Since its original publication this long-popular work has passed through twenty editions in various forms. The original type having been worn out while the author was yet living, he completely reworked the book and it was republished from new type in 1945.
In response to repeated demand for a smaller and less expensive edition for distribution and for use in Sunday schools, this new abridged edition has been prepared. The contents of this edition involve no change in fundamentals. The abridgment has been done with great care by a minister who served as the associate to the author during his last pastorate. The actual work was undertaken with the co-operation of the author's widow, and this edition has her approval.
Much of the space reduction was accomplished through reducing the number of Bible references printed in full, and through the use of footnotes indicating where fuller discussions of some subjects may be found. For the convenience of those familiar with the complete work, the major division headings and chapter titles have been preserved throughout as in previous editions.
If the author were yet living he might well send out this edition with words similar to those he used in earlier editions, “Praying that God will in the future bless this work to the good of his cause as he has in past years, I present this twenty-first and abridged edition to the public.”
---The Publishers
Preliminary
The Divine Authority of the Scriptures
Special Evidences of Divine Authorship
The truth of the Bible is apparent from its nature, but its authority is dependent altogether upon its source. The more carefully and reverentially we study the sacred Scriptures, the more deeply are we impressed with the fact that they have proceeded from one source. True, the Bible consists of many books, penned by various writers during a period of fifteen hundred years, but there exists throughout a grand unity and harmony that suggest divine inspiration. The writers themselves did not claim to be the authors of the messages they delivered, but, as the Apostle Peter affirms, they “spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (II Pet. 1:21). Their writings encompass a variety of subjects—the origin of things, history, prophecy, biography, law and government, moral philosophy, ethics, theology, and poetry; still there exists a remarkable harmony of sentiment and teaching such as can be found in no other collection of books.
The revelation that the Scriptures make of the one true and living God testifies to its source. While the idea of a Supreme Being is universal, his nature and his relations with men are necessarily subjects of revelation. The history of all heathenism fails to disclose in one single instance the conception of a pure, holy God kindly disposed toward the human race. On the other hand, the mythologies of heathen nations abound with the most shocking and disgusting details of the actions of the gods whom they worship. The history of the Hebrew people given in the Bible shows that they, like other nations, were prone to evil of the deepest and blackest type. Whence, then, did they derive the idea of a God of holiness, a God who was opposed to all their evils, and yet gracious and full of mercy? When even Athens was devoting thousands of her choicest women to the lustful service of Venus; when Corinth, according to Strabo, had a thousand sacred prostitutes in one temple—who, I ask, taught the Israelites the principle of holiness and gave them such exalted moral conceptions of God?
Many of the special messengers of God by whom the Bible was written were given the power of performing miracles, by which their inspiration was attested and their messages made authoritative; but the “more sure word of prophecy” (II Pet. 1:19) furnishes the greatest external proof of its inspiration. To this, more than to anything else, Christ and the Apostles made their constant appeal. Matthew, narrating the deeds of the Savior, gives us the standing phrase, “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet”; Peter affirms, in words unmistakable, that “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (vs. 21). From such facts as these Paul adduces his conclusion relative to the authority of the Bible, in these words: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (II Tim. 3:16).
The marvelous prophecy which Christ made concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the ruin and dispersal of the Jews has been fulfilled with such unquestionable exactness that the boldest infidels dare not deny the agreement. The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah describes Christ’s crucifixion and atonement work with such accuracy of detail that the inspiration of the prophet is assured.
Other Proofs of Divine Authorship
There are many other proofs of the divine authorship of the Bible, but I shall refer to only a few.
While the Bible speaks of the lowest forms of sin in the plainest language, they are named only to be condemned. No unprejudiced person can read the sacred pages without realizing that the Book stands for all that is good and is forever opposed to all that is evil. It pronounces the last word on moral character. The mind of man has never conceived anything so noble, so elevating, so inspiring, so grand, as the Sermon on the Mount. Search through all the religions of the ages, glean out every choice moral precept and delineation of human character and conduct, place the findings together in one collection, and they will bear no real comparison with the divine beauty and the infinite wisdom here expressed by the Christ of the Bible. Here is given the spiritual essence of the Law and the Prophets. Here truth is pressed home to the human soul, and character and conduct are defined by the secret springs and motives of the heart. Here all pride, hypocrisy, and self-seeking stand condemned; while all the finer virtues of which the soul is capable find free expression and infinite encouragement in the incomparable Beatitudes. Here a restraining influence is brought to bear upon wicked men by the solemn assertion of a future state of punishment in hell, while the righteous are assured of a great reward in heaven.
Another beautiful feature of God’s Word is its simplicity. Though it contains the choicest wisdom of the ages, still it meets the wants and requirements of the unlearned and illiterate. “The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein” (Isa. 35:8). The way of salvation, though straight and narrow, is not hidden, and there is nothing to hinder any seeking soul from coming in contact with its Maker. Blessed thought!
One of the clearest proofs that the Bible is the Word of God is the fact that it now transforms human character and accomplishes the regeneration of society. The promises of salvation and deliverance contained in its pages are, in millions of instances, proved to be living realities. The words of men have never accomplished such results as these. The Bible bears on its face the stamp of divine inspiration, and through belief in its message the work of God is performed in the world. Millions of redeemed men and women have given their lives in its defense, and today it is loved and reverenced by the worthy ones of earth.
The Bible Claims Divine Authorship
Furthermore, the Bible claims divine inspiration. “Hear the word of the Lord,” cries Isaiah; “Give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken” (1:2). “The Lord said unto me” are the words of Jeremiah (1:7). “The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel” (1:3). “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (II Peter 1:21). (See also John 5:39, 46; Luke 16:31; Heb. 10:7; II Pet. 1:19).
The Apostles themselves were specially inspired by the Spirit. (See Matt. 10:19–20; I Thess. 2:13; I Cor. 14:37; II Pet. 3:15–16; II Tim. 3:16).
The Bible emerges from every legitimate test, external and internal, with glories undimmed, bearing every evidence that its message is indeed the word of God; hence its absolute authority is forever settled.
Chapter 1
The Doctrine of God
By the term “God” we mean the perfect, intelligent, conscious, moral Being existing from eternity, the Cause of all created things. This idea seems so natural that the majority of men accept it as self-evident truth without hesitating to give it any particular thought.
The writers of the Scriptures do not argue the existence of God. The first chapter of the Bible opens with the words, “In the beginning God,” and everywhere his being is assumed. The Scriptures do contain the revelation that he has made of his own nature and attributes. These attributes are so well understood and so generally acknowledged that I shall merely refer to them, not giving the multitude of texts by which they are set forth in the Scriptures.
His Attributes
1. Self-existence. “The Father hath life in himself” (John 5:26). “For with thee is the fountain of life” (Ps. 36:9). He is underived and inexhaustible.
2. Eternity. “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hast formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” (Ps. 90:2). “The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity” (Isa. 57:15).
3. Spirituality. “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24).
4. Unity. There is one true and living God. “There is no God else beside me” (Isa. 45:21).
5. Immutability. “I am the Lord, I change not” (Mal. 3:6). “The Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jas. 1:17).
6. Omnipresence. He is everywhere present. “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth?” (Jer. 23:24). He is “not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:27–28).
7. Omniscience. He is all-knowing. “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18). “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13).
8. Omnipotence. He has unlimited and universal power. “His eternal power and Godhead” (Rom. 1:20). “With God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26).
9. Wisdom. “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are his” (Dan. 2:20). “O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:33).
10. Holiness and truth. “I am holy” (I Pet. 1:16). “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity” (Hab. 1:13). “God, that cannot lie” (Titus 1:2).
11. Justice. God demands righteousness of all his intelligent creatures, and he deals righteously with them. “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne” (Ps. 89:14). “In every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” (Acts 10:35).
12. Goodness. He is benevolent, loving, merciful, and gracious. “The goodness of God” (Rom. 2:4). “God so loved the world” (John 3:16). “His mercy endureth forever” (Ps. 136:26). “The God of all grace” (I Pet. 5:10).
13. Faithfulness. “The Lord is faithful” (II Thess. 3:3). “Sara … judged him faithful who had promised” (Heb. 11:11).
The Trinity
The theological term “Trinity” signifies the union of three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—in the Godhead. This subject was a most fruitful source of theological controversy in past ages, and even at the present day there are professed Christians who deny the triune nature of God. Our present limits preclude an extended discussion of the matter, but I will bring forward a few points favorable to the doctrine of the Trinity.
Since the exact manner of existence in the Godhead manifestly lies above and beyond the range of mortal mind, the basis of our theology respecting God should be laid solely in what is revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures. And if we appeal directly to them, we find it is impossible to avoid the doctrine of the Trinity without doing great violence to scores of plain texts bearing on the subject. The course of argument is as follows:
1. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are represented as special Persons distinct from each other.
2. They are classed together, separate from all other beings.
3. Divine titles are applied to each.
4. Divine attributes are ascribed to each.
5. Divine works are attributed to each.
Yet there is only one God.
The Father. The word “Father,” referring to the Godhead, is used in Scripture in a twofold sense. First, it is applied to God without any personal distinctions. “Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation” (Ps. 89:26). (See also John 4:21, 23; and other texts.) Second, it is applied to God in contrast with Christ, who is thus distinguished as Son in his office of Redeemer. “All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father” (Matt. 11:27). “Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17). (See also Acts 2:32–33; Rom. 15:6; Gal. 1:1–4; and numerous other texts.)
The Son. The passages already cited show that Christ is a person distinct from the Father. The following facts prove scripturally that the Son is divine—equal with the Father himself:
1. Divine titles are applied to Him the same as to the Father. “Unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom” (Heb. 1:8). “The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). “Emmanuel” (Matt. 1:23). (See also Acts 20:28; John 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Phil. 2:6; Col. 2:9; Titus 1:3; I John 5:20; Rev. 17:14; and other texts.)
2. Divine attributes are ascribed to Him. The following attributes of God the Father are also ascribed to Jesus Christ:
a) Pre-existence, or eternity. “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). “The second man is the Lord from heaven” (I Cor. 15:47). “That which was from the beginning” (I John 1:1). (See also Phil. 2:6–7; John 17:5; Mic. 5:2.) Likewise, in the Revelation Christ is represented by that symbolic title signifying eternity, “Alpha and Omega” (Rev. 22:13). Therefore the statement that Christ is the Son of God doubtless refers specifically to his miraculous virgin birth, thus denoting God’s special relation to him in his office work as the world’s Redeemer.
b) Omnipotence. “The government shall be upon his shoulder” (Isa. 9:6). “Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt. 28:18). (See also John 10:17–18; 11:25; Phil. 3:21; Heb. 1:3; II Tim. 1:10.)
c) Omnipresence. “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20). “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (28:20).
d) Omniscience. “He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man; for he knew what was in man” (John 2:24–25). “Lord, thou knowest all things” (21:17). “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).
Also, holiness, truth, justice, goodness and faithfulness are attributes of Christ. See also chapter 5, under subtitle “Evidences of Christ’s Deity.”
3. Divine works are ascribed to Him. The following works are ascribed to the Son:
a) Creation. “God … hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son … by whom also he made the worlds” (Heb. 1:1–2). “Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands” (vs. 10). (Also John 1:3; Col. 1:16.)
b) Redemption. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Eph. 1:7). This phase will be more fully considered later.
4. He is pre-eminent—above all things. “He is Lord of all” (Acts 10:36). “Lord both of the dead and living” (Rom. 14:9). (See also Phil. 2:9; Col. 1:18; I Pet. 3:22.)
5. He is a proper object of devotion and worship. Though the Scriptures denounce idolatry and enjoin the worship of the one true and living God only, they set forth Christ as a proper object of devotion and worship. “Let all the angels of God worship him” (Heb. 1:6). “All men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father” (John 5:23). “And they worshipped him” (Luke 24:52). Saints “in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord” (I Cor. 1:2). “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Phil. 2:10).
The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is also divine and is a distinct person from the Father and the Son. He is called the “Spirit of God” (Rom. 8:9) because “he proceedeth from the Father” (John 15:26); also the “Spirit of Christ” (Rom. 8:9), because he is sent to do the work of Christ.
1. His deity. His deity is shown by many texts. “It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you” (Matt. 10:20). Compare Ezekiel 36:27 with Acts 2:17–18. (See also Acts 28:25; Rom. 8:14; I Cor. 3:16.)
2. His personality. The personality of the Holy Spirit is shown by the following facts:
a) He is associated with two other persons—Father and Son—as their equal. “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 28:19).
b) The personal pronoun “he” is applied to him, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16:13).
c) Personal acts are ascribed to him. “He shall teach you all things” (John 14:26). “He shall testify of me” (15:26). (See also Acts 13:2, 4.)
d) Particular attributes are ascribed to him. For example, knowledge (I Cor. 2:11), will (12:11), power (Rom. 15:13).
3. His works. The works of the Holy Spirit are described as follows:
a) In creation. “In the beginning God created… . And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:1–2). (See also Job 33:4; 26:13; Ps. 104:30.)
b) In redemption. “Salvation through sanctification of the Spirit” (II Thess. 2:13). God gave “them the Holy Ghost … purifying their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:8–9). “He saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5). (See also I John 3:24; Rom. 8:9, 14, 16.) The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are classed together, separately from all other beings, as divine. “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 28:19). “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all” (II Cor. 13:14). (See also Jude 20–21; I Pet. 1:2; Rom. 8:14–17; and others.)
God’s Works
The following creative acts are ascribed to God:
1. The creation of angels. “Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength … hearkening unto the voice of his word” (Ps. 103:20). (See also Job 38:4, 7; II Thess. 1:7.)
2. The creation of the material universe. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1).
3. The creation of man. “So God created man in his own image” (Gen. 1:27).
Having created all things, God now controls and conserves all things in his vast universe in accordance with his own will. His intelligent creatures are made the subjects of a moral, providential government.
Chapter 2
The Nature of Man
The Origin of Man
Turning to the Bible, we find the only satisfactory account of man’s beginning. “So God created man in his own image … male and female created he them” (Gen. 1:27). “Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?” (Mal. 2:10). From the original pair, Adam and Eve, the entire human race has sprung; for Eve is declared to be “the mother of all living” (Gen. 3:20). The Bible writers uniformly acknowledge this common origin of man. Paul affirms that God “hath made of one blood all nations of men … for we are also his offspring” (Acts 17:26, 28).
From whatever standpoint we view man, he appears as the special workmanship of God, the highest type of earthly creatures, made “in the image of God,” to use the language of the writer of Genesis. This expression, “image of God,” is comprehensive. It implies that special characteristics of the Divine One are made a part of man’s being. Thus, man is a moral being. In his normal state his actions are not determined by mere instinct or expediency or self-interest, but they are regarded as possessing in their own nature a clearly defined rightness or wrongness. In this moral discrimination man is like God. In connection with this, he possesses freedom of will, so that he can of his own volition decide his course of conduct. He is also an intelligent being, possessing a mind capable of almost infinite development, one which easily grasps the mightiest problems within the range of finite environment. Man is also a spiritual being, who naturally looks up to God, “the Father of spirits,” as his author and who is capable of holding sweet converse with his Maker.
As a moral and spiritual being in God’s likeness, man originally was, of necessity, in a state of holiness and purity. According to the Word, he was placed under moral law. To this day men everywhere realize and admit that they are the subjects of moral government, directly responsible to God. This is also the uniform teaching of the Scriptures. But the same Scriptures also teach that the original state of holiness was forfeited by sin; hence in this respect and to this extent the image of God was lost. In the redemption of Christ, however, holiness is regained; therefore, we are restored to the image of God. “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Col. 3:9–10). (See also Eph. 4:22–24.)
Man a Compound Being
The Scriptures represent man as a twofold, or dual, being, possessed of body and soul, or body and spirit. “Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit” (I Cor. 6:20). “That she may be holy both in body and in spirit” (7:34). (See also Job 14:22; II Cor. 4:16.)
The “outer man,” or body, is mortal: “your mortal body” (Rom. 6:12); “your mortal bodies” (8:11). The body was created in this mortal condition, as the following facts show: (1) It was made out of the dust of the earth (Gen. 2:7); (2) it was to subsist upon natural food (1:29); (3) man was given natural work to perform (2:15); (4) matrimony was instituted (1:27–28). According to the words of Christ, marriage is an institution that does not pertain to angels or to beings wholly immortal, such as we shall be after the resurrection. (See Luke 20:35–36.) (5) There was use for the tree of life (Gen. 3:22). Had man been created with an immortal body, the tree of life would have been entirely useless.
The crowning proof that man was originally mortal is the fact that God “made him a little lower than the angels” (Ps. 8:5; Heb. 2:6–7). In what sense was man lower than the angels? Not morally or spiritually, for in these respects man was in God’s image, and surely the angels are not higher than God. What, then, does the expression mean? The writer of Hebrews says that God “maketh his angels spirits” (1:7); that they are “all ministering spirits” (vs. 14). Jesus plainly states that “a spirit hath not flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39).
Therefore, we conclude that man’s inferiority to angels consists in the limitations necessitated by a physical body, while the angels are wholly spirit beings. That this inference is correct is shown by other Scripture texts. Paul asserts that in the resurrection day “this mortal body must put on immortality” (I Cor. 15:53). Jesus says concerning his people in this “resurrection from the dead,” “Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels” (Luke 20:36).
The question now arises, Why, then, do the Bible writers state that death came upon mankind as a result of sin? The answer: While man remained in the Garden of Eden with free access to the tree of life, his continued existence without death was assured. And when, after the Fall, the decree of death had been pronounced, this decree could be made effective only by depriving him of those privileges which had before sustained life; therefore he was driven from the garden, “lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” (Gen. 3:22). The real sentence of God against man as the result of the Fall is expressed in Genesis 3:19, “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” In other words, the curse placed upon man was not mortality, but condemnation to the effects of mortality; hence “by man came death.”
Since the body of man is by nature mortal, it can be destroyed (Job 19:26); killed (Matt. 10:28); it perishes (II Cor. 4:16); it returns to the dust of the earth (Gen. 3:19).
But is this all there is of man? No! What do the Scriptures say? “Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (II Cor. 4:16). “There is a spirit in man” (Job 32:8). This soul, or spirit, is the creative work of God—“The souls which I have made” (Isa. 57:16). It is the Lord that “layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him” (Zech. 12:1). Our bodies partake of the nature of our earthly fathers, hence are subject to death and decay; while our spirits, made “in the image of God,” partake of his essential nature, and “God is a Spirit”—“immortal, invisible” (I Tim. 1:17). Therefore Jesus says plainly, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul” (Matt. 10:28). David affirms, “Your heart shall live forever” (Ps. 22:26).
In language still plainer the Apostle Paul shows that the soul is in its own nature eternal. “Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day… . While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (II Cor. 4:16, 18). (See also 5:1, 6, 8.)
This soul, or spirit, is the knowing, volitional, and responsible part of man. “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God” (I Cor. 2:11). Just as the Spirit of God knows the things of God, so the spirit of man knows the things of man. “Shall I give my first born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” (Mic. 6:7). This text fixes responsibility upon the soul; and since the soul is the knowing, volitional part of man, it is the real man. In James 2:26 we read that “the body without the spirit is dead.” The Scriptures represent the body as being only the instrument of the soul (Rom. 6:12–13). Every appeal that God makes to man is addressed to the real man—the soul.
This two-foldness of man was represented by Paul (II Cor. 5:1–9) under the figure of a house and its occupant, thus showing their interdependence or relationship in the present state, wherein the spirit is in union with the natural body. But he goes further and shows that the house is not indispensable to the existence of the occupant; that when it is “dissolved” the real man is “absent from the body” and “present with the Lord.” Peter also describes the present union with the natural body and the separation at death under the same figure (II Pet. 1:13–14). It is sometimes affirmed that a man is nothing without his body, but it is evident from II Corinthians 12:2–4 that Paul had no such belief; for here he describes one who was caught up to paradise, and there saw and heard and understood certain things, yet he did not know whether the person was in the body or out of the body at that time. Paul believed that man is a dual being—that man can be separated from his body and still be a seeing, knowing, thinking creature. It is evident from Philippians 1:21–24 that to die meant, to the Apostle, to leave the flesh, to “depart, and to be with Christ.” In Jesus’ account of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19–31), we have this same doctrine of the survival of the spirit after death. It is useless to attempt to evade the force of this passage by asserting, as do some, that it is “only a parable.” It is not so stated. “There was a certain rich man … and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus.”
When Christ took Peter, James, and John up into a mountain and was transfigured before them, we are told that “there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him” (Matt. 17:1–3). The Bible records that Elias (Elijah) was translated; it also states that Moses “died in the land of Moab” and was buried “in a valley” (Deut. 34:5–6). Now, how did it happen that Moses appeared here on the mount? He had not been resurrected from the dead into this glorified state, for the Scriptures declare that Christ was the first one to receive this change. Some people who had recently died were restored to life before Christ’s resurrection, but that was only a restoration of the natural, corruptible body on the earth, and these persons were subject to death again. The true “resurrection from the dead,” which places men in an incorruptible state, is different from this. Therefore Christ was the “first begotten of the dead” (Rev. 1:5); “the first born from the dead” (Col. 1:18); “the first fruits of them that slept” (I Cor. 15:20). The transfiguration was before the death and resurrection of Christ, therefore the decomposed body of Moses had not been brought forth from the dead. The fact that Moses appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration hundreds of years after his death shows clearly that his soul was not involved in the ruin of his body.
Jesus taught that the ancient patriarchs were still living. (See Matt. 22:31–32.) John in apocalyptic vision saw disembodied souls (Rev. 6:9–10; 20:4). Natural death is the separation of body and spirit. To the dying thief, Christ said, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise”; and in his last moment he cried out, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:43, 46). The dying Stephen said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). This doctrine of the survival of the spirit is found throughout the Bible. (See Gen. 35:18; Pss. 23:4; 90:10; Eccles. 12:7; Matt. 10:28; Phil. 1:21, 23; II Cor. 5:8.) The dying testimonies of thousands of saints confirm the doctrine of the Scriptures on this point—that at death the soul takes its departure from the body to be in a more sacred nearness with the Lord. In the most solemn hour of life this truth is so firmly stamped upon the heart that it finds expression in language unmistakable.
Objections Considered
Now, what can be brought against this solid array of Scripture texts teaching the dual nature of man? Nothing except a few obscure texts which usually refer to some other subject. The strongest text that can be used for that purpose is Ecclesiastes 9:5: “The dead know not anything.” True, that part of man which dies and goes into the grave knows nothing; but what about that part of his being that flies away at death, returns to “God who gave it,” rests “with Christ, which is far better,” and is “eternal” (II Cor. 4:18)? This statement that the dead know not anything, however, is qualified in the following verse by the words, “Neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun” (Eccles. 9:6). This agrees perfectly with certain other uses of this expression in the Bible. For example, II Samuel 15:11: “And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not anything.” This text does not signify that they knew absolutely nothing, but simply indicates that they were altogether ignorant concerning the particular thing under consideration—Absalom’s conspiracy. (See also I Sam. 20:39; I Tim. 6:4.)
It is sometimes urged that Christ “only hath immortality” (I Tim. 6:16). The terms “mortal” and “immortal” are in the Scriptures applied to bodily conditions rather than to the soul, hence have no bearing whatever on the question of the soul’s inherent nature. It is the body that is mortal (the soul is never described by this term), and “this mortal must put on immortality.” Christ rose from the dead with a glorified, immortalized body, “the first fruits of them that sleep,” “death hath no more dominion over him”; therefore he “only hath immortality.”
The so-called death of the soul, often spoken of in the Bible, is not the end of its conscious existence, but is simply spiritual death—spiritual separation from God in this present world. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezek. 18:20). “Dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked” (Eph. 2:1–2). The soul was dead—dead in a spiritual sense—and yet the individual was alive and walking around on the earth. “Dead while she liveth” (I Tim. 5:6). Many texts could be given on this point.
I have dwelt at some length on this point concerning the nature of man because of its importance in the plan of redemption. Those who deny the doctrine of the actual essential nature of soul, or spirit, as being by nature deathless, are led by logical necessity to deny also the doctrine of the new birth and the reception of eternal life in this world; for how can it be said that man now possesses eternal life if death ends all until the day of resurrection?