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E.L. Bevir
Edward Lawrence Bevir (1847 – October 29, 1922) was an English preacher, hymn writer, and editor whose ministry within the Plymouth Brethren movement focused on devotion to Christ and the anticipation of His return. Born in Brompton, London, England, to George Bevir and Eliza Lawrence, he grew up in a family with ties to literary and religious circles—his father a barrister and his uncle a poet. Little is known of his formal education, but his life’s work suggests a deep self-taught engagement with Scripture, leading him to serve as a missionary and preacher in Italy and France after moving there in his early years. Bevir’s preaching career was marked by a long tenure of itinerant ministry, primarily in Valence-sur-Rhône, France, where he labored among French-speaking Brethren assemblies for decades. His sermons and writings, including contributions to the magazine Helps for the Poor of the Flock, which he edited, emphasized the glory of Christ, heavenly citizenship, and the believer’s hope, themes echoed in his hymns like “Where Glory Lights the Courts on High” and “O Lord of Glory Who Couldst Leave.” A collection of his poetry, Poems. E.L. Bevir, published posthumously, showcased his piety and literary skill over nearly 50 years. Unmarried and childless, Bevir died at age 75 in Valence-sur-Rhône, France, leaving a legacy of spiritual fervor and service to the church.
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E.L. Bevir preaches about the descent of every good gift from God, emphasizing the Holy Ghost's descent from the glorified Christ and God's work based on His nature of light and love. He challenges the flawed theories of evolution and human progress, highlighting the revelation of God's glory in Christ and the new order of things initiated at His resurrection. Bevir urges believers to grasp God's infinite satisfaction in Jesus and His delight in Him, leading to a deeper understanding of God's counsels and a rejection of human theories in favor of growth in the knowledge of Christ.
Every Good Gift
Every Good Gift … Cometh Down I wish to disclaim any originality in the chief thought contained in this short paper. It is merely the following out of what has already been noticed. It has been said that modern infidelity tries to work up to God; whereas truth comes down from Him, the Holy Ghost having descended from the glorified Christ (1 John 5: 6). Indeed God has worked, and is still working, from what He is in His own blessed nature. The God, who is light and love, has formed His own counsels, perfectly consistent with His unchangeable righteousness, and is carrying them out according to what He is. Oh that we might know the heart and the majesty of God a little more! He has declared His infinite satisfaction in the second Man, the risen Jesus, and is now working according to His delight in Him. I believe the failing to see this has caused so many Christians to limit 2 Corinthians 5: 2 (and many other passages) to our deliverance and blessing merely, leaving out God's delight and joy. Evolution is a wretched and lame attempt to establish a chain of progress and development from the lowest forms of life to the highest; and I am only using here the language of a materialist. There is a certain progress from the first faintly animated matter, they say, up to mankind. Many links are missing in the chain, and I believe that the theory is now fairly exploded even amongst scientific people; however it has its adherents, and I think especially in a religious way. I mean this, that the grand theory of the present day is the development of man, of the race of Adam. Progress is announced on all sides from every school of religion; the sons of Adam are getting nearer to God, we are told. It is true that they do not quite love the Lord with all their heart and soul yet, nor their neighbours as themselves; that is that they are sadly given to blaspheming and fighting still, but we are told that there is constant improvement. Now this whole theory is condemned and set aside for ever by the revelation of God's glory, his full satisfaction in Christ; and the fact of Christ having answered to the first man's responsibility upon the cross. The Lord Jesus Christ answered in His own blessed Person to the guilt of the first man, and ended his history at His death. And then? And then, God began an entirely new order of things at the resurrection. There could be no moral change in Jesus, but the change from "the days of his flesh", when He was the Man of sorrows to resurrection glory, is past expression. Thus the whole theory of evolution is swept away as a cobweb with one stroke of the broom; and the second Man, who went the whole way of the via dolorosa in dependence on God, ended the first man's history, and is now crowned with glory and honour, becomes the one bright object of our souls. May God, even our Father, cause us to increase in the sense of His delight in Jesus risen and glorified; may we enter more simply into His counsels, and thus understand what He is doing in working downwards from that point where His heart is fully satisfied; the result will be death to the first man and all his theories, no quarter given, and growth in the knowledge of Christ. E. L. B.
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Edward Lawrence Bevir (1847 – October 29, 1922) was an English preacher, hymn writer, and editor whose ministry within the Plymouth Brethren movement focused on devotion to Christ and the anticipation of His return. Born in Brompton, London, England, to George Bevir and Eliza Lawrence, he grew up in a family with ties to literary and religious circles—his father a barrister and his uncle a poet. Little is known of his formal education, but his life’s work suggests a deep self-taught engagement with Scripture, leading him to serve as a missionary and preacher in Italy and France after moving there in his early years. Bevir’s preaching career was marked by a long tenure of itinerant ministry, primarily in Valence-sur-Rhône, France, where he labored among French-speaking Brethren assemblies for decades. His sermons and writings, including contributions to the magazine Helps for the Poor of the Flock, which he edited, emphasized the glory of Christ, heavenly citizenship, and the believer’s hope, themes echoed in his hymns like “Where Glory Lights the Courts on High” and “O Lord of Glory Who Couldst Leave.” A collection of his poetry, Poems. E.L. Bevir, published posthumously, showcased his piety and literary skill over nearly 50 years. Unmarried and childless, Bevir died at age 75 in Valence-sur-Rhône, France, leaving a legacy of spiritual fervor and service to the church.