90 Day Bible Reading Plan Daily Devotional 4

"(11:11) There are three basic interpretations to the verse. The first is dictated by the context: John was the greatest of all the Old Testament prophets (vss. 9, 13). He was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and he was chosen to be the forerunner of the Messiah (vs. 10). The second is found in the parallel passage in Luke 7:28. If you are talking about the “least in the kingdom of God” being “greater than he,” then you can apply what Christ is saying to a born-again child of God. Any real Christian has an advantage over John the Baptist. The birth that makes him “greater” than John is not “of women”; the Christian is “born of God” (1 John 5:1, 4). John the Baptist was never born again; the child of God is. The Christian is in the Body of Christ; John wasn’t (John 3:29). A Christian is adopted, which John was not. A Christian is eternally secured, which nobody was under the law. Any Christian has a greater opportunity to witness than John, for John's ministry was limited to the nation of Israel and the land of Palestine. Now, if you apply what Christ says to "the kindom of heaven," you have a third prophetic interpretation. In the physical, visible Millennial (which could have come to pass at the First Coming of Christ if the nation of Israel had repented and accepted Jesus as their Messiah), any Jew would have better opportunities than John. They will see Jesus Christ actually sitting on the throne of David, which John did not. Everyone will have the full revelation of God (Isa11:9) because they will have the Law written in their hearts (Jer. 31.33-34), which was not the case in John ministry. And finally, they will all dwell in a regenerated earth (Matt 19:28), which was not the case in John's day."

–Dr. Ruckman, Ruckman Reference Bible Notes, Pg. 1253-1254

Dispensation Truth Chapter XI The Church

For the sake of clearness we will consider the Church under seven heads.

I. What the Church Is NOT.

1. It is not a continuation of the "Jewish Dispensation" under another name.

As we have seen in the chapter on the Jews, the Jews have been shunted to a sidetrack that the "Main Line" may be clear for the passage of the Church. Jesus said-"The Law and the Prophets are until John." If the Scriptures put Moses and Law in one Dispensation and Christ and Grace in another let us respect the Divine order and not join together what God has put asunder.

It is because some religious bodies believe that the Christian Church is but another phase of what they call the "Jewish Church, " that they insist on a "ceremonial ritual" and retain the Priesthood with its altar, vestments, etc., and Temple-like buildings; and call the ordinances of the Christian Church "Sacrifices" and "Sacraments." They also go further and advocate a "State Church, " with the Church as the head, and claim that all the Old Testament promises of riches and glory have been transferred from the Jew to the Church. This we shall see is unscriptural.

2. It is not "The Kingdom."

John the Baptist came preaching that the "Kingdom of Heaven" was "at hand" and Jesus sent out the Twelve and the Seventy to do the same,but the Jewish people rejected their King, and the setting up of the Kingdom was postponed. There cannot be any Kingdom until the Nobleman Farmer" who has gone into a "far country" to receive the Kingdom returns. Luke 19:11-13.

The Church is never confounded with the Kingdom in the Scriptures. The Church is compared to a "House" (1Tim. 3:15), to a "Temple"(1Cor. 3:16, 1Cor. 3:17), to a "Body" (1Cor. 12:27-3 1Cor. 12:1), but never to a Kingdom Christ is the "HEAD" of His Church (Eph. 1:22;Eph. 4:15; Col. 1:18), but He is never spoken of as its King. The Church's relation to Christ is to be that of a

"Bride." Eph. 5:23-25; Rev. 21:2, 92 10.

II. What the Church IS.

1. It is a "Mystery."

The Kingdom was no mystery. The Old Testament prophets describe it in glowing terms. But there was something that was a Mystery" to them, and that was what was to come in between the "Sufferings and Glory" of Christ. 1Pet. 1:9-11.

That is, between the Cross and the Crown. Jesus intimated that there was to be something that He called the "Church, " but He did not say when it should appear, or what it would be like. Matt. 16:13-15.

The "Mystery of the Church" was first revealed to Paul.

"For this cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of 'The Dispensation of the Grace of God' which is given me to you-ward; how that by revelation He made known unto me

'THE MYSTERY'

which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that

THE GENTILES

should be fellow heirs and of

THE SAME BODY,

and partakers of His promise in Christ by the Gospel..... according to the

'Eternal Purpose'

which He purposes in Christ Jesus our Lord." Eph. 3:1-3. (See the Chart on "God's Eternal Purpose as to the Earth.")

From this we see that the Church was unknown to the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets.

That the Gentiles were to be saved was no mystery. Rom. 9:24-26. The "Mystery" was, that God was going to form an entirely "NEW THING," composed of Both Jew and Gentile, to be called

"THE CHURCH."

2. It is a "Called Out" Body.

The word Church comes from the Greek word "ecclesia" which means "Assembly" or a congregation of "called out ones."

But the word is not used exclusively as to the Church. Israel was an "ecclesia" or an Assembly of people "called out" from other peoples and nations, and is called in Acts 7:38, "The Church in the Wilderness."

Any Assembly of worshipers banded together as a church or congregation is an "ecclesia." Matt. 18:17; 1Cor. 14:19, 1Cor. 14:35.

The Guild of Ephesian Craftsmen and a Town Meeting is an "ecclesia, " because distinct or called out from the body of citizens, Acts 19:32,Acts 19:39. The context will show what is meant.

The purpose of this Dispensation is seen in the "Divine Program, " outlined by the Apostle James in his address to the First Church Council(Acts 15:13-15), where he declares that God has visited the Gentiles to

"Take Out of Them

'PEOPLE' for His Name."

The purpose of this Dispensation then is not the Conversion of the World, but the "Gathering Out" of the Church.

While Israel is a "called out body" it is a "National Body, " composed exclusively of the descendants of Abraham, but the Church is not a National Body" for it is not composed of the people of any one nation, but of individuals from every kindred, people, tribe and nation.

That Israel and the Church are distinct and separate and cannot be blended, is clear from the fact that their "election" was made at different dates, and that the "election" of the Church antedates the "election" of Israel, for Israel was chosen in Abraham from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:34), while the Church was chosen in HIM (Jesus) BEFORE the Foundation of the World. Eph. 1:4-6.

3.It is the "Body of Christ.',

In Eph. 1:22, 23 we read-

"And hath put all things under His feet, and gave HIM (Jesus), to be the HEAD over all things to the Church which is His BODY."

The context shows (vs. 20), that this "Headship" was not possible until Jesus had been raised from the dead, and seated at the right hand of the Father. The Church, therefore, could not have been in existence before there was a Head, for God does not make headless things. The Church then is the Body of which Christ is the Head

In 1Cor. 12:12, 13 we are told how this "Body" is formed.

"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 Jew or Gentile, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into ONE SPIRIT."

From this we see that it is the

"Baptism of the Spirit"

that incorporates us into the

"BODY OF CHRIST."

Therefore there could be no Church until the "Day of Pentecost." Acts 1:4-5; Acts 2:1-3.

Paul in his Letter to the Ephesians, that deals mainly with the Church, emphasizes this baptism.

"There is One Body (the Church) and One Spirit (the Holy Spirit), even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord (Jesus),One Faith, ONE BAPTISM (of the Holy Spirit), One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." Eph. 4:4-6.

That there should be no mistake as to what Paul meant by the "one body" of 1Cor. 12:13 he says, verse 27, "Now ye are the Body of Christ."And in Rom. 12:5 he reaffirms it-

"So we, being many, are 'One Body in Christ, ' and every one members one of another."

The fact that the Church is a "Body" made up of "living members" shows that it is not an "Organization, " but an "ORGANISM. An Organization" is made up of distinct units like the doors, window roof, floors, etc., of a building, that may be removed and replaced by

ew parts without destroying the integrity of the building; but a human body is an organism. You cannot remove an eye, or ear, or arm, or foot, or even a finger nail or tooth, without destroying the integrity of the body and causing a mutilation. So we see from this for Christ to lose One Member of His Body (the Church) is to MUTILATE it. Neither can the Church, as the "Body of Christ" die, for who ever saw a dead body attached to a living head. Christ the Head is ALIVE and can NEVER DIE AGAIN, for He tells us in Rev. 1:18, "I am He that liveth and was dead (on the Cross), and behold, I am ALIVE FOR EVERMORE." It follows therefore that "when Christ, who is our LIFE, shall appear, then Shall We Also Appear With Him in Glory." Col. 3:4. Jesus Christ not only gave His life for the Church, but to the Church.

But why call the Church the "Body of Christ? " What is a body for? It is for the

Manifestation of a Personality.

A person can exist without a physical body, as the Soul exists without a physical body between death and the resurrection of the body, but that existence cannot be made manifest. So the only way Christ, who is now in glory, can manifest Himself to the world is through His Body-THE CHURCH.

The only way the world can see Christ today is in Christian believers. This is probably what Paul meant when he wrote to the Philippians,

"For to me to live Is Christ."

(Phil. 1:21). That is, for Christ to live again in Paul, so that the world might see Christ manifested in Paul.

The Perfect Man.

If Christ is the Head, and the Church is the Body, then the two should make a Perfect Man, for we cannot conceive of a perfect Head like Christ, joined to an imperfect body. This is just what Paul tells us should be.

"And He gave some, Apostles; and some, Prophets; and some, Evangelists; and some, Pastors and Teachers; for the

Perfecting of the Saints,

or the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the

'Body of Christ; '

till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a

PERFECT MAN,

unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. Eph. 4:11-13.

In 1Cor. 3:9-11, Paul speaks of the Church, under the figure of a Building or Temple, of which Christ is the Chief Comer Stone, "in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an Holy Temple in the Lord; in whom ye also are builded together for an HABITATION OF GOD through the Spirit." Eph. 2:19-21.

Here we see that as God's presence was manifested in the Tabernacle in the "Shekinah Glory, " so now in this Dispensation, when Israel,nationally, is out of fellowship with God, and there is no Temple at Jerusalem, the Church, since Pentecost is the visible "Habitation of God" on earth, where He manifests Himself through the Holy Spirit.

John tells us (John 1:14), that the "WORD" (Jesus) Tabernacled among us, and spoke of His Body as a Temple, John 2:19-21, so between God's manifesting Himself in the "Shekinah Glory" of the Temple, and now through His Spirit in the Church, He manifested Himself in the "person" of Jesus, and John tells us that he and Peter and James saw the "Glory of God" in the person of Jesus on the Mt. of Transfiguration. John 1:14.

4. It is to be the "Bride of Christ."

At present the Church is a virgin espoused.

Paul said to the Church at Corinth,

"I am jealous over you with godly jealousy; for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste VIRGIN to Christ." 2Cor. 11:2.

In Christ's day an espousal was as sacred as a marriage.

The First Adam had his Bride, and the Second or Last Adam must have His Bride. In Gen. 2:18, Gen. 2:21-23, we are told how the First Adam got his Bride.

"The Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and with the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made (builded) He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man."

Now Jesus during His life on the earth as a man, abode alone, but a deep sleep-the sleep of death-fell on Him, and out of His wounded side, as the result of the Atonement He made on the Cross, there came that from which the Church was formed, and to which the Holy Spirit gave life on the Day of Pentecost; so that, as Adam said of Eve-"This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh, " so we can say of the Church-"We are members of His Body, of his Flesh, and of his Bones." Eph. 5:29-31.

The Woman was brought to Adam and presented to him, but Christ will present the Church to Himself, Eph. 5:27. That Eve was married to Adam is indicated in Gen. 2:24 and referred to in Matt. 19:4, Matt. 19:5, and Eph. 5:3 Eph. 5:1.

We have a beautiful illustration of how Christ is gathering out His Bride, the Church, in the story of how Isaac got his bride.

In the Scriptures-

Abraham is a type of God.

Sarah is a type of Israel.

Isaac is a type of Jesus.

Eliezer is a type of the Holy Spirit.

Rebekah is a type of the Church.

Keturah a type of Israel Restored.

When the time came for Isaac to have a wife his father Abraham did not want him to marry a Canaanitish woman, and so he sent his servant Eliezer over to Padan Aram to get one for him from among Abraham's kindred. When Eliezer reached Padan Aram he was divinely directed to the home of Laban, a grandnephew of Abraham, whose sister Rebekah God had chosen to be the wife of Isaac. Gen. 24:12-14. Rebekah consented to become the wife of a man she had never seen solely on the representations of Eliezer, and she departed with him, leaving her kinsfolk behind. As the caravan neared the home of Abraham we read that "Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the Eventide" and saw the camels of his father returning, and Rebekah

alighted from off her camel and was introduced by Eliezer to Isaac and she became his wife.

So God has sent the Holy Spirit into this world in this Dispensation to get a wife for His Son Jesus, and when the full number of the Church is complete, the Holy Spirit will take her back with him to the Father's home, and Jesus, whose Bride she is to be, will come out into the midair at the "Eventide" of this Dispensation to meet her. 1Thes. 4:15-17.

Some hold that because Isaac's bride was taken from his own kin, that, therefore, to complete the type, Jesus' Bride must be Israel, His own kin, and not the Church composed mainly of Gentiles. But we must not forget that while Abraham was the first Hebrew his kin were Gentiles. Abraham was not, strictly speaking, a Jew, for the Jews are the descendants of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob or Israel. So we see that Rebekah was not an Israelite, but a Gentile, so the type holds good.

We must not forget that there are "Two Brides" mentioned in the Scriptures. One in the Old Testament, and the other in the Now Testament. The one in the Old Testament is Israel, the Bride of Jehovah; the one in the New Testament is the Church, the Bride of Christ. Of Israel it is said-"Thy Maker is thine husband." Isa. 54:5-7. Because of her Whoredoms, Israel is a cast off wife, but God, her husband, promises to take her back when she ceases from her adulteries. Jer. 3:1-3; Ez. 16:1-3; Hosea 2:1-3, Hosea 3:1-3. Sarah is a type of Israel before her fall, and Keturah of Israel when God shall take her back again. She will not be taken back as a Virgin, but as a Wife. But it is a VIRGIN that the Lamb (Christ) is to marry. So the Wife (Israel) of the Old Testament cannot be the Bride (Virgin) of the New Testament.

Again the "Wife" (Israel) is to reside in the earthly Jerusalem during the Millennium, while the "Bride" (the Church) will reside in the New Jerusalem. These distinctions make it clear that Israel cannot be the "Bride" of Christ.

As to the Church being both the "Body" and "Bride" of Christ, we have the type of Eve who was of the "body" of Adam before she was his "bride."

–Clarence Larkin, Dispensational Truth, XI The Church