But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
Jesus was hated without any just cause whatever, though He was pure, blameless and altogether lovely, doing only good and no harm. That hatred came after He had come and spoken to them and had done among them works that no other man did, which revealed the Father and left them with no cloak for sin. In this was fulfilled the word written in their law, that they hated Him without a cause. As He was hated for no just reason, His obedient followers who keep God's commandments and do His works may likewise be hated and persecuted without cause. He told His disciples beforehand about this hatred so they would not become discouraged or lose faith when persecution comes, but would bear it cheerfully and stand faithfully in sacred union with Him as branches in the true Vine.
Setting and Context
Jesus spoke these words to the eleven disciples alone in the upper chamber after Judas had left, near the close of His earthly ministry with a cruel death before Him. He was beginning to prepare them for His approaching separation, pointing them first to the great object of His mission and finding joy that all His humiliation and suffering would glorify the Father's name. They belong to His words of hope and comfort meant to strengthen His followers.
The saying belongs to His discourse in John 14 through 16, and more broadly to John 13 through 17, including the teaching on the true vine and branches in John 15. It was spoken to encourage the disciples through coming trials, and those chapters give believers courage and hope to stand firm in the hardest hour. He spoke plainly there about the difficulties and hatred they would meet in the world, because He knew every phase of experience and every conflict they would face. The dark prospect was mingled with the bright hopeful promise of the Comforter and their work as His witnesses, that they would remember His words when trial came, keep temper and a faith that works by love, maintain a Christlike untarnished reputation, and pass through manifold afflictions without being fretted, impatient, offended, or losing faith. This instruction was given before He left them to prepare and strengthen them for future trials and temptations and to keep His love, purposes, and plans in mind as they worked.
In that chapter God's will is plainly set out for all who claim to be Christians, and for those who minister in word and doctrine and know present truth. It is an important lesson about how to receive Christ's grace by meeting its conditions of obedience, to be believed, lived out, read, and obeyed. It calls for choosing Christ and His word over the world's approval in the face of the world's opposition to those who believe in Jesus. It is given to mold and fashion character after the divine similitude, as distinct branches drawing all sustenance from Christ the true Vine, daily emptied of self and prepared for the Holy Spirit, bearing fruit to the glory of God. Ministers are to believe every verse and live them out before fellow ministers in perfect unity and love, watching unto prayer and standing faithfully, needing reconversion to understand the philosophy of genuine missionary work.
Obeying means being a co-worker with Jesus Christ and practicing the lessons He gave by opening the door and welcoming back to the fold one who has been an adversary and has injured the soul, accepting confession and pleadings for another trial, doing all possible to save the soul, and refusing to close the door of hope. Refusing His conditions leaves people unready to belong to His people when He comes in glory. His rejection recorded there fulfilled the Scripture that He was hated without cause.
The words were spoken before His death and were repeated by the disciples to strengthen one another through disappointment and trial, though they did not fully understand them until after the resurrection. The teaching of the chapter harmonizes with His mission to bring good news to the meek, heal the brokenhearted, free captives, and comfort mourners, in a ministry that values and serves those in need rather than exalting self. It calls believers to respect Christ, trust Him, rest their helpless souls in hope on His promises, and live those promises before the world.
Hated Without Cause
There was no just cause whatever for disliking or hating Him, for He was pure and blameless and altogether lovely, embodying goodness and truth and righteousness and virtue, doing only good and no harm, with works that were perfect with the Father. Though He had done no harm, He was rejected and abused, and a robber and murderer was chosen in His place. Even faultless disciples who obey God can expect the same causeless hatred for loyalty to Him.
The hatred came after He had come and spoken to them and had done among them works that no other man did, which left them with no cloak for sin. His words and unmatched works revealed the Father and gave ample reason to believe, including John's positive testimony, yet the leading men rejected Him despite their claims to keep God's law. It was not for lack of evidence that the scribes and Pharisees hated Him, but from pride and unbelief and envy and jealousy.
His goodness and strict integrity set Him apart from others of His day and provoked that hatred, increasingly as the end approaches for those who show the same qualities. His works of mercy stood in sharp contrast to pride and selfishness and evil actions, and the leaders could not bear to see His goodness and mercy and tender sympathy shown even to people they despised. His blameless life and righteousness made Him a reproach to them, for His purity and holiness continually rebuked the proud and sensual people of His time, and their false words arose from that hatred and not from any fault in Him. The powers of darkness hated Him for that spotless purity as well, and this hatred ended in His crucifixion.
The scribes and Pharisees became envious because multitudes flocked to hear His plain, simple words and listened as if spellbound, and they determined to break His hold on the people by attacking His character. They maligned and persecuted Him though He is chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely, the very embodiment of virtue hated because He was better than they were, saying He was born in sin and cast out devils through the prince of devils. They envied the attention people gave His plain teaching and rejected Him with false accusations, choosing a robber and murderer in His place. In hating Him they hated both Him and His Father, revealing rejection of both, arising from not knowing the Father who sent Him.
Their hatred treated His innocence and good works as criminality, condemning Him without evidence and condemning Him to death. He was cruelly slandered and mocked and derided because of His unwavering obedience to God's law, and falsehoods and fabricated lies were spread to damage His influence and destroy it. That unjust reproach made persecution part of the Christian's experience and legacy.
Prophecy Fulfilled
His groundless hatred brought to fulfillment the word written in their law that he was hated without cause. That hatred fell upon him after he had come and spoken to them and had done among them works that no other man did, which left them with no cloak for sin and exposed their rejection of both him and his Father. His blameless life and righteousness stood in sharp contrast with the conduct of the Pharisees, making him a reproach to them, for he embodied goodness, truth, and righteousness and had done no harm, yet people rejected and abused him and chose a robber and murderer in his place. His goodness and strict integrity set him apart from others of his day and provoked that hatred, and those who show the same qualities will also be hated, increasingly as the end of time approaches. His innocence and good works did not prevent his being treated as a criminal and condemned without evidence, and as he was hated for no just reason, his obedient followers may likewise be hated and persecuted because they keep God's commandments and do his works.
The fulfillment was seen when the scribes and Pharisees became envious because multitudes flocked to hear his plain, simple words as if spellbound, and determined to break his hold on the people by attacking his character, saying he was born in sin and cast out devils through the prince of devils. Though he was chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely, the very embodiment of virtue, they maligned and persecuted him because he was better than they were. Their hatred was not for lack of evidence, for they had heard John's positive testimony and had seen his works, yet pride, unbelief, envy, and jealousy led them to hate both him and his Father when that hatred met his words and unmatched works. The same causeless hatred falls on all whose ways please God and who separate from the world and its customs in obedience to God, for the servant is not greater than his Lord.
The world's hatred of his followers fulfills the same written word, since followers who face hatred for his sake share the treatment their Master received. They must be able to say, as he could, that they were hated without cause. His undeserved hatred and slander show that reproach and persecution belong to the Christian legacy, and his followers should not faint under them.
Followers Hated Likewise
The saying stands inside a beforehand warning that those who follow him will meet trials, trouble, conflict and persecution from the world, and that reproach and persecution belong to the Christian legacy as a sharing with him in his sufferings. Religious leaders condemned and persecuted those who testified of him, and opposition to those who bear his sign and serve him should therefore not surprise his followers. His followers may be hated without cause exactly as he himself was hated, because they bear his sign and serve him.
As he was hated for no just reason, his obedient followers may likewise be hated and persecuted without cause because they keep God's commandments, do his works, and bear his sign in serving him, even though they are faultless and blameless in loyalty to God. His innocence and good works did not keep him from being treated as a criminal and condemned to death without evidence, though he was pure and did only good, and that unjust treatment shows that even faultless disciples can expect persecution for loyalty to God. The world's hatred of his followers fulfills the same written word that he was hated without cause, for followers who face hatred for his sake share the treatment their Master received and must be able to say, as he could, that they were hated without cause.
That hatred is stirred when followers straightforwardly lift up Jesus to bring people to him, for his followers share the opposition he faced. It arises because they separate from the world and its customs, refuse the path of transgression and disobedience that offends God, decline to join the world's schemes, and take a course that rebukes the world. Those whose ways please God and whose goodness and strict integrity set them apart provoke it, as his own goodness and strict integrity set him apart and provoked hatred against him, and those who show the same qualities will also be hated, increasingly as the end of time approaches. He was chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely, the very embodiment of virtue, yet was hated because he was better than they were, when scribes and Pharisees became envious because multitudes flocked to hear his plain, simple words as if spellbound and determined to break his hold by attacking his character, saying he was born in sin and cast out devils through the prince of devils, maligning and persecuting him with false accusations; the same causeless hatred falls on all whose ways please God and who separate from worldly customs, for the servant is not greater than his Lord. That hatred extends to his disciples because they will not follow transgression and disobedience to offend God, while he calls those who believe to be one in him through Christ in God by doing the obedience Christ gave to the Father, sharing the honor the Father gives the Son.
The same words apply to every believer after Christ left his royal throne, heavenly home, honor and glory to save perishing souls in a world where he was not appreciated but despised and rejected of men. They apply to everyone who does duty to the Saviour in home life and church life, sows the gospel seed in all places, and as a faithful steward of his grace suffers unkindness and hatred of men for well-doing, with opposition and misrepresentation. Such trials, opposition and hardships are part of the Christian legacy and a sharing with Christ in his sufferings, to be borne cheerfully without complaint, discouragement or fainting, and without worry over the mischief of unruly tongues. In them believers are to represent Christ in meekness, standing faithfully to bear the testimony of truth and the last message to a guilty world, with the promise of sharing with him in his glory.
Comfort and Faithful Living
Jesus told His disciples beforehand about the difficulties, trials, trouble, conflict and hatred they would meet from the world, because He knew every phase of experience and every conflict they would face. He spoke these words in John 14 through 16 to encourage them through coming trials and to give believers courage and hope to stand firm in the hardest hour. He told them beforehand so that when persecution comes they would not become discouraged, doubt, be fretted and impatient, lose faith, lose temper, or take offense, but would keep faith that works by love, maintain a Christlike untarnished reputation, remember His words when the time of trial came, and know that God is with them. He mingled the dark prospect with the bright hopeful promise of the Comforter and their work as His witnesses, giving instruction to prepare and strengthen them for future trials and temptations and to keep His love, purposes and plans in mind as they worked.
Under reproach and persecution they are not to faint, complain, or lose heart, but to bear trials, opposition and hardships cheerfully without discouragement or fainting and without worry over unruly tongues and the mischief they do. They are to represent Him in meekness and stand faithfully to bear the testimony of truth and the last message to a guilty world, even rejoicing as the prophets persecuted before them did, with the promise of sharing with Him in His glory. The same words that describe how He left His royal throne, heavenly home, honor and glory to save perishing souls where He was not appreciated but despised and rejected, and was cruelly slandered, mocked and derided with falsehoods and fabricated lies spread to damage His influence because of unwavering obedience to God's law, apply to every believer who does duty to the Saviour in home life and church life, sows the gospel seed in all places, and as a faithful steward suffers unkindness, opposition, misrepresentation and hatred for well-doing as part of the Christian legacy and a sharing with Him in His sufferings.
The verse is applied as a call to come into right relation to God by loving Him, keeping His commandments, being happy in His love, and making entire surrender to God. It calls for searching the heart in business relations and every other line to see where one has worked counter to His law, humbling the soul before God, seeking the Lord, confessing where wrong, overcoming lack of love and unwillingness to bear any cross or difficulty, and letting light shine forth because the Lord is working with them. The discourse in John 15 sets out the conditions of receiving Christ's grace, and refusing them leaves people unready to belong to His people when He comes in glory.
Believers are called into sacred union with God as distinct branches drawing all sustenance from Christ the true Vine, daily emptied of self and prepared for the Holy Spirit, doing the obedience He gave the Father, being one in Him through Christ in God, and sharing the honor the Father gives the Son. They are to be molded and fashioned after the divine similitude, to respect Him, trust Him, rest their helpless souls in hope on His promises, live those promises before the world, walk humbly with God, and hide the life in Christ rather than relying on personal merit or following the path of transgression and disobedience that offends God. In that life they are to believe every verse and live them out in perfect unity and love toward one another, bearing fruit to God's glory, opening the door and welcoming back to the fold one who has been an adversary and has injured the soul, accepting confession and pleadings for another trial, doing all possible to save the soul, and refusing to close the door of hope. In that unity the human takes hold of the divine nature, making it possible to grasp divinity and escape the corruption in the world through lust, and to see the salvation of God in a remarkable manner.
He must do a great work to prepare them to stand in the grand review at the Judgment, and that preparation must begin at once. He stands on the side of those who labor unitedly and heartily with all their ability to overcome the enemy's temptations, revealing Himself to them step by step so they are never alone but work for victory, for heaven, and to see the King in His beauty. Those on His side seek eternal life to enter through the gates into the city where there is no more death, no more sin, no more temptation, no devil and no Lucifer, where children of beautiful character are welcomed in and have right to the tree of life, for earthly history will soon close.
Jesus was hated without any just cause whatever, though He was pure, blameless and altogether lovely, doing only good and no harm. That hatred came after He had come and spoken to them and had done among them works that no other man did, which revealed the Father and left them with no cloak for sin. In this was fulfilled the word written in their law, that they hated Him without a cause. As He was hated for no just reason, His obedient followers who keep God's commandments and do His works may likewise be hated and persecuted without cause. He told His disciples beforehand about this hatred so they would not become discouraged or lose faith when persecution comes, but would bear it cheerfully and stand faithfully in sacred union with Him as branches in the true Vine.
Setting and Context
Jesus spoke these words to the eleven disciples alone in the upper chamber after Judas had left, near the close of His earthly ministry with a cruel death before Him. He was beginning to prepare them for His approaching separation, pointing them first to the great object of His mission and finding joy that all His humiliation and suffering would glorify the Father's name. They belong to His words of hope and comfort meant to strengthen His followers.
The saying belongs to His discourse in John 14 through 16, and more broadly to John 13 through 17, including the teaching on the true vine and branches in John 15. It was spoken to encourage the disciples through coming trials, and those chapters give believers courage and hope to stand firm in the hardest hour. He spoke plainly there about the difficulties and hatred they would meet in the world, because He knew every phase of experience and every conflict they would face. The dark prospect was mingled with the bright hopeful promise of the Comforter and their work as His witnesses, that they would remember His words when trial came, keep temper and a faith that works by love, maintain a Christlike untarnished reputation, and pass through manifold afflictions without being fretted, impatient, offended, or losing faith. This instruction was given before He left them to prepare and strengthen them for future trials and temptations and to keep His love, purposes, and plans in mind as they worked.
In that chapter God's will is plainly set out for all who claim to be Christians, and for those who minister in word and doctrine and know present truth. It is an important lesson about how to receive Christ's grace by meeting its conditions of obedience, to be believed, lived out, read, and obeyed. It calls for choosing Christ and His word over the world's approval in the face of the world's opposition to those who believe in Jesus. It is given to mold and fashion character after the divine similitude, as distinct branches drawing all sustenance from Christ the true Vine, daily emptied of self and prepared for the Holy Spirit, bearing fruit to the glory of God. Ministers are to believe every verse and live them out before fellow ministers in perfect unity and love, watching unto prayer and standing faithfully, needing reconversion to understand the philosophy of genuine missionary work.
Obeying means being a co-worker with Jesus Christ and practicing the lessons He gave by opening the door and welcoming back to the fold one who has been an adversary and has injured the soul, accepting confession and pleadings for another trial, doing all possible to save the soul, and refusing to close the door of hope. Refusing His conditions leaves people unready to belong to His people when He comes in glory. His rejection recorded there fulfilled the Scripture that He was hated without cause.
The words were spoken before His death and were repeated by the disciples to strengthen one another through disappointment and trial, though they did not fully understand them until after the resurrection. The teaching of the chapter harmonizes with His mission to bring good news to the meek, heal the brokenhearted, free captives, and comfort mourners, in a ministry that values and serves those in need rather than exalting self. It calls believers to respect Christ, trust Him, rest their helpless souls in hope on His promises, and live those promises before the world.
Hated Without Cause
There was no just cause whatever for disliking or hating Him, for He was pure and blameless and altogether lovely, embodying goodness and truth and righteousness and virtue, doing only good and no harm, with works that were perfect with the Father. Though He had done no harm, He was rejected and abused, and a robber and murderer was chosen in His place. Even faultless disciples who obey God can expect the same causeless hatred for loyalty to Him.
The hatred came after He had come and spoken to them and had done among them works that no other man did, which left them with no cloak for sin. His words and unmatched works revealed the Father and gave ample reason to believe, including John's positive testimony, yet the leading men rejected Him despite their claims to keep God's law. It was not for lack of evidence that the scribes and Pharisees hated Him, but from pride and unbelief and envy and jealousy.
His goodness and strict integrity set Him apart from others of His day and provoked that hatred, increasingly as the end approaches for those who show the same qualities. His works of mercy stood in sharp contrast to pride and selfishness and evil actions, and the leaders could not bear to see His goodness and mercy and tender sympathy shown even to people they despised. His blameless life and righteousness made Him a reproach to them, for His purity and holiness continually rebuked the proud and sensual people of His time, and their false words arose from that hatred and not from any fault in Him. The powers of darkness hated Him for that spotless purity as well, and this hatred ended in His crucifixion.
The scribes and Pharisees became envious because multitudes flocked to hear His plain, simple words and listened as if spellbound, and they determined to break His hold on the people by attacking His character. They maligned and persecuted Him though He is chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely, the very embodiment of virtue hated because He was better than they were, saying He was born in sin and cast out devils through the prince of devils. They envied the attention people gave His plain teaching and rejected Him with false accusations, choosing a robber and murderer in His place. In hating Him they hated both Him and His Father, revealing rejection of both, arising from not knowing the Father who sent Him.
Their hatred treated His innocence and good works as criminality, condemning Him without evidence and condemning Him to death. He was cruelly slandered and mocked and derided because of His unwavering obedience to God's law, and falsehoods and fabricated lies were spread to damage His influence and destroy it. That unjust reproach made persecution part of the Christian's experience and legacy.
Prophecy Fulfilled
His groundless hatred brought to fulfillment the word written in their law that he was hated without cause. That hatred fell upon him after he had come and spoken to them and had done among them works that no other man did, which left them with no cloak for sin and exposed their rejection of both him and his Father. His blameless life and righteousness stood in sharp contrast with the conduct of the Pharisees, making him a reproach to them, for he embodied goodness, truth, and righteousness and had done no harm, yet people rejected and abused him and chose a robber and murderer in his place. His goodness and strict integrity set him apart from others of his day and provoked that hatred, and those who show the same qualities will also be hated, increasingly as the end of time approaches. His innocence and good works did not prevent his being treated as a criminal and condemned without evidence, and as he was hated for no just reason, his obedient followers may likewise be hated and persecuted because they keep God's commandments and do his works.
The fulfillment was seen when the scribes and Pharisees became envious because multitudes flocked to hear his plain, simple words as if spellbound, and determined to break his hold on the people by attacking his character, saying he was born in sin and cast out devils through the prince of devils. Though he was chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely, the very embodiment of virtue, they maligned and persecuted him because he was better than they were. Their hatred was not for lack of evidence, for they had heard John's positive testimony and had seen his works, yet pride, unbelief, envy, and jealousy led them to hate both him and his Father when that hatred met his words and unmatched works. The same causeless hatred falls on all whose ways please God and who separate from the world and its customs in obedience to God, for the servant is not greater than his Lord.
The world's hatred of his followers fulfills the same written word, since followers who face hatred for his sake share the treatment their Master received. They must be able to say, as he could, that they were hated without cause. His undeserved hatred and slander show that reproach and persecution belong to the Christian legacy, and his followers should not faint under them.
Followers Hated Likewise
The saying stands inside a beforehand warning that those who follow him will meet trials, trouble, conflict and persecution from the world, and that reproach and persecution belong to the Christian legacy as a sharing with him in his sufferings. Religious leaders condemned and persecuted those who testified of him, and opposition to those who bear his sign and serve him should therefore not surprise his followers. His followers may be hated without cause exactly as he himself was hated, because they bear his sign and serve him.
As he was hated for no just reason, his obedient followers may likewise be hated and persecuted without cause because they keep God's commandments, do his works, and bear his sign in serving him, even though they are faultless and blameless in loyalty to God. His innocence and good works did not keep him from being treated as a criminal and condemned to death without evidence, though he was pure and did only good, and that unjust treatment shows that even faultless disciples can expect persecution for loyalty to God. The world's hatred of his followers fulfills the same written word that he was hated without cause, for followers who face hatred for his sake share the treatment their Master received and must be able to say, as he could, that they were hated without cause.
That hatred is stirred when followers straightforwardly lift up Jesus to bring people to him, for his followers share the opposition he faced. It arises because they separate from the world and its customs, refuse the path of transgression and disobedience that offends God, decline to join the world's schemes, and take a course that rebukes the world. Those whose ways please God and whose goodness and strict integrity set them apart provoke it, as his own goodness and strict integrity set him apart and provoked hatred against him, and those who show the same qualities will also be hated, increasingly as the end of time approaches. He was chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely, the very embodiment of virtue, yet was hated because he was better than they were, when scribes and Pharisees became envious because multitudes flocked to hear his plain, simple words as if spellbound and determined to break his hold by attacking his character, saying he was born in sin and cast out devils through the prince of devils, maligning and persecuting him with false accusations; the same causeless hatred falls on all whose ways please God and who separate from worldly customs, for the servant is not greater than his Lord. That hatred extends to his disciples because they will not follow transgression and disobedience to offend God, while he calls those who believe to be one in him through Christ in God by doing the obedience Christ gave to the Father, sharing the honor the Father gives the Son.
The same words apply to every believer after Christ left his royal throne, heavenly home, honor and glory to save perishing souls in a world where he was not appreciated but despised and rejected of men. They apply to everyone who does duty to the Saviour in home life and church life, sows the gospel seed in all places, and as a faithful steward of his grace suffers unkindness and hatred of men for well-doing, with opposition and misrepresentation. Such trials, opposition and hardships are part of the Christian legacy and a sharing with Christ in his sufferings, to be borne cheerfully without complaint, discouragement or fainting, and without worry over the mischief of unruly tongues. In them believers are to represent Christ in meekness, standing faithfully to bear the testimony of truth and the last message to a guilty world, with the promise of sharing with him in his glory.
Comfort and Faithful Living
Jesus told His disciples beforehand about the difficulties, trials, trouble, conflict and hatred they would meet from the world, because He knew every phase of experience and every conflict they would face. He spoke these words in John 14 through 16 to encourage them through coming trials and to give believers courage and hope to stand firm in the hardest hour. He told them beforehand so that when persecution comes they would not become discouraged, doubt, be fretted and impatient, lose faith, lose temper, or take offense, but would keep faith that works by love, maintain a Christlike untarnished reputation, remember His words when the time of trial came, and know that God is with them. He mingled the dark prospect with the bright hopeful promise of the Comforter and their work as His witnesses, giving instruction to prepare and strengthen them for future trials and temptations and to keep His love, purposes and plans in mind as they worked.
Under reproach and persecution they are not to faint, complain, or lose heart, but to bear trials, opposition and hardships cheerfully without discouragement or fainting and without worry over unruly tongues and the mischief they do. They are to represent Him in meekness and stand faithfully to bear the testimony of truth and the last message to a guilty world, even rejoicing as the prophets persecuted before them did, with the promise of sharing with Him in His glory. The same words that describe how He left His royal throne, heavenly home, honor and glory to save perishing souls where He was not appreciated but despised and rejected, and was cruelly slandered, mocked and derided with falsehoods and fabricated lies spread to damage His influence because of unwavering obedience to God's law, apply to every believer who does duty to the Saviour in home life and church life, sows the gospel seed in all places, and as a faithful steward suffers unkindness, opposition, misrepresentation and hatred for well-doing as part of the Christian legacy and a sharing with Him in His sufferings.
The verse is applied as a call to come into right relation to God by loving Him, keeping His commandments, being happy in His love, and making entire surrender to God. It calls for searching the heart in business relations and every other line to see where one has worked counter to His law, humbling the soul before God, seeking the Lord, confessing where wrong, overcoming lack of love and unwillingness to bear any cross or difficulty, and letting light shine forth because the Lord is working with them. The discourse in John 15 sets out the conditions of receiving Christ's grace, and refusing them leaves people unready to belong to His people when He comes in glory.
Believers are called into sacred union with God as distinct branches drawing all sustenance from Christ the true Vine, daily emptied of self and prepared for the Holy Spirit, doing the obedience He gave the Father, being one in Him through Christ in God, and sharing the honor the Father gives the Son. They are to be molded and fashioned after the divine similitude, to respect Him, trust Him, rest their helpless souls in hope on His promises, live those promises before the world, walk humbly with God, and hide the life in Christ rather than relying on personal merit or following the path of transgression and disobedience that offends God. In that life they are to believe every verse and live them out in perfect unity and love toward one another, bearing fruit to God's glory, opening the door and welcoming back to the fold one who has been an adversary and has injured the soul, accepting confession and pleadings for another trial, doing all possible to save the soul, and refusing to close the door of hope. In that unity the human takes hold of the divine nature, making it possible to grasp divinity and escape the corruption in the world through lust, and to see the salvation of God in a remarkable manner.
He must do a great work to prepare them to stand in the grand review at the Judgment, and that preparation must begin at once. He stands on the side of those who labor unitedly and heartily with all their ability to overcome the enemy's temptations, revealing Himself to them step by step so they are never alone but work for victory, for heaven, and to see the King in His beauty. Those on His side seek eternal life to enter through the gates into the city where there is no more death, no more sin, no more temptation, no devil and no Lucifer, where children of beautiful character are welcomed in and have right to the tree of life, for earthly history will soon close.