WHAT GOD DOES
Bill S Chellberg
I just want to emphasise what has already been said, and the scripture in Ecclesiastes came to me regarding God not changing. In our time, it is the Holy Spirit who is acting; and if the Spirit has said something, whether it is in the year 1540 or 1680 or 1790 or whenever it, is it will never be changed. That is what Ecclesiastes says: it will never be changed. Whether we like it or not, whether I like it or not, whether I think there is something better, there is nothing better. Nothing is better than the Spirit’s word, and that is why I read in Timothy: “The Spirit speaks expressly”, and He spoke expressly in the 1800s, He spoke expressly in the 1900s, and He speaks expressly in the 2000s. It was God that saw to it that the printing press was developed in the 1400s, when the whole idea of movable type was invented, and then books could be printed. We referred to the books, and it was not by accident that printing was invented. In the same way, He raised up the Roman Empire to organise the world politically, raising up the Greek Empire also to develop a language that was usable in its detail by people that were to spread the gospel. And the printing press was on the same principle. That all is of God.
Thankfully, we have had persons over the last two centuries who valued what had been said and what had been written. And it was tested. It was read by spiritual persons all along the way, and it was agreed that this was according to Scripture. And that is one thing that I was interested in from what was read in Chronicles. I have never thought of that before, but there are things mentioned there that were never spoken of before as being in the tabernacle. It mentions the silver candlesticks, for example, 1 Chron 28: 15. Where did they come from? Was it of God? Was it God’s thoughts that there should be silver tables, v 16? Where was that in the tabernacle? There has been a development in the truth - not as God gave it, but in our understanding. And that is exactly what has happened since Martin Luther was struck by that fact that a man should live by his faith. Ever since that Scripture came to him in Habakkuk 2: 4, “… but the just shall live by his faith”, there has been a development in light as to the truth.
So, gradually, truth as to the Holy Spirit was brought forward. At the end of the 1700s, there was a big move regarding the Holy Spirit because of the deadness and corruption in the religious systems, the truth that the Holy Spirit was God, and was able to work in persons. Until that time, He had really been put out of the church by man’s organisation. And then we have all the teaching about the assembly, the Head of the body in heaven, and the body here; those are all developments of the truth. They are in Scripture, but they had never been developed since scriptural times; hardly anybody had developed them. Thank the Lord, there were times in history where there were persons who were faithful to Scripture and may have understood some of these things. But gradually the truth has been developed. And how has it been developed? It was developed by the Spirit Himself and through spiritual persons, persons who are and were dedicated to the truth. If the Holy Spirit spoke long ago, or if He speaks now, both are His words, and therefore, if I decide not to read what was said I lose it all. A lot of people do not read it; a lot of people will not read it. They will just remain babes; babes in Christ. That is what happens. The Lord is cut out of that which He should have.
So I just say these things to encourage us about what has been said that is right and is based on Scripture; the things which were long ago, and that which is to be, has already been. These are things God had in mind, and that is why the Scriptures are printed and so available, as well as ministry concerning them.
Other scriptures were in mind, but whichever scriptures I would have read, things could have been said from those scriptures about the truth. “Every scripture is divinely inspired”, 2 Tim 3: 16. So this is not anything new. But what Paul wrote is the truth despite what happened afterwards. You might say there are people who say now it is an ‘old hack’, it is old stuff, it is demeaning to women, and so on. People say that sort of thing, but the truth is still there. And the Spirit has developed it and encouraged us in it.
I would encourage the brethren not only to live on what given is today, not only live on the meetings, but live on what you can gather from what has gone before. I am aware that we cannot all read all of it, but let us think of developing our service towards God. Amen.
Wheaton IL
10th July 2025