ORGANIZATION or ORGANISM　

The fourth chapter of Ephesians, beginning with the seventh verse: "Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ."

The word was given to us to-day that God calls for a reorganization of the General Conference, its work, and processes. That, consequently, must be our chief study. The General Conference is now formally, by representation, in session; but this representation that is here is not all the General Conference. We do not find all the General Conference, till we have included every Seventh-day Adventist in the world. Consequently a reorganization of the General Conference calls for a reorganization of each individual Seventh-Day Adventist throughout the world.

This is called for not only on the part, and in behalf, of the General Conference itself within itself, but it is called for by the interests of God in the earth. The world has reached that time in which a work is to be done by the Lord, which work He cannot do unless each one of us shall be reorganized, renewed. Therefore I have begun with this verse, and we shall follow on through a number of verses of this same chapter; for this is the story of reorganization.

All organization that is not of God is a mere makeshift for the time being. There is no true organization but that of God. And it is only life that is the source of organization. Organization is not the source of life. Organization does not give life. Life produces organization. Therefore, for God to have a reorganization of only the General Conference that is in session here, demands that God's life shall reach anew to us and in fuller measure than ever it has. And whomsoever it is that God shall reach by that life of His, that is organization; and whomsoever He shall reach by that life of His in greater measure, that is reorganization. Therefore I have read this verse; for it is the beginning of life.

All true organization comes from God to men, by the grace of God, which is the gift of God Himself to men. So then "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Ephesians 4:7. Then, since the grace of God is the fountain of all good to men, and that grace is given unto every one of us according to the measure of Christ, there is the supply, there is the source, the fountain; an abundance of grace to accomplish that for which God called to-day. For what is the measure of the gift of Christ?- "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Colossians 2:9. Unto every one of us is given grace according, then, to that measure of all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And He gave Himself—not loaned Himself, but gave, gave in an eternal gift—Himself—to us.

That is the measure of the gift of Christ. There is no limit to it. It is boundless as the fullness of God; and is given to every one of us-US! to you, to me. 0, then, when God opens (I will not say the fountain) the boundless sea of His grace to you and to me individually, and then says to us that God calls for a reorganization, what shall hinder? Is not the prospect bright enough for us to throw ourselves away upon His offer,-to plunge off into that boundless sea of His grace, which works only salvation to every one whom it reaches? 0, you know there is written:

"There is a wideness in God's mercy Like the wideness of the sea;

There's a kindness in His justice That is more than liberty.

So much for the gift; so much for the inducement, the qualification, which He gives to every one of us to accomplish upon us, to accomplish in us, and to accomplish for us; and then, having accomplished upon us and in us and for us, to accomplish through us His wondrous purpose in this day, to glorify God upon the earth, and to finish the work which is given us to do. This having been presented in His word, now let us see what He proposes to do by that grace which He has given boundlessly to every one of us.

Let us read on: "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.... And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers." Ephesians 4:7-11.

First of all, this grace is given "for the perfecting of the saints;" and all else for which this grace is given can never be accomplished, unless this first purpose for which it is given shall be accomplished, recognized, looked unto, and aimed at,--the perfection of the saints. For the next clause is, "for the work of the ministry;" and the next "for the edifying [the building up] of the body of Christ." Ephesians 4:12

But what can God do with a ministry that does not recognize the perfecting of the saints? What can God do in building up His church, when God's grace in the perfecting of the saints who compose the church, is not recognized? So then He has laid the foundation rightly; He has put the first truth first, rightly. The perfecting of the saints, then is the first work of the grace of God. And since He has given all the fullness of God in the gift of grace, all that God is, all His power, all His sanctifying holiness and Spirit-all this is given, pledged, to him who receives the grace, that that grace shall accomplish God's purpose in bringing him unto perfection.

Then no one who has named Christ, no one who professes to have received the grace of God, is ever to be content for one moment with anything short of perfection as God sees it-as He has set it before our eyes in Jesus Christ. And it is He who is to do it; not we to perfect ourselves, not we to do the work, but He who gave Himself that He might do it to me. Oh, there is the foundation of our confidence! There is the foundation of our trust fixed,- that it is He who is to accomplish it; and then we know it shall be done.

Then for the work of the ministry. This boundless gift of the grace of God is for the work of the ministry. And so that is the second thing in the work of the grace of God-not second in importance, but second in fact; because without the perfecting work of the grace of God, what shall the ministry be worth? The ministry of the gospel is the highest calling, and to be a minister of the gospel is to hold the highest position in the wide universe. That is the truth. I mean the highest calling among creatures, of course.

I say it again; the ministry of the gospel is the highest calling; to be a minister of the gospel is to occupy the highest position, and to hold the highest place, that there is to be held or occupied in the universe of God. And so, brethren, I would exhort every soul who has ever thought of the ministry, not to allow himself to entertain any thought of the ministry of the gospel that is any lower than that which I have named. For any one to allow himself to think of the ministry of the gospel of Christ in any lower degree, in any possibly conceivable extent, is to miss the ministry of the gospel. Any man who holds the ministry of the gospel at any lower standard, in any degree, than that which I have named has missed the gospel ministry. He has not got it; he has not got it. IT. Then may the Lord by His Spirit and by the abundance of His grace work upon our minds and our hearts, to broaden our comprehension, and lift us to that height at which He Himself has placed the standard of the ministry of the gospel of Christ.

0, think what it is to be a minister of the gospel! What is the gospel?-It is the power of God. Then the ministry of the gospel is the ministry of the power of God. You and I, brethren, are commissioned of God to go and minister to men the power of God. The power of God is to be ministered unto men by us in such a way that it shall work their salvation.

But wherein lies the power of God in the gospel? Why is it that the gospel is the power of God? The next verse tells: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation," Romans 1:16. etc. But I want to call attention to that one thing,-what it is in itself. It is the power of God. Why? Next verse: "For therein,"—therein-- "is the righteousness of God revealed." Romans 1:17.

The righteousness of God is the very essence of His character, and that is the source of the power of the gospel. It is the power of God, because therein-in the gospel-is the righteousness of God. The ministry of the gospel is the ministry of the character of God. To you and me, as ministers of the gospel, God has given by His grace that commission to preach the gospel, to preach the power of God, to preach the very essence of the character of God unto men; so that they shall find the essence of the character of God, and in that find the salvation which God works in the lives of men, in human flesh.

Then, how shall that be done? How shall you, how shall I, how shall we, minister the power of God except we have the power of God? Except we shall be intrusted with the power of God—not intrusted in this way, that He gives to you and me His power, that we ourselves shall measure it out and pass it on to others. No, He intrusts us with that power in the way of clothing us with the power, that the words of the gospel which we speak shall reach the hearts of men in such a way that they shall know that God is speaking to their hearts. They shall recognize that God is present, and that they shall answer to God for what they shall do in response to the work that He has given them. He clothes us—and intrusts us with His righteousness by so clothing us—with that essence of the character of God that we shall bring men to God in the fullness of free salvation.

And in the way of righteousness is life. It is the life of God. Is it not true that He has said that in former times we as Gentiles, were alienated, separated from the life of God? We are joined to the life of God, and that is eternal life. And so it is written, in John 5:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life." Hath it-not shall have it, but hath it. As to the future it is: "Shall not come into condemnation." "But is"-now it swings back to the present-"passed from death unto life." And now we are with Him in life-the life of God. Joined to Him, even as it is written, "For with thee [is] the fountain of life." Psalms 36:9. And when we thus find His life, those connected with His life, joined to it, so that this life is our life, and there is the revealing of His power. For Jesus Christ is made an High Priest, after the power of an endless life.

I call your attention now to just that thought. There is power in life. In endless life there is more power. In life there is power. Our every-day life, the natural life, that is but a vapor, which appeareth for a time, and then vanisheth away. We let it go, and receive the endless life, which never vanishes away. Then since there is power in this life, power in life itself, what power is it that is of an endless life?-Only an endless power.

So I say, the gospel is the power of God, because that in it the righteousness of God is revealed, and in righteousness is life. And there is the hiding of His power, the endless power. And this endless life of God that comes in the boundless righteousness of God, is revealed in the gospel which He has given to us to preach.

Now another word about that life. 0 that I could—and pray God that He will cause it to be so—enable you to see this thought that I now call your attention to, of being joined to the life of God. That life of God is in Jesus Christ. He is the source of life. Brethren, there is a higher calling for us than to think that we as Christians get our life through the breath which we breathe here, as all men breathe, and the food which we eat, as all men eat. We had all that before we were Christians at all. We would have had all that if we had never been Christians. We would have breathed, ate, drank, and lived; but when God calls us to Him, to become connected with the life of God, we are lifted above the place we were before, and are joined to that boundless sea of the life of God. And there is the source of our life as Christians. God proposes so to connect us with Himself that we shall be conscious day by day, and all the time, that there is an inflowing of life from the throne of the living God to the heart and life of the believer in Jesus. Then when we have allowed ourselves to be lifted up to that place, and to receive that flow of the life of God into our lives day by day,--O, then the power of God will be upon us! Then the power of God will be manifested in our ministry, even the endless power that belongs to the endless life of God. That is the truth.

There is just as much reality—in degree there is more, of course, because it is more substantial; but in the matter of fact—in the matter of tangibility, there is just as much reality in finding the life of God flowing to our lives day by day, when we believe in Jesus, as there ever was finding life flow to us day by day by our breathing when we first lived in the world. That is the divine fact.

And then, 0, see what comes with that! Why is it that He has put us in that place? First, the perfecting of the saints; secondly, the work of the ministry. Then do you not see, brethren in the ministry (I mean the preaching ministry now, of course all are included, but I am speaking now to ourselves as preaching ministry), do you not see that when we find that source of life, we live in that? That is the true higher life. That is the true Christian life that we live, and the life that flows to us from Jesus Christ, we get from heaven to-day. We breathe it in from Jesus Christ direct, the Lifegiver. That is the Christian life.

But why is that given to us?—O, for the work of the ministry. But to whom do we minister?—To mankind. What do we minister?—O, Jesus Christ has thus brought us to the fountain of life, and connected us therewith, that we may be indeed those who shall stand between the dead and the living, to convey to the dead the life that shall cause them to live. That is what we are in the world for. It is that Jesus Christ, the living, may, by us, reach the dead with the life of God.

So we are ministers of life. We are called, correctly, truly, ministers of Christ. But what is Christ? Let us turn and read that beautiful passage in first John: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life." I John 1:1. And that shall be all true of you and me to-day. True, John spoke of the time when they looked upon Him in the flesh; but John did not stop with that. John looked upon Jesus Christ in the Spirit after he had left the flesh and gone to heaven; and it belongs to you and me to look upon Jesus Christ, to behold Him with our eyes as He is to-day at the right hand of God, to give repentance, remission of sins, to shed life to the dead.

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen [it], and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." I John 1:1-3.

Who is He?-The life. When we are ministers of Christ, we are only the ministers of the life. Oh, then, how can I be a minister of the life of Christ, a minister of the life of God, when my ministry is as continuous as my life, unless I am connected with that fountain of life, so that that is my life? Only then can I become a minister of life; and this is life eternal, you all know, "that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." John 17:3. Then we are ministers of Christ, and in that are ministers of eternal life to the dead. What a calling! And what a height there is to the calling!

Brethren, let us ask God to lift us up to the height of it; and there let us dwell. There let us remain, never asking to come down. There at that height let us abide, looking into His face, drawing from Him the life, the light, the glory, that perfects saints, and makes efficient the ministry of the gospel.

That is the great thing. Each of those steps we must take, or the next one cannot follow. Then I beg again, I pray again, that the Lord, in the abundance of His grace, may so impress it upon each soul here, that we have not found our true attitude in the Christian life until we know that there is flowing constantly to us from the throne, the stream of life that shall cause us to live, and make us the channel of life to the dead.

For the building up of the body of Christ, the church of God. First, the perfecting of the saints; then the work of the ministry; then the building up of the church. 0, the church needs building up! That is why God calls for reorganization. Then let us recognize that He has set before us that true standard,-nothing short of the perfecting of the saints and the perfection of the saints. Then the true height of the ministry of the gospel, the ministry of Christ.

Now just a word or two before I leave that finally,-that this ministry takes in all: "As every man hath received the gift, [even so] minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." I Peter 4:10. Whosoever has received the grace of God has received in that the gift of the ministry of that grace, the ministry of Christ, the ministry of the word,--or the ministry of the gospel, as it is written in another place.

The fifth chapter of 2 Corinthians states that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, and that He hath committed unto us the ministry of reconciliation. Whosoever finds reconciliation, the reconciliation of God in Christ, in that finds the ministry of that same reconciliation to those who have not found it. So the ministry, this ministry, is universal. But, brethren, unless we who are called to the preaching ministry, appreciate what that ministry is, how can those to whom we preach ever appreciate it.

So, then, this is all given, "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man." Ephesians 4:13. A perfect man. How many of us?--Till we all. Put the two together. Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ, till we all come to perfect men. Thank the Lord! "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."

Now, the next blessed reward that comes upon that: "That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." Ephesians 4:14. Brethren, God has that for us that shall make us stable. God has that for us that shall make us, in the truth, in righteousness, and in the principles of righteousness,--as firm as the Rock of Ages Himself.

More, Read in that verse again and the next one with it: "That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ." Ephesians 4:14-15.

Now here is true reorganization, and there is no other: "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part." Ephesians 4:15-16.

There is reorganization, and there is no other: there is no other way. Any organization that does not come from Jesus Christ is no organization at all.

Note that this organization—this reorganization comes from the HEAD. Organization does not come from the members; it comes from the Head. Let me read that again now, and I will read another verse with it. "Speaking the truth in love," -- this body of Christ, -- "Speaking the truth in love," - these members, - "may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ:" from whom? -- from Christ -- "the whole body"-- that is, all the members. "The whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part," -- this from the Head, -- "maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love." Then do you not see that this is organization in the church of Christ? All reorganization must come from Christ Himself. He can do it; only He can.

Turn to Colossians, to the corresponding verse that I call your attention to in connection with this. "Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God." Colossians 2:18-19. It says, then, that this body is built from the Head; and that those who do not hold the Head are beguiled of their reward. 0, yes, they humble themselves, and they work, and they pray, and all this thing; but what does it amount to? It is all simply works. And all this is because the Head is not recognized: "Not holding the Head." So then the body is organized from the Head. The life energy, flowing from the Head to all the members, each member actuated from the Head, each member guided by the will that resides in the Head. That is perfection of organization, and the human body is the same. That is the illustration. Here is the human body--many members, but it is all one body, each member of this body of ours which God has given us.

By the way, let me pause upon that one thought. In our bodies, which we have ever with us, and to which we were directed to-day,--why is it that in all this exhortation of the Spirit of Prophecy to reorganization, health reform comes in every time? Why is it, as to-day it was clearly cited, "I am fearfully [and] wonderfully made"? Psalms 139:14.--It is because in this organization in which we ourselves are, our bodies which God has made us, he has presented before us an everlasting illustration of the organization of the church. And it is exceeding carelessness, and from that, blindness, that can not see the organization of the church,-what it must be, when every day each one carries about with him, and is constantly using, this body, which is composed of many members. Every one of these members is actuated by the head, and no two of them ever come into quarrel, ever have any difference of opinion, or act in contrary ways. Or if they should by any means act in contrary ways, as the hands do to break a string, it is only apparently; they are actually pulling together.

You simply cannot have a schism in the body which God has organized from the head. So then, since God calls for reorganization, let not a soul here be afraid that there is going to be confusion, or schism, or anything of the kind. There is no danger whatever--except among those who hold not the Head. Who is the church?--Those who look to the Head; those who seek the Head; those who are joined to the Head. Then there is no difference how many members there may be, though we are only one on one side of the earth, and another on the other side of the earth, we two members will move together, and act together, because the Head, Christ Jesus, the Lord, is organizing both, His will actuates both, He is the One who is doing that in both.

Then we come to this: There must be reorganization. God calls for it. In this reorganization now, God calls for an additional thing to what He called for before, and that is a change of men. Those other men that God calls for, and whom God will call—let me say that again, whom God will call, these must come from this company. They must come from ourselves, must come from the church of God somewhere. Then that throws upon you and me, upon each soul of us, the Heaven-sent responsibility that each one of us shall be reorganized from heaven by the direct agency of the Head.

Then these coming men must be chosen to places. The Scripture says, has said it all the time. "Look ye out men." Acts 6:3. In the looking out of these men, what are we to look for? How are we to look, and how are we to proceed to know the proper man to fill that place? We must ask God to open our eyes, and anoint our eyes with the heavenly eyesalve that we may see the men whom God has already called. That is the true way of "looking out men."

Nothing short of that can be the looking out of men. These must be men looked out from among us, God has them. He has prepared them. They are already prepared. He has told us so. Then what we are to do is to ask that our eyes shall be opened, that God shall anoint them with the heavenly eyesalve, so that we shall be able to see and know that there is the man whom God has called to that place, to that work.

It can be so. God does not do things in a corner, or under a cover, but openly before the eyes of all. All whose eyes God shall open and anoint, will see.

Then this also must be considered: that position, place, never gives authority. Authority qualifies for the place. I will say it again; it must be a watchword for every one in this conference: Position never gives authority. Whomsoever God has called to the president of the General Conference the next term, when he shall be chosen, and shall stand before us elected, will have no more authority than he has right now and we do not yet know who he is.

Place, position, never bestows authority. No authority is derived from the place. But authority that a man already has from God, which God has put upon him, will qualify a man for the place to which God calls him: and if he has not that authority before he enters the place, he has not the authority when he is in the place. The view that place gives authority is precisely the principle of papal infallibility. The pope is not infallible before he is elected. Nobody claims that. He is only a cardinal before he is elected; but as soon as he is elected, then he is infallible; the he is inspired by the Holy Ghost, because he holds his place. That is the papacy.

Christianity is that God clothes men with authority, and whether they have any place or position, or not, it is all right; they have authority, anyhow. Look at it: Jesus Christ was in this world, truly saying, "All power [and that is "all authority" in the Revised Version] is given unto me in heaven and in earth;" Matthew 28:18, and He had no place at all, not so much as to lay His head. He had no position at all. The Pharisees, the priests, the scribes, the lawyers, the hypocrites, had position; they had place; and they could lord it over Him, and set Him before them, and sit in judgment upon Him. Where was their authority?--they had none; and so He told the people: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, [that] observe and do,"--because, as they sat in Moses' seat, they read the words that Moses had written. All right; that is the word of God, but "do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not." Matthew 23:2-3.

With Moses in the seat, there was authority from the seat; but with a scribe and Pharisee in the seat, in the place of Moses, there was no authority except from God in the word which the man happened to read, and which was altogether independent of Him and apart from Him.

But it is said of Jesus: They all "wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth." And why?--O, "He taught them as [one] having authority, and not as the scribes." Luke 4:22; Matthew 7:29. Precisely. All that the scribes could speak was borrowed, and everybody would know that it was borrowed; for it was alone, so far as any connection that they had with it was concerned. But when Jesus Christ spoke the same words that the Pharisees and scribes had said, everybody knew that what He said was not borrowed, but was substance; that it was of Himself; that that word lived in Him; that He was but the expression of the word which he spoke; and when the word was spoken, it was with weight that impressively struck the ears, and rested upon the hearts of those men with comfort, and brought them joy. And that is the life with which God wishes to clothe every one in this whole assembly and throughout the world.

Thus Jesus Christ had the authority, and the people knew it, and the Pharisees who did not have it, grew so jealous of Him that they could not stand Him any longer. All the world has gone after Him, and so they must put Him out of the world to save their place. If we do not, we will lose our place.

The man who is connected with the Head, the man who serves God, the man who lives in Jesus Christ, can never lose his place; for his place is with Jesus Christ, under the wings of the Almighty, and he is safe. Where was Jesus' authority, when He did not have any position or place? How could He have authority?-It was in the truth which he preached from God. All man's authority, all true and right authority in this world, comes to him through the truth of God which he receives. When we shall find a man in this world who has as much of the truth of God as Christ had in Him, we shall find a man who has all authority in heaven and earth, because he has all the truth in heaven and earth. The measure of the truth that a man has, only that measure of authority he has wherever he is. And if he is in the highest place of responsibility on this earth, and that is the president of the General Conference, if he has no truth, he has no authority. All the authority he can ever have in that place is the truth that is in him, which is a part of him.

Therefore Jesus said: "The princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you." Matthew 20:25-26. What do the princes of the world do? They exercise authority.

Now God has never given to any man in His church authority to exercise authority. That is the difference between the princes of the world and the princes of God; for we are princes of God. The princes of the world exercise authority; the princes of God have authority, and it exercises itself.

Then there is no dominion among the princes of God. There is no lordship. There is no dominion. There is none of that kingly spirit which was described to us. No; there are no territorial boundaries among the princes of God,--that this is my Conference. It is God's Conference. It is not my territory. It is God's. So, the princes of this world exercise dominion; exercise authority.

The princes of the world who have no real authority, exercise authority. The princes of God, have true authority but exercise no authority. The princes of God have authority, and that is enough to suit them, and God takes care of the rest, so that no one is greatest; but only one is Master, and all of us are brethren. So, then, this is the course of organization.

So, then, let us see that we be organized from the Head. Let us see that our authority shall come from God; and that we never exercise authority. Yet speak with authority, because the authority is in the truth which we speak. Only there lies our authority.

So we put now another proposition: Place never gives authority. Authority qualifies for the place when God calls man to a place. And when that is done then he has authority, but he must have authority before he is there. So now I will read the passage over that we have read: "But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." Ephesians 4:7-8. And he gave some, apostles (and he who has the gift of apostleship will have the authority of the apostle, though he never have any place), some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up, or reorganizing, of the body of Christ; "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." Ephesians 4:13-14.

Remember that we were called to-day to put away childish things, to be no more children,--that we be no more children, tossed to and fro, not knowing whether we are on solid ground. God wants us to build upon the foundation, the truth, which makes man free, and which we know is the truth. Then will not we fear though the earth be moved out of her place, and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. "No more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, [even] Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth." Ephesians 4:14-16.

What man, what set of men, can select a worker here and another there, and fitly join them together? And well it has been expressed that this work of conducting the cause of God is the most delicate in the universe, because it deals with minds. How can we fitly join together living souls in spirit, with the life of God? Only God can do that. Only Christ, the Head, can do that. He will use us in joining us together, knitting, not weaving, but knitting-us together. You know in weaving the threads are held side by side, and across, that they shall hold; but in knitting it is only one thread. In and in, in and in, always each stitch holding to all the others. That is what God proposes to do with us. We are joined--knitted together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, and so makes the increase of the body; into the building up of the body itself; out of itself to build up itself from the Head.

That is organization. That is reorganization. Come, brethren, let us be organized; let us be reorganized. (General Conference Bulletin 1901, pp. 37-42.)　

The book of Genesis gives the history, the means, and the process of creation. But that book was not written at creation. I call your attention now to that fact, and want you to think for a while upon the meaning of that fact. I will state it again; The first chapter of Genesis gives the history, the means, and the process of creation; but it was not written at creation. Then is it not plain that, since the account of creation was not written at creation, but long afterward, there was a purpose in the writing of it, beyond its being only a record of creation?

If the first chapter of Genesis had been written the next day after creation, it might be said that the primary purpose of the writing of it, was to give men an account of creation, but since it was not written until nearly two thousand years afterward, it must be plain that, since the people all this time had gotten along without any written record of creation, the primary purpose of the written record was beyond--the same thing, and more--than to tell how creation was wrought. For if I could get along all right for forty years without a certain record, and then God should cause that record to be written for me, would it not be plain that I needed that record for something more than simply the record? Very good.

When was Genesis written? Of course we cannot tell the exact year, but the period. We can know the great thought that was before the world in the time when Genesis was written, the coming out of Egypt. Genesis was written by Moses during the forty years he was keeping the sheep of his father-in-law, but that was after the message had come to bring the people out of Egypt. The Lord had called Moses to deliver the people, but Moses had not yet learned just how. He made a misstep the first thing, and had to take forty years of instruction before this deliverance could be wrought; and in this forty years he wrote the book of Genesis. The book of Genesis was, therefore, written at the time of coming out of Egypt, when God was to deliver His people from Egypt and set them a light in the world for all the world forever.

In order to set before you the next particular thought, I shall read again certain scripture that was read night before last, in the fifteenth of Exodus - the song of Moses and the children of Israel after the crossing of the Red Sea; for that gives to us the statement of what it was to which God was bringing His people when He brought them out of Egypt.

In Exodus 15:13 we read: "Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people [which] thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided [them] in thy strength unto thy holy habitation." Next two verses: "Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be [as] still as a stone; till thy people pass over, 0 LORD, till the people pass over, [which] thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, [in] the place, 0 LORD, [which] thou hast made for thee to dwell in, [in] the Sanctuary, O Lord, [which] thy hands have established." Exodus 15:16,17.

This is emphasized in Revelation 15, in the record of that company which stands on the sea of glass, "having the harps of God," and who "had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, [and] over the number of his name," singing "the song of Moses the servant of God." Revelation 15:2-3.

First, Thou shalt bring them into thy holy habitation—to the place where God Himself inhabits; secondly, into "the mountain of Thine inheritance [the land of God's inheritance], in the place, 0 LORD, [which] thou hast made for Thee to dwell in." What place is that holy habitation, that place of God's inheritance, that place which is made for Him to dwell in? Revelation 21, you know tells it. The time comes when it is said, "Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God." Revelation 21:3.

"In the Sanctuary, 0 Lord, which Thy hands have established." Exodus 15:17. Of all the people, we are the ones who should know for a certainty what sanctuary that is; for "Of the things which we have spoken [this is] the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." Hebrews 8:1-2.

Again in Acts 7, as you know, it is said, "When the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt," Acts 7:17, and then the deliverance came. God had sworn to Abraham, and had promised to give his seed the land which he saw, the world to come. And in Exe. 6:2-8 it is spoken: "And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I [am] the LORD: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by [the name of] God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I [am] the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I [am] the LORD."

When God gave that promise to Abraham and gave His oath, it was to Abraham and his seed; not to the seed without Abraham, or to Abraham without his seed. So when God was to bring them into the land which He sware unto Abraham and Isaac and Jacob to give it to them, they were all to be together. That is enough then. God was to bring His people whether immediately or in process of time, is not material. The great object which God had in bringing the people of Israel out of Egypt was to bring them into the land which He had sworn to give to Abraham, and that land He says is His holy habitation, the place which He made for Himself to dwell in, the mountain of His own inheritance, and in the sanctuary which His own hands had established.

Since that was God's object in bringing the people out of Egypt, and that promise to Abraham is the new earth which He will create, do you not see the object in giving of Genesis then? It was so that they should become acquainted with creation, with creative power, so that God by His creative power might recreate them and bring them into the new world, which He was to create and give to Abraham, according to that which He had promised him? Do you see it?

The object of God's giving Genesis just then was that the people might be prepared for the work which He had to do by them for all the world; the work by which He would prepare them for the work which He was to do by them. For God's work is always creative.

What God does is always by creation. The great thing of all to which God was to bring His people, was the newly created world. But it was impossible that they should come to that without being newly created themselves. Therefore, in order that they might have instruction in creation, He wrote out an account of creation as an object-lesson, a school of instruction for every soul, that all might become acquainted with God's processes, with God's means, with God's creative power, so that God's work by them might be accomplished through its first being wrought in them.

And there was "the church in the wilderness." Acts 7:38. Jesus Christ took His place there as the Head of the church. And here again we see His own processes of organization. He continued it, and kept it up until He came into the land of Canaan, and we have heard as to what God's object was in the land. But the people missed God's object, and His purposes in their organization in the land; and they, missing God's object, and failing to see God's purposes in the instruction which He had given them, began to organize themselves. And the organization which they accomplished when they did it themselves was what? What did it end in even in their own day? A kingdom. They must have a king. Don't forget that; remember it as you walk along the street, wherever you may be,--never forget that the ultimate of every organization that ever man accomplished is kingship. Monarchy. And that among men is despotism,--and that is ruin. All that was worked out in Israel. And yet to us, years ago, God spoke that unless a different course were followed, "follies of Israel in the days of Samuel" would be repeated among His people.

So much for that. That is the situation. So there the Lord took charge of His church; but instead of their finding God's organization and holding fast the Head, they turned and made a head of their own, that they might be like all the nations. They became like all the nations, and came to an end, as did all the nations--destruction to the first ten tribes and then the destruction of all the tribes at the destruction of Jerusalem by their choosing Caesar instead of God. For when Pilate had put before them the challenge, "Shall I crucify your King?" they said "We have no king but Caesar." John 19:15.

Then God started His course with His church again, with Christ as the Head and the organizer. And the mystery of God was manifested and made known unto the sons of men as it was not known unto the ages before, as it was revealed then unto the holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. The mystery which had been kept secret in times eternal, was made known to His saints, "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27. Christ was the Head of every man, and the Head of all by being the Head of each.

But the mystery of iniquity arose, and put itself in the place of God, passing itself off for God; and hid again from ages and generations the mystery of God. But thank the Lord, the day has come, when the angel of the Lord "lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." Revelation 10:5-7. The mystery of God shall once more stand forth in its sincerity, in its purity, in its power, and that is the power of God. And the days of the voice of the seventh angel when we began to sound was sixty years ago, almost.

There is to be no more delay, thank the Lord; there has been too much. Now God has set His hand the second time to deliver His people who are scattered from Egypt and from Cush and from Pathros and from Shinar and from the islands of the sea. And He is to bring us into the land which He promised, which He sware to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.

But that is to be by creation only, for He that sits upon the throne, when the day comes, says "Behold, I make all things new." Revelation 21:5. So, then, we are to enter into the promises of Abraham only by the creation of God, and we also to enter into that inheritance of Abraham only by the creation of God.

So, then, the first chapter of Genesis is written for us, because those for whom it was written in times past did not learn the lesson. It has been delayed, frustrated, thrown aside here, thrown over there, set aside in other places, but now the Lord has promised that there shall be no more delay. "Yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry." Hebrews 10:37. This is the time. Then since God's purpose in the writing of Genesis has been frustrated so far, and now the time has come when He says it shall be done, the book of Genesis, and of all things the first chapter of Genesis, is present truth to us.

Then let us study that first chapter of Genesis. What is in it?

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1. And how did He do it? "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." Psalms 33:6. "He spake, and it was." Psalms 33:9. Now remember that it is written not primarily as a history of creation, but primarily to bring to us God's means, God's processes, of creation, and to make us acquainted with that process; so that He can bring us to the great creation which has been prepared and promised ever since the days of Abraham.

What does that mean to us?-In that first word in Genesis there is a lesson for every one of us. God created the heavens and the earth, by His word. What of us? I Peter 1:23-25: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh [is] as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."

That word by which God created the heaven and the earth in the beginning is the word of the gospel, which is now preached unto you. Then in the first words of Genesis, is the gospel. The first words of Genesis is the preaching of the gospel. And with that is connected Ephesians 2:8-10: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. Then the first step, you see in Christianity, the first step in the course which God would have men take, can be taken only by creation, can be taken only by our being created. And the becoming a Christian is just as much creation as was the making of the world in the beginning. No man can ever become a Christian except by being created, as really as the world was created in the beginning.

And the great beauty of that truth is that it is so easy for it all to be done. For when we have it settled that it can be done only by creation, self is utterly lost, you see; he knows that there is no source of creation in him; he simply has to quit. And when he knows that it can be done only by creation, and is brought face to face with the Creator, then it is easy, for God can create simply by speaking the word. "He spake, and it was." Psalms 33:9.

Next: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep." Genesis 1:1-2. Now we were all darkness; but God creates us new, and our lives, until God does create us new, are less than nothing, worse than nothing. Yet when God creates us new as for any life of righteousness, any life of godliness, what is the situation? Isn't it formless and void? When God takes a man from the world, from the darkness that may be felt, and creates him new, all that is before him is new. So I say as to that new life which the man is to find, and which is to be found in the man, what is his condition as relates to it except formless and void? But behold the next thing: "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." Genesis 1:2-3.

Now that word "moved" means "brooded." It is the same thought exactly as Jesus spoke to the people of Jerusalem: "0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings. [I would have gathered you; I would have brooded over you; I would have sheltered you and brought from this brooding that newborn thing, to the glory of God], and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." Matthew 23:37-38.

The thought that Jesus expressed in these words about Jerusalem is precisely the thought that He spoke in the second verse of Genesis. The Spirit of God brooded upon that created thing, which, until the Spirit of God came upon it, was without form and void. But when the Spirit of God came and brooded over it, organization began. Then began God's course of organizing.

And this subject to-night, you see, is a continuation of the same subject of organization that we had the other evening. You see that it comes to the individual first of all, and from him is carried forward with the body. And, brethren, God has begun that blessed work. We studied the other night that that must come from the Head. God's organization must come from the Head, which is Jesus Christ, the Head of the church, and it reaches to the individual.

Now see the step that was taken in General Conference to-day. I want you to see how certainly that can never stop until it has reached each individual, and brought him face to face with God, to stand there alone only with God. There was presented to-day, and indorsed, an appeal for local self-government in a certain place. Very good. And then it was said here that that was to be adopted in other parts. Very good. And when that district shall be organized, there will be a local self-governing district; but the same process must go farther--each Conference must be a self-governing local Conference, and each church must be a local self-governing church, and each individual must be a local self-governing individual.

But no man in this world can be a self-governing individual except as God in Jesus Christ is his Head, and the man is governed by the power of God. The only self-government, true self-government, in this world is a man standing in the liberty wherewith Jesus Christ has made him free, master of his worst self, and living in the divine self, which is Jesus Christ. Then he has met the enmity, the evil, and has it underfoot; and there he stands in the heaven-born liberty with which God has made him free,-a free, self-governing individual, as God made him to be in the beginning, and as He makes him to be when He makes him to be again.

Now do you not see that this step that we took to-day never can stop short of that? Is not that plain enough? Then, brethren, the thing for each one in this Conference to do is to get there just as quickly as possible. Each one, then, must have set up in himself, and must be in himself, a local self-government, to the glory of God. But no man can ever do that, as I have said, except by the power of God in him; and no man can do that and remain a local self- governing man, except he stands alone with God, apart from everybody else, and everything else, in the wide universe.

Now that does not separate him from all other people. Our truest unity, with other people is our sole loneliness with God. Our truest fellowship, our sincerest love, our tenderest sympathy, reaching out to all people, is found only in standing absolutely alone, separate from all other things, with God.

I say again, the step taken to-day should never stop until every Seventh-day Adventist is brought face to face with God. Each for himself alone, and alone with God. And for what shall we be brought face to face with God?--To find our bearings, which we have been exhorted to find. And having found our bearings, then let God in Christ be the Head, and the grand organizer.

But this—this only is by the Spirit of God: the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God who broods upon all. Jesus went away. He was there. He was Head of the Church when He was here. But He said, "It is expedient for you that I go away;" John 16:7, it is not good for you that I stay; I must go. "For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." There are more reasons than one; but the reason which concerns us just now, why Jesus should go away that the Comforter should come, is that Jesus in the flesh could not be in all places at once. He could not be with the brethren in Australia, and with the brethren here just now in the flesh; but when He went away, He sent us the Holy Spirit, which broods over all God's creation; and by that Spirit, Jesus Christ can become the Head of every vestige of His creation. Then when any soul, any individual on the earth, has found this creation, has become a part of the creation of God, the Holy Spirit broods over him; and so Christ becomes the Head of that individual, and that man has a Counselor who is more capable of giving counsel than is any man ever seated in Battle Creek.

One great advantage, too, one of the chiefest advantages in that, is that Jesus Christ, the Head of that individual by His Holy Spirit, can give counsel and send help immediately, just when the help is needed; and that is an immense advantage over having to write a letter to Battle Creek, where it takes at least a month to come, and then a month is lost in answering the letter to get it to the boat that carries it back, and then a month to get it through-and you have got your answer in three months, to know something about the work that you needed to do three months ago. May the Lord join us to Himself! May we find the creative power of God, by which each soul shall find Jesus Christ, his Head and his Counselor, day and night forever. And this is the process.

Again to the first of Genesis: "And the Spirit of God brooded upon the face of the waters." God said, "Let there be light: and there was light." Genesis 1:2-3, and the light was the life. But creation was not finished. The creation was not completed; it was not perfected even now when the Spirit of God was brooding upon it. Other steps were taken. I need not follow each one in detail, I want simply to get the fact before you. Think. The next thing was the firmament; then, the next day, the waters gathered together into one place, and the dry land appeared; then the next day the earth brought forth fruit; and so on through the six days.

Now these steps were not taken-watch this thought closely, and carefully, for it is a subtle thing, and requires a subtle mind to catch it; but when it is caught, it is forever. Those successive steps in the creation of the world, through the whole process of the creation, were not taken by growth from the original creation. The successive steps of the first chapter of Genesis were not taken by growth from the original chit of creation. [Voices all over the house: Amen.] Do you see? How were those steps taken?--By successive creations. That says to you and me this: we become Christians only by creation; we remain Christians only by creative power; we grow in Christian grace only by successive creations of God. There is no development in Christian life except by the direct creative power of God from heaven, through His word, by the Holy Spirit

Now do you not begin to see the philosophy of giving to Israel as they come out of Egypt, the record of creation? God wanted each individual of Israel to know the creative power of God abiding in his life day and night. So that that creative power of God should be his life. But that has been delayed, delayed, delayed, and it has now come to you and me; and we are the people now to whom God has written the first chapter of Genesis.

By the way, there is another thing in this. It is exceedingly important to note that just at this time, when the first chapter of Genesis is set aside, and everything is made to be by evolution instead of creation, and all the world and the churches are running to that. It is time that God should reveal to His people the true philosophy of the first chapter of Genesis: so that God, in His people, may hold up before the world His light and the power of His creation, against the insidious deceptions of Satan, that are leading away the world into everlasting abyss. That is what is in this; and God wants every one of us, His people, to become thus connected with that creative power, to find that creative power living in us, as the only means of our progress, of our Christian growth, in order that we can stand in the light of God, and upon that firm foundation of the word of God, and certify to the word in such away that the world cannot doubt it. They may reject it by not choosing to surrender to it; but they cannot doubt it; the power will be in it He wants us to certify that this new philosophy of the first chapter of Genesis is a false philosophy, and merely so-called science. He wants the true science of Genesis to stand out. He wants the true philosophy of Genesis to be light to the world. The true science and philosophy of Genesis is creation. And no man can teach it, no man can set it forth, unless he knows it in his own life.

Now, these successive steps in creation were not by growth from the original in the beginning of the heaven and the earth: but each step was taken by a direct creation of God speaking the word. God said, "Let there be a firmament," and it was so.

"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so," Genesis 1:9, 11, and so on. But when we have to grow, brethren, by trying to do better, and swearing off this, that, and the other, by going to do better, etc. ..etc..., it is a wearisome, tiresome, and fruitless process. 0 when we know that the true progress, the true growth of Christian life, the true development of the Christian heart, is by the successive creations of God through His spoken word in the Spirit, then all that is needed is to find the word: and it is done. Here is the true remedy.

Have you found yourself barren? Have you found items in your life that, so far as you aim, you wish in righteousness, was concerned, were concerned, were void-failed? Now the remedy: When I find a lack in my life,-that which is not of God, that which is not a reflection of the word of God.-I must search the Scriptures till I find the word of God speaking to me on that question, and then that word creates me new in that thing, and the old is passed away, and all has become new.

[Voices: Amen!]

That is the philosophy of searching the Scriptures. 0, to search the Scriptures for doctrine, to search the Scriptures for sermons, to search the Scriptures for arguments is all vanity, vexation of spirit, and idolatry. But to search the Scriptures to find the creative word of God, to choose creation, the righteousness of God in the place of my sin,-that will put the power of God, the strength of God, in the place of my weakness; that will make God appear in the place of myself-that is the searching of the Scriptures, that is the salvation of the soul. And is there not room enough? Is there not sufficient ground for us to begin that kind of searching of the Scriptures?

But is it not a blessed prospect, is it not a message of good cheer, to every soul who finds himself destitute, who finds himself cast down, who finds himself the victim of the power of the enemy,-is it not a blessed message that God sends, that "For he spake, and it was done?" Psalms 33:9. Only find the spoken word of God, and your infirmity is gone before His creative power, as in the spoken word through the Spirit.

[Voices: Amen!]

"He spake, and it was;" and this word of God, which we read from day to day in the Bible, is just as much the spoken word of God as was that word which He spake in the beginning, that created the heaven and earth.

Again to Genesis: This process of successive creations went on until God's ideal appeared, the perfect man. There he stood, the perfect man, created by the power of God; and he stood, the Son of God. Did he not? "Which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God." Luke 3:38. "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." Genesis 2:1. And then God rested. The Sabbath was the seal,-the delightful, refreshing rest which God took, beholding the finished creation from the beginning unto perfection.

So we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. The Spirit of God broods upon this new creation, causing the spoken creative word to bring to perfection this new creation "a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Ephesians 4:13. Then the seal of God will be affixed.

Then the Lord will rest again, and will joy over us with singing. He will rest. "He will rest in his love." Zephaniah 3:17. God is to rest again. You know that when Jesus came here, He said, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." John 5:17. But the time is coming when He will rest again. In the original creation, the Father worked, and Jesus worked, through the Holy Spirit that accompanied the work and perfected the creation, in which God rejoiced, and from which He rested and was refreshed. But that creation thrown all over, and God began again to create, and He has kept it up till now, and soon it is to be finished, and then when it is finished,-let us read the word of God,-Zephaniah, the third chapter, 13th verse:

"The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity [the remnant that keeps the commandments of God, and has the testimony of Jesus Christ]- nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. Sing, 0 daughter of Zion; shout, 0 Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee." Zephaniah 3:13-15. Let us rise into the liberty wherewith He hath made us free, by casting out the enemy. "The king of Israel,"--the true God--"The king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more." Zephaniah 3:15. Bless the Lord! "In that day." Here is what is before us. Now hear the word: "In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: [and to] Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee [is] mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will REST in his love. [Congregation: Praise the Lord!] he will joy over thee with singing." Zephaniah 3:16-17.

God is going to rest again and be refreshed, when this creation which He has brought to us is finished under the blessed brooding of the Spirit of God. Brethren, that is so. You know it is written that in the last times God's people are to be covered with the covering of His Spirit; and now is the time. So, brethren, the thing for us to do here-the whole audience all together, but of all things the delegation—is to recognize that fact, recognize this creative power of God, find it for ourselves, creating us new, and ever walk, ever dwell, in the presence of that brooding Spirit. [Congregation: Amen], so that as we come together,--even before we separate now,--we shall sit, think, speak, and dwell in the presence of that brooding Spirit.

As we are dismissed and separate, as we walk to our rooms, let it be in the presence of that brooding Spirit. As we are in our rooms we dwell in the presence of that brooding Spirit. As we come to Conference day by day, as we go into our committees to prepare, 0 let each one walk in the presence of that brooding Spirit; and then it shall be true of every soul (that which was spoken to Mary is as true of us as it was of her), "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1:35. [Congregation: Amen!] For that brooding Spirit is a fructifying Spirit. Then we shall exclaim, and sing with joy: "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God!" I John 3:1. Then it will be true also that "the world knoweth us not [thank the Lord!], because it knew him not."

Brethren, the world has known us too well. It has had cause to know us. We have been so much like the world, that the world recognized us; but the Lord will deliver us from all that, and the world shall know us no more, because it shall not be able to recognize us as of the world. It will know that we are not of the world; that our fellowship is not with the world; that our interests are not centered in earthly things; and that brooding Spirit will put upon us such a character and will cause us to speak such words, and will give to us such an appearance in the world, that nothing but heaven can recognize us; and that recognition is enough.

This is the beginning of Genesis. It is not all the book. Remember, all the book was written while Moses was there keeping the sheep, and all the book belongs to us now. But none of the rest of the book will count for us, unless we find the science and the philosophy of the first chapter of the book; for that is the beginning of God's creation and God's processes and of everything, and nothing is found as it truly is until we find that. In the light of that, then all the rest is plain, and all the rest is ours, thank the Lord.

Let us search the Scriptures. Let us read the first chapter of Genesis. Let us all read it before we come tomorrow morning. A good plan to follow (I have practiced it enough to know that it is a good thing to recommend) is to read over and over, over and over, the first chapter of Genesis, until we see in it, with our eyes shut, Christian experience in every verse, and in our own lives day by day. Then, 0 then, the Spirit of God will brood upon that creation which God is carrying on to bring us unto perfection in Christ Jesus, so that the work of God shall be done, the triumph of the saints shall come, and we shall rejoice before the Lord now and forevermore. Then the church shall indeed grow into an holy temple in the Lord; and this church, Christ shall present to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but shall be holy and without blemish. (General Conference Bulletin 1901, pp. 101-105.)