3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:

The Name of Jesus.

His name comprehends every thing that can be scripturally affirmed of him. It is a part of his name that he is that Son of David who was to be also Son of God, and King of the Jews on David's throne for ever. This is tantamount to saying that Jesus is the Christ.

This truth is the foundation corner stone of the mystery. It is also part of his name that

"his blood cleanses from all sin"

through his resurrection from the dead, those who believe the gospel; for

"he was delivered for their offences, and raised again for their justification."

The believer of the gospel of the kingdom, then, who with an honest and good heart believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that a fountain was opened in his blood for sin and for uncleanlness when he suffered death upon the accursed tree; that he was buried; and that he rose again upon the third day according to the scriptures for the justification of the faithful unto eternal life—such an one believes the gospel in its hope, facts, and mystery, and is prepared to become "the righteousness of God" by putting on the Name of Jesus.

A believer who is constituted the righteousness of God in Jesus is one to whom repentance and the remission of sins has been granted in his name. The institution of the name is the sin-cleansing mystery of the gospel of the kingdom. Such a thing had never been heard of before in Israel. They had heard of John's baptism—

"the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;"

but of repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of sins, this was a secret which prophet nor angel had ever heard till the Holy Spirit revealed it on Pentecost by the mouth of Peter.

But how doth a sinner become the subject of repentance and the remission of sins in the name of Jesus—How doth he put on the name? There is but one way of accomplishing this indispensable and essential necessity, or condition of salvation. He must first become a believer of the hope, facts, and mystery of the gospel; for without faith, a faith that works by love and purifies the heart, it is impossible to please God: being thus prepared, he may then be immersed into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

This act unites the believer of the true gospel to the Name; so that in being united his faith and childlike disposition are counted to him for repentance and remission of sins, and he becomes an heir of the kingdom and glory of God which are promised to him for ever.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, FEB 1852

5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

Be purposeful. Make everything you think, and say, and do, purposeful. Discipline your mind and tongue and actions, and the use of your precious, limited, eternal-life-preparing time. That is the only satisfaction, and the only success.

Be a meaningful, completely-harmonised, goal-seeking totality. Do not drift, or gossip, or fritter away life in side-issues and amusements. Every moment is God's. Every moment is golden. Every moment can be spiritual awareness and spiritual joy. God invites us to a magic carpet -- far up out of the meaningless humdrum of common cattle. Do not be afraid to board the flight to total divine joy.

Bro Growcott

6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.

A brother laments the‭ fri‬volity of some conversations he hears at tea-gatherings of brethren and sisters.‭ ‬He would like it altered.‭ ‬He would like every assembly to be pervaded by the spirit of wisdom and sobriety.‭ ‬Every true brother of Christ will sympathise with his wish in the matter.‭ ‬But how is a change to be brought about‭? ‬It is best not to expect much as regards others,‭ ‬but for every brother and sister who sees the evil and desires what ought to be to determine that,‭ ‬so far as they are concerned,‭ ‬they will contribute none of the nonsense,‭ ‬but will conform always to the apostolic injunction which requires us to let our speech be always with grace,‭ ‬seasoned with salt.

‭ ‬It is very certain that none but those who so conform will be found suitable for the Lord's work when he comes,‭ ‬and none but the suitable will be accepted.‭ ‬The root of the matter lies in the mind.‭ ‬What is in will come out.‭ ‬If minds are empty and in sympathy only with the trivialities of life,‭ ‬the open mouth will give accordingly.‭ ‬If the heart is stored with wisdom,‭ ‬there is a chance of the mouth speaking the same.‭ ‬The true cure therefore is to be found in the daily and private cultivation of the heart in the direction of wisdom,‭ ‬and this is best accomplished by continuous reading and prayer.

The Christadelphian, July 1887

15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the ecclesia which is in his house.

LAODICEA, the city of the seventh ecclesia addressed by the Spirit, lay south of Philadelphia, in the way to return to Ephesus, so that it will be found, upon an inspection of the map of Asia Minor, that the seven ecclesias laid in a kind of circular form, so that the natural progress was from Ephesus to Smyrna, from Smyrna to Pergamos, from Pergamos to Thyatira, from Thyatira to Sardis, from Sardis to Philadelphia, from Philadelphia to Laodicea, and from Laodicea round to Ephesus again (from which it was distant about forty-two miles south), which is the method and order the Spirit has observed in addressing them.

That there was a flourishing association of believers at Laodicea in the first century, is evident from Paul's letter to the Colossians. In ch. iv. 15, he exhorts them to "salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, even Nymphas and the ecclesia which is in his house." He appears also to have written especially to the Laodiceans, for he tells the Colossians to read the epistle obtainable from them.

The ruins of the city show it to have been very large, situate in a volcanic region upon seven hills, and encompassing a large space of ground. Some notion may be formed of its former greatness and glory from three theatres and a circus which are remaining, one of which is very fine, as it was capable of containing above thirty thousand men, into whose area they descended by fifty steps.

Laodicea is now called Eski Hissar, or the old castle. In its apostasy, the ecclesia in this city became the metropolitan, or Mother Church, of sixteen bishopricks, yet it is now desolate, and not so much as inhabited by shepherds, but is become a habitation only for wolves, foxes, and jackals, a den of dragons, snakes, and vipers. Thus we have in the ecclesia of the Laodiceans in the fulness of its apostasy, a Mother of Harlots sitting upon seven hills; and because of its spiritual misery, poverty, blindness, and nakedness, reduced, with the city of its habitation, to utter desolation and irrecoverable ruin, and its site become the den of ferocious beasts, and the hiding place of reptile abominations.

Laodicea was long an inconsiderable place, but it increased towards the time of Augustus Caesar. The fertility of the soil, and the prosperous circumstances of some of its citizens, raised it to greatness. Hiero, who adorned it with many offerings, bequeathed to the people more than two thousand talents; and though an inland town, it grew to be more potent than the cities on the coast, and became one of the largest towns in Phrygia, as its present ruins prove.

Chandler, in his "Travels," p. 225, says, that "Laodicea was often damaged by earthquakes, and restored by its own opulence, or by the munificence of the Roman emperors. These resources failed, and the city, it is probable, became early a scene of ruin. About the year 1097 it was possessed by the Turks, and submitted to Ducas, general of the emperor Alexis. In 1120, the Turks sacked some of the cities of Phrygia by the Meander, but were defeated by the emperor John Comnenus, who took Laodicea, and repaired and built anew the walls.

About 1161, it was again unfortified. Many of the inhabitants were then killed with their bishop, or carried with their cattle into captivity by the Turkish sultan. In 1190, the German emperor Frederick Barbarossa, going by Laodicea with his army toward Syria, on a crusade, was received so kindly, that he prayed on his knees for the prosperity of the people -- which prayer, as the future proves, was of no avail in heaven; for about 1196, this region with Caria was dreadfully ravaged by the Turks.

The sultan, on the invasion of the Tartars in 1255, gave Laodicea to the Romans, but they were unable to defend it, and it soon returned to the Turks. We saw no traces of houses, churches, or mosques. All was silence and solitude. Several strings of camels passed eastward of the hill; but a fox which we first discovered by the ears peeping over a brow, was the only inhabitant of Laodicea."

Eureka 3.3.

18 The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen. (Written from Rome to Colossians by Tychicus and Onesimus.)

He was a manacled prisoner in most cases and therefore incapable of extended literary effort. The little bit he wrote with his manacled hand, after dictating the letter to another, would be poorly written as compared with the body of the letter. He would not be able to bring his hand flat on the table, and therefore the writing would be clumsy which made him add, "Remember my bonds"-as much as to say, "Excuse a bad pen."

Was that inspiration? Enquires a short-visioned friend. My friend, inspiration did not leave Paul while he wrote that bit. It was even a bit that the wisdom of God might require him to add, as a living lineament of reality for those who should come after Paul, and who would only have the written words of Paul and not the living apostle to lean on.

Bro Roberts - In Prison for righteousness sake