GRACE AND THE TRUTH - DAILY INSPIRATION

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How God Makes Foolish the Wisdom of this World
PART 1 OF 2
By Weldon Rightmer

"For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" (1 Corinthians 1:19-20).

The expression "bring to nothing" means to "cast aside, to frustrate, to disannul." (It would be very interesting to see this truth in reverse in Galatians 3:15). Now, we shall attempt to see just how "God makes foolish the wisdom of this world."

First, we will look at the matter of salvation. Man's worldly wisdom tells him that surely he can gain favor in the sight of God by his own good works. This seems to be the attitude of so many members of Adam's fallen race. The wisdom from beneath is "earthly, sensual, devilish" (James 3:15). One can hardly see how this wisdom can be depended on, as far as knowing God is concerned. "The world by wisdom knew not God" (1 Cor. 1:21). We would like to quote a verse that sums up everything we are trying to say. "Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise" (1 Cor. 3:18 ). "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord." With these verses read Job 32:8 and 1 Corinthians 2:14.

"It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching (of the thing preached) to save them that believe" (1 Cor. 1:21). It doesn't seem logical to a worldly wise man that one could be saved by believing that "Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day." This doesn't seem possible to even the so-called religious folks. Had Paul preached law works for salvation, he would not have had to suffer the offence of the cross. See Galatians 5:11. Those who preach the pure "gospel of God's grace" still have to suffer. Such a message does not appeal to the natural man. However, those who are willing to become fools for Christ's sake, are in a position to be saved by His wondrous grace.

Man's wisdom simply cannot understand God's plan of salvation. We must take Him at His word, by faith, believing everything God says. It is beyond my comprehension to fathom all that is mine in Christ Jesus. I can say with Paul "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift." Words cannot express the value of this precious gift. All that God has for the sinner is wrapped up in this gift, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. "How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Rom. 8:32). Truly, in this way, "God makes foolish the wisdom of this world."

Next, "God makes foolish the wisdom of this world" by giving His inspired Word in such a manner that it cannot be understood apart from the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit. If I, through worldly wisdom, could gain a definite understanding of God's holy Word, I would be forced to declare it the product of mortal man. "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (1 Cor. 2:13). It is fine to be helped by God appointed teachers; but it is impossible to really understand what God has said without the office work of the Spirit. Again, we ask you to read Job 32:8.

A casual reading of the Bible might indicate serious contradictions. This is the belief of practically every worldly wise individual with whom this writer has conversed. First, one must know the Lord as personal Saviour. Then, he must apply 2 Timothy 2:15: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." When we think of these things, we can clearly see how "God makes foolish the wisdom of this world."

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How God Makes Foolish the Wisdom of this World
PART 2 OF 2
By Weldon Rightmer

Thirdly, there is the union of two natures in the God-man. We do not mean by this that Christ had the Adamic nature. We mean that the One who had been "in the form of God" took the "form of man." He had a real body of flesh; but He was "God manifest in the flesh." Read carefully 1 Timothy 3:16. This certainly is a "great mystery." Worldly wise men do not believe that Jesus of Nazareth was actually "God manifest in the flesh." Christians make no claim of understanding this great truth. "God made foolish our worldly wisdom." Now, in simple faith, we believe in the eternal deity of our blessed Lord.

There is also the union of three in one in the Holy Trinity. This is a declared fact in the Bible; but it is not an explained fact. The following references will prove that this is a teaching in the sacred Scriptures. Many more could be added to the list. Please read Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 6:8; Matthew 3:13-17; John 14:16-17; Colossians 1:1-8; and 1 Thessalonians 1:1-6. Natural man is frustrated completely when he tries to fathom this teaching.

Fourthly, "God makes foolish the wisdom of this world" by declaring in His Word, His sovereignty and man's responsibility. We will probably never be able to thoroughly reconcile these two things this side of glory. I firmly believe that the Bible teaches both. Man's responsibility comes under the sovereignty of God. "O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Rom. 11:33). Compare with this, Deuteronomy 29:29. I do not understand all of God's ways, but I know that "He doeth all things well."

That God is all sovereign is evidenced by the following Scriptures. Note, Isaiah 46:9-10 and Ephesians 1:11. We can be thankful that our Father is sovereign in all things. It is also taught in the Word that man is self-willed, and is at enmity against God. Read Romans 8:7, Colossians 1:21, Titus 1:7, and 2 Peter 2:10. Man is also held responsible for accepting or rejecting Christ. See John 3:16-18. Much more could be given on this subject, but that is not the purpose of this article.

Finally, "God makes foolish the wisdom of this world" by giving us the truth concerning "the Body of Christ," the church He is now building. Read prayerfully Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:14-22, 3:1-9, and Colossians 1:24-26. God's church for today is a spiritual organism. The church is a body of Holy Spirit baptized believers. See 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Ephesians 4:5. This is the baptism that makes all believers of the present dispensation one in Christ (Gal. 3:26-28 ). It is performed by the operation of God (Col. 2:12). This same body is composed of those who have been circumcised with the "circumcision made without hands."

Worldly wise men want something that can be seen. It is hard for them to believe that one could have been circumcised and baptized without having had it accomplished by natural man. It is also difficult for them to see that God's house is actually the "Body of Christ." When worldly wisdom comes to naught, these truths can easily be grasped. It is often hard to give up what one has always been taught. So many are steeped in tradition. Who, this day, is willing to become a fool for Christ's sake?

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UNTIL WHEN?
by C. R. Stam

One of the greatest prophecies of Scripture is found in Psalm 110:1 where David wrote: "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool."

In Matt. 22:41-46 our Lord explained that this was a prophecy about Himself, David's Son and Lord. Men might hate Him and cry "Away with Him!" They might nail Him to a tree and laugh and sneer at Him, but God the Father responds by saying: "Here, come sit at My right hand until I make your enemies your footstool."

We should never forget that according to Bible prophecy God's response to man's rejection of Christ was to be judgment and wrath. In Psalm 2 the question is asked why the nations rage and the people of Israel imagine a vain thing: that they can get along without the One whom God has anointed to be King. The Psalm depicts God laughing at their attempts to thwart His purposes and predicts that "the Lord shall have them in derision" and "speak unto them in His wrath."

At Pentecost all was ready for the judgment to fall. Christ had been crucified and "the last days" had begun, as Peter declared in Acts 2:16,17, quoting from the prophet Joel. But strangely, while some of Joel's prophecy was fulfilled, or began to be fulfilled, at that time, the rest of it was not, for God did not -- and has not yet -- sent the prophesied judgment.

Thank God, in infinite grace He interrupted the prophetic program, delayed the remainder of its fulfillment and revealed to the Apostle Paul His secret purpose to offer to His enemies everywhere salvation and reconciliation by free grace, through faith in the crucified, risen Savior. In His Ephesian letter the Apostle asks whether they have heard of "the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given me to you-ward; how that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery" (Eph. 3:1-3). Now, thank God, His eternal purpose in Christ is no longer a secret. While the day of grace lasts we may be "justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24).

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WALKING IN HIM
Part  1
BY RICHARD JORDAN


To attempt to do service for God without knowledge of the current program He has in operation is only to court disaster.

The writer, for example, speaks each year at a number of annual Bible conferences. Each conference has its own schedule and program. To use the program from, let's say, the Florida conference in the Ohio meeting or last year's program at this year's California conference would result in untold confusion. Times and topics would be hopelessly confounded and little possibility would exist for a successful meeting. It goes without saying that we must follow the current program for each conference if we hope for them to be conducted in an orderly fashion.

How much more is this true where the program of God is concerned. We simply must follow the current program---the one God Himself has in place today.

It should be the heartfelt desire of all believers to have the will of God executed in the details of their lives. While volumes have been written and spoken on this subject, it really is not as complicated as it often seems. Simply put: if you want to do the will of God in your life, find out what God is doing and do that! If you are doing what God is doing, you are doing the will of God.

In order to have God's will working actively in our lives and ministries, we must get in line with and become participants in what He is doing today. This is the only way to avoid working under the energy of the flesh.

There is nothing more discouraging than trying in our own energy and power, with our own abilities and resources, to serve God and make the Christian life "work" successfully. Who does not know something of the discouragement of such efforts!

But does not this provide an insight to the cause of the confusion, impotency and division which have plagued the church of Jesus Christ for most of its history? By not clearly recognizing what God Himself is actually doing in the dispensation of grace, by failing to "rightly divide the word of truth," much of Christendom continues to seek to do things that God Himself has rendered inoperative and out of place.

Although often ignored, the dispensational approach to the Scripture provides much needed instruction about the different programs God has had in operation at different stages of revelation. One of the tremendous benefits of studying the Bible dispensationally is a clear recognition of what God is not doing today, an identification of things that once were a part of His program but which are not a part of our current administration of grace.

Because of the importance of this aspect of our study, there is a tendency among some dispensationalists to emphasis the negatives---to focus primarily on what God is not doing today so as to eliminate the demand for confusing and unworthy practices. We must, however, also be careful to "accentuate the positive"---to give adequate attention to just what God is doing today so we understand just what makes up the current program and purpose of God.

One passage that does just this in "nutshell" form is Colossians 2:6,7. Paul declares:

      "AS ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, SO WALK YE IN HIM:
      "Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving."

Often the Apostle Paul describes the Christian life as a "walk." This is a very instructive term: We know what it is to walk---to make steady progress, one step at a time, through life. In Scripture the term is thus used to describe that steady forward process through life that is to mark a child of God as he day by day serves his Savior.

But how is this to be accomplished? What makes this walk possible? Paul makes the answer clear with an "as ... so" comparison:

      "AS ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, SO walk ye in him" (v. 6).

      The "as ... so" combinations of Scripture are important helps for our understanding. Paul uses something we do understand to illuminate something he wants us to understand.

      "AS ye have therefore received Christ'". And how did you receive Him? The  previous verse leaves no doubt as to the intended answer:   "For though I  be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of YOUR FAITH IN CHRIST" (Col. 2:5).

We were saved by grace through faith. We received by faith the gift God offered us by His grace.

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WALKING IN HIM
Part  2
BY RICHARD JORDAN


God did us a wonderful "unmerited favor"---we did not deserve it, nor did we work for it; we could not earn it nor did He owe it to us. He was under no obligation to act in our behalf. Rather, in love He did us a favor and provided "the gift of God (which) is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6:23) ...

And this gift is completely free---no "strings" attached. It is given "freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). God's grace is unalterably tied to Calvary. It has no other source. It is by means of the redemption that is in Christ that salvation is possible. The cross is God's instrument: Christ crucified, bearing our sins and our guilt, taking our punishment as He dies in our place in order to fully pay our sin debt.

This is God's grace---His favor to us. And we can only receive this delightfully given gift by faith:

      "For BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD:
      "Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8,9).

We are saved by trusting in Christ's death for our sins, depending exclusively on His finished work on the cross as the full payment for our sins.

Faith is the only thing we can do without doing something, for faith is trusting what someone else has done:

     "BUT TO HIM THAT WORKETH NOT, BUT BELIEVETH on him that justifieth the ungodly, HIS FAITH IS COUNTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Rom. 4:5).

And faith is the only response grace can accept. This is a fundamental fact of the Christian life. Romans 11:6 is wonderfully clear on this point:

      "And IF BY GRACE, THEN IS IT NO MORE OF WORKS: OTHERWISE GRACE IS NO MORE GRACE .... "

How is the Christian life begun? By grace through faith. We receive God's wonderful free gift of special favor by relying on His work on the cross for us.

"SO walk ye in Him:" the way we began the Christian life is just how we go on living the Christian life. We are not saved by grace to then walk by our own efforts. We are to continue as we began:

      " ... WE HAVE ACCESS BY FAITH INTO THIS GRACE WHEREIN WE STAND ... " (Rom. 5:2).

We are going to steadily advance through life only as we move forward by faith in His provisions for us in Christ. And make no mistake about it, our walk is ever "in Him." The Chrlstian life is lived in union with Christ. This means that He lives His life through us as by faith we walk in line
with what He is doing today.

This, of course, IS why we must be careful to rightly divide the word of truth so as to know just where we do stand in the purpose of God and just what He does have in order today. It is not enough to simply be Scriptural, we must be dispensational in all we do.

Colossians 2:7 provides a four-fold description of our "walk in Him," describing just what the Christian life consists of today:

      "Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving."

ROOTED IN HIM

First, we have been "rooted ... in Him." This is something God has done for us---not something we must or can do for ourselves. Also it is a permanent condition---something that was completely accomplished for us in the past and that lasts forever.1

      1. Rooted is the perfect tense-the action was completed in
the past and the results continue into the present.
It is the most permanent tense possible.

Being "rooted" in Christ is an instructive way of saying that we have been placed into living union with Him. Just as a tree sinks its roots deep down into the soil for its life and sustenance, God has taken each believer and rooted us deeply down into His beloved Son so that we are partakers of His life---our life comes from Him. Colossians 3:4 declares:

      "When Christ, WHO IS OUR LIFE, shall appear, then shall ye appear with him in glory."

Don't read that verse too quickly! God has so placed us into oneness with Jesus Christ that He is our life! How is this accomplished? Galatians 3:26-28 answers:

      "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

      "For AS MANY OF YOU AS HAVE BEEN BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST HAVE PUT ON CHRIST.

      "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all ONE IN CHRIST JESUS."

Although circumstances may vary widely, the moment each believer trusts the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, God the Holy Spirit places us into union with Him, making us one with Him. God now sees us in Him-"rooted in Him."

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WALKING IN HIM
Part  3
BY RICHARD JORDAN


Just as our hand is in living union with our arm which in turn is in living union with the trunk of our body---on up to our head; so each member of our body shares the life of all the body. Each member of the human body is one with all the body and equally has the life of the body in it. So it is that we are in living union with Christ. Hence Galatians 3:29 argues:

      "And if YE BE CHRIST'S, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."

We are Christ's---His possessions. We belong to Him just as the members of our human bodies belong to us. This is all accomplished by our being "baptized into Christ." That this baptism is "the operation of God" and not of a preacher or priest is clear from I Corinthians 12:13:

      "For BY ONE SPIRIT ARE WE ALL BAPTIZED INTO ONE BODY, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free: and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."

Baptism is, of course, a "bug-a-boo" in the Church today. If you want to cause strife among believers, just mention the topic of baptism. It is still "Religious T-N-T"! Too many carelessly assume that the only baptism found in Scripture is water baptism and thus fail to appreciate the "one baptism" that God has in operation in this current dispensation.

Our baptism is "by one Spirit." Clearly this is not a water ceremony nor is it the baptism with the Spirit of Pentecost-a baptism performed by Christ (Matt. 3:11, Acts 1:5). This baptism is the Holy Spirit taking believing sinners and identifying them in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ in such a way that they are said to be one with Him. Indeed, Colossians 2:10 tells us:

      "AND YE ARE COMPLETE IN HIM, which is the head of all principality and power."

Everything He has done has become ours. A simple illustration might help to explain our oneness with Christ: If a person commits a crime, say a robbery, with his right hand, his left hand goes to jail too (along with the rest of his body)! The left hand cannot stand before the judge and argue that it should not be put in jail, that it did nothing wrong. Rather, that person's whole being was involved in the crime---and also, justly, in the sentence.

In just this way we are said to be "crucified with Christ." How? Because we are "in Him" made one with Him by "the operation of God." Not only this, but we have been buried with Him. raised with Him and seated with Him. What all this means to us is explained in Ephesians 1:3:

      "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath BLESSED US WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST."

And what are these spiritual blessings? Just read and meditate on Ephesians 1:4-14 for a few moments and you will be richly rewarded with the beginnings of a list: chosen, sanctified, predestinated, adopted, welcomed and accepted, redeemed, forgiven, enlightened, sealed and much more---all in Him. To walk "rooted in Him" is to see these wonderful truths in God's word with the eye of faith.

God's program today is not found in religious activities---observing days, performing pious works, ceremonial correctness or the like. Rather, it is all based in being rooted in Christ---God Himself placing believing sinners into living union with His Son and making them one with Him and all He has accomplished through the cross of Calvary.

Our walk is based upon our being planted into the good soil of salvation in Christ.

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WALKING IN HIM
Part  4
BY RICHARD JORDAN



BUILT UP IN HIM

This is the balance of the equation: We are "rooted and built up in Him." The former is our permanent position in Christ; the latter is its present impact. Our position in Christ is designed so as to have a practical effect in the details of our lives. Galatians 2:20 sets this forth in familiar words:

      "I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST: NEVERTHELESS I LIVE; YET NOT I, BUT CHRIST LIVETH IN ME .... "

We have been crucified with Christ---thus we are to reckon ourselves dead to sin (Rom. 6:11). We were buried with Him---thus we are to put off the old corrupt man (Eph. 4:22). We have been raised together with Christ---thus we set our affection on things above (Col. 3:2). We have been seated in heavenly places in Christ---hence we have free and unrestricted access to God with boldness and confidence (Eph. 3:12). The former is our position; the latter is our privilege---all in Him.

How do we make these spiritual realities part of our experience? This is achieved "by the hearing of faith."

      "This only would I learn of you, RECEIVED YE THE SPIRIT BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW, OR BY THE HEARING OF FAITH?"
      "Are ye so foolish? HAVING BEGUN IN THE SPIRIT, ARE YE NOW MADE PERFECT BY THE FLESH?" (Gal. 3:2,3).

Faith is trusting God's word rather than our own human reasoning. God says all believers are in Christ and thus, for example, "dead to sin but alive unto God." When we actually believe this and make decisions based on the truth of it, we allow the Holy Spirit the freedom to take this truth and liberate us from sinful actions and attitudes, replacing them with "righteousness and true holiness."

As we by faith build into our lives what Scriptures tell us Christ is doing today, we are filling our lives with the resources that enable us to reflect who we are in Him. Only as we do what He is doing are we building up our lives. Anything other than this is tearing down, destroying rather than edifying. This is why a correct, sound understanding of the rightly divided word is vital to our spiritual life and health. This is the only means of gaining a viewpoint of life that corresponds to God's viewpoint.

When Jude 20 speaks of being built up in the most holy faith, he is referring to the same issue Paul sets forth in Acts 20:32,

      "And now, brethren, I commend you to God and TO THE WORD OF HIS GRACE, WHICH IS ABLE TO BUILD YOU UP, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified."

This is God's building program for the believer---daily being built up in Christ by the word of His grace. Grace is what builds and motivates the Christian life. Titus 2:11,12 speaks of grace "teaching us'----teaching us how God has blessed us in Christ is the Holy Spirit's way to get us to respond in love and obedience to God's love for us.

As we build into our lives the things that Christ has provided us by His grace, we are built up in Him. The more fully we come to understand and believe to be true all that God has freely provided for us in Christ, the more assuredly can the Holy Spirit take those truths and set them free in our daily lives to have their designed impact.

This is what Paul refers to when he exhorts: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom" (Col. 3:16). To "dwell" is to "settle down and feel at home" As God's grace to us In Christ becomes so real and familiar to us that it is at home in our lives, a supernatural transformation begins to take place---our position comes alive in our practice!

The issue in being built up in Him is, of course, edification. "Godly edifying" comes only as we erect an edifice or structure of sound doctrine in our souls. This internal spiritual edifice gives us the stability, protection and motivation to function as members of the Body of Christ should. The more we learn about who God has made us in Christ, the more able we are to function appropriately. Thus we must be, contiued 6/19

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THE RAPTURE & THE REVELATION
By Pastor Joel Finck

Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:31;
I Thessalonians 4:16, 17

As we "rightly divide the word of truth" (II Tim. 2:15), one of the key distinctions that emerges is the difference between the rapture and the second coming of Christ. Bible teachers have long mixed the two and have lead their hearers into needless confusion.

The second coming of Christ (also known as the "revelation" of Jesus Christ) was prophesied throughout the Old Testament, and it involves the return of Jesus Christ to the earth to set up His throne in Jerusalem. Zechariah writes, "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem on the east" (Zech. 14:4a). This, of course, is the same location from which He left the earth two thousand years ago (Acts 1:10-12). "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory" (Matthew 25:31). This will signal the beginning of Christ's earthly kingdom. All of this takes place "immediately after the tribulation" (Matthew 24:29a).

The rapture was a secret, not revealed in Old Testament times. Paul includes it as part of the great mystery revealed to him (see I Corinthians 15:51). The rapture, or catching away of the Body of Christ, involves Christ's coming in the air (I Thessalonians 4:17), not to the earth as the second coming. The rapture will occur before the tribulation period when God's wrath is poured out upon the earth, "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thessalonians 5:9).

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CONDITIONAL STRENGTH
By Miles Stanford



"My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9a).


Whereas most feel that personal weakness is the great hindrance to a sound Christian life, the real tragedy is the astonishing strength of the old man. The Cross for our cursed strength; the Lord Jesus for our blessed weakness.

"Let no one imagine that he can be effectively used in the Lord's service, or even make progress in the Christian life, without some measure of real entrance into the valuable principle: 'When I am weak, then am I strong' (2 Cor. 12:10). It is absolutely essential in forming the character of the true servant of the Lord Jesus. Where it is not known and felt, there is sure to be unsubduedness, unbrokenness, and self-occupation in some form or other. On the other hand, where one has been brought into this principle, there will always be a measure of brokenness, softness, and tenderness of spirit; and not only so, but also largeness of heart, and that lovely tendency to rise above those petty, selfish considerations, which so sadly hinder the work of God.

"All of His servants in the Word stand before us as vivid illustration of the value and necessity of broken material. All had to be broken in order to be made whole - to be emptied in order to be filled - to learn that, of themselves, they could do nothing, in order to be ready, in the Lord Jesus' strength, for anything and everything." -C.H.M.

"Our Father's spiritual goal for his own is neither continuous straitness nor continuous poverty. For these are never the end; they are only the means to His end. Straitness is the pathway to expansion; poverty is the pathway to abundance."

"Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Cor. 12:9b).

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THE SOURCE OF EVIL
By Pastor Bob Hanna


One of the most frequently misquoted passages of Scripture is I Timothy 6:1O. The phrase so often thus abused is quoted as saying, "Money is the root of all evil." The actual meaning of the verse is totally lost when so interpreted. Accurately read, the statement says, "The love of money is the root of all [manner of] evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." That it is the love of money, not money itself, that is the subject of this passage, becomes clear when we read on, as the apostle writes, "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good  works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life" (I Timothy 6:17-19). God doesn't decry material wealth per se. But He encourages generosity and spiritual investment on the part of those possessing physical treasure. God discourages the wealthy from pride in their wealth. God said, "Let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord" (Jeremiah 9:23,24).

The apostle Paul consistently endured poverty, for the sake of his ministry, though not shunning the advantages of physical prosperity. He didn't spurn the comforts provided by opulence, but they held second place to service to his Lord and Savior. He wrote, " I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need" (Philippians 4:11,12).

Paul had been a man of means in his career in the sanhedrin. "I profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation" (Galatians 1:14.) "I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ" (Philippians 3:8 ).

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BUSILY  BARREN
By M. Stanford


"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me" (John 15:4).


A barren life means barren service, and no amount of self-effort will ever make up for that!

" 'Not I, but Christ.' The Lord Jesus does not ask that we should work for Him, but He intends to work through us. There is all the difference in the world between the two. In the one I plan and then ask His blessing upon it; in the other He plans and lets me into the secret of His glorious purpose. The one ends in futility and disappointment; the other in life, progress, and joy.

"In the one I slave and work worthily for Him, and constantly feel the barrenness of a busy life; in the other I let His life flow through me in all His glorious effortlessness, and rest in the assurance that the Lord Jesus at work cannot fail. The one is a life of endeavor, always being keyed up to do something greater; the other a life of faith always looking to the Lord Jesus to reveal the next step and then give the enablement to carry it out." -H.G.

"The great question is not what you are doing, how successful you are, how great are your crowds, how impressive your work - but the question is, by what power are you doing it? It is difficult to attend any large religious gathering without perceiving the governing influence, consciously or unconsciously, of the psychological - which is of the human. Many apparently successful 'revival' meetings have much more in them of psychology than Spirit. Large numbers of seekers are brought to the altar by human soul-power rather than by the power of the Holy Spirit. And this accounts for the large number of so-called backsliders and 'repeaters' at the altar."

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EFFORTLESS GRACE
By M. Stanford



"God. . , called me by His grace, to reveal His
Son in me" (Gal. 1 :15, 16).


Just think! Our Father has placed us in eternal and living union with His Son, that He, not we, may "be." Moreover, He has placed His Holy Spirit eternally within us that He, not we, may "do." Further, He has given us the necessary faith and Scripture that we may rest in this wonderful reality, trusting Him "to will and to do of His good pleasure." This is a far cry from futile struggle and frustrating Self-effort!

"Christians in the main groan and strive and struggle largely on the basis of human effort where the grace of God, though acknowledged, is scarcely operative - only to come to grief. Even at their best, they find the purpose of the Lord Jesus remains an ideal infinitely beyond their reach. The trouble lies in the fact that they are proceeding on the wrong basis.

"God does not expect them, as a result of their own endeavors, to be like the Lord Jesus. He expects them to realize the utter impossibility of such a thing (as in Romans Seven, where Paul comes to the end of himself). He expects them to know the Lord Jesus as their very life, disowning any other. He expects them to realize their position of absolute oneness with Christ, for He 'has blessed them with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places .in Christ' (Eph. 1:3)." -F.J.H.


"Be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (II Tim. 2:1, ASV).

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"The Splendor of His Glory"
By R.H. Schaefer




If then, you were roused
together with Christ, be
seeking that Which is
above, where Christ is
sitting at the right hand of God.

Be disposed to that which is
above, not to that on the
earth, for you died, and
your life has been hid
together with Christ in God.

Whenever Christ, OUR LIFE,
should be manifested, then
you also will be manifested
together with Him in Glory
(Col. 3:1-4).


Oh! that we could think God's thoughts! That we could see the Christ as God sees Him! As a young man recently wrote me, "Men do not reject Christ, what they reject is our (meager) concepts (and presentation) of Christ."  Oh! that we could think God's thoughts as He sees us as having been awakened because of our encounter with His Christ. For seeing this our seeking would irresistibly be drawn to God's Christ and to the realm or His enthronement above. God has placed a "death" in our path by virtue of uniting us with our Savior in His death and with our Lord in His seating. The lustre of this union pales all else besides. The most beautiful and attractive things on earth are but humble pointers of things above. The vast inner temple of life, that inner "secret hiding place" known to each of us and  to God,  is indeed "in spirit, His Temple" (Eph. 2: 22), and been kept inviolable and unprofaned as God's secret meeting place with us in Christ with Christ in Himself. All of  God's purpose for Creation is summed up briefly in this, that it all be made Christlike, or as Ephesians 1:10 aptly expresses it, "totaled up in Him," summed up in Him," "headed up in Him." Christ is the expression of what our life  is meant to be, Christ is the expression of what our life will yet be, hence the Colossian passage boldly expresses it, 'Christ OUR life."

The "appearing," or better, "manifestation" of our Lord is not a synonym for the parousia or presence, or: as the A. V. so frequently translates it, "coming."  The Second Epistle of Peter stresses the parousia while the first mentions the "manifestation." The temper of the two is quite different, the latter being identified with the Day of the Lord and of God (3:4, 10, 12) and the earlier with blessings (1 Pet. 1:7, 13, 20; 5:4), When the Colossian passage speaks of "whenever Christ ....  should be manifest" (Col. 3:4), of what is the text speaking? The A. V. translated "appear" rather than "manifest" but the latter is correct. The word used here (Greek {phanerothe from phaneroo) means simply "to bring to light, to view clearly, to see one as he is." This could be a mental viewing, or an actual comprehension of another in the fulness of his being. It is interesting that Peter in his second epistle (1:16-18 ) declares that he had  made known the power and presence (coming) of the Lord Jesus Christ,  i.e., His incarnation presence, but then he goes on to  speak of Mount of Transfiguration and the majesty seen there,

Peter had been in the "presence" of Christ for a number of years prior to the transfiguration where Christ is seen for the first time in the fulness of His being, garmented with light and His face shone like the sun--this was the manifestation that Paul saw on the Damascus road. 'The hope of the Body of Christ collectively am personally is epitomized and summarized in this wondrous Colossian passage:

Whenever Christ, OUR LIFE, should be manifested ... whenever He is seen in the majesty and splendor of His being, what He really is in His fulness, then we see ourselves as God intends us to be. Surely that is the meaning of the rest of that Colossian passage:

... Then you also will be manifested together with Him ...

First John 2: 28 and 3: 2 shed some light upon the meaning of this word "appear" or "manifest." The first is used in conjunction with parousia:

If He is MANIFESTED we may have confidence and not be shamed from Him in the PRESENCE of Him.

'The second reference is self-explanatory as to the meaning of "appear" or "be manifest":

... and not yet was it MANIFESTED what we shall be, we know that if he (he? it?) is manifested like Him we shall be, BECAUSE WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS.

Subjectively, we are transformed only as we see Christ.

Now, in the written Word that speaks of His person and work, hence, "that  Christ might be completely at home in our hearts by faith (not by sight) ."

Objectively, then we too are transformed:

...manifested 'TOGETHER with Him.

Oh, to think God's thoughts with Him, to see as He sees, the whole and not merely the part!

Then the Colossian passage adds:

IN GLORY

This is truly the substance, the reality of the Shekinah (Heb. shekhinah, the dwelling place). It was out of this glory that the heavenly voice spake on the holy mount (2 Pet. 1:17) and it is uniquely "'The Magnificent Glory." It was always God's plan that we bear the heavenly image; that was true in the very act of creation itself. God's ultimate purpose for Israel was that they make known to the nations the glory of God. ''To awaken in His likeness" was the hope of ages past. But from now on forward whenever Christ OUR LIFE is manifested (Oh! so intimate is our oneness with Him!) that the manifestation will automatically be a mutual one. And, it will be IN GLORY, at one, at home in the splendor of His glory, wherever that is and wherever it might yet be. e Our destiny will be one with Him forever.

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SAVED TO, SAVED FROM
By Pastor Bob Hanna


A doctrine known as "Annihilation" thrives among the members of a particular persuasion. The essence of this teaching is the claim that the death of an unregenerated individual is simply the end: no eternal punishment or after-life at all. This position acknowledges that the saved pass on to eternal life in heaven when they die, thus having been saved to something, but not from anything. Scripture does not support this conclusion. In the Book of the Revelation, chapter twenty, verse four, the first resurrection is described. This is the resurrection of the righteous dead, who are qualified to enter the kingdom and "reign with Christ a thousand years" (Revelation 20:6). "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:5). The rest of the dead are those with whom we are concerned in considering the doctrine of annihilation.

"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle the number of whom is as the sand of the sea" (Revelation 20:7,8 ). Satan attacks Jerusalem and is defeated. "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Revelation 20:10).

"And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them ... and the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works ... and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:11,13,15).

Speaking from His throne, the Lord says, "The fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8 ).

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PERSONAL PRIVILEGE
By Miles Stanford


"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 17:5).

All the Father accomplished on our behalf is that we might have all He has in His beloved Son. "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Co!. 2:9).

"Of all the marvels of the Father's grace, none is more marvelous than the fact of His bringing men into fellowship with Himself. That He should interest Himself in the concerns of our daily lives, is wonderful indeed; that He should give us glory in heaven above the angels is a wonder deeper still; but that He should call us to like thoughts, feelings, and to common objects with Himself is beyond conception." -H.F.W.

"It is by occupation with, and contemplating the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are brought, by the enablement of the Holy Spirit, into fellowship with our Father; enabled to enter into His own thoughts concerning, and even to share His own affections for, that blessed One who is now seated at His own right hand." -E.D.

"There is a marked distinction between the Father's actings in old times and since the day of Pentecost. He had revealed Himself to man in man's circumstances till that day; since then He has been requiring man to come into His circumstances. The whole testimony of the Father now is to what the Lord Jesus is in heaven." -G.V.W.

"We only touch the positive blessings of Christianity as we reach the Lord Jesus Christ in glory. One may have a measure of relief and the assurance of eternal security because we trust the shed Blood and His finished work on the Cross, but when we come to divine favor and the reality of the Christian life, that is all connected with a Person, and inseparable from that Person." -C.A.C.

"When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, except Jesus only" (Matt. 17:8 ).