“Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now perfected in the flesh?” Galatians "3":3 Paul makes it clear in his letter to the Romans that the sinner depends on the grace of God for his salvation. In Galatians, he shows us that the believer depends equally upon that grace for his […]
“That he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word.” Ephesians "5":26 God’s highest revelation of the Church is seen in this letter. Its outstanding feature is that it starts not with sinners being saved but with their having been chosen in Christ. Thus in Ephesians, something transcendent is
“They gave him wine to drink mingled with "gall": and when he had tasted it he would not drink.” Matthew "27":34 To condemn a man to the cross was to condemn him to an agonizing death, but it was permitted to alleviate the sufferings of the crucified by offering a drink of gall mixed with
“If so be that ye heard him.” Ephesians "4":21 After I was saved, I used to feel dissatisfied with Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost. It did not, I thought, make things clear at all, for there is nothing in it about the plan of salvation. How strange that Peter did not even use
“Then Job arose and rent his robe and shaved his head and fell down upon the ground and worshipped.” Job "1":20 In the mystery of His ways, God permitted Job to be deprived of everything he possessed, though He Himself had just borne witness of him that there was “none like him in the earth,
“If there is therefore any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love . . . if any tender mercies and compassions.” Philippians "2":1 How timely here are the words “in Christ.” Suppose that Paul had exhorted his brothers in Philippi to be united in love and mercy and compassion; they could well have answered
“And he that is of a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” Proverbs "17":27 Our spirit needs to be fervent yet also to be cool. Fervency is related to diligence in the service of the Lord, whereas coolness is related to knowledge. If the Christian would simply bear in mind that God cannot lead
“If there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians "4":8 The cause of much poverty of thought lies in thinking too extravagantly. Learn to conserve your thought, not waste it. Exercise your mind, but do not exhaust its energy on insignificant things. Are you studying the Bible? Do
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our "likeness": and let them have dominion . . . over all the earth.” Genesis "1":26 Already in God’s act of creation, He makes known His desire that man should rule. Moreover, He marks out a specific area—namely the earth—for His dominion. God’s attention
“Ye are God’s husbandry.” 1 Corinthians "3":9 The natural trend of things in this fallen world is always away from God. Suppose we take so apparently innocent a matter as agriculture. No one would suggest that in Eden where the tree of life flourished, farming or gardening was wrong. It was God-appointed. But as soon
