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People of The Living God |
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March 2025
WATCHMEN ON THE WALLS
A WAY THAT SEEMS RIGHT
Alda Scullin
Years ago, God gave a vision of a throng of people wearing white robes as they marched along with hands and eyes raised heavenward as though praising God, but there were spots on their robes, and they were unaware of the precipice just ahead over which they poured as a human Niagara.
A horrible scene to view but far worse to be a participant. It is a very accurate picture of modern Christians; a fulfillment of Proverbs 14:12 - “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Why do men feel that they can choose their own way to serve God and that it will be acceptable to Him? Today there are hundreds, if not thousands, of “Christian” varieties from which to choose, but there is only ONE true way. It is His way. From the creation of Adam unto the present, God offered man, whom He made a free moral being, a choice to serve God or to serve his own selfish desires instead. He never gave him the freedom to choose the manner in which he would serve his Lord. He sent His prophets and even His only begotten Son, all of whom gave very clear and plain instructions concerning the way to spiritual life and eternal salvation. Those who seek another way, a substitute way, are “thieves and robbers” (John 10:1). Only those who keep His commandments will have right to the tree of life (Rev. 22:14).
No one needs to be in confusion or doubt as to his own relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, for He had it written that, “Hereby we do KNOW that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby we know that we are in him” (I John 2:3-5).
What then are the factors that deceive people into believing that God is pleased with them even though they choose their own way? Doubtless, one of the greatest influences, if not the greatest, is the hireling clergymen, who as Jesus said, “care not for the sheep” (John 10:13). The hireling naturally tries to please his patrons. He does not fear God. Judging from the teachings of these modernists, one can only infer that God changes with the times for our convenience, although the Lord said, “I change not” (Mal. 3:6). And Heb. 13:8, states that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Is He still just, merciful, loving, kind and longsuffering? Yes, even modern man is willing to accept those qualities of His character and teaching, but most of the words of Jesus do not fit into today’s way of life. His way is too old-fashioned. With this in mind, religion can easily be adjusted to a more acceptable way of being a Christian. No need to deny one’s self the pleasures of this world, or be wholly consecrated to God; a living sacrifice, or suffer tribulation or persecution as Jesus said His followers would. Those things, we are told, were only for the disciples of His day and the early days of the “church”. It is certainly not for the twenty-first century Christian.
Many Christians have escaped persecutions of foreign nations and fled to “Christian” America only to seek in vain for those who comprehend what it means to serve God. They have learned that “It pays to serve Jesus,” and also that it costs. It cost them everything, and they knew it was worth it. They have an account in heaven to draw on. God does not forget.
Jesus said to count the cost before you start to build. In Luke 14, He spells out the cost. You cannot love any member of your family, or your own self more than God. You must take up your cross daily, follow Him, and forsake all that you have, or you cannot be His disciple. The words are very plain. So, many have said, “Not everyone is called to be a disciple.” Is that so? Looks like an easy way out. Well, if one professes to be a Christian and is not a disciple, pray tell, just what is he? A pretender, a Pharisee, a hypocrite, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, or one of the other very descriptive names that Jesus called the churchmen of His day?
The scriptures also speak very plainly concerning God’s judgment upon those who choose their own way. II Tim. 4:3,4, “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
To those who do not want truth, it is written that God, Himself, will send them strong delusion. He will help them to believe a lie and be damned because they have rejected Him and His Word (II Thess. 2:10-12). The blind leaders of the blind have failed to look at Paul’s admonition to “Behold the goodness and the severity of God” (Rom. 11:22).
“Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7).
LIFE IN GOD
James Sanderson
“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10: 9-10). This portion of Scripture reveals that Jesus Christ came to earth and took upon Himself the form of man with a distinct purpose in mind, that man might find life in God, even more, abundant life (life “without measure”). Note the striking contrast that Jesus presents between Himself and His purpose and the thief (Satan) and his purpose. Jesus came to save and impart life while our adversary, the devil, came merely to impart death. Satan robs, kills, and destroys. He comes to deceive man into traveling down the broad way that leads to ruin and destruction away from all that is godly, wholesome, and right. On the other hand, Christ came to declare that through Him man can experience a life of holiness, righteousness, and purity of heart. The Apostle John declared, “In him was life; and this life was the light of men” (John 1:4). The remarkable fact is that Christ willingly came to offer this life not arbitrarily to a select few but to “whosoever will” (Rev. 22:17; Rom. 10:13).
Since man is so attuned to this earthly sphere of existence, it must be emphasized that Christ is not referring to physical life. Even in that regard, man depends upon God for his very existence. Many feel that they do not need God and can live independently of His influence. They do not understand that they realize their very breath only at God's behest. The Apostle Paul stated, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus posed this question, “Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?” (Matt. 6:27). In other words, man is not the one who has the final say concerning his present physical existence. Whether one wishes to acknowledge this fact or not, God is in control of life.
There are two important words in Greek, both of which are translated life: BIOS (βίος) and ZŌĒ (ζωή). BIOS refers to “the present state of existence” (Strong's), this physical life. ZŌĒ refers to “life as God has it, that which the Father has in Himself, and which He gave to the Incarnate Son to have in Himself” (Vine's, John 5:26). All living creatures on this planet including man possess BIOS life. The life that Jesus offers is life in God, ZŌĒ life. This life is found only in Jesus Christ. Man forfeited ZŌĒ life and fellowship with his Creator because of sin in the Garden of Eden. Since that fateful day sin and blindness of heart have alienated man from life in God (Eph. 4:18; Col. 1:21).
The good news is that Jesus Christ came to restore that lost fellowship and impart divine life to man. Jesus Himself stated, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6, writer's emphasis). There is only one way to God; that way is through Jesus Christ. There is only one way to ZŌĒ life. That is through Jesus Christ. The Apostle John worded it this way, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (I John 5:11-12). Peter, also, referred to Jesus as “the Prince of life” (Acts 3:15). Vine tells us that the word Prince (άρχηγός) means author, founder, leader. Jesus Christ is the Creator, Author, and Giver of life. Let us emphasize that Christ is not a mere reflector of life. On the contrary, the Word of God teaches that He is “The Life.” Paul writes, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Col. 3:4, writer's emphasis). Christ also boldly declared, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (I John 11:25, writer's emphasis).
It is quite unfortunate that not everyone desires to experience this abundant life in God. The Apostle John records, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:11). Judaism of that day had been reduced to a religious bureaucracy interested primarily in external rituals and maintaining the status quo. When the Messiah came from heaven with His offer of life and hope, they did not even recognize Him, nor did they express interest in His message. Addressing the religious leaders of His day, Jesus stated, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” (John 5:40). Nevertheless, the Apostle John, also, records, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).
How does God impart this life to His people? “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:37-39). The Holy Spirit residing in the heart of the believer is the ZŌĒ life, the abundant life that Jesus Christ came to impart. Through His death on the cross and His resurrection, God's people can now experience a new, dynamic life in God through the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit. The most life-changing event that can occur in the life of the believer is the coming of the Holy Spirit. Our Lord, speaking to His disciples, said, “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7). The Apostle Paul, also, emphasized the absolute necessity of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer when he stated, “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Rom. 8:9). With the Holy Spirit abiding in the heart, the child of God can now “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (II Cor. 4:7). This life-administering Treasure is the Holy Ghost abiding in these earthen vessels working patiently to convict, sanctify, and transform each of us into the image of Jesus Christ ( Rom. 12:2). The Scripture teaches that this is a day by day process. “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (II Cor. 4:16). “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (II Cor. 3:18). The old life gives way to the new life, ZŌĒ life in Christ. The Apostle Paul vividly describes this new life in God, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17).
THE “CALLED,” AND THE “CHOSEN”
Harry Miller
“Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:14). These people who are chosen are the true “elect.” They, alone, have had their names written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world (Rev. 17:8). Since there are no after-thoughts with the Lord, we must conclude that every name found recorded in the Book of Life was placed there because of God's foreknowledge, and His desire for these people to be the beneficiaries of His grace.* The Father's will is for all of the elect to be saved, so it stands to reason that “whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate” (Rom. 8:29). To some, this may appear as conclusive evidence that there is absolutely no uncertainty as to the final disposition of the elect. IF the Father's will alone were the final determining factor in the salvation of man, then the answer would be yes, these will all be saved. But the Scriptures do not bear out such a conclusion.
An examination of conditions relative to the “book of life” should startle the complacency of an individual who trusts in the dogmatic will of God to secure his salvation. “If any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life” (Rev. 22:19). Here is an unpardonable sin. (Commentators beware!) Here is a PLAIN STATEMENT declaring that for certain transgressions of God's law, the penalty is to have one's “elect” name removed from the roster of the chosen.*
To the “Angel of the church in Sardis,” John was instructed to write: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life” (Rev. 3:5). The perseverance of saints is apparently rewarded negatively, relative to their names being inscribed on the heavenly roster: e.g., they are “not blotted out.” It sounds as though the Lord had written the names of the elect in the book, but that they in turn are obligated to conduct themselves in such a manner that their names will be kept on the roll. A name written in the Book of Life, then, must remain there until the end, and its permanency in the divine record is contingent upon THE WORKS of the individual.
The lawgiver, Moses, was informed about the Book of Life, and he also understood that some names could, at times, be removed from its pages: “If thou wilt forgive their sin…; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book” (Ex. 32:32,33). The Book of Life will determine the final disposition of those who are saved: it is the divine record of the lives of those who are worthy of the kingdom of heaven, and all that can be gathered from these texts is that every name in the book of the elect is tentative.
These facts relative to the Book of Life indicate no reason for the insertion of the names of the elect on the honor roll; they only present the truth that eternal life is rewarded upon the faithfulness of the elect to the principles of righteousness; they must overcome, and they must not willfully sin.
Now, “If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (I Peter 4:18). “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (II Peter 1:10). The words of the apostle should leave no doubt in anyone's mind that human effort is a truly important factor in the confirming of the election of the saints.
The great apostle, Paul, wrote: “To all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 1:1 and 2:12). Many of the “grace” teachers tell us if any man tries to put such a program into practice he will surely fall from grace! They will glibly recite, “salvation is the gift of God and not of works,” and that, apparently, settles the whole thing in their minds: nothing there to argue or worry about! The essence of the creed of the text-jockeys who have, in reality, tried to turn the grace of God into loose living, is this: “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” But there is more to salvation than mere belief; for even the devils believe in Christ, and many of them have even testified of their belief!
Titus speaks of the believing hypocrites as those who “profess that they know God, but in works they deny him” (Titus 1:16). In the same verse, the writer says that they are in “every good work reprobate.” In the original Greek, the word which is translated “reprobate,” is “a-do-kee-mos.” Let us examine a few texts in which this word is used: “Men of corrupt minds, reprobate ('adokeemos') concerning the faith” (II Tim. 3:8); “they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate ('adokeemos') mind” (Rom. 1:28); “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates” ('adokeemos') (II Cor. 13:5). It seems astonishing that professing Christians in a spirit-endowed assembly like the church at Corinth, could have people in it who might be “adokeemos.” The apostle's message was to the whole church: they all needed to check up and make sure that Christ was still in them.
If the experience of being “born again” gives the believer a through ticket to Glory, then why did Paul make this statement: “I keep my body under (works of man), and bring it into subjection: lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (“adokeemos”). Here the translators used the English word “castaway” instead of “reprobate;” possibly to make the meaning more clear. From the use of all of the other texts we are able to compile a Bible definition of this word, “castaway.” There is no escaping the fact that the apostle believed that a saint could be lost if he did not walk in obedience to God.
We would like to paraphrase the above-quoted text from I Peter 4:18: “If the elect (righteous) scarcely be saved, where shall the called (ungodly) and sinner appear?” The business of being “saved” is far more involved than most people think. The “ungodly” (Impious: Strong's Concordance) are a distinctly different group from the world of “sinners”: those “ungodly” ones are the folk who shall receive “the greater damnation.” These are the people who attempt to walk with the Lord by holding His hand on one side, and the hand of the world on the other! They try to serve both God and mammon. Sad to say, the great bulk of professing Christendom is actually made up of the impious, or the “ungodly.” These are the people that Jesus called hypocrites: “Ye hypocrites…This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me” (Matt. 15:7-9).
A hypocrite is an impostor, and these so-called representatives of Christ are the scum who have brought reproach upon His work and His name. “The publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God before you,” Jesus said to this particular class of the “ungodly” (Matt. 21:31).
From the beginning of time, the devil has performed his most diabolical work through these false religionists: the “ungodly.” Cain was a “religious” man, and multitudes of other impious hypocrites have followed in his footsteps: “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain” (Jude 11).
Cities are actually glutted with assembly after assembly of the “ungodly” who “profess that they know God; but in works they deny him” (Titus 1:16). There isn't a village or town in America that doesn't harbor a number of these “holier-than-thou” sanctimonious religious groups. The apostle Paul predicted that “in the last days” there would be an epidemic of the impious who would have “a form of godliness,” but he added that they would deny “the power thereof” (II Tim. 3:5). In this same letter, Paul states that “after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers” (chap. 4:3). This helps to account for the prolific number of professing so-called Christians rampant at this present hour.
In Matthew, we read the parable of Jesus where He told of “a certain king” who sent out his servants to bid certain people to come to “the wedding.” And when those who were bidden did not come, the king commanded his servants to go out again, and this time to “gather together all, as many as they found, both bad and good” (chapter 22: verse 10). When the king came in to view the guests, he had his servants cast out those who were not properly dressed, and He said: “Cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called (the ungodly; the impious), but few are chosen” (The elect).
All men are called, for “God would that none would perish.” This is why it is said that “He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (I John 2:2). However, not all of the men who are called are faithful; and so they have not all been included in that group known as the elect. Notice carefully the implications in the following passage from the book of Revelation: “They that are with him (Jesus) are called, and chosen, and faithful” (chapter 17: verse 14). The Lord calls. He it is that chooses, but it is the individual who must develop that particular quality of character which is known as faithfulness. This individuating quality of the true Christian is not a gift: it is the result of love, faith, and continual perseverance in the things of God.
The essential difference between the “called” and the “chosen” is this: those who have accepted God's call, but have failed to walk with Christ, are unsanctified believers; the “chosen” are they, who, having answered the call, have obeyed Christ and have become His sanctified followers.
*We suggest that the readers refer to the February 2025 Testimony of Truth, “Letter From A Reader” – “The Lamb’s Book of Life”, page 23 for an explanation concerning the Lamb’s Book of Life, as the editor holds a different view regarding whose names are placed in the Lamb’s Book of Life, when they are placed there and how some can be blotted out. (Editor)
THE CROSS: STRIPPED OF EVERYTHING
Luke 9:23
J. Grant Swank
To know the cross of Christ, one must be stripped of everything else.
That means consciously stating to Christ that He can take away everything from us but Himself. Anything less is not the way of the cross.
Practically speaking, that entails willingly surrendering one’s clothing, furniture, vehicles, lodgings, holdings, past-times, leisures, health, interpersonal relationships, and vocation...all of life...to Christ.
It is at this crucial beginning that most believers balk. They want to reason that such relinquishment is foolishness, nonsense, and illogical.
Yet, it is Christ Himself who tells His own that they must let go of mother, father, brother, sister, houses, and lands in order to follow Him on the way of the cross. No other source but Christ Himself sets forth the standard. To call that standard foolish, nonsensical, or unreasonable is then to argue with the source of our salvation; yet such is unthinkable.
Therefore, to know the cross of Christ, one must be aware that everything attached to one’s life must be placed upon the altar of sacrifice. The reason? Because Christ is God. And God, being God, deserves nothing less than all. That is why “all” is repeated continually throughout the Word. We are challenged by our Creator to realize our nothingness in order to come into His everything. To make such a conscious move, we must deliver into Christ’s hands our all, keeping back nothing.
This is the start of the cross journey. It is the only way to begin. There can be no shortcut nor circumventing the stipulations as set forth by the Master Christ. We call this Christ, Savior and Redeemer and Friend. But there is no personal reality to any of such titles unless we first submit to His title as Master, Lord. Only then – by delivering everything we are and have into His perfect care – can we know Him as Savior. Mastership over our very destinies is why Jesus was born of a virgin. We must recognize that dominant presence in every area of our lives in order to lodge upon His cross.
Only when we let go of all, releasing our grip upon everything, will we then know the power of the cross to deliver from fear, worry, and carnal confusion of the soul. Those who have come to the truth of the cross-journey experience then the peace of God. Only those who have purposefully resigned every aspect of their being to the God of gods can even begin to enter into the comfort promised.
Christ calls you to the cross. “Take up your cross daily and follow me.” Can you have faith to believe that it is possible – not in your own strivings but by divine grace alone? Yes, it is possible. The Master stands waiting at the door of your heart to prove to you His benevolent Mastership.
Now give to Jesus Christ the properties you hold dearly. Look them in the face. Now tally them. Do not hide one away for safekeeping. In the open sky of an honest soul, place in Christ’s mastership your breathing, your present, your future, your very existence. It is then that you will begin to understand what it means to have the life abundant. Only those who have died out to their earthly holdings know the truth of resurrection presence. Only when you yourself declare to heaven, earth, and hell that you have signed over your securities to Christ will you yourself experience the power of the cross and the consequent might of the resurrection.
“... Christ crucified ...” I Corinthians 1:23
Salvation comes to us by faith. There is no work possible to mankind which can forgive sins. Only the sinless sacrifice upon the cross is able to cleanse us from our wrong-doing. That is why the cross is absolutely central to the Christian life and faith.
Before the world was created, God schemed the redemption plan. It would be activated if mortal disobeyed Creator God. Our first parents, unfortunately, did trespass against the law of Creator God; in that instant, the cross came into play upon the planet. Prior to that moment, the cross was a divine plan housed in the eternities. Down through Old Testament history, the shedding of blood was the means by which mortals could find forgiveness. It was the sacrifice. It was the pain. It was the reminder that first parents had attempted to play deity – foolishly so – by believing the tempter.
Then came the Calvary Cross atop Golgotha. There was stapled the perfect Lamb. There He bled, sacrificed His all upon the wood, suffered, cried out in anguish, writhed beneath the awful blows of a slow death. There Christ became sin for us. There the Lamb became likewise the goat of humanity – the scapegoat carrying into the tomb our sins upon His holy head. From that cross point in human history, all other history looks back upon Jerusalem’s tree. And from creation’s start, all human history looked forward to Jerusalem’s tree. The cross is the crossroads of all human history.
Therefore, it is paramount that everyone who claims the name “Christian” realizes that the Christian life is summed up in the cross. There is finally no other place to go in this life. It is the cross from alpha to omega. One can travel all over the globe – back in history, forward in expectation – and yet find no greater height than the hill upon which Christ was nailed to a piece of timber.
Likewise, it is of utmost significance that each believer reckons with the fact that the Christian experience centers upon the cross – sacrifice, pain, relinquishment, surrender, yielding, emptying, soul nakedness, death to self-striving and acclaim. Yet this very truth is the concept most ignored by the Christian community; for, at first glance, it appears to be repulsive, so absolutely impossible. How can a good God ask this of us? How can such a bloody scene be the central crux of a religion? Yet it is!
Once one then grips the fundamental fact of the faith, one can then move into the reality of the cross by his own personal obedience to emptying all into the hands of Christ. This is what Paul called for when he wrote for believers to die in Christ, to be buried in Christ, and then to know the resurrection peace. This must become personal to you, otherwise you are merely holding to a religious coin without knowing its value. You are merely toying with a religious emblem without understanding its blood stain upon your soul. You must climb up Calvary, stake out your very existence there and bed down till the last breath beneath the body of the crucified One. Anything less cannot be tolerated, for it is God who demands this of His own. It is by faith you start the journey. It is by faith you continue the journey. It is by faith you will end the journey.
“... deny himself ...” Matthew 16:24
The Fall produced in the mortal the belief that he is his own deity. The snake promised: “Eat the fruit and you will be deity.” Our first parents bought into that deceit. Ever since, mortals have inherited that spiritual dark side of dealing with existence as if mortals were deity. This is the Major Lie of our human history; nevertheless, because it is so prevalent, it is recognized as normal.
Only Christ reveals that “normal” is to be humbled beneath the governance of the true God. Only Christ calls His own to deny self-governance for bondservantship. Those proclaiming self-realization continue to bait the fallen mortal with the notion that mortal can climb up higher into his own divinity. Such is obviously impossible; however, when spoken with conviction often enough, the populace buys into it as being real.
Reality, from the eternal perspective, is to face the fact that God is God, mortal is mortal, and the only way to come into the fullness of the divine is to deny self-want in favor of Christ’s mastership.
Satan tells us that we are relinquishing too much by denying self-want. After all, self-preening is the way to succeed, build confidence, grow, and broaden one’s vistas. However, since Satan is the father of lies, his appeal is bogus. Christ instead speaks truth. He informs His grace children that those offspring henceforth will deliver self over to Christ for His governance. This then becomes the “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Sadly, only the few come to realize it experientially.
Moment by moment, deny your own desires for The Desire of all ages – Christ. Deny your own plan. Submit to the perfect will of the God who knows no error. Deny your own agenda. Fold into the Lordship of the one who claims to be God. Self-denial may have such an awesome burden overloading it. That is due to fallen mortals not understanding that self-denial is indeed the entrancing the divine heart. Our fallen state has misconstrued self-denial to the point that the carnal immediately recoils when hearing its call. Yet when the believer sheds world-think for God-think concerning self-denial, he comes into the awareness that self-denial is being set free. Freedom into what? Not what, but whom. It is freedom into Christ Jesus.
Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Jesus. That is the gospel challenge in one sentence. Yet the worldling cannot grasp its promise, for the worldling is still convinced that self-realization is the key to unlocking one’s hidden treasures within. Christian, crucify self-realization. Consciously hand over all of self to Savior Master Christ.
Denial of self-realization is to experience Christ-realization. It is to take focus off one’s own petty sphere with its lack of resources and unfulfilled present. It is to put focus on Jesus, and Jesus alone. “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Only when focusing on Way-Truth-Life can one exhilarate in the divine presence promised. To focus on self-realization is not life, but death. To focus on Christ is not death, but life. Quit bemoaning your lot. Take your eyes off of your situation. Stop complaining about how heavy the load is. Turn your vision upon the majesty of His presence. There is your completion.
“... follow Me ...” Mark 8:34
The most difficult part of the journey is to stay behind Jesus. It takes work to let Him lead. Why? Because fallen mortal still bends in the direction of playing deity. How foolish! No wonder Jesus on occasion referred to His own as “fools, slow to believe.” They were. And we still are when we do not see to it that Jesus leads. Yet we assert ourselves, plan ahead as if God were not, piously pray petitions in such a way as to set our agendas before the throne for God to baptize them as legitimate, program our own destinies with a flourish and then still dare to call ourselves “slaves of Jesus.”
We nonchalantly forget that the Word commands us not to presume upon tomorrow, not to say that we are going to do this and that in the marketplace as if we owned our own futures. Yet we read those passages with delicate delight when meandering upon them on a lonely evening. We even share them kindly with a friend as encouragement along the way. But when it comes to putting into practice the dictate of Jesus not to move into tomorrow, we put that on hold. It is more convenient to claim Jesus being in control while still actually being in control ourselves. We “naturally” fall in line with that kind of thinking, sometimes even needled by the awareness that it is not truly correct, but nevertheless proceeding anyhow as if we claimed our own destinies.
No wonder we are so frequently discouraged, undone, confused, and nurse feelings of failure. No wonder we are privately skeptical of the very religious moorings we claim to be eternally sound. It is because we are diseased. We are sick to the soul. We are not right in head and heart because we have not truly reckoned with the leadership of Jesus in everything about our lives.
Jesus was quite serious when He told His own to follow Him. Why? Obviously, because He knows what He is doing. He is eternal wisdom and strength. He is the Creator God. He is more than dust, clay, and candle wick smoke. Once we experientially get hold of that basic, we can then navigate through any day with the assurance that we are being held closely by an everlasting Love who died upon the tree. It is heaven’s understanding who wants us to follow rather than take the lead. It is eternity’s heartbeat of parenting foresight that calls us to stay close to Jesus’ heels.
How far we have fallen! How muddied have become our brains! How off-course we are most of the time. Yet it need not be. An act of will and an act of willingness over time to permit Jesus to lead can create a consciousness that does fold into the submission called for. When that is actualized time and again, each believer tests the divine promises, discovering them to be more than sufficient. Jesus leads; we follow.
“... wait on the Lord ...” Psalm 27:14
When the Christ of the cross leads, we often have to wait. This was so difficult for Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus was near death. Yet they had no other choice – wait for Jesus to lead in whatever Jesus chose. We know the end of that story – resurrection, life, grave cloths thrown to the Bethany winds, hugs and kisses, welcomed back home, the community struck with awe at the miracle in their midst, Lazarus standing there in the fresh flesh. So it is with each of us when we wait on Christ to lead.
Some have even lost their ways by concluding that the Christ of the journey is simply not up to the jaunt. And so they make their own paths, as far away from Christ as possible. It may be that they turn toward Buddha or Mohammed or a local deity or metropolitan prophet or material gain in a new job. The sum of it is that they have had it with the Christ hesitation; they cannot cope with His pauses. After all, they are into assertion, purposeful aggressive behavior, promptness, efficiency, and intelligence. So this Christ has slipped a cog in betraying all that culture would lift as “high and mighty” when it comes to moving ahead. It can be absolutely grueling to follow Christ at times. Some have waited a whole lifetime and have even died on this earth without seeing their visions realized. Yet they have persisted in faith. They have claimed that there is still another world to come upon in which the Christ of the cross will show them what the divine scheme was up to.
Finally, it is not up to us to know anything about the journey. Christian, have you come to that fundamental? It is up to us merely to obey our Leader, even when His heels are blurred from sight. The mist of day and evening may so settle in upon our walk that we throw up our hands in dismay exclaiming, “I can’t even make out his prints. They are somewhere out there, I know. But I have lost sight of them. Where in the name of heaven am I headed?” Ask Job. He stumbled through that part of the journey over and over. And so will you, more times than you would sometimes like. It is at that crux in the cross current that you will decide to continue with Christ or disband for your own compass. Ultimately, everything in this existence comes down to one’s free will. You make your own choices; you answer to your own consequences. Others may prod and advise but you have the last word. What then will you do when nothing makes worldly sense as you trudge behind Christ?
What will you then do with Jesus on the journey when you are left to wait in such boredom, flail along in the bitter cold, grope through the dark seemingly all alone, tripping till your feet are bloody and your head gives way to reeling? Be aware that Christ can lead in that kind of trek, for Christ too was on a similar wearisome path. Look again at Gethsemane. Ponder the cross. Hear the cry: “Why have You forsaken Me?” “Must I drink this cup?” Sweat drops as blood poured from His holy brow.
Therefore, since this winding travail is nothing new to Christ, you can have confidence in His chartings. He knows. He sees. He hears the sounds in the night season. Most importantly – He will indeed lead you safely home, no matter what. No matter what.
PARTAKERS OF ETERNAL LIFE
Part One
Alfred King
The Divine Plan of God
As a child sitting in church, it would puzzle me to hear the pastor speak about heaven and some events that he said took place there. I wondered how he knew what took place in heaven since he hadn’t been there. He would talk about Lucifer being created a glorious being who became puffed up with pride because of his beauty and abilities that transcended most other beings in heaven.
In preaching about heaven, the pastor taught that God had a plan, a plan he termed, “The Divine Plan.” Again, I was astonished at how he knew what God’s plan was and how he knew that God’s plan was formed before the world was created. How did he know all this?
As I grew older and began studying scripture for myself, many of the truths he presented became clearer to me and I began to see the importance of knowing God’s divine plan. That plan involved mankind and specifically those who would hear the gospel, respond to it in faith, and find new life in Christ Jesus. However, being born again was just the beginning of the whole of God’s Divine Plan. It was at salvation that man took his first step or gained his first part in the most wonderful opportunity and privilege any mortal being could possibly conceive. But what I also began to see is that most believers know very little about God’s divine plan into which they have entered. Too many believe that being saved and attending church frequently is sufficient and pretty much all that there is. Because of this limited understanding, there is no real desire or perseverance to be partakers of the full benefits of what God desires to give men.
Let me begin by referring to a couple of texts in Titus that show that God’s plan was to give eternal life. “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Titus 1:1-2).
Later in this same book, Paul returns to the topic of eternal life. “…after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7).
To offer eternal life to any being(s) necessitated a process through which said being(s) would pass as a means of purging, perfecting, and preparing them for life eternal. Eternal life could not be given to any who would continue in sin and have little or no desire to be transformed from their present state into Christlikeness. Paul, in writing to the church in Rome, revealed God’s “hope” that some would avail themselves of eternal life through God’s designed method. “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom. 8:20-21).
Romans eight reveals that God has hope that man will realize his sinful state and, upon hearing the Gospel, will accept God’s saving grace offered through Jesus Christ. It was in God’s wisdom and desire to give eternal life to many beings that He designed the method that would be essential in order to give this priceless gift. He created the world, which is His workshop or the means by which beings would be subjected to “vanity,” where every soul could be given free will so that he could choose the path he would take in this world. God hoped that men would make the right choice and yet knew that most would not. However, the end product was worth the cost, not only for men who would reject God’s provisions, but for God, Himself, who would have to pay a tremendous price if men were to be saved. The cost would be millions of souls who would reject “so great salvation” (Heb. 2:3) along with the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Yet with this tremendous cost, God reveals that the end product will be worth it all. Isaiah 53:11 states, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.”
In the beginning, when God created the world, He set the stage upon which His divine plan to commence: He created Adam in His own image, he was created sinless. When Adam made the choice to sin and was driven out of the Garden, God made a statement that sheds light upon this very topic. “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever” (Gen. 3:22). What this scripture reveals is that had Adam partaken of the “Tree of Life” (which was in the Garden), Adam would have gained eternal life in a state of sin. This appears to be a fact because God placed “Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way,” (Why?) “to keep the way of the tree of life” (Gen. 3:24b).
That very day, Adam was spiritually cut off from God. God had said to Adam that in the day that he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die. God was not referring to physical death, because Adam lived several hundred years after this day. But Adam died spiritually. He was cut off from the life that he had been given in God. This is why men today, in order to gain eternal life, must be born again; born from above, and this is entered into when one believes the Gospel, repents, and is saved.
Today, there is a great error in Eschatology when interpreting Revelation 20. Verse five and six speak of the “first resurrection.” Many teach this refers to a pretribulation rapture and that those who were believers will rise ahead of unbelievers and will meet the Lord in the air when He returns. They use I Thessalonians 4:16-17 as their proof text. However, the “first resurrection” is when one is saved, and it relates to the first death: when Adam sinned and death passed upon all men (Rom. 5:12). The “second death” is when death and hell are cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:14)
The Everlasting Covenant
This brings us to a very important part of God’s divine plan. That part is “The Everlasting Covenant.” The very word “everlasting” means it is a covenant that will continue eternally. To last eternally also means that it cannot or will not be broken. The implication, then, is that the only way this covenant can be ensured to be eternal is that it be made by God alone, for angels and men are all subject to failure. God never fails. The very fact that there is an “Everlasting Covenant” strongly supports that doctrine of the Trinity. This covenant was made between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. What then is this covenant? What was its purpose? And: What will be the outcome?
As has been stated, God created the world in order to give eternal life. However, although Adam was created in the image of God without sin, he transgressed and lost the spiritual life he had in God. This placed Adam and all his offspring into a state of separation from God. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23; Rom. 5:12).
Job asked a very serious and important question in Job 9, verse 2, “… how should man be just with God?” All men have sinned and Job’s question is very pertinent regarding man’s dilemma. Had God’s plan of eternal life failed? Was He now to scrap the whole divine plan? No! God knew this would happen and the very fall was included in the plan of God.
Before the fall, Adam was given authority over the earth. This is brought out in Genesis 2 and also in Psalms 8. However, when Adam sinned, Satan assumed Adam’s authority and became the “god of this world” (II Cor. 4:4, also Eph. 2:2).
Nevertheless, the fall nor Satan’s advance took God by surprise, nor did God have to react to some unforeseen event. The Everlasting Covenant was entered into with all these events foreknown and incorporated into the divine plan. The Everlasting Covenant that cannot be broken was entered into with each member of the Godhead having a specific role to play. To put it in words that we might better understand, we can liken it to a master builder who sets himself to erect a large structure. He designs the structure, has someone build it, and then another to bring about the structure’s intended purpose. Relative then to The Everlasting Covenant, God the Father became the Architect (He designed), God the Son created (built), and the Holy Spirit worked and continues to work in and through this world’s arrangement (vanity) to perform the Father’s original purpose. Let’s see how this works out with creation.
Jesus Created The World
As has already been stated, the Father designed the plan. Jesus created the world with everything in it and He created the universe and everything in it.
Considering Jesus’ part in creation, let’s begin with Hebrews 1:1-2. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” Many people think that the Father created the world, but this is not scriptural. Jesus was the creator. A few more scriptures that support this truth are:
Heb. 1:10-11: “And, Thou, Lord, (referring to Jesus as previous verses clearly show) in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest.”
John 1:1-3: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
John 1:10: “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.”
Eph. 3:9: And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Two other scriptures are: Col. 1:14-17 and 1 Cor. 8:6. These few verses should be sufficient to show that Jesus was the Creator.
With these verses in mind, we find in Genesis one that Jesus (the builder) created the world. “In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). In Genesis 1:2, we find the Holy Spirit doing His part. “And 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.”
The covenant made in heaven before the world was created began with the Father’s will, to give eternal life, incorruptibility, and immortality to some beings with whom He could share the glories of heaven. This desire comes from a heart of love (God is love), not a love that the world knows but a love that is divine and straight from the heart of the Father. The obstacle was that man would fall into sin, yet this fact was also a part of the divine plan. Sin, however, required a provision by which sinners could be cleansed and reconciled to God. This was Jesus’ second part of the covenant. Scripture states that Jesus was slain before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). Peter speaks of this also, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you (I Peter 1:18-20). Jesus entered into the Father’s plan and the covenant was sealed between the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit entered into this covenant by becoming the Comforter who would work in every believer’s heart to lead, guide, and reveal God’s will. The means by which the Holy Spirit was able to live within the hearts of believers was through the death and resurrection of our Lord. When Jesus’ blood is applied to one’s heart, the sinner is cleansed from all his sins and that cleansing allows the Holy Spirit to enter into him and He begins working to bring him to Christlikeness. Jesus said, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:7-8). The Holy Spirit is the one who works within the heart of every born again soul and He leads and guides into all truth. He takes the things of God and reveals them to the believer. He is called the “Comforter” and He promises never to leave nor forsake. The Father and the Son have done their part and the Holy Spirit will finish the work which has begun and God will see the “travail of His soul and will be satisfied (Isa. 53:11).
All those who will listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit and heed His leading will inherit eternal life and will possess the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:34)
Breaking The Everlasting Covenant
Those who are familiar with scripture may remember that the Bible speaks of breaking the Everlasting Covenant. This is recorded in Isaiah 24. This chapter begins with God’s displeasure with the inhabitants of the earth and the judgment He pronounces upon it. Verse 5 gives three reasons for God’s anger. “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.”
The question arises in light of what has been written above: How can The Everlasting Covenant be broken if it is everlasting and established within the Trinity? Man is brought into this covenant when he is born again and saved. In other words, the promises contained in this covenant are for the saved soul. However, if one is saved but afterward returns to his life of sin, he breaks the covenant he made with God when he was saved. Consider the seriousness of this with Peter’s words. “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire (II Peter 2:20-22).
The Apostle Paul substantiates Peter’s word by declaring that some will depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils (I Tim. 4:1). And again in II Thess. 2:3, Paul speaks of a falling away, showing that just because a person is saved or born again, he can lose his way and forfeit his promised eternal life. It is in this way that we can break the covenant we entered into at the time of our salvation. However, some will enter in (Heb. 4:6) and The Everlasting Covenant will assure every believer that he has the perfect opportunity to obtain the promised eternal life.
PASSOVER 2025
People of the Living God will be observing Passover as we do every year, beginning at sundown on Friday, April 11, 2025. We figure the date by determining the time of the vernal equinox and, from that date, we look for the first new moon afterward. We count fourteen days from the new moon and begin Passover celebration at sundown on the fourteenth day. We observe it for seven days in which we eat no food with leavening. We also observe the first day and the seventh day as a Sabbath in which we hold special services and times of fellowship.