IN
writing to Timothy the apostle said, "I charge thee before God, and the
Lord Jesus Christ, preach THE WORD: and in another place, he says,
"Study, O Timothy, to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing THE WORD OF TRUTH." (2
Tim. 4:1,2; 2:15). This was a solemn charge--a charge before the two most exalted,
wise, intelligent holy, glorious and powerful, beings in the boundless
universe. An apostolic charge, uttered in the presence of God's Spirit,
imparted to Paul and Timothy, by Jesus Christ, to preach and rightly divide the
Word of Truth, so that God might approve him as a good workman.
Here,
then the thing to be preached and "rightly divided" is THE
WORD OF TRUTH. But what is that Word? Will the reader accept the definition
offered by one of the prophets of Yahweh? Isaiah says, it is "the law
and the testimony," and that there is no light, or knowledge, in those
who speak not according to it (Isa. 8:20). The law of Moses is a part of
"The Word," because it is the morphosis, form, or
"representation of the truth," by which believers of the promises
made to the fathers of Israel, were instructed as by a schoolmaster into the
faith (Rom. 2:20-18; Gal. 3:24). Paul preached the law when he preached the
word; not, indeed, as theologists preach the word, raining down fire and
brimstone upon sinners; but as declaring the things contained in the law
representative and affirmative of the sufferings of the Christ and the glory
that shall follow his resurrection: thus he said before Agrippa, "I
continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other
things than those which the prophets and MOSES did say should come."
Men cannot preach "the Word of the Truth of the Gospel" without
preaching Moses and the prophets; for "the testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy," and Moses was a great prophet. Paul declared nothing
else. The exposition of the writings of Israel's prophets as partially and
limitedly fulfilled in Jesus, and hereafter wholly to be accomplished in his
second advent mission, constituted the apostolic preaching of the word. They were
predicants of the law and testimony of God concerning his kingdom and the name
of Jesus his anointed. Therefore, saith Paul, in addition to what he said
before Agrippa, "I come to you in Corinth declaring the testimony of
God" (1 Cor. 2:1). He says, he did not come to them "with
excellency of speech or of wisdom"--such wisdom and oratory as the Greeks
delighted in, whose wisdom "is foolishness with God,"--he did not
blend their foolish wisdom with God's testimony, as some were beginning to do;
(Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen, and others of "the Fathers" as they
are called by the apostasy, attempted to accommodate the truths and facts of
revelation to "the wisdom of the world," or philosophy of the Greeks.
This
is highly commended by Clemens in the first and sixth books of his Stromata, in
which he represents that a knowledge of it is almost indispensable to an
understanding of the gospel, and exhibits it as a revelation from God, and a
law and rule of justification to the Gentiles, as the scriptures of the
prophets were to the Israelites under the Mosaic law. "We cannot
err," says he, "in saying that all things that are necessary and
useful to life come from God, and especially that the philosophy given to the
Greeks as a peculiar covenant is the foundation of that of
Christ."--Stromat. lib. 5, p. 648. "The law to the Jews, but
philosophy to the Greeks until the advent of Christ, when all were called into
the Church by the teaching of faith." p. 650. "Before the advent of
Christ, philosophy was necessary to the Greeks in order to justification, and
still subserves the piety of those who found their faith on demonstration; for
it led the Gentiles to Christ as the law did the Hebrews, and prepared the way
for that which is perfected under Him."--Stromat lib. 1, p. 282.
"Origen, the disciple of Clemens, adopted this theory, and followed it in
his speculations, treating the dogmas of the Greek philosophy as a key to the
history and doctrines of the scriptures, and employing them to solve the
mysteries of the divine administration. He introduced accordingly into his
theology a great number false, absurd, and impious, conjectures and dogmas,
which obscured, adulterated, or set aside the truth, and formed emphatically
another gospel; and he was followed by a vast crowd of disciples and imitators
of several ages. See Mosheim's de rebus Christ. (Dupin Biblioth.Nova.
tom. 1. pp.190-224). "Thus within a little more than a century of the
death of the last apostle, did the ministers of the church begin to neglect and
depreciate the scriptures, and adopt that wisdom by which the world knew not
God as a more efficacious instrument of leading them to salvation." Lord's
Exposit. Apoc. p.112. It was not a hundred years after John's death, but
contemporary with the apostle's ministry, that these preachers of another Jesus
and another gospel began their work of corrupting the simplicity that is in
Christ. They gave the apostles much trouble, being the Judaisers on the one
hand, and the men of false science on the other; the former, enjoining
circumcision and observance of the law as well as belief of the gospel and
baptism, for salvation; the latter, overthrowing the faith by commingling it
with the dogmas of the Greeks about immortal souls, Elysium, Tartarus, and a
host of similar absurdities, too dedious to mention.
It
was to correct the errors, coming in like a flood upon the churches from these
two sources, that the New Testament Epistles were written. Had men continued
faithful and mindful of that "certain word" which was first delivered
to them, the four testimonies, Acts, and Apocalypse, with Moses and the
prophets, would have been amply sufficient to make wise to salvation; but
seeing the errors have taken root, and exist in great force till this day, the
epistles are indispensable to our emancipation from their dominion.)
"For" says he, "I determined to take notice of nothing among
you, except Jesus Christ, and this a crucified one." He paid no regard to
their wisdom or its dogmas, but introduced an entirely new system of doctrine
among them, "philosophy and vain deceit" to dream of--a doctrine
which taught the setting up of an imperishable kingdom and empire on earth,
which is to rule all nations under the administration of the King of the Jews,
even Jesus, and of those Jews and Gentiles associated with Him, who shall
believe what God has promised concerning it, recognize his right to the throne,
believe the things concerning his name, be baptized into him, and thenceforth
be faithful unto death. He taught this; and that this indestructible dominion
under which all nations shall be blessed, shall not pass from one generation of
rulers to another, but shall be held for ever by those promoted to its glory,
honor, and power, as its establishment, thereby necessitating their resurrection
from among the dead to immortality. Did it ever enter the heart of Socrates,
Plato, or any other of the Greeks, to conceive of immortality of body on
such principles as these? Nay, it was foolishness to them, and derided as the
ignorant speculation of a wandering Jew. It was "new
doctrine"--entirely new--more new to them than the gospel of the kingdom
and age to come advocated by us by speech and pen, is to this generation to
which it is almost unknown, though as old as the heavenly oracles of the Blessed
God.
"Preach
the Word," then, because it contains the testimony which God has given
concerning the kingdom, and all things related to it--preach the law and the
testimony, for if men believe not Moses and the prophets' writing, how can they
understandingly believe the words of Jesus; for "all things must be
fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in
the Psalms, concerning him" (Luke 24:44). But little comparatively has
been fulfilled that is written in those records respecting the Christ. The
Jews, blind as they are, see this; and, therefore, it is because the Gentiles
in their ignorance claim more for Jesus than is yet accomplished in him, become
a cause of the rejection of his Messiahship by Israel. Thus a counsellor who
knows no the law is worse than none.
BUT
the workman who preaches the word is to divide it rightly. No workman is
approved of God who doth not do this. He is to "study," to divide the
word of truth rightly. It requires study, and much study, too, or its right
division cannot be discerned. If this be neglected, the preaching or writing
will be mere confusion, and the word quoted unintelligible. The hearer or
reader must study as well as the speaker or writer, or the subject will be
obscure to him, no matter how lucidly presented. There is a right division, and
a wrong division of the word; and no division at all. The absence of division
is the almost universal characteristic of popular preaching. Textualizing under
"three heads" is not dividing the word of truth at all, because it is
not preaching the word. In fact, it has nothing to do with it. Neither is itemizing
dividing the word. By itemizing, we mean the reduction of a theory to
items; such as when an "evangelist" says, "the gospel consists
of three items--facts to believed; commands to be obeyed, and promises
to be enjoyed." This is true neither in theory nor division. It doth no
touch the word; therefore, the workman is not approved.
To
rightly divide the word of truth is, first to study it without bias, or
subjection to uninspired authority, or antiquity. Attend to what is written, as
a child listens to a story. Study history, and ask questions, and be thankful
for all the information you can get, even if you have to pay for it. While you
are engaged in this pursuit, do not imagine that you are a workman. It is not
easy to become a workman in such an age as this. The great names in theology,
so much applauded by the world--a world that has been "wondering
after the Beast" for more than twelve centuries--were not even
apprentices; they were students of the classics and systems of divinity, not
students of the word. If they had been, they would never have written such
foolishness as passes current with their names. No; it is the result of much
time and labor to become adequately proficient for a right division of the
word. Men who do not understand the prophets, have no scriptural pretensions to
workmanship in the word. They can neither preach it, nor divide it. When a man
comes to understand the gospel of the kingdom, believing and obeying it, he has
then qualified himself to lay the foundation of faith in others. Let him go on
to perfection. Let him dive into the testimony, and let it dwell richly in him,
with all wisdom. If he have ability to state intelligibly what he understands,
then let him work away, as unto God, and not to man. Let him search out, and
apply the testimony of the Covenants of Promise; to the territory; to the
subjects; to the inheritors of the kingdom; to its throne and king; to his
humiliation and exaltation; to the nations; to the mystery of the Name; to the
Gentile fellowship of the mystery; to the identification of his Majesty, and so
forth. Here are topics to which the Word of Truth must be distributed, or
"rightly divided," and he who can do this work most efficiently, is
the workman that has least reason to be ashamed before God, however much he may
be slighted or reproached by men.
Now,
where are we to find such preachers and dividers of the word of truth? They are
like comets in our heavens for multitude! Let the reader choose a clear dark
night, and go forth and count them! Under these circumstances--circumstances in
which there is such a famine of scriptural intelligence--what must be done by
those who are unable for themselves rightly to divide the word of truth? Let
them combine for the support of a paper which appears to them best able to do
it. If they know of any periodical better qualified for the work than the
Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, let them subscribe for it with such
a liberality as will compensate its editor for the time, labor, and material
expended for their everlasting benefit. Such a teacher in a neighborhood
would not only be of service to individuals, but, seconded by their endeavors,
would be a witness of the truth against the apostasy there. It would supply
them with knowledge they could not elicit for themselves in a lifetime; and
knowledge is to faith, what light is to the eye. "The people perish for
lack of knowledge," says Yahweh; therefore knowledge should be prized
as life itself: for "this is life eternal, to know the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent"--and they only know God and
Jesus, who know the testimony they have given. But more of this anon.
John
Thomas