November 1931
B u s i n e s s
497
T h e
K i n g ’ s
STRUCTURE1 SCRIPTURE By NORMAN B. HARRISON, Minneapolis, M innesota........ All Rights Reserved cJffie & f)lsÚes lo Ihe @ h urchtíes
1. Romans
T hreefold C lassification The Bible deals in corporate as' well as in individual personality. We are all familiar with the threefold group ing: Jew, Gentile, and church (1 Cor. 10:32). Moreover, this grouping is all-comprehensive. God sees and deals with every man, woman, and child upon earth as incorpor ated into one of these three personalities. The church, we are taught, is a “new man,” a new and distinct entity, or personality, formed by any Jew or any Gentile being joined by faith to Christ. In this vital union, He is the “head” and they are the “body,” constituting the new personality. Portraits of these three corporate personalities are found in Scripture. The Jew man, dating from Abraham as his family head, is today a dismembered man, his life gone, his bones dried and scattered (cf. Ezek. 37). These bones, however, are to be regathered, and he is to enjoy new, resurrected life from the Lord. The Gentile man is portrayed in Daniel 2, in a govern mental role. With Nebuchadnezzar as his head, his devel opment in accordance with his ambition for rulership is traced,through successive world empires till he stands com plete, at his full height, only to give way to the rulership of heaven. It is an imposing portrait. The new man is portrayed in the Church Epistles. In reality, the portraiture involves the Gospels and the Acts as well. In the Gospels, the One who is to be the Head, is manifested, living, dying, rising, and ascending to His heavenly position of headship. The Acts depicts the his torical formation of the body, drawing first from the Jew man (Acts 2), then from the Gentile man (Acts 10). The Church Epistles depict the doctrinal and spiritual develop ment of the body, till it is complete and caught away to its Head in heaven. T hreefold S tate As God sees all mankind grouped into three corporate personalities, so.He sees the individual; that is, God knows but three men: the natural man, the carnal man, the spirit ual man. The apostle lists these three in 1 Corinthians 2: 14 to 3:1, shows the Corinthian believers that their prob lems are due to their being in the carnal state, then pro ceeds to deal with those problems. We are now in a position to note that the Church Epis tles, in the order in which we find them, are addressed suc cessively to these three “men,” with the message that God has for each. They may be grouped as follows: To th e N atural M an 1. Romans To th e C arnal M an T o th e S pir itual M an 2. 1 Corinthians 5. Ephesians 3. 2 Corinthians 6. Philippians 4. Galatians 7. Colossians It will be well for the reader to recall some of the con clusions reached in our previous structural studies, since
2. 1 Corinthians 3. 2 Corinthians
5, Ephesians 6. Philippians 7. Colossians
4. Galatians
8 . 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians
T h E se studies in structure will have fallen short of their purpose should we have failed to get beyond the mere fact of structure to the principle lying back of it. That principle is the unfolding program of God. And His program is preeminently a Person. One of the most interesting and vital questions con cerning the canon' pertains to the order of the Church Epistles. Why are they arranged as they are? Their ar rangement shows an utter disregard for chronological order. Romans, placed first, was the sixth in the order of writing. The Thessalonians, placed last, were the first to be written. Yet they are very evidently in their logical order, for Romans contains truth that is comprehensive and pri mal to all Christian experience', while the Thessalonian epistles present the goal and consummation of all in the coming of Christ. So the answer to our question is usually found in a real or fancied logical sequence of thought from Romans on. Yet this answer by no means satisfies. It is so indefinite that another order might have served just as well. We believe that the real answer is personality ., These epistles are arranged to tell the spiritual life story, the de velopment of a new personality resulting from the vital union of the human and the divine, with all the hindrances to be overcome. The interpretative key to this development is in Matthew 13. In this finding, we have reached the focal point of our structural studies, at least for this age. (For the age to come, the focal point is the Revelation.) In the Beginning Dr. Roy Talmage Brumbaugh, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Tacoma, Wash., is giving to T h e K ing ’ s B usiness a series of six illuminating ar ticles dealing with the early Genesis chapters. The first of these articles will appear in the December number. As a great preacher, a foremost Christian leader, a ready writer, and a warm friend of the Bible Insti tute of Los Angeles, Dr. Brumbaugh is well known. Many readers of T h e K ing ’ s B usiness , to whom Dr. Brumbaugh’s writings have already been made a blessing, will be glad to know of the forthcoming series. Sample copies of the December magazine will gladly be sent to any one on request.
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker