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We have noted quite a number of things in this series concerning, Christ Jesus, the Beginning. One of the primary thoughts has been that everything which was created in Him, namely, the ALL, came out of Him and will eventually End in Him, and in the book of Revelation He identified himself as both, the Beginning and the End. If I listed everything which found its origin in Him, there would be no end to the list, literally. Faith, however, is one more thing I want to add to the inexhaustible list while in this vein of thought. Although we all know something about faith, and some know a lot about it, we may not have seen just how far reaching this seemingly simple element is.

Therefore, "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith." "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hab. 2:4, Heb. 12:2.

When a single word or two is ignited by the flame of God's Spirit, it will transform a person's life forever, as we all can attest. No one can remain the same when the windows of revelation are opened to the mysteries of Christ Jesus. Martin Luther is a good example of this. His revelation of faith caused the Roman Catholic church to reel in a storm that she could not ignore.

"Through his laborious studies of the Scriptures, Luther came to see that the guilt that consumed him could not be lifted by more religion, and the God he dreaded so much was not the God that Christ has revealed. Shooting forth from the book of Romans, ‘For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.' (1:17), another thunderbolt crossed his path: ‘Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that the just shall live by his faith. Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which, through grace and sheer mercy, God justifies us through (his) faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the justice of God had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven . . ."
(Christian History Institute, Glimpse (http://chi.gospelcom.net/GLIMPSEF/Glimpses/glmps015.shtml)

It is not clear exactly how much Luther saw concerning this new-found revelation that transformed his life; but it was certainly enough for him to be branded a heretic, excommunicated, banished and condemned by the emperor Charles V. He was to be captured or killed on sight; but before that edict could be carried out he was kidnapped and protected by Duke Frederick of Saxony.

Martin Luther was a shining light in the midst of Catholicism's dark world; yet, from noting what he wrote and seeing the fruit of his revelation, his eyes were not opened to see Faith from the Beginning to the End, nor did he see that Christ is the Author of faith, at least from reading his works, it does not appear so.

There is always more to every mystery of God than what one person is given, and although we may be seeing more than what "the father of the reformation" saw, we are still only receiving glimpses of it. There is much more to come, we can count on it, and although we ourselves do not possess all there is to know about faith, as it was with Martin Luther, we will shine the faithful ray of light that has been given to each of us.

Over the centuries, many have been noted as being men and women of faith, and rightly so with some of them; for their faith seemed to stand head and shoulders above others of their time. Needless to say, however, Jesus had the faith that surpassed them all. Even so, with Jesus having been born of a woman, and having a body fashioned after the first Adam, as it is with all who are clothed in natural flesh, by default His vision was veiled at times. He did not know all things at all times and did not always see things outside the realm of time. Only when he broke the barriers of the natural man did He transcend the realm of time. It was therein where He saw His eternal Father doing things and speaking that which were higher than the earth. Eternity was, no doubt, often obscure to Him while in His untransformed, physical body. You see, if there had been no veiling and He saw all things clearly, there would have been no need for Him to go into the mountains and pray all night, or for Moses and Elijah to tell Him of His crucifixion (Luke 9:30). It appears that Jesus did not know the details of His death until His "mountain top experience" which was about a year before He told His disciples that He must go but would return and would no longer be with them but would be in them (John 14:17), i.e., the beginning of the reassembling. In addition, it was after His ascension that God gave unto Him the Revelation of things which He signified to John by the angel on the Isle of Patmos. "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Rev. 1:1.

It is becoming increasingly clear to those who have a hearing ear that Jesus is the volume of the Book of Life. However, it is not clear whether Jesus understood fully that He was the sum of all things prior to His resurrection and ascension. It seems not; for it was not until the book of Revelation that He told John that He was the Beginning and the End. And it was after His resurrection that He revealed to Paul that all things are out of Him, through Him, and back into Him (Rom. 11:36, Grk). Therefore, although Jesus was the Son of God, while in the flesh, He was not sitting at all times at the right hand of His Father with all power where He saw and knew all things. It was by the resurrection from the dead that He was triumphantly declared to be the Son of God with power (Rom 1:4). Prior to then, He was still in the learning process. He was learning obedience through the things that he suffered Heb 5:8. And it was not until after His resurrection that He said, "...All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" Matt. 28:18. Although He carried with Him all power when He descended from the heavens and was born in the lowly stable of humanity, that seed did not burst forth in full bloom until He came out of the grave. Much of it lay dormant in His earth and was veiled from Him. Ah, but when He came out of the earth, He broke all barriers, and His power began to stream from the throne in waves of light to His brethren! Revelation dawned upon unenlightened souls, enabling men to write such things as: "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" Heb. 12:2.

It is in this place, the realm of the throne, that all knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and power comes. It is herein where faith is not only conceived and born but finds its glorious end. This faith may be imitated; but it cannot be generated, contrived by man. He does not initiate the faith. It is not of himself. He cannot boast in it.

It is the Lord's inspiration that lights our candle of belief, and it will grow and swell and bloom and come to full fruition in the End. Jesus starts it and He ends it. It is always His faith, and if there is any fragment of our own, it finds it root in His pristine faith that was conceived in the Beginning when all things were in Him, and He knew all things. If we have faith, even as the grain of a mustard seed, it is because we have heard the word of His anointing, the heavens of the Beginning opens and we see the End of that mountain being removed; for it was removed once before in the dawn of creation.

Jesus is the Author and Finisher, the Beginning and End of faith, of all faith pertaining to Him. If we think we have faith to move mountains, and we may have, it is only because our faith is the branches growing on His great tree of Faith. Therefore, it is really His faith, and we have nothing to boast about.

Since He is the Beginning and the End, unlike when He was robed in flesh, He knew the outcome of all things. He also knew the process between. Prior to any fragmentation He knew who He was, He knew that outside of Him creation would die, and He knew what His mission would be to give them life. He knew all who were fragmented and died in Adam would be assembled and live in Him. He knew every detail from the Beginning to the End. His faith was rock-solid. When the fragmentation began with the woman being taken from the man, and then the man following the woman's lead, His faith had already been initiated. There was no second guessing on what might happen in the End. If there was even a hint that one soul may be lost forever, I do not believe the fall would have been permitted. But He knew what the End would be; for it was Him! He, therefore, had total confidence that He could bring His faith in a full circle to the End, which, again, is back to Himself. That was the great hope of God who subjected creation to vanity, not due to creation's will, but His will (Rom. 8:20).

The main focal point during the fragmentation of the whole, which would bring forth this hope was the shedding of His own blood and rising from that death. Morover, since He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, He already knew that He would not remain in the grave. He had already been there. He knew what the physical manifestation would be — resurrection! Nothing could stop it! This, He was sure of! That is faith! It is that which stems from something you have seen or heard, and especially from having already experienced it, and you not only expect it to come to pass, but since you were there you know it will come to pass.

With Jesus being the Beginning, and also the Lamb slain from the foundation, or disruption of the world, the End is something He saw, heard, and experienced in the Spirit, and He has not only always expected it to come to pass exactly as He experienced it, but He knew it would come to pass. What assured faith, my friends! What faith! And you and I, brethren, are held in the embrace of it. Again, "...the just shall live by HIS faith" Hab. 2:4. What a comfort it is to know that our destiny does not hinge on our frail faith, but His faith that does not fail.

When faith wells in us like a spring of life, we should know that it not only comes from hearing the one in who we love and trust, but also because we were in Him in the Beginning and saw the unfolding of the ages ourselves. And when He opens the heavens of revelation, is it naught but seeing again and remembering that which we knew before our veil of flesh was wrapped about us? If we sang together with the stars of heaven and shouted for joy upon seeing the foundations of the earth being laid, as well as the fragmentation thereof, do we not also have faith, sing and shout for joy when we see the fragments being consumed and assembled back into Him — who is the End?

PRAISE GOD! It could be no other way when we see the perfect law of circularity at work! Everything that was IN Him, CAME OUT of Him, and ENDS in Him! Jesus is the Beginning and the End of Faith — the Sum of all things! Period!
 

Elwin R. Roach

With this issue being the last part of this particular series, let me express how grateful we are for all of you who corresponded with us. The overwhelming majority was a yea and amen, while a few were nay and no way. We appreciated the latter as well; for we would be very presumptuous and self-centered to think everyone should all believe the same or agree upon every word. Moreover, we have taken those who are in opposition just as seriously as those who have walked with us, and whether we were encouraged or discouraged, we benefited from everyone who wrote. Everyone touched our lives and helped to make this incomplete work possible. Rich harvests were reaped from what you shared. For example, Part 14, Pub. #173.04, The Meek Shall Inherit The Earth would have been greatly lacking if it had not been for our dear friend, Hallie Goodwin, sharing with us a portion of the book The Third Spiritual Alphabet (published 1527) by the Franciscan friar, Francisco de Osuna. The fact is, after reading the few pages, I ordered the book for our own library.

Another dear friend of many years, Ella Arvizu, shared a rich word recently: "It is essential for us to have healthy bones, and that is what He is giving us now. We must have vitamin D for the calcium to build the bones, and vitamin D comes from the Sun/Son shining upon us. Without Him, our supply of vitamin D is diminished, our calcium intake does little good, and our bones become weak and brittle. Our structure is compromised, which makes it difficult to stand upright in the Lord, to walk a strait path with unfaltering sturdiness, or to carry heavy loads upon our backs. Our burden is then heavy and not light as we are pushed earthward by its weight." Such a clear picture of when we fail to walk in the Son Light of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our bones become weak and are easily broken.

And here is an excellent letter we received a few days ago from Catherine Heim. She speaks of The New Song, The covering of His Majestic Will...:

"Dear Elwin & Margit,

"Once again I would like to thank you for the wonderful newsletter that you send out. Words cannot express what an encouragement they truly are, not just to us, but I am sure to so many others. The beautiful part that each person adds to the whole glorious picture of who He is amongst and within us is very special.

"What a marvelous day to reach in, and to embrace the mind of Christ! To don, or put on a flavor, if you will, of the mind or perception of the Will of the Father!!! What a rejoicing and a fresh New Day of Hope, to drink to full measure of the stature of the Mind of Christ daily. Dancing the divine dance in the Secret Place of the Most High!!! To hear His voice as still and quiet, yet a mighty rushing wind of the Spirit, and yet the true revelation of His Nature and Character, being displayed as a panoramic view of His Plan for the Ages, as a New Day breaks forth on the horizons of our hearts and minds!!!
"What a time such as this to break forth in singing, to all the nations of the earth, as we partake of the Will of the Father, for our lives individually, and corporately as ONE, for He truly has given us a New Song to sing! A song of rejoicing! A song of Hope, in which all the nations, tribes and tongues, shall proclaim "Our God Reigns!!!

"How wonderful to reach down now, and pull up, from our innermost beings, hearts full to overflowing, with an abundant harvest of fresh insights, fresh revelations, hidden mysteries revealed in the Fathers' intentions for mankind!!! Hold not back, even for a moment to allow His Presence to make ready a people, prepared, caught up to Him, caught up in one Spirit, and through Him, to take a hold of His Majestic Will for this hour!!!

"What a Day this is, for His Purpose to abound, the very Pleasure of His Will, to fully be unveiled within — Christ in us, the Hope of Glory!!!!

"For each one clothed with His Mind, the Mind of Christ, the Mind of His Will, the Mansion of His Desire, the shining Glory of His Son, the wheel within the wheel, flames of fire, in the full armor of His embrace, as we go forth as One, to conquer the enemy of our souls, to lay down, or prostrate ourselves in full submission to His Spirit, the very Spirit of Mercy and Grace!!! Ah, what a covering is this, is it not?! The covering of His Majestic Will!!!

"Rising up on this, the third day, to adorn ourselves of the Fathers good Will and Pleasure, that His purposes can take hold, or gird us up and displaying His Mind, the very Mind of Christ, in and through us throughout the Ages to come!!!

"Many are those who would long to see such a day as this! A day when darkness has been swallowed up by the light of the noon-day SON!!! A day when Victory rings loud and clear in the corridors of the minds of His people. A brand NEW DAY in which the richness of His Presence fills the temple, of our hearts, the golden vessels of whom have been made ready with the robe of Righteousness Himself, the Daystar from on High, the Bright and Morning Star, the Alpha and Omega, the Lily of the Valley, the Rose of Sharon, the Firstfruit of Many Brethren, Jesus Christ, Yahshua Hamashia. The very breath of the morning dew, the very water and wine of Life, the One who bridged the gap and brought the union or marriage of spirit and soul, and poured forth the New Wine of the freshness of the Fathers' Will, the fullness of His purposes granted through sons, who as ONE NEW MAN, reflect the glory of His Majesty on High, who reflect the image and likeness of the One who always was, and will always be, "I AM THAT I AM." CHRIST IN YOU THE HOPE OF GLORY, fully revealed in the nature of His Sons!

"Truly, we shall take joy as we draw from the wells of salvation, drawing from the streams of living water, that flows from our innermost being, rejoicing and declaring forth a New Song, that shall go forth, as a sharp two-edged sword, that shall penetrate deep into the hearts of the peoples, nations, and tongues, dividing between soul and marrow, and bringing to bear as a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of mankind, fully bared to the reality of the Spirit of the Father, the Spirit of Truth, the Wisdom of the Ages Himself!!! The Mind of Christ, the cup full and overflowing, Christ in us, the hope of glory!!!

"We love you so very much and thank you again for your wonderful words and teaching from His heart!!!

Love in His Name,
Catherine Heim
New Pragu, MN 56071-2490
 

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