23. This is the Lord’s doing. The exalted position of Christ in his church is not the work of man, and does not depend for its continuation upon any builders or ministers; God himself has wrought the exaltation of our Lord Jesus. Considering the opposition which comes from the wisdom, the power, and the authority of this world, it is manifest that if the kingdom of Christ be indeed set up and maintained in the world it must be by supernatural power. Every hour in which the true church subsists is a prolonged miracle. This staggers the adversary, for he cannot understand what it is which baffles him: of the Holy Spirit he knows nothing. It is marvelous in our eyes. We actually see it; it is not in our thoughts and hopes and prayers alone, but the astonishing work is actually before our eyes. Jesus reigns, his power is felt, and we perceive that it is so. Faith sees our great Master, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; she sees and marvels. It never ceases to astonish us, as we see, even here below, God by means of weakness defeating power, by the simplicity of his word baffling the craft of men, and by the invisible influence of his Spirit exalting his Son in human hearts in the teeth of open and determined opposition. It is indeed “marvelous in our eyes,” as all God’s works must be if we care to study them. In the Hebrew the passage reads, “It is wonderfully done”: not only is the exaltation of Jesus itself wonderful, but the way in which its is brought about is marvelous: it is wonderfully done. The more we study the history of Christ and his church, the more fully shall we agree with this declaration.
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