By Dr. Eric Franks

I cannot speak to others, unless God speaks to me.
I cannot teach others, unless I myself am taught of God.
I cannot lead others into holiness, until holiness becomes me.
I cannot make others love the Word, until His Word is my daily bread.
O God, deal more in me than through me!

I cannot love others until I realize God’s love to me.
I cannot make others love their enemies, until enmity ceases in me.
I cannot make others to forgive until a vessel of mercy I first trust.
I cannot make others reverent with Christ, until the alabaster has broken on me.
O God, deal more in me than through me!

I cannot make others to sacrifice, until I myself become a sacrifice.
I cannot help those that suffer until I myself suffer for Christ.
I cannot ask others to give, until with me is left nothing more to give.
I cannot make others unselfish, until I myself am poured out like Christ.
O God, deal more in me than through me!

I cannot make other soldiers of Christ until scars of battle I reflect.
I cannot make others give up their treasures, until my only treasure is Christ.
I cannot make others cease from self, until I cease from my own conceit.
I cannot make others labour, until I am faint yet pursuing for Christ.
O God, deal more in me than through me!

I cannot make others meek, until my own self-will I desert.
I cannot make others thankful, until my own unworthiness I confess.
I cannot make others humble, until to God’s sovereignty I first submit.
I cannot induce true values in others, until eternal values I possess.
O God, deal more in me than through me!

I cannot make others think Scripture-sense until I cease from my own common sense.
I cannot make others spiritual, until in me, fruits of the Spirit ripen.
I cannot make others trustworthy, until my own suspicions I forsake.
I cannot make others sing with praise, until I myself sing out with broken heart.
O God, deal more in me than through me!

I cannot break others, until I myself am broken by God.
I cannot help shipwrecked ones, until I myself on Christ am shipwrecked.
I cannot get others to repent until I myself have changed my mind.
I cannot make others dead to the world, until I myself am from this world freed.
O God, deal more in me than through me!

I cannot make others Christ-like unless I myself am like Christ.
I cannot make others close to Christ until my only love is Christ.
I cannot make others conscious of Christ until I myself consciously reflect Christ.
I cannot make others devoted to Christ until my passion is only Christ.
O God, deal more in me than through me!

In Titus 2:1, Paul instructs, “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine.” Theology is the foundation of our faith. Throughout this year, we will be sharing some articles with you that have been penned by our board members. A few of them have taken much time to research and write about an area of systematic theology. We hope this will be an encouragement to your faith. This month, Bro. Gene Krachenfels has written an article on Anthropology–The Doctrine of Man.

Just a few minutes into a conversation one can tell a great deal about a person’s outlook on life and eternity. The difference between a Biblical and secular worldview is significant and few subjects bear a greater difference than that of Anthropology or the study of man. As believers, we are grateful to find God’s Word gives ample instruction as to our origin, nature, condition, and remedy.

The Creation of Man

Genesis 1:26-27 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

True saints of God accept the Genesis account of creation, which includes the origin of mankind, as literal. God in His wisdom chose to establish man as the pinnacle of His creation. Our chief purpose was that we might worship God in the beauty of His holiness and keep His commandments (Psalm 29:2; Ecclesiastes 12:13). We were created unlike any other being in that we were made with a natural and moral likeness to God which involves our self-awareness in relation to God and this world. Everyone is born with the inherent knowledge that there is a God, there is a difference between right and wrong, and that we are accountable to Him (John 1:9; Romans 1:18, 19; 14:12). This truth is evidenced on a daily basis in the thoughts, words, and deeds of every person who has ever lived.

The Fall of Man

Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Though Adam, the father of the human race, was created an eternal being with a holy nature, he was susceptible to temptation. This is evidenced when he, by his own choice, disobeyed God’s divine command and ate fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This singular act brought about his being expelled from the Garden of Eden and plunged the entire human race into sin (Genesis 3:22-24; Romans 5:12). This in no way implies, as some inaccurately claim, that God is the author of sin, as sin was already in existence with the presence of Satan in the Garden.

The Death of Man

Genesis 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

When considering the Biblical account of Adam’s fall and the resulting curse, there is some confusion about the death of which God spoke. It is obvious Adam did not experience physical death at the time of his disobedience. In Genesis 5:5 we read Adam was nine hundred and thirty years old when he died. This fact in no way invalidates God’s very clear declaration of judgment to Adam and Eve for violating His command. The death of which God forewarned Adam was spiritual death. Simply put, death means separation. Physical death is physical separation from this world, spiritual death is spiritual separation from God, and eternal death (also referred to as the second death, Revelation 20:14) is eternal separation from God. When Adam and Eve sinned against God by eating of the forbidden fruit, their fellowship was broken as illustrated by their attempt to clothe themselves and to hide from the presence of God. It was at that point they died, being separated from God spiritually, and thus experienced the death He warned them about. This is the state of every person born into the world since that time: alienated from God, hopelessly lost, and in bondage to sin. However, we are grateful the story of man’s fate doesn’t end there.

The Hope of Man

1 Timothy 1:15 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.

Because everyone is born a sinner we are all in need of a Saviour. Despite one’s fallen condition, no one need suffer eternal separation from God. The Good News for all, whatever their sinful condition, is that the Lord has provided a means by which anyone may obtain forgiveness for their sin. God’s plan for the redemption of lost mankind is through His Son (John 14:6), therefore God has commanded His saints to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every creature (Mark 16:15). The only hope of eternal life for anyone, wherever they may be in the world, is to acknowledge their lost condition, repent of their sin, and receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour (Acts 17:30; Romans 10:9, 10). This does not eliminate (or eradicate) the Adamic or fallen nature of man, as some claim, but as new creature’s in Christ we can have victory over sin through Him (II Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:12-18). A lost world needs to hear of the Living Saviour. More details on the topics of Sin, Salvation, the Savior, and Sanctification are covered under other doctrinal studies.

If this has been a blessing to you or you would like to share your thoughts with Bro. Krachenfels, you can contact him via email here.

In Titus 2:1, Paul instructs, “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine.” Theology is the foundation of our faith. Throughout this year, we will be sharing some articles with you that have been penned by our board members. A few of them have taken much time to research and write about an area of systematic theology. We hope this will be an encouragement to your faith. This month, Bro. Fred Daniel, Jr. has written an article on Christology–The Doctrine of Christ.

Hebrews 6:1–2 — Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

The angel said to the shepherds, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” The very object for which He was born, and came into this world, was that He might deliver us from sin. What, then, was it that made us afraid? Were we not afraid of God, because we felt that we were lost through sin? Well, then, here is joy upon joy, for not only has the Lord come among us as a man, but He was made man in order that He might save man from that which separated him from God. (1) 

From Creation through Revelation, Christ is The Theme of Scripture! He is “The Word made flesh,” the embodied reality of the Written Word.

I. He is The Chosen of God – in Him we have the very Best God had to offer for us for salvation, daily life and eternity.
II. He is the Son of God – Jesus brings to the table His Divinity, which will assure us of God’s presence, peace and omniscience. He is The Son of The Living God.
III. He is a man – not just any man, He is God Incarnate. He identifies clearly with us in our humanity.
IV. He is The Lord – He has rule, authority and control over everything. He is now, and will be in eternity, the Lord of Glory. He is our Master.
V. He is The Power of God – He can do whatever is necessary to fulfill the will and purpose of God the Father. He is our Advocate, seeking our best at the right hand of God The Father.
VI. He is The Foundation – He is The Sure Basis of all the Bible teaches, of all we need spiritually.
VII. He is the Chief Cornerstone – He sets the standard upon which the Apostles laid the foundation of the Church. He is The Rock.
VIII. He is The Saviour of the World – there is no other.
IX. He is The Bread of Life – He provides the spiritual food for salvation and sanctification.
X. He is The Giver of Light – He shows the way to salvation and to successful Christian living.
XI. He is The Lamb of God – He is the perfect, one-time, all-sufficient Sacrifice for the sin of all humanity. He is the only Sacrifice for sin!
XII. He is the Reconciler of men – He is the only way for men to be made right and at peace with The Holy God.
XIII. He is The Purger of consciences – He gives peace to those who believe so that they are not condemned by their own knowledge of their wicked past.
XIV. He is The Head of The Church – He leads believers corporately to accomplish the Father’s will on earth.
XV. He is The Hope of Glory – He not only guides, protects and strengthens us on earth, but He is our Blessed Hope for our eternity with God.
XVI. He is The Firstfruits of The Resurrection – He was able to raise Himself from the grave; therefore, He is certainly capable to raise deceased believers’ bodies and rapture them along with living believers on that great day!
XVII. He is The Judge – our salvation and our works are known to Him. He will reward us at the Judgement Seat with mercy and grace.

Christology is the beginning point in a believer’s life. As ministers of the Gospel, we must baptize men in this important doctrine; we must thoroughly ground them in Who He, The Messiah, is. Christology is a foundation, a foundation that is laid once. Upon this foundation men must move on and build the Christian life for this dispensation, for a temporary time in heaven, for the Millennial Age, and, ultimately, for the Eternal Age on the New Earth. Christ is, and will be, our Hope and Stay forever.

If men are to understand the fullness of all God has for them as believers, we must make certain they are solidly immersed in Christology!

No aristocratic Christ have I to commend to you, but the Saviour of the people, the Friend of publicans and sinners. Jesus is the true “poor man’s Friend;” He is “a Witness to the people, a Leader and Commander to the people.” Oh, that each one of us might truly say, “Unto me is Jesus born”! If I truly believe in Him, Christ is born unto me, and I may be as sure of it as if an angel announced it personally to me, since the Scripture assures me that, if I believe in Jesus, He is mine, and I am His, and through union with Him I become a partaker in His everlasting life, and in all that He has. (2)

Pastor Fred T. Daniel, Jr.
Brookhaven Baptist Church
Greensboro, NC

If this has been a blessing to you or you would like to share your thoughts with Bro. Daniel, you can contact him via email here.

Citations:

(1)  Spurgeon, C. H. (2009). Christ’s Incarnation: The foundation of Christianity (p. 25). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

(2)  Spurgeon, C. H. (2009). Christ’s Incarnation: The foundation of Christianity (p. 32). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.