the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Spiritual Treasury For The Children of God
He will guide you into all truth.- John 16:13.
Our Lord here gives his disciples a farther exhibition of the covenant of grace, and a fuller display of the grace of the covenant. Here is a full proof of the personality of the Holy Spirit, and also of his sovereignty in his operations and influences upon his members. Christ did not tell his apostles, as some ignorantly talk, "If ye will but be yielding and tractable, and suffer my Spirit to lead you, ye shall enjoy his kind assistance." No: this were to degrade the glory of this divine agent, to exalt the pride of the creature, and render the gracious guidance of the Spirit dependent upon the will of the flesh. As though instead of being the cause of life, he was to be only a mere auxiliary to aid and assist man’s pious motions and good dispositions. Far be such thoughts from our hearts. All glory to this heavenly paraclete, "he will work, and who shall let him?" He WILL GUIDE into the whole truth of covenant-love and salvation by Jesus Christ. This is the adorable person the Spirit is to testify of, and to glorify in the sight, heart and affections of his people. The apostles themselves were at this time in much ignorance about, and strong prejudices against many things concerning Jesus. As to the nature of his kingdom, they still dreamed of the grandeur of a temporal one. Their prejudices were great in favor of their own nation, and they thought "God was a respecter of persons:" of Jews above Gentiles; and were very hardly brought to give up the types and shadows, particularly the sign of the covenant-circumcision, as not fully seeing that Jesus the substance was really come, who is essentially THE TRUTH itself.
There is no hope for poor guilty sinners but in the truth. For when the Lord declares his name to Moses, this is part of it, "I will by no means clear the GUILTY,"- Exodus 34:7. This must be very distressing to sensible sinners. I know one who has found it so. My poor soul has been sadly distressed with this text. But the Spirit teaches that the truth of God is inviolably preserved, while the guilty sinner is perfectly saved in the Lord Jesus, with an everlasting salvation. Jesus stood as our guilty substitute. The Lord laid all our iniquities upon him. He suffered as our surety all the wrath due to our transgressions, "and with his stripes we are healed."- Isaiah 53:5. The reputed guilty died. The real guilty become guiltless. "His blood cleanseth them from all sin,"- 1 John 1:7. "God is just while he is the justifier of the ungodly sinner who believes in Jesus,"- Romans 3:26. Glory to the condescending Lord, who leads us out of the destructive paths of natural pride, self-will, and self-righteousness, "and gives us repentance to the acknowledging of the truth,"- 2 Timothy 2:25, "that we may be sanctified through the truth."- John 17:17.
By one offering, he hath perfected for ever them who are sanctified. Hebrews 10:14.
My soul is caught;
Heav’n’s sovereign blessings clust’ring from the cross
Rush on her, in a throng, and close her round
The pris’ner of amaze!
I beg this plea to be admitted, as an excuse for a second meditation on this text. O sinner! if you believe in a crucified Saviour, you are born of God-know the love of God-are sanctified by God-and are for ever perfected before God. All this flows from the one offering of the Son of God; bore witness to in the word, and in our hearts by the Spirit of God. This, like every other truth of Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit’s love and grace, is to have its use and influence upon our hearts and lives. Lord grant it may. Consider, (1st.) hath Christ for ever perfected you before God, in taking away your sins, and reconciling your person? O, then, with what holy boldness, and filial confidence, may you draw nigh to God! Heaven is open to you. God rejoices over you, and he will eternally receive you. (2d.) Hold the mystery of this faith in a pure conscience. Answer every demand, and every threatening of the law, with this one offering. Plead your perfection by it to divine justice. Thus you will honour, both the offering; the law, which is fulfilled by it; and justice, which his perfectly satisfied with it. (3d.) Seek no other, look not to any other object or thing within or without you, for peace with God, and reconciliation to his favour, than the one offering of Christ. Reject with the utmost abhorrence, that proud, popish notion of more justifications than one: rejoice in that glorious one, perfected, for ever, by the one offering of the Son of God. For any attempt towards it, is an act of the greatest dishonor, highest unbelief, and vilest ingratitude to our dear Saviour. (4th.) As you are for ever perfected before God, be ever perfecting holiness in the fear of God. While this faith is kept clear and lively in the heart, it works by the most generous love of Christ, and works in us the most fervent love to him: and love is the very life of holiness. Love, and live as you will: love, and go where you will: love, and you will be dead to all that God forbids, and alive to all that he commands. (5th.) Let not the sight of your own imperfection and unprofitableness, as a miserable sinner, deject your mind, or distress your soul; so as to cause you to let go the faith, that Christ hath for ever perfected you before God. What thou hast attained, saith Christ, hold fast till I come. Revelation 2:25.
Amazing mystery! O for faith
To hold it in my conscience fast!
We are for ever perfected
In Christ our Head, from first to last.
