Spheres of Blessing

The Differentiator
Vol. 21 New Series June, 1959 No. 3

That Scripture visualizes different companies of the redeemed is well known. That it tells us very little about all—except two of these is also well known but seldom acknowledged; and of late years the matter has been considerably confused by the doctrine of "The three spheres of blessing." Much labour has been expended by its supporters in developing and defending this idea; but little of it is of any avail because the idea itself lacks precision. Sometimes it appears to mean "three distinct companies of the redeemed" sometimes "three different locations of the redeemed"; and the two ideas seem to change over from foreground to background according as the exigencies of controversy demand.

There is no difficulty in grasping the notion that the church which is Christ's body forms one company, Israel under the New Covenant another company or set of people, the gentiles who are deceived at the close of the thousand years (Rev. 20:8) yet another. Nor is there any difficulty in perceiving that the church which is Christ's body, the celestial Jerusalem (Rev. 21:9-23) and the gentiles in Rev. 21:24 are or contain also three sets of people. The latter two of each three are certainly not the same set at the same time; and the question whether the former become the latter in the New Creation, or whether any of them do, is not explicitly answered. Also which company (if any of the foregoing) the 144,000 (Rev. 7:2-8; 14:1-5) and the vast throng (7:9-17) belong to is not stated. The same applies to "the one conquering" (3:12). Now, I cannot see that there is anything improper,or unbecoming, still less wicked, in anyone feeling Or even expressing regret that God has not thought fit to be more explicit over these matters, though I doubt whether any really spiritual person would take such a line, and I do not care to do so myself; but I do consider that it is improper or worse for anyone to try to repair these supposed deficiencies: on their own account. The doctrine of "the three spheres of blessing" is, I contend, such an attempt.

I would not quarrel with the use of the non-Scriptural word "spheres" or its author's suggested equivalent, "distinct provinces within which the distinctive blessings of the various callings revealed in Scripture are naturally confined," except for the circumstance that both "spheres" and "provinces" are question-begging and therefore can only add a fresh confusion of their own to an already difficult problem. In the foregoing paragraph, eight companies of people that are mentioned in Scripture are listed. On what authority can we reduce these eight to three spheres or provinces? We can say that some exist now and some are wholly future. We can say that the destiny of one, the church which is Christ's body, and perhaps others for all we know, is celestial; indeed, among the celestials. We can point out that the Jerusalem now celestial in location will descend and, while remaining celestial in character, become terrestrial in location; and that the companies of Gentiles will be on earth. But why we should speak of "spheres" is far from evident. What we do know can be stated, and is stated in Scripture, quite plainly without the use of that word.

Apparently the idea behind its invention in this context is something like that of a three-floored building, the bottom floor "earth," the second "the heavens" and the third "the super-heavenlies," "far above" the second. But, as already shown elsewhere, the Scriptures know nothing of the third. True, the author of the "three spheres" view says:

"The sphere of blessing found in Ephesians 1:3 is defined as'in heavenly places.'" (The Berean Expositor, Vol. 32, No.5).Even setting aside the fact that "place" is not found here in the Greek and that "among the celestials" is a much better rendering, it has yet to be shown that there is any intervening "sphere" between this "sphere" and the earth. In an attempt to achieve this we are shown Gal. 3:14 and asked:

"The question which now arises is, Does this passage refer to adistinct sphere of blessing, or is this blessing of Abraham to beenjoyed in one or other of the two spheres already considered?"The answer is to be found in the context. Verse 10 announces
"For as many as are out of law-works are under curse. . . . Nowthat no one,in law,is becoming righteous beside God is evident,seeing that The nghteous out of faith will be getting him life.'. . . Christ redeems us out of the curse of the Law. becomingcurse for our sakes. . . that unto the Gentiles the blessedness ofAbraham may be coming in Jesus Christ, that we may beobtaining the promise of the Spirit through the faith."All this is here and now, not in some "sphere." In fact, all thought of "earth" or "heaven" or some "super-heaven" is entirely outside the passage and foreign to its whole thought. Nor is there any notion of "inheritance" in it. Such considerations are, however, pointedly ignored by the exponents of "three spheres." Instead, we are jumped to vv. 28, 29, to the grand revelation that through faith we are all one in Christ Jesus. But this is not to be accepted as it stands. Oh no! Instead we are told:

"This unity does not sound like the constitution of a kingdom,which is what is in view in Matthew 5. Rather it so resemblesthe later revelation of Ephesians that some have adopted theexpression 'All one in Christ Jesus' with the idea that it declaresthe Unity of the spirit of Ephesians 4 (sic), Before seeing theproofs, most, if not all, will agree that Galatians 3:14 does notrefer to an inheritance on the 'earth.' Yet when we read on toGalatians 3:29, we are prevented from asserting that it belongsto the sphere of the mystery made known in Ephesians, for wefind it stated: 'and if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.'"But why drag in Ephesians? Or the Secret of Eph. 3:6-12? Galatians does not refer to the Secret; but it leads up to it, whatever this writer may assert. And Ephesians looks back to Galatians and Romans, otherwise whence comes the righteousness in Eph. 4:24; 5:9; 6:14 if not from the faith expounded in these epistles? The whole thing is quite simple, provided that we refuse to follow this writer's confused thinking. At first, because we are of faith, we are Christ's. Then, because we are Christ's, we are Abraham's seed, and heirs. The fleshly distinction of Jew and Greek has vanished, so that presently we can pass on to the truth that "in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything, but New Creation" (Gal. 6:15). This is the firm foundation upon which Ephesians is built, and without which it could never have been. This "three spheres" theory puts a wall of partition between Galatians and Ephesians, that is to say, between one part of Paul's Evangel and the other; for, the Secret is, by definition, based on Paul's Evangel. Such separation is not simply an impossible idea, it is an outrageous one.

The Secret of Eph. 3:6-12 is not as Mahomet's coffin reputedly was—suspended between heaven and earth—but solidly based on Paul's Evangel—the whole of it.

R.B.W.

Listing of Articles


A Critic of "Fundamentalism"
A Further Examination of Prophecy
A Note on "Far Above All"
A Reckless Assertion
A Re-examination of I Thessalonians 1:10
According To
Acts and I Thessalonians
Acts as History
Acts Misunderstood
Acts 3:19-21
Afterwards
"All" and "The All"
An Explanation
Are You Saved?
Baptism: Supplementary Comments
Book Review: "Sorting Prophetic Material"
Christian Love
Confusion about Paul's Ministry
Confusion about the "Church"
Conversion
Covenant and the Lordly Supper
Dating the Gospels
Dispensational Truth
Dr. Bullinger and Mr. Welch
Editorial on the Book of James
Editorial: The Tradition
"Ephesians Truth"
Ephesians 1:1-12
Ephesians 2:11-18
Faith and Truth
First Things First
Flesh and Blood
For Us and About Us
Forgiveness of Sins
Forgiveness without Repentance
Further Consideration of Repentance
Further Problems about Prophecy
Further Remarks about Prophecy
God's Dispensations are Permament
Guidance in Scripture
Humility
In Part
Israel's History in Scripture
James and Righteousness
James, the Lord's Brother
Jew and Greek
Journeys to Jerusalem
Luke 23:43
Made Righteous
Mark 7:19
A Note on Matthew 28:19
More about the Olive Allegory
Of All
One Body
On the Meaning of "Ta Panta"
Our Celestial Destiny
Our Special Dilemma
Peace and Security?
Predestination or Freedom?
Prophecy in Acts
Romans 11:25
II Timothy 4:2
Some more Errors about Prophecy
Spheres of Blessing
Spiritual Experience
Studies in God's Evangel Part 1
Studies in God's Evangel Part 2
Studies in God's Evangel Part 3
Success or Victory
The Apostles
The Apostle Paul's Commission
The Apostle Paul's Evangel to the Jews
The Apostle Paul and Acts
The Ascension and the "Modern Mind"
The Assault on James
The Basis of Fellowship
The Beginning may be Nigh
The Body of the Christ and Christ's Body
The Character of the Kingdom
The Christian Dilemma
The Church of God
The Crisis of Matthew 13
The Dating of Paul's Epistles
"The Dispensational Keystone"
The Doctrine of Grace
The Doctrine of the Incarnation
"The End of the World"
The Enemy within the Gate
The Faith
"The Fall" and "The Two Natures"
The Finality of the Thessalonian Epistles
The First Christians
"The First Christians" - A Correction
The Fulfillment of Isaiah 6: 9, 10
The Gospels Part 1
The Gospels Part 2
The Gospels Part 3
The Greek Preposition Part 1
The Greek Preposition Part 2
The Greek Scriptures Part 1
The Greek Scriptures Part 2
The Greek Scriptures Part 3
The Greek Scriptures Part 4
The Greek Scriptures Part 5
The Greek Scriptures Part 6
The Interpretation of the Thessalonian Epistles
The Kingdom - A Query
The Late Charles H. Welch
The Mature and the Perfect
"The Mystery": A Review
The Necessity for Repentance
"The New English Bible"
The Next Stage of the Kingdom
The Purpose of Acts
The Return of the Saving Work of God to Israel
The Right Question
The Roman Jews
The Secret of Romans 11:25-27
The Seventy Sevens and Ourselves
The Soulish and the Spiritual
"The Study of Human Destiny"
The Supposed Dispensational Frontier
The Teaching of J.J.B. Coles
The Trumpet of God
Theology as a Science
The Study of Prophecy
The Truth about "Dispensational Truth"
The Unity of God's Evangel
This Generation
Time and Eternity
To Israel as a Nation
Tongues
Unsound Words
What is Apostasy?
What Should We Do?
When and Why were the Gospels Written?
Wilful Blindness
Wine in the Lord's Supper

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The Differentiator Revisited 2013

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