371 trol. To ignore His presence and depend upon human effort is a mark of apos tasy and a result of unbelief. It is probable that every believer has at least one gift Whose exercise might edify other believers and glorify God. It seems possible for any believer to covet what seems to him a desirable gift, 1 Cor. 12:31, then it may be claimed in simple faith and cultivated through prayer and the study of the Word. When the gift has been thus developed and its possessor qualified to exercise it for the glory of God and the good of the church, opportunities will be Providentially given for its exercise. However love is the atmosphere in which all gifts are to be employed and without which the highest are useless. 1 Cor. 13:2. MONDAY, April 28. Gen. 1:26-31. Man Made in the Image of God. The image of God in which man was created consisted in a natural and moral likeness to God. The natural likeness is personality, that two-fold power to know self as related to the world and God and to determine self in view of moral ends. This is the difference between a man and a brute. The brute is conscious but not self-conscious. It constitutes the capacity for redemption. Man can not lose this element of the Divine image without ceasing to be man. Since God is Spirit, man made in His image can not be a material thing. Image doe's not mean perfect representation. Man is the image of God only relatively. Christ is the image of God absolutely. . The moral likeness to God is holiness. This must be the chief attribute of the Divine image in a moral being since holiness is the fundamental attribute of God. It is not enough to say that man was created in a state of innocence. Scrip ture declares that He had an original righteousness. Eccl. 7:29; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10. This involved the posses sion of right moral tendencies, a direc tion of the will and affections as con stituted God the supreme end of man’s being. There are two sides to holi ness. It is knowledge and perception as well as inclination and feeling. TUESDAY, April 29. Psalm 8:1-9. Man Made for Dominion. Adam was created to exercise the three-fold function of prophet, priest and king. The prophetic insight is seen in his applying the appropriate name to every beast of the field. Gen. 2:19.
THE K I NG ' S B U S I N E S S Peter was a converted man, because no one can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit and Peter had said that long before. Matt. 16:16. Never theless on the night of the Lord’s be trayal, Peter was so panic-stricken that on the casual remark of a serving maid, he denied with profane protestation that he had even known the Lord. On the day of Pentecost, however, Peter stood up before a great crowd of his coun trymen and with a reckless daring that must have amazed both friend and foe, charged them with the murder of their Messiah. “Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God, * * * ye have taken and with wicked hands have crucified and slain.” What explains this trans formation? There is but one answer. The Holy Spirit had come and Peter with all the rest had been endued with power from on high. SATURDAY, April 26. Romans 8:16-26. Helping in Prayer. When the Saviour said to His dis ciples “I will send you another Com forter,” His words imply that there are two and that He is the first. A law firm may undertake the case of a cer tain client. One of the firm goes before the Supreme Court to plead the case there. Another member of the firm stays with the client to safe-guard his interests at home. Jesus is our advo cate in Heaven. The Holy Spirit is our advocate. on earth. One important function of the Spirit is to interpret our needs and indict our,, prayers. True prayer is prompted by the Spirit and directed to the Father in the name of the Son. To suppose that the Divine Spirit could thus pray through a believer and address an angel, a saint or the Virgin Mary is blasphemy besides involving the absurdity of the Creator praying to a creature. It is the duty and privilege of the believer to offer himself to God as an intercessor for such burdens of prayer as the Spirit may impose. When the Holy Spirit inspires a prayer, imparts the necessary faith and the grace of importunity, the answer to that prayer is a foregone conclusion. SUNDAY, April 27. 1 Cor. 12:1-13. Spiritual Gifts. The Holy Spirit is a Divine super natural Person resident in the church to maintain its life and administer its affairs. He is equal to every emergency and, the church can do its work suc cessfully only when subject to His con-
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