Monthly Archives: March 2019

The Mystery Revealed

When we speak of the church it is important to understand that we are not merely speaking about a group of people or a building. When we speak about the church we are talking about a plan God purposed before the foundation of the world and executed in the fulness of time to bring about the salvation of man. Sometimes we talk about the plan of salvation. Or, we talk about the church being part of God’s plan of salvation. Actually, the church is God’s plan for saving man.

In his epistle to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul described the “mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:3,4). This mystery is not something that cannot be understood or known for Paul wrote “how that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:4). The word for mystery here meant something that was unknown to an individual until that individual was initiated into the mystery, then they were given knowledge of it. Think of it as a military plan which was not known by the troops until it was ready to be executed.

In this sense, it is very similar to a plan. Paul uses it this way when he compares the church to a marriage (Eph. 5:25ff). Of the relationship between the husband and wife, Paul said it was a great “mystery” but the real lesson he was teaching was about the relationship of the church to the Lord (Eph. 5:32). The church is the bride of Christ and must be kept pure, without spot or wrinkle, to be delivered to Him as a glorious church (Eph. 5:25-27). Paul did not want to hide the mystery or plan of Christ but, rather, to make it known (Eph. 6:19).

This scheme of redemption was no afterthought for God but was in His mind from before the foundation of the world. Paul wrote that from the beginning of the world it had been hid in God (Eph. 3:9). Peter declared that we know we were “not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (I Peter 1:18-20).

This plan, then, was foreordained. Paul states that God

Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ (Ephesians 1:9-12).

To be clear, God has not ordained individuals to be saved because He wants all men to be saved (I Tim. 2:4). But He has foreordained and predestined the plan whereby all might be brought together in Christ if they so choose. Again, Paul wrote that God has chosen us in Him “before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:4-6). Whether or not any one individual is saved is a personal choice of trust in the Lord made after hearing the word of truth (Eph. 1:13).

This plan, or mystery of godliness, is without a doubt a great one (I Tim. 3:15,6). None of the princes of this world knew or understood it or its benefits (I Cor. 2:7-9). Also, the prophets strained at understanding all that they were prophesying and even the angels desired to look into the things that are now revealed by the Holy Spirit unto the apostles (I Pet. 1:10-12). Paul said that he and the rest of the apostles spoke this mystery in words which the Holy Ghost taught, comparing spiritual things with spiritual (I Cor. 2:13). It is through the revealed New Testament Covenant, along with the Old Testament for our learning, that we can know and appreciate the mystery.

What a privilege and an honor to be able to understand the things about which the prophets spoke but never fully understood themselves. What a great blessing to be able to participate in the blessings found in only in Christ (Eph. 1:3). How grand to know that we are the ones about whom the prophets spoke (I Pet. 1:10-12). What a thrill to know the mystery of salvation.

Eric L. Padgett

A Brief History Of Blood

God created man from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul (Gen. 2:7). God has told us that the life of the flesh is in the blood (Gen. 9:4). So when God created man a living soul, He created him with the life-blood flowing through his veins. Anyone, whether man or beast, who shed man’s blood was under a penalty of death (Gen. 9:5). The only exception was death as a penalty for taking another’s life (Gen. 9:6; cf. 4:11-15).

When man sinned in the garden and brought death into the world (Gen. 2:16,17), man tried to cover his guilt and shame with fig leaves. But God took the skins of animals to make a covering for man. In taking the skin of the animal, God took the life of that animal, and thus shed its blood. This was the first death and it was at God’s hands. This was the first sacrifice for the sins of man. It was not that the fig leaves man had made for his own covering were not enough, it was that they did not adequately represent the necessary guilt or the shedding of blood that God’s law required as a penalty (Gen. 2:16,17).

Just as Adam tried to use the life of a plant to cover his sin-guilt, Cain also tried to do the same. Cain gave to God of the fruit of the ground as an offering to the Lord. Abel offered the “firstlings of his flock” (Gen. 4:4). Now Paul tells us that Abel offered his sacrifice by faith (Heb. 11:3), which means he did it according to the commands of God for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:17). So Abel offered a blood sacrifice according to the commands of God and Cain did not follow God’s will and therefore sin lay at the door (Gen. 4:7).

After the children of Israel had been in Egypt for four-hundred thirty years, God raised up Moses to deliver them from their bondage. After nine plagues had fallen upon the Egyptians, the heart of Pharaoh was still hardened. The tenth and final plague was the death of all the first born, both of man and beast. In order to escape this plague, the children of Israel had to slay a lamb and strike the blood of the lamb on the door posts and lintel of their house and the destroyer would pass over them. But for those who did not cover their house with the blood of the lamb, death would be visited upon their firstborn (Ex. 12:12,13).

After leaving the land of Egypt and when they were on their way to the promised land, God gave Moses and the children of Israel a law of commandments. Moses ascended mount Sinai and received the law in tables of stone. In ratifying this law, Moses constructed an altar and took the blood of peace offerings and sprinkled it upon the altar and upon the people saying, “Behold of the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words” (Ex. 24:6-8).

The law that was given to Moses was full of commands for sacrifices. There is no telling how many gallons of animal blood had been shed down through the centuries to cover the sins of man. However, it was not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). This blood and all these ordinances were but a shadow of things to come (Heb. 10:1). Even though God had introduced the shedding of animal blood in place of man’s, He never had pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices (Heb. 10:6). It never fully satisfied the demands of divine justice for breaking God’s law.

When man sinned initially, God had promised a remedy that ultimately involved the seed of the woman. The seed of the woman would be bruised but He would crush the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). This promise was fulfilled in the sending of God’s only begotten Son to shed His blood for the sins of many (Heb 9:28). God gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16). When Jesus instituted the New Covenant, He inaugurated it with His own blood (Matt. 26:26). “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:13-14).

When Adam sinned, God clothed him in the bloody skin of an animal. That skin should have reminded Adam of his transgressions just as our own clothing today should be a reminder that we are to be ashamed of the guilt of sin. Furthermore, in order for our sins to be removed today we must clothe ourselves not in the skin of any animal, but we must clothe ourselves in the blood of Christ. Paul said that as many of us that have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:26,27). We are washed from our sins in His own blood (Rev. 1:5) when we are baptized to wash away our sins (Acts 22:16). We make our robes white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14).

Eric L. Padgett

PROPHECY

One of the greatest proofs of the divine origin of the Bible and of Christianity itself is fulfilled Bible prophecy. The Bible is replete with prophecies from the beginning of the Book of Genesis to the end of the Book of Revelation. Hundreds of prophecies were uttered and, where there is enough evidence to make a solid judgement, all of them have perfectly come to pass just as was foretold, such that the skeptic cannot successfully assail them. Fulfilled prophecy is one of the thorns in the skeptic’s side.

It is natural that other people and other groups should want to emulate the Bible’s incredible accuracy and uniqueness in this field. But a comparison of the Bible’s prophecies with the so-called prophecies of other groups, religious and non-religious, demonstrates the Bible’s incomparable accuracy. The Bible’s prophecies are not draped in vague, veiled language that can be interpreted in multiple ways. The Bible’s prophecies are generally spot on and clear and accurate.

For instance, compare the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah. Isaiah prophesied eight centuries before that a virgin would conceive and bear a son (Is. 7:14). Micah prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem of Judea (Mic. 5:2). Isaiah again foretold that He would be of the lineage and house of David (Is. 9:6,7). David foretold that He would be called the Son of God (Psalm 2:7). Isaiah once again foretold clearly of His rejection and suffering and death in great specificity (Is. 53). Over three hundred specific prophecies satisfactorily fulfilled in the life of Christ.

We also must remember that those who spoke these prophecies did not collaborate with one another and decide to produce an interesting book to read for entertainment. For the most part their prophecies were not collaborative and thy lived in different areas and in different times and were of various social and economic backgrounds. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, written at least three centuries before Christ, we can clearly see the preservation of the original text and proof that Jesus’ fulfillment of these prophecies were not manufactured after the fact. Yet all of these prophecies seamlessly coalesce into one, big, clear picture of the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

Other non-Messianic prophecies were equally clearl and amazingly fulfilled. Daniel described world history up to the time of Christ in four great kingdoms (Dan. 2:31-45). Daniel also prophesied exactly when the Messiah would appear (Dan. 9:20-27). There are many other such specific, clear prophecies but let me mention just one more. Cyrus the Great was mentioned in the prophecy of Isaiah (45:1-4). But when Isaiah prophesied of Cyrus, it was a century and a half before Cyrus was even born, yet Isaiah calls him by name! This is the kind of accuracy and specificity we find in Bible prophecies.

In contrast, so-called modern day prophets are far less impressive. Nostradamus is held up as one of the modern day prophets who is said to be very accurate. Those touting his prophetic abilities often say he accurately predicted Hitler’s rise. However, he did not say “Hitler” but used the expression “the Hister” (Century II:24). Historically, this was a well known allusion to the Danube river not to Hitler.

“The river was known to the ancient Greeks as the Istros (`iστρος) a borrowing from a Daco-Thracian name meaning strong, swift (akin to Sanskrit isiras “swift”). In Latin, the Danube was variously known as Danubius, Danuvius or as Ister. The Thraco-Phrygian name was Matoas, ‘the bringer of luck.” (Danube)

If Nostradamus was talking about Hitler, he mispronounced the name. Further, if he was talking about Hitler, it was not clear what he was saying for the “prophecy” is written in vague, cryptic language. But the truth is, he was referencing the Danube, not Hitler.

Consider Islamic prophecies as another example. One apologist for Islam gives the system modern day finger printing as a fulfillment of a prophecy in the Koran. Here is what is written:

Finger Prints
Their skins will bear witness against them as to what they have been doing? (41:21)
The finger prints system at borders, criminal investigation cells and immigration centres prove the fulfillment of this Quranic prophecy.
(Al Islam)

Yet, the context of the text is not speaking of finger printing but of the islamic view of judgement. As another Islamic site states:

Putting the verse back into context, it is clearly talking about post “Judgment day” events, when we who did not believe in Allah will be in hell, and our skins will be telling Allah about ‘sins’. This interpretation is confirmed by the tafsir’s. This has nothing to do with fingerprinting. (wikiislam.net)

The one test the Bible gives for determining whether or not one should listen to a prophet is fulfillment (Deut. 18:22). If the prophecy is not fulfilled, then God did not speak through that “prophet.” The Bible is amazing by many standards but it’s incredible specificity and prophetic accuracy is another vital proof of it’s divine origin. No other book even comes close.

Eric L. Padgett

The devil

The devil is just as far from God in power and might and wisdom and in every other such attribute as is any human being. This is true because God is infinite and perfect in every one of His attributes while humanity and the devil are limited, finite and imperfect. Infinitude is just as far from one point in finitude as it is from another. The devil is finite in his attributes because he is a created being, just as are we. We know that God is the only essential, necessary being. Everything else is contingent upon Him (Gen. 1:1; Ex. 20:11; Col. 1:16,17; Heb. 1:3).

In fact, in many ways man has more power and wisdom than the devil. The devil cannot make us do anything that we chose not to do. James says, “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Peter tells us to be steadfast in the faith in resisting the devil (I Pet. 5:9). Paul exhorts us to not give place to the devil (Eph. 4:27). And God has provided a way of escape to avoid the traps he sets for us (I Cor. 10:13). Furthermore, we are able to understand the value of the will of God while the devil tries to destroy it.

The devil’s chief power is his skill at lying. Jesus said there is no truth in him because he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). He is skilled at making something that is bad and evil look like it is good and right, even himself, for he sometimes transforms himself into an angel of light (II Cor. 11:14). He is proficient at lying wonders (II Thess. 2:9). One of his favorite devices–and we are not ignorant of his devices (II Cor. 2:11)–is to twist the word of God into something that it is not. He used this approach on Eve when he twisted what God had said and deceived her (Gen. 3:1; I Tim. 2:14). He tried unsuccessfully to use this approach on the Lord (Matt. 4:6).

As mentioned earlier, the devil is a created being (Psalm 148:1-5). The Bible does not explicitly say when he was created but if all things in heaven and earth were created in six days, then his creation would have been during that time frame (Ex. 20:11). Furthermore, it would have been very early in creation because God states in the book of Job that the sons of God (i.e., the angels) shouted for joy when God laid the foundations of the earth (Job 38:4-7).

The Bible says that when the creation was finished, God saw that everything that He had made was very good (Gen. 1:31). The devil then was not created evil since everything God had made was very good. But this also suggests the obvious question of when the devil became evil. When did the devil become the devil? Apparently, sometime between when God declared everything that He had made was very good and the temptation of Eve, the devil must have willfully chosen to rebel against God.

Why did he rebel? The indications are that he was moved by pride. In describing the qualifications for elders, the apostle Paul warns against appointing a new Christian, a novice, because he can easily be lifted up with pride and fall into the condemnation of the devil (I Tim. 3:6). Ezekiel (28:11-19) and Isaiah (14:12-14) both seem to allude to this. Ezekiel describes an anointed cherub that was created perfect in beauty and full of wisdom and that had been in the garden of God till iniquity was found in him. Isaiah describes Lucifer who wanted to exalt himself like the most High.1 Thus we have the proverb, pride goeth before destruction (Prov. 16:18).

The name “satan” means adversary. Peter described our adversary as a roaring lion going about seeking whom he may devour (I Pet. 5:8). In the early days of earth history, in the days of Patriarchy, when God asked him what he had been doing, satan replied that he was going to and fro in the earth and walking up and down in it, presumably seeking to devour, as he tried to with Job (Job 1:7). In the parable of the tares, Jesus described the enemy, which is the devil (Matt. 13:39), as going through the fields while men slept and sowing tares among the wheat (Matt. 13:24-30). The devil never stops. He was after Peter (Luke 22:31), Joshua the high priest (Zec. 3:1), king David (I Chron. 21:1), the apostle Paul (II Cor. 12:7) and also after the Lord (Matt. 4:1-11).

He is also after you and me. But the good news is that he is beaten. Even before the foundation of the world the Lord had put in place a plan of salvation whereby satan’s efforts would fail (Rev. 13:8; Eph. 3:9). Immediately after the Fall it was foretold that the seed of the woman would deliver a mortal blow to satan (Gen. 3:15). The Lord has destroyed the devil and the power which he held over man–that is the fear of death through His resurrection from the dead (Heb. 2:14; Col. 2:14,15). Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels and he will be cast there, bound forever (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10).

Other posts on the devil:
How Does satan Influence Us?
Additional On How satan Works

Eric L. Padgett

Footnote

  1. The majority of commentators seem to reject the view that these passages refer to the devil. However, both passages are consistent with what we know explicitly and implicitly of the devil from other, undisputed passages. We know the devil was created perfect, and that God did not create the devil as the devil. We know, therefore, that he must have fallen from some higher state. We know that Paul describes at least one of his faults as being pride, which comports with Ezekiel’s description of his heart being lifted up and Isaiah’s description as one seeking to obtain the position of God. We know that there was an hierarchy of created, angelic beings and that some of these rebelled and left their first estate. We know that hell was created for the devil and his angels. We know that the devil was in the garden. While it is obvious that they also refer to the historical figures of the king of Babylon and Tyre, some of the references in the passage in Ezekiel especially seem only to apply to the devil (e.g., “created”; having been in the garden of God, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty; anointed cherub, etc). There is nothing in these two passages from the prophets that would demand that they not be referring to the devil in some respects. As far as I can understand, there is no doctrine that would be violated or damaged by such an application. At the very least, these two passages describe circumstances that parallel what we know of the devil’s history and I can’t understand the strong historical opposition to such an application.