THE KING’S BUSINESS
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Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 3:21; Rom. 8:17). All of this is in Christ Jesus, i. e., because of our vital union with Him. Friday, June 28 . Eph. 2 : 7 . The purpose for which God has quickened us, raised us, and seated us together with Christ in the heavenlies is “that (more exactly, in order that) in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” The grace of God that we already know is wonderful, but “the exceeding riches of His grace” is something yet to be shown. It will be shown “in the ages to come,” i. e., the great world-periods of the eternity before us, “the ages of the ages.” God has these ages in view in what He is doing for us and with us today, and by grace He has already saved us and. quick ened us and raised us and made us to sit with Christ in the heavenly places with a view to the exhibition in the ages to come of the “exceeding riches of His grace in us.” These “exceeding riches of His grace” will be shown in the “kindness” that He shows to us in those ages. Could there be any greater exhibitions of kindness toward us than Christ is showing us. now? It does not seem as if there could, but there will be. How infinitely beyond the most daring flights of our imagination this exhibition of “the exceeding riches of His grace” “in the ages to come” will be ! (cf. ch. 3 :20). These “exceeding riches of His grace” exhibited in His “kindness toward us” “in the ages to come” will all be “in Christ Jesus.” God has no purpose of love outside of Christ Jesus, everything centers in Him. God has no grace for us, either in this age or “in the ages to come,” except in Christ Jesus.» Saturday, June 29 . Eph. 2 : 8 , 9 . Paul in the preceding verses has told us how God simply because of His own mercy and not because of any merit of ours, for His great love wherewith He loved us even when we were most unlovable (dead by reason of trespasses), made us alive, raised us up and made us sit together in the
heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now he adds as a further enforcement of the cent ral thought of all this, “for by grace have ye been saved.” From first to last, from the first forgiveness and quickening up to our being made to sit with Christ in the heaven- lies, salvation is everywhere through God’s unmerited favor and nowhere through our merit. And furthermore, it is everywhere by His power and nowhere by our own power. In this verse salvation is spoken of as an accomplished fact, “ye have been saved,” and our salvation is in God’s pur pose in its every part, from our justifica tion to our glorification, an already accom plished fact (Rom. 8:29, 30), and what God purposes is as good as done- Furthermore, not only has God purposed it, He has also provided it in Christ. In Him we are already made alive, already raised up, already seated in the heavenlies. In this- deep and significant verse, as we see, we have already “been saved.” Furthermore still, we have already the forgiveness of our sins, our sins are all forgiven (ch. 1 :7)-, we are already justified from all things (Acts 13:39), we are already children of God (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1, 2, R. V.), we already have eternal life (John 3:36)1 In this sense we are already saved as an actual experimental fact, but in another sense we are being saved each day, i. e., we are being saved from the power of sin, and made, more and more into the likeness of Christ (2 Cor. 2:15, R. V-; 3:18, R. V.). In a still further sense salvation is something that lies in the future; that is to say, we shall be saved in the future, when our sal vation is completed, in body as well as' spirit and soul, and when we enter into glory: salvation in this last sense is some thing not yet obtained (1 Peter 1:5; Phil. 3:^0, 21; Rom. 8:23-25; 13:11). So a believer may say with perfect truth, “I have been saved,” and he can also say with per fect truth, “I am being saved,” and he can also say with perfect truth, “I shall be saved when the Lord Jesus comes again.” The believer has a past salvation, and a present salvation, and a future salvation. No one has “full salvation” until his body is
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