Having considered the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to evangelism and conversion, we move to His active ministry in the life of believers. This chapter is divided into three major divisions:

1. We will examine the active ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers;
2. We will examine the gifts of the Holy Spirit; and
3. We will discuss whether all of the gifts which were operative in the New Testament church are permanent ministries for the church age.

1. THE ACTIVE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE LIFE OF BELIEVERS

After conversion, the Spirit continues to have an active ministry in the life of believers. Here, we will investigate how the Holy Spirit empowers the believer in his battle with the “flesh,” using some New Testament expressions and texts that give us specific information on how this takes place:

1. The Holy Spirit “sets His desire against the flesh” (Galatians 5:16-17);
2. The Holy Spirit empowers the believer to obey God (Romans 8:4-11; Galatians 5:16);
3. The Holy Spirit imparts spiritual truth and wisdom to the believer (1 Corinthians 2:15; 1 John 2:20); and
4. The Holy Spirit produces Christ-like character in the believer (Galatians 5:22-23).

1.1 The Holy Spirit “Sets His Desire Against the Flesh” (Galatians 5:16-17)

The Biblical expression, “sets His desire,” describes a phase of the Holy Spirit’s work within the believer. The word “desire” is the New American Standard Bible’s translation of the Greek epithumia. It means “strong desire,” whether good or evil. When used of the Holy Spirit it refers to good desire, and it follows that this is the desire for the will of God to be accomplished. Notice the tension or struggle this creates:

“… walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit [sets His desire] against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (Galatians 5:16-17).

To summarize, this phase of the Spirit’s work is to create a resistance to the desires of the flesh (tendencies to sin remaining from our unregenerate state). Part of His “strong desire” against the flesh is convicting or convincing the believer that a given desire of the flesh is indeed sin (John 16:8). As the flesh resists, this produces a kind of stalemate. In effect, the flesh’s desire prevents you (the believer) from doing “the things that you please,” as a new creation in Christ. Were it not for the Holy Spirit resisting the evil in me, I would find myself in precisely the condition Paul describes in Romans 7:14-24: wanting desperately to do good, but not being able to do it.

1.2 The Holy Spirit Empowers the Believer to Obey God (Romans 8:4-11; Galatians 5:16)

The Holy Spirit empowers the believer to obey God, including:

1. walking in the Spirit;
2. being filled with the Spirit;
3. empowering by the Spirit;
4. setting the mind on the Spirit;
5. being led by the Spirit; and
6. interceding by the Spirit.

1.2.1 Walking in the Spirit

The believer is commanded to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). The “stalemate” between the Spirit and the flesh can be broken by “walking in the Spirit,” that is, depending consciously on the Holy Spirit to energize my resolve and actions. Thus, I will defy the “lusts of the flesh,” and “fulfill the requirement of the law” (do God’s will). The metaphor “walk” is Paul’s term for living; thus walking by the Spirit is living in conscious reliance on Him to enable me as I choose to do what is right.

1.2.2 Being filled with the Spirit

The Bible commands believers to be “filled with (controlled or influenced by) the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Ephesians 5:18-21 implies that the filling of the Spirit is a way of life, not a single, mystical experience. Men, like the seven administrators of the early Jerusalem church (Acts 6:3) and Barnabas (Acts 11:24), were full of the Spirit.

At conversion the believer is indwelt (i.e. baptized) by the Spirit; during his life he needs to be controlled by the same Spirit. At Pentecost, the disciples were “filled” in connection with being baptized (Acts 2:4; cf. the experience of Paul, Acts 9:17). Though the “filling” by the Spirit is commanded, baptism is not; that is, baptism is to be a single once-for-all experience event in the life of a believer, while filling is to be his way of life under the control of the Spirit.

The filling ministry of the Spirit can be divided into two categories:

1. the general filling ministry; and
2. the special filling ministry.

The general filling ministry, which relates to control and spiritual growth and maturation, and into the special fillings, which relate to special movings of the Spirit. Peter was filled with the Spirit when he spoke (Acts 4:8; cf. 4:31), but surely he was already full of the Spirit before he spoke. We can assume that he was living a Spirit-filled life when in critical times he was filled in a unique and special way with the Spirit.

1.2.3 Empowering by the Spirit

The believer is engaged in a battle: the flesh against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. It takes the indwelling Spirit of God to provide the victory (Romans 8:13; Galatians 5:16-17). The Spirit is the secret to victory. This was true in Old Testament times as well, for Zechariah 4:6 reads, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” It is the Spirit who produces in us the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22f.; cf. Ephesians 5:9; Philippians 1:11).

1.2.4 Setting the mind on the Spirit

Another phrase related to this empowering of the Holy Spirit is a “mind set on the Spirit” (Romans 8:5-6). This is the
believer’s determination to let the Holy Spirit do His work.

1.2.5 Being led by the Spirit

Being “led by the Spirit” (Romans 8:14), according to the context, involves “putting to death the deeds of the body.” That is, saying “no” to sin, and “yes” to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. The early church enjoyed the leadership of the Spirit; the Spirit:

1. disciplined (Acts 5:9);
2. directed (Acts 8:29);
3. appointed (Acts 13:2);
4. made decisions (Acts 15:28); and
5. prohibited (Acts 16:6f).

1.2.6 Interceding by the Spirit

He also intercedes for believers before the Father (Romans 8:26). The Spirit of God does a blessed work in the life of each believer, and believers are cautioned not to:

1. grieve the Spirit through careless sinning (Ephesians 4:30);
2. tempt the Spirit by lying (Acts 5:9);
3. quench the Spirit by restraining His ministries (1 Thessalonians 5:19);
4. insult the Spirit by minimizing the atoning work of the blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:29); and
5. resist the Spirit by refusing to obey His directives (Acts 7:51).

1.3 The Holy Spirit Imparts Spiritual Truth and Wisdom to the Believer (1 Corinthians 2:15; 1 John 2:20)

Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit to guide them into truth (John 14:26; 16:13). The Holy Spirit teaches the believer from the Word of God by illuminating, or making plain, the Scriptures to him.

All believers will know the truth when they hear it because they “have an anointing from the Holy One” (1 John 2:20). They have the Spirit and, therefore, they do not need some additional special revelation or mystical insight (1 John 2:27).

In 1 Corinthians 2:6-13 the Holy Spirit “reveals” the things of God, and enables the believer (called “he who is spiritual”) to “appraise all things” (1 Corinthians 2:15). The result is that we are able to know the truth or will of God that centers in the Scriptures.

Some add to the Holy Spirit’s ministry guidance in human decision making. However, there appears to be no Biblical evidence of that kind of guidance apart from this work in revealing and making plain the Word of God. This raises the question of whether feelings and impulses come from the Holy Spirit independent of His use of the Word of God. We find no such clear Biblical evidence for this. The exception is Acts 16:6-10 where the Holy Spirit intervenes directly in the travel plans of the apostle Paul. But even this event falls during the apostolic period (before the Scriptures were complete), and cannot be given as the sole support for the normal or regular way in which the Holy Spirit ministers to believers today.

1.4 The Holy Spirit Produces Christ-Like Character in the Believer (Galatians 5:22-23)

This familiar passage on the “fruit of the Spirit” directly follows the passage on walking by the Spirit in Galatians 5:16-21. Previously we said that walking by the Spirit is the way the believer obeys God instead of the desires of his flesh. It appears here that the results of this walk are:

1. love;
2. joy;
3. peace;
4. patience;
5. kindness;
6. goodness;
7. faithfulness;
8. gentleness; and
9. self-control.

This dependence on the Spirit is the means by which the “fruit” is cultivated and brought to maturity in the believer. When we “walk by the Spirit” we allow the Spirit to change our character traits and mold us into the image of Christ.

1.5 Summary

The active ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers is summarized in the following table and picture:
Activity Description of the Activity Scripture Reference
Filling Believers are commanded to be “filled with the Spirit.” The filling ministry of the Spirit can be divided into the general filling relating to spiritual growth and maturation and to special capacities given by the Spirit for special tasks for God. Ephesians 5:18; cf. Acts 4:8; 4:31; 6:3; 9:17; 11:24; 13:9
Guiding Believers are commanded to walk in the Spirit and be led by the Spirit. The Spirit keeps the believer from enslavement to legalism and also provides discipline and direction for the Christian life. Galatians 5:16, 25; cf. Acts 8:29; 13:2; 15:7-9; 16:6; Romans 8:14
Empowering The indwelling Spirit provides victory in the Christian life, development of Christian fruit, and the ability to win against the works of Satan. Romans 8:13; Galatians 5:17-18, 22-23
Teaching Jesus promised that when the Spirit came he would lead believers into truth. The Spirit illuminates the mind of the believer to the revelation of God’s will through his Word. John 14:26; 16:13; 1 John 2:20, 27; 1 Corinthians 2:15

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2. THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit sovereignly gives spiritual gifts to believers for the edification of the church, and for the benefit of all believers (1 Corinthians 12:4, 7-11; cf. Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Peter 4:10f.). Whether or not some of these gifts are still in use today is a source of disagreement among Christians.

The charismatic movement began at the turn of the twentieth century among people who called themselves “pentecostalists,” and it continues today among an even broader group known generally as the “charismatics.” It is characterized by the belief that all, or at least most, of the spiritual gifts listed by Paul in the New Testament are still given today. Only unbelief and spiritual coldness prevent them from being manifested among all believers. {Note: “Charismatic” comes from the Greek term for “gift” in the New Testament, charisma (1 Corinthians 12:4). Another term is pneumatikos, translated “spiritual gift” in 1 Corinthians 12:1. The narrow use of this Biblical term today (used only to label a certain segment of believers) is unfortunate, because, in its true sense, charismatic is descriptive of all Christians who recognize and practice their spiritual gifts.}

On the other hand, certain evangelicals believe that some of the New Testament gifts (typically tongues, miracles, healing) were temporary, and functioned only during the earliest years of the church. Their purpose was to authenticate the ministry of the apostles while the church still lacked the completed Scriptures.

What is true is that the Holy Spirit gives each believer a gift or gifts, and that every gift is for the church’s overall benefit. We will give a brief survey and description of some of the representative gifts.

2.1 A Brief Survey of Some of the Spiritual Gifts

A brief survey of some of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament is provided in the following table:
Gift Description Result Example
Prophecy
(Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians14:29-32) Speaking truth directly revealed from God. Understanding mystery (1 Corinthians 13:2) Timothy (1 Timothy 4:14), Daughters of Philip (Acts 21:8-9)
Service, Helping
(Romans 12:7) Aiding others to do God’s work. Giving practical assistance to member of the church. Serving the church and the needy (Acts 6:1) Onesiphorus (2 Timothy 1:16)
Teaching
(Romans 12:7; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11) Communicating the truth and applications of the Scripture. Understanding the Word of God (Acts 18:26) Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:26), Apollos (Acts 18:27-28), Paul (Acts 18:11)
Encouraging
(Romans 12:8) Urging one to pursue proper conduct or to console. Encouragement (Acts 9:27) Barnabas (Acts 4:36)
Giving
(Romans 12:8) Liberally and cheerfully imparting substance to God’s work. Meeting physical needs (Acts 9:36) Dorcas (Acts 9:36)
Leadership
(Romans 12:8) Organizing and administering the work of the ministry. Order (Titus 1:5) Titus (Titus 1:5)
Showing Mercy
(Romans 12:8) Giving undeserved aid to others. Sympathy, compassion toward undeserving Barnabas (Acts 9:27)
Apostleship
(1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11) Being an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ and speaking authoritatively about faith and
practice. Sets forth God’s precepts for the church (1 Corinthians 14:37) Paul (Galatians 1:1), Peter (1 Peter 1:1)
Evangelism
(Ephesians 4:11) Presenting the gospel with clarity and with a burden for the unsaved. Understanding the Gospel Philip (Acts 21:8)
Pastor / Teacher
(Romans 12:7; Ephesians 4:11) Shepherding and teaching the church. Care and godly instruction (Acts 20:28-31) Paul (1 Thessalonians 2:7-12)
The Message of Wisdom
(1 Corinthians 12:8) Perceiving and presenting the truth of God.
Applying God’s Word or wisdom to specific situations. The ability to grasp and apply the revelation given John (1 John 1:1-3)
The Message of Knowledge
(1 Corinthians 12:8) Understanding and exhibiting wisdom from God. Revelation from God about people,
circumstances, or Biblical truth. Truth understood in its spiritual sense (1 Corinthians 2:6-12) Paul (Colossians 2:2-3)
Faith
(1 Corinthians 12:9) Trusting God implicitly to perform unusual deeds. Accomplishment of great tasks Stephen (Acts 6:5)
Healing
(1 Corinthians 12:9) Being able to cure diseases. Complete cures (Acts 3:6-7) Peter and John (Acts 3:6-7), Paul (Acts 20:9-12)
Miracles
(1 Corinthians 12:10) Being able to perform works of power. People fear God (Acts 5:9-11) Paul (Acts 13:8-11)
Discernment
(1 Corinthians 12:10) Distinguishing the power by which a teacher or prophet speaks. Exposure of false prophets (1 John 4:1) Believers at Corinthians (1 Corinthians 14:29)
Tongues
(1 Corinthians 12:10) Speaking in a language not understood by the speaker. Praise to God which is understood by those persons knowing the language spoken (Acts 2:1-12).
Thanksgiving to God which may be understood if someone interprets the language spoken (1 Corinthians 14:5,16, 27-28). The disciples
Interpretation
(1 Corinthians 12:10) Making “tongues” understandable. Confirmation of the foreign language (1 Corinthians 14:27-28)

2.2 Categories of Gifts

Spiritual gifts may be divided into three categories:

1. office gifts;
2. functional gifts; and
3. validation gifts.

2.2.1 Office gifts

Ephesians 4:11 lists:

1. apostles;
2. prophets;
3. evangelists;
4. pastors; and
5. teachers.

This list involves people who function in a certain capacity or office. We may find more than one of these gifts in an individual. For instance, Paul himself worked miracles (Acts 13:11), performed physical healing (Acts 28:8), prophesied (2 Corinthians 12:1), spoke in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:18), evangelized (Acts 13:16-43), and taught (Acts 15:35), all of which are manifestations of spiritual gifts.

2.2.2 Functional gifts

Because they pertain to a specific ministry we term the following “functional” gifts:

1. teaching;
2. evangelism;
3. administration;
4. exhortation;
5. helping; and
6. mercy.

2.2.3 Validation gifts

Some of the more spectacular gifts seem to serve the purpose of confirming the message of the apostolic church. Hebrews 2:3-4 says that God “confirmed” to the second generation of believers (those that were not original eye-witnesses of Jesus Christ) the message of salvation through “signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit.” Believers disagree whether this sort of validation is necessary today, or whether it was a process brought to completion in the apostolic age. That may be implied by the passage in Hebrews 2 just cited. The gift of miracles and the gift of healing fall into this category.

3. THE ISSUE OF THE PERMANENCE OF SOME GIFTS

The question of whether all of the gifts which were operative in the New Testament church are permanent ministries for the church age has been greatly debated, especially in recent years with the upsurge of the so-called charismatic movement.

Modern “non-charismatics” believe that the following gifts functioned only in the early days of the church and are no longer in use:

1. tongues and their interpretation;
2. prophecy;
3. word of knowledge;
4. word of wisdom;
5. miracles;
6. healing;
7. apostles; and
8. prophets.

Some, of course, allow for an occasional extraordinary manifestation of one of these gifts as part of God’s will today but believe that they are not to be expected in the ordinary functioning of the church.

Most charismatics believe that all of these gifts are still in use, although they define some of the gifts differently than those who view them as obsolete (like the gift of “prophecy” and “tongues” especially).

3.1 Different Viewpoints of “Speaking in Tongues”

The different viewpoints of “speaking in tongues” are given in the following table for your information:
Category Traditional Orthodox Pentecostal Charismatic
Nature of
Tongues Tongues in Acts are human languages whereas tongues in 1 Corinthians are either human languages, heavenly or angelic languages, or ecstatic utterances. Tongues in Acts are human languages whereas tongues in 1 Corinthians are heavenly or angelic languages. Tongues in Acts are human languages whereas tongues in 1 Corinthians are heavenly or angelic languages.
Content of Tongues Glossolalia is praying to God in a language that one has not studied. Some believe that New Testament accounts of “tongues” ties it in with a knowable or known language which is addressed to God in thanksgiving and praise. Never is it intended that tongues be equivalent to prophecy in being addressed to people. Tongues may be prayer to God or they may be God’s means of speaking to the people of God, equivalent to prophecy, if interpreted, Tongues may be prayer to God or they may be God’s means of speaking to the people of God, equivalent to prophecy, if interpreted.
Need of
Tongues Dispensationalists believe that tongues had a limited value in the early church to demonstrate God’s change from Israel to the church. Most are in agreement that they were also used to build up the church when accompanied by the gift of interpretation of tongues. They are not needed today. Tongues not only to signify the Spirit’s presence and power but also to provide the ability to speak to God through the Spirit about concerns that the mind is not able to express. The gift of tongues is also given to some Christians to give the will of God. Not all Christians will speak in tongues, and the Spirit is present in every Christian, but special power comes to the Christian by means of releasing the Spirit’s power by tongues, given to some Christians to give the will of God to the church for its edification.
Purpose of Tongues The primary purpose of tongues was to demonstrate the change from the nation of Israel to the nations of all the world. They are not a normative indication that someone has received the Spirit of God or a second baptism of (or in) the Spirit. Tongues are the initial, necessary evidence that one has received the Spirit or the empowering from the Spirit by means of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Further, they are used by the Spirit-filled believer in praying more effectively. Pentecostals differ as to whether one receives the Spirit of God at the moment of conversion or only at the baptism of the Spirit. Tongues are an indicator (but not the only one) that one has the fullness of the Spirit of God. All Christians have the Spirit from conversion, but the fullness comes through one’s letting God take control of one’s life. This is not a second blessing but a recognition of God’s power. Tongues help one to pray in the Spirit.
Duration of Tongues Tongues ceased after the completion of the New Testament. There is no reliable evidence today of the miraculous gift of speaking foreign languages. Tongues have continued throughout the ages, arising again in various periods of the church’s history when greater desire for spirituality has occurred. Tongues have continued throughout the ages, arising again in various periods of the church’s history when greater desire for spirituality occurred.

3.2 Comparison of the Charismatic and Non-Charismatic Views

I would like to provide the reasons for both the charismatic and non-charismatic views in the following table. The readers are recommended to read them carefully and decide which view is correct by themselves under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Charismatic Non-Charismatic My Opinion
Carl states, “There is the total absence of any definite declaration by the Lord of His intention to cause tongues and other powers to cease shortly after the establishing of the church” (Carl Brumback, What Meaneth This?). 1 Corinthians 13:8-10 says that prophecy and knowledge would “be done away” by “that which is perfect” (a possible reference to the complete New Testament), and that tongues would “cease” (a verb meaning “stop functioning”). Trying to identify what “perfect” refers to presents a problem. The connection between “perfect” and the complete New Testament is only implied. Also, there are no specifics provided regarding when tongues would cease. God may allow for an occasional extraordinary manifestation of one of these gifts.
Speaking in tongues is a sign of spirituality (Acts 2:3-4; 10:44-46). Through speaking in tongues, we can have better communication and relationship with God. If most disciples in the first century were able to speak in tongues, then it is reasonable for us do so now. According to the New Testament, speaking in tongues is the ability to speak in a language previously unknown by the one speaking it. Tongues are not ecstatic utterances which many people today are seeking (read Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 13-14). The New Testament does not encourage us to seek to speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 13-14). It plainly states that not all speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:28-30). Further, tongues are listed last signifying they are least in importance of all the gifts listed. Rather, we are strongly challenged to seek the better gifts, those that edify (1 Corinthians 12:31). Furthermore, we are never told to seek this gift – one used especially for the Jewish nation which had been dispersed among the nations of the world where they had to learn a different language (Acts 2:3-8). Instead, we are to seek to edify others through those gifts that minister God’s truth in such a way that everyone can understand (see 1 Corinthians 14:1f). In all of the rest of the epistles that deal with true spirituality and our walk with God, tongues are not once mentioned. In addition, the same kind of ecstatic phenomenon occurs among the unsaved all over the world. The suggestion of 1 Corinthians 12:1-3 strongly warns the Corinthians that they were trying to use the legitimate gift of tongues in the same way they had experienced ecstatic phenomenon before they were saved and caught up in paganism. That in itself should serve as a warning about seeking such an experience. In our century, tongues and healing have both suffered great abuse. They have been emphasized to the exclusion of other gifts by some, and used as criteria for genuine salvation. I agree that God do not encourage us to seek to speak in tongues. We should seek the better gifts, those that edify. The main purpose of using spiritual gifts is to edify other people and minister God’s truth in such a way that everyone can understand. In most cases, those people who are speaking in tongues, is unconscious. If no one can understand the ecstatic utterances (including the one who are speaking in tongues), then it loses the main purpose of edifying others. It is worth noting that if tongues in the New Testament were merely foreign languages that the speaker had not had opportunity to learn by normal means (see Acts 2), then the typical utterances in today’s charismatic churches are counterfeit. Missionaries and experts in Demonology reported that most people who are speaking in tongues, are actually demon-possessed by a evil spirit of tongues (C. Fred Dickason, Demon Possession & the Christian). This should make us suspect of any group that promote this gift for a personal experience (a self-centered purpose contrary to the design and use of gifts) or as a sign of spirituality. Therefore, I recommend all believers should not seek to speak in tongues unless for the purpose of foreign missionaries that the speaker has no opportunity to learn the language by normal means.
Romans 11:29 says that “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” The context of Romans 11:29 shows that God’s covenant promises are irrevocable because of His own faithfulness and this in no way overlooks the fact that individual Jews are either in or out of right relationship to God on the basis of their faith, nor does it mean that they are not accountable in judgment before God. Therefore, Romans 11:29 says nothing about the permanence of spiritual gifts. I agree that Romans 11:29 is misquoted (out of the context) by the charismatics and it is irrelevant to their argument.
Hebrews 2:3-4 says that God “confirmed” to the second generation of believers (those that were not original eye-witnesses of Jesus Christ) the message of salvation through “signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit.” The promise of Christ in the ending of Mark 16:17-20 states that miraculous “signs shall follow them that believe.” Therefore, we should continue to seek for the gifts of divine healing and miracles. Hebrews 2:3-4 implies that miraculous signs had already confirmed the message of Jesus and His apostles, thus the gift of miracles no longer has a function. The miraculous sign gifts are linked with the unique foundational ministry. Hebrews 2:3-4 identifies that salvation as that “which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will.” In this statement three different relations to the message are specified: (1) the Lord began to speak it, then there were (2) those (“them”) who confirmed it to (3) the people (“us”) of the early church. The signs and miracles are specifically related to the second group, the immediate circle around the Lord who confirmed His message, as God’s authentication of their ministry. This special use of these gifts is confirmed by the apostle Paul’s references to working “signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds” as “signs of an apostle” (2 Corinthians 12:12), and to bringing the Gentiles to Christ through preaching the gospel accompanied by “mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God” (Romans 15:18-19). The sign gifts were for this early apostolic era, during which the final word of God concerning the fulfillment of the promised salvation in Christ was not complete and its messengers still needed authentication. Our Lord warned us about seeking after signs rather than simply resting in the truth of God’s Word. To the religious leaders who asked Him for a sign, an attesting miracle, He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! (Matthew 12:39). The interpretation of “miraculous signs had already confirmed the message of Jesus and His apostles” is only implied. In the New Testament, there are no specifics provided regarding when miraculous signs and healing would cease. It is possible that God may allow for an occasional extraordinary manifestation of one of these gifts (e.g. performing miracles and healing) for the authentication of the ministry of foreign missionaries who are preaching the gospel message in remote areas and undeveloped countries. On the other hand, divine healing and miracles have both suffered great abuse in nowadays churches. They have been emphasized to the exclusion of other gifts by some, and used as criteria for genuine salvation. In addition, the sign use of many of these miraculous gifts by the early church is in sharp contradiction to the use made of them by many contemporary advocates. For example, the Apostle Paul healed many as authentication to his ministry (see Acts 19:11ff) but did not – as evidenced in the cases of Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23) and Trophimus (2 Timothy 4:20), who both suffered illness – suggest this gift for the health of the saints; but it is often advertised for such today through healing ministries. Furthermore, the unsaved all over the world can also perform miracles and healing by the power of evil spirits. Does all this mean that God does not perform miraculous things today? Of course not. He is a powerful God and occasionally heals miraculously, etc., but miraculous activity and gifts, as they are being promoted today, have always been the exception and not the general rule. Historically, these signs and wonders as seen in the early church just simply ceased. There were occasional occurrences, but this was not the norm.
It is argued that the needs of the church for the full ministries of the Spirit make all the gifts just as necessary today as at the beginning of the church. Therefore, it is clear that the gift of prophecy, apostles and prophets are still exist in this century for further and better development of the church. There is evidence which suggests that not all gifts were intended for the permanent life of the church. In the first instance, the ministries of apostles and prophets, ranked by the apostle Paul as first and second in one of the lists of gifts (1 Corinthians 12:28; cf. Ephesians 4:11), are declared to be foundational to the church (Ephesians 2:20). Men with the authority of the apostles are not found in the church today. Rather the church is called to obey the doctrine of those unique ministers of the church, who laid the foundation in their inspired witness to Christ. Similarly, prophets, to the extent that they received direct revelation of God for the needs of the church during its infancy, are no longer with us. The validation of the uniqueness of a foundation ministry is seen in the church’s later closing of the canon, which specifically identified and distinguished that which was revealed normative doctrine from that which was built upon it. In the apostles and at least to some extent in the prophets, the principle of the temporary nature of some spiritual gifts is established; and the possibility of other first-century gifts being temporary is open to examination. The church is built upon the “foundation” (Ephesians 2:20) of apostles and prophets. Since the first century none have been generally recognized by the church. This implies that their function ceased once the church was established. The gift of prophecy was essential in the first century for the communication of New Testament truth through the apostles in the early church because there was no completed canon of Scripture at that time. There are many today who believe the gift of prophecy still exists, but I do not believe this is correct. Now that we have the completed canon of Scripture, Old and New Testaments, the gift of prophecy is no longer needed. Since the early church did not have a completed canon, the gift of prophecy was also temporarily active in churches. Included here was the gift of discernment (1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21) to verify the accuracy of the message in others who had this gift. Once God had finished giving the New Testament, the gift of prophecy ceased. Furthermore, the unsaved all over the world can speak in prophecies (e.g. fortune-tellers) by the power of evil spirits. In this connection, I recommend all believers should not seek the gift of prophecy.
Any absence of them, it is concluded, is not due to God’s withdrawal of provision but to the “lukewarmness and unbelief” of God’s people (Donald Gee, The Pentecostal Movement). The general cessation of miracles in the history of the church following the apostolic era substantiates the fact that not all the gifts were to be continued in the same way. The rejection of this conclusion, by insisting that the unspiritual nature of the church caused the diminishing of these ministries and that the need of the church for them remained constant, is negated by God’s use of miracles in Biblical history. Instead of a record of continual miracle working among God’s people, the Scriptures show that miracles were prominent in three main periods: the time of Moses, that of Elijah and Elisha, and the New Testament era of Christ and the apostles. Men such as Abraham, David, and John the Baptist performed no miracles, according to our knowledge. Apparently, miraculous signs were used by God for authentication during certain epochs more than others. There is a peculiar absence of these gifts in the record of church history. Their absence cannot be attributed to lack of spirituality, for the church has gone through many revivals since the first century. Great spiritual leaders such as: Martin Luther, John Wesley, John Calvin, D.L. Moody, etc, did not perform any miracles. The conclusion is that some spiritual gifts have not been in use since the apostolic age.

3.3 Conclusion

On the basis of both the Biblical and historical evidence, it seems most reasonable to conclude that certain of the spiritual gifts active in the early church are no longer given to God’s people. This is not to circumscribe the Spirit’s activity and certainly not to deny divine miracles. God can and has worked miraculously throughout the history of the church, but these miracles are not necessarily the manifestation of these early gifts. For the most part, the practice and theology today associated with the sign gifts bear little resemblance to the New Testament pattern. I conclude that God occasionally heals miraculously, etc., but miraculous activity and gifts have always been the exception and not the general rule.

4. REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDATION FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. Survey of Theology I, Lesson 13, Moody Bible Institute, 1990, by William H. Baker.
2. Lectures in Systematic Theology, Chapter XXVII, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1992 Edition, by Henry C. Thiessen.
3. A Theology of the Holy Spirit, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970, by Dale Bruner.
4. The Church in God’s Program, Chapter 7, Moody Press, 1972, by Robert Saucy.
5. Charts of Christian Theology & Doctrine, p. 71-74, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1992, by H. Wayne House.
6. How can our church learn to speak in tongues?, Biblical Studies Foundation, 1997, Internet Edition.
7. How does the gift of prophecy fit with Hebrews 1:1 as it seems the role of prophets ended with the coming of Christ?, Biblical Studies Foundation, 1997, Internet Edition.
8. What do you think about the ‘signs and wonders’ we are seeing today?, Biblical Studies Foundation, 1997, Internet Edition.
9. How does one support cessationism in light of Acts 2:17?, Biblical Studies Foundation, 1997, Internet Edition.

The Bible presents several metaphors for the church, each making a contribution to our understanding of its nature. The two concepts dealt with and alluded to more than any other, are the metaphor of the “body of Christ” and the concept of organization.

Some recent writers in theology, like Lawrence Richards and Clyde Hoeldtke, believe that the primary concept of the church is that it is an organism or body, and that organization, the ordinary concept, is antithetical to that of organism (Lawrence Richards and Clyde Hoeldtke, A Theology of Church Leadership, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1980). The fact is that the New Testament sets forth a structure of leadership, which implies organization of some sort, although this organization may indeed function quite differently from that of a goal-oriented organization like a small business or large corporation.

1. THE CHURCH AS AN ORGANISM

The primary Biblical text for this concept is 1 Corinthians 12, though the word body as a reference to the church is found several other places. The church as a living organism suggests the following important ideas:

1.1 Unity in Diversity
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
Unity is taught by the reference to one body, which elsewhere in the chapter is seen to be composed of many diverse parts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 14-20), all working harmoniously toward mutual benefit.

Diversity is further illustrated by the ethnic reference to Jew and Greek. This is the closest Scripture comes to a relationship that might correspond to racial issues. (Note: Other limited references are Acts 8:27 where Philip is sent to preach the gospel to a “Cushite,” or Ethiopian, and Titus 1:12 where a people called Cretans are cast as being always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”)
Class distinctions are to be overlooked also, according to the words, “slaves or free.”

In summary, the church is composed of a great variety of people of different ethnic backgrounds and classes, all working together to promote each other’s spiritual growth and world evangelism through a diversity of gifts given by the Holy Spirit.

1.2 Interdependence and Indispensability
“If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body… the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you” (1 Corinthians 12:15, 30).
Each member needs the other (interdependence), and we cannot really “get along” without each other (indispensability), for each has his unique contribution to make. Though a dismembered body can compensate and function in a limited way, it is nevertheless handicapped.

1.3 The Prominence of Certain Members
“And God has appointed in the church, first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles….” (1 Corinthians 12:28).
Such verses as 1 Corinthians 12:19 seem to say that no one is more important than another in God’s sight. Therefore, I prefer the words “more prominent” to describe the function of members like those listed in 1 Corinthians 12:28. This list is augmented by the offices of evangelist and pastor in Ephesians 4:11, and the activity they all have in common is speaking. They are leaders, and their leadership is exercised by speaking the Word of God to the rest of the body They are prominent because most of their speaking is to larger groups of people; they are in the “limelight” so to speak.

1.4 The Training Function of the Prominent Members

Another reason the prominent members of the body are in the limelight is suggested in Ephesians 4:12, where the speaking members are given to the church “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.”

This is a striking and fundamental concept. Traditionally, for example, men we call “pastors” are regarded as those who do the work of service (ministry) and build up the body of Christ. Here, however, they train the saints (the rest of the congregation) to minister and build up. In other words, they are to be more like coaches and recruiters!

This concept of “equipping the saints” is confirmed by the fact that one of the primary functions of the church is to “disciple.” Jesus and Paul spent far more time discipling than evangelizing. This is a much more effective approach to evangelism, because you are producing more and more evangelists who multiply in the process.

Ephesians 4:11-12 could be visualized as follows (Ray C. Stedman, Body Life, Revised Edition, Discovery House Publishers, RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1995):

In conclusion, the church as an “organism” teaches us the following things: we are vitally related to each other in a process of growth that involves those already present in the body in edification and the addition of new members through evangelism.

2. THE CHURCH AS AN ORGANIZATION

2.1 The Meaning of “Organization” as Applied to the Church

The word organization as applied to the church means that God has designed a structure of authority intended to establish responsibilities for the welfare of the church. Jesus taught that leadership in the church was to differ fundamentally from leadership in the world (Matthew 20:25-28). In other words, the management techniques of the business world are not the same as those employed in the church.

2.2 Leaders

Organization in the church provides for the exercise of authority (Hebrews 13:17), the assignment of responsibility (John 21:15), and orderly functioning (1 Corinthians 14:40). Toward this goal, Jesus Christ has appointed certain offices of leadership, which in the New Testament are called “elders” and “deacons” for the local church, and “apostles” for the church at large (I regard the authority of the apostles to have been limited to one generation and non-successive. However, their authority functions today through Scripture, which they left behind.).

2.3 Headship

The final aspect of church organization is the headship of Christ. Ephesians 1:20-23 says that God the Father:
“… raised [Jesus Christ] from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named.., and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body the fulness of Him who fills all in all” (Ephesians 1:20-23).
This headship is communicated to the rest of the church through two extremes: (1) through the leaders to the members and (2) directly to the members, with the leaders as encouragers and trainers exclusively. I believe Jesus Christ, the Head, utilizes both of these means, so that they are not mutually exclusive or an “either-or” situation. The church is wise, then, to be sensitive to this headship, so that what the body does is precisely what Jesus Christ, the Head, wants it to do.

I believe the primary agency of this headship is Scripture, and that individual ideas about how the general commands of Scripture are to be implemented is a matter of corporate consensus and agreement. These ideas can come from leaders and “laymen,” but the two must be united in every task they undertake.

3. REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDATION FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. Survey of Theology II, Lesson 7, Moody Bible Institute, 1990, by William H. Baker.
2. Lectures in Systematic Theology, Chapter XXXV, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1992 Edition, by Henry C. Thiessen.
3. The Church in God’s Program, Chapters 1-5, Moody Press, 1972, by Robert Saucy.

1. THE MANDATES TO THE CHURCH

The mandates for the function of the church are in the gospel passages containing:

1. the “Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21); and
2. in the charge of Acts 1:8.

1.1 The Commission of Matthew 28:18-20

The most complete form of the Great Commission is found in Matthew 28:18-20:

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, lam with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

This mandate contains the following elements:

1. believers obey through the “authority” Christ gives them, ensuring their success if they act in dependence on the Holy Spirit;
2. believers have one major command – “make disciples”; and
3. believers accomplish this primary command in three ways – “going,” “baptizing,” and “teaching.”

The Greek verb translated “going” is actually in a different tense than the other two verbs, as the following possible translation demonstrates: “after you have gone, make disciples of all nations, by baptizing.., and teaching ….”"Go” is therefore not the focus of the mandate, and it need not be limited to going to a foreign country. It simply pertains to the activities of life that place the believer in contact with unbelievers.

Thus, “baptizing” and “teaching” are the primary means of “making disciples,” implying also that we have not fully obeyed until the people we reach with the gospel have become bona fide, consistent followers of Jesus Christ. I believe this is initiated by “baptizing,” a term used by Jesus Christ and the early church to encompass all we mean by evangelism. That is, baptism was the culmination of the evangelistic process when the convert confessed with his mouth, “Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10:9). Immediately the baptized disciple is taught the things of Christ to make him a productive disciple. This becomes a life-long process.

1.2 The Charge of Acts 1:8

Just before He ascended into heaven, Jesus is reported by Luke to have expressed the Great Commission in terms of witnessing:

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The major elements of this command are:

1. witnessing is to be done in the power of the Holy Spirit (note the phrase “all authority” in Matthew 28);
2. witnessing is simply an accurate report of what one has seen and heard. In regard to the gospel, it pertains primarily to the resurrection in the book of Acts. For believers today who are not eyewitnesses, it is a witness to what the risen Christ has done for us; and
3. the strategy of world evangelism is implied in the words, “in Jerusalem (one’s neighborhood and city), and in all Judea and Samaria (one’s nation), and even to the remotest part of the earth” (foreign mission).

2. THE THREEFOLD FUNCTION OF THE CHURCH

There are three basic functions in the church’s mandate to “make disciples”:

1. evangelism (“baptizing”);
2. edification (“teaching”); and
3. exaltation or worship.

Evangelism promotes growth by adding disciples to the body of Christ, while edification trains those members to be productive disciples. Worship is putting God first as the ultimate value.

2.1 Evangelism

Evangelism includes three essential elements:

1. strategy;
2. method; and
3. content of the message.

2.1.1 Strategy

Matthew 28:19 stated that making disciples is accomplished by “going.” This mandate established a radical departure from the manner of witnessing done in the Old Testament. The nation of Israel, its way of life and its unique worship, drew people from all over the world to receive a “witness.” The easiest way to compare the Old Testament method of witnessing with that of the New Testament is to describe the Old Testament witness with the word “come,” for Israel was never commanded to carry a message to anyone. The mandate to the church is “go.” This implies a more aggressive strategy, with no emphasis on a building.

2.1.2 Method

Good evangelism must be done in an environment of influential involvement with people. The believer’s oral message must be affirmed by his quality of life in order to be effective. In essence, people want to know if our beliefs make any difference in our lives.

Acts 2:47 very interestingly sets forth the only reference to evangelism in this section, which describes the activities of the early church. The early believers were “praising God, and having favor with all the people.”

Furthermore, good evangelism allows God to do His work, as we have already seen. He, not the believer, is the one who adds to the church those being saved (Acts 2:47b).

2.1.3 Content of the message

The actual message must be no more or less than what God has prescribed. I fear that today’s evangelism is often insufficient to produce genuine converts. A summary of the apostolic message as found throughout the book of Acts and clarified in the epistles is in order.

The apostolic message contained a “core” truth about Jesus: His death and His resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 10:9-10). A survey of the evangelistic messages of Acts reveals other important elements related to the knowledge of the various audiences. Jewish listeners knew the Old Testament truths about God, sin, and the meaning of sacrifice. Gentiles, however, needed to know more about the nature of God and sin. All audiences were told to respond either with repentance or faith.

Let’s visualize the evangelistic message in the following picture:

From the picture, we can see that:

1. Sermons to Jews contained the “core” and “response” truths.
2. Sermons to Gentiles required the “necessary adjunct truths” due to their ignorance of the Old Testament.

Twentieth century people would fit this scheme also. Religious church-goers would correspond with the Jewish listener of the first century; the average pagan today would correspond roughly with the pagan Gentile of the first century. Thus, in order to be effective when we preach the gospel, we must be sensitive to our audience.

2.2 Edification

The distinction between evangelism and edification has been summarized by Gene Getz (Gene Getz, Sharpening the Focus of the church, Wheaton, III.: victor, 1984):

“Evangelism is done principally when the church scatters, while edification takes place when the church gathers.”

Edification means “building up,” and it corresponds with “equipping the saints” or “discipling” (in the narrow sense of bringing converts to maturity, not in the sense of Matthew 28:19-20).

According to Acts 2:42-46, edification consists of the following elements:

1. teaching;
2. fellowship;
3. the Lord’s Supper;
4. prayers; and
5. discipline.

2.2.1 Teaching

“They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” This for us today includes both the Old and New Testaments. Biblical teaching is the bedrock of edification.

2.2.2 Fellowship

Fellowship is demonstrated by sharing, more than anything else, in verses 43-46. These believers shared their time and possessions so that no one suffered need. It is a mistake to assume communal life took place here, for they continued to meet “from house to house” (Acts 2:46). Also, the extensive pooling of material resources met a temporary need. The rest of the New Testament affirms and assumes the stewardship of personal property (see 1 Timothy 6:17-19). The point is, unselfish sharing is a part of healthy fellowship.

2.2.3 The Lord’s Supper

Luke defines this ordinance as the “breaking of bread,” to be distinguished from merely “taking meals together.” This would have been both a celebration of the believers’ unity (1 Corinthians 10:17-18), which is an aspect of fellowship, and of the death of Christ, which is an act of worship.

2.2.4 Prayers

When they gathered, the early believers prayed. The word translated “prayer” is actually plural, which might imply a widespread participation in prayer by all or most of the believers gathered in small groups “from house to house.”

2.2.5 Discipline

Though not mentioned in Acts 2:42-47, no less vital an element in the edification of the body of Christ is the discipline of its erring members. Acts 5:1-11 demonstrates the importance of discipline when two hypocritical members of the church are severely punished in a unique way for the sake of making them an example.

Discipline, as gleaned from numerous passages of the New Testament, has several phases before it reaches the stage where the whole church becomes involved. The purpose of discipline is:

1. to restore the erring member (Matthew 18:15; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 1 Timothy 1:20; 2 Timothy 2:25); and
2. to maintain a public testimony (Romans 2:24; 1 Timothy 5:20; 1 Corinthians 5:6).

First of all, discipline must be done in a spirit of concern and humility (Galatians 6:1). There are three phases of discipline, and every believer should be involved in two of these phases:

1. personal, private admonition, in which each believer sooner or later must rebuke, admonish, encourage, or counsel some fellow-believer (Matthew 18:15; Luke 17:3-4; Galatians 6:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-14);
2. the group admonition, in which a believer who fails to respond to the private admonition is approached by several others (Matthew 18:16; 1 Timothy 5:20; 2 Thessalonians 3:6); and
3. church exclusion, in which the whole church willingly cooperates in refusing to fellowship with an offender who has resisted all other efforts to restore him. The majority of the congregation must participate in exclusion for it to be effective (2 Corinthians 2:5-8).

What sorts of offenses should constitute an occasion for some form of discipline? Generally speaking, it is conceivable that any kind of offense could. On the personal level, anything that constitutes an offense against another believer demands “rebuke” (Luke 17:3-4). In the New Testament the examples of public, corporate discipline usually entailed some socially crucial scandal like incest (1 Corinthians 5), but conceivably any offense – gossip, for example – could so disrupt the life of the church that exclusion from fellowship would be necessary for the talebearer.

In all cases, God promises that the church’s efforts to discipline are backed by His authority (Matthew 18:18-20).

2.3 Exaltation or Worship

In the various activities such as devotion to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the Lord’s Supper, and prayer, something else takes place called “worship.” Though worship is edifying to the believer, it also is something which he renders to God, something which God Himself desires. Worship can take place, of course, outside the assembly of believers privately, but worship is also a corporate thing.

The word “worship” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “worthship” which means “attributing worth to God.” The Greek word translated “worship” literally means “to bow down.” In its broadest sense worship is putting God first as the ultimate value; thus materialism or covetousness is a form of idolatry.

In the Old Testament, worship involved formal acts of praise, singing, instrumental music, and recitations of praise in a formal manner as seen in the Psalms. Such forms of worship are not as obvious or explicit in the New Testament’s description of the early believers’ meetings, but it is certain that they used them. Thus, there have developed more ritualistic churches with elaborate liturgies, while others have avoided some of the more formal rituals.

Acts 2:42 mentions the worship of the early believers in the form of the “breaking of bread” or the Lord’s Supper which is the clearest worship activity of the four listed. Acts 2:47 refers to the believers’ praise of God which led to God’s adding to the church. Acts 4:23-31 quotes a corporate prayer in which God is praised or worshiped. What did their worship consist of besides these things? Did they have a ritual or liturgy?

Few clues are available. One example of the role of music is found in Ephesians 5:19, clearly a reference to corporate worship (“one another”). Most ideas of liturgy come from tradition, but this fact must not necessarily be discounted, because early tradition may often reflect the apostolic age when little detail of apostolic liturgy is available.

3. REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDATION FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. Survey of Theology II, Lesson 8, Moody Bible Institute, 1990, by William H. Baker.
2. Lectures in Systematic Theology, Chapters XXXVI and XXXVII, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1992 Edition, by Henry C. Thiessen.
3. The Church in God’s Program, Chapters 6-9, Moody Press, 1972, by Robert Saucy.

Return to Table of Contents

Go to Chapter Thirty

1. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH

We have established the fact that the church is an organization. We are now ready to look more carefully at the way this organization works out in practice.

Through history, churches have organized themselves from the dual standpoints of expediency and interpretation of Scripture. I am convinced that the success of any church has less to do with organizational structure than with the quality of its leaders and their philosophy or style of leadership, particularly the latter.

The fact that sincere, godly believers in different denominations have arrived at such diverse conclusions on forms of church government illustrates what I believe to be the only logical conclusion about the subject: Scripture gives very brief requirements as to “form” of government, leaving a great deal of “freedom” to the local church to organize as it sees fit (The terms “form” and “freedom,” and the conclusion here, are attributed to Francis Schaeffer, The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century: The Church Before a Watching World, 2d ed., Westchester, Ill.: Good News Publishers, 1985).

1.1 The Decision-Making Process in the Church

The crucial issue in both leadership and organization is the making and implementation of decisions, whether they pertain to how the local church will carry out its mandate or matters of church discipline. In the business world leaders are responsible for all planning and decisions with relatively few ideas coming from underlings. This also tends to be the way things are done in the average church.

There are several New Testament passages that have a bearing on decision-making in the local church:

1. Acts 6:1-6;
2. Acts 11:1-18;
3. Acts 13:1-3;
4. Acts 15:1-29; and
5. Acts 16:10.

1.1.1 Acts 6:1-6

The congregation as a whole selected administrators (probably the first deacons) for the ministration to the widows. However, note the fact that “the twelve” set forth the qualifications for the position of leadership and gave the final approval (“whom we may put in charge”). This seems to teach that the congregation as a whole should have a part, possibly the major part, in choosing leaders. Titus may have used this procedure as he appointed elders in every Cretan city (Titus 1:5).

1.1.2 Acts 11:1-18

The salvation of some of the first Gentiles created a legalistic problem as far as some Jewish believers were concerned. This decision involved a theological issue, and the decision was reached by a systematic presentation of the issue by an apostle (v. 4) and the agreement of those raising the issue. No mention is made of a large number of people being involved, and it appears that the decision was made in a dialogue between those involved.

1.1.3 Acts 13:1-3

The first missionary journey was inspired by the Holy Spirit in a situation where Scripture seems to connect “prophets and teach ers” with the Spirit’s work. The words of the Holy Spirit are quoted directly, perhaps implying that a prophet is quoting the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament manner. Unless prophets are functioning today in this same manner, it appears that Scripture now parallels that work of the Holy Spirit, and the impulse to commission workers would originate within its pages. The congregation as a whole, or the prophets and teachers, are the ones commissioning the new missionaries.

1.1.4 Acts 15:1-29

The first “conference” involving “the church and the apostles and the elders” also involved a theological issue. A lengthy report by two apostles takes place, and what appears to be the consensus of opinion of the whole congregation (v. 22) is expressed by James. Thus, the decision could be regarded as congregational.

1.1.5 Acts 16:10

Paul’s missionary group, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from going to two places they had intended, now faced the question of the meaning of Paul’s dream. The word concluding is plural and means that the decision was made as a group.

1.1.6 Conclusion

The evidence is not overwhelming, but it is clear that on major issues the early church tended to involve the whole congregation. One certainly does not get the impression that any autocratic decisions were made. Either small group or congregational decisions were the practice.

1.2 The Officers

There are several terms in the New Testament used in connection with leaders, but only two distinct offices can be discerned. One of the controversies among ecclesiologists today is whether the practice of one pastor or a “senior” pastor is justified by New Testament practice, or whether the local church should be led by a group of pastors of equal rank (as the Brethren), usually called “elders,” most of whom would not have professional training. This issue is usually described as one elder versus a plurality of elders (Both this author and Robert Saucy agree on a plurality of elders. See Saucy Chapter 7, for a discussion of the issue).

1.2.1 Elders

Several words are associated with this office that, as Saucy demonstrates, refer to the same function. The term elder (not entirely a reference to age) was inherited from the Old Testament through the Jewish synagogue, which might have served as a pattern for several things in the early Christian congregation. They were the recognized leaders in the synagogue during New Testament times. It appears to be the most frequent term for this office. Also used is the word overseer translated in the King James Version as “bishop.” It conveys the idea of spiritual oversight. The last term is the word pastor or “shepherd,” where care of the flock of God is implied, especially protection from enemies such as false teachers.

1.2.2 Deacons

Very little is said about the duties of deacons in the New Testament. Only a few possible clues provide an idea of their function. First, the term deacon means “servant.” Couple this with the fact that the seven men selected to administer the widows’ food were “serving” (Acts 6) and may have been the first deacons. We now have a picture of a group of men doing temporal duties to enable the apostles to engage in “prayer, and … the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). These factors have generally led to the conclusion that deacons are supportive in their duties, taking on the burden of the church’s temporal obligations.

1.2.3 The Role of Women

Were women ordained to be leaders or deacons? The burden of proof lies with those who believe women should be ordained, because of the passages by Paul that seem to forbid women teaching men (e.g., 1 Timothy 2:12), and the assumption that men are the candidates in the passages setting forth qualifications (e.g. 1 Timothy 3:2). In order to set these factors aside, feminists must assume that they are “culturally conditioned”; that is, that Paul’s qualifications were the result of temporary historical conditions, which would be changed as the status and training of women improved. It is my view that Paul’s reasoning (e.g., 1 Timothy 2:13-15) is timeless.

There is evidence, however, that women were ordained to be deacons (I retain the masculine form, because Phoebe is called a “deacon,” masculine gender, in Romans 16:1). The deacon’s role did not require the teaching of men (an inference from 1 Timothy 3:8-13), and women are mentioned in the qualifications of deacons in 1 Timothy 3:8-13, but not in connection with the elders (1 Timothy 3:1-7).

Regardless of the controversy over the ordination of women, it is clear that women had a major role in the early church, a fact attested to by such passages as Romans 16 and Philippians 4:3.

2. LEADERSHIP IN THE CHURCH

Leadership is a crucial part of the function of the church, and deficiencies in leadership are a major source of weakness in the modern American evan gelical church. For this reason we need to look closely at Scripture to find how God wants us to choose leaders, and what He intends that their function be in the church.

Leadership in the church is different from lead ership in the world in two major ways: qualifica tions and style. Incidentally, leadership can be exercised by both office-holders and non-office holders. Even if women, for example, are excluded from the ordained eldership, there are many areas of service which require leadership where no conflict with Paul’s prohibitions would occur, such as evan gelistic enterprises.

2.1 Qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9)

I will not attempt to distinguish elders from deacons in this survey because 1 Timothy 3:8 implies that as far as qualifications are concerned, deacons are virtually the same with the possible exception that elders are to be “able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2). My approach will be to list these qualifications by category in order to obtain a more analytical view of them. In the broad sense, there is one basic qualification with which all the rest are connected: being “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6).

From a practical standpoint, this means that, within a reasonable period of time, an individual should have conducted a life “above reproach.” I say within a reasonable period of time because many qualified people have done things in the past for which they have truly repented, made whatever restitution was necessary, and have since proven themselves (1 Timothy 3:10). The qualifications are:

1. moral (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6);
2. good example in the home (1 Timothy 3:2, 4, 5; Titus 1:6);
3. mature (1 Timothy 3:2, 6; Titus 1:6-8);
4. a good teacher (1 Timothy 3:2);
5. spirituality (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7);
6. compassionate (1 Timothy 3:2-3; Titus 1:7-8); and
7. good reputation (1 Timothy 3:7).

2.1.1 Moral (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6)

He must be “husband of one wife” and this implies a pure life as far as sexuality is concerned.

2.1.2 Good example in the home (1 Timothy 3:2, 4, 5; Titus 1:6)

This is another implication of being the “husband of one wife.” It emphasizes devotion to one’s mate, not merely legal monogamy. Many believe this also excludes divorced and remarried persons, though this inference cannot be pressed. I do believe, however, that it is inadvisable for a divorced and remarried man to be an elder, because it is so hard to determine if he is “above reproach” or has overcome the problems that may have led to his divorce.

A qualified leader “manages his own household well,” and his children are “under control,” according to 1 Timothy 3:4. Titus 1:6 further requires that he have “children who believe.” In this latter instance, this must mean that his home is conducive to bringing children to faith in Christ, for newborns could not qualify, and some children do not become true believers until long after they leave home in spite of the godly efforts of their parents. With regard to the leader’s children then, they at least must be respectful to their parents.

2.1.3 Mature (1 Timothy 3:2, 6; Titus 1:6-8)

A leader must show qualities that are admired and encourage other believers to follow his example. This includes:

1. temperance;
2. prudence;
3. respectable;
4. not addicted to wine or pugnacious;
5. gentle;
6. uncontentious;
7. not a recent convert;
8. sensible;
9. just; and
10. self-controlled.

2.1.4 A good teacher (1 Timothy 3:2)

The elders appear to be the primary teachers in the church. This is a necessary qualification if they are going to “shepherd the flock,” because it involves imparting sound doctrine. Again, deacons apparently were not required to teach.

2.1.5 Spirituality (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7)

Spirituality involves putting the things of Christ at the top of one’s priorities. This would include “free from the love of money,” “holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience,” “not fond of sordid gain.” In other words, the godly leader is not a materialist.

2.1.6 Compassionate (1 Timothy 3:2-3; Titus 1:7-8)

The leader must be concerned about people. The word hospitable means literally, “lover of strangers.” Other traits are “gentle,” and “not pugnacious.”

2.1.7 Good reputation (1 Timothy 3:7)

The last qualification in 1 Timothy 3 pertains to the relationships a man has outside the church. This serves as a kind of indicator of the presence of all these character traits and might be called the “acid test,” for outsiders are sometimes more perceptive of genuine character than believers.

2.2 The Exercise of Authority

Leaders in the church have authority. This is clear from such texts as Hebrews 13:17 where believers are commanded to obey their leaders. But the nature of their authority and the way it is to be exercised is radically different in the following ways:

1. Leaders are servants (Matthew 20:25-28; John 13:12-16; 1 Peter 5:1-4);
2. Leaders are example-setters (1 Timothy 4:6-16); and
3. Leaders have delegated authority (Hebrews 13:17; 2 Corinthians 13:2-4).

2.2.1 Leaders are servants (Matthew 20:25-28; John 13:12-16; 1 Peter 5:1-4)

At no other point is the difference between this world’s concept of leadership and the church’s clearer than in the unique aspect of servant-leadership. Jesus made this quite clear in Matthew 20:25-28 where He described the world’s leaders as those who lord it over their subjects. In contrast, leaders in the church serve among their congregations. To illustrate this, Jesus washed the disciples feet, an act usually designated to servants (John 13:12-16).

The difference can be described as one in which the world’s leaders lead primarily to some temporal goal that their subjects may or may not be involved or interested in, because they are either slaves, soldiers, or employees. The church’s leaders have as their first goal the welfare of the subjects (Hebrews 13:17), and stimulating them toward evangelism second. (Hebrews 10:24 puts the burden of stimulating to “good deeds” upon the congregation as a whole.)

Notice also that the world’s “chain of command,” or “hierarchy,” is not prominent, if it exists at all, in the church. Matthew 20:25-27 used the preposition over for worldly leadership and among for church leadership. Rank is not significant in the church. Peter tells elders not to “lord it over” the flock (1 Peter 5:1-4). If any sort of hierarchy exists, it does so for the sake of designating responsibility, not giving orders.

2.2.2 Leaders are example-setters (1 Timothy 4:6-16)

The best leadership, even in temporal organizations, is by those who inspire obedience by the quality of their character and example. Notice the evidences of Timothy’s example in 1 Timothy 4:6-16. He was to:

1. point out sound doctrine by being himself “nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine;”
2. discipline himself “for the purpose of godliness;”
3. show himself to be an example of those who believe “in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity;”
4. cultivate his spiritual gift;
5. do all this so that his “progress [might] be evident to all;” and
6. “pay close attention” to himself in his teaching to ensure salvation (“salvation” in the sense of sanctification, not eternal destiny) of his hearers.

2.2.3 Leaders have delegated authority (Hebrews 13:17; 2 Corinthians 13:2-4)

Whatever authority a leader has is given to him from the Lord, and to the Lord he is responsible (Hebrews 13:17). Second Corinthians 13:2-4 sets forth the details of this delegated authority. Paul warns the Corinthians that he would not hesitate to say what needed to be said (“not spare anyone”), no matter who they were. They questioned his authority (“you are seeking proof of the Christ who speaks in me”), but he warns them in this letter that they would get their proof, because Christ would work mightily in them as he served as the Lord’s mouthpiece. The picture is this: a leader speaks in behalf of the Lord by uttering only what the Lord has given him, the Holy Scriptures so far as we are concerned, and then trusts the Lord to work within the people to bring about obedience.

This is quite a different style of leadership than what most of us are accustomed to. All too often a church leader will say what he wants to say and put various kinds of pressure upon people to get results. It requires great humility to allow God to work.

2.3 The Duties of Servant-Leaders

lf leaders, then, are not primarily formulators of goals and programs but servants and mouthpieces of the Lord, what specific duties correspond with such a leadership style? For one thing, a leader may certainly be involved in administration, for efforts in the church need direction, wisdom, and inspiration. But in the church, a good leader plans with his people and listens intently for the voice of Jesus, the head of the church, from every possible source: congregation, Scripture, and fellow-leaders.

Scripture describes the precise duties of the elder in the following terms:

1. instruction (2 Timothy 2:14-16);
2. exhortation (2 Timothy 4:2); and
3. oversight (1 Timothy 3:5; 5:17; Hebrews 13:17).

2.3.1 Instruction (2 Timothy 2:14-16)

He is to teach by reminding and solemnly charging, being diligent in his study of the Word, avoiding controversies and trivialities.

2.3.2 Exhortation (2 Timothy 4:2)

He is to be constantly alert to “reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.” Reproof is pointing out sin; rebuke is showing from Scripture why it is wrong; and exhortation is encouragement to do the right thing.

2.3.3 Oversight (1 Timothy 3:5; 5:17; Hebrews 13:17)

The word for “overseer” (1 Timothy 3:1) means “one concerned” or “one who pays attention” to something. It contains the idea of responsibility for the proper function of the church as well as care for the welfare of its members. It has less of the traditional authoritarianism and is seen better in service to others. First Timothy 3:5 says the overseer must “take care” of the church of God. First Timothy 5:17 uses the word rule, but follows up by saying that one who rules well works hard at preaching and teaching. In Hebrews 13:17 leaders are to be “obeyed” because they “keep watch” over souls.

2.4 Conclusion

The leadership style which emerges from a careful look at Scripture is one in which a leader has as his primary concern the spiritual growth and training of people. Decisions tend to be made by congregational consensus and group consultation. Projects or enterprises seem to arise out of the congregation in concert with the leaders. The management techniques of business and industry cannot be transferred en toto to the church, for it is a unique entity that not only accomplishes the goal of world-evangelism, but “grows up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).

3. REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDATION FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. Survey of Theology II, Lesson 9, Moody Bible Institute, 1990, by William H. Baker.
2. Lectures in Systematic Theology, Chapter XXXVI, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1992 Edition, by Henry C. Thiessen.
3. The Church in God’s Program, Chapters 6 and 7, Moody Press, 1972, by Robert Saucy.

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“Now unto him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began” (Rom. 16:25). The mystery, in a general sense, includes all those peculiar revelations kept in silence from the “aeons” – before Adam and from the “generations” since Adam. Heavenly revelations they were, given by the Lord to Paul, according to which his whole ministry proceeds. They revealed resurrection things; they are non-earthly and heavenly in their character, and are connected with neither Judaism nor any forms of worship. “We are the circumcision (that is those cut off by the Cross from the old Adam line and all earthly things), who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus (His risen, heavenly Name, as connected with the Church) and have no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3).

(1) The “mystery of faith” (1 Tim. 3:9). “The faith” is not only the body of doctrine that sets forth the heavenly truths revealed in Paul’s gospel, but that spiritual apprehension of them that held them fast in the spirit and in a good conscience. It is not opinions, but vital revelations of the Gospel, held as living oracles of God.

(2) The mystery of the union of Christ and the Church as His Body and Bride, is especially revealed in Eph. 5, but appears throughout all the Pauline epistles, even in Romans 12:5, as also in 1 Cor. 12:12, and Eph. 1:22, 23. This union is the basis of all the exhortations to love and obedience.

(3) The “mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:4), shows that in this mystical Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, all having been chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, having been cut off from their connection by birth with the first Adam, at the Cross, and created anew in Christ. Paul was made minister of this mystery and given the task “to make all men see what is the stewardship of this mystery which for ages has been hid in God Who created all things” (Eph. 3:9). The object was that through this Church might be made known the manifold wisdom of God unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

The Church itself was to belong to heaven, though formed by the Spirit on earth, Christ Himself being the Head of it, and every believer a member of Christ and of one another in this Body which will be (has been) given the highest place in glory, though recreated from earth’s sinners, according to “the purpose of the ages,” which the Father purposes in the Son. The highest place given to the lowest creatures, thus reveals the character of the Father — His manifold wisdom forever as nothing else could do. God is Himself love, and the Cross is an exhibition of that love and the commendation of it.

The Church, being given the highest position in heaven, will exhibit the activity of that love which is called in Scripture, grace. The world knows nothing of this. It regards the Church as having taken Israel’s place, and being simply an earthly religious organization seeking to obey the general human conscience. The world knows nothing of the fact that the Church is already called, justified, and glorified, being united to Christ Himself, in death, risen and seated with Him in the heavenly places; and that same favor is extended to it, that is extended to the Father’s Beloved, its Head; and its worship is by the Holy Spirit.

(4) The mystery of God — even Christ, “in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden” (Col. 2:2, 3). This heavenly and glorified Lord Jesus is revealed to the heart of the believer as the Object of his worship, faith, praise and fellowship — by the Holy Spirit. This heavenly One is altogether unknown by the unsaved man.

(5) The mystery of Christ indwelling the believer (Col. 1:26, 27). He is called “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” “Abide in me, and I in you” (Col. 1:27; John 15:4). This is the great two-fold mystery, which in these Colossians verses is said to “fill up” the Word of God, being the highest revelation therein, and being the mystery which hath been hid from the ages and generations, but now being manifested. The “riches of the glory of this mystery” is made known to saints.

(6) The mystery of the Rapture of the Church at the Lord’s coming into the air, involving both the raising of those who have fallen asleep in the Lord Jesus, and also those alive at the moment (1 Thess. 4; 1 Cor. 15).

(7) The mystery of the fellow-heirship in Christ of Jew and Gentile (Eph. 3:3, 4, 9). This mystery does not seem great to us now who live on this earth, where we are accustomed to Jew and Gentile distinction as well as national differences generally, but when we remember that the Church was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (when there was no such distinction, or, indeed, any human being whatsoever), we see how great a secret this is: especially in view of the peculiar promises to national Israel in the Old Testament.

(8) The mystery of the wisdom of God, in secret in Christ: so that Paul and true preachers speak the wisdom of God that hath been hidden before the ages for our glory (1 Cor. 2:7). These things are revealed to us by the Spirit Who not only refuses to use man’s wisdom but also man’s words: “in words which the Spirit teacheth combining (or expressing) spiritual things with spiritual words.”

(9) The mystery of the Kingdom of God, in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit (Rom. 14:17). Only new-born or new-created men in Christ know this mystery ( 2 Cor. 5:17; John 3:3).

(10) The mystery of iniquity (2 Thess. 2:7). Satan is not permitted as yet to bring forth fully the “apostasy,” which will come when the world worships Satan intelligently (Rev. 13), the Church having been previously taken away according to 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, and Revelation 3:10). Babylon or “confusion” is another name for this mystery in this age — see harlot church (Rev. 17), centered in seven-hilled Rome.

(11) The mystery of the hardening in part of Israel (Rom. 11:25). Though there is at present a remnant according to the election of grace, yet national Israel’s eyes are peculiarly blinded to their own Scriptures, to Christ as their Messiah, and to grace as God’s only method of salvation.

(12) The mystery of God’s will purposed in Christ, looking unto “a dispensation of the fullness of times, to sum up (Eph. 1:10) all things in Christ (that is). the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth” (not the lower or lost world, as in Phil. 2:10; Rev. 5:13). The foundation of this in Eph. 2:10, will be the “Blood of His Cross” (Col. 1:19, 20). The saints alone have this mighty future purpose of God revealed to them; all others count upon man and the earth, which is cursed. — Wm. R. Newell

Clear-cut Mystery

“We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church” (Eph. 5:31, 32).

The special mystery committed to the apostle Paul is the mystery of the Church as the Body and Bride of Christ. Why, it may be asked, was this kept a secret? Because it is a heavenly thing, the subject of God’s heavenly counsels; whereas the purpose of the Old Testament prophecies is to make known His earthly counsels. This is of great importance as showing how completely the Church lies outside the world. It has a different origin, it is revealed at a different time, it cherishes a different hope, it belongs to a different sphere.

Instead of inheriting the Old Testament promises and fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies, it forms the most absolute contrast with them that the mind can conceive. So different are they that the two cannot exist together. While God’s purposes about the earth were being unfolded, the mystery of the Church was hidden. When the mystery of the Church was unfolded, the purposes about the earth were suspended.

The Church is associated with Christ in heaven; Israel is associated with Him on earth. The Church knows Him in His sufferings and patience; Israel will know Him in His exaltation and power. The Church rejoices in Him as the Bride in her Bridegroom; Israel will rejoice in Him as a nation in her Sovereign. The Church looks for Him to take her to heaven; Israel looks for Him to establish her in the earth. Such is our blessed lot, such our heavenly portion, in contrast with even the most favored of the earthly people. Alas, that our hearts fall so short of this wondrous position!

However we may slight or neglect it, the apostle Paul did not. Earnest as he was in seeking souls, full as he was in setting forth the simple truth of grace to the sinner, this magnificent subject of “the mystery of Christ” was never absent from his thoughts or heart. If he prayed for the establishment of the saints, it was “according to the mystery.” If he would have them “knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding,” it is “to the acknowledgment of the mystery.” If he would have the real character of the truth committed to him understood, it is that God had by revelation “made known unto me the mystery.”

And this mystery is the Church, as the Body and Bride of the Lord Jesus Christ, already united with Him by the Holy Spirit sent down to indwell the Body on earth, and awaiting the time when this blessed oneness will be publicly displayed: “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear,” and we also shall “appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:4). Surely if our hearts were more in tune with the mind of the Father and with the affections of the Lord Jesus, this wondrous theme would fill us with never-ceasing worship and praise! — T.B. Baines

Revelation Of The Mystery

The Father had a sovereign purpose to take certain creatures into His own glory, to share in that glory. And He desired also that these should know Him in His nature as Love, and be with Him, before Him, in that blissful atmosphere of pure love, forever. These happy creatures were not to be taken from among the “elect angels,” — holy. blessed beings that these are.

It was the Father’s purpose to manifest Himself, all that He is — not in holiness and righteousness and truth only; but in His infinite Love, Grace, Mercy, Tenderness, Gentleness, and Patience. He therefore sent His Son, and lo! God was manifest in the flesh! The Lord Jesus declared the Father — all that He was, which had never been done before, to any of His creatures. But, after revealing the Father’s love, mercy, and gracious tenderness towards sinners, the Son of God goes to the Cross. And there is revealed the eternal unchangeable holiness of the Father in hatred of sin, together with that love capable of giving the Son of His delight to bear sin for a world that rejected, despised His Son!

But the mystery of which Paul speaks was not yet revealed. There is prophecy in the Psalms and prophets, and a witness in the types of all the sufferings, that the Son of God, the Messiah, would suffer, and that for human sin. “Thus it is written in the law, the prophets and the psalms, that Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day,” our Lord said to His disciples in Luke 24:44–46. While “the mystery” had been “hid in God who created all things” — hid “from the ages and from the generations.”

What then, is the mystery? It is wrapped up (though not revealed) in our Lord’s words in His great heavenly prayer of John 17; for here we find Him praying for a company given Him by the Father out of the world. Our Lord asks four things for them in John 17. (1) That they may be kept — in the Father’s name, and from the evil one (vss. 11–15); (2) That they might be sanctified — as not of the world, first in truth, and second by our Lord’s identification with them — “for their sakes I sanctify Myself (vss. 16–19); (3) That they may be “one,” “perfected into one,” and that in a wondrous union to be defined “as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee, that they may be one in Us” (vss. 21–23); (4) That these may be with Him — and that forever, where He is, to behold His glory into which He would enter upon His ascension (vss. 5, 24).

Now in verse 22, our Lord Jesus says plainly, “The glory which Thou hast given Me I have given unto them.” So that this glory into which Christ was to enter was to be shared with these whom the Father had given Him. This, then, is the foundation for the revelation of “the mystery.” Certain were to be brought, in Christ, into the divine glory! They were to be “manifested with Him in glory,” at His appearing. But that would be because they had entered into a glory never before given creatures. It was not given to angels, seraphim, or cherubim, but the Blood-bought sinners as members of Christ!

Nor was such a union proposed to earthly Israel. Redeemed Israel will, indeed, “see the glory of God.” “Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty,” is promised to that beloved, restored nation (Isa. 33:17); and also that over restored Jerusalem “the glory shall be spread a covering” (Isa. 4:2–6). But there was never a hint in the Old Testament, and much of the New, that there would be a heavenly calling — a company who would enter into that glory, be glorified with this glorious One!

This is the secret, the mystery, “kept in silence through times of ages,” the unfolding of which Paul declares will establish the saints. For it must involve the revelation to us that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). That we were foreknown, and foreordained to be “conformed to the image of God’s Son, that He might be the First-born among many brethren.” That we, having a sinful heritage in Adam the first, would not only have our sins put away, in God’s grace, by the Blood of His Son; but would be so identified with Him, by God’s astonishing act, as to be cut off from all connection with the first Adam and be re-created in His Son, now risen from the dead.

That we would not only be enlifed in Him, but raised up with Him, and made to sit together with Him in the heavenlies- -thus passing out of earthly connections, and becoming citizens of heaven. That, in the riches of the glory of the mystery, Christ would be in us, dwelling in our hearts by faith, in the energy of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Col. 1:27; Eph. 3:14–21). That thus, our hearts being as a “mirror,” we would behold the glory of the Lord, and be transformed into His image “from glory to glory,” here below (2 Cor. 3:18).

That, at our Lord’s coming for us, our bodies would be in an instant redeemed (1 Cor. 15:51–53); so that these bodies of humiliation would be, by Christ’s fashioning them anew, at once “conformed to the body of His glory”; so that “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him even as He is” (Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 John 3:2). That, in “the ages to come,” God will “show the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7).

And that, as Eve shared with the first Adam the dominion given him, being one with him (she having been taken out. of his side) and even sharing with him his name Adam (Gen. 1:28; 2:21–23; 5:1, 2); just so the Church, the wife of the Lamb, as one with Christ, having been re-created in Him and sharing with Him His name (1 Cor. 12:12), will share His dominion. That thus Christ and His Bride, the Church, shall be forever: “That they may be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory which Thou hast given Me; and the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given unto them. “ Creatures — only creatures we, and forever will be, but given the highest position which the Word of God gives to creatures: “For we are members of Christ’s Body” and, “we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:2).

Now, although on the Day of Pentecost God baptized into Christ in glory those in the upper room, and all believers thereafter; and although it is true that God thus in their experience made known to “His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit,” “this mystery of Christ which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men”; yet He chose Paul to open out before saints the doctrine of this heavenly mystery or secret, and to write in “all his Epistles” these thines for-us.

All the apostles knew, for example, on that Day of Pentecost that Christ had been glorified in heaven and that they were in the boundless joy of the revelation of this glorious Lord Jesus to their souls. They had all entered into the enjoyment of the blessedness belonging to this great thing concealed by God from all creatures before that moment. But it was Paul to whom the risen Lord revealed the whole doctrine of the mystery.

No one is able to read, understand, believe and meditate upon this, God’s great secret of our heavenly calling, our identification with Christ Himself and with the glory that shall be revealed, without becoming himself heavenly minded. So that the heralding of Jesus Christ according to the unfolding of the mystery is the teaching by which the Father establishes His saints. For if indeed we are heavenly; if our “citizenship” is in heaven; if our worship is by the Spirit; if through Christ by that Spirit we have “our access to the Father” — unto God in heaven — how utterly unable is any “religious” earthly system to, establish us! Nay, says Paul; “We are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3).

We would remind the reader that unless this “revelation of the mystery” becomes indeed revelation to his own soul, he must fall short entirely of understanding what the present dispensation is; and what is the Church’s real character, calling, destiny, and present walk. As the prayer of Paul for us is realized in us, “That you may know what is the hope of His calling” (Eph. 1:18, 19), these things will be brought to pass in you and me:

1. We shall see and realize that our history in the first Adam was ended at the Cross.

2. We shall see that the Christ with Whom the Father has now identified us is wholly a heavenly One, and that neither He nor those in Him have anything to do with Israel after the flesh, to whom the Law was given, and to whom the Messiah came.

3. We shall see ourselves vitally in union with this heavenly Lord Jesus, so that we have been received in Him as belonging to heaven, “even as He”; that we are “the righteousness of God in Him”; that we are loved even as He; and that our citizenship is in heaven. Our hearts must be convinced that these things are facts, not figures of speech, or things to be realized in some far future. We wait, indeed, for the redemption of our bodies, but we ourselves are already in the new creation, and for us old things have passed away.

4. We shall see that blindness has befallen Israel; that the mystery of lawlessness is working; that the earthly testimony of the Church has failed; that iniquity will abound and “evil men and seducers wax worse and worse” in professing Christendom — of all these things we shall be certain; but knowing them beforehand, and understanding that the course of things on earth has nothing to do with our heavenly calling, we shall continue steadfast in faith.

5. An ever-deepening humility will be wrought in us by the knowledge that we have been called into this divine union, so that there is fulfilled in us what our Lord prayed for: “That they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in us” (John 17:21); as Paul writes to the Thessalonians, “The church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

6. Not only humility, but hope — the true hope of the instructed Christian — will rise and well up in our heart: “Looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

7. Thus the believer walks consciously justified from all things, and in newness of life (Romans); as a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians); as made alive together in Christ, raised up in Him, and made to sit with Him in the heavenlies (Ephesians); thus with Paul as the example, he runs his course toward the Lord Jesus Himself (Philippians); as walking through many dangers on this earth, yet “holding fast the Head,” in Whom is all fullness, and in Whom, in constant appropriation of His fullness, the believer is being made full (Colossians); and thus with ever-absorbing hope he expects the day when the Lord Jesus Christ shall appear, and he becomes “in a moment” “like Him” — seeing Him as He is (Thessalonians). — Wm. R. Newell

Matthew McGee

Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” For many, this is a puzzling verse. Most people have no problem thinking of Jesus Christ as a child and a son. Some also realize that when He returns to Earth, He will also be King in control of all government. But many do not see how Jesus Christ could also be called “The mighty God, The everlasting Father“.

Jesus Christ told His disciples in John 14:6-7, “… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” Then in verse 8 Philip said, “… Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” But Jesus Christ replied in verse 9-10, “… Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? ….“

John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” A few verses later, John 1:14 says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Therefore, we know that Jesus Christ is “the Word” to whom John referred in John 1:1. Even in the very beginning, there was Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ was God.

John’s first epistle refers to Jesus Christ in the same way, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life …” (1 John 1:1). Later in this same epistle, 1 John 5:20 says, “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.“

When Thomas, who doubted that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead, reached his hand into the wounds in the hands and in the side of Jesus Christ, John 20:28 says, “And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.” Notice that Jesus Christ does not correct Thomas for calling Him “my God“, because Thomas was correct. Instead, Jesus Christ says in verse 29, “… because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed ….“

Paul also confirms that Jesus Christ is God. He wrote in Colossians 2:9, “For in him (Christ) dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” Then in Titus 2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ ….”

In 2 Corinthians 4:4 we read, “In whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

Paul also writes in 1 Timothy 3:16, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Then in 2 Corinthians 5:19, “… God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself ….” So Jesus Christ was God manifesting Himself in the flesh, reconciling the world to Himself.

The very name “Emmanuel” implies that Jesus Christ is God. Matthew 1:23 says, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.“

The Godhead in the Old Testament

The unified but plural Godhead is not just a New Testament concept. In fact, it is one of the very first concepts if not the first concept introduced in the entire Bible. It is expressed many times in the Old Testament in verses such as Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The word translated as “God” is “Elohim” in the original Hebrew which is a plural word. It occurs more than 2000 times in the Old Testament. Another example is Genesis 1:26 which says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness ….” Notice here that “Elohim” is even accompanied by the plural pronouns “us” and “our”. The plural pronoun “us” is used again when God divided that languages at the tower of Babel. God said in Genesis 11:7, “… let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.“

Genesis 3:22 says, “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil ….” When “the LORD” appears in all capital letters in the King James translation of the Bible, it is almost always the Hebrew word “Jehovah”, God’s proper name. The KJV translators did not spell out the name Jehovah, but replaced it with “the LORD” 99.86% of the more than 6000 times that it occurs in the Old Testament. So here in Genesis 3:22, “LORD God” is Jehovah Elohim. As a side note, the name “Jesus” is the Greek form of the Hebrew word yeh-ho-shoo’-ah which means “Jehovah is salvation”.

Jesus Christ the Creator

There are several Bible passages which clearly state the Jesus Christ is the creator of all things. For example, Hebrews 1:1-3 says, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person ….“

A few verses later Hebrews 1:8-10 says, “But unto the Son he (God) saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands ….” Here, God is calling Jesus Christ “God” and accrediting Him with the creation of heaven and earth.

Likewise John 1:3 says of “the Word“, Jesus Christ, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.“

Paul writes in Ephesians 3:9, “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ ….” Then in Colossians 1:14-17, Paul says of Jesus Christ, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.“

Jesus Christ in Revelation

In the book of Revelation, we find many passages which testify to the deity of Jesus Christ. The early chapters contain descriptions of some unique aspects of Jesus Christ’s appearance, as He appeared to John.

His hair: In Revelation chapter one, a detailed description of Christ’s appearance includes, “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow …” (Revelation 1:14). This identifies Jesus Christ as “the Ancient of days” who has “… the hair of his head like the pure wool …” (Daniel 7:9). Daniel 7:21-22 verifies that “the Ancient of days” is Jesus Christ by saying that the “little horn” (the AntiChrist) “… made war with the saints and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given unto the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.” We know from Revelation 19-20 that this takes place when Jesus Christ, “the Ancient of days“, returns to set up His kingdom on earth.

His eyes and feet: In Revelation 1:14-15, Jesus Christ is described as, “…his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace ….” This sounds very much like Daniel 10:6, when Daniel had the vision of a man with “… his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass ….“

His voice: The voice of Jesus Christ is most unique as well. In Revelation 1:15 it is described this way: “… and his voice as the sound of many waters.” Compare this to Ezekiel 43:2 which says, “And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.” Ezekiel 1:24 says, “… I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty ….” So who has the voice like the sound of many waters? “The God of Israel“, “the Almighty“, who is Jesus Christ.

Revelation also contains information about other aspects of Jesus Christ which can be compared with Old Testament passages to show that He is God.

The first and the last: In several places in the book of Revelation, Jesus Christ is called “the first and the last“, “the beginning and the ending“, and the “Alpha and Omega“. This is what Jehovah is often called in the Old Testament. In Revelation 1:17-18, Jesus Christ says to John, “… Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore ….” Earlier in chapter one, Revelation 1:7-8 says, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” In Revelation 2:8 we read, “And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive ….” Then in Revelation 22:13, Jesus Christ says, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” This is consistent with the Old Testament prophets. “The LORD” (Jehovah) says in Isaiah 48:12, “Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.” Also in Isaiah 44:6, “Thus saith the LORD (Jehovah) the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” Remember that when you see “the LORD” in all capital letters in the King James translation of the Bible, it is almost always the Hebrew word “Jehovah”, God’s proper name. Isaiah 41:4 says, “Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.” So, when Jesus Christ keeps proclaiming “I am the first and the last“, He wants all to know that He is the God of the Old Testament, the Alpha and Omega, the one who spoke the heaven and earth into being, the one who searches hearts and minds.

The reins and hearts: Revelation 2:23 says, “… I am he which searcheth the reins (minds) and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.” This is almost identical to Jeremiah 17:10 which says, “I the LORD (Jehovah) search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Who does this? “The LORD”. So we see then that Jesus Christ is Jehovah, the Almighty God, the one speaking in the Old Testament. Similarly, Psalms 44:21 says, “Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.”

Other Passages

Chapter one of Acts describes how Jesus Christ ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives while His disciples watched. Acts 1:9-12 says, “… 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. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet ….” So we know that when Jesus Christ returns to earth, He will descend from the sky to the Mount of Olives.

Now look back in Zechariah 14:3-4 which says, “Then shall the LORD (Jehovah) go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east ….” Who shall stand upon the Mount of Olives? The LORD! As explained earlier in this article, when you see “the LORD” in the Old Testament”, that is Jehovah.

Also, Isaiah 45:22-23 says, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”

That is what our Apostle Paul says of Jesus Christ in Philippians 2:10-11, “… at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord ….”

Conclusion

Jesus Christ is the Creator of heaven and earth, the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the Ancient of Days, the God of Israel, Jehovah, the Savior, the Everlasting Father, the Almighty God.

Everything we believe about Jesus Christ depends on God’s integrity and the faithfulness of His messengers.

Two witnesses or messengers in the Bible times were required to authenticate the accuracy and validate the message. The sender expected the messenger to accurately communicate his message with the utmost integrity.  Any change in the message would result in criminal charges against the messenger.

God uses human and supernatural messengers. “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:1-3 (NASB95).

The messengers all pointed to the coming of the final ultimate self-revelation of God in the person of His own unique one of a kind Son.

I. Angels are God’s Messengers

Angels are supernatural celestial spiritual beings.

The Bible tells us that God has messengers whom He sends forth to communicate His message. The word aggelos, angels in English, describes a supernatural order of heavenly beings whose assignment is to act as God’s messengers to men, and as agents to carry our His will. “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14, NASB95). 

Angels have personality, great intelligence, moral will and responsibility. They do not have bodies, but may be seen at times and appear as men. They do not have wings; artists and Hollywood created the wings. The Seraphim have six wings and fly, but they are a special category of supernatural servants. The Bible forbids worship of angels. They belong to the heavenly court praising God and doing His will on earth.

Three angels are named in the Bible.

Michael, the archangel is mentioned in the Old Testament only in Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1 where he is the champion of Israel, and watchful guardian of God’s chosen people. He disputed with Satan over the body of Moses (Jude 9). In Revelation 12:7-9 he leads the angelic armies in war against Satan, the chief fallen angel (Job 1:6-12; Gen. 3:1ff; Matt. 25:41; 2 Pet 2:4; Rev. 12:9). The early Protestant scholars identified Michael with the preincarnate Christ (Hengstenberg).

These majestic words of Gabriel remind us of Yahweh’s promise to old king David in 2 Samuel 7:13-16. A future descendent would sit on his throne and rule forever. The only way this prophecy could possibly ever be fulfilled is in the coming of a greater than David, the Messiah. This Son of Mary we are told in this passage will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High (cf. Isa. 9:7). This divine title means He will be equal with Yahweh. The phrase “son of” in Semitic thought refers to one who possessed his father’s qualities. Jesus is a “carbon copy” of His Father in heaven.

The reason for His coming is He will receive “the throne of His father David and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever.” The great coronation will take place when He returns and He will reign throughout eternity. This will take place in the Millennium and continue forever and ever.

This sovereign King is unique because “His Kingdom will never end.”

An unnamed angel announced Jesus birth to Joseph

We noted earlier the agitation on the part of Mary regarding her conceiving a bearing a son while still engaged to Joseph. The whole context of the Jewish engagement and marriage customs in the first century must be kept in mind when examining the birth narrative in the Gospels. Marriages were arranged by the parents and contracts were written up and agreed upon. Once the arrangement was confirmed the couple was considered married and were called husband and wife. However, they did not begin to live together for one year. During this time the woman continued to live with her parents and the man with his parents. This waiting period was a demonstration of faithfulness of the promise to be pure until the consummation of the marriage. If she was found to be with child during that year it would be obvious that she was unfaithful and the husband could terminate the marriage contact with a divorce. At the end of the year of betrothal the parents of the couple would have a great celebration of the wedding feast, the couple would then begin to live together, and the marriage was consummated physically. 

Now it was plain that Mary had not told Joseph about the angel’s visit or that she was pregnant. Therefore, when it obvious to Joseph that Mary was with child he was shocked. He genuinely loved Mary. You can see that love by his actions. He did not want to create a public scandal and planned to divorce Mary privately. That is when the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and revealed to Him that “She was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:18).

Matthew fills in the details for us:

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’ And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus” (Matthew 1:18-25, NASB95).  

Hebrew scholars can debate all they want to about the meaning of the Hebrew word almah whether it should be translated “young woman” or “virgin.” I think it means a young woman of marriageable age who is a virgin. Dr. Luke and Matthew are very clear when they mean “virgin” because they use the word parthenos and it has only one meaning, “virgin.” Mary’s miraculous conception fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy, and her son was “Immanuel . . .  God with us.” The Holy Spirit, not Joseph, not any man, was responsible for the pregnancy of Mary. 

At Jesus’ birth the angels worshipped Him

Nine months later Dr. Luke, the beloved physician, and author of the Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus was born in the city of David, called Bethlehem during the reign of Caesar Augustus. Angels worshipped Christ and announced the birth of the Savior to some humble shepherds who were watching over their sheep in the night.  

“And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’ When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, ‘Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger” (Luke 2:9-16, NASB95).

An unknown angel warned Joseph of Herod’s evil intent to murder the Messiah.

“Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him’” (Matthew 2:13, NASB95). They stayed in Egypt until the death of Herod. However, because Archelaus was the worst of Herod’s living sons and was now reigning over Judea, Joseph and Mary took Jesus and they resided in the city of Nazareth in the regions of Galilee (Matt. 2:13-23).

Dr. Luke tells us that over the next thirty years, “Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). Yes, Jesus lived a fully normal human Jewish life in the town of Nazareth. But that is not the end to the visitation of angels in His life.

Angels strengthened Jesus during His ministry

When Jesus began His ministry about the age of thirty He was severely tempted by Satan (Matt. 4:1-11). After the forty days of temptation “the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him” (Matt. 4:11).  

In the Garden of Gethsemane an angel appeared to Jesus and strengthened Him (Luke 22:43).

At His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane when Peter was trying to defend Jesus with a sword, Jesus told him that He could call down 72,000 angels (Matt. 26:53). “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53, NASB95). A Roman legion was equal to 6,000 troops. Twelve legions would be 72,000. 

Angels attended Jesus’ resurrection

“And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you” (Matthew 28:2-7, NASB95; cf. Mark 16:4-7; Luke 24:4-7).

“But Mary [not Jesus' mother] was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.’ When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus” (John 20:11-14, NASB95).

Yes Jesus was crucified. He was certified dead by the Roman executioner when he thrust the spear into Jesus’ side and out came blood and water (Mark 15:44-47; Matt. 27:57-66; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:30-42). Witnesses who handled His body gave testimony that Jesus died. But behind that death of the sinless Lamb of God is the great truth that He died as a sacrifice for sin. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. . . . But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NASB95). The apostle Paul summarized the meaning of the death of Christ beautifully with these words: “He [God] made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB95).

But that is not all; Christ rose from the dead! The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most documented event in ancient history.  Matthew Arnold said, “The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the best attested fact in history.”

William Lyon Phelps of Yale wrote, “It may be said that the historical evidence for the resurrection is stronger than for any other miracle anywhere narrated.”

Some of the best books on the resurrection have been written by lawyers who set out with the goal of disproving it as a historical fact.

Sir Edward Clark wrote, “As a lawyer I have made a prolonged study of the evidences for the first Easter. To me the evidence is conclusive, and over and over again in the high Court I have secured the verdict on evidence not nearly so compelling. As a lawyer I accept it unreservedly as the testimony of men to facts that they were able to substantiate.”

Angels reassured disciples at the ascension of Christ

“And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:9-11, NASB95).

Angels will accompany Jesus when He returns 

Listen to the words of Jesus. “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-32, NASB95).

The apostle Paul comforted fellow believers with the desire “to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire” (2 Thessalonians 1:7, NASB95; cf. 2 Thess. 4:16-17). Many more passages of Scripture could be sited, but I think you get the idea. Angels were active in ministry during the life of Christ and will be when He returns in glory. The book of Revelation is full of angelic activity in heaven and will be vitally involved in the judgments before and after the coming of Christ.

What will you do with Jesus Christ; neutral you cannot be. What you choose to believe about Him will determine your eternal destiny. One thing is still true. Today angels rejoice when sinners repent and put their trust in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation. Jesus said, “I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

Title:  Angels in the Life of Christ
Series:  Life of Christ,  Christmas

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2008. Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent.

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The following long quotations regarding the subject of common grace, the will, Calvinism and Arminianism are taken from Dr. Lewis S. Chafer’s Systematic Theology, Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1993.

During the late 20th and early 21st century, various Christians and so-called Christian leaders have attempted to radically misconstrue and distort what Dr. Chafer, founder of Dallas Theological Seminary, actually taught.

Scores of evangelicals today hold and teach Arminian rationalism (e.g., Norman Geisler, Bob George, Chuck Missler, Dave Hunt, Chuck Smith, William MacDonald, George Zeller, etc.), while often denying the same publicly.  Claims by these individuals to represent a moderate Calvinism, and those to the right of them as extreme or hyper Calvinist, are not supported by historical, documented facts.  In short, it is a ruse.

The following theological truth is set forth by way of contrast against the backdrop of error, rather than simply stating what any reader will discover when seriously studying Scripture.  May the following ‘lofty’ quotes, in a small way, contribute to setting the record straight.  May readers come to understand the importance of these subjects.

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The Calvinistic system, which is here both held and defended as being more nearly Pauline than any other, is built upon a recognition of four basic truths, each of which should be comprehended in its basic character. These truths are: (1) Depravity, by which term is meant that there is nothing in fallen man that could commend him to God. He is an object of divine grace. (2) Efficacious grace, by which term is meant that fallen man, in being saved, is wrought upon wholly by God—even the faith which he exercises in his salvation is a “gift of God” (Eph. 2:8. (3) Sovereign and eternal election, by which term is meant that those who are saved by efficacious grace from the estate of depravity have been chosen of God for that blessedness from before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4; Rom. 8:30). (4) Eternal security, by which term it is meant that those chosen of God and saved by grace are, of necessity, preserved unto the realization of the design of God. Since sovereign election purposes this and sovereign grace accomplishes it, the Scriptures could not—being infinitely true—do other than to declare the Christian’s security without reservation or complication. This the Scriptures assuredly declare. Rationalism in its varied forms and Arminianism in particular challenge these sovereign verities. To the Arminian the limiting effect of depravity is annulled to a large degree by the supposed bestowment upon all men of a so-called “common grace” which provides ability on the sinner’s part to turn to Christ. According to this belief, men are saved by divine grace into a momentary right relation with God from which they can fall. The continuation in that right relation with God—regardless of the fact that it is the realization of the divine purpose—is made by the Arminian to depend on human merit and conduct. Similarly, sovereign election is to the Arminian no more than divine foreknowledge by which God is able to make choice of those who will act righteously in respect to His offers of grace—a foreseeing and consequent recognition of human merit, which recognition contradicts the doctrine of sovereign grace (Rom. 11:6). Vol. 3, page 267.

The Arminian View of Original Sin.  It is exceedingly difficult for a system of doctrine, which builds so much on the freedom of the human will and contends that all men are by virtue of a common grace enabled to act without natural or supernatural restraint in the matter of their own salvation, to defend unconditionally the doctrine of total depravity. It is observable that Arminianism has put but little emphasis upon the teaching respecting that inability which is the nature and essence of original sin. The Arminian notion of depravity, whatever it is supposed to be in its original form, is largely overcome, it is contended, by a fancied common grace. However, in the working of this scheme, one of the Arminian inconsistencies—a withdrawing with one hand what is bestowed with the other—is displayed. It is rather too much to suppose that a common grace—itself without Biblical justification—is a complete corrective of total depravity; and it will not be without explanation, in part at least, if, starting with such a premise as their idea of common grace provides, the Arminians drift into equally unscriptural notions respecting sanctification and sinless perfection. Naturally, the will of man, which is supposed to be emancipated by common grace, may, as effectually, defeat the realization of that which is best. It is certain that, when given an unrestrained freedom of volition, that volition will not always turn in the right direction or toward God. It may as readily turn from God, and that, it is contended, even after years of life and experience in a regenerate state. Over against this fallacious rationalism—this unsupported theory and feeble deification of man—the Scriptures assert, and in accordance therewith the Calvinists teach, that man is totally depraved, that God must and does move in behalf of fallen man for his salvation—even engendering saving faith—and that salvation, being distinctly a work of God, is, like all His works, incapable of failure. It is thus demonstrated that the erroneous exaltation of the human ability in the beginning becomes man’s effectual undoing in the end. Over against this, the man who is totally incompetent, falling into the hands of God, who acts in sovereign grace, is saved and safe forever. For such an achievement the glory is not to be shared by fallen man but is altogether due God alone.  Vol. 3, page 275.

The Arminian View of Universal and Efficacious Calling.  Without reference to a limited or an unlimited redemption—which theme some theologians are determined to bring into the discussion of an efficacious call and which it is believed has but a remote relation to the subject in hand—the real question is whether, as the Arminian contends, the divine influence upon men whereby they are enabled to receive the gospel and to be saved is that common grace which the Arminian claims is bestowed upon all men, or whether that divine enablement, as the Calvinist declares, is a specific, personal call of the individual by which the Holy Spirit moves that one to understand and intelligently to accept the saving grace of God as it is in Christ Jesus. If the contention of the Arminian be true—that God gives no more enablement to one than to another—the fact that, when the gospel is preached alike to each, one is saved and another is not, becomes a matter of the human will which, it is claimed, either accepts or rejects the gracious invitation. Such an arrangement might seem plausible were it not for that array of Scripture, already considered in another connection, which declares that man has no power to move himself toward God. The New Testament not only lends no support to the Arminian notion of common grace, but definitely teaches that men are helpless in their fallen estate (cf. Rom. 3:11; 1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:3–4; Eph. 2:8–9). On the other hand, the Calvinist contends that, when God by His Spirit inclines one to receive Christ, that one, in so doing, acts only in the consciousness of his own choice. It is obvious that to present a convincing argument to a person which leads that person to make a decision, does not partake of the nature of a coercion of the will. In such a case, every function of the will is preserved and, in relation to the gospel, it remains true that “whoever will may come”; yet back of this truth is the deeper revelation that no fallen man wills to accept Christ until enlightened by the Holy Spirit (John 16:7–11).  Vol. 3, page 276.

Again it will be seen that the Arminian exaltation of the human will in the matter of personal salvation encourages those same Arminians to contend, as they do, that the same free will by which the individual accepts Christ is itself able to depart from God after he is saved. To such rationalistic conclusions, the Word of God, which asserts the inability of man to turn to God, lends no support. It is rather revealed that, after one is saved, “it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13); nor does this continuous inclination by the Spirit of the Christian’s volition partake in any respect of a coercion of the human will.  Vol. 3, page 278.

The Arminian View of Divine Decrees.  Under this aspect of the general theme, this solemn truth respecting God is approached again. None but the most careless will fail to recognize that the subject of divine decrees, with its corresponding doctrines of predestination, election, and reprobation, involves the contemplation of the most fathomless, inaccessible, and mysterious themes to which the human mind may be addressed. To comprehend this vast subject would be equivalent to comprehending the mind of God. That difficulties arise in the mind of man when reflecting on so great a subject is to be expected, since it could not be otherwise. Similarly, it is generally conceded that this topic in all its bearings—philosophical, theological, and practical—has been more considered than any other; yet the mysteries involved must remain inscrutable until the greater light of another world breaks upon the human mind. In its simple form, the question now in view may be stated thus: Did God have a plan in eternity past which He is executing in time? The two extreme positions—Socinianism and Calvinism—may well be compared at this point. The former held that all future events which depend upon secondary causes, such as the human will, are by necessity unknowable even to God, while the Calvinists maintain that God has not only ordained whatsoever cometh to pass, but is executing the same through His providence. Midway between these so divergent conceptions is the position of the Arminians—a position in which conflicting ideas appear. Arminians have not been willing to deny the foreknowledge of God in agreement with the Socinians; nor have they been willing to accept that estimation of God which accords to Him the unconditional authority to act, power to achieve, and purpose to govern, in all that cometh to pass. Therefore, the doctrines of divine decrees, of predestination, of sovereign election, and of retribution are by the Arminians either directly denied or explained away by recourse to reason. At times the plain assertions of the Sacred Text have been distorted in this effort. They claim that God had no other decree respecting the salvation of men than that He would save those who believe, and condemn and reprobate those who do not believe. Beyond this, man is responsible apart from any divine relationship. Having sent His Son into the world to remove the insuperable obstacle of sin and having removed man’s inability by a bestowal upon him of a supposed common grace, man is left to make his own choice, though, of course, the gospel must be preached unto him. According to this plan, God determines nothing, bestows nothing apart from the removal of inability, and secures nothing. Certain individuals are chosen of God only in the sense that He foresaw their faith and good works—which faith and good works arise in themselves and are not divinely wrought. In the end, according to this system, man is his own savior. A salvation which originates in such uncertainties, builds upon mere foreknowledge of human merit, and exalts the human will to the place of sovereignty, cannot make place for the doctrine of security, since eternal security of those who are saved depends on the sovereign undertakings of God.  Vol. 3, page 278.

The Arminian View of the Fall.  A return to a full discussion of the fall of man, already pursued at length in Volume 2, is uncalled for here. What has been written before must serve as a background for this brief reference to a theme so extended and mysterious. Far more than is sometimes realized, the doctrine of the fall of man is closely related to the whole Biblical scheme of predestination. Apart from the fall with its complete ruin of the race, there could be no sufficient basis for the doctrine of sovereign grace with its utter disregard for human merit, nor for a defense against the notion that sovereign election represents a respect of personal qualities in man on the part of God. Arminians of the older school have not denied the fall of man, or the extent of that fall. They suppose, however, no matter how complete the fall, that it is overcome by the bestowal of common grace. From the moment that grace is bestowed, the case of a man is different. Ability on man’s part to act for or against the will of God becomes the cornerstone of the Arminian structure of Soteriology. The supposed ability to reject God not only conditions and makes contingent the salvation of men to the extent that God may assume no more than to foreknow what man will do, but that supposed ability survives after regeneration and renders it possible for the redeemed to degenerate back to their original lost estate. Calvinists maintain that men are wholly unable to deliver themselves or to take one step in the direction of their own salvation, that men have no claim upon God for salvation because of merit, and that the salvation of men is a divine undertaking built upon a righteous ground which not only provides a holy God with freedom to save meritless men, but provides as well the same righteous freedom on God’s part by which He can keep them saved forever. When this divinely wrought arrangement for the salvation of men through grace is abandoned and a merit system for man is substituted, as the Arminians choose to do, they find themselves beset with fears, backslidings, and failures which have no recognition in the New Testament. A grave question arises under the Arminian system, namely, whether men who have been impressed with the notion that they are to a large degree their own saviors and keepers, will ever find the rest and peace which is the portion of those who have ceased from their own works and are wholly cast upon God.  Vol. 3, page 279.

The Arminian View of Omniscience. No slight difficulty for the Arminian system arises from the obvious fact that God could foreknow nothing as certain in the future unless He had Himself made it certain by foreordination. Neither could foreknowledge function apart from foreordination, nor foreordination apart from foreknowledge. Merely to foreknow what will be determined by secondary causes, leaves the entire program of events adrift without chart or compass. According to His Word, God assuredly foreknows, foreordains, and executes. Every prediction of the Bible incorporates these elements, and nowhere more conclusively than in the events connected with the death of Christ. God foreknew that His Son would die upon a cross, but He did more about it than merely to foreknow. Peter declares that Christ as the Lamb was “foreordained before the foundation of the world” (1 Pet. 1:20); and so great an event could not be left to the uncertainties of human wills. “Wicked hands” crucified the Son of God, but this was according to the “determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). The salvation of each individual who believes on Christ is no more an accident of human determination than is the death of Christ. The Arminian idea of election to eternal glory on the part of some, is that it includes those who believe on Christ, persevere, and die in the faith, whereas the Scriptures teach that certain men believe, persevere, and die in the faith because of the fact that they are elect and destined to eternal glory. When man is given the responsibility of working out his own eternal destiny, as Arminianism expects him to do, it will be remembered that all this could be done as effectively whether God foreknew it or not. Security, according to the Arminian conception of it, is that which God foreknew men would do in their own behalf and, since the human element bulks largely in it, the actual arrival of a soul in heaven’s glory is more or less accidental—certainly not predetermined and executed by God.  Vol. 3, page 280.

The Arminian View of Divine Sovereignty.  It is conceded by all who are of a pious mind that God is the Supreme Ruler of the universe and that He exercises His authority and power to that end. That He is putting into effect precisely what He had before designed, would not create prejudice as a proposition by itself, were it not for the fact that such an admission leads on logically to the Calvinistic position respecting the predestination, justification, and glorification of all whom He has chosen for eternal salvation. Calvinists contend that God acts in perfect reason, but upon a level much higher than may be comprehended by the human understanding; and therefore they do not assume to assign a reason for all of God’s ways in the universe and with men. Arminians, however, seek to assign a reason for God’s dealings with men and do, by so much, deny His sovereignty. It is a worthy attitude to believe that God rules over all things, executing precisely His own will and purpose, and that in doing this He acts always within the limitations which His adorable attributes impose. It follows, also, that, because of His omnipotence, God could have prevented any and every form of evil, and that, as evil is present, it is serving a purpose which is worthy of God and which will, in the end, be recognized as worthy by all intelligences. Arminians tend to discredit the sovereignty of God by assuming that events are not necessarily to be considered as having a place or part in the divine will. This has led to much discussion regarding the divine volition. Arminians are wont to distinguish an antecedent will from a consequent will in God. The former moves Him to save all men, while the latter is conditioned by the conduct of men. The antecedent will is not a sovereign will; it, too, is restricted by human action. Such a conception is far removed from the Calvinistic teaching concerning the efficacious will of God—that which not only elects to save some, but actually does save them and preserve them, having anticipated all things requisite to that end and having provided those requisite things. As before stated, the two impediments or barriers which stood in the way were sin and the freedom of the human will. In the sacrificial death of His Son, God dealt finally with the obstacle which sin engenders. By moving the hearts of men to desire His saving grace (which acts have no semblance to coercion), He removes the obstruction which the free will of man might impose. The two systems—Arminianism and Calvinism—are each consistent at this point within themselves. The Arminian contends that man is supreme and that God is compelled to adjust Himself to that scheme of things. The Calvinist contends that God is supreme and that man is called upon to be conformed to that revelation. The Arminian is deprived of the exalted blessing which is the portion of those who believe the sublime facts of predestination, election, and the sovereignty of God, because he hesitates to embrace them in their full-orbed reality. Having incorporated into his scheme the finite human element, all certainty about the future is for the Arminian overclouded with doubts. Having made the purpose of God contingent, the execution of that purpose must be contingent. By so much the glorious, divine arrangement by which the ungodly may go to heaven, is replaced by the mere moral program in which only good people may have a hope.  Vol. 3, page 281.

The Arminian View of Sovereign Grace.  As certainly as there are two widely separated and divergent forms of religion in the world—in the one, God saves man and in the other, man saves himself—so definitely Calvinism and Arminianism are withdrawn the one from the other. All the forms of religion that men cherish are, with one exception, in the class which is identified by the obligation resting upon man to save himself; and in this group, because of its insistence that the element of human merit must be recognized, the Arminian system is classed. Standing alone and isolated by its commitment to the doctrine of pure uncompromising grace, the true Christian faith, as set forth by the great Apostle and later defended by Calvin and by uncounted theologians before and since his day, is a system of Soteriology characterized by its fundamental feature that God, unaided and to His own unshared and unchangeable glory, originates, executes, and consummates the salvation of man. The sole requirement on the human side is that man receive what God has to give. This he does, he is told, by believing upon Christ as his Savior. Arminianism distorts this sublime, divine undertaking by the intrusion of human features at every step of the way. It can rise no higher in the interpretation of the Word of God respecting sovereign election, than to claim that it consists in the action of divine foreknowledge by which God foresees the men of faith, holiness, and constancy. This interpretation not only reverses the order of truth—the Scriptures declare that men are elected unto holiness and not on account of holiness—but intrudes at the very beginning of the divine program in salvation the grace-destroying element of human merit. In the matter of the one condition of believing on Christ for salvation, the Arminians have constantly added various requirements to the one which is divinely appointed, and all of these infringe upon this one essential of pure grace by adding to it the element of human works. Similarly, in the sphere of the believer’s safekeeping, which is declared to be altogether a work of God, Arminianism makes security to be contingent upon human conduct. Arminians seem strangely blinded in the matter of comprehending the divine plan by which, apart from all features of human merit, sinners are elected in past ages without respect to future worthiness, saved at the present time on the sole condition of faith in Christ, and kept to the eternal ages to come through the power of God on a basis which sustains no relation to human conduct. In reality, to assert so much is to declare that Arminians are blind to the true gospel of divine grace which is the central truth of Christianity—that is, if the Pauline revelation is to be considered at all. Over against this and in conformity to the New Testament, Calvinists assert that election is on a basis of grace which foresees no human merit in those chosen, that present salvation is by faith or belief alone, and that those saved are kept wholly by divine grace without reference to human worthiness. It would seem wholly unnecessary to remind the student again that there is an important body of truth which conditions the believer’s daily life after he is saved, and that his life is motivated, not by a requirement that works of merit must be added to the perfect divine undertaking and achievement in saving grace, but is motivated by the most reasonable obligation to “walk worthy of the vocation [calling] wherewith he is called” (Eph. 4:1). Behaving well as a son is far removed in principle from the idea of behaving well to become a son. It is the blight of Arminian soteriology that it seems incapable of recognizing this distinction, and therefore does not allow a place for the action of pure grace in the realization of the sovereign purpose of God through a perfect salvation and an eternal safekeeping apart from any and every form of human merit or cooperation. Though much must be made of this theme in other connections, a word is in order at this point respecting the meaning of the term sovereign grace—a term employed by Calvinists with genuine satisfaction, but both rejected and avoided by Arminians. Sovereign grace originates and is at once a complete reality in the mind of God when He, before the foundation of the world, elects a company who are by His limitless power to be presented in glory conformed to the image of His Son. By so much they are to be to all intelligences the means by which He will manifest the exceeding riches of His grace (Eph. 2:7). This manifestation will correspond to His infinity and will satisfy Him perfectly as the final, all-comprehensive measurement of His attribute of grace. Two obstacles, allowed by Him to exist, must be overcome—sin and the will of man. That His grace may be manifest and its demonstration enhanced, He undertakes by Himself—for no other could share in its achievement—to overcome the obstacle of sin. That this obstacle is overcome is declared in many texts of the Scriptures. Two may be quoted here: “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29); “to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:19). There remains, therefore, but the obstacle of the human will. Having designed that man as creature shall be possessed of an independent will, no step can be taken in the accomplishment of His sovereign purpose which will even tend to coerce the human volition. He does awaken the mind of man to spiritual sanity and brings before him the desirability of salvation through Christ. If by His power, God creates new visions of the reality of sin and of the blessedness of Christ as Savior and under this enlightenment men choose to be saved, their wills are not coerced nor are they deprived of the action of any part of their own beings. It is the unreasoned objection of Arminians that the human will is annulled by sovereign election.  Vol. 3, page 282.THE INCAPACITY OF THE UNSAVED.  The Arminian notion that through the reception of a so-called common grace anyone is competent to accept Christ as Savior if he will, is a mild assumption compared with the idea that the unregenerate person, with no common or uncommon grace proffered, is able to dedicate his life to God. Much has been written on previous pages regarding the overwhelming testimony of the Bible to the utter inability and spiritual death of the unsaved. They are shut up to the one message that Christ is their Savior; and they cannot accept Him, the Word of God declares, unless illuminated to that end by the Holy Spirit. Saving faith is not a possession of all men but is imparted specifically to those who do believe (Eph. 2:8).  Vol. 3, page 385.

THE ONE WHO CONVICTS THE UNSAVED.  Within the whole divine enterprise of winning the lost, there is no factor more vital than the work of the Holy Spirit in which He convinces or reproves the cosmos world respecting sin, righteousness, and judgment. The wholly unscriptural and untenable Arminian notion of common grace, which asserts that all men at birth are so wrought upon by the Holy Spirit that they are rendered capable of an unhindered response to the gospel invitation, has, with the aid of human vanity which owns no limitations in human ability, so disseminated its misleading errors that little recognition is given to the utter incapacity of the unsaved, natural man to respond to the gospel appeal. Inattentive or uninstructed evangelists and zealous soul-winners too often go forth assuming that all persons anywhere and everywhere are able at any time to comply with the terms of the gospel, whereas the Scriptures teach that no man is able to make an intelligent decision for Christ apart from the enlightening work of the Holy Spirit.  Vol. 6, pp. 88.