April, 1041
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
128
THE LILY'S SECRET By WILLIAM M. RUNYAN
If Christ who walked the seasons four Should walk the changeful world once more, Should walk with me on summer days Among the fields, on winding ways. What would the Master say to me? What kindly thoughts convey to me? "Behold the lilies,’' once He said— Like gleaming stars, their radiant red! And from those gleaming, cheering flowers Would He instruct these lives of ours. "Behold the liljes, how they grow!” Their secret He would have us know. They grow in quietness and peace, As day by day their stems increase. As night by night, kissed by the dew. They wait for daydawn and its blue. At last their blossoms burst and glow— "Behold the lilies, how they grow!” The lesson it is mine to learn: My heart toward Him in prayer to turn. My faith like roots to cleave the sod. My confidence to rest in God, In quietness and peace of mind— The lily’s secret thus to find.
This —Because Christ Lives!
By W . H. ROGERS* New York, N. Y.
T h e r e s u r r e c t io n of christ is the miracle of immortality by which He was raised from the .dead by the eternal Spirit, for the justification of the believer. It is the pivotal truth and foundation fact of Christianity. Upon this basic principle rest all the essential doctrines of the faith. *In the days of His flesh, the living Word, Christ, declared Himself to be the Master of life and death, the Lord of all creation, the sovereign Ruler of all worlds, the Revealer and Source of all life. In words of consolation and authority He said: “I am the resur rection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he Were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and be lieveth in me shall never die.” In that magnificent classic on the resurrection, the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul gives us a comprehensive definition of the •gospel which he had supernaturally re ceived by revelation, and declares .that it rests upon the three fundamental propositions: That “Christ died for our sins” ; 'Pastor, First Baptist Church,
assurance of the future life depends upon .God, and- the resurrection of Christ’ gives undeniable demonstration of His reality. 2. The resurrection gives positive ev idence of the deity of Christ. It is God’s ratification of Christ’s amazing claims, and provides the most com prehensive and convincing demonstra tion of His Godhead. It was the out standing sign on which the Son of God based His claims to deity. When the scribes and Pharisees, impressed by His authority in utterance and teach ing, demanded of Him a sign that He was what He claimed to be, the Sop of God, the Saviour answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,” thus declaring that His bodily resurrection was to be sufficient proof of His deity. 3. The resurrection gives confirma tory proof of the person, presence, and power of the Holy Spirit. The fact of a risen Lord made possible the hap penings of Pentecost and secured for all believers the gift of the Spirit in His regenerating, saving, and sanctify ing ministry. Jesus Christ said: “It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will
That “he was buried” ; and That “he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” • The rest of the chapter is devoted to infallible proofs and unquestionable evidences of Christ’s resurrection and the glorious implications involved for the household of the faith. What the Resurrection Involves What does the resurrection of the living Word involve ? What are its deep and eternal implications ? It proves everything that needs to be proved. It implicates everything that is essential to Christianity. It forti fiés every fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith. It is the cornerstone and capstone of divine revelation. 1. The resurrection of the Son of God gives indisputable proof of God’s existence. God, and God only, can ac count for the raising of the body of Christ from the# tomb. No human or natural power could have lifted His body from the grave while the mouth of the sepulcher was sealed by a heavy stone and watched by a Roman guard. “God raised him from the dead,” is the explanation of the Scrip tures; and it is the only satisfactory explanation for thoughtful people. Our
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