The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-10-29


Jesus as his Redeemer and who has.
additionally. consecrated unto death
all his human rights and interests of
every kind-to sacrifice the same as
guided by the holy Spirit of the Lord.
The Sealing Operation.
Gods holy Spirit, in efecting this
sealing of our hearts, in making this
impress Of the Divine character upon
us as New Creatures, uses various
means. One of these is the Word Of
God, sometimes called 1.-The sword of
the Spirit" It's instructions. encour-
agements. warnings and promises con-
stitute power of God upon the hearts
! of those who love righteousness and
hate iniquity and who are striving to
serve the Lord with willing and self
sacrificing hearts. The Word of God
NAV reach others and influence them
more or less this way or that, but only
upon this one special class does it eXer-
else this sealing power. Another agen-
CIV for the impressing of the Divine
will. "the mind of Christ" the holy
Spirit, upon our hearts is Gods Prov
licences. These, however. can be right
~ understood only by those enlighten-
ed by the Word, the Bible. and can be
rightly applied only by the meek, the
humble. the trustful, who have made
the conservation and are seeking to
make their calling and election sure.
The holy Spirit uses these different
means of developing in the consecrated
ones the mind of Christ. the spirit Of
God. the holy Spirit; and the sealing
thus effected marks each individual as
one of the Lords 'jewels," one of the
Lords members" in preparation for
a share with the Lord in the heavenly
Kingdom. There is a blessing expert
enced in conjunction with the sealing
itself-a joy, a peace, rest of heart.
which the world can neither give nor
take away. However. these blessings
of the present time are merely fore
taste or earnest of the great inherit
ance which is to be theirs with the
completion of their experiences in the
School of Christ. In the end of this
age all Of these faithful ones. 'not
many" "a little flock" will reach the
end of the journey and. by the First
Resurrection. be "changed in a moment.
in the twinkling of an eye" into the
glorious likeness of the Redeemer.
That wonderful moment will be in the
early dawn of the Millennial Day,
which is the Day Of Redemption, the
Day of Deliverance.
DeIiverance For the World.
But while the Church will be the
first to be blessed in that deliverance
day, the Scriptures assure us that 9th
ers also will be delivered-''the groan-
ing creation" But the Church will be
first every way, and then through it as
the Body of Christ, the blessings Of
restitution opportunities will be extend
ed to all others. That will be earth's
great Deliverance Day or. as shown in
the Jewish types. it will be the anti
typical Jubilee Year, in which the
world will be released from its bond
age to sin and death. AS st. James de-
clares Il. 49, the Church is ga kind Of
first-fruits unto God Of His creatures"
pre-eminence, in that the First Resur-
rection will bring them spiritual per-
lection, as we'll as share in the Mil
lennial Kingdom. Theirs will be an in
Simultaneous change while the oppor
tunities of the world will be that Of
gradual uplifting from sin and death
conditions to the perfection of man
hood, such as Adam enjoyed before he
sinned, and in a worldwide Eden
home.
The grieving of the holy Spirit. then.
would signify that the sealing proc
esses would discontinue: that the work
would not be accomplished; that the
Word and Providences of God would
not prove effective in the heart which
had grieved the Spirit. In other words
it is required that this work Of sealing
shall be fully with our consent (cO-
operatiom. else it cannot proceed. The
Apostle intimates that self-will on our
part, or recurrence to the spirit Of
the world. would have this blighting
effect. This is shown in the context
preceding, which should be fully stud
led.
1t is not our wish to discourage any
body in any measure of we'll doing. On
the contrary, we encourage all with
the Scriptural assurance that not
single act of kindness done to one Of
the least of the Lords disciples will
fail of its reward-even a cup of cold
water. 1t is our duty, however, to call
attention. not only to the grandeur Of
the prize which the Lord has set be-
fore his Church. but also with equal
persistency to call attention to the
particular terms upon which it may be
secured. 1t is not in vain that the
Apostle wrote. eff We do these things.
We shall never fall, for so an entrance
shall be ministered unto you abun-
dainty into the everlasting Kingdom
Of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"
In the very same connection the Apos-
tie calls our attention to some who
have grieved the holy Spirit where
with they were sealed unto the day Of
deliverance, saying: "But he that lack
eth these things is blind and cannot
see afar off (has lost his spiritual sight
and has forgotten that he was purged
from his old sins" QI Peter i. s, 81.
So, then, dear brethren. let us give the
more earnest heed to the Word of the