A s an Ordinary Layman Sees It A Dentist Finds the Second Coming of Christ Clearly Taught in the Bible and Gr?es Us His Outline on the Subject
By DR. GEO. B. EDWARDS
must understand th e coming f th e Lord in th ree ways. 1) He comes UNTO His own. 2) He comes FOR His own.
sons of God (children by adoption through Jesus C h rist), even to them th a t believe on His Name.” (John 1 : 12 ). (2 ) “ I will come UNTO you.” (John 14 :18 ). H ere is a very precious and real sense in which th e Lord comes, not FOR us, b u t TO us, in grace as the Com fo rter. I t is th e equivalent of His m anifestation to us (v. 21). B u t it is not th e same as th e ABIDING presence of the F a th e r and th e Son (v. 23). The coming of th e Lord here to th e indi vidual h e a rt m ust be understood as a SPIRITUAL coming, and is wholly de pendent upon “ keeping” His command ments. Again, Jesu s as Lord comeS into th e m idst of any two or th ree gathered in (to ) His Name, during th e tim e of His p resen t occupation of th e F a th e r’s th ron e in heaven (Mat. 1 8 :20 ). His m anifestation of H imself here is no t to the individual believer, as such, b u t to a gathering of these as a local assembly of tru e believers. “Then— th e first day of th e week, when th e doors were shu t (ag ain st evil in tru d e rs),—w here th e disciples were assembled, CAME Jesus and stood IN THE MIDST” (John 20: 19). W hat makes a disciple of Christ tru ly g reat or of any account, is no t because of any attainm en ts by n atu re, education or environment, b u t because of the com ing of Jesus Christ into th a t disciple’s heart. And likewise, w hat makes a lo cal church of any account, is no t the importance of th e individuals gathered together, b u t th e fact of Jesus Christ
(3 ) He comes WITH H is own. He comes in GRACE, He comes also in JUDGMENT. He comes as th e SAV IOUR, He comes as th e COMFORTER, He comes as the JUDGE. He once came in a BODY OF HUMILIATION, He now comes BY HIS SPIRIT, He will come again in a BODY OF GLORY. But when-so-ever He comes, or where- so-eyer He comes, or how-so-eyer He comes, it is “THIS SAME JESUS.” (1 ) “He came UNTO H is own.” (John 1 :1 1 ), He was “ th e King of th e Jew s,” but He came no t AS such. He came AS a SAVIOUR, to “save His people from th e ir sins.” He came no t to REIGN, bu t He came to DIE. He “ came to min ister and to give His life a ransom for many.” It is quite tru e Jesus was “BORN K ing of th e Jew s” (Mat. 2 :2 ), b u t th e p articu lar announcement to th e Jews from God was th is— “F o r UNTO you is BORN th is day in th e city of David,” no t “ the K ing,” bu t “a Saviour, which is Christ th e Lord.” (Lu. 2 :1 1 ). And th is was the Gospel preached by an angel, for it was “ good tid ing s of g reat joy, which shall be to ALL PEO PLE ” (v. 10). But “H is own RE CEIVED Him NOT.” They rejected Him as “ th e Son of God,” they rejected Him as “ th e Saviour of th e world,” they rejected Him finally as “ th e King of th e Jews.” “ But UNTO as many as received Him (as th e Son of God, as th e ir Saviour, and as th e ir K ing) UN TO them gave He the rig h t to become
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