Leaves Of Gold

A Call To Return To Biblical Teaching and Preaching

“….to contend earnestly for the faith…”

Year Two, Number 3 MARCH 2007

MASTER OUTLINE NUMBER FOURTEEN

What the Bible Teaches About Man (These studies are taken from the Christian Life Bible published by Thomas Nelson. The notes are by Porter L. Barrington)

Through the ages philosophers and historians have attempted to understand the nature of our race-its origins,

psychological makeup, the purpose of man, why man cannot live in peace, and humanity's final destiny. Biblical theologians have an infinite advantage in this quest, as the Bible alone supplies the answers. David asked the question, "What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?" (Ps. 8:4, page 514). This question by David sums up the many questions which man has concerning his position on earth. Man perceives himself as a higher form of life than the animals, but we are below God in our limited control over events and life span. What is our place and function in the universe? In the following outline studies, we will examine the Bible's answers to some of these profound questions.

14 A: How Did Mankind Appear On This Planet

Our human logic requires a cause for everything, and we are ultimately forced to recognize the first cause: God. He is Eternal and Self-existent. His being and operation are beyond scientific knowledge and reasoning. The origin of mankind lies with God as the Creator; the ultimate purpose of human existence cannot be discovered or determined by humanity-it must be declared by God Himself.

With respect to such questions, certain biblical truths come forward:

(1) Mankind was created by God on the sixth day of creation, in the "image" and "likeness" of God (Gen. 1:26-28,). Christ Himself endorsed the truth of this creation account (Matt. 19:4-6, page 965).

(2) Mankind was fashioned by a creative act of God. Man did not evolve (Gen. 2:7, page 4). Not only do have the Genesis testimony of Moses and the word of Christ about this, but paleontology (the study of prehistoric life by means of fossils) and anthropology (the study of man) have failed to develop a satisfactory me by which man could have evolved. The gaps in the fossil record are many and confusing, and there tidy scientific theory to explain them. So-called "evolution" would require many billions of accidental developments, both simple and complex, involving both man and the earth, without a biological engineer's guidance. It makes more sense to accept God's Word-that He is in control of biological forces far beyond grasp, and that He made mankind in the beginning (Ps. 139:14, page 590).

(3) God placed man on a planet that was biologically prepared to sustain him. Prior to the space journeys of the Voyager and Mariner camera probes, some scientists assured us that primal forms of life would be found on Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn. Years before, basic life forms on the moon had been predicted. All such notions are now abandoned in the face of the bleak, dry, or frozen planetary surfaces. God alone created the free oxygen in the air, the running water on the surface, the self-sustaining plant life for food, animal life, the workable minerals of the ground, the freedom from atmospheric poisons, and the stable temperature range for ideal human life (Gen. 1:29-31, page 4).

4) Man was given a body fitted for dominion over the planet, as well as for an ideal social and moral life. (Gen.1:27, 28, page 4). Such was no evolutionary accident, but the design of an all-wise Creator who planned the partner-family system for the mutual happiness of men, women, and children (Gen. 2:24, page 5, Matthew 19:4-6, page 965).

Point 14-B: How Did Mankind Fall, and What Were the Effects? (Romans 3:23)-"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (v. 23). All are born in sin because of Adam's fall (the first sin) in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. 5:12, page 1133).

(1) God gave the first human couple freedom of will, and commanded them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The couple also had the gift of spoken language, which was a part of creation (Gen. 2:16-20, page 5; cf. 3:8, page 6). It is debated whether this tree had special knowledge-giving properties, or whether its use in the test alone gave it these qualities. This test was given amid an abundance of trees good for food. It was simple and direct-a test of the will of humanity to submit, as grateful subordinate creatures, to their all-wise, all-providing, caring Creator (Gen. 2:16, 17, page 5).

(2) Satan, already a fallen angelic being, tempted Eve to disobey God (Gen. 3:1-5, page 5). Satan, as a spirit, apparently had no physical body, and required one in this instance to communicate with Eve. He used the body of an animal to speak with her.

(3) Eve was lured by Satan through

(a) her lingering near the forbidden place;

(b) her talking with the tempter;

These ingredients of temptation are still available to Satan today.

(4) Adam fell with Eve. The Bible explains this as the fall of the human race, naming Adam as the head of the race. Neither Genesis 3:6 (page 5) nor any other verse in the entire Bible excuses Adam because h., fell after Eve's fall (1 Tim. 2:14, page 1219).

(5) The sin of Adam and Eve brought down the future human race with them. Mankind fell in Adam

(Rom. 5:12-19, page 1133). This is the uniform testimony of

(a) the Genesis account (Gen. 3:16-4:9, page 7);

(b) the Old Testament (Ps. 14:1-3, page 517);

(d) all human experience through ages of unremedied violence, misery, and suffering.

(6) With the entrance of sin into the human race came its companion, suffering (Gen. 3:15-4:8, page 7). Death, suffering, the will to do evil, and the inability to stop sinning, all came as a result of the Fall. The corruption of the earth-its vegetation with thorns and thistles, and the carnivorous nature of wild beasts resulted from the Fall. The grief and suffering in the world was typified at once, by the first children of Adam and Eve, when Cain murdered Abel. Murder has continued unabated to the present day.

14-C: What Is God's Purpose for Mankind? Deuteronomy 6:5. God’s eternal purposes for His creatures are manifold. Since the fall of man, His redemptive purposes are accomplished primarily in those who have been saved. His purpose for man can be seen often by biblically commanded duties:

(1) Love God. Verse 5 sums up man’s duty to God in words given the highest reverence through the ages in Scripture: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind”, Matthew 22:37.

(2) Love one another. Christ endorsed verse 5 as the great commandment of man's duty to God. He also showed that this first great commandment implied a second: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:39, page 971; d. Lev. 19:18, page 127). This was not a new purpose in the mind of God for mankind, since He had already given the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone (Deut. 5:22, page 186). While commandments one through four stood for man's duties toward God, commandments five through ten stood for man's duties to his fellowman.

We are also to

(1) Have joy. The psalmist said, "In Your presence is fullness of joy" (Ps. 16:11, page 518). Christ wished for His disciples "that your joy may be full" (John 16:24, page 1077). This joy, however, comes from being in God's place of blessing and in doing His will (Ps. 40:8, page 535).

(2) Glorify God. "And you shall glorify Me" (Ps. 50:15, page 541).

(3) Worship Him in holiness. "All nations ... shall come and worship before You" (Ps. 86:9, page 561). Worship incorporates adoration, submission, sincere praise, and a concurrence of the heart, soul, and mind of the One being worshiped.

(4) Subdue the earth. "God blessed them, and God said ... 'Fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish.' ... And God said, 'See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food'" (Gen. 1 :28, 29, page 4) . .(5) Love and honor the Son as the Father. "That all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father" (John 5:23, page 1057). "Be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18, page 1192).

14-D. What Does the Bible Teach About Race? (Genesis 10:1-5)-"From these the coast land peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands" (v. 5). The gradual spread of humanity over the globe, and its division into races, is shown in its major parts by the Bible. Other questions remain for us to search out. Through the centuries some persons have uttered both unbiblical and frequently hate-filled declarations on racial issues. The believer must, however, seek the light of Christ and the Bible as his or her guide, and reject the false pronouncements of all others.

(1) All mankind originated from a single God-created pair. "Eve ... was the mother of all living" (Gen. 3:20, page 7). Some anthropologists today, although not Bible-believers, acknowledge that all humans are derived from an original pair. The Bible clearly states that this is so. Man did not evolve originally on different continents from separate, related human couples, thus producing the races. Neither did the races originate by interbreeding between human and animal. No, all people, according to the Scriptures, came from our first parents.

(2) Early men lived long lives and had many children. Genesis 5 (page 9) and 11 (page 16) supply the early genealogy lists, which very likely are purposely abbreviated, as is the genealogy in Matthew 1:1 (page 930): "Jesus Christ, the Son of David [1000 B.C.j, the Son of Abraham [2000 B.C.]." Note that in Genesis 5, from Adam to the Flood, many men were commonly living 900 years. In Genesis 11, after the Flood, until Abraham (2000 B.c.), life spans are shown declining steadily from 600 to 150 years.

(2) After the Flood, migrations populated the world. "For in his days the earth was divided" (Gen. 10:25, page 16). The above verse may speak of a period of great human migration, or of a period of geologic-type changes on the land masses of the earth. If all humans could descend from one original pair, then they could also descend after the Flood from three pairs-the sons of Noah and their wives. Genesis 10 and 11 record these early migrations.

14-E: What Are the Various States of Man with God? Ecclesiastes 7:29 “Truly, this only I have found: that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes (for evil intent). This verse describes the condition of man, before and after Adam fell through disobedience to God. Man's condition has clearly changed since Creation, particularly in his relationship with God:

(1) Adam before the Fall. Theologians have agreed that Adam was not neutral, but was in an original (though untested and unconfirmed) state of righteousness. In his state of innocence he was disposed to do good, with no desire to do evil. He was created perfect, but not a robot.

(2) Man after the Fall. When Adam fell, and death entered into the world (Rom. 5:12, page 1133), Adam acquired a sinful nature which was inherited by all generations (Rom. 3:9-19, page 1130). "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23, page 1131).

(3) Redeemed man. Save<:i man, at the new birth, is now judged legally righteous by God on the basis of Christ's substitutionary death (John 3:5-18, page 1052). Through the Holy Spirit, who now dwells in the believer (Rom. 8:9, page 1137), he can resist sin. However, the rudiments of the sinful "old nature" still indwell the personality, and so even saved people can sin. A struggle exists between the two natures (Rom. 7:14-25, page 1136). When Christians allow the old nature to dominate their lives, they become part of the group Paul termed as "carnal" (1 Cor. 3:3, page 1149).

(3) Glorified man. In heaven, and then in the New Jerusalem, the saints, in their eternal state (like Christ), will be unable to sin by virtue of their glorified (perfect) state of holiness (1 John 3:1, 2, page 1279).

14-F: What Is the Final Destiny of Man? . What Is the Final Destiny of Man? (Proverbs 14:11, 12)-Man's final destiny is death if he chooses the way that seems right to him. As Isaiah said, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way" (Is. 53:6, page 693). Man's way is the broad way, the way of least resistance, a road that narrows down to destruction-eternal separation from God (Matt. 7:13, page 945).

Man's final destiny is life if he chooses God's way, which is through His Son, the lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life" (Matt. 7:14, page 945). Then He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6, page 1074). He is God's only way to eternal life (Acts 4:12, page 1091).

(1) Christ will come soon to establish righteousness on earth, to judge the wicked, and to inaugurate His millennial (thousand-year) kingdom (Matt. 25:31-46, page 976; Rev. 20:1-10, page 1313).

(2) The lost of all the ages will be cast into the lake of fire, which was prepared for the Devil and his angels (Rev. 20:11-15, page 1313).

(3) The earth, where man dwells, shall burn with such intense fire that the elements themselves will melt.

A new world shall be established, clean and ready for its redeemed population (2 Pet. 3:10-13, page 1276).

(4) The saved of all the ages will live forever

(a) on the new earth and in the New Jerusalem, in a world of total righteousness, in which there is no death (Rev. 21:1-22:5, page 1314; d. Ps. 23:6, page 524);

(b) in a world of sinless happiness and bliss (Rev. 21:4, page 1315; Rev. 22:1-5, page 1315);

(c) in the presence of God and the lamb, who is Christ (Rev. 21:22-24, page 1315; 22:3-5, page 1316). (These studies will continue)

Resurrection of Jesus

This is chapter XI from the book by Clarence Larkin “Rightly Dividing The Word”

The Resurrection of Jesus is the foundation fact on which Christianity is built. "If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." 1 Cor. 15: 17. The proof of Jesus' "Deity" depended on His Resurrection from the dead. Five different times He declared that He would be crucified and buried and on the third day would rise from the dead. Matt. 12: 39-40; 20: 17-19; 26: 30-32; Luke 18: 31-33; John 2: 19-22. If He had

not risen we would not have known whether He was what He claimed to be or not, but the Apostle Paul says lie was "declared (demonstrated) to be the SON OF GOD ... by the RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD." Rom. 1 :4. Jesus came to take the sinner's place and satisfy the Law. If Jesus had not risen from the dead we should not have known whether this had been done. When the criminal has served out his full time he cannot be held in confinement a moment longer. According to the Scriptures Jesus' sentence was that He should remain in the grave three days, when the time was up no power in heaven, earth, or hell could hold Him there a minute longer. This is clearly brought out in Acts 2: 24:-"Whom God raised up from the dead, having loosed the pains (power) of death because it was not possible that He should be HOLDEN OF IT." The Psalmist said of Jesus--"Thou wilt not suffer Thine 'Holy One' to see CORRUPTION." Psa. 16: 10. Acts 2: 29-32. Therefore Jesus had to rise before the fourth day when corruption is supposed to set in. The Resurrection of Jesus is proof that "DEATH" has been conquered. When Jesus appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos He declared-"I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen: and have the KEYS of 'Hen' (Hades, the Underworld) and of 'Death' (the Grave)." Rev. 1: 18. We can picture "Death" saying to Captain Sepulcher, "Hold on to that man in Joseph's Tomb until corruption' shall have seized upon Him, for if He comes out He will make a breach in the walls of 'Hades' (the underworld) through which all the prisoners of 'Hades' will escape." But it was not "Death" that had taken Christ captive. Christ simply pursued "Death" into his own dominions, and then conquering him came forth leading captivity captive, and crying "I am the RESURRECTION and the LIFE." John 11: 25. When Jesus rose from the dead He-"ABOLISHED DEATH, and brought 'Life' and 'Immortality' to light." 2 Tim. 1: 10. That is, He took from Death its terrors, and made provision by which we shall be freed from the bonds of death by the resurrection of our bodies, so that ultimately there will be no more Death. Rev. 21 : 4. Therefore because the Tomb could not hold Jesus it shall not able to hold us, for-"If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwell in us, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall quicken our mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in us." Rom. 8: 11. That is se us from the dead.

THE FACT OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS

There can be no question as to Jesus' death on the cross. All four Evangelists tell us that Jesus "yielded His spirit." Death did not conquer Him. He yielded His life of His own accord. He said "I have power lay down my life and I have power to take it again."John 10: 17-18. The Roman soldiers did not break the limbs of Jesus because they saw He was dead. John 19:33. And the Centurion testified to Pilate that Jesus was dead. Mark 15: 43-45. If Jesus had not yielded up His life on the Cross the "spear thrust" would have killed him, for we read that when the soldier thrust his spear into Jesus' side there came forth water and blood, showing it the spear had pierced His heart. John 19: 34. If Jesus did not actually died on the Cross but only swooned away He would have been smothered to death by the other "Watchers" than the Roman soldiers. angels kept watch over the resting place of the God. Thus past Friday night, Saturday, Saturday but as the sky began to purple in the east on that Sunday Morn there was a great earthquake and: descended from Heaven and rolled away the stone the door of the Sepulcher, and so dazzling was his appearance that the Roman guard became as dead men Matthew 28: 2-4. Whether the angel rolled away the stone to Jesus out, or simply to reveal the fact that the Tomb was empty, we are not told, but the empty tomb of Joseph of Arimathea bore witness to the fact that Jesus had risen as He said He would.

There were many witnesses who saw Jesus die on the Cross, but there was not an eye-witness to His Resurrection. That is, no one actually saw Him come out of the Sepulcher. The Roman soldiers did not see Him come forth for they were as dead men during the rolling away of the stone and for some time afterward. The story that the Elders put in their mouth, that His Disciples came by night and stole Him away while they slept, Matt. 28: 11-15), was to discredit the Disciples if they should claim that Jesus had risen, and is absurd upon its face, for it was death for a Roman soldier to sleep on duty, and if they were all asleep how could they know whether body was stolen or arose, and if stolen who stole it? It would have been noisy work breaking the seal; and rolling back the stone and would have aroused the soldiers if asleep. More, it was a bright moonlight night many pilgrims who had come to the Passover Feast were camped about the city, and it would have been to have carried away the body of Jesus withal seen. If the chief priests had really believed the body had been stolen, they would have offered a reward for its recovery, for the recovery of the body would have set at rest for all time the question of Jesus' resurrection. But they did not, thus proving that they believed a miracle had taken place.

But the most remarkable testimony to the resurrection of the body of Jesus is found in statement of the Apostle John, that when he and Peter came to the empty tomb and went in and examined it, they found the linen cloths, in which the body of Jesus had been wrapped, lying on the stone slab on which it had been laid, "and the napkin that was about His head not lying with the linen cloths, but wrapped together in a place by itself." John 20: 6-7. That is, the grave clothes of Jesus were not taken away from the Sepulcher, nor tossed to one side as if discarded, but like a hollow cocoon, stiffened by the embalming material, they were left lying on the stone slab, and the napkin was lying by itself, just the distance of the head from the body, revealing the fact that when Jesus arose He just slipped out of His burial clothes as a locust sheds his skin, and left His clothes behind as a silent witness that His body was not stolen, for if His body had been stolen the thieves would not have tarried to remove His grave clothes, and if for any reason they did, they would not have left them in order, but would have thrown them down anywhere and anyhow.

We have still further evidence that the disciples did not steal the body in the fact that they were so hard to convince that Jesus had really risen from the dead. To us it is a mystery that every one of the disciples was not at the Sepulcher on the morning of the third day to see their Master rise. He had told them so often that He was to be crucified and rise again the third day, but they either forgot it in their sorrow or disbelieved it, for of all His disciples only a few women went to the Sepulcher that morning, and they went not expecting to see Him rise, but to further embalm His body, and they seemed not to have known that a guard had been placed at the Sepulcher for they wondered who would roll away the stone that they might reach the body of Jesus. Mark 16: 1-3. We see now the wisdom of their unbelief. If the disciples had hung around the Sepulcher it would have added plausibility to the charge that they had stolen His body, but their very absence and unbelief disproves the charge.

But while no one actually saw Jesus rise from the dead, there were many witnesses who saw Him after His Resurrection, and that not weeks and months after, but the very day He arose. If He had not been really dead when He was laid in the Sepulcher and revived, and in some way escaped from the Tomb there would have been the pitiable spectacle of His dragging himself about a physical wreck, with wounds in His hands and feet and side. But Jesus when He appeared to His disciples was in robust health, and able to walk half a dozen miles to Emmaus with two of His disciples on the afternoon of the day He arose. The miracle of Christ's Resurrection was twofold, restoration to LIFE, and restoration to HEALTH.

On the day of His Resurrection Jesus appeared to His disciples five times. First to Mary Magdalene (John 20: 11-18), then to the women (Matt. 28: 9-10), then to Peter (Luke 24: 34), then in the late afternoon to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24: 13-35), and then in the evening to a number of the disciples in the "Upper Room." John 20: 19 (Luke 24: 36-48). A week later, in the same room, He again appeared to His disciples, Thomas being present. John 20: 24-29. Later He appeared to seven disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 21: 1-25), then to the "Eleven" on a mountain in Galilee (Matt. 28: 16-20; Mark 16: 14-18), then to 500 brethren at once (1 Cor. 15: 6), then to James (1 Cor. 15: 7), and then, forty days after His Resurrection, He ascended to Heaven in the presence of His Disciples from the Mount of Olives. Luke 24: SO-53. Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 15: 6), written 27 years after the Resurrection, that of 500 witnesses that saw Him at one time, the greater part were still alive. It stands to reason that all these persons could not have been deceived, and if there had been collusion among them to perpetrate a fraud, it is improbable to suppose that all of them could have kept the secret or that it would not have leaked out in some way.

But someone may ask-"Why did not Jesus appear to His enemies, as well as to His disciples?" That is, to the Chief Priests, and to Pilate. He did not appear to them because He told the Jews that they should not see Him again until they should say-"Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matt. 23: 37-39), and that will not be until the Revelation Stage of His Second Coming, when they shall again look upon Him whom they pierced. But the fact is He did appear to one of his greatest enemies-"Saul of Tarsus," who has confirmed in his wonderful chapter on the Resurrection, the 15th ,of First Corinthians, that Jesus did rise from the dead.

Sixty-six years after His Resurrection Jesus appeared to the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos, and thus we :have from the testimony of these many witnesses, in'disputable evidence as to the Resurrection of Jesus. This testimony comes from His enemies as well as His friends, :and the appearances were not made in secret, but in the open where fraud was impossible. As further proof that Jesus did not revive, but actually rose from the dead, we have the fact that He did not die again but ASCENDED TO HEAVEN IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS DISCIPLES.

For over eighteen centuries that "idle tale" of the Roman soldiers, that the Disciples of Jesus stole His body, has been the only explanation of the miraculous fact that on Sunday morning, April 9, A. D. 30, the virgin Sepulcher of Joseph of Arimathea was found TENANTLESS. The most astute legal minds of the centuries have weighed the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus and pronounced it to be flawless.

There is no discrepancy between John and the other evangelists as to the visit of the women to the Sepulcher. Mary with the other women, at dawn, started to the Sepulcher. They found the stone rolled away and the Sepulcher empty. Mary left the other women and hastened back to tell the Disciples. After she had gone the other women entered the Sepulcher when they saw a young man in white who told them that Jesus was risen, and commanded them to go and tell His Disciples. Mark 16: 4-7. They at once left the Sepulcher to look for the Disciples. Meanwhile Mary met Peter and John who left her and ran to the Sepulcher, which, after hurriedly investigating, they left and returned to Jerusalem. John 20: 3-10. Mary returned to the Sepulcher after Peter and John had left, and finding herself alone began to weep Jesus appeared to her and called her by name. At once she recognized the Master and wanted to touch Him, but Jesus said-"Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father." He then commanded her to go and tell the brethren, and then He disappeared. Mary at once left the Sepulcher to do the Master's bidding. Shortly after, Jesus met the other women on their way to tell the Disciples. To them He said-"All Hail," and they fell at His feet, upon which they laid their hands, and worshipped Him. Matt. 28: 9-10. At once the question arises why did Jesus forbid Mary to touch Him, and shortly after permitted the women to do so? The only possible answer is that in the meantime, with the swiftness of light, Jesus had ascended to the Father and returned. On the "Day of Atonement," after the High Priest had offered on the Altar the "Blood of the Atonement," if anyone touched him before He could carry the "blood" into the Most Holy Place and make Atonement, the Offering was of no avail. So Jesus having offered His own blood on the Altar of the Cross, for Mary to have touched Him before He ascended to the Most Holy Place on high and offered His blood there would have vitiated the work of the Cross.

The fact that the women held Jesus by the feet, that that afternoon He walked for miles and talked with two of His disciples, that in the evening he ate a piece of broiled fish and a honeycomb, that a week later He told Thomas to thrust his hand in His side, and that some time later He breakfasted with His Disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, all prove that Jesus' Resurrection body was not a phantom, but had a physical form and could perform the functions of a human body, and while it was not a glorified body like He had on the Mount of Transfiguration, it had the power to enter a closed room, and to appear and disappear at will, and remain unrecognized until He disclosed Himself by the tone of His voice. This gives us a hint of what our resurrection bodies will be like, as far as their capabilities and powers are concerned, when it will be necessary during the "Age to Come" for us to visit the earth on missions of love and service.