It is most precious to the Christian to remember that, whatever else may change, his standing in Christ, through the exceeding riches of the grace of God, remains always the same. Founded as it is on the everlasting efficacy of the work of the cross, and effected by the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, nothing can possibly shake his nearness and acceptance in Him. The believer’s experience may be pleasant or painful; his circumstances may be prosperous or adverse; he may be at one time in the sweetest, happiest enjoyment of fellowship with the Lord, and at another time distressed and humbled under the buffetings of a messenger of Satan; but all through, his standing in Christ is unmoved—he is unchangeably accepted in the Beloved. With other believers he is entitled to say, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” (Eph. 1:77In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:7).)
Such is the unalterable character of the standing of the believer. He is a new creation in Christ Jesus. But his state of soul is another thing, and it is well to distinguish between them. A christian servant-girl once said to the writer. “I am sorry to say, sir, that my state does not agree with my standing.” In this remark she was only expressing the minds of many more. In one sense, if our state were as perfect as our standing, we should be practically perfect; but, in another aspect of the subject, we judge it cannot but be very displeasing to the Lord when our state of soul is very contrary to the mind of Him who is our life and righteousness—the Holy and the True—in whom we are always seen by God as He is. To hold high truth, and to go on contentedly with a low walk, cannot but grieve the Holy Spirit of God, whereby we are sealed unto the day of redemption. And yet it cannot be controverted that this is a striking feature among Christians in our day. Now what is to be done? We cannot certainly give up the most blessed truth of our standing, and oh, the endearing relationships with the Father and the Son, into which divine grace has brought us, and made known to us by the Holy Ghost; but should we not consider how far these relationships and our present standing are so apprehended by us as to produce that state of soul which such marvelous grace must necessarily effect in us? How true it is that we love Him because He first loved us! Η. H. S.