Sunday School Lesson

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The Work of Christ

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Martin Prins

“I-I-I don’t know,” I answered, “Nobody knows.”

“I do,” she said confidently. "Sixteen years ago, I came to know the Lord Jesus as my personal Savior and I received eternal life.” She then got out her Dutch Bible. Together we read...

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Don Panchito

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Stephen Vance

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Marriage and the Family

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Is the Lord’s Supper a shadow of things to come?

In other words, does it portray His heavenly feast in which we shall participate with Himself?

We do not think so. The Bible rather limits it to the present—”ye proclaim the Lord’s death, till He come” (1 Corinthians 11:26)." TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 11:26). In 1 Corinthians 5" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 5: we read the words, “therefore let us keep the feast,” but this follows the statement, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us,” and the reference would be to the feast of unleavened bread which followed the passover, to which should correspond the holy life which befits the child of God.

W.H.

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IS THE SUPPER FOR THIS DISPENSATION?

Some teach that the Lord’s Supper is not for Christians now— of “this dispensation of the Mystery,” whatever that exactly means. Do you think there is any scriptural authority for this?

It is indeed a grievous thing that the Lord’s people should be disturbed with these unscriptural vagaries—part of the Dead-Sea fruit of Bullingerism,* which asserts that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are Jewish ordinances. In U.S.A., however, we understand that most of this cult, though still rejecting baptism, now teach that the Lord’s Supper is for Christians to-day. They are mostly “Universalists” out there, while the British section hold what is known as “Conditional Immortality” or “Annihilationism,” so the system is divided against itself on more points than one. One reason these teachers give against the Lord’s Supper is that the Lord instituted it directly after partaking of the Passover—a Jewish feast of age-long standing; but there is no reason at all why a new ordinance ostensibly appointed to suit the new dispensation about to dawn should be Jewish too.

The Lord’s death and resurrection are not limited in their application to Jews, because they occurred in close connection with His earthly ministry to Israel. The fact that the Apostle Paul was commissioned to lay down afresh the order of the Supper, in writing to a church of the Gentiles, was probably to guard against the very error combated here.

The words, “For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till He come,” surely prove conclusively that the Supper was to be observed by Christians till then. The theory seems to be “begun, continued and ended” in a series of fallacies. First there is the fallacy that a new dispensation began in Acts z8, during Paul’s imprisonment at Rome; that it was inaugurated, not by a new Pentecost or something analogous, nor by signs and miracles, as we might expect, but by the Epistles—which Paul wrote while in prison, which they call “the Prison Epistles”—the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians, and Philemon. All others they tell us are not for us.

There is also the unsound argument that only in prison-letters is revealed the mystery of Christ, that the Gentiles were to form one Body, etc., with believers from Israel (Ephesians 3:5)." TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 3:5). No one denies that the teaching of the Epistles is progressive, but it is also cumulative. Already in Romans 12:5" TARGET="_blank">Romans 12:5 and 1 Corinthians 12:13" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 12:13 the “one body” is spoken of, and there is not a second, nor could there ever be. This is the “one body” of Ephesians 4:4." TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 4:4. Is it not remarkable, if so much depended on those letters, that nothing is said of them in Acts 28" TARGET="_blank">Acts 28: , and that millions have read them, without knowing or enquiring when they were written? Another fallacy on which this system rests is that Paul here told the Jews that henceforth he would turn to the Gentiles, as though that was the first time this had been announced. On the contrary, he uses almost the same words as in verse 28 to the Jews at Antioch (chap. 13. 46), and at Jerusalem (chap. 22. 21). The same truth was patent at Caesarea through Peter (chap. 10), and indeed by the commission of the Lord Himself to His apostles (chap. i. 8), not to speak of Romans 11" TARGET="_blank">Romans 11:, where the setting aside of Israel nationally had been clearly taught.

Yet another fallacy is that Paul was the sole repository of the Mystery of Christ, and that in the prison- house at Rome. But Paul does not say so—but rather just the opposite, e.g., Ephesians 3:3-5," TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 3:3-5, where he distinctly says it was “made known to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” There was then no great gulf between Paul and “the apostles that were before him,” though, as we all know, Paul was set apart specially as the apostle of the Gentiles, which would affect the manner of his ministry, while the essential truth which he and they preached was the same. Still one more fallacy is the teaching that only in the Prison Epistles is “the Mystery” made known, but it is not once mentioned in the Philippians, or Philemon, or 2 Timothy, whereas years before, Paul had written in Romans 16:25," TARGET="_blank">Romans 16:25, of “my gospel. . . according to the revelation of the Mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but is now made manifest.”

We are firm believers in dispensational truth, but what we are combating here is not that, but rather dispensational fancies, that is, dispensational distinctions which are in sober fact non-existent. The church period began at Pentecost; believers were then baptised in the Spirit (Acts 1:5;" TARGET="_blank">Acts 1:5; 1 Corinthians 12:13)" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 12:13) to form the church, the one and only Body of Christ, of which all believers in the present dispensation form part, and in which baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances rdained by Christ—”till He come.”

* Thel ate Dr. Bullinger no doubt adopted these notion, from others, but he it was who popularised them, hence the term “Bullingerism.”

W.H.

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The subject of knowing if one is saved or not is probably the most important issue in the Christian life.

The assurance of salvation only comes from the Word of God.  Your feelings will change.  Your pastor can lie.  Your life will not always be an example of perfect Christian living.  The scripture, however, cannot be broken and will never pass away.

A common feature of many stories of salvation is that a person has a moment in life, when a particular verse or truth based on the teaching of a verse is the only ground on which that person stands.  If you know that Christ died for your sins on the cross, what is it that tells you that truth? It's the scripture - the Word of God.

The God who cannot lie is the God who wrote the Bible.  Through his word, you can be assured that if God says something, you can trust it.

Some assurances from the scripture include:

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. - John 5:24" TARGET="_blank">John 5:24

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. - 1 John 5:11" TARGET="_blank">1 John 5:11

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  - John 1:11-12" TARGET="_blank">John 1:11-12

There is a book online called "Here is the difference " by William McDonald that may help answer some of your doubts.  There are other doctrines such as forgiveness for the believer and salvation from the habits of sin that are relevant to your question.

Also, read the book Safety Certainty and Enjoyment to answer similar questions.

Shad Sluiter
Postville, IA

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Can a believer be possessed by a demon? Can demons attack us?
Possessed?  No.
Attacked? Yes.

Demons may enter the body of an unbeliever and take control of his thoughts and emotions but the Chrisitian is protected from Satan and his angels for the following reasons:

#1 Christians are indwelled by the Holy Spirit

1 John 4:4" TARGET="_blank">1 John 4:4 says

 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

"He that is in you" refers to God, and more specifically, the Holy Spirit who indwells the believer since the moment of believing in Christ through the gospel.

Ephesians 1:13-14" TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 1:13-14  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,  (14)  who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

#2 Christians are no longer under the power of Satan

Colossians 1:13-14" TARGET="_blank">Colossians 1:13-14  He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,  (14)  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

But what about demon-possessed people in the Bible?

There are a number of examples of people who were possessed by a demon, but none of them were believers.  The demoniacs of Gadara (Matthew 8:28;" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:2)" TARGET="_blank">Mark 5:2) are them most startling examples of demon possession.  These show us the extreme change that came upon them once Christ had driven the demons from them.  These were not mere problems such as "demons of depression" or "demons of mental illness" or "demons of alcoholism", but true possession of a demonic spirit.

Were Ananias and Sapphira possessed by Satan?

Were Ananias and Sapphira believers?  Yes.   They were true followers of Christ, who possessed eternal life and are now in heaven.  They were in the "congregation of those who believed" (Acts 4:32)" TARGET="_blank">Acts 4:32) and were involved with the Holy Spirit (v. 3), but remained hypocrites. They sinned under the influence of Satan.  Satan did not indwell or possess them, but he rather slyly suggested this sin of hypocrisy in their mind or heart.

What does delivered unto Satan mean?

1 Corinthians 5:4-5" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 5:4-5  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,  (5)  To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

This discipline of sin the Church is further explained at the end of the passage.

1 Corinthians 5:12-13" TARGET="_blank">1 Corinthians 5:12-13  For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?  (13)  But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

Delivering one to Satan is therefore to put someone out of the communion, the protection and godly influence of the church and to let the believer live in the world, outside of the fellowship of the church.  He is once again in Satan's realm.

A believer can be attacked by Satan, as seen in the story of Job in Job 1:1-20." TARGET="_blank">Job 1:1-20.  He suffered the loss of home, business, health and family as a direct result of Satan's work.  Ananias and Sapphira were the victims of his mental attacks.  Believers must guard against his spiritual attacks (Ephesians 6:11-18)" TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 6:11-18) which are best combated by learning and holding to good doctrines.

Shad David Sluiter

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