SOME THOUGHTS ON ADAM AND EVE Many readers will immediately recognise this quotation as the words of the Lord Jesus in response to a provocative question from certain Pharisees regarding divorce. Characteristically, the Saviour took them back to the Old Testament writings, which they professed to revere, back to the opening chapters of Genesis, where we find God’s ideal for marriage in the way He created our first parents. Firstly we see that Jesus believed that the Genesis account of creation is authentic and contains abiding lessons for the human race as a whole. When God made Adam and then provided "an help meet for him", He did not create another male, though He could easily have done so. From the beginning therefore, ‘same sex marriages" (as they are called) have had no place in Scripture. The words of the New Testament are quite explicit on this matter: ‘Let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband" (I Cor.7:2). God could also have created several wives for Adam, but He provided only one. This has always been - and still is - the divine ideal, notwithstanding the occurrence of polygamy among several notable men in Old Testament days. God did not create Adam and Eve at the same time or in the same way. Of Adam we simply read that "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground" (Gen.2:7). With Eve the process was entirely different. God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, then removed one of his ribs, and "the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man" (Gen.2:21,22). Thus Eve was made apart from Adam - but with a part of Adam. Consequently, Adam was able to say, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man Following this statement by Adam, the Holy Spirit added a clear directive about marriages in general: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh". This oneness of husband and wife in marriage is further emphasised a few chapters later: "Male and female created he them: and blessed them, and called their name Adam" (Gen.5:2). As we would say today, they were – Mr and Mrs Adam! The present practice of two "partners" cohabitating without any thought of marriage or any sense of permanent commitment, flies in the face of the divine decree. Eve is mentioned by name only twice in the New Testament. The first instance is where Paul warned the Corinthian church about the danger of their minds being "corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ", and reminded them of Satan’s deceptive approaches to Eve when he enticed her into sinning against her Creator (2 Cor.l1:3). Using the marriage figure again, Paul spoke of his desire to see the Corinthian Christians preserved "as a chaste bride" with Christ as the husband. Then in lTimothy chapter 2, Paul referred to Eve in connection with the role of women in assembly gatherings. (His teaching here should be read in conjunction with what he wrote in l Corinthians chapters 11 and 14). It is the men, and not the women, who are to lead the saints in public prayer and teaching. By way of explanation Paul goes back to the story of creation where Adam was created before Eve, and then to the fall where Eve sinned before Adam. Where Paul elsewhere refers to Adam by name it is by way of contrast with Christ, the one bringing sin with all its sad consequences into the world, the other providing salvation. So in Romans chapter 5 we read that "by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men"; but the same chapter also states that "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us". Paul carries that truth even further in lCorinthians chapter 15, where the resurrection of the body is in view - "as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive". And our resurrection bodies will know nothing of the imperfections of these present earthly frames which we have derived from Adam, but will be conformed to the glorious body of the Saviour Himself, who is described as "the second man", "the last Adam", and "the Lord from heaven". Going back again to the creation story, we recall how Adam had to be put into a deep sleep, to have his side opened and a rib removed in order to secure a bride in Eve. Then we go forward in thought to Revelation chapter 19, to a time of supreme joy in heaven, to "the marriage supper of the Lamb", when our Lord Jesus will receive as His bride, the church of this present age, for whose sake He suffered and died on the cross. "Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing" (Eph.5:25-27). From heaven He came and sought her Matthew Henry’s comment: "The woman was made out of a rib from the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled on by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved". - W.P.W. McVey.ARE WE AFRAID? When the Lord Jesus was about to leave His disciples, He often spoke to them about joy. His desire was that His joy should remain in them, and their joy should be full (John 15:11). He knew that Peter would be crucified, that James would be killed with the sword, and that John would suffer long years of exile at Patmos; yet in His prayer to His Father (John 17:13), He desires that they may have His joy fulfilled in themselves. He still desires this for His people today. But there are many things by which this joy is hindered, and one of these is the fear of death, which overshadows and clouds many a heart. This may be specially true of those who are advanced in years, who know that the time is coming nearer when they must pass out of this world. it may be at times they have a feeling that could be expressed in the words once used by a little child, "I am frightened to go, but I shall not be frightened when I get there". Now let us remember that the fear of death is quite a natural feeling. The love of life has been implanted in us by our Creator, otherwise life, in some circumstances, could hardly be preserved. Then also, the world in which we live has become a familiar place, and unconsciously we may have thought that it would all continue, and ourselves with it. There are all the dear surroundings of home as well, and it seems hardly possible that our chair will some day be empty, and that we shall have gone to some unknown and untried country. But it is possible that one reason for this fear is a lack of apprehension of the ground on which the believer stands before God - a failure to grasp the greatness of God’s salvation, and the perfection of the work accomplished by our Lord Jesus Christ. It has been said, "I thought I was converted and I have always considered myself a Christian, but now I am not quite sure, I hope all will be well with me". But the Lord has some better thing for us than such a faltering hope as this, else why did He triumph over death, and over him that had the power of death, at such a cost? It was to "deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb.2:14,15). How satisfying is the assurance of His Word! "He that heareth My word and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death into life" (John 5:24). Let us consider a few more helpful thoughts about it all. 1. It is quite likely that we shall not die. We look for the Lord, for His speedy return to raise those who sleep, and to change the living. His last words to us are, "Surely I come quickly" (Rev.22:20). At any moment we may hear His voice calling us up to meet Him in the air. May we be listening and watching with this hope burning brightly in our hearts, occupying until He comes. 2. Our times are in His hands. The Lord loves His saints so dearly and He knows just the right moment to call them home to be with Him. He deals with them so tenderly that very few know anything about their dying hour. Here and there, one and another may be conscious to the end, and then He often reveals Himself to them in such a way that they abound in joy and triumph. But much more often He gently hushes them to sleep here, and awakes them where He is, so that they never see death. What rest of heart then, to leave ourselves, in life or death, in His hands, those hands of love once pierced for us on Calvary. 3. It is "to be with Christ which is far better" - Phil. 1:23. One may think if only we knew more about heaven it would be easier to leave all that is here. But one thing that is said shines out clearly - we shall be with the Lord. What gladness would fill the hearts of the disciples while they were with Him here on earth, as they came to know Him as He really is. Because He does not change, we can think of Him in the midst of His disciples in heaven, and rejoice in the prospect of being among them some day. Then some can recall brief seasons of joy, even here, when His presence so filled the heart that there seemed to be room for nothing else, and surely these were little foretastes of what it will be to dwell with Him forever. And in that fair land, there is no pain, no sorrow, no tears, no bereavement, only fulness of joy.4. It will be rest from our labours. We may compare our life here to a day’s labour which is man’s appointed lot. "Man goeth forth to his labour till evening" (Ps.104:23). But as the day draws to a close, how the weary labourer thinks of home. All that he loves best is there, and there he rests from his toil. Did not the Lord say, "In My Father’s house are many mansions. .1 go to prepare a place for you"? (John 14:2). When He says to His tired servant, "Come home", who would not gladly arise and go? 5. But we walk by faith, not by sight - 2Cor.5:7. Sometimes it can all seem so unreal and intangible, but faith takes firm hold of the Word of God. "Faith is the evidence of things (or facts) not seen (Heb.l1:1). Neither our long years of Christian life and service, nor all our studies and experiences of divine things, can ever take the place of the faith of a little child, right to the journey’s end.6. Satan is a relentless foe. It must not be forgotten that the enemy of our souls is always ready to harass the weak and sad, but let us remember that greater is He who is with us, than all that can be against us. Sometimes there are conditions in which the burden of darkness and depression is as much a part of the illness as the bodily pain, but the Lord can give the sense that in spite of the darkness, "God is There". David said, "I will fear no evil, for Thou art with Me" (Ps.23:4). May we covet so to walk with Him now, that we will enjoy His presence all the way home. Let us remember that whatever makes us afraid, the Lord Himself is our unfailing resource. We know how often He has allayed our fears and given us His peace instead, and we can assure our hearts that He is always the same, for "having loved His own that were in the world, He loves them unto the end" (Jn 13:1). He has said, "Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in Me" (Jn 14:1). - Extract.THE RIGHT EFFECT OF TRUTH It is very easy for those who are well acquainted with the doctrines of grace to be satisfied with this knowledge while their manner of life remains unaffected by it. This is a snare into which many intelligent Christians have fallen. Like the church at Ephesus, they know that they have been "raised up and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph.2:6). They know that grace has done this for them, but like these same Ephesians, that knowledge has not kept them from leaving their first love, and they are fallen Christians (Rev.2:1-7). Nothing could be further from the mind of the Holy Spirit for us than this, and nothing could be more damaging to our own spiritual good. When God saved us by His grace, it was not to make theologians of us, but that we might be imitators of Himself as dear children. Grace has reached us, not to fill us with spiritual pride, and make us look down on others, but to teach us how to live soberly, righteously and godly" (Titus 2:11-14). The truth has come to us that we might obey it (Gal.3:l), and the glory of the Lord has been revealed to us that, beholding it, we might be transformed into the same image (2Cor.3:l8). We have only been rightly affected by the truth in that measure in which self has been displaced to make room for Christ. The spirit of John the Baptist, when he said, "He must increase and I must decrease", is the only right spirit for the one who is growing in the knowledge of God. Indeed, we must take the place that Paul took when he said, "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ iiveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal.2:20). This is the Spirit’s work within us. It may be the result of a long process in which we learn by painful experience that the flesh within us only embraces so much of the truth of God as it can turn to its own exaltation. But it could come as a sudden flash as the truth of the Cross bursts upon our souls, and we realise the love that led the Son of God to stoop to the shame of it for us. It is this that makes Christ preeminent and displaces self. There are other tests. If the truth that I profess to know does not enlarge my heart to think of all the saints in love and faith, and if it does not increase my desires to see all men saved, it is held in form only. If it has not made me more separate from the world and less earthly-minded, so that my affections are set on things above where Christ sits, it has done very little for me. If, as I have acquired more truth, I have not developed in the love of which I Corinthians 13 speaks: if I am not kinder to others; less censorious of them, and more ready to rejoice in all the good that I see in them, then I have gained nothing by my knowledge, and it is certainly time for me to seek the presence of the Lord in brokenness of heart, and confession of my pride and sin, It is our desire for ourselves, our readers, and for all the saints, that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ may be upon us all as we learn the truth, so that we all may become daily more like Him. - Anon.WHAT IS A LOCAL ASSEMBLY? The expression "The Local Assembly" is not found in Scripture, but for want of a better term it is useful to help in the understanding of what is there, namely, the coming together of God’s people, in the localities where they resided, that they might carry out the Word of God. These were called "Churches" or "Assemblies", not because all the people of God were connected with them, but because God recognised them as "called out" and "called together" companies of His people. For we know from the Word that evil doctrine and evil practice debarred some from being allowed among them. Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that some had to be "put away", and others for Scriptural reasons, were refused the fellowship of this or that assembly, these assemblies existed, and were owned of God as His. The church of God at Corinth was not the church of God of Corinth. That is, there was no establishment of a state church belonging to Corinth, nor was it a denomination differing from the church at Ephesus. These, and other churches in cities, towns and districts were the gathering together of His saints in these places. they were, in other words, the "Local Assemblies" - meeting sometimes in a private house, sometimes in a barn or a loft, for specific purposes, as the Holy Spirit might lead them, in seeking to carry out the Word of the Lord. At the beginning of its history, the Church was so filled with God that, "of the rest (that is, the unbelievers) durst no man join himself unto them" (Acts 5:13). Hypocrites and mere professors did not desire their company, and this, with the added persecution from the world, drew the saints together in love and harmony. It was not that there was "perfection", as we see from the corrective words addressed to one such local assembly, in the first and second epistles to the Corinthians. But, professedly, they gave Christ His place as Lord in their midst, and claimed to be subject to the Word of God, and so God bore patiently with them, and through His servants sought to help them on in His ways. Surely it ill becomes God’s people, and especially His servants now, to give up seeking to recover such companies until God has manifestly done so. When He does it, He will make it plain to all, both then and afterwards. In the local assemblies, the saints gathered together for worship. Christ was the Divine Centre, the Word of God their authority, and the Spirit of God the power for all worship. On the first day of the week they gathered for this purpose. This was in contrast to Judaism, which in accord with its legal character, kept the seventh or "Sabbath day". The first day was the day of His resurrection, around Whom they gathered, and the main object of their thus coming together was to "remember Him" in the breaking of the bread. Some might be present to minister the Word - which was acceptable - but the real object was to "break bread", and to worship God in view of what the bread and the cup signified.In the local assemblies the Lord was pleased to manifest His presence. Of such gatherings together He said, "Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt.18:20). It was the Lord Who instituted the remembrance supper on the night in which He was betrayed, (Matt.26:26-28). Through His servant Paul, He explained and emphasised its character in lCor.l 1:23-26. In Acts 20:7 and such like passages, we see a local assembly gathered together and keeping the Lord’s supper, and in I Cor. 11:26 we are told that this is to continue "till He come"! - T. D.W Muir.FAMILY DISCIPLINE The Lord has two methods by which to lead His children on in the path of His will. By the guidance of His ‘eye’, or by the discipline of the ‘bit’ and ‘bridle’ (Psa.32:9). He does not willingly afflict us. He has no pleasure in our sufferings. But He loves us too deeply to withhold His chastenings from us when He sees that through the perversity of our rebellious wills we prefer to follow our own path, rather than obey His guidance. Present suffering can often be the warning of more serious consequences ahead. Often the soul refuses to pay heed to these forebodings of coming ill, until far heavier chastisements are brought down on him through the depravity of his heart and the dullness of his conscience. It is not until the conscience is thoroughly aroused, and the sin, which has made the suffering necessary, is fully seen and confessed, that the soul is ready to learn God’s statutes. Looking back, such a one may truly say, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I have kept Thy Word" (Psalm 119:67). - Selected.EDITORIAL The preparation of this issue of Wholesome Words carries us into another year of publication, and as we review the year just completed, we gladly acknowledge the unfailing grace and faithfulness of our God, that has enabled us to continue until now. Our need of His wisdom and guidance is real, but it is written, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (does not reproach us for our lack), and it shall be given him". It is certain that this promise is still true today. We remember too, the debt we owe to so many of the Lord’s people, without whose fellowship and help we could not continue. To all who uphold us in their prayers, to all who help in distribution, to our helpers in New Zealand who mail the magazine, and to all who have contributed toward our expenses, we extend our grateful thanks again. The prospect is sobering as we move into 2001. Conditions foretold in the Scriptures for the last days can be seen developing around us. The violence and corruption of the days of Noah, the open immorality of Sodom in the days of Lot, and the terrible deceptions of the last days are on the increase. These things have their effect on us all. Speaking of the last days, the Lord Jesus said, "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold". But Jude has given us some concise and encouraging exhortation for these very times. "But ye, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of God unto eternal life". Then he reminds us of the discretion and compassion that we need in our dealings with our fellow men. Finally he lifts our spirits upward in worship, confidence and anticipation - "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory, majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen". His coming for His church is nearer than ever, and could be at any moment. Until then, may He grant His rich blessing on all our readers, and keep our hearts with His peace, whatever the future may hold for us. - Ed. IF WE COULD SEE BEYOND TODAY If we could see beyond today If we could know beyond today If we could see, if we could know - N.J. Clayton. We must deal with God personally. We are not saved in the multitude, but individually. So it is in all our life, that the more simply we have to do with God personally, the more fitted we shall be for fellowship with others, and to serve the purposes for which God has united us together. - Quote. Please address Wholesome Words correspondence to: R.M. Goatley, |