Truth Magazine

By Don Willis

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took on him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:5-11)

Jesus became man in order to die for our sins. He was equal with God in the very form of God. But Jesus emptied Himself of this nature to take upon Himself human nature in order to die for our sins. His blood is adequate for all time to cleanse man from sin. There need be no additional blood sacrifice No one can be Saved without the blood of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus had made the atonement for sin by the sacrifice of Himself, He did not cease being or functioning. The great affirmation of Hebrews is that Jesus is now our High Priest. His Priesthood is not after the order of Levi, nor of the family of Aaron. His Priesthood is after the order of Melchizedec; i.e., King and Priest at the same time. The Hebrew writer says that Christ’s Priesthood is an unchangeable priesthood. The assurance man needs is in His continuance as High Priest.

Qualifications Of A Priest

(1) A Priest must have compassion on the ignorant. (2) Merciful. (3) Faithful in things pertaining to God. (4) Able to succor (help) those that are tempted. (5) Touched (sympathetic) with the feeling of human weakness (6) Grace to help in time of need (Heb. 5:1-2; 2:17-18; 4:14-16). Jesus is such an High Priest!

Man has an unchangeable need. All sin (Rom. 3:23; 1 Jn. 1:8,10). The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Every transgression (sin of commission) and disobedience (sin of omission) receive a just recompense of reward (Heb. 2:2). Sin is real! Sin is damning! The High Priest did not and does not simply overlook sin; atonement sacrifices had to be made, both for willful and ignorant sins. Therefore. Christ is anxious to forgive sin today … but on the terms established within the law.

Christ has an unchangeable sacrifice. Christ … needeth not daffy, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up Himself” (Heb. 7:27). ” . . .We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10). The Catholic concept of the Massrequires the continued offering of Jesus’ blood at the time the Mass is said. This denies the efficacy of the one sacrifice of Jesus, and denies the clear statement of Divine Revelation!

We now have an unchangeable law. God, at sundry times and in different manners had spoken in time past to the fathers (patriarch and Jewish) by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son (Heb. 1: 1-2). The old law had to cease before the new law could be given. Most admit the Priesthood of Jesus. “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law” (Heb. 7:12). The law ordained Priests from the tribe of Levi; and the High Priests from the family of Aaron. Jesus was of the line of Judah; therefore, under the law of Moses, He could not have been High Priest. Admit the High Priesthood of Jesus, and one admits the necessity of a change of the law of Moses! Jesus “. . . hath obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises” (Heb. 8:6). It is this covenant that will face one in the day of judgment (Jn. 12:48).

Jesus fives to make unchangeable intercession for the sins of lost mankind. Praise God’s glorious name! God realizes the continuing battle between flesh and spirit, and human weakness (Mt. 26:41). God did not leave one to be lost in sins. Jesus “. . . ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25). He is our Mediator (I Tim. 2:5). “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:3 1). Remember, God is for you, God is not against you, he does not desire to see one ofHis own lost! Often we see only the vengeance of God. And He is vengeful against evill But God is love, and He loves His children, and I am His child. He desires to save me, He is on my sidel One of those Priestly qualifications was that He was faithful in things pertaining to God (Heb. 2:17). 1 am sorry to say that some deny this nature of the Priesthood. God’s faithfulness requires preachers to tell sinners that the wage of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Some would loose where God has not loosed. Sin is real. Still, God is anxious to forgive. “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7). No one can perfectly walk in the light; therefore, one understands the area of human weakness. If one could perfectly walk in the light, he would not need an unchangeable intercession. The blood of Jesus cleanses, and keeps on cleansing the person who is walking in the light! Because our High Priest is faithful in things pertaining to God, He cleanses upon Divine terms, and not upon human terms! In the very context of I John, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we, confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (vv. 8-9). Peter told a born again being who had strayed back into sin, “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee” (Acts 8:22).

Since our High Priest is faithful, He does not cleanse apart from the obedience required. It bothers me greatly to hear of brethren who would sit in the seat of God and promise forgiveness to sinful beings without obedience to the gospel; or, to sinning Christians without doing what God’s mercy informs us. Preachers are commissioned to preach, “The wage of sin is death”; and, the continuing intercession of Jesus as a faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God!

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 7, pp. 195, 214, 218
April 5, 1984

By J.W. McGarvey

Study Of Other Books

From this brief treatment of the study of the Scriptures, we pass to the study of other books, and fist to the study of Commentaries. This is really but another method of studying the Scriptures, yet it may properly receive separate treatment.

There is a well known prejudice against the use of Commentaries, but it is confined to a small and decreasing number of persons. The man who attempts to gain a knowledge of the Bible by his own unaided powers, while the aid furnished by a multitude of learned and devout predecessors is at hand, seems to declare himself the equal in exegetical power of all who have gone before him. In no other department of human study do we reject the aid of our fellow-student; why should we reject it in this?

Good Commentaries render us important service in many ways. First they serve as a guar against blunders. Among the most egregious blunders in the interpretation of Scripture are those committed by men of inferior learning or judgment who interpret the Scriptures without aid. The use of a judicious Commentary guards us against many blunders of this kind, and it corrects many a mistake into which we fall before the Commentary is consulted. In the second place, it is a ready source of information. Multitudes of facts and references throwing flood os light upon important passages have been collected by the research of commentators, and furnished to our hand, which would otherwise be beyond our reach, or, if we reach them at all, it would be after years of toil and the reading of thousands of pages. No man can afford to decline the use of these gathered treasures. True it would strengthen his powers to gather them for himself, but he may strengthen his powers much more rapidly by gathering up these, and then by the aid of these, going ut to search for others. The speculator who wishes to make millions but never rejects the few thousands already within his grasp, but he uses the thousands as the means of getting the millions. In the third place, the use of Commentaries awakens thought. Every one that is worth consulting presents the subject in some new phase; it presents something difference from and often inconsistent with our own previously formed conceptions; and it compels us to think again over the whole ground. Such recasting of thought on a subject is necessary to intelligent confidence in our final conclusions. In the last place, Commentaries, with all the errors which may be properly charged against them, do in the main give us the right interpretation of obscure passages, and the right application of those which are not obscure. If we follow them implicitly we are but seldom led astray, and if we find in them only a confirmation of our own conclusions this gives us strength and gratification.

While I insist, however, upon the value of Commentaries, I would also insist upon a judicious use of them. When about to study a passage of Scriptures, never consult the Commentary fist. If you do you are likely to accept the author’s views, whether right or wrong, and you mind will be biased in the subsequent study of the text itself. First study the text until its words and sentences are distinctly apprehended; until all that is clear in it is understood; until its difficulties are discovered; and until your own mind has grappled with these difficulties more or less successfully. You are then prepared to consult the Commentary. As you read it you know of what it treats; you can judge of the correctness of its statements; you can see where it touches the difficulties; and you can accept or reject the explanations which it gives with an intelligent judgment.

I would suggest as another precaution in regard to Commentaries, that the young preacher take pains, as soon as practicable, to procure two or more on every portion of Scripture which he studies, lest he become a blind follower of a single guide, who, in some places, is almost certain to be a blind guide. In making selections, always choose from the more recent rather than from the older works. In all departments of literature immense advances are being made on the knowledge and methods of former times, and in no department are they more rapid than in the interpretation and illustration of the Bible.

The best commentaries in English on the whole Bible are Lange’s, and the Bible Commentary, sometimes called the Speaker’s Commentary, because the preparation of it was first proposed by the Speaker of the House of Commons. Commentaries on the New Testament, and on special portions of it, are very numerous, and many of them are excellent; but Ellicott’s works contain the finest specimens of grammatical exegesis, and Lightfoot’s the finest in the way of profound historical research.

There are some other Biblical works, the study of which is scarcely less important than that of Commentaries. Of these I will mention a few, and foremost among them all, Smith’s Bible Dictionary. This great work might be regarded as a commentary on the whole Bible arranged in the order of subjects and not in that of books, chapters, and verses. It contains the cream of all the knowledge possessed by the most cultivated minds in Great Britain, on all Bible themes, including all places and persons mentioned therein. Only in the geography of Palestine, I believe, have more recent investigations superseded it in important particulars.

Next to this in value I would place the Life and Epistles of Paul, by Conybeare and Howson. It is scarcely saying too much of this work to assert that to the man who has not studied it, it offers a new revelation on Acts of Apostles and the Epistles of Paul. As a companion to the Old Testament, Rawlinson’s History of the Seven Ancient Monarchies is of almost equal value. It supersedes all other ancient histories, and makes full use of the historical materials derived from the disinterred libraries of the ancient world. There has recently appeared in English a series of works covering in part the same ground with the Life and Epistles df Paul just mentioned, but reaching backward and forward of it in point of time, with which every preacher should become familiar. The Life of Jesus, by Strauss, followed by Bauer’s Life of Paul, and the Apostles, of Ernest Renan, opened a new era in infidel literature, one in which a large number of eminent men have undertaken the entire reconstruction of New Testament history, with all that is miraculous left out. These efforts have called forth two works in France, now found in an English dress, and three in Great Britain, which are among the best of all modern contributions to Biblical literature. They are Pressense’s Life of Jesus, and his Early Years of Christianity; and Canon Farrar’s Life of Jesus, His Life and Epistles of Paul and his Early Days of Christianity. These works, without taking the form of direct replies to the works of Strauss, Bauer, and Renan, are written from the new point of view suggested by those works, and they contain a complete vindication of the historical truthfulness of the New Testament. I sincerely regret, in regard to the profound and eloquent works of Canon Farrar, that I am constrained to modify my commendation of them by cautioning the reader against his belief in a post mortem gospel, and his inadequate conceptions of inspiration.

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 6, pp. 167-168
March 15, 1984

By Dudley Ross Spears

John’s first letter was written to Christians to make them joyful and fully assured of their fellowship with God. “. . . and these things we write that our joy may be made full” (1 John 1:4). That written message assures all that “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (verse 5). To claim fellowship with God, and the attendant fulness of joy, while walking in darkness is the same as lying. However, on the other hand, Johns added, “but if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (verse 7). The blessedness of walking in the light is one every sincere child of God should enjoy and be thankful for.

The blessings of walking in the light are conditioned upon a continual walk in the light. The term “walk” is used figuratively to describe one’s general life-style. It is the counterpart of walking in darkness. The life one leads “in the light” is a life of faith (2 Cor. 5:7) or a life led by the Spirit (Gal. 5:61). It may also be described as a life that is not walking “after the flesh” (Rom. 8:4). We might also look at it as the “new life” of Romans 6:4. Anyway we look at it, it is a life that is devoted to following the light to God’s revelation (Psa. 119:105; 2 Cor. 4:4). The light in which Christians walk comes from above and is God’s divine wisdom (Js. 3:17). Every good and perfect gift we possess, including the guiding light from God’s word, comes from above, because God is the “Father of lights” (Js. 1:17).

Christians may enjoy the blessings of walking in the light when they continually comply with God’s conditions. Those blessings include “fellowship one with another” and being “cleansed from all sin.” The first of these blessings is God’s way of keeping His children together. The fellowship we have comes from God and extends to every child of God who is walking in the light. This fellowship is a partnership, a family affair, a working arrangement among the people of God. Only when one ceases to walk in the light is the fellowship disturbed. The second blessing in the text is the cleansing from sin that Christians all need. The cleansing comes from the blood of Jesus, the Son of God. It is the only detergent to sin – the only cleansing medium. The walking is our part; the cleansing is God’s part. The cleansing agent is Christ’s blood.

We must all realize that our fellowship is enjoyed as long as we walk in the light, for in the realm of light, fellowship is possible. During the plague of darkness in Egypt, all association and fellowship ceased. It was not until physical light returned that fellowship was restored (Ex. 11:22023). So is it with spiritual partners now. When one walks in the light and another walks in darkness, there is no fellowship between them. To be more specific, when one leads a life of habitual sin and another does not, there is no fellowship in the light possible. But this tie that binds can be maintained among those who walk in the light, because they are cleansed from the sins they commit. They do not lead lives of habitual sin. B.F. Westcott said,

The ideas of divine sonship and sin are mutually exclusive. As long as the relationship with God is real sinful acts are but accidents (The Epistles of John, B.F. Westcott, p. 105).

The cleansing from sin is promised to the Christian who walks in light, in the text. But what sins could John have intended? The Christian who turns back into the world and ceases walking in the light is not under consideration here. This is not to say the blood will not cleanse an apostate child of God. It simply means that the text is discussing the cleansing that the Christian receives because he or she is walking in the light. It must be seen that the “if” with which the statement begins puts the situation in the conditional category. Therefore, it is possible that one walking in the light may sin from time to time. For such a case the cleansing blood of Christ is available. However, the cleansing is conditioned on continued walking int eh light. To be more precise, the Christian who sins has a critical moment when he must either repent or try to justify his sin. If he repents, he does so because he is walking in the light. I he chooses to justify himself and ignore the problem, he will soon be in darkness. I said, “soon,” because the precise time when a person’s mind goes from the awareness of an evil act and the hardness of heart that causes them to have a “care-less” attitude about it is really known only by God.

But Christians who walk in the light will sin. Any position that teaches the impossibility of sin while walking in the light ignores what John has written elsewhere in his letter. “My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not isn. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (2:1). The “we have” here in this verse is the same as the “we have” in 1:7. The “we have” in 2:1 refers to the “we have” of 1:7 and therefore tells those who walk in the light that the purpose of the epistle is to deter sin. However, John recognizes the distinct possibility that Christiabs, while walking in the light, will sin – they will have accidents. If Christians, while walking in the light cannot sin, John’s appeal in 2:1 is useless.

The tense of the verb “cleanseth” is present, active, indicative. Unless some specific action is implied, the present indicative denotes a continued action. It describes an ongoing process, when the specific action is not called for. Mike Willis has an excellent comment on this in his commentary on I Corinthians. He wrote about 1 Corinthians 1:18 as follows:

But unto us which are saved (tois de sbzomenois libmin). The word sbzomenois, like apollumenois~ is a present participle; it is taken from the verb sbzb, “to save.” And, like its counterpart earlier in this verse it denotes linear action. Those who accept the gospel as the power of God are in the process of being saved. Salvation is described by Paul -as a past event (Rom. 8:24), as a present abiding state (Eph. 2:5 – perfect tense), as a process (I Cor. 15:2), and as future result (Rom. 10:9). Here it is viewed as a process. Those who accept the gospel are viewed as being in a course of fife that will ultimately lead to salvation. Thus, salvation is not viewed as a one time event in one’s life which has no abiding effect on it but as a continuing, process. From this, one should observe that Christians should always be progressing in the Christian life; there is no place to remain content with that state in life” (A Commentary on Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, p. 41).

You might also like to read his comments on 1 Corinthians 1:21 (p. 46) and on I Corinthians 15:2 (pp. 525-526). We have no reason to believe that the present tense of 1 John 1:7 “cleanseth” is different than the present tense of I Corinthians 1:1& Both describe what Willis calls “a present abiding state.” Both are what are called “linear action.” Both describe an on-going process. Both are continual in action. But you do not have to understand Greek tenses to know this. We can say that an automobile runs well, if we take good care of it. We say “oranges grow in Florida, if the weather is right.” Other illustrations like this could be given. The point is that the present tense describes a continuous action, and the blood of Christ continues to cleanse those who continue to walk in the light.

The specific thing that walking in the light demands of a Christian who sins is confession. John said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our, sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1:9). The “we” who confess are the same “we” who walk in the light. The “we” of verse 9 are the “we” of verse 7. So, walking in the light requires those who sin while walking in the light to confess all sins. The condition expressed in verse 7 is general, describing a general way of life. Verse 9 gives the specific requirement. As long as we:”‘ confess our sins, both those we are conscious of and thosel of which we may not be conscious, we have this blessing of continual cleansing. Two great men of yesterday have spoken on the topic and this article closes, leaving you ponder over their statements.

And when people walk in the light, not only is there fellowship between them, but they also have the cleansing blood of Christ, This blood cleanses such people from all sin. This would include all those sins of which we may not be conscious. God graciously blots out such sins, as well as those of which we are conscious and of which we repent; and the next three verses of the chapter show that we all sin, whether consciously or unconsciously, and that God is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, if we confess our sins. And that is a blessing for which every sincere disciple of Christ is profoundly thankful” (R.L. Whiteside, Annual Lesson Commentary, 1937, p. 291).

But there is a present salvation, continuous, co-extensive with Christian living. John says “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin” I Jn. 1:7-9. By baptism ‘into death’ we obtain the benefits of Christ’s blood, and are cleansed from past sins. But by fellowship with the body – in Christ – his blood continually cleanses us from sin. This continuous cleansing is conditioned upon “walking in the light” as stated in verse 7, and in verse 9, “if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” – that is, to keep us cleansed, as we obey these divine instructions” (Bulwarks of the Faith, Foy E. Wallace, Jr. 1946, p. 115).

(Editor’s Note: Those who have kept up with the discussion on 1 John I will recognize that brother Spears present another point of view than I have written. For a consideration of another point of view to what he here expresses, read “Understanding 1 John 1:6-2:2” [Guardian of Truth, XXV:48-50, pp. 755f, 771f, 781f] and “Sinning While In The Light” [Guardian of Truth, XXVII:19, pp. 578fl Though brother Spears and I disagree regarding this matter, we have the same practical application and consequent see no reason for a break in our fellowship over the matter. He deserves to be heard just as certainly as does the poi of view which I hold. Consequently, in the interest of presenting both sides, this article is printed.)

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 6, pp. 171-172
March 15, 1984

By Russell Dunaway

In our last article, we observed that the prophet Isaiah foretold the establishment of the church, and that his prophecy was fulfilled on Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. But Isaiah said some other things about the church of the Lord that I hope we can see in this article. Isaiah prophesied concerning the nature of the church as well as the establishment of the church. Isaiah said, “It shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills. ” I understand, and hope you understand, that Isaiah was not saying that the church would be established in some literal mountain top or on some literal hill top. Isaiah is using a figurative language to show that the church was to be exalted in its nature, that the church was to occupy an exalted position in the heart of man. The church of the Lord is the only institution known to man which is completely spiritual in its nature.

In Luke 17, when the Pharisees questioned Jesus concerning the coming of His kingdom, Jesus answered them saying, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall ye say, Lo here! or Lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Jesus is simply saying that the kingdom of God, the church, is not a material kingdom built with man’s hands, but that it was to be a spiritual, kingdom. The kingdom of God can only exist in the lives of those who have had the seed of the kingdom, the word of God (Lk. 8: 11), sown in their hearts. The kingdom of God is within. It dwells in the heart, the love, and the affections of its members. We are obligated to God to give the church the exalted position in our hearts that He gave the church in the Word of God.

In Matthew 13:44-47, Jesus taught that the kingdom of God ought to be the most important thing in our lives. He compared it to a merchant seeking after goodly pearls who, when he had found that one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and purchased that pearl for himself. Again, Jesus said that the church was like a treasure hid in a field which, when a man hath found it, he sells all that he has, in order to purchase that field. The church ought to be more important to us than all the material things in the world combined. It is to be exalted in our lives to the position that God gave it in the Bible.

God exalted the church. We ought to keep it that way. Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven . . . for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:19-21). If you do not love the church, I can tell you the reason why. It is because you have not placed your treasure there. “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” The church must be exalted!

Isaiah continued his prophecy saying, “. . . all nations shall flow unto it.” The church is universal in its nature. The Law of Moses was for the Jew and Jew alone. But the gospel of Christ was universal – “all nations shall flow unto it.” Under the law of Moses, the Gentile was separated from God and without hope (Eph. 2:12). But God’s eternal purpose for the church was to include the Gentile as -well as the Jew. What God has provided for the Jew under the gospel of Christ, He has provided for the Gentile. Many people think that God has something for the Jew when this life is over that He does not have for the Gentile. Such is not the case. In Ephesians 3:6 Paul said, “That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel.” What God has provided for the Jew, He has also provided for the Gentile. Everything past, present, and future is available to the Jew and to the Gentile alike. In Christ, the Gentile is a fellow heir of the promise God made to Abraham in the past. He is a fellow member of the body of Christ in the present. He is a fellow partaker of the promise of eternal life in the future. The Gentile will receive the same reward as the Jew. Therefore, Jesus commanded, “Go ye into an the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” The Church is responsible for carrying the gospel into every nook and cranny of the earth. Any man in any comer of the globe is subject to the same terms of the gospel as you and I. It is our responsibility, as members of the church, to carry that gospel into all the world. Are we doing that? We read in Colossians 1:23 that in Paul’s day, the gospel was preached to every creature under heaven. They had no radios or televisions. They had no printing presses or news papers. They had no cars or planes. But they did the work God gave them. And we shall stand and give account unto God if we fail in the meeting of our responsibility.

Isaiah continued his prophecy saying, “Many people shall go and say, Come ye, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He shall teach us of His ways . . . . ” The church was to be a taught or instructed church. No man can become a member of the church of the Lord except he first is taught the will of the Lord. Under the law of Moses, a man was born into a covenant relationship with God by his physical birth. Then, he was taught to “know the Lord” (Heb. 8:9-11). Under the New Covenant, the gospel, a man is first taught to “know the Lord,” and then by the “new birth” he is able to enter into a covenant relationship with God (John 6:44,45). It was through the teaching of the apostles on Pentecost that the church was established. No man can become a child of God today except he first is taught the will of God.

Isaiah continues, “. . . and we will walk in his paths.” The church is an obedient church. It is not enough to be taught the will of God. Man must obey the will of God to become a child of God. On the day of Pentecost, after the apostles had taught those Jews, the Jews rendered obedience to the Gospel of Christ (Acts 2:37-41). Learning God’s will was not enough. God’s will had to be obeyed (Matt. 7:21-27; Jas. 1: 19-22). The church is made up of an obedient membership.

Isaiah continued his prophecy, “And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into prunning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” The church is peaceful in nature. Before the death of Christ, the law of Moses stood as a wall of separation between the Jew and the Gentile. But Jesus died in order to make peace between the nations. Paul declared in Ephesians 2:13-16,

But now in Christ Jesus ye who were sometimes afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.

Jesus fulfilled the law of Moses in His death, and took it out of the way by nailing it to His cross (Col. 2:13). In place of that low, Christ established a new man, the church, in which both Jew and Gentile could be reconciled to God and live forever at peace with God. In Romans 5:1 Paul said, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” A man does only one thing when he obeys the gospel of Christ; he makes peace with God. When a man obeys the gospel of Christ, he is no longer an enemy of God, but makes peace with God. No man can live at peace with God outside the church. It is only in the church that the peace of God which passeth all understanding can be made available unto man. In Romans 14:17 Paul wrote, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” There can be no peace without happiness. There can be no happiness without righteousness. When the righteousness of God fills the lives of men and women, they will be happy, and when happy, they will live at peace with god and with their fellow man. The church is presented in nature.

Guardian of Truth XXVIII: 6, pp. 169-170
March 15, 1984