The Anointing: The Doctrine of Christ — G.W. North

The Urgency of Understanding the Anointing

I want to talk to you tonight about a subject which some of you I know, in that we've been together before, will have heard, but I'm sure that it's something that we ought to know more and more about, especially as year succeeding year and place succeeding place, one hears the same kinds of needs, same kind of, shall I say, misunderstanding or even ignorance.

Now I don't mean to offer any insults when I use this kind of language. I'm completely ignorant of so much in the world, but I don't feel a little bit upset about that. I don't understand how to gamble in a casino, I don't understand how to get drunk, I don't know what is the taste of tobacco, I don't know Chinese, but my ignorance doesn't make me feel at all humiliated.

And if one has never been taught these things and one doesn't know, then one just doesn't know. And God says that the times of ignorance he closes his eyes to. And that which we do in our ignorance is quite different from if we went against knowledge, revelation that he had given.

I want to talk to you tonight about the anointing. As I have said this is a subject which many of us have thought around before. This is why really I started off reading in the second letter of John this morning.

Let's turn to it. I hope I get beyond the first two or three verses. Though I don't regret that which God did this morning. He sovereignly took us along his own life. And that should satisfy everybody.

We are reading then the elder unto the elect lady and her children whom I love in the truth. And not I only but also all they that have known the truth. For the truth's sake which dwelleth in us and shall be with us forever.

Grace be with you. Mercy and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of the Father in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth. As we have received a commandment from the Father.

And now I beseech thee lady. Not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee but that which we had from the beginning. That we love one another. And this is love that we walk after his commandment. That as ye have heard from the beginning you should walk in it.

For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought.

But that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of the anointed of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ he hath both the Father and the Son.

If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine receive him not into your house. That should go down well with house fellowships I should think. Neither bid him God's speed. For he that biddeth him God's speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

Having many things to write unto you. I would not write with paper and ink but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face. That our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen.

The Doctrine of Christ Rather Than Human Theology

John had many things he wanted to say. There appears to be one thing that was so important that he just had to write it. Out of the many things with which he could have filled up a lengthy letter. There was an urgency about him.

It is the urgency concerning the doctrine of Christ. Now when he speaks about the doctrine of Christ he's not thinking about theological colleges, Bible colleges, seminaries, universities, or whatever else you want to call them.

He's not talking theology. He's not concerned with anything that man teaches. There weren't any Bible colleges in his day. There weren't any Bible seminaries or anything like that in his day. In any way John was just an old fisherman.

He hadn't got a brain. That's why he was so much in love I suppose. I reckon it might have something to do with it. Well somebody said to me this morning bless him. Is it right you never went to school?

I said no it isn't. I never went to university. I never went to any college. I never got an A-level. I never even got an O-level. Mind you I didn't have those things in my day. It's funny you know how things get round.

And how they get distorted a little as they go round. Well well well. The wonder of it all is beloved the John was concerned about this glorious truth. Let's have a look at it. Verse 9. Whosoever transgresses and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God.

He that abideth not in the doctrine of the Anointed. He that abideth in the doctrine of the Christ he hath both the Father and the Son. Hallelujah. Verse 7. Many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is.

I want you to notice the present tense. Is now presently here come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. There is an antichrist spirit and there is a Christ spirit. Now then let us by the grace of God spend perhaps up to the next two hours in the Scriptures.

Shall we? It's really nothing to spend two hours. Why in Sweden we spent much longer than that. Mind you it had to be interpreted so you can halve it. But get comfortable. I saw somebody blowing up a rubber cushion.

Get settled because it's as well that we got hold of this truth. So that this great truth may lay hold of us. For God is wanting us to be a Christ spirit. One of the glorious anointed. Now first of all then I want you to turn with me into the gospel according to Luke.

Christ as the Fulfillment of the Old Testament Anointing

We need never look further than Christ if we want to know about Christ. We need never look further or beyond the anointed if we want to know about the anointed. Now you may generally hold this truth concerning the difference between the Old and the New Testament.

Nothing more signally or significantly shows up the difference between the Old and the New Testament than this very subject. For instance if you are familiar with the truth of the anointing in the Old Testament.

You will know that the anointing oil with its glorious ingredients are described for us way back there in Exodus. And you have the anointing, the anointing, the anointing. But in the New Testament you have the anointed.

You pass from things to reality. Now most people for the main part are living in an Old Testament conception of the truth of the anointed. I hear people talking about being anointed for this and being anointed for that and being anointed for the other.

That's only because they are consumed with the Old Testament. You'll not find that in the New anywhere. And this is why in these days we need to know the glory of the covenant that Christ has, God has made with us in Christ.

Under the old covenant they needed many anointings. David was anointed three times. He said and it's a wonder and you hear people quote this you know that he anoints my head with oil or he anointed with fresh oil and everybody like a parrot that's born of God thinks they've got to say the same.

But you won't find the Apostle Paul saying that. You won't find the Apostles of the New Testament say that. You'll find the prophets of the Old Testament saying it. Of course because everything was exterior.

Would to God everybody knew what it was to live in this glorious covenant that God has made with us in Christ. Now let us look at the Christ then. Luke chapter 2. Now you will know that this is the chapter that contains the marvelous story of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When he was born you will know that there were in verse 8 of chapter 2 in the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them fear not for behold I bring you I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord.

Now the first thing then I want to say to you is this. That Jesus was born the anointed he was born the anointed. A Savior was born he is the anointed. Now everybody that's born of the Spirit of God is likewise born the anointed.

Now that's the basic thing that you have to get into our hearts. Unto you this blessed anointed has to be born. And this is what John is talking about in his epistle. He says that the Christ the anointed has to come into your flesh.

He came by a Mary's flesh into a body of flesh which was called Jesus of Nazareth. But by the glory of the power of the oncoming and the incoming and the wonder of the Holy Spirit. When men and women are born from above and the Christ is born into their flesh.

And this is what John says this is the great doctrine of the Christ. We'll go back to that lovely little epistle again not that we're going to remain there all night. But for me as for me just to meditate upon these verses and let this wondrous truth abide in me.

Without trying to comprehend it in my mind I'm letting you into a secret now. People always get down with you know lights and pencils and books and colors and I don't know what and they think this is the way to do it.

I'll let you into a secret. Let the word of God come into you and dwell in you richly. Just learn to meditate just learn to lie there thinking nothing. And let the power of the word of God work in your being.

And then when it does come out it'll come out as ministry not a sermon. It'll come out as part of your flesh. Part of the life you're living in the flesh. There that's the open secret of ministry. Or one of the open secrets of ministry.

And God wants us to understand this. Oh hallelujah. To be able to confess in verse 7 of that lovely epistle that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. Hallelujah. Amen. Glory. And we're to see beloved that this is the great doctrine of Christ.

If you haven't got that you're not of God yet. Let's turn to his first epistle. I hope that you don't think it's strange that I repeat again what so many of you must have heard me say again. You need to read the gospel and epistle of John at least 20 times.

Don't worry about reading anything else. Learn to saturate in the revelation of this simple but profound man. This man who had no glamour about him. He had none of the titillations of modern education.

He had nothing of that. But oh this is how he starts. In the beginning is the word. That's what I told you. That's what I've been saying. You will let the word come into and become flesh in you. That's the secret.

That's the whole secret of it. He started there. Amen. And you read through the glory of these precious precious truths. In this second chapter then of 1st John. Listen to him. In verse 18. So that you do not think that this is something for very advanced Christians.

Little children he says. Verse 18. This is for the little ones. So if you think you're grown up and mature you may go to sleep. This is for the little children. It's absolutely important that the little children understand this.

I'm afraid that so many people who say they've been Christians for 40 years don't understand it. That's the tragedy. It's because they never learned it when they were little children. And so they became carnal.

And they became stuck. And they lost their way. And they didn't know the voice of the shepherd. And they didn't know how to discern between their right hand and their left hand. And they didn't know any security or safety.

Because they'd never been taught a right as a little child. Little children. He's talking like this. In the last. It's the last time he says. As you've heard that Antichrist shall come. Even now are there many Antichrists.

Whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us. Amen. Ever so glad they did. I want you to notice that it says they went out from us. It doesn't say they were sent out from us. You know that's what people do.

They go to meetings. They go to fellowships. They go to places. They even come to conferences. I hope you're not here. I hope I'm talking to the person that's not here. I hope I am. And they go out from us.

And they say all sorts of things. For instance. Somebody was told that I'd never been to school. Well I've never said that. Mind you it's so near the truth. Ah. Now that's the trouble. They go out. They say well I was there.

I heard them. I was there. Ah. It's the man that's sent out from us is the one you want to listen to. Not the one that just goes out from us. Hmm. There's a vast difference. Hallelujah. They went out from us.

But they were not of us. If they had been of us. They would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. But. Here is the great corrective.

Here is the great thing now coming. You have an anointing. Unction it is in your version if you're using the King James. Norman said to me that John Norris wouldn't dare to ask for a big black Bible unless it was the authorized version.

Not in this company. You have an unction from the Holy One. And you know all things. I've not written unto you because you know not the truth but because you know it. You see these little children have been brought in right.

They'd been instructed from infancy. I mean in the things of spirit. He said I'm not telling you something you don't know. You know it. And that no lie is of the truth. Let's go down. Verse 24. Let that therefore abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning.

If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you. Ye also shall continue in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he has promised us. This is eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.

But the anointing which you have received of him abideth in you. And you need not that any man teach you. But as the same anointing teaches you of all things and is truth and is no lie. And even if it hath taught you.

You shall abide in him. And now little children abide in him. Oh it's so lovely isn't it. Glory be to the name of the Lord. You see this is the doctrine of the Christ. When you received the Christ. You received the anointing.

The anointing is the indoctrinating faculty and power within you. That whereby God teaches you all things. You were born anointed when you were born from above. And without this anointing for your life you could not possibly live the Christian life.

And this is why so many people do not live the Christian life. Because they have never been born in the manner that Christ comes into their flesh. They have some idea of Jesus in their heart or something like that.

He never gets related to their flesh. Their flesh is still very much of sin and the world and the devil. And their flesh is not holy unto God. They are never in this glorious place of the cutting off of the old life.

The old self. The old ways. The extinction of old habits. And the burning lusty fires of their flesh. And of the demonstration of the old man. They call themselves Christians. They may have been blessed from above.

But oh glory the wonder of it all is that when a man is born of God he is born a Christ spirit. And that is why the Holy Ghost comes to you. The Holy Ghost comes to you. We will just look at it in Romans chapter 8.

The Inward Anointing and the Spirit-Filled Life

He comes for this purpose. Amen and Amen. You, verse 9 of chapter 8, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his.

This is the purpose of the coming of the Spirit of God into you. To regenerate and reform your spirit into a Christ spirit. You have been Christed with the Christ. You are a Christ in man. A Christian.

When that takes place and not before. It's by a clear and exclusive work of the Spirit of God wrought upon a man when he is entirely willing to part with all sin. And all of self and all the world and all it wants and all to which it is heading.

He has no name, no fame, no claim. He wants nothing but God. He is found in the words of Wesley. Come all my God, my God. That's right. Then you have the Spirit of Christ. The Holy Ghost has come then that you by power of the blessed redemption of Jesus should be regenerated, born of God in the blessed Holy Ghost and be born the anointed.

Amen. Round that glorious anointing, this unction from above, the Lord will reform your whole personality by his own teaching. And this is what Paul says in the letter to the Ephesians. He puts his finger on it in rather different language from John.

In that Paul, so cheer up all you poor graduates. Paul was a university man. Amen. That's wonderful isn't it. He put it in rather different way so that we don't get cliquey. I wouldn't look down on you because you've had the misfortune to go through the university.

And don't look down on me because I've had the good fortune not to. And we're reading in Ephesians chapter 4. And this is what we read. Verse 17. This I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity, the emptiness of their minds.

Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them. Because of the blindness or hardness of their heart. Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness.

But, here it is. You have not so learned Christ. If so be that you've heard Him. None of these Ephesians have heard Jesus Christ in the flesh. None of them. If so be that you've heard Him. How in the world can men hear the Christ.

By the Christing. By the anointing. He's the teacher. This is the doctrine. This is the way He indoctrinates you. This is the way He forms you. This is the way He moulds you. This is the way He makes you what He wants you to be.

Ignore that and you're doomed to go wrong. You'll seek help here. You'll fly somewhere else. You'll try this. You'll read every book you can read under the sun. Because you're not reading the mind of God.

The Lord has it here. Bless Him. It's so plain that the ignorant and the humble and the untaught cannot go wrong. It's so precious. If so be that you've heard Him and have been taught by Him as the truth is in Jesus.

That you put off concerning the former behaviour or manner of life. The old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that you put on a new man.

It is the anointing which is at the heart. The blessed spirit of the mind. To teach you. To teach your mind. By power. By the anointing. Who knows what I'm talking about. I didn't ask you whether you understood the English I'm using.

Here's the tragedy. God does not raise up pastors and teachers to substitute the anointing in your own heart. But to augment the knowledge you have by the anointing that's in them. And if they talk not according to their anointing leave them.

Thou darken knowledge by their counsel. You beloved have got to see that this is the doctrine. If any man comes and he has not this doctrine of Christ don't have him in your house. Says the writer. Listen to the elder.

If your elders won't do it listen to this elder. For he's an elder of elders. And the glory of the revelation is given to us. This is what John talks about in his first epistle in chapter 1. And here I'm tempted to move off my subject.

But I will point you to it because I love this. That. That. That. That. What is it? That anointing. That anointed. That which was from the beginning. Which we have heard. Which we have seen with our eyes.

Which we have looked upon and hands have handled of the word of life. That. Verse 3. Which we have seen and heard. Declare we unto you that you also may have fellowship with us. In handling, hearing, seeing, knowing that which was from the beginning.

And you will know it only by the anointing. You handle the Christ the Jesus of God by the anointing. You hear the Christ the Jesus from heaven by the anointing. This is how you do it. And you answer back and live in communion with him by the anointing that's in you.

The anointing teaches you everything. Blessed be God. Amen. That's why people of the new covenant shouldn't be constantly bleating. Oh we like sheep have gone astray. We turned everyone to his own way.

Well the Lord has laid the iniquity of that on him. Now come back and get right. And start to live a life that's pleasing to God. By the knowledge that comes to you by your own personal inward anointing.

Which we all must share. So that we all live the same life. And we all have fellowship in hearing, in seeing, in handling, in tasting, in loving, in living, in being alive. In other words. That's what it is.

That's the doctrine. In your flesh. In your flesh. Oh. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Why think you was the covenant made with you and me in the blood of the flesh of a man. Why is it you have to drink the covenant with God in the blood of the flesh of a man.

So that you should be in the flesh experience of the man. Amen. In the flesh. In the flesh. I wish somehow that was written in letters of gold. Up in front of your eyes. This very night by the spirit of God.

In the flesh. In the flesh. Glory glory be to the name of the Lord. Now then. Beloved. When you were born from above. You were born anointed. Amen. Do you believe that? You're sure about that? Well you can be sure that the Bible says it's true.

And you can be sure that there are those sitting perhaps right next to you. They'll say Amen. That's true. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And this is why people don't know what to do while they're trying to find the will of God for their lives.

They've never known the anointing. They don't know whether they should go to China or the North Pole. They don't know whether they should remain in their office or get married or something. They don't know.

They don't know whether this is right or that is right. They spend hours praying when they should have known. So they didn't have to pray. I tell you the truth. It's getting these foundational things right that lets you free into the real life of prayer.

Which is not self concern. Amen. It is an utter liberation by the power. If you've heard Him and you've learned of Him. That the truth is in Jesus. Hallelujah. And this glorious power gets through there.

Discernment, Guidance, and the Meaning of the Word of Knowledge

Here's the great comfort of it. Right from the beginning. Let me tell you the basic thing that the anointing will assure you of. It's that you shall abide in Him. If it hasn't taught you that, you haven't got it.

That's the first thing it will teach you. So that you have no more bother of whether you're going to be saved and lost. Or whether you have no assurance or don't know this and weeping for hours about this that and the other.

Uncertainty can't make decisions. Anything like that is gone. If you want to know the will of God for your life, don't buy a book. Don't go and consult your pastor. Don't go and ask a man that's supposed to have discernment.

Don't go and ask a man that's supposed to have the word of knowledge. The word of knowledge is one of the most abused and misused and misunderstood things in the Bible. Just that little term, the word of knowledge.

People think the word of knowledge is someone standing at the front of a meeting and saying, there's a chap over there got toothache. If he comes to the front, God will heal him. If there's a woman over there got a short leg.

There's a woman here got pains in her legs. And that's supposed to be the word of knowledge. You know I want to tell you that's not the word of knowledge. The word knowledge in the Bible means intimacy.

It's this word of intimate relationship with God. That's what it is. And when a man speaks from that, listen, it starts here. You'll know. That's where it starts. We've all got the grace of it. We've all got the foundation of it.

Oh, if we only had time, a fortnight at Cliff, we could work these things out for you in Scripture as easily as anything. They're all there. Don't know how Norman and I are fair about this, but so. Oh beloved God deliver us from these guesses that are going on.

And we move down here on this fundamental thing. Amen. And Amen. Now don't anybody read into anything I've said that it isn't true when a man stands at the front and says somebody's got a headache there.

Or they've got a bad heart here. That's perfectly right, works all right. But don't call it the word of knowledge. Find the right word for it. And then you'll come right. I won't discuss that. We'll stay on truths.

Now then beloved, we know. Now it's because you know that you know how, and you know when, and you know where, and you know what. Because you know. Fundamentally it's this knowing capacity. God has no hope, nor entertained any hope, nor designed anything to the end that he could possibly keep you right, unless he gave you an inborn faculty to keep right.

And it's the anointing. Amen. Is that clear to you? Now it is also true that the Christ was born. The Christ at 30 years of age came to Jordan for another. Verse 15 of Luke chapter 3. The people were in expectation.

All men mused in their hearts of John. Whether he were the Christ or not. Now of course the great expectation was that Jesus was the Christ. Simply because John was baptizing. They thought he must be the Christ.

But of course John had to disabuse them. He said now don't get mixed up in this matter of baptism. Verse 16. John answered that position saying, I indeed baptize you with water. But one mightier than I cometh, the leching of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose.

He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire. John got this sorted out. Jesus Christ has nothing to do with water baptism in that sense. There is an associated thing here of course. Jesus Christ baptizes in the Holy Ghost.

That's his speciality. He is the Christ. And in order to Christ you he has to immerse you in the Spirit. Glory be to God. When Jesus was baptized in Jordan. We read this verse 21. When all the people were baptized.

It came to pass that Jesus also being baptized and praying. Heaven was open and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him. And a voice came from heaven which said thou art my beloved son in thee I am well pleased.

That was when Jesus was 30. He had been the anointed for 30 years. Now we are told in chapter 4 he goes to Nazareth in verse 16. And that's where he was brought up. His custom was to go into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.

He did so and he stood up for to read. There was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book he found the place where it was written the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.

Because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the broken hearted. Notice the difference between those that went out and one who is sent. He hath sent me to heal the broken hearted.

To preach deliverance to the captives and the recovering of sight to the blind. To set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord and he closed the book. Amen. He never closed it for all time but he closed it for that time.

That the book as far as it was being fulfilled in their ears. For this is what he said this day is this scripture fulfilled in their ears. Had brought men through to the knowledge of Christ the anointed.

Now anointed at Jordan by the oncoming of the Spirit of the Lord upon him that he should move out into his ministry. Now Jesus Christ was born of Mary once anointed. Jesus Christ was anointed once for ministry and once only for ministry.

In Jordan by the oncoming of the Spirit of the Lord upon him. You will not read that he had to go and get anointed again. The anointing came upon the anointed. Hallelujah. And it's a wonderful and glorious thing for us to understand.

And with this blessed anointing upon him he knew he was sent. Hallelujah. It's great to be born. Great to be given. And it's great to be sent. And the anointing goes with the sending. The sending goes with the anointing.

Unto the ministry. Outlined for us here in this verse. Much more could have been said in detail about it's out working. As the wonders of him were released. Unto the multitudes. Under the anointing of God.

Everything that was in him flowed out. All that he was born was now born out. All that he was was made available unto mankind. This is the great liberating anointing. It's the great out moving of all the life that's within.

It is the liberating of what is already there. It is not the conferring of anything new. You better write that down. It was all in him. It was born in him. Hallelujah. Oh glory. He knew who he was. He knew what he got to do.

He knew when to do it. No voice spoke to him saying Jesus go down to Jordan today. He didn't buy so and so's book to find out about guidance. For thirty years he lived by the anointing. And suddenly he turned up on the banks of Jordan.

Who told him to go. He knew. He lived by the knowledge. What do you live by. Praise his wonderful name. Now my beloved brothers and sisters. You've got to be brave enough to set about getting your life onto this basis.

It doesn't matter if you've been so called baptized in the spirit for ten years, twenty years, thirty years. You've got to bring your life back onto this and not depend upon sundry layings on of hands and words of knowledge so called and all kinds of things.

You've got to learn to live by the glory of the inward anointing of the Lord. This blessed doctrine within you. This compulsion of the being. This formulating of your thoughts. This revision of all things.

Hallelujah. You've got to come to live there. So that life in the spirit is natural to you. That spirit and flesh are joined in one nature. And that the body serves God. And that your flesh is in subjection unto the glory of the indwelling Christ.

And everything in your life is disciplined unto this. And nothing that has been purged by the Lord in his precious blood is unholy. Neither does it run unto carnality. But is simple, beautiful, natural.

Moving in his light and in his will. How lovely then is life. And how beautiful is this thing that God does. And you come to this place then of the great anointing. I'm glad I started early. You've been listening for about an hour, did you know?

No you didn't, did you? No. Now we're going on. Praise the name of the Lord. I love Jesus. I love the spirit of God. I love the transportation out of time into eternity. I love the loss of all things for the knowledge of God.

What do you love? Now may the Lord then show us these further things by his grace. For they're here for us to discover. I have said that you will never, never find in the New Testament, never, never any one person asking, O Lord anoint me, O Lord anoint me.

You could, David had to and all these Old Testament men. Because they weren't in this glory. Don't you see? Will you stop copying the saints of another dispensation. And start to live in the glory of what God is doing now.

People think that because they quote the Bible that's wonderful. It isn't, beloved. If I quoted the Bible to you and say that Abraham built an altar and he put his son on the altar. That's true, it's biblical.

But don't you go building an altar and putting your son on it. Do you see the stupidity and folly with which people saddle themselves. Instead of being free and away and blessing God, we're in another dispensation.

And this covenant, beloved, is called the eternal covenant. The everlasting covenant, this one. This is the one that God will never change. This is the one that shall never be broken. This is the one from which God will never turn.

The everlasting covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. So here we are. Acts chapter 4. In the fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Peter and John and the man that had been miraculously healed at the gate of the temple returned to their own company.

Verse 23. And when they are in their own company they report all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord thou art God which has made heaven and earth and the sea and all that in them is.