Should a Christian Be Afraid?

By Charles C. Ryrie

     The answer to the question “Should a Christian Fear?” is not so obvious as it might seem to be. Although one’s immediate reaction is in the negative because of the perfect peace which the Lord Jesus gives to each believer, this is only part of the answer to the matter. Two abuses of the doctrine of fear which are abroad today make the study of the proper doctrine mandatory. They are both based on the idea (if not the words) of  2 Timothy 1:7: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” The one concludes that, since fear ought not be a part of any Christian’s makeup, it should be avoided at all costs lest that Christian become inhibited. It often follows that carnal principles are used to accomplish this end and cure the Christian of his fear. The other abuse takes the idea of the verse as an excuse for familiarity with the Lord in His worship and service. Boldness, being made the opposite of fear by such ones, becomes then an excusing cover-up for any sort of conduct in Christian work. God preserve us from either of these abuses!

     What is the proper doctrine of fear as set forth especially in the New Testament? The answer to this question is found in the study of the three Greek words for fear which are used there. (A fourth word is found in a variant reading of  Hebrews 12:28 and will not be considered here.) The three words are deilia, ‘cowardice’; eulabeia, ‘reverence’; and phobos, ‘fear or alarm.’

I. The Christian and Cowardice

     Five times in the New Testament the Holy Spirit has used this first word, deilia, ‘cowardice’ ( 2 Tim 1:7; John 14:27; Matt 8:26; Mark 4:40; Rev 21:8 ). In the Greek literature outside the New Testament the word regularly has this meaning of cowardice, which meaning carries over into the New Testament always in a bad sense. This base spirit will manifest itself in the professing Christian in the time of persecution, proving that his profession was not real. Therefore the Scripture declares that cowards will partake of the second death, for they were never saved ( Rev 21:8 ).

     Sadly enough, even a true believer may evidently show this same spirit, since the carnal believer has qualities similar to those of the unsaved man ( 1 Cor 3:3 ). That is why Paul, after declaring that the spirit of a coward is not God-given, exhorts the Christian not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord ( 2 Tim 1:8 ). But the Scripture not only warns; it also gives the cure. The cure is the appropriation of all that Christ has given to His disciples ( John 14:27 ), and the means of appropriation is, as with all spiritual blessings, faith ( Matt 8:26 ). However, faith apart from its object is worthless; therefore, faith increases as acquaintance with the object increases. Hence the handmaid of faith is knowledge — knowledge of the Object of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ.

     Should a Christian be afraid? In the sense of deilia, ‘cowardice,’ the answer is an emphatic No.

II. The Christian and Reverence

     In its various forms the second word, eulabeia, ‘reverence,’ is used seven times in the New Testament ( Acts 23:10; Heb 11:7; Luke 2:25; Acts 2:5; 8:2; Heb 5:7; 12:28 ). “The image on which it rests is that of the careful taking hold and wary handling, the eu lambanesthai, of some precious yet fragile vessel, which with ruder or less anxious handling might easily be broken.” This basic meaning is also found in Greek literature, and it is not difficult to see how it came to mean reverence. Indeed, Moulton and Milligan found the noun form used “as a title of respect, like our ‘Your Reverence.’ ”

     The writer to the Hebrews ascribes to this reverence the reason for Christ’s being heard while on earth by the Father ( Heb 5:7 ). He points out further that this same quality is to be apparent in our service for God ( 12:28 ). We too must demonstrate the same yieldedness to the will of the Father accompanied by continuing, unbroken fellowship, such as Christ demonstrated in His earthly life if our service is to be acceptable. In his commentary on Hebrews, Delitzsch says: “… We may interpret eulabeia as expressing that religious fear of God and anxiety not to offend Him which manifests itself in voluntary and humble submission to His will.” He also notices the idea of circumspection in the word. In other words there is both a Godward and manward aspect to reverence. His relationship to us in salvation can never be broken, but His relationship in communion is indeed fragile. We must handle carefully that relationship by complete obedience to His will, which will include being wary of things about us. This is true reverence.

     Should a Christian be afraid? When fear means ‘reverence’ the answer is an emphatic Yes.

III. The Christian and Protracted Alarm

     Phobos, the third word for fear, is the common New Testament word, but it is used in both a good and bad sense. Thayer links the meaning of this word with having been struck with terror or a sense of alarm, and says that phobos is the protracted state resulting from that.5 Unsaved men stand in this protracted state of alarm from having been struck with the awesomeness of death ( Heb 2:15 ), of eternal condemnation ( Heb 10:31 ), and of future earthly judgments ( Rev 11:11; 18:10, 15 ). As believers, we have (thank God!) passed from a state of terror concerning these things into a state of perfect peace about them. Of these matters no Christian is afraid.

     In another sense, however, the Christian is to be afraid in the sense of the meaning of this term phobos. In a word we may say that there is a proper sense in which the Christian should remain in a protracted state of alarm, as new feelings result from having been struck with God. One must always balance such a statement with the truth of the peace of God, that which keeps the heart of every child of His. On the other hand one must be very careful, in these days especially, not to forget that there is a very real sense in which the believer is to fear. The Scripture in speaking to the “royal priesthood” plainly says, “Fear God” ( 1 Pet 2:17 ). Be struck with Him and live in that state is the idea.

     Ts right kind of godly fear will manifest itself in many and various ways. It will cause the Christian to be rightly related to and respectful of governmental authorities, since he will realize that they are ordained of God and that part of our responsibility to God is through them ( Rom 13:7; 1 Pet 3:14–15 ). Godly fear will keep the believer properly related to others both in domestic and non-domestic relationships ( Eph 5:21 ). It should cause the husband, wife, and children to keep their proper positions in the home. It should also affect labor relations; for written over this entire section of the Ephesian letter ( 5:21–6:9 ) are those significant words “in the fear of God.” Furthermore, it will affect the spiritual toil of the servant of Christ, if his service is motivated by the realization that someday he must appear before God for examination of the record and settling of accounts ( 2 Cor 5:11 ). This will in turn cause him to examine his whole spiritual life now, to see if he has entered into all of God’s provision for him ( Heb 4:1 ). How extensive are the ramifications of godly fear!

     All of this notwithstanding, the most striking feature about the fear of God is the effect it will have on the church of God on earth when all its members are walking in it. At the very beginning, shortly after Pentecost, fear was a chief characteristic of the church ( Acts 2:43 ). This evidently was not the result of chastisement; for the church was as pure in those days as it ever has been, and she was continuing in teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. One could hardly imagine a more unadulterated service of God, and yet fear came upon every soul because they were struck with the person and power of almighty God. The very purity, no doubt, contributed largely to their clear vision of God. Later on when sin entered the group and God judged it openly, striking down Ananias and Sapphira, we find the church again characterized by fear ( Acts 5:5 ). In this case we are clearly told that the feeling of fear was not limited to the church alone but was felt also outside the company of believers ( Acts 5:11 ). Again, still later, the record mentions the fear of the Lord as a characteristic of the walk of the churches of Palestine ( Acts 9:31 ). The church at Ephesus knew this fear of the Lord, and it was effectual in bringing revival among the believers when they voluntarily collected and burned their books of curious arts ( Acts 19:17 ).

     In each of these instances the record states that, when the church was walking in the fear of the Lord, souls were saved. This is very significant, for it gives us more than a hint of the need of the hour. It should remind us of a long-neglected principle for winning souls. Unsaved men have no fear of God, because for one thing they see so little of it reflected in the lives of those who profess to know him. The church could get along without her lobbies, pressure groups, campaigns, etc. if she were saturated with a sense of reverential awe. In the worship of the church God is often lowered to the place where there can be but little respect for Him. There is a vast difference between the proper doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ as our elder brother and the p 13 usual impression given that He, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, is a sort of—and I must be plain—‘big buddy.’

     From whence comes such an impression? From whence come whispering, laughing, and talking in church? From whence come bickering, backbiting, gossip? From whence religious jazz, festivals, entertainments? Certainly not from the fear of the Lord. And it may be concluded also that the church of Jesus Christ will never be able to fulfill her mission to win men to that Lord Jesus Christ until she is walking in the fear of the Lord. In all our worship and service there must be a manifest sense of the power and presence of the living Lord.

     Should a Christian be afraid? Yes and no. He must never be cowardly; he should always be reverent; he need never fear the things of condemnation and judgment; yet he should live always in the protracted state of awe that results from having been struck with God.

“How great is the love of my Savior,
Who bore all my guilt on the tree,
And compassed sin’s judgments forever,
And bade me believe and be free!
The mercy of God is behind me,
His glory is shining before.
I stand on the blest Rock of Ages:
I am safe in His grace evermore.

I know in the ages before me
The weight of His glory I’ll bear,
And dwell in the light of His presence
In the place He has gone to prepare.
The mercy etc.

He took me from sands ever sinking
And lifted me up with His arm,
He placed my feet firm and unchanging
On Him, where I stand safe from harm.
The mercy etc.

What power can alter His purpose?
What creature can separate me
From the love of my God, who now saves me—
For the flood-gates of grace are set free?
The mercy etc.”

The Coming of the Kingdom part 20

By Dr. Andrew Woods 10/22/2013

Evangelical Confusion

Because today's evangelical world believes that the church is experiencing the Messianic kingdom, we began a study chronicling what the Bible teaches about the kingdom. In this series, the biblical teaching on the kingdom has been surveyed from  Genesis to  Revelation. We have noted thus far that what the Old Testament predicts concerning an earthly kingdom was offered to Israel during Christ's First Advent. Yet, the nation rejected this kingdom offer leading to the kingdom's postponement. Therefore, what the Scripture predicts concerning the kingdom will not be fulfilled until the kingdom offer is one day re-extended to and accepted by Israel during the Tribulation. In the interim, the kingdom is future as God now pursues an interim program that includes the church.

In addition, we began scrutinizing a series of texts that "kingdom now" theologians routinely employ in order to argue that the kingdom is a present, spiritual reality. We began with the use of such alleged "kingdom now" texts in the life of Christ. We noted that the expression "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" ( Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:5-7 ) merely communicates that the Old Testament expectation of an earthly kingdom had drawn near in the person of Christ. Had the nation enthroned Christ ( Deut. 17:15 ), the anticipated kingdom promises would have become a reality not only for Israel but also for the entire world. As long as Christ was present among first-century Israel offering them the kingdom, it was in an imminent state of nearness. This reality is an entirely different matter from saying that the kingdom was present or had arrived.

Deuteronomy 17:15 (NASB95) 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman.

Seek The Kingdom

We also observed that  Matthew 6:9-13 is in actuality a model prayer for the disciples consisting of three requests for the kingdom to come and three additional requests for their temporal needs to be met prior to the kingdom's establishment. Such a framework makes it obvious that the Lord did not establish the kingdom at His First Advent. If this is so, then passages such as  Matthew 6:33 (restated in  Luke 12:31 ) become understandable. This verse says,

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Is this verse, as "kingdom now" theologians sometimes advocate, teaching a present, spiritual form of the kingdom that Christ's disciples must seek and align their lives with? The answer to this question is provided in the immediately preceding context where Christ's model prayer for the disciples ( Matt. 6:9-13 ) consists of three requests for the kingdom to come and three additional requests for their temporal needs to be met prior to the kingdom's establishment. Thus, contextually,  Matthew 6:33 is merely admonishing Christ's disciples to prioritize their lives according to the values of the coming kingdom during their brief sojourn on earth, while they live in Satan's domain, while the kingdom is in a state of abeyance.

E.R. Craven, in an extended excursus on the Greek word basileia (translated "kingdom"), well explains the true meaning of Christ's words in  Matthew 6:33:

The exhortations of our Lord to "seek the Kingdom of God,"  Matt. 6:33; Luke 12:31. It is manifest that both these exhortations are consistent with the hypothesis of a future Kingdom — as though He had said, So act, that when the Basileia is established you may enter it. Indeed the contexts of both exhortations require that we should put that interpretation upon them: the one in  Matt. follows the direction to pray "Thy Kingdom come" (ver.  10 ), and that in  Luke is manifestly parallel with the exhortation to wait for an absent Lord (vers.  35–40 ). [1]

Such an interpretation helps explain why Paul refers to Christ's followers in the present world system as "ambassadors."  Second Corinthians 5:20 states,

"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God".

An ambassador is someone who represents the value system of his home country on foreign soil. America's ambassador to Iran, for example, represents American values on Iranian soil. Similarly, God's people represent the values of their true home, the coming kingdom, on Satan's turf, which is the present world system ( 1 John 5:19 ). The whole designation "ambassador" makes little sense if the kingdom were a present, spiritual reality. After all, it would be nonsensical to represent the values of the kingdom in the present world as an ambassador if the kingdom was in fact a current reality.

It is for reasons such as this that the New Testament frequently identifies God's people in the present world as "the sons of the kingdom" ( Matt. 13:38 ). A son (huios) is an heir.  Galatians 4:7 explains,

"Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God".

An "heir" is an individual who is entitled to an inheritance. An inheritance, by definition, refers to a benefit forthcoming in the future but not yet received in the present. If the kingdom were a present reality then God's people could not be sons of the kingdom or kingdom heirs. How can one be an heir to something that he already possesses? In a previous article we noted that the New Testament consistently portrays the church as an heir of the coming kingdom as opposed to a ruler in a present existing kingdom ( Acts 14:22; 2 Thess. 1:5; 2 Tim. 4:18; 2 Pet. 1:11 ).  James 2:5 says,

"Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?".

Premillennial scholar Peters asks, "If the church is the Kingdom, and believers are now in it, why designate them 'heirs,' etc., of a Kingdom." [2]

Again, far from teaching a present manifestation of the kingdom,  Matthew 6:33 merely teaches that God's people should prioritize their lives according to the values of the coming kingdom during their brief sojourn on earth while living in Satan's domain as the kingdom is in a state of absence and postponement. Only such a view properly handles the designations of "ambassador" and "heir."

The Kingdom Of God Has Come Upon You

We also examined  Matthew 11:12, which says,

"From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force."

We saw that "kingdom now" theologians contend that the kingdom had to be present in order for it to be resisted so strenuously. [3] However, we noted the parallel passage ( Luke 16:16 ), which says,

"The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it."

Here, the emphasis is on the proclamation of the kingdom. Thus, what is actually being rejected is the proclamation of the kingdom or the message of the kingdom rather than any present manifestation of the kingdom. [4]

Another statement made by Christ that is utilized by "kingdom now" theologians is found in  Matthew 12:28, which says,

"But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you" (see also  Luke 11:20).

"Kingdom now" theologians interpret this statement to mean that Christ began a spiritual form of the Messianic kingdom at His First Advent. However, this view fails to interact with Christ's "offer of the kingdom" to first-century Israel, which is the idea that the kingdom was offered to the nation by John the Baptist, Christ, and the disciples. Yet, it was rejected by the nation, consequently postponed, and eventually will be re-offered to the nation during the future Tribulation period. This interpretive framework allows the various manifestations of the kingdom in the life of Christ ( Matt. 12:28 ), such as His miracles and exorcisms, to be interpreted as mere tokens of the coming kingdom rather than announcing an inaugurated form of the kingdom. In other words, the presence of the kingdom in the life of Christ could become a reality for Israel and the world had Israel fulfilled her responsibility of enthroning her king ( Deut. 17:15 ). [5] Thus, when understood in the light of this kingdom offer, Christ's statement in  Matthew 12:28 was not indicative of the fact the kingdom had arrived. Rather, His statement simply meant that the tokens of the kingdom (His miracles, exorcisms, etc...) could have become a reality for the nation had Israel responded to the contingency of the offer that Christ was extending to her.

Yet another way of explaining why  Matthew 12:28 does not teach a present manifestation of the kingdom is by simply noting the specific verb here employed. Interestingly, both passages ( Matt 12:28; Luke 11:20 ) use the word phthano ("has come") rather than erchomai ("comes" as in  Luke 17:20 ) or anaphaino ("appear" as in  Luke 19:11 ). Craven notes the significance of such a subtle, nuanced word choice:

"In the New Testament...phthano occurs only in the later, weakened sense of reaching to"...The phrase is similar to the one in  1 Thess. 2:16, where, manifestly, it was not designed to represent the wrath spoken of as already poured forth upon its objects — they were living men, but as having reached unto, overhanging them, comp. also  Rom. 9:31; 2 Cor. 10:14; Phil. 3:16; 1 Thess. 4:15 ...The passages under consideration aptly accord with the idea of a near approach of the Basileia to the Jews in the person of Christ, implying an offer of establishment which might be withdrawn; they are equivalent to the declaration of  Luke 10:9, 11. [6]

ENDNOTES

Keep On

By Eric Alexander 9/01/2012

     While I was still a theological student, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones came from London to Glasgow to preach at the great St. Andrews Hall. This auditorium held more than two thousand people. It was packed, and the preaching was wonderful. After the meeting finished, I was waiting at the side of the platform for transport home. A long line of people were waiting to speak to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, and because I was fairly close to them, I heard some of the conversations. Interestingly, I noticed that every encounter ended in the same way: “Keep on!” was the doctor’s final exhortation as he shook hands.

     As it happened, on the journey home I was in the same car as the doctor, and he engaged me in conversation. After the generalities, I summoned enough courage to ask him a question. “Doctor,” I began, “forgive me, but I could not help hearing your last words to every person you spoke with. They were ‘Keep on.’ It sounded as if that was particularly important to you.” He was immediately animated: “My dear man,” he said, “there is nothing more important. The Christian life is not a sprint; it is a marathon, and that is why Jesus says, ‘He who endures to the end shall be saved.’” To my delight, he enlarged on the subject until I was reluctant to get out of the car.

     Now, in the year of my eightieth birthday, I have become more convinced than ever of the importance of Dr. Lloyd-Jones’ words. One of the great temptations of old age for the Christian is to accept the idea that because physical and intellectual growth may have ceased, spiritual growth will go the same way. The testimony of Scripture is unanimously opposed to that thought. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 4:16: “Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” Isaiah says in 40:29–31: “He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak… . Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength… . They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.” The psalmist, speaking about the righteous in Psalm 92:14, writes, “They will still bear fruit in old age.”

     Of course, we want to ask, “What is the secret of endurance, and of the renewal of the inward man?” Well, there is a “golden nugget” of truth in Philippians 2:12–13 that helps us in answering that question. There are four secrets embedded in these words of the Apostle: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

     These secrets are all facts to be believed, not challenges to be faced:

     1. If you are a child of God, God is at work in you (v. 13). The indwelling of God in the believer is a fundamental truth of the New Testament, exemplified in Jesus’ words in John 14:23 and Paul’s in Ephesians 3:16–19. Not only does He dwell in us, but He is engaged in a work in us — clearly the work of our full salvation.

     2. God is not only at work in us, He is continuously (or, if you prefer, “perpetually”) at work in us. We know this from the tense of the verb in verse 13. Tenses are really important in the New Testament. The tense of the verb “works” is the present continuous tense, which just means that this is something God is doing all the time. He never ceases, either day or night (Ps. 121:4). God knows no “age of retirement,” so He is as active in us when we are eighty as when we were eighteen.

     3. God works unto completion. Some people have great intentions and a lot of goodwill and good plans, but they achieve very little. Here, however, Paul says, “God works in you to will and to work.” That means that all His purposes are eventually fulfilled, and that continues until we are glorified in heaven.

     4. God’s work in us is “for his good pleasure.” Sometimes God’s plans may differ greatly from ours. There are times when, as Jesus experienced, God’s way involves pain and loss in order to fulfill His will. But the good pleasure of God is always perfect, without flaw, and impossible to improve upon.

     Is there then no challenge in these words of Paul? Of course not. Paul urges us to “work out [our] own salvation.” But that does not mean, “work out your own way of salvation,” or “work with a view to your salvation.” This salvation is already ours. God has accomplished it and given it to us. But we have to work out what God has worked in. There are two things involved in this, especially in our latter years. The first is to look to God, and to God alone for the completion of the work of our salvation. Earlier in Philippians, Paul writes, “He who has begun a good work in you will go on to complete it, until the day of Jesus Christ” (1:6). The second is, moment by moment, to set our hearts on the perfect will of God, as Jesus did: “Not my will but yours be done.” That is the desire with which our hearts need to be kept aflame.

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Rev. Eric J. Alexander is a retired minister in the Church of Scotland, most recently serving as senior minister of St. George’s–Tron Church in Glasgow until his retirement. He is author of Our Great God And Saviour and Prayer: A Biblical Perspective.

Harry Ironside

By Donald E. Hoke |  1944 

Never formally ordained, to many he’s the unofficial archbishop of American fundamentalism. With no classroom education beyond grammar school, he’s considered one of the leading biblical scholars of this generation — holds a doctor of literature degree from the largest liberal arts college in Illinois — and is the author of more than 40 wide-selling books and commentaries.

With no previous pastoral experience, he stepped into the largest fundamental pulpit in the U.S., and for 14 years he has filled the vast auditorium as no other man can, with only two Sundays in that period passing without at least one public profession of Christ.

That is Henry (better known as Harry) Allan Ironside, pastor of the Moody Memorial Church (The Moody Church) in Chicago and admittedly the prince of American conservative preachers. Though he belongs to no denomination, he has access to more pulpits than any other man in the country, and his name is a by-word in evangelical circles everywhere.

He’s a big man in more ways than one.

Physically, his rotund 5 feet 8 ½ inches would command respect everywhere; mentally, his breadth of knowledge and facility of expression make him at home with scholars in many fields, whether they be Old Testament archeologists or Chinese litterateurs; and spiritually he’s big enough to be expansively generous, big enough to be genuinely modest — three publishers have tried unsuccessfully for years to secure a biography or autobiography — big enough to admit when he’s wrong. When a young woman approached him about a new Christian enterprise a few years ago, he promised what support he could give, but predicted the work would fail. When she met him again two years later, he recognized her, remarked, “You’re the young woman who proved I was wrong!”

Ironside is a leader in conservative Protestantism today because he deserves to be.

His life is the favorite “log cabin to White House” story of a poor boy who made good. And for many years he lived like Moses, on the backside of a desert, sustained by an abiding faith in God and not seeking the position of prominence he now holds.

But God had a large place for him and put him through grueling circumstances and trials of faith which have admirable fitted him for the versatile ministry he has today.

Things were not hopeful for baby Harry even at the hour of his birth, for the attending physician pronounced him dead and laid him aside to attend to his mother. But 40 minutes later the startled nurse detected signs of pulse and plunged him into a hot bath, from which he emerged on October 14, 1876, live and healthy.

The Ironside family circle was early broken by the death of the father, when Harry was only 2, but the imprint of this godly man, whom all Toronto knew as “The Eternity Man,” was left on the simple little home. Even now Dr. Ironside recalls the substance of his mother’s daily prayer at the family altar: “O Father, keep my boy from ever desiring anything greater than to live for Thee. Save him early and make him a devoted street preacher, as his father was. Make him willing to suffer for Jesus’ sake, to gladly endure persecution and rejection by the world that cast out Thy Son, and keep him from what would dishonor Thee.”

This home and altar, supported by his widowed mother, was a haven for itinerant preachers and evangelists. And the young boy was early plagued by their unnerving, “Harry, lad, are you born again?”

Even when the family moved to Los Angeles, Calif., when he was 10, these godly men, “who carried with them the atmosphere of eternity,” still upset him with their quiet, “Are you certain that your soul is saved?” For despite the fact he had read the Bible through 10 times by the age of 12, he was not sure he had accepted Christ.

One indelible impression from that year has never left him.

Dwight L. Moody came to Los Angeles. Packed to the door, Hazzard’s Pavilion had no seat for the young towhead who pushed his way into the balcony to hear the famous preacher. But, noticing that the roof was supported by girders made of large 4x12-inch planks spiked together like a trough, young Ironside skinned up the slanting trough to a point high over the crowd, looking down on the platform. The forceful manner and earnestness of the bearded evangelist and the forceful singing of George Stebbins that night he never forgot.

But it wasn’t until two years later that 14-year-old Harry Ironside came under deep conviction of his sins at a part and ran home to fall on his knees beside his bed and accept Christ as his Saviour, finding in  Romans 3 and  John 3 the peace he sought.

Finished with grammar school, he had no desire to continue his education, but wanted to tell others of Christ.

The spirit and activity of the Salvation Army attracted him, and he began to take part in their meetings, testifying and singing, until he became known as “The Boy Preacher of Los Angeles.”

One night he struck his brother in a fit of anger. He was filled with remorse and longed for the experience of complete holiness and eradication of sin, concerning which many of his Army companions spoke. So, taking the train from Los Angeles on a Sunday night to a lonely station 12 miles out, he walked into a dry arroyo and fell on his face before God, determining to obtain the “second blessing of entire sanctification.”

About 3:30 a.m. he arose, confident he had yielded everything to Christ. So buoyed up was he that he walked the 12 miles back to the city to testify to the “blessing” at the 7 a.m. service. Shortly after that he enrolled as an Army cadet, and when only 18 he was made a captain in the Salvation Army and put in charge of a station.

In those days he and his buddy would walk into the crowded sections of the city at the rush hour. At the right moment his friend would raise a brightly colored umbrella with a Scripture verse on it, while Harry would peel off his coat, displaying a sweater with “PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD” printed on it in bold letters.

But despite his zeal for the Lord and his glowing testimonies, he found he was not free from sin. Increasingly his inward promptings to sin, his doubts and fears weighed upon his mind. He who testified to the eradication did not have it. What’s more, he didn’t see it in the others who likewise boasted of it. Almost a nervous wreck a few years later, he went to a rest home for a brief furlough to regain his physical and spiritual equilibrium.

And there, tormented by doubts, reading any and every thing but his Bible, he met an older woman who came to him for help over the same misgivings and failures which he was so poignantly experiencing. Together they began to search the Scriptures, and little by little, he now relates, the light began to dawn: they saw they had everything in Christ, not in experience.

To go on as he was, he could not. Within a week he resigned from the Army and began to fellowship with a group commonly known as the Plymouth Brethren.

Thus at 22 Harry Ironside faced a complete revamping of his life plans. Associated with no organization, he started out on faith, preaching wherever he had opportunity — on street corners, in missions, in the desert towns.

A year later he married Helen Scofield, daughter of a Presbyterian minister, and they faced poverty and hardship together. For the next 32 years they lived entirely without promise of support of any kind, but God faithfully undertook for them.

Sitting in a dreary Salt Lake City rooming house one night several years later, they faced their situation. Not one penny of money did they have. They prayed; the young husband put God on the spot, saying they needed 40 cents for food the next day. Then, somewhat discouraged, he went out to preach on a street corner. After his message two men followed him and spoke to him. As they left they shook hands with him. In his palm when he opened it were three dimes and two nickels!

All the years that followed were filled with Elijah experiences as Ironside and his wife traveled from place to place, preaching and distributing tracts wherever they went.

Summers were spent mostly among the Indians of New Mexico and Arizona.

There one year the leaders of a Laguna Indian village approached the young missionary and asked him why he preached on the street when they had a church in town. He replied that he was not a Roman Catholic and the priest would not want him.

“The church does not belong to the priest,” the Indians retorted, “and besides, he only visits us occasionally.”

The next Sunday on invitation Ironside preached to more than 300 Indians from the pulpit of the Indian Catholic church on the text, “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be rich” ( 2 Corinthians 8:9 ). As a result, the leader of responses in the church was converted and became a preacher of power among his own people.

On another occasion he visited the converted wife of a desert tavern-keeper. Longing to speak to the 100 men carousing in the tavern, he heard the fiddler hesitate through a few bars of “In the Sweet By and By.” Seizing the opportunity, he went in and began to lead the men in singing old familiar hymns which they requested, adding a Scripture verse or comment at the conclusion of each. Not a glass of liquor was sold the rest of the evening.

Depending upon God for leading in his work, he was often of in strange circumstances.

Prompted to get off the train at Fresno, Calif., one night, Ironside invested his last dollar in a room and breakfast and found himself penniless and friendless the following night in a gospel meeting in a store. The two women on the platform looked at him strangely, then went down and asked him to speak, saying that they had called the meeting at God’s leading, praying for a speaker. They were sure he was the one God had sent.

His unconventional places and ways of speaking often provided many unusual and humorous opportunities.

Preaching on a San Francisco street corner one evening, he was challenged by an atheist, a leader of the old I.W.W. movement, to debate on Christianity versus atheism.

Before the crowd of 300 or 400 people, he accepted the challenge — adding, however, that he had one condition. The atheist must present at least two bona fide witnesses who had been saved from lives of disgrace and degradation by their belief, while he would provide no less than 100 who had been saved from the same state by the gospel of Christ. Hurriedly the atheist declined the terms and left, to the delight of the crowd.

As the years rolled by, the preaching ability of this unassuming expositor became known. Opportunities increased in size and number, until soon he was traveling continually from coast to coast conducting Bible conferences and evangelistic campaigns in churches, halls, stores and whatever was offered.

Many novel experiences livened those years of travel and preaching. He witnessed to Jews, Protestants, atheists, Catholics and even priests, shocking one good monk by declaring that he himself was a catholic priest.

Another time he astounded a group of nuns by asserting that he was a saint.

During his early years Mrs. Ironside faithfully traveled with him, but when their first child, Edmund, was born, her trips became less frequent and finally stopped altogether. Locating in Oakland, Calif., Mrs. Ironside raise their two boys, Edmund and John, while her husband roved the country, preaching and teaching. Later the family included Lillian, their grandchild whom they adopted on the death of her mother, who was Edmund’s first wife.

So extended were his trips finally that in John’s senior year in college he remembers his father being home only two weeks out of the 52.

Smilingly, John, former assistant pastor at The Moody Church, now assistant superintendent of men at Moody Bible Institute, declares that his father is younger now than when he first remembers him; for until he was nearly 40 he wore a full red Vandyke beard, which made him appear like a patriarch. Before he was 30 he became as bald as he is now, from a severe attack of typhoid.

Doctrinally during the 30 years after his resignation from the Salvation Army, Ironside underwent a gradual transition through the prayerful study of the Scriptures to a position of moderate Calvinism.

Cognizant of his lack of formal education, he set about to educate himself — and did so to a remarkable degree. A voracious reader, he devoured two or three books a day while traveling — not novels, but solid doctrinal and devotional works.

Desiring to know the original languages of the Scriptures, he ordered correspondence courses in Greek and Hebrew. The former he has kept up; the latter “soon discouraged” him. For scholastic recreation he took up Chinese, in which he is now well at home and reads with enjoyment. Besides language and theological study, books on every subject were fed into his mental maw to satisfy his insatiable hunger for knowledge.

Probably the greatest human factor in his success is his remarkable memory, which is so acute, according to his wife, that it enables him to remember things that never happened. Ideas, seed thoughts, even poems and quotations, once read, are firmly fixed in his mind and called forth at a moment’s notice. Lengthy Scripture quotations and obscure hymns fill his sermons, a never-ending source of wonder to the average layman.

Foundation of all his study, however, is his devotional hour with which he begins his day. Then he reads God’s Word for H.A. Ironside, and prays God’s guidance on the multiple activities in which he is engaged. This hour he tries to keep inviolable.

Outstanding in all his experiences in this period is the lesson he learned of absolute dependence upon God for every need. Living wholly on faith, he tested God’s faithfulness in every circumstance, and it is these experiences which have enriched his life in the practical understanding of God’s Word.

It was with this rich background that he faced, 14 years ago, the second great decision regarding his life work.

In 1926 Dr. P.W. Philpott had led The Moody Church congregation in building a $1,000,000 downtown structure, seating 4,040 persons. In 1929 he resigned, and the booming church looked seven months for a man big enough to fill the pulpit hallowed by the saintly succession of D.L. Moody, A.C. Dixon, R.A. Torrey, J.M. Gray and Paul Rader.

Finally in 1930 the church fathers called the 53-year-old Brethren evangelist, who had never before held a pastorate.

For months Ironside prayed over and deliberated the offer, for the idea of “pastor” was contrary to all settled practice of the Brethren. Ten months later he accepted the call and became the tenth pastor of Chicago’s historic Moody Church.

Dr. Harry Rimmer tells the story, probably somewhat apocryphal, that following his acceptance, a Brethren conference was called in the East to which Dr. Ironside was invited.

He entered the room in which were seated the leaders of the movement and was greeted by silence. He asked if they wished to have a Scripture reading or prayer. Silence followed.

Finally he said, “I know what you want, and I’ll tell you. It was this way: I prayed over the call to the church, and the Lord said to me, ‘Feed My Lambs.’ But I answered, ‘Lord, what about the Brethren?’

“Then I prayed again, and the Lord seemed to say, ‘Feed My sheep.’ Again I asked, ‘But Lord, what about the Brethren?’

“So I prayed again, and finally the Lord said to me, “’Feed My sheep. I’ll take care of the Brethren!’”

Still in fellowship with the Brethren, Ironside speaks frequently at their conferences and annual meetings held over the country.

When he entered the pulpit his first Sunday morning, he faced not only a congregation and membership of over 4,000, but also a building debt of $375,000. But not the least of his versatile abilities is raising money, and at the New Year’s Eve watch - night service Dec. 31, 1943, the last $5,000 mortgage for that indebtedness was burned, climaxing an average debt retirement of over $26,000 per year during his pastorate! Throughout the 14 years of his pastorate — the longest term of any of The Moody Church preachers — only two Sundays have passed without at least one conversion resulting from the services. Now more than 80 missionaries are supported by the church, and two or three assistant pastors direct the multiple related activities of the tremendous organization.

His ministry is unusual among his own people, for special speakers do not boost but usually deplete his Sunday attendances. None of the top-flight evangelists and pastors of the country can maintain the audience average which he has from week to week.

When he is known to be away, attendances drop sharply.

Yet his preaching is simple and unspectacular. With no outline or notes, he preaches extempore from a passage of Scripture, rarely on a topic. He never sits down to prepare sermons as such, but is continually on the lookout for illustrations and ideas to fill out his future messages.

Nearly everything he has preached has appeared in print. Stenographically reported or electrically transcribed from the radio broadcast of his Sunday morning services, his sermons now fill over 40 books. Many of these are devotional commentaries on Bible books and are hailed by some as the outstanding commentaries of the century.

Because of his prolific publishing, Ironside is probably best known to many as an author, not a preacher. Most cosmopolitan outlet of his work is probably The Sunday School Times, which weekly prints his commentary on the International lesson. This is undoubtedly his most carefully prepared work, for it alone of all his messages is written out beforehand, sometimes in longhand, always on Saturday afternoons.

One outstanding exception to his sermon - books is Except ye repent,, which won the American Tract Society’s $1,000 prize a few years ago. This he wrote longhand over the incredibly short period of three weeks, mostly on trains.

Ironside books are widely accepted today throughout evangelical Christianity, although it is true that his practice of hewing to the line occasionally keeps some out of certain bookstores.

One certain outlet for all his books, however, is the Western Book and Tract Co., which he financed and organized 30 years ago in Oakland, Calif. As a non-profit distributing depot for Christian literature and tracts as well as his own publications, it has grown until this year it will do a gross income of more than $75,000.

Probably no other name appears on as many letterheads as does H.A. Ironside’s. Though he does not belong to any denomination, he is on the board of advisers or board of reference of practically every mission board and philanthropic agency known to fundamentalism. In addition he serves on the governing board of directors of many such outstanding organizations as Wheaton College, Bob Jones College and the Africa Inland Mission. His name behind an organization is an “open sesame” to fundamentalists pocketbooks and pulpits everywhere. Bigwigs of the National Association of Evangelicals are currently surprised and rejoicing that he pledged the telling influence of The Moody Church to that movement.

Hardly a homebody, Dr. Ironside stipulated when he accepted the call to The Moody Church that he wished liberty during weekdays to take other meetings. And so he has averaged 40 weeks of the year out of the city since he has been in Chicago. Leaving his suite in the Hotel Plaza, across the street from the church, on Monday, he travels anywhere in a radius of 1,000 miles to hold meetings during the week, returning Saturday for his own Sunday services.

Four times he has gone abroad — the first time in 1936 on a vacation trip to Great Britain and Palestine. Returning to Britain the following year for the Moody Centenary, he had the greatest thrill of his life preaching in St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland — pulpit of John Knox and the Scottish reformers.

When he arrived that year in Aberdeen, ancestral home of the world’s Ironside clan, he was given a tremendous welcome by the townspeople, who turned out en masse to honor this second - generation favorite son. And throughout the British Isles he was received with as wide acclaim and popularity as he is in the U.S.

In 1938 he returned again to Great Britain with J. Stratton Shufelt, then musical director of The Moody Church, to hold a series of evangelistic meetings. This time he and his song leader were hailed as another Moody and Sankey. In 1939 he returned again briefly for a rest and to speak at the world-famed Keswick Conference.

Perhaps not only his ability as a speaker but his warm, friendly personality is responsible for his widespread invitations and popularity. “Father is a gregarious animal,” says his son John, and this is amply evident in his cordiality and interest in big and small alike.

He apparently likes nothing better than to sit down at a table, tuck a napkin high on his capacious bay and, eyes twinkling, launch into a series of side-splitting stories and anecdotes about men he has met around the world — meanwhile, between stories, storing away sizable quantities of food, which he thoroughly relishes.

He has a wealth of scotch dialect tales which occasionally get the best of him and consume whole evenings when he is not preaching, as when he lectures for two weeks yearly at the Dallas Theological Seminary.

His excellent sense of humor is not absent from the pulpit, but is well governed there. On a few occasions — also in select company — he can be lured into singing, with many appropriate gestures, the old Salvation Army songs of his youth, which, contrasted with modern hymnody, are irresistibly funny.

In his busy life he has never had any time for playing, but has indulged himself in one hobby — stamp collecting. Now possessing almost a professional collection of between 25,000 and 30,000 stamps and covers, he rarely has time to devote to it as he did in the past. Bible archeology and Christian biography are also pastimes with him, on a smaller scale.

Despite his success — probably unequaled by any other man of his generation — and his recognized leadership in biblical scholarship, he is genuinely modest and unassuming. He confesses to being “afraid of Ph.D.’s” and maintains he feels out of place in college academic processions.

Harry Ironside doesn’t aspire to positions of leadership in national organizations. Like Alexander Maclaren, dean of English expository preachers, he is content to do well the task of preaching the gospel which God has assigned to him, and he doesn’t want to regulate other men’s and organization’s paths, “though I would have long ago,” he now says. “It is not organization but the individual consecration that counts in the work of the Lord,” he claims, and to that end he orients his own life.

A well-known seminary head said of him recently, “He has the most unique ministry of any man living.” The secret of that, he continued, is that Harry Ironside knows how to expound the Scriptures on the level of the ordinary listener, and he can point to the present practical value in any and every passage he expounds.

It is this ability to place the riches of the Word of God on a level accessible to the common man that has made H.A. Ironside one of the most capable and prominent preachers in fundamentalism today — a prominence that, in another generation, may well put him on a par with such giants as Moody, Spurgeon and Maclaren.

I found this article here.

He Ever Liveth (Prayer)

By Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

     OUR God, we come to Thee by Jesus Christ who has gone within the veil on our behalf and ever liveth to make intercession for us. Our poor prayers could never reach Thee were it not for Him, but His hands are full of sweet perfume which makes our pleading sweet with Thee. His blood is sprinkled on the mercy seat, and now we know that Thou dost always hear those who approach Thee through that ever blessed name.

     We have deeply felt our entire unworthiness even to lift up our eyes to the place where Thine honour dwelleth. Thou hast made us to die to our self-righteousness. We pray now because we have been quickened ; we have received a new life, and the breath of that life is prayer. We have risen from the dead, and we also make intercession through the life which Christ has given us. We plead with the living God with living hearts because He has made us to live.

     Our first prayer shall be for those who do not pray. There is an ancient promise of Thine, "I am found of them that sought Me not ; I said, Behold Me, behold Me, to a people that were not a people." Prove the sovereignty of Thy grace, the priority of Thy power, which runs before the will of man, by making many willing in this the day of Thy power, and calling the things that are not as though they were. May the day come in which they that are in their graves shall hear the voice of God, and they that hear shall live.

     How very often Thou shewest Thy mighty power. O Lord, we bless Thee that the voice of God has called many to Christ. Those that are hardened have felt a softness stealing over their spirits ; those who were careless have been compelled to sit down and think ; those that were wrapped up in earthly things have been compelled to think of eternal things ; and thinking, have been disturbed, and driven to despair, but afterwards led to Thee, even to Thee, dear Saviour, who wast lifted high upon the cross that by Thy death sinners might live.

     But, Lord, we next would pray that Thine own people should know somewhat of the quickening of the Spirit of God. Lord, we thank Thee for the very least life to God, for the feeblest ray of faith and glimmering of hope. We are glad to see anything of Christ in any man ; but Thou hast come, O Saviour, not only that we might have life, but that we might have it more abundantly, so our prayer is that there may be abundance of life.

     O make Thy people strong in the Lord, in the power of His might. Lord, we find when we walk close with God that we have no desire for the world. When we get away altogether from the things that are seen and temporal, and live upon the invisible and eternal, then we shall have angels' food ; nay, better than that, the food of Christ Himself, for his flesh is meat indeed, and His blood is drink indeed. Then have we meat to eat that the world knoweth not of. We pray Thee raise all our brothers and sisters in Christ into the high and heavenly frame of mind in which they shall be in the world and not be of it. Whether they have little or much of temporal things, may they be rich in Thee and full of joy in the Holy Ghost, and so be blessed men and women.

     We pray for some of Thine own people who seem to be doing very little for Thee, Lord, have mercy upon those whose strength runs towards the world, and who give but little of their strength to the spread of the Gospel and the winning of souls. O let none of us fritter away our existence ; may we begin to live since Christ hath died ; may we reckon that because He died, we died to all the world, and because He lives, we live in newness of life. Lord we thank Thee for that newness of life.

     We praise Thy name for a new heaven and a new earth ; we bless Thee that we now see what we never saw before, and hear what we never heard before. Oh ! that we might enter into the very secret place of this inner life. May we have as much grace as can be obtained ; may we become perfect after the manner of Thy servant Paul, but still press forward, seeking still to be more and more conformed to the image of Christ.

     Lord, make us useful. Oh ! let no believer live to himself. May we be trying to bring others to Christ. May our servants, and work-people, and neighbours all know where we live ; and if they do not understand the secret of that life, yet may they see the fruit of that life, and may they ask, "What is this?" and enquire their way to Christ that they may be sanctified too. O Lord, we pray Thee visit Thy Church. May none of us imagine that we are living aright unless we are bringing others to the cross. Oh! keep us from worldliness ; keep us much in prayer ; keep us with the light of God shining on our forehead. May we be a happy people, not because we are screened from affliction, but because we are walking in the light of God.

     Again we offer prayer for the many efforts that are scattered abroad today. May they be good wherever they are. We pray for all churches ; Lord, revive them all. Wherever Christ is preached, may it be proved that He draws all men unto Him. May the preaching of Christ today be peculiarly efficacious. Oh ! that Thou wouldst raise up many that would preach Christ, simply, boldly, and with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. Send us better days ; send us days of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.

     Lord, shake the earth with the power of God. Oh ! that the heathen lands may hear the Word of God and live. But first convert the Church, and then Thou wilt convert the world. Oh ! deal with those that depart from the faith and grieve Thy Holy Spirit. Bring them back again to their first love, and may Christ be fully and faithfully preached everywhere to the glory of His name. Now forgive us every iniquity ; now lift us beyond the power of every sin ; now lift us to pray and praise ; now make the home full of sacred power, and, last of all, come, Lord Jesus. This is the great wish of our souls. Even so, come quickly, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Amen and Amen.

By John Walvoord (1990)

Prophecy In The Gospel Of John

     The gospel of  John is not primarily a book on prophecy as John himself stated that the purpose of the book was to bring people to family in Jesus Christ ( John 20:30–31 ). Because of the special purpose of the gospel of  John, it deals more with history than prophecy. Written as it was in the last part of the first century, it was ministering to the second generation of the church, which, of course, was primarily concerned with what would happen in the present age.

 John 20:30–31 (ESV) 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 John 20:28 The deity of Jesus Christ is declared in Scripture: (1) In the intimations and explicit predictions of the O.T. (a) The theophanies intimate the appearance of God in human form, and His ministry thus to man ( Gen. 16:7–13; 18:2–23, especially  v. 17; 32:28 with  Hos. 12:3–5; Ex. 3:2–14). (b) The Messiah is expressly declared to be the Son of God ( Psa. 2:2–9 ), and God ( Psa. 45:6, 7 with  Heb. 1:8, 9; Psa. 110:1 with  Mt. 22:44; Acts 2:34 and  Heb. 1:13; Psa. 110:4 with  Heb. 5:6; 6:20; 7:17–21; and  Zech. 6:13 ). (c) His virgin birth was foretold as the means through which God could be “Immanuel,” God with us ( Isa. 7:13, 14 with  Mt. 1:22, 23 ). (d) The Messiah is expressly invested with the divine names ( Isa. 9:6, 7 ). (e) In a prophecy of His death He is called Jehovah’s “fellow” ( Zech. 13:7 with  Mt. 26:31 ). (f) His eternal being is declared ( Mic. 5:2 with  Mt. 2:6; John 7:42 ).

(2) Christ Himself affirmed His deity, (a) He applied to Himself the Jehovistic I AM. (The pronoun “he” is not in the Greek; cf.  John 8:24; John 8:56–58. The Jews correctly understood this to be our Lord’s claim to full deity [v.  59 ]. See, also,  John 10:33; 18:4–6, where, also, “he” is not in the original.) (b) He claimed to be the Adonai of the O.T. ( Mt. 22:42–45. See  Gen. 15:2, note). (c) He asserted His identity with the Father ( Mt. 28:19; Mk. 14:62; John 10:30; that the Jews so understood Him is shown by vs.  31, 32; John 14:8, 9; 17:5 ). (d) He exercised the chief prerogative of God ( Mk. 2:5–7; Lk. 7:48–50 ). (e) He asserted omnipresence ( Mt. 18:20; John 3:13 ); omniscience ( John 11:11–14, when Jesus was fifty miles away;  Mk. 11:6–8 ); omnipotence ( Mt. 28:18; Lk. 7:14; John 5:21–23; 6:19 ); mastery over nature, and creative power ( Lk. 9:16, 17; John 2:9; 10:28 ). (f) He received and approved human worship ( Mt. 14:33; 28:9; John 20:28, 29 ).

(3) The N.T. writers ascribe divine titles to Christ ( John 1:1; 20:28; Acts 20:28; Rom. 1:4; 9:5; 2 Thes. 1:12; 1 Tim. 3:16; Tit. 2:13; Heb. 1:8; 1 John 5:20 ).

(4) The N.T. writers ascribe divine perfections and attributes to Christ (e.g.  Mt. 11:28; 18:20; 28:20; John 1:2; 2:23–25; 3:13; 5:17; 21:17; Heb. 1:3, 11, 12 with Heb. 13:8; Rev. 1:8, 17, 18; 2:23; 11:17; 22:13 ).

(5) The N.T. writers ascribe divine works to Christ ( John 1:3, 10; Col. 1:16, 17; Heb. 1:3 ).

(6) The N.T. writers teach that supreme worship should be paid to Christ ( Acts 7:59, 60; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 13:14; Phil. 2:9, 10; Heb. 1:6; Rev. 1:5, 6; 5:12, 13 ).

(7) The holiness and resurrection of Christ prove His deity ( John 8:46; Rom. 1:4 ).     C. I. Scofield, ed., The Scofield Reference Bible: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments (New York; London; Toronto; Melbourne; Bombay: Oxford University Press, 1917), 1144–1145.

     Accordingly, though the gospel of  John has numerous prophecies of a general nature, the major prophetic message is found in  John 13–17, revealed the night before Jesus was crucified. The Upper Room Discourse found in this section takes its place along other major prophetic portions, such as  Matthew 5–7, Matthew 13, and  Matthew 24–25

The Testimony of John the Baptist concerning Jesus

     John 1:15–17. The ministry of John the Baptist as a forerunner of Jesus was prophesied in  Isaiah 40:3–5. Matthew called attention to this ( Matt. 3:3, quoting  Isa. 40:3 ).  Luke quoted the whole passage of  Isaiah 40:3–5 ( Luke 3:4–6 ). John the Baptist claimed that he was that prophet in connection with the baptism of Jesus ( John 1:23 ). John the Baptist had predicted, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me’” (v.  15 ). John the disciple traced grace and all the blessings of God through Jesus, stating, “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (vv.  16–17 ). John, in effect, announced that Jesus would bring in a new dispensation, which would have grace and truth as its central feature. These statements are compatible only with the concept that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the promised Messiah of Israel.

John the Baptist Announces One Who Is Greater Than He

     John 1:26–27. When John the Baptist was asked whether he was Christ or Elijah or the prophet, he disclaimed his identification with them. He stated instead that he baptized with water but that One after him would be greater than he ( 1:24–27 ).

John the Baptist Identifies Jesus as the Lamb

     John 1:29–34. The day after John the Baptist announced that One was coming who was greater than he, he saw Jesus approaching, and John announced, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel” (vv.  29–31 ). Because Jesus was related to John the Baptist, no doubt they had met before, but John did not know that Jesus was the Messiah until that moment. The pronouncement that Jesus would be the Lamb of God was a prediction of His future ministry. John the Baptist stated that one of the primary reasons for his ministry was to reveal Jesus to Israel.

     John the Baptist had been informed that when he met Jesus he would see a dove coming from heaven that would remain on Him: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God” (vv.  32–34 ). In  Matthew’s record of the same incident, Matthew recorded that after Jesus was baptized, “at that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’” ( Matt. 3:16–17 ). The record of  John and the record of  Matthew put together provide a remarkably clear demonstration of the doctrine of the Trinity. John saw the dove, symbolic of the Holy Spirit, remaining on Christ, and, of course, Jesus was being baptized. At the same time the voice from heaven, recorded by  Matthew, indicated the presence of God the Father.  Luke, likewise, confirmed the fact that the Father’s voice was heard ( Luke 3:21–22 ).

 Matthew 3:16 For the first time the Trinity, foreshadowed in many ways in the O.T., is fully manifested. The Spirit descends upon the Son, and at the same moment the Father’s voice is heard from heaven.     C. I. Scofield, ed., The Scofield Reference Bible: The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments (New York; London; Toronto; Melbourne; Bombay: Oxford University Press, 1917), 997.

The Testimony of Nathanael

     John 1:40–51. Andrew, who had been called to follow Jesus the day before, first went to find his brother Simon Peter and bring him to Jesus (vv.  40–42 ). The next day Philip was called (v.  43 ). Philip called Nathanael (v.  45 ), but Nathanael was concerned because he said no prophet came from Nazareth (vv.  45–46 ). When Nathanael approached Jesus, Jesus said, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false” (v.  47 ). Nathanael was astounded that Jesus knew him and asked how He knew him (v.  48 ). Jesus’ reply was, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you” (v.  48 ). Nathanael recognized that the only way Jesus could know him, because he had been all alone, was that he was God, and he declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel” (v.  49 ). In connection with the finding and call of Nathanael, Jesus made the pronouncement, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that” (v.  50 ). Then Jesus added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (v.  51 ). In this passage on the call of Nathanael, John was proving first of all that Jesus is omnipresent in His deity, which explains why He saw Nathanael under the fig tree, and also that He was omniscient — knowing things in the future.

Jesus’ Prediction of His Death and Resurrection

     John 2:13–22. John recorded the first purification of the temple by Jesus (vv.  13–17 ). Jesus had driven the sheep and the cattle out of the temple area and scattered the tables of the money changers (v.  15 ).  John recorded, however, “Then the Jews demanded of him, ‘What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?’” (v.  18 ). Jesus’ reply was the prediction of His death and resurrection: “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days” (v.  19 ). The Jews, of course, thought He was talking about the temple that Herod was building, which had been under construction for forty-six years (v.  20 ).  John explained that the temple Jesus was talking about was His body (v.  21 ). At the time the disciples did not understand what Jesus said, but  John recorded, “After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken” (v.  23 ).

Jesus Predicts His Crucifixion

     John 3:14–16. When Jesus testified to Nicodemus concerning the difficulty of accepting spiritual truth, He stated, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (vv.  14–16 ). In alluding to Moses’s lifting up the snake in the desert, Jesus was referring to  Numbers 21:6–9. When the children of Israel complained about not having food and water to their liking,  Numbers recorded that God sent venomous snakes among the people and caused many to die (v.  6 ). When the people of Israel confessed that they had sinned, the Lord instructed Moses to make a bronze snake and place it on a pole, and if the people were bitten by the snakes, they could look at the bronze snake and be healed (vv.  8–9 ).

     Using this historical illustration, Jesus declared that He also “must be lifted up” ( John 3:14 ). Just as in the case of Israel when they looked at the bronze serpent in faith and were healed, so Jesus predicted that when they looked at Him lifted up, they would believe and have eternal life (v.  15 ). In referring to being lifted up, Jesus was referring to His crucifixion and the need for them to go to the cross in faith in order to have salvation through Christ. Jesus concluded this with the great affirmation that the gift of God’s Son was an act of love and that “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (v.  16 ). No doubt, the disciples did not understand what Jesus was referring to until after His death and resurrection.

Necessity of Faith in Christ to Have Life

     As a summary of this important chapter, the apostle John declared, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” ( 3:36 ). This verse provides a marvelous prophecy that belief in Jesus as the Son assures an individual of eternal life in contrast to those who reject Jesus, who not only do not receive life but are under God’s wrath.

Jesus’ Testimony to the Samaritan Woman

     John 4:7–42. The journey between Judea and Galilee required going through Samaria, the direct route that Jesus and His disciples used, or to go around by the east through Perea. After journeying all day, Jesus and His disciples came as far as Jacob’s well located in Samaria, and the disciples went into the village to buy food. As Jesus sat by the well, a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus, fully aware of her spiritual need, asked her for a drink (v.  7 ). The Samaritan woman, well aware of the antagonism between Samaritans and Jews, was surprised that He would have anything to do with her. When she questioned why Jesus was willing to ask for the drink, Jesus answered her: “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water” (v.  10 ). The Samaritan woman replied, of course, that Jesus had nothing with which to draw water, and, after all, His forefathers — Jacob and his sons — had drawn water from the well. Naturally, it raised the question as to how He could give her Living Water (vv.  11–12 ).

     Jesus expounded on the living water, saying, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (vv.  13–14 ). When the Samaritan woman asked that she might have this water, Jesus told her, “Go, call your husband and come back” (v.  16 ).

     In the resulting conversation, she said she had no husband, and Jesus said that was right, that though she had had five husbands, the one she was living with now was not her husband. The Samaritan woman, recognizing that she was talking to a prophet, brought up the Samaritans’ familiar contention with the Jewish people as to where they could worship. She said, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place we must worship is in Jerusalem” (v.  20.

     In His reply Jesus pointed out that worship is not a matter of place but a matter of true worship in spirit and in truth (v.  23 ). The Samaritan woman replied, “‘I know that Messiah’ (called Christ) ‘is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us’” (v.  25 ). Jesus then declared to her, “I who speak to you am he” (v.  26 ).

     At this point in the narrative, the disciples had returned and were surprised that He would talk to a Samaritan woman but, nevertheless, did not ask Him why. When they urged Jesus to eat, He replied, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about” (v.  32 ). When the disciples could not understand this, He told them, “My food ... is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (c.  34 ). Jesus then pointed out to them that the fields were white unto harvest — speaking, of course, of a spiritual harvest.

     When the woman testified to the inhabitants of her village that Jesus had told her all she had ever done, because of her sinful life they naturally came out of curiosity to see One who knew all about her, and many believed (vv.  40–41 ). The gospel of  John, designed to lead people to faith in Christ that they may receive eternal life, has now added the Samaritan woman as a possible candidate for salvation along with Nicodemus, a law-abiding Jew. In the process of leading the Samaritan woman to faith in Him, Jesus had demonstrated His omniscience and His capacity to give eternal life.

Jesus Heals the Son of an Official at Capernaum

     John 4:43–53. When the official sought Christ to come down and heal his son, Jesus replied simply, “You may go. Your son will live” (v.  50 ). In the verses that follow,  John recorded how the child was healed at that very hour, causing the entire household to believe in Jesus (vv.  52–53 ).

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Every Prophecy of the Bible: Clear Explanations for Uncertain Times

The Significance of Pentecost

By Charles C. Ryrie

     By anyone’s standards Pentecost was a significant day. It is the purpose of this article to treat the significant aspects of the day in relation to certain major areas of theological studies.

Significance in Relation to Typology

     Typology has suffered a great deal at the hands of both its friends and its enemies, since for many the study of types is still an uncertain science. Some, it is true, have found types in everything, while others in their reaction against this give little or no place for typological studies. My own definition of a type is that it is a divinely purposed illustration which prefigures its corresponding reality. This definition not only covers types which are expressly designated so by the New Testament (e.g.,  1 Cor 10) but also allows for types not so designated (e.g., Joseph as a type of Christ). Yet in the definition the phrase “divinely purposed” should guard against an allegorical or pseudo-spiritual interpretation of types which sees chiefly the resemblances between Old Testament events and New Testament truths to the neglect of the historical, geographical, and local parts of those events. While all things are in a sense divinely purposed, not all details in all stories were divinely purposed illustrations of subsequently revealed truth. Pentecost is a good example of this, for although there is a clear type-antitype relationship, not all the details of the Old Testament feast find a corresponding reality in the events recorded in  Acts 2.

     As the antitype of one of the annual feasts of the Jews Pentecost has significance. This feast ( Lev 23:15–21 ) was characterized by an offering of two loaves marking the close of harvest. The corresponding reality of this ceremony was the joining on the day of Pentecost by the Holy Spirit Jew and Gentile as one loaf in the one body of Christ ( 1 Cor 12:13 ). Pentecost is sometimes called the feast of weeks because it fell seven (a week of) weeks after Firstfruits. No date could be set for the observance of Firstfruits, for that depended on the ripening of the grain for harvest. However, when the time did arrive a small amount of grain was gathered, threshed, ground into flour, and presented to the Lord as a token of the harvest yet to be gathered. The corresponding reality is, of course, “Christ the firstfruits” ( 1 Cor 15:23 ). The fifty days interval between the two feasts was divinely purposed in the Old Testament type and finds exact correspondence in the New Testament antitype.

Significance in Relation to Theology

     The theological significance of Pentecost concerns chiefly the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The third person of the Trinity, not Peter, played the leading role in the drama of that day; He is the power of Pentecost;, and in a very special sense the era which followed is His age. Obviously the Spirit of God has always been present in this world, but He has not always been a resident as one who permanently indwells the church. This was a new relationship which did not obtain even during the days of our Lord’s earthly ministry, for He said to His disciples concerning the Spirit, “He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” ( John 14:17 ).

The Evidences of His Coming (Acts 2:1–4)

     Wind. A sound as of a rushing mighty wind was the first evidence of the Spirit’s coming. It came suddenly so that it could not be attributed to any natural cause, and it came from heaven, which probably refers both to the impression given of its origin and also to its actual supernatural origin. It was not actually wind but rather a roar or reverberation, for verse two should be literally translated “an echoing sound as of a mighty wind borne violently.” It filled all the house which means that all of the 120 would have experienced the sensation since so many people would of necessity have been scattered throughout the house. This was a fitting evidence of the Spirit’s coming, for the Lord had used this very symbol when He spoke of the things of the Spirit to Nicodemus ( John 3:8 ).

     Fire. The audible sign, wind, was followed by a visible one, fire. Actually the tongues which, looked like fire divided themselves over the company, a tongue settling upon the head of each one. This, too, was an appropriate sign for the presence of the Holy Spirit, for fire had long been to the Jews a symbol of the divine presence ( Exod 3:2; Deut 5:4). The form of the original text makes one doubt the presence of material fire though the appearance of the tongues was clearly as if they had been composed of fire.

     Languages. Finally, each began to speak in a real language which was new to the speaker but which was understood by those from the various lands who were familiar with them. This was the third piece of evidence, and although some have assumed that this miracle was wrought on the ears of the hearers, this certainly forces the plain and natural sense of the narrative. These tongues were evidently real languages (vv.  6–8 ) which were spoken, and the imperfect tense, “was giving” (v.  4 ), indicates that they were spoken in turn, one after another.

The Effects of His Coming ( Acts 2:5–13 )

     Baptism. The most important effect of the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost was the placing of men and women into the body of Christ by His baptism. Our Lord spoke of this baptizing work of the Holy Spirit just before His ascension ( Acts 1:5 ), and it is clear from His words that this was a ministry of the Spirit thus far unknown even to those to whom He had said, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost” ( John 20:22 ). If the baptism of the Holy Spirit was not something new to men until the day of Pentecost, then the Lord’s words in  Acts 1:5 — and especially the future tense of the verb “ye shall be baptized” — mean nothing. Although it is not specifically recorded in  Acts 2 that the baptism of the Spirit occurred on the day of Pentecost, it is recorded in  Acts 11:15–16 that this happened then, and Peter states there that what happened at Pentecost was the fulfillment of the promise of  Acts 1:5. However, it is Paul who explains what this baptism (not to be confused with what is meant in  Acts 2:38 ) accomplishes when he writes, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been made to drink into one Spirit” ( 1 Cor 12:13 ). In other words, on the day of Pentecost men were first placed into the body of Christ and that by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Since the church is the body of Christ ( Col 1:18 ), the church could not have begun until Pentecost. Furthermore, since no reference to the baptism of the Spirit is found in the Old Testament, since all references in the gospels are prophetic, and since in all prophecies of the future kingdom age there is no reference to the Spirit’s baptism, we may conclude that this work of His is peculiar to this dispensation and peculiar to the church (which, it follows, must also be limited to this dispensation) in forming it and uniting the members to the body of Christ forever.

     Bewilderment. Certain visible effects of the Spirit’s coming were evident in the crowd which gathered as a result of the phenomena connected with His coming. At first the people (including Eastern or Babylonian Jews, Syrian Jews, Egyptian Jews, Roman Jews, Cretes and Arabians) were amazed. Literally the text says that they stood out of themselves with wide-open astonishment (v.  7 ). This is a mental reaction showing that their minds were arrested by what they observed. Next they were perplexed (v.  12 ). This is a strong compound word from an adjective which means impassable and hence the word comes to mean to be wholly and utterly at a loss. This was mental defeat. “The amazement meant that they did not know. The perplexity meant that they knew they did not know.” Not knowing is always a blow to man’s pride; consequently this crowd, driven to find an answer to what they had seen and heard, replaced their ignorance with criticism (v.  13 ). These are merely normal reactions of Satanically - blinded minds to which the things of God are foolishness ( 2 Cor 4:4; 1 Cor 2:14 ) and should not surprise us if they occur today. The offense of the cross has not ceased.

Its Signficance in Relation to Homiletics

     Introduction — Explanation. Peter, spokesman for the eleven, seized the opportunity for a witness by answering the charge of drunkenness which had been levelled at the apostles. He thus wisely introduced his sermon by using the local situation, and taking that which was uppermost in his hearers’ thoughts. He formulated his introduction as an explanation of that which they had just seen and heard (v.  15 ).

     Strangely enough he did not introduce his message with a story or joke. Nothing in the situation seemed to remind Peter of a certain story, etc. Peter’s mind was full of Scripture, not stories; Peter’s concern was for the people, not pleasantries. The disciples could not be drunk, he told them, for it was only nine o’clock in the morning. Pentecost was a feast day, and the Jews who were engaged in the services of the synagogues of Jerusalem would have abstained from eating and drinking until at least 10 a.m. and more likely noon.

     From this categorical denial of the charge of drunkenness Peter passed easily and naturally to the explanation of what the phenomenon was. It was not wine but the Holy Spirit who was causing these things, and to prove this Peter quoted  Joel 2:28–32. This is a very definite prophecy of the Holy Spirit’s being poured out when Israel is again established in her own land. The problem here is not one of interpretation but of usage only. Clearly  Joel’s prophecy was not fulfilled at Pentecost, for (1) Peter does not use the usual Scriptural formula for fulfilled prophecy as he does in  Acts 1:16 (cf.  Matt 1:22; 2:17; 4:14); (2) the original prophecy of  Joel will clearly not be fulfilled until Israel is restored to her land, converted, and enjoying the presence of the Lord in her midst ( Joel 2:26–28 ); (3) the events prophesied by  Joel simply did not come to pass. If language means anything Pentecost did not fulfill this prophecy nor did Peter think that it did. The usage need not raise theological questions at all, for the matter is primarily homiletical and any problems should be solved in that light. Peter’s point was that the Holy Spirit and not wine was responsible for what these Jews had seen. He quotes  Joel to point out that as Jews who knew the Old Testament Scriptures they should have recognized this as the Spirit’s work. In other words, their own Scriptures should have reminded them that the Spirit was able to do what they had just seen. Why then, someone may ask, did Peter include the words from  Joel recorded in  Acts 2:19–20? Why did he not stop with verse  18? The answer is simple. Peter not only wanted to show his audience that they should have known from the Scriptures that the Spirit could do what they had seen, but he also wanted to invite them to accept Jesus as their Messiah by using  Joel’s invitation “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (v.  21 ). Thus what is recorded in  Acts 2:19–20 is simply a connecting link between the two key points in his argument. “The remainder of the quotation from  Joel, verses  19, 20, has no bearing on Peter’s argument, but was probably made in order to complete the connection of that which his argument demanded.”

     Theme — Jesus is Messiah. To us today it does not mean much to say that Jesus is Christ or Messiah. To a Jew of that day this was an assertion which required convincing proof, and it was the theme of Peter’s sermon. Peter’s proof is built along very simple lines. First he paints a picture of the Messiah from the Old Testament Scriptures. Then from contemporary facts he presents a picture of Jesus of Nazareth. Finally, he superimposes these two pictures on each other to prove conclusively that Jesus is Messiah. The center of each picture is the resurrection. In verses  22–24 there is a proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Then there follows (vv.  25–31 ) the prediction of resurrection from  Psalm 16:8–11 which Peter applies to the Messiah. Finally, the Messiah is identified as Jesus whom they crucified and of whose resurrection they were witnesses. It is important to notice that the truth of Jesus’ resurrection was not challenged but was well attested by the conviction of these thousands of people who were in the very city where it had occurred less than two months before.

     Conclusion — Application. Peter now puts it up to his hearers to decide about Jesus, and yet there is really no choice, so conclusive has been his argument. How gracious of God to appeal once again to the very people who had crucified His Son. The application was personal. Peter did not say “someone” but “ye.”

The Results ( Acts 2:37–41 )

     Conviction. Peter’s sermon brought conviction of heart. The word translated “prick” is a rare one which means to pierce, stun or smite. Outside the Scriptures it is used of horses dinting the earth with their hoofs. In like manner the hearts of his hearers were smitten by Peter’s message as the Spirit of God applied it.

     Conversion. To the group of 120 (which included men and women,  Acts 1:14 ) were added 3000 souls ( Acts 2:41 ). They repented or changed their minds, for that is the meaning of repentance. It is not mere sorrow which is related to the emotions, for one can be sorry for sin without being repentant. Neither is it mere mental assent to certain facts, for genuine repentance involves the heart as well. For the Jews gathered at Pentecost it involved a change of relationship toward Him whom they had considered as merely the carpenter’s son of Nazareth and an imposter by receiving Jesus as Lord and Messiah.

     The Spirit of God must always do the work of enlightening and converting, but men are still His method of heralding the message. May our sermons be like Peter’s — doctrinally sound, homiletically excellent, filled with and explanatory of the Word of God, and aimed at those to whom we speak.

Its Significance in Relation to Practical Theology

     In the realm of practical theology two things command attention from among the many events of Pentecost and the days which immediately followed.

The Ordinance of Baptism

     To the question “What shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized.” That this refers to the new converts’ being baptized by the Spirit is untenable for several reasons. (1) It is doubtful that Peter himself and much less probable that his hearers understood yet the truth concerning the baptism of the Spirit even though it did first occur at Pentecost. (2) If this were referring to that automatic ministry of the Spirit then there would be no need for the report of verse  41: “Then they that gladly received his word was baptized.” (3) What would this audience have understood by Peter’s answer? His words meant that they were to submit to a rite performed with water which would be a sign of their identification with this new group. They would have thought immediately of Jewish, proselyte baptism which signified entrance of the proselyte into Judaism. They would have thought of John’s baptism, submission to which meant identification with John’s message in a very definite way; for John was the first person to baptize other people (all proselyte baptisms were self-imposed), which was a striking way to ask people to identify themselves with all that he stood for. They would have realized that they were being asked to identify and associate themselves with this new group who believed Jesus was the Messiah, and Christian baptism at the hands of these disciples signified this association as nothing else could. Even today for a Jew it is not his profession of Christianity nor his attendance at Christian services nor his belief in the New Testament but his partaking of water baptism that definitely and finally excludes him from Judaism and sets him off as a Christian. And there is no reason why it should not be the same line of demarcation for all converts to Christianity, signifying the separation from the old life and association with the new.

The Organization of Believers

     Its commencement. We have already noted how the church as an organism, the body of Christ, began on the day of Pentecost. But the church as an organization also began that day as the Lord added 3000 souls.

     Its continuance. The power of the early church, humanly speaking, was due largely to the facts recorded in  Acts 2:42. There was no rapid falling away from the newly - embraced faith. Indeed, just the opposite was true, for membership in the early church involved persevering adherance. They continued in the apostles’ doctrine. “The church is apostolic because it cleaves to the apostles …” Teaching had always had a prominent place among the Jews, and it is not strange to find the Christian group appearing as a school. The apostles were the first teachers, and the bulk of their teaching we now have in the gospels. It consisted of the facts of the Lord’s life as well as His doctrine and teaching. The church today could well afford to emulate the early church in this. Instead of capitalizing on new converts and exploiting them, we should teach them even if that means keeping them in the background for a while.

     Furthermore they continued steadfastly in fellowship, and this is evidently to be understood in the broadest sense of the word, for the text says “the fellowship.” This means partnership with God, partnership with others in the common salvation and in the sharing of material goods. They also continued in the breaking of bread which refers to the Lord’s Supper though not isolated but as the climax of the agapé or love feast. At the very first this was evidently observed daily (v.  46 ) though afterward it seemed to form the great act of worship on the Lord’s Day ( 20:7 ). At least we must say that the early church remembered her Lord with great frequency and with great freedom, for it was observed in homes without distinction between ordained clergy and laity (no service of ordination having yet occurred in the church).

     Finally the record says that they continued in prayers. Again the definite article is used with this word and probably indicates definite times for prayer. Further, this is a word that is used exclusively for prayer to God and indicates the offering up of the wishes and desires to God in the frame of mind of devotion.

     Its characterization. The early organization was characterized by fear (v.  43 ), favor (v.  47 ), and fellowship (vv.  44–46 ). Fear kept coming on this new group as signs and wonders kept on being done through the apostles (both verbs are in the imperfect tense). This fear was not alarm or dread of injury but a prevailing sense of awe in the manifest presence of the power of God. Favor was also their portion with the people at this time although times changed very quickly. Finally, fellowship in spiritual things demonstrated itself in fellowship of goods and worship. No doubt many of the pilgrims to the feast of Pentecost lingered in Jerusalem after their conversion to learn more of their new faith, and this created a pressing economic need. Providing for them through the sale and distribution of goods was God’s way of meeting this emergency. The necessity for this was probably shortlived though we know that the saints in Jerusalem remained a poor group.

     This is the significance of Pentecost — the type fulfilled, the Holy Spirit baptizing men for the first time into the body of Christ, the sermon built on the resurrection and bringing conviction and conversion, and the young church marked off and established in the word and ways of the Lord.

Read The Psalms In "1" Year

Psalm 101

5 Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
I will not endure.
6 I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.

7 No one who practices deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue before my eyes.

8 Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
from the city of the LORD.

Feeding Your Soul

By Jon Bloom 9/1/2012

     When your soul is in turmoil, it’s hard to see clearly. Fear, anger, sorrow, and despair can distort your perception of reality. It’s hard to keep things in perspective. They can actually magnify your troubles.

     Often, when you’re feeling overwhelmed, what you need is somebody to take you by the shoulders, look you square in the eye, and speak some sense to you. Sometimes that somebody is you.

     I get this from the Bible. Listen to the psalmist talk to himself: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Ps. 43:5).

     This was a man in trouble. He felt threatened and overwhelmed. And in the first part of the psalm, he was doing exactly the right thing by pouring out his soul in prayer to God. But then he stopped praying and spoke directly to his soul.

     God is very intentional about what He includes in the Bible. So, when God includes this kind of soultalk in the inspired hymnal for the ages, we’re supposed to notice. God clearly intends us to speak to our souls. So, we need to understand why this is important.

     When the psalmists talk to themselves, what are they doing? In every instance, whether in desperation or celebration, they are reminding themselves that their hope is in God. Why? Because in a world of tribulation (John 16:33), hope drains away, and they know how crucial it is to feed one’s soul.

     Hope is to our soul what energy is to our bodies. Hope is the spiritual energy generated in the soul when we believe that our future is good, even if our present is bad. Our souls must have hope to keep going, just as our bodies must have energy to keep going.

     Hope is something we feel only about the future, whether it’s ten minutes or ten thousand years from now. We’re never hopeful about the past. We can be grateful for the past. The past can inspire or even guarantee a hopeful future for us. But all the wonderful things that have happened to us in the past will not fuel our hope if our future looks bleak. We must have hope for the future to keep going.

     When we’re hopeful, we can endure a lot of present adversity. Think of David when he wrote: “False witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. [Yet] I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Ps. 27:12–13). But the more hopeless we feel, the more we want to hide or escape. Think of David when he wrote: “Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me… . Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest” (Ps. 55:5–6).

     When our bodies need energy, we give them food. But when our souls need hope, what do we feed them? We feed them promises— God’s promises of “a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). Hopeful promises are true soul food.

     That is precisely why the Bible is a book of “precious and very great promises” (2 Peter 1:4) made by a loving God who shows that He keeps His covenants. Man was not designed to “live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). So, God designed the Bible to be a storehouse of nourishing soul food for His saints.

     And if promises are soul food and hope is soul energy, then faith is how the soul eats and digests. Faith is the confidence we have that God’s promises are trustworthy— “the assurance of things hoped for” (Heb. 11:1). That is why “the righteous … live by faith” (Rom. 1:17). We must eat to live. Faith eats and digests God’s promises, and this produces hope.

     So, in Psalm 43, when the writer exhorts his soul to “hope in God,” he’s taking himself by the shoulders, so to speak, and saying: “Listen, soul. What are you afraid of? Have you forgotten the glorious future that God has promised you? Do you believe that your threatening circumstances are stronger than God? Get your eyes off of your troubles and remember the true Source of your hope. Eat, soul. Eat God’s promises.”

     This is what you and I must do as well. When trouble comes and our souls are in turmoil, God does not want us to be passive. We must pray, yes. But sometimes we need to stop praying—stop listening to our souls recite their fears—and preach to our souls. Fear is an indicator that our souls are hungry for hope. And the only foods that will really nourish the soul are God’s promises.

     In Jesus, “all the promises of God find their Yes” (2 Cor. 1:20). The past graces of His death and resurrection guarantee a neverending stream of future grace for us extending into eternity.

     So, eat to the glory of God. And “may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Rom. 15:13).

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     Jon Bloom serves as author, board chair, and co-founder of Desiring God. He and his wife live in the Twin Cities with their five children.

The Continual Burnt Offering (Acts 20:24)

By H.A. Ironside - 1941

September 10

Think it not strange then, pilgrim, neither faint,
Much less indulge in murmuring and complaint,
If what you meet with in your heavenly road
Is hard to bear; since all is planned by God,
His child to train in wisdom’s holy ways,
And form a chosen vessel for His praise.
Now we are slow those ways to understand;
But let us bow beneath His mighty hand,
Sure that His wisdom over all presides,
His power controls, and love unerring guides.
--- J. G. Deck