Comfort in the Faith of Christ, the Love of God, the Sanctification of the Spirit

God hath chosen us in Christ, before the foundation of the world.—Ephesians 1:4.

So the apostles wrote and preached, to comfort and establish their brethren in the faith of Christ, in the love of God, and in the sanctification of the Spirit unto all true holiness. The election of sinners, by God the Father in Christ Jesus, from all eternity, is the foundation from which all faith and hope spring. If this truth is rejected, the atonement of Jesus is made precarious, the work of the Spirit uncertain, salvation doubtful, faith void, the promise of none effect, and the hope of eternal life is made to depend on the will and power of weak and vile sinners, instead of the grace and truth of God. But in every age, men of corrupt minds, destitute of the truth, have opposed God's sovereign grace, everlasting love, and eternal purposes. God hath suffered it, "that those who are approved might be made manifest."—1 Corinthians 11:19. Humble, self-emptied sinners, who are poor in spirit, and lowly in their own eyes, plainly discern that systems of human pride, schemes of self-confidence, are set up to establish vain hopes and self-righteous pleas, in opposition to the truths of God: "If it were possible to deceive the very elect of God."—Matthew 24:24. But his love towards his children is too great to suffer it. And they do well to take heed to the true light of electing grace and love; which shines with such glory in the person of Jesus, to the comfort of their souls, through the faith of him.

- excerpt from William Mason's A Spiritual Treasury for the Children of God, Volume 1, April 20