"Though your sins be as scar let. they shall be as white as snow . . . Christ Jesus came into the world to s a v e sinners"— Isaiah 1:18, 1 Timothy 1:1S.
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A HAPPY CHRISTMAS
A Happy Christmas to You! For the Prince of Peace is come, And His reign is full of blessings, Their very crown and sum. No earthly calm can ever last, ’Tis but the lull before the blast; But His great peace Shall still increase In mighty, all-rejoicing sway; His kingdom in thy heart Shall never pass away. —FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL. Used by permission of E. P. Dutton & Co. OUR AUTHORS THIS MONTH rpHE authors oi our feature articles -L this month are remarkably gifted men, who not only serve faithfully in their regularly appointed fields of Christian service, but who are also en gaged in writing and conference work. Dr. V. Raymond Edman is president of Wheaton College; Rev. A. W. Tozer is vice-president of the Christian and Missionary Alliance and a pastor in Chicago; Dr. Robert G. Lee is pastor of the Bellevue Baptist Church of Mem phis; and Dr. Arthur I. Brown, former physician and surgeon, is a radio evangelist, specializing in Biblical evi dences with a scientific approach. FORTHCOMING FEATURES /'"VUR January issue will be a com- bination New Year and Missionary number. Certainly we cannot begin a year in a better way than by lifting up our eyes to look upon the whitened harvest fields of this world. Dr. Robert Hall Glover, missionary statesman and world citizen, has written a most brilliant and comprehensive article on the challenge of missions for our times which those interested in the missionary enterprise will not wish to miss. In addition, there will be special New Year messages, two full pages of pictures of mission fields, and many other attractive features. In February, Dr. Vance Havner be gins a new series of articles on the minor characters of the Bible, com mencing with Gamaliel. These mes sages are not only unique in their subject matter, and “different” in their style, but they contain as well a deeply spiritual appeal. We hope to retain many of our reg ular departments and to add others from time to time which will be help ful to Christian workers everywhere. Suggestions from our readers with re gard to the kind of helps desired will be welcome. We are seeking to give the very best to our readers and we covet the prayers of God’s children for the magazine.
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
Louis T. Talbot, D.D.
Ranj T ^ arvin William W. Orr, D.D.
Editor-in-Chief
Illustrators
Associate Editor
Betty Bruechert, Managing Editor
Copyright, 19i6, The King’s Business No part of this magazine may be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. Vol. 37 DECEMBER, 1946 No. 12 CONTENTS: COVER: Photograph by Ewing-Galloway, “White Christmas.” On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity, John Milton ................................. 2 Editorially Speaking ______________ _____________________ „_______ 3 The Christmas Spirit, V. Raymond Edman .............................................. 5 The First Christmas, Robert G. Lee ................................ .......................... 7 Man in God’s Mind, A. W . Toxer .............. .............. ............................... 9 Genesis and Evolution, Arthur 1. Brown ................................ ................. 10 The Bible Book of the Month, John A. Hubbard ................................... 12 Why Jesus Came, Louis T . Talbot ............................ .............................. 13 The Bible in the News........................... ..................................................... 14 Dr. Talbot’s Question Box.................. ......................................................... 15 Devotional Readings, lone Lawman... ................... .................................... 16 Junior King’s Business, Martha S. Hooker. ............................................... 19 The Bible Institute Hour.................. ........... ........... .................. ................ 21 The Holy Land, Pictorial Section.................. ...................................... 22-23 Biola Family Circle................................................................ ....................... 24 Book Reviews, William W . Orr. ............................................................... 26 Young People’s Topics, Walter L . Wilson ............ .................................... 27 I t ’s an Idea, Carlton C. Buck .................................................................... 28 Sunday School Lessons........................ .................... ................................... 31 Object Lessons for December, Elmer L . Wilder. .................................... 40 Christmas Bells, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ...................................... 43 The Christmas Cheer, T . C. Horton ......................................................... 44 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION —"The King's Business" Is published monthly; 52 . 00 , one yr.; $1.00, six months; 20 cents, single copy. Clubs of three or more at special rates. Write for details. Canadian and foreign subscriptions 25 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 be made by bank draft, express, or post office money order payable to "The King’s Business.” Date of expiration will show plainly on outside wrapper or cover of magazine. ADVERTISING— For Information, address the Advertising Manager, 658 South Hope Street, Los Angeles 13, California. '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 paragraph 4, section 538, P. L. and R., authorised October 1, 1918, and November 13. 1938. * ADDRESS: The King’s Business. 658 So. Hope St.. Los Angeles 13, Calif.
DECEMBER, 1946
Christmas Tree Lane, Altadena, Calif. Photo Courtesy Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. OnTheMorningof Christ’sNativity By John Milton, 1629
T HIS is the month, and this the happy morn, Wherein the Son of Heav’n’s eternal King, Of wedded maid and virgin mother born, Our great redemption from above did bring; For so the holy sages once did sing, That He our deadly forfeit should release, And with His Father work us a perpetual peace. T iAT glorious Form, that Light unsufferable, And that far-beaming blaze of Majesty, Wherewith He wont at Heav’n’s high council-table To sit the midst of Trinal Unity, He laid aside; and here with us to be, Forsook the courts of everlasting, day, And chose with us a darksome house of mortal clay.
S AY Heavenly Muse, shall not thy sacred vein Afford a present to the Infant God? Hast thou no verse, no hymn, or solemn strain, To welcome Him to this His new abode; Now while the Heav’n by the sun’s team untrod Hath took no print of the approaching light, And all the spangled host keep watch in squadrons bright? S EE how from far upon thfe eastern road The star-led wizards haste with odours sweet: O run, prevent them with thy humble ode, And lay it lowly at His blessed feet; Have thou the honour first, thy Lord to greet, And join thy voice unto the Angel Quire, From out His secret altar touch’d with hallow’d fire. TH E K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
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is necessary and, if w i s e l y admin istered, it will h a v e no ill effect. Rather, the c h i l d will benefit im measurably from it. It seems that there is no other way to teach the child, because in his heart there are the dangerous seeds of rebellion na tural to the child of Adam. God has ordained such physical correction as the one way to maintain discipline and obedience in the home. Parents should not wait too long; ofttimes gentle reproof at the age of one or two years will obviate the need for sterner measures later. The book of Proverbs is an excellent textbook on child rearing, with which all parents should be familiar. ★ ★ Read It T^HE OTHER day, a letter was received from a listener to the programs of the Bible Institute in which advice was asked as to the best procedure of interesting and winning a friend who professed utter disbelief in the Bible as the Word of God. Our reply to this inquirer was somewhat along this line: There are books written by godly men which encourage both interest and faith in the Bible. Through the influence of these books, certainly many have been turned from indiffer ence to genuine interest. Many of these volumes we can heartily rec ommend. But there is one sure way of implanting in the heart and mind an implicit trust in the Scriptures, and that is by repeated reading of the Bible itself. Nothing is more sure than that the Bible is its own best defense. Nothing can be better demonstrated than the fact that, if one will take time to read the Book, his doubts and problems will vanish. No weapon against atheism is more effective than the Sword of the Spirit. But, of course, the problem is to get the unbeliever to read the Word of God—not in a cursory, disinterested manner, but in a thoughtful spirit, weighing the meaning of each word. Here is where the Spirit of God en ters; it is His work to convict the world of sin, and His method is to convict through the Word. Our part, then, is to suggest the careful reading of the Scriptures, to furnish a good copy of them to the unsaved, and then to pray earnestly for the Holy Spirit to accomplish the miracle of conversion and regeneration. 3
evil will grow together until the time of the harvest. Never shall there be a converted world or a converted Amer ica. A phenomenon of present-day civilization is that evil grows apace simultaneously with genuine Chris tianity. If one were to operate on the basis a d v a n c e d by this religious leader, no missionaries would leave our shores to carry the Gospel story to those beyond the sea. Then, too, we must remember the last words of the Lord Jesus before His ascension, as found in Acts 1:8, where He outlines correct missionary procedure. His children are to be “wit nesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The key to the understanding of this commission is found in the word “both.” Not only should Chris tian work be carried on here at home, but it must be advanced to neighbor ing areas and then to the ends of the earth. We should not give up soul winning if people in this great land of America fail to receive Christ as Saviour and acknowledge Him as Lord, nor should we wait until our particular city is Christianized before pressing on to other fields. It would seem that God’s plan is that everyone the world around should have the op portunity to hear the blessed Gospel and to receive the Saviour. Therefore, let us not be persuaded from our God-given task of sending our youth and our funds to the regions beyond, held so long in the deadly grip of superstition and unbelief. ★ ★ “He Shall Not Die” A BIT of subtle humor is found in a verse in the wise and ancient book of Proverbs. This book contains many practical suggestions. One s u b j e c t rather adequately dealt with is that of rearing children. P a r e n t s are ad monished not to withhold the rod. Lest they should be frightened by the loud screams which the rod some times produces, the Lord adds: “he shall not die” (Prov. 23:13). This does not condone cruel treatment of chil dren by unnatural parents. But there are many fathers and mothers who spare the rod because they feel that their children will be physically or mentally marred by punishment. Out of their so-called love, they are too lenient with their offspring. The Lord admonishes these parents that the rod
Two Stars AMONG the interesting details sur- rounding the birth of Christ is the exquisite story of the star of Bethle hem, which gently led the Wise Men to the feet of the Infant King. The spiritual significance of this star is un mistakable. It indicates the fact that Heaven’s light was cast upon a dark world, through the emergence into the stream of the wo r l d ' s history of Heaven’s Prince. Poets have told the story repeatedly, yet it never seems to grow old; the star shining brightly over the humble dwelling will ever be to our hearts a symbol of the great est joy that ever came to earth. But there is another star to which the Scriptures refer, and this is the Bright and Morning Star. We know full well that never again will Christ be bom as a babe to live on earth, and to die upon a cross of shame. That much of His story is past his tory. But there is a time most surely coming when the new Star will ap pear, when Christ shall return to rule and reign over that which is right fully His. The Bible speaks figurative ly of this event as the appearance of the Morning Star. The morning star appears in the sky after the darkness of the night Is gone. So we move toward the future, wishing, hoping, expecting the returp of God’s own dear Son. As we come once more to the tender and heartfelt observance of His birth, Bethlehem’s star again points to the star of the future, which is the return of earth’s rightful King. May God hasten the day when earth’s darkness shall be turned into light at the coming of the King of kings! ★ ★ Make America Christian First? A RECENT article in the daily press quoted a well-known denomina tional church leader as advocating a certain procedure for the Christian Church. What is necessary, according to this leader, is that America should first be Christianized, after which she may then evangelize the world. His opinion is that our country is a poor exhibition oj what a Christian nation ought to bq, and that this condition will not be remedied until the prin ciples of Christianity are operative from border to border. We are reminded that the NewTesta ment definitely teaches that good and DECEMBER, 1946
that God put him first. To this we add a hearty “amen.” While this does not condone neglect of one’s studies, we are sure that if there is a genuine re solve on the part of the young person to seek “first the kingdom of God,” high grades and honors, too, will be among the “all these things” that will be “added” to him. Try it. ★ ★ Palomar Telescope Soon SPHERE has been in preparation for the last ten years a giant 200- inch telescope by which scientists hope to unlock the ¿secrets of the atmospheric heavens. This great glass is being installed at Mt. Palomar near San Diego in Southern California. It is predicted that this telescope will be in operation soon after the first of the year. With its mighty eye capable of projecting one billion light years into space, it is hoped that by this means man may ascertain whether or not the universe is curved. Up to this time scientists have been limited to observations at half of this distance, with the 100-inch telescope at Mt. Wilson. Now it will be possible to ob serve many galaxies which today are invisible with the instruments now in operation. An interesting side light on the possibilities wh i c h will be opened when the new glass is finish ed is the investigation of the theory of “the outer darkness.” The testimony of the scientists heretofore has been that there is no reason to believe that this exists, but since, on a number of occasions, the Bible refers to it as the place of punishment, these discoveries should be matters of great interest to the Christian. At any rate, the coming of the new telescope will do one thing—that is, fix more firmly in our minds the infinite power of our great God, who not only called all the stellar marvels into existence, but who also maintains them day by day. What a mighty God is ours! ★ ★ Spiritual Fanaticism A RECENT speaker at the Church of the Open Door suggested that what the Christian Church needed was more fanatics —fanatics of the right kind. We must confess that we have used this term only in the bad sense, referring to one zealous, but misguided, energetic but unlearned. However, the original meaning of the term “fanatic” has a different con notation. In reality, a “fanatic” is a “fan,” one who is full of enthusiasm for a purpose or cause. To fan a fire is to produce moving currents of air which will make c o a l s glow and and flame. From this association, the fan has come to mean one whose glowing enthusiasm for a cause
Cause of Strife rpHE YEAR that has followed the close of the war has been marked especially by two noticeable things: continuation of bountiful harvests, and an increase of shortages of materials manufactured by man. Each succeed ing month has brought new turmoil, more strikes and work stoppages, with resultant deficiency in these articles. Many reasons have been advanced to account for these shortages. It has been clearly proven that this condi tion inevitably follows a war. It has been pointed out that the pendulum of favor has swung over to the side of labor. Others affirm that most of our goods are being shipped over the seas to the war-devastated countries. These reasons may be true and valid; we admit that we do not possess the extraordinary wisdom requisite to judge adequately. But there is a pas sage in the book of First Timothy (2:1, 2) in which the child of God is exhorted to pray for all men, and par ticularly for kings and all those in authority. The result of this interces sion is a promise that we shall lead a quiet and peaceable life in all god liness. God further corroborates this by the statement that this practice is good and acceptable to Him. We do not know what is the private intercession of many Christians, but if we can judge it by their public prayer, we are sure that for the most part the prayers of God’s children in clude only the inner circle of family, friends, pastor and missionaries. It should be fully realized that the earnest prayers of Christians on be half of political leaders could insure the end of strife, turmoil, shortages and industrial warfare. What an ex alted position the Christian occupies when on his knees! ★ ★ Attending Prayer Meeting S OMEONE has wisely observed that those who love the church attend on Sunday morning, those who love the pastor appear on Sunday evening and those who love the Lord are found in the Wednesday evening prayer gathering. Be that as it may, the mid week service for prayer is very sparse ly attended, and rarely are young peo- ple present. Recently we were talking to a young man about this very thing. During his high school years, he had a top scholastic rating which was in itself somewhat remarkable as this lad was employed both before and after school. When asked what was the secret of his doing so well in school, the answer was that his par ents had insisted that he attend all of the Sunday church services as well as the Wednesday evening prayer meetings. The philosophy of these parents was that the high school stu dent who put God first would find
kindles to a flame the interests of others. It goes without saying that there is urgent need in the churches of our land today for the ri g h t kind of fanatics. There is so much of mere turning of machinery and emphasis only upon the externals of life. What is sadly lacking in Christian life and testimony is g o d l y zeal and en thusiasm. The Christian Church may well take a lesson from the Com munists and Fascists. The leaders of these ideologies are wholly devoted to the causes which they represent, and, as a consequence, multitudes rally about them. The early Chris tians were fanatical in their zeal for the Lord, and enthusiastic in their fellowship With each other. Oh, for a spiritual fanaticism of this kind to win converts by thousands! Let the churches pfay for this. Let the fol lowers of Christ flame with such de votion that a revival of genuine re ligion will Sweep over the world, such as we have never known before. ★ ★ New ALONG With other multitudinous duties, Generalissimo Chiang Kai- shek last February completed the monumental work of editing a new Chinese translation of the New Testa ment. This task was begun two years ago, during the critical phase of the war, and the secret was not revealed until now. Without commenting on the possible Scriptural and literary value of the translation, it may be said to the Credit of the Generalissimo that he has the commendable wisdom of putting “first things first.” Even in the midst of almost insurmountable difficulties, he has undertaken the work which will endure when the Chi nese struggles with Japan and the Communists are forgotten. ★ ★ Students VTEW PLANS for the spending of $2,000,000 on religious student centers have been presented to the National Lutheran Council by Dr. Ar- min George Weng, president of the Illinois synod of the United Lutheran Church. These centers are to be located on the campuses of American non- sectarian colleges at which it is esti mated mote than 80,000 Lutheran young people are now in attendance. During the years of the war, the Lu theran Chutch was very active in car ing for the needs of servicemen and women. Now they are turning to a new field and will attempt to reach young people with the technique de veloped by service centers during the war. Surely this is a commendable move which should be emulated by other large religious bodies. TH E K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
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"Hove this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted not the b e i n g on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross." Philippians 2:5-8 (R.V.).
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W HAT we usually mean by “spirit” is something vague, evanescent, intangible, almost indefin able. We speak of “school spirit,” “team spirit,” of the “Christmas spirit." We have deep and delightful associations with that phrase: it evokes gladness, gen erosity, graciousness, and good will. Every normal indi vidual enjoys Christmas, from the little child whose sparkling eyes reflect the lights of the Christmas tree to old age, sharing the light and laughter of Yuletide from his comfortable seat by the fireside. What is the Scriptural standard for the Christmas spirit, showing us its real scope and meaning? I wonder if the admonition contained in Philippians 2:5 is not the answer: “Let this mjnd be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” What was this mind, or attitude, which characterized the Lord Jesus, and which should mark our lives in indelible fashion? The spirit of Christmas may be summarized in pne word, familiar in everyday conversation, but unfamiliar to us in living reality: humility. Bethlehem’s manger bore many marks of humility. The situation itself was a very lowly one. Granted that the DECEMBER, 1946
standards of living at that time were not nearly as high as those that now exist in the United States, and possibly much like those that prevail in primitive places in the world, nevertheless, it must be conceded that the manger was a most inferior location. The poorest of people had better shelter than that which was provided for domestic animals. Nevertheless, under circumstances so unpro- pitious and into a place so unpretentious, there came into this world the Prince of Glory. Mary and Joseph were themselves examples of human humility. To be sure, their ancestry was regal; but that Davidic lineage long since had been obscured. It may be difficult for us to understand how descendants of a royal line could find themselves in such modest circum stances as did Mary and Joseph in Nazareth, until we reflect upon the fact that in our own day there are members of nobility pursuing the most ordinary of occu pations, because in the course of the world wars they have lost their high places. There is no record that the line of David reassumed its place of leadership after the remnant returned from the Babylonian captivity, more than four hundred years before the birth of Christ. In those long generations, it is altogether possible that no one paid any attention to a claim of direct descent 5
“national spirit,” and the like; and, not the least of all,
He began thus to reason within himself: “I wish I could convey to those little ants that I am a man, that I have kindly feelings toward them, that in my regard for life I would not injure one of them. How could I bring to them such a concept, so that they would look upon my shadow as a source of comfort rather than of apprehension? They are only vaguely conscious of my presence, but at the same time are afraid of me. I think I see how I could make myself known to them. If I, with all the faculties of a man, could divest myself of a human form and take upon me the form of an ant, to talk with them as ants seem to be able to converse one with another, to explain to them that the great shadow which suddenly falls upon them is that of a man, who regards life as a sacred thing, and who would not, if it were possible, so much as step upon one of them, in that way I am sure that I could make them understand who I am and how I feel toward them.” Suddenly a startling realization burst upon him: “Why, that is exactly the position of the Christians. They realize that we human beings cannot comprehend God. We sense His shadow and are afraid of Him. They teach us that God took upon Himself a human form and walked among us, was one of us; and in that manner He could reveal to us the truth of God.” From that ant hill, the Indian philosopher turned away as a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Would it be humbling to us to divest ourselves of our human forms to become ants in some woodland? It was a step far greater for the Lord Jesus Christ to go from Heaven’s glory to earth’s sorrow. Herein is the true spirit of Christmas: lowliness of heart toward others and cir cumstances, after the fashion of that mind which was in our Saviour. The descent of the Lord Jesus from the zenith of Heaven to the nadir of mankind did not constitute the totality of this emptying process by which He became our Saviour. Within the realm Qf mankind there are gradations of social standing. Granted that the degree of humiliation from eternity to time is one of infinite degree, and that among mankind the differences are relatively small, nevertheless, there would have been a difference for our Lord had He assumed the status of a sovereign rather than that of a servant. However, in true humility, He chose neither the exalted place nor the ease of affluence; on the contrary, He took the place of poverty and of toil. As a lad, and as a young man, He knew the weariness of physical toil, the exactness of a carpenter’s trade, the common lot of the artisan. He “took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” This two-fold humiliation did not exhaust the lowli ness and graciousness of spirit of Him who said of Himself that He was “meek and lowly in heart.” He stooped not only from Heaven to earth, and upon earth to the place of a servant, but “being found in fashion as a man, humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." It would seem that humbling Himself—"to taste of death,” as the Scrip tures state, would be deemed sufficient degradation for our salvation. But He stooped lower—to crucifixion, the criminal’s death. We modems, to whom the cross has become the sym bol of the source of our salvation, can little understand the horror and shame of crucifixion. Death by the cross was the most horrible, the most dreaded and shameful punishment of antiquity. It was a method so hideous and inhuman that it was never to be mentioned in polite society. Cicero declared that the word crucifixion should never enter the thoughts, the eyes or the ears of a Roman citizen. By Roman law, no Roman citizen, however de praved or diabolical, was to be crucified. It constituted the consummation of human sadism, the most terrible (Continued on Page IS)
from King David. Suffice it to say that Mary and Joseph were regarded as peasants from an obscure village in Galilee. Nazareth was not noted for its culture and erudition; rather, a contemporary would ask, contemp tuously: “Can there any good thing come out of Naza reth?” (John 1:46). For that matter, Bethlehem in that day was no busy metropolis whose fame was known far and wide. To be sure, it was in the land of Judea, and not in “Galilee of the Gentiles,” as was Nazareth. The prophet Micah had commented upon this fact: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah” (Micah 5:2). We know a great deal about Beth lehem because it was the home of David; but in the day of Christ’s nativity, Bethlehem was just a wide place in the road. Who paid any attention to two weary travelers from Nazareth to Bethlehem? To their contemporaries they were nobodies. It was just as true then as now that if they had been persons of distinction some place would have been found for them. One doubts that the housing shortage was more serious then than it is now; and one can read between the lines that Mary and Joseph were without means or influence. They were but humble peasant folk from Galilee. The visitors to the manger on that first Christmas Eve were also humble people: poor shepherds from the rocky hillsides of Bethlehem. Followers of that pastoral occu pation were by no means plutocrats; on the contrary, they were “the forgotten men” of their day. One recalls that centuries before that Christmas night, there had come to Bethlehem the prophet of God to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be king of Israel, but the lad he. wanted was completely overlooked because he was merely a caretaker for the sheep. The lowliness of place and people about Bethlehem’s manger sets off in bold relief the spirit of humility that marked the coming of the Lord Jesus to take upon Himself our humanity. The Apostle Paul continues his description of this self-humbling on the part of our Lord when he states that though Christ was in the form of God, with all the attributes of Deity, He regarded not His exalted place something to be grasped for Himself; but rather that He “emptied himself.” This translation is more understandable than the King James version, which reads, “But made himself of no reputation.” He took the semblance of a servant. God the Son, alway in the bosom of the Father, and ever His greatest delight and joy, stooped from the height of Heaven to the depth of earth’s degradation. Can we understand something—anything—of the real ity of the self-humbling of our Saviour, so that we too may have that same attitude of mind? The magnitude of that humbling staggers human imagination. One is reminded of the reflections of a native of India, who had sought in vain in the religions available to him for the reality which his soul desired. He had been reared in Hinduism, but had found no hope therein; he had embraced Buddhism, but had discovered in it no balm for his sin-sick soul. He heard of Christianity, and set himself to study its basic tenets. When he came to the doctrine of the Christians that the Lord Jesus Christ was “very God of very God,” of the substance of the Father from all eternity, and that He humbled Himself to take upon Him our humanity, apart from our sin, the Indian was indignant. How was it possible that the human mind could imagine such an abhorrent thought, that God would come to the level of sinful man and be one like us! With disgust he turned from his study of Christianity to search in other fields for food for his soul. One day as he was walking in his garden, he came upon a large ant hill, and paused to observe those little living symbols of industry and frugality. He noticed that h'is shadow seemed to cause them some consternation. When he retired a few steps, they immediately resumed their activity.
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The Pre-Existence “Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Christ rested upon the bosom of the Father in Eternity before He rested on the bosom of a mother in Time. Before He took the form of a created being and became flesh, He had eternal pre-existence as an un created divine person. This Jesus, from everlasting to everlasting, the Ancient of Days, became a baby as old as His Heavenly Father and ages older than His earthly mother—a baby virgin-bom. And every nerve of this virgin-bom baby was divine handwriting, every bone divine sculpture, every muscle a pulley divinely swung, every breath a divine whisper, every heartbeat a divine pulsation. Born of a virgin who had never touched a man, He was the Light—God seen, the Word—God heard, the Life—God felt. This One who laid aside “that glorious form . . . that far-beaming blaze of majesty" which was His at “Heav’n’s high council table . . . and chose with us a darksome house of mortal clay” was He who created all things—was He “by whom God created the worlds.” “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him” (Col. 1:16). “Ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?” (Deut. 4:32).
Robert G. Lee, D.D., LL.D., Lift D.
"Bethlehem . . . a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:4,11).
The Place B ETHLEHEM! Not Jerusalem — a city of thousands of national memories—glorious and guilty, evil girt with a diadem inside her walls. Not Athens— the intellectual center of the world. Not illustrious Rome —festering on the spoil of war. But Bethlehem—called by some “a weed patch ignored by world travelers”—a small village in which nothing had occurred to aggran dize it. Bethlehem, drawing a new star to lighten its obscurity, drawing sages from the East, drawing the angel of the Lord, drawing of the Heavenly hosts a multitude— remembered in all generations. “Thou, Bethlehem Eph- ratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel.” Though in going to Bethlehem, Mary thought only of going with Joseph, and Joseph had in mind nothing but the Governor's order, and the Gov ernor thought of nothing but the mandate of the Emperor, and the Emperor was holding in vain head and wicked heart vanity and pride, yet all of these in ignorance but in the harmony of much complexity, fulfilled the determi nate counsel and foreknowledge of God.
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DECEMBER, 1946
took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” Since He not only stooped so low, but suffered so much for us, shall we not be willing to endure any privations or persecutions for Him? Shall we not be ready to go through any sacrifices for the sake of the salvation of others? Is any distance too great or road too rough to go for Him who went all the way from Heaven to the cross for us? Is any burden too heavy to bear for Him who fell beneath the weight of the cross for us? Shall not we, following His example, “Be . . . therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself to us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour”? The Perversity When we consider all prophetical declarations about His coming: the promise of His coming and the accom plishment of it, the purpose of the Father in sending Him as God’s unspeakable gift; the wonderful provi dence of God and the methods by which that providence conducts its plans to completion; how impossible it is for the Scriptures to be broken; how the angels of God worshiped Him when He was “brought into the world”; how the truth of God was the pivot on which turned all events pertaining to His birth—we are amazed at the perversity of man. Great as is this thing which has come to pass, there are many who care not enough to take a step to see it. Even at the Christmas festival, which is the commemoration of the incarnation of Him to whom God hath given a Name which is above every name, many are found at any place or every place rather than at Bethlehem, More attracted are they to every trivial thing than to that glorious sight, for which the shepherds left their flocks and made haste to view: the sight which the Eastern sages came such a vast distance to behold, which drew all Heaven down to earth, is nothing to them. Some, while they observe the day of Christ’s birth by doing no work, not only neglect but insult Him_ and by riotous living and indulgence in the works of the flesh, revive the works of the devil, which the Son of God was manifested to destroy. Instead of fixing their eyes on the Star of Bethlehem, they give attention to the little, debasing, vexing, defiling things of the world. The iniquitous incongruities of many Christmas celebrations are abominations to be avoided. Wickedness instead of worship oft prevails. The Practice What do we mean by that? We mean that we should practice praise, purity, and righteousness. As Zacharias and Elizabeth were “righteous before God, walking in all the commandments . . . of the Lord blameless”—so let us be, and do. Let us not seek to be distinguished by worldly grandeurs, but to be great in the sight of the Lord. Looking upon the Babe of Bethlehem, the Desire of all nations, let us give Him the glory which is due unto His holy Name. Let us behold in Him God’s provision for our recovery from sin and sin’s ruinous damage. Let us look upon Him as the One most suitable to our wants— the most adequate to our relief. Since He is placed en tirely within our reach, let us embrace Him and exclaim: "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” And let us see to it that our zeal and our gratitude are equal to our joy. Let us follow the example of the shepherds not only in our going, but in our return. “And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.” And when we are “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body,” we shall make known abroad many truths concerning Him who is the Truth. TH E K I NG ' S BUS I NE S S
The Premise “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). In the incarnation of Jesus, we see how God, in a dis play of divine truth, has never broken any promise spoken. Here God verified His veracity, authenticated His word. This main pledge, this chief promise to man when he sinned in Eden’s garden, God fulfilled to the uttermost. "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). “The Seed of the woman”! God spoke of that when in Eden’s garden “Despair had pitched his black pavilions on man’s sterile and blasted estate.” Many years came out of the womb of Time and passed into the tomb of Time before the Seed of the woman appeared. But these passing years did not mean that God had forgotten to be gracious—that His promise had failed forevermore. God’s counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. The promise was that Christ should descend from a particular nation— the Jewish nation; a particular tribe—the tribe of Judah; a particular family—the family of David; a particular mother—a virgin. All events related to His birth, though seemingly loosely connected, were “links in an adaman- tean chain’’—the pivot on which the truth of God turned, the center in which God’s promises united, the end to which all referred. All of this testifies, as by a wise man stated, that God’s purpose is secretly, unthwartedly, yet uncontrollably moving on—and that instruments stamped with unlikeliness are contributing to its execution. The Preparation There was no newspaper to announce Christ’s arrival. Obscure and lowly was His birth. No trumpet testi fied to His advent. No welcome of any kind was given Him. “There was no room for them in the inn.” “The world was made by him, and the world knew him not.” The Christ who by cruel hands was thrust out from the world on the point of a spear, by cold hearts was received on a pallet of straw. Poor among the poorest was His mother. A cattle stall was His maternity chamber. A barn manger at which cattle munched hay was His cradle —in a land which had no room for Him. Yet whose birth was ever so glorious? But when, ye gods of earth, was ever first-born with whom you claim kinship so honored? When did ever new star sparkle over any king’s son? Ye kings of earth, when did Wise Men, miraculously guided, ever worship your first-born? When for the birth of heir to any earthly throne did ever angels from Heaven come down? When and where at birth hour of any other destined to be king did Heavenly choir sing? When, at the cradle of the richest, did spirit of prophecy breathe inspiration? When, as to the birth of any other, did a holy Simeon wait as for the Consolation of Israel? Of what other one did a righteous Anna speak to all those who looked for redemption? Though no preparation was made to receive Him, He Himself in His coming was a prodigy of benevolence. His coming was a love that passeth knowledge. He was rich, but He became poor. His own mercy, not our irierit, caused Him to come "out of the ivory palaces” of Heaven "into a world of woe”—to give His life a ransom for men. In this expensive undertaking, He despised world ly distinctions. Thus we are, by His example, urged not to seek great things for ourselves. Having food and raiment, we should be content. With humility we should condescend to men of low estate. With joy we should exercise self-denial in doing good. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not a prize to be gained to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and 8
W HEN the Psalmist asked of God, “What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that Thou visitest him?” it was an excla knew and marveled that man was in God’s mind. For that is what the word mindful means, to be fixed in the mind. The whole Bible teaches this, that man is fixed in God’s mind, that God finds it forever impossible to forget him. The only eccentricity of the great God is His strange weakness for the human race. Among the things which may be known in the universe, the irrational persistence of God’s love for men is surely one of the hardest to understand. It can be justified before human reason only by supposing that in some mysterious way man became lodged in God’s heart, woven into the emotional life of the Creator so completely and so inextricably that for God there is no deliverance. Forever and forever man is in His heart, and the pains and agonies through which He has passed in effecting redemption are but normal consequences of this solemn entwinement of the heart of God with the soul of man. It is a moving and an awesome sight to behold God caught in the sweet, painful meshes of His ancient love, wrestling on toward the time when a ransomed race can stand before Him unabashed by any remaining traces of sin. Hurt, wounded by man’s ingratitude, pressed under the woe of his treachery and sin, but held by a love that will not let Him go, a love reasonless and vast, deeper than hell and older than the world: that is God as the Bible presents Him. God has said, “Yet will I not forget thee,” and this is not beyond our power to understand. No one can forget love. As long as love remains it will be remembered. We forget only when love is no more. God’s unremitting love which has been ever of old is sufficient guarantee that we can never be forgotten, that He will never lose us amid the vasty spaces nor overlook us among the com plexities of His million worlds. Love, faithful love, will recall us to His mind. And if we cannot forget love, neither can we forget pain. The pain in God’s heart will not permit Him to forget the unhappy race of men. No one forgets pain. God is not at peace while man is in his sin. “All day long,” said God to Israel, "I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.” What is this but the picture of a father, beside himself with grief, pleading with a loved but wayward son? This pain in God’s heart allows Him no ease, but moves Him constantly to restless labor and eager toil. Out of His pain flow His mercy and all the acts of grace with which He has surrounded the feet of His people. It is impossible to conceive of any external force which could compel God to do what He did, and is con stantly doing, for our salvation. The compulsion comes DECEMBER, 1946
from within the deeps of His own nature. Man in God’s mind is the pain in God’s heart. .The consequences we have seen at Bethlehem, at Calvary and the empty tomb. “Thou art mindful of him ... Thou visitest him.” These bear to each other a cause-and-effect relationship. The one is father to the other. Because man was in God’s mind, God visited him. Only this will account for the man Christ Jesus. Remember, I do not say explain Him, but account for Him. There is no explaining Him, as there is no explaining life or love or God Himself. He escapes through our theological nets and rises above our doctrinal formulas. But He can be accounted for. The pain in God’s heart accounts for Him. Love required that He seek and save that which was lost, and He obeyed the resistless compulsion by "visiting” us in the likeness of human flesh. A brief visit it was when seen against the background of the ages, a short thirty-three years, yet in that time He managed to do three mighty works of love, the works of a God indeed: Incarnation, Atonement, Resurrection, these three, the glory and hope of mankind, if unbeliev ing men could only know it. This is the true meaning of Christmas, God obeying the pain in His mind and the love in His heart. When this beautiful and solemn truth is known, how empty seem the tawdry celebrations and the tinseled excesses commonly associated with the Christmas season. Civi lized man, with his genius for extravagance and bad taste, has made of that holy visit of God a cheap and vulgar carnival, and the merchants of the earth have been quick to turn the whole gaudy business into hard cash. Yet the very sin that thus perverts a holy act is one of the causes of God’s pain, of His coming to the earth to dwell in mortal flesh. Our sin, gross and shock ing as it must be to a holy being, did not repulse Him; rather it drew Him to us as the burning fever in the veins of a child but draws the mother nearer in tenderest solicitude. Man in God’s mind, I say, accounts for the Babe of Bethlehem, the Lamb of Calvary and all the deeds of love and grace that came between. He carried a wounded heart within Him before ever they pierced Him with a spear. He groaned for our sins long before they nailed Him on the tree. He walked among us a God in pain, a Man possessed, and His love and His pain determined His attitude toward the whole race of men. The cross was always before Him. Whichever road He took, the cross was at the end of it. There was no escape from that pain, but a greater pain drove Him toward it. There will come a day when the work of love will be done. Till that day arrives He must toil on. The same love that motivated His earthly life is in His heart still to keep Him at work till the last straying sheep has been brought in. If we cannot understand it, we can yet be rich in the knowledge that it is true. 9
mation of wonder, not a request for information. He
I N the preceding article on Genesis and evolution, it was suggested that the Genesis account of man’s beginning gave no hint of any imma ture stage in man’s development, such as evolution requires when it seeks to bring us from animals to sub human, and then to human. On the contrary, we found that from the earliest times man was a cultured, artistic being, equipped almost imme diately with an intuitive knowledge of many things and a skill to pro duce that which we are accustomed to think belongs only to a modern civilization. If man began with this high state of development, evolution cannot pos sibly be true. This argument against the theory is so basically important that further discussion is warranted. Without exception, archaeologists have been greatly surprised by their discoveries. By their own admission, they confidently expected that ex cavation would support the widely- held view of the gradual develop ment of civilization. However, the ac cumulated evidence to the contrary— now of very substantial proportions —derived from those countries such as Iran (Persia) and Egypt, where we have come in contact with the most ancient civilizations, is so re markable that it is evident that very soon after the Flood of Noah, civiliza
capacity must argue a long previous apprenticeship and period of develop ment; but in this case we do not have this long period. The Egyptians of the first dynasty, some three centuries be fore, apparently had no stone build ings, and the reign of Zoser in later legend was notable because he had built the first stone house.” Nevertheless, within a short period of one hundred and fifty years, the early accomplishments seen in this stone building were greatly out distanced by the mightiest building in stone which the world has ever known. This, of course, was the Great Pyramid, erected by Khufu, or as the Greeks called him, Cheops, and named by him "The Glorious.” Let evolution explain, if it can, the marvels of this structure erected in the early days of the human race and never since equaled. About four hundred and eighty feet high, covering twelve and one-half acres, even after the removal of vast numbers of stones, it contained 85,- 000,000 cu. ft. of masonry. Herodotus says that it took ten years to quarry the stone and another ten years to build it into the Pyramid. Diodorus states that more than 300,000 men were employed on the project, which has been called “the most magnificent TH E K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
tion had reached its highest pinnacle of accomplishment. Instead of the infinitely slow de velopment which we had been led to expect, it is now obvious that art and science burst suddenly upon the world. But even in the earliest Pyr amid, according to Sir Flinders Petrie: “The accuracy of construction is evidence of high purpose combined with great capability and training. In this earliest Pyramid, the precision of the whole mass is such that the error would be exceeded by that of a metal measure used on a mild or cold day: the error of leveling is less than can be seen by the naked eye . . . The conclusion seems inevitable that at 3000 B. C. was the heyday of Egyptian art.” As far as is known, the first stone building in the world was erected at Sakkara, and was the funeral temple of King Zoser. The fact of its great antiquity was even admitted by the late H. G. Wells. Not long ago, it was excavated for the Egyptian gov ernment, and Dr. Hall of the British Museum, wrote about it as follows: “This building is of extraordinary in terest, as the first fruits of the young Egyptian genius in the field of architecture. In it we see features such as the column and the decora tion; it is easy to say that this re markable outburst of architectural
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