The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 54

!

INTRODUCTION

t4

face knows better than this. For if those men perform no apparent manual labor, they work with brain, nerve, and blood; yet since those organs are more delicate than hand or foot, their invisible, indwelling work is much more exhausting. With all their labor the blacksmith and sailor are pictures of health, while the men of

mental

force, apparently idle

among

their folios, are pale

haustion, their vitality being almost

consumed by

from ex-

their intense

application.

Applying this distinction without its human limitations to the works of the Lord, we find that the outgoing works of God had their beginning when God created the heavens and the earth; and that before that moment which marks the birth of time, nothing existed but God working within Himself. Hence this twofold operation

:

The

first,

externally manifest,

known

to those of eternity,

to us in the acts

—

and directing all things acts that, compared seem to have begun but yesterday for what are

of creating, upholding,

;

thousands of years in the presence of the eternal ages? '^\iq second, behind and underneath the first an operation not begun nor ended,

—

but eternal like Himself; deeper, richer,

fuller, yet not manifested, hidden within Him, which we therefore designate indwelling. Altho these two operations can scarcely be separated for there

—

never was one manifest without which was not in

— yet

the difference is strongly

first

marked and

completed

^vith-

easily recognized.

The indwelling works of God are from eternity, the outgoing belong The former precede, the latter fiollow. The foundation of to ti/ne. that which becomes visible lies in that which remains invisible. The light itself is hidden,

it is

the radiation only that appears.

The Scripture, speaking of the indwelling works of God.'says: " The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, and the thoughts of His heart to all generations" (Psalm xxiii. 1). Since in God heart 1

and thought have no separate existence, but His undivided Essence thinks, feels, and wills, we learn from this significant passage that the Being of God works in Himself from all eternity. This answers the oft-repeated and foolish question, " What did God do before He created the universe?" which is as unreason.ing as to ask what the thinker did before he expressed his thoughts, or the architect before he built the house God's indwelling works, which are from everlasting to everlasting, are not insignificant, but surpass His outgoing works in depth and strength as the student's thinking and the sufferer's anguish

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen