God’s grace and peace in Christ Jesus, the Beloved. Thank you for your good letter, which I received yesterday while on shore leave. It is a great joy to see your progress in the knowledge of God. In order to gain that knowledge, Paul counted everything as loss and dung. In particular, it was a joy to see your realization of sin outside the body and the cleansing inside the body. Christ came with the body. All sin is outside the body of Christ. The Lord is for the body, and the body is for the Lord. The body first became visible when the law was given, for all sin outside the body was made known when the light of the law exposed it; and in this way, the body itself was also made known. That’s why it is written that the fathers knew Him as a great, almighty God, but in the wilderness He manifested Himself as Lord (the Lord our God is one, and has a body). Now He manifests Himself in our inner being as Father.

We are baptized by one Spirit into one body. The work of Christ takes place in this body, and the angels long to look into these things. The light outside the body (the law) judges sin that is outside the body, but the light within the body judges sin that is within the body. Light outside the body turns people into cold planets, which receive their light externally (e.g., the moon, the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, the asteroids, Venus, Mercury, etc.), but the light within the body makes us like the fixed stars that are luminous. The first type inherits the earth, while the second inherits heaven. The former are found at the foot of the cross, whereas the latter are crucified with Him. The former are Jews (spiritually speaking) for whom Jesus is king; the latter possess the kingship with Him. The more light we receive and possess through acknowledgment, the more people we will rule over in eternity. The one who possesses the greater light encompasses those who have less and extends his horizon of light even further. Therefore, a lesser light can never reign over a greater light. Christ has received a perfect light into His body; therefore He will rule over everyone. The sun has sunspots, but the Sun of Righteousness (Christ) is without spot. We, on the other hand, have many sunspots that must be removed. But the person who lives under the law is a cold planet—one big spot.

Our entrance is through the veil—that is, His flesh. Our suffering with Christ, our being judged with Him, and our being destroyed with Him all work together for our sanctification. Those who draw back from suffering are enemies of the cross of Christ. Such people are happy to rejoice together with Christ but not to suffer together with Him. A person can have known the power of His resurrection and still draw back from the fellowship of His sufferings—in other words, be an enemy of the cross of Christ. Such people are always talking about their joy, but it’s the kind of joy that is nauseating, because it is not pure. Their end is corruption, and therefore they cannot continue in the congregation of the righteous, because the destiny of the righteous is not corruption. This is why they must part ways. We must continue steadfastly in the light God has given us and take God’s kingdom by force. If anyone wants to indulge their flesh and their belly, they will be left behind. They can’t keep up in this race, because love for the flesh hinders them. This love is of the devil and always has been. However, there are some who weep and stubbornly insist that it is God’s love.

It has become vital for me to press into Christ as much as I possibly can—press into His sufferings and power, into the light of His knowledge; for I have in truth learned to count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of God. On board the Tordenskiold God gave me victory when I took up the battle. Here on board, He gives me victory when I pray for my superiors and subordinates and when I remain silent in situations where I used to go on the attack. God gives victory in different ways. The battle may be waged in many different ways, but victory and the victor’s reward must be won—one way or another. The deeper we press into Christ, the longer and deeper our work in Him will be.

We are kept for the work that God has ordained. If we plant a mine near the surface, it will do a superficial work. But if we plant it deep, it will do a deep work. God has never allowed anyone to be put to shame. However, the greater the task, the greater the training and the longer the education. We ourselves are God’s workmanship. We must make a distinction between God’s work in us and our work in Christ. The potter must first form the vessel before the vessel can be of use. The finer the vessel, the more work and time must be spent on it, but the greater the honor for the potter who made it. A person is honored according to his work. Therefore, God is honored most when we allow Him to form us as much as possible. We will then glorify God with our life, just as Christ did with His. If we honor God, God will honor us, because we will receive honor to the same degree we have allowed ourselves to be formed.

Our entire life must consist of a series of victories. No one must ever be allowed to overcome us. We must conquer when we have been struck, and we must conquer when we strike, for the blows of the righteous bring healing. We have a personal God and a personal responsibility, so we must always be pleasing to Him, whether by our life or by our death. If we live, we live to the Lord; if we die, we die to the Lord. Whether we live or whether we die, we are in the body. Therefore it is written: “Those who have fallen asleep in Christ.”

God wants to decide your life and your work. Just commit everything to Him and be obedient in everything without asking why, because the mind of the Spirit is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit; this is the indication of God’s will.

Right now I am sitting in my cabin on board and writing this letter. This is the first time I have had a cabin of my own on board a ship—it’s very nice.

You mention that there are some who cannot seem to keep up. We can’t let such people hold us back. They are more of a hindrance than a help. They are always getting offended over one thing or another. And we will never be able to satisfy all their requests and demands. They have their appointed time and their part to play, but they don’t make progress. We have some like that in Horten too. They could well be called cousins of false liberty, for these also went astray by being enemies of the cross of Christ. When fruit is ripe, it drops. Likewise, these people will drop off when they are ripe. In the meantime, we must keep ourselves pure from these vessels of dishonor.

I’ll close for now with a loving greeting to you and everyone at home, Helga, Br. Gerrard and Anna, with Zeph. 3:12.

Your brother,