Truth Magazine

By Evan Blackmore

There has always been a sharp distinction between the word of God and messages which have been developed by human reasoning. Certainly God may make use of the mind of an inspired writer in presenting His word: Luke, for example, “investigated everything carefully from the beginning” before writing his inspired gospel (Lk. 1:3). But, “no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will” (2 Pet. 1:21).

(1) The word of God was not necessarily connected in any way with the human thoughts of the prophet who spoke it. When Isaiah had finished delivering the word of the Lord to Hezekiah, he left the palace and started to return home. We are not told what Isaiah’s own thoughts were; but certainly he was not expecting another message from the Lord, or he would not have left the palace. Yet, “before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court . . . the word of the Lord came to him” again, and he had to turn around and go right back to Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:1-5).

(2) The word of God was sometimes actually opposed to the human thoughts of the prophet who spoke it. The soothsayer Balaam was imported from Mesopotamia specifically for the purpose of cursing the Israelites; but “the Spirit of God came upon him” (Num. 24:2), and he blessed the Israelites instead. “I could not,” said Balaam, “do anything contrary to the command of the Lord, either good or bad, of my own accord. What the Lord speaks, that I will speak” (Num. 24:13).

(3) The word of God sometimes was not even understood by the prophet who spoke it (1 Pet. 1:10-12). After the prophecies recorded in the final chapters of the book of Daniel had been revealed, Daniel writes, “As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, `My Lord, what will be the outcome of these events?’ And he said, `Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end of time”‘ (Dan. 12:8-9).

The word of God was utterly distinct from human reasonings. The two had nothing in common. “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has my word speak my word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain? declares the Lord” (Jer. 23:28).

How To Tell The Difference

Nevertheless, it was not always easy, on the surface, for uninspired men to recognize what was the word of God. A man might claim to be speaking the word of the Lord when in fact he was not (Jer. 23:25). A man might speak a message, claiming that it came from God, and soon afterwards speak an exactly opposite message, again claiming that it came from God (1 Kings 13:18, 21-22; 22:15, 17). How were ordinary people supposed to tell the difference? The Bible gives a number of guidelines by which the word of God could be recognized.

(1) The word of God always came true. “You may say in your heart, `How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him” (Deut. 18:21-22). Not everything which came true was the word of God, but anything which did not come true could not be the word of God.

It was especially important to apply this test when the message of the prophet was unusual or surprising in some way. “The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms of war and of calamity and of pestilence. The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of that prophet shall come to pass, then the prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent” (Jer. 28:8-9).

(2) The word of God always presented the same message; it never contradicted itself. Even if a message came true, if it flatly contradicted the word of God, it could not be from God. “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, `Let us go, after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Dent. 13:1-3). The same kind of test is, imposed within the New Testament: “Even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel. contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8). “Beloved do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist” (1 Jn. 4:1-3). No message which is contrary to the word of God can be from God.

Keep Alert

Today, we are still confronted by all sorts of people who claim to be declaring the word of God. And the same tests still apply. A “man of God” who declared that the world was going to end in 1975 could not possibly be proclaiming the word of God, because his message did not come true. A “man of God” who declared that the Bible contained mistakes could not possibly be proclaiming the word of God, because his message was directly contrary to the word of God.

It is our responsibility to recognize what is the word of God and what is not. It is the responsibility of elders: “From among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:30-32). It is the responsibility of teachers of the word (1 Tim. 4:1-6). It is the responsibility of every Christian (Acts 17:11).

“Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them” (Rom. 16:17).

Truth Magazine XXIII: 15, pp. 245-246
April 12, 1979

By Mike Willis

There are literally thousands of saints who have preceded us in death whose lives, if we knew about them, would be worthy examples for us to follow. Unfortunately, however, we do not know about them and must wait until we meet them in heaven to learn of their noble deeds. However, there are a number of Christians concerning whom short statements are made in the Scriptures which show that their lives are also worthy of imitation. Such is the case with a couple of noble Christians, a man and his wife, named Aquila and Priscilla.

The Scriptures do not have a lot to say about these Christians. As a matter of fact, reproduced below is the sum total of the Scriptural comments about them:

After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers . . . . And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. And he came to Ephesus, and left them there . . . . And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly (Acts 18:1-3, 18-19, 24-26).

Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, ,but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in their house (Rom. 16:3-5).

The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house (1 Cor. 16:19).

Salute Priscilla and Acquila, and the household of Onesiphorus (2 Tim. 4:19). Let us notice the lessons which we can learn from their lives.

Lessons From Their Lives

1. These people loved the Lord and the brethren more than they loved life itself. The passage in Rom. 16:3-5 demonstrates that they were willing to lay down their life, not only for the service of Christ, but also in the service of His servant Paul. They had, indeed, learned the lessons regarding putting. Christ first in their lives. Jesus said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:26): Apparently, they had learned this lesson.

In addition to this, they had also learned love of the brethren. John wrote, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 Jn. 4:19). In the service of the Lord, this is exactly what this godly couple had done; they had “laid down their own necks” for Paul’s life. We need to learn to put Christ first in our lives and to live to serve, as this couple did.

2. These Christians gave of themselves to promote the gospel of Christ. The first evidence which we see of this is that they opened their homes for the travelling servant of the Lord, Paul (Acts 18:1-3). During the time that Paul worked in Corinth, he stayed with this man and his wife. Hence, they were “given to hospitality,” willing to entertain strangers (see Heb. 13:1-2; 1 Pet. 4:9).

In addition to that, they opened their home in order to provide a place for the church to assemble (Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19). Having worshiped with brethren who met in the home of one of the members on some occasions, I know a little of the inconvenience which this places on the people opening their homes. Yet, this couple opened their home on more than one occasion for the church to assemble and meet. This shows to me the extent of their dedication in the service of Jesus Christ.

3. They shared the gospel with their friends (Acts 18:24-28). The account of Luke relates their work in showing Apollos the way of the Lord more perfectly. It demonstrates their zeal in teaching others the right ways of the Lord.

Apollos is a good person to study in himself. He was an Alexandrian Jew who was eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures. I know quite a few eloquent men, through the television and radio networks, but none of them are “mighty in the Scriptures” as was Apollos. He was “fervent in the spirit,” a man of zeal. He had the courage to speak boldly and the desire to spread the truth of God’s word which he knew. Hence, he came to Ephesus to tell what he knew about the Christ. Despite these attributes, he knew very little about the Christ.

His sole source for knowledge about the Christ came through John the Baptist. It was limited to what John knew. Remembering that John died early in the ministry of Jesus Christ; we can rather safely assume that Apollos knew nothing of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the atonement, the sending of the Holy Spirit, the ascent into heaven, and many other important truths revealed to us by Jesus. Hence, Apollos had only partial knowledge of Jesus.

Priscilla and Aquila took Apollos aside and taught him the word of the Lord more perfectly. This couple knew Jesus and wanted to share Him with their friends. They had imbibed the zeal of the Christians to take the gospel to every creature under heaven (Acts 8:4-5; Matt. 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15-16; 2 Tim. 2:2). We need to remember several important facts about their teaching the gospel to their friend, Apollos.

These humble tentmakers took the educated, eloquent, “mighty in the scriptures” Apollos aside and taught him. Sometimes, men learn the truth from the lowly and simpleminded. The most important professors which Apollos ever sat under were Aquila and Priscilla. (His willingness to be taught by such a couple as this manifests admirable traits in his character.) Furthermore, Aquila and Priscilla taught Apollos despite the fact that they were not full-time preachers supported by the church to spread the gospel. Sometimes we have the tendency to expect all of the preaching to be done by those who are supported from the congregational budget. Aquila and Priscilla did not have that attitude.

In order for the gospel to be taken to as many people as possible, we are going to have to cultivate the attitude that every man is a gospel preacher. Our older men need to teach the gospel on the job, our older women need to teach the gospel to the people with whom they work or meet as their neighbors in the community; our younger boys and girls need to spread the gospel to their friends in the schools across this nation. When Christians learn this aspect of spreading the gospel in contrast to expecting the supported gospel preachers to do all of the preaching, the church will grow faster.

Let us notice that Priscilla participated in the teaching of Apollos. The Scriptures plainly so state. There is no hint in the Scriptures that Priscilla usurped the authority over Apollos (1 Tim. 2:12). Yet, she participated in the teaching. Women need to realize that they, too, have a responsibility to help spread the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. In many of the passages where the word “man” is used, it is used without respect to gender and, therefore, obligates both man and woman to work to spread the gospel. Such is the case in 2 Tim. 2:2 which states, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” Women are commanded to be “teachers of good things” (Tit. 2:3). Let us be careful not to impose greater limits on the woman in her teaching than the Scriptures impose. Furthermore, let us get the gospel in the hands of every Christian and engage all of us in spreading it!

4. They were wise in the manner in which they did their teaching. Jesus sent forth His disciples to preach the gospel telling them, “Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matt. 10:16). Paul instructed the Colossians, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (4:6). Knowing how to answer the different kinds of men is not easy. Hence, Paul wrote, “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men” (1 Thess. 5:14). Similarly, Jude said, “And on some have compassion, making a different: and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (23).

Aquila and Priscilla knew how to handle Apollos’s instruction. They did it at the right time (when they heard), in the right place (they took him unto them) and used the right message (the way of God). They did not seek to embarrass Apollos by publicly correcting him. They did not treat him so harshly in their rebukes that they drove him away from the truth. Rather, they carefully taught him more about the ways of the Lord.

Another thing that we need to notice about this couple, they did not simply ignore the differences in doctrine which existed between them and Apollos. The modern ecumenicals, both inside and outside the body of Christ, tend to salve over the doctrinal differences which exist and pretend that unity can exist in spite of the major doctrinal differences. That was not the method of Aquila and Priscilla.

Conclusion

We need more couples dedicated to the service of the Lord as this couple was. Too often, a family is divided religiously; one member chooses to serve the Lord and another member chooses to go the way of the world. Even among Christians, one member is sometimes on fire with zeal for the Lord and the other somewhat lackadaisical. The amount of good which can be accomplished in such situations is decidedly less than when both members of the family labor in the same harness to bear the load of spreading God’s word.

Remembering the example of Aquila and Priscilla, let us examine our families to see if we are laboring together as partners in the Lord. Our wives are “heirs together of the grace of life” (1 Pet. 3:7); hence, let us work together in our service to God as did Aquila and Priscilla.

Truth Magazine XXIII: 15, pp. 243-245
April 12, 1979

By Larry Ray Hafley

We look at the heroic deeds and epic accomplishments of God’s great and grand men of the past. We are thrilled and enthralled when we recall the mighty and majestic efforts of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, Jonah – you finish your- own list of the names of the men of faith and courage who inspire you. Now, your mind is racing and picturing Paul and others in moments that grace the pages of sacred history. Are you not made to feel that you, too, could be one of those who could and would succeed in the work of the Lord during a fateful and historic time? Surely, you are!

Accordingly, we watch the sports heroes of the day as the news brings us word of their latest achievements. We bask in the glimmer of memories of men who were dead before many of us were born. We love to hear the stories of their finest hours. We can hear the crack of Babe Ruth’s bat. We can see Ty Cobb and Lou Gehrig, or Willie Mays, Stan Musial, and Hank Aaron! And what do we see? Why, we see their supreme efforts, their brilliance which will always illuminate the world of sports. Again, make your own list in your own favorite areas. Exciting, is it not?

But, now, come down to earth, to reality, to the often baneful, painful grind of day-to-day living. Yes, Noah built his ark and David met his Goliath, but these were moments out of a lifetime. So often we sit and dream of the “big event.” We will go to Nineveh! We will hit the big time by toppling the Goliath of our day and time, but we will not be bothered with the simple, mundane affairs of life. That is where we miss it. You see, David would never have approached Goliath had he not met the lion and the bear out there alone in the wilderness. Noah would never have built the ark had he not taken time to raise a devout family and live a godly life from day to day. While you rave about one of your sports heroes, he is presently sweating, forcing his mind and body to practice one more hour, to run one more mile. This fall and winter you will see him blaze into glory and the hall of fame, but his blaze would be a mere flicker if he were not suffering somewhere right now.

And that, my friend, is probably why many of us will never be sent to Nineveh. We are not teaching our friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers. So, who are we to invade the citadels of error? We are not bravely challenging the lion and the bear in local situations; so, who are we to rise up against the incredible hulk, Goliath? We are not taking the time to raise our own children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; so, who are we to think that we should take charge of the construction of an ark? All these ancient worthies had to pay their dues in sacrifice. They paid the price. Remember, too, that when the big moment came, it was not seen as “my big chance” to “make good.” It was simply another confrontation. It became the “great event” after the fact. Surely, David had no idea, when as a ruddy, young lad he determined to defeat the “uncircumcised Philistine,” that his story would be told countless millions of times to thrill the hearts of all who hear it. That never entered his mind. He simply did what he felt he had to do at the time.

We will do as well; we will accomplish as much; we will be as great if we simply take up our cross daily and follow, Him. It is a; simple business of day-to-day living. Those who do it daily are the famous ones of tomorrow and the residents of heaven.

Truth Magazine XXIII: 15, p. 242
April 12, 1979

By Johnie Edwards

God expects his people to grow. Peter said, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Pet. 2:2). Again he said, “But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ . . .” (2 Pet. 3:18). Let’s notice some things about full-grown Christians.

(1) Grown Christians have convictions. Christians must not be as Paul said, “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14). To have convictions is to be “grounded and sett4ed” (Col. 1:23). We must have our feet on the ground and know why we believe what we do.

(2) Full-grown Christians are faith contenders. Jude said, “. . . that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). We must be ready and able to stand up for the truth. We must know how to answer men concerning our hope.

(3) Christians put away childish things. Paul said, “when I became a man, I put away childish things” (1 Cor. 13:11). We are admonished to “quit you like men. . .” (1 Cor. 16:13). This means to behave like a man! When members of the church pout and just have to have their own way, it is a good sign that they need to grow up.

(4) Full-grown Christians are strong. It is a command of God to be strong (1 Cor. 16:13). Paul said, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might” (Eph. 6:10). One way to be strong is to eat the right kind of spiritual food (Matt. 4:4) and exercise ourselves unto godliness (Heb. 5:14).

(5) Full-grown Christians are Christ like. We are told to have the “mind of Christ” (Phil. 2:5-8). We have been told to “follow his steps” (1 Pet. 2:21). We must continue to ask ourselves, “What would Christ do or what would he say?”

(6) Full-grown Christians have influence. Influence is either for good or bad. Christians have good influence! Their lights are shining for good (Matt. 5:16). Their lives are ordered after the New Testament way of life. Are you growing daily?

Truth Magazine XXIII: 14, p. 237
April 5, 1979