The Law of Moses effected personal as well as communal and national issues. It was a teaching medium, a pedagogue, according to the apostle Paul (Gal. 3:24), providing valuable lessons for the believer looking for a Redeemer. It made sin "exceedingly sinful," and endeavoured to show the wickedness inherent in the flesh. This was accomplished by a number of commandments, dealing with the daily affairs of life, including the issues of blood that are suffered. GEM

www.logos.org.au

Defilement was contracted by contact with the cause of uncleanness; the emphasis throughout was on touching, so much so that a person defiled by contact with the original cause of uncleanness could in turn transmit his defilement to other things which came into contact with him (e.g., Lev. 15 : 19-21 ; cf. Haggai 2 : 13).

If then, in the ultimate sense, the cause of defilement stood for Adam's sin, what was each Israelite to do but see in himself an extension of Adam, and in each sin he committed a re-enactment of the first transgression? And having come to that point, what could he conclude but that he, too, like Adam, was under (and righteously under) sentence of death?

This notion of the solidarity of the human race is the unifying factor in all the uncleanness laws and is the secret of the form which the more serious of them took.

Law and Grace Ch 7

16 And if any man's seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.

To begin with, apart from leprosy, all the diseases of which they took account were diseases of the reproductive organs. Even the normal menstrual flow in healthy women bore close enough an affinity to the idea of the defilement caused by ancestral sin to be classed as a cause of seven days uncleanness.

This in itself was pointed enough an indication of the hereditary effects of Eve's and Adam's sin (Lev. 15: 19-24; cf. Gen. 3 : 16). How much more pointed was it when the prolongation of this flow beyond the normal spell was pronounced to be a cause of the gravest kind of uncleanness!

The emphasis now (an emphasis essential to the allegory) was on the fact that the female reproductive organs were diseased. So too with man; disease in the male reproductive system was equally defiling. Hidden away out of sight though the source of defilement might have been, yet its existence could not be denied.

In man and in woman alike the same fatal symptom bore witness to it.

"When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh, because of his issue he is unclean ... and if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation ... she shall be unclean" (Lev. 15 : 2, 25)·

In each case the operative factor was the same: it was an issue that was the cause of defilement -- an issue, moreover, out of the flesh - flesh tainted by sin.

More transparent symbolism we could not hope to find. The fact was that some source of corruption within the flesh, some deep seated physical disease of the very springs of life, was exuding noisome matter. How could its allegorical meaning possibly be missed? Human nature had clearly been marred at the source. For man and for woman alike, the counterpart of the inward malady was inbred sin.

This moral malady, like the physical, secreted a defiling issue - in this case sinful thoughts and words and deeds. The Law was here saying, as plainly as ever it could, that

"That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man" (Mark 7 : 20-23).

Once again, we note, the nexus between the ceremonial and the moral aspects of uncleanness was the fact that ultimately all forms of disease are attributable to sin. It was on that same account that the Lord (healer of physical and moral ills alike) on the one hand said to a paralysed man, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee"; and, on the other, spoke of sinners as those who needed "a physician" (Matt. 9 : 1-12). The medical metaphor sprang naturally to his mind from the Prophets (e.g. Hosea 6 : 1,6).

Law and Grace Ch 7

If I may but touch his garment

19 And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even.

... the... situation arose over the case of the "woman which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years". She came behind him, and "touched the hem of his garment".

Now the Law decreed expressly,

"Whomsoever he that hath the issue toucheth, without having rinsed his hands in water, he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even" (Lev. 15 : I I, R.v.).

This would hold good automatically for any woman also who had an issue, for with her too the rule was, "Whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even" (Lev. 15: 19)·

There is no mention in any of the three records of the incident that the woman washed her hands. The reason is obvious: she felt no compulsion to do so because she had no fear of communicating uncleanness to Jesus: all she was concerned to do was to touch him, however slightly. She had no doubt of the outcome:

"for she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole"

(Matt. 9 : 20-2 I).

She was not mistaken. Once again the effect of the touch of Jesus made the idea of his contracting uncleanness seem too fantastic for words.

"Straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague" (Mark 5 : 29).

Virtue in Jesus put an immediate end to defilement in her: it was defilement which recoiled before him, not he who recoiled before defilement as embodied in the woman. This was clearly a case for which the Law did not cater. Its prescription of uncleanness was simply inapplicable to such a man as this.

Law and Grace Ch 13 posted 8.2.26.

24 And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.

Even the normal menstrual flow in healthy women was classed as a cause of seven days ceremonial uncleanness -- an indication of the hereditary effects of the original Edenic sin (Lev. 15:19-24; cp. Gen. 3:16). Though the source of defilement was hidden away out of sight, its existence could not be denied. The source of corruption was within the flesh, "some deep-seated physical disease of the very springs of life was exuding noisome matter" (Law and Grace). GEM

www.logos.org.au

Abnormal issue of blood in the female

31 Thus shall ye separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.

Thus the Law proclaimed what Christ taught concerning the flesh (Mark 7:20-23). For this reason, the Law demanded that those suffering such a defilement be put out of the camp, as Adam and Eve were put out of the Garden -- to teach that we need to be redeemed from the common situations of life. Thus, we must look beyond the present, to the joy of the kingdom, when the bodies of our humiliation (Phil. 3:21) will be changed into the glorious substance of the "divine nature" (2Pet. 1:4). GEM

www.logos.org.au

Godly Resolutions

Our Loving heavenly father, In the name of our Lord Yahoshua Anointed we offer our thanksgiving to THEE

"WE will hear thee speak."—Ps. 85:8.

"WE will sing unto thee O Yahweh as long as we live."—Ps. 104:33.

"WE will run the way of thy commandments."—Ps. 119:32.

"WE will never forget thy precepts."—Ps. 119:93.

"WE will meditate on all thy works, and talk of thy doings."—Ps. 70:12.

"Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will fear no evil."—Ps. 23:4.

"We will freely sacrifice unto thee."—Ps. 54:6.

"We will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy."—Ps. 31:7.

"Our  tongues shall speak of righteousness, and of thy praise all the day long."—Ps. 35:28.

"Thou art Yahweh, our  refuge and fortress: our Elohim in whom we trust."—Ps. 91:2.

For WITH THY HELP we will be perfect before thee, through the merciful provision of the precious blood offering of thy holy one our high priest and faithful mediator in heaven, they beloved son.

amen

Gospel Prayers

Our Loving heavenly father, In the name of our Lord Yahoshua Anointed we offer our thanksgiving to THEE 

"Show us thy ways, O Yahweh; teach us thy paths, and lead us in thy truth."—Ps. 25:4, 5.

"Keep us as the apple of thine eye; hide us under the shadow of thy wings"—Ps. 17:8.

"Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just."—Ps. 7:9.

"Arise, O Yahweh; let not man prevail; let the heathen be judged in thy sight."—Ps. 9:19.

"Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion; build thou the walls of Jerusalem."—Ps. 51:18.

"that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion."—Ps. 53:6.

"Let Elohim arise, let thine enemies be scattered; let them also that hate thee flee from before thee."—Ps. 18:4.

"Arise, Elohim, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations."—Ps. 82:8.

"Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou hast made strong for thyself."—Ps. 80:15.

"Peace be within the walls of Jerusalem and prosperity within thy palaces."—Ps. 122:7.

"Arise, O Yahweh, into thy rest, thou and the ark of thy strength. Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness, and let thy saints shout for joy."—Ps. 132:8, 9.

"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

"Satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days."—Ps. 90:14.

"Let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth."—Ps. 77.

"Send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me to thy holy hill."—Ps. 43:5.

"Come, Lord Yahoshua."—Rev. 21.

In his name we offer all our thanks and praise to thee our loving father in heaven

Amen

The Christadelphian, Oct 1876

The power of death destroyed

Heb 2: 14

It has been objected that the putting-away of sin cannot have been the putting-away of the mortal nature, because Christ rose with the same nature, and it is said that the same infirmities clung to him until he was changed to immortality.

There is no evidence, however, that Jesus rose from the dead with the same infirmities that he had before he died: it is simply assumed, and we have quite as much reason for assuming the contrary; but as we do not desire to base any argument on a mere supposition, we pass it by.

As to Christ having risen with the same nature that he died with, this of course is admitted, but this fact is no proof that the sin he put away was not sin in the flesh, for the necessity for destroying sin in the flesh lay in the fact that it had the power of death, and that power had been destroyed in him when he rose from the dead.

So that even though he rose in the same nature that he had before his death—and even if his nature was in precisely the same condition—the power of sin over him had been destroyed, and God could then change him to immortality, so that his victory over sin might be thus perfected or perpetuated.

The body of sin, or the devil, having been destroyed, a way was thus opened for its destruction in others on their availing themselves of the appointed way, viz., immersion into the death and resurrection of Christ, by which they obtain the remission of sins, and a title to the redemption he obtained by his death and resurrection—using "resurrection" here in its fullest sense, as including resurrection to immortality.

The consistency of this plan may be seen in view of a principle exemplified in certain passages of Scripture, namely, that the removal of the punishment for a sin implies or involves the forgiveness of that sin. For instance, when God had decreed the death of Hezekiah, and then, in answer to Hezekiah's prayer, permitted him to live, Hezekiah said,

"Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back,"

i.e., blotted them out.—(Isaiah 38:17.) The case of David also is perhaps to the point. When he had sinned "in the matter of Uriah the Hittite," and God sent Nathan to charge him with it, "David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said unto David,

"The Lord hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die."—(2 Sam. 12:13.)

Then, again, when Christ was about to cure the palsied man, he said to him, "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee;" and when some of the Scribes said, "This man blasphemeth," Jesus said,

"Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy), Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thine house."—(Matt. 9:2–6.)

This would imply that the disease from which this man was suffering was a punishment for sin, and that the removal of the disease carried with it the forgiveness of his sins. Let us now apply this principle to the matter in hand. Death is the punishment for sin; Christ has "abolished" death, and therefore on men associating themselves with this abolition, by union with Christ, death is accounted as being prospectively abolished in them, and this therefore carries with it the forgiveness of their sins.

In bearing the condemnation resting on the sin-nature, of which Christ, in common with the rest of the race, was a partaker, and in being raised from the dead, the power of sin was destroyed, while at the same time God's law was not set aside, but was upheld in him, and therefore, on the basis of that destruction of sin, God can consistently forgive those who, believing "the truth," recognise that the evils resulting from the breaking of His law have been removed in Christ, and that they can obtain redemption through him alone—on their manifesting their recognition of this fact in the appointed way. Hence we read in Col. 2:10–13:—

"Ye are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power: in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who has raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened (or made alive) together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses."

The Christadelphian, Sept 1876

 the holy thing she bore was called a Son of Deity, and named JESUS (Luke 1:35, 31).

Thus,

"the Logos became flesh, and dwelt among us," says John, "and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth;" for "the law was given through Moses; the grace and the truth came through Jesus Anointed" (John 1:14, 17).

Now, "Theos was the Logos," says John; that is, Deity was the Word; and this Word became flesh in the manner testified.

Eureka 1.2.2.

If it be argued that Thus is referring to 30 years after the birth the following proves that not to be so...

The mystery of godliness is practically exhibited in the incarnation of the Word in the conception and anointing of Jesus; in the perfecting of his body at its resurrection, when Deity in Spirit was as visible to the apostles as Deity in Flesh had been to them before the crucifixion.

Eureka 2.0.

THE WORD MADE FLESH - DIFFERENT STAGES

S.B.‭—‬We have duly received,‭ ‬in common with you,‭ ‬a copy of Friend Jardine's second letter to the Editor of the‭ ‬Christadelphian,‭ ‬in response to our review of his first.‭ ‬We think it unnecessary to make it the subject of reply.‭ ‬We must refer to our review as containing all the answer required.‭ ‬The only point requiring notice is where the writer is able to quote from an early production of Dr.‭ ‬Thomas's,‭ ‬in support of his contention that the Word was not made flesh till the baptism of Jesus.‭ ‬This is best answered by the following quotation from a letter written by the Dr.‭ ‬in‭ ‬1870:

‭ "‬My faith and hope are what they have been for years,‭ ‬only that they are‭ ‬enlarged,‭ ‬strengthened and increased,‭ ‬because I have obeyed the exhortation of the apostle,‭ ‬and added to our faith knowledge‭"—(‬Christadelphian,‭ ‬August,‭ ‬1870,‭ ‬p.‭ ‬237.‭)

On the principle expressed in this extract,‭ ‬the Dr.‭ ‬came to see that the manifestation of God began with the birth of Jesus,‭ ‬and was perfected in two subsequent stages—his anointing of the Spirit and his resurrection.‭ ‬He was consequently able to say,‭ ‬only a year or so after writing the words quoted by Friend Jardine.

‭ "‬There was no Word made flesh till the birth of Mary's Son.‭"

The Christadelphian p581 ‭March 1, 1875