The Ohio Independent Baptist, January 1968

Glimpses of Truth from the Greek New Testament By Dr . Geo. Lawlor ''APPEAR'' l11 tl1~ ,,cll-k..11 )\\ n pa age. 11 <)r. " I(). 1t 1, tatcd that all bclicv r n1t1"t .. ,lpp , r bcf re the JL1dgn1ent <'Llt 1f hr1 .. t. that e"eryone may rc– c~1, c the thing don in hi body, Ll cording t that he hath done, ,, hcthcr it be good or bad.' The Cl)n1111c)n Lt nd r "landing of the verb ·· .tppear" i~ that all of u , hall con1e hef re th L rd in per on, each of ti , tand ing in Hi pre ence to ac– e tint f r what we have done a hri, tian . In ther words, each be– liever will mak a personal appear– anc b f re the Lord Him elf to re– ei, e Hi evaluation and judgment f ur w rks. All this i true. The ,,,ord "appear" does have this ig- nification, and doe carry it:hi simple n1eaning. It i true that all of us will appear per onally at the judgment throne of our Lord J e us Christ fol– lowing the rapture. However, there is more involved in thi 'appearing' than merely com– ing formally in person to the place of judgment and thus making our appearance there. The word used in the ver e translated "appear' ' is the Greek (phanerotheinai), which means in a more or less general sense "to make manifest or visible to render known what has been hidden or un– known , to make manifest either by words or deeds." Perhaps the first thing that comes to our minds is the manife tation of many believers heretofore unknown, the appearance of some at that time whom we did not expect to ee. But the word goes deeper than this. To ' 'reveal'' In a letter among the papyri dis– coverie , a man writes to another, and say 'I present this statement, n1aking thi n1atter known to you. " The \-erbal ' 'making known' ' is p/1aneron. The word appears in a n– other letter in which the writer says to a friend, " I should h ave made a n1uch more conspicuous display of n1y magnanimity." The word "di - play" is phaneroteran. A civil officer ent a dispatch to a subordinate in which he aid concerning a certain . c)fficial 111atter, "' I have made (this) kno'A n both to the principal and his JANUARY. 1968 PAGE 14 ,l"'"' ' 'tant " .. I he c 1 rc"i~t() tl l\ 111,t<.lc kn<.l\·vn" 1, rc11c.lc1cd l')y cpl1<J11er<>S<1. ,\ <.. ' l111\t1,ln·~ i111plc pra ye r i<.; rc– ct1 rllc<.i 111 these w rd~ : "Oh God rc,,cal to n1c thy truth. whether it l1c tl1) \\till th at I hotild go to l "h1 )tit ." The word " reveal" i the \Crh pl1<11zer<>·011 . A con idcratio n of the c e,1rly u age h w the en c t)f the word to be that which be– e 111c vi ible and clear thing that are n1ade manife t o a to be plainly ccn. to make omething or o·meo nc known a what ( it) he really i . To ' 'expose'' Thu , the word in it New Te ta– n1ent occurrence i more intere ting and ignificant. In Mark 4: 22 "For there i nothing hid which sha ll not be 111a,1ifested" ( phanerothei) , it de– note omething previously concealed 1hait is brough t oUtt into the open. The word is also u sed in the last clau e in the verse where it is ren– dered "come abroad.' ' Bph. 5: 13 has the word ( phaneroutai) to point out the exposure by the light of truth of things that are evil and false. It ap– pears in John 17: 6, in the Lord's great prayer, when He says "I have manifeSited ( ephanerosa) thy name unto the men which thou gavest me," to designate the faot that Christ made kno,wn to His apo tles the truth resident in the name of the true God, imparting to them this knowledge by teaching. The word is u ed by John in I Jn. 4:9, (ephan– erothei ) to denote the fact tJhat ·the immeasurable love of God while previously displayed in the choice re– demption , and preservation of Hi s people Israel, has now been supreme– ly and pre-eminently made known in the sending of His Son - an act un– precedented and unsurpa sed in his– tory. In Heb. 9: 26, 1he word de– scribes the pre-existent Christ pre– viou ly hidden from view in heaven .. but in Hi incarnation made visible o n earth as a man amon.g men ( ve– phanerotai). Vs. 28 has the word again to point out the imminent ap– pearance of the Lord in Hi s return for the church saints, when we shall see Him in His splendor and glory for the fir t time. It is used in Jn. l : 31, where John s.tart:es that Je us Christ the Messiah mu t be "made 111 ani fc 'i t " ( ,,11<111er<,tl1ei) l l) l srHc l i.e ., bCC0111C k11ow11, pl ,t1n) y rCC(>g · 111.lcc.l, and thorot1ghl y ttndcrstooc.l a, tu who and what •He i . In II Cor O 5: 11 , it is u~cd by Paul to set forth the fact that we are fully, thoroughly completel y known by God a t what kind of individual we reaJJ\i ., arc; we are "man if e t" to God ( pc· p/1a11ero1t1etha). One day, however when the Lord appears ( pl1anerotl1ei ) a He ha promised to do, we hall be een and known as true saints, in glory and maje ty which we derive from Him (Col. 3 :4 [phanerotheises· tl1e]). We do not appear as such now. nor are we known as such by the world around us. But in 1hat day. we hall have the true appearance oJ our gloriou heritage - which is to be like Him. Everything to be Disclosed! This, then, i the word of the text: "For we mu t all appear be– fore the judgment seat of Ohrist...," and it surely must be seen that it obviou ly ignifies much more than the faot that all believers will be present before the Lords ,throne. We will stand before the Lord and be known for what we really are. What– ever has not been apparent, good a nd bad, while we walk the earthly path and serve the Lord in this life, will then be brought out into the open. U nconfessed sins will be re– vealed hypocPisies exposed, guilty con ciences bared. There can be no di gui e, no masquerade, no decep– tion before the omniscient Lord of glory and we must stand the piercing crutiny of His all-seeing vision. All the secrets of our hearts will be drawn out, and the real motivations of our actions will 1hen be known. The oral accounting will be made by each of us (Rom. 14:12), and what we have done in labor, in witness, in service, in living daily, and (above· all) in character will be disclosed. The Lord will be kind, but He will eXitract the truth from us. Every one of us - for hi·mself - shall give his personal accounrt. In this manner we shall "appear" at the judgment seat– with a solemn individuality of en– quiry. 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