Jottings

by Miller, J. | Category: Jottings | Dec 1957

There is much confusion of thought on " Church Truth" amongst the children of God. It is strange that it should be so when we remember how plainly and simply the Scriptures are written, and also that God has given the Holy Spirit to all His children to guide them into all the truth (John 16. 18). It must be that the condition of knowing the Lord's teaching, which is the teaching of the apostles (Acts 2.42), is not present in the hearts of many, which is this, as the Lord said, "My teaching is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching" (John 7.16, 17). Many have sat down and counted the cost of becoming the Lord's disciples, which simply means following the teaching of the Master, and have found that the present earthly friendships, and earthly things are too great for them to renounce, so they have held on to these for life's short duration and lost for themselves the future reward. Count the cost indeed, as in Luke 14. 25-35, but let it be counted both ways, (1) the doing of the Lord's will with consequent loss here, and (2) not doing His will and the greater loss hereafter.

The sinner in his blindness and darkness refuses salvation, which is offered to him by the Lord as a gift, because he realizes that faith in Christ leads to the loss of friendships and worldly enjoyments, if he would be faithful to the One in whom he believes. But, sad to say, many children of God follow the same course. Soon after conversion they part company with their Saviour; His word is too exacting; the path of the disciple is too narrow; the cross is too heavy a burden to take up and bear, and they are not willing to renounce the pleasures of this life and of sin which are but for a season. Soon the early likeness to Christ upon them disappears and they assume a worldly resemblance and the Saviour's name scarcely ever escapes their lips, except it be in worldly discussion, but never in grateful thanks and appreciation of what has been done for them in grace. What is the result? The result is just this: "If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned" (John t5. 6). Who are they that gather them? The A.V. says "Men gather them." There is no noun for" men," nor pronoun for" they "in the Greek, it is simply the verb Sunagousin in which the pronoun "they" is implied (a very usual thing in the Greek). Nevertheless the A.V. is helpful in using " men," showing that it is not the angels that gather the branches of Christ the Vine and cast them into the furnace of fire where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew i3. 42). That can never happen to such as are saved by grace. Many of the branches of the vine who should be receiving of the vital sap and bearing fruit are gathered by men. The Greek word for "gather" is the same as the word "Synagogue" which means a place of gathering. What happens when the branches are gathered? They are burned. There is a present burning of the lives of God's children, lives which might have been useful and faithful, but are now being lost.

This same fact emerges in what is said about Joshua the high priest of the time of the Remnant which returned from Babylon to build again the house of God, as is recorded in the book of Ezra. In Zechariah 3.2 we read "And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, 0 Satan; yea the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee : is not this a brand plucked out of the fire ? " The lives of God's people were being wasted in Babylon, but Joshua, the high priest, had been one who was plucked out of the fire, so that on his return to Jerusalem he could fulfil his priestly functions which he could never do in Babylon; nor can those who have a birthright to priesthood now perform their functions as priests in the present Babylon. How many are the wasted and lost lives in Babylon.

As there is much confusion of thought in both oral and written ministry on "Church Truth," in which the Church which is Christ's Body is utterly confused with the church and the churches of God, so is there much confusion on the subject of the house of God. Some there are who read and expound Hebrews 3.6 as though it read "But Christ as a Son over His (God's) house; whose house are we seeing (or because) we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm unto the end." It is not seeing or because at all but " if." It is the conjunction " EAN here, "if, on condition that." It is the "if of uncertainty." Some Greek texts give EANPER which means "if indeed" "if truly." " If" in Hebrews 3.6 is quite different in meaning from " if" in Colossians 3.1, and "If then ye were raised with Christ, seek the things that are above." The conjunction "El" here clearly means " if," " because, ""seeing," ye were raised together with Christ. The context shows that it is the " if" of argument and not the " if" of doubt, for it is later stated that the life of the Colossian saints was hid with Christ in God, and that Christ was their life. The same conjunction, "Ei," is used by Peter in 1 Peter 2.3 : " If (" Ei "or" Eiper" in some Greek texts) ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious: unto whom coming, a living Stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious." Here again there was no doubt whatever that they had tasted that the Lord was gracipus, for they had been redeemed by the blood of Christ (1 Peter 1.18, 19), and were born again by the incorruptible seed of the word of God (1 Peter 1.28), 50 that there was no doubt at all of their having tasted of divine grace. But having known His grace they were to be coming, to come and keep coming, to Him as the rejected One, a Stone disallowed by men in their building, but One who is chosen of God and precious. They as living stones were to be built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer op spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.

It is of the utmost importance that those who teach others should verify the facts on which they base their teaching, for the teacher shall ever receive the greater condemnation than the hearer, though the hearers will not be immune from condemnation, for they should also verify what is taught, and the test for both to apply is the word of God. "Be not many teachers, my brethren, knowing that we shall receive the greater judgement" (James 3.1). Thus those who have taught that "Ean" in Hebrews 3.6 means "seeing" or "because" should have made certain before they started to teach others, for it means no such thing as "seeing" or "because," but means that those in the house of God are such " on condition that" they hold fast. Besides the meaning of "Ean," the context shows that it is the conditional" if." If it is not so, why the quotation of David's warning to the men of Israel not to repeat the folly of Israel at Kadesh-barnea when they turned back in heart into Egypt and were going to appoint a captain to lead them thither? (Hebrews 3.7-11 ; Psalm 95.7-11 ; Numbers 14). Why indeed should such a warning be given, as that of Hebrews 3. 12, if the security of those in the house of God is similar to that of the members of the Body of Christ, and that all hold, and will hold, fast? "Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God." Yet again, where is the need of exhortation if all believers hold fast, and that "being in God's house "is as permanent as " being in Christ" ? "But exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called To-day; lest any one of you he hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." Can the members of Christ be affected by the deceitfulness of sin ? Or, can sin enter into the relationship of the members of the Body to Christ, the Head? Is there no condition implied in Hebrews 3, 14, "For we are become partakers (Metochoi companions or fellows, see Hebrews 1. 9) of Christ, if (Eanper if indeed) we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end" ? Partakers must not be confused with being members (of Christ) and children (of God).

Miller, J. | Dec 1957
Jottings