Revealed By God - Josiah

Josiah - Child King
REVEALED BY GOD

The only ground on which we should believe any doctrine is whether it is revealed in God’s Word – the Bible. We should believe nothing spiritual, heavenly, or Divine, unless it has been revealed by God in the Bible – His Holy Word. How do we know that we are sinners? Because Scripture declares that, “all have sinned.” No doubt we feel that we are sinners; but we do not, we should not, believe because we feel, but we feel because we believe, and we believe because God revealed it. Faith rests on God’s revelation, not on human feelings or human reasoning. “It is written” is sufficient for faith – nothing less, nothing more. God speaks: faith believes. Yes, we believe simply because God speaks. Faith does not judge God’s Word by outward appearances, but it judges outward appearances by the Word of God.

We understand and believe all Biblical truths of the Christian religion, such as the Trinity, the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His atonement, His priesthood, His second coming, salvation and all other solemn truths of the Bible; not on the ground of feeling, reason, or outward appearances, but simply on the ground of God’s revelation – because it has been revealed by God.

So, if asked, “On what ground do we believe in the doctrine of the unity of the body?” we reply, “Upon the same ground that we believe all Biblical teachings – because it has been revealed by God. For example, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. 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” “God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked that there should be no schism in the body...Now, ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular” (1 Cor. 12).

These verses distinctly lay out God’s will regarding the perfect and indissoluble unity of the church of our Lord, the body of Christ. God has spoken, therefore, we should never question the unity of the body – it has been divinely revealed. We believe that Jesus Christ is God and over all, because Scripture tells us so; we believe there is one body, because Scripture tells us so. We do not reason, but simply believe and bow; “There is one body and one Spirit.”

Now, we must bear in mind that this truth of the unity of the body is not a mere abstraction, a barren speculation, or powerless dogma. It is a practical, formative, influential truth; a truth in which we are called to walk, to judge ourselves and all around us. It was so with the faithful in Israel of old. The unity of the nation was real to them, not merely theory to be taken up or laid down as desired. It was a great formative, powerful truth. The nation was one in God’s thoughts – it was not so because the faithful did not exercise self-judgment, brokenness of spirit, and contrition of heart. Witness the case of Hezekiah, Josiah, Daniel, Nehemiah, and Ezra. It never once occurred to these faithful men that they were to give up the truth of Israel’s unity because Israel had failed to maintain it. They did not measure the truth of God by the actions of men; but judged the actions of men, and themselves, by the truth of God. They felt their responsibility to act on the truth of God no matter what the outward condition of things might be. This was, and is, the only true way to act.

This was surely the meaning of Elijah’s altar of twelve stones, erected in the face of Jezebel’s eight hundred false prophets, despite the division of the nation (1 Kings 18). This, too, was the meaning of Hezekiah’s letters sent to all Israel, inviting them to “come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover unto the Lord God of Israel.” Nothing can be more touching than the spirit and style of these letters. “Ye children of Israel, turn again unto the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and He will return to the remnant of you that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria. And be not ye like your fathers and like your brethren, which trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see. Now, be ye not stiff necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into His sanctuary, which He hath sanctified forever; and serve the Lord your God, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land; for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away His face from you” (2 Chr. 30:6-9).

All this revealed simple faith, acting on the grand, eternal, immutable truth of the unity of the nation of Israel. In God’s purpose, the nation was one. Hezekiah looked at it from God’s standpoint, as faith always does, and he acted accordingly. “So the posts passed from city to city, through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, even unto Zebulun; but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.” This was very sad, but it is only what we must expect. The actions of faith are sure to call out the scorn and contempt of those who battle against the standard of God’s thoughts. No doubt, these men of Ephraim and Manasseh regarded Hezekiah’s message as presumption or wild extravagance – a myth, or at best a valueless theory; a thing of the past; an institution of bygone ages, having no present application. But faith is never moved by the thoughts of men, therefore, Hezekiah went on with his work and God blessed him. He could afford to be laughed at and turned into ridicule, while beholding Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbling themselves and coming to Jerusalem. Hezekiah, as well as all who humbled themselves under the mighty hand of God, reaped a rich harvest of blessing, while mockers and scorners were left in the barrenness and deadness of their unbelief.

Mark the force of those words of Hezekiah, “If ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive.” This approach is like that precious New Testament truth, that we are members one of another – the conduct of one member affects all the rest. The actions of one affect others, even those far away. As it was in Israel, so it is in the religious world – though divided we seek unity on the basis of God’s Authority, as revealed in His Holy Word, the Bible.

Consider Achan, in Joshua 7. There, one man sinned; the whole congregation was ignorant of the fact; and yet we read that “the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing.” And again, “Israel hath sinned.” How could this be? Because the nation was one. Plainly, this was the ground of a double responsibility: a responsibility to God, and a responsibility to the whole assembly – to each member in particular. It was impossible for any one member of the congregation to shake off this high and holy responsibility. A person living in Dan might feel disposed to question how his conduct could affect a man living in Beersheba; yet such was the fact, and the ground of this fact lay in the eternal truth of Israel's indissoluble unity and Jehovah’s dwelling in the midst of His redeemed assembly (See Exodus 15:2, as well as other passages that speak of God dwelling in the midst of Israel).

There are numerous Scriptures that speak of God’s presence in the congregation of Israel – dwelling in their midst. But we call attention to the fact that those Scriptures begin with Exodus 15. Here Israel stood on Canaan’s side of the Red Sea, as a fully redeemed people, able to say, “The Lord is my strength and my song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation.” Redemption formed the basis of God dwelling among His people; His presence in their midst secured their perfect unity. Hence no one member of the congregation could view himself as an isolated independent atom. Each one was called to view himself as part of a whole, viewing his conduct in reference to all those who like himself, formed part of that whole.

The faithful in Israel always recognized this and acted on it. Why did Hezekiah send letters to “all Israel”? Why did he command that “the burnt-offering and the sin-offering should be made for all Israel”? Why did Josiah carry his reformatory operations into all “the countries that pertained to the children of Israel”? Because these men of God recognized God’s truth regarding Israel’s unity; they did not consider throwing it overboard because so few understood it or sought to carry it out. “The people shall dwell alone;” and “I, the Lord, will dwell among the children of Israel.” Like the luster of precious gems, these imperishable truths shine throughout the pages of Old Testament Scripture; even though His people had proved so untrue to Him.

We sincerely hope and pray that your whole moral being bows down with reverent submission, to the mighty truth, “There is one body.” But we do understand if you feel perplexed and confounded because of all the religious systems, sects and denominations. How can all this division ever be expressed in unity? You see so many scattered and divided – innumerable sects and parties; and what perhaps is even more puzzling, you see those who profess to believe and act on the truth of the unity of the body divided among themselves, presenting the opposite of unity and harmony. All this, we confess, is very perplexing to one who looks at it through the eyes of dedication to and faith in God’s Word. It is in the prayerful hope of unity that StudyJesus.com was formed. Part of the basic philosophy of this website is: “...the unity of all believers by one common purpose and plea: Jesus Christ and the Bible. Like the 20^th Century, the 21^st has sadly begun with a divided religious world. But there is hope, because God’s Holy Word and Beloved Son are the common denominators upon which most, if not all, God-fearing people everywhere can unite. Jesus Christ Himself prayed for unity: ‘I...pray...that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me...that they may be one just as We are One’ (John 17:20-22 NKJV). Our Lord and Savior wants us to be one, therefore this site is dedicated to the unity of all believers.”

Still, in the midst of rampant division throughout the religious world, the foundation of God stands sure. His truth is eternally indestructible. Gazing on these faithful worthies of bygone ages who, for instance, believed in the unity of Israel even though there was not a trace of that unity visible to mortal eyes, gives hope and encouragement for us to believe and diligently seek to carry out the higher unity of the one body? “There is one body and one Spirit,” and herein lies the basis of our responsibility to one another and to God. Are we to surrender this all-important truth because the religious world is scattered and divided? No; it is as real and as precious as ever, and it ought to be as formative and as influential. We are each bound to act on God’s truth, irrespective of consequences, and without regard to outward appearances. May we all pray for strength to never say, “The case is hopeless: everything has gone to pieces. It is impossible to carry out the truth of God in our age. The unity of the body was a thing of the past; it may be a thing of the future, but it cannot be a thing of the present. The idea of unity must be abandoned as thoroughly utopian; it cannot be found, much less maintained, in the face of numberless religious systems, sects and denominations. Nothing remains now but for each one to look to the Lord for himself, and to do the best he can, in his own individual sphere, and according to the dictates of his own conscience and judgment.”

In substance, such are the sad feelings of thousands who long for the truth of God. But, speaking plainly, we have no hesitation in saying that in all things of God, if He says it, then it is so. Therefore, “one body” is possible, because God’s Word commands it. So, it harbors on unbelief to say there can be no unity of the body. Furthermore, we have just as much cause for rejecting the precious doctrine of Christ’s deity, His perfect humanity, or His vicarious sacrifice, as we have for rejecting the truth of the unity of His body, because the latter rests on precisely the same foundation as the former, namely, God’s eternal truth – the direct and absolute statement of Holy Scripture. What right do we have to set aside any truth; any part of God’s revelation? What authority do we have to single out any special truth from the Word of God and say that it no longer applies? We are bound to receive all truth, submitting to its authority. It is dangerous indeed, to take the position that any truth of God can be set aside, simply because we think it cannot be carried out. Now, it becomes obvious why the Apostle Paul told Timothy to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). It should be sufficient that the Holy Scriptures reveal it: we have only to believe and obey. Does Scripture declare that there is “one body”? Yes; so that should be enough. Each one of us is personally responsible to maintain this truth, whatever the cost. We can accept nothing else – nothing less; nothing different. By the allegiance that we owe to Christ, we are bound to testify against anything and everything that militates against the truth of the indissoluble unity of the church of our Lord – earnestly and constantly seeking out a faithful expression of that unity.

True, we will have to contend with false unity on one hand and false teachings on the other; but we need only to hold fast and confess the truth of God, looking only to Him, in humility of mind and earnest purpose of heart, and He will sustain us, whatever the difficulties may be. No doubt there are difficulties in the path – grave difficulties that we cannot cope with through our own strength. The very fact that we are told to “endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” is sufficient to prove that there are difficulties in the way; but the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient for all the demands that may be made on us in seeking to act on this most precious truth.

In contemplating the present condition of the religious world, we observe two distinct approaches. First, those who seek unity on false ground – through religious systems and traditions of men; second, those who seek it on the ground laid down in the New Testament – revealed by God through His Word. Holy Scripture, God’s Word, produces a spiritual, living, divine unity, and stands out in vivid contrast with all the forms of unity that man has attempted, whether it be national, ecclesiastical, ceremonial, or doctrinal. The New Testament church is not a nation, not an ecclesiastical or political system. It is a body united to its divine Head in Heaven by the presence of the Holy Spirit. This is what it was, and what it is. “There is one body and one Spirit.” This Divine statement remains unalterably true, as much as when the inspired apostle penned Ephesians 4. Therefore, anything that interferes with this truth must be wrong, and we should stand apart from it and testify against it. To seek to unite the divided systems of the religious world on any ground other than the unity of the body, as revealed in the New Testament, is manifestly opposed to the revealed mind of God. It may seem attractive, desirable, reasonable, right, and expedient; but God’s Word speaks only of the unity of the body and the unity of the Spirit. It recognizes no other unity: neither should we. God has revealed His church in the New Testament, and God’s Holy Word is and must always be our sole authority.