The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 71 (1894)

January 2, 1894

"Sabbath, Dec. 30, in Battle Creek" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 71, 1 , p. 11.

TO the church in Battle Creek, Sabbath, Dec. 30, was a day long to be remembered. In the forenoon brother L. McCoy read to a crowded Tabernacle the reading from sister White, on pages 32-36 of the printed Readings for the week of prayer; and the Spirit of God witnessed to it, in solemn impressions. In the afternoon at three o'clock the Tabernacle was crowded again, and "The Call From Destitute Fields," by sister White, with an unpublished testimony on entire consecration, the proper use of our time and means, and the nearness of the end, etc., was read, and the good impressions of the Spirit of God in the forenoon exercises were only deepened and carried forward to a triumphant victory over the power of the enemy in this place.

At the close of the reading, hymn 908, "The Chariot," was read, and sung with solemn spirit by the entire congregation, each line of the hymn bearing a solemn sense that doubtless it never bore before to those present. After this, a call was made for only those who knew that there was not a living connection between them and the Saviour, only those who knew they were not saved, nearly three hundred came forward in penitence and tears, sixty-six of whom were moving thus for the first time.

When these had come forward, a season of prayer was held. In prayer the Spirit of God led out in special supplication, that God in mercy would spare this people a little longer; that he would in pity forgive their slighting of his rich blessings; and again bestow the gift of his Holy Spirit, and give one more opportunity to his people here, to manifest faithfulness before he should be compelled in righteousness to visit with the rod. O, it seemed as though the very soul was drawn out after God, and it could not let him go till he had blessed. In mercy the Lord heard, and even while the prayer was being offered, he answered; the tide turned, the power of the enemy was rebuked and broken; and the rich, tender blessing descended in power of the Spirit of God; and with it came the assurance that God was entreated for his people, that he had restored them to their place of power, and would work once more for them. The prayer was turned to thanksgiving for the blessing and goodness of the Lord. The victory was complete.

After the season of prayer, the congregation was divided, and those who had come forward were taken into the vestries, and the rest of the congregation, filling the auditorium and the galleries, remained for social worship. Just here, however, the meeting took a peculiar, though most blessed turn. The unpublished testimony read had insisted on entire separation from the world and worldliness, from pride and outward adorning, and that there should be plainness of dress, and especially a "tearing off" of gold, etc., instead of wearing it on the body, "as the heathen do." When the reading had ended, and while the call for the unsaved was being made, one came to the pulpit and handed up a magnificent gold watch, with a note running thus: "For fear that my dead husband's watch may stand between me and the blessing of God, I give it for the work in Wellington, New Zealand, or wherever else it can be used in the wide 'harvest-field.'" At the beginning of the social meeting, another gold watch was sent up to the leader of the meeting. This token was followed at once, the note handed up with the first watch was read, and then a call was made to know who would obey the call of the Lord and "tear off" the gold, and strip themselves of such ornaments. There was no urging, yet form that moment there was a steady move, one after another, for more than an hour, bringing up gold watches, gold chains, gold rings, gold bracelets, gold sleeve-buttons, diamond studs and pins; costly furs and plumes; money in cash and drafts; and gifts of houses and lots; amounting in all, at a fair estimate, to over six thousand dollars. There were fifty-five watches alone, and all gold but one, and of the handsomest, too.

As the people put away that which had kept the blessing of God form them, the rich blessings of the Lord flowed in as naturally and easily as air into a vacuum, and hearts were filled with it, and spoke forth praise to God form joyful lips. There were so many who wanted to praise and testify to the goodness of the Lord, and there was such perfect liberty in the meeting, that brethren had to go into all parts of the audience to lead small divisions. Yet all was done in such perfect order that there was not a single loud or excited tone heard during the whole service. O, it was blessed to be there. The Lord had again "visited and redeemed his people." More than seventy gave in their names for baptism, sixty-six of whom are those who made their first step at this meeting.

And now it remains for the people of Battle Creek to cherish this blessing and Spirit as the sacred, precious thing that it is; to make the presence and blessing of God the first and most desirable of all things at all times and in all places; to heed the solemn counsel of the Lord as to how to use it, and not only retain it, but receive endless gifts more in addition. Let each soul do this, and all will be well. And may the Lord save the people from slighting or abusing it, for then it will be lost again; and O, if that is done, the danger is that it may be lost forever. "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
A. T. J.

January 9, 1894

"The Year's Forecast" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 71, 2 , pp. 25, 26.

IN its New-Year's issue the New York Sun gives an excellent rÈsumÈ of the condition politically and otherwise, of all the principal nations of the world. Two paragraphs are worthy of particular note by our people, as they put in such fair and truthful shape some points in which we are specially interested.

The first paragraph of the whole editorial is as follows:–

"1894

"It is customary to mark the opening of a new year with the expression of good wishes and of hopes of prosperity and peace. But a candid survey of the state of things in most of the civilized countries of the world does not justify an optimistic forecast of the twelve-month which begins to-day. There is, unhappily, no reason to predict any speedy revival of manufacturing and commercial activity in the United States; while in England, as on the continent of Europe, there is no prospect of immediate relief from the industrial depression, even should there prove to be no basis for the rapidly increasing rumors of approaching war. In no part of the world do the masses of the people seem destined to be better off, and in more than one quarter, they are likely to be worse off, at the end of the year than they are now."

This is undoubtedly true. And instead of our looking for better times, as thousands of people of the world will do, we should be prepared to do all that in our power lies while the times are no worse than they are. The times now are not as bad as they are because of any real scarcity of money, but it is because the money is hoarded. At the close of the last week in December there was the enormous sum of $202,000,000 on deposit in New York City banks alone. This is a sum amounting to more than three dollars apiece for each man, woman, and child in the whole United States. And as the Sun points out, there is no kind of fair prospect that this money will be put into circulation. So we say again the hard times now are not caused at all by any scarcity of money, but because of the hoarding of the plenteous supply of money. James 5:1-3 is fulfilled. The rich men have heaped treasure together and the rust of it as it lies thus hoarded is witness against those who hoard it, and it will soon eat their flesh "as it were fire." God forbid that any Seventh-day Adventist should be found in this company of hoarders of money.

The other paragraph of the Sun's forecast is a very striking one for us, and is as follows:–

"There is no European sovereign who will have more cause to watch the events of the new year with anxiety than will the Ottoman sultan, who knows that in any war to which Russia may be a party, Constantinople will be the principal stake for which the czar will play. It must be plain enough to Abdul Hamid that the defense of his capital is no longer possible, seeing that the Turkish fleet has vanished, and that the whole naval

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force of England in the Mediterranean will be needed for the protection of her own merchant vessels and of the short route to India. Even without the co-operation of the Russian squadron, which was lately at Toulon, there are enough Russian ironclads now ready in the Black Sea to overcome easily the obstacles that would be presented by the fortifications of the Bosporus-Times have changed since Russia was forbidden by the treaty of Paris to keep a single war vessel afloat in the Black Sea, and the Ports might as well prepare itself for migration to Brusa when the czar orders a naval assault upon the city of the eastern Cesars."

This is worthy of careful attention. And whether the Porta prepares himself for this or not, it is certain that we must be prepared for this important event; for "at that time shall Michael stand up [reign], the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: . . . and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." The angel spoke long ago, and still his thrilling cry is: "Get ready; get ready; get ready."
A. T. J.

April 17, 1894

"Boundless Grace Free to All" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 71, 16 , p. 243.

"UNTO every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Eph. 4:7. The measure of the gift of Christ is "all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." This is true whether viewed as the measure of the gift which God made in giving Christ, or as the measure of the gift which Christ himself gave. For the gift that God gave is his only begotten Son, and in "him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and this being only the measure of the grace that is given to every one of us, it follows that unto every one of us is given grace without measure, simply boundless grace.

Viewed from the measure of the gift in which Christ himself gives to us, it is the same; because "he gave himself for us;" he gave himself for our sins, and in this he gave himself to us. And as in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and as he gave himself, then the measure of the gift of Christ on his own part is also only the measure of the fullness of the Godhead bodily. It therefore follows that from this standpoint also, the measure of grace that is given to every one of us is only the measure of the fullness of the Godhead, that is, simply immeasurable.

Thus in whatever way it is viewed, the plain words of the Lord is that unto every one of us he has given grace to the measure of the fullness of the Godhead bodily: that is, boundless, immeasurable grace–all the grace he has. This is good. But it is just the Lord, it is just like the Lord to do that; for he is good.

And this boundless grace is all given, given freely, to "every one of us." To us it is. To you and me, just as we are. And that is good. We need just that much grace to make us what the Lord wants us to be. and he is just so kind as to give it all to us freely, that we may be indeed just what he wants us to be.

The Lord wants every one of us to be saved, and that with the very fulness of salvation. And therefore he has given to every one of us the very fulness of grace, because it is grace that brings the salvation. For it is written, "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." Titus 2:11. Thus the Lord wants all to be saved, and therefore he gave all of his grace, bringing salvation to all. The marginal reading of this text tells it that way, and it is just as true as the reading in the verse itself. Here it is: "The grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared." All the grace of God is given freely to every one, bringing salvation to all. Whether all or any one will receive it, that is another question. What we are studying now is the truth and the fact that God has given it. having given it all, he is clear, even though men may reject it.

The Lord wants us to be perfect; and so it is written: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Desiring that we shall be perfect, he has given us, every one, all the grace that he has, bringing the fulness of his salvation, that every man may be presented perfect in Christ Jesus. The very purpose of this gift of his boundless grace is that we may be made like Jesus, who is the image of God. even so it is written: "Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ, . . . for the perfecting of the saints; . . . till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."

Do you want to be like Jesus? Then receive the grace that he has so fully and so freely given. Receive it in the measure in which he has given it, not in the measure in which you think you deserve it. Yield yourself to it, that it may work in you and for you the wondrous purpose for which it is given, and it will do it. It will make you like Jesus. It will accomplish the purpose and the wish of him who has given it. "Yield yourselves unto God." "I beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain."
A. T. J.

April 24, 1894

"Faith a Free Gift to All" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 71, 17 , pp. 264, 265.

"BY grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Eph. 2:8. By grace are ye saved, because it is the grace, that is the favor of God, that brings salvation. That favor being given freely and

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without measure to every one of us, bringing salvation to all, so the salvation of God is free to all men. To every one of us it is given freely, without measure and without reserve.

Though all this be true, the Lord will never compel any man to take it. God has made man free, too, and therefore every man is absolutely free to accept this salvation or to reject it, as he chooses. God does not want and will not have any unwilling service. And therefore it is that "by grace are ye saved through faith." Faith is for us to exercise. Therefore it is written: "Choose you this day whom ye will serve." "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

And God has given the faith too. For did we not read above that "by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God"? And is it not written in another place, "Looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith"? And yet again: "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God"? Jesus Christ is the Author of faith; the word of God is the channel through which it comes; and God gave both Jesus and the word,–or rather, in giving Jesus he gave the word, and in giving the word he gave Jesus,–so that in every sense, faith is the gift of God.

And he has given faith to every man. For it is written: "Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above): or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead). But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith, which we preach." Rom. 10:6-8. "Think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." Chapter 12:3. Thus God has put faith into the mouth and into the heart of every man.

Again: the word of God is the means, the channel, of faith; for "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." And the word of God has been heard by all, in at least two ways: for "that which may be known of God is manifest in [margin, "to"] them; for God hath showed it unto them." Rom. 1:19. Both text and margin are true; for that which may be known of God is manifest both to men and in men.

It is manifest to men in the things that are made, in the visible creation. "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse." Verse 20. And through these things that are made, men hear the word of God, through the hearing of which comes faith. That this may clearly be seen, turn to the tenth chapter of Romans and study carefully verses 12-18. There it is said: "There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him." Then come the questions: "How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent?" Then comes the statement: "But they have not all obeyed the gospel." But did they not all hear the gospel?–Assuredly they did, for no one is held responsible for not obeying the gospel who has not heard the gospel. The above questions show that. So, then, they have all heard the gospel, though all have not obeyed it. And so this, too, is written: "But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world."

Now these last words are quoted from the nineteenth psalm, where it is telling that the heavens declare the glory of God. See: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." These last words are the very ones that are quoted in Rom. 10:18, and notice that they are quoted there, not only to show that all men have heard the word of God, but to show that they have heard the very gospel itself. Therefore it is plain by the word of God that the speech that the heavens utter day by day is the word of God, and the knowledge which night unto night they show is the knowledge of God. And this is how that which may be known of God is manifest to all men, for God has thus showed it to them. And as it was by the word of the Lord that the heavens were made (Ps. 33:6), so through the heavens and all things that are made, this word of God is speaking to men, declaring the creative power and glory of God. Thus all men hear the word of God, and by the hearing of the word comes faith, so that by this means God has given faith to all.

And that which may be known of God is manifest in them also, as certainly as it is manifest to them, and this too by the word of God. In Rom. 7:14-24 there is written the experience of every man that comes into the world and to the age of knowledge and accountability,–that experience in which he knows better than he does. He wants to do good, but does evil instead. He hates the evil, yet does it. He would do good, but evil is present with him and keeps him from doing the good that he would. There is a constant warfare in which he is defeated and taken captive and held in bondage. Now whence comes this experience? What is the cause of this warfare? Ah! the word of God created it.

When man chose Satan for his lord and master, and sinned, he was entirely overwhelmed in the evil, and had not a shadow of desire for good; his mind was fully content with evil and that alone. But God said to Satan: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed." This putting enmity between man and Satan has broken up man's contentment with evil, and now he hates it. In the hatred of evil there is also created a desire for the good. And as good is found only in God, and as Christ is the revelation of God, this desire for good is the desire for Christ. And so the prophecy of the coming of Christ to the world expressed it thus: "The desire of all nations shall come." Hag. 2:7. This desire for the good that is in the experience of every man is the desire for Christ, and this desire will never be satisfied in any single soul till he finds Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world.

Thus in creating enmity between man and Satan, God opens to man the door of faith, that he may find Jesus Christ and in him the fulness of the salvation of the eternal God. And so it is written: John "came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe. . . . That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." John 1:7, 9. Thus God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. Thus God has put faith into the mouth and into the heart of every man. And every man who will exercise the measure of faith which he has, that faith will "grow exceedingly" (2 Thess. 1:3), and will work in him the fulness of the salvation of God.

And so "unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ;" and this "grace of God bringeth salvation to all men;" and this grace, this blessed favor of God, has opened the door of faith to all men, giving them power to choose and ability to receive the fulness of the salvation which the abundance of grace has so freely given. "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed." Rom. 4:16. And therefore again, and finally, "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor? or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things; to whom be glory forever. Amen."
A. T. J.

The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 72 (1895)

September 17, 1895

"'What Is His Name?'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 72, 38 , pp. 598, 599.

WHEN the Lord told Moses to go to the children of Israel and had them out of Egypt, Moses inquired: "Behold, when I came unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: . . . this is my name forever."

The name of the Lord expresses both existence and character. "I am" expresses existence. I am that, or that which, I am, expresses character. And to believe in God is to believe in both his existence and his character.

It is not enough to believe only in the existence of God. To believe only that he is, and not to believe that he is what he is, is not to believe in him at all. For even to believe in his existence and then to believe him to be of a character different from that which he really is,–this is only to believe in a different God from that which he really is. And to believe in a different God from what he is, is really to believe in another God; but in reality there is no other God than he; all others are only imaginary. Therefore, even to believe that he is, and then believe him to be different in character from that which he really is–this, in reality, is not to believe in him at all. It is to believe in another than he, it is only to have another God, and so in idolatry.

Accordingly it is written: "He that cometh to God must believe that he is"–and more. He "must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Heb. 11:6. In other words, he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is what he is; he must believe both in his existence and in his character. This, and this alone is to believe in God. This and this alone is what it is to believe in his name.

What, then, is his character? what is his name? what is he? In one word the name is this: "GOD IS LOVE."

In another place his name is given in a more extended form, so that we may more fully understand what it really is. When Moses asked the Lord to show him his way, the Lord said: "I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken. . . . I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee." "And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God." This is "Jehovah, Jehovah God;" "Jah;" and corresponds to "I am," expressing existence. And now comes that which expresses his character: "Merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." That is his name; and this is what he is.

"Merciful," is full of mercy. Mercy is the disposition to treat people better than they deserve. It is not to treat persons thus from some outward constraint; but it is his disposition, it is his very inmost nature, to do it. It being his nature to do it, he cannot do otherwise. To do otherwise, he would have to be other than he is. And to do other than he is, he would cease to be God; but he cannot cease to be God. Therefore, he can never be other than what he is. Consequently he never can do otherwise than to treat people better than they deserve; for he is merciful,–he is full of the disposition,–to treat people better than they deserve. It is his very nature to do so. Praise his name!

Gracious. Grace is favor. Gracious is favorable; extending favor. This is what he is. This is his nature. This is why it is so often written, "Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." And because he is gracious, therefore, "Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Eph. 4:7. The measure of the gift of Christ is but the measure of "the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Col. 2:2. So that in this gift of grace there is given himself in his fullness. For "of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace." John 1:16. This grace, even himself, is given that all men might be saved, for "the grace of God bringeth salvation." Titus 3:11. He is gracious. He is the Saviour. Thanks to his name.

Long-suffering: "God is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish; but that all should come to repentance." And "the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation." 2 Peter 3:15. The long-suffering of the Lord is salvation, and he is long-suffering,–this is his nature, this is himself,–consequently he is salvation. Therefore, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." Isa. 12:2, 3. For he is "the fountain of living waters." Jer. 2:13. Bless his name!

Abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy–treatment better than they deserve–for thousands; not simply for thousands of persons, but for thousands of generations of people. For, "Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations." Deut. 7:9. Where the English version in Ex. 34:7 reads, "Keeping mercy for thousands," the German version reads "thousand generations." This is the true thought of the passage. This is his nature. He is the faithful God, and he takes pleasure in them that hope in his mercy–them that hope in his disposition to treat them better than they deserve; in them that believe in his name, which is merciful, even to a thousand generations. Exalt his name.

"Forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin;" not merely that he will forgive, if we do penance enough; not that he can be persuaded to forgive. No; but that he is forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. This is his very nature; so that effort is not required on his part, in order to extend forgiveness. Forgiveness is in him. It is of him. It is his very self to extend it to every soul. He cannot do anything else; because he cannot be other than he is, and this is what he is. This is his name. If men will not accept it when it is so freely and so constantly extended, they must perish in their sins of course; because he cannot compel any to accept it, but he extends it. He extends it to every soul; and he extends it always. For this is what he is; and he is the same yesterday and to-day and forever. From everlasting to everlasting he is God. And he is God to every soul. From everlasting to everlasting he is what he is, and he cannot be anything else. "I am that I am." This is my name forever, and this is my memorial throughout all generations." O, he is "forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." This is his name. Glory to his name!

"And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." This is his name. This is himself. Therefore, "Stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever; and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise." "O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together."
A. T. J.

September 24, 1895

"'My People Shall Know My Name'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 72, 39 , pp. 618, 619.

THIS word is spoken of the people of God at the time when the church is to be clothed with the "beautiful garments" of his righteousness and endued with his power (Isa. 52:1); when she is entirely separated from the world and all worldliness; and when she is entirely loosed from the captive bonds of sin (verse 2); and when she is to know the full redemption of the Lord. Verse 3. It is the time when, again, as in Egypt, his people will be "oppressed without cause" (verse 4); when "they that rule over them make them to howl," and themselves "continually every day blaspheme" the name of the Lord. Verse 5. It is at such a time as this, and "therefore" that the Lord declares, "My people shall know my name." Verse 6.

And that time is now. His people now, as in Egypt, are oppressed for keeping the Sabbath of the Lord, and here, they are oppressed for the same thing. And now God will be revealed in power as he was then. Now as then the Lord will make "bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." Verse 10. "Therefore my people shall know my name; therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak; behold, it is I."

His name is "merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." To know his name is to know all this. It is not merely to know about it, but it is to know it. it is not to know of it by the hearing of the ear; it is to know it, by the "hearing of faith"–to know it with the heart. As his name expresses what he is, to know his name is to know him–not merely to know about him; but to know him. His name expresses his nature, and to know his name is to know his nature.

He is merciful. This is his name; and to know his name is to know mercy. It is to know what it is always to manifest from the heart treatment better than they deserve to all offenders. It is only by knowing him, the fountain of mercy that this can be done. "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." Luke 6:36.

He is gracious. This is his name; and to know his name is to know what it is to be extending favor always to all people. Not favor for favor; but pure favor. Not selfishness; but graciousness.

He is long-suffering. His name, even as he says, is continually every day blasphemed; his law is trampled underfoot; his authority is defied; he himself is abused and outraged; yet he suffers it long, he endures it long, and is still abundant in goodness and truth even toward all those who are doing all these evil things. He is long-suffering thus toward all, because he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. This is his name; and to know his name is to know what it is wrongfully and unjustly to suffer contempt, injury, abuse, and outrage, to suffer these things long and still manifest abundance of goodness and truth to all, that if by any means they may be brought to repentance. "Charity suffereth long, and is king." And "if I have not charity, I am nothing." "Charity is the bond of perfectness."

And now that the time of suffering, of contempt, of oppression, of abuse, and of outrage, is upon us, how precious the promise that we shall know His name, so that his holy disposition and character shall be manifest on all occasions! And how important it is that every one who has a name and place among his people, shall receive this promise in its fullness, that we may indeed know his name, and that the savor of his knowledge may be made manifest by us in every place!

He is forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. This is his name; and to know his name is to know the forgiveness of iniquity and transgression and sin. It is to know this, each one for himself in his own, individual case; and then because of this, manifesting it to all people always. "Condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." Luke 6:37. It is not condemnation that men in this world need. They have that already in abundance. It is not condemnation but salvation that the people of this world need. "God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." And "as my Father sent me, so send I you." He does not send us to condemn anybody; but that they may be saved. his name is "forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin," and his people are to know his name–they are to know what it is to be this to all.

God is love. This is his name; and to know his name is to know love–his love. It is to know him as he is himself. And "he that loveth not, knoweth not God."

It is not in human nature of itself to manifest the disposition and character here outlined. It is not in human nature of itself always to treat people better than they deserve; to be always extending favor to the unthankful and the evil; to suffer long injustice and oppression without cause, and at the same time to be kind, and manifest abundance of goodness and truth; and to be always forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. This is not natural. It is natural for men to treat people only as they deserve; to extend favors only for favors; to resent injustice and resist oppression; to harbor enmity rather than to be forgiving.

This promise that the Lord's people shall

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know his name, is therefore in reality a promise that they shall know another nature. His name expresses his nature. To know his name is to know his nature. Therefore the promise that we shall know his name, is a promise that we shall know and be partakers of–and know by being partakers of–the divine nature.

It is written that by the promises we are partakers of the divine nature. And surely here is the chief of the promises, the very promise itself, by which this shall be done.

"My people shall know my name." His name shall be manifest in his people. His nature shall be manifest in his people. Divinity and humanity shall again be united. God will again be manifest in the flesh. This is the mystery of God that in these days of the voice of the seventh angel is to be finished. Rev. 10:7. This is the everlasting gospel, and thus it is to be preached with a loud voice to every nation and kindred and tongue and people.

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sin; for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her [Babylon]; be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight; for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward." Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift! "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, wherein the righteous run and are safe." "My people shall know my name." Do you know his name!
A. T. J.

October 1, 1895

"Preaching and Baptizing in His Name" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 72, 40 , pp. 632, 633.

"AND he said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Luke 24:46, 47. Christ is the revelation, not of himself, but of the Father. For "no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself." And "the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me." John 14:24. Therefore when the word was spoken that "repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name," it was the word of the Father. And the name in which this is to be preached is the Father's Name,–is that name which is "merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin."

However, it would be in no wise different so far as this particular fact is concerned, if Christ had spoken this of himself, and had commissioned to preach in his name, for his original name is precisely the same as the Father's. He and the Father are one. And "he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than" any of the angels. Heb. 1:4.

The only name that any person can inherit is his father's name. A person may have several names; but there is only one that he can inherit, and that is his father's; all other names that he may have must be given to him. Now Christ had "by inheritance" a name. It could not possibly be any other than his Father's name.

Having this name by inheritance, he has it by nature. He has it by the very fact of his existence. As certainly as he exists, this name–the name of the Father–belongs to him. And the Father's name being his by nature, this name as certainly expresses his nature as it expresses the name of the Father. "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin"–this is the Father's name and nature; and this is the name and nature of the Son, because he has by inheritance–by nature–his Father's name.

Therefore to preach in his name is to preach in fullness of mercy, in grace, in long-suffering and abundance of goodness and truth, and in forgiveness of iniquity and transgression and sin; for this is his name. Only thus can repentance and remission of sins really be preached.

How can any one preach "in his name," who is ready to think himself slighted and to feel hurt if there is not shown to him the favor that he thinks he ought to receive? "His name" is "gracious," that is, extending favor, not fishing for favors, nor extending favor for favor.

How can any one preach "in his name" who thinks himself oppressed or treated unjustly by the Conference Committee, and is fretting and sulking under it? "His name" is long-suffering and at the same time kind and abundant in goodness and truth, even under actual and deliberate injuries and outrages. And to preach "in his name" is to be possessed of this spirit and to preach in this spirit, even though such

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things should really be put upon us instead of their being wholly imaginary.

How can any one preach, or otherwise work, "in his name" who is holding grudges and ill feelings against others? His name is "merciful, . . . forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin;" and to preach, or do anything else, in his name is to do it in the fullness of the disposition and spirit to treat offenders better than they deserve, freely forgiving every kind of wrong.

When his ministers are sent forth to preach "in his name," they are also commanded to baptize in his name: "Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ." Acts 2:38. If the preaching has been done in his name, the baptizing can be done in his name. Otherwise not, for in that case the persons to be baptized will not know his name; and if they do not know his name, how can they be baptized–buried, overwhelmed, lost sight of–in his name; for this is what baptism in his name signifies.

For a person to be baptized in his name, signifies much more than merely to have the phrase recited over him and then to be buried in the water. To be baptized in the name of the Lord, really signifies that just as the person is buried, overwhelmed, and lost sight of, in the water, so also is he buried, overwhelmed, and lost sight of, in the name, the character, the nature, of the Lord. It signifies that that person's old, original nature and character are no more to be seen in the world; but in their stead the nature and character of the Lord. It signifies that he is no more to be manifest in the world; but that God, instead of himself, is to be manifest in him in the world.

This is what baptism "in his name" signifies, both in the Greek words and in the doctrine of the Scripture. But how shall the people be baptized in his name, if they do not know his name! And how shall they know his name, if they are not instructed in his name, and to make manifest his name to the people? O, let the preaching be all "in his name" indeed, that the people may be truly baptized "in his name," that the promise may now be fulfilled, "My people shall know my name"!
A. T. J.

October 15, 1895

"Asking in His Name" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 72, 42 , p. 662.

"VERILY, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you." John 16:23. "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." Chapter 14:13, 14.

What is his name? "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." What is it, then, to ask in his name, but to ask in the very spirit and nature of the fullness of mercy and graciousness, in long-suffering and abundance of goodness and truth, and forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin! It is to be imbued with his own Spirit, making manifest his own disposition and character in the heart, and then in this disposition making our requests known unto God.

To ask in his name means a good deal more than to present a series of formal or perhaps even selfish requests, and then put at the end of it the words "in Jesus' name." To pray "in his name," is to have the whole petition imbued through and through with his name–with his disposition and character, with his nature. For his name is his nature. "For we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Rom. 8:26, 27. As the Spirit of God makes intercession for us, in order that our prayers may be such as they ought to be, it is evident that our prayers must be according to the mind of the Spirit to be acceptable with God. It is the Spirit of God that sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts (Rom. 5:5); it is by the Spirit that Christ dwells in the heart. Thus it is by the Spirit that we are made partakers of the divine nature through the promises. And to ask according to the Spirit and in the Spirit, is to ask according to his nature, it is to ask in his name. This and this only is asking "in his name."

This is made plain by Mark 11:25: "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any." This shows that we are to pray in the very disposition and nature of the Lord. As he is "forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin," so are we to be. As this is his name, and we are to "ask in his name," so when we pray, and as we pray, we are to pray, "forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin." This is what it is to ask in his name. To pray to him while we are unforgiving and holding hardness in the heart toward our brethren or any other man, and then close the prayer with the words, "In his name," is only to take his name in vain. It is only a mockery, both of prayer and of his name; for it is not done in his name at all; it is not done in fullness of mercy, in graciousness, in long-suffering and abundance of goodness and truth, nor in the forgiveness of iniquity and transgression and sin.

O, it is too true, as he says in another place, "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name." John 15:24. There has been in us too much hardness, too much judging, too little long-suffering and kindness and goodness and truth to man and too little of the divine nature,–all this has been too largely true for us truly to have asked "in his name."

But it is not too late yet. Let us thank the Lord and take courage, that it is not yet too late. We are in the time of which it is written, "My people shall know my name." Let us in sincerity of heart accept the promise in its fullness, that it may indeed be fulfilled in us as we walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Then, knowing his name, we shall believe in his name, we shall work in his name, we shall preach in his name, we shall baptize and be baptized in his name, we shall meet in his name, we shall pray in his name, yes, whatsoever we do, in word or deed, we shall do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the father by him.

"And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin, and before whom no man is guiltless [German version]; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

"And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance. And he said, Behold, I make a covenant; before all thy people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord; for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee." (Read with this also Isa. 52:1-12.)

And let all the people say, Amen, the Lord do so.
A. T. J.

November 12, 1895

"From the East" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 72, 46 , p. 731.

[THE following is from a private letter from A. T. J. The first part of the letter was dated Constantinople, Oct. 17, and the latter part was written from the Egean Sea, Oct. 24. Although not written for publication, we take the liberty to make extracts from the letter, knowing that our readers are deeply interested in the work in which brother Jones is at present engaged.- ED.]

"Last week we went out to the head of the Bay of Nicomedia, and had four days' good meetings with about twenty-five brethren who came together in a village on the south side of the bay, opposite old Nicomedia. A half-dozen Armenian brethren were with us as we left Constantinople, and as it was in the midst of the difficulties of the Armenian uprising here, when all Armenians were under suspicion, we were all arrested and put under an armed guard, to be taken to the police court for examination. Just then, however, another Turkish officer 'happened' along. This officer recognized one or two of the brethren, and said to the officer who had arrested us: 'Oh, these are Sabbatarians. You need not be afraid of them; they are all right.' Then the other officer called a carriage, and drove to the police station to see about the Sabbatarians. In a half hour or less he was back again with orders to let us go, and molest us no further, for we were all right. Then, with many bows and salutes, as though they would apologize, they showed us aboard our steamer, and the officer who had first recognized us came aboard and shook hands with us, wishing us a pleasant journey.

"Thus the Turkish government, altogether on its own part, has singled us out from all other 'Christians' as those from whom no mischief need be apprehended, and has given us a standing that no other 'Christian' people have. The 'Protestants' had before this refused to recognize us to the authorities as belonging with them, and others had repudiated us also. And now this has resulted in giving us a standing, upon our own name, too, that is higher and more honorable than any of them. Their efforts to shut us out altogether have only put us where, for the world, they would not have had us at all, and now the government of Turkey is more just to us .than the government of the States of the American Union. I think, therefore, it only proper to give Turkey the credit belonging to that country.

"This letter was broken off at Constantinople. We have traveled to Smyrna, where we changed ships, and as we had to wait two days for a vessel, we took time and went over to old Ephesus, and walked over the ruins of the place. Yesterday morning we arrived at Samos. We shall be here four hours more, and then start to Athens. We hope the weather may be clear enough this afternoon to enable us to get a glimpse of Patmos. We are on the northeast shore of the island, in a little bay. The vessel is loading with wine in hogsheads for France. If we get off in good time this afternoon, we shall reach Pireus, the port of Athens, to-morrow morning at seven or eight o'clock."

The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 73 (1896)

February 11, 1896

"Who Cannot Be Saved?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 6 , p. 88.

THE Chaldeans in the time of Abraham were idolaters. Abraham's own father served "other gods than the Lord." Joshua 24:14, 15. Thus Abraham was born and grew up among idolatrous influences; yet from the midst of this idolatry, and in spite of all these idolatrous influences, Abraham found the one true God, and worshiped him, and was recognized by the Lord as his friend.

This demonstrates that every other person, though he be born of idolatrous parents, and grow up amidst idolatrous influences, can also find the one true God. Abraham is a witness to all the world that all the heathen can find God, and worship him truly and be accepted of him. Every one who seeks God truly will find him truly. For to every one who calls, God answers; every one who feels after him, finds him (Acts 17:27); and to every one who finds God's existence, he reveals his character.

It is written: "Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?" It is intended that the first of these questions shall be answered by "yes." It is only by its being answered "yes" that there can be any place for the second question. It would be meaningless to ask, "Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?" if he cannot be found out at all. Therefore to the question, "Canst thou by searching find out God?" every man must answer, "Yes"; for even "the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse" who do not search and find him out.

The second question must be answered by "no" as certainly as the first one must be answered by "yes." No man can, even by searching, find out the Almighty to perfection, because man himself is sadly imperfect, and imperfection attaches also to all that is before him; but God does not leave mankind here: he reveals himself in his perfection, and gives eternal life to all who will receive it, that they may spend eternity in finding out God in all his glorious perfection.

Thus it is true that every one who will find God's existence, to him God will reveal his character. So it was with Abraham. So it was with Cornelius; to him who had found out God's existence, the Lord even sent an angel to tell him where to send for a man to make known to him God's character. So also it was with the Greeks of Athens, so overwhelmingly sunken in idolatry–"art," it is called now. They had idolized, had made gods of, all things that they could imagine, till they were brought at last to the contemplation of something of which they did not know what to think or to imagine, and therefore they set up an altar, and inscribed upon it, "To the Unknown God." And even to this faint call the Lord answered. Though they had discovered but a faint glimmer of his existence, even to this he gladly responded; and his apostle stood before them in their highest official place, and said to them all, "The Unknown God, . . . him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; . . . he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us."

Thus it is to all men everywhere and in all ages. They that seek him, they that even feel after him, find him. And so easy is it to find him; so quickly does he respond to the feeblest call; so fully does he reveal himself upon the faintest glimmer that is recognized of his existence, that when his wondrous work is finished, there is found standing before his throne, ascribing to him their salvation, a great multitude that no man could number; and this vast host is composed of people "out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." These who are there "out of" every kindred and tongue and people and nation, are living and eternal witnesses that every one of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, who is not there, might just as well be there as these. The fact that one individual is there, of any single kindred or tongue or people or nations that was ever on the earth, is indisputable evidence that all the individuals of every kindred and tongue and people and nation could just as certainly and just as easily be there, as that this one is there; and the fact that one is there demonstrates that all the other are without excuse for not being there.

O, it is not hard to find the Lord! for he is not far form every one of us; he is so near that but to feel after him is to find him. It is not hard to be saved; for "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God." By doubts, and queries, and unbelief generally, people make it hard to be saved; but in the Lord's way it is not hard. "My yoke is easy." Take it upon you.

Abraham is evidence that every heathen can find the Lord. Abraham, and that great multitude out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and even Jesus Christ himself,–the second Adam,–are all witnesses that God saves human beings–whosoever puts his trust in Him, whosoever is "willing" to be saved–with the salvation of the Lord. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Who can refuse?
A. T. J.

February 18, 1896

"'Be of Good Cheer'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 7 , pp. 104, 105.

OF man it is written, "I have created him for my glory." This expresses the true object of every man's existence. He was created, and he exists, that he may glorify God. In that grand consummation when the object of their creation is accomplished in all who will have it so, it is shown how this is done. For of that time and of those people it is written: "Then cometh the end, when he [Christ] shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father. . . . For he [Christ] must reign, till he [the Father] hath put all enemies under his [Christ's] feet. . . . And when all things shall be subdued unto him [Christ], then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him [the Father] that put all things under him [Christ], that God may be all in all." 1 Cor. 15:24-28.

Thus the object of man's creation and existence is that he may glorify God; and this is done by God being manifest in him, by God being all in him; so that a man is properly himself, and meets the object of his existence, only as God is manifest in him. Man was never made to manifest himself nor to glorify himself nor any body else but God; and when he does glorify himself or anybody else but God, he misses the purpose of his creation and the object of his existence; and if he continued to do so to the end, he completely frustrates the object of his existence. God's ideal of a man is not found in man alone, nor in any combination of man with any other except God. God and man united, God and man being one, and God the one, God all that there is in the man, and this upon the man's own free choice,–this and this alone is God's ideal of a man.

It was so in the beginning when man was first created. He was made in the image of God. God was reflected in him, and was glorified in him, so that he was "the image and glory of God." "And did not he make one? . . . And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly [godlike] seed." Mal. 2:15. Thus would it ever have been had Adam remained faithful to God, but he chose to and did give himself up to another, and became one with that other; and then this other one, the evil one, was reflected in him and is manifested through him; so that man is not really himself even in evil. Man is not strictly himself, even in the way of evil which he has chosen. Yet God did not leave the man without hope, enslaved under the power of the evil one whom he had chosen. God said to Satan: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed." By this word the Creator of the man set him free again to choose between good and evil, to choose the service of God or the service of Satan. By this word God again set the man free to choose whether God shall be manifest in him or not; to choose whether God shall be glorified in him or not; to choose whether the object of his creation and existence shall be accomplished, or whether it shall be frustrated in him. And therefore the Lord is ever saying to all men, "Now is the accepted time; . . . now is the day of salvation." "Choose you this day whom ye will serve."

And to show, in spite of a world of sin and against the disadvantage of sinfulness, how fully, how completely, whosoever chooses can glorify God in this world,–for this cause God sent his only begotten Son, and for this cause Jesus freely came, he freely chose to come, into the world of sin. For this cause the Son of God became the second and "last Adam." He came and lived a whole lifetime on the earth; and as his course on earth was closing, in perfect fulness of truth he could say to God, "I have glorified thee on the earth."

How different is this from the first Adam! Yea, how different is everything was the "last Adam" when he succeeded, from the first Adam when he failed! The first Adam stood in a perfect world, a world in which every conceivable thing bore the living impress of the goodness and glory of God. Yea, more than this, he stood in the most beautiful place in the perfect world–in "Eden, the garden of God," where there was "every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also." Yes; yet more than all this, the man himself, the crowning piece of God's creation, was perfect and upright; he was acquainted with God; he was crowned with glory and honor; he was in possession of faculties of such power and precious as to be able at first sight so fully to comprehend the essential nature of every beast of the field and every fowl of the air,–yea, of "every living creature,–that he could immediately speak the name of it. In every faculty and every feature he stood "the image and

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glory of God," in a world that in all things reflected only the goodness and glory of God. And this man, in such a place, chose to abandon all that he was, all that was about him, and God who was above him; he chose a leader and a way that were contrary to God; he chose to abandon the object of his own existence; he chose to frustrate the purpose of God in his own creation; he chose not to glorify God on the earth. Instead of choosing that God should be manifested in him, glorified in him, and that in this he himself should be manifested and glorified, he chose that the arch-enemy of God should be manifested in him, and that he himself, with the whole world that had been committed to him, should be sunk to the lowest depths of degradation, and lost. What a failure was this! For such a man, in such a place, what a deplorable, what an inexcusable, what an altogether wretched failure!

Four thousand years after this failure of the first Adam, the second and last Adam came into the world. But what a world it was, compared with the world in which the first Adam stood! It was now a world in which the curse which had been let loose by the failure of the first Adam, had been raging furiously for four thousand years; a world which had been completely ruined once, and which was ripe for utter ruin the second time; a world in which "sin had become a science," and which had thus been brought to such a condition that demons now men nor even angels could see any alternative but that the race must be blotted from the earth.

How widely different also was the second Adam himself from the first! The second Adam came not at the point where the first Adam stood when he failed, but at the point at which mankind stood at the end of four thousand years of degeneracy; not in the condition of power and glory in which the first man stood when he failed, but in the condition of weakness and dishonor in which the race was involved at the end of this long period of the reign of sin. He came at that point–"a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief," bearing our infirmities and our sicknesses, with the iniquities of us all laid upon him, made "in all points" like sinful man, "made . . . to be sin." And under all this disadvantage, yet further, he became so weak that of his own self he could do nothing (John 5:30) any more than any other man who is without God. Chapter 15:5.

And yet in all this fearful contrast from the first Adam, and this terrible disadvantage, "this man," putting his trust in God, went from birth to death, a whole lifetime, through this forlorn world; and as his course was ending, he could truthfully and in grand though solemn triumph say to the Father: "I HAVE GLORIFIED THEE ON THE EARTH," and to all mankind could ring out the glad word, "BE OF GOOD CHEER; I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD." What a victory was this! For such a man, in such a place, what a joyous, what an altogether commendable, what an all-over glorious victory was this!

O, there is good cheer in it! There is not only good cheer in it, it is itself altogether good cheer; for it has demonstrated that however great the abundance of sin, however low a man may have been brought by it, he can overcome the world, he can glorify God on the earth.

O then, poor, sin-laden, weak, discouraged soul, "Be of good cheer." By the divine faith brought by Jesus Christ to every human being, you can overcome the world, you can glorify God on the earth. Rest on that divine faith which is given to you, and say with "this man," "I will put my trust in him;" and then also with "this man" and in "this man" you, too, can glorify God on the earth; for he says, "The glory which thou gavest me I have given them."

And let every soul that has named the name of Christ take up this blessed note of "good cheer," and sound it louder and yet more loud, until the whole earth shall be filled with the continuous, joyful sound, like the noise of many waters, yet "sweet as from blest voices uttering joy," ringing in the ears and in the heart of every soul: "Be of good cheer; in Him you can overcome the world, in him you can glorify God on the earth. Be of good cheer!"

"And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge [that glorifies himself] by us in every place.
A. T. J.

August 11, 1896

"The Power of Sin" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 32 , p. 505.

ALL would find the way of salvation easy if they would make the right calculation at the beginning. Jesus says, "My yoke is easy;" and it is so. He says, "My burden is light;" and it is so. But many people who are in the way do not find his yoke easy nor his burden light. And all the difficulty is that they do not make the right calculation as to the contest that is met in the way. Jesus said: "What king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an embassage, and desireth conditions of peace."

Many start in the way, and this is the right thing to do. But by not properly estimating the force against them nor their power to meet it, they do not prosper in the way as they should, nor as they expected. They do not rightly estimate the power of sin, nor their power to meet it successfully. In a little while they find themselves failing repeatedly, and then, after many "ups and downs," they begin to think that that is the way, and then begin to excuse sin, and apologize for it, and try to strike conditions of peace in that sort of experience. But this will never do. Victory can never come that way.

No; sit down first, and "consult" as to what are the forces against you, and whether you are able to meet them, and if not able to meet them, then what to do in order to meet them successfully; for no apology, no compromise, no peace, must ever be sought or allowed with sin. "Consult" the chart of the field of battle, the Bible. "Consult" the One who knows, as to the power of the enemy. "Consult" the Great Commander in the field, as to what equipment and what power are essential to assure victory, not only "at last" but at first. Time, even much time, spent in this consultation at the beginning, would be always a gain rather than in any sense a loss.

The difficulty does not lie with any one, in any failure to acknowledge the fact of sin. With every one the whole difficulty lies in failure to acknowledge the power of sin. Everybody is willing to admit that he has done wrong,–that he has aimed to do right, but has missed the mark; and this is only to miss the mark. Many are willing to be specific, and to say that they have actually sinned, and are altogether sinners, and to confess it to the Lord. It is well, it is right, to do all this; and yet all this can be done, and, in fact, is done by many, without their acknowledging or confessing the power of sin.

Many do all this, and yet depend upon themselves and what is of themselves, to defeat sin. They insist that they could do better if only they had a better chance; but circumstances are unfavorable–the neighbors are bad; the church-members are not all converted, and therefore matters of church or Sabbath-school work are unpleasant and "trying;" their own family relations are not the best. All these things and such as these are counted hindrances to progress in the Christian life; and they themselves could do better and be better Christians if circumstances were only as favorable as they should be. These persons hold that inside they are all right, the good is there; it is outside where the evil lies, and the good that is in them does not have a chance to show itself. If only all the evil influences without, and all opposing circumstances were taken away, then, ah! then, they could easily enough be Christians of just the right kind.

But this is all a deception. It is but an argument presented by the deceitfulness of sin. It is not anything outside of us nor around us, but only what is in us, that can hinder us form being Christians of just the right kind. It is only the power of sin working in us that can ever hinder us in the least from being straightforward Christians. And until that power is recognized and confessed, we cannot be delivered from it. But when it is recognized and confessed, we can be delivered from it; and just as constantly and just as thoroughly as it is recognized and confessed, just so constantly and so thoroughly can we be delivered from it. And deliverance from the power of sin if Christianity. The life that is delivered from the power of sin is a Christian life in truth, and it cannot be anything else.

The word of God has made this as plain as anything can be made. The whole thought of Scripture is to show that there is power in sin. The Scripture does not want men to entertain any other view of sin than that there is power in it, and that this power is absolute so far as man himself is concerned. The statements of Scripture, and the very terms in which these statements are framed, show this. A. T. J.

August 18, 1896

"The Power of Sin" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 33 , p. 521.

WHERE sin abounded, Romans 5:21 says that "sin hath reigned." And to reign is "to hold and exercise sovereign power;" "to exercise commanding influence; to dominate; to exercise control over; control as by right or superior force;" "to prevail irresistibly; exist widely or to the exclusion of something else." That is what the word of God says that sin does in men and with men as they are of themselves. And until that fact is recognized, no man can be delivered from the power of sin. The word used, and translated "reigned," is a word that signifies and relates to governments and the reign of sovereigns. And when the word of God thus speaks, it wants us to understand that men in sin are under the government and sovereign power of sin, just as men who are in an earthly kingdom are under the power of that government.

Again: the Scripture describes the condition of the sinner thus: "I am carnal, sold under sin." In these times a man who was sold was a slave, and was in all things absolutely subject to his master. Why, then, is this statement used with reference to men under sin, unless that is the actual condition of men under sin? Yet more than this: this statement was originally written to the saints who were in Rome. The figure was taken from the Roman system of slavery. And when the brethren in Rome read it, it was the system of Roman slavery that was suggested, and that was intended to be suggested, to their minds as an illustration of the condition of the sinner under the power of sin.

Now the Roman government was a sheer despotism of the worst sort. The relation of the government to the citizen was such that he was but a slave. Who has not read or heard these words? "The Roman Empire filled the world, and when that empire fell into the hands of a single person, the world became a safe and dreary prison for his enemies: to resist was fatal, and it was impossible to fly." That was the condition of a citizen under the Roman government; but the figure used in this scripture is not of Roman citizenship but of Roman slavery. And when that was the condition of the Roman citizen, what must have been the condition of the Roman slave! Roman slavery was a system of bondage imposed upon men by a government that stood toward its own citizens as this quotation describes. The slave was confined in the hands of his owner by such a government as this. The master had absolute power in all things, even to life or death, over the slave. The owner could torture his slave to death or kill him out of hand, and no one could question it; for the government, such a government, confirmed the owner in the absolute possession and control of the one whom he had bought with his money.

And the figure furnished by that system of government and of slavery, is adopted by the Lord in defining the relationship of the sinner to sin, and the condition of the sinner under the power of sin. And the lesson which we are taught in these words of Scripture, and which we are expected to learn from these words, is not simply the fact of sin, but the power of it. And if people would only see this more and recognize it so, there would be more salvation from sin in the world and among those who profess to be Christian, and there would therefore be much more Christianity in the church.

This same thought is expressed in the same way by Jesus, in the following words: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." This is the way the King James Version reads, and so on the face of the text its force is lost; for when people read it nowadays, they know that the position of a servant is such that he can leave it at any time, and cease to be a servant. Looking at it that way, they decide that they can leave the service of sin at any time, by their own power, and by their own power cease to be servants of sin.

But this is not what Jesus said. What he really said is this: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is a slave of sin." The Greek word is doulos, and signifies "properly, a born bondman, or slave." Note, it is not simply one made a slave; but one born a slave. That is what Jesus said; and that is what the word says yet to every one that is under the power of sin. Thus in the words of Christ here, as in the other places, it is the power of sin over the sinner, rather than the fact of sin upon him, that is taught, and that he wants men to understand. And he wants us to understand that this power is properly illustrated only in the system of Roman slavery as it was then in the world.

This power is shown to be such that in its reign, in its mastery over the man who knows only the birth to slavery, the natural birth, it keeps him back from doing the good that he would do, and that he loves, and causes him to do the evil that he would not do, and that he hates. For it is written: "I am carnal, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I." "The good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." "For to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not."

But why is this! Why is it that a man does the evil that he hates? Why is it that he does not the good that he would? Why is it that he cannot perform the good that he wills? Oh! "It is not more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me." I would not do it; but sin that dwells in me causes me to do it. I would do good, but sin that dwells in me holds me back, and will not let me do it. "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me?"

How could the supreme, sovereign, and absolute power of sin be more plainly shown than it is in the scriptures cited in this article? And how could the complete, abject, and helpless slavery of the man who knows the natural birth be more fully depicted than in these same scriptures? O that men would believe it! O that they would recognize it, and confess it, always! Then they could be delivered. For there is deliverance. There is deliverance as complete as is the captivity. There is freedom as absolute as is the slavery. There is the reign of another power, as certainly supreme and sovereign as was ever the power of sin. But until we recognize and confess the power of sin as the word of God declares it, we cannot know the power of God declares it, we cannot know the power of God as the word of God presents it. Until we acknowledge the complete sovereignty of the power of sin, we cannot acknowledge the complete sovereignty of the power of God.
A. T. J.

August 25, 1896

"The Power of Grace" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 34 , pp. 538, 539.

THERE is power in grace as certainly as there is power in sin. And there is "much more" power in grace than there is in sin. For "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."

We have found that there is power in sin to reign over man, and hold him under its dominion. And just as certainly there is power in grace to reign over sin, and hold man under the dominion of grace against all the power of sin. For "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that [in order that] as sin hath reigned, . . . even so might grace reign."

The word "reign" here applied to grace, is the same word precisely that is applied to sin. It means as to grace precisely what it means as to sin. The definition of "reign" is just as true when referring to grace as when applied to sin: "To hold and exercise power; to exercise commanding influence; to dominate; to prevail irresistibly; exist widely, or to the exclusion of something else."

All this is true of grace as certainly as it is true of sin. As certainly as sin holds and exercises sovereign power, and prevails irresistibly to the exclusion of everything else where it reigns, so certainly grace will hold and exercise sovereign power, and will prevail irresistibly to the exclusion of sin, where it is allowed to reign. For "as sin hath reigned. . . . even so might grace reign." "As" and "even so"–think of these expressions. "As" and "even so"–what do these words mean?–They have no other meaning than "to the same extent or degree; in the same way; like; even as; just as." Like as sin hath reigned,–just as sin hath reigned,–to just that same degree it is intended that grace shall reign, and to that degree grace will reign wherever it is allowed to do so.

These expressions emphasize the necessity, before pointed out, that the reign of sin shall be recognized as absolute. The reign of grace must be absolute, or else its purpose will be frustrated. But the reign of sin must be recognized as absolute, or else the reign of grace cannot be so; for just as sin reigned, even so grace. Therefore it is perfectly plain that not to recognize the power and reign of sin as absolute, is to frustrate the grace of God.

This is why it is that the Scriptures insist so strongly upon the fact of the power and reign of sin over men. This is why the Lord wants that fact recognized and ever held in mind. The Lord wants men to be absolutely free from sin, and to be the servants of righteousness. But this cannot be, so long as men fail fully to recognize the power and reign of sin. Therefore he tells men over and over and always insists that of themselves they have no power at all against sin; that they are slaves to a power which keeps them from doing the good that they would, and compels them to do the evil which they hate. This the Lord tells to men because it is all true; and he wants men to believe what he tells them as to the power and reign of sin, so that they may know the power and reign of grace.

For grace is to reign as fully as ever sin did. The power of sin is to be so broken that the slave is free, and no more serves sin. "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Men have served sin; they do serve sin. But God has provided that henceforth they shall not serve sin; that they shall be free from sin, and the servants of righteousness only, as formerly they were free from righteousness and the servants of sin only. "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."

It is therefore perfectly plain that to obtain the reign of grace in our behalf, it is essential that we confess the reign of sin. To know the power of grace, it is essential to confess the power of sin. And to insure the continued power and reign of grace, it is essential that there be a continued confession of the power of sin. To insure the absolute reign of grace, it is essential that we continually confess our absolute weakness and helplessness in the presence of the power of sin: to confess that in us "dwells no good thing;" and that we have "no confidence in the flesh." Then the way is clear for grace to manifest itself. And there being nothing to hinder the power of grace, its reign will be complete.

We are constantly to confess our weakness, our absolute helplessness; but we are not to deplore it. Just here is where many miss the right way. They do feel their weakness, they confess that they do; but they do this only to deplore it and fairly to work themselves into discouragement and even despair over it. This is all wrong: this is to take the wrong road entirely. It is right, yes, it is essential, that we confess always our weakness, our absolute helplessness. This is the key of the whole situation. But in stead of deploring it, thank God for it; for

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Christ says: "My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Instead of being discouraged by your weakness, glory in it; for it is written, "Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." So long as we feel that we have any strength to cope with sin, we depend upon this instead of upon grace, and so we are defeated: we depend upon ourselves instead of upon the Lord, and so we fail. But when we constantly confess our absolute weakness, and recognize the fixed fact that there is no power, no help, no good thing, in us against the power of sin, then we shall depend wholly upon the Lord: all our hope will, be in grace. And the way being thus fully opened and held unhindered to the work of grace, grace will fully occupy the place, and will reign against all the power of sin. And then "sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."

Thus it is that "when I am weak, then am I strong." It is only when we are weak, that we can possibly be strong. No Christian wants to feel any other way than weak, because then he knows that the way is open for grace to reign; and thus when he is weak, then he is strong–"strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." When you feel strong, you are certainly weak; for strength is not of yourself that you can feel it, but of the Lord, that you may believe it. When you feel strong, you think you can stand; but "let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." But when you feel weak and know that you cannot stand, then "he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand." Thank the Lord that you do feel your weakness, and even then believe that your weakness is greater than you feel. And then believe in the Lord's strength for you, and in his abiding grace to impart this strength to your life, and reign there over all the power of sin–reigning through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Then as it is the truth of God that "as sin hath reigned, . . . even so might grace reign," and "sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are. . . under grace,"–then, under the reign of grace, it will be found just as easy to do right, as under the reign of sin it was easy to do wrong. Then it will be found, indeed, that His yoke is easy, and his burden is light.
A. T. J.

September 1, 1896

"Shall It Be Grace or Sin?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 35 , pp. 557, 558.

IT can never be repeated too often, that under the reign of grace it is just as easy to do right, as under the reign of sin it is easy to do wrong. This must be so; for if there is not more power in grace than there is in sin, then there can be no salvation from sin. But there is salvation from sin; this no one who believe in Christianity can deny.

Yet salvation from sin certainly depends upon there being more power in grace than there is in sin. Then, there being more power in grace than there is in sin, it cannot possibly be otherwise than that wherever the power of grace can have control, it will be just as easy to do right as without this it is easy to do wrong.

No man ever yet naturally found it difficult to do wrong. His great difficulty has always been to do right. But this is because man naturally is enslaved to a power–the power of sin–that is absolute in its reign. And so long as that power has sway, it is not only difficult but impossible to do the good that he knows and that he would. But let a mightier power than that have sway, then is it not plain enough that it will be just as easy to serve the will of the mightier power, when it reigns, as it was to serve the will of the other power when it reigned?

But grace is not simply more powerful than is sin. If this were indeed all, even then there would be fulness of hope and good cheer to every sinner in the world. But this, good as it would be, is not all; it is not nearly all. There is much more power in grace than there is in sin. For "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." And just as much more power in grace than there is in sin, just so much more hope and good cheer there are for every sinner in the world.

How much more power, then, is there in grace than there is in sin? Let me think a moment. Let me ask myself a question or two. Whence comes grace?–From God, to be sure. "Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ." Whence comes sin?–From the devil, of course. Sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. Well, then, how much more power is there in grace than there is in sin? It is as plain as A B C that there is just as much more power in grace than there is in sin, as there is more power in God than there is in the devil. It is therefore also perfectly plain that the reign of grace is the reign of God; and that the reign of sin is the reign of Satan. And is it not therefore perfectly plain also, that it is just as easy to serve God by the power of God as it is to serve Satan with the power of Satan?

Where the difficulty comes in, in all this, is that so many people try to serve God with the power of Satan. But that can never be done. "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt." Men cannot gather grapes of thorns, nor figs of thistles. The tree must be made good, root and branch. It must be made new. "Ye must be born again." "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." Let no one ever attempt to serve God with anything but the present, living power of God, that makes him a new creature; with nothing but the much more abundant grace that condemns sin in the flesh, and reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Then the service of God will indeed be in "newness of life;" then it will be found that his yoke is indeed "easy" and his burden "light;" then his service will be found indeed to be with "joy unspeakable and full of glory."

Did Jesus ever find it difficult to do right? Every one will instantly say, No. But why? he was just as human as we are. He took flesh and blood the same as ours. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." And the

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kind of flesh that he was made in this world, was precisely such as was in this world. "In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren." "In all things"! It does not say, In all things but one. There is no exception. He was made in all things like as we are. He was of himself as weak as we are; for he said, "I can of mine own self do nothing."

Why, then, being in all things like as we are, did he find it always easy to do right?–Because he never trusted to himself, but his trust was always in God alone. All his dependence was upon the grace of God. He always sought to serve God, only with the power of God. And therefore the Father dwelt in him, and did the works of righteousness. Therefore it was always easy for him to do right. But as he is, so are we in this world. He has left us an example, that we should follow his steps. "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure," as well as in him. All power in heaven and in earth is given unto him; and he desires that you may be strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power. "In him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily;" and he strengthens you with might by his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your heart by faith, that you may be "filled with all the fulness of God."

True, Christ partook of the divine nature, and so do you if you are a child of promise, and not of the flesh; for by the promises ye are partakers of the divine nature. There was nothing given to him in this world, and he had nothing in this world, that is not freely given to you, or that you may not have.

All this is in order that you may walk in newness of life; that henceforth you may not serve sin; that you may be the servant of righteousness only; that you may be freed from sin; that sin may not have dominion over you; that you may glorify God on the earth; and that you may be like Jesus. And therefore "unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. . . . Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." And I "beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain."
A. T. J.

September 8, 1896

"Who Shall Reign?" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 36 , pp. 570, 571.

"THE kingdom of God is within you." To see that this is a universal truth it is necessary only to read the connection, and know to whom these words were originally spoken. Here is the passage: "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:21, 22.

Those Pharisees were not believers in Christ. On the contrary, they were constantly spying upon him, laying traps for him, persecuting him, and laying plans to kill him. And yet to these and such as these the Lord says, "The kingdom of God is within you." And when this is true of such as those, it is evident that it is true of everybody in the world: and that it is a universal truth that the kingdom of God is in man. And if God is not recognized and allowed to reign in his kingdom that is within, it matters not to such persons when the outward kingdom and reign may come; they can have no part in it anyhow; it would mean only destruction and perdition to them.

Man was made to glorify God. "I have created him for my glory." Christ came into the world to make manifest the purpose of God in the creation and existence of man; and when he had finished his course upon the earth, he said to the Father, "I have glorified thee on the earth." In order to glorify God on the earth, "he emptied himself." And when he emptied himself, and took the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, God dwelt in him, and worked in him, and was manifest in him so entirely that none but God was seen in all his life. And thus be glorified, he made manifest, God on the earth.

This is God's purpose in the creation and existence of man: and this is that which will be manifest in all intelligences in the universe when the grand work of redemption shall have been completed. For when the end comes; when Christ shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when God shall have put all things under Christ's feet, and so shall have subdued all things unto the Son, "then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." Then all that will be in any one, or that will be manifest in any one, will be God. And thus God being all in each one, he will be all in all of them. This was God's purpose concerning man when he created him. The purpose was that God, and God alone, should be manifest in the man. The purpose was that God should dwell in him and walk in him, that God alone should reign in him and rule over him. This was the condition of the man when God put him upon the earth and in the garden. Thus God established his temple, his throne, and his kingdom, in man. And thus it is that to all mankind it is true that "the kingdom of God is within you."

Yet the Lord made man free. God cannot have any compulsory or necessitous service. And to be happy, even with God, man must be free. His service, even to God, to be happy service must be from choice, willingly and freely made. "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." Whosoever will, let him come. And in the nature of things, freedom of choice to serve the Lord, carries with it freedom of choice not to do so. When God established his kingdom in man to reign there, he would reign there, he could reign there, only upon the man's choice. And the Lord put the man in the garden, and arranged everything there for the exercise of his freedom of choice. He put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the garden, and with no boundary about it. Access to this tree was left as open as to any others, except in the word of the Lord, "Thou shalt not eat of it." And whether he would eat of it or not was for the man to choose.

And the man did choose the wrong way. And he did this by choosing to follow the will and the way of another than God. And in so choosing, he did choose that another than God should have a place in him. And thus be allowed a usurper to enter this kingdom of God, and occupy the throne there, and demand worship in this temple that was in him. Yet the kingdom is of right the Lord's, even though the usurper has occupied it. The throne is the Lord's, even though the usurper sits upon it. Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord; and it was still the throne of the Lord, though Solomon afterward sat upon it in iniquity. The temple is of right the Lord's, even though a false god is there, and a false worship be conducted there. It is "in the temple of God" that the great usurper sits "as God," "showing himself that he is God." Thus it is that the kingdom is God's, even though the usurper be ruling in it; and the throne is the Lord's, even though the usurper be occupying it. And thus it is true that to every man that cometh into the world the word is spoken, "The kingdom of God is within you."

Then the further question comes to every man that cometh into the world, Who shall reign in this kingdom? Will you have the usurper to reign there? or will you allow the rightful King to reign there? Will you have the usurper to reign there only to your ruin? or will you have the rightful King reign there only to salvation? Shall the usurper occupy the throne only in iniquity? or shall the rightful Lord occupy it only in righteousness? Shall the usurper rule only to shame? or will you have the One "whose right it is" to rule there only to glory, both present and eternal? This is the consideration that presents itself to the constant thought and the ever present choice of all mankind. And therefore the living and ever-present word is, "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve." "To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." To-day, "while it is called To-day," "if ye will hear his voice, harden not

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your hearts." "Now is the accepted time; . . . now is the day of salvation."

"The kingdom of God is within you." Who shall reign in this kingdom in you? Who shall reign there "now," "to-day," "While it is called To-day"? Choose ye, choose ye, "choose ye this day" who. All that the rightful King asks of you, that he may take his own place in his own kingdom, and reign there, is that by an active, intelligent choice, you shall now choose him to reign. For, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him." "My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." "I will dwell in them and walk in them, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God." "I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts." "I will be thy King." Then in its full, true, and rightful sense, will the kingdom of God be in you; for there is the kingdom, and there will then be the King, the throne, and the laws of the kingdom.

"The kingdom of God is within you." Choose ye this day who shall sit and rule in that kingdom. Choose that the rightful King shall have his own place in his own kingdom. He cannot reign there without your choice. Upon your choice he will reign; he will reign the King that he is, with the power that is his–with power "by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; . . . that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." Then God will be manifest in you, and you will glorify God on the earth.

This was the purpose of God when he created man at the first; and this is his purpose in creating him again in Christ Jesus. Choose ye this day that this purpose shall be met in you. And not to choose is to choose. Not to choose that God shall reign, is to choose that he shall not reign. And to choose that God shall not reign, is to choose that Satan–the usurper–shall reign. Not to choose that God shall be glorified in you, is to choose that he shall not be glorified in you. And to choose that God shall not be glorified in you, is to choose that Satan shall be glorified in you. And for God to be glorified in you, self must be emptied, that God may be all. Self must be emptied in all, that God may be all in all.
A. T. J.

September 22, 1896

"Receive Not the Grace of God in Vain" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 38 , pp. 604, 605.

CAN every believer have grace enough to keep him free from sinning?–Yes. Indeed, everybody in the world can have enough to keep him from sinning. If any one does not have it, it is not because enough has not been given; but because he does not take that which has been given. For "unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Eph. 4:7. The measure of the gift of Christ is himself wholly, and that is the measure of "all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." To the fulness of the Godhead there is, indeed, no measure; it is boundless, it is simply the infinity of God. Yet that is the only measure of the grace that is given to every one of us. The boundless measure of the fulness of the Godhead is the only thing that can express the proportion of grace that is given to every one who is in this world. For "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." This grace is given in order that "as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord," and in order that sin shall not have dominion over you, because you are under grace.

It is given also "for the perfecting of the saints." The object of it is to bring each one to perfection Christ Jesus–to the perfection too, that is fully up to God's standard; for it is given for the building up of the body of Christ, "will we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." It is given to "every one of us," "till we all come" to perfection, even by the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. Again, this grace is given to every one where sin abounds; and it brings salvation to every one to whom it is given. Bringing salvation in itself, the measure of the salvation which it brings to every one is only the measure of its own fulness, which is nothing less

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than the measure of the fulness of the Godhead.

As the boundless grace is given to every one bringing salvation to the extent of its own full measure, then if any one does not have boundless salvation, why is it?–Plainly it can be only because he will not take that which is given.

As boundless grace is given to every one, in order that it shall reign in him against all the power of sin, as certainly as ever sin reigned; and in order that sin shall not have dominion, then if sin still reigns in any one, if sin yet has dominion over any one, where lies the fault?–Clearly it lies only in this, that he will not allow the grace to do for him and in him that which it is given to do. By unbelief he frustrates the grace of God. So far as he is concerned, the grace has been given in vain.

But every believer, by his very profession, says that he has received the grace of God. Then if in the believer grace does not reign instead of sin; if grace does not reign instead of sin, it is plain enough that he is receiving the grace of God in vain. If grace is not bringing the believer onward toward a perfect man in the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, then he is receiving the grace of God in vain. Therefore the exhortation of the Scripture is, "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain." 2 Cor. 6:1.

The grace of God is fully able to accomplish that for which it is given, if only it is allowed to work. We have seen that grace being altogether from God, the power of grace is nothing but the power of God. It is plain enough therefore that the power of God is abundantly able to accomplish all for which it is given,–the salvation of the soul, deliverance from sin and from the power of it, the reign of righteousness in the life, and the perfecting of the believer unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ,–if only it can have place in the heart and in the life to work according to the will of God. but the power of God is "unto salvation to every one that believeth." Unbelief frustrates the grace of God. Many believe and receive the grace of God for the salvation from sins that are past, but are content with that, and do not give it the same place in the soul, to reign against the power of sin, that they did to save from sins of the past. This, too, is but another phase of unbelief. So as to the one great final object of grace–the perfection of the life in the likeness of Christ–they do practically receive the grace of God in vain.

"We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) Giving no offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed." Nor does this word "ministry" refer simply to the ordained ministry of the pulpit; it includes every one who receives the grace of God, or that has named the name of Christ. For "as every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Therefore he does not want any one to receive the grace of God in vain, lest that grace and its blessed working be misrepresented to the world, and so men be further hindered from yielding to it. He does not want his grace to be received in vain, because when it is, offense is given in many things, and the ministry of grace itself is blamed. Yet when the grace of God is not received in vain, but is given the place that belongs to it, "no offense" will be given "in anything," and the ministry will not only be not blamed but will be blest.

And now to show how complete and all-pervading the reign of grace will be in the life where it is not received in vain, the Lord has set down the following list, embracing "all things," and in which we shall approve ourselves unto God. Read it carefully:–

"In all things approving ourselves" unto God,

"In much patience,

In afflictions,

In necessities,

In distresses,

In stripes,

In imprisonment,

In tumults,

In labors,

In watchings,

In fastings;

By pureness,

By knowledge,

By longsuffering,

By kindness,

By the Holy Ghost,

By love unfeigned,

By the word of truth,

By the power of God,

By the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

By honor and dishonor,

By evil report and good report:

As deceivers, and yet true;

As unknown, and yet known;

As dying, and, behold, we live;

As chastened, and not killed;

As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;

As poor, yet making many rich;

As having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

This list covers all the experiences that can ever enter into the life of any believer in this world. It shows that where the grace of God is not received in vain, that grace will so take possession and control of the life, that every experience that enters into the life will be taken by grace, and turned to making us approved unto God, and building us up in perfection unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain."
A. T. J.

September 29, 1896

"'Ministers of God'" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 39 , p. 621.

FROM the list that the Lord has drawn, in 2 Cor. 6:1-10, it is plain that there is nothing that can ever come into the life of the believer in Christ, but that the grace of God will take it and turn it to the good of the believer, and make it serve only to his advancement toward perfection in Christ Jesus. This the grace of God will do always, and nothing but this, if only the believer will allow the Lord to have his own way in his life; if only he will allow grace to reign. Thus it is that "all things are for your sakes;" and this is how "all things are for your sakes;" and this is how "all things work together for good to them that love God." This is grand. It is indeed glorious. It is salvation itself. This is how the believer is enabled "always" to "triumph in Christ."

This, however, is but half the story. The Lord proposes not only to save him who now believes, but he will use him in ministering to all others the knowledge of God, that they also may believe. We are not to think that the Lord's grace and gifts to us are only for us. They are for us first, in order that not only we ourselves shall be saved, but that we may be enabled to benefit all others in communicating to them the knowledge of God. We ourselves must be partakers of salvation before we can lead others to it. Therefore it is written: "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." And, "all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation."

Thus every man who receives the grace of God, at the same time receives with it the ministry of that grace to all others. Every one who finds himself reconciled to God, receives with that reconciliation the ministry of reconciliation to all others. Here also the exhortation applies, "We. . . beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain." Are you a partaker of grace? Then "minister the same" to others; do not receive it in vain. Are you reconciled to God? Then know that he has given to you also the ministry of reconciliation. Have you received this ministry in vain?

If we do not receive the grace of God in vain, if only we will allow grace to reign, the Lord will cause it to be that "in all things" we shall approve "ourselves as the ministers of God." This is the truth. The Lord says it, and it is so. "In all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God." That is, in all things we shall be conveying to others the knowledge of God. And thus the Lord proposes not only to cause us always "to triumph in Christ," on our own part, but also to make "manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place." That is, he proposes to make known to others by us, and in every place, the knowledge of himself.

We cannot do this of ourselves. He is to do it by us. We are to co-operate with him. We are to be workers together with him. And when we do thus co-operate with him, then as certainly as we do so, so certainly will he cause us always to triumph in Christ, and will also make manifest the knowledge of himself by us in every place. He can do it, thank the Lord. Do not say, do not even think, that he cannot do this by you. He can do it by you. He will, too, if only you will not receive his grace in vain; if you will only let grace reign; if you will be worker together with him.

It is true that there is a mystery about how this can be. It is a mystery how God can make manifest the knowledge of himself by such persons as you and I are, in any place, much less in every place. Yet mystery though it be, it is the very truth. But we do not believe the mystery of God?–Assuredly we do believe it. Then never forget that the mystery of God is God manifest in the flesh. And you and I are flesh. Then the mystery of God is God manifest in you and me, who believe. Believe it.

Do not forget, either, that the mystery of God is not God manifest in sinless flesh, but God manifest in sinful flesh. There could never be any mystery about God's manifesting himself in sinless flesh–in one who had no connection whatever with sin. That would be plain enough. But that he can manifest himself in flesh laden with sin and with all the tendencies of sin, such as ours is–that is a mystery. Yea, it is the mystery of God. And it is a glorious fact, thank the Lord! Believe it. And before all the world, and for the joy of every person in the world, in Jesus Christ he has demonstrated that this great mystery is indeed a fact in human experience. For "as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same." "In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren." And therefore God "made him to be sin for us." "He hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Thus, in our flesh, having our nature, laden with iniquity, and himself made to be sin, Christ Jesus lived in this world, tempted in all points like as we are; and yet God always caused him to triumph in him, and made manifest the savor of his knowledge by him in every place. Thus God was manifest in the flesh,–in our flesh, in human flesh laden with sin,–and made to be sin in itself, weak and tempted as ours is. And thus the mystery of God was made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. O, believe it!

And this is the mystery of God to-day and forever–God manifest in the flesh, in human flesh, in flesh, laden with sin, tempted and tried. In this flesh, God will make manifest the knowledge of himself in every place where the believer is found. Believe it, and praise his holy name!

This is the mystery which to-day, in the third angel's message, is again to be made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. This is the mystery of God, which in this time is to be "finished,"–not only finished in the sense of being ended to the world, but finished in the sense of being brought to completion in its grand work in the believer. This is the time when the mystery of God is to be finished in the sense that God is to be manifest in every true believer, in every place where that believer shall be found. This is, in deed and in truth, the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

"Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world,"–I have revealed God in the flesh. Our faith is the victory that has overcome the world. Therefore, and now, "Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place."
A. T. J.

October 6, 1896

"The Comfort of God" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 40 , pp. 635, 636.

GOD desires to make manifest the knowledge of himself by us in every place. In order that this may be done, it is essential that we recognize him in every place. He will not reign in our lives without our consent. It is by our co-operation that all is to be done. "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." "Willing" is the present acting of the will. "If ye be willing," is therefore to say, If the present acting of your will is that God shall be glorified, that his will shall be done, and you yield yourself to his will, ye shall eat the good of the land. "Choose ye this day," each day, "while it is called to-day," "whom ye will serve." Thus it is that in order that God may make manifest the knowledge of himself by us in every place, it is essential that we acknowledge him in every place.

To acknowledge this is only to acknowledge the truth. It is so much the truth that it is the truth whether we acknowledge it or not. When Paul stood on Mars Hill, with a crowd of the greatest heathen before him, among whom there was not one Christian, he spoke the word of God,–that he is "not far from every one of us." Not far is near; so that he is near to every man in the world. So near is he, indeed, that he stands at the very door, he will most gladly enter and reign in the life, and make manifest the fragrance of the knowledge of himself by that man in every place.

The Lord being thus near even to the heathen, and thus near to those who continually refuse to open to him the door of their lives, how much more is it true that he is near to those who have opened the door, and have yielded themselves to him. To all these he says, "I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." "I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand." "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. . . . Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." Yea, even "the very hairs of your head are all numbered."

All this shows that nothing can enter your life or mine, of the value of a sparrow,–a quarter of a cent or less,–but that God is there to meet it and watch over it, and make it turn to our good and to his own glory. It shows that nothing can enter your life that is of as much importance as one of the hairs of your head, but that God is there to meet it and make it turn to your good. And thus "we know that all things work together for good to them that love God." Therefore it is written that "the God of all comfort," "comforteth us in all our tribulation." This world is a world of trial, of difficulty, of trouble. "Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward." Such being the sort of world that this is, so long as we are in this world, we shall meet, and we are only to expect to meet, just such things as are in the world. We are not to ask to be kept from the trials that this world presents, but to be kept while in them. We are to ask for grace and discernment to find God there, that we may find his grace in every trial, his power in every difficulty, his comfort in all our tribulation.

This, too, not only that all the experiences of this world may be made to work for our own good and our own salvation, but also that by all these experiences we may be prepared the better to pass on that salvation to those who do not know it. Indeed, this latter is the very point dwelt upon in the passage which declares, "The God of all comfort," "comforteth us in all our tribulation." Here it is in full: "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." As the object of God's comforting us is to make us able to comfort others, it is plain enough that the purpose of our meeting the trials that this world affords, is to enable us to help other people who meet these same trials. In order for us to be a real help to others, we must understand their experiences, their trials, their troubles.

People who are of this world only, have only the experiences that this world affords. But God wants them to know a better experience than any of these. He wants them to know him. He wants them to know him everywhere and in all things. He wants them to know his power and his comfort, that will take all these experiences, and turn them to the salvation of those who meet them. And you and I, who profess to know him, who have taken his name upon us,–he expects that we shall acknowledge him in all these things, and that we shall thus find his power and his comfort turning all the bitter into sweet, turning for us all that seems to be against us, and thus be ourselves made able to comfort them that are in any trouble, with the comfort which we ourselves have received from God when we were in the like experiences that others meet who do not know God. Thus the Lord proposes to cause us always to triumph in Christ, and also to make manifest the knowledge of himself by us in every place and to all people.

As a sparrow cannot fall on the ground without your Father, much less can anything fall into your life without your Father. And when anything does fall into your life, it is only that you may be more able to minister to all others the knowledge of God; it is only that you may be able the better to convey to others the knowledge of the salvation of God. This also is written. Here it is: "And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation." Why was Paul afflicted?–It was for the consolation and salvation of other people. Why was Christ afflicted? Why was he, the majesty of heaven, made as we are, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief?–It was for the consolation and salvation of all. Why, then, are you afflicted?–It is for the consolation and salvation of other people. That is the truth. The Lord says it, and it is so.

Yet many, instead of looking at trials and afflictions in this way, allow Satan to deceive them into thinking that the Lord is angry with them, and is punishing them for some great sin that they are afraid they have done, and which they couldn't think of if it was to save their lives. And so instead of meeting, in their trial or their affliction, "the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort," they see only the black, scowling face of a god of vengeance, of their own imaginings and Satan's suggestion. And thus, instead of meeting God's purpose in being, by these experiences, made better able to comfort them that are in any trouble, and to bear consolation and salvation to other people, they only cripple themselves in them. Let it not be so any more. Let God be true, and say with Paul: "Whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation;" "or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation." So that whether we are in affliction or in comfort, there is to be consolation and salvation to others in it.

There are on every hand those who are in trouble, those who are afflicted, those who are sorely tried and in discouragement. They do not know God; they do not find him and his comfort, his power, his strength, his courage. Christians are in the world to convey to these poor, troubled souls the comfort of God. Christians are here to say to them that are cast down. In God "there is lifting up;" to say to the discouraged, "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world;" "be strong and of a good courage;" to the weak, "The joy of the Lord is your strength." Christians are here to "comfort them which are in any trouble."

And now the Lord knows whom you will meet next week or next year. He knows now what will be the trouble of those souls when you do

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meet them. He wants you to be able, when you meet those souls, to comfort them with the comfort of God. But you are not prepared now to do that; for you have never had the experience that will be the experience of those souls when you meet them. Therefore, that you may be able to minister to their good when you meet them next week or next year, the Lord leads you to-day through the experience which you need in order that you may be able to comfort them when you meet them. So that what he is doing with you now by these experiences, is simply making you a better minister of his grace, a better minister of the knowledge of himself in every place. It may be that he leads you through the dark waters that fairly go over the soul. But do not fear nor faint. Jesus went that way before you. And now he says, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee. . . . I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand." "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." I comfort thee, that thou mayest be able to comfort them which are in any trouble; that thou mayest be for consolation and salvation, in every place.

This is what the Father did with the Son in this world, that he might bring consolation and salvation to you and me. This is what Jesus did with Paul, "for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting." If "it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings," shall we say that it does not become us? If, in order "that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God," "in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren," shall it be that we, whom he has made a royal priesthood, shall shun to partake of like experiences of our fellow men, in order that we may the better convey to them the knowledge of God? If in order that he might be "able to succor them that are tempted," it was necessary that he himself should suffer, being tempted in all points like as we are, shall it be that we shall shun the trials and sufferings of mankind, and so shut ourselves of mankind, and so shut ourselves off from being able to succor the tempted, to comfort the afflicted, and to lift up the cast down?

No, no! "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. . . . Receive ye the Holy Ghost." "As he is, so are we in this world." We are here in Christ's stead, praying men "in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." Therefore let every one who has name the name of Christ say in the joy and courage of a living faith, "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation." 2 Cor. 1:3-5.
A. T. J.

October 13, 1896

"Kept by the Word" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 41 , p. 654.

IN the Christian life everything depends upon the word of God. It is true that God is able, and desires, to keep us from sinning: but this must be done through his word. So it is written, "By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer." "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee." This is the way that God has appointed, and there is no other way to have this thing accomplished.

Nor is this way appointed merely because he arbitrarily chose that this should be the way, and then laid it upon men that this must be the way that they should go. His word is the way of salvation and the way of sanctification (Christian living), because this is the way that the Lord does things: because this is the way that he manifests himself. It was by his word that he created all things in the beginning: it is by his word that he creates men anew; and it will be by his word that he will re-create this world and all things pertaining to it. "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. . . . For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." "Being born again, . . . by the word of God." "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. . . . And he said unto me, It is done."

It is not only that the worlds were created by the word of God; but they are also sustained by the same word. "By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: whereby [by the word of God] the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store." So also it is not only that the Christian is created by the word of God, but by that same word he is sustained, nourished, and caused to grow. God holds up "all things" by his powerful word. And the Christian is among this "all things" no less than any or all the worlds.

There can be no question whatever that all the worlds are held up, and held in their places, by the Lord. But it is not only all the worlds, it is "all things" that are held up and held in place by the Lord. and it is as true of the Christian as it is of any star in the firmament or any world on high. Nor can there be any question that the stars and the world are held up and held in their courses by the word of the Lord. And no less than this can there be any question that the Christian is held up and held in his right course by the word of the Lord.

This is to be believed and depended upon by every one who professes the name of Christ. You and I can no more hold ourselves up and in the right way than can the sun or the earth. And as certainly as the worlds are dependent upon his word, so certainly is the Christian to depend upon his word. And when this is so, the Christian is kept in the way of the Lord as certainly and as easily as is any planet in the universe. It is written that he "is able to keep you from falling." And he says, "I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." "Yea, he shall be holden up; for God is able to make him stand."

O struggling, failing Christian, is not that word which holds up great worlds able also to hold up you? Trust that word. Depend implicitly upon it. Rest wholly upon it: and they you will find rest in it. Trust the Lord to hold you up, just as you trust him to hold up the sun. His word holds up the sun, and his word is over and over to you, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee." "I will uphold thee." I will keep thee, thou art mine. "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." I will never leave thee till I have done that thing which I have spoken to thee of.

"The word of God is quick ["living," R.V.] and powerful." "Powerful" means "full of power." The word of God is living and full of power, to do for you, with you, and in you, all that that word says. Believe that word, trust it: for it is the word of the living God. It is the word of the pitying Saviour. "Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." "I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up." You "are kept by the power of God through faith." The power of God is manifested through his word, and therefore it is his powerful word. Faith comes by hearing the word of God; therefore it is the faithful word, the word full of faith. Therefore when he says, you "are kept by the power of God through faith," it is only saying in another way, You are kept by the word of God, "unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." Believe that word, trust it, and find its keeping power. A. T. J.

October 20, 1896

"The Power of the Word" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 42 , p. 669.

"FOR as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

The earth can bring forth vegetation only because of the moisture that comes upon it by the rain or the snow from heaven. Without this, everything would fade and perish. So also is it with the life of man and the word of God. Without the word of God the life of man is as barren of power and of good as is the earth without rain. But only let the word of God fall upon the heart as the showers upon the earth; then the life will be fresh and beautiful in the joy and peace of the Lord, and fruitful with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ.

Notice, too, it is not you who are to do that which he pleases; but, "It shall accomplish that which I please." You are not to read or hear the word of God, and say, I must do that, I will do that. You are to open the heart to that word, that it may accomplish the will of God in you. It is not you who are to do it, but it. "It," the word of God itself, is to do it, and you are to let it. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you."

That is stated in another place thus: "When ye receive the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." Thus it is the word of God that must work in you. You are not to work to do the word of God: the word of God is to work in you to cause you to do. "Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily."

The word of God being living and full of power, when it is allowed to work in the life, there will be powerful work wrought in that individual. As this word is the word of God, the power, of which it is full, is only the power of God; and when that word is allowed to work in the life, there will be the work of God manifested in the life–it is his power working mightily. And thus it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. "It shall accomplish that which I please." Let it.

From these scriptures it is plain that we are expected to look upon the word of God only as self-fulfilling. The word of God is self-fulfilling. This is the great truth presented everywhere in the Bible. This is the difference between the word of God and the word of men. And this is just the difference emphasized in the passage that says, "When ye received the word of God, . . . ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."

There is no power in the word of a man to do what it says. Whatever may be the man's ability to accomplish what he says, there is no power in the man's word itself to accomplish what he says. A man's word may express the easiest possible thing for him to accomplish, and you may thoroughly believe it, yet it is altogether dependent upon the man himself to accomplish it apart from his word. It is not his word that does it. It is he himself that must do it; and this just as really as though he had spoken no word at all. Such is the word of men.

It is not so with the word of God. When the word is spoken by the Lord, there is at that moment in that word the living power to accomplish what the word expresses. It is not needed that the Lord employ any shadow of any other means than that word itself to accomplish what the word says. The Bible is full of illustrations of this, and they are written to teach us this very thing,–that we shall look upon the word as the word of God, and not as the word of men: and that we may receive it thus as it is in truth, the word of God, that it may work effectually in us the will and good pleasure of God.

"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. . . . For he spake, and it was." "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." At first there were no worlds at all. More than this, there was none of the materials of which the worlds are made. There was nothing. Then God spoke, and all the worlds were in their places. From whence came the worlds, then? Before he spoke, there were none: after he spoke, there they were. Whence, then, did they come? What produced them? What produced the material of which they are composed? What caused them to exist? It was the word which was spoken that did it all. And this word did it all, because it was the word of God. There was in that word the divinity of life and spirit, the creative power, to do all that the word expressed. Such is the word of God.

"And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." The word of God in the Bible is the same,–the same in life, in spirit, in creative power,–precisely the same as that word that made the heavens and all the host of them. It was Jesus Christ who spoke the word at creation; it is he who speaks the word in the Bible. At creation the word which he spoke made the worlds; in the Bible the word which he speaks saves and sanctifies the soul. In the beginning the word which he spoke created the heavens and the earth; in the Bible the word which he speaks creates in Christ Jesus the man who receives the word. In both places, and everywhere in the work of God, it is the word that does it.

Let the word of God dwell in you richly. Receive it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you. Then, "as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto it sent it." "To you is the word of this salvation sent." "And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able [literally, "full of power"] to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified."
A. T. J.

October 27, 1896

"The Power of the Word" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 43 , p. 685.

WE have seen that the power abiding in the word of God is sufficient, only upon the speaking of that word, to create worlds. It is likewise sufficient, now that it is spoken to men, to create anew, in Christ Jesus, every one who receives it.

In the eighth chapter of Matthew it is related that a centurion came to Jesus, "beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. . . . And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way: and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour."

Now what was it that the centurion expected would heal his servant?–It was "the word only," which Jesus would speak. And after the word was spoken, what did the centurion depend upon, to what did he look, for the healing power?–It was "the word only." He did not look for the Lord to do it in some ways apart from the word. No. He heard the word, "So be it done unto thee." He accepted that word as it is in truth the word of God, and expected it, depended upon it, to accomplish that which it said. And it was so. And that word is the word of God to-day as certainly as in the day that it was originally spoken. It has lost none of its power, for that word "liveth and abideth forever."

Again, in John 4:46-52 it is related how a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum, came to Jesus at Cana of Galilee, and "besought him that he would come down, and heal his son; for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth."

This is the power of the word of God to the man who receives it as it is in truth the word of God. This is the power that "effectually worketh also in you that believe." This is the way that the word of God accomplishes that which he pleases, in those who will receive it, and let it dwell in them. Notice that in both instances the thing was accomplished at the very time when the word was spoken. Notice also that the sick ones were not in the immediate presence of Jesus, but some distance away–the latter was at least a day's journey away from where Jesus was spoken to by the nobleman. Yet he was healed at once, when the word was spoken. And that word is living and full of power to-day, as certainly as it was that day, to every one who receives it as was done that day. It is faith to accept that word as the word of God, and to depend upon it to accomplish the thing that it says. For of the centurion when he said, "Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed," Jesus said to them that stood around, "I have not found so great faith; no, not in Israel." Let him find it now everywhere in Israel.

Jesus says to every one of us, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." It is through the word that this cleansing is wrought. The Lord does not propose to cleanse you in any way apart from his word, but through the word which he has spoken. There, and there alone, are you to look for the cleansing power, receiving it as it is in truth the word of God which effectually worketh in you, and accomplishes that which he pleases. He does not propose to make you pure except by the power and indwelling of his pure words.

A leper said to Jesus, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." And Jesus answered him, "I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed." Are you mourning under the leprosy of sin? Have you said, or will you now say, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean"? The answer is now to you, "I will; be thou clean." And "immediately" you are cleansed as certainly as was that other leper. Believe the word, and praise the Lord for its cleansing power. Do not believe for that leper away back there; believe it for yourself here, now, immediately. For the word is to you now, "Be thou clean." Accept it as did those of old, and immediately it worketh effectually in you the good pleasure of the Father.

Let all who have named the name of Christ receive his word to-day as it is in truth the word of God, depending upon that word to do what the word says. Then as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it, "that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish," even so it will be now to the glory of God.
A. T. J.

November 3, 1896

"Living by the Word" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 44 , pp. 700, 701.

"MAN shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Even physically, man cannot live on what has no life in it. Dead air is death to him who breathes it. Dead water or dead food likewise. Whatever we take in the way of food or drink must have in it the element of life, or else we cannot live on it. So also in order that men may live by the word of God, in the nature of things that word has in it the element of life. Therefore this word is called "the word of life."

It being the word of God, and being imbued with life, the life that is in it is necessarily the life of God; and this is eternal life. Therefore it is truly said that the words of the Lord are "the words of eternal life." Whenever the word of God comes to any man, at that very time and in that word, eternal life comes to that

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man. And when the man refuses to receive the word, he is rejecting eternal life. Jesus himself has said it: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life." He "is passed from death unto life."

Jesus used the example of our living by bread as an illustration of our living by the word of God. This thing was not chosen at random. In all the words of the Lord, whatever was brought into them was definitely to teach an all-important lesson. Physically, we do live by bread–using the term "bread" as embracing all proper victuals. But in order that we shall live by bread, it is essential that it be inside of us. And in order to live by the word of God, it is just as essential that it shall be inside of us.

No one supposes that he could live by buying the very best of bread and looking at it occasionally, or by analyzing it, and endeavoring to solve the mysteries of its composition and how it could sustain life. Yet thousands of people really seem to suppose that they can live by the word of God that way. Many people buy a Bible of eight or ten times the proper size, with a lot of notes of darkening counsels in it, lay it on the center-table, and pride themselves that they "believe the Bible;" and they really seem to think that by this in some mysterious way they will live. But it would be just as sensible and just as beneficial for them to buy a beautifully decorated loaf of several times the usual size, and lay it on the center-table, but not eat any, and then proclaim that they "believe in good living."

Men do not expect to live by bread in any such way as that: and they cannot live by the word of God in any such way. In order to live by bread, everybody knows it must be taken into the mouth, and be properly masticated and prepared for the digestive process, and then by swallowing be committed to the digestive process, that the life that is in it may be conveyed to all parts of the system. So with the word of God; it must be received as it is in truth the word of God; it must be given a place in the heart as the word of life; then it will be found to be indeed the word of life.

In fact, in the Bible, this very idea of living b bread by eating it, is carried over and applied to the word of God. Look at Eze. 2:8 to 3:4, 10: "But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee. And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; and he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them." "Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears."

Before the prophet could speak the word of God to others, he must find it to be the word of God to himself. Before he could convey it as the word of life to others, he must know it as the word of life to himself. And in order that this should be so to him, he was commanded to eat it, swallow it, and fill himself to the innermost parts with it. He was to hear it and receive it in the heart. And this instruction is to every one who would live by the life of God. Every one who has taken upon him the name of Christ, is directed to "hold forth the word of life;" but it must be life to him in the innermost parts before he can hold it forth as the word of life to others.

This same thought is expressed in another place: "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart." It is worth noting that this does not say, I did eat the chapters, or, I did eat the verses, or even, I did eat the subjects. No. It says, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them"–the words. Here is where thousands miss the real benefit of the word of God. They try to grasp too much at once, and so really get nothing. Words are nothing to us if we do not get the real thoughts that they are intended to express. And the greater the mind of him who speaks, the deeper are the thoughts that are expressed, even in the simplest words. Now the mind of him who speaks in the Bible is infinite; and the thoughts there expressed in simple words are of eternal depths because they are the revelation of "the eternal purpose, which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

With our less than finite minds we are not capable of grasping at once the thoughts conveyed in many of the words of the Bible–we are not capable of comprehending the words of a whole chapter, or even of a whole verse at a time. One word at a time, of the words of God, is as much as our minds are capable of considering with profit. This every one must certainly admit who believes and receives it as the word of God, expressing the thoughts of his infinite mind in his eternal purpose. Certainly any one who professes to receive the words of the Bible as the word of the eternal God, expressing his thought in his eternal purpose, would have to have a good deal of conceit of his own powers of mind to think himself capable of grasping at once the thought of a number of those words.

"Be not wise in your own conceits." "Be not high-minded." Do not think it too small a thing for you to take one word of God at a time, and consider it carefully, and meditate upon it prayerfully, and receive it into your heart as the word of life to you. Do this, receive it this way, and you will find that word to be to you indeed the word of life, and the constant joy and rejoicing of your heart. Do not think this too slow a process of getting through the Bible, or through some book or chapter of the Bible. In this way you will get through it to infinitely better advantage than to run through it without comprehending it. In this way you get every word, and every word that you get is eternal life to you. For Jesus said that man shall live "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." This shows that there is life in every word, and as certainly as you receive a word of it into your mind and heart, in that word and by that word you have eternal life.

Look again at the words of Jesus: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." How do you live, physically, by bread? Is it by gulping great chunks or whole slices at a time?–You know it is not. And you know that if you should attempt to live by bread in that way, you would not live at all very long. You know that in living by bread, you do so by taking a bite at a time, and a proper bite, too. And knowing this, then did not Jesus, in using this fact as an illustration, and in the dependent expression, "every word of God," intend to teach us that one word of God at a time is the way to live by it, just as one morsel of bread at a time is the way we live by bread? Is not this same lesson also conveyed in that other scripture, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them"?

"Son of man, . . . eat that I give thee." Eat this word of God. Eat "every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Then you will live healthfully and strongly in spiritual and eternal things, just as by eating the best of food, you live healthfully and strongly physically. Eat this bread of heaven as you eat the bread of earth, and you will find it to be to you in the things of heaven just as the other is in the things of earth.
A. T. J.

November 10, 1896

"Living by the Word" The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 73, 45 , pp. 716, 717.

"NOW the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

The righteousness of God is that which every man is to seek first of all. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness." And in the way of righteousness there is life. It is impossible to separate the life of God from the righteousness of God. As certainly as you have the righteousness of God, so certainly you have the life of God.

And "now the righteousness of God is made known." Now is at this time, at this very moment, even while you read. At this very moment, then, the righteousness of God is manifested "unto all, and upon all them that believe." Do you believe in Jesus Christ now, at this moment? Do you? If you say, Yes, then "now," at this very moment, the righteousness of God is made known to you and upon you. Do you believe it? The word of God says that it is; do you say that it is? And if you do not say that it is, then do you believe the word? When the Lord says plainly to you that his righteousness is "now" manifested unto you and upon you, and you do not say that it is now manifested unto you and upon you, then do you really believe the Lord? When he plainly says a thing to you, and you will not say that that thing is true to you, then do you really believe him?

The Lord wants you to say that what he says is so; that it is so "now," at this moment; and that it is so to you and in you. "A new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you." When the Lord says a

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thing, it is true, even though nobody in the world ever believes it. It would be true in him, but not in them. But he wants it to be true in you as well as in himself. And when you acknowledge that what he says is true to you "now," at this moment, then that thing is true in him and in you. This is believing God. It is believing his word. This is having his word abiding in you. And, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."

Many people are ready to admit, in a general way, that what the Lord says is so; they will admit that it may be so to other people; but that it is so to themselves, just now, they will not say. Such people do not really know that the word of God is true. "Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God." If you do not have faith for yourself, faith of your own, you do not have faith at all. If you do not believe the word of the Lord as being true to you personally and now, you do not believe it at all; for as you are not living yesterday nor to-morrow, but just now, while it is now, so if you do not believe now, you do not believe at all. Therefore the word of God is that now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation; and, "Now the righteousness of God. . . is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus christ unto all and upon all them that believe."

Do you believe in Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour now? You can answer that in one moment; you know that you do. Then this moment thank the Lord that his righteousness is manifested unto you and upon you. He not only says it, but he gives you witnesses to the fact,–it is witnessed by the law and the prophets. That law which you have transgressed, that law that has shown you guilty before God, that very law "now," in view of the manifestation of the righteousness of God, witnesses that you have a just claim to this righteousness, and that you are thereby justified through the faith of Jesus Christ. The prophets likewise witness to this blessed fact. "The moment the sinner believes in Christ, he stands in the sight of God uncondemned; for the righteousness of Christ is his; Christ's perfect obedience is imputed to him." Is not this, then, sufficient to cause you to say now, at this moment, if never before, that "now the righteousness of God is manifested" unto you and upon you who now do believe in Jesus?

"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." Would you rather have the righteousness of God now than to have your sins? You say, Yes. Very good. God has "now" set forth Christ Jesus "to declare" to you "his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past." Will you let the sins go now, this moment; and take the righteousness which he is set forth purposely to give, and which he now, this moment, freely gives? "Being justified freely." "Being" is present tense. "Was" is past; "shall be" is future, but "being" is present. Therefore the Lord says to you and of you who believe in Jesus, "Being [now, at this moment] justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, . . . through the forbearance of God."

But the Lord does not drop the subject yet. He emphasizes the present power and blessing of this infinite fact. "To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness." First he says that it is "now" that the righteousness of God is manifested unto all and upon all them that believe; then he speaks of all such as "being justified freely;" and next he emphasizes it all thus: "To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness." O poor, trembling, doubting soul, is not this assurance enough that now, at this moment, the righteousness of God is yours? that now you are being justified freely by his grace? that now, "at this time," righteousness is declared to you for the remission of all your sins that are past?

Is not this enough? It is enough to satisfy the Lord; for he says, "To declare, I say, at this time, his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." Then as it is all-sufficient to satisfy the Lord, is it not enough to satisfy you? Will you now take the fulness of this blessed "gift of righteousness," which is life, so that the Lord, by seeing the fruit of the travail of his soul, shall be satisfied again, and so, by your rejoicing, be doubly satisfied? This is all he asks of you. For "to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

Here is the word of God, the word of righteousness, the word of life, to you "now," "at this time." Will you be made righteous by it now? Will you live by it now? This is justification by faith. This is righteousness by faith. It is the simplest thing in the world. It is simply whether the word of God shall be true in you "now" or not. God spoke to Abraham, "Tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: . . . So shall thy seed be." And "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." "Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up our Lord Jesus from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

"Now," "at this time," it is true; it is true in him. Now, at this time, let it be true in you.
A. T. J.