215
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
April 1927
your own room by means of earnest intercessory prayer, you can have a very vital ahd glcjrious share in the distribution of the Books, and in leading multitudes into the light. Will you hot join with thousands in China in spending a few minutes, daily “in intercfession for an ' outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the missionaries, pastors, evangelists, .Bible women, and all Christians; for the cleansing and quickening of the church; for the spread of the Word of God; and for a great ingathering of souls into the Kingdom?” Shanghai, China.
Who can tell whether all this ferment and upheaval and unrest may not be a providential breaking up of fallow ground in preparation for showers of divine blessing? Surely the plac ing of 700,000 or 1,000,000 copies of the New Testament in Chi nese homes and hearts at the hands of consecrated missionaries and Chinese workers,;:, cannot fail to be a powerful factor in bringing to pass a great spiritual awakening. David declared that they that tarried by the “stuff” should share alike with those that went to the battle. It may not be possible for those who read these lines to come to China to help in giving out-the Testaments and winning souls ; but right in
The Fulness of Times B y T homas F itzgerald
“The Fulness of the Times!’ indicates a period reached, when all former times shall have ruii their course, like rivers that flow into the sea; when all the confusion on earth caused by Satan and mankind will give place to the beneficent and ordereclpjrule of the Son of Man. The administration «of that period must be yet future, as the “Fulness/of the Gentiles” is not accomplished, and the “Times of the Gentiles” are not ended. The Lord has not yet taken to Himself His great power; He is still seated upon His Father’s Throne/ He has not yet taken His seat as “Great David’s Greater Son,” on the throne of His father David, to reign in Mount Zion and in Jeru salem, and before His ancients gloriously; and He will not, until His Bride is brought home to the Father’s House. Here is the patience of Christ. He knows, and we now know, that Christ and the Church are, together, to complete all that remains to be accomplished in God’s purposes. S tarting P o int of t h e C ycle , We therefore suggest that the starting-point of this Cyc®fthe first movement toward taking over the admin- istrationjl-will be when the Lord moves from the Father’s Throne into the air, and “they that are Christ’s” are “caught up” to meet Him there (John 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 15: 23 ;1 John 3:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:16-18). The terminus will be reached, when all enemies are subdued, and the judg ments carried out, the affairs of the Kingdom are admin- Clefts of Calvary- in Fleming’s “Christology” it is stated that an un believer visiting the sacred places of Palestine was shown the clefts of Mount Calvary. Examining them narrowly and critically, he turned in amazement to his fellow-travellers and said, “I have long been a student of nature; and I am sure that the rents and clefts in this rock were never done by nature or an ordinary earthquake. By such a concussion, the rock must have split according to its veins,! and where it was weakest in the adhesion of parts: for this,” he said, “I have observed to have been done in other rocks when sep arated or broken after an earthquake; and reason tells me it must always be so. But it is quite otherwise here; for the rocks are split athwart and across the veins in a strange and preternatural manner; and there fore,” said he, “I thank God that I came hither to see the standing monument of miraculous power by which God gives evidence to this day of the divinity of Christ.”-
“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him (Eph. 1:10).' f HIS Fourth Cycle, which we are now to consider, takes us entirely into the realm o f .unfulfilled prophecy. From the terms used in the passage (Eph. 1:10), we cannot fail to realize that we are faced with one of the most profound state ments to be found in the whole course of revelation. We have here discovered to us the grand climax in the unfolding of God’s purposes, and being connected with the “mystery” (or secret) of God’s will, it is fitting that this passage should appear in this Epistle, and here only, which treats so fully of “the mystery of the Christ,” that is, “Christ in all -His fulness” (Alford). ; - ■/./. One of the features of this terminal passage, which produces wonder, is the identification and association, through eternal ages, of redeemed children of Adam with the Christ of God; This identification and association are described by the terms—“The Church” (1:22; 3:1.0), “His Body” (1:23; 4:15, 16). “Holy (or.inner) Temple” (2:21), “The Bride” (5 :24, 25, 32) ; and as the Epistle is addressed “to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus,” it was no doubt intended to teach them that they were viewed, as a company of believ ers, in all these various aspects “in Christ,!’ apart from any special attainments in holiness or service. The con text is very suggestive, and throws light on the full pur port of the passage. T erms and T h e ir M ean ings Let us consider some of the terms used m verses 9 to 11: (1) Mystery —secret once hidden, now made known; (2) Dispensation —administration; (3) Fulness—* comple tion; (4) Times (plural)—appointed periods, or seasons, fixed by God; (5) Gather together in one —bring together under One Head (C h rist); (6) We have obtained, an in- heritanceMrwe have a part by lot, a share in this Head ship. This “mystery of .His will” takes in Christ and the Church. We might therefore read the whole passage thus: “Having made known unto us the hidden secret of His will . . . that in the administration of the completion of the future appointed periods, fixed in God’s purposes, He might bring together under one Headship all things in the Christ, both which are in the heavens and on earth; even in Him, in whom we also are included, and have a share in this administration.”
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