Memory Text: And grieve
not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Eph.4:30
The
basis of our trust lies in our confidence in the assurances that are given. When GOD finished Creation “He rested on
the seventh day,” rejoicing in the successful completion of His work. He rested in the knowledge that His established
laws governing heaven and Earth guaranteed the perpetual safety and happiness of all life—for all eternity! The Sabbath hours are a time of solemn joy for GOD because He rests in the
knowledge of His perfect provision for all life: a tranquil happiness that is to stand for all eternity. Adam and Eve
once shared in the joy of GOD’S rest: His Holy Promise that gave assurance for their family’s eternal security
and joy (Genesis 2:1-3).
But
life’s tranquility was removed the moment Satan waged war against GOD. In fact, Satan’s entire campaign
centers on attacking the center of GOD’S Law: the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment. Satan works
to discredit GOD’S promise of perpetual tranquility for all living things. And when Satan seduced
Adam and Eve to share in his sins against the Commandments of GOD the tranquility of every creature on Earth came to an end.
By Adam choosing to sin he handed the dominion of Earth over to Satan. As a consequence, every affliction
of life from thorns to cancer is the direct result of Satan’s jurisdiction in this world. This is why Jesus called
him, “the prince of this world” (Jn.14:30). Satan himself boastfully claims this world as his
possession (Job 1:6,7). But four thousand years into man’s bitter history “when the fullness
of the time was come” (Gal.4:4) “the LORD our Maker” left the courts of heaven and came to live among men
in the person of Jesus Christ. The Creator of Life had to become “the Christ” to restore the Sabbath Joy of His
Father: the rest that was stolen from Him and every creature by Satan who alone introduced the concept of war to assault the
holy tranquility GOD provided to every living thing “In the beginning.” The tranquility that was lost through
the intrusion of sin will one day be restored through the holy life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus
Christ! This lies at the heart of the call to baptism “in Christ.” It is the believer’s
public declaration of faith in Jesus to accomplish what He has done, what He has said, and what He will do. His
victory over sin and the grave promises the restoration of all that was lost through sin, of which the Sabbath rest is the
seal of our faith that through His victory the tranquility of the heavens will be restored—forever.
So, as “the LORD” completed His creation of the
Earth in six days and rested on the seventh day, “Christ Jesus” completed His sinless life on the sixth day and
rested in the grave on “the seventh day.” The Seventh-day Sabbath is the seal of our faith in His sacrifice
to provide life, forgiveness and hope. “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world.” Jn.1:29. Through Jesus Christ,
holy angels and men are now provided with a future and a hope to enter the Father’s joy, of which the Sabbath is “the
seal of God” (Rev.9:4).
To repose in our gratitude every seventh day that our life has been redeemed from this
world’s destruction, and that GOD’S assurance is worthy of our trust! Of this wonder yet to come, GOD’S
Word gives several prophecies of the coming Utopian paradise. Human comprehension cannot grasp the scope
of what joys are to come to those who “the LORD” says, “love me and keep my commandments.” Ex.20:6.
