To be near unto God - pagina 307

know God as his Father, and himself as this heavenly Father's child. There is no mention here of a doctrine, which is committed to memory or of a revelation that has been given in so many words, which we are to make our own, but of a knowledge which spiritual experience of personal redemption and reconciliation imparts to us. This certainly implies a revelation to the understanding. ''We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true" (I John 5:20). All revelation begins with the Word. When the Christ appeared, he went through the land preaching the gospel of the Kingdom. The gospel itself is a glad tiding of salvation which is to come, and of redemption which is announced. But this preaching, this glad evangel, these words of the gospel are not learned to

enough. These can be learned by rote. These can be committed to memorj', but they can not bring us the knowledge of the Father. This glad evangel by itself, even though we accept it in its entirety, and without hesitation, never brings us further than to say ''Lord, Lord!" It is with this as in the days of Hosea, (8:2) when all the people said: "Lord, we thy Israel, know thee." even while the anger of the Lord was kindled against them to the point of destruction, Even if just because they knew not God. therefore this doctrine, this message, this word of the gospel was carried into the world first by the apostles, and after that by preaching, and by the Scripture, by itself it can not impart the knowledge of the Father. This knowledge only comes, when the glorified Christ through the Holy Spirit 303

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