August 11-17, 1990 Der Sauerland Stern Hotel Willingen, Germany

SZARKOWICZ Eugeniusz—An Invitation 105 TOMIAK Casimir—Jesus, Walking on the Water 109 WEEKS Elmer—Choices 114 WOZNIAK Daniel—Lord, It Is Good for Us to be Here 118 WOZNIAK Jean—Healed by the Lord 122

MY DEAR BROTHERS and sisters in the Lord and loving friends of the truth: Warm loving greetings to you all in the name of our Lord and Master Jesus. I bring you the greetings and love of my wife, Sister Modupe, and also of our children. I also bring you love and greetings from your brethren in Nigeria and especially from my home ecclesia in Ibadan, Oyo State, in Nigeria.

It thrills our heart to express our profound thanks and gratitude to Jehovah, our Heavenly Father, through the merit of our Lord’s precious sacrifice, for His unbounding love and care of His saints in the flesh, and for the privilege to participate and share in the 1990 International Convention of Bible Students.

My subject is taken from the 1Pe 1:7,

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

The Purpose of Trials

A Doctor G. Hallock wrote on page 3351 of the Reprints:

So God, by his testing providences, makes the place of rest one of unrest to us, and thus lures us out to trust ourselves to his care and guidance over untried ways. And so he brings us to a stronger, maturer, more useful life. The stormy waves cause the anchor to take a stronger grip. There are advantages in disadvantages. Disappointments have proven God’s best appointments.

The experience of a true Christian is one of continued trials and testings of faith. But only a Christian fully understands the purpose of testings and trials. He can endure them because he understands and is convinced that all things work together for good, to them who love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.—Ro 8:28

Those who are acceptable to God as children are those who have previously exercised a manifestation of faith in the Lord and consecrated themselves to Him. This faith and consecration are qualities highly esteemed by the Lord and will be specially rewarded by Him.

The gospel invitation to turn from sin and follow the Redeemer’s counsel and example does a work of testing. It gathers from the world those with the character likeness of Jesus for a future, special service designed by the Lord. This invitation is only for the willing ones of mankind. There is no compulsion with this invitation. One’s own will governs the whole matter.

This discourse is, therefore, for the Christian who has intelligently answered the Gospel invitation and counted the cost of discipleship, who has put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him who created him.

Those who serve God to escape a future punishment and gain heaven, or those who answered the call from purely selfish motives, do not experience the peculiar trials referred to in the scriptures. Consequently they will not be partakers in the promised glory. These are nominal Christians who do not fully understand the use of trials and testings of faith. They therefore can not endure them.

In 2Co 1:5,6 the Apostle Paul writes:

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ; and whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.

This, then, points to the truth that the afflictions of the Gospel can not be endured without the consolations of the Gospel, our invitation to be partakers of the sufferings of Christ.

In Ro 8:18 the Apostle Paul writes, I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. He calls attention to the Church as prospective joint-heirs with Christ who, if faithful in suffering with him in this present time, shall ultimately share his glory in his kingdom.

While we fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ (Col 1:24), we are to lay down our lives for the brethren (1Jo 3:16) to serve them. Whatever we may do for any member of the body of Christ, whatever we may do for any consecrated believer, the Lord tells us he will esteem it as though it were done to him.

This does not necessarily mean laying down our physical strength, health, and life in PHYSICAL service and ministry to the brethren, though in many instances this is very profitable. But the injunction to lay down our lives for the brethren would more particularly signify the laying down of our physical health, strength, knowledge, talents, and means in the service of the SPIRITUAL interests of the Lord’s people.

The Apostle Paul contrasted the Christian experience by saying, We are perplexed, but not in despair. (2Corinthians 4:8,9) The anxiety or uncertainty of the Lord’s people should never be allowed to reach a state of despair because the Lord tells us that I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. (He 13:5) This is a gracious promise from the Master. It should give us a sure and steadfast hope.

We are persecuted, but not forsaken. When persecution and opposition come to us, however, we should ask, Are these experiences coming to me because of my loyalty to the Lord, or is there something in my disposition that causes them? If it is because of our loyalty to the cause of the Lord and his righteousness, we should rejoice. But if, on the other hand, there is something in our disposition that causes them, we should diligently endeavor to rectify it.

We are cast down, but not destroyed. The feeling of loneliness and depression is natural at times to all mankind under the adverse conditions prevailing in the world. We are, therefore, to be of good courage and cheer. If the Lord permits us to have trouble, we are to exercise fortitude. We are to patiently endure and not allow the experience to destroy our faith, our happiness, nor our loyalty to him to whom we have vowed our allegiance. We must come boldly to him, looking to the Lord for his assisting grace to help in every time of need. We should claim his precious promises and rise above the difficulty, pressing forward to the mark.

The Apostle Paul continues by saying that these things are designed to work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. We can

rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulations worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit [of God] which is given unto us.—Ro 5:2-5

In the process of these experiences, the Christian comes to a better understanding of how all things work together for the good to them who love God, when they are rightly exercised by the trials and testings of their faith. He can also see the import of the Apostle Peter’s exhortation to the Church in 1Pe 4:12,13 where he says,

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you: but rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy.

To suffer as a Christian is to suffer for fidelity to Christ, to his word (the Bible), and to his people. Thus persecution may come upon us because of our loyalty to the teaching of God’s word, it may come to us because of our activities in the service of the truth, or it may come to us because of our opposition to long-established and much honored errors.

In 1Pe 4:14-19 the Apostle Peter continues by saying,

If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. By no means let any of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a troublesome meddler; but if any one suffers as a Christian, let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let him glorify God. ... Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

Trials from the Brethren

The most difficult trials to bear are those from the brethren. Such trials are not from the Church alone. These trials constitute a fire that burns, that does a purifying work among us. We should rejoice knowing that these experiences are developing characters that are pleasing to God.

It is a reasonable question to ask, Why does God permit strong delusions and trials of faith in this evil day when these delusions and trials may actually cause the overthrow of the faith of many? In 2Th 2:10-12 the Apostle Paul answers this question. He says,

Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be condemned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Thus we are plainly told that God not only permits, He also desires that the faith of His professed people should be severely tried. If thousands fall by these trials and testings, it is because they are not worthy. They did not receive the truth in the love of it. Those who thus lightly esteem the truth and merely minister to their selfishness, are unworthy of it. It is the will of God that all such should lose their share in the kingdom.

A true Christian experience is not an exaltation of feeling, or a feeling of great joy and spiritual upliftment that finds its expression only when inspired by some ardent song, prayer, or exhortation of Christian fellowship. Any child of God who is dependant upon such means of grace for his vitality is but an infant in Christian experience.

The experience of a Christian is the putting off of the old man with his deeds and putting on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him. It means to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, and to be rooted and grounded in his love. It means a building up of a character structure by adding to faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

The way to such an experience is the way of sacrifice. Present your bodies a living sacrifice. This is what our Lord and Master Jesus did when he said, I come not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me. (Joh 7:28) We can not count ourselves worthy of this high calling in Christ Jesus if we do not ignore the will of our flesh with all its ambitions, hopes, and aims however proper they may be in and of themselves. We must devote all our energy, our time, and our talents—be they many or few—to the doing of the Master’s work. This consecration is even unto death when, after finishing our course, our reward is sure.

We are not to be conformed or patterned after this world with its ideas, hopes, and aims. We are to be transformed, remolded, changed by the renewing of our mind as we take the mind of Christ by making every effort to think as he thought and do as he did (or would do) in each circumstance of life. That is how we prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. It is only by coming into such an attitude of mind that we can fully know the will of God.

By exercising faith and demonstrating our loyalty we, as new creatures, will be able to please God and work out the proper character as His word instructs us by developing the fruits and graces of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Peter concludes by saying,

If you do these things, you shall never fall. [Why?] For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly in the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. (2Pe 1:10,11)

The Lord chooses those who have developed characters containing strong and enduring qualities such as fortitude, patience, long-suffering, etc. These are the ones who walk close to the Lord and will not be driven away from him by any of the wiles of the Adversary. These follow the Lord in the narrow way of trials, disciplines, and testings during the present life. By and by, as the Lord has declared, They shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. (Re 3:4) But if, on the other hand, we escape all trials, testings, and difficulties, we should doubt our relationship with the Lord. We should doubt if we really are sons. As the apostle puts it, Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.—He 12:6

Thus if the Lord’s people find themselves in temptations and tribulations, they should not feel downcast. They should rejoice and say, These are evidences that the Lord is preparing a place for me in the Kingdom. This should be the rejoicing of our hearts. This should give us more courage to fight the good fight against the world, the flesh, and the Adversary. It is only the flesh that suffers. The new mind, the new will, has great joy. The new creature can rejoice, knowing that these trials and testings are not for harm, but for good. (See 1Pe 4:13.)

We are called to be joint-heirs with the Lord. We responded to this invitation. If we are obedient to the Lord and his word, and if we are properly exercised by the experiences which we receive in the school of Christ, we shall gain his gracious approval. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it. (1Th 5:24) On the other hand, if we fail to cultivate the proper character structure, we will fail to gain the kingdom because we have failed to keep the covenant relationship we entered into with the Lord at our consecration.

The fall of any who break this covenant will be far worse than the fall of Father Adam whose fall resulted from having only a limited knowledge and inexperience in the result of evil. But the Church has come to a clear knowledge of the truth and has experienced a share in redemption. The falling away of such a willful sinner would mean a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation (He 10:27), the fear of being destroyed as enemies of God. Adam had only a small knowledge of the grace of God. He is therefore going to be redeemed and ultimately restored to perfect life if he comes into harmony with God.

Think of all the worthies of the past

who through [the testings and trials of faith] subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens were tortured had cruel mockings and scourgings were stoned were slain with the sword, wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented, [not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection]. And these all, having obtained a good report through [trials of] faith, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing for us, that they [the worthies of the past] without us [the Church class] should not be made perfect.—He 11:33-40

We of the Church class are not called upon to endure greater trials than the worthies of the past. As the Apostle Paul puts it in 1Co 10:13,

There hath no temptation [or trial] taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will, with the temptation, also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

The Importance of Armour

We are now in a special time—the time of harvest—when we may expect strong delusions not only upon nominal Christendom, but upon those who have been specially favored with the light of the present truth now shining. We are assured that a great hour of trial is coming upon the whole world, and it must begin with the Church, with the house of God beginning with those who profess to be saints. The Lord admonishes us that we should put on the whole armour of God that we may be able to stand the delusions and snares of the wicked one in this evil day. (Eph 6:11)

To put on the whole armour of God is to put on the armour of light. When we analyze the armour, we find it is not merely an armour of knowledge, but is largely an armour of faith. This armour contains love as one of its chief elements, and surely every part is tied together with love. The term the wicked one applies to Satan the devil, the one who is the Adversary, the opponent of righteousness and Jehovah. Whoever has failed to discern that there is a devil is all the more liable to come under the influence of this great, malevolent being who is portrayed in the scriptures as the greatest foe of God, men, and righteousness. Satan works in the hearts of the children of disobedience. The Adversary presents himself as an angel of light, not as a messenger of darkness. He knows that error and sin would repel the children of light.

The Lord’s people are to resist the devil by not allowing his seductive arguments to carry any weight with them. We have the sure word of prophecy and the instructions of our Lord and his apostles. If we love the word of the Lord, we shall seek to be guided by it. As the Apostle John says in 1Jo 5:18, He that is begotten of God keepeth himself and that wicked one toucheth him not.

Christians, and especially those who claim the light of present truth, should remember the words of the Apostle Paul in 2Ti 3:4,5 concerning the difficulties of this present time at the end of the age. Paul says perilous times shall come; people will become lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such [Christians] should turn away. We should turn away in the sense of not following in the same course of error and falsehood. The invitation is to come out of her my people, to get out from under the influence of falsehood.

Those Christians who have heard the call to come out of Babylon, from denominationalism and sectarianism, and who have become one with the Lord are invited by the Apostle Paul to a dedicated service. He writes,

I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and a holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.—Ro 12:1,2 (Revised Version)

Conclusion

Dear brethren, may we of the wheat class prove in our Christian trials that we are true Christians, genuine Christians, begotten of the word of God’s promises, and living in full accord with it as we seek to bring forth good fruit. Let us not be imitation Christians, members of the tare class, begotten not of truth nor of the word of the kingdom, indeed being utterly ignorant of it since we might have been begotten of excitement, of fear of hell, of the hope for worldly advantage by membership in a nominal church, or begotten of pride or a desire to be among good people who have social and financial ambitions.

We need to understand why it pleases our Heavenly Father to severely test the faith of His people. Jesus our Head and Master was a perfect example for us so we might walk in his footsteps. The Heavenly Father did not spare His son, but he was tested in all points to prove his worthiness of kingdom glory. So the same trials of faith will occur to the footstep followers of Jesus to test their worthiness as co-heirs with him. May we remember that our testing is not to see whether we are perfect according to the flesh. On the contrary, God knows our frame, He remembers that we are but dust. What God seeks in us is the development and perfection of faith.

Let us take heed to the ministry which we have received in the Lord, that we fulfil it. (Col 4:17) Let us daily present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice, having compassion one to another, loving one another as brethren, being pitiful, courteous, not rendering evil for evil or railing for railing. Contrariwise, we should bless and give blessing, knowing that we are thereunto called [to bless], that we should inherit a blessing. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that you suffer for well doing than for evil doing.

Dear brethren and friends, let us take heed to our ways, let us cultivate the fruits of the spirit, that at the end of our Christian course, we may indeed be presented faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.—Jude 24,25

And may the Lord add His blessing.

WE HAVE TAKEN OUR title and meditation from Ga 3:14 which reads, That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT through faith.

The word of God tells us that if we are Christ’s then we are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. (Ga 3:29) But it is only as the Apostle Paul opens up to us the scriptures that we begin to realize the immense implications behind the original promise. Much more than a mighty deliverance is brought to our attention. The promised Seed is to be more than just the one who will bruise the Serpent’s head. He is to be even more than the head of a heavenly family, blessing all nations. The Seed is to be all this, but far more than this: it is to be a divine family, a new creation brought forth only by divine power without the intervention of human hands. It is entirely the product of faith and the divine will.

We need hardly say that the head of this new creation is our Lord. What we must constantly remember is that we must be conformed to him in all things for, as the Apostle Paul also reminds us in 1Co 15:49, As we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

But how does this change take place? How do we become heirs and joint-heirs with our Lord? Paul’s words in Ga 3:27 point the way: For as many as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ. [verse 29] And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

But what does it mean to be baptized into Christ? Paul again tells us, in Ro 6:3. All we who were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death. And for what reason? That we may walk in a new way. For he continues,

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

But again we ask, What does this mean in the practical outworking of our Christian life? In what way does this make us heirs? The words of our Lord to the Pharisees in Joh 8:39 answers these questions: If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. This answer points them to their complete lack of faith, but points us to Abraham as the father of the faithful. It draws our attention directly to the record of his life in the book of Genesis, just as Paul has also done in Galatians. Let us therefore turn to Ge 11:31 where the record of Abram’s walk of faith begins.

Abram’s Walk of Faith

We are all aware that we, like Abraham, have been called to leave our old associations with this present world and seek that city whose builder and maker is God. (He 11:10) As we follow the life of the patriarch, we will not only note those parallels confirming our calling, but others showing us to the level of our attainment, and others pointing toward the full attainment of faith in Christ. For if being Christ’s means we are Abraham’s, surely we must be doing the works of Abraham.

Even as we commence to think along these lines, we see the connection between the call to leave this old world and baptism, for this baptism is into Christ’s death. This old order of things is the flesh in all its manifestations. The only way to deal with it and to live in the spirit, as did our Lord, the antitypical Isaac, is for us to trust the Lord to remove the flesh by his cross.

As we follow the journey of Abraham through the promised land, we will see the flesh in many of its ways. We will see how God’s dealings with Abraham removed its influence from his life until he was totally and completely at rest in God, trusting Him for all things.

Yet God understands our frame—and Abram’s. Patiently He waited for Abram to learn the lesson. After a long journey they come to Haran. Instead of going on to Canaan, they stopped. Why? The word of God does not tell us. It simply says they came to Haran and dwelt there. (Ge 11:31)

What were they doing in Haran when the object of their journey was just over the horizon? We cannot say for sure, but verse 32 tells us that Terah, Abram’s father, was 205 years old. Perhaps the long journey had been too much for him, or he may have been in declining health and had to stop. Abram might have had to care for him. What we know is that Abram made no further progress until, Terah died. It was only then that God spoke to Abram. Ge 12:1 reads, Get thee from thy father’s house. Taking his father had only delayed him.

Likewise when we begin our walk with Christ, we cannot help but bring much of the old Adam with us. It is quite natural. This earthen vessel is all that we have. Its instincts, good and bad, are an indivisible part of its being. The faults we would gladly leave behind if we could, and the heavenly Father makes full allowance for this. But what needs His special attention are those better characteristics, those abilities which, as we lay them down on the altar of sacrifice, we feel will be useful to us in our service to the Lord. We do not actually realize immediately that to lay them down means to let go of them.

So God waits as He did with Abram. Nothing could be done until Terah died. No further progress could be made. Not until we begin to let go of our lives and let God begin to use our abilities by His spirit can it be said that the new life has started. Then God can say, Get thee ... unto a land that I will show thee.—Ge 12:1

So Abram went as the Lord had spoken (verse 4) to the plain of Moreh. Here the Lord appeared to him and there he built an altar. Up to this time the Lord had only spoken to Abram, but now he appears to him. For the first time we have an altar mentioned. This should also have been our experience. Perhaps we can remember the time that as we began to let go of the things of this world, our vision of the spiritual realities and the face of the Lord became clearer to us, that we were entering more deeply into the spirit of consecration.

And Lot went with him. Such a seemingly casual remark here in verse 4 implies that the natural mind is not eliminated that easily. As we follow the travels of the patriarch, we will begin to see how deeply ingrained is the old nature and how subtile its effects.

Verse 10: There was a famine in the land and Abram [travelling south] went down into Egypt. We can sympathize with and understand his actions, for the famine was grievous. The Lord had told Abram to go to a land that I will show thee, and that land was not Egypt.

It is very easy to say in retrospect that a famine is nothing to God, that all Abram had to do was look to the Lord and his promise just given. But the test was very real and it needed faith. We ourselves know that stressful situations demand attention. It is far from easy to look to the Lord for His guidance rather than to make a hasty decision. Or whilst quite properly planning for a secure future, to leave the Lord out of the arrangements, only later to see that the Lord’s way was best, that we compromised our best spiritual interests.

So it was for Abram. After the decision to go down to Egypt for help, even before he had entered the land, he had to compromise the truth. Ge 12:11-13, It came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife . . . say I pray thee that thou art my sister. This was the truth, yes, but only half the truth. It was a deception. Yet God was patient with Abram knowing the earthen vessel He was working with. So He sent a plague on Pharaoh until Abram was obliged to leave Egypt.

Happy are we if, as the Apostle Paul admonishes us, we judge ourselves that we should not be judged. (1Corinthians 11:31,32) However if not, God seems yet to be faithful to judge us for we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world. Happy still if, having made some compromise, we find under the influence of the spirit that we cannot live a half truth and, with Abram, return to the house of God and to consecrated ground.

Ge 13:1-4, Abram went up . . . to Bethel unto the place where his tent had been in the beginning .. . unto the place of the altar, and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. He was back in communion with his creator after learning a valuable lesson. How wonderful it is that the Father can bring out important spiritual blessings for us from even our worst mistakes.

Verse 5: And Lot also . . . went with him. Abram had still not realized the importance of that first word from the Lord, Get thee from thy father’s house and from thy kindred. God now, with that infinite patience and loving grace does what Abram had not been able to do: He removes Lot from Abram.

Separation Occurs

The next incident demonstrates the wonderful working of the spirit to overrule that which opposes us to the objective God intended. Verse 7: And there was a strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle. Truly the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. (Ga 5:17) But now Abram was prepared to deal with the situation. He knew now that compromise was fatal. More than this, he now understood the importance of resting in God, in the condition to which He had brought him. It mattered not to Abram how much or how little land was under his control. He rested in the promise. God’s word on the matter was sufficient. So Lot could choose. If Lot went to the left, Abram would go to the right.

Without constraint they parted, as we read in vs. 9: Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself from me.

Separation!

This was the very thing that God had purposed from the beginning. Under the almost invisible working of the divine hand, everything was happening so naturally. Yet as soon as Abram had learned to respond to the Lord’s leading, he finds himself doing the Lord’s will exactly, without effort of any kind.

Separation is the very thing we seek. After the separation from Lot, the word of the Lord comes even more fully confirming the promise (see verses 14-18). What spiritual import there is in the words,

Lift up thine eyes, look from the place where you are, north, south, east, west, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. . . Arise, walk through the land in the length and in the breadth of it.

We too are at Bethel, the true house of God. We should also lift up our eyes to these heavenly things and walk through the heavenly Canaan that we may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ.—Eph 3:18,19

Thus Abram moved his tent and came to dwell in the plain of Mamre. (Ge 13:18) The name Mamre in the Hebrew means strength or vigour. It was here also that Abram again raised an altar to the Lord. Likewise the increasing awareness that the spirit brings to us of the love of Christ can only increase the spirit of our consecration to him.

Is our faith growing more firm and vigourous? Are we walking in our inheritance as the apostle admonished us in Co 2:6,7: As ye have therefore received Christ, so walk ye in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith. Every step should mark a new stage in our consecration just as every altar that Abram raised to the Lord marked his progress in the land.

When we have reached this stage we should be ready to enter into a victorious life in Christ, having put on the whole armour of God. (Eph 6:10-17) Thus also we find with the patriarch in Ge 14:1-16. Lot, now embroiled in the politics of Sodom, is taken captive in a war with the kings of that area. Abram is obliged to help him.

Although we may know what it is to be separated from natural thinking, we are by no means free from it. Otherwise, as the apostle said, then must ye needs go out of the world. (1Co 5:10) Satan cannot touch the new man that is being developed in us. He can only attack us through the flesh. But armed with the whole armour of God, wielding the shield of faith, we can quench all his fiery darts, overcoming the powers of darkness.

Therefore we see Abram with a mere handful of men subduing five kings. Returning from victory he is met by two people: the king of Sodom and the king of Salem. The contrast between them could not be more striking and in the different way in which Abram responds to them. Both offer gifts to Abram, one a blessing with bread and wine, the other all the spoils of the city. To the one, Melchizedek, he receives the blessing and gift and deferentially offers a tithe of all the spoil. To the other, he turns away without a second thought saying, I will not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet and will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say I have made Abram rich. Nothing could better demonstrate Abram’s complete rest in the Lord for everything and his complete disregard for anything the flesh might offer.

So too with the believer who has finally come to realize the foolishness of trusting the flesh for anything in his service to the Lord. Only by letting Him use our abilities do we truly recognize Him as Lord. It is not in the old nature to produce the new man.

Abram, not lacking confidence in his God and having been assured of the land, still has difficulty in seeing how God can make it possible. The only one who seems likely to inherit is Eliezer, his steward. The Lord replies: Behold the word of the Lord came to him, saying, this shall not be thine heir, but one that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. (Ge 15:4) Then, taking him out under the starry heavens, God promises that his descendants will be just as numerous.

But Abram asks for a sign. Likewise with us, even when we have exceeding great and precious promises (2Peter 1:4) we still need to be brought to understand the meaning of Eph 1:20 that he is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think. Even when we believe, we discover that there is still a further level of faith to be reached. Abram believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. (Ge 15:6) Still he requested some further confirmation.

How glad we are that we have such a patient heavenly Father who will bear with us also. God responded to Abram’s request just as he does to every earnest plea sent up, not in unbelief, but with the desire that our faith may be strengthened. He prepares to make a covenant with Abram which will yet again seal the promise.

The Making of a Covenant

With us also when, after coming to rest in our justified condition, we are drawn to consecration, our trust increases and our spirit of consecration deepens. As our consecration increases, we appreciate our need for total submission. Our only concern is how to achieve it. And here our heavenly Father leads us forward demonstrating yet again our need of Him. He arranges our covenant just as He did for Abram. (See Ge 15:9-21)

When a covenant between two parties was made in that day, an animal was sacrificed and divided into two portions. Then the two would walk up and down between the sacrifice and thus seal the agreement. God directs Abram to lay out the pieces. After he did so, Abram waits. God seems to delay. The day draws on, but still the Lord does not appear. Now the vultures see the carcasses and descend. Abram dares not let them even touch the sacrifice or it will be defiled. All day he walks up and down between the offering to keep the birds away. When night comes, he falls into a fitful sleep. He wakes to see a lamp of fire moving up and down between the offerings.

The Lord was making the covenant to guarantee the promise. But Abram was not walking with Him. Neither we nor Abram can keep a covenant perfectly, and God cannot accept less. The law covenant demonstrates this. Since God is clearly the only party in the Abrahamic covenant, it is sure. God had permitted Abram to prepare the offering, and it was all he could do to keep it from the birds. But this demonstrated his sincerity and intention, and this was all the Lord needed.

We also must bring our offering to the Lord, presenting our bodies a living sacrifice. (Ro 12:1) We must endeavor to keep it before Him, working out our own salvation with fear and trembling, realizing that it is God who works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. (Php 2:12,13) God will keep His side of the covenant if we walk in sincerity of purpose before Him. We will make mistakes and will not always fully understand His will for us, but our heavenly Father can use our shortcomings to teach us what it is to walk after the spirit and not after the flesh.

The next incident in Abram’s life illustrates this. God again seems to delay. The important matter of the seed grows more pressing to Abram and Sarai. So they use their own judgment and a son is born to Abram by Hagar, Sarai’s handmaiden. The unhappy consequences of this soon become apparent. So it is whenever human wisdom is used to further the Lord’s work. Some arrangement is devised other than that which the Lord has in mind. Before we know it, we are placed in a position where we must wait for the Lord’s favour to return.

At last Abram clearly sees that God must provide the seed and that Sarai’s age and his own waning vigour are not important. Now he waits. God once more reiterates the promise. More than this, He gives Abram a new name, and a sign: Circumcision. All of this occurred before the promised seed had come. Circumcision was a sign of that righteousness by faith (Ro 4:11), but also a figure for us of that complete separation from the flesh which allows us to walk in the spirit. The Apostle Paul clearly shows in Col 2:10-12,

Ye are complete in him [Christ] which is the head of all principality and power, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Buried with him in baptism wherein ye are also risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

This is a circumcision without hands, owing nothing to our own efforts (and therefore miraculous), being the circumcision of Christ. Now the seed of promise will come, the new man, born not of the flesh by our own efforts, but of God. With the sign and the new name comes a closer walk with his creator. God takes him into His confidence; he is no longer a servant but a friend. God appears once more to him (Ge 18:1). Then comes the revealing of the Lord’s mind. Verse 17: Shall I hide from Abraham the thing that I do?

The Lord had revealed that he was about to overthrow Sodom. Abraham intercedes not just once, but a number of times. He is heard in that Lot is saved (Ge 19:26). From the beginning of the Gospel Age the intercession of one for another is an evidence of spiritual maturity. As we read in Ga 6:1, If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such a one in meekness.

Abraham’s Tests Continue

One last step now remains before the child of promise is brought forth. A root of bitterness, long thought dead, must be dealt with. Once again all the events seem to occur in a natural manner and they reveal the hidden fault. All Abraham has to do is recognize his mistake.

Abraham journeys south once again, this time into the kingdom of Abimelech. Just as with Pharaoh, Sarah is introduced as his sister. Although Abraham had undoubtedly learned from his last experience, he had not realized the need to completely eradicate this dangerous half truth from his thinking. It had lain all these years as an error from the old life, springing up now to bring forth its fruit of contention and strife. Once again we see the patience, love, and wisdom of the divine creator towards those who are sincerely endeavoring to walk with their God. He makes a means of correction and grace, a means for the new man to advance spiritually.

Originally Pharaoh had become aware of Abraham’s deceit by the force of circumstances. Now the hand of God is seen more distinctly. First He holds Abimelech back from his intended act. Then God discloses in a dream what He had done and that he had been saved from death. (Ge 20:3-6) Then comes the surprising instructions from God to Abimelech respecting Abraham. Verse 7: Now restore this man his wife, for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee and thou shalt live.

What can we say of such grace and favour? Abraham had certainly wronged Abimelech and he was rightly admonished by him. Yet God clearly upholds Abraham before him. It seems that as the Lord’s people walk before Him sincerely endeavoring to be led by His spirit, the very mistakes they make bring to light their secret faults. Under His hand their experiences have a remedial effect which bring them to judgment. Once this is dealt with, they may stand before Him.

Paul prays in Php 3:9 to be found in him not having mine own righteousness . . . through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Or, as he says elsewhere,

Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Eph 5:25-27)

So too, Abraham realized that God was bringing to light his shortcomings in faith which, when seen, can be remedied, that after correction he could stand before his creator, being upheld by him, that he might intercede and bless.

Now at last the Lord visits Sarah according to His word (Ge 21:1). The child of promise is born, weaned, and comes of age. It must have seemed to Abraham that the Lord had achieved his aim. But the greatest lesson of all was yet before him.

When it came, the word of the Lord must have been a thunderbolt out of a clear sky. Ge 22:2, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest .. . and offer him for a burnt offering. Abraham offers not one word of denial. Without delay, early in the morning . . . and with Isaac his son . . . he went unto the place of which God had told him. (Ge 22:3) There was no shadow of turning. His faith was complete. God had promised that in Isaac shall thy seed be called. (Genesis 21:12) The Lord had spoken. His word could not be broken.

At the beginning of his call Abraham believed that God’s word was true. This was belief in God. At the end of his journey he knew that God’s word could not fail. This was faith in his God. God’s word was greater than any earthly event. Even the death of the seed itself could not disannul it. If God had asked for Isaac as a burnt offering, it could only mean that He intended to raise him up again. Such a thing had not been known before, but Abraham’s faith was being perfected. It was reaching forward from the known to beyond the knowledge of this world into the face of his God whom he trusted.

We can and must, if we are to be like Abraham and be led beyond ourselves, come as Paul declares, to know the love of Christ that passeth knowledge. As our opening text states: that the blessing of Abraham might come upon us through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith.

THE CHRISTIAN ENJOYS many privileges that the world knows nothing about. One of the greatest of these is personal access to the presence of God through prayer. All can pray, but not all can approach His presence.

At the conclusion of each day’s activities when we reflect upon its many experiences, we realize how the Lord’s loving care intervened through His providences and are impressed with the eye that never sleeps. This is the privilege of prayer which the Apostle Paul in He 4:16 tells us about: Let us therefore come BOLDLY [or with assurance and confidence] unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Many things have been spoken and written about prayer, but one outstanding fact is clear: prayer is the vital breath of our Christian life. It is just as needful to our spiritual existence as the air we breathe for the life of our physical bodies.

Prayer is an important subject, an important aspect of our life. It is so important that no one will ever reach the Kingdom of Heaven without prayer.

Prayer is universally practiced. We are not the only ones who pray. The Jew, the Christian, the saint, and the sinner all pray. But the scriptures show that prayer is a privilege, even a unique privilege, for the true child of God.

There are various objectives for prayer which depend largely upon one’s understanding of what it is. A proper understanding is necessary for our prayers to be effectual. Jas 5:16 reads, The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man [meaning a good or just one] availeth much.

Some take a severe position as to who can pray. But we believe it must please the Heavenly Father to see His creation give thanks for the blessings of life and for them to recognize Him as the giver of all good things. The Psalmist states (in Psalm 65:2) O Thou that hearest my prayer. He may not always answer, but the assurance is that He does hear. God has two dwellings—one in heaven and the other in a meek and a thankful heart.

Jesus wanted the prayers of his followers to be effectual, to be meaningful and a means of strength. He wants us to enjoy a relationship he enjoyed with the Father. He sees us with a perfect heart—a perfect purpose and intention—striving to overcome weaknesses and disabilities of our imperfect flesh. In John chapter 17 the burden of his heart is manifested in his prayer on our behalf. Verse 3 reads,

And this is life eternal that they might KNOW thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent.

To know the Heavenly Father is the Christian’s life-long pleasurable experience. Jesus wanted us to know that the Father is always there for us. He wanted us to be assured of the Father’s loving care and His many providences on our behalf.

There are various motives or expressions for prayer:

1. To many, it is a way of extreme supplication.

2. To others, a wish of the heart.

3. To some, vain repetitions.

4. To many, a must when sickness or troubles are experienced.

Whether directly or indirectly, knowingly or in ignorance, the unfortunate reality is that the underlying objective and motive for prayer is often selfishness.

What is prayer?

What does the word of God teach concerning prayer? Some say their prayers regularly without ever enjoying the communion prayer offers. These prayers are empty, void of the spirit, spoken as an obligation. Prayer is not a formalized outline of words. It is not a selfish demand for material advantage. It has been said that prayer is the heart’s sincere desire, uttered or unexpressed. There is much truth and thought in this definition. The scriptures state that God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (He 4:12)

In Mt 6:1-8 Jesus says:

Take care not to do your good deeds in public, to attract the attention of people. If you do, you will get no reward from your Father in heaven. Whenever you do your deeds of charity, never blow your own horn in public, as the hypocrites are in the habit of doing in the synagogues and on the street corners, to be praised by the people. I say to you, they already have their reward. But whenever you, a follower of mine, do a deed of charity, never let your own left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your deed of charity may be secret, and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you. Also, whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to attract the attention of the people. I say to you, they already have their reward. But whenever you, a follower of mine, pray, you must go to your most private place, shut the door and pray to your Father in secret and your Father who sees what is secret will reward you. And whenever you pray, you must not keep on repeating set phrases, as the heathen do, for they suppose that they will be heard in accordance with the length of their prayers. So then you must not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. (Williams translation)

In the next few verses Jesus gives the outline for what today we call The Lord’s Prayer. In this scriptural account it will be noted that the Master when giving a lesson on proper and improper almsgiving, extends the subject and explains proper and improper prayers.

Prayer is the privilege of having access to the presence of God and having communion or fellowship with Him! This privilege can be contrasted with that of Cornelius of whom it is written: A devout man who reverenced God and prayed always. (Ac 10:2) Verse 4 states: Thy prayers are come before God as a memorial. At this time Cornelius did not have the privilege of fellowship and communion with God.

Prayer is a great honor, a most precious privilege. To be a person of prayer is not a sign of weakness. The world’s truly great have usually been men and women of prayer; but above any of them stands Jesus who continually sought his Father’s audience in prayer.

Jesus taught and practiced the privilege of prayer. If he, in his perfection, needed spiritual fellowship and communion with the Father, how much more do we need it in our imperfection. We need to be, as Paul suggests in Ro 12:12, Instant in Prayer. We are to pray always. This is done by lifting up our hearts and minds to God at any time or place and realize that the Father continually abides with us. It’s a great feeling to know that our active duties have been performed under his eye and supervision, plus unburdening ourselves alone with God.

Our prayers must express confident faith, loving esteem, reverence, childlike dependence, and acknowledgement of sins and shortcomings. Prayer is closely and actively identified with progress in spiritual things, progress in the fruits of the spirit toward God, toward the brethren, and toward all men.

Prayer is a door to a force so powerful that it can overcome the laws of nature. It performs miracles! The Word of God is filled with accounts of its power, from the widow’s cruse of oil (1Ki 17:14) to the raising of Lazarus from the dead (Joh 11:43). But the greatest miracles of prayer have not been spectacular ones. They have been the daily supply of the sustaining power of grace and help when we need it and which keeps us from falling.

Another phase of the power of prayer is its ability to alter our lives for good. It is a life-time process. The Apostle Paul in 2Co 3:18 writes: We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (Revised Version)

In 1Co 6:11 we have another example where the Apostle Paul simply shows how this change comes about: And such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of God.

We need to pray for the Holy Spirit. Jesus assures us in Lu 11:13 that such a request is appropriate: If ye know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.

Prayer is the privilege which helps accomplish this transformation. At times we do not make full use of it. We must feel our need in order to appreciate our fellowship and communion with God. Life’s trials and difficulties, sorrows and temptations, often impel us to pray, but this should not be the only time we should pray fervently. It shows a crystalized and mature Christian development when we come to the throne of grace with joy and thanksgiving—to give praise.

In helping his followers and his Church down through this Gospel Age in how to pray, Jesus states in Mt 6:8, Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of. He wanted us to realize that our petitions and requests should be primarily for holiness of heart, for a filling of his spirit, for spiritual food that would refresh and strengthen us.

The power of prayer works in many ways.

1. It makes us strong when we are weak.

2. It makes us bold when we are fearful.

3. It gives us words of wisdom when needed.

4. It gives us strength to face and endure experiences.

5. It puts words in our mouth when we are speechless.

6. It selects a direction at a fork in the road—turn left or right.

7. It gives unshakeable assurance of peace with God and trust in His providential overruling.

8. It gives enlightenment and understanding of His Word.

How can our prayers be most effective?

At times we may pray often and accomplish nothing. The Word of God gives reasons for this. Jas 4:3 puts it this way: Ye ask and receive not because you ask amiss that ye may consume it on your pleasure.

Jesus states in Mt 6:31-34,

Therefore take no thought saying what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.) For your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all of these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

A prayer that is never answered is a selfish prayer. Such a prayer is not based on faith. Jas 1:5-7 states:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.

If your prayer is faithless, it will also be fruitless. We must have faith in God, and our faith must embrace the two great stipulations of He 11:6,

1. Faith: Without faith it is impossible to please God.

2. Believe: He that cometh to God must believe that He is and diligently seek Him.

The Apostle Paul suggests in Ro 8:26 that at times we know not what we should pray for as we ought. But in Col 4:2 he states, Continue [persist, persevere] in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving.

Every trial of faith and patience is an occasion for prayer.

Every failure to gain a victory is an occasion for prayer.

Every victory of self is an occasion for prayer.

Every service for the Word of God becomes an occasion for prayer.

The positive side of our prayers is highlighted by many scriptures. Some are: Ask and ye shall receive that your joy may be full. (Joh 16:24) The Psalmist says, In thy presence is fullness of joy and at thy right hand there are pleasures forever more. (Psalm 16:11)

Brethren, prayer is the most powerful tool we have of companionship with our Heavenly Father. Within this companionship:

We have adoration and worship.

We have someone who cares about what happens to us.

We have complete assurance that our confessions of commission and omission are heard.

We have inner-peace that our weaknesses are understood and our failings forgiven.

Prayer is our very existence. God is only a prayer away. What a privilege is ours—intercession with our Heavenly Father. Even though we are all on the same communication line, our individual calls will never be ignored because the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person availeth much.

God will take time to listen if we take time to pray!

WE WOULD LIKE TO contemplate the scripture in 2Timothy 3:16,17 where it says:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

The Holy Scriptures have been rightly called the Word of God. It is a wonderful work from any standpoint. It is known and recognized as the oldest literary writing of the world and also the most widely distributed book in the whole earth. Like no other literature it has been translated into the languages of some 200-300 lands. Its number of editions goes high into the millions, to which more keep being added.

None can doubt that the Bible is a unique work from this standpoint, and therefore will rightly be called a best seller. That the Truth has not been lost in the thousands of years and through the many translations and editions, is noteworthy and wonderful. No translator, ancient or modern, could manage, knowingly or unknowingly, to do defective work; for the linguists of all times have zealously watched over it and have immediately come on the scene, whenever any distortions of the sense of the original text have been encountered. Whether this vigilance was called forth by a spirit of professional ambition or through faith in the Bible, it was still there; either way it makes no difference in the outcome.

However, all that would still not be sufficient proof that God himself is the author of the Holy Scriptures, as our opening text claims. Despite the great age of the Bible, generally the world and its people have no appreciation for it and disregard its dust-covered texts. Since the nominal Christian union neither knows nor practices Bible study, nor is such carried on or desired by theologians, their devalued arguments remain primitive, worthless, and naive.

High social circles lay down against it a critical, however arrogant, measuring stick. They particularly like to treat biblical accounts as on an equal footing with poetry of the gods and heroic sagas from mythology. The knowledge of ancient literature is valued in the aristocratic world as a measuring stick of higher learning.

However, these teachings are of little help in understanding the gospel. Their author is not God, but Satan, who as prince of this world blinds the understanding of the unbelieving world so that the light of the gospel may not shine upon them. Satan has succeeded worldwide, in placing mythological brick-a-brack and biblical treasures on an even plane.

But especially in modern times prominent scholars have decided to come out openly and question the biblical message. The divine basis of the curse upon mankind through Adam is rejected or doubted. Old Testament accounts of Noah and the flood, of Abraham, Israel, and the prophets up to the time of Christ are ignored or considered fables.

There are prominent natural scientists who have held fast to, and specialized in, evolution theories. This teaching is in their opinion the only explanation for the development of man and of living nature. This viewpoint is also accepted by famous Nobel peace prize-holders and many intellectuals. The arguments of such high personalities naturally achieve greater weight in the public eye. Therefore they have easy prey in their listeners and circle of readers of their publications, when they, in arrogance, ignore or belittle biblical accounts of miracles.

Even in theological circles compromise is made with science, in that it is explained that the Bible is not to be taken literally, but can only be interpreted by their authorized writers. But this doesn’t make the teaching of evolution a reality; it is an inference that stands on weak footing. Even an evolutionist must believe what he seeks to prove hypothetically.

How much easier it is, on the other hand, to understand that the wonderful laws of nature, with which we are surrounded and which we bear within ourselves, are created by an all-wise Lawgiver! The eternal God has built the beautiful atoms and installed them as universal building stones for the material world. The Heavens declare the glory of God, rejoices the Psalmist David; and Paul states in Ro 1:20 that God is seen in the things made.

But the more understanding is increased in the end-time, the less faith becomes. One is reminded by this of the words in Lu 18:8 where the Lord asks: When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? The answer has already come to us. The Lord has come and faith is noticeably on the decline. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God, we read in Psalm 14:1. These blind fools can be encountered in Mt 22:29 with the words of our Master who says: Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

The Bible Records Facts

Yet we leave the unbelief of the world and of science and turn directly to the Bible. Indeed it is in book-form before us and has also been written by men; but it is distinguished generally from human literature. Many a person has already begun with honest intentions to read the Bible from beginning to end, but then has given up that good intention at the listings of the genealogy; these passages result more in fatigue than in encouraging one to continue reading. They are not quick, light-reading material.

The accurate recordings of the genealogy take a fundamental place, however, in the Holy Scriptures. They are an uninterrupted register of the names and ages of men from Adam up to the time where recorded world history is reliable. That time is around 536 BC when the Persian king Cyrus lifted the Babylonian captivity of Israel. This age is documented in world history and stated biblically in 2Ch 36:22,23. Here the thread of Bible chronology is also dropped. With this the Bible is dependable and the only record in the world which, with the help of the chronology, offers a continuous chain of human history.

Although the Holy Scriptures are also not a book of sociability, nevertheless it is rich in accounts which are entertaining and exciting to read. Many of the descriptions declare a joyful outcome; others by contrast, a dramatic and bitter conclusion. We think of the account of Joseph and his eleven brothers who sold him into Egypt, sent his dress-coat stained with lamb’s blood to their father Jacob, and brought heavy sorrow of heart to Jacob. To be sure, they had evil intentions; but God overruled everything, so that through it a great people had its life preserved, as reported in Ge 50:20. The recognition that this event is a type of Christ is very valuable. Jesus’ people, the Jews, truly had evil intentions, when they brought their Messiah to death. But God so overruled it, that through the ransom blood of Jesus, all mankind would be redeemed.

We think of the Jewish maiden Esther, who was chosen as queen by the Medo-Persian king Ahasuerus, and through whom the underhanded murder of all Jews in the captivity of that time was prevented. Through the stirring account was pictured before our eyes how God knows all the intrigue of the wicked ones from afar and is able to save His people today just as then.

Let’s think of Daniel who, even as a young man came along in the captivity and in the times of the reigns of several Babylonian kings, remained faithful to his God of Israel. Through it he fell into the underhanded legal machinations of his enviers and spies, through which even King Darius was deceived. Daniel was to have been removed through a gruesome death. When Darius saw the devilish ruse, he was very sad and thought about how he could rescue Daniel. But the bogus law through trickery blocked the rescue; so Daniel had to be thrown into the lions’ den.

The king went back to his palace sorrowful. He could not sleep. In the morning, as soon as it became day, he went hastily to the lions’ den. When he came to the den, he called in a mournful voice:

Daniel! .. . is thy God Whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? [And Daniel answered the king:] My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

We all know the further outcome of the event. Instead of Daniel, his spies and informers together with their families suffered the death in the lions’ den which they had intended for the innocent Daniel.

Let us think of the many prophets who, as spokesmen for the God of Israel, likewise warned not to deviate from God’s ways. And when Israel deviated, they announced the judgment due. Their experiences were far from enviable. They were abused and many of them were put into prison and delivered up to a violent death—death by their own people Israel!

Let’s think about the good prophet Jeremiah, who was let down with ropes into the dungeon of a prison-courtyard where he sank into the mud. Jeremiah would have perished miserably there. It was only because of the foreign Ethiopian eunuch at the court of King Zedekiah that the prophet was freed out of the dreadful situation.

There are a great number of excellent accounts for us, as the Apostle Paul says in He 11:32, Time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets.

The Lord embraces the entire episode of the prophets with the words in Mt 23:29-33,

Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites! because you build the sepulchres of the prophets, and ornament the monuments of the just, and say, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been participators with them in the murder of the prophets. Thus you testify against yourselves, that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. You also will fill up the measure of your fathers. Serpents, Progeny of vipers! how can you escape the judgment of Gehenna? (Diaglott)

We are dealing here with factual accounts from the Old and New Testaments. They have nothing to do with fairy tales and legends as the super-educated in the world claim; and there they also find hearers. The Apostle says in 2Pe 1:21, For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

When we investigate which men they were whom God chose to be His spokesmen and writers, we come to a singular conclusion: They were men from many generations and from periods of time that were more than a thousand years apart from each other. They came from various regions and had different upbringings and professions.

In one quality, however, there remains absolute uniformity. They were aware of their imperfections and looked reverently and humbly to God, whose majesty they knew and recognized, they being full of faith. God let them find Him because they sought Him with their hearts. Those were the holy men, with whom God dealt in a spiritual relationship and used them as His spokesmen and scribes.

Moses, who is called the meekest man, stood at the beginning of the national history of Israel and took a special position in it. The scripture testifies of him in Nu 12:6-8,

If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold.

Moses, educated in the wisdom of the Egyptians, wrote in his five books all the time periods from Adam through Noah, Abraham, and Israel, up until the giving of the Law on Sinai. From his birth in Egypt on and from his wonderful deliverance from out of the waters of the Nile, until his death on Mount Pisgah and the seclusion of his grave, we see unmistakably God’s hand upon Moses. And God dealt with Israel only through Moses, as the Mediator of the Law Covenant. Countless times we find in the Holy Scriptures the words: And the LORD spake unto Moses.

We read an outstanding word in De 18:15, through which Moses speaks to Israel: The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken. If Moses here as prophet announces a change from the Law Covenant to the New Covenant under the antitypical Mediator Christ, then he could not do that through human understanding, but only through inspiration of the Spirit of God. Through this prophecy he unknowingly strikes a bridge from the Old to the New Testament. When Peter in Ac 3:22 picked up the prophecy of Moses and prophesied concerning the Millennium, he could only do it in the power of the Holy Spirit which was given at Pentecost. Earlier the sense of the prophecy was hidden.

The prerequisite of the gifts of the Spirit, however, was only possible through the satisfaction of divine justice through means of a ransom price for Adam. Hence the sacrificial offering of God’s own beloved son which pictured the crown of the love and mercy of the eternal God. Jesus’ faithful devotion to His beloved Father’s will unfurled into the greatest heroic deed of the universe and to the foundation of an eternal salvation. Not until through the gifts of the Holy Spirit resulting from it, were the promises of the Old Testament open and understandable.

The Divine promise to Abraham written down by Moses—that through his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed—Paul could now see clearly. He was blessed as a chosen vessel, in the power of the Spirit to unlock the prophecy. He recognized that Jesus Christ with his followers is the spiritual seed of Abraham, through which the earthly seed with all the families of the earth will be blessed in due time.

Through the harmony of Old Testament sayings, which found their fulfillment in New Testament times, is the proof that prophecy came not by the will of man.

God Authored the Bible

In closing our contemplation now a few more witnesses from the Old and New Testaments should be cited, which mutually complete it literally. These witnesses can be helpful to the confirmation that God himself is the author of the Bible, as it is written.

The Lord shortly after his resurrection suddenly stood among his disciples who, for fear of the Pharisees, had shut themselves in a room. They were very much frightened. On this occasion he said to them:

These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me .. . it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.

David, who was known to have worked a thousand years before Christ, writes in Psalm 41:9, Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. The prophet Zechariah, who lived some 500 years later than David, tells in chapter 11:12 of the thirty pieces of silver for which Judas betrayed the Lord.

In Psalm 22:16,18 we read:

For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. .. . They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

Whence had the prophets the knowledge of the tragic events in the yet distant future? To this the worldly wise can give no meaningful answer. We do not need to read the literal fulfillment of this prophecy in the gospel of John as our Lord was on the cross; it is written deeply in the hearts of us all.

The last minutes of the difficult life of sacrifice of the Redeemer are foretold in Psalm 69:21, They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. In Psalm 34:20 the prophet predicts that no bone of him would be broken. Even in the Passover lamb in Egypt the clear picture of Jesus can be seen; the prophecy held good, that no bone of him could be broken.

The prophets Moses, David, Isaiah and Zechariah lived in times 500 to 1000 years apart. None could have known about the other, yet their accounts were in full accord. The recorded incidents were covered with desirable accuracy, so that the fundamental prophecies of the Old Testament have found their literal fulfillment at the beginning of the Gospel Age. It was the foundation of the Church through the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ who is her Head.

Not until this time could the training of the members of the body of Christ as the mystery of God have its beginning and continue on down to today. Through the gathering of God’s covenant-people in Palestine, which has occurred before our eyes, we are reliably informed about being in the late stage of the end-time. It is Jacob’s trouble, out of which God will save the faithful in due time.

As surely as the most important prophecies have already been fulfilled, the promises still open will also be fulfilled. We can joyfully look forward to the speedy blessing of all the families of the earth, as sworn to faithful Abraham. Then the glory of God will fill the entire world.

And when he was departed from thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the Son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand.—2Ki 10:15

AS WE STAND HERE we ask ourselves: What miracle makes it possible that since eight years ago, so many people from so many places have turned their heart and—for the more fortunate ones, their steps—from various places in Europe to experience the moments which remain a sweet melody for ever, moments which warm both souls and hearts when a day begins to trouble?

What do we feel when we look at our meetings with others, seeing them after many years of not seeing them? What would someone feel who watched only one fragment of our stay here, the unspeakable joy when shaking hands with each other, the love in our eyes, the shouts and tears of joy, that again after two or perhaps eight years the Lord has let us come here, to meet again to rest at his feet together?

If we greet each other in this manner today, if our hearts are so filled with joy today, are we able to imagine the joy we will experience when we meet TH ER E, our destination when the Lord will meet us? What shouts of joy will be heard then and how many earnest, happy tears will be shed from our eyes!

If Willingen is now for the second time a wonderful shelter and rest from our everyday life, then—and I come back to the question—what makes it possible for us to be here? We are separated by world borders, by the sound of our languages, by the differences of our cultures, by the color of our skin, and thousands of other problems. And yet, we are here together, at Jesus’ feet, with everyone greatly desiring to worship God and His Son so that our song of love might be loud.

The differences cannot be seen, for when so much unites, can so little divide? We are united by love, the love of God and of those whom He has chosen. What is this love, from where does its power come, that makes miracles happen? The Apostle Paul in his poem about true love in 1Corinthians 13 told us about this wonderful feature of a human’s and God’s character. It has lasted for ages and, like God Himself, never ends.

Tolerance

An integral part of love is tolerance. And tolerance, one of love’s aspects, will be the subject of our study. What is tolerance? Is it only the name of an attitude respecting the views of others?

Someone said that our vision depends on the floor from which we see. Let us, therefore, imagine a multi-story building. What can we see of the whole city from the highest floor? We can see the contours of other buildings, places of green, and the moving objects of people or cars. It all depends on how high we are, how good is our sight and perception, and perhaps how long we fix our eyes on some detail that attracts our attention.

What can we see if we stand on a lower level? We can see things more clearly, but certainly we see less. Yet again we can say that we see as much as we can and want to see, though the characteristics of perception and good vision continue to be critical.

So if God has gathered us from so many places throughout the world, and if the reason for our gathering is the same Love, the same Truth, then let each be themselves and unique in their love to God. Let us all strive that this feeling be more strong and perfect.

In this respect, the attitude of strong-willed Jehu, the king of Israel, is really worth the attention and emulation by every true Christian. What strikes us in Jehu’s question—Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart—is that he makes no attempt to examine the views of Jehonadab, though it is certain some of them were very uncommon and affected his important work of planting his views into his children and their children.

Long after Jehonadab’s death, Jeremiah the prophet speaks with respect about Jehonadab’s strict discipline of life:

Then I took Jaazaniah .. . and all his sons .. . and I set before the house of the Rehabites pots full of wine and cups , and I said unto them, Drink ye wine. But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents. .. . Thus we have obeyed the voice of .. . our father in all that he hath charged us.—Jer 35:3-8

Jehu, who was so quick to anger, who relentlessly destroyed his political opponents and worshippers of Baal, let the pilgrim Jonadab keep his own views without imposing anything else on him. As he took his chariot he said to Jehonadab, Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord. (2Ki 10:16)

On the other hand Jehonadab also did not question Jehu’s way to worship God, although there probably were differences between them in this regard.

Jehu was more interested in his country’s politics than in its religion. Though he destroyed his enemies and killed the worshippers of Baal, he did not commit Jeroboam’s sin by worshipping golden calves. (2Ki 10:29)

Let us consider the actual sense of Jehu’s question, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? What does each follower of Christ mean when asking this question to any of his brethren? Before Jonadab answers that it is, before we stretch out our hand toward him, what thoughts and feelings fill our hearts? I think what fills our hearts is the conviction of God’s greatness and wisdom, of His love to us His children. It is also faith that He helps all those who love Him.

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.—Ro 10:9,10

Is Christ in your heart? He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us .. . nailing it to the cross. (Col 2:14)

Do you through him fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life? (1Ti 6:12) Is your faith full of energy, love, and life?

Do you love God with all thy soul, with all thy heart and with all thy mind? (Lu 10:27) Do you only seek happiness in Him? Do you find what you seek?

Are God and His Son, Jesus Christ—those whom you worship in spirit and in truth—the basis of your hopes and goals of your consecration?

If we answer these and similar questions just like Jehonadab with an It is so, then how simple and natural are the next words spoken by Jehu: Give me thine hand.

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. In these words of Col 3:17 the Apostle Paul reminds us about our new life.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing.—Joh 15:5

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.—Eph 5:19

Jesus said, however, that if our love is only for those who love us, we cannot expect any reward. Do not even the publicans the same? (Mt 5:46)

Let us show our willingness to understand others, not only our friends and those who are dear to us, but also those whom we don’t know and those who hate us. Let us do this as much as possible.

If we are of this heart attitude—or even if we only want to be of this heart attitude—then perhaps some day we will hear our enemies and foes say these wonderful words to us: Give me thine hand, be my friend and brother.

Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.—1Co 13:4-7

As we fulfil Jesus’ command about love and friendship toward our neighbors, do we realize how much we treasure love and friendship? In this large company here, the spirit of tolerance and understanding should have equal fruitage with the spirit of love. For could we say thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself without tolerance in our hearts? Let’s take Jesus’ command in Mt 5:44,45:

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Remember what Jesus told his disciples when they boasted that they rebuked a stranger who did not walk with them but who performed miracles and taught in Christ’s name: Forbid him not .. . for he that is not against us is on our part. (Mr 9:39,40)

How tolerant was Jesus, saying that if only someone is not against them, he is with them. None of us would venture such a statement. Should we not conclude that we, as human beings, are so very often severe in our judgments against the brethren as we try to be more just than Jesus himself? Or perhaps we think we can read somebody else’s heart. We should be especially tolerant toward those like us, the brethren. We should especially love those who love God.

David and Moses

In Ps 16:2,3 David says: My goodness extendeth .. . to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. David set a very good example for us to follow. He was a noble man who did not take advantage of his strength or circumstance; he despised scheming and was a faithful friend unto the end.

Notice that on Saul’s death, when it might appear that David should have felt relieved, perhaps even joy that the danger to his life was over, his heart was truly saddened. He even writes an epitaph to commemorate Saul and Jonathan, and he tells all the descendants of Judah to memorize it so the good memories of both of them should not perish from the nation.

Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!—2Sa 1:24-27

Let’s consider Moses whom God chose to fulfill the greatest mission in the history of Israel in Old Testament days. Remember the short event which took place when Moses, tired of the constant murmuring and complaining of the people, entreated God for help. God answered Moses’ request by dividing the burden among 70 elders of the people. He tells them to gather around the tabernacle and then gives them the spirit taken from Moses. Two of the elders [Eldad and Medad] did not obey Moses’ command and stayed in the camp. Yet they, too, received the spirit and prophesied. When Joshua, Moses’ faithful servant, informed his master of the matter, he said:

My lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!—Nu 11:28,29

What a precious answer! What a wonderful attitude of that man, of whom it was rightly written that he was very meek, above all the men who were upon the face of the earth! May we not compare the answer of Moses to that of Jehu given to Jehonadab? If your heart is as sincere as mine, give me your hand!

If people have one purpose in life, to serve God with all their might and to the best of their ability, should they not try to achieve a broader and deeper view of their problems like Jehu, David, or Moses?

To be tolerant and to understand another man does not mean to give up one’s own understanding of truth. A truly tolerant man who loves God will not have any doubts about the principles of faith which he has adopted and to which he devotes his life.

Those who don’t have any convictions of their own also call themselves tolerant. But I don’t refer to that kind of tolerance, which is, after all, simply covering up one’s ignorance or the instability of one’s character. What I mean is that small differences in matters which are not the most important should not split brethren, should not weaken our anthem of love for God and His Son.

Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but seeking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.—Eph 4:13-15

Our hymns sung in this multilingual chorus to glorify God are so beautiful. I am sure God hears the words of these prayers, that He rejoices in them, and that He answers them today, and will continue to answer them in the future!

In this wonderful place where we are building ourselves up with heart-felt love, God Himself will fit particular stones so that the structure will be strong and the surface of the walls will be smooth. He will square and polish His diamonds. Let us not do anything; we are imperfect and ignorant of the depth of our hearts and feelings. What we do so easily is only hurt or wound each other.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.—Joh 13:35

Is thine heart right as my heart is toward yours? If it is, give me your hand.

Amen.

THE SUBJECT OF OUR study is taken from 1Th 4:3 where the apostle says: For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.

By our consecration we devoted ourselves to do the will of God. It is now our duty to consider what is pleasing to the Almighty and not be fashioned any longer to this world. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind that we may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Ro 12:2) It was a pleasure and a joy for our Lord to do his Father’s will and it was his reason for living. (Psalm 40:8) It must be the same for us.

We find that the will of God concerning us is expressed in one word: Sanctification. This is the will of God, even [our] sanctification. The better we understand the meaning of the word sanctification, the better we will know the plan, the intentions, and the will of God concerning us.

The word sanctification in our text is translated from the Greek word hagiasmos. Hagiasmos according to Young’s Analytical Concordance means separation, putting aside. In Strong’s Concordance the word is defined as purification, purity, holiness, sanctification. Unger, in his dictionary of the Bible, approves of Young’s definition. He says that hagiasmos does indeed mean separation, a setting apart. He also states that the corresponding Hebrew word qadash reveals an identical thought. Moreover, he harmonizes this with Strong’s definition which says: The dominant idea of sanctification is separation from the secular and sinful, and setting apart for a sacred purpose.

Separation from sin corresponds to the idea of purity and holiness. We must remember that the setting of ourselves apart is done according to God’s special purpose. The calling of the Church, the Little Flock, from the world is accomplished with the intention that it is to be associated with Christ, that it first share in his sufferings and sacrificial death, then in his honor and glory.

God also purposes that the Little Flock take part in the blessed work of the future regeneration of the human race. Afterward, in the Ages of Glory, it will participate in all the work God has foreseen for the Lord in the greatness of his creation. That is the purpose of the actual sanctification of the members of Christ’s body.

Sanctification vs. Consecration

Let’s see how sanctification operates. But first let us determine the difference between the words sanctification and consecration (for we may sometimes confuse the two words, using one for the other).

Consecration is a precise act accomplished at a specific moment. It is a person’s commitment to serve God with no restrictions. It is a total submission of our will and all we possess to God’s service. We consecrated ourselves when we decided to serve God without limits and said, Behold, I come to do thy will, O God. There is nothing more important than a complete consecration to God! And nothing is more wise and reasonable, as the apostle suggests in Ro 12:1.

Sanctification, on the other hand, is not accomplished in a single moment; it is a life-long process. It begins at consecration and continues with a constant struggle against sin and the enemies of the Christian: the world, the flesh, and the devil. It is a gradual work of transforming our characters into the likeness of our Lord’s. The task is difficult, but oh how noble! It involves continual self-denial plus a great deal of humbleness, meekness, patience, perseverance, sufferings, faith, and love. It will end when the Heavenly Father says, It is enough; go higher now!

The Old Testament shows us how sanctification is accomplished in God’s dealings with the Israelites. In Le 20:7 we read: Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. The Israelites had to sanctify themselves and be holy. On the other hand, verse 8 says: Ye shall keep my statutes and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you. From this verse we learn that it was God who sanctified His typical people. We also find this thought in Ex 31:13 where the Almighty declares, talking to the Jews through Moses:

Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.

These verses indicate that there are two parts in the sanctification process: one part performed by the people of God, and another part performed by God Himself. The Israelites had to sanctify themselves, they had to separate and stay apart for the Lord’s service, and they had to do His commandments and live a holy life. God sanctified them by first inviting them to separate from the other nations and then by keeping them well apart as His peculiar people. For this purpose God gave them, and them alone, His laws and commandments. In this way they were the only people on earth who had the privilege to know the only true and living God, and to worship, praise, and serve Him.

We note that the same process in the work of sanctification applies to those who are called during the Gospel Age. They are also invited to separate from the world that they may constitute the actual people of God—the Church, the Little Flock, the Body of Christ—and become new creatures with a heavenly destiny. Here is the invitation that is given to them:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.—Ro 12:1

My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. (Pr 23:26) Those who answer that call consecrate themselves to the Lord, separate themselves from the world, deny themselves, and begin following the footsteps of the Master. Their sanctification is just beginning. They sanctify themselves in the sense that they set themselves apart for God’s service.

This total consecration of themselves is necessary so that God may proceed with the work of sanctification in them. But let us specify at this stage, before God’s sanctification work may continue, something extremely important takes place: the merit of Christ’s sacrifice is imputed on our behalf. That merit purifies us from our sins. Our imperfect offering is, from that moment, considered as perfect, holy, living, pleasing to God and acceptable by Him. And, as the Bible teaches, God accepts it by begetting us by His spirit.

Without the imputation of that precious merit, our offering could not be accepted by God because it is imperfect, stained by sin and under Adam’s death penalty. This was the case with the apostles. When the Lord called them, they recognized him as the Messiah and followed him. They thus dedicated themselves entirely to his service.

They could not do better, nor do more. However, their consecration was the offering of an imperfect body, something God could not accept. For God to accept it, it was first necessary that Jesus die on the cross, that his blood be poured out, that his body be broken, and that he thus provide the precious merit needed for the salvation of the Church and the world. It was also necessary that he be resurrected as a spiritual being and that he ascend on high to appear in the presence of God for imputing his merit on behalf of the Church. This imputation made the offering of the bodies of the apostles and the first disciples acceptable to God. God showed His acceptance by pouring out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

This shows that it is our Lord’s sacrifice, the offering of his body, that makes it possible for God’s people in the Gospel Age to be sanctified by God, to be separated from the world. That is what the apostle Paul teaches when he writes in He 10:10, By the which will [meaning the will of God] we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

How true are the words of the Lord in Joh 15:5, Without me ye can do nothing. Our Lord is needed by us in all things. Thanks to the offering of his body, he provided an opportunity for us to receive the High Calling and become God’s children by a consecration, and God’s acceptance of that consecration. At the time it is accepted, the Lord adds another element through which he pursues our sanctification. This element is the Holy Spirit. As the Apostle Peter declares in 1Pe 1:2, the called ones are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit.

By the Holy Spirit, which works through the Word of Truth, we are begotten to a new nature—the spirit nature. We become new creatures in Christ. The Apostle Paul explains: If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.—2Co 5:17

As new creatures we are in Christ, and to be in Christ means to be a part of Christ’s body, the Church, the little flock. We no longer have a head of our own, no longer have our own will, but hold the Lord as our head. That means we don’t do our own will anymore, but do the will of God as manifested in Christ’s behavior, words, and deeds.

So as the Bible exhorts us, let us look

unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be weary and faint in your minds.—He 12:2,3

The Work of the Holy Spirit

As we follow his example we will grow into his likeness. And it is appropriate that we do so for God predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his son. (Ro 8:29) We will grow and develop and increase the measure of the spirit we received until we are filled with the Holy Spirit as was the Lord, the apostles, and other disciples like Stephen of whom it is said that he was a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.—Ac 6:5

We will be spiritually strengthened by this spirit, this power, growing and working in us. This spirit will help us face the difficulties of the narrow way. It will help us mortify our ego and overcome our flesh, the spirit of the world, and the Adversary. That spirit will be an encouraging and comforting element in our trials, difficulties, and sufferings. It is, after all, called the Comforter by our Lord who declared on one occasion that I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth.—Joh 14:16

The growing of the Holy Spirit in us will be manifested by the simultaneous development of the fruits of the spirit as mentioned in Ga 5:22. Those fruits are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

This Holy Spirit—spirit of power, love, and wisdom—will help us purge out the fear of man and develop a respectful fear of God as demonstrated by the apostles. When our Lord was arrested, all ran away. Peter, who a few hours before said he would never deny him even if he had to die with him, found himself alone among foreigners who were accusing him of having been with Jesus, the arrested Galilean. He was suddenly frightened and denied his Master three times. (Let us say in passing that each of us would probably have done the same if we were in his place.)

A few weeks later, when Peter received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, he enrolled with determination in the ministry of preaching the gospel. On all occasions, even when there was danger, he never lost his quietness, peace, trust, and faithfulness to God. Is it right in God’s eyes for us to obey you rather than God? This is what he declared with John to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders who wanted to prevent them from speaking of the Lord Jesus and from preaching the good tidings. (Ac 4:19)

The Holy Spirit, working like this, accomplishes its work of sanctification in each child of God. May we also develop strength and assurance in the service of God, and may we not forget that only those who are led by the spirit of God are the sons of God, as the Apostle Paul declares, adding that if someone has not the spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. We have not received a spirit of slavery that we may still entertain fears, but a spirit of adoption enabling us to cry, Abba, Father! We are not debtors to the flesh, to live after the flesh; for if we live after the flesh, we will die; but if by the spirit we mortify the deeds of the body, we will live.—Ro 8:9,12-15

The Holy Spirit also enables us to obtain the knowledge of the truth, of the deep things of God, as the apostle teaches in 1Co 2:7-12. We read:

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the spirit searched all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God.

The spirit coming from God enables us to understand the things that God has given to us. It leads us in the truth, in the whole truth, and, through that truth that God enabled us to understand, He sanctifies us, as the Master said: Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. (Joh 17:17) The truth that is in the Bible, the Word of God, lets us know the Plan of God regarding mankind (in general) and the Church (in particular). It enables us to understand the character of God, his justice, wisdom, power, and love. It explains the meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross at Golgotha. It reveals the special promises reserved for those who walk in the footsteps of Jesus and the wonderful future that is in store for all mankind.

It contains all the exhortations, counsels, encouragements, light, and knowledge that the disciples of the Master daily need to stay faithful to God.

It enlightens us through prophecies of the past, the present, and the future of mankind. In the troubled times that constitute our epoch, the understanding of present truth keeps us in a condition of peace and trust in this time of trouble in which we are living, while those around us are becoming more afraid of the future. It stimulates our faith, our praise, and our worship for God and encourages us to piety and purity. Through all this work it sanctifies us, it keeps us apart from the world and urges us on to holiness.

The Blood of the Covenant

There is another element at work in the process of our sanctification. It is the blood of the covenant. In He 10:29, the Apostle Paul speaks of the punishment that the unfaithful among God’s people deserve but, at the same time, he reveals an interesting point: each member of that people is sanctified by the blood of the covenant. Here is what he says:

Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye shall he be thought worthy, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing.

Which blood is this? It is, of course, the precious blood of our Lord. At the last supper Jesus spoke of the cup and said, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood [the blood of the covenant] shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Mt 26:27,28) From the way the Lord expressed himself by saying that his blood is the blood of the covenant, it appears that the covenant required blood and that without blood it would not be valid and viable. Which covenant required blood to be shed? It was the New Covenant. Let’s read the explanation given by the Apostle Paul in He 9:16-20.

For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Whereupon neither the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined upon you.

Blood was necessary for the inauguration of the Law Covenant made at Sinai. That blood was supplied by the offering of bullocks and of oxen (see Ex 24:5) and of goats. In the same way blood is necessary for the inauguration of the New Covenant which the apostle has in mind in his commentary and which he mentions in verse 15. This blood is from our Lord.

Let us remember that the sacrifice of the bullock on the Day of Atonement represented the offering of our Lord. At Sinai many oxen were used because much blood was required. But the sacrifice of all of them represented the offering of our Lord Jesus.

It is interesting that the apostle mentions that the blood of goats was also used. The offering of a goat on the Day of Atonement represents the offering of the Church, the Body of Christ. At Sinai many goats were sacrificed because much blood was necessary. But the sacrifice of all those goats represented the offering of the body of Christ, the Church.

Is the blood of the Church also necessary for the New Covenant to become effective? Yes, it is what is shown in the type, in the inauguration of the Law Covenant at Sinai where the blood of goats were also used in the sprinkling of the Book of the Law and the people.

How can this be? Simple. The blood of the Church is not its own. It is the blood of the Lord. And why is it the Lord’s blood? Because when the Lord came before his Father 40 days after his resurrection (He 9:24), he presented his offering for the benefit of the Church. His blood is thus reserved during the Gospel Age for exclusive use by the members of his body. Figuratively speaking, that blood passes through his body. It will only be available for others when it will have completely passed through his body, that is to say, when the last member of his body ends his race and passes beyond the veil, when the members of the Great Company will have used it to wash their robes in the great tribulation. (Re 7:14)

The blood of the Church is nothing other than the blood of Christ passing through it. It is his blood because, as the Church is the Body of Christ, the blood of the body belongs to the head, the Lord. As a result, the New Covenant will come into effect only when that blood is available again, that is to say, not before the Church is complete, beyond the veil, and the last member of the Great Company has passed through the great tribulation.

But what interests us in this study is knowing how that blood now sanctifies the members of the Church. To begin with, it sanctifies them simply because it was applied on their behalf, because of their faith, and their consecration, and that it has purified them from their past sins and redeemed them from their vain manner of life handed down from their fathers. (1Pe 1:18, 19) This makes a clear distinction between them and the sinful and unbelieving world.

It also sanctifies them because it allows them to be made white through repentance and the asking of forgiveness for all the transgressions they may commit during their pilgrim travel toward heavenly Canaan. It still sanctifies them through their communion with that blood as the apostle says in 1Co 10:16, The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?

We have communion with the blood of Christ. What does this communion and the shed blood of the Lord mean? First of all, it means his expiatory death for the sins of the world. But it also represents the sufferings he bore unjustly. The Lord referred to the most cruel of these sufferings in his prayer to the Heavenly Father in the garden of Gethsemane: My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.—Mt 26:39

This cup was the mockery and the ridicule that the Master had to endure later that same night and during the following day. He did not escape the slaps, whipping, beating, and such sarcasms as the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Depraved humanity reinforced by wicked spiritual powers gave free expression to its most base instincts, venting all its spleen and venom on the one who was holy, righteous, the Prince of Light, the Son of God, the Saviour and Redeemer. Hate—in all its brutality—rushed at Love, exemplified in the person of our Lord. And Love, without uttering a single word, overcame Hate. That is what the Master’s shed blood means.

And to have communion with this blood means to walk in the footsteps of the Lord in the way of sacrifice and self-denial. It is to make the offering of the perfect human life we could have had in the Millennium and to grasp the heavenly hope offered in the Gospel Age. It is to be baptized in the death of Christ that we may be resurrected with him, that we may live with him forever. It is to die with him that we may live with him. (Ro 6:3-5; 2Ti 2:11) It is to have a part in the sufferings of Christ, to face undeserved sufferings only because we try to be faithful to God. As they persecuted me, says the Lord, they will persecute you [because] a servant is not greater than his master.

Persecution will come to all who want to live a Godly life as Christians. (2Ti 3:12, New English) And the Apostle Peter even declares, For it is a fine thing if a man endure the pain of undeserved suffering because God is in his thoughts. (1Pe 2:19, New English)

The Apostle Paul concludes saying that we share his sufferings now so that we might share his glory later. (Ro 8:17) And thus, by our participation and communion in the blood of Christ, the work of sanctification or setting apart for God—for His present and future service—is being accomplished in us.

So we are sanctified by the blood of the covenant, but also, as we have seen, by the offering of the Body of Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, and by the Truth.

May this sanctification go forth in us to reach God’s desired objective: inheritance with Christ! And may the appreciation of this privilege intensify our worship and praise of the Almighty. May it also contribute toward increasing our zeal to develop in us humbleness, meekness, godliness, patience, longsuffering—in a word, love, a supreme love for God and for the Lord, love of the Truth and for all the brethren, for the world, and even for our enemies. Amen.

BELOVED BRETHREN IN THE LORD. It has been two years since the International Convention in DeBron which, in my opinion, still proves very much the meaning of the Apostle Paul’s words that in Christ there is no division into different nationalities. We all make up one great family of God.

Since I have the privilege of service at this meeting, I would like to first greet you with the words of our Lord: Peace be with you. I also want to deliver to the brethren gathered at this convention the love of all the brethren of this same precious faith from the Lord’s ecclesia in Lukowa.

The Gift of Speech

Speech is a gift given to mankind by the Creator. We are perfectly aware of how it is indispensable in our lives. Of all the inhabitants of our planet only man received a larynx, vocal chords, lips, and a tongue adapted to produce such a great scale of sounds which make up human speech.

Speech is an outward picture of our experience, needs, intentions, desires or, in other words, thoughts the abode of which is the brain. The brain is the center directing all manifestations of the living organism both physical and psychological. In the sphere of the latter, our feelings find a place as a product of thoughts, dreams, creativity, consciousness of being, etc. In the sphere of our thoughts arise the words that we speak.

We often say that a wise man possesses intellect or the capability to direct by words and actions. In the book of wisdom—the holy Bible—the words brain and intellect were replaced by the word heart.

In Proverbs (4:23) we read: Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. This means that we should turn our attention to the most hidden thoughts and impulses which arise in our heart. We must also control our speech which is a reflection of our heart. We see that our speech can be good or bad. Our words can be decent, pleasant, and grateful.

It may also be otherwise: words full of evil, hatred, filth, or blasphemy may also flow from our mouths. The Lord showed this dependency on the state of the heart in the words written in the Gospel of Luke (6:45) where we read:

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil; for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Daily as people live in society with other people we speak hundreds of thousands of words. We make ourselves understood both for pleasure and responsibility. Therefore our words should be simple, clear, and understandable for the receivers. Independent of this, they should contain accents of friendship and good-will. An example for us in this case is our dear Saviour, Jesus Christ.

In the Gospel of Luke (4:22) we read such gracious words about him: And all . . . wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. It’s necessary, however, to note that Jesus’ speech drew listeners and even carried them away to the point where after awhile, they forgot their cares and problems.

We also have this opportunity to console others with this consolation which we found in learning the Truth. We have the privilege to witness about the gospel from the time when this message became our joy. From the time we recognized God’s goodness and His glorious plan of salvation for all mankind and consecrated ourselves to God in service, we can be sons and daughters of joy in Zion.

Our speech should be well expressed, clean, free of strangeness and foreign deformations, no matter what kind of language we use. It’s pleasant to hear a man who speaks fluently and tells the truth. About such the Lord’s wise man writes in Proverbs (16:24) where we read: Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

We are the Lord’s consecrated people. The Lord called us from the darkness of this world to his miraculous light. This is why we have to daily shine as good examples just as wonderfully and clean as the various lights shining in the heavens. Our speech has to be pleasant not only for the people that listen from our immediate surroundings but also for the brethren. The receiver of our speech, our words, is after all the Creator, God, the Lord of heaven and earth. Our speech should make His heart rejoice, it should lift up His authority as Our Father, Creator of heaven and earth, and author of our salvation in Jesus Christ.

In our conversation with people with whom we introduce the truth of God’s word we often use as arguments the words of the holy Scriptures which are the best explanation for different doubts. By this we stress that this information which we possess is from reading this holy book and not as a result of our own human wisdom.

Returning to the words of our subject text, we recall the words written in Proverbs (25:11) where we read: A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Let’s note the formation: A word fitly spoken. Just how important this is we note in the comment of the faithful servant in the Manna for December 23:

We are to remember, when talking with those who have an ear to hear and are inquiring the way to the Lord, that there are great crises in the lives of men, momentous occasions, in which one word may be more valuable, more potent, than would be a hundred words or a thousand words at another time, under different circumstances; and we are to be instant in the Lord’s service, whether seasonable or unseasonable to ourselves, gladly ready to lay down our lives for the brethren. We are to distinguish, however, between out-of-season to ourselves and out-of-season to others; and to be willing to serve others at any time, however out-of-season to ourselves, if it be in season and opportune for them. We are not to intrude even the Gospel itself at inopportune times, however convenient the occasion may be to ourselves.

In analyzing the words of the Lord’s wise man, we note that a word fitly spoken is a word of prophecy at the time of its fulfillment, a word of encouragement in someone’s experience, a word of admonition if one oversteps the discipline of the new creation, a word of truth directed at an open heart, a word of consolation at a moment of sadness over the loss of those who are dear to us, etc.

We can also note how many time a word fitly spoken contributed to the easing of an irritable atmosphere, an intense sadness, etc. How much encouragement and gladness can be brought by such joyful, good, and sunny words into the sad, gray lives of those who are close to us—brothers and sisters, neighbors and acquaintances, friends and relatives.

A word fitly spoken can be a blessing in the class where we participate in studies and discourses. The knowledgeable elder can quickly prevent misunderstandings and discord and be the cause for the quick easing of tensions. But we must also remember that the result of this is dependent on the general attitude of the brethren in the class. The goal of building up the class is a matter for all the brethren. Let us remember that the elders can not continually put out the fires of tension. Let’s be careful that our words be not the cause of tension.

There is a saying: The one who sows the wind will reap a whirlwind. (Ho 8:7) So what we desire to submit to the brethren should be done at the proper time so it may edify all who have brotherly fellowship with us, who have consecrated their time to learn something from the word of God, then return to their daily work with fresh resolve and zeal to do God’s will.

Let us remember the words of the Apostle Paul from his letter to the Ephesians (4:25,29) which reads:

Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. . . . Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that we have become one flesh, and in this flesh we must care for each other. This is the condition of maintaining brotherly fellowship. However, we know that sometimes a word directed to a brother or sister may prove to be detrimental to them. This is why someone said that if you want to say something about someone, sift it through a triple sieve:

1. Is that which you speak beneficial for those about whom you speak?

2. Is it beneficial to you who are speaking?

3. Is it beneficial for those to whom you speak?

The words of the Apostle Peter are significant in 1Peter 3:15,16 where we read:

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready alway to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: having a good conscience, that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

The Apostle James also reminds us of the importance of the words of our topic. Let us quote the words written in James’ letter (3:1-10):

My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: but the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father: and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

The Lord’s wise man’s definition is characteristic: Death and life are in the power of the tongue. (Pr 18:21) The power and influence of the tongue surpasses the authority of all popular members together. Therefore the control of it and its application in the Lord’s service is the most important thing for God’s people as it relates to their mortal bodies and matters in which they try to serve God.

Sometimes it happens that a few pleasant words of help or sympathy have an influence on a man’s whole life, and even have been the cause for a nation’s change of fate. We recall that language had an influence on the continuing fate of man after the flood as we read in Ge 11:1-4,

The whole earth was of one language and of one speech. . . . As they journeyed from the east they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. And they said one to another, Let us make brick and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. And they said, Let us build us a . . . tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

But this was not in agreement with the divine arrangement in which they had to go out into the whole earth and fill it. As a result of unfaithfulness and a lack of trust in God’s promise that the earth would not be punished by a flood again, the Lord God mixed the languages of those people. And that condition has lasted unto today. Sometimes in life we meet people who speak in a different language. In our contact with such people (and even in contact with dear brethren at a convention such as this), we have difficulty because of the language barrier. I think, however, that we are very glad that in spite of language differences, the beautiful Gospel of Christ joins us together.

Thanks to the recognition of this wonderful news from the word of God and the appreciation of brotherly fellowship we have found ourselves at this place so that t