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The Lord Jesus Christ said:
"I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me, He gave Me a commandment, what I should say,
and what I should speak" (John 12:49).
This covers the four Gospels. Mark 16:20 and Acts 1:1,2 indicate the continued ministry of the risen Christ
according also to John 17:14-18:
"I have given them Thy Word ... As Thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the
world".
Peter links the testimony of both Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles, by saying:
"That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment
of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour" (2 Pet. 3:2).
God hath spoken. It is His Word we read, whether in Law, Prophet or Psalm, whether in Gospel, Epistle or
Apocalypse. Here we have an organic whole, inspired and authoritative.
We will now consider another feature of almost equal importance. This principle is contained also in the passage
quoted from Hebrews 1:1,2 :
At sundry times, and in divers manners, in times past, and in these last days, unto the fathers, and unto us.
God did not reveal the whole of His mind and will at one time, but "at sundry times"; neither did He adopt the
same methods, but "in divers manners". These differing "times" and "manners" must be remembered in all our
efforts to arrive at an understanding of the truth. Paul reminded the Athenians of this difference, contrasting "the
times of their ignorance", when God "winked" at their ways, with the gospel period that had set in, wherein, "Now,
God commandeth all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). Again, speaking of the Gentiles, the same apostle
said:
"At that time ye were without Christ, being aliens" (Eph. 2:12),
and follows this reference to a past period of alienation with the glorious contrast:
"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:13).
The recognition of the "sundry times" are therefore of vital importance. If we read the past into the present, we
may fall into the error of confusing "law" with "gospel", or "kingdom" with "church". If we read the present into
the past, we shall blunt the edge of the testimony of Ephesians 3, which speaks of a new revelation given through
Paul for the Gentiles, and called "the mystery", which had been "hid in God" until the apostle received the
commission to "enlighten all".
What is true concerning "times" is in its degree true concerning "manners". The command of the law, the
entreaty of Paul, the hiding of truth by parable, the manifestation of the truth by epistle, all differ, and must be
treated accordingly. Not only times and manners must be remembered, but the Word of God is addressed to
different people. A very clear sub-division is suggested in 1 Corinthians 10:32 :
"JEWS ... GENTILES, and ... CHURCH OF GOD",
and so we read in Hebrews 1:1,2 :
"God hath spoken ... unto the FATHERS ... and unto US".
While it is impossible for any child of God to have no interest in the hopes and fears, the victories and failures of
the men of old, nevertheless the primary obligation resting upon each of us is to see to it that any word spoken by