A Look at a Book
by Vicki Bedell

BOOK REVIEW: To All Believers… It’s As Simple As This
by Norman Grubb

I recently read It’s As Simple As This for the first time. Norman begins by saying he wrote the booklet at a friend’s request who noted, "We all have some agreements on our under-standing of God, but many disagreements on our understanding of man." Thus, this 57-page booklet is broken down into 13 compact sections which show the Christian step-by-step progression from spiritual "little children" to "young men" to "fathers" There are plenty of scripture references for each of the points made.

The first part of the booklet lays the foundation for what will follow. Norman clearly and biblically explains how, if God is "All in All" (1Cor. 15:28), there can be no one other than God; God does not give us power, peace, joy, etc., but He manifests Himself in infinite variety of forms. As containers, expressors, slaves, and the body of Christ (not the Head), we express God’s nature but have no nature of our own. Other parts of the foundation to understanding who we are in Christ include understanding how the universe operates as pairs of opposites (important for choice), that "there is no such thing as an independent self," and the necessity of seeing the truth that we were misused Satan-operated vessels from birth and, since accepting Christ, are now rightly-used Christ-operated vessels – never a mixture (which Norman calls "the two natures fallacy").

Once this foundation has been laid, Norman writes about operating as a truly liberated self, with much emphasis on Romans 6,7, and 8. He explains: "the whole key to this lies in the understanding that we humans never had a self-operating, self-relying nature but were solely created to express God in His nature…we can boldly accept our-selves as right selves with nothing wrong with us, and that we have always been right selves with nothing wrong with us, and that we have always been right selves in wrong hands (Satan indwelt), but now in right hands (Christ indwell)."

This middle section of the booklet also explains that "the way is the obedience, not of works, but of faith"–recognition of the fact of no self reliance, but solely Christ reliance- and how "trials are adventures; temptations are opportunities"

Having found our true selves as "young men," the grand finale of the booklet is on moving to the spiritual "father level." As priest-intercessors, we can know how to respond to the inner Spirit drive to bring others to Christ, "presenting every man perfect in Christ Jesus" (Col. 1:28). Because we have become fixed in believing who we are, we are taken over to become involved for other people and situations. This often involves speaking a word of faith, which is having the freedom to acknowledge God’s desires as our desires, "having the faith of God" and saying so.

Someone I know who has begun reading one of Norman’s books for the first time recently told me, "I don’t quite know where Norman is going with all this." "It’s As Simple As This" clearly and concisely spells out what the Bible says about God’s purpose for us as God’s perfectly manifested human vessels. Because it is a booklet rather than a longer hook and has more easily digestible sentences than some of Norman’s other writings along with ample scripture references, I believe this would be a good start for someone just being introduced to Norman’s writing.