THE KING’S BUSINESS
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with God and having this grace to stand, there is a duty for us to perform, and that is, rejoice “in hope of the glory of God.” In the second verse, last clause, the Author ized and the American Standard version dif fer from the English' Revision in that the English Revision translates “let us rejoice.” The glory of God is to be imparted to us at the return of our Lord Jesus (ch. 8:17; 2 Thess. 1:10; Col. 3:4) and in the hope of this glory which is to be ours when our Lord comes again we rejoice today. Wednesday, June zj. Rom. 5 : 3 - 5 . We should not only rejoice in the glory which is to be, but also in the tribulation which now is (see English Revision). The present' tribulation is itself a blessing. It works out in us “patience” or “endurance” and endurance works Out triedness of char acter (or approvedness of character). The Authorized Version translates “experience,” the English Revision “approbation,” the American Standard version “approved ness.” “Approvedness” comes the nearest to the force of the Greek word. It means triedness, that is “tried character,” char acter that has been tested and proven real. We cannot be tried and proven real unless we have tribulation. This “triedness” of character in its turn works out “hope,” “hope” grows into a firm and definite and jubilant expectation of the reality of Christ and His sustaining grace is proven in the school of tribulation. For this reason we should rejoice in the tribulation itself' because it produces such beneficent results. This true hope thus worked out never puts to shame because it will be fully realized. The present earnest and proof of the future fulfillment of this hope is the shedding abroad in our hearts of the love of God by the. Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dif fuses through our hearts the consciousness of God’s love to us and'makes us abso lutely confident that our hope, which rests in Him and in His word, will not prove false. One of the most blessed of the many operations of the Holy Spirit is that of His shedding abroad in our hearts the
love of God. This is closely akin to His bearing witness together with our spirit that we are children of God (ch. 8:16; Gal. 4:6). Closely allied to and growing out of his shedding abroad in our hearts the love of God toward us, is His beget ting love in our hearts to God and to our fellowmen (Gal. 5:22; 1 John 4:19; Eph. 3:16-19). The .words “is given” in th evlast clause of v. S are properly translated “was given” in both the English Revised and the American Standard version. The Holy Spirit had already been given to Paul and given to those to whom Paul wrote. Thursday, June 28 . ¡S m Rom. 5 : 6 - 8 . Paul having spoken of the love of God which is shed abroad in our heafts by the Holy Spirit, here goes on to describe that love. It is a love for “sinners,” for those “without strength,” for the “ungodly.” The supreme and sufficient proof of this love of God is the death of Christ. This love of God to us differs utterly from man’s love. Man will scarcely die for another- man even though that other man be a righteous man, though for a man who was really “good” someone might perhaps be found to die; but God, on the other hand, com- mendeth His love toward us in that while we were tstill sinners (vile and worthless rebels against Him), Christ died for us. Man will scarcely die for the best, Jesus gladly died for the worst. If any reader wonders whether Jesus died for him, let him ask himself this question: Do I belong to the class described here for whom Jesus died, viz. those who are “without strength,” “ungodly,” “sinners?” If you do belong to this class Christ died for you, God declares in these verses that He did.' But note carefully that the death of Christ is the outcome of God’s love to sinners;, not the cause of God’s love to sinners. God does not love us because Christ died for us, but because He already loved us, sinners though we were. He Himself /gave Christ to die for us (cf. John 3:16). So many look upon the death of our Lord Jesus as the thing that moved God to love us. No, it
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