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Stigmata
The word "marks" in Gal. 6:17 is from
"stigmata," and means the brand which the slave
bore on his body which showed that he was the property of
a certain slave owner. It was usually the initial letters
of the owner's name or his name in full. You read the name
of the owner on the body of the slave. What lies in this
metaphor is this, that the Christian as belonging to
Christ has the name of God written upon him. "I will
write upon him the name of my God." Rev. 3:12. You
can read Christ in the life of a saint. The name he bears
in this life is "Christ." That is his
brand—his stigmata. The saint glories in bearing this
stigmata. The very passion of his life is to see that
nothing obliterates this brand. He is thoroughly decided
that the world, nor sin, nor the devil, nor the years of
time will be able to have these marks overgrown. They must
stand out clear and distinct so that all may read. For him
to live is Christ. Christ is to be seen in every word and
deed. The intensity, the passion, the fixed resolution of
the true saint is to bear these marks in life and in
death, so that Jesus shall be magnified in the body while
living and when dying. Phil. 1:20.
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