I received your last letter dated the 18th. It was a real joy to see and experience how God has allowed you to look into these glorious truths that come to us as we go through the veil, that is, His flesh. This is precisely where all knowledge and wisdom are hidden. It is common to desire a wisdom that is out in the air, up in the clouds, or somewhere else like that. But the fact is that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, even the fullness of the Godhead, dwell bodily in Christ Jesus. That’s why we need to dig for hidden treasures in His flesh. We must eat His flesh and drink His blood, for this is food and drink indeed. Can we understand this with our heads—with an unenlightened mind? No, we can no more grasp it with our head than with our feet. God’s Spirit brings the knowledge of God. But just as Christ offered Himself through the power of an eternal Spirit, we, too, can offer ourselves through the power of the Spirit of Christ. Christ as Mediator encompasses in Himself every individual person who is in Him. Therefore, the Mediator is not just for one. He is the way to the Father (perfection). On this way, His flesh and blood were consumed through the power of an eternal Spirit. Thus God did what the law could not do. The devil can tempt us through flesh and blood, but when flesh and blood have been sacrificed, the devil no longer has anything on which he can exert his influence. Consequently, when Christ offered His body, He sacrificed that which Satan used as his base of operations. And once that was sacrificed, the devil wasn’t able to do anything.

We read about those who have fallen asleep in Christ. From this we understand that the fruit of our life here on earth is only proportionate to what we have attained by being made alive by the second Adam. Our bodies fall asleep in Him. But since it is in Him that our bodies fall asleep, and His body has been raised up, then we, too, must necessarily be raised up in Him, for He is no longer in the grave. The passage of time may be important for us, but not for God, who counts those things that are not as though they were. Where, then, is our horizon? It is within the body of Christ. Can we expand our horizon? Yes, within the body. Can we reach beyond the body? No, Christ offered Himself completely, so there is no place for anything outside the body. Nor can we jump out of our own skin and say, “Here I am.” No, our entire “I” is in Christ—for to me, to live is Christ. But then, how can Jesus be high priest? By offering Himself to the uttermost; therefore He can come to the aid of those who are still offering themselves. But the One who offered Himself and those who are being offered are all of one. Therefore He is not ashamed to call us brethren.

We have no advantage over other people. The important thing for us is to remain before God in order to obtain knowledge and guidance. This is the ministry of a prophet, since a prophet stands between God and the people. God also has prophets in His church now in our time. Every prophet must act independently and receive all his orders directly from God through the Spirit. A prophet’s task is not so much to be involved with the masses, but rather to live in intimate fellowship with the Lord, to stand in His counsels, and to inform the people about what God reveals. Read Ex.18, from verse 13. There you see that Moses appointed leaders to judge the people. Only when there was a difficult dispute were they to bring it to Moses (verse 26). It is the same way now. We must also endeavor to instruct the leaders by remaining before God’s face and receiving what to say through a spirit of revelation. These leaders, in turn, must take care of their own area. We can intervene when there are signs of trouble and when difficulties arise. We can’t carry out this most important ministry if we are involved in all kinds of different things. There are enough of those who are willing to run; the important thing is to give them something to run with. We must be conscious of our ministry in the Lord so that we can make the most of each individual situation as we remain in the sufferings. That’s why, as I said last time, as far as I can remember, if you find a spiritual brother whom you consider to be especially suitable and faithful, make it clear to him at once that he must look after the flock where he is. Place responsibility on his shoulders, and make sure to impress upon him what he must do. There must be order. People can’t just roam around like a flock of sheep. A person must learn to obey before he can learn to give orders. If there are some in the flock who refuse to obey, you must tread carefully with such people so that they don’t draw others along with them.

Br. Gerrard has written to me about the subject you also wrote about: the publication of a paper. He had a 16-page publication in mind, with an annual subscription fee of 4 kroner. I replied and suggested a publication about the same size as Det Gode Budskap and with the same annual subscription of 1.50 kroner. Meanwhile, each of us must remain in our current jobs until the publication has grown enough to support its own editor. From then on—if God allows it to prosper—the publication can be expanded, and the subscription fee can be increased somewhat as well. I also told him that if we do publish something, we must work for the furtherance of the truth and not for the furtherance of the publication; then God will take care of its growth. For the time being, we can say much through a smaller publication. Gerrard would be a good candidate for a position like that; he is first rate. I am very interested in such a work, and I believe that God will use me to refute, convince, chasten, and exhort through a publication like this. There are enough religious newsletters, so our paper would have to be sharp and focused. But I can’t go into this haphazardly; everything has to be carefully considered. However, I could write and stay in my current position while attempting to promote the publication. Then, if Gerrard can’t manage this in addition to his position at the bank, he could leave his job to take over the editorship and try to make a living that way.

Now it’s getting late. I wish you all the best; and with regard to the opposers you wrote about, you will find comfort in Josh. 10:24-25.

Kristoffersen and Ellefsen asked me to greet you. It’s a joy to hear from you that things are going well and that you are able to be of use.

Hearty greetings in Christ Jesus with Zech. 11:4.

Yours,