p. 16 | The Life Giver

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 15, 1903

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 29, No. 15.

The Life Giver

The Life Giver.—Jesus Christ gives life, new life, to every believer. This life comes to each of His children as “the earnest of the Spirit,” called in Rom. 8:23, “the first-fruits of the Spirit.” “Earnest,” says Worcester, is “part of the price paid for property or goods sold, or money given in token that a bargain is ratified, or to bind a contract, often called ‘earnest money.’” That portion of His Spirit which God places upon His people is the earnest money, or pledge that God will do all that He has promised, if they will but meet the conditions. And God promises men life, not death. Christ’s coming is life, not death. Col. 3:3. Then the faithful whose house has been “dissolved,” or taken down, will receive the house from heaven, immortal bodies. Then the faithful, who are “not found naked,” or “unclothed,” who are alive at His coming, will be “clothed upon” with immortality, and “mortality,” will be “swallowed up of life,” even as it has been through His grace overcome of life.

The mightiest thing of worth in all this universe is character. All that makes God what He is is His character. And all that is of worth in God’s children is character. In the great day when all men shall be tried, it will not be asked, How many dollars is he worth? What is his fame or reputation? but, What is his character? Righteousness alone will avail then, even the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ.