Nov 16
22
This sacred anointing
(J. C. Philpot, “The Unction of the Holy One”)
“But you have an anointing from the Holy One.”
1 John 2:20
Wherever the anointing of the Holy One touches
a man’s heart it spreads itself, widening and
extending its operations. It thus communicates
divine gifts and graces wherever it comes. It . . .
bestows and draws out faith,
gives repentance and godly sorrow,
causes secret self-loathing, and
separation from the world,
draws the affections upwards,
makes sin hated, and
Jesus and His salvation loved.
Wherever the anointing of the Holy Spirit touches
a man’s heart it diffuses itself through his whole
soul, and makes him wholly a new creature. It . . .
gives new motives,
communicates new feelings,
enlarges and melts the heart, and
spiritualizes and draws the affections upwards.
Without this sacred anointing . . .
all our religion is a bubble,
all our profession a lie, and
all our hopes will end in despair.
O what a mercy to have one drop of this heavenly
anointing! To enjoy one heavenly feeling! To taste
the least measure of Christ’s love shed abroad in the
heart! What an unspeakable mercy to have one touch,
one glimpse, one glance, one communication out of
the fullness of Him who fills all in all!
By this anointing from the Holy One, the
children of God are supported under . . .
afflictions,
perplexities,
and sorrows.
By this anointing from the Holy One,
they see the hand of God . . .
in every chastisement,
in every providence,
in every trial,
in every grief, and
in every burden.
By this anointing from the Holy One they can
bear chastisement with meekness; and put
their mouth in the dust, humbling themselves
under the mighty hand of God.
Every good word,
every good work,
every gracious thought,
every holy desire,
every spiritual feeling
do we owe to this one thing:
the anointing of the Holy One.
“But you have an anointing from the Holy One.”
1 John 2:20
Why regeneration is called a new creation?
Henry Mahan
“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.”
(2 Corinthians 5:17)
1. The old creation and the new creature have the same Author. “In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Paul said in Ephesians
2:10, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus.”
2. The first thing in the new creation as well as the old is light! “And
God said, Let there be light, and there was light.” 2 Corinthians 4:6,
“God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in
our hearts to give us the knowledge of the glory of God in Christ.”
3. The first creation is out of nothing; so is the new creation! 1 Peter
2:10, “In time past you were not a people, but are now the people of
God.” Ephesians 2:1, “And you hath He quickened, who were dead.”
4. The Spirit of God and the Word of God gave the world its being even
as we were born again by the Spirit and the Word. Moses wrote, “The
Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters and God said, Let there
be light; and there was light .”
5. The same word and power which created the world now sustains and
supports it! 2 Peter 3:7, “But the heavens and the earth, which are now,
by the same word are kept in store.” Even so, “we are kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation.”
6. When the Lord God finished the first creation, He surveyed it with
satisfaction. Genesis 1:31, “And God saw everything that He had made,
and behold, it was very good.” Even so, “We are made the very
righteousness of God in Christ.”
Philip Doddridge wrote in 1755:
“That spotless robe, which He hath wrought,
Shall cleanse and cover all around;
And by the Holy eye of God
Not one blemish shall be found.”
The natural heart of man is concerned only with natural, temporal
things. The desires of the flesh and mind are by natural origin
self-centered. Man is a habitual self-serving creature. He may be at
times, (especially when in the presence of the gospel), consciously
aware of this but finds it impossible to change because this is his love
– “ … men shall be lovers of their own selves … lovers of pleasures more
than lovers of God” 2Timothy 3:2 & 4. He may reform outwardly for a
while and try to adjust his priorities and even strive to think
differently, but alas, he is like the dog and its vomit and the sow and
its muck. He has not a heart for Christ, His gospel, or His church. This
is not his love. This is not his desire. He has only a desire for the
vomit and the muck (2Peter 2:22).
The only way one will ever have a heart for the things of God will be if
God gives him a new heart and a new Spirit. God’s promise to His people
is, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put
within you …”. The new heart which God gives has preeminence over the
old one. Oh yes, the old heart is still there to aggravate and even
temporarily distract us. However, “Ye are of God, little children, and
have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that
is in the world” 1John 4:4.
The new heart is one of faith, love and commitment. The new heart
embraces Christ, His gospel and His church. This comes as natural to the
new heart as embracing self and the things of the world comes to the old
heart. If we have not a new heart and Spirit when temptation comes, when
cares come, when it is time for self-denial, we will take the low road
to fulfilling the desires of the flesh and mind and it will be revealed
we are yet the servants of self rather than the servants of God. We will
be, in our heart, true to what we treasure most – “For where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also” Matthew 6:21.
Tommy Robbins.
The scriptures tell us that there is only One Creator, it is God
almighty. When we read in the word of God that we are “new creatures”
and “created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph.4:24). What does
it mean? Since only God can create, then this “new creation” can only be
the work of God.
The first thing about the new creation is, that it is In Christ as are
all things, “that old things are passed away; behold, all things are
become new”.
What has passed away? That we once knew Christ after the flesh, after a
fleshly carnal manner, we didn’t know him as the sovereign, successful,
Savior. We once thought he died for all men, now we know that the ones
he died for died with him.
We once lived for ourselves, now the love of Christ constrains us. We
now know that He loved us before the world was and gave Himself for our
sins. Such love for us must respond with love for him.
We walked by sight we now walk by faith, which we now know is the gift
of God. We knew nothing of any righteousness but our own, now we know
that there is only one righteousness and that it was Christ’s and in the
new creation we have him who is our righteousness. We now know how
horrible sin is, that the only way it can be dealt with justly was for
God “to make him sin who knew no sin”, and the only way we can be
righteous is for God to make us so.
For all the “old things passed away” there “are new things.” It is new
that we “groan to be clothed upon with our house from heaven”. If we
will be honest with the 2 Corinthians 5 it will be obvious that there
were “old things we believed, old ways that we lived, that have passed
away” and there “are new things”. Faith is new, love for Christ is new,
his righteousness is new, and reconciliation is new, that all for whom
Christ died, died with him. Not knowing Christ after the flesh is new,
we now know Him spiritually. How did “old things pass away, and all
things become new?” God made us New Creatures In Christ!
Don Bell.
GOD’S TRUE ISRAEL
Genesis 21: 12…In Isaac shall thy seed be called
God told Abraham not all his physical children were God’s true Israel.
God told him to cast out his son Ishmael, “For in Isaac shall thy seed
be called.” (Gen 21: 19) God tells us what he meant. “They are not all
Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of
Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the
children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the
seed. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and
Sara shall have a son.” (Rom 9: 6-9) God’s true Israel are the children
of promise, elected of God by free grace. He promised that each elect
child shall be born again of God the Holy Spirit at God’s appointed time
like Isaac was born of God at the set time.
Furthermore, God told Abraham that God’s true Israel were not only among
political Israel but also scattered among the Gentiles. God said of
Abraham, “All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?” (Gen
18: 18) Again, God tells us what he meant. “And the scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached
before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be
blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful
Abraham…(Gal 3: 8-9)
Lastly, God told Abraham that it was in Christ that all God’s elect
would be made into his one holy nation. “And in thy seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed.” (Gen 22: 18) Once more God tells us
what he meant. “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He
saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed,
which is Christ.” (Gal 3: 16) The reason it is certain that all God’s
elect, redeemed children shall be born-again and called to faith is
because the Father promised Christ they would the same as God promised
Abraham. The word of promise is “at this time will I come” and each
elect child shall be born of the Spirit like as Isaac was born at the
set time according to promise.
So we see that God made political Israel and fulfilled every earthly
promise to them to show that God alone puts a difference between his
spiritual Israel and the rest of the world by divine election, by blood
redemption and by divine regeneration. Those for whom the triune God has
performed this promised work are the true Israel of God, “For ye are all
the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have
been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female:
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye
Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal 3: 26-29)
“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.” (Gal 4: 28)
Clay Curtis.