CHRIST IN YOU - The Hope of Glory
"And
He
said unto them, Unto
you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but unto
them that are without, all these things are done in parables."
-Mark
4:11 [KJV]
By
"the
kingdom of God"
is meant the same thing as "the
kingdom of heaven,"
that is, the internal kingdom set up in the heart by the power of the
Spirit—that kingdom which shall stand for ever and ever, and last
when time shall be no more. This the Lord calls a mystery. And if it
is a mystery, it will have these three marks; it will be beyond
nature, sense, and reason, will be hidden from the wise and prudent,
and will be revealed unto babes. Let us see if we can find these
marks belonging to the kingdom of heaven set up in the heart. It
certainly is above nature, sense, and reason, that God should dwell
in a man's heart, as the Apostle says, "Christ
in you, the hope of glory"
and again, "Ye
are the temple of the living God;
as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them"
(2 Cor. 6:16).
That
God should take up His
abode in a man's heart; that Christ should be in a man; and the Holy
Ghost should make the body of His
saints His
temple; how can nature, sense, and reason understand such a mystery
as this? When one of the ancient martyrs, I think it was Polycarp,
was brought before Trajan, when the Emperor asked him his name, he
answered, "I am Polycarp, the
God-bearer, for I carry God in me!"
At this answer the Emperor laughed, and said, "Let
him be thrown to the wild beasts."
That was the only answer a persecuting tyrant could give. That a man
frail and feeble, whom a lion could tear to pieces in a few moments,
carried God in his bosom!—how could the wise and prudent Trajan
believe a thing so unheard of? Yet it is
a mystery revealed to babes; for they receive it in the love of it
under divine teaching, as one of the mysteries that God the Spirit
makes known in the heart.
-Gospel
report by preacher J.C.
Philpot (1802–1869 A.D.)
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