248. A Sect?

“But this I confess to you, that according to the Way [God’s Way—Norw.] which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.” Acts 24:14.

Why is “God’s Way” called “a sect”? Simply, because so few walk on it! Consequently, those few who differ so much from the religious multitude are branded “a sect.” But is it a sect? No, it is just a little flock that walks on the way of life and receives the light of life. God’s Way is preached as a form of doctrine, and through obedience to this doctrine we are formed into men and women of God. We confess this gladly to those who today would also call us a sect.

The kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit. The inhabitants of this kingdom are stamped as a sect because they have no citizenship in this world. They are pilgrims and strangers—blessed strangers. How miserable it is to confess Christ with your mouth and to feel at home in this world with all your heart. Jesus Himself said that His kingdom was not of this world. God’s Way leads us away from this world and into the reproach of Christ, to God’s power and a victorious life. Who dares to walk on this way? Who loves it and loves its reproach? Only the poor in spirit, the peacemakers, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, those who hate evil. All of them freely admit to belonging to God’s Way that is called a sect—for they strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. And they believe everything that is in the law and the prophets. The kingdom of heaven consumes the self-life; death is swallowed up by life. He who comes from above is greater than all, for He has been given power over all flesh. Religious people are the ones who form sects and seek their own. Those who belong to the kingdom of heaven and are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit have received a kingdom that is impossible to point out. No one will be able to say, “Look, here it is!” or, “There it is!” The kingdom is within us, and the fellowship comes through walking in the light. The lark knows her mate by his song, and it is the same with all those who share the fellowship of the kingdom of heaven. Only those who walk on “the Way” can speak about it together heart to heart, and this is the mark of fellowship. Jesus is “the Way,” “the Truth,” and “the Life.” Those who are of the truth hear the truth. By this you can recognize the children of God and the children of the devil. Should you meet religious people who do not have a heart for the truth, then you can be certain that they can easily have a heart for worldly people, and you can be certain that they love lies more than the truth. Moreover you know that the devil (the liar) is their father. When they say they are children of God, that is also a lie.

On “the Way,” the truth teaches us how to separate the precious from the vile and the truth from lies. And we can learn by faith to see clearly and to speak clearly. This is the advantage of God’s Way over every other way, and God elects all kinds of people to walk on it. Jesus said, “Those You gave Me of the world, I have kept in Your name. They were Yours but You gave them to Me that they may be one as We are.” John 17:11-12 [Norw.]. The Holy Spirit is not in disharmony with Himself. All those who have this Spirit of truth are one. But those who defend the lie are not of the truth, neither are they one. The Spirit of truth develops in a human heart. If a man who is walking on the Way rejects the Spirit of truth in order to spare himself, he accepts Satan instead, and God’s Spirit (the Spirit of truth) has to give place to Satan and his “spare yourself” attitude. Here we find many who have begun in the Spirit but end up in the flesh. We cannot be one with such people, for they have received another spirit and another Jesus. Our Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan!” when He was tempted to spare Himself. Jesus was a sacrifice for the Spirit of God. He offered Himself in the power of an eternal Spirit. Wherever the kingdom of heaven gets an entrance into a human heart, that body becomes a sacrifice for the Spirit. This is why it is written in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual [Norw.] service.”

From this it is quite clear that there can be no spiritual service unless we present our bodies as a sacrifice.

From the above we understand that God’s Way is the way of sacrifice, and we have the sacrifices within us. The Way goes through the flesh, and if we want to go through that flesh, sparing ourselves is out of the question. The only way left to us is to suffer in the flesh and cease from sin. A life of godliness develops its own doctrine because sacrifices according to the law of the Spirit form a doctrine of godliness in our inner man. This is a doctrine that the flesh and carnal people cannot understand—even if such people make their living by preaching. God is righteous and without partiality. The Way is the same for all of us, whether we are learned or not. The knowledge of the learned must hold its peace before the doctrine of Christ, while the tongue of the unlearned speaks words of wisdom through the Spirit. These are God’s priests. So who actually is “learned”? Of course those who have been taught by God. And who then are uneducated? Of course those who have not been taught of God. Who are taught by God? Those who have His words and keep them! So this is where we have wise men and scribes instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven. They bring forth both old and new things from the treasure of their hearts, and everything has been learned on the Way which others call a sect.