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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
less eyes of m an’s ignorance, th e evil of his n atu re, and the plague spots of his wickedness. (3) LOVE,— or “ Christ,! th e - M anifestation of God’s love.” “ In th is was m anifested th e love of God tow ard u s” etc. (1 John 4 :9 -17 ). Love is seen in those stages in (1 John 4 :9 -1 7 )—Love fo r ns, answering for our sins in th e past (vy 9 ); Love in us, moving us to love in th e present (v. 12) ; and Love w ith us, giving us a b rig h t outlook as to th e fu tu re (v. 17 m arg in ). (4) ATONEMENT,— or “Christ, th e Satisfaction for Sin.” “Once in th e end of th e world He appeared to pu t away sin by th e sacrifice of H im self”; .(Heb. 9 :2 6 ). Provisionally He puts away sin by giving satisfaction fo r it in His death, and thu s removes it as a hindrance. Substitutionally He re moves sin as a penalty, as we believe in Him (1 Pet. 2 :2 4 ). Effectively He puts away sin as a power as we identify o u r selves w ith Him, by reckoning we are dead to it (Rom. 6 :8 -11 ). P rophetically H e'w ill remove sin as a presence, for He is the Lamb of God who tak es away th e sin of th e world. (5) SUBSTITUTION,— or “ Christ suffering in our stead .” “ He was manifested in these la st tim es fo r you” (1 Pet. 1 :2 0 ). “F o r you,” may be read “ on your behalf,” and th u s “in your stead .’-’ We m ust distinguish between Provision, Substitution and Identification. P rovision pro claims th a t Christ has made a sufficient oblation fo r th e sin of th e needy world, for His death is ample to provide for all to be saved. Substitution declares th a t Christ has taken the place of th e believing sinner and th a t He has an swered for his sin and th erefo re he will not have to bear it. Identification is th e Gospel fo r th e saint, fo r God reckons all who believe in Christ have died w ith Him, and therefore have answered for th e ir sins. (6) RESURRECTION,— or “Christ raised from the dead, th e m anifestation of God’s power.” ‘‘Jesus shewed H imself” (John 2 1 :14 ). The fac t of Christ’s resurrection is th e living flame which ever burns on th e a lta r of Chris tianity, and it is the vital facto r in th e life of th e believer which lifts him from th e realm of self to th e fellowship of Christ, who lives in th e power of an endless life. > (7) SALVATION,— or “Christ, the. B ringer of God’s re demption. “The grace of God which b ringeth salvation to all men- h ath appeared” (T itus 2:2 m arg in ). Personally, salvation is a benefit to the individual believer. Practically, salvation is a force to mold us. like to Christ. In th e first, Christ is offered to us (Acts 1 3 :2 6 ); in th e second, Christ is accepted by us (Eph. 2 :8 ) ; and in th e th ird , Christ by th e Spirit lives in u s (Eph. 3:16-17). (8) L IFE ,— or “Christ th e Communicator of Life. “The Life was m anifested” (1 John 1 :2 ) ,,Sin brings death, which, means separation from God; Christ brings life, which means union w ith God in Christ (John 1 7 :3 ). i As n atu ra l life is the union of the sp irit and body (Jam es ?,• 26), so sp iritu al life is the union of th e believer w ith Christ (Col. 3 :3 ). Christ is revealed to us as th e Quickener from sin ’s death (Eph. 2 :1 ), He is revealed in us, as th e Sanctifier of h eart and life, (Gal.; 1 :1 6 ), and He is revealed th ro u g h us to othej-s;by a consecrated testimony (1 Thess. 1 :8-10).
(9) POWER,— or “ Christ, the D isplayer of Power.” “Manifested fo rth His glory” . (John 2 :2 ). Glory is th e ex cellence of anything in display. Christ’s first m iracle dis played th e excellence of His power. It is fitting th a t His first m iracle should display His power to change things. By the cleansing of His blood and th e conformation of His Spirit He can change the sinner into a sain t. T ranslation, transfiguration, and tran sfo rm ation cover th e ground of God’s Gospel of grace, godliness, and glory. T ran slated into His kingdom , as to place (Col. 1 :1 3 ); tran sfigu red by His Spirit, as to character (2 Cor. 3:18 r. v .); and tra n s formed by His coming, as to th e glorified body (Phil. 3:20,; 21; John 3 :2 ). (10) SATAN,— “Christ, th e Victor over th e evil one.” “The Son of God was m anifested to destroy th e works of th e devil” (1 John 3 :8 ). The works of S atan are m ighty and manifold, b u t Christ has m et him upon his own ground and conquered and rou ted him. Take b u t one chap ter of th e gospels, and in it we have a record of how Satan raised a storm , demonized an individual, to rm en ted a woman, and caused th e death of a child. But Christ raised th e dead to life, healed the woman, delivered th e man, and stilled th e tempest (Luke 8). (11) EMANCIPATION,-;—or “ Christ, th e Remove^. of sins.” “He was m anifested to ta k e away sins” (1 John 3: 5)., The. word for “ tak e aw ay” is rendered “ removed” in Matt. 21:21, “ loosing” in Acts 27:13, “lifted up” in John 21:41, and “ tak e away” in John 21:39. The word signifies to tak e ,away, by tak ing upon one’s self, and is so indi cated in John 1:29, where the m argin reads “ beareth away.” Christ removes th e sins from us by His p ropitiation and power, by bearing th e ir consequence in H is death, an d by severing us from th e ir control by H is presence. (12) THE HOLY S P IR IT ,-^“ Christ endowed and en dowing w ith th e S pirit.’’.i"“He was m anifest” (John 1 :3 1 ). John knew C h rist when he saw th e Spirit resting upon Him, and knew th a t He was also th e Baptizer w ith th e Spirit. Christ was anointed to do a definite work (Acts 10:38; Heb. 9 :1 4 ),i and when He accomplished th a t work, became the Anointer w ith th e Spirit as a rew ard (Acts 2 :3 3 ). (13; THE FATHER,— “Christ, th e Revealer of the F a th e r,” “ I h a v e • m anifested Thy nam e” (John 1 7 :6 ). John 17 reveals w h at th a t m anifestation means— a work done fo r us to th e F ath e r (4 ), th e blessing of etern al life from the F ath e r (2 ), a holy confidence in th e F a th e r (8 ), an exclusive prayer to th e F ath e r (9, 10), th e disciples kept th rough the F ath e r (14 ), sanctified by means of th e F a th e r’s tru th (17 ), oneness w ith th e F a th e r (2 1 ), and seeing the. glory of th e F a th e r (24 ). (14) IMMORTALITY,-—“Christ, th e B ringer of Life:and Imm o rtality” (Tim. 1: 1Ó). L ife is moré th a n continuity of existence; imm ortality is more th a n deathlessness. The la tte r is a sta te of holiness and bliss in an incorruptible and glorified body, from which it will be impossible to fall. The revelation which God makés to u s in th e Book of His revelation is designed to be revealed in u s by th e Spirit th rough faith , and should be revealed th ro u g h u s by th e effective working by th e Spirit in our testimony.
IF YOU LOVE YOUR COUNTRY, YOUR HOME, YOUR CHILDREN, YOUR CHURCH—READ “A CRISIS AND A CHALLENGE,” PAGE 55, THEN A C T !
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