All Powerful Word of God.

 Can you speak anything into existence? No, you can't. You cannot sit there and speak words such as- "Let there be a flower blooming in the empty flowerpot before me."  No, it won't happen.  You can't say, "Let there be a puppy in the empty puppy kennel across the room." No, puppy will appear by your words.  You might say, "Let there be a flower blooming in that empty flowerpot before me." And then someone plants a flower there, or you do so yourself, but your word would not put a flower in that pot any more than your word could produce a puppy instantaneously in that kennel. Your word might cause something to happen by other means, but your word alone would not. This is factual. 

We call speaking and having something appear out of nowhere at all- magic.  We have people called magicians who work tirelessly to perfect slight of hand so it appears as if their words make things happen instantly. We all know that such trickery is just that, someone learning to use deceptions to fool us into thinking something is what it isn't. People go to schools to learn these sorts of illusions. They read books on it, study online sources, and have others pass down their tricks of the trade. 

The truth is, only GOD has ever spoken something from nothing into existence.

The Devil has used trickery to deceive, and the Devil has used his angelic powers to make things seem magical and miraculous, but even the Devil has not spoken a world into existence, or created a sun or moon, or animals, or plants. 

Being able to SPEAK into existence life, is only of God. Is it any wonder God's word is so incredibly all powerful beyond our mere imaginings.

(Excerpt) 

'"As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isa 55:10,11

 

The earth can bring forth vegetation only because of the moisture that comes upon it by the rain or the snow from heaven. Without this, everything would fade and perish. So also is it with the life of man and the word of God.  

Without the word of God the life of man is as barren of power and of good as is the earth without rain. But only let the word of God fall upon the heart as the showers upon the earth; then the life will be fresh and beautiful in the joy and peace of the Lord, and fruitful with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ.

Notice, too, it is not you who are to do that which he pleases; but, "It shall accomplish that which I please," You are not to read or hear the word of God, and say, I must do that, I will do that. You are to open the heart to that word, that it may accomplish the will of God in you. It is not you who are to do it, but it. "It", the word of God itself, is to do it, and you are to let it. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you."

This is stated in another place thus: "When ye receive the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."  1Th 2:13  

Thus it is the word of God that must work in you. You are not to work to do the word of God: the word of God is to work in you to cause you to do. 

"Whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily." Col 1:29 

The word of God being living and full of power, when it is allowed to work in the life, there will be powerful work wrought in that individual. As this word is the word of God, the power, of which is full, is only the power of God;  and when that word is allowed to work in the life, there will be the work of God manifested in the life-it is his power working mightily. And thus it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Php 2:13 "It shall accomplish that which I please." Let it.

From these scriptures it is plain that we are expected to look upon the word of God only as self-fulfilling. The word of God is self-fulfilling. This is the great truth presented everywhere in the Bible This is the difference between the word of God and the word of men. And this is just the difference emphasized in the passage that says, "When ye received the word of God,...ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."

 

There is no power in the word of a man to do what it says. Whatever may be the man's ability to accomplish what he says, there is no power in the man's word itself to accomplish what he says. A man's word may express the easiest possible thing for him to accomplish, and you may thoroughly believe it, yet it is altogether dependent upon the man himself to accomplish it apart from his word. It is not his word that does it. It is he himself that must do it; and this just as really as though he had spoken no word at all. Such is the word of men.

It is not so with the word of God. When the word is spoken by the Lord, there is at that moment in that word the living power to accomplish what the word expresses. It is not needed that the Lord employ any shadow of any other means than that word itself to accomplish what the word says. The Bible is full of illustrations of this, and they are written to teach us this very thing, -that we shall look upon the word as the word of God, and not as the word of men; and that we may receive it thus as it is in truth, the word of God, that it may work effectually in us the will and good pleasure of God.

"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.... For he spake, and it was." Psa 33:6  "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." Heb 11:3 

At first there were no worlds at all. More than this, there was none of the materials of which the worlds are made. There was nothing. Then God spoke, and all the worlds were in their places. From whence came the worlds, then? Before he spoke, there were none; after he spoke, there they were. Whence, then, did they come? What produced them? What produced the material of which they are composed? What caused them to exist? It was the word which was spoken that did it all. And this word did it all, because it was the word of God. There was in that word the divinity of life and spirit, the creative power, to do all that the word expressed. Such is the word of God. 

"And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." 1Pe 1:25    

The word of God in the Bible is the same,-the same in life, in spirit, in creative power,-precisely the same, as that word that made the heavens and all the host of them. It was Jesus Christ who spoke the word at creation; it is he who speaks the word in the Bible. At creation the word which he spoke made the worlds; in the Bible the word which he speaks saves and sanctifies the soul. In the beginning the word which he spoke created the heavens and the earth; in the Bible the word which he speaks creates in Christ Jesus the man who receives that word. In both places, and everywhere in the work of God, it is the word that does it.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Receive it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you. Then, "as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." "To you is the word of this salvation sent." Act_13:26   "And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able [literally, 'full of power'] to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified." Act 20:32'

Excerpt - Advent Review and Sabbath Herald A.T. Jones October 20, 1896

Everything Depends Upon the Word of God.

 Would you die for a book?

Would you die for words?

Would you die for letters?

The book would have to be very important to you, very, very important for you to die for it, right? It would have to be your most favorite book, a favored possession above all other- if you are willing to give up your very life for that book.

It sounds ludicrous, doesn't it? Dying for a book. No book should be that important, right? Wrong.

Before this book was put into written form fully, the message of the book was known and told over and over- and people died just because they believed in the message of the book. 

They DIED for a message!

To those who hold the message in contempt and have no attachment to the message or the subsequent book containing the message, consider those who do the opposite- foolish, idiots, stupid, demented, deceived, duped, delusional, and so on. Yet, it wasn't just one who was willing to die for this book, MANY throughout the years have died for it, MANY. 

This book of such importance surely must be worth a fortune and be hard to come by- and guess what- for some it's both, for others they can get the book for free and very easily. Some have to hide the book for fear of their lives should authorities discover the book, others have five or six of this book in and about their homes, maybe even in storage.

This BOOK, this amazing BOOK, is so powerful in the right hands that Satan has tried his best to eradicate it, and then in a change of tactics, he simply lessened its importance and made it seem powerless, and surely not worth studying, or reading daily.  Satan has also had this book translated with words so twisted from their original that it's not the true book, but a widely accepted counterfeit- close to the truth but not the truth. 

Such a BOOK! A book of POWER! 

This book was USED by Jesus Himself to overcome sin! 

POWERFUL beyond imagining.

We are told this-- 2Ti_2:15  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

POWERFUL!

If I told you I knew how to overcome sin, that knowledge would be awesome and you'd want to know how, right? 

Overcome sin. Jesus overcame sin. How did Jesus overcome sin? Through the WORD OF GOD.

Is it any wonder why some people have died and are willing still to die just to have the Word of God?  This word has the power to OVERCOME sin!

Read the following excerpt, it is so incredible in revealing better than I ever could the power of the Book of God, the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures.

Excerpt-

'In the Christian life everything depends upon the word of God. 

It is true that God is able and desires to keep us from sinning, but this must be done through His word. 

So it is written, "By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer." (Ps. 17:4 ) "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee." 

This is the way that God has appointed and there is no other way to have this thing accomplished.

Psa 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Nor is this way appointed merely because He arbitrarily chose that this should be the way and then laid it upon men that this must be the way that they should go. His word is the way of salvation and the way of sanctification (Christian living) because this is the way that the Lord does things, because this is the way that He manifests Himself. 

It was by His word that He created all things in the beginning. 

It is by His word that He creates men anew, and it will be by His word that He will recreate this world and all things pertaining to it. 

"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. . . . For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." Psa_33:6 ,9 

"Being born again. . . by the word of God."1Pe_1:23 

"And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new. . . . And he said unto me, It is done." Rev_21:5 

It is not only that the worlds were created by the word of God, but they are also sustained by the same word. 

"By the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water; whereby  [by the word of God] the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished. But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store." 2Pe 3:5-7  

So also it is not only that the Christian is created by the word of God, but by that same word He is sustained, nourished, and caused to grow. God holds up "all things" by His powerful word. And the Christian is among this "all things" no less than any or all the worlds.

There can be no question whatever that all the worlds are held up and held in their places by the Lord. But it is not only all the worlds, it is "all things" that are held up and held in place by the Lord. And it is as true of the Christian as it is of any star in the firmament or any world on high. Nor can there be any question that the stars and the worlds are held up and held in their courses by the word of the Lord. And no less than this can there be any question that the Christian is held up and held in his right course by the word of the Lord.

This is to be believed and depended upon by every one who professes the name of Christ. You and I can no more hold ourselves up and in the right way than can the sun or the earth. And as certainly as the worlds are dependent upon His word, so certainly is the Christian to depend upon His word. 

And when this is so, the Christian is kept in the way of the Lord as certainly and as easily as is any planet in the universe. It is written that He "is able to keep you from falling." Jud_1:24

And He says, "I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." 

Isa_41:10 

"Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand." Rom_14:4

O struggling, failing Christian, is not that word which holds up great worlds able also to hold up you? Trust that word. Depend implicitly upon it. Rest wholly upon it, and then you will find rest in it. Trust the Lord to hold you up, just as you trust Him to hold up the sun. His word holds up the sun, and His word is over and over to you,  "Fear thou not; for I am with thee." "I will uphold thee." I will keep thee, thou art mine. Isa_41:10; 43:1 "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Heb_13:5 I will never leave thee till I have done that thing which I have spoken to thee of.Gen_28:15

"The word of God is quick ['living,' R. V.] and powerful." Heb_4:12  "Powerful" means "full of power." the word of God is living and full of power, to do for you, with you, and in you, all that that word says. Believe that word, trust it, for it is the word of the living God. It is the word of the pitying Saviour.

"Receive with meekness the engrafted word,  which is able to save your soul." Jas_1:21  "I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up."Act_20:32   "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." Col_3:16   You "are kept by the power of God through faith." 1Pe_1:5 

The power of God is manifested through His word and therefore it is His powerful word. Faith comes by hearing the word of God; Rom_10:17 therefore, it is the faithful word, the word full of faith. Therefore when He says, you "are kept by the power of God through faith," it is only saying in another way, You are kept by the word of God, "unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." Believe that word, trust it, and find its keeping power.'

Excerpt - Advent Review and Sabbath Herald A.T. Jones Oct. 13. 1896

Overcoming.

 1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 

1Jn 5:1  Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

We want to overcome the world, don't we? Because overcoming the world is overcoming all the evil of this world.  

Joh 8:23  And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. 

Jesus wasn't OF this world.

1Jn 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 

1Jn 4:5  They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. 

1Jn 4:6  We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 

They are of the world,

We are not of the world.

We must overcome the world. 

Joh 17:14  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 

We are NOT of the world.

Jesus is NOT of the world. 

We must be born of God to overcome the world.

We are born of God when we believe that Jesus is the Christ.

1Jn 4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God

Jesus Christ CAME IN THE FLESH. 

It's so important to recognize what FLESH Jesus came into our world with. 

People sometimes want to believe that Jesus had special flesh when He was born. What was the point at all of Jesus taking on our humanity if He was going to have special flesh? Why bother taking on our flesh, being born of a dirt created creature if His dirt created flesh was not exactly as ours? He could have simply appeared as He had in the past- in the fire with Daniel- eating with Abraham before Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed. Unless the LORD was going to be born as a babe of a woman -taking from that woman the flesh she was created with, that her mother and father were created with all the way back to the beginning there was NO POINT in His being born as a babe at all! He took on OUR FLESH, He took from His mother all the nutrients He needed to grow in her womb. He was made of the same flesh we were made of, the same flesh. His flesh had the ability to die, just as our flesh. His flesh could bleed, just as our flesh. The part of Him that was from the Holy Spirit that blessed Jesus' mother with the part needed to join with the part of Mary to create the fetus is all a part of the MYSTERY of God.  God who could speak in to being man himself, could speak into existence the bit needed inside of Jesus' mother for the babe to begin and grow within her.  Did that part that was spoken into existence in Mary's womb make Jesus super human, with special flesh unable to be damaged? No. We know it did not, Jesus bled. Jesus' flesh could be cut, His flesh was not made of steel or any supernatural essence that made it impervious to all the things that could harm any human being. 

When the supernature essence merged with human flesh it created a being that was sinless, but sin able. 

When we are born we are born without sin. We DO NOT sin until we yield to temptation, and succumb to that temptation. We are born sinless, but sin able as well.  

The difference between us and our Savior is, ALL of US sin. ALL of Us yield to the temptations and sin! Jesus never yielded to temptation. 

If WE say Jesus had a special one-up on us to keep from sinning then HE could NOT have taken our place, and triumphed over sin. Satan would have accused Him instantly of overcoming under false pretenses. THINK ABOUT IT! REALLY THINK!

If we were in a contest with one of the contestants having special powers that we didn't have would that contest be fair? No! We'd cry foul instantly! 

Satan and our Savior are at war for humanity. Satan wants them as his because they chose his way. Our Savior wants them as his because He created them and know they were influenced wrongly by Satan. In order to save humanity, our Savior came to earth as a human being and proved that a human could live sinless, even if Satan was there to tempt Him.  If Jesus had used some special power that only He had to withstand the temptations of Satan, Satan would have laughed at what Jesus was doing, because it would only have proved that a God could withstand his temptations, not a human being. 

Jesus conquered sin and when He did that, He won the war for humanity. All who would choose, and choose constantly over their lifetime, HIS victory as theirs would be saved by HIM. 

Unlike Adam, Jesus was born with flesh corrupted by many, many years of sin. Adam and Eve were born with flesh never tainted by generations of sin. Jesus had to overcome the history of sinful flesh. Jesus felt every single temptation in forms equal to every temptation any in mankind can experience. Jesus had to overcome all those temptations weighed down by thousands of years of sin. Jesus had to SAVE US by being born with flesh that we are born with, and that is why He was born of a woman and not simply as a newly made from the dust of the ground, man. 

Jesus had to overcome what we are, the humans we are right now.

Jesus had to ENDURE the lure of temptation and He did without EVER succumbing to the lure.  So many people err when they think they've sinned by the lure of sinning. Satan is going to present temptation after temptation, lure after lure, to try and get us to succumb as often as he can. He presented many lures to Jesus, three notable ones when Jesus went to the wilderness after He was baptized. Jesus met each of those monumental temptations with the Word of God. Don't think for one moment that those were the only temptations Jesus had to endure. 

Heb_4:15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

IN ALL POINTS TEMPTED LIKE AS WE ARE.

We cannot forget this, or deny this! Jesus was TEMPTED LIKE AS WE ARE. And in order for Jesus to be tempted LIKE AS WE ARE He had to be like us! 

So, yes, all must confess that Jesus Christ came in the FLESH, our flesh!

1Jn 4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God

And we can OVERCOME the world because HE overcame this world!

Our Faith

 1Jn 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 

(Excerpt)

'From the list that the Lord has drawn in 2 Cor. 6:1-10, it is plain that there is nothing that can ever come into the life of the believer in Christ but that the grace of God will take it and turn it to the good of the believer and make it serve only to his advancement toward perfection in Christ Jesus. This the grace of God will do always and nothing but this if only the believer will allow the Lord to have His own way in his life; if only he will allow grace to reign. Thus it is that "all things are for your sakes" and this is how "all things work together for good to them that love God." This is grand. It is indeed glorious. It is salvation itself. This is how the believer is enabled "always" to "triumph in Christ."

This however is but half the story. The Lord proposes not only to save him who now believes, but he will use him in ministering to all others the knowledge of God, that they also may believe. We are not to think that the Lord's grace and gifts to us are only for us. They are for us first, that is true. But they are for us first in order that not only we ourselves shall be saved but that we may be enabled to benefit all others in communicating to them the knowledge of God. We ourselves must be partakers of salvation before we can lead others to it. Therefore it is written, "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." And "all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation."

Thus every man who receives the grace of God at the same time receives with it the ministry of that grace to all others. Every one who finds himself reconciled to God receives with that reconciliation the ministry of reconciliation to all others. Here also the exhortation applies, "We . . . beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain."

Are you a partaker of grace? Then "minister the same" to others; do not receive it in vain.  Are you reconciled to God? Then know that He has given to you also the ministry of reconciliation. Have you received this ministry in vain?

If we do not receive the grace of God in vain, if only we will allow grace to reign, the Lord will cause it to be that "in all things" we shall approve "ourselves as the ministers of God." This is the truth. The Lord says it, and it is so. "In all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God." That is, in all things we shall be conveying to others the knowledge of God. And thus the Lord proposes not only to cause us always "to triumph in Christ" on our own part, but also to make "manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place." That is, he proposes to make known to others by us and in every place the knowledge of himself.

We cannot do this of ourselves. He is to do it by us. 

We are to cooperate with Him. 

We are to be workers together with Him. 

And when we do thus cooperate with Him, then as certainly as we do so, so certainly will He cause us always to triumph in Christ and will also make manifest the knowledge of Himself by us in every place.  He can do it; thank the Lord. Do not say, do not even think, that He cannot do this by you. He can do it by you.  He will, too, if only you will not receive His grace in vain.

If you will only let grace reign; if you will be a worker together with Him.

It is true that there is a mystery about how this can be. It is a mystery how God can make manifest the knowledge of Himself by such persons as you and I are, in any place, much less in every place. Yet mystery though it be, it is the very truth. But do we not believe the mystery of God? Assuredly we do believe it. Then never forget that the mystery of God is God manifest in the flesh. And you and I are flesh. Then the mystery of God is God manifest in you and me who believe. Believe it.

Do not forget, either, that the mystery of God is not God manifest in sinless flesh, but God manifest in sinful flesh. 

There could never be any mystery about God's manifesting Himself in sinless flesh--in one who had no connection whatever with sin. That would be plain enough. But that He can manifest Himself in flesh laden with sin and with all the tendencies to sin, such as ours is--that is a mystery. 

Yea, it is the mystery of God. And it is a glorious fact, thank the Lord! 

Believe it. And before all the world, and for the joy of every person in the world, in Jesus Christ He has demonstrated that this great mystery is indeed a fact in human experience. For "as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same." "In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren." And therefore God "made him to be sin for us." "He hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Thus, in our flesh, having our nature laden with iniquity and Himself made to be sin, Christ Jesus lived in this world, tempted in all points like as we are and yet God always caused Him to triumph in Him and made manifest the savor of His knowledge by Him in every place. Thus God was manifest in the flesh--in our flesh, in human flesh laden with sin--and made to be sin in itself, weak and tempted as ours is.  And thus the mystery of God was made known to all nations for the obedience of the faith. O, believe it!

And this is the mystery of God today and forever--God manifest in the flesh, in human flesh, in flesh, laden with sin, tempted and tried. In this flesh God will make manifest the knowledge of Himself in every place where the believer is found. Believe it and praise His holy name!

This is the mystery which today in the third angel's message is again to be made known to all nations for the obedience of the faith. This is the mystery of God, which in this time is to be "finished,"--not only finished in the sense of being ended to the world, but finished in the sense of being brought to completion in its grand work in the believer. This is the time when the mystery of God is to be finished in the sense that God is to be manifest in the flesh in every true believer, in every place where that believer shall be found. This is, in deed and in truth, the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

"Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world," I have revealed God in the flesh. Our faith is the victory that has overcome the world. Therefore, and now, "Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place."'

Excerpt - Advent Review and Sabbath Herald A.T. Jones Sept. 26, 1896

Grace to Save.

 

Satan's Goal- to cause the destruction, the complete and utter destruction of any human being he possible can. 

Jesus's Goal- to save any and all human beings He can from the destruction of Satan, by GRACE.

*******(Excerpt)

'But every believer, by his very profession, says that he has received the grace of God. 

Then if in the believer grace does not reign instead of sin, if grace does not have dominion instead of sin, it is plain enough that he is receiving the grace of God in vain. If grace is not bringing the believer onward toward a perfect man in the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, then he is receiving the grace of God in vain. Therefore the exhortation of the Scripture is, "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain." 2 Cor. 6:1.

The grace of God is fully able to accomplish that for which it is given, if only it is allowed to work.

We have seen that grace being altogether from God, the power of grace is nothing but the power of God. 

It is plain enough therefore that the power of God is abundantly able to accomplish all for which it is given--the salvation of the soul, deliverance from sin and from the power of it, the reign of righteousness in the life, and the perfecting of the believer unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ--if only it can have place in the heart and in the life to work according to the will of God.

But the power of God is "unto salvation to everyone that believeth." 

Unbelief frustrates the grace of god. 

Many believe and receive the grace of God for the salvation from sins that are past but are content with that and do not give it the same place in the soul to reign against the power of sin, that they did to save from sins of the past. 

This, too, is but another phase of unbelief. So as to the one great final object of grace--the perfection of the life in the likeness of Christ-- they do practically receive the grace of God in vain.

"We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) Giving no offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed." Nor does this word "ministry" refer simply to the ordained ministry of the pulpit. It includes everyone who receives the grace of God or that has named the name of Christ. For "as every man hath received the gift,  even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." 

Therefore he does not want anyone to receive the grace of God in vain, lest that grace and its blessed working be misrepresented to the world and so men be further hindered from yielding to it. He does not want His grace to be received in vain, because when it is, offense is given in many things, and the ministry of grace itself is blamed. Yet when the grace of God is not received in vain but is given the place that belongs to it, "no offense" will be given "in anything," and the ministry will not only be not blamed but will be blest.

And now to show how complete and all-pervading the reign of grace will be in the life where it is not received in vain, the Lord has set down the following list, embracing "all thing," and in which we shall approve ourselves unto God. Read it carefully:

   In all things approving ourselves unto God,

   In much patience,

   In afflictions,

   In necessities,

   In distresses,

   In stripes,

   In imprisonments,

   In tumults,

   In labors,

   In watchings,

   In fastings;

   By pureness,

   By knowledge,

   By longsuffering,

   By kindness,

   By the Holy Ghost,

   By love unfeigned,

   By the word of truth,

   By the power of God,

   By the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

   By honor and dishonor,

   By evil report and good report;

   As deceivers, and yet true;

   As unknown, and yet well known;

   As dying, and, behold, we live;

   As chastened, and not killed;

   As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;

   As poor, yet making many rich;

   As having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

This list covers all the experiences that can ever enter into the life of any believer in this world. It shows that where the grace of God is not received in vain, that grace will so take possession and control of the life, that every experience that enters into the life will be taken by grace and turned to making us approved unto God and building us up in perfection unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. "We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain."'

Excerpt - Advent Review and Sabbath Herald A.T. Jones Sept. 22, 1896

The Work of Grace Must Be Believed.

 Frustrating the Work of Grace.

Excerpt- Advent Review and Sabbath Herald A.T. Jones Sept. 22, 1896

Can every believer have grace enough to keep him free from sinning? 

Yes.

Indeed, everybody in the world can have enough to keep him from sinning. Enough is given, and it is given for this purpose. If anyone does not have it, it is not because enough has not been given, but because he does not take that which has been given.  

For "unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ." Eph. 4:7. The measure of the gift of Christ is Himself wholly, and that is the measure of "all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." To the fullness of the Godhead there is, indeed, no measure; it is boundless. It is simply the infinity of God. 

Yet that is the only measure of the grace that is given to every one of us. The boundless measure of the fullness of the Godhead is the only thing that can express the proportion of grace that is given to everyone who is in this world. For "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Rom 5:20

This grace is given in order that "as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord," and in order that sin shall not have dominion over you, because you are under grace. Rom_5:21

It is given also "for the perfecting of the saints." Eph_4:12 

The object of it is to bring each one to perfection in Christ Jesus--to the perfection too, that is fully up to God's standard, for it is given for the building up of the body of Christ, "till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."  Eph 4:13 

It is given to "every one of us," "till we all come" to perfection, even by the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Again, this grace is given to every one where sin abounds and it brings salvation to everyone to whom it is given. Bringing salvation in itself, the measure of the salvation which it brings to everyone is only the measure of its own fullness, which is nothing less than the measure of the fullness of the Godhead.

As boundless grace is given to every one bringing salvation to the extent of its own full measure, then if any one does not have boundless salvation, why is it? Plainly it can be only because he will not take that which is given.

As boundless grace is given to everyone in order that it shall reign in him against all the power of sin, as certainly as ever sin reigned and in order that sin shall not have dominion, then if sin still reigns in anyone, if sin yet has dominion over anyone, where lies the fault? 

Clearly, it lies only in this, that he will not allow the grace to do for him and in him that which it is given to do. 

By unbelief he frustrates the grace of God. So far as he is concerned, the grace has been given in vain.

To be continued.

We are not our own hope, Christ is our hope!

 Joy unspeakable. 

1Pe_1:8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory

We don't see Christ, but we know Christ. Christ is in us, our hope. 

Col_1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory

Christ in us as our hope is a reality we must latch onto. We are not our own hope!!!

WE ARE NOT OUR OWN HOPE! You and I cannot save ourselves! 

CHRIST IS OUR HOPE! Christ IN US.

Christ has all the power in Him, power given to Him by the Father God. Christ has sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us with the Hope of Christ IN us.

Christ our hope this is joy unspeakable! Christ who we love! Rejoice! All glory to God!

(Excerpt)

'It can never be repeated too often, that under the reign of grace it is just as easy to do right, as under the reign of sin it is easy to do wrong. This must be so, for if there is not more power in grace than there is in sin, then there can be no salvation from sin. But there is salvation from sin. This no one who believes Christianity can deny.

Yet salvation from sin certainly depends upon there being more power in grace than there is in sin. Then, there being more power in grace than there is in sin, it cannot possibly be otherwise than that wherever the power of grace can have control, it will be just as easy to do right as without this it is easy to do wrong.

No man ever yet naturally found it difficult to do wrong. His great difficulty has always been to do right. 

But this is because man naturally is enslaved to a power--the power of sin--that is absolute in its reign. And so long as that power has sway, it is not only difficult but impossible to do the good that he knows and that he would. But let a mightier power than that have sway, then is it not plain enough that it will be just as easy to serve the will of the mightier power, when it reigns, as it was to serve the will of the other power, when it reigned?

But grace is not simply more powerful than is sin. If this were indeed all, even then there would be fullness of hope and good cheer to every sinner in the world. But this, good as it would be, is not all. It is not nearly all.  There is much more power in grace than there is in sin.

For "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Rom_5:20  

And just as much more power in grace than there is in sin, just so much more hope and good cheer there are for every sinner in the world.

How much more power, then, is there in grace than there is in sin? Let me think a moment. Let me ask myself a question or two. Whence comes grace? From God, to be sure. 

"Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ."  1Co 1:3 

Whence comes sin? From the devil, of course. Sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. Well, then, how much more power is there in grace than there is in sin? It is as plain as ABC that there is just as much more power in grace than there is in sin, as there is more power in God than there is in the devil. 

It is therefore also perfectly plain that the reign of grace is the reign of God, and that the reign of sin is the reign of Satan. 

And is it not therefore perfectly plain also that it is just as easy to serve God by the power of God as it is to serve Satan with the power of Satan?

WHERE THE DIFFICULTY COMES IN, IN ALL THIS, IS THAT SO MANY PEOPLE TRY TO SERVE GOD WITH THE POWER OF SATAN.

But that can never be done. 

"Either make the tree good and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit corrupt." Men cannot gather grapes of thorns nor figs of thistles. The tree must be made good, root and branch.  It must be made new. "Ye must be born again." "In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creature."

Let no one ever attempt to serve God with anything but the present, living power of God that makes him a new creature, with nothing but the much more abundant grace that condemns sin in the flesh and reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Then the service of God will indeed be in "newness of life." Then it will be found that His yoke is indeed "easy" and His burden "light."  Then His service will be found indeed to be with "joy unspeakable and full of glory."

Did Jesus ever find it difficult to do right? Every one will instantly say, No. But why? He was just as human as we are. He took flesh and blood the same as ours. "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." And the kind of flesh that He was made in this world was precisely such as was in this world. "In all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren." "In all things!" It does not say, In all things but one. There is no exception. He was made in all things like as we are. He was of Himself as weak as we are, for He said, "I can of mine own self do nothing."

Why, then, being in all things like as we are, did He find it always easy to do right? Because He never trusted to Himself, but His trust was always in God alone. 

All His dependence was upon the grace of God. 

He always sought to serve God, only with the power of God. 

And therefore the Father dwelt in Him, and did the works of righteousness. 

Therefore it was always easy for Him to do right. But as He is, so are we in this world. He has left us an example, that we should follow His steps. "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure,"as well as in Him. 

Php_2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

All power in heaven and in earth is given unto Him, and He desires that you may be strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power. "In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily," and He strengthens you with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your heart by faith, that you may be "filled with all the fullness of God."

True, Christ partook of the divine nature and so do you if you are a child of promise and not of the flesh, for by the promises ye are partakers of the divine nature.

There was nothing given to Him in this world and He had nothing in this world that is not freely given to you or that you may not have.

All this is in order that you may walk in newness of life, that henceforth you may not serve sin, that you may be the servant of righteousness only, that you may be freed from sin, that sin may not have dominion over you, that you may glorify God on the earth, and that you may be like Jesus. And therefore "unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. . . . Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." And I "beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain."

2Co 6:1  We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.'

Advent Review and Sabbath Herald September 1, 1896   A.T. Jones