“ I that speak unto thee am he” [meaning the M essiah , or the Christ]. (See John 4:25, 26.) “ Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, mak ing himself equal with God” (John 5:18). “Moses wrote of me” (John 5:46). (Read all of this wonderful discourse in the fifth chapter of John for the Lord’s irrefutable proof that He is God.) “ I am the bread of life . . . which came down from heaven” (John 6: 35, 41, 48, 51). “ I proceeded forth and came from God” (John 8:42). “ Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). “ Dost thou believe on the Soil of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. . . . And he wor shipped him” (John 9:35-38). Space forbids our quoting more here; but these are only a few of the many passages that might be given, not only from John, but also from the other Gospels; indeed, from all the Word of God, on this important subject. Either Christ was eternal God, or we have no Saviour, no life eternal, no hope in this world or in the world to come. John 8:24 con tains the warning from the lips of Christ Himself: “ If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” ONE DEVIL Q. Why does the New Testament speak so often of devils when there is only one devil? A. Evidently you refer to the King James or Authorized Version of our English Bible. The American Stand ard (Revised) Version (1901) more accurately translates the word de mons when it does not refer to Sa tan, the only devil. In other words, there is only one devil; there are many demons, his emissaries.
We need to go back to Genesis 2:21-25 for its origin. Jesus made reference to this when He stated, as recorded in Matthew 19:8: “ Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.” Christians who marry out of the will of God—such as believers with unbelievers — have not much chance for true happiness since they are dis obeying the plain directions of God. But nevertheless it is a marriage and they two are one flesh. WAS CHRIST A JEW? Q . Constantly I hear that Christ could not have been a Jew. Is this so? A. No, it is not so. I have answered this question dozens of times over the years. Let me give you two verses: Hebrews 2:16: “ For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham” ; John 4 :9 : “ Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a wo man of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.” Of course, Jesus was a Jew. Mary was a Jewess whose cousin Elisabeth was, “ of the daughters of Aaron” (Luke 1:5, 36). THE DEITY OF CHRIST Q . Did Jesus ever claim to be God? A. Yes, very many times — by di rect statement, by accepting worship as God, by doing the miracles that only God can perform, by His sinless life, by foretelling future events that only God knows, by rising from the dead by the power of His own Holy Spirit, by applying Old Testament prophecy to Himself. Read for yourself some of the many passages where He definitely claimed to be God. Then read all of the Gospel according to John, noting particularly such verses as these:
RESURRECTION AND RAPTURE Q. What is the meaning of the Lord’s word in John 11:25, 26: “1 am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whoso ever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” ? Did the Lord refer to the dead in Him who shall be raised and the living who shall be translated at His coming for the church? A. I think so. The Lord Jesus here made an allusion to the translation of the living and the resurrection of the saints as outlined in I Thess. 4:16-18. Accordingly, these words might be paraphrased as follows: “He that believeth in me, though he were dead [though he should die be fore Christ’s return for the church], yet shall he live [ ‘the dead in Christ shall rise first’] ; and whosoever liv eth [until Jesus comes] and believeth in me shall never die [but shall be changed ‘in a moment, and in the twinkling of an eye’ ].” However, through Paul the Lord set forth the details in regard to this event. The great truth concerning the translation of the church was not made clear until after the formation of the church at Pentecost; and to Paul this was made known by spe cial revelation. But, referring again to the mean ing of John 11:25, 26, I should like to add: There is the fundamental, underlying truth which every true Christian holds, that whosoever be lieveth on the risen Lord in every age, shall inherit everlasting life, shall be raised from the dead, when body and spirit are reunited at the coming of Christ. MARRIAGES MADE IN HEAVEN? Q . People say that marriages are made in heaven but a lot of them do not seem to be. Are these real mar riages? Is marriage binding when it is out of the will of God? A. Yes it is. Marriage was instituted by God in the beginning of the race.
THE KING'S BUSINESS
32
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker