Kansas City Bible College - Armour Bearer Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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PAGE FOUR THE COMMENTATOR I Am Alpha and Omega N'-I , ' BY DR. C. J. Roms U Author and Bible Teacher ' PART V The Greater than Solmon, Matthew 12: wif 'il Whatever may be the Sphere in which 42. As a king Solomon in his government, we contemplate our Lord in His many la- bors, His lovingkindness is never lacking, His vitality i.s never faint, His wisdom is never warped, and His faithfulness never falters. Therefore, the prospect of His perfecting His church according to His eternal purpose can never deviate. Our objective in the present study is to deal with twelve of our Lord's titles and offices beginning with the letter HG . The Glory of Goal, John 1:14. Glory is as difficult to define as light, because it constitutes the very essence of the divine character, and consists of all those incor- ruptible qualities that comprise the very nature of Godhead. Christ in Person is the expression of every feature of the holy nature of Deity. The glory of God is exhibited in the face of Jesus Christ CII Cor. 4:65. The Gift of God, John 3:16, 4:10p Rom. 6:23. Where else may we find more pro- found wisdom, or more prodigious wealth, than is expressed in the gift which God has given to mankind in the Person of Christ? What a legacy is this! For .... unto us a son is given Clsa. 9: 65, in whom the infinite fullness of love, light, and life abides. Therefore, our Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest gift of God, adds a new come- liness to love, a new character to labor, and a new charm to life, endowing and en- riching it with all spiritual blessings. How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? CRom. 8:32J. Christ brings to us legacies that are immortal, incor- ruptible, and inseparable from His own personal character. The G-ood Master, Matthew 19:16, Luke 18: 18. Our Lord's answer to the rich young ruler who addressed Him in these words is very significant, for He said, Why call- est thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. The real implication of Christ's words is simply this, By your addressing me as good, do you really rec- ognize that I am God? Goodness is the very substance of God's character, and Christ is Emmanuel, the visible image of the invisible God. Because Christ is in- herently good, He is able to make good. He is the Sower of the good seed CMatt. 13:24Jg He is the good Shepherd CJohn 10:14Jg and it is He who makes the tree good fMatt. 12:33D. The Great High Priest, Hebrews 4:14. Christ as our High Priest is set down at the right hand of the throne of God in order to maintain us in acceptance before the holiness of the Father. This throne is not one of granite but of grace, not a throne of marble but of mercy, not a throne of stone but of sympathy. By vir- tue of our Lord's greatness He had the right to redeem, the strength to sanctify, and the ability to assure our acceptance for evermore CRom. 5:10J. In the might and merit of His priestly majesty Christ pos- sesses and dispenses all the resources of mercy, all the requirements of mediation, and all the requisites of compassionate kindness for our maintenance before God. He is the only one who made sorrow a scepter, and thorns a miter when offer- ing Himself without spot to God. ' garments, grace, and glory was unexcelled in Israel. Christ is greater than Solomon, however, in His government: for He is King in the material, physical, natural, ethical, moral, spiritual, judicial, and prov- idential realms, as demonstrated in the gospels during His manifestation. Like- wise, His administrative authority is also absolute in heaven and in earth CMatt. 28: 183. Christ is greater than Solomon also in His garments of official vocation. The proverbial robes of state of the earthly monarch have long since perished, but the indestructible garments of service, sacri- fice, and salvation as worn by Christ are immortal in their function and ineffable in their fragrance. Christ taugh.t that Sol- omon's robes were not as delicate and beautiful as the Hower petals wherewith He had strewn the entire landscap QMatt. 6:29D. The Greater than Jonah, Matthew 12:41. When our gracious Lord avowed Himself as being greater than Jonah, He uttered a tremendous claim. This prophet preached in the sphere of the Gentiles after exper- iencing what in figure represented death, burial, and resurrection. Our Lord Jesus Christ indicated beforehand that He would reach out to the whole Gentile world by means of His atoning death, burial, and resurrection. The Great Commission bears witness to the truth of His testimony CMatt. 28:18-205. Christ was certainly greater than Jonah in that He was never deflected from the pathway of devotion to duty by proffers of infiuence, pleasures of indul- gence, or privileges of independence. He never sold the truth to save the hour Nor bartered with the world in seeking power He let the sullen stream of rumor flow And pandered not to hearers high or low. The Greater than J acob, John 4:12. May- be had we been making comparisons of Old Testament characters with Christ we would not have included Jacob. However, Jacob makes one of the greatest contri- butions in this connection. The twelve sons of the patriarch expressed the twelve outstanding propensities of Jacob's char- acter. Christ called twelve of the sons of Jacob to be His disciples, and by His re- generating power He made them partakers of the divine nature and instructed each: Philip in godliness, James in holiness, John in lovingkindness, Peter in graciousness, Matthew in meekness, Thomas in truthful- ness, Nathanael in guilelessness, Simon in faithfulness, Jude in perfection, Andrew in goodness, Thaddeus in peaceableness, and Paul in righteousness. These twelve sons were entrusted to express Christ's own person, and their names are there- fore graven on the twelve foundation stones of the City of God. The Gazelle, Proverbs 30:31. The Auth- orized Version renders the Hebrew word greyhound which should be rendered ga- zelle, the animal fleetest of foot in the extensive deserts surrounding Palestine. This figurative representation of the Sav- iour is given here in conjunction with three others: the lion, goat, and king. CContinued on Page 7 J By Rev. Wade K. Ramsey Dean, Kansas City Bible College In this column Mr. Ramsey will be glad to answer questions sent in by our readers which concern Bible in- terpretation or application and are of general interest. -Editor QUESTION: Is the Christian always wiser than the unbelieoer? ANSWER: The Lord Jesus said, The children of this world are in their gen- eration wiser than the children of light CLuke 16:85. We all know how true this has proved in many cases. But note that it is in their generation that their wis- dom is said to surpass. It deals especially with the things that pertain to this life, and our Lord expects us to profit by this fact. It cannot, however, look beyond this generation: it is powerless to deal with future things, it is of the earth, earthy- es to the wisdom of this world which com nought, for the world by wisdom knows not God. On the other hand, the wisdom which the believer possesses comes from above, and it is of superior worth. It is the revealed wisdom received by the believer when he asks in faith, nothing waver- ingf' Personified, it is Christ Himself, the wisdom par excellence CI Cor, 1:30, 315. Consequently, it leads to God and deals especially with the things of the world to come. All believers do not have this wisdom to the same degree. They receive it as they ask, nothing wavering, and pos- sess it in proportion to their faith. Yet it is a distinguishing mark of all God's people. The Lord, in the parable of the ten virgins, divided them into wise and foolish: the wise are saved and the foolish are lost. In the Bible foolishness is always associated with unbelief, and wisdom with faith CPsa. 14:15 Prov. 14:9g I Cor. 15:34, 36: Dan. 12:35 Prov. 111305. Therefore, the humblest saint in the final reckoning will be accounted wiser than all the wise of the world. QUESTION: How may a person rejoice in trial? ANSWER: As strange as it may seem to many, we are required of God to rejoice in trial. The Lord Jesus said to His dis- ciples, Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you fMatt. 5:11, 123. Also in the second verse of James I we read, Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. Peter says, That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory a-t the appearing of fCon1:inued on Page 73

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'I'HE COMMENTATOR PAGE THREE CHRISTIAN SERVICE REPORT REV. W. JACK WILSON Director of Christian Service Figures are usual- ly dull and uninter- t ps esting, but the Chris- tian Service reports efu coming in this last month have made many realize that our students are really keeping busy in prac- tical Christian ser- vice. The reports vfvszewswzaf Q, ' -'EJB-,.Q f V- - 2525. f x? .gf:2EjE5::.,.:.-.:::.'-ff'ffI, ..-43E5:Qy.,' ' i- A - ' - 22: gifts- 5:3:5:,f, Q.. e Q. 15 , QQQK S , av? W 3 ' af 'sri fi 't X . i..,, Sizlgtxvl , E.:,, ,:.vE,.:, .::: . . ',..-'fffI'3ff: Q show an average of eight hours per stu- dent, spent in Chris- tian service, away from the classroom and the College campus. Our students pre- pared over 30 sermons, which as far as I know is a record for sermons prepared in any period of time, and this does not in- clude sermons prepared by faculty mem- bers or students who have regular pastor- ates. We are receiving an increasing num- ber of calls for preachers which is encour- aging inasmuch as the calls heretofore have been largely for musicians, tract dis- tributors, personal workers, etc. This in- dicates that apparently our young men are learning how to preach. ' , ,' . .. . sj jrf ' In the past month our students have dealt personally with over 90 persons con- cerning their soul's need, and 50 of these made definite, first time decisions for Christ. 50 out of 90 is a very high per- centage and would seem to indicate that our students are Very proficient in hand- ling God's Word and in knowing just how to apply it to individual needs. Our goal is to have an average of at least 16 hours per month, per student, spent in gaining the invaluable practical experience of the rescue mission, hospital, jail, street m-eet- ing, and pulpit. You pray for us, will you? Mr. Wilson will preach at the College Baptist Church, Manhattan, Kansas, on December 9 and 16. His Youth for Christ engagements are: Enid, Oklahoma, De- cember 22g Denver, Colorado, January 125 and Goodland, Kansas, January 14. Faculty at Conferences During October several K.C.B.C. faculty members attended conferences in their respective fields. Dr. Robert H. Belton went to Chicago for the workshop of the Friends of Higher Education. Later Dean Wade K. Ramsey joined him there for the accrediting meeting of the National Asso- ciation of Bible Schools and Colleges. Miss Esther Brotherson of the Christian Education department attended the ses- sions of the Commission on Christian Ed- ucation meeting in conjunction with the National Sunday School Association. Each conference was pronounced well orth while and should be helpful to the College in maintaining the high standards 't has set. Child Evangelism Conference On Saturday, November 10, the Kansas hild Evangelism Fellowship held its astern Kansas Workers Conference at CHAPEL SPEAKERS An unusual chapel service was that pre- sented by Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Zwall of California in October. They work in the migrant camps along the west coast and take their trailer home with them as they minister to these neglected people. Mr. Zwall drew a chalk picture while Mrs. Zwall read some of her poetry. They played several musical instruments, in- cluding a saw. One of the College directors, Mr. W. Lee Sanders, gave a heartwarming message on November 7, about the importance to us of believing God and knowing the Person of Christ. Mr. Philip Irabon, native of the Philip- pine Islands and a graduate of Wheaton College, spoke of the work the Lord has given him in the province of lloilo caring for orphans and conducting a Christian high school. Rev. Charles C. Colas was guest speak- er at the chapel service on November 9. Since he and 8077 of his congregation lost all their earthly possessions as well as their church in the recent Hood in Ar- mourdale, his message on Endure hard- ness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ was a real testimony to the sustaining grace of our Lord. Mrs. D. E. Wisner, who has been travel- ing on an extended conference tour through the 'South and East for the Na- tional Child Evangelism Fellowship, gave a plea in chapel on behalf of winning the children for Christ. She also stressed the Scriptural principle that the parents, es- pecially the fathers, should train their children in the Word of God and its trans- lation into practical living. The Thanksgiving chapel marked the first appearance of the College Choir. They sang three numbers, representing three types of gospel choral music. The Girls Trio and Miss Viola Rhoades, our singing dietician, also presented the gospel in songg and Dr. Walter Wilson, College president, brought a thanksgiving message. Halloween Outing It was pronounced a great success- the Halloween Party on October 26. Even a drizzling rain failed to dampen the spirits of the hay-riders. The tractor drawn wagons were furnished and driven by Bob Plank, freshman student, and his good neighbor, Mr. R. B. Lane, who live near Olathe, Kansas. The picnic supper was served in the local grange hall, and the entertainment was centered there also. Mr. Jack Wilson gave the devotional mes- sage which closed the evening. ALUMNI NEWS A note from Gladis C'48j and Bill C491 Gibson will give you a glimpse into the lives of two more busy K.C.B.C. miss- ionaries. Riobamba fEcuador, South Americaj is a city filled with priests. We are the only foreigners Cexcept two J ehovah's Wit- nessesj. But we do have a small group of believers and a native pastor. Since arriving Bill has been teaching the adult Sunday School class, and just recently I started teaching the beginners. They are so cute and so willing to help me with a Spanish word when I can't think of it. Bill leads most of the services but hasn't started preaching much. You see, in or- der to teach a class, to prepare that is, we first must write out the lesson word for word, have it corrected, then learn it. All this takes lots of tixne. Each Saturday Bill and our national pastor go to the many open markets where they preach, give out tracts, and sell Gospel portions- Bill's horn attracts the people. There as yet has not been much evidence of response. That is the spiritual side of the work. As for the physical side, at this center all the food and supplies are bought for our jungle missionaries and the Bible In- stitute. Bill buys the things and sends them by truck as far as possible, then they are carried on by plan-e. This, as you may realize and understand, means conside erable bookkeeping. My part of the work is to rim a missionary guest house which I find a real blessing in the fellowship of those who pass through our city for a night . . . 'Pray much, especially for those of us who are chained to the essential tasks, that we may escape the barrenness of a busy life. ' College Choir in Concert It is with ral joy that the Kansas City Bible College invites its friends to a Christmas concert in the chapel auditor- ium on December 14, at 8 o'clock. The Choir, which has been organized and trained by Mr. Edward S. Crum, director of music, will be featured along with other ensembles and soloists. Looking to Second Semester Perhaps the Lord has been leading some of our readers toward the Kansas City Bi- ble College for training. If so, write to Dean Wade K. Ramsey about the semester which begins January 28. A new Radio Program- THE K.C.B.C. VESPER HOUR Tune in to KPRS, Olathe, Kansas 1590 k.c.- Sundays at 1 P.M. Send it as a Christmas Gift- Tl1e Commentator Your neighbor, pastor, Sunday School teacher, relative, and friend will en- joy 12 months of its inspiration and helpful information Special holiday price through January- 50 cents per year per subscription e College. The program was inspira- Renew Your own today 'onal and practical throughout, and a arge group came to benefit by it. Dr. ank Mann, the state director, presided. P.O. Box 7035 Kansas City 2, Missouri

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THE COMIVLENTATOR PAGE FIVE Christmas Swapping By Mrs. D. E. Wisner Child Evangelism Instructor PREPARATION The use of scenic backgrounds with this story is optional since the figures may be placed against a neutral back. If scenery is available, we suggest using two boards, one showing an indoor and the other an outdoor Christmas scene. Probably most of the figures can be obtained from the brightly colored pictures in Christmas magazines, and the figure of Christ from Sunday School literature. The indoor setting includes a fireplace, . large armchair, and the following figures: John, a boy of about eight, with toy in ex- tended hand, a group of children, each holding an object to be tradedg books, a pet, a blue sweater, a cap, and gloves, a Christmas tree and wreath to be added to the indoor background, seated picture of ohn in pensive attitude to be placed in the armchair, and the picture of a puppy ' a circle to indicate John's thoughts. In the outdoor scene the figures are: ohn warmly dressed pulling a wagon h1ch contains an assortment of toys and 1 ackages hidden in the wagon under the oys bundles marked Suns Hell Death, Darkness Fear and Sadness White clothed I gure of Christ carrying large white pack abeled Grace brightly colored bundles arked My Rlghteousness Heaven Life, Light Peace and Joy For the last setting use standing figures f John and his mother and father and lso kneeling figures of the three All of ese should be colored if necessary back- d w1th outing Hannel and cut out PRESENTATION They called him Swapping John and o wonder' CSet up first scenej He tried o swap off everything he owned' He wapped his toys his books his pets- he ven swapped the nice blue sweater his other had bought him as well as his cap d his gloves CPlace figures of John and e group adding the book pet sweater, ap and gloves as mentionedj His par- nts tried to cure him they punished un they promised him nice things His eacher at school tried but Swapping John till loved swapping more than anytlung lse in the world' CRemove all iiguresj 'nh 11111111 llth-Si!! -nu-H-it 11111111 -1:1--r -.- :fs 5, WQJ to -ga By noon each Christmas Day he had wapped off most of his presents. fPlace eath in window and Christmas tree to ne sxdej Tonight on Christmas Eve, he as thinking what fun he would have to- orrow CI-'lace seated Figure of John in he armcha1r.J His last thought before omg to bed was of the cunning little pup- y Charles had. CAdd picture of puppy in r . ' Si , u 'Q' -- 5 L ' N K - .-LZ. circle above his head.D He wondered what Charles would take for it. Early on Christmas morning he loaded up his presents and started to see his friends. C'Set up the outdoor scene on the other board, and add John pulling the wagonj As he was going down the snowy lane to Charles' house, he saw a white-clad Stranger coming. John saw that He had the kindest face. W'hen He smiled, His brown eyes twinkled. I see you're doing your iCh.ristmas swapping early, John. John hated to be teased about his swapping, but there was something about the Stranger that kept him from talking back. John, why do you always get the worst of the bargain? Why, I don't. I never losef' Why don't you do some swapping with me?', asked the Stranger. What do you have? Oh, I have many good things, and then John saw that He had a huge white pack on His back. On it was written in large letters the word Grace. ' All right, I'll swap you, John replied. Wouldn't you like to get rid of that dirty looking bundle marked Sins? the Stranger asked. John was surprisedg he had never seen that bundle before. Per- haps you'd rather have this. The Stran- ger held up a beautiful package marked My Righteousness. CExchange bundles as indicatedj O yes, exclaimed John. What else do you have ? Well, I know you'll be glad to part with that one. He pointed to one marked Hell. O yes, do take it, cried John. 'Tll give you this instead, said the Stranger, handing him a shining gold pack- age marked Heaven. This is great, exclaimed John. But say, this is no swapping. You're getting nothing. You're just giving me these won- derful things. 'I'hat's right, said the Stranger. They are gifts, but if you want the good things in my pack, you must be willing to hand over what's in yours. You can't have both. Well, I see that my bundles are no good anyway. I'd rather have yours. Let's swap! And- so they swapped. A package mark- ed Death was exchanged for one called Life: Darkness for Light: Fear for Peace: Sadness for Joy. At last Swapping John's pack was overflowing, yet wonderfully light. He thanked the Stranger for all the beautiful packages and hurried home to tell his mother, but when he stepped up on the porch- he awoke! It had been only a dream. CReturn to the indoor scene! All Christmas Day he thought of his strange dream, and when evening came, he told his parents all about it. Mother studied about it for a moment. fShoW three characters standing near the fire- placej Why, I've never thought about it be- fore, but I guess being a Christian is a little like swapping- only the Lord Jesus already did His part of it many years ago. Now let's see: He came to our Earth that we might go to His Heaven. Surely, that's swapping, isn't it? Then He was born in- to the Human Family that we might be born into God's Family. C ,g,g,J.1j,,.,2, -he , Jr-. KH ' 2 it t N--..- as f if QQJ J il- -25.-L . -4- 11-, or--1 ' lgff x Father spoke, And remember, too, son, that He took Our Sins that we might have His Righteousness- He took our Death that He might give us Life. But what about that bundle marked Hell? He didn't really take our Hell like in the dream, did He, Father? I don't un- derstand how He could do that. Yes, I-le did, said Father softly. In a way we ca.nnot understand our precious Saviour took the full punishment for our sins as He hung there on the cross. Be- cause of what He did, there will never be Hell for a Christian, only Heaven forever- more. O, that's wonderful, exclaimed John. Then my dream was really true. He has already taken my bad things, but- He hasn't given me His things-yet. If I ask Him will He give me all those good things like in the dream? Yes, said Father. If you will ask Him to come into your heart, He will bring those good things with Him. He says, 'Be- hold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in CRev. 3:20J. Why don't you let Him come into your heart today John, and He will bring Life to you, and Righteousness and Heaven, and many other wonderful things. Why yes, I guess I will. Yes, I will this very minute, said John. Then he knelt and asked the Lord Jesus to come into his heart and save him. CReplace standing fig- 'ure of John with kneeling one.J His parents looked at each other with tear-filled eyes. How wonderfully God had brought salvation to their boy at Christmas time. You know, dear, said Mother, I think I need to do a little Christmas swapping myself. How do you mean? Well, you know how often we have spoken of the way we want it to be in our hearts- the Lord Jesus on the Throne and Self on the Cross. Somehow, lately, in the awful rush of this season, I think Self CCo'n.tinued on Page 71 T'he Child Evangelism story is being illustrated each month with the sketches of Eva Dubert, sopho- more student at the College. Her own interest in the salvation of the children is well expressed in her use of this talent for her Lord.