Galatians 6:11-18 "Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." The glory of the believer is not in what he has done, nor in what he has avoided, nor in what he has become. His only glory is in the cross of the LORD Jesus Christ. All boasting of the flesh is shut out, for the flesh profits nothing. Every religious work that men perform in order to attempt to make themselves righteous before God is but the same effort of Adam to cover himself with fig leaves. The world glories in the outward show, but the believer glories only in Christ crucified, and His work on the cross accomplished for their justification before God.. The apostle wrote, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.14). That was not the language of a man who merely admired the cross from a distance; it was the confession of one who had been nailed there in Christ as his Substitute. The cross to him was not a piece of wood nor a symbol of religion, but the place where sin was put away, where Justice was satisfied, and where Love was revealed. In that cross the believer sees the Wisdom, Power, and Righteousness of God. Those who sought to make a fair show in the flesh desired to glory in their converts’ circumcision. They were afraid of persecution for the cross of Christ. They wanted to avoid the offense of the cross. But the cross has always been an offense. It declares man’s total ruin. It leaves no room for human merit, no space for pride, no foundation for boasting. The cross says that the world is condemned already apart from Christ, and that Salvation is wholly of the LORD. In the cross of the LORD Jesus, the believer sees the end of himself. He is crucified with Christ. The world is crucified unto him, and he unto the world. There is now a separation that can never be undone. The man who once loved the world now counts it dead. Its pleasures, honors, and religion are but dust and ashes. The believer’s life is hid with Christ in God. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20). This crucifixion to the world is not a product of discipline or effort, but the result of union with Christ. When He died, His people died in Him; when He rose, they rose with Him. The same power that raised up Jesus from the dead works in them that believe. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Because of Christ’s death, the old things of the law, with it’s condemnation have passed away. Therefore the apostle says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature” (Galatians 6:15). The believer glories in the cross because everything he needs is found there. Righteousness, Redemption, Peace, and Life are all obtained by the blood of the Lamb. The cross is the altar where God met man in Judgment and Mercy. It is the Throne where Grace reigns through Righteousness unto Eternal Life. At the cross the sinner sees what sin deserves and what Love has procured for the Salvation of God’s elect. “He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). The world cannot understand such glory. It glories in wisdom, power, wealth, and religion; but the believer glories in shame, weakness, and death, because in that death is eternal life. The cross stands as the dividing line between the old creation and the New, between the curse and the Blessing, between death and Life everlasting. So the believer says with Paul, the world behind me, the cross before me. The flesh may seek to glory, but the heart that has seen Christ crucified by the Spirit of God has nothing left to boast of but Him. All that was once gain is counted loss for His sake. The cross is the believer’s message, his Hope, his Life, and his Song forever.

Isaiah 26:15-21 "Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD. We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." Isaiah 26 unfolds as a song of rejoicing that looks forward to a Great Deliverance worked by the LORD. It is a song born out of chastening, the kind of chastening that proves both the Love and the Sovereignty of God. Israel’s story unfolds beneath God's heavy hand of Divine correction — the ten tribes carried away by Assyria, Judah later taken by Babylon — yet none of it fell outside the LORD’s purpose. He was proving something greater: that His people, in themselves, were no better than the nations He used to judge them. The lesson remains — the heart of man is the same in every nation, and it is only Grace that makes the difference (Ephesians 2:4). In the midst of judgment, the prophet sees Mercy. “Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD… thou art glorified.” The LORD did not chasten to destroy, but to purify, to glorify Himself in Mercy. His dealings were not for Israel’s merit but for His Son’s sake. The favored nation was chosen out and preserved so that Christ might come through it. So every stroke of Divine correction upon His people was not in wrath but Love, not punishment for sin, for Christ bore that, but chastening by means of sin, that we might be turned again unto Him. “Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth” (Hebrews 12:6). The prophet likens their pain to that of a woman in travail. It is not meaningless agony, but suffering that brings forth life. The pain is real — no one enjoys it, and no child of God seeks it — yet it is purposeful. The woman’s cry is not the end but the means to Joy. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). Through the throes of chastening, the LORD draws His own nearer. Every idol stripped away, every comfort taken, until the heart cries, “ O Thou in whose presence my soul takes delight. ” When there is nothing left but Christ, the soul finds Him all-sufficient. The LORD’s chastening is a Mercy. To be left alone would be the greater terror. The absence of correction would mean the absence of sonship. Every chastening, painful though it is, bears the seal of Love. “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). The Shepherd disciplines the sheep that wander, not in anger but in covenant affection. His aim is not destruction but restoration. The same Hand that smites is the Hand that binds the chastening wounds. The people of God in captivity learned to “pour out a prayer” (v.16) when His chastening was upon them. This statement speaks not of empty words, but of the offering of the heart — a pouring out as a drink offering upon the altar, flowing from the only acceptable Sacrifice, the blood of Christ. True prayer, wrought in affliction, is shaped by Christ crucified at the cross. It comes not from formality but from need — from a soul brought low, taught to seek the LORD in secret. “In their affliction they will seek me early” (Hosea 5:15). That is the blessed Purpose of Divine correction — to bring the heart back to the place of dependence, to renew the cry of Grace. The chastening of the LORD is both painful and needful. It is tailor-made for every one of His children. The LORD knows exactly how to deal with each soul to cause it to look to Christ. No book, no counsel, no human hand can remove what He has purposed. And yet, afterward, it yields “the peaceable fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11). Peace is not the absence of trial, but the Presence of Christ in the midst of it. “Thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us” (Isaiah 26:12). He ordains Peace through conflict, Righteousness through chastening, Rest through dependence upon His finished work. All enemies that rise against His people are already conquered. “They are dead, they shall not rise” (v.14). For when Christ died, He destroyed every enemy — sin, law, and Satan alike. “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us… nailing it to his cross… and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly” (Colossians 2:14–15). The believer’s Security is found in that Victory. The law can no longer condemn; the accuser has no power to touch those hidden in Christ. Even when the LORD causes affliction through the hands of men, He uses them only as instruments to do His will, never to destroy His own. And when the discipline is finished, He calls His people to rest: “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers… hide thyself… until the indignation be overpast.” It is a call by Christ to retreat into Christ Himself — the Chamber of Mercy, the place of Safety purchased by His blood. The world may be under judgment, but those sheltered in Him have Peace. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest… Jesus the Son of God… let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14–16). Chastening drives the child of God into those chambers — away from self, into Christ. There the soul finds Defense, Comfort, and Quietness until the storm has passed. For the chastening of the LORD always ends in the same place — not despair, but Peace. The same Hand that wounds also heals His child. The same Love that corrects comforts. And in it all, the LORD glorifies Himself in His Son. Thus, Isaiah’s song becomes the believer’s song: rejoicing not in the absence of trial, but in the God Who turns chastening into grace, affliction into fellowship, and pain into peace. “Thy dead men shall live… together with my dead body shall they arise” (v.19). Every correction, every sorrow, every stroke leads to that Resurrection Life where Christ and His people shall stand together in Glory, and the chastening of the LORD shall be forever past.

Titus 3:12-15 "When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter. Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them. And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful. All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen." Love for the brethren! They are those chosen in Christ, saved by His blood shed unto death at the cross, and called to Him by the Spirit of Grace. Here is a love that is not born from human will or sentiment, but from the cross of the LORD Jesus Christ. Every true affection toward the people of God flows out of His particular Love, that eternal and unconditional Love that brought Christ down to satisfy law and justice. Any true Love must have its Root there. " And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16). True and everlasting Love flows from the perfect harmony between the Father and the Son—in all things about creation, providence, salvation, and even judgment. God does all things out of perfect Love for the Son, and the Son, in turn, out of perfect Love for the Father. There has never been, nor will there ever be, any tension or disagreement between them, for they are One in Love, purpose, and determination. As Christ declared, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30–38). It is that very Love of the Father for the Son which, by the Spirit, flows into the hearts and minds of God’s chosen and redeemed people, moving them to love one another as brethren in the household of faith. The world has much to say about “love,” yet what it calls love is often self-serving—rooted in pride and human effort. Likewise, in relation to God, the religion of the natural mind teaches its followers to attempt to earn or maintain His favor through their own deeds. But Scripture clearly declares that nothing we do of ourselves can ever obtain that favor. Love that begins with self always ends in disappointment: it demands recognition, insists on repayment, and, when unacknowledged, turns bitter. The Love that is of God, however, flows freely, for it springs from Him toward His elect in Christ and is the fruit of His Grace. "We love him, because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Paul’s closing words to Titus reveal this Love in action. The apostle’s concern is not for himself but for the care of the LORD’s people and the furtherance of the Gospel. “When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis” (Titus 3:12). There is here a true oneness of mind and spirit, the fellowship of those who labor together in the Gospel. They are not bound by earthly ties, but by the Spirit of Christ Who unites His people in one direction and one purpose. Paul’s love was not a general affection. It was love for a particular people—the brethren, those in Christ. Just as a father’s love for his children is distinct and tender, so is the believer’s love for those who are born of God. The apostle names men who shared this labor—Artemas, Tychicus, Zenas the lawyer, and Apollos. These were not mere acquaintances; they were fellow laborers in the Faith, precious to him because they shared in the work of Christ. This Love could not be explained in worldly terms—it was the work of the Spirit. " We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:14). The call for Titus to bring Zenas and Apollos on their journey “that nothing be wanting unto them” (Titus 3:13) shows a love that cares for the needs of others. Everything we have has been given by God; it is borrowed goods, to be used for His glory. In the early church, “as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them…and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need” (Acts 4:34–35). Such giving was not a forced obligation, nor was it an attempt to earn merit, but it was the natural fruit of God's Love that reaches out to those in need within Christ's church. Paul’s exhortation is: “Let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful” (Titus 3:14). This reveals that True Love (the Love of the Father for the Son and those chosen in Him) is always active in His people through that Love. These good works are not spiritual performances to earn favor with God, but the fruit of Christ's labor on their behalf that causes them to love, serve, and honor their brethren. " Good works" are God's works in, by and through the LORD Jesus Christ toward those who are brethren in the Faith, that He has saved by His death, burial and resurrection, and called by His Grace. The believer works with his hands, as Paul did in tent-making so that he may give to help and support others more needy in the body of Christ. Love for the brethren shows itself not in mere words but in grateful service, in the quiet, steady care for one another’s needs as the LORD prospers and directs, and not to be seen of others, or desire for reward (Matthew 6:1). Finally, this love is bound up in The Faith of God in Christ Himself. “All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all” (Titus 3:15) . Love for the brethren flows from Love for The Faith—the Truth of Who Christ is, what He has accomplished, and for whom He has done it. Where there is a shared revelation of The Faith, there is a shared Love that cannot be broken. It is this Faith that binds believers together. It is why the church gathers, why the Gospel is preached, and why hearts are knit in one accord. The same grace that brought Christ to the cross is the grace that keeps His people in Love. It is particular, effectual, and everlasting. The scripture warning is "' If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" (I John 4:20). To love the brethren, then, is the love of Christ Himself, and flows from Him—to His people. This Love is not in the flesh but is from the Spirit of Christ Himself (2 Corinthians 13:14). It is not for gain, nor for recognition, but because He first loved us.

Esther 10 "And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea. And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed." Here we come to a day of deliverance and rejoicing. The story of Esther comes to its close, and like a good book, you almost want to turn back and read it again. These three short verses form an epilogue, and in verse 3 we behold Mordecai as a type of Christ—exalted, accepted, and speaking Peace to all His seed. “Mordecai the Jew was next unto King Ahasuerus.” Think of Joseph back in Genesis, promoted to be Pharaoh’s authority. Any that wanted anything from the land of Egypt had to come through him. So it is with Christ. Joseph was a picture of Christ in His sufferings and exaltation, and Mordecai mirrors that same Glory. Christ was to come from the tribe of Judah, and Mordecai, the Jew, stands as a testimony to that lineage of promise. His position next to the king pictures Christ, Who has been raised up to sit at the Right Hand of God the Father , having declared, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). Mordecai was “ great among the Jews.” No matter how great the LORD Jesus Christ is among the nations, for His people, there’s none greater. Christ is not merely LORD over all the earth; He is the Beloved of His redeemed. He is “accepted of the multitude of His brethren,” even as Romans 8:29 says, “that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” His people delight in His greatness, for He is their Salvation and their Joy. Mordecai was “seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.” What a picture of Christ’s heart toward His church! In Christ we find all of our Wealth, and in Him are hidden all the treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge. He is the One Who “speaks peace to all His seed.” “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Christ has procured by His death the eternal riches for His people and obtained their eternal Peace by His own blood. The day of deliverance for the Jews was a shadow of that greater redemption in Christ. Their sorrow was turned into joy, and mourning into a good day—a “ God day, ” for “good" is a derivative of God. “ There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus ” (Romans 8:1). What once was a day of execution became a feast day of salvation. So it is with the cross. The very event purposed for evil, as Joseph said, “Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good” (Genesis 50:20), God turned it for the eternal Blessing of His people. The lot that was cast against the Jews—the Purim—was a type of God’s sovereign will and purpose. “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord” (Proverbs 16:33). In that lot, we see divine election and eternal purpose. “According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4), Christ’s people were chosen in Him, their deliverance decreed before time began. Even the wicked hands that crucified Christ did so, “ by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). They meant it for evil, but God purposed it for good. The cross, like the gallows Haman built, became the place of victory for God’s chosen people. So we end where Esther ends—with exaltation and peace. Mordecai stands next to the king; Christ sits upon His throne. The decree of death is overturned; the Day of Salvation has come. " All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Indeed, “Mordecai the Jew was next unto King Ahasuerus.” Christ, our greater Mordecai, is next unto the King of Heaven—exalted, beloved, and reigning. In Him, and by Him every Spiritual blessing is given to His people, (Ephesians 1:3). Because of His finished work and exaltation, Peace is granted to all His seed, (Romans 5:1,2) . He is our Peace! Blessed be His name forever.

Psalm 3 "LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah." “LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me” (v.1). In these words David speaks, yet beyond David we behold Christ, " the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3). As David fled from Absalom, his own son, so the LORD Jesus was betrayed by one who walked with Him, who lifted up his heel against Him and betrayed Him with a kiss. The enemies were many, and they said, “There is no help for him in God” (v.2). At Calvary they wagged their heads and mocked, “He saved others; himself he cannot save” (Matthew 27:42). Yet in all this, the purpose of God stood firm, for " it pleased the LORD to bruise Him" (Isaiah 53:10) . " He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5). “But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head” (v.3). When men looked upon Christ as forsaken, the Father was even then His Shield. Though He bore our sins and appeared stricken, smitten of God, yet He was His Beloved in Whom He was well pleased. The resurrection of Christ was the lifting up of His head . God raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own Right Hand, crowning Him with glory and honor. The Father became His glory, and in Him the glory of all His people is by Him (John 17: 5). “I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill” (v.4). Here is the voice of Faith (Christ) in the night of sorrow. The Son cried to His Father in the days of His flesh, “with strong crying and tears” (Hebrews 5:7). He was heard in that He feared, not spared from death, but delivered through death. The Father heard Him from His holy hill, and the proof is the empty tomb. He Who lay in the dust of death now lives forevermore, and because He lives, we shall live also (Hebrews 7:25). “I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me” (v.5). What a picture of Christ’s death and resurrection ! He laid down His life of Himself; no man took it from Him. He slept the sleep of death in the tomb, resting in the covenant promise. On the third day, He awoke, sustained by the Power of God. The LORD raised Him, declaring His satisfaction in the finished work of redemption. In Him, every believer is raised to newness of life (Ephesians 2:6). “I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about” (v.6). Here is the holy courage of our Redeemer. He set His face like a flint toward Jerusalem. The raging of men and devils could not turn Him aside. Though surrounded by “many bulls of Bashan” (Psalm 22:12), He trusted His Father perfectly. The courage of Christ becomes the confidence of His people; because He feared not, we need not fear. “Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God: for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly” (v.7). The resurrection was the LORD’s arising. In it He triumphed over all His enemies—sin, Satan, and death. Their teeth are broken; they can no longer devour. “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth” (Romans 8:33). “Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people” (v.8). All salvation is the LORD’s doing. It is His purpose, His power, His grace from first to last. We contribute nothing; we receive everything. Even repentance, faith, and assurance are His gifts. Christ’s sorrow is not to move our pity but our praise. He bore our sin, conquered our enemies, and now blesses His people from His holy hill.

Romans 2:1-11 "Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God." We all are sinners by nature, but “the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things” (v.2). God does not save anybody because He finds anything good in them, nor does He condemn anybody because of any kind of evil in them per se. He judges righteously according to righteous judgment. It is not based on outward appearance, nationality, or profession. The Jews are no better than the Gentiles. Professions are a dime a dozen; ethnicity and outward works mean nothing. God looks to His Son, the LORD Jesus Christ, as His justification to save those that He gave His Son to save. The law of God was never given as a means of salvation. "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (Romans 3:19). How shall we escape? Not by our own righteousness, but “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4). It is nothing in us, but all in His Perfect and completed work at Calvary. Christ came and earned that Righteousness God requires and established it. He laid down His life, and when He cried, “It is finished,” it was finished. Since we are all sinners, guilty before God, there is nothing that can be said of someone else's sin that does not point back to our own. The Spirit convicts us of our own sinfulness. Anyone outside of Christ stands condemned on their own merit. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). He is the only Way to be righteous before God. “Thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?” (v.3). The judgment of God is righteous, true, and impartial. Men try to cover themselves with religion, traditions, or outward morality, but none of that can hide sin from God. Just as Adam and Eve were stripped of fig leaves and clothed in the skins of slain animals, so God strips all pretense. All must be judged according to their deeds. There is a set of books called the Books of Works; outside of Christ, there is nothing but condemnation. But the book of the Lamb slain contains the names of those saved by the work of Christ in His shed blood unto death, (Revelation 13:8) . The Lamb was slain since the foundation of the world, but the names were written before the foundation of the world, for whom He should come and die (Ephesians 1:3-5). “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth” (Romans 8:33). “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Romans 8:34). His very Presence in glory is our Hope. We are hidden with Him in God. “To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life” (v.7), that is Christ ! Those who trust Christ have already been objects of God's grace from before time, but in God's appointed time are brought to trust in Him as ALL their Salvation. Those who reject Him, who are contentious and do not obey the Truth, but obey unrighteousness (self-righteousness), treasure up wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God (v.5). “Glory and honour and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile” (v. 10). There is no respect of persons with God. The wrath of God will be poured out on all men guilty of sin outside of Christ, but His mercy is on all those chosen in Christ, Jew and Gentile alike, for whom He paid their sin debt (Galatians 3:28). Only what Christ has done will last; only His work on behalf of sinners stands. The sinner is delivered out of condemnation and clothed in the Righteousness of God in Christ. Salvation is not in us, but in Him, for in Christ alone we find Hope, Life, and Glory.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation." "Blessed be God, even the Father of our LORD Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort." The heart of Paul’s message beats here. Every word of praise that flows from his lips is born out of affliction and yet rises heavenward in thanksgiving. Comfort is not born in ease; it is born in the furnace of suffering. This comfort is not sentimental—it is strength. It is the divine consolation that flows from the Heart of Christ into the hearts of His afflicted people. God is called the “Father of mercies.” All mercy originates in Him, flows through His Son, and is applied to the soul by His Spirit. When we speak of Mercy, we are speaking of the very Nature of God revealed in Jesus Christ. The Father is the Fountain; Christ is the Reason. The Mercy that spares, the Mercy that saves, the Mercy that sustains—all of it comes through the Son Who suffered for us. And He is “the God of all comfort.” That phrase is the foundation of all true God-given consolation. It means that there is no sorrow to which He does not have a Word of Peace, no affliction to which He cannot minister strength, no desolation in which His presence cannot be felt. All comfort begins with God and ends with God. The same LORD Who once said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28), still calls His people to Himself. Paul knew this comfort in the deepest trials. He was pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that he despaired even of life (2 Corinthians 1:8). Yet out of that darkness he discovered that God comforts us in all our tribulation. Not in some, not in most—but in all. There is no circumstance too great for His comfort, and no child of God so broken that He cannot hold them and keep them, seeing that it is God's gracious Hand in Christ directing every loving chastisement for His glory. The comfort of God is the ministry of Christ to the soul through the Spirit, Who is the Divine Paraclete (John 14:16). He comforts us as His children, not merely to soothe us, but that we may be able to comfort others. Every believer becomes a vessel of consolation, carrying to others what they have first received from Christ. The afflictions of God’s people are not wasted. They are sanctified for the good of others. The sufferer becomes a minister. The wounded are blessed by their comfort to bring healing to others. The one who has been consoled by the God of all Comfort becomes a living testimony of His faithfulness. The sufferings of Christ abound in us, but so also does our consolation abound by Christ. He who drank the bitter cup to the very last dregs now gives the Water of Life to His people. The measure of our suffering is the measure of His comfort. As His afflictions overflow into our lives, His consolation overflows in greater measure. Christ Himself is the Comfort. He is the Mercy of God incarnate, the Divine “Yea” and “Amen” of every promise (2 Corinthians 1:20). Paul declares, "whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation" (v. 6). In both suffering and comfort, God is working the same purpose—to glorify Christ in us and to build His church in Love. Nothing is wasted. Every tear has meaning. Every trial becomes an instrument of Grace. Our Hope is steadfast, because Christ is ever the Faithful One. The same God Who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1:9) sustains His people through every trial. The Comfort of the Father through the Son by the Spirit teaches us to trust Him more fully. The afflicted learn the language of praise. Out of tribulation comes thanksgiving. Out of weakness comes strength. Out of sorrow comes the sweetest fellowship with Christ, the Man of Sorrows Who is acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3). Blessed be the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ. He is the Father of mercies. He is the God of all comfort. In Christ, He comforts us in all our tribulations, that we might comfort others with the same comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. By Him, and His gracious disciplines in love, we find again and again that all our sufficiency is of God alone, and all our consolation is in Christ.

Job 10 "My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me. Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth? Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days, That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin? Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand. Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me. Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again? Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. And these things hast thou hid in thine heart: I know that this is with thee. If I sin, then thou markest me, and thou wilt not acquit me from mine iniquity. If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction; For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me. Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me. Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness." In these words the Spirit teaches us that all Scripture speaks of Christ, and here Job stands as a shadow of the Suffering Savior (Luke 24:27) . The anguish of Job typifies the anguish of Christ. The bitterness of Job’s soul foreshadows the bitterness of the sin-Bearer Who entered into the full darkness of sorrow, as the God/Man, the "man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3), on behalf of those sinners chosen by His Father that He should come and bear their sin debt. Job’s cry opens the mystery of redemption: the innocent suffering in the place of the guilty. Job’s weary soul mirrors the hour of Gethsemane, where Jesus said, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death” (Matthew 26:38). The bitterness of soul is the bitterness of the Passover herbs—symbols of affliction fulfilled in Christ. In the garden He drank the cup that none but He could drink, the cup of God's just wrath, and in that cup was all the wormwood and gall of sin. Job’s despair shows the depth of what Christ would bear when He became the Offering for sin. He was without sin, yet made sin for us—not personally sinful, but made a sin offering  (2 Corinthians 5:21). When Job pleads, “Show me wherefore thou contendest with me,” (Job 10:2), it echoes the cry of the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46). Job’s bewilderment foreshadows the holy forsakenness of the Redeemer, but not abandoned by the Father. Job felt condemned, but Christ was truly condemned that His people might never be condemned again (Romans 8:1). The eye of the Father was ever on His Son, even as it was ever on Job, and therefore was not abandoned, but rather ordained to remain on the cross to fully accomplish God the Father's law and justice before laying down His life, because He had to answer the exacting holiness of God the Father for those for whom He hung on the cursed tree and died. Therefore, Job, the sufferer of Uz, points forward to the Sufferer of Calvary, where the Righteous was delivered into the hands of the wicked by the determinate counsel of God (Acts 2:23). “Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together… yet thou dost destroy me” (Job 10:8). Here we behold the mystery of God's absolute sovereignty. Job cannot understand how the same God Who formed him now breaks him. This is but a shadow, however, of how in Christ the wonder grows deeper: the Creator Himself became the creature, fashioned in the womb to be broken on the cross (Philippians 2:9-11). The Hands that shaped the universe were stretched upon the tree. The wounds of those Hands remain the only scars in heaven, eternal witnesses of His redeeming everlasting love. “These things hast thou hid in thine heart” (Job 10:13).  Job perceives the secret purpose of God’s unfolding decree is hidden, but never unjust. Christ “foreordained before the foundation of the world” to be the Lamb without blemish and without spot, (1 Peter 1:19). The suffering of the Son was not an accident of history but the revelation of God's eternal purpose: the holiness of God satisfied, the horror of sin unveiled, and the Grace of Salvation revealed in the saving of sinners of God's choosing by His suffering unto death. When Job speaks of descending into “the land of darkness" (Job 10:22), he contrasts his uncertainty with the sure triumph of Christ. Before the cross, the Old Testament believers went down into the land of darkness, or 'sheol,' the place of the dead, waiting for their redemption when Christ would come and pay their sin debt (Job 19:27-29) . But when Christ entered death, He went into the depths of greatest darkness to bring His people out into the light. “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,” said the prophecy (Psalm 16; Acts 2). Death’s land is now conquered ground for the elect of God. Now, to die is to be with Christ, which is far better (Philippians 1:21; 2 Corinthians 5:8). By way of contrast, Job’s lament ends in silence, but Christ’s anguish ends in victory. Job asks, “Why?” Christ answers, “It is finished.” Job sits in the ashes; Christ sits at the Right Hand of God, (Hebrews 1:3) . The bitterness of Job becomes the sweetness of redemption. The darkness of one man’s complaint becomes the dawn of everlasting life for all who are His. Therefore, we are exhorted to behold the Man of Sorrows. In every weary soul, in every night of affliction, He has gone before us, as the Forerunner, (Hebrews 6:20). All our chastening is without wrath, because He bore it all. Job’s cry rises into the voice of our Redeemer: weary, wounded, forsaken—yet victorious. Out of the bitterness of His soul has come Eternal Peace for each elect sinner for whom He paid the debt.

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 "I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge. And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." The Preacher’s voice echoes through the ages: " I, the preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem." God put him there, and from that high place he began to seek out all that is done “under heaven.” He gave his heart, not just his mind, to know wisdom. Yet in the end, after all his searching, he declares that all is vanity and vexation of spirit. The more he looked upon the works of men, the more he saw the crookedness that cannot be made straight, the lack that cannot be numbered. What is wisdom if it leaves us still empty, still fallen, still vain? That's why the LORD declared in Matthew 6:23, " But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" There is a wisdom that belongs to this world, and God has endowed His creatures with it. It is the kind of wisdom that enables one to build, to heal, to govern, to invent. It is not of man’s making, but from the hand of God Who formed dust and breathed life into it. Yet even this wisdom cannot lift a soul heavenward, for it is limited to things under the sun. It may shine for a time, but it ends in death. All that is born of this fallen creation perishes with it. And so Solomon, taught by experience and by grace, turns his eyes upward. There is another wisdom—a spiritual wisdom—that no man has naturally. It is not found by reason, effort or study. It comes from above. It is the Wisdom of God in Christ. To know Him is to know Truth. "To be found in Him, not having one’s own righteousness, but that which is of God by faith" (Philippians 3:9), is to have the Wisdom that endures forever. Without Him, man seeks after a god of his own imagination; but in Christ, the Light of God's Wisdom breaks into the darkness of our ignorance and pride. Solomon’s heart, like ours, had to be humbled. When he was young, the LORD appeared to him in Gibeon and said, “Ask what I shall give thee” (1 Kings 3:5). He could have asked for long life, riches, or the death of his enemies, but instead he asked for an understanding heart. The LORD was pleased because He had given this cry of need to Solomon. Such a request did not spring from ambition but from need. Solomon confessed, “I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in” (1 Kings 3:7). That is the beginning of wisdom—to know one’s lack and to seek it in God alone. So God gave him a wise and understanding heart, a heart that saw more deeply than the outward works of men. Yet in that same wisdom he came to see the vanity of all things under the sun. The more he knew, the more he mourned. “In much wisdom is much grief,” he wrote in our text, “and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” Knowledge of the world exposes its futility; knowledge of self reveals our corruption. All is vanity. The curse of Adam has touched everything—the earth groans, creation travails, the very air sighs beneath the weight of sin (Romans 8:18–22). But the LORD has subjected this vanity in Hope. The crooked cannot be made straight by human hands, but there is One Who came to make all things new. In Him, Righteousness is fulfilled. In Him, Wisdom is not a concept but a Person— “Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). To see ourselves rightly is affliction, yet it is mercy. God weans us from this world by showing us its emptiness, until our affection is drawn upward to where Christ is seated at the Right Hand of God (Colossians 3:2). True Wisdom is to be brought low and to cry to Him in Whom all the treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge dwell (Colossians 2:3) . To increase in such knowledge is indeed to increase in sorrow toward ourselves because of our depravity, but a sorrow that ends in joy when blessed by the Spirit of God—the joy of knowing that all vanity is swallowed up in His Glory, satisfied in the death of Christ on the cross. Only in Christ alone is true, lasting satisfaction.

Revelation 21:9-10 "And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God," “Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (v.9). The vision shown to John is not a literal city, but a revelation of Christ and His church —the bride, the Lamb’s wife, the redeemed people of God in glory. The angel shows him "that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God" (Revelation 21:10). This is not an earthly structure, not mortar and stone, but the Spiritual dwelling of God with His people , redeemed by the LORD Jesus, the Lamb of God, and prepared and adorned for her Husband in that Righteousness that He earned and established for them in His obedience unto death. It is The Revelation of Jesus Christ . Every part of it—its Light, its Wall, its Gates, its Foundation—speaks of Him Who loved us and gave Himself for us . The city’s beauty is His Righteousness; its security is His Strength; its Light is His Glory. It is the bride, the Lamb’s wife , made holy by His blood and perfect by His Grace. John is carried in the Spirit to a great and high mountain , and there he sees Peace and safety, a Refuge and a Stronghold. This is not Mount Sinai , where the law thundered, and fear reigned; this is Mount Calvary , where the Lamb of God was crucified (Hebrews 12:22-29) . Sinai has no comfort, but Calvary is the mountain of Grace. There the church was founded, and there God revealed His Love to His elect in Christ. The angel’s message to John is the same to every believer in tribulation: “Come, I will show thee the bride.” In the midst of suffering and exile, God shows His servant the finished Glory of Redemption. The inheritance is sure, not because of man’s works, but because God has decreed it, and the LORD Jesus has procured it by His death as Testator, (Hebrews 9:16) . His purpose cannot fail. The angels are "ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation" (Hebrews 2:14). The holy Jerusalem is the city of Peace, but not the old city that has never known peace. This is the new Jerusalem, Spiritual, heavenly, and eternal (Galatians 4:26). It is the true Israel of God , the completed church, every stone set in its place, none missing, none lost. It is the fulfillment of God’s promise in Christ Jesus before the world began. The walls are strong and high, signifying separation and safety. Christ Himself is the Wall, the Refuge, the impregnable Defense of His people. The foundations bear the names of the apostles and prophets, for they proclaimed the Truth that Jesus Christ Himself is the Chief Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Upon Him the whole city rests, and without Him there could be no foundation at all. The gates are twelve, never shut, always open. Each gate is a pearl, reminding us of the Pearl of Great Price —Christ Himself, Who through suffering and death became the entrance for His people. Through these gates come those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. It’s the LORD Who determines who will see and who won’t. The gates stand open, but only those whom the Spirit draws may enter. The Gospel is freely proclaimed, but the call is divine, and the Entrance is by Grace alone (Matthew 22:14). The jasper stone, clear as crystal, speaks of His purity and perfection. The pure Gold like transparent glass reflects His divine Nature. Every gem, every color, every measure declares His worth and His beauty. The city has no temple, for "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it" (Revelation 21:22). It has no need of the sun or the moon, for "the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:23). This is the city prepared by the Lamb for His bride—the completed work of redemption, the assurance that all for whom He died will be gathered home. It is not being built by our prayers or works, but purposed from eternity, revealed in time, and waiting in glory. The Lamb is ALL the Glory of that city. The Beauty, the Peace, the Light—all are Christ. And those whose names are written in His book shall walk in that light forever, for " the Lamb is the light thereof" (Revelation 21:23).

Proverbs 3:1 "My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:" These are the words of the Father to His Son, and this entire book is the record that God has given of His Son. What we read here is what God the Father required of His Son to satisfy His law and justice, in order to be just and to declare righteous those that the Father had given His Son from eternity. When we read these words, we are not reading a rulebook for self-improvement. We are beholding the LORD Jesus Christ , The Obedient Son. He is the One of Whom the Father says, “My Son.” He is the One Whose heart kept every commandment. In Him there was no forgetting, no failing, no transgression. Every jot and tittle of the law was fulfilled perfectly in Him. The law says, “Do and live.” We could not do; but Christ did. The Father’s demand was perfect obedience. The law requires that every commandment be kept from the heart. “Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37). None but Christ ever did that. He loved His Father with a perfect love, and He loved His neighbor as Himself (Matthew 22:39). " Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered" (Hebrews 5:8). " For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh" (Romans 8:3). Here is the marvel of the Gospel—what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us (Romans 8:3–4). The righteousness of the law is fulfilled in Christ, and by substitution is counted to us as "fulfilled in us". He obeyed where we disobeyed. He remembered where we forgot. He kept what we broke. He did not lean on His own understanding, but trusted perfectly in the Father. To understand perfect obedience, it's not in us! It's in that Righteousness that the LORD Jesus earned and established in His obedient life, and culminated in His death in fulfillment of the penalty for the disobedience of those sinners for whom He paid their sin debt. The law demanded holiness, righteousness, and truth. All of that is seen in the Person of the LORD Jesus. The law reveals God’s justice; the Gospel reveals His justice satisfied through the perfect obedience of the Son unto death. We all stand condemned under that law— “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). But when Christ Jesus stood in our place as elect sinners by the Father, He fulfilled the law’s demands, and bore its curse. Either Christ finished the work or He didn’t. Thanks be to God, He did finish it! On the cross, He cried, “It is finished.” In His life He fulfilled the law; in His death He satisfied the penalty that God's justice required. By His resurrection God the Father declared His people already righteous because of His death. " Now there is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). He alone is The Obedient Son, the Beloved in Whom the Father is well pleased. The command, “My son, forget not My law,” finds its complete obedience in Him. Every precept of Proverbs 3—trusting in the LORD with all the heart, acknowledging Him in all ways, fearing the LORD and departing from evil—was lived perfectly by Christ. He is the Wisdom of God. He is the One Who feared the LORD and turned away from evil. He is the One Who honored the LORD with all His substance. We do not come to this passage to learn how to make ourselves righteous. We come to see the righteousness of Another. “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4). The believer’s Hope is not in his own obedience, but in the obedience of Christ. When the Father looks upon His people, He beholds them in His Son, clothed in that perfect righteousness which satisfies His law forever. So, as we read Proverbs 3, let our eyes by the Spirit be turned to Christ—to behold Him and Him alone. He is The Faithful Son, The Perfect Substitute, the One in Whom the Father delights. In Him the command is kept, the justice of God is satisfied, and Grace reigns through Righteousness unto Eternal Life by Jesus Christ our LORD (Romans 5:21).

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our LORD Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do." This is the distinguishing Grace of God—to call out a people for His name, to the honor of His Son. If any of us are children of Light, it has nothing to do with us having done anything. It is a work of God’s Grace. The only reason we see is that we have been given eyes to see. Who hath made thee to differ? The LORD has given us eyes to look to the cross of Jesus Christ and to see Him and His death as ALL of our salvation. Thank God for the revelation of His Son in His death on the cross for wretched sinners such as we are. Paul never strays from this Gospel of Christ and Him crucified. “Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.” (v.10) Here is substitution—Christ dying in the place of others. There’s One Who died, One Who paid the price, satisfied Holy God that He might justify them and justly call them the children of Light. When God declares a sinner to be a child of Light, it’s founded on the Truth of a just satisfaction for their sins. Until the LORD reveals in sinners Christ the Light, men continue to follow the imagination of their minds—just like we did who know the LORD in truth today, until He gave us Light. Darkness is ignorance and unbelief—rebellion against the Light. We were in darkness until the LORD taught us of Christ. We were not submitted to His righteousness, going about to establish our own, which was nothing but UNrighteousness (Romans 10:2,3) . But now, thank God, the obstacle that stood between us and God has been put away. Sin was put to Christ’s account, and that sin being put away, there remains no more transgression. So complete was the work of the LORD Jesus to the satisfaction of the Father that He has put His Seal of approval upon that finished work—having imputed that Righteousness, and reckoned it to the spiritual account of every one of God’s elect. God has been satisfied. “Ye are all the children of light.” (v.5) How have we been made so? The word means to have Light given. Light is understanding, knowledge, truth, and life. “ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4) To be children of the Light is to be children of Christ. He is the Light. “While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light” (John 12:36). This Faith is the manifestation of those who are children of light. It is God-given Faith, called THE FAITH, once delivered unto ALL the saints or justified ones by the death of Christ forever, (Jude 1:3). Christ said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). This He said signifying what death He should die. Was His death effectual? Absolutely. He will have everyone for whom He died. He is the Object of God’s eternal purpose, the Object of redemption, the Object of the Spirit’s calling, and the Object of our hope in His coming again. ALL whom He draws, He paid their debt completely by His death on the cross. To learn Christ is to be taught of Him. True knowledge, when revealed by the Spirit, not only enlightens the mind but humbles the heart. The Spirit persuades us that there is no other justification, no other righteousness, no other standing before God but the Person and work of the LORD Jesus Christ. We believe it and rest in Him alone when taught by His Spirit (John 7:17). We are not of the night nor of darkness. Children of Light are watchful and sober. There’s a seriousness about their lives—a rejoicing in Who Christ is, but not the frivolity of the world. What is that Light? It points sinners to Christ. What motivates obedience? Who is the Source of Faith and Love? It’s Christ. He is the Breastplate of faith and love, the Helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:14). He covers the heart and the head. He is our Righteousness, our Satisfaction, our Hope of glory. We have not been appointed to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our LORD Jesus Christ (v.9). Once, in Adam, we were under wrath, not as children of wrath, but having the same nature (Ephesians 2:3), but now, in Christ, the debt has been fully paid. The matter is settled—those whom the Father has given to the Son will come to Him, and He will never cast them out (John 6:37). Therefore, as God's elect, redeemed, and called out children, we comfort yourselves together and edify one another. Be thankful for the Light. Thank God for the Revelation of His Son. Thank God for the cross of the LORD Jesus Christ. We live as children of Light, waiting for Him Who died, rose again, ascended, and Who is coming again. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.