Holy in Christ: Thoughts on the Calling of God's Children to be Holy as He is Holy — John Shaqi
Holy in Christ: Thoughts on the Calling of God's Children to be Holy as He is HolyMurray, Andrew
Religion
Holy in Christ: Thoughts on the Calling of God's Children to be Holy as He is Holy
Murray, Andrew
Holiness
We shall first have to study the word Holy in the Old Testament. In
Israel as the holy people, the type of us who now are holy in Christ, we
shall see with what fulness of symbol God sought to work into the very
constitution of the people some apprehension of what He would have them
be. In the law we shall see how HOLY is the great keyword of the
redemption which it was meant to serve and prepare for. In the prophets
we shall hear how the Holiness of God is revealed as the source whence
the coming redemption should spring: it is not so much Holiness as the
Holy One they speak of, who would, in redeeming love and saving
righteousness, make Himself known as the God of His people.
And when the meaning of the word has been somewhat opened up, and the
deep need of the blessing made manifest in the Old Testament, we shall
come to the New to find how that need was fulfilled. In Christ, the Holy
One of God, Divine Holiness will be found in human life and human
nature; a truly human will being made perfect and growing up through
obedience into complete union with all the Holy Will of God. In the
sacrifice of Himself on the cross, that holy nature gave itself up to
the death, that, like the seed-corn, it might through death live again
and reproduce itself in us. In the gift from the throne of the Spirit of
God's Holiness, representing and revealing and communicating the unseen
Christ, the holy life of Christ descends and takes possession of His
people, and they become one with Him. As the Old Testament had no higher
word than that HOLY, the New has none deeper than this, IN CHRIST. The
being in Him, the abiding in Him, the being rooted in Him, the growing
up in Him and into Him in all things, are the Divine expressions in
which the wonderful and complete oneness between us and our Saviour are
brought as near us as human language can do.
And when Old and New Testament have each given their message, the one in
teaching us what _Holy_, the other what _in Christ_ means, we have in
the word of God, that unites the two, the most complete summary of the
Great Redemption that God's love has provided. The everlasting
certainty, the wonderful sufficiency, the infinite efficacy of the
Holiness that God has prepared for us in His Son, are all revealed in
this blessed, HOLY IN CHRIST.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account