“It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools.” Eccl. 7:5. “Surely oppression destroys a wise man’s reason . . . .” Eccl. 7:7. “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” Prov. 12:1. “The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not inhabit the earth.” Prov. 10:30.

“Wisdom is radiant and unfading, and she is easily discerned by those who love her, and is found by those who seek her.” Wisdom of Solomon 6:12 [Apocrypha]. “I learned both what is secret and what is manifest, for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me. For in her there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible, beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent and pure and most subtle. For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.” 7:21-24. If you want to possess this spirit, it will meet you in the doorway. If you obey it, it will prepare and mold you; but if you are disobedient, it will forsake you. It prepares the saints of God from one generation to the next.

God’s Spirit is not dependent on deeply-rooted customs and ceremonies, because it is mobile and flexible, and it makes those it works with flexible too. Wisdom will rule and reign eternally. So, if we want the honor of ruling with Him, we must also partake of wisdom. Christ is the wisdom of God. The work wrought in Christ is the wisdom of God. The beginning of wisdom is to know one’s own folly; but in Christ is not only the beginning of wisdom, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are also hidden in Him. In Him the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily. The fullness of the Godhead is the Spirit, who is mighty to guide us into all truth; but the fullness of the truth is Christ, and Christ and the Father are one. Christ is the Mediator between God and man. This is why He is also called “the way.” The Father is not “the way.” God is one, but mediators do not mediate for one only. Imagine a young boy who, right from the first grade, is going through school to become a professor. All his teachers are not just for one, but the professor is one. This isn’t really a perfect illustration, but it can still lead to understanding. In the same way, it is written that no one can come to the Son unless the Father draws him, but the one who learns from the Father comes to the Son. First, the young boy looks at the professor and makes becoming a professor his goal. Then he begins to go through the various grades with different teachers. The Son is the way to the Father. He is the Teacher unto righteousness. No one can come to the Father except through the Son. He who denies the Son denies the Father as well. Christ teaches us step by step. We have access through the veil—that is, His flesh. Christ died, and through His death we look behind the veil. That is to say: We must die with Him. The one who stole must put to death the lust to steal. The one who was vain must put that to death. To death with the lust to smoke. To death with the lusts of drunkenness and laziness. This is how we are conformed to His death. Phil. 3.

The slave is always asking for forgiveness and more forgiveness. But we, on the other hand, ask God to pull up by the roots the indwelling lust, which is the cause of sin. Thus we are constantly delivered to death, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

This is the entrance through His flesh. How many really want to enter here???? Indeed, flesh and blood do not inherit the kingdom of God, because there is no breathing room here for the mind of the flesh. The cry “Spare yourself!” is always of the devil.

Paul said with tears that most were enemies of the cross of Christ. Let us always abide in the doctrine that leads to godliness; this is the doctrine of Christ.

From now on we know no one according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Carnal people cannot please God; and then, of course, neither can they please us. So we don’t seek to please men and win their approval as the world does. We seek God’s honor and let our honor be the world’s scorn and mockery.

Nothing that would bind and fetter us is of God; it is of the devil. The Son’s task is always to liberate. The way we choose to live our life in this world is not without significance. If I sit down in a train compartment, I run the risk that the coach will roll away with me. But if I just sit in the basement, I won’t go anywhere. If I take a seat in the State Church, it will carry me away; and if I begin to inquire of the Spirit of God, it will lead me. No one doubts that there is a difference between the Spirit of God and the State Church. The Spirit of God records my name in the Book of Life with the finger of the living God, but the State Church enrolls me in its membership registry with pen and ink at the hand of one of its priests. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light . . . .” This shows that those who are led into His marvelous light are priests. The priests in the old covenant were supposed to teach the people to discern between the clean and the unclean. It is just the same today.

Some will ask, “Is it possible to be a Lutheran or a Catholic or a Methodist or a Baptist, etc., and still be a child of God??” God’s Spirit does not lead us into such a human work, but as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God. We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken or touched by hands, but we see plenty of sects that can be touched or shaken. They are no more abstract than that. The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. In other words, the whole sectarian system falls into the category of profiting nothing. What is unprofitable is not of God.

If you speak disparagingly to a Seventh Day Adventist about Adventism, he will be furious. Speak disparagingly about Methodism to a Methodist, and he will be furious—more furious than if you spoke disparagingly about Christ. But when you meet a disciple of Jesus, he will laugh if you tear into Lutheranism and Methodism and all the other -isms, as long as you speak well of Jesus. People say that it doesn’t matter at all where they go. But ask yourself—doesn’t it make a tremendous difference? People flock to their respective “synagogues,” but it is written that you will be thrown out of all the synagogues. My heart rejoices that this truth has also become mine, because I have been shut out of all the synagogues. Now I belong to that sect which is opposed and spoken against everywhere. Acts 28:22. Please read this verse. I can breathe freely in this sect, because neither priest nor parish clerk is going to take the temperature of my soul and judge me according to their doctrinal tenets—for they shall all be taught by God. The only thing that counts in this sect is a new creation. Church finery and the priest’s crucifix mean nothing here, since no one is focusing on things that are seen. Nor is it the one who is well-read and has studied much who is great, but it is the one in whom the Spirit of the Lord dwells, because God alone is great, and He is the One at work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Our orders don’t come from the Royal Ministry of Church and Education Affairs, but they come from the One who has taught us to obey God rather than men.

I’ll stop for now. Write back soon, because I enjoy hearing from you about how things are going.

Your brother,

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Everyone who practices righteousness is born of God. Our spirit is molded through the obedience of the cross. One vessel is unto honor, another vessel unto dishonor. It does no good for us to run away crying when God begins to deal with us. God did not spare His Son; the Son learned obedience by the things that He suffered. To be united in the death of the Son, we must first be united in His sufferings. This is the fellowship of His sufferings. Phil. 3. If we suffer with Him, we shall also be glorified with Him. Isn’t all of this simple?? Don’t ever get stuck in outward forms, customs, or reputation. Throw all your “honor” overboard, and God will teach you, instruct you, and honor you. The man whom God honors will be approved. There are so many things to talk about, dear Aksel, but we understand in part and prophesy in part. To prophesy is to speak in the Spirit and with the understanding.

J. O. S.