Signs of the Times, Vol. 28, No. 1. (1/1/1902)

Signs of the Times

Jan 1, 1902

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jan 1, 1902

THE MOTHER’S WORK.

By Ellen G. White

I WISH to arouse parents to see the importance of their position. Few parents take time to think of how much depends on the instruction and training a child receives during the early years of its life. It is at this time that the foundation of a child’s character is laid. “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it,” are the words of the wise man. The lessons a child learns at the mother’s knee determine its future experience.

How few parents realize this as they should. As I have called mothers’ attention to the wrong habits they were encouraging in their little ones, some have listened indifferently, while others have said with a smile, “I can not bear to cross my children. They will do better as they grow older. They will then be ashamed of these passionate outbursts. It is not well to be too strict with little ones. They will outgrow the inclination to tell untruths, to meddle, to be indolent and selfish.”

A very easy way, truly, to dispose of the matter, but a way that is not in harmony with the will of God. If a field is left uncultivated, a crop of weeds is sure to appear. So it is with children. If the soil of the heart is uncultivated, Satan sows his seeds of anger and hatred, selfishness and pride, and they quickly spring up, to bear a harvest that parents reap with bitter regret. Too late they see their terrible mistake. The wrong they have done can never be wholly undone. Even if the child, by patient, untiring care, is at last won to the Saviour, his character will always bear the marks of Satan’s seed-sowing. Children left to themselves grow up selfish, exacting, unlovable. Unable to enjoy their own society or the society of others, their lives are filled with discontent. Aided by the grace of Christ, mothers have in their power to do a great and grand work. Satan knows, and he works with all his power to prevent them from doing this work. He seeks to fill the mind with thoughts of fashionable dress. Thus he absorbs the time and strength of even Christian mothers, so that they have no time to give to the training of their children or to self-improvement. When the enemy thus secures the attention of the mother, he rejoices; for he knows how much he has gained. He looks on the children as an easy prey; for he has won the mother. She thinks more of display, more of what others think and say of her, than she does of the training of the precious souls in her care. As she sets her feet in the path of fashion, she becomes infatuated. In order to keep pace with the demands of the bondage in which she has sold herself, she works early and late, overtaxing mind and body. She becomes so wearied with remodelling unfashionable garments and making new ones, that she has no heart to read her Bible or to pray. She is too tired to give time to her children. She becomes perplexed and distressed. The yoke that she is trying to bear is very galling; but she imagines that it must be borne, and martyr-like she toils on, struggling under

her self-imposed burden. Jesus is calling, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. . . . My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” But she does not hear the gracious invitation. The Saviour’s voice is drowned by the clamorous demands of fashion.

Mothers, do not forget that God requires you to give your children constant, loving care. He does not want you to be a slave to your children, but He does want you to teach them to live for Him. Day by day give them lessons that will prepare them for future usefulness. One lesson that you will have to repeat over and over again is the lesson of obedience. Teach your children that they are not to rule, that they are to respect your wishes, and yield to your authority. Thus you are teaching them self-control. Give them nothing for which they cry, even tho your tender heart would lead you to indulge them. If they gain the victory once by crying, they will expect to do so again, and the next time they will be harder to control.

Children inherit inclinations to wrong, but they also have many lovely traits of character. These should be strengthened and developed, while the tendencies to evil should be carefully guarded against and repressed. Children should never be flattered, for flattery is poison to them; but parents should show a sanctified, tender regard for them, thus gaining their confidence and love.

When children lose their self-control, and speak passionate words, the parents should for a time keep silent, neither reproving nor condemning. At such times silence is golden, and will do more to bring repentance than any words that can be uttered. Satan is well pleased when parents irritate their children

by speaking harsh, angry words. Paul has given a caution on this point: “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” They may be very wrong, but you can not lead them to the right by losing patience with them. Let your calmness help to restore them to a proper frame of mind.

Jesus loves children and youth. He rejoices when He sees Satan repulsed in his efforts to overcome them. Many a youth is in imminent peril through manifold temptations, but the Saviour has the tenderest sympathy for him, and sends His angels to guard and protect him. He is the Good Shepherd, ever ready to go into the wilderness to seek for the lost, straying sheep.

Mothers, do you sigh for a missionary field? In your home you have a missionary field in which you may labor with untiring energy and unflagging zeal, knowing that the results of your work will endure through all eternity. Are not the souls of your children of as much value as the souls of the heathen? Then tend them with loving care, bringing God into their thoughts.

Who can do this work so well as a God-fearing mother? The work of the mother who has a close connection with Christ is of infinite worth. Her ministry of love makes the home a Bethel. Christ works with her, turning the common water of life into the wine of heaven.

Christian parents, you are charged with the responsibility of showing the world the power and excellence of home religion. Be controlled by principle, not by impulse. Work with the consciousness that God is your helper. Allow nothing to divert you from your God-given mission. Be true to your trust. God will help you. Guided by Him, your children will grow up to bless and honor you in this life and in the life to come.

MRS. E. G. WHITE.

THE PROMISE OF POWER.

By J. O. Corliss

THE word “power” is commonly used in a relative sense, being applied to the brute force of animals as well as to the mental influence of men. This may be proper in a way, since both man and beast are dependent on a Superior agency, by which to live and move. So the conclusion is easily reached that “power belongeth unto God.” Ps. 62:11. But when considering the delegated power of man, as manifested in his life-work, one scarcely realizes that it is a portion of that power by which the earth moves through space, and the waters above are retained in vapory clouds; by which also, in the revolutions of the earth, its waters are compassed in well-defined limits, as day and night succeed each other. Heb. 11:3. But these, while they are manifestations of power beyond the comprehension of finite minds, are but parts of God’s workings. They are but the gentle sighing of the summer breeze in the pine-top, as compared with the “thunder of His power.” Job 26:14.

Because the human mind had not been educated more fully to contemplate the source of all power, the works of the Lord Jesus, when in person among men, attracted the greatest attention. His ability to restore sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, voice to the dumb, health to the sick, and even life to the dead, so amazed men, that they were constrained to say to the glory of God, “We never saw it on this fashion.” Mark 2:12. The very words of the Master were so different from the ordinary, because they carried spirit and life in their train, that influential men of the world said, “Never man spake like this man.” John 7:46.

But strange to say, Christ’s immediate disciples, they who lived in closest earthly relation to Him, upon witnessing the quieting of the stormy sea, said in an undertone of fear to one another, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” Mark 4:41.

But that which men were then permitted to see was only the operation of power. The Son of God had come to earth with the entire supply of heaven at command, with which to uplift humanity to the enjoyment of that which it had been deprived of through sin. The privilege of witnessing this working of heaven’s power was designed to be a special blessing to Christ’s disciples, both in point of ambition and of purpose. Matt. 13:16, 17. The seers of old who had been given prophetic views of this, longed to be recipients of the same privilege. Even the angels themselves desired to penetrate the deeper motions of that power in its contact with sinful hearts. 1 Peter 1:10–13.

So deep indeed was the mystery of changing men’s hearts from sinful longings to yearning after God, that nothing but the highest and strongest power could be expected to accomplish such a transformation. So when Jesus sent His disciples out to win men, He endued them with a special gift, which would be adequate to the fulfilment of their mission. “Behold,” said He, “I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Luke 10:19. But there was danger that this gift would be misinterpreted, and so misused; therefore the Saviour added words of caution to prevent His followers from using this gift to a wrong purpose. They were told not to rejoice because the power received brought others in subjection to them, but rather because their names were registered in heaven.

The power in heaven is not, therefore, to uplift its recipient to a place of temporary superiority, but is rather to make one feel under obligation to everybody else in this world, in behalf of their advancement to equal power with himself. Rom. 1:14. This is clearly shown in the great commission of Christ to all of His followers: “All authority hath been given unto Me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” Matt. 28:18, 19, R. V.

Authority is power. All of this was conferred upon Christ for His work, and He in turn gave authority,—the same as His own,—to His followers by which to assume the work He laid on them. This commission was, however, not to go into effect with any one until he should receive the power with which to execute it; for its demands were infinitely too high to be met by the fragment of power sin has left in the possession of fallen humanity. Therefore the last charge of the Saviour to His followers before giving up His earthly work was: “Behold, I send forth the promise of My Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49.

The promise of God to Christ’s disciples is thus seen to be “power from on high.” When those words were uttered, the Father’s only Son, heaven’s best gift, was on the point of leaving the scenes of His earthly sojourn, once more to sit on the throne of heaven. He therefore recalled a previous promise, when He had said to them that it was advantageous for Him to go away, but that upon doing so He would send the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, unto them. John 16:7. He had told them some things, as far as they were able to bear them; but when the Spirit of truth should take the place of His personal presence, He would guide them into all truth, and show them things to come. Verse 13.

This help sent to man was not to be a temporary gift, but was to abide with him forever. More than this, He was to become so closely identified with those whom He would help as to be in them, and live in them, not only to admonish for wrong-doing, but to direct in the path of life. John 14:16–18, 26. The operation of this power was to be such as to reveal God and Christ dwelling in the individual, causing him to do the will of Heaven in all things. Verses 21–23.

This promise of an actual indwelling of divine power must have been difficult to grasp by those who had been taught to know God only from outward demonstrations. To offset this difficulty the Lord sought His disciples after He was raised from the dead, and for forty days He taught them the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. All this time He exhorted them to continue steadfast in waiting for the promise of the Spirit, which they had heard from His lips. But notwithstanding His care to instruct them, they did not quite comprehend His meaning. They thought that because the promised power was about to be bestowed, they should quickly see the throne of Judah restored to the people of that nation, with Christ as king over them. His power to return from the grave, was evidence to them that nothing was beyond His ability to accomplish; so they asked Him, “Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1:2–6.

In answer to this question the Lord did not say that such a thing would not be, but His reply was just as decisive as if He had said so. The word was: “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

This, then, was to be the object of giving men power; not that they should be able to control thereby earthly governments, since that was something the Father holds in His own hand. But power is bestowed solely with the object of men witnessing for Christ’s power to save from sin. With this information given, we hear no more about the disciples supposing that the gift of power was to fit them to take part in subjecting civil power to the decrees of heaven. Inasmuch as when the fulfilment of the promise came, the disciples used it in the order of Christ’s efforts, we may be assured that they had taken to heart the divine lesson. But the consideration of that point is reserved for another article.

J. O. CORLISS.

Looking to One’s Own Conduct

How much trouble he avoids who does not look to see what his neighbor says, or does, or thinks, but only to what he does himself, that it may be just and pure.—Marcus Aurelius.

The Poor and Their Friends

ALL the brethren of the poor do hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him? He pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.—Solomon.

The Favor of the Prince

MANY will entreat the favor of the prince; and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.—Solomon.

DOING AND KNOWING.

“Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.” 1 John 2 : 3-7.

I. JOHN assumes that the knowledge of God is as possible, is as real, for human beings as any knowledge they can have of each other. Nay, he goes further than this. There are impediments to our knowledge of each other which he says do not exist with reference to that higher knowledge. We may know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. I sometimes suspect that we give too loose a sense to that word “keep.” No doubt it means to “obey.” It does not mean more than that; for obedience is very comprehensive, a little too comprehensive for slow and narrow creatures such as we are. The word “keep,” if we consider it, may help us to know what obedience is and what it is not. A friend gives me a token to keep for him; he wishes that it should remind me of him, that it should recall days which we have spent together. Perhaps it may be only a flower or a weed that was gathered in a certain place where we were walking or botanizing; perhaps it is something precious in itself. If, instead of giving me anything, he enjoins me to do a certain act or not to do a certain act, I may be said as truly to keep that injunction as to keep the flower. To fulfil it is to remember him; it is a token of my fellowship with him, of my relation with him.

II. John began with this revelation of God to men in His Son. It was the ground of all his teaching. He had told the Ephesians already that there was that darkness, that covetousness, in them which Paul had found in himself, which had caused him so much horror. But he had told them also, as Paul had told them, that they were not created to walk in this darkness; that they might walk in the light which Christ had revealed, and have fellowship with it. So now, taking this for granted, he could tell them that these commandments might be kept as the commandments of a God who was at one with them in His Son, and that the more they kept them the more they would know Him. Many in that time said, “We know God; but what are the commandments, what is common earthly morality, to us?” “I tell you,” says John broadly and simply, “that if they are nothing to you, God is nothing to you.” You may use what fine language you will; you may have what fine speculations you like; but it is in practice, in that daily practise of life, in the struggle with the temptations to cheat and slander, to be unchaste and to be covetous, which beset us all in different ways and forms, it is in revering parents and the name of God, it is in heeding God’s work, it is in keeping ourselves from idols, it is in worshiping Him as the common Deliverer, that we come to know Him—Him, and only thus.—F. D. Maurice, “The Epistles of St. John,” p. 69.

“AS GOD.”

By C. Castberg

“Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children.” Eph. 5:1, R.V.

Notwithstanding the commonly accepted view that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is nowhere enforced in the New Testament, a close perusal of the fourth chapter of Hebrews will show that it contains one of the strongest proofs in regard to the obligations of Christians to keep the day which the Lord Himself blessed and sanctified in the early morn of this world's history.

In this and in the preceding chapter, the apostle lets the history of ancient Israel pass in review before us, showing how their lack of faith frustrated the plans of God respecting themselves, and debarred them from that rest which a childlike confidence with an unwavering obedience, brings to every individual who fears the Lord. They could not enter into this rest “because of unbelief.” Heb. 3:19.

“Let us therefore fear,” the apostle continues, “lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them; but the Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest.” Heb. 4:1–3.

This blessed rest is, to the true follower of Christ, an every-day experience; for Jesus says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matt. 11:28, 29. This does not mean cessation from labor, or idleness; but a tranquil, peaceful state of mind and body, though the storms of temptation and adversity beat upon us, and the waves of unrest surge around us. A true Christian is never idle; he is a working man. His work may be hard, and the results seemingly small; but he has found rest, because he labors in faith, and his mind is stayed on the immovable rock, the promises of God. This rest brings to its possessor a peace “which passeth all understanding.” The difference between him and a worldly, carnal-minded man is that he himself has ceased to work; “for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Phil. 2:13.

No matter what the works of a true Christian are, whether they manifest themselves in the carrying out of his business or in the discharge of his spiritual duties, the works that he performs are the works of God. As it is “God which worketh in him both to will and to do,” his works are those which God “finished from the foundation of the world.” Heb. 4:3. “For He spake in a certain place of the seventh day in this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from ALL His works.” Verse 4. We see this grand truth emphasized in the productive power of the grass and other plants. The work they perform, the fruit they bear, is the result of God's work finished in these words, spoken before He rested on the seventh day, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit; . . . and it was so.” Gen. 1:11.

“Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein [into the rest], and they [the Israelites] to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief; again, He limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To-day, after so long time; as it is said, To-day if ye will hear His voice harden not your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, then would He [God in David] not afterward have spoken of another day.” Heb. 4:6–8.

If Israel had been faithful to their divine trust, there is no doubt but that God would have led them from victory to victory until the whole world would have been conquered, and the earth filled with the “knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” This is plainly revealed in the song of “Moses and the children of Israel” at their deliverance from the Egyptian bondage. Christ, their invisible and invincible leader, would have guided them in His strength unto His holy habitation, and would have planted them in the mountain of His inheritance where He would reign forever and ever. See Ex. 15:1–18. But Israel fell short of the mark; Joshua did not give them rest, and so God speaks of “another day,” not of another Sabbath day, as some seem to think; but of another day of salvation, that is, the day of probation is extended.

“There remaineth therefore [because He has spoken of another day of salvation, in which “whosoever will” may find rest in Christ] a keeping of a Sabbath to the people of God.” Heb. 4:9, margin. The Greek word apoleipo, rendered “remaineth,” does not mean something future, but something that is “left” here with us; and the word is thus translated in 2 Tim. 4:13, 20. The day of salvation being prolonged, it follows of necessity therefore, that the keeping of the Sabbath, the great memorial of the rest of Jehovah, still remains or is left with the people of God. “For he that is entered into his rest,” he that is become a partaker of Christ, “he also rests from his own works, as God did from His.” Heb. 4:10, Norwegian translation.

But on what day did God rest from all His works?—On the seventh day, as brought to view in the fourth verse. In order to rest, then, as God rested, we must rest on the seventh day. No other day can be the rest-day; for the only day on which God rested was the seventh day. And only the one who has entered into His rest can really and truly enjoy the Sabbath rest; for his works “are wrought in God.” John 3:21. “Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” Heb. 4:11. C. CASTBERG.

CHAS. T. EVERSON

By Chas. T. Everson

him as an object of ridicule, and to picture him out as possessing hoofs, horns, and a dragon tail. The serious attention that the warfare against this arch-deceiver required, was consequently neglected, as he was regarded merely as an object of ridicule and satire. But let us heed the injunction of God's Word as recorded in 1 Peter 5:8: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Be sober, not treating Satan as an object of ridicule, but as one that requires our serious opposition. Be vigilant, being on guard against him; for he certainly does exist, and is industriously planning our destruction.

CHAS. T. EVERSON

Woo the Spirit.

By Edith B. Goodrich

ARE you troubled, O my brother—are you sad? Woo the Spirit! It will make you glad, my brother, make you glad— Woo the Spirit! Read the Word of life eternal, It will yield you bliss supernal— Woo the Spirit!

Are you fighting sin, my brother—fighting sin? Woo the Spirit! It will give you light, my brother—light within— Woo the Spirit! “Unto Me,” saith God, “draw nigh, And I will not pass thee by”— Woo the Spirit.

Have you doubts and fears, my brother, like a knell? Woo the Spirit! ’T will the clouds dispel, my brother, clouds dispel— Woo the Spirit! Tell your need to God alone— He for bread will not give stone— Woo the Spirit!

MRS. EDITH B. GOODRICH.

HUMAN FICKLENESS.

By G.

NOTHING is made sacred by age; neither is youth or novelty of itself a virtue. Truth is truth, regardless of the era of its proclamation. Ignoring this fact leads men into many inconsistencies. On the one hand they will reject anything that has not been a recognized tenet of their church-creed for a long time, because the innovation is new; while on the other hand they will disregard or even denounce the law of God because it is old. To maintain that the Sabbath, which God instituted in the beginning and gave as a sign between Him and His people forever, is of binding force to-day, is deemed an evidence of ignorance or bigotry; but to show the people that “the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” is frowned upon as a “new doctrine,” and therefore unworthy of notice.

The idea is abroad, and is growing in strength, that human beings of our time are different from those of old, and God must needs change His principles and His ways in order to gratify the requirements and win the confidence of a more enlightened population. When the fulfilment of prophecy pertaining to our day is openly portrayed, they do not want anything new; or the prophecies are all things of the past, and we can not understand them. It is the great boast that this is the day of Bibles, yet many will seek knowledge in any other way than by searching the Scriptures. That which is revealed by “science falsely so called,” or by the imaginary spirits of the dead, or by the reasoning of the human mind, is accepted in preference to the Word of God. The apostle Paul met the learned men of Athens; who spent their time in telling or hearing something new, yet they rejected the truth of the Gospel because it was (to them) a “new doctrine.” To them the resurrection of the dead was absurd.

Jeremiah said to the people of his day, “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.” But they said, “We will not walk therein.” Yet when the same class of people were confronted by the Lord with (to them) new spiritual truths—words that were spirit and life—they became very tenacious of the prophets whom they had before rejected.

Human nature is always the same. “The carnal mind is [and always was] enmity against God; for it

is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” It is always either too old or too new. Peter says: “There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” But when the claims of God’s Word are presented with regard to duties there made plain concerning matters of continual obligation, then we meet the plea that “times are changed,” and that “God does not require those things now.”

Jesus well illustrated the fickleness of the human mind when He said of the Jews: “They are like unto children sitting in the market-place, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of Man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.” There are many “treasures” in the Word of God, both “new and old,” which all would do well to seek; not because they are either new or old, but because they are truth, and are essential to the salvation of the soul.

KNOWING GOD.

By G.

Human knowledge in any sphere is limited and imperfect. This is illustrated in the varied opinions of the most learned in every line, and the Lord tells us directly that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” This being true concerning matters pertaining merely to this world, how about our knowledge of God? The highest attainment of knowledge is to know God. “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” John 17: 3.

But “God is a Spirit” (John 4: 24), and “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Cor. 2: 14. The succeeding verse tells us that “he that is spiritual discerneth all things.” Paul tells us that “we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” Ch. 13: 9–12. Further light on the subject is given us by the apostle John: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” 1 John 3: 2.

Yet we are sometimes questioned by earnest yet puzzled souls as to how we can know God when His wisdom and knowledge are so deep, His judgments so unsearchable, and “His ways past finding out.” Rom. 11: 33. To such we would say that we have a key to what is meant by knowing God in this world of trials and seeming impossibilities. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul says: “When ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?” Ch. 4: 8, 9.

The secret of our knowing God lies in our being known of God. But does not God know everything? Is not every person known of Him?—Yes, in the sense of His understanding all creatures, of discerning their characters, He does know them, but not in the sense contemplated by the apostle in the words just quoted. He refers to God’s knowing His followers to make them fruitful. The idea is expressed in Gen. 4: 1, where it is said that “Adam knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain.” A like expression occurs also in verses 17 and 25. To be known of God is to be made fruitful through the operation of the Holy Spirit: “for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” Phil. 2: 13.

The good pleasure of God is that we bear much fruit; in this He is glorified. John 15: 8. In this same chapter Christ is represented as a vine, and His disciples as the branches. Now the fruit of a vine is always on the branches, but the branches are fructified by the vine, and can bear no fruit when disconnected from the vine. The pouring of the life-blood of the vine into the branches represents God knowing His people by the induction of His Spirit, which makes them fruitful. And “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” Gal. 5: 22, 23.

Through the apostle Peter the Spirit gives somewhat similar instruction: “Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The principle of knowing God through being known of Him is also illustrated, from the negative side, in the Sermon on the Mount. There we are shown that knowing about God, or professing to know Him, will not avail in the day of judgment, and that many will find this out when it is too late. Jesus says: “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Matt. 7: 22, 23.

Thus we see that there will be many iniquitous workers practising in the name of the Lord, and their works will be imitations of God’s work, insomuch that many will be deceived thereby, supposing these persons to be endued with power from on high. But while the Lord knows all about them, even from the beginning, He is not the Father of their works; they are not inspired by His Spirit. They have not submitted to His will, have not come to Him to be imbued with His life-giving, fruit-bearing Spirit. In order to know God, which is life eternal, it is essential to be known of Him, to be married “to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” Rom. 7: 4. G.

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