Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment (Eccl

"Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment" (Eccl. 9:8). If we can keep the powerful instruction of this one old testament verse of scripture in our lives till the end, then we will have done what it takes to inherit eternal life. So let's look at this powerful verse of scripture with some new testament passages that confirm this verse and bring some added light to it. "And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:13,14). "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints" (Rev. 19:7,8). Our white garment that we must keep white through the blood of Christ is the union of our spirit with God's Spirit that is acquired when we are baptized by Jesus with the holy Ghost into himself and the Father, who are 'one' through the same "Spirit of life" (I Cor. 6:17; Gal. 3:27; II Cor. 3:17; I Cor. 12:13; Jn, 17:21-23). And in fact the 'blood of Christ' IS the holy Ghost, the spiritual 'blood' which flows in himself and in the Father (Jn. 6:53-57,62,63; Rom. 8:2,10,11; Jn. 5:26). The scriptures I've quoted are a future reference about the saints who will be saved by keeping their garments white till the end. Now I would like to show a few verses that are more specific as to HOW we keep our 'garments' white. It begins here: "And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:7-9). Peter was speaking here of the Roman Centurion Cornelius and his household who were the first Gentiles to hear the Gospel and receive the Spirit of God, which took place in Acts 10:36-46. As he said, GOD bore witness to their faith in Jesus and repentance from sin BY filling them with the holy Ghost, which Peter and the brethren who accompanied him knew WHEN they heard these Gentiles "speak with tongues and magnify God" (Acts 10:46).

So it was the baptism of the Spirit which "purified their hearts [from sin] by faith," meaning that the holy Ghost is that which washed them from their sins and gave them a white garment to wear on their spirits (I Cor. 6:11; Tit. 3:5). Then there's this: "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently" (I Pet. 1:22). Once again we see that our hearts are purified by the "washing of regeneration, and renewing of the holy Ghost," as Paul told us in Titus 3:5. Also in this verse from Peter we see that God's love dwelling in us is the result of our hearts remaining pure from sin, as Paul also confirmed, saying "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost" (Rom. 55). The truth is, if we keep our hearts pure it will be by overcoming and putting to death the carnal nature, and the result will be that we develop the mind of Christ; which is the ointment for our head that we read about in our text verse (Rom. 6:6). In light of these powerful scriptural truths we can see the significance of the following passage from the apostle Paul: "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Rom. 8:5-14). I believe that sums up the reality of keeping our garments white and letting our head lack no ointment. I believe it also shows very clearly, as the beloved apostle saw in regard to the new Jerusalem, "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Rev. 21:27). And coming full circle, I'll let Jesus put the finishing touch on this article of truth that he has given me to post here: "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the [congregations]" (Rev. 3:4-6). Amen.