AN EPITOME OF THE FIRST PRINCIPLES OF THE ORACLES OF GOD

FROM a statement in the Epistle to the Hebrews it will be gathered that there are certain well denned beliefs which are described as The First Princi­ples of the Oracles of God. They may be regarded as the fundamental truths of Christianity. In the Acts of the Apostles they are spoken of as the things con­cerning the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ. Below will be found a summary of such principles as established in the Bible, and expressed or implied, in the foregoing pages. The method of setting them out involves certain repetitions, but it is thought chat this way is desirable for the sake of clearness, and to make each subject as complete as possible. No references are given, either to the Bible or to the pages in this book; the statement is regarded merely as a summary.

GOD.-There is only one God, self-existent and supreme, Who is from everlasting to everlasting; eternal, almighty, omniscient, and everywhere present by His Spirit. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, the source of all life, and He overrules the affairs of mankind so that they may ultimately lead to the fulfilment of His great purpose to fill the earth with His glory. He is holy, just, and merciful. He has made His purpose known by revelation, both directly and indirectly. That purpose is to be found in the Bible, which is His word, and in which He reveals Himself to those who believe and obey it.

THE SPIRIT OF GOD.-The Spirit of God is the power by means of which God has acted in the past in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the forma­tion of man and all things. It is the means by which He sustains all creation, and controls all things for the accomplishment of His purposes. It is sometimes called the Holy Spirit. By it God has revealed His will in the past, revealing many things which could not otherwise have been known. By means of it Jesus was begotten in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and by it the apostles and prophets were enabled to make known God’s will and purpose.

JESUS CHRIST.-Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, begotten of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. He was therefore the “Seed of the Woman,” and. by reason of his descent, also the “Seed of Abraham” and the “Seed of David.” Being born of Mary he partook of her nature, that is the nature of all men and women, yet he was Immanuel, or God with us, the Word made flesh. By reason of his nature he was, like all human beings, tempted from within, yet he never succumbed to temptation, but was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. He was born to be a sacrifice for sin, the “Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world.” During his public ministry he preached the gospel of the Kingdom of God; and at the end of his life was rejected by his people, was crucified and buried. On the third day God raised him from the dead and constituted him The Lord the Spirit. Thus “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,” and was “raised again for our justification.” He ascended to heaven, where he is acting as a high priest, or an advocate with the Father, on behalf of his people.

As the Anointed of God (Christ means anointed) he is heir to the great promises of God, and will return to the earth to fulfil the covenants made with Abraham and David, receiving the earth for his inheritance and ruling the world in righteousness on the throne of his father David. At his second appearing he will raise the responsible dead, and gather them with the responsible among the living, to his judgment seat, rewarding the righteous with eternal life, and consigning the wicked to the punishment due to them, a punishment which will end in the second death.

MAN.-Man is a mortal creature (or soul), formed out of the dust, living by means of the breath, or spirit, of life. He is subject to death, for the wages of sin is death, which has passed upon all men. In the death state man is absolutely unconscious, he “knows not anything.” He will continue in that state until the resurrection, which will take place when Christ returns to the earth.

SIN.-Sin is the transgression of the Divine Law, but the word is also used in an extended sense to des­cribe the principle of evil, or lust, which is inherent in human nature, and which leads to actual sin, or transgression. It is the cause of all the evils to which human beings are subject, including death which is its wages. The principle of evil within man is the “Devil” of the Bible, which Jesus Christ has already destroyed in relation to himself, and will destroy in all the faithful when he returns. At the end of his millennial reign sin will be entirely destroyed.

RESURRECTION.-Resurrection means the raising of the body from the dust of death. It will take place when Christ returns to the earth, and will affect all who are responsible to the judgment seat of Christ.

JUDGEMENT.-Christ is the appointed Judge. At his judgement seat that judgement will be exercised in relation to all those who (living or dead at the time of his coming) are amenable to it by reason of their knowledge of the Divine will and commands. Others, not so responsible, will remain in the congregation of the dead, or among the mortal living. The righteous will be changed from mortality to immortality, and be made kings and priests to reign with Christ on earth in the Kingdom of God. The wicked will be punished according to their deserts, and will finally suffer the second death, from which there will be no release.

THE COVENANTS OF PROMISE.-God has made various promises, some of which have been made the subject of covenants. The covenant with Noah guarantees the continuance of the regularity of the seasons, and implies the eternal existence of the earth. The covenant with Abraham ensures eternal life and the everlasting possession of the land of Canaan, and of the earth, by him and his seed. (His seed is Christ, and all who are “in Christ.”) The covenant with David involves the resto­ration of his throne over Israel, and its occupation by Christ, and, by implication, the extension of his kingdom over all the earth.

THE EARTH.-The earth is to endure for ever, and is to be the scene of God’s Kingdom in the future. It has been promised to the righteous who are to dwell therein for ever, when it is freed from all evil. It will then be filled with the glory of the Lord, and with the knowledge of the Lord.

ISRAEL.-The people of Israel, descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, are a chosen race. They were driven from their land, the land of Canaan, be­cause of their unfaith fulness and disobedience, especially in rejecting their Messiah when he appeared, and have been scattered throughout all the earth. They are to be regathered to their own land, where they will be reunited into one kingdom, and will form the first section of the Kingdom of God under the rulership of Christ, their king, ruling from the city of Jerusalem.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD.-In the past Israel was the Kingdom of God, and though they rejected God as their king, they continued to be regarded as “the Kingdom of the Lord.” When they are restored they will again constitute the Kingdom of God, which will be extended to include the whole of the earth-all the kingdoms of the world.

In this kingdom all the evils that now afflict man­kind will be restrained. Christ will be the King, assisted by those who are approved by Him at His judgement seat. The mortal people of the earth will be blessed in every way. Profound peace will prevail universally, and prosperity will abound. A universal law will go forth from Zion, and one religion will be held by all mankind. This phase of the Kingdom will last for a thousand years, at the end of which mortality will be banished from the earth, which will then be entirely freed from sin and every evil, and God will be all in all. (A judgement at the end of the thousand years will adjudicate on those who have lived during that period.)

SALVATION.-Salvation, or a participation in eternal life, or the Divine nature, in the Kingdom of God, is offered to men and women upon certain conditions. It is based upon the shedding of blood, the “precious blood of Christ.” The conditions on which men and women may attain salvation include a belief of the gospel, or the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ; repentance, that is a change of mind and a new manner of life; baptism, a complete immersion in water, into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and thereafter an obedience to the commandments of God as given through Christ and the Apostles.

THE DUTIES OF THOSE IN CHRIST.-All who are “in Christ” by baptism into him must conform to his requirements as revealed in the Bible. Amongst other things they are commanded to partake in a memorial of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine), “This do in remembrance of me,” which after the Apostolic example, they do every first day of the week. They are expected to be separate from the world, in it but not of it, and they must conform to the com­mandments of Christ even though they conflict with the laws of men.

The purpose for which the gospel, or the God-Spell, is proclaimed is to “take out of the Gentiles a people for God’s name.” The implications of this purpose cannot be insisted upon too greatly. The plan which has gradually been unfolded is one that is worthy of the God who originated it and Who has, in Christ, carried it through so far. For every reader of these pages the great question to be faced is, what is the effect of the knowledge of this plan, which originated in the mind of God, upon him? It should be a call to holiness and to service, a service which, commencing now, will find its perfect expression when “this mortal shall have put on immortality” having been made a partaker of the Divine nature.