angeles 13, California
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February, 1946
Ôuà R eadetà B fiea k
Encouraging Words ■''The King's Business has entered into five homes since I took over this pastorate several months ago. All of these new sub scribers are teachers in our growing Sun day school.** Albert C. W all Port O rchard, W n. Blackboard Illustrations “ I like your magazine a lot. I use the Object Lessons in my class. I hope those timely illustrations [Blackboard Illustra tions] will reappear with the dropping of paper restrictions." R. M. Andrew s K resgeville, Pa. Firestone Mill Corp. Subscribes “ It is a pleasure to recommend your ex cellent magazine. The Firestone Mill Cor poration of our city is giving fifteen sub scriptions to my Community Bible Class, at their Community Club House." M rs. R . H . M cD ill Gastonia, N. C. From the Navy “ I would like to tell you how much I enjoyed your magazine last year. It helped me to prepare the lessons foj* my Bible Class, and it gave me a chance to witness for my Lord. Our magazines on the ship get torn up in a few days. Then the fellows want something to read. This is where I slip in the King's Business. They enjoy it, and ask for my next copy when . it comes." W illiam J. Anton, F 1/c F .P .O ., San Francisco, Calif. A Sample Copy's Ministry “ Some years ago I received a sample copy of the King's Business, the August, 1937 issue. I have treasured it all this time, and just now am subscribing for the magazine." M rs. J. B. Gillespie A rp, Tex. .. Month-by-Month Bible Reading “ I think that your monthly Bible reading plan is a good one. I want to follow the plan m onth-by-month." S. F. Aicholz Chico, Calif. Bible Outlines Wanted “ Am glad to see the King's Business again. I agree with our brother from North English, la.; I, too, would like to see some original Bible Outlines in the magazine. They are very helpful and stimulating." John M. Jordan Alyona* la. Good Advertising “ I would like to comment on the excel lent quality of the devotional material pub lished in your magazine. Because I have received so many blessings- from the King's Business articles, I keep a few back issues with the current number in my living room all the time for a silent testimony. So I was delighted when I returned home one eve ning last week, to find a friend reading the December issue; she said she would like a subscription." M rs. H. Hudson Los Angeles, Calif. Timely Items for "Teeners" “ I wish to express my appreciation for the many helpful suggestions for young people published in the King's Business. There is such a dearth of material for work with the ‘teen-age’ groups that we are grateful for each timely item. W e keep a file of them for future reference." M rs. Eugene Poole Santa Monica, C alif,
Christ at Dawn “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place and there prayed." Mark 1:35 SaUmoHÌ A/ewedt Oil Painting! The great spiritual awakening which is every where apparent has inspired the famous Christian artist Warner Sallman to produce a new portrayal of the Christ. (It is now presented for the first time.)
The title “Christ at Dawn” is significant. Jesus the divine Son of God conies to the Father for strength and guidance. Here alone, in the quiet of the early morning hours, Jesus sets the example of prayer. Followers of Jesus, burdened with the cares of a troubled world, may do as He did—renew their strength at the fountain of prayer. This new oil painting portrays the Master in a beautiful landscape. The grandeur of a mountainside, a peaceful village in the valley, the golden glow of a morning sunrise, form a beautiful setting for the Christ whose only altar was God’s great nature. In this new painting you will recognize the same expressive features so universally admired in the original “Head of Christ.’* Beautifully Lithographed Prints in Six Colors KB 4—2%x3y^r, dozen _______50c KB 15—4x5, each_______ „ 10c KB 25—5x7, each ____________ 20c KB 55—8x10, each K R IftS— 11 v l i , M ch 50c $1.00 KB’ 155—16x20, each $1.50
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OUTSTANDING REFERENCE BOOKS MACARTNEY’S ILLUSTRATIONS CUrence E. Macartney Macartney’s best stories, poems, In cidents - and parables are here carefully selected and arranged under subject C f\ titles. BORN CRUCIFIED The Cross in the Life of the Believer L. E. Maxwell How to have victory over sin, and power in service, A . vital mes sage for all sincere Christians. 1.75 THEREFORE STAND Wilbur M. Smith One of the most important religious books in years, vigorously written, well docu mented and most timely. An entirely new work on Christian apologetics. 3 .00 YOUNG’S ANALYTICAL CONCORDANCE TO THE BIBLE The lifetime work of Robert Young, L.L.D. An all-satisfying concordance to the Blr ble, weighing words of Scripture in He brew and Greek original. 7 .50 Wuest’s Series on the Hew Testament The richness of the Greek In terpreted for the English reader. I. Golden Nuggets from the Greek New Testament....1.25 2* Bypaths in the G r e e k New Testament................. 1.25 3. Treasures in the Gre.ek New Testam ent.............. 1.25 4« Untranslatable Riches from the Greek New Testament _________ .k..... 1.25 5. Philippians in the Greek New Testament................... 1.25 6. First Peter in the Greek'* New Testament............. 1.25 7. Galatians in the Greek New Testament................... 1.50 8 « Studies in the Vocabu lary of the Greek New Testament for the English Reader ........ 1.50 Customers in California Add 2% % State Sales Tax BIOLfl BOOK ROOM (C. E. Andrew) 560 S. Hope St. Los Angeles 13
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S Published Monthly by and Representing The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Incorporated
Ransom Marvin John Bazart Illustrators Betty Brueehert, Managing Editor
Louis T. Talbot, D.D. Editor-in-Chief
William W. Orr, D.D. Associate Editor
Yot. 37
No. 2
CHRISTIAN LIFE NUMBER
FEBRUARY 1946
CONTENTS: C O V E R : Oranges and Snow-capped Mountains.
Photograph courtesy of All-Year Club of Southern California. A r e the Cities D oom ed ?—William F. McDermott ........................................... -5 2 Christ Is H is Ow n P roof, A. W . To^er ......................................................................53 John’s Abides, Robert W . Hambrook-.--.. .............................................................. 55 T h e Bible B ook o f the M onth, John A . Hubbard .....................................................57 Saints in Caesar’s H ousehold, Ernest Kemp ................... ...........................................59 Editorially Speaking ................,.......................... .— 60 Thrilling T ale o f a Tract, T om M . Olson...: ............. .................. ............................62 T h e Battle o f the Billboards, John A. Witmer .......................................................... 64 D evotional Readings ............. ..............,..............................................................................66 Bible in the N ew s.,..... HI ___ 1............................................ 67 Bible Institute on the A ir...... .......... ............................................... .................................68 Junior K ing’s Business, Martha S. Hooker ...................................;...........................69 Biola Family Circle..........................................................I.................. ................................ 71 D r. T albot’s Question B ox.........j...... ................... 76 Greek W o rd Treasures, Bernard Ramm ........................................................................ 77 Earth’s Treasure Heaps, Paul R. Bauman ...................................................................78 Y ou n g People’s T opics, Dr. Walter L. Wilson .............. .........................................80 It’s A n Idea, Carlton C. Buck ....... ....................................................... 81 Book Reviews, William W. Orr ...... ........... ................................ 54 Sunday S chool Lessons............. ............................."................ .................................... 85 O bject Lessons for March, Elmer L. Wilder ................... '.......................... ................ 94 SUB^ l" T i T . ^ ^ RMAT' ON- ‘ ,™ e King’s Business” Is published monthly; 011 e yr" 00’ two yrs.; 7o cents, six months; 20-cents, single copy. Clubs or three or more at special rates. Write for details. Canadian and foreign subscriptions .0 cents extra. It requires one month for a change of address to become effective. Please send both old and new addresses. REMITTANCES Payable in advance, should he made by bank draft, express, or ' office money order payable to “ The King’s Business,’’ Date of expiration will snow plainly on outside wrapper or cover of magazine. ADVERTISING For information, address the Advertising Manager, 558 South Hope Street, Dos Angeles 13, Calif., or our eastern representatives, Religious .Press Association, 51 No. 52nd St., Philadelphia 39, Pa. MANUSCRIPTS^ “ The King’s Business” cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts sent in for consideration. Entered as second-class matter November 7, 1938, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3. 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in the Act. of February 28, 1925. embodied in 1^^938^^ sec^on ^38. P. L. and R., authorized October 1, 1918, and November ADDRESS: The King’s Business, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 13, Calif.
February, 1946
U S u -mon à
K u r v e n A l l o w e d
ABCS LESSONS BEST
says Superintendent Charles Holcomb of the St* Paul’s Union Church«Sunday School, which averages an attendance of 350. All oyer America today other Sunday Schools are finding A lt BIBLE GRADED SERIES their first choice of Sunday School lesson material. Now, more than half a million boys and girls, men and women are being reached with the soul-saving gospel of Christ thru ABG S.* St. Paul's Union Church, like so many other churches, uses these lessons in all departments, including the Nursery, with outstanding success. This is the first in a series of messages about Sunday Schools which are using the A ll BIBLE GRADED SERIES thruout.
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William F. McDermott
Another Kind of Danger My purpose is not to sound the alarm about atomic hpmbs. Others can do that in a far more impressive man ner, and with a greater voice of authority, than I. But I do feel compelled to stress other dangers, far more im mediate, that threaten to level our cities. If American life continues the way it is going now, it is a foregone conclusion that in ages to come archae ologists, digging through the debris of centuries which will blanket our present skyscrapers, will come upon the ruins of vast cities. They will be amazed that such a civilization ever perished even as our scientists of today bore beneath the desert’s level and there find the remains of the ancient great cities. This ruin is already engulf ing us. We dread the effects of the atom bomb a dec ade or a generation hence, but are heedless of this other destruction being wrought all about us. Vice and crime, corruption and graft are literally emptying our cities both of population and of wealth. Wfe need to ask our selves, “What causes such a blight?” and “What can we do about it?” I live in Chicago. Thirty years ago, when I came to this city, a certain area was packed with people and lush with millions of profits. Real estate values were high, and the golden harvest was reaped with great rapidity. At night red lights glowed, harsh bells tinkled their invitations, and the streets of the district were thronged with men. But'what has happened? Today, that region resem bles the bomb-blasted center of a Berlin or Tokyo. For blocks, one sees only rubble and ruin. Here and there stands a dismal, dilapidated building, the only evidence of life in the community. Each structure looks as if it might have been saved only by a miracle from surround ing exploding missiles. Property has been abandoned, buildings razed, and taxes allowed to claim the desert. One is reminded of the withered fig tree. Surely the wrath of Heaven has been visited upon this section. That situation can be duplicated, although to a lesser degree, all over our city. Gangs of hoodlums terrorize districts; decent people move away. Taverns and night clubs, gambling dens and vice resorts, are sprinkled throughout the metropolitan district,. Within the shadow of the University of Chicago is a region where it is re ported that more young men and women are living to gether out of wedlock than any other place in the metrop olis. Other districts have their destructive characteristics; the sum total is a disgrace to the entire city. The Underlying Causes As I travel about the larger metropolitan areas, I find that, in communities where gambling and liquor-are not restricted, the property values decline and lawlessness increases. On the other hand, where there is constant repression of evil, property values remain high and com munity integrity is maintained. Civic mindedness, de cency, arid honest government have their chance and suc ceed. iContinued on Page 5:4%
—Photograph by George R. King R ECENTLY a famous University of Chicago profes sor startled the world with the statement that the atom bomb threatened to make extinct all great American cities. “We may as well give Manhattan Island back to the Indians,” he said, “and divide Chicago into 100 towns of 40,000 people each and scatter them over the landscape. I f we don’t do this now, our enemies will not only scatter, but will completely destroy, every metropolis we have, in the next war. “Our cities are doomed. Fortunately, we realize the danger, and still have the opportunity to decentralize our population before it is too late. Otherwise, we will find New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, and 100 others of our greatest centers, in ruins by a single night’s raid. Death might easily come to 25,000,000 to 40,000,000 people.” To this dark prediction by an eminent sociologist all thinking men and women will give heed. Certainly it is .true that, if we do not reach a good will agreement with other nations of the world and thus banish war, ruin unequaled in history will spread over the face of the earth. Needless to say, whatever others do to our na tion* we will reciprocate in kind.
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February, 1946
C HRIST is His own proof. We have but to preach Him. It is becoming increasingly common to hear good and earnest men appeal to the conclusions of almost every branch of human learning in support of the truth of the Christian position. In their eagerness to “justify the ways- of God to men’* they thus seek help where no help is found: Quoting worldly men in defense of the faith cif Christ is a questionable practice. The call- ing in of such men to witness for the credibility of his toric Christianity is an expedient to which true faith never need resort. * In this zealous casting about for help from without, it often happens that Christ .is of necessity identified with some philosophy, some intellectual fad or political ideology Which happens to be currently acceptable to the public. He is thus made to ride in on the reputation of a popular creed, His well-wishers apparently over looking the fact that He will be forced to ride out again when the public’s enthusiasm for that creed begins to »wane. The thoughtful Christian cannot but view this situa tion with considerable apprehension. This whole business of appealing away from Christ to find support for Christ creates a suspicion that there may be in the hearts of these apologists something less than real faith. To make Christ dependent upon external testimony is at bottom to be false to Him. Every attempt to justify Him, to make Him acceptable by showing that He is on the side of this or that philosophy, is in fact to weaken His au thority and to make Him less than He actually is. Proponents of one scheme or another are forever trying to enlist Him in their fight by pleading that He was really one of them, born out of due time. But Christ stands alone, supreme, outside of and above all philoso phies and political opinions. He is not on anybody’s “side” except that of the meek, the lowly and the poor in spirit, -and He is on their side only because they have come over onto His. Christianity is a power apart. It lays hold of men and lifts them out of the world and into a relationship with God wholly above and independent of the world of fallen men. Christianity is Christ manifest in flesh, crucified, risen, glorified and now manifest again in the hearts of believing men. His power operates as effectively in a heathen heart as it does in the heart of a civilized man; it works as well under a Nero as under a Lincoln. This
is to state a fact concerning Christ, not to detract from the glory that was Lincoln’s nor to justify the wickedness of the man Nero. Christ is the bestower of a righteousness unique and Heavenly, hearing no relation whatever to any code known upon this earth. Where His pronouncement seems to coincide with the doctrines, of any religious teacher, as for instance, those of Buddha or Zoroaster, the simi larity is accidental. His message is like Himself, unique, and is not to be modified by or interpreted in the light of any Either religion, ancient or modern. He is that Prophet whom God sent. He is the Word made flesh. He is the will of God expressed in terms of a living person ality. His religion is apart from, beyond and outside of all religions and philosophies, and owes nothing to any ' of them. The anointed heart will understand what the heavy theological thinkers seem unable to see, that every ex cursion we make into the ways of human wisdom to gain support for the cause Of Christ weakens our position just that much. When we identify Christ with any human scheme, however noble it may be, we confess that He is not unique, and at the same time we prejudice against Him all who do not accept the particular scheme with which we associate Him. - It is notable that Christ did not espouse any of the schools *of theological thought current in His day, nor did He attack the social customs of His times. The oft repeated statement that Jesus was a “revolutionist” is completely false. He made no attempt to change the political world of Caesar or to improve the position of Israel under the rule of Rome. He was zealous to call men out of the world and to bring them into organic union with the new creation of which He is the head. There can scarcely be a re-birth of New Testament power until there has been a return to the unique Christ. He must be proclaimed for what He is in Himself, not as a fellow traveler with one or another social or political clique, but as the sufficient One, the Lord and Head of a, new race. We have sought to make Him an Ameri can, a socialist, a Protestant, a prohibitionist, and we have by s6 doing made Him other than He is. Such a partisan Christ cannot be trie Christ of the New Testa ment. All this may sound strange to many good people, but
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it will be so only because they have accepted uncritically the scientifico-politieo-religio hodgepodge of the day as the true religion of the New Testament. Remember, the Spirit witnesses to Christ, not to labored arguments about Him.-As far as my acquaintance with Church history goes,’ I know of not one instance where any great out-rush of spiritual power attended any other message than the message of the Cross. Revivals and missionary advances) have followed the simple, un abashed proclamation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And the message had to be preached, hot in the language of the schools or laboratories, but in the very words of the Bible itself. All of this adds up to one thing: We must return in our hearts to the miraculous Christ. We must make Him responsible for the outcome of our testimony. He sends us to witness for Him, not to defend Him. He needs no support from us. Into His hands has been committed alT power in Heaven and in earth. We must have faith to take for granted His presence and His power, and we must proceed without fear of our opponents and without an}' attempt to appease them. Let us no longer encumber our Lord with our help. He is His own proof. Some may continue to demand signs, and others seek after wisdom, but to those who are called, Christ is still the. wisdom of God and the power of God. ARE THE C IT IES DOOMED? (Continued, from Page 52) The point I wish to make is that,' where cities coun tenance “wide-open” conditions—legalized gamhjjng, vice, and liquor—they are cutting their own throats. They have not only sown the seeds of death in their midst, but are cultivating the ground and are harvesting bumper crops. In cities wher.e good is enthroned and decency and moral- - ity are upheld, the citizens reap the proper reward of peace and prosperity. What, then, can we do about such conditions? An upsurge of civic indignation may reap a temporary bene fit in the form of an onslaught on syndicated evil. In such instances, the “ boys” are told to “lie low” until the storm “blows over,” These sporadic outbursts of virtue on the part of politicians are usually transitory.A Often they are only a blind .to cover up the rottenness at the heart of affairs. We cannot put too much trust in them. The Remedy There is but one hope for our cities, and that is a vast revival ' that will result in multitudes being, con verted to Christ and baptized with the Holy Spirit. Jesus, . weeding over wicked Jerusalem, cried out that, because of their, rejection of Him, not one stone should be left standing upon another. That prophecy was fulfilled. So, today, He is grieving over sinning cities, and warning them that they, too, will return to dust if from them righteousness departs and wickedness. takes possession. We can truthfully say that as go the cities, so goes America. A century ago, even two generations ago, rural life predominated in our .beloved land.- More people lived on farms and in villages ¿than in the cities. Agri culture was supreme; industry was secondary. But today industry, which produces cities, is fast making our popu lation urban. % Such a revolutionary change has focused our atten tion upon the vital fact that the cities now rule the land. If evil destroys them, its poisonous effects will spread to thè hinterland. We need only to observe how, not
only the customs, but the depravity of thé cities as well, have spread to the country, to realize that such an out come is inevitable. Our great missionary task, then, is to blast our churches out of 'their supineness, arouse phlegmatic Christians from their apathy, and stir the hosts of Christ into determined battle against the ruth less enemies of the souls of men. Only a great revival can produce such results. The opportunity which is ours now will not always be at hand. The fear that has swept the world has aroused a sense of guilt,, and people are responsive to the Gospel message given with authority. The Church possesses both the message, and the authority if she will but exer cise it, but first there must be a conviction of rightness and of duty. The powerlessness of the Christian Church today, is largely due to lack of conviction; people are religious because it is the respectable thing. They are loyal to an institution instead of being devoted to Christ. They work as members of an organization rather than as laborers in the Lord’s vineyard. By- some miraculous means beyond our power to comprehend, our cities must be brought to Christ. We must realize the problem, face the task, and pray for strength and guidance in attacking it. As we work in faith and with zeal, we will find God’s appointed way for the salvation of our cities. It is absolutely imperative that we find it. We must win souls to Christ and thereby cleanse society through the purgative effects of conse crated lives. A Personal Salvation Once a tailor showed me two pieces of cloth. They were of identical color, had the same smart appear ance, and the “feel” of each was smooth and pleasing. I could detect no difference. ; “I can make you two suits out of these pieces of goods, and at first you won’t be able to tell the,m apart,” the tailor told me. “They- will have the same fine work manship, be smartly pressed, and will make you look like a fashion plate.” “Well, then, what is the difference?” I asked him. “They look alike to me.” “The difference will show up through wear inside of a month, and by a rain inside of a day,” the tailor went on to say. “You see, while the two look exactly alike, one is of fresh genuine wool, while the other is of shoddy cloth and will soon reveal its spuriousness. Woven alike, tailored alike, pressed alike, they look alike, yet the fact is, one is good, and the other is bad. “The difference is iq the individual threads. The virgin wool, woven into good threads, makes a very good suit. Shoddy material, woven into rotten threads, makes a cheap suit that won’t wear.” Apply that to society. We look for mass salvation, while personal sins are disregarded. We expect society to be redeemed, while the individual goes on his own self ish way of indulgence and wickedness. The law of God works in society as it does in nature. You cannot secure good, fresh fruit from a poor tree; where there is moral laxity, no virtuous citizenship is produced. Jesus wept over the city, but He was not concerned with the pavements and buildings. He was broken-hearted because of the degradation of the people within it. His objective was to redeem them one by one, and thereby to redeem the city. If we apply ourselves to our task today as He outlined it in the long ago, we can bring moral as well as spiritual redemption to cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, and we can save them from destruction worse than that of atom bombs. Let us pray for our cities, and work for their redemption, be cause soon “the night cometh, when no man can work.”
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February, 1946
Kobert W.
A T ONE PERIOD in the life of Dwight L. Moody, he / \ took up the study pf the word “love” in the Scrip- ■ J L J l tures. The subject gripped him. For weeks, he read passage after passage in which the word occurred, and he became so full of the subject that ever after it filled all of his ministry with a mighty love for God and man. He said, “At last I could not help loving people. I had been feeding on love so long that I was anxious to do good to everybody with whom I came into contact. I got full of it. It ran out of my fingers. A few years ago, in a period of unusual danger., and physical distress, the verse, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7), proved of greatest significance to me. I pleaded this promise when I faced almost certain death in an airplane accident and during the period following the crash before I was rescued, and it was most effective. After this experience, I resolved to devote myself to a study of the word “ abide,” for I was convinced that it held meanings of which I knew little. Of course, I had listened to many sermons on the subject, but they failed to satisfy me. For weeks, I searched my “English man’s Greek Concordance,” and I shall always be grate ful for the wealth of material which I secured. However, I am aware of the limitations of my understanding of the full meaning of “ abide” as it applies to the Chris tian’s relationship to God the Father and to God the Son. The Greek word for abide is meno. It occurs 119 times in the New Testament, but is translated “abide” only in sixty-one places in the English text out of the total number of references in which it appears. It is rendered “ remain” sixteen times, “ dwell” fifteen times, “continue” eleven times, “tarry” ten times, “endure” three times and “present” and “stand” one time each. It is significant that,-while this word is found only three times in Matthew, twice in Mark, and seven times in Luke,'it is used forty-one times in the Gospel of John. We discover it fourteen times in Acts, once in Romans, eleven times in First and Second Corinthians, once in Philippians, four times in First and Second Timothy, six times in Hebrews, twice in First Peter, once in Revela tion, not at all in Galatians, ’Ephesians, Colossians, First or Second Thessalonians, Titus, Philemon, James, Second Peter or Jude, but in the Epistles of John twenty-six times! We therefore conclude that “ abide” is definitely an expression- of John’s, being employed by him sixty-seven times out of a total of the 119 times it is used in the New Testament. In one chapter, the fifteenth, John men tions this word twelve times. "Abide” occurs three times
in verse 4, once in 5, once in 6, twice in 7, once in 9, twice in 10, once in 11, and once in 16. The advantage in consulting the Greek text can be readily seen in verse 11. The Authorized Version trans lates this same word “might remain,” while the English Revised Version uses “may be” to give the rheàning of the expression. Again in the sixteenth vèrse, the Author ized Version uses the word “remain,” while the English Revised translates the word “abide.” In the Gospel of John, the word twelve times signifies abiding, remaining, dwelling, tarrying, or staying in a location, but in the Epistles of John, this is not at all the sense attached to it. Out of the sixty-seven instances in which John makes use of “ abide,” fifty-five references are to other than physical status. Why should John in his old age have used this word so frequently when writing about his Lord and the work of God? John was the youngest of the disciples of Jesus and outlived all the others. In his early days, he had enjoyed the comfortable home of his father, who was a master fisherman with his own hired servants. He appears at one time to have had a home of his own in Jerusalem; nevertheless, his was not an easy life. Later in life, John lost his home; Mary, whom Jesus qn the cross had assigned to his care, died; and the apostle himself was looking to his eternal home for an abiding place. , Fully conscious of the transitory nature of the things of this earth, John saw that permanency lay only in eternal plans of God for His own. The word “ abide” naturally fitted the future home of the children of God.
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He wrote of the ages, conscious that salvation through Ohrist had been planned from the beginning. “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning] with God.” As he looked back over his long life, during, which he had known the Saviour intimately, John em phasized the importance of eternity in contrast with time, the difference between sojourning here and abiding thgre eternally with Christ. The particular meaning of “ abide” to John is sug gested in John 15:7, the passage which I mentioned as having meant so much to me 'in a time of need. What,. according to John, does it mean to “abide in Him” and what does it mean for His words to abide in us? This: must be determined by referring to other Scriptures in which the word “abide” appears. Unfortunately, the English translations do not always make the original meaning clear. It is' true in the cqse of “abide” as used in this Scripture. In John 6:56 (A.V.) It is stated,. “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me and I in hjm.” This indicates that the word “dwelleth” is meno, translated elsewhere “ abide.” The English Revised Version corrects this and substitutes “ abideth” for “dwelleth.” Then, according to this verse, he who has partaken of the Lord Jesus, the Living Bread sent down from Heaven, “abides” in Him. A reading of earlier verses in John, chapter 6, clears up this mystery. Verse 27 in the English Revised Version is translated, “Work not for the meat which perisheth, but for the meat which abideth unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give unto you.” In verse 35, Jesus answers the questions of the multitude by explaining,! “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me j shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never' thirst.” Verses 50 and 51 further clarify the meaning: “This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I ami the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” The full meaning of verse 56 can be understood only by reading the entire chapter. Is it not clear, then, that he who can say with Paul, “ Christ liveth in me” (Gal. 2:20), abides in Christ? What significance there is to the Lord’s Supper when we partake of it in the light of the things Jesus said on the subject of eating His flesh and drinking His blood! He said, “This do In remembrance o f me!” “ If ye abide in me,” or in other words, “If ye are born again and Christ liveth in you,” you fulfill the first half of the promise of John 15:7. What about the second half? This is more difficult to explain. Once I heard of one who said that she was not going to read her Bible any more but was going to devote all of her time to prayer. She did not know her Bible, or she would not have made such a statement. The' Scrip tures are the basis of all true prayer. Mighty men of prayer are ever great students of the Word of God. The greatest prayers are those couched in the language of the Bible. The word meno, so often translated "abide,” has three separate meanings: place, to continue, to remain; time, to continue to be, to endure, to last; condition, to remain as one is, not to change. If the last two of these are applied to the expression, “If my words abide in you,” it will be seen that the Word of God must become’ an abiding part of our thinking if we are to be able to pray according to the promise of John 15:7. The author of the First Psalm was a man of prayer. He asserted in reference to the man of God, “His delight is ia the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he med*
itate day and night.” Who but A praying man could say, “I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil” ? Prayer and Bible study go together. Sometimes they are so united that it. is difficult to differentiate between them. One cannot read his Bible properly without being led into a prayer life. The Word becomes a veritable part of the thinking of the man of prayer. He prays as he reads. In John 5:38 we have the statement: “And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.”' This sheds light upon the meaning of the Word’s abiding in the heart of a Christian. How can I pray unless I know Christ and believe and am acquainted with His Word? How often one discovers the sentences of his prayers being woven together with phrases and sentences from the Scriptures! One breathes the Word in his praying if the Word abides in him. *How different all my prayers become when I am conscious that my “life is hid with Christ in God,” and that “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the God head bodily” ! How altered is my purpose in prayer when I ask.in faith “that in all things he might have the preeminence” ! Recently I was reading in the Epistle to the Colos sians and there came across a verse I had never noticed before: “Always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Col. 4:12). How many of us labor fervently in our prayers for others, pleading with God that they may stand faithfully in all the will of God? Since then, I have prayed more earnestly and definitely. What about the final statement of John 15:7: “Ye Shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you**? The born-again believer, now a new creature in Christ, for “old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new,” finds prayer a very real expe rience. Before he was saved, the only prayer his lips could utter was, “God be merciful to me a sinner” ! Now prayer is a joy as well as a duty. Study of the Word of God reveals the limitations of the subjects of prayer as well as its wide range. What believer has not been thrilled as he has sensed the meaning of the-truth of the promise: “Delight thy self also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psa. 37:4). When the Christian delights in the Lord, the greatest desire of his heart is to expe rience an ever-increasing fellowship with God. It natur ally follows that God is pleased to answer his prayers. In Proverbs 3:5, 6, too, is a heart-warming assurance: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowl edge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” What a changed attitude toward prayer this has produced in many a life! The prayer given by the Lord to His disciples as the model petition, often referred to as the Lord’s Prayer, when rightly interpreted, can make a great deal of difference to the believer in his prayer life. In Matthew’s account, Jesus is quoted as saying, “After this manner therefore pray ye.” After what manner? Why, God comes first and then our needs! In an extremity, really spiritual believers frequently forget to ask God for help. They begin to praise Him for all His marvelous doings and for the wonders of His love. Then they intercede for His work, the completion and perfecting of the Church, the Body of Christ. Last of. all, they seek the supply of their own needs. Would you have' power in prayer, and be really successful in your Christian life? Then begin today your development into a Bible-believing, abiding-in-Him Christian!
S7
February; 1946
MONTH
THE
John A. Hubbard,,D. D.
The Book o f Exodus
overflow was necessary for the very existence of the people. Frogs were always a great menace to the Egyptians, who depended upon their goddess Heki to drive them away. Under the plagues, she is shown to be powerless, and Pharaoh is obliged to ask Moses to “Entreat Jehovah that he take away the frogs from me, and from my people” (8:8). The sun too was one of their deities so in the plague of darkness God showed His supernatural power by causing a thick darkness for the Egyptians, while the Israelites dwelt in light (10:21-23). There are tablets and inscriptions which show that the Pharaohs were objects of veneration and worship. In connection with the l a s t plague, Pharaoh was put in the same class with that of the l o w e s t prisoner (12:29). This was a severe blow to Egyptian idolatry. 5. Chapters 12, 13—Redemption. The redemption was of a twofold char acter: a. By blood, the Passover, Chapter 12 . The Passover was a type of Christ. “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7). Of the many ways in which Christ was typified,'we men tion only three: (1) . The lamb must be unblemished. In 1 Peter 1:18, 19, we read that our redemption is accomplished by Christ “as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (2) . The lamb must be slain. Its blood must be shed. We have “re demption through his blood” (Eph. 1:7; cf. Rom. 5:9; Heb. 9:22). it was absolutely essential that the Lord Jesus live a perfect life, but no one has ever been saved by His life. It was necessary that His blood be shed for our salvation.
body; during the second, he was learning to be nobody; and during the third, he was revealing what God could do with a man who had learned the first two things.' 3. Chapters 3-6—Moses called to de liver Israel. The trained man is now called to serve. The student should notice the various objections or ex cuses offered and the answers which Gad gave. For example, in verse 11 Moses is quoted as saying, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?” Moses here raises the objection of his inability, probably thinking of his failure forty years before (2:11-15). God answers: “Certainly I will be with thee.” It was not a question as to who Moses was, but whether he was really called of God, and would have the presence and power of God to carry out the commission. “It is not able men for whom God is looking, but willing men whom He can make able men.” 4. Chapters 7-12—The Ten Plagues. The student should read this passage carefully and make a list of these plagues. The main -object of the plagues was to teach Pharaoh who Jehovah was. In reply to Jehovah’s demand, “Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness,” Pharaoh answered, “Who is Jehovah, that I should hearken unto his voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and moreover I will not let Israel go” (5:1, 2, R. V.). Now, care fully read Exodus 7:5, 17; 8:10,22; 9:14. Through these plagues, Pharaoh came to realize that Jehovah was the supreme God, infinitely greater than all of the gods of the Egyptians. Note that the plagues were a severe blow to the Egyptian gods. For example, the river Nile was an o b j e c t of Egyptian worship, since its annual
T HIS article is one that is' not merely to be read, but it is designed to help in a real study of the book of Exodus. Benefit will (be derived only as the références are looked up and carefully studied. I. INTRODUCTION. The word, “Ex odus” means “going out” It is so called because it relates the Israelites’ departure from Egypt. It continues the development of God’s p u r p o s e for Israel. In Genesis, we have family history; in Exodus, national history. Herein is fulfilled the prediction of Genesis 15:13, 14. ÎL BROAD OUTLINE. A. Chapters 1-13—Israel in Egypt. B. Chapters 14-18—Israel’s Journey It will be well to read)the entire book with this broad outline in mind before taking up a detailed study as suggested by the following notes. A. CHAPTERS 1-18 — I s r a e l in Egypt. This section may be studied with the following suggestions: 1. Chapter 1—The Bondage, a. Verses 8-10—The reason for the bondage. b. Verses 12-21—Severity of meth ods pursued by Pharaoh. The student may work out the details of the^e points. 2. Chapter 2—Birth and Training of Moses. Verses 1-10—Training in Egypt. This occupied a period of forty years (Acts 7:20-23). b. Verses 11-22—T r a i n i n g in Midian. This, likewise, extended over forty years (Acts 7:29, 30). • Moses’ entire life may be divided into three periods of forty years each. The third period was occupied in leading the children of Israel. It has been said that during the first forty ¿-ears, Moses was learning to be some from the Red Sea to Sinai. C. Chapters 19-40—Israel at Sinai.
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(8). The blood must be applied (12:7). Intellectual assent to the prop osition concerning the shed blood was not sufficient. Blood in the basin did not save. God ¿aid, “The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye arel and when I see the blood upon the houses I will pass over you” (12:13). -Christ shed His blood for the sins of the world, but only as individuals appropriate this provision are they saved. The appro priation is "by faith” (Heb. 11:28; cf. Rom. 5:1; John 3:18). “The blood made them safe; the Word made them sure” (Dr. R. A. Torrey). b. By power, Chapter 13. The student should read through this chapter and note every reference to the Lord’s power in bringing Israel out of Egypt. It was not God’s plan for this blood-redeemed people to re main in bondage. Neither is it His plan for us who have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ to be in bondage to sin (Rom. 6:14; 8:2). B. CHAPTERS 14-18— Israel’s Jour ney from the Red Sea to Sinai. Concerning the experiences recorded here, the inspired Word tells us that they happened unto Israel “as types” (1 Cor. 10:11, Margin). Just as Israel, redeemed by blood and power, had many requirements on their journeys, so the redeemed Chris tian has many needs during his pil grimage. There was a need for guid ance, supplied by the cloud (13:20, 22; cf. John 8:12). The experience at the Red Sea speaks of deliverance, too. As then, so now, “ God is unto us a God of deliverance?” (Psa. 68:20, R. V. ). No matter how great the difficulty, or how seemingly hope less the solution, God is ever equal to the emergency. The joyful song of Exodus 15 could not have been sung but for the severe trial and deliverance of Israel. Chap ter 14. 1. Marah (15:22-25) shows how God sweetens the bitter cup of those who yield to Him and trust Him. 2. Elim (15:27) speaks to us of re freshing. Note that they “encamped there” not at Marah. “He tests us at Marah, and refreshes us at Elim.” 3. Manna (Chapter 16) is a wonder ful type of Christ, the Bread of Life (John 6). We must feed upon Him daily, the first thing in the morning (16:21). 4. Rephidim (Chapter 17). The Rock was a type of Christ (1 Cor. 10:4), while the Water speaks to us of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39). As to the supply, the Rock was the only source (Deut. 8:15). It was an u n l i k e l y source. One would scarcely expect “water out of a rook of flint," but the
d. The golden candlestick had a twofold typical significance: (1) A type of Christ as the Light of the world (John 8:12). Jesus said, ' “I am the light.” The candlestick was the only light in the holy place. (2) A type of the Church: that is, of true believers (Rev. 1:11, 12, 20; cf. Matt. 5:14-16). e. The golden incense altar. The burning of the incense was an act of worship, and speaks to us of com munion with God in worship and prayer (30:6, 36; Psa. 141:2; Rev. 5:8, R. V.). f. The ark of the covenant and its mercy seat. This may fie considered the focal point of the tabernacle. It represents the, throne of God which was founded upon righteousness, and yet was a throne of grace, a mercy seat. It could be both of these be cause of the blood sprinkled upon it (Psa. 89:147 R. V.; Heb. 4:16). Here propitiation was made (Rom. 3:25; 1 John 2:1, 2). .“Propitiation always means something that causes, or en ables, one to act mercifully or for givingly. God requires the propitiation by reason of His justice, and He pro vides it by reason of His mercy. He is at once the One who propitiates and the One who is propitiated. “What His justice demanded, His love provided” (W. H. Griffith Thomas). g. The' veil. It is stated that the way into the holy place had been manifest (Heb. 9:6-8). When Jesus was crucified, “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the b o t t o m ” (Matt. 27:51). Thus, through His sacrifice, the way to God “now stands open always and for all men” (Heb. 10:19-22).
supply was abundant and perpetual (Psa. 78: 15, 16, 20; 105:41). What the Rock was to Israel, Christ is now to the believing soul (John 4:13, 14). C. Chapters 19-40 —Israel at Sinai. The time spent at Sinai was of great importance to Israel. Three things of note occurred: 1. Israel was formed into a Nation. Before this time, the people were an unwieldy group, without organiza tion or apparent purpose. 2. The law was given. It was not, however, given as a way of salvation (Rom. 3:19, 20; Gal. 2:16). Its two fold purpose was to reveal sin (Rom. 3:20) and to lead men to Christ for justification (Gal. 3:24). 3. The tabernacle was built. Lack of space prevents an adequate treat ment of this important subject. Many fine books are available for such a thorough study which the student is urged to acquire. We make mention of the six articles of furniture and their typical significance: a. The brazen altar which speaks to us of the Cross of Christ, for it was here that the blood was shed and thus a way was provided by which sinners might approach God and wor ship Him (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Heb. 10:19). b. The laver speaks to us of regener ation (Tit. 3:5, R. V. Margin) and of sanctification (Eph. 5:26, R. V. Mar gin). ■c. The table of shewbread speaks to us of representation before the Lord. “Every sabbath day he shall set it in order before Jehovah continually; it is on the behalf of the children of Israel” (Lev. 24:8, R. V.). The loaves speak of Christ in whom the believer now has a perfect standing before God (Eph. 2:6, R. V.). Just as all the tribes of Israel had equal representa tion, so ^J1 believers have an equal standing In Christ.
NONE OTHER LAMB None other Lamb, none other Name, None other Hope in Heaven or earth or sea, None other Hiding-place from guilt and shame, None beside Thee . My faith burns low, my hope burns low Only my heart's desire cries out in me By the deep thunder o f its want and woe Cries out to Thee, Lord, Thou art Life tho’ I be dead, Love's Fire Thou art, however cold l be: Nor Heaven have l, nor place to lay my head, Nor home, but Thee. Christina Georgina Rossetti.
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