By Lewis Sperry Chafer
C. The Riches of Divine Grace
23. A Heavenly Association. What is termed “the heavenly places” is a phrase which is peculiar to the Ephesian Letter and has no reference to heaven as a place or to specific places of spiritual privilege here on earth; but it does refer to the present realm of association with Christ, which association is the inherent right of all those who are in Christ Jesus. The association is a partnership with Christ which incorporates at least seven spheres of common interest and undertaking.
a. Partners with Christ in Life. The New Testament not only declares that the believer has partaken of a new life, but asserts that this life is the indwelling Christ. In Colossians 1:27 a mystery is revealed which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory”; and in Colossians 3:4 it is also said that “Christ…is our life.” Likewise in 1 John 5:11–12 it is written: “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” Upwards of eighty times in the New Testament the truth appears, that among the major features which characterize a Christian is the impartation of a new life from God. Thus a unique partnership in life is established between Christ and all who believe which is both a position and a possession.
b. Partnership in Position. As an incomparable position, the Christian is raised with Christ (Col 3:1), and seated with Christ in the heavenly association. This truth is clearly revealed in Ephesians 2:6, which declares, “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” To be raised with Christ and to be seated with Christ is a partnership in position which is real and abiding. Its contribution to the entire fact of the believer’s association with Christ is enough to characterize the whole. The honor and glory of it are knowledge-surpassing.
C. Partners with Christ in Service. A number of passages unite in a testimony that the service of the Christian is one of copartnership with Christ. Of these, none is more direct and convincing than 1 Corinthians 1:9, which reads: “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” In the A.V. the word κοινωνία is rendered fellowship. As the word is at times rendered communion (cf. 2 Cor 6:14) with the thought of agreement or partnership, and to be in harmony with the message of Christian service, which theme characterizes this Epistle, the idea of joint undertaking may be read into this passage. Some, as Meyer and Alford, see a sharing here in Christ’s coming glory; but as this Epistle is almost wholly one parenthesis which begins with the verse following this notable text and ends with 15:57, it is important to observe the next verse in the direct course of the message, namely, 15:58. With the rendering of κοινωνία by partnership, the two dominant and connecting verses would read: “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the partnership of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord…. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” The same Epistle states, “For we are labourers together with God” (3:9 ); and 2 Corinthians 6:1 designates the believers as “workers together with him”—in the same context they are said to be “ministers of God” (6:4) and “ministers of the new testament” (3:6). To be thus in partnership with Christ is a position of limitless responsibility as well as exalted honor.
d. Partners with Christ in Suffering. Of the entire field of the doctrine of human suffering, a well-defined feature of that experience is suffering with Christ. “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him” (2 Tim 2:12). Likewise, “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake” (Phil 1:29); and, again, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also, with exceeding joy” (1 Pet 4:12–13). The Apostle testified of himself, “who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church” (Col 1:24), and, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18); similarly, “That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto” (1 Thess 3:3).
While the child of God may suffer the reproaches of Christ, which is a definite form of copartnership suffering with Christ, the form of fellowship suffering which is closest to the heart of the Savior is to share with Him His burden for lost souls—those for whom He died. Such longings are not natural to any human nature, but are generated in the heart by the Holy Spirit who causes the yielded believer to experience the compassion of God. It is written, “The fruit of the Spirit is love” (Gal 5:22), and, “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom 5:5). As an illustration of this ability of the believer to experience the compassion of Christ, the Apostle testifies of himself thus, “I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Rom 9:1–3). Partnership with Christ in suffering is real and reflects the fact that the Christian occupies a position of untold distinction.
e. Partners with Christ in Prayer. The very act of praying in the name of Christ is in itself an assumption that He also makes petition to the Father for those things that are in the will of God and for which the Christian prays. The central passage bearing on this aspect of partnership is John 14:12–14: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” “Greater works” are to be done by the Son of God in answer to the believer’s prayer in His name. The partnership in responsibility is defined thus, “If ye shall ask…I will do.”
f. Partners with Christ in Betrothal. To be betrothed to a person is a position which is both definite and demanding. It is also a partnership. The Church is espoused as a bride to Christ. The marriage day is that of His return to receive her unto Himself. It was the Apostle’s desire that he might present believers a chaste virgin (not as a chaste virgin) to Christ (2 Cor 11:2); and from Ephesians 5:25–27 it is to be understood that Christ loves the Church as a bridegroom might love a bride and that He gave Himself for His Bride.
g. Partners in Expectation. The “blessed hope” (Titus 2:13) is ever the expectation of the instructed Christian; for the coming of Christ will be the moment of release from these limitations into the fulness of glory, and the moment of seeing Him who is the center of all reality for the believer. But Christ, too, is now “expecting” (Heb 10:13), and His longings to claim His bride are as great as ever His willingness to die for her.
All partnerships in human relations create their corresponding positions and possessions; in like manner the seven-fold partnership which the child of God sustains with Christ creates positions and possessions, and these are riches of divine grace.
24. Having Access to God. Could any human being catch but one brief vision of the glory, majesty, and holiness of God, from that time forth that one would marvel that any human being—even if he were unfallen—could have access to God; yet, through Christ as Mediator, sinners are provided with an open door into the presence of God. In attempting to understand what is granted in that access to God, it would be well to pursue certain revealed truths in a purposeful order.
a. Access into His Grace. Divine grace in action is that achievement which God is free to undertake because of the satisfaction respecting sin which Christ provided by His death and resurrection; therefore, access into the grace of God is access into the value of His finished work. This door is open to all; but only those who have believed have entered in. Of this position which Christ procured, it is written: “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand” (Rom 5:2). The believer is not only saved by grace (Eph 2:8), but he stands in grace. He is ensphered in divine grace. The same grace that saved him sustains him. The same principle upon which he is saved when he believes, is continually applied to him for safekeeping throughout his earthly pilgrimage. Of the ensphering grace, Peter wrote these words, “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18). The thought seems to be that the Christian, being in grace, is appointed therein to grow in the knowledge of Christ. Certainly no one who has not found entrance into divine grace through faith, will grow. It is not a matter of growing more gracious, but of coming to know Christ, which knowledge is possible since the believer has entered the sphere of grace (cf. 2 Cor 3:18).
b. Access unto the Father. Of this specific access it is written: “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (Eph 2:18). All three Persons of the Godhead appear in this brief text. It declares that both Jew and Gentile, being saved, have access through Christ and by the Spirit unto the Father. The essential part which Christ has accomplished has been considered at length, but there is also a part which the Holy Spirit undertakes. The Christian’s apprehension (1 Cor 2:10), communion (2 Cor 13:14), and much of his qualification for the divine presence (1 Cor 12:13), are directly the work of the Holy Spirit. The all-important truth—marvelous beyond comprehension—is that each believer has perfect and immutable access unto the Father.
C. Access Is Reassuring. So perfect, indeed, is this admission into the divine presence and favor that the Christian is urged to come boldly. In this instance, boldness becomes the believer, since every obstacle has been removed. Two passages, both in the Epistle to the Hebrews, enjoin this boldness: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (4:16 ); “having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (10:19–20 ).
To be one to whom unrestrained access into the presence of God is accorded is to occupy a position of superior privilege and standing, whether it be measured by the standards of heaven or of earth.
25. Within the Much More Care of God. It will be conceded by all who are awake to the divine revelation, that the love of God for the unsaved is as immeasurable as infinity; yet there is clear revelation that the expression of divine love for those who are saved is even “much more.” The argument is that, if God loved sinners and enemies enough to give His Son to die for them, His attitude will be “much more” toward them when they are reconciled and justified. The Apostle states: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Rom 5:8–10). This inconceivable devotion on the part of God for those He has saved leads on to various blessings for them.
a. Objects of His Love. The unchangeable love of God underlies all that He undertakes. It was His love that originated the way of salvation through Christ, and thus by infinite grace. It is true that God is propitious; that is, He is able through the death of Christ to receive the sinner with unrestrained favor. The death of Christ did not cause God to love sinners; it was His love which provided that propitiation in and through Christ (John 3:16; Rom 5:8; 1 John 3:16). The satisfaction which Christ rendered released the love of God from that demand which outraged holiness imposed against the sinner. The love of God knows no variations. It experiences no ups and downs, moods and tenses. It is the love of One who is immutable in all His character and ways.
b. Objects of His Grace. Men are not saved into a state of probation, but into the sphere of infinite grace—a sphere in which God deals with them as those for whom Christ has died, and whose sins are already borne by a Substitute. That grace contemplates:
(1) Salvation. Thus it is written: “that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph 2:7–9).
(2) Safekeeping. As the Scripture declares: “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand” (Rom 5:2).
(3) Service. Of this it is said: “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world” (John 17:18); “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ” (Eph 4:7).
(4) Instruction. So, also, it is asserted: “teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:12–13).
C. Objects of His Power. A full induction of all passages in which God is said to be able to work in behalf of those who trust Him will prove a real help to the student. It will be seen that infinite power is ever actively engaged in the support and defense of the believer. It is written: “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power” (Eph 1:19); “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil 2:13).
d. Objects of His Faithfulness. Limitless comfort is provided for those who recognize the faithfulness of God. It is said: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb 13:5); “being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6); “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it” (1 Thess 5:24).
e. Objects of His Peace. Not only is that peace with God in view (Rom 5:1) which is due to the fact that all condemnation is removed, but the imparted, experimental peace is promised also: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27); “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful” (Col 3:15), and “The fruit of the Spirit is peace” (Gal 5:22).
f. Objects of His Consolation. Respecting divine consolation it is written: “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work” (2 Thess 2:16–17).
g. Objects of His Intercession. While it is revealed that the Holy Spirit “maketh intercession” for the saints according to the will of God (Rom 8:26) and they are enjoined to pray “in the Spirit” (Eph 6:18; Jude 20), it is also indicated that one of the present ministries of Christ in heaven is His unceasing intercession for the saints. In His Priestly prayer He said that He prayed not for the cosmos world, but for those the Father had given Him; and it is probable that His present intercession, like this Priestly prayer, is restricted to His own who are in the world. Three passages assert this heavenly intercession: “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Rom 8:34); “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb 7:25); “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Heb 9:24).
To be included thus in the “much more” love and care of God becomes a position in divine grace which is of surpassing value.
26. His Inheritance. A partial anticipation of this position in grace has been expressed under the previous heading which announced that each Christian is a gift of the Father to the Son; however, beyond the treasure which he is to Christ as a gift from the Father, Ephesians 1:18 asserts that the believer is also the inheritance of the Father. This exalted truth is the subject of the Apostle’s prayer. As though, apart from the supernatural revelation of the Holy Spirit, they could not understand, he prays “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph 1:18). Much is promised the believer respecting his future place in glory. It is written: “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one” (John 17:22); “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Rom 8:30); “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Col 3:4). It is only by such changes as He shall have wrought in fallen sinners that God will be glorified. They will reflect the “glory of his grace” (Eph 1:6). Each child of God will serve as a medium or material by which the Shekinah glory of God will be seen.
27. The Inheritance of the Saints. Far easier to comprehend than that just considered is the truth that the believer has an inheritance in God. The believer’s inheritance is God Himself and all that God bestows. This is asserted by Peter thus: “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet 1:4). The present blessings which the Spirit brings into the Christian’s heart and life are likened to an earnest or comparatively small payment on all that is yet to be bestowed. The Apostle writes: “which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Eph 1:14); “knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ” (Col 3:24). An eternal inheritance (Heb 9:15) is a possession under grace; its specifications are unknowable until they are claimed in heaven.
28. Light in the Lord. As presented in the Scriptures with its symbolic meaning, an extensive body of truth is related to the general theme of light. Above all and supreme is the revelation that “God is light” (1 John 1:5). The meaning of this term as thus applied to God is that He is transparently holy and in Him is no moral darkness at all. That holy light which God is, has its manifestation on the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6). The believer has, by divine grace, become light (Eph 5:8)—not merely that divine light shines upon him, but is light in the Lord. This great reality does not dismiss the truth that the believer is commanded to “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7), the light which God is. Both truths obtain and each engenders its own obligation. To walk in the light is not to become the light; it is rather to be wholly subject to the mind and will of God and adjusted to the holy character of God. In this respect, the Bible is a lamp to the feet and a light upon the path (Ps 119:105). However, with regard to the light which the believer is, it may be observed that to have received the light into one’s being in a possession and to be light in the Lord is a position. No person becomes the light by attempting to shine; rather, having become light in the Lord and that as a divine achievement, he is appointed to shine as a light in a dark world. It is reasonable to conclude that the light which the believer is may be identified as the indwelling divine nature, and that that light is veiled in this world, but will have its manifestation in glcry.
29. Vitally United to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As perplexing as it may be to the human mind, the Scriptures advance six distinct revelations regarding relationships between the Godhead and the believer, and these relationships represent realities which find no comparisons in the sphere of human intercourse. It is said (1) that the believer is in God the Father (1 Thess 1:1), (2) that God the Father is in the believer (Eph 4:6), (3) that the believer is in the Son (Rom 8:1), (4) that the Son is in the believer (John 14:20), (5) that the believer is in the Spirit (Rom 8:9), and (6) that the Spirit is in the believer (1 Cor 2:12). The force of these stupendous declarations is centered in the intensity of meaning which must be assigned to the word in as used in each of these six declarations. It is evident that to be in the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit is a position; and for the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit to be in the believer constitutes a possession. A corresponding truth grows out of all this which is a result of it, namely, that the believers are one in each other as the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father (John 17:21). Since the believer’s physical body is a corporate entity, it is not as difficult to think of that body as an abode; and the body is termed a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19). On the other hand, it is exceedingly difficult to understand the truth asserted that the believer is in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This peculiar relationship to the Son is amplified by a sevenfold declaration or under seven figures: (1) the believer is a member in Christ’s Body (1 Cor 12:13), (2) the believer is to Christ as a branch to the vine (John 15:5), (3) the believer is to Christ as a stone in the building of which Christ is the Chief Cornerstone (Eph 2:19–22), (4) the believer is to Christ as a sheep in His flock (John 10:27–29), (5) the believer is a part of that company which forms the Bride of Christ (Eph 5:25–27), (6) the believer is a priest in a kingdom of priests over which Christ is High Priest forever (1 Pet 2:5, 9), and (7) the believer is a part of the New Creation over which Christ as the Last Adam is the Head (2 Cor 5:17). In John 14:20: “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you,” three great truths are declared as those which the believer is to know specifically in this age, namely, (1) Christ is in the Father, (2) the believer is in Christ, and (3) Christ is in the believer.
Similarly, there is much in the New Testament respecting the relationship which obtains between the Holy Spirit and the believer, which will yet be considered more fully.
The truths declared and distinguished under this heading represent not only the most vital positions and possessions which infinite grace can create, but are the very heart of Christianity, and never mentioned in the Old Testament.
30. Blessed with the Earnest or First-Fruit’s of the Spirit. As before intimated, the immeasurable blessings which come to the child of God because of his relation to the Holy Spirit are as a comparatively small down-payment which binds with certainty the larger gifts of heaven’s glory. These present ministries of the Spirit are said to be an “earnest” (2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:14) and “firstfruits” (Rom 8:23) of the Spirit. There are five of these present riches: (1) The believer is born of the Spirit (John 3:6), by which operation Christ is begotten in the one who exercises saving faith. (2) The believer is baptized by the Spirit (1 Cor 12:13), which is a work of the Holy Spirit by which the believer is joined to Christ’s Body and comes to be in Christ, and therefore a partaker of all that Christ is. (3) The believer is indwelt or anointed by the Spirit (John 7:39; Rom 5:5; 8:9; 2 Cor 1:21; Gal 4:6; 1 John 2:27; 3:24), by which Presence the believer is equipped for every conflict and service. (4) The believer is sealed by the Spirit (2 Cor 1:22; Eph 4:30), which is the work of God the Holy Spirit by which the children of God are made secure unto the day of redemption. (5) The believer may be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18), which ministry of the Spirit releases His power and effectiveness in the heart in which He dwells.
The Spirit’s work in and through the Christian results in both positions and possessions that are themselves marvelous realities of the riches of divine grace, and all of these together form but a foretaste of the glory which is assured in heaven.
31. Glorified. What God has determined, though it be yet future, is properly looked upon as sufficiently certain to be considered a present achievement. He is the One “who…calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Rom 4:17). Awaiting the child of God is a surpassing heavenly glory—even partaking of the infinite glory which belongs to the Godhead. Of this fact it is written: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18); “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Col 3:4). It is not to be concluded that there is a present and a future glory which are unrelated. The present glory is the divine reckoning of the future glory to be even a present reality. No passage more clearly asserts this fact than Romans 8:30, which states: “Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also, called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”
To be a glorified saint is a position in divine grace of immeasurable riches and, in the certainty of the divine purpose, it becomes a possession.
32. Complete in Him. This, with the theme which follows, serves as a conclusion for that which has gone before in this attempt to record the riches of divine grace; yet these are specific disclosures of all that enters into the exceeding grace of God. What may be included in the word complete when the Apostle says, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Col 2:9–10), is beyond the range of human understanding. No careless use of terms will be discovered in any Scripture, and this passage presents the voice of the Holy Spirit declaring that, to the degree by which God values things and according to those standards which Gold employs, the child of God is complete; but so great a transformation is due to the all-determining fact that he is in Christ. The truth is thus once more presented that, because of his vital union with Christ, the believer partakes of all that Christ is. The Father finds infinite delight in the Son, nor can He find delight in that which is less than the perfection of the Son. While men may ever be before the Father as the creatures of His hand, those who are saved are, even now, perfected in His sight by and through their vital relation to the Son. Thus a principle is introduced which is far removed from human custom or practice and, naturally, beyond human understanding, but not beyond the range of human acceptance or belief, since it is declared in the Word of God. To be complete in Christ is a glorious reality and is a portion of that grace which is extended to all who believe.
33. Possessing Every Spiritual Blessing. No text of Scripture more perfectly accounts for all the riches of grace than Ephesians 1:3, which reads: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” All the riches of grace tabulated in the thirty-two points made before are to be included in this sweeping term—”all spiritual blessings.” These are again and finally declared to be realized on the basis of the believer’s relation to Christ. Thus all positions and possessions which together measure the riches of divine grace are traced to the believer’s place in Christ. These are accorded the one who believes on Christ to the saving of his soul.
Conclusion
It would hardly be amiss to restate the truth that salvation is a work of God for man and not a work of man for God. It is what God’s love prompts Him to do and not a mere act of pity which rescues creatures from their misery. To realize the satisfaction of His love God has been willing to remove by an infinite sacrifice the otherwise insuperable hindrance which sin has imposed; He is, likewise, overcoming the wicked opposition to His grace which the fallen human will presents by inclining His elect ones to exercise saving faith in Christ. When the way is thus clear, God is free to do all that infinite love dictates. Nothing short of transformations which are infinite will satisfy infinite love. An inadequate record of these riches of grace which together represent the infinity of saving grace has been submitted; but it still remains true that “the half has never been told.” The student who is ambitious to be accurate in gospel preaching will not only observe but ever contend for the truth that all these riches are purely a work of God, and that to secure them the individual could do no more than to receive at the hand of God what He is free to give in and through Christ Jesus. Those who believe on Christ in the sense that they receive Him (John 1:12) as their Savior enter instantly into all that divine love provides. These thirty-three positions and possessions are not bestowed in succession, but simultaneously. They do not require a period of time for their execution; but are wrought instantaneously.
They measure the present difference which obtains between one who is saved and one who is not saved.
“Oh to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.”
Dallas, Texas
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“We may briefly advert to one more acknowledged fact of Biblical science. The interpreter must feel some real sympathy with the truths which he is studying. All other gifts and facilities are not a substitute for this. A man may possess exact and extensive learning, the soundest judgment, the nicest critical tact, and still fail to recognize the true and full significance of the more spiritual portions of the Bible. He may be an honest man and sincerely desirous to explain the Bible correctly, but without a spirit in some degree accordant with that which reigns in the Scriptures he will not accomplish his end. The Bible on one essential point is not analogous to other books. It reveals truths which are to be believed, prescribes duties which are universally obligatory. It speaks with authority to the interpreter himself. It is as impossible as it is undesirable for him to approach his work with an indifferent state of mind. What is sometimes vaunted as perfect impartiality in a Biblical critic never had existence. The student has the deepest personal stake in the pages which he is pondering.”—Bibliotheca Sacra, January, 1850.
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