The Present Truth, vol. 14

July 21, 1898

“Fruit Bearing” The Present Truth 14, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

What gives the strawberries and the cherries their colour and flavour? Whence do the flowers derive their beauty? PTUK July 21, 1898, page 449.1

We see a score of different fruits and flowers growing in the same soil, within a very small space, all receiving the same amount of attention, the same amount of moisture, and the same sunshine; yet all differ in appearance and taste, and each one is perfect after its kind. What is the source of this variety and perfection? PTUK July 21, 1898, page 449.2

The Scriptures give the answer: “God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth: And it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed, after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind. And God saw that it was good.” Gen. i. 11, 12. “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: ... Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If God so clothe the grass of the field, shall He not much more clothe you?” Matt. vi. 28-30. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 449.3

Thus we see that the fitness and beauty of the plants of the earth are the product of the Word of life. That life is infinite, so that it can present itself in an infinite variety of forms, each one perfect after its kind. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 449.4

The same Word that made the plants of the field, each after its kind, made man after his kind. Each plant was made to bear its own particular kind of fruit, and the fruit which man was made to bear, is righteousness. Jesus said: “I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go forth and bear much fruit, and that your fruit should remain.” “Herein is My Father glorified, that ye should bear much fruit.” John xv. 16, 8. “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 449.5

How is this fruit-the fruit of righteousness-to be brought forth? This is really the same question as the one at the beginning, and the answer is the same, for we have read: “As the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth in the sight of all the nations.” Isa. Ixi. 11. “Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.” lsa. xxvii. 6. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 449.6

There is therefore no more ground for doubting the possibility of God's working righteousness in man, than the possibility of His creating flavour, strength and beauty, in the plants of the field. Of this latter we have positive evidence. We see it. We do not know how it is done; that is God's business; but we know the fact. He who works perfection in the one will do so in the other, if the same submission be present. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 449.7

The true nature of man is the Divine nature. Christ is the representative Man. It is God who makes man's way perfect, for His way is perfect. Whatsoever He does is good. Let Him have His own way, and we shall be likewise good. If man would but accept the truth that “all flesh is grass,” and would be content to be grass, their ways would be as perfect as was all creation in the beginning. “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 449.8

“Notes on the International Sunday-School Lessons. Naboth's Vineyard. 1 Kings xxi. 4-16” The Present Truth 14, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

MAY 15

Among the kings of Israel “there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.” Verse 25. God had commanded Israel that they should not make marriages with the people of heathen nations, because these would turn them away from following Him awl beguile them into the worship of false gods, but “Ahab did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians.” Chap. xvi. 30, 31. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 450.1

It seemed a grievous sin, even in so depraved a nature as Ahab’s, but it brought its own punishment. God had said that if Israel would join themselves to idolatrous nations and make marriages with them, “they shall he snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land.” Josh. xxiii. 13. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 450.2

A PRESENT DANGER

The same warning is given now. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” 2 Cor. vi. 14-18. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 450.3

It is true that Ahab was not himself faithfully serving God, but, for this reason, it was all the more dangerous for him to become allied with a woman whose influence would certainly tend to still further separate him from the Lord. Many who have not fully surrendered themselves to God, though knowing His will, excuse their intention of joining themselves to unbelievers by saying that these are as good as themselves. While this may be true the terrible danger of their course is none the less real. In a little while the glamour of romance will have worn away, the novelty of a new experience will cease to excite the mind, for no human love can satisfy the soul's deep need. There will be an intense desire for the pure, sweet, lasting comfort that Christ alone can give. Then too late comes the bitter awakening to the fact that that which was intended to be a temple for the living God has been surrendered to idols. To be faithful to God means then a lifelong struggle against opposing, ever-present influences, and many give up in discouragement. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 450.4

EVIL INFLUENCES

Since the time dealt with in our last lesson, God had given Ahab two wonderful deliverances from the hand of Benhadad, king of Syria. The Syrian army, although greatly out-numbering Israel, had been totally destroyed and Benhadad forced to sue for his life, which Ahab had weakly spared. There is evidence in Ahab's history that he was not altogether indifferent to the word of the Lord and that, at least once, he showed real contrition for his wrong-doing. Without Jezebel he might have left undone some of the crimes which have stained the record of his reign, but he was “stirred up” by the wicked ingenuity of his abandoned wife. He had heavily handicapped himself by his union with her, and he had to suffer the consequences, PTUK July 21, 1898, page 450.5

NABOTH’S INTEGRITY

Close by Ahab's palace in Jezreel was a garden of herbs owned by Naboth. Some plan of the king's for the improvement of his property made it seem desirable that this garden should be added to his grounds, and he approached Naboth with a proposition for its purchase or exhange. Naboth, unlike his corrupt neighbours, respected the commandment of the Lord, which had forbidden any man to permanently dispose of his inheritance, and firmly declined to entertain the king's suggestion. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 450.6

Baulked in this pet project, Ahab went home like a spoiled, peevish child, and fretted because he could not have his own way. “And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.” Jezebel found him thus, giving rein to his ill-humour, and drew from him the story of his complaint. She laughed to scorn his dejection over the repulse of a rebellious subject and promised that she would give him the vineyard herself. Doubtless in Zidon, where she came from, they had a short way of dealing with men like Naboth, who presumed to set themselves against the wishes of a king. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 450.7

FALSELY CONDEMNED

Her plans were soon executed, and found only too ready agents in the men of Naboth's city. These at her instigation brought false charges against him, and with deep-dyed hypocrisy condemned him to death on a charge; of blaspheming God. “Then they carried him forth and stoned him with stones that he died.” His sons also were slain. 2 Kings ix. 26. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 450.8

The report was carried to Jezebel that Naboth had been removed, and she in turn conveyed it to Ahab, bidding him “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive but dead.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 450.9

In the first blush of pleasure Ahab sets out to examine his new possession. He must have at least guessed that it had come to him by unjust means, but in the gratifying reflection that he could now carry out his plans unhindered, he gives himself no trouble as to how the transfer has been accomplished. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 450.10

THE WAGES OF SIN

But who is this menacing figure that stands before him in the garden? The sight of the man of God recalls the long story of his past misdoing, the thirsty years of famine, the scene on Mount Carmel, the fire from heaven and the slaughter of the priests of Baal, his own hopeless struggle against the power of God, his recent crime, the very place in which he stood testifying to his guilt and crying, like the blood of Abel for vengeance on a murderer; all crowds upon his guilty conscience and fills him with a dire foreboding of well-earned retribution. Before Elijah has spoken, the cowering king confesses his self-condemnation in the words, “Hast thou found me, O mine enemy!” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 450.11

Sharp and clear, like all Elijah's words, comes the sentence, “Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood.” “The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.” Here, on the scene of their latest crimes the punishment is to come. The vineyard of Naboth is not taken from Ahab. He may take what pleasure he will in it now. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 450.12

Jezebel was a heathen who professed no allegiance to God, but this in no wise exonerated her from the duty of rendering obedience to His law, or exempted her from the penalty of transgressing it. Men think that God has no claims upon them except such as they choose to acknowledge, but “what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Rom. iii. 19. Jezebel and Ahab thought to secure for themselves desired advantages by their sin, but in their case, as in all others, the only wages received for sin is death. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.1

REAPING CORRUPTION

Satan makes many things appear, in the eyes of men, of priceless value, if they be forbidden by the law of God, but when men have gained the thing desired, often at the cost of their own soul, they realise for how little they have sold themselves. Like Cain, men become filled with a thirst for revenge that will not be satisfied without destroying the offending life, but when the desire is gratified, the cold, impassive face of the dead turns the short-lived triumph into an abiding curse, heavier than they can bear. Amnon so greatly desired Tamar that he became sick with longing, but when he had satisfied his lust, he “hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her.” The soul of Judas was consumed with a passion for gain, but when be received the thirty pieces of silver, which had outweighed in his estimation the sacred claims of friendship and honour, there was no sacrifice he would not have made to cancel the fatal bargain. It was not silver that he had won, but the unblest end of a despairing suicide, the abhorrence of a universe. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.2

GRACE ABOUNDING

The history of Ahab teaches that the way of the transgressor is hard, that it may be made even harder by marriage with one who will confirm evil tendencies, that Satan's promises to those whom he deceives are never fulfilled, and we may also learn from Ahab's life that “the mercy of the Lord endureth for ever,” for even after Naboth's murder, because Ahab humbled himself before God, the threatened evil did not come in his days. Surely “there is forgiveness with Thee that Thou mayest be feared.” Ps. cxxx. 4. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.3

“The Everlasting Gospel: God's Saving Power in the Things That Are Made” The Present Truth 14, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

THE SPIRIT’S WORK

Gen. i. 2: “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.4

Ps. cxxxix. 7-10: “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.5

John xiv. 16-18: “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless [or orphans]; I will come to you.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.6

John xvi. 18, 11: “When He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak of Himself.... He shall glorify He; for He shall receive of Thine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine; therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.7

Rom. viii. 10: “The Spirit is life because of righteousness.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.8

John vi. 63: “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; ... the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.9

Eph. iii. 14-16: “I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family In heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might, by His Spirit In the inner man.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.10

Matt. xxviii. 18, 19: “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.11

Acts i. 8: “Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be My witnesses.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.12

1 Cor. xii. 4-11: “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are diversities of ministrations, and the same Lord. And there are diversities of workings, but the same God who worketh all in all. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal. For to one is given through the Spirit, the word of wisdom; and to another, the word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; ... but all these worketh the one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one severally as He will.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.13

The word “moved,” in Gen. i. 2, is from a Hebrew word signifying “to cherish one's young, to brood or hover over, as the eagle its young.” It occurs in Deut. xxxii. 11. The Syriac equivalent, which is far more common, “is used of birds which brood over their young; of a mother cherishing her infant; of Elisha cherishing the dead body of the child; also of a voice descending from heaven, and hovering in the air; also to pity.”—Gesenius’ Hebrew and English Lexicon. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.14

There is no spot in the universe where the Holy Spirit of God is not. Read this in the second text quoted in this lesson. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.15

Read the texts that tell plainly that the Holy Spirit is the direct Representative, the personal Presence of God, both Father and Son. So God is present in every place by His Spirit. “Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.” Jer. xxiii. 21. This is the Scripture teaching as to the “Real Presence.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.16

The word “hell,” in Isa. cxxxix. 8, which occurs so often in the Bible, is really the same as our common word “hole.” Both are from one and the same Anglo-Saxon word. The Hebrew word from which it is translated is often rendered “grave,” or “pit.” It signifies, as will readily be seen, the portion of the earth under the surface, the hidden, secret part. So we learn from the test that there is no place, even in the inner part of the very earth itself, where the Spirit of God is not. “In His hand are the deep places of the earth.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.17

When God strengthens one with might, it is by His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the power of God. We have already learned that Christ is “the power of God,” and this lesson tells its that the Spirit takes the things of Christ, and shows them to us. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 451.18

So it is that “the invisible things” of God, “even His everlasting power and Divinity,” which “are clearly seen” in “the things that are made,” become plain to us by the working of the Spirit. He shows Christ, “the power of God” to us in the things that are made. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 452.1

The Spirit is everywhere, in heaven and in the lowest and most remote parts of the earth, always the same Divine power. He is Christ's Representative, simply revealing Christ's power. Thus we see that in the most literal sense “all power” “in heaven and in earth” is given unto Christ, “the Author of eternal salvation.” Remember that the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 452.2

A man can do a great many different kinds of work with the same strength. The same steam power can be applied in a great variety of ways. The power that pushes, can also pull. The same power that lifts up, can also cast down. So “there are diversities of workings, but the same God who worketh all in all.” This that is said of the power that works in the church, is as true of the power that appears in creation, since the power that is revealed in the things that are made, is the power by which God saves those who believe. All the power, or force, as it is usually termed, that is seen in matter whether in earth or heaven, is but the working of the one Spirit of God. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 452.3

Men have changed the truth of God into a lie. Rom. i. 35. Instead of recognising God in His works, they said that the works themselves were God. So they “worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” Not only so, but the ancients, in their limited idea of God, thinking that He could do but one thing, made every different work, and every different manifestation of energy, a different god. They had a god of the heavens, and a god of the earth; a god of the winds, and a god of the waves; gods for trees, and gods working different things in men; but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.” 1 Cor. viii. 6. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 452.4

The foolishness of the men of old who could not see the power of the one God in all things that exist, is perpetuated unto this very day, by the men of earth who profess to be wise. Every distinct manifestation of energy is regarded as a different power or force, and to each one a different name has been given, as gravitation, cohesion, chemical affinity, electricity, etc. Men will tell us that such and such a thing is accomplished by the power of gravitation, and another thing by electric force, and another by chemical affinity, as though there were so many different gods working. It is as though they should say that it requires a different power to plough the ground from what it does to sow the grain, and that a still different power is needed to reap it, and another to thresh it, and still another to Iift the bags of grain into a cart. But we all know that one man, with the strength that is given him, can do all these things. Even so one God by one Spirit shows His power in an infinite variety of ways in all creation. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 452.5

The Spirit of God hovered or brooded over the face of the waters in the beginning, and brought order out of chaos. Matter was thus as it were impregnated with force, because the same Spirit of power still works in it. The so-called different forces, cohesion, gravitation, etc., are not different forces, but different manifestations of the one Spirit's power, working to preserve the earth, and make it a safe dwelling place for men. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 452.6

The Word of the Lord is Spirit and life. So the power of the Spirit in all creation is the power of the Word that upholds all things. God's Word is not a dead letter, but a living Spirit. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 452.7

Recall the last lesson, in which we found that power is mercy. The power of God, which is seen in all creation, is the mercy by which He saves us through “the renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly.” Titus iii. 5. Recall also the fact that the word rendered “moved,” which describes what the Spirit of God did to the unformed earth, has also the idea of “to pity.” Thus we may know that God, in filling the earth with His power, has filled it with His tender love and pity for mankind. The whole earth is full of His mercy. Ps. cxix. 61. The power by which the earth holds together,-the force that is seen in all created things, whether in heaven or in earth,-is the power by which the Lord protects His people, when He gathers them as a her gathers her chickens under her wings. Matt. xxiii. 37. “How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings.” Ps. xxxvi. 7. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” “He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust.” Ps. xci. 1, 4. How true it is, that God has stretched out His hand, and caused “all the ends of the earth” to see His salvation. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 452.8

“When all Thy mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I'm lost
In wonder, love, and praise.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 452.9

“‘Receive Ye the Holy Ghost’” The Present Truth 14, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

The necessity of obeying this injunction is shown by this statement: “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” Rom. viii. 9. The possession of the Spirit of God is not something that is optional with the Christian. Many seem to think that the receiving of the Spirit merely marks a higher state of Christian experience,-one which is very desirable, but yet not absolutely essential. They talk much about the “higher Christian life,” as though there were two kinds of Christian life, one all ordinary, everyday life, and the other special and extraordinary, marked by being filled with the Spirit. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 452.10

All this is most erroneous and misleading. The people who talk so much about the “higher Christian life,” are good, and sincere, and well-meaning, but they nevertheless do a great deal of harm, by giving their hearers and readers a false idea of Christianity. By talking about the “higher Christian life,” they convey the idea that there are two kinds of Christian life,-a high and a low life. It is in reality the Roman Catholic distinction of “saints” and ordinary Christians. The lower life is supposed to be good enough for all ordinary purposes, and sufficient for salvation, while the other is thought to be for people who are devoted to great deeds, and who live outside of the reach of the petty trials that fall to the lot of common people. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 452.11

THE SPIRIT FOR ALL

Now when we read that if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His, we see that any teaching that tends to make anybody satisfied without the full possession of the Spirit of God, and that makes people think that any life is Christian that is not the very highest, is contributing to their destruction. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 453.1

“But where is the Spirit? and where shall I go, and what shall I do to receive it?” These are important questions, and most easily answered. Let us take them one at a time. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 453.2

“Where is the Spirit?” Rather ask, Where is He not? “Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.” Ps. cxxxix. 7-10. Instead of being difficult to find the Spirit of God, there is on the contrary no place where one can escape His presence. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 453.3

ALL POWER IN HEAVEN AND EARTH

The Holy Spirit is Christ's Representative. John xiv. 16-18. It is by the Spirit that Christ dwells in the hearts of His people. Christ is the power of God, and this power is seen in everything that is made; so that every manifestation of what men call “natural force,” is but the working of the Spirit of God. In the heaven and in the earth, even to its very depths, the Holy Spirit is working to hold all things in the shape which was given them when in the beginning He brooded over them. There is no power but the power of God, who giveth power to the faint, and increaseth strength to them that have no might; and it is by the Spirit that God strengthens with might (Eph. iii. 16); therefore we see that the Holy Spirit of God is the source of all strength. The moving of the Spirit is what makes it possible for men to move. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 453.4

THE MEASURE OF THE GIFT

Thus we see that the Spirit of God has been working in the earth, and in men, from the very beginning. There is not a man on the earth, with whom the Spirit has not striven. And as Christ died for all, when He ascended on high He poured out the Spirit on all flesh. How much, if any, difference there is between this manifestation of the Spirit and that which existed from the beginning, we cannot know; but one thing we may be assured of, and that is that the receiving of the Holy Spirit in fullest measure is the privilege of every person on the earth. Moreover, it one really “receives” the Spirit, he must receive the fulness of the Spirit, “for God giveth not the Spirit by measure.” John iii. 34. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 453.5

NOT MANIFEST IN ALL

Some one will perhaps say, “If this is so, then there is no need of answering the question as to how we are to receive the Spirit, since it seems that every one is in possession of it already, and therefore everybody must be saved.” Not quite so fast. It is true that the Spirit has been poured out on all flesh, but it does not follow that everybody has received Him. The fact that the Spirit is obliged to “strive” with men, shows that He is not received. The trouble is that men resist, instead of receiving. Only those who absolutely yield to the power that works in all created things, even in men, “receive” the Holy Ghost. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 453.6

“They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.” There is no strength but from the Lord, and they that wait on Him receive fresh supplies of it continually. It is the power of an endless life, that is for ever young. Waiting on the Lord, therefore, is the essential for receiving the Spirit, and the consequent power; for power comes with the reception of the Holy Ghost. Acts i. 8. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 453.7

“WAITING”

What is this waiting on the Lord? It is very simple. It is the constant actual acknowledgement that we are dependent on Him for everything, and that He alone is our rightful Ruler. It is to acknowledge in a practical manner that we belong absolutely to the Lord, to be used by Him according to His will. And it is to do this constantly. It is complete submission to Him. It is the attitude of waiting on Him, waiting for Him to speak to us, or to take us in hand to use us, and yielding absolutely to Him when He does proceed to use us. It is to have no will of our own, but to accept His will. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 453.8

Do you say that this is too hard a requirement? that it is too difficult a thing to do? Why should it be so difficult? It requires no strength whatever. The Lord knows that we have no strength, and His way provides for such a case, by giving us His strength. All that is required of us is to let go, and rest. It is to be still, and know that the Lord is God. It is quite true that such self effacement does not suit proud human nature, but it is evident that there can be nothing easier, if there be the willingness, since all that is involved is the letting go and holding still. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 453.9

How much power will be imparted to the one who receives the Spirit? All power. This is the privilege of every person, and is at the demand of every believer. Nothing less will do for anybody. The Christian life is a new creation, and nothing but God's everlasting power can create. Infinite power is required for the creation of the smallest particle of matter, and nothing less than just that power is revealed in the smallest thing that God has made, and no greater power is required for the creation of the universe. So we see that the power which God gives by the Holy Ghost is for all circumstances, great as well as small. There are not two Gods, neither are there two powers. As God is one, so is His power one, and undivided. The same power that performs mighty miracles is the power that is required to enable a man to “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being faithful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Col. i. 10. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 453.10

NOT FOR SELF-EXALTATION

It is a great mistake to suppose that being filled with the Holy Ghost necessarily makes one a wonder-worker. God is meek and lowly in heart, and therefore the possession of His Spirit makes one the farthest possible from being inclined to “show off.” John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost from birth, yet he never did any miracles. Jesus was also filled with the Spirit, yet there was nothing about Him that distinguished Him from other men, except to those who had spiritual discernment. It is true that mighty works did show themselves in Him, yet He was known among men as the carpenter of Nazareth. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 453.11

Jesus was as full of the Spirit when He worked at the carpenter's bench, as when He preached the Gospel. He was no less full of the Spirit when He sat weary and hungry and thirsty on Jacob's well, than when He taught the multitudes on the mount. In the wilderness, tempted of the devil, He possessed the same fulness of the Spirit that He did on the stormy sea of Galilee. The same fulness of the Spirit was required to enable Him to answer questions correctly, or not to answer at all; to take the little children kindly in His arms and bless them; to feed the multitudes; to wash the feet of His disciples; to talk with Nicodemus; or to raise Lazarus from the dead. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 454.1

Love vaunteth not itself. Therefore the possession of the Spirit, whose first-fruit is love, does not lead one to esteem himself different from other men, or apart from them. The one who is filled with the Spirit is the same in all respects as other men, except that he is constantly possessed with a consciousness of utter helplessness. He knows that he has no strength, and that therefore as the power that is given him is not his own, he has no right to attempt to use it for his own purposes. And since it is not possible for a mere man to do the works of God, he is in a constant state of passive submission to the will of God, that He may work in him both to will and to do of His good pleasure. That which the inanimate creation does unconsciously and involuntarily, he does consciously and voluntarily. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 454.2

“IT IS GOD THAT WORKETH”

Then whether God chooses to do what men would call little things through him or great things, it is all the same to him. To be used as the instrument of a small work, overlooked or even despised by men, does not depress him, nor does it elate him to be used as the instrument of what men call something great, and which they would naturally applaud. When one is so well acquainted with the Lord that he can recognise the greatness of God's power in the least things, then God can use him in the performance of what men call great things; and yet he may never be used in that kind of service. If he is so used, however, he takes it just as much a matter of course in the line of God's working, as he does what men call the ordinary things of life. This is not because he has any lack of appreciation, but just the contrary, He lives in constant recognition of God's infinite power in all the details of life, and gives Him all the glory; and he can do no more. He has constant appreciation of God's power, and since he knows that it takes the same power to do the small things as the great, he praises God just as much for the one as for the other. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 454.3

THE FREE SPIRIT

This is the lesson which all nature teaches us. Much more might be said, and the subject can never be exhausted, but this is certainly sufficient to show that the reception of the Spirit of God is not an indifferent matter. No one can be a true Christian without receiving the Spirit, and no one can really “receive” the Spirit, without being filled with it, since God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Spirit is as free as the air. Give the air all opportunity, and it will rush in; yield to the Spirit, and He will take possession. And there is no such thing as yielding by degrees, since resistance is resistance, be it never so feeble; so that receiving means absolute submission. Therefore he who “receives” the Holy Ghost must necessarily be filled with the Spirit. Only so can he live the true Christian life. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 454.4

Do not make the mistake of saying that you have yielded to the Spirit, and that therefore all that you do must necessarily be the Spirit's working. In other words, let us beware of mistaking our own spirit for the Spirit of God. The man who is filled with the Spirit will make no parade of his goodness. He will make no claim for himself. Love vaunteth not herself. His religion will not be in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 454.5

There is no limit to the possibilities before the one who is yielded to and possessed by the Spirit for the Spirit of God is “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” Isa. xi. 2. Yet the possessor, conscious that he has this treasure in an earthen vessel, will be humble, giving glory to God. A vessel?—Yes, he himself is only a “vessel,” a means of conveying the Spirit to others: for “he that believeth, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 454.6

“OBEYING THE TRUTH THROUGH THE SPIRIT”

How to receive the Spirit? Study the story of creation, not simply that which is recorded in the first chapter of Genesis, but that which is written on the earth, the sea, and the sky, and you will know. Then when you say to the messenger of God, bringing God's word, no matter what it is, “Behold the servant of the Lord; be it unto me as Thou wilt,” the Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you, and all that comes from you will be holy. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 454.7

“For the Children. The Spirit of Life” The Present Truth 14, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

“Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth.” We have been thinking lately a great deal of the Creator of the heavens and the earth, “the sea and all that in them is,” but most important of all is it to remember that “it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 458.1

Let us find out first of all just what He made us for. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 458.2

You will remember that when God made Adam, when the temple of his body was complete, “He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” That which God breathed into him to give him life, was the air, which man has gone on breathing ever since. So this is the life-giving Spirit of God. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 458.3

Each little new-born baby when it comes into the world, is a temple or house, formed by God for Himself to dwell in. Then God breathes the air into its nostrils, the breath which gives it life. The Spirit of God which fills all the things that He has made, rushes in and takes possession of the new house, and the child becomes a temple of God with the Spirit of God dwelling in him. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 458.4

Did you think your body was a house for you to live in? Oh, no; God made you from the dust of the ground, to be a house for Him to live in. That was what He reminded Adam when Satan tempted him to think that the forbidden tree would make him so wise that he could do without God living in him: “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” When the breath, which is the Spirit of God, is taken away, “then shall the dust return to the earth as it was.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 458.5

Now you will see that we have no life ourselves, but “we live, and move, and have our being,” because He who is “the Life” dwells within us. When Jesus lived on earth, a temple for the Spirit of God, He said, “I can of Mine own self do nothing.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 458.6

What? Can we really do nothing of ourselves? you ask. Can we not see, and hear, and speak, and move, and think, of ourselves? Just think for a moment what it is that does all these things. Is it your eyes that see, your ears that hear, and your brain that thinks? If so, why cannot one think and see and hear after the breath has left the body, and he is dead, so long as he has eyes and ears and brain? Adam had a perfect body when he was first formed, but not until God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life could he think or speak or see or hear. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 458.7

Then what is it really that does all these things?—It is the Spirit of God, which is our life, and truly we can of our own selves do nothing. It is by the power of His life in us that we see and hear, and by the same power that we speak and think and move. “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.” “And there are differences of workings, but the same God which worketh all in all.” PTUK July 21, 1898, page 458.8

All the members of our bodies are formed for the use of the Spirit of God, as a means by which He may enter into us and use us. Through our nostrils and our lungs He breathes His life into us, and all our senses are a way for God to give Himself to us. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 458.9

He comes in at our eyes in all the beautiful things that we see around us, that reflect His beauty to us. In all sweet sounds, in the songs of the birds, the music of the sea, the mighty peal of the thunder, and in His Holy Word, He enters at our ears into His own temple. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 458.10

And then, if we will let Him, He uses our tongues, our hands, our feet, and all our members to do His holy will, and through us gives Himself to others. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 458.11

Take my life, let it be
Consecrated Lord to Thee.
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, ALL for Thee. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 458.12

“Back Page” The Present Truth 14, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

It is generally expected that the surrender of Santiago will bring to an end the war between Spain and America. It has been made very evident in the progress of the struggle that issues of world-wide importance have been raised, and one most probable result will be that the United States and many of the nations of Europe will devote more energy and money than ever to the perfecting of their military and naval armaments. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 464.1

God calls His people also to arm themselves. The envy and warlike spirit of the nations is but the outcome and manifestation of the working in men's hearts of him who was a murderer from the beginning. So long as men forget the fact that it is Satan who is working all the evil and the world, so long will they make the mistake of thinking that they must wrestle with flesh and blood if they would bring about a better state of things. Men will go to war with a feeling that they are embarking upon some righteous crusade, will work far more evil than the wrong they are attacking, will kill thousands and fill whole nations with the spirit of murder; and when one side has to retire through exhaustion, the first cause of all the evil, Satan, is untouched, with his influence and dominion over men greatly strengthen, and ready to start the whole thing over again on the first opportunity. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 464.2

This explains why it is that after thousands of years of fighting, nearly always in a “good cause,” there is more wrong and oppression in the world than ever, and, it seems to men, more need of fighting than there ever was before. The most hopeless feature is that professing Christians are joining with the children of darkness in their view of the efficacy and necessity of war, and are sometimes even found leading the outcry for the slaughter of their offending fellow-men. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 464.3

Let no one be deceived on this point, but let all who would gladly see an improvement, ceased trying to make the symptoms disappear and begin to treat the disease itself. Satan is the enemy and the proper object of attack, and he must be met in his own entrenchments. “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hands, even of your lusts that war in your members?” James iv. 1. What prospect is there of success in an attempt to reduce his fortifications and dislodge the enemy? “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but might be through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.” 2 Cor. x. 3, 5. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 464.4

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day.” Eph. vi. 11-18. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 464.5

The nations are all convinced that the force possessing the most powerful weapons and the strongest armour will be victorious. Let the Christian be as wise in his generation, and not go out to battle with imperfect defence. Whoever shall put on the armour of God may shout, Victory! as he goes forth, and never be in a moment's doubt as to his ultimate and continual triumph, for the “shield of faith” is able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, “and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” 1 John v. 3. “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.” Rom. xvi. 20. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 464.6

At a recent meeting of the London Baptist Association a paper was read on the Sunday and its invasion by present-day amusements. The means by which its sanctity was to be maintained were said to be legal action, moral persuasion and spiritual influence. In the discussion which followed, a number of ministers spoke from various standpoints, and one, Boulder than the rest, claim to found on the teaching of the New Testament a strict view of the holiness of Sunday. It was resolved that he should write a paper for the next meeting on “The New Testament Teaching on the Observance of the Lord's Day,” meaning Sunday. He will find much in the New Testament concerning the vanity of teaching for doctor and the commandments of men, but any attempt to produce scriptural support for the observance of Sunday will only tend to still further confusion in the minds of the London Baptist Association. God's Word is clear enough regarding the Sabbath when man ceased trying to make it fit a day that it never refers to as the Sabbath. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 464.7

Is war murder? Most people would answer, No. If it be not, then why is it that in the reports of battles we continually read of the “murderous fire” and the “merciless hail of bullets” that met one side or the other. And if it be murder, can Christians engage in it, and retain their Christianity? PTUK July 21, 1898, page 464.8

Or, suppose we do not call it murder, for man have a dislike to that word; it sounds worse than “kill,” and we will use the supposedly milder word instead. No one can deny that war means killing. Now the commandment says, “Thou shall not kill.” It is certain that war cannot be carried on without ignoring this commandment. But the power that presumes to set aside this or any other commandment, sets itself above God; and whoever obeys the command to go to war, recognises another God before the Giver of the ten commandments. That is heathenism. War, then, is an act of heathenism. Can a Christian act like a heathen and still be a Christian? What think ye? PTUK July 21, 1898, page 464.9

“Tent Meetings” The Present Truth 14, 29.

E. J. Waggoner

Beginning with July 29, a ten days’ meeting will be held at Bath for the study of the Scriptures. The meetings will be held in a large tent, which will be pitched on the Beechen Cliff Estate, Bloomfield, near the Holloway Post Office. There will be two or three services every day, beginning on the evening of the 30th inst., and closing on Sunday, August 7. If any of our readers would like to attend the meetings the whole or a part of the time, they will be heartily welcome. The study will be along the same lines as are continually presented in this paper,-the reception of the power and wisdom of God in Christ crucified, as a preparation to meet Him at His soon appearing. As God opens His Word to our understanding we find great joy and peace in believing, and we look for much blessing at the forthcoming meetings. If any are taking their holidays at that time and seeking rest and recreation, we invite them to join us and find both in receiving the Word of God. PTUK July 21, 1898, page 464.10