July/August
2003
The Church Family
One of the things I have noticed about
denominational churches is that many of them are not
very close. Often they meet once or twice a week for
services but have no other contact with the other
members during the week. It seems like the larger the
congregation the less they interact. I do not say this
to demean any other people, but we need to know what is
expected of us as church members.
According to the scriptures a church is to be a family.
In the new testament there are over five hundred
references using the words: brother, brothers, brethren,
sister, and sisters. The majority of these references
are not to natural brothers or sisters but to spiritual
brothers or sisters, especially brothers and sisters in
the church.
Being a part of a church family conveys both benefits
and responsibilities upon us. One of the most important
benefits is that we are a part of the spiritual house of
God and as spiritual born children thru the new birth we
have an elder brother who has represented us in covenant
as the “firstborn among many brethren.” This elder
brother (Jesus) made himself a sacrifice for us and
offered this sacrifice to our heavenly Father, thus
procuring our eternal redemption from sin. Furthermore,
because of this elder brother, we have an inheritance in
which we are joint heirs with him. This inheritance is
incorruptible and undefiled and fades not away, but is
reserved in heaven for us.
Furthermore, as members of the household of faith, we
are blessed with the privilege of worshiping God
together in spirit and in truth, of singing with joy in
our hearts, praising him for his wonderful works toward
us, and lifting up our hearts in prayer together in the
house of God, and hearing the gospel proclaimed in power
and demonstration of Spirit by our preach brethren.
Next, as brethren and sisters in the church, we are
blessed to share a common bond of like precious faith
and to be able to communicate with one another of our
common beliefs as set forth in the word of God. Being a
part of the church family brings us into a most precious
bond of belief and practice. Without this bond I am
convinced that many in the church would have little in
common, yet I find that with this bond, we find the
brothers and sisters in Christ to be the ones we are
most drawn to in fellowship and love.
Being a part of a church family also conveys upon us
responsibilities. For instance the bible says, “brethren
if a man be overtaken with a fault, ye which are
spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of
meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be
tempted.” We have, as brothers and sisters in Christ, a
responsibility to encourage one another in the faith, to
admonish one another to live uprightly, and in a spirit
of meekness to correct one another of our faults.
If the only interaction we have with
one another is at meeting time, how can we know enough
about one another to help one another? We are also told
to bear one another’s burdens. We can do this by
understanding one another’s needs, praying for one
another, helping one another according to our abilities.
The scriptures teach us to “Rejoice with them that
rejoice and to weep with them that weep.” Throughout
each of our lives we will have times in which we will
rejoice, such as when we get married, we have children,
we are baptized, etc. At such times our brothers and
sisters in the church are there to rejoice with us, that
is, to share in our joy. Likewise, there are times in
our lives when we will weep, such as, sickness, loss of
a loved one, disappointments in our natural
relationships, troubles in our natural family life. At
such times our brothers and sisters in the church are
there to mourn with us and to comfort and encourage us.
In addition, the scriptures teach us
to “bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the
law of Christ.” The law of Christ is the law to “love
one another even as I have loved you.” We have the
opportunity to fulfill this law by bearing one another’s
burdens. Jesus bore our burden of sin on the cross and
is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. He ever
liveth and maketh intercession for us. We can bear one
another’s burdens by praying for one another in our
times of need; by physically helping the needy in the
congregation; by visiting the shut-ins and lonely; by
encouraging the depressed and down-trodden; by setting
an example for the young in age and in spirit.
Furthermore, all of our brethren and sisters in the
church are plagued as we are with the sins and faults of
the flesh. According to the scriptures, “Brethren, if a
man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual,
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;
considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” Who
among us hasn’t at one time or another been overtaken in
a fault? Faults can include substance abuse, filthy
language; unforgiveness; covetousness; leeching off
others; lying; inordinate affections; etc. The
scriptures tell us to confess your faults one to another
and pray one for another that ye may be healed (of our
faults-VJ). We will not normally confess our faults to
strangers or to those we are not close to. However, the
closer we are to someone the more we will feel that we
can confide in that person. As brothers and sisters in
the church we should develop a close fellowship with one
another that we can confide and pray for one another for
strength and wisdom and faith to overcome our faults.
Additionally, “brethren if any of you
do err from the truth and one convert him, let him know
that he which converteth the sinner from the error of
his way, shall save a soul from death and hide a
multitude of sins.” It seems to me that the closer we
are to one another the easier it is for us to reason
with one another. I believe I would find it hard to
receive the reasoned rebuke of a stranger, but a close
brother in the church who I know cares for me and my
welfare, I am much more willing to consider what he has
to say.
Thanks be to God who has given us a
spiritual family that we can share our lives with and
can be there for one another and to share our common
beliefs and practices with and can worship together
with.
Vernon Johnson
Was Job
Written Before the Flood?
It has become common among many in the religious world
and among some Primitive Baptists to declare that the
book of Job was written before the flood. The
scriptures, however, declare a completely different
story.
Job was said in Job 1:1 to be in the land of Uz.
According to Gen. 10:23 Uz was a grandson of Shem, the
son of Noah and one of the eight persons on the
ark. This alone is proof positive that the book of Job
was not written before the flood.
Next, the Chaldeans and the Sabeans
who stole away the livestock of Job were present during
the time of the Babylonian captivity of the Jews.
Third, Job had three friends who came
to comfort him during his calamity: Eliphaz the Temanite;
Bildad the Shuhite; and Zophar the Naamathite. Teman was
a grandson of Esau (Gen. 36:11), Shuah was one of the
sons of Abraham which Keturah bare unto him; Naamah was
one of the cities of the land of Canaan that the
children of Israel came to possess in the days of Joshua
(Josh. 15:41).
Fourth, the young man Elihu, who
rebuked Job, was the son of Barchel the Buzite, of the
kindred of Ram (Job 32:2) Ram was a great-grandson of
Judah (Ruth 4:18, 19). Elihu has to be at least six
generations removed from Judah. In contrast, Moses, was
only four generations removed from Levi, Judah’s
brother. Thus it is possible and maybe even probable
that the book of Job was written after Moses wrote the
first five books of the bible!
In conclusion, the book of Job was not
written before the flood and it is likely that the book
of Job was written after the first five books of the
bible were written.
Elder
Vernon Johnson
“Jesus is the Son
of God”
We see the Son of Man again through the eyes of the
disciples, Peter, James and John, on the mountain when
Jesus is transfigured before them, “And he said unto
them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them
that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till
they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. And
after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James,
and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain
apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before
them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as
snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there
appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were
talking with Jesus. And Peter answer ed and said to
Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us
make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses,
and one for Elias. For he wist not what to say; for they
were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that
overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud,
saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him” (Mark 9:1- 7,
see also Matt. 17:1-7).
Can there be any doubt that they are both seeing Jesus,
who is the Son of Man in all of His glory and splendor?
This is the very Son of God as He is viewed in His
glorified state! Jesus is referred to as being the Son
of God.
This title for Jesus has been a stumbling block for many
people throughout the centuries. In the fourth century,
a man named Arius arose bringing a new doctrine which is
called the Arian heresy which denied the doctrine of the
Trinity, stating that Jesus was not God, but that He was
only a created being.
Arius would call attention to such verses of scripture
that referred to Jesus as the “who is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” (Col.
1:15), “the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14), of
which Arius would argue that Jesus had a beginning in
time and was Himself created by God, and was a creature.
He would say that if Jesus was “begotten” that it could
only mean that He could not possibly be eternal, and if
He is not eternal, then he is a creature, and that it
would be blasphemy to call Him God, render any worship
to Him. That Jesus was once and angel and that now He
occupies a station that is above all other angels, and
is become a god, but that He certainly is not God.
But let us examine the scriptures, it
is a fact that Jesus is “begotten, not made.” In English
this seems to be a contradiction, but not so in the
Greek. When we hear the word “begotten” it does imply a
beginning, but when it is applied to Jesus, there is a
uniqueness in the way in which He is begotten that
separates Him from all other creatures. He is referred
to as “the ONLY begotten of the Father.” In this sense
Jesus stands alone in the fact that He is begotten of
the Father. He is eternally begotten of the Father.
Remember Jesus is “begotten,” not made. And this takes
into view His coming into the world in human flesh. God
the Son is become a man, being born into the world as a
little child. But He is the eternally begotten of the
Father. In His deity He is eternal, and in His humanity
He had a beginning. This fact fulfills the prophesy of
old saying, “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten
thee” (Psa. 2:7; Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5). His sonship
carries the description of intimacy with the Father; and
carries with it more than that of mere preeminence that
comes with biology. The term “begotten” is a Greek word
filled with meaning, shouting forth His deity; He is
“begotten,” not made!
To say this we are not being irrational, but we are
being faithful to the scriptures. John the Baptist knew
this to be true, listen to what He has to say about
Jesus, “this was He of whom I spake, He that cometh
after me is preferred before me: for he was before
mewho coming after me is preferred before me, whose
shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose” (John 1:15,
27). John, was about six months older than Jesus, by
birth, he understands that Jesus is the only begotten of
the Father. And after he baptized Jesus he becomes
witness to a most wonderful scene. When Jesus came forth
from the water, and “lo, the heavens were opened unto
him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a
dove, and lighting upon him: and lo a voice from heaven,
saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased” (Matt. 3:17). So let us conclude with the
truth, Jesus was begotten of the Father, but not made.
Elder Thomas McDonald
“Jesus is the Word
of God”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by him; and without him
was not any thing made that was made. In him was life;
and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1- 4).
The title Word is rarely used in the New Testament for
to describe Jesus. It is found primarily in the book of
John’s gospel where one unmistakable fact is set forth.
First, that Jesus is the Word of God, and second, that
He is God. Jesus is God the Word!
The Apostle Paul tells us that “by Him were all things
created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were
created by him, and for him: And he is before all
things, and by him all things consist” (Col. 1:16-17).
The Greek word that is used is the word Logos. Which
means, “something said, a word or thought or concept.”
Our English word Logic comes from this very same word.
We also have a suffix “ology” that is used in many other
words, which we attach to other words or terms to show
forth a academic disciplines and sciences. For example
the word biology is “bios-logos, is a word concept for
the study of science which deals with the origin,
history, physical characteristics of the life process,
habits, etc. of plants and animals. And the word
theology is the “theos-logos, which is a word concept
for God.
The concept that the Apostle John is trying to convey is
that “in the beginning there was Logic, and Logic was
with God and the Logic is God -and the Logic became
flesh.” John is stating a dynamic principle here! He is
not saying that Jesus Christ is being reduced to some
mere rational principle, but that God Himself is the
unity, consistency, yes, He is the glue which binds all
things together under His divine rule John expresses to
us the quality of God’s being, which is itself coherent,
consistent, and clearly seen in all things that He
creates. And we see here that it is Jesus Christ Himself
that is identified as being the eternal Word, Logos
within God, which brings order and harmony in the
universe. It is His coherency that holds the ultimate
meaning of the universe and the stuff from which
everything was made. And it’s Jesus, the Word of God who
makes sense of it all.
One of the problems of the world is that there seems to
be no room in their minds for the concept of a personal
God who by His power and wisdom and sovereignty created
the world in order and in harmony. And without the
thought of God, the best that they can come up with is
speculation of some abstract principle, which they say,
ordered reality and keeps it from becoming a mass of
confusion.
We find this very same concept to be a very old concept.
We find it in the Stoick philosophy. We find the stoicks
mentioned in Acts 17:18, “then certain philosophers of
the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And
some said, what will this babbler say? Other some, He
seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he
preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.”
And we also notice that Paul also “encountered” these
stoicks, or to be more accurate the stoicks
“encountered” Paul, which means that they withstood, and
challenged him. The stoicks were early Greek thinkers
who thought that there was no such thing as a personal
God who by His power, wisdom and sovereignty created the
world in order and harmony. In fact they believe that
nothing could exist beyond the limits of human knowledge
and experience. They believed that at best there was
only some theoretical abstract form and power which they
called nature, which ordered reality and kept it from
becoming a mass of confusion. They never considered that
their was an All-powerful being who was King and who was
involved with things of this world. Their concept of
“Logos” or the “Word” functioned merely as an abstract
idea that was necessary to account for what they
perceived as order that was evident in the universe.
The stoicks that Paul encountered at Mars Hill debated
with him about their notion that all things came into
being from a single seed of fire, which they called the
Logos Spermatokos. And within this “Seed” or “Word” the
power of creation and source of procreative power, which
word begets life and order and harmony. We have all
heard of the expression “every person has a spark of
divinity in them.” This notion came from stoicks. The
stoicks believed that each and every individual object
had a piece of this divine seminal fire in it, but in
their mind it was impersonal and abstract. We can see
this very same philosophy in our so-called science of
creation today, only now it is called the “big bang
theory.”
The Apostle John did not use the word the same way that
the Greeks did, in John 1:1 he drooped a bombshell on
the thinkers of his day when he looked at Jesus and
spoke of Him not as some impersonal concept, but as the
incarnation of the eternal “Word” or “Logos.” Because
the ancient Greeks knew nothing of such a concept, so it
was a stumbling block to them, rather than the idea of
an incarnation (1 Cor. 1:23). To John Jesus is the
“Word,” He is the “Logos” in a very personal and radical
way, this is very different from the Greek in his
uncertain philosophy. To John the “Word” is a real
person, and not simply a principle!
The second thing that seemed to be outrageous to the
Stoick’s thinking was the thought that the “Word” or
“Logos” should become incarnate. To him there could
never be anything that was more of a stumbling block
than the idea of an incarnation. That is that there
could ever be an endowment of the divine with a human
body. This was because of his view of all matter in the
universe, it was unthinkable to him that God, if there
really was one, should ever take upon himself human
flesh and form. “He would think to himself, “this world
is made up of material things, as because it is must be
therefore could never be dependent on anything that was
external, such as matter to exist in human flesh. So to
the Stoick, as well as to the modern so-called scientist
today, to have the “Word” or “Logos” be clothed in the
garb of a material world would be a disgusting thought
in his classical Greek philosophy. The Apostle John,
under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, Looked at the
“Word” or “Logos” at the personal level. He saw Christ
the very manifestation of the eternal person by whose
power and existence does not depend on anything or
anybody of this natural world, but on whose power all
things are held together. This concept pointed to the
deity of Christ as being the only cosmic reason in the
universe! He is the ultimate reality of all things!
The Word is not only said to be with God, but to also be
God. This is a clear and direct statement of the deity
of Christ. When we read John 1:1 there can be no doubt
at all as to what is meant by the textJesus Christ is
God the Word! He is the true Logos!
Today as modern day scientist work to remove the idea of
God from every thought of the human mind, we find that
they are added by such organizations as the Jehovah’s
Witnesses and the Mormons, who attempt to cloud and
distort the scriptures, by trying to make the argument
that the Bible does say that the Word was God, but that
it should read “that the Word was a god.” If this is
what John was trying to say then there are several
problems that come up. First it leaves us with John
affirming a form of polytheism. Now polytheism is the
belief and worship of many gods. As opposed to
monotheism which is the belief and worship of one God
only. And little child of God it is clear when we read
our Bibles that the scriptures teach from the first book
of Genesis to the last book of Revelation that there is
only One God. And so to say that the text ought to read
that the Word was a god,” is to declare that there are
more than one God. These say, “well you Old Baptist
believe the Trinity, and 1+1+1 equals 3.” And they say
it is we who believe in polytheism. But their math is
flawed, its not 1+1+1=3, but 1x1x1=1, because John
declares that “these three are One” (1 John 5:7). This
is the true doctrine of the Trinity. Jesus is the same
as the Father, and yet is distinguished from the Father.
He is the same as the Holy Ghost, yet is distinguished
from the Holy Ghost. We see that God and Jesus are one
in being but two in their person. The Father and the Son
and the Holy Ghost are one being, but are distinguished
in terms of their personality and work, and the ministry
they perform.
It is this witness that John gives us that is of the
intimate type. John is saying that we have a
face-to-face relationship with the eternal Creator of
the universe from all eternity! Our hope and faith does
not rest of the things that we see. The Father, Son and
Holy Ghost are one and Jesus Christ is the “Word of
God.” God in the flesh, for John says “and the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Here we see that
God is dwelling with us, or literally He is “pitching
His tent with us.” Just like when God dwelt with the
children of Israel in the Old Testament in the
tabernacle, so He dwells with us in the person of the
“Word, the “Logos” who embodies the truth of God
Himself, “for in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). Jesus Christ is the
manifestation of the glory of God. John goes on to tell
us that “in Him was life; and the life was the light of
men” (John 1:4).
I will close this subject for now. And realize that I
have not been able to do this great subject its full
justice, but I hope that it has in some way been to
God’s glory and hopefully to the edification of the
people of God. The next time we hope to look at “Jesus
as the Saviour.” May God bless you and keep you.
Elder Thomas McDonald
