The Experimental Knowledge of Christ

Greetings my dear brothers and sisters in Christ! May mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you (Jude 2).

I recently finished a great work by John Elias (1774-1841) called The Experimental Knowledge of Christ. After picking it up from the Shepherd's Conference in March, it has cheered my heart, humbled my spirit, raised my affections to tearful joy by pointing me to Christ!

It is a collection of 11 sermons by the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist preacher, John Elias.

I think what I love about Elias was that he was unwaveringly gripped by the gladness of the sovereignty of God while simultaneously possessing a gospel love for lost and wretched souls for those in his congregation and for those to whom he preached to in open air. He had a Christ-exalting passion for private prayer and the Spirit's work of prayer seen and known in the Church that God was pleased to bestir spiritual awakenings in his preaching and in his flock to the surrounding regions. I love the joy and sweetness portrayed in his sermons especially when his joy seemed to always revolve around Christ:

"There is joy in a glorious object. Jesus is the object, and He is an infinitely glorious object [...] This is joy with sufficiency behind it, and so it will always be. Furthermore, there is joy in a glorious person. This is joy in the Holy Ghost. The Spirit is its author [...] It is He who plays like a musician on his harp, and sometimes inflames them with joy out of love for the Savior of sinners [...] The joy of the believer in Christ is a great, unspeakable, glorious joy" (163)."--Sermon # 11, The Saints Loving Christ & Delighting in Him

Elias beautifully showed the exquisite intermingling of the peace and joy of Christ:

"The peace of God will keep you under the fiery thunders of Sinai, and in all the afflictions and distresses of the wilderness. It will lift up your head in death, sustain you in the judgment, and will accompany you to the other side. It will remain in the soul when the tabernacle is destroyed. When the pillars of the soul are removed, the beauty will be preserved. When the soul flies to glory, God's peace will be undistured. It produces a sweetness you cannot desribe. It is beyond understanding in the experience of the soul" (66).--Sermon # 5, The Greatness of the Peace of God, which is Above Understanding

I shall not leave any other Elias' lines, for those are sufficient for our glad musings. I commend this work to you all for it was a meat market for my soul.

I have to go now for this is a busy week for me. Long live the Christ! Please pray for me as I prepare to preach this LORD'S Day evening in Jude 10-13 at my church

I love you all in Christ's love,

Gabe--Galatians 6:14