But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.
Speaking by permission is distinct from speaking by commandment, so that a personal wish can be expressed without being set forth as a command from God. Permission in this sense leaves the hearer free rather than bound by divine instruction. Thus the request for John Wessels to consider helping to establish a sanitarium in Australia was permission and not a divine instruction that he must go. He was to seek the Lord for himself and follow where God led, rather than acting merely from human persuasion.
Speaking by permission is distinct from speaking by commandment, so that a personal wish can be expressed without being set forth as a command from God. Permission in this sense leaves the hearer free rather than bound by divine instruction. Thus the request for John Wessels to consider helping to establish a sanitarium in Australia was permission and not a divine instruction that he must go. He was to seek the Lord for himself and follow where God led, rather than acting merely from human persuasion.