Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Believers are guarded by God's power through faith for a salvation ready to be unveiled in the last time. No one can keep himself even for a moment, but depends wholly on God every moment and is kept moment by moment by divine power alone, not by intelligence, riches, wisdom, good works, or own strength. The faith itself through which He keeps is His gift, and the salvation may be possessed now by believing while its full revealing awaits the end of faith. That keeping guards an incorruptible, undefiled, unfading inheritance reserved in heaven, with believers begotten again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ and made heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. The last time is now, the very close of this earth's history, when those thus kept are for a season left in heaviness through manifold temptations to refine faith more precious than perishable gold, and are kept through surrender to Christ, the Holy Spirit's control, holy angels' guard, continual prayer, and obedience to all God's requirements.
Kept by God's Power
The verse promises that believers are guarded by God's power through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. That future salvation is bound to the inheritance kept in heaven and to the living hope made possible by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the heart's expression when faith takes hold of Christ, blessing God for guarding by divine power through faith and looking to an incorruptible inheritance reserved in heaven. The promise is clear and gives reason to trust God and expect His help, sustaining toward the promised inheritance and final salvation. The present is that last time, with believers standing on the borders of the final conflict. This hope sustains through trials, whose testing can bring praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, and receiving the salvation is the end of faith.
No one can keep himself even for a moment, but depends wholly on God every moment and is kept moment by moment by divine power alone through faith. This keeping rests on faith in Christ and His merits, relying on His mercy and trusting the sufficiency of His grace. Through Christ as Redeemer and Substitute, God forgives sin and pardons iniquities and transgressions, takes away sin, counts His righteousness to believers and imputes it in their place, so they constantly repose in the righteousness provided through Jesus Christ the Righteous. A sense of unworthiness to be called a child of God must never give the enemy advantage, but by taking God at His word and accepting Jesus Christ as Redeemer the believer preserves the honor of God and demonstrates this divine keeping unto final salvation to be revealed in the last time.
This keeping is not by intelligence, words, or riches, for faith joins believers to God and enables them to overcome the powers of darkness, with Christ helping them and the Holy Spirit lighting their way toward salvation to be revealed in the last time. It is not by own efforts or good works, but by trusting wholly in Christ's merits, committing the soul to Him and finding rest in His love, from which watchfulness and loving devotion follow so that duty becomes a delight, sacrifice a pleasure, and trust brings abiding peace. The truly converted do not make themselves righteous by good works but trust Jesus to do what they cannot do for themselves, with the heart joined to Christ in clinging faith so that because Christ lives the believer will live also and destiny is bound to Him. Even the people made the repository of God's law and entrusted with sacred truth, and even strong and efficient workers with ability and talents given by God, are kept only by God's power through faith unto salvation, not by their own wisdom, sufficiency, or excelling gifts, leaving nothing to boast about and no reason for pride or self-exaltation. The unfaithfulness of men in sacred trust who teach truth to others and then turn away from the holy commandment should produce carefulness, distrust of self, stripping of self-sufficiency and spiritual pride, humble views of personal wisdom, and deep dependence on divine keeping, since precious views of the divine character and remarkable manifestations of divine power do not themselves keep or save, as Solomon received power to build the temple and offered its dedication prayer yet forsook it to worship idols. The verse therefore calls for appreciating every gift from God and using talents to the best without self-exaltation while remaining dependent on God's keeping power.
The faith through which God keeps is itself God's gift, not self-produced and not from people themselves. Christ's presence and sustaining grace are the source and secret of the church's light and life, and He watches over His people without weariness. Those who look to Jesus and trust in Him are kept safe from Satan by God's power through faith, with that salvation longed for as the hope of seeing the King in His beauty.
The salvation is ready to be revealed and may be fully possessed now by believing, yet its full unveiling awaits the last time. Faith must not settle down satisfied with what has already been received but must reach higher, and hope is the outcome of such faith as full persuasion about unseen things, with hunger and thirst after righteousness met by being filled. God's power keeps believers through faith and preserves them unto that ready salvation, calling for living faith and a continued fight against temptation and apostasy. Receiving the salvation is the end of faith, when tested faith is found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
Inheritance and Living Hope
The guarding by divine power through faith leads to final deliverance to be unveiled in the last time and secures an imperishable, undefiled, unfading inheritance reserved in heaven for those who accept Christ and hold their confidence firm to the end. That inheritance is kept for those who are kept, and the keeping sustains them toward it through trials and afflictions and heaviness through many temptations as they cling to the Mighty One and trust implicitly even when tried as by fire. To become children of the heavenly King and members of the royal family is to become heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ to that inheritance, with rejoicing now that looks to praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ and to the salvation of souls, because the night is far spent and the day is at hand.
Those so guarded have been begotten again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, laying hold by faith of a new strong hope. Being begotten again means being quickened together with Christ, with new life from Christ entering the soul and quickening the whole person. Those who have sinned and need rescue from slavery can rejoice as Peter did after his fall, because they are begotten to that living hope and held for a salvation to be finished in the last time. Receiving this keeping requires sanctifying the Lord in the heart with a clean and pure heart, and it makes life useful during the short sojourn here.
That hope rests on Jesus who died to prove His love, rose in triumph, ascended to prepare a place, now stands before the Father as advocate pleading for pardon, and will come again to receive believers to Himself. No one can preserve himself even for a moment, but is kept every moment by divine power as he accepts Jesus as Redeemer and relies on His merits, mercy, and sufficient grace. Through Christ God forgives sin and counts His righteousness to believers, pardoning iniquities and transgressions, taking away sin and imputing His own righteousness in its place. Conversion joins the heart to Christ in clinging faith, trusting Him to do what no one can do for himself, so that because Christ lives the believer will live also with destiny bound to Him, committed to His keeping today by living faith without waiting for feeling, looking through darkness to where Christ intercedes as the living Saviour who bought sinners at infinite price and holds them as His heritage. A sense of unworthiness to be called a child of God must never give the enemy advantage, but taking God at His word preserves His honor and demonstrates this divine keeping unto final salvation.
The incorruptible inheritance includes the earth made new, and the keeping sustains hope of it while enabling rejoicing even under trials whose tested faith will bring praise, honor, and glory at Christ's appearing. The keeping is personal and sure, with the divine arm around His child, so that even when faith feels feeble and the hold feels weak, Jesus holds firmly the soul He died to save, supplying every deficiency and making the weak strong. It includes pledged pardon through the merits of His blood that blots out transgressions for seekers, and present help in every time of need with prompt all-powerful aid to all who call. It prepares for future life until the resurrection morning when those who sleep in Jesus come forth to glorious immortality, which is longed for as seeing the King in His beauty.
Trials That Refine Faith
Those who are guarded by divine power through faith toward final deliverance are for a season left in heaviness through manifold temptations, yet this brings great rejoicing because of the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. The Lord permits these trials and afflictions to come to His loved ones so that through trial they may gain increased knowledge of the God of their salvation as they cling to the Mighty One and trust implicitly even when tried as by fire. No trial comes upon a saint by chance or from the earth but comes in God's providence, who gives power to stand under it in order to work out an individual experience of highest value, and being ready for the salvation to be revealed requires being prepared for those temptations in order to stand. Every step heavenward is opposed by evil angels cooperating with evil men, and trials will continue while Satan is not yet bound, but believers can turn to God for help and deliverance rather than yield to the enemy's suggestions.
The trial of faith is much more precious than perishable gold tried with fire, and when tested it will be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. This keeping sustains rejoicing now that looks to that appearing and to the salvation of souls, because the night is far spent and the day is at hand. Present trials can bring grief, but the testing of faith leads to praise, honor, and glory when Christ appears, and faith receives the salvation of the soul as its end.
Faith must overcome difficulties, disappointments, trials and sharp assaults, for these test love and fidelity to God, and believers can turn defeats and mistakes into victories. That overcoming calls for active, living faith exercised in fighting the good fight and resisting temptation, with complete surrender of the will to God's will as the measure of love for Him, bearing burdens for Christ and serving Him. Keeping this faith means encouraging faith, talking faith, talking of Jesus, refusing to look on the dark side or on what is objectionable in others, because transformation of heart and character matters more than anything else. Cherished sin, unbelief and trust in self cannot preserve through the coming trial but can lead to apostasy and ruin, so present and future welfare depend on the faith brought into daily life, grounded and continually growing in spiritual understanding to stand unwaveringly and to stand the fire of Satan's assaults amid the terrible things happening all around.
Last Time and Deliverance
The last time of the verse is now, the very last days and the very close of this earth's history. Believers live very near the end and stand on the borders of the final conflict, with the night far spent and the day at hand. No mistake can be afforded then and eternal interests cannot be trifled with, for the salvation ready to be revealed is needed and must be had now. The promise is to be appropriated now by being begotten again to a living hope, quickened together with Christ with new life from Christ entering the soul and laying hold by faith of a new strong hope, which makes life useful during the short sojourn here. That keeping faith works by love and purifies the soul, gives life and vigor to mental powers and spiritual exercises, causes Christ's light to shine into the chambers of the mind, gives correct sight of invisible things, and makes the soul's language joyful and not doleful because the joy of the Lord is strength. Nothing else will keep them, for keeping requires being on Christ's side and standing by faith instead of drifting tossed like waves moved by wind, with truth from God that elevates and ennobles and refines and by which they are sanctified, and with sanctifying the Lord in the heart with a clean and pure heart.
That last time follows the proclamation of the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ in the third angel's message and the lighting of the earth with the glory of the angel from heaven that comes after it. Then the Son of man is soon to be revealed in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory to give the reward to the obedient. Being ready for that salvation to be revealed requires being prepared for temptations in order to stand, for the keeping operates amid heaviness through manifold temptations. Every step heavenward is opposed by evil angels cooperating with evil men, yet no trial comes upon a saint by chance or from the earth but comes in the providence of God who gives power to stand under it in order to work out an individual experience of highest value. Those who love God are carried through trials and afflictions and heaviness through many temptations as they cling to the Mighty One and trust Jesus implicitly even when tried as by fire, with rejoicing now that looks to praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ and to the salvation of their souls, guarding their unfading inheritance kept in heaven for them.
The guarding holds believers in the day of trial just ahead when sudden destruction comes. It holds them against Satan's false claim that this is a time of peace and safety. Those who copy his self-sufficiency and pride will fall as he fell from his place as covering cherub. God's power keeps those who have faith in His word from being swept into the final worldwide delusion of Spiritualism, and only those thus kept will escape. In the last time deceptive spirits work miracles to gather the world for battle against God, and people who trust the delusion are lulled into fatal security.
The keeping unto salvation is to be revealed in a special manner in the very close of probation and closing days of this world's history. Those are days of great trial of faith when iniquity abounds and the love of many grows cold through the deceptive workings of satanic agencies. Satanic agencies especially oppose the commandment-keeping people of God and bring trial and sorrow upon them, seeking to discourage those who show love for God by keeping His commandments and to torture them into unbelief by pressing the idea that God is displeased with them. No one can keep himself even for a moment, but all who believe in Jesus are kept by the power of God alone, which offsets the working of Satan through the children of disobedience to grieve and hurt every loyal soul who keeps the way of the Lord and does His commandments. The trials grow out of the conflict between truth and error over God's law, which began with warfare against God's law in heaven when Satan sought to bring God to his own ideas and force a change in the law of His government, was expelled, and determined to carry out on earth what he began in heaven by persuading men to be disloyal, perverting judgment and justice and trampling down God's law to revenge himself upon God.
Means of Keeping Power
The keeping is through faith, and nothing else will keep, for the last time is now when salvation ready to be revealed is needed and must be had, and being on Christ's side means being kept by His power while being on Satan's side means becoming an agent through whom Satan works to tempt and deceive, since he has come down with power working with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish and sends human agents with suggestions even to every soul who desires to serve God. That keeping faith is received by taking Christ by faith into the heart and cooperating with Him, and it works by love and purifies the soul, gives life and vigor to all mental powers and spiritual exercises, causes light from Christ to shine into the chambers of the mind, gives correct sight of invisible things, and makes the language of the soul joyful and not doleful or gloomy because the joy of the Lord is strength. By faith believers stand and are not to drift and be tossed like waves of the sea moved by the wind.
The keeping comes with truth from God that elevates and ennobles and refines, and by which believers are sanctified, and that implanted truth controls the life, preserves communion with God and integrity against discouragement and flattering inducements. Perfect trust lays weakness and need before God, claims His promises not because of personal worthiness but because Christ died, pleads the merits of His blood, and takes God at His word. Faith receives God's commands with trust and obeys them willingly and exactly, waits humbly for divine instruction rather than going ahead of or against His leading, distrusts self and relies completely on God for guidance, support, knowledge of His will and strength to obey it, puts entire trust in God and depends on His wisdom and not on human agents for strength, and makes every effort to walk uprightly, since knowingly breaking health laws is no basis for expecting grace to sustain and comfort, for that would encourage wrongdoing.
God keeps those who surrender entirely to Christ and keep looking to Jesus as author and finisher of faith, put whole trust in Him and do just as He tells them, take His yoke, link life with His, join heart to His heart and knit life to Him by hidden links, hold firm hold on Christ the Mediator, submit to be led and confide with living constant faith. Then He is a sure defense and strong fortress whose word is pledged, and believers are guarded safe in His love because the Redeemer has all power in heaven and earth and is fully able to keep every soul who trusts Him, delivering out of the hand of enemies, freeing from devices of evil men and evil angels, enabling to break bonds of sin and Satan so they may serve without fear in holiness and righteousness, with rest in His love, watchfulness and loving devotion, duty a delight, sacrifice a pleasure, and abiding peace. This keeping belongs to genuine conversion which always produces genuine love for Jesus and for all who love Him and for those for whom He died, and the faith that keeps grows stronger in proportion to the course followed, joined to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a heart united with Christ and a life bound to His, because Christ lives believers live also.
The keeping is done by the Holy Spirit when believers allow Him to control them, are made new by baptism of the Spirit, are born again and renewed and sanctified in the whole person, and are found and brought back with close pressing together and firm unwavering trust with Christ present to heal. To be kept means to put no confidence in self and daily know self is not to be trusted, to grasp promises with firm faith and ask for the Spirit with full realization of helplessness, so that the Spirit takes the contrite, self-distrusting heart into His keeping and brings to it all the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness without giving self the glory. Those daily under the Spirit's control become commandment-keeping people whose obedience brings reward in this life and eternal blessedness in the future, committing the keeping of the soul to God by living and walking by faith, trusting self no longer and giving self no glory but looking to Jesus as Advocate and Author and Finisher of faith; this the Spirit will do for the contrite heart but can never do where self interposes in self-importance and self-righteousness that in its own wisdom would mend itself.
God's keeping power works through holy angels guarding His people, with every family and each person under the watchcare of a holy angel commissioned to watch moment by moment and help every desire to do right, though the angels are invisible because natural eyes are not strengthened to discern their light. At times they let their light shine so distinctly that it is recognized, giving a glimpse of God's light to teach that the Lord loves and cares for the person and that His angels are guarding them. Such revealing is given to encourage to do right, to make hearts greatly encouraged and thankful for constant heavenly watchcare, to rejoice them when they search the Scriptures trying to be right and do right, and to give courage that Jesus hears prayer even when angels are not seen, with strength and grace to do all the good they are capable of doing, helping keep from sin and resisting the enemy's influence and guarding from Satan's violence day by day so they cannot be destroyed while they trust in Christ.
The keeping is sought through continual silent prayer with desires of the mind constantly ascending to God for help, light, strength, wisdom and knowledge, with unwearied petitions especially when surrounded by influences calculated to lead away from God, because daily temptations make prayer necessary and without it pride cannot be broken down nor power of temptation to sinful indulgences that keep from the Saviour be overcome. It comes through earnest prayer bracing for duty, through moment-by-moment trust in Him who gave His life for fallen humanity, through trial fitting for conflict, through cleansing from sin in the Lamb's blood, through rightly regarding the purchase of Christ's blood, through girding on every piece of the heavenly armor as safeguard against sin for success in work, through daily meditation examining motives, and through daily communion giving strength for duties and trials, with the sanctifying light of truth exposing sinful passions striving for mastery and demanding every effort to resist Satan in order to conquer through Christ's merits. Prayer does not replace earnest effort or faithful use of time, talents and opportunities, and both prayer and work together are required in forming and perfecting Christian character.
The keeping belongs to obedience to all God's requirements as commandment-keeping people in living connection with Him receiving continual strength from heaven, even amid the corrupting influence of transgressors of His law from the lowliest to those in the highest positions of trust. True repentance brings this keeping, with self subdued and Christ magnified and the life hidden with Christ in God, giving protection against fresh assaults and snares of Satan and drawing to God in earnest living faith. False repentance does not bring it, producing only make-believe reformation with continual uplifting and exaltation of self, and cherishing a darling sin or keeping a sensual indulgence, lust or indulgence that brings bondage and is dear as hand or eye refuses the condition for keeping, makes faith of no effect, prevents sacred nearness with God and causes deficient spiritual advancement.
Life Under God's Keeping
The chapter is to be studied, understood, and heeded as present admonition for this time. It is addressed to believing, commandment-keeping people who have a special work as faithful laborers together with God in the salvation of sinners, exhorting them to live godly lives and work earnestly for salvation while holding hope for the grace to be brought at Christ's revelation in a holy life of obedience. Ministers are urged to study its lessons faithfully and to entrust the keeping of souls to the living God rather than to human agency. Every soul is held responsible for the proper exercise of entrusted talents, for servants of Jesus Christ who know the truth and the power of His grace have an extensive and important mission to reveal truth's power with integrity and upright conduct, and following the Spirit of truth in willing obedience brings spiritual strength.
Through Christ's sacrifice every provision has been made to receive all things that pertain to life and godliness. God's keeping power working through faith is the source of the believer's strength unto the salvation to be revealed, and after the heart is renewed by divine grace in answer to prayer for a clean heart and a right spirit, those made partakers of the heavenly gift are to go on unto perfection, held secure as they continue to believe. God gives His virtue to His children and calls them to reach the highest standard of glory and virtue, and the perfection of Christ's character makes it possible to gain Christian perfection. By faith they lay hold of Christ's power and promises and earnestly seek the Holy Spirit's power, and they are made complete in Him, not with their own righteousness but with the righteousness which is by faith, for a noble, virtuous character and purity of life cannot be built apart from the grace of Christ.
Those who love one another as Christ has loved are born of God and kept by God's power through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Doing this God-given duty brings peace and quietude in the Lord and ennobles and uplifts the whole being, while neglecting it makes perfection of Christlike character impossible. This assurance belongs to everyone who receives God's grace sincerely and acts on His promises, to be relied on daily, with faith shown in words and deeds as they work for others, make known God's love and the happiness and blessedness found in His service, and reveal the power and efficiency of truth to the world. Genuine conversion always produces genuine love for Jesus and for all who love Him and for those for whom He died, when the heart is joined to Christ's heart and the life knit to Him by hidden links, and the faith that keeps grows stronger in proportion to the course followed. The keeping is for the faithful who heed Christ's warnings, take their stand on higher ground, look to Christ as helper, take Him into the heart as an abiding friend, and hold firm faith in the principles of truth for this time, and then His blessing rests upon them in large measure so the enemy cannot move them or lead them astray when every feature and pillar of faith is tested in the most trying way by strong temptation and sophistry like that brought to Adam and Eve.
God has chosen a people out of the world and keeps them by His power free from its contaminating influences, and while living in the world they are to remain forever separate from it and not be of it. His power keeps believers through faith from even desiring to leave His paths and enables them not to fall under temptation despite abounding iniquity and the corrupting influence of what they see and hear. Souls are always in peril, and no one is secure in own strength, but moment-by-moment trust in Him who gave His life for fallen humanity, earnest prayer bracing for duty, being alive to danger, trial fitting for the conflict, cleansing from sin in the blood of the Lamb, rightly regarding the purchase of Christ's blood, and girding on every piece of the heavenly armor give protection from the enemy's assaults and safeguard against sin for success in work. The infinite power guards the soul of the true child of God through faith for final salvation as he relies by faith on the Saviour, giving victory over the world so its pleasures, policies, pleasures and amusements cannot hinder or deceive, but he marches on in the strength of the Infinite One, keeps his mind fixed on God's promises, follows Jesus in self-denial, walks in Christ's light, and shines as a light to glorify the Father.
God alone keeps believers by His power through faith, and reliance on Him is necessary at every moment and throughout life. David's fall warns even those greatly blessed not to feel secure or neglect watchfulness and prayer, but to distrust own strength, recognize danger from temptation, and rely on God as strength and safety, for without divine keeping circumstances can gradually weaken the soul's defenses and guard purity only by watchfulness and prayer. Keeping requires stern personal vigilance and a daily individual experience in the things of God. Having the truth does not make anyone safe from falling, for a moment of carelessness can begin a course of sin ending in ruin, so hope is found only by constantly pleading to be kept, binding to Christ, exerting every energy to attain His character, exercising and maintaining faith with earnest determined effort, being present at every possible religious meeting among the few who meet to worship God, bearing uplifting testimony full of courage and hope and victory, and avoiding carelessness, negligence, and supposed excuses that let the enemy keep one away from where Jesus meets to bless His worshipers.
The verse gives rich morsels of food from the living oracles that comfort, strengthen, and bless feeble and afflicted believers and feed poor hungry souls who seldom have preaching, showing the large measure of God's love bestowed on His chosen ones. The keeping is personal and sure: God's arm is around His child, and even when faith feels feeble and the hold on Jesus feels weak, Jesus holds firmly the soul He died to save, supplying every deficiency and making the weak strong. It includes pledged pardon through the merits of Christ's blood blotting out all transgressions for those who seek Him, present help in every time of need with prompt and all-powerful aid to all who call upon Him, and preparation for the future life until the resurrection morning. When afflicted by the wrong course of others and left unhelped by human shepherds, believers are to keep faith and trust Jesus in every trying hour under every adverse circumstance, commit their case wholly to Him, hold His hand stretched out in pitying tenderness, refuse exasperation and retaliation, and give God glory, knowing Jesus knows it all, never fails, gave His precious life that they might believe and trust, and is able to keep the believing soul from being overcome even when Satan attacks with subtle temptations. Continual keeping by God's power through faith is reason for praise, gratitude, and sunshiny thankfulness, sustaining under heavy loads, cares, conflict and toil and preserving health and peace even in old age.
The promise is applied as prayer for a believer's preservation and future salvation. Present and future welfare depend on the faith brought into daily life, for being kept through faith is protection that must stand the fire of Satan's assaults amid terrible things all around, and Christians facing conflict and toil are kept as they advance humbly, with God supplying strength according to difficulties and enemies faced, so neither praise nor fear should turn them from loyalty to God. Their influence can be energetic in serving God and humanity while depending on God's preserving power, with the Holy Spirit's work agreeing with the written Word through which God gives reproof and warning. The soul must depend on God with simple increasing faith while faithfully using time, opportunities, privileges, and talents given during probation, constantly exercising faith because this world is an educating school to prepare to graduate to heaven above. Eternal destiny is decided by personal course of action, character must be formed in this life that welcome into the mansions Christ has gone to prepare may be possible, little things constitute life's discipline for training the soul and developing character for the courts above, and the grace of Christ works in and with every child of God while pressing from light to greater light and from strength to greater strength until more than conqueror through Him who loved and gave Himself, complete in Him. Thorough conversion keeps from exhibiting weak points and prepares for Christ's approval, while make-believe reformation misdirects and misuses God-given talents and does very little for God, calling for consecrated men and women to give themselves unreservedly with heart and soul and strength to appointed work including large city work and surrounding country, for steadfast character amid business cares, for workers and families, for leaders in the Southern field and in establishing a sanitarium and school in Washington, for W. C. White despite imperfections, for Smith, for Emma who cannot withstand assaults alone, and for a woman's usefulness.
Believers are guarded by God's power through faith for a salvation ready to be unveiled in the last time. No one can keep himself even for a moment, but depends wholly on God every moment and is kept moment by moment by divine power alone, not by intelligence, riches, wisdom, good works, or own strength. The faith itself through which He keeps is His gift, and the salvation may be possessed now by believing while its full revealing awaits the end of faith. That keeping guards an incorruptible, undefiled, unfading inheritance reserved in heaven, with believers begotten again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ and made heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. The last time is now, the very close of this earth's history, when those thus kept are for a season left in heaviness through manifold temptations to refine faith more precious than perishable gold, and are kept through surrender to Christ, the Holy Spirit's control, holy angels' guard, continual prayer, and obedience to all God's requirements.
Kept by God's Power
The verse promises that believers are guarded by God's power through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. That future salvation is bound to the inheritance kept in heaven and to the living hope made possible by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the heart's expression when faith takes hold of Christ, blessing God for guarding by divine power through faith and looking to an incorruptible inheritance reserved in heaven. The promise is clear and gives reason to trust God and expect His help, sustaining toward the promised inheritance and final salvation. The present is that last time, with believers standing on the borders of the final conflict. This hope sustains through trials, whose testing can bring praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, and receiving the salvation is the end of faith.
No one can keep himself even for a moment, but depends wholly on God every moment and is kept moment by moment by divine power alone through faith. This keeping rests on faith in Christ and His merits, relying on His mercy and trusting the sufficiency of His grace. Through Christ as Redeemer and Substitute, God forgives sin and pardons iniquities and transgressions, takes away sin, counts His righteousness to believers and imputes it in their place, so they constantly repose in the righteousness provided through Jesus Christ the Righteous. A sense of unworthiness to be called a child of God must never give the enemy advantage, but by taking God at His word and accepting Jesus Christ as Redeemer the believer preserves the honor of God and demonstrates this divine keeping unto final salvation to be revealed in the last time.
This keeping is not by intelligence, words, or riches, for faith joins believers to God and enables them to overcome the powers of darkness, with Christ helping them and the Holy Spirit lighting their way toward salvation to be revealed in the last time. It is not by own efforts or good works, but by trusting wholly in Christ's merits, committing the soul to Him and finding rest in His love, from which watchfulness and loving devotion follow so that duty becomes a delight, sacrifice a pleasure, and trust brings abiding peace. The truly converted do not make themselves righteous by good works but trust Jesus to do what they cannot do for themselves, with the heart joined to Christ in clinging faith so that because Christ lives the believer will live also and destiny is bound to Him. Even the people made the repository of God's law and entrusted with sacred truth, and even strong and efficient workers with ability and talents given by God, are kept only by God's power through faith unto salvation, not by their own wisdom, sufficiency, or excelling gifts, leaving nothing to boast about and no reason for pride or self-exaltation. The unfaithfulness of men in sacred trust who teach truth to others and then turn away from the holy commandment should produce carefulness, distrust of self, stripping of self-sufficiency and spiritual pride, humble views of personal wisdom, and deep dependence on divine keeping, since precious views of the divine character and remarkable manifestations of divine power do not themselves keep or save, as Solomon received power to build the temple and offered its dedication prayer yet forsook it to worship idols. The verse therefore calls for appreciating every gift from God and using talents to the best without self-exaltation while remaining dependent on God's keeping power.
The faith through which God keeps is itself God's gift, not self-produced and not from people themselves. Christ's presence and sustaining grace are the source and secret of the church's light and life, and He watches over His people without weariness. Those who look to Jesus and trust in Him are kept safe from Satan by God's power through faith, with that salvation longed for as the hope of seeing the King in His beauty.
The salvation is ready to be revealed and may be fully possessed now by believing, yet its full unveiling awaits the last time. Faith must not settle down satisfied with what has already been received but must reach higher, and hope is the outcome of such faith as full persuasion about unseen things, with hunger and thirst after righteousness met by being filled. God's power keeps believers through faith and preserves them unto that ready salvation, calling for living faith and a continued fight against temptation and apostasy. Receiving the salvation is the end of faith, when tested faith is found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
Inheritance and Living Hope
The guarding by divine power through faith leads to final deliverance to be unveiled in the last time and secures an imperishable, undefiled, unfading inheritance reserved in heaven for those who accept Christ and hold their confidence firm to the end. That inheritance is kept for those who are kept, and the keeping sustains them toward it through trials and afflictions and heaviness through many temptations as they cling to the Mighty One and trust implicitly even when tried as by fire. To become children of the heavenly King and members of the royal family is to become heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ to that inheritance, with rejoicing now that looks to praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ and to the salvation of souls, because the night is far spent and the day is at hand.
Those so guarded have been begotten again to a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, laying hold by faith of a new strong hope. Being begotten again means being quickened together with Christ, with new life from Christ entering the soul and quickening the whole person. Those who have sinned and need rescue from slavery can rejoice as Peter did after his fall, because they are begotten to that living hope and held for a salvation to be finished in the last time. Receiving this keeping requires sanctifying the Lord in the heart with a clean and pure heart, and it makes life useful during the short sojourn here.
That hope rests on Jesus who died to prove His love, rose in triumph, ascended to prepare a place, now stands before the Father as advocate pleading for pardon, and will come again to receive believers to Himself. No one can preserve himself even for a moment, but is kept every moment by divine power as he accepts Jesus as Redeemer and relies on His merits, mercy, and sufficient grace. Through Christ God forgives sin and counts His righteousness to believers, pardoning iniquities and transgressions, taking away sin and imputing His own righteousness in its place. Conversion joins the heart to Christ in clinging faith, trusting Him to do what no one can do for himself, so that because Christ lives the believer will live also with destiny bound to Him, committed to His keeping today by living faith without waiting for feeling, looking through darkness to where Christ intercedes as the living Saviour who bought sinners at infinite price and holds them as His heritage. A sense of unworthiness to be called a child of God must never give the enemy advantage, but taking God at His word preserves His honor and demonstrates this divine keeping unto final salvation.
The incorruptible inheritance includes the earth made new, and the keeping sustains hope of it while enabling rejoicing even under trials whose tested faith will bring praise, honor, and glory at Christ's appearing. The keeping is personal and sure, with the divine arm around His child, so that even when faith feels feeble and the hold feels weak, Jesus holds firmly the soul He died to save, supplying every deficiency and making the weak strong. It includes pledged pardon through the merits of His blood that blots out transgressions for seekers, and present help in every time of need with prompt all-powerful aid to all who call. It prepares for future life until the resurrection morning when those who sleep in Jesus come forth to glorious immortality, which is longed for as seeing the King in His beauty.
Trials That Refine Faith
Those who are guarded by divine power through faith toward final deliverance are for a season left in heaviness through manifold temptations, yet this brings great rejoicing because of the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. The Lord permits these trials and afflictions to come to His loved ones so that through trial they may gain increased knowledge of the God of their salvation as they cling to the Mighty One and trust implicitly even when tried as by fire. No trial comes upon a saint by chance or from the earth but comes in God's providence, who gives power to stand under it in order to work out an individual experience of highest value, and being ready for the salvation to be revealed requires being prepared for those temptations in order to stand. Every step heavenward is opposed by evil angels cooperating with evil men, and trials will continue while Satan is not yet bound, but believers can turn to God for help and deliverance rather than yield to the enemy's suggestions.
The trial of faith is much more precious than perishable gold tried with fire, and when tested it will be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. This keeping sustains rejoicing now that looks to that appearing and to the salvation of souls, because the night is far spent and the day is at hand. Present trials can bring grief, but the testing of faith leads to praise, honor, and glory when Christ appears, and faith receives the salvation of the soul as its end.
Faith must overcome difficulties, disappointments, trials and sharp assaults, for these test love and fidelity to God, and believers can turn defeats and mistakes into victories. That overcoming calls for active, living faith exercised in fighting the good fight and resisting temptation, with complete surrender of the will to God's will as the measure of love for Him, bearing burdens for Christ and serving Him. Keeping this faith means encouraging faith, talking faith, talking of Jesus, refusing to look on the dark side or on what is objectionable in others, because transformation of heart and character matters more than anything else. Cherished sin, unbelief and trust in self cannot preserve through the coming trial but can lead to apostasy and ruin, so present and future welfare depend on the faith brought into daily life, grounded and continually growing in spiritual understanding to stand unwaveringly and to stand the fire of Satan's assaults amid the terrible things happening all around.
Last Time and Deliverance
The last time of the verse is now, the very last days and the very close of this earth's history. Believers live very near the end and stand on the borders of the final conflict, with the night far spent and the day at hand. No mistake can be afforded then and eternal interests cannot be trifled with, for the salvation ready to be revealed is needed and must be had now. The promise is to be appropriated now by being begotten again to a living hope, quickened together with Christ with new life from Christ entering the soul and laying hold by faith of a new strong hope, which makes life useful during the short sojourn here. That keeping faith works by love and purifies the soul, gives life and vigor to mental powers and spiritual exercises, causes Christ's light to shine into the chambers of the mind, gives correct sight of invisible things, and makes the soul's language joyful and not doleful because the joy of the Lord is strength. Nothing else will keep them, for keeping requires being on Christ's side and standing by faith instead of drifting tossed like waves moved by wind, with truth from God that elevates and ennobles and refines and by which they are sanctified, and with sanctifying the Lord in the heart with a clean and pure heart.
That last time follows the proclamation of the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ in the third angel's message and the lighting of the earth with the glory of the angel from heaven that comes after it. Then the Son of man is soon to be revealed in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory to give the reward to the obedient. Being ready for that salvation to be revealed requires being prepared for temptations in order to stand, for the keeping operates amid heaviness through manifold temptations. Every step heavenward is opposed by evil angels cooperating with evil men, yet no trial comes upon a saint by chance or from the earth but comes in the providence of God who gives power to stand under it in order to work out an individual experience of highest value. Those who love God are carried through trials and afflictions and heaviness through many temptations as they cling to the Mighty One and trust Jesus implicitly even when tried as by fire, with rejoicing now that looks to praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ and to the salvation of their souls, guarding their unfading inheritance kept in heaven for them.
The guarding holds believers in the day of trial just ahead when sudden destruction comes. It holds them against Satan's false claim that this is a time of peace and safety. Those who copy his self-sufficiency and pride will fall as he fell from his place as covering cherub. God's power keeps those who have faith in His word from being swept into the final worldwide delusion of Spiritualism, and only those thus kept will escape. In the last time deceptive spirits work miracles to gather the world for battle against God, and people who trust the delusion are lulled into fatal security.
The keeping unto salvation is to be revealed in a special manner in the very close of probation and closing days of this world's history. Those are days of great trial of faith when iniquity abounds and the love of many grows cold through the deceptive workings of satanic agencies. Satanic agencies especially oppose the commandment-keeping people of God and bring trial and sorrow upon them, seeking to discourage those who show love for God by keeping His commandments and to torture them into unbelief by pressing the idea that God is displeased with them. No one can keep himself even for a moment, but all who believe in Jesus are kept by the power of God alone, which offsets the working of Satan through the children of disobedience to grieve and hurt every loyal soul who keeps the way of the Lord and does His commandments. The trials grow out of the conflict between truth and error over God's law, which began with warfare against God's law in heaven when Satan sought to bring God to his own ideas and force a change in the law of His government, was expelled, and determined to carry out on earth what he began in heaven by persuading men to be disloyal, perverting judgment and justice and trampling down God's law to revenge himself upon God.
Means of Keeping Power
The keeping is through faith, and nothing else will keep, for the last time is now when salvation ready to be revealed is needed and must be had, and being on Christ's side means being kept by His power while being on Satan's side means becoming an agent through whom Satan works to tempt and deceive, since he has come down with power working with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish and sends human agents with suggestions even to every soul who desires to serve God. That keeping faith is received by taking Christ by faith into the heart and cooperating with Him, and it works by love and purifies the soul, gives life and vigor to all mental powers and spiritual exercises, causes light from Christ to shine into the chambers of the mind, gives correct sight of invisible things, and makes the language of the soul joyful and not doleful or gloomy because the joy of the Lord is strength. By faith believers stand and are not to drift and be tossed like waves of the sea moved by the wind.
The keeping comes with truth from God that elevates and ennobles and refines, and by which believers are sanctified, and that implanted truth controls the life, preserves communion with God and integrity against discouragement and flattering inducements. Perfect trust lays weakness and need before God, claims His promises not because of personal worthiness but because Christ died, pleads the merits of His blood, and takes God at His word. Faith receives God's commands with trust and obeys them willingly and exactly, waits humbly for divine instruction rather than going ahead of or against His leading, distrusts self and relies completely on God for guidance, support, knowledge of His will and strength to obey it, puts entire trust in God and depends on His wisdom and not on human agents for strength, and makes every effort to walk uprightly, since knowingly breaking health laws is no basis for expecting grace to sustain and comfort, for that would encourage wrongdoing.
God keeps those who surrender entirely to Christ and keep looking to Jesus as author and finisher of faith, put whole trust in Him and do just as He tells them, take His yoke, link life with His, join heart to His heart and knit life to Him by hidden links, hold firm hold on Christ the Mediator, submit to be led and confide with living constant faith. Then He is a sure defense and strong fortress whose word is pledged, and believers are guarded safe in His love because the Redeemer has all power in heaven and earth and is fully able to keep every soul who trusts Him, delivering out of the hand of enemies, freeing from devices of evil men and evil angels, enabling to break bonds of sin and Satan so they may serve without fear in holiness and righteousness, with rest in His love, watchfulness and loving devotion, duty a delight, sacrifice a pleasure, and abiding peace. This keeping belongs to genuine conversion which always produces genuine love for Jesus and for all who love Him and for those for whom He died, and the faith that keeps grows stronger in proportion to the course followed, joined to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a heart united with Christ and a life bound to His, because Christ lives believers live also.
The keeping is done by the Holy Spirit when believers allow Him to control them, are made new by baptism of the Spirit, are born again and renewed and sanctified in the whole person, and are found and brought back with close pressing together and firm unwavering trust with Christ present to heal. To be kept means to put no confidence in self and daily know self is not to be trusted, to grasp promises with firm faith and ask for the Spirit with full realization of helplessness, so that the Spirit takes the contrite, self-distrusting heart into His keeping and brings to it all the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness without giving self the glory. Those daily under the Spirit's control become commandment-keeping people whose obedience brings reward in this life and eternal blessedness in the future, committing the keeping of the soul to God by living and walking by faith, trusting self no longer and giving self no glory but looking to Jesus as Advocate and Author and Finisher of faith; this the Spirit will do for the contrite heart but can never do where self interposes in self-importance and self-righteousness that in its own wisdom would mend itself.
God's keeping power works through holy angels guarding His people, with every family and each person under the watchcare of a holy angel commissioned to watch moment by moment and help every desire to do right, though the angels are invisible because natural eyes are not strengthened to discern their light. At times they let their light shine so distinctly that it is recognized, giving a glimpse of God's light to teach that the Lord loves and cares for the person and that His angels are guarding them. Such revealing is given to encourage to do right, to make hearts greatly encouraged and thankful for constant heavenly watchcare, to rejoice them when they search the Scriptures trying to be right and do right, and to give courage that Jesus hears prayer even when angels are not seen, with strength and grace to do all the good they are capable of doing, helping keep from sin and resisting the enemy's influence and guarding from Satan's violence day by day so they cannot be destroyed while they trust in Christ.
The keeping is sought through continual silent prayer with desires of the mind constantly ascending to God for help, light, strength, wisdom and knowledge, with unwearied petitions especially when surrounded by influences calculated to lead away from God, because daily temptations make prayer necessary and without it pride cannot be broken down nor power of temptation to sinful indulgences that keep from the Saviour be overcome. It comes through earnest prayer bracing for duty, through moment-by-moment trust in Him who gave His life for fallen humanity, through trial fitting for conflict, through cleansing from sin in the Lamb's blood, through rightly regarding the purchase of Christ's blood, through girding on every piece of the heavenly armor as safeguard against sin for success in work, through daily meditation examining motives, and through daily communion giving strength for duties and trials, with the sanctifying light of truth exposing sinful passions striving for mastery and demanding every effort to resist Satan in order to conquer through Christ's merits. Prayer does not replace earnest effort or faithful use of time, talents and opportunities, and both prayer and work together are required in forming and perfecting Christian character.
The keeping belongs to obedience to all God's requirements as commandment-keeping people in living connection with Him receiving continual strength from heaven, even amid the corrupting influence of transgressors of His law from the lowliest to those in the highest positions of trust. True repentance brings this keeping, with self subdued and Christ magnified and the life hidden with Christ in God, giving protection against fresh assaults and snares of Satan and drawing to God in earnest living faith. False repentance does not bring it, producing only make-believe reformation with continual uplifting and exaltation of self, and cherishing a darling sin or keeping a sensual indulgence, lust or indulgence that brings bondage and is dear as hand or eye refuses the condition for keeping, makes faith of no effect, prevents sacred nearness with God and causes deficient spiritual advancement.
Life Under God's Keeping
The chapter is to be studied, understood, and heeded as present admonition for this time. It is addressed to believing, commandment-keeping people who have a special work as faithful laborers together with God in the salvation of sinners, exhorting them to live godly lives and work earnestly for salvation while holding hope for the grace to be brought at Christ's revelation in a holy life of obedience. Ministers are urged to study its lessons faithfully and to entrust the keeping of souls to the living God rather than to human agency. Every soul is held responsible for the proper exercise of entrusted talents, for servants of Jesus Christ who know the truth and the power of His grace have an extensive and important mission to reveal truth's power with integrity and upright conduct, and following the Spirit of truth in willing obedience brings spiritual strength.
Through Christ's sacrifice every provision has been made to receive all things that pertain to life and godliness. God's keeping power working through faith is the source of the believer's strength unto the salvation to be revealed, and after the heart is renewed by divine grace in answer to prayer for a clean heart and a right spirit, those made partakers of the heavenly gift are to go on unto perfection, held secure as they continue to believe. God gives His virtue to His children and calls them to reach the highest standard of glory and virtue, and the perfection of Christ's character makes it possible to gain Christian perfection. By faith they lay hold of Christ's power and promises and earnestly seek the Holy Spirit's power, and they are made complete in Him, not with their own righteousness but with the righteousness which is by faith, for a noble, virtuous character and purity of life cannot be built apart from the grace of Christ.
Those who love one another as Christ has loved are born of God and kept by God's power through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Doing this God-given duty brings peace and quietude in the Lord and ennobles and uplifts the whole being, while neglecting it makes perfection of Christlike character impossible. This assurance belongs to everyone who receives God's grace sincerely and acts on His promises, to be relied on daily, with faith shown in words and deeds as they work for others, make known God's love and the happiness and blessedness found in His service, and reveal the power and efficiency of truth to the world. Genuine conversion always produces genuine love for Jesus and for all who love Him and for those for whom He died, when the heart is joined to Christ's heart and the life knit to Him by hidden links, and the faith that keeps grows stronger in proportion to the course followed. The keeping is for the faithful who heed Christ's warnings, take their stand on higher ground, look to Christ as helper, take Him into the heart as an abiding friend, and hold firm faith in the principles of truth for this time, and then His blessing rests upon them in large measure so the enemy cannot move them or lead them astray when every feature and pillar of faith is tested in the most trying way by strong temptation and sophistry like that brought to Adam and Eve.
God has chosen a people out of the world and keeps them by His power free from its contaminating influences, and while living in the world they are to remain forever separate from it and not be of it. His power keeps believers through faith from even desiring to leave His paths and enables them not to fall under temptation despite abounding iniquity and the corrupting influence of what they see and hear. Souls are always in peril, and no one is secure in own strength, but moment-by-moment trust in Him who gave His life for fallen humanity, earnest prayer bracing for duty, being alive to danger, trial fitting for the conflict, cleansing from sin in the blood of the Lamb, rightly regarding the purchase of Christ's blood, and girding on every piece of the heavenly armor give protection from the enemy's assaults and safeguard against sin for success in work. The infinite power guards the soul of the true child of God through faith for final salvation as he relies by faith on the Saviour, giving victory over the world so its pleasures, policies, pleasures and amusements cannot hinder or deceive, but he marches on in the strength of the Infinite One, keeps his mind fixed on God's promises, follows Jesus in self-denial, walks in Christ's light, and shines as a light to glorify the Father.
God alone keeps believers by His power through faith, and reliance on Him is necessary at every moment and throughout life. David's fall warns even those greatly blessed not to feel secure or neglect watchfulness and prayer, but to distrust own strength, recognize danger from temptation, and rely on God as strength and safety, for without divine keeping circumstances can gradually weaken the soul's defenses and guard purity only by watchfulness and prayer. Keeping requires stern personal vigilance and a daily individual experience in the things of God. Having the truth does not make anyone safe from falling, for a moment of carelessness can begin a course of sin ending in ruin, so hope is found only by constantly pleading to be kept, binding to Christ, exerting every energy to attain His character, exercising and maintaining faith with earnest determined effort, being present at every possible religious meeting among the few who meet to worship God, bearing uplifting testimony full of courage and hope and victory, and avoiding carelessness, negligence, and supposed excuses that let the enemy keep one away from where Jesus meets to bless His worshipers.
The verse gives rich morsels of food from the living oracles that comfort, strengthen, and bless feeble and afflicted believers and feed poor hungry souls who seldom have preaching, showing the large measure of God's love bestowed on His chosen ones. The keeping is personal and sure: God's arm is around His child, and even when faith feels feeble and the hold on Jesus feels weak, Jesus holds firmly the soul He died to save, supplying every deficiency and making the weak strong. It includes pledged pardon through the merits of Christ's blood blotting out all transgressions for those who seek Him, present help in every time of need with prompt and all-powerful aid to all who call upon Him, and preparation for the future life until the resurrection morning. When afflicted by the wrong course of others and left unhelped by human shepherds, believers are to keep faith and trust Jesus in every trying hour under every adverse circumstance, commit their case wholly to Him, hold His hand stretched out in pitying tenderness, refuse exasperation and retaliation, and give God glory, knowing Jesus knows it all, never fails, gave His precious life that they might believe and trust, and is able to keep the believing soul from being overcome even when Satan attacks with subtle temptations. Continual keeping by God's power through faith is reason for praise, gratitude, and sunshiny thankfulness, sustaining under heavy loads, cares, conflict and toil and preserving health and peace even in old age.
The promise is applied as prayer for a believer's preservation and future salvation. Present and future welfare depend on the faith brought into daily life, for being kept through faith is protection that must stand the fire of Satan's assaults amid terrible things all around, and Christians facing conflict and toil are kept as they advance humbly, with God supplying strength according to difficulties and enemies faced, so neither praise nor fear should turn them from loyalty to God. Their influence can be energetic in serving God and humanity while depending on God's preserving power, with the Holy Spirit's work agreeing with the written Word through which God gives reproof and warning. The soul must depend on God with simple increasing faith while faithfully using time, opportunities, privileges, and talents given during probation, constantly exercising faith because this world is an educating school to prepare to graduate to heaven above. Eternal destiny is decided by personal course of action, character must be formed in this life that welcome into the mansions Christ has gone to prepare may be possible, little things constitute life's discipline for training the soul and developing character for the courts above, and the grace of Christ works in and with every child of God while pressing from light to greater light and from strength to greater strength until more than conqueror through Him who loved and gave Himself, complete in Him. Thorough conversion keeps from exhibiting weak points and prepares for Christ's approval, while make-believe reformation misdirects and misuses God-given talents and does very little for God, calling for consecrated men and women to give themselves unreservedly with heart and soul and strength to appointed work including large city work and surrounding country, for steadfast character amid business cares, for workers and families, for leaders in the Southern field and in establishing a sanitarium and school in Washington, for W. C. White despite imperfections, for Smith, for Emma who cannot withstand assaults alone, and for a woman's usefulness.