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"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the
spirit of wisdom and revelation IN THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT of Him: the eyes of
your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know . . . . ." (Eph. 1: 17, 18).
Where acknowledgment is withheld, illumination ceases, the veil has done its work.
Pentecostal gifts, wonderful as they were, are likened by the Apostle to the
accompaniments of childhood, and like the glory of the face of Moses these gifts were
destined to `vanish away'. Many a child of God is behind a thick veil fabricated of
"Pentecostalism" and fails to realize that the cry `Back to Pentecost' is really `Back to the
nursery'. We have used the word `fabricate' in its primary sense of making, and a woven
material, such as a veil, could be called a `fabric'. The word `fabricate' however has
taken on a sinister meaning and means, a forgery, or a falsehood, especially with the
intention of deceiving.
It is not enough to note that a book purporting to be Scriptural should be loaded with
`texts'; it is far more important to note what texts are quoted, from which contexts of
Scripture they are taken, and what dispensational distinctions are ignored in the process.
The express purpose and intention of the evil one is the fabrication of this veil as revealed
in verse 4:
"Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine
unto them" (II Cor. 4: 4).
We hope to go on from here in a further article. In the meantime may we read the
Word with clear eyes making sure that no veil of tradition affects our view.
No.6.
The Promise, and the Promises.
pp. 68 - 72
The word diatheke occurs 33 times in the N.T., translated `covenant' 20 times and
`testament' 13 times, and is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew berith, the word most
often rendered `covenant' in the O.T. We have already given reasons for rejecting the
translation `testament' except in the exceptional case of Gal. 3: 15 which deals with a
man's will. We read of a covenant made with the fathers called the covenant of
circumcision, which was the special glory of the people of Israel (Acts 3: 25; 7: 8;
Gal. 3: 17; Rom. 9: 4). It is utterly impossible to observe the principle of `Right
Division' and apply this covenant to the Church of the Mystery. To do so must and does
induce blindness and this is the very stuff and fabric of the `veil' employed by the god of
this age. The attempt made by some to place the epistle to the Hebrews in the
dispensation of the Mystery is a pathetic example of this blinding confusion. "Two
Covenants" are contrasted in Gal. 4: 24, the Old Covenant, the first Covenant, the
Covenant in which Israel did not continue (II Cor. 3: 14; Heb. 9: 15; 8: 9), and the
New Covenant, sometimes called a better Covenant and an everlasting Covenant
(Hebrews 8: 6; 7: 22; 13: 20).