Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

us,"comments"well-doing."us"glory"ever"us"ness. It is the devil who persuades us tosay, "I am tired ofbeing honest;" "I amtired of going to school"; "I am tired ofwriting lesson(!) Think ofthose noble men and women who havelabored in remote regions of the earth forthe faith of the Gospel, who have received no Nobel Awards, no bronzeplaques, no medalions nor citations, norecognition of any kind. Yet many ofthem have labored on, lonely, persecuted, insulted, and asked to leave. Theirwatchword is endurance, their life motto: "Let us not be weary inPRAYER MEETING TOPICSeptember 8, 1954THE GREATEST ATTAINMENTPOSSD3LETO MANI John 3:2. Beloved, now are we thesons of God, and it doth not yet appearwhat we shall be; but we know that,when he shall appear, we shall be likehim; for we shall see him as he is. ReadJohn's Gospel 3:1-17.Psalms23;l-5, page 5236:5-8, page 9085:5-8, page 207103:5-8, page 247Comments by M. S. McMillan, D.D.Item one in that attainment is BELOVED OF GOD. "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed onwe who had rebelled against Himas Absalom rebelled against his fatherDavid. Peace of conscience is the firstfruits of assurance of God's love. "Andthey shall be mine, saith the Lord ofhosts, in that day when I make up myjewels; and I will spare them, as a manspareth his own son, that serveth him."Item two in that attainment is thatone is a son o{ God as soon as he becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus."Now are we the sons of God." Sons ofGod by regeneration and adoption,"whereby we are received into the number and have a right to all the privilegesof the sons of God." When men adoptchildren into their family they have totake them with any hereditary taints theymay have, but it is not so with God,He renews his adopted children in thewhole man after His own image and enables them to die more and more untosin and to live more and more untorighteousness until the mortal has puton immortality and the corruptible hasput on incorruption and their souls being made perfect in holiness do pass intoglory.Item three in that attainment is evidence that one is a child of God. "Foras many as are led by the Spirit of God,108they are the sons of God, For ye havenot received the spirit of bondage againto fear; but ye have received the Spiritof adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father. TheSpirit itself beareth witnesswith our spirit, that we are the childrenof God" (Rom. 8:14-16).Item four in that attainment: privileges of the children of God. The prefaceof the Lord's prayer teaches us to drawnear to God with holy reverence and confidence as children to a father, willingand able to help us in every time of need."And if children, then heirs, heirs of God,and joint- heirs with Christ; if so be thatwe suffer with him, that we may be alsoglorified together. For I reckon that thesufferings of this present time are notworthy to be compared with the glorywhich shall be revealed in (Rom. 8:17,18).Item five in that attainment. "Thenwe shall see him (Jesus) as he is." Notas he was in His state of humiliation butas He now is in His state of exaltation,having the glory which He had with theFather before the world was, having allauthority in heaven and on earth, having the name which is above every name.The transfiguration was probably alimited preview of the physical aspectsof that glory. "His face did shine as thesun, and his raiment was white as thelight, exceeding white as snow; so asno fuller on earth can white them"(Matt. 17:2; Mark 9:3). "His head andhis hairs were white like wool, as whiteas snow; and his eyes were as a flame offire; and his feet like unto fine brass,as if burned in a furnace; and his voiceas the sound of manywaters"(Rev.1:14,15). "Father, I will that they alsowhom thou hast given me, be with mewhere I am; that they may behold myme"glory, which thou hast given (John17:24). They had seen Christ and hadbeen about to forsake Him in His briefstate of humiliation and now He praysthat they may eternally see Him in Hisdivine glory and exaltation.Item six in that attainment: "It dothnot yet appear what we shall be." God'slove for man maynot rest so much onwhat he now is as on what he shall bewhen his soul is made perfectly holyand he is made perfectly blessed in thefull enjoyment of God to all eternity.There may be a limited preview of thephysical aspects of the glorification ofthe redeemed saints in what is said aboutMoses and Elijah on the Mount of transfiguration, "who appeared in(Luke 9:31). Why did Peter suggestbuilding three tabernacles on that mountain, one for Jesus, one for Moses andone for Elias unless the glorious appearance of Moses and Elias was almostequal to that of Christ?Item seven in that attainment: "Whenhe shall appear we shall be like him.""Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man,the things which God hath prepared forthem that love him." (1 Cor. 2:9). "Andthey that be wise shall shine as thebrightness of the firmament; and theythat turn many to righteousness as thestars for ever and (Dan. 12:3)."For whom he did foreknow, he alsodid predestinate to be conformed untothe image of his Son, that he might bethe firstborn among many brethren.Moreover whom he did predestinate,them he also called: and whom hecalled, them he also justified: and whomhe justified, them he also glorified. Whatshall we then say to these things? If Godbe for us, who can foe against (Rom.8:29-31)W. M. S. COLUMNExcerpts from business session of Synodical, July 20, 1954.The disposal of the $6,000.00 in thelife and memorial fund was an importantitem of business, and after much consideration and prayer the followingaction was taken: Since PhiladelphiaPresbyterial memorialized the SynodicalMay 1951, to give more publicity to theLife and Memorial Fund, as to its original purpose, namely the establishing of aHOME for furloughed and retired missionaries, we record the action of Synodical of 1954 as follows:That the synodical give $25.00 per monthto a furloughed couple and $10.00 permonth to a furloughed single missionary,toward provision of a home while on furlough, the money to be drawn from Lifeand Memorial Fund. (Payments to beginJuly 1954)That foreign and home mission superintendents inform all missionaries of therent-free home available to them in HotSprings, New Mexico;That retired missionaries upon reaching the age when they feel they can nolonger live alone, be advised to seek admission into the Aged People's Home ofthe Reformed Presbyterian Churchthrough the regular channels.Memorialized by Illinois Presbyterial totake upa S(pecial synodical project eachyear, the synodical voted to adopt theproject this year of paying, over andabove the budget, the transportation of anew missionary to the foreign field. Thesynodical treasurer was to be authorizedto borrow money from an available fundof the Synodical, if necessary, until contributions come in.Mrs. J. M. RobbSynodical Recording SecretarjrTHE COVENANTER WITNESS-