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Havergal: He is able to save us “to the uttermost”—fully and completely

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The following is taken from The Royal Invitation, a new online devotional available at the BLB. The Royal Invitation is one of five books contained in a collection written by Frances Ridley Havergal in the 1880s. This book embraces the many requests from God’s word for us to ‘come’ to Him. (Click here for previous posts)

“But this man, because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him.”
(Hbr 7:24-25)

“Suppose I do receive all this blessedness today, what about tomorrow?”

Something like this thought is very often in the minds of those who see the lions not only outside but inside the doors of the House Beautiful. But it is all met by that wonderful word, “to the uttermost.”

This does not only mean that the Lord Jesus is able to save out of the uttermost depth of need and misery and sin, (Psa 86:13) and that He is able to save from the uttermost regions of distance and despair. It means all that, but more besides. It is not only bringing you up out of the horrible pit and miry clay, but setting your feet upon a rock, and establishing your goings (Psa 40:2).

“saved to the uttermost” = “completely saved”

The word is one of those remarkable compound ones for which we have no equivalent. It means that He is able to save unto all completeness, unto the total perfection of saving (Jer 17:14).

Suppose I were drowning, and you drew me out of the deepest water, just in time to save my life, but then left me wet and shivering and exhausted on the bank, to run the more than risk of wretched after-effects of cold and rheumatism, from which I might never entirely recover! That would not be saving “to the uttermost” in this sense of the word. But if you did the thing completely,-carrying me home, and doing everything necessary to restore me, and avert ill effects, and that effectually; never relaxing in care and effort, nor letting me go, till you had me safe and well, however long and difficult it might be, then you would have saved me “to the uttermost,” in the true meaning of it.

He is faithful to complete it

This is what Jesus is able to do for you. Your first coming to Him is only like letting Him grasp you in your terrible danger, and draw you out of the fatal depths. But “because He continueth ever” (Hbr 7:24), always the same loving and faithful Saviour, He will complete what He begins. For we are “confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phl 1:6). Having saved you from destruction, His very name is the guarantee that He will not leave you to struggle helplessly with your sins (Mat 1:21), much less to “continue” in them, but that He shall save you from them. You will find it a daily continual salvation, by which He will keep you by the power of God through faith, unto the consummated salvation of body and soul, “ready to be revealed in the last time” (1Pe 1:5).

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Comments

  3. Hi Chris,

    I enjoy reading your articles, I love learning about the living word of God.

    Thank you,
    Silvia

  4. The new-version tab icon is less distinctive and harder to locate among many open tabs than the older version. Please improve it. BLB has no “contact” information, nor a way to make suggestions for the use and improvement of BLB. Do you want these? Thank you. Bw

    • Hi, Beryl. Yes, we do want your input! If you are referring to the new website, please use the “BETA” button on the top left corner whenever you are on a page that you would like to give feedback on. This will help us recreate the issues you are coming across. Thanks and God bless!

  5. Very good message for not only those of us who have the faith to understand this lifelong journey of growth in our relationship with the Lord and His continuing work in our hearts, but also for those of us who have ones we love and this serves as a reminder that perhaps this message will be passed on to them and engraved on their hearts, giving them the same blessing of hope…that our God will keep helping and transforming His children until that day we are gone from here. God bless you!

  6. God Bless everyone,

    Ya at times in our lives we ask ourselves, where is God?

    Well what does the Word say? This article tells us where He is–doesn’t it? All we have to do IS remember what it says and we’ll be fine and to the uttermost complete.

    What does the Word of God say about us? That’s a good one.

    In the book of Colossians, “Jesus Christ is the believer’s completeness”. Have you ever heard of the “red thread” of the Bible? The “red thread” is Jesus Christ–and he means something in each and every book of the Bible–after all–he’s the subject of the whole Bible isn’t he? So the “red thread” in Col. is the believer’s completeness.

    With Colossians in mind now, How COMPLETE are we?

    Col. 1:27 says–….which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. You have Christ In YOU. What does that mean? Christ IN YOU!!!

    Man o man–when are we going to understand the real power with in us? People–we have some much power with in us, again–all we have to do is find it in the Word of God and put it all together.

    So what do we know (head knowledge), and what do we know (experiential knowledge)? To different things now.

    You have God–that gave us this power with in via Christ. potential power, like a stick of dynamite. How do you light this power to have an impact? Study the Word, where? 7 church epistles. Which one? Well context on Completeness–colossians.

    After we understand how complete we are in Christ–then we can claim that power and walk out on it with God–and that happens–wow–look out.

    So anyway–what do we know?

    Your born again–ok–You have that potential power with in–When we manifest power from on high, we allow God to energize that potential power by exercising our privilege to believe. Believe what? What do you want? What’s your goal? Speak the Word is a good one.

    Once we’re born again of God’s spirit, we have access to the power of God. God has given us in that gift everything possible for us to have (Eph. 1:3). We are complete in Christ. We have packaged within us all that ability of God in Christ–everything Jesus Christ had available to him–and even additional manifestations.

    Ok check this verse out!! Colossians 3:16

    “Let(a command) the word of (pertaining to) Christ dwell (how) in you (in your mind) richly”–We determine that we are going to send the information from God’s Word to our mind and that we are going to live it.

    The Word of God dwelling in us richly keeps us on the winning side in this competition of life between natural knowledge and spiritual knowledge.

    So the Power of the Word of God in operation is huge, the power with in us in operation is huge, we have the power and are complete in Christ, all we have to do is understand our power and walk out on it. man o man, what a life.

    Jim

  7. Attorneys, Governors, Senators and Kings have power. When we turn on a light we use electrical power. Power is the ability to do. The mind focused elsewhere than participation with God departs from the creator, from creation into dissolution. Our separation from God is a spiritual cleavage. Our heart, our comportment and interests are concerned with consumption.
    2Pe 2:19, Eph 6:12, 1Cr 15:50, Gal 6:8, Jhn 3:5, Jhn 14:17, Rom 8:26, 1Cr 4:20

    Righteousness or unrighteousness will apply power. Our choices determine Who and What We Are, our fruit. Our personal choices, our life upon the earth produces fruit that influences those of our cohabitation. The spirit creates life. The flesh consumes. God is not willing that any should perish.

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