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December 1929
T h e
K i n g ’ s
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a resurrection morning. To yield one’s self to God as “alive from the dead,” to take one’s place with Christ on resurrection ground, and to do this in simple faith, means release from the dominion of sin. There is, however, another aspect of sin, even that of its presence. Does the redemption of Christ contemplate this? Yes, it does, for again it is written, “He shall appear the second time apart from sin.” Our complete deliverance from sin and sinning, awaits the return of our Lord. In the meantime let us remember the words of 1 John 2:12: “Your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake,” and also the inspiring promise for present experience in Romans 6:14: “Sin shall not have dominion over you.” W hat A bout D eath ? Where are we in the process of deliverance from death? The fact of death remains, but for the redeemed the fear of death has departed. “We sorrow not as others that have no hope.” He is our hope and He has con quered. We can now appropriate the challenging words and say, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” “The sting of death is sin.” Yes, but we are redeemed from sin! “The strength o f sin is the law.” Even so, but from that also we are delivered. Therefore, “thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” From the fear of death, we are even now delivered. From the very fact or pres ence of death we shall be delivered when our Lord re turns. The process of redemption reaches its climax then. T h e L ost D om in ion This is the third result of moral evil and its entrance into the world. Shall we ever regain the lost dominion? We shall! In the second chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, there is a graphic description of this recovery. In verse five we are told that the inhabited earth to come will not be in subjection to angels. Then to whom will it be subject? In answering this question, the writer quotes the words of the eighth Psalm— “What is man?” The answer given is that man is not as God made him. “Thou modest him a little lower than the angels. Thou crown- edst him with glory and honour and didst set him over the works of thy hands. Thou hast put all things in sub jection under his feet . . . . But now we see not yet all things put under him.” Notice the contrast in these words. “Thou hast put all things under him, but now we see not yet all things put under him.” Man is uncrowned. But one man is crowned, for “we see Jesus . . . crowned with glory and honour.” Then follows the great truth of our identity with Christ, which is a vital part of God’s redemptive work. In the 10th verse of this chapter we are told that God is “bringing many sons unto glory.” Won derful grace! In doing this, it became Him to “make the captain o f our salvation perfect through suffering.” Hav ing done this, he unites us to that perfect One so that we share His infinite perfections, for “he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all o f one.” Oneness with Christ: that is the outstanding truth here. For which cause He is not ashamed to call those united to Him, His brethren. So real and true is this, that we find Christ acknowledging this union in the words of verse 13, “Be hold, I and the children which God hath given me.” The dominion which the first man lost has been regained by the second man, who, in the age to come, will restore to his brethren all that was lost, with “much more” that they never could have had apart from Him.
Room For Jesus One night I dreamed I was a guest, That night in Bethlehem town, Where He was born, who gave to it Its famous world renown; And safe 1 slept within the inn That quiet starlit night, While in the stable near there shone The world’s eternal light. And in the morn: my host revealed The story o f that birth, To us, his guests, who sat and heard, And feasted in our mirth; But one inquired, in thoughtful mood, Why shelter was denied; “There was no room within the inn,” Our genial host replied. Up spake I then to them, and said, “I f I had only known, They might have had my room last night, In little Bethlehem town.” Then I awoke; and now I know The Prince o f Peace is come, And needs a place within my heart — Will I now give Him room? —Clarence M. Sheldon.
A D isordered W orld In Romans 8:18-25 there is a paragraph in which we read of a groaning creation. Somehow the sin of man has affected the physical as well as the moral order, and cre ation is now under the blight of sin. Very much that we see around us goes to show that nature is not now in a normal condition or in the state originally created by God. In the words of Scripture, “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Preceding this statement of fact, which doubtless includes what we call the lower orders of creation, there is a promise that the creation itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. This promise will not be realized until “the manifestation o f the sons o f God,” and that manifestation awaits the coming of the Son of God, the Lord of Glory. “When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also ap pear with Him in glory.” For this, creation eagerly waits. It will not come, it can not come, “until he come.” With Him there will come “the redemption o f our body,” and then redemption will be complete, for we shall be fully delivered from the fourfold results of the fall of the first Adam. Nothing less than this is the plan of our God. “And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy . . . . for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood.” Can you repeat these words? Can you say them before God in all sincerity? “Thou hast re deemed us by Thy blood.” This is your guarantee of Christian character and your passport to Glory. “By thy Wood”—there is nothing more to be done, for by one of fering He hath perfected forever His redeemed and believing people.
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