December 1927
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The Incarnation It is very important to understand rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus. In the controversies of the early Church, four principal words were employed to express the truth. True. Christ took a real human body, not only in appearance, as some taught. He did not assume one for a time, as the angels sometimes did. Perfect. Christ possessed both natures, perfect Divinity and perfect Humanity, in one Person. Distinct. He possessed the two na tures, but without mingling or confound ing the substance. Indivisible. The two natures Christ took are never to be divided. He became in time what He was not in Eternity—a Man. He was in time what He was in Eter nity—God. In His Personality, He is what He was, and ever will be what He is and was. He became one of us in our humanity, that He might have the right to bless us in His Deity. The Son of God, God the Son, became a .son of man that He might save the sons of men. J.— F. E. Marsh. —P—• How Christ’s Deity is Known His Deity is Known 1. By His pre-existence.—Mic. 5:2; Jno. 8 :54-58; Phil. 2:6, 7; Col. 1:17. 2. By His pre-eminence.—Col. 1:18 ; Eph. 1:20-23; Heb. 1:4-6. 3. By His creative work.—John 1:3 ; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2, 10. 4. By His divine attributes. a. Omnipotence.—Matt. 28:18; Col. 2:- 10; Heb. 2:8. b. Omniscience.—Col. 2:3; John 2:23- 25 ; John 16:30. c. Omnipresence.—Matt. 18:20 ; 28:20. 5. By the names He bears__Heb. 1:8-10; Luke 2 :11; Rev. 1:17; Rev. 22:13. 6. By His works. a. Forgiving sin.—Mark 2:5-10. b. Raising the dead.—John 6 :39, 40, 54 ; 11:25; Jn. 10:17, 18. c. Power over nature.—John 2:9; Matt. 8:26. d. Power over hell.—Luke 4:35, 36, 41. 7. He is worshiped as God.—Matt. 2:11; 14 :33; Luke 24:52; Acts 7:59, 60; Phil. 2:10. 8. Equality with thé Father and Spirit.— Matt 28:19 ; 2 Cor. 13:14. 9. By His resurrection and ascension.liS Rom. 1 :3, 4; Heb. 12:2. —o— . Titles of Deity Applied to Jesus (1) In the Old Testament. (a) Isa. 9:6, Jer. 23:5-6, Hos. 5:15. (b) Compare Mal. 1:6 with Matt 23:8, 10; and Mai. 3:1 with Luke 1 :76 and Mk. 1 :2; and Isa. 6 with Jn. 12:40-41. (2) In the New Testament. (a) Jn. 20:28, Acts 20:28, Rom. 7:4, 9:5, Tit. 2:13, 1. Jn. 5:20, Jude 24-25 with Eph. 5 :27. (b) “The Son of God” was a title understood by the Jews to imply full Deity: see Matt. 26:63-65, and Jn. 10:33-36. The Pre-existence of Christ (1) His Human Nature began; but He did not: Luke 1:35 and 1 Jn. 1:1-3
( “that which,” neuter); so Isa. 9:6 (“child born” but “Son given”) ; so Gal. 4:4. (2) Christ is never called the teknon ( “born-one” or “begotten”) of God. “This day have I begotten Thee,” re fers to His resurrection: see Acts 13:33: He is “the first-born from the dead." And monogenes (translated “only-begotten”) means “unique, best loved, only-beloved” : see Heb. 11: 17: Isaac was not Abraham’s only- ' begotten son. (3) Old Testament Testimony: Job 19: 25, Prov. 8:22 ff., Mic. 5:2, Zech. 3:1-2. “THE Angel of Jehovah” is Deity. (4) Christ’s Own Testimony: Jn. 3 :13, 6:62, 8:58, 16:28, 17:5, Rev. 1:8, 1: 11, 2:8, 22:13. (5) The Apostolic Testimony: Jn. 1:1-3, 13:3, Phil. 2:6 ff., Col. 1:15-19, i Tim. 3:16, Heb. 1:1-3, 9 :26. —o— Christian Living A B C’s “Abstain from the appearance of evil.” “Be not conformed to this world.” - ‘‘Casting all your care upon Him.” “Do good unto all men.” “Enter ye in at the strait gate.” “Fear God and keep his command ments.” ' “Go ye . . and teach all nations.” “Hold fast to that which is good.” “In everything give thanks.” “Judge not that ye be not judged.” “Keep yourselves in the love of God.”. “Love your enemies.” “Mind not high things, but condescend.” “Pray without Ceasing.” “Quench not the Spirit.” “Redeeming the time.” - “See that ye walk circumspectly.” “Trust in the Lord.” “Use not vain repetitions.” “Visit the fatherless and the widows.” “Watch and pray.” “Worship God.” “Xamine yourselves.” “Yield yourselves unto God.” “Zealous of good works.” —F. M. Waehlte. T B I B L E B R I E F S J Abel, Enoch and Noah furnish a three fold type for the believer. If we possess Abel’s faith in the Lamb, the history of our life will be Enoch’s walk with God; and when Jesus comes we will be caught up as was Enoch. Like Noah, we shall be called to flee from the wrath to come and shall be carried over the waters of judg ment in the ark of salvation. . —o-— : In 1 Thess. 5 :14 the Greek word which in our King James version becomes “feeble-minded," really means “low-spir ited.” The R. V. translates it “faint hearted.” —o— In Col. 1:12 the words rendered “who hath made us meet” are from one word in the original. It is the word used by our Lord when He said to His disciples, “It is enough ” and by Paul when he said “Who is sufficient?" (Lk. 12:38: 1 Cor. 2:16). Christ is our sufficiency. He is enough. The common phrase “ripening for heaven” is false. One who has re ceived Jesus Christ is ripe for heaven. “Not slothful in business.” “Overcome evil with good.”
Four female names are found in the genealogy of Christ (Matt. 1). They are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba. Tamar— a sinner (Gen. 38:24); Rahab— saved by faith (Heb. 11:31; Josh. 2:18, 21) ; Ruth— redeemed apart from law. Bathsheba— sins forgiven according to His mercy (2 Sam. 11; 12:13-14). Read the italicized summaries concerning them and you have the plan of salvation. I—o— Dr. Charles Erdman says: “The word ‘Comforter,’ translating the Greek ‘Paraclete,’ or the Latin ‘Advo cate,’ signifies One who is called to the side of another to give him aid. Probably the best translation would be ‘Helper’; for a Comforter strictly means one who consoles, and an Advocate means one who pleads or counsels, and while consoling and pleading are precious and important parts of the work of the Spirit, they are only parts, for He abides with every fol lower of Christ to help and strengthen and guide, in every conceivable experience of life.” The word rendered “thy burden” in Psa. 55:22, is one used but once in the Old Testament and means— “what He hath given thee." - W t sometimes take burdens upon ourselves, but any burden He has given us, He will enable us to carry if we “cast” or “roll it” upon Him. : -- . The name JESUS means “God Who is salvation." It is connected with His career as Prophet. The title CHRIST means “The ' Anointed One’,’—speaks of His priestly work, atoning for sin. The title LORD, is the Jehovah name and links Him with Deity Whom He came to reveal.. It also suggests kingship—His rule over men. —o— A helpful translation of 1 Thess. 4: 15, “we which are alive and remain shall not prevent them which are asleep,” is : “we shall not get the start of those fallen asleep.” The word “pre-eminence” occurs twice in the New Testament (Col. 1:18; 3 Jn. 9). It is interesting to notice the sad con trast between these two. Those who love to have the pre-eminence cannot possibly recognize the pre-eminence of Christ. —o— The words “hath made us ■ meet ” in Col. 1:12 mean “made us competent.” It occurs in only one other passage (2 Cor. 3:6). The Bishop of Durham gives it “qualified.” It contains the idea of suf ficiency—the believer is given a spiritual equipment. —o— Herod caused many children to be slain in hopes of putting the child Jesus out of the way (Matt. 2:16). How could God permit this slaughter? They were martyrs and will get a martyr’s reward. Someone refers to them as “the IN FANTRY of the army of martyrs.” In Ephesians, the church is the primary object and the thought passes upward to Christ, the Head. In Colossians, Christ is the primary object and the thought passes downward to the Church as the Body. —o— ; Out of 95 verses in Colossians, 78 have a marked resemblance to Ephesians. Out of 155 verses in Ephesians, 78 resemble Colossians.
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