EDITORIAL - January 1962
David E. Knoch

EVER GRATEFUL to our gracious God, we begin another volume of Unsearchable Riches with the words of the beloved apostle Paul on our lips, thanking God for the faith and the faithfulness of all His saints. "Therefore, I also, on hearing of this faith of yours in the Lord Jesus and that for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may be giving you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the realization of Him, the eyes of your heart having been enlightened, for you to perceive what is the expectation of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of the enjoyment of His allotment among the saints, and what the transcendent greatness of His power for us who are believing, in accord with the operation of the might of His strength, which is operative in the Christ, rousing Him from among the dead and seating Him at His right hand among the celestials, up over every sovereignty and authority and power and lordship and every name that is named, not only in this eon, but also in that which is impending: and subjects all under His feet, and gives Him, as Head over all, to the ecclesia which is His body, the complement by which all in all is being completed" (Eph.1:15-23).

How thankful we are for the measure of faith which has been parted to each of you! Every expression and evidence of this faith of yours is fraught with joy and satisfaction for us, and we crave to hear of your faith—it so encourages and consoles our hearts! In a ministry such as ours, we more often encounter the doubts and the disbelief of our brethren, who write us of their problems and perplexities.

Yet how stimulating to receive a report which is filled with the blessed fruit of faith. Doubts are contagious, and they can spread like the plague. Yet faith in God's declarations encourages those exposed to it. It is instructive to note that Paul urged his beloved child in the faith to become a model for the believers, in word, in behavior, in love, in FAITH, and in purity (1 Tim.4:12). Models are made to be imitated. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul repeated his entreaty, saying "Now you fully follow me in my teaching, motive, purpose, FAITH, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, [and] sufferings..." (2 Tim.3:10,11). By God's grace we would fully follow faithful Timothy.

Such a course will lead to persecution and suffering, and those who would live devoutly in the current eon can expect to be misunderstood and misjudged. Yet it is, strange to say, called the path of "peace."

As we have said before, what a privilege is open to us all! Angels could ask no greater boon than to suffer for the truth of God. Our Lord could find joy that the reproaches directed against God fell on Him. The consciousness of His smile will take away the sting from the arrows of any human adversary who may, like Saul of Tarsus, think he is zealously serving God by persecuting what he deems to be error.

We have often felt strengthened by the Word of God, set forth by a man of faith. Yet "higher criticism," shrouded in doubt and disbelief, can destroy and discourage and dishearten.

These are the "last days" and "perilous periods will be present." We, too, must take to heart the sobering words of Paul in his final epistle, where he entreats Timothy, "You, then, child of mine, be invigorated by the grace which is in Christ Jesus. And what things you hear from me through many witnesses, these commit to faithful men, who shall be competent to teach others also" (2 Tim.2:1,2).

Faith is reserved for those who have "ears to hear" the evangel of their salvation, the word of truth. If we would have more faith, then we must not only continuously expose ourselves to God's divine declarations, but we must really harken to His words. Listening leads to believing, and believing leads to realizing. But our realization—our recognizing that these truly are God's words—cannot come until we first exercise our faith. And faith cometh by hearing, whether with our physical ears, or by reading and meditating on the Scriptures. First we must listen, then believe, and then we will realize the truth (Col.1:6; Eph.1:13).

May our gracious God grant us faith to believe the truths so clearly set forth in His Word—and love to imitate Him Who is conciliated to the world, in giving them out.