Devil -- Christianity; Spiritual life -- Christianity
Since the Bible contains God's message to the people of the ages, it
must be rightly divided if the body of truth concerning any particular
age or people is to be clearly understood. There are, undoubtedly, many
things in common in the various ages, and, because of that fact, the
superficial use of the Scriptures has been to treat the entire book as a
direct message to all people of all time. This method, as has been
stated, has resulted in great confusion as to the Divine program.
When that portion of Scripture which directly applies to the present age
has been discovered, that, too, must be divided; for the present time is
a period of mixture among the people of the earth--the saints of God
tenting among the citizens of the Satanic system, and having nothing in
common with them beyond the ordinary things of this earth life.
Again, that particular body of truth which applies to the child of God
in this age may be divided, and a portion be called "Positional Truth"
in that it unfolds the believer's present relation to the Godhead, the
heavenlies, and the present world; while another may be known as "Life
Truth" in that it is a particular statement of his present
responsibility in conduct and service, and also includes the provisions
of God whereby he may fully accomplish the whole will of God. A partial
study of Life Truth is reserved for the next and last chapter; while
this chapter is to be devoted to the believer's present position and
separation from the world.
The importance of Positional Truth is suggested by the fact that, in the
context of Scripture, it precedes the statement of Life Truth; forming
the basis of its appeal. As an illustration of this it may be seen that
the order of the doctrinal Epistles is first, to state a great
Positional Truth, which is then followed by an appeal for a life
consistent with the truth revealed. The first great section of the book
of Romans (Chapters 1-8), sets forth the fact of a great and full
salvation; this is followed (omitting the dispensational parenthesis of
Chapters 9-11) by the closing section (Chapters 12-16), which is a
detailed description of the life a saved person should live, and which
opens with this appeal: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
minds, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God." So, in the first section of the letter to the Ephesians
(Chapters 1-3), the believer's position is unfolded, and this is
followed by a section (Chapters 4-6), which is a series of injunctions
for a heavenly walk; this section opens as follows: "I therefore, the
prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation
wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long
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