Jesus lives within His people. His light shines through them. They have no other righteous works except the works that He works within them according to His Own Sovereign Will. The same relationship exists between Him and His people as exists in Him and His Father in this respect. "..The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise..." Neither can His people perform righteousness outside the unction and intercession of His Own Spirit. (They cannot even have their mortal existence without His sustaining Spirit as their Creator, and when this ceases, their body returns unto the earth and their spirit unto Him that gave it.) Their good works are His works that He works in them, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. God has ordained these works within them, not for and to their personal or fleshly glory, but unto His Own Glory. He has made all things for Himself and His Own Glory. He Has not made them for the creatures' glory, for only God is worthy of this Glory, as Creator of all things, and is therefore worthy to be praised, for He is the thrice Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, Who has made all things, and for His glory they are and were created. It is the Lord that has made His people; They are the work of His Own Hands and the sheep of His Own pasture - they have not made and created themselves. They are created in Christ Jesus unto those good works that He has before ordained that they should or shall walk in them. These works, like the kingdom that they are in, are not left to other people. As the Father hath appointed His Son a KIngdom, so has the Son appointed them a kingdom, that they should eat and drink in this kingdom of love, joy and peace in the Holy Ghost - And like the apostles, whom Christ chose for Himself and according to His Own will, they are also chosen and called. They are made faithful to follow Him in their calling, though with some of them, their sins are open before hand, going before to judgment, and some, may follow afterward, likewise, the good works of some are open beforehand, and those that follow cannot be hid until He bring all into the Unity of the Spirit. Their works were ordained in Christ before the world unto their glory in Him. The performance of these works are not conditional upon their part, because this would rob Christ of His Glory, Who freely gives to them of His Spirit; but these works form a part of those heavenly blessings that He has blessed them with in heavenly places in His Son. They have no righteousness separate or independent of the imputed righteousness of Christ, therefore He is termed "The Lord, our righteousness" . This righteousness was imputed unto them while they were yet without hope, and lost in the elements of the world, and had their part in the course of this world, fullfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, Who is rich in mercy, when the fullness of time has come, has quickened them unto eternal Life in His Son, according to His Own will, and raised them up and made them to sit together in the heavenlies. Since they can find no righteousness within themselves, that is their flesh, they hunger and thirst after another righteousness, even the righteousness of the Lord Jesus. In their flesh is no good and satisfying thing. To will to be righteous and perform spiritual works is present with them in their inward part, that is their renewed heart which is created in true holiness in the image of Him Who has called them to grace and glory, but how to perform this, they find not; therefore they die daily to their inability and spiritual depravity, and cry "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death" They find the answer in their deliverence by Christ's present intercession within them when they can say, I thank God through Jesus Christ, my Lord, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.

In this experience, God's goodness, greatness and power is declared through them by the Son and they are manifested as the sons of God, among a perverse and crooked generation, as whom they stand as shining lights and a city set by Christ upon a hill. Their light therefore so shines that God's other children see their good works and glorify not these, but their own Father which is in Heaven. Though they presently and many times in their pilgrimage here below, (for they yet with the Apostles must with great tribulation enter into the kingdom of God) - They therefore with all of the spiritual creation groan and travail together to be be delivered from this bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, for they are dead, and their life is hid with Christ in God. Therefore, they must await His appearing in this experience when they shall be raised in newness of Life to appear with Him in Glory, For Christ is that Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty as they find themselves transformed into His image and death is swallowed up in His immortality. They then can triumphantly say: ".. O, Death where is thy sting? O, grave, where is thy victory, and find that the sting of death is the condemning power of sin, and the strength thereof is the sentence of a broken Law, but they are found in Him, not having their own righteousness, which is of the Law, but the righteousness of faith of Him that is to and on all that have been brought to trust in His name. They sing His praise in the great congregation of the saints, where there is no distinction of the flesh; where there is neither bond or free, male or female, but they are all children of God by the Spirit, through faith in Christ Jesus. They are a chosen generation, an holy nation, a peculiar people, a building of God, an house not made with hands, but by His Hand that has fitly framed the members each into their proper place thereof as it grows into an holy temple of the Lord for a habitation of God by Christ's Spirit, the Comforter, Who guides them into all Truth, Who is Himself, their Way, their Truth and their Life. Only Jesus is able to declare God's name unto His brethren, who are bone of His bone, and flesh of His flesh, as He as God has partaken of flesh and blood Himself, He has taken on a body of flesh like unto the first Adam with sin excepted and thereby manifested Himself the second Adam, a life-giving and quickening Spirit, for the words that He speaks are spirit, and they are life. He has conquered death itself by His Own death in the earth and has reigned unto life, for where sin did reign unto death in His members, it has superabounded unto Life by His resurrection, where He abolished death and has now brought His Life and salvation to light through the gospel. Because He thus lives, His people live in Him also. Jesus is their Life, and He came in the likeness of their flesh that they might or should have Life, and have it more abundantly than the old economy could provide for God's children.


The old legal heaven and old cursed earth where they one time felt they must trust in as works of righteousness for approval in the sight of God, have passed away with a great noise when the Lord appeared to them in judgment and the inherent and native sin that ever resides within their members has shown itself to have become exceedingly sinful, to the point they have finally died to their own estimation of their works as being meritorious in the His sight. Like Paul, or rather Saul, they have fallen powerless and as a dead man before the righteous demands of a broken and unfullfilled Law, which their own efforts can now never satisfy. Therefore, they sing with Toplady: "These for sin could not atone, Thou must save, and Thou alone."

This work has not been done in a corner; For the day has passed that has burned as an oven, and all the proud, yea all that do wickedly unto His people and His name, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. So they find this to be their experience.

But the time will finally come unto those that fear His name, when the Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings; and they will gone forth, to grow up as calves of the stall. The elements of the Law dispensation have now been burned up with all the condemning works therein. New Jerusalem has appeared, coming down from God out of Heaven, where His people await and look according to His promise for the manifestation of this new Jerusalem, their temple and center of worship that has no need of the light of human wisdom for it's existence, but is a city that has eternal foundations, whose erection and standing is not by man's efforts and works of righteousness, but by the free grace and mercy of God in Christ Himself. All things have been prepared for the wedding feast, and the Groom has entered in with the children of the bridegroom, while the legalists are still shut out from His presence, and shall not see His face until they are enabled to say: "...Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord..."

They will be brought in God's Own Way and time unto His banqueting house, and find that the banner and heading over them is the Love of God that surpasses understanding. They shall eat and drink and shall be satisfied until they awake in His immortal likeness.

OAB

A Seed Shall Serve Him

Unto My dear brethren, Thy Name I’ll declare;
And praise Thee among the assembly so fair.
All ye that fear Him, can now praise His sweet Name,
Ye redeemed in Jacob, for which He came.

To those who’re afflicted, and faint by the way;
And those who are wand’ring, and from His paths stray;
- From these He’s not hidden His Face in this Day,
But heard their poor cry from the pit where they lay.

Though man may despise their affliction this day,
And under the power of old sin they may lay;
From these Christ releases, their debt He does pay,
And leads them anew in His Own perfect way.

There they shall praise Him, In this, the perfect Day,
As He promised, when the clouds have passed away;
They shall know of my goodness; there they shall rest;
- There they shall seek Him for all that’s ever best.

In Life, they’ll live forever, and never die;
When their world is ended, On Him they still rely.
When the Law has released them from it’s strong grasp,
That the sweetness of mercy, their hearts may clasp.

His is the Kingdom, the Glory and the Power;
And He as the Governor, o’er all doth tower.
They’ll delight in His fatness, and there partake,
And He shall never, ever these forsake;

For their own fancied goodness He shall destroy,
That up from it’s dust they’ll arise in joy.
- Though again this old dust shall often annoy,
For in these things life and death does alloy;

A promised seed, a seed of faith serves the Lord,
A new generation, that Grace does afford;
They’ll rest in His Goodness, delight in His Love,
Receiving those blessings, stored in Christ above.

They’ll come in their order, be born in His time;
And shall run their race in their own present clime;
They’ll declare Christ’s glory; of all that He’s done,
Those born of His Spirit will after Him run.

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