Date: 1934Place: Foochow
The Old Testament: The Old Testament we have today is the Old Testament that the Lord Jesus used in His days. At that time the Old Testament had been translated into Greek. Although there were Old Testament apocryphal writings, the Lord did not acknowledge them. The Lord only acknowledged the Old Testament that we have today. We find the proof of this in Luke 24:44. Hence, there is absolutely no error in the Old Testament, and no part was missing.
The New Testament: There are only three extant manuscripts of the New Testament: the Vaticanus, the Siniaticus, and the Alexandrianus. Historically, there are four to five hundred copies of parts of the four gospels in existence. The New Testament does not have an apocrypha, and no part of it has been lost.
John Calvin said that in reading the Apocrypha, his spirit spontaneously told him that it was not inspired by the Spirit.
Dr. Scofield said that it is all right if the Bible has one part in ten thousand that is in error, because that one part has nothing to do with the truth of the Bible.
The first three gospels were written in Judea, whereas the Gospel of John was written in Ephesus. Mark and John were written chronologically; Matthew was written according to the order of doctrines, whereas Luke was written according to the order of spiritual teachings.
The good earth in Matthew 13:8 refers to a good heart, an honest heart. The Holy Spirit is the comforter. A comforter is one who is alongside. During the three and a half years that the Lord was on the earth, He was first a Friend to sinners. He did not come first to be the Savior. He was first a Friend to sinners and then the Savior to sinners. He first had to be a Friend before men could love Him. The Lord did this to prepare men's hearts to receive Him as the Savior. People often do not believe when we talk to them about repentance and faith in God. We should first let the sinners know that the Lord is their Friend. Then they will easily receive Him as their Savior.
The casting of the net and the collecting of the fish in Matthew 13 portray the things in the coming kingdom (vv. 47-48).
The Lord had three kinds of brothers: those in the flesh, the Jews, and the New Testament believers.
The church committed one grave mistake after Pentecost — it did not follow the commandment of Acts 1:8. After Acts 9, we have a record of Paul as a messenger of the gospel to the Gentiles. Yet before Paul went out for his work, Peter had already gone down to Caesarea. His going to Caesarea was opposed by the believers in Jerusalem. However, without Peter's going, it is doubtful whether Paul could have started a work there at a later date.
According to Romans 2:12, those who have never heard the gospel will not necessarily perish. When I was in Canada, I preached on the subject of "Seven Kinds of People Who Can Be Saved without Believing or Knowing the Truth." Among those who can be saved are those who do not know that there is a God, those who do not know that Jesus is the Savior, and those who do not know of the forgiveness of the cross.
Chapters one through eight of Romans are doctrinal, nine through eleven are illustrative, and twelve through sixteen are experiential. Chapter seven describes the condition of a person before he is saved. The proof of this is in verse 14. Verses 1 through 6 describe the condition of a saved person, whereas verse 14 describes the condition of an unsaved person. Verse 6 says that we (the saved ones) have died to the law in which we were held and are therefore discharged or freed from the law. Yet verse 14 says that we are fleshy, sold under sin. This must refer to an unsaved person, because this person is not yet freed from the law. (July 25)
In the Solomon Islands, there was a worker called Northcote Codeck, who claimed that his work had no need of Romans 7, because he taught consecration from the beginning.
First Corinthians 5 mentions the fornicators, the covetous, the idolaters, revilers, drunkards, and those who are rapacious (v. 11). These are not verbs but descriptions. They describe certain kinds of persons.
Hades is in the center of the earth; it is divided into a suffering part and Paradise (see Luke 16:22-26). In 2 Corinthians 12:2 and 4, the original Greek says that Paul was caught up to the third heavens and was caught away to Paradise. The Lord said that He would be in the center of the earth for three days (Matt. 12:40). On the cross He told the thief who was crucified beside Him that he would be with Him in Paradise that same day (Luke 23:43). This proves that Paradise is in the center of the earth. Ephesians 4:8 says that the Lord led captive those taken captive; it does not say that he led Paradise captive and took Paradise to the third heavens. This proves that Paradise and the third heavens are in two different places.
The subject of the book of Philippians is not rejoicing, but the exhortation of two sisters to be reconciled to each other. In chapter one, Paul showed that he was always reconciled to others. In chapter two, he showed that Christ was always reconciled to God.
There are three peaks in the New Testament: Romans, Ephesians, and Hebrews. Romans is on sin and salvation, Ephesians is on the church in eternity, and Hebrews is on the Lord as the High Priest.
Why are there the first and the second epistles in the New Testament? This is because man did not take heed to the first epistle, and there was the need to write a second epistle. Hence, every second epistle mentions the subject of separation. For example, 2 Corinthians 6:17 mentions separation from the unclean; 2 Timothy 3:5 mentions turning away from those who have an outward form of godliness.
Second Timothy mainly tells us to turn back to three things: the teaching of Paul, to the Old Testament, and to turn away from those who have an outward form of godliness in order to turn back to the reality of godliness.
Today the church is in desolation. The ones mentioned in 2 Timothy 3 are those who are in the church. Hence, there is the need for some to separate themselves to be the overcomers. Of the seven churches in Revelation, the first three have passed away: (1) The church in Ephesus signifies the church at the time of the apostles. (2) The church in Smyrna signifies the suffering church, which was persecuted by the Roman emperors. (3) The church in Pergamos saw the gradual formation of the papal system. The last four churches will remain until the Lord comes back: (4) The church in Thyatira, which is the Roman Catholic Church, with the papal corruption. This is the church prior to the time of Martin Luther. (5) The church in Sardis, which signifies the Protestant church. This was the beginning of the recovery of the church. (6) The church in Philadelphia, which signifies the faithful little flock. (7) The church in Laodicea, which signifies a degradation from the church in Philadelphia.
In Genesis the serpent crept in because there was a garden. But in Revelation the serpent can no longer creep in, because there is a city.
