That I May Know Him - A Testimony

That I May Know Him A Testimony Paris W. Reidhead, Jr.* July 14, 1953 FORWARD There are three requests that I would like to make of those who may read the following report. If you will bear these things in mind, I shall be most grateful. First, this report has been prepared hastily. It does not represent a full treatment on any of the subjects incorporated herein, nor does it represent a final statement of my thinking in regard to these matters, for I am continually studying and praying, seeking to bring everything into conformity to the Word of God. If questions have been raised or misconceptions have been given, you will do me a great courtesy by writing to me. Second, the primary purpose of this paper has been to present a testimony of what I believe to those with whom I have been associated during the past nine years. In order that a better understanding might be given, I felt it necessary to include some something concerning my home background, training and ministry, as well as what may seem a rather lengthy inclusion from the works of other men who have expressed themselves in a manner similar to the way I believe. Third, it is my hope that all who read this testimony will follow the pattern of those of Berea who “searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so,” (Acts 17:11b). I. River Experience “What can your living Jesus do today that our dead Mohammed can’t?” was the next question my Mohammedan friend asked me. These words were spoken to me as the chalky waters of the White Nile River eddied and rippled around the prow of our stern- wheel steamer as we made our way on the last stage or our journey from Kosti to Khartoum. For two days I had been aboard the vessel as the guest of a Sudanese government official who had rescued me from three broiling days of waiting at the Kosti rest house for the next train. As we were the only two persons on the ship who spoke English, we had enjoyed frank and engaging conversations together. Of course, my continuous aim was to effectively witness for my Lord Jesus Christ. With surprising eagerness my Mohammedan friend listened to my testimony. It was most encouraging to see his readiness to read the Scripture passages that I pointed out to him. Great indeed was my encouragement on one occasion when I saw tears gather in his eyes as I told him of the life, death, and glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior and witnessed to that which He had done for me. On this last morning we were seated together continuing our conversation about Christianity. Because of his evident interest and realizing that this would be my last opportunity I pled with him to consider the claims of Christ and to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as his own personal Savior. It was after I reviewed again the simple way of salvation that he turned to me with an almost injured look and said, “Mr. Reidhead, you have asked me to become a Christian. Do you realize that if I were to do that today that it would probably cost me my wife, for her family would want to take her back, my children, my home, my savings, my job, and possibly even my life, for there are those who would think they would be gaining merit if they were to kill me. “Now, I have told you that I do not believe in Mohammedanism as a religion (he had said that he was a Mohammedan for social, political, and economic reasons, but that theologically he did not believe what Mohammed taught.) but neither do I believe, that Christianity is true, for I have known too many people who call themselves Christians. “Before I could graduate from Gordon Memorial College in Khartoum it was necessary for me to read the Bible as literature. I was very impressed with it as I read it. I was impressed with what Jesus did to prove His claim that He was God, with the miracles He did which He said were proofs that He was what He claimed to be. And then I read in your Bible that after Jesus had died and men went about saying that He had been raised from the dead, they did the same things He had done to prove that He was alive, and a great many people believed, according to the record, that Jesus was alive because of the things they saw done in His name to prove His resurrection. “But, Mr. Reidhead, that was over nineteen hundred years ago. You have come to me today and said, ‘Mr. Mohammedan, you have a book, the Koran; it is false. We have a Book, the Bible; it is true. Throw away your false book and take our true Book.’ You have come to me and said, ‘Mr. Mohammedan, you have a prophet, Mohammed, who is dead. We have a prophet, Jesus, Who is alive. Throw away your dead prophet and take our living Prophet.’” He went to say, “But, Mr. Riedhead, what can your living Jesus do today that our dead Mohammed can’t?” You may be sure that this question startled me. Nevertheless, I sought to answer it. “One thing my Jesus can do that none other can is to save a sinner; give him eternal life; take him to heaven when he dies!” My friend quickly replied, “Has anyone come back after he died to tell you that he made it to heaven with your Jesus’ help? You know my people think that by believing the Koran, obeying what Mohammed taught, praying five times a day, fasting one month of the year, paying tithes of all they have, they will go to heaven when they die.” After I had told him that to my knowledge no one had returned after dying, I then said, “However, my Savior can save men from sin; He can make wicked men holy; foul men clean. He can give peace and joy to those who do not have it.” “What you say would mean more to me if I had not met so many people who called themselves Christians,” said the effendi. “I think of those who will curse and swear in the office, get drunk on Saturday night, and then be at the cathedral for communion on Sunday morning. “What else can your Jesus do, Mr. Reidhead?” I quickly replied, “After all it is the churches from the Christian nations that have brought medicine and medical care to the oppressed people of the earth. Right here in the Anglo Egyptian Sudan there are missionaries who are caring for the sick.” “Yes, that is true,” he said, “but you do not need to be a Christian to be a good doctor. Some of the finest doctors in the Anglo Egyptian Sudan are Mohammedans who were trained by non-Christian agnostics in England. “Also,” he said, “the so-called Christian nations have given to the world the atomic bomb!” By this time I knew that the discussion was out of hand. Within a few moments he left me to attend to duties, and without opportunity for further discussion we docked at Khartoum. On bidding me good-bye he assured me of his pleasure and interest in our conversation, and I promised my continued prayers that he would come to know my Savior as his. For five long years my Mohammedan friend’s question, “What can your living Jesus do that my dead Mohammed can’t?” has been as a sword behind me driving me to the Bible to read, study, search, and believe. II. Early Years On May 30, 1919, I was born as the first son into a happy Christian home. My parents were then members of the North Methodist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was to this church that I was taken as a small child. Later a branch Sunday school in our neighborhood was organized into the Harron Methodist Church, and it was there that my years of 5-12 were spent in church and Sunday school. Although I became a member of the church at the age of ten, it was not until the summer of 1932 that I was born again. My mother had taken her Sunday school class to Red Rock Methodist Camp then held at South St. Paul, Minnesota, (now convening annually at Medicine Lake, Minn.) One of the speakers that summer was Dr. Paul S. Rees. His pungent Gospel messages, and the ministry of the others associated with him, were used of God to bring me under deep conviction of sin. Never will I forget the agony of those days. It seemed that every time any of the speakers addressed the meeting, he made personal reference to me revealing publicly the thoughts and deeds that I felt were entirely secret and known only to me. Of course, this was the blessed working of the Holy Spirit in real conviction. Meals lost their taste that week, and I remember sitting up two or three nights after the others had gone to sleep for fear that I should doze and die in my sleep and awaken in hell. Never will I forget the evening when the invitation was given by Dr. Rees. One of the obstacles in my way was the fear that if I should admit to any that I was lost, I would embarrass my Christian parents. However, it was not long until this deceitfulness and pride were laid bare for what they were. It was as the sweet strains of “Just As I Am” were being sung that I let go of the pew in front of me and moved out to that old altar in the straw. That night God in His mercy saved me and gave me the inner assurance and witness of the Spirit that I had passed from death unto life. The next day it was my joy to publicly confess the Lord as my Savior and to acknowledge that He had called me to be a missionary. The first expression I had made in regard to missions was long before this age. At the age of 7 I saw a copy of the life of David Livingstone. The old wood-cut illustrations, vivid in memory even today, made a tremendous impression upon my youthful mind. My mother has since told me that as she explained the meaning of those pictures to me on that day I exclaimed, “Mother, if there are still boys and girls in Africa who have not heard of Jesus, when I grow up I am going to go and tell them.” This was no surprise to mother, for she had dedicated me to the lord for missionary service before I was born. 2 When I was 14 years old while driving from our farm in the country near Anoka, Minnesota, to the town high school, I suffered a serious injury in an auto accident. I believe it was in answer to my mother’s prayers during the evening when this accident occurred that God spared my life. It was while recovering from this injury that God renewed His call to my heart to be a missionary for Him. Forever will I be indebted to gracious Christian parents who gave me the privilege of a Christian home, the blessing of Christian training, and encouragement for Christian service. III. Training During the years of 1932-1936 our family lived on a farm in the Anoka County, Minnesota. By this time I was attending the First Baptist Church of Anoka, and it was there I heard of the Northwestern Bible School in Minneapolis where young people of little or no financial means could have the opportunity of training for Christian service. The summer of 1934 was one of the most difficult in the history of the State of Minnesota, and we experienced other difficult drought years. It was during the summer of 1935 that my father informed me that it would be impossible for him to send me to high school for my senior year. He suggested two possibilities: the first was that I should stay on the farm the next year and work with him with the hopes that the following year I could resume my studies and complete my high school education. The second suggestion was that I begin Northwestern Bible School that year, if they would accept me, since I was only 16, and the minimum entrance age was 17. It was with real joy that the family received the word that I had been accepted and could enter Bible school that fall. While at school, and with some difficulty because of the scarcity of jobs everywhere, I was able to find employment in Minneapolis working three hours a day for two meals. Later I was able to get another job working seven hours a day for three meals and six dollars a week. During those years I proved again and again that Philippians 4:19 was true. Every day spent in school was precious and worth everything it cost and meant. In 1937, though only 18 years of age, I was called to be pastor of the Leslie Presbyterian Church near Osakis, Minnesota. Three wonderful years were spent in ministry in this rural community. It was a time of great blessing, as a patient people accepted the ministry that a youth brought to them as being from the Lord. It was while serving there that the Lord deepened the conviction that my life would be spent in missionary service through the ministry of Rev. Carl Tanis, Deputation Secretary of the Sudan Interior Mission. In June of 1940 I was graduated from Northwestern Bible School, and the next Fall I attended for one semester what was then John Fletcher College at Oskaloosa, Iowa. It was there I met the young lady who was to become my wife. Sometime in December I was extended a call to the pastorate of the First Baptist Church in Little Falls, Minnesota. This I felt the Lord led me to accept, so I entered upon the ministry there in February 1941. In June of that year I was ordained to the Baptist ministry. Dr. W.B. Riley was moderator of the ordination council and brought the ordination message. The friendship and counsel so generously given by Dr. Riley will always be cherished by me. In June of 1942 I terminated my ministry at the First Baptist Church at Little Falls to pursue the deep purpose of my heart to be a missionary. Six months were very profitably spent in fellowship with Pastor Basil Malof of Riga, Latvia. Those months were of inestimable profit serving to quicken my hunger to know the Lord in the fullness of His blessing. In February 1943, after my marriage, I entered Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, to complete work for my B.A. degree. While at Taylor I served as pastor of the Second Salem Baptist Church at Marion, Indiana, for two and a half years. I also renewed my contact with the Sudan Interior Mission through Rev. Carl Tanis and Rev. E.E. Lewis. In July of 1944 we were accepted as missionaries of the Sudan Interior Mission. Following the completion of my work at Taylor University in June 1945 we made our plans to go to Africa. IV. The Years in Africa During the summer of 1945 Mrs. Reidhead and I went to Briercrest, Saskatchewan, where we completed the first-year course of the Canadian Summer Institute of Linguistics. It was on the advice of the field that this further preparation was taken, for it was hoped that when we arrived in the Anglo Egyptian Sudan, we would be able to enter the Ingessena tribe to open missionary work among that unreached people. Upon our arrival at Khartoum we learned that permission had not been received for the opening of the Ingressena work and that it would be necessary for us to be appointed elsewhere. When it was learned by the Director of Education in the South that we had linguistic training, plans were set afoot which ultimately consummated in our being appointed to do pioneer linguistic investigation among several of the unreached tribes. It was thought that possibly the mission might be able to enter some of these tribes in closed areas on the basis of the so-called “linguistic approach.” 3 We were told by the Civil Secretary that there were then at least fifty unevangelized tribes in the Anglo Egyptian Sudan. Many of these tribes comprised relatively small numbers of people, some as few as 1000 or 1200 persons, and yet each group spoke its own distinct language. It was our feeling that the linguistic approach, which involved very little capital investment for station housing and no responsibility for formal educational work, would make it possible for these people to be reached with greater speed than the ordinary course of missionary endeavor seemed to promise. Furthermore, many of the areas which seemed to be open to this missionary approach were closed to full scale and organized missionary endeavor at that time. As we visited among these unevangelized people, our hearts were broken by the tremendous need of these neglected small tribes. In March of 1948 a decision was reached for the immediate conclusion of this effort, and all mission activity was dropped in this direction. Even though the work that we had been doing for three years had seemingly ceased, the burden God had placed upon our hearts was there to stay. We were impressed by the fact that there are in the world today over a thousand tribes who have never had the first witness of the Gospel of the grace of God. Our Lord’s command had been explicitly given, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.” And again “Go ye into ALL the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Our experiences in the Anglo Egyptian Sudan among the waiting tribes have indelibly marked our thinking and motivated our Bible study and prayer life. There were certain conclusions I was forced to draw from my experiences in Africa. First, that the Church is losing the race against time: 350,000,000 Mohammedans sit in their blindness who have been virtually unaffected by 100 years of missionary endeavor; nine pagans are being converted to Mohammedanism as to every one to Christianity; one and a half billion persons are said to be totally unevangelized. The present rate of missionary endeavor seems geared to the awful fate of failing to evangelize even as rapidly as people are being born. With these awesome facts before us and vivid memory of the individuals we had seen who comprised this huge untouched multitude, our hearts have been deeply burdened. We have only one life to live, and the days are slipping away so rapidly that we have felt compelled to reconsider, re-evaluate, reweigh, and restudy God’s Word. Second, that there was not that abundance of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in my life that God had a right to expect. Our Lord had declared, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples,” (John 15:8). From this declaration, it is concluded that God is concerned about our “being” as well as our “doing.” It is recognized that possibly the greatest problem on the mission field is the personalities, and I readily admit that it was my greatest problem. The study of God’s Word served to increase my conviction that my life woefully lacked the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, or self-control. As I studied and read the New Testament, I was amazed to discover that the very things that marked the ministry of our Lord and of the early Church were the things that we so desperately needed. My dispensational teaching at Bible school had caused me to consider: (1) that the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were not for us but were for the Jews; (2) that the Acts of the Apostles was a history book and not a text book; (3) that I Corinthians 11, 13, and 15 were ours and for this age, and that I Corinthians 12 and 14 were for the early Church and stopped at the close of the transition period. However, I remained loyal to my training but continued to study thoughtfully and prayerfully. In late summer of 1948 we were transferred from Melut, in the Upper Nile Province, to Omdurman where we lived in the midst of militant Mohammedanism. Here we came face to face with the formidable fanaticism of these blinded people. Having spent some three years among the pagans and a few months among the Mohammedans, we have brought back from Africa a deep and continually increasing burden for the multitudes in Africa, and around the world, who know not our Lord Jesus Christ. Throughout these years we have felt the pressure of the statement made by our Mohammedan friend, “What can your living Jesus do that our dead Mohammed can’t?” V. Early Deputation Ministry We arrived from Africa for Christmas 1948 with the full expectation of a year’s furlough and then a return to the field. The first months of furlough were spent in a period of serious study of the Word. January 15th through March 15th I resided at the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville and had access to the libraries and other facilities of the school. As I prayed and studied, the deep hunger of my heart was for that measure of victory and fruit that the Word indicated was normal for the child of God. Every opportunity was taken to attend the conference ministry of America’s outstanding Bible teachers and preachers. The years in Africa seemed to have created a desert in my heart that could only be watered by continual ministry and study of the Word. The one thing I sought most during these months was a message of personal victory that I knew was the birthright of a believer. Undoubtedly many of the men whom I heard knew that victory, and possibly even preached that message, but somehow it eluded me. While in Africa I had read with great profit L. E. Maxwell’s book Born Crucified, and from it I knew that there was a relationship that could give the personal victory for which I yearned. 4 In August of 1949 we were asked to spend a year in extended furlough to do deputational work in the Southeastern area of the United States. In the course of that ministry during February 1950 I attended a relatively small and unknown Bible conference in Florida. Never will I forget the message that was delivered on “Our Identification with Christ.” As it unfolded, it was indeed as cold water to a thirsty soul. There was nothing new or strange whatsoever. It was the relationship of the Scriptures to each other, and the insight into their meaning, that so helped me. The beautiful simplicity of the message of identification with Christ illuminated my mind and gripped my heart. For years I had preached that Christ had been crucified, buried, quickened, raised, and enthroned for us, but on that occasion I laid hold of the truth experientially that I—that old I for which Christ had died—had been crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20), buried with Christ (Romans 6:4), quickened with Christ (Ephesians 2:5; Colossians 3:1), and seated with Christ (Ephesians 2:5). That day, alone with the Lord, I solemnly, finally, absolutely, and irrevocably presented my body a living sacrifice, embraced, sight unseen, the whole will of God for my life, and took my place for the first time as crucified with Christ—crucified to my ambitions, plans, desires, hopes, expectations—and purposed then to ever and only live solely according to the will of God, and as best I could, to the glory of God. Since then I have daily sought to realize experientially what our Lord meant when He said, “Take up your cross daily and follow me.” It has been my earnest longing to make Galatians 2:20 the living reality in my life and not, just as it had been so long, a memorized verse. This relationship which has been so precious and rich to me for more that three years is not a new thing. God’s Word teaches it, and His servants have been led to set forth the truth that others might clearly understand it. Principal L.E. Maxwell in his book Born Crucified sets forth this truth. Dr. Frank J. Heugel in his book Bone of His Bone has given a wonderfully simple and clear explanation of the relationship. Dr. Robert C. McQuilkin for many years before his home-going faithfully and fully proclaimed this message of a victorious life in our Lord Jesus Christ. From the time I experienced this relationship, I have begun to enjoy a victorious life that is my birthright as a believer. It is not as though I had attained, but each day I learn to more fully understand the meaning of the works of the apostle Paul, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me,” (Galatians 2:20). As my deputation ministry developed I began to see the necessity for a Bible teaching ministry in the churches in which I ministered. In many of the churches there was little understanding of the Word of God. Unfortunately in far too many churches a great proportion of the people, according to the testimony of their pastors, knew little or nothing of regeneration. Those who were born of God were hungry for Bible teaching that would nourish and strengthen their Christian lives. Thus a ministry of Bible teaching in the morning hours was developed. A typical missionary conference consisted of eight days, with morning, as well as evening services, during the six week days. Frequently tape or wire recordings were made of these messages and are available to anyone interested in the nature of this ministry. But this Bible teaching ministry forced me to a continual searching of the Word of God both that I might minister and grow. Toward the latter part of 1950 the implications of our “being seated together in the heavenlies in Christ” began to make themselves felt. In my own experience on the mission field I had known from the Word that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers,” but neither I nor any of my fellow missionaries had been taught how to wrestle. There are two little booklets by Rev. J. A. MacMillan, The Authority of the Believer: and The Authority of the Intercessor which served to instruct me in much that concerns the exercise of the victories of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, it is true that there have been those who in the past have gone into excess on this truth, but unfortunately every precious truth in our Christian faith has been abused. If we accept as true only that which has not been abused, precious little will we have left. VI. Salvation is of the Lord Before proceeding any further with the testimony of what the Lord had done in and for me, it is essential that I explain what I believe salvation to be. My four years of deputational ministry in the southland of the United States have brought into clear focus that there is a considerable divergence of opinion among evangelicals on this important subject. The message and methods of some may contradict their statement as to what they actually believe, so this is in nowise to be considered as an indictment of any, but as my personal testimony. Earlier I have given an account of my salvation. Through all the years of searching for the closest and fullest experiential reality of the Lord’s presence in my life, I have known that any experience I would ever have with Him would have to be in accord with the basic truths of salvation which I have believed and experienced. I believe today, as I have always believed, that when a person is saved he is born again of the Spirit of God. He becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus. I believe that from the moment a person is saved he is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. To me the Word is clear and unmistakable on this point. Romans 8:9 clearly states, “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His.” Also, “Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (II Corinthians 13:5). 5 Since my earliest ministry I have always believed that “Salvation is of the Lord.” My earliest teaching inculcated the Bible truth that man is by nature totally depraved and in rebellion against God. Romans 3:10-23 is to me the inspired picture of the defiled nature and desperate need of the natural man. God in His wisdom and love has purposed that preaching in love and in the power of the Holy Spirit, watered with earnest, intercessory prayer would be the means by which lost, sinful, rebellious man would be saved. However, it is not the preaching that saves; rather it is as the truth of God’s Word is planted in the mind through the ear that the Spirit of God quickens that truth causing real conviction to result. I believe that this Holy Spirit conviction is more than the admittance that one is guilty and that if God does what He ought to do to him, he will go to hell. Rather it is the supernatural revelation of the nature of that wickedness and rebellion which made it necessary for God to fully condemn men; it also includes repugnance toward that which the person had done previously with such pleasure. This Holy Spirit conviction is followed by repentance, which is a change of mind and affection and attitude toward that which has offended and grieved a holy God. Godly sorrow, we are told, works repentance, but is not in itself repentance. Repentance is the permanent, decisive, inclusive change of attitude toward that which has defiled the man and defamed God. The Lord Jesus Christ said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Paul declared in Acts 20:21, “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” And again in Acts 26:20 before King Agrippa he declared that he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision saying, “But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.” I believe that evangelical saving faith is given by the Spirit of God to the person upon whose heart the Holy Spirit has worked supernatural conviction, producing genuine repentance. The once proud, arrogant, rebellious sinner who hated God and loved his iniquity now stands before the door of grace and pleads for mercy. The smitten sinner hearing the gracious words, “whosoever cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” with broken heart and spirit by faith reaches out and receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his own substitute, Who died for him on Calvary, paying his price, dying his death. The precious blood of Christ shed on Calvary’s cross then avails to wash away his sin and turn him from the condemnation of death. I believe that salvation, though it includes a decision, is more than a decision. It is even as our Lord declared, “a new birth.” In heaven the legal records of the believing sinner are changed and against his name now stands the word “justified.” But I also believe that in the believer’s heart a supernatural miracle of grace has taken place. This one has been born again, born of the Spirit of God, made a partaker of the divine nature, and has passed from death unto life. Also, I believe that the only person in the universe who has any right to assure the believing sinner when he is saved is the Holy Spirit of God. I have been deeply convicted by God of having grieved Him by endeavoring to give assurance to men that they were children of God. God first began to show me the error of my method while I was in Africa. In dealing with devil worshipping, sin loving pagans I knew that a “decision” would not be enough. I found that I was unable to use with good conscience the personal work methods I had been taught. These people with whom I was then dealing either had to have a supernatural experience of regeneration or else remain in the paganism into which they were born. An intellectual decision with any amount of reformation of living would never change nor alter that rebellious heart. The “easy believism” which I and so many of my fellows had more or less so contentedly ministered at home ignominiously failed in Africa. I am convinced from the Word of God beyond any question or shadow of doubt that this ministry of “easy believism” and intellectual decision for Christ has filled our churches, both North and South, with people who know many or all of the essential doctrines and concepts of Christianity, but who by life and testimony give no evidence of ever having become new creations in Christ Jesus, old things passing away, and all things becoming new. I take my place as guilty with the generation of Christian ministers who in the hopes of having greater number of decisions for Christ have lowered the standard of New Testament ministry of the grace of God. VII. Influence of Bible Prayers During the past four years of deputation ministry considerable time had been spent in studying the prayers in the New Testament beginning with John 17 and concluding with Hebrews 13:20, 21. This study has served to increase the longing of my heart for that relationship to God clearly indicated as being the norm of New Testament Christianity. We are told that John’s Gospel was not written until some 45 years after the ascension of our Lord. It is clearly stated by our Lord in His high priestly prayer that what He desired for the early Church was for us as well, (John 17:20). When we understand the import of that prayer for us, it is expedient that we should join in that prayer seeking its fulfillment in our lives. Dare we be content with anything less than everything the Lord Jesus died to provide for us and the Holy Spirit to produce in us? In John 20:21 Jesus said to the disciples, “As my Father sent me even so send I you.” In His prayer to the Father He prayed, “As Thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.” In both instances the word in the Greek translated “as” is “kathos.” This is said by Greek scholars to be a very strong word and could be translated, “just as”, “accordingly as”, “in the very same manner that.” Williams in his translation of the New Testament renders John 17:20, 21 “I make this petition, not for them only but for all who ever come to believe in me through their message, for them all to be one, just as you, Father, are in union with me and I in union with you, for them to be in union with us, so that the world may be convinced that you have sent me.” 6 This union is of the same nature as that which our Lord Jesus sustained to His Father. He said, “That (Greek “hina”, literally, “in order that”) all may be one as (Greek “kathos”, literally, “just as”, “accordingly as”, “in the very same manner as”) thou art in me and I in thee, that (hina) they also may be one in us that (hina) the world may believe that thou hast sent me, and the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that (hina) they may be one even as (kathos) we are one: I in them and thou in me that (hina) they may be made perfect in one; and that (hina) the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them as (kathos) thou hast loved me.” The present-day evangelistic efforts in America and other nominally Christian lands are not producing that degree of lasting fruit earnestly desired. Recently in Chattanooga, one of America’s outstanding evangelists declared over the ABC network, “This is not revival. All we are seeing today are big evangelistic campaigns.” If it is true that there is something wrong at home, it is equally true that there is something wrong on the mission fields of the world. In the verses quoted from our Lord’s high priestly prayer two striking statements are seen: first, “that the world may believe that thou hast sent me”; second, “that the world may know that thou hast sent me.” When two-thirds of the world’s population is still ignorant of the Gospel over 1900 years after the giving of the great commission, when the present rate of evangelism dooms unborn generations to come to live their miserable lives and to die their Christless death without ever once hearing the Gospel, one must conclude that something is radically wrong. When in lands where the Gospel is saturating the air waves and flooding the land with so little effect as in America today, one must conclude that something is wrong. Our Lord Jesus indicated that there was a relationship to Himself, planned, provided, and purposed, which every believer should experience “in order that the world might believe.” This relationship to Him is to be of the same order, nature, and effect that His relationship to the Father had been. The purpose of this relationship is “in order that the world might know.” When He does not see the promised and necessary effect being produced, it seems obligatory that we ask if the actual relationship is being fully experienced. In John 17:18 our Lord prayed, “As (kathos) thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.” F.B. Meyer had reminded the Church that “we must remember that all that was done by our Lord Jesus Christ during the three years of His earthly ministry was done in the power of the Third Person of the trinity and not in the power of the Second Person of the trinity.” Philippians 2:6, 7 indicate the attitude of the Lord Jesus Christ toward His own perfect and eternal deity, toward His right to His privileges as the eternal Son of God. “Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery (something to be grasped after) to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” Of His own ministry our Lord declared, “The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works,” (John 14:10). The Lord Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:30; Matthew 1:20); throughout all the days of His earthly life, He was indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Colossians 2:9) “In Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Though He was very God, the eternal Son, though He had been conceived by the Holy Spirit and was indwelt by the Holy Spirit, there is no recorded ministry in word or deed (except the interview in the temple at the age of 12) during the first thirty years of our Lord’s life. At the age of thirty the Lord Jesus went down to the Jordan River where John was preaching and baptizing, and insisted on being baptized by John. Baptism is a type and picture of death, burial, and resurrection. Could it be that by this experience our Lord was in effect saying, “Father, thine eternal Son, equal with Thee from eternity past, for the consummation of Thy purpose in grace, doth hereby reckon Himself to be dead indeed unto the right to act in His eternal power as Thy Son, and doth now present to Thee that which Thou hast given Him, a body that Thou mayest use it as Thou wilt?” “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him. And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God,” (John 1:32-34). In Nazareth Jesus visited the synagogue, “And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And He closed the book, and He said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ear,” (Luke 4:17-19, 21). It has been pointed out that in addition to our Lord’s high priestly prayer in John 17; there are seven other inspired apostolic prayers. Paul and some of the other apostles were human instruments God used for the communication of these prayers to us; nevertheless, they are inspired since the Holy Spirit does not speak of Himself but takes the things of Christ and shows them unto us. We would do well to believe that these seven prayers are but an echo of the unchanging and continuing priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ as He prays for His own. A careful study of these prayers will reveal that they all are integrally related to John 17. 7 The prayers to which I refer are found in: Ephesians 1:15-23 Ephesians 3:13-21 Philippians 1:9-11 Colossians 1:9-12 I Thessalonians 3:10-13 II Thessalonians 5:23 Hebrews 13:20, 21 VIII. Signs and Miracles “Except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe,” (John 4:48). If the Jews, with their religious background and their knowledge of the true God, required a sign in order to accept Christ as their Messiah, how much more do the heathen, blighted and blinded by centuries of ignorance and superstition, require some manifestation of supernatural power before turning to God from idols, especially when such a step is almost sure to call down the immediate vengeance of the gods they have served with more piety than prudence. “Jesus, knowing the hardness of their hearts, was willing to employ miracles as an integral part of His redemptive program, if by so doing He could disarm their prejudice and encourage their faith. This is not to say that the simple presentation of the objective facts of the gospel is unable to convince the minds, or convert the hearts, of men. Nor does it mean that the “old rugged cross” must be embellished with signs and wonders before men will feel its power to acknowledge its sway. The gospel in all its native simplicity is still the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. The Word of God is still living and powerful, and needs no extraneous attractions to render it soothing to the ear, pleasing to the eye, or attractive to the heart. “Nevertheless, it is an undeniable fact that miracles occupied a prominent place in the ministry of Christ. The same is true of the ministry of the apostles, as recorded for us in the Book of Acts. It is also a well-known fact that modern miracles, of one kind or another, are not uncommon on the mission field at the present time. The fact that miracles seldom, if ever, occur in Christian lands in no way invalidates the above statement. “There is not the same need for miracles in lands where Christianity is the sole religion, where churches are more numerous than schools, and where the Bible is the best seller. But there is a need for miracles in heathen lands, where from time immemorial the powers of darkness have held undisputed sway, and where the poor benighted people have been held in cruel bondage for one hundred generations. “It is not without a terrific life-and-death struggle that the Buddhist parts with his books and beads, or the Hindu breaks caste. Can we blame the Moslem if he asks for a sign before submitting to baptism, when he knows full well that such a step means almost inevitable death? Can we blame the Chinese coolie if he demands a miracle before burning his idols, when he remembers that the last man in his village thus to declare war on the demons was smitten with blindness on the second day? “Some years ago I came across the following statement, which I have never forgotten: ‘God never plays the philosopher with the washer woman!’ David tells us that to the upright He shows Himself upright; to the pure He shows Himself pure; to the froward He shows Himself froward. And we may add, to the simple He shows Himself simple. In other words, God condescends to accommodate Himself to the mental and spiritual capacity of the people He is trying to win. Herod hoped for a vulgar display of miraculous power; but Jesus resolutely refused to put on a show to satisfy the idle curiosity of a miracle-monger. When, on the other hand, the centurion stood before Jesus and simply remarked, “My servant lieth at home sick,” quick as a flash Jesus volunteered, “I will go and heal him.” “Hundreds of our finest Christians in the Fowyang field entered the Christian fold by way of the miracle gate. They were driven to Christ not by a sense of sin, but by a sense of need. The latter usually precedes the former, though not always. “The Chinese are intensely practical—if it works, they want it; if not, they don’t. If the prayer is answered they will come back for more preaching. If the sick child is healed, the chances are that the parents will believe, If the son is returned safe and sound, the merchant will attend church. If the wife is delivered from the demon, the husband will buy a catechism and study the doctrine. “Little wonder that people living under such tragic conditions generation after generation should develop a practical turn of mind and adopt a materialistic view of life. This job of living occupies all their time, consumes all their strength, and engrosses all their attention. The problems of the present are so pressing that they give little thought to those of the future. They are more concerned about the condition of their bodies than they are about the state of their souls. The burning question is not where they are to spend eternity, but how they are to survive until the wheat harvest in June. They judge a religion, not so much by the spiritual blessings it promises in some far-off future state, but by the material benefits it confers here and now. 8 “When, therefore, they apply to the Gospel Hall for help, it must not be assumed that they are sinners in the throes of conviction; ten chances to one, they are simply people in the midst of trouble. They are more conscious of their need than they are of their sin. It is just such needs...that drive them to the Gospel Hall seeking succor.”* It is unfortunate that I must admit that the strict dispensational interpretation, namely, the “transitional period” theory, of the Scriptures in which I was schooled served to convince me that the day of miracles, signs, and wonders was past. I had accepted the view that all of these aids and tools for the proclamation of the Gospel disappeared at the time of the completion of the canon of the New Testament, if not before at the close of the ministry of the apostles. The arguments on which this stultifying opinion was based were that (1) miracles were only used to introduce a new dispensation, (2) miracles were only needed until the Bible was written, (3) miracles were performed by Jesus only to prove His deity and Messiahship, (4) miracles were performed by the apostles only until God finished His witness to the Jews and turned from them. _____________________________________________________________ *Kane, J Herbert, Twofold Growth, China Inland Mission, 1947, pp 104-108 It was with considerable joy that I encountered the following in a wonderful book by Dr. John R. Rice:* “Here we will notice a few principal arguments offered by those who say that the age of miracles is past, that God does not work miracles, especially physical miracles, today. “1. It is claimed that miracles were never given except to introduce a new epoch or dispensation. But a careful review of the miracles of the Bible proves that this is not true. What epoch did Enoch begin? What age or dispensation did Elijah or Elisha usher in? The miracles in the book of Daniel—what age or epoch did they begin? “2. It is claimed that miracles were needed until the Bible was written but not after that date. But the Bible itself foretells miracles in all the ages to come: at the return of Christ, during the tribulation period, during the millennial reign of Christ, at the last judgment, and beyond. So miracles did not close with the Bible. And the Bible itself never hints that after the Scriptures were completed, there would be no more need for miracles. “3. It is said that the miracles of healing particularly, that Jesus performed, were done only to prove His Messiahship, to prove His deity. But that is not the motive the Scripture mentions for His work. Acts 10:38 tells us Jesus ‘went about doing good, healing all that were oppressed of the devil.’ He did not go about ‘proving His deity.’ But He went about doing good. And Mark 2:5 tells us that Jesus healed a man sick of the palsy ‘when Jesus saw their faith!’ Why, that is the same reason He has promised to answer prayers for anything! (Mark 11:24; Matthew 21:22) “It is generally believed that miracles came only in rare and isolated cases, and in some sense that was true. But certain kinds of miracles continued throughout the Bible times almost without interruption, we believe. “For example, prophecy, that is receiving divine revelations concerning the future, or at least divine revelations of knowledge not otherwise to be known, was prevalent throughout Bible times... “But this gift of prophecy is spoken of as the normal possession of the New Testament Christians. Christians are commanded to covet to prophecy, though we are not to covet speaking in foreign languages, (I Corinthians 14:1). We are told that if all Christians prophesy, the unsaved will be convicted and all his doubts about God will disappear, (I Corinthians 14:24, 25). We are told that ‘ye may all prophesy’ (verse 31).” _________________________________________________________ *Rice, John R., Prayer—Asking and Receiving, Sword of the Lord publishers, Wheaton, Illinois, 1942, Chapter XVIII And again we are commanded, ‘Covet to prophesy’ (verse 39). Even women, who are expressly forbidden to teach or preach, may have the gift of prophecy, (I Corinthians 11:15). Do not be confused about the term prophecy. It means exactly the same in the Old Testament and in the New, and it is not preaching. Prophetesses never did preach. “But if the gift of prophecy is the normal thing for New Testament churches, then that means that the miraculous, supernatural working of God is to continue down through the ages in His Church. Thus when miracles are past it because the faith of God’s people has waned... “The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is ‘the same yesterday, and today, and forever,’ (Hebrews 13:8). The Lord Himself said, ‘I am the Lord, I change not,’ (Malachi 3:6). All God’s promises about limitless answers to prayer that would involve the cursings of trees, the moving of mountains, or literally ‘WHAT THINGS SOEVER ye desire’ or ‘if ye shall ask ANYTHING in my name,’ show that miracles will last as long as God’s promises are true, whenever people are given faith to trust Him for miracles. 9 “But this is not just a matter of theory; it is a matter of actual historical fact. In countless instances since the Bible was written, God has worked miracles; and these miracles have been witnessed by the best men and women of the centuries, who have given their witness that they know God still answers prayer, even miraculously... “Dr. W.B. Riley, writing on Divine Healing, says: ‘Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Clement, and others tell us of cases of devils cast out, of tongues given, of poison failing of its effects, and of the sick raised to health in answer to prayer. Such authors as Waterland, Dodwell, and Marshall insist that miracles of healing did not fail until the rise of the Catholic church, and we know from history that since that time they have appeared among God’s most devout people—the Waldenses, Moravians, Hugenots, Friends, Baptists, and Methodists, not to speak of the experience of the Scotch Covenanters, Knox, Wishart, Livingstone, Welsh, Baillie, Peden, Craig; as, also with George Fox, the father of Quakerism, and our own Baptist fathers, Powell, Knollys, and Jessey; and these were men that followed the letter of our text... “Do you not believe that God works miracles of casting out devils in modern times? Then you are certainly behind the times and are not acquainted with the best in high-grade foreign missionary literature. For example, you need to read the story, ‘Pastor Hsi, One of China’s Christians’ written by Mrs. Howard Taylor of the China Inland Mission. This Chinese Christian, Pastor Hsi, signed his name as ‘Master of Demons,’ and again, and again repeatedly, by prayer, cast out devils, exactly in the fashion that Christ and His apostles did it in Bible times. Furthermore, these miracles have been attested by the leaders and the best missionaries of the China Inland Mission and by others. Similar cases have been reported from a number of mission fields. God still casts out devils in answer to prayer. “Can God raise the dead in answer to prayer? I answer that God can do exactly the same today in answer to prayer that He could do any other day in all of history. God has not changed. His promises about wonders in answer to the prayer of faith still stand.” Dr. Rice gives many authenticated testimonies concerning this subject. Dr. Rice concludes this splendid account by this exhortation, “I have given these true accounts given by eye witnesses of wonders that God has done, to encourage you to pray. Let no one tell you that God has changed His plan about answering prayer, that such answers are for another dispensation. ‘According to your faith be it unto you,’ (Matthew 9:29). ‘If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth,’ (Mark 9:23).” IX. Healing One of the most frequently heard arguments against God healing the bodies of sick Christians is that the age of miracles passed away with death of the apostles, and thus healing is not part of the ministry of the church today. In addition to the fact that there is not a grain of Scripture evidence to substantiate this position, it is also proven false by the testimony of the church fathers. Justin Martyr (165 A.D.) wrote, “For numberless demoniacs throughout the whole world and in your city, many of our Christian men, exorcising them in the name of Jesus Christ, Who was crucified under Pontus Pilate, have healed and do heal, rendering helpless and driving the possessing devils out of the men, though they could not be cured by all the other exorcists, and those who used incantations and drugs,” (Apol. II, Ch. 6). Irenaeus (200 A.D.) “Those who are in truth His disciples, receiving grace from Him, do in His name perform miracles; and they do truly cast out devils. Others still heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are made whole. Yea, moreover, as I have said, the dead even have been raised up, and remained among us for many years,” (Vs. Heretics, Bk I, Chapter 32). Origen (250 A.D.) “And some give evidence of their having received through their faith a marvelous power by the cures which they perform, invoking no other name over those who need their help than that of the God of all things, and of Jesus, along with the mention of His history. For by these means we too have seen many persons freed from grievous calamities, and from distractions of mind and madness, and countless other ills, which could be cured neither by men or devils,” (Contra Celsum B. III, Chapter 24). Clement (275 A.D.) “Let them (young ministers), therefore, with fasting and prayer, make their intercessions, and not with the well arranged, and fitly ordered words of learning, but as men who have received the gift of healing confidently, to the glory of God,” (Epis. C. XII). Dr. Waterland in his book Creation and Redemption on page 50 says: “The miraculous gifts continued through the third century, at least.” Then he tells how, under Constantine, the church became flooded with worldliness, and began to put its trust in earthly rules more than in God. But even then those who remained true to God saw miracles performed in His name. Theodore of Mopsueste (429 A.D.) “Many heathen amongst us are being healed by Christians from whatever sickness they have, so abundant are miracles in our midst,” (Christlieb—Modern Doubt, p. 321). 10 Count Zinsendorf (1730 A.D.) “To believe against hope is the root of the gift of miracles; and I owe this testimony to our beloved church, that Apostolic powers are there manifested. We have had undeniable proofs thereof in the unequivocal discovery of things, persons, and circumstances, which could not humanly have been discovered, in the healing of maladies in themselves incurable, such as cancers, consumptions, when the patient was in the agonies of death, all by means of prayers, or of a single word,” (History of United Brethren, P. 17, by Rev. A Bost). Confession of the Waldenses (1750 A.D.) “Therefore, concerning the anointing of the sick, we hold it as an article of faith, and profess sincerely from the heart, that sick persons, when they ask it, may lawfully be anointed with anointing oil by one who joins with them in praying that it may be efficacious to the healing of the body according to the design and end and effect mentioned by the apostles, and we profess that such an anointing, performed according to the Apostolic design and practice, will be healing and profitable.” Dr. A.J. Gordon’s personal testimony is, “Two streams of blessings started from the personal ministry of our Lord, a stream of healing and a stream of regeneration; the one for the recovery of the body, and the other for the recovery of the soul, and these two flowed on side by side through the Apostolic age. Is it quite reasonable to suppose that the purpose of God was that one should run on through the whole dispensation of the Spirit, and that the other should fade away and utterly disappear within a single generation? We think not.” During the course of months of study of the Word of God with as impartial and honest attitude as it was possible to maintain in view of my background of training and ministry, I discovered certain very wonderful truths that to me were clearly taught in the Word of God. These were reached largely by the personal study of the Word and not by indoctrination from any source. However, for the sake of brevity and clarity I am using material prepared by Rev. T.J. McCrossan, B.A., B.D., formerly instructor in Greek in Manitoba University, for 18 years examiner in Greek and Hebrew for the Minneapolis Presbytery of the Northern Presbyterian Church, for several years pastor of the Oliver Presbyterian Church whose successors to the pulpit include Dr. Louis Talbot, former president of BIOLA, Norman B. Harrison, noted author and Bible teacher. “SIX GREAT BIBLICAL REASONS WHY ALL CHRISTIANS SHOULD TAKE CHRIST AS THE HEALER OF THEIR BODIES” I. “Because God used to heal the sick, and He is an unchangeable God, (Malachi 3:6). (a) In Old Testament times God was man’s healer. ‘I am the Lord which healeth thee,’ (Exodus 15:26). ‘...and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee,’ (Exodus 23:25). ‘Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases,’ (Psalm 103:3). ‘He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes,’ (Psalm 105: 37). ‘He (God) sent His word and healed them,’ (Psalm 107:20). (b) “In the New Testament times God was man’s healer through the Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh. ‘And Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching...and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness, and every disease among the people,’ (Matthew 9:35). ‘How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him,’ (Acts 10:38). “Has God changed, or is He the very same God today as in Old and New Testament times? ‘For I am the Lord, I change not,’ (Malachi 3:6). ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever,’ (Hebrews 13:8). The Greek expression here for “the same” is “ho autos,” and means the very same identical person in every respect. “We read ‘Every good and perfect gift (including the gift of healing) is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning,’ (James 1:17). Here then James declares that God does not change even slightly. To my knowledge evangelical believers accept the Old Testament Jehovah compound names as having reference to Christ. It is almost axiomatic that the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New. These Old Testament Jehovah compound names include: (1) Jehovah-shammah (2) Jehovah-jireh (3) Jehovah-nissi (4) Jehovah-shalom (5) Jehovah-raah (6) Jehovah-tsidkenu (7) Jehovah-rapha The Lord ever present The Lord our provider The Lord our banner The Lord our peace The Lord my shepherd The Lord our righteousness The Lord that healeth 11 “If these names are accepted as referring to Christ, then He is still ‘Jehovah-rapha—the Lord our healer,’ for James declares that ‘with Him is no variableness’ (He does not change even slightly) and Hebrews 13:8 expresses it ‘Jesus Christ (God) the same yesterday, and today, and forever.’ Since He is the same today, we ought to expect Him to act the same and have the same healing power. II. Because Christ died to atone for our sicknesses as well as for our sins. “Isaiah is our first witness to this great truth. In Isaiah 53:4 we read, ‘Surely He (Christ) hath borne our griefs (kholee— sicknesses) and carried our sorrows (makob—pains).’ “‘kholee’ is translated ‘sickness’ in Deuteronomy 28:61; I Kings 17:17; II Kings 1:2; ‘Makob’ is translated ‘pain’ in Job 33:19; Jeremiah 51:8. “Then Isaiah 53:4 should read, ‘Surely He (Christ) hath borne our sicknesses, and carried our pains.” Young (editor of concordance bearing his name) translates this verse as ‘Surely our sicknesses He hath borne, and our disease did He bear Himself, and our pains He carried.’ “Alex Maclaren (Volume on Isaiah, page 98) says ‘It is to be kept in view, that the griefs, which the Servant (Christ) is here described as bearing, are literally sicknesses, and that similarly, the sorrows may be diseases. Matthew in his quotation of this verse (Matthew 8:17) takes the words to refer to bodily ailments; and that interpretation is part of the whole truth, for Hebrew thought drew no such sharp line of distinction between diseases of the body, and those of the soul, as we are accustomed to draw. All sickness was taken to be the consequence of sin.” “To substantiate our conclusions from Isaiah 53:4 and Matthew 8:17 let us here quote the words of three great Spirit-filled Bible scholars. “(1) A.J. Gordon (Ministry of Healing, pp. 16,17) ‘The yoke of His cross by which He lifted our iniquities, took hold also of our diseases;—He who entered into mysterious sympathy with our pain—which is the fruit of sin—also put Himself underneath our pain, which is the penalty of sin. In other words the passage seems to teach that Christ endured vicariously our diseases, as well as our iniquities.’ This agrees exactly with the conclusion of Delitasch, the great Hebraist. “(2) Andrew Murray (Divine Healing, pp. 99, 119) ‘It is not said only that the Lord’s righteous Servant had borne our sins, but also that He has borne our sicknesses. Thus His bearing of our sicknesses forms an integral part of the Redeemer’s work, as well as bearing our sins. The body and the soul have been created to serve together as a habitation of God: the sickly condition of the body is—as well as that of the soul—a consequence of sin, and that is what Jesus is come to bear, to expiate, and to conquer.’ “(3) A.B. Simpson (Gospel of Healing, P. 17) ‘Therefore as He hath borne our sins, Jesus Christ has also borne away, and carried off our sicknesses; yea, and even our pains, so that abiding in Him, we may be fully delivered from both sickness and pain. Thus by His stripes we are healed. Blessed and glorious Burden-Bearer.’ (Further to this same consideration one ought to observe the significance of Galatians 3:13 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law; being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.” A careful study of the Word will reveal that the curse of the law is that which came upon the violator of the law after his transgression and before his final payment of the penalty which was death. Then one day I discovered that Deuteronomy 28 clearly and explicitly teaches that the curse of the law is not death but rather scourges, sicknesses, and calamities. If this is understood in the light of identification with Christ, it brings reality to one overlooked and neglected aspect of our Lord’s deliverance for us in His triumph over Satan.) “III. Because all sickness is the result of Satan’s work, when he introduced sin into this world, and Christ was manifested to destroy Satan’s work. “Who (Jesus) went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil,” (Acts 10:38). ‘Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil,’ (Hebrews 2:14). ‘He that comm

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That I May Know Him - A Testimony

Paris Reidhead

Paris Reidhead (1919 - 1992)

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