May 12
9
Precious in my sight
Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life (Isaiah 43:4).
Just think, if all your hope is Christ Jesus, then the judgment of God toward you was fully accomplished when Christ Jesus laid down his life in your place on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). “Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle (Isaiah 42:25). Having satisfied justice and redeemed you from the curse of the law by being made a curse for you, the LORD God is well-pleased for his righteousness sake; Christ Jesus has magnified the law and made it honorable for you. The Holy Spirit of God speaks into your heart, saying, “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior” (Isaiah 43:1-3). Oh, can’t you just camp out right there! Why did God do this for such a sinner amongst so many just like me? – Clay Curtis
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Sovereign Grace
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
Sovereign grace is not a religious denomination or theological movement. It is a concise expression of the clear teaching of scripture that describes who God is and how He saves a sinner.
God is sovereign. He is the most high God (Gen 14:22), supreme and elevated in authority, character, dignity and worth above all His creatures. He is not accountable to anyone (Job 33:13). He does as He pleases, when He pleases, with whom He pleases (Is 46:10). He is not dictated to nor influenced in any degree by anyone or anything and cannot be questioned or hindered in anything that He does (Dan 4:35, Rom 11:34).
Grace is God’s eternal favor and blessing upon a sinner who neither deserves it nor seeks it. Grace is salvation. Grace is Christ and all of the benefits of His meritorious life and sin-atoning death bestowed upon the wretch who is worthy of only condemnation and punishment.
Sovereign grace is the sovereign God purposing and promising to be gracious to whom He would be gracious, and then bringing to pass that purpose and making good on that promise by putting those objects of grace in Christ and Christ in them (1Cor 1:30, Col 1:27). – Chris Cunningham
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At the cross alone
(J. C. Philpot, “Meditations on the Blessed Redeemer”)
“Jesus has become our wisdom and our righteousness
and sanctification and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ, through which the world has been
crucified to me, and I to the world.” Galatians 6:14
An experimental knowledge of crucifixion with his crucified Lord, made Paul preach the cross–not only in its power to save, but in its power to sanctify. The cross is not only the meritorious cause of all salvation–but is the instrumental cause of all sanctification. As there is no other way of salvation than by the blood of the cross–so there is no other way of holiness than by the power of the cross. Through the cross, that is, through union and communion with Him who suffered upon it, not only is there a fountain opened for all sin–but for all uncleanness!
All our . . .
pardon and peace, acceptance and justification, happiness and holiness,
wisdom and strength, victory over the world, mortification of the body of sin and death,
hope and confidence, prayer and praise, gracious feelings, spiritual desires,
warm supplications, honest confessions, godly sorrows for sin, spring from the cross!
At the cross alone can we . . . be made wise unto salvation, become righteous by a free justification, receive of His Spirit to make us holy, and be redeemed and delivered from . . .
sin, Satan, death and hell.
To the cross we are to bring . . . our sorrows, our trials, our temptations, our sufferings,
to get life from His death, pardon and peace from His atoning blood, justification from His divine obedience, and resignation to the will of God from His holy example.
At the cross alone is . . . the world crucified to us, and we to the world; sin mortified, and its reigning power dethroned; the old man crucified and put off, and the new man put on.
For the most part, it is only through a long series of . . . afflictions, bereavements, disappointments,
vexations, illnesses, pains of body and mind, hot furnaces, and deep waters, as sanctified to his soul’s profit by the Holy Spirit, that the child of God comes to the cross.
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Of God is Christ Jesus made unto Us Sanctification
Sanctification is holiness. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. The Lord Jesus told the thief on the cross he would be with him that day in glory. But the thief had his hands and his feet nailed to the cross? Holiness is not in the hands and the feet but in Christ. The Spirit of Christ in the believer makes us one in Christ so that we are no more in the flesh but in the Spirit; though our bodies are yet flesh (Romans 8: 8-10.) This takes away the self-sanctifiers boasting in himself and in what he constrains others to do (Gal 6: 13.) But when of God Christ is made unto us Sanctification then the believer is made a new creation so that we glory only in the Lord (Gal 6: 14-15.) Nothing mortifies the lusts of our flesh, like this glorious good news, in Christ every believer is a saint as fit right now to enter into God’s presence as those saints already there (Col 1: 12.) — Clay Curtis
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How shall they reach the heavenly shore?
“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” 1 Corinthians 1:30
Consider what heavenly blessings there are for those who have a living union with the Son of God. Everything is provided for them, that shall be for their salvation and their sanctification. Not a single blessing has God withheld that shall be for their eternal good. View them as foolish and ignorant—unable to see the way—puzzled and perplexed by a thousand difficulties—harassed by sin—tempted by Satan—far off upon the sea. How shall they reach the heavenly shore?
God, by an infinite act of sovereign love, has made His dear Son to be their “wisdom,” so that none shall err so as to err fatally—none shall miss the road for lack of heavenly direction to find it or walk in it. Their glorious Head will bring them to their heavenly inheritance. He opens up His word to their heart—He sends down a ray of light into their bosom, illuminating the sacred page and guiding their feet into the way of truth and peace. If they wander—He brings them back. If they stumble—He raises them up. And whatever be the difficulties that beset their path, sooner or later some kind direction or heavenly admonition comes from His gracious Majesty. Thus his gracious Lord leads him safely along through every difficulty—until He sets him before His face in glory!
J.C. Philpot.
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“But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom.” 1 Corinthians 1:30
TO survey the effects of this manifold wisdom on individual character will exalt our views of Christ as the wisdom of God. To see a man “becoming a fool that he may be wise”—his reason bowing to revelation—his knowledge and attainments laid beneath the cross—his own righteousness surrendered—“counting all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord”—and as a little child receiving the kingdom of God; oh, how glorious does appear in this the wisdom of God, the light of which shines in Jesus’ face! Behold how determined is the Father, in every step of His grace, to humble the creature, and to exalt, magnify, and crown his co-equal Son, Lord of all!
We see Jesus the mediatorial Head of all wisdom and counsel to the Church. “It pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell.” “In whom,” says the same apostle, “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” He is the “Wonderful Counselor,” of whom it was thus prophesied, “the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” O divine and precious truth! unutterably precious to a soul having no resources adequate to the great purposes of knowing self, Christ, and God; of salvation, sanctification, and guidance.
Reader, are you wanting the “wisdom that is profitable to direct” you at this moment? Acquaint now yourself with Jesus, in whom all the treasures of this wisdom are hid. What is His language to you? The same which Moses, the great legislator, spoke to the people of Israel: “The cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.” What a cheering invitation is this! A greater than Moses speaks it, and speaks it to you. You find your case baffling to human wisdom, too difficult for the acutest skill of man—take it, then, to Jesus. How sweetly He speaks—“bring it unto me.” One simple exercise of faith upon His word will remove all that is difficult, make simple make simple all that is complex, and lucid all that is dark in your case. With Him nothing is impossible. To Him all is transparent. Knowing the end from the beginning, there can be nothing unforeseen in it to His mind; by His prescience all is known, and by His wisdom all is provided for. His precious promise is, “I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not: I will lead them in a path that they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” Thus is Jesus “made of God unto us wisdom,” that all our perplexities may be guided, and all our doubts may be solved, and all our steps may be directed, by one on whom the anointing of the “spirit of wisdom and understanding” rests “without measure;” and who, from experience, is able to lead, having trod every step before us. “And when he puts forth His own sheep, he goes before them, and the sheep follow Him.” “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally:” let him repair to Christ, whom God has set up from everlasting, “to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God.” Octavius Winslow.
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God’s purpose
“That no flesh should glory in His presence.” 1 Corinthians 1:29
Man may glory in himself—but God has forever trampled man’s glory under foot. God’s purpose is to stain the pride of human glory. When Adam fell to the very depths of creature depravity, all his glory was forever lost—the pride of the creature was forever stained. No creature shall ever, in the sight of God, glory in itself! We must take the crown off of human pride—and set it upon the head of Him who alone is worthy to wear it!-J.C. Philpot.
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A DIVINE CHALLENGE
“How precious are Your thoughts unto me, O God!”
“This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time — then my covenant with David my servant — and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me — can be broken, and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne.” — Jeremiah 33:20-21
It is remarkable how often God’s revealed thoughts have for their theme, the immutability of His covenant; as if the contemplation of His own inviolable faithfulness formed the mightiest of all topics of comfort and consolation for His believing people. Here He makes a solemn appeal to the constancy of the natural world — as a pledge and guarantee of His unchanging fidelity in spiritual things. Nothing seems so undeviating as the succession of day and night — the revolution of the seasons. The sun sinking at eventide in the golden west, and rising again like a giant refreshed. “While the earth remains,” said the Great Creator over His own world, as it emerged of old from the waters of the Deluge, “seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
In our motto-verse, using human language as a vehicle of Divine thought, He makes the challenge, ‘If you can forbid that sun to rise — if you can put drags on his burning chariot wheels, and prevent him from setting — if you can forbid the moon to hang her silver lamp from the vault of night, or pluck the stars from their silent thrones — if you can transpose summer’s heat and winter’s cold — if you can make seed-time belie its promise to expecting autumn — then — but not until then, shall I break My covenant with My chosen servants!’
“Just as the heavens cannot be measured and the foundation of the earth cannot be explored, so I will not consider casting them away forever for their sins. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
It is delightful thus to look around us on the steadfast and unvarying sequences in the material universe, and to regard them as sacraments of grace — silent witnesses for the inviolability of God’s word and promise. Nature, in her majestic constancy, becomes a temple filled with monuments, each bearing the inscription, “God who cannot lie!” The God of nature and the God of grace are one — and He who for the last six thousand years has given such proof of unswerving faithfulness in the one economy — (for “they continue this day according to Your ordinances”) — will be equally faithful in fulfilling the more permanent provisions of the other. “Look up to the skies above, and gaze down on the earth beneath. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like flies — but My salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end!”
It is an “everlasting covenant, well-ordered in all things, and sure.” How can it be otherwise, seeing it is founded on the work and righteousness of Jehovah-Jesus, Immanuel — God with us! Before one provision of that covenant can fail, immutability must first become mutable — and God Himself cease to be God! Standing on this “sure foundation,” we can boldly utter the challenge, “Who is he that condemns?” Not God the Father — for “He has justified.” Not Christ — for “He has died.” Not angels in the heights above, not devils in the depths beneath.
Universal nature, in the ceaseless hymn of her own constancy, proclaims and celebrates our covenant security and safety. Her four great evangelists, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter — endorse the utterances of the inspired volume. In the mouth of the two witnesses, “Day and Night,” every word is established. Thus, with reference not only to the glory and wisdom and power of God — but to His purpose and promise of salvation for His people, “Day unto day utters speech; and night unto night shows knowledge.” “But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations!”-John MacDuff, 1864.
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What shall she know?
The Church, speaking thus in the person of Ephraim, says, “Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord.” Hosea 6:3 What shall she know? She shall know—that the Lord’s hand supported her through all her temptations—that none of the devices of Satan against her have prospered—that all her temporal trials have worked together for her good—that God has made use of the things that seemed most against her that they might be most for her—that He has overruled every dispensation so as to make it a dispensation of mercy—that He held her up when she must otherwise have utterly fallen—that God was the Author and the Finisher of her faith, the source of her hope, and the fountain of her love. She shall know—that she has not had one trial too heavy—nor shed one tear too much—nor put up one groan too many. She shall know that all these things have in a most mysterious and inexplicable manner worked together for her spiritual good.
J.C. Philpot.
Four choice privileges
“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.” John 10:9
Jesus, the great I AM, is the entrance into the true church, and the way of access to God Himself. He gives to the man who comes to God by Him, four choice privileges:
1. He shall be SAVED. The fugitive man-slayer passed the gate of the city of refuge, and was safe. Noah entered the door of the ark, and was secure. None can be lost—who take Jesus as the door of faith to their souls. Entrance through Jesus into forgiveness—is the guarantee of entrance by the same door into Heaven. Jesus is the only door, an open door, a wide door, a safe door; and blessed is he who rests all his hope of admission to glory, upon the crucified Redeemer!
2. He shall go IN. He shall be privileged to go in among the divine family, sharing the children’s bread, and participating in all their honors and enjoyments. He shall go in to the chambers of communion with God, to the banquets of love, to the treasures of the covenant, to the storehouses of the promises. He shall go in unto the King of kings in the power of the Holy Spirit—and the secret of the Lord shall be with him.
3. He shall go OUT. This blessing is much forgotten. We go out into the world to labor and suffer—but what a mercy to go in the name and power of Jesus! We are called to bear witness to the truth, to cheer the disconsolate, to warn the careless, to win souls, and to glorify God. And as the angel said to Gideon, “Go in this your might,” even thus the Lord would have us proceed as His messengers, in His name and strength.
4. He shall find PASTURE. He who knows Jesus—shall never lack. Going in and out shall be alike helpful to him. In fellowship with God he shall grow—and in watering others he shall be watered. Having made Jesus his all—he shall find all in Jesus. His soul shall be as a watered garden, and as a well whose waters shall never fail. C.H. Spurgeon.
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Sanctification
In the new birth, regeneration, God’s elect are given a new, holy nature. By the imparting of Christ’s nature to us, the Holy Spirit sets us apart from the rest of Adam’s fallen race; and we are sanctified (2 Peter 1:4; Hebrews 12:14). Our old nature of flesh does not become less sinful or more holy. The old nature is not changed at all. God has put a new nature, a new heart, a new spirit, a new will within us. And that new man, being born of God is holy and cannot sin. (I John 3:9).- Don Fortner.
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Why attend the gospel?
“Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25
The church of God operates according to the law of love (with the motive of love). Although the benefits and blessings rendered to us by our loving heavenly Father is incomprehensible, we do not assemble together in His blessed name to get something from Him, we come together with the motive to render worship unto Him Who loved us and gave Himself for us – “The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.” John 4:23.
We see the glorified church in heaven doing the same – “The four and twenty elders (representative of the complete church) fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne.” Revelation 4:10. If indeed Christ is preached there is no scriptural motive for believers to absent themselves from the worship of Christ with other believers, – “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” Mt 18:20. Love for Christ and the worship of Christ being the chief motive, there are many good things that flow from this. It is an encouragement to other believers as we “consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works”.
Our love for the brethren as we are one in Christ brings us together in exhortation (“exhorting one another”) to faithful worship, being of one mind, one accord, and one Spirit. Our faithful (or unfaithful) attendance of the gospel of Christ speaks volumes to those who are without Christ. Our love (or lack thereof) for Christ, His gospel and for each other is a witness and testimony to our lost family, friends and neighbors. God may use this means (love and faithfulness) to bring them under the gospel and reveal Christ to them as well. However, if He doesn’t, what a blessing and privilege it is to meet with those whom we love in Christ and worship Him in the preaching and hearing of the gospel! Tommy Robbins.
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