Grace in Us Is Glorious (3)

The church clothed with Christ, who is the glory of the church, tramples all earthly things underfoot. Grace is victorious and conquering, prevailing over those corruptions that prevail over ordinary men. A Christian like David, when he had Saul in the cave, overcomes himself (1 Sam. 24:4). It shows a great strength of grace. Christ overcame himself on the cross. He prayed for his enemies. So when the nature of man is so subject to the power of grace that though there are rebellions in us—and there will be while we are in this world—still they cannot overpower the principle of grace. All this while a man is a glorious Christian, because he is not subject to the common infirmities and weaknesses of men. It makes a Christian glorious when he brings every thought and affection, and every corruption that may be, to the subjection of the Spirit of glory, to the Spirit of Christ in him. Though old Adam stirs in him, he brings him down, so that he does not scandalize the gospel. It will not break out; he subjects these rising thoughts. Here grace is glorious.
Another person cannot do this. He cannot love God; he cannot deny himself; he cannot resist temptations, not inwardly. He may refrain from an action out of fear, but a Christian can love, and fear, and delight in good things. He can resist, and he can enjoy the things of this life, remembering that they are subordinate to better things. A person outside of grace cannot do that. There is a glory upon a Christian, a derivative glory from Christ. For we shine in his beams. We are changed according to his image 'from glory to glory?'

Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Richard Sibbes 'Refreshment for the Soul.'
Glorious Freedom, pp. 135-36 [147-48]
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