Brilliantly shine through thee.
Beloved saints, take heed that there be not one spot in thee to obstruct the light of God. “Let it shine.” [pg 036] Submissively place thyself in the crucible and there be polished and refined and purged and cleansed until thou art “purer than snow, and whiter than milk, and more ruddy than rubies.”
How can the Lord now, since his ascension, shine through his church? The Scriptures make this very plain. Jesus told his own that he would not long be with them, but said, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world can not receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” John 14:16-18.
In verse twenty-six he tells us the Comforter is the Holy Ghost. In the second chapter of Acts we have the account of the Holy Spirit's coming. If you will again look over the quotation from John 14:16-18 you will notice he uses “Comforter” and “I” interchangeably. He will give you another Comforter. “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” The Holy Spirit's coming on Pentecost was Christ in another personage. Christ in the Spirit has now come to dwell in the midst of his people, and to be a light in them. Jesus was here in the body on a mission of mercy. He tasted death for every man. He comes again in the Spirit to “reprove the world of righteousness, of sin, and of judgment.” In Heb. 10:5 Jesus says, “A body hast thou prepared [pg 037] me.” A body in which to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He now has a body in which he dwells in the Spirit. Christians are “a holy temple in the Lord, in whom they are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.” Thus God inhabits his people, “dwells in them, and walks in them.” The church of God is now the body of Christ. He is the “head over all things to the church, which is his body.” Eph. 1:22, 23; see also Col. 1:18.
In speaking of saints in 1 Cor. 12:27 the apostle says, “Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular.” He was the light of the world in his incarnation, and now the church, his body, is the light of the world. Incarnate he was a light because of his purity and power, and he lives the same pure life and manifests the same marvelous power in his body, the church, as when here in his personal ministry. He healed the sick, cast out devils, opened blinded eyes, unstopped deaf ears, and raised the dead. After the Holy Spirit's coming he performs the same wondrous works in his body, the church. Through the apostle Peter he healed a lame man, restored to life a dead woman, etc. He is “the very same Jesus.” When he was here in the flesh he could be seen and his marvelous works witnessed by the natural eye. The Holy Spirit is imperceptible to the natural eye, and therefore can only reveal himself to the world as he works in the midst of his people. It is thus that Christians reflect the light of Christ.
In the sixteenth of Mark the Lord commanded his disciples to go “into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.” Ver. 15-19.
In verse nineteen it is said the Lord was received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God. In verse twenty it is said, “They [the disciples] went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.” The Lord worked with them; then he must have returned. He did in the manner we have told you. He returned to be a light in the midst of his people by confirming the truth wherever it is lifted up. He did do it, and he now does it. God bears witness to his truth, both with signs and wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost. Heb. 2:4. For Christianity to be a light there must be the performance of signs and wonders and divers miracles. Such is true Christianity, and such is her light, a queen swaying her scepter over the works of Satan, setting at liberty the captives, breaking the [pg 039] bands of Satan asunder, healing the diseased, and scattering peace and bright hopes in the hearts of men. Glory to God forevermore!
The Beauties Of Christian Character.
Not only does the Lord dwell in the midst of his people to perform deeds and signs of wonder, but he dwells in them in all the beauty of his holiness. In their hearts he rules a “King of peace” and purity. Those in whom he dwells “walk even as he walked,” and “as he is, so are they in this world.”
A certain writer speaks thus of the beauties of Christian character: “Live as we may, age dims the luster of the eye, and pales the flush of the cheek, while infirmity mars the human form divine. But while this is true, dim as the eye is, pallid and sunken as may be the face of beauty, frail and feeble that once strong, erect and symmetrical form, the immortal soul, just fledging its wings for heaven, may look out through those faded windows, as beautiful as a dewdrop on a summer's morning, as melting as the tears that glisten in affection's eye, by growing kindly, by cultivating sympathy with all mankind, by cherishing forbearance toward the follies and fribbles of our race, and feeding day by day on that love of God and man which lifts us from the brute and makes us akin to angels.”