The Berean Expositor Acts xvii. 10, 11 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth” II Tim. ii. 15 VOLUME XLIV. 1967 - 1968 The Berean Publishing Trust, 52a, Wilson Street, London EC2A 2ER England DEAR FELLOW-MEMBERS, This issue of The Berean Expositor completes Volume XLIV. As we look back over the past two years, we have been saddened by the loss of its founder, Charles H. Welch, yet his long life, his vigorous and faithful witness to a rightly divided Word, is an eloquent testimony to the abounding grace of God, and we are thankful for every remembrance of him. We have his written and taped expositions which are a concrete and permanent expression of his monumental labours in the study of the Scriptures. We mourn the loss too, of Mrs. E. R. Billington of West Kirby, who for so many years so staunchly supported this witness behind the scenes and maintained a testimony to the Truth in her beautiful home in the Wirral. We are glad to say, however, that others have joined us, mostly young people, who are being gripped by the Word of God and already are taking an active part in the work and witness represented by The Berean Expositor. We are thankful for them and take this opportunity of expressing our appreciation of their efforts, and not only them, but all who lead and labour in the various groups in this country and abroad. Truly it is in “the effectual working in the measure of every part” (Eph iv. 16) that the whole Body of Christ grows and progresses to its goal. As we look around the world scene and the deepening darkness and apostasy, let us all re-dedicate ourselves and serve to the full while opportunity lasts. STUART ALLEN BRIAN E. SHERRING GEORGE T. FOSTER LEONARD A. CANNING NORMAN DREDGE R. ARTHUR RUMSEY FRANK PAPWORTH November 1968. I N D E X AUTHORSHIP OF THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS, The-- 7 Verbal links between Paul’s Epistles and the Epistle to the Hebrews 15-32 EARLY CENTURIES AND THE TRUTH, The-- Introduction, the Didache and 1 Clement 33 The Epistles of Ignatius 37 The Epistles of Polycarp and Barnabas 40 The Shepherd of Hermas and the Second Epistle of Clement 44 Constantine and the Middle Ages 48 The Reformation and Dispensational Beginnings 53 GOAL OF GOD, The (I Cor. xv. 28)-- “The End” (I Cor. xv. 24) 58 “That God may be all in all” (I Cor. xv. 28) 61 The goal of the Mediatorial kingdom 65 The Creation of Gen. i. 1 a “Firstfruits” 68 The Creation of Gen. i. 1 (contd.) 72 An examination of Gen. i. 26, 27. Man as a “shadow” of the Lord and of His purpose 77 The teaching of the N.T. regarding the “Image” 80 “We must all be changed” From Earthly to Heavenly and from glory to glory 84 (I Corinthians xv. 28) 87 “Satisfied . with Thy likeness” 91 HEBREWS-- The Author and Finisher of Faith (xii. 1-4) 94 Sonship and Birthright (xii. 5-25) 99 Outside the Camp (xii. 5 - xiii. 17) 106 Outside the Camp, contd. 112 The Great Shepherd (xiii. 18-25) 117 HOUSE OF JACOB SHALL POSSESS THEIR POSSESSIONS, The-- Peace as a result of Righteousness, and its realization 122 INTERPRETATION OF THE SCRIPTURES, The-- The Principle of Induction 124 Figures of Speech (contd.) 128 The Interpretation of Types 132 The Interpretation of Prophecy 136 The Interpretation of the Parables 140 Conclusion 144 PLAN OF GOD, The-- Nos. 13-24 149-175 The Epistle to the Ephesians (1) 175 The Epistle to the Ephesians (2) 179 The Epistle to the Ephesians (3) 183 The Epistle to the Ephesians (4) 186 PHILEMON-- No. 1 190 No. 2 195 “THE OUT-RESURRECTION” (Phil. iii. 11) What does it imply? 201 THE PLEROMA-- “All the Fullness of the Godhead Bodily-wise” 208 “The fullness of the seasons” 213 THINGS THAT BE OF GOD-- Separated unto the gospel of God (Rom. i. 1) 6 THY KINGDOM COME—(A Consideration of the Lord’s Prayer) 216 Let Thy kingdom come 226 O.T. background to “debts” and “sins” 231 THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW-- An inquiry into the Scriptural meaning of the words “The Shadow of Death” (Psa. xxiii. 4) 238 The “needs be” of the Valley of the Shadow 241 The Vale of Tears, a place of triumphant faith 244 The Valley of Vision 246 The Funeral of Mr. C. H. Welch. This took place at the Crystal Palace and District Cemetery, Beckenham, at 3p.m. on Thursday, November 9th 1967. Besides the family, there were about thirty friends present. Two had made the long journey from Scotland, traveling overnight, and one friend came up from Somerset. The service was kept short and simple. The Principal read part of I Cor. xv., and then, in a few words, reminded each one of how much we owe to the Lord and to our brother for his long and loyal witness to the truth. The Assistant Principal closed in prayer, and at the graveside the Principal gave the committal. The memory of our late President will long be with us for inspiration and encouragement. p.140 Things that be of God. ROMANS Separated unto the gospel of God (Rom. i. 1). p. 100 “Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Acts xiii. 2). Here the word ‘separate’ is the Greek aphorizo, and it is the identical word that is used by Paul in his epistles regarding his own peculiar apostleship. “Separated unto the gospel of God” (Rom. i. 1). “It pleased God Who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles (heathen)” (Gal. i. 15, 16). Neither Paul, Peter, John nor any of the apostles ‘sent’ their epistles, rather they ‘delivered’ them as “sent” from God. While for convenience we speak of Pauline or Petrine doctrine, that only means that God made choice of His ministers, making Paul “the Apostle of the Gentiles” and Peter the minister and “Apostle of the Circumcision”. At Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost “there were ‘Jews’ out of every nation under heaven”, and Peter addressed the gathering as “men of Judea, and all that dwell at Jerusalem”, referring them to the prophet Joel for an explanation of the out-pouring of the Spirit. The earthly ministry of the Saviour Himself was limited to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” and no messenger was sent to “the Gentiles” until He had finished the redemptive work of the Cross, and even then this was not independent of Israel. Stephen’s speech is addressed entirely to “Men, brethren, and fathers”, and God is the God of the O.T. Peter refers to “our beloved brother Paul” as having written one epistle to the same Hebrew Christians to whom he was writing, although it contained “some things hard to be understood”. The expression “The Apostles” which occurs 21 times in Acts i. - xi. refers only to “The Twelve”. Paul comes into the apostolic order in the thirteenth chapter. The Authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews. No.1. pp. 28 - 32 One peculiar characteristic of this epistle is that it commences without a customary salutation, or giving the name of the writer and those to whom it was addressed. This has caused, from the earliest times, considerable research and debate as to who the human author was, even though the epistle is accepted as canonical without question, and part of the inspired Word of God. The A.V. heading: “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews” is only found in late Greek manuscripts; it is not found in the oldest manuscripts, which simply read Pros Hebraious, To Hebrews, and it is not certain that even this formed part of the original document, but it must have been given to the epistle at an early date in the second century, when it first came into public use as part of a collection of apostolic letters. That this title was undoubtedly right, the internal testimony clearly shows, for its setting forth of the types and shadows given to the fathers of Israel, finally finding their fulfillment in Christ, would have no meaning to the pagan Gentile world to whom the Apostle Paul ministered. It might have had some meaning to the number of God-fearing Gentiles (as Cornelius) who attended the Jewish Synagogue, but there is no evidence whatsoever that these are in the mind of the author of this epistle. It is much more natural to see those addressed as being a number of Hebrew Christians, to whom the Mosaic tabernacle and Levitical offerings would have real meaning, although their residence cannot be determined with absolute certainty. It is a peculiar fact that, from the first, the Eastern Church decided that the epistle was the Apostle Paul’s, if not directly, then mediately, either as a free translation of his words or a reproduction of his thoughts and teaching; whereas the Western Church did not reckon it among the Pauline epistles or recognize its canonical authority until the fourth century A.D. The first witness is Clement of Rome who shows clear evidence that he was acquainted with it, in the letter he wrote to the Corinthian church about 96A.D., but he nowhere names the epistle or its author. The most explicit testimony is that of the Alexandrian church preserved by Eusebius (264-340) from the lost writings of Clement of Alexandria (about 190-203) and Origen (185-254).