But this is sufficient. He is a “tried Stone.” The faith which He gives
to us is His own tried and approved faith, and it will not fail us in
any contest. We are not exhorted to try to do as well as He did, or to
try to exercise as much faith as He had, but simply to take His faith,
and let it work by love, and purify the heart. It will do it; take it!
[Sidenote: Believing Is Receiving.]
“As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:12. That is, as many
as believed on His name received Him. To believe on His name is to
believe that He is the Son of God; to believe that He is the Son of God,
means to believe that He is come in the flesh, in human flesh, in our
flesh, for His name is “God with us;” so to believe on His name means
simply to believe that He dwells personally in every man,—in all flesh.
We do not make it so by believing it; it is so, whether we believe it or
not; we simply accept the fact, which all nature reveals to us.
It follows, then, as a matter of course that, believing in Christ, we
are justified by the faith of Christ, since we have Him personally
dwelling in us, exercising His own faith. All power in heaven and earth
is in His hands, and, recognizing this, we simply allow Him to exercise
His own power in His own way. God does “exceedingly abundantly,” by “the
power that worketh in us.”
[Sidenote: Christ Not the Minister of Sin.]
Jesus Christ is “the Holy and Righteous One.” Acts 3:14, R. V. “He was
manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.” 1 John 3:5. He
not only “did no sin” (1 Peter 2:22), but He “knew no sin” (2 Cor.
5:21). Therefore, it is impossible that any sin can come from Him. He
does not impart sin. In the stream of life that flows from the heart of
Christ, through His wounded side, there is no trace of impurity. It is
“a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal.” He is not the
minister of sin, that is, He does not minister sin to anybody. If in any
one who has sought—and not only sought, but found—righteousness through
Christ, there is afterwards found sin, it is because the person has
dammed up the stream, allowing the water to become stagnant. The Word
has not been given free course, so that it could be glorified; and where
there is no activity, there is death. No one is to blame for this but
the person himself. Let no professed Christian take counsel of his own
imperfections, and say that it is impossible for a Christian to live a
sinless life. It is impossible for a true Christian, one who has full
faith, to live any other kind of life. “How shall we, that are dead to
sin, live any longer therein?” Rom. 6:2. “Whosoever is born of God doth
not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him; and he can not sin,
because he is born of God.” 1 John 3:9. Therefore “abide in Him.”
[Sidenote: What Was Destroyed?]
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