Christ’s Resurrection
The resurrection of Christ is one of the great works of our redemption. Without the resurrection, even the cross is not complete. The word of God reminds us of this in I Corinthians 15:17: “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.”
Without the resurrection, we would still be in our sins in two ways and for two reasons.
First, we would still be in our sins legally, that is, we would not be justified and have our sins forgiven. Why? Because justification is a work of God Himself as Judge. He must pass the sentence that justifies us. He does this in raising Christ from the dead, thereby accepting and approving Christ’s finished work on our behalf. The resurrection is, therefore, the sentence of the everlasting and unchangeable Judge of heaven and earth sealing our justification.
Think of it this way: Christ said, “It is finished” on the cross; God says, “It is finished” in raising Christ from the dead. Thus God passes the sentence that legally justifies us before Him. That is what Romans 4:25 means: “… and was raised again for our justification.” That is why the Bible emphasizes in many passages that God raised Him from the dead.
We would also, however, still be in our sins actually. If Christ had not been raised, we would have no one to give us the gift of faith, and, through faith, the forgiveness of sins and deliverance from all our sins. We would still be living as we once did: “in our sins.” As our living Lord, He gives us both forgiveness of sins and deliverance from sin. He gives us both peace and holiness.
The resurrection is also the means of our access to God. As “the firstbegotten of the dead” (Rev. 1:5), He is the one who opens the way into the presence of God and into the favour of God. That was always the work of the firstborn or firstbegotten—he opened the way for all the other children (Ex. 13:2; Ezek. 20:26). Christ opens the way for us out of death into life and into the presence of God.
Not only that, but His resurrection stands as the sure pledge that we also shall be raised. Christ’s resurrection and ours are inseparable, as Paul demonstrates in I Corinthians 15:16. Because He lives, we shall live also.
Christ’s resurrection, therefore, is at the heart of the whole scheme of redemption, and cannot be denied without overthrowing all that we believe. Believe it and rejoice in Him who lives for evermore! Rev. Ron Hanko
Saul Among the Prophets
“And it was so, that when he [i.e., Saul] had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. And it came to pass, when they came thither to the hill, that, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” (I Sam. 10:9-11).
While this interesting passage was submitted for discussion by one of our readers, no specific question was included. We will, therefore, consider the passage in general, and if a question remains that a reader would like answered, he may write again.
The general context of the passage is Samuel’s designation of Saul, the son of Kish, as the first king of Israel. Saul was given three signs that would take place on his way home, showing him that he was indeed to be king. The third sign was this: Saul would meet a company of prophets who would begin to prophesy. The Spirit of the Lord would come upon Saul at that moment, and he would prophesy with them. It is to this third sign that the text refers.
To understand the significance of this, we must say a word about the idea of office. This sign showed that Saul had been appointed and anointed to the office of king. When Adam was created in Paradise, he was created as God’s office bearer, representing God in His world. That office had three aspects: prophet, priest and king. As prophet, Adam was to speak the word of God in the creation; as priest, he was to consecrate the creation to God in humble service; and as king, he was to rule over the creation in God’s name.
When Adam fell, he lost the office to which God had appointed him, for he became Satan’s representative in the world. God, however, appointed Christ as the true office bearer in His world, an office that belongs to Christ from eternity. Christ is God’s representative in the whole creation—heaven and earth—and is therefore superior to Adam. He is God’s office bearer in the redeemed creation, since redemption is accomplished through Him. Christ is God’s true Prophet, Priest and King.
In the Old Testament Christ had not yet come. Therefore, God gave pictures of that office to Israel, whom He chose to be His people. No one, however, was given the right to hold every aspect of that office. Some were prophets, some were priests and some were kings. There is wisdom in this. The office of prophet is the general office, perhaps even the most important. God gave Israel men who were prophets, but the priests also prophesied, and the kings as well. Not every prophet was a priest or king, but every priest and king was a prophet.
The offices of priest and king could never be held by the same person, except for Melchizedek, who was a special type of Christ (Heb. 7:3, 15, 17), and Christ is “priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:4; Heb. 5:6). When Saul later tried to perform the work of a priest, the kingdom was taken from him (I Sam. 13:8-14). Uzziah also attempted this and was struck with leprosy (II Chron. 26:16-21).
Kings prophesied, as David and Solomon did, and priests prophesied—even wicked ones (John 11:47-53). Wicked priests and kings prophesied by virtue of the office they held in the nation. God used even wicked office bearers at times to bring His word to His people, just as He sometimes does when an unregenerate man, while preaching, speaks the word of God. Balaam, a wicked prophet, spoke words of blessing upon the nation, not because he wished to bless, but because God compelled him to do so. For that same reason, God caused his ass to speak.
So also with Saul: as a sign of his office, he prophesied. This is the meaning of the expression, “God gave him another heart.” It does not mean that Saul was regenerated and later lost that life, but that he was so anointed by God and so possessed by the Spirit that he could serve as king in Israel. As king, he also prophesied.
The great wonder, for which we ought to be daily thankful, is this: God has given the Spirit of Christ to His church in the New Testament, and now all God’s people are prophets, priests and kings. Prof. Herman Hanko
Is Tongue-Speaking Biblical?
In the previous issue of the News we showed that Luther, Calvin and Warfield were cessationists, that is, they did not believe in the continuation of the apostolic gifts such as tongue-speaking. We stand with them in rejecting the notion that these gifts have continued in the church. We do so, however, not because of what these men taught, but because Scripture teaches clearly that these gifts have not continued.
Scripture itself calls all such things “signs of the apostles” (II Cor. 12:12), that is, signs performed by the inspired apostles and their associates, belonging to the time of the apostles and ceasing with them. These “signs of the apostles” refer especially to miracles, but tongues are also called a “sign” (I Cor. 14:22).
We also believe that tongues have ceased because Scripture itself says so in I Corinthians 13:8. That verse uses a different word to describe the cessation of tongues than it does for prophecies and knowledge. Of prophecies and knowledge it says “they shall be made unnecessary.” Of tongues it says literally “they shall stop of themselves.” That this would soon take place after Paul wrote, and has indeed taken place, is clear from the following verses, where tongues are no longer mentioned, though prophesying and knowledge are.
Most importantly, we hold to the cessation of tongues as part of the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture. In the days of the apostles the Scriptures were not complete, and such signs were useful and even necessary. Now that the Scriptures are complete, we have the word of God in Revelation 22:18-19, which teaches that nothing may be added to the book of God given to us. To seek new revelation through tongues and visions is to deny the perfection and sufficiency of holy Scripture.
Pentecostalism not only fails to reckon with such passages, but also ignores the rules given for tongue-speaking when it was present in the church:
- that it was a gift of real languages (Acts 2:5-11);
- that not all possessed the gift (I Cor. 12:30);
- that it was a sign for unbelievers (I Cor. 14:22);
- that only two or three were permitted to speak in tongues in a meeting, and that by turns (I Cor. 14:27);
- that it had to be interpreted (I Cor. 14:28);
- that women were to keep silence in the churches, a rule governing all public worship, including the use of tongues (I Cor. 14:34).
That Pentecostalism breaks so many of these rules only shows its refusal to be subject to the word of God as the sole rule of faith and life.
This refusal to submit to the word of God explains why the Pentecostal movement has found such a following in the Roman Catholic Church. That church has long refused to acknowledge the Scriptures as the only authority for faith and life and continues to do so. Pentecostalism follows the same path.
This same refusal is also the reason for the aberrations that have always accompanied the movement, culminating in phenomena with no biblical basis and no claim to be biblical, such as the excesses of the “Toronto Blessing” movement.
It must be “Scripture alone” for us, or we are without a sure and safe guide to light our path through this world and to give us hope of coming at last to that “city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10). Rev. Ron Hanko
