LESSON III.—SABBATH, APRIL 15, 1893.
THE WORK OF REDEMPTION—CONCLUDED.
Suggestive Questions and Lesson Scriptures.
1. Review questions:—
(a) What assurance has the believer that Christ will complete the work of redemption that is begun at conversion?
(b) How can we know that Christ dwells within? Give texts.
(c) When will the life that was lost in Adam be fully restored? 2. Of what does the Spirit bear witness?
"The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God; and if children, then heirs." Rom. 8:16. 3. How does the Spirit bear witness? See note 1. 4. If we are children, what rights have we?
"Heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, then we may be also glorified with him." Rom. 8:17. 5. With whom are we joint heirs? Same verse. See note 2. 6. With whom are we connected, if we are heirs?
"Know therefore that they which be of faith, the same are sons of Abraham." "So then they which be of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham." "And if ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise." Gal. 3:7, 9, 29. 7. Of what was Abraham the heir?
"For not through the law was the promise to Abraham or to his seed, that he should be heir of the world, but through the righteousness of faith." Rom. 4:13. 8. To what time are the saints sealed?
"Which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of God's own possession, unto the praise of his glory." Eph. 1:14. 9. To whom is the first dominion promised to be restored?
"And thou, O Tower of the flock, the Hill of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come; yea, the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem." Micah 4:8. 10. What is meant by the "tower of the flock"? See note 3.
"For thou hast been a refuge for me, a strong tower from the enemy." Ps. 61:3.
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." Prov. 18:10. 11. Who are the daughters? See note 4. 12. To whom is the kingdom to be given?
"And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." Dan. 7:27. 13. What will be the condition of the earth when the kingdom is restored?
"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." Matt. 6:10. 14. How will the first dominion be restored to its original beauty?
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up." "Looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:10, 12, 13. 15. With what important event is the renovation of the earth connected?
"But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." 2 Peter 3:7. 16. With what is the day of judgment connected?
"I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the quick and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom." 2 Tim. 4:1. 17. When the dominion is restored, what will be its condition?
"But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth; wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:13.
"And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the basilisk's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Isa. 11:5-9.
"Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not; behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the glowing sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, where they lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, yea fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up thereon, they shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there; and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Isa. 35:3-10.
"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." Isa. 55:12, 13. 18. What should those who are heirs with Christ be doing?
"Looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." 2 Peter 3:12. 19. What effect will it have on their lives?
"Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness?" "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for these things, give diligence that ye may be found in peace, without spot and blameless in his sight." 2 Peter 3:11, 14. 1. In John 6:63 we learn that the words of Christ are spirit and life. Then when his word abides in us (1 John 3:24), and our lives answer to that word as the reflection in the mirror does to the face, we are assured that we have the witness, or testimony, for the word is the Spirit's testimony, that we are children of God. 2. The original word is much stronger than our English word: "Receiving a portion, especially of an inheritance; as substantive, an heir, one who has a lot (not one to whom a lot is allotted, because it is derived from the active; but), he who has the inheritance, the stress being laid on the possession."—Bullinger. A joint heir is one who is in partnership with another in the inheritance; man lost the dominion, or inheritance; Christ gave his life to redeem it, and man, by accepting him, becomes an heir with him. 3. RABBI LESSER'S English Translation of the Old Testament reads: "And thou, O Tower of the flocks, the Stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall go, and shall come, the former dominion, the kingdom belonging to the daughter of Jerusalem." 4. By comparing Micah 4:8 with Ps. 45:9, 10; Songs 5:8, we must conclude that the term "daughters" refers to the believers, or the flock. Christ is often spoken of as the Shepherd of the flock. See John 10:7, 16.