Basic HTML Version
PART FQUR: AWORLD HELD CAPTIVE
HE
Isthe
True Church?
by
Herbert W. Armst rong
Here is the concluding insta llment of this eye-opening series!
N
ow once again, let's
UNDERSTAND
the
dua l relationship
concerning the first
man
Adam, and J esus Christ
the
SECOND
Adam.
Duality in Sc ripture
T he first human , Adam, was
mortaL And thc trce of
LIFE,
frecly offered him, symbolized
yielding to allow divine
Goo–
u
FE
to en ter within h im.
lf Adam had taken the fruit of
the tree of life, he would have
received the divine
LIFE
of and
from God. He would have received
the MINO of God by Goo's Spi r it
entering him and uniting with his
human spirit. He would have had
this clase father-and-son relation–
ship with God. But Adam chose to
"go it alone." lnstead of receiving
sonship with God, accepting God's
offer to come into his life, injecting
into him life and mind of God, he
took to himself the self-production
of the knowledge of good and evil.
T he tree of
LI FE
would have
brought Adam into close father–
and-son rclationship with Goo.
Jesus, the second Adam, had that
close relationship with God. He
September 1984
carne to call sinners
OUT
of this evil
world and
UNITE
them with Goo,
as the first Adam and his family
could have been. Jesus carne to rec–
oncile the called-out ones to Goo.
Jesus taught the gospel of the
kingdom of Goo- the ruling, gov–
erning family of God. Not to repair
the faulty and rotten superstruc–
ture of the building that was the
expanded FAMlLY of the first
Adam. But to call his Church, the
expanded FAMILY of God, out from
the building that is this world , and
unite them with Goo.
The God of this World
But this world is SATAN's wor ld.
He is t he god of this world ( II Cor.
4:3-4).
Satan tried to kili the infant
Jesus. Then, when Jesus was about
30 years of age he tried to destroy
Jesus through the greal temptation .
He caused the martyrdom of most
of the apostles. He tried to destroy
God's Church at its very founda–
tion. But it was bui lt upon the
foundation of a Rock, "and that
Rock was Christ"
(1
Cor. 10:4).
T he Church got off to a good start
in spite of Satan's efTorts to thwar t
.it. J esus had said t he gatcs of the
grave would never prevail against
the Church. The rains might come,
the floods, and the winds blow in
hurricane strength, but the Church
would endure.
Satan wanted to destroy it.
WHY? Because this world is
Satan's world. He sits on the throne
of this world (lsa.
J
4: 13). And the
Church of God wi ll fill the earth
after Satan is deposed and his
world destroyed. Cbrist, the Head
of the Church , will take over
Satan's throne as world ruler.
So, when Satan fai !ed to prevent
the Church from being founded
and getting off to a glorious start,
what did he do next? He deceived
certain humans into seeking to
destroy the Church from within.
There's a saying,
"lf
you can't
defeat them, join t hem." He caused
sorne within the Church to turn to
a false and counterfeit gospel.
1n Galatians 1:6-7, we read that
the churches in Galatia had turned
to "anotber gospel." They had
believed those who began to pro–
claim "another J esus"
( JI
Cor.
11 :4). These false ministers profes–
sing to be ministers of Christ were
in fact mi nisters of Satan (verses
13-15).
T hus, th rough false brethren
within the Church, Satan suc–
ceeded at that time in deceiving
even the vast majority i n the
35