December 7, 1897

“Editorial” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 74, 49, p. 776.

WHEN you meet a friend, or an acquaintance, whose good wishes you prize, how it pleases you to hear him say, “I was just thinking of you.”ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.1

And when this person is one of standing and importance among men generally, it pleases you more. In such a case, even though he were a stranger to you, you would be greatly pleased if he should meet you or write to you, and say, “I was thinking of you.”ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.2

Now there is a Person of the highest possible standing,—a Person of the greatest important in the estimation of the greatest and best of men in all ages. He is your Friend, even though he may not be an acquaintance of yours. And every day, yes, every time he meets you,—which is often,—he says, “I was just now thinking of you.”ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.3

This great and honorable Person is the Lord, and he says, “I think toward you.” It is thoughts of good, too, that he thinks: “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil.”ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.4

And do not forget that with him is “no variableness, neither shadow of turning;” he is “the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.” Therefore he is always—yesterday, to-day, and forever—thinking of you; thinking thoughts of peace toward you; thinking how he may do you good. Does not that please you? If not, why not?ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.5

How freely and how truly, then, every soul can say, as he has given us the word to say, “The Lord thinketh upon me.” Yes, though “I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me.” Bless his holy name forever and ever!ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.6

“Creation” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 74, 49, p. 776.

“IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.1

“We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.2

These two passages of Scripture were written a long time apart, and in the Bible they stand a long way apart,—Genesis 1:1, 2, and Ephesians 2:10; yet the first one was written with particular reference to the second; and the second, to be well understood, must be considered in view of the first.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.3

By the word of God, through Jesus Christ, the heaven and the earth were created. By the word of God, also, it is, that we are created in Christ Jesus; for we are “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.4

When the heaven and the earth had been created by the Lord, the earth was yet an empty, formless, fruitless mass; it was without form, and void. And it was necessary that the Spirit of God should come upon it and brood over it, to bring it into form according to the purpose of God, and to fill it with fruitfulness and beauty to the glory of God.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.5

So likewise we, when first created in Christ Jesus, are, so far as “good works which God hath before ordained” are concerned without form, and void. The life is entirely empty; the habits, as for good, are absolutely unformed. And upon this new creation it is essential that the Spirit of God shall come, that over it the Spirit of God shall brood, in order that it may be perfected according to the purpose of God, and be filled with the fruits of righteousness and the beauty of holiness, to the glory of God.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.6

If upon the first creation, the Spirit of God had not come and brooded, fulfilling all the further word and purpose of God, it would have forever remained an empty, shapeless mass, without light, or life, or fruitfulness.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.7

So with us who are new created in Christ: if upon this new creation the Spirit of God does not come and brood, fulfilling all the further word and purpose of God, we, too, shall remain as empty and formless, as certainly without light or life or fruitfulness, as would have been that first creation if the Spirit of God had not come upon it.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.8

For that first creation to have remained without form, and void of all light and life and fruitfulness, could never have been to the glory of God. It would have been a blotch in space and a reproach to the Creator, worse than not to have been created at all.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.9

And for us who have been new created in Christ, to remain empty of the good works which God ordained, and void of light and life and fruitfulness unto God, can likewise never be to the glory of God. This, too, is to be a blotch in spiritual space, a reproach to the Creator, and worse than not to have been created at all.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.10

Even so it is said by the Lord: “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.11

Here was the man new created in Christ. The evil spirit had been expelled by the power of God. The place had been cleansed and garnished. It was empty. It was right that it should be emptied of all the old things: they were only evil. But it was emptied of these only in order that it might be filled with light, and life, and the good works which God had ordained. It could be filled with these only by the brooding presence of the Spirit of God. Yet this was not done. The Spirit of God was not received and retained and courted. Therefore the place remained empty; and when the original spirit returned, he found it empty. In addition to this he found it swept and garnished—a much nicer place to live in than it was before. He proposed, therefore, to have a nicer time than he had before, and he gathered to himself his seven companions worse than himself, and they filled the place.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.12

The place was created to be filled with light and life, fruit and beauty, to the glory of God. This could be only by the Spirit of God. That Spirit was not received and given the opportunity to fill it. It therefore remained empty. But it was not created to remain empty. Therefore when it could not be filled to the glory of God by the Spirit of God, it was filled to the reproach of God by the evil spirits.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.13

Now we know that there are many who have given themselves to God. They have received his word. They have been new created in Christ. But their lives have not been filled with the fruits of righteousness to the glory of God. They themselves bemoan the emptiness and unfruitfulness of their lives, as to the good works which God ordained. They themselves deplore the dark confusion of the old habits striving for the mastery against the longing desires for the symmetrical formation and firm establishment of the new. Dear, discouraged souls, receive the Spirit of God. Let him move upon that void and formless creation. Let him brood over that waste and confused life. Then that creation will not be in vain. It will be filled, formed, and made fruitful with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, with the good works which God before ordained that we should walk in them.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.14

It is only by the brooding, fruit-giving presence of the Spirit of God that this can ever be accomplished upon any creation of God. Therefore do not think of going one moment without this Spirit, by which alone can be accomplished the purpose of God in any of his creations. Thank him that he has new created you in Christ. Thank him that though this new creation be at first, or even now, after so long a time, without form, and void, yet the Spirit of God, moving, hovering thereon, can fulfil all the great purpose of God, to the glory of God forevermore.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.15

Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Be filled with the Spirit. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be, shall be called the Son of God.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.16

“Eulogies” The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald 74, 49, pp. 776, 777.

A EULOGY is, “specifically, a speech or writing delivered or composed for the express purpose of lauding [high praising] its subject.” To eulogize a person is thus to speak well, to speak in high praise, of him.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.1

Now, brother, sister, what would you think if you were told that God, even the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, had eulogized you? that is, that he had spoken and written well of you—yes, even in high praise of you? Would you think that such was an altogether extravagant statement?ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.2

Yet that is precisely what the Lord, the great God, has done. He tells you so in his own Word.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.3

You believe in Christ; you have received him; you have given yourself to him, to be his servant. Then read this: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath eulogized us with all spiritual eulogies in heavenly places in Christ.”ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.4

In our common version this reads, “Hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings,” etc. But the word translated “blessed” is eulogesas, and the word translated “blessings” is eulogia, in Greek, and, by adoption, is our English word “eulogy.” Therefore the Lord tells you plainly that he has eulogized you with all spiritual eulogies; that is, he has spoken well of you, he has spoken in high praise of you.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 776.5

What, then, has he spoken of you? What has he said in high praise of you?—Let us see. You have received Jesus. And on this he says, “As many as received him, to them gave he power, right, and privilege to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”ARSH December 7, 1897, page 777.1

He has spoken of you, then, as his son. Is this speaking well of you? Is this high praise of you? Read this word, and see how he himself regards it: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.”ARSH December 7, 1897, page 777.2

To be called the sons of God is to be the sons of God. And to be the sons of God is to be loved as he loves Jesus, his only begotten Son; for he has no favorites among his sons, he loves them all alike. And he wants the world to know that he loves us just as he loves Jesus. John 17:23, 26. And for him to speak so well of us is surely high praise.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 777.3

Again: he has spoken of you that you are his friend. Here is the word: “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” To be called the friend of God is to be the friend of God. And to be called, by the Lord himself, the friend of God, is nothing short of very high praise.ARSH December 7, 1897, page 777.4

But time and space would fail us to draw out fully all the eulogies the Lord has given of us,—“saints,” “holy brethren,” “dearly beloved,” etc., etc. And bear in mind that it is in the “heavenly places,” too, that he has eulogized us with all these wonderful eulogies. Think of the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, the King of the Universe, in the heavenly places, among the heavenly inhabitants, eulogizing us! Yet that is what he has done: he “hath eulogized us with all spiritual eulogies in heavenly places in Christ.”ARSH December 7, 1897, page 777.5

What, then?—Surely, when he has eulogized us, it is a very small thing that we should eulogize—speak well of, highly praise—him. And when he has eulogized us in heavenly places, shall we not eulogize him in earthly places? When he has eulogized us in heavenly places in Christ, shall we not eulogize him in earthly places in Christ? And shall we not thus, so far as may lie in us, do our part, as he has done his part, to cause heaven and earth to meet in Christ?ARSH December 7, 1897, page 777.6

O, then, let every one who has named the name of Christ exclaim forever and everywhere in earthly places, “Eulogized be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath eulogized us with all spiritual eulogies in heavenly places in Christ.”ARSH December 7, 1897, page 777.7