The annual observance of our Lord’s death occurs this year after six p.m., March 28. We will observe this service at 7:00 p.m., 2501 Morningside Drive, Mount Dora, FL. We invite all of “like mind” to join with us. This date is exactly 3625 years since the typical Passover was kept in Egypt; and we would stress that the annual observance of that event is simply a memorial for that awesome occurrence. There was only one real Passover; and the Jews were instructed: “Ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and thy sons forever.” (Ex. 12:24) And this the orthodox Jews have scrupulously done every year since that time.
But we are told, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” (1 Cor. 5:7) However, instead of using the lamb and unleavened bread, we use the symbols that Jesus Himself instituted the night before He died ─ the unleavened bread and the wine, being substituted for the lamb and bread. Some may object to this course, but there is no record at all that the early Christians ever again used the lamb and bread; it was always the bread and wine!
But the date should be the same for the Jewish Passover and our Memorial of Christ our Passover. The reason this is not done is because the Jews often allow the condition of the moon to govern their date; whereas, the Bible is very positive that the date should be Nisan 14, regardless of the condition of the moon on that date. And we use Jerusalem time because the Bible was written in that district. America was not known to the civilized world when the original and its subsequent memorial of the death of Jesus were kept in harmony with that truth; and it would be a mistake for us to depart from that established fact. Julius Caesar did not invade England until 55 B.C. However, the errancy of Jews, or any others, on the date should not be regarded as sacrilege on their part. All during this Gospel Age the majority of Christians usually used the wrong date for this service.
As we keep the Lord’s Supper as the antitype of the Great Passover, it is well that we keep in mind that we commemorate the greatest event of all history, the sacrificial death of the Savior of the world. And, while there is extensive and elaborate observance of Passover and Easter, few people engaging in that memorial appreciate the real significance of the ceremony. Could their minds be thoroughly awakened to its true significance, there would undoubtedly be a religious revival such as the world has ever yet known. But, as St. Paul has written, “The god of this world has blinded the minds” (2 Cor. 4:4) of many; and even with some who are partially awakened, St. Peter says they are “blind and cannot see afar off.” (2 Peter 1:9) They do not fully appreciate things related to this ceremony, which has been observed now in type and antitype for more than three thousand years.
The Israelites were commanded to celebrate the Passover as the first feature of the Law and as one of their greatest memorials as a nation. And this has been scrupulously done by Jews in all parts of the world, even by renegades and agnostics. Respect for this ancient service is in their very blood, so it is one feature of the Law that has not been violated.
And they were told to keep this memorial joyfully. And thus they concluded that nothing could cheer them better than wine. Consequently, four cups of wine were used during the evening, the first before any food was eaten, and the last after the meal had been completed. So seriously was this followed at the time Jesus ate the last Passover with His disciples that poor Jews were provided wine from the public coffer if they could not afford it, because it was not only to be just wine, but good wine, the best there was to be had.
Of course, in the original Passover there is no record that wine was used. If any was used at all, we may be sure it was not done to the same degree that subsequent memorials did. That night was a very solemn night, no rejoicing, but a sober readiness for departure from Egypt the next morning. But God had specifically said that they eat the lamb, and with bitter herbs and unleavened bread, with their loins girded, their sandals on their feet, and “ye shall eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover." (Ex. 12:11)
With a reasonable God, all His instructions must be reasonable; and, while many do not now understand the reasonableness of the various features of the Passover, in “due time” they will be taught to all the people in a clear and understandable manner. The Jews do now realize that some features of their Law carried great significance. As instance, their Sabbath day every seventh day was a foregleam of a rest from the labor of sin and death. They were told that those who kept the Law would live in it. The Jews did not want to die any more than the heathen, so they speedily answered, “All these things wi1l we do, and live!”
FIRST-FRUITS AND AFTER-FRUITS
Blessed are those whose eyes can see that Jesus was indeed “the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29); that the cancellation of the world’s sin is to be effected by the payment of man’s penalty, by the application of Jesus’ sacrificial merit in due time for the sins of all mankind. Only faithful believers have as yet received of the merit of Jesus’ death. Greatly favored are those who can see that as the whole world lost Divine favor and came under Divine sentence of death, with its concomitant of sorrow and pain, so it was necessary that a satisfaction of justice should be made before this sentence, or curse, could be removed; and that therefore, as the Apostle declares, “Christ died for our sins” ─ “the just for the unjust.” (1 Peter 3:18) Thus He opened up a new and living way ─ a way of life everlasting, not only for us, but for the whole world of mankind in that glorious Kingdom.
The Scriptures call the Church of Christ “the Church of the firstborn,” “a kind of first-fruits of his creatures,” “the first-fruits unto God and the Lamb.” (Heb. 12:23; James 1:18; Rev. 14:4) These expressions imply that ultimately there will be others of God’s family ─ later born; they imply after-fruits. Christian people in general seem to have overlooked these Scriptures, so far as making application of them is concerned, and have generally come to believe that only those who are ever to be saved are designated in the Bible as the first-fruits ─ that there will be no after-fruits.
But the Passover type indicates that it was God’s purpose to save all Israelites; and that as a nation they represented all of mankind that will ever come into harmony with God and be granted everlasting life in the Land of Promise. Let us note that there was more than one passing over ─ the one in which only the first-born were passed over; and another greater one at the Red Sea, when by Divine power the whole nation of Israel was miraculously delivered and led across the channel of the Sea ─ especially prepared for them by the accentuation of winds and tides. These passed over dry-shod and were saved; while the hosts of Pharaoh, representing all who will eventually go into annihilation, were overwhelmed in the Sea. The passing over at the Red Sea pictures the ultimate deliverance from the power of sin and death of every creature of Adam’s race who desires to come into accord with the Lord and to render Him worship, all who will ever become a part of Israel; for not one Israelite was left behind in Egyptian bondage.
But this secondary passing over is not the one we are about to celebrate. We shall celebrate the antitype of the passing over of the first-born of Israel by the angel of death that night in Egypt. Only the first-born ones of Israel were in danger that night, though the deliverance of the entire nation depended upon the salvation, the passing over, of those first-born. And of the first-born there is no record that anyone of them died that night; they were safe so long as they remained “under the blood.” Thus the firstborn of the human family, the true Christians, were to be passed over during this night of the Gospel Age; only these would be in danger of the destroying angel ─ but would be safe so long as they remained “under the blood” of Jesus ─ they were all under the sprinkled blood.
In harmony with all the Scriptures, we see “the first-fruits unto God of his creatures,” “the church of the firstborn,” alone would be spared, passed over, during the present age. But the remainder of mankind who may desire to follow the great antitypical Moses in the age to follow this one shall be led forth from the bondage of sin and death, typified by the bondage of the Jews while they were in Egypt. As the Jews were told to remain under the blood that night, or they too would suffer death, so the first-born of this age are now also told to remain “under the blood of Jesus,” or they will suffer death. Some of them have gone out from under the blood, and have suffered extinction as, for instance, Judas. “It were better for that man if he had never been born.” (Mark 14:21) Divine mercy no longer applies to them.
In “due time” the night of sin and death will merge into the Millennial morning. Then the Christ, the antitypical Moses, will lead forth, will deliver, all the people of God – all who, when they shall come to know, will be glad to reverence, honor and obey the will of God. That “day” of deliverance will be the entire Millennial Age, at the close of which all evil and evil-doers, symbolized by the hosts of Egypt, will be utterly cut off in the Second Death – annihilation. “They shall be as though they had not been” (Obad. 1:16) – cut off in the antitypical Red Sea.
The Apostle Paul clearly and positively identifies the Passover Lamb with our Lord Jesus, saying, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore, let us keep the feast.” (1 Cor. 5:7,8) He informs us that we all need the blood of sprinkling, not upon our houses, but upon our hearts. We are to partake of the Lamb; we must also eat of the unleavened bread of truth, if we would be strong and prepared for the deliverance in the morning of the new dispensation. Thus “we put on” Christ – not merely by faith, but more and more we put on His character and are transformed into His glorious image in our hearts and lives.
We feed on Christ as the Jew fed on the literal lamb. Instead of bitter herbs, which aided and whetted their appetites, we have bitter experiences and trials which the Lord prepares for us, and which help to wean our affections from earthly things and give us increased appetites to feed upon the Lamb and the unleavened Bread of Truth. We, too, are to remember that “we have here no continuing city” (Heb. 13:14); but as pilgrims, strangers, staff in hand, we are to gird ourselves for our journey to the Kingdom.
Our Lord Jesus also fully identified Himself with the Passover Lamb. On the same night of His betrayal, just preceding His crucifixion, He gathered His apostles in the upper room, saying, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke 22:15, Dia.) It was necessary that as Jews they should celebrate the Passover Supper on that night – the night of the anniversary of the slaying of the Passover lamb of Egypt, of the saving of the typical first-born from the typical “prince of this world” – Pharaoh – the same date on which the real Passover Lamb was to be slain. But as soon as the requirements of the type had been fulfilled, our Lord Jesus instituted a new Memorial upon the old foundation, saying, “This do in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19) It is here properly in order to emphasize that in both Passover episodes not one first-born Jew in Egypt died that night, and not one first-born Egyptian escaped death. The same in the Red Sea; not one Jew died; and not one Egyptian remained alive. And in the Kingdom only Israelites will live, as all who refuse the Kingdom blessings will die. Little wonder that Moses and Miriam sang their songs of victory after that phenomenal performance! (Ex. 15:1-21)
PRIMARY SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BREAD AND THE CUP
We recall the circumstances of the first Memorial – the blessing of the bread and of the cup, the fruit of the vine: and our Lord’s declaration that these represented His broken body and shed blood, and that all His followers should participate, not only feeding upon Him but being broken with Him; not only partaking of the merit of His blood, His sacrifice, but also laying down their lives in His service, in cooperating with Him in every and any manner, that they might later share His honor and glory in the Kingdom. How precious are these thoughts to those who are rightly in tune with our Lord!
In presenting to the disciples the unleavened bread as a memorial, Jesus said, “Take, eat: this is my body.” (Matt. 26:26) The evident meaning of His words is: This symbolized or represents my body: for in no sense had His body yet been broken. In no sense would it then have been possible for them to have partaken of Him actually or antitypically, the sacrifice not being as yet finished. But the picture is complete when we recognize that the unleavened (pure, unfermented) bread represented our Lord’s sinless flesh – leaven being a symbol of sin under the Law, and especially commanded to be put away at the Passover season. On another occasion Jesus gave a lesson, which interprets to us this symbol. He said, “the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” “I am the bread of life.” “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread which came down from heaven, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (John 6:33,35,51)
In order to appreciate how we are to eat, or appropriate, this living bread, it is necessary for us to understand just what the bread signifies. According to our Lord’s explanation of the matter, it was His flesh, which He sacrificed for us. It was not His prehuman existence as a spirit being that was laid down and its glory laid aside, in order that He might take our human nature. It was the fact that our Lord Jesus was “holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners” (Heb. 7:26) – without any contamination from Father Adam, and hence free from sin – that enabled Him to become the Redeemer of Adam and his race, that permitted Him to give His life “a ransom for all to be testified in due time.” (1 Tim. 2:3-6)
When we see that it was the pure, spotless human nature of our Lord Jesus that was laid down on behalf of sinners, we see what it is that we are privileged to appropriate. The very thing He laid down for us we are to “eat,” appropriate to ourselves: that is to say, His perfect Human life was given to redeem all the human race from condemnation to death, to enable them to return to human perfection and everlasting life, if they would: and we are to realize this and accept Him as our savior from death. The Scriptures show us, however, that if God would consider all past sins canceled, and should recognize us as having a right to human perfection, this still would not make us perfect, nor give us the right to eternal life.
In order that any of the race of Adam might profit by the sacrifice of Jesus, it was necessary that He should rise from the tomb on the Divine plane of life, that He should ascend to the Father and deposit the sacrificial merit of His death in the hands of justice, and receive from the Father “all power in heaven and in earth.” (Matt. 28:18) As relates to the world it was necessary also that in the Father’s due time Jesus should come again to earth, invisibly, a glorious Divine Being, then to be to the whole world a Mediator, Prophet, Priest and King, to assist back to perfection and to harmony with God all who will avail themselves of the wonderful privilege then to be offered.
It is this same blessing that the Gospel Church of this Age receives by faith in their Redeemer – namely, justification by faith – not justification to a spirit nature, which we never had and never lost, and which Christ did not redeem; but justification to human nature, which Father Adam possessed and lost, and which Christ redeemed by giving His own sinless flesh, His perfect human life, as our ransom sacrifice. The partaking of the unleavened bread at the Memorial season then means to us primarily the appropriation to ourselves, by faith, of justification to human life-right – a right to human life – with all its privileges, which our Lord at His own cost prepared for us. Likewise the fruit of the vine symbolized primarily our Savior’s life given for us, His human life, His human being, His soul, poured out unto death on our behalf (Isa. 53:12); and the appropriation of this by us also signifies, primarily our acceptance of restitution rights and privileges secured by our Lord’s sacrifice of these.
DEEPER SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LOAF AND THE CUP
Now let us note that God’s object in justifying the Church by faith during this Gospel Age, in advance of the justification of the world by works of obedience in the Millennial Age, is for the very purpose of permitting this class who now see and hear, who now appropriate the great sacrifice which love had made on man’s behalf, to present their bodies a living sacrifice, and thus to have a part with the Lord Jesus in His sacrifice ─ as members of His body. This deeper meaning of the Memorial He did not refer to directly. It was doubtless one of the things to which He referred when He said “I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now; howbeit, when it, the Spirit of Truth, shall come it will guide you into all truth, and will show you things to come.” (John 16:12,13)
This Spirit of Truth, the power and influence of The Father bestowed through Christ and speaking through the Apostle Paul, clearly explains the very high import of the Memorial; for St. Paul says, writing to the true Church, “The cup of blessing for which we give thanks, is it not the participation of the blood of Christ? The loaf which we break, is it not the participation of the Body of Christ? For we being many are one loaf and one body.” (1 Cor. 10:16,17)
Both views of this impressive ordinance are very important. It is essential; first of all that we should see our justification is through our Lord’s sacrifice. It is proper then that we should realize that the entire Christ, the entire anointed company, is from the Divine standpoint, a composite body of many members, of which Jesus is the Head (1 Cor. 12:12,13), and that this Body, this Church, as a whole must be broken, that each member of it must become a copy of the Lord Jesus and must walk in the footsteps of His sacrifice. They do this by laying down their lives for the brethren, as Jesus laid down His life, directly for His Jewish brethren, but really for the whole world, according to the Father’s purpose.
It is not their spiritual life that they lay down, even as it was not Jesus’ spiritual life that He laid down. As He sacrificed His actual, perfect being, His humanity, so they are to sacrifice their justified selves, reckoned perfect through Jesus’ merit, but not actually so. Likewise the loaf and the cup represent suffering. Each grain must be crushed and ground before it can become bread for man; they cannot retain their life and individuality as grains. The same with the grapes; they must be crushed to extract their juice, thus losing their identity as grapes.
Our Lord distinctly declares that the cup, the fruit of the vine, represents blood; that is, life – not life retained, but life shed, given, yielded up. He tells us that this life poured out was for the remission of sins; and that all who would be His must drink it, must accept His sacrifice and appropriate it by faith. They must receive life from this source. It will not do to declare that life is the result of obedience to the Law. It will not do that faith in some great teacher and obedience to his instruction will amount to the same thing and bring eternal life. There is no way to attain eternal life other than through the blood once shed as the ransom price for the whole world! “There is none other name given under heaven or amongst men whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
THE CELEBRATION IN THE KINGDOM
On the occasion of institution of the Memorial Supper, our Lord, as usual, had something to say about the Kingdom, the theme of almost all of His discourses. “Jesus went about preaching the gospel of the kingdom.” (Matt. 4:23) Those to whom He had promised a share in the Kingdom, if faithful, He told again that He would go away to receive a Kingdom and would come again and would receive them to Himself to share in it. He now adds that this Memorial which He was instituting would find its fulfillment in the Kingdom, that He would no more drink of the fruit of the vine until He should drink it anew with them in the Father’s Kingdom.
Just what He meant by this statement might be difficult to determine positively, but it seems not inconsistent to understand Him to mean that as a result of the trials and suffering symbolized in His cup, there will be jubilation in the Kingdom. “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” (Isa. 53:11) He will look back over the trials and difficulties endured in faithful obedience to the Father’s will, and will rejoice in these as He sees the grand outcome ─ the blessings that will come to all mankind. This justification will be shared by all His disciples who have drunk of this cup, in justification and sacrifice with Him. These have His promise that they shall reign with Him; and when the reign shall have begun, when the Kingdom is eventually established, looking back they shall praise the way that God has led them day by day, even to the end of their earthly course, even though it has been a “narrow way.”
Our Master’s faith stood the test of all these trying hours, which He knew to be so near the time of His apprehension and death. The fact that He rendered thanks to the Father for the bread and the cup is indicative of a joyful acquiescence in all the sufferings that the breaking of the bread and the crushing of the grapes implied. Already He was satisfied with the Father’s arrangement. In line with this spirit was the singing of a hymn (Psalm ─ part of the Hallel) as they parted, a hymn of praise, thanksgiving to the Father that His course on earth was so nearly finished, and that He had found thus far grace sufficient for His need.
In considering the events of those solemn hours which followed the Memorial Supper, let us follow the Redeemer to Gethsemane, and behold Him with “strong crying and tears” praying “unto him who was able to save him out of death” (Heb. 5:7) ─ expressive of our Master’s fear of death lest in some particular He might have failed to follow out the Father’s plan, and therefore be thought unworthy of a resurrection. We note that our Lord was in some way comforted with the assurance that He had faithfully kept His vows, and that He would surely have a resurrection as promised.
We behold how calm He was thereafter, when before the high priest and Pilate, and Herod and Pilate again. “As a lamb before his shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.” (Acts 8:32) We see Him faithful, courageous to the very last; and we have His assurance that He could have asked of the Father and could have had more than twelve legions of angels for His protection. But instead of petitioning for aid to escape His sacrifice, He petitioned for help to endure it faithfully. What a lesson is here for all His faithful followers!
On the other hand, we recall that even amongst His loyal disciples the most courageous forsook the Master and fled; and that one of them, in his timidity, even denied his Lord! What an occasion is this for examining our own hearts as respects the degree of our own faith, our own courage and our willingness to suffer with Him who redeemed us! What an opportunity is thus afforded for us to buttress the mind with the resolution that we will not deny our Master under any circumstances or conditions; that we will confess Him not only with our lips, but also by our conduct.
Some of this article was taken from That Wise and Faithful Servant who had charge of the Gospel-Age Harvest of the saints: “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” (Psa. 50:5) We believe, with the help of faithful brethren, that work was completed during the ministry of That Servant. However, That Servant taught a second Harvest to gather an unbegotten class “between the ages.” (Reprint 5761, September 1, 1915) We call that class Youthful Worthies; and they will be rewarded in honor and in service with the Ancient Worthies of Hebrews, Chapter 11, in the Kingdom (Acts 17:31). Such consecrators have the faith of Abraham and will be made “princes in all the earth” (Psa. 45:16) ─ the visible rulers in the Kingdom.
Do Youthful Worthies partake of the Lord's Supper? Most certainly they do! They are thankful and appreciative of what our Savior has done for them. They do not “suffer with Christ,” nor will they “reign with Christ,” therefore they partake of the wine and bread, symbolizing our Lord’s death as the Lamb of God and symbolizing their tentative justification. Their trial is for faith and obedience and not for life as was the Saints trial, although they make the same kind of consecration as did the spirit-begotten: “Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger [the unbegotten], as for one of your own country [spirit-begotten].” (Lev. 24:22)
As has been our custom, we shall keep the feast in quietness and confidence, decently, orderly, quietly, without much form or ceremony, even as did Jesus and His disciples that last night.
It is our prayer that this year’s remembrance may be profitable to all who partake in sincerity and in Truth. We suggest the Passover chapter in Volume Six; and we pray a rich blessing upon all who partake. We are living in wonderful times, and we know not what a day may bring; but we have the strong assurance that faith can firmly trust Him who “left us an example, that we should follow in His steps.” (1 Peter 2:21) (Reprint 493, March 1998)
THE NEW MIND VS. THE MIND OF THE FLESH
“To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Rom. 8:6)
There is a distinction between the new mind and the new will that we all must recognize. The new will is the determination of the new mind. There must be some mind there in order to have a will, in order to reach a determination, and there must be knowledge upon which a will can be intelligently exercised. We are “born in sin, and shapen in iniquity” (Psa. 51:5); to begin with we have this natural tendency. Our minds, at first conformed to earthly things; generally take the earthly view of matters, the selfish view. Then the Lord, through His providences, brings certain propositions to our attention and sets before us that there is another way, “a more excellent way”; that God is now holding out a special prize to those who will live contrary to the flesh and according to His will.
When this proposition reaches the individual, our Lord says that he should “sit down and count the cost.” He should not rashly say, “Yes, yes”; but he should deliberate as to what this means – the cost in self-denials and the giving up of earthly preferences. After having counted the cost, and after having made the consecration, his will or determination should be so set as not to allow it either to favor the flesh or to be guided by the flesh. He should resolve that henceforth whatever is God’s will shall be his will, whether he understand all about that will or not. He must, however, see the outlines of the Divine will and something of the advantages accruing, before he can form the decision. This is the class, which the Father accepts and begets of His Holy Spirit.
False reasoning of the flesh may sometimes mislead the new mind. Our natural minds have their preferences, ambitions, aims and desires and they sometimes argue about certain things, and say, “God never intended that should be given up; God would not expect you to do anything so unreasonable as that!” And so, perhaps, the New Creature is deceived, and allows the flesh to have its way; but just so surely as it is a New Mind it has not intelligently nor willfully assented to a wrong course; but, as the Apostle says, “Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me.” (Rom. 7:11) So there is a continual battle on the part of the new will, the New Creature, after being begotten of the Holy Spirit, and he must watch lest the adversary try to make him think that which is wrong to be right, and that which is right to be wrong. These, then, are snares that the adversary places for the feet of the New Creature, and he uses the flesh in connection with its ensnarement; but the New Creature in his will, his intention, must remain loyal to the Lord and to righteousness. If he yield his will to unrighteousness or ignore God’s will, then he has ceased to be a New Creature. The new things are passed away, and all things become old again. This is a condition, we understand, from which he can never be recovered (Heb. 6:4-6).
In this connection, the Apostle James, in speaking of saving a soul from death, is evidently referring to one who is going into that careless condition where the new mind has become, as it were, stupefied, where the old mind has gotten the ascendancy over it. If we see one of the Lord’s people getting into such a condition, we should seek to restore him, “considering ourselves, lest we also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1); and those who do recover such an one “save a soul from death.” (James 5:20) Thus, brotherly kindness and assistance are specially commended of the Lord. A special blessing comes to all those who have an earnest desire thus to save an erring brother; a great reward is suggested for those who are successful in such an attempt.
HOW MAY WE KNOW WHEN WE ARE IN DANGER?
It might be asked how one could know when he was traveling toward that point of danger, so that he might arrest his progress. To one not blinded by the adversary, the point of deflection from harmony with God’s will would be as easily detected as would the border line between two States. The only ground upon which we were granted our present standing was our renouncement of sin and consecration to the Lord – giving up of our wills and complete surrender to Him. Thus we came into the position of having the imputation of Christ’s merit. If we should go back again and our will for righteousness become dead, this, of course, would imply that another will is there. We must have a will of some kind. If our will is no longer a righteous will, then it has gone across the borderline and, according to the great Apostle; such never retrace their steps. “Christ dieth no more.” (Rom 6:9) There can be no more imputation of Christ’s merit to such. They have had their blessing and if they, as the Apostle says, “return like a dog to his vomit,” the step must prove fatal. (2 Peter 2:21,22)
True, the new mind at first is weak, undeveloped; and so the Scriptures represent the New Creature as being merely “a babe in Christ,” a babe in knowledge and a babe in the development of grace. But the Scriptures tell us that just as we care for a babe, specially handle it, specially feed it, specially deal with it, and do not treat it as we would treat an adult; so the Lord proposes that He will deal with all those who are babes in Christ. “He will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with every temptation will provide a way of escape.” (1 Cor. 10:13) The temptations will be permitted only in proportion to their feeble strength. He will supply for them the milk of the Word, that they may grow thereby, and gives them the assurance that all things shall work together for good to them (Rom. 8:28).
The trials at the beginning, therefore, are commensurate with the weakness of the New Creatures. It is true in some instances, however, that the New Creature seems to have a great deal of courage and strength at the beginning ─ perhaps more than is ever exhibited afterward. This, of course, is not a satisfactory condition of things. We ought to go from grace to grace, from knowledge to knowledge; after a time, we ought to be teachers, as the Apostle says, and not need to be taught again the first principles of the doctrines of Christ. God deals with us now as New Creatures under the direction of the Head. He supervises all the interests of each member of the Body. All things, if properly accepted, are overruled of the Lord for good to us individually.
This is one of the great lessons of faith that the Lord’s people need to learn, even after they have been in the way a good while. There are some Christian people who seem to have the impression, or at least give it to others, that they did this and that or saw so and so by their own wisdom. True, we all should use all the wisdom and strength we have; but the Christian who is relying upon himself is in a very dangerous position and quite likely the Lord will find it necessary to give him a lesson. For a while it is his duty to rule his life so as to walk in the right paths, yet he needs continually to exercise faith in God and in the Lord’s oversight and direction of his affairs, for “the steps of a righteous man are ordered of the Lord.” If, in the Father’s providence, some of the circumstances connected with our earthly affairs turn in this or that direction, our hearts should look to the Lord for the lesson to be drawn therefrom, and thus be able to glorify God thereby. The Christian should never view any experience as being lucky or unlucky, but should remember that all things connected with him, if he be living close to the Lord are ordered and directed by the Lord (Psa. 37:23) Pastor Russell, Rept. 4628, June 1, 1910)
Comment: The above article was written to the Saints; however we think it has information that will be helpful for the Youthful Worthies. They make the same kind of consecration unto death that the Saints made even though they do not die with Christ and are not on trial for life. They are on trial for faith and obedience. Spirit begetting ceased with the High Calling. The Youthful Worthies have a new will, a holy disposition and the Holy Sprit, but do not have the Holy Spirit of begettal.