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Again, that particular body of truth which applies to the child of God in this age may be divided, and a portion be called "Positional Truth" in that it unfolds the believer's present relation to the Godhead, the heavenlies, and the present world; while another may be known as "Life Truth" in that it is a particular statement of his present responsibility in conduct and service, and also includes the provisions of God whereby he may fully accomplish the whole will of God.
But such was not positional authority or authority proceeding from a humanly created superior office and appointment thereto. It was of divine order. But this fact of distinguished leadership at first, doubtless furnished an excuse for the creation of a distinct office with carefully defined functions and limits of authority. The power of the bishop thus constituted advanced steadily.
His authority was divine, and out of that divine authority grew his positional responsibility as the "apostle of the Gentiles." On the same principle the position, work, and responsibility of all the members of the body of Christ grew out of the gifts and qualifications possessed by them, and thus the church was divinely organized and divinely governed.
Moreover, there was a general expectation in anti-slavery circles to which Theodore Parker gave expression when he wrote, "Had Lincoln succeeded, Douglas would be a ruined man.... But now in place for six years more, with his own personal power unimpaired and his positional influence much enhanced, he can do the Democratic party a world of damage."
And so, indeed, he was, sincerely and even scrupulously pious; but he was still more weak than pious, as weak in heart and character as in mind; as destitute of ruling ideas as of strength of will, fluctuating at the mercy of transitory impressions or surrounding influences or positional embarrassments.
Half an hour later, well fortified with a positional knowledge of Lani viscera, Kennon looked up at the redhead. She was still standing patiently, a statue of red-gold and bronze. "Get a smock and let's go," he said. "No wait a minute." "Yes, sir?" "What's your name? I don't want to say 'Hey you!" She smiled. "It's Copper Glow want my pedigree too?" "No it wouldn't mean anything to me.
No appeal for faithfulness in the Christian life will be found to be adequate or effective that does not follow this same order, or that is not based upon some great revealed fact of the new life in Christ. It is probable that the present neglect and disregard for Positional Truth has, in spite of moral exhortation, borne its legitimate fruit in a time-serving worldly Church.
In his early epistle to the Philippians, Paul makes reference to the officers that guided that church. Polycarp, writing to the same church in the next century, addresses the "presbyters and deacons," showing that the apostolic order was still preserved there. In the Ignatian epistles, however, written early in the second century, there appears positional authority of a new order.
While, therefore, in the combination of the two factors, force and position, force is intrinsically the more valuable, it is always possible that great advantage of position may outweigh small advantage of force, as 1 + 5 is greater than 2 + 3. The positional value of Cuba is extremely great.
And so indeed he was, sincerely and even scrupulously pious; but he was still more weak than pious, as weak in heart and character as in mind, as destitute of ruling ideas as of strength of will; fluctuating at the mercy of transitory impressions, or surrounding influences, or positional embarrassments.
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