Transformed by Grace
369
serious defects of character; and each had access to the divine grace
that transforms character. But while one in humility was learning
of Jesus, the other revealed that he was not a doer of the word, but a
hearer only. One, daily dying to self and overcoming sin, was sanctified
through the truth; the other, resisting the transforming power of grace
and indulging selfish desires, was brought into bondage to Satan.
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Such transformation of character as is seen in the life of John
is ever the result of communion with Christ. There may be marked
defects in the character of an individual, yet when he becomes a true
disciple of Christ, the power of divine grace transforms and sanctifies
him. Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, he is changed from
glory to glory, until he is like Him whom he adores.
John was a teacher of holiness, and in his letters to the church he
laid down unerring rules for the conduct of Christians. “Every man
that hath this hope in him,” he wrote, “purifieth himself, even as He is
pure.” “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk,
even as He walked.”
1 John 3:3
;
2:6
. He taught that the Christian must
be pure in heart and life. Never should he be satisfied with an empty
profession. As God is holy in His sphere, so fallen man, through faith
in Christ, is to be holy in his sphere.
“This is the will of God,” the apostle Paul wrote, “even your sanc-
tification.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3
. The sanctification of the church is
God’s object in all His dealings with His people. He has chosen them
from eternity, that they might be holy. He gave His Son to die for
them, that they might be sanctified through obedience to the truth,
divested of all the littleness of self. From them He requires a personal
work, a personal surrender. God can be honored by those who pro-
fess to believe in Him, only as they are conformed to His image and
controlled by His Spirit. Then, as witnesses for the Saviour, they may
make known what divine grace has done for them.
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True sanctification comes through the working out of the principle
of love. “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God,
and God in him.”
1 John 4:16
. The life of him in whose heart Christ
abides, will reveal practical godliness. The character will be purified,
elevated, ennobled, and glorified. Pure doctrine will blend with works
of righteousness; heavenly precepts will mingle with holy practices.
Those who would gain the blessing of sanctification must first
learn the meaning of self-sacrifice. The cross of Christ is the central