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FIGURES IN WHICH THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH IS PRESENTED...
A number of figures are used in the New Testament in presenting the church of God, and by these it is brought to view in all of its different phases. The first of these that we will consider is
A BODY...
Salvation constitutes us members of the church of God, and to those who have thus been saved out of the world and sin the Lord has given certain names or titles to distinguish them from others. In the New Testament God's people are termed Christians, disciples, brethren, saints, friends, and pilgrims. Each of these terms has its special signification. We are termed Christians to signify that the people of God are like Christ—demonstrate his character, life, and disposition to men. We are termed disciples, a word which means learners, to signify that the moment we are saved we enter the school of Christ and are taught of God. We are termed pilgrims to signify that this world is not our final destiny; that we are traveling to a better country, namely, a heavenly. We are termed friends to signify that, while at one time we were enemies and strangers, we have, through salvation, been reconciled to God and are no longer enemies, but are his friends. We are termed brethren to signify our relationship to the Lord and to each other. We are also termed saints, a word which means a holy one, to signify that all who are saved live sinless lives,
Now these saints, or Christians, who are by salvation called out from sin and the world, joined to the Lord and to one another by the bond of love and heavenly fellowship, constitute a body. Whether viewed in a universal way, as all the saved on earth gathered into the one fold of Christ and the one faith of the gospel, or in a local sense, as a body of people in any city, town, or country place, who are saved of God and assemble together to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, they constitute a body, a saved body of believers. " So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. " Rom. 12: 5. "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." 1 Cor. 12:27. So God's saved people constitute the body of Christ. This, of course, includes all the saved.
In Rom. 12: 4, 5, the apostle Paul represents the church by the human body. He says, "As we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we [God's people] being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." Here we see that the same close relationship that exists between the members of our physical body exists between the members of the spiritual body, the church. Our physical body is a perfectly organized body. Though composed of many members, yet these members constitute but one body. Not all have the same office. The hands can not perform the work of the feet, the feet the work of the eye, the eye the work of the ear, nor the ear the work of the mouth. Yet all these members work in perfect harmony. Just so it is with the church of God. There are many members; not all have the same office. "God hath set every member in the body [the church] as it pleaseth him"—apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, etc.; some to attend to spiritual affairs, and some to labor with their hands, earning the necessary means for the spread and the support of the gospel. But while we have different offices and different work, as with the members of our physical bodies, we are all one harmonious whole, every member filling his place and every one members one of another. In the physical body, if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Just so it is in this spiritual body, the church: whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. " There is a close affinity, a blessed relationship, existing between the members of Christ.
Having seen that the truly saved constitute a body and that this body is the body of Christ, we will now prove the same to be the church. "Who now rejoice in my suffering for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church." Col. 1:24. ''And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all." Eph. 1: 22, 23. The church is the body of Christ, and, being the body of Christ it necessarily includes all the members. It follows, then, that, any institution which does not constitute the body of Christ is not the church. In order to become a member of the church we must become a member of Christ's body, and the moment w e are thus made members of his body we become members of his church. As before stated, salvation constitutes us members of the body of Christ, the church. The moment an individual is saved that moment he becomes a church member. If in India or Africa a heathen who has never met a Christian, but who has received a copy of the New Testament, becomes convicted of sin through reading the gospel, and repents, and meets every required condition for salvation, the instant that heathen man is converted to God he then and there is made a member of the body of Christ, the church.
The Lord saves people into but one body. In fact, in his Word he recognizes but one body. "There is one body" Eph. 4:4. "The body is one." 1 Cor. 12: 12. "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 all made to drink into one Spirit." 1 Cor. 12:13. "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." Col. 3: 15. "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; . . . for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by tile cross, having slain the enmity thereby." Eph. 2: 14-16. From these and many other texts we see that Christ has but one body, and hence but one church. It is his body, hence his church. All others are but rival churches, earth born institutions. All others have come into existence since Christ organized his own body. Irrespective of nationality, race prejudice, or any of these things, through salvation all men of all classes are reconciled unto God in one body by the cross. That one body is his church. "But now are we many members, yet but one body." 1 Cor. 12: 20.
This body, the church, is a perfectly organized body. All bodies of men banded together in an organized form must necessarily have a head or heads. So with the body of Christ, the church. "And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the first born from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. " Col. 1: 18. " But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint sup according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." Eph 4 15, 16. What the head is to the human body—the seat of intelligence and the center of control, all the members of the body moving at its dictation — Christ is to his church. Christ is the center from which all the members of the body act and move in their several capacities in the spiritual work of God. One head supposes but one body; hence Christ is the head of only one body, the church. Since Christ is the head of but one body, and that one body is the body of Christ, all other bodies called churches do not hold Christ as the living head.
Not only do we see the organization of the church in the fact that it has a living head, but God sets in this body members to act and work, and their work is conducive to the edification of the body entire. "Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." It is God who sets the members in the body, and it is he who assigns them their work and office, making "some apostles, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."
Thus the church of God is presented under the figure of a body to show that it is perfectly organized in every particular, divinely so, and needs no tinkering of men, as it is perfect in itself. The feet is, sectarian institutions are to the body of Christ what wooden crutches would be to a sound man. Modern theology teaches us that these institutions are necessary to the organization and the perfect working of the church. If this is so, how is it that the church of God got along so well for centuries before sects arose? The fact is that the church of God in itself is a perfectly organized body; and, with all the inventions and ingenuity of men, they have never been able to improve upon that organization. Wooden crutches are no part of the human body. A man might argue that they are necessary for t h e speedy travel of man through the world, but such argument would not appear reasonable to an intelligent man with sound limbs and body. He would say, "The crutches retard my progress, hinder my work. " Just so with sectarian institutions; they retard and hinder the progress of the church of God. It is a sound body in itself; there is not a crippled limb or member in it. While for centuries men have been inventing human props and crutches, and compelling the church to limp along upon these, thank God, the time has come when the church of God is casting off all these inventions of men and again walking erect.
A HOUSE...
One of the figures under which the new testament church is presented is that of a house. A house is a place of abode. Since, therefore, the church in this dispensation is the abode of God himself, it is his house. Under the old testament dispensation the Lord was pleased to dwell among his people. Therefore he instructed Moses to build him a house—pitch a tabernacle, which was to be sanctified with the blood of animals and with his glory. Into this tent or house the Lord moved and there he dwelt among his people. Later a temple was erected at Jerusalem by Solomon, and this more spacious structure became house of God in that dispensation This house, however, was but a type or shadow of a greater and more perfect tabernacle which the Lord was to pitch, and not man. In the old testament dispensation God dwelt in the midst of his people, but in this dispensation of holiness and purity he dwells in the hearts of his people. Accordingly, we read in 2 Cor. 6:16, "For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
The reason why God could not dwell in the hearts of men during the legal dispensation was that all men were under the dominion and power of sin. The blood of atonement offered in that age was not sufficient fully to eradicate sin from the hearts of the people; and as the place of God's dwelling must be holy, it was impossible for him to dwell in the human soul. Hence a house was built and sanctified, set apart for his indwelling, and thus he moved in and dwelt among his people. But now we have reached the dispensation of full salvation—the dispensation in which the hearts of men can be cleansed and purified from all sin. Yea, "the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin"; and "being made free from sin and become servants to God, " we become fit places for the Most High to inhabit. Therefore he says of his people, "Ye are the temple [or house] of the living God. I will dwell in them."
In Eph. 4: 6 we further read, "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." From this text it is made clear that God, the Father, dwells in his people in this dispensation. It is also true that Christ dwells in the hearts of his people. Accordingly, we read in Eph. 3: 17, "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith," and in 2 Cor. 13: 5, "Know ye not yourselves, how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates ? " The Holy Spirit also dwells in the hearts of the fully saved, "even the Spirit of truth, whom the world can not receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him. But ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." Thus we see that the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—dwells in the hearts of his people. So it is our privilege to "be filled with all tile fulness of God" Eph. 3: 19) .
From the above scriptures we draw the conclusion that, since God dwells in the hearts of his people, they constitute his house. This position is sustained by plain scriptures. "Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. " 1 Cor. 3: 9. And in Heb. 3: 6 it is said of Christ that he is "a Son over his own house, whose house are we." Thus it is made clear that in this dispensation the people of God constitute the house of God. This is true both individually and collectively. Not only does God dwell in his people as individuals, but he dwells in his church as a body, as a collective body of true believers. Accordingly, we read, " Y e also. as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. " I Pet. 2: 5. In this dispensation the Most High "dwelleth not in temples made with hands, " as under the legal, but in a spiritual house made up of living stones, and these living stones are none other than the people of God. Again, we read, "In whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord; in whom also ye are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit." The reader will observe that God dwells in his church collectively. The entire body of believers are said to be builded together in a holy temple, for a habitation of God through the Spirit. (['his makes clear why the people of God constitute and are termed in this dispensation the house of God. Christ is said to be "an high priest over the house of God" (Heb. 10: 21). This is the church. " But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." 1 Tim. 3:15. The house of God is the church of God, and God's people constitute the same.
This house was built by Christ. Therefore the apostle says, "Ye are God's building. " Man may build many structures and call them churches, but there is one which belongs to the Lord alone. It is the tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man. Hence it is God's building. In Heb. 3:4 it is said, "For every house is built by some man; but he that built all things is God." Since Christ is the builder of his house (church), it necessarily belongs to him, and it is the only house, or church, that does belong to him.
Under this figure the unity and oneness of the church is again clearly brought out; for everywhere in the Scriptures the church is presented under the figure of one house—one house of God. He dwells in but one, he built but one, he recognizes but one; therefore all structures built by man to be a habitation of God are necessarily void of his presence.
The organization of God's church a1so is beautifully portrayed under this figure. For as a house is built, it must necessarily be organized. Therefore we read in Eph. 2: 21, "In whom all the building fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in tile Lord. " Just as the mechanic goes into the forest and hews and frames timber, making it ready for the erection of a literal structure; so the Lord finds us in the wilderness of sin and with the broad ax of his eternal truth frames us, hews us with judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet, thus fitting us and qualifying us to be builded into his house. And just as the mechanics, after framing the timber, raise up the building; so the Lord "hath raised US up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2: 6). "From whom the whole body, fitly joined In this house are included all the saved. This brings out another beautiful phase of the new church; that is, it is a spiritual structure. In 1 Pet. 2: 5 it is termed a spiritual house. Men may erect literal structures and organize temporal churches, but men can not manufacture spiritual things To God alone belongs the prerogative of founding that which is spiritual. Hence man has not been able to devise a perfect substitute or substitutes for the church of God. It is a spiritual house, a spiritual church builded by the Lord of heaven. And in it the saved of all nations find a place of rest. Within its spacious walls the rich and the poor, the high and the low, the learned and the illiterate, men of all classes, conditions, and stations in life, may find a place of refuge. It is the place where God dwells, the place where his rich blessings far], the place where he manifests his power and his glory.
Christ is to this house its only foundation. Therefore we read in 1 Cor. 3: 11, "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus." He is also its door of entrance. He says, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." John 10: 9. This shows that the only way to become a member of the church of God is by obtaining salvation The only door of admission into the house of God is through Jesus Christ. People are accustomed to hearing the ministry in Babylon speak of opening the doors of our church to take in members; but no man can open or shut the door of God's church. Christ himself is the door and salvation the mode of induction. It follows, then, that none are members of the true church of God but those who are saved. This leaves every sinner outside of the new church. The above being true, "holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, forever" (Psa. 93: 5). In this house we gather and eat the bread of life and drink the crystal waters of salvation in the courts of his holiness (Isa. 62: 9).
A HOUSEHOLD...
Under this figure the church is presented as family. It is the family of God, one family in heaven and on earth. God has but one family, and that family includes all his children. Nothing less than this constitutes the church. Any institution n or organization that does not include in its membership the entire family of God in heaven and on earth can not be the new testament church. As a family, God is our Father and we are his children. Therefore we read in 2 Cor. 6: 18, " And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."
Some teachers in modern times say that we shall not really be tile sons of God until the resurrection morning; but John says, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. " 1 John 3: 2. Not in the future age shall we become sons, but "now are we the sons of God." We become so through the new birth. "As many as received him to him gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, . . . of God." John l: 12, 13. We become children of natural families through natural birth, and just so we become children of God, members of his spiritual family, through spiritual birth. "Of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her." Psa. 87: 5. It would, indeed, sound strange for a child to speak to his parents about joining their family. intelligence would teach him that he was a member of the family by virtue of natural birth. Just so is it ridiculous in the sight or eyes of the Lord for men to speak of joining the church after conversion or the new birth, for the fact is, the very moment individuals are born of the Spirit of God, they are then and there made members of his church. This church or family of God is termed in Gal. 6: 10 " the household of faith," and in Eph. 2: 19 it is termed "the house of God," the latter term signifying to whom the church belongs.
As in every home there should be government, law, and order, so in the household of God, Christ is the head of tile family. He has placed the members under government and rule, and he demands that they all be "obedient children. " " That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in tile house of Cod, which is the church of the living God. " The New Testament is the law by which this household is governed, and every member must observe all things commanded (Matt. 28: 20). If in anything any member of the Lord's household become unruly and fail to behave himself as Christians should, the rod of correction will be used (Heb. 12: 5-11).
Under this figure, then, is brought out clearly the universality of the church, its exclusiveness, and its government.
A WOMAN...
One beautiful figure under which the new testament church is presented is that of a woman. In Rev. 12: 1 we read, "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. " This woman represents the true church of God in her primitive beauty and glory. Her being " clothed with the sun' would signify that she was clothed with the authority, power, glory, holiness, might, and truth of Christ himself. The crown upon her head would signify that she was a queen. The twelve stars in her crown signify the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Thus the true church is presented to us under the figure of a beautiful woman, while in the seventeenth chapter of this same book of symbols the apostate church is presented under the figure of a corrupted, adulterous woman decked with the filthiness of her fornications.
Under this figure of a woman the church appears as a bride. Of her John the Baptist in his ministry said, " He that hath the bride is the bridegroom. " John 3: 29. The bridegroom is Christ, and the bride is his church. Again, in 2 Cor. 11: 2 we read, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." In these texts the relationship between Christ and his church, or people, is expressed as being an espousal. Jesus came to earth to purchase for himself a bride. He purchased her with his own precious blood, and under this figure she became his. During the present dispensation she is called out from this world of sin, and is robed in the garments of salvation, with his own righteousness, termed " white linen, clean and white, " and thus she is being made ready to be presented to him "without spot or wrinkle or any such thing."
At the second coming Christ will appear to receive his bride unto himself. This, in figure, is called the marriage of the Lamb. See Rev. 19: 7, 8. "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." What that great supper will consist of we are not now able to tell, but then will be fulfilled the words of Jesus, I will eat and drink anew with you in my Father's kingdom. In that new earth the church is seen as a bride, the Lamb's wife, the marriage having taken place. Under this figure, then, our future and eternal union with Christ is expressed by the term "marriage"—the marriage of the Lamb.
Under another and separate figure our present union with Christ is beautifully expressed by the same term. Paul, in Rom. 7: 1-4, draws a beautiful analogy between a couple joined in the sacred bonds of wedlock and Christ and his people as individuals. " That we should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead." In Eph. 5:23-33 it will be seen that in some respects the same relationship which exists between the husband and the wife in natural matrimony, exists between Christ and his church. As the husband is the head of the wife, so Christ is the head of the church. As the wife is to be subject to her husband, so the church is subject to Christ. Husbands are exhorted to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Husbands are exhorted to nourish and cherish their wives even as the Lord does the church. As a husband and a wife are no more twain, but one flesh; so we are members of his body, his flesh, and his bones. In this we have a beautiful figure of the present close relationship that exists between Christ and his church, or people, on earth. Just as the woman must forsake home, friends, and all, and cleave to her husband; so the Lord requires of us in order to be numbered among those who constitute his true bride, that we forsake father, mother, friends, and even our own life, and cleave to him alone. And as a true wife loves her husband and lives in true affection with him so we love him because he first loved us.
In the S. of Sol. 4: 7 the Lord speaks of the church in the following language: "Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee." And again' of her the prophet said, "My dove, my undefiled,, is but one. She is the only one of her mother. " Measured by these texts, the sectarian institutions in the world today, called churches, fall far short of being the bride of Christ; in fact, they form no part of her. Christ has but one wife. He has but one church. Under this figure is again clearly brought to view the oneness and the exclusiveness of the new testament church.
There is still another figure in which a beautiful relationship between the church and God, the Father, is expressed. "For thy Maker is shine husband; the Lord of Hosts is his name, . . . the Holy One of Israel. The God of the whole earth shall he be called. " Isa. 54: 5. Here, the church is spoken of as being married to God. "As a bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. " " Thou shalt be called Hephzibah [my delight is in her], and thy land Beulah [which means "married"]." Isa. 62:4, 5. Under this figure the church is our spiritual mother and God our father. Accordingly, we read that " Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all" (Gal. 4: 26). The church being the spiritual mother, she travails for the salvation of a lost world and brings forth children (Isa. 66: 8). As a good mother, she bears us upon her sides and dandles us upon her knees. She satisfies her children with the breasts of her consolations; and they are permitted to milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory (Isa. 66: 11, 12). In fulfillment Paul says, "I have fed you with milk." Peter thus expressed it: "As new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby." 1 Pet. 2:2.
As a true wife endeavors to honor and reverence her husband, she bears his name. No true wife will think of taking some other man's name. Just so it is with the church. Being married to God, she bears his name. How consistent, then, the name given her by the Lord! Christ said in his prayer to the Father, "While I was with them in the world, I kept them thy name. " " Holy Father, keep through [Greek, in] shine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are one." His name being God, she was properly named "the church of God." This is the name given in the New Testament. Both as a family and as a wife taking her husband's name, she is termed "the church of God." For the church to take other names, as the various sects have, is to cast reflection upon the Lord and to make the institution guilty of the sin of adultery.
Since God is recognized as being the husband of his church, he bears, in many respects, the relationship that a true husband bears to his wife. He supplies all her needs. In Phil. 4:19 we read, "My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." Psa. 23: 5. This table is spread with the dainties of heaven, rich things of the kingdom of grace; and the þwilling and obedient are enabled to eat the good of the land. Thus they shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of the Lord's house. He shall make them to drink of the rivers of his pleasures. A husband provides raiment for his wife; so the Lord clothes us with the garb meets of salvation, yea, he covers us with the robe of righteousness. The Lord also furnishes light for his church. Accordingly, we read in Isa. 60: 19, 20 : " The sun stall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee. but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be shine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended." What a beautiful picture is here portrayed! The Lord has become the light of his church, or people. He also promises grace sufficient for every trial and every need. " My grace is sufficient for thee, " and " God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things' may abound to every good work" (2 Cor. 9: S). In this figure, then, we have God acting as a husband unto the church and as a kind, loving Father to all of her children.
A CITY...
Another figure under which the new testament church is presented is that of a city It was predicted by the prophet Isaiah, "In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.,' Isa. 26 1. The day referred to is the gospel day. The strong city is a prediction of the new testament church. Salvation was to be her walls and bulwarks. These were means of protection used by nations and cities in ancient times. In time of war the people would flock inside the city walls and feel secure. The people then did not have such implements of warfare as we have in modern times. The ancient city of Babylon had, it is said, a wall 350 feet in height, about 87 feet thick, and 60 miles in length. The church was to be a strong city, and one reason of her great strength was the fact that salvation would be her impregnable walls and bulwarks.
In Isa, 62:12 the church was prophesied of the following language: "And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken. " Again, in Isa. 60: 18 is this prophecy: "Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call! thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise." Such a city the world had never seen, a spiritual city, a city made up of saved men and women, each individual constituting a house in this city. And the gates of this spiritual city are said to be praise. This signifies the songs of triumph and the shouts of victory that emanate from the people of God.
Throughout the prophecies and in the New Testament as well, Zion and Jerusalem are very often used as metaphors signifying the new testament church. For example, " Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean." Such language as this could not apply to a temporal city, but can apply only to the church of God. She is here seen clothed in beautiful garments, a holy city. Under this figure, then, the purity of the church is presented. The words, "Henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and tile unclean, " mean that since salvation is the mode of induction into Zion, the church of God, only such are members of Zion as have been born of God (Psa. 87:5). So Zion, or Jerusalem, is composed of none other than those who are truly saved.
" Thy watchmen shall lift up their voices; with the voices together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion." Isa. 52: 8. This was true of the watchmen, or ministers, in the early morning of the Christian dispensation; but there came an apostasy, as was predicted, and that very faithful city, which was once full of judgment and righteousness, became a harlot (Isa. 1: 21). 'The princes became thieves, loved gifts, followed after rewards; they judged not the fatherless; they mixed the wine with water.' Isa. 1: 22, 23. This refers to the condition of things during the great apostasy. The mixing of wine with water signifies adulteration of the Word of God. But the prophet also foretold the fact that the time would come when the Lord would restore the judges as at the first and the counselors as at the beginning, and that Zion should be redeemed with judgment and her converts with righteousness. And after this she was to be called the city of righteousness, a faithful city (verses 25 to 27). Thank God, we have reached that time. We are living in the fulfillment of this prophecy. God is bringing again Zion, restoring judgment to the ministry, and bringing the people of God to the pristine unity and oneness, organization and holiness, authority and power, of the early church. And as the church comes back to the same plane upon which she stood in the beginning, thank God, the language of the prophecy is being fulfilled in that the watchmen, or ministry, see eye to eye.
In Isa. 4: 3, 4 we have a further prediction of this. " It shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion and he that remaineth in Jerusalem shall be called holy; even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem in the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning." Here we see that when judgment goes forth in the church in the last days, the result will be a clean, pure, separate church and that all left therein shall he holy.
In Joel 3:17 the same thought is presented: "So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more." Thank God, we are inhabitants of that city in these last days. The people of God who long have been scattered in the filthy city of Babylon, "that great city which reigneth over all the earth, " are casting off the yokes of men and returning to Zion. Yea, "the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads" (Isa. 35: 10). And as we return to tile beautiful city of God, and dwell in the heights of Zion, God manifests his power as in the days of yore, and waters of salvation begin t 0 flow. Yea, living waters, crystal streams of deliverance, peace, and joy, flow out to darkened hearts around us. "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." Joel 2:.12 In this city Zion—the church—true holiness can be found. "But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness, and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions." Obadiah 17. Thank God, this city is filled with holiness, and true holiness is that which adorns her. " There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God." This river is the river of salvation. Its streams are love, joy, peace, light, glory, and eternal life. And as men and women scattered throughout the realms of sin and dark sectism in these last days come back to the city of Zion, the holy Jerusalem, the church of the first born, they have the privilege of drinking these crystal waters until their souls are fully satisfied. Oh the sweetness, the glory, the grandeur of this city of God, and the blessedness of dwelling therein! Not alone in a future age beyond the resurrection are we to enjoy these rich blessings, but we "are come unto Mount Zion, unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem . . . to the general assembly and church of the first born, which are written in heaven" (Heb. 12: 22). Here it is seen that this city and the church are identical, and in this dispensation we have come unto it. Under this figure of a city, then, we see the security, government, and beauty of the church of God.
A MOUNTAIN...
One of the most beautiful and striking figures of the new testament church is that of a mountain. Under this figure is presented its stability grandeur, and endurance.
Turning to Isa. 2: 2, 3, we find the following prediction: "And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." This is a clear prediction of the new testament church. " The last days " refers to the Christian dispensation. The church here is presented under the figure of a mountain upon which the Lord's house is located. And this mountain "shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills." This refers to an exalted position of Christianity. All other religions are far beneath it. Christianity mounts up above every other religion and the church of God above every other institution.
Another beauty of this church is seen in the fact that "all nations shall How unto it." Under the legal dispensation the privileges and blessings of God were extended to one nation only, but the new testament church was to open her doors to all the nations of the earth, and the saved of all nations were to flow unto it. Thank God, we have the fulfillment of this today; for the gospel is going forth to all the nations of the earth, and such as are being saved are brought from the dark valleys and realms of sin to the high mount of holiness, truth, and salvation, and are flowing into the one church of the living God.
In Dan. 2:34, 35, Christianity is presented under the figure of a great mountain, which shall fill the whole earth. This signifies that ultimately Christianity will conquer the nations and be the universal religion. As we shall hereafter show, we are living in the very time and taking part in the very work which in God's providence is destined to fulfill this prediction. Paul, in writing to the Hebrew brethren, says, "Ye are come unto Mount Zion." Heb. 12: 22. As we point the telescope back across the mists and fogs that roll at our feet, back over the dark valley of apostasy covering a period of 1610 years, we behold in the distance a beautiful mountain transplendent with the rays of the morning sun, and upon her height the house of Cod, which is the church of the living God. This mount is the mount of God's own holiness. Thus saith the Lord, "I am returned unto Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain." This is a clear prediction of the new testament church. Jerusalem and the mountain refers to the church of God. Notice it is the mountain of the Lord of hosts; that is, the mount upon which he dwells, and the same is said to be holy.
"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praise 1 in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. God is known in her palaces for a refuge. " Psa. 48: 1-3. This text primarily may refer to the literal city of Zion, Jerusalem; but since that was but a type or shadow of the spiritual Zion, the new testament church, there is a beautiful application of this scripture to the people of God in this dispensation. As the saints gather in Zion, inside her impregnable walls of salvation, their shouts of praise and thanksgiving to God a re again heard; and as they come to the mount of his holiness and possess the same glory that adorned the early church, the gates of praise fly open, and God is glorified in the midst of them. This church is said to be the city of the great king. "God is known in all her palaces." This represents the feet that the Lord dwells in this holy mountain, and here is the place where his blessings fall. "The Lord shall bless thee, O habitation of justice and mountain of holiness. " Jer. 31: 23. Not only does the Lord bless his people in Zion, but, as predicted in Isa. 26: 6, he spreads a feast of rich things before them. "And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined." Those who have been famishing and starving on the barren mountains of sin and down in the cold regions of Babylon—as they come to this mountain of holiness and truth, they find a feast of rich dainties, the best that heaven can afford. Thus " the Lord satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. "
But God's people did not always remain upon this mountain of holiness. Jesus predicted that many false teachers would arise and deceive many, and Paul said that after his departing grievous wolves would enter in, not sparing the flock, and that disciples would be turned away from the truth. This came to pass, and the prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled, as recorded in the sixth verse of the fiftieth chapter: "My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from the mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place." Since the church of God is presented under the figure of a great mountain, the mountain of God's holiness, all rival churches, or man made ecclesiastical institutions that have since arisen, are brought to view under the figures of mountains and hills, signifying large sects and small ones. In these the people of God, during the reign of apostasy, have been scattered. " And they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became meat to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered upon all the mountains and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. " This is fulfilled in God's people having been scattered throughout all the realms of sectism. Good people have been led into all the many religious bodies extant in the world today. But it is a fact that, while God's people have been led into these places the places themselves—institutions o f Babylon—have granted no salvation or deliverance to those who entered their folds. " Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel." Jer. 3: 23.
But we are glad to say that this condition of affairs was not always to continue. It was prophesied by Isaiah that the time would come when God's people should be gathered from these mountains and hills in which they have been scattered. "I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shall make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel." Isa. 41:15, 16. This sharp threshing instrument is nothing else than God's holy ministry with the eternal truth. The mountains of Babylon were to be threshed and beaten small, in order that God's people may be gathered therefrom. We are living in that time, and the ransomed of the Lord are returning to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads (Isa. 35: 10).
In the morning glory of the church God's people abode in and enjoyed the blessings of Mount Zion; but false teachers led them away, and for centuries they were scattered, as the foregoing scriptures declare. In these last days, however, the people of God are privileged to return and to enjoy the same government, organization, purity, oneness, and power enjoyed by the primitive church. And as the ministers of God assemble in these last days in the heights of Zion, they blow the trumpet of eternal truth to all the nations of the earth, and this trumpet assembles together all who are willing to meet the requisite conditions and requirements of the gospel. This prepares the church for the coming of the Lord. " Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand." Joel 2: 1. God sends forth his messengers and every honest soul is gathered. "Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks." Jer. 16:16. Thus are God's people in these last days gathered from the holes of sin and deception in which they have been lodging, and with singing and rejoicing they are brought home to Zion, to the mountain of th e Lord. Here upon the mountain of God's own holiness we stand with our souls illuminated by the brilliant, transplendent glory of the setting sun in this blessed evening light. We stand upon the summit of the same Zion, the same mount of God's own holiness—the church of the living God—upon which the early church stood and found a place of refuge. [ End of Part 4 ]
