(Inside front cover)

BY HOWARD NATHANAEL BUNCE, Ph.D.

IDENTIFICATION WITH CHRIST

(Great profit is to be realized in contemplating the blessings made possible in grace by the believers identification with Christ.)

1. Crucified WITH Christ ………………….. …… Rom. 6:5, 6, 8

Cp. Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9. These texts prove that it is the "old man" that is crucified WITH Christ.

2. Buried WITH Christ ………………………………. Rom. 6:4, 5

Cp. Col. 2:12. This text shows the baptism to be that of death.

3. Resurrected WITH Christ …………………………… Rom. 6:5

Cp. Eph. 2:6; Col. 2:12. God is the originator of the faith that brings this realization,

4. Quickened WITH Christ ……………………………….Eph. 2:5

Cp. Col. 2:13. The word "quicken" means "to make alive." Here it is in conjunction with Christ.

5. Seated WITH Christ ………………………………… Eph. 2:6

Cp. Eph. 1:20. The place of the seating is in rights of God in the heavenlies.

6. Suffering WITH Christ …………………………….. Phil. 3:10

This is something to know; i.e., "the fellowship of His sufferings."

7. Glorified WITH Christ ……………………………… Col. 3:4 The realization of this experiment will be when He is manifested.

Scripture Research - Volume 1 Number 6

Ewalt Memorial Bible School, Atascadero, California

Article Page

Grace as Giving ……………………………… 112

by Russell H. Schaefer

Grace As Thanksgiving ……………………... 115

by Russell H. Schaefer

Only Believe ………………………………….. 119

by Ray I. Psalmonds

Sin And The Believer ……………………….. 122

by Charles W. Asbell

HOW THE CHRISTIAN SHOULD WALK

1. "In Christ" (Col. 2:6).

2. "In The Spirit" (Gal. 5:16).

3. "In newness of life" (Rom. 6:4).

4. "In love" (Eph. 5:2).

5. "In the light" (I John 1:7).

6. "In wisdom" (Col. 4:5).

7. "In good works" (Eph. 2:10).

THE PROGRAM OF THE PAULINE EPISTLES:

Space will not permit elaboration upon this important phase of our theme. In Romans, the sinner is revealed guilty, helpless, hopeless and condemned, and justly so, but by the grace of God and through the finished work of The Lord Jesus Christ the believer is justified, made alive unto God by the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and separated unto God.

In Ephesians, the believer is revealed, once afar off, dead in sins but quickened by Christ, raised up and seated positionally with Christ in the heavens, being made a member of the glorious Head, in unity with all true believers, kept separate unto Christ by The Word and promised a glorious presentation to Himself who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Christ died for us (5. 8). We are dead to the offences and the sins (2. 1).

He is raised from the dead (6. 9). We are quickened and raised together with Him (2. 6).

Justified by faith (5. 1). Holy and without blame before Him in love (1. 4).

Saved in Hope (8. 24). By grace ye are saved (2. 8).

Access into a position of grace Access to The Father (2.18). (5. 2).

Resurrection in view (6. 5). Raised and exalted together with Him (2.6).

The gift (chrisma) of God Complete salvation by faith the is eternal life (6. 23). gift (doron), or oblation of God (2. 8).

In hope of the glory of God Glory in the church (3.21). (5. 2).

Believing Jews have a favored Jews and Gentiles made a position, believing Gentiles joint-body, joint-heirs as guests sharing the bless- and joint-sharers of the ings (15. 27). promise in Christ Jesus (3. 6).

Sphere of blessing the earth Sphere of blessing IN the and the New Creation (8. 21). Heavenlies where Christ

The Head is (1. 3).

Change of masters from sin to Subject to Christ The Head Righteousness (6. 19). of His Body (5. 24).

Illustrated by a Body (12. 4). The body of The Christ (4. 12).

Walking in newness of life (6. 4). Walking in love (5. 2).

GRACE AS GIVING

by

Russell H. Schaefer

In Scripture there is a "gift" of grace and "grace" as a gift. In II Cor. 8:19 the liberality of the Corinthians is called "grace" (chariti). This "giving" aspect of grace is not a minor role by any means as this same concept is spoken of in I Cor. 8:4 as "gift" and as "grace" in the seventh verse. In spite of their extreme depth of poverty and affliction, the joy they experienced in the grace of God caused a resultant giving, a giving to help others in need -- a giving founded in God's grace, developed in their hearts, abounding beyond their own propensities. Paul aptly puts it in I Cor. 8:5, "But first gave their own selves to The Lord." Any giving that claims its origin in grace (not the legalistic ten percent of the law) and does not have this prerequisite is not "grace" giving. Maybe right here is the sore spot. Dear people have been giving to organized religion for years, thinking thereby that they are advancing the cause of Christ, that they are "giving to God." Might we suggest that Paul's words in Acts 17:25 may have an application here: "Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though He needed anything...." No, God does not need any-thing; our giving neither increases His hoard nor does our withholding delete it. He demands nothing of a poor sinner. He, in grace, accepts these poor lives of ours and again in love and grace owns us as His own, and, in His great redemptive purposes "in Christ, "places us as "sons" (Eph. 1:5-7).

Grace as giving is illustrated in II Cor. 8:9, "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich." Certainly Christ was not rich in this

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life if the riches spoken of refer to material wealth. At no time did he possess anything during his brief sojourn on earth, no, not even a bed — the birds of the air had their nests and the foxes their dens, but no where had He to lay His head. The riches then spoken of by Paul could only refer to Him as the Creator and, hence, possessor of all things. See John 1:3, 10 and Col. 1:16, 17. This was then when He was rich, before the incarnation, before, as John so aptly puts it in John 1:14, "…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." The great "emptying" of Phil. 2:7, 8 of the One "in form of God subsisting, but Himself empties ... the form of a slave taking, in likeness of men becoming ... He humbled Himself ... till a death of a cross, dying." All this to secure fellowship with God for creatures such as you and me. It must be very important, then, so important that it transcends creation itself -- so important that The God of creation steps out of the unknown to reveal Himself in redemption and kinship. This is grace as giving, to give ourselves first to God, then of ourselves to others.

True, money is needed to pay bills, but true giving may frequently mean withholding of one thing or another. To refrain from weak indulgence of a loved one, to give a more priceless commodity than money, such as time, love, interest, compassion and concern, is real giving. It speaks a language that knows no racial or national barriers.

The author of this article has been paid three tributes that have greatly humbled him, one when a very young boy spoke up after a Bible lesson and said, "That was a good message." Another was when a child put her hand in his. Lastly, an Indian young man, a stranger in a strange land, said to him, "Friend." To be true to The Word of God and give truth, to be true to a child's trust and give trust, to give confidence to a lonely heart and to convey the thought that someone cares, this is a privilege that might be experienced by all; and how much better would be the testimony of the

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Christian in the world. Let us give ourselves to The Lord and of ourselves to others and so exemplify "grace as giving."

The text of Luke 6:33 is interesting in this "grace-giving" context. "What charis (grace) is there to only love those loving you, to do good only to those reciprocating in kind, to give to those in order to get equal value — what grace is there?" It may sound strange — but a lot of giving may not be giving at all, or is not "grace giving." See the balance of Luke 6:33-35.

The Roman letter touches on the positive action of grace as giving when it says, "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Romans 5:20). Enemies of God? Unable to raise ourselves to the Divine standard of righteousness because indifferent, indisposed and too weak? How does God act in such a situation? Romans 5:6, 8 and 10 tell a tremendous story of God's going all the way that man's weakness, man's sinfulness and man's natural enmity shall not hinder or be allowed to stand in the way of His love, grace, redemption and reconciliation.

The way to God is wide open. God opened the door through the death of Christ, His Son. He didn't ask if we wanted His love or grace or forgiveness or redemption, if we wanted the barriers down, but He removed every obstacle, every hindrance. Can we say "no" to such "grace giving"? To such grace?

O the grace of God is boundless.

Like the ocean broad and deep; We can count upon its fullness.

It will all His people keep.

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GRACE AS THANKSGIVING

by

Russell H. Schaefer

When we think of "grace" as "giving" as in the study prior to this one, it should not surprise us if The Word of God uses "grace" in the sense of a benefit received, as gratitude, or thankfulness. This it does, for where there is grace in The Giver, grace in the giving, grace in the gift, it should produce grace in the heart of the recipient, and out from such a fullness of grace, gratitude, or thankfulness.

This ideal concept we fall far short of, but as love begets love, grace should beget grace.

This stem charis, grace, has a little prefix before it, eu-, so we come up with a noun, eucharistia, verb, eucharisteo, and an adjective, eucharistos. Generally, these are translated "thanks" or "thank" in the Authorized Version. We hear this word in "Eucharist," the Mass of the Roman Church. The eu- prefix means well or good, but we would have as a literal translation, "well-grace" or, if easier on our ears, "good grace." We speak of "saying grace or giving thanks" before meals; this was supposed to be an expression welling up from a heart surfeited with the bounties of the grace and goodness of God.

The person who sees the scope of God's bounties will never cease from having a spirit of "good grace" or gratitude, and this sweetens all of life. An ingrate (yes, the word is archaic) has never been a pleasant specimen to have around.

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Of course, there is a misapplying of God's grace as with the Pharisee in Luke 18:11. The comment is good, "prayed thus with himself," and then started to sound like a modern church member parading his virtues before God: "I thank Thee"-- as a strict Pharisee, enlightened by a holy law, blessed with a religion void of idols, blessed with a priesthood void of magic, blessed with a Book that has nurtured the best in man, blessed above all people and yet, while thankful to God, still never grasping the essential meaning of his religion. The Publican, his flesh brother, who had sold his great Israelitish birthright for Gentile gold, for him he had no love; and yet this crushed Israelite, in the very thing that barred him from Jewish stores for food and from his temple for spiritual help, had discovered the great secret of Israel's relationship to God, as expressed in "God be mercy-seated to me, the sinner." Thus, in Himself The Saviour would become the great propitiatory — the sacrificial meeting place between God and man.

There is real "good-grace" only in a vital relationship with God, and when love remains, for erring men composed of the same flesh as we. We, "of the grace of God," who love God's grace above nearly all else, need to avoid Phariseeism of grace and practice grace, good-grace, at all times to God, to our brethren, to the man of the world.

This word is used of the great scene of the feeding of the 4,000 in Matthew 15:36,"giving thanks"... and there was more than enough. It was like the double portion of manna Israel was to gather up before the Sabbath in the wilderness. It did not demean Christ to "give thanks."

This word is used of Christ when He thanked The Father that He heard Him when He prayed at Lazarus' tomb … and the dead was raised (John 11:41).

In Col. 3:15 the Christian is admonished to do two

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things: one, the peace of Christ is to be the arbitrator of all difficulties, and two, become thankful, that is, show good grace. The singing with grace in our hearts (Col. 3:16) should be out of a heart full of grace, a full appreciation, thankfulness, for His great love that binds us together as one in Christ.

The admonition of Eph. 5:4 is fitting in this day. How wonderful it is to read an author who gives "good grace" to the reader, causes him to rise above the sordid and frequently morbid entertainment of the day. How dry life would be without fun and humor, but how shamed we are to have certain guests in our home because of filthy speech from sick minds. Walt Disney is to be commended for his clean family movies. How many children's minds and morals are raped by what they see and hear. Let them hear "good grace" from us.

This fits in with this word's use in Phil. 4:6. In Phil. 4:5 the Christian is to let his moderation be showing that he is a balanced person in all things; that he has tempered life with love of God, of family, of friends; that he has time to labor, to laugh, to pray. He is asked to show an inner calm -- "in nothing be anxious" (4:6) -- but that all of life is to be "invested" with God by communion with Him and with "good grace," that is, thanksgiving.

This thought is carried out further in Col. 2:7, except establishment and growth "in Christ Jesus" as the walk of life is stressed, and then the Apostle adds "abounding in thanksgiving" (Nestle^’s text) -- abounding in good-grace.

Because our life is hid with Christ in God,

Because Christ is our life (Col. 3:3, 4),

Because we are engraced (Eph. 1:6) in The Beloved, Because "In Christ" represents where we are before God, and what we are in His Son -- so our walk in life is to be dictated from this same strong center, The Lord of Glory, our Saviour — and surely, thanksgiving, fullness of thanks, good-

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grace should be the fruit of our life, heart, and lips.

Paul's admonition in Col. 4:2 might fittingly close this section: "Continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving."

Communion with God, the crown of the Christian life, is prayer. This is always to be seasoned with thanksgiving, that is, good-grace.

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Paul's pulpit was anything he could stand upon — anywhere.

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Don't try to do what Christ has reserved for Himself. 1 Cor. 4:6.

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The great bulk of humanity is either smiling or sobbing.

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Don't think of tribulation as a punishment. It may be a preparation.

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So much of our love is purely sentimental, forced or feigned.

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It is sometimes more difficult to live for Christ than to die for Him.

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If there is no line of demarcation between Israel and the Church, the Bible is hopelessly divided against itself.

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A prayer meeting without Bible study is like a ship without a compass.

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If you don’t use, you'll lose! Teach what you have!! And TEACH!!!

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ONLY BELIEVE

by

Ray I. Psalmonds

Today the majority of people are going about their daily activities giving as little thought as possible to the matters that are of utmost importance.

The goal of almost everyone is to accumulate more wealth, or find an easier method of living extravagantly with as little work as possible. Both of these desires can be fulfilled by a very simple action on the part of anyone.

Do you want unlimited wealth? And, associated with this, endless life?

In The Bible, the Book of John gives the simple details concerning God's provision for mankind. The prime purpose of John's Gospel is to reveal to man the fact that God has completed a plan whereby any person can be blessed beyond any of his greatest expectations. Yes, this blessing is available to anyone who will believe this plan to be true and trust The One who consummated it.

The major cause of world problems is the breakdown of communications. If we could only be sure that we understood each other when we made contact, most of our problems would simply vanish.

The Gospel of John relates how God once again made contact with man when He manifested Himself, in human form, as The Son of God. In this Gospel we find many of the details, as well as the reasons, behind this move on the part of our God. In John 20:30-31 we read,

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And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is The Christ, The Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.

In spite of this plain statement, many do not understand what God is saying to them. This is only another method whereby God is trying to communicate with sinful man.

Today, when men are urged to believe in The Lord Jesus Christ, they seem to misunderstand what is meant.

The act of "raising the hand," "bowing the head," "being baptized," "going to the front," "kneeling at the altar," or "joining the church" has no relationship whatsoever to the simple request, "BELIEVE." Anyone can fully "believe" without so much as even a wink of the eye. The only request God makes is BELIEVE.

You may ask, "Believe what, or whom?"

Primarily, all God requires of anyone is that he "believe" the fact that through the work of The Son, God has provided everything necessary to settle forever the question of sin.

This provision is offered to everyone as a free gift, but it must be received by the individual in order for it to become effective to him. It makes no difference how many others believe, or disbelieve; it is a matter that only the individual can settle between himself and God. You as an individual either take God at His word or you do not BELIEVE.

On the other hand, the very moment you believe God to the extent that you trust what He has declared concerning the

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provision made for sin, at that very moment you are accepted in The Beloved. God sees you as though you had never sinned. You are declared to be "complete in Him" (Col. 2:10). In Eph. 1:3 God declares that you are "blessed with ALL spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Jesus Christ."

God promises to "supply your every need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ" (Phil. 4:19). All of this, and even more, is yours merely by the act of "believing."

My dear friend, if you wish unlimited wealth and a life which will never end, plus fellowship with the God who created you, then BELIEVE.

Believe the message that God has declared in the Gospel of John (John 3:16; 3:36). This will make you one of God's chosen. You will possess all that God declares to be yours by faith, or trust, in Jesus Christ.

Let God start a work in you by simply believing what He has declared concerning The Son. Let God continue that work in you by then looking further into His Book and believing those Truths which you find to be related to your calling.

God-in-Christ wrought it!

God said it!

I believe it!

That Settles it!

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SIN AND THE BELIEVER

by

Charles W. Asbell

Of any doctrine the believer should be familiar with in the frame of the New Testament, the subject of sin(s) should be a settled issue for those who have received Christ as their Saviour and Lord.

That sin is a figment of the imagination or just a harmless expression of man's thoughts is a case of super-rationalization by the sceptics. This position held by the "scholars" is merely an academic excuse for the actions and conduct by which they themselves live.

For those who have not taken the time to settle this issue for themselves, the forthcoming thoughts are written as an effort to help settle this all-important issue.

In the Old Testament Scriptures there is a great deal written concerning sin and the necessary offerings in case of a violation of God's Law. However, some 2000 years ago the Levitical offerings were consumated in The Great Sacrifice of The Lamb of God. At that traumatic event, God settled once for all times the sin question. It now behooves us to read what God has written on this subject.

There are many forms in which the word "sin" occurs in the New Testament. The Greek word hamartia concerns us most in this study: The Greek word paraptoma will be of interest, but only as it associates itself to the former word.

A perusal of a good lexicon and a complete concord-ance will indicate the usage of the word hamartia and an examination of the various N. T. occurrences of the word

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reveals a distinctive syntactical construction when the sin nature is involved (he hamartia --sg. , with the definite article). This is not to say that other contexts with this same Greek construction necessarily have no reference to individual acts of sin, but that under certain conditions this form does refer to the sin nature. When hamartia is used in the plural, with or without the definite article, the contexts will bear out that this has reference to an individual's sins or to sins of a large body of people, nations, etc. The singular of this word without the article is governed by its context, but usually has reference to sin in a general sense. In most New Testament references this particular form in the singular with the definite article refers to the sin nature. The bulk of this text will deal with what The Lord has said concerning the sin nature.

The great Book of Romans is the commentary on God's dealings with this nature, and in Chapter five God reveals how and when the sin nature became a reality to man. In the twelfth verse of this chapter, The Lord is very explicit as to who is responsible for sin's entering the world:

Wherefore as by one man the sin entered into the world and death by the sin, and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned.

If this were just an act by one man, then certainly there would be no residual sin effect upon his progeny. If this were a genetic and/or inheritable condition passed on to this one man's progeny (as is the case), then the sin nature is the subject of this verse.

To further substantiate this reasoning, verse 17 of this same chapter elucidates these conclusions:

For if by one man's offense (paraptoma) death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of

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righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ.

See also verse 18:

Therefore as by the offense (paraptoma) of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

The conclusions should be obvious. Adam committed an offense (paraptoma) and by this deed he took upon himself a fallen nature. This nature was prone to sin and its just desert was death; and since Adam is the common father of all mankind, this nature has been inherited by every living human being, be he young or old.

In Romans 6 the stage has now changed, since verse 21 of Chapter 5 has altered the standing of those individuals who had accepted the all-sufficient Christ and His sacrifice. Is it any wonder, then, that Paul should say:

Shall we continue in the sin (continue to embrace or remain) that grace may abound? May it not be, for we are dead to the sin.

Verse 3 states:

Know ye not that so many of us that were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?

Verse 4:

We were co-buried with Him through baptism into death in order that as Christ was raised

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from the dead by the glory of The Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life.

Verse 6:

Knowing this that our old man is crucified with Him that the body of the sin (i.e., the nature) might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin, for he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more. Death hath no more dominion over Him.

Verse 11:

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto the sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What can a person say when such a situation exists if he but puts his trust in the Provider of this freedom or salvation which includes a deliverance from the sin nature itself ?

It is admitted that the foregoing verses and conclusions were based upon contexts addressed to those believers in another household of faith (those who anticipated the fulfillment of Israel's hopes, promises, and Millenial blessings). It should be desirous for all believers who acknowledge the principle of right division to find this same truth written by the Apostle Paul to those saints after the close of the Acts period.

Does the crucifixion referred to in Romans 6:6 carry over into Paul's later ministry? There should be a definite affirmative to this question. Colossians 2:10-20 should forever close this issue to those who have been in doubt. Verse 10

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states: "And ye are complete in Him which is the Head of all principality and power."

This verse alone should answer any question. But, continuing:

In Whom also we are circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, not putting off the body of sins of the flesh but circumcision of Christ. Buried with Him in baptism alone also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God Who hath raised Him from the dead, and you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath He quickened together with Him having forgiven you all trespasses.

This circumcision referred to in this context refers to the circumcision of death. The Roman believers also shared in this circumcision. We have been raised, and through this operation the sin nature has been taken care of. This is the reason why verse 10 is so stated, for we are complete due to the actions of God through Christ on our behalf.

It must be noted that when the Apostle Paul addresses his letters to the various groups of people, he addresses them as "saints." This in itself is an indication that the sin nature has been dealt with by Christ, for a saint is an individual who has accepted the all-sufficient Christ.

In Ephesians 2:1 the question of trespasses and sins is dealt with for the believers today. The question, "Shall we confess our sins in order to be forgiven," is a common and very desirable question among those saints who are not familiar with this particular passage. In the Authorized

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Version this verse reads as follows, "And you being dead in trespasses and sins." The word "to" may be inserted in the place of ''in" with absolute freedom, for in this particular passage these words in the original text are in the dative case. Thus, this verse now reads, "And you hath He quickened who are dead to trespasses and to sins." The Lord in His baptism in which we were united with Him not only takes care of the sin nature itself but of sins and trespasses past, present, and future in His all-sufficient sacrifice.

To further illumine this statement, Ephesians 1:7 states that we have (present tense) the redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of the trespasses (ton paraptomaton). This is a complete act done by God and not dependent upon our asking for forgiveness or any act which we as human beings might deem necessary to merit this forgiveness. In Colossians l:14 the context looks very similar to that of Ephesians 1:7. However, the forgiveness in this context is for the sins (ton hamartion) apart from any act of our own.

With such truths before us, we can only be amazed at His love and His grace to us. Every form of ritualism, religion, ordinances, etc., has been fulfilled and done away with. Everything has been replaced by The Person, Jesus Christ. It is no longer a question of do's and don'ts in order to merit God's love, but it is a matter of accepting The Person. Everything necessary for our becoming objects of God's love has been imputed to us through God Himself in The Person of Jesus Christ.

"Christ died for our sins" is a familiar phrase to nearly all of us, but how fully do we understand this statement? Undoubtedly, this phrase is the most misunderstood and yet profound utterance ever uttered. That God would manifest Himself in human form is hard to believe, but that He would allow Himself to be put to death on behalf of our sins verges on

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a situation "too hard to believe." Yet He did! And by His sacrifice He put to death our old nature (sin), and with His sacrifice He also redeemed us once for all times from all our sins and trespasses.

This condition is not a license for us as believers to commit offenses unbecoming members of His "joint-body," but it should be an incentive to live a life that reflects our thanksgiving for the price He paid for us in His all-sufficient sacrifice. With the thought in mind of absolute forgiveness for all our sins, awe and thankfulness should well up in our hearts. God expects a greater adherence to moral and spiritual living for us today because of Calvary than for those believers in the former household who lived under a system of legalistic statutes.

QUESTION: If as the New Testament states, "Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, today and forever" (Heb. 13:8). Why is He not as able to heal today as when He was here upon the earth?

ANSWER: Your question involves a two-fold statement. (1) He Is able —as able to heal today as when He healed the multitudes in the long ago. The question of His power should never fret a believer. Christ is able. He is Omnipotent. The question however for our consideration is: What is His purpose for the present period: Will Christ carry on a program fitting the Divine purpose? Again, is it the Divine intent to heal people exactly as He did in the years of His earthly ministry. (2) Here is an eternal fact: "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever." He is the eternal, unchangeable Being; but in what sense? He is certainly unchangeable in His character, His attributes, perfections and glories: BUT — He is not the same in His manifestation, ministration and the exhibition and exercise of His powers. In the days of His earthly ministry He was the humiliated One. No longer, however, does He occupy that position. He is now the exalted ONE, He was then the insulted Messiah. In a coming day He will come in His glory to be the King of Kings, before Him every knee shall bow and woebetide the being who dares insult Him in His majesty, When He came 1900 years ago He came proclaiming Kingdom truth to His own and only His own (Israel) (Cp. Matt. 10:5-7; 5:24; Rom. 15:8). In their behalf He wrought signs covenanted with Israel long before (Exo. 15:26, etc.). When He passed into the glory, He became Saviour, Lord and Head. When the present session there closes, He will come forth as Lord and Judge. He is always the same in His character and perfections; but dispensationally He is different in manifestation and ministry. (R.A.H.)

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J. Clyde Stillion

You're right, "The Church Militant" is not a Scriptural term.

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Did you ever stop to think that the best remedy for sensationalism is dispensationalism?

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Recall the fate of Jehovah's Word in the down-grade of Jeremiah's day:

1. A reproach. Jer. 6:10.

2. Rejected. Jer. 8:9.

3. Scoffed at. Jer. 17:15.

4. Perverted. Jer. 23:36.

This was by The Lord's own. Think it over.

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Avoid confusion: Keep in order the order of God's Word.

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Dr. Brougher says, "There are many great pulpiteers but few great preachers."

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UNLESS YOU RIGHTLY DIVIDE

What will you do with Mk. 16:17-18? "And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name

1. Shall they CAST OUT DEVILS; 

2. They shall speak with new tongues;

3. They shall TAKE UP SERPENTS;

4. If they DRINK ANY DEADLY THING, it shall not hurt them;

5. They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover."

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I read in the papers: Economy is excellent but not when applied to truth.

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Yes, God ceased from His creative work; but His redemptive work has gone on.

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In your reading, don't fail to read Isaiah.

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Before the revelation of The Mystery, Paul suffered at the hands of the Jew. After the revelation, he suffered being forsaken.

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If you use the grasshopper method of Study and Exegesis, expect to land where the grasshopper lands — most any place.

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A primary rule for Bible Teachers: Have regard for God's dispensational purposes. Teach dispensationally; and teach and teach.

(Inside back cover)

Ephesians 3:14-21

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AUTHORISED—1611.

principalities and powers in heavenly places might be knowen by the church, the manifold wisedome of God, ¹¹ According to the eternall purpose which he purposed in Christ Iesus our Lord: 12 In whom we haue boldnesse and accesse, with confidence, by the faith of him. ¹³ Wherefore I desire that yee faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. ¹⁴ For this cause I bow my knees vnto The Father of our Lord lesus Christ. ¹⁵ Of whom the whole family in heauen and earth is named, 16 That he would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to bee strengthened with might, by his Spirit in the inner man, 17 That Christ nay dwell in your hearts by faith, that yee being rooted and grounded in loue, 18 May be able to comprehend with all Saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height: 19 And to know the loue of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that yee might bee filled with all the fulnes of God.

20 Now vnto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that wee aske or thinke, according to the power that worketh in vs, ^2l Unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ lesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.