Chapter 316—The Sum and Substance
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by
Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect,
stablish, strengthen, settle you.
1 Peter 5:10
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When the truth is received, it will work radical changes in life and
character; for religion means the abiding of Christ in the heart, and where
He is, the soul goes on in spiritual activity, ever growing in grace, ever going
on to perfection....
It is no real evidence that you are a Christian because your emotion is
stirred, your spirit stirred by truth; the question is, Are you growing up into
Christ, your living head? Is the grace of Christ manifested in your life? God
gives His grace to men, that they may desire more of His grace. God’s grace
is ever working upon the human heart, and when it is received, the evidence
of its reception will appear in the life and character of its recipient.... The
grace of Christ in the heart will always promote spiritual life, and spiritual
advancement will be made.... We do not see the plants grow in the field,
and yet we are assured that they do grow, and may we not know of our own
spiritual strength and growth? ...
The sum and substance of the whole matter of Christian grace and
experience is contained in believing on Christ, in knowing God and His
Son whom He has sent. But here is where many fail, for they lack faith in
God. Instead of desiring to be brought into fellowship with Christ in His
self-denial and humiliation, they are ever seeking for the supremacy of self....
O, if you loved Him as He has loved you, you would not shun an
experience in the dark chapters of the suffering of the Son of God! ...
When we contemplate the humiliation of Christ, beholding His self-denial
and self-sacrifice, we are filled with amazement at the manifestation of divine
love for guilty man. When for Christ’s sake we are called to pass through
trials that are of a humiliating nature, if we have the mind of Christ, we shall
suffer them with meekness, not resenting injury, or resisting evil. We shall
manifest the spirit that dwelt in Christ....
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