Calvary’s Drawing Power
By George F. Enoch
“AND I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.” John 12: 32. There is no other power in all the world equal to the drawing power of the cross of Calvary. Into that act of self-sacrifice was put the heart of Christ, the love of God; and through it the mighty influence of the Holy Spirit was brought within reach of the hearts of men. In the beginning, Satan had declared that the law of God was unfair; that justice and mercy were not consistent; and that the law once broken, the sinner could neither be pardoned nor afterwards obey its holy precepts. God’s answer to this charge is the cross of Calvary and the mediatorial work of Christ. God did not change His law, nor did He set aside its claims on man. He sacrificed Himself in Jesus, thus furnishing a Substitute, and then exalted Jesus to His own right hand, to work out, in the lives of those who would yield to Him, the principles of His character, thus making Jesus man’s Surety. Marching Down the Broad Road
Jesus is “the propitiation . . . for the sins of the whole world.” Still the majority of the people of this earth march down the broad road to eternal ruin, and will perish as utterly as though no atonement had been made for them. Therefore the work of Christ as Mediator must be as much a part of the at-one-ment as was His death upon the cross. In fact, Jesus now lives at the right hand of the Father, for the purpose of making actual in the lives of men all that was made possible by His death on the cross; and the death on the cross proves ineffective in so far as it does not thus transform the lives of men. “The law requires righteousness—a righteous life, a perfect character; and this, man has not to give. He cannot meet the claims of God’s holy law. But Christ, coming to the earth as man, lived a holy life, and developed a perfect character. These He offers as a free gift to all who will receive them. His life stands for the life of men. Thus they have remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. “More than this, Christ imbues man with the attributes of God. He builds up the human character after the similitude of the divine character, a goodly fabric of spiritual strength and beauty. Thus the very righteousness of the law is fulfilled in the believer in Christ. God can ‘be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.’”—“Desire of Ages,” page 762. Entering the Gates of Pearl
This work of building up in the lives of men a character after the similitude of the divine character is the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is our Advocate in heaven; the Holy Spirit is our Helper on earth. From the time we are born into the kingdom of Christ, the Holy Spirit makes our body His temple. As long as life shall last, He abides with us, building up in our hearts, brick by brick, that beautiful structure whose Pattern is in heaven. This is the work of sanctification. It is not the work of an hour, nor of a day, but of a lifetime. Jesus, before leaving the world, rejoiced that He had brought within our reach such a mighty Helper. He knew that every heart that would surrender to the power of divine grace would have this Spirit ever abiding within, giving constant victory over sin. This subject is of vital importance. No mere shibboleth will pass us through the gates of pearl. Nor will a mere shibboleth change our hearts and lives. The only way13to work out in our character the reformation made possible by this blessed truth, is by long, persevering effort and stern conflict. Until Satan is bound, we will be compelled to fight this battle daily, subdue self, and overcome besetting sins. This daily battle is not evidence that we have not been pardoned, but rather that Satan is still alive. Captives to Satan’s Chariots
In this mortal life, we will never be able to say that we have fully attained. Like the apostle, our cry will be: “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 3: 12-14. Each one can either resist this transforming power of the Holy Spirit in his life, indulge his selfish desires, and be bound an unwilling captive to Satan’s chariot; or, daily dying to self, and in humility overcoming sin, he can have the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit ever in his life as Sanctifier, building up in his heart a beautiful character that will stand the test of the Judgment. “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.” Phil. 3: 20, 21.