I have some time now, and I want to use it to write to you. Berg’s father and mother send their greetings. I read them your last letter, and they rejoiced very much over what you wrote. You hit the nail on the head when you wrote about the much-applauded free will. There is only one will in the kingdom of heaven—God’s will. Every will outside of God’s will is apostasy and sin. Within the bounds of God’s will there is peace, joy, and eternal life. Within this framework you will find all the saints of God, down through the ages. God’s will is our sanctification. In your house you want your will to be done. If there is another will in your house besides your own, or one that is in disharmony with it, then the person concerned becomes your enemy, and you will throw him out. The same applies to God’s house. The law is in force against those who are living their own lives and doing their own will, but it is powerless against those who possess the life of Christ and the will of God, because the power of sin is the law. When we have come into Christ, we aren’t lawless; we are in the law of the Spirit—because it was that law which set us free from the law of sin and death. So it is written, “Not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ.”

We are now in the law of the Spirit, which is far more powerful than the law which was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The “convicting” law dealt only with outward works, e.g., drunkenness, stealing, fighting, etc. But what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh. The convicting law is outside the body. That’s why it is written, “Every sin that a man does is outside the body.” But the law of the Spirit is within the body—Christ in you, the hope of glory. The convicting law was the hand that pointed to the tree’s bad fruit; it could do no more than that. But what the law could not do, the law of the Spirit does by destroying sin within the body—or, if you will, it kills the tree’s roots. A tree with dead roots stops producing fruit. That’s why it is written in Rom. 6:6, “Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” This is crystal clear.

Having now passed from the law which brought us to Christ into the law of the Spirit, we have gotten to know Him and the power of His resurrection. Next we get to know “the fellowship of His sufferings,” being made like Him in His death. Phil. 3:10. How wonderful and precious that is! What is “the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings”? It is the suffering that takes place in the root of the tree as it is being destroyed. To put it another way, it’s that suffering which the body of sin undergoes during the process of its destruction. Put this teaching to the test; just see if it doesn’t lead to godliness. This is not a doctrine of my own devising. God has taught it to me, and before His face I commit it to others. This teaching is precious indeed, and very few have any knowledge of it. This word is true: If we suffer with Him, we shall also be glorified with Him. Paul said with tears that many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. What does it mean to be an enemy of the cross of Christ?? It is to fear those sufferings that arise when the body of sin is being destroyed. If we shrink back from these sufferings, we retain our body of sin, just as we would retain a rotten tooth if we were afraid of having it extracted because of the pain. The kind of person the devil is least able to master is the one who can endure suffering.

The world has only one aim: to look after itself, glorify itself, and please itself. This is what it means to keep your life in this world. But those who lay down their life find life—eternal life. Since you are being taught by God, ponder these things earnestly in your heart, so that you never shrink back from the sufferings of Christ. These sufferings have been accomplished in Him and shall be accomplished in us. The usual preaching is that Christ has died in our stead. This preaching is a lie, because if Christ had died in my stead, then I could live. But it is written, “If we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” He is the way through death and into life.

There are multitudes of false and misleading Biblical-sounding expressions that are circulating nowadays. For example, “Everyone is blessed in his faith,” and “We must give everyone the benefit of the doubt,” etc. These things can be true, provided they are understood correctly. That is why it is written, “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure.” However, to say that everyone using these expressions is pure would be far from reality. However, we have to try to understand things the way they understand it, and based on that, we can explain what is incorrect. It is a real joy to be a Jew to the Jew; to be as one who was under the law for those who were under the law; to be as one who is without law for those that are without law, yet not being without law toward God, but in the law toward Christ. And this we can be because the Mediator (Christ) is not just for one, but God is one. So our development in Christ is not for one, but perfection is one.

I’d better stop here. Write soon; it’s always delightful to hear from you. Greet those who are at home from Berg’s parents and from us here.

Your brother,