The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 374

REGENERATION

334 unites with the

human

of the divine nature

Hence as

" to

nature,

we

which we had

be adopted as

are merely restored to the likeness lost

by

" to

are contrasts, so are also the following:

Himself" and

" to

sin.

a child" and "to be the Son forever" have the divine nature in

of the divine nature" The friend who shares a bereaved mother's mourning is not bereaved himself, but through love and pity he has become partaker of that mourning.

be only partakers

In like manner, accepting these great and pre-

cious promises, believers

become partakers

of the divine nature,

altho in themselves wholly devoid of that nature.

Partaker does

not denote what one possesses in himself, as his own, but a partial

communication of what dees not belong to him, but to another. Hence this glorious, apostolic word should no longer be used

in

As it is unlawful to say that we are the essential children of God, but must humbly confess, through Christ, to be His adopted children, so it is not lawful to say that by faith we become in ourselves bearers of the divine nature but we must be pantheistic sense.

;

satisfied

with the confession that through the fellowship of love,

God makes us partakers of the vital emotions of the divine so far as our human capacities are able to experience them.

nature,

This brings us back to the unio mystica with Christ, which, altho a great and impenetrable mystery, ought to be sufficiently defined

keep us from falling into error. We mention, therefore, its vital embody our confession concerning it: ist. The _;fri'/ point is, that the Lord Jesus does not require us to be purified and sanctified in order to be united to His Person. to

points and thus

Jesus

is

this reason

teaches,

a Savior not of the righteous, but of sinners.

He

has adopted the

human

nature

:

And

by receiving from heaven a newly created body,

like the

Paradise body of Adam, but by becoming partaker, as the children, of our flesh

and blood.

union with believers.

He

And

the

for

not as the Baptist

same

is

little

true of His

does not wait until they are pure and

them but He betroths Himself unto them that they may become pure and holy. He is the rich Bridegroom, and the soul the poverty-stricken bride. In the shining robes of His righteousness He comes and, finding her black, unsightly, and in her native defilement, He says not, " Get thyself clean, wise, and rich, and as a rich bride I will betroth thee unto Me " but, " I take thee just as thou art. I say unto thee, in thy holy, then to be spiritually betrothed unto

;

;

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