Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2006 02:20:21 +0800
Subject: ‘The word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.’
Reformed Baptist brethren,
I was reading, and something caught my
attention in Eph 1:13 -
"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that
ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise..."
I thought I would share some thoughts which I believe are obvious and self-evident. Tell me what you think.
1. Believing and trusting in Christ come
after hearing the word of truth.
- The word of truth declares that which is
already true. The veracity of the word of truth is not dependent upon hearers
believing it. Hearers are called to believe the word of truth, i.e., the word which is already true. Hearers are not called to believe something untrue so that it may become true. Believing the word of truth does not
make it one bit more true. Where there is no hearing, there is no believing or
trusting because 'faith cometh by hearing.'
2. The word of truth is the gospel of our
salvation. The gospel of our salvation is the good news of what is already
true. The good news of our salvation is news of what the Triune God has done to
save us. The gospel of our salvation is good news that:
- God has purposed that salvation for us
before the foundation of the world,
- Christ has accomplished and secured that
salvation for us on the cross, and
- Holy Spirit has applied that same salvation to each one of us personally in God's appointed time. Only these are capable of being called to believe the word of truth, the gospel of their salvation. All others are dead in sin, and are remotely related to the 'word of truth' and 'the gospel of our salvation.'
Eph 1:3-12 describe these divine and gracious acts most wonderfully in their manifold richness. Without these sovereign and gracious acts of God, there would be NO word of truth; there would be NO gospel of our salvation. There would be no gospel of our salvation to be preached to us among the hearers! There would be NO word of truth to be heard and believed by us among the hearers!
3. The gospel of Jesus Christ is to be
preached to all creatures.
In preaching the gospel, the gospel call must be
addressed to all the hearers. Among the hearers are found those whom the Spirit
has regenerated, already God's children, born of His Spirit. Only such will
hear and receive the gospel as the word of truth because it is already true of
them. Only such will receive the gospel preached as the gospel of their
salvation because salvation is already true of them... the Spirit has applied
salvation to them personally.
The rest will reject the gospel as foolishness.
The gospel of their salvation is already a reality before it is preached to
them and before they ever believe it. They are called to believe the word of
truth, the gospel of their salvation because it is already true of them EVEN
before they believe. "For the preaching of the cross is to them that
perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."
ONLY those that ARE SAVED perceive and receive the message as the gospel of
their salvation, the word of truth.
4. This good news of our salvation is the
word of truth.
Its truthfulness is based solely on what has actually and
truly happened to us and in us personally by God's gracious acts... what the
Triune God has done for us and in us, and NOT what we do - believing and
trusting. Because what the Triune God has done for us and in us by His free and
sovereign grace, there is good news of our salvation to be proclaimed to us.
The good news is NOT an offer; it is a declaration of what God has done by His free grace to save us. What God has done for us constitutes the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation. Because of what God has done for us, there is the word of truth in which we are called upon to believe. Those whom God has made alive are called to believe. Salvation is bestowed by God's free grace. It is not offered to be accepted... a spiritually dead sinner can't possibly accept the offer, even if there is one! Through the preaching of the gospel of our salvation, God calls us, His children (justified, regenerated and adopted), to believe WHAT IS ALREADY TRUE of us, i.e. the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation.
Calling men to believe what is not true in order that it may become true is NOT only wicked and evil, but it is also deceiving the hearers. It is no longer preaching the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation. It is preaching the word of lies, an offer of salvation conditioned upon something the lost, condemned and dead sinner must do before God will act to save them. That's hardly any truth, no good news in any sense. It is like making a great offer to a dead man, "if you would just whisper 'yes, I believe' then I will make you alive." That amounts to a most wicked mockery at the dead man. It is no word of truth or good news in any sense.
Calling men to believe the word of truth in order that God's gracious work of saving His elect by His free grace may be made manifest SO THAT His children may be gathered in NT churches is the true function of the ministry of preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Great Commission (given specifically to the Apostles, and accomplished by them) is to make disciples of God's regenerated elect; disciples can only be made out of God's children. The Triune God produces His own children without any human aid whatsoever. He does so sovereignly and freely by His grace. And He appointed the preaching of the gospel to gather His children into NT churches.
5. We who trusted Christ after hearing the word of truth do so ONLY because Christ IS ALREADY our Saviour, the word of truth is already true of us. We are believing what is already true. Our believing does not make what is untrue to become true. Faith, receiving and resting in Christ for righteousness and salvation, is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, and an evidence of the Spirit of Christ already dwelling in them that exercise faith. The indwelling Spirit of God is found in those God has already justified, regenerated and adopted... for the Spirit of God is called the Spirit of adoption.
6. "But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." 2Tim 1:10
The gospel brings life and immortality TO
LIGHT.
The gospel makes manifest life and immortality that is already present.
The gospel DOES NOT bring life and
immortality.
The gospel is the means God ordained to bring
to light life and immortality.
The gospel is NOT THE MEANS God ordained to
bring life and immortality.
You can only bring to light the life and immortality that are ALREADY there.
Life and immortality are ALREADY in the person by God's free and sovereign grace BEFORE they can ever be brought to light by the gospel. Biblical examples bear witness to this - Abraham, the Jews converted on the day of Pentecost, the eunuch, Cornelius, Lydia,
It's time to believe the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation.
Now I have a QUESTION: "in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise..." What is this sealing with that holy Spirit of promise?
Please give these thoughts some consideration.
We need to rethink through the doctrine of
salvation.
What the new school 'reformed' people believe is quite
different from what the Old School Baptists of the 17th and 18th century
particular Baptists believed (same with the paedobaptist side of the story)
Thank you for your attention.
