SPIRITUAL MEANING by James White

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 15, 1859

SPIRITUAL MEANING.

By James White

"For, unless there underlies the letter of the Bible a spiritual meaning, they are true without doubt."

So says S. S. Griswold of the Sabbath Recorder, after calling certain sentiments recently advocated in that paper, "annihilationism, destructionism, millerism, and material paradiseism."

Bro. Griswold is a Baptist. And why? Because the plain letter of the Bible teaches immersion. He does not search for a hidden meaning of those scriptures which plainly express immersion. But others do, as may be seen by the following, copied from the St. Louis Observer, by the Independent.

"BURIAL WITH CHRIST.—Buried with Christ, wherein ye are risen through the faith of God's operation. But when are we buried with Christ? When crucified with him. When are we crucified with him? When the old man is put off, and the new man put on. When is this done? When our life is hid with Christ in God. Then are we planted in the likeness of his death, and raised to newness of life in Christ Jesus. This is not dipping the body under water. It is the baptism of the Spirit, by which we die to sin, and rise to the life hid with Christ in God. Plunging the body under water is in no sense a burial with Christ."

"Buried with Christ by baptism." "Planted together in the likeness of his death." Rom. vi. "And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him." Acts viii. These expressions are a sample of the Bible on baptism, which every Baptist takes as full authority, without stopping to look for a spiritual meaning underlying the letter.

Again, Bro. G. is a Seventh-Day Baptist. And why? Because the plain letter of the Bible enjoins the observance of the Sabbath. Here he receives the Bible as it reads. But there are those who transgress the letter of the Sabbath law every week, who at the same time say they keep the spirit of the fourth commandment. J. B. Cook, a no-Sabbath Adventist at Rochester, N. Y., would often preach against the Sabbath, and labor to show it abolished, and represent Sabbath-keepers as fallen from grace, and at the same time said in a private conversation with Sabbath-keepers, "Ah! I love the sweet spirit of the Sabbath!"

It is no uncommon thing to find men so far bewildered in a spiritual meaning of the Bible as to talk gravely of keeping the Sabbath in a spiritual manner in their hearts, while they transgress the letter of the Sabbath law. Should Bro. G. admit a spiritual meaning of the Sabbath law, underlying the plain letter, which might differ somewhat from the letter, how soon would his feet begin to slide from the Sabbath of Jehovah.

Bro. G. mentions in his catalogue of isms, "material paradiseism," which he admits is sustained by the letter of the Bible. We suppose he refers to the doctrine of the kingdom of God on the earth made new. We will give a sample of the plain letter of the Bible on this subject.

2 Pet. iii, 3–7. "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, whereby the world that then was being overflowed with water perished. But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

"Nevertheless we, according to his promise [Isa. lxv, 17], look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."

It will be seen in the apostle's doctrine, that the identical earth which was overflowed by the waters of the flood, is reserved unto fire. Once God washed the earth from its pollution by the waters of the flood. Next time he will purify it by fire from sin, sinners, and the curse, and there will appear a new earth, as pure as Eden in her primeval glory, and as material as the earth before the flood, or as the earth is now.

True, the prophet has written, "Behold I create new heavens and a new earth." It is also true that when David prayed, "Create in me a clean heart, O God," he did not want his heart taken out, and a new, clean one made and put in its place. He only wanted the old one cleansed. So with the earth. God will cleanse the old earth from the curse, from sin and sinners, and make it new.

But how shall the spiritual meaning of Peter's testimony on the subject be expressed? We know not how to express it, unless we supply the word spiritual as follows:

2 Pet. iii, 5–7, 13. "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the [spiritual] heavens were of old, and the [spiritual] earth standing [spiritually] out of the [spiritual] water and in the [spiritual] water, whereby the [spiritual] world that then was, being [spiritually] overflowed with [spiritual] water, perished [spiritually].

"But the [spiritual] heavens and the [spiritual] earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto [spiritual] fire, against the [spiritual] day of [spiritual] judgment, and [spiritual] perdition of ungodly [spiritual] men.

"Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for [spiritually] new [spiritual] heavens, and a [spiritually] new [spiritual] earth, wherein dwelleth [spiritual] righteousness."

But when we leave the letter of the Bible and adopt a "spiritual meaning" in its place, we at once step out into the broad field of fancy and fanaticism, where there may be as many spiritual interpretations, differing with each other, as there are spiritual interpreters.

If such plain Bible as the above from Peter's epistle, does not mean just what it says, then who can tell what it does mean? If the Bible does not mean what it says, then it ceases to be a revelation, until God gives us another book to tell us what this one means.

J. W.