The Sanctifying Operations of God's Spirit to His people
"Without
holiness no man shall see the Lord."
-HEBREWS
12:14 [KJV]
To
possess this holiness is a necessary and indispensable meetness for
the inheritance of the saints in light; but this meetness must be
wrought in us by the power of God's grace, for I am sure that in
ourselves of it we have none. But see its necessity. What happiness
could there be in the courts of bliss unless we had a nature to enjoy
it? Unless we were made capable of seeing Christ as He is, and
enjoying His presence for evermore, heaven would be no heaven to us.
Nothing unclean or unholy can enter there. Sanctification therefore
must be wrought in us by the power of God, to make us meet for the
heavenly inheritance, and He therefore communicates of His Spirit and
grace to give us heavenly affections, holy desires, gracious
thoughts, tender feelings; and above all that love whereby He is
loved as the altogether lovely.
By
the sanctifying operations of His Spirit, He separates us from
everything evil, plants His fear deep in the heart, that it may be a
fountain of life to depart from the snares of death; and works in us
a conformity to His suffering image here that we may be conformed to
His glorified image hereafter. Thus there is a perfect and an
imperfect sanctification—perfect by imputation, imperfect in its
present operations. But the one is the pledge of the other; so that
as surely as Christ now represents His people in heaven as their holy
Head, so will He eventually bring them to be for ever with Him in
those abodes of perfect holiness and perfect happiness which are
prepared for them as mansions of eternal light and love.
-Gospel
report by preacher J.C. Philpot (1802-1869 A.D.)
April
3rd, EARS FROM HARVESTED SHEAVES
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