FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH, LAY HOLD ON · 2013. 12. 20. · who succeeded him, were said to sit upon the throne of the Lord. (I Chron. 29:23) David recognized this arrangement,

FIGHT THE GOO D

FIGHT OF FAITH ,

LAY HOLD ON

ETERNAL LIFE "

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July 1963

Vol . XXXI

JULY 1963

1HEA1.3.N.NNo . 7

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HIGHLIGHTS OFDAWN

Man's Kingship Restore d"Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepare d

for you from the foundation of the world ."—Matthew 25 :34

M AN was created in the image of God, and given dominio nover the earth. (Gen. 1 :26-28 ; Psa. 8:3-8) This does not meanthat man was given a free hand to exercise his dominion accord-ing to his own desires, but rather that he was to be a representa-tive of the Creator, the great Ruler of the universe . It meant ,therefore, that man was subject to divine law, and that as lon gas he remained obedient God's will would be done in earth, th edivine will being carried out through man .

But man did not remain obedient to his Creator, so he for-feited every provision which the Creator had made for him, an dwas driven from his perfect garden home in Eden into the un-finished earth to die . (Gen. 3 :23,24) This was more than six thou-sand years ago, and during all the long time since, the huma nrace has been alienated from God, and not recognized by th eCreator as his representatives. Commenting on this the ApostlePaul wrote, "But now we see not yet all things put under him .But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angel sfor the suffering of death, crowned with [earthly] glory an dhonor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for everyman."—Heb . 2 :8, 9

Paul declares that while at the present time we do not see manexercising the dominion of earth as originally entrusted to him ,we do see that in Jesus' coming to earth to be the Redeemer o fthe human race a step has been taken in the divine plan to re-store that lost dominion. Since man lost life as well as his do -minion, life must be restored before the dominion can properl yHIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN

i

be exercised. We are given many assurances in the Bible con-cerning this aspect of the divine plan of salvation . Paul wrote ,"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrec-tion of the dead . For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shallall be made alive ."(I Cor. 15:21, 22) This promise does not guar-antee everlasting life for Adam and all his children, but it doe sassure us that all will be given an opportunity to receive ful lrestoration to life .

Throughout the centuries since his original rebellion againstdivine law man has shown little inclination to consider the willof God as a way of life . There have been, of course, noble excep-tions, but for the most part the human race fits the viewpoin toutlined by Paul when he wrote : "When they knew God, theyglorified him not as God, neither were thankful ; but becamevain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, andchanged the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image mad elike to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, an dcreeping things . Wherefore God also gave them up to unclean-ness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their ow nbodies between themselves ."—Rom. 1:21-24

Paul's expression in the above quotation that "God gave the mup" is a good summary of the Creator's attitude toward his hu-man creatures during the long period of the reign of sin an ddeath . This does not mean that God has forgotten his humancreation . "What is man, that thou are mindful of him? and theson of man, that thou visitest him?" David inquires . God is in-deed mindful of his fallen human creatures. He loves them, andsent his Son to visit and redeem them from death . But he didgive them up in the sense of not ruling in their affairs durin gthe long period in which he has been developing his own planfor human restoration from sin and death .

There have been exceptions to this . One of these was at thetime of the Flood . Even here, however, the Creator did not in-stitute a control over man. He simply witnessed to them throughNoah, and then destroyed the unrighteous world of that day .God also interfered in the affairs of Egypt to bring about thedeliverance of the children of Israel from their bondage t o2

THE DAWN

Pharaoh. There were various instances throughout the Jewis hAge when God fought for his people Israel against their heathenenemies . However, except in those instances when the sinfu lcourse of man would interfere with the outworking of his ow nplans, God has not intervened in the affairs of the fallen race ,allowing the people and nations to work out their own destinie sas best they could.

A Typical Kingdo m

THROUGH David, God set up a government over Israel i nwhich he was the Head, the supreme Ruler. David, and the kingswho succeeded him, were said to sit upon the throne of the Lord .(I Chron . 29 :23) David recognized this arrangement, and his ow nposition in it, and toward the close of his reign he said, "Thine ,0 Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and th evictory, and the majesty : for all that is in the heaven and in theearth is thine; thine is the kingdom, 0 Lord, and thou art ex-alted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, andthou reignest over all ; and in thine hand is power and might ;and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength untoall."—I Chron. 29:11,12

Here important points are established by David . One is thatGod was Ruler in Israel, and that David sat on the throne merelyas his representative, and by his favor. The other is that Go dhas never relinquished his right to be the supreme Ruler ove rall the earth . This means that sin is not reigning because theCreator is powerless to have it otherwise, but because, in hi swisdom, he is permitting evil to flourish for a time so that alarger and more enduring purpose might be accomplished .

As we have noted, the kingdom of Israel, in which God wa sthe Ruler, is not to be looked upon as his real kingdom. This wasa typical arrangement, pointing forward to a world-wide govern-ment in which Jesus was to sit upon the antitypical throne o fDavid. (Luke 1 :32, 33) This typical kingdom of Israel continue duntil 606 B . C., when it was overthrown by King Nebuchadnez-zar of Babylon. (Ezek. 21:25-27) It was at this time that therebegan what Jesus later referred to as the treading down of

HIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN

3

Jerusalem, or Israel, a situation which was to continue until "th etimes of the Gentiles be fulfilled ." (Luke 21:24) "The times ofthe Gentiles" began with King Nebuchadnezzar, and to this kin gGod gave a dream which, as interpreted by Daniel, depicted asuccession of universal Gentile powers beginning with Babylon ,and continuing to Rome, and its divisions in the various states o fEurope as they existed until the first World War, which beganin 1914 .

Daniel's outline of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and his inspire dinterpretation of it, is given in Daniel 2 :31-35. A human-likeimage pictures the four successive world powers of Babylon ,Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome . To Nebuchadnezzar, then kingof Babylon, Daniel said, "Thou, 0 king, art a king of kings : forthe God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, an dstrength, and glory, and wheresoever the children of men dwell ,the beasts of the field and fowls of the heaven he hath giveninto thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all . Thouart this head of gold ." (vss . 37, 38) The other three world power sare represented by the image in its breast and arms of silver ,its belly and thighs of brass, and its legs of iron ; the divisionsof the latter by its feet and toes . Just as the head of gold repre-sented the fact that the God of heaven had given Nebuchad-nezzar dominion, the same is true of the other parts of the im-age . It is important to keep this in mind . While Gentile nationswere involved in this picture, the thing that is different abou tthis particular succession of powers is that God gave them do -minion .

The Apostle Paul recognized this with respect to Rome, towhom Israel was a subject nation in his day. "The powers thatbe are ordained of God," he wrote . (Rom. 13:1) Through the cen-turies this viewpoint, as originally stated to Nebuchadnezzar ,became distorted ; so much so that at the time the divisions o fthe Roman Empire held sway in Europe all its petty kings de-clared themselves to be ruling by divine right, which to the mmeant that God blessed their every move, and that to resist themin any way was to set oneself in opposition to God .

When Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar, "The God of heavenhath given thee a kingdom" it simply meant that he was give n

4

THE DAWN

permission to rule, and that his successors would continue unde rthe same permission, not as God's representatives, but as ameans of keeping a semblance of order in the earth while Go dcarried on his preparatory work for the setting up of a heavenl yordered government in his own due time .

Then the whole arrangement, as represented in the image ,was to fall "together ." We know that as a nation Babylon wa scrushed by Medo-Persia, Medo-Persia by Greece, and Greece byRome. These nations as world powers did not fall "together . "But the thing which was common to them all ; that is, the divin epermission to rule, did suddenly come to an end, and exactly atthe time God had ordained. We will not go into the details here ,but actually, "the times of the Gentiles" covered by the imag eprophecy was a period of 2,520 years. It began in 606 B. C., andended in 1914. As a result of the first World War, which bega nin 1914, the ideology of government as held and practiced bythe kings of Europe up to that time came to an end . While afew insignificant rulers of those bygone days are still nominallyon thrones, none are insisting that they must be heard becauseGod speaks through them . That system has gone, and the kingsof that type have had their day .Angry Nations

WHAT should we expect to see taking place in the worl dtoday as a result of "the times of the Gentiles" coming to anend? A fairly complete answer to this question is provided i nRevelation 11 :15-18 . We quote : "And the seventh angel sound-ed; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom sof this world, are become the kingdoms [Diaglott, "kingdom" ]of our Lord, and of his Christ ; and he shall reign forever andever. And the four and twenty elders which sat before God ontheir seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, saying ,We give thee thanks, 0 Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast ,. . . because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and has treigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come ,and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and tha tthou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, andto the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great ; andshouldest destroy them that destroy [margin, corrupt] the earth . "

This is a very comprehensive prophecy . It reveals that as aHIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN

5

result of the Lord's taking unto himself his great power to reignthe nations become angry, and that finally the dead are judged ,and God's servants, the prophets are rewarded, and that ulti-mately those that destroy, or corrupt, the earth are themselvesdestroyed . This would seem, therefore, to embrace the entir ethousand years of Messiah's kingdom . This being ture, weshould not expect to see more than we are seeing in fulfilmen tof the prophecy at the present time, which is that the nationsare angry, and the evidence of the fact that God's wrath is upo nthem. This does not mean that God is raining down fire from th eskies upon the nations, but it does mean that he has stirred u pjealousy among them, turning every man his sword against hisbrother . Isaiah wrote, "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man ,he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war : he shall cry, yea ,roar; he shall prevail against his enemies . I have long time hold-en my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself : now willI cry like a travailing woman ; I will destroy and devour at once . "—Isaiah 42:13,14

Yes, throughout all the centuries from Eden until now, Go dhas restrained himself from interfering in the affairs of men t obring an end to the reign of sin and death. But, as the prophec yreveals, when the proper time came in the outworking of hisplan of salvation, this would no longer be true . However, thefirst result of this change is not peace and tranquillity through-out the earth, but the contrary . "At that time" ['the time of theend,' ch . 11 :40; 12 :1], shall Michael stand up, the great Princewhich standeth for the children of thy people : and there shallbe a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation . "(Dan. 12 :1) The standing up of Michael symbolizes his takin gcontrol . Jesus referred to this prophecy in giving the signs ofhis second presence, and emphasized that the tribulation, o rtrouble, would be so severe that unless those days were short-ened no flesh would survive . —Matt 24 :21, 22

We are even now living in the time when the destruction o fthe human race is threatened . In America, where the peoplehave not witnessed at firsthand the ravages of two global war sin a generation, it might seem as though there has not as ye tbeen any evidence of a time of trouble in the earth of such pro -portions as foretold by Daniel and Jesus. But the students o fprophecy in other lands who can look back upon bombed homes ,6

THE DAWN

destroyed families, and the many other hardships of modernwarfare, which have inflicted suffering and death upon millions,will have less difficulty realizing the significance of the timesin which we live .

Nor can we have any assurance that we will not later exper-ience these hardships here in America . The authorities seem tothink we will, and that is the reason for the tremendous civildefense program, and for the fact that in all our large cities wesee the word "Shelter" so frequently displayed, indicating a sup -posed place of safety into which one may flee when a bombingraid takes place . Paul indicated that this trouble would comein spasms, as "travail" upon a woman with child. (I Thess . 5 :1-3)At present the world is enjoying the uneasy partial release fro mpain which comes between the spasms ; but the time of troubleis upon us . Let us not be fearful because of this, but accept itas one of the evidences that the plan of God is moving forward ,that the King has returned; that Michael has stood up ; that hehas taken unto himself his great power, and that the nations ,having become angry, will soon fully destroy themselves, mak-ing way for the full manifestation of the kingdom of Christ.

The Day of the Lor d

PAUL refers to this period of destructive trouble as "the dayof the Lord." (I Thess 5:1-3) It is the day of the Lord becaus eit is the time when the Lord no longer refrains from interferin gwith the course of the nations, but is gathering them for th efinal phase of the great tribulation, when he will pour upon the mhis indignation, even all his fierce anger . As a result, the wholesymbolic earth—Satan's social order—will be devoured by th efire of God's jealousy, or zeal .—Zeph. 3 : 8

This period is also referred to as the day of God's preparation.(Nahum 2:3, 4) The peoples of the earth are being prepared forthe kingdom of Christ and the blessings it will give to them . Inthis day of preparation not only will evil institutions of earthbe weakened and gradually destroyed, but on the plus side w esee, for example, the people of Israel being restored to theirPromised Land in preparation for the share they will enjoy i nthe kingdom when it is fully established. This also is in fulfil-

HIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN

7

ment of prophecy. See Joel 3 :1, 2 .Jesus said, as we have noted, that Jerusalem—an eviden t

reference to the Jewish people and their polity—would be trod-den down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be ful-filled . (Luke 21 :24) Now that the times of the Gentiles are ful-filled, the Jewish people are no longer vassals to other nations ,but have come together, formed their own nation, which is a fre enation among the nations . True, the Jewish people have not yetrepossessed all the Promised Land, neither has the time ofgreat tribulation reached its full fury. But we are witnessing thebeginning of the events foretold for this day of God's prepara-tion ; and Jesus said that when we see "these things begin tocome to pass," then we should look up, and lift up our heads ,knowing that our deliverance draweth near .—Luke 21 :28

The prophecies of the Bible point out, as a rule, the beginnin gof events to which they refer . So it is with those related to thesetting up of Christ's kingdom. In Daniel's prophecy relating tothe Gentile times, the kingdom is first shown as a stone cut outof the mountain without hands . Then this stone grows until itbecomes a great mountain which fills the whole earth . This"mountain" kingdom does not fill the earth at the beginning ofthe Millennium. Paul explains that Christ must reign until allenemies are put under his feet, and that the last enemy to b edestroyed is death . Not until this last enemy is destroyed willthe "mountain" kingdom fill the earth .—I Cor. 15:25, 26

The kingdom period in its entirety is one in which the dea dare to be judged. (Rev. 11 :17, 18) In The Parable of the Shee pand the Goats we are given a very revealing illustration of th ework of judgment. (Matt . 25 :31-46) In this parable we see Jesu sseated upon the throne of his glory, and his holy messengers—his footstep followers of the Gospel Age—with him . Before hi mare gathered all nations, and the people are divided as a shep-herd divides his sheep from his goats . The sheeplike qualities ofthose who are rewarded by him who sits upon the throne arethose of love and helpfulness to others, plus, of course, thei racceptance of Jesus as their Redeemer, and their obedience t othe laws of the kingdom .

It is to these that the words of our text are addressed, "Come ,ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for yo ufrom the foundation of the world ." This is the kingdom, or do-8

THE DAWN

minion, originally given to our first parents, but forfeited bythem through disobedience to divine law. This kingdom was"lost" to humanity throughout the entire nighttime of the reig nof sin and death .

"The times of restitution of all things" shall by then hav eaccomplished the full divine purpose . (Acts 3 :19-23) Should thefacts as of that time be recorded, it would not be proper to writ eas Paul did nearly two thousand years ago, "We see not yet allthings put under him [man]," but rather, "We see that allthings are now put under him," for the righteous of that ag ewill have heard and accepted the invitation, "Come, ye blesse dof my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from th efoundation of the world."

Meanwhile, however, as we have seen, God remained in con-trol, in so far as it was necessary to work out his designs wit hrespect to those whom he would use during the messianic king-dom age . But not until the full end of that age will the work ofrestoring divine law in the earth be fully accomplished. TheApostle Paul says that when this is accomplished, then Chris twill turn over the kingdom to the Father that "God may be allin all."I Cor. 15 :25-28

Not until then will the full answer to our Lord's prayer b erealized—"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as itis in heaven." (Matt. 6:10) Throughout the entire thousand year sof Christ's kingdom the work of reconciliation will continue, a sone generation after another is awakened from the sleep o fdeath. And only when there is no longer a single individualremaining out of harmony with the kingdom laws of righteous-ness; or one single individual who has not reached full perfec-tion of health and life, and the incorrigible destroyed, shall theFather's will be done in earth as fully as it is done in heaven .While the authority and power of Christ's kingdom to put dow nenemies, and destroy death, will be operative from the begin-ning of his reign, not until its work is complete and his author-ity turned over to the Father, will the divine plan of reconcilia-tion be fully accomplished . Only then will the rebellion of hishuman creatures be completely erased, and the divine will full yrestored. And what a glorious triumph for righteousness thatwill be !HIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN

9

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RADIO TOPICS FOR JULY

7—"Language of the Bible"

21—"Divine Intervention in the Affair sof Men "

14—"The Evening and the Morning"

28—"A Rich Man in Hell'

TOPICAL BIBLE STUD Y

THE PEOPLE IN GOD'S PLA NLesson XXI V

The Twelve Apostles of the LambPART 1

HE word "apostle" meansT"one who is sent," and in thecase of Jesus' apostles, one whois specially commissioned byhim, his representative.' Thename could in a general way ap-ply to all who are commissionedby the Holy Spirit to be the am-bassadors of Christ ; but by com-mon usage its application is re-stricted to the twelve apostlesspecially selected by Jesus, andwho become his miraculously in -spired servants .

The claims of the Church ofEngland and the Roman CatholicChurch that their bishops aresucccessors to the apostles is un-scriptural, for the Bible clearlylimits this office in ,the truechurch of Christ to the twelv eselected by the Lord.' The factthat the Lord's description of th eholy city, symbolic of the church ,indicates that the twelve foun-dation stones have in them th enames of the twelve apostles ofthe Lamb, clearly limits the num-ber of the apostles . Paul under-stood that these twelve consti-

tuted the foundation upon whic hthe church is built . '

Judas was among the origina ltwelve chosen by Jesus . He prov-ed unfaithful, and while waitingfor the outpouring of the HolySpirit the remaining eleven en-deavored to choose one to tak ethe place of Judas .' Through thearrangements worked out by th eapostles, Matthias was the one se-lected . Many, even to this day ,suppose that this settled the mat-ter of who was to succeed Judas ,but actually it did not, for the ac-tion taken by the apostles wasnot authorized by the Lord .

While it is true that the apos-tles did become the Lord's au-thorized and inspired represent-atives, this inspiration of th eHoly Spirit, which gave them in -fallibility as teachers in th echurch, was not received unti lPentecost . At the time Matthiaswas chosen the apostles werewaiting for the Holy Spirit, a sinstructed by Jesus .' Certainlywithout the guidance of the Hol ySpirit they could not expect that

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their method of choice for de-termining who would succeedJudas would be acceptable to th eLord. The apostles, of course, nothaving received the Holy Spirit ,did not realize this at the time.

The original Twelve were se-lected personally by Jesus, with ,of course, the Heavenly , Father'sguidance . It is to be expected ,therefore, when it came to choos-ing Judas' successor that Jesuswould again be directly use dby his Father . And this was th ecase, Saul of Tarsus being th eone chosen, his name afterwar dbeing changed to Paul' Likethe eleven, Paul also saw Jesusafter his resurrection, and thuswas given infallible proof that h ehad been raised from the dead . 'Paul himself understood that h ehad been chosen and ordained t obe an apostle, equal in authorit yto the others . '

It is interesting and enlighten-ing to observe the manner inwhich the apostles were used asservants in the church. Theywere not all outstanding publicministers of the Gospel . There i sno scriptural reference, for ex-ample, to indicate that Matthewever preached a sermon, eithe rto the "public" or to the breth-ren. This is true of others of theTwelve. However, they did servein the important role of coun-selors, and the decisions whic hthey reached have been of ben-efit to the entire church.9 In ourstudy of the individual apostles

BIBLE STUDY

who were used more prominentlyin the ministry we will beginwith Peter.Pete r

PETER was by profession afisherman, and was called fromthe fishing business to becomeone of the apostles .' ° Peter's sur-name was Simon, and Jesus als osaid that he should be called Ce-phas, which means a stone . "During the course of Jesus 'earthly ministry Peter took aleading role in the activities ofthe Twelve, often acting as thei rspokesman in interviews with theMaster .' 2

One of the interesting inter-views is the one in which Jesusasked his apostles what the peo-ple in general thought of him ,particularly as to just who hewas. They reported that somethought he was John the Baptis traised from the dead, some tha the was the foretold Elijah, oth-ers that he was Jeremiah, or on eof the other prophets . WhenJesus asked them their own opin-ion, Peter answered, affirmin ghis belief that Jesus was th eforetold Messiah, or Christ, th eSon of the living God." Jesuswas pleased with this reply, andexplained that the ability thus todiscern just who he was in thedivine plan had been given toPeter by God .

Peter's confession of the truthconcerning the identity of Jesusconstitutes a great foundationupon which the church of Christ

15

is built . In explaining this t oPeter, Jesus made reference t othe meaning of his name ." Weare not to suppose, however, assome have mistakenly under -stood, that Jesus meant to con-vey the thought that Peter wasthe foundation upon which th echurch would be built .

In this same interview Jesu sexplained that he would givePeter the keys of the kingdom ofheaven .' S These are not literalkeys, but refer to the fact thatPeter was used to open, firstthe door of the kingdom Gos-pel to the Jews, and later to theGentiles . With respect to th eJews, Peter performed this serv-ice marvelously in preachin ghis well-known Pentecostal ser-mon.' ° Later it was Peter whomthe Lord used to open up th ekingdom message to Cornelius,the first Gentile convert to Chris-tianity."

When Jesus began to tell hisapostles that he would go toJerusalem and there suffer manythings and be put to death, Peterrebuked him, supposing thathis Master was making a greatmistake in thus surrendering tohis enemies. It was then thatJesus told Peter to get behindhim, for in trying to dissuad ehim from offering his life in sac-rifice he was in the role of anadversary. 18 Jesus explained tha tthis was a human viewpoint, no tin harmony with the will of Go dfor him.

In the "upper room" the nightbefore Jesus was crucified, wefind Peter taking a prominentpart in the conversation . Ther eJesus began the menial servic eof washing his apostles' feet .But at first Peter refused to per-mit his Master to wash his feet 1 9Peter loved and respected Jesus ,and believed that he was theforetold Christ, the one who wasto rule from sea to sea and fro mthe river unto the ends of th eearth ; so in his devotion to sucha One he felt that he could notallow him to wash his feet. ButPeter changed his mind when thematter was explained further tohim . 20 This is a wonderful man-ifestation of the true heart atti-tude of the beloved Peter.

In the upper room Jesus ex-plained to his apostles that he wasleaving them, and that where h ewas going they could not go . Itwas Peter who pressed for infor-mation as to where the Master wasgoing, affirming the fact that h ewas willing to follow him no mat -ter where he went, even if it wereinto death . 2 1

Peter's loyalty to his Masterwas sincere and complete, bu tJesus foretold that he would denyhim, which the next morning h edid.22 However, prior to this, whenthe mob came out from Jerusalemto arrest Jesus, Peter displayedhis courage in defending his Mas-ter by drawing his sword to giv ebattle to those who would takehim into custody. 23 In the judg-

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ment hall Peter did deny his Lord ,but then, the other apostles di dnot expose themselves to the samedanger in order to be with thei rLord and Master.

Following the resurrection ofJesus we find Peter in an inter-esting conversation with him ."Here we find the Master askin gPeter for a confirmation of hi slove . It may be that Jesus had inmind Peter's denial, and the factthat previously he had gone con-trary to the divine arrangementby endeavoring, through the us eof the sword, to prevent his death.Perhaps Peter was reminded o fthese experiences by the thrice-asked question concerning his lov eand devotion for his Master . In anycase, he outspokenly declared hislove for Jesus, and in return wascommissioned to feed the Lord' ssheep .

Peter faithfully carried out th eMaster's commission to feed hissheep . We have a vivid example ofthis in the two letters which h ewrote to the brethren, listed inthe New Testament as I and II Peter .In his first letter Peter refers tothe fact that the Lord's people ha dbeen "begotten again" to an incor-ruptible inheritance which is re -served in heaven for those whoare kept by the power of God . 2 5

It is also in this epistle thatPeter emphasizes the elect qualityof the church of Christ, that thos ein it constitute a "chosen genera-tion, a royal priesthood, an holynation, a peculiar people ." 26

Prior to Pentecost Peter ha ddifficulty in understanding wh yJesus should suffer and die . Thi sviewpoint, and his experiences inconnection with it, would seemspecially to have prepared him t ocomfort the brethren along thi sline . So in his first epistle we findPeter explaining a great deal con-cerning Christian suffering, thatjust as Jesus suffered and died,so it is our privilege to suffer andto die with him. And Peter makesit plain that Jesus did not suffe rbecause of wrong which he ha ddone, but because of the sins o fothers, and that it is in this sensethat we have the privilege of fol-lowing in his steps.2 7

Peter's second epistle also con-tains much food for "the flock"of God . Here he speaks of thoseprecious promises of God by whichwe are made partakers of the di-vine nature, and then admonishe sus to add to our faith in these pro-mises the various elements of Chris -tian character . Peter explains thatii we do this we will not fall, butwill have an abundant entranc einto the everlasting kingdom o fthe Lord. 2 8

In this epistle Peter writes con-siderable about the return ofChrist and the establishment o fhis kingdom. He declares thatthere would be scoffers in th elast days who would call in ques-tion the great truths of the Bi-ble with respect to this impor-tant feature in the divine plan ,

BIBLE STUDY

17

denying even after the Lord ha dcome that he was present. Thispoint is emphasized by the fac tthat the Greek word translate d"coming" in verse four reallymeans presence . In this last chap-ter of Peter's second epistle heemphasizes that as a result ofour Lord's return Satan's worl dcomes to an end. He uses the ex-pression "heavens and earth" asa symbol of this world, and addsthat we look for "new heavensand a new earth, wherein dwell-eth righteousness." This is Mes-siah's kingdom.2 9

Another of Peter's outstandin gcontributions to the Word of Godis the sermon he preached nearthe temple in Jerusalem shortlyafter Pentecost . This sermon wa sprompted by the experience o fPeter and John in healing a ma nwho had been lame from hisbirth .30 Peter explained that thi sman had been healed because o fhis faith in Jesus Christ . Follow-ing up on this, and using th ehealing of the lame man as anillustration, Peter explains that

QUESTION S

What is the meaning of the wor d"apostles," as applied in the Bibl eto the twelve disciples chosen b yJesus?

How do we know that there wereto be only twelve apostles ?

Did the Lord accept Matthias ,chosen by the eleven, to take the

with the return of Christ therewould be times of restitution, o rrestoration of all things . Peterexplains that this glorious hopeof the world had been spoken bythe mouth of all God's holyprophets since the world began ,associating it with God's promiseto Abraham that through hisseed all the families of the eart hwould be blessed ."

When, after his resurrection ,Jesus commissioned Peter to fee dhis sheep, he symbolically de-scribed the manner in which hewould die. 32 According to tradi-tion, Peter was crucified headdown, but there is no proof ofthis . Jesus' reference to thestretching forth of the hands an dto being girded, could well b eunderstood as symbolically de -scribing Peter's full surrender t odo the Lord's will, which wa sthat he should follow his Masterinto death . We know that Peterwas faithful in daily taking u phis cross to follow Jesus . The ex-act manner in which his sacrific ewas finally consummated is no timportant .

place of Judas? Give reasons foryour answer.

Who was chosen by the Lord a ssuccessor to Judas? Give scripturalreasons for your answer.

Did all the apostles serve as out-standing public exponents of theGospel? In what other capacit y

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THE DAWN

did the apostles serve as a group ?Pete r

WHO was Peter? Give detailsconcerning his names.

Relate the circumstances unde rwhich Peter identified Jesus as th eMessiah.

Did Jesus' statement, "Upon thi srock I will build my church," ap-ply to Peter ?

In what sense was Peter give nthe "keys" of the kingdom? Whe ndid he use these keys ?

Explain the circumstances underwhich Jesus said to Peter, "Getthee behind me Satan."

Relate, and explain the incidentin the "upper room" in which Pe -ter declared that he did not wis hJesus to wash his feet .

Was Peter sincere in his affirma-tion that he would follow Jesusanywhere, even into death ?

Was Peter's denial of the Lordnecessarily based entirely uponfear ?

What commission did Jesus give

SCRIPTURAL PROO F

'Matt. 10 :1- 42 Rev . 21 :143 Eph . 2 :204Acts 1 :15-2 65Acts 1 :4,5,8,'Acts 9 :1 5'Acts 1 :3 ; I Cor 15 : 88II Cor 11 : 59Acts 15 :2,2 3°Mark 1 :16-18"John 1 :42"Matt . 19 :2 7' 3 Matt . 16 :13-27' 4 Matt . 16:1 8' 5Matt . 16 :1 9' 6Acts 2 :14-41

to Peter after his resurrection ?What evidence do we have toda y

that Peter was faithful to the com-mission to feed the Lord's sheep ?Relate and explain some of thehighlights of Peter's first epistle ?In what sense does this epistle re -veal that Peter had learned thepurpose of the divine plan of suf-fering for righteousness' sake ?

What is the main lesson con-tained in the last chapter of Peter'ssecond epistle ?

What is the main subject mat-ter in the last chapter of Peter'ssecond epistle? What symbolic ex-pressions does Peter use to de-scribe Satan's evil social order, an dGod's new world of tomorrow ?

What outstanding contribution tothe Word of God is found in the3rd chapter of Acts? What di dPeter mean by the expression ,"times of restitution of all things" ?

What did Jesus say as to themanner in which Peter would die ?Did he faithfully bear his cross ?

' ,Acts 10 :34-38'"Matt . 16 :21-23"John 13 : 8

20John 13 : 9"John 13 :33-3722 John 13 :38 ; 18 :25-2723 John 18 :1024 John 21 :15-1 725I Pet . 1 :3- 526 I Pet. 2 : 927I Pet . 2 :5 ; 19-24;

3 :13, 14, 17, 18 ; 4 :12-1628 11 Pet . 1 :4-1 129 II Pet ., chapter 330 Acts 3 :1-1 1"Acts 3 :12-2632 John 21 :18, 1 9

REFERENCE MATERIAL"The New Creation," pages 208 to 21 1

BIBLE STUDY

19

' CHRISTIAN LIFE AND DOCTRINE

The Ministry of Reconciliatio n

"God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself ."—II Corinthians 5 :19

THE original sin of our first parents resulted in condemnatio nto death and to alienation from the Creator. No longer couldthey enjoy the sense of security which had been theirs whenthey were able to commune with their God . However, God con-tinued to love his human creatures, even though they were n olonger at peace with him . It was his love that prompted him tomake a provision whereby members of the estranged huma nfamily might be reconciled to him and return to the fold ofhis care and fellowship .

This provision was the Creator's gift of his beloved Son to bethe Redeemer and Savior of the world . This is set forth clearlyin the well-known text, "God so loved the world, that he gavehis only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shouldnot perish, but have everlasting life ." (John 3 :16) From thistext we understand that our Heavenly Father desires the recon-ciliation of his human creation . Certainly this must be true, sincehe has made such a costly provision, both to himself and t oJesus, that this might be accomplished .

However, despite God's love for his fallen creatures, theymust show a desire to return to him and to his favor by mani-festing their faith in him and his righteous ways . Otherwise hi sloving provision through Christ is of no benefit to them . Paulspeaks of those who have desired to forget God . (Rom. 1:28 )But this has not been true of the entire fallen race . In his ser-mon on Mars' Hill Paul also mentions those who "should see k

20

THE DAWN

after God, if haply they might feel after him, and find him."(Acts 17 :27) It is from this class that God selects those whom h euses in his service during the preparatory ages in his plan .

Faith Necessary

AGAIN Paul wrote, "Without faith it is impossible to pleas ehim: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and thathe is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him ." (Heb. 11 :6 )This is understandable, for even in human affairs faith an dconfidence in each other is essential as a basis for friendly rela-tionships. How could one person accept another as a friend ex-cept he have confidence in him ?

The Scriptures call our attention to many worthy ones wh obecame the friends of God upon the basis of their faith . Abra-ham is outstanding among these . We read concerning him that"when he was called [of God] to go out into a place which heshould after receive as an inheritance, [he] obeyed ; and he wentout, not knowing whither he went ." (Heb. 11 :8) Abraham's faithwas also manifested by his willingness to offer Isaac in sacri-fice .—Heb. 11 :16-19

Paul stresses the fact that it was Abraham's faith that mad ehim pleasing to God, but James reminds us that "faith withou tworks is dead ." He wrote, "Was not Abraham our father justi-fied by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon thealtar?"— (James 2 :20, 21) It was not merely the fact that Abra-ham believed in the existence of God. His confidence was sodeep and genuine that it led to obedience . It was his obediencein doing the will of God that resulted in his becoming the frien dof God .

God Call s

DURING the mediatorial reign of Christ the knowledge of th eLord will fill the earth, and upon the basis of this knowledg eall mankind will have an opportunity to return to at-one-men twith the Creator and to receive the lifegiving provisions of th eblood of Christ, the Redeemer . At that time "whosoever will "

CHRISTIAN LIFE AND DOCTRINE

21

may come. (Rev. 22:17) But this is not true during the presen ttime, nor has it been true during any of the preceding ages i nthe plan of God .

Isaiah 51 :2 reads, "Look unto Abraham your father, and unt oSarah that bare you : for I called him alone, and blessed him ,and increased him." While the Scriptures do not definitely sayso, it is reasonable that in Abraham's day there might well havebeen others throughout the then small world who believed inthe existence of the true God . However, God did not call these,but instead chose Abraham as the one through whom he woul dcarry out his purposes for that time .

God also elected to work through the natural descendants o fAbraham, who were Isaac and Jacob, and the twelve sons o fJacob, who formed the nucleus of the Jewish nation . This whol enation became the elect people of God during the Jewish Age,and concerning them the Lord said, "You only have I know nof all the families of the earth." (Amos 3:2) True, not all of tha tnation proved worthy of their exalted calling, but many did ,as individuals, and thus proved worthy later to be, in the res-urrection, "princes in all the earth," the human representative sof the divine Christ .—Ps. 45:16 ; Heb. 11 :35, 39, 40

A Different Arrangemen t

GOD'S method for the selection of his people during th eGospel Age is quite different from what it was during the pre -ceding ages. It is still a program of selection, of choosing, notof a nation as such, but of individuals who, by proving faithful ,become united to form a "holy nation" which later will be use dfor the blessing of all the families of the earth . (I Pet . 2 :9) Themethod of reaching these as individuals is through the dissemina-tion of the Gospel, the "word of reconciliation ." Paul wrote ,"I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ : for it is the powerof God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jewfirst, and also to the Greek ."—Rom. 1 :1 6

But let it not be supposed that our Heavenly Father is en-deavoring by this method to reach as many as possible wh o22

THE DAWN

will believe . His people are commissioned to be witnesses fo rJesus throughout all nations, and faithfully to sow the seed o ftruth beside all waters . But the Scriptures make it plain thatonly those whom the Lord draws by the power of the truth canbe expected to respond with any degree of lasting interest .

Jesus explained that no one could come to him unless drawnby the Father. (John 6 :44) Jesus also explained that those whowere drawn to him by the Father he would receive . (John 6:37 )Just how the Heavenly Father exercises his drawing powe rtoward individuals whom he would bring to Christ during thi sGospel Age is quite beyond our comprehension except as w ecan see outward manifestations of what is being accomplished .

Solomon wrote : "As thou knowest not what is the way of th eSpirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that i swith child: even so thou knowest not the works of God whomaketh all . In the morning sow thy seed, and in the eveningwithhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shallprosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alikegood ." (Eccles. 11:5, 6) This is an important lesson for us whohave been made ministers of reconciliation. Our chief respon-sibility is to disseminate the "word of reconciliation," to plantand water the seed of truth, but it is God who giveth the in -crease .

Nor can we explain why, when two or more people hear themessage and seem to enjoy it, perhaps only one will take adeep interest. Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit . "(Matt . 5:3) Poorness of spirit is a state of heart and mind i nwhich one realizes the need of help or resources beyond hi sown, or beyond what is possessed by other humans. It is oftenthe case that those whom the Lord draws to himself have passe dthrough one or more disappointing experiences. This has cause dthem to realize their need of the Lord . It seems evident tha tin such cases God's providences have had much to do in pre-paring them to respond to his drawing power .

The First Essentia l

THE first essential in an acceptable approach to God is th edesire to know him and to be in harmony with him . This might

CHRISTIAN LIFE AND DOCTRINE

23

well be a latent desire in the hearts of some ; or it may be adesire developed by difficult experiences which have led oneto realize the emptiness of life without God . But the desiremust be sincere, and activated by sufficient faith to believ ethat God exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who dili-gently seek him .

James wrote, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh toyou." (James 4:8) While this statement was made to those whoprofessed to be God's people, but were somewhat wayward i ntheir service of him, nevertheless it is a principle that holdstrue with all who, in responding to the drawing power of th eLord, seek to draw nigh to him. James follows up this state-ment by saying, "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners ; and purifyyour hearts, ye double minded ." One of the first things that isrevealed to those who respond to the drawing power of th etruth is the fact that they are sinners, and that to be in harmonywith God they must be cleansed. And then they also learn thatto be pleasing to God they cannot be double minded . They can-not be partly for the Lord and partly for self.

The recognition of these basic principles of truth, and prop-erly acting upon them is essential to one 's acceptable approachto God. This was illustrated in part by one of the Lord's parable sin which he tells of two men who went up to the temple t opray. One was a Pharisee, the other was a publican . The Phari-see prayed, "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other me nare, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican ."But the publican smote upon his breast, and prayed, "God b emerciful to me a sinner ."—Luke 18 :10-13

In this parable the publican displays a genuine spirit of re-pentance, and a desire to be pleasing to God . He humbled him-self, acknowledged his sins, and pleaded for divine mercy . Theparable concludes with the statement that this man "went downto his house justified rather than the other: for every one thatexalteth himself shall be abased ; and he that humbleth himselfshall be exalted ."—vs . 14

John the Baptist's ministry called upon the unfaithful Israel-ites to repent . Those who did were reinstated to covenant rela-tionship with God under the Law. The repentant publican inthe parable might well represent this class . And while none ofthe fallen race could be justified through the works of th e

24

THE DAWN

Law, the truly humble and obedient Israelites, by their fait hand in their hearts, were pleasing to God, as pointed out to u sby Paul in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. Those in this categoryat the beginning of the Gospel Age were in a position, if calle dby God, to be transferred from the house of servants unde rMoses to the house of sons under Christ .Counting the Cost

JESUS related another parable which might be helpful t orecall at this point. It is the parable which illustrates the neces-sity of "counting the cost ." The introduction to the parable isenlighening. Jesus said to the crowd following him : "If any mancome to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife an dchildren, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also ,he cannot be my disciple . And whosoever doth not bear hi scross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple ." To this Jesusadded: For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth no tdown first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficien tto finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation ,and is not able to finish it, all who behold begin to mock him ,saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish . "—Luke 14 :25-30

Those whom the Heavenly Father now draws to Christ ar einvited to follow in his footsteps of self-sacrifice, to take u ptheir cross and follow him into death . To enter upon such acourse is difficult and costly. Jesus referred to it as a "straitgate," which leads to a narrow way which is difficult. (Matt. 7:13, 14) Those who are drawn to the Lord, and who recognizethe purpose of their calling, should consider the matter wel lbefore taking this step which involves so much. As illustratedby the parable, it is the Lord's will that they should thus firs tcount the cost .

However, in counting the cost, all prospective followers o fChrist should recall the fact that they will be given help inbearing the cross ; that they will not be alone in meeting thedifficuties of the way ; that they will have Jesus to lead them ,and the Holy Spirit to comfort them. Moreover, they shoul dremember that the Heavenly Father loves them, and will notpermit a single trial that will be too great for them to bear ;CHRISTIAN LIFE AND DOCTRINE

25

and that his love will be shed abroad in their hearts to giv ethem comfort and joy in their every time of need .

Sins CoveredIT IS true of all who respond to God's call to take up thei r

cross and follow Jesus into death that they feel unworthy o fsuch a great privilege . It is true that no member of the fallenrace is worthy of such an exalted calling . To those who arefaithful to its terms, it leads to "glory and honor and immor-tality," to living and reigning with Christ for a thousand years ,and participating with him in the future reconciliation of theworld to God under the terms of the New Covenant .—Rom. 2 :7;Rev. 20 : 6

However, God in his love has made a provision whereby ou rimperfect works are acceptable to him—"holy, acceptable," Pau lwrote . (Rom. 12:1) This provision is the redeeming merit ofChrist's blood which is imputed to the dedicated believer as arobe to cover his sins, and thus to make him pure in God' ssight . This merit of Christ is imputed upon the basis of faith .It does not actually make perfect, but God accepts us as perfec tbecause of the righteousness of Christ .—Isa . 61 :10

Faith Fundamenta lWE CANNOT overstress the vital importance of faith in con-

nection with our acceptableness to God . "For what saith thescripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto himfor righteousness ." (Rom. 4:3) Here we are told that Abraham' sfaith was counted unto him for righteousness . This did notgive him life, but it did give him a standing of friendship withGod. God dealt with him and blessed him in a wonderful mannerbecause of his abiding faith .

But this is not enough for those whom the Lord calls durin gthe Gospel Age, for it is his design that they lay down theirlives in sacrifice, as Jesus did, and there would be no point t othis unless their sacrifices were acceptable . Not only must theirsacrifices be acceptable, but they must be "living" sacrifices .As members of the fallen race we are all under condemnationto death, and could not offer ourselves a living sacrifice excep tas God has made a provision whereby it is possible . That pro-vision is the lifegiving merit of Christ .

26 THE DAWN

Paul wrote : "For all have sinned, and come short of the glor yof God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemp-tion that is in Christ Jesus : whom God hath set forth to be apropitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteous-ness for the remission of sins that are past, through the for-bearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness :that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believet hin Jesus ."—Rom. 3:23-26

Here Paul expresses the fact that we receive the benefit o fChrist's righteousness—which is the basis of our reconcilitio nwith God—upon the basis of faith . But this must be a living,vital faith, a faith that is demonstrated by works of full sur-render to do the Heavenly Father's will . It is more, much more ,than just a mental assent to the fact that Jesus died that sin-ners might be restored to harmony wth God .

Again Paul wrote: "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth theLord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raise dhim [Jesus] from the dead, thou shalt be saved . For with theheart man believeth unto righteousness [justification] ; and withthe mouth confession is made unto salvation ." (Rom. 10:9-11 )Yes, a heart belief, reflected in obedience to the divine invita-tion to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, is essential in order t obe assured of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ .

In Romans 5 :18 Paul presents a further thought in this con-nection . We quote: "Therefore as by the offense of one judg-ment came upon all men to condemnation ; even so by the right-eousness of one the free gift came upon all men [heart believers]unto justification of life ." It is our justification to life that en-ables us to offer a "living sacrifice" to God .

New Creature s

IN II Corinthians 5 :14, 15 Paul mentions one of the motiveswhich leads to a full consecration on the part of those who at-tain to a heart belief in Jesus and in his atoning work. Hewrote : "For the love of Christ constraineth us ; because we thusjudge, that if one died for all, then were all dead : and that h edied for all, that they which live [as a result] should not hence -forth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them ,and rose again . "

CHRISTIAN LIFE AND DOCTRINE

27

Paul further explains that those who have reached this con-clusion, and have responded to the influences of divine loveby devoting their lives to the doing of God's will, are now "i nChrist," members of his body, and as such are "new creatures . "(vs . 17) To these, old things have passed away—their old am-bitions and way of life—and all things have become new . Thesehave received a new outlook in life . They have new objectivesfor which to strive, and a new work to do .

And this new work is one of co-operation with the Lord . Weread (vss . 18, 19), "All things are of God, who hath reconcile dus to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given unto us the min-istry of reconciliation ; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconcilin gthe world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ;and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation ." It isthrough the faithful use of the "word of reconciliation" thatwe serve as the "ambassadors for Christ ." And how reassuringare the many scriptures which indicate that we can thus serv eGod acceptably through the righteousness of Christ.

As new creatures we are "in" Christ Jesus, and Paul wrote ,"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are inChrist Jesus ." (Rom. 8 :1) How blessed it is to be in this state o f"no condemnation," having the assurance that as long as we fol-low the leadings of the Spirit in the sacrificial steps of Jesus,his robe of righteousness covers all our unwilling imperfections .

Only a "Little Flock" Now

DURING the present Gospel Age only a comparatively few ,a "little flock," are reached by the ministry of reconciliation .God permits us, as the ambassadors of Christ, to have a sharein this ministry at the present time that we might, through faith -fulness to it, prove our worthiness of sharing in the future grea twork of carrying the message of reconciliation to the wholeworld of mankind . Only by faithfulness in the little things oftoday can we have a hope of sharing in the larger work of to -morrow .

And although the results of our sacrificial efforts are at th epresent time small, it is nevertheless an exalted privilege to par-ticipate as co-workers with the Lord. From the standpoint o f

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worldly wisdom we have chosen a foolish course, "for the preach -ing of the cross is to them that perish foolishness ; but unto uswhich are saved it is the power of God ." We know that the divin eway of reconciling the world will eventually be triumphant, an dthat the wisdom of this world will perish . "It is written, I willdestroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing th eunderstanding of the prudent."—I Cor. 1:18, 19

"Where is the wise?" Paul continues, "Where is the scribe ?where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolishthe wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of Go dthe world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the fool-ishness of preaching to save them that believe ." (I Cor . 1 :20,21)Again, "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men ; andthe weakness of God is stronger than men . For ye see your call-ing, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, no tmany mighty, not many noble, are called ; but God hath chose nthe foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and Godhath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the thing swhich are mighty; and base things of the world, and things whichare despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, tobring to nought the things that are: that no flesh should gloryin his presence."—I Cor . 1 :25-29

In verse 30 Paul explains that Christ is our "wisdom, and right -eousness [justification], and sanctification, and redemption [de-liverance] ." We read in Proverbs that the "fear" of reverenc eof the Lord is "the beginning of wisdom ." (Prov. 9:10) Thosewho are in the right heart condition and are "feeling after God "have sufficient reverence for him and his righteous ways to se etheir own undone condition, and thus to recognize their needof the redeeming blood of Christ . They recognize also the wisdomof following in the footsteps of Christ, following his example o fself-sacrifice, and dedicating themselves to this end .

Having begun the right way, the way of the Lord, the narro wway, they rejoice in the assurance of being acceptable to theHeavenly Father through the merit of Christ, that he is thei rrighteousness . Then they continue to follow in his steps, endeav-oring to be conformed to his image, and to do the will of th eLord in all the affairs of life . Thus, by precept and by example ,he is their sanctification and when the work of sanctification i s

CHRISTIAN LIFE AND DOCTRINE

29

complete in them, and the Lord's due time comes, he will b etheir deliverance from the bondage of sin and death into th eglorious liberty of the sons of God .

And, thank God, this is not merely that those who are thu scalled of God and blessed in this age might be saved, but als othat through them deliverance from sin and death might b ebrought to the whole world of mankind . It is for this manifes-tation of the sons of God" that humanity, steeped in sin an ddying, are unknowingly waiting . (Rom. 8:19) Let us appreciatemore and more each day the exalted part we have in God's min-istry of reconciliation .

THE PARABLE SERIE S

Article XV—Luke 11 :5 . 13 ; 18 :1-8

Importuning In Praye r

L UKE records two parables ofJesus' which emphasize theimportance of importuning inprayer . In the first of these—chapter 11 :5-13—he describes th eone to whom a request for breadis made as a "friend" ; in theother parable—chapter 18 :1-8--an "unjust judge" is the one t owhom the request is made. Lukesuggests the main lesson of th elatter parable in his introductio nto it . He wrote that Jesus "spakea parable unto them to this end ,that men ['they,'] his disciples,from previous chapter—See Diag .and R. V.] ought always to pray,and not faint ." (vs . 1) This lesso nis contained in both parables .

30

This is a beautiful and impor-tant lesson . The application is, ofcourse, to the people of God ; andthese stand in continuous need o fdivine grace and assistance. Theyare confronted with many temp-tations, difficulties, obstacles, dis-couragements, and other unhappysituations in which, apart fromGod's overruling providences i ntheir lives, and his willingnessand ability to help them in thei revery time of need, they woul dhe sure to "faint" by the waysideand drop out of the ranks ofthose who serve the Lord .

But in the dedicated lives o fthese servants of God, prayer canmake the difference betwee n

THE DAWN

fainting and continuing coura-geously on in the narrow way. So ,as Luke indicates the point of th eparable to be, when the variou sdiscouraging situations of lifeconfront us, instead of fainting ,we should pray. And from thelesson of the parable we have th eassurance that prayers offered inthese great times of need will b eheard and answered. The Lord'sanswer may be delayed, but thisis no reason to refrain from re -questing that which we fee lwould be his will for us.

The parable in the 11th chap-ter, in which the one petitione dfor bread is represented as a"friend," follows what is oftenreferred to as "The Lord' sPrayer," which Jesus outlined t ohis disciples in response to thei rrequest, "Teach us to pray, a sJohn also taught his disciples . "(vs . 1) In this prayer we are re-minded of the importance ofproper reverence in approachin gthe throne of heavenly grace—"Hallowed be thy name . "

In this outline we are also re-minded to pray for the Lord' skingdom, which is the divine ar-rangement for the blessing of al lthe families of the earth. Godwants us to be interested inothers, even in all whom he haspromised to bless, and for whomChrist died .

We are to ask for our dailybread, keeping in mind, of course,that our spiritual needs are byfar the most important . We are

CHRISTIAN LIFE AND DOCTRINE

also to seek the forgiveness ofour sins, and in connection withthe prayer are reminded that th eLord's favorable answer to peti-tions along this line depend supon our willingness to forgiv ethose who trespass against us . —Matt . 6 :14, 15

Jesus followed this outline o fprayer with the parable : "Whichof you shall have a friend, an dshall go unto him at midnight ,and say unto him, Friend, len dme three loaves; for a friend ofmine in his journey is come untome, and I have nothing to set be-fore him? And he from withinshall answer and say, Trouble menot: the door is now shut, an dmy children are with me in bed ;I cannot rise and give thee . I sa yunto you, Though he will notrise and give him, because he i shis friend, yet because of his im-portunity he will rise and givehim as many as he needeth. AndI say unto you, Ask, and it shallbe given you; seek, and ye shallfind; knock, and it shall b eopened unto you ."—vss. 5-9

Here, unmistakably, the lessonis perseverance in prayer. Jameswrote of those who ask, and re-ceive not, because they ask amiss.(Jas . 4:3) But this point is no tinvolved in the parables underconsideration . Since Jesus pre -ceded this particular parable withthe outline of his model prayerwe can take for granted thatwhen, in the parable, he stresse s

(Continued on page 34 )

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(Continued from page 31 )

the importance of continuing t oask in order to receive the bless-ings for which we stand in need ,he is speaking of the thingswhich the Heavenly Father i spleased to give us .

Prayer is communion with God ,and Jesus would have us remem-ber that we need this communion ,hence should not suppose tha tthe blessings he is pleased togive us need be requested onl yonce at the beginning of theChristian life, or even at the be-ginning of each day . Think of therequest, "Thy kingdom come. "How many times this petition ha sgone up to our Heavenly Fathersince the beginning of the Gospe lAge! This prayer is still in thehearts and on the lips of God' sconsecrated people, but his wil lis not yet being done in earth a sit is in heaven .

In the morning when we pray ,"Give us this day our dail ybread," we cannot expect thatthis petition will suffice forweeks to come. We may find i tappropriate to repeat this reques teven before the day is over. TheLord knows what our daily needsare, but he wants us to realizethose needs, and to become moreand more conscious of our sourceof supply by the necessity of re-peatedly asking for the thingswhich our Heavenly Father ha spromised to supply.

The Father's Car e

IMMEDIATELY following the

parable Jesus raises the question ,"If a son shall ask bread of anyof you that is a father, will h egive him a stone? or if he as ka fish, will he for a fish give hima serpent? Or if he shall ask anegg, will he offer him a scorpion ?If ye then, being evil, know howto give good gifts unto your chil-dren: how much more shall you rHeavenly Father give the HolySpirit to them that ask him?"—vss . 11-1 3

This is an encouraging lesson ,and evidently based upon theparable . In the parable the manof whom bread is requested dis-plays a measure of indifference,in that he does not wish to in-convenience himself to get up inthe night and give bread to afriend who requests it, and is inneed. This is not a wicked man .It is just that his own comfortseems more important than hi sfriend's need . But even this man ,"evil," or imperfect, though heis, does finally bestir himself t oanswer his friend's repeated pe-tition .

"How much more," Jesus said ,"shall your Heavenly Father givethe Holy Spirit to them that askhim?" Our Heavenly Father i snot moved in any sense by self-interest, nor is he indifferent .He is wholly unselfish, and is in-terested only in that which is thevery best for his children. Wecan never go to our HeavenlyFather at a time when it is in-opportune to him. He never

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sleeps ; he is never weary . If itseems that he does not grant ourpetitions immediately, it is onlybecause in his wisdom he knowsthat a delay is best for us as newcreatures in Christ Jesus, and be -cause he wants us the more ear-nestly to seek the blessings whichhe has promised.

In this lesson the Holy Spiritis referred to especially as bein ga needed gift from God. Perhap sin this Jesus is reminding us thatall our needs as new creature sare of a spiritual sort ; blessingswhich come to us through the`Nord of God and our understand-ing of the precious truths of hi sdivine plan .

The Apostle Paul speaks of th elove of God being shed abroadin our hearts by the Holy Spiri twhich has been given unto us .(Rom. 5:5) This means that if wehave the Holy Spirit we have th elove of God filling and blessin gour lives. God's love is mani-fested in providing for all ou rneeds, and we can always be surethat those needs will be supplied ,according to the abundance ofhis grace in Christ Jesus ou rLord.

Adversaries Avenged

The parable of the importunatewidow also emphasizes the nee dof continuance and perseveranc ein prayer. Here the petition ofthe widow is not presented to a"friend," as in the other parable ,but to a "judge, which feared no t

CHRISTIAN LIFE AND DOCTRINE

God, neither regarded man . "(Luke 18 :2) If the "friend" of th eother parable could be spoken o fas "evil," certainly this judg ecould also be so considered. Thusthe contrast is the greater, in thatif such a judge would grant th ewidow's request because of herimportuning, how much moreshall the Heavenly Father grantthe requests of his faithful peo-ple whom he loves and for whomhe has promised to care .

The reward sought by the"widow" in this parable is some -what different than the "bread "requested in the former parable .She wished to be avenged of heradversary . The true followers o fthe Master live in a hostile worldof whom Satan, the Devil, is th eprince . Jesus warned his disciplesthat in the world they wouldhave tribulation, but encouragedthem by saying, "Be of goodcheer; I have overcome theworld."—John 16 :33

Because of the blinding influ-ences of Satan, our great Adver-sary, many in the world may b eunkind and unjust to those whoare following in the footsteps ofthe Master . But it is not for usto retaliate and seek to punis hthem. This is to be left in th ehands of the Lord. Jesus is ourgreat example along this line .Peter wrote of Jesus that he wa sone "who, when he was reviled ,reviled not again ; when he suf-fered, he threatened not ; butcommitted himself [margin, or,

35

his cause] to him that judget hrighteously."—I Pet . 2 :23

From the standpoint of ourlimited perspective of time i nthe divine plan it could wellseem—apart from faith—tha tGod is doing little or nothingabout the sufferings of his peoplein this present evil world .Throughout the age they havebeen praying for deliverance, an dyet the great Adversary is stillable to stir up opposition andpersecution. They are still re-viled . But the Lord wants us t ocontinue praying that our adver-saries will be avenged by him ,in his own due time and way . Asindividuals, the saints through -out the age have continued thu sto pray but have finished theircourse in death without seein gtheir prayers answered .

In Revelation 6 :9, 10 we ar egiven a general picture which re-minds us of this . Here those whofaithfully laid down their live sgiving testimony to the truth arerepresented as crying out fro munderneath the altar, "How long ,O Lord, holy and true, dost tho unot judge and avenge our bloodon them that dwell on the earth? "These, without doubt, even be-fore they completed their cours ein death, continued to petitionthe Lord for the establishment ofhis kingdom, and through it saencies subdue all the powers

of evil ; and now this petition i sshown to be continuing .

The concluding words of thisparable are in keeping with this .Jesus said, "I tell you that h ewill avenge them speedily . Never-theless when the Son of man corn-eth, shall he find faith on theearth?" (vs . 8) This indicates tha tthe full answer to the petition o fthe "widow" class to be avengedtakes place at the end of the age ,when the Lord returns to estab-lish his kingdom. For many ofthe saints this has seemed to b ea long wait for the answer toprayer.

And even now, when our Lordis present, establishing his king-dom, we still must wait . We arestill not to revile those who re -vile us, nor in any way to see kour own vengeance against them .It is still true that vengeance be -longs to the Lord, and that w eare to wait for his due time t ovindicate his people and him-self .—Deut . 32:35; Rom. 12:19 ;Heb . 10 :3 0

So, as Jesus indicated in theopening of the parable, we areto continue praying, and not t ofaint, regardless of how unfriend-ly the world may be . Father, letus continually look to the Lord ,praying for his kingdom to come ,and for his will to be done inhis own due time and way .

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THE DAWN

The Grace of Humility"The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom ; and

before honor is humility."—Proverbs 15 :33

HUMILITY before God and man is an essential trait of char-acter for all who would be pleasing to the Lord . To teach thi slesson to his disciples Jesus called a little child into their midst,and said, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children ,ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever there-fore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is great-est in the kingdom of heaven .—Matt. 18 :2-4

In an admonition to the elders, and to the church as a whole ,the Apostle Peter wrote, "Feed the flock of God which is amon gyou, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willing-ly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as bein glords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock . Andwhen the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crow nof glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submityourselves unto the elder . Yea, all of you be subject one to an-other, and be clothed with humility : for God resisteth the proud ,and giveth grace to the humble . Humble yourselves therefor eunder the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in duetime."—I Pet . 5 :2-6

The Apostle Paul wrote, "Let nothing be done through strif eor vainglory ; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other bet -ter than themselves . Look not every man on his own things, butevery man also on the things of others . Let this mind be in yo uwhich was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God ,yet did not snatch at equality with God [The New English Bible] ;but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the for mof a servant, and was made in the likeness of men : and beingfound in fashion as a man he humbled himself, and became obe-dient unto death, even the death of the cross . Wherefore Go dalso hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which i sabove every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should

CHRISTIAN LIFE AND DOCTRINE

37

bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things unde rthe earth ; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christis Lord, to the glory of God the Father ."—Phil . 2 :3-1 1

Thus we find that Jesus, Peter, and Paul all enlarge upon th ethought expressed in our text that "before honor is humility . "On the other hand, he that exalteth himself "shall be abased . "This lesson was beautifully set forth by Jesus in a parable, whichwe quote : "When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sitnot down in the highest room ; lest a more honorable man thanthou be bidden of him ; and he that bade thee and him come andsay to thee, Give this man place ; and thou begin with shame t otake the lowest room . But when thou art bidden, go and sit downin the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he maysay unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then thou shalt have worshipin the presence of them that sit at meet with thee . For whosoeve rexalteth himself shall be abased ; and he that humbleth himselfshall be exalted ."—Luke 14 :8-1 1

It is essential to be humble before God . We are reminded ofthis by Paul's reference to the fact that although Jesus in hisprehuman life was in the form of God he did not aspire to beequal with God . This is in contrast with the attitude of Lucifer ,who said in his heart, "I will be like the most High." (Isa . 14 :12-14) In keeping with the divine principles by which God gov-erns his vast universe, the time will come when Lucifer, wh osought to exalt himself, shall be forever abased in the minds o fall God's intelligent creatures, and ultimately destroyed . On theother hand, as Paul reminds us, the Logos, who took the cours eof humility, has already been exalted to the divine nature andto the right hand of the throne of God .

God Is Humble

JEHOVAH, the great Creator and Ruler of the universe, i shimself humble . The Psalmist wrote, "The Lord is high aboveall nations, and his glory above the heavens . Who is like untothe Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himsel fto behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! Heraiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out o fthe dunghill ; that he may set him with princes, even with theprinces of his people ."—Ps. 113 :4-8

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How fortunate it is for us that God is humble, and that he has ,symbolically speaking, looked down upon the earth and has see nour need, and was willing to do something about it . When ourfirst parents disobeyed divine law, and were sentenced to death ,God could have turned his back upon them and their childrenforever. Had he been like many of his fallen human creature she could have said that they had had their chance, and that h ehad no further responsibility in the matter . But instead of this ,God humbled himself, and made provision for our first parentsto be given another opportunity, under more favorable circum-stances . True, it was love that provided the Redeemer, but divi