I am on board the Valkyrjen again. Br. Thorleif Hansen and Br. Gulliksen met me at the train station in Kristiania. We went to Br. Hansen’s home and spoke together for an hour. Br. Hansen’s wife and sister were there. It is blessed to meet a faithful soul now and then on life’s way. I believe Br. Hansen will be a blessing wherever God sends him. It was the first time I had met Br. Gulliksen. He seems to be a man with a searching, inquiring spirit—judging by the look in his eyes.

God yearns zealously for our spirit, whether we are gifted in the one way or the other. The word of God is sharp; it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow. But it is not written that the word divides the same spirit. Wherever our human spirit has not been made alive, it is still bound to sin in the flesh. When a person falls asleep in Christ (dies), sin in the body will follow the body into the grave, which is the reason that it sees corruption. The spirit is then set free from the body of sin. When a person’s spirit is set free from sin in the flesh by the sufferings and death of Christ already now in this life, they are glorified with Christ. This is because they are undergoing the same process that Christ went through in the days of His flesh. Christ offered up prayers and supplications with vehement cries to Him who was able to save Him from death and was heard because of His godly fear. The Spirit of Christ was set free from sin in the flesh, and as a result, His flesh did not see corruption. But you can ask, what became of the sin in the flesh? Can you say that it is done away with through judgment? Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. Is sin in the flesh the same as the ruler of this world? Is it something of himself? Since sin (the ruler of this world) has been in the flesh of Christ, did it leave any marks behind? Yes, I think it did. The wound in His side and the piercings in His hands and feet are evidence that sin was in the flesh for a time but received its judgment there.

But how will it be for us who perhaps only attain to half of Christ’s perfect salvation? I believe our glory in Christ depends on how much we have been made alive in our spirit. A person with only the forgiveness of sins will have his spirit separated from the body of sin as a pure, human spirit. The same is true for that part of our spirit which has not been made alive; it will be separated along with that part of our spirit that has been made alive. It is pure, but it is human. But then comes the question: Can that pure, human spirit and our living spirit exist as one spirit in one body? Yes, they are together now while sin is in the flesh; how much more and better when sin is taken away.

Since Christ did not see corruption because His spirit was completely separated from sin in the flesh, do we not have a right, in part—to the degree that we have been made alive—to be spared from corruption? No! We still commit deeds of the body of which the whole body is partaking; and if one member suffers, all members suffer with it—permeated with the very thing that caused the suffering—sin. So, despite us perceiving and understanding in part and speaking in part, God, nevertheless, is working with the complete picture, with the individual parts as factors.

Ultimately, our comfort and hope is that if One died for all, then all died. Christ has become the Savior of all mankind, but especially for those who believe. When an ungodly person dies, and his body—with sin in it—becomes separated from his spirit, will he not then be in the same condition as a person who has received forgiveness of sins—with a pure, human spirit? Yes, we can say that; but in addition, there is a mark of condemnation for the sins he has committed and has not been cleansed from. This will cause judgment and condemnation throughout his entire spirit, so that the joy of being free from the body of sin cannot be enjoyed because of the sense of dread that weighs on him. Thus, it will be fulfilled that everyone will receive according to his works, according to what he has done, either good or evil. While the ungodly person is experiencing judgment throughout his entire spirit because of his evil works, the God-fearing person’s works, which follow him, will cause rejoicing in his spirit. I have been thinking about these things lately. Please write if you have any comments regarding this.

Br. Risnes really wants to take a month off after Christmas to further the Lord’s work. We’ll see how it goes. We’re expecting Br. Theodor Ellefsen to be here in two weeks. We will be in dry dock in Bergen on December 1, and then we’ll sail to Haugsholmen on December 5. When we are in Haugsholmen, we sometimes sail to Ålesund to get coal and supplies. From January 5 to 16 we will be stationed in Ålesund. Moldøen seems to have been left off the schedule.

Thanks for all your letters. Greet your family and the friends.

Warm greetings from your brother,