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[R5670: page 120]

“LIGHT AFFLICTIONS” HERE—”GLORY TO FOLLOW” [2 Cor. 4:17; 1 Pet. 1:11]

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our body.”—2 Corinthians 4:8-10.

THE Apostle Paul is here addressing the Church at Corinth, and in the larger sense addressing the entire Church of the Gospel Age. He is apparently describing to some extent the experiences of himself and those who were with him in his missionary labors. He traveled from place to place, but not as our pilgrim brethren now do; for sometimes he spent an entire year, sometimes more than a year, in one city. Nevertheless, he was a traveler, going about where other missionaries of the Lord had not gone, addressing the Jews and whoever else might give evidence of having a hearing ear. On these tours he took with him assistants. We are therefore to consider that his words here referred not only to the Apostles (for he was the only Apostle of the company), but also to the others with him; and that this Epistle, as are all the inspired writings, was designed by the Lord for the instruction and benefit of all the saints throughout the Christian Dispensation.

The Apostle’s assistants were general ministers of the Lord, as are all God’s children in proportion as they do a work of ministry. His words would seemingly be addressed, then, to all who are engaged in the Lord’s service. In this Epistle he points out that there are differences in the services rendered—”He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” [2 Cor. 9:6]—and also differences in the experiences of the various members of the Body of Christ. He says that some of them had been the objects of persecution and that others had shared in those persecutions by suffering with those so persecuted, indicating that the Lord recognizes and appreciates this association with those in distress, if there be such association.

This thought is brought out also in St. Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews. (Chapter 10:32-34.) If those not so actively engaged in the service are faithfully doing all that their hands find to do, the Lord is as appreciative of it as He is of those who because of greater ability or physical strength or opportunities are able to accomplish more—each doing to the extent of his opportunity the work of the Lord.

The Apostle said of himself and his companions, and of all those laboring faithfully in the service of the Master, “We are troubled on every side.” [2 Cor. 4:8] There are many troubles that are common to the whole human family—lack of employment, sickness, death, poverty, etc. There are multitudinous troubles which come to the world; and of course the Apostle and his companions were subject to these difficulties like other men. To many these trials of life bring distress. But while St. Paul and those with him had their ailments and difficulties, their persecutions and trials, they also had the knowledge of the Truth and the Lord’s sustaining grace; and they were enlisted in the army of the King of kings. They were not distressed by their troubles, but were trusting in the Lord’s precious promises that these should all work out for their good.

“AS HE WAS, SO ARE WE, IN THIS WORLD” [1 John 4:17]

And so we are not to allow the troubles of life to distress us as they distress other people. We have something that others do not have—the Lord’s assurance that everything in our lives shall be a bearer of blessing to us if we are faithful. This enables us to rejoice in tribulation, if we really believe this promise of our Father’s Word. There are other troubles that come to the Lord’s people, but do not come to the world. The world is more or less in opposition to those who are engaged in publicly preaching the Truth and to those who are associated with them. There is a battle on between right and wrong, light and darkness. The world, being attached to their darkness, feel an enmity toward the light, a hatred of it; and they are often disposed to give special trouble to those who are the Lord’s representatives in a particular capacity.

Occasionally we find worldly persons who are of good heart and kind intention and who are desirous of helping on a good work; but these are exceptions. Our strongest opposition, however, comes generally, as did that of the Master, from those who are our brethren, though many of them are only nominally so. Then we have the Adversary particularly against us. It is true that the whole world have the oppositions of the Adversary, but he is especially active against those engaged in the public service of the Lord. Satan seems to bring before these special temptations, and it is not surprising that they should be the particular objects of his rage and of his wiles. But those who are thus engaged in God’s service have special blessings at His hands, and extra fortifications. So while we may be sure that those in the public ministry have more troubles from the Adversary, they are also given more grace to cope with them.

OUR DEATH THE GATEWAY TO LIFE

“We are perplexed, but not in despair,” [2 Cor. 4:8] says St. Paul. The Apostle and his company were not the only ones who have been at a loss to know just what to do. The whole world has been perplexed, and are particularly so today. The general anxious uncertainty of our day results in a large measure, it would seem, from the nerve-racking experiences of the present time. If people knew the right thing to do in respect to their business, their homes and their affairs in general, they would not be so full of doubt and bewilderment. But no one is wise enough to get along without some perplexity; and present conditions in the world are causing much distress and also anxious foreboding for the near future. Those who are engaged in the work of the Lord have some perplexity. But the anxiety or uncertainty of the Lord’s people should never go to the length of despair. Those who are of the world, getting out of work and being in various difficulties, become very despondent. Frequently we hear of suicides. Things look very dark to people who take their own life.

It may yet be true of the Lord’s people that things will look very dark; but they are not in despair, and will not be in despair whatever may come; for the Lord has said that He will never leave us nor forsake us. This gracious promise should give us a hope sure and steadfast. Our anchor of hope should hold. Our position, therefore, is very different from that of the world, who have no particular hope. The world has no solid anchor, no precious promises to hold them fast. We know that if the worst comes to the worst, if we should even die of starvation, our hope lies beyond the Veil, beyond death. Therefore, God’s saints of today look upon death as the gateway by which to enter into fullness of life, into a realization of all our hopes and joys. If, therefore, there is despair, it would prove that our anchorage has been cut loose. Whoever would find that he is in despair would find that he is letting go his faith, and should immediately seek counsel from the Word of God and from others strong in faith, and should go to the Lord in frequent and earnest prayer, assured that if faith is restored despair will go.

“I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE” [Heb. 13:5]

“We are persecuted, but not forsaken.” [2 Cor. 4:9] There are persecutions of certain kinds that come to those in the world. Sometimes their neighbors have a grudge against them, and they thus are more or less persecuted. But they have no effective means of dealing with such a matter and nothing to comfort them. Sometimes they give as good as they get. But in the case of one of the Lord’s children it is very different. When we feel that justice calls for retaliation, then we should remember that it is not ours to retaliate, to return evil for evil. The Lord has told us that we should leave all matters relating to justice in His hands. “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.” [Rom. 12:19] He does say that we are to run away from persecutions; therefore, we are not to condemn those who run away as following a wrong course. We are told by the Master, “If they persecute you in one city, flee to another.” [Matt. 10:23] So if a child of God is persecuted in one neighborhood and he can get away to another neighborhood, it would be better to go.

But though persecuted for righteousness’ sake, the Lord’s people are not forsaken. The world and those possessing the world’s spirit may harass and buffet them, but the Lord does not forsake them. When persecutions come to us, however, we are to inquire, “Are these oppositions and persecutions coming to me on account of my loyalty to the Lord, or is it that there is something in my disposition which causes them?” If the latter is the case, we should diligently endeavor to rectify our fault. If, on the other hand, we find by careful scrutiny of ourselves and our conduct that we have been doing our best, our very best, and that the persecutions are coming to us on this account, then we are to rejoice in the persecution.

We are “cast down, but not destroyed.” [2 Cor. 4:9] This expression shows that while the Apostle and his companions did not suffer despair, did not feel forsaken, they sometimes felt a heaviness of spirit. This heaviness of spirit, or feeling of loneliness and depression, is natural at times to all mankind under the adverse conditions prevailing in the world. The weight of this casting down may be accentuated to some extent by the condition of the physical health. Those who are weak or in pain physically are apt to feel any mental pressure or trouble. This is all to be fought against in the Christian; for we know that our afflictions and disabilities are something outside and not of the Lord, except in the sense that He permits them for our development, for our future work in the Kingdom. We are therefore to be of good courage. If the Lord permits us to have trouble, we are to exercise fortitude, to patiently endure, and not to allow it to destroy our faith or our happiness or our loyalty of spirit to Him to whom we have vowed allegiance.

We are to put up with whatever our Father permits, in sweetness of temper, and to say to ourselves, “This may be a good lesson to me. Perhaps these cast-down feelings, this feeling of desolation, may help me to sympathize more with others.” The poet has truly said:

“Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.”

So let us see to it that we do not allow this feeling of depression to conquer us and to destroy our faith and energy; but rather, looking to the Lord for assisting grace, and claiming His precious promises, we are to rise above the difficulty and press bravely onward.

OUR “COVENANT BY SACRIFICE” [Psa. 50:5]

We are “always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.” [2 Cor. 4:10] The Apostle thus declares that the Lord’s people, in proportion as they are faithful in His service, have a likeness to the Lord in their service, in their death. Our Lord’s experience in the narrow way was three and a half years of dying. He was daily laying down His life—surrendering His life. He was an Example to us of how we should surrender our lives. He laid down His life, not in the service of the world, but of the Lord’s professed people. While the merit of His sacrificed life was to be used of the Lord for the life of the world, yet He laid it down in the direct service of His Jewish brethren.

The Hebrew people were the people of God. Our Lord spent His life especially with those who were truly desirous of pleasing God and knowing His will, whether found amongst the rich and influential or amongst the poor and lowly. Jesus welcomed publicans and sinners, and gave His life for them. He knew that among this humble class He would find the greater proportion of true wheat. He was laying down His life during all the three and a half years of His earthly ministry, and merely completed this work at Calvary.

And so it is with all of the Lord’s true people. They have made “a covenant by sacrifice.” [Psa. 50:5] They have consecrated, dedicated their lives to the Lord and His service; and as Jesus their Master laid down His life in doing good, in proclaiming the Truth then due, so they are to lay down their lives in the same manner, whether the time of their ministry be three and a half years or twenty years or whatever it may be—until the Father’s good time shall come for their deliverance. They will be in full harmony with the Lord and will gladly have fellowship in the sufferings of their great Head—and properly so; for they are prospective members of His Body. Thus all of these members are continually bearing about in the body the dying of their Lord. They are dying daily as He died, “laying down their lives.” [1 John 3:16]

“THEREFORE GLORIFY GOD IN YOUR BODY” [1 Cor. 6:20]

This is all the work of the New Creature. The old creature is merely compelled to follow in the way of the New Creature, and this setting aside of the will of the flesh is the basic feature of our dying. When our dying has been completed, our lives faithfully laid down, it will bring us to that condition where we shall hear the Master’s “Well done!” [Matt. 25:21]

St. Paul also says that “the life of Jesus” is to be “made manifest in our body.” [2 Cor. 4:10] We understand him here to be referring to the human body. The New Creature owns this body. With the people of the world there are not two personalities, but merely the one creature. This duality of personality is applicable only to those who have been begotten of the Holy Spirit. The old body is suffering; but the New Creature rejoices, glad to be in the service—gives thanks to God day by day respecting its tribulations, knowing that these are working out “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” [2 Cor. 4:17]

Thus the life of Jesus is manifested through us to the world, and to the brethren. The world cannot understand. They say, “If I were in your place, in such a trial, I would be miserable. But you are rejoicing!” So they cannot understand. But we have a newness of life that the world cannot appreciate. All who can appreciate this should daily grow in grace and knowledge. We should show forth more and more of the Lord’s life in our characters and in our bodies. Thus we shall be manifesting more and still more of the Lord’s Spirit, doing more of the Lord’s work, becoming more like Jesus—all of which will prepare us for the glory beyond, when the New Creature shall be completed [that is the embryo fully developed], when all the perfections and glories of the new nature will be ours.

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Good subject.

[R3265 : page 405]

“YE KNOW YOUR CALLING, BRETHREN.” [1 Cor. 1:26]   

“But ye are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”—1 Peter 2:9.

“VOCATION” is the term that describes the special business of any person, while the word “avocation” describes an occasional business; as, the Apostle Paul’s vocation was that of a minister of the Truth, while his avocation, or occasional employment when necessary to provide things honest and decent in the sight of God and men, was tent-making. Similarly all of the Lord’s people should consider that their vocation or calling is of God, and relates to the special or spiritual ministry in which he privileges us to engage as fellow servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. In order to provide the necessities of life for ourselves and those dependent on us, it is necessary that we should have some earthly employment also; but this we should always regard, not as our vocation—not as our chief or principal business in life—but merely as our avocation, or temporary engagement incidentally necessary to our chief business. Of course it would not be wise for the Lord’s people to speak of spiritual things from this standpoint to worldly people. Our Lord warned us against so doing, saying, “Cast not your pearls before swine” [Matt. 7:6b]—attempt not to tell the deep and precious things that belong to you as spiritual New Creatures in Christ, and which you only can understand and appreciate through the holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14), to those who have not the Spirit and who cannot comprehend your teachings and who would be disappointed in the matter, as swine would be disappointed if you gave them pearls which they could not appreciate, instead of corn which they could appreciate. In our own hearts, however, and amongst the “brethren,” this thought should always be uppermost; namely, that our calling, or business, or vocation is of God,—that we are called to be members of the Royal Priesthood.

We are viewing our text [1 Pet. 2:9] just now specially from the standpoint of the Priesthood, or new race, or new nation, different from the remainder of mankind in that God has invited them to become joint-heirs with his Son in the great Royal Priesthood which he designs shall ultimately bless all the families of the earth. The royal feature of the matter belongs to the future; we have no royalty yet. It is only in prospect; it will be attained after we have faithfully performed the service which belongs to this present time and have thus proven ourselves worthy, according to the divine terms, to be members of the glorified Priesthood through our Lord Jesus’ merit, and under him as our Head. Meantime it behooves us to learn distinctly what is expected of us as respects our vocation in the present time; what obligations attach to us as those who have made the consecration and have been respectively accepted to this Royal Priesthood and anointed with the Holy Spirit in anticipation of our attainment of the goal.

The Apostle Paul (Heb. 8:3) declares that “Every High Priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man (the man Christ Jesus) have somewhat also to offer.” The thought is that the High Priest serves,—is as an offerer or sacrificer to God. True, the Apostle is speaking here of our Lord Jesus and not of us, but from his own words elsewhere we will know that it is expected of all the members of the body that they shall be joint sharers with their Lord and Master in the sufferings and sacrifices of this present time, that they may be counted worthy to share with him the glories of the future. [2 Tim. 2:11-12] And the same Apostle explains that he (Christ) is our Head, and that we are, as members of his body, “filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ,” [Col. 1:24] walking in his footsteps. The lesson, then, to each member of this Royal Priesthood, is that the special mission of their office, vocation, calling in the present time, is to sacrifice.

In the light of the Apostle’s explanation we can see that our Lord Jesus as the Head Priest had something to offer to God, and that he did offer it in that he offered up himself a sacrifice. (Heb. 7:27.) We can see how his sacrifice could be acceptable to God, because in him was no sin [1 John 3:5]—he was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. [Heb. 7:26] But how can we, who “by nature are children of wrath even as others,” [Eph. 2:3]—how can we fulfil our mission as priests to present some offering to God when we have nothing which is our own that would be acceptable, because all we have and are is by nature tainted with sin and under divine condemnation? The Scriptures answer that “that which God hath cleansed,” [Acts 10:15] his people are no longer to consider common or unclean; they tell us that God has justified us freely from our imperfections through the merit of Christ’s sacrifice [Rom. 3:24]; they tell us that we are acceptable to God “in the Beloved.” [Eph. 1:6; In Tamil Eph. 1:5]

The Apostle carries this same thought further, and emphasizes it, saying, “I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God (no longer aliens, strangers, foreigners, but redeemed and accepted of the Father), that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom. 12:1.) Here the entire matter is summed up. We are not to consider any longer that, after being justified by faith, the Lord esteems us unholy and unacceptable, but are to understand that the very object of our present justification by faith was to make us acceptable to the Father, to make us to be priests, to furnish us opportunities to do the work of a priest in this present time; namely, to sacrifice—to sacrifice ourselves—to present our bodies living sacrifices to God through Christ’s merit. What a wonderful plan! what a wonderful privilege to be permitted to be priests! what a gracious arrangement! It gives us opportunity of completing the priestly service of sacrificing now, to the intent that by and by we may enjoy the privileges of the other part of the priest’s work, connected with the glory and royalty of the Millennial Kingdom.

If then God ordained the High Priest to offer sacrifices, and that was the particular feature of his calling while on earth, so likewise it is the particular feature of the calling of all those who would walk in his steps—ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices to God. [Heb. 8:3] The Apostle Peter calls this same matter to our attention in a verse preceding our text (v. 5) [1 Pet. 2:5], where he declares the Church “A holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” Ah, but, says one, the Apostles differ respecting what shall be our sacrifices. The Apostle Paul declares, “Present your body a living sacrifice,” [Rom. 12:1] while the Apostle Peter here declares that we should offer up spiritual sacrifices, and our bodies are certainly not spiritual bodies. [A]We reply that the word “spiritual” in this text is not found in the oldest Greek manuscript, known as the Sinaitic. Apparently some scribe of about the fourth or fifth century must have concluded that the Apostle had left his statement of the matter incomplete, and that there would be danger of some understanding him to mean that the Royal Priesthood should offer bullocks and goats; and to hinder such a construction of the Apostle’s language, the no doubt well-meaning copyist added the word “spiritual.”

[B]But in the light of Present Truth we can see that he erred in attempting to assist the inspiration which guided the Apostle [Peter] to a proper statement of the matter. We can see most clearly that our Lord Jesus did not offer a spiritual sacrifice, but a human sacrifice for sin—that for this reason it was necessary that he should leave the spiritual condition in which he previously existed and should take upon him human conditions,—become a man,—that he by the grace of God might taste death for every man. [Heb. 2:9] Adam was not a spirit being when he sinned, hence God’s sentence was not against a spirit being, but, “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” [Gen. 3:19] Hence it was necessary that the Lord Jesus should become the man Christ Jesus; that as by a man came death, so also by man should come the resurrection of the dead. [Rom. 5:18,19] And as our Lord’s sacrifice was not a spiritual sacrifice but a human one, so it is also with our sacrifice: we are not to sacrifice our spiritual natures nor our spiritual interests nor anything else that is spiritual; but we are to sacrifice our justified human natures, our justified flesh, as the Apostle urges, “Present your bodies living sacrifices, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” [Rom. 12:1]

The question should now properly arise in the minds of all who realize themselves as consecrated to the Lord, as members of the Royal Priesthood, to what extent am I fulfilling my present priestly office, and performing daily as I may have opportunity my appointed work of sacrifice—laying down my life for the brethren? Too many, alas! under the false teachings of Babylon, both in word and in custom, have come to consider that money getting and honor getting and ease getting and general self-preservation constitute the reasonable service of the Lord’s people. Sacrificers are looked upon as deluded fanatics—especially in proportion as the sacrificing is done for the Truth’s sake in the interest of spiritual things. We are not, however, to be taught of the world, nor by a cold worldly-wise churchianity; but we are to hearken to the voice of the good Shepherd, to hear his Word, to learn of him if we would be prepared by him in the school of Christ for the glorious things promised us as his joint-heirs in the future. “If we suffer with him we shall also reign with him,” [2 Tim. 2:12] is the message.

We can see how the Apostle [Paul], even though finding it at times necessary to engage in the business of tentmaking, might be considered as a priest whose time, energy, talents were all sacrificed to the Lord and given freely in serving his people—in doing good unto all men as he had opportunity, especially unto the household of faith [Gal. 6:10]: but how can others who have not the opportunity, not the talents, not the open door for such special service as his—how can those who must provide for their own household according to the Lord’s Word, be sacrificing priests, when as a matter of necessity nearly all of their time must be given to tent making, shoe making, housework, or whatever other employment providence seems to have opened before them as their avocations? When [sometimes] it is necessary to spend nearly all of eight to twelve hours per day continuously in the service of our avocations, how can we consider or serve the interests of our vocation, the priesthood?

The Lord has very graciously made arrangements adapted to this very condition. He assures us in his Word that it is not the amount we shall accomplish in his cause, but the spirit, the desire and the effort which we manifest that in his esteem would indicate the degree of our self-sacrifice. He graciously declares that if our hearts be given to him, whatsoever we do may be done as unto the Lord, and if done as unto him will be accepted by him. [Compare Col. 3:23] From this standpoint we can see that the work which the Apostle Paul did upon the tents passed to his credit as a part of his priestly sacrifice, just as much as the other part of his time which he spent in more congenial methods of proclaiming the gospel. Similarly, we can see that the shoemaker working at his bench, or the tinner at his labor, or the butcher in his shop, or the housekeeper, if at heart fully consecrated to the Lord, would be seeking to do their work as unto the Lord, and that if careful to use his opportunities for proclaiming the Truth, for serving the brethren, for doing good unto all men as opportunity afforded, the improvement of the few opportunities coming to them and their willingness to sacrifice personal tastes and convenience for the service of the Truth and for the brethren, would be counted by the Lord as a full sacrifice, because such a disposition in respect to little things would imply an equal faithfulness in the presence of larger opportunities. Luke 16:10.

This does not mean that the Lord’s people are to be content with the usual routine of daily life in the home or in the shop, and are to say to themselves, “God accepts my labor as thoroughly as though it were given directly to him in some other more desirable form,” but it does mean that each person so situated should day by day carefully scan his earthly duties and obligations to see in what manner he could justly and properly cut off moments, hours or days from the service of earthly things and earthly interests, that now might be given to sacrifice for spiritual things and spiritual interests of himself or others. The consecrated heart, the sacrificing priest, is the one who will improve the moments as they swiftly fly, using them as far as possible in the Father’s business. For instance, a workman may not take his employer’s time to talk religion to his mate, for that would be unjust and contrary to the divine arrangement; but in the noon hour he may improve opportunities, and instead of engaging in worldly or foolish conversation or rude jest, he will seek to use opportunities to tell the good tidings to others; or if he have no such opportunities, finding no hearing ears, he will use the time in spiritually uplifting himself by study of the teachings and principles of the divine Word. In the evening he may not neglect duties of a social nature toward his wife and children, but will remember that under the divine arrangement he has some obligation toward them in respect to their mental and spiritual development as well as for their temporal necessities, and he will seek to use a part of his time in their service, perhaps sacrificing an inclination to read some story or light literature, or to indolently while away the time doing nothing. In addition to thinking of his obligations toward his family, he will think beyond them of his own spiritual needs and of the Lord’s family and their necessities, and will endeavor to judge of the mind of the Lord in respect to how each moment shall be used. He consecrated every hour, every moment, when he presented himself a living sacrifice to the Lord; and the opportunities of laying down moments and hours in the interests of his New Creature and in the interests of spiritual brethren, etc., are coming and going daily, and the Lord is looking to see to what extent he was a sincere covenanter, sacrificer. These sacrifices on behalf of neighbors, friends, wife, children, husband, parents, are accepted of the Lord if done as a result of consecration to him, and as a result of the believing that these are the opportunities which his providence has opened for exhibitions of the self-sacrificing spirit.

The same opportunities, though in a different form, come to the youth who is under age and subject to his parents, and to the wife surrounded by family cares and duties. If the consecration be to the Lord, then every sacrifice of our just rights and interests on behalf of ourselves as New Creatures, on behalf of husbands or children, father or mother, neighbors or friends, brethren in Christ, is counted of the Lord as so much done to him; whereas if the very same services were rendered from any other standpoint—by any one unjustified, and not consecrated to the Lord, or merely done to the individuals and not as a sacrifice unto the Lord—these things would not count to us as priests, as our sacrifices; but when viewed from the standpoint of consecration to the Lord, and faithfully performed as being our best judgment [tuned as per Word of God] of what would be the Lord’s will concerning our use of our time, interests, talents, etc., they are sacrifices wholly acceptable to God, our reasonable service.

We are to remember that abstaining from immoralities, from sins, is not sacrificing. Nothing can be acceptably sacrificed to the Lord that is not of itself right, just, proper. It may be imperfect, as all that we have and do are necessarily blemished by reason of our share with the race in its fall; but unintentional blemishes of proper things are all covered by the merits of our Redeemer’s sacrifice, as we have just seen. Another form of sacrifice frequently not discerned by the Royal Priesthood is the opportunity of renouncing our own ways or plans, our own methods or preferences, and in the interests of peace accepting instead the plans, the preferences of others—where it is merely a matter of personal preference, and where we believe the Lord will be as willing to have the matter one way as another. We can in the interests of peace sacrifice our preferences to the wishes of others if we see some good can be gained by such a course; as, for instance, the preservation of the peace of the home or the opportunity of winning our opponent to the Truth, or any good cause. Such sacrifices are pleasing to the Lord, who instructs us through the Apostle  [Paul] that, so far as in us lies, we should live peaceably with all men; and that we should rather suffer wrong and take injury from a brother in Christ than take the matter before the world of unbelievers and thus risk a general odium upon the Lord’s cause.—Rom. 12:18; 1 Cor. 6:7.

We have known cases, however, where dear brethren in the interests of peace and harmony yielded their rights—and properly enough where no principle was involved—but who, nevertheless, held a kind of grudge against those to whom they had yielded, feeling that somehow or other they had been defrauded of their rights. This is wrong, and indicates that the sacrifice was not fully made. If the matter in dispute had been fully sacrificed, as unto the Lord, there would surely have been no room for feeling that it had been taken from them. Under such circumstances the Lord’s dear followers would do well to make haste to cast out of their minds anything akin to resentment and the feeling that they had been deprived of their just rights, and, instead, to take into their hearts that they had fully, freely, absolutely given up the matter in the interests of peace and it was dead, buried forever, with no resentment toward any one, but, on the contrary, with the feeling of joy and rejoicing that this matter had been sacrificed to the Lord, to the interests of the home or the Church or what not, because they believed that it would be pleasing, acceptable to him, and, therefore, their reasonable service.

We are to remember that we have each but one sacrifice; that it is to be rendered to the Lord day by day in the improvement of every opportunity, as it comes to us, to serve him and his. We are to remember that while it consists of many little sacrifices, some of them too small to mention or even to consider, nevertheless it will require all of these to complete the one sacrifice which we made at the beginning of our induction into his family. When we gave our wills, our hearts, we gave our all; and any holding back in any of the little affairs of life—any refusal to sacrifice that which we think would please the Lord—is a keeping back of that much of what we have devoted to him.

The Lord is very patient toward us, and gives us repeated opportunities to accomplish the work of sacrifice; but it must be accomplished, our willsmust be slain, must be submitted to the Lord’s will, else we shall never attain to joint-heirship with him in the Kingdom—never become members of the overcoming Royal Priesthood. He graciously gives us line upon line, lesson upon lesson [Similar Isa. 28:10], respecting this subject; shows it to us in his Word from different standpoints, impressing upon us the necessity of being dead to self and alive toward God through Jesus Christ our Lord [Similar Rom. 6:11]—the necessity of developing the various graces of the Spirit which are implied in this sacrificing work. Every one who will be a sacrificer must of necessity be meek, humble, teachable, else very shortly he will get out of the way. He must also learn to develop the grace of the Lord along the line of patience, because it certainly requires patience to deny ourselves and to submit at times to injustice where there is no proper means of avoiding it without doing injury to the Lord’s cause or to some of his people. It also implies a cultivation of brotherly kindness and, in a word, the development of the whole will of God in our hearts and lives; namely, love, which must be attained in a large and overcoming measure ere [or before] we shall have completed our earthly work of sacrificing.

In our studies of the “Tabernacle Shadows of Better Sacrifices,” we saw that every one who took part in the priesthood was required to wash his hands and feet at the laver. [Exo. 30:19,20] We saw that the laver represented the Word, or message of God, and that the water, therefore, represented the Truth; and thus it is the Truth which is to cleanse the Royal Priesthood from the defilements of the flesh. As a whole we are clean, being covered with the robe of Christ’s righteousness; but in our contact with the world we are to seek to put away the defilements of earth which come to us in connection with our daily walk and service, represented by our feet and our hands. [Similar John 13:9] [C]And the Apostle [Peter], in the verse preceding our text [1 Pet. 2:9], is not forgetful to mention this cleansing which all must have in order to be acceptable as members of the Royal Priesthood. In the verses 1 to 3 [1 Pet. 2:1-3], inclusive, he mentions that those who would be Royal Priests must lay aside “all malice and all guile and hypocrisies, and envies and all evil speakings.” [1 Pet. 2:1; In Tamil 1 Pet. 2:2] As the sacrificing requires all of the present life, so the washing requires all the present life; and only those who both wash and sacrifice will be accepted into the glorious Royal Priesthood of the future.

It will be noticed that the Apostle [Peter] does not represent that these priests will wash themselves from murders and gross sins, for those who have been begotten of the holy Spirit are necessarily far removed from any sympathy with any of the grosser forms of sin. What he does show is the more refined forms of evil which still infest the flesh, even of those who have the new [or transforming] mind, and which require to be mortified, rooted out, cleansed away. How “close girdling” are these sins that are mentioned—how many of the prospective members of the Royal Priesthood find that they have defilements along this line, malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy, evil speaking! It is safe to say that every one has some, if not all of these weaknesses in the flesh to contend with—especially at the beginning of his entrance upon the priestly vocation. How carefully all should seek to put all these away! how each should scrutinize, not only every act of life and every word and every thought, but, additionally, every motive underlying his words, thoughts and actions, so that they may be more and more purified from the earth defilements and be more and more acceptable to the Lord!

With our very best endeavors we may never get entirely free from all of these “close girdling” sins while still in the flesh; but one thing is sure—the heart must be free from them, else we can never be accepted as members of the glorious priesthood. The heart must be so completely filled with the love of God that it will feel a repugnance [or disgust] to all of these evils, which are repulsive to the divine mind; and happy for us it is that God has promised to accept such a condition of our hearts, and that knowing the imperfections of the flesh with which we contend, he is not requiring that we shall attain to absolute flesh perfection, but that we shall be pure in heart in order to see him and to share in the glory which he has promised to his people.

[D]What we have seen respecting the perfect love which must dominate our hearts in order to enable us to complete our sacrifice in the Lord, is not so different from the Lord’s requirements respecting all his creatures. There could be no angel of heaven acceptable to the Father without this spirit of love, of devotion, which, if the conditions in heaven were similar to the conditions now in the earth, would prompt and inspire all of the Lord’s faithful angels to do good to the needy ones even at the cost of self-sacrifice and inconvenience. [E]We can see that the same law of love must ultimately be required of the world of mankind who shall be developed under the training of the Millennial age, the world’s school time. They also must ultimately reach that degree of love which, if the conditions were similar to those which now prevail, would lead them to sacrifice in the interest of the needy. Nothing less than this could be considered as a recovery on man’s part of that which was lost—the image and likeness of God.

The peculiarity, then, of this present time and of the Church’s position in it, is the fact that we are begotten to the new [or transforming] mind, the new will, the new spirit and law of love, while still sin and death prevail around us. Hence to us living under present conditions, in contact with the weaknesses and imperfections and trials of others, it becomes, necessarily, an evidence of the new [or transforming] mind that, seeing these conditions, we should be permitted to make sacrifices on behalf of the brethren and on behalf of all men as we have opportunity. [F]These indeed are severe testings and trials, which will come to the world of mankind during the Millennial Age, when all conditions will be favorable to the development of the new mind of love. They are more severe testings also than are brought to bear upon the holy angels, who, although possessing this love, have not the weaknesses and imperfections of the flesh, the fallen nature, to contend with in its exercise, and who, therefore, can gain no such victory as the Church of Christ is called upon to fight for and by the grace of her Lord to win.

It is on this account that the Lord has attached to this “little flock,” [Luke 12:32] now being selected under these self-sacrificing conditions, so great a reward; 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.” (1 Cor. 2:9.) Even though God hath revealed these things to us by his Spirit, which searcheth all things, even the deep things of God, nevertheless it is not possible for us to comprehend, know fully. As the Apostle [Paul] says, we now see these glorious things of the future through a smoked glass, obscurely; but by and by we shall see face to face and know as we are known [1 Cor. 13:12], and appreciate fully the wonderful things which God has declared to us through his Son and his faithful apostles. Then the royal feature of this priestly office will be added, and they shall be indeed priests, royal, sons of the Highest, and shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.

This royalty, while it will have great dignity, majesty and power, is not attracting us by any illustrations we have in earthly royalty, with its pride and often selfishness and pomp and show. It is attracting us, however, by the glorious things which God hath spoken respecting the work of these Royal Priests—the work of ruling, blessing and uplifting the world of mankind. This glorious hope inspires, encourages and revives the fainting priests who are now sacrificing, and the Lord has so intended. In view of these things let us remember our calling, brethren, and not mistake the avocations of life for the great vocation which God hath set before us in the Gospel. Let us see to it that every day shall witness our faithfulness to our priestly ordination of cleansing, priestly sacrificing, and thus preparing ourselves under the direction of the great High-priest for the glorious work that the heavenly Father has arranged for us in his wonderful plan.

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Good subject.

• We reply that the word “spiritual” in this text is not found in the oldest Greek manuscript, known as the Sinaitic. Apparently some scribe of about the fourth or fifth century must have concluded that the Apostle had left his statement of the matter incomplete – I think the word spiritual exists in the original. From the context of the verse, it plainly states that we should spiritually acceptable sacrifice to God.
• But in the light of Present Truth we can see that he erred in attempting to assist the inspiration which guided the Apostle to a proper statement of the matter. We can see most clearly that our Lord Jesus did not offer a spiritual sacrifice, but a human sacrifice for sin – The understanding becomes clear, when we read it as spiritually acceptable sacrifices.
• And the Apostle, in the verse preceding our text, is not forgetful to mention this cleansing which all must have in order to be acceptable as members of the Royal Priesthood – There seems to be no direct reference to this statement. However, in the chapter preceding, the apostle does mention about purification in 1 Pet. 1:22.
• What we have seen respecting the perfect love which must dominate our hearts in order to enable us to complete our sacrifice in the Lord, is not so different from the Lord’s requirements respecting all his creatures. There could be no angel of heaven acceptable to the Father without this spirit of love, of devotion, which, if the conditions in heaven were similar to the conditions now in the earth, would prompt and inspire all of the Lord’s faithful angels to do good to the needy ones even at the cost of self-sacrifice and inconvenience – Perfect love is not expected to sacrifice self. It is expected to love the neighbour as it loves self. But sacrificial love, is one which loves the brother more than self for the sake of truth.
• We can see that the same law of love must ultimately be required of the world of mankind who shall be developed under the training of the Millennial age, the world’s school time. They also must ultimately reach that degree of love which, if the conditions were similar to those which now prevail, would lead them to sacrifice in the interest of the needy – Similar explanation as above.
• These indeed are severe testings and trials, which will come to the world of mankind during the Millennial Age, when all conditions will be favorable to the development of the new mind of love. They are more severe testings also than are brought to bear upon the holy angels – In the strictest sense, the severe testings and trials of the Church class are not comparable to that of the world in the millennial age or to that of the holy angels. However, we may view the comparison of fighting the weakness and fallen tendencies of the church class now with the world class of that age. Furthermore, in the strictest sense, we may not link the new mind to the world of mankind, since the new or transforming mind, is more of transformation from human to spiritual.

[R5840: page 29]

THE VALUE OF MODERATION

“Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.”— Philippians 4:5.

QUESTION. —The Apostle Paul says, “Let your moderation be known unto all men.” What is the particular thought here in the word “moderation,” and what is the connection between these words and the sentence, “The Lord is at hand,” which follows?

Answer. —The Spirit of the Lord is said to be a spirit of wisdom, a spirit of justice, a spirit of love, a spirit of a sound mind. Whoever, therefore, receives the Spirit of the Lord, in proportion as he receives it, has these qualities of mind and heart. At the beginning of a Christian’s experience, the measure of this moderation, or reasonableness, or gentleness, is of course, comparatively small. But he gradually gets a greater appreciation of the value of this quality. His ideas become more reasonable as he becomes sanctified by the Spirit. He will have more and more of the spirit of a sound mind, of gentleness, meekness, and will become more and more prepared for the Kingdom soon to be established.

This attitude of mind comes in large measure as a result of knowledge. As he comes to know more about God and His plans, more about the origin of sin in the world, how it came about and how its penalty has passed upon all men by a process of heredity, the true disciple of Christ feels more of the spirit of moderation and acts with more consideration and charity toward others than if men were perfect. As we realize that these imperfections vary in number and in degree in different persons, so in our dealings we must be moderate toward all, wise in our dealings with all, patient toward all, having the spirit of justice, of reasonableness, of mercy.

This injunction of the Apostle does not refer to the exercise of this quality toward the Church only, but toward all men. Properly, of course, this moderation would begin at home, and would be more particularly manifest in good works in the Church, as in opposition to the evil sentiment—anger, malice, evil-surmising, hatred, strife—works of the flesh and of the Devil. But the spirit of moderation should not be confined to the home, but should be manifested toward all with whom we have intercourse or dealings. It was said of the Apostles that people “took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus and learned of Him.” [Similar Acts 4:13b] We should so live before all, both the brethren and the world, that they would thus take knowledge of us. We should see to it that our conduct is a credit to the great and noble Cause with which we are identified.

The connection between letting our moderation be known and the statement, “The Lord is at hand,” seems to be that the Lord’s people are to have in mind their expectation based upon the promises of God’s Word, that Messiah’s Kingdom is shortly to be established, and that this should help them in living an exemplary life. Whether the passage should be considered from the viewpoint that the Church of the Apostles’ time were living in the latter part of the great seven-thousand-year week, and that the great Sabbath was at hand, when the Lord was about to come and set up His Kingdom and set things straight in the world, and that hence they could well be patient and considerate, or whether it should be from the viewpoint of time—that the Lord’s children should exercise the grace of moderation because they had little time left in which to manifest it—we do not know. At any rate, knowing that the opposition of sin will not last very much longer, we may have the greater patience and exercise this patience with the greater ease when we have this thought before our minds.

The Apostle [Paul] gives a similar thought when he says that the tribulations which the Lord’s people undergo are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in them. [Rom. 8:18] This should make us very moderate, very forbearing, under circumstances which would make others very rude, very angry, very immoderate. We can be very gentle, not only because of our knowledge of the nearness of the Kingdom, but also because of our knowledge of the weaknesses of others, which cause them to impinge [or intrude] upon our rights.

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Good subject.

[R2642: page 169]

FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” —PSALM 23:6.

SAINT PAUL speaks of the full assurance of hope and of full assurance of faith, as being the proper conditions for the Lord’s people. (Heb. 6:11; 10:22.) And this is the thought expressed by the Prophet, in our text [Psa. 23:6]—full confidence that he who has begun a good work in us is both able and willing to complete it. (Phil. 1:6.)  But how few Christians, comparatively, have this full assurance of faith; how few can say, Surely, undoubtedly, goodness and mercy shall follow me henceforth through life, and by God’s grace I ultimately shall gain the heavenly Kingdom and the glorious things which God has promised to them that love him! The few who can enter fully into sympathy with the Apostle and Prophet in these expressions have therein a great joy, a great blessing, a great rest of heart which others do not possess. Let us therefore inquire why it is that the number who thus enter into the rest of faith is so small. What are the hindrances to the others, and how can those hindrances be removed, that a larger number of the Lord’s people may enjoy their patrimony?

[Majorly] The hindrances are of two kinds [or three as we shall see later]: (1) Many who are on the Lord’s side, and who have been greatly blessed of him, and who have made considerable progress in the knowledge of the truth, and who are trusting in the merit of the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice as the only hope of a future life, and who are thus justified, have nevertheless failed to take the second step necessary to their full induction into sonship in God’s family and into joint-heirship with Christ to all the exceeding great and precious promises which extend only to those who become his sons. This step, essential to becoming sons and joint-heirs, is the purpose of full consecration—the full surrender of our own wills, including all the aims and objects and purposes of life, and including also all that we have in the way of time, influence, means, reputation, etc. Not having taken this step, not having taken up the cross to follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth, this large class very properly feels that it is questionable to what extent the Lord’s promises, either for the life that now is or for the life that is to come, belong to them. And in this they are right; for none of the promises, present or future, belong to them, nor to any, until they have come under the terms of a full self-surrender, consecration, presenting their bodies living sacrifices to God, holy, acceptable, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Our advice to these, then, is that realizing the situation they do not longer delay, but hasten at once to avail themselves of the greatest privilege that could possibly be offered, even by the Almighty. If they stand still they are, in the language of the Apostle, receiving the grace of God in vain—failing to use it. (2 Cor. 6:1) God’s grace, as freely bestowed upon those who have come to a knowledge of the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, is the grace of the forgiveness of sins, of justification through faith; and the very object of this grace is to permit or qualify us to become living sacrifices, acceptable to God’s altar through the great sacrifice of our Redeemer.

Whoever, therefore, shall advance thus far and know of his privilege, and yet refuse to present his little all, has failed to be constrained by the love of Christ, has failed to appreciate the divine favor bestowed upon him, and manifests this failure by his neglect to use his opportunities, by his neglect to sacrifice the imperfect fragment of this present life, that he might obtain in exchange the great prize of glory, honor and immortality, and joint-heirship with Jesus in the Kingdom: such receive God’s grace in vain, profiting nothing by it over and above the world, which as yet lies in darkness and blindness.

What should such do? They should at once resolve that to render all they have to the Lord’s service is not only a reasonable thing, but an offering far too small—far less than what they would like to render to him who has manifested such compassion and grace toward us. And we should feel thus, even if there were no rewards attached to such a consecration of ourselves. But inasmuch as God has attached great rewards and blessings, we should feel not only that a refusal to accept would be an indication of non-appreciation of divine mercy, but an indication also of a weakness of mind, of judgment, which is unable to balance the trifling and transitory pleasures of self-will for a few short years, with an eternity of joy and blessing and glory, in harmony with the Lord.

And more than this, the consecrated are the only ones who really fully and truly enjoy this present life, for they indeed have a peace of heart which the world can neither give nor take away—a condition which all the world is coveting and seeking after, but finding not because they seek it not in the Lord’s way of full self-surrender to him. We urge, then, upon the class now addressed that they promptly make their covenant with the Lord, and thus become heirs of his good promises pertaining to the life that now is, and also of that which is to come, and that thus they lay the foundation for entering into “full assurance of the faith” [Heb. 10:22] and full assurance of the hope [Heb. 6:11; In Tamil Heb. 6:12] that God’s mercy and goodness shall follow them all the days of the present life, and that they shall dwell in the heavenly home forever. [Psa. 23:6]

(2) But amongst those who are real Christians, and who have made a full covenant of sacrifice unto the Lord, we find many who say, and more who think it without saying,—”O that I could feel sure that God’s goodness and mercy would continue with me all the days of my life, and that I should attain unto his Kingdom! O that I might have a full assurance of faith, a full assurance that I am accepted of the Lord, and that by his grace I shall ultimately be an overcomer!” What is the difficulty with this class? Why is it that these do not possess this full assurance of faith? We answer, that their difficulty is a lack of faith in God, and such a lack of faith is not pleasing to God, for “without faith it is impossible to please God.” Such a lack of faith, moreover, is a constant hindrance to their overcoming, as it is written, “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” The Christian who has not the shield of faith, and a large one, is continually at disadvantage before the Adversary.—Heb. 11:6; 1 John 5:4.

What must be done to overcome this lack of faith, and to have an increase of faith? We answer, that like the apostles of old he should pray, “Lord, increase our faith.” And then, acting in harmony with this prayer, each should cultivate faith in his own heart: (a) By refreshing his memory continually with the divine promises, becoming very familiar with these in the Father’s Word. (b) He should seek more and more to remember that having made his covenant with the Lord these promises are his, and in his heart and with his lips he should claim them as his before the Lord in prayer with thanksgiving. He should claim them as his in his own thoughts, and in his conferences on holy things with the brethren.

When trials or difficulties or perplexities arise, he should think of these promises, remembering that they belong to him—because God has promised them to such as love him,—who have made a covenant by self-sacrifice. (Psa. 50:5; Mal. 3:17.) He should resolve henceforth to trust the word of the heavenly Father implicitly. Thus, if some seeming accident befall him, let him call to his mind the promise that “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose,” [Rom. 8:28] and assure himself that the seeming accident would not have occurred had God not seen a way to make it the channel of a needed lesson or blessing. Let him refresh his mind with the thought that he comes under the provisions of this promise because he loves the Lord, and so loved him as to make a full consecration of himself to him; thus he is assured that this promise was intended for him.

Let such also remember the language of the Apostle, that if God loved us while we were yet sinners, so that he provided for us the great salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord, much more does he love us now, since we have been justified through faith in the great atonement, and have made a full consecration of ourselves to him, and thus come under the terms of adoption into his family. [Rom. 5:8,9] Let him remember too, that he who has begun the good work changes never, and that if our hearts are still in harmony with him, if our faith is still clear and firm in the great atonement, if our consecration is still full and complete, so that we seek not our own wills but his will to be done in our affairs, then we may indeed have the full assurance of faith, because knowing that God is unchangeable, and knowing that we are still in line with his promises and arrangements, we know that all of his gracious providences are still being exercised on our behalf. This is full assurance of faith—full confidence in the Lord.

(3) It is possible, however, for the true Christian who has taken the step of justification and the step of consecration and adoption into God’s family, and who has had the blessing of full assurance of faith—it is possible for such to lose this, if he become overcharged with the cares of this life, cold and indifferent as respects the Lord, his Kingdom, his brethren, his cause, etc. Such, of course, should not have a full assurance of faith; God does not intend it for them, but rather intends that if we leav e the proper consecrated attitude we should also lose the joys and consolations which belong to it. And this is not merely as a retribution or punishment, but designed specially to awaken us to a realization of what we are losing, to the intent that such as have “lost their first love” [Similar Rev. 2:4] may be revived, may renew their consecration vows, and thus return to the Lord, who will abundantly pardon, and restore unto them the joys of his salvation.

So then, reviewing our text [Psa. 23:6], we say that this assurance of faith that God’s goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives, and that we shall ultimately by his grace attain to the Kingdom, is for the class mentioned in this Psalm, viz., the Lord’s sheep—those who are following him, and who are having the experiences outlined in this Psalm. One of these experiences is that following the Shepherd they are not left to hunger and thirst, but are bountifully supplied in the green pastures and by the still waters of the truth. [Psa. 23:1,2] Moreover, it applies to those who experience the Shepherd’s care, his rod and staff, correcting, reproving or guiding them. [Psa. 23:4] Such sheep as learn to love and have confidence in the Shepherd and in his guidance, and to take comfort and blessing out of all the afflictions and trials of life which may be permitted to come upon them, realizing that they are providential, and for their blessing—such continue to follow the Shepherd, continue to have the experiences of sheep, and may rejoice with full assurance of faith that he who began the good work of shepherding them and leading them out from the by-ways of sin and of selfishness into the full blessing of the heavenly Father, will continue this work and complete it, if they abide in him.—John 15:4-6.

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Good subject.

[R4968: page 49]

WHAT CONSTITUTES SPIRITUAL-MINDEDNESS?

“To be spiritually-minded is life and peace.”—Rom. 8:6.

ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND the Scriptures, to talk fluently upon them and to expound them clearly is a qualification which we think should follow in the wake of spiritual-mindedness; but some might be able to expound Scripture very well, and to express truths in very good form who are not necessarily very spiritually-minded. A parrot can repeat certain words and phrases; but no one would accuse a parrot of being spiritually-minded. So there are some people who can repeat certain spiritual truths, apparently with a good deal of zest [or passion].

To be spiritually-minded is to have a mind in harmony with the Spirit of God, and fully surrendered to the Divine will—fully consecrated to the Lord. It would not be enough merely to have a preference for good, saying, “I prefer not to do any gross sin; I prefer to live a life that will be honest and decent.” This attitude [alone] would not be spiritual-mindedness. Adam was not spiritually-minded, but in his perfection he had a mind to do right. He had the mind of God in the sense that he had a balanced mind, not one having a preference for sin, or one that was weak. He was sound-minded and could appreciate things from the standpoint of righteousness and justice. But even in his perfection Adam had not a spiritual mind, in the highest, or Scriptural sense of the word.

In Romans 8:6 the Apostle Paul uses the expression “spiritually-minded” in describing a certain class who have become followers of Christ, who have made a full consecration of their lives to the Lord and who, in harmony with this consecration, have been begotten of the Holy Spirit. These are spiritually-minded. These are granted a spiritual insight into Divine things.

OUR LORD BECAME SPIRITUALLY-MINDED AT JORDAN [Post His Baptism]

This was true of our Lord Jesus [too]. Having left the glory which, He had with the Father, and having humbled Himself to take the human nature, He was found in fashion as a man. We read that He was not an imperfect man, but “holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners.” (Heb. 7:26.) Yet with all these special qualities He did not have the spiritual mind to which the Apostle [Paul] has reference. Our Lord had a mind such as Adam had before the fall—a mind in perfect harmony, perfectly balanced. Our Lord received the spiritual mind, however, at the moment when He was begotten of the Spirit, when He made full consecration at baptism, and as a consequence the Holy Spirit descended and lighted upon Him in bodily form like a dove. [Matt. 3:16]

Following that begetting, the Lord had an enlargement of understanding and was granted to see certain deep things of God which He had not seen before His consecration; so we read in that very connection that “the heavens were opened” to Him [Matt. 3:16]—the higher things became clear to Him—the more spiritual things. These things St. Paul calls “the deep things of God.” [1 Cor. 2:10] “The natural man,” St. Paul says (the natural man would be a perfect man; fallen man is imperfect, unnatural), “receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, … neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Cor. 2:14.) Then he proceeds to say that we have received the Spirit of God through the begetting of the Holy Spirit; and that having the new [or transforming] mind, this spirit begetting, we are enabled to understand the deep things of God. “The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God; and we have received…the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” Thus to us is it given to know the deep things of God.—I Cor. 2:11,12.

NO NATURAL MAN IS SPIRITUALLY-MINDED

So, then, the one who has been begotten of the Holy Spirit is spiritually-minded. He sees things from the new standpoint which God specially brings to the attention of the spirit begotten. As the Apostle John says, “Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye all know it.” (I John 2:20.) Whoever receives this begetting of the Holy Spirit, this anointing, has an understanding of heart and of mind which is different from that which any natural man would have, a quality that will progress with him. He has the privilege of growing in grace and in knowledge and in the appreciation of the deep things of God; and he should grow.

The Apostles Peter and Paul go on to explain (I Peter 2:2,3; Heb. 5:13,14; 6:1,2) that one thus begotten of the Spirit of God is at first only a babe, and, as a babe, should desire the sincere milk of the Word—the first principles of the doctrine of Christ; but as he goes on, he should feed upon the strong meat of God’s Word. Some of those who have the begetting of the Spirit may be blessed with the special gift of language, so that they can make the matter very clear to others; some others who have also received the begetting of the Spirit may not be blessed with this gift. But all certainly would have the desire to tell forth the blessings which they have received from the Lord, that others might know and might glorify God in their bodies and spirits, which are His. [1 Cor. 6:20]

As these spiritually-minded ones would thus endeavor to tell the good tidings, we have no doubt whatever that the Lord’s blessing upon them would more and more qualify them as ambassadors and representatives, that they might tell the Message to others—if not in one form, then in another. We have noted, however, that some who speak with stammering lips have sometimes accomplished very wonderful things, while some with a great deal of eloquence have failed to obtain the same results. The victory is not always to the strong nor to the swift; for the Lord may grant His blessing with the feebly spoken word, particularly if the whole life be in harmony with the message given out.

We have been surprised at times to find that some who have apparently considerable understanding of spiritual things, in the sense of being able to tell about them, do not always give the best evidence in their lives that they really have the Spirit of the Lord. Sometimes in their private lives there is that which is quite contradictory. This condition surprises us; causes us to wonder how it is that those who apparently understand the Truth should be without the power, or manifestation of the power of the Truth in their daily lives. We should bear in mind that whoever speaks the words of the Lord with his mouth, should uphold it in his every act, word, thought, in private life as well as in public.

THE LIFE, NOT THE WORDS, A TRUE INDEX

The Truth should be the standard. Everything else is certainly quite contrary to the Divine will; and that person who fails to uphold the Truth in his daily life gives evidence that he has not the Spirit of the Lord in the proper degree. If, therefore, any of us should find that in our daily lives we have not been living in conformity with the message of our lips, it would be a matter of serious concern, for we cannot doubt that whoever is out of harmony with the Lord in his heart, will sooner or later get out of harmony in his utterances.

We think, therefore, that if in a congregation of the Lord’s people any one were proposed as an Elder or a Deacon who outwardly had ever so great ability as a teacher, but who did not in his daily life give good evidence of being fully consecrated to the Lord, and of seeking to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, he should be regarded as a very dangerous person to put into the high position of Elder or Deacon. The sooner he is left quite by himself the better. For the more such people are put forward in public, the worse it will be for them and for the congregation whom they are supposed to serve.

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Good subject.

WALKING WORTHY – Memorial Subject (Friday 11^th April 2025)

“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” – Eph. 4:1.

Beloved brethren in Christ, at the time of the year, when we remember our Lord’s memorial, it is really an appropriate time to examine our progress along the narrow way, wherein we have been called to walk, in order to gain “life”, life in its highest form, “glory and honour and immortality” or  in the language of the scriptures “life in himself (ourselves)”. — Matt. 7:14, Rom. 2:7, John 5:26.

As we bring to attention our text, we note that the Apostle Paul was beseeching “the saints which are at Ephesus” (Eph. 1:1) that they “walk worthy of the vocation” wherewith they were called. The same words of the Apostle does apply to us, who are at the end of the Gospel age, for God “having predesignated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” (Eph. 1:5; In Tamil Eph. 1:6). Thus, it is our wholehearted expression in the language of the Apostle “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).

OUR CALLING

The Apostle Paul, in the beginning of his epistle, prays that our eyes being enlightened, understand the hope of the calling. Understand what riches of glory? Understand what is the exceeding greatness? — Eph. 1:17-19.

We note that our calling is termed “high calling” (Phil. 3:14) or “heavenly calling” (Heb. 3:1) and that we “if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” (Rom. 8:17).

HOW TO WALK?

Now having understood the value of the our calling, we next bring to our attention, our text where the Apostle beseeches us to “walk worthy”. We ask, then, what it is to “walk worthy”? How can we “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called?” (Eph. 4:1)

But before we examine the scriptures on how to walk worthy, let us note that there are ample scriptures that warn us on how not to walk. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly” (Psa. 1:1). “…ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us” (2 Thess. 3:6). “Let us walk… not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying” (Rom. 13:13).

Out of the many scriptures, that guide us to walk, let us meditate on a few key scriptures that teach us, how to walk worthy.

• Walking in the fear of God. “Walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied”.  Act 9:31. Without this walk, we could not have come to God. Only when we fear or rather reverence God, our hearts and minds are open to His Voice, His Words. It is only after this walking starts all other walks can proceed.
• Walking by faith. “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Cor. 5:7; In Tamil 2 Cor. 5:6. This walk is one that we start at the first step and never stop. Keep walking. Each step in faith is important. It should be progressive and not result in reverse steps. Further, we have the Apostle Paul’s statement, “without faith it is impossible to please him” Heb. 11:6.
• Walking in Christ Jesus. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him”. Col. 2:6. We should walk as ones who have put on Christ. We should abide in Jesus. We should abide in our consecration and thus walk within the limits of our consecration. Thus, we will walk in Christ Jesus.
• Walking like Jesus walked. “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked”. 1 John 2:6. We have to follow His example, His words, His precepts, His methods, His ways, in order to gain his likeness.
• Walking in the Spirit. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”. Gal. 5:25. Those of us, who have been begotten by the Holy Spirit have an important walking to do. We should walk in the spirit, in the requirements of the spirit of God.
• Walking honestly. “That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without”. 1 Thess. 4:12; In Tamil 1 Thess. 4:11. This is an absolute requirement, not only for this age, but also for the age to come. Without this one quality, none will be accepted into the Kingdom of God.
• Walking in His commandments. “And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it”. 2 John 1:6. Walking in the commandments means, to follow the commandments given to us.
• Walking in the truth. “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth”. 3 John 1:4. This involves not only walking, but to walk in truth, we must seek the truth, seek the Word of God. We must study, spend our time, energy and diligently yet prayerfully seek the Truth, that thus we may walk in the truth.
• Walking in the light. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another”. 1 John 1:7. Who wants to walk in darkness? Unless he is either blind or is overconfident about his other senses? Those who do not wish to fall always walk in the light. The light mentioned in this verse refers to truth, openness, not hiding, not having hypocrisy. So, if we walk in truth and openness, we shall have real fellowship with our brethren and thus have more opportunities for service.
• Walking in wisdom. “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without”. Col. 4:5. Here the Apostle Paul instructs us to use wisdom. Not the worldly wisdom by the wisdom from above, with those who do not possess such wisdom. In general, we are called to share the gospel to those who have an ear to hear and hold back the pearls from the swine.
• Walking in love. “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour”. Eph. 5:2. A very essential walking. As we remember the love of God and the love of Christ, we should also remember to love our brethren. In this walking, we are expected to cover all four quadrants of love – duty love, appreciative love, love for brethren, love for enemies.
• Walking circumspectly or carefully. “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise”. Eph. 5:15. We should walk carefully, or exactly (as the Young’s literal translates). The meaning intended is that we be more accurate or precise in our walking. We do not walk as fools, unwise or unprecise in our ways, but rather we take all steps in a more calculated or more precise manner with the help of the “lamp unto our feet”. (Psa. 119:105).
• Walking worthy of the Lord. “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Col. 1:10. Here the Apostle brings to our attention, that our walk should be pleasing to the Lord, in fact, that our walk should produce good works, and thus be worthy of our Lord.
• Walking worthy of God. “That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.” 1 Thess. 2:12; In Tamil 1 Thess. 2:11. Here we find that our walk should be in line with God, that is it should be along the requirements of this kingdom and worthy of the glory to be given to us in the Kingdom.

THE REWARD FOR WALKING THUS

Finally, brethren, we read in Revelations 14:4, “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.” We have one guide, one Rabbi, who is the Head of the Body, the Church of God. Let us be vigilant to hear his voice only and walk along the paths that he shows us. The path that he has walked already and was victorious and “set down with his Father in His throne” (Rev. 3:21). Let us follow the Lamb of God. And thus, be overcomers and be allotted a place on the throne to sit with our Bridegroom.

In the end, even with our First or Chief Resurrection, we, like the ones in Sardis, will be counted worthy to walk “in white” along with our dear Redeemer. Thus, it is said, “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy”. (Rev. 3:4)

In closing this message beloved brethren, we along with the Apostle Paul pray that our God count us worthy of this calling, while we strive to walk worthy in the narrow way of death unto life, life eternal, transcending the ages to come. “Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power.” 2 Thess. 1:11; In Tamil 2 Thess. 1:12.

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“THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH” [John 1:14]

OUR FINITE MINDS have difficulty in understanding some of the deep things of Scripture because of our insufficiency of knowledge and of experience. All that we know of our Lord’s pre-human existence is revealed in the Word of God. The Scriptures state that our Lord was rich and became poor; not that He remained rich and seemed to become poor, but that He actually became poor that we might become rich. The Apostle says that He divested Himself of those conditions that He had before He became human, and that He took a bondman’s form. He was made flesh. The explanation is given, “A body hast Thou prepared Me,” a human body, and thus He was made “a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death.”—Heb. 10:5; 2:9.

Putting together the Scriptural statements on the subject we have this: In His pre-human existence our Lord was the Logos, “the beginning of the creation of God,” the Alpha of all God’s creation, and the Omega in that Jehovah created only this One. Of the Logos it is written, “All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:3.) He was on the spirit plane, next to the Father.

In the Divine Plan of the Ages, formulated long before, a proposition was made [to] our Lord with a view to the redemption of mankind; provision was made that if obedient to the Father’s will, the Logos would receive still further exaltation, even to the divine nature. For this joy set before Him, our Lord took the various steps necessary to complete the great work of redemption. The contract into which He entered with the Father was one which involved much humiliation. While there was a sacrifice of power, of honor, of glory, yet no sacrifice of life was involved in the first step taken; namely, His acceptance of the Father’s arrangement that He should be made flesh; that He should become a human being, that He should give up His existence on the heavenly plane.

Originally, as the Logos, our Lord was a soul on the spirit plane, in the sense that any intelligent being is a soul; for the word “soul” signifies being; and the transfer of the life principle to a human body brought Him to the earthly plane. The life principle was the same that He had before, therefore the personality was the same. It was important to have identity of mind; and this He had by Divine arrangement.

A BODY GIVEN FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEATH

The Scriptures do not explain how the spark of life belonging to the spirit being known as the Logos became transferred to the human plane. When our Lord was thus changed, He merely took the step of getting ready to become the sacrifice for sinners. In His pre-existent state He could not have given the corresponding [or ransom] price for Adam; for He had not the human life to offer. [A]But when He became a human being and had reached the age of maturity, He was in condition to be the Sin-offering.

We would say that our Lord as a human being was the same soul as in His pre-existent condition; for He had the same life principle as before; and that when He became human He did not die as a spirit being. The Scriptures declare that our Lord was “made flesh,” a human being; and that the difference between Him and mankind in general was that He was perfect—”holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners”—separate from the remainder of the human race. (Heb. 7:26.) The Scriptures also explain that this difference resulted from the fact that He was specially begotten. The life principle by which He was conceived came directly from the Heavenly Father.

This explanation is altogether different from the theory known as Incarnation. The thought of the theory of incarnation is that a spirit being took possession of an earthly being—became incarnate, dwelt in the flesh, in the same way that some are possessed of evil spirits which dwell within them. This, we believe, is a wrong thought respecting our Lord which has come down from the “Dark Ages.” There is nothing in the Scriptures about incarnation. The Scriptures do not say that our Lord’s body died, while the spirit being within it remained alive. But the Bible says that our Lord left the glory which He had with the Father and was found in fashion as a man; that He humbled Himself unto death, even unto the death of the cross; that He was “put to death in the flesh.”—John 17:4,5; I Pet. 3:18; Phil. 2:8.

“MADE FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US” [John 1:14]

From what we know of childhood we recognize it as the period of development. And so we read of our Lord: “And the child grew, and waxed strong, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him…And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:40,52.) His was not a mind that had all the experiences and intelligence of His pre-existent state. We read that He grew in wisdom. His mind grew. Of course, being perfect He would learn much more rapidly and accurately than would others; and this accounts for the fact that as a child He was able to confound the Doctors of the Law. With His natural qualities of mind, He was able to grasp the situation, to take in things rapidly.

St. Luke tells us that at the age of twelve years our Lord accompanied His mother and Joseph to Jerusalem. The Jewish children were accustomed to attending religious services; and it was a custom that Jewish boys should make a consecration at the age at which Jesus did. Jesus knew that He was different from other boys. [B]Very likely He told them the facts relating to His miraculous birth. It is assumed by some that He was even charged with having an illegitimate birth. But since we do not know definitely about this, we must confine ourselves to the Scriptures.

Our Lord came into the world in a miraculous manner for the purpose of fulfilling the prophecies, which were all to attain fulfilment in Him. Naturally He would avail Himself of the first opportunity of ascertaining the requirements. When at twelve years of age He learned from the Doctors of the Law that He could not assume the priestly function as a boy, He made no further attempt, but was subject to His parents, or to Mary and her husband, who properly enough were His guardians until He reached thirty years of age, when His first step was to make full consecration of Himself.

“I COME TO DO THY WILL” [Heb. 10:9]

Our Lord at thirty years of age [before being begotten of the Holy Spirit] certainly had much knowledge that Adam did not possess when he was on trial. Our Lord had some knowledge of what constitutes sin and its penalty. He had also knowledge of the fact that God had arranged for the redemption of mankind, through the great Mediator of the New Covenant—a Savior, a Redeemer, a Deliverer. He knew that the inability of others to keep the Divine Law written in the Decalogue and His ability to keep that Law, constituted the [major] difference between Himself and others.

Doubtless our Lord’s mother had told Him of His miraculous birth and of the message that had come through Gabriel and of the prophecy of Anna and of Simeon. And He had in mind the prophecy respecting Himself and the future of the great Messiah that was to come and deliver the world. All this knowledge was very valuable.

But the thing that our Lord evidently lacked was the knowledge of the deeper things of the Scriptures. He evidently found perplexities in the Bible; for He had not received the Holy Spirit [yet]. Although He might be better qualified to understand these things than were the fallen race, yet, as the Apostle says, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God…neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Cor. 2:14.) Jesus had not been begotten of the Holy Spirit [yet]; therefore, He did not have the understanding of the prophecies and symbols.

“THE HEAVENS WERE OPENED” [Matt. 3:16]

All this knowledge began to come upon Him when He was begotten of the Holy Spirit. He began to understand the higher things, the deep things of God. [Before being begotten] He had understood in a measure about the Lamb that was slain as the sin-offering and the things about the putting away of sin, but nothing to identify the One who was to be the great Deliverer or to explain the wonderful pictures in the Scriptures. Just as soon as He was begotten of the Holy Spirit He began to see that if He would reign, it would be by a manifestation of loyalty to God and to righteousness. As soon as He was illuminated He saw the things pertaining to the suffering.

During our Lord’s earthly ministry, He learned obedience through the things which He suffered. (Heb. 5:8.) And thus He received the great illumination which was so powerful an addition to Him—just as it is a great illumination to us to see the terms and conditions of our calling—that we must walk in the steps of our Lord if we would reign with Him.

Just in what manner the higher things were revealed to our Lord we may not know. St. Paul tells us of wonderful revelations which were made to him. Doubtless our Lord also had revelations, but just what was revealed to Him thus, in order that He might understand His pre-human conditions, etc., we may not know. Nor do we know how all the acts and experiences during the previous period of His existence before He became flesh could have been impressed suddenly upon His mind. The same God who is able to give us a spirit body which will assimilate all the experiences of the present life, could also impress upon Jesus all the previous experiences which He had had.

The impress of previous experiences did not come to Him during His boyhood; for He was then growing in knowledge and in stature, and in favor with God and man. We believe that the impress came at the time of His consecration at Jordan; and that not only had He there given to Him the impress of His previous experiences with the Father and of the remote past, but also that He had light given to Him upon the Scriptures so that He could grasp the full purport of what He had done when He gave Himself in consecration.

As the “heavens” continued to open to our Lord, He would see that the experiences of the Messiah, which could not have been commanded under the Law Covenant, were nevertheless to be His privileges as He would see these to be the Divine will, as He would see these to be the Divine Law in the Prophecies. As a sheep would be dumb before its shearers, so He would not rebel as His rights were taken from Him. He would know that He was to be put to death; and that He was to be an innocent victim. He was to be the crucified One, the antitype of the brazen serpent.

Having consecrated to fulfil all things written in the Book, Jesus was fully prepared for His every experience. [C]This we see also is the purport of that beautiful picture in Revelation of the scroll sealed with seven seals. The proclamation was made, “Who is worthy to open the Book, and to lose the seals thereof?” (Rev. 5:2.) Up to that time no one had been found who could open the Book. But at that time our Lord was found worthy to open the Book, and to Him was given all the knowledge in the Divine Plan, that He might carry out these things in the sacrificing of the flesh.

At His consecration at Jordan our Lord gave up the human life—He gave up all rights and privileges as a human being. The ultimate purpose of this full surrender of His life was that He might bring everlasting life to mankind. The Father’s arrangement with Him, however, was such that He might retain His personality, His identity. But after He was begotten of the Holy Spirit, He was a New Creature; and as a New Creature He had the human body in which to develop character, in which to have His experiences. This New Creature was developed to perfection during the three and one-half years of His ministry, and was ready for the spirit body which had been promised to Him.

If our Lord had not been found perfect, faithful, loyal, in His pre-human condition, He never would have had this privilege of becoming a man and the Redeemer of men. Because of His obedience as a man He received the greater glory, immortality. He was perfect under all the favorable conditions before He became a man; He was faithful as a man, and being glorified, He is still faithful. Therefore, He maintains the same relationship to God and to righteousness that He ever had. Consequently, He would not specially need any of those things which assist in making character; for He has never shown any defects to be rectified. But we may suppose that the experiences which He had in His pre-existent state, and while He was a man, and since He was glorified, all cooperate to make His character intelligent and loyal in the very highest sense.

HE “MANIFESTED FORTH HIS GLORY” [John 2:11]

Let us examine some Scriptures which might be understood to imply that our Lord had a clear recollection of His pre-human experiences with the Father.

(1) “Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do; for what things so ever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” (John 5:19.) These words were used in connection with the healing of the sick. They do not, of course, mean that the Lord had seen the Father healing the sick, but that He had seen the Father’s will, the Father’s Plan.

Our Lord was simply carrying out the Father’s will concerning Him: “The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as an hart”; etc. (Isa. 35:5,6.) These miracles of healing were some of the things that He was to do, as written in the Scriptures. He knew that He was to do these miracles and that they were a foreshadowing of the things to be done by and by. As we read, “This beginning of miracles did Jesus…and manifested forth His glory.”—John 2:11.

(2) “I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth.” (Prov. 8:23-25.) This passage may be viewed either as a prophecy of what our Lord understood of His previous condition, or as a figure of speech setting forth the Wisdom of God all through the ages. But since the Wisdom of God is specially revealed in our Lord Jesus, so this was a foreshadowing of what Jesus might know respecting His pre-human condition.

(3) When our Lord at twelve years of age asked, “Wist ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49) He would have in mind the Heavenly Father, just as any consecrated child of God might think of Him. From the information which He had received from His mother, Mary, He would know of His miraculous birth and of His special mission in the world. His mother knew that He could not be true to Himself and His mission unless she told Him about these things. Having been told that He was especially holy and miraculously born for this very purpose, [D]He now turned to Mary and asked, is it possible that you should not know that I should be about My Father’s business? Did not you tell me of this thing? He was surprised that Mary and Joseph should not understand that this was the very thing for Him to do.

MEMORY THE MEANS OF IDENTIFICATION

(4) Our Lord’s statement, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58), serves to identify the man Jesus with His previous condition as the Logos before He was made flesh and dwelt among us. He is the same today, although He has been received to the spirit plane. He says, “I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive forevermore.” (Rev. 1:18.) Originally He was on the spirit plane. Later as a man, He lived; He died. At His Resurrection He was made alive on the spirit plane, far above angels, principalities and powers. But the identity, the personality, is the same.

And we can readily believe that the memory of things past is still with our Lord. We also think that He remembers the experiences which He had in the flesh and also those which He had before He became flesh. Otherwise, He could not identify Himself. Memory seems to be the means of identification of our personality. Nothing in this Scripture would seem to imply that our Lord was born into the world with the knowledge of all His previous experiences. After His Consecration He received the knowledge by some means which we are not great enough to understand—by some power the Father used; for the Father has all power.

(5) “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” (Heb. 13:8.) This statement would not identify our Lord with His previous condition; for in His pre-existent state, He was not Jesus. He was called Jesus at His birth. He became Jesus Christ at His baptism. “By His knowledge shall My Righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.” (Isa. 53:11.) Our Lord began to bear the iniquities of the world at His consecration, and finished so doing at His crucifixion. Since then He has been reckoning certain persons to be members of Himself. When the Holy Spirit came upon Him and the heavens were opened unto Him, He probably received the knowledge which would enable Him to overcome.

Before His consecration, when our Lord was a perfect man just as Adam was, we know not what force Satan’s temptations would have had; but when His mind was opened, then Satan came to tempt Him along the very line of His work, along the line of the consecration which He had already made. Satan attempted to overthrow His consecration and to thwart its completion. How much knowledge our Lord had we do not know; but the Heavenly Father gave Him sufficient to enable Him to come off conqueror. And so with us. Our Lord gives us knowledge of Himself and of the Father. He shows us the relation between the sufferings of this present time and the glories that are to follow. Thus by knowledge all the members of the Body of this Great Righteous Servant will be permitted to come off “more than conquerors” by His grace.

THE NATURAL MAN CANNOT PERCEIVE SPIRITUAL THINGS

(6) “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.” (John 3:11.) The intimation is that our Lord could tell heavenly things, but that He was not disposed to do so, because Nicodemus and others found it difficult to receive even the earthly things. How could Jesus tell of the heavenly things? By that time, He may have had the impress of memory in respect to His pre-existent condition.

We are to tell the heavenly things, but not to the natural man. “Cast not your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” (Matt. 7:6.) Our Lord said that He had many things to tell His disciples, but that they could not receive them until the Holy Spirit came. (John 16:12,13.) And, “The Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:39.) “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned”; “but God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” (I Cor. 2:14,10.) Now if the Holy Spirit reveals some of the deep things to us, how much more could the perfect mind of our Lord enter into the holy things?

“THE GLORY WHICH I HAD WITH THEE” [John 17:5]

(7) Our Lord’s words, “Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine Own self, with the glory which I had with Thee, before the world was” (John 17:5), would not signify that He had no knowledge of His prospective share in the divine nature. He had the assurance of the Scriptures, one of which was that He should be very high; another that the Lord would give unto Him the Kingdom; another says that Jehovah God would “divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death” (Isa. 53:12); still another says, “The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a Priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” (Psa. 110:4.) He was to be both a Priest and a King of very high state and honor.

Probably our Lord knew these things fully after He was begotten of the Holy Spirit, even as St. Paul was caught away to the third heaven and received knowledge of wonderful things “which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” (2 Cor. 12:4.) [In Tamil 2 Cor. 12:3] And so it is most probable that our Lord Jesus had some special revelation; for we read that He said that “as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself” (John 5:26); thus indicating His knowledge of the fact that both He and the Church would share in the divine nature and inherency of life.

Our Lord’s words show that He was not wishing to aspire to these glorious things. Very humbly He said, “Father, I have come to do Thy will. Father, I shall perform the work Thou hast given Me to do and I shall be glad to be returned to the glory I had with Thee—to ask nothing as a favor. I am glad that I have had this privilege, and I think that I shall not suffer by reason of My obedience to Thy will. I shall be glad, therefore, to be with Thee in the glory that I shared with Thee before the world was.”

He did not say to the Father, “Do not forget to pay Me; do not forget what Thou didst promise.” No. [E]He did the Father’s will without any thought of compensation connected with it. So with us. Anyone who looks for the divine nature merely as a reward and feels that it is due him, is taking an improper view. We should feel that to be on the side of righteousness and to be identified with our Lord Jesus is a great privilege, if there be no reward of the divine nature at all; but the thought of the reward is a great incentive to run patiently for something super-abundant, exceedingly beyond what we could have asked or thought.

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Good subject.

• But when He became a human being and had reached the age of maturity, He was in condition to be the Sin-offering. – Here CTR seems to equate Ransom and Sin-offering to mean the same, which is the correct biblical view.
• Very likely He told them the facts relating to His miraculous birth. – May be told on a suggestive note.
• This we see also is the purport of that beautiful picture in Revelation of the scroll sealed with seven seals. The proclamation was made, “Who is worthy to open the Book, and to lose the seals thereof?” (Rev. 5:2.) Up to that time no one had been found who could open the Book. But at that time our Lord was found worthy to open the Book, and to Him was given all the knowledge in the Divine Plan, that He might carry out these things in the sacrificing of the flesh. – The author seems to indicate that the scrolls were open at the time of consecration. However, in context of the Revelator’s text, we see that Lamb was worthy to open the seal, that is, He was able to open the scroll because he “prevailed” or was victorious. We see that Jesus gained victory at his resurrection and glorification and not before.
• He now turned to Mary and asked, is it possible that you should not know that I should be about My Father’s business? Did not you tell me of this thing? – We may not be very sure of this thought or tone of communication. Since Mary and Joseph could not understand why Jesus spoke like this. If Mary had earlier indicated this, she would have remembered when Jesus replied to them. But this was not the case.
• He did the Father’s will without any thought of compensation connected with it. – This statement is contradictory to the scriptures. For Apostle Paul says that He endured the cross for the joy set before him in Heb. 12:2. However, Jesus did not have the thought that God would forget to pay or go back on His Word. Rather Jesus was very confident that what was promised of God, would be done.

[R4377 : page 120]

“YOU HATH HE QUICKENED” [Eph. 2:1]

—JAMES 2:14-26.—MAY 30 [1909].—

Golden Text:—”Faith without works is dead.”—V. 20. [Jas. 2:20]

MANY have supposed doctrinal conflict between St. Paul and St. James, the former holding faith as the important feature of Christianity, the latter insisting that works take precedence. More or less this conflict of thought has come down the ages and is with us to-day. We hold that there was no such conflict between the Apostles, and that the subject, rightly understood to-day, leaves no room for disputation. St. Paul insists that the Law Covenant was a Covenant of works, and that none could be justified under it, because none could do perfect works, and that, therefore, all Jews [under the Law Covenant] were under condemnation. [A]He points out that the original Abrahamic Covenant was better and superior to the Law Covenant, because its provisions did not require perfect works, impossible to the fallen man, but instead tested him along another line—the line of his faith. St. Paul did not mean, and did not say, that works were valueless in God’s sight; but, realizing that the Jews, trusting in their special Law Covenant, already laid more stress upon works than upon faith, [B]he pressed upon their attention the fact that with Spiritual Israelites of the Isaac class, heirs of the original Sarah Covenant, faith must be regarded as the standard. Under it whoever would attain the proper kind of faith would be acceptable to God. That Covenant [or rather the Apostle’s point] does not declare for faith without works, but it does indicate a proper development of faith as necessary—something beyond the initial belief that “God is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.”—Heb. 11:6.

Faith is a matter of steps and development; and only the developed faith could possibly bring to us the blessing of the Abrahamic Covenant. This would imply works, to the extent that they would be possible, as in attestation of the faith. Nevertheless, none of us can be justified by works, because our best works are imperfect. Our judgment, our test, in its last analysis is, “According to thy faith be it unto thee.” (Matt. 9:29.) St. James possibly noticed a tendency in some to go to the opposite extreme in the matter of faith, and to ignore works entirely. He does not claim that any could do works that would justify them before God, but merely insists that if the right kind of faith be developed in the heart it will surely bear fruit and make an outward manifestation, according to circumstances. Undoubtedly this is a sound position and one fully in accord with our Lord’s words, “By their fruits ye shall know them.”—Matt. 7:16.

Coming to an orchard [or grove] filled with fruit, we may quickly discern the various kinds of trees by their fruits. So with the Christian. If he professes faith in Christ we are willing to acknowledge him as a brother, but “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his;” hence, we look for evidences of the Lord’s Spirit, disposition, character, in all those who profess to be his “members,” “brethren.” (Rom. 8:9.) If we see little of the Lord’s Spirit (disposition) we are inclined to next inquire how long the brother has known the Lord and professed consecration to him. We thus sometimes find “babes in Christ,” who, for the time they have had a knowledge of him, should be more developed and have a larger measure of his Spirit. We should be on guard against considering such, in any sense of the word, suitable teachers or exemplars.

On the contrary, we may very speedily discern the Spirit of Christ in some—their gentleness, meekness, patience, brotherly kindness, love. And if, as sometimes, these qualities be quickly developed in some who have only recently come to a knowledge of the Truth, we may the more rejoice with the fruit-bearer. However young in years, the fruit-bearing quality, the heart development, would indicate such to be possibly one of the “Elder” brethren—even though, because a novice, [C]the Church may not yet consider it due time to advance him formally to an official position as an “Elder.”

THE BEGETTING, THEN THE QUICKENING

[D]In other words, the teachings of St. Paul and St. James may be fully harmonized by remembering the words of the former, “You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” (Eph. 2:1.) After the sinner, dead in trespasses and under condemnation, has, by the grace of God, heard of Christ and has accepted his share of the redemptive work by faith, he is “justified by faith,” before he has had any time to bring forth works or fruitage of any kind. Then if, following the Lord’s leading and instruction, he presented himself a living sacrifice to the Lord to take up his cross and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, the acceptance of his sacrifice by the Father meant his begettal to a new nature—to the spirit plane as a “New Creature.” If the begetting spirit be not lost, if it do not die, a transformation work will progress. By and by a quickening or activity will result from the indwelling of the holy Spirit in the mortal body. If this process continues, ultimately the “New Creature” will be perfected and ready for birth on the spirit plane—by [Chief] resurrection. Thus our Lord in his resurrection was the First-Born of many brethren, and we, his brethren, will be “born from the dead” in due time, if faithful. But if the spark of life perish, we become castaways and will experience no resurrection birth.

From this standpoint we are ready to discern that the beginning of God’s leading with us is along the lines of faith, and that it is to our faith that the promises of God appeal, and that by these “exceeding great and precious promises,” [2 Pet. 1:4] touching our faith, energizing our faith, God works in us, first to will, and later to do, his good pleasure. To will to do right is of primary importance and is wholly of faith. The doing, which results from this faith, is God’s operation through it and corresponds to the “quickening” of the natural birth. The period of the quickening may come sooner or later, but the strength, the vigor, of the unborn infant is usually estimated by the degree of quickening manifested. And so it is with the Christian. When his faith shall have developed sufficiently, the degree of his activity in obedience to God in the service of the Truth and righteousness and the brethren will indicate the strength or the weakness of his spiritual development.

Self-examination along this line is very proper. If we have heard, seen, tasted, of the grace of God and enjoyed it, and if no desire to serve our gracious Father or to assist others to the same blessings that we enjoy has been manifested, it implies that our spiritual vitality is very weak and in danger of perishing. But if, on the contrary, we find ourselves burning with fervency of love for the Lord, and with appreciation of his great Plan of Salvation, and are consumed with a desire to tell the good tidings to others for their blessing, strengthening, upbuilding and participation in the Divine faith, it should encourage us. We should notice, too, that Jesus specially loved and favored the more zealous, vigorous and energetic of the apostles, Peter, James, John, and, we may be sure, Paul also.

BE YE WARMED AND FILLED [Jas. 2:16]

St. James presses his point and endeavors to awaken some who have a measure of faith, but who have not gone on to the quickening degree. He asks what profit there would be for us to say that we have faith if we do not have works to correspond—to attest the faith, however imperfect the works would be. He asks (R. V.), “Can that faith save him?” [Jas. 2:14] We answer, No. As St. Paul declares, [E]It is the faith that works by love that counts. But it is the faith that counts, and not the works; because the faith can be perfect, complete; but perfection of works is impossible to us, because we have this treasure of the New Nature in an earthen vessel.

Illustrating this point he suggests that to tell a poor brother of our faith that God will help him and to send him away without relief, when it is within our power to relieve him, would not be such a faith as God would approve. It would rather signify that we had deceived our own selves. It would profit us nothing. So faith that has no works, of any kind or degree, cannot be called a living faith, because, as yet, it has given no evidence of life—it has shown no quickening.

St. James clearly attests his thought, saying, “A man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works; show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.” [Jas. 2:18] Again he points to the special feature of the Jewish faith in one God in contrast with the beliefs of the heathen in many gods. He says to the Jewish brethren, “You boast in having knowledge of the one living and true God, but surely this is not the extent of your faith in this direction; because the devils believe and tremble. Oh, foolish man, faith without works is barren. It can never bring you life, birth.” [Jas. 2:19,20] A faith that will not develop obedience, in harmony with ability, is, therefore, unavailing during this Gospel Age, even as imperfect works failed to justify to life under the Law Covenant.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF FAITH AND WORKS

Note the case of Abraham, the “father of the faithful.” It is written that he believed God, and that his faith was counted to him for righteousness. But how much faith is required and to what extent is it involved in works? St. James points out that God placed a crucial test upon Abraham’s faith, which would have proven it inefficient, if it had not developed to the quickened stage of works of obedience. It was years after the promise had been made, and Isaac, the seed of promise, was grown to young manhood, when God commanded that he should be sacrificed upon the altar—thus prefiguring how The Christ, the true Seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:29), must all have the testing of faith to the point of obedience, even unto death—sacrificial death.

[F]Then, fearful that he had given an example of so lofty a faith and obedience as would discourage us, St. James picks out and holds up before us another illustration of faith and works—that of Rahab the harlot. She had faith in God, but it would not have availed her if it had not developed to the degree of activity and helpful service, risking her own interests temporarily for the assistance of the spies. Manifestly she would never have had such works without faith—and it is the faith that is specially pleasing to the Lord. But the faith would not have been pleasing to the Lord, had it not led up to works in accord. Thus we see how works have to do with our justification, in conjunction with our faith, which is the foundation of our works.

THE BODY WITHOUT THE SPIRIT [Jas. 2:26]

St. James summarizes this thought, saying, “As the body without the spirit of life is dead, even so faith without works is dead.” [Jas. 2:26] [G]Some might think that the writer of these words had erred in likening the body to faith and the spirit of life to works, supposing that the illustration should be reversed, namely, to compare the body to works and the spirit of life to faith. But St. James has expressed the matter properly. A body must be had before any spirit of life could come into it. So a faith must exist before it can be quickened into activity. But the quickening is absolutely necessary ere [or before] we could have our birth of the spirit in the First Resurrection.

Notwithstanding all that we have written on this subject, especially in Studies, Vol. VI., some of the dear friends occasionally write us in perplexity, desirous of knowing what course they should pursue, in respect to brethren (and sometimes prominent brethren) whose works do not correspond with their professions of faith. For instance, a letter recently received noted the fact that one prominent in the Truth at whose residence the meetings were usually held, has a weakness for intoxicating liquors. They feared that if the meetings were removed from his home he would not attend them elsewhere. They desired to know the Lord’s will respecting their course of action.

We were glad to note their love for the brother and also their solicitation for the Truth, lest his weakness might bring the cause of Christ to a measure of dishonor. We advised that the erring one be still treated as a brother, for his weakness may be of heredity and much against his own will; but we also advised that one thus weak should not in any sense of the word be set forth to the world as a prominent representative of the Truth; that so doing would dishonor the Truth and also be injurious to the brother, who might come to feel that his weakness was conceded by the brethren to be justifiable, and thus encouraged he might fail to put forth the necessary energy—fail to allow his faith to work in him, to rule him, to control his mortal flesh, as the Scriptures require.

With full sympathy and brotherly love it is our belief that the brother is not being helped by the course pursued; that it would be better for him if the dear friends would give him loving reproofs and remove the meeting from his home. If he has any of the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of meekness and love of the brethren, such a course would be a most helpful reproof, setting before him, and before all, the high standards of Christian deportment. Is it claimed that this might lead him to antagonize the Truth? We answer that the Scriptures forewarn us that our Gospel is a “savor of life unto life, and of death unto death.” (2 Cor. 2:16.) Our whole responsibility is in doing the Lord’s will in the kindest, most gentle, most loving manner possible, yet with that force and positiveness which will impress a lesson upon those who are amenable to our influence and the influence of the Lord through us.

We have just received a letter from a dear Sister who has been connected with and deeply interested in the Truth for years. She writes us that she is only now awakening to a realization of the wonderful privileges that are hers in connection with the Harvest work, and of “showing forth the praises of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.” [1 Pet. 2:9] This dear Sister is only now becoming thoroughly quickened, energized with the Truth. The good features to result may be expected, not only in the bringing of others into a knowledge of the Truth, but also a bringing of her own heart into full harmony with the Lord and to greater character likeness to him, in the manifestation of the fruits and graces of the Holy Spirit. This quickening came in conjunction with the endeavors of the Sister to live up to all the various features of [H]The Vow. We hope to hear from others similarly blessed and energized to good works for the Lord, the brethren and the Truth.

====================

Good subject.

• He points out that the original Abrahamic Covenant was better and superior to the Law Covenant, because its provisions did not require perfect works – It is important to note that the Apostle Paul does not bring the Abrahamic Covenant into picture, rather he just bring the righteousness of God being obtained through Faith in Christ.
• he pressed upon their attention the fact that with Spiritual Israelites of the Isaac class, heirs of the original Sarah Covenant, faith must be regarded as the standard – Again Apostle Paul does not bring into picture the Sarah Covenant or Isaac class but only stresses the importance of faith-based righteousness of God.
• the Church may not yet consider it due time to advance him formally to an official position as an “Elder.” – There is no formalism for Eldership in the scriptures. The one who is sufficiently grow in the truth is an elder and thus takes up the responsibility of nurturing the Church.
• In other words, the teachings of St. Paul and St. James may be fully harmonized by remembering the words of the former, “You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” (Eph. 2:1.) – The author’s premise or understanding does not match with the statements or line of thought expressed by the Apostles (Paul & James). St. James indicates clearly that works are required to be justified. Thus, the only harmonious stance could be that faith and faith-related works to complete that faith is required of God to be accepted as faith.
• As St. Paul declares, It is the faith that works by love that counts. But it is the faith that counts, and not the works – There is no direct statement of Apostle Paul as mentioned here. However, the based on the understanding from 1 Cor. 13:2, we can surmise to the above statement. Still the author adds no value to “works”, which is in direct contradiction to St. James’ exhortation.
• Then, fearful that he had given an example of so lofty a faith and obedience as would discourage us, St. James picks out and holds up before us another illustration of faith and works—that of Rahab the harlot. – This thought is not reflected in the statement from St. James. But the thought can be taken on a suggestive note.
• Some might think that the writer of these words had erred in likening the body to faith and the spirit of life to works, supposing that the illustration should be reversed, namely, to compare the body to works and the spirit of life to faith. – In context of the textual flow by St. James, there seems to be no comparison of body with faith or spirit with works. Rather the point that is being emphasised is a dead condition, vain condition of faith, if there are no accompanying works to it.
• A Vow Unto the Lord

Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. May Thy rule come into my heart more and more, and Thy will be done in my mortal body. Relying on the assistance of Thy promised grace to help in every time of need, through Jesus Christ our Lord, I register this Vow.

Daily will I remember at the Throne of Heavenly Grace the general interests of the harvest work, and particularly the share which I myself am privileged to enjoy in that work, and the dear co-laborers everywhere.

I vow to still more carefully, if possible, scrutinize my thoughts and words and doings, to the intent that I may be the better enabled to serve Thee, and Thy dear flock.

I vow to Thee that I will be on the alert to resist everything akin to Spiritism and Occultism, and, remembering that there are but the two masters, I shall resist these snares in all reasonable ways as being of the adversary.

I further vow, that with the exceptions below, I will at all times and in all places, conduct myself toward those of the opposite sex in private exactly as I would do with them in public—in the presence of a congregation of the Lord’s people.

And, so far as reasonably possible, I will avoid being in the same room with any of the opposite sex alone, unless the door to the room stand wide open.

Exceptions in the case of Brethren—wife, children, mother and natural Sisters: in the case of Sisters-husband, children, father and natural brothers.

[R2719 : page 325]

DEAD BODIES AND QUICKENED BODIES.

—————

“O wretched man that I am: who shall deliver me from this dead body? I thank God (for deliverance) through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with my mind I serve the law of
God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” —Rom. 7:24,25.—

MUCH PERPLEXITY has been caused to many Christian minds by the statements of the seventh chapter of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans [Rom. 7]. Some have concluded that he here teaches that he lived a life of sin, according to the flesh, but a life of righteousness according to his mind; and yet they are ready to concede that this is rather a perplexing, unreasonable and unsatisfactory view of the matter. Others reach the conclusion that the Apostle must here be describing his condition of heart and mind before conversion, while he was still a sinner; yet these also find difficulties, and confess that many features of such a view are quite inconsistent with the Apostle’s language. We submit the following interpretation of the chapter, as proving itself correct by its harmonizing with all the Apostle’s statements in this chapter and elsewhere.

The Apostle is addressing believers at Rome, “beloved of God, called saints” (1:7) [Rom. 1:7 YLT; In Tamil Rom. 1:2]. Some of these were probably converts from amongst the Gentiles, while undoubtedly a considerable proportion were converts from Judaism. This is implied by the fact that the Apostle in this Epistle so particularly explains the Law, not as to Gentiles having no knowledge of the Law, but as to Jews having full knowledge of it. The Epistle is a very comprehensive statement of the entire plan of God. The Apostle begins in the first chapter [Rom. 1] by showing that God was not responsible for the prevalent degradation, ignorance, sin, etc., throughout the world, and concludes with the crushing of Satan under the feet of the saints during the Millennial reign of the Christ. He explains that at one time God gave to mankind in general certain knowledge and blessings, but that “when they knew God they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Confessing themselves to be wise they became fools.” [Rom. 1:21,22] He explains that thus gradually men came down to idolatry and bestiality, dishonoring and degrading themselves, and “perverting the truth of God into a lie;” [Rom. 1:25] “for which cause God gave them up to vile affections and to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not proper;” [Rom. 1:26] and they became filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, murder, dispute, deceit, malignity, etc., etc. Thus he accounts for the various degrees of degradation, ignorance and superstition prevalent throughout the world.—Chap. 1:21,22,25,26,28,29. [Rom. 1:21,22,25,26,28,29]

Proceeding, he shows that while Israel had received God’s Law, under a special covenant, and with special favors at his hands, they had not been saved by the Law, any more than the Gentiles had been saved without the Law; and that therefore both Jews and Gentiles needed just such a Savior as God had provided. Answering the supposed argument of the Jews, he declares, “Not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law,” [Rom. 2:13] and he argues that the Jew who rested in the Law, and made his boast of being of God’s favored people, and who by reason of these favors knew the will of God more particularly than the Gentiles, would not, by reason of this knowledge and advantage, be justified under the Law, but could only be acquitted by a perfect keeping of that Law; and that since the Jews did not keep the Law perfectly they could not claim the reward promised by the Law, namely, eternal life. Hence, so far as eternal life was concerned, they had no more claim upon it than had the Gentiles, who had less knowledge as well as less outward piety. He asks: “Are we (Jews) better than they (Gentiles, living according to the light that they possessed)? No, in no wise; for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” [Rom. 3:9,10]

The Apostle’s argument is that none being righteous, none could be acquitted or approved before God, whether they had the Law or did not have it. Thus he proved that the Jews as well as the Gentiles, up to the time of Christ, were all under sin, all under condemnation, and that none of them had any claim upon eternal life, according to divine arrangements thus far made. For “By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.” [Rom. 3:20]—Chap. 2:13,17; 3:9,10,19,20. [Rom. 2:13,17; 3:9,10,19,20]

Next the Apostle proceeds to show that whoever would be justified before God, whether he had previously been a Jew, favored with the knowledge and advantages of the Law, or a Gentile, in blindness and ignorance doing to the best of his knowledge, God has now provided for both, one way to be saved and to come into harmony with him—namely, through Christ. He shows that the Law, so far from justifying the Jews, showed them to be in a condition of sin, by their inability to keep it perfectly. But this Law which had condemned the Jews, because of their failure and inability to keep its conditions perfectly, served the more abundantly to attest God’s justice; it became a witness to God’s righteousness—that he had been right in his declaration that Israel had not kept the Law, and that all mankind, being in a fallen condition, were unfit to receive his favors; and it witnessed more than this: it witnessed to the justice of God in providing the ransom for sinners, in the person of his Son our Lord—”even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe (whether Jews or Gentiles): for there is (now) no difference, for all have sinned (and consequently all are unworthy of divine favor upon any basis of works of their own, and must therefore needs be redeemed with the precious blood, and their penalty met for them, ere [or before] they could be received back into harmony with God); being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (satisfaction) through faith in his blood.”—Chap. 3:19-26. [Rom. 3:19-26]

Appealing to those who had formerly been Jews, and who had been inclined to boast of themselves as God’s favored people, and inclined to think that in some sense of the word they were still more favored of God than those formerly Gentiles, the Apostle says, in view of the preceding facts, “Where is (the room for) boasting then?” and he answers, “It is excluded.” [Rom. 3:27] There is no room for boasting; the Jew and the Gentile having come into Christ are on a common level—both have been justified by faith in Christ; neither was benefited or injured by his previous experience, whether under the Law or without the Law, if now by God’s grace they had received adoption into his family through Christ. Boasting on the part of those who previously had been Jews would certainly be excluded, for they had not been able to perform the works which their Law Covenant had demanded, and now being exempted of God, under the law of faith, it would hinder them from any boasting as respects the law of works. “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without (necessity for) the deeds of (works demanded by) the Law.” [Rom. 3:28]

The Apostle proceeds to show that the Lord’s operation of favor on account of faith does not make void the Law, with which for centuries he had dealt with Israel,—the Law of Righteousness. On the contrary, the fact that it was necessary to justify the Jews by faith, and the fact that they could not be justified under the Law of Works proves, not that the Law of Works was bad, but that it was good, and that the Jew was imperfect through the fall, so that he was unable to obey the perfect Law given. [A]Thus God’s dealings through the new Law of Faith really upholds and magnifies his old Law of Works, for the latter had to be fulfilled by Jesus on behalf of his people, in order that he might be the Redeemer of the world in general, and set free from the Law of Works those who had been under it, that they also, with the remainder of the world, might be accepted of God under the Law of Faith.—Chap. 3:27-31. [Rom. 3:27-31]

Buttressing his argument, the Apostle shows that Abraham was not justified by the Law of Works, the Law Covenant, but by faith; and hence the claim advanced by some that the Mosaic Law was necessary, with faith for justification, was an erroneous one; because Abraham was called the friend of God, and had his faith counted to him for righteousness, not only long before the Law was given at Mount Sinai, but even before the outward sign of circumcision was given to himself—the latter being given, not as a requirement to his justification, but as a seal or mark of justification and harmony with God, to which he had already attained.—Chap. 4:1-15. [Rom. 4:1-15]

As Abraham was justified by faith, and received into favor with God because of his exercise of faith, so, says the Apostle, it is with us. “Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [Rom. 5:1] And how and why through our Lord? Because, says the Apostle, “He was delivered for our offences (bearing the condemnation which those offences implied and involved—the very offences or weaknesses of the flesh which hindered Jews from keeping the perfect law given at Sinai, and being justified under it by works of obedience to it).”—Chap. 4:25; 5:1. [Rom. 4:25; 5:1]

This justification, which we receive through faith in Christ, becomes to us the basis of our new hopes in him,—of becoming his disciples, and, if faithful, ultimately joint-heirs with him in the Kingdom. This the Apostle expresses in the words, “By whom also (additional to justification and its peace) we have access by faith into this grace (the privilege of adoption into God’s family) wherein we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God (in the hope of sharing in God’s glory and Kingdom with our Lord and Head).” [Rom. 5:2] The Apostle proceeds to prove, not only that the death of Christ was necessary as the off-set to Adam’s transgression, and the payment of his penalty, but he demonstrates that this penalty was fully paid, and that God has accepted it on behalf of the world in general, and not of the Jews only, and has transferred all to Christ; for as “the judgment was by one to condemnation, the free gift is of many offences unto justification. As one offence resulted in a pronouncement which affected all to condemnation, even so by one righteous act a pronouncement was made (by the same Justice) which affects all men (permitting their attainment) unto justification of life.” [Rom. 5:16,18]

And, adds the Apostle, the Law Covenant was introduced, not for the doing away of sin, but that sin might be more distinctly seen to be sin, and in its true colors; not, however, with a view to the injury of the Jews, with whom that Law Covenant was made, for if sin abounded amongst them the more by reason of their greater knowledge through the Law, then God’s grace abounded proportionately the more; for as sin hath reigned unto death, even so there is to be a reign of grace unto eternal life under righteous provisions through Jesus Christ our Lord.—Rom. 5:12,17-21. [Rom. 5:12,17-21]

The next point is, If God’s grace will be caused to abound in proportion to the sentence, so that he who has many and deep sins can be as fully and completely forgiven and released as he who has fewer and smaller sins, shall we then argue that we may as well delve deeply into sin, assured that God’s grace will be that much the more abundantly provided for us? No, says the Apostle; those who have come into the position to see and comprehend this much of divine mercy and favor must first have made a consecration of themselves to God, otherwise their eyes of understanding would not be opened widely enough to grasp the subject with clearness and definiteness; and if one had made a consecration of himself, and immersed his will into the will of God in Christ, and thus reckoned himself dead to the world and to sin, how could such persons live lives of sin or take pleasure therein? So surely as they have received the holy spirit, the new mind, that surely that new mind would be out of harmony with sin, craving, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, truth, etc.

We are therefore to reckon ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God through Christ; and we are not to let sin reign in us, because we, as new creatures, are begotten of a different spirit, that is at warfare with sin, as sin is at warfare against righteousness. Instead, therefore, of continuing to be servants of sin, and yielding our bodies to that service, we are to recognize ourselves as “new creatures in Christ,” [Similar 2 Cor. 5:17] servants of God, his ambassadors and representatives; and are to seek to use our members, our bodies and their talents, in the new service of righteousness,—remembering our past experience in sin, that its wages are degradation and ultimate death, and that this privilege which we have now entered upon as new creatures, redeemed by the precious blood, is God’s covenant through Jesus Christ our Lord, and means to us eternal life [on spirit plane], if we maintain it.—Chap. 6. [Rom. 6]

Having reached this climax of the argument, and having demonstrated the process of our justification and our subsequent adoption into the divine family; and having shown the necessity for maintaining our standing as new creatures, and gaining victory over the weaknesses of the flesh; and that all these privileges, nevertheless, are not of the Law but of grace and of faith—the Apostle next turns his attention to another phase of the subject in Chapter 7 [Rom. 7]. He has in mind, and is specially addressing the Christian brethren at Rome who were formerly Jews, as he says, “I write unto you who know the Law.” [Rom. 7:1] He wishes to demonstrate to them logically that altho the Jews previously, through the Law Covenant, had “much advantage every way,” [Rom. 3:1,2] yet now since the introduction of the New Covenant they were to some extent at a disadvantage—hindered or bound by the old dead covenant, unless they recognized it as dead, and cut loose from it. They were tightly bound by the Law given at Sinai; because as a nation they entered into a positive covenant with God, through Moses, the mediator of their covenant. St. Paul represents this as a marriage contract between that people and the Law Covenant; picturing the Jews as the wife, and the Law Covenant as the husband. He shows an incompatibility between them, but that nevertheless the Jews would be bound by their covenant, as a woman would be bound by her marriage contract, so long as the husband would live.

Hence the Jews, as a people, were less at liberty to enter into a New Covenant with Christ than were the Gentiles, because they were already bound to the Law Covenant through Moses. The Apostle proceeds to prove three things:

(1) [B]That the Law Covenant, or husband of Israel, had not been abrogated, had not been executed, as a bad law, but had died a natural death, through the fulfilment of the purpose of its creation; and that hence,

(2) Every Jew might properly consider himself as released from all obligation to the (dead) Law Covenant, and might properly be united or married to another, Christ, accepting the terms of the New Covenant, with its grace, mercy and peace through believing, now offered to them.

(3) It was proper that they all should see how much better was the New Covenant, into which they would enter by becoming united with Christ, than was the old covenant, which, he declared, had died a natural death.

However, he would not have them think evil of the first husband, the Law Covenant. On the contrary, he assures them that it was a good husband to them—”The Law is holy and just and good,” [Rom. 7:12] all must speak well of the Jews’ first husband. Nevertheless, argues the Apostle, we all realize that we did not receive from the Law Covenant the blessings we so earnestly coveted; we did not receive an actual cancellation of our sins, but merely a temporary covering of them, which required to be renewed and made mention of year by year continually (Heb. 10:1), nor did we obtain the longed for everlasting life. As Jews, we cannot blame the Law Covenant; we must only blame ourselves;—nor can we blame ourselves (for I may consider myself a representative, in thought and conduct, of all true Jews, and may speak for them, says the Apostle); and I can truly say that while living under this Law Covenant I approved it with my mind, with my heart, and I endeavored to serve it accordingly, but when I came to perform its requirements I found another law, a law of sin working in my members, which hindered me from rendering the obedience I desired to render to that Law Covenant.

Not that it hindered me entirely, for I certainly succeeded in some degree in conforming life and conduct to its requirements; but since I could not render perfect obedience to its every requirement I necessarily failed, because in that Law Covenant no provision was made for my weaknesses and imperfections which I had inherited, and which were my share of the fall of our race. I found, on the contrary, that even tho I had been able to perform the requirements of the Law in nine points out of ten [speaking hypothetically], and had failed in the tenth point, and even tho that failure were properly attributable to inherited weaknesses, and was entirely contrary to my desires of heart, nevertheless it was failure, and my efforts as a whole were branded failure, and the great prize of eternal life was denied me under that covenant.

Thus I found myself in a terrible predicament: my heart crying out for God and for righteousness, and earnestly desiring to fulfil the requirements of my covenant and to gain life everlasting, but I found myself wholly unable to fully obey its requirements; I found them entirely beyond my reach. Not that they were beyond the reach of my mind, for with my mind I grasped them and enjoyed them and appreciated them; nor that they would have been beyond the reach of obedience of my body, had my body been perfect; but, O wretched man! I find that my body is a dead body, that sin has gained such a power over it and so chained it down to things that are evil, in fact and in intention, that I cannot do the things that I would,—that when I would do good and keep the perfect law, sin is present with me, and hinders,—being an integral part of my body; so that the good that I would do, the perfect life that I would live, I am unable to perform, and the evil things that I would not do, which my mind, my will, rejects, and which I strive against, those things to some extent I find myself unable to resist; and here was my helpless condition as bound to the Law Covenant. I realized that I never could gain, through its assistance and offers, the glorious perfections that I desired, and the eternal life which could accompany only these perfections.

What shall I do? How can I escape this condition of things? I thank God that a way of escape has been provided; I thank God that in his due time he has sent Jesus, as a great Redeemer, and that through his death the world of mankind has been redeemed from the original sentence, and additionally that all we who were Jews and under the Law Covenant are set at liberty from that covenant—that the death of Jesus on our behalf means the death of our Covenant, which, tho in some respects an advantage, was very unfavorable to us because of our inherited weaknesses. I thank God that now I am at liberty to become united to Christ, at liberty to consider my union with Moses and the Law Covenant as at an end, at liberty to take on me the vows and covenants required of all called to be the Bride of Christ. Thanks be unto God for this deliverance from the bondage of the Law of Works into the liberty of the Law of Faith in Christ Jesus!

The advantage of this new position in Christ over the old position in Moses is that now God accepts my new mind, my heart desires, accompanied by my best endeavors; and under this New Covenant, through the merits of the ransom, he justly ignores and hides from his sight the imperfections of the flesh, which are contrary to my wish, and against which I am striving. It may be said of me, then, and of all such, that it is with our minds, with our hearts, that we are serving God—even if, to some extent, contrary to our wish and endeavor, our flesh should, either through weakness or ignorance, serve the law of sin at times.—Romans 7.

THE NEW CREATURE ALIVE, THE OLD DEAD. —ROM. 8:1-11.—

Under the covenant through which we are united to Christ, our mortal bodies are reckoned as dead, as sacrificed, as no longer us, and our minds are reckoned as [or rather is actually] the new creature adopted into the family of God, and seeking to serve God and to grow into his likeness, by being conformed to the image of his dear Son. It is therefore according to the standpoint from which we view the matter that we could say of these new creatures that they are holy, and that the righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in them, and that the wicked one toucheth them not.—1 John 5:18.

In such expressions we are referring exclusively to the reckoned [or rather actual] “new” creatures, and are ignoring entirely, as dead, their mortal bodies. But if we should speak from another standpoint, and attempt to say that we are actually perfect in the flesh, it would be untrue, and not only so but would be an ignoring of the merit of Christ’s sacrifice, and our continued need (while in the fallen flesh) of a share in the justification which it provides. Those who would thus speak of their flesh as perfect, would hear the Apostle [Paul] speaking to the reverse, saying, “In my flesh dwelleth no good thing,” [Rom. 7:18]—no perfection; and all imperfection is un-right, and all unright-eousness is sin. Hence, says the Apostle John, “If we say (speaking of our flesh, and ignoring the justification provided in Christ to cover its blemishes) that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”—1 John 1:8.

St. Paul proceeds to clearly mark the distinction between the new mind, which consecrated in Christ is accepted as the “new creature,” holy and acceptable to God, and our mortal bodies, which he calls “this dead body”—originally dead, under divine sentence, because of sin, but redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, and justified, and then included in our sacrifice, when we gave our little all in consecration to the Lord, as living sacrifices—to be dead with Christ, to suffer with him even unto death. He declares that it is to those who are walking after the spirit, seeking to serve the Lord in spirit and in truth, from the heart, that are freed from the condemnation; and that this includes the thought that they do not now walk after the flesh, desiring to fulfil its desires. And here we are to closely distinguish between the walking up to the spirit, and walking after the spirit. We should of course follow as closely to the spirit of truth and righteousness as possible, and yet we cannot hope, so long as we are in the imperfect flesh, that we could ever walk up to the spirit of the divine requirements, tho we are to strive in this direction continually. One thing is positive, however,—we must not walk after the flesh. To do so would imply that we had lost the new mind, the new disposition, the new will,—that we had become dead to those hopes and covenants which had led to our consecration.

Any who get into this condition of walking after the flesh,—seeking to serve the flesh, therein have the evidence that their minds had become “carnal,” that they had lost much, if not all, of the new mind, the new disposition. All such should know most unequivocally that the carnal mind is at enmity against God, and hence that God could not fellowship it or favor it in any sense or degree. The Apostle urges, then, that all remember that they who are in the flesh, who live in harmony with their fallen propensities, serving their fallen fleshly natures, are not pleasing God and that such an inclination or course leads toward, and, if persisted in, would end in death.

He proceeds to reason that if the spirit (mind, disposition) of God (the spirit of holiness) dwell in us we cannot be in sympathetic accord with the fallen fleshly nature and its appetites and ambitions. We may know, on the contrary, that if any man have not the spirit of Christ he is not of the body of Christ at all, and not to be considered as identified with the elect Church,—and Christ’s spirit is not a spirit of harmony with sin, but of opposition to sin, for did he not lay down his life to vanquish sin, and to deliver us from its power and dominion? Whoever, therefore, claims to have the spirit of Christ, but loves and wilfully practices sin, and with his mind serves sin, such an one deceives himself, for he has neither part nor lot in Christ.

The Apostle proceeds further along the same line, arguing that our adoption into God’s family, our begetting to newness of heart and mind, and our acceptance thus as members of the body of Christ, while it means, first of all, that the body is ignored and reckoned as dead, because of sin, and only our spirits or minds are reckoned righteous and alive, the beginning of our eternal existence, nevertheless this good condition is not to be considered the limit of our ambition and attainment in Christ-likeness. On the contrary, we are to remember that the spirit of God is powerful: that in the case of our Lord Jesus it was powerful enough to raise him from the dead; and as we become more and more imbued with and controlled by the holy spirit of God in our hearts, in our minds, divine power will come gradually to us through this channel of the holy spirit, which will permit a figurative raising of our mortal bodies from their death-state into activities of spiritual life, in the service of the Lord. “If the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you (in sufficient measure, aboundingly), he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken (energize) your mortal bodies (not your immortal resurrection bodies) by his spirit that dwelleth in you.” [Rom. 8:11]

It is our hope that in due time the Lord by his spirit will give us new bodies in the resurrection; and that those new bodies will be immortal, perfect in every respect; and that then not only our minds, but our bodies also will be fully in harmony with God and his every law and work of righteousness. That will be glorious—it is already a glorious prospect; but the Apostle holds before us the thought that even our present mortal bodies, sentenced, then justified, then reckoned dead because of sin, consecrated, may be so quickened or energized now, that instead of being any longer servants of sin, or even merely dead to it, they may, under the careful watchfulness of the new mind, be used as servants of righteousness, of truth. This means, of course, a high Christian development, a large attainment of “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” [Eph. 4:13; In Tamil Eph. 4:11] It is the measure or attainment, nevertheless, which every one of the Lord’s people must continually strive after, and their success will be proportioned to their attainment of the mind (disposition) of Christ, holy conformity to the Father’s will in all things. And how comforting, in this connection, is the promise of our Lord, that our heavenly Father is more willing to give the holy spirit (spirit of holiness) to them that ask him, than are earthly parents to give good gifts unto their children!—Luke 11:13.

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Good subject. Excellent argumentative explanatory rendition for core doctrinal flow of Romans 5,6,7 & 8.

• Thus God’s dealings through the new Law of Faith really upholds and magnifies his old Law of Works, for the latter had to be fulfilled by Jesus on behalf of his people, in order that he might be the Redeemer of the world in general, and set free from the Law of Works those who had been under it, that they also, with the remainder of the world, might be accepted of God under the Law of Faith – It is pertinent to note that Jesus was not required to fulfil the Law of Works in order to gain eternal life and thus on account of it become a Redeemer of the world, for, Jesus was already in possession of eternal life. It was, however, necessary for Jesus to follow and upload the Law of Works (until his consecration and baptism of death at Jordan) in order to retain the eternal life that was in his possession.
• That the Law Covenant, or husband of Israel, had not been abrogated, had not been executed, as a bad law, but had died a natural death, through the fulfilment of the purpose of its creation; and that hence – Thought this meaning is not directly communicated in the context, we can accept the argument present with the support of similar statement of Paul elsewhere in Rom. 10:4.

[R4808: page 134]

SPIRITUAL GROWTH

“If ye do these things, ye shall never fall.”—2 Peter 1:10.

THERE is a philosophy in the growth and development of Christian character, just as truly as in the growth and development of vegetation; and the more thoroughly we acquaint ourselves with the natural processes and conditions of development and growth in either case, the better we shall understand how to cultivate and to secure the desirable end—maturity and luxuriant [or dense] fruitfulness. The farmer who puts into practice only what he has learned by accident, in a haphazard way, and who is goaded to effort only by sheer necessity, must not expect the fruitful fields, the abundant harvests and the well-earned approbation of the enterprising, thrifty farmer who has made a study of the business and has brought knowledge, carefully gleaned, together with enterprise and energy, to his assistance in the work.

Take, for example, a fruit tree. If one, knowing nothing about the necessity for cultivation, simply plants the tree and lets it alone, its strength, instead of producing fruit, will generally go toward making wood and leaves; worms and decay may attack its roots, insects may sting and blight its scanty fruitage; and if it continues to stand, it will be only a useless, fruitless cumberer of the ground, an advertisement of the farmer’s negligence and worthy only of having the axe laid to its root. Had it been pruned and trimmed and kept free from insects, etc., under the blessing of God’s air and rain and sunshine, it would have been a fruitful, creditable tree; for the laws of nature are true and faithful in all their operations.

And none the less rigid are the operations of moral law in the growth and development of moral character. Under proper conditions and with proper, diligent cultivation, the character will grow and develop according to fixed laws, and will become beautiful and fruitful in blessings to self and others; or, lacking the necessary cultivation, even under favorable natural conditions, it will be deformed, worthless and fruitless.

When we presented our bodies as living sacrifices to God, holy and acceptable through the merit of our Redeemer [Rom. 12:1], we there received the spirit of adoption to the spirit plane, as spiritual sons of God [Rom. 8:15b]; and from that time the faculties and dispositions of our mortal bodies were reckoned as our new being, now under the direction and control of the Spirit of God. [A]The faithfulness with which we cultivate this [reckoned] new nature, by persistently weeding out old habits of thought and action, supplanting them with new virtues, and training them to activity in the Divine service, is to prove our worthiness or unworthiness of the actual [and complete] new nature to be received at the resurrection, to which perfect spirit condition our present [reckoned] condition stands related as embryotic; for the character and disposition of the embryo New Creature will be the disposition of the perfected New Creature, when born in the resurrection.

The Apostle [Paul] affirms (Rom. 8:11) that if we really have the Spirit of God in us—unless we quench it or put it away from us [1 Thess. 5:19]—it will quicken our mortal bodies, make them alive toward God, active in growing into his likeness and fruitful in Christian graces and activities. Again he adds, “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his,” and “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”—Rom. 8:9,14.

It is our business, therefore, to grow; to cultivate in ourselves those dispositions which are worthy of us as spiritual sons of God, called to be “heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.” [Rom. 8:17]

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRISTIAN CHARACTER IS A GRADUAL, DAILY LIFE-WORK

The Apostle Peter tells us how to proceed in the matter of cultivating Christian character, intimating that we cannot do it all in a day, nor in a few days, but that it must be a gradual, daily life-work, a process of addition—adding virtue to virtue and grace to grace, day by day and hour by hour. He says, “Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue (fortitude); and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance (self-control); and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity (love).” Then he adds, “If ye do these things ye shall never fall.”—2 Pet. 1:5-7,10.

This is a very strong assurance—that if we do these things we are sure to stand approved, of God. We do well, therefore, to consider them with special care. [B]Here are eight elements which must go toward making up the Christian character, the one to be added to the other and assimilated by the spiritual germ of the new nature, until the embryo New Creature is formed; and then it must continue to grow and develop. Look at them again. They are:

1. Faith.

2. Virtue (fortitude).

3. Knowledge.

4. Temperance (self-control).

5. Patience.

6. Godliness.

7. Brotherly kindness.

8. Charity (love).

“A THUS, SAITH THE LORD,” [Similar Nah. 1:12a] SHOULD BE THE END OF ALL CONTROVERSY

Now for a little self-examination. Let each ask himself: (1) [Faith] Have I the faith to which the Apostle [Peter] here refers; not faith in everything or every person, but faith in God—in his Plan of redemption through the vicarious, or substitutionary sacrifice of Christ, and in all his rich promises built upon that sure foundation? Do I trust him implicitly? Is a “Thus saith the Lord” [Nah. 1:12a] the end of all controversy, the solution of all doubts and the restful assurance in every perplexity?

(2) [Virtue or Fortitude] Am I endeavoring to lead a virtuous life? This, to the child of God, consecrated to be a living sacrifice, implies much more than merely abstaining from evil. It implies living truthfully, that is, true to his covenant, which to willfully violate would be equivalent to swearing falsely. It is fortitude, strength of character in righteousness. It implies the cultivation of the strictest integrity in our dealings, both with God and with our fellowmen, scrupulous honesty, justice and truth being the only standards.

The Psalmist clearly defines it thus, saying, “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor; in whose eyes a vile person is condemned; but he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not (who will not violate a contract found to be unfavorable to himself). He that putteth not out his money to usury (taking unjust advantage of the necessities of others), nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved.” (Psa. 15:2-5.) Such a one is a virtuous man, a man of fortified or strong character. How we need to invoke Divine assistance here! and how critically to judge ourselves!

(3) [Knowledge] Am I endeavoring day by day to gain a more thorough and complete knowledge of God, of the Plan revealed in his Word, and of the special features now in operation, that I may co-operate with him in its execution; and of his will concerning me in the particular relationships and conditions in which I now stand—irrespective of my own will and disposition in any matter? Am I striving to gain this knowledge of God and of his righteous will concerning us, as revealed through his Word, by the holy Spirit? Neglect of this Divinely appointed means of knowledge is equivalent to setting up our own imperfect standard of righteousness and ignoring the Divine standard. It is, therefore, important that we give all diligence to the study of the Divine Oracle, that we may be fortified in faith and works accordingly.

(4) [Temperance or Self-control] Am I temperate, moderate, exercising self-control in all things—in eating, in drinking, in home arrangements, in conduct, in thoughts, in words, in deeds? Do I realize that self-control is one of the most important elements of good character? “He that ruleth his spirit is better than he that taketh a city,” [Prov. 16:32b] is the counsel of the Wise Man; and many a victorious general has yet to learn to conquer and control himself. Self-control has to do with all our sentiments, thoughts, tastes, appetites, labors, pleasures, sorrows and hopes. Its cultivation, therefore, means a high order of character-development. Self-control, accompanied by faith, fortitude, knowledge from on High, implies increased zeal and activity in Divine things, and increased moderation in earthly things. In judgment, in conduct, in the regulation of temporal affairs, etc., “Let your moderation (temperance, self-control) be known unto all men.” (Phil. 4:5.) Let them see by our thoughtful (not rash and hasty), careful and considerate demeanor, in every affair of life, that we honor our profession.

(5) [Patience] Am I patient under trial and discipline, keeping my feelings always under the control of enlightened reason, letting patience have its perfect work in cultivating the character [Jas. 1:4b], however severely the plow and the harrow may break up the sub-soil of the heart, meekly submitting to the discipline in every case? and am I submitting cheerfully under the mighty hand of God, in his work of preparing me for a place in his Kingdom soon to be established? The Greek word from which patience is here translated means cheerful endurance.

(6) [Godliness] Am I carefully observing and endeavoring to pattern my character and course of action after the Divine model? If a parent, or in any position of authority, am I using that authority as God uses his—not for selfish purposes, to make a boast of it, or in any way to oppress or trample upon the God-given individual rights of those under such authority, but for the blessing and advantage of those under it, even to the extent of self-denial, with patience, dignity and grace, and not with boastful imperiousness [or arrogance], which is the attitude of tyrants?

If a son, or one under authority to any extent, do I consider the example of loving obedience furnished us in the example of our dear Lord? His delight was to do the Father’s will at any cost to himself. As a man, under the kingdoms, authorities, of this world, and as a youth, under the authority of earthly parents, he was loyal and faithful (Matt. 22:21; Luke 2:51); yet all of this earthly authority was exercised by his personal inferiors, even though they were his legal superiors. How beautifully we shall be able to grace and fill whatever station we occupy in life, if we carefully study and copy godliness (God-likeness), whether we be princes or peasants, masters or servants!

[C](7) [Brotherly Kindness] Does brotherly-kindness characterize all my actions? Does it cause me to make due allowance for the inherited weaknesses and circumstantial misfortunes of others? Does brotherly-kindness deal patiently and helpfully so far as wisdom, with a view to the correction of those faults, may dictate; and even at the expense of self-interest, if necessary and prudent?

If, as I look myself squarely in the face, I recognize deformity of character, do I thankfully accept a brother’s proffered aid and meekly bear reproof, determining that by the grace of God I will overcome such dispositions, and prove myself a help rather than a hindrance to others, if it should even cost my life to do it; and that I will no longer foster my old dispositions, but will plunge into activity in the service of God with those who should have my co-operation in service, instead of being a burden to them?

(8) [Charity or Love] Have I charity (love unfeigned) for the unrighteous and unlovely, as well as for the good and beautiful—a love which is ever ready to manifest itself in wise and helpful activity for saint and sinner; a love which pities, helps, comforts, cheers and blesses all within its reach; which longs for the grand opportunities and power and glory of the incoming Age, chiefly for its privileges of scattering universal blessing; and which, in harmony with that sentiment, utilizes every present opportunity wisely and in harmony with the Divine Plan for the accomplishment of the same end—thus manifesting and cultivating the disposition which must be found in every member of that glorious company which will constitute the King’s Cabinet in the incoming Age? If this disposition is not begun, cultivated and developed here, we shall not be considered worthy of that office there.

Just as in a well-kept orchard pruning, trimming and cultivation are necessary to accomplish the desired end of fruitfulness, so must we be watchful and take necessary precautions to prevent blight and decay of character, and to guard against the intrusion of evil powers and influences calculated to sap the life of the New Creature. By resisting the Devil, he will flee from us [Jas. 4:7b]; and by patient continuance in well-doing [Rom. 2:7a] an increasing measure of development will result. “If these things be in you and abound,” [2 Pet. 1:8] says the Apostle Peter (that is, if you have them in some measure and keep on cultivating them, so that they abound more and more and rule in you), “they make you that ye shall be neither barren (idle) nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Truth is for such: “Light is sown for the righteous,” [Psa. 97:11] and they are sure to get it. They shall not walk in darkness. If any man will do the will of God, he shall know of the doctrine. (John 7:17.) “But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” [2 Pet. 1:9]

LET US GIVE ALL DILIGENCE IN THESE MATTERS

“Wherefore, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things (if you diligently cultivate this disposition) ye shall never fall.“ [2 Pet. 1:10] Being justified fully, by faith in the sacrifice of Christ for your redemption and sanctification (setting apart from the world and devotion to the service of God) by the Truth, your final selection to that position of glory, honor and immortality, to which you are called, shall be sure. For “so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” [2 Pet. 1:11]

“Wherefore,” again says our beloved Brother Peter, “I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things. Yea, I think it meet so long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance…. Moreover, I will endeavor that you may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.” [2 Pet. 1:12-15] This Peter did; and the Church to this day may profit by his brotherly counsel.

While the Apostle Peter, addressing the consecrated, thus clearly and explicitly points out the way in which we may make our calling and election sure to the chief favor of God, the Apostle Paul, addressing the same class, shows that willful and continual neglect to develop and cultivate the Christian character, involves the loss, not only of the chief favor of the High Calling, but, eventually, of all favor. He wrote, [D]“If ye (ye who have solemnly covenanted to sacrifice your very life in the service of God, for the eradication of evil) live after the flesh (with selfish effort, merely to gratify self) ye shall die.” (Rom. 8:13.) God has no use or place for willful covenant-breakers and covenant-despisers, after they have been brought to a knowledge of the Truth and of his will, and have covenanted to do it faithfully.

With all our striving and watchfulness, however, we shall not be able, in our present condition [in our existing fallen flesh], to reach our ideal [of Perfection]. Perfection is something which can only be approximated in the present life. But the measure of our effort to attain it will prove the measure of our faithfulness and earnest desire to do so. And that effort will not be unfruitful. If no fruit appears, we may be sure that little or no effort is made at cultivation, pruning, etc. The fruit will appear, not only in the development of the Christian graces of character, but also in increasing activities. We must not wait for our immortal bodies, promised us in our resurrection, before our activity in God’s service begins. If we possess the spirit (the will, the disposition) of that new nature, our mortal bodies will be active in the service of God’s Truth now. Our feet will be swift to run his errands, our hands prompt to do his bidding, our tongues ready to bear testimony to the Truth, our minds active in devising ways and means to do so more and more abundantly and effectively. Thus we shall be living epistles, known and read of all about us [2 Cor. 3:2]—an honor to him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. [1 Pet. 2:9]

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Good subject. Minor corrections are done directly in the text within square braces.

• The faithfulness with which we cultivate this reckoned new nature – The new nature is not reckoned but actual, though in an embryonic form.
• Here are eight elements which must go toward making up the Christian character, the one to be added to the other and assimilated by the spiritual germ of the new nature, until the embryo New Creature is formed; – We can suggest that the embryo new creature is formed (begotten) at the right time (as decided by God). Though we have already decided to consecrate and probably taken water baptism also, to reach the level of begetting, God expects us to reach a certain level of growth in truth and character. We can link this character development to the one that CTR refers to here.
• (7) [Brotherly Kindness] Does brotherly-kindness characterize all my actions? …instead of being a burden to them? – CTR uses this sequence of dealing with fault of the brethren and fault of self, which is easier for the audience to accept and digest. However, the bible sequence is the reverse.
• If ye (ye who have solemnly covenanted to sacrifice your very life in the service of God, for the eradication of evil) – Not only eradication of evil, but also eradication of earthly or humanly hopes.