Harold S. Paisley
Question: Is it scriptural to state that our Lord Jesus "laid aside His glory" when He came to be the Saviour?
Answers: This question is given priority being vitally important as it concerns the person of the blessed Lord. In speaking of His wonderful stoop, great care should be exercised in the choice of spiritual words. His lowly birth and incarnation causes worship and reverence as consideration of the One who was eternally divine should become truly human without ceasing to be God in the fullest sense. Outwardly, His divine majesty was not revealed before the eyes of the world, but they beheld His moral glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father - full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
We are sure and rejoice, though it is beyond human understanding that not one single attribute of His Godhead glory as the Son of God was laid aside, even for a time as He sojourned in a world of rejection, hatred and scorn. His omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience were frequently manifested. He was all powerful, all present and all knowing at all times. These wonderful matters, concerning Him are among the sacred mysteries of the faith, once for all given to the saints. They are beyond human explanation but firmly believed by all who consider Him as He pitched His tent among men. We can only bow down in His presence in adoration and worship and join with Thomas in glad acclaim, "My Lord and my God."
Question: As a young believer, I have a difficulty in understanding the difference between two scriptures which speak of Christ giving himself as the ranson. In the first verse, (Mark 10:45) He gave Himself a ransom for many while in 1 Tim. 2:6 He gave Himself a ransom for all. Please explain in Words in Season.
Answer: It is always delightful to have such interest among young believers manifested in statements of scripture which seem to be at variance. To understand the meaning of these two statements, a simple clue will explain the truth. Prepositions show the answer. In the first statement, the Lord used the word "anti," translated "for." The preposition "anti" shows that His death was a valid substitute for, or in the stead of many. The provision is for any, but all who fail to believe the message exclude themselves from the blessing of salvation. In the second scripture, Paul, as guided by the Holy Spirit, used the word "Huper" which means "on behalf of all." This reveals the absolute worth of the ransom as being adequate to meet the need of every sinner. Thus all will be without excuse.
To state in conclusion the truth of these two verses, we add that the provision has been made for all, but only those who believe can say, "He died in my room and place" and sing with praise "in my place condemned He stood." Thank God for all who have accepted this basic truth of saving grace, offered to all but only upon all them that believe.
Question: In what sense is the Day of Christ "at hand" (2 Thes. 2:3).
Answer: The Revised Version of this verse is a true rendering; "the Day of the Lord is now present." The word present is the same word used by Paul in Romans 8:38. The background of the writing of Paul to the saints at Thessalonica arose from the fact that the believers who had been taught to wait for His Son from heaven were being deceived by some who had told them that the "Day of the Lord" had actually begun. The trials that they were enduring lent some color to this teaching, but the apostle assures them, by the coming of the Lord and their "gathering unto Him" (2 Thes. 2:1), that this cannot be. The Day of the Lord cannot begin until the saints have been removed and the apostasy under the man of sin is manifested. The "Day" is for the world and the "coming" for the saints.
Question: Could the expression of 1 Cor. 13:8 be explained "whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away."
Answer: "Knowledge" in this verse might be explained as "knowing." It is not the knowledge itself, but the manner of it, that shall cease. In heaven "we shall fully know, even as we have been fully known, not afar off as now but face to face in the immediate presence of God (1 Cor. 13:12).
Question: Is there scripture to prove that the soul of man is immortal? We sing at times of sinners being careless of their soul immortal .
Answer: The words "immortal" and "immortality" are not used in the Word of God to describe the existence of the soul. The words "immortality" (1 Cor. 15:53-54) and "incorruptibility" (1 Cor. 15:42-50) are used in connection with the bodies which the saints will have in the resurrection. The former, in regard to the living, the latter in regard to the sleeping saints. Apart from this altogether, the soul of man, whether saved or unsaved, possesses everlasting existence as the scriptures conclusively prove (Gen. 2:7; Luke 16:22-23).