Church of God, Carmichael, CA
Charles E. Orr, Original Publishing Unknown
[Original Page Numbers]
The Church of God is the only institution on earth that is of heavenly origin. It is the only institution on the shores of time that will continue to exist in eternity. All else will pass away with the closing of time. The glory of empires, the magnificence of civilization, the grandeur of monarchies of time will have no reflection amid the glories of heaven. The splendor of earth's fortunes, the pomp and show of earth's glories, the renown of eloquence and oratory, the fame of schools of learning, the enchantments of beautiful forms and ceremonies of creeds will find no imprint, will have no representation in that land beyond the grave. Only the Church of God will shine there. It came down from heaven, and will return to heaven.
The Church of God is God's body, not only on earth, but also through all eternity. The Church is God's habitation now and forever. God will dwell in His people and His people in Him while the cycles of eternity roll on unending. The Church of God on earth is God's incarnation among men. As men read the history of the true Church they will read the biography of God. The life of the Church is His life. The world is God's creation as a Creator, the Church is His creation as a Life Giver. It is His own life. It lives in Him and He in it. The Church is a creation in Christ. The Church is not created in Christ by a mere creative act, but by being born of God. The Church is born of God in Christ and is the offspring of God. God loves the world as His creation. He loves the Church as the life of His life.
The Church of God on earth contains heavenly elements and nothing that is not heavenly. The Church bears God's image. God views His own likeness in His Church. The Church is a mirror which reflects all the Divine perfections. The Church of God is a living thing. It lives upon the life of God. God's life flows through its veins. The life of Jesus circulates freely through His Church, as freely as the blood circulates through the human body— the church is His body. It feeds on heavenly food. It breathes the atmosphere of heaven.
[15]God and man united in Christ is the Church. In the Church of God is the uniting of all men with God and with each other. The manifold wisdom of God, the mysteries of God, the character of God is revealed through His church. God in His beauty shines out of the Church. She is all fair; there is no spot in her. God made the sun, moon, and all the shining stars, but He does not make them His dwelling place. When He built His Church He said, "This is my rest; here I will dwell and multiply myself; here I have found such beauty and worth as to call out the fullest capacity of my love; here I find the fullest complacency of my being, here I see of the travail of my soul and I am satisfied."
The Church of God is attended by the ministry of angels. It is the only institution on earth that angels desire to look into. They pass every other thing by, but stop at the Church to admire her beauty and to bestow their ministry. It is the only institution on earth that affords joy to the angels. It is the only institution over which they sing, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." All of the conquests of the Church on earth bring joy to the angels.
The Church of God is the only institution on earth that can worship God. God, to be worshipped, must be worshipped in Spirit and truth, and nothing but the Church has the Spirit and the truth. The Church is full of heavenly instincts. God gives instinct to the bird and this instinct teaches it to do things. Heavenly instincts fill the Church, teaching it to do heavenly things. Its life is heavenly life. It lives by heavenly things, and divine things are wrought out by her activities. The Church is Holy Spirit filled and Holy Spirit governed. The Church is in the world, but the world is not in the Church. There is no room for the world in the Church. It is filled with divine things. The fish is in the salty ocean, but the fish is not salty. If you die in the Church you do not go out of it, if you die out of it you can never get in it. There is no sin in the Church. Her law is the law of holiness. All honor in the Church is given to the Holy Trinity. Some day the Church of God is going to be caught up to heaven and receive [16] a faultless presentation into the immediate presence of God's glory and the joys of heaven will be full and complete and be undiminished while eternity rolls on forever.
The word "mortify" is found in Col. 3: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth." (Col. 3:5). The word "mortify" means to "put to death." The 20th Cent. translation reads, "Therefore destroy all that is earthly in you." It has been believed and taught that every thing earthly about us is put to death when we are sanctified as a second work of grace or a cleansing of the heart from carnality. They think that there is nothing to be put to death or to mortify after we are sanctified. These people to whom Paul was writing were dead and their life was hid with Christ in God. They were dead and yet there is something about them that needs to be put to death. This can be because man is a two fold being. The inner man may be dead to sin and the world—sanctified—yet the outward man has passions, desires, appetites that must be controlled, that must not be allowed to break out beyond their legitimate bounds. Now we will tell you a secret. What we are now going to tell you is the secret principle of holy living. It is the thread that runs through the entire life. It is "sacrifice." Listen, no man can keep the body in perfect control who does not keep that body on the altar of daily sacrifice. If you cease to sacrifice, you cease to control. To sacrifice is to mortify. Habits of virtue cannot be acquired except at the expense of sacrifice. He who is not constantly making sacrifice is not advancing in the Christian life. Sacrifice in the little things of daily life. The secret of living holy is sacrifice in the little things. It is not in being absent from ball rooms, ball games, theatres, political gatherings, and such like worldly things. These things have but little or no temptation to people who are sanctified. It is no sacrifice for them to abstain from such evils. Where the holy need to watch is to not let love of self get in. Holy people have a self, but they must guard against an undue love of self. Keep that self on the [17] altar of sacrifice. Guard against taking too much thought about bodily comforts. It is no sin to give the body some comfort if it is not done at the expense of another's comfort. Then you need to have a care when you are alone not to provide too greatly for the body's comforts, lest you become selfish and find it difficult to sacrifice your comforts for another's comfort.
To indulge the body in late rising, in dainty foods, in luxuries, in ease, in things pleasant to the eye—fine things, in idleness, in the avoidance of hardships, in the shrinking from bearing another's burden, and a disposition to lay your own on another is the way to become selfish. Sacrifice is the law of the Christian life. Sacrificing bodily comforts daily in the home for the comforts of others is helpful to the soul in its upward way. Where there is no sacrifice there is no holiness. Where there is no self denying, there is no love to God. Where the body is not kept under, the soul is enslaved. The beauty of holiness never grows out of bodily indulgence, but out of bodily sacrifice. If you would live holy, destroy that which is earthly, sensual, and lustful in you.
"Be content with such things as ye have." What is it to be contented? When we are contented we are not wishing for something we do not have. To be contented with just what you have is to not be wishing for something you do not have. Paul said, "For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content." (Phil. 4:11). If Paul could learn that lesson, we can learn it. A brother was asked what kind of weather he thought it would be for the next few days. He answered, "Just the sort of weather that suits me." The inquirer was eager to know what sort of weather suited him. He replied, "Just what ever kind suits the Lord."
"But godliness with contentment is great gain." (1 Tim. 6:6). There may be some who do not know the true meaning of these words. They do not mean that you have great [18] gain. They mean that if you have godliness and the contentment that always attends it you have great gain. You cannot separate godliness and contentment. If you have godliness you have contentment, and you cannot have contentment without godliness. We come just as far short of true godliness as we come short of contentment. If you do not have perfect contentment, you do not possess God in the fullness. The fullness of God in the soul satisfies the soul. It leaves no void. Such a soul has perfect peace, fullness of joy, rivers of pleasures, and is happy in its lot.
To be contented you must come to know, and know it well, that nothing can happen to you which is not in harmony with the will of God. Without a thorough knowledge of this there will be discontentment. Nothing can disturb the peace of those who know in their heart that God's will is in every thing that comes to them in life. Instead of striving to be rich, strive to be contented with what you have. A contented life is yours, if you will have it. It is a grand way to live.
Then, whatsoever wind cloth blow,
My heart is glad to have it so;
And, blow it east or blow it west,
The wind that blows, that wind is best.