22 December 1892, Volume 12, Number 51.

How Teachest Thou?

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“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” Isa. 65:9.

The sinner sins with every breath,
His life is swallowed up in death;
And as he sins, he onward goes
To reap the fruit of what he sows.
His sinful nature reasons thus:
“I claim no power, I make no fuss.
If I’m a sinner here below.
Why did the Maker make me so:
He made me noting but a man:
I mean to do the best I can:
As I your faith do not posses,
I’ll take my chance, and not profess.”
Now see if what you say is true:
How much did Adam look like you:
God made the first a perfect man:
Square up in measure if you can,
Then hear that just and awful cry,
“The soul that sinneth it shall die!”
It was because of Adam’s fall
That Jesus gave his life for all.
Another step, and         find
A sinner of another kind,
Who holds the Bible, but his words
Are all tied up with sectish cords.
This Pharisee, of great repute,
Has found for faith a substitute;
Theology he claims is better:
Because he only sees the letter.
He preaches smooth and sings quite sweet,
Then sinks into a cushioned seat
To oversee the social spree, –
This great and modern Pharisee.
And still we meet another kind,
With trich and error both combined,
In the little letters of A B C,
Without the remaining twenty-three;
He teaches what he knows quite well.
But of the best he falls to tell,
Because his eyes can only see
His A B, ab’s, and A B C.
A lesson I might here conceal,
Unless my secret I reveal:
Repentance teachers would do right
If they would teach the second light;
Alas! too many fail to see
The light that sets the captive free.
Praise God! the truth the world must know,
Which now is living to and fro;
The truth, the world must understand,
Is spreading fast, o’er sea and land.
God sends a tried and chosen few
Who gladly will his bidding do;
No cushioned pew is their retreat,
No velvet carpet for their feet:
But thorus and briers felt instead,
Like those which crowned the Savior’s head.
In this God’s little ones rejoice,
Because it was their Master’s choice.
I feel inclined to close this rhyme.
And take it up another time;
But not before I praise the Lord
For the plain teaching of his word.
And for the light and liberty
Which he this moment gives to me;
All praise belongs to Christ his Son,
Who in my heart a work hath done.

Emma I. Coston.

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State and a Place.

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A brother having discovered that all the elements of heaven are found in the possession of holiness, has arrived at the conclusion that heaven is a state, and not a place, at all. But, a more careful study re­veals the fact that holiness is the heaven state, but heaven itself the heaven location. Hence, we read;

And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance, among all them which are sanctified. — Acts 20:32.

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. — Acts 26:18.

Here is an inheritance entered in this life by faith, and it is found in the grace of entire sanctification. It is the “inheritance of the saints in light.” — Col. 1:12.

Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purpos­ed in himself: That in the dispensa­tion of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated ac­cording to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. — Eph. 1:9-11.

There was a great mystery, sacred truth, that was hidden in the past ages, which God has now made known to us “in the dispensation of the full­ness of the times,” i.e., the finishing dis­pensation of time. And the great and marvellous fact that God would gather all things into one, both things in heaven and on earth; and this oneness is in Christ, and of course only extends to the things in heaven and earth that are in him. “In whom also we have obtained an inherit­ance.” That is plain; we have al­ready obtained this inheritance.

We find in a covenant that God made with Abraham, he promised him a numerous seed, even exceed­ing the stars of heaven and the sands of the sea-shore. Again he promis­ed to give to him and to his seed all the land of Canaan for an everlast­ing possession. Now, who are the seed, the heirs of that promise, and what is contained in the promise? dear the Word:

That is, They which are the child­ren of the flesh, these are not the children of the promise are counted or the seed. — Rom. 9:8.

Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Ab­raham, who is the father of us all. — Rom. 4:16.

Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the child­ren of Abraham. — Gal. 3:7.

And if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs accord­ing to the promise. — Gal. 3:29.

The literal seed of Abraham, “the children of the flesh,” as such, are not the seed to whom this promise extends, but the children of the promise. A seed who like Isaac their type, were born by a supernat­ural power. When Abraham and his wife were both beyond natural ability to bring forth offspring, God promised them a son. Abraham believed God and that faith was count­ed unto him for righteousness, and as the result of his faith Isaac was born. So, according to this striking figure, we also believed God, and a spiritual birth, resulting in righteousness, followed. So, in this covenanted seed “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male or female: for we are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” — Gal. 3:28, 29. Now, the only prom­ise made to Abraham’s seed in that covenant, was, that to Abraham and his seed should be given all the land of Canaan for an everlasting posses­sion. Now, the seed being spiritual, the promised land is also spiritual, and Abraham seemed to so under­stand it. In fact, the promise was never fulfilled to him in a literal manner. Hence we read:

And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. – Act. 7:5.

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. — Heb. 11:9, 10.

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having pro­vided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be me perfect. — Heb. 11:39, 40.

Though God had promised Abra­ham an inheritance in Canaan, it is recorded that “He gave them none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on.” Both he and Isaac and Jacob who were heirs with him to the same promise, all sojourn­ed in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in taber­nacles, etc. “These all received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us.’’ All this shows that the promise made to the seed of Abraham, is the peculiar her­itage of this dispensation. We say Abraham so understood it, hence never accused God of failing to make good his promise, but he “looked for a city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” He seemed to know that the promise re­lated to the then coming city of God, and the apostle says in the next chapter of Hebrews, “But ye — in the new covenant — are come unto mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, *** to the gen­eral assembly and church of the first­born which are written in heaven.” Thus it is they believed the promise, but “received not the promise,” God having provided something better for us. So the city that Abraham looked for, as the place where the promised inheritance should be realized, is the church of the firstborn, the New Je­rusalem, which is the “Bride, the Lamb’s wife.” Rev. 21:9, 10.

We have seen, in Acts, that the in­heritance is found among them who are sanctified by faith. But entire sanc­tification is wrought by the Holy Spir­it, Rom. 15:16, 1 Thess. 2:13, and is identified with the full possession of the Spirit. Hence we read that “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: * * * that the blessing of Abraham —  promised to Abraham and his seed —  might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Here the promise of Ca­naan is defined as the “promise of the Spirit.”

Now, this inheritance, we have seen, we enter now and here, and it is nothing but holiness of heart and life in Christ Jesus, the beautiful “in­heritance of the saints in light.”

But again we read in 1 Pet. 1:3-5 that we who are “kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time,” have a lively hope, of “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heav­en for us. How is this? An in­heritance here and now, and yet an inheritance awaiting us in heav­en? Are there, then, two inheritances? No. The inheritance here, is holi­ness, the heaven state; that reserved in heaven for us is the heaven loca­tion, or heaven itself. The heaven of heavens which is the final reward, and everlasting abode of the saints, maybe summed up in two things. First, the heavenly nature, which is perfect holiness, second, the heaven place, the abode of the angels. It is clear that without the first, the second never could be enjoyed. And, it is thus, that “Heaven comes down to the sanctified wholly.” Holiness is really the very element and atmo­sphere of heaven, and therefore heaven’s life and nature comes down to men on earth, as a qualification to enter heaven.

Parallel with the inheritance here and the inheritance hereafter, we have a new heaven here in God’s church and yet a new heaven and a new earth after the present earth is burned upon Rev.21:1-5, 9, 10, the new heaven and the new earth are indentified with the “New Jerusalem,” the “holy Jerusalem” which came down from God out of heaven, and which is the “Bride, the Lamb’s wife,” which, of course, is the church.

In Isa. 65:12-18, the new heavens and the new earth appears when the Jewish nation was “numbered to the sword” and “bowed down to the slaughter” and “left their name for a curse” and a new church was creat­ed. “For behold, I create new heav­ens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and re­joice forever in that which I create, for, behold, I create Jerusalem a re­joicing and her people a joy.” This is plain. The new heavens and the now earth are a new Jerusalem, and a new people in it. This is nothing more nor less than an entirely new dispensation, new church, new cove­nant, and a new people. Jerusalem was once the place of God’s dwell­ing. His church is now his dwelling place on earth, hence, it is a new Jerusalem. The literal and the spiritual cities sustaining the relation of type and anti-type. After bring­ing to view the new heavens and new earth and associating it with the new Jerusalem, God’s church, in Rev. 21: “He that sat upon a throne said, Be­hold, I make all things new.” Verse 5. Where is this fulfilled? Find the answer in 2 Cor. 5:17, 18. “There­fore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are pass­ed away; behold, all things have be­come new.” “And all things are of God.” This is a God-created city, for, “behold, I create new heavens and a new earth.” “Be glad and re­joice forever in that which I’ create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a re­joicing and her people a joy.” It is a fact that salvation makes us a new people and its glory makes the very heavens over our head, and the earth around us new; invests the entire creation of God with a new beauty. Everything is so changed in us that everything seems changed about us. So, it is all in Christ Jesus that old things have passed away and all things have become new. The New Jerusalem, new heaven, is the new church that Jesus founded on the rock. So, “Mount Sion” “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusa­lem, the general assembly and church of the firstborn” all mean the same thing, the divine church under the “new covenant.” Read Heb. 12:22- 24. And in Isa. 65 and Rev. 21, the new Jerusalem is identified with the new heavens and new earth. So we are already in the new heavens and new earth, since in Christ, all things have become new. But, in 1 Pet. 3, we read, “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens — the atmosphere — shall pass away with great noise and the elements —  the material of this earth — shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also and the works that are therein, shall be burned up.” Even “the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” Take notice, it does not say this earth will only be burned over and purified by fire and then become a new earth with new heavens for the saints’ final abode. But “all these things shall be dissolved,” “melted” and “burned up,” and elsewhere we are told they shall “pass away.” The language is too plain to be misunderstood. The entire elements of this earth shall be burned. And astronomy reveals the fact that occasionally just such things have occurred. Planets have been seen to take fire, burn out, disappear and leave their former space a vac­uum. That is exactly the doom an­nounced for this oursin-cursed world. But, after the above announcement respecting the elements melting and burning up, Peter says, Neverthe­less we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

What, ye ask again, does this mean? A new heaven and new earth here and now in Christ Jesus and one to be looked for after the pres­ent heavens — atmosphere — and earth are burned up? This is the same lesson over again that we had on an inheritance now, and one to be en­tered hereafter. The new heaven and the new earth now enjoyed are God’s New Testament church where­in we are “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created us.” That is the heaven state. And that which the faithful shall enter af­ter judgment is the actual located leaven. Its representation by the terms “new heaven and new earth” simply means a new mode of exist­ence. Our past life on earth was a sinful and unholy one, but the won­derful grace of God put us into an entirely new state, morally a new mode of existence. Our present place of literal dwelling is this earth and heaven — atmosphere — but when time shall have ended, we will rise to a new and heavenly location, a new plane and mode of existence, called new heaven and new earth, because those contain our present idea of a sphere of habitation.

Yes, there is a heaven, and the whole scriptures point us upward to that celestial place as our final and eternal abode. So, while holiness represents the moral nature of heav­en, there is an actual place where holiness reigns without an opposite element, and where all the redeemed shall enjoy the presence and glory of God forever. Heaven is a place as well as a state. Elijah and Enoch as­cended into heaven; Christ also as­cended into heaven. Now, these did not all ascend into a state, but into a place. Stephen “saw heaven open­ed.” Not a state, but a place. The saints are made kings and priests un­to God. now, and they “reign in life.” Rom. 5:17. But when Christ comes, they shall be caught up to meet him, so shall they ever be with him. Noth­ing is said about their return to earth after that, but they shall ever be with Christ above.

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Pierce City, Mo.

Dear Readers of the Trumpet: I feel led of the Lord to write a few lines to you all, telling you I am praising God with full assurance of faith, knowing that I am now enjoy­ing the blessing of holiness, and have been for three years or upwards. And it is nothing within myself only a willing mind to obey God and step out on the promises. I offered my body a living sacrifice to God upon the altar, and the altar sanctified the gift. I was then made a new creature in Christ Jesus. Praise God for ever and ever! I am now on my way re­joicing, having victory over the flesh and the devil, and all that is not like God. I can now glorify God in this body and spirit which are his, for I am not my own; I am bought with a price, which is the precious blood of Jesus. Oh how I do love the truth, the truth as it is in Jesus!

Your sister saved and sanctified,

Elizabeth Hand.

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