Circular Letter December 1994

“Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today, and for ever.“ (Heb. 13:8)

Circular letter December 1994

Special greetings to all of you in the precious Name of our Lord Jesus Christ with Isa. 40:8b:

“… but the word of our God shall stand for ever”

With chapter 40, the prophet introduces us in a preview to the New Testament. Therein he announces the ministry of John the Baptist who would prepare the way of the Lord and make straight in the desert a highway for our God. In short our Redeemer is being described. We know Who He is. We know in whom we believe. The prophet heard a voice saying, “Cry!” His reply was, “Why shall I cry – preach?“ He was commissioned by God and therefore could not just proclaim anything.

The answer was, “All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the breath of the LORD bloweth upon it; surely the people are grass.“ Here He shows the transitory of humanity. All who are born into this life bloom up like a flower. Childhood is followed by the prime of youth, then the breath of the Lord hushes over man and finally, the flower fadeth and falls off and the last words are spoken in awe, “For dust thou art, and unto dust shall thou return.“

But then the prophet comes to the climax of his message and cries out,
“… but the word of our God shall stand for ever.“ Therein the faith of true believers is anchored. They have received the divine substance of His Word and thereby partook of the divine nature and obtained eternal life. The Apostle Peter referred to this word in Isa. 40, when he spoke about the new birth which comes about by the incorruptible seed of the Word of God which remains for ever. He quotes the mentioned Isaiah-text right to the statement, “But the word of the LORD endureth for ever.“ and continues with the tremendous assertion, “And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.“ (1Pt 1:23-25). That is true apostolic, prophetic proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whereby Old and New Testament coincide!