THE UNITY OF REVELATION.
1. "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world;"
and therefore they constitute together a self-consistent whole. To
receive the Holy Scriptures as containing a revelation from God is to
acknowledge that they possess an _essential and all-pervading unity_.
Whoever speaks timidly and hesitatingly of the essential harmony between
the Old Testament and the New, either refuses to acknowledge both as
given by inspiration of God, or he apprehends this great fundamental
truth only in a confused and imperfect manner. If God spake by Moses and
the prophets, as well as by Christ and his apostles, it is vain to
allege any contradiction in doctrine or spirit between the former and
the latter. So absolutely certain is it that the Saviour and his
apostles built on the foundation of the Old Testament, that to deny its
divine authority is to deny that of the New Testament also.
2. But the unity of revelation, like that which pervades all the other
works of God, is a _unity in the midst of diversity_--diversity in its
contemporaneous parts, but especially in its _progress_. Illustrations
without number are at hand. The history of a plant of wheat, from the
time when the kernel is sown in the earth to the harvest, has perfect
unity of plan. But how unlike in outward form are the tender blade, the
green stalk, and the ripened ear! The year constitutes a self-consistent
whole. But can any thing be more dissimilar in form than spring and
autumn? Yet no one thinks of finding a want of harmony between the
fragrant blossoms of the former, and the ripened fruit of the latter.
The path to the harvest lies through the blossoms. Geologists dwell at
great length on the varied conditions through which our planet has
passed, and the wonderfully diversified forms of vegetable and animal
life corresponding to these several conditions. Yet in this endless
diversity of outward form they recognize from first to last a deep
underlying unity of plan. We might, then, reasonably infer beforehand
that if God should make a revelation of himself to men, it would have
not only unity but _diversity of outward form_, especially _diversity of
progress_. The fact that the revelation contained in the Bible has such
diversity is one of the seals of its genuineness.
3. We may consider this unity in diversity in respect to the _form of
God's kingdom_. From Adam to Abraham God administered the affairs of the
human family as a whole, without any visible organization of a church as
distinct from the world at large. From Abraham to Moses his
church--using the term church in a general sense--existed in a
_patriarchal_ form. With the beginning of the Mosaic dispensation he put
it into the form of a _state_, of which he was the supreme head and
lawgiver, while its earthly rulers exercised under him all the functions
of civil offices, the bearing of the sword included. When Christ came,
he separated the church from the state, and gave it its present
spiritual and universal organization. In all this diversity of outward
form we recognize the progress of one grand self-consistent plan.
4. We may now go back again to the beginning, and consider the diversity
in the _forms of public worship_--the simple offering of Abel, who
"brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof," the
altars of the patriarchs, the gorgeous ceremonial of the Mosaic economy
with its priesthood and sacrifices, "the service of song in the house of
the Lord" added by David, the synagogue service of later times, and,
finally, the spiritual priesthood of believers under the New Testament,
whose office is "to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by
Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5); and show that through all this variety of
outward form the essence of God's service has ever remained unchanged,
so that the example of primitive believers is a model for our imitation.
Heb. chap. 11.
5. We may show, again, that the same manifoldness belongs to _the forms
of labor_ devolved on God's servants in different ages. The work
assigned to Noah was not that of Abraham; nor was Abraham's work that of
Moses; nor the work of Moses that of David; nor David's work that of
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel; nor did any one of the Old Testament
believers receive the broad commission: "Go ye into all the world; and
preach the gospel to every creature." They could not receive such a
commission, for the way was not yet prepared. Abraham must sojourn in
the land of promise "as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles
with Isaac and Jacob" (Heb. 11:9); Moses must lead Israel out of Egypt,
and be God's mediator for the law given on Sinai; Joshua must take
possession of the land of promise and David maintain it, sword in hand;
the prophets must foretell the future glories of Christ's kingdom, not
preach it, as did the apostles, to all nations. But in the divine plan
this manifoldness of service constitutes a self-consistent and
harmonious whole.
6. The same unity in diversity belongs to _the spirit of revelation_.
Failing to apprehend the character of God in its entireness, Marcion
rent the seamless garment of divine perfection into two parts, the one
consisting of _justice_, which he assigned to the "Demiurge" of the Old
Testament, the other of _goodness_, as the attribute of the supreme God
of the New Testament. He did not see that God's character is alike
infinite on both sides; that his justice is a justice of infinite
goodness, and his goodness a goodness of infinite justice. Hence he
arrayed in opposition to each other two caricatures of deity, the one
drawn from the Old Testament, the other from the New; an error in which
he has had too many imitators in modern times. To see the harmony of the
spirit that pervades the Holy Scriptures from beginning to end _in
respect to the Divine character_, we should take a comprehensive instead
of a partial view of their representations. It is true that the Old
Testament describes God as infinite in holiness and inflexibly just. But
it also describes him as "the Lord God, merciful and gracious,
long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." It is true
that God's covenant under the Old Testament was restricted to a single
nation; but this was, as has been heretofore shown, _preparatory_ to a
universal dispensation of mercy, as when a general seizes one strong
position with a view to the conquest of an entire region. Chap. 18. It
is true, on the other hand, that the New Testament is, in a peculiar
sense, a revelation of God's mercy through Jesus Christ. But it is a
discriminating mercy, through which God's awful holiness and justice
shine with dazzling brightness. It is a mercy shown not at the expense
of justice, but in perfect harmony with it; a mercy sternly restricted,
moreover, to those who comply with the conditions on which it is
offered. The gospel is a plan of salvation, not of condemnation; "for
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through him might be saved." John 3:17. Yet it brings condemnation
to those who reject it; for the Saviour immediately adds (ver. 18): "He
that believeth on him, is not condemned; but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God." It is in the New Testament, not in the Old, that
we find the most awful declarations of God's wrath against the finally
impenitent, some of them proceeding, too, from the lips of the
compassionate Saviour: "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven,
with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that
know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who
shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the
Lord, and from the glory of his power" (2 Thess. 1:7, 9); "He that
believeth not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth
on him" (John 3:36); "These shall go away into everlasting punishment,
but the righteous into life eternal" (Matt. 25:46).
7. The same harmony of spirit pervades both Testaments in respect to
_the way of salvation_. On this momentous question the teachings of the
New Testament are fuller than those of the Old, but never in
contradiction with them. The Old Testament teaches that men are saved,
not from the merit of their good works, but from God's mercy: the New
Testament adds a glorious revelation respecting the _ground_ of this
mercy in Jesus Christ. To exhibit in a clear light the reality of this
harmony, let us take a passage of the New Testament which embodies in
itself the substance of the way of salvation, and compare with it the
declarations of the Old Testament. The following will be appropriate:
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the
Holy Ghost." Titus 3:5.
_Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his
mercy he saved us_. "The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose
you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the
fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you, and because he
would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord
brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of
bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt" (Deut. 7:7, 8); "For
thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great" (Psa.
25:11); "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness;
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my
transgressions" (Psa. 51:1); "I do not this for your sakes, O house of
Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the
heathen whither ye went" (Ezek. 36:22); "We do not present our
supplications before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great
mercies" (Dan. 9:18).
_By the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost._
"Behold thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part
thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be
clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." "Create in me a clean
heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from
thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me" (Psa. 51:6, 7, 10,
11); "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jer.
31:33); "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be
clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse
you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put
within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and
I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you,
and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments,
and do them" (Ezek. 36:25-27).
8. The stern character of the Mosaic dispensation is freely admitted. As
a preparatory dispensation, severity belonged appropriately to it. "The
law," says Paul, "was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we
might be justified by faith." Gal. 3:24. Its office was to educate the
human conscience to such a point that it should be prepared for the full
revelation of God's mercy in Christ. We may concede the prominence of
God's justice in the Old Testament, and his mercy in the New; but we
must never forget that neither part of divine revelation is complete in
itself. It is only when we view them in their connection with each
other, as parts of one great whole, that we discern in them an
all-pervading unity and harmony of spirit.
From the unity of revelation some inferences may be drawn of a very
practical character, especially in reference to the interpretation of
the Old Testament.
9. _Each particular communication from God to man must be, in its place
and measure, perfect._ For it proceeded from the infinite mind of God,
who understood at the beginning the whole plan of redemption, and who,
when he made the first revelation concerning it, knew all that was
afterwards to follow, and said and did, in the most perfect way, what
was proper to be said and done at the time. The revelations of the Holy
Spirit, therefore, admit of a stupendous _development_, but no
rectification or improvement. The very earliest of them contain the
germs of all that is to follow without any admixture of falsehood. There
is a holding back of the full light reserved for future ages, but no
mist of error--nothing which, fairly interpreted, will ever need to be
retracted. For this reason the very earliest of God's communications to
men retain for us, who live in these latter days, their pristine
freshness and power. Take, for example, the great primitive prophecy: "I
will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Gen.
3:15. We can find no words more pertinent to describe the mighty
conflict now going on between the kingdom of God and that of Satan. What
are they but a condensation into one sentence of the history of
redemption--a flash of light from the third heavens, which discloses at
a glance man's destiny from Eden to the trump of the archangel? And so
is it also with the later prophecies concerning Christ and his kingdom.
What is true of the revelations of the Old Testament holds good of all
its _institutions_. In their place, and with reference to the end which
they proposed to accomplish, they were all perfect; were the best that
could be given under existing circumstances. At the foundation of all
our reasonings concerning the appointments of the Old Testament must lie
the axiom: "As for God his way is perfect."
10. _The later revelations must he taken as the true exponents of the
earlier._ This is but saying that the Holy Spirit is the true and proper
expositor of his own communications to men. Since, as we have seen, the
first revelations were made in full view of all that was to follow, the
later revelations must be considered not as a mass of foreign and
heterogeneous materials superadded to the original prophecies, but as a
true expansion of the earlier prophecies out of their own proper
substance. For example, the promise made to Abraham: "In thy seed shall
all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 22:18), is not so much a
new promise as a further unfolding of the original one: "It shall bruise
thy head." A further development of the same promise we have in Nathan's
words to David: "Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for
ever before thee, thy throne shall be established for ever;" and in all
the bright train of prophecies in which the glory and universal dominion
of the Messiah's kingdom are foretold down to the day of Gabriel's
announcement to Mary: "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of
the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and
of his kingdom there shall be no end." Luke 1:32, 33.
And since the manifestation of God in the flesh is the culminating point
of revelation, it follows that the Lord Jesus and his apostles, whom he
authoritatively commissioned to unfold the doctrines of the gospel, must
be, in a special sense, the expositors of the Old Testament, from whose
interpretations, when once fairly ascertained, there is no appeal. The
attempt of some to make a distinction between Christ's authority and
that of his apostles is nugatory. As it is certain that our Lord himself
could not have been in error, so it is certain also that he would not
have commanded his apostles to teach all nations concerning himself and
his doctrines, and have further given them, in the possession of
miraculous powers, the broad seal of their commission, only to leave
them subject to the common prejudices and errors of their age. See
further in Chap. 7, Nos. 3, 4.
11. _The extent of meaning contained in a given revelation must be that
which the Holy Spirit intended._ It is not to be limited, then, by the
apprehension of those to whom it was originally made. Earlier prophecy
is, at least in many cases, framed with a view to the subsequent
development of its meaning. Until such development is made by God
himself, either in the way of further revelations, or indirectly by the
course of his providence, men's apprehension of its meaning, though it
may be true as far as it goes, must yet be inadequate. To cite a single
passage from one of the Old Testament prophecies: "It hath pleased the
Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his
soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his
days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." Isa.
53:10. No one will maintain that the Jews before our Lord's advent (all
carnal prejudices aside) could have had that apprehension of its deep
meaning which it is our privilege to enjoy. This meaning was contained
in the promise from the first, but in an undeveloped form. Accordingly
the prophets themselves "inquired and searched diligently" concerning
the import of their utterances and the time of their fulfilment. 1 Pet.
1:11. They who deny the reality of prophetic inspiration are
necessitated, for consistency's sake, to deny also the principle now
laid down. But if revelation be a true communication from God to men, it
is reasonable to believe that it should have contained from the
beginning the germs of mighty events in the distant future, the
realization of which in history should be, in connection with further
revelations from God, its true expositor.
12. _The more obscure declarations of Scripture are to be interpreted
from the clearer._ A single passage of God's word occasionally gives us
a glimpse of some great truth nowhere else referred to in Scripture. Of
this we have a remarkable example in what the apostle says of Christ's
delivering up the kingdom to the Father upon the completion of the work
of redemption. 1 Cor. 15:24-28. But no great truth relating to the way
of salvation through Christ is thus taught obscurely and in some single
passage of Scripture. Every such truth pervades the broad current of
revelation, and shines forth from its pages so clearly that no candid
inquirer can fail to apprehend its true meaning. If, then, we find in
the Bible dark and difficult passages, they must, if interpreted at all,
be explained, not in contradiction with what is clearly and fully
taught, but in harmony with it. This is but saying that, instead of
using what is obscure to darken what is clearly revealed, we should, as
far as possible, illustrate that which is dark by that which is clear.
The Scriptures teach, for example, with abundant clearness, that
Christ is the only foundation on which the church can rest. Isa.
28:16; 1 Cor. 3:11; Ephes. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:6. This is, indeed, an
office which plainly requires for its exercise that omnipotence,
and that supreme power in heaven and earth which are expressly
ascribed to him. Matt. 11:27; 28:18; John 5:19-30; 17:2; 1 Cor.
15; 24-28; Ephes. 1:20-23; Phil. 2:9-11; Col. 1:15-19; Heb. 1:3.
When, therefore, our Lord says to Peter: "Thou art Peter [that
is, as the word Peter means in the original, _Thou art Rock_],
and upon this rock will I build my church" (Matt. 16:18), to
understand Peter, or any pretended successor of Peter, as a rock
in any other sense than as an eminent instrument in Christ's
hand for the establishment of his church, is absurd and
blasphemous.
Again: Christ gives to Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven,
with power to bind and loose (Matt. 16:19), and elsewhere the
same power is conferred upon all the apostles (Matt. 18:18).
That Peter and his associates in the apostleship had the keys of
the kingdom of heaven in any such sense as that in which Christ
has them (Rev. 3:7); that is, that they had authoritative power
to admit their fellow-sinners to heaven, or exclude them from
heaven, is contrary to the whole tenor of the New Testament,
which everywhere represents Christ as the supreme Judge, upon
whose decision depends the everlasting destiny of every child of
Adam. Matt. 7:21, 22; 16:27; 25:31-46; John 17:2; Acts 17:31; 2
Cor. 5:10. Christ's words concerning the keys may be best
understood of the _special_ authority which he bestowed on the
apostles, as inspired teachers and guides of his primitive
church, to settle all questions respecting her. For eminent
examples of the exercise of this power, see the decisions
concerning Gentile converts, Acts 11:1-18; 15:1-29. In this
sense the gift of the keys ceased with that of inspiration. But
if, as some think, the words may be understood of the _common_
power conferred by Christ on his churches to regulate their own
affairs, to administer discipline, and to admit or exclude from
their communion, the power continues in this sense in the
visible church, and is valid so far as it is exercised in
accordance with God's word.
So also must we interpret the words of Christ recorded by the
apostle John: "And when he had said this, he breathed on them,
and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whosesoever sins
ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye
retain, they are retained." Chap. 20:22, 23. The authoritative
forgiveness of sin is a prerogative of God alone, the exercise
of which implies omniscience as well as supreme authority in
heaven and earth. The prerogative of remitting and retaining
men's sins here conferred on the apostles is part of the general
power of binding and loosing already considered. It was
exercised _in the sphere of the visible church on earth_. As it
respects the actual forgiveness of sin and consequent admission
of the soul to communion with God here and eternal life
hereafter, God's ministers can only declare the terms of
salvation as they are set forth in the gospel.
The same general principle is applicable to the interpretation
of all passages containing "things hard to be understood." The
"unlearned and unstable" wrest them, by taking them out of their
connection and in contradiction to the general tenor of God's
word. But the candid student of Scripture never uses that which
is difficult in revelation to obscure that which is plain. He
seeks, on the contrary, to illumine what is dark by that which
shines with a clear and steady light.
13. As a fitting close to this part of our subject we add some remarks
on _the analogy of faith_. "We may define it to be that general rule of
doctrine which is deduced, not from two or three parallel passages, but
from the harmony of all parts of Scripture in the fundamental points of
faith and practice." Horne's Introduct., vol. 1. p. 269, edit. 1860. It
is based on two fundamental principles; first, that "all Scripture is
given by inspiration of God," and therefore constitutes a
self-consistent whole, no part of which may be interpreted in
contradiction with the rest; secondly, that the truths to which God's
word gives the greatest prominence, and which it inculcates in the
greatest variety of forms, must be those of primary importance. Thus
understood, the analogy of faith is a sure guide to the meaning of the
inspired volume. He who follows it will diligently and prayerfully study
_the whole word of God_, not certain selected parts of it; since it is
from the whole Bible that we gather the system of divine revelation in
its fulness and just proportions. "If we come to the Scriptures with any
preconceived opinions, and are more desirous to put that sense upon the
text which coincides with our sentiments rather than with the truth, it
then becomes the analogy of _our_ faith rather than that of the whole
system." Horne, _ubi supra_. In this substitution of "the analogy of
_our_ faith" for the analogy of Scripture lies the foundation of
sectarian controversy.
Again; he who follows the true analogy of faith will not allow a
doctrine which runs through the whole tenor of divine revelation to be
weakened or set aside in the interest of some other scriptural doctrine.
The Scriptures teach, for example, with great frequency and
clearness that men are saved, not from the merit of their good
works, but solely by God's free grace through faith in Jesus
Christ. They teach also with equal frequency and clearness that
without repentance and obedience to the divine law there is no
salvation. These two deductions are not contradictory, but
supplementary to each other. They present two sides of one and
the same way of salvation. Yet it may happen that a Biblical
student will find himself unable to reconcile in a logical way
two such deductions as the following: "Therefore we conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law"
(Rom. 3:28); "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the
will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21). What then
shall we counsel him to do? Plainly it is his duty, first of
all, to receive and hold _both_ doctrines. _Afterwards_ he may
properly seek to reconcile them with each other in a logical
way; but if he fails to accomplish this task to his
satisfaction, he must not deny one truth, or sink its
importance, in the interest of the other. The same general
principle applies to various other doctrinal difficulties, which
need not be here specified.
Finally, a true regard to the analogy of faith will make our system of
belief and practice _entire and well proportioned_ in all its parts.
Every declaration of God's word is to be received in a reverent and
obedient spirit. But inasmuch as the Scriptures insist much more
earnestly and fully on some things than on others, it is our wisdom to
follow, in this respect, the leadings of the Holy Spirit. It will be the
aim of the enlightened believer to give to each doctrine and precept of
revelation the place and prominence assigned to it in the Bible.
Especially will he be careful that no obscure or doubtful passage of
Scripture be allowed to contradict the plain teachings of inspiration.
The practical study of the Bible, that is, the study of it as
"profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness," resolves itself in a great
measure into the comparison of Scripture with Scripture,
especially the comparison of _doctrinal parallelisms_. All that
the Bible teaches from Genesis to Revelation concerning God's
being and attributes, his providential government over man, the
person and offices of Christ and the way of salvation through
him, and the final destiny of the righteous and the wicked,
should be diligently compared, that from the whole we may gather
a full and well-proportioned system of faith and practice as it
is contained in the pages of inspiration. So far as we fail to
do this our view of divine truth is defective and
disproportioned. The solemn warning in respect to the last book
of revelation applies with equal force to revelation as a whole:
"If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him
the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall
take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall
take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy
city, and from the things that are written in this book." Rev.
22:18, 19.