NovemBer 15, 1903 was prospering him in the matter to which he had called him, he evidently was full of joy and satisfaction and peace. So it should be with all the Lord’s people who have been called to be heirs of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ their Lord, for “an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled and fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept through faith and by the power of God unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.” They, too, should realize that the proper way to show their appreciation of the Lord’s promised blessings is by a manifestation of faith in him, confidently trusting and rejoicing in these. Wherever we find fear, trepidation, unrest, we may know that these are symptoms of some spiritual mal Vou. XXIV ZION’S WATCH TOWER ALLEGHENY, PA., (435-436) ady; because whatever may be the outward disturbances, troubles, vexations, it is the privilege of those who are the Lord’s to have the peace of God which passeth all understanding continually ruling in their hearts. It is their privilege to realize fully, thoroughly that all things are working together for good to them because they love the Lord, and with this thought of their call to the kingdom and of the Lord’s willingness that they should serve therein, and with the assurance that he will give grace and glory and no good thing withhold from those who walk uprightly, we certainly have reason for thankfulness and heart-rejoicing before him. DECEMBER 1, 1903 No. 23 “HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOR!” CHRIST, THE INSTRUCTOR, JUSTIFIER, SANCTIFIER AND DELIVERER OF HIS PEOPLE. “Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, [justification], and sanctification, and redemption [deliverance].” —1 Cor. 1:30. CHRIST OUR WISDOM Since God’s dealings with his creatures recognize their wills, the first step in his dealings with them, therefore, is to give them knowledge, or “wisdom,” as it is translated in the above Scripture. It is for this reason that preaching was the first command of the Gospel age. To the worldly-minded the preaching of forgiveness on account of faith in the crucified Jesus did not seem the wise course. To them it would have seemed better for God to have commanded something to he done by them, But, as Paul says—“It pleased God to save those who believe by [knowledge imparted through what the worldly consider] the foolishness of this preaching.”—-1 Cor. 1:21, The first gift of God to our redeemed race, therefore was knowledge. {1} Knowledge of the greatness and absolute justice of the God with whom we have to do. This knowledge was prepared for by the Mosiac Law, which was a “schoolmaster,” or pedagogue, to lead men to Christ. And Christ, by his obedience to that law, magnified the law and showed its honorableness, its worthiness; and thus honored God, the author of that law, and showed his character. (2) Knowledge of his own weakness, of his fallen, sinful and helpless condition, was also needful to man, that he might appreciate his need of a Savior such as God’s plan had provided for him. (3) Knowledge of how the entire race of Adam fell from divine favor and from mental, moral and physical perfection, through him, was also necessary. Without this knowledge we could not have seen how God could be just in accepting the one life, of Christ, as the ransom price for the life of the whole world. “ (4) Without knowledge as to what is the penalty for sin —that “the wages of sin is death”—we never should have been able to understand how the death of our Redeemer paid the penalty against Adam and all in him. (5) Knowledge, in these various respects, was, therefore, absolutely necessary to us, as without it we could have had no proper faith, and could not have availed ourselves of God’s provision of justification, sanctification and deliverance through Christ. Most heartily, therefore, we thank God for knowledge or wisdom concerning his plan. And we see that this wisdom came to us through Christ; because, had it not been for the plan of salvation of which he and his cross are the center, it would have been useless to give the knowledge, useless to preach, because there would have been no salvation to offer. CHRIST OUR JUSTIFICATION That Christ is made unto righteousness or justification implies,— (1) That we are unjust, or unrighteous in the sight of God, and unworthy of his favor. (2) That, in view of our unworthiness, God had in some manner arranged that Christ’s righteousness should stand good for “us,” and thus give “us” a standing before God which we could not otherwise have because of our imperfections—our unrighteousness. (3) This scripture does not imply that Christ’s righteousness covers every sinner, so that God now views every sinner as though he were righteous, and treats all as his children. No, it refers merely to a special class of sinners—sinners who, having come to a knowledge of sin and righteousness, and having learned the undesirableness of sin, have repented of sin, and sought to flee from it and to come into harmony with God. This is the particular class referred to in this scripture—“‘who of God is made unto us justification,” or righteousness. . (4) How God has arranged or caused Christ to be our “righteousness,” or justification, is not here explained; but what we know of divine law and character assures us that the principle of Justice, the very foundation of divine government, must somehow have been fully satisfied in all of its claims. And other scriptures fully substantiate this conclusion. They assert that God so arranged as to have the price of man’s sin paid for him; and that the price paid was an exact equivalent, &% ransom or corresponding price, offsetting in every particular the original sin and just penalty, death, as it came upon the original sinner and through him by heredity upon all men. (Rom. 5:12, 18-20) He tells us that this plan of salvation was adopted because by it “God might be [or continue] just, and {yet be] the justifier of him {any sinner] that believeth in Jesus”—that comes unto God under the terms of the New Covenant, of which Christ Jesus is the mediator, having sealed it, or made it a covenant, by his own precious blood.—Heb. 13: 21; 10:29. (5) While the benefits of this gracious arrangement are only for “us,” for “believers,” for those who come unto God by Christ—under the provisions of the *New Covenant—these benefits are, nevertheless. made applicable to all; for God’s special provision for the whole world of sinners is that all shall “come to a knowledge of the truth,” that they may, if then they will accept the conditions of God’s covenant, be everlastingly saved, A knowledge and a rejection of error—of false doctrines which misrepresent the divine character even though they he mixed with a little misconstrued truth—will not constitute grounds for condemnation; but a knowledge of the truth and a rejection of it will bring condemnation to the second death. The Greek text states this much more emphatically than our common English translation, It says, “come to an accurate knowledge of the truth.”—1 Tim. 2:4. (6} The provision made was sufficient for all men. Our Lord gave himself [in death] a ransom—a corresponding price —for ail; he was a “propitiation [or sufficient satisfaction] for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2) As a consequence, he is both able and willing “to save unto the uttermost {i. ¢., to save from sin, and from divine disfavor, and from death, and all these everlastingly] all that come unto God by him.” (Heb. 7:25) And inasmuch as God’s provision is so broad, that oll shall come to an exact knowledge of the truth respecting these provisions of divine mercy under the terms of the New Covenant;—inasmuch as the provision is that all the sin and prejudice-blinded eyes shall be opened, and that the devil, who for long centurics has deceived men with his misrepresentations of the truth, is to be bound for a thousand years, so that he can deceive the nations no more; and that then a highway of holiness shall be cast up in which the most stupid cannot err or be deceived ; and in view of all this provision God declares that all men will be saved from the guilt and penalty incurred through Adam’s sentence. Because, when all of these blessed arrangements have been carried into effect, there will be no reason for a solitary member of the human family remaining a stranger and alien from God’s family except by his own choice or preference for unrighteousness, and that with an accurate knowledge that all unrighteousness is sin. Such as, of their own preference, knowingly choose sin, when the way and means of becoming servants of God are clearly understood by them, are wilful sinners on their own account, and will receive the second death sentence as the wages of their own opposition to God’s righteous arrangements. * See June 15, 1919, issue, for critical examination of Covenants. [3279]
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