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Christ’s Representative, May 26
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment.
John 16:8
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As the Comforter shall come, and reprove you of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment, be careful lest you resist the Spirit of God.... Be willing
to discern what it shall reveal to you. Yield up your self-will, the long
idolized habits peculiar to yourself, that you may receive the principles of
truth.
At the cost of infinite sacrifice and suffering, Christ has provided for
us every essential to success in the Christian warfare. The Holy Spirit
brings power that enables man to overcome. It is through the agency of
the Spirit that the government of Satan is to be subdued. It is the Spirit
that convinces of sin, and, with the consent of the human being, expels
sin from the heart. The mind is then brought under a new law—the royal
law of liberty.
The Lord Jesus acts through the Holy Spirit; for it is His representative.
Through it He infuses spiritual life into the soul, quickening its energies
for good, cleansing from moral defilement, and giving it a fitness for
His kingdom. Jesus has large blessings to bestow, rich gifts to distribute
among men. He is the wonderful Counselor, infinite in wisdom and
strength; and if we will acknowledge the power of His Spirit, and submit
to be molded by it, we shall stand complete in Him. What a thought is
this! In Christ “dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye
are complete in him.”
Colossians 2:9, 10
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Never will the human heart know happiness until it is submitted to
be molded by the Spirit of God. The Spirit conforms the renewed soul
to the model, Jesus Christ. Through its influence, enmity against God is
changed into faith and love, and pride into humility. The soul perceives
the beauty of truth, and Christ is honored in excellence and perfection of
character. As these changes are effected, angels break out in rapturous
song, and God and Christ rejoice over souls fashioned after the divine
similitude.
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