The Christ is not present on earth in the person of "the man Christ Jesus," but he is present in the many bodies of his saints; "to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is CHRIST IN YOU (his saints), the hope of glory." It is our privilege to POSSESS THIS LIFE in all its fullness; "that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh." 2 Cor. iv. 11. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, not only for ourselves, but for the good of others also. The body of Jesus, while on earth, was a fountain of such lifepower; for when the woman "touched the hem of his garment," he perceived that power (dunamis) had gone forth from him (Mark v. 30; Luke viii. 46, R. v.). And again we read that: "All the multitude sought to touch him: for power came forth from him and healed them all." Luke vi. 19, R. v. And this power was continued in succeeding members of his Body; for of Paul we read "that unto the sick were carried away from his body handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them and the evil spirits went out." Acts xix. 12. And so greatly was the power of that life manifested in Peter, "that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that, as Peter came by, at least his shadow might overshadow some one of them." Acts v. 15. "The last Adam became a life-giving spirit." I. Cor. xv. 45, R. V. He came that we might have life abundantly. "He that hath the Son hath the life." It is the same life for spirit and soul and body. But it must be received in GOD'S OWN ORDER, first, in or by the spirit; secondly, in or by the soul; thirdly, in or by the body. This life expels disease, and causes symptoms of approaching sickness to vanish. We have to deal with symptoms just as with temptations; regarding them, in fact, as temptations, because yielding to them dishonors nor Lord in the eyes of the world; by making his promise of entire preservation appear to be of none effect. If he has, surely, borne our pains, and carried our sicknesses, why should we bear them. But we must be right in spirit and soul in order to maintain this life in the body. Perfect soundness of body can only accompany perfect soundness of soul and spirit. Thus it will be a grand test of true Christianity, and a grand testimony to the world of the truth of God's Word. All these privilegee belong to the saints of the Pentecostal dispensation. Elect of God, holy and beloved, claim your privileges. "All things are yours." "Eat, O friends: drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." O believe, as thou livest, that every sound that is spoken over the round world, which thou oughtest to hear, will vibrate on thine ear. Every proverb, every book, every by-word that belongs to thee for aid or comfort shall surely come home through open or winding passages. Every friend whom not thy fantastic will, but the great and tender heart in thee craveth, shall lock thee in his embrace. And this, because the heart in thee is the heart of all; not a valve, not a wall, not an intersection is there anywhere in nature, but one blood rolls uninterruptedly, an endless circulation through all men, as the water of the globe is all one sea, and, truly seen, its tide is one. Emerson. LONELINESS is not being alone, for then ministering spirits come to soothe and bless. Loneliness is to endure the presence of one who does not understand. Elbert Hubbard. THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL. By A. L. Nathan. Man is a triune being composed of spirit, soul, and body. The spirit, or life, is like its maker, pure and good, being in reality a part of God. The body is of the earth, earthy, and the mind arising in and of it is evil: it is as Paul said, "the carnal mind is enmity against God." The soul is the sum of all the knowledge gained by the experiences of the spirit while incased in flesh. It is the result of the knowledge gained through eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which grew in the midst of the garden of Eden; and when man chooses the good because it is good, and refuses the evil because it is evil, then the wound occasioned by the "fall" will begin to be healed, and man will begin to find his way back to Eden; and if he persists he will undoubtedly arrive there. man has wandered a long way out of the true path during the last 6,000 years, he should not expect to retrace his steps in a day, week, month, or even a year, though he will, if faithful, soon find that he has started on the road that Christian trod in his journey from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, the abode of God; and the time will come when he will "walk and talk with God," even as Adam did, while he is consciously in the physical body. Man's fall from that high estate consisted in eating of the evil fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree bore two kinds of fruit, the knowledge of good, and the knowledge of evil; and when Adam chose to eat of the knowledge of evil, he fell, and a great and real fall it was. To restore the condition from which he fell, consists in refusing to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of evil, and partaking only of the fruit of the knowledge of good; and as he eats of it, his eyes are gradually opened, and he begins to perceive the way back; and if he is faithful to the best he knows he will in time surely arrive at the Celestial city and "go no more out forever." The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a symbol of the sex principle in man and woman. It bears two kinds of fruit, generation and regeneration. Regeneration is the good fruit, because it ultimates in loving God with all the heart. Generation is the evil fruit, the eating of which results in losing all knowledge of God, and gives love of self: of me, and what is mine, in contradistinction to what is my neighbor's. It causes all the struggle and combat in the world as it is to-day: all the misery in the world is the legitimate result of partaking of the knowledge of evil, generation. Yet, it was necessary that man should eat of it, to the end that he might know that it is evil, and because it is evil refuse to eat of it any longer. As the prophet said, "Butter and honey shall he eat that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good." Isa. vii. 15. As the soul is the sum of all the knowledge gained in many incarnations, it is readily perceived that one soul may be in advance of another: and it is also perceived that each soul is developing day by day by rejecting old beliefs which formed a part of itself yesterday, and accepting that which it has proved to be true to-day. This process must continue, incarnation after incarnation, until the soul realizes that all the joys of earth are "Dead Sea apples", and cries out with the "Preacher," "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." When this point is reached, the soul is ready to begin to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good, and in the eating thereof will find eternal life. A TRANSLATION FROM THE WORKS OF By John H. Suss. THE FIRST RULES FOR THOSE ABOUT TO TAKE UP ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE. Only he who has a pure heart deserves acquaintance with Esoteric Knowledge, because he will use it for the benefit of the human race. Wisdom is like the sun; it warms each mortal and casts its light above the heads of all humanity; but to receive this warmth the body must be in proper relation to the sun. The evil person is not worthy to know the way of salvation; for, what would be a blessing to humanity in general, would be to him the greatest curse. Highly scented flowers cast their fragrance for naught to those who cannot smell, and the bread crumbs which fall from the Lord's table are not for the pigs who wallow in the mire. There is a certain rule in nature that the most beneficial herb, through lack of knowledge regarding its strength, turns poison. And it is the nature of the fly to burn itself in the flame, for it does not know the danger. He who reads this, remember my rule well; for a person hunting for jewels in the mire must go slowly. We must not believe everything nor cast away all: the labor of the wise is to investigate everything. The glittering does not blind him, for his labor is to hunt for the truth. THE HIDDEN SECRETS OF NATURE AND HOW TO INVESTIGATE. The secrets of nature no man can teach thoroughly to another. |