It may seem, to some of our readers, a strong statement to assert that there is nothing about the Church, properly so called, throughout the prophets, or indeed in the Old Testament; but a statement or two from the inspired pen of St. Paul will settle the whole question for any one who is really willing to submit to the authority of holy Scripture. Thus in Romans xvi. we read, “Now to Him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, _which was kept secret since the world began_, but _now is made manifest_, and by the scriptures of the prophets [evidently of the New Testament], according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.” (Ver. 25, 26.)
So also in Ephesians iii. we read, “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given me to you-ward; how that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ;) _which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit_;[7] that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel.... And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which _from the beginning of the world hath been HID IN GOD_, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God.” (Ver. 1-10.)
But we must not pursue this deeply interesting subject of the Church; we have merely referred to the foregoing plain passages of Scripture, in order to settle the reader’s mind as to the fact that the doctrine of the Church, as taught by Paul, finds no place in the pages of the Old Testament; and therefore, when he reads the prophets and meets the words “Israel,” “Jerusalem,” “Zion,” he is not to apply such terms to the Church of God, inasmuch as they belong to the literal people of Israel, the seed of Abraham, the land of Canaan, and the city of Jerusalem.[8] God means what He says, and therefore we must not countenance aught that borders upon or looks like a loose and irreverent mode of handling the Word of God. When the Spirit speaks of Jerusalem, He means Jerusalem; if He meant the Church, He would say so. We should not attempt to treat a respectable human document as we treat the inspired volume. We take it for granted that a man not only knows what he means to say, but says what he means; and if this be so in regard to a poor fallible mortal, how much more so in regard to the only wise and living God, who cannot lie?
But we must draw this section to a close, and leave the reader to meditate alone upon the ordinance of the Nazarite, so pregnant with sacred teaching for the heart. We wish him to ponder, in a special way, the fact that the Holy Ghost has given us the full statement of the law of Nazariteship in the book of Numbers—the wilderness book. And not only so, but let him carefully consider the institution itself. Let him see that he understands why the Nazarite was not to drink wine, why he was not to shave his locks, and why he was not to touch a dead body. Let him meditate upon these three things, and seek to gather up the instruction contained therein. Let him ask himself, Do I really long to be a Nazarite—to walk along the narrow path of separation unto God? and if so, am I prepared to surrender all those things which tend to defile, to distract, and to hinder God’s Nazarites? And finally, let him remember that there is a time coming when “the Nazarite may drink wine;” or, in other words, when there will be no need to watch against the varied forms of evil within or around; all will be pure; the affections may flow out without check; the garments may flow around us without a girdle; there will be no evil to lie separated from, and therefore there will be no need of separation. In a word, there will be “a new heavens and a new earth wherein _dwelleth_ righteousness.” May God, in His infinite mercy, keep us until that blessed time, in true consecration of heart unto Himself.
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