The Pleroma (8) - Charles H. Welch

 

No.8. Angels, their relation with the 

Divine Purpose as indicated in Heb. i. and ii. 

In our last study together we did little more than to sort out the usage of the word ‘angel’, observing the different words that are so translated both in the A.V. and the LXX. With the information thus gathered, we can now devote our time to those passages which treat of the place that the angels have had in the past and may yet have in the working out of the Divine purpose in the future, and how far man is intended under grace to take the place, or ‘fill the gap’ that the default of the angels occasioned in the beginning. No book of the N.T. treats with this matter so thoroughly as does the epistle to the Hebrews, and therefore to that epistle we now turn. 

It is impossible to read Heb. i. and ii. with any attention, and fail to be impressed by the fact that the argument of these chapters is most intimately linked together by the references to angels which abound in this part of the epistle. A brief analysis of this section is as follows: 

The epistle in these two chapters compares and contrasts the ministry of the prophets and of angels with the ministry of the Son, and uses the word ‘angel’ ten times in this brief compass. Not only so, the argument of chapter i. is enforced by the quotation of seven Psalms, which quotation is distributed in such a way as to compel the reader to admit the presence of a plan and design.

The argument of this chapter is further enforced by two questions: 

“For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art My Son?” (5). 

“But to which of the angels said He at any time, Sit on My right hand?” (13), 

and to remember of the passage quoted and the whole purpose of the chapter is to provide the answer. We must now return to the beginning of this epistle and see how and with what terms these comparisons with angels are introduced. Over against the revelation given in times past through the instrumentality of the prophets, the Apostle places the immeasureable superiority of the ministry of the Son. In chapter iii. Christ as the Son is set over against Moses the servant (iii. 6) and Jesus the Son of God is set forth as the great High Priest Who has ‘passed through the heavens’ (iv. 14), and as the Son, He is consecrated for evermore (vii. 28). 

We have already learned that angels are called ‘sons of God’, and consequently it may appear at first reading that the language of the Apostle is a little forced, but we are dealing with the inspired Scriptures and know before we go any further that no such conclusion is possible. The contrast between angels and the Saviour is not so much between One who is a Son and those who are not, but a contrast between those who are sons by creation, and the One Who is called “The only-begotten Son”, for Heb. i. 5 not only says “Unto which of the angles said He at any time, ‘Thou art My Son’, but ‘Thou art My Son; this day have I BEGOTTEN Thee’.” 

We must therefore pursue this subject further. Christ is called ‘The only-begotten Son’ four times in John’s Gospel (John i. 14, 18; iii. 16, 18), and once in the first epistle (I John iv. 9). When reading these passages we are not conscious of any problem as we read of the Saviour as the only begotten Son—but the moment we add the final reference to this term, a problem presents itself. 

“By faith Abraham when he was tried offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son” (Heb. xi. 17). Now it is a matter of common knowledge that Abraham was the father, not only of Isaac, but of Ishmael (Gen. xvi. 15) and of other children by Keturah (Gen. xxv. 1). Unless therefore some factor is implied though unexpressed, Heb. xi. 17 presents a difficulty. As we discovered, so we find words employed in the context of Heb. xi. 17 that enable us to perceive something yet more wonderful in the title of the Lord. Abraham is spoken of as ‘he that had received the promise’, and of the son whom he offered it had been said ‘That in Isaac shall thy seed be called’ (Heb. xi. 17, 18). Ishmael was as truly begotten by Abraham as was Isaac, but Ishmael is called ‘the son of a bondwoman’ but Sarah herself as well as Abraham was given a promise by the Lord: 

“Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age because she judged Him faithful Who had promised” (Heb. xi. 11). 

Sarah too was peculiarly distinguished by the changing of her name, even as was Abraham (Gen. xvii. 5, 14, 16). It is moreover written that the Lord ‘visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as He had spoke’ (Gen. xxi. 1). Sarah was in the blessed line of the true seed, and so carried the promise of Eden forward towards its goal. 

Gennao the verb translated ‘to beget’ is used of the mother also, and is then translated ‘to conceive’, ‘be delivered of’, ‘bear’, ‘be born’, ‘be made’ and ‘to bring forth’. For example: 

“Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus Who is called Christ” (Matt. i. 16). 

The word translated ‘only-begotten’ is monogenes, and refers to the birth of the Saviour in the fullness of time ‘made of a woman’ (Gal. iv. 4). Another comfortable title is found in Heb. i. 6 ‘First-begotten’ which in the original is prototokos. 

“And again, when He bringeth in the First-begotten into the world He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him.” 

Translators are divided regarding the intention of the Apostle here. The A.V. ‘and again’ makes verse 6 another link in the chain of references quoted by the Apostle. The R.V. “And when He again” makes the word ‘again’ refer to the future. 

We observe that the word translated ‘world’ in this verse is the Greek oikoumene ‘the habitable world’, and that this word occurs once more in Hebrews, namely in chapter ii., where we read: 

“For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak” (Heb. ii. 5). 

By reading these two references together, it appears that the world to come will be subjected to Christ as the Firstborn, and not to the angels, and that moreover, the angels will at that great investiture ‘worship Him’. He is ‘the Firstborn of all creation’, ‘the Firstborn from the dead’, ‘the Firstborn among many brethren’. Pre-eminence as the ‘first’ is uppermost in the word prototokos. 

Further comparisons are made in Heb. i. between Christ as the Son and angels. Angels are spirits who minister, but the Son is addressed by the title “God”, and has a ‘throne’ and ‘sceptre’. Not only so He occupies a unique position at the right hand of God, a position never occupied by an angel ‘at any time’. In our next article we shall pursue this theme further. 

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(From The Berean Exxpositor, vol. 42, page 219).

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Greater Riches than the Treasures in Egypt (1)

by Charles H. Welch

No.1. All things ours, in Christ 

(I Cor. i. 30; iii. 21 - 23). 

In another series of articles, the typical history of Israel from the Exodus to the Jordan came before us as we considered the application to ourselves of the text: 

“The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions” (Obad. 17). 

In the present series we carry these typical lessons with us in heart and mind and survey those blessings which are ours in Christ, and ask ourselves as we do so, how far can we truthfully say that we “possess our possessions”? We are sure that God will abide faithfully by all His promises, but there is such a thing as apprehending that for which we have been apprehended of Christ Jesus (Phil. iii. 12). 

The blessings that are ours through Christ can be considered under three headings: 

(1) Blessings of Salvation. Such would include: Justification, Sanctification, Forgiveness, Life and Peace. 

(2) Blessings of our Calling. Such blessings would be “dispensational” in character, and look to the sphere of blessing, the character of our calling,“Heavenly places” and “One Body” for example. 

(3) Blessings in Service. True service is rendered in newness of life, and accomplished by the power of the Risen Christ. 

Two related passages in I Corinthians will open this series of studies by their very comprehensiveness, sweeping aside all human merit, and revealing unlimited blessing to be the believer’s portion in Christ Jesus. 

The reader knows that the Corinthian Church was splitup into coteries, one claiming Paul, another Apollos, another Cephas, and yet another Christ Himself as a party leader. The Corinthians moreover, being Greeks, placed a high value on human wisdom, and this the Apostle brings to the touchstone of the Cross. Although Paul uses strong language as he denounces the folly of these believers, he concludes his double attack upon “man’s wisdom”, not with invective or censure, but by revealing that all the time, if any man is in Christ, he already possesses all things including “wisdom” at its highest. Here are the two passages.

“Ye see your calling . . . . . that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (I Cor. i. 26-31). 

“Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (I Cor. iii. 21-23). 

Here are “possessions” indeed, which as from a Pisgah of faith, spread themselves out before our wondering gaze. It will be observed that both passages open with a warning “That no flesh should glory in His presence”. “Let no man glory in men”, and this warning we must obey if we are to possess our possessions. 

The English word “glory” is used in the N.T. to represent two very different concepts. It translates doxa “do all to the glory of God” (I Cor. x. 31), but it also translates kauchaomai “God forbid that I should glory” (Gal. vi. 14). It is the word kauchaomai that occurs in I Cor. i. 29, 31 and iii. 21. This word is allied with aucheo “to boast, please oneself”, which some lexicographers believe is connected with, if not derived from, the Greek word auchen “the neck”. The Psalmist says “speak not with a stiff neck” (Psa. lxxv. 5) and Isaiah speaks of those who were haughty, and “walk with stretched forth necks” (Isa. iii. 16). Kauchaomai is used by the LXX for the “triumph” of the wicked (Psa. xciv. 3) and for the “joyful” praise of the saints (Psa. cxlix. 5). So also in the N.T. the word can speak of “glorying” in men and in appearance or of “glorying” in the Lord. Salvation is by grace “lest any one should boast”, that is, boast in themselves. Yet the true circumcision “rejoices (or boasts) in Christ Jesus, and has no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. iii. 3). The Apostle was so sure that the whole testimony of the Word was against this boasting in self, that he combines the teaching of more than one O.T. passage under the saying: 

“According as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord”, 

a summary that not only appears in I Cor. i. 31, but which is repeated in II Cor. x. 17. 

Putting aside therefore all foolish boasting, let us come close to the enumeration of blessings which the Apostle has said are all ours in Christ. 

Before we can do justice to I Cor. i. 30, we are obliged to make a digression, because one small but important particle has not been translated in the A.V. of this passage. Kai is correctly rendered “and”, but the combination te kai demands something more. 

In a number of passages, the translation “both . . . . . and” is called for, and if these references are quoted, the reader may be the more willing to agree that something is missing in the A.V. translation of I Cor. i. 30. 

“These servants . . . . . gathered together . . . . . both bad and good” (Matt. xxii. 10). 

“All that Jesus began both to do and teach” (Acts i. 1). 

“Both Herod and Pontius Pilate” (Acts iv. 27). 

“Both gifts and sacrifices” (Heb. ix. 9). 

The omission of the word “both” from any of these passages would be detrimental. There is a logical and internal relation between those things which are annexed by te kai ‘both . . . . . and’, not only in the passages cited above, but in I Cor. i. 30. Translators may have found it difficult to use the word ‘both’ when translating I Cor. i. 30 but that does not justify ignoring the presence of te kai. There are other equivalents. “David also and Samuel” (Heb. xi. 32). “Whether they were men or women” (Acts ix. 2). 

The word ‘besides’ can be employed in the passage before us and the truth maintained. 

“But of Him, are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us, wisdom, besides righteousness, sanctification and redemption” (I Cor. i. 30). 

It appears that the Corinthians were already possessed of the fact that righteousness, sanctification and redemption were theirs, what the Apostle would have them recognize was that in the self same way ‘wisdom’ too was theirs in Christ. This was a truth that would be somewhat humbling to a Greek, for the Greeks sought after wisdom, even as the Jews sought after righteousness, and alas, both sought it in the power of the flesh. 

Paul has been at great pains to show that “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” is the Wisdom of God, despite even as the preaching of the cross is the Wisdom of God, despite the fact that in the eyes of the “wise” such a message is “foolishness”. This question of wisdom and the natural man is pursued in the second chapter of I Corinthians, and in chapter iii. the carnality of those who said “I am of Paul”, “I am of Apollos”, is exposed. This leads at length to the close of the chapter which reintroduces the fact that all the spiritual possessions of the believer are found in Christ. 

“For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (I Cor. iii. 21-23). 

Here are some of our ‘possessions’. They are all ours. It is evident upon reading the two epistles, that the Corinthians were far from entering experimentally into this treasure, and it will be salutary to go over the ground now surveyed so that we too may learn what to avoid, and how these things may become our own, not only as they are ours already “in Christ Jesus”, but in apprehension and life. 

We shall have to give fuller heed to the repeated warning against ‘boasting’ or ‘glorying’ in men or the flesh. We shall have to ponder what is implied in the words ‘Who of God is made unto us’. We shall have to deal separately with the great gifts, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. We shall need to consider what is implied in the words “All things are yours”, and to examine carefully the list given in I Cor. iii. 22; a list that includes life and death, things present and things to come, and finally we shall have to give the most earnest consideration to the climax and the seal of all this teaching. 

“And ye are Christ’s: and Christ is God’s.” 

To devote most precious and important aspects of truth, therefore, we must devote ourselves in subsequent studies. 

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(From The Berean Expositor, vol. 41, page 110).
http://charleswelch.net/BE%20Vol%2041%20Final.pdf

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