WHO IS THIS MELCHISEDEC #19
September 13, 2000
Brian Kocourek
Sunday we spoke again from
paragraph 50 where brother Branham said,
Who is This
Melchisedec pp. 50 God's sovereign in His choosing, did you know
that? God's sovereign. Who was back yonder to tell Him a better way
to make the world? Who would dare to tell Him He was running His business
wrong? Even the very--the very Word Itself, very sovereign... Even the
revelation is sovereign. He reveals to whom He will reveal. The
very revelation itself is sovereign in God. That's how people pound at
things, and jump at things, and hit at things, and not knowing what they're
doing. God is sovereign in His works.
"O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his
judgments, and his ways past finding out" Rom. 11:33.
"Salvation is
of the Lord" Jonah 2:9; but the Lord does not save all. Why not? He does save some; then if
he saves some, why not others? Is it because they are too sinful and depraved?
No; for the apostle wrote, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all
acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I
am chief" 1 Tim. 1:15. Therefore, if
God saved the "chief" of sinners, none are excluded because of their
depravity. Why then does not God save all? Is it because some are too stony
hearted to be won? No; because of the most stony hearted people of all it is
written, that God will yet "take the stony
heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh" Ezek. 11:19. Then is it because some are so
stubborn, so intractable, so defiant that God is unable to woo them to himself?
Before we answer this question let us ask another; let us appeal to the
experience of the Christian reader.
Friend; was there not a time
when you walked in the counsel of the ungodly, stood in the way of sinners, sat
in the seat of the scorners, and with them said, "We will not have this man to reign over us" Luke 19:14? Was there not a time when you
"would not come to Christ that you might have life" John 5:40? Yea, was there not a time when you
mingled your voice with those who said unto God, "Depart from us; for we
desire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should
serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him" Job 21:14,15? With shamed face you have to
acknowledge there was. But how is it that all is now changed? What was it that
brought you from haughty self-sufficiency to a humble suppliant, from one that
was at enmity with God to one that is at peace with him, from lawlessness to
subjection, from hate to love? And, as one born of the Spirit, you will readily
reply, "By the grace of God I am what I
am" 1 Cor. 15:10. Then do
you not see that it is due to no lack of power in God, nor to his refusal to
coerce man, that other rebels are not saved too? If God was able to subdue your
will and win your heart, and that without interfering with your moral
responsibility, then is he not able to do the same for others? Assuredly he is.
Then how inconsistent, how illogical, how foolish of you, in seeking to account
for the present course of the wicked and their ultimate fate, to argue that God
is unable to save them, that they will not let him. Do you say, "But the
time came when I was willing, willing to receive Christ as my Saviour?"
True, but it was the Lord who made you willing Ps
110:3 Phip.
2:13; why then does he not make
all sinners willing? Why, but for the fact that he is sovereign and does as he
pleases! But to return to our opening inquiry.
Why is it that all are not
saved, particularly all who hear the Gospel? Do you still answer, Because the
majority refuse to believe? Well, that is true, but it is only a part of the
truth. It is the truth from the human side. But there is a divine side too, and
this side of the truth needs to be stressed or God will be robbed of his glory.
The unsaved are lost because they refuse to believe; the others are saved
because they believe. But why, do these others believe? What is it that causes them
to put their trust in Christ? Is it because they are more intelligent than
their fellows, and quicker to discern their need of salvation? Perish the
thought — "Who maketh thee to differ from
another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou
didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?" 1 Cor. 4:7. It is God himself who maketh the
difference between the elect and the non-elect, for of his own it is written,
"And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an
understanding, that we may know him that is true" 1 John 5:20.
Faith is God's gift, and
"all men have not faith" 2 Thess. 3:2; therefore, we see that God does not
bestow this gift upon all. Upon whom then does he bestow this saving favor? And
we answer, upon his own elect — "As many as
were ordained to eternal life believed" Acts 13:48 hence it is that
we read of "the faith of God's elect" Titus 1:1. But is God partial in the distribution
of his favors? has he not the right to be? Are there still some who
"murmur against the good man of the house?" Then his own words are
sufficient reply — "Is it not lawful for me to
do what I will with mine own?" Matt.
20:15. God is sovereign in the bestowment of his gifts, both in the natural
and in the spiritual realms. So much then for a general statement, and now to
particularize.
1. The Sovereignty
Of God The Father In Salvation.
Perhaps the one scripture
which most emphatically of all asserts the absolute sovereignty of God in connection
with his determining the destiny of his creatures, is the ninth of Romans. We
shall not attempt to review here the entire chapter, but will confine ourselves
to Rom. 9:21-23 — "hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump, to
make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? What if God, willing to
show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the
riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto
glory?" These verses represent fallen mankind as inert and as
impotent as a lump of lifeless clay. This scripture evidences that there is
"no difference", in themselves, between the elect and the non-elect:
they are clay of "the same lump", which agrees with Eph. 2:3, where we are told, that all are by
nature "children of wrath." It
teaches us that the ultimate destiny of every individual is decided by the will
of God, and blessed it is that such be the case; if it were left to our wills,
the ultimate destination of us all would be the Lake of Fire. It declares that
God himself does make a difference in the respective destinations to which he
assigns his creatures, for one vessel is made "unto
honor and another unto dishonor"; some are "vessels of wrath fitted to destruction",
others are "vessels of mercy, which he had
afore prepared unto glory."
We readily acknowledge that
it is very humbling to the proud heart of the creature to behold all mankind in
the hand of God as the clay is in the potter's hand, yet this is precisely how
the Scriptures of Truth represent the case. In this day of human boasting,
intellectual pride, and deification of man, it needs to be insisted upon that
the potter forms his vessels for himself. Let man strive with his Maker as he
will, the fact remains that he is nothing more than clay in the heavenly
Potter's hands, and while we know that God will deal justly with his creatures,
that the Judge of all the earth will do right, nevertheless, he shapes his
vessels for his own purpose and according to his own pleasure. God claims the
indisputable right to do as he wills with his own.
Not only has God the right
to do as he wills with the creatures of his own hands, but he exercises this right,
and nowhere is that seen more plainly than in his predestinating grace. Before
the foundation of the world God made a choice, a selection, an election. Before
his omniscient eye stood the whole of Adam's race, and from it he singled out a
people and predestinated them "unto the adoption of children",
predestinated them "to be conformed to the
image of his Son", "ordained"
them unto eternal life. Many are the scriptures which set forth this blessed
truth, seven of which will now engage our attention.
"As many as
were ordained to eternal life, believed" Acts 13:48. Every artifice of human
ingenuity has been employed to blunt the sharp edge of this scripture and to
explain away the obvious meaning of these words, but it has been employed in
vain, though nothing will ever be able to reconcile this and similar passages
to the mind of the natural man. "As many as were ordained to eternal life,
believed." Here we learn four things:
Ø
First, that believing is the
consequence and not the cause of God's decree.
Ø
Second, that a limited number only
are "ordained to eternal life", for if all men without exception were
thus ordained by God, then the words "as many as" are a meaningless
qualification.
Ø
Third, that this "ordination" of God is not to mere external privileges
but to "eternal life", not to service but to salvation itself.
Ø
Fourth, that all — "as many
as", not one less — who are thus ordained by God to eternal life will most
certainly believe.
The comments of the beloved
Spurgeon on the above passage are well worthy of our notice. Said he, "Attempts have been made to prove that these words do not
teach predestination, but these attempts so clearly do violence to language
that I shall not waste time in answering them. I read: "As many as were
ordained to eternal life believed", and
I shall not twist the text but shall glorify the grace of God by ascribing to
that grace the faith of every man. Is it not God who gives the disposition to
believe? If men are disposed to have eternal life, does not he — in every case
— dispose them? Is it wrong for God to give grace? If it be right for him to
give it, is it wrong for him to purpose to give it? Would you have him
give it by
accident? If it is right for him to purpose to give grace today, it was right
for him to purpose it before today — and, since he changes not — from eternity."
"Even so then
at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more
grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no
more work" Rom. 11:5-6. The words "Even so"
at the beginning of this quotation refer us to the previous verse where we are
told, "I have reserved to myself seven thousand
men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." Note particularly the
word "reserved." In the days of Elijah there were seven thousand — a
small minority — who were divinely preserved from idolatry and brought to the
knowledge of the true God. This preservation and illumination was not from
anything in themselves, but solely by God's special influence and agency. How
highly favored such individuals were to be thus
"reserved" by God!
Now says the apostle, Just as there was a "remnant"
in Elijah's days "reserved by God",
even so there is in this present dispensation.
"A remnant according to the election of grace."
Here the cause of election is traced back to its source. The basis upon which
God elected this "remnant" was
not faith foreseen in them, because a choice founded upon the foresight of good
works is just as truly made on the ground of works as any choice can be, and in
such a case, it would not be "of grace";
for, says the apostle, "if by grace, then it is
no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace"; which
means that grace and works are opposites, they have nothing in common, and will
no more mingle than will oil and water. Thus the idea of inherent good foreseen
in those chosen, or of anything meritorious performed by them, is rigidly
excluded. "A remnant according to the election
of grace"; signifies an unconditional choice resulting from the
sovereign favor of God; in a word, it is absolutely a gratuitous election.
"For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men
after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath
chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty:
and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen,
yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no
flesh should glory in his presence" 1
Cor. 1:26-29. Three times over in this passage reference is made to God's
choice, and choice necessarily supposes a selection, the taking of some and the
leaving of others. The chooser here is God himself, as said the Lord Jesus to
the apostles, "Ye have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you" John 15:16.
The number chosen is strictly defined — "not many wise men after the
flesh, not many noble", etc., which agrees with Matt. 20:16, "So the last shall
be first, and the first last; for many be called, but few chosen."
So much then for the fact of God's choice; now mark the objects of his choice.
The ones spoken of above as chosen of God are "the
weak things of the world, base things of the world, and things which are
despised." But why? To demonstrate and magnify his grace. God's
ways as well as his thoughts are utterly at variance with man's. The carnal
mind would have supposed that a selection had been made from the ranks of the
opulent and influential, the amiable and cultured, so that Christianity might
have won the approval and applause of the world by its pageantry and fleshly
glory. Ah! but "that which is highly esteemed
among men is abomination in the sight of God" Luke 16:15. God chooses the base things. He did so
in Old Testament times. The nation which he singled out to be the depository of
his holy oracles and the channel through which the promised seed should come,
was not the ancient Egyptians, the imposing Babylonians, nor the highly
civilized and cultured Greeks. No; that people upon whom Jehovah set his love
and regarded as "the apple of his eye",
were the despised, nomadic Hebrews. So it was when our Lord tabernacled among men. The ones whom he took
into favored intimacy with himself and commissioned to go forth as his
ambassadors, were, for the most part, unlettered fishermen. And so it has been
ever since. So it is today: at the present rates of increase, it will not be
long before it is manifested that the Lord has more in despised China who are
really his, than he has in the highly favored United States of America; more
among the uncivilized blacks of Africa, than he has inc cultured (?) Germany!
And the purpose of God's choice, the reason
for the selection he has made is, "that
no flesh should glory in his presence" — there being nothing
whatever in the objects of his choice which should entitle them to his special
favors, then, all the praise will be freely ascribed to the exceeding riches of
his manifold grace.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ:
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before him; In love having predestinated us
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good
pleasure of his will ... In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being
predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will" Eph.
1:3-5,11. Here again we are told at what point in time — if time it
could be called — when God made choice of those who were to be his children by
Jesus Christ. It was not after Adam had fallen and plunged his race into sin
and wretchedness, but long ere Adam saw the light, even before the world itself
was founded, that God chose us in Christ. here also we learn the purpose which
God had before him in connection with his own elect: it was that they "should be holy and without blame before him";
it was "unto the adoption of children";
it was that they should "obtain an inheritance". Here also we
discover the motive which prompted him. It was "in love that he
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself"
— a statement which refutes the oft made and wicked charge that, for God to
decide the eternal destiny of his creatures before they are born, is tyrannical
and unjust. Finally, we are informed here, that in this matter he took counsel
with none, but that we are "predestinated according to the good pleasure
of his will."
"But we are bound
to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God
hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification the
Spirit and belief of the truth" 2 Thess. 2:13. There are three things here which
deserve special attention.
First, the fact that we are
expressly told that God's elect are "chosen to
salvation." Language could not be more explicit. How summarily
do these words dispose of the sophistries and equivocations of all who would
make election refer nothing but external privileges or rank in service! It is
to "salvation" itself that God hath chosen us.
Second, we are warned here that
election unto salvation does not disregard the use of appropriate means:
salvation is reached through "sanctification of
the Spirit and belief of the truth." It is not true that
because God has chosen a certain one to salvation that he will be saved willy
nilly, whether he believes or not: nowhere do the scriptures so represent it.
The same God who predestined the end, also appointed the means; the same God
who "chose unto salvation", decreed that his purpose should, be
realized through the work of the Spirit and belief of the truth.
Third, that God has chosen us
unto salvation is a profound cause for fervent praise. Note how strongly the
apostle expresses this — "we are bound to give
thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation", etc. Instead of
shrinking in horror from the doctrine of predestination, the believer, when he
sees this blessed truth as it is unfolded in the Word, discovers a ground for
gratitude and thanksgiving such as nothing else affords, save the unspeakable
gift of the Redeemer himself.
"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not
according to our works, but according, to his own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" 2 Tim. 1:9. How plain and pointed is the language
if Holy Writ! It is man who, by his words, darkeneth counsel. It is impossible
to state the case more clearly, or strongly, than it is stated here. Our
salvation is not "according to our works";
that is to say, it is not due to anything in us, nor the rewarding of anything
from us; instead, it is the result of God's own "purpose and grace";
and this grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. It is by
grace we are saved, and in the purpose of God this grace was bestowed upon us
not only before we saw the light, not only before Adam's fall, but even before that
far distant "beginning" of Gen. 1:1. And herein lies the unassailable comfort
of God's people. If his choice has been from eternity it will last to eternity!
"Nothing can survive to eternity but what came
from eternity, and what has so come, will"