The Son glorified the Father on the earth by finishing the work which He had given Him to do. It was a great work. None but the Eternal Son could have finished it. The dignity of the eternal law, which man had broken, had to be vindicated and upheld; the full weight of an infinite curse had to be endured. Each of the sins of all His people, which cleaved to them as a leprosy, had to be borne and carried away. The prince of this world had to be met and conquered on his own ground, the battle-field of this world. All this work had to be done in the face of the full strength and opposition of hell and all the powers thereof; in face, and in spite of the apathy and indifference, the ignorance and folly of His own, and the rage and antagonism of the powers of this world. The work had to be done, moreover, in man’s nature. The nature that sinned behoved also to be the nature that suffered.
Popular posts from this blog
Preaching
"It may be a use of a great deal of encouragement to all the ministers of God to preach to people. It may be that sometimes even they are discouraged, and think to themselves, "Lord, how hard are the hearts of men, and how difficult it is to work upon the hearts of men! I have labored with all my might. I have studied and sought to invent all the arguments I possibly could, the most moving arguments that I could possibly imagine. When I have been in my study, I have thought to myself, 'Surely if the Lord is pleased to bless these truths that I am to deliver, they will work upon the hearts of people.'" And when it comes to the preaching of that sermon, perhaps the minister finds that they are not at all stirred one whit. "Why, Lord, what shall I do then? I cannot think ever to speak things that are more powerful than those that I have spoken, and those have done no good. Therefore I am afraid I shall never do good." "Oh, no, do not say so and d...
Spiritual Growth
1. Christian progress does not signify advancing in God’s favor. The believer’s growth in grace does not further him one iota in God’s esteem. How could it, since God is the Giver of his faith and the One who has "wrought all our works in us" (Isaiah. 26:12)! God’s favorable regard of His people originated not in anything whatever in them, either actual or foreseen. God’s grace is absolutely free, being the spontaneous exercise of His own mere good pleasure. The cause of its exercise lies wholly within Himself. The purposing grace of God is that good will which He had unto His people from all eternity: "Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (2 Timothy. 1:9). And the dispensing grace of God is but the execution of His purpose, ministering to His people: thus we read "God giveth more grace," yea, that "he ...
Comments
Post a Comment