Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
God is the one who establishes ministers and believers together in Christ and anoints them. The anointing is with Christ as the Anointed One, who took human nature to walk with humanity so that by associating with him believers may receive the glory and character God gave him. Those whom God establishes and anoints he also seals and gives the earnest of the Spirit in their hearts. God alone can impress the mind and purify the heart.
God will not fail to establish in Christ those who exercise simple faith day by day, for as the truth united them to the Saviour at the beginning, he as author and finisher of faith perfects the work he has begun. As they cooperate with God in the work given them they go forward from strength to greater strength through the faithfulness of God who called them to fellowship with his Son. This pledge belongs not only to Israel but to all who obey God's word, including those living amid the perils of the last days, whom God regards as a holy people chosen to be specially his own.
The anointing is the power of the grace of Christ, to be received daily in its fullness by those who come to him with full purpose of heart, even as Christ himself was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power without measure. Even the poorest person who denies self, lifts the cross and follows Christ may receive his glory and moral image, but only by following him in the transformation of the entire being in regeneration, for during probation eternal destiny is decided by cultivating earnest piety and unreserved self-sacrifice to become complete in the likeness of his image. The same anointing teaches all truth and causes believers to abide in him, producing love, joy, peace and every fruit of the Spirit.
In establishing believers, God comforts them in all tribulation, so that as sufferings abound consolation also abounds in Christ, enabling them to comfort others in trouble with the same comfort from God, and this establishing, anointing, sealing and comforting is for all to enjoy. This anointing is the preparation needed to be ready to meet the Lord when he appears with power and great glory. The anointing honors believers as co-partners with Jesus Christ in the firm of heaven and as heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus, and appoints them as ministers to hold forth the word of life for the salvation of a perishing world and to be lights of the world, binding all their interests with Christ's interests and uniting with him to obtain the qualifications for their appointed mission.
Because God establishes and anoints, no one is to be exalted as supreme and no one is to suppose himself infallible because enlightened and used by God to bring souls to the truth, and no Christian worker or leader is to claim dominion over the faith or consciences of believers, since endowments are valuable only as God's entrusted talents used to magnify the truth. The one through whom God works is never to exalt self or seek to rule, but as a wise steward to work in sincerity and humility, to impart what has been received, to speak the truth in love in a clear and decided manner to enlighten others, to lead by kindly persuasion, and to reveal Christlikeness of character.
God places ministers in a high and holy position as his mouthpiece to open his word to others, which requires self-denial, simple food that the stomach can digest without clouding the brain, keeping the body in the best condition of health, and living practical godliness so that truth is recommended and righteous judgment is possible. In every assembly Christ is present, angels ascend and descend the heavenly ladder, a living connection is made between earth and heaven, and God's glory shines on the congregation, so ministers must have clear discernment, speak under the influence of his Spirit with unclouded minds, and guard the door of the lips against anything that causes disturbance.
God is the one who establishes ministers and believers together in Christ and anoints them. The anointing is with Christ as the Anointed One, who took human nature to walk with humanity so that by associating with him believers may receive the glory and character God gave him. Those whom God establishes and anoints he also seals and gives the earnest of the Spirit in their hearts. God alone can impress the mind and purify the heart.
God will not fail to establish in Christ those who exercise simple faith day by day, for as the truth united them to the Saviour at the beginning, he as author and finisher of faith perfects the work he has begun. As they cooperate with God in the work given them they go forward from strength to greater strength through the faithfulness of God who called them to fellowship with his Son. This pledge belongs not only to Israel but to all who obey God's word, including those living amid the perils of the last days, whom God regards as a holy people chosen to be specially his own.
The anointing is the power of the grace of Christ, to be received daily in its fullness by those who come to him with full purpose of heart, even as Christ himself was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power without measure. Even the poorest person who denies self, lifts the cross and follows Christ may receive his glory and moral image, but only by following him in the transformation of the entire being in regeneration, for during probation eternal destiny is decided by cultivating earnest piety and unreserved self-sacrifice to become complete in the likeness of his image. The same anointing teaches all truth and causes believers to abide in him, producing love, joy, peace and every fruit of the Spirit.
In establishing believers, God comforts them in all tribulation, so that as sufferings abound consolation also abounds in Christ, enabling them to comfort others in trouble with the same comfort from God, and this establishing, anointing, sealing and comforting is for all to enjoy. This anointing is the preparation needed to be ready to meet the Lord when he appears with power and great glory. The anointing honors believers as co-partners with Jesus Christ in the firm of heaven and as heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus, and appoints them as ministers to hold forth the word of life for the salvation of a perishing world and to be lights of the world, binding all their interests with Christ's interests and uniting with him to obtain the qualifications for their appointed mission.
Because God establishes and anoints, no one is to be exalted as supreme and no one is to suppose himself infallible because enlightened and used by God to bring souls to the truth, and no Christian worker or leader is to claim dominion over the faith or consciences of believers, since endowments are valuable only as God's entrusted talents used to magnify the truth. The one through whom God works is never to exalt self or seek to rule, but as a wise steward to work in sincerity and humility, to impart what has been received, to speak the truth in love in a clear and decided manner to enlighten others, to lead by kindly persuasion, and to reveal Christlikeness of character.
God places ministers in a high and holy position as his mouthpiece to open his word to others, which requires self-denial, simple food that the stomach can digest without clouding the brain, keeping the body in the best condition of health, and living practical godliness so that truth is recommended and righteous judgment is possible. In every assembly Christ is present, angels ascend and descend the heavenly ladder, a living connection is made between earth and heaven, and God's glory shines on the congregation, so ministers must have clear discernment, speak under the influence of his Spirit with unclouded minds, and guard the door of the lips against anything that causes disturbance.