In This Issue

• JESUS' PROMISE OF THE NEARNESS OF HIS KINGDOM
• CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT DENOMINATIONALISM
• WOMEN AND SILENCE
• TWO BRIEF, UNRELATED LESSONS
• UPCOMING GOSPEL MEETING SCHEDULE
• MORE INFORMATION...

JESUS' PROMISE OF THE NEARNESS OF HIS KINGDOM

Both Jesus and John the Baptist, before Him, had promised that the kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God was at hand. A careful study will clearly establish the fact that the phrases, "kingdom of heaven" and "kingdom of God" both refer to the same thing. John and Jesus did not promise two different kingdoms, but one kingdom. Matthew usually used the term "kingdom of heaven." The other New Testament writers usually used the phrase "kingdom of God."

The promise of John and Jesus was that the kingdom was near. It would soon be manifested.

About three years after the beginning of His ministry, Jesus one day told His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power" (Mark 9:1). The kingdom would appear during the lifetime of men who saw and heard Jesus speak. Thus we know that the kingdom Jesus was talking about is not something still future. It had to happen within a reasonably short time of Jesus' speech in Mark 9.

After His resurrection, His apostles asked Him about when the kingdom would come, and though He declined to tell them exactly when, He told them they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them, Acts 1:6-9.

Putting those two promises together, we learn that the kingdom would come with power - and that the power would come when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. In Acts 2, we read, that "when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they [the apostles] were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there cane a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Verses 1-4). The Holy Spirit had come! The power had come. The kingdom had come with power! In their lifetime!

Later, Paul wrote to those who were members of Christ's church and said to them that God "has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love" (Col. 1:13). Surely the promises of Jesus did not fail. Even today by being "born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5), we too can be citizens of the heavenly kingdom.

--CRJ

CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT DENOMINATIONALISM

To what denomination did Peter, James, John, the 3,000 converts on Pentecost, Cornelius, the eunuch, Lydia, the Corinthians, and the jailor belong? See Acts 2:36-41; 8:36-39; 16:14-15, 30-34. They were members of the body of Christ, which is the Lord's church, Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18, 24, yet they were not members of any denomination. They had been "called out" of the "power of darkness" and translated into the "kingdom of God's dear Son" which is His church, Col. 1:13-14, 18, but still were not members of any denomination.

Just so today. If a sinner believes in Christ and is baptized just as they all were, such would make him a Christian, but nothing more, Mark 16:16; Rom. 6:3-5; Gal. 3:26-27. This would not make him a member of any denomination.

If a great number should do this, they too would simply be Christians. If this number came together on the first day of the week for worship, Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2, and were called by the same name as the apostles and other early disciples, Acts 11:26; 1 Pet. 4:15; if they would accept and teach the Bible as the only source of authority in faith and practice and strive to observe the same commands as the church in the first century A.D., they would simply be a church of Christ. It would not be necessary for them to be members of any denomination.

This is what the church of Christ at meets at 30 Apple Avenue in Marietta believes in and practices. We realize that we are not infallible, but our desire is to be New Testament Christians, no more and no less. We invite you to come study with us.

--CRJ

WOMEN AND SILENCE

Q. "Would you please comment on 1 Cor. 14:34?" --D.C.

Answer: This is a difficult passage because of the complexity of its subject. We begin with a word of caution. We must study this and all other passages in the light of their context and in the light of other Scriptures that speak of the same subject. That a quietness is commanded of women is obvious. Whether it is to be total silence is another question. There are passages which would seem to allow women to speak in a limited way in the church, eg., to sing, Col. 3:16, to confess faith, Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:10; perhaps to confess sins, Acts 19:18-19. If this observation be correct, then we may view the silence of 1 Cor. 14:34 as a limited silence. By what is it limited?

1. It is limited by the nature of the language used. The "not… but…" construction is used frequently in the Bible, not necessarily to totally forbid something, but often to emphasize the relative importance or unimportance of things that are being compared to one another. For instances, when we say, "It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game" we do not mean we have no desire to win. We simply recognize that doing one's best and playing by the rules is even more important than winning. Compare other verses that use this type of comparison - Matt. 6:19-20; John 6:27; 1 Pet. 3:3-4, etc.

2. It is limited by context. Even if we apply "not to speak" in its most literal fashion, 1 Cor. 14:34 applies "if the whole church comes together in one place," (verse 23), and would not necessarily be binding in a Bible class or similar situation when less than the whole church is gathered. Other matters in the context also have bearing, but this illustrates our point.

3. It is limited by other passages and what they allow women to do, as noted above. See also Titus 2:3-5. The crux of 1 Cor. 14:34 is that women are to be in subjection to men as taught in numerous other passages, 1 Cor. 11:4; 1 Tim. 2:12, etc. Any speaking that ignores or detracts from the principle of subjection violates all these passages, but that does not prove that a woman cannot utter a sound at all in a gathering of God's people.

--CRJ

TWO BRIEF, UNRELATED LESSONS

[Editor's Note: These following "article" is made up of two brief, and unrelated lessons sent to us by Michael Palm. Though otherwise unrelated, we lumped them together because both are from the same author and from the same source.]

The First Lesson:

Patients who undergo organ transplants are routinely taken to the intensive care unit after surgery. There they are classified as being in critical, but stable, condition, even if the operation went well. The doctors and nurses keep a constant watch over them until they become strong enough to be transferred to a less intensive state of care.

New believers in Christ have undergone a serious organ transplant: they have received new hearts. They need careful follow-up and nurture if they are to make it. Leading people to a new life in Christ is a cause for celebration. But let's remember they are in critical, but stable, condition. (From Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching, p. 154).

And the Second Lesson: 

"Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" (Acts 2:38)

In July 1976, Israeli commandos made a daring raid at an airport in Entebbe, Uganda, in which 103 Jewish hostages were freed. In less than 15 minutes, the soldiers had killed all seven of the kidnappers and set the captives free.

As successful as the rescue was, however, three of the hostages were killed during the raid. As the commandos entered the terminal, they shouted in Hebrew, "Get down! Crawl!" The Jewish hostages understood and lay down on the floor, while the guerrillas, who did not speak Hebrew, were left standing. Quickly the rescuers shot the upright kidnappers.

But two of the hostages - perhaps to see what was happening - were also cut down. One young man was lying down and actually stood up when the commandos entered the airport. He, too, was shot with bullets meant for the enemy. Had these three heeded the soldiers' command, they would have been free with the rest of the captives. (From Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching, p. 168)

Salvation is open to all, but we must heed the Lord's command to repent and be baptized. If we do not humbly submit to His will, we will be destroyed by Him.

--David Riggs, Brief Exhortations

MORE INFORMATION...