| Article | The New Birth
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God... Marvel not that I said unto you, You must be born anew" (John 3:3,7).
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him should not perish, but have eternal life... He that be ...read |
| Article | The Offence of the Cross
"And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased." (Galatians 5:11).
The verse from which this title is taken suggests that if only Paul had continued to preach circumcision he could have avoided persecution and been freed from the inevitable offence which is created by ...read |
| Article | The Offence of the Cross (1932)
It is a perfectly obvious fact that wherever the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ has been most faithfully preached and presented - while bringing hope and new life to many - it has almost invariably been the cause of trouble.
Wherever it has gone it has aroused antagonism. As it was a stumbling-block to the Jews and an absurdity to the Greeks in th ...read |
| Article | The Only Reality
Among the many designations given to responsible servants of God in the Bible is that of 'Watchman'. The function of the Watchman is so well understood that the time need not be taken to describe it. In a word, it is to be aware of both movements and their portents, and to make these known for the well-being of those for whom he has a responsibilit ...read |
| Article | The Ordinances of Heaven
"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the wh ...read |
| Article | The Otherness of Christ
Dear friends, what is the Lord doing with us? That is what we want to know. What is He doing with you and me, and with those who are really in His hands? Is He not doing with us that which He has done with all who have come completely under His hands; that is, leading in a way and realm where human understanding and ability are completely confounde ...read |
| Article | The Overcomer at the End-time
Reading: Revelation 12.
"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."
As to these words in the eleventh verse, we remind ourselves again, that they are part of an utterance by a loud voice in heaven at a time when the heavenly hosts were watching a colossal co ...read |
| Article | The Parables of the Kingdom
In the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel by Matthew, which we may have open before us by way of reminder, we find the operation of the Kingdom illustrated in a sevenfold way.
THE PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM
I do not propose to attempt an exposition of that sevenfold way, but will simply lift out from the chapter the salient features of the operation ...read |
| Article | The Peculiar Conditions of an End-Time
Reading: Luke 2:25-38; I Cor. 10:11; Heb. 8:13, 9:26.
We are being led at this time to take note of the fact that we are at an end-time, and that God does a peculiar work at such a time. Things become very strange and very difficult at an end-time; everything seems to be thrown into a state of disturbance, upheaval, intense pressure and conflict ...read |
| Article | The Peril of Divided Loyalties
Reading: 1 Sam. 31:1-13; 2 Sam. 1:17-27.
It is around Jonathan that our thoughts are gathered at this time. His is a strange and very pathetic story and raises a matter which is perhaps more difficult to resolve than most - the whole question of divided loyalties.
We take a cursory glance at Jonathan and his father Saul, and we see a good many ...read |
| Article | The Place and Work of the Levites
"And David made him houses in the city of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent. Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them has the Lord chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever." (1 Chron. 15:1-2).
"Thou therefore, my child, be strengthened in the ...read |
| Article | The Positive Ground of the Church
There is one thing that is giving me a good deal of anxiety and apprehension. In this time when a twofold movement is taking place on a wide scale: that is, on the one hand the great movement towards union (not unity), as in the World Council of Churches, on the policy of the combine and monopoly, with all the necessary compromises and sacrifice of ...read |
| Article | The Power of the Kingdom
"I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 16:19). "Verily I say unto you, There are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom" (Matt. 16:28). "They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying, Lord, dost thou at this time restore the k ...read |
| Article | The Power That Worketh in Us
Reading: Eph. 1:7-14; 3:14-21.
There is a phrase at the end of the third chapter of the letter to the Ephesians which I feel we are led to consider: "...the power that worketh in us". If you look back to verse 16 you find these words: "...that ye may be strengthened with power through his spirit in the inward man". There is a very great deal han ...read |
| Article | The Pre-eminent Mark of a Life Governed by the Spirit
The mark of a life governed by the Holy Spirit is that such a life is continually and ever more and more occupied with Christ, that Christ is becoming greater and greater, more wonderful as time goes on.
The effect of the Holy Spirit's work in us is to bring us to the shore of a mighty ocean which reaches far, far beyond our range, and concerning ...read |
| Article | The Prisoner of the Lord
"The prisoner of the Lord" (Ephesians 4:1).
"Thanks be unto God, who leads me on from place to place in the train of His triumph to celebrate His victory over the enemies of Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:14, Conybeare).
It is a matter of vital importance that in our relation to the Lord Jesus for the outworking of God's eternal purpose we should hav ...read |
| Article | The Problem of the Stone
Reading: Mark 16:3-6. "They were saying: Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the tomb? ...for it was exceeding great".
This is one of those many human problems which have heavenly solutions. Let us look to see what this stone represented for those concerned.
The Disappointment of Expectations and Hopes
Firstly, it represented t ...read |
| Article | The Purpose of God
It is of immense help, in contemplating the manifold activities and energies of God, to be able to gather everything into one inclusive, comprehensive, and concrete issue. The Bible, from Genesis to the Revelation, covers a wide range and includes a vast amount of matter, but it has one all-governing and conclusive objective. The purpose of God is ...read |
| Article | The Rainbow
"I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood ...read |
| Article | The Release of the Lord
That enlargement through straitening is an abiding law of the Kingdom of the Heavens in this age is a well-known truth. Its implications are various and its instances are numerous. One of its too oft-unrecognized implications is that efforts at enlargement in a really spiritual realm only result in an artificial inflation, with all the weakness, un ...read |
T. Austin-Sparks