darkness into the Kingdom of God: "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son; in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins (Col., 1: 12-14)." Again: "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear (Heb., 12:28)." The seed of this Kingdom of Heaven, this Kingdom of God, this Reign of Heaven on Earth, is, and it could not be anything else, the word of God. Jesus speaks: "And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? and he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see," His time had not fully come" and hearing they might not understand; now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God; those by the wayside are they that hear "the seed; -" then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved; they on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word "—the seed — "with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away; and that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard," the seed" go forth, and are choked with cares and riches, and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection; but that on the good ground are they, which in honest and good heart, having heard the word "- the seed-"keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience (Luke, 8:9-15)." Again: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not; but as many as received him,”- an act of the mind-" to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (Jno., 1: 11-13)." Peter endorses and emphasizes: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorrup no seed, no crop; no kingdom-seed, no converts and tible "- * word of God, which liveth and and this is the word "- the seed -"which by the gospel is preached unto you (I. Pet., 1: 22-25)." No theory of the work of the Holy Spirit in conviction and conversion that disregards or modifies, or supplements the word of God "as it is written" with any pretended personal or direct revelation, or that eliminates the fact-tremendous and overwhelming - that conviction and conversion are translation, transformation, transition-mentally, morally, spiritually into the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth and that the word of God, backed and filled with Eternal and Inexhaustible Energy; backed and filled with four thousand years of history in which God spoke to man direct and through human beings, His message finding its deepest, widest, highest and Divinest climax on Calvary, "at the Cross," and in the use of the keys of the Kingdom, by direct endowment of the apostles on the day of Pentecost, can be true. The word of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the revelation of God, completed through the apostles of Jesus, chosen, instructed, ordained, endowed by Him, comes to you backed by the Inexhaustible power of the Mighty God; backed by the testimony of Moses the man of God; backed by the Prophets who taught it and lived it: backed by the Son of the living God who was and is the Word in human flesh, who in sending the apostles forth put into the Commission He gave them, "All authority in heaven and in earth;" backed by the authority of the apostles, who alone were, and are, authorized to "open and certify" the last and only testament of our Lord and tell you what to do; backed by the testimony of millions who have received this word as God's word and who have lived for it, suffered for it, died for it, and with the seven-fold thunder of the wrath of God mingling with the Voice of Love from Golgotha: "Be ye reconciled to God (II. Cor., 5:20)!" CHAPTER X. The Holy Spirit in Conversion--Enlightenment. According to the testimony of Paul, after he had fallen. to the earth he heard, on that great day on the road to Damascus, the voice of the risen and glorified Lord; but let him tell it: "And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest; but rise, and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of the things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I now send thee; "- here is the important part" to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive the forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith that is in me (Acts, 26: 12-18)." This was his Commission, and in all its elements, expressed and implied, it is the same as the Commission given before the ascension. Here is one report of how he carried his commission out: "Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit; I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God; for I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought in me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jeru salem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ; yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation (Rom., 15:15-20)." Here is another report: "Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: but showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance; for these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me; having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to the Gentiles (Acts, 26: 19-23)." Here is still another report: "I am become a fool in glorifying; ye have compelled me; for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds (II. Cor., 12: II, 12)." Every report in the Acts of the Spirit through the apostles harmonizes in detail with these reports. In reality there was only one Commission and one object the enlightenment of the world. Sin is blindness; sin is darkness; sin is ignorance. Isaiah denounces the blind watchman: "His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber (Isa., 56: 10)." Again: "Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see; who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord's servant (Isa., 42: 18, 19)?" Jesus denounced the same class: "Woe unto you, ye blind guides (Matt., 23: 16)." Again: "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch (Matt., 15: 14)." Again: "Ye fools and blind (Matt., 23: 17)." Again: "Thou blind Pharisee (Matt., 23:26)." Peter endorses this with emphasis: "But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins (II. Pet., 19)." A man may be ignorantly blind: "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked (Rev., 3: 17)." This blindness pertains to the mind-the mind's eye; Paul's Hebrew contemporaries were blinded: “But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ (II. Cor., 3: 14)." The god of this world blinds the minds of those who believe not: “ In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (II. Cor., 4:4)." Hate produces mental blindness: "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light and there is none occasion of stumbling in him; but he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes (I. Jno., 2:10, II).” Blindness pertains to the heart: "Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart (Eph., 4:18)." Sin is darkness; hear Jesus: "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light; but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness thereof (Matt., 6: 22, 23)." Again: "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil; for every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his |