All Articles For From Holy Writ

“. . .Having made known the Myistery of His will to us, namely, to sum up all things in Christ . . . . even in Him”. Eph. 1:8-10 Our former article ended in the midst of our discussion of the Scriptural idea of the concept “Mystery”. We might notice, that the concept “Mystery”, in Scripture, does not refer to something that is necessarily hidden, and, that can therefore never be known by the mind of finite man, but that it most emphatically refers to that which is hidden by God and in Him until and when He pleases to...

“…unto a dispensation of the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ . . . . even in Him”. Eph. 1:8-10 Before we further consider the implication of the Scriptural presentation of God’s wonderful and almighty act of grace, whereby He places all things at the feet of (His beloved Son, somewhat more in detail, it will be expedient and to our mutual advantage to notice still another important element in the text. The element to which we refer is the phrase “unto a dispensation of the fullness of times”. The text in full reads as follows....

 “. . . . unto a dispensation of the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ. . . . even in Him”. Eph. 1:10 The terms “fullness” and “dispensation” In the phrase “unto a dispensation of the fullness of times” still call for exposition. Attention has been called, in our former article, to the term “times”. The conception “fullness of times” is indeed a knotty one. It is not at all so simple a matter to grasp its distinct implications as this might seem to be at first glance. This was also true of the term “times”,...

“In Him, in whom we have been made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of the all things energizing One according to the counsel of His will, in order that we should be unto the praise of His glory, we who before hoped in Christ.” Ephesians 1:11, 12 That God has caused all wisdom and prudence to richly abound to the New Testament Church, in the beloved Son in the flesh, is the clear teaching of the apostle Paul in the preceding verses. According to His eternal good pleasure God has purposed to sum up all things...

“In whom also ye, having heard. . . . in whom also having believed ye were sealed. . . . unto the redemption of the (final) possession, unto the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13, 14 It is of the utmost importance for the proper understanding of this passage, that we keep the line of thought, as developed by the apostle in the foregoing verses, in mind. This line of thought cam be stated as follows: First of all, that the Triune God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in...

“In whom also ye, having heard the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also (in which (gospel) also) having believed ye were sealed. . . . by the Holy Spirit of Promise unto the redemption of the (final) possession, unto the praise of His glory?” Ephesians 1:13, 14 That the “sealing” of which the Bible speaks must not be conceived of as being realized in a mechanical way, nor in such a way as to render man a “mere stock and block” became evident, we trust, in our former writing. This act of the God of...

“Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun in no sooner risen, with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man, fade away in his ways.” James 1:9-11 The reader will recall that in the preceding context of these words which we now consider, James had exhorted the church of the living God to...

“In whom also ye, having heard the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also (in which gospel also) having; believed ye were sealed.  . . .by the Holy Spirit of Promise unto the redemption of the (final) possession, unto the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13, 14 There are two important elements in, this very rich portion of the Word of God to which we called attention in the former two articles. The first of these elements was that of the Scriptural idea of the “sealing” of the saints in Christ Jesus. This work of God...

The apostle John is known for the depth of his thought and understanding of the words of Christ. This reveals itself especially in the fact that he seems to have chosen to record at length some of the more extensive discourses of Christ, whereas the other Gospel writers seem to have more an eye for the historical, the events, the happenings, the visible works of Christ. And as a consequence we have in John a rather simple vocabulary and grammar, by which John has left much of the depth of the truth unexpressed and as it were for the reader...

The first point upon which the Holy Spirit will convict the world is with respect to sin. In our attempt to make real to our minds what is meant by this convicting work we might be inclined to transfer this operation to the day of Christ’s return and judgment of which the Bible so often speaks as the day when the secrets of men shall be revealed, as the day when every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess to God, and when every man shall give account of himself to God. (Rom. 2:16; 4:11, 12). Yet this idea...