Names given for new-borns these days don’t seem to have much import, many appear to be artistic creations and spellings of a hyper imagination. In ages past the name given to a child was to portend well-being and success.
This chapter in Torrey’s book “What the Bible Teaches,” discusses the names of the Holy Spirit in Scripture. There are more than a few and all are important. Check out Lex’ post and make a comment from your own hyper-creative imagination.
“At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it.”
Jeremiah 18:7-10
In some circles it is impolitic to speak of God having control or impact on the life and destiny of earth’s nations and cultures. Excepting Israel, of course, since the vast majority of the Bible details how God moved in them and through them. But of all the other nations of the world? Need I mention Egypt and the plagues resulting in Moses and his people evacuating in one night? How about the many nations inhabiting the land of Canaan that Israel repossessed? There is also Persia and its King, Cyrus, that God stirred to release the Jews after the prophesied 70 years of captivity to return to Judah and rebuild. I should also mention Nineveh since God told Jonah to go to them and preach judgement against their evil ways, and even though he initially disobeyed, God compelled Jonah to finally visit that great city and preach, and the entire city actually repented and God relented from His judgement!
So, remarkably, God does involve Himself in the affairs of governments and citizens of nations and cultures of this planet. And why shouldn’t He after all. The individuals are all His creatures, He is their Shepard, He is concerned with their welfare. We can see all this from the pages of the Bible over and over again.
But the argument is made that these are judgements made thousands of years ago and we must live in the present and we’ve made such progressive strides from those ancient, myopic days. We know so much more about the world and the universe and can leave the fairy tales behind.
That is certainly one way of way of looking at things, and perhaps is the predominant world view in America. The result of this world view is that Man is the center of all things and that Man makes his own destiny. There is no room for God, and even if He does exist, it doesn’t matter as He’s remote and uninvolved.
Since there’s likely no such thing as God then concepts such as right and wrong, morality and immorality are creations of our own judgements. We just make them up according to what seems good to us. There really is no foundation outside of mankind for Good or Bad, Right or Wrong, Moral or Immoral, we leave it up to a democratic consensus. Whatever the majority deems appropriate, or whatever a legislative body can pass into law becomes good, right, moral. Because it must be admitted, a legislative body passing a law by definition it is making a moral judgement, it is saying this is good, this is right. Meaning this is a moral exclamation.
But creating moral judgements solely on the basis of what comes from the heart of man is fraught with peril. This is plainly seen throughout the annals of history. Not just ancient history, but remember 1930s and 19402 Western European history, namely Germany and its occupied territories. Or how about Apartheid South Africa. You can name your own injustice.
So if the citizens of the United States believe that its legislative bodies can continue to pass laws with impunity that flaunt God’s own moral laws then they have much more than another thing coming. As tedious as it sound, it does bear repeating that you ignore history to your own peril. This goes for nations too. In a Democratic Republic such as the United States of America the citizenry has the ability to influence the passage of any law they want, fair or profane. This is their privilege. But with privilege comes responsibility. And with responsibility comes reward or judgement depending on how well the privilege is executed. As things are going in America today, and the cultural issues making headlines, I fear that things are on a steep decline. I’ve thought for some time that if my grandparents had not died in the 1960s and 70s they’d be shocked at what is openly flaunted today, the public relaxation of moral standards, gross vulgarity, profanity, nudity, overt sexuality and homosexuality, violence, all on broadcast TV, all becoming the new normal, (check out a new NBC SITCOM to be broadcast this Fall with exactly that title promoting the new morality). There are some great and beneficial cultural events in this country, certainly. But the pressure to legalize what has been traditionally been profane is increasing in many circles including not so subtly in the 2012 Olympics, as well as a President Obama changing his mind, now advocating same-sex marriage in order to garner that segment of voters in this Fall’s election.
The verses in Jeremiah above are particularly relevant today. God indeed can do the same thing to any nation or culture that He did with an unrepentant Israel, hurl it out of the land. We may not see His hidden hand, we may only see the withering scorching heat, the massive tidal forces, the ground shaking and cracking, the mountains trembling, the rivers swelling, washing away towns, cities and communities. We can turn blind eyes. That’s what they did millennial ago, to their peril. Is every natural calamity a message from God? No one has any way to know. The only thing we do know is that He is in control of everything and He wants to get our attention.
God can so easily judge this nation of ours. On the other hand, the verses above indicate that the opportunity to change course and repent of the great evil and listen to Him is always present. His voice is not difficult to hear. Do you think this nation has ears to hear? Sadly I fear for the answer to this question.
[Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible © 1995]
This the 24th installment of 52 reviewing RA Torrey’s 1898 publication What The Bible Teaches. See all of Lex’s posts here. A PDF copy of the book can be downloaded here. You are welcome and encouraged to join the discussion in your comments to these posts.
THE SUBORDINATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Here is another short chapter RA Torrey writes in Book 3 – What the Bible Teaches About the Holy Spirit. After summarizing last week the distinction of the Holy Spirit to the Father and the Son, Torrey briefly discusses how the Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Father and the Son. He uses verses primarily from the Gospel of John:
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
John 15:26 “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me.”
John 16:13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
Torrey summarizes one of his propositions, “The Holy Spirit speaks not from Himself but speaks the things which He bears.” Sure, but does that mean the Holy Spirit is subordinate or does it merely define a role He possesses?
Paul in 1 Corinthians wrote that Believers are the Temple of God and also the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16 and 1 Cor. 6:19). In that context there is little subordination. The Father and Son and Holy Spirit are all equally God. So the topic of this relationship is deep, rich and complex, and makes for exquisitely profitable study – easily done by merely reading constantly and attentively one’s Bible.
I agree with Torrey that “It is the work of the Holy Spirit to glorify Christ.” But is it enough to state a few of these verses to support such a statement of subordination within the Godhead I’m not so sure. This is a topic fit for a detailed theological discussion, and doesn’t seem particularly helpful in a narrow summary of this nature. At least that’s how this chapter looks to me.
But then Torrey wrote at the end of the 1800s. Perhaps the connotation then of “subordination” had more the meaning of “role” since his concluding proposition is “The Holy Spirit in His present work is subordinated to the Father and to the Son.” But it seems pretty obvious that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all have different roles in the Godhead, as you see by just reading the New Testament. But there it is, the chapter in brief. I subordinate this post for your comment.
Lex addresses the next chapter in Torrey’s book “What the Bible Teaches,” concerning the distinction of the Holy Spirit. That is His distinction from the Father and from the Son.
She notes it is the most brief of the book’s chapters. Indeed it is barely more than a page. Lex tries to spark some discussion by asking, “why does it matter?” Indeed. After a few centuries of church growth, development and spread throughout the known world the most divisive battles seemed to revolve around the distinction of these three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. What did it matter? For whatever reason, it seemed to them to matter a very great deal. I’d suppose it was of extreme importance that knowing precisely to whom they were entrusting their faith and salvation and to whom they were surrendering their life that made it crucial to understand exactly the characters involved. Especially if you were going to call them “God.”
I often wonder what would I have thought had I been entangled in the genesis of this theological debate having the unbound copies of letters the apostles wrote to their followers and devotees as guides. It must have been a strange and exciting world back then, when the Holy Spirit exhibited Himself often in very powerful ways if one had eyes to see. And it probably would have been fearfully easy to get lost in the depths of pride and self will and create one’s own heresies.
Of course the more things change the more they stay the same.
I’m reading through the book of Isaiah now. Definitely one of my top three favorite books of the Bible. Mainly because for the majority of the book we hear God speaking directly. In His own words. In the first person. God personally telling us who He is, how He feels, what He has done, and what He is going to do. The contents of most of the prophetic books are statements by the prophet himself saying things the Lord tells him to say. But in Isaiah, well, this is from the second verse of the book, Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks . . . . Indeed the Lord speaks, and it is powerful. Not that other forms of Scripture are not wonderful coming from the pens of the writers. But to hear God Himself speak to us. To paraphrase the investment firm commercial, “When God speaks, people listen.”
He speaks of judgement like:
“For the sake of My name I delay My wrath, And for My praise I restrain it for you, In order not to cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another. Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last. Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together.” Is. 48:9-13
and also of redemption,
“I, even I, have spoken; indeed I have called him, I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful. Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit.” Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go.” Is. 48:15-17
or a combination of the two, such as
Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed. Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD, And whose deeds are done in a dark place, And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?” You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? Is it not yet just a little while Before Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field, And the fertile field will be considered as a forest? On that day the deaf will hear words of a book, And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. The afflicted also will increase their gladness in the LORD, And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. Is. 29:13-19
Chapter after chapter the glory of the Lord shines forth in the brilliance of a magnificent and beautiful text, like 40:1-2, “Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God. “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the LORD’S hand Double for all her sins.” Or a few verses later, “To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. “Lift up your eyes on high And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing.” Is. 40:25 Is it any wonder that Handel used so much of Isaiah when he composed his masterpiece, The Messiah in 1742, some of the most memorable and beatific music known to western civilization.
And coupled with the fact that God Himself address us in the first person throughout this book, He also tells us of the coming of His Son as His Messiah using some of the most heartfelt, heart-wrenching verses of Scripture. Read Isaiah 42 where the Lord declares Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise His voice, Nor make His voice heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.” 42:1-3 As well as the entire chapter 53, though this is from Isaiah’s pen not from the Lord’s mouth. Later in chapter 55 we read the wondrous verses Jesus partially quotes from this prophet and cries out before the crowd as He was teaching in the Temple (John 7:37) “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.” Is. 55:1-2 And that is another beauty of reading though Isaiah. That is uncovering those verses used by the Lord Jesus in His ministry on earth. There are some great verses He selects to try to open the eyes and ears of the people He came to save. See how many you can spot. I’ll give you another one: Isaiah 61:1-2.
If you want to hear God speak to you, if you are wondering if He will speak to you, just read through the book of Isaiah. For comfort and reassurance how about “But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you. Is. 43:1:4. And great verses putting man in his place giving us the proper perspective of our Lord before His creatures: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. For you will go out with joy And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” Is. 55:8-12
Talk about the Word of God! Read and listen to the marvelous words from His own mouth. You may never think about the Lord God Almighty in the same way ever again after you immerse yourself in this book!
[Scriptures taken from the New American Standard Bible © 1995]
