| The Christian Life | August 1947 |
A resume of present truth doctrines contributed from Germany
The Foundation of God Standeth Sure
“The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.”—II Timothy 2:19
THE firm foundation of the house of God stands from ages past. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereon.” (I Cor. 3:11,10) We can build thereon with the gold, the silver, the precious stones of the Word of God [divine truth] or with the wood, hay, and stubble of human errors and traditions. “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire.” (I Cor. 3:13) Evidently we live in this day, and the fire of trial is already burning and the sifting is in progress. Some emerge as approved and shall receive a reward; whereas others shall suffer loss, loss of the crown and of the work they have builded. However, they themselves shall be saved, yet so as by fire.—I Cor. 3:14,15
It is a comforting thought that “the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.” We all must bear the seal of adoption; we must be sealed with the Spirit of truth and love, which seal have all of God’s children. A further distinguishing mark or seal is given us in the words, “Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” (II Tim. 2:19) All who belong to the Lord have the desire to depart from iniquity and to purify themselves from all error in doctrine and conduct.
“All unrighteousness is sin.” (I John 5:17) “Sin is the transgression of the law.” (I John 3:4) The new creature, begotten of God, cannot sin, at least not willfully. “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin … because he is born of God.” (I John 3:9) This seems to be a contradiction to I John 1:10 which reads: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.” But here the reference is to the weaknesses of the flesh which adhere to us due to the fall of father Adam, but which are covered by the robe of righteousness, the precious blood of Christ.
The same immovable justice which condemned us to death because of Adam will release us when we come to God through Christ. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) There are indeed sins committed partly through weakness and partly with the consent of our will, for which we shall receive chastisement. “All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.”—I John 5:17
The sin unto death will be plainly manifested, be it through a direct denial of the blood of Christ, thus taking off of the wedding garment, or through a continued immoral walk of life. For such we should not pray. “It is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” (II Pet. 2:21,22) The great company, as a class, will receive chastisement at the height of the tribulation, and they shall wash their robes clean from all stains in the blood of Christ.
However, in the case of sin unto death, the new creature dies in the battle between the Spirit and the flesh—the latter having gained the upper hand again. “These are contrary the one to the other, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” (Gal. 5:17) Let us therefore, “every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
Four Planes in the House of God
“In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor [less honor].” (II Tim. 2:20) In the future kingdom of God, which will last a thousand years, four planes are to be discerned: the divine, the angelic, the perfect human, and the still imperfect human plane, represented by the vessels of gold, silver, wood, and earth. The “little flock” shall be partakers of the divine nature; the “great company” shall partake of the angelic nature [vessels of less honor]; the ancient worthies, who shall be resurrected as examples of perfection, may be represented by the vessels of wood. The rest of mankind, however, who shall come forth imperfect and with the same quality of character as possessed at the time of their death, are appropriately represented in the earthen vessels.
It cannot be said that it does not matter what people do in this life; for he who now is negligent of his character development will then have to make up for it. To the faithful heroes of the old covenant is promised a “better resurrection.” (Hebrews 11:35) They shall be resurrected perfect and thus be a model and pattern for the rest of mankind.
“Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth”
The apostle admonishes us “not to strive about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers”; and to refrain from “profane and vain babblings.” (II Tim, 2:14,16) We should avoid the disposition to resort to the use of affected terms of speech and to wrangle over theological hair-splittings, and should waste no time over those who are not open to sound reasoning. The apostle continues: “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.”
That is what matters! We should be diligent and not slothful, “fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.” (Rom. 12:11) Every day we should prove ourselves to be good workmen who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth. To this end it is necessary to apply each scripture in the correct phase of the divine plan. It is also important to obey the rule that the sacred Scriptures are “precept upon precept; line upon line; here a little, there a little.”—Isa. 28:10
It would, be incorrect to apply to this age a scripture which has reference to the next age or vice versa. For example: It is said with regard to the next age, “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isa. 11:9) Today it is still true that “darkness [ignorance] shall cover the earth, and gross darkness [superstition] the people.”—Isa. 60:2
This latter scripture is illuminated by the bow of promise, “The Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee,” when the rays of the sun of the Millennium shall begin to heal the human race which languished under the reign of sin and death for more than 6,000 years. It is also still future that the Lord will pour out his Spirit upon all flesh, as it was poured out upon the servants and upon the handmaids of the Gospel age. (Joel 2:28,29; Acts 2:16-18) The pouring out of the Spirit upon the world shall take place in the Millennium.
In regard to unimportant viewpoints we should be tolerant and allow each other liberty of thought, but when it comes to basic doctrinal truths, we should strive toward the desirable goal mentioned by the apostle in I Corinthians 1:10, where he writes, “I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment.”
The First Resurrection
In Paul’s time it was not appropriate to speak of the resurrection as already having taken place, for all then had first to sleep in death and to await the resurrection. The apostle says that there were some “who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.” (II Tim. 2:18) “And their word will eat as doth a canker,” he says, and “they will increase unto more ungodliness.”—II Tim. 2:16,17
Such false doctrine, after taking root, spreads slowly like a canker and eventually becomes incurable. Canker is a sickness which is described as a decay of cells tending to gangrene, which is curable only in the first stages by the application of the knife. So we should also remove error unsparingly, as soon as it is seen as such. It is the curse of the evil deed that it must continue to bring forth evil. One error usually brings forth further errors.
However, today we can proclaim with confidence, as a part of “present truth,” that the first resurrection has already taken place, that it began in the Spring of the year 1878 as far as the majority of the members of the body of Christ are concerned, and that since then, the “feet-members” do not need to sleep any more, but are being changed from weakness to power “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” at the time of their death. (I Cor. 15:52) That this thought is correct is proved by the chronology in Volumes II and III of the Studies in the Scriptures. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth [from 1878 on]: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors [from their tiring service in the harvest work]; and their works do follow them.”—Rev. 14:13
The length of the Jewish age is shown to be of the same length as the Gospel age. The Jewish age had its beginning at the death of Jacob, in his twelve sons, 1,812 years before Christ, and lasted 1,845 years till the Spring of the year A.D. 33, the time of their rejection—“Your house is left unto you desolate.” (Matt. 23:38) Thirty-seven years later saw the destruction of Jerusalem [A.D. 70] and the dispersion of the Jews among the Gentiles.
The Gospel age began with the death of Jesus, in his twelve disciples, in the Spring of the year A.D. 33, and lasted 1,845 years, which brings us to the Spring A.D. 1878, to the time of the rejection of the nominal church: “Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:16) Thirty-seven years later we witnessed the beginning of worldwide tribulation in the year 1914-15, in the course of which the symbolic “heavens shall [ultimately] pass away with a great noise” and Babylon shall be thrown into the sea like a millstone, and she shall be found no more at all.—II Pet. 3:10; Rev. 18:21
The harvest of the Jewish age was from A.D. 29 to A.D. 69, followed by the tribulation. The harvest of the Gospel age was from 1874 to 1914, also followed by tribulation. “The plowman [the tribulation] shall overtake the reaper” (Amos 9:13), that is to say, the harvest work is still in progress. The resurrection of the dead in Christ in the Spring of 1878 is parallel to the resurrection of the Head, our Lord Jesus, in the Spring of the year 33.
The Lord himself, being the Chief Reaper, must of necessity be present at the harvest, for he is shown as the Reaper with a golden crown sitting upon a white cloud [of tribulation—the white cloud picturing the pure designs of Jehovah which are hidden as yet], and with a sharp sickle [of present truth] in his hand.—Rev. 14:14
“The dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds [of tribulation], to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” What a happy outlook! “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”—I Thess. 4:16-18
“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power [because they are partakers of the divine nature], but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” (Rev. 20:6) As priests they shall bless the people and have the privilege of offering the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus [the water of life], free!—Rom. 6:23; Rev. 22:17
The first presence of Jesus as the Messiah in the flesh began in the fall of A.D. 29 [in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar] when he “began to be about thirty years of age” (Luke 3:1,23). and is a parallel to the parousia of Jesus as the Messiah [spiritual] in the fall of 1874, when he returned “as a thief in the night” to “gird himself, and make them [his watchful disciples] to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them” with spiritual food, “present truth.” (Luke 12:37,42; I Thess. 5:2; II Pet. 1:12) From this we can see that some knowledge of chronology is indispensable for the understanding of certain truths.
When our Lord was crucified, “cut off out of the land of the living” (Isa. 53:8), one of the comforting promises was, “I will turn my hand upon the little ones.” (Zech. 13:7) “The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His.” The wisdom of the Lord foresaw the necessity for this trial and sifting of the disciples. Thus the Lord’s people were in the “fining-pot” of the Refiner to be purified and purged and to emerge either as gold or as silver. “As the fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: so is a man [proved] according to his praise.” (Prov. 27:21, Leeser) The measure of praise “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” shall be ours only if we come up to the measure and proportion of the truth. “Judge nothing before the time, … then shall every man have praise of God.”—I Cor. 4:5
An Interesting Prophecy
We read: “And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third [part] shall be left therein.” (Zech. 13:8) If we have studied faithfully the divine plan and particularly Study XII on the chart of the ages in Volume I, Studies in the Scriptures, we will recognize the three parts in nominal Christendom: namely. (1) the unbelievers; (2) those who profess to believe; and (3) the consecrated ones.
In the harvest two parts shall be automatically eliminated and symbolically “cut off” or “be burned” as tares. Such will cease to profess to believe and to be consecrated. While some may be consecrated, their consecration is not unto death, but rather to an institution, or tangible body of Christians, not the true, mystical body of The Christ. With good cause the apostle warns the believers: “We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. … Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (II Cor. 6:1,2) Never again in all eternity shall there be another opportunity like the one of the Gospel age, to accept the invitation to the heavenly calling.
“And I shall bring the third part [the consecrated part, ultimately to be of the ‘little flock’ or the ‘great company’] through the fire [of trial], and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.” (Zech. 13:9) Some shall emerge as gold [divine nature] and others as silver [spirit nature], but all together shall combine into a people of the Lord, “the church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven.”—Heb. 12:23
Would that we could say with Job: “He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10) The Psalmist says: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”—Psa. 139:23,24
“Gold [divine nature] cometh out of the north [German translation; see also margin of the King James translation].” (Job 37:22) “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.” (Psalm 75:6) This would seem to indicate that the north is the seat of the Lord: “God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” (Psalm 75:7,8) “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. The God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while [through the scorn and contempt of the proud—Psalm 123;3,4], make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”—I Peter 5:6,10
“Meet for the Master’s Use”
May we purge and separate ourselves from those who pervert the straight path of truth. May we be “a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” (II Tim. 2:21) The apostle advises the youthful Timothy to flee youthful lusts; but to cultivate the fruits of the Holy Spirit—righteousness, faith, charity [love] and peace—to seek after those together with all that “call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” The apostle further warns to avoid “foolish and unlearned [absurd] questions.”—II Tim. 2:22,23
We should not preach Christ through envy and strife, and never force the Gospel upon anyone. The truth is God’s truth, and too noble and majestic for that. In making statements—even to enemies—we should ever manifest the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of love, “holding fast the form of sound words [the truth] in faith and love.” (II Tim. 1:13) “If any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom.” (I Cor. 11:16) The apostle further calls attention to the attributes of a true Christian in the following words, “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”—II Tim. 2:24-26
The truth alone is able to “recover” us [margin, “awake”; German translation: “grow sober again.”] (II Tim. 2:26) We live in a time when “they will not endure sound doctrine” (II Tim. 4:3), hence we should not be swayed by anything that cannot stand in the light of the divine counsel. “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”—II Tim. 4:5