Very few people have received grace to solve this great puzzle, not because it is so complicated, but because it is so indescribably simple! What kind of a puzzle is this? It is this very relevant puzzle: Why, when I would very much like to do God’s will and be mightily blessed by Him, it not succeeding for me? Someone has written in a hymn or a poem that every “why” will be answered in eternity. However, just think how glorious it is that all these “whys” can be answered now during the time of our sojourn. The puzzle can be solved now! Take a look at Matthew 16:24. We can phrase the puzzle like this: “Why is it not working for me even though I very much desire to follow Jesus?” Answer: Because you are carrying on with something that cannot possibly make it go well for you—something that is utterly hopeless; namely, you are following Him without denying yourself, without denying your own will, or you are doing it only by following it at your own discretion instead of according to God’s Word in every detail—that which is our perfect guideline! In that way, which unfortunately is the norm, each attempt at walking in Jesus’ steps is fruitless. We can most easily comprehend this revolutionary truth by way of examples, and all examples are consistent in showing that I must deny one thing in order to obtain the other; I must let go of the one in order to gain the other. The great corruption of mankind is that people want to have both, and they seek in vain. They would like to find happiness, but they do not want to go the only way that leads to it. This is precisely why it was very much on Jesus’ heart to tell them this highly relevant and effective truth. In my childhood I read a very fitting statement in one of the school books: “I cannot be buyer and seller simultaneously” (namely, of one and the same thing). I cannot give away a banknote and at the same time keep it for myself. I must necessarily deny my desire and will to keep it if I am going to be able to give it away. I cannot be meek and quiet, and at the same time be irritated and angry. I cannot suffer unjustly and simultaneously sue for my rights. I cannot be flexible and pliable while being stubborn like a billy goat. All God-fearing wives would love to be in submission to their own husbands in all things, as the Scriptures so clearly command, but how can they accomplish it while they are full of self-will which they also want to carry out. Dear sister, give up this useless striving. It is completely hopeless to achieve being in submission in this way. You must obviously deny and totally give up the one in order to accomplish the other! Without exception, this also applies to honor and everything else. If you want to be honored by God, then you must always deny all your desire to be honored by man. It is absolutely ironic that this should be life’s great puzzle, yet it is, as far as most believers are concerned. This is how terribly stupid people are! May this riddle now be solved for you once and for all, dear brother and dear sister! Let it be so! Then you can truly sing together with the singer for the rest of your life: “Comfort untold! Now I behold . . . .”Elias Aslaksen

“For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Romans 8:13. This verse covers a vast territory—from manifest works of the flesh, to unconscious deeds—deeds that are the result of the “another law in our members” working in us. Romans 7:23. Here we have some of the height, breadth, length, and depth of the work of salva­tion that is in Christ, which we receive grace to comprehend together with all the saints. Ephesians 3:18. From Jesus’ letters to the seven churches in Revelation we can observe that everything rested on the quality of their works. They had to be perfect before God. Revelation 3:2. We have to find our “self,” our inner hidden man, where our life and desires are. When we put them to death by the Spirit, we shall live. The acknowledgment and understanding we receive through this cleansing becomes our personal possession. This can neither be taken away from us, nor can it be harmed by any power. We remain standing before the Son of Man. Luke 21:36. Bringing the deeds of that “other law” into the death of Christ results in glorious fruits. Those who are godfearing, wholehearted, and zealous experience a blessed life. When this “other law” reveals my “self,” it is because of godly fear. We must delight in the law of God with all our heart. Romans 7:22. In order to receive this grace, our mind has to be closed to the world and open to God. Everything can have a nice outward appear­ance, but if our heart is not apprehended of the things that are invisi­ble, it is all in vain. Blessed is the man who meditates on the laws of the Lord day and night. Psalm 1:1-2. This man has set his mind on these things. Paul delighted in the law of God according to his inward man, and he served this law with his mind. Romans 7:25. We cannot be more apprehended than that. Jesus put on the garment of zeal for clothing (Isaiah 59:17); it was this zeal for God’s house which consumed Him. John 2:17. If we want to partake of the height, breadth, depth, and length of this galvation, then we must also deny things that are not sin. By God’s love in our hearts, our minds are also set free from our “good” I. There was no law in the old covenant that could give life. Galatians 3:21. However, now we can be made alive by the laws of the Spirit of life in Christ, by putting our nature to death. The works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19), as well as dead works (Hebrews 6:1 and 9:14), are easily recognizable, but it is difficult to see the deeds produced by the “other law.” They are only revealed to us when we live a hidden life with Christ in God. Being good, kind, and filled with the knowledge of God (Romans 15:14), as well as being praised for knowing the law (Romans 7:1), does not suffice. Our aim is to find those laws that set our mind free from our own nature. Then we can die as a grain of wheat in the ground and bear fruit to maturity by serving God. If there is a lack of spiritual service, it is because there is a lack of a hidden life and meditating on the laws of the Lord. When we live a godfearing life so that the deeds of the “other law” are revealed, a transformation takes place in our life for which Jesus ministers as our High Priest. There are few who find the narrow way that leads to life (Matthew 7:14) and whose desire and longing is for Christ to give them light. Ephesians 5:14. They partake of a hidden life which, in weight and content, is like an iceberg, the greater part of which is hidden beneath the surface. We are not permitted to have a lesser goal for our spiritual service than what we read in Romans 12:1: to “present our body,” so we can find our “self” and the things that we are to put to death by the Spirit.Trygve Sandvik