2 Timothy 4:22 The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. I. LET US INQUIRE IN WHAT SENSE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS WITH HIS PEOPLE. We cannot hope to enjoy His bodily presence. It was expedient that He should go away; and still it is expedient that He should remain away. Yet in His spiritual presence He can be with us. II. He is with us WHEN, AS THE UNIVERSAL RULER, HE GOVERNS ALL THINGS FOR OUR GOOD. But the prayer of Paul for Timothy is, "The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit." What we need is a consciousness of Christ's presence — the enjoyment of fellowship with Him. As the eagle soars towards the sun, so he soars towards God. The spirit of man needs God; especially God manifest in the flesh. It is only as He is with us — filling us with all the fulness of God, that our spirits find rest. Then we are assured of reconciliation, forgiveness, and eternal blessedness. III. THE REQUIREMENTS OF OUR EARTHLY STATE cause us to need the presence of Christ. We are exposed to temptation; how shall we resist it unless He help us? IV. Have you ever thought of THE GREAT AND MANIFOLD BLESSINGS which the presence of Christ brings to us? No visitor brings such gifts. 1. How largely He increases our store of knowledge! What glorious revelations He makes of His own beauty and worth, shining before us, like the sun, in the brightness of His own light! 2. Then, among the blessed results of Christ's presence, and not the least, is assimilation to His image. (W. Walters.) Parallel Verses KJV: The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. WEB: The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. |
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