April 1931
B u s i n e s s
151
T h e
K i n g ’ s
er of His resurrection works in me to enable me to rise into newness of life. Eternal life is far more than ever lasting existence. All men, whether saved or lost, will exist forever. Eternal life is more than immortality. All believers who are living when the Lord returns will put on immortality, even as all who sleep in Christ will put on incorruption. But this refers to the body, not to the new life which we now possess in Christ. Further more, eternal life is not merely eternal security, though the one is inseparably linked with the other. Eternal life is the very life of God Himself, communicated to the believer in the power of the Holy Spirit. This life has its own affections and desires. Sin is abhorrent to it. Holiness is its delight. Love is its expression. So truly is it the life of God, as revealed in Christ, that He Himself is called “that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.” Therefore, it is written: “He that hath the Son, hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God, hath ndt life.” The possession of this life gives capacity for the knowledge of, and communion with, the persons of the Godhead. In His great high-priestly pray er, our Lord said to the Father: “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” This is not a definition of eternal life. It expresses, rather, the capacity which we have as possessors of that life. Such life is enjoyed only as we enter, in a practical sense, into the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings and know Him, as only they can know Him who are identified with Him in His rejection by the. world, and who take the place of death to all to which He died as Man. That is, we experience death to the world, death to the law, death to sin, in order that we may live a heavenly life down here in the liberty of grace, manifesting that holiness which the Spirit alone imparts. This indeed is to know the power of His resur rection. This was the truth which the apostle pressed upon the young preacher, Timothy, when he wrote, exhorting him to “lay hold of eternal life.” And this is the ideal which, I am persuaded, the majority of Christians have before them from the very moment of their conversion; yet many of them have to confess with sorrow that they never seem to realize it, practically. What, then, is the trouble? Why is it that so few of us know the power of His res urrection in our daily lives? May I suggest again three things ? C auses of D efeat First, it takes us so long to get to the end of ourselves! Even after we have realized that “the flesh-profiteth noth ing,” so far as earning salvation or justification is con cerned, we still imagine that, saved by faith in Christ, we are to be made perfect by the flesh. So by law, we en deavor to harness our carnal nature and to bring it into subjection to God, forgetting that the Holy Spirit has de clared: “The carnal mind . . . is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Therefore, we struggle on, vainly endeavoring to please God on a merely human plane, “doing our little best” to work for Him and to glorify His name, only to learn at last that this old nature of ours is as incorrigibly evil at the end of years of Christian testimony as it was at the beginning. This discovery has a tendency to cast us into doubt and gloom and to make us wonder, whether we have ever been converted at all, or whether every thing is a hopeless sham. At such times, we are tempted to give up the conflict, to cease witnessing for Christ,
Intensely Interesting—Altogether Helpful! T h a t is w h a t you, to o , w ill say w h e n you h a v e re a d th e n ew serial sto ry a p p e a rin g in this issue. E n jo y th e first ch ap te r, a n d y o u w ill w a n t to re a d th e rest. W h o d o e s n o t k n ow Z e n o b ia B ird? T h ro u g h h e r sp le n d id book s, “U n d e r W h o se W ing s” an d “ Eyes in th e D a rk ,” h e r n am e h a s b e com e fam ilia r to h u n d re d s o f ap p re c ia tiv e re ad e rs. N ev er d id she w rite m o re in te re sting ly th a n in th e p re se n t serial. Note the special announcement on page 160 and to sink back to the low level of that world from which we sought deliverance. But “he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ.” He, the blessed Holy Spirit, holds us fast. Deep in our hearts we know, through the inward witness, that we have passed from death unto life; that a great change has taken place; and that, unsatisfactory as our actual experience may be, we are the children of God. With many there is then the tendency to assume that there is no real way to escape from the hopeless conflict as long as we are still in the body. This leads to a settling down to a low level of Christian living, as though it were the best we could expect to be under existing cir cumstances. Yet the Spirit of God is constantly seeking to make us to be dissatisfied with such a state and to long for something betfer. Little by little we come to the place where we are ready to admit the hopelessness of the flesh. “I know that in me, (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.” Then, in the second' place, comes another step, one that we are generally very slow to take. We have to learn that, just as we were saved through the blood of the cross, so we enter into a life of victory through the death .of the cross. When George Mueller was asked on one occasion how he accounted for the marvelous way (Continued on page 161) —o—— The Pilgrims’ Hour The Pilgrims’ Hour, conducted in the interests of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles and broadcast through the Columbia Broadcasting System every Sunday afternoon from 4:30 to 5 o’clock (Pacific time), has already become popular among friends of the truth. There are seven large Pacific coast stations included in the chain by means of which the gospel in song and story reaches thousands of people—more than could possibly be reached through station KTBI. It is hoped that sufficient financial sup port may be provided to make possible the addition of other stations. The program, arranged by Rev. Charles E. Fuller, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles* is one of the best on the air. Tune in on Sunday afternoon at 4:30 on any one of the follow ing stations: KHJ Los Angeles, KFRC San Francisco, KOIN Portland, KOL Seattle, KFPY Spokane, KVI Tacoma, KMJ Fresno. If you desire to send a contribution, or a commenda tion, or a criticism, address The Pilgrims’ Hour, P. O. Box 123, Los Angeles, Calif.
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker