ALL doubtless are familiar with the story of Christ leading Israel in the cloud and in the fire; and all also are familiar with His life on the earth as the son of Joseph and Mary; but how many have noticed a symbolic figure of the Son of God in the Sacred Word?
Just as He likened kings and nations of old to animals with certain characteristics (Daniel 7), so God likened the oneness of Jesus with believers to a human figure with its many members, thus: “Ye are the body of Christ.” 1 Cor. 12:27. “He [Christ] is the head of the body, the church.” Col. 1:18. “So we, being many, are one body in Christ.” Rom. 12:5. “As the body is one, and hath many members, . . . so also is Christ.” 1 Cor. 12:12. How striking is this figure! How great the inducements offered fallen man to share Christ’s body! How we rejoice to tell weak, sinful men that through it they are “heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ,” “of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones,” made “so much better than the angels,” obtaining a more excellent name than they, heirs of the world, sharers of Christ’s judgment throne. Col. 1:16; Heb. 2:5. Truly, “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”
But have we alone received this union?
Let Moses answer. Ex. 4:22, 23: “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son, even My first-born. . . . Let My son go, that he may serve Me.” What does this mean? Why say, “Israel is My son,” instead of, “The Israelites are My sons”? Why term this multitude “My son,” as if they were but one person, instead of “My sons,” as if many? We reply, Only for the same reason that the church is Christ’s body; only for the same reason that “He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one;” only to teach Pharaoh the gospel of sonship and adoption through faith in Christ. Rom. 9:4.
There is a sonship by descent from Adam, “who was the son of God;” and there is a sonship through Christ, by the new birth. One class, shorn of Christ’s covering body, claiming only the sonship through Adam, could truly be termed “My sons,” yet God does not so call them. But the other class, having received the atonement in Christ (Rom. 5:11), could fittingly be referred to as “My son,” singular, because they are all one in Christ.
Thus the words “My son” were well chosen. Thus they distinguish between believers and unbelievers, and thus they differentiate between a class representing “the mystery of godliness,” “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory,” and a class representing “the mystery of iniquity,” which is a denial of the same. Therefore He practically said: “Tell Pharaoh the Israelites have by faith received the atonement. Tell him they trust in Him who alone can deliver. Tell him for that reason he must let them go.” Mark well this distinction between “son” and “sons,” because it will be used to explain the difference between “seed” and “seeds” of Gal. 3:16 later.
Now another text with the same figure, Hosea 11:1, 2: “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called My son out of Egypt. As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense to graven images.”
Here we find again the same enigmatical use of the words “My son.” What does it mean? Who is referred to? What “son” burned incense “to graven images”? We reply, If the words “My son” meant the multitudes of Jews in the above instance, these same words must necessarily refer to the same people in this. Thus, Hosea says, “When Israel was a child [in Christ—compare 1 Cor. 3:1], then I loved him [the Hebrews], and called My son out of Egypt.” How wonderfully these figures agree!
How we wonder at the same atonement, sonship, and adoption conferred, the same great and precious promise necessarily, therefore, received, and the same blessed Saviour held up for man’s redemption in Egypt as at the present day! But while marveling at this harmony of gospel figure, has a prophecy of a coming Messiah been seen above? While amazed at the supernatural agreement of gospel symbol, has any one noticed a discrepancy, a difference, an anachronism, so to speak, between Hosea’s figure of the Israelites coming out of Egypt, and Paul’s like metaphorical figure representing Israel of the present day? Has any one noticed that the prophet likens the church in Egypt to a man with head and body complete, thus, “called My son [the whole symbolic man] out of Egypt,”6while the apostle likens the same church to the body of the same symbolic man only, thus, “Ye are the body of Christ”? Has any one noticed a prophecy in this? Why such different description? Why not say, “called the body of Christ out of Egypt,” instead of, “called My son out of Egypt”? In short, when the body only was called (Hebrews) (Ex. 7:16), when the body only responded (Ex. 12:4), and when the Head had not as yet been made manifest in the flesh, why did Hosea thus include both Head and body in the calling out?
All contradiction disappears when we say the difference, or anachronism, taught that a coming Head would go into Egypt and out again to fulfil the prophet’s figure, to preach the gospel of deliverance in God’s dear Son, and to speak words of comfort and joy to weary souls groping in Egyptian darkness.
You ask, Was the prophecy fulfilled? Did the Head go over the same ground as the body? Did the true Son of God journey in the above manner? Listen. Matt. 2:14, 15: “He [Joseph] took the young Child and His mother by night, and departed into Egypt: and was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called My son.”
How clear the fulfilment! See how the Head went over the same ground as the body; see how Hosea’s figure was literally fulfilled; see how Matthew included both the Hebrews and Christ in one term, “the Lord,” where he says Hosea’s words referring to the Jews “were spoken of the Lord;” see how he thus admits the atonement, and sees a message of hope and courage proclaimed in Joseph’s midnight trip, that just as Christ went in and out of literal Egypt, so would He go into spiritual Egypt and bring out every trusting soul triumphant.
O glorious fulfilment! O precious hope! But notwithstanding this study may now be plain to many, we can not close without one more text to silence every objection. Here it is—Gen. 13:14-16: “Look, . . . for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth.” How is it possible to find a mystical figure in this text? Where is there any reference to Christ and His church? What possible indication of an atonement? Since Inspiration has spoken, we will let the same answer. Gal. 3:16: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”
Paul here declares that Canaan was promised to one, even Christ; while the words from God’s own lips just as emphatically declare it was given to a people as numerous “as the dust of the earth.” How can we reconcile these statements? What is meant by the words “many” and “one”? We reply again, The blessed atonement figure comes to our aid. Just as the distinction between “My son” (as of one) and “my sons” (as of many) in Ex. 4:22 differentiates between believers and unbelievers, so Paul’s distinction between “seed” and “seeds” differentiates between precisely the same people; just as the words “My son,” indicating but one, meant Christ and His church in Egypt, so the word “seed” in Gen. 13:15, albeit also paradoxically stated by Paul to indicate but one, means precisely the same people; and just as believers, the body, together with Christ, the Head, were referred to as “the Lord” in Matt. 2:15, so the same “body” and the same “Head” are referred to as the “seed,” the posterity, which is to be as numerous “as the dust of the earth.” Thus we may read: “Look, . . . for all the land which thou seest, to thee I give it, and to Christ and His church forever. And I will make thy seed [same] as the dust of the earth,” etc.
At last the true meaning appears. At last we see Paul’s distinction between “many” and “one” is no less than a stunning blow at apostate Jews; no less than saying, Canaan was not promised to individual seeds of Abraham, shorn of Christ’s covering body, standing alone as units, as “many,” but to believers, the body, together with Christ, the Head, making the paradoxical “one, . . . which is Christ.” Thus this collective “one” seed or posterity is the same figure described in 1 Cor. 12:12; Rom. 12:5; Heb. 2:11; Matt. 2:15; Hosea 11:1; Ex. 4:22; and Gen. 13:15; thus it is the golden thread running from Genesis to Revelation; and thus it is another striking testimony to the divine inspiration of God’s word.
But in finding an atonement figure in Paul’s mysterious language, we have also unknowingly discovered the same figure in another much controverted text. In other words, by finding the meaning of one verse, we have found the meaning of another; by the ending of all controversy on one point, we have unintentionally settled all argument on another. We read Gal. 3:19: “Wherefore then the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made,” etc. Necessarily, if Paul means Christ and His people for the “seed” in the sixteenth verse, he certainly does the same in the nineteenth; and necessarily, therefore, painful as it may be to destroy the long cherished theory of our “no law” brethren, we are obliged to read the verse thus: “Wherefore then the law? It was added because of transgressions, till Christ and His church [the said seed] should come to whom the promise was made;” or, as we may say, the law is in force until every believer comes into His promised home; until that scripture is fulfilled which says, “And from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me” (Isa. 66:23); and until the great Lawgiver Himself comes down on earth to dwell with man (Rev. 21:3), and then that law is inscribed in the hearts of all God’s children forevermore (Heb. 8:8-10).
In conclusion, we ask, How does this present binding obligation of God’s law affect Christ’s church to-day? If this law knows but a seventh-day Sabbath, what becomes of the wide-spread agitation for a compulsory Sunday law? What becomes of this iniquitous union of church and state? What becomes of all who take part in such an unscriptural movement? Whether appreciated or not, it is treason to God.
Faith Cures
WHEN “faith cures” become a matter of business enterprise, and certain people set themselves up as having special privileges with the Lord, who will hear their prayers in preference to others, the whole thing becomes a travesty of the most grotesque proportions. We have seen advertising signs of these faith-healers on conspicuous boards on the front of their houses. They claimed for themselves a sanctity which others could not discover, and pretended to a healing power which they did not and could not verify. They were fakirs, deceivers, religious frauds. Just as soon as a man claims to have a special relation with God by which he proposes to heal the sick that come to him, he proves himself a fraud.— Methodist Protestant.
The Septuagint and Baptism
By F. D. Starr
By F. D. Starr
As the word “baptize” is taken directly from the Greek, it might be profitable to ascertain what use, if any, the Septuagint, or Greek version of the Old Testament, makes of this term. One instance of much significance in determining the meaning of the word, is found in 2 Kings 5. Naaman, the Syrian general, was directed by the prophet Elisha to go and wash in Jordan seven times. In compliance with this instruction, he went and dipped himself seven times in Jordan. (Verse 14.) In the Septuagint, the statement is made that he went and baptized himself seven times, the Greek term for “dipped,” or “baptized,” being taken from the root bapto, from which is also taken the word rendered “baptize” in the New Testament. No one supposes that Naaman was sprinkled or had a little water poured upon him. It is perfectly evident, to all, that he plunged himself into the river. The true significance of the expression “baptize” is here very plainly illustrated.
A ceremony of the Levitical priesthood clearly shows the distinction between baptism, sprinkling, and pouring. In Lev. 4: 6, 7, the three terms “dip,” “sprinkle,” and “pour” are used. The Greek word here translated “dip” is bapsei, future tense for bapto, defined by lexicographers as meaning to dip, to plunge, to immerse. The word baptizo is from the same original root word, hence has a similar significance, meaning the same act.
The word here rendered “sprinkle” is from the word prosranei, defined, to sprinkle around, from rantizo, to sprinkle. In the statement, He “shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar,” the word “pour” is from ekkeo, meaning, as translated, to pour. If sprinkling, pouring, and baptizing were all equivalent terms, then we might expect to find these words used interchangeably for these three acts. But no such confusion of terms is permissible. The distinction is very plain. The dipping (baptizing), sprinkling, and pouring performed by the priest are expressed by three very different words.
A similar illustration of the distinction in the use of these terms is found in Lev. 14: 15, 16. The priest pours oil into his left hand, then dips—baptizes—his finger in that oil, then sprinkles of the oil seven times before the Lord. If believers in the New Testament ordinance of baptism were to be sprinkled or poured, then the words meaning to sprinkle or to pour might have been used. But the words meaning sprinkle and pour in the Old Testament mean sprinkle and pour in the New Testament; and “dip,” or “baptize,” in the Old Testament, means7the very same thing in the New Testament. This fact is plainly established by a study of the word “baptize” in the Septuagint.
It may not be generally understood that when our Lord said, “I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished” (Luke 12:50), He made allusion, as was His custom, to some prophetic utterance. But by consulting the Septuagint, it is evident that He did. Isa. 21:4 reads in that version, “My heart wanders, and transgression baptizes me; my soul is filled with fear.” The agony of our Lord in the garden, as He was overwhelmed with the sins of the world, is plainly indicated by the evangelical prophet. To His disciples the Master said, “With the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized.” Can we respond as they did, “We are able”?
May the Lord make us able.
The Time to Shine
Once a young Chinaman of talent accepted Christ. Some time after, a native Christian teacher asked him what he had done for Christ since he believed. His reply that he was a learner is characteristic of the Christian who is not an active Christian. But this teacher asked him why he lighted a candle; was it to make the candle more comfortable? “No,” he said, “but to give light.” “Then when do you expect the light? Is it when the candle is half burned out, or when you first light it?” He said, “As soon as I light it.” “Then go thou and do likewise.” And the story ends with the fact that shortly after, there were fifty native Christians in his town as a result of this man's work.— Selected.
Speed the Message
By T. E. Morrow
By T. E. Morrow
Speed along, ye servants, far and near,
Let the message quickly spread;
For the solemn judgment hour is near
Of the living and the dead.
Ev'ry eye shall see,
All bend the knee
To Christ, creation's Lord;
Ev'ry tongue confess
His righteousness
In deciding their reward.
Let the message speed o'er land and sea
As if borne on angel's wing.
Let truth be heard in its purity
Of the coming Judge and King.
Tell the truth of God.
Cry aloud—spare not.
To each soul a warning give.
Tell them how and when
To turn from sin.
Tell them where to "look and live."
Let peoples know that creation's Lord
Has not changed His law or plan.
Tell them how foretold in Holy Word
That it would be done by man.
Show the mark or sign
Of the hand malign
Which must be received by all,
And the fearful fate
Which shall surely wait
Those who disobey God's call.
Speed the message on by word and pen.
Let your actions prove your faith.
Send warning forth to the sons of men
Before it is too late.
When the race is run,
And the victory won,
Should you stop to count the cost,
You would shout in praise
For the blessed days
When you worked to save the lost.
Tygh Valley, Oregon.
Importance of Prayer
By Walter Wynn
Walter Wynn, in New York “Christian Herald”
PRAYER is a wonderful power in private life. When Luther was in the throes of the Reformation, he used to say he could not get on without three hours a day in prayer. Abraham Lincoln once said: “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that around me seemed insufficient for the day.” When Jesus was in agony in the garden, we are told that “He prayed the more earnestly.” I have tried to preach on these words, but they choked me.
Some texts in the Bible unfold the infinite, especially those that refer to prayer. We are told that when Jesus took Peter, James, and John up into the mountain to pray, as He prayed, “the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistering.” That was a natural result. Prayer is the most transforming influence in the world. I beg of you to try it in your homes.
I heard Mr. Moody once say that he never failed to pray one prayer: “Lord, help me.” That prayer is earnest, brief, to the point, with its arms outstretching to the Infinite. Pray short, aim at something, work with God to realize your own prayers, and during the blackest night never lose faith. God is not dead. He neither slumbers nor sleeps. O, if you would only pray in secret, your homes would become palaces of the Most High! To pray will not lower your dignity, altho it is to be feared that the masses of working men in this country regard prayer with indifference. The greatest men and women have prayed,—Cromwell, Grant, Lincoln, Gladstone. Prayer is spiritual ozone. It fills the home with the music of the heavenly spheres.
O wonderful promise of mercy,
O beautiful token of love
Send down from the presence of Jesus,
Our Pleader, our Saviour above,
Close by the side of the Father
To make intercession for sin,
That those who keep His commandments
This heavenly treasure may win.
CHORUS
Showers rich and refreshing,
Like gentle drops of rain,
Falling on hearts indifferent,
Quickly reviving again;
Clothing with life and beauty,
With raiment so pure and white,
Open to us the beautiful gates
Of righteousness and light.
We've been counseled to buy without money
The gold that is true and tried,
The character pure and lovely
Of Jesus, the crucified.
We must not linger longer;
The Master is waiting in pain,
Longing to clothe His people
With the beautiful latter rain.
O Lord, we are poor and unworthy;
Still we plead for showers divine
To gently unite us in kindness,
And keep us forevermore Thine.
Send forth Thy Spirit of meekness
To ripen the golden grain;
Then we know Thou wilt ever trust us
With the beautiful latter rain.
God Cares
By Eleanor L. Burns
By Eleanor L. Burns
If some bright star that twinkles in the night
Should grow contrary, and refuse its light,
E'en when, perchance, some storm-tossed bark
should hope
By its wee light the elements to cope,
And failing thus to get its course aright,
Is driven, helpless, out into the night,
What think you? Would the faithful, friendly
sun
Refuse his sheltering care to such a one?
And likewise, should some tiny earthly star
Refuse to shed his light, e'en tho afar
Some brother tries to guide his tossing bark
By that frail gleam of light, and through the dark
Is driven, helpless, o'er the roaring main,
In terror watching for the morn again,
What think you? Would God's ever-loving arm
No longer shield this wayward child from harm?
Ah, no! Our heavenly Father's love can span
The matchless distances from heaven to man.
In tender pity, looking from above,
He chastens, but 'tis always done in love;
For those He loveth most, He chastens sore,
Till all their sin is gone, and more and more,
By gazing at His face, they grow as He
Would have them, fitted for eternity.
II. The Sabbath Day—The Baptism
By Violet Miriam Beck
(See Last Issue for No. 1)
By Violet Miriam Beck
The long, long ride
By the hay-fields stretching green and wide;
By the winding stream
Where the water’s gleam
Is broken by bending, swaying reeds.
Here, where the wide canal leads
Through the bushes,
In clear blue swirls and rushes,
On Sabbath last,
Seven souls through baptism passed.
We gathered upon the shore
To sing when they rose from the water once more:
“I will follow Thee, Lord Jesus,
Whereso’er Thy lot may be,
And tho’ all men should forsake Thee,
Yet I still will follow Thee.”
Buried in Christ! From sin’s dark night
To rise anew and walk in the light
Of Him who in the grave had lain,
The Lamb of God, for sinners slain.
Buried in Christ, but alive in Him!
And my lips breathed prayer and my eyes were dim
For the sake of my cousin. Saviour mild,
Guard the soul of this new-born child.
Teach her to walk the ways she should;
Help her, dear Jesus, to be good.
When Sorrows Cease
By Delois Rea Baker
By Delois Rea Baker
But yesterday my heart o'erflowed with grief, And then a tear tore from its secret stem, And scurried down my cheek, as a dew gem Might straggle down the wrinkles of a leaf, In beauty rivaling that one the thief Hunts for, sewed up within a jacket's hem, But far more frail than e'er a one of them, With an existence, O, so very brief! Oft do my eyes bleed bitter, blinding brine, For often sorrow probes my tender heart. But I know this will not forever be; For in the promised land of milk and wine, No griefs that wreck will be found on life's chart. Within the ocean of eternity. Diamante, Argentina.
Upward
“Speak a shade more kindly than the year before,
Pray a little oftener, love a little more,
Cling a little closer to the Father's love;
Life below shall liker grow to the life above.”
Seeking Ideals in the Mount
“My Father, may I lift my eyes to the hills. May I not be satisfied with the standards of the plains. May I seek my ideals in the mount. May I breathe the mountain air even when I walk in the valleys of time.”
The Man God Meant
“Could'st thou in vision see
Thyself the man God meant,
Thou nevermore would'st be
The man thou art content.”