the nature of salvation ¡by John Hunter W e have come now to the point of understanding what God wants again, power and life — the same sto ry told over) and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.”
us to experience in life. In other words, we are linked with the early Christian Church on the basis of one thing and that is our life is to be an appreciation and demonstration of the risen life of Christ in what we say and the way we live. You recall that the last study made us to face up to the fact that eternal life is a Person. “. . . He that hath the Son hath life . . .”, and how the Lord Jesus said in John 14:6, “. . . I am the way, the truth, and the life, . . .” And we are squarely faced with the proposition that when we became Christians, our sins were forgiven and we received the gift of eternal life. As Jesus said, we were “bom again.” We received a npw quality of life and this life is the indwelling Spirit of Jesus Christ. I have my Bible open now at the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, chap ter 13, and I am reading from verse 5 — “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be rep robates?” The word “reprobates” means a fake, an imitation, or a counterfeit. You who are reading along with me in the Word, examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith, prove your own self." Know ye not your own self how that Jesus Christ is in you except you’re just a religious person and not a real Christian? Now those are strong words. This is an examination for proof of an indwelling life. The Christian is put under the microscope of II Corin thians 13:5 to see if in the center of the Christian’s life is the risen Lord in the Person of His Holy Spirit. I wish to read yet another verse which is found in II Peter, chapter 1, verse 3— “According as his divine pow er (there is the word power again) hath given to us all things that pertain unto life (also here is the word life
Then we must have this verse 4 which follows, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises; that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature . . .” Think of that for just a moment and do not yet think these be just words, for God has given us exceeding great and precious promises that you and I might become partakers of the divine nature. We have one nature, a human na ture, a fallen nature that is always cluttering things up, but here in God’s Word He is teaching us in II Peter 1:4 that when I became a Christian I'was made a partaker of the Divine nature. This is how we can receive a new quality of life through being made a partaker of the Divine nature. Romans 8:9 says this, “. . . Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” If we examine ourselves and find that Christ does live in us in the power of His Holy Spirit, then the exceeding rich promise of God is that we might be made partakers of the Divine nature. You see this is all a part of God’s won derful plan of salvation — this is the knob of God’s salvation. While: we have our human nature there is this great and glorious fact that we are made par takers of the Divine nature. II Corin thians 5:17 tells us “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation — a new creature — or creation, as the marginal notes indicate—old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.” God does not patch any thing up — He says that man is a new creature. So God’s salvation is life, a new life for you. The same kind of life that the early Christians conquered and turned the world upside down in His power and Name. (message concluded on page 32) 27
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