The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-06-04
Sermon by
CHARLES T..
RUSSELL,
Pastor Brooklyn
I. Tabernacle.


London, England, May 3O.-Pastor
Russell of Brooklyn Tabernacle adj
dressed large Convention Of Bible
students from all parts of the King
dom today. We report one of his dis.
courses:
Christians today celebrate one Of the
most epoch-making events Of history
the Pentecostal blessing, by which the
Heavenly Father indicated the accept
ance of the Redeemer to glory, and
the application Of the merit of his
sacrifice on behalf of the household
sins. Because Of this blotting out OF
the condemnation of sin as respects
believers, the consecmted ones, wait
ing for such a cancellation Of their
sins, were accepted Of the Lord and
granted an amounting and benediction
of the holy Spirit. Jews condemned
by rhe Law, which they We're unable
90 keep perfectly, had been unfit for
Divine acceptance as sons and at the
very most were permitted to be mem
beers of the House Of Servants under
Moses and the Law. The importation
of the holy Spirit signiffed to these
that they We're transferred from the
house Of servants TO the house Of sons:
For Moses verify was faithful in all
his house as a servant, for testimony
OF those things which were to be
spoken after; but Christ as son over
his own house; whose house are we,
il We hold fast the confidence and the
rejoicing of the hope firm unto the
end Hebrews iii, 8, 81.
The Scriptures very consistently
show that God could accept none to be
members of his House Of Sons until
first of all the sacrifice for sins had
been offered--more than this, not until
it had been presented to the Father
and accepted by him. Adam indeed
is called in the Scriptures the son of
God, because he was created in Gods
image and likeness; but so soon as he
had sinned he forfeited this relation
ship, and none Of his posterity was
counted worthy to resume this rela-
tionship until redeemed by the pre-
cious blood. Abraham, noble and
grand that he was, might merely be
styled ''the friend of God" and others
could boast merely Of beinglhis mouth
pieces and servants. He who came
from above and assumed our nature
and became a member of our race
through his mother, was the Son OF
God, the only-begotten Of the Father,
f,,n of npaaa an1 Truth P,1f xyo
read that, ITO as many as received
him gave he power privilege) to be-
come the sons Of God, even to them
that believe on his name; which were
born, not Of blood, nor of the viii of
the flesh, nor of the will Of man, but
Of God" John l. u, 49,.
This is in full accord with st. Paups
record in Hebrews xi, 3S-4O. There,
after recounting the worthless Of the
past, he declares, these all, having
obtained a good report through faith,
received not the promise; God having
provided some better thing for US, that
they without US (the Gospel church,
should not be made perfect" In other
words, they cannot get the earthly
blessings and privileges and hOnors
which God is pleased to give them
until first Christ the Head and the
Church his Body shall have been de-
veloped and glorified. Then, through
the glori6ed Christ, Gods blessing
shall extend to the Ancient Worthless
and through them to Israel and to all
the families of the earth.
This is In full accord also with what
our Lord said of John the Baptist, the
last of the prophets. His words were,
verify / say unto you, Among them
that are born of women there hath not
risen a greater than John the Baptist;
Notwithstanding heEhat is least in the
Kingdom Of Heaven is greater than
he" (Matthew xi, III.
In other words, the humblest one in
the glOrified Church on the spirit plane,
as a member of the Body Of Christ and
a member of the glorified Kingdom
class, will be greater and occupy
more honorable position than the
greatest of the prophets. So, then,
from this standpoint we perceive that
Pentecost distinctly marked new dis
pensation, the dispensatiOn Of the holy
Spirit, the period for the development
Of the sons Of God.
We do not wish to be understood that
God never exercised his Spirit or pow
er previously. Quite to the contrary;
the Scriptures tell us that it was the
holy Spirit, the holy power Of God,
that constituted the active principle in
the creation. Again they tell us that
throughout the past holy men of old
spake and wrote as they were moved
by the holy Spirit But they were not
moved by the holy Spirit in the same
way that the Church is moved and
controlled and guided. They We're con-
trolled mechanically. They spoke and
wrote, but they did not understands; as
st. Peter distinctly tells us in the same
connection, that mot unto themselves,
but unto us they did minister the
things now freely reported unto you
through the holy Spirit sent down
from heaven" In other words, the
prophets of old were merely the pen
and tongue which the Lord used and
that chiefly in preparing statements to
be understood by us, his people of this
Gospel Age For instance. the Prophet
David, when he declared. ''Thou wilt
not leave my soul in sheol; neither wilt
thou suffer thine Holy One to see cor
Y11ptf0rO ISso1tn wi Jn had no knnW1-