16. The Period Of Grace-The Church -The Believer
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
THE PERIOD OF GRACE-THE CHURCH- THE BELIEVER
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:11-13).
This Age of Grace is the age in which we are living today. It extends from the Cross of Calvary to the Second Coming of Christ.
The Grace of God is defined by Paul as, “The kindness and love of God, our Saviour, toward man" (Titus 3:4); and “His kindness toward us through Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 2:7). He saved us not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8).
“The Grace of God is God’s unmerited favor granted to unworthy sinners who have nothing in themselves to commend themselves to God.”
“Being justified by his grace, we shall be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:7).
Dr. C. I. Scofield says that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ saves, justifies, builds up, makes acceptable, forgives, redeems, bestows an inheritance, gives standing, provides a throne to which we may come boldly for mercy and help, teaches us how to live and gives us a blessed hope. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). Jesus says, “My grace is sufficient for thee". The age of grace is a marvelous age because it is the age of the Gospel of the grace of God. This age follows the age of law. Let us compare the age of grace with the age of law.
The age of law is known as the Jewish age, while the age of grace is the Christian age, or Church age. The Jewish law and grace do not intermingle, for law is God-prohibiting while grace is God-bestowing.
Law is that which shuts up, but grace is that which opens up.
Law brings condemnation to the best, while grace brings justification to the worst.
The law curses and kills, but grace forgives, redeems and makes alive.
Law leads to a spirit of hatred, but grace leads to love, peace and praise.
Of course there have been both law and grace since the time of Adam: but during the age of law, the law, as given by Moses, was predominant; and during the age of grace, grace and truth which come from Jesus Christ are predominant (Luke 23:43; Romans 5:15; 1 Timothy 1:15; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
Jesus Christ came at the start of the age of grace to fulfill the law of God. The Psalmist speaks of the law of God in Psalms 1:2, when he says, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night". The law was added to the government of man because of man’s transgression. God gave the law to Moses to bring guilty man a knowledge of his sin.
“As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse" (Galatians 3:10).
“By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20).
“The strength of sin is the law" (1 Corinthians 15:56).
Man is justified not by the works of the law, but by the faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:26). The law is not of faith (Galatians 3:12).
“But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster" (Galatians 3:23-25).
“Walk in the spirit and ye will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).
Paul says to the believer, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law but under grace"
This age of grace is a marvelous age, because it is the age of the Church of Jesus Christ. The Church is the living body of Christ, the organism of which He is the living and eternal head. Jesus Himself said, “I will build My Church" It is a most valuable experience to be a member of that great company of believers who have been redeemed by His own precious blood.
The Christian Church means the “called-out” ones, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.
Today, in this Church Age, both Jews and Gentiles, who are saved, may be partakers alike of the promises of God for the Church. God is miraculously “calling-out” His people from among all nations. These “called-out” people must be born again, and be baptized with the Holy Spirit. This is the mystery of the Church.
The age of grace is a marvelous age, because it is the age of the Holy Spirit. Every saved person receives the Holy Spirit. Every person who comes into the world as a babe is by nature a child of wrath and dead in sin, he is raised up from his dead nature only by the new birth. This is the new birth which cancels the spiritual death inherited from Adam, and which begins a spiritual life in Christ Jesus in the believer. God plants the Holy Spirit within these His people the moment they believe in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for their sins, and in His resurrection from the grave, and are saved by accepting Him as their Saviour.
This age of grace is a marvelous age, because it is preeminently the age of evangelism. Its outstanding objective is the salvation of souls. To be an active member of a group of people in the Church of Jesus Christ who are making a business of evangelism is a blessed thing.
The purpose of this age of grace in God’s plan of redemption is the gathering-out from among the nations the Church of Jesus Christ, against which the gates of hell and Satan cannot prevail.
These gathered-out ones compose one body, the Church;
They possess one spirit, the Holy Spirit;
They are built upon one foundation, which is Jesus Christ, our Saviour. The worldly church of today is failing to meet modern needs and to save modern life, because it has failed to recognize the secret of the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit in this age of the Holy Spirit.
Without the Holy Spirit the church is hopeless. Men in the worldly church may have energy and enthusiasm to help humanity, but with no spiritual or lasting results. The carnal mind does not understand, for it has no contact with the Holy Spirit. It is the spirit that quickeneth. The lamps of the carnal man possess no oil, which is the Holy Spirit. Without oil they will not be ready when the Bridegroom cometh.
The so-called modern churches are still on Satan’s side of the conflict. They are busy trying to do good without spiritual help. They are not born again unto eternal life. Revelation 3:1 says, “I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead"
Satan, the deceiver, is posing around these churches as the angel of light, and his ministers are posing as ministers of righteousness, but ignoring the Holy Spirit. Satan is always inventing new religions without the aid of the Holy Spirit, religions which appeal to fallen human nature as a substitute for being born again. The chief features of Satan’s church are idolatry and priestcraft, things which God hates.
The church needs to see Jesus, and to know Him, its only Saviour.
The church needs to see Jesus in the lives and actions of Christian believers.
Every regenerate being in this age of grace is the possessor of two natures; the one nature is received through natural birth, and is hopelessly bad; while the other nature, the new nature, the nature of God Himself, is received through the new birth, and is wholly good.
Dr. C. I. Scofield says that God does not say that those who do not have the new nature are not refined, or cultured, or able, or sweet tempered, or generous, or charitable, or religious; but He does say that not one of them is righteous, or understands God, or obeys God, or pleases God or seeks after Him.
Unregenerate people are untouched by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and they reject Christ’s word. They are often filled with sympathy for all the woes and for all the aspirations of humanity, and they are strenuous in their assertion of their human rights, but out of the heart of the unregenerate man “proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness; all these things come from within and they defile the man" (Mark 7:21-23).
“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).
“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So they that are in the flesh cannot please God" (Romans 8:7-8).
A Christian has two natures.
He receives the divine nature by regeneration just as he receives human nature by natural generation. The believer still has his old nature. Regeneration is a creation, not simply a reformation. It is the bringing in of a New Nature, not the changing of an Old Nature.
Nicodemus was a moral, religious man, but Jesus said unto him, “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26).
On the contrary, if ye do not have faith in Jesus Christ, ye are none of His. Unless a person is born again into the family of God, he has no right to call God his father. The fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man are not universal.
“For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9; Cf. Galatians 3:6; Galatians 6:15).
All members of the church of Jesus Christ have been born again, and they are brothers in Christ Jesus, and God is their Father (1 Peter 2:9-12). The Fatherhood of God is found only in the church of Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
“I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in Glory" (Colossians 3:3-4).
“He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:12).
However, the two natures, the old nature and the Divine nature, exist together in the believer.
Between these two natures there is a conflict, as there has been conflict throughout the ages-a conflict between God and the devil for possession of the souls of men. The flesh and the spirit are contrary the one to the other. The young convert, as well as the old convert, who often depends upon his own will-power, has trouble to understand life because of this conflict. The power of the Holy Spirit is the only thing that can help settle this confusion. “If ye walk in the spirit, ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).
The age of grace is the Church age. The Church of Jesus Christ is invested with eternal life. This organism had its origin in the mind of God, before the foundation of the world, but started after the ascension of Christ. It is shown on the Art Chart (www.BibleSupport.com/a/gppc.png) in the Age of Grace as starting at the time of the descent of the Holy Spirit and continuing on earth until the Rapture.
The Church of Christ is not of earth but of heaven (Ephesians 1:3). Her members are pilgrims and strangers in this world.
On the Art Chart (www.BibleSupport.com/a/gppc.png) are shown the names of the seven churches of Asia, as described in Revelation 2:1 to Revelation 3:22.
A book by L. Sales Harrison, entitled “The Wonders of the Great Unveiling,” gives a clear picture of these seven churches. The letters to these seven churches give a chronological, prophetic picture of the seven periods of the dispensation of the church, and they give also a sevenfold message to the Church.
The seven stars on the Chart above the churches represent the messengers of the seven churches (Revelation 1:12-16). John saw our blessed Lord standing in the midst of the churches clothed as a high priest. “His eyes as a flaming fire,” and “His feet like fine brass”; both of these expressions are symbols of judgment. “Seven stars were in His right hand" They represent messages. “Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword,” a symbol of execution of judgment. In these seven messages, the Lord said to everyone of the churches, “I know thy works" In these messages, He describes a preview of the conditions as they exist during the seven successive periods of the present Church age. The Church of Ephesus, 95 A.D., is described in Revelation 2:1-7. Ephesus means “desirable.” It describes the love of the Lord for His church. The Lord condemns this first Church for leaving its first love and for forgetting the Holy Spirit. The message is “To him that overcometh, I will give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God"
The Church in Smyrna, 95-315 A.D., Revelation 2:8-11, represents the martyr period under the Roman Empire. It was threatened with great suffering. Attempts to crush the church were made by ten different rulers. The promise was. “Be thou faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life"
The Church in Pergamos, 315-500 A.D., Revelation 2:12-17, means “marriage” and “elevation.” Before this, the church was in the world but not of it. Now the world married or came into the church. Priesthood was begun; and the church came into imperial favor. The message was “To him that overcometh I will give to eat of the hidden manna; and I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it[/b]"
The Church in Thyatira, 500-1500 A.D., Revelation 2:18-29, means “sacrifice” of the mass and “continual sacrifice.” The source of the papal order which makes Mary the queen of heaven is from Babylonian idolatry. Read this description of the papacy in Revelation 2:1-29. “As many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depth of Satan (or sin), as they speak, I will put upon you none other burden. But that which ye have already hold fast till I come" The promise is “I will give him the Morning Star"
The Church in Sardis, 1500-1800, Revelation 3:1-6 means “things remaining.” There was a reformation in this period, but only a few remained undefiled. The promise is “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels". The Church in Philadelphia, the 19th century, Revelation 3:7-13, means “brotherly love.”
This is the Missionary Age. The history of Christian missionaries, their aims, their sacrifices, their adventures, their victories, their devotion to the cause of the church of Jesus Christ, is most uplifting and inspiring.
Active in spreading the gospel during this missionary age of the church were such men as David Livingstone, who possessed the nobility of self-sacrifice while exploring the dark continent of Africa in the hope of emancipating the black man’s soul.
There were Sir Henry M. Stanley and Alexander Mackey, and Bishop James Hannington the lion-hearted, all in Africa.
There was David Brainerd who labored among the Indian tribes of the North American forests.
There was John Williams who sailed among the coral islands of the Pacific to save the souls of men of those islands.
There was J. Hudson Taylor of the China Inland Mission, a man full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, with rare power in prayer, with marvelous organizing faculties, with energetic initiative and with influence with men.
Hundreds of such men can be mentioned as having been powerful workers in the cause of the Christian church during the Missionary Age, all of which goes to prove that God can work at all times through the lives of humble, consecrated, ordinary, self-sacrificing, faithful men and women.
With this Missionary Church, the Lord finds no fault. The promise is “I have set before thee an open door and no man can shut it" “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God". The Church in Laodicea, the 20th century church, Revelation 3:14-22, means “people’s rights.” It is the people’s church of the present day. It is not the Lord’s church. People everywhere are demanding their rights. The Lord stands outside of this church and knocks. He stands at the door of the heart of each individual and knocks to be admitted, for the latch is on the inside.
The Laodicean church of today is lukewarm. It is the people’s church without the power of the Holy Spirit. It precedes the Rapture. The twelve discs on the Chart in the oval above the churches represent the twelve kingdom parables as described in Matthew, chapters 13 to 28.
The Lord’s Supper is pictured above the church. The Lord’s Table is mounted on wings. One wing points toward the cross, to “show forth the Lord’s death" The other wing points to the Rapture, “till He come" “As oft as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do show forth the Lord’s death till He come" These wings also represent the verse of Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint"
In this present age of grace, the church age, Satan’s forces in the world are working against the church of Jesus Christ. Today, we are living in the last period of the church age. The earthly church as a whole does not have the Holy Spirit. There is trouble everywhere in the church and outside of it. This points to Christ’s second coming as being near at hand. Bishop J. C. Ryle said “I believe it is for the safety, comfort, and happiness of all true Christians to expect as little as possible from churches or governments under the present dispensation; to hold themselves ready for tremendous convulsions and changes of all things established; and to expect their good things only from Christ’s second advent.” This is true wisdom. It is the only true optimism. “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him" (Psalms 62:5). The age of Grace will end with the second coming of Christ.