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Post by Admin on Jan 6, 2024 20:55:41 GMT -5
11/1/1947 The Day of the Lord in Scripture
HOFMAN W. Article Home / Archive / Volume 24/1948 / Vol 24 Issue 03 SHARE IT
The concept “Day of the Lord” or the idea contained in that term is expressed by the writers of Holy Writ throughout. Besides the literal reference it is designated by such expressions as: “day of visitation”, “day of vengeance”, “day of battle”, “day of evil”, “day of wrath”, “day of destruction”, “day the Lord made”, and “especially in the Old Testament, simply as “the day”, and even more frequently as “that day”. The same is taken up in the New Testament under the terms: “that day”, “His day”, “my day”, “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ”, “day of the Lord Jesus”, “the great day of His wrath”, and, “that great day of God Almighty”.
These references extend throughout Scripture, from Moses in the Pentateuch to the closing portions of the Revelation of John. The specific term or the idea contained therein is found in all the prophetic writings of the Old Testament without exception. In fact, the entire body of the discourses of some of the so-called Minor Prophets is devoted to the exposition of the concept. It is also to be found in some of the poetical writings of the Old Testament; notably Proverbs and the Psalms and including the book of Job. The references do not cease, however, with the close of the Old Testament but are taken up again in the New Testament. Though the citations in the New Testament are not as numerous and detailed as those in the Old Testament it is evident that they too emphatically belong to the general concept.
From the space and time given to the exposition of this concept in Scripture, it is evident that the term has profound import for the Church of God in the midst of the world. If this were not so it is doubtful that God in the Holy Spirit writing the Scriptures would go to such length and diligence to expound and place the concept in His Word. From this it also follows that the concept is certainly an aspect of the Revelation of God in Christ. The Reformed conception of Scripture holds it as the self-revelation of God in Christ—the perfect image, as the central theme. A concept therefore, which courses its way throughout that Revelation, as this does, must necessarily be intimately bound with and have reference to that Revelation itself. In other words, the day of the Lord must be an aspect of the Self-revelation of God; it speaks to us of God.
Many writers believe that the term is purely and simply eschatological in character. That it is such at all, is evidently from the general exposition and the content given to it in Scripture; also from the fact that it is not limited in scope to the old dispensation but is also taken up in the new and would thus have meaning and content for the church today. Generally speaking, in the Old Testament revelation the term is most closely connected with coming judgment, temporal and final, and relative to both God’s people and the world in general. In the New Testament salvation is stressed; although it is true that throughout Scripture both elements are stressed as inseparably connected with the term.
To limit the concept strictly as an eschatological idea does not exhaust the significance of it. It is evident that it has meaning for the Church throughout the ages as well as for the daily life of believers. This would follow from the prominent place which this concept receives in the Old Testament. For, although it is true that the prophecy of the Old Testament looks forward to the very end of time, it has its primary fulfillment among Israel—the Church of the old dispensation. It is also clear that the idea contained in the term has been partially realized and accomplished both among Israel of old and in the new dispensation.
In order to see all this clearly and arrive at a definite understanding of the term, three things will be necessary: first to examine several passages in which the term or its equivalent is found, secondly to gather together the various aspects of these descriptions in order to ascertain the meaning of the concept, and finally, to determine its scope and fulfillment.
In the examination of the concept throughout Scripture we will proceed through the books of the Canon in the order that we have them in our Bible. This will not only give a sense of continuity to the discussion but will simplify our search in following the trail in Scripture. It would be difficult to determine, likewise, which writer first introduced the idea historically for many of the dates of the writings of the prophets are not definitely known and cannot be set with any degree of accuracy.
The very first reference, as has been intimated, is by Moses. This is our starting point, not so much because of its worth or clarity but more for its virtue as the first instance of reference to the idea and as forming the foundation upon which the prophets build. It is found in Deuteronomy 31:17-18: “Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us ? And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.”
In the following chapters of the Pentateuch are recorded Moses’ parting addresses, in which, by revelation of God, he predicts the falling away of Israel, the splitting of the Kingdom, the dispersion of the ten tribes, the captivity and return of Judah, the destruction of foreign nations. He continues through the final dispersion of the Jews at the fall of Jerusalem into the New Testament Dispensation of the gathering of the Church. All of these subjects are more fully developed by the later Prophets, as is also the prophecy concerning ‘That Day”.
The next reference we find in the book of Job, chapter 21. Here Job is diligently maintaining the righteousness of God in His dealing with Job. He shows that the wicked, though despising God, do sometimes prosper but that God is just and sovereign in His dealings and “that the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath”. Also in Job God Himself in direct speech refers to the day. In the 38th chapter he answers and rebukes Job declaring His own righteousness and power and sovereignty. Vss. 22-23. “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?”
The Psalms are filled with references to the same idea. Of them A. B. Davidson writes: “They give back, in thanksgiving, in praise, and often in prayer, the faiths and hopes already contained in the mind of the people and long cherished. And these hopes and faiths are in the main eschatological. When the Psalms speak of judgment, and of the meek inheriting the earth, of the nearness of the day of the wicked, of seeing God’s face in righteousness, of the upright having dominion speedily over the unrighteous, and much of the same kind, they are not uttering vague hopes never before expressed, but reflecting the certainties of a faith as old at least as the prophets of the 8th century, the certainty of a judgment of God, and of the rise behind it of a kingdom of righteousness, and peace, and everlasting joy.”
A splendid example of this is found in Psalm 110:5-7, “The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.” And again in Psalm 118:21-24, “I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord*s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
The first direct reference to the term “day of the Lord” is found in the prophecy of Isaiah. Beginning with the 10th verse of chanter 2 we read: “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,” etc. And so forth, for this prophecy of universal judgment in that day continues through chapter 3, while the short chapter 4 speaks of the salvation of purged Israel. The general theme of the first part of the prophecy is a continuation of judgments of that day, up to chapter 40 which opens with the beautiful word of salvation to God’s people: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.” Of the references interspersed between these two, some of the most notable are: “And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?” 10:3, “Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.” 13:6, chapter 17:11 where it is described as a day of grief and of desperate sorrow, and finally in 28:5 where the aspect of salvation is on the foreground: “In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people.”
The main references in Jeremiah are towards the close of his prophecy. The 30th chapter pictures Israel in travail but includes the promise of deliverance with these words: “Alas! for that day is great so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” vs. 7. He speaks specifically of the day again in the 10th verse of chapter 46, which emphasizes the idea of judgment upon the adversaries of God and His cause represented by His people: “For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord God of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.”
Ezekiel adds several new elements to the concept; predicting that battle comes with the day of the Lord and that Israel is not prepared, cf. 13:5. He also warns of the nearness of the day and emphasizes the judgment of the heathen with the following prediction: “For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.” 30:3.
All of the minor prophets, unless Jonah is to be included under this category, he is the exception, speak at great length of this concept. Much of the material is repetition and re-emphasis of that which previous writers have expressed in principle so that we can consider their material but briefly. This should not leave the impression, however, that their treatment of it is brief, for as we stated in our introduction some entire writings are concerned with the concept and these are found among the minor prophets. It is also true that several new and striking ideas are added by them to the already rich term.
Early in the writings of Hosea he makes mention of “that day” and relates at the close of the 2nd chapter that the Lord will bring back His people from their adulterous ways and make a covenant with them in “that day”. This discourse closes with the beautiful promise: “And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.” In the 9th chapter he returns to a description of the day and speaks of it as: “the solemn day” and “the day of the feast of the Lord”, vs. 5.
Joel is the first of the prophets whose entire discourse deals with “the day of the Lord”. He speaks with renewed emphasis of the judgment which shall befall Zion and Israel first of all. This portion closes with the promise of the outpouring of the Spirit which includes this significant description: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come”. 2:31. He closes his prophecy with a curse upon the nations who have wronged Jehovah’s people and the blessing which ensues to Judah and Jerusalem “for the Lord dwelleth in Zion”. Here is included one of the most striking passages where the term is found. In chapter 3:14 we read: “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” And again in vs. 18: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the Lord and shall water the valley of Shittim”.
Amos introduces a new element when he warns the people who desire the approach of the day with these words in chapter 5:18:20: “Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark and no brightness in it?” Dr. H. Bavinck considers this as quite a general feeling among the people, for he states in his “Gereformeerd Dogmatiek”: (DUTCH REMOVED)” Except in the passage quoted from Amos we failed to discover in our examination any such general feeling among the people with reference to the day of the Lord. Even here it is limited and particular in scope; concerning those who were not aware of its import and meaning. In the closing chapters Amos again speaks of the judgments coming but closes with the blessing and promise that the day shall bring for the faithful.
Also Obadiah in his short writing directly mentions the day of the Lord; in the 15th verse: “For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall be upon thine own head.”
The prophecies of Micah, Nahum and Habakkuk are, generally speaking, completely concerned with “that day”. Micah directs his prophecy of judgment especially against the ten tribes and Judah, while Nahum and Habakkuk add decrees against particular heathen nations. All close their writings with the promise of restoration and salvation for the faithful. Nahum adds an element to the idea when he calls it “the day of his preparation” 2:3. Habakkuk experiences fear and trembling and rottenness enters his bones when he considers “the day of trouble”, as he calls it. Cf. 3:16.
Once again the entire prophecy of Zephaniah speaks very definitely and precisely of the day of the Lord. He stresses the universality of the judgment that comes in that day and closes with a beautiful promise to the true Israel: The two most striking passages are 1:14-16, “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty men shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers;” and from the promissory section, chapter 3:16, 17: “In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”
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Post by Admin on Jan 6, 2024 20:57:35 GMT -5
11/1/1947 God’s Revelation in the Scriptures
VELDMAN, HERMAN Our Doctrine Home / Archive / Volume 24/1948 / Vol 24 Issue 03 SHARE IT
The Scriptures are the Word of God. This expression implies three things. In the first place, the Bible is the Word of God because it was spoken by God. All Scripture, we believe, was given by inspiration of God. The Bible is the only book which can trace its origin directly to the Lord. In the second place, the Bible is the Word of God because it is the infallible record of the Word of God. I now refer to God’s Word as a word which God alone can speak and as He alone can speak it. When God speaks, as God, He speaks efficaciously, irresistibly, with almighty power. “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth …. For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast”—Psalm 33:6-9. “Wherefore He saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light”—Eph. 5:14. This latter passage speaks of a divine speaking which causes the sleeping to awake and the dead to arise. It is therefore beyond all doubt that the Scripture speak of a Word of God in the Creative, efficacious sense of the word. Man can only speak about, concerning the things, brings them forth. The Lord is not determined in His speaking by the things; the things are determined by His speaking. Hence, we can speak of the Bible as the Word of God because it is the infallible record of this creative, irresistible Word of the Lord. In the third place, the Bible is the Word of God because it is the medium through which God continues to speak His almighty, efficacious word. God’s people experience the Scriptures as the living Word of God. Why? Because the Lord continues to speak His own powerful word through the Bible. The Lord continues to speak the Scriptures in the hearts of His people. Consequently the Bible is full of life for the child of God and he experiences its truths as living truths. If this were not true, how could the Word of God be a lamp before our feet and a light upon our path, actually enlightening our pathway and giving us comfort in an otherwise hopeless world? Yea, it is exactly this inner, powerful testimony of the Holy Spirit which the child of God experiences in connection with the Scriptures which causes him to cling unto those Scriptures regardless of all the evil attacks of an evil world upon their infallible character. Hence, also in this sense we can speak of the Bible as the Word of God. However, in this article we refer primarily to the Bible as the Word of God in the sense that it is God’s own inspired, infallible Word.
That the Bible is the inspired Word of God is substantiated, first of all, by the Scriptures themselves. There is, in the first place, the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ. He surely regarded the scriptures (of course, the Old Testament) as the infallible Word of God. This is of the utmost importance. For Christ is Immanuel, God with us, and therefore the living God Himself. When Jesus therefore quotes from the Old Testament and recognizes the authority of those Scriptures it is God Himself Who quotes from them and sets His stamp of approval upon their authenticity. In those divine Scriptures Christ, for example, found the entire program for His life (His suffering, death, resurrection, and glorification). “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with Child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us”—Matt. 1:22, 23. And again, “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.”—Matt. 2:15. And this: “And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the wav of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people which sat in darkness saw great light: and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up.”—Matt. 4:13-16.
And finally: “When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”—Matt. 8: 16-17. The Bible abounds in passages of this nature, as the following: Matt. 12:15-21; 21:4, 5; John 13:18; Matt. 26:31; 27:35; John 19:36, 37. Moreover, Christ the Lord of His church, testified of the Scriptures in such a way that it is beyond all doubt that He maintained those Scriptures as the Word of God. Those Scriptures were and are His own word, are they not? He Himself spoke them through the prophets whom He inspired through His Spirit. Hence, He quotes them as having absolute authority. Three times He answers the devil with a quotation from the Old Testament, a literal quotation. That written word, therefore, has authority, does not tolerate contradiction, has “the last say”. Even the devil does not dare to contradict Christ’s quotations from the Old Testament. How could the written word have such authority if it were not the infallible word of God? Of these Old Testament Scriptures, called the “Law and the Prophets” in the Bible, we read in Matt. 5:17-19: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” And in Luke 24:44 we read: “And He said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me.” Unto the unbelieving Jews Jesus declares in John 5:39: “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me.” And He identifies the written word of Moses with His own word when He speaks unto them in verses 45-47: “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?” Christ, therefore, identifies His words with the words of Moses and thereby confirms the authenticity of the words of the lawgiver of the old dispensation.
That the Bible is the inspired Word of God is evident, in the second place, from the fact that everywhere in the Scriptures God or Christ or the Spirit of the Lord appears as the speaking subject. How often do we not read in the writings of the Pentateuch: “And the Lord spake unto Moses.”! Over and over again the expression occurs in the Old Testament: “Thus saith the Lord.”
Thirdly, as far as the New Testament is concerned, we would point to the fact that several passages emphasize the truth that the apostles spoke through divine inspiration. Thus we read in John 16:12, 13: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.” And in John 14:26 we read: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” In Rev. 1:1 and Rev. 22:6 we read: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servant things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John. . . . And He said unto Me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to shew His servants the things which must shortly be done.” In addition to these passages are the various salutations by which the apostles introduce themselves to the churches, always emphasizing the truth that they speak not of themselves but by the will of God. And in 2 Tim. 3:16 and 2 Pet. 1:19-21 we read: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. … We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
That the Bible is the inspired Word of God is not only substantiated, however, by the objective testimony of the Scriptures itself, but also, subjectively, by the testimony of the Holy Spirit within our hearts. This lies in the very nature of the case. The Spirit within us will surely verify His own work in the Bible. He will certainly confirm His own testimony. And this He does, also, by causing us to experience the truths of the Word of God as living realities. The testimony of Holy Writ, as for example in connection with our natural depravity, our hatred of God and the neighbor, our own utter helplessness to save ourselves, the only possibility of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and the complete folly of another way of salvation, is confirmed by the Spirit of Christ Jesus within our hearts. And let us not forget that the Holy Scriptures, also in this respect, are wholly unique. The Bible alone speaks this language of the natural man, of you and of me. Either God is a liar or man is a liar. And the Church experiences within her heart the living reality of the Word of God, through the Spirit of Christ Jesus, her Lord.
Hence, we believe in divine inspiration. What is divine inspiration? Divine inspiration is that work of God whereby He moved and illumined holy men to write His Word. We must not confuse inspiration with dictation. Also a stenographer writes only that which her employer would have her write. However, such a stenographer is merely passive. She has no personal interest in the dictation. She is paid for her work and is only interested in the producing of a perfect copy. In the work of divine inspiration, however, holy men were moved and illumined. Indeed, they wrote only that which the Lord would have them write. God is the primary author. But the apostles and prophets are the secondary authors. And as such they were moved. They themselves were heart and soul in their work. And, although inspired and illumined by the Lord, each secondary author wrote according to his own character and peculiar adaptation. John wrote as John and Jeremiah as Jeremiah. This we believe to be divine inspiration, God writing His will through the instrumentality of holy men.
It should not be difficult to understand the necessity of this truth of divine inspiration. Some would deny that all of Scripture must be regarded as divinely inspired. They declare that we have the Word of God in the Bible and that therefore the whole of Holy Writ is not the inspired Word of God. First of all, however, if this were true, who then would determine what is or is not the Word of God? Who will separate the word of man from the Word of the Lord? Then we could not know of any particular passage of Holy Writ whether it is the Word of God. Personal assurance and certainty would become impossible. Secondly, God could surely not entrust His Word to the imagination of mortal men. In all reverence, He could not take that “chance”. Would passages such as Ps. 137, Eph. 1, and Rom. 9 ever have been written if the matter of writing the Word of God had been left to mortal man? In support of this fear all we need do is point to the conflict which has been raging within the church of God throughout the ages. Throughout history the truth of the sovereignty of God and the utter depravity of man has been attacked. Are not the Three Points a striking illustration of this fact? What, think ye, would have been the result if the Lord had entrusted the writing of His will to man, yea, His church? Thirdly, the doctrine of divine inspiration is necessary because God alone can reveal hope and life, etc., in the midst of our world of death and despair. Salvation and the glorious renewal of all things in heavenly glory are truths which could never enter into the heart of man. We all like sheep have gone astray and we all have gone our own way, but to return into the fellowship and communion of God is humanly impossible. The Scriptures, as the revelation of God as the God of our salvation in Christ Jesus, our Lord, could never have been delivered unto us except by the living God Himself.
We distinguish between “plenary” and “organic” inspiration. This distinction is important. The word “plenary” means: full, complete, entire. This implies, in the first place, that all of Scripture is inspired. All of the writings of the apostles and the prophets, in every detail (we, of course, no longer have the original manuscripts), are the inspired word of God. Plenary inspiration also implies, however, that Scripture is the complete revelation of the will of God as the God of our salvation. To be sure, the Bible is no dictionary. It does not tell us what we may or may not eat, what we must or must not put on, etc. It is spiritual, ethical. The miserable and constantly reappearing questions, such as: What may or may we not do, which moving pictures may we or may we not see, will be answered automatically if only our heart is right and the love of God dwells within our hearts. The Scriptures reveal unto us all we need know as far as our salvation and spiritual calling in the midst of the world are concerned.
We also believe, however, in organic inspiration. This implies, in the first place, that Scripture itself is an organic whole. It is characterized by one central thought: God’s revelation in Christ. Christ is the chief cornerstone, Eph. 1:20-22. In Him all things, in heaven and on earth, will be united in heavenly glory, Eph. 1:9-10. All things are related to Him. In and through Him the elect obtain salvation and are heirs of everlasting life. In relation to Him the ungodly stumble unto their eternal damnation, unto which they have been appointed, 1 Pet. 2:8. Organic inspiration also implies, however, that in the writing of the Scriptures the writers occupy their own divinely ordained place. Indeed, we must not speak of the “divine” and “human” factor. It is not God and man who write the Bible. It is God who writes His Word through man. Yet, in the writing of the Word of God each writer occupies his own place in this divine scheme. God causes each writer to be born with his own peculiar character, gifts, and talents, according to the place he occupies in the divine scheme of the writing of His Word. Only Jeremiah can write as Jeremiah, etc. God calls each writer out of darkness into His marvelous light. God causes each writer to experience in his own life the things he is ordained to write. Then we can understand that it was particularly Peter who could exhort the Church to take heed that they stand lest they fall. Did not he thrice deny his Lord when he stood in his own strength? And the apostle Paul surely knew whereof he spake when he declared that our present light affliction which is but for a moment works for us an exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Of all the apostles, he surely was acquainted with affliction and suffering for the cause of Christ. And finally, it is God who inspires them by His Holy Spirit, moves and illumines them, so that they reveal unto us the full and complete will of God as the God of our salvation in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
As far as the content of the Bible is concerned, it is the revelation of God as the God of our salvation in Christ Jesus. It is this, first of all, in distinction from “nature”. This does not deny the relation between “nature” and Holy Writ. The former is surely adapted to the former, serves the latter. Creation is a symbol of the heavenly renewal of all things. The sun speaks of the sun of righteousness. The seed which only in the way of death produces its fruit speaks to us of the good-pleasure of God whereby He wills to call life out of death. The world of color, of plants, and of the animals, etc. speaks a symbolic language. And this is due to the fact that the Lord created the earthy a symbol of the heavenly. Hence, “nature” is adapted to and serves the revelation of God in Christ in His Holy Word. However, this language of the works of God’s hands we understand only in connection with and through the Holy Scriptures. This world is the revelation of the wrath of God and speaks of death. That God will erect His eternal kingdom out of this death we know, not from “nature” apart from the Scriptures, but only through the Word of God. The Bible, therefore, reveals unto us God’s salvation in Christ Jesus. Consequently, as far as the reprobate wicked are concerned, the Word of God reveals the utter and complete nature and character of sin. Sin not only rejects the living God. This Adam did in Paradise. But sin also rejects the living God when revealed as the God of salvation. To reject the living God also in His revelation as the only possibility of salvation signifies that man’s love of sin and his hatred of the living God is complete. To the godly, however, the Scriptures speak of the counsel of divine redemption. This salvation is bestowed upon them only in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, this redemption must be understood in connection with all things. According to Eph. 1:9-10 it was the eternal wisdom and counsel to gather together in one, namely Christ Jesus, all things in heaven and on earth. This, we understand, was the eternal wisdom and counsel of the Lord. From the very beginning, therefore, even before the fall of Adam, it was the purpose and also the operation of God to realize His eternal kingdom in Christ Jesus. The Scriptures know of only one counsel and plan of God. The “Common Grace Interim”, which would ascribe a special significance to this earthly apart from the heavenly, is surely foreign to Holy Writ. All things, including the fall of Adam and sin, are instruments in the hands of the Lord unto the realization of His eternal kingdom and covenant in heavenly glory. And all this is presented in the Scriptures as the work of the alone sovereign God who worketh all things according to the counsel of His sovereign will.
What, then, should be our attitude toward Holy Writ? The answer is plain. The Bible must be to us the authoritative Word of God. We cannot and may not be neutral here. To assume an attitude of higher criticism is surely the height of conceit. The Bible is the Word of God. We do not stand above it but it stands above us. It speaks to us with divine authority. Let us therefore submit to it. Prayerfully. Let us never question the Word of God but embrace its truths and teachings. And let us, above all, make it the object of all our study and meditation. Sad to say, this cannot be said of our rising generation. The desire to study the Word of God does not seem to characterize the young people of the present day. May we take inventory of ourselves and, wherever needed, mend our ways. May the Bible be a lamp before our feet and a light upon our path. May the Word of God of 2 Tim. 3:17 be applicable to our young men and women: “That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
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Post by Admin on Jan 6, 2024 21:02:55 GMT -5
6/1/1948 God’s Covenant and the Promise (Romans 9)
VELDMAN, HERMAN Our Doctrine Home / Archive / Volume 24/1948 / Vol 24 Issue 17 SHARE IT
We concluded our previous article with the remark that the promise of God, according to Romans 9:6-8, is particular and wholly unconditional. It cannot be true, writes the apostle, that the word of God has taken none effect. God’s promise never fails. This, applied to the phenomenon of Israel’s rejection, can only be understood if we bear in mind, in the first place, that “in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” The children of the flesh are not the children of God; the natural seed of Abraham are not all children; only the children of the promise are counted for the seed. Hence, the promise of God never fails inasmuch as that promise was never intended for all. And, in the second place, the promise of God is only intended for the children of the promise. And the children of the promise are the children born of the promise, by the power of the promise. Hence, the promise of God never fails for it is God Himself Who fulfills His own promise in the people of His eternal good pleasure.
Romans 9:10-13—We quote: “And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth:) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”
Let us note the following facts here. In the first place, verse 13 of this passage of the Word of God must retain its full significance. Attempts have been made to weaken this text, to read here: Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I loved less. Also Hodge would ascribe this interpretation to verse 13 of this chapter. This interpretation, however, is impossible. And this is abundantly evident from Malachi 1:1-4, where we read: “The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast Thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, Thy people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever.” The meaning of these words is clear. The hatred of the Lord toward Esau, according to this passage, does not merely imply that Jehovah loved Esau less than Jacob, but it is hatred which will lay ‘Edom desolate; yea, they are a people against whom the Lord hath indignation even for ever.
Secondly, this election and reprobation of Jacob and Esau must be applied to them, personally. The attempt is made to nationalize their election and reprobation. God, it is said, would not hate individuals, such as Jacob or Esau. The words of the apostle must be understood in a national sense. Jacob and Esau are meant here as nations. And even as God’s love of Israel as a nation does not imply that all the Israelites were true children of the Lord, so also God’s hatred of the descendants of Esau, Edom, does not necessarily imply that all the Edomites were therefore children of wrath and of disobedience. In support of this view attention is called, first, to the fact that Malachi speaks of Edom, and, secondly, that the Lord Himself declares to Rebecca (Gen. 25:23) that two nations or peoples would be born of her. To this we answer, in the first place, that any interpretation of this passage which would nationalize the expression of verse 13 must necessarily include the two persons, Jacob and Esau. We do not deny that Malachi speaks of Edom and that the Lord declares to Rebecca that two peoples would be born of her. However, to these peoples surely belong the twin brothers, Jacob and Esau. But, in the second place, the passage in Romans 9 is surely and undeniably personal. We read of Rebecca and Isaac and of there twin sons, Jacob and Esau, and that the elder would serve the younger. In the book of Genesis we are told that Rebecca inquired of the Lord before the birth of her two sons. We are familiar with the answer of the Lord. Surely, whatever the Lord told her was literally fulfilled also in the lives of her two sons. Besides, Rebecca inquired of the Lord, did she not, concerning the two sons that were in her bosom and it is with respect to them that Jehovah answers her. And, finally, the apostle, Paul, is speaking in this context in Romans 9 of the children of Abraham. He is not speaking here of peoples, of nations, but of the natural children of Abraham. And having spoken in verses 6-8 of Isaac, he continues in verses 10-13 and calls attention to the individual children of Isaac and Rebecca. Verses 10-13, therefore, call our attention to the twin sons of Rebecca.
Thirdly, Jacob’s election and Esau’s reprobation are an election and reprobation unto salvation. Also this has been disputed. What we read here, it is said, is merely temporary and temporal. Esau, and his descendants, too, was merely rejected in the sense that he was cut off from the historical, temporal blessings of the Old Dispensation. This we grant. Esau and his descendants were indeed cut off from the covenant of God in the historical, Old Dispensational sense of the word. But, to be cut off in the Old Testament from these historical blessings implied nothing less than the separation from God’s eternal covenant. There was no salvation in the Old Dispensation apart from Israel. Hence, the election of Jacob and the rejection of Esau must indeed be regarded as an election and reprobation unto eternity. Need we prove that this is the idea of the apostle according to the context? Does he not write that he could wish himself accursed from Christ for the sake of his brethren according to the flesh? Does he not speak of the great heaviness and continual sorrow of his heart exactly because Israel, as according to the flesh, does not share the promise of the Lord, a promise which saves even unto the uttermost? Besides, verse 13 speaks of the love of the Lord toward Jacob and the hatred of Jehovah upon Esau. And does not verse 11 declare of the purpose of God that it according to election may stand?
What does this passage then teach us with respect to our present subject, the particular and unconditional character of God’s promise? Paul is discussing in Romans 9 the Word of promise of God and asserts that that promise did not fail, even though many Jews perished in the wilderness and the nation later was rejected because of its rejection of the Christ. In verses 4-6 he establishes the truth that the promise of Jehovah never fails because it is particular and is realized by the Lord Himself. And in the verses 10-13 the apostle continues to confirm this truth in the example of Jacob and Esau. Notice, please, the similarity of Jacob and Esau. They have the same parents. This could not be said of Isaac and Ishmael. They are twin brothers and are therefore of the same age. In fact, Esau is the older of the two. They have been born and raised in the same covenant sphere. From a natural point of view they have, therefore, everything in common. Why, then, according to the text, did Esau not receive the promise? Was the promise meant for him as well as for Jacob? Was it a covenant privilege or blessing for Esau that he was born in the sphere of the covenant? Is it true that he did not receive the promise because he rejected it? Indeed, he rejected the covenant of the Lord, trampled it under foot, and became in that sense a covenant breaker. To be sure, he revealed in all his actions that he desired no part of the covenant-fellowship of the Lord, that he was carnal and therefore loved the things below rather than the things above. But, does this imply that the promise of the Lord therefore failed in him? Was the promise of eternal life also meant for him and did the Lord reject him because he rejected the Lord? How clear and beyond the shadow of every doubt is the answer of the apostle! Paul declares that the Lord hated him before he ever did evil. For, we read, the purpose of God according to election must stand, that is, God fulfills His purpose as He has eternally willed it. Hence, Jacob and Esau illustrate the sovereignty of God. The promise of Jehovah did not fail in this instance because it was divinely intended only for Jacob. The promise of the Lord is particular and unconditional.
Romans 9:14-18—We quote: “What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew My power in thee, and that My name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.”
In the verses 14-16 the apostle maintains the sovereign mercy of God and the fact that He is righteous because He is God. The question which is asked in verse 14, “Is there unrighteousness with God?, knows but one answer. And that answer reads: God forbid. Is God unrighteous? That is an impossible question. That question arises within the heart of the natural man. God is God! He does not merely act righteously. He is righteousness. And all His acts are verity and judgment. In verses 15 and 16 the sovereign mercy of God is clearly set forth. This mercy, we read, is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but alone of God that sheweth mercy. And emphatically we read: “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Moses, too, was compelled to learn this lesson in the wilderness. To him also the Lord revealed that His mercy and His favor did not rest upon the entire people that had been delivered out of the land of Egypt, but that He would have mercy upon whom He would have mercy, and that He will have compassion on whom He will have compassion. Hence, the teaching of these verses, as far as the particular and unconditional character of God’s promise is concerned, is clear. Does the mercy of the Lord depend upon us? Must we first will that mercy and compassion of Jehovah? Does it ever depend upon our willingness and readiness to accept or receive it? And, must we also run to the end? This is the Arminian presentation, is it not? We must not only will the mercy of God as far as our initial receiving of it is concerned, but we must also continue to will it unto the end. We must not only be willing to begin the race, but we must also run that race to its very end. The Arminian declares, therefore, that it is of him that willeth and of him that runneth. But, what saith the Scriptures? The Word of the Lord declares unto us that God’s mercy is upon him to whom He wills to be merciful, and His compassion is upon him to whom He wills to shew compassion. God, therefore, in the bestowal of His mercy and compassion is not prompted by the will of man but by His own sovereign will. Notice: the promise is particular and unconditional. The promise of salvation is divinely realized in those to whom the Lord wills to be merciful, upon whom He wills to bestow it.
In verses 17-18 the apostle calls our attention to the example of Pharaoh. That the Lord raised up Pharaoh does not merely mean that He elevated the Egyptian monarch to the throne. This would hardly exhaust the meaning of the apostle as far as the immediate context is concerned. In verse 17 we read that the Lord raised him up in order to shew His power in him and that Ilis name might be declared throughout all the earth. And the following verse declares that “whom He will He hardeneth.” All this, we say, hardly exhausts the meaning of the apostle when he declares that the Lord raised up Pharaoh in the sense that He elevated him to the Egyptian throne. We must bear in mind that the Lord raised up Pharaoh. Pharaoh, according to the position which he occupies in Holy Writ, is the vain, utterly foolish, and wicked Egyptian monarch, who conceived of the monstrous absurdity to question and oppose Jehovah’s sovereignty. As that wicked, monstrously godless, and foolish king he was raised up by the Lord. Step by step the Lord hardened him, so that he would increase in his wicked and inconceivable foolishness. It is true that we also read in the Scriptures that he hardened his own heart. Fact is, the Lord always operates, not apart from or contrary to the will and inclinations of man, but in harmony with the evil heart of man, so that the Lord’s operation and the lusts and inclinations of any individual man are always in complete harmony with each other. Pharaoh, therefore, step by step increased in his abominable wickedness and foolishness. But we must remember that the Lord is sovereign and that He hardened that monarch’s heart, so that Pharaoh, in all his foolishness and wickedness, was willed as such and raised up by the living God. Do we not read that the Scripture said this beforetime to Pharaoh? Did not Moses, in the name of the Lord, tell the Egyptian monarch beforetime what the Lord would do unto him (Exodus 9:13-16)? The hardened Pharaoh, therefore, is the fruit of the sovereign operation of the Lord. This is in harmony, not only with the Scriptural account in the book of Exodus, but also with the context of these words in Romans 9. Only then can we understand the apostle when he declares in verse 18 that “whom He will He hardeneth.” And only then do we understand the Word of God when we read in the verses 19-21 of the potter and the clay.
Upon the word of God concerning the divine raising up of Pharaoh follow the well-known words of verse 18: “Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.” From a certain point of view these words are a repetition of what we read in verses 15-16. Both passages speak of the sovereign mercy of the Lord. The difference between these passages, however, is worthy of note. In verse 18 the apostle adds: “and whom He will He hardeneth.” This latter thought, we readily understand, receives all the emphasis in connection with what we read in the Scriptures concerning Pharaoh. We probably might not be too hesitant to subscribe to the first part of verse 18. If asked whether the mercy of the Lord is sovereign we probably would not hesitate to give an affirmative answer. However, we might be hesitant to subscribe to the second part of this particular text. To say that the sovereign will of God is the cause of our salvation is not difficult. But, we shrink back from the declaration that the will of the Lord is also the sovereign cause of the unbelief and wickedness of the sinner. The Arminian certainly refuses to endorse this statement of the apostle in verse 18. And the reformed man of infralapsarian persuasion is equally timid and hesitant as far as the endorsement of this declaration of the apostle is concerned. He does not hesitate to assert that we are saved only of divine, sovereign mercy. But, when discussing the reprobate sinner and his eternal desolation, he would rather say that the Lord leaves him in his misery, or, to quote the apostle now in the infralapsarian sense, I would read verse 18 as follows: “Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and He refuses mercy to whom He wills to refuse mercy.” Yet, we must not hesitate to endorse also this statement of the apostle. The Scriptures, then, not only teach that the Lord sovereignly bestows mercy and salvation. But they are equally clear and lucid in their presentation of the truth that He sovereignly hardens. Unto the one He gives salvation and mercy, sovereignly; the other He hardens, also sovereignly. The Lord is responsible not only for the light but also for the darkness, not only for the children of the light but also for the children of darkness.
Indeed, also this text establishes the particular and unconditional character of the promise of God. That promise of God is surely not for all. Fact is, the Lord is merciful but He also hardeneth; He not only gives life but He also killeth! And then people continue to prate of an offer of salvation, of a desire of the Lord to save all who hear the gospel, when, according to the Scriptures it is God who, during the preaching of the gospel of God, softens the hearts of some but hardens the others whom He hates from before the foundation of the world. We may surely conclude that the Lord realizes His promise sovereignly only in the elect.
Romans 9:19-21—We read: “Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For who hath resisted His will? Nay, but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?”
Let us note the following. The question of verse 19, asked by the natural man to refute the truth of the Lord’s absolute sovereignty, is a wicked question and devilishly untrue. The wicked sinner here, if you please, presents the truth as if he would serve the Lord but cannot because he cannot resist God’s will, as if God ever works contrary to the will of man as a moral-rational agent. This is surely the wicked import of the question asked in this text. It is a fact, however, that there is never any conflict between God and man. The Lord always works sovereignly but also always through man as a moral agent. Never does an ungodly man complain because of his wickedness. The vessel of dishonor is perfectly or completely in harmony with the sin and darkness of his evil being. The question of verse 19 is, therefore, obviously wicked and devilishly untrue.
God, we read, is the Potter and man is the clay. The clay whereof the apostle speaks, that which the Lord makes according to the text, is not merely man as far as his natural, earthy existence is concerned. To teach merely that God makes men would certainly not provoke any adverse comment from the natural man. The Lord, we read, makes vessels unto dishonor. These vessels of dishonor are evidently the reprobates. Them, we read, the Lord makes. Indeed, we must maintain man’s responsibility. It is surely true that the Lord never operates contrary to the will and desire of men. The Lord, indeed, works through the will of man. But it is equally true that, although the Lord works through the will of man, He works sovereignly. The responsibility of man is, therefore, not to be regarded as a truth which runs parallel to the truth of God’s sovereignty, or even contrary to it, but it must be viewed as included in it, as subject to the truth that the Lord works all His good pleasure. And the truth is indeed that God has the power, the sovereign right and authority to do as He pleases, to glorify His Name as He would, to make of the one lump vessels unto honor in whom His soul delighteth and to make of the other lump vessels unto dishonor whom His soul hateth. And both are formed by the Lord, according to His sovereign good pleasure.
We, therefore, conclude that it is not man who determines God, but it is the Lord who determines man. Hence, the promises of the Lord are never, according to this portion of the Word of God, contingent upon man. Romans 9 clearly sets forth the particular and wholly unconditional character of the promise of the God of our salvation.
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Post by Admin on Jan 6, 2024 21:08:15 GMT -5
4/1/1948 Our Covenant God
VELDMAN, HERMAN Our Doctrine Home / Archive / Volume 24/1948 / Vol 24 Issue 13 SHARE IT
God’s Covenant and The Promise.
God’s covenant with man, we have maintained thus far, is wholly unconditional. To be sure, our calling and covenant obligation must be maintained. We must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and hope unto the end. We must fight the good fight of faith that no man may take our crown. We must put off the old man with all his evil works and lusts and put on the new man which is created after God in true righteousness and holiness. We must repent and turn from evil unto the Lord and love Him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. Moreover, we also have a word to address those, in the name of the Lord, who walk not in the way of His precepts. Of course, not a word of peace and life and comfort. Not even an Arminian can address a word of comfort and life to those who continue to walk in the ways of sin. To them we declare that they are responsible for their iniquity, that the wages of sin is death, that the Lord requires of them their repentance and will hold them accountable, yea, that they who have known the way of truth but have not walked therein will be beaten with double stripes. Indeed, our churches maintain the responsibility of man. But, this does not annul or weaken in any sense of the word the unconditional character of the covenant of the Lord with man. God’s covenant is wholly unconditional. This, we noted in our preceding article, is taught throughout the Scriptures. Such is also the clear teaching of our Baptism Form, to which we also called attention. Let us therefore emphasize the unconditional character of God’s covenant and our calling. Our calling, our obligation to walk in all the precepts of the Lord is not the condition but the fruit of Jehovah’s covenant with us. This, we noted, does not excuse man when he tramples the precepts of the Lord underfoot. However, man’s responsibility and duty to serve the Lord must never be presented as contradictory to the unconditional character of the grace of the Lord our God.
God’s Covenant and the Promise—Inseparably Connected.
That God’s covenant with man and the promise are inseparably connected Is evident from many things. This is evident, first of all, from the struggle which is being waged in the present day in the Netherlands in regard to the issue of the Covenant. Dr. H. Ridderbos, professor at the theological school of the Reformed or “Synodical” Churches in the Netherlands, wrote a pamphlet entitled “The Promise of the Covenant of Grace.” He evidently associates, as is evident from this title, the two concepts “covenant” and “promise”. According to the Liberated Churches all are in the covenant and the promise is for all. Such is the presentation of the views of these churches as appearing in this pamphlet of Dr. Ridderbos, page 6, and we have no reason, it seems to me, to doubt the truthfulness of this observation of Dr. Ridderbos. This quotation from the pamphlet, “The Promise of the Covenant of Grace”, reads as follows: “If one asks, what prompts the grieved or departed brethren (did these brethren simply withdraw from the Reformed Churches or were they cast out?—the Christian Reformed Churches of our land also prefer to speak of us as having withdrawn, whereas it is a fact that we were cast out—H.V.) to lay thereupon such great emphasis and even to disrupt the church for that reason, rather than submit to the confession of the church, then one must refer to the collectivist point of procedure of their conception. According to them all children of the believers are comprehended in the covenant in the same sense, they all receive in the same sense the whole Baptism and the entire promise. That is the great, all-controlling thought of their entire conception, because otherwise, so they believe, one should fall short of the certainty of the covenant and the certainty of faith within the covenant.” (The translation is of the undersigned). The meaning of this passage is clear: if we merely preach that the promise is only for the elect, then the sacrament of baptism cannot bestow certainty and assurance because one must know first whether he is in the covenant and any assurance, therefore, must be based on an assumption—we must assume of our children that they are elect. The Liberated Churches of the Netherlands declared that they demand certainty and will therefore have nothing to do with an assumption. And as far as the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands are concerned in this present controversy, although they would maintain that the promise is only for the elect, yet they, too, wish to say something of or for all the children of the believers. They proceed from the principle of presumptive regeneration and teach that we must assume the regeneration of all the children who receive the sacrament of baptism. However, it is evident from this conflict in the Netherlands, that a discussion of the covenant must revolve about and include a discussion of the promise.
That God’s covenant with man and the promise are inseparably connected is evident also from the writings of Reformed theologians of the past. We have already quoted from Dr. Ridderbos of the Netherlands. We could also quote from men as Kuyper and Bavinck in support of this contention. Professor Berkhof, in his “Reformed Dogmatics” surely associates the covenant and the promise. On pages 265-271, when discussing the so-called “Covenant of Redemption” or “Counsel of Peace” between the Father and the Son, the professor speaks of Requirements and Promises. And speaking of the contents of the Covenant of Grace (page 277) he speaks of the Promises of God and the Response of Man. It is evident, therefore, that Professor Berkhof surely associates the Covenant of Grace and the Promise. And the same is also true, we know, of the late Prof. W. Heyns. He sought the essence of the covenant in the promise. And the promise, we knew, he explained in the Arminian sense. That God established His covenant with us and with our children simply meant, according to the late professor, that God promised or offered His salvation to all. The sacrament of baptism he explained as a seal of God whereby the Lord confirmed the salvation of all, gave to all without distinction the assurance that He would bestow upon them eternal life and glory. Be this as it may, it is a fact, therefore, that also the late Professor Heyns associated the covenant and the promise.
Thirdly, this connection between the covenant and the promise is also evident from the sacrament, the sign and seal of the covenant. Circumcision was the sign of the covenant in the Old Dispensation. This sign, administered to all the male children of believers, consisted in the cutting away of the foreskin. Is it not evident, therefore, that this sign was a picture of God’s realization of His promise in and through Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord? It was a symbol, was it not, of the realization of our redemption through the blood of Christ—the sign itself was bloody. And, besides, it also directed the attention of the believing Israelite to the fact that the Christ would come into our flesh and blood in the organic life of the covenant. And Baptism is the sign of the covenant in the New Dispensation. In our Baptism Form we read in paragraph 2 of Part One: “In like manner, when we are baptized in the name of the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost assures us, by this holy sacrament, that He will dwell in us, and sanctify us to be members of Christ, applying unto us, that which we have in Christ, namely, the washing away of our sins, and the daily renewing of our lives, till we shall finally be presented without spot or wrinkle among the assembly of the elect in life eternal.” In other words, the Lord assures us in the holy sacrament of Baptism that He will realize and fulfil His promise of salvation in us even unto the uttermost. It is evident, therefore, also from our Baptism Form that the sacrament of the covenant and the promise of God are inseparably connected.
That the covenant of God with man and the promise are inseparably connected lies in the very nature of the case. Fact is, they are inseparable. We would not merely affirm that the heart of the covenant is the promise, understanding the promise now in the Reformed sense of the word. This would imply that the establishment of God’s covenant with us consists in His bestowing upon us of His promise of salvation. But we would affirm that the heart of the promise is surely the covenant and its realization. This is surely true of Genesis 3:15, where we read: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” What does the Lord promise here, at the very dawn of history, in this key text which discloses to us, fully and completely, all of history? Merely that He will grant His Church, in Christ, the victory over all her enemies? This, to be sure, is implied in this text of Holy Writ. But notice, God will put enmity between His people and the party of the world and of darkness. And enmity is nothing else than the love and friendship of Jehovah. Hence, God promises here that He will put His love into our hearts, and grant us the eternal victory, the victory of His eternal and heavenly tabernacle. And this is also taught in Gen. 17:7-8: “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” Notice how the covenant and the promise are identified here. God is promising Abraham something here—what? He promises His friend in this passage that He will establish His covenant with him and with his seed for an everlasting covenant. And what will the Lord establish with Abraham and his seed when He establishes with them His covenant? The Lord declares that He will be a God unto him and to his seed after him (see 2 Cor. 6:16-18 and our reference to this passage in a previous article, Feb. 1 issue). And all this, we read, will be realized in the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. As Reformed people we are aware of the fact, of course, that the land of Canaan in the Old Dispensation was a type and symbol of the heavenly Canaan. Fact is, Abraham himself, we read in Acts 7:5, never received any inheritance in that earthly land of the Old Testament. Hence, in Gen. 17:7-8 the Lord promises to Abraham that He will cause him and his seed to be His people forever in the heavenly renewal of all things in glory. And this promise is identified with His covenant in this passage of Holy Writ. Christ, who is centrally our salvation, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit by Whom we receive Christ and His salvation, the new heavens and the new earth (and all this surely constitutes the establishment of God’s covenant, communion and friendship, with us) are surely held before tis in Holy Writ as the content of the blessed promise of the Lord. Consequently, that the promise and the covenant should be inseparably connected and that our conception of the one must also determine our conception of the other, lies in the very nature of the case. It is clear, therefore, why a discussion of the covenant must also include a discussion of the promise.
The Idea of The Promise.
God’s promise must not be confused with an offer. There is, of course, a fundamental difference between a promise and an offer. An offer always presupposes three things. It presupposes, in the first place, a willingness on the part of him who makes the offer to bestow something. God, then, declares His willingness to bestow salvation upon all. It presupposes, in the second place, that the Lord actually offers this salvation to all. Mind you, this does not mean that He announces or proclaims to all His salvation. We also believe that the Lord proclaims His salvation to others besides the elect. But an offer implies that the Lord declares it to be His Divine desire and intention that all may accept the proffered salvation. And an offer presupposes, in the third place, that man, the recipient of this offer of salvation, is also able of himself to accept this invitation. God offers salvation; man must accept it.
Let us now attempt to read the word “offer” instead of “promise” into the following passages. We read in Gen. 3:15 the oft-repeated words: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Need anything be said here? Does the Lord offer His love to the seed of the woman? If so, who, then, would ever fight the battle of the Lord? The Lord will put enmity, etc. He does not offer something here: He promises to do something. In Gen. 12:2-3 we read: “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Doesn’t the text sound absurd if you insert the word “offer” into this passage? Besides, does not Holy Writ inform us that both, Abraham and Sarah, had died as far as the bringing forth of children was concerned? In Deut. 9:26-29 we read: “I prayed therefore unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, destroy not Thy people and Thy inheritance, which Thou hast redeemed through Thy greatness, which Thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Remember Thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin: Lest the land whence Thou broughtest us out say, Because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land which He promised them, and because He hated them, He hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. Yet they are Thy people and Thine inheritance, which Thou broughtest out by Thy mighty power and by Thy stretched out arm.” Does Israel’s entrance into Canaan, in this passage, depend upon the people? Fact is, they had sinned, were utterly unworthy. And fact is also that Moses here appeals to the faithfulness of the Lord. The Lord had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses here pleads upon the promise, of the unchangeable Jehovah. In Ps. 105:42 we read: “For He remembered His holy promise, and Abraham His servant.” Why, according to the context of these words, did the Lord open the rock that the waters gushed out, and why did Jehovah satisfy them with quails and with bread from heaven? Did He offer these to His people? He did so only because He remembered His promise to Abraham. It would be absurd, would it not, to read “offer” here instead of promise? In the following passages from Isaiah, chapter 9, verse 6 and chapter 59; verses 16 and 21, we have the Lord’s promise of salvation to His people in Christ, and how ridiculous they would sound if that salvation were actually an offer instead of a promise of the Lord: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty Cod, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. . . . And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore His arm brought salvation (did He offer it—H.V.?) unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him. . . . As for Me, this is My covenant with them, saith the Lord; My Spirit that is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.” How could the word of God express this absolute and positive and certain language if the matter of our salvation were to be regarded as an offer? And so we could continue. We could refer you to Rom. 9:24-26, Heb. 11, Acts 13:23, and a host of other passages. The promise of the Lord, whereof we read over and over again in the Scriptures, is never to be confused with an offer. To the contrary, it is God’s announcement, not of what He universally offers and we must accept, but of that which He, and He alone, will perform, faithfully and irresistibly.
The Content of the Promise.
We need not dwell at length on this point, because of the nature of these articles. We can be brief. Sometimes the word “promise” emphasizes the idea of “Goddelijke toezegging”, the divine pledge, God’s announcement, although even then one can never separate the pledge from its content, that which is pledged—the word probably used in this sense in Acts 13:23. In Hebrews 11:39, on the other hand, the emphasis falls upon the content of the promise. We read there: “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise.” It is a fact, we know, that these did receive the promise as far as the announcement is concerned. But the promise from the viewpoint of its content they had as yet not received. And to this the apostle makes reference in the following verse, vs. 10. Sometimes we read of promise in the singular as in Hebrews 11:39 and then again of promises as in 2 Cor. 1:20. The distinction is clear. When Scripture speaks of the promise in the singular it refers to the one, great promise of salvation in Christ Jesus, our Lord. The plural “promises” refers to that promise of the Lord from the aspect of its many variations. Finally, the content of the promise of God is viewed from several points of view. At times the content of the promise is identified with the Christ, as in: Gen. 3:15; 2 Cor. 1:20; Is. 9:6; Deut. 18:15; Num. 24:17. In Acts 2:33 and in Eph. 1:13 the Holy Spirit is identified with the promise. In the former passage He is called the “promise of the Spirit” and in the latter passage we read of Him as the “Spirit of promise”. Acts 2:33 emphasizes the truth, not only that He is the promised Spirit, but that the Spirit Himself is the promise, because in Him the actual realization of God’s promise of eternal life occurs. In 2 Tim. 1:1 and 1 John 2:25 we read of the “promise of life”. In 2 Pet. 3:4 the apostle Peter, speaks of the “promise of His future”. And in Rom. 4:13 the promise which the Lord gave to Abraham assured that man of God that he would become the “heir of the world”. All these various passages speak, essentially, of the same promise of the God of our salvation, but merely from slightly different viewpoints.
In the light of all this, we would define the promise as the announcement of the eternal Jehovah, that He, and He alone, in and because of and through Christ Jesus, our Lord, and by His Spirit, the Spirit of the risen and highly exalted Lord, will bestow upon His people, whom He sovereignly elected, and who by nature are conceived and born dead in sins and trespasses, the life of His blessed covenant fellowship in eternal and heavenly perfection, and that in connection with the glorious renewal of all things, and using all things unto the realization thereof as means. It is this promise of salvation in Christ Jesus which enabled the child of God throughout the Old Dispensation to endure all the sufferings of this present time, only clause this promise was the pledge of the eternally faithful God. The unspeakable glory of this promise but also the certainty of it sustained the child of God in the midst of all his trials and afflictions. And now we purpose to show in subsequent articles the particular and wholly unconditional character of this promise or these promises of the alone blessed God, the God of our salvation.
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Post by Admin on Jan 6, 2024 21:12:35 GMT -5
6/15/1948 God’s Covenant and The Promise (Hebrews 6:16-18)
VELDMAN, HERMAN Our Doctrine Hebrews Home / Archive / Volume 24/1948 / Vol 24 Issue 18 SHARE IT
Romans 9, we have seen, surely establishes the particular and wholly unconditional character of the promise or promises of God. To this we called attention in the two previous numbers of our paper. The apostle Paul, we noted, was struggling with a great problem. He was confronted, on the one hand, with the word or promise of Jehovah that the Lord would bestow the salvation of His eternal covenant upon Abraham and his seed. And, on the other hand, he was troubled because of the rejection of Israel. We do well to bear in mind that this constituted for the apostle a great problem, that it caused him great heaviness and sorrow of heart. The perishing of many Israelites according to the flesh was painful and distressing to Paul. And the same heaviness and sorrow of heart must characterize the people of God throughout the ages. Reprobation is not a doctrine which can accord anyone personal and carnal satisfaction.
Nevertheless, the truth of God must be proclaimed. Whatever our personal wishes and desires may be, never may we detract one iota from the sovereignty of God. Hence, according to the apostle, one thing is sure: it is not true that the word of God has taken none effect. Such would be impossible. God cannot lie. If, therefore, the promise of the Lord was not realized in many Israelites according to the flesh, this is due only to the fact that this promise of Jehovah is particular, was never intended for all, and is realized by the alone sovereign Lord in those whom He has loved from before the foundation of the world. To substantiate this truth the apostle directs us, successively, to the examples of Isaac, Jacob and Esau, the many Israelites who perished in the wilderness, Pharaoh, the figure of the potter and the clay. And it is especially the example of Pharaoh, as well as the figure of the potter and the clay, which illustrates the truth, not only that the Lord is merciful to whom He will be merciful, but also that whom He will He hardeneth. The Lord, therefore, not only grants life; He also inflicts death. He not only makes alive; He also killeth. He not only calleth some unto eternal salvation through the preaching of the gospel; He also causes that same gospel to be a savor of death unto death. He not only wills the salvation of some; He also, according to His eternal good pleasure and unto the greatest manifestation of the glory of His name, wills the damnation of others. The Lord not only performs all His good pleasure in those who are saved; He is equally sovereign and irresistible with respect to the others who never know the way and the precepts of Jehovah. This is the pure and unadulterated truth which the holy writer holds before us in the ninth chapter of his epistle to the Romans. And now we will turn to other passages of the Word of God.
The passage which will engage our attention in this article, Hebrews 6:16-18, reads as follows: “For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.”
The Context.
A key-word in this chapter of Hebrews, especially in the verses 11-20 is the word “promise.” Another word of great significance in this passage, closely related to “promise”, is the word “hope”. This must be obvious to anyone who reads the latter half of Hebrews 6. Hope and promise, in this part of Holy Writ, we quickly surmise, are intimately related. Both refer to the same thing: our eternal salvation. The one views this salvation from the viewpoint of God, Who has promised it. The other regards this eternal glory from the viewpoint of the Christian as he hopes for it. And the question is of supreme importance, “How can we with certainty hope for that eternal salvation?” Is the promise conditional or unconditional? This question is of the greatest significance.
In verses 1-3 the apostle exhorts the church of God “to go on unto perfection.” We must not remain with the principles, the beginnings of the doctrine of Christ. We cannot remain young catechumens and continue satisfied with “Borstius Primer”. We must advance beyond the foundation stage. When engaged in the erection of a building we are not satisfied merely with the foundation; we continue our labors until the entire structure has been completed. We, too, as Christians, must go on to perfection; we must advance and grow, intellectually and spiritually. This we will do, we read in verse 3, if God permit. Our growth depends upon the Lord. Fact is, all do not advance, and this, too, is dependent upon God.
Fact remains, according to verses 4-8, some who were once enlightened fall away. We need not at this time quote these verses, 4-8. Of these people we read that it is impossible that they be renewed unto repentance. It is definitely the thought of the holy writer here that it is impossible for God to renew them unto repentance. Only God can renew unto repentance. If, then, we read that it is impossible that they be renewed unto repentance, the implication of the expression is surely that such is Divinely impossible. Hence, their spiritual renewal and advance the Lord does not permit. However, according to verse 9, the apostle is persuaded better things of the Hebrews, things that accompany salvation.
Hereupon the apostle proceeds to exhort the church of God once more unto spiritual diligence. He admonishes them in verses 11-12, that they be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the premises. Notice “as in all covenants there are contained two parts” this is our part, namely, that we be not slothful but followers of them who inherit the promises. Upon this calling and obligation of the people of God, that they must fight the good fight of faith and conduct themselves as the party of the living God, Scripture surely lays abundant emphasis. And now, to comfort this struggling church of God, to assure her of the certainty of her victory, the holy writer concludes this chapter by directing her to the living God, Who, to show unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed that promise with an oath.
Heirs Of The Promise.
Evidently, the promise in this passage must not be understood in the subjective sense of the word. Emphasis does not fall upon the promise as the solemn declaration of the living God, promising them eternal glory and salvation. The promise here must be regarded objectively, that which has been promised. The apostle is referring us to the promise of everlasting life. Notice also that the holy writer speaks of the heirs of the promise, not heir of the promise. Hence, it is evident that he does not merely refer to Abraham but to all the people of the Lord throughout the ages, also to the people of God of the New Dispensation. This fact surely establishes the heavenly character of the promises of God, also of the promise given to Abraham. Abraham, therefore, is but one of the heirs of the promise and shares it with all the people of God of all the ages. We all are heirs of the same promise. Hence, the promise given to the father of believers was not earthy, as the Chiliasts would have us believe. That promise was heavenly. The one God proclaims only one promise. We all are heirs of the promise of the Lord unto eternal and heavenly salvation and glory.
And we are heirs of the promise. The apostle does not say that we are children of the promise. That expression, we know, occurs in the ninth chapter of Romans. Children of the promise are the people of God because they are brought forth through the irresistible and almighty power of the promise, the power of God whereby He realize His promise in the hearts of His own. We, according to this passage in Heb. 6, are heirs of the promise, as we also read in Romans 8. We are all, more or less, acquainted with the idea of an heir. An heir is one who has obtained a legal right to a certain possession. To be an heir does not necessarily imply actual possession. One can be an heir and be as poor as a church mouse. An inheritance is a legal possession. And an heir is he who has obtained legal rights to such a possession. God’s people are heirs of the promise of everlasting life. They are entitled to, have a right to that eternal glory. They are heirs of that glory because Christ redeemed them out of the power of the devil and merited for them eternal happiness and glory. Hence, we are co-heirs with Christ, heirs together with Christ. He is the Heir of eternal life. He merited it, surely also for Himself. And we are co-heirs with Him, in fellowship with Him, and because he merited it for us.
God’s Confirmation of the Promise With an Oath.
We should note the connection between verses 16 and 17. To quote these verses again: “For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of the promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath.” Verse 17 is introduced by the word, “wherein” we read: “Wherein God, willing more abundantly. . .” The expression, translated “wherein”, may also be translated “wherefore” God, then, confirmed His promise with an oath. Why? What prompted the Lord to do this? To this question we have an answer in the verses 16 and 17. On the one hand, the Lord, in behalf of His people, desired to shew them more abundantly the immutability of His counsel, the counsel of His salvation. We read “more abundantly” because the Lord had already given them the promise. And the promise is in itself an abundant proof of the unchangeable character of the counsel of His salvation. But now, to shew this immutability the more abundantly, He adds the oath to the promise. Fact is, according to verse 16, the oath is the end of all strife, of all disputing and opposition. An oath always implies three things. Firstly, in an oath the Name of God is used to witness to the truth of what is said or testified. Secondly, when a person is placed under oath such a person is called into the conscious presence of the Lord. Of course, we are always in the presence of God. In the Lord we move and live and have our being. And it lies in the very nature of the case that no man can remove himself out of the presence of the Lord. God always beholds all the children of men. Besides, man is always obliged to speak the truth whether or not he is placed under oath. This, however, does not necessarily imply that every man, although really always in the presence of the Lord, is therefore also consciously in that divine presence.
The contrary is true. Hence, an oath places a person, at that very moment, consciously and sharply before the very face of God, directly in the presence of the date preceding, the oath implies that God is called in Lord. And thirdly, in close connection with the immediate preceding, the oath implies that God is called in as a witness; the Lord of heaven, who knoweth man’s heart, will Himself reveal the truthfulness of his testimony. Now we can more readily understand verse 16, that “an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.” Fact is, when an oath is sworn, man verily swears by the greater, by the living God, and declares that He is Witness of what is said or testified and will confirm the testimony. It is for this reason that, when an oath is sworn, not only man’s but also God’s truthfulness and veracity is involved. The oath is God’s institution; He instituted it. Hence, the God of truth must condemn him who lies under oath because He must maintain His own unchangeable holiness and truthfulness. The use of the oath was the end of all strife and dispute. The matter was simply given into the hand of the Lord. God, now, to shew more abundantly the immutability, unchangeableness of His counsel, His eternal decree to save, and also to establish His people in the faith, also made use of the oath; and, inasmuch as His is God and there is therefore none greater than He, He swore by Himself: “As truly as I live, saith the Lord. . . .”
Notice, this divine oath shews more abundantly the immutability of His counsel. We do not read here of the Lord’s “immutable counsel” but of “immutability of His counsel”. The reason is evident. All emphasis is laid upon the unchangeableness of the Lord’s decree. His counsel is immutable, cannot be revoked or changed. According to our Confessions, and specifically our Canons of Dordrecht in their rejection of errors, the Arminians taught exactly such a changeableness in the counsel of God. They taught a divine decree which adapted itself to conditions among men, so that God’s counsel to save in the Old Dispensation differed from His decree to save as in the New Dispensation. Be this as it may, the counsel of salvation is immutable, can never be revoked or changed. And this immutable character of the counsel, we read, is evident from the divine oath. God’s counsel, we remarked, is His eternal decree to save His people even to the uttermost. God’s oath is the word of the Lord whereby He swears by Himself to fulfill His promise. The Lord, the holy writer continues in verse 18, cannot lie. We do not merely read that He does not lie. The Lord cannot lie. It is impossible for God to lie. He is God. As God He is the absolute good, the eternal, and self-sufficient, and self-existent fount of purest life and perfection. He is a light and in Him is no darkness whatever. He is pure holiness and righteousness. He is such a light. Holiness and righteousness and truth constitute His very being. As, in a faint and creaturely sense of the word, it is impossible for fire not to throw heat, for water not to moisten, for the sun not to give light, so, in an absolute sense of the word, it is impossible for the Lord to lie. To lie would constitute a violation, a denial by the Lord Himself. And as the eternal and overflowing fount of all good God cannot deny Himself. When He speaks He always speaks of Himself, as the infinitely good and perfect God, in whom is no darkness but infinite and perfect light. The very fact that the unchangeable God swears by Himself, “backs up”, guarantees His own promise by appealing to Himself, is evidence that His decree to save is as unchangeable as He Himself is unchangeable. The Lord, therefore, to shew unto us the immutability of His counsel, did not hesitate to support His promise with His infinite self, as a guarantee of the unchangeableness of His decree, His counsel to save His own even unto the end.
A Powerful Consolation.
What a strong, mighty consolation, what a powerful comfort this particular Scripture presents unto the fighting and struggling people of God! This mighty consolation of the people of God constitutes the purpose of this divine pledge. We read in verse 18: “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us,” The word “that” or “in order that”, ‘hina’ in the original, signifies purpose and result. That we might have a mighty consolation is, therefore, the purpose of the divine oath but also the result. Result and purpose are always one, identical in all to the works of the Lord. We do not always attain, unto our purpose. The Lord’s purposes, however, never fail. It is well that we always bear this in mind. When, therefore, some are hardened through the preaching of the gospel the Lord, also with respect to them, attains unto His purpose. God, then, confirmed His promise with an oath in order that we might have a strong comfort in the midst of our struggle in the world.
No wonder this is a mighty consolation! We have, so we read, two immutable things here of a God Who cannot lie. The one immutable thing is the divine promise. That word of the Lord is itself unchangeable. God cannot lie. Hence, His word or pledge to save His own is unchangeable. And in addition to His promise He gave us the oath. He did this because of our weaknesses. The word of the promise should have been sufficient. If, however, we should at times experience the feeling of despair, and complain that the Lord has forgotten His promise to save, we may remember the solemn oath of the Lord whereby He swore by Himself to fulfill unto His people His pledge to save.
Hence, what a mighty consolation we have! The apostle declares that we have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. We have fled for refuge from the wrath to come! The love of God He has poured out into our hearts! We earnestly seek His face and long for the blessedness of His fellowship which is everlasting life. Hence, we have fled for refuge from the wrath to come, have sought safety and everlasting peace. And we have fled for refuge and safety unto the living God in Christ Jesus our Lord. We have sought peace in the blood of the cross and have tasted that the love of God in Christ has fully blotted out all our sin and merited life and eternal glory for us. And having fled for refuge from the wrath to come we now lay hold upon the hope set before us. Hope in this text must not be understood in the subjective sense of the word, as an activity within us (our hoping), but in the objective sense. The object of our hoping, of our longing and expectation is meant here. That hope is set before us, is always before us. It does not consist of the things of this world, is not earthy. Hence, it is always before us. We never obtain it in this life. It belongs to the world to come, is heavenly and, therefore, otherworldly, and will not become ours until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we lay hold upon it by faith. It is the object of all our longing and expectation. It sustains us in all our suffering and afflictions. It enables the child of God to endure all the afflictions of this present evil world, gives him strength and courage to suffer for Christ’s sake, and to run with patience and faith even unto the end.
In this we have a powerful consolation, a mighty force which supports namely, the promise of eternal life. And this promise has been further confirmed by the divine oath. This promise of God can truly comfort and strengthen us. Because it is contingent, dependent upon us, and therefore conditional? God forbid! Please notice that we are heirs of the promise. As heirs we have a right to eternal life, are entitled to it, through and because of the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord. And, as heirs of everlasting life, we will surely obtain it. Fact is, that promise is anchored in the immutable counsel of the Lord. And it has been promised unto us by the unchangeable God. It is not what we do or must do which comforts and strengthens us in the battle; it is not our willing and running, although it is true that we must will and run even unto the end; it is never of him that runneth or of him that willeth; it is God, God alone, and what He will do which strengthens us in the fight. Let us therefore take hold of the promises of the Lord, fight the good fight of faith unto the end, and cling unto Him Who cannot lie. Then, then only will we be assured of the eternal crown of glory. Such is the glorious teaching of the Word of God in Hebrews 6:16-18. It proclaims unto us the particular and unconditional character of the promises of Jehovah. Nothing less can comfort us. God’s faithfulness can fully strengthen us. May we, too, be followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
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Post by Admin on Jan 6, 2024 21:14:44 GMT -5
7/1/1948 God’s Covenant and The Promise (2 Corinthians 1:12-20)
VELDMAN, HERMAN Our Doctrine Home / Archive / Volume 24/1948 / Vol 24 Issue 19 SHARE IT
Another passage of Holy Writ which throws light on the certainty and wholly particular and unconditional character of the promises of God is the word of the apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 1:12-20. We quote: “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to youward. For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end; As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the days of the Lord Jesus. And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit; And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judea. When I therefore was thus minded did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea, yea, and nay, nay? But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” These words culminate in verse 20 and it is this text which is now of primary interest to us.
The Context:
In verses 12-16 the apostle affirms unto the church at Corinth that he, by the grace of God, had conducted himself in simplicity and godly sincerity, not only in the midst of the world, but more abundantly toward them. Fleshly wisdom had not motivated the apostle to the heathen. He had written none other things unto them that what they read or acknowledge; that is he had written what he meant and had meant what he had written; he had written, not vaguely or indefinitely or ambiguously, but clearly and honestly and sincerely. And in the confidence that he was their rejoicing as truly as they were his, even until and in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, he had proposed to come unto them before in order that they might have a second benefit, even as they always were benefited spiritually when he visited among them. Unto that end he had intended to pass by them into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto them, and to be brought of them on his way toward Judea. This intention, however, he had not carried out.
In the verses 17-19 Paul rises unto the defense of his apostolic preaching. It is evident that the word of the apostle, whereof we read in verse 18, “But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay”, refers to his preaching. Paul evidently does not refer to his desire to come unto them, which he had expressed to them, and which he had been unable to fulfill. Verse 19 renders it beyond all doubt that the apostle in verse 18 refers to his apostolic preaching. In that verse Paul speaks of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Who was preached among them by himself and also by Silvanus and Timotheus. We must bear in mind that the apostle Paul was under attack by his enemies at Corinth. We read in verse 17: “When I therefore was thus minded did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea, yea, and nay, nay? A double accusation the apostle’s enemies hurl at Paul because of his failure to come to Corinth as he had desired. He either used lightness or had purposed according to the flesh. To be guilty of lightness implied that he was guilty of worthless levity; he was a man who made rash promises, did not think before he spoke. And to be guilty of purposing according to the flesh was worse; it implied that he was governed by worldly or selfish interests and considerations. In either case, he was a Yes and No man. And his enemies used this occasion to attack the apostle in his apostolic capacity. Paul, they said, was not dependable, and this also applied to his apostolic labors; with him there was yea, yea, and nay, nay; he said one thing today and another thing tomorrow; he was contradictory, confusing, untrustworthy, fickle, undependable.
Notice now the answer of the apostle to this evil charge in the verses 18-29. What a truly noble answer it is! As far as his failure to come to Corinth is concerned, he answers that charge in verse 23. That can wait for the present. The apostle is not primarily concerned with himself; he cares little what his enemies may say of him personally. But, it does concern him that they attack his preaching, his gospel; the apostle is so much more concerned about his preaching, the gospel of the living God, than about himself. “But as God is true”, we read in verse 18, “our word toward you was not yea and nay.” Literally this text reads: “But God is faithful that my word towards you was not yea and nay.” Different interpretations are given of this particular passage. According to some we should understand this Word of God as follows: “But God is faithful that my word towards you was not yea and nay; I may be unfaithful and undependable, but God is faithful. And because He is faithful, my word, which is His word, is firm and true.” Others regard this passage as an asseveration (a solemn pledge or statement) or an oath. As true as God is faithful, so true it is that my word is not yea and nay. And, because He is faithful and true He will vindicate my word that it is not yea and nay. We, then, may insert the word “know” and read this passage as follows: “But God is faithful and knows that my word is not yea and nay.” Paul, then, appeals to God and asserts here that his word is not yea and nay, and, that his word is not yea and nay is as true as God is faithful. Whatever interpretation one may adopt, Paul in this text affirms that his preaching is not yea and nay, this today and something else tomorrow, yea today and nay tomorrow, but always yea and true.
In verse 19 the apostle gives us the ground for his assertion to the effect that his word or preaching was not yea and nay. My preaching is true, Paul means to say, because Christ is true. And how could this be any different? Christ is the Son of God, is He not? Jesus Christ is not yea and nay, changeable, inconsistent, contradictory. The apostle, speaking of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in verse 19, is not speaking of the gospel of Christ but of Christ Himself. He does not intend to declare in this text that there was perfect consistency between his own preaching and that of Silvanus (Silas) and Timotheus, that his preaching of the Christ did not differ from their preaching of Him. He does not emphasize here their preaching of the Christ, but the Christ of their preaching. He is speaking of Christ Himself. We should also notice that he declares here that this Christ was preached unto them, by himself and also by Silvanus and Timotheus. The force of the apostle’s words is surely that he is appealing here to the spiritual experience of the church at Corinth. Through my preaching, the apostle means to say, and that of Silas and Timotheus, you, believers at Corinth, learned to know spiritually Christ Jesus. And they learned to know Him as the perfect Yea, the full and simple and complete truth. In Him is no contradiction, no inconsistency, no Yea today and Nay tomorrow, but always the full and complete satisfying of all our needs. He is always the same. He is always ready and able to forgive us all our sins and iniquities and give us the assurance of being righteous before God. He is always ready and able to fill our hearts with peace and rest in the midst of all the vicissitudes and trials of life. He is always faithful and powerful to save and give us grace to resist the forces of evil and bear all shame and reproach in the conviction and blessed assurance that we are more than conquerors and that all things work together for good. In Him is a fullness of salvation and a complete satisfying of all our needs. And He is the unchangeable, never varying Christ. It is not true that whereas He might be inclined to hear us in favor today, He may be ill-disposed toward us tomorrow. He is true and ever the same, even as God is true; fact is, He is the Son of God and the personal revelation of God as the God of our salvation. This Christ the Corinthians learned to know; Him the apostle Paul preached; hence, his word is true for that Christ is true.
Verse 20 is the confirmation of all that precedes. That Christ is the perfect Yea and that ye learned to know Him as such is because: For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Which Translation of Verse 20.
Anyone attempting an interpretation of verse 20 of this chapter is confronted with the choice between two possible translations. The one translation is that which appears in our King James version: “For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” or literally: “For whatever promises there are of God, in Him is the yea, and in Him is the Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” Another reading of the text (I believe this translation appears in the Revised Version) is as follows: “For whatever promises there are of God, in Him is the yea, and through Him is the Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” The difference between these translations is apparent. The King James version reads: “In Him is the yea and in Him the Amen.” The other translation reads: “In Him is the yea and through Him the Amen.” The latter translation views the Amen as the subjective reaction of the Church to the promises of God in Christ; the Church answers “Amen”; or, as one writer expresses it: this text speaks of God’s Yea and man’s or the Church’s Amen.
We choose the second reading or translation, and would, therefore, read the text as follows: “For whatever promises there are of God, in Him is the yea, and through Him is the Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” Firstly, this reading is generally acknowledged to be the correct reading of the text. Secondly, it gives a richer meaning and a more complete explanation in harmony with the context. It is true that the present King James translation gives good sense and furnishes us with an idea which is surely Scriptural. Yea and Amen, we should understand, are particles of affirmation—the one is Greek and the other is Hebrew. This repetition would emphasize the truth that in Christ is the fulfillment of the promises of God. Just as “verily, verily” emphasizes the truthfulness of a certain statement (and Christ often used this expression), so also the repetition of the particle of affirmation in this text merely serves to emphasize the fact that all the promises of God are sure in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Yet, we believe the second reading to be the correct translation of the text. It should not escape our attention that the word “Amen” does not occur at the end of verse 19, and we might have expected it to appear there. Verse 19 reads: “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, Who. . . . was not yea and nay, but in Him was yea.” The very fact that this word is added in verse 20 suggests the thought that it is a new thought, not synonymous with the “Yea” of verse 19. And this receives added significance if we adopt what is generally considered the proper reading: “For all the promises of God are yea in Him and Amen through Him.” This “Amen”, then, denotes the response of the Church by faith to the fulfillment of the promises of God in Christ Jesus. And finally, if we adopt this particular reading of the text, we will also better understand the concluding words of this text: “Unto the glory of God by us.” The “us” of verse 20 refer to Paul and the rest of the preachers of the gospel. This appears from the entire context. These preachers of the gospel are the media through whom God is glorified by the church. Through or by them the gospel of God is proclaimed unto the people of the living God and this gospel speaks of nothing else but the promises of God in Christ Jesus. We conclude, therefore, that the Amen in verse 20 is the spiritual and subjective response of the Church of God to the sure and fulfilled promise of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
All the Promises of God Yea In Christ Jesus.
All the promises of God, we read, are Yea in Christ Jesus. The text speaks emphatically of “whatever promises of God”. This expression refers, we understand, to all and every one of the promises of the Lord. Of these promises we read that the Yea is in Christ. The word “Yea” refers to their affirmation, establishment, fulfillment. “Nay” cannot be said of any of these promises. Of all the promises of God not a single denial, lack or failure of fulfillment characterizes a single one of them. They have all been fulfilled in Christ. The word “promises”, we understand, refers to all the promises of God throughout the ages. To discuss them in detail is not necessary at this time. The promise of God, in this text, refers indeed to the Lord’s solemn declaration that He would grant deliverance unto His people, who by nature are objects of divine wrath and children of disobedience, and lead them into the glory of His eternal and heavenly covenant. The plural “promises” emphasizes every aspect and detail of that promise of Jehovah. The promise of the Lord to forgive us every sin, to lead us every step of the way, to cause all things to work together for our good, to bestow upon us the glory of His eternal and heavenly tabernacle in all its unspeakable glory and beauty has been fulfilled in Christ Jesus. Not a single aspect or detail of this amazing promise of Jehovah has remained unfulfilled.
These promises of God, we read, have been fulfilled in Christ. They have been realized by Him and in Him they have become a fact. It is because they have been fulfilled in Christ and have therefore become reality in Him that the holy writer declares in this text that these promises are Yea in Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed realized them through His blood upon Calvary and has indeed obtained them at His glorification at the Father’s right hand. In Him they have been realized, have become a fact, upon the cross, according to the righteousness of God. He has secured the forgiveness of all our sins, has accomplished the condemnation of the world, has sealed with His suffering and death the salvation or redemption of Zion and the eternal condemnation and destruction of the world, has merited eternal life for Himself and the children whom God has given Him, and obtained for Himself the right to lead that people out of their present sin and darkness and death into the glory of God’s eternal tabernacle. And in Christ these promises have been realized also at His exaltation. For unto Him has been given all power and wisdom, glory and honor. He has received the Spirit beyond measure. He has Himself received the glory of God’s eternal tabernacle and also the power and wisdom to lead His chosen into the glory which He Himself has received from the Father. Indeed, in Christ Jesus all the promises of God are Yea, realized and fulfilled.
Let us understand: all the promises of God are Yea in Christ. They do not depend for their fulfillment upon us. They have been realized and fulfilled, unconditionally. Our sins are pardoned, unconditionally. Eternal life has been merited for us, unconditionally. We have been redeemed, purchased by the precious blood of the Christ out of the power of sin and death, and we have become heirs of life and glory everlasting, unconditionally. This is the repeated language of Holy Writ. Hence, these promises of God are wholly particular, intended only for the elect, bestowed only upon the elect, and that unconditionally.
Through Christ Is The Amen.
Indeed, such is the implication of the apostle in this text, therefore our Amen is through Christ. Our Amen follows upon the fulfillment of the promises of God in Christ. Our Amen is caused by this realization of the divine promises. The former is not the cause but the fruit of the latter. How could the people of God ever express their affirmation of the promises of God except for the fact that they have been realized in our Lord Jesus Christ?!
Notice also that our Amen is through Christ. To be sure, by Him they have been realized. But through Him is our Amen. He is the medium, the channel through Whom the Church exclaims “Amen”. Of God through the Lord Jesus Christ we receive all the blessings of salvation. With Him we must be united by faith, become one plant with Him. Through Him we have access unto the living God and taste the blessed fellowship with that alone blessed God. And through Christ is the Amen, the conscious, subjective affirmation by the Church of all the promises of God in Christ Jesus. Through Him the people of the Lord confirm the fact of the establishment of these divine promises. Through Him the Church acknowledges that what she possesses she possesses in Christ alone, alone for Christ’s sake. Through Christ we declare that nothing is of us, that all is of and through Him. In Christ are the promises. All we ever do is say “Amen”.
Hence: Unto the Glory of God.
“For all the promises of God are yea in Him, and through Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.” This lies in the nature of the case. For, and let us understand this fully, the text speaks of the promises of God. God is God. All the universe, together with all the children of men that shall have lived from the beginning of time until the end, the sum-total of all things, is less than a drop of water on the bucket and a particle of dust on the balances in comparison with that living God. These are God’s promises. And God is not a man. His promises are never to be confused with a mere offer, contingent and dependent upon him to whom the promises are made. All glory must be unto God. Fact is, that these promises are Yea in Christ is only because it is God Who fulfilled them in Christ, His Son and our Lord. It is God who sent His Son into the likeness of sinful flesh and that for sin in order that sin might be condemned in the flesh. It is God Who sustained His Servant throughout His amazing passion, suffering and death. It is God Who enabled the Christ through the everlasting Spirit to suffer the burden of God’s eternal and infinite wrath so as to deliver others from it. It is God Who, having sent His Son into death, the shameful and bitter death of the cross, also raised Him from the dead, and exalted Him into the highest glory, even at the right hand of the Father. It is God Who gave Him a Name above every name, Who clothed Him with all power, glory, might, and honor, and gave Him the Spirit beyond measure. It is the living God Who fulfilled all His promises of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God with us.
Hence, all glory must be ascribed unto God. To be sure, we must fight the good fight of faith. We must put off the old man and put on the new. We must believe on and in the Lord Jesus Christ and run the race even unto the end. We must love and believe and hope that no one may take our crown. But it is all given us of grace. The promises of God are yea in Christ. In Him they have been realized and fulfilled. In Him our salvation is sure. And through Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, the captain of our salvation, the bishop of our souls, the Shepherd of His sheep, we say “Amen”, express our joyful assurance that in Him all has been completed, and through Him give thanks and glory and praise unto God, for alone of Him and through Him and unto Him are all things. We conclude, therefore, that also 2 Cor. 1:20 establishes the unconditional and wholly particular character of the promises of God.
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Post by Admin on Jan 31, 2024 10:43:09 GMT -5
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