Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 26, 1892
Editorial.
By Editor
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable."—2 Tim. 3:16.
"FOREVER, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Ps. 119: 89, 105.
THE past year has been a prolific one in storm, pestilence, and disease. Despite the advance of science it finds itself puny before these mighty warriors. God has foretold all these in his word.
To REJECT the miracles recorded in the Pentateuch, or books of Moses, is to reject the Pentateuch itself; and to reject the Pentateuch is to reject Christ, for Christ everywhere indorses, either directly or by implication, the writings of Moses. He said to the unbelieving Jews: "Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" John 5: 45-47. Faith in the Christ is faith in the word which he spoke through Moses and the prophets.
The Written Word Sufficient.—In the New York Observer of some months ago there is a brief, pointed little article by "Clericus" on "Christ's Unwritten Words," which closes with the following:—
It seems an unspeakable loss to the world that it has the benefit of no more of the words spoken by the Saviour during his ministry here. But the divine Author of the Gospels knew best what and how much should be written, and doubtless we have all that is really needful to teach us concerning God, our duties to him and to one another, the nature of acceptable worship, the future life, and the way of salvation. More than this we do not need. What we know not now, we shall know hereafter.
Yes, the divine Author knew best, and he has given all that is necessary. But he did not give us either command or example for the observance of the first day of the week as the Sabbath, or as a Sabbath. We have heard of ministers who taught that the Sunday sabbath was one of Christ's unwritten commands. It certainly is not among his written ones, and the written word is sufficient.
THE year 1892 has seen any amount of trouble in the industrial world. Strike has followed strike and piled upon strike without number, three of these disturbances in the United States culminating in open armed resistance and loss of life. Labor and capital have waged relentless war, with the results always in favor of capital, as it always will be till the enraged mob overthrows the money kings and tyrannical monopolies and corporations, and erects a worse tyranny on the ruins. Will it be better? Rather will it not, as delineated in the prophetic word, "wax worse and worse"? But there is light overhead. To the poor the Lord says, "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord." See James 5: 1-7. Christ, the righteous Judge, is coming.
DECIDE NOW.
By Editor
How many there are who, as they look back over the old year, with its blasted hopes and moral failures, will resolve in the beginning of the new year, just about to dawn, to never fail again. Year after year bitter tears are shed over the failures, year after year new resolutions are made, going over and over again the same ground, and year after year is marked by defeat, and failure to overcome the propensities of the natural man. Why is it? The tears are sincere; the resolutions are honest; those who make them mean to keep them. Many of those who thus resolve, in fact, the most of them, are professed Christians, and ask and expect the Lord to help them. What, then, is the matter?
There may be many reasons why failure and defeat forever triumph, but we wish to point out two which are applicable in most cases of this kind. The first is that we depend on the resolutions and our sense of honor in keeping them to carry us through, and the second is, we only decide on special occasions, such as our birthdays, New Year's day, etc., to do better; so that the very things which we thought would keep us from falling have ministered to our defeat. The resolutions and the times of making them are enemies instead of friends. But let us leave in sincere penitence all the defeats, the failures, the sin, the heartache, at the foot of the cross, and in His strength go forward, making 1893 a glorious success. How?
1. Let all the failures of the past teach us this lesson, that we have no strength in ourselves. We may sincerely wish to do right; so Paul was "pleased with the law of God according to the inward man." We make good resolutions; and he said, "To will is present with me." But we fail in these resolutions, even as he found, "but how to perform that which is good I find not." He was trying to do in his own strength, and so are we. We depend on the resolutions, and our honor in keeping them; but the resolutions are no stronger than we, and we are no stronger than our failures. In the words of the Scripture, we are "without strength."
If we will but realize the truth of this fact, so clearly revealed by God, so many times confirmed by our failures, we will seek to the One who is stronger, and who is not far from every one of us. All power in heaven and earth is his. He created the heavens and earth by his power. He spake and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast. He has met the great adversary of all righteousness and vanquished him. He has taken upon himself all the weaknesses of sinful mortal flesh, that he might sympathize with us, and know just how and where and when to help us. Infinite wisdom and power are pledged by Infinite Love to help us. Trust in him, not in human resolution, honor, or weakness; "for even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint." Isa. 40:30, 31. Blessed words, which cannot fail! Precious assurances to the very weakest of humanity; for "He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might He increaseth strength." Verse 29.
2. Do not trust to any special time or occasion for receiving help from God, or in living nearer to him, save one, and let that time be TO-DAY, NOW. "To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." Behold, NOW is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Cor. 6:2. Give yourself to God to-day. You belong to him; he has purchased you, in all your poverty of soul and sinfulness of heart. He bought you, that upon you he might place his beauty. He wishes to do it now. He is not like a man who is so busy that he is compelled to say, "Not now, some other time." He is not like a monarch, now angry, but whom we hope will be approachable by and by. He wants you to come now; he has bidden you come now; and he declares, as in the Revised Version above, that now is "the acceptable time" for coming.114Therefore yield to God now. As you awaken in the morning, let this thought take possession of you, that you belong to God.
Say unto him: "Father, I belong to thee; and I therefore yield myself to thee to-day, body, soul, and spirit. Every organ of body and mind is thine; take them and use them to thy glory." Let it be the prayer of the heart. Have you a desire for aught of the world?—Bring it to God. Do you long for some of its blessings?—Leave them with God. Make him first at all times. When the provocation comes, school yourself to remember your Saviour, and yield to him right there and then. When the tempting pleasure comes, right then yield to God. Live in the now, yield to Christ now, believe in him now, and every day will mark a glorious new year of a life ever growing brighter and brighter unto the dawning of that perfect day, when the fullness of the bliss of the kingdom of God will be one eternal now. Reader, why not decide for God to-day, now.
BACKWARD AND FORWARD.
By Editor
It is more restful in a long journey occasionally to have some steep hills to climb, if for nothing else than from their summit to look back over the ground traversed, and forward to what lies before. A constant dead level becomes wearisome in its monotony. Such a summit of a hill is the close of the old year and the opening of the new. Such a retrospect of the past, and introspection of the present and future, are nowhere more profitable than in the religious life, and in the progress of the work of God in the earth.
The only proper standard by which to judge of past, present, and future is authentic history and the facts of the present, illumined and revivified by the truth of God’s word, which also opens to us in no small measure the future. If we follow our own standards, if we judge by the light of our own faint, flickering tapers, if we judge by the standard of the present age, which is ever boastful of its attainments in knowledge and righteousness, we shall be wofully led astray.
In the religious world the year has been indeed a noted one. There has been greater consecration on the part of many individuals, we believe, than before for years; but there has been greater backsliding on the part of the great churches, or at least clearer manifestations of backsliding from God. Do not turn away, reader, but pause and note some of the evidences everywhere visible. Advancement in spiritual life is not shown by increase in wealth, increase in numbers, increase in great institutions, increase in worldly and political influence. All these may be manifest, as they are indeed at the present time, but they are not evidences that the church knows more of Christ, or has more of his power. Neither are great efforts put forth for union and coöperation such evidence. There is a union which counts some of the plainest truths of God nonessential, and puts the expediency of man above the truth of God. The only true union is union with Jesus Christ through God’s word. But true advancement in spiritual life is marked, has always been marked, by greater consecration to God, greater sacrifice and self-denial in the daily life, a clearer separation from worldly aims, policy, principles, and methods, more
of the power of godliness in transforming men from the influences of selfishness to the likeness of Christ, and bringing forth in them the fruits of the Spirit instead of the works of the flesh.
Greater reverence for the word of God, greater boldness in speaking that word, and greater devotion to him whom that word reveals, are marked evidences of progress in the spiritual life. Less laudation of men, and more prayer and praise to God, make the growing church. Do we see these in the great churches of the present time—churches that in the past did such noble work? It is an easy matter for men who have reaped their millions from the people to build great churches, and schools, and institutions; but it is not such works which show love to God. Love is revealed by sacrifice. The widow with two mites gave more than the wealthy Pharisee who bestowed gold.
There never was a time since the early church was riven and torn by heresies that there was so much talk of “union” and “unity” as now. But what is that union?—It is on a parallel with the “Christian charity” or “liberty” now so much vaunted. The charity, or love, of the Bible “rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.” But a large part of that called Christian love by the world will minify or despise some of the plainest declarations of God’s word, while it magnifies some institutions and things which have no place in the Bible. The “union” so much talked of at present is a union which sets aside the truth of God, and makes the rallying point the traditions of men.
Do we wish evidence of this?—Look at the federations of churches to-day. We have in this country the American Sabbath Union, the Y. P. S. C. E., the W. C. T. U., the National Reform Association, all federations of Protestant church members, or those so disposed, all rallying around an institution—the Sunday—for which no authority whatever is found in the word of God, which is wholly based on Roman Catholic traditions, and which makes void in the heart of him who receives it the commandment of God. Upon this they are united in the one respect of asking, yes, demanding, a law for the observance of the day. Upon any Bible question of importance, with reference to any great and vital truth, it is safe to say no such unanimity could be secured. These organizations, notably the National Reform Association, the American Sabbath Union, and the W. C. T. U., have lobbied, cajoled, flattered, and threatened politicians, till Congress yielded a few months since, and a United States Sunday law is the result, launching the ship of State on the sea of religious legislation, the rocks and shoals of which have wrecked and stranded so many noble craft in the past. Just previous to this the Supreme Court decided this to be a “Christian nation.”
Politicians have bent under the influence of the religious confederacies, and our glorious republic has started on her downward career. The church by this action has turned from Christ, the source of all her power, and sought the power of the State. She thus denies her lawful husband, Christ, and commits fornication. But, blind to this, she looks upon her political influence, her prosperity, her power to sway
the politicians, as evidence of God’s favor. Even so things went with Rome in the days of Constantine. The ripe fruit was reaped in the Dark Ages. Matters move with greater celerity in these days.
In Europe the influence of the Papacy is growing apace. Even in Protestant Germany, the home of Luther, the center of the Reformation, men are fined for speaking derogatory of Roman Catholicism, and books which show the Papacy in prophecy are prohibited in the free city of Hamburg.
What the future will reveal, God’s word has plainly delineated. Sad as it is to pen the sequel, we dare not do otherwise. The inevitable logic of facts, the history of all the past, show what is sure to follow the backsliding of the church, and her union with the world. It is the persecution of those who will do God’s will. The unparalleled corruption and extravagance of the nations betoken, as they always have, disintegration and destruction. And even so God’s word reveals. Joel 2 and 3, Revelation 13, 14, 17, and 18, Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and many other passages, all show that we are living in the last days, and that the end of this Sunday-sabbath movement is persecution of the saints of God, of those who will do God’s will.
Are we discouraged?—Not at all. Are we pessimistic?—Nay, verily. God lives and reigns. Jesus Christ died for all; he lives for all; he pleads for all; he opens wide the door of grace, wondrous grace, for all. He invites all to come. He not only entreats, but sends a warning message to the uttermost parts of earth to point out the sure consequences, the terrible destruction, which will await those who forsake God and his gospel, and turn to the world and its tradition. See Rev. 14: 6–14.
From among those to whom that message goes God will save his people. Upon them he will pour out his Spirit more abundantly than the church has ever known, not excepting the day of Pentecost. Few though they be in number, unpopular in the world, the power of God will be with their message, for it is his message. And they will triumph gloriously over the beast and his image, his mark, and the number of his name, triumph gloriously in the Lord Jesus Christ. Great progress, greater than any previous years, has marked this work during 1892. We look for still greater blessings in the year to come.
Reader, will you not study these things in the light of God’s word, in the light of eternity? Will you not, in the beginning of the new year, yield to God, whatever others may do? Will you not let his light shine through you? If you do, it will indeed be to you what we earnestly wish, a happy new year.
Sunday Opening and Religious Rage
By Editor
The New York Observer of December 8 says of Sunday opening: “Infinitely better to accept this closing provision as the decision of the people, than to encounter the indignation which will ensue, and the withdrawal of patronage by a large class of outraged citizens.” It would have been nearer correct if the Observer had said “enraged.” Rage on the part of religionists has always been a prominent characteristic of religious legislation.
The Finishing of the Mystery of God
By Uriah Smith
MAN'S SIN AND SAVIOUR. NO. 8.
BY ELDER U. SMITH.
The Finishing of the Mystery of God.
[The article previous to this was a consideration of the 2300 days of Dan. 8:14. It was shown that these were symbolical days, or years, that they were divided by the vision of the ninth chapter of Daniel into 7 weeks of years, 62 weeks, 1 week, and the remainder, which of course would be 1,810 years. Those days began in 457 B.C.; the first period (7 weeks) ended in 408 B.C.; the second, in 27 A.D.; the third, in 34 A.D., with a middle ending in the spring of 31 A.D., marking the crucifixion; and that the whole period of 2300 days ended in 1844. At this date the present article begins.—Ed.]
But this momentous epoch was not reached and passed without an appropriate movement to mark it in the Christian world. The most remarkable religious agitation of modern, if not of any, times, reached its climax with the ending of those days. We refer to the great advent movement, which, having its focuses in America and England, radiated to every civilized land and to every missionary station on the globe.
In the summer of 1844, from a careful and prayerful study of prophecy and history, it was learned that the long period of 2300 days would end in the autumn of that year. The particular point in the autumn was fixed from the type. Adventists understood that it was to be the antitype of "the cleansing of the sanctuary," and that the antitype of every type must fall on the same day of the year and month to which the type was fixed. In the type the sanctuary was cleansed on the tenth day of the seventh month (Lev. 16: 29-34), and, therefore, on the corresponding day in the year, the antitype of the cleansing of the sanctuary would be fulfilled; and the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month in 1844 fell on the 22d day of October. This is why that day was fixed upon as the great day for the consummation of all things.
It might be properly asked why it was thought that the Lord would then come. That idea arose from a misunderstanding of this subject of the sanctuary. It was then supposed that the earth was the sanctuary, and that its cleansing was to be by fire at the second coming of Christ. So it was thought that to say, "Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed," was equivalent to saying, "Then shall the Lord appear, and the earth be cleansed with fire." And then, regarding the coming of the Lord as the great event upon which the mind should be fixed, they dropped all else and simply said, "Then will the Lord appear." Thus the day was fixed for the coming of the Lord, in the greatest time movement that has ever taken place.
Had the subject of the sanctuary been then understood as it is now understood, it would have been seen that at the end of the days the Lord, our great High Priest, would, instead of coming to this earth, simply change his position from the holy place to the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, to perform his final work of cleansing the sanctuary by atoning for the sins of the people.
The opening of this scene is described in Dan. 7:9, 10, 13, 14. It is here affirmed that the Ancient of Days "did sit," or, as the word means, "took his seat as Judge in a court of justice." The Son of Man, the Advocate and Mediator, was brought in with a grand procession of the heavenly host, to confess before the Judge the names of his people, and then receive his kingdom. The books were opened, and the judgment was set. And when this work of judgment is finished, our Lord will be invested with his royal robes, and no longer act as priest, but reign as king, and come without sin unto salvation, King of kings and Lord of lords, for the salvation of his people. Heb. 9:28; Rev. 19:11-16.
There are several important prophecies which bring this work to view and locate it at the time mentioned. The vision of Revelation 10 is one of these. John says that he saw a mighty angel come down from heaven; and, standing with one foot on the sea and the other on the land, he lifted up his hand to heaven and swore that time should be no longer. This must refer to prophetic time, as literal time and probationary time are both spoken of as immediately following. This being the case, we are here brought to the end of the 2300 days; for this is the longest prophetic period in the Bible, and reaches to a point of time later than any other. And if prophetic time ended with the angel's oath, there the 2300 days ended. Then the prophet added, "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." What the prophets declared was to take place at the end of prophetic time, Daniel has brought to view as the cleansing of the sanctuary, already described. John says that the mystery of God was then to be finished. We have seen what the cleansing of the sanctuary is, and now we shall find that the finishing of the mystery of God is the same thing; for the mystery of God is the gospel. Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:3; Gal. 1:11, 12; Eph. 1:9, 10; Col. 1:26, 27. And the finishing of this mystery is of course the finishing up of the gospel work for the world, and the close of probation, which is the very work accomplished by the atonement and the cleansing of the sanctuary.
Another prophecy which alludes to this same time and work is found in Rev. 11:19: "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament." This is also an event to take place under the seventh angel, as in the prophecy last noticed (verse 15); but this brings to view, perhaps a little more clearly, the nature of the event; for it speaks of the opening of some apartment in the heavenly temple in which the ark is seen. But we know that the ark was always to be found in the most holy place of the sanctuary, and there only. Therefore, we know that John was here looking into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. But more than this, we know that the apartment where the ark was, was only opened on one particular and definite occasion; and that was when the atonement was to be made, and the sanctuary to be cleansed. When, therefore, John had this view, under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the time had come for the heavenly sanctuary to be cleansed. Previous to this time the work of the sanctuary had been done in the first apartment. Now it was transferred to the most holy place.
The reader can hardly fail to note here the wonderful harmony that appears, as these prophecies are touched upon. Daniel says that at the end of the 2300 days the sanctuary shall be cleansed. John hears an angel announcing the end of prophetic time, which is the end of those days; and then, with no break in the consecutive order of events, he says the work of finishing the mystery of God would be entered upon. But the finishing of the mystery of God is the close of the gospel, a work inseparably associated with that which Daniel located at the same time, and calls the cleansing of the sanctuary. And this work the angel declared would be at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. Then again bringing to view events to take place under the sounding of this trumpet, he notes another feature of the scene, and says that that apartment of the temple of God was opened in heaven, in which the ark was seen. But the ark was always in the most holy place, and the opening of that apartment was necessary to the cleansing of the sanctuary and the finishing of the mystery of God, as already noticed. Thus the testimony all comes together in the most complete harmony.
THAT WHICH POINTS OUT SIN.
Another point in this prophecy seems worthy of notice before dismissing the subject: John very significantly declares there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament. The ark was called the ark of the testament, because it contained the tables of the ten commandments, and the fact that it is still called the ark of the testament as seen in heaven, down under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, shows that it contains the same law that was placed in the ark in the4typical sanctuary here on the earth. Hence it follows that God gave a duplicate, only, for the earthly sanctuary, and keeps the great original in the temple above.
Another thought will show that the law in heaven must be identically the same as it existed on the tables of stone. It was with reference to that law written on the tables of stone, and spoken by God himself from Mount Sinai, that the priests in the typical services performed all their ministry. Back there the law was real and sin was real, but the services and ceremonies by which sin was taken away were typical and shadowy. But those priests ministered unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. Heb. 8:3-5. And the apostle elsewhere tells us that "the body" of all those shadows is of Christ. Col. 2:14-17. Their work was a shadow of Christ's work, their ministry a figure of his. They took away sin in figure to show that Christ was to take away sin in fact.
Now it will be seen that Christ must minister with reference to the very same law which was the object of their ministry; for if he did not, then their work was not an example and shadow, or type, of his, and the relation of the two dispensations as type and antitype is destroyed. The law, then, which is binding in this dispensation, that law the transgression of which is still sin, as stated by the apostle (1 John 3:4), still reads exactly as it did on the tables of stone; and the fourth commandment of that law still enjoins the original seventh day as the Sabbath.
Thus, in contemplating man's sin and Saviour, we see where we are in the great process of putting away sin. Our Lord is accomplishing his last work as Mediator for mankind. There before the ark in the heavenly temple, beneath the cover of which—the mercy seat—lies God's immutable law, our Mediator stands to receive from his children their supplications for pardon and mercy. Only over that broken law can we now approach him. And dare anyone do so while living in known violation of any of its sacred precepts?
And soon the work will be finished. We go forward a little into the future and behold the sins of all the righteous loaded upon the head of the antitypical scapegoat, to be put away forever. This is a point of transcendent interest to the people of God; for then we take our first draught from the cup of immortality.
Another scene of thrilling moment still remains, and that is the kindling of those final fires at the end of the thousand years, prepared for the devil and his angels. Matt. 25:41. Here is the perdition of ungodly men (2 Peter 3:7), and here all the agents of evil, root and branch, Satan and all his hosts, are destroyed from the universe of God (Mal. 4:1). The deepest taint of the curse is then burned out of the earth, the last vestige of disgrace is removed, and from the ashes of the old earth there will spring, by a new act of God's creative power, a new heavens and a new earth, in more than Eden glory, in which the righteous shall forever dwell. 2 Peter 3:13. "Behold," exclaims He who sits upon the throne, "I make all things new." Rev. 21:5. Then shall come the glorious time described by John, when every creature which is in heaven and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, will be heard saying, "Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5:13.
Then may it be said, not only of man's sin, but of all sin, that it has been most fittingly banished, yea, eternally banished, from all God's wide domain, while before his people Christ will stand forth, not only as their Creator, but as their Saviour and Redeemer, God blessed forever. Rom. 9:5.
THE NEW YEAR LEDGER.
By Amelia E. Barr
I SAID one day a year ago,
I wonder, if I truly kept
A list of days when life burnt low,
Of days I smiled, and days I wept—
If good, or bad, would highest mount
When I made up the year's account.
I took a ledger, fair and fine,
And now, I said, when days are glad,
I'll write with bright red ink the line,
And write with black when they are bad,
So that they'll stand before my sight
As clear apart as day and night.
I will not heed the changing skies,
Nor if it shine, nor if it rain;
But if there come some sweet surprise
Of friendship, love, or honest gain,
Why, then, it shall be understood
That day is written down as good.
When hands and brain stand labor's test,
And I can do the thing I would,
Those days when I am at my best
Shall all be traced as very good;
And in "red letter," too, I'll write
Those rare, strong hours when right is might.
And when pure, holy thoughts have power
To touch my heart and dim my eyes,
And I, in some diviner hour
Can hold sweet converse with the skies,
Ah, then my soul may safely write,
"This day hath been most good and bright."
What do I see on looking back?
A red-lined book before me lies,
With here and there a thread of black,
That, like a passing shadow, flies—
A shadow, it must be confessed,
That often rose in my own breast.
And I have found 'tis good to note
The blessing that is mine each day;
For happiness is vainly sought
In some dim future far away.
Just try my ledger for a year,
Then look with grateful wonder back,
And you will find there is no fear,
The red days far exceed the black.
—Advance.
UNION OF THE BELIEVER WITH CHRIST.
By William Covert
BY ELDER WILLIAM COVERT.
JUST before Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane to suffer for the sins of the world, he bore us all before his Father's throne in holy supplication that we should be kept by omnipotent power in holy union with the Father, with himself, and with each other. A portion of that prayer was expressed in the following words:—
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me." John 17:20-23.
The mystery of this union is the mystery of godliness. Paul writes of it, saying it "is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Col. 1:27. In the citation above from the prayer of Christ the reader will notice a triple union, or Christian trinity. In this union, Christ forms the link which unites the believer to the Father. Christ was emptied of himself, that he might receive the Father in himself and reveal him to man. Self in man is also to be crucified, that Christ may dwell in him. At one time Jesus said to his disciples, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. . . . I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me." John 14:9-11. Christ claimed that he was in the Father and also that the Father was in him. So also should the Christian let Christ dwell in him and he dwell in Christ at the same time.
Please also to notice that this mysterious union is essential that the world may know that the Father hath sent the Son, and that they may also know that the Father has loved man as he has loved Christ.
There is no one thing that keeps the sinner away from God like the blindness of his heart concerning the Father's love for him. Could he but see and feel the power of that love as it is revealed in the gospel of Christ, it would break through every barrier that prevents that union, and man would become one with God again. The apostle described this union when he wrote as he did in Gal. 2:20:—
"I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
From the above scripture it is seen that the crucifixion of man must take place before he can receive Christ within. As expressed elsewhere, it is the flesh that is to be crucified, with the affections and lusts. Gal. 5:24. But the flesh, with the affections and lusts, constitutes self. What a happy exchange is offered every sinner,—just to yield up polluted self, and receive instead the Son of God! The power of the Holy Spirit brought to the heart by the indwelling of the Saviour, brings with it the atmosphere of heaven, and places in the mind of the believer its fruits, which are "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance."
These blessed principles are the emanations of Christ, who is in this manner fulfilling the righteousness of the law in his children. It was this planting of the divine attributes in the human heart through the process of regeneration that Paul referred to when he wrote of his own experience, saying, "It pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen." Gal. 1:15, 16.
When the life of Christ is seen repeated in the Christian, the beholder must acknowledge that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world, because such a life can only come from above. It is not natural for fallen man to be so. This same transformation is also an undeniable evidence of God's love for man, for had it not been that God loved man as he loved his own Son, he never would have given that Son to the world and for the world. It is when Christ is thus revealed in his children that others can behold him. It is when thus lifted up that men are drawn unto him. How can they be drawn to Christ where he is not? How can they come to Christ where he is not found in the one who invites them?
That union with Christ is also seen in the union of believers with each other. The prayer of Christ was, "That they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."
Christ is recognized most familiarly in the brotherly love of his disciples. Said Jesus, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John 13:35. Love is of God. "If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." Again it is written, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." John 3:14. Herein is seen a trinity which is the blending together in unity the Father, the Son, and man, through the gospel of Jesus Christ. This union connects man with the strength of the Almighty One, and makes him "meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." Col. 1:11, 12. God does not want his children to be defeated by the power of Satan; therefore he comes through the mysterious power of this heavenly union to dwell with them and keep them from the power of the enemy. Just as Christ was about to be separated bodily from his disciples and leave them till the end of this age, without his personal presence, he gave them the perpetual promise of his presence, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Matt. 28:20.
In ancient times God's people enjoyed the same protection and strength, for David wrote: "I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." Ps. 16:8.
This theme is certainly but poorly comprehended or appreciated by professed Christians at present. Too many are to-day as Judas, the brother of James, was when he asked the Lord, saying, "How is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?"117John 14:22. Are we ready to apply the answer of the Saviour to our own experience? "If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." Verse 23.
No limit is placed to the righteousness and spiritual power that will come to the believer through this union and fellowship with heaven. Through this union Paul was even enabled to "take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake." 2 Cor. 12:10. When he was weak then he was strong. Strange paradox is this, but herein is strength, in becoming nothing that Christ may be all in all.
The power of this nothing is real in that it enables the man that Satan was expecting to conquer, to be entirely swallowed up in Christ, so that Satan finds not the man at all, but in his stead he finds Christ. Here, then, is the mighty power of God, which becomes the weapons of our warfare, which the apostle says "are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." 2 Cor. 10:4, 5.
This is complete and triumphant victory over all the power of Satan. This victory is for man when he is wholly united with God in Christ.