Louisville, Kentucky, December 21 1913 Of the two discourses which Pastor Russell gave here today we are reporting the one from the text, "Every good and every perfect gift is from Above, and cometh down from the Father of Lights, in whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning" (Jas. 1:17). He said:
Christmas is a delightful season in many respects. Admitting the claim that it is the date of the Annunciation, and that our Lord's birth was nine months later, in October, it matters not. It is a delightful custom that draws the attention of the whole world to the birth at Bethlehem, and memorializes to men the great Gift of God on our behalf. We rejoice in it, even though the Higher Critics have wrought such destruction of faith in Christendom that to many the day and the events it commemorates have lost their meaning. The custom of giving little tokens of remembrance and esteem is still a blessing in the world. To the extent that we enter into it heartily, we are exercising a godlike quality. God is the great Giver, from whom cometh every good gift and every perfect gift.
Let us begin with some of the common things that God has given all men richly to enjoy. How delightfully adapted to our needs is the air we breathe! How it carries life and refreshment to our lungs and to every part of our bodies. Think of the great boon of water refreshing, exhilarating, absolutely a necessity to our habits and our life. Take the sunshine and the golden grandeur in which it clothes the earth, and the life and vigor which it imparts not only to our bodies and minds, but to all nature.
Even in the matter of colors God is gracious to us. The predominating colors are well adapted to our sight, and restful to the eye. The variegated colors of flowers brighten the landscape, refreshing and pleasing us. Not only so, but the infinite variety of these flowers in size and shape is wonderful. Even the storm clouds are beautiful. The Creator, who gave us the organs appreciative of shape, beauty and color, provided us also gratification of these senses. Additionally, He gave us the sense of smell, and then provided in all nature wonderful varieties of odors to gratify us. Do not all these gifts come from the Father of Mercies?
Time would fail us to examine these common blessings which God has given all men richly to enjoy not only His consecrated saints, but every creature. We can readily see that a grand provision was made for the race in its original perfection. All these things are blessings to mankind, notwithstanding our fallen condition, notwithstanding our weaknesses of mind and body which hinder us from proper conception, appreciation and use of these. When we remember that the sick lose their appetite and fail in all their powers of appreciation, and when we remember that our entire race is sin-sick, we may well wonder how much more a perfect man might have enjoyed the various blessings which are still precious to us.
God has given gifts. They are on every hand, and may be richly enjoyed or not richly enjoyed. But as the majority of people swallow their food without richly enjoying its flavor, so the majority receive and use God's favors in a stupid unappreciative manner, and do not richly enjoy indeed are unconscious of the blessings that they have. What is the matter? The reply of the Bible is that they have the wrong spirit. But where did they get the wrong spirit? The Bible answers that sin vitiates every good quality of mind and of body.
The world, through depravity, through losing its relationship with God, has lost the sense of appreciation of many of God's gifts. Mankind have them, and use them, but do not enjoy them. Consequently they are unhappy, unholy, unthankful. Alas, poor world! It is rushing madly hither and thither, seeking pleasure, seeking joy, seeking happiness, but finding discontent, disappointment.
Only one class of people are really able to highly enjoy Heaven's gifts. These have passed through a certain mental experience which is for them transforming all of life's affairs. They have caught a glimpse of the Almighty Father, and have learned that all these gifts and blessings of nature are of His Wisdom and His bestowing. More than this, before their eyes were opened to see deeply and clearly, their hearts were regenerated. They had given their hearts to the Lord, and He had given them new hearts. With these new hearts, new minds, transformed wills, old things have become new. They open their eyes upon the world and the fullness thereof; and recognizing the relationship between these and the Heavenly Father, their hearts are warmed and enlightened. The spirit of love and appreciation is shed abroad.
The Apostle exclaimed. "Thanks be unto God, for His unspeakable Gift!" He refers to the Gift of God's dear Son to be man's Redeemer to pay the price, the penalty, of sin the death penalty on our behalf. Ah, yes! that is an unspeakable Gift, far beyond anything that could be asked or imagined. The death sentence passed upon Adam by the Supreme Court of the Universe could not be revoked, and that sentence included all of his posterity; for we were flesh of his flesh, bone of his bone. If an unblemished human life could be substituted for his, the majesty of the Divine Law could stand, and he and all his race might be granted a fresh trial for life everlasting or death everlasting. But no such perfect man was in the world. And had there been such a one, who knows that he would have been willing to sacrifice his life for a race?
The will of the Redeemer was not ignored. He was not sacrificed. On the contrary, the Scriptures make very clear that the Father presented His Plan for the approval of the Son, and attached to the proposition exceeding great and precious promises, and that the Son willingly and joyfully co-operated in the Plan. As we read, "For the joy that was" [HGL514] "set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame, as is (now, and a reward) set down at the right hand of the Throne of God" awaiting the still further glories and honors of His Millennial Kingdom and of eternity.
God's time has not yet come for giving the gifts of the Redeemer's sacrifice to the world. The distribution to the world of mankind of those blessings is held in abeyance, waiting for the glorious Thousand Year Day earth's Jubilee. Meantime God has been preparing for a special class of humanity other gifts, the richness and value of which "eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man."
God has a right to give different gifts to His different creatures. He has given to the angels the gifts, blessings, which cause their everlasting happiness; and now He is selecting from amongst men by various trials, tests, a very special class a saintly class, of all nations and denominations. While He calls all perfect intelligent beings (angelic and human) "sons of God." He purposes that the saintly ones now being selected shall be His sons on a still higher plane, to which Jesus has been exalted as a reward for His obedience- "far above angels, principalities and powers and every name that is named."
To such of these as respond to the drawings and leadings and tests, God is giving special gifts at the present time not earthly gifts, tangible and seen of men, but spiritual gifts new hearts of appreciation, new eyes of understanding, new ears of comprehension, new powers of spiritual enjoyment. To them "old things are passed away, and all things have become new." -2 Cor. 5:17
Give without hoping for gifts in return every gift at this season should be a love token. We value the gift not so much for its monetary worth as because of the love and fellowship of which it is a reminder. It is eminently proper that friends and parents should prepare gifts for others in secret, and keep them until the opportune time for presentation. In all this they are merely copying the Heavenly Father, who is thus preparing for the world the wonderful gifts of the Messianic Kingdom, described as a "feast of fat things for all people."
But there are others gifts which should not be kept back merely for Christmas time. Each one, and especially each Christian, should every day shed forth on life's pathway gifts and blessings that would bring joy, cheer, to many hearts the kindly word, the nod of recognition, especially to one in less favored circum-stances, the kindly look, the word or act of sympathy. Oh, how much these gifts mean to the poor world, whom the Apostle Paul describes as the groaning creation! Many of them have little that they know how to enjoy in the present life, and no prospect beyond. How blank such lives! What a godly pleasure comes from casting upon them an occasional ray of sunshine! At times financial help may be appropriate in proportion to our ability. At time counsel and friendship and sympathy would be of more value than money. What we all need is to be more and more filled with the Spirit of our Father in Heaven the Spirit of our Savior the Spirit of love, joy, peace. This Spirit, like radium is continually giving off, yet never lacking in quality. God is the abundant supply. He who thus loves and gives is continually a recipient from God more abundantly; and his treasure-store of joy and pleasure is an ever-increasing one, regardless of what his outward circumstances and conditions may be.
Writing to the Ephesians (Eph. 4:8), St. Paul notes gifts specially bestowed upon the Church of the Father, by the Son. He says, "When He (Christ) ascended up on High, He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men." More literally it reads, "He led forth a multitude of captives, bestowing gifts unto men." The Apostle quotes from the Psalms a poetic description representing Jesus as a great Conqueror who had vanquished the enemy and was returning home with the spoils. The enemy is Sin and Death.
Jesus by His sacrifice gained the victory and the right to control the millions of Adam's race who were in bondage to Sin and Death. He had humbled Himself, had become a man, and given His life a Ransom for all, had been raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and had then ascended a conquering Hero, welcomed by the Father and acclaimed by the angelic hosts.
The multitude of captives in His train have not yet come into sight merely the vanguard, the Church. And the Church will not be fully delivered until all of its members shall have been changed to glory, honor and immortality beyond the veil, as sharers in the First Resurrection. Soon the Heavenly portion of the delivered captives will have followed the Leader into the presence of the Father.
Then for a thousand years the other captives will be following on. As St. Paul declares, it will be "every man in his own order," or company, or regiment. The ranks will ultimately include the entire race of Adam and himself. All those willing to be led forth from captivity will attain again the full liberty of the sons of God, lost through Adam's disobedience, and the right to recovery of the same redeemed for them at Calvary.
But the Apostle mentions the triumphal entry of Jesus into Heaven itself merely as an incidental, prefacing his statement that our Lord immediately began to give gifts to men. The first gifts, bestowed at Pentecost, were to the Church. Indeed, all of Jesus' gifts thus far have been to His followers. The prophecy from which the Apostle quotes takes in the world, however, declaring that the gifts are "for the rebellious also". Psa. 68:18.
St. Paul, continuing, tells us the special gifts bestowed by Jesus upon His Church: "And He gave some Apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers." Jesus tells us about some false apostles. We can readily suppose that there have crept into the Church also false teachers, false pastors, associating godliness with gain, as the Apostle explains. All the same we are to have in mind that there are true Apostles, prophets, pastors, and teachers appointed by the Redeemer as His special gifts to the Church, as His special representatives in the Church, for their guidance and blessing. [HGL515] We further read of the object and purpose of these gifts; they were "for the perfecting of the saints, edifying 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 fullness of Christ."
Only in proportion as Apostles, prophets, pastors and teachers fulfill this mission are they really the Lord's gifts to His Church. Consider that these were not appointed for the world, but for the saints and not merely to start them in the way of saintship, but especially to perfect them as saints. And this perfecting of the saints is not merely an instruction of them in knowledge, nor merely the bringing of them to an appreciation of the joys and the peace of the Lord, but a preparation of them for the work of ministry the work of service. All the saints are to be servants, even as the Lord Jesus, the greatest Saint, was Servant of all.
Whoever does not learn to be a servant of God, a servant of righteousness, a servant of the brethren, will not have learned the lessons necessary for a share in the Kingdom. Besides, the Kingdom itself will be a service to mankind for human uplift, and only those who have come to an appreciation of the privileges of service in the present conditions will be granted a share with the Lord in the more glorious service of the future.
The edifying of the Body of Christ, in modern language, means the upbuilding, the strengthening, the development of the Church, which is the Body of Christ. Not merely with sinners and with the heathen, therefore, are the pastors and teachers to be engaged, but chiefly with the Church, edifying it, strengthening it, educating it with the knowledge of God, and building it up in all the fruits and graces of the Spirit. The Apostles, prophets, pastors and teachers who are the Lord's gifts to the Church will be found doing this work, whatever may be said of others.
Their work will not be finished until the Church completed shall have entered into glory. This is the Apostle's statement, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect Man." The perfect Man signifies the glorious, complete Christ, of which Jesus is the Head and of which every member of the Church is a part. When the entire Body shall have been completed, perfected, developed, the work of this Age will be at an end, the gifts of Christ will have accomplished their work, the Body of Christ in glory will then begin the glad Reign which is to bless the world and shower gifts upon men- "the rebellious also."