I received your very good letter. You wrote about many different situations among the friends who say that they have no need to be taught since they are all taught by God. In John 6:45, where this is mentioned, we read: “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” All of us have been taught by the Father to come to the Son. The Father is the Spirit in its fullness who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. It is the law, written in the hearts, that the prophets speak about. It was written in the heart of each person by the death of Christ—the Spirit testifies against every person. It was before we came to the Son that we were taught by God. However, everyone who hears from the Father and is taught by Him comes to the Son, who in turn is the way to the Father. In the Son there is exhortation and teaching. The body (the church) is “joined and knit together by every bond that He supplies [Norw.], according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Eph. 4:16.

Before we have come to Christ, God Himself acts as our teacher; but after we have come into the Son (into the church, which is His body), He has appointed “some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Eph. 4:11-13.

God’s Spirit rests over all flesh and convicts all flesh that is living in sin. In this way everyone is taught by God. It is because of the death and resurrection of Christ that the Spirit can do this work. But once a person has allowed this work of conviction to take place, and they have come into the body, which is His church, they must submit to the order God has ordained in the church. It is written expressly that He has appointed teachers in the church. Of course it is sheer ignorance and distortion of the Scriptures that lead people to such a delusion, that also in the church they are to continue being taught by God. Everything is of God—both those who are taught and those who teach, but there must be order and direction in everything. Anyone who despises God’s witnesses despises God Himself. You should not desire to be called teacher or leader; for One is your Leader, the Christ. This was said in order to distinguish those who are carnal teachers, those who seek their own honor. Clearly, such people have not been appointed by God and are to be stopped immediately. Paul said of himself that he was a teacher for the Gentiles in Spirit and in truth. But he was not interested in being honored or called “Teacher” or “Rabbi, Rabbi.” The very fact that he was a teacher in Spirit and in truth forbade him from allowing that.

There is a great deal of activity in the body of Christ. Christ’s body is everything and everyone who is in Christ. Some members are more mature, and some are less mature in this body. In the church, or in the body, we cannot be taught by the Father, because that food would be too strong for us. In the body we must be taught by one another—mutually, side by side, according to the leading of the Spirit. Those who are taught by God to come to the Son are pointed in the direction of Christ’s death and atonement, while those who are taught in the church are pointed in the direction of the Father—that is, toward perfection. We must make a distinction between these two types of teaching if we want to learn anything at all. Therefore, those who insist that they are taught by God are outside Christ altogether, or just at the entrance to Him. However, after we come into Christ, we are guided into all truth by the Spirit and by those who are instruments of the Spirit. God has appointed prophets in the church. These are people who have a direct connection and receive revelations from the Spirit. These, in turn, are to teach the people. There were a few such prophets in Antioch. We must leave things in the church just as God ordained them; even though we might wish that it were completely different, our wishes are of no avail when it’s God who has placed them there. He who appoints, appoints whoever He wills for whatever He wills; and even though Satan rages, he can do absolutely nothing to change God’s divine arrangement. The best thing we can do is to come to rest and be content with everything just the way it is, casting all our cares and anxieties on the Lord. It is just as futile to try and thwart God’s plans and His divine order as it is to spend our whole life resenting the fact that we are not King Haakon.

We walk in the light and not in darkness, and therefore we have nothing to hide. For this reason it would be good if you could read this letter out loud at a meeting at Rasmussen’s and let those who get angry, get angry, and those who would rejoice, rejoice. We should test everything and hold fast to what is good. It is good to trust in God completely and a true joy to agree with Him in everything.

It was a real blessing to have the chance to speak about Jesus last Sunday at the Baptist church in Arendal. When they heard that I was the son of Mr. Smith from Kristiansand, the pastor said, “That doesn’t surprise me.” The fact is, God’s Spirit was upon me mightily, and the congregation listened with rapt attention. After being on board for a while, it is blessed to be able to speak a little about Christ Jesus.

Greetings to all the brothers and sisters at Br. Rasmussen’s, and to everyone at home, with Eph. 4:4, and greetings to you personally with 1 Tim. 6:3-5.

Your brother,