The Apostles’ Creed was adopted at one of the earlier Councils of the church. There were many of them in the first centuries of the church and many doctrinal disputes. It is believed this Creed dates back to Irenaeus, one of the church fathers, who died about 202 A.D. Again I repeat it was not written by the twelve apostles, as the dictionaries state. "A C CO RD ING TO T H Y W IL L " Q. Does “ according to his will” in I John 5:11-15 mean asking in the name of Jesus? A . It certainly does—that, and much more. You remember how Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “ . . . Nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt” (Mark 14:36)? That was complete committal to the will of His Father. Ours should be no less. We do not always know the will of God when we come with our petitions, but we should ever be sub missive to whatever He wishes, even in regard to things we do believe are in accordance with His desires for us, our loved ones, our circumstances, our work, anything for which we may be asking. He wants us to come often. “ Ye have not because ye ask not,” we read in James 4:2. It pleases our Heavenly Father for us to take Him into our confidence — so to speak — about the things that trouble us, the problems we cannot solve, our heart aches and our joys. We may receive these blessings from Him through the Lord Jesus Christ as we come in His name and through His merits, not our own. Remember too that Christ is our Great High Priest, who “ ever liveth to make intercession for us” (Heb. 7:25). See also Romans 8:26-28, John 14:13 and 15:7. Every answer to prayer should glorify the Lord. If it does this, it also meets our deepest spiritual need and the. needs of those for whom we pray. One of the best things any of us can do in 1968 is to “ pray without ceas ing” — to make it the constant habit of our lives.
sorrow but the coming of Christ is “the blessed hope” of the believer (Titus 2:13). JEWS A N D ISRAELITES Q. 7 hear a radio preacher who con stantly states that the Jews and the Israelites are not the same. Can you enlighten me? I thought they were. A . You thought right. This is one of the fables of the Anglo-Israelites. There are many instances in the New Testament which prove that these terms were used interchangeably and most certainly refer to the same peo ple. Note, for instance, that when Peter addressed the Jewish nation on the Day of Pentecost, he said, “ Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem . . . Ye men of Israel, hear these words . . . all the house of Israel” (Acts 2:14, 22, 23, 26). In Acts 4:26-28 we read of the people of Israel. Paul in his message before Agrippa mentioned the twelve tribes (Acts 26 :7 ); also mentioned in James 1:1. Jew and Israelite be came synonymous terms about the time of the captivity. In the New Testament the same people are called Jews 174 times and Israel 75 times. See also Acts 21:39; 22:3; Romans 11:1; I Corinthians 1:22; Philip- pians 3 :5 ; Romans 9:4, 5. TH E APOSTLES' CREED Q. Can you tell me the origin of the Apostles’ Creed? A , It is a statement of doctrine which came into being in the third century. It was not formulated by the Apos tles, however, but it is so called be cause it contains a summary of the doctrines which they taught and which are in the Bible. It is thought that this statement which is often repeated in churches was based upon Matthew 16:16. It contains a declara tion of faith in God the Father, Son and Holy Sp irit. The expression, “ catholic” which meant “ universal,” not Roman Catholic, h a s b e e n changed to Christian in some places.
CHR IST OR DEATH “ C O M IN G FOR US"?
Q, A friend of mine insists that Christ’s coming for His children is simply death. Please give me a pas sage that I can show her where it is plain that Christ is coming visibly. A . I can furnish you many Scrip tures. Take, for instance, I Thessa- lonians 4 :1 3 -1 8 . T h o s e believers whose bodies are in the grave, at the time of Christ’s return, are described as those who are “ asleep” for it is always the body which “ sleeps,” not the soul. These Christians who have undergone death will be reunited with their resurrected bodies at that time. Meantime the living will be changed without having to undergo death. See also I Corinthians 1 5 :51- 58; note verse 51: “We shall not all sleep [or die], but we shall all be changed.” Jesus said very plainly be fore His death, on the very brink of Calvary: “ And if I go and pre pare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 1 4 : 3 ) and we read in Acts 1 : 9 - l l : “And when he [Jesus] had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” The second coming of Christ will be just as real, just as personal, just as visible, as was His first coming. Only at this second time, He will not come as a Babe in a manger, in humiliation, in order to take upon Himself a body that He might die on the cross for us. He will come in the glory He had with the Father before the world was. Death is an enemy of man (I Cor. 15:26). Death brings heartbreak and
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A P R IL, 1968
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