GENERAL CONFERENCE.
BATTLE CREEK, MICH., 1891.
BIBLE STUDY.
LETTER TO THE ROMANS
BY ELDER E. J. WAGGONER
.....of the eighth chapter of Romans: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with 
our spirit, that we are the children of God."
This evening we will commence with the seventeenth verse. "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;
if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified
together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
--O, the wideness of his love, that he is able to take us into it,—to
adopt us into his family, and make us sharers of the same title that his
only begotten Son shares.
"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope. For what a
man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see
not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also
helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we
ought: but the Spirit maketh intercession for us with groanings that
cannot be uttered." (Rom.8:24-26).... I go to God, and lay my soul open before him, and ask him to give
me,—what shall I ask for?—sometimes the words are gone, and I can think
of nothing, only an inexpressible desire for something more than I have;
but the Holy Spirit knows what I need, and knows the mind of God..... so it makes intercession for me,
and God gives exceeding abundantly above all I can ask or think. The
Spirit of God takes those thoughts that we cannot put into words, and
can scarcely think, and it transmutes them into words and petitions
before the throne of God, and he that searcheth the hearts of men
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit.
I am persuaded that a great many of us make a great mistake in this
matter of searching the hearts. ... Says Jeremiah, "The heart is deceitful above
all things and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search
the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his
ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." Jer. 17:9, 10.
We are
here on earth, and in a sinful condition.
We admit that we are not in
that spiritual condition that we ought to be; and so we will search our
hearts, and put away all the wickedness that we can find in them. We
cannot do it, for the heart will deceive us every time. Yet God can
search the heart, and he does; and if we will take the result of his
searching, great will be our joy.
One word forms the keynote of the eighth chapter of Romans,—
kingdom of God we will not know each other's names, to be able to
pronounce them. In the Bible every name signified something. Jacob was
the "supplanter;" Israel the "prince of God;" Abraham, the "father of
many nations;" Sarai, a "contentious woman;" and Sarah, a "princess."
The name signified the character of the individual.
----Now while all the redeemed are to have the perfect
character of God, yet that character is so perfect and so broad, that
there is room for each to have a distinct character.
"Glory."
"....and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
In Rev. 2:17 we read, "And I will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." Now it is not to be supposed that over in the
Q: Why is it that no
one will be able to understand the name of any one else?
A: Because no two
persons will have had the same experience in developing character.
Just as much as the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory that shall be revealed;
The grace is
equal to the glory.
