Praise to God for all things in Christ Jesus, to whom belongs all power and glory forever and ever. He is faithful who has called us with an eternal calling; His praise cannot be adequately expressed, even when we do it with all our might. And even if we pray for wisdom and praise Him with wisdom and insight, He can only be praised to the extent that we understand His work and His deeds. But God has not granted any man to understand all His deeds; therefore no man can praise Him perfectly, for honor and praise without understanding mean nothing. Therefore, if we pray for more wisdom and more understanding, it is in order to perceive more of His work. When we perceive more of His work, His praise and honor are even greater. Principalities and powers in heaven now proclaim God’s wisdom through the church. We are His workmanship, in whom He has imparted the mysteries of His work, to the extent that we have been formed by the Master’s hand.

We are His flesh and His bones; we are delivered to death in His body of sin on the cross. There we have the possibility of our body of sin being destroyed in and with Him because of the power of the resurrection which works powerfully in us. In other words, it was necessary for Christ to become sin for us, so that our sin could be grafted into Him in order that we can die with Him so that we can also live with Him. Do you not know that your bodies are the members of Christ? But when the body is dead because of sin—we understand that the body we carry about with us, which is a member of the body of Christ, is the body that was buried and guarded by the Roman soldiers; this body is dead because of sin. We bear this body. This is the body He left for us. But if the Spirit of the One who raised up Christ from the dead dwells in us, then He who raised Christ from the dead shall also make our mortal bodies alive by His Spirit that lives in us.

However, this is a mystery of God, that Christ’s body did not see decay, whereas the body of His bride does see decay. The body of the Bridegroom was of God and of man, while the body of the bride is only of man. But when He says that our bodies are the members of Christ and that we are flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone, we understand that the Bridegroom has reconciled Himself with the bride, where He took our humanity, with its lower standing, into His body. But when He took our humanity, it occurred through death, for through death Christ’s body and our bodies are subjected to a spiritual process which has made us to be one body.

That spirit that can prop up the body and deceive it into thinking that it is anything but dead is of the devil and of the liar. The Spirit of truth testifies that the body is dead. The more we can acknowledge this, the more we become like Christ in His death. The spirit of the world unites itself with this body, which is dead, and props it up and causes it to exalt itself. Here the liar is manifested bodily; every human being is a liar by their very nature. But if Christ is in us, then the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. It was righteous that the body died; now it is dead, and the Spirit lives in the dead earthen vessel. We have access through the veil, that is, His flesh. The anchor of hope is cast within the veil, within His flesh. He who is born of God cannot sin. Every sin that a man commits is outside the body. The body is dead. No one is condemned for inherited sin, but everyone will be repaid according to his own deeds. If a person is of the world and has the spirit of the world, then he is in death and is condemned in his conscience because of dead works. However, works done according to the leading of the Spirit are fruits unto God; but since these works are done in a dead body—in an earthen vessel—the person knows nothing about them and will therefore say on that day: “When did we see You . . . naked and clothe You?” etc. On the other hand, the one who comes with his own works produces them with his own body. But since the body is dead, these works are only fruits of death. Therefore He will say to them: “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” A person’s full consciousness must be contained in body, soul, and spirit; but since our bodies are dead because of sin, we cannot store up (harbor within us) the works that we have performed through the leading of the Spirit. These are treasures stored up by faith. These are the reward He will have with Him when He comes, when we shall be like Him and see Him as He is.

We have had meetings at Betel on both days of Pentecost. The second day was especially good. The Spirit of God was mightily upon me throughout the meeting so that I could hardly sit still; and when the opportunity came, this power erupted in an outpouring of prophecy, speaking in tongues, and interpretation. The Spirit was mightily present, and it was truly a blessed meeting.

Br. Berg speaks in tongues; he is asking God for wisdom. Have you noticed what Severin Larsen from Fredrikshald writes? His understanding is not shallow. I have read your letter to Barratt. It was good to see that you still have a full house. I looked at the clock on Maundy Thursday about 5:15 in the afternoon and told Pauline that now the meeting at the Labor Union Hall in Kristiansand was beginning.

The armored vessel H.H. is now sailing to South America and will not be returning until September, which is why the Sleipner expedition may be called off, and then I have the prospect of staying at home for the summer.

Anthony hasn’t been here, but Erik and his wife were here for two days.

Hope you can take a trip east again very soon. You are heartily welcome whenever you come. Likewise, Father and Mother will be coming here soon.

Greet the dear brothers and sisters there, and most hearty greetings to you in Christ Jesus, from your

resting in Him,
strengthened in Him,
working in Him,
dying in Him, and
made alive in Him
brother,