MARCH 1972
Bbta BROADCASTER
NUMBER 3
MARCH 1972
VOLUME 2
FEBRUARY RADIO FEATURES
P re s id e n t. . .
Biola H o u r H o s t. . .
J. RICHARD CHASE
DON RANSON
Managing Editor. ..
EVELYN GIBSON
C O N T E N T S
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R o y L . A ldrich
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*R e a ch in g Ou r G o a ls
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* Biola Hour Radio Messages
Cover Photograph by Kirk Potter: Historic AntebellumMansion in Natchez, Mississippi
Student Photographer— Kirk Potter WHEN REQUESTING EXTRA COPIES OF THE BIOLA BROADCASTER, PLEASE ALLOW TIME FOR DELIVERY.
Second Class postage paid in La Mirada, California. Printed in U.S.A. by Penn Litho graphies, Inc., Whittier, California. Address: Biola Broadcaster, 13800 Biola Avenue, La Mirada, California 90638.
A k A
Conferences
Holy Land Tour •April 13-May 4 Dr. Samuel H. Sutherland and Dr. Israel Carmona
Biola Chorale Home Concert •May 14
Holy Land Tour • June 12-July 3 Dr. Curtis Mitchell and Dr. Lloyd T. Anderson
Summer Bible Conference in Hawaii • June 17-29
Mount Hermon Bible Conference •August 6-12
The Firs Bible Conference • August 13-19
A STUDY IN
Dr. Chase's radio messages replace his regular editorial for this month.
PRACTICALITY The book of I Corinthians is a practical book. The problems at Corinth are similar to those we face today. This epistle does not deal with questions of doctrine as much as it does with practical problems of living. The major problem at Corinth was simply this, their con duct was not appropriate to their calling: they were not living as they ought to live. Despite their problems, howev er, these are individuals who knew the Lord Jesus Christ. They are re ferred to time and time again, as believers, members of the Body, saints, as those called, sanctified, and set apart. They lived, of course, undisciplined lives. They were us ing their freedom not as an oppor tunity to glorify the Christ nearly
as much as they were using it as an opportunity for a license. In this first epistle Paul writes such a strong letter that he com ments on it in his second epistle. Paul says he is glad that he wrote the first letter, although he had second thoughts after that letter had been written. He realized, in the final analysis, that the Spirit had directed such a strong message for the Corinthian Christians that they turned from their problems and began to live lives that were more pleasing to Cod. Before looking into the book of I Corinthians here is a thumbnail sketch of some of the problems that the people at Corinth faced. I think you will agree that we face comparable situations today. The old Greek city of Corinth
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CORINTHIANS by J. RICHARD CHASE
was destroyed by fire in about 146 B.C. The city was so strategically located, however, Julius Caesar re established the city in about 44 B.C. as a commercial center. Corinth was situated on an Isthmus and had two harbors, one serving the West and one serving the East. Through the ports of Corinth passed the wealth and the filth of the known world. Corinth was a blend of Ro man, Creek and Eastern life and thought. It was like many of the larger cities of the world today, a melting pot of peoples and ideas. From Roman culture comes the philosophy that life is satisfied on ly through power and wealth. The resident Greeks contributed the concept that wisdom is supreme. And from the East the corrupting influences of immoral religious
rites made their way. The Corinthi an Christians, like so many of us today, were confronted with pres sures that constantly challenge a commitment to Christ. The influ ence of Rome turned them from the things of the Spirit to material ism. They were bombarded with the idea that power, possessions, position in life was of great impor tance. Chapter five and six both touch on such problems. Paul saw these influences and knew that they were hindering their growth in the Lord Jesus Christ. From the Creeks came the idea that wisdom is most essential. The Greeks were proud of their ability to reason things through. Faith in Christ was assaulted by man's wisdom. Fur ther, those who did not fit their concept of an intelligent speaker Page 5
were never given full acceptance. Many of these people were used to an ornate pattern of speech and were undoubtedly unimpressed with Paul's simple style. God's mes sage was constantly subject to re view and correction by many of the people there, because they thought they were wise enough to challenge anyone. As if these elements were not enough to hinder a life of real growth in Christ, there were moral obstacles. A Greek playwright used the phrase, "To Corinthianize," to indicate any attempt to get people to live a wanton or immoral life. Immorality at Corinth earned the city a poor reputation long before Christian writers began to speak out. Greece, and Corinth with it had imported from Babylon the worship of what was known in Babylon as Astarte, later known to the Greeks as Aphrodite, the god dess of love or the goddess of fertil ity. The debassing rite of Babylon ian worship also came to Greece with the goddess. Herodites writes, "The foulest Babylonian custom is that which compels every woman of the land once in her life to sit in the temple of Aphrodite and have intercourse with some stranger." One commentator estimates that when Paul was writing to the Cor inthians, there were 3,000 priest esses of Aphrodite of loose charac ter who were ministering at her shrine. With such immorality, intellec tual snobbery, and materialism all surrounding and eroding the fiber of the Christian's life at Corinth, direction and counsel was certainly needed. This book still opens with a glor ious message. Despite the prob lems around them, despite the Page 6
problems in their own life and their lack of consistent Christian living, they are still children of God. In short, we simply want to point out how great the grace of God is to day. Here are Christians who lack discretion, who are living not in harmony with one another, and who are at one another's throats. Here are Christians who are stum bling blocks to others. But notice verse two, "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth." That is a fas cinating phrase to me, "the church of God." What does it mean? In the Greek language you have a word that simply means, "to call," to call someone to come over so that you can talk with them. Now you can add to that a little Creek preposition which turns "to call" into "to call out." You use that word to call a group of people out of a larger body for a special pur pose. But, you can take it one step further in the Creek and end up with our standard Greek word we translate "the church." What is the Church? It is an individual or group of individuals who have been called out from a larger body of people to be uniquely Cod's own people. Now notice, these people at Cor inth, with all their problems, are referred to as the "called out of Cod," or the church of God. Out of all the people who lived in Cor inth, God had still called out this body of individuals and the Spirit had transformed them as they ac cepted the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. Let me add some further thoughts on this idea of being "called out" or of being part of the "church" in this special sense: 1. When you call out a person or group you distinguish or separate them from just the normal mass of
humanity. For instance, if you were to tell me that you were a teacher I would know automatically that you were distinct or different from just any other person because you belong to a particular profession. So it would be with any vocation or profession. A calling does that and the calling of Cod to be a member of the Body of Christ contains that special concept. The people at Cor inth who knew Christ, despite their circumstances and patterns of liv ing, were distinguished through the shed blood of Christ, from the normal group of individuals who lived at Corinth. 2. A calling also identifies a com mon concern. If you get together with a group of women who have raised children, they can talk about clothes, schooling, meals, child hood diseases, etc. There is a com mon concern or a common interest that binds them together. 3. A calling marks a man. If you are known to have a certain skill and your church is in a building program, you will probably be used in that building program. A plumber will probably be used as a consultant or to do a large por tion of the work himself. If you are a lawyer, I am sure that you have been consulted by Christians or Christian organizations many times on matters that affect the local church. Your calling sets you apart and people expect you to live up to your profession. If you are a member of the Body of Christ — a member of the “church"—you were literally called out of the mass of humanity. You are distinguished and separated from man in general. You are iden tified with a common cause in Christ and are a marked individual.
Verse two also says, "To them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus." The word sanctified has the idea of dedicating or setting apart. Almost a year ago La Mirada dedicated its new community library. At that time the library was set apart to serve the community of La Mirada by bringing to them printed and audiovisual materials. The word sanctify carries the basic idea of "dedicating" or "setting apart." Indeed, we are dedicated, we are set apart for a particular function. An individual who is set apart^ sanctified, or dedicated to serve the Lord Jesus Christ ought to con duct himself in such a fashion. Paul is both addressing them in their exalted position in Christ and chal lenging them to live acceptably. He is reminding them that despite the problems in their life, through the shed blood of Christ, they are still a dedicated part of the body. Further, verse two says they are "called to be saints." Here Paul takes us back to the concept of the church. These Christians are called out of the world to be a body of the believers or the "church" in that area, they are also called out to be saints. Then also the word "saints" is related to sanctified in a special way. In the Creek the words are related. A sanctified per son is one who is set apart — he is now referred to as a saint. Many of the Greeks were devoted to the gods of their day and carried on a lifetime of service to their gods. Such a person was a "saint." These individuals at Corinth were called to be holy, to be pure, to be de voted to the Lord Jesus Christ — they are His saints. We may be confronted with sim ilar pressures that bombarded the church at Corinth. The problems of Page 7
Corinth may crop up in our lives. We need to remind ourselves that through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are indeed chil dren of Cod. We too are called, separated, set apart for His service. PRESSURES The church at Corinth had pres sures equal to those that we face today. But even though they at times yielded to these pressures, they were still believers. Paul tells us in I Corinthians 1:3-5, that they are choice servants of God. Later he will get down to the harsh truth of their shortcomings. Here he pre sents them as they are before a God who honors their faith in Christ. They are, first of all, recipients of God's grace or favor. Verse three and four speak of the grace that is theirs. The word "grace" is a word from Greek literature that speaks of the giving of favors or the giving of special blessings. In Greek folk lore there was a goddess known as Charis. She was known to give fa vors to those with whom she was pleased. Later on there developed in Greek literature the practice of speaking about a number of sep arate goddesses or individuals who gave special favors that only they could give. They were known as the Charities, one of these goddess es would give physical strength, another beauty, another intellec tual insight and so on. It is a far cry from Greek mythology to the very Word of God, but the rich history of the word grace adds im pact. Paul is thanking the Lord be cause He has given the believers at Corinth certain favors. These peo ple, despite their conduct and the fact that Paul has to call them car nal Christians and babes in Christ, Paul still says have received favors Page 8
Judy Katayama from Orosi, Calif, representing Japan for International Students Day at Biola.
from God. This is an important truth. There are many people who know Christ and yet are constantly discouraged because of their pat tern of life. I am not suggesting that they should not be discour aged, but simply pointing out that in Christ they are special people, and they must keep in mind that no matter how poor their conduct is as Christians, the grace of God is sufficient. Now, not only are these individ uals blessed as recipients of Cod's favor or God's grace through Christ, verse five says they are enriched. "In everything ye are enriched by Him." We pointed out in our first study on I Corinthians that the people at Corinth had a real prob lem with materialism. The pres sures of their society kept their eyes on material things. We too are brainwashed. We often think that real satisfaction is found in things. We may even thumb through our Bibles looking for verses that prom ise to the faithful more money, a nicer home, or greater business success. That is the timeless con cept of "what is in it for me?" But notice the Biblical phrase again, "That in everything ye are enriched by Him." We are enriched by God. The concept is not tied to material gain. The favors of God are far greater than just material good. If we truly want to be satis fied, we must recognize our basic needs. And, I suspect, your basic needs are not really tied to mate rial goods. For example, if you pur chase a new car with the idea that it will bring satisfaction in the im portant areas of life that is wrong. The luster of that new automobile will soon wear off. Very quickly, in fact, you will be back in the same
rut of dissatisfaction. You have mis judged your need from the stand point of what really brings the foundation for joy and satisfaction in life. The void in our lives can only be properly and satisfactorily filled by Cod's gift of eternal life. As Christians we tend to forget this. We turn away from the spiritual blessings and become wrapped up in a materialistic society. We are confident that if we can just buy that new suit of clothes we will be satisfied. But we find that that is not enough and we have to have more. Paul had a word for this dis ease. We will look at it later on, but it depicts the Corinthians in satiable desire to add more and bigger things to their possessions. It is a disease that gnaws at a per son. Once you start on this track there can be no satisfaction. What a marvelous antidote is the phrase "enriched by Him." We have, in our English language, the words, "plutocrat," and "plutoc racy." A plutocracy is a society that is controlled by those of wealth: a plutocrat is simply a man who is wealthy. The Greek word that is used here for enriched is the word plutocrat: the English language merely adopted at face value the Greek word. In everything then, we are made rich by Him, we are wealthy, we have substance. What a tonic for the Corinthians and those who suffer from the same ill ness today. In Christ we are pluto crats, not because we have a large bank account, but because we are blessed by God. Now then, in which way are these people blessed? Verse five says, "In all utterance and in all knowledge." There are a variety of ways in which a person can look at
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ior can look into that Word, listen to able teachers, consult books, and find what God has for us. We then can rejoice because we are plutocrats, enriched, rejoicing in Him, far more than in the material things of this life. PATTERN In his first epistle to the church at Corinth, Paul states that he is un happy with the way these people are living. He is pleased, however, that they know Christ and are blessed by Cod in so many ways. In I Corinthians 1:6-8 he shows that these are strong Christians in many ways, even though the pat tern of their life is far from accept able. Would we, as Paul, be able to praise such Christians for their strong points or would we see only their divisions, strife, greediness,, and poor pattern of living? Would we help them as Paul did or turn our back to them? Paul wanted to help them be cause they were Christians. In verse six of this first chapter he writes, "even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you." The proof that they are Christians is their standing in Christ. Paul did not need the testimony of those who had visited Corinth alone. He did not need the testimony of some other church. Christ in their lives and His apparent work in them was sufficient. Now, there is a fascin ating word that is used in verse six for "testimony." It is the standard legal term for a judicial witness in a court of law. And who is the wit ness? It is Christ. When we are on trial before the court of God, to extend this analogy, it is not our firends, parents, children or neigh bors who will testify in our behalf, it is Christ. He is the legally accept- Page 11
this particular passage. The phrase could be compared to I Corinthi ans 12:8 with profit, but we will do so at a later time. "Utterance" in verse five of chapter one means "word" or communication. And the application of this concept has been made in two basic ways. First, they were enabled by Cod to preach and teach the Gospel in an effective manner. On the other hand, it has been suggested that these people were blessed by mes sages, by the word concerning Christ and what He meant to them. They were unique people. They were literally at the crossroads of the Mediterranean world and their fellowship both attracted able speakers and produced effective speakers. Paul notes that the Cor inthians had an excellent under standing of spiritual things. Here were Christian people who were steeped in the Word. They were enriched not only in the words or messages but in knowledge. By "knowledge" they readily under stand or recognized what was tak ing place. In summary, I Corinthians chap ter one, verse five suggests to these people "you have been blessed because you have heard time and time again excellent teachers, you had the ability to understand what these teachers are saying about spiritual matters, and you com municate your faith most effec tively. Later he is going to tell them they ought to apply it even more than they have in the past, but he merely notes how they have been blessed. The message of these few verses is needed by us today. We have the full counsel of Cod and His Word. We who know Christ as our Sav
that chapter. Just note now that these people were blessed with a variety of gifts that were necessary for growth in their spiritual lives. Now they did have a problem. They argued over their gifts. And they were unwisely proud of cer tain gifts. He does indicate though, that all gifts were essential and that they were part of the Body and useful in the edification of the en tire group. In essence, these people at Corinth lost sight of the giver of the gifts and placed the emphasis upon the gifts themselves. Paul re minds them that gifts were to be used for the whole body to unify and strengthen each member of that Body; not to divide it. Never theless, their gifts were added tes timony that they were in Christ. There is another aspect in verse seven that is equally as important, perhaps more important, than their gifts. They were waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In one sense all of us are waiting for the coming of the Lord. Maybe we do not think much about it, but now and then when we face prob lems we suddenly long for His coming. But this is not the sense in which these people were waiting. The Greeks had a word that was used for a hunter who anxiously waits for his prey to appear or for a soldier who was awaiting the enemy. That word is used here to describe their eager anticipation of Christ's return. But it has a prefix attached to it that even strength ens this anxious waiting. Now that is a little different, is it not, than some of our waiting for the Lord. We know He is coming, we kind of take it for granted, and yet we go ahead and live our lives as we please. The church at Corinth did, of
able witness in the court of law, as it were, before God Himself, and Christ is the One who will bear testimony that we know Christ as our personal Savior. And the same thing is true of these people at Corinth. Paul can look at their lives and listen to others; but as an apostle, writing under the inspira tion of the Holy Spirit, he says there is the testimony of Christ. The seal of God's approval is upon you. You have problems, and I am going to hit those problems hard, you are in Christ and members of the body. Let me share just two verses that I think frequently come to mind along this particular line. The first is found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 12, verse eight. Christ says, "Also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess me, before men him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of Cod." And we have a similar passage in the book of Revelation 3:5. "He that over- cometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." Christ is the One who will give the testimony before God Himself and before the angels that the people at Corinth who know Christ are truly in Him. And He is the same One who will bear that testimony for everyone today who will acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior. Notice another factor that he gives that is again testimony that despite the problems they are still in Christ. In verse seven he says, "So that ye come behind in no gift." These are the gifts of God probably spelled out in detail in I Corinthians chapter 12. These will be discussed when we come to
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of problems and praising and com forting them in the Lord before he counsels them. If Paul had been like so many of us, he would have looked at the Christians at Corinth and merely found fault with them — or loudly proclaiming that since they were not as good as he was, they were not worth help or con The church at Corinth had prob lems. In I Corinthians 1:11 the first major problem is discussed. They were divided. We will briefly look at their problem in verses 11-17, add an historical note, and close with Paul's excellent counsel that is found in verses nine and ten as well as 11-17. Let us look now at the problem. Verse 11 refers to contentions. That is a strong word. It is also found in Romans 1:29. There the Creek is translated "de bate" and it is poor company. Now what does this word mean in Romans? Debate is not neces sarily wrong, but there were a group of philosophers known not only in the day of Paul, but in his tory prior to the time, who were called "eristic" philosophers. The word "eristic" is from the Creek word translated "contentions" in I Corinthians and "debate" in Ro mans. These eristic philosophers were known not so much by what they stood for as much as by what they stood against. For instance, regardless of what some thought was good they would find fault with it. If a man goes out and buys a new chariot and drives it home, his neighbor, the eristic philoso pher, will walk around the new chariot and his first comments will be, "I hear they have been having problems with this make this year." Page 13 sideration. PROBLEMS
course, have some questions about the resurrection and return of Christ and Paul deals with this in chapter 15. Verse eight is another indication 1of why Paul feels these people are worthy, not only of fellowship, but !of help. The first part reads, "Who I shall also confirm you unto the ! end." The word "confirm" was used by some Creek writers to convey the idea of guaranteeing a title. It would be like a title insur ance policy on a piece of property. Let us read verse 8 now with this in mind, "Who shall also confirm or guarantee that we are in Christ, unto the very end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." The closing reference here is to the coming of Christ in glory for His own. Now just one last comment on verse eight. The word "end" could be translated "consummation" and I think that is a little better. It gives the idea of fulfillment. It is not the end because everything is over! it is really the beginning. The Greeks used the word "telos" which is here translated "end" in this sense time and time again. In many of the manuals in public speaking they commented on what they called the end of a speech. But they were referring to the ultimate purpose of the speech, not its conclusion. For example was the speech to in form? to persuade? to inquire? to entertain? And here in verse eight it is not that Christ is simply going to keep us or guarantee that we are His until everything is over, it is that we are guaranteed to be His until all is consummated in Christ's return. It is refreshing to see Paul writ ing to Christians who have all kinds
If we are to classify them, Paul was Attic and Apollos was Asian in speaking style. For a person who liked ornamental language, who liked a lot of the figures of speech that were just a bit more prosaic perhaps that Paul was using, Apol los was their man. There was also a group who fol lowed Cephas or Peter. This could well have been a group of believ ers who were more legalistic than the others. And this could have come from the earlier teaching of Peter (compare Galatians 2:14). And finally there were the very spiritual people who said, "No, we are of Christ." I think the way it is used here is a suggestion that these were not marvelous and wonder ful Christians as much as they were people who said, "You can be of Paul, but I am better than you be cause I am of Christ." And keep in mind again, I Corinthians is written to Christians. Those who were of Paul, or of Apollos or of Peter, in these factions, were still Christians and for someone else to stand aside and say, "Well, actually I am the only one of Christ," is com pletely off base. These were indi viduals who were trying to lord it over the others by indicating that they were the only true spiritual Christians. All this sounds rather contemporary, does it not? In verse 13, Paul emphasizes that they are all one in Christ and that Paul could not make them Chris tians, only Christ. He simply pre sented the message and it was only Christ who could transform them. In verses 14 and 15, Paul says he baptized only a few at Corinth. He is not belittling baptism. He rec ognizes the tendency of these peo ple to splinter into groups and so he bent over backwards, not to
It is the type of an individual who is simply looking for an argument, who is pointing out faults and sel dom, if ever, looks for the positive side. And so the Word of Cod in Romans is not suggesting that hon est debate to solve problems is wrong, it is using the word in the sense of constant fault finding and debate for the sake of debate as an "eristic'^philosophy. So also at Corinth there were contentious people who were al ways spoiling for a fight. If you were for something, they were against it. In verse 12, we read, "Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ." Paul suggests that there were at least four divisions al though he may be speaking just in an illustrative fashion here. At any rate here were four significant div isions in the church at Corinth. Some would say, "We agree with Paul, he founded our church. We feel that the kind of message he presented is the message that we must follow." Or they may have been saying, "I like Paul's simple, plain, expository approach." But there were others who said, "No, Apollos seems to appeal to me a little more." Now Apollos appar ently was a speaker who was quite eloquent. Paul, as we will see later, was not considered eloquent by the standards of that day. The speakers of the classical era were at times grouped into two large, somewhat artificial, classes. The Attic type orator was known for effective logic, a simple style, and a strong commitment to clarity in all communication. The Asian type orator was a stylist. Ornate language and a somewhat over done delivery was his trademark.
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give them occasion to use baptism by him as another means of divid ing the body of Christ. The problem of divisions at Cor inth was standard practice for the ;day. The Creeks were used to di viding up into schools of thought las divisions. There was conflict be tween the Stoics, Hedonists or Epi- curians. There was conflict between the followers of Plato's school of l thought and Aristotles. The ten- | dency is ever before us. As Chris- I tians we need the counsel of Paul | as much as the Corinthians. Paul has a threefold plan of at tack. First, minimize all activities that would build up man. His con cepts on a right perspective of the performance of baptism illustrates this. Next, he emphasizes the unify ing factor. Notice in verse 17, "For Christ sent me not to baptize," . . . but to what? To "preach the gos pel." The unifying factor was Christ and the message of salvation in Him. Where there is a potential for divisions, there must be a greater unifying factor in Christian circles and that can only be Christ Him self. But this is also emphasized back in verse nine. Paul says, "God is faithful by whom you were called unto the fellowship of his son Jesus Christ our Lord." Here is the anti dote for divisions. The fellowship, this relationship, is to be found in Jesus Christ and in Him alone. Many people are name droppers. They like to say, "I heard Pastor so and so and even had dinner with him. I think he is the greatest!" Well, the word that is used here for fellowship is one that many churches use for youth groups or other church groups. It is "koin- onia." It is the idea of communion
or association. Verse nine says that the common bond of our fellow ship is Christ Himself. The bond of our fellowship is Christ, let us clus ter around Him and not man. And finally there is the positive counsel to unity in verse 10. "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing." Some people use the same words but their ideas are really quite differ ent. The scholar Burke has dis cussed a special kind of identifica tion that is more than a surface identification where we dress the same way or use the same words. Sometimes people who appear to agree by dress, actions, or words, really do not. Burke suggests that true agreement or identification is not found in surface agreement but in our basic commmitments. Now, the actual words we use may be different, but we may have fellow ship together because they are prompted by the same Spirit, the Son of God, dwelling in our heart. I am suggesting here that verse 10 is telling us that the common bond of all Christians is not simply the language we use, the pattern of our prayers, nor the way we dress; it is the person of Jesus Christ who dwells in our hearts and prompts us to reach out to other believers. It is the Spirit controlled product of our words, of our lives, of our actions, of our varied judgments in all areas of life. A common bond then for the Christian is Jesus Christ. He is the antidote to divi sions. Looking beyond the surface elements that may cause us to shun other Christians, we poke behind that and seek to love this believer in Christ. Page 15
t|ie 0Humility
by DR. ROY L. ALDRICH President Emeritus of Detroit Bible College, Detroit, Michigan
God is infinite in his greatness, majesty, power, wisdom — and perfect in holiness — yet God is humble. In the account of David's desire to build a temple there is an interesting revelation of the humility of God. As the king sat in his magnificent palace he thought how unfitting it was that God's dwelling was only a tent. He con ferred with Nathan, the prophet, who encouraged him to correct this iniquity. David's zeal for his new project is described in the 132nd Psalm:
Lord, remember David, and all his afflic tions; How he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty Cod of Jacob; surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slum ber to eyelids; Until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty Cod of Jacob (Vs. 1-5). David vowed that he would no longer use his own palace by day or night — that he would not rest anywhere until he had started his building program for God. The di vine response through Nathan was not so encouraging:
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o f God
concern for a divine dwelling place and rewarded him with the revela tion of the Davidic covenant. David was to have an everlasting house and kingdom and glory. The cove nant had a partial fulfillment in the glorious reign of Solomon, but will have its ultimate realization through David's greater son, the Messiah. But note the humility of God as revealed in His message through Nathan. David is reminded that God had never complained about dwelling in a tent that was moved Page 17
Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in: For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one taber nacle to another. Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I com manded to feed my people, saying, Why have yet not built me an house of cedars (I Chronicles 17:4-6)? David was not permitted to build the temple but he did have the honor of gathering the materials and giving a fortune to the project. But Cod was pleased with David's
from place to place. God wanted it in the record that He had never suggested a house for Himself in the past, and it was David, and not God, who finally made such a suggestion. Judged by its outward appointments, Judaism must have seemed like a fourth class religion to the heathen. Their great temples suggested great gods. Even their ruins are outstanding tourist at tractions today. The craftsmanship displayed is superb and the engi neering defies explanation. How could Judaism, with its humble tent, compete with such grandeur? It would seem that a temple for Is rael was long overdue. But God, the creator, waited for man, the creature, to suggest a temple for His dwelling and wor ship. God, the highest, took the lowest dwelling, a tent, and waited for lowly man to suggest a better place. What an example and lesson in humility! Long before Christ gave the par able of the ambitious guest God had demonstrated its moral truth by waiting for David to suggest He move from a tent to a temple. And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him; And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room; and when he that bade thee cometh, he may say un to thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee (Luke 14:7-10). But the greatest demonstration of the humility of God is seen in the coming and cross of Christ. He who was God humbled Himself to become a man of no reputation, and descended to the lowest
depths by obedience to the shame ful death of the cross. How elo quently the humility of Christ is described in II Corinthians 8:9: "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." Why should we hesitate to humble ourselves when the God of glory has set such an example? That sinners should be proud is one of the proofs of total deprav ity. The low door of humility is the gateway to salvation and blessing. "Humble yourselves therefore un der the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time" (I Peter 5:6). Now in humility and love God beseeches sinners to be reconciled to Him: "Now then we are ambas sadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye recon ciled to God" (II Corinthians 5:20). But the time will come when all will be humbled before Christ: "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heav en, and things in earth, and things under the earth" (Philippians2:10). Better to humble yourself now and be exalted with Christ then, than to exalt yourself now and be humbled at last—but lost. "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble" (James 4:6b).
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PANELDiscussions
Dr. Samuel H. Sutherland
Dr. J. Richard Chase
Q. Riverside, Calif. "What do you think of current developments rel ative to the Common Market in Europe?" A. There are certainly very strong shadows here in relation to the re vival of the ten nations which were originally a part of the old Roman empire. The recent entering of Eng land into this organization is cer tainly another point in this direc tion. These developments all point toward the establishment of the United States of Europe. It will be the Western bloc of nations over which the anti-Christ will eventu ally rule and reign. The prophetical implications are certainly very real and vital. Read the second and sev enth chapters of Daniel, as well as Revelation 13 and 17, and see how in the end times there will be, on the continent of Europe, a con federacy of nations. Very few alle giances and alliances would have to be shifted right at this moment to bring the final fulfillment of that
eventual realization. The number ten represents the full complement, such as the ten commandments; it is the number of universality. The anti-Christ will make the declara tion that he has the right to such a universal kingdom. This will be the last phase of world government with Gentile rulership. Q. Santa Ana, Calif. "In Psalm 94:20, I find that the phrase, 'the throne of iniquity, does not seem to fit the rest of the passage. How would you explain that?" A. In the King James Version your quotation is correct. The under standing from the original, howev er, would read, "Can a tribunal of destruction be allied with Thee, one which deviseth mischief or trouble by decree." This represents a group of rulers rather than a single monarch. We certainly do not downgrade the Authorized Ver sion in any sense. In 1611 when this was translated that statement was Page 19
quite clear. Words have changed their meanings since then. The plural intimated in "tribunal" will help to grasp a better understand ing of what the Spirit of God has for us. Q. Linden, Wash. "Can you tell me whether the wrestling by Jacob with an angel was physical or spir itual?"
A. It was certainly spiritual since Jacob had to learn some very pro found lessons in connection with the experience. At the same time it was a physical contest as we see evidenced by the results in his life. Read the account beginning in Gen esis 32:24. When Jacob's thigh was put out of joint it was a very real situation. Verse 30, based on the
Q. San Diego, Calif. "How would you deal with a professing Chris tian who says she believes in rein- The Chorale and Chamber Orchestra in concert. Page 21 A. We would repeat again that this passage of Scripture is not a par able. A parable is an extended fig ure of speech, without any proper names given, and with an explana tion added. This is evidenced in the passage from Mark which you have suggested. Incidentally, the word "dives" is simply the Latin word for "rich man." Lazarus means, "Cod is my help." No, these men from Luke 16 were two very real people. From their experiences we can learn some important spiritual lessons concerning the future. Laz arus' blessing came not because he was poor or sick, but because he had placed his faith and trust in the Lord. The rich man is actually in hades today awaiting the final judg ment of Cod upon all unbelievers who, at that point, will be cast into the lake of fire which burneth for ever. He was not consigned to eternal judgment because of his treatment of Lazarus, whether it was good or bad. A person suffers eternal separation from Cod be cause of one thing: his name is not written in the Lamb's Book of Life; he has never received the Lord Je sus Christ as his personal Saviour (John 3:18,19). Cod honors faith, you see, because faith honors Him! This surprised me in the light of Mark 4:33,34. Did the rich man go to hell then because he had been so mean to his servant? Was Lazar us blessed because he was a child of God or because he was poor and sick?"
name of the place, Peniel, shows that the patriarch had to rest be cause of the injury to his physical being. Hosea 12:2-4 gives us fur ther evidence of this fact. Q. Grand Rapids, Mich. "/ heard someone say on your program that the account in Luke 16 of the rich man and Lazarus was not a parable.
tical ministry of the Word. Some people would have us think that as believers today this passage in Malachi 3:10 is as vital as what we read in some of the epistles. The first thing to consider is the con text. That is the only proper man ner for Bible study if one would be led aright. Tithes, from verse eight, were to be brought to the temple. The church in the New Testament is called a number of things, and properly so, but it is never referred to as the "store house." Some of those tithes which were used for the ministry of the priests, were in the form of wheat, corn and other produce. There are some doubtless well-meaning pas tors who have erroneously taught that all money is to go into the church, and that the church is to be the storehouse for the disburse ment of funds entrusted to it. That is not taught in Scripture. Our stew ardship cannot be delegated to oth ers. This is not to say that you are in any sense to bypass your church. Doubtless the majority of your sup port may well go there. Yet, we must not overlook the many other avenues in the outreach of the Gos pel message which the Lord has given. So, while this passage does not mean us, the principle can cer tainly be applied. We should not give less under grace than those who lived under the law gave to the ministry of the Word. Q. Watsonville, Calif. "In connec tion with the Sermon on the Mount, can you tell me from Matthew 5:29 and 30 about the 'eye for an eye' and other statements? How do we apply these things to us today?" A. This should be considered from two points of view. First of all, these chapters (5, 6, and 7) present great
carnation? What Scripture would you use?" A. There are some of the large eth nic religions which hold to this view, however, there is certainly nothing in Scripture which would indicate that such has even a sem blance of truth. The Bible clearly teaches us that it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment. Paul states this clearly, too, in Philippians 1:23. He was looking forward to departing and being with Christ. He had no de sire to come back and take on another form. Look at John 14:1-6. This is the Christian's hope, not anything that false religious views would hold as to being reincar nated. Buddhism teaches that after some 84,000,000 reincarnations a person is able to enter into an eter nal state of soul sleep. What an empty picture for the future. Our time on earth during this life is the only opportunity we have to make our decision for the Lord and to settle our eternal destiny. Q. Toledo, Wash. "Does Malachi 3:9, and 10 still apply to us today?" A. This book is the last of the minor prophets. It speaks to the point of the danger in mere form alism or ritual in worship. Malachi denounces the dangerous hyproc- risy of merely carrying on outward service which does not please God at all. The prophet, under the in spiration of the Holy Spirit, asks the rhetorical question, "Will a man rob God?" The answer comes back in the resounding affirmative. Then, it is pointed out how the children of Israel have done this very thing. It has been through their lack of bringing both tithes and offerings to assist in the prac
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moral principles which we should follow from a general standpoint. Conditions have changed vastly from when these words were given by our Lord to the Jewish people. It is not for us to take literally, which is seen by verse 40 as an example. We ought to make sure, however, that we follow the pre cepts which the Lord is putting down here for our admonition. Whatever we say, do, or see should be that which will not bring offense to another, or spiritual declension for us as well. Second, the Sermon on the Mount has to be considered from a dis- pensational point of view if we are to understand it fully. Here Christ was presenting Himself to His dis ciples as the King. These declara tions form His constitution for the future. Of course, the people re jected His rule. In a coming day, however, during the Millennium, He will rule and reign. Righteous ness will cover the earth as the wa ters cover the sea. This portion will be applied when He returns at that glorious coming hour. Keep in mind that Matthew presents Christ as the King who is offered, and then finally as the King who is re jected. Q. Riverside, Calif. "From Mark 13:32 I arrive at the conclusion that perhaps not even Christ knew at this point when He would return to this earth. Could you give me some help on this perplexity?" A. This passage comes from the area of the Olivet Discourse. Here we are dealing with a matter of deity. Who can begin to fathom the Trinity? It is beyond human comprehension. But at the same time, we can accept these truths
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by faith since the Bible teaches it. Our Lord Jesus Christ is God the Son manifest in the flesh. He is deity one-hundred percent, but at the same time, He was humanity one-hundred per cent. This hap pened at no other time in the his tory of the world, and it will never happen again in this manner. On the basis of His deity He knew all things, however, He also reserved the right not to impart to His hu man consciousness this one fact. That was always His divine pre rogative while here on earth. Q. San Diego, Calif. "If Cod hears our prayers, then why do we not have the answers? I have been praying day and night that the Lord would save my son. He has been a slave to sinful habits lor some time." A. We are certainly very sympa thetic with the problem you have mentioned. We know how difficult it is when there are close relatives who have not as yet yielded them selves to the Saviour. First of all, let me assure you, if you are a be liever in the Lord Jesus Christ, that God does answer your prayers. Sometimes He may say "yes," on other occasions, "no," while still in some instances, when He knows that which is for our own good, the answer comes, "not yet" or "wait awhile." What we need is a greater faith in the Lord than we have even in our prayers. The Creator of the universe, we can have confidence to believe, will always do that which is right. He is a God of love, mercy, and compassion. He is not willing that any should perish. There are many illustrations of this fact. A very familiar one is that of Monica, the mother of Augustine of old. Before he was
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