13

13

Christ has upheld God’s glory and, to God’s satisfaction, has

met completely the whole question of sin. John says, “He is

the propitiation for our sins; but not for ours alone, but also for

the whole world”, 1 John 2: 2. That is, the whole sin question

in its entirety has been met for the glory of God by one Man,

Jesus. Then there is the great matter of substitution. To get

the gain of the work of Christ means that you must claim it for

yourself and you do so by repenting, and acknowledging that

you are a sinner. Thus you can say, ‘He bore my sins in His

body on the tree’ (1 Peter 2: 24). Only those who claim the

work of Jesus and come the way of repentance can say that.

Then we can have the experience of “giving thanks to the

Father”, which makes nothing of man, but makes everything of

God, and can experience .an area beyond human

selfishness—

where we are engaged in the praise of God, and are indwelt

by the Holy Spirit. God gives the Holy Spirit to them that obey

Him, and to those who ask Him. Every believer should have

the consciousness of having the Holy Spirit, and of being here

for God’s pleasure. The Holy Spirit is the only power for being

here for God, the only power for having part in the service of

God and enjoying these great and glorious things that are

referred to here—“sharing the portion of the saints in light”.

There is no sharing in the world like Christian fellowship.

Sharing the things of God is the greatest blessing that any

creature could experience. There is no selfishness in this area.

We could contrast it

with this world where men are grasping selfishly for all they

can obtain. We are brought into the blessedness of a kingdom

where you find there is a sharing. It is wonderful to share in

these things, without selfish motives and in the joy of all that is

in the Father’s heart that relates to the Son of His love.