Daily Email Goodies

Daily Email Goodies

Free daily quotes, articles, and audios. These daily emails contain alternating quotes, articles, and audios on Biblical themes.

These are the original writings of Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr, as well as gleanings from other authors.

17/11/2023

The Unity of the Faith

"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13).

This is not “the unity of faith,” as many often misinterpret and misunderstand, but rather “the unity of THE faith.” “The Faith” is a body of doctrine to be believed, and this “unity of the faith” is that body of doctrine in its climax – a finished “unit” – the “unit of the faith” as it were.

It is absolutely essential that one understands that the revelation given to Paul during the Acts Period was in “installments.” Paul knew when writing I Corinthians that the revelation given to him was on the installment plan and that these “installments” would be “discarded” once “maturity” came (I Corinthians 13:8-11, CV). He also freely confessed in II Corinthians 12:1 that he knew that he would come to additional “visions and revelations” (note that both were in the plural).

“Unity” is that which is complete, that which has all of its parts, and is no longer a series of “instalments.”

"Of which I became a dispenser, in accord with the administration of God, which is granted to me for you, to COMPLETE the Word of God" (Colossians 1:25, CV).

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.

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16/11/2023

The “Sinner’s Prayer”

The "Sinner’s Prayer" is not Biblical. Because no such prayer or conversion is found in the Bible, some Biblical scholars have even labeled the sinner's prayer a "cataract of nonsense" and an "apostasy".

The Sinner's Prayer, as popularly known today, has roots in Protestant Christianity. Some affirm that it evolved, in some form or another, in the early days of the Protestant Reformation movement, as a reaction against the Roman Catholic dogma of justification by means of meritorious works. Others believe it originated as early as the eighteenth century revival movement. However, Paul Harrison Chitwood, in his doctoral dissertation on the history of the Sinner's Prayer, provides strong evidence that the Sinner's Prayer originated in the early twentieth century.

An early proponent of the sinner's prayer was the well-known American evangelist D. L. Moody. Evangelists such as Billy Graham and evangelistic organizations such as Campus Crusade for Christ brought the concept to prominence in the 20th century.

When Christians "accept Christ as their personal savior" that is because they don't accept the fact that Christ is the Savior of all mankind. I believe that Christ is the Savior of all mankind myself included.

J.D. Fine

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15/11/2023

Mistakes to be Avoided

Errors arise just because man is man, just because he is a member of the general tribe of mankind, just because he is in fact a limited person, both in knowledge and power.

We make our errors often simply because we forget that we are men; we forget that we are not the Creator but the created. We forget that we do not know all, and that God knows best.

Errors and mistakes come from trying to make our own idiosyncrasies and peculiarities into general laws and rules. Man forgets that he is made in the image of God and tries to make God into his image.

Errors come from the false systems of thought which, as it were, follow each other on to the stage of history. The great necessity is that we should remember that no human system of thought is final, that none has the whole truth, that there is more to God than ever any man has discovered.

The mistakes which come from forgetting we are men, the mistakes which come from making ourselves the norm for everything, the mistakes which come from the exaltation of any system – avoid them all!

William Barclay (1907-1978)
Daily Celebration Vol. 2, Pages 121, 122

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14/11/2023

My Times Are in Thy Hand

“My times are in Thy hand” (Psalms 31:15).

Thank God, He said “times.” Yes, my times are always in His hand. All my times: my times of sorrow and of joy; of trouble and of danger. All are in the hand of my God.

E.W. Bullinger (1837-1913)
Figures of Speech

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13/11/2023

The Letter of the Law

“…The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (II Corinthians 3:6).

One mustn't make the Christian life into a punctilious system of law, like the Jewish, for two reasons. (1) It raises scruples when we don't keep the routine. (2) It raises presumption when we do. Nothing gives one a more spuriously good conscience than keeping rules, even if there has been a total absence of all real charity and faith.

C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)
Letters to an American Lady (1967)

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12/11/2023

Things that Differ

One of the greatest needs in Scripture study among the saints of God today is "to distinguish the things that differ". We desire to go to the limits of fidelity to the Sacred Original, insisting on a "pattern of sound words" [II Timothy 1:13], "distinguishing the things that differ" (Philippians 1:10) and "correctly partitioning" (II Timothy 2:15) them. In no other way can we really hope to have the truth by which we may come to a correct understanding of the Mind of Inspiration.

We must give heed to what has been written through a "pattern of sound words," "distinguishing the things which differ" and "rightly divide the Word of truth"… God has severed the "gospel of the Uncircumcision" from the "gospel of the Circumcision" (Galatians 2:7) and has placed in them that which cannot be mixed without producing an adulterated gospel, which the Scriptures term "a different gospel,” which is not another.

Adlai Loudy (1893-1984)
God’s Eonian Purpose
Unserachable Riches Vol. 20
Church, Bride, and Body,page 41
The Apostasy of Christendom, page 84

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11/11/2023

Speculation or Revelation?

Much of modern science, as with religion, bases their conclusions on speculation. How true are Paul’s words to Timothy, written almost 2,000 years ago, about the “oppositions of science falsely so called” (I Timothy 6:20). This is in stark contrast to the captive children of Israel in Babylon who were “skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science” (Daniel 1:4) and thereby eventually glorified God.

So, there are “profane and vain babblings” of “false science” in order to explain away the facts regarding God and His wonderful creation, or there is the witness of “true science” whose conclusions always point to the Creator of the universe and all that is in it – including us.

André Sneidar
Managing Editor, Bible Student's Notebook

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10/11/2023

Our Illusion of Free Will

Freewill is like the steering wheel on those cars at Six Flags. The car is on a cement track with a steel insert down the middle, the kids get to steer all they want; however, they’re actually on a track that only has one perfect path.

Mike Owens
Author of The Fallacy of Post Mortem Punishment in Light of a Successful Savior

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09/11/2023

Religious Hirelings

“He that is a hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees: and the wolf catches them, and scatters the sheep. The hireling flees, because he is an hireling, and cares not for the sheep” (John 10:12-13).

The Greek word translated “hireling” is μισθωτός (misthōtos) meaning “a wage worker” (Strong), “one hired” (Thayer); our English word being defined as “one who is hired, or who serves for wages” (Webster). Truly, religious hirelings are the respected order of the day.

Often the man who teaches God’s Word is looked down upon, as if he were not genuine, if he is not religiously salaried. Amazing how the tables have turned. The fact is, Paul was not for “hire,” he was the bond-slave of Christ Jesus, making his living as a humble laborer – a “tentmaker” (Acts 18:1 3).

“I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me” (Acts 20:33, 34).

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.

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08/11/2023

No Scriptural Basis for Christian “Pastors”

Men have written literally millions of books on every theological issue conceivable to the mind of man, yet no one had closely questioned the biblical basis for the man called “pastor.” “He” is just there. “He” grew out of the ongoing events surrounding Wittenburg during the early and mid-1500s. “He” has been with us ever since, undebated, unquestioned, and wholly unscriptural. In all church history there has not been so much as one day of debate or controversy over “his” scriptural right to exist. We practice “him” without question. Yet, there is not one verse of Scripture in the New Testament that describes such a creature, and only one verse that even uses the term. Nonetheless he is the center of the practice of Protestant Christianity.

I am a graduate of the largest Protestant seminary in the world, which has on its campus one of the largest theological libraries ever assembled in the history of Christendom. One day I searched that library for even one book or one chapter, and finally in desperation even one paragraph, discussing the “pastoral” concept from a scriptural or theological view. I have never found that book, nor chapter, nor page, nor paragraph on the subject. The pastor is just there. As far as I can discover no one has ever tried to prove or disprove, question, or even discuss the pastoral concept and practice, either theologically or scripturally.

Gene Edwards
A Plea for Church Life: Getting to the Bottom of Church Problems (p. 23-25)

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06/11/2023

“Maturity” Has Now Come

Even Paul could speak of a time when his knowledge was based on an “installment” yet later he was able to recognize the facts. Even while writing this epistle he could say:

“At present we are observing by means of a mirror, in an enigma, yet then, face to face. At present I know out of an instalment, yet then I shall recognize as I am recognized also” (I Corinthians 13:12).

But now "maturity" has come (Ephesians 4:13):

“Unto the end that we should all attain to the unity of the faith and of the realization of the son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the complement of the Christ.”

A.E. Knoch (1874-1965)
“Material Mirrors of Spiritual Truth”
Unsearchable Riches
Volume 48 (1957)

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05/11/2023

Busy Doing the Lord’s Work

We’ve heard the typical statement from believers that they want to be “busy doing the Lord's work.” Many struggle with trying to find out just what that work is, so they “busy” themselves with their involvement in many activities revolving around their participation in their “church’s” calendar of “events.”

But in considering just what is “the Lord’s work,” Paul told the Philippians that “... it is God which works in you ...” (2:13). What this implies is that if there is any work to be done, then it is not the believer who should be doing it – God is already doing the work! So what is “the Lord's work?” The Lord’s work is Him working in the believer!

We have a tendency to over-analyze and try to come up with the details, i.e., the why, how and wherefore of whatever it is about God that we want to understand. But that is a lot of “work.” What we should be “doing” is just believing – believing what God said, and trusting that He is doing whatever He is doing in us.

When we “busy” ourselves in the struggle to know/try/do the Lord’s will, we insert ourselves into the vicious cycle of feelings of frustration and failure that are the inevitable result of self-effort, which only gets in the way of the true work of the Lord.

But God has really made it quite easy to know just what it is He is doing, just what His work is. The rest of the verse tells us that God is working in us “to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Wow! That is easy. It doesn’t say that He is working in the believer to go on Tuesday night visitation, or attend Wednesday night prayer vigils, or participate in Thursday night choir practice, or even, dare we say, go to “church.”

So if we have a desire (will) to accomplish something (do) in our lives, and it is done in faith and love ensuring that it doesn’t hurt anyone (Romans 13:10), then it is God who has given that to us, and then what we do will please God. This is Christ living out His life in the believer. Isn’t that a wonderful thing, to know that we are pleasing God in this manner, that God takes delight, pleasure and satisfaction in us when we believe, trust and rest in His work?

It really is o.k. to do things, when we acknowledge that God is God, and that He is the one directing our lives (c.f. Proverbs 3:6). Let’s get out of God’s way, so to speak, so that His work can finally be accomplished in our lives.

It’s so much easier to leave the details to God, and let Him “worry” about being busy doing His own work. That way we can rest, and enjoy our lives. If we need to know something, let’s allow God to reveal it to us in His own time and manner.

As it has been said, quit trying, and start trusting. Let God work out the details, and begin enjoying your life in Him.

André Sneidar

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04/11/2023

No Creature Can Hinder God’s Plans

I no longer believe that God ever did create a being that was capable of hindering or frustrating any of His loving plans or purposes, and they that believe Satan ever accomplished anything along that line know not God, and many, very many, who profess to love and serve Him are actually ignorant of His wisdom, power, and love.

Thomas E. McDaniel
Unsearchable Riches
Volume 22, 1931

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03/11/2023

Knowing Even as We Are Known

"For out of an instalment are we knowing, and out of an instalment are we prophesying. Now whenever maturity may be coming, that which is out of an instalment shall be discarded" (I Corinthians 13:9-10, CV).

Here we have the revelation concerning two eras of time and the respective degree of knowledge and recognition possessed and enjoyed in each. The time of minority or immaturity, when believers knew only out of “parts” or “instalments” of God’s spiritual endowments, apportionments of graces and the preparatory epistles of the Scriptures which they had received “in that era,” in contrast with the time when that which is “perfect,” fully developed, finished, “maturity” CAME, as a result of the revelation of “the SECRET,” which “filled up” or “completed” the Word of God, thus making it possible for them to “know even as also we are, known,” with full assurance of understanding and realization in our pre-eonian designation and sonship, our holy calling and justification, our conciliation and peace with God, our transcendent grace and spiritual blessings, in Christ, our Celestial allotment and destiny, our heavenly citizenship and future glory!

Adlai Loudy (1893-1984)
Unsearchable Riches
Volume 38 (1947)

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02/11/2023

Traditions of the Pharisees

Persons imbued with false traditions come to Scripture with minds filled with the inventions, fabrications and imaginations of man; and can, of course, see nothing but their own traditions apparently sanctioned by our Lord. But when we read passages in the light of the whole Word of God, and especially in the light of the context, we see in it the traditions of the Pharisees, which were “highly esteemed among men,” but were “abomination in the sight of God."

E.W. Bullinger (1837-1913)
The Rich Man and Lazarus

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01/11/2023

Knowledge Puffs Up

Knowledge puffs up. Love builds up. Almost every advance in the knowledge of God has resulted in an arrogant, self-assertive division among His saints. We witness the sad spectacle of the followers of Christ divided into hostile camps, each proclaiming its own superiority and relegating the rest to an inferior position. Each claims a monopoly of His grace, because of some fancied attainment in faith or faithfulness. Let no one imagine that a knowledge of the mystery is requisite in order to receive its benefits. If that were so, how few would ever find the place prepared for them by God!

A.E. Knoch (1874-1965)
Unsearchable Riches Vol. 59

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31/10/2023

When the Goal Is Attained

“For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).

In the issues of God’s dispensations there can be no permanent ill. He is absolutely good. Of Him are all things, through Him are all things, and to Him are all things (Romans 11:36).

When the goal is attained, all will be well. When our visions are unsealed by the life immortal, we shall perceive that what our finite sense termed ill in this life was but a necessary part of the great and wonderful plan of human redemption.

Adoniram J. Patterson (1827-1909)
Voices of the Faith (1887) Page 112

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30/10/2023

God is Not a Loser!

To those who may still think that God can ever be a Loser, that He may lose a part, and a large part, of His own kin (Acts 17:29), I would say solemnly, “Harden not your heart!” Perfect Love can never lose those whom He loves (I Corinthians 13:8).

Alexander Thomson (1889-1966)
Author of How Eternity Slipped In: Or, Whence Eternity?

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29/10/2023

Emancipation and Freedom

The organization is not the ecclesia. The denomination is not the ecclesia. If we see the ecclesia we will not be able to stay in the “church” long – it simply becomes an untenable position. An untenable position is one that you can not live with.

Someone who has seen the ecclesia and is paying the price to remain on that ground has found in his own personal life an emancipation and a freedom that he did not dream existed. The limitation, the smallness of Christianity and its conception of God’s purpose simply break forth into something limitless and expansive.

Floyd Police
The Great Mystery, pp. 3, 4
Adapted

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27/10/2023

God’s Time for Israel Is Yet Future

The Jews want to be a nation at a time when God does not want them to be one. … A great deal of the trouble of today is due to the fact that this nation which God does not want to have power, is trying to get it. … It is not in accordance with the mind of God. God’s time is future, but they have underground methods.

A.E. Knoch (1874-1965)
Unsearchable Riches, Volume 38, 1945

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24/10/2023

How Many Has the Father Given Jesus?

“Ask of Me, and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession” (Psalm 2:8).

We find by reference to, the language of the Psalmist, that Jesus, as a moral ruler, is in possession of all things or all men.

“The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand” (John 3: 35).

Now Jesus positively declare,

“All that the Father giveth Me, shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).

How many had the Father given him? ALL.

Then ALL will finally come to Christ.

Jesus continues in the following verses:

“For I came down from heaven not to do Mine own will but the will of Him that sent Me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day” (:38-40).

Here then we see, first, Christ in possession of all men. Second, all are to come to Him. Third, He will lose none which God hath given Him; but, fourth, will raise them up at the last day. And what is all this but Universalism?

Dr. George W. Quinby (1810-1884)
The Salvation of Christ
or a Brief Exposition and Defense of Universalism
Daily Email Goodies

George Washington Quinby, D.D. (Bates College) was a minister, author, editor and publisher. His Universalist periodicals included The Star in the West, Trumpet and Freeman, and Gospel Banner. He conducted his expansive work in Maine (North Yarmouth, Livermore, S**o, and Augusta), Massachusetts (Taunton), Ohio (Cincinnati) and Connecticut (Bridgeport and Middletown).

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23/10/2023

Thorough Investigation Will Expose Error

I have received many letters containing objections, suggestions and questions, which I shall endeavor to answer in due time. I am always glad to receive such letters, when written in the right spirit, as I do not expect that readers will accept everything that appears in the paper unquestioned, nor would I have them do so, but rather “let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”

Not infrequently great light is brought out by questions or objections; the truth never can be harmed in this way; thorough investigation will expose error, but it will make the truth shine brighter and brighter.

Arthur P. Adams (1847-1925)
The Spirit of the Word

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22/10/2023

Our Attitude Toward Those Who Differ With Us

What should our attitude be toward our kindred in Christ who differ with us on this question? Above all, it should be an attitude of love and respect. Certainly, this should never be a barrier to fellowship…

Let us who rejoice in the revelation given by the risen Christ to the Apostle Paul not try to force our thinking on one another in these matters in which we may differ, but rejoicing in the many, many truths we hold in common…

At the same time, let us continue to study in love as the noble Bereans, the things on which we differ.

R. B. Shiflet (1919-2012)
The Lord’s Supper

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21/10/2023

The Adjusting of the Saints

The inauguration of the present administration of God’s grace brought many changes with it. This called for an adjusting of the saints, in the language of inspiration (Ephesians 4:12). It is figuratively presented as the change from minority to manhood (Ephesians 4:13; I Corinthians 13:10). The new celestial destiny severed the saints from earthly, physical blessing, which they had enjoyed as guests of Israel’s covenants.

A.E. Knoch (1874-1965)
Rooted and Grounded in Love
page 314

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20/10/2023

Faithful to Our Home Government

We are strangers and sojourners in a foreign land and in the usurper's kingdom; and if faithful to our home government, we will not be very welcome nor popular in the enemy's country.

Our citizenship is in the heavenlies (Philippians 3:20).
Our blessings are in the heavenlies (Ephesians 1:3).
Our position is in the heavenlies (Ephesians 2:6).
Our warfare is in the heavenlies (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Paul was an ambassador in chains (Ephesians 6:20; Colossians 4:18). He told us to hold forth the word of light and life (Philippians 2:16). We are to be as sons of God, without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, shining as luminaries in the world (Philippians 2:14-15). We serve the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:24), Lord of Heaven and Earth (Colossians 1:16), who will put all under His feet (Philippians 2:9-11; Ephesians 1:10).Therefore we fight from victory and not for victory.

God’s Word prepares and fits us for every good work (which God makes ready beforehand, that we should be walking in), for every trial and temptation, and for every assault of the enemy (Ephesians 6:17). If we study it, and rightly divide it, we are skillful workmen and approved of God (II Timothy 2:15).

Dr. George Ames Barrett (1869-1942)
Unsearchable Riches
Volume 13 (1922)
(Edited excerpt)

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19/10/2023

Faith In God’s Goodwill

“…Good will toward men” (Luke 2:14).

“…It is your Father’s good pleasure…” (Luke 12:32).

“…According to the good pleasure of His will” (Ephesians 1:5).

“…According to His good pleasure” (Ephesians 1:9,10).

“…His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

The good pleasure of the Lord is a tremendous thing. The Gospel is “good news.” It is the spirit, the attitude, the mind of God toward us that is the thing of importance – His goodwill.

God’s attitude toward us is a “goodwill” attitude, in a very vast and full way. Many an adversity, but the goodwill is looking over it all and following the whole course. I can say this out of my own coward heart, that knows only too well what it means to wonder whether the will of God is always good. What begins with goodwill (“good will toward men”) develops and unfolds to a vast fullness encompassing all ages - “the good pleasure of His will.”

T. Austin-Sparks (1888-1971)
A Witness and a Testimony
March-April 1954, Vol. 32-2
Volume 87

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18/10/2023

The Mind of Heaven

"If ye, then, be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Mind the things above, not the things on the earth; for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:1-3).

The system of things on the Earth is the subject of the long-suffering and forbearance of God. How needful for us thus to be heavenly-minded, and to bear with it as God does; not avenging ourselves, and showing the same grace towards it that He shows. Here, truly, is the wonderful glory of the Mind of Heaven – the power to endure.

"Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, humbleness of mind, forbearance and longsuffering" (Colossians 3:12).

This is the Mind of Heaven.

Thomas Newberry (1811-1901)
Editor of The Newberry Bible
Bible Subjects for the Household of Faith, Volume 1, 1863

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17/10/2023

The Lord Is Good to All

“The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works” (Psalm 145:9).

God is glorified when His love, goodness, mercy and grace are proclaimed; when His goodness is seen to embrace all; His grace shown to abound “much more” than sin; His mercy declared to “triumph over judgment,” and His love known to be, not simply one divine attribute among many, but the very essence of His Being, the motivating principle and power behind all His works (Psalm 145:9; Romans 5:20-21; James 2:13; I John 4:8,16).

Anthony Johnson
The Larger Hope

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16/10/2023

Invincible Love

How invincible is the love of Christ! Death might take away Christ’s life – but not His love! Neither can our sin wholly quench that divine flame of love.

That which makes this love of Christ the more stupendous – is that there was nothing in us to excite or draw forth His love! He did not love us because we were worthy – but by loving us He made us worthy!

Thomas Watson (1620-1686)
A Treatise Concerning Meditation

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15/10/2023

All Things Are of God

"All things are of God" (II Corinthians 5:18).

There is no statement in the Bible, that was made by an apostle, that is more remarkable and even startling than this statement. When you think of it seriously, it seems as though Paul was very unguarded and careless in his language. We are apt to think that he ought to have modified and limited it in some way, such as, for instance, all good things are of God; but no, Paul makes the sweeping, unqualified statement, “All things are of God.”

Furthermore, so important did Paul consider this truth that he repeats it over and over again. The direct statement is made no less than six times in the writings of the apostle:

“For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things” (Romans 11:36).
“There is but one God, the Father, of Whom are all things“ (I Corinthians 8:6).
“All things are of God” (I Corinthians 11:12).
“All things are of God” (II Corinthians 5:18).
“Him Who works all things after the counsel of His Own will” (Ephesians 1:11).
“For Whom are all things, and by Whom are all things” (Hebrews 2:10).

Now, was the apostle careless and a little too bold in these utterances, or did he mean just what he said, and are they true, taken full strength? I say, without any hesitation, yes, to the two latter questions. The more we learn (the more revelation) of God’s works and ways the more we shall understand that in a sense absolutely “All things are of God.”

Arthur P. Adams (1847-1925)
The Purposes of God and True Basis of Redemption

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13/10/2023

Commencement – Continuation - Consummation

The Scriptures reveal a commencement with all out of God; a continuation with God over all; and a consummation with God All in all.

"Out of Him and through Him and for Him is all" (Romans 11:36).

"God and Father of all, Who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:6).

"Then comes the consummation … when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be All in all" (I Corinthians 15:24-28).

This truth revolutionizes our conception of God. It throws light on the meaning and purpose of this trouble-filled life. It makes a new book out of the Bible.

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11/10/2023

What Is Punishment?

“Punishment” is a word I have come to hate, for men have so fearfully misused it of God’s operations. Once we see that all of God’s dealings are with a view to the eventual reconciliation of all, the idea of punitive retribution, introduced by corrupt theology, will become abhorrent. We must remember that the object of all of God’s operations are rooted in love and fruited in reconciliation. If God is love, He cannot be orthodox. Before there can be a universal reconciliation, each one must be set right with God, and this is accomplished at the judging. Such indeed is the true meaning of judgment.

A.E. Knoch (1874-1965)
The Problem of Evil, pages 231-236

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10/10/2023

Difficult Places

It is a very simple life when the one fact has laid hold of our hearts that Christ lives in us. Whatever situation we are in, we are then able to look away from it and recognize in faith that the Lord Himself has put us there, and is revealing Himself through us in it. He puts us in difficult places and with difficult people, so that He can love them through us. We are forced to keep seeing God working all out in perfect love, even when the externals are so imperfect.

Norman P. Grubb (1895-1993)
Notes from Norman

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09/10/2023

The Old Gnostic Heresy

There is an alarming and wide spreading recrudescence of the old gnostic heresy which teaches that matter is essentially evil and that those who are spiritual must ignore or seek release from the body. This scourge seems to be a punishment which falls on orthodoxy because of its spiritualistic teaching that man can live without a body. ... Any piety that belittles or degrades the body is fraudulent and unspiritual. The body is for the Lord, and not to be discarded.

George L. Rogers (1869-1947)
Unsearchable Riches, Volume 27

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