NEW THINGS by H. A. St. John

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Mar 28, 1906

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 32, No. 13.

NEW THINGS.

By H. A. St. John

The new covenant holds within its embrace a number of new things of inestimable value, each and all of which may be obtained by every soul that will obediently accept them on the conditions of the covenant.

Let us enumerate and consider some of these new things; and may the Spirit of God impress our minds with their great value, that we may seek them with all our hearts, in the Lord's appointed way.

1. A New Spirit.—“A new spirit will I put within you.” Eze. 36 : 26. So much do we all need this new spirit, the Spirit of God, that we can not be the children of God without it. When it abides in us, it will bear witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. This new spirit will cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and will fill us with a sweet conformity to all the will of God. Then we will be able to say truthfully, Lord, not my will, but Thine, be done in me, and by me, in all things. This new spirit will not revile again when reviled, but will ever incline to do good for evil, and to do good unto all men, according to the measure of opportunity. O, the blessedness of that soul in whom is revealed the gift of the new spirit. Reader, are you in possession of this precious gift of the new covenant? If so, ever cherish it tenderly, never grieve it away; for it is your ever-present teacher, comforter, and guide.

2. A New Heart.—“A new heart also will I give you.” Eze. 36 : 26. This new heart will be the old heart, or mind, or affections, renewed by the new spirit; and when thus cleansed from all sin, it becomes a suitable place for the new spirit to write the law of God. Not until this new heart takes the place of the old heart, or carnal mind, can a person become subject to the law of God. With this new mind, which is the mind that was in Christ, the soul will delight in loving obedience to the will of God. “Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Rom. 12 : 2.

With a new spirit, and a new heart, the individual becomes indeed “a new creature in Christ Jesus,” ever walking in newness of life. These new things, a new spirit and new heart, are blessings of the new covenant for us now, in this mortal, probationary state. Dear reader, is your life made all radiant in the Lord by the possession of these new gifts of the new covenant? If not, seek and obtain, while they are so freely proffered. If so, then may you ever abound more and more in all their gracious manifestations.

But there is another new thing necessary to the completion of the personal salvation of the individual, and that is,—

3. A New Body.—While we praise God for the unspeakable gifts of a new spirit and a new heart, together with all the blessedness their possession brings to us here and now, we will still “groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Rom. 8 : 23); waiting for the glory that is to be revealed in us, at the coming of the Lord. At that day there will be the full manifestation of the sons of God. Jesus is able to save every soul unto the uttermost, and when the immortal body—the glorified body, the body fashioned like unto the glorious body of Christ—is received, salvation to the individual will be complete, unto the uttermost, fully rounded out. And this gift of a new body is

included in the new things so freely proffered to us in the new covenant. When the new body is received, none of its possessors will ever again say, “I am sick.” No more sickness, sorrow, pain, nor death.

How blessed, yea, how cheering, is the thought that God's new things so freely offered us through Christ embraces a new body. As weakness and suffering, consequent upon disease, infirmities, or age, press upon us, how we look forward longingly for the last instalment of the glorious salvation, the redemption of our bodies, when the precious Jesus comes. Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly, that we may go home to dwell with Thee evermore, and evermore be like Thee.

H. A. ST. JOHN.