1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

To walk being dead in trespasses and sins, is to live according to the course of this world. So says the apostle (Eph. 2:1-2). The course of the world is according to the thinking of sinful flesh, in whatever way it may be manifested, or expressed. If a man embrace one of the religions of Satan's kingdom, he is still "dead in trespasses and sins," and walks according to the course of the world. In brief, any thing short of faith in the gospel of the kingdom, and obedience to the Iaw of faith, is walking according to the course of the world.

To walk in sin is to walk in this course.

Elpis Israel Ch 3

2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

The "power of the air," or aerial power, is the political power of the world, which is animated and pervaded by the spirit of disobedience, which is in the flesh; and styled above, the prince of the power ot the air. This is that prince of whom Jesus spoke, saying,

"'Now is the condemnation (krisiv) of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out" (John 12:31),

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto Me. This He said, signifying what death He should die."

Elpis Israel 1.3.

There was also here and there a tendency to cater for the public in the matter of worship.‭ ‬Knowledge for the Scriptures will cure this. It may be very "unneighbourly,‭" ‬and to ourselves very unpleasant to forbear to invite the public to worship God, but we must be governed by the statutes of the sanctuary or else drop the service altogether.

The public are unwashed,‭ ‬unjustified, disobedient, unthankful,‭ ‬and unholy. They are unacceptable as worshippers. This is the testimony‭; ‬that "they that are in the flesh, (that is,‭ ‬who have not submitted to the Gospel) cannot please God":‭ ‬that "the whole world lieth in wickedness":‭ ‬that "their sacrifices (that is,‭ ‬their religious performances) are an abomination to Him":‭ ‬that only those who do His will are heard or accepted: that no man cometh to the Father but by the Son, and that no man is in the Son,‭ ‬except the man who has believed the testimony concerning him and taken his name in the way appointed.

Consequently,‭ ‬it is a mockery to invite the public to the exercises of worship. It is not according to enlightment to buy cheap hymn books, or print leaflets and scatter them about on benches as an invitation to the godless public to‭ "‬sing to the praise and the glory of God." What man cares for the benediction of a sinister beggar? How can we expect God to find pleasure in the hollow compliments of the slaves of sin‭?

We must walk as children of the light,‭ ‬however embarrassing. The embarrassment is only temporary. The time will be when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.‭ ‬We shall be permitted to guide the chastened and obedient multitude in their approaches to God in that glad day if we are meanwhile "faithful in the very little" that belongs to our present position.

The Christadelphian, July 1896. p259-266

The Political Aerial or "Air"

The sun, moon, and stars of the aerial, or political expanse, are aggregately styled by Paul "ὁι επουρανιοι," the Heavenlies, whose orbitular revolutions constitute what he also terms, ὁ αιων του κοσμου τουτου, ho Aion tou kosmou toutou, in the English version rendered "the Course of this World;" and as the motive power in these heavenlies is Sin, "the spirit working in the children of disobedience," it is styled ὁ αρχων της εξουσιας του αερος, ho Archon tes exousias tou Aëros, "the Prince of the Dominion of the Air."

Against this Prince or Sin's flesh invested with political authority, the apostle contended in the manner exhibited in Luke's account of his warfare in the Acts. The dealings of the magistrates and rulers before whom he appeared, he styles "the wiles of the Devil;" that is, of this Prince of the Aërial, which reigns in the hearts of all the rebellious.

When Paul pleaded before the Chief Priests and their Council; before the Governors Felix and Porcius Festus; King Agrippa, and the Emperor Cæsar, "he wrestled," as he tells us, "against the principalities, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this Aion (or course of things) against the Spirituals of the wickedness in the heavenlies."

The words "principalities," "authorities," "world-rulers," and "spirituals," are all in apposition, and are expressive of the different orders of men, which constituted then, as they do now, the "things in the heavens."

It was to these that the apostles and the One Body of Christ, composed of obedient believers of the gospel of the Kingdom, were divinely appointed

"to make known the manifold wisdom of God." "Unto me," says Paul, "who am less than the least of all the saints, is this grace given that I should evangelize among the nations the unsearchable riches of the Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which [mystery] has been hid from the Aions [ages of the law] in God, who created all things on account of Jesus Christ; that now might be made known to the principalities and authorities in the heavenlies through the Ecclesia [commonly termed "Church"] the manifold wisdom of God, according to a prearrangement of the Aions, which he made with reference to our Lord Jesus Christ."

What Paul terms "the darkness of this Aion," was the effete Judaism of the Synagogue, and the paganism of the idol temples. There was no light in them, though both forms recognized Immortal Soulism, and Elysian Skyanity! Cæsar and his Proconsuls, Procurators, Governors, Prefects, and such like, were the κοσμοκρατορες, kosmokratores, or world-rulers of the darkness, peculiar to the course of things then existing in the Greco-Roman, or Fourth-Beast, Habitable, styled by the apostle "this Aion."

Mankind living under that dominion, were regarded by God as having their eyes closed, and consequently in darkness; and as darkness or ignorance of God's truth is the power of Satan, or the adversary, by which the Prince of the Air, the spirit inherent and peculiar to human nature, reigns in the hearts of the disobedient, men are regarded in Scripture as under the power of Satan and the Devil.

Opposed to all this is the light, the Gospel of the Kingdom, and styled by Paul the power of God for salvation, or deliverance from the darkness, or power, of the adversary. If this be understood, the beautiful significancy of the saying of the Lord Jesus will be appreciated, when he said to Paul,

"I now send thee unto the nations to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness into light, and from the dominion of the Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins, and inheritance among them that have been sanctified by faith which [leads] into me."

This mission was truly militant. Paul might well call it "the fight of faith," for it brought him into life or death conflict with the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of the Jewish and pagan kosmoi, or constitutions of things, commonly termed worlds. But the most dangerous and perverse of the incarnate wickedness in the Heavenlies, were what he styles τα πνευματικα. ta pneumatika, the Spirituals.

He says, he "wrestled against the Spirituals of the wickedness in the Heavenlies." These were the Jewish priests, rabbinical clergy, and idolatrous sacerdotals of the temples. His divine mission was to emancipate the minds of men from what the spirituals, or ecclesiastics, called "wisdom;" but which Paul termed "foolishness" and "fables"; and James "earthly, soulish [psuchike] and demoniacal" [daimoniodes.]

He sought to turn the people from the clergy; to destroy the influence of these blind guides; to get the people to forsake the synagogues and temples; and to become the illuminati of God, the faithful and obedient believers of his promises in Christ.

As the Spirituals could not maintain their positions by force of argument, and they perceived their congregations sensibly diminishing, and the offerings of the people diverted from their treasuries, they stirred up the world-rulers, the Emperor and his satellites, to persecute him, and all such, to bonds, imprisonment, and death.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Nov 1860

The Political Aerial or "Air" [2 of 3]

The fact that the making known of the manifold wisdom of God to the principalities and authorities in the Heavenlies was committed to the One Body of Christ, is demonstration that those Heavenlies were political, and pertaining to the earth. If they had been things among the stars, or beyond them, how could the ecclesia have made known God's manifold wisdom to them?

Indeed, the wisdom is itself "from above" to the ecclesia, which had the honor assigned it of communicating all that was knowable to the nations, and their ungodly and ignorant "spiritual and temporal" rulers. These civil and ecclesiastical orders, then, were "the things in the heavens," which were then "visible," and which have, in their representatives co-eval with the end, to be reconciled to God.

But "the things in the heavens, whether thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or authorities," which were "visible" in Paul's day, have been superseded by similar institutions, which were "invisible" then. The visible

"heaven departed as a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places."—Rev. 6:14.

New mountain and island thrones and principalities, however, appeared; nevertheless, these heavenly things continued to be manifested as sin's flesh invested with civil and ecclesiastical authority.

The power of the Chief Priests and their Council had been broken by the Greco-Roman army sent against Jerusalem, and in its turn this pagan imperiality had been abolished by the Catholics of the fourth century, who now, by the patronage of the State, became

"the Spirituals of the wickedness in the Heavenlies,"

instead of the image-worshipping sacerdotals, who had preceded them. Since this notable revolution in the Greco-Roman Habitable, still newer "things in the heavens" have appeared; nevertheless, rigidly adherent to the wickedness of their predecessors.

By the close of the seventh century, the ten horns, and the little horn of the West, constituting the Imperio-Regal and Papal Body Politic of Western Europe, were fully developed, and with varied fortune have continued to the present time. These powers, with their emperors, kings, princes, nobles, ecclesiastics, and so forth, forming the orders and degrees of men in spiritual and civil authority, are "the things in the heavens," invisible to Paul, but "visible" to us.

These are the all things in the heavens, which he says, Jesus is to reconcile to God. Col. 1:20. He will reconcile them to God, by hurling the mighty from their thrones, emptying the rich of all their good things, and, having subdued the nations, giving them laws and institutions in harmony with his will.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Nov 1860

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Bible deliverance from Adamic inheritance is future.‭ ‬Thus Paul exclaimed,‭ "‬Who‭ ‬shall deliver me‭"? ‬when speaking of the state into which he was born.

‭"‬By nature children of wrath.‭"‬ True‭! ‬But what does Paul mean‭? ‬Does he mean that God is angry with us as soon as we are born‭? ‬The very text in which the phrase occurs excludes such an unreasonable doctrine‭ (Eph. ii. 3)‬.‭

He speaks of‭ "‬Lusts of the flesh,‭" "‬desires of the flesh,‭" "‬desires of the mind,‭" "‬conversation in times past,‭" "‬wherein we walked,‭" "‬the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,‭" ‬all of which have to do with‭ ‬nature,‭ ‬but which require action superadded.‭ ‬Of all sin it may truly be said,‭ "‬it is our nature so to do.‭" ‬We are truly‭ "‬by nature children of wrath,‭" ‬but it is wrath against evil-doing‭; ‬any other wrath is inconceivable.‭"

‭Bro Roberts

Was Jesus born under condemnation?

Answer.—In the scriptural sense of hereditary condemnation, the answer is, yes; but this requires to be fenced against the misunderstanding natural to the terms employed. Condemnation, in its individual application, implies displeasure, which cannot be affirmed of Jesus, who was the beloved of the Father.

But no one is born under condemnation in its individual application. That is, no one is condemned as an individual till his actions as an individual call for it. But hereditary condemnation is not a matter of displeasure, but of misfortune. The displeasure or "wrath" arises afterwards, when the men so born, work unrighteousness.

This unrighteousness they, doubtless, work "by nature," and are, therefore, by nature, children of wrath—that is, by nature, they are such as evoke wrath by unrighteousness. It was here that Jesus differed from all men. Though born under the hereditary law of mortality, as his mission required, his relation to the Father, as the Son of God, exempted him from the uncontrolled subjection to unrighteousness.

The Christadelphian, Nov 1874

The emphasis of Paul's description of the Ephesians as at one time‭ "‬children of wrath" lies—not in the relations that governed their natural birth, but in the principles bearing on them in the lives they lived since that time. A glance at his words will show this.‭

Ye "were dead in trespasses and sins (this is not affirmable of babes, who have not yet transgressed): wherein (that is, in trespasses and sins), ye walked according to the course of this world (this is a line of conduct, and babes are not capable of any line of conduct), according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all (Paul also, whom some doctrines of circumcision would exclude) had our conversation in time past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were, by nature, the children of wrath, even as others, " that is, were in conduct and behaviour, the children of wrath, being of this behaviour by reason of what our nature is; for human nature, left to itself, is dark and disobedient—"enmity against God, not subject to the law of God," as Paul says in Rom. viii. 7.

The wrath is against the unrighteousness of men and not against the helplessness of babes,‭ ‬who are born into a state of evil by reason of the law established in Adam's person, and transmitted to them.

As to the second point,‭ ‬no discerning person would say, without qualification, that "all who continue by nature children of wrath are resurrected."

The quotation of the passage is for the purpose of showing that it is against the unrighteous actions of grown men that God's anger exists,‭ ‬and not against a helpless relation into which they are born. The question of the form this wrath will take, or how far He holds them responsible is governed by other information which limits resurrectional recompense of evil to those who know His will and do it not.

This is according to reason and justice,‭ ‬and conformable with the revealed character of God, "all whose ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity—just and right is He" (Deut. xxxii. 4.)

The Christadelphian, July 1894

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

The New Man - the moral Quickening

The consummation of the judgment of Christ's house indicates the epoch of the third and last stage of the raising process. This crisis is the quickening, by which resurrection is perfected.

The analogy is found in nature, from which its divine Creator selects many processes and principles, which He employs as figures to illustrate His teaching in the word. Thus, in regard to corporeal regeneration, in the process of developing an immortal being from the dust of sheol, the terms expressive of the stages of what may be styled the spiritual gestation are conformed to the phenomena pertaining to the natural.

The same fact obtains in relation to moral regeneration, which must precede in probation, the corporeal in the resurrection state. In the moral process " the New Man " is " begotten," or conceived, when the sinner perceives " the truth as it is in Jesus " ; and he is "quickened "

unto a new and independent life, when the truth works in him to will and to do the good pleasure of Deity.

If he stop short of the quickening in moral or in corporeal gestation, he is a mere abortion; but, if in the moral, the process is matured in a " faith that works by love and

purifies the heart," the immersed believer is addressed in these words, to wit : "And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins . . . He hath quickened you together with Christ " (Ephes. ii. 1, 5).

It will be perceived by the thoughtful, that there is necessarily a marked interval between the moral conception and the quickening of the dead in sin. An unquickened intelligent sinner is a theorist—a speculator in divine thoughts, which have no moral influence over him ; while a quickened sinner has become circumcised of heart and ears, "the workmanship of Deity," "created byknowledge after His own image " (Eph. ii. 10 ; Col. iii. 10).

The moral gestatory order of development, I have said, is in strict conformity with the law of nature. According to this, quickening usually occurs about eighteen weeks after conception. During this interval, the bearer has no direct consciousness of the embryo forming within ; but when quickening occurs, the attention is strongly excited.

Now, the English law recognises the cause of the phenomena of quickening to be, the acquisition of a life by which the foetus might live independent of its bearer. This idea is probably correct; and certainly exact enough to illustrate the phenomena of the moral and corporeal generation of " the new man which, after Deity, is created in righteousness and holiness of the truth " (Eph.iv. 24).

The matrix of this new being is " the heart " of the sinner. " The word of the kingdom " is the incorruptible seed sown into his heart. For some time, he has no direct consciousness that a new creature is forming within him. In process of time, however, his attention is strongly excited, and he perceives that he carries within him new ideas, aspirations, and feelings, to which, before he began to read and study the Word, he was an entire stranger.

These are a new creation ; and, if they do not prove abortive, will ultimate in the development of the incorruptible and immortal man : for this new corporeal being is originally quickened by the truth, or spirit and-life Word, in the heart of the Old Man (John vi. 63).

" It is the spirit that quickeneth, and the words which I speak unto you, spirit is and life is. This is true, whether the quickening be moral or corporeal; in the former case, the quickening

power is in divine ideas, of which " the words " are the signs ; while in the latter, the quickening power is what philosophers would term electrical.

Anastasis

7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Glad Tidings of Great Joy to all People

The Bible reveals a coming age (Eph. 2:7, ) in which the government of mankind will be solely vested in Jesus Christ (Ps. 2:8; Zech. 14:9; Acts 17:31; Rev. 11:15): who will be personally present on the earth to administer the functions of his high position (Job 19:25; Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:11); and it sets forth that everything wrong will then be put right (Ezek. 21:27; Ps. 45:6; 72.; Jer. 23:5; Acts 17:31; Rev. 19:2).

Men will universally be brought to submit, with bended knee and confessing tongue to the sovereign supremacy of God, and to do His will even as it is done in heaven, (Ps. 72:9; 99:1; 102:15; Jer. 16:19; Isa. 60:12; 2:11; 1 Cor. 15:24, 25).

They will be influenced to abandon hatred and selfishness, and to show mutual goodwill, which will become the order of the day (Isa. 11:13; 26:9–12; Zech. 8:16 to end; Luke 2:14).

The oppressor will be destroyed and the downtrodden set free (Ps. 72:9–12; 37; Isa. 14:4; 16:5; Luke 1:5–53). The arrogant and the proud will be driven from the high places of the earth, and replaced by the meek and the needy, who will have undergone previous preparation for the position (Isa. 2:17; Ps. 2:9; 94:2; 76:9, 12; Rev. 2:26, 27; 17:14; Jas. 2:5; Matt. 21:43; 2 Tim. 2:12).

Ignorance and debasement will give way before the spreading glory of the Lord, which will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Isa. 33:3; 4:5; Ps. 113:3; Jer. 31:34; Isa. 2:2–3; 59:19; Mal. 1:11). The people shall learn Yahweh's ways, and no more walk in the imagination of their evil hearts (Isa. 60:21; Ps. 2:1; Ezek. 37:24: Luke 1:51).

Truth and righteousness, abounding like a mighty stream, shall sweep away the subterfuges and hypocrisies of the present time (Am. 5:24; Hab. 2:14; Zech. 13:3–4; Isa. 61:11: 11:9: 1:29).

In a word the effulgent rising of the son of righteousness will dissipate the shades of night which have so long brooded over the world, and restore the day for ever (Mal. 4:2; Isa. 60:1–2 3–20; 2 Peter 1:19; Rev. 21:22–25; 22:5–16).

This coming age is heralded on almost every page of the Bible. Moses (Deut. 32:36–43), the prophets (Dan. 2:44; 7:18–27; Joel 3:16; Obad. 21; Zeph. 3:8; Hag. 2:6–7; Hos. 3:5, and the apostles (Acts 3:19–24; 10:42–3; 17:31; 28:23:) all unite in sounding its prophetic fame, and their report reaches down to this late generation, yet its approach is almost unknown.

A shapeless tradition, that a good time is coming, is all the trace that can be discovered in Christendom of the glorious and the definitely worded proclamation of heaven's messengers. How lamentable that God's promises should be so little understood and appreciated!

The change is near, even at the door, "The times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24) have nearly run their course. The gathering storms of the political atmosphere, co-incident with the expiry of the prophetic periods (Ps. 102:13; Hab. 2:3; Dan. 8:19; 7:25; 8:13 14; 12:11; Rev. 9:2; 12:14), are a sure omen that the close of this dispensation is at hand; and that the present generation may witness the unparalleled judgments by which the kingdoms of this world are to be wrested from the powers that be, and transferred to "that man whom God hath appointed."

The Christadelphian, June 1871

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Paul tells them who are being saved, that it is "by the favour of God they are saved through the faith;" and that the saving through the faith was not their own work; but "the gift of God."

The favour, or grace, of God got at them through that system styled "the faith." They were not being saved by favour without the "one faith;" as though God were partial to them above all other people, and would save them irrespective of what they might believe or do.

No; his favour was communicable to them, as to all others, through a system of means called "the faith;" but then they were not to suppose that in believing in "the faith," and subjecting themselves to its divine influence, they were saving themselves by a righteousness of their own:—ουκ εξ ῾υμων, not of yourselves, but of God; or, in the words of David,

"Not unto us, O Yahweh, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake."

This was a very necessary intimation, as there were many in those days as well as in these who seemed to think that because they did what was granted them to do, they were performing very meritorious acts, whereby they were entitled to salvation as a divine obligation due to them. This was falling into the old error of the Jews, who went about to establish a righteousness of their own. But says the apostle in Tit. 3:5,

"It is not on account of works the which we have done for righteousness, but according to his mercy he saved us."

There is no room, then, for boasting; for it is excluded by the law of faith which justifies a man without recognizing expiation [atonement] for his sins in any of his deeds.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Mar 1857

The sentiment that Christ's righteousness alone is to be the basis of our acceptance., is one of the countless and pernicious corruptions of clerical theology. It doubtless originated in the misapplication of a certain element of apostolic truth, namely, that which informs us that all are under sin, and that our salvation is not of works, but through the righteousness of faith that is in Christ.

Men have long ceased to perceive that this principle applies only to unjustified sinners, and not to those who have been placed in a justified or forgiven position, through the obedience of faith. Christ is righteousness for sinners in this sense, that God offers to forgive them for Christ's sake, and to grant them a co-heirship with Christ, of what Christ as a manifestation of God, has achieved for himself.

But when sinners become saints, they come into relation to a new principle. They are responsible to him as servants to a master, and he will judge them according to their works (Rev. 2:23; Matt. 16:27; 2 Cor. 5:10; Gal. 6:8). If they bring forth fruits to the Spirit -- that is, do and be what the Spirit in the word requires, they will receive everlasting life; and if they bring forth fruits to the flesh -- that is, be and do what the mere natural mind prompts a man to do, they will inherit corruption.

So says the last testimony referred to. Hence it is that the apostles dwell so incessantly and so emphatically on the necessity for brethren to walk as saints, and to be on their guard against conformity to the world, lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:13).

Seasons 1: 35

"Only believe" is one of the demoralising doctrines of the apostacy.

True, we are "saved through faith" (Ephes. 2:8), but not without works. Faith unaccompanied by works will save no one. We have first to believe in God, as he speaks through Christ, the prophets and apostles, and then follow up the belief by an observance of certain clearly revealed commands.

Upon this basis and this basis alone, is the righteousness of Christ imputed and maintained (Rom. 4:24; Jno. 15:10). Works meet for repentance must characterise every stage in a believer's career. We are not asked to render an equivalent (in form of personal holiness) for the blessing offered, but we are asked, nay, imperatively called upon, to give evidence of our faith by works (James 2:14, 20).

Faith logically involves works. What man can claim to believe in Christ and at the same time ignore his will? Imperfect indeed and valueless would be such a faith! The free and easy-going religious world may conscientiously scorn the divine requirement, and ridicule those who contend for it, but infallible are the words:

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

Bro AT Jannaway

The Christadelphian, 1888

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

The Bride

Now there are several important things suggested by the figure which it has pleased the Spirit of God to employ to represent the glorious event of Christ's union with his brethren. We cannot better occupy the time than by dwelling on them. First, marriage is suggestive of a preliminary period marked by the several stages of acquaintance, love and betrothal.

There are all these stages in the history of our connection with Christ. At first, we are "without Christ," a position having "no hope" (Eph. 2: 12). We are ignorant of and uninterested in him, and have no relation to him in any way. We are busy pursuing our own ends, "every one to his own way."

The moment arrives when our attention is arrested, Christ is introduced to our notice. It seems all very accidental and common-place. Could we but see behind the scenes, we might see the situation in a different light. Jesus said to his disciples,

"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you."

If this were true of them, is it not more true of us? It is also written that--

"known unto God are all his works from the beginning,"

and that the saints are--

"the workmanship of God."

If, therefore, we have been "called to be saints," does it not follow that the moment of our acquaintance with Christ was the moment of his beginning to seek us? Granted that unjustified men are not in the precincts of the house of Christ, and therefore outside the purview of his priesthood; yet the house of Christ is made up of men once unjustified, and who calls them from the one state to the other, if not he who testified

"I came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance"?

True, this was said concerning Israel, but afterwards the Gentiles were included in the Shepherd of Israel's solicitations by Paul, who said,

"We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:20).

This was a general seeking - the seeking of a class as such; but every general form of things comprises the detail, and there can be no question that in this matter there is a process of individual selection included in the general work of the truth.

Though many are called to whom Jesus will say at last, "I never knew you"-men gathered in by the work necessary to reach the few chosen vessels, but not contemplated in that work; just as a net let down into the sea to catch a particular kind of fish "encloses all manner of fishes, good and bad"- yet the few whom he will acknowledge in the day of his glory are brought within the power of the Gospel as the result of the ways of Providence.

Jesus is the controller and shaper of these ways, and seeks his sheep on dark mountains. The seeking, though special, is veiled; he brings himself under their notice in a perfectly natural way, through the presentation of the testimony. Men of good and honest heart stumble across the truth, as it appears to them, in a very ordinary way, and at a very common-place moment of their experience.

Seasons 1.81.

11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

In Time Past without Theos

The man whose eyes are open to the past, present and future, walks with a firmer and nobler tread, and is an unspeakably more precious person than those whose minds are walled in, as you might say, by the four walls of our threescore and ten.

Men whose discernments cannot go beyond the facts of the moment, and who have no faith, except in what they can handle, have hold of the short-lived and the transitory. You see how poor such a position is when it comes to an end; for come to an end it must.

All must die in the ordinary course; and when a man is dead, how unimportant the affairs of his closed mortal life appear! They are important enough in their place, when subordinated to the views and demands of wisdom in other relations but how utterly worthless in the day of death if they have been lived for.

This is the case with the majority, because their minds are not in touch with anything else. Their attention is confined to what they can see and hear and feel. If a man let nothing else into his mind than what he can see and hear and feel, he will necessarily be a fool, whatever his natural mental parts may be.

Seasons 2.30

12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

The unjustified man's position

Do what he may, he is debarred from life and joy to come. Nothing he can do, can put him in probation for the kingdom.

He may develop intellect to a high point; he may cultivate the moral faculties to a noble excellence; he may attain to great refinement of thought and manner; he may surround himself with the accessories of affluence; he may attain a world-wide reputation for talent, shrewdness and philanthropy; he may be in favour with admiring crowds on the platform, and make pleasant company to cultivated fellow-sinners at elegant conversaziones and other refined assemblies.

So far as futurity goes, it is all in vain. There is a worm at the root, poison in the blood. He cannot extract it. He cannot avert the law of sin and death. The skull and cross bones are his family crest. Into a coffin he must at last be nailed; down among the worms he must at last be lowered; to a piece of clay he shall turn, and worse than clay, a mass of corruption, from which his warmest friends would recoil in horror.

The way of God alone can justify. That way is revealed in Christ. If they will not hear Christ, corruption is their lot.

‭The Christadelphian, ‬ Sept 1871

The allegorical signification of the sentence upon the serpent kindled the first scintillation of hope in the human heart of the appearance of One who should deliver the world from all its ills, and advance it to a higher state.

The promise of such a personage, and of such a consummation, was the nucleus of that

"faith, which is the assured expectation of things hoped for, and the conviction of things unseen" (Heb. 11:1).

The belief and spiritualising influence of this hope became the ground of acceptance with God in the earliest times. Faith in this promise was established as the principle of classification among the sons of Adam.

Belief in what he promises is belief in God; and its influence upon

"the fleshly tablet of the heart" is most deifying in its effect, making the subject of it "a partaker of the divine nature."

Atheism in its Scriptural import is not the denial of God's existence. None but a fool would say, "there is no God" (Psalm 14:1). It is worse than this. It is to believe that He exists, and yet to treat Him as a liar. To do this, is not to believe His promises; and he that is faithless of these, is "without God," aqeov, i. e. an atheist in the world (Eph. 2:12).

In the beginning, this kind of atheism soon manifested itself in the family of Adam. Cain, who was conceived in sin, true to his paternity, was as faithless of God's word as the serpent; while Abel believed on God. Hence, the apostle says,

"By faith Abel offered unto God more sacrifice (pleiona qusian) than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh" (Heb. 11:3).

This is an important intimation, importing that no religious services are acceptable to God which are not predicated on the belief of His Promises;

"for without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb. 11:6).

Elpis Israel 1.4.

13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

"Our commonwealth subsists in heavens, out of which also we wait for a deliverer, the Anointed Lord Jesus, who shall remodel the body of our humiliation, that it may become conformable to the body of his glory" (2 Cor. v. 1-4; Phil. iii. 20,21).

The beginning of the citizenship is the putting on Christ as the righteousness of the adopted. Hence it is written,

"as many of you (believers) as have been immersed into Christ, have put on Christ"

(Gal. iii. 27).

Christ Jesus who is in the heavens, is "put on" by individuals on earth, who

"believe the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ, and are immersed" (Acts viii. 12).

In doing this, their citizenship begins; and it begins in the heavens, because Christ, whom they put on, is in the heavens.

Eureka 3.1.4.

15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

...the subject of discourse is the abolition of the cause of enmity between Jews and Gentiles, which was "the law of the commandments in ordinances" which prevented peace between them. This ground of enmity he abolished, when by the one offering of his body on the cross, he took it out of the way, and established the "better covenant" which promised good things to Jews and Gentiles upon the same conditions.

If Christ had not died and rose again, the Mosaic law would have continued in force to this day; and there would have been no union of Jews and Gentiles in "one body," and consequently the Gentiles would have continued helplessly,

"without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the Covenants of Promise, having no hope, and without God in the world."

To enable us to get at Christ, by becoming citizens of the Commonwealth of Israel, it was necessary to remove the Mosaic law out of our way, and to introduce another that would be more favourable. By becoming proselytes of Judaism, Gentiles might come to be with Moses, and citizens of Israel's Commonwealth under his law; but as this could not make alive, they would remain under sentence of death; and enjoy nothing beyond the temporal advantages of a residence in the Holy Land in common with the natives.

It could give them no right to be citizens in the Age to Come, and to reign for ever with Messiah over Israel and the nations for a thousand years. This right is derived from that Covenant which Jesus established or confirmed in dying and rising again. If we take hold of it by believing the things promised in it; and also take hold of Him, by faith in him, as the confirming sacrifice, or Mediator, thereof: and become obedient to the "Law of Faith," which commands such believers to be baptized into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we become the children of the covenant; and through Jesus acquire citizenship in the Israelitish Commonwealth of the Age to Come.

... As he comes, however, "without blood" in himself, the redemption he hath purchased by the blood which once flowed in his veins, will be represented by the shedding of the blood of bulls, rams, &c., in the Age to Come.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, December, 1854 •

"Observations on the Sabbath" - Part 4

A standing argument with our opponents is, that the Decalogue has never been repealed. To this I would reply by asking, "Was the Decalogue a part of the Mosaic code?"

If it was, (and surely none will deny this,) then the passages quoted by "Z," in his articles, prove to a demonstration, that the whole law has been abrogated, Eph. 2:15; Col. 2:14–17.

I would here venture to lay down an axiom; and I fearlessly challenge the entire fraternity of Priests and Preachers to impugn or overthrow it. Every part of the Mosaic code has been abrogated, and is no longer binding on men, except any of its requisitions have been reäffirmed by Jesus or his apostles; and have thereby become incorporated into the Christ[adephian] system.

Knowing this axiom to be inexpugnable, I would ask,—Where is the law of the Sabbath, or any part of it, so reäffirmed? It seems to me that there was something more than mere chance, in the fact, that all the other nine are so reäffirmed, but of this one, not a word is said, except to oppose it.

If the reader desire proof of the re-enactment of the other nine, let him open his New Testament at the following places: For the 1st & 2nd Commandments, see 1 John 5:21. For the 3rd see 1 Tim. 4:1. For the 5th see Eph. 4:1; Col. 3:20. For the 6th see 1 John 3:15. For the 7th see Matt. 5:28; Heb. 13:4. For the 8th see Eph. 4:28. For the 9th see Titus 3:2; 2 Tim. 3:3. For the 10th see Luke 12:15; Eph. 5:3. There are a multitude of passages, in which the nine commandments are directly, or indirectly, reäffirmed, but not a syllable to sustain the fourth. Let the Sabbatarian account for this if he can.

- Bro Dabb

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Jan 1859

19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

"Constituted the righteousness of God in Christ."

The "good actions" of a pious sinner are mere "dead works;" for the actions of a sinner to be of any worth in relation to the future state, he must be "constituted righteous;" and this can only be by his coming under a constitution made and provided for the purpose.

A stranger and foreigner from the commonwealth of the States can only become a fellow-citizen with Americans, by taking the oath of abjuration, fulfilling the time of his probation, and taking the oath of allegiance according to the provisions of the constitution.

Now, the Kingdom of God has a constitution as well as the Kingdom of Satan, or that province of it styled the United States. Before sinners come under it, they are characterized as

"without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God (aqeoi atheists) in the world" (Ephes. 2:12, 13, 19).

They are termed "far off," "strangers and foreigners,"

"walking in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of their heart" (Eph. 1:17-18).

But, mark the sacred style descriptive of sinners after they have been placed under the constitution of Israel's Commonwealth, which is the Kingdom of God.

"You that were far off are made nigh by the Word of Christ;" "through Him you have access by one spirit to the Father; and are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God" -- "fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of God's promise in Christ by the gospel" (Eph. 3:6).

In this remarkable contrast is discoverable a great change in state and character predicated of the same persons. How was this transformation effected? This question is answered by the phrase "in Christ by the gospel." The "in" expresses the state; the "by" the instrumentality by which the state and character are changed.

As the constitution of sin hath its root in the disobedience of the First Adam, so also hath the constitution of righteousness its root in the obedience of the Second Adam. Hence, the apostle says,

"as through one offence (sentence was pronounced) upon all men unto condemnation; so also through one righteousness (sentence was pronounced) upon all men (that is, Jews and Gentiles) unto a pardon of life. For as through the disobedience of the one man the many were constituted (katestaqhsan) sinners; so also through the obedience of the one the many were constituted righteous" (Rom. 5:18-19).

Elpis Israel 1.4.

Praise and Prayer in Mixed Assemblies

"Is it unscriptural for a Bible class composed of brethren and enquirers, to be opened with praise and prayer? Should we countenance such a thing? We are not quite clear on the subject."—J. O'N.

Answer.—"Praise and prayer" are the privilege of saints, and acceptable only at their hands, through Jesus, by whom God will be approached.

Strangers are not qualified to participate till

"circumcised with the circumcision of Christ, not made with hands, buried with him in baptism" (Col. 2:12),

when they are

"no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints and the household of God."—(Eph. 2:19.)

Brethren, therefore, could not countenance these acts in an indiscriminate assembly. But much depends upon the constitution of the assembly. If it be convened under the auspices of saints, that is, if the people have come in at wisdom's invitation, to

"turn in hither; come eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled" (Prov. 9.),

there is no reason why wisdom should not exhibit all its privileges. The presence of the stranger is no barrier to the thanksgiving of the saints. "Praise and prayer" are not out of place when saints assemble to do the work of God; therefore, a "Bible class," if convened by brethren and attended by "enquirers," could be properly opened in the manner described.

Strangers present must be left to do as they will in the matter. We are not set as policemen over them. If they choose to utter the words in which God is worshipped, they do better than when talking devil's nonsense, even though they be not accepted as worshippers of the Most High, except in the outer-court sense.

Perchance, too, they are being begotten of the word, a process we should be careful not to interrupt.

Babies coming and babies born are equal candidates for the care of a family. But brethren invited to take part on equal terms in a general assembly of the unjustified, would refuse to countenance acts of "devotion," because, in doing so, they would countenance a lie, that is, the pretensions of unjustified sinners to be sons of God.

They would also feel the impossibility of approaching God acceptably in such circumstances.

The Christadelphian, April 1873

20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

Foundation and Superstructure.

‭—‬Brethren who are builders know that you must begin right at the foundation if you want the building to go up right.‭ ‬The foundation is what Peter calls‭ "‬precious faith,‭" ‬in the‭ "‬exceeding great and precious promises.‭"

The superstructure consists in certain elements,‭ "‬added,‭" ‬or built on.‭ ‬They are virtue,‭ ‬knowledge,‭ ‬temperance,‭ ‬patience,‭ ‬godliness,‭ ‬brotherly kindness,‭ ‬love.‭ ‬What a goodly superstructure.‭ ‬The man in whom these things are is himself a living stone...

‭ ‬Peter says that if these things be in us and abound,‭ ‬we are wise and fruitful‭; ‬if not,‭ ‬ignorant and blind.‭ ‬Therefore,‭ ‬says he,‭ "‬give diligence.‭"

The Christadelphian, July 1888

22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Thus, "the Deity dwelleth not in temples," or "churches," "made with hands," but in a Holy Temple built by the formative power of the truth understood, believed, and obeyed. Every stone of this temple is living, and precious, and bought at the high price of the blood of Jesus Christ. Peter says, they are "lively stones built up a spiritual house," or temple (1 Pet. ii. 5; and in 2 Cor. vi. 16), Paul repeats the idea, saying to the true believers,

"Ye are the temple of the living Deity."

After such plain and pointed declarations as these, no one being acquainted with them, and comprehending them, can possibly believe, that the temples of the "religious world," whether the term be affirmed of a name, or denomination, or of all names and denominations collectively, or of cathedrals, churches, chapels, and conventicles, -- are temples of the Deity. These are none of his buildings. The impress of his workmanship is upon none of them; and therefore in none of them doth he reside, either by the truth, or spiritual gift.

Eureka 8.1.4.

The temple of the Deity who created all things, is a living temple; a house not made with hands. In such a temple as the Roman, he does not dwell. His habitation is that Spiritual House, built up by his formative word, of lively precious stones, called saints, because they are "sanctified in Christ Jesus."

Eureka 11.2.2.