VOL. XXX June 1947 No. 6 Knowledge, Doctrine, and LoveWHEN ONE
speaks of "doctrine" he very often has in mind some confession of faith that he
deems necessary to hold in order to be considered a follower of Jesus, but a little study
of the Greek words translated by our English word "doctrine," soon convinces him that the whole
teaching of Jesus and the Apostles is embraced in the word; and that it literally means
instruction, teaching. Of course it can and sometimes does mean some particular point in
our faith, but we should never lose sight, of the true meaning of the word, for like our
English word "hell" it seems to have taken on an ecclesiastical meaning, which
often makes clear thinking difficult. As an illustration of this, the following remark was
made by one of the brethren after listening to a discourse: "Wasn't that a splendid
talk -- and not a word about doctrine." Now it is quite evident that such a statement shows lack of thought, and
it also shows how much we are influenced by previous training. The word
"doctrine" has been very prominently held before the minds of the Lord's people
in the harvest time of this Age, and properly so, because its meaning contains all that we
hold dear to our hearts. But because it has been used in controversy with certain points
of faith that have been under discussion these last few years, it has become odious to
many of the brethren, and that is not to their benefit. When rightly
understood, our doctrine is in a sense just about the most important thing to us,
excepting our Lord himself. It is that knowledge of himself which he has so beneficently
given us, without which we would be as nothing, could hope for nothing, understand
nothing; let us then not be afraid to look at doctrine, look at it thankfully, look at it
honestly. By that we mean to look down deep into our hearts, and try to see just how much
or how little the Lord has given us to have and to hold as our very own, not because of
what some person mayor may not have said concerning it. We ought to look at it lovingly,
holding it above anything that this world could offer. By it we are informed what to believe,
and also what to do. When we think of the infinite care with which our heavenly Father laid the foundation for
our faith in the ages preceding our Age, the care bestowed on the making of examples for
us, recording everything of instructive importance from Adam down to the beginning of the
Gospel Age, and from there on
writing our history in
advance, and not ours only but giving such knowledge of the world in general as would be
helpful to our spiritual welfare, surely our hearts should overflow with love both for
the truth and for our God who gave it. Now our
instructions seem to make it very clear that there are two fundamental principles upon
which we are to base our hopes of being with Jesus as members of his glorious Bride: the
one is to know, and the other is to do; the
one pertains to a knowledge of our instructions, the other to carry them out. Jesus
said: "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." (John 13:17.) Since
our instructions have been given by our heavenly Father for the definite purpose of
"bringing many sons to glory," it behooves each of us who has this hope within
himself (the hope of being with Jesus as a member of that glorified Body) to know all he
possibly can concerning those "instructions." This is knowledge. How much or
how little any given member will have to acquire is not for us to decide. One thing we may
be sure 'of though, the great judge will expect of each one according to his ability. Even
in this world the scholar who applies himself to his task of learning, though he may not
be brilliant, is looked upon with favor; but he that is slack, careless, is looked upon
with disapproval. It has often been said that "we are in the school of Christ."
Surely we are expected to be "diligent in business" in the study of our
instructions, that we may know the will of our God concerning us. The evidence
that we must have knowledge to be accepted as a prospective member 'of the Body of Christ,
is amply shown in the 'experience of "Cornelius" (Acts .10:1-6) , when the
angel of the Lord came to him in :a vision and told him to send for Peter
and said, "He shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do." And again, Paul
speaking of his people (Israel
after the flesh) said concerning them: "They have a zeal for God, but not according
to knowledge." (Rom. 10:1, 2.) Also we are not to forget the admonition in 2 Tim.
2:15: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Now these Scriptures alone prove the
absolute necessity of knowledge, and there are many more that lead to the same conclusion.
However it does not seem likely that' many of the Lord's people will come short of
pleasing him by underestimating the value of knowledge, especially those who have accepted
"present truth." They indeed have come to know both how necessary, and how good
it is. Through it they" have been given a wonderful vision of God and of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ-a vision so glorious that many of us are still trying to comprehend
the grandeur of it. It seems that the Prophet David had this class in mind when he wrote:
"Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their
wine increased." (Psa. 4:7.) The corn and wine was promised to Israel after the
flesh, but the gladness of heart was promised to us. Aside from
the inspired Apostles, it seems safe to say that the Church has never had so much
knowledge as at the present time, and this knowledge is sweet indeed. It has satisfied
the longings of our hearts in a manner that we never could have hoped for. Our blessed
Master, true to his promise, has come forth and served his loved ones through that
faithful servant. And how happy our hearts have been made, only the Master knows. Who then
can sound the depths of joy that came with a knowledge of present truth. It has
dispelled the doubts and fears engendered by higher criticism, evolution theories, and
other "nightmares" too numerous to mention. By gaining an understanding of God's
purposes, that peace which "passeth all understanding" came into our hearts,
and as our minds became clear of the fog and superstition of the Dark Ages, joy took the
place of sadness. Surely those that mourned in Zion, were given "beauty for
ashes" and the "garment of praise" for the "spirit of
heaviness." - Isa. 61:3. But in this
exuberance of joy some of us seemed to overlook the plain fact that gaining knowledge was
not our goal, but that it was given to us as an aid to reach our goal, that we might
wisely follow our "instructions" and reach the promised land. Like the
Israelites of old, who had to follow their Lord awhile before they came to know his will
concerning them; they had to go from Goshen through the "baptism" of the Red
Sea, and beyond to Mt. Sinai before they really 'began to be instructed. So it is with us.
It is from Sinai on that we begin to learn, and with some of us, it is a long way from
Goshen to the Mountain. Many of the
Israelites who came out of Egypt never learned to do the Lord's will: "Wherefore I
was grieved with that generation, and said they do always err in their heart; and they
have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest."
(Heb. 3:10, 11.) The Apostle Paul, writing to the Church at Corinth, tells them that these
things happened to them for examples (1 Cor. 10:6), and in Hebrews 12 'we are warned in
the most forceful language, yet in language most tender, that we should not refuse him
that speaketh (God speaks to us now through his Word). It behooves us therefore to apply
ourselves diligently to obedience, and not be like unto them that "fell in the
wilderness." When we study their behavior now, we probably think how foolishly they
acted, and very likely we think had we been there, we certainly would not have done as
they did; but let us not be too hasty in our conclusions, but rather let us as spiritual
Israelites see to it that we do not err in spirit, as they did in the flesh. It is
expected of us that we bear fruit to the glory of God. Jesus said: "Herein is my
Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit." (John 15:8.) If we do not succeed in
doing this, are we any wiser than they? Surely it has been proved by precept and by
example, that knowledge is one thing, and bearing fruit is quite another; and that
sometimes we are more concerned about the former than the latter. This seems to be about
as serious a mistake as we could possibly make, for it is our fruit-bearing qualities that
will constitute our worthiness to be with Jesus in glory. One thing we
can be sure of while this side the veil (and perhaps beyond it) that "knowledge"
is progressive. With some, knowledge is easily and quickly acquired, while with others it
is more or less a laborious task. This being true, it should not surprise us to find that
some of the Lord's people have a better understanding of doctrine (our instructions)
than do others; but unless this greater knowledge is accompanied by a correspondingly
greater fruitage of the spirit of Christ, the one possessing it is no better off for
having it, because the very reason we have been given this knowledge is that we might be
conformed to the image of Jesus, and if it does not assist us in doing that, it will have
been given in vain in so far as we are personally concerned. But whether some gain
knowledge more quickly than others 'or not, being "changed from glory to glory"
is a slow process. "First the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the
ear." Moreover it has been made very easy for all of us to acquire knowledge at
this time, for the vision has been made plain upon tables that "he may run that
readeth it." But the "mark" for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:14) has not been changed, not been made easier. By that we mean it
will not be easier for us to love our enemies, and do good 'to those' that hate us and
despitefully use us now, than it was for our brethren in the past. It is because we have
need of this greater knowledge in these perilous 'times that it has been given. But all our
knowledge will prove no better than a life-boat without food or water, unless it helps us
to grow in the likeness of Christ. If we were left to our own understanding of knowledge,
and asked to define its relationship to spiritual growth, or how deep a knowledge one
could have without a corresponding manifestation of the Spirit of Christ, we would in all
probability modify it with the word, elementary, and content ourselves with the .thought
that one could not go far in knowledge without developing the graces of the spirit.
However the Apostle Paul gives us a very clear-cut statement of the relative importance of
knowledge and love when he says: "Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand
all mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and
have not charity [love] I am nothing." Another thing
we do well to remember in connection with general knowledge is, that no matter how well we
may be instructed, our knowledge at the present time is not perfect. In our imperfect
condition we can no more be perfect in this knowledge than in any other quality. Why then
should we defer our love for those who (while giving every evidence of consecration to
the Lord) may see less or more than ourselves. If the great Apostle Paul could say:
"Now we see through a glass darkly," he who was abundant in
"revelations," caught- up to paradise, and saw things not lawful to utter,
surely we must admit that we do not see plainly. That does not mean that we should not
endeavor to see alike. To dwell together in unity of thought and action is certainly the
ideal for which to strive. This would be perfection, but we are not perfect. We must let
love abound, and cover the imperfections of our brethren with the mantle thereof. Even the
Apostles did not see alike on all points, without discussion, and endeavor. This is made very
plain in the Apostle Paul's Epistle to -the Galatians. Seventeen years after he began
his ministry, he went up to Jerusalem, to compare notes so to speak. At that time there
was controversy over circumcision and uncircumcision; and later when Peter was come to
Antioch, Paul "withstood him face to face." This proves to us
that it takes endeavor on our part, and the manifestation of the spirit of the Master to
overcome our difficulties. What a
calamity it would have been had love not prevailed among the Apostles. What calamities
often come among the brethren today because love does not prevail. It seems
quite certain then that love is a final test; and we might add, love for the brethren, for
says the Apostle John: "If a man say I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a
liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he
hath not seen? And this commandment we have from him, that he who loveth God love his
brother also John 4:20,21.) This being true, we have never mad better opportunities for
demonstrating our love for our heavenly Father than at the present time. The Lord's
people are divided into little groups throughout the world, and unless we take the
attitude of the Papacy, we would not dare to say his saints are all in this group, or in
that. No, we must admit they are in all the divisions; and since we are not able to judge
who, or where, we must say they are all our brethren. If that is true, then how are we
showing forth the love of Christ? Surely not by indifference. There is no such thing as
"the love of indifference." Neither can we show the love of Christ by
lukewarmness. What kind of love is that, you ask -- the love of lukewarmness? It is this kind. It is
the kind of love that says: "I love the brethren in all these divisions, I wish them
well, I certainly do not wish them any harm. I can not do anything about it, so I forget
the whole thing." That is not the love of Christ. If his love went no further than
that, we would be lost today. The love of Christ is a saving love, it reaches down to help
us up. Jesus had to humble himself to demonstrate that love. Let us therefore go and do
likewise. Let us
endeavor by prayer, and by -supplication, and by doing the things we know, "grow in
grace" and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. - W. W. Boutilier. Importunate Prayer
- Leta Hatcher. The Sum of All Graces is Love1 Cor. 15:1-13. "And now abideth Faith, Hope, Love,
these three; but the THE MEASURE
of our appreciation of divine Love will be the measure of our zeal in conforming our
characters to the divine pattern. A naturally rough, uncouth, depraved disposition may
require a long time, after the grace of divine Love enters the heart, 'before that grace
is manifest in all the words and thoughts and acts of the outward man. Others, on the
contrary, of more gentle birth and cultured training, may without the grace of God within
have many of the outward refinements. None but he that readeth the heart is competent
therefore to judge as to who have and who have not received this grace, and of the degree
of its development in their hearts: but each one may judge for himself, and each one
begotten by this holy spirit, Love, should seek to let its light so shine out, through all
the avenues of communication with his fellow creatures, as to glorify our Father in
heaven and "show forth the glories of him who called us out of darkness into his
marvelous light." Perfect
Love is patient with
the weaknesses and imperfections of those who give any evidence of good intentions. More
than this, it is patient even with those who are out of the way, and that oppose
themselves to righteousness, realizing that the whole world is more or less under the
influence of the great adversary who, as the. Apostle declares, blinds the minds of the
masses. This manifestation of Love was very prominent in our Lord Jesus: how patient was he with
his opponents. Let us heed the Apostle's words: "Consider hint that endured such
contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied [in well doing and
patience] and faint in your minds." - Heb. 12:3. Perfect
Love is kind in its
methods. It not only seeks to do, good to others, but seeks to do it in the kindest
possible manner. And who has not discovered that the manner and tone have much to do
with every affair of life. In proportion as perfect Love is attained the effort of the
heart will be to have every word and act, like the thought which prompts them, full of
kindness. It is well to remember the motto of the old Quaker, -- "I shall pass through this world but
once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any
human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, nor neglect it, for I shall not pass
this way again." Perfect
Love is generous and
has no place for envy, which, on the contrary, springs from a perverted nature -- from
selfishness. Love on the contrary rejoices with them that rejoice, in the prosperity of
every good work and word, and in the advancement in Christian grace and in the divine
service of all who are actuated by the divine spirit. Perfect
Love is humble --
"vaunteth not itself." It does not sound a trumpet before it. Its good deeds are
not done to be seen of men, but would be done just the same if no one saw or knew but God
only. It is neither boastful of its, knowledge, nor of its graces, but in humility
acknowledges that every good and perfect gift cometh from the Father; and it makes return
for every mercy to him. Some one has truly said that-"Love saves a man from making a fool of himself by consequential
conduct, and by thrusting himself into positions which betray his incompetence." Perfect
Love is courteous -- "doth not behave itself unseemly."
Pride is the root out of which grows most of the unseemly conduct and boorishness so
common to those who think themselves somebody, either intellectually or financially.
Perfect Love on the contrary develops courteousness along with humility. A thoughtful
man has said, -- "Politeness has been defined as love in trifles. Courtesy is said to
be love in little things. The one secret of politeness is to love. A gentleman is one
who does things gently, with love." Perfect
Love is unselfish -- "seeketh not her own" interests,
exclusively. Nothing in this signifies that one should neglect the duty of caring for and
providing for those dependent upon him by ties of nature, that he may do good to
others. In every sense, "Love begins at home." The, proper thought, as we gather
it, is that the men and women possessed of the spirit of perfect love, would not think exclusively of their own interests in any of the
affairs of life. In bargaining they would have an interest also in the welfare of the one
from whom they bought or to whom they sold. They would snot wish to take advantage of a
neighbor, but sympathetically and generously would wish to "live and let live."
Put into exercise, this element of Love would have a great influence upon all the affairs
of life, inside as well as outside the home and family. Perfect
Love is good tempered -- "not easily provoked" to anger.
Among the evils abounding and very common today, is this one of ill-temper, fretfulness,
bad humor, touchiness, quickness to take offense. Yet, to whatever extent this disposition
is fostered, of willingly harbored, or not fought
against, it becomes an evidence of a deficiency and imperfection of our development in
the holy spirit of our Father, and of the deficiency of our likeness to our Lord Jesus,
our Pattern. Very few of the evidences of a wrong spirit receive as much kindness and as
many excuses for their
continuance as does this one. But however natural depravity, and heredity, and nervous
disorders, may tend toward this spirit of fretfulness, taciturnity, and touchiness, every
heart filled with the Lord's spirit must oppose this disposition to evil in his flesh, and
must wage a good warfare against it. It will not do to say, "It is my way"; for
all the ways of the fallen nature are bad; it is the business of the new nature to
overcome the old nature in this as well as other works of the flesh and the devil: and few
show to our friends and households more than this the power of the grace of Love. This
grace as it grows should make every child of God sweet tempered. Perfect
Love is guileless --
"thinketh no evil." It seeks to interpret the conduct of others charitably. If
pure and good intentioned itself, it prefers, and so far as possible endeavors, to view
the words and conduct of others from the same standpoint. It does not treasure up
animosities and suspicions, nor manufacture a chain of circumstantial proofs of evil
intentions out of trivial affairs. Some one has wisely remarked that "faults are
thick where love is thin." Love makes all possible allowance for errors of
judgment, rather than to impugn the motives of the heart. Perfect
Love is sincere --
"rejoiceth not in iniquity." It is grieved by evils wherever encountered,
sympathizes with: all who fall into evil, or who are beset by temptations. In this
respect Love prompts to an opposite course of action from that of Balaam, who "loved
the reward of iniquity." Balaam, it will be remembered, feared the Lord, and as his
prophet could not think of doing otherwise than according -to the strict letter of the
Lord's injunction; but he did not have the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of Love; and
hence, when a reward was offered him if he would curse Israel, he was willing (in order to
secure the reward) to conform to the evil proposition in spirit, in intention, while
outwardly refraining from saying aught except as the Lord indicated. So there are some
amongst Christians who have a respect for the letter of the divine Word through fear, but
who lack the holy spirit of Love, and who by reason of a perverted love for wealth, etc.,
are willing to engage in various practices which come as near to the injury of the Lord's
cause as is possible, without openly opposing him. Some of these Balaams are in the ministry and for the sake of
salary, and the maintenance of their positions, and the friendship of wealthy Balaks,
are willing to preach doctrines which they do not believe (respecting eternal torment,
etc.), and in various ways to cast stumbling blocks before spiritual Israel. (Num. 22:7;
31: 16; Rev. 2:14.) The Apostle mentions these Balaams as being specially represented by
false teachers in the nominal Church. - See 2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11; Rev. 2:14. Every one
who is seeking to develop in his heart the holy spirit, perfect love, should guard
carefully this point of sincerity of motive as well as uprightness of conduct. The least
suggestion of rejoicing at the fall of any person or thing that in any degree represents
righteousness and goodness, is to be deplored and overcome. Perfect Love rejoiceth not
in iniquity under any circumstances or conditions, and would have no sympathy but only sorrow in the fall of
another, even if it should mean his own advancement. Perfect
Love "rejoiceth in the truth." -- However profitable error might be,
Love could take no part in it, and could not desire the reward of evil. But it does take
pleasure in the truth -- truth upon every subject, and especially in the truth of divine
revelation; however unpopular the truth may be; however much persecution its advocacy
may involve; however much it may cause the loss of the friendship of this world and of
those who are blinded by the god of this world. The spirit of Love has such an affinity
for the truth that it rejoices to share loss, persecution, distress or whatever may come
against the truth and its servants. In the Lord's estimate it is all the same
whether we are ashamed of him or ashamed of his Word, and of all such he declares that
he will be ashamed when he comes to be glorified in his saints. Perfect
Love "beareth all things." -- It is both willing and able to endure
for the cause of God-reproaches, reproofs, insults, losses, misrepresentations and even death. "This is the victory
that overcometh the world, even your faith" - the very center and life of which faith
is the holy spirit of Love to the Lord and to them that are his, and sympathetically for
the world. Perfect Love can bear up under all circumstances and by God's grace bring us
off "conquerors and more than conquerors" through him who loved us. Perfect
Love "believeth all
things." -- It is not suspicious, but on the
contrary disposed to be trustful. It acts on the principle that it is better if necessary
to be deceived a hundred times, than to go through life soured by a distrustful,
suspicious mind-far better than to wrongly accuse or suspicion even one person
unjustly. This is the merciful disposition, as applied to thoughts, and of it the Master
said, "Blessed are the merciful, they shall obtain mercy." The unmerciful,
evil thinking mind is father to unmerciful conduct toward others. Perfect
Love "hopeth all things." -- It is not easily discouraged. This is
the secret of Love's perseverance; having learned of God, and having become a partaker
of his spirit of holiness, it trusts in him and hopes undismayed for the fulfillment of
his gracious Covenant, however dark the immediate surroundings. This hopeful element of
Love is one of the striking features in the perseverance of the saints, enabling them to
endure hardness as good soldiers. Its hopeful quality hinders it from being easily
offended, or easily stopped in the work of the Lord. Where others would be discouraged
and put to flight, the spirit of Love gives endurance, that we may war a good warfare, and
please the Captain of our salvation. Love's hopefulness knows no despair, for its
anchorage enters into that which is beyond the vail, and is firmly fastened to the Rock of
Ages. FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE ABIDE FOREVERNot only is
Love the greatest of all the graces, and really, as we have seen, the sum of them all in
combination and unification, but it is the most lasting grace: Love never faileth -- will
never cease; and he who has this character of Love will never fail,, will never cease: It
is for such that eternal life has been provided in the divine plan. Now bear in
mind the Apostle's argument to the Corinthian friends: (1) that the
gifts of miracles, tongues, etc., bestowed upon them by the spirit, were divided amongst
them according to talent or divine wisdom, and were not the results of their own efforts; (2) that he
is pointing out to them a grace much more excellent than those "gifts,"
something that God will be pleased to give to each one of them; a grace of more value than
any of the "gifts" -- of much more value than all of them together; a grace that
might properly be termed a fruitage of the spirit, -- Love. And the fact is that some
possessed of few talents have proportionately less to contend against while seeking to
cultivate the all-important Love. Having
described this wonderful and necessary element of character in its perfection, the Apostle
conies back and contrasts it with those "gifts" which they so highly appreciated
and coveted, and shows that the chiefest of those "gifts" are inferior to Love.
The gift of prophecy he declares will fail, will cease; because the necessity for prophecy
would cease: the miraculous power of speaking with unknown tongues would cease for the
same reason: the knowledge of mysteries and the ability to expound the deep things of God
will gradually vanish away, as the perfect light gradually comes to all men; for when the
full, clear light shall have come there will be nothing hidden, all shall be revealed, and
all will, be able to see; hence the gifts of ability to understand mysteries of the divine
plan and to expound them to others, although two of the greatest of the gifts, will
ultimately vanish in the perfect light: but Love will never fail. It is the greatest
thing in this world, and it will continue the greatest thing in the world to come; for,
God is Love; and all who would enjoy his favor and its reward, eternal life, must possess
this, his holy character. Pausing, the
Apostle remarks how little we all know in the present time; even those who have the
largest amount of knowledge and who can expound the divine Word and its hidden mysteries,
know only in part; they see only obscurely: and
while the obscurity will gradually vanish into the perfect light as the Sun of
Righteousness arises, yet we will only know in part until that time, when we shall be
"changed"; when imperfection shall give place to perfection. Looking back
to childhood we can see that as we have developed physically and grown in knowledge in
earthly matters, and have changed our processes of thought and conduct and language
correspondingly; so in spiritual matters we should realize that in. the beginning of our
Christian way we were but "babes"; and we should not be satisfied to remain
such, but desire individually to grow up into Christ in all things. And what is true of
each individually is true of the Church collectively. The period of the gifts of tongues
and miracles was the period of infancy, childhood; as progress was made, under the
leading of the holy spirit, certain of those features very necessary and well adapted to the
childhood stage passed away, and instead came other experiences, methods and leadings in
the truth. Hence, today the "tongues" are gone, the "prophesying" in
the sense of foretelling future events is gone, the "miracles" are gone, etc.,
after having served their purposes well. But the Lord still continues to provide in the
Church "knowledge," even though it be but imperfect knowledge; he still
continues to provide methods for evangelizing or spreading the news of the truth to the
unbelieving; 'he still provides teachers and helps in the Church. But these are not
usually provided miraculously, as at first, but naturally and by the addition of the
Lord's blessing to natural qualifications. But all these will cease so far as the Church
is concerned when her course is finished; -- "when that which is perfect is
come," she will have no further need of these imperfect helps. Three gifts
of the spirit, of the kind developed as fruits, will survive; and these three are to be
earnestly sought and diligently cultivated; they are Faith, Hope and Love: but the
greatest, the chiefest, of these is Love. Faith and Hope, although they are
two of the most necessary qualities for the present time, in aiding us in making our
calling and election sure, and two which will never cease to all eternity, will measurably
lose their active operations, "when that which is perfect is come"; 'because in
a large degree and in reference to many subjects, sight and knowledge will take the place
of Faith and Hope. But Love will never fail, never fade, never grow dim. It will be as
active and glorious and useful in the life to come as it is now. Indeed, the sum of the
future perfect life will be Love. Let us, dear
readers, with all our getting, get Love -not merely in word, but in deed and in truth; the
Love whose roots are in the "new [heart," begotten in us by our Heavenly
Father's Love, exemplified in the words and deeds of our dear Redeemer. All else sought
and gained will, be but loss and dross unless with all we secure Love. - Reprints, pages R2204-R2205. "Many Infallible Proofs"No. 3 A short series of meditations, both
devotional and doctrinal, "The Lord is risen indeed."
- Luke 24:34. IN THE
previous meditation of this series our attention was drawn to the fact that in the
paragraph which extends from verse 5 to verse 19 (of 1 Cor. 15:5-19) the Apostle runs
together and interweaves two themes. One of these, namely, the historical testimony to the
resurrection of Christ, we considered. In this meditation we propose to consider the
other, namely, the moral absurdities which one is forced to maintain who denies the
resurrection. In this part
of his argument the Apostle develops four logical consequences which must follow if the
resurrection be denied. If there be no resurrection of the dead, he insists, then these
four things must be true (1) Christ
is not raised. - 1 Cor. 15:13. (2) Our
preaching is vain and your faith is vain. - 1 Cor. 15:14, 17. (3) Those
who fell asleep in Christ are perished. - 1 Cor. 15:18. (4) We are
of all men most miserable. - 1 Cor. 15:19. Now his
first point is obvious. Jesus was a man, a human being, and if all men perish in the
grave, the Man Christ Jesus perished in the grave. But to suppose that this man thus perished is, in St. Paul's view,
impossible. Peter, on
the day of Pentecost, gave expression to the same thought when speaking of Jesus, he
declared: "Whom God raised up, having loosed the grip of death, because it was not possible that He should be holden of
it." -- Acts 2:24. Death is the
wages of sin, and Christ was without sin. It was morally impossible that He should remain in the grave. If He did not rise -- if all He gained by His grace
and wisdom, His piety and love, was thirty odd years of toil and sorrow, culminating in
a shameful death under a frowning heaven, what is God that we should serve Him? what is
life that we should love it? what is virtue that we should pursue it? If we believe in a
God at all, if we believe that righteousness and love are His attributes, it is utterly,
monstrously illogical to suppose that under His rule, by His ordinance or permission, the
best Man, the Man so wise, so gentle, so pure and holy, that at His Name every knee bows
in reverence, after a brief, sad, life, full of labor, grief and defeat, went down into.
the thick darkness of annihilation. Such a life as His morally demands a life beyond the grave. A story so fair
must have a sequel. A work so divine must mount to its natural and appropriate conclusion.
If He who hung upon the cross did not rise to the very heights, there is no God, or God is
not righteous. This is the dilemma to which Paul reduces those who deny a resurrection. We
can no longer believe in a just and holy God if Christ was not raised. But if He, if one
man, if the Man Christ Jesus was raised from the dead, how say some that there is no resurrection of the dead? The raising of one
man proves that there is a resurrection, that that there may be a resurrection for all. Raised Again for Our JustificationHis next
point is: If Christ be not raised, then is our preaching (not the act of preaching, but
the substance of what was preached) vain, and your faith is also vain; ye are yet in your
sins. - 1 Cor. 15:14, 17. To affirm
that the Christian faith should fail to redeem men from sin is as absurd, in the Apostle's
judgment, as that the life of Christ should end in death. This time the absurdity is not
so obvious; it needs to be elaborated. What, then, did the Apostle mean when he said that
if Christ be not raised, they were yet in their sins? Some have supposed that he meant
that they were left without any standing before God-that they were still without
justification, still reckoned unrighteous by God. In Romans 4:25 the Apostle tells us that
Jesus "was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our
justification." Here, then, in agreement with that Romans passage, he must mean
that if Christ be not raised, we are not justified; the burden of our sins must have
proved too great a burden for Him; by His death He has failed to expiate sin: He has not
accomplished the atonement for which we had hoped; we remain under the condemnation from
which we had thought to be saved. This may,
indeed, be in part, his meaning; but it falls very far short of being his complete
meaning. Those who do take it as exhausting the Apostle's meaning do so because of a
tendency to resolve Christ's work almost, if not quite, wholly into 'a plan of procuring
pardon for the sinner, to view it too exclusively in its relation to the penalties of
the law, and to make holiness a consequence rather
than an integral part of salvation. The resurrection of Christ is certainly a proof
-- nay, it is the proof -- that His death has been accepted by the Almighty as an
all-sufficient offering on our behalf. But while this is doubtless true, it does not seem
to us to be the point the Apostle is here making, and is certainly not his whole meaning. The Power of His Resurrection Manifest in Lives of BelieversThe point of
his argument, it seems to us, may be expressed in this way: Any faith or religion which
does not hold out a hope of eternal life, a hope of life beyond the grave, is incompetent
to deliver men from their bondage to evil. The same thought finds expression in verse 32
of this chapter. There he affirms that if men believe they are to die like beasts, they
will live like beasts; that if they have no hope of a resurrection, they will say
"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." He does not say that this should be
so, and for himself and other noble specimens of our race it would doubtless not hold
true; but for the great majority of us, alas, it would prove unquestionably true. Does not
universal history confirm his thought? Have not men in every age when hopeless and
despairing of the future, resigned themselves to the cravings of appetite and passion?
Is it not because of a practical atheism-a practical belief (whatever the outward
profession) that this life ends all, that the world has reached its present state of
chaos, and is heading rapidly towards anarchy? If St. Paul had not been able to point to a
resurrection which gave assurance of a life to come, he might well have felt that the
Gospel he preached was vain and that the faith of his hearers was likewise vain. But the
Gospel hope of a resurrection, which he had preached amongst these Corinthians, and which
by faith they had embraced, had not only justified them from sin in God's sight, but had
changed their lives. It was accomplishing their deliverance from sinful lusts, was doing
that which, if there be no resurrection hope, could not have been accomplished. It may thus
be seen that the Apostle's point of emphasis, whatever else his words may be taken to
mean, is that the changed lives of the Corinthians was a proof of the soundness of their
resurrection hopes. If Christ be not raised, we are yet in our sins. We remain under the
penalty certainly, but especially under the power of
sin. In ourselves we are "without strength." It is only as we are joined to the
risen Christ, as branches to the Vine, that we are introduced into that "newness of
life" and given strength to walk therein. The fact that these Christians to whom Paul
wrote had already come so far from the darkness of their old lives, and were progressing
so well in the new, was in itself a proof that there was a living, risen Lord to whom they
could thus be joined. If Christ be not raised, ye Corinthians are yet in your sins, and
this, manifestly, is not the case, for you have forsaken sin as your natural element,
and no longer live therein. Are Those Who Fell Asleep in Christ Perished?His third
point is: If there be no resurrection for men, and there can be none if the perfect Man
was not raised, then those who fell asleep in Christ perished. This, of
course, is simply a deduction from the first consequence; for if Christ were not raised,
those who slept in Him would share His fate-the Christian dead would perish as He
perished, whom they loved and served. But St. Paul draws out this deduction, and lays
emphasis upon it, we suppose, because he knows it would touch the hearts of his readers
and predispose them to receive the truth. It is hard for us to believe that we shall perish when we die; for even when the
body grows weak with age, the spirit is young and strong; we feel capable of much and
higher work; life has held out many promises not yet fulfilled. Imperfect, weak, and
faulty as we know ourselves to be, we feel that we have it in us to become good and brave
and wise, if we can only rise into more favorable conditions; and therefore we find it
hard to believe that God will cast us away, and with us all the pains He has taken with
us-that He will not condescend to find a place and service for us in some mansion of His
house. But it is harder still to believe that the men and women we have loved, those noble
teachers who taught us what we know, those godly parents who brought us up in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord, who even amidst the frailties of the flesh were yet
distinguished by so much that was pure and noble and beautiful, who so wound themselves
about our hearts, not only by the ties of natural affection, but by secret charms of
character, hidden, it may be from the world, but known in the privacy of the family and
the home, and who fell asleep peacefully in Christ -- it is hard to believe that these
have perished. Deep down in
our hearts, beneath all our hopes of life and goodness for ourselves, there may lurk a
profound distrust of ourselves; but these, who have been so good, who have loved us so
well, who have done so much for men, who have been so serviceable and honorable, and
who, when they went from us, seemed more fitted for usefulness than ever, are we to
believe, can we believe, that they also have perished? that they have no hope of a
resurrection? It is incredible, inconceivable. What! all the wise teachers who have
departed this life stored with high faculties trained to noble uses; the martyrs who, for
the love they 'bore to the truth, went bravely to their deaths; prophets and apostles who
wrought righteousness; our fathers and mothers who, in their generation, served God with a
constant heart; our innocent children whom we lost in infancy or childhood, whose brief
lives were a round of love and purity--are they all gone, never to be resurrected? Has God
no place for them, no use for them in His vast universe? Have they after delighting the
world with their nobleness, their large charity, their wisdom, their self-sacrifice, their
innocence, passed into an oblivion from which they will nevermore emerge? If they have,
what is life but an evil dream, with no God to order it, but only a dark, blind chance?
That the obstinately wicked and perverse should thus perish we could understand; but that
the holy and beloved dead who fell asleep in Christ should have perished -- this is
incredible to us as long as we have any faith in God and His wise ordering of human life.
They have not perished; they do but sleep; and in God's due time they will be awakened
from the sleep of death in resurrection. Virtue is Its Own RewardThe fourth and last absurdity which St. Paul mentions as resulting from a denial of the resurrection is found in verse 19 which reads: "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." It is not
that the value of virtue and piety depends altogether on there being a life to come. The
Apostle is not discussing the question whether virtue and goodness are not in themselves
a great reward. They have their intrinsic claims upon us. Even though we expired at death
with no hope of resurrection, it would still be well with us that we should deny the lusts
of the flesh and, remembering God, live soberly and righteously in His sight, dwelling,
so far as lieth in us, at peace with all men. The Apostle who proclaimed to his hearers at
Athens a God in whom all men live and move and have their being; who recognized the
craving of the human heart, apart from direct Christian instruction, after an invisible
and supreme Ruler of the universe; who exhorted the Philippians to the practice of
whatever things were true and honorable, just and pure, lovely and of good report -- he
could never have said that a virtuous life, in the commonest acceptation of that term, and
apart from the hope of a resurrection, would have made men "pitiable." No one
would have allowed more fully that virtue must bring with it its own reward, and that even
for its own sake it was worthy to be pursued. We Labor for EternityWhat, then,
does the Apostle mean in the language he employs in this 19th verse? We answer: The
Christian life is self-conquest, self-denial, for ends so large that they cannot be
reached in this world. To us, as we often say, the present life is our preparation, our
school, in which we painfully acquire the virtuous habits, the likeness to Christ, we are
to manifest hereafter. If there is to be no hereafter, our painstaking efforts have been
largely wasted; we have been mocked and deceived. Our life has been built up on a
delusion; it has been ordered on too vast a scale. We have labored for eternity and in
preparing for that, we have failed to secure from the few short years of time that have
been ours, all they might have yielded us of innocent pleasure and enjoyment. Can
anything be more disappointing, is anything more "pitiable" (as the word
translated "miserable" more exactly means), than to have thus been diverted from
our proper aim and happiness? to have flung away our years in chasing a bubble that bursts
as we stretch out our hand to grasp it? Think of St.
Paul. Here was a man of the highest capacities and gifts. He devotes them to teaching
a mere fiction. To teach it he endures innumerable hardships, incredible labors; denies
himself (not the gratification of sinful cravings which he does well to mortify, but) all
the sweet, innocent pleasures of life, which he might otherwise have enjoyed. And all for
what? All for nothing -- all for a lie. Here is a life the most toilsome and hazardous,
and it closes in frightful, irreparable disappointment. Is it so much as conceivable
that God should betray His noblest and most heroic children into a confusion so pitiable,
a defeat so hopeless? 'What Shall We Say to These Things?Unless, then,
we are prepared to believe these monstrous absurdities, that, though there is a just and
wise, a powerful and loving God, the best of men are the most to be pitied, the noblest
perish unrecompensed, that God rewarded the perfect life of Christ with annihilation, we
must believe, as the Apostle goes on to say in the next verse: "Now is Christ risen
from the dead, the first fruits of them that are asleep." St. Paul will not permit us
to detach the resurrection from the Christian faith and still call ourselves Christians.
He affirms it to be of the very essence of the faith. In our previous meditations we saw
that he will not suffer us to suppose that he and the other witnesses of the resurrection
were misled by their hopes, or were deceived; he affirms that they were false witnesses and not mistaken if Christ did not
rise. Our only alternative lies between believing a series of incredibilities, to
believe in which, would simply be the death of all love to God and man; or believing in
the resurrection of our Lord, and in the hope of a resurrection for all mankind, which His
death secured for our race, believing in which, promises life and peace and joy
everlasting. If it be hard for us to believe a miracle of grace and mercy, it would be
harder still for us to believe in an unjust and cruel God, who betrays us, by a lie, into
vain endeavors after holiness and virtue, and then, as a reward for our credulity, smites
us into sudden and eternal death. With this sole alternative before us, if we must
accept four absurdities so monstrous and unnatural that they dethrone God and reduce
human life to an evil dream, or believe in a supernatural act of grace-supernatural to us,
but most natural to Him-our choice is not hard. We cannot part with God; we must believe
in Him; and therefore we believe also in Christ. We believe that God raised up Christ
from the dead, and rejoice in the sure and certain hope of a joyful resurrection unto
life. We believe that God both raised up the Lord Jesus, and will also raise us up by His
power. "Put to Death in Flesh, but Made Alive in Spirit"Before closing
this meditation we wish to add a word of caution. Up to this point in the Apostle's
argument (verse 20), he has carefully refrained from all mention of the question as to the
various natures to which it is possible men may be raised. Not until verse 35 does he
introduce that phase of the subject into his exposition, and take up the question:
"With what manner of body are the dead raised ?" He has been occupied with the
basic, fundamental theme that there is a resurrection of the dead. He has insisted that
Christ Jesus was raised, but he has not said He was raised as a man. He has
insisted that there is to be a general resurrection of the dead, but whether they are to
be raised as men or to some other plane of life he has yet to inform us. That he will do
so clearly and authoritatively we have no, doubt, for our inspired instructor is one who
"shrank not from declaring anything that was profitable." (Acts 20:20, A. R. V.)
It is our hope to consider this intensely interesting and profitable portion of his
exposition in our next meditation. Meantime, while rejoicing in the words he addressed to
the men on Mars Hill, that God had appointed a day in the which He intended to judge the
world in righteousness by the Man whom He had ordained; "whereof He bath given
assurance unto all men in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Acts 17:31), we
may be preparing our minds for his further enlightenment by pondering the words of the
Apostle Peter in reference to our Lord: He was "put to death in flesh, but made alive
in spirit." - 1 Pet. 3:18, Diaglott, word for word translation. - P. L. Read The Meeting of the Posts"One post shall
run to meet another." - Jer. 51:31. A
CORRESPONDENT calls our attention to the difference in the reading of various Greek MSS.
of Acts 13:18-20, and to the fact that there has arisen quite a controversy in the ranks
of the textual critics and translators of the New Testament over this difference. Our
correspondent is particularly interested in the bearing it has on Bible Chronology. This passage
is a portion of the Apostle Paul's address before the Jewish congregation in the synagogue
at Antioch. The Authorized Version reads: "18. And about the time of forty years
suffered he their manners in the wilderness. 19. And when he had destroyed seven nations
in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot. 20. And after that lie gave
unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the
Prophet." The
essential difference in the original text is in the twentieth verse. Tischendorf, in a
foot-note in his annotated New Testament, calls attention to this
variation from the Authorized Version, in the three oldest Greek MSS., the Sinaitic,
Vatican, and Alexandrine Codices, all of which read: "He distributed their land to
them for an inheritance, about four hundred and fifty years: and after that he gave unto
them judges until Samuel the Prophet." The latter
translation, taken verbatim
et literatim (word
for word and letter for letter) , would seem to say that Israel occupied the land for 450
years, then were given judges for an additional time, which can be shown from the Book
of judges to be 450 years. But we have been unable to find any chronologer who holds that
the period from the division of the land to Samuel, or Saul, was twice 450, or 900, years. The Rev.
Philip Doddridge, "an English dissenting divine, 1702-1751," together with some more recent expositors, dates the 450
years back to Isaac's birth. This quite obviously does considerable violence to the Apostle's line of
argument. He is giving a consecutive account of the events of Israel's history. If Rev.
Doddridge's theory were correct, the Apostle would be retracing his steps for 450 odd
years -- he has already mentioned the deliverance from Egypt, the forty years in the
wilderness, the destruction of the seven nations of Canaan, and the allotment of the land
to the Tribes. He goes right on from there to the Kings and the coming
of the Messiah of David's line. To say that the Apostle interrupts his narrative by
referring back to the time of Isaac's birth, without mentioning that event, seems to us,
as the well-known commentator Barnes remarks, "a forced and strained interpretation,
manifestly made to meet a difficulty." Dean Alford, another very able commentator,
says: "Treating the various readings as an attempt at correcting the difficult
chronology of our verse, and taking the words as they stand, no other sense can be given
them than that the time of the judges lasted four hundred and fifty years. The dative (etesi, in years) implies the duration of the
period between (tauta, these [events]) the division of the
land and Samuel the Prophet inclusive." However, it
seems to us, the passage as it appears in the three oldest Greek MSS. and in the
translations following this version, may be readily understood in harmony with the
statement as it is rendered in the King James Version,
if we make' due allowance for the differences in Greek and English idiom; and consider the
context of Paul's address, from its beginning in Acts 13:17 to its -end in verse 41.
Herein the Apostle reviews the history of Israel from two standpoints, man's and God's,
the civil and the spiritual. With the former his hearers were all familiar, and they
believed it; but not all believed in God's personal supervision of their affairs, which
the Apostle was seeking to convince them of. In opening his address Paul recognized these
two classes before him: "Men of Israel [in general] and ye that fear God [in particular] give
audience." He then proceeds with his review of Israel's history, with frequent interpolations pointing out
God's overruling care, and closes with a stern note of warning to the
"despisers" of his announcement of the Messiah, whom God had at long last sent. This
understanding of Paul's mind and audience makes clear his meaning in verses 19 and 20. As
a matter of historical fact, Israel had received the land of Canaan from their fathers, to
whom it had been promised, and enjoyed its possession for four hundred and fifty years.
During that time they did with it as they pleased. After that they relinquished their
inheritance to their kings, and they became the servants of their rulers. Samuel, the
last of the judges, makes this clear in his address to Israel, when they came to him
demanding a king, as related in 1 Samuel 8:10-18. Under a king, he said, their lot
would be very different from the free-and-easy pastoral life they had been leading under
the judges. It proved to be just as Samuel said; as, for instance, King Solomon's
"levy" or "tribute" (margin) of a hundred and eighty thousand men .
for forced labor-as detailed in 1 Kings 5:13-16. These are some
of the things of which Paul is reminding his hearers. "The God of this people of
Israel chose our fathers . . . brought them out of Egypt . . . [to] Canaan ... divided the
land to them by lot . . . [for an inheritance for four hundred and fifty years] and after
that [not after the 450 years, but, logically, after the last previous thing he had
mentioned that the Lord had done for them, the subjugation and allotment of the land-the
giving of an inheritance-now he gives them the leadership they need to enable them to hold
it] he gave them judges until [up to and
including] Samuel, and afterward they [not God] desired a king." God had given
them release from Egyptian bondage; the promised land for their possession; judges --
champions -- supermen -- to be their leaders for 450 years; then kings at their demand;
and now, finally, a Messiah. This was the burden of the Apostle's message; all else was
merely incidental. KING DAVID'S ANCESTRYThe length of
the period of the judges is an essential link in Bible chronology, and the Apostle's
statement is particularly important, as other references to this period are indefinite
and apparently incoherent. It has been asserted, as indicating that the period could not
have been 450 years long, that the genealogy of King David during this time, as given in
Ruth 4:21, 1 Chronicles 2:11, Matthew 1:5, and Luke 3:32, shows but four 'generations,
which would make the average age of each of these ancestors at the birth of his son
considerably in excess of one hundred years; and that this is not consistent with the
average length of the generations immediately preceding and following this period. This
difficulty again arises from failure to recognize the difference between Hebrew and
English idioms. In Scriptural Hebrew there are no words corresponding in exact meaning to
the English words ancestor, descendent,
grandfather, grandson, etc. The Hebrew words for father, son, begot, etc., may refer to
immediate generations, or to descent with several or many intervening procreators. New Testament writers in Aramaic and Greek
follow the Hebrew usage; the genealogical records of the ancestors of Joseph and Mary,
which included those of King David, being copied in abbreviated form, from the Hebrew. Thus the Greek
word used by Matthew, which is translated "begat," has the same broad
significance as the corresponding Hebrew term. In Luke's genealogy the word
"son" is supplied by the English translators, except in the case of Jesus
himself. Of him it is written that he was "supposed" to be the "son"
of Joseph, whose father was Jacob (Matthew 1:16); but according to Luke, Jesus was
actually "of" Heli, who was presumably the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Joseph is said to be "of Hell" because he was the legal heir of Heli; which is
perfectly good Hebrew idiom. (Luke 3:23.) Our object, however, is not now to offer a
reconciliation of the genealogies of Matthew and Luke, but to call attention to obvious
shortenings of their lists. These two
genealogies indicate that Joseph and Mary had a common ancestor about four hundred and
fifty years before Jesus' birth, named Zerubbabel. Matthew shows ten progenitors between
Zerubbabel and Joseph; Luke lists nineteen for the same period. Between David and
Zerubbabel Matthew names seventeen generations; Luke shows twenty-two for this period.
This discrepancy is partly explained by Matthew's omission of the names of three kings of
Judah from his list. He says "Joram begat Uzziah" (Matt. 1:8), whereas the Books
of Chronicles and of Kings state that Joram was the great-great-grand father of Uzziah (or
Ozias); Ahaziah, Joash and Amaziah intervening. Hence it is seen that it is as entirely
proper in Scriptural language to speak of an ancestor "begetting" a descendent
in the fourth generation as
it is of a father begetting
his own son. Recognizing
these facts, it is not hard to believe that there were several
generations omitted in naming those from Salmon to Jesse, the father of King David. It
would be entirely proper to translate the Hebrew of Ruth 4:17, 21 to read: "Salmon
was the ancestor of Boar, and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed was the progenitor of Jesse, and
Jesse begat David." This presumably is the oldest record; the others are all copies,
with the same significance. Certainly this
genealogy of the period of the Judges need give us no difficulty, in consideration of the
inspired Apostle's statement that "God gave them judges until Samuel the
Prophet," for a period of "about four hundred and fifty years";
particularly as the sum of the "servitudes," judgeships and "rests"
mentioned in the Book- of judges amounts to just what the Great Apostle said -- "about four hundred and fifty years" --
certainly not substantially less than that. - H. E. Hollister. Report of British PilgrimageDear
Brethren: Warm
Christian love and greetings to you and all of like precious faith. These lines come to
you in the nature of a report of my pilgrim trip thus far in the British Isles. The journey
across the Atlantic was uneventful save for the tokens of love and thoughtfulness which
were delivered to my cabin the day following departure from New York harbor. Kind
friends had anticipated my needs and the scarcity abroad and had made up a generous box
of things too numerous to mention. Both before leaving home and since reaching this
land, I have experienced blessings from the Lord in the many manifestations of love
shown me by brethren who have done much to make my journey a comfortable and happy one. England has
experienced the worst winter and spring that any of the present generation can recall, and
there has been much suffering and loss as a result of the cold, snow, and floods. Millions
of sheep and cattle died, and much of the land is too wet to produce crops. Many have been
a part of the time without a fire, due to a coal shortage, and all are severely rationed
on nearly all the necessities of life. However, I have yet to hear any complaint from
brethren. It was
raining when we landed and has rained every day since. I did not expect any one to meet me
until I arrived at Waterloo Station, my London destination; and so was agreeably surprised
when, having finished with the customs officials, I was hailed by Brother Jennings of
London who had left London at 2 a.m. in order to reach Southampton in time to aid me in my
train trip to London. He spotted me by first locating my baggage, which was of course
tagged with my name, and then waited until I came along and claimed it. Needless to say I
greatly appreciated the kindly spirit that prompted him to go to so much inconvenience on
my behalf. There were four brethren waiting to receive us at Waterloo Station, who
extended to me a very hearty welcome, a foretaste of the spirit that has been manifest
wherever I have gone. Up to the
present time it has been my privilege to meet with sixteen different groups and also an
Eastertide convention held at Warrington. The Classes here compare favorably in size
with those of our own land, and I have found them deeply spiritual and zealous for the
truth and for the ministry of the truth. I have addressed only one meeting for the
public thus far, but I am told that there are several scheduled before I reach London.
Yelvertoft, the place where the one public witness was given, is only a small village, but
there were 27 visitors present beside the 20 friends from Rugby. The brother who arranged
the meeting had worked hard to advertise it, mostly by personal invitation, and so was
gratified when in addition to people of various beliefs, three ministers of local
churches turned out and gave close attention to the message, "The Desire of All
Nations at Hand." I very
greatly enjoyed the convention at Warrington which opened Saturday afternoon, April 5th,
and closed Monday night, April 7th, but found myself wishing that all of you might have
been present to enjoy it with me. The only item on the program that appeared more
than once was "Tea." This possibly does not mean much to most of you, but when
one realizes the sacrifice of the friends, the self-denial practiced in the use of their
valuable points (stamps in their ration books) in order that they might provide food and
drink for all those, who would attend, he eats what is set before him with a deep sense of
appreciation for the spirit of God in his people. That was a Lenten self-denial of which I
feel sure the Father took notice. The greatest
number present at any one time was about 265. Some, however, could be there for only a
portion of the time, so I presume that at least 300 did attend. I took no notes, so cannot
attempt to give a report of the discourses. The subjects used were all presented in a
very interesting and helpful way, and were quite evidently designed to encourage us to
faithfulness in fulfilling our consecration vows. The first
subject, "Remember," made us think of what God has done for his people in the
past so that we might keep alive our confidence which hath great recompense of reward. We next were
admonished in "Redeeming the Time" -- buying time back from daily occupations
that we might both study and also serve the Lord in whatever opportunities we have to
witness. "The
Gift of God," as set forth, helped us to see not only the value to us in the
sacrifice of our Redeemer, but also the great cost of that Gift and the love that
prompted it. "The
Perfecting of the Saints," was described as being God's work in us, a work which only
his spirit can accomplish, but a work in which he requires our daily and whole-hearted
cooperation. "The
Final Warning" was educed from Rev. 14:9, and reminded us that the ones whom God will approve will take no part in assisting
the civil or religious organizations of this evil world. "Ephesians
1:18" was discussed in the light of the purpose of God as revealed by Paul in this
wonderful Epistle-the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus-a hope that would stagger belief
if it were not so fully and definitely promised. Manifestly, no one could merit such a
hope: it is wholly of God's grace and will. Our part is to exercise faith, to take God at
his word. "Jesus:
the Light of the World," as set forth in the 9th chapter of John's Gospel, clearly
shows the importance of the heart condition if we would see the light and profit
thereby. The man born blind was typical of all who come out of the darkness of this world
into the light of truth as revealed in Christ. The last
speaker brought to a climax a series of talks that had been uplifting and inspirational to
Christian living, by invoking "The High Priestly Blessing." (Num. 6:24-26.) He
pointed out that the vital thing in faith was whom we believe rather than what we believe;
and he urged us to a full and unreserved renewal of our consecration vows, so that the
Priestly Blessing might rest upon us in full measure. Such a blessing was the final act of
our Great High Priest before he ascended up to heaven. - Luke 24:50,51. Our British
friends love to sing, and they use many hymns that are not familiar to us. Unfortunately,
for me at least, the tunes are not in their hymn books, so each Class has a book it has
compiled for the organist to use. They are planning to publish a book that will combine
both words and music, and when finished, I feel sure many of us will wish copies. I am
appreciating very much the opportunity of fellowship with our British brethren, and am
hoping that our Heavenly Father may make my sojourn with them a means of blessing to all
with whom I meet, for many have assured me of their prayers to this end. Your brother
and fellow-servant by his grace, - John T. Read. "Heaven"
The Great
Company are made to feel their failure by the fierceness of judgment sorrows, and they
come to a better mind. By the depths of their penitence, and by the sorrowful earnestness
of their seeking unto Jesus in the last extremities, they obtained forgiveness and are
admitted into heaven. Ashamed for a time as to their unfaithfulness, and though having
lost their place among the crowned ones, the elder explains that they are permitted
"to stand before the throne of God" and are made servants in God's house. A few
observations might be in order: They are in
heaven. This is a great thing to say of any one. It is to be in the enjoyment of an
estate, by the side of which all the exaltation, honor, and glory this world can bestow,
shrinks into utter nothingness. "Oh, if I can only get to heaven," is often the
highest word and thought of the noblest and purest hearts. And this goal of pious longing,
these palm-bearers have reached. They are
where the golden-crowned elders and glorious living ones are. They are where the holy
angels stand round about them in serried ranks of glory upon glory. They are where the
almighty throne is located, where God is, and where the Lamb shows himself in all his
sublime kindliness and power. They are where the pure worship of God ascends forever in
the presence of the eternal Deity, and the Amens to every strain of adoration come in from
principalities and powers. They are in
heaven! True they have no crowns, no thrones, no dominions. They stand while others sit,
and serve while others reign. True they come in after all the places of the First-born are
filled. But still they are in heaven. Bright, beautiful, lovely, untainted,
imperishable, heaven. And yet this
is only a lesser part of heaven. There are higher dignities, and sublimer joys. As
glorious crowns exceed palm-branches, as kings are above servants, and sitting in a
throne is greater than standing before one, and being a "pillar in the temple"
is beyond that of serving in it, even so is the heavenly estate of "him that
overcomes" greater than that of these palmbearers. It is
something to have one's name introduced to the favorable consideration of kings and great
men of this earth, and the higher the dignity of the one who presents, the sublimer is
the honor. The overcomers are to be confessed before the Father, and his holy angels, and
there is a blessedness in this promise beyond what we might on first hearing suppose. It means that
the very Son of God, to whom all authority in heaven and earth has been given, proposes to
present these overcomers to the eternal Father, as his acknowledged friends, for whom he
vouches and for whom he stands, as candidates for enthronement amid the princedoms and
sublime fellowships among the heavenly powers. -
Written about 1865, by J.
A. Seiss. Encouraging MessagesDear Brethren
in Christ: My last
letter of October 27, 1946 I suppose reached you. The post connection is getting better..
We hope, therefore, it will soon be possible to receive again the "Herald of Christ's
Kingdom," to which we are looking forward with pleasure. A few days
ago we received a glad surprise. It was a package sent by the Institute. It arrived just
at the right time, because never was there so much need in our country as just now. This
winter most people in our city have neither potatoes nor fuel. Many people are hungry and
cold. The schools, and business places are closed, as there is no fuel, and we do not know
how long it will last. So we received the package as sent through the "raven" of
Elijah. We have no relatives after the flesh in America, so much morel we rejoice over
this gift, and we share it with other needy friends. They
all send you their, heartfelt thanks. May our Lord reward you for your love and
care. Grace and peace be unto you through our Lord Jesus Christ. Dear brethren
in Christ, it is wonderful to know that we are all members of one Body and that we are
united through the spirit of God with the Head of the true Church. The spirit itself
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. (Rom. 8:16.) If we
always stay in harmony with God's Plan and do not try
to go our own way, then God's help and grace will always be with us. We have received many
proofs of his grace in the past years. Our house is exposed on a hill of our city. All
around us, other houses were demolished or damaged; our house stood intact. Once Satan
arranged it that on top of our house a defense post was raised. All our neighbors were
alarmed; but God protected us marvelously. Often we heard people say, On this house there
rests a special blessing; and it was so. Over my desk hangs again the picture of our dear
Brother Russell. For a time we had to hide it. Also the Studies in the Scriptures, the
"Herald" and other Bible helps we had to hide. But they were preserved for us
and today we are able to help others. At the end of
1944 I received the command to help in military training. I refused and was taken by the
N. S. D. A. P. Then I went through a sad time. Later I came in American and French prison
camps. I am not permitted to write about my experiences, but everywhere I proclaimed the
message of the Kingdom of God, and I brought blessings to the desperate and homeless
people. For one year I have been home among my dear ones, and I can say the Lord led us
wonderfully through all the trouble. Our faith has increased. The good
years that helped to build our faith passed quickly, then came war with the power of evil,
and we still wait for the manifestation of the sons of God, and the triumph of faith. By
the signs of the times we recognize that the Kingdom of God will soon be made manifest.
There are three things that come to our attention: the signs among the Jews; the signs
among the nations; and the signs among the Church, both true and false. Much could be said oil the subject, but not in this letter.
The love of Christ surpasses all knowledge. Love was with our Lord the guiding point of all his work, so we also can serve
one another in love. (Gal. 5:13.) Only then can our hope be a living hope, and we can say
with the Apostle Paul: Eye hath not seen, ear bath not heard, what God hath prepared for
those that love Him. We thank the
Lord for he is good. May the peace of God rule in your hearts and keep you to the end.
With greetings and best wishes, Your, brother
in Christ, F.
P. -- Germany. Dear
Brethren: We have
received safely a little while ago your valuable package of food. The contents has us very
rejoiced. Many thanks for your work of charity and your trouble. May God reward you. The
nourishing food helps to regain my health, because I have fallen ill of abscesses in the
jaw since the middle of January, and afterwards I had a face and head erysipelas. It is
very painful and disagreeable. The whole face and head are covered with salve. Now I hope
that the critical phase is passed. I will write you fully as soon as the Lord, gives me back
my health. You must excuse this short letter. Since New
Years Day it is very cold in Germany. It is the fifth wave of coldness in this hard
winter. The displaced persons suffer' most of all. It is impossible to describe. Our ardent
desire is for that blessed condition coming when the King of truth and peace will take his
power and reign. Then all will see the futility of human efforts to bring in this reign of
peace. This letter is written and translated in English by my
son Charles, named after Brother Russell. You will excuse the poor English as my son has
only his knowledge from the school. We greet you
with 1 Thess. 1:2-4, Col. 3:4, and 1 John 2:2i8. Your brother
in Him, J.
O. -- Germany |
