THE KING’ in which every believer may be already sanctified. It is the believer’s present and blessed privilege and immediate and sol emn duty to present his body to God a living sacrifice, not some part or parts of the body, but the whole bpdy with its every member and every faculty; such an offering is “well pleasing to God” (Rom. 12:1). As God in the Old Testament showed His pleasure in an offering by send ing down fire to take it to Himself, so when the whole body is offered to God, He still .sends down the fire of the Holy Ghost and takes to Himself what is thus pre sented. The moment this is done, the believer so far. as the will, the governing purpose of his life, the center of his being, is concerned, is wholly God’s or perfectly sanctified. He may and will daily discover as he studies the Word of God and is illumined toy the Holy Spirit acts of his, habits of life, forms of feeling, speech and action that are not in conformity with this central purpose of his life. These when discovered must be immediately con fessed to God as blameworthy and be put away and this department of his being and life brought by God’s Spirit and the in dwelling Christ into conformity with God’s will as revealed in His Word. The vic- “A Prayer for By JOHN “I asked the Lord that I might grow In faith and love and every grace, Might more of His salvation know, Might seek more earnestly His face; ’Twas He who taught me thus to pray, And He, I trust, has answered prayer. But it has been in such a way As almost drove me to despair. I hoped that in some favored hour At once He’d answer my request; And by His love’s constraining power, Subdue my sins and give me rest.
BUSINESS 601 tory in this newly discovered and un claimed territory can be instantaneous. For example, I may discover in myself an ir ritability of. temper that is manifestly dis pleasing to God and confess it, renounce it and instantly, not by my own strength but by looking to Jesus and claiming His patience and goodness, overcome it and never have another failure in that direc tion, and so with everything in my life I am brought tof see is displeasing to God. Of course, this is not at all inconsistent with the thought that there is a progres sive work of ' santification, an increasing in love, an abounding more and more in a godly walk, and in pleasing God, a grow ing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and being transformed into the image of our Lord Jesus from glory unto glory (1 Thess. 3: 12; 4:1, 10 R V.; 2 Peter 3:18 R. V. ; 2 Cor. .3:18 R. V..; Eph. 4:11-15). Com plete sanctification in the fullest sense of the word, when the whole spirit, soul and body is preserved entire without' blame, is something to be sought in prayer, to be accomplished by God in the future, fully perfected at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:23 R. V.; 3:12, 13).
Sanctification ” NEWTON
Instead of this He made me feel The hidden dangers of my heart, And toade the angry powers of hell , Assault my soul in every part. Yea, more, with His own hand He seemed Intent to aggravate my woe, Crossed all the fair designs I schemed, Blasted my gourds, and laid me low. Lord, why is this, I trembling cried, Wilt Thou pursue this worm to death? ’Tis in this way, the Lord replied, I answer prayer for grace and faith!”
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