He Who Comes From Above Is Above All

He Who Comes From Above Is Above All

Jesus came from above, and therefore He is above all. We have a lot to learn from this. When misunderstandings and differences of opinion arise, how liberating and refreshing it is when a brother is able to bring us a message from above.

“He who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.”

How is it when we speak? Is it of the earth, or is it from above? Blessed is each one who comes in the name of the Lord! If only God were allowed to save us from all these messages that speak about the earth and instead give us thorough instruction in the message that comes from above! How much evil we would be spared from hearing!

If someone leaves a meeting in a critical spirit and speaks carelessly and indiscreetly about his brothers, do such words come from above? No, they are earthly, sensual and demonic. Love bears all things; it does not criticize all things. Yet no one can speak the truth as tenderly and compassionately as love can. He who serves his brothers in love comes from above, and therefore he is above all. He becomes the greatest, because he is able to serve everyone. Serving everyone is not the same as ruling over everyone—unless the ruler’s rod is used in truth, righteousness and love. Then it is easy to submit to such delightful authority, and yet you feel as free as a bird; for this yoke is the yoke of Christ, a yoke that is pleasant and easy to bear.

If someone brings a message that comes from the earth, it feels oppressive and stifling, even if it is soulish and religious. “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life,” Jesus said. A dead world and a dead Christianity need to hear such words.

Oh, how we need to pray that the Lord will send us witnesses with a message from above, witnesses who can speak words that the Holy Spirit teaches, so we can be liberated from all the words that worldly wisdom teaches! The greatest need for Christians today is such witnesses, for it is abundantly evident that today’s Christians are very attached to the earth. They need witnesses who have been freed from themselves, who have come from above bringing Spirit and life. Christians ally themselves with worldly temperance leagues, with socialists and with communists. All this drains them of God’s power, and they begin to think as the world thinks and speak as the world speaks. Then when someone speaks from above, it offends people because they have become accustomed to the earth and to words that are earthly.

Therefore, cut all connections with the world. Be like an island in the ocean; live as one who has been circumcised in heart. Burn all your bridges behind you; cut off every avenue of retreat. Forget all that is behind—even your father’s house—and pursue the things that lie ahead. Seek those things which are above, for they have eternal significance.

Jesus testified of what He had heard from His Father, and no man received His testimony. John 3:32. Some will say, “Yes, but in those days people didn’t have much light, and so they would not receive His testimony. But now we all receive His testimony with joy, because it comes from above.” That’s not true. People don’t receive His testimony with joy, nor do they receive those whom He sends. They receive them just as in Jesus’ day. The testimony from above judges everything earthly. That is why people hate it, because they love the world and the things in the world; but they want to have a little religiosity too.

He who walks in God’s light sees the light of this world and is on guard. From this we learn that there must be a walk, a walk in the light. What good is it to be saved and yet still continue to walk in darkness? He who is sent by God speaks God’s Word. But those who travel around preaching for a living have never understood what it means to be sent by God or what it means to speak God’s Word, despite all their fine religious preaching.