Divine Riches of Grace

THE RICHES OF DIVINE GRACE

INTRODUCTION:

This study of the Divine Riches of Grace is taken from "Systematic Theology by Lewis Sperry Chafer" Vol. III. Whenever I quote from this volume I will be careful to use italics, or mark them off with quotation marks.

The most important fact of the Divine Riches of Grace is that every believer is a possessor of them the very instant he or she believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. These divine riches of grace are positional truths; positional truth is what we are in Christ now, and will extend throughout all eternity, and that even though we live in this physical body, it does not impede the reality of us being possessors of these riches. A believer is a recipient of these riches even if they are ignorant of them. The riches of grace are dependant on Christ and not the believer. So the beauty of the way the Lord is dealing with us all is that He makes the provision and leaves it up to us as to whether or not we will take advantage of appreciating these provisions. The only way a believer can appreciate the Divine Riches of Grace is to study them, and then to enjoy them to the fullest. We can't really enjoy a concept until that concept is understood. It is the purpose of this study to enlighten the student as to these riches, so the joy I have experienced in knowing them, can be perpetuated in all who study them, in other words for the edification of all. I believe every believer that is serious concerning Bible Doctrine is a Bible student, or a disciple of fundamental Bible Doctrine. In this study you will recognize some overlapping of the thirty- three supernatural divine achievements.

• I. THE CONDITION OF THE LOST SINNER:
• A. The lost condition of the natural man without Christ is completely negative. Man must be saved in order to even understand who God is, and what His Son has done for us on the cross. "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12).
• B. Man is lost, also, because he is born with a sin nature. Adam - in whom Eve is reckoned as one - is the only human being who ever became a sinner by sinning. All other members of the race commit sin because they are born sinners. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). The lost condition of man consists in this fallen sin nature, and all the efforts of man cannot redeem himself before God. Only the grace of God acting on the ground of the death of His Son will avail.
• C. All the efforts of man will in no wise fit him for heaven. God cannot accept man based on his own efforts, but only by faith in His Son can the grace of God succeed in man's salvation. "For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him, will never perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
• D. Men are lost because they are under the power of Satan. Only the Word of God can speak with authority on this theme; Four passages need be cited:
• 1. "But if our gospel be hidden it is hidden to them that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (2 Corinthians 4:3,4). Satan has blinded the minds of mankind, and the Gospel of Christ is the only Light that can save him.
• 2. Every member of the human race is a child of disobedience, from Adam to the present hour. "And you hath He quickened [made alive], who were dead in trespasses and sins; in which in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children [sons] of disobedience; among whom also we all had our conversation [manner of life] in times past in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others" (Ephesians 2:1-3). Satan energizes the unbeliever, whereas God energizes the believer.
• 3. When a sinner is saved he or she is transformed out of darkness into His marvelous light. "Giving thanks unto the Father, who hath made us [fit] to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in Light; who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son" (Colossians 1:12,13).
• 4. The entire world lies in the wickedness of this cosmos system. "And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness" (1 John 5:19).
• 5. The condemnation that the unsaved are under is brought out by what the Scriptures declare that we, the saved of this earth, are saved from.
• a) We are saved from the curse of the law: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree" (Galatians 3:13).
• b) We are saved from wrath: "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" (1 Thessalonians 5:9,10). "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36).
• c) We are delivered from death: "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death" (2 Corinthians 7:10).
• d) We are delivered from destruction: "And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that believe not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).
• II. THE ESSENTIAL CHARACTER OF GOD'S UNDERTAKINGS:

Before entering upon an enumeration of the thirty-three supernatural divine achievements, which constitute the riches of grace, it is important to observe something of the essential character of these riches.

• A) THEY ARE NOT EXPERIENCED:

This is not to imply that these riches are not real; it is rather to point out that they do not manifest their reality to the medium of the nervous system. There are those in the Christian fellowship that do not believe anything that they cannot experience within the five senses, that is, to see, smell, taste, feel, or hear. God is real yet we do not see Him. We only have the Word of God to trust. The more we know of the Word of God the more we trust Him. A person cannot love what they know nothing about. No better illustration of this fact will be found than is afforded by the supreme divine undertaking of justification; for, obviously, justification is not felt. There is no sensation, which gives corroborative evidence that the believer is justified; it rests wholly on the testimony of God. "Now not for His sake only was it written, that it was reckoned to Him, but for those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification" (Romans 4:23-25). "For He (God) hath made [determined] Him (Christ) who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (II Cor.5:21). This is a truth we must accept on the authority of the Word of God alone. So, likewise, it is with all these riches. They are not such as human experience can identify. Human emotion is not a reliable indicator of the effectiveness of Bible Doctrine. If a Christian allows him or her self to get emotionally involved in looking for external signs such as spiritual gifts they will be confused their entire life, what a waste. We must be about becoming spiritually mature through Bible Doctrine so that we can meet the Father as mature sons and daughters, and also receive that much coveted "well done".

• B) THEY ARE NOT PROGRESSIVE:

This feature of these riches is of major importance. Since it is the way of almost every human experience, it is natural to conclude that whatever God may undertake will begin with immaturity and progress by degrees to eventual completion. However, in the case of these riches, it will be discovered that the process is different. Every divine undertaking is instantly wrought to that degree of infinite perfection, which it will exhibit in the eternal ages to come. Son-ship well illustrates this truth. There are many features of the relation between father and son, which are subject to progression and change; but son-ship itself knows no advancement or development. A child is as much a son at birth as he is at any subsequent point in his existence. Thus it is with every divine accomplishment that enters into the immediate salvation of men. When I speak of studying these divine riches of grace in their entirety, I am not in any way saying that this is how they are received or developed. Even as the Spiritual gifts were experienced in the apostolic age were given by the Holy Spirit, they could not be received independently of the Spirits' will. They could not be prayed for nor developed. It is the attitude, as I perceive it, as I watch the pseudo-evangelist on T.V. who seem to be practicing their art of necromancy (speaking in tongues, healing the sick, raising the dead, etc. etc. etc.). The reason I say it is imperative to study these riches is that we all may have our joy filled full. Just as our salvation is received by grace it is also a free and perfect gift. The moment we believe on Christ as our savior we are placed immediately into the Heavenly Brotherhood forever. We are adopted children with all the rights and privileges of the only Begotten Son of God our eternal Brother. These wonderful eternal truths will be developed as we move through the divine riches of grace.

• C) THEY ARE NOT RELATED TO HUMAN MERIT:

Beneath this truth, which truth is foreign to all human process of life and experience, is the sovereign purpose of God to do all that He does according to His own good pleasure, and this He is free to do because the believer is seen to be –as he really is- a member in the Body of Christ, and therefore meant to be blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). Lying under all this blessed truth is the fact the Father in heaven only sees His children as brothers and sisters of His dearly Beloved Son, Jesus. So now we can rejoice in the fact that the Father loves us with a love so strong that no power on earth is able to remove us from this love "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He [God] who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him [Christ] up for us all [on the cross], how will He [God] not also with Him [Christ] freely give us all things [spiritual blessings]? Who will bring a charge against God's elect [all believers]? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, and who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, For Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered-psalms 44:22. But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:31-39).

• D) THEY ARE ETERNAL IN CHARACTER:

As stated above, the work of God for the believer is based on the enduring perfection of Christ and is not, therefore, subject to the variations, which characterize a vacillating (ever changing and undependable) human experience. As in the case of imputed righteousness (quoted under point "A" II Cor. 5:21), wherein no trace of human worthiness can be included, every work of God in the immediate salvation of the lost is divinely sustained and consequently eternal in nature. The gift of eternal life is of that divine nature which has existed from all eternity and will exist forever. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; [grace-undeserved favor of God faith-exercise of the free will or volition] and that not of yourselves [self effort of any kind], it is the gift of God; not as a result of works [such as keeping the ten commandments, or being a good citizen, or a good scout, or a brave eagle, all come under the category of good works that will come up short of God's perfect righteousness], that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). Our salvation is the gift of God's grace and was accomplished for us when Jesus Christ paid the price for the sins of the whole world on the cross "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). The divine riches of grace begin at the moment one is saved and continues for eternity the same, as salvation is eternal.

• E) THEY ARE KNOWN ONLY BY GOD'S HOLY WORD:

Human imagination and speculation can serve to no degree in attaining to the knowledge of all that God achieves when His love is released by the death of His Son and by the faith of the sinner. " But as many (sinners) as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children (brothers and sisters with Jesus Christ, God's Son) of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12). It is impossible to learn of the divine riches apart from the Word of God. Even as to have a full knowledge of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ is absorbed by the Word of God, so also the knowledge of these wonderful gifts.

• F) THEY ARE WROUGHT BY GOD ALONE:

By their very nature, the riches of grace are of necessity the work of God for man. Who could so save himself that he will be on a peace footing (acceptable) with God forever, and eternally justified? Who can translate himself out of the power of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of God's love? Who can constitute himself a citizen of heaven, or write down his name there? God alone is able to save unto the uttermost (to the end of the world). All it takes is a simple acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ to receive this salvation and all the divine riches of God's grace "The Lord is not slow about His promise (of salvation), as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

• G) THEY ARE NOT WROUGHT BY MAN:

In certain respects this declaration is but the negative of the preceding assertion; however, it may be observed that one who is a sinner (when Chafer uses the term sinner he is undoubtedly speaking of sinners who have not put their trust in Christ, for we are all sinners, only some of are sinners who are saved by His wonderful grace) can take no step in the direction of his own redemption. He who is on earth can devise nothing for himself in heaven. He who is only a creature cannot conform himself to the likeness of his Creator. He who is of time cannot design and execute for eternity. Salvation is more than the continued existence of a good man; it provides the most radical transformations, the acquiring of infinite possessions, and the entering into positions which are in the sphere of heaven and of God "And in Him (Christ) you have been made complete, and He is the Head over all rule and authority" (Colossians 2:10). It is very interesting to take note at this time that the riches of grace are received by the believer at the moment he believes not one second sooner. This immeasurable truth proves that through Christ man is made acceptable to the Creator. The man is not made acceptable and then God accepts him, he accepts Christ as Savior and at that very moment is made acceptable. Grasping this truth is to grasp the meaning of the doctrine of predestination. God has predestined every believer to be conformed to the image of His dear Son, and in so doing; we all automatically become the recipients of the DIVINE RICHES OF HIS GRACE.

• III THE RICHES OF DIVINE GRACE
• 1. IN THE ETERNAL PLAN OF GOD:

The doctrine of predestination is only understood if we keep it in its context which is simply, all believers are predestined to be recipients of all these divine riches of grace; we are immediately placed in the eternal plan of God at the moment of salvation, that is, the moment a sinner believes in Christ as his or her Savior. God did not predetermine the believer to be a believer; He only predetermined the believer to become a mature adopted, full-fledged son or daughter. We cannot understand the doctrine correctly if we, like most Calvinists believe, that God chose some to heaven and some to hell; this would be completely contrary to God's Supreme nature of Justice. God gave man a free will, and He has never tampered with that free will in any way, shape, or form. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering to us ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). No human will was ever created to defeat the will of God, but rather the human will is one of the instruments by which God realizes His purposes for humanity. It is true that God knows who will and who will not receive Christ as Savior; however, He does not tamper with man's free will in order to coerce him to believe. No man has ever been saved outside the Word of God, and man is saved by his or her response to His Word, no more, no less. Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone. In regards to predestination, Chafer writes: In its New Testament use it refers only to that which God has predetermined for His elect. It should therefore not be used in reference to the nonelect and their destiny, though there can be no reasonable doubt but that, in ways beyond human understanding, the destiny of the nonelect is in the mind of God from all eternity. It is therefore, God's message to every believer that he has been both foreknown in predestination through foreknowledge to the unending realization of all of God's riches of grace. What is predestined of the believer then, is that he is elected to be the recipient of all the divine riches of God's grace, and that positionally speaking, all believers are perfect in Christ now, and will be throughout all eternity.

• 2. REDEEMED:

Redemption means to deliver by paying a price: "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). The Greek Lexicon gives this definition: to dismiss for a ransom paid; deliverance procured by the payment of a ransom. Christ is the author of redemption: "But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Cor. 1:30). Redemption means that the believer is forgiven on the basis of Christ shed blood on the cross, and that he or she stands perfected before God now, and throughout all eternity. Chafer makes this threefold classification of redemption: (1) It is universal in character in the sense that it includes the whole world and provides a sufficient ground of righteousness upon which God may save those who are lost. (2) It is specific when contemplated as the position into which the saved one has been brought. He is purchased out of the bond slave market and set free with that liberty which is the rightful portion of the sons of God: "Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty with which Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Gal. 5:1). It is not a position to be sought or secured by faithfulness; it is that which God has produced in behalf of every regenerate person. It is connection with redemption that the believer has "forgiveness of sins," and this is "according to," and a part of, "the riches of grace:" "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7). (3) There is yet a redemption of the body of the believer and for that redemption the Christian is waiting: "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, that is, the redemption of our body" (Rom. 8:23,24). The thought here, as all the riches of grace, is that redemption is a position of transforming reality and is the possession of all who are saved.

• 3. RECONCILED:

The Greek Lexicon defines reconciliation thus: to change, exchange, to reconcile, restoration to favor. As we know that in Adam the entire universe fell, not only man. Sin affected the entire universe negatively. "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we beg you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He [God] hath made Him [Christ], who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him [Christ]" (2 Cor. 5:17-21). Chafer states: "The reconciliation of the world does not prevent the reconciliation of the individual. The reconciliation of the individual is that form of reconciliation, which is applied to the believer's heart [mind] and results in a perfect and unending peace between God and the reconciled believer. To be perfectly reconciled to God on the ground of the merit of Christ, as is true of every child of God, is a position of blessedness indeed, and is one of the riches of grace."

• 4. RELATED TO GOD THROUGH PROPITION:

The term "propitiation" means that the death of Jesus Christ on the cross satisfied God's just demand for sin. The death of Christ was a sweet smelling savor to God. The Greek Lexicon defines propitiation: to appease; make an atonement for, to show mercy and to pardon. "And He is the propitiation for our [believers] sin, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world [the unbelievers sins]" (1 John 2:2). Christ paid the price for all sin; so now a person will not go to hell because of sin; the unbeliever will go to hell because they refuse to accept Jesus Christ, God's propitiation for sin. The believer is now able to go directly to God, that is, the throne of grace, and fellowship with the Father through His Son.

• 5. FORGIVEN OF ALL TRESPASSES (SINS):

The believer has been forgiven all trespasses and sins. As was brought out in the last point, the believer has a position before God as if he has never sinned. The Greek Lexicon defines forgiveness: "to dismiss for a ransom paid, a deliverance secured by the payment of a ransom, to remit and to forgive." "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7). Chafer writes: "In no other way than to be wholly absolved [pardoned] before God, could a Christian be on an abiding peace footing with God or could he be, as he is, justified forever. The divine dealing with sin is doubtless difficult for the human mind to grasp, especially such sins as have not yet been committed. However, it will be remembered that all sin of this age was yet future when Christ died. Its power to condemn is disannulled [cancelled] forever. In this connection the Holy Spirit inquires, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? And, Who is he that condemneth? The inspired answers are conclusive: God justifies rather than charges with sin; and condemnation has been laid upon Another [Christ], who died, who is risen, who is at the right hand of God for us, and who also maketh intercession [intervention] for us (Rom. 8:33-34). Men either stand in their own merit or in the merit of Christ. If they stand on their own merit, only condemnation can result; but if they stand on the merits of Christ there will be no condemnation and no separation from God. In Christ all the believers trespasses and sins have been forgiven forever: "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us" (Psalms 103:12).

• 6. VITALLY CONJOINED TO CHRIST FOR THE JUDGMENT OF THE OLD MAN "UNTO THE NEW WALK":

This is the doctrine of our union with Christ. The very second a person accepts Jesus Christ as Savior the Holy Spirit baptizes that one into this union with Christ, and is immediately conjoined to Christ; this is the baptism of the Spirit. This important doctrine is the basis of all the riches of grace. This entire doctrine of union with Christ explains that our old sin nature has been judged by Christ's death on the cross; it does not mean, however, that our old sin nature is not active in us; it simply means that our old position as slaves to sin has been replaced by our new position in Christ Jesus our Lord; and as such, we no longer have to live in bondage to the old sin nature, but that we have the power from the Holy Spirit to rise out of this bondage to live unto Christ, based on our new position in Christ. In Romans 6:1-10 Paul explains this union: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin positionally, live any longer in it? Know ye not that, as many of us [all of us] as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him positionally by baptism into death, that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father; even so we also should walk in newness of life. For since we have been planted [united with Christ] in the likeness of His death positionally, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection positionally; knowing this, that our *old man [positionally in Adam] is [literally was] crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that has died is freed from sin. Now since we are dead [positionally] with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that He [Christ] died, He died unto sin once for all; but in that He lives, He lives unto God."

· The expression "old man" occurs elsewhere (Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9) and means that man was in Adam, both morally and judicially, i.e. the man of old, the corrupt human nature, the inborn tendency to evil in all men. In Rom. 6:6 it is the natural man himself; in Eph. 4:22 and Col. 3; 9 his ways. Positionally, in the reckoning [estimate] of God, the "old man" has been crucified, and the believer is exhorted to make this good in every day experience, reckoning [estimating] it to be so by definitely "putting off" the old man and "putting on" the new (Col. 3:8-14)" (C.I. Scofield's notes p. 1218).

Chafer writes:

"The death of Christ, quite apart from its achievement as a final dealing with sins, is a judgment of the sin nature, which judgment does not mean that the nature is rendered incapable of action or that it is changed in its character; it does mean that a perfect judgment is gained against it and that God is now righteously free to deal with that nature as a judged thing. The evil character of that nature, does not, after it is judged, restrain [hold back] the Holy Spirit from curbing its power for us. Thus, by faith in the indwelling Spirit, the believer may be delivered from the reigning power of sin on the ground of Christ's death as a judgment of the sin nature. This feature of Christ's death is subtitutionary to the last degree." It is this position in Christ that should encourage and strengthen every believer to rely on the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to empower each one of us, by the wonderful Word of God, to live victorious Christian lives.

• 7. FREE FROM THE LAW:

All believers are free from the Law. The Law of God is righteous, and so it does not mean that the believer is free to do whatever he desires. What the Word does mean when it says that the believer is free from the Law is that the believer is free from the judgment of the Law. The Law condemns, while grace gives life; when Paul said in Romans 6:14 "For sin shall not have dominion over you; for ye are not under the law but under grace"; he simply means that we have a new position in Christ. The believer should never keep the Law in order to be blessed by God; rather he should always live righteously because he or she is already blessed by God; you see, this is what I mean when I say that we must know the divine riches of grace to be able to appreciate the divine riches of God's grace. We must recognize our eternal position in Christ in order to appreciate our eternal position. When we fully grasp the concept of positional truth we will not be happy living outside of this wonderful fellowship Christ has provided us by His death on the cross for our sins. To be free from the law is to be free from the heavy burden of the law that weighs one down, so much so, that it is impossible to function under the freedom which we have in grace to serve God as His beloved family; and when we are free, we are free indeed; so let us not put our selves back under bondage wherewith Christ has set us free. To be free then, is not free to do whatever we want, but free to do what He wants us to do, because He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for us. Let us serve Him because He first loved us when we were yet sinners; and He loves us now that we are part of His family; and He will love us for all eternity, and nothing can separate us from His love.

• 8. CHILDREN OF GOD:

To be born again spiritually is an experience that is beyond our comprehension; however, our not being able to understand this new birth does not make it any less real. The moment any sinner believes on the Lord Jesus Christ he or she immediately becomes a child of God; there is no other way to become a child than faith alone in Christ alone: "But as many as received Him [God], to them gave He the power to become sons [children] of God; even to them that believe on His name" (John 1:12). Chafer writes: "To be born into an earthly home of outstanding character is of great advantage, but to be born of God with every right and title belonging to that position - an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ - passes the range of human understanding." Chafer goes on to point out the varied terms that define this new birth:

• Born again: Christ chose Nicodemus to explain this new birth; "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit" (John 3:6). Christ very gently explained to Nicodemus that he had to be born from above in order to be part of the family of God. Our physical birth is complete just as our spiritual birth is complete; that is, our new birth cannot be improved upon. Other Scriptures that confirm this new birth are; John 1:12-13; 1 Peter 1:23.

• Regenerated: Titus 3:5 - "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit." The passage relates a cleansing to this birth, but the birth does not consist in a mere cleansing of the old being; it is rather that a cleansing, like forgiveness, accompanies the regeneration.

• Quickened: "And you hath He quickened [made alive], who were dead in trespasses and sins; in which in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air [Satan], the spirit that now worketh in the children [sons] of disobedience" (Eph. 2:1-2). The word 'quickened' expresses the thought that an object is made alive that did not posses that life before. Through regeneration by the Spirit, as in the case with the flesh, there is an impartation of life. Regeneration imparts the divine nature.

• Sons of God: "And I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty" (2 Cor. 6:18). "For ye are all the children [sons] of God by faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:26). "Beloved, now are we the sons [children] of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2). These verses publish the true relationship between God and those who are saved. They are sons of God, not by mere title or pretense, but by actual generation the offspring of God. The reality, which the title designates, cannot be taken too literally.

• A new creation: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10). As believers we were predestined by God to walk in the Light of His Word. We are spiritually created unto His good works. Thus again, and by language both appropriate and emphatic, the mighty creative power of God is seen to be engaged in the salvation of men. As respects their salvation it is said that they are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus. That exalted new creation is not only the direct work of God, but owes all that it is to its vital relation to Christ Jesus.

• 9. ADOPTED:

Being adopted into God's divine family is a position of tremendous value. Just think a moment on our eternal position of being adopted and loved by God the Father with the same eternal divine love that He has for His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We now have the same privileges as His Son; the same liberty as His Son; the same eternal position in glory as joint heirs with His Son; we will be forever trophies of His divine Grace. This is one of the divine riches that should encourage our hearts to serve God; we do not serve God in order to be adopted, we serve God because we are adopted. This divine position was foretold in eternity past: According as He [God] hath chosen us in Him [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love; having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will (Eph. 1:4-5).

Chafer writes about this position of adoption:

"In attempting to discover what this position really is, it is needful to recognize that divine adoption has almost nothing in common with that form of it as accepted and practiced among men. According to human custom, adoption is a means whereby an outsider may become a member of a family. It is a legal way to create father and son relationship as a substitute for father and son reality (however, we must realize that Paul uses the term adoption in order for us to understand our divine position in Christ). On the other hand, divine adoption, while referring both to Israel's kinship to God (Rom. 9:4) and to redemption of the believer's body (Rom.8:23), is primarily a divine act by which one already a child by actual birth through the Spirit of God is placed forward as an adult son in his relation to God. At the moment of regeneration [the moment a person accepts Christ], the believer, being born of God and therefore the legitimate offspring of God, is advanced in relationship and privilege to the position of an adult son. All childhood and adolescent years, which are normal in human experience, are excluded in spiritual sonship and the newly born believer is at once in possession of freedom from tutors and governors - who symbolize the law principle - and is responsible to live the full-orbed spiritual life of an adult son in the Father's household. No period of irresponsible childhood is recognized. There is no body of Scripture, which undertakes to direct the conduct of beginners in the Christian life as in distinction to those who are mature. Whatever God says to the old and established saint, He says to every believer - including those most recently regenerated [born again]. There should be no misunderstanding respecting the babe in Christ, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 3:1, who is a babe because of carnality and not because of immaturity of years in the Christian life. In human experience legitimate birth and adoption never combine in the same person. There is no occasion for a father to adopt his own child. In the realm of divine adoption, every child born of God is adopted at the moment he is born. He is placed before God as a mature, responsible son. Thus adoption becomes one of the important undertakings in the salvation of men and is a position of great importance."

• 10. ACCEPTABLE TO GOD BY JESUS CHRIST:

"To the praise of the glory of His grace, through which He [God the Father] hath made us accepted in the Beloved [God the Son] (Eph. 1:6). "Ye also, as [living] stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5). All Christians are made acceptable to the Father on the merits of His Son Jesus Christ, and placed immediately upon believing in Christ into union with Him. The moment a person believes in Christ as Savior, he or she is baptized by the Holy Spirit, that is, they are placed into union with Jesus Christ, and he or she partakes all of what Christ is; a position that provides wonderful declarations, which are made.

Chafer lists four of these declarations:

• a. MADE RIGHTEOUS.

Reference here is neither to any merit nor good works on the part of the individual believer, nor has it the slightest reference to the unquestioned truth that God is Himself a righteous Being. It rather represents that standing or quality which Christ released by His death according to the sweet-savor aspect of it, and which rightfully becomes the believer's portion through his living union with Christ. It is righteousness imputed to the believer on the sole condition that he has believed on Christ as his Savior. Two major realities which constitutes a Christian are: imparted eternal life: But these [things] are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name (John 20:31) and imputed righteousness: For He [God the Father] hath made [declared in eternity past] Him [God the Son], who knew no sin, to be sin for us [on the cross], that we might be made [declared] the righteousness of God in Him (2-Cor. 5; 21). Of the two great Salvation books in the New Testament, it may be said of John's Gospel that it stresses the gift of eternal life, and it may be said of the Epistle to the Romans that it stresses imputed righteousness. Eternal life is defined as Christ in you, the hope of Glory (Col. 1:27), and imputed righteousness is based on the truth that the believer is in Christ. These two supreme truths are compressed by Christ, into seven brief and simple words, when He said: ye in Me, and I in you (John 14:20). Whether it be the reception of eternal life or of imputed righteousness, but one condition is imposed on the human side, namely, to believe on Christ as Savior (John 3:16; Rom. 3:22).

• b. SANCTIFIED POSITIONALLY.

That there is a positional sanctification, which is secured by union with Christ, has too often been overlooked, and, because of this neglect, theories of a supposed sinless perfection in daily life have been inferred from those Scriptures, which assert the truth that the believer has been perfected forever through his sanctification. The point of misunderstanding is with regard to the design of sanctification, which may be defined as the setting apart of a person or thing, a classifying. It is thus that Christ sanctified Himself by becoming the Savior of the lost with all that that involved (John 17:19), which sanctification certainly could not imply any improvement in moral character on His part. Likewise, the sanctification of an inanimate object, such as gold of the temple or the gift on the altar (Matt. 23:17, 19), includes that a moral change in the thing sanctified is not demanded. Thus, in the case of the sanctification of a person, the moral change in that person's life may not be the result of sanctification; but no person or thing is sanctified without being set apart or classified thereby. Christ has been made unto us . . . sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30), and the Corinthians - even when being corrected for evil practices - are assured that they were not only washed and justified, but that they were sanctified (1Cor. 6:11). Such sanctification was neither the estate of those believers nor did it refer to their ultimate transformation when they would appear in glory (Eph. 5:27; 1 John 3:2). It evidently indicated that greatest of all classifications, which resulted in the standing and position of every believer when he enters the New Creation through being joined to Christ and partakes of all that Christ is. This truth is declared in the phrase,

• c. PERFECTED FOREVER.

This consummating phrase appears in Hebrews 10:14 and applies equally to every believer. It, too, relates to the Christian's standing and position in Christ. Such a union with Christ secures the perfection of the Son of God for the child of God.

• d. MADE ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED.

The student would do well to observe the force of the word made as it appears in a considerable number of passages, where it indicates that the thing accomplished is not wrought by the believer for himself, but is the work of God for him. If he is made something, which he was not before, it is evidently the work of another in his behalf. In this instance, the believer is said to be made accepted. He is made accepted on the part of God who, because of His infinite holiness, could accept no one less perfect than Himself. All of this is provided for us on the basis of the truth that the believer is made accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6). Without the slightest strain upon His holiness, God accepts those who are in union with His Son; and this glorious fact, that the one who is saved is accepted, constitutes a measureless feature of divine grace.

• e. MADE MEET.

Here, again, the word made with all its significance appears, but with respect to that requirement which must be demanded of all who would appear in the presence of God in heaven. The text in which this assuring phrase occurs in Colossians 1:12, and it asserts that the believer is, even now, fitted for that celestial glory: giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. No mere pretence or bold assumption is indicated in this passage. The least believer, being in Christ, is even now made meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light. It therefore becomes no arrogance or vainglory to accept this statement of God's Word as true, and as true from the moment one believes on Christ as Savior.

To be accepted to God by Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5), is a reality in every aspect of it and this truth, incomprehensible as it is, constitutes an important item in the whole field of the riches of grace in Christ Jesus."

• 11. JUSTIFIED:

Being justified before God is more than the little simple phrase we all learned, just as if I have never sinned. Our justification is, as are all the divine riches of grace, made possible by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. Being made righteous by the imputation of Christ on all believers proves that we are just before God; as Chafer states it: righteousness imputed is the abiding fact, and justification is the divine recognition of that fact. The only human obligation on securing justification is simply believing on the Lord Jesus Christ - with no strings attached: But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness (Rom. 4:5). And Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24). And then therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

• 12. MADE NIGH:

All believers in Jesus Christ are said to be made nigh: "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes [once] were far off are made nigh [near] by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:13). Again we see that the believer is made nigh; this means that the believer is brought near to God by the work of another, which is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ has brought all believers into a relationship with God the Father that is we now belong to God's Holy Family. The believer is now in time made part of this family and will be throughout eternity. The believer is exhorted in the scriptures to draw nigh to God, in the sense of appreciating this eternal position as we fellowship with the Holy Trinity: "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3). Chafer writes: "the believer may only draw nigh to God through the mechanics of confession. The believer confesses sin and makes an adjustment of one's life to the will of God. Over against this it will be observed that, whether in fellowship or out of fellowship as respects conscious experience, the Christian is, because of his position in Christ, ever and always made nigh."

• 13. DELIVERED FROM THE POWER OF DARKNESS:

We read in Colossians 1:13; "who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." The unbeliever is under the power and authority of Satan:

• a. "But if our gospel be hidden it is hidden to them that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (2 Cor. 4:3,4).
• b. "And you hath He quickened [made alive], who were dead in trespasses and sins; in which in times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience; among whom also we all had our conversation [manner of life] in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others" (Eph. 2:1-3).
• c. "And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness" (1 John 5:19).

  Chafer writes, "It will be observed that all the passages, to which reference is made, assert that the unsaved are under the power of Satan and that the believer is delivered from that power, though he must continue to wage a warfare against these powers of darkness; and the Apostle Paul assures the Christian of victory made possible by an attitude of faith in the Lord: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles [deceit] of the devil" (Eph. 6:10,11). The same Apostle, when relating his own divine commission, mentions one certain result of his ministry, namely, that the unsaved were turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God (Acts 26:18). To be liberated thus is a great reality and constitutes one of the major positions into which the believer is brought through divine grace."

• 14. TRANSLATED INTO THE KINGDOM OF THE SON OF HIS LOVE:

"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love" (Col. 1:13). This kingdom is reference to the spiritual kingdom or realm that is now occupied by Christ. The word translated refers to the removal of the person who accepts Christ from the sphere of Satan's dominion as the god of this world to the spiritual realm of Christ's spiritual dominion of his everlasting love. Now that we have passed from the lost estate of Satan's domain to the saved estate of Christ present domain, He urges us; "that ye should walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory" (1 Thess. 2:12); and "for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:11). This presents to every believer a motive to serve Christ: and that is, we don't serve Him because we want to please Him, but we serve Him because He has called us unto this wonderful eternal position in His kingdom of eternal love, and He is already pleased with us.

• 15. ON THE ROCK, CHRIST JESUS:

In Christ's parable of the two foundations we read: "Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not; for it was founded upon a Rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon the house, and it fell; and great the fall of it" (Matt. 7:24-27). This solid Rock foundation is of course Jesus Christ and every believer is secure on this Rock; this is another of the wonderful riches of His grace. Chafer writes: "The important truth to be recognized at this point is that, while the unsaved build upon the sand, all Christians are standing and building on the Rock, Christ Jesus. They are thus secure with respect to salvation through the merits of Christ, apart from their own worthiness or faithfulness. While this figure used by Christ does not lend itself to a literal development in every particular [because it is a parable - a heavenly story with an earthly meaning], it is clearly stated by this object lesson that Christ is the foundation on which the Christian stands and on which he builds".

• 16. A GIFT FROM GOD THE FATHER TO CHRIST:

Jesus Christ came into this world to purchase sinners from the slave market of sin; and by His dying on the cross for our sins, God was able then to give each believer as a gift to His Son. In His high priestly prayer, Christ prayed to the Father, with His disciples listening on: "I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me, for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name; those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition [Judas], that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves" (John 17:9-13).

Chafer writes concerning this prayer:

"Assuredly, the superlative title, whatever it is, would be employed by the Son when He presents formally His own, and petitions the Father in their behalf. Seven times in this prayer by one form or another and quite exclusively His saved ones are referred to as those whom Thou hast given Me. Nothing but ignorance of the great transaction which is intimated in this title will explain the inattention of Christians to this descriptive name. When it is considered, it is seen that in the background are two important doctrines, namely, that all creatures belong inherently to their creator and, hence, that in sovereign election He has determined in past ages a company designed to be a peculiar treasure for His Son [keep in mind that the position of the believer to be in Christ is what is predetermined by God's sovereignty]; but the title itself tells its own story of surpassing interest and importance, which is, that the Father has given each believer to the Son. This is not the only instance in which the Father gives a company of people to the Son. In Psalm 2:6-9 it is predicted that, at His second advent and when He is seated upon the Davidic throne, the then rebellious and raging nations will be given by Jehovah to the Messiah. The imagination will not have gone far astray if it pictures a situation in eternity past when the Father presents individual believers to the Son - each representing a particular import and value not approached by another. Like a chest of jewels, collected one by one and wholly diverse, these love gifts appear before the eyes of the Son of God. Should one be missing, He, the Savior, would be rendered inexpressibly poor. Immeasurable and unknowable riches of grace are latent in that superlative cognomen [superlative description], those whom Thou hast given Me."

• 17. CIRCUMCISED IN CHRIST:

Circumcision has a threefold representation in the Scriptures: (1) the uncircumcision, which makes reference to unregenerate Gentiles; (2) The circumcision made with hands, which makes reference to Israel; (3) The circumcision made without hands, which makes reference to the Church of Christ under grace; "Wherefore, remember that ye, being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands - that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:11,12). The grace position of the Christian as the Circumcision without hands is brought forth in Col. 2:11-14: "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; buried with Him in baptism, in which ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross."

Chafer writes concerning these verses:

"The physical body does not commit sin except as it is dominated by the flesh - which flesh includes the soul and spirit, and manifests that fallen nature which all possess, saved and unsaved alike. The physical body is not put off in a literal sense, but, being the instrument or sphere of sin's manifestation, the flesh with its body of sin may be annulled Rom. 6:6: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin - or rendered inoperative for the time being. As the sin nature was judged by Christ in His death, so the believer, because of his vital place in Christ, partakes of that putting off which Christ accomplished, and which fell as a circumcision upon Him and becomes a spiritual circumcision to the one for whom Christ substituted. It is a circumcision made without hands. To stand thus before God as one whose sin nature, or flesh, has been judged, and for whom a way of deliverance from the dominion of the flesh has been secured, is a position which grace has been provided, and is blessed indeed."

• 18. PARTAKERS OF THE HOLY AND ROYAL PRIESTHOOD:

The believer is declared to form a Royal Priesthood in 1 Peter 2:5: "Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." The spiritual sacrifices are the Holy Spirit working through the believer; they are never works performed by the believer in order to please God. The believer must simply be ready and willing for the Holy Spirit to work through them. Again in 1 Peter 2:9: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a people of His own, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

Chafer notes:

"Priesthood has passed through certain well-defined stages or aspects. The patriarchs [believers before Israel was made a nation] were priests over their households. Later, to Israel was offered the privilege of becoming a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:6); but it was conditional and Israel failed in the realization of this blessing, and the priesthood was restricted to one tribe or family [Levi]. On a grace basis, in which God undertakes through the merit of His Son, in the New Testament is introduced the true and final realization of a kingdom of priests. Every saved person in the present age is a priest unto God. The Old Testament priest is the type of the New Testament priest. Israel had a priesthood; the Church is a priesthood. To be a priest unto God with the certainty of a kingly reign is a position to which the one who believes on Christ is brought through the saving grace of God."

In both cases, that is, in the Old Testament one had to be born into the Levi family in order to be a priest; in the New Testament a person must be born into the family of God to be a priest.

• 19. A CHOSEN GENERATION, A HOLY NATION, A PECULIAR PEOPLE.

There are some who like to make this reference in 1 Peter 2:9 refer to the nation Israel; but if you read the entire context of Peter's epistle, you will see that it refers to the Church, and not the nation. Both Peter and John teach Church doctrine, and so it means that there is neither Jew nor Greek in the family of God, but only one people called out to be His witnesses.

Chafer notes:

"All three of these designations (1 Peter 2:9) refer to one and the same general idea, namely, that the company of believers of this age - individuals called out from the Jews and Gentiles alike - are different from the unsaved Jew and Gentile to the extent to which thirty-three stupendous miracles transform them. They are a generation, not in the sense that they are restricted to one span of human life, but in the one sense that they are the offspring of God. They are a nation in the sense that they are separate, a distinct grouping among all the peoples of the earth. They are a peculiar people in the sense that they are born of God and are therefore not of this cosmos world. They are not enjoined to try to be peculiar; any people in this world who are citizens of heaven, perfected in Christ, and appointed to live in the power of and to the glory of God, cannot but be peculiar.

These three designations represent permanent positions to which the believer has been brought and they, likewise, make a large contribution to the sum total of all the riches of divine grace."

• 20. HEAVENLY CITIZENS:

Every believer is a heavenly citizen, which is also a permanent position. The Gentiles were called out from the world to believe in Christ and therefore become citizens of Heaven; the Jew was called out of Judaism and the Law to the gospel of grace; they were called out from the commonwealth of Israel to the citizenship in heaven. All believers are left here on earth after being saved to give an answer to everyone who asks about the reason they have hope on Christ.

The Word of God has much to say about our heavenly citizenship:

• 1) "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Phil. 3:20).
• 2) "Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). Here Jesus is commending the Seventy that He sent out into the world, with this word of encouragement.
• 3) "But ye are come unto Mount Zion [not Mt. Sinai], and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church [the entire company of believers from Pentecost to the rapture of the Church] of the first-born, who are written in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect" (Heb. 12:22,23).
• 4) "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God" (Eph. 2:19).
• 5) "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8). All believers are assured of presence in heaven. "Actual presence in heaven is an assured experience for all who are saved."

Chafer notes:

"But citizenship itself - whether realized at the present moment or not - is an abiding position accorded to all who believe. In truth, the occupation of that citizenship by instant removal from this sphere would be the normal experience for each Christian when he is saved. To remain here after citizenship has been acquired in heaven creates a peculiar situation. In recognition of this abnormal condition, the child of God is styled a stranger and pilgrim (1 Peter 2:11; cf. Heb. 11:13) as related to this cosmos world system. In like manner, he is said to be an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20). To remain here as a witness, a stranger, a pilgrim, and an ambassador is but a momentary experience; the heavenly citizenship will be enjoyed forever. It is a glorious feature of the riches of divine grace."

• 21. OF THE FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD OF GOD:

This is one of the most outstanding and misunderstood of God's riches of grace. To be a member of God's divine Family is a privilege of inestimable importance. The organized church today stresses everything but this wonderful feature of our salvation. To realize that we are all members of God's Family takes away all the pomp and piety that defines the organized church. This pomp begins with the pastor who treats his congregation as babies, that is, know nothings, when it comes to Bible doctrine. And I suppose this is because the pastor himself considers himself a wonder-worker deserving of having his wages paid by his congregation. The church, as part of God's Family, should fellowship around the Word of God, and study the Word in order to edify one another as brothers and sisters in Christ; there should be a family oriented service without one brother or sister lording it over the other brothers and sisters. The organized church today fashions itself similar to the Roman Catholic Church without a Pope.

Chafer writes:

"Closely akin to citizenship and yet more restricted in their extent, are the positions the Christian is said to occupy in the family and household of God. As has been observed, there are various fatherhood relations, which God sustains; but none in relation to His creatures is so perfect, so enriching, or so enduring as that which He bears to the household and family of the saints. So great a change has been wrought in the estate of those who are saved respecting their kinship to God, that it is written of them: Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God (Eph. 2:19). With this position an obligation [what Chafer calls obligation I prefer to call privilege] arises which makes its claim upon every member of the household. Of this claim the Apostle writes: As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith (Gal. 6:10). In the present human relationship sustained in the cosmos [world system] world, there is, of necessity, but a limited difference observable between the saved and unsaved; yet those who comprise the household of faith are completely separated unto God, and into that family none ever enter who sustains no true relation to God as his Father. Human organizations, including the visible church, may include a mixed multitude, but the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His (2 Tim. 2:19). In a great house there are some vessels to honor and some to dishonor, some gold and silver, and some of wood and of earth. If a man purge [flush out] himself from vessels of dishonor, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified [set apart], and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work (2 Tim. 2:20,21). This picture of household relationships does not imply that there are those in the family of God who are not saved; the truth set forth is that all believers are, in their daily life, as yielded to God as they might be, and that by self-dedication they might be advanced from the position of vessels of dishonor - of wood or of earth - to the position and substance of vessels of honor - of gold and of silver.

Like citizenship in heaven, a participation in the household and family of God is a position as high as heaven itself, and honorable to the degree of infinity. Thus there is correspondence with all other features of the riches of grace.

• 22. IN THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE SAINTS:

This is another feature of God's grace that is misunderstood, or deliberately neglected by the ones who want to set themselves up as so-called Pastor-teachers, in order to Lord it over God's family. We who are saved, are simply brothers and sisters in Christ, and should meet together to study God's Word, our divine Road Map as we journey through this world. Christ prayed: That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee (John 17:21). Chafer writes: "A repetition of any statement as it occurs in the Bible is for emphasis. It would seem, however, that, when speaking to His Father, there would be little occasion for reiteration; yet in that one priestly prayer Christ prays four times directly and separately that the believers may be one, and once that they may be one in their relation to the Father and to Himself (John 17:11, 21-23). With all this in view, it must be conceded that few, if any, truths are so emphasized in the Word of God as the unity of believers."

This is exactly the point that believers should never set themselves up as masters over other believers; we are all one in Christ and should treat one another as such; we should love other believers as joint-heirs with Christ, and seek their welfare above anything else.

On this topic of unity Chafer writes:

"An unknowable unity exists between the Father and the Son. It is the mystery of the Trinity itself; yet it is on this very level that Christ has requested that the believers may stand in relation to each other - that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee . . . that they may be made perfect in one (John 17:21-23). This prayer, as all that Christ ever prays, is answered, and the fact of oneness between the saints of God is present truth whether anyone ever comprehends it in this world or not.

This marvelous unity between believers becomes the logical ground for all Christian action, one toward another. Such action should be consistent with the unity, which exists. Never are Christians exhorted to make a unity by organization or combines [coming together]; they are rather besought to keep the unity, which God by His Spirit has created (Eph. 4:1-3). This can be done in but one way, namely, by recognizing and receiving, as well as loving and honoring, every other child of God. The spirit of separation from, and of exclusion of, other believers is a sin that can be measured only in the light of that ineffable [indescribable] union which separation and exclusion disregard. To be in the fellowship of the saints is a position in grace too exalted and too dignified for mere human understanding."

• 23. A HEAVENLY ASSOCIATION:

This term "heavenly association" refers to our union with Jesus Christ. This association refers to our partnership with Jesus Christ. Chafer names seven spheres of common interest and undertakings incorporated in this association:

• a. PARTNERS WITH CHRIST IN THIS LIFE.

The New Testament declares not only that the believer has partaken of a new life, but asserts that life to be the indwelling Christ. In Colossians 1:27 a mystery is revealed which is "Christ in you, the hope of glory"; and in Colossians 3:4 it is also said that "Christ . . . is our life." Likewise in 1 John 5:11-12 it is written: "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." Upwards of eighty times in the New Testament the truth appears, that among the major features which characterize a Christian is the impartation of new life from God. Thus a unique partnership in life is established between Christ and all who believe which is a position and a possession.

• b. PARTNERSHIP IN POSITION.

As an incomparable position, the Christian is raised with Christ (Col. 3:1), and seated with Christ in the heavenly association. This truth is clearly revealed in Ephesians 2:6, which declares, "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." To be raised with Christ and to be seated with Christ is a partnership in position, which is real and abiding. Its contribution to the entire fact of the believer's association with Christ is enough to characterize the whole. The honor and glory of it are knowledge-surpassing.

• c. PARTNERS WITH CHRIST IN SERVICE.

A number of passages unite in a testimony that the service of the Christian is one of copartnership with Christ. Of these, none is more direct and convincing than 1 Corinthians 1:9, which reads: "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord." In the A.V. the word koinonia is rendered fellowship. As the word is at times rendered communion (cf. 2 Cor. 6:14) with the thought of agreement or partnership, and to be in harmony with the message of Christian service, which theme characterizes this Epistle, the idea of joint undertaking may be read into this passage. Some, as Meyer and Alford, see a sharing here in Christ's coming glory; but as this Epistle is almost wholly one parenthesis which begins with the verse following this notable text and ends with 15:57, it is important to observe the next verse in the direct course of the message, namely, 15:58. With the rendering of koinonia by partnership, the two dominant and connecting verses would read: "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto partnership of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord . . . Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, un-moveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the lord." The same Epistle states: "For we are laborers together with God" (3:9); and 2 Corinthians 6:1 designates the believers as "workers together with Him" - in the same context they are said to be "ministers of God" (6:4) and "ministers of the New Testament" (3:6). To be thus in partnership with Christ is a position of limitless responsibility as well as exalted honor.

• d. PARTNERS WITH CHRIST IN SUFFERING.

This also is a positional truth that can only be explained by our being identified with Christ. Some will suffer for Christ's sake on this earth, but what is meant here is that because we are identified and set apart unto Christ, we also are identified with His suffering. Paul taught us in Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Paul was not actually crucified physically with Christ, but he was crucified positionally with Christ, and stands perfect in Him. We are not only crucified with Christ, but we are buried with Christ; we are risen with Christ; we are ascended with Christ; and now we are seated at the right hand of the Father with Christ. "Since ye, then, be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above [spiritual things], not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory" (Col. 3:1-4). What a magnificent position we have because of our big brother Christ; how secure we are, for no living thing can ever separate us from our wonderful heavenly family.

• e. PARTNERS WITH CHRIST IN PRAYER:

The fact that we pray in the name of Christ is assuming that He is at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. Therefore anything that we ask from God should be to the glory of Christ. Also, I believe prayer should be private between the believer and God. The only exception would be as a special blessing that may be asked before a meal or other family functions in order to observe semi-privately that we put God before our own needs; without God we would never even be able to meet our needs. Thanking God, and praising Him is appropriately offered before any family member; however, I would question the appropriateness of public praise of God before a Christ rejecting world; it seems to me this would fall into the category of casting true pearls before the swine of this world. I have no objection when a public figure says that they put God first, their mate second, and their family third; but when an athlete stands up and says that God gave them their victory, it seems to me they are assuming their opponent is an unbeliever, and that God plays favorites; God does have favorites, and they are every one who has put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Silent meditation is probably the most appropriate method of prayer, that is, mentally joining your thoughts within the fellowship of our Father in heaven. We must recognize that Christ abides in us, along with the Holy Spirit, and that we are in union with Him, and that we are no more strangers but adopted sons and daughters.

• f. PARTNERS WITH CHRIST IN BETROTHAL.

To be betrothed to Christ is a partnership. "The Church is espoused as a bride to Christ. The marriage day is that of His return to receive her unto Himself. It was the Apostle's desire that he might present believer's a chaste virgin (not as a chaste virgin) to Christ: "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy; for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:2). [Union with Christ is likened to the marriage relationship]; and from Ephesians 5:25-27 it is to be understood that Christ loves the church as a bridegroom might love a bride and that He gave Himself for His Bride: "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word; that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

• g. PARTNERSHIP IN EXPECTATION.

We read in Titus 2:13,14: "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a people of His own, zealous of good works." Chafer writes: "The blessed hope is ever the expectation of the instructed Christian; for the coming of Christ will be the moment of release from these limitations into the fullness of glory, and the moment of seeing Him who is the center of all reality for the believer. But Christ, too, is now expecting (Heb. 10:13), and His longings to claim His bride are as great as ever His willingness to die for her.

All partnership in human relations create their corresponding positions and possessions; in like manner the sevenfold partnership which the child of God sustains with Christ creates positions and possessions, and these are riches of divine grace."

• 24. HAVING ACCESS TO GOD:

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we have access to the throne of Grace, and we are exhorted to come freely without hesitation; as Christ being our great Mediator, we should come to the Father in the name of Christ, with all eagerness and expectation that He hears us: "Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16). It is imperative that we dismiss all teaching that we have to go through any human agency in order to be accepted by the Father. The Word of God teaches us that we must come to God directly through the name of Christ. God loves us as a dear Father loves His children, and we should never think He would not hear us.

Chafer writes:

"In attempting to understand what is granted in that access to God, it would be well to pursue certain revealed truths in a purposeful order.

• a. ACCESS INTO HIS GRACE. Divine grace in action is that achievement which God is free to undertake because of the satisfaction respecting sin, which Christ provided by His death and resurrection; therefore, access into the grace of God is access into the value of His finished work. This door is open to all; but only those who have believed have entered in. Of this position, which Christ procured, it is written: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand (Rom. 5:2). The believer is not only saved by grace (Eph. 2:8), but he stands in grace. He is ensphered in divine grace. The same grace that saved him sustains him. The same principle, upon which he is saved when he believes, is continually applied to him for safekeeping throughout his earthly pilgrimage. Of the ensphering grace, Peter wrote these words, But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). It is not a matter of growing more gracious, but of coming to know Christ, which knowledge is possible since the believer has entered the sphere of grace (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18). [I should add to this that the only way a believer can know Christ is by studying Bible Doctrine. This knowledge does not come by the way of osmosis]
• b. ACCESS UNTO THE FATHER. This has been covered above. "For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Eph. 2:18). [The term both refers to both Jew and Gentile believers alike].
• c. ACCESS IS REASURRING. So perfect, indeed, is this admission into the divine presence and favor that the Christian is urged to come boldly. In this instance, boldness becomes the believer, since every obstacle has been removed [in the Roman Catholic Church the obstacle of the priesthood still remains]. The one Scripture we did not state above regarding boldness is Hebrews 10:19,20, Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh. [Christ is the antitype of the Old Testament type of the Holy of Holies]. To be one to whom unrestrained access into the presence of God is accorded, is to occupy a position of superior privilege and standing, whether it be measured by the standards of heaven or of earth.
• 25. WITHIN THE MUCH MORE CARE OF GOD:

(God loves you as if you were the only member of the human race) The term much more means that God loved sinners enough to send His only begotten Son to die on the cross for them, how much more then does He love those who accept His Son, and become justified forever. "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life" (Rom. 5:8-10).

Chafer list some various blessings for the saved:

• a. OBJECTS OF HIS LOVE.

The unchangeable love of God underlies all that He undertakes. It was His love that originated the way of Salvation through Christ and thus by infinite grace. It is true that God is propitious [completely satisfied with Christ's death on the cross for sin]; that is, He is able through the death of Christ to receive the sinner with unrestrained favor. The death of Christ did not cause God to love sinners; it was His love, which provided that propitiation in and through Christ (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 1 John 3:16). The satisfaction which Christ rendered released the love of God from the demand which outraged holiness imposed against the sinner. The love of God knows no variations. It experiences no ups and downs, moods and tenses. It is the love of One who is immutable in all His character and ways.

• b. OBJECTS OF HIS GRACE.

Men are not saved into a state of probation, but into the sphere of infinite grace - a sphere in which God deals with them as those whom Christ has died, and whose sins are already borne by a Substitute. That grace contemplates:

• (1) Salvation. Thus it is written: that in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph. 2:7-9).
• (2) Safekeeping. As the Scripture declares: By whom also we have access by faith into the grace wherein we stand (Rom. 5:2).
• (3) Service. Of service it is written: As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world (John 17:18); [Of course we know that Christ was speaking of sending the twelve disciples into the world with the Gospel of the Kingdom, and not the ones of us who are living in this age of grace] The service we now enjoy in this age of grace is studying Bible doctrine and sharing what we learn with other believers. We are exhorted to Sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15). We are not Spirit gifted apostles sent out into the world to preach the gospel of the Kingdom; rather, we are exhorted to be set apart unto God by holy living, ready to answer anyone that might ask us the reason we believe what we believe; it is not our commission to persuade anyone, but rather we are to simply state the facts as the Holy Spirit teaches us from God's Word.
• (4) Instruction. It is asserted in God's Word: Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:12-13).
• c. OBJECTS OF HIS POWER.

A full induction of all passages in which God is said to be able to work in behalf of those who trust Him will prove a real help to the student. It will be seen that infinite power is ever actively engaged in the support and defense of the believer. It is written: And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power (Eph. 1:19); For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).

• d. OBJECTS OF HIS FAITHFULNESS.

Limitless comfort is provided for those who recognize the faithfulness of God. It is said: I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Heb. 13:5); Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6); Faithful is He that calleth you, who will also do it (1 Thess. 5:24).

• e. OBJECTS OF HIS PEACE.

Not only is that peace with God in view (Rom. 5:1) which is due to the fact that all condemnation is removed, but the imparted, experimental peace is promised also: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27); And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful (Col. 3:15, and the fruit of the Spirit is . . . peace (Gal. 5:22).

• f. OBJECTS OF HIS CONSOLATION.

Respecting divine consolation it is written: Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good work (2 Thess. 2:16-17).

• g. OBJECTS OF HIS INTERCESSION.

It is written concerning Christ's interceding for the saints: 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 maketh intercession for us (Rom. 8:34); wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them (Heb. 7:25); For Christ is not entered into the holy place made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us (Heb. 9:24).

To be included thus in the "much more" love and care of God becomes a position in divine grace which is of surpassing value.

• 26. HIS INHERITANCE:

"A partial anticipation of this position in grace has been expressed under the previous heading, which announced that each Christian is a gift of the Father to the Son; however, beyond the treasure which he is to Christ as a gift from the Father, Ephesians 1:18 asserts that the believer is also the inheritance of the Father: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (Eph. 1:18). Much is promised the believer respecting his future place in glory. It is written: And the glory which thou gavest them; that they may be one, even as we are one (John 17:22); Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified (Rom. 8:30); When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory (Col. 3:4). It is only by such changes, as He shall have wrought in fallen sinners that God will be glorified. They will reflect the glory of His grace (Eph. 1:6). Each child of God will serve as a medium or material by which the Shekinah glory of God will be seen."

• 27. THE INHERITANCE OF THE SAINTS:

God is the inheritance of the saints. Peter writes: An inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you (1 Peter 1:4).

Chafer writes:

"The present blessings which the Spirit brings into the Christian heart and life are likened to an earnest or comparatively small payment of all that is yet to be bestowed. The Apostle writes: which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:14); Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ (Col. 3:24). An eternal inheritance (Heb. 9:15) is a possession under grace; its specifications are unknowable until they are claimed in heaven."

• 28. LIGHT IN THE LORD:

In 1 John 1:5 we read, "God is light"; this means that there is not one speck of moral darkness in Him. The believer has become by divine grace light: For ye were once darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord; walk as children of light" (Eph.5:8). Positionally, the believer is light because of being joint heirs with Christ, who is the light. Experientially the believer is exhorted to walk in the light; the fact that the believer is light in the Lord should motivate him to walk worthy of that light. The only way a person is able to walk in the light is by adjusting to the Word of God. We have been made light positionally, and we still must walk in the light in our daily life.

Chafer writes:

"To walk in the light is not to become the light; it is rather to be wholly subject to the mind and will of God and adjusted to the holy character of God. In this respect, the Bible is a Lamp to the feet and a light upon the path (Ps. 119:105). However, with regard to the light, which the believer is, it may be observed that to have received the light into one's being is a possession and to be light in the Lord is a position. No person becomes the light by attempting to shine; rather, having become light in the Lord and that as a divine achievement, he is appointed to shine as a light in a dark world. It is reasonable to conclude that the light which the believer is may be identified as the indwelling divine nature, and that that light is veiled in this world, but will have its manifestation in glory."

• 29. VITALLY UNITED TO THE FATHER, SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT:

"As perplexing as it may be to the human mind, the Scriptures advance six distinct revelations between the Godhead and the believer, and these relationships represent realities which no comparison in the sphere of human intercourse. It is said (1) that the believer is in God the Father (1 Thess. 1:1), (2) that God the Father is in the believer (Eph. 4:6), (3) that the believer is in the Son (Rom. 8:1), (4) that the Son is in the believer (John 14:20), (5) that the believer is in the Spirit (Rom. 8:9), (6) that the Spirit is in the believer (1 Cor. 2:12). The force of these stupendous declarations is centered in the intensity of meaning, which must be assigned to the word in as used in each of these six declarations. It is evident that to be in the Father, or the Son, or the Spirit is a position; and for the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Spirit to be in the believer constitutes a possession. A corresponding truth grows out of all this, which is a result of it, namely, that the believers are one in each other as the Father is in the Son and the Son is in the Father (John 17:21). Since the believer's physical body is a corporate entity, it is as difficult to think of that body as an abode; and the body is termed the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). On the other hand, it is exceedingly difficult to understand the truth asserted that the believer is in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This peculiar relationship to the Son is amplified by a sevenfold declaration or under seven figures: (1) the believer is a member in Christ's body (1Cor. 12:13), (2) the believer is to Christ as a branch to the vine (John 15:5), (3) the believer is to Christ as a stone in the building of which Christ is the Chief Cornerstone (Eph. 2:19-22), (4) the believer is to Christ as a sheep in His flock (John 10:27-29), (5) the believer is a part of that company who forms the Bride of Christ (Eph. 5:25-27), (6) the believer is a priest in a kingdom of priests over which Christ is the High Priest forever (1 Peter 2:5,9), and (7) the believer is a part of the New Creation over which Christ as the Last Adam is the head (2 Cor. 5:17). In John 14:20: "At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you," three great truths are declared as those which the believer is to know specifically in this age, namely, (1) Christ is in the Father, (2) the believer is in Christ, and (3) Christ is in the believer.

"The truths declared and distinguished under this heading represent not only the most vital positions and possessions which infinite grace can create, but are the very heart of Christianity, being never intimated in the Old Testament."

• 30. BLESSED WITH THE EARNEST OR THE FIRST-FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT:

"As before intimated, the immeasurable blessings which come to the child of God because of His relation to the Holy Spirit are as a comparatively small down payment which binds with certainty the larger gifts of heaven's glory. These present ministries of the Spirit are said to be an earnest (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:14) and the firstfruits (Rom. 8:23) of the Spirit. There are five of these present riches: (1) The believer is born of the Spirit (John 3:6), by which operation Christ is begotten in the one who exercises faith. (2) The believer is baptized by the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), which is a work of the Holy Spirit by which the believer is joined to Christ's Body and comes to be in Christ, and therefore a partaker of all that Christ is. (3) The believer is indwelt and anointed by the Spirit (John 7:39; Rom. 5:5; 8:9; 2 Cor. 1:21; Gal. 4:6; 1 John 2:27; 3:24), by which Presence the believer is equipped for every conflict and service. (4) The believer is sealed by the Spirit (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 4:30), which is the work of God the Holy Spirit by which the children of God are made secure unto the day of redemption. (5) The believer may be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18), which ministry of the Spirit releases His power and effectiveness in the heart in which He dwells.

"The Spirit's work in and through the Christian results in both position and possession that are themselves marvelous realities of the riches of divine grace, and all of these together form but a foretaste of the glory which is assured in heaven."

• 31. GLORIFIED:

Of this fact it is written: "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. 8:18); "When Christ who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory" (Col. 3:4).

Chafer writes:

"It is not to be concluded that there is a present and a future glory which are unrelated. The present glory is the divine reckoning of the future glory to be even a present reality. No passage more clearly asserts this fact than Romans 8:30, which states: Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified." To be a glorified saint is a position in divine grace of immeasurable riches and, in the certainty of the divine purpose, it becomes a possession."

• 32. COMPLETE IN HIM:

"This, with the theme which follows, serves as a conclusion of that which has gone before in this attempt to record the riches of divine grace; yet these are specific disclosures of all that enters into the exceeding grace of God. What may be included in the word complete when the Apostle says, For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power (Col.2:9-10), is beyond the range of human understanding. No careless use of terms will be discovered in any Scripture, and this passage presents the voice of the Holy Spirit declaring that, to the degree by which God values things and according to those standards, which God employs, the child of God is complete; but so great a transformation is due to the all-determining fact that he is in Christ. The truth is thus once more presented that, because of his vital union with Christ, the believer partakes of all that Christ is. The Father finds infinite delight in the Son; but He cannot find delight in that which is less than the perfection of the Son. While men may ever be before the Father as the creatures of His hand, those who are saved are, even now, perfected in His sight by and through their vital relation to the Son. Thus a principle is introduced which is far removed from human custom or practice and, naturally, beyond human understanding, but not beyond the range of human acceptance or belief, since it is declared in the Word of God. To be complete in Christ is a glorious reality and is a portion of that grace which is extended to all who believe."

• 33. POSSESSING EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING:

No text of Scripture more perfectly accounts for all the riches of grace than Ephesians 1:3, which reads: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. All the riches of grace tabulated in the thirty-two points made before are to be included in this sweeping term - all spiritual blessings. These are again and finally declared to be realized on the basis of the believer's relation to Christ. Thus all positions and possessions which together measure the riches of divine grace are traced to the believer's place in Christ. These are accorded the one who believes on Christ to the saving of his soul."

CONCLUSION

I believe that to know these divine riches of grace takes study of the Word of God, and there is no substitute for Bible doctrine. It would be a simple task if we were able to simply read a book or listen to someone tell us what we should know; however, God has devised a plan in eternity past that He has provided us with the eternal Word of God, and that it would provide us with all we should know, until He could teach us further in eternity, which will last for eternity. Two of the most important doctrines we will ever learn on earth are confession and possession. Confession is needed in order to remain in fellowship, and as I have said many times, confession is for our benefits just as the study of these divine riches of grace. It is a blessing beyond description to be a possessor of "all of God's spiritual blessings"; and a believer must know these blessings in order to fully appreciate them.

Chafer writes:

"It would hardly be amiss to restate the truth that salvation is a work of God for man and not a work of man for God. It is what God's love prompts Him to do and not a mere act of pity, which rescues creatures from their misery. To realize the satisfaction of His love God has been willing to remove, by infinite sacrifice, the otherwise insurmountable hindrance which sin has imposed. Nothing short of transformations, which are, infinite will satisfy His infinite love. An inadequate record of these riches of grace, which together represent the infinity of saving grace, has been submitted; but it still remains true that the half has never been told. The student who is ambitious to be accurate in gospel preaching will not only observe but ever contend for the truth that all these riches are purely a work of God, and that to secure them the individual could do no more than to receive at the hand of God what He is free to give in and through Christ Jesus. Those who believe on Christ in the sense that they receive Him (John 1:12) as their Savior, enter instantly into all that divine love provides. These thirty-three positions and possessions are not bestowed in succession, but simultaneously. They do not require a period of time for their execution; but are wrought instantaneously. They measure the present difference which obtains between one who is saved and one who is not saved."

"Oh to grace how great a debtor

Daily I'm constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter.

Bind my wandering heart to Thee."

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