REVISITING CHRIST’S MESSAGE TO TODAY’S EVANGELICALS

Part II: Christ’s All-Sufficiency For Evangelicals Presented

A. Christ’s All-Sufficiency For Discipling The Godly

(Revelation 3:14b(a))

I. Introduction

A. In prophetically addressing us believers in our current Evangelical era of Church History, our Lord revealed that a great lack exists in effectively discipling even godly believers, and He also teaches us how to correct it.

B. Revelation 3:14b(a) shows us Christ’s all-sufficiency for meeting this need of today as follows:

II. Christ’s All-Sufficiency For Discipling The Godly, Revelation 3:14b(a).

A. In preparing to comment on today’s Evangelical era, Jesus laid out a threefold description of Himself in Revelation 3:14b: He is “The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the head of the creation of God.”

B. The first description, “The Amen,” shows Christ’s all-sufficiency in discipling today’s godly believers just OPPOSITE the ineffective efforts by both Calvinist and Charismatic-Arminian teachers respectively:

1. The phrase “the Amen” exists elsewhere in all of Scripture only at 2 Cor. 1:20 and 1 Cor. 14:16 (Moulton & Geden, A Conc. to the Grk. Test., 1974, p. 51-52; B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 53)

2. These passages in their contexts explain what is needed for the godly to respond with “the Amen” to a message opposite what Calvinists and Charismatic-Arminians respectively, errantly do (as follows):

a. 2 Cor. 1:18-20 explains what is needed opposite what today’s Calvinist teachers do: (i) Paul taught that for “the Amen” to occur from godly hearers, a teacher must assert that “the promises of God” to Israel’s forefathers in the Abrahamic Covenant (Romans 15:8) “find their certain fulfillment, their Yes, in Christ.” (Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to 2 Cor. 1:20). (ii) Reformed Theology teachers claim these promises were conditional for Israel, that when Israel failed to keep them, God gave the promises to the Church. (Charles C. Ryrie, A Survey of Bible Doctrine, 1972, p. 161-164) (iii) However, 2 Cor. 1:20 claims that these promises are affirmed in Christ, NOT the Church, so Christ unconditionally fulfills the Abrahamic Covenant, and that to Israel, which stance reflects the premillennial and dispensational view of Scripture! (Ibid.) [More evidence that the Abrahamic Covenant was unconditional for only God to fulfill for Israel exists in Genesis 15:9-21: there only God – not both God and Abraham – passed between the animal parts to form the covenant (Ibid., Ryrie Study Bible, ftn. to Gen. 15:17).] (iv) Reformed Theology teachers handle Scripture figuratively to make the Church replace Israel in God’s plan where dispensationalists consistently interpret Scripture literally, what keeps Israel as the heir of the Abrahamic Covenant and the Church a beneficiary through its union with Christ (J. F. Walvoord, The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation, 1976, p. 12-15). Thus, Christ in Rev. 3:14b(a) supports the consistently literal interpretation of Scripture.

b. 1 Cor. 14:16 in its context explains what is needed opposite what today’s Charismatic-Arminian teachers do: (i) Paul taught that for “the Amen” to occur, teachers must speak in a known human language that hearers might logically understand the message in their “minds” (the Greek noun noi, U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 609; T. D. N. T., v. IV, p. 959)! (ii) However, Charismatic-Arminian teachers exalt efforts to proclaim God’s message in “tongues” that are allegedly angelic tongues, not known human languages, or to speak prophetic utterances that are not confirmed by written Scripture or to state illogical beliefs or ambiguous [“yes” and “no”] statements that inhibit “the Amen” from godly believers (A. Mohler, Jr., “Evangelical: What’s In A Name,” p. 31-39 in John Armstrong, ed., The Coming Evang. Crisis, 1996)

C. Thus, Christ causes the godly to say “the Amen” [cf. Philippians 2:12-13] when a teacher does the opposite of what the Arminian and Calvinist teachers do as implied above and summarized in our conclusion below!

Lesson: (1) Christ revealed that many Evangelicals today fail to gain “the Amen” from godly hearers (as follows): (a) Calvinists do not assert that Christ fulfills the Abrahamic Covenant, leading to their rejection of premillennialism and dispensationalism and a figurative mishandling of Scripture! (b) Arminians promote utterances in alleged “tongues,” illogical statements or hold to pluralistic views or distrust the Bible’s divine inspiration or do not expound it. (2) To solve these problems, Christ causes godly hearers to say “the Amen” to a teacher’s ministry (a) if the teacher consistently interprets Scripture literally to claim that Christ fulfills the Abrahamic Covenant, thus reflecting the premillennial and dispensational view of Scripture, and if (b) the teacher logically expounds Scripture as God’s inspired Word, and he communicates its truth in a known human language.

Application: May we heed Christ’s call to disciple the godly aright that they might say “the Amen” to God’s glory!