seem to indicate in a general way the mind of the Lord as to the meeting

together of His people.

In the early days we read several times of 'the church in the house'

(Rom. 16:5; Col. 4:15) of one or another Christian.  We believe that the

apostasy which is everywhere manifesting itself will compel the faithful once

again to meet in this primitive way.  When this does take place, the domestic

qualifications of the bishop and deacon of 1 Timothy 3 will be better

appreciated.  It will be obviously impossible to meet in the house of a

brother whose lack of control makes his children's behaviour a scandal.

Neither could the meeting be held in a home where there was lack of unity

between husband and wife.  With regard to the question of teachers, we

believe that when the Lord's people met together, it would not be long before

one or two would manifest that they were 'faithful men, able to teach others

also', and would be recognized as such.

We are fellow -members of the One Body, and our privilege it is, by the

working together of every part, to make increase of the Body unto the

building up of itself in love.  Let us avoid by all means a mere

multiplication of 'meetings'.  Let us shun any approach to a 'sect', but let

us as fellow -members of One Body seek by all the means sanctioned and

sanctified by the Word, to build one another up in the faith:

'Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the

Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written

before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His

name' (Mal. 3:16).

We should probably not find it very difficult to define the meaning of

righteousness, truth or goodness, but holiness is an awe -inspiring word; it

is something quite apart from the common run of life.  In everyday

conversation or correspondence such terms as 'true', 'just', 'good'

constantly appear, but, unless the subject of such conversation or

correspondence has specifically to do with the Scriptures, the Church or with

the things of God, the words 'holiness' or 'holy' would not be used from one

year's end to the other.  In order the better to appreciate the extraordinary

implication of this term, let us consider how Moses and the Prophets were led

to give Israel some idea of what the word 'holiness' could mean.  When we

remember the environment of Egypt with its gross idolatry, or the constant

contamination by contact with other nations and peoples, we can begin to

sense the colossal task set before the writers of Scripture.  One way in

which the essentials of this term were impressed on the people was the choice

of the words translated holy, namely qodesh, the Hebrew word of the Old

Testament  and hagios, the Greek word of the New Testament.  Another way was

the repeated separation of land and people, like wheels within wheels, that

eventually arrived at the typical Holiest of All in the Tabernacle, into

which not one of the holy nation or holy tribe or holy family, except the

high priest, was permitted to enter on penalty of death (Lev. 16:2; Exod.

30:10).  We have appended a diagram to assist us in following the Divine

procedure as we attempt to arrive at some true understanding of the meaning

of holiness.

The whole wide earth is the Lord's, yet for His purposes of grace, one

Land was severed off from the rest and called 'a holy land'.  While all the