Truth Magazine

By Leslie Diestelkamp

In 1975 and again in 1976, there were more than a million divorces in America in each year. Of all those who marry in 1977, at least one-third will end in divorce. This chapter will be devoted to discussion of some things that cause divorce or that otherwise wreck marriages. Of course we can only consider a few such causes, but it is hoped that at least a few people will be better prepared to withstand the prevailing trends so that a few more marriages may indeed endure. These items of destruction we shall mention need to be recognized before marriage and also afterward. “To be forewarned is to be forearmed.” Dangers must be recognized before they materialize into explosive weapons of destruction in family circles.

1. Virtually every marriage is characterized by some disagreements; some of these differences eventuate in arguments or quarrels. But such arguments do not usually bring separations. Certainly they need not cause serious trouble. But accumulative quarreling may destroy the marriage. This is the kind of argument in which one or both may keep bringing up old differences, adding one quarrel upon another. In such cases old wounds never have time to heal but are opened with fresh irritation again and again. We must forgive and forget! Let by-gones be by-gones! If you must argue today, do not look back upon the last quarrel. Let every hasty, angry word of yesterday be forgotten. Let no burning embers remain in your heart from yesterday’s argument. In other words, do not add fuel to an old flame!

2. The social and economic structure of our society, especially that which has developed since World War II, provides too much temptation to too many people. Because men and women work together day after day in very close proximity, those associations that should be only casual often become intimate and frequently lead to overwhelming temptation and also to jealousies. It has been said that “Familiarity breeds contempt” and in this case familiarity becomes too intimate and that intimacy leads to passion and lust. This has~led to tragic immoral corruption. Almost every town has been rocked by such scandals, and every city contains great numbers of people who have thus fallen. The crude, vulgar jokes about executives and their secretaries are not amusing to good people, but the sordid pictures they paint are too often true-to-life regarding many people in all kinds of occupations. And the special point I want to make here is to urge every reader who counts his marriage precious to be absolutely sure that regardless of his work and the necessary proximity to others working with him that he does not permit himself the luxury of intimacy! It will be much better to have been considered cool and aloof than to have been made another victim of too much familiarity.

3. Paul admonished, ‘Defraud ye not one the other, except it be by consent for a time… that Satan tempt ye not” (1 Cor. 7:5). Yet many marriage counselors tell us unsatisfied emotions is a major cause of separation and divorce. One partner may think only in terms of receiving emotional satisfaction and of fulfilling his own passionate desires. But, without taking either for granted, each must give real consideration to the needs of the other, and this must be done freely, even enthusiastically, and certainly not reluctantly. In fact, therein (that is, in satisfying the companion) lies one of the greatest joys of the marriage relationship.

If quarrels are settled and the matter is dropped, if each spouse conducts himself (or herself) in such a way, at all time-at work and at play, at home and away-so as to deserve the trust and confidence of the companion, and if each wholeheartedly participates in every marriage relationship so as to please and satisfy the other, then most other troubles and problems will be overcome. And remember, when there is a joyful home life, other things will usually be all right. Solomon said, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones” (Prov. 17:22).

Solomon also said, “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing” and I am convinced that the wife that finds a good husband has not done all that bad either! We are made for each other and it is God’s intent that we share the most precious and the most rewarding of all human relationships. But God’s intent can only be fully realized when each can face the other with a clear conscience, a clean heart and a pure body.

Furthermore, the greatest success cannot be attained in the marriage companionship merely because of romantic appeal, emotional release or even because of a passive fidelity that precludes unfaithfulness. to the spouse. Rather, to assure success, each partner must live every day by a solemn commitment that was made before the wedding and that we reiterated constantly thereafter. This determination must include tolerance for the faults of a companion, patience with the other’s weaknesses and compassionate kindness for one another. Satan tries constantly to wreck your marriage, you know, and he is wise to all the subtle temptations and all the aggravating frustrations which the world can cast in your pathway. The devil will be happy if he can make you unworthy of the love and trust of your companion, and he will be just as glad if he can make you unwilling to forgive an unworthy spouse! He wants to destroy the real sanctity of your home and the peace and harmony you should have there; and he does not care how he does it. Besides that, he knows that you are the only one that can prevent that destruction. Do not let him get a foot-hold in your family circle! Watch out for the little things that can become home wreckers! Next: “Stop The Clock.”

Truth Magazine XXII: 7, p. 114
February 16, 1978

By Weldon E. Warnock

To deny the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the children of God is, to deny the teaching of the Bible. We read, “That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us” (2 Tim. 1:14). Again, we read, “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own” (1 Cor. 6:19)? These Scriptures, and others, plainly teach that the Holy Spirit dwells in us. However, the issue is not whether the Spirit dwells in the Christian, but rather how does He dwell. Does He dwell in the Christian personally or does He dwell representatively? Bible students are divided over the manner of the Spirit’s indwelling. It is this writer’s conviction that the Spirit dwells in Christians, representatively, rather than personally or actually.

The Father and Son Dwell In Us

We do not seem to have ,any difficulty in understanding how God the Father and God the Son dwell in us. The Bible teaches that both dwell in us. Listen to John: ” . . . . .If we love one another, God dwelleth in us. . .” (1 Jn. 4:12). Verses 13, 15 and 16 also teach the Father dwelleth in us. Cf. 2 Cor. 6:16. Of Jesus, Paul stated, “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin. ..” (Rom. 8:10). The apostle further declared, “. . .Christ liveth in me. . .” (Gal. 2:20). To the Colossians, Paul wrote, “. . .which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27).

Who is ready to say that the Father and the Son dwell in us, personally? No one, I am confident. Then why contend for a personal indwelling of the Spirit, but deny the same for the Father and the Son? If we claim the Father and the Son dwell in us representatively or through instrumentality, then why not claim the same thing for the Holy Spirit?

Paul clearly indicates that Christ dwells in us by faith: “that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. . .” (Eph. 3:17). This is also the manner by which both the Father and the Holy Spirit dwell in us. When we permit Christ to be formed in us (Gal. 4:19), Christ dwells in us. When we become partakers of God’s nature (2 Pet. 1:4), God the Father dwells in us. All of this is done by faith which is produced by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). The same means of indwelling is true of the Holy Spirit. When we allow our lives to be controlled by the Spirit through the revealed Word, the Spirit dwelleth.in us.

To the Galatians, Paul wrote; “Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith” (Gal. 3:2)? In the text, you will observe that we receive the Spirit by the Word of God. Among the Galatians, both the miraculous powers of the Spirit (v. 5). and the spiritual graces of the Spirit (v. 14; 4:5,6), came as a result of their hearing, believing and obeying the gospel which Paul preached.

In Eph. 5:18, we are commanded to “be filled with the Spirit.” Paul wrote, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:18-19). The parallel passage is Col. -3:16. It states, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” When we let the Word of God dwell in us we are being filled with the Spirit. The Word of God is not the Spirit, but through the Word, the Spirit abides in us.

The Spirit Is God

It seems that a clear understanding as to who the , Spirit is will go far in clarifying the issue. The Bible teaches the Holy Spirit is God. We read in Acts 5:3-4, . `But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost . . . .thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.;’ Peter said the Holy Spirit is God. Cf. Mt. 12:28 and Lk. 11:20.

The word, “God,” means “deity.” Hence, the Holy Spirit being God, is Deity. There are three divine Beings: God the Father (1 Cor. 8:6), God the Son (Jn. 1:1) and God the Holy Spirit. (Acts 5:3-4). Our concept. of the Holy Spirit should be he same as our concept of the Father and the Son as far as divine nature is concerned.

The Holy Spirit possesses the characteristics of a divine Being. He is eternal (Heb. 9:14), omniscient, knowing all things (1 Cor. 2:10.11), omnipotent, being all-powerful (Micah 3:8), omnipresent, His presence being everywhere (Psa. 139:7). He possesses the divine attributes of goodness, holiness, grace, will, judgment and truth (Neh. 9:20; Eph. 1:13; Heb. 10:29; 1 Cor. 12:11; Acts 15:28; Jn. 16:13). As a divine Being, actions are attributed to the Holy Spirit which further show Him to be a person or personality. He hears (Jn. 16:13), speaks (1 Tim. 4:1), commands (Acts 13:2), can be grieved (Eph. 4:30), can be quenched (1 Thess. 5:19) and can be insulted (Heb. 10:29).

In view of who the Spirit is, it is puzzling how anybody who recognizes the divine personality of the Spirit can advocate a personal indwelling. Just think of it-God literally and actually dwelling in us! Such a view is far-fetched and without Biblical support. To teach a personal indwelling of God, the Holy Spirit, one must accept the fact of an incarnation of every person who has received the Holy Spirit. Jesus was ~incarnated-God in the flesh-and He was called Immanuel, “God with us” (Mt. 1:23). Why not call every Christian “Immanuel” if God is in him? Ladies and gentlemen, this is the consequence of proposing a personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Too, Jesus accepted worship because He was God. Why cannot Christians accept worship if God is in them?

The Holy Spirit Is A Person

Since the Holy Spirit is a divine person, to have Him in a multitude of people at once is contrary to the very concept of person. A person has a fixed position. He occupies only one place at a time. This is true with any person, whether human or divine. In the Bible, we read of several persons (demons) occupying one body (Lk. 11:24-26), but we never read of one person abiding in several bodies at once.

But someone says, “God is omnipresent, and He can be everywhere at the same time.” This is confusing “omnipresence” with “ominperson.” God is omnipresent but He is not omniperson. To teach that the person of God is everywhere is to teach pantheism, an ‘idea of God that is paganistic. Jehovah is transcendent and immanent, but He is not omniperson. We will say more about omnipresence, shortly, after we consider the aspects of person.

According to the New International Dictionary by Merriam-Webster, “person” means “a being characterized- by conscious apprehension, rationality, and moral sense.” Thus, the Holy Spirit, as a person, has conscious apprehension, rationality and moral sense. He is not, therefore, just an influence, a mere power or force,. or some kind of mysterious and indefinable fog-like substance.

The Encyclopedia Brittanica (Vol 21) informs us that “the natural sense of the word `person’ is undoubtedly individuality.” Quoting from the ;New International Dictionary again, we observe that the word, “individual,” is defined, “An indivisible entity or a totality which cannot be separated into parts without altering the character and significance of these parts.” Notice that an individual is indivisible and cannot be separated into parts. Hence, the Holy Spirit, as a person, an individual, is indivisible.

The Holy Spirit can no more be broken-up into bits and pieces and parceled out among thousands of people and keep His totality and entity than you and I can. You do not divide a person. Such destroys its character and nature. To those who teach that God is everywhere, and, therefore, the Holy Spirit would not have to be fragmented to be in every Christian, make the presence of God, and the person of God, synonymous. But there is quite a difference between the two. (Parenthetically, there is a sense in which God’s presence is not everywhere. Cf. Gen. 4:16; 2 Kings 13:23; 24:20; Jer. 23:39. Too, if omnipresence means that God’s person has to be everywhere and in every place, then God is in an alien sinner.)

Omnipresence of God

God is found in many places by the instrumentality of His creations, laws, works, agents, appointments, etc., while His person is in heaven. This is what is involved in the omnipresence of God. Omnipresence does not mean that God’s person is everywhere, but rather His presence is everywhere through the above avenues of laws, agents, etc. During World War II, Hitler’s presence was felt throughout Europe by his armies, influence and oppression, but he, personally, was in Germany. In like-manner, God’s presence is throughout the universe, but His person is in heaven.

Through the agency of angels, God is said to be present in the Old Testament. The Lord saved Israel from the Egyptians (Ex. 14:30k), but He did it through the “angel of his presence” (Isa. 63:9). Notice the word, “presence.” God spoke to Moses from a burning bush (Ex. 3:4), but He did it through an angel (v. 2). God went before Israel in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13:21), but He did it through the medium of an angel (Ex. 14:19). All of these things are attributed to God, but He performed them through agency-angels. God was present, representatively.

In the New Testament, Jesus promised to be in every assembly where two or three are gathered in His name (Mt. 18:20), but who, believes that Jesus is actuallly present? Jesus promised to be with His diciples until the end of the world (Mt. 28:20), but who insists that Jesus is with His disciples, personally? Jesus is in heaven at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56; Eph. 1:20; 1 Pet. 3:22). Since Jesus is in heaven, He is with us by such things as appointments, laws, influence, etc. When and wherever we serve the Lord, we come before His divine presence.

If, therefore, the Father and the Son can be present through agents, works, laws and appointments without being present in person, why cannot the Holy Spirit. The truth of the matter is that the Holy Spirit is present through the instrumentality of His teaching, gifts, works, influence and appointments, rather than His person.

During the days of miracles (the first century), the Holy Spirit empowered men to work miracles (Heb. 2:34; 1 Cor. 12:7-11). The power, by metonymy, is sometimes spoken of as the Holy Spirit. Webster defines “metonymy” as follows: “Use of one word for another that it suggests, as the effect for the cause, the cause for the effect, the sign for the thing signified, the container for the thing contained, etc. (a man keeps a good table, instead of good food).” Hence, by the usage of metonymical speech, the Bible sometimes puts the Holy Spirit when the effect of the Holy Spirit is intended. The cause (Holy Spirit) is put for the effect (work).

A clear example of metonymical speech is in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man, who had five brethren, wanted Abraham to send back Lazarus to testify to the brothers, lest they come to the place of torment. Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” (Lk. 16:29). Here, Moses and the prophets are put for their writings. The cause is put for the effect.

Thomas Horne, in his classical work, wrote in the section on metonym, “The Holy Spirit is put for His Effects . . . .The Holy Spirit is put for His Operations . . . .The Holy Spirit is put for the Influences or Gifts of the Spirit . . . .More especially the Holy Spirit is put for those peculiar and extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit” (Introduction to the Scriptures, by Thomas Hartwell Home, Vol. II, Part I, pp. 455-456). D.R. Dungan wrote, “God and Christ and the Holy Spirit are frequently mentioned, whereas the result of their efforts in the redemption of the race is intended” (Hermeneutics, p. 271). Cf. “Figures of Speech Used in the Bible,” by E. W. Bullinger, pp. 540-3.

Therefore, in view of what Horne and Dungan correctly stated, the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), at Samaria (Acts 8:14-18), at the household of Cornelius (Acts 10:44), at Ephesus (Acts 19:6) and at Corinth (1 Cor. 12:4-11), through miraculous endowments and operations. This is one way the Spirit was in the apostles at the same time (Jn. 14:17) and in the prophets (1 Pet. 1:10-11). The Holy Spirit, personally, was not in the man, but rather the Spirit’s presence was there through the miraculous gifts. The Spirit was present, representatively.

Today, after the cessation of miracles, the Spirit is in us by the influence of His teaching through the Word. Of course, He was in the first century Christians this way, too, as well as through extraordinary endowments. Look at the context of Eph. 5:18. To be filled with the Spirit is to sing spiritual songs from the heart (v. 19), is to give thanks (v. 20), is to submit to one another (v. 21), is a right relationship between husband and wife (vs.- 22-33), etc. When we do the Lord’s will, affected and controlled by it, the Spirit is in us. When we permit the fruit of the Spirit to be a part of us, the Spirit through the fruit dwells in us (cf. Gal. 5:22-23).

Yes, the Spirit is in us, but not personally. He is present through instrumentality and medium of means, and not by taking up an actual abode in our mortal bodies. Nowhere in the Bible does an inspired writer state the Holy Spirit dwells in God’s people, personally.

Truth Magazine XXII: 6, pp. 108-110
February 9, 1978

By Earl Robertson

Christianity

Christianity is the religion derived from Jesus Christ. The noun “Christian” is used three times in the New Testament, but this companion word is not found therein. It is first found in the so-called Church Fathers (Ignatius), and there retains its proper identification. Objectively, Christianity is the religion of Christ, which exists solely upon the divine revelation of God’s will to man. This revelation affirms that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Messiah, an Old Testament word, means anointed. Christ of the New Testament is the Messiah of the Old Testament and means anointed. The root Chrio from which the word Christ comes means “to touch with the hand,” “to besmear,” “to anoint.” God anointed Jesus (Lk. 4:18; Acts 4:27; 10:38).

Christianity is a distinctive religion. It is historically grounded because its founder was an actual person who lived in this world at a certain time. Christianity is in character supernatural, because it depends upon divinely revealed truth. This revelation informs us of the self-disclosure of God in Christ (John 1:1-14; 1 Tim. 3:16). Man no longer has to grope in the dark; the historical Christ promised by the prophets of the Old Testament came, was identified by the Father (Matt. 17:5), and was confessed to be the Christ the Son of God by both His friends and His enemies (Matt. 16:16; 27:54).

The coming of Christ into the world was to effect reconciliation between God and man (Eph. 2:16). His coming was to save sinners by the sacrifice of Himself (Lk. 19:10; Heb. 2:9; 9:26). The salvation offered by this sacrifice is guaranteed to everyone that “believeth and is baptized” (Mark 16:15, 16). The gospel of Christ makes this promise! Furthermore, the gospel of Christ is God’s power to save the believer (Rom. 1:16). The reason is the fact that God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel (Rom. 1:17). This affirms the exclusiveness of the very basis of Christianity: it does not grant that men are saved by any other means than the gospel of Christ. The creeds of men can have no part in the matter of human redemption! This conviction is derived from the inclusive and exclusive nature of divine revelation. We live by what God’s word says (Matt. 4:4). Christianity is a life duly subscribed to the truth of Him who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

Truth Magazine XXII: 6, p. 107
February 9, 1978

By Morris W. R. Bailey

In my previous article, I pointed out that a proper handling of the word of truth requires that every text must be studied in its context with due regard for the conditions under which statements were made or commands given. Attention was given to some commonly misused and misapplied passages of scripture, namely, Matthew 24 and 1 Cor. 1:17. In this article, I shall deal with some other texts that have often been misapplied as a result of their having been taken out of their context.

1 Corinthians 2:9

This verse says, “But as it is written, Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of man, whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him.” This verse has often been used by preachers and, surprisingly, by some who profess to be committed to speaking where the Bible speaks, when they preach about heaven. I must confess that in my younger and more immature days I sometimes used this passage to teach how unable we mortals are to conceive of what glories await us in heaven.

I am sure that heaven will surpass in glory and grandeur anything that our eyes have seen or our ears have heard or that we may have even imagined. However, when Paul wrote the above words he was not discussing heaven. To apply it to the glories that await us in heaven is, thus, to take it out of its context.

To learn the context in which this passage of scripture was written, it will be necessary for us to go back into chapter one of the First Corinthian epistle and consider the circumstances under which it was written.

Corinth, being one of the great cities of ancient Greece, was steeped in the Grecian culture of that day which tended to elevate human wisdom and to judge all things in the light of what man was able to understand. The gospel was thus regarded by the Grecian mind as foolishness (1 Cor. 1:18). In this same chapter, however, Paul taught that there is a wisdom that is higher than any wisdom of man — God’s wisdom — which makes foolish the wisdom of this world (vs 20).

It is with that thought in mind that Paul continues in chapter two (although Paul did not divide his epistles into chapters) by disclaiming human wisdom in the gospel that he preached (vs. 1). He said, however, beginning with verse 6, “We preach wisdom, however, among them that are fullgrown: yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nought. But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory.”

So then, the wisdom that Paul preached was a wisdom that had been foreordained of God, but hidden from man until the time came for it to be revealed. It was to this same wisdom, concealed in the types, shadows, and prophecies of the law, that Jesus referred when he said to his disciples, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which ye see, and saw them not; and to hear the things which ye hear, and heard them, not” (Matt. 13:16, 17).

It was this same plan of salvation “concerning which the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them” (1 Peter 1:10, 11).

It is, thus, Paul’s reference to the wisdom of God that had been hidden in past ages (1 Cor. 2:7) that forms the context for his words in verse 9, “But as it is written, Things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which entered not into the heart of man, whatsoever things God prepared for them that love him.” Following those words he then said in verse 10, “But unto us God revealed them through his Spirit.” What things did God reveal through His Spirit? Why, those things that had formerly been so concealed that they had not been seen by the eye nor heard by the ear nor conceived by the heart of men. So Paul’s words in 1 Cor. 2:9 were not an effort to describe the glories of heaven but a reference to the wisdom of God one time concealed, but when Paul wrote, revealed.

1 Corinthians 13:9-12

In the above scripture, Paul said, “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I sapke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child; now that I am become a man, I have put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know fully even as I was fully known.”

This passage has sometimes in the past been used by brethren, and is still used by many sectarian preachers when preaching about the second coming of Christ. The argument that is made on this passage is that our knowledge of heaven is fragmentary (in part), and our perception of those things unclear (compared to viewing something through a dark glass). But it is maintained that at the second coming of Christ (when that which is perfect is come) all these imperfections will give way to perfect knowledge and clear perception.

An examination of the context of this passage, however, reveals that Paul was not discussing the second coming of Christ. This thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians is, in fact, a sort of a parenthesis between chapters twelve and fourteen which deal with the subject of spiritual gifts. It will be noticed that Paul began chapter twelve with the words, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” Beginning then with verse 4 he listed nine gifts-wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, divers kinds of tongues and interpretation of tongues.

It is evident that there was the disposition on the part of some of the Corinthians to ascribe a greater importance to some gifts, such as tongues, prophecy, and knowledge than to other gifts. Paul taught, however, that all these gifts proceeded from the one Spirit, and all contributed toward the building up of the body of Christ, just as the members of the natural body, each performing its own particular function, worked toward the efficient operation of that body (vss 12-20). Paul did not discourage their seeking the greater gifts. On the contrary he encouraged their desiring them. He was merely teaching them that there was something greater than tongues, prophecy, and knowledge (vs 31).

That which is greater than spiritual gifts is love. That is the meaning of Paul’s words in the thirteenth chapter, verses one :and two, where he said, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become a sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

Tongues, prophecy, and supernatural knowledge all had to do with the revelation of the gospel scheme of redemption-the New Testament-which existed at the time of Paul’s writing only in part. From that standpoint it was, at that time, an imperfect revelation. But when completed it was perfect, and the tongues, prophecy, and knowledge that contributed toward its completion were no longer needed and were thus done away. Paul showed, however that love, which was greater, would abide (13:13).

1 Thessalonians 4:16

In this scripture, Paul said, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” This verse has been construed by those of the premillennial school of thought to mean that there will be two resurrections-one, of the righteous at the coming of Christ and one, of the wicked a thousand years later.

This ignores the context in which Paul’s words were written. From verse 13, it is evident that some of the Thessalonians were concerned about the fate of their loved ones who had passed on. They could understand how those who were alive at the coming of Christ would be taken by him and with him to heaven. But what about them who were asleep in their graves? In verse 15, Paul assured them there was no cause for concern. “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive at the coming of the Lord shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep.”

It was in this context that Paul said, “The dead in Christ shall rise first.” But first before what? Why, before those that are alive at the coming of the Lord are taken up. This is made clear in Paul’s words in verse 17. “Then (after the righteous dead are raised-MWRB) we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them (the risen dead-MWRB) be caught in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

A good sister asked me in a Bible class one time, “But what about the wicked dead?” The answer is: Paul was writing to Christians who were concerned about the dead in Christ. It was therefore not germane to the subject under discussion to write about those who died out of Christ. Jesus did tell us what would happen to the wicked dead, however, when He said that the righteous and the wicked will be raised at the same time (John 5:28, 29). So Paul’s contrast in this passage is not between the righteous dead and wicked dead; but between the righteous dead and the righteous who are alive at the coming of Christ. There is no hint of a millennial reign of Christ in this passage.

Truth Magazine XXII: 6, pp. 105-107
February 9, 1978