GOD'S MEMORIAL OF HIS POWER.
By Anna Agee
IN 1 Cor. 8:6 we read of Christ, "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." And thus we read in the simple statement of Gen. 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." In these and other scriptures is revealed the fact that the Father was not alone in the wonderful work of creation, but that he had associated with him his well-beloved Son. So when we read, "Let us make man in our image," we hear the words of counsel with that Son who is the express image of his Father's person, and by whom God created all things. We read again: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made." "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, . . . full of grace and truth." "He was in the world, and the world was made by him." John 1:1-3, 14, 10. The lowly Nazarene who had "not where to lay his head" is the great Creator. And he is God—yes, he inherits the sacred name from his Father. "Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." Heb. 1:4. The Father himself, addressing the Son, says, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever." Verse 8. Not only were all these things made by our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, but "all things were created . . . for him" (see Col. 1:14-16)—for his pleasure and his glory (Rev. 4:11; Isa. 43:7). We might inquire, By what means was this great work done? Inspiration answers, "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." "For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." Ps. 33:6, 9. "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." Gen. 1:31. There are no degrees of goodness in the sight of the righteous God—good is good—perfect. The same great God who spoke all things into existence, now upholds them "by the word of his power" (Heb. 1:3); and "by him all things consist" (Col. 1:17). Thus the Bible shows us that it is the power of Christ, the Creator, that upholds the worlds and their contents in their proper places, and causes the atoms of matter to cohere and adhere. "This same Jesus" while on earth healed the sick, cast out devils, raised the dead, and stilled the waves, thus demonstrating to mankind his power to control that which he has made. The same power that created the heavens and earth performed those miracles. "He spake and it was." None but he who has power to create can preserve and control perfectly all creation. It is this same power that redeems. A corrupt man (and "all have sinned," "they are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable") cannot do good any more than a corrupt tree can bear good fruit. Matt. 7:18. Therefore, in order to be kept or saved from sin, man must be made a "new creature;" he must experience the creative power of God within his heart. That being true, plainly redemption is creation; the power to redeem is the power to create. And when the Lord makes us new creatures, he does it. He never does his work half way. When it is done we know it is done. When he creates a thing it is not a shoddy piece of work—even in the eyes of the omnipotent, omniscient God; it is "very good." The only point that need concern us is will we let him perform the work in us? We have his word for it that he is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory (Jude 24); and he is just as willing to make us new creatures and sustain us by his creative power as he is able. All this he has promised to do; for he says: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you." "I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes." Eze. 36:26, 27. The power to redeem being the power to create, "the power of God unto salvation" is nothing more nor less and none other than the creative power of God. Whatever professes to be the true gospel—which "is the power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16)—must point us continually to God's creative power, or it is counterfeit. THE MEMORIAL OF THAT POWER.
God has given us a memorial to keep his power in continual remembrance, the observance of which is to show our faith in his power, not alone to create and uphold the universe, but to create and keep us new creatures in Christ Jesus. That memorial is the Sabbath day. Thus reads the Sabbath law:— Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work. [Why?] For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore [for which reason] the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it. Ex. 20:8-11. This memorial was instituted at creation (Gen. 1:1-3) and it is to continue not only throughout all generations of this present world (Ps. 135:13), but also throughout eternity, when God's original purpose concerning this earth and its inhabitants will be carried out—when this earth shall be renewed, recreated, and all made perfect, a fit habitation for the righteous. 2 Peter 3:13; Isa. 65:17; Ps. 37:9-11. "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord." Isa. 66:22, 23. This memorial would always have been observed had man never have fallen, for "the Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27), before there was any sin in him. If man in his innocency had need of a memorial of God's power, who can say he does not need it now when Satan has gained the sway he has, and places so many things in man's way to cause him to forget God? The Sabbath answers the purpose for which it was instituted perfectly. It keeps in continual remembrance the power of God, for we are commanded to "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy;" that keeps us remembering it all the week, from the ending of one Sabbath to the beginning of the next. This we must do in order to have everything so planned or carried out as to enable us to keep it holy when it comes, from the moment it begins to its close. If we rightly observe it, how can this memorial do otherwise than cause us to be "strong in the Lord and in the power of his might," and awaken in our hearts gratitude and thanksgiving toward the One who has done and is doing such wondrous things for us? When we remember God's wonderful power, how can we doubt but that he will not fail to keep us from the very evils to be saved from which he invites us to come to him? He is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." This is the power of God to everyone who believes, to everyone who will let it work (Phil. 2:13); and his power is creative power—almighty power—a power that can make something out of nothing. That power is coupled with infinite love—a love as great for poor, fallen humanity as for his only-begotten Son; for the Saviour prayed: "That they all may be one; . . . I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." John 17:21-23. Our Redeemer says, "Come," and he promises to establish us and keep us from all evil. Rev. 22:17; 2 Thess. 2:3. "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for He is faithful that promised." Heb. 10:23.