The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1902-10-10
SUBSCRIPTION: S1.OO Per Year
tI know not how the Spirit moves,
Convincing men of sin,
Revealing Jesus through the Word.
fnith In

| Convincing men of sin,
| Revealing Jesus through the Word.
| Creating faith in Him.
But I know whom I have believed.
| And am persuaded that He is able
| To keep that which 1 have committed
| Unto Him against that day."
| The Pattern.-As in every workshop
where raw material is taken and man
ufactured into articles useful and or
namental, there is the pattern, the
working model which Is followed,
so it is in the workshop of God. The
perfect man, Christ Jesus, is the mod
ell after which all the constructive
work of the shop is carried on.
| The first Adam disobeyed God and be-
| came subject to death as a cOnse-
! quence of sin. All nodded after his
pattern in the world since then have
/ borne the same disfguring marks of
| sin and death. You cannot expect the
machine which is constructed after
/ the imperfect model will be free
| from defects. 1t was necessary,
| therefore, if man was to be recon-
! structed, recreated, a new and perfect
model must be secured. For centuries
| God was busy preparing for this tre-
mendOusly important event in the
world. In the fullnesS of time He
chose His dearest treasure, His only
! begOtten Son, to go to the earth and by
His life among men, and as man, sup
ply the perfect pattern after which the
new and Heavenly race was to be con-
structed. He perfectly kept the law
| of God and did His Fathers will. He
was tempted in all points like as we
are, yet without sin. Wherein Adam
the First failed, He won glorious VIC
tory over Satan, and forever put the
arch deceiver of mankind to flight.
As the perfect pattern He stood upon
the mountain of transfigurati jon and
the glory of God transformed Him and
He was revealed to the eyes of sin
full man as the perfect man. He was
ready to go back to God, as far as He
Himself was concerned.
But from beholding the face of His
Father in Heaven He turned His gaze
back to earth and saw the sons of
Adam the First dead in trespaSses and
sins. He had demonstrated His own
purity and holiness. Now came the
working out of a plan by which death
as punishment for sin could be over
come and man could be recreated
the subject of conversation between
Christ Jesus, the perfect man, and
Moses and Elijah. He talked with
them concerning His decease, or ex-
odus. which He should accomplish at
Jerusalem. He was to become more
than the pattern. He was to become
the vitalizing force by which the dead
soul was to be called into life again.
He was perfectly ready to step
back into His place in Heaven, but He so
loved the world that He came down into
its midst again and became "sin for
us, Who knew no sin; that we might
be made the righteousness of God in
Him." He became our substitute for
sin, for the Lord hath laid on Him
the iniquity of us all" Thus in Christ
man escapes the consequences of sin,
while at the same time Gods judg-
ment against sin is perfectly satis-
fed. He triumphed over death in His
resurrection. and thus became not only
the perfect pattern to be used in Gods
workshop, but the vitaliZing force az
well.
The newborn babe does not sud-
denly spring into manhood, but de-
velops step by step from babyhOOd to
maturity So in Gods workshop, the
newborn soul is not suddenly crowd
ed to the measure of the stature OF
the fullness of Christ" the perfect
model but grows step by step into His
likeness. And herein is where the
workshop of God is kept constantly
busy. The Holy Spirit, the Active
Agent. "maketh intercessiOn for US
with groanings which cannot be ut
tered" for with His eyes on the per-
feet model He sees what is needful to
shape us into that likeness. And God
begins to cut off here and smooth
down there, to mold and polish the
soulintO the perfect likeness of the pat
tern And the process goes on glori-
ouslv if we will be submissive, for
''whom the Lord loveth He chasten-
eth" until some day we come into
His presence and are made in all full
ness like Him.
Good Works.-Man in his workshop
builds machines to perform certain
work They are expected to do that
work or be cast aside as worthless.
No less is this true in Gods workshop.
For we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus, unto good works" God
cannot be satisfied with the soul which
is content to rest in the thought that
it is safe in Christ Jesus. He wants to
see that newborn creature in Christ
Jesus performing the functions for
which he was created. Created unto
rood works" Impossible to do good
works apart from Christ, but in Christ
such activity becomes possible. 1t is
evidence that the soul has been born
AGAIN. and it is absolutely essential
to its life and growth. God found Pc
ter an ignorant fisherman by the lake
of Galilee and made him into an apostle
and preacher, not for himself alone,
but that he might preach on the day of
Pentecost and win three thousand
souls for Christ. And that he might
go on doing the good works of God,
from raising the lame man at the tenn
pie gate all through his busy ministry
to the glory of his martyrdOm. God
reached down and dragged out of the
awful depths of unbelief and hellish
hate Paul, the "chiefest of Sinners"
not for PauPs sake alone, but that he
might become the great apostle to
the Gentiles and reveal the wonderful
mysteries of the glorious Gospel OF
Jesus Christ. God takes you and me,
nv brother, into His workshop and
creates US anew in Christ Jesus that
we may begin to work for Him. Saves
to serve.
Serving God through all our days,
Toiling not for purse or praise;
But to magnify His name.
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