That Blessed Hope -- By: Carl Armerding
Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 111:442 (Apr 1954)
Article: That Blessed Hope
Author: Carl Armerding
BSac 111:442 (Apr 54) p. 149
That Blessed Hope
Among the great discourses of our Lord Jesus which are recorded for us in the gospels, there is none more intimate and personal than the one which has been called “The Upper Room Discourse.” When we compare it with the others such as “The Sermon on the Mount,” that on “The Parables of the Kingdom,” and “The Olivet Discourse,” we find that it is really in a class by itself. In not one of the others do we find a lesson such as the Lord Jesus taught His own when He washed their feet. In none of them do we find such words of peace and comfort as those which are given in John 14:1–3. The beautiful lesson of the spiritual oneness that exists between the Lord and His people as depicted in the vine and the branches goes far deeper than the parable of the fig tree and its branch. Then, too, the promise of the Holy Spirit is another feature which is not found in any of the other discourses which we have named. The Holy Spirit is mentioned but once in the Olivet Discourse (Mark 13:11) and the Father is mentioned only twice (Matt 24:36; 25:34). But there are over forty references to the Father in the Upper Room Discourse.
The Promise of the Hope
It may be thought, however, that the promise of our Lord’s coming again as promised in John 14:1–3 is an exception to this rule. But when we compare this promise with the prediction made in Matthew 24:27–31 we find that they are quite different in form as well as in purpose. In the first place they are not introduced in the same way. The coming of the Son of man as predicted in Matthew 24:30 will be preceded by things which will actually threaten the very existence of the human race. That is clear from the
BSac 111:442 (Apr 54) p. 150
statement that “except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved” (Matt 24:22). And while it is true that the Lord did say, “see that ye be not troubled” (Matt 24:6), He did not follow that up by saying as He did in John 14:1, “Ye believe in God, believe also in me.” He even used a different word for “troubled” when He said, “Let not your heart be troubled.”
Only one who is equal with God could rightly say, “Ye believe in God, believe also in me.” It would be presumption for a mer...
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