LIBRARY OF PRiMCETON 
 
 NOV 
 
 HEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 BS2650.8 .K29 
 
 Kelly, William, 1821-1906. 
 
 Lectures introductory to the 
 
 study of the Epistles of 
 
 Paul the 
 
 apostle. 
 
LECTURES INTEODUCTORY TO THE STUDY OF 
 THE EPISTLES OE PAUL THE APOSTLE. 
 
LECTUEES 
 
 INTRODUCTORY TO THE 
 
 STUDY OF THE EPISTLES OF PAUL 
 THE APOSTLE. 
 
 /. 
 
 AviLLiAM ifEgg^.ARY OF PRINCFTO! 
 
 r 
 
 I 
 
 THEOLOGICAL SEMiNAI 
 
 LONDON : 
 "VV. H. BKOOM, PATEENOSTEK ROW. 
 
 1869. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The twelve lectures which make up the volume before 
 the reader were delivered in London within the month 
 of May, 1868. As presenting a sketch of the epistles 
 of the great apostle of the Gentiles, the subject is one 
 of the nearest interest to iis of the uncircumcision Avho 
 believe. But it is also definite enough to need no pre- 
 fatory words, further than to say that, though I have 
 sought diligently to correct the faults made in extem- 
 poraneous discourse, or the flaws of such as took them 
 down in short-hand, I cannot but deeply feel how far 
 short the result is from presentiug an adequate summary 
 of the wonderful compositions to which the lectures 
 refer. But I reckon on, as I pray for, the grace of the 
 Lord to bless even this resume, to such as read His 
 word along with it, to the help of their souls. 
 
 Guernsey, M((rch, 18G9. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 I. 
 
 Romans. The epistle to the Romans more than any other a com- 
 plete treatise on the fundamentals of Christian doctrine, 1. No fresh 
 revelations from God can nullify those which preceded them, 2. The 
 points of truth that introduce the epistle, 3. Faith-ohedience its 
 character, 4. The apostle's desire to communicate with those he had 
 never seen, 5. Beware of contracted views of salvation, 6. Conscious 
 deliverance in the power of the Holy G-host should be the result of the 
 gospel preached, 7. The meaning of the phrase, "from faith to faith," 8. 
 Not all that is now revealed is the gospel, 9. Holding the truth in 
 unrighteousness, who do it ? 10. The moral history of man, 11. What 
 the natural conscience of man can do, 12. God's judgment of man in 
 respact of conscience and of law, 13. The place of the Jew in this 
 estimate of man, 14, Condemned by that in which he blindly made 
 his boast, 15. Righteousness of God, what is it ? 16. Pr£eter-mission of 
 sins, 17. God looks for the sinner's submission, not his victory, 18. The 
 question is not what man should be for God, but what God can be and 
 is for man, 19. Abraham the proof of the value of faith in justi- 
 fication before God, 20. Abraham's circumcision never constituted his 
 righteousness, 21. The connection of the promise to Abraham with 
 resurrection, 22. What gives peace with God ? 23. Creature standing 
 gone for ever; the glory of God the only ground now, 2'!. The 
 difference between man's guilt and man's nature, 2o. Justification of 
 life, 2(3. Sin and death are proof of one man's disobedience with or 
 without law, 27. Life and liberty are proofs of one man's obedience, 
 23. Practical holiness is not founded on Christ having died for my 
 sins, but on my being dead to sin, 29. Baptism means not that I must 
 die to sin, but that I have died to it, 30. Remission of sins and deliver- 
 ance from sin essentially different, 31. Christ dead and risen is the 
 answer to both, 32. God has not only pardoned the sinner, but con- 
 demned the fallen nature, 33. Flesh and Spirit contrasted, 34. The 
 
Vlil CONTENTS. 
 
 Spirit as a power, a divine person dwelling in us, 35. How does the 
 gospel affect Israel's distinctive place ? 36. The blessing of being a 
 son of Abraham depends on its descent through Isaac, 37. Israel, lost 
 but for mercy, are but on a level with Gentiles, 38. The stumbling- 
 stone the key to Israel's coming ruin, 39. "Whosoever," 40. Israel 
 forced to bear witness that the heathen should be brought in, 41. 
 Israel past, present, and future, in Komans ix, x. xi., 42. Zion the 
 scene of final triumph, 43. Our reception of one another according to 
 Christ's reception of us, to the glory of God, 44. True ministry gives 
 not merely truth but suited truth to the saints, 45. 
 
 II. 
 
 First Corinthians. The unfolding of the assembly in a practical 
 way is the object of this epistle, 46. The unbelief of Christendom tries 
 to annul this epistle more than any other, 47. No amovmt of gift, 
 in few or many, can of itself produce holy spiritual order, 48. 
 Corinth saw the early rise of the Church of God among the Gentiles, 
 49. Christ crucified puts all man's glory in the dust, 50. Jew and 
 Greek — opposite as the poles — agree thoroughly in slighting the 
 cross, 51. The cross more than redemption merely, 52. Chi'ist 
 crucified the death-knell for all man's wisdom, power, and righteous- 
 ness, 53. Man incapable of fathoming the depths of divine things, 
 54. The Holy Ghost the sole means of communicating blessing to 
 the saints, 55. How little many a yovmg convert knows what will 
 best lead him on ! 56. "V^Tiat care each servant needs to take how and 
 what he builds! 57. The apostle's lowliness a source of reproach 
 among men, 58, his highest glory before God, 59. Chmxh discipline, 
 60. Who are to exercise it? 61. The Holy Ghost's estimate of sin ; 
 what is a railer ? 62. Brother going to law with brother, 63. Why 
 personal purity is essential to a Christian, 64. Revelation and inspu-a- 
 tion, 65. The commandment of the Lord, and a spiritual judgment, 66. 
 Marriage. The position of a slave, 67. What a wonderful antithesis 
 of man is the Second Man! 68. Without responsibility nothing is 
 more ruinous than power and liberty, 69. What grace does in respect 
 to matters of right, 70. How to use a gift, 71. The danger of liberty 
 lapsing into license, 72. True ground is no gromad for false conduct, 
 73. The grace of Christ and the authority of the Lord, 74. People 
 generally fail in that of which they boast most, 75. Woman's place in 
 the assembly, 76. What became her if she had the gift of prophecy? 
 77. The Agape and its influence on the Lord's Supper, 78. The 
 apostle's regulation concerning it, 79. Spiritual powers and theii' 
 source, 80. In the spiritual body there are important members not 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 seen at all, 81. The church a vessel of power for the maintenance of 
 God's glory, and responsible for this here below, 82. Gifts that sup- 
 pose the exercise of spiritual understanding have a far higher place 
 than others, 83. The aim and purpose of prophesying, 84. The 
 difference between the power of the Spirit and the power of a demon, 
 85. The connection between Christianity and the resurrection, 86. 
 From what root of e^al clerisy has grown, 87. Man likes to xmder- 
 stand before he believes — this is ruinous to faith, 88. What is meant 
 by a "mystery," 89. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be 
 changed, 90. Do we every one of us give as we are prospered by the 
 way? 91. A selfish personal keeping to ourselves of what we have 
 is even worse than a too lavish expenditure, 92. Liberty and responsi- 
 bility of ministry in their mutual relations, 93. It is good to maintain 
 the speciality of ministry in the Lord, 94. 
 
 III. 
 
 Second Corinthians. Contrast between first and second epistles, 
 95. Eesemblance to the epistle to the Philippians, 96. Contrast with 
 Philippians, 97. Mutual consolation and afSiction, 98. The power 
 of the Holy Ghost working in the new man lifts the believer com- 
 pletely above the flesh, 99. "Yea and nay," 100. Satan has not lost 
 but acquired in the dominion of the world a higher place by the cru- 
 cifixion of the Lord Jesus Chi-ist, 101. The devotion of apostolic love. 
 102. Directions for dealing wdth the humbled delinquent of the first 
 epistle, 103. There is nothing Like a manifestation of grace to call out 
 grace, 104. Righteousness in Christ connected wdth heavenly glory, 
 105. The saints a letter of commendation, 106. The Lord that Spirit 
 that giveth life, 107. The Spii'it of the Lord, 108. The ministrations 
 of death, life, righteousness, and glory, 109. The ministration of the 
 Spirit over and above life, 110, come down from the exalted man in 
 •glory, 111. The vessel that contains the heavenly treasure, 112. 
 Liveliness of nature hinders the manifestation of the treasure, but its 
 judgment leaves room for the light to shine out, 113. For we which 
 live are always delivered unto death, 114. "Clothed" and "naked," 115. 
 Clothed upon, that moi-tality may be swallowed up of life, 116. Always 
 confident, 117. The judgment-seat of Christ, 118, and those who 
 stand at it, 119. The effect of manifestation, 120. Contrast of Mes- 
 sianic hopes with a higher glory, 121. A Christian not occupied with 
 a Messiah come to bless the world, 122. In Christ, and what it sig- 
 nifies, 123. God was in Christ (not is), 124. A sinner awakened takes 
 God's part against himself, 125. It is never right to be narrow, and 
 always wrong to be lax, 126. Eesponsibility, individual as well as 
 
 A 3 
 
X C0NTE2JTS. 
 
 corporate, 127. Inspiration far above the will of man, and the fruit 
 of the action of the Holy Ghost, 128. Contributions for saints, 129. 
 Trials of the apostle in his labours of love, 130. The prizes and 
 honours the world gave him, 131. A man in Christ taken up, in con- 
 trast with Paul in a basket let down, 132. Patience a sign of apostle - 
 ship, 133. Conclusion, 134. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Galatians. a serious and grieved spii'it manifest in the epistle, 135. 
 The fountain of grace touched by the intrusion of perverted law, 136. 
 Christianity knows nothing of successional arrangements, 137. The 
 facts of Christianity, and their value for the mind and walk, 138. 
 Abruptness of the opening of the Galatian letter, 139. Integrity of 
 the gospel as preached by Paul : any departure from it for another 
 fatal, 140. Rome, seeking to derive her authority from Peter, pro- 
 claims her identity with the circumcision, 141. Connection between a 
 servant and his testimony, 142. Jealousy of man, when the grace of 
 God works in a new channel and gives the go-by to antiquity, 143. 
 The apostle separated from man by God, in order to proclaim more 
 strikingly the singular ministry peciiliar to him, 144. Conference with 
 flesh and blood out of place with a perfect revelation, 145. Eevelation 
 of His Son in Paid and to Peter and the rest, 146. Man, craving an 
 appearance of imity and strength, sacrifices heaven for earth. Spirit 
 for flesh, 147- True desire for unity knows how to walk alone with 
 God, 148. Singularity of Paul's conversion set in the highest place at 
 the outset, 149. Tenderness towards his nation does not prevent his 
 snapping every earthly link with it, 150. His testimony character- 
 istically heavenly, 151. Unity secured by deciding at Jerusalem the 
 question of circumcision for Gentiles, 152. The case of Titus, 153. 
 No interference with the work which others had been given to do, 154. 
 The gravity of Peter's easy-going yieldingness to the Judaising party, 
 155. Peter's act went to maintain a difierence between Jew and 
 Gentile, 156. The true way to measure things is by their effect on 
 Christ's glory, 157. The history of the flesh is soon over, but the 
 history that faith opens into never closes, 158. Every one who goes 
 back fi'om such a gospel frustrates, as far as it goes, the grace of God, 
 159. The cross judges the legalism of Galatians, as it judged the 
 worldliness of Corinthians, 160. The law holds out, but never gives, 
 blessing, 161. Gentiles were not imder the ciu-se of the law, 162. The 
 relation of law to the promises, 163. " The seed " in its plxirality, 164. 
 "The seed" in its unity, 165. Christ the true Heir of all the pro- 
 mises of God, 166. Promise was before the law, and flowed out of the 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 grace of God, 167. " God is one," contrasted with the law which 
 supposed two parties, 168. In grace God in the person of His Son 
 speaks and accomplishes all, 169. Had grace and law been working- 
 together, there would have been two antagonistic roads to blessing, 170. 
 A person is not baptized into his own death, but into the death of 
 Christ, 171. Old and New Testament saints contrasted, 172. "Abba," 
 the cry of the saint and Christ, 173. Going back to Judaic elements 
 is going back to heathenism, 174. Idolatry no less gross because Jesus 
 is the subject of it, l7o. Days and months and times and years, sensible 
 helps to idolatry, 176. "Be as I am; for I am as ye are," 177. An 
 infirmity in the flesh, 178. A stickler for law proves himself an 
 Ishmaelite, 179. Jerusalem and its desolate condition under law, 180. 
 There is no power for walk resulting from mere forgiveness of sins, 181. 
 Sense of duty is not power, 182. Liberty first, power and love after- 
 wards, 183. Occupation with Christ alone produces the love the law 
 claimed, 184. Power may be lost, responsibility never, 185. Eternal 
 life in a double sense : I have it and I seek it, 186. If you take up 
 the law in one j)articular, you must take it up altogether, 187. Chris- 
 tianity brings everything to a climax, and settles all questions, 183. 
 " The marks of the Lord Jesus," in contrast with circumcision, 189. 
 
 V. 
 
 Ephesiaxs. God from Himself and for Himself, as the adequate 
 motive and object before Him, even His own glory, 190. The ten- 
 dency to set aside what is personal for what is corporate, 191. 
 There is no place good enough for Christ, the Son, but heaven, 192, 
 Oui- blessing independent of the old creation, 193. Angels not adeqiiate 
 judges of what pertains to us, 194. " Child" differs in dignity from 
 " Son" in its application to the Lord or the saints, 195. The mistakes 
 of human philosophy in its thoughts of the Godhead have arisen 
 from impoi-ting the question of time, 196. A divine nature given to 
 us in its qualities of holiness and love, 197. The terms wisdom and 
 prudence applied to the saints, 198, not to be taken up as names or 
 barren titles, 199. There is nothing to indicate to mankind at large 
 what God purposes to do, 200. Nature and relationship, 201. The 
 riches of the glory of the inheritance, 202. The Christian is even now 
 the object of the very same power that raised up Christ from the dead, 
 203. Chiist was not raised up as an insulated individual, severed from 
 others, 204. The sinner's place contrasted in Romans and Ephesians, 
 205. Jew and Gentile in their mutual relation as sinners, 206. God's 
 new workmanship, 207, wliich workmanship we Christians are, 208. 
 A new man in which Jew and Gentile lose their distinctive place, 209. 
 
XU CONTENTS. 
 
 The heavenly and the earthly aspect of the church, 210. That which 
 was first in counsel is last in revelation, 211. The mystery revealed to 
 holy apostles and prophets was not revealed hj them all, 212. The 
 mystery does not mean the church merely, 213, but Christ, and the 
 church as a consequence, 214. What the principalities and powers 
 behold, 215. The difference between the prayer of the first and that 
 of the third chapter, 216. Rooted that ye may be able, &c., 217. 
 Knowing Chiist's love, though unknowable, and G-od's fulness, though 
 infinite, 218. The unity of the Spirit, 219. Inti-insic unity, and of pro- 
 fession, 220. Universal unity, 221. Diversities, 222. A man seated on 
 the throne of God has given gifts to men, 223. In vain to look for 
 the church's prosperity, if individual saints do not grow up unto 
 Christ, 224. Our duties flow from what we are or are made, 225. 
 God would have us imitate His own ways, as they have shone in 
 Christ, 226. Nor is there full Christian service, except in proportion 
 as it is according to this pattern, 227. Light is a necessity of the new 
 nature, 228. Christ is the pattern and perfection of grace in every 
 relationsliip, 229. What true Christian conflict is, 230, not with flesh 
 and blood, or nature, but with Satan, 231. The armour of God, 231. 
 Activity for others, dependence for ourselves, 233. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Philippians. Practical appeal rather than doctrine the subject of 
 this epistle, 234. Mingling Christ mth the affairs of every day, 235. 
 Joy undimmed in the midst of the trials and soitows of ordinary 
 life, 236. There is no theory that first love must necessarily cool down, 
 but the contrary, 237. The power of testimony destroyed by the 
 allowance of evil insinuations against him who renders it, 238, but 
 Christian experience is developed in abounding love, 239. Begin with 
 Christ, go on wdth Christ, until the day of Christ, 240. Looking to 
 the Lord, 241. Once right about Christ, you are right about every- 
 thing while He is before you, 242. The moral harmony in the fact, 
 that he who preached the gospel of the glory of Christ should be a 
 prisoner at Rome, 243. " My bonds in Christ," 244. Affliction added 
 to bonds, 245. " This shall turn to my salvation," 246. " In nothing 
 I shaU be ashamed," 247. " I " and "me" of Romans and Philippians 
 contrasted, 248. Fruit of labour; its meaning, 249. Conversation 
 becoming to the gospel of Christ, 250. Fear and trembling has no 
 dread or doubt in it, 251. Suffering for Christ's sake is a gift of His 
 love, 252. Energy apt to give occasion for strife and vain-glory, 253. 
 Two chief stages of Christ's himiiliation flowing out of His perfect 
 love, 254. All error foimded on a misuse of a truth against the truth, 
 
CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 255. An archangel at "best but a servant, and can never rise above it. 
 Jesus emptied Himself to become one, 256. The difference between 
 reconciliation and subjection, 257. The apostle's picture of the saint 
 resembles the Master, 258. The true source of humility in service, 259. 
 Unselfish love, 260. The third chapter parenthetical, to bring in the 
 active side of the Christian in contrast with the passive, 261. The 
 only allusion to flesh in this epistle is in connection with its religious 
 form, 262. What it is to win Christ, 263. To be in Christ is better 
 than to have the righteousness of the law, 264. Resurrection /rom the 
 (lead, 265. Critical note on rj)v e^avdaTainv t&v viKpSJv, 265, con- 
 tinued, 267. Forgetting those things that are behind refers to the 
 progress that we may make, 268. " Differently minded" is not agree- 
 ing to differ, 269. The name of Christ is the true centre of the saints, 
 270. The last chapter founded on the active and passive aspects of 
 the Christian, 271. A woman shines most where she does not appear, 
 272. Labour or conflict in the gospel, 273. Moderation, 274. Re- 
 quests, to whom to be made known, 275. Having committed what is 
 miserable to God, we can go on rejoicing in His goodness, 276. In- 
 dependence founded on dependence, 277. 
 
 VII. 
 
 CoLosssiANS a cotmterpart, but a supplement, to Ephesians, 278, 
 the one presenting the Head, the other the body, 279. Resemblance 
 to Peter's epistles, 280. The essential place of the Holy Ghost in 
 Ephesians, 281. The striking absence of allusion to Him in Colos- 
 sians, 282. This epistle a recall to Christ Himself, 283. One may bow 
 to Christ as Lord, and yet be painfully insensible to the higher glories 
 of His person, 284. Christianity is a thing of gradual growth in the 
 soul, 285, and not circumscribed by known limits, like philosophy, 
 286. The inheritance of the saints in light, 287. Christianity, instead 
 of being helped by human philosophy, is only hindered and extinguished 
 by it, 288. Why is Christ first-bom of all creation ? 289. As Creator 
 of all things, 290. How is Christ Head of the body ? 291. As first- 
 born from the dead, 292. The fulness of Godhead dwelt in Jesus, 
 293, but man would have none of it, and proved it above all in the 
 cross, 294. Satan allowed, apparently, to go on as if he had won 
 the final victory, 295. " If ye continue in the faith," 296. A minister 
 of the gospel and of the church, two different spheres, 297. Only 
 Paul treats of justification by faith, 298. The gospel to every 
 creature under heaven ; the church a select body, 299. A gap, which 
 Paul was deputed specially to write about, 300, altogether in contrast 
 with ancient or millennial glory, 301. He who knows best the faith- 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 fid love of Christ, is none the less an energetic labourer, 302. What 
 God is actually doing is the truth that needs pressing, 303. The 
 secret of true wisdom and blessing is in going on to know more of 
 Christ than is already possessed, 304. Ritualists and rationalists play 
 into each other's hands, 305. The cross of Christ is the death-knell 
 of the world, 306. Atheism and Pantheism are the ultimate results of 
 philosophy, 307- The doctrine of baptism here is contrasted with 
 Romans, 308. One cannot be quickened with Christ without ha\'ing 
 all trespasses forgiven, 309. In what consists "not holding the head," 
 310. There was no Christianity before Christ rose from the dead, 311. 
 The Ritualistic system traitorous to Him who died on the cross, 312. 
 Striving to be dead to what is wrong is but the law in a new and 
 impossible shape, 313. Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, 314. Ought 
 I not to share my J^laster's shame and dishonour here ? 315. Corrup- 
 tion of inner feeling in contrast with that which goes on outside of 
 us, 316. Put on charity, 317. The peace "of Christ," 318. Continuance 
 in prayer, 319. What a spring of power is the love of Christ! 320. 
 Paul narrowed himself to no local ties, 321. There are no portions of 
 the sacred writings lost, 322. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Thessalonians. Any truth specially given by God is immediately 
 the object of Satan's continual and subtle attacks, 323. " In God the 
 Father" suggests an infantine condition rather than an advanced 
 stage, 324. How to deal with the entrance of error and the dangers 
 that threaten the children of God, 325. We should consider the 
 manner God deals with saints in any special place, 326. Simplicity is 
 the secret for enjoying the truth as well as for receiving it, 327. Do 
 not attempt to draw from scripture more than it undertakes to convey, 
 
 328. 'V^Taat the first chapter teaches in respect to the Lord's coming, 
 
 329. How the apostle adapted his ministrations to the advancing 
 requirements of the Thessalonians, 330. A sketch of that suffering 
 which faith entails, 331. AVhy men oppose the truth, 332. Christianity 
 not dreamy nor sentimental, but most real in its power of adapting 
 itself to every need, 333. The two prayers in this epistle, 334. Love 
 always precedes holiness, 335, which is the fruit of the love to which 
 the heart has surrendered, 336. Why Thessalonians should be warned 
 of even the grossest sins, 337. The Aristotles and Platos not fit for 
 decent company, 338. Disadvantages Thessalonians laboured under, 
 and which do not fall to our lot, 339. They had no fear of being lost, 
 but were not clear what the Lord would do with them, 340. Newly- 
 entered light gives occasion to the perception of much which we can- 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 not solve at once, 341. The character of the "shout," and by whom 
 it will be heard, 342. Tbe "day of the Lord" never applied to any 
 dealing with tbe Cbristian as on tbe earth, 343. It was too notorious a 
 period to need fresb words about it, 344. The presence of the Lord 
 and the day of Jehovah, if confounded, reveal a secret of the heart, 
 345. "Wake or sleep," — beware of verbal analogies, 346. For some 
 to be over others in the Lord did not depend on apostolic appointment 
 only, 347. Disorderly folk are apt to know nobody over them in the 
 Lord, 348. The object of the second epistle, 349. The terrors of " that 
 day" used by the enemy to unsettle during a period of persecution, 
 3oO. Traceable to a lack of that "patience of hope" which charac- 
 terised an early faith, 351. The two classes on whom vengeance will 
 fall in "that day," 352. Gentiles know not God, and Jews obey not 
 the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, 353, Both are the guilty tools 
 of Satan, and shall be punished with everlasting destruction, 354. 
 'Evs<TTT]KS does liot mean "at hand," but "actually come," 355. The 
 trouble of "that day" will befall the enemies, not the friends, of the 
 Lord, 356. If one is taught a truth by God, why be troubled about 
 what comes from any otheB quarter ? 357. Some of the most im- 
 portant parts of Satan's means for bringing about the apostasy are 
 now actively at work, 358. Jerusalem and Rome, 359. The restraint 
 and the restrain er, 360. Every Christian waits for Christ with more or 
 less intelligence, 361. Events following the removal of the restraint, 
 362. "With startling rapidity events in our day are leading on to the 
 brink of the precipice, 363. The idea that the Eoman empire is the 
 restraining power not altogether wide of the mark, 364. The patience 
 of Christ is a key-note maintained from first to last, 365. 
 
 IX. 
 
 First and Second Timothy. Confidential commimication from the 
 apostle to some of his fellow-labourers, 366. A Saviour God is in con- 
 trast with His dealings imder law or government, 367. Mellowed tone 
 observable in the writings of the apostle as he drew to the close of his 
 career, 368. How the term "commandment" is sometimes misused, 369. 
 The negative use of the law, 370. The law not enacted for the Christian, 
 371. Sound doctrine — what is comprised in it, 372. Ordinary duties 
 of life in connection with the gospel of the glorj"-, 373. The faith and 
 a good conscience, 374. Delivery to Satan — its object, 375. How often 
 pre-occupation within makes us forget those without, 376. Exhorta- 
 tion pursued in respect of that which would meet the eye even of 
 an unconverted person, 377. The way in which a woman can con- 
 tribute to a right and godly testimony, 378. Woman, and her lot here 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 below, 379. The personal qualifications of an overseer, 380. Home 
 influence in its relation to the house of God, 381. The invalidity of 
 present appointment to office, 382. The qualifications of deacons and 
 their wives, 383. "We are called to be a manifestation of the truth 
 before the world, 384. Faith waits tni it gets a distinct word from 
 God, 385. The mystery of godliness, 386, and its connection with the 
 minutest afiairs of work-a-day life, 387. Every creatm-e of God is good, 
 
 388. Those who seek to give out had better take care they take in, 
 
 389. The decorum that becomes everyone, especially a young man, 
 enjoined upon Timothy, 390. There is nothing either too great or too 
 little for the Holy Spirit, 391. The value of piety with a contented 
 mind, 392. 
 
 The character of the second epistle, 393. A deep sense of what can 
 be owned in nature can only follow a due apprehension of what God 
 is — nature set aside, 394. Timothy's sensitive nature finds full 
 sympathy in the apostle's large heart, 395, while he accustoms 
 his mind to expect hardship instead of shirking it, 396. The dis- 
 order of the house of God in this epistle, 397. In such a state of 
 things, do the will of God; let others say what they please, 398. 
 There are very few saints from whom we may not derive some good, 
 though not always in the same way, 399. A single eye to Christ and 
 His grace made Paul consistent, 400. The firm foundation of God 
 stands, 401. Why one cannot deal as simply with people now as in 
 apostolic times, 402. It is not maintaining the unity of the Spirit to 
 couple with the name of the Lord that which is fleshly and sinful, 403. 
 Isolation never desirable, though sometimes necessary, 404. " Physical 
 Christianity" a heathenish phrase, but designating much that finds its 
 place in these last days, 405. It is a matter of no little importance 
 who says this or that, 406. The importance of preaching the word 
 when men will not endure sound doctrine, 407. The coming of the 
 Lord in no way manifests the faithfulness of the servant; the appear- 
 ing will, 408. A book or a cloak not too small a matter to bring the 
 Spirit of God into, 409. 
 
 X. 
 
 Titus. More prominence is given to external order in writing to 
 Titus than to Timothy, 410. To acknowledge the truth which is 
 after godliness is always a duty, even after the house of God has been 
 grievously aff'ected, 411. God's elect, 412. The truth of eternal life is 
 brought out far more fully in the decay of Christian profession, 413. 
 There was no such thing as preaching known during the most con- 
 siderable part of the world's history, 414. The universality of the 
 
CONTENTS. XVll 
 
 testimony of grace in contrast with, the narrow limits of law, 415. 
 Summary of the world's history, to show that eternal life in Christ 
 before the world began shines out most brilliantly at its close, 416. 
 The circle of Divine life may seem narrow, but nothing can rival it 
 in point of large and deep affection, 417. When a ministry of death and 
 condemnation was in question, a limit was good and wise; but with 
 eternal life and remission of sins, how different ! 418. John takes up 
 the very point at which Paul leaves off, 419. The present state of 
 Christendom renders it fitting that there should be "things wanting" 
 now, 420, but then that makes the word of God the more precious 
 to those who feel the lack, 421. No one can appoint, save those who 
 have authority so to do, 422. A state of ruin always tests the heart 
 more than when things are in primitive order, 423. Eldership is 
 likely to be passed by, under the more attractive service of the word 
 in public work, 424. If we see men who have the qualities, and do 
 the work of elders, we should respect them as such, 425. Elders are 
 a local charge, 426. National character to be taken into account 
 when dealing with souls, 427. Never interpose the teacher, nor the 
 mere letter of a duty, between the soul and the Lord, 428. Nothing 
 more marks Christianity than its elasticity and breadth, 429. The 
 power of Christ lends dignity to the very smallest thing that occupies 
 the heart and mind, 430. There is no relationship, not a single thing 
 of the most ordinary kind, that does not become a test, 431. If God 
 pays particular attention to any, it is to those that man as such 
 despised — slaves, 432. Distinction between worldly and fleshly lusts, 
 433. The falsehood of either ameliorating human nature or of im- 
 proving the world will soon end in worse confusion and in sorest 
 judgment, 434. The antagonist of the Son of God has prompted men 
 to abuse His grace so as to deny His glorj^, 435. The difference 
 between "the washing of regeneration" and "the renewing of the 
 Holy Ghost," 436. Plain every -day need goes along with the 
 deepest truth, 437. What is a heretic? 438. What to do with 
 a heretic, 439. The whole root of it is self, 440. Heresies in 1 Cor. 
 xi. 19, 441. It is a great mistake to suppose that there may not be 
 such a thing as arrangement in ministry, 442. Yet it is not everj'- 
 body that possesses a competent judgment about such a matter, 443. 
 
 Philemon. This has altogether a different character from the 
 epistles that have lately been occupying us, 444. Philemon, Apphia, 
 Archippus, 445. What movements of heart about a runagate slave I 
 446. The most excellent of men have broken down occasionally by 
 the pettiest things that entice or provoke self, 447. AVould Paul the 
 prisoner and the aged make an ineffectual claim on the heart of 
 
XVlll CONTENTS. 
 
 Philemon ? 448. The delicacy of feeling and the sense of propriety 
 which grace forms are truly exquisite, 449. It is not always a question 
 of doing a right thing, but of doing it in the right way, 450. Chris- 
 tianity is not a system of earthly righteousness, but the unfolding of 
 the grace of Christ and of heavenly hopes, 451. The heart that could 
 stand out against such appeals of grace was far from Philemon, 452. 
 
 XI. XII. 
 Hebrews. Eeasons for supposing Paul to be the writer of this 
 epistle, 453. His name suppressed because he takes the place of a 
 teacher and not of an apostle, 454. The epistle is a consummate 
 treatise upon the bearing of Christ and Christianity on the law and the 
 prophets, 455. Paul would show them thus the infinite dignity of the 
 Messiah whom they had received, 456. AVho so suitable to introduce 
 Jesus, the rejected Messiah, at the right hand of God, as Saul of 
 Tarsus ? 457. A striking absence of allusion to the one body, 45S. 
 But there was One dearer to the heart of Paul than the church itself, 
 459. Reduce the glory of Chi-ist, and you equally lower youi* judg- 
 ment of the state of man, 460. Previous revelation to Israel partial 
 and piecemeal, but in Chi-ist the fulness of the truth shines out, 461. 
 The place angels held in the Jewish mind, 462, used to bring into 
 greater rehef the astonishing place of man in the person of Christ, 
 
 463. God never singled out an angel, and said, " Thou art my Son I " 
 
 464. But imto the Son He saith, " Thy throne, O God," 465. Messiah is 
 called "Jehovah," and that in His deepest shame, 466. The perfection 
 of Messiah's submission in contrast with the permanence of Jehovah, 
 467. Then His exaltation on high as man till the hour of judgment 
 on His foes, 468. The glory of Christ as Son of man, 469. Man — his 
 position in the world to come, 470. Christ's death the ground of 
 reconciliation for the imi verse, 471. The doctrine of the epistle, and its 
 suitability to the wants of the believer traversing the wilderness, 472. 
 Common place of the Sanctifier with the sanctified, 473. Sin atoned 
 for, persons reconciled, 474. Chapters i. and ii. introduce the basis of 
 the high-priesthood ; chapters iii. and iv. a digression, linking them- 
 selves, however, with the first two, 474. The apostle and high priest 
 of our profession is in contrast with that of the Jews, 475. Difficulty at 
 first in reconciling the fact of a Messiah come, and gone to glory, with 
 a people left in shame and sorrow, 476 ; explained by the fact, that 
 the path of the people of God is a path of faith now, just as it was 
 before, 477. What is the meaning of the rest of God? 478. "We 
 which have believed do enter into rest," — its bearing, 479. God had 
 rested //owi His works, but had never rested in them, 480. The rest is 
 
CONTENTS. XIX 
 
 still beyond, 481. "There remaineth therefore a rest," 482. Mistake to 
 apply the rest to rest of conscience, 483. In chapter v. we enter on 
 the priesthood, 484. " For every high priest taken from among men" 
 cannot apply to Christ, 485. Such is not the Priest God has given us, 
 486. At the same time there is no forgetfulness of the suffering 
 obedience of Christ's place here below, 487. Religious tradition and 
 philosophy are the main sources of spiritual dulness, 488. Hebrews 
 pressed as to their excessive danger of abandoning Christ for religious 
 traditions, 489. The word of the beginning of Christ, 490. The 
 description of a confessor with all the crowning evidences of the 
 gospel, but not a converted man, 491. koiviovoI and fxsToxoi, 492. 
 Eenewal to repentance an impossibility, and why, 493. The promise 
 to Abraham, and the hope set before us, 494. The weakest faith that 
 the New Testament acknowledges — fleeing for refuge, 495. Followed 
 by strong consolation — even that which enters within the veil, 496. 
 The great theme — Christ a priest for ever after the order of Melchise- 
 dec — resumed, 497. The time for the proper exercise of the Melchisedec 
 priesthood of Christ is not yet arrived, 498. Meanwhile the Spirit of 
 God directs attention, not to the exercise, but to the order of the 
 Melchisedec priest, 499. The indisputable superiority of the Mel- 
 chisedec priesthood to that of Aaron, 500. This Priest was to be a 
 living, undying Priest, 501. Jehovah's oath, 502. A Priest always 
 in connection with the people of God ; never as such with those out- 
 side, 503. It became God that Christ should go down to the uttermost 
 — us that He should be exalted to the highest, 504. " On high " and 
 "in the heavens," 505. The exercise of the functions of Christ as a 
 Priest, 506, and as a IMediator of the new covenant, 507. Remarkable 
 how little the Holy Ghost appears in this epistle, 508. Why the taber- 
 nacle is always referred to, and not the temple, 509. Why allusion 
 to the sanctuary is made, 510. The rent veil, 511. dia6l]K7] means 
 "testament" as well as "covenant," 512. Why it should be "testa- 
 ment" in two places alone and covenant in all others, 513. 6 diaOkfievog 
 is rightly rendered "the testator," 514. The contracting party had not 
 to die, 515. The death of Christ, both in the sense of a victim sacri- 
 ficed and of a testator, though a double figure, is evident to all, 516. 
 There is but one offering and one suffering of Christ once for all, 517. 
 He who was without sin in His person and all His life, had everything 
 to do with sin on the cross, 518. Christianity comes in between the 
 work of Chi-ist and His coming in gloiy, 519. " Conscience of sins " 
 means a dread of God's judging one because of his sins, 520. A book 
 which none ever saw but God and His Son, 521. Big to dirjviKtg does 
 not express for eternity, but "for continuance," 522. The Jew never 
 
XX CONTENTS. 
 
 understood his law till the light of Christ on the cross and in glory 
 shone on it, 523. In chapter vi. are warnings for those who turn 
 from Christianity; in chapter x. for those who turn from the one 
 sacrifice, 524. Similarities in the two chapters, 525. What faith 
 is, 526. A simple word of Scripture settles a thousand questions, 527. 
 Reason is ever drawing conclusions : God is, and reveals what is, 528. 
 Faith hrings God into everji;hing, 529. Abraham and his faith, 530. 
 Moses acts in faith, not policy, 531. What is the "better thing" 
 provided for us ? 532. The reward of the life of faith, 533. In this 
 epistle the old and new natures are not separated, as in the other 
 epistles, 534. Saints are here dealt with as to their walk, 535. There 
 is nothing more serious than to set grace against holiness, 536. A 
 magnificent picture of Christianity in contrast with Judaism, 537. 
 Sinai and Zion, 538. The special glories of Zion, 539. The heavenly 
 city that Abraham looked for, 540. The spirits of jtist men made 
 perfect, 541. How the most awful threat is turned into the most 
 blessed promise, 542. Practical exhortations, 543. Christendom takes 
 the middle ground of Judaism, 544. Access into the holiest involves 
 also the place of ashes outside the camp, 545. Are these two things 
 true of you ? 546. All the effort of Christendom is first to deny the 
 one, and then to escape from the other, 547. God's final call, 548. 
 Two kinds of sacrifice to which we are now called, 549. Closing 
 remarks, 550. No place of death to sin, the law, or the world, no 
 privilege of union with Christ, will enable a soul to dispense with the 
 truths contained in this Epistle to the Hebrews, 551. 
 
mTEODUCTORY LECTURES 
 
 ON 
 
 THE EPISTLES OF PAUL. 
 
 $. 
 
 eoma:n"s. 
 
 The circumstances under which the epistle to the 
 Romans was written crave occasion to the most thorough 
 and comprehensive unfolding, not of the church, but 
 of Christianity. No apostle had ever yet visited Rome. 
 There was somewhat as yet lacking to the saints there ; 
 but even this was ordered of God to call forth from 
 the Holy Ghost an epistle which more than any other 
 approaches a complete treatise on the fundamentals of 
 Christian doctrine, and especially as to righteousness. 
 
 Would we follow up the heights of heavenly truth, 
 would we sound the depths of Christian experience, 
 would we survey the workings of the Spirit of God in 
 the Church, would we bow before the glories of the 
 person of Christ, or learn His manifold offices, we must 
 look elsewhere — in the writings of the 'New Testament 
 no doubt, but elsewhere rather than here. 
 
 The condition of the Roman saints called for a 
 setting forth of the gospel of God ; but this object, in 
 order to be rightly understood and appreciated, leads 
 the apostle into a dis^Dlay of the condition of man. We 
 
 B 
 
2 INTKODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 have God and man in presence, so to speak. Nothing 
 can be more simple and essential. Although there is 
 undoubtedly that profoundness which must accompany- 
 every revelation of God, and especially in connection 
 with Christ as now manifested, still we have God 
 adapting Himself to the very first wants of a renewed 
 soul — nay, even to the wretchedness of souls without 
 God, without any real knowledge either of themselves 
 or of Him. Not, of course, that the Eoman saints 
 were in this condition ; but that God, writing by the 
 apostle to them, seizes the opportunity to lay bare 
 man's state as well as His own grace. 
 
 From the very first we have these characteristics of 
 the epistle disclosing themselves. The apostle writes 
 with the full assertion of his own apostolic dignity, 
 but as a servant also. "Paul, a bondman of Jesus 
 Christ" — an apostle "called," not born, still less as 
 educated or appointed of man, but an apostle " called," 
 as he says — "separated unto the gospel of God, which 
 he had promised afore by his prophets." The connection 
 is fully owned with that which had been from God of 
 old. No fresh revelations from God can nullify those 
 which preceded them ; but as the prophets looked 
 onward to what was coming, so is the gospel already 
 come, supported by the past. There is mutual con- 
 firmation. Nevertheless, what is is in nowise the same 
 as what was or what will be. The past prepared the 
 way, as it is said here, "which God had promised afore 
 by his prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning his 
 Son Jesus Christ our Lord, [here we have the great 
 central object of God's gospel, even the person of Christ, 
 God's Son,] which was made of the seed of David 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 3 
 
 according to the flesh" (ver. 3). This last relation was 
 the direct subject of the prophetic testimony, and Jesus 
 had come accordingly. He was the promised Messiah, 
 born King of the Jews. 
 
 But there was far more in Jesus. He was "declared," 
 says the apostle, "to be the Son of God with power, 
 according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection 
 from the dead" (e^ dvao-Tao-cws- veKpwv, ver. 4). It was 
 the Son of God not merely as dealing with the powers 
 of the earth, Jehovah's King on the holy hill of 
 Zion, but after a far deeper manner. For, essentially 
 associated as He is with the glory of God the Father, 
 the full deliverance of souls from the realm of death 
 was His also. In this too we have the blessed connec- 
 tion of the Spirit (here peculiarly designated, for special 
 reasons, "the Spirit of hoHness"). That same energy of 
 the Holy Ghost which had displayed itself in Jesus, 
 when He walked in holiness here below, was demon- 
 strated in resurrection; and not merely in His own 
 rising from the dead, but in raising such at any time 
 no doubt, though most signally and triumphantly dis- 
 played in His own resurrection. 
 
 The bearing of this on the contents and main doc- 
 trine of the epistle will appear abundantly by-and-by. 
 Let me refer in passing to a few points more in the 
 introduction, in order to link them together with that 
 which the Spirit was furnishing to the Eoman saints, 
 as well as to show the admirable perfectness of every 
 word that inspiration has given us. I do not mean by 
 this its truth merely, but its exquisite suitability; so that 
 the opening address commences the theme in hand, and 
 insinuates that particular line of truth which the Holy 
 Spirit sees fit to pursue throughout. To this then the 
 
 B 2 
 
4 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 apostle comes, after having spoken of the divine favour 
 shown himself, both Avhen a sinner, and now in his own 
 special place of serving the Lord Jesus. "By whom 
 we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to 
 the faith." This was no question of legal obedience, 
 although the law came from Jehovah. Paul's joy and 
 boast were in the gospel of God. So therefore it 
 addressed itself to the obedience of faith; not by this 
 meaning practice, still less according to the measure of a 
 man's duty, but that which is at the root of all practice 
 — faith-obedience — obedience of heart and will, renewed 
 by divine grace, which accepts the truth of God. To 
 man this is the hardest of all obedience; but when 
 once secured, it leads peacefully into the obedience of 
 every day. If slurred over, as it too often is in souls, 
 it invariably leaves practical obedience lame, and halt, 
 and blind. 
 
 It was for this then that Paul describes himself as 
 apostle. And as it is for obedience of faith, it was not 
 in anywise restricted to the Jewish people — "among 
 all nations, for his (Christ's) name: among whom are 
 ye also the called of Jesus Christ" (verses 5, 6). He 
 loved even here at the threshold to show the breadth of 
 God's grace. If he was called, so were they — he an 
 apostle, they not apostles but saints ; but still, for them 
 as for him, all flowed out of the same mighty love of 
 God. "To all that be at Eome, beloved of God, called 
 saints" (ver. 7). To tJiese then he wishes, as was his 
 wont, the fresh flow of that source and stream of divine 
 blessing which Christ has made to be household bread 
 to us : "Grace and peace from God our Father, and from 
 the Lord Jesus Christ" (ver. 7). Then, from ver. 8, 
 after thanking God through Jesus for their faith spoken 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 5 
 
 of everywhere, and telling them of his prayers for them, 
 he briefly discloses the desire of his heart about them — 
 his long-cherished hope according to the grace of the 
 gospel to reach Eome — his confidence in the love of 
 God that through him some spiritual gift would be 
 imparted to them, that they might be established, and, 
 according to the spirit of grace which filled his own 
 heart, that he too might be comforted together with 
 them "by the mutual faith both of you and me" 
 (vv. 11, 12). There is nothing like the grace of God for 
 producing the truest humility, the humility that not 
 only descends to the lowest level of sinners to do 
 them good, but which is itself the fruit of deliverance 
 from that self-love which puffs itself or lowers others. 
 Witness the common joy that grace gives an apostle 
 with saints he had never seen, so that even he should 
 be comforted as well as they by their mutual faith. He 
 would not therefore have them ignorant how they had 
 lain on his heart for a visit (ver. 13). He was debtor 
 both to the Greeks and the barbarians, both to the wise 
 and to the unwise ; he was ready, as far as he was con- 
 cerned, to preach the gospel to those that were at Eome 
 also (ver. 14, 15). Even the saints there would have 
 been all the better for the gospel. It was not merely 
 "to those at Eome," but "to you that be at Eome." 
 Thus it is a mistake to suppose that saints may not be 
 benefited by a better understanding of the gospel, at 
 least as Paul preached it. Accordingly he tells them 
 now what reason he had to speak thus strongly, not of 
 the more advanced truths, but of the good news. " For 
 I am not ashamed of the gospel : for it is the power of 
 God unto salvation to every one that believeth ; to the 
 Jew first, and also to the Greek " (ver. 16). 
 
6 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Observe, the gospel is not simply remission of sins, 
 nor is it only peace with God, but " the power of God 
 unto salvation." Now I take this opportunity of press- 
 ing on all that are here to beware of contracted views 
 of "salvation." Beware that you do not confound it 
 with souls being quickened, or even brought into joy. 
 Salvation supposes not this only, but a great deal 
 more. There is hardly any phraseology that tends to 
 more injury of souls in these matters than a loose way 
 of talking of salvation. "At any rate he is a saved 
 soul," we hear. "The man has not got anything like 
 settled peace Avith God ; perhaps he hardly knows his 
 sins forgiven ; but at least he is a saved soul." Here is 
 an instance of what is so reprehensible. This is precisely 
 what salvation does not mean; and I would strongly 
 press it on all that hear nie, more particularly on those 
 that have to do with the work of the Lord, and of 
 course ardently desire to labour intelligently; and this 
 not alone for the conversion, but for the establishment 
 and deliverance of souls. Nothing less, I am persuaded, 
 than this full blessing is the line that God has given to 
 those who have followed Christ without the camp, and 
 who, having been set free from the contracted ways of 
 men, desire to enter into the largeness and at the same 
 time the profound wisdom of every word of God. Let 
 us not stumble at the starting-point, but leave room 
 for the due extent and depth of "salvation" in the 
 gospel. 
 
 There is no need of dwelling now on " salvation " as 
 employed in the Old Testament, and in some parts of 
 the New, as the gospels and Kevelation particularly, 
 where it is used for deliverance in power or even pro- 
 vidence and present things. I confine myself to its 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE EOMANS. 7 
 
 doctrinal import, and the full Christian sense of the 
 word ; and I maintain that salvation signifies that 
 deliverance for the believer which is the full con- 
 sequence of the mighty work of Christ, apprehended 
 not, of course, necessarily according to all its depth in 
 God's eyes, but at any rate applied to the soul in the 
 power of the Holy Ghost. It is not the awakening of 
 conscience, however real ; neither is it the attraction of 
 heart by the grace of Christ, however blessed this may 
 be. We ought therefore to bear in mind, that if a soul 
 be not brought into conscious deliverance as the fruit 
 of divine teaching, and founded on the work of Christ, 
 we are very far from presenting the gospel as the 
 apostle Paul glories in it, and delights that it should go 
 forth. " I am not ashamed," &c. 
 
 And he gives his reason : " For therein is the right- 
 eousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is 
 written. The just shall live by faith." That is, it is the 
 power of God unto salvation, not because it is victory 
 (which at the beginning of the soul's career would 
 only give importance to man even if possible, which it 
 is not), but because it is "the righteousness of God." 
 It is not God seeking, or man bringing righteousness. 
 In the gospel there is revealed God's righteousness. 
 Thus the introduction opened with Christ's person, 
 and closes with God's righteousness. The law demanded, 
 but could never receive righteousness from man. Christ 
 is come, and has changed all. God is revealing a right- 
 eousness of His own in the gospel. It is God who 
 now makes known a righteousness to man, instead of 
 looking for any from man. Undoubtedly there are 
 fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, and 
 God values them — I will not say from man, but from 
 
8 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 His saints ; but here it is what, according to the 
 apostle, God has for man. It is for the saints to learn, 
 of course; but it is that which goes out in its own 
 force and necessary aim to the need of man — a divine 
 righteousness, which justifies instead of condemning 
 him who believes. It is " the power of God unto salva- 
 tion." It is for the lost, therefore ; for they it is who 
 need salvation ; and it is to save — not merely to quicken, 
 but to save ; and this because in the gospel the right- 
 eousness of God is revealed. 
 
 Hence it is, as he says, herein revealed " from faith," 
 or by faith. It is the same form of expression exactly 
 as in the beginning of Eomans v. — " being justified hy 
 faith" {Ik TTioTccos). But besides this he adds "to faith." 
 The first of these phrases, "from faith," excludes the 
 law ; the second, " to faith," includes every one that has 
 faith within the scope of God's righteousness. Justifi- 
 cation is not from works of law. The righteousness of 
 God is revealed from faith ; and consequently, if there 
 be faith in any soul, to this it is revealed, to faith 
 wherever it may be. Hence, therefore, it was in no 
 way limited to any particular nation, such as those that 
 had already been under the law and government of 
 God. It was a message that went out from God to 
 sinners as such. Let man be what he might, or where 
 he might, God's good news was for man. And to this 
 agreed the testimony of the prophet: "The just shall 
 live by faith" (not by law). Even where the law was, 
 not by it but by faith the just lived. Did Gentiles 
 believe? They too should live. Without faith there 
 is neither justice nor life that God owns ; where faith 
 is, the rest will surely follow. 
 
 This accordingly leads the apostle into the earKer 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 9 
 
 portion of his great argument, and first of all in a 
 preparatory way. Here we pass out of the introduction 
 of the epistle. "For the wrath of God is revealed 
 from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteous- 
 ness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness" 
 (ver. 18). This is what made the gospel to be so sweet 
 and precious, and, what is more, absolutely necessary, 
 if he would escape certain and eternal ruin. There is 
 no hope for man otherwise ; for the gospel is not all 
 that is now made known. Not only is God's righteous- 
 ness revealed, but also His wrath. It is not said to 
 be revealed in the gospel. The gospel means His 
 glad tidings for man. The wrath of God could not 
 possibly be glad tidings. It is true, it is needful for 
 man to learn ; but in nowise is it good news. There is 
 then the solemn truth also of divine wrath. It is not 
 yet executed. It is "revealed," and this too "from 
 heaven." There is no question of a people on earth, 
 and of God's wrath breaking out in one form or another 
 against human evil in this life. The earth, or, at least, 
 the Jewish nation, had been familiar with such dealings 
 of God in times past. But now it is "the wrath of 
 God from heaven;" and consequently it is in view of 
 eternal things, and not of those that touch present life 
 on the earth. 
 
 Hence, as God's wrath is revealed from heaven, 
 it is against every form of impiety — " against all 
 ungodliness." Besides this, which seems to be a most 
 comprehensive expression for embracing every sort and 
 degree of human iniquity, we have one very specifically 
 named. It is against the "unrighteousness of men, who 
 hold the truth in unrighteousness." To hold the truth 
 in unrighteousness would be no security. Alas ! we 
 
10 INTKODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 know how this was in Israel, how it might be, and has 
 been, in Christendom. God pronounces against the un- 
 righteousness of such; for if the knowledge, however 
 exact, of God's revealed mind was accompanied by no 
 renewal of the heart, if it was without life towards 
 God, all must be vain. Man is only so much the worse 
 for knowing the truth, if he holds it ever so fast with 
 unrighteousness. There are some that find a difficulty 
 here, because the expression "to hold" means holding 
 firmly. But it is quite possible for the unconverted to 
 be tenacious of the truth, yet unrighteous in their 
 ways ; and so much the worse for them. Not thus 
 does God deal with souls. If His grace attract, His 
 truth humbles, and leaves no room for vain boasting 
 and self-confidence. What He does is to pierce and 
 penetrate the man's conscience. If one may so say, 
 He thus holds the man, instead of letting the man 
 presume that he is holding fast the truth. The inner 
 man is dealt with, and searched through and through. 
 
 Nothing of this is intended in the class that is here 
 brought before us. They are merely persons who plume 
 themselves on their orthodoxy, but in a wholly unre- 
 newed condition. Such men have never been wanting 
 since the truth has shone on this world ; still less are 
 they now. But the wrath of God is revealed from 
 heaven against them pre-eminently. The judgments of 
 God will fall on man as man, but the heaviest blows 
 are reserved for Christendom. There the truth is held, 
 and apparently with firmness too. This, however, will 
 be put to the test by-and-by. But for the time it is 
 held fast, though in unrighteousness. Thus the wrath 
 of God is revealed from heaven against (not only the 
 open ungodliness of men, but) the orthodox unright- 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 11 
 
 eousness of those that hold the trutli in unright- 
 eousness. 
 
 And this leads the apostle into the moral history of 
 man — the proof both of his inexcusable guilt, and of 
 his extreme need of redemption. He begins with the 
 great epoch of the dispensations of God (that is, the 
 ages since the flood). We cannot speak of the state of 
 things before the flood as a dispensation. There was a 
 most important trial of man in the person of Adam ; 
 but after this, what dispensation was there ? What 
 were the principles of it ? No man can tell. The 
 truth is, those are altogether mistaken who call it so. 
 But after the flood man as such was put under certain 
 conditions — the whole race. Man became the object, 
 first, of o-eneral dealincrs of God under Noah : next, of 
 His special w^ays in the calling of Abraham and of his 
 family. And wliat led to the call of Abraham, of 
 whom we hear much in the epistle to the Eomans as 
 elsewdiere, was the departure of man into idolatry. ^Man 
 despised at first the outward testimony of God, His 
 eternal power and Godhead, in the creation above and 
 around him (verses 19, 20). Moreover, He gave up 
 the knowledge of God that had been handed down 
 from father to son (ver. 21). The downfall of man, 
 when he thus abandoned God, was most rapid and 
 profound; and the Holy Spirit traces this solemnly 
 to the end of chapter i. with no needless words, in a 
 few energetic strokes summing up that which is abun- 
 dantly confirmed (but in how different a manner I) by 
 all that remains of the ancient world. "Professing 
 themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed 
 the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made 
 like to corruptible man," «fec. (verses 22-32.) Thus 
 
12 INTRODUCTOKY LECTURES. 
 
 corruption not only overspread morals, but became an 
 integral part of the religion of men, and had thus a 
 quasi-divine sanction. Hence the depravity of the hea- 
 then found little or no check from conscience, because 
 it was bound up with all that took the shape of God 
 before their mind. There was no part of heathenism, 
 practically viewed now, so corrupting as that which 
 had to do with the objects of its worship. Thus, the 
 true God being lost, all was lost, and man's downward 
 career becomes the most painful and humiliating object, 
 unless it be, indeed, that which we have to feel where 
 men, without renewal of heart, espouse in pride of 
 mind the truth with nothing but unrighteousness. 
 
 In the beginning of chapter ii. we have man pre- 
 tending to righteousness. Still, it is "man" — not yet 
 exactly the Jew, but man — who had profited, it might 
 be, by whatever the Jew had; at the least, by the 
 workings of natural conscience. But natural conscience, 
 although it may detect evil, never leads one into the 
 inward possession and enjoyment of good — never brings 
 the soul to God. Accordingly, in chapter ii. the Holy 
 Spirit shows us man satisfying himself with pro- 
 nouncing on what is right and wrong — moralizing for 
 others, but nothing more. Now God must have reality 
 in the man himself. The gospel, instead of treating 
 this as a light matter, alone vindicates God in these 
 eternal ways of His, in that which must be in him 
 who stands in relationship with God. Hence there- 
 fore, the apostle, with divine wisdom, opens this to us 
 before the blessed relief and deliverance which the 
 gospel reveals to us. In the most solemn way he 
 appeals to man with the demand, whether he tliinks 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE EOMANS. 13 
 
 that God will look complacently on that which barely 
 judges another, but which allows the practice of evil 
 in the man himself (ii. 1-3). Such moral judgments 
 will, no doubt, be used to leave man without excuse; 
 they can never suit or satisfy God. 
 
 Then the apostle introduces the ground, certainty, 
 and character of God's judgment (verses 4-16). He 
 " will render to every man according to his deeds : to 
 them who by patient continuance in well doing seek 
 for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life : to 
 them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, 
 but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribu- 
 lation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth 
 evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile." 
 
 It is not here a question of how a man is to be saved, 
 but of God's indispensable moral judgment, which the 
 gospel, instead of weakening, asserts according to the 
 holiness and truth of God. It will be observed there- 
 fore, that in this .connection the apostle shows the place 
 both of conscience and of the law, — that God in 
 judging will take into full consideration the circum- 
 stances and condition of every soul of man. At the 
 same time he connects, in a singularly interesting 
 manner, this disclosure of the principles of the eternal 
 judgment of God with what he calls "my gospel." 
 This also is a most important truth, my brethren, to 
 bear in mind. The gospel at its height in no wise 
 weakens but maintains the moral manifestation of 
 what God is. The legal institutions were associated 
 with temporal judgment. The gospel, as now revealed 
 in the New Testament, has linked with it, though not 
 contained in it, the revelation of divine wrath from 
 heaven, and this, you will observe, according to Paul's 
 
14 inteoductohy lectures. 
 
 gospel. It is evident, therefore, that dispensational 
 position will not suffice for God, who holds to His own 
 unchangeable estimate of good and evil, and who 
 judges the more stringently according to the measure 
 of advantage possessed. 
 
 . But thus the way is now clear for bringing the Jew 
 into the discussion. " But if [for so it should be read] 
 thou art named a Jew," &c. (ver. 17.) It was not 
 merely that he had better light. He had this, of course, 
 in a revelation that was from God ; he had law ; he 
 had prophets ; he had divine institutions. It was not 
 merely better light in the conscience, which might be 
 elsewhere, as is supposed in the early verses of our 
 chapter; but the Jew's position was directly and un- 
 questionably one of divine tests applied to man's estate. 
 Alas ! the Jew was none the better for this, unless 
 there were the submission of his conscience to God. 
 Increase of privileges can never avail without the soul's 
 self-judgment before the mercy of Gpd. Eather does 
 it add to his guilt : such is man's evil state and will. 
 Accordingly, in the end of the chapter, he shows that 
 this is most true as applied to the moral judgment of 
 the Jew ; that none so much dishonoured God as wicked 
 Jews, their own Scripture attesting it; that position 
 went for nothing in such, while the lack of it would 
 not annul the Gentile's righteousness, which would 
 indeed condemn the more unfaithful Israel; in short, 
 that one must be a Jew inwardly to avail, and circum- 
 cision be of the heart, in spirit, not in letter, whose 
 praise is of God, and not of men. 
 
 The question then is raised in the beginning of chap- 
 ter iii., If this be so, what is the superiority of the 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE EOMANS. 15 
 
 Jew ? Where lies the value of belonging to the circum- 
 cised people of God ? The apostle allows this privilege 
 to be great, specially in having the Scriptures, but 
 turns the argument against the boasters. We need 
 not here enter into the details ; but on the surface we 
 see how the apostle brings all down to that which is of 
 the deepest interest to every soul. He deals with the 
 Jew from his own Scripture (verses 9-19). Did the 
 Jews take the ground of exclusively having that word 
 of God — the law ? Granted that it is so, at once and 
 fully. To whom, then, did the law address itself? To 
 those that were under it, to be sure. It pronounced on 
 the Jew then. It was the boast of the Jews that the 
 law spoke about them ; that the Gentiles had no right 
 to it, and were but presuming on what belonged to 
 God's chosen people. The apostle applies this accord- 
 ing to divine wisdom. Then your principle is your 
 condemnation. What the law says, it speaks to those 
 under it. What, then, is its voice ? That there is none 
 righteous, none that doeth good, none that under- 
 standeth. Of whom does it declare all this ? Of the 
 Jew by his own confession. Every mouth was stopped ; 
 the Jew by his own oracles, as the Gentile by their 
 evident abominations, shown already. All the world 
 was guilty before God. 
 
 Thus, having shown the Gentile in chapter i. mani- 
 festly wrong, and hopelessly degraded to the last 
 degree — having laid bare the moral dilettantism of the 
 philosophers, not one whit better in the sight of God, 
 but rather the reverse — having shown the Jew over- 
 whelmed by the condemnation of the divine oracles in 
 which he chiefly boasted, without real righteousness, 
 and so much the more guilty for his special privileges, 
 
16 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 all now lies clear for bringing in the proper Christian 
 message, the gospel of God. " Therefore by the deeds 
 of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight : 
 for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the 
 righteousness of God without the law is manifested, 
 being witnessed by the law and the prophets " (verses 
 20, 21). 
 
 Here, again, the apostle takes up what he had but 
 announced in chapter i. — the righteousness of God. 
 Let me call your attention again to its force. It is not 
 the mercy of God. Many have contended that so it is, 
 and to their own great loss, as well as to the weakening 
 of the word of God. "Eighteousness" never means 
 mercy, not even the "righteousness of God." Tlie mean- 
 ing is not what was executed on Christ, but what is in 
 virtue of it. Undoubtedly divine judgment fell on 
 Him ; but this is not " the righteousness of God," as 
 the apostle employs it in any part of his writings any 
 more than here, though we know there could be no 
 such thing as God's righteousness justifying the believer, 
 if Christ had not borne the judgment of God. The 
 expression means that righteousness which God can 
 afford to display because of Christ's atonement. In 
 short, it is what the words say — " the righteousness of 
 God^' and this "by faith of Jesus Christ." 
 
 Hence it is wholly apart from the law, whilst witnessed 
 to by the law and prophets ; for the law with its types 
 had looked onward to this new kind of righteousness ; 
 and the prophets had borne their testimony that it was 
 at hand, but not then come. Now it was manifested, 
 and not promised or predicted merely. Jesus had come 
 and died ; Jesus had been a propitiatory sacrifice ; 
 Jesus had borne the judgment of God because of the 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 17 
 
 sins He bore. The righteousness of God, then, could 
 now go forth in virtue of His blood. God was not 
 satisfied alone. There is satisfaction ; but the work of 
 Christ goes a great deal farther. Therein God is both 
 vindicated and glorified. By the cross God has a deeper 
 moral glory than ever — a glory that He thus acquired, 
 if I may so say. He is, of course, the same absolutely 
 perfect and unchangeable God of goodness; but His 
 perfection has displayed itself in new and more glorious 
 ways in Christ's death, in Him who humbled Himself, 
 and was obedient even to the death of the cross. 
 
 God, therefore, having not the least hindrance to the 
 manifestation of what He can be and is in merciful 
 intervention on behalf of the worst of sinners, manifests 
 it as His righteousness " by faith of Jesus Christ unto 
 all and upon all them that believe" (ver. 22). The 
 former is the direction, and the latter the application. 
 The direction is "unto all;" the application is, of 
 course, only to "them that believe;" but it is to all 
 them that believe. As far as persons are concerned, 
 there is no hindrance ; Jew or Gentile makes no differ- 
 ence, as is expressly said, " For all have sinned, and 
 come short of the glory of God ; being justified freely 
 by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ 
 Jesus : whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation 
 through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness 
 for the [passing over or prseter-mission, not] remission 
 of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God ; 
 to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness : that he 
 might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in 
 Jesus" (verses 23-26). There is no simple mind that 
 can evade the plain force of this last expression. The 
 righteousness of God means that God is just, while at 
 
 C 
 
18 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 the same time He justifies the believer in Christ Jesus. 
 It is His righteousness, or, in other words. His perfect 
 consistency with Himself, which is always involved 
 in the notion of righteousness. He is consistent with 
 Himself when He is justifying sinners, or, more strictly, 
 all those who believe in Jesus. He can meet the sinner, 
 but He justifies the believer ; and in this, instead of 
 trenching on His glory, there is a deeper revelation and 
 maintenance of it than if there never had been sin or 
 a sinner. 
 
 Horribly offensive as sin is to God, and inexcusable 
 in the creature, it is sin which has given occasion 
 to the astonishing display of divine righteouness in 
 justifying believers. It is not a question of His mercy 
 merely; for this weakens the truth immensely, and 
 perverts its character wholly. The righteousness of 
 God flows from His mercy, of course ; but its character 
 and basis is righteousness. Christ's work of redemption 
 deserves that God should act as He does in the gospel. 
 Observe again, it is not victory here; for that would 
 give place to human pride. It is not a soul's over- 
 coming its difficulties, but a sinner's submission to the 
 righteousness of God. It is God Himself who, infi- 
 nitely glorified in the Lord that expiated our sins by 
 His one sacrifice, remits them now, not looking for 
 our victory, nor as yet even in leading us on to victory, 
 but by faith in Jesus and His blood. God is proved 
 thus divinely consistent with Himself in Christ Jesus, 
 whom He has set forth a mercy-seat through faith in 
 His blood. 
 
 Accordingly the apostle says that boast and works 
 are completely set aside by this principle which affirms 
 faith, apart from deeds of law, to be the means of 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 19 
 
 relationship with God (verses 27, 28). Consequently 
 the door is as open to the Gentile as to the Jew. 
 The ground taken by a Jew for supposing God ex- 
 clusively for Israel was, that they had the law, which 
 was the measure of what God claimed from man ; and 
 this the Gentile had not. But such thoughts altogether 
 vanish now, because, as the Gentile was unquestionably 
 wicked and abominable, so from the law's express de- 
 nunciation the Jew was universally guilty before God. 
 Consequently all turned, not on what man should be 
 for God, but what God can be and is, as revealed in the 
 gospel, to man. This maintains both the glory and the 
 moral universality of Him who will justify the circum- 
 cision by faith, not law, and the uncircumcision through 
 their faith, if they believe the gospel. Nor does this in 
 the slightest degree weaken the principle of law. On the 
 contrary, the doctrine of faith establishes law as nothing 
 else can ; and for this simple reason, that if one who is 
 guilty hopes to be saved spite of the broken law, it 
 must be at the expense of the law that condemns his 
 guilt ; whereas the gospel shows no sparing of sin, but 
 the most complete condemnation of it all, as charged 
 on Him who shed His blood in atonement. The doc- 
 trine of faith therefore, which reposes on the cross, 
 establishes law, instead of making it void, as every 
 other principle must (verses 27-31). 
 
 But this is not the full extent of salvation. Accord- 
 ingly we do not hear of salvation as such in chapter iii. 
 There is laid down the most essential of all truths as a 
 groundwork of salvation ; namely, expiation. There is 
 the vindication of God in His ways with the Old 
 Testament believers. Their sins had been passed by. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 He could not have remitted heretofore. This would not 
 have been just. And the blessedness of the gospel is, 
 that it is (not merely an exercise of mercy, but also) 
 divinely just. It would not have been righteous in any 
 sense to have remitted the sins, until they were actually 
 borne by One who could and did suffer for them. But 
 now they were ; and thus God vindicated Himself per- 
 fectly as to the past. But this great work of Christ 
 was not and could not be a mere vindication of God; 
 and we may find it otherwise developed in various 
 parts of Scripture, whicli I here mention by the way to 
 show the point at which we are arrived. God's right- 
 eousness was now manifested as to the past sins He had 
 not brought into judgment through His forbearance, 
 and yet more conspicuously in the present time, when 
 He displayed His justice in justifying the believer. 
 
 But this is not all; and the objection of the Jew 
 gives occasion for the apostle to bring out a fuller dis- 
 play of what God is. Did they fall back on Abraham ? 
 " What shall we then say that Abraham our father, as 
 pertaining to the flesh, hath found ? For if Abraham 
 were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but 
 not before God." Did the Jew fancy that the gospel 
 makes very light of Abraham, and of the then dealings 
 of God? Not so, says the apostle. Abraham is the 
 proof of the value of faith in justification before God. 
 Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for 
 righteousness. There was no law there or then; for 
 Abraham died long before God spoke from Sinai. He 
 believed God and His word, with special approval on 
 God's part ; and his faith was counted as righteousness 
 (ver. 3). And this w^as powerfully corroborated by the 
 testimony of another great name in Israel (David), in 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 21 
 
 Psalm xxxii. " For day and night thy hand was heavy 
 upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of 
 summer. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine 
 iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my 
 transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the 
 iniquity of my sin. For this shall every one that is 
 godly pray unto thee in a time when thou may est be 
 found : surely in the floods of great waters they shall 
 not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding-place ; 
 thou shalt preserve me from trouble ; thou shalt com- 
 pass me about with songs of deliverance. I will 
 instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou 
 shalt go : I will guide thee with mine eye." 
 
 In the same way the apostle disposes of all pretence 
 on the score of ordinances, especially circumcision. Not 
 only was Abraham justified without law, but apart from 
 that great sign of mortification of the flesh. Although 
 circumcision began with Abraham, manifestly it had 
 nothing to do with his righteousness, and at best was 
 but the seal of the righteousness of faith which he had 
 in an uncircumcised state. It could not therefore be 
 the source or means of his righteousness. All then 
 that believe, though uncircumcised, might claim him as 
 father, assured that righteousness will be reckoned to 
 them too. And he is father of circumcision in the best 
 sense, not to Jews, but to believing Gentiles. Thus 
 the discussion of Abraham strengthens the case in 
 behalf of the uncircumcised who believe, to the over- 
 throw of the greatest boast of the Jew. The appeal to 
 their own inspired account of Abraham turned into 
 a proof of the consistency of God's ways in justifying 
 by faith, and hence in justifying the uncircumcised no 
 less than the circumcision. 
 
22 INTRODUCTOEY LECTURES. 
 
 But there is more than this in chapter iv. He takes 
 up a third feature of Abraham's case ; that is, the con- 
 nection of the promise with resurrection. Here it is 
 not merely the negation of law and of circumcision, 
 but we have the positive side. Law works wrath 
 because it provokes transgression ; grace makes the 
 promise sure to all the seed, not only because faith is 
 open to the Gentile and Jew alike, but because God is 
 looked to as a quickener of the dead. What gives glory 
 to God like this ? Abraham believed God when, 
 according to nature, it was impossible for him or for 
 Sarah to have a child. The quickening power of God 
 therefore was here set fojth, of course historically in a 
 way connected with this life and a posterity on earth, 
 but nevertheless a very just and true sign of God's 
 power for the believer — the quickening energy of God 
 after a still more blessed sort. And this leads us to see 
 not only where there was an analogy with those who 
 believe in a promised Saviour, but also to a weighty 
 difference. And this lies in the fact that Abraham 
 believed God before he had the son, being fully per- 
 suaded that what He had promised He was able to 
 perform; and therefore it w^as imputed to him for 
 righteousness. But we believe on Him that raised up 
 Jesus our Lord from the dead. It is done already. It 
 is not here believing on Jesus, but on God who has 
 proved what He is to us in raising from among the 
 dead Him who was delivered for our offences, and 
 raised again for our justification (verses 13-25). 
 
 This brings out a most emphatic truth and special 
 side of Christianity. Christianity is not a system of 
 promise, but rather of promise accomplished in Christ. 
 Hence it is essentially founded on the gift not only of 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 23 
 
 a Saviour who would interpose, in the mercy of God, 
 to bear our sins, but of One who is already revealed, and 
 the work done and accepted, and this known in the 
 fact that God Himself has interposed to raise Him 
 from among the dead — a bright and momentous thing 
 to press on souls, as indeed we find the apostles insist- 
 ing on it throughout the Acts. Were it merely Eomans 
 iii. there could not be full peace with God as there is. 
 One might know a most real clinging to Jesus ; but this 
 would not set the heart at ease with God. The soul 
 may feel the blood of Jesus to be a yet deeper want ; 
 but this alone does not give peace with God. In such 
 a condition what has been found in Jesus is too often 
 misused to make a kind of difference, so to speak, 
 between the Saviour on the one hand, and God on the 
 other — ruinous always to the enjoyment of the full 
 blessing of the gospel. Now there is no way in which 
 God could lay a basis for peace with Himself more 
 blessed than as He has done it. ~No longer does the 
 question exist of requiring an expiation. That is the 
 first necessity for the sinner with God. But we have 
 had it fully in Eomans iii. Now it is the positive 
 power of God in raising up from the dead Him that 
 was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our 
 justifying. The whole work is done. 
 
 The soul therefore now is represented for the first time 
 as already justified and in possession of peace with God. 
 Tliis is a state of mind, and not the necessary or 
 immediate fruit of Eomans iii., but is based on the 
 truth of Eomans iv. as well as iii. There never can be 
 solid peace with God without both. A soul may as 
 truly, no doubt, be put into relationship with God — be 
 
24 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 made very happy, it may be ; but it is not what Scrip- 
 ture calls "peace with God." Therefore it is here for 
 the first time that we find salvation spoken of in the 
 grand results that are now brought before us in chapter 
 V. 1-11. "Being justified by faith, we have peace with 
 God through our Lord Jesus Christ." There is entrance 
 into favour, and nothing but favour. The believer is 
 not put under law, you will obser^^e, but under grace, 
 which is the precise reverse of law. The soul is brought 
 into peace with God, as it finds its standing in the 
 grace of God, and, more than that, rejoices in hope of 
 the glory of God. Such is the doctrine and the fact. 
 It is not merely a call then; but as we have by our 
 Lord Jesus Christ our access into the favour wherein 
 we stand, so there is positive boasting in the hope of 
 the glory of God. For it may have been noticed from 
 chapter iii. to chapter v., that nothing but fitness for 
 the glory of God will do now. It is not a question of 
 creature-standing. This passed away with man when 
 he sinned. Xow that God has revealed Himself in the 
 gospel, it is not what will suit man on earth, but what 
 is worthy of the presence of the glory of God. Never- 
 theless the apostle does not expressly mention heaven 
 here. This was not suitable to the character of the 
 epistle ; but the glory of God he does. We all know 
 where it is and must be for the Christian. 
 
 The consequences are thus pursued; first, the general 
 place of the believer now, in all respects, in relation to 
 the past, the present, and the future. His pathway 
 follows; and he shows that the very troubles of the 
 road become a distinct matter of boast. This was not 
 a direct and intrinsic effect, of course, but the result of 
 spiritual dealing for the soul. It was the Lord giving 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 25 
 
 ns tlie profit of sorrow, and ourselves bowing to the 
 way and end of God in it, so that the result of tribu- 
 lation should be rich and fruitful experience. 
 
 Then there is another and crowning part of the 
 blessing : " And not only so, but also boasting in God 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now 
 received the reconciliation." It is not only a blessing 
 in its own direct character, or in indirect though real 
 effects, but the Giver Himself is our joy, and boast, and 
 glory. The consequences spiritually are blessed to the 
 soul; how much more is it to reach the source from 
 which all flows ! This, accordingly, is the essential 
 spring of worship. The fruits of it are not expanded 
 here ; but, in point of fact, to joy in God is necessarily 
 that which makes praise and adoration to be the simple 
 and spontaneous exercise of the heart. In heaven it 
 will fill us perfectly; but there is no more perfect joy 
 there, nor anything higher, if so high, in this epistle. 
 
 At this point we enter upon a most important part 
 of the epistle, on which we must dwell for a little. It 
 is no longer a question of man's guilt, but of his 
 nature. Hence the apostle does not, as in the early 
 chapters of this epistle, take up our sins, except as 
 proofs and symptoms of sin. Accordingly, for the first 
 time, the Spirit of God from chapter v. 12 traces the 
 nature of man to the head of the race. This brings in 
 the contrast with the other Head, the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, whom we have here not as One bearing our 
 sins in His own body on the tree, but as the spring and 
 chief of a new family. Hence, as is shown later in 
 the chapter, Adam is a head characterized by dis- 
 
26 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 obedience, who brought in death, the just penalty of 
 sin; as on the other hand we have Him of whom he 
 was the type, Christ, the obedient man, who has brought 
 in righteousness, and this after a singularly blessed sort 
 and style — "justification of life." Of it nothing has 
 been heard tiU now. We have had justification, both 
 by blood and also in virtue of Christ's resurrection. 
 But "justification of life" goes farther, though in- 
 volved in the latter, than the end of Eomans iv.; for 
 now we learn that in the gospel there is not only a 
 dealing with the guilt of those that are addressed in it ; 
 there is also a mighty work of God in the presenting 
 the man in a new place before God, and in fact, too, for 
 his faith, clearing him from all the consequences in 
 which he finds himself as a man in the flesh here 
 below. 
 
 It is here that you will find a great failure of Chris- 
 tendom as to this. Not that any part of the truth has 
 escaped : it is the fatal brand of that " great house " 
 that even the most elementary truth suffers the deepest 
 injury; but as to this truth, it seems unknown alto- 
 gether. I hope that brethren in Christ will bear with 
 me if I press on them the importance of taking good 
 heed to it that their souls are thoroughly grounded in 
 this, the proper place of the Christian by Christ's death 
 and resurrection. It must not be assumed too readily. 
 There is a disposition continually to imagine that what 
 is frequently spoken of must be understood ; but expe- 
 rience will soon show that this is not the case. Even 
 those that seek a place of separation to the Lord outside 
 that which is now hurrying on souls to destruction are, 
 nevertheless, deeply affected by the condition of that 
 Christendom in which we find ourselves. 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 27 
 
 Here, then, it is not a question at all of pardon or 
 remission. First of all the apostle points out that 
 death has come in, and that this was no consequence of 
 law, but before it. Sin was in the world between 
 Adam and Moses, when the law was not. This clearly 
 takes in man, it will be observed ; and this is his grand 
 point now. The contrast of Christ with Adam takes 
 in man universally as well as the Christian ; and man 
 in sin, alas ! was true, accordingly, before the law, right 
 through the law, and ever since the law. The apostle 
 is therefore plainly in presence of the broadest possible 
 grounds of comparison, though we shall find more too. 
 
 But the Jew might argue that it was an unjust thing 
 in principle — this gospel, these tidings of which the 
 apostle was so full; for why should one man affect 
 many, yea, all? "Not so," replies the apostle. Why 
 should this be so strange and incredible to you? for 
 on your own showing, according to that word to which 
 we all bow, you must admit that one man's sin brought 
 in universal moral ruin and death. Proud as you may 
 be of that which distinguishes you, it is hard to make 
 sin and death peculiar to you, nor can you connect 
 them even with the law particularly : the race of man 
 is in question, and not Israel alone. There is nothing 
 that proves this so convincingly as the book of Genesis ; 
 and the apostle, by the Spirit of God, calmly but 
 triumphantly summons the Jewish Scriptures to de- 
 monstrate that which the Jews were so strenuously 
 denying. Their own Scriptures maintained, as nothing 
 else could, that all the wretchedness which is now 
 found in the world, and the condemnation which hangs 
 over the race, is the fruit of one man, and indeed of 
 one act. 
 
28 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Now, if it was righteous in God (and who will gain- 
 say it ?) to deal with the whole posterity of Adam as 
 involved in death because of one, their common father, 
 who could deny the consistency of one man's saving? 
 who would defraud God of that which He delights in — 
 the blessedness of bringing in deliverance by that One 
 man, of whom Adam was the image? Accordingly, 
 then, he confronts the unquestionable truth, admitted 
 by every Israelite, of the universal havoc by one man 
 everywhere with the One man who has brought in {not 
 pardon only, but, as we shall find) eternal life and 
 liberty — liberty now in the free gift of life, but a liberty 
 that will never cease for the soul's enjoyment until it 
 has embraced the very body that still groans, and this 
 because of the Holy Ghost who dwells in it. 
 
 Here, then, it is a comparison of the two great heads — 
 Adam and Christ, and the immeasurable superiority of the 
 second man is shown. That is, it is not merely pardon 
 of past sins, but deliverance from sin, and in due time 
 from all its consequences. The apostle has come now 
 to the nature. This is the essential point. It is the 
 thing which troubles a renewed conscientious soul above 
 all, because of his surprise at finding the deep evil of 
 the flesh and its mind after having proved the great 
 grace of God in the gift of Christ. If I am thus pitied 
 of God, if so truly and completely a justified man, if 
 I am really an object of God's eternal favour, how can 
 I have such a sense of continual evil ? why am I still 
 under bondage and misery from the constant evil of 
 my nature, over which I seem to have no power what- 
 ever ? Has God then no delivering power from this ? 
 The answer is found in this portion of our epistle (that 
 is, from the middle of chapter v). 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE EOMANS. 29 
 
 Having shown first, then, the sources and the cha- 
 racter of the blessing in general as far as regards 
 deliverance, the apostle sums up the result in the end 
 of the chapter: "That as sin hath reigned in death, 
 even so might grace reign through righteousness unto 
 eternal life," the point being justification of life now- 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 This is apphed in the two chapters that follow. 
 There are two things that might make insuperable 
 difticulty : the one is the obstacle of sin in the nature 
 to practical holiness ; the other is the provocation and 
 condemnation of the law. Now the doctrine which we 
 saw asserted in the latter part of chapter v. is applied, 
 to both. First, as to practical holiness, it is not merely 
 that Christ has died for my sins, but that even in the 
 initiatory act of baptism the truth set forth there is 
 that I am dead. It is not, as in Ephesians ii., dead in 
 sins, which would be nothing to the purpose. This is all 
 perfectly true — true of a Jew as of a pagan — true of any 
 unrenewed man that never heard of a Saviour. But 
 what is testified by Christian baptism is Christ's death. 
 "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized 
 imto Jesus Christ were baptized unto his death?" 
 Thereby is identification with His death. "Therefore 
 we are buried with him by baptism into death; that 
 like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory 
 of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness 
 of life." The man who, being baptized in the name of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, or Christian baptism, would 
 assert any license to sin because it is in his nature, as 
 if it were therefore an inevitable necessity, denies the 
 real and evident meaning of his baptism. That act 
 
30 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 denoted not even the washing away of our sins by the 
 blood of Jesus, which would not apply to the case, nor 
 in any adequate way meet the question of nature. 
 What baptism sets forth is more than that, and is justly 
 found, not in Komans iii., but in chapter vi. There is 
 no inconsistency in Ananias's word to the apostle Paul 
 — "wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the 
 Lord." There is water as well as blood, and to that, 
 not to this, the washing here refers. But there is more, 
 which Paul afterwards insisted on. That was said to 
 Paul, rather than what was taught hy Paul. What the 
 apostle had given him in fulness was the great truth, 
 however fundamental it may be, that I am entitled, and 
 even called on in the name of the Lord Jesus, to know 
 that I am dead to sin ; not that I must die, but that I 
 am dead — that my baptism means nothing less than 
 this, and is shorn of its most emphatic point if limited 
 merely to Christ's dying for my sins. It is not so alone ; 
 but in His death, unto which I am baptized, I am dead 
 to sin. And " how shall we that are dead to sin live 
 any longer therein ? " Hence, then, we find that the 
 whole chapter is founded on this truth. "Shall we 
 sin," says he, proceeding yet farther (ver. 15), " because 
 we are not under the law, but under grace?" This 
 were indeed to deny the value of His death, and of 
 that newness of life we have in Him risen, and a return 
 to bondage of the worst description. 
 
 In chapter vii. we have the subject of the law dis- 
 cussed for practice as well as in principle, and there 
 again meet with the same weapon of tried and unfailing 
 temper. It is no longer blood, but death— Christ's 
 death and resurrection. The figure of the relationship 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 31 
 
 of husband and wife is introduced in order to make 
 the matter plain. Death, and nothing short of it, 
 rightly dissolves the bond. We accordingly are dead, 
 says he, to the law ; not (as no doubt almost all of us 
 know) that the law dies, but that we are dead to the 
 law in the death of Christ. Compare verse 6 (where 
 the margin, not the text, is substantially correct) with 
 verse 4. Such is the principle. The rest of the chap- 
 ter (7-25) is an instructive episode, in which the 
 impotence and the misery of the renewed mind which 
 attempts practice under law are fully argued out, till 
 deliverance (not pardon) is found in Christ. 
 
 Thus the latter portion of the chapter is not doctrine 
 exactly, but the proof of the difficulties of a soul who 
 has not realised death to the law by the body of 
 Christ. Did this seem to treat the law that condemned 
 as an evil thing ? Not so, says the apostle ; it is because 
 of the evil of the nature, not of the law. The law 
 never delivers ; it condemns and kills us. It was 
 meant to make sin exceeding sinful. Hence, what he 
 is here discussing is not remission of sins, but deliver- 
 ance from sin. No wonder, if souls confound the two 
 things together, that they never know deliverance in 
 practice. Conscious deliverance, to be solid according 
 to God, must be in the line of His truth. In vain will 
 you preach Eomans iii., or even iv. alone, for souls to 
 know themselves consciously and holily set free. 
 
 From verse 14 there is an advance. There we find 
 Christian knowledge as to the matter introduced ; but 
 still it is the knowledge of one who is not in this state 
 pronouncing on one who is. You must carefully guard 
 against the notion of its being a question of Paul's 
 own experience, because he says, "/ had not known," 
 
32 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 " I was alive," &c. There is no good reason for such 
 an assumption, but much against it. It might be more 
 or less any man's lot to learn. It is not meant that 
 Paul knew nothing of this; but that the ground of 
 inference, and the general theory built up, are alike 
 mistaken. We have Paul informing us that he transfers 
 sometimes in a figure to himself that which was in no 
 wise necessarily his own experience, and perhaps had 
 not been so at any time. But this may be compara- 
 tively a light question. The great point is to note the 
 true picture given us of a soul quickened, but labour- 
 ing and miserable under law, not at all consciously 
 delivered. The last verses of the chapter, however, 
 bring in the deliverance — not yet the fulness of it, 
 but the hinge, so to speak. The discovery is made that 
 the source of the internal misery was that the mind, 
 though renewed, was occupied with the law as a means 
 of dealing with flesh. Hence the very fact of being 
 renewed makes one sensible of a far more intense 
 misery than ever, while there is no power until the soul 
 looks right outside self to Him who is dead and risen, 
 who has anticipated the difficulty, and alone gives the 
 full answer to all wants. 
 
 Chapter viii. displays this comforting truth in its 
 fulness. Prom the first verse we have the application 
 of the dead and risen Christ to the soul, till in verse 11 
 we see the power of the Holy Ghost, which brings the 
 soul into this liberty now, applied by-and-by to the 
 body, when there will be the complete deliverance. 
 "There is therefore now no condemnation to them 
 which are in Christ Jesus. For the law of tlie Spirit 
 of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law 
 of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 33 
 
 that it w*as weak through the flesh, God sending his 
 own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, 
 condemned sin in the flesh." A wondrous way, but 
 most blessed ! And there (for such was the point) it 
 was the complete condemnation of this evil thing, the 
 nature in its present state, so as, nevertheless, to set the 
 believer as before God's judgment free from itself as 
 well as its consequences. This God has wrought in 
 Christ. It is not in any degree settled as to itself by 
 His blood. The shedding of ms blood was absolutely 
 necessary : without that precious expiation all else had 
 been vain and impossible. But there is much more in 
 Christ than that to which too many souls restrict them- 
 selves, not less to their own loss than to His dishonour. 
 God has condemned the flesh. And here it may be 
 repeated that it is no question of pardoning the sinner, 
 but of condemning the fallen nature ; and this so as to 
 give the soul both power and a righteous immunity 
 from all internal anguish about it. For the truth is 
 that God has in Christ condemned sin, and this for sin 
 definitely ; so that He has nothing more to do in con- 
 demnation of that root of evil. What a title, then, God 
 gives me now in beholding Christ, no longer dead but 
 risen, to have it settled before my soul that I am in 
 Him as He now is, where all questions are closed in 
 peace and joy ! For what remains unsolved by and in 
 Christ? Once it was far otherwise. Before the cross 
 there hung out the gravest question that ever was 
 raised, and it needed settlement in this world ; but in 
 Christ sin is for ever abolished for the believer; and 
 this not only in respect of what He has done, but in 
 what He is. Till the cross, well might a converted 
 soul be found groaning in misery at each fresh discovery 
 
 D 
 
34 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 of evil in himself. But now to faith all this is gone — 
 not lightly, but truly — in the sight of God ; so that he 
 may live on a Saviour that is risen from the dead as 
 his new life. 
 
 Accordingly Romans viii. pursues in the most prac- 
 tical manner the liberty wherewith Christ has made 
 us free. First of all, the groundwork of it is laid in 
 the first four verses, the last of them leading into 
 every- day walk. And it is well for those ignorant of 
 it to know that here, in verse 4, the apostle speaks 
 first of "walking, not after the flesh, but after the 
 Spirit." The latter clause in the first verse of the 
 authorised version mars the sense. In the fourth verse 
 this could not be absent; in the first verse it ought 
 not to be present. Thus the deliverance is not merely 
 for the joy of the soul, but also for strength in our 
 walking after the Spirit, who has given and found 
 a nature in which He delights, communicating withal 
 His own delight in Christ, and making obedience to be 
 the joyful service of the believer. The believer, there- 
 fore, unwittingly though really, dishonours the Saviour, 
 if he be content to walk short of this standard and 
 power; he is entitled and called to walk according to 
 his place, and in the confidence of his deliverance in 
 Christ Jesus before God. 
 
 Then the domains of flesh and Spirit are brought 
 before us: the one characterized by sin and death 
 practically now; the other by life, righteousness, and 
 peace, which is, as we saw, to be crowned finally by the 
 resurrection of these bodies of ours. The Holy Ghost, 
 who now gives the soul its consciousness of deliverance 
 from its place in Christ, is also the witness that the 
 body too, the mortal body, shall be delivered in its time. 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 35 
 
 " 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 [or be- 
 cause of] his Spirit that dwelleth in you." 
 
 Next, he enters upon another branch of the truth — 
 the Spirit not as a condition contrasted with flesh 
 (these two, as we know, being always contrasted in 
 Scripture), but as a power, a divine person that dwells 
 in and bears His witness to the believer. His witness 
 to our spirit is this, — that we are children of God. But 
 if children, we are His heirs. This accordingly leads, 
 as connected with the deliverance of the body, to the 
 inheritance we are to possess. The extent is what 
 God Himself, so to speak, possesses — the universe of 
 God, whatever will be under Christ : and what will 
 not ? As He has made all, so He is heir of all. We 
 are heirs of God, and joint -heirs with Christ. 
 
 Hence the action of the Spirit of God in a double 
 point of view comes before us. As He is the spring of 
 our joy, He is the power of sympathy in our sorrows, 
 and the believer knows both. The faith of Christ has 
 brought divine joy into his soul ; but, in point of fact, 
 he is traversing a world of infirmity, suffering, and 
 grief Wonderful to think the Spirit of God associates 
 Himself with us in it all, deigning to give us divine 
 feelings even in our poor and narrow hearts. This 
 occupies the central part of the chapter, which then 
 closes with the unfailing and faithful power of God for 
 us in all our experiences here below. As He has given 
 us through the blood of Jesus full remission, as we 
 shall be saved by this life, as He has made us know 
 even now nothing short of present conscious deliver- 
 ance from every w^hit of evil that belongs to our very 
 
 D 2 
 
36 INTRODUCTOEY LECTURES. 
 
 nature, as we have the Spirit the earnest of the glory 
 to which we are destined, as we are the vessels of 
 gracious sorrow in the midst of that from which we are 
 not yet delivered but shall be, so now we have the 
 certainty that, whatever betide, God is for us, and that 
 nothing shall separate us from His love which is in 
 Christ Jesus our Lord. 
 
 Then, in chapters ix.-xi., the apostle handles a 
 difficulty serious to any mind, especially to the Jew, 
 who might readily feel that all this display of grace in 
 Christ to the Gentile as much as to the Jew by the 
 gospel seems to make very cheap the distinctive place of 
 Israel as given of God. If the good news of God goes 
 out to man, entirely blotting out the difference between 
 a Jew and a Gentile, what becomes of His special pro- 
 mises to Abraham and to his seed ? What about His 
 word passed and sworn to the fathers? The apostle 
 shows them with astonishing force at the starting-point 
 that he was far from slighting their privileges. He 
 lays down such a summary as no Jew ever gave since 
 they were a nation. He brings out the peculiar glories 
 of Israel according to the depth of the gospel as he 
 knew and preached it; at least, of His person who is 
 the object of faith now revealed. Far from denying or 
 obscuring what they boasted of, he goes beyond them — 
 " Who are Israelites," says he, " to whom pertaineth the 
 adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the 
 giving of the law, and the service of God, and the pro- 
 mises ; whose are the fathers, and of whom as con- 
 cerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all God 
 blessed for ever." Here was the very truth that every 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 37 
 
 Jew, as such, denied. "What blindness ! Their crown- 
 ing glory was precisely what tliey would not hear of. 
 What glory so rich as that of the Christ Himself duly 
 appreciated? He was God over all blessed for ever, 
 as well as their Messiah. Him who came in humiliation, 
 according to their prophets, they might despise ; but it 
 was vain to deny that the same prophets bore witness 
 to His divine glory. He was Emmanuel, yea, the 
 Jehovah, God of Israel. Thus then, if Paul gave his 
 own sense of Jewish privileges, there was no unbeliev- 
 ing Jew that rose up to his estimate of them. 
 
 But now, to meet the question that was raised, they 
 pleaded the distinguishing promises to Israel. Upon 
 what ground? Because they were sons of Abraham. 
 But how, argues he, could this stand, seeing that Abra- 
 ham had another son, just as much his child as Isaac ? 
 What did they say to Ishmaelites as joint-heirs ? They 
 would not hear of it. No, they cry, it is in Isaac's 
 seed that the Jew was called. Yes, but this is another 
 principle. If in Isaac only, it is a question of the 
 seed, not that was born, but that was called. Conse- 
 quently the call of God, and not the birth simply, 
 makes the real difference. Did they venture to plead 
 that it must be not only the same father, but the same 
 mother ? The answer is, that this wiU not do one whit 
 better ; for when we come down to the next generation, 
 it is apparent that the two sons of Isaac were sons of 
 the same mother ; nay, they were twins. What could 
 be conceived closer or more even than this ? Surely if 
 equal birth-tie could ensure community of blessing — if 
 a charter from God depended on being sprung from the 
 same father and mother, there was no case so strong, no 
 claim so evident, as that of Esau to take the same 
 
38 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 rights as Jacob. Why would they not allow such a 
 pretension ? Was it not sure and evident that Israel 
 could not take the promise on the ground of mere 
 connection after the flesh ? Birthright from the same 
 father would let in Ishmael on the one hand, as from 
 both parents it would secure the title of Esau on the 
 other. Clearly, then, such ground is untenable. In 
 point of fact, as he had hinted before, their true tenure 
 was the call of God, who was free, if He pleased, 
 to bring in other people. It became simply a question 
 whether, in fact, God did call Gentiles, or whether He 
 had revealed such intentions. 
 
 But he meets their proud exclusiveness in another way. 
 He shows that, on the responsible ground of being His 
 nation, they were wholly ruined. If the first book in 
 the Bible showed that it was only the call of God that 
 made Israel what they were, its second book as clearly 
 proved that all was over with the called people, had it 
 not been for the mercy of God. They set up the golden 
 calf, and thus cast off the true God, their God, even 
 in the desert. Did the call of God, then, go out to 
 Gentiles ? Has He mercy only for guilty Israel ? Is 
 there no call, no mercy, of God for any besides ? 
 
 Hereupon he enters upon the direct proofs, and first 
 cites Hosea as a witness. That early prophet tells 
 Israel, that in the place where it was said unto them. 
 Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them. 
 Ye are the sons of the living God. Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah, 
 and Lo-ammi were of awful import for Israel ; but, in 
 presence of circumstances so disastrous, there should be 
 not merely a people but sons of the living God, and 
 then should Judah and Israel be gathered as one people 
 under one head. The application of this was more 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 39 
 
 evident to the Gentile than to the Jew. Compare 
 Peter's use in his first epistle, chap. ii. 10. Finally he 
 brings in Isaiah, showing that, far from retaining their 
 blessing as an unbroken people, a remnant alone would 
 be saved. Thus one could not fail to see these two 
 weighty inferences : the bringing in to be G-od's sons of 
 those that had not been His people, and the judgment 
 and destruction of the great mass of His undoubted 
 people. Of these only a remnant would be saved. On 
 both sides therefore the apostle is meeting the grand 
 points he had at heart to demonstrate from their own 
 Scriptures. 
 
 For all this, as he presses further, there was the 
 weightiest reason possible. God is gracious, but holy; 
 He is faithfal, but righteous. The apostle refers to 
 Isaiah to show that God would "lay in Zion a stum- 
 bling-stone." It is in Zion that He lays it. It is not 
 among the Gentiles, but in the honoured centre of the 
 polity of Israel. There would be found a stumbling- 
 stone there. What was to be the stumbling-stone ? Of 
 course, it could hardly be the law : that was the boast 
 of Israel. What was it ? There could be but one satis- 
 factory answer. The stumbling-stone was their despised 
 and rejected Messiah. This was the key to their diffi- 
 culties — this alone, and fully explains their coming ruin 
 as well as God's solemn warnings. 
 
 In the next chapter (x.) he carries on the subject, 
 showing in the most touching manner his affection for 
 the people. He at the same time unfolds the essential 
 difference between the righteousness of faith and that 
 of law. He takes their own books, and proves from one 
 of them (Deuteronomy) that in the ruin of Israel the 
 
40 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 resource is not going into the depths, nor going np to 
 heaven. Christ indeed did both ; and so the word was 
 nigh them, in their mouth and in their heart. It is not 
 doing, but lelieving; therefore it is what is proclaimed 
 to them, and what they receive and believe. Along 
 with this he gathers testimonies from more than one 
 prophet. He quotes from Joel, that whosoever shall 
 call upon the name of the Lord sh&U be saved. He 
 quotes also from Isaiah — "Whosoever believeth on Him 
 shall not be ashamed." And mark the force of it — 
 "Whosoever." The believer, whosoever he might be, 
 should not be ashamed. Was it possible to limit this to 
 Israel? But more than this — "Whosoever shall call." 
 There is the double prophecy. Whosoever believed 
 should not be ashamed; whosoever called should be 
 saved. In both parts, as it may be observed, the door 
 is opened to the Gentile. 
 
 But then again he intimates that the nature of the 
 gospel is involved in the publishing of the glad tidings. 
 It is not God having an earthly centre, and the peoples 
 coming up to worship the Lord in Jerusalem. It is the 
 going forth of His richest blessing. And where ? How 
 far? To the limits of the holy land? Far beyond. 
 Psalm xix. is used in the most beautiful manner to 
 insinuate that the limits are the world. Just as the sun 
 in the heavens is not for one people or land alone, no 
 more is the gospel. There is no language where their 
 voice is not heard. " Yea verily, their sound went forth 
 into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of 
 the world." The gospel goes forth universally. Jewish 
 pretensions were therefore disposed of; not here by 
 new and fuller revelations, but by this divinely skilful 
 employment of their own Old Testament Scriptures. 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 41 
 
 Finally he comes to two other witnesses ; as from the 
 Psalms, so now from the law and the prophets. The first 
 is Moses himself. Moses saith, " I will provoke you to 
 jealousy by them that are no people," &c. How could 
 the Jews say that this meant themselves ? On the 
 contrary, it was the Jew provoked by the Gentiles — 
 " By them that are no people, and by a foolish nation 
 I will anger you." Did they deny that they were a 
 foolish nation ? Be it so then ; it was a foolish nation 
 by which Moses declared they should be angered. But 
 this does not content the apostle, or rather the Spirit of 
 God ; for he goes on to point out that Isaiah " is very 
 bold" in a similar way; that is, there is no concealing 
 the truth of the matter. Isaiah says : " I was found of 
 them who sought me not; I was made manifest unto 
 them that asked not after me." The Jews were the 
 last in the world to take such ground as this. It was 
 undeniable that the Gentiles did not seek the Lord, nor 
 ask after Him ; and the prophet says that Jehovah was 
 found of them that sought Him not, and was made 
 manifest to them that asked not after Him. ISTor is 
 there only the manifest call of the Gentiles in this, but 
 with no less clearness there is the rejection, at any 
 rate for a time, of proud Israel. " But unto Israel he 
 saith. All day long have I stretched out my hands unto 
 a disobedient and gainsaying people." 
 
 Thus the proof was complete. The Gentiles — the 
 despised heathen — were to be brought in; the self- 
 satisfied Jews are left behind, justly and beyond ques- 
 tion, if they believed the law and the prophets. 
 
 But did this satisfy the apostle ? It was undoubtedly 
 enough for present purposes. The past history of 
 
42 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Israel was sketched in Romans ix.; the present more 
 immediately is before us in chapter x. The future must 
 be brought in by the grace of God ; and this he accord- 
 ingly gives us at the close of chapter xi First, he raises 
 the question, " Has God cast away his people ?" Let it 
 not be ! Was he not himself, says Paul, a proof to the 
 contrary ? Then he enlarges, and points out that there 
 is a remnant of grace in the worst of times. If God 
 had absolutely cast away His people, would there be 
 such mercy? There would be no remnant if justice 
 took its course. The remnant proves, then, that even 
 under judgment the rejection of Israel is not complete, 
 but rather a pledge of future favour. This is the first 
 ground. 
 
 The second plea is not that the rejection of Israel 
 is only partial, however extensive, but that it is also 
 temporary, and not definitive. This is to fall back 
 on a principle he had already used. God was rather 
 provoking Israel to jealousy by the call of the Gentiles. 
 But if it were so. He had not done with them. Thus 
 the first argument shows that the rejection was not 
 total ; the second, that it was but for a season. 
 
 But there is a third. Following up with the teaching 
 of the olive-tree, he carries out the same thought of a 
 remnant that abides on their own stock, and points to 
 a re-instatement of the nation. And I would just 
 observe by the way, that the Gentile cry that no Jew 
 ever accepts the gospel in truth is a falsehood. Israel 
 is indeed the only people of whom there is always a 
 portion that believe. Time was when none of the 
 English, nor French, nor of any other nation believed 
 in the Saviour. There never was an hour since Israel's 
 existence as a nation that God has not had His remnant 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 43 
 
 of them. Such has been their singular fruit of promise ; 
 such even in the midst of all their misery it is at pre- 
 sent. And as that little remnant is ever sustained by 
 the grace of God, it is the standing pledge of their 
 final blessedness through His mercy, whereon the 
 apostle breaks out into raptures of thanksgiving to 
 God. The day hastens when the Eedeemer sliall come 
 to Zion. He shall come, says one Testament, out of 
 Zion. He shall come to Zion, says the other. In both 
 Old and New it is the same substantial testimony. 
 Thither He shall come, and thence go forth. He shall 
 own that once glorious seat of royalty in Israel. Zion 
 shall yet behold her mighty, divine, but once despised 
 Deliverer; and when He thus comes, there will be a 
 deliverance suited to His glory. All Israel shall be 
 saved, God, therefore, had not cast off His people, but 
 was employing the interval of their slip from their 
 place, in consequence of their rejection of Christ, to call 
 the Gentiles in sovereign mercy, after which Israel as a 
 whole should be saved. " the depth of the riches 
 both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how un- 
 searchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding 
 out 1 For who hath known the mind of the Lord ? or 
 who hath been his counsellor ? or who hath first given 
 to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 
 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things : 
 to whom be glory for ever." 
 
 The rest of the epistle takes up the practical conse- 
 quences of the great doctrine of God's righteousness, 
 which had been now shown to be supported by, and in 
 no wise inconsistent with. His promises to Israel. The 
 
44 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 whole history of Israel, past, present, and future, falls 
 in with, although quite distinct from, that which he 
 had been expounding. Here I shall be very brief. 
 
 Chapter xii looks at the mutual duties of the saints. 
 Chapter xiii. urges their duties towards what was out- 
 side them, more particularly to the powers that be, but 
 also to men in general. Love is the great debt that we 
 owe, which never can be paid, but which we should 
 always be paying. The chapter closes with the day of 
 the Lord in its practical force on the Christian walk. 
 In chapter xiv. and the beginning of xv. we have the 
 delicate theme of Christian forbearance in its limits 
 and largeness. The weak are not to judge the strong, 
 and the strong are not to despise the weak. These 
 things are matters of conscience, and depend much for 
 their solution on the degree to which souls have attained. 
 The subject terminates with the grand truth which must 
 never be obscured by details — that we are to receive 
 one another, as Christ has received us, to the glory of 
 God. In the rest of chapter xv. the apostle dwells on 
 the extent of his apostleship, renews his expression 
 of the thought and hope of visiting Eome, and at the 
 same time shows how well he remembered the need of 
 the poor at Jerusalem. Chapter xvi. brings before us 
 in the most instructive and interesting manner the 
 links that grace practically forms and maintains be- 
 tween the saints of God. Though he had never visited 
 Eome, many of them were known personally. It is 
 exquisite — the delicate love with which he singles out 
 distinctive features in each of the saints, men and 
 women, that come before him. Would that the Lord 
 would give us hearts to remember, as well as eyes to 
 see, according to His own grace ! Then follows a warn- 
 
ON THE EPISTLE TO THE EOMANS. 45 
 
 ing against those who bring in stumbling-blocks and 
 offences. There is evil at work, and grace does not 
 close the eye to danger; at the same time it is never 
 under the pressure of the enemy, and there is the 
 fuUest confidence that the God of peace will break the 
 power of Satan under the feet of the saints shortly. 
 
 Last of all, the apostle links up this fundamental 
 treatise of divine righteousness in its doctrine, its dis- 
 pensational bearings, and its exhortations to the walk of 
 Christians, with higher truth, which it would not have 
 been suitable then to bring out ; for grace considers the 
 state and the need of the saints. True ministry gives 
 out not merely truth, but suited truth to the saints. At 
 the same time the apostle does allude to that mystery 
 which was not yet divulged — at least, in this epistle; 
 but he points from the foundations of eternal truth 
 to those heavenly heights that were reserved for other 
 communications in due time. 
 
46 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 riEST COEINTHIANS. 
 
 As usual, the introductory words (verses 1-3) of the 
 epistle give us no little intimation of that which is to 
 follow. The apostle speaks of himself as such — 
 " called [to be] an apostle of Jesus Christ through the 
 will of God/' but coupling a brother with him, " and 
 Sosthenes our brother," he writes to " the church of God 
 at Corinth " — not to the saints, as was the case in the 
 epistle to the Eomans, but to the church at Corinth — 
 " to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus," as in the 
 former epistle — " called [to be] saints, with all that in 
 every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our 
 Lord, both theirs and ours." 
 
 This will be found to lead the way into the main 
 subject of the present communication. Here we must 
 not look for the great foundations of Christian doctrine. 
 There is the unfolding of the assembly in a practical 
 way; that is, the church of God is not viewed here in 
 its highest character. There is no more than an inci- 
 dental glance at its associations with Christ. No notice 
 is here taken of the heavenly places as the sphere of 
 our blessing; nor are we given to hear of the bridal 
 affections of Christ for His body. But the assembly of 
 God is addressed, those sanctified in Christ Jesus, 
 saints called, " with all that in every place call upon 
 the name of Jesus Christ our Lord." Thus room is left 
 
ON FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 47 
 
 for the profession of the Lord's name. It is not, as in 
 Ephesians, "to the saints which are in Ephesus, and to 
 the faithful in Christ Jesus." There is no such close- 
 ness of application, nor intimacy, nor confidence in a 
 really intrinsically holy character. Sanctified they were 
 in Christ Jesus. They had taken the place of being 
 separate, " calling upon the name of the Lord ; " but 
 the remarkable addition should be noticed by the way 
 — " with all that in every place call upon the name of 
 the Lord, both theirs and ours." And this is the 
 more notable, because if there be an epistle which the 
 unbelief of Christendom tries more than another to 
 annul in its application to present circumstances, it is 
 this first letter to the Corinthians. Nor need we 
 wonder. Unbelief shrinks from that which calls, now 
 rather recalls, the saints to a due sense of their respon- 
 sibility in virtue of their position as the church of 
 God here below. Those at Corinth had forgotten it. 
 Christendom has not merely forgotten but denied it, 
 and so would fain^ treat a large part of that which will 
 come before us to-night as a bygone thing. It is not 
 disputed that God did thus work in times past; but 
 they have not the smallest serious thought of submit- 
 ting to its directions as authoritative for present duty. 
 Yet who can deny that God has taken more care to 
 make this plain and certain in the very frontispiece of 
 this epistle than anywhere else ? He is wise and right : 
 man is not. Our place is to bow and believe. 
 
 There is another point also to be weighed in the next 
 verses (4-8). The apostle tells them how he thanks 
 his God always on their behalf, but refrains from any 
 expression of thankfulness as to their state. He recog- 
 nises their rich endowments on God's part. He owns 
 
48 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 how they had been given all utterance, and all know- 
 ledge, the working of the Spirit of God, and His power. 
 This is exceedingly important ; for there is a disposition 
 often to consider that difficulties and disorder among 
 the saints of God are due to a want of government and 
 of ministerial power. But no amount of gift, in few or 
 many, can of itself produce holy spiritual order. 
 Disorder is never the result of weakness alone. This, 
 of course, may be taken advantage of, and Satan may 
 tempt men to assume the semblance of a strength they 
 do not j)ossess. No doubt assumption would produce 
 disorder ; but weakness simply (where it leads souls, as 
 it should, to spread out their need before the Lord) 
 brings in the gracious action of the Holy Ghost, and 
 the unfailing care of Him who loves His saints and 
 the assembly. It was not so at Corinth. Theirs was 
 rather the display of conscious strength; but at the 
 same time they lacked the fear of God, and the sense of 
 responsibility in the use of what God had given them. 
 They were like children disporting themselves with 
 not a little energy that wrought in vessels which 
 altogether failed in self-judgment. This was a source, 
 and a main source, of the difficulty and disorder at 
 Corinth. It is also of great importance to us ; for there 
 are those that continually cry out for increase of power 
 as the one panacea of the church. What reflecting 
 spiritual mind could doubt that God sees His saints 
 are not able to bear it ? Power in the sense in which 
 we are now speaking of it — that is, power in the form 
 of gift — is far from being the deepest need or the 
 gravest desideratum of the saints. Again, is it ever 
 the way of God to display Himself thus in a fallen 
 condition of things ? Not that He is restrained, or that 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 49 
 
 He is not Sovereign. Not, moreover, that He may not 
 give, and liberally, as suits His own glory ; but He 
 gives wisely and holily, so as to lead souls now into 
 exercise of conscience and brokenness of spirit, and thus 
 keep and even deepen their sense of that to which God's 
 church is called, and the state into which it has fallen. 
 At Corinth there was a wholly different state of 
 things. It was the early rise of the church of God, 
 if I may so say, among the Gentiles. And there was 
 not wanting an astonishing sample of the power of the 
 Spirit in witness of the victory that Jesus had won 
 over Satan. This was now, or at least should have 
 been, manifested by the church of God, as at Corinth. 
 But they had lost sight of God's objects. They were 
 occupied with themselves, with one another, with the 
 supernatural energy which grace had conferred on them 
 in the name of the Lord. The Holy Ghost in inspiring 
 the apostle to write to them in no way weakens the 
 sense of the source and character of that power. He 
 insists on its reality, and reminds them that it was of 
 God ; but at the same time he brings in the divine aim 
 in it all. "God," says he, "is faithful, by whom ye 
 were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ 
 our Lord." Immediately after he alludes to the schisms 
 that were then at work among them, and calls on them 
 to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in 
 the samG judgment; informing them of the tidings 
 which had reached him through the house of Chloe, 
 that there were contentions among them, some saying, 
 "I am of Paul," others "I am of Apollos;" some, "I 
 am of Cephas," and others "I am of Christ himself" 
 There is no abuse to which flesh cannot degrade the 
 truth. But the apostle knew how to introduce the 
 
 E 
 
60 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Lord's name and grace with tlie grandly simple but 
 weighty facts of His person and work. It was unto 
 His name that they were baptized ; it was He that had 
 been crucified. And be it observed, that from the first 
 of this epistle it is the cross of Christ that has the 
 prominence. It is not so much His blood-shedding, 
 nor even His death and resurrection, but His cross. 
 This would have been as much out of place in the 
 beginning of Eomans as the putting forward of pro- 
 pitiation would be out of place here. Expiation of sins 
 by Christ, His death and resurrection, are given of God 
 to be displayed before the saints, who needed to know 
 the firm, immutable foundation of grace ; but what the 
 saints wanted most was to learn the gross inconsistency 
 of turning to selfish ease, honour, and aggrandisement 
 the privileges of God's church, and the power of the 
 Spirit of God that wrought in its members. 
 
 It is the cross which stains the pride of man, and 
 puts all his glory in the dust. Hence the apostle brings 
 Christ crucified before them. This to the Jew was a 
 stumblingblock, and to the Greek foolishness. These 
 Corinthians were deeply affected by the judgment of 
 both Jews and Greeks. They were under the influence 
 of man. They had not realized the total ruin of nature. 
 They valued those that were wise, scribes, or disputers 
 of this world. They were accustomed to the schools 
 of their age and country. They conceived that if 
 Christianity did such great things when those who 
 possessed it were poor and simple, what might it not 
 do if it could only be backed by the ability, and the 
 learning, and the philosophy of men ! How it must 
 ride triumphantly to victory ! How the great must 
 bow, and the wise be brought in ! What a glorious 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 51 
 
 change would result when not the unlettered poor only, 
 but the great and the noble, the wise and the prudent, 
 were all joined in the confession of Jesus ! 
 
 Their thoughts were fleshly, not of God. The cross 
 writes judgment on man, and folly on his wisdom, as it 
 is itself rejected by man as folly ; for what could seem 
 more egregiously unreasonable to a Greek than the God 
 that made heaven and earth becoming a man, and, as 
 such, crucified by the wicked hands of His creatures 
 here below ? That God should use His power to bless 
 man was natural ; and the Gentile could coalesce as to it 
 with the Jew. Hence too, in the cross, the Jew found his 
 stumblingblock ; for he expected a Messiah in power 
 and glory. Though the Jew and the Greek seemed 
 opposite as the poles, from different points they agreed 
 thoroughly in slighting the cross, and in desiring the 
 exaltation of man as he is. They both, therefore, (what- 
 ever their occasional oppositions, and whatever their 
 permanent variety of form,) preferred the flesh, and 
 were ignorant of God — the one demanding signs, the 
 other wisdom. It was the pride of nature, whether 
 self-confident or founded on religious claims. 
 
 Hence the apostle Paul, in the latter part of chap, i., 
 brings in the cross of Christ in contrast with fleshly 
 wisdom, as well as religious pride, urging also God's 
 sovereignty in calling souls as He will. He alludes to 
 the mystery (chap, ii.), but does not develope here the 
 blessed privileges that flowed to us from a union with 
 Christ, dead, risen, and ascended; but demonstrates 
 that man has no place whatever, that it is God who 
 chooses and calls, and that He makes nothing of flesh. 
 There is glorying, but it is exclusively in the Lord. 
 " No flesh should glory in his presence." 
 
 E 2 
 
52 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 This is confirmed in chapter ii, where the apostle 
 reminds them of the manner in which the gospel had 
 entered Corinth. He had come there setting his face 
 against all things that would commend himself No 
 doubt, to one of such eminent ability and such varied 
 gifts as the apostle Paul, it was hard, to speak after the 
 manner of men, to be nothing. How much it must 
 have called for self-denial utterly to decline that which 
 he could have handled so well, and which people at 
 Corinth would have hailed with loud acclamation. Just 
 think of the great apostle of the Gentiles, on the im- 
 mortality of the soul, giving free rein to the mighty 
 spirit that was in him 1 But not so. What absorbed 
 his soul, in entering the intellectual and dissolute 
 capital of Achaia, was the cross of Christ. He deter- 
 mined therefore, as he says, to know nothing else — not 
 exactly to know the cross alone, but " Jesus Christ and 
 him crucified." It was emphatically, though not ex- 
 clusively, the cross. It was not simply redemption, 
 but along with this another order of truth. Eedemp- 
 tion supposes, undoubtedly, a suffering Saviour, and the 
 shedding of that precious blood which ransoms the 
 captives. It is Jesus who in grace has undergone the 
 judgment of God, and brought in the full delivering 
 power of God for the souls that believe. But the cross 
 is more than this. It is the death of shame pre- 
 eminently. It is utter opposition to the thoughts, 
 feelings, judgments, and ways of men, religious or pro- 
 fane. This is the part accordingly that he was led in 
 the wisdom of God to put forward. Hence the feelings 
 of the apostle were distrust of self, and dependence on 
 God according to that cross. As he says, " I was with 
 you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling." 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 53 
 
 Thus, as Christ Himself is said in 2 Cor. xiii. to be 
 crucified in weakness, such was also the servant here. 
 His speech and his preaching was "not in enticing 
 words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the 
 Spirit and of power." Accordingly, in this chapter he 
 proceeds to supplement the application of the doctrine 
 of the cross to the state of the Corinthians by bringing 
 in the Holy Ghost ; for this again supposes the incapa- 
 city of man in divine things. 
 
 All is opened out in a manner full of comfort, but 
 at the same time unsparing to human pride. Weigh 
 from the prophecy of Isaiah the remarkable quotation — 
 "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have en- 
 tered into the heart of man, the things which God hath 
 prepared for them that love him. But God hath re- 
 vealed them unto us by his Spirit." There is first the 
 great standing fact before our eyes. Such is the Sa- 
 viour to the saved. Christ crucified is the death-knell 
 on all man's wisdom, and power, and righteousness. The 
 cross writes total condemnation on the world. It was 
 here the world had to say to Jesus. All that it gave 
 Him was the cross. On the other hand, to the believer 
 it is the power of God and the wisdom of God, 
 because he humbly but willingly reads in the cross the 
 truth of the judgment of his own nature as a thing to 
 be delivered from, and finds Him that was crucified, 
 the Lord Himself, undertaking a deliverance just, pre- 
 sent, and complete; as he says, "Of him are ye in 
 Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, 
 and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." 
 Flesh is absolutely put down. Man cannot go lower 
 for weakness and ignominy than the cross on which 
 hangs all the blessedness God gives the believer. And 
 
54 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 therein God is glorified as He is nowhere else. This in 
 both its parts is exactly as it should be ; and faith sees 
 and receives it in Christ's cross. The state of the 
 Corinthians did not admit of Christ risen being brought 
 in, at least here. It might have drawn a halo, as it 
 were, round human nature — this presenting the risen 
 man in the first instance. But he points to God as the 
 source, and Christ as the channel and means, of all the 
 blessing. " Of him," says he, " are ye in Christ Jesus, 
 who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, 
 and sanctification, and redemption." But then, as he 
 shows, there was not only this great source of blessing 
 in Christ, but there is the power that works in us. 
 Never is it the spirit of man that lays hold of this 
 infinite good which God vouchsafes him. Man requires 
 a divine power to work within him, just as he needs 
 the Saviour outside himself 
 
 Accordingly, in chapter ii., still carrying on the 
 thought of Christ crucified, and connecting it with 
 their condition, he intimates that he was in no wise 
 limited to it. If persons were grounded in Christianity, 
 he was prepared to go into the greatest depths of re- 
 vealed truth; but then the power of entering safely 
 was not human, but of the Holy Ghost. Man is no 
 more capable of fathoming the depths of divine things 
 them a brute can comprehend the works of human wit 
 or science. This doctrine was utterly repulsive to the 
 pride of the Greeks. They might admit man to have 
 need of pardon, and of moral improvement. They fully 
 admitted his want of instruction, and refinement, and, 
 so to speak, of spiritualization, if it only might be. 
 Christianity deepens our estimate of every want. Man 
 not only wants a new life or nature, but the Holy 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 55 
 
 Ghost. It is not merely His grace in a general sense, 
 but the power of the Holy Ghost personally dwelling in 
 him. It is this alone which can lead us into the deep 
 things of God. And this, he lets us see, affects not 
 merely this particular or that, but the whole working 
 of divine grace and power in man. The whole and sole 
 means of communicating blessing to us must be the 
 Holy Ghost. Hence he insists, that as it is the Spirit 
 of God in the first place who reveals the truth to us, so 
 it is the same Spirit who furnishes suitable words, as, 
 finally, it is through the Holy Ghost that one receives 
 the truth revealed in the words He Himself has given. 
 Thus, from first to last, it is a process begun, carried on, 
 and completed by the Holy Ghost. How Little this 
 makes of man ! 
 
 This introduces the third chapter and gives point to 
 his rebukes. He taxes them with walking as men. 
 How remarkable is such a reproach ! Walking as men ! 
 Why, one might ask, how else could they walk ? And 
 this very difiiculty — as no doubt it would be to many 
 a Christian now (that walking as men should be a 
 reproach) — was no doubt a clap of thunder to the proud 
 but poor spirits at Corinth. Yes, walking as men is a 
 departure from Christianity. It is to give up the dis- 
 tinctive power and place that belongs to us; for does 
 not Christianity show us man judged, condemned, -and 
 set aside ? On the faith of this, living in Christ, we 
 have to walk. The Holy Ghost, besides, is brought in 
 as working in the believer, and this, of course, in virtue 
 of redemption by our Lord Jesus. And this is what 
 is meant by being not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, 
 which is proved by the Holy Ghost dwelling in us. 
 
 Here the apostle does not explain all this, and he 
 
56 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 gives a very withering reason for his reticence. These 
 Corinthians had an uncommonly good opinion of them- 
 selves, and so they must be told plainly the reason why 
 he does not open out these deep things. They them- 
 selves were not fit ; they were but babes. What ! the 
 polished Greek believers no more than babes ! This 
 was rather what they would have said of the apostle 
 or of his teaching. They thought themselves far in 
 advance. The apostle had dwelt on the elementary 
 truths of the gospel. They yearned after the fire of 
 Peter and the rhetoric of Apollos. No doubt they 
 might easily flatter themselves it was to carry on the 
 work of God. How little many a young convert knows 
 what will best lead him on ! How little the Corinthians 
 dreamt of depreciating the Second man, or of exalting 
 the first ! Hence the apostle tells them that he could 
 not speak unto them as unto spiritual, but as unto 
 carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. " I have fed you 
 with milk, and not with meat." Far from denying, he 
 owns that their insinuation was true — he had only 
 brought before them elementary truths. They were 
 not in a condition to bear more. Now this is full of 
 meaning and importance practically at all times. We 
 may damage souls greatly by presenting high truths to 
 those that want the simplest rudiments of divine truth. 
 The apostle, as a wise master-builder, laid the foun- 
 dation, The state of the Corinthians was such that he 
 co^ld not build on the foundation as he would have 
 desired. His absence had given occasion for the break- 
 ing out of their carnal wishes after the world's wisdom. 
 They were making even the ardour of a Peter and the 
 eloquence of an Apollos to be a reason for dissatisfaction 
 with one that, I need not say, was superior to both 
 
THE FIEST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 57 
 
 of them. But the apostle meets them in a way most 
 unexpected to their self-satisfactiou and pride, and lets 
 them know that their carnality was the real reason why 
 he could not go on with them into deeper things. 
 
 This leads him to point out the seriousness of the 
 work or building ; for he presents the church of God 
 under this figure. What care each servant needs to 
 take how and what he builds ! What danger of bring- 
 ing in that which would not stand the fire or judgment 
 of God — nay, further, of bringing in that which was 
 not simply weak and worthless, but positively corrupt- 
 ing; for it was to be feared there were such elements 
 even then at Corinth! Again he brings in another 
 principle to bear upon them. Their party spirit, their 
 feeling of narrowness, the disposition to set up this 
 servant of Christ or that, was not only a dishonour to 
 the Master, but a real loss to themselves. Not that 
 there is any ground to suppose it was the fault of Peter 
 or Apollos any more than of Paul. The evil was in 
 the saints themselves, who indulged in their old zeal 
 of the schools, and allowed their natural partiality to 
 work. In point of fact this never can be without the 
 most grievous impoverishment to the soul, as well as 
 a hindrance to the Holy Ghost. What faith must learn 
 is, that " all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, 
 
 or Cephas; all are yours." Thus the subject 
 
 enlarges, as is his wont, taking in an immense breadth 
 of the Christiau's possessions — life, death, things pre- 
 sent, and things to come. "All are yours, and ye are 
 Christ's, and Christ is God's." 
 
 This again brings in another point before the subject 
 closes. He is not content with the pressing of responsi- 
 bility on others; he had a solemn sense of his own 
 
58 INTRODUCTOKY LECTURES. 
 
 place, wkich made him wonderfully independent of the 
 judgments of men. Obedience gives firmness as well 
 as humility. Not in the smallest degree was the pride 
 of the Corinthians met by pride on his part, but by 
 keeping the Lord and His will before his soul. Yet 
 this is certainly true that this effect of faith looks 
 like pride to a man who merely views things on the 
 surface. The calm going on in the service of Christ, 
 the endurance of this spirit or that, as no more than 
 the idle wind, was no doubt exceedingly unpleasant to 
 such as were wise in their own conceit, and valued 
 the criticism they freely bestowed on the different 
 servants of the Lord. But Paul sees all in the light of 
 the eternal day. They had forgotten this, and were in 
 a sense trafficking with these powers of the Spirit of 
 God. They were making them the counters of a game 
 they were playing in this world. They had forgotten 
 that what God gives He gives in time, but in view of 
 eternity. The apostle puts the truth of the case before 
 their souls as he had it vividly before his own. (Ch. iv.) 
 Another thing is noticeable here. He had reproached 
 them with walking not as Christians but as men (that 
 is, with their habitual life and conversation formed on 
 human principles instead of divine). On the other 
 hand, it would appear from what follows, that they 
 reproached the apostle in their hearts, — not, of course, in 
 so many words, — with not being enough of a gentleman 
 for their taste. This seems to me the gist of the fourth 
 chapter. It was a thing that they considered quite 
 beneath a Christian minister to work from time to time 
 with his hands, often poor, occasionally in prison, 
 knocked about by crowds, and so on. All this they 
 thought the fruit of indiscretion and avoidable. They 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 59 
 
 would have preferred respectability, public and private, 
 in one who stood in the position of a servant of Christ. 
 This the apostle meets in a very blessed way. He 
 admitted that they were certainly not in such circum- 
 stances ; they were reigning as kings. As for him it was 
 enough to be the off-scouring of all men, this was his 
 boast and blessedness. He wished that they did indeed 
 reign, that he might reign with them (that the blessed 
 time might really arrive). How his heart would rejoice 
 in that day with them ! And surely the time will come, 
 and they would all reign together when Christ reigns 
 over the earth. But he quite admits that for the pre- 
 sent the fellowship of Christ's sufferings was the place 
 he had chosen. Of honour in the world, and ease for 
 the flesh, he at least could not, if they could, boast. 
 Present greatness was what he in no wise coveted ; to 
 suffer great things for His sake was what the Lord had 
 promised, and what His servant expected in becoming 
 an apostle. If his own service was the highest position 
 in the church, his was certainly the lowest position in 
 the world. This was as much an apostle's boast and 
 glory as anything that God had given them. ISTo 
 answer can I conceive more telling to any one of his 
 detractors at Corinth who had a heart and conscience. 
 
 In chapter v. we enter on another and more painful 
 part of the epistle. A fearful instance of sin had come to 
 light, so gross, indeed, that the like was not even named 
 among the Gentiles. In fact it was a case of incest, and 
 this among those called of God, and sanctified in Christ 
 Jesus ! The question is not in the least raised whether 
 the guilty person was a saint or not ; still less does he 
 allow that which one so often and painfully heard 
 pleaded in extenuation, " Oh, but he [or she] is a dear 
 
60 IXTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Christian." Christian affection is most excellent; as 
 brethren we should love even to laying down life for 
 each other ; as it is also very right that we shonld own 
 the work God has wrought, above all what He has 
 wrought in grace. But when one bearing the name 
 of the Lord has, through unwatchfulness, fallen into 
 wickedness, which of course grieves the Holy Ghost 
 and stumbles the weak, it is not the time to talk thus. It 
 is the time, in the very love that God implants, to deal 
 sternly with that which has disgraced the name of the 
 Lord. Is this to fail in love to the person ? The apostle 
 showed ere long that he had more love for this evil- 
 doer than any of thero. The second epistle to the Corin- 
 thians entreats them to confirm their love to him whom 
 they had put away. They were too hard against him 
 then, as thev were too loose now. Here their con- 
 sciences needed to be roused. To deal with the matter 
 thev owed to the Lord Jesus. It was not merelv orettint' 
 rid of the obnoxious man. They had to prove themselves 
 clear in the matter certainly ; but he puts before them 
 another course, whenever the guilty one had repented. 
 
 "I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, 
 have judged abeady," &c. The case was most gross, and 
 there was no question about it. The facts were indis- 
 putable ; the scandal was unheard of. " I have judged 
 already, as though present, concerning him that hath 
 so done this deed, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the 
 power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one 
 unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh." There was 
 no discussion raised whether the person might be con- 
 verted. The fact is, church discipline supposes and goes 
 on the ground that those on whom it is exercised are 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE COEINTHIAXS. 61 
 
 Christians; but when it is a question of discipline, it is 
 not the season for the display of Christian affection: 
 This would falsify the conscience and turn the eye from 
 off the point to which the Holy Ghost was directing 
 attention. There was -wickedness in their midst ; and 
 while known and unjudged, all were implicated ; none 
 could be clean till it was put away. Accordingly the 
 apostle, while he expresses the desire that the spirit of 
 the man should be saved in the day of the Lord, flesh 
 being destroyed, at the same time rouses the saints to 
 that which became the name of the Lord on the very 
 ground that they were unleavened. If they were free 
 from evil, let them act consistently. Let them preserve 
 that purity in practice which was theirs in principle. 
 They were unleavened, and therefore should be a new 
 lump. Notoriously there was old leaven among them. 
 What business had it there ? " Put away from " — not 
 the table of the Lord merely, this he does not say, but 
 — "put away from among yourselves." Tliis is much 
 sti'onger than expelling from the table. Of course, it 
 implies exclusion from the Lord's table, but from their 
 table too — "with such an one, no, not to eat." An 
 ordinary meal, or any such act expressive even in 
 natural things of fellowship with the person thus dis- 
 honouring the Lord, is forbidden. 
 
 ^Mark, they must put away. It is not the apostle acting 
 for them ; for God took particular care that this case, 
 demanding discipline to the uttermost, should be where 
 the apostle was not. What an admirable instruction 
 for us Avho have no longer an apostle ! !N"one can pre- 
 tend that it was an assembly where there was a high 
 degree of knowledge or spirituaLity. The very reverse 
 was the case. The responsibility of discipline depends 
 
62 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 on our relationship as an assembly to the Lord, not on 
 its changing states. The Corinthians were babes ; they 
 were carnal. He who loved them well could not speak 
 of them as spiritual. Nevertheless, this responsibility at- 
 tached to the very fact that they were members of Christ 
 — His body. If saints are gathered to the name of the 
 Lord, and so are God's assembly, if they have faith to 
 take such a position here below, and have the Holy 
 Ghost owned as in their midst, this, and nothing short 
 of this, is their responsibility; nor does the ruined state 
 of the church touch the question, nor can it relieve 
 them from their duty to the Lord. The church at 
 Corinth had soon failed most gravely far and wide. 
 This was the more shameful, considering the brightness 
 of the truth vouchsafed to them, and the striking mani- 
 festation of divine power in their midst. The presence 
 of apostles elsewhere in the earth, the beautiful display 
 of Pentecostal grace at Jerusalem, the fact that so short 
 a time had elapsed since they had been brought out of 
 heathenism into their standing in God's grace, all made 
 the present state of the Corinthians so much the more 
 painful; but nothing can ever dissolve the responsibility 
 of saints, whether as individuals or as an assembly. 
 " Put away from among yourselves that wicked person." 
 Another thing is to be observed, — that the Holy 
 Spirit's scale of sin is not that of man. Which of you, 
 my brethren, would have thought of classing a railer 
 with an adulterer ? A railer is one who uses abusive 
 language for the purpose of injuring another, — not the 
 transient out-breaking of flesh, sad as it is, but provoked 
 it may be, or at any rate, happening through unwatch- 
 fulness. The habit of evil speaking stamps him who 
 practises it as a railer; and such a man is unfit for 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 63 
 
 tlie company of the saints, for God's assembly. It is 
 the old leaven of malice and wickedness. He is un- 
 clean. Doubtless the world would not so judge; but 
 this is not the world's judgment. The Corintliians were 
 under the influence of the world. The apostle had already 
 shown that to walk as men is beneath the Christian. 
 Now we see that to walk as the world, no matter 
 how refinedly, ever exposes Christians to act worse than 
 men of the world. God has stamped upon His children 
 the name of Christ; and what does not express His 
 name is inconsistent, not only with the Christian, but 
 with His assembly. They are all as such held respon- 
 sible, according to the grace and holiness and glory of 
 Christ, for the sin done in their midst, of which they 
 are cognisant. They are bound to keep themselves 
 pure in ways. 
 
 There was another case also : brother was going to 
 law with brother. (Chap, vi.) We have no reason to 
 think they had fallen so far as to go to law with those 
 that were not brethren ; this would seem to be a lower 
 step still. But brother was going to law with brother, 
 and this before the unjust. How often now- a- days 
 one hears, " Well, one expects something better from a 
 brother ; and surely he ought to suffer the consequences 
 of his ill- doing." This was just the feeling of the 
 Corinthian plaintiff. What, then, is the weapon that 
 the apostle uses in this case ? The dignified place in 
 the glory that God designs for the Christian : " Know 
 ye not that we shall judge the world — judge angels?" 
 Were such going before the Gentiles? Thus is seen 
 how practical all truth is, and how God casts the 
 bright light of the approaching day on the smallest 
 matters of the life of to-day. 
 
64 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Again, there was no quarter in the world where 
 personal purity was more unknown than at Corinth. 
 Indeed, such were the habits of the ancient world, it 
 would only defile the ears and minds of God's children 
 to have any proofs of the depravity in which the world 
 then lay, and that too in its best estate, the wisest and 
 the greatest not excepted, — those, alas, whose writings 
 are in the hands of the youth of our day, and more 
 than ever, perhaps, in their hands. Those wits, poets, 
 and philosophers of heathen antiquity lived in habitual, 
 yea, often in unnatural grossness, and thought nothing 
 of it. It is a danger for the saints of God to be 
 tinctured by the atmosphere of the world outside when 
 the first fervour of grace cools, and they begin to take 
 up their old habits. It was certainly so at Corinth. 
 
 Accordingly the believers there were betrayed into 
 their former uncleanness of life when the heavenly light 
 got dim. And how does the apostle deal with this? 
 He recalls to them the Holy Spirit's dwelling in them. 
 What a truth, and of what force to the believer ! He 
 does not say simply that they were redeemed, though 
 he brings it in also ; stiU less does he merely reason on 
 the moral heinousness of the sin ; neither does he cite 
 the law of God that condemned it. He presses upon 
 them that which was proper to them as Christians. It 
 was no question of man, let him be Gentile or Jew, but 
 of a Christian. Thus he sets before them the distinctive 
 Christian blessing — the Holy Ghost dwelling in the 
 believer, and making his body (not his spirit but his 
 tody) a temple of the Holy Ghost; for here was precisely 
 where the enemy seems to have misled these Corinthians. 
 They affected to think they might be pure in spirit, but 
 do what tliey liked with their bodies. But, answers the 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 65 
 
 apostle, it is the body which is the temple of the Holy 
 Ghost. The body belongs to the Lord and Saviour ; the 
 body, therefore, and not the spirit only. He claims now. 
 No doubt that the spirit be occupied with Christ is a 
 grand matter; but the licentious flesh of man would 
 talk, at any rate, about the Lord, and at the same time 
 indulge in evil. This is set aside by the blessed fact 
 that the Holy Ghost even now dwells in the Christian, 
 and this on the ground of his being bought with a 
 price. Thus the very call to holiness ever keeps the 
 saint of God in the sense of his immense privileges as 
 well as of his perfect deliverance. 
 
 Chapter vii. naturally leads from this into certain 
 questions that had been proposed to the apostle touch- 
 ing marriage and slavery — questions which had to do 
 with the various relationships of life. The apostle 
 accordingly gives us what he had learned from the 
 Lord, as well as what he could speak of as a command- 
 ment of the Lord, distinguishing in the most beautiful 
 manner, not between inspired and non- inspired, but 
 between revelation and inspiration. All the word is 
 inspired ; there is no difference as to this. There is no 
 part of Scripture that is less inspired than another. 
 " All (every) scripture is given by inspiration of God ; " 
 but all is not His revelation. We must distinguish 
 between parts revealed and the whole inspired. When 
 a thing is revealed of God, it is absolutely new truth, 
 and of course is the commandment of the Lord. But 
 the inspired word of God contains the language of all 
 sorts of men, and very often the conversation of wicked 
 men — nay, of the devil. I need not say that all this 
 is not a revelation ; but God communicates what Satan 
 and wicked men say (as for instance Pilate's words to 
 
 F 
 
66 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 our Lord and the Jews). None of these evidently was 
 that which is called a revelation ; but the Holy Ghost 
 inspired the writers of the book to give us exactly 
 what each of these said, or revealed what was in the 
 mind of God about them. Take, for example, the book 
 of Job, in which occur the sayings of his friends. 
 What intelligent reader could think that they were in 
 any way authorised communicators of the mind of 
 God? They say sometimes very wrong things, and 
 sometimes wise, and often things that do not in the 
 smallest degree apply to the case. Every word of the 
 book of Job is inspired ; but did all the speakers utter 
 necessarily the mind of God? Did not one of the 
 speakers condemn one or other of the rest ? Need one 
 reason on such facts ? This, no doubt, makes a certain 
 measure of difficulty for a soul at the first blush ; but 
 on maturer consideration all becomes x^lain and har- 
 monious, and the word of God is enhanced in our eyes. 
 And so it is in this chapter, where the apostle gives 
 both the commandment of the Lord, and his own 
 matured spiritual judgment, which he expressly says 
 was not the commandment of the Lord. Still he was 
 inspired to give his judgment as such. Thus the whole 
 chapter is inspired, one part of it just as much as 
 another. There is no difference in inspiration. What 
 was written by the different inspired instruments is of 
 God as absolutely as if He had written it all without 
 them. There is no degree in the matter. There can be 
 no difference in inspiration. But in the inspired word 
 of God there is not always revelation. Sometimes it is 
 a record which the Spirit gave a man to make of what 
 he had seen and heard, sometimes he recorded by the 
 Spirit what no man could have seen or heard. Sometimes 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 67 
 
 it was a prophecy of the future, sometimes a communi- 
 cation of God's present mind according to His eternal 
 purpose. But all is equally and divinely inspired. 
 
 The apostle then lays down — at least as far as may 
 be here briefly sketched — that while there are cases 
 where it is a positive duty to be married, undisguisedly 
 there was a better place of undivided devotedness to 
 Christ. Blessed is he who is given thus to serve the 
 Lord without let: still it must be the gift of God. 
 The Lord Jesus had laid down the same principle 
 Himself In Matthew xix., it is needless to say, you 
 have the selfsame truth in another form. 
 
 Again, while the Lord employs the apostle thus to 
 give us both His own commandment and His mind, 
 the general principle is stated as to the relationships of 
 life. It is broadly laid down that one should remain in 
 that condition in which he is called, and for a .very 
 blessed reason. Supposing one were a slave even, he is 
 already, if a Christian, a freeman of Christ. You must 
 remember that in these days there were everywhere 
 bondmen : those that then ruled the world took them 
 from all classes and all countries. ' There were bondmen 
 highly educated, and once in a high position of life. 
 Need it be said that often these bondmen rose up 
 against their cruel masters ? The very knowledge of 
 Christ, and the possession of conscious truth, if grace 
 did not counteract mightily, would tend to increase 
 their sense of horror at their position. Suppose, for 
 instance, a refined person, with the truth of God com- 
 municated to his soul, was the slave of one livincr in 
 all the filth of heathenism, what a trial it would be to 
 serve in such a position ! The apostle urges the truth 
 of that liberty in Christ which Christendom has well- 
 
 F 2 
 
68 INTRODUCTOKY LECTURES. 
 
 nigh forgotten — that if I am Christ's servant I am 
 emancipated already. Match if you can the manu- 
 mission he has got. Twenty millions will procure no 
 such emancipation. At the same time, if my master 
 allows me liberty, let me use it rather. Is it not a 
 remarkable style of speech and feeling ? The Christian, 
 even if a slave, possesses the best freedom after all : 
 anything else is but circumstantial. On the other hand, 
 if you are a freeman, take care how you use your 
 liberty : use it as the Lord's bondman. The freeman is 
 reminded of his bondmanship ; the bondman is re- 
 minded of his freedom. What a wonderful antithesis 
 of man is the Second Man ! How it traverses all the 
 thoughts, circumstances, and hopes of flesh ! 
 
 Then he brings before us the different relationships 
 at the end of the chapter, as they are affected by the 
 coming of the Lord. And there is nothing which 
 shows more the importance of that hope as a practical 
 power. There is not only the direct but the indirect 
 allusion when the heart is filled with an object; and the 
 indirect is a yet stronger witness of the place it holds 
 than the direct. A mere hint connects itself with that 
 which is your joy and constant expectation ; whereas 
 when a thing is little before the heart you require to 
 explain, prove, and insist upon it. But this chapter 
 brings vividly before them how all outward things pass 
 away, even the fashion of this world. Time is short. 
 It is too late either to make much of scenes so changing, 
 or to seek this thing or that here below with such a 
 morrow before our eyes. Hence he calls on those who 
 had wives to be as those who had none, on those who 
 were selling and buying to be above all the objects that 
 made up the sum of business. In short, he puts Christ 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 69 
 
 and His coming as the reality, and all else as the 
 shadows, transitions, movements of a world that even 
 now crumbles underneath us. No wonder that he 
 follows all up at the end with his own judgment, — that 
 the man most blessed is he who has the least entangle- 
 ment, and is the most thoroughly devoted to Christ and 
 His service. 
 
 Next in chapter viii. he begins to take up another 
 danger for the Corinthian saints. They had the sound 
 of the truth ringing in their ears ; and assuredly there 
 are few sounds sweeter than the liberty of the Chris- 
 tian. But Avhat is more liable to abuse? They had 
 abused power to self-exaltation ; they were now turning 
 liberty to license. But there is a solemn fact which 
 none can afford to forget as to both power and liberty — 
 that without responsibilitu nothing is more ruinous than 
 either. Herein lay the sad failure of these saints. In 
 the sense of responsibility they were utterly wanting. 
 They seem to have forgotten completely that the Lord 
 from whom the liberty had come is the One in whose 
 sight, and for whose glory, and according to whose will, 
 all power was to be used. The apostle recalls them to 
 this ; but he takes up their license in going into heathen 
 temples, and eating things offered to idols, not first of 
 all on the high ground of the Lord, but on account of 
 their brethren. In their boasted liberty, and because 
 they knew an idol was nothing, they considered that 
 they might go anywhere, and do what they pleased. 
 Nay, not so, cries the apostle ; you nmst consider your 
 brother. There is many a disciple who, far from know- 
 ing how vain idolatry is, thinks a good deal of the idol. 
 Thus, you that know so much, if you make light of 
 going here and there, will induce other disciples to 
 
70 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 follow your steps who may slip into idolatry through 
 it, and thus a brother perish for whom Christ died ; 
 and what is the liberty of one who is instructed may 
 prove the extreme ruin of one who is equally a be- 
 liever in the Lord. Thus he looks at the thing in its 
 full character and ultimate tendency if unchecked. 
 Grace, as we know, can arrest these tendencies, and 
 avert the evil results. 
 
 In chapter ix. he interrupts the course of his argu- 
 ment by an appeal to his own place as an apostle. 
 Some were beginning to question his apostolate. It 
 was not that he in the slightest degree forgot his call 
 by God's will to that special service; neither was he 
 insensible to the blessed liberty in which he was serv^- 
 iug the Lord. He could lead about a sister-wife like 
 another ; he had foregone this for the Lord's sake. He 
 could look for support from the church of God; he 
 preferred to work with his own hands. So in the 
 second epistle to the Corinthians he begs them to 
 forgive the wrong; for he would not accept anything 
 from them. They were not in a condition to be 
 entrusted with such a gift. Their state was such, and 
 God had so overruled it in His ways, that the apostle 
 had received nothing from them. This fact he uses in 
 order to humble them because of their pride and 
 licentiousness. 
 
 The course of this chapter then touches on his 
 apostolic place, and at the same time his refusal to use 
 the rights of it. Grace can forego all questions of right. 
 Conscious of what is due, it asserts rights for others, but 
 refuses to use them for itself Such was the spirit and 
 the faith of the apostle. And now he shows what he 
 felt as to practical state and walk. Far from being full 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 71 
 
 of liis knowledge, far from only using his place in 
 the church for the assertion of his dignity and for 
 immunity from all trouble and pain here below, he on 
 the contrary was as one under the law to meet him that 
 was under it; he was as a Gentile to meet him that 
 was free from law (that is, a Gentile). Thus he was a 
 servant of all that he might save some. Besides, he 
 lets them know the spirit of a servant, which was so 
 lacking in the Corinthians in spite of their gifts ; for it 
 is not the possession of a gift, but love which serves 
 and delights in service. The simple fact of knowing 
 that you have a gift may and often does minister to self- 
 complacency. The grand point is to have the Lord 
 before you, and when others are thought of, it is in the 
 love which has no need to seek greatness, or to affect 
 it. The love of Christ proves its greatness by serving 
 others. 
 
 This, then, was the spirit of that blessed servant of 
 the Lord. He reminds them of another point — that 
 he was himself diligent in keeping his body in subjec- 
 tion. He was like a man with a race that was going 
 to be run, and w^ho gets his body into training. He 
 puts this in the strongest way, "Lest that by any 
 means, when I have preached to others, I myself 
 should be a castaway." Mark the tact of the apostle. 
 When he has something discreditable to say, he prefers 
 to say it about himself; when he has something pleas- 
 ing to say, he loves to put it with regard to others. So 
 here he says, " Lest / myself become a castaway," not 
 " you!' He meant their profit, no doubt ; his aim was 
 for them to have their owm consciences searched by it. 
 If Paul even w^as exercising himself to have a conscience 
 void offence ; if Paul was keeping his body in subjec- 
 
72 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 tion, how mucli more did these men need it? They 
 were abusing all the comfort that Christianity brings, 
 to live at ease and play the gentleman, if one may 
 speak according to modern language. They had not 
 entered in the smallest degree into the spirit of the 
 moral glory of Christ humbled here below. They had 
 dislocated the cross from Christianity. They had 
 severed themselves from the power of service. Thus 
 they were in the utmost possible jeopardy; but the 
 apostle, who had the blessedness of Christ before him, 
 and the fellowship of His sufferings as scarce another 
 had like him, — even he used all diligence of heart, 
 and held a tight rein over himself. Faithful man as he 
 was, he allowed himself none of these licenses. Liberty 
 indeed he prized, but it was not going here and there 
 to feasts of idols. He was free to serve Christ, and 
 time was short: what had such an one to do with 
 heathen temples ? 
 
 Thus he wants them to feel their danger, but first of 
 all he begins with himself He was free but watchful ; 
 and he was jealous over himself, the greater the grace 
 shown him. It was not that he in the smallest degree 
 doubted his security in Christ, as some so foolishly say ; 
 or that such as have eternal life may lose it again. But 
 it is plain that men who merely take the place of 
 having eternal life may, and often do, abandon that 
 place. Those who have eternal life prove it by godli- 
 ness ; those who have it not prove the lack of it by 
 indifference to holiness, and lack of that love which is 
 of God. So the apostle shows that all his knowledge 
 of the truth, far from making him careless, prompted 
 him to yet greater earnestness, and to daily denial of 
 himself. This is a very important consideration for us 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 73 
 
 all (I press it more especially on the young in such 
 a day as this); and the greater the knowledge of the 
 saints, the more they need to keep 'it in view. 
 
 The apostle draws their attention to another warning 
 in the history of Israel. These had eaten of the same 
 spiritual meat, for so he calls it ; they had the heaven- 
 sent manna, — had drunk of the same spiritual drink ; 
 yet what became of them ? How many thousands of 
 them perished in the wilderness ? The apostle is ap- 
 proaching far closer to their state. He began with 
 application to his own case, and now he points to 
 Israel as a people sanctified to Jehovah. At length the 
 word is, " Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth 
 take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken 
 you but such as is common to man ; but God is faithful." 
 This was a great comfort, but it was also a serious cau- 
 tion. "God is faithful who will not suffer you to be 
 tempted above that ye are able." It is in vain, therefore, 
 to plead circumstances as an excuse for sin. "But [He] 
 will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, 
 that ye may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly 
 beloved, flee from idolatry." He makes it plain that he 
 is, with characteristic address, dealing with their little- 
 exercised consciences from the statement of his own 
 earnest vigilance over his ways, and then from the sad 
 and solemn history of Israel judged of the Lord. Thus, 
 too, he goes forward into new ground, — the deeper 
 spiritual motives, the appeal to Christian affection as 
 well as to faith. The cup of blessing which w^e bless, 
 is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? He 
 begins with that which most nearly touches the heart. 
 It would have been an order more natural, if one may 
 so say, to speak of the body of Christ ; as we know in 
 
74 INTKODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 the Lord's supper habitually, there is that which brings 
 before us first the body and then the blood. The de- 
 parture from what may be called the historical order 
 makes the emphasis incomparably greater. More than 
 that, the first appeal is founded on the blood of Christ, 
 the answer of divine grace to the deepest need of a soul 
 found in its guilt before God and covered with defile- 
 ment. Was this to be slighted ? " The cup of blessing 
 which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood 
 of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the 
 communion of the body of Christ ? " He does not here 
 say, " the blood" or the " body of the Lord." This 
 we find in chapter xi. ; but it is here Christ, because it 
 becomes a question of grace. " The Lord" brings in the 
 idea of authority. This, then, is evidently an immense 
 advance in dealing with the subject. Accordingly he 
 now developes it, not on the ground of injury to a 
 brother, but as a breach of fellowship with such a 
 Christ, and indifference to His immense love. But he 
 does not forget His authority : " Ye cannot drink the cup 
 of the Lord and the cup of demons ; ye cannot be par- 
 takers of the Lord's table and of the table of demons." 
 It is not simply the love of Christ, but His full authority 
 as the Lord. The apostle contrasts two mighty powers 
 that were contesting — demons, on the one hand, a power 
 stronger than man, struggling as to him here below ; 
 and, on the other hand, there was the Lord that had 
 shed His blood for them, but the Lord of all who should 
 judge quick and dead. Hence he follows up with a 
 comprehensive and simple principle, but full of liberty 
 withal, that in going into the market you need ask no 
 questions. If I do not know that the food has been 
 connected with idols, the idol is nothing to me; but the 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 75 
 
 moment I know it, it is no longer the question of an 
 idol but a demon ; and a demon, be assurred, is a very 
 real being indeed. Thus what the apostle insists on 
 amounts to this, that their vaunted knowledge was short 
 indeed. Whenever a person boasts, you will in general 
 find that he particularly fails precisely where he boasts 
 most. If you set up for great knowledge, this will be 
 the point in which you may be expected to break down. 
 If you set up for exceeding candour, the next thing we 
 may well dread to hear is that you have played very 
 false. The best thing is to see that we give ourselves 
 credit for nothing. Let Christ be all our boast. The 
 sense of our own littleness and of His perfect grace is 
 the way, and the only way, to go on well. " This is the 
 victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who 
 is he that overcometh, but he that believeth that Jesus 
 is the Son of God?" 
 
 Then in chapter xi. we enter on another point. It 
 would seem that the sisters at Corinth gave them a 
 deal of trouble, and that they had forgotten entirely 
 their due relative place. No doubt the men were at 
 least as much to blame. It is hardly possible that 
 women should ever put themselves forward in the 
 church unless Christian men have deserted their true, 
 responsible position and public action. It is the man's 
 place to guide; and although women may assuredly 
 be far more useful in certain cases, still, unless the 
 man guides, what an evident departure from the order 
 God has assigned to them both ! How complete a 
 desertion of the relative position in which they were 
 placed from the first ! Thus it was at Corinth. Among 
 the heathen, women played a most important part, and 
 in no quarter of the world, perhaps, so prominent a one 
 
76 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 as there. Need it be said that this was to their deep 
 shame ? There was no city in which they were so 
 degraded as that in which they attained such con- 
 spicuous and unnatural prominence. And how does 
 the apostle meet this new feature? He brings in 
 Christ. This is what decides all. He affirms the ever- 
 lasting principles of God, and he adds that which has 
 so brightly been revealed in and by Christ. He points 
 out that Christ is the image and the glory of God, and 
 that the man stands in an analogous place as connected 
 with and distinguished from the woman. That is to 
 say, the woman's place is one of unobtrusiveness, and 
 in fact, she is most effective where she is least seen. 
 The man, on the contrary, has a public part — a rougher 
 and ruder task, no doubt — one that may not at all 
 bring into play the finer affections, but which demands 
 a calmer and more comprehensive judgment. The man 
 has the duty of the outward rule and administration. 
 
 Accordingly he marks the first departure from what 
 was right by the woman's losing the sign of her sub- 
 jection. She was to have a covering on her head ; she 
 was to have that which indicated as a sign that she 
 was subject to another. The man seemed to have failed 
 just in the opposite way ; and although this may seem 
 a very little thing, what a wonderful thing it is, and 
 what power it shows, to be able to combine in the same 
 epistle eternal things and the very smallest matter of 
 l^ersonal decorum, the wearing of long hair or short, 
 the use of a covering on the head or not ! How truly 
 it marks God and His word ! Men would scorn to 
 combine them both in the same epistle; it seems so 
 petty and so incongruous. But it is the littleness of man 
 which calls for big matters to make him important; 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE COKIlvTHIANS. 77 
 
 but the smallest things of God have significance when 
 they bear on the glory of Christ, as they always do. 
 In the first place, it was out of order that a woman 
 should prophesy with her head uncovered ; man's place 
 was to do so. He was the image and the glory of God. 
 The apostle connects it all with first principles, going 
 up to the creation of Adam and Eve in a very blessed 
 manner, and above all bringing in the second Man, 
 the last Adam. Did they think to improve on both ? 
 
 The latter part of the chapter takes up not the rela- 
 tive place of the man and the woman, but the supper 
 of the Lord, and so the saints gathered together. The 
 first part of it, as is evident, has nothing to do with 
 the assembly, and thus does not dispose of the question 
 whether a woman should prophesy there. In fact, 
 nothing is said or implied in the early verses of the 
 assembly at all. The point primarily mooted is of her 
 prophesying after the manner of a man, and this is 
 done with the greatest possible wisdom. Her pro- 
 phesying is not absolutely shut out. If a woman has 
 a gift for prophecy, which she certainly may have as 
 well as a man, for what is it given of the Lord but for 
 exercise? Certainly such an one ought to prophesy. 
 Who could say the gift of prophecy given to a woman 
 is to be laid up in a napkin ? . Only she must take care 
 how she does exercise it. First of all, he rebukes the 
 unseemly way in which it was done — the woman for- 
 getting that she was a woman, and the man that he is 
 responsible not to act as a woman. They seem to have 
 reasoned in a petty way at Corinth, that because a 
 woman has a gift no less than a man, she is free to use 
 the gift just as a man might. This is in principle 
 wrong; for after all a w^oman is not a man, nor like 
 
78 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 one officially, say what you please. The apostle sets 
 aside the whole basis of the argument as false ; and we 
 must never hear reasoning which overthrows what God 
 has ordained. Nature ought to have taught them better. 
 But he does not dwell on this ; it was a withering 
 rebuke even to hint at their forgetfulness of natural 
 propriety. 
 
 Then, in the latter verses, we have the supper of the 
 Lord, and there we find the saints expressly said to be 
 gathered together. This naturally leads the way to the 
 spiritual gifts that are treated of in chapter xii. As to 
 the supper of the Lord, happily I need not say many 
 words to you. It is, by the great mercy of God, familiar 
 to most of us ; we live, I may say, in the enjoyment of 
 it, and know it to be one of the sweetest privileges God 
 vouchsafes us here below. Alas ! this very feast had 
 furnished occasion, in the fleshly state of the Corin- 
 thians, to a most humiliating abuse. What led to it 
 was the Agape, as it was styled; for in those days 
 there was a meal which the Christians used to take 
 together. Indeed, the social character of Christianity 
 never can be overlooked without loss, but in an evil 
 state it is open to much abuse. Everything that is 
 good may be perverted; and it never was intended to 
 hinder abuse by extinguishing that which was only 
 to be maintained aright in the power of the Spirit 
 of God. No rules, no abstinence, no negative measures, 
 can glorify God, or make His children spiritual; 
 and it is only by the power of the Holy Ghost in 
 producing a sense of responsibility to the Lord as well 
 as of His grace that saints are duly kept. So it was 
 then at Corinth, that the meeting for the Lord's Su2;)per 
 became mingled with an ordinary meal, where the 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 79 
 
 Christians ate aod drank together. They were glad to 
 meet — at any rate, originally it was so, when love was 
 gratified with the company of each other. Being not 
 merely young Christians, but unwatchful and then lax, 
 this gave rise to sad abuse. Their old habits re-asserted 
 their influence. They were accustomed to the feasts of 
 the heathen, where people thought nothing whatever of 
 getting drunk, if it was not rather meritorious. It was 
 in some of their mysteries considered a wrong to the god 
 for his votary not to get drunk, so debased beyond all 
 conception were the heathen in their notions of religion. 
 Accordingly these Corinthian brethren had by little 
 and little got on until some of them had fallen into 
 intemperance on the occasion of the Eucharist; not, 
 of course, simply by the wine drank at the table of 
 the Lord, but through the feast that accompanied it. 
 Thus the shame of their drunkenness fell upon that 
 Holy Supper; and hence the apostle regulated, that 
 from that time forward there should be no such feast 
 coupled with the Lord's Supper. If they wished to 
 eat, let them eat at home; if they came together in 
 worship, let them remember it was to eat of the Lord's 
 body, and to drink of the Lord's blood. He puts it 
 in the strongest terms. He does not feel it needful 
 or suitable to speak of "the figure" of the Lord's 
 body. The point was to make its grace and holy im- 
 pressiveness duly felt. It was a figure, no doubt ; but 
 still, writing to men who were at least wise enough to 
 judge aright here, he gives all its weight, and the 
 strongest expression of what was meant. So Jesus had 
 said. Such it was in the sight of God. He that par- 
 took undiscerningly and without self-judgment was 
 guilty of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus. It 
 
80 INTRODUCTORY LECTUKES. 
 
 was a sin against Him. The intention of the Lord, the 
 true principle and practice for a saint, is to corae, 
 examining his ways, trying his springs of action, putting 
 himself to the proof ; and so let him eat (not stay away, 
 because there is much discovered that is humbling). 
 The guard and warning is, that if there be not self- 
 judgment, the Lord will judge. How low is the state 
 of things to which all saints tend, and not the Corin- 
 thians only ! There ought to have been, I suppose, an 
 interposition of the church's judgment between the 
 Christian's lack of self-judgment and the Lord's chast- 
 enings ; but, alas ! man's duty was altogether lacking. 
 It was from no want of gifts. They had no sense of 
 the place God designed self-judgment to hold ; but the 
 Lord never fails. 
 
 In chapter xii. accordingly, the apostle enters on a 
 fuU statement of these spiritual powers. He shows that 
 the distinctive feature of that which the Spirit of God 
 leads to is the confession, not exactly of Christ, but of 
 Jesus as Lord. He takes the simplest and most neces- 
 sary ground — that of His authority. This is observable 
 in verse 3 : "Wherefore I give you to understand that no 
 man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus ac- 
 cursed ; and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord 
 but by the Holy Ghost." Impossible that the Spirit 
 should dishonour, yea, that He should not exalt. Him 
 who humbled Himself for God's glory. "Now, there 
 are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit ; and there 
 are differences of administrations, but the same Lord; 
 and there are diversities of operations, but it is the 
 same God that worketh all in all." They had forgotten 
 all this. They were pre-occupied with human thoughts, 
 with this clever Jew and that able Gentile. They had 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 81 
 
 lost sight of God Himself working in their midst. The 
 apostle points out that if there were different services, if 
 distinct gifts to one and another, it was for the common 
 good of all. He illustrates the nature of the church as a 
 body with its various members subserving the interests 
 of the body and the will of the head. " By one Spirit were 
 we all baptized into one body ; " it is not the Holy Ghost 
 merely making many members, but " one body." Ac- 
 cordingly he confronts with this divine aim their misuse 
 of their spiritual powers, — independence one of another, 
 disorder as to women, self-glorification, and the like, as 
 we see in chapter xiv. the detail. He presses that 
 the least comely members, those that are least seen, 
 may be of more importance than any others ; just as in 
 the natural body some of the most vital parts are not 
 even visible. What would a man do without a heart, 
 or Hver, or lungs ? So in the spiritual body there are 
 members which are most important and not seen at all. 
 But men are apt to value most those which make a 
 showy appearance. Thus he rebukes the whole tenor 
 and spirit of Corinthian vanity; at the same time he 
 maintains their place of blessing and responsibility to 
 the last. After all their faults he does not hesitate to 
 say, "^ow ye are the body of Christ." This way of 
 dealing with souls has been grievously enfeebled in the 
 present day. Grace is so feebly known, that the first 
 thought you will find amongst godly people is what 
 they ought to he; but the ground and weapon of the 
 apostle Paul is what they are by God's grace. " Ye are 
 the body of Christ, and members in particular; and 
 God hath set some in the church." It was far from his 
 mind in the least to deny it. Observe here an important 
 use of the expression, " the church." It cannot be the 
 
 G 
 
82 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 local assembly, because, looking at Corintli, no apostles 
 were there. Whatever might be the providential ar- 
 rangements outside in the world, he is looking at the 
 assembly of God here on earth ; and it is the assembly 
 as a whole, the Corinthian assembly being, as every true 
 assembly is, a kind of representative of the church 
 universally. It is the church of God here below; not 
 merely churches, though that was true also. 
 
 Thus we can look at what the church will be 
 by-and-by — glorified and absolutely perfect. We can 
 also look at a particular local assembly. Besides there is 
 this most important sense of the church never to be 
 forgotten — namely, that divine institution viewed as a 
 whole on earth. Members of Christ no doubt compose 
 it ; but there is His body, the assembly as a whole, in 
 which God works here below. Such is the reason why 
 we do not find in this epistle evangelists or pastors, 
 because it is not a question of what is needed to bring 
 souls in or lead them on. He looks at the church as a 
 thing already subsisting as the witness of the power of 
 God before men. Therefore it was not at all necessary 
 to dwell on those gifts which are the fruit of Christ's 
 love to and cherishing of the church. It is regarded as 
 a vessel of power for the maintenance of God's glory, 
 and responsible for this here below. Therefore tongues, 
 miracles, healings, the use of outward powers, are 
 largely dwelt on here. 
 
 But we pass on to another and a still more important 
 theme, a wonderfully full picture even for God's word, 
 that most perfect and beautiful unfolding of divine 
 love which we have in chapter xiii. After all, if the 
 Corinthians had coveted gifts, they had not coveted 
 the best. But even if we may desire the best gifts. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 83 
 
 there is better still; and the best of all is charity — 
 love. Accordingly we have this in the most admirable 
 manner brought out both in what it is and in what it 
 is not, and that too as corrective of the wrong desires 
 of the Corinthians, and the evil spirit which had mani- 
 fested itself in the exercise of their gifts ; so that what 
 seems to be an interruption is the wisest of parentheses 
 between chapter xii., which shows us the distribution 
 of gifts and their character, and chapter xiv., which 
 directs the due exercise of gifts in the assembly of 
 God. There is but one safe motive-power for their use, 
 even love. Without it even a spiritual gift only tends 
 to puff up its owner, and to corrupt those *^ho are its 
 objects. 
 
 Hence chapter xiv. thus opens: "Follow after charity, 
 and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may pro- 
 phesy." And w^hy ? Prophecy seemed to be somewhat 
 despised amongst the Corinthians. Miracles and tongues 
 were liked, because these made themselves of import- 
 ance. Such wonders made men stare, and drew general 
 attention to those who were invested evidently with a 
 superhuman energy. But the apostle lays it down, 
 that the gifts which suppose the exercise of spiritual 
 understanding have a far higher place. He himself 
 could speak more tongues than they all. It need hardly 
 be added that he did more miracles than any of them. 
 Still, what he valued most was prophesying. We must 
 not suppose that this gift simply means a man preach- 
 ing. Prophesying never means preaching. More than 
 this, prophesying is not simply teaching. It, no doubt, 
 is teaching; but it is a good deal more. Prophesying 
 is that spiritual application of the word of God to the 
 conscience which puts the soul in His presence, and 
 
 G 2 
 
84 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 makes manifest as light to the hearer the mind of God. 
 There is a great deal of valuable teaching, exhortation, 
 and application, that has no such character. It is all 
 very true, but it does not put the soul in the presence 
 of God; it gives no such absolute certainty of God's 
 mind flashing on the condition and judging the state of 
 the heart before Him. I do not speak now of the 
 unconverted, though prophesying might affect such as 
 well as the converted. The direct object of it was, of 
 course, the people of God ; but in the course of the 
 chapter the unbeliever is shown coming into the assem- 
 bly and falling on his face, and owning that God was 
 amoncT them of a truth. Such is the orenuine effect. 
 The man finds himself judged in the presence of God. 
 
 There is no need to enter into all that this chapter 
 brings before us, but it may be well to observe that we 
 have giving of thanks and blessing, as well as singing 
 and prayer. Prophesying and the rest are brought in as 
 all pertaining to the Christian assembly. What was not 
 directly edifying, as speaking in a tongue, is forbidden 
 unless one could interpret. I doubt very much whether 
 there was any revelation after the scheme of Scripture 
 w^as complete. To suppose anything revealed, when 
 that which is commonly called the canon was closed, 
 would be an impeachment of God's purpose in it. But 
 till the last portion of His mind was written down in a 
 permanent form for the church, we can quite understand 
 His goodness in allowing a special revelation now and 
 then. This gives no warrant to look for anything of 
 the sort at any time subsequent to the completion of 
 the New Testament. Again, it is plain from this that 
 there are certain modifications of the chapter. Thus so 
 far it is true that if anything has, through the will of 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE COIIINTHIANS. 85 
 
 God, terminated (for instance, miracles, tongues, or 
 revelations), it is evident that such workings of the 
 Spirit ought not to be looked for ; but this does not in 
 the smallest degree set aside the Christian assembly or 
 the exercise according to God's will of what the Spirit 
 still distinctly gives. And undoubtedly He does continue 
 all that is profitable, and for God's glory, in the present 
 state of His testimony and of His church here below. 
 Otherwise the church sinks into a human institute. 
 
 In the end of the chapter a very important principle 
 is laid down. It is vain for people to plead the mighty 
 power of God as an excuse for anything disorderly. 
 This is the great difference between the power of the 
 Spirit and the power of a demon. A demon's power may 
 be uncontrollable : chains, fetters, all the power of man 
 outside, may utterly fail to bind a man who is filled 
 with demons. It is not so with the power of the Spirit 
 of God. Wherever the soul walks wdth the Lord, the 
 power of the Spirit of God on the contrary is always 
 connected with His word, and subject to the Lord 
 Jesus. No man can rightly pretend that th6 Spirit 
 forces him to do this or that unscripturally. There is 
 no justification possible against Scripture ; and the 
 more fully the power is of God, the less will a man 
 think of setting aside that perfect expression of God's 
 mind. All things therefore are to be done decently 
 and in order — an order which Scripture must decide. 
 The only aim, as far as we are concerned, that God 
 endorses, is that all be done to edification, and not for 
 self-display. 
 
 The next tlieme (ch. xv.) is a most serious subject doc- 
 trinally, and of capital importance to all. Xot only had 
 the devil plunged the Corinthians into confusion upon 
 
86 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 moral points, but when men begin to give up a good 
 conscience, it is no wonder if the next danger is making 
 shipwreck of the faith. Accordingly, as Satan had 
 accomplished the first mischief among these saints, it 
 was evident the rest threatened soon to follow. There 
 were some among them who denied the resurrection — 
 not a separate state of the soul, but the rising again of 
 the body. In fact the resurrection must be of the body. 
 What dies is to be raised. As the soul does not die, 
 " resurrection " would be quite out of place ; to the body 
 it is necessary for God's glory as well as man. And how 
 does the apostle treat this ? As he always does. He 
 brings Christ in. They had no thought of Christ in the 
 case. They seem to have had no wish to deny the re- 
 surrection of Christ; but should not a Christian have 
 at once used Christ to judge all by ? The apostle at 
 once introduces His person and work as a test. If 
 Christ did not rise, there is no resurrection, and therefore 
 no truth in the Gospel ; " your faith is vain : you are 
 yet in your sins." Even they were quite unprepared for 
 so dreadful a conclusion. Shake the resurrection and 
 Christianity goes. Having reasoned thus, he next points 
 out that the Christian waits for the time of joy and 
 glory and blessing for the body by-and-by. To give 
 up resurrection is to surrender the glorious hope of the 
 Christian, and to be the most miserable of men. For 
 what could be more cheerless than to give up all present 
 enjoyment without that blessed hope for the future at 
 Christ's coming ? Thus strongly was the whole complex 
 nature of man before the apostle's mind in speaking of 
 this hope of blessedness by-and-by. 
 
 Then, somewhat abruptly, instead of discussing the 
 matter any more, he unfolds a most weighty revelation of 
 
THE FIKST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 87 
 
 truth. "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and 
 become the first-fruits of them that slept. For since by 
 man came death, by man came also the resurrection of 
 the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall 
 all be made alive." True, the kingdom is not yet come 
 for which we are waiting, but it will come. See how all 
 truth hangs together, and how Satan labours to make a 
 consistency in error. He knows the weakness of man's 
 mind. Nobody likes to be inconsistent. You may be 
 dragged into it, but you are never comfortable when you 
 have a sense of inconsistency about you. Hence, after 
 one error gains empire over the mind of man, he is 
 ready to embrace others just to make all consistent. 
 
 Such was the danger here among the Corinthians. 
 They had been offended by the apostle's supreme indif- 
 ference to all that is of esteem among men. His habits of 
 speech and life were not at all up to the mark that they 
 supposed seemly before the world in a servant of God. 
 Out of this fertile root of evil has the clergy grown. It 
 has been the effort to acquire as much refinement as pos- 
 sible. Holy orders make a man a sort of gentleman if he 
 was not so before. This seems to have been at work in 
 the minds of these critics of the apostle. Here we 
 find what lay at the bottom of the matter. There is 
 generally a root of evil doctrine where you find people 
 wrong in practice. At any rate, where it is a deliberate, 
 persistent, and systematic error, it will not be merely a 
 practical one, but have a root deep underneath. And 
 this was what now came out at Corinth. It was feeble- 
 ness about that which, after all, lies at the very founda- 
 tion of Christianity. They did not mean to deny the 
 person of Christ or His condition as risen from the dead ; 
 but this is what the enemy meant, and into this their 
 
88 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 wrong notion tended to drift them. The next step, after 
 denying resurrection for the Christian, would be to deny 
 it about Christ. And here the apostle does not fail to 
 rebuke them, and in a manner trenchant enough. He 
 exposes the stupidity of their questions, wise as they 
 flattered themselves to be. How ? It is always the danger 
 of man that he is not content to believe ; he would like 
 first of all to understand. But this is ruinous in divine 
 things, which are entirely outside sense and reason. All 
 real understanding for the Christian is the fruit of faith. 
 The apostle does not hesitate in apostrophising the 
 unbeliever, or at any rate, the errorist he has in view, 
 to expose his folly. " Thou fool," says he, " that which 
 thou sowest is not quickened except it die." Thus the 
 strongest possible censure falls on these Corinthians, and 
 this for the very matter in which they plumed them- 
 selves. Human reasoning is poor indeed outside its own 
 sphere. However, he is not content merely with putting 
 down their speculations; he brings in subsequent and 
 special revelation. The previous part of the chapter 
 had pointed out the connection of Christ's resurrection 
 with our resurrection, followed by the kingdom which 
 finally gives place in order that God may be all in all. 
 In the latter part of the chapter he adds what had not 
 been explained hitherto. From the early portion we 
 should not have known but that all saints die, and that 
 all rise at Christ's coming. But this would not be the 
 full truth. It is most true that the dead in Christ rise, 
 of course, but this does not explain about the living 
 saints. He had vindicated the glorious character of the 
 resurrection ; he had proved how fundamental, and 
 momentous, and practical, is the truth that the body is 
 to be raised again, which they were disposed to deny 
 
THE FIKST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 89 
 
 as though it were a low thing, and useless even if pos- 
 sible. They imagined the true way to be spiritual 
 was to make much of the spirit of man. God's way of 
 making us spiritual is by a simple but strong faith in 
 the resurrection-power of Christ; look to His resurrection 
 as the pattern and spring of our own. Then at the last 
 he adds that he would show them a mystery. On this 
 I must just say a few words in order to develope its 
 force. 
 
 The resurrection itself was not a mystery. The 
 resurrection of just and unjust was a well-known Old 
 Testament truth. It might be founded on Scriptures 
 comparatively few, but it was a fundamental truth of 
 the Old Testament, as the apostle Paul lets us hear in 
 his controversy with the Jews in the Acts of the 
 Apostles. In fact, the Lord Jesus also assumes the same 
 thing in the gospels. But if the raising of the dead 
 saints was known, and even the raising of the wicked 
 dead, the change of the living saints was a truth abso- 
 lutely unrevealed. Up to this it was not made known. 
 It was a New Testament truth, as this indeed is 
 what is meant by a " mystery." It was one of those 
 truths that were kept secret in the Old Testament, but 
 now revealed — not so much a thing difficult to compre- 
 hend when stated, as a thing not revealed before. "And 
 behold," says he, "I show you a mystery. We shall 
 not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." Evidently 
 this supports and confirms, while it might seem an 
 exception to, the resurrection ; but, in point of fact, it 
 gives so much the more force and consistency to the 
 rising of the dead in a very unexpected way. The 
 general truth of the resurrection assuredly does put 
 the sentence of death on all present things to the 
 
90 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 believer, showing that the earth cannot rightly be the 
 scene of his enjoyment, where all is stamped with 
 death, and that he must wait for the resurrection power 
 of Christ to be applied before he enters the scene where 
 the rest of God will be our rest, and where there will 
 be nothing but joy with Christ, and even this earth 
 will behold Christ and His saints reigning over it till 
 the eternal day. The addition to this of the New 
 Testament truth of the change gives immense impres- 
 siveness to all, and a fresh force, because it keeps before 
 the Christian the constant expectancy of Christ. " Be- 
 hold, 1 show you a mystery" — not now that the dead 
 in Christ shall rise, but "we!' beginning with the "we" 
 — " we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 
 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last 
 trump ; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall 
 be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed; for 
 this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this 
 mortal shall put on immortality." And " therefore," as 
 he closes with the practical deduction from it all, " my 
 beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always 
 abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye 
 know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." 
 
 The last chapter is now before us, in which the 
 apostle lays down a weighty exhortation as to collections 
 for the saints. He puts it on the ground of their being 
 prospered in any degree, and connects it with the special 
 day of Christian enjoyment, when they gather together 
 for the communion of saints- "Upon the first day of 
 the week let every one of you lay by in store as he has 
 been prospei<ed, that there be no gatherings when I 
 come." Need it be said how human influence has 
 dislocated the truth there ? No doubt this was precisely 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 91 
 
 what the apostle, or the Holy Ghost rather, discerned 
 to be at work at Coriuth, the same mistake that has 
 wrought so malignantly in Christendom ; that is to say, 
 personal rank, learning, eloquence, or a great name (as 
 of an apostle for instance), invoked to call out the 
 generosity of the saints (perliaps, even of the world), 
 and increase the proceeds by all these or like means. 
 
 But is there not another danger ? Is there no snare 
 for you, beloved brethren ? When persons are more or 
 less free from the ordinary incubus of tradition, when 
 they are not so much under tlie influence of excitement, 
 and of those appeals to the love of being known and 
 of pleasing this or that man, or the cause, or any of 
 those human motives that often do operate, I apprehend 
 that they are exposed to danger in a wholly opposite- 
 direction. Do we sufficiently make it a matter of per- 
 sonal responsibility to the Lord, every one of us, to give, 
 and that in connection with the first day of the week 
 and its blessed surroundings and objects, when we meet 
 at His table ? Do we every one of us give as we are 
 prospered by the way ? It is very well to keep clear of 
 human influence, but let us see to it that we do not 
 forget that " the Lord has need " of our giving for the- 
 purposes He loves here below. And of this I am sure, 
 that if we have rightly cast aside mere human calls, 
 and if we do thank God for the deliverance from 
 worldly influence, and from the power of custom, public 
 opinion, &c., it would be a deep reproach if we did not 
 do double as much now, under the grace that confides 
 in us, as we used to do under the law that used to 
 govern us. Your own consciences must answer whether 
 you can meet the Lord about this matter. I believe 
 that we are in no small danger of settling down in the 
 
92 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 conviction that our old way was quite wrong, and 
 simply keeping the money in our pockets. It does 
 seem to me, I confess, that bad as human pressure may 
 be in order to raise money, bad as may be a variety of 
 earthly objects in this way or that, bad as a worldly 
 lavish expenditure is, after all, a selfish personal keep- 
 ing to ourselves of what we have is the worst thing 
 of all. I am quite persuaded that the danger of the 
 saints of God who have been brought outside the 
 camp lies here, — lest, delivered from what they know to 
 be wrong, they may not seek in this an exercised con- 
 science. Standing in the consciousness of the power of 
 God's grace, they need to be continually looking out 
 that they be devoted to Him. To cease doing what 
 was done in a wrong way, and sometimes for wrong 
 ends too, is not enough. Let there be zealous and 
 vigilant exercise of soul, and enquiry how to carry out 
 right objects in right ways, and so much the more, if 
 indeed a simpler, fuller knowledge of God's grace and 
 of Christ's glory has been given us. 
 
 Then we have various forms of ministry noticed. It 
 is not here gifts as such, but persons devoted to labour- 
 ing in the Lord ; for there is a difference between the 
 two things, as this chapter shows us strikingly. For 
 instance, the apostle himself comes before us in ministry 
 with his especial gift and position in the church. Then 
 again, Timothy is there, his own son in the faith, not only 
 an evangelist, but with a charge over elders at length, 
 to a certain extent acting occasionally for the apostle 
 Paul. Again, we have the eloquent Alexandrian thus 
 introduced : "As touching our brother Apollos I greatly 
 desired him to come unto you, but his will was not at 
 all to come at this time." How delicate and considerate 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 93 
 
 the grace of Paul who wished Apollos to go to Corinth 
 then, and of Apollos who wished not to go under the 
 circumstances ! On the face of the case we have the 
 working of liberty and responsibility in their mutual 
 relations ; and the apostle Paul is the very one to tell 
 us that Apollos's will was not to go as he himself wished 
 at this time. It was no question of one in a place of 
 worldly superiority regulating the movements of another 
 of subordinate degree. The apostle did express his 
 strong desire for Apollos to go ; but Apollos must 
 stand to his Master, and be assured that he was usincr 
 a wisdom greater than that of man's. Finally, we 
 observe another character of service lower down in 
 " the house of Stephanas." This was a simpler case and 
 a humbler position, but very real before God, whatever 
 the danger of being slighted of men. Hence, I think, 
 the word of exhortation — " I beseech you, brethren, (ye 
 know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first-fruits 
 of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to 
 the ministry of the saints,)" &c. They gave themselves 
 up in an orderly manner to this work. " That ye sub- 
 mit yourselves," not merely to Timothy or to Apollos, 
 but to such, to the simple-hearted Christian men whose 
 desire was to serve the Lord with the measure of power 
 they had, and this proved by their persevering labour. 
 Undoubtedly, in the midst of the difficulties of the 
 church, in the face of the oppositions and disappoint- 
 ments, manifold griefs, enemies, and sources of sorrow 
 and shame, it requires the power of God to go on 
 without being moved by any of these things. It is an 
 easy thing to make a start ; but nothing short of the 
 power of God can keep one without wavering at the 
 work in the face of everything to cast down. And this 
 
94 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 was the question. We may suppose that these Corin- 
 thians were troublesome enough. From the statements 
 made in the early part of the epistle it is evident ; and 
 so the apostle calls upon them to submit themselves. 
 Evidently there was an unsubject spirit, and those 
 ministered to thought they were just as good as the 
 house of Stephanas. It is good to submit ourselves 
 "unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us 
 and laboLireth." I am persuaded, beloved brethren, 
 that it is no impeachment of the blessedness of the 
 the brotherhood to maintain the speciality of ministry 
 in the Lord. There can be in these matters no more 
 deplorable error than to suppose that there is not to be 
 this godly submission one toward another, according to 
 the j)lace and power that the Lord is pleased to entrust. 
 The Lord grant that our souls may hold fast the 
 truth here revealed, and in no general or perfunctory 
 way. All I pretend to now is to give a sketch or 
 combination of the parts of the epistle. But may the 
 word itself, and every part of it, sink into our souls 
 and be our joy, that we may not only take the precious 
 truth of such an epistle as the Komans for the peace 
 and joy of our hearts in believing individually, but 
 also may understand our place by faith as of God's 
 assembly on earth, and with thankful praise as those 
 that call on the name of the Lord — ours as well as 
 theirs — as those that find ourselves practically in need 
 of such exhortations. The Lord give us His own spirit 
 of obeying the Father. 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 95 
 
 Ml 
 
 SECOND COEINTHIANS. 
 
 It is impossible to read the two epistles to the Corin- 
 thians with the smallest care without perceiving the 
 strong contrast between the wounded tone of the first 
 epistle (the heart aggrieved so much the more because 
 it loved the saints), and now, in the second, that same 
 heart filled with consolation about them from God. 
 This is exceedingly assuring, and it is as evidently 
 divine, the effectual working of God's own grace. 
 
 In human things nothing really shuts out decay. The 
 utmost wise men essay is to put a drag on the progress 
 of corruption, and to stave off as long as may be the 
 too rapid inroads of death. Thanks be to God, it is 
 not so in divine things. There is nothing which so 
 brings out the resources of God as His supremacy 
 over evil in grace, nothing that so manifests His tender 
 mercy and His goodness wherever there is real faith. 
 And spite of the painful disorders of the Corinthians, 
 reahty was there. So the apostle, though heart-broken 
 because of their state, would confidently look up to 
 God about them, even in his first so strongly reproving 
 epistle; for it was the Lord Himself who had told 
 him He had much people in that city. There was 
 small appearance of it when he wrote the earlier letter to 
 them ; but the Lord was right, as He always is, and the 
 apostle confided in the Lord spite of appearances. He 
 
96 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 now tastes the joyful fruit of his faith in the recovering 
 grace of the Lord. Hence in this epistle we have not 
 so much as in the former the evidence of their outward 
 disorders. The apostle is not occupied as there with 
 the regulation of the state of the church as such, but 
 we see souls restored. There is indeed the result of 
 that salutary dealing in the very different state of 
 individuals, and also of the assembly; but very em- 
 phatically, whatever might be the effect on the many, 
 to a large extent there is a blessed unfolding of life in 
 Christ in its power and effects. 
 
 Thus our epistle reminds us to a certain extent of 
 the epistle to the Philippians, resembling it, though 
 not of course the same, nor by any means of so lofty 
 a character; but nevertheless a state appears wholly 
 different from the downward path which the first 
 epistle had reproved. For this change God had prepared 
 His servant ; for He takes in everything in His match- 
 less wisdom and ways. He considers not only those 
 written to, but the one He was employing to write. 
 Assuredly He had dealt with them, but He had also 
 dealt with His servant Paul. It was another sort of 
 dealing, — not without humbling to them, in him wither- 
 ing to nature, without the shame that necessarily befell 
 the saints at Corinth, but so much the more fitting him 
 to go out in love toward them. As he knew what God's 
 grace had wTought in their hearts, he could the more 
 freely express the sympathy he felt, and, encouraged by 
 all that had been wrought, take up what remained to 
 be accomplished in them. But the unfailing grace of 
 God, that works in the midst of weakness and in the 
 face of death, and had so wrought mightily in him, 
 made the Corinthians very dear to him, and enabled 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE COEINTHIANS. 97 
 
 Mm to bring to bear on their circumstances and tbeir 
 state the most suited comfort that it was ever the 
 mission of that blessed man to minister to the hearts of 
 those that were broken down. 
 
 This he now pours forth abundantly, "Blessed be 
 God;" for his heart, surcharged with grief when the 
 first epistle was written, could open, " Blessed be God, 
 even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father 
 of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth 
 us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to com- 
 fort them which are in any trouble," — no matter what, 
 were it through grave faults, were it to their own deep 
 shame and to his grief as once. But now the comfort 
 far overcomes the sorrow, and we are enabled to 
 " comfort them that are in any trouble, by the comfort 
 wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." Here 
 with a true heart he at once brings in the sufferings 
 of Christ : " For as the sufferings of Christ abound in 
 us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And 
 whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and 
 salvation." 
 
 The difference in this from Philippians, to which I 
 have referred, is remarkable. The point in hand there 
 is, that they were working out their own salvation, the 
 apostle being, in a certain sense, completely shut out 
 from them. Unable from circumstances, he there lets 
 them know that he does not mingle himself with them 
 in the same w^ay. Their state did not need it. Un- 
 doubtedly this is a difference; but it is only that which 
 is owing to their manhood in grace. Here they wanted 
 more. It was the unfolding of grace in both ; but the 
 difference was largely to the credit of His name in the 
 Philippians. It was the proof of their excellent con- 
 
 H 
 
98 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 dition that the apostle had such perfect confidence in 
 them, even while he was absolutely precluded from 
 being near them. He was at a distance from them, and 
 had but small prospect of meeting with them shortly. 
 
 To the Corinthians he could speak otherwise. He was 
 comparatively near, and was hoping the third time, as 
 he tells us in the latter part of the epistle, to come to 
 them. Nevertheless he interweaves his own experience 
 with theirs in a way which is wonderfully gracious to 
 those who had a heart. "And whether we be afflicted," 
 he says, "it is for your consolation and salvation, which 
 is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings 
 which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it 
 is for your consolation and salvation." Was it not the 
 reckoning of grace ? Whatever came on them, it was 
 for their comfort. If affliction, the Lord would turn it 
 to their blessing; if joy and consolation, no less to 
 their blessing. At the same time he lets them know 
 what trouble had come upon himself, and in the most 
 delightful manner turns it to account. Whatever was 
 the might of God that had sustained him when there 
 was nothing on their part to give him comfort, but 
 rather to add to the anguish of his spirit, now that 
 grace was operating in their hearts, he shows how 
 dependant he felt on their prayers. Truly beautiful is 
 grace, and far different from the manner of man. 
 
 How blessed to have the working of God not only in 
 Him that is absolute perfection, but in one who feels 
 like ourselves, who had the same nature in the same 
 state that has wrought such continual mischief towards 
 God ! At the same time, it is proved by such a one as 
 this servant of God to be only the means of furnishing 
 additional proof in another form that the might of 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 99 
 
 God's Spirit is without limit, and can work the greatest 
 moral wonders even in a poor human heart. Un- 
 doubtedly we should lose much if we had it not in its 
 full perfection in Christ; but how much we should lose 
 if we had not also the working of grace, not where 
 human nature was itself lovely, not a spot without nor 
 a taint of sin within, but where everything natural was 
 evil, and nothing else ; where nevertheless the power of 
 the Holy Ghost wrought in the new man, lifting the 
 believer completely above the flesh. This was the case 
 with the apostle. 
 
 At the same time there was the answer of grace 
 in their hearts, though it might be developed com- 
 paratively but little. Evidently there was a great 
 deal that required to be set right in them; but they 
 were on the right road. This was a joy to his heart, 
 and so at once he encourages them, and gives them to 
 know how little his heart had turned away from them, 
 how he loved to link himself with them instead of 
 standing aloof from them. "Ye also helping together 
 by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by 
 the means of many persons thanks may be given by 
 many on our behalf For our rejoicing is this, the 
 testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and 
 godly sincerity," &c. He had been charged with the 
 contrary. Being a man of remarkable wisdom and 
 power of discernment, he paid the penalty that this 
 must always entail in this world. That is, they im- 
 puted it to his ability and natural penetration; and 
 the real power of the Spirit of God was thus merely 
 accredited to flesh. 
 
 There was also an imputation of vacillation if not 
 dishonesty. His purpose of visiting Corinth had been 
 
 H 2 
 
100 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 set aside. First of all the apostle takes this up in a 
 spirit of self-renunciation, bent on Christ's glory. Sup- 
 posing their imputation to be true, supposing Paul had 
 been as fickle-minded a man as his enemies insinuated, 
 if he had said he would come and did not come after all, 
 what then ? At any rate his preaching was not thus. 
 The word that Paul preached was not "yea and nay." In 
 Christ it was "yea," where there is no "nay." There is 
 no refusal nor failure. There is everything to win, and 
 comfort, and establish the soul in Christ. There is no 
 negation of grace, still less of uncertainty in Christ Jesus 
 the Lord. There is everything that can comfort the sad, 
 attract the hard, and embolden the distrustful. Let it be 
 the very vilest, what is there lacking that can lead on 
 and into the highest place of blessing and enjoyment 
 of God, not only in hope, but even now by the Spirit 
 of God in the face of all adversaries? This was the 
 Christ that he loved to preach. By Him came grace and 
 truth. He at least is absolutely what He speaks. Who 
 or what was so worthy of trust ? And this is put in a 
 most forcible way. " For," says he, "all the promises of 
 God in him are yea, and in him Amen." It is not a 
 bare literal accomplishment of the promises. This is 
 not the statement any more than the state of things 
 which is come in now ; but as to all the promises of God, 
 it matters not what they may be, in Him is the yea, 
 and in Him the Amen, to the glory of God by us. 
 They have found their every verification in Christ. 
 
 Was eternal life promised ? In Him was eternal life 
 in its highest form. For what will be eternal life in the 
 millennial day compared with that which was and now 
 is in Jesus ? It will be a most real introduction and 
 outshining of eternal life in that day; but still in Christ 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 101 
 
 the believer has it now, aud in its absolute perfection. 
 Take, again, remission of sins. Will that display of 
 divine mercy, so needed by and precious to the guilty 
 sinner, be known in the millennium at all comparably 
 with what God has brought in and sends out now in 
 Christ? Take what you please, — say heavenly glory; 
 and is not Christ in it in all perfection ? It does not 
 matter, therefore, what may be looked at, " whatever be 
 the promises of God, in him is the yea, and in him 
 the Amen." It is not said in us. Evidently there are 
 many promises not yet accomplished as regards us. 
 Satan has not lost but acquired, in the dominion of 
 the world, a higher place by the crucifixion of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ; but faith can see in that very act by 
 which he acquired it his eternal downfall. Now is the 
 judgment of the world. The prince of the world is 
 judged, but the sentence is not executed yet. Instead 
 of being dethroned by the cross, he has thereby gained 
 in the world that remarkable place and title. But for 
 all that, whatever the apparent success of the devil, 
 and whatever the delay as to " the promises of God, in 
 Him is the yea, and in Him the Amen, unto the glory 
 of God by us." 
 
 But further, the apostle is not content with this alone. 
 He would have them know, having thus described the 
 word which he preached, that which was infinitely 
 dearer to him than his own character. Now he tells 
 them that it was to spare them he had not come to 
 Corinth. This ought to have been a reproof; and it 
 is given in the most delicate manner. It was the 
 sweet result of divine love in his heart. He pre^ 
 ferred to tarry or turn aside, rather than to visit the 
 Corinthians in their then condition. Had he come at 
 
102 INTRODUCTOEY LECTURES. 
 
 all, he must have come with a rod, and this he could 
 not endure. He wished to come with nothing but 
 kindness, to blame nobody, to speak of nothing painful 
 and humiliating to them (albeit, in truth, more humi- 
 liating to him, for he loved them). And as a parent 
 would be ashamed in his child's shame far more than 
 the cliild is capable of feeling, so precisely the apostle 
 had this feeling about those he had begotten in the 
 gospel. He loved the Corinthians dearly, spite of all 
 their faults, and he would rather bear their unworthy 
 suggestions of a fickle mind because he did not visit 
 them at once, than come to censure them in their 
 evil and proud state. He wished to give them time, 
 that he might come with joy. 
 
 In the second chapter this is entered into a little 
 more, and the deep anxiety of his heart is shown about 
 them. We may easily gather what an open door for 
 evangelizing is to one who was a great preacher of the 
 gospel, as well as an apostle and a teacher of the Gen- 
 tiles. Although such an opportunity now offered itself, 
 and was, no doubt, a strong impelling cause to work 
 there, still he had no rest for his spirit. His heart was 
 disturbed about the state of Corinth, and the case that 
 tried him most in their midst. It seemed as if he felt 
 nothing else, as if there was no sufficient call to occupy 
 him in other quarters. He could turn from that most 
 animating and immediate reward to any labourer in 
 this world. Whatever might be the preciousness of 
 presenting Christ to those who knew Him not, to see 
 the manifestation of the glory of Christ in those that 
 did know Him, to see it restored whei*e it was obscured 
 was something even nearer to his heart. The one would 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 103 
 
 be, no doubt, great joy to wretched souls, and tbe spread 
 of the glory of the Lord in the regions beyond; but 
 here the glory of the Lord had been tarnished in those 
 that bore His name before men ; and how could Paul 
 feel this lightly ? What pressed so urgently on him ? 
 Hence it was that no attraction of gospel service, no 
 promise of work, however fair, that called him else- 
 where, could detain him. He felt the deepest affliction 
 about the saints, as he says here, and had no rest in his 
 spirit, because he found not Titus his brother, who had 
 been to see them. 
 
 Then, again, among the particular instances which 
 most pressed on him was, his exceeding trouble about 
 the man he had ordered them to put away. For this 
 he had authority from God, and the responsibility of 
 heeding it abides, I need not say, in its entirety for us. 
 We are just as much under that authority as they were. 
 But now that God had wrought in the man who was 
 the chief and grossest evidence of the power of Satan 
 in the assembly, what a comfort to his heart ! This sin, 
 unknown even among the Gentiles, and the more shame- 
 ful as beiag where the name of the Lord Jesus had 
 been confessed and the Spirit dwelt, became the occa- 
 sion of the most salutary instruction for all their souls, 
 for they had learnt what becomes God's assembly under 
 such humiliating circumstances. And they had re- 
 sponded to the solemn call pressed on them in the 
 name of the Lord, and had purged out the evil leaven 
 from the midst of their paschal feast. Only now they 
 were in danger on the judicial side. They were disposed 
 to be as over-severe as they had been previously un- 
 exercised and lax. Paul would infuse the same spirit of 
 grace towards the penitent offender that filled himsel£ 
 
104 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 They had realised at length the shame that had been 
 done to the Lord's glory, and were indignant with 
 themselves as parties to identifying His name, not to 
 speak of themselves, with such scandals. Thus they 
 were slow to forgive the man that had wrought such a 
 wrong, and Satan sought in an opposite way to separate 
 them in heart from the blessed apostle, who had roused 
 them to just feelings after their too long slumber. Just 
 as Paul was horrified at their indifference to sin at first, 
 so now it was impossible but that he must be concerned, 
 lest there should be a failure in grace as a little before 
 in righteousness. But there is nothing like a manifes- 
 tation of grace to call out grace; and he lets them 
 know what was his own feeling, not merely about the 
 wrong-doer, but about themselves. " To whom ye for- 
 give anything, I forgive also ; for if I forgave anything, 
 to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the 
 person of Christ ; lest Satan should gain an advantage 
 over us : for we are not ignorant of his devices." This 
 is his spirit. It is no longer a command, but a trust 
 reposed in the saints; and when we think of that which 
 is afterwards to appear in this epistle, what was still at 
 work among them as well as what had been, it is cer- 
 tainly a most blessed and beautiful proof of the reality 
 of grace, and of the 'effects which can be, as they 
 have been, produced by it in the heart of a saint here 
 below. What do we not owe to Jesus ? 
 
 After having disposed of this matter for the present 
 (for he recurs to it afterwards), he turns to speak of 
 the way in which he was led of God through trial, 
 no matter of what character. Let the question be of 
 the man who had wandered so far astray, but was now 
 restored really to the Lord, and to whom he desired 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 105 
 
 that his brethren should publicly confirm their love; 
 or let it be that he is turned aside from gospel work 
 because of his anxiety on their account, he now tells 
 them of the triumph which the Lord gave him to prove 
 everywhere. 
 
 This leads in chapter iii. to an unfolding of right- 
 eousness in Christ, but in a style considerably dif- 
 ferent from what we found in the Epistle to the 
 Eomans. There the broad and deep foundations were 
 exposed to view, as well as the Spirit's power and 
 liberty consequent on the soul's submission to Christ's 
 work. The proposition was — God just and the justifier, 
 not by blood only, but in that resurrection power in 
 which Christ rose from among the dead. According to 
 no less a work of such a Saviour we are justified. 
 
 But in this chapter the Spirit goes higher still. He 
 connects righteousness with heavenly glory, while at 
 the same time this righteousness and glory are shown 
 to be perfectly in grace as regards us. It is not in the 
 slightest degree glory without love (as sometimes people 
 might think of glory as a cold thing) ; and if it withers 
 up man from before it, — the fleshly nature no doubt, it 
 is only with a view to the enjoyment of greater vigour, 
 through the power of Christ resting on us in our de- 
 tected and felt weakness. 
 
 The chapter opens with an allusion to the habit so 
 familiar to God's church of sending and requiring a letter 
 of commendation. "Do we begin again to commend 
 ourselves ? or need we, as some others, epistles of com- 
 mendation to you, or letters of commendation from 
 you ?" Not at all. And what then is his letter of 
 commendation ? Themselves. What confidence he 
 
106 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 must have had in the gracious power of God, that his 
 letter of commendation could be the Corinthian saints ! 
 He does not look around to choose the most striking 
 instances of those converted by him. He takes what 
 was perhaps the most humiliating scene that he had 
 ever experienced, and he points even to these saints as 
 a letter of commendation. And why so ? Because he 
 knew the power of life in Christ. He was reassured. 
 In the darkest day he had looked up to God with con- 
 fidence about it, when any other heart had failed 
 utterly ; but now that light was beginning to dawn 
 upon them, yet still but dawned so to speak afresh, he 
 could boldly say that they were not merely his, but 
 Christ's, letter. Bolder and bolder evidently he be- 
 comes as he thinks of the name of the Lord and of that 
 enjoyment which he had found, and found afresh, in 
 the midst of all his troubles. Hence he says, " Ye are 
 our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all 
 men : forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the 
 epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, 
 but with the Spirit of the living God ; not in tables of 
 stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." There were 
 not wanting there those that endeavoured to impose 
 legal principles on the Corinthians. Not that here it 
 was the strongest or subtlest effort of the enemy. There 
 was more of Sadducism at work among them than 
 of Pharisaism; but still not unfrequently Satan finds 
 room for both, or a link between both. His ministry 
 was emphatically not that which could find its type in 
 any form of the law, or in what was written upon 
 stone, but on the fleshy table of the heart by the 
 Spirit of the living God. Accordingly this gives rise 
 to a most striking contrast of the letter that kills and of 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 107 
 
 the spirit that gives life. As is said here, " Not that we 
 are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of our- 
 selves; but our sufficiency is of God; who also hath made 
 us able ministers of the new covenant." Then lest any 
 should conceive that this was the accomplishment of 
 the Old Testament, he lets us know it is no more than 
 the spirit of that covenant, not the letter. The covenant 
 itself in its express terms awaits both houses of Israel 
 in a day not yet arrived ; but meanwhile Christ in glory 
 anticipates for us that day, and this is, of course, " not 
 of the letter, but of the spirit : for the letter killeth, but 
 the spirit giveth life." 
 
 Next, we find a long parenthesis ; for the true connec- 
 tion of the end of verse 6 is with verse 17, and all 
 between properly forms a digression. I shall read the ' 
 words outside the parenthesis, in order to make this 
 manifest. He had said that "the spirit giveth life." 
 Now the Lord (he adds) "is that spirit;" which last 
 word ought to be printed with a small "s," not a capital. 
 Some Bibles have this, I dare say, correctly; but others, 
 like the one in my hand, incorrectly. "That spirit" 
 does not mean the Holy Ghost, though it is He alone 
 that could enable a soul to seize the spirit under the 
 letter. But the apostle, I believe, means that the Lord 
 Jesus is the spirit of the different forms that are found 
 in the law. Thus he turns aside in a remarkable but 
 characteristic manner; and as he intimates in what 
 sense he was the minister of the new covenant (i. e. 
 not in a mere literal fashion but in the spirit of it), so 
 he connects this spirit with the forms of the law all 
 through. There is a distinct divine purpose or idea 
 couched under the legal forms, as their inner spirit, and 
 this, he lets us know, is really Christ the Lord. " Now 
 
108 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 the Lord is that spirit." This it is that ran through the 
 whole legal system in its different types and shadows. 
 
 Then he brings in the Holy Ghost, — "and where" 
 (not simply "that spirit," but) " the Spirit of the Lord is, 
 there is liberty." There is a notable difference between 
 the two expressions. "The Spirit of the Lord" is the 
 Holy Spirit that characterizes Christianity; but under- 
 neath the letter of the Jewish system, faith seized "the 
 spirit" that referred to Christ. There was the outward 
 ritual and commandment with which flesh made itself 
 content ; but faith always looked to the Lord, and saw 
 Him, however dimly, beyond the letter in which God 
 marked indelibly, and now makes known by ever accu- 
 mulating proofs, that He from the first pointed to the 
 One that was coming. A greater than anything then 
 manifested was there ; underneath the Moseses and the 
 Aarons, the Davids and the Solomons, underneath what 
 was said and done, signs and tokens converged on One 
 that was promised, even Christ. 
 
 And now " where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is 
 liberty." This was unknown under the Levitical order 
 of things. There was a veiled form of truth, and now it 
 is manifest. The Holy Ghost brings us into the power 
 and enjoyment of this as a present thing. Where He 
 is, there is liberty. 
 
 But looking back for a moment at the parenthesis, 
 we see that the direct effect of the law (no matter what 
 may be the mercy of God that sustained, spite of its 
 curse) is in itself a ministration of death. Law can 
 only condemn; it can but enforce death as on God's 
 part. It never was in any sense the intention of God 
 by the law to introduce either righteousness or life. 
 Nor these only, but the Spirit He now brings in through 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 109 
 
 Christ. "If the ministration of death, written and 
 engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of 
 Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for 
 the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be 
 done away," — it was not at all an abiding thing, but 
 merely temporary in its own nature, — "how shall not 
 the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious ? For 
 if the ministration of condemnation" (another point 
 after the ministration of death; if it then) "be glory, 
 much more doth the ministration of righteousness 
 exceed in glory." It is not simply the mercy of God, 
 you observe, but the ministration of righteousness. 
 When the Lord was here below, what was the character 
 of His ministration? It was grace; not yet a minis- 
 tration of righteousness. Of course, He was emphatically 
 righteous, and everything He did was perfectly con- 
 sistent with the character of the Eighteous. Never 
 was there the smallest deflection from righteousness in 
 aught He ever did or said. Grace and truth came by 
 Jesus Christ. But when He went up to heaven on the 
 footing of redemption through His blood. He had put 
 away sin by the sacrifice of Himself : the ministration 
 was not of grace merely, but of righteousness. In short, 
 righteousness without redemption must destroy, not save; 
 grace before redemption could not deliver, but at most 
 forbear to judge; but righteousness founded on redemp- 
 tion provides the stablest possible basis for the believer. 
 Whatever the mercy displayed to us now, it is per- 
 fectly righteous in God to show it. He is vindicated in 
 everything. Salvation is no stretch of His prerogative. 
 Its language is not, "The person is guilty; but I will 
 let him off; I will not execute the sentence against 
 him." The Christian is now admitted to a place before 
 
110 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 God according to the acceptance of Christ Himself. 
 Being altogether by Christ, it brings nothing but glory 
 to God, because Christ who died was God's own Son, 
 given of His own love for this very purpose, and there 
 in the midst of all wrongs, of everything out of course 
 here below, while the evil still remains unremoved, and 
 death ravages still, and Satan has acquired all possible 
 power of place as god and prince of this world, this 
 deepest manifestation of God's own glory is given, 
 bringing souls which were once the guiltiest and the 
 vilest out of it, not only before God, but in their own 
 souls, and in the knowledge and enjoyment of it, and 
 all righteously through Christ's redemption. This is 
 what the apostle triumphs in here. So he calls it not 
 the ministration of life indeed ; for there was always 
 the new birth or nature through the mercy of God ; but 
 now he brings in a far fuller name of blessing, that of 
 the Spirit, because the ministration of the Spirit is over 
 and above life. It supposes life, but moreover also the 
 gift and presence of the Holy Ghost. The great mistake 
 now is when saints cling to the old things, lingering 
 among the ruins of death when God has given them a 
 title flowing from grace, but abundant in righteousness, 
 and a ministration not merely of life, but of the Spirit. 
 
 So he goes on farther, and says that "that which was 
 made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason 
 of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done 
 away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is 
 glorious." This again is another quality that he speaks 
 of. We come to what abides — to what never can be 
 shaken, as he puts it to the Hebrews later. To this 
 permanence of blessing we are come in Christ, no 
 matter what else may come. Death may come for us ; 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. Ill 
 
 judgment certainly will for the world — for man at least. 
 The complete passing away of this creation is at hand. 
 But we are already arrived at that which remains, and 
 no destruction of earth can possibly affect its security ; 
 no removal to heaven will have any other effect than to 
 bring out its lustre and abidingness. So he says, " Seeing 
 then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of 
 speech : and not as Moses, which put a vail over his 
 face." 
 
 This characterized the dealings of the law, that there 
 never was the bringing God and man, so to speak, 
 face to face. Such a meeting could not yet be. But 
 now it is. Not only has God come down to man face 
 to face, but man is brought to look in where God is in 
 His own glory, and without a vail between. It is not 
 the condescension of the Word made flesh coming down 
 to where man is, but the triumph of accomplished 
 righteousness and glory, because the Spirit comes down 
 from Christ in heaven. It is the ministration of the 
 Spirit, who comes down from the exalted man in glory, 
 and has given us the assurance that this is our portion, 
 now to look into it, soon to be with Him. Hence he says 
 it is " not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that 
 the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the 
 end of that which is abolished : but their minds were 
 blinded : for until this day remaineth the same vail 
 untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament ; 
 which vail is done away in Christ." This is as in Christ 
 when known to us. So ." even unto this day, when 
 Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless 
 when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken 
 away." But then we do not wait here for their turning 
 to the Lord, which will be their portion by- and -by. 
 
112 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Meanwhile the Lord has turned to us, turning us to Him- 
 self, in His great grace, and brought us into righteousness, 
 peace, as well as glory in hope — yea, in present commu- 
 nion, through redemption. The consequence is, all evil 
 is gone for us, and all blessedness secured, and known 
 to be so, in Christ; and, as he says here, "where the 
 Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Then, he adds 
 further, " We all, with open [unvailed] face, beholding 
 ["as in a glass" is uncalled for] the glory of the Lord, are 
 changed into the same image from glory to glory, even 
 as by the Spirit of the Lord." Thus the effect of the 
 triumph of our Lord Jesus, and of the testimony of the 
 Holy Ghost, is to put us into present association with 
 the glory of the Lord as the object before our souls; 
 and this is what transforms us according to its own 
 heavenly character. 
 
 In chapter iv. the apostle takes into account the 
 vessel that contains the heavenly treasure. He shows 
 that as "we have this ministry," and "have received 
 mercy" therefore to the uttermost, "we faint not; but 
 have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not 
 walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God 
 deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth com- 
 mending ourselves to every man's conscience in the 
 sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them 
 that are lost." Such is the solemn conclusion : " In 
 whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of 
 them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious 
 gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine 
 unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ 
 Jesus the Lord ; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' 
 sake. Tor God, who commanded the light to shine out 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 113 
 
 of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light 
 of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of 
 Jesus Christ." 
 
 This is the gospel of the glory of Christ. It is not 
 merely that we have the heavenly title, as we are taught 
 in chapter xv. of the first epistle. Tlie utmost on this 
 subject brought before us there was, that we are desig- 
 nated "heavenly," and are destined to bear the image of 
 the heavenly One by-and-by. The second epistle comes 
 between the two points of title and destiny, with the 
 transforming effect of occupation with Christ in His 
 glory on high. Thus space is left for practice and expe- 
 rience between our calling and our glorification. But 
 then this course between is by no means sparing to 
 nature; for, as he shows here, "we have this treasure 
 in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power 
 may be of God, and not of us." God makes us feel 
 this, and helps on the practical transformation ; and by 
 what means ? By bringing us into every kind of trouble 
 and sorrow, so as to make nothing of flesh. For it is 
 the allowed liveliness of nature that hinders the mani- 
 festation of the treasure ; whereas its judgment leaves 
 room for the light to shine out. This, then, is what 
 God carries on. It explained much in the apostle's 
 path which they had not been in a state to comprehend; 
 and it contributed, where received and applied in the 
 Spirit, to advance God's objects as regards them. "Death 
 worketh in us, but life in you." What grace, and 
 how blessed the truth ! But see the way in which the 
 process is carried on, "We are troubled on every 
 side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in 
 despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but 
 not destroyed ; always bearing about in the body the 
 
 I 
 
114 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus 
 might be made manifest in our body. For we which 
 live are alway delivered unto death." He speaks of 
 the actualisation : all helps the great object, even such 
 circumstances as seemed the most disastrous possible. 
 God exposed His servant to death. This was only 
 carrying out more effectually the breaking down that 
 was always going on. " So then death worketh in us, 
 but life in you. We having the same spirit of faith, 
 according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have 
 I spoken ; we also believe, and therefore speak ; know- 
 ing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise 
 up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. 
 For all things are for your sakes." And thus then, if 
 there was the endurance of affliction, he would encour- 
 age their hearts, calling, as he felt it, " light affliction." 
 He knew well what trial was. "Our light affliction, 
 which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more 
 exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look 
 not at the things which are seen, but at the things 
 which are not seen : for the things which are seen 
 are temporal; but the things which are not seen are 
 eternal." 
 
 This introduces the Christian's estimate of both death 
 and judgment as measured by Christ. He looks now 
 steadily at all that can possibly appal the natural heart. 
 Death the Christian may pass through. Judgment will 
 never be for the Christian. Nevertheless his sense of 
 judgment, as it really will come, although not for him- 
 self, is most influential and for others too. There may 
 be a mighty effect on the soul, and a deep spring of 
 worship, and a powerful lever in service, through that 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIAKS. 115 
 
 which does not concern ns at all. The sense of what it is 
 may be all the more felt because we are delivered from 
 its weight ; and we can thus more thoroughly, because 
 more calmly, contemplate it in the light of God, seeing 
 its inevitable approach and overwhelming power for 
 those that have not Christ. Accordingly he says, " We 
 know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were 
 dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not 
 made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this 
 we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with 
 our house which is from heaven." 
 
 But let us not forget that he takes care (for his 
 heart was not relieved as to every individual in 
 Corinth) to add solemnly, "If so be that being clothed 
 we shall not be found naked." He was not quite sure 
 but that some there might be found exposed, because 
 devoid of a Saviour. There are those who give this a very 
 different turn, and make it to be a verse of consolation 
 instead of warning; but such a view deprives us of 
 the true scope of the clause. The common version and 
 natural interpretation appears to me quite correct. It 
 does not mean "since being clothed we shall not be 
 found naked," which has no worthy lesson to convey to 
 any soul. The readings differ, but that which answers 
 to the common version I believe to be correct. The 
 apostle would warn every soul that, although every one 
 will be clothed in the day that is coming (namely, at 
 the resurrection of the body, when souls are no longer 
 found without the body but clothed), nevertheless some, 
 even in spite of that clothing, shall be found naked. 
 The wicked are then to be clothed no less than the 
 saints, who will have been already raised or changed ; 
 their bodies shall be raised from the dead just as truly 
 
 I 2 
 
116 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 as those of the righteous; but when the unrighteous 
 stand in resurrection before the great white throne, how 
 bare will they appear ? What will it be in that day to 
 have no Christ to clothe us ? 
 
 After so salutary a caution to such as made too much 
 of knowledge in the neglect of conscience, the apostle 
 turns to that fulness of comfort which he was com- 
 municating to the saints. " We," he says, " that are in 
 this tabernacle do groan, being burdened." He has no 
 wish to deny the sorrow and weakness. He knew what 
 it is to suffer and be sorrowful far better than any of 
 them. " We that are in this tabernacle do groan, being 
 burdened : not for that we would be unclothed." Thus 
 there is no mere wish to get away from the present 
 scene with its sadness and trial. It is never allowed 
 one to be impatient. To desire to be with Christ is 
 right ; but to be restive under that which connects us 
 with shame and pain is not of Christ. "Not for," 
 then, "that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon." 
 This was his ardent wish, — to be "clothed upon, that 
 mortality might be swallowed up of life." It is not 
 that he might die, but the very reverse, — that the mor- 
 tality already working in him might be swallowed up 
 by Him who is eternal life, and our life. 
 
 " He that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is 
 God." It is not here wrought something for us, but 
 " v/rought us." This is a remarkable expression of the 
 grace of God in associating with His unfailing purpose 
 in Christ. " He that hath wrought us for the self-same 
 thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest 
 of the Spirit;" given us, therefore, even now a taste of 
 the blessedness and glory that are in store for us. "There- 
 fore we are always confident." Think of such language ! 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 117 
 
 Think of it as the apostle's words describing our por- 
 tion, and in full view of both death and judgment! 
 "We are always confident." We can easily understand 
 one whose eye was simply on Christ and His love, say- 
 ing, "We are confident," though turning to look at that 
 which might well tax the stoutest heart. Certainly it 
 were madness not to be overwhelmed by it, unless 
 there were such a ministration of the Spirit as the 
 apostle was then enjoying in its fruits in his soul. But 
 lie did enjoy it profoundly ; and, what is more, he puts 
 it as the common enjoyment of aU Christians. It is 
 not alone a question of his own individual feelings, but 
 of that which God gave him to share now with the 
 saints of God as such. " Therefore," says he, " we are 
 always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home 
 in the body, we are absent from the Lord : for we walk 
 by faith, not by sight : we are confident, I say, and 
 willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be 
 present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, 
 whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 
 For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of 
 Christ." 
 
 This, again, is a very important truth indeed in its 
 own place, and the effect is most striking; namely, 
 deep anxiety about the lost, and the consciousness 
 of our own manifestation to God now. !N'ot that I 
 mean by this that we shall not be manifested by-and- 
 by ; for we shall be perfectly. But if we are manifest 
 in conscience before God now, it is evident that 
 there is nothing that can cause the slightest uneasi- 
 ness in our being manifested before Christ's tribunal. 
 The truth is, so far is the manifestation before our Lord 
 a source of alarm to the saint (though it should surely 
 
118 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 solemnise the heart), that I am persuaded the soul 
 would lose a positive and substantial blessing, if it 
 could by any possibility escape being manifested there. 
 Nor does it matter what the degree of manifestation 
 may now be in conscience. Still, it can never be per- 
 fect till then; and our God would give us perfection 
 in this as in all else. It is now hindered by various 
 causes, as far as we are concerned. There is the working 
 of self-love in the hearts of the saints; there is that 
 which has cast a film over the eye which dulls our 
 souls. Alas ! we know it too well. 
 
 The effect of our manifestation before the tribunal 
 of Christ is, that we shall know as we are known. 
 That is, it will be carrying out in absolute perfection 
 what we now know in the measure of our spirituality. 
 Now, what is the effect of one's arriving at a better 
 knowledge of himself, and a deeper consciousness of 
 the Christian's place in Christ ? Always a real blessing, 
 and a means of greater enjoyment of Christ. Is it not 
 much to have a lowlier feeling about ourselves ? to 
 esteem others better than ourselves? and thus to deepen 
 daily in the grace of the Lord Jesus ? And are not 
 these things the result ? And will the perfect know- 
 ledge of ourselves be a loss, and not a gain? 
 
 At the same time, it is solemn assuredly for every 
 secret to be spread out between the Lord and ourselves. 
 It is solemn for all to be set in the light in which we 
 may have been misled now, and which may have caused 
 trouble and grief to others, casting reproach on the 
 name of the Lord, — in itself an affecting and afflicting 
 thing. Never should we be deceived by Satan. He 
 may accuse the saints, but they ought in no case to be 
 deceived by him. He deceives the world, and accuses 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 119 
 
 the brethren. Alas ! we know, in point of fact, that we 
 are liable through unwatchfulness to his wiles; but 
 this does not make it less a humiliation for us, and a 
 temporary advantage for Satan when we fall into his 
 trap. We are not ignorant of his devices; but this 
 will not always, nor in itself in any case, preserve us. 
 There are defeats. The judgment-seat of Christ will 
 disclose all; where each hidden thing will be clear; 
 where nothing but the fruit of the Spirit shall stand 
 for ever. 
 
 ^Nevertheless the sight of that judgment -seat brings 
 at once before his eye, not the saints, but the perishing 
 world ; and so complete is the peace of his own spirit, 
 so rich and sure the deliverance Christ has accomplished 
 for all the saints, that the expressed effect is to kindle 
 his heart about those that are braving everlasting de- 
 struction — those on whom the judgment-seat can bring 
 nothing but hopeless exclusion from God and His glory. 
 
 For we say here by the way, that we must be all 
 manifested, whether saints or sinners. There is a 
 peculiarity in the phrase which is, to my thinking, quite 
 decisive as to its not meaning saints only. As to the 
 objection to this founded on the word " we," there is no 
 force in it at all. "We" is no doubt commonly used 
 in the apostolic epistles for saints, but not for them 
 exclusively. Context decides. Be assured that all such 
 rules are quite fallacious. What intelligent Christian 
 ever understood from scripture all the canons of criti- 
 cism in the world ? They are not to be trusted for a 
 moment. Why have confidence in anything of the sort ? 
 Mere traditional formulas or human technicalities will 
 not do for the ascertainment of God's word. The 
 moment men rest on general laws by which to interpret 
 
120 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 scripture, I confess they seem to me on the brink of 
 error, or doomed to wander in a desert of ignorance. 
 We must be disciplined if we would learn indeed ; and 
 we need to read and he.ar things as God writes them ; 
 but we do well and wisely to eschew all human by- 
 ways and short-cuts for deciding the sense of what God 
 has revealed. It is not only the students of mediaeval 
 divinity, or of modern speculation, who are in danger. 
 None of us is beyond the need of jealousy over self, 
 and of simple-hearted looking to the Lord. 
 
 Here, indeed, the apostle's reasoning, and the nicety 
 of language, furnish demonstrative evidence in the 
 passage (that is, both in the spirit and in the letter), 
 that we must all, whether saints or sinners, be mani- 
 fested before Christ ; not at the same time nor for the 
 same end, but all before His judgment-seat at some time. 
 Had the language been, " we must all be judged," the 
 "we" must have been there limited to the unconverted. 
 While they only come into judgment, believer and 
 unbeliever must alike be manifested. The effect of 
 manifestation for the believer will be the fulness of rest 
 and delight in the ways of God. The effect of the mani- 
 festation for the unbeliever will be the total withering 
 up of every excuse or pretence that had deceived him 
 here below. No flesh shall glory in His presence, and 
 man must stand self-convicted before the Judge of all. 
 Thus the choice of language is, as usual in scripture, 
 absolutely perfect, and to my mind quite decisive that 
 the manifestation here is universal. This acts on the 
 servant of Christ, who knows what the terror of the 
 Lord is, and calls him out to "persuade men." What 
 is meant by this ? It is reaUy to preach the gospel to 
 men at large. 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE COKINTHIANS. 121 
 
 At the same time the apostle adds, "We commend 
 not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to 
 glory on our behalf." For he had expressed his trust 
 of being made manifest to their consciences, as well as 
 stated how absolutely we are manifested to God. " For 
 whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether 
 we be sober, it is for your cause." Then he brings in 
 the constraining power of the love of Christ, and why? 
 Because, as he looked round him, he saw nothing but 
 death written on man, and all that pertains to him here 
 below. The whole scene was one vast grave. Of course, 
 he was not thinking of the saints of God, but, con- 
 trariwise, in the midst of this universal death, as far 
 as man is concerned, he rejoices to see some alive. I 
 understand, therefore, that when he says, "If one die 
 for all, then were all dead," he means those who had 
 really died by sin, and because of the contrast it 
 seems to me plain "He died for all, that they which 
 live" (these are the saints, the objects of God's favour) 
 " should not hencefortli live unto themselves, but unto 
 him which died for them, and rose again." What was 
 the effect of this ? That having thus before his soul, 
 not the universal death of all only, but some who by 
 grace were alive, through the death and resurrection of 
 Christ, he now brings out, not the contrast of the new 
 creation with all that went before — yea, the contrast 
 of the Messianic hopes as such with that higher glory 
 which he was now asserting. Even a living Messiah 
 could not satisfy what his soul had learnt to be in 
 accordance with the glory of God. Not, of course, that 
 he did not delight in the hope of his nation. It is one 
 thing to value what God will do for the earth by-and-by, 
 it is quite another to fail in appreciating that which 
 
122 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 God lias now created and revealed in a risen Christ 
 above, — once rejected and dying for ns. Accordingly it 
 is one glory that will display the promises and ways of 
 God triumphing over man and Satan; it is another and 
 far surpassing glory which He who is the Messiah, but 
 much more, and now the heavenly man, reveals. His 
 death is the judgment of our sins in God's grace, and 
 an end of the whole scene for us, and hence perfect 
 deliverance from man and from present things — yea, 
 even from the best hopes for the earth. 
 
 What can be better than a Messiah come to bless 
 man in this world ? But the Christian is not occupied 
 with this at all. According to the Old Testament he 
 looked at it, but now that the Messiah is seen dead and 
 risen, now that He is passed into heavenly glory through 
 death, this is the glory for the Christian. " Henceforth 
 know we no man after the flesh :" this puts the saints 
 in a common position of knowledge. "Henceforth know 
 we no man after the flesh : yea, though we have known 
 Christ after the flesh." As for a living Messiah, and all 
 the expectations that were bound up with Him and His 
 coming here below, all this is passed away for the 
 Christian. It is not that the Messiah will not return 
 as such ; but as for the sphere and character of our own 
 relations, they are founded on death and resurrection, 
 and seen on high. Such is the way the apostle treats 
 it. He looks at Christ in His relationship with us as 
 One that has passed out of this earth and the lower 
 creation into heavenly places. It is there and thus we 
 know Him. By knowing Him he means the special 
 form of the truth with which we are concerned, the 
 manner in which we are put into positive, living asso- 
 ciation with Him. That which we know as our centre 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 123 
 
 of union, as the object of our souls, is Clirist risen 
 and glorified. In any other point of view, however 
 bright and glorious, " now henceforth know we him no 
 more. Therefore if any man be in Christ," &c. 
 
 It is not merely if any man look to Christ : the Old 
 Testament saints rejoiced to see His day ; but this is a 
 very different thing from being in Christ. There are 
 many who take the scriptures in so crude and vague a 
 manner that to their eyes it is all the same ; but I hope 
 such is not the case with any here. JSTo doubt, to be in 
 Christ as we are now is through looking to Him. But 
 it was not always so. Take the disciples in the days of 
 Christ's pathway here below: were they in Christ then ? 
 Certainly not. There was the working of divine faith 
 in them. They were unquestionably " born again ;" but 
 is this the same thing as being " in Christ " ? Being in 
 Christ means that, redemption having come in, the 
 Holy Ghost can and does give us a conscious standing 
 in Christ in His now risen character. To be " in Christ " 
 describes the believer, not in Old Testament times, 
 but now. 
 
 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new 
 creature : old things are passed away ; behold, all 
 things are become new. And all things are of God, 
 who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and 
 hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation ; to wit, 
 that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto 
 himself" Thus there is a blessed and suited ministry. 
 The law directed a people at a distance from God. It 
 supposed such a condition and dealt accordingly. Even 
 if a poor brute touched the mountain, it was to be 
 stoned. At length God came down to meet man in 
 grace as he is; and man rejected God manifest in 
 
124 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 flesh. Eedemption was thereby effected; man is brought 
 without sin to God. Christ is the person who made both 
 good. He brought God down to man, and He brought 
 man in Himself up to God. Such is the position in 
 which we stand. It is not any longer merely God 
 coming down to man in Christ. This is neither the 
 manner nor the measure in which He reveals Himself 
 now. The Lord Jesus Christ is gone up to heaven ; 
 and this not as a sole individual, but as the head of a 
 family. He would not take the place of headship until 
 all the evil was completely gone. He would give us 
 His own acceptance before God. He took His stand 
 on retrieving God's moral glory by bearing our sins; 
 yet as He came down, so He went up to God, holy and 
 spotless. He had by His own blood blotted out the 
 sins of others who believe in Him. It was not merely 
 a born Messiah, the chief of Israel, but "God was in 
 Christ." 
 
 Observe, not that God is in Christ, but that He 
 was. It is a description of what was manifested when 
 the Lord was here below. But if it be a mistake to read 
 God is, it is a still greater error too common in books, 
 old and new alike, that God has reconciled the world. 
 This is not the meaning of the statement. The English 
 version is perfectly right; the criticism that pretends 
 to correct it is thoroughly wrong. It is never said that 
 the world is reconciled to God. Christ was a blessed 
 and adequate image of God; and God was in Him 
 manifesting Himself in the supremacy of His own grace 
 here below. No doubt His law had its suited place; 
 but God in grace is necessarily above the law. As man, 
 at least as of Israel, Jesus was born under the law ; but 
 this was in not the slightest degree an abandonment of 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 125 
 
 God's rights, and still less of His grace. God came 
 near to men in love in the most attractive form, going 
 in and out among them, taking up little children, 
 entering into houses when asked, conversing by the 
 way, going about doing good, and healing all that were 
 oppressed of the devil ; for God was with Him. It was 
 not merely in quest of the lost sheep of Israel. How 
 could such grace be restrained only to Jews ? God had 
 larger thoughts and feelings than this. Therefore let a 
 Gentile centurion come, or a Samaritan woman, or any 
 body else : who was not welcome ? Eor " God was in 
 Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing 
 their trespasses unto them." 
 
 Full of grace and truth. He would not even raise 
 the question of this trespass or that. There was no 
 doubt of man's guilt ; but this was not the divine way 
 of Christ. Other and more efficacious aims were in the 
 hand of the God of all grace. He would save, but at 
 the same time exercise the conscience more than ever. 
 For great would be the loss for a sinner awakened, if it 
 were possible for him not to take God's part against 
 himself This is the real course and effect of repen- 
 tance in the soul. But God was in Christ reconciling 
 the world for all that, yea in order to it. It was not a 
 question of dealing with them for their trespasses. And 
 what now that He is gone away ? " He hath committed 
 unto us the word of reconciliation." He is gone, but 
 not the errand of mercy for which He came. The 
 Messiah as such disappears for the time ; there remains 
 the fruit of the blessed manifestation of God in Christ 
 in an evil world. " Now then we are ambassadors for 
 Christ, as though God did beseech by us : we pray in 
 Christ's stead, be reconciled to God." But how can 
 
126 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 this be ? On what basis can we essay such a task ? 
 Not because the Spirit of God is in us, however true it 
 may be, but because of the atonement. Kedemption by 
 Christ's blood is the reason. "For God hath made him 
 to be sin for us, who knew no sin ; that we might be 
 made the righteousness of God in him." 
 
 Then, following up this in the next chapter (vi.), the 
 true moral traits of the Christian ministry are shown, 
 and what a price it had in his eyes. What should not be 
 done and endured for the sake of worthily carrying out 
 this ministration of Christ here below ! What should 
 be the practical witness to a righteousness not acquired 
 by us, but freely given of God ! Such is the character of 
 it, according to the work of Christ before God and of 
 His redemption ; so we should " give no offence in any 
 thing, that the ministry be not blamed: but in all 
 things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in 
 much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 
 in stripes, in imprisonments." In every thing crushing 
 to nature did the apostle fulfil his mission. Is the 
 reproach of Christ to be an apostolic perquisite ? Are 
 not His servants to share it still ? Is it not true from 
 first to last ? 
 
 Again, in serving the Lord, there are two special 
 ways in which we are apt to go astray. Some err 
 by an undue narrowness, others by as injurious laxity. 
 In fact, it is never right to be narrow, and always 
 wrong to be lax. In Christ there is no license or 
 excuse for either. But the Corinthians, like others, were 
 in danger on both sides ; for each provokes the other. 
 Hence the appeal, " ye Corinthians, our mouth is open 
 unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not strait- 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 127 
 
 ened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels." 
 There was the caution against a narrow heart ; but now 
 against a lax path he warns, " Be not unequally yoked 
 together with unbelievers: for what fellow^ship hath 
 righteousness with unrighteousness ? and what com- 
 munion hath light with darkness? and what concord 
 hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that 
 believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath 
 the temple of God with idols?" Thus is embraced 
 individual responsibility as w^ell as corporate. " Tor ye 
 are the temple of the living God ; as God hath said, I 
 will dwell in them." 
 
 Thus, as in the exercise of ministry according to 
 Christ, there was nothing that should not be endured ; 
 there was no scorn or trial, no pain or shame, but what he 
 himself counted as nothing that Christ only should be 
 served, and the witness of His name kept up in this 
 world according to His grace; so now he presses on 
 the saints what is incumbent on them as the epistle 
 of Christ, to make good a true witness for Him in this 
 world, steering clear of all that is hard and narrow, 
 which is altogether alien from the grace of God, and of 
 that laxity which i^ still more offensive to His nature. 
 In the first verse of chapter vii. the whole matter is 
 wound up, "Having therefore these promises, dearly 
 beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of 
 the •flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of 
 God." The second verse evidently belongs to the sub- 
 ject succeding. In the rest of the seventh chapter he 
 renews (and has, I think, connected both with these 
 words about the ministry and the responsibility of the 
 saints) what he had alluded to already among them. 
 He touches, with that delicate tact so characteristic of 
 
128 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 him, on their repentance. He would encourage their 
 hearts in every way, but now ventures to go somewhat 
 farther in the grace of Christ. 
 
 Accordingly his own feelings are told out, — how ex- 
 ceedingly cast down he had been, and oppressed on 
 every side, so that he had no rest. "Without were 
 fightings, within were fears." Indeed, the fear had gone 
 so far, that he had actually been tried as to the inspired 
 epistle he had written. The apostle had a question 
 raised in his mind about his own inspired epistle! 
 Yet what writing was more certainly of God? "For 
 though I made you sorry with the letter, I do not regret, 
 though I did regret." How clearly we learn, whatever 
 the working of God in man, that after all the inspira- 
 tion of a vessel is far above his own will, and the fruit 
 of the action of the Holy Ghost ! As we find an un- 
 holy man might be inspired of God to bring out a new 
 communication — for example, a Balaam or a Caiaphas, 
 so holy men of God still more. But the remarkable 
 thing to note is the way in which a question was raised 
 even about an epistle which God has preserved in His 
 own book, and, without a doubt, divinely inspired. But 
 he also mentions how glad he was now that, having 
 sent off that letter, he had made them sorry. " For I 
 perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, 
 though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not 
 that ye v/ere made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to re- 
 pentance; for ye were made sorry according to God, 
 that ye might receive damage by us in nothing." How 
 great is the grace ! " For sorrow according to God 
 worketh repentance to salvation not to be regretted: 
 but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold 
 this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed according to God, 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 129 
 
 what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing 
 of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, 
 yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what 
 revenge ! In all things ye have approved yourselves to 
 be clear in this matter." What a comfort to the heart 
 that had been so profoundly touched by their state ! 
 
 In chapters viii. ix. the subject of contributing for 
 saints is resumed, though a great deal more fully than 
 in 1 Cor. xvi., and with a fresh spring of joy communi- 
 cated to his spirit. What an evidence is given of the 
 exercises of his heart in this thing too ! It appears he 
 had spoken confidently about the Corinthian saints. 
 There had been afterwards much to wound and weaken 
 that confidence ; but he now returns to the matter, and 
 reckons with certainty that the God who had wrought 
 in the painful matter, not of the guilty man only, but 
 in them all about it, — that His grace would also give 
 him cause for joy in rousing their hearts into largeness 
 of love for those that were depressed elsewhere. He 
 had boasted of the liberality of the Corinthians, which 
 had kindled zeal in others. On the one hand, he would 
 have his hope of them verified, on the other he desired 
 none to be burdened, but certainly fruit God ward both 
 in the givers and in the receivers. How rich and en- 
 riching in His grace ! Blessed be God for His unspeak- 
 able gift ! 
 
 In chapters x. xi. he comes to another subject — his 
 own ministry — on which a few words must sufiice. 
 Enough had been cleared away to open his heart on it : 
 he could enlarge here. It was his confidence in them 
 that made him write. When his spirit was bound, 
 
 K 
 
130 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 because of there being so much to cause shame and 
 pain, he could not be free; but now he is. Hence we have 
 here a most blessed opening of what this servant of God 
 felt in what was necessarily a sore distress to his spirit. 
 For what could be more humbling than that the Corin- 
 thian saints, the fruit of his own ministry, had admitted 
 into their hearts insinuations against him, doubts of the 
 reality of his apostolate, all that lowering which, in other 
 forms but not substantially unlike, we may have too 
 often observed, and just in proportion to the importance 
 and spiritual value of the trust reposed of God in any 
 on the earth? The apostle knew sorrow as no other ever 
 knew it. Not even the twelve tasted its bitterness as 
 he did, from spirituality and from circumstances ; and 
 the manner in which he deals with it, the dignity, and 
 at the same time the lowliness, the faith that looked 
 rioht to the Lord, but at the same time the warmth of 
 affection, grief of heart mingling with joy, furnish such 
 a tableau as is unique even in the word of God. No such 
 analysis appears anywhere else of the heart of one 
 serving the saints in the midst of the greatest outrages 
 to his love, as we recognise in this epistle. He bows 
 to the charge of rudeness in speech; but they had used 
 the admitted power of his letters against himself Yet 
 he warns lest what he is absent they may learn in 
 him present. Others might exalt themselves through 
 his labours ; he hoped when their faith was increased to 
 preach the gospel in the regions beyond. (Chap, x.) They 
 had exalted the other apostles in disparagement of him. 
 They had even imputed to him selfishness. It might 
 be true, thought they, that he had reaped no material 
 benefit himself from them ; but what about others, his 
 friends? How much there was calculated to wound 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 131 
 
 tliat generous heart, and, what he felt yet more, to 
 damage his ministry ! But in the midst of such sorrow 
 and the rather as flowing from such sources, God watched 
 over all with observant eye. Wonderfully hedged in 
 was His servant, though to speak of himself he calls 
 his folly. (Chap, xi.) But no human power or wit can 
 protect a man of God from malice ; nothing can shut 
 out the shafts of evil speaking. In vain to look to flesh 
 and blood for protection : were it possible, how much 
 we should have missed in this epistle ! Had his detrac- 
 tors been brethren of the circumcision from Jerusalem, 
 neither the trial nor the blessing would have been any- 
 thing like what it is for depth ; but the fact that it came 
 to Paul from his own children in Achaia was enough to 
 pain him to the quick, and did prove him thoroughly. 
 
 But God sometimes lifts us up to look into the glory, 
 as He comes down into the midst of our sorrows in piti- 
 ful mercy. This, with his own heart about it, the apostle 
 brings before us lovingly, though it is impossible, with- 
 in my limits, so much as to touch on aU. He spreads 
 before us his sorrows, dangers, and persecutions. This 
 was the ministry of which he had boasted. He had 
 been often whipped and stoned, had been weary, thirsty, 
 hungry, by sea and land : these were the prizes he had 
 received, and these the honours which the world gave 
 him. How it all ought to have gone to their hearts, if 
 they had any feeling at all, as indeed they had ! It was 
 good for them to feel it, for they had been taking their 
 ease. He closes the list by telling them at last how he 
 had been let down from the wall of a city in a basket, 
 — not a very dignified position 'for an apostle. It was 
 anything but heroism thus to escape one's enemies. 
 
 But the same man who was thus let down imme- 
 
 K 2 
 
132 INTEODUCTOEY LECTUEES. 
 
 diately after speaks of being caught up to heaven. Now, 
 it is this combination of the truest and most proper 
 dignity that ever a man had in this world, — for how 
 few of the sons of man, speaking of course of Chris- 
 tians, that approached Paul in this respect ; so on the 
 other hand, how few since have known the dignity of 
 being content to suffer and be nothing, of having every 
 thought and feeling of nature thoroughly crushed, like 
 Paul, within as well as without ! So much the more 
 as he was one who felt all most keenly, for he had a 
 heart and mind equally capacious. Such w^as he who 
 had to be thus tried as Christ's bondman. But w^hen 
 he comes to special wonders, he does not speak about 
 himself; when about the basket he is open. Thus here he 
 talks ambiguously. " I know a man" is his method of 
 introducing the new portion. It is not I, Paul, but " a 
 man in Christ" is taken up, who had seen such things as 
 could not be expressed in human words, nor suited to 
 man's present state. It is therefore left completely 
 vague. The apostle himself says he does not know 
 whether it was in the body, or out of the body; so com- 
 pletely was all removed from the ordinary experience 
 and ken of man. But he adds what is much to be 
 observed, " And lest I should be exalted above measure 
 through the abundance of the revelations, there was 
 given to me a thorn in the flesh." Thus a deeper 
 humiliation befeU him than he had ever known, — "a 
 thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan," — the 
 allowed counterbalance to such extraordinary expe- 
 riences. It was Paul. The secret could not be hid. 
 But Christ is here, as ever, the theme of the apostle from 
 first to last. This was the treasure in the earthen 
 vessel; and in order to bring about corresponding profit, 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 133 
 
 God works by external means as well as by inward 
 grace, so as to carry forward His work of enhancing 
 always and increasingly what is in Christ, and making 
 less and less of man. 
 
 The close of the chapter sketches, with painful truth 
 but a loving hand, the outbreakings of that nature, 
 crushed in him, pampered in them. For he dreaded lest 
 God should humble him among them because of their 
 evil ways. What love such a word bespeaks ! 
 
 The final chapter (xiii.) answers a challenge which 
 he kept for the last place, as indeed it ill became the 
 Corinthians above all men. What a distress to him to 
 speak of it at all ! They had actually dared to ask a 
 proof that Christ had spoken to them by him. Had 
 they forgotten that they owed their life and salvation 
 in Christ to his preaching? As he put in the fore- 
 ground patience as a sign of apostleship, which in him 
 assuredly was taxed beyond measure, so now he fixes 
 on this as the great seal of his apostleship — at least, to 
 them. What can be more touching? It is not what 
 Jesus had said by him in books, or in what power the 
 Spirit had wrought by him. "Since ye seek a proof 
 of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not 
 
 weak, but is mighty in you examine yourselves, 
 
 whether ye be in the faith; prove your ownselves.'* 
 They were the living proof to themselves that he was 
 an apostle of Christ to them. There is no allowance 
 of a doubt in this appeal : rather the very reverse was 
 assumed on their part, which the apostle admirably 
 turns to the confusion of their indecorous and baseless 
 doubts about himself " Therefore I write these things 
 being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, 
 
134 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 according to the power which the Lord hath given me 
 to edification, and not to destruction." Brief and preg- 
 nant salutations follow, with the grace of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of 
 the Holy Ghost. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 135 
 
 GALATIANS. 
 
 We saw the second of Corinthians characterized by the 
 most rapid transitions of feeling, by a deep and fervent 
 sense of God's consolations, by a revulsion so much 
 the more powerful in a heart that entered into things 
 as few hearts have ever done since the world began. 
 For as the first epistle had put down man in every 
 form, and more particularly man as an expression of 
 the world in its pride, so the second epistle breathes 
 the comfort of God's restoring grace, and is charac- 
 terized therefore by the strongest emotions of the heart ; 
 for he ardently loved these saints. He had felt their 
 wrong, but at the same time had been lifted marvel- 
 lously above what might be called personal feeling, and 
 so much the more, therefore, could have the grief of 
 love unmingled with that which really impairs its 
 strength, and leaves its sensibilities incomparably less 
 acute. So much the more, then, we find the working 
 of spiritual feeling as expressed by him in the second 
 epistle, where he speaks of God lifting up those that 
 were cast down, as He had delivered himself from the 
 imminent danger to which he had been exposed even 
 as to life. 
 
 In the epistle to the Galatians we have another tone 
 and style, a serious and grieved spirit, with feelings not 
 less deep — it may be, even more profoundly moved — 
 
136 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 than in ■v\Titing to the Corinthians ; and for this reason, 
 that the foundations were still more deeply affected 
 by that which was working among the assemblies of 
 Galatia. It was not the worldly presumption of man, 
 nor the slight which this would inevitably cast on apos- 
 tolic authority, as well as on the order of the church, 
 on morality even, at least on Christian morality, on the 
 comely ways of brethren one with another in private 
 as well as in their public assemblies. In the epistle 
 to the Galatians a deeper question was raised — nothing 
 less than the fountain of grace itself Hence in this 
 epistle it is not so much the laying bare the need of 
 man — of the sinner, as the vindication of that same 
 grace of God for the saint, with the exhibition of the 
 ruinous results to him who is drawn aside from the 
 deep and broad groundwork that God has laid for souls 
 in Christ. Here particularly the Christian is guarded 
 against the inroads of legalism. If the world were 
 the great enemy at Corinth, the law perverted is that 
 against which the Spirit of God raises up the apostle 
 in writing to the Galatians. Flesh alas ! has an affinity 
 for both. This epistle, as those to the Corinthians, opens 
 with an assertion of his apostolic place. At the outset 
 here (not there) he sets aside human intervention. Men 
 were not his source, nor was man even a medium to 
 him. He strikes accordingly at the root of all succes- 
 sional or derived authority. "Paul, an apostle, not of 
 men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and," — in 
 order to make it still more evident, — "by God the 
 Father, who raised him from the dead." This is pecu- 
 liar to our epistle. In the epistle to the Ephesians we 
 shall find that the apostle claims a still higher character 
 for all ministry. There it is not traced to God the Fa- 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 137 
 
 ther, that raised Christ from the dead ; but it descends 
 from Christ ascended to heaven (which, we shall soon 
 see, perfectly fits in with that epistle). Here it is the 
 total judgment of flesh in its religious pretensions, and 
 more particularly a blow to that which is an essential 
 principle of law. The whole legal institution depended 
 on a people lineally descended from Abraham, as their 
 priests on a similar succession from Aaron. Being, of 
 course, dying men, whether it be the general privileges 
 of Israel, or the special place of the priest, all was 
 transmitted from father to son. In its own proper 
 sphere and blessings Christianity knows nothing of 
 the sort, but denies it in principle. So here Paul is 
 " an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus 
 Christ, and God the Father, that raised him from the 
 dead." 
 
 To have been with the Messiah, the hearer of His 
 words and the witness of His work, up to His depar- 
 ture, was ever a condition to those who were accus- 
 tomed to the twelve apostles. The apostle himself 
 meets that difficulty in the face, and in effect concedes 
 to his detractors that he was not made an apostle by 
 Christ here below. But if not called to have his place 
 among the twelve, it was the Lord's sovereign dealing 
 to give him a better one. There is no approach to a 
 vaunt about his dignity. He does not even deign to 
 fill up the sketch. He leaves it to spiritual wisdom to 
 gather what was the evident impression of the truth. 
 
 For his own special call was an indisputable fact; 
 and it is a great joy to the heart to think how Chris- 
 tianity (while it leaves the deepest and the highest 
 space in all directions, so to speak, for the working of 
 the Holy Ghost, while there is more room in it than 
 
138 INTEODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 anywhere else for the play both of the renewed mind 
 and the affections that the Spirit of God gives, while, 
 consequently, it admits of the richest possible exercises 
 of both mind and heart), nevertheless, in its grand 
 truths rests on the most patent and certain facts. For 
 God considers the poor ; He has regard to the simple ; 
 He has children in His eye. And facts tell on their 
 mind. Indeed, there is no soul really above them. 
 Whoever despises the facts of Christianity, as if nothing 
 in Scripture were worthy of meditation, or of minister- 
 ing to others but exercises and speculative deductions, 
 will be found, if he do not find himself often, on the 
 verge of dangerous delusions, both for the mind and for 
 the walk. 
 
 But the apostle here does not reason about the 
 matter. He simply states, as I have said, that his 
 apostolic character was not only from Jesus, but from 
 God the Father, that raised Him from the dead. It 
 had a resurrection-source, instead of being from Christ 
 on earth, and in relation to the work God was doing 
 ■when He sent His Son here below. Along with himself 
 he takes care expressly to couple others : " and all the 
 brethren which are with me." Paul did not stand 
 alone. He had the faith that could by grace cleave to 
 God if he had not a companion ; but God blesses that 
 faith, and acts by it on the conscience of others, even on 
 those that, alas ! too often might be ready to turn aside. 
 In this case, happily, the brethren near at hand went 
 along with him in heart. After wishing those addressed 
 grace and peace, as usual, he speaks of the Lord in 
 a manner singularly in unison with the object of the 
 epistle : " Who gave himself for our sins, that he might 
 deliver us" — not from judgment, not from the wrath to 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 139 
 
 come, but—" from this present evil world." The evil 
 that was gaining ground among the Galatian believers 
 — legalism— links the soul with the world, and indeed 
 proves it to be evil by giving present credit to the flesh, 
 and association with all the system that is around us 
 now. But in truth the Lord "gave himself for our sins, 
 that he might deliver us from this present evil world, 
 according to the will of God and our Father : to whom 
 be glory for ever and ever." 
 
 At once the apostle launches into the troubled sea. 
 There is no recounting what God had done for them. 
 There is no mention here of grace, nor even of any 
 special powers conferred by the Spirit of God. We 
 shall find he does not forget this elsewhere : he reasons 
 on it in another part of the epistle. But his heart was 
 too agitated not to betake himself at once to the point 
 of their danger. Consequently, without further pre- 
 amble, and with an ominous silence as to their state 
 (for, indeed, it could not be spoken of), he at once 
 breaks the ground. " I marvel that ye are so soon re- 
 moved from him that called you in the grace of Christ 
 unto another gospel : which is not another." 
 
 Mark how nicely every word was suited to deal with 
 their souls. He speaks of " the grace of Christ." He 
 warns against "another gospel," i.e., a different one, 
 which was really none at all. It was not another, as 
 he says. "But there be some that trouble you, and 
 would pervert the gospel of Christ." And then he, 
 indignant at such a thought, makes his most solemn 
 appeals. "But though we" — Paul himself, or any that 
 were associated with him — "though we, or an angel 
 from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than 
 that which we have preached unto you, let him be 
 
140 INTEODUCTORY LECTUEES. 
 
 accursed." Nor this only. *'As we have said before, 
 so I say now again, If any man preach any other 
 gospel nnto you than that ye have received." The 
 apostle stands to the truth preached and received. 
 What he preached was the truth as to this matter. 
 He does not deny that others preached it; but if so, 
 they preached the same truth. The apostle was given 
 to preach the truth more fully than any other. To 
 depart from this was fatal. Nor this only. If he had 
 preached the full truth of the gospel, he insists that 
 they had received it. He will not hear of any pre- 
 tended misunderstanding. He refuses all cover for 
 different thoughts. In either case "let him be ac- 
 cursed." 
 
 And he justifies this strength of warning: "For do 
 I now persuade men or God ? Do I seek to please 
 men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be a 
 servant of Christ." Impossible to serve two masters ! 
 Christ never mingles with flesh or law any more than 
 with the world. Bondage is there; and He is a de- 
 liverer, but it is to God's glory, and for His own service 
 in the liberty of grace. 
 
 And now the apostle enters on another part of his 
 subject. His account proves how independent he was 
 of the very persons whom they would have desired to 
 have seen associated with him. It was an offence in 
 the eyes of the Jewish Christians, and perhaps specially 
 of the Christians that Judaize, that the apostle had 
 been so little at Jerusalem — that his intercourse was 
 so scanty with the twelve. The apostle accepts the 
 fact in all its strength. Far from wishing to gain 
 credit, either for the gospel or for his own apostolic 
 place, in consequence of being linked with those that 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 141 
 
 had been apostles before him, he insists on that very 
 iudependence which they counted a reproach. His is an 
 apostleship to itself, as real as that of the twelve, but 
 of another order, not at the same time, nor in the same 
 manner. All sprang, no doubt, from the same God, 
 from the same Lord Jesus Christ; but even so from 
 God and from the Lord in other relationships. Very 
 particularly was it marked by the manner of his call, 
 that his apostleship had no connection with either the 
 world or the flesh. It had nothing whatever to do 
 even with the Lord Himself, in the days of His flesh, 
 when acting as minister of the circumcision in the 
 land of Judsea. Invariably, where man seeks to bring 
 in a successional apostleship, the twelve become the 
 great model. 
 
 Hence it is that Eome, which most decidedly in 
 principle rests on human succession (as all wordly 
 religion must, to a certain extent, embrace the same 
 principle) — Eome, I say, seeks to derive her authority, 
 as all know, from Peter. No person can intelligently 
 read the New Testament without perceiving the utter 
 fallacy of such a system; for Peter was expressly, as 
 the next chapter of this epistle teUs us, apostle of the 
 circumcision. So were the others that seemed to be 
 the chief If any apostleship would have served for 
 the Gentiles, it ought to have been Paul's then; for 
 Paul was the apostle of the uncircumcision. What a 
 condemnation of themselves, that no system which ever 
 seeks for an earthly succession can in the least make 
 Paul answer its purpose ! In his case the breach with 
 man was evident ; the association with heaven, and not 
 Jerusalem, was too plain to be disputed or evaded. 
 Successor to Paul there is none ; if so, who and where ? 
 
142 INTRODUCTOKY LECTURES. 
 
 In the case of the twelve, we do find an apostle chosen 
 to supply the gap of Judas — chosen, I admit, of God, 
 though after a Jewish sort, as Chrysostom justly re- 
 marks, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given. I admit 
 that this was all in place and season then for Jerusalem. 
 
 But at the same time it is plain that the apostle Paul 
 here starts with the instructive fact, that the very thing 
 for which some Judaizers then blamed him was the 
 distinctive glory of that to which the Lord had called 
 him. "I certify you, brethren," says he, "that the 
 gospel which was preached of me is not after man. 
 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught 
 it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Tor ye have 
 heard of my conversation in times past in the Jews' 
 religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the 
 church of God, and wasted it : and profited in the 
 Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own 
 nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions 
 of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who sepa- 
 rated me from my mother's womb, and called me by 
 his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach 
 him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not 
 with flesh and blood : neither went I up to Jerusalem 
 to them which were apostles before me; but I went 
 into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus." 
 
 Now, it is evident — and to this I call your particular 
 attention — that the apostle here binds together his 
 crospel with his apostolic place. This was the serious 
 move of the enemy. You cannot attack such a servant 
 without attacking his testimony. You cannot weaken 
 his apostleship without endangering the very gospel 
 that you have received yourselves. And this is always 
 true in its measure, and shows the exceeding gravity 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 143 
 
 of opposition where God raises up for His own special 
 work in this world ; but more particularly where, as in 
 the apostle's case, the mere manner of his conversion, 
 the special form of his separation unto God, bears the 
 impress of the truth he was to preach. To impugn 
 the one is to imperil the other. The Galatians did not 
 think of this; people that are thus blinded by the 
 enemy never do. To them, no doubt, it appeared as 
 if they were zealous and sincere champions of unity. 
 They were grieved to think that the Jewish church, 
 with its twelve apostles and its elders, with its manifold 
 links with antiquity and God's past testimony on earth, 
 should seem separated in any measure from the apostle 
 and his work. No doubt there was a difference of 
 tone. Had a man come down from the teaching of 
 the twelve, albeit inspired of God to wTite, as we know 
 some of them were, and aU of them having a most 
 truly apostolic place, he might have been startled by 
 the teaching of St. Paul. Can it be doubted that the 
 special form of spiritual thought and feeling formed, 
 for instance, by James's or Peter's teaching, yea, even 
 by that of John, while harmonizing, where the heart 
 was open, with the instruction of Paul, nevertheless 
 would appear at first very different ? We know how 
 feeble and slow the heart is, and how apt disciples in 
 general are to narrow the riches of the grace and truth 
 of God. Even in Christianity how much need there is 
 to remember what the Lord warns us of in Luke v. — 
 that no man accustomed to old wine straightway desires 
 new, but says. The old is better. This was at work . 
 even in those early days. It had tainted among others 
 the Galatians ; for although, in point of fact, what had 
 converted them was the heavenly testimony of the 
 
144 INTEODUCTOEY LECTUEES. 
 
 apostle Paul, nevertheless they had in time become ac- 
 quainted with Christians who had not been so favoured, 
 perhaps from the churches in Judaea. Saints they may 
 have been; and such, we know, moved about from 
 Jerusalem. At any rate, the Galatians, naturally fickle, 
 were quick to take up prejudices. They had somehow 
 become uneasy. Those that were used of Satan, both 
 to oppose the apostle in person, and also to distrust 
 that testimony which they had not spirituality enough 
 to appreciate, busily insinuated doubts into the minds 
 of these Gentile brethren, and found too ready an ear 
 among them. 
 
 Thus the apostle had to link together the gospel 
 of grace with his own apostolic dignity; and w^e do 
 well to take heed to this remarkable fact. With the 
 utmost simplicity he shows that his own separation 
 from man was a part of God's ways for the purpose of 
 making more strikingly felt the great truth that he was 
 afterwards to proclaim. He had been himself (could 
 they deny it ?) at least as zealous for the Jews' religion 
 as any Jew of the straitest sect. He had made as much 
 proficiency as any of his day — it may be, more. Who 
 of his nation had advanced in Judaism beyond him ? 
 Who more zealous of the doctrines of his fathers ? 
 Therefore, it came to pass that there was nothing the 
 apostle had not learned of which they boasted. He 
 had been trained up under the most distinguished 
 teacher — the great Eabbin Gamaliel; but "when it;, 
 pleased him, who had separated him from his mother's 
 womb, and called him by his grace, to reveal his Son 
 in him." Mark, again, the strength of the expression. 
 It is not simply that he was brought to follow Jesus, 
 to believe and confess His name; but God revealed 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 145 
 
 His Son in Mm. And we can all see how exactly the 
 phrase falls in with the words of our Lord given in the 
 Acts of the Apostles; for the wonderful truth burst 
 upon the apostle's ear from the beginning, in the Sa- 
 viour's call to him from heaven. The oneness of the 
 saints with Christ Himself is, as we all familiarly know, 
 clearly intimated. So here it is said that God was 
 pleased to reveal His Son in him, that he might preach 
 the good news of Him among the heathen. 
 
 Immediately, then, as it is added, he conferred not 
 with flesh and blood ; neither went up to Jerusalem to 
 them which were apostles before him; but went into 
 Arabia, and returned again, not to Jerusalem, but to 
 Damascus, the place near which he had been called at 
 first. " Then after three years," he says, " I went up to 
 Jerusalem to see Peter." Surely now there was some 
 link with the twelve! JSTot so. He went simply to make 
 the acquaintance of Peter, and abode with him — how 
 long ? Fifteen days. Far too short a time, if it were 
 a question of due initiation into the testimony of the 
 twelve. But, in point of fact, he did not see the twelve. 
 He saw Peter ; but " other of the apostles saw I none, 
 save James the Lord's brother." To this he gives the 
 most solemn asseveration : " The things which I write 
 unto you, behold, before God, I lie not." Thus he 
 accepts the challenge that was given by unbelief. He 
 heartily avows what they counted a defect; and not 
 only so, but with the greatest solemnity assures them 
 that he had not seen the apostles, save only Peter, and 
 James the brother of the Lord, and these but for a 
 short space. 
 
 The apostleship of Paul, therefore, was entirely inde- 
 pendent of Jerusalem and the twelve. He had derived 
 
 L 
 
146 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 the gospel that he preached from the Lord, and not 
 from any of his fellow-servants who had been engaged 
 in the work before him. Nor had he conferred even 
 then with flesh and blood ; his mission as well as con- 
 version and call were alike independent of it. He had 
 been called, as none could deny, in a way w^hich not 
 even any other apostle had ever known. Of none else 
 could it be so said that "it pleased God to reveal his Son 
 in him." It was not thus that Peter or the rest were 
 drawn to follow their Master. The language would not 
 have been applicable when the other apostles were 
 called. There was no question of revealing His Son in 
 them then. The very utmost that could be said was, 
 that God had been pleased to reveal His Son to Peter 
 and the others. But there was no sense of union then. 
 There was no consciousness of the identification of the 
 saint with Christ. Accordingly, the language would 
 have been premature and entirely beyond the conscious 
 experience of the saints, or the real truth of the matter 
 in the sight of God. But God took care that the call 
 of Paul should be delayed till the whole order of the 
 Jewish apostleship should be complete. He took care 
 also that the twelfth apostleship should be filled up; 
 for it is a profound mistake to suppose that Peter and 
 the other apostles had been hasty in numbering Matthias 
 with them, and that Paul was really the twelfth apostle 
 according to the mind of the Lord. The truth is, that 
 they had their relationship to the twelve tribes of Israel. 
 This seems to have been the reason of their being 
 twelve ; and it is to me clear that our Lord establishes 
 this as the true reference and key when He declares 
 that, in the regeneration, the Son of Man shall sit upon 
 the throne of his glory, and they shall sit upon twelve 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 147 
 
 tlirones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. One of 
 them fell from his place, but the vacancy was filled up 
 directly. 
 
 Thus all had been duly prepared of God, with 
 a far-reaching wisdom, to make the call of Paul an 
 evidently and entirely separate thing, to make his 
 apostleship as distinct in fact as in form ; to give him 
 fresh communications, even as to the Lord's supper, and 
 to convey anew the very gospel that he preached as the 
 revelation of the Son in him. The Lord did stamp the 
 testimony of Peter as being truly the revelation of His 
 Father. Flesh and blood had not revealed it. It was 
 not a question of man's wit. His Father had made a 
 revelation to Peter. What had been revealed ? He re- 
 vealed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living- 
 God. But, I repeat, this simply was revealed to him. You 
 cannot go farther. Jesus, the rejected Messiah, was the 
 Son of the living God, the giver of life, the quickening 
 Son of God. In Paul's case the Holy Ghost could go 
 a step farther, and that step He seems to me to take. 
 The apostle states it with perfect calmness, and without 
 comparing others. There is no depreciating of any 
 soul, but the plain statement of the positive truth, 
 which after all is the best and the humblest way, that 
 most of all magnifies God, and edifies His children. So 
 it was, then, that the apostle presents his own wonder- 
 ful relation to Christ. It was not merely that Paul was 
 lowered by the carping Judaizers — God's grace was 
 being sacrificed. It was not merely that his apostleship 
 w^as doubted — God's magnifying of His own Son was 
 set at naught. It was the ungrateful heart of man 
 that, in its avidity after something that would bring 
 an appearance of strength and unity, would sacrifice 
 
 L 2 
 
148 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 that wliich was of heaven for what was after all con- 
 nected with the earth and the flesh. 
 
 Another thing, too, let me just point out in passing. 
 If ever there was a man who more than another con- 
 tended for the oneness of the saints in every sense, — 
 above all, for the one body of Christ, for the unity of the 
 Spirit,— it was the apostle Paul. Nevertheless, there 
 never was one that had a deeper sense of the import- 
 ance of walking, if need were, alone with God. Be 
 assured that it is the same simplicity of faith which 
 enters into both these things now. On the other hand, 
 where unity becomes an object, it is never understood ; 
 and at the same time the walk of faith cannot be 
 maintained. In short, the man who, occupied with 
 Christ above, enters for that very reason most into the 
 blessedness of the body of Christ here below by the 
 Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, is the very one 
 that will know in fit season what it is not to confer 
 with flesh and blood. No doubt this might be pro- 
 voking to human importance sometimes. It might seem 
 entirely despising his brethren. "Immediately I con- 
 ferred not with flesh and blood." 
 
 No doubt also his line of procedure did not at 
 all consort with their desires, who were sticklers for 
 earthly order, and a line that looks safe and respectable 
 to natural eyes. What ! an apostle, or at any rate one 
 that says he is an apostle, setting aside what God 
 inaugurated in Jerusalem, not even conferring with 
 those whom the Lord Himself called by His personal 
 summons here below ? Here they might flatter them- 
 selves were plain tangible facts ; here the amplest 
 testimony on the Lord's part that the twelve are really 
 His chosen apostles. But as for the apostle Paul, he 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 149 
 
 says lie was called, and this by liis master from heaven; 
 but by his own showing nobody heard the call of 
 Christ but himself One can readily conceive men of 
 strong prejudice and of weak faith thus hesitating, 
 especially in presence of the apostle's strong assertion 
 of entire liberty from the law for the Gentiles. Con- 
 sequently it is plain from the beginning, that the 
 apostleship of Paul made a demand upon faith which 
 the other apostolate did not. He was an enemy stop- 
 ped in sovereign grace. He was not converted first, 
 and then gradually led into that highest degree, but 
 called at once to be an apostle as well as saint in a 
 way that belonged to no one but himself It was 
 from and in connection with Christ in heaven. He 
 acts on this in faith ; he understands it with an energy 
 and a brightness that increased even in his Eoman 
 prison. 
 
 But it was true from the first. " Immediately I con- 
 ferred not with flesh and blood." Had Paul gone up 
 to present his credentials to the others, he would have 
 lowered, obscured, and done as far as in him lay to 
 destroy the special blessedness a.nd peculiar glory of 
 his apostleship. But he was not thus disobedient to the 
 heavenly vision. And God held the reins that the truth 
 might be kept unsullied and pure; and he goes south 
 and north as the Lord guided His servant, but not to 
 Jerusalem to those that were apostles before him. He 
 visits Arabia and Damascus once more. Then after a 
 certain lapse of time he does see Jerusalem, but no 
 more than Peter and James, — not the apostolic college 
 officially. And you will observe the immense import- 
 ance attached to this simple account; for all here is 
 plain matter of fact, but pregnant with the weightiest 
 
150 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 consequences as long as the church and the gospel last 
 here below. 
 
 " The things which I write unto you, behold, before 
 God, I lie not. Afterwards I came into the regions 
 of Syria and Cilicia, and was unknown by face unto 
 the churches of Judsea which were in Christ." "Was 
 this then a reproach ? Be it so : such was true. It 
 was really part of God's wondrous ways with him, as 
 indicating the true character of Christianity and of its 
 ministry as contrasted with Judaism. It was there- 
 fore not only for him, but for the instruction of the 
 Galatians, and of us all. If understood, it completely 
 cut all the earthly swaddling-clothes of the heavenly 
 church, and of the Christian. Those who lived in 
 Jerusalem were too prone to preserve the clothes and 
 the cradle which had their ^lace and use at first, but 
 had no claim to be kept up among the Gentiles. 
 Whatever might be the apostle's tenderness toward his 
 nation elsewhere, not an earthly link but must be 
 snapped. Accordingly the apostle lays stress on the 
 fact that he was " unknown by face unto the churches 
 of Judaea which were in Christ : but they had heard 
 only, that he which persecuted us in times past now 
 preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And 
 they glorified God in me." 
 
 This, be it observed, was part of God's way with him 
 beyond all others. There was no such thing as a gradual 
 training. The other apostles enjoyed this more. They 
 had followed Jesus in His earthly path of presentation 
 to Israel. They had been by degrees instructed accord- 
 ing to the testimony which the Lord Jesus was pleased 
 to give ; and most suited it was, of course, to the time, 
 people, and circumstances. Anything else would have 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 151 
 
 been imperfect; but still it had essentially a transitional 
 character. It was partly directed to the hearts and 
 consciences of the Jews, partly in view of the approach- 
 ing rupture of all ties with Israel. 
 
 In Paul's case there was nothing of the sort. His 
 testimony was characteristically though not of course 
 exclusively heavenly, as it was also the witness of 
 grace to the fullest. How could it be otherwise with 
 one persecuting at the moment that he was arrested, 
 in hot deadly opposition to God's church up to his 
 most unexpected caU from heaven? Thus is seen 
 sovereign grace, and nothing else, as well as a hea- 
 venly link instantly formed between the Lord in glory 
 and His servant on earth, l^^o wonder that the apostle 
 attached the greatest moment to the facts of his con- 
 version and call, and tliat, instead of hiding his lack 
 of familiarity both with the apostles and with the 
 churches in Judea, he glories in it. It was through no 
 such channel that he had his apostleship. Christ on 
 high had called him. Such was the will of God the 
 Father that had raised Christ from the dead. 
 
 But we have a good deal more. He tells us that 
 fourteen years after he again went up to Jerusalem. 
 He went up with Barnabas, taking Titus with him. 
 It was by revelation, not by summons from Jerusalem, 
 .or to acquire a title thereby. And " Titus," as he says 
 here, "who was with me, being a Greek," &c. So far from 
 this being the smallest allowance of Jewish prejudice, 
 it was itself a powerful blow against it. Thus, going 
 up with Barnabas, he took Titus, a Gentile, along with 
 him ; and even so by revelation. It was rather to have 
 Gentile liberty secured by the twelve apostles, and that 
 the Judaizers should be condemned by the church at 
 
152 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Jerusalem. It was the very reverse of deriving his 
 authority from either. He went up by revelation for 
 the purpose of getting a condemnation in Jerusalem 
 itself of those who would force Jewish principles on 
 the church of God at large. The legal mischief had 
 emanated from Jerusalem : the remedy of grace must 
 be applied, by the apostles, elders, and brethren there. 
 It was a misuse of the respect naturally accorded to 
 some who came from Jerusalem ; and so God took care 
 to correct the evil by a formal, public, authoritative 
 sentence of the body there, instead of a pure and sim- 
 ple rejection of the error among the Gentile churches, 
 which might have looked like a schism, or at least 
 a divergence of feeling between them and the apostle 
 Paul. It might have been inferred that Paul was to 
 do what he could with the Gentile churches, but that 
 the twelve exclusively cared for the churches in Judaea, 
 he consequently having nothing to do with them. But 
 it is not so. The apostle goes up to Jerusalem, not only 
 with Barnabas, who had come from thence, but takinor 
 with him Titus, who seems not to have been there 
 before — Titus, his own valued companion in labour, 
 but a Gentile. In fact, what Jerusalem had done, as 
 far as this was concerned, was to let slip men that 
 would impose circumcision — evil workers, as he in a 
 later epistle contemptuously calls such like of the con- 
 cision; for they were corrupting the Gentile churches 
 by Judaism, instead of helping them in Christ. 
 
 Thus, then, God directed and ruled that the apostle 
 should go up and have the evil condemned on the spot, 
 and at the centre from which it had emanated. And when 
 he went there, was it a question of receiving aught from 
 the twelve? Nay; he communicated unto them the 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 153 
 
 gospel wliicli he preached among the Gentiles. It was 
 not that they communicated to him the gospel they had 
 learned from Jesus here below, but he communicated 
 to them that gospel he was in the habit of preaching 
 among the Gentiles. But it was in no vain glory, in 
 no tone of superiority, though, no doubt, it was a far 
 fuller and higher testimony than theirs ; for he adds, 
 " privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any 
 means I should run or had run in vain." He granted 
 that persons might indulge in some such thoughts 
 about him. It was for the chiefs at Jerusalem to judge 
 for themselves, and they did judge to the confusion of 
 the apostle's adversaries. " But neither Titus [he takes 
 occasion to say parenthetically], being a Greek, was 
 compelled to be circumcised." And what was the 
 result of all this ? Why, that though there were " false 
 brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to 
 spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that 
 they might bring us into bondage," Paul did not give 
 place by subjection even for an hour, "that the truth 
 of the gospel might continue with them." For the 
 foundation was at stake. "But of these who seemed 
 to be somewhat." Here he takes up, not the mis- 
 chievous troublers of the Gentiles, whom he does not 
 hesitate to call "false brethren," but the highest in 
 office he found there. "Of these who seemed to be 
 somewhat (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter 
 to me)." It is interesting to note the earnestness and 
 strength with which the apostle speaks, now the question 
 had been fairly raised. Pungent, abrupt, indignant, he 
 none the less was led of God. *' But of these who seemed 
 to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no 
 matter to me : God accepteth no man's person :) for 
 
154 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added 
 nothing to me; but contrariwise, when they saw that 
 the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto 
 me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter," &c. 
 A different issue ensued from their settling down in the 
 mutual independence of the Gentile churches and the 
 Jewish. "They gave to me and Barnabas the right 
 hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, 
 and they unto the circumcision." They thus acted and 
 pronounced according to the evident intention of God 
 conveyed in the character of their apostolates respec- 
 tively. 
 
 Thus, it is seen, the truth was established. The apostle 
 Paul interferes in no way with the work which God 
 had given the others to do. He owned and valued, in 
 its own place, the difficult, weighty, and momentous 
 work which God had assigned to Peter, James, and the 
 rest ; but at the same time he stood firmly — humbly, 
 of course, and lovingly, but firmly — for that which the 
 Lord had assisfned to himself and his collea^jues amonsj 
 the Gentiles; and, so far from Christ's liberty having 
 been in the least weakened, the apostolic conclave put 
 their seal, with the whole church at Jerusalem, upon it 
 most heartily. (Acts xv.) As it is said here, " They gave 
 to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that 
 we should go unto the heathen and they unto the cir- 
 cumcision. Only they would that we should remember 
 the poor; the same which I also was forward to do." 
 But this was not all. He mentions another fact, and of 
 the greatest gravity, closing this part of his argument — 
 that when Peter subsequently came down into the 
 Gentile quarters, he had been himself affected by the 
 subtle spirit of Judaism, i.e., the chief of the twelve ! 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 155 
 
 How little is man to be accounted of ! And Paul, far 
 from deriving his apostleship or aught else from Peter, 
 was obliged to rebuke him, and this publicly. " When 
 Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, 
 because he was to be blamed : for before that certain 
 came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles ; but 
 when they were come, he withdrew and separated him- 
 self, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And 
 the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch 
 that Barnabas also was carried away with their dis- 
 simulation. But when I saw that they walked not 
 uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said 
 unto Peter before them all. If thou, being a Jew, 
 livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the 
 Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do 
 the Jews ? " I call your attention particularly to this, 
 brethren, that an act apparently so simple as Peter's 
 ceasing to eat with the Gentiles had such a solemn 
 character in the eye of the apostle Paul, that he con- 
 sidered it a question of the truth of the gospel. Are 
 you prepared for this searching judgment of what 
 looked a small and indifferent matter ? Do your souls 
 go along with Paul's decision? Or are you inclined 
 toward the easy-going yieldingness of Peter ? Can you 
 seize the gravity of this ? 
 
 Eemember what it must have been to one like Paul 
 to censure the most honoured of the twelve. Por Peter 
 is not said to have withdrawn from the Lord's table 
 where the uncircumcised met, but from the simple 
 matter of eating with the Gentiles. The truth of the 
 gospel, to the apostle Paul's mind, was at stake. Need 
 it be added that he was rif^ht and Peter wrong ? The 
 gospel had brought in before God this double conclu- 
 
156 INTHODUCTOEY LECTURES. 
 
 sion, founded on the first Adam and the last. It 
 supposed, and went forth to every creature on the 
 ground of the total ruin of Jew and Gentile. There 
 was no difference : all had sinned. And it proclaimed 
 the full and equally blessed standing of those who 
 received Christ. There was no difference in the bless- 
 ing of Christ : man's guilt and God's grace were alike 
 indiscriminate. There was no difference either way. 
 (Rom. iii. x.) But the act of Peter went to maintain 
 a difference. The truth of the gospel, therefore, was 
 compromised. And there were reasons why Peter was 
 grievously in fault, particularly as he did no longer 
 adhere to the law, but lived as one conscious of the 
 freedom from it which the gospel gives those who 
 believe in a risen Christ. Why then did he want the 
 Gentiles to live as did the Jews ? 
 
 The apostle accordingly now turns to the great 
 argument of his epistle, and the discussion of those 
 grand principles that are characteristic to Christianity, 
 and in full agreement with the facts that have already 
 been brought before you. "We who are Jews by 
 nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that 
 a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by 
 the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in 
 Jesus Christ, that we may be justified by the faith of 
 Christ, and not by the works of the law ; for by the 
 works of the law shall no flesh be justified." But then 
 he goes farther. He says, "If, while we seek to be 
 justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, 
 is Christ therefore- the minister of sin?" This would 
 have flowed from Peter's conduct. Had Peter been 
 right, it was evident that the gospel had put Peter in 
 the wrong. The gospel had led Peter to treat the Jews 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 157 
 
 and Gentiles all alike. The gospel had given him to 
 sanction in his ways and words the overthrow of the 
 partition wall. If Peter was acting rightly now, this 
 had all been a mistake, and consequently the gospel — 
 nay, solemn to say, Christ Himself — would be thus a 
 minister of sin. Such was the serious but necessary 
 import of Peter's act. Peter would have been horrified 
 at such a conclusion. This shows us the exceeding 
 seriousness of a step apparently so trifling as his 
 abstaining from further intercourse with the Gentiles 
 in mere ordinary life. The apostle's discerning eye at 
 once judged by Christ and by that gospel which he had 
 learned from Him. He habitually measured things not 
 so much by their bearing on Jews or Gentiles as by their 
 effect on Christ's glory. In point of fact, to bring in 
 Christ is also best of all to secure the blessing, the 
 privileges, the glory that God has in His grace for 
 every one that believes. Paul was pleading for the real 
 interests of the Jew just as much as of the Gentile ; 
 but he presses this most clenching argument — that 
 Peter's conduct involved the making Christ Himself 
 the minister of sin; "for if I build again the things 
 which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor." 
 
 Then the apostle at once explains, as annexed to this, 
 the real state of the case. " I through the law am dead 
 to the law." As you know, he had been under law as a 
 Jew. And what W9.s the effect of God's giving him to 
 have an application of law in his own conscience? 
 Why, to feel himself a dead man. As it is reasoned 
 out in Komans vii., the law came, and he died. "I 
 through law am dead to law, that I might live 
 unto God." The law in itself never produces such a 
 result. All that the law can. do, even when yielded by 
 
158 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 the might of the Spirit of God, is to force on a soul 
 the consciousness of being dead before God. The law is 
 never life to the dead, but kills morally those who seem 
 alive. "I through law am dead to law." It is thus, then, 
 that grace uses it to give me death in my conscience 
 before God. Thus I am dead through the law. The 
 Spirit of Go'd can employ it to make a man feel that 
 all is over with him ; but He goes farther in grace, and 
 by that very law brings the man in dead to the law, and 
 not merely condemned. He through law died to law, 
 that he might live to God ! Here he comes to the posi- 
 tive blessing ; for the Spirit cannot rest in what is but 
 negative. But it is life after death to law, and conse- 
 quently in another sphere. 
 
 He next announces the true secret of it all : " I am 
 crucified with Christ." It is not merely that I have 
 found in Christ a Saviour, but I am crucified with 
 Christ. My very nature is dealt with. All that I have 
 as a living man in the world is gone, — not, of course, as 
 a mere matter of fact, but, what is far more important, 
 as a matter of faith. The history of the flesh — its sad 
 and humbling history — is soon over; but the history 
 that faith opens into never closes. "I am crucified with 
 Christ." This terminates all for me as a living man 
 here below. " Nevertheless " — astonishing to say, for it 
 could not be natural life — " nevertheless, I live." And 
 what sort of life can this be ? " Yet not I, but Christ 
 liveth in me." How precious to have done with one's 
 sinful self and to begin a life so perfect as Christ's ! 
 "And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by 
 the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave 
 himself for me." 
 
 I have nothing to do with the law any more, even if 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 159 
 
 I had been puce under it as a Jew. For the law was used 
 with killing power ; and, slain as it were in my con- 
 science, I found in that very place Christ Himself by 
 the grace of God, — Christ that died for me; and not 
 merely this, but Christ in whom I died. I am crucified 
 with Christ: consequently all that remains for me is 
 livimj this new life which Christ is in me. And this 
 life is sustained by the very same person who is its 
 source. " The life which I now live in the flesh, I live 
 by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me," &c. It 
 is not a question of my loving Him, though this is and 
 must be true of the saints ; but this would tend to 
 throw the soul on self, and it is not the reckoning of 
 grace. What comforts the soul, what strengthens and 
 keeps it up, is that He "loved me, and gave Himself for 
 me." 
 
 Thus, as he says most emphatically, " I do not frus- 
 trate the grace of God;" they did, every one who 
 substituted aught but Christ and His cross. Every one 
 who went back from such a gospel as this was, as far 
 as it went, frustrating the grace of God. " If righteous- 
 ness come by the law," (he does not merely say, " come 
 of the law," but come hy it,) "then Christ is dead 
 [died] in vain." Not so ; it is exclusively of grace by 
 Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. It is wholly apart 
 from works of law. 
 
 Accordingly, in the next chapter he pursues his 
 reasoning. " foolish Galatians," he now breaks out in 
 an impassioned appeal to them, "who hath bewitched 
 you [that ye should not obey the truth should here 
 vanish], before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evi- 
 dently set forth crucified among you?" Observe the 
 place the cross has here, not merely Christ's blood, but 
 
160 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 His death on the cross. As we saw it in the Corinthians 
 applied to judge the worldliness of the saints there, so 
 here it judges their legalism. "This only would I learn 
 of you, Keceived ye the Spirit by the works of the law, 
 or by the hearing of faith?" There are two things in 
 the Christian; he has a life, a new life in Christ, but 
 he has also the Holy Ghost. The law kills instead 
 of giving life, and puts under condemnation instead of 
 giving that Spirit which is necessarily a spring of son- 
 ship and liberty. Having brought in the true character 
 of the Christian's life as flowing simply and solely from 
 Christ, and from Christ crucified too, so here he takes 
 up the Holy Ghost. He was given, whether in power or 
 in person, not by the law, but by the hearing of faith, 
 
 "Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are 
 ye now made perfect by the flesh ? Have ye suffered so 
 many things in vain, if it be yet in vain ? He there- 
 fore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh 
 miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the 
 ]aw, or by the hearing of faith?" There could be but 
 one answer. This immense privilege had no connec- 
 tion with law whatever. The Holy Ghost is given as 
 the seal of faith in Christ on the accomplishment of 
 redemption, not before nor otherwise. 
 
 Then he takes up Abraham ; for this is always the 
 stock argument of those who would bring in circum- 
 cision and the law, Abraham being emphatically the 
 friend of God and the father of the faithful. And mark 
 how the Holy Ghost turns Abraham into an additional 
 and most unexpected proof of the grace of God and the 
 truth of the gospel. Only we must carefully bear this 
 in mind, that in the epistle to the Galatians we never 
 rise exactly to church ground. It is Christian ground, 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 161 
 
 certainly, but not the church as such. Of course the 
 same persons who are here in present view belonged to 
 the church of God ; but then they are not contemplated 
 in their heavenly relationship, but as the children of 
 promise, as we shall see in the end of this very chapter. 
 There are many present privileges and future glories 
 that belong to the Christian ; and promise is one of them. 
 We are not to suppose that a higher and more heavenly 
 character blots out the lesser place ; of this the apostle 
 takes advantage here. But he proves more when he 
 says that Abraham believed God ; it was plainly not a 
 question of law. Abraham never heard of the law. 
 "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him 
 for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which 
 are of faith" (not those that cry up the law) ''are the 
 children of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing 
 that God would justify the heathen through faith," not 
 by becoming proselytes of the gate, or entering on a 
 legal basis, but "foreseeing that God would justify the 
 heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto 
 Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." 
 Later, and in a far fuller way now, the gospel was the 
 blessed answer to this early grace. He does not say 
 that it is the complement of it ; but most decidedly it 
 flows from the same divine spring of grace. The 
 gospel, not the law, owns its kindred with the promise. 
 " So then," says he, " they which be of faith are blessed 
 wdth faithful Abraham." The law holds out but never 
 gives blessing. Those that are of faith, not those who 
 pretend to the law and do it not, are blessed with their 
 father. 
 
 But he goes deeply. He tells them that as many as 
 take the ground of law-works are under the curse 
 
 M 
 
162 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 already. Not that they have actually broken down and 
 failed ; but so incapable is man of standing before God 
 on the principle of doing the law, that it is all over 
 with him the moment he pretends to it. " As many as 
 are of the works of the law are under the curse : for it 
 is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in 
 all things which are written in the book of the law to 
 do them." The consequence is, that no man is justified 
 by the law in the sight of God ; and this he proves, not 
 only from the promise, but from the prophets. When 
 the prophet speaks of any one living, it is by faith — 
 "The just shall live by faith." Hence, you see, all 
 exactly suits the gospel as Paul insisted on it. " Christ 
 hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made 
 a curse for us : for it is written, Cursed is every one 
 that hangeth on a tree : that the blessing of Abraham 
 might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ." He 
 does not say, that the Gentiles were under that curse, 
 but that Christ bought off us who were in this position 
 from its curse ; for in truth, Avhatever might be our 
 boast, all we (the Jews) got from the law was a curse, 
 not a blessing ; and what Christ did for us was to pur- 
 chase us from that awful plight in which the law could 
 not but put us because we had transgressed it. And 
 thus the blessing of Abraham could flow freely towards 
 the Gentiles who never were there. 
 
 And this leads to another point, — the relation of 
 the law to the promises. How do they stand related ? 
 and how do they affect each other ? The apostle turns 
 this into an admirable piece of divine reasoning in 
 defence of the gospel. "Brethren, I speak after the 
 manner of men ; though it be but a man's covenant, yet, 
 if it be confirmed, no man annuUeth or addeth thereto." 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 163 
 
 Ever3^body knows this. AVhen once a covenant is 
 " signed, sealed, and delivered," it must not be meddled 
 with. You cannot lawfully add to it, any more than 
 set aside its provisions. "Now to Abraham were the 
 promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And 
 to seeds, as to many ; but as to one. And to thy seed, 
 which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant 
 confirmed before by God unto Christ, the law, which 
 w^as four hundred and thirty years after, can not annul 
 so that it should make the promise of none effect." 
 Such is the application. "For if the inheritance be 
 of law, it is no more of promise : " otherwise by the 
 condition of law you would annul the promise. That 
 is to say, the covenant that was made between God and 
 Abraham had reference to the seed which was coming, 
 symbolized by Isaac, but really looking onward to 
 Christ. JSTothing that God afterwards introduced an- 
 nulled this. If the law, introduced afterwards, were 
 allowed to exercise control, the effect would be to set 
 aside the promise. It would be first adding to it, and 
 not only so, but annulling it. "The inheritance, there- 
 fore, depends on the grace of God fulfilling His promise, 
 not on man's accomplishment of the law, even if pos- 
 sible. The promise is therefore entirely distinct from 
 the law, which was not heard of for four hundred and 
 thirty years after. The long lapse of time ought to 
 have guarded men from mixing up the law with the 
 promise, and thus from the appearance of annulling 
 the promise by the law, for this would be most dis- 
 honouring to God. We can understand a foolish man 
 making a covenant, and the next day repenting of it, 
 which is never true of the divine purposes. In this 
 case it was God that gave the promise ; it was He that 
 
 M 2 
 
164 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 confirmed tlie covenant to Christ, without saying a 
 word about the law till four hundred and thirty years 
 after. How impossible, therefore, to add the law to the 
 promise ! Still less is it possible to let the law set its 
 force aside. "To Abraham were the promises made, and 
 to his seed." 
 
 This is exceedingly important, and the more as I 
 believe the scope of the allusion to Abraham and to 
 his seed is not often appreciated. The argument is 
 founded upon the unity of the seed of promise in this 
 connection. For God does speak elsew^here, and even 
 on this occasion, of a numerous seed. One of the en- 
 couragements, as we know, which God furnished to 
 Abraham was, that he should have a seed like the sand 
 of the sea, and like the stars of the sky. These w^ere his 
 lineal posterity. But where the Gentiles are mentioned, 
 God only speaks of seed without reference to number. 
 
 This is best seen by turning to Genesis xxii., where 
 both facts are found in the same context. I just refer 
 to it for a moment, because it adds much to the beauty 
 of the reasoning in Galatians. In verse 17 it is written, 
 "In blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I 
 will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and 
 as the sand which is upon the sea shore." At first 
 sight it seems most extraordinary, if the apostle referred 
 to such a Scripture for the proof of the importance of 
 one seed ; because, if there is anything that lies on the 
 surface of the passage, it is the multiplicity of the seed 
 — a seed expressly said to exceed all reckoning. This, 
 then, is not what the apostle Paul has in view, but in 
 contrast with it. And mark the difference. When God 
 speaks of the seed numerous as the sand or the stars. 
 He gives them a Jewish character of blessing. " Thy 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 165 
 
 seed (i.e., the numerous seed) shall possess the gate of 
 his enemies." God promises the final power and glory 
 of Israel in the earth, putting down their foes, and so 
 forth. 
 
 But immediately after this it is added, "In thy 
 seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." 
 Here we have the Gentiles expressly named, and to 
 this the apostle refers. Mark it well. When God 
 gives a pledge not of possessing the gate of enemies, 
 when He speaks of the blessing of the nations, instead 
 of the overthrow of Israel's foes, then he speaks simply 
 of "thy seed." There is no comparison of countless 
 seed ; there is not an allusion to the sand of the sea, or 
 to the stars of the sky. On this the apostle reasons. 
 
 What the Jews would have liked, no doubt, was power 
 (and the Galatians, after all, were in danger of slipping 
 into the same snare ; for the law suits the world, as 
 grace does not), and in the world present power and 
 honour. This the Jews are destined to have by-and-by; 
 for the promises to Abraham are not exhausted yet. 
 Whereas the Holy Ghost by the apostle draws attention 
 to the contrast of "thy seed" (as one) with the numerous 
 seed, with earthly blessing attached to them; whilst 
 to " thy seed " simply, without reference to stars or 
 to sand, no more is annexed than the blessing of Gen- 
 tiles. This it is to which we are come now under 
 Christianity. By-and-by will be fulfilled the promised 
 earthly blessing, and power, and glory for Israel like 
 the sand and the stars. The Jews will surely be ex- 
 alted, as well as converted nationally, and they will 
 then put down their enemies, being made the head 
 when other nations become the tail. But meanwhile, 
 under the gospel, there is an express promise of the 
 
166 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 blessing of the Gentiles when God spoke of the one 
 seed, which is Christ. Already "thy seed," the true 
 Isaac, is given, and in that true seed the Gentiles are 
 being blessed. It is no question now of being subject 
 to the Jews, who shall never possess the gate' of their 
 enemies, but be peeled and scattered and few, while 
 the gospel is going forth. The other part remains, and 
 must be accomplished in its own day, when Israel's 
 heart turns to the Lord. ^lean while another and a 
 better sort of blessing is given, as a better Seed also 
 is given — the true Heir of all the promises of God, 
 even Christ the Lord. And, doubtless, God had all this 
 in view when He pledged Himself svith an oath to 
 Abraham. He did not forget His people Israel ; but He 
 had always the glory of Christ before Him ; and the 
 moment we rise up to this blessed Seed of all blessing 
 (the true Isaac, dead and risen really, as the son of 
 Abraham was then in figure), the blessing of the Gen- 
 tiles is secured in that one sole person, before the Jews 
 are multiplied in their land under the new covenant, 
 and possess the gate of their enemies. 
 
 This then is the apostle's allusion and reasoning ; 
 but he proceeds to meet a natural objection. If the 
 promise be the only means of enjoying the inheritance, 
 what is the good of the law ? Does not this make very 
 light of it? You say that the promise is everything, 
 and that the law cannot either set aside the promise or 
 add other clauses to it. What then is the end of the 
 law ? It is for the purpose of bringing in transgression, 
 answers the apostle. This is all that people's zeal and 
 labour come to. They spring from unbelief— from undue 
 thoughts of self, from ignorance of God, from slight 
 thoughts of Christ. Legal activity is but labouring in 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATLAJN'S. 167 
 
 the fire for vanity ; and if, alas ! the Christian dooms 
 himself to such hard labour instead of resting in the faith 
 of Christ, whom has he to blame ? Certainly not God, 
 nor His plain and precious word. He will gain trans- 
 gression thereby; nothing more, nothing better. "Where- 
 fore then serveth the law? It was added because of 
 transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the 
 promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in 
 the hand of a mediator." Thus it is evident that the 
 legal system is a parenthesis. Promise was before the 
 law, and flowed out of the grace of God. The law came 
 in meanwhile, serving its own object, which was to 
 bring out what was in the heart of man. For he is a 
 sinner; and the law called out the sin into articulate 
 transgressions, and made it perfectly plain that the heart 
 is only evil continually, and proves it by plain transgres- 
 sions ; that is all. Then comes the seed, and the promise 
 is made Yea and Amen in Him — all the promises of 
 God. As made under the law He was for Israel ; but 
 He died and rose, and was thus free to bless a Gentile 
 as much as a Jew. For what has a risen man to do 
 with Israel more than the nations? All question of 
 natural ties drops in death ; as the cross is the disproof 
 of any right to Christ in either. For Jew and Gentile 
 were alike guilty of crucifying Him. All therefore 
 becomes a matter of the pure grace of God ; and He is 
 pleased to bless the Gentiles in the Seed, even Christ 
 dead and risen. 
 
 The law is of a wholly different nature, and hence 
 was ordained of angels in the hand of a mediator. 
 The creature intervenes here, and the consequence soon 
 appears. For he comes to another and most cogent 
 argument. " Now a mediator is not a mediator of one. 
 
168 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 but God is one." The meaning is that you never can 
 get stability in blessing until you have simply God 
 putting forth His own power according to His own grace. 
 Leave room for God, and for God alone. Such is the 
 only possible way in which blessing can be brought in, 
 in order that such souls as we are should be blessed and 
 maintained in it. And thus it is with the promise. In 
 it there is one party, — even God Himself, who gave it, 
 and accordingly fulfils it in that Seed to whom the cove- 
 nant was confirmed. But the moment you bring in the 
 law, you have two parties ; and, strange to say, instead 
 of the greater party being God, it becomes man, whose 
 responsibility is to God. God asks, and man is called to 
 give, i.e., is called to obedience. Alas ! we know too well 
 the result from sinful man. Grace alone in such a case 
 brings glory to God. Thus, clearly, in the law man 
 becomes the prominent and responsible party, not God. 
 This never can bring man to God any more than glory 
 to God. The law, accordingly, never was the truth, 
 either on God's side, or man's. It was, of course, alto- 
 gether just and right in itself. Man had his duty to 
 God, and he ought to have done his duty ; but it was 
 precisely what he could not do, because he was a sinner. 
 To make this evident by transgressions was the object 
 of the law. It was to demonstrate his sinfulness, not 
 to gain the inheritance. But this was only provisional 
 and parenthetic. After all, what God had at heart was 
 the accomplishment of His own promise in grace. When 
 He gave the promise to Abraham, He said, "I will give." 
 And now in Christ He has accomplished it — I mean 
 already. But before He sent the promised Seed, man's 
 self-confidence needed the discipline of the intermediate 
 thing, the law ; and after infinite long-suffering on God's 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 1G9 
 
 part, the people who undertook to obey it had to be 
 swept out of the land for their disobedience. 
 
 The law was given them with all pomp and solemnity. 
 It was ordained by angels, who had nothing to do with 
 promise, which God gave direct to His friend. When 
 He had anything unfailing to do or say. He loved to 
 appear in grace ; He said it Himself, and did it for 
 Himself. But when men would have anything fraught 
 with distress to His people, when through their folly 
 confusion must ensue, contrary to all that His heart 
 loved, then it was left to others. Thus the law w^as 
 ordained by angels in the hands of a mediator. A 
 double intervention comes between God and man, in 
 contrast with the simplicity of His ways of grace. In 
 grace, God in the person of His Son speaks and accom- 
 plishes ALL ; and thus He is glorified from first to last. 
 Man is only the receiver ; and truly, as we know, " it is 
 more blessed to give than to receive." God reserves to 
 Himself this great blessedness in the gospel ; whereas 
 under the law there was nothing of the kind. Then I 
 must repeat that God could only make claims ; and man 
 had to take the place, if he could, of giving to God — of 
 rendering his obedience. He was bound to do what he 
 ought ; but, in point of fact, all was a failure, and could 
 be nothing else, because man was a sinner. 
 
 This then is what the law brought in. Is it against 
 the promise of God ? Not at aU. Eather, if man had 
 been able to obey the law and so acquire a title, then two 
 systems would have interfered with each other as being 
 to the same end. Some would have received the inheri- 
 tance because of promise, and others on the ground of 
 law. Thus the two totally opposite roads of grace and 
 law would have been leading to the same result. This 
 
170 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 must be indeed confusion; as it is, there is none. 
 Under law all is lost ; under grace all is saved. The 
 law and the promise are both from God, but the law's 
 use is only negative and condemnatory. It cannot and 
 ought not to spare sinners. The promise has another 
 and most blessed place. It brings in deliverance for 
 man in the accomplishment of God's purpose in Christ. 
 This is what is found under it. Thus the law puUs 
 down what is evil, and the promise gives what is good 
 and builds it up. The law brings man in his nothing- 
 ness into evidence, it proves that he is only a poor lost 
 sinner. Grace brings out the faithful promise of God, 
 and His goodness to him that deserves nothing. Thus, 
 rightly understood and applied, the law and the pro- 
 mises, while wholly distinct, are in no way inconsistent 
 with each other. Merge them, as unbelief does, and all 
 is confusion and ruin. 
 
 Further, it is laid down, if there had been a law 
 capable of giving life, righteousness would be by the 
 law\ But this could not be. On the contrary, "the 
 Scripture hath concluded all under sin" — not under 
 righteousness — by law. Thus, whether it be the Gen- 
 tile without law, or the Jew with it, all are shut up 
 under sin. "The scripture hath concluded all under 
 sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be 
 given to them that believe." 
 
 But, he adds, faith is come (that is, the testimony to 
 be believed by man now, or the gospel). This he means 
 here by "faith." "Before faith came we [Jews] were 
 kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which 
 should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was 
 our schoolmaster unto Christ, that we might be justified 
 by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 171 
 
 under a schoolmaster. Tor ye are all the children of 
 God." Instead of being under a slave, with rigorous 
 and humiliating discipline, there is now the place of 
 a child before his Father ; the Christian stands by faith 
 of Jesus in direct relationship to God. "Ye are all 
 the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." 
 
 This is shown still more fully in the allusion to bap- 
 tism: "As many of us as have been baptized into Christ 
 have put on Christ." It is of course assumed that 
 every Christian had been baptized. There was no 
 doubt or difficulty on this head in these early days. 
 There was no believer, Jew or Gentile, who had not 
 gladly submitted to that very blessed sign of having 
 part, with Christ, and of that which is made good by 
 Christ. " As many as have been baptized into Christ 
 have put on Christ." It is not a question of law at all. 
 Christian baptism, contrariwise, supposes man dead ; 
 and the only death that can deliver man out of his 
 own death is the death of Christ. Therefore, when a 
 man is baptized, he is not, of course, baptized into his 
 own death ; there is no sense in such a thought. He 
 is baptized into Christ's death, which is the sole means 
 of deliverance out of his state of sin. So here the 
 Christian puts on Christ, not the law or circumcision. 
 He wants to get rid of the first Adam and all its appli- 
 ances, not to keep it on ; and therefore he puts on 
 Christ. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is 
 neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female ;" 
 all is Christ and only Christ. It is not an old creation, 
 but a new one. Can anything prove that it is not an 
 old creation better than this — that there is neither Jew 
 nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female, which last at 
 least is an absolute necessity for the perpetuation of 
 
172 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 the race ? All this vanishes in Christ ; we are all one 
 in Him ; and if you are Christ's, what need to be cir- 
 cumcised ? You do not want to become the children of 
 Abraham in that sense, which would be the revival of 
 the flesh. If Christ's, they were Abraham's seed already, 
 " and heirs according to the promise ; " for Christ, he 
 had shown before, was the one true Seed ; and if we 
 are Christ's, we belong to that one true Seed, and there- 
 fore are the children of Abraham without circumci- 
 sion at all. I^othing can be more conclusive than 
 this disproof of the fleshly pretensions that were con- 
 nected with Jerusalem, and were brought in under 
 cover of Abraham, but really to the subversion of the 
 gospel. 
 
 In chapter iv. the relation is taken up, not of the 
 law to the promise, but of the Christian now to the 
 condition of the saints of old — a very important point 
 also. Here one may be very brief: "The heir, as long as 
 he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though 
 he be lord of all ; but is under tutors and governors, 
 until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, 
 when we were children," &c. The comparison would take 
 in the Old Testament saints ; or the application (" even 
 so we") is to those then alive, who had been under that 
 state of things. " We, when we were children, w^ere in 
 bondage under the elements of the world ; but when 
 the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his 
 Son made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem 
 them that were under the law, that we might receive 
 the adoption of sons." The apostle shows that, so far 
 from bringing in Christians and patting them on the 
 ground of the Old Testament, God is really leading 
 those who were in that connection out of it all by re- 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIAXS. 173 
 
 demption. He fully allows that the Lord was both made 
 of a woman and made tinder the law ; but what was 
 the ultimate object in view ? It was not to keep people 
 under the law, still less could it be to put any under 
 the law, but to bring them clean out if they had been 
 under it before. Such was the case with the Old Testa- 
 ment believers, and many Jewish believers then alive. 
 Was it possible, then, that any could desire to put the 
 Gentiles under law, when they had been brought out 
 from it themselves by the will of God, the work of 
 Christ, and the witness of the Holy Spirit ? What a 
 gross inconsistency ! What a subversion, not only of 
 the truth of God revealed in the gospel, but also of 
 redemption, which is its basis ! For Christ bought off 
 those that were under the law, that we might receive the 
 adoption of sons, bringing them by grace into a place of 
 known salvation and intelligent joy in relation with our 
 God and Father, out of that bondage and nonage which 
 the law supposes. 
 
 But what about the Gentiles ? " Because ye are 
 sons." He does not condescend to reason about their 
 place in the matter, but puts them at once in their due 
 relationship. Because they were sons, God sent that 
 blessed proof and power of their sonship. He gives 
 freely the Holy Ghost on their acceptance of Christ's 
 name ; or, as it is here written, " He sent forth the 
 Spirit of his Son in your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." 
 Tiiat is, if the Holy Ghost was given as the seal of 
 their redemption, and as the joy of the sonship, where- 
 in they now stood, in the exercise of their nearness 
 to God and enjoyment of His love, they cry, "Abba, 
 Father," — the very words of Christ himself (but in 
 how different circumstances !) to His Father. " Where- 
 
174 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 fore, thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a 
 son, tlien an heir of God through Christ." 
 
 Thence he advances to another point of his argument. 
 Indeed, we may say that now he thunders on the Gala- 
 tians that were dragging in the law. Did they know 
 that for a Gentile Christian to take up Judaic elements 
 is in principle to go back to heathenism ? Heathenism ! 
 AVhy they thought they were becoming more truly re- 
 ligious, more reverent in their value for Scripture. They 
 thought that Christianity would be all the better for 
 adopting the ancient forms and beautiful figures of the 
 law. Not at all, says the apostle, you are returning 
 straight into your old heathenism without knowing it 
 yourselves. For he had shown that our purchase by 
 Christ delivers even the Jew from subjection to the law; 
 whilst Gentiles are set at once on the ground of grace 
 without the intervention of any legal apprenticeship 
 whatever. " Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye 
 did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But 
 now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known 
 of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly 
 elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage ? " 
 What can be conceived more serious or trenchant than 
 such a statement as this ? Impossible to find a blast 
 more withering to all that they were aiming at. Born 
 and bred in the abominable idolatries of the heathen, 
 they were strangers to the institutions of Israel. They 
 had been lately brought by the grace of God into 
 Christianity, where they found Jewish brethren, now 
 made one, as it is said, in Christ. Ignorant or false 
 men had made them hanker after circumcision. What 
 were they doing? When a Gentile Christian, mark, 
 takes up such Old Testament elements, according to the 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 175 
 
 Holy Ghost, it is not to him merely Judaism, but a 
 return to his Gentile idols, little as he may think so. 
 
 Jewish elements were borne with in a Jew. The apos- 
 tle Paul himself, in Eom. xiv., insists upon the forbear- 
 ance of a Gentile even towards the Jew that might be 
 still encumbered by his days, meats, and so on. But the 
 moment a Gentile takes the system up, or a Jew presses 
 it on a Gentile, it is nothing but downright heathenism. 
 Who would have ventured to say, without express 
 scripture, that the old Jewish forms thus adopted by a 
 Gentile believer have such an idolatrous character? 
 Yet how true it is, the more we look below the surface ; 
 indeed, in our day it becomes more and more palpable 
 to the eye. Eitualism is the present most patent 
 comment on the apostle's statement. The very defence 
 set up, and the meanings which these men put on the 
 forms and ceremonies of which they make Christianity 
 so largely to consist, demonstrate their most barefaced 
 turning back to idolatry. Do not suppose that idolatry 
 has its character saved because Jesus is worshipped. 
 Christianity refuses to be mingled with anything but 
 itself Tender and comprehensive as Christianity is, it 
 is also the most exclusive thing that can be. Truth 
 must necessarily be exclusive, and all who hold the 
 truth must, in their adhesion to it and Him who is its 
 personal expression, be exclusive too. (I mean by this, 
 of course, exclusive of sin and falsehood.) There can be 
 no compromise ; but to be exclusive in any sense save 
 as the expression of the truth in Christ would be in its 
 own way an utter and heartless falsehood. There is 
 nothing that requires more the power of grace; for even 
 the truth itself, if severed from grace, ceases to be the 
 truth. Being found only in Christ, it supposes the 
 
176 rNTRODUCTOEY LECTURES. 
 
 manifestation of grace; light does not in the same 
 way that truth does. " Grace and truth came by Jesus 
 Christ." (Compare John i. 9 and 17.) 
 
 Xow the Galatians were unwittingly in danger of 
 giving up the trutL They were only, as they supposed, 
 beginning to cherish a becoming attitude toward the 
 religion of the fathers, and of all who had before Christ 
 honoured God on earth. Venerable religion ! — the only 
 system of earthly worship which had ever possessed 
 God's sanction. Why not adopt what was wanting in 
 Christianity ? Where was the harm of taking up what 
 saints of old submitted to? Xo, rejoins the apostle; 
 you are going back to heathenism. They had been> 
 idolaters before they became Christians ; and to take 
 up Jewish principles in addition to Christ is to turn 
 back again to their cast-off idols. ]N'ext, we are told, 
 wherein this consisted. " Ye observe days, and months, 
 and times, and years." What ! is this all ? I have 
 known a divine who had a character for intelligence 
 use these words as a motto and sanction. And no 
 wonder. Christendom is built upon this footing. They 
 think that it is quite right, for the church especially, to 
 appoint days for this and that saint ; to have certain 
 seasons to remind one of the Lord's incarnation, minis- 
 try, and crucifixion, of His resurrection, ascension, and so 
 on. I choose the best facts ; for I have no wish to rake 
 up abuses. All this is counted a great, ^dse, and sen- 
 sible help to devotion. Well, "sensible" help in the mean- 
 inor of an appeal to nature it is; but it is a sensible help 
 to idolatry, not to living faith. This is the very evil 
 which the Spirit of God so earnestly and energetically 
 denounces here by the apostle Paul. He does not charge 
 them vriih anything of an opeuly gross or immoral 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATLINS. 177 
 
 nature ; but what a proof that the truth of God, that 
 the grace of Christ, is exclusive of everything but itself ! 
 Xor is there a greater evidence of God's tender and 
 considerate care for us than such a fact as this. For He 
 knows our tendency to mingle law with grace in some 
 form or measure, and treats that which was of the 
 fathers and long before Moses, as a foreign ingredient 
 deleterious to Christians. As God has wrought for us on 
 the cross, and delivered us from every atom of sin in 
 Christ, so He will not allow us to mix one earthly or 
 legal element with the revelation of His grace, which 
 He has made ours in redemption, and proclaimed to us 
 by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. 
 
 Hereon the apostle puts before them another expos- 
 tulation : " I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed 
 upon you labour in vain." And this directly follows 
 his censure of their observance of times and seasons. 
 " Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am ; for I am as ye 
 are." They knew very well that he had nothing to do 
 with the law or its ordinances. " Be as I am." By this 
 he plainl}^ means — free from law. " For I am as ye are." 
 They were, after all. Gentiles, and as such ought to 
 have had nothing to do with the law. So he calls on 
 them to be as free of the law as himself. For he, though 
 a Jew, had completely done with the law, and all that 
 pertains to it. " For I am as ye are : ye have not 
 injured me at all." That is, the apostle, instead of re- 
 garding his despised freedom from the law as a just 
 reproach, glories in it. There was no insult to him, nor 
 injury done, in saying that he did not acknowledge the 
 law for a Christian. 
 
 But, further, he refers in a very affecting manner to 
 some personal circumstances — how in his own bod}^ he 
 
178 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 was a witness of having nothing to do with flesh ; for 
 what God had been pleased to put upon him as serving 
 Him in the gospel was not great power of nature, but 
 that which made him contemptible in his preaching. 
 It is evident that the thorn in the flesh was something 
 which left him open to a slight, and made it difficult 
 indeed for any one to understand how a man who was 
 called to be an apostle should find it hard to convey 
 plainly his mind in preaching. It is quite obvious that 
 there was a hindrance of some sort. It seems to have 
 been something which affected his speech too, and ex- 
 posed him to ridicule and to unfavourable comments 
 where men were carnally-minded. But in this he could 
 glory. It was something painful to bear. At first he 
 prayed the Lord to take it from him ; but no ! though 
 he had prayed thrice, as his Lord had done on another 
 and wondrous occasion, so the apostle was to have 
 communion with Christ in this way, and learn that 
 there is something better than the taking away of that 
 which makes nothing of the flesh. The power of Christ 
 must rest upon him. Thus it appears that the Gala- 
 tians as well as the Corinthians had been similarly 
 affected. And this leads him to speak of another 
 trial. When they first knew him, there was no diffi- 
 culty felt on this score ; they heard him as an angel of 
 God. It was they who had changed, not he. They had 
 so completely lost sight of the grace of Christ, the 
 sweetness and the bloom of it, that he travailed again 
 for them : his soul once more passed through that which 
 had exercised him when they were converted. 
 
 Then he gives a closing blow to those who doted 
 about the law. He says to those who would be under 
 the law, why do you not listen to the law ? Look at 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 179 
 
 Abraham and his house; look at the maid Hagar; look 
 at Isaac and Ishmael. There you have in a figure the 
 two parties that are still found on the earth : the law 
 party symbolized by Ishmael, the child of flesh ; and 
 those that cling to the grace of God, who have their 
 pattern in Isaac, the child of promise. Now, what does 
 God say about it? Why this: "Abraham had two 
 sons, the one by a bondmaid, and the other by a free- 
 woman." The apostle expressly reasons on Abraham, 
 as they were always anxious to cite Abraham, the father 
 of circumcision. Their main support then, as they 
 thought Abraham, had two sons; but they stood, ac- 
 cording to Scripture, on wholly different principles. 
 " The child of the bondwoman was born after the flesh ; 
 but he of the free wo man was by promise." How apt 
 the illustration for exposing the judaizers ! The case 
 is hit off exactly to the life. Which son represented 
 them? Under which type did they fall — Ishmael or 
 Isaac ? Whom did their principle make them resemble ? 
 There can be no doubt about the matter. " Tell me, ye 
 that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law ?" 
 " W^hich things are an allegory : for these are the two 
 covenants ; the one from the mount Sinai, which gender- 
 eth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount 
 Sinai in Arabia, which answereth to Jerusalem which 
 now is, and is in bondage with her children. But 
 Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother 
 of us [all?]. For it is written. Rejoice, thou barren that 
 bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest 
 not : for the desolate hath many more children than 
 she whicjh hath a husband." The application of this 
 is as plain as it is conclusive, for those who appealed 
 to Abraham and bowed to the word of God. Instead 
 
 N 2 
 
180 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 of going up to Jerusalem on earth, instead of endea- 
 vouring to effect a junction with the law or anything 
 else here below, the gospel wants no such allies, but 
 repudiates them all. The very reverse of their system 
 is true. The true link is with Jerusalem above, as 
 our prototype is Isaac, the child of the freewoman. 
 Theirs was the slave's son — Ishmael. 
 
 Then, bringing in the name of Jerusalem, the Spirit 
 leads him to apply the prophecy of Isaiah, which shows 
 that millennial Israel (in their turn abandoning self- 
 righteousness, and made free by God's grace in Christ) 
 will look back and count as their own those now 
 brought in as Christians, and find far more children 
 begotten by the gospel, in the time of their own desola- 
 tion, than even when they flourished of old, and had 
 all that earthly power and glory could give. Thus a 
 decisive blow is struck at the principle of connection 
 with the law; and it was evident that they did not 
 truly " hear the law." Their ears were heavy, and their 
 eyes blinded by their legalism. Nor did they under- 
 stand the prophets better. To be under law was fatal 
 to Jerusalem. Everything lost then would be gained 
 when promise has its way. Up to the destruction of 
 Jerusalem it was law; but now, under Christianity, 
 Jerusalem, being rebellious and scorning promise like 
 Ishmael, is cast out and has nothing. She is desolate ; 
 she is no longer in the condition of the married wife, 
 but like the fugitive bondwoman. She is as one that 
 has no husband. Yet, wondrous to say, when she de- 
 sires to be under grace by-and-by, all those that are 
 now brought in by promise will be accounted as chil- 
 dren to her. Such is the reasoning in which the apostle 
 uses this very remarkable prophecy. When Jerusalem 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 181 
 
 is humbled by the mercy of God, and betakes herself 
 to her Messiah and the new covenant, she will " hear 
 the law," and the prophets will be accomplished in her 
 blessing, and in the largeness of love the present chil- 
 dren of promise (even Christians, as being in a certain 
 mystical sense children of Jerusalem) will be her boast. 
 But this will be Jerusalem, under not law but promise 
 and liberty, restored by grace after having lost every- 
 thing by the law, and reduced to utter desolation. But 
 for us now the apostle carefully adds the principle of 
 our heavenly character. Ours is Jerusalem above, not 
 a city on earth. That is, he links on the heavenly cha- 
 racter of Jerusalem for us before touching on the deso- 
 late place of Jerusalem after the flesh, or of the predicted 
 change of heart and blessing in grace, when she will be 
 glad to appropriate, as it were, the Christians born now 
 after the Spirit. This closes the course of the apostle's 
 argument. 
 
 Next he turns to direct exhortation, the chief salient 
 points of which will call for but few words. It is liberty 
 and not law that the Christian stands in. At the same 
 time he insists in the most peremptory manner that our 
 liberty in Christ is to be used for holiness. He shows 
 that the Spirit of God dwelling in the believer gives 
 no license for the action of the flesh. In other words, 
 if the believer simply were one forgiven by grace, 
 without having either life in Christ or the Holy Ghost 
 dwelling in him, he might, perhaps, plead that he could 
 not avoid sinning. He had been brought to a place of 
 blessing outside himself and by another, the Saviour, 
 which in itself gives the soul motives indeed but not 
 power ; whereas, for the soul who is brought to God by 
 
182 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 the gospel, and planted in the liberty wherein Christ 
 makes free before God, it is no more a question of flesh, 
 but of the Holy Ghost who is given to him. And who 
 will venture to say that the indwelling Spirit of God 
 fails to supply power to him who submits to the right- 
 eousness of God in Christ ? Hence the point is not at 
 all whether we have intrinsic power, but whether He is 
 not now abiding in us as " a Spirit of power, and of 
 love, and of a sound mind." Undoubtedly such is the 
 assurance of God's word to His children ; and thus 
 Galatians v. is in contrast with Romans vii. In that 
 chapter of Eomans we have a man converted indeed, 
 but without liberty, and consequently powerless. He 
 sees the right, feels the good, desires the holy, but never 
 accomplishes. The reason is, that he has not yet come 
 to own by faith that he has no strength any more than 
 righteousness, and that Christ is all and in all. He is 
 afresh making efforts to improve, yet still in bondage 
 and misery. He is occupied with himself. He feels 
 what he ought to do, but he does it not, and thus is 
 increasingly wretched. Sense of duty is not power. 
 What gives power is the heart surrendering itself in 
 everything, and thus set at liberty by Christ. I am 
 perfectly delivered, and the measure of my deliverance 
 is Christ, and Christ raised from the dead. This is 
 Christianity ; and when the soul thankfully accepts 
 from God this blessed liberty, the Holy Ghost is given 
 to and acts in the believer as a Spirit of peace and 
 powder ; so that if there is the flesh lusting against the 
 Spirit, the Spirit resists this, in order that (for such is 
 the true meaning) they should not do the things that 
 they would. 
 
 Accordingly he draws from this a most weighty 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 183 
 
 argument against bringing in the law as the rule of life 
 for the believer. You do not need it, because the Holy 
 Ghost thus working strengthens you unto love. Liberty 
 comes first, mark ; power and love afterwards. And 
 how true all this is ! Make a child thoroughly happy, 
 and you will soon see that its duty becomes compara- 
 tively light and a joy. But when one is miserable, 
 does not every duty, even where it may be as light as 
 a feather, feel as if it were an iron chain on you ? It 
 is no wonder that one who is thus tied and bound 
 feels restive under it. Far otherwise is God's way with 
 souls. He makes one first thoroughly happy in the 
 sense of His grace and the liberty Christ has won, and 
 then the Holy Ghost becomes an indwelling spring of 
 power, though His power is put forth in us only as we 
 have Christ kept before us. Thus, if we walk in the 
 Spirit, we shall not fulfil the desires of the flesh. Such 
 is the secret of true power. The consequence is, "If 
 ye are led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law ; " and 
 more than this, if we are producing the fruits of the 
 Spirit, he can easily say, "Against such there is no 
 law." Let others talk as they will of the law, no law 
 can censure the real fruits of the Holy Ghost, or those 
 in whom they are found. 
 
 Then we come to the closing chapter; and here we 
 find the Spirit of God calling for tenderness in dealing 
 with those who are overtaken in a fault. "Ye which 
 are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meek- 
 ness ; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." 
 Besides, we have a more daily duty : " Bear ye one 
 another's burdens." It is not merely to seek in love a 
 fallen brother, but to be the succourer of others in their 
 difficulties. Love finds its activity in caring for those 
 
184 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 that are cast down, " and so fulfils the law of Christ." 
 Do you want a law ? Is not this just the law for you ? 
 It is the law of Christ. Thus He lived and moved 
 here below. The law of Moses tells a man to do his 
 duty in his own place. The law of Christ makes the 
 going out of love towards another, so to speak, to be 
 his joy. It was exactly what Christ was on earth ; 
 and the expression of Christ is the prime call of the 
 Christian. 
 
 But there is more for us. He shows that God would 
 give ns a deliverence from self-importance ; and what a 
 mercy it is to be so blessed, that one can afford to for- 
 get one's self ! Now, the law always brings fallen man 
 into importance : such it must be in its principle. The 
 law necessarily makes the man, and the man's doings, 
 to be the prominent object. Hence the effect of the law 
 in all its ramifications on man is the same. Thus it 
 wrought among the Galatians. After all their vapour- 
 ing about the law, they were biting and devouring one 
 another. Was this the love the law claimed? Had 
 they been occupied with Christ, they would have really 
 loved one another, and in other respects too fulfilled 
 the law, without thinking about themselves or it. Such 
 is the effect of Christianity, and such in perfection 
 was Christ Himself But spite of, or rather because of, 
 their use of law, they were self-important, without holy 
 power, and judged instead of loving each other. How 
 abortive is man in the things of God ! " For if a man 
 think himself to be something when he is nothing, he 
 deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own 
 work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, 
 and not in another. For every man shall bear his own 
 burden." Thus, whatever may be the energy that seeks 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 185 
 
 souls in love, there is nothing after all like Christianity 
 for maintaining individual responsibility intact. 
 
 How wholesome is the language here, "Every one 
 shall bear his own burden ! " But responsibility is always 
 according to the relation in which one stands, and the 
 measure of knowledge which each possesses, or ought 
 to possess. Let me press this gravely upon those who 
 are here this night. If I am a man, I am responsible 
 as such ; being fallen and sinful, this will end in judg- 
 ment. If I am a Christian, I am responsible according 
 to that position and privilege. My responsibility is 
 defined by the place in which I am found. If I am a 
 mere man, a sinner, the end of that is (for respon- 
 sibility is not like power, destroyed by sin) the eternal 
 judgment of God. If I am a Christian, I acquire a new 
 kind of responsibility. My business is to act consis- 
 tently with the new place in which grace has put me. 
 Let us never confound the two. One of the most danger- 
 ous errors in Christendom is, that these two things are 
 lumped together. The truth is the distinctive boon and 
 mark of Christendom. There is now much confusion 
 of things that differ ; and so, more or less, error runs 
 through the whole of it in all its parts ; but I know 
 not anything more ruinous than this. The most difficult 
 thing in Christendom is for people to know what it is 
 to be Christians, and to take this place by the faith of 
 Christ themselves. That is, the most simple and most 
 obvious truth is just the last thing a man thinks about. 
 And no wonder. What Satan aims at is, that people 
 should not count themselves what they are, and that 
 they should be always slipping into what they are not. 
 The result of this is, that neither God has His place, 
 nor they. All is confusion. Christ is forgotten. 
 
186 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 But then there is another point of exhortation too ; 
 and surely we ought not to forget that there are not only 
 the common links of love, and the willingness to succour 
 one another, as we see, beginning with a most extreme 
 case and ending with a general one ; but still further, 
 " Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto 
 him that teacheth in all good things ;" and not only 
 that, but also the general responsibility of the saint and 
 in a solemn manner. It is not only that we are put 
 now where we can be the witness to grace in all its 
 outgoings, but, besides that, we are where flesh might 
 show itself. And this is a universal principle. If I 
 sow to the flesh, I shall of the flesh reap corruption ; if 
 I sow to the Spirit, I shall reap life everlasting. Eternal 
 life is beyond doubt the gift of divine grace ; but, besides, 
 the eternal life that I have now by pure and simple 
 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is what I find at the end 
 of my course as well as at the starting. There is such 
 a thing as, by patient continuance in well doing, to seek 
 for eternal life. Eternal life is spoken of in this double 
 way in scripture (Kom. vi. 22, 23); and I also press this 
 as a truth of no small importance and but too much 
 forgotten. 
 
 Then, further, attention is drawn to another topic — his 
 own writing of this letter. It was a very unusual cir- 
 cumstance. The apostle, as far as I know, wrote no 
 other letter to any one of the churches of the saints. 
 To the Galatians there was an exception. If he wrote 
 to the Romans, it was transcribed, or at any rate written, 
 by another. He signed ordinarily, putting his subscrip- 
 tion at the end, i.e., his own name, to verify it; but he 
 did not write it. Writing was a somewhat laborious 
 task in those days, and it was a kind of profession to 
 
THE. EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 187 
 
 be a writer or scribe, before printing, of course, was 
 known. Now the apostle in writing to the Galatians 
 was so moved in love, and so yearned over them in 
 their danger, that he actually wrote the epistle with his 
 own hand. He draws particular attention to this fact 
 ere he closes : " You see how large a letter I have 
 wTitten unto you with mine own hand." Thus it was 
 the ardour of love and grief ; it was the earnestness of 
 his purpose that could not bear in this instance to em- 
 ploy an intermediary. Just as he had shown that God 
 in His love to man had given the promise direct, so the 
 apostle Paul acts in his care for the saints of God where 
 all the foundations were endangered. 
 
 Finally, he concludes by putting the sentence of 
 death, if I may so say, on circumcision, and all such as 
 might adopt it. He intimates also how vain a thing is 
 legalism, because those that were pleading for circum- 
 cision in no case carried out their own principle. Bring 
 in one part of law, and you fall under the authority of 
 the whole. You are bound to carry it out consistently. 
 This they never thought of doing. The enemy had 
 ensnared them by crying up circumcision, in order to 
 betray them into a link with Judaism ; but they had 
 no thought of bearing the real burden of the law. As 
 for himself, he gloried only in the cross. " God forbid 
 that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I 
 unto the world." Along with the cross goes a new crea- 
 tion. How blessed, and how all -important for our 
 souls ! The cross has sentenced the world ; and this 
 very sentence of the world is our deliverance from the 
 world. We are crucified unto it by grace, as the world is 
 crucified unto us by judgment. For the world there 
 
188 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 is nothing yet executed, any more than the great results 
 of grace for the saints as yet appear in their fuhiess. 
 The solemnities of Christ's judgment await men in the 
 day of the Lord. But the whole matter is decided 
 before God. And this is of immense moment to re- 
 member. Christianity brings everything to a climax ; 
 it also settles all questions. The Christian by the cross 
 of Christ has terminated his connection with flesh, with 
 the world, with the law. He is brought into another 
 condition. And what is this? He is a new creature 
 in Christ. Therefore, no wonder that he says, " God 
 forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ." 
 
 At the same time it is shown to be, not what it might 
 seem, a negative power only, but along with it is the 
 new creation into which grace forms us. "In Christ Jesus 
 neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircum- 
 cision, but a new creature." Gentiles might boast in 
 their freedom. What ground is there for boasting in 
 this 1 In Christ alone, in His cross, let us boast, and in 
 the new creature which is by Christ. Therefore the 
 apostle adds, " And as many as walk according to 
 this rule [that is, the rule of the new creation], peace 
 be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." 
 Those that walk according to this rule would be saints 
 in general. The " Israel of God," I apprehend, would 
 mean, that the only part of Israel whom God owns now 
 consists of those that really are of faith — those that 
 received Jesus. It is not a vague general expression 
 for all saints, but implies that fleshly Israel was no- 
 thing now. If any of them believe in the Crucified, they 
 were God's Israel. Soon all will believe in Christ, 
 and all Israel be saved. But this is a future prophetic 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 189 
 
 vision not touched on here. The new creation is a 
 present blessing that the soul already enjoys. It is an 
 actual result of the cross of Christ. Consequently we 
 have no allusion to the Lord's coming in this epistle to 
 the Galatians. It is all devoted to the deliverance of 
 the saint from this present evil age by the cross of 
 Christ, and his consistent maintenance of the new 
 nature and position of grace — of the new creation in 
 Christ Jesus. 
 
 May the truth of God sink into our hearts ! Thus all 
 things fall into their place, and the Spirit connects us 
 in heart with that which God is doing and will do for 
 the glory of Christ. The apostle had heard enough of 
 circumcision: it was repulsive to him henceforth. It 
 was his to bear in his body a very different brand — 
 "the marks of the Lord Jesus," the scars of the only 
 warfare that is precious in the sight of God the Father. 
 Lastly, he desires for his brethren, that "the grace of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ" might be with their spirit. 
 Nothing more in keeping with the wants of those 
 addressed, who had so soon turned aside from the grace 
 of Christ to a different gospel. 
 
190 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 EPHESIANS. 
 
 In this epistle we have the unfolding of the grace of 
 God in all its fulness, not merely the application of His 
 righteousness to man's need on His part, hut God from 
 out of Himself, and for Himself, as the adequate motive 
 and object before Him, even His own glory. Hence it 
 is that righteousness disappears in this epistle. We 
 have had the gospel thus in all the epistles that have 
 gone before. In Eomans, in 1st and 2nd Corinthians, 
 and in Galatians, righteousness was largely used. It 
 was developed in a positive and comprehensive way, as 
 in Eomans. It was brought in either to convict the 
 Corinthians of their utter departure through the spirit 
 of the world, the flesh taking that shape, or it was 
 brought in triumphantly on their restoration. Again, 
 by it the apostle, writing to the Galatians, vindicated 
 God's ways with man, and set the Christian outside 
 the law. 
 
 But in Ephesians the aim is of a much more absolute 
 and direct character. It is not the wants of man in any 
 sense, either positively or negatively. Here God from 
 Himself and for Himself is acting according to the 
 riches of His own grace. Accordingly the very opening 
 brings before us this astonishingly elevated manner of 
 presenting the great truth with which the apostle's 
 heart was filled. "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 191 
 
 the will of God." It was pre-eminently for this that he 
 had been chosen as an apostle ; and he represents his 
 apostleship not here as a question of calling, but " by 
 the will of God : " everything in this epistle flows from 
 the will of God ; — " to the saints which are at Ephesus, 
 and to the faithful in Christ Jesus." 
 
 Although about to show us what the church is in its 
 heavenly blessing, that is, in its highest associations, 
 he always begins with the individual. This was pe- 
 culiarly needed. The tendency is ever to set aside what 
 is personal for that which is corporate. The epistle to 
 the Ephesians truly understood will help none so to do. 
 It may be perverted to this or anything else; but so far 
 is our corporate place from being put in the foreground 
 that we do not hear one word about the assembly as 
 such till the close of the first chapter. Only in verse 
 22 is the church even named for the first time, where 
 it is said God has given Christ "to be the head over 
 all things to the church." But up to this the saints 
 are contemplated as such. The moral order of this is 
 exceedingly beautiful. In the admirable wisdom and 
 grace of God it is the direct setting aside of that which 
 is found in all earthly systems, where the individual is 
 merely a portion of a vast body which arrogates to 
 itself the highest claims. It is not so in the word of 
 God. There the individual blessing of the soul has the 
 first place. God would have us set thoroughly clear 
 and intelligently appreciating our individual place and 
 relation to Himself. Where these are made and kept 
 right, we can then safely follow what God will show us 
 in due time, but not otherwise. 
 
 As usual the apostle salutes the saints with the 
 best wishes for their blessing. "Grace be to you. 
 
192 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord 
 Jesus Christ." Then, without delay, the next verses 
 introduce a general view of the glorious topic that 
 occupied him. " Blessed be the God and Father of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ." It is God in His proper nature, 
 and in His relationship to Jesus. He is the God of 
 Jesus; He is the Father of Jesus. But the God and 
 Father of our Lord Jesus Christ " hath blessed us with 
 all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." It 
 is not carnal blessing such as was in measure given 
 under the law to Israel, and will be under the new 
 covenant by and by; it is spiritual blessing. The earth is 
 their sphere ; it is there that Israel looks to be blessed, 
 and the Gentiles somewhat farther off, but all in the 
 ordered blessing of the Most High God. Altogether 
 differently here " the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ " has blessed us where Christ is on high. There 
 is no place good enough for Christ the Son but heaven. 
 There it is God Himself displays most His own glory ; 
 there He displays Christ Himself to all the heavenly 
 hosts, delighting to put honour on that Man whom He 
 raised from the dead and set at His own right hand. It 
 is there not merely that He means to bless us, but that 
 He has blessed us already. Such is the character of our 
 blessing, and such its seat. The character is spiritual, 
 the seat heavenly ; and as the whole is given by the 
 God and Father of our Lord Jesus, so it is secured in 
 Christ. 
 
 In the next verse the apostle opens out that which 
 is more particularly connected with "the God of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ." "According as he hath chosen us 
 in him before the foundation of the world, that we 
 should be holy and without blame before him in love." 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 193 
 
 If " the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ " has 
 blessed us with every spiritual blessing above in Christ, 
 this is the first need — to have a nature capable of com- 
 munion with His God, to have a condition that would 
 do no dishonour, not only to the highest sphere, but to 
 the holiest form and sphere in which God has ever made 
 Himself known. This is the nature that is given to 
 the believer now. But it is not merely a thing im- 
 parted. The special point before the apostle's mind 
 is that this was the choice of God before the world, in 
 which we are brought to know the infinite blessing. 
 It was entirely unconnected with the world. Far dif- 
 ferent was Israel's case, however favoured as a nation. 
 They were chosen in time. Not only were they called 
 in time as we have been, but they were chosen in 
 time, which we were not. The choice of the saints for 
 heavenly blessedness was before the creation of the 
 universe, before the foundation of the world. 
 
 This gives a very peculiar character to our blessed- 
 ness. It is altogether independent of the old creation, of 
 that which might fail and pass away. It was a choice of 
 God Himself before there was any creature responsible 
 or dependent. God made known His choice, not when 
 the creature was to be proved, but when it had failed to 
 the uttermost ; but the choice itself was decided on by 
 God Himself before the creature came into beinsr. It is 
 the moral answer to what was shown in Christ, — " that 
 we should be holy and without blame before him in 
 love." Indeed, these are the very qualities of God Him- 
 self. He is holy in nature, and blameless in His ways. 
 Man may cavil and murmur now in unbelief; but God 
 will vindicate them every one when man shall be silent 
 for ever. Besides, there is love, the activity, as well as 
 
 
 
194 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 the moral qualities, of His being. Love it is which, as 
 it were, puts all in movement that belongs to God. It 
 is not something extraneous that acts on God as a 
 motive, but His own love flowing out from Himself ac- 
 cording to His holy nature, and in perfect consistency 
 with His character and ways. 
 
 This is the moral nature which God confers on us 
 who are born of Him. This and nothing less or else 
 is what He chooses us to be before Him — chooses us 
 to be in Christ in His own sight, and therefore with 
 the fullest certainty that it shall be according to His 
 own mind. It is not merely in the presence of an 
 angel, still less before the world. Angels are not 
 adequate judges of what pertains to us ; they may be 
 witnesses, but not judges. God Himself is acting for His 
 own glory and according to His own love. But then the 
 possession of a nature capable of communing with God 
 did not and could not satisfy. He would have something 
 more. What could this possibly be ? Is He not satisfied 
 with giving us a nature like His own ? No, not even 
 so, and for this reason — God has relationships, and these 
 relationships are shown in Jesus just as much as His 
 nature is. If we want to know what the holiness, and 
 blamelessness, and love of God is, we must look at Him ; 
 but in the same way also, if we desire to know what 
 are the relationships into which God puts those He 
 loves, where shall we find the highest ? Certainly not 
 in the first man Adam. Israel's was at best a mere 
 creature relationship, though, no doubt, having a special 
 place in creation. Of aU the creatures that live and 
 breathe, man is the only one on earth that became a 
 living soul by the breath of the Lord God, who, as it 
 is written, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 195 
 
 That is, there is a creative connection between God and 
 man which is the source of man's moral relations with 
 God, and the reason why man, and man alone of all 
 creatures on the earth, shall live a^ain and give an 
 account of himself to God. 
 
 But in that which comes before us in our epistle, 
 it is not a question even of the highest creature 
 on earth — one that was called to have dominion on 
 earth, and be the image and glory of God here below. 
 God had in view One infinitely above man; and yet 
 He was a man. It was Jesus ; and Jesus stood in what 
 was altogether peculiar — in a relationship that was per- 
 fectly according to God's counsels ; but more than that, 
 according to a relationship that was peculiar to His 
 own person. There was counsel, but besides there was 
 intrinsic glory altogether independent of any plans of 
 conferred honour. In other words, the Son of God 
 never was made the Son, He is never even called the 
 child (riicvov) of God.* To us, to be caUed children of 
 God is more intimate than to be styled His sons ; but 
 it would derogate from the Lord. Jesus is never called 
 a child in the sense in which I am now speaking. He 
 has His own relationship to the Eather eternally. To 
 us it is more to be born of the very nature of God, 
 than to be sons adopted into the family of God. There 
 might be an adopted son without the nature. One 
 might be altogether a stranger to him that adopts. But 
 in Jesus, the Son of God, there was this character of 
 Son in His own title and being from everlasting. Need I 
 say that this is altogether above human comprehension ? 
 
 * The Lord Jesus is repeatedly called Trdlg, translated "son" and 
 "ctdld" in the English version of the Acts of the Apostles, but more 
 properly God's servant as Messiah. 
 
 2 
 
196 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Yet nothing is more certain than that God so speaks 
 to our faith. Were there an interval of one instant 
 between the Father and the Son, did the Father exist 
 in any respect before the Son as such, all the truth of 
 God as revealed in the Bible perishes. He to v^hom I 
 look up, by and in whom alone I can know God and 
 the Father, is God Himself Let the notion of time 
 come into the conception given of Godhead and of the 
 persons — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and all would 
 be falsehood and confusion. The Son would be a crea- 
 ture — not self-subsisting, not therefore truly God. For 
 if God, He is as such not less truly God than the 
 Father; for there can be no difference as to Godhead. 
 As the Father is everlasting, so is the Son. The relation- 
 ship in the Godhead has nothing to do with the question 
 of time ; and the great mistake that has been wrought 
 by all human philosophy is from introducing notions of 
 time where time can have no place whatever. 
 
 Thus in the Godhead there are the relationships of the 
 Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. But I confine 
 myself now to the relationship of the Son to the Father 
 from everlasting. And God, having these counsels be- 
 fore Him from everlasting, deigns to have a people, not 
 only capable of enjoying Him as having the very same 
 nature as His own, without which they could not enjoy 
 glory ; but, besides, if He has us in His presence, He 
 woijld have us in the highest relationship into which 
 grace could bring us. Now, the highest being that of 
 the Son, we accordingly are brought into that relation- 
 ship, though not, of course, in the sense in which He 
 was eternally so. To us it could be but eternal purpose, 
 to Him eternal being; to us pure grace, but to Him 
 His own indefeasible right. But the Son being before 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 197 
 
 the Father as His supreme object of love and delight 
 from all eternity, to bring us as sons before Him was 
 as much a part of His counsels as to make us partakers 
 of divine nature. Thus nature is the subject of verse 
 4, as relationship is of verse 5. Hence in the latter 
 we find, not exactly choosing, but predestinating us : 
 " Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children 
 by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good plea- 
 sure of his will." 
 
 It is well to mark the difference. To be before Him 
 without having His own nature would be impossible ; 
 and therefore it is not stated as a matter of predestina- 
 tion, but of choice. He might have been pleased to choose 
 none ; but if we are to be brought into His presence 
 at all, it is impossible to be there without having the 
 divine nature, in a moral sense (and, of course, one only 
 speaks of this). It is not the impartation of Godhead : 
 none can be so foolish as to think of such a thing. 
 But the divine nature is given to us in its qualities 
 of holiness and love. On the other hand, we find that the 
 predestination is "according to the good pleasure of his 
 will," because no necessity operates in this. There was 
 a moral necessity for a nature suitable to God, if we 
 were to be in His presence at all ; but there was none 
 for this special relationship. He might have put us in 
 any degree of relationship He pleased. Angels, for 
 instance, are there; but they have no such relationship. 
 His grace has predestinated us to the very highest 
 relation — that of sons unto Himself by Jesus Christ 
 " according to the good pleasure of his will." And the 
 apostle concludes the whole of this part of the matter 
 " to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he 
 hath made us accepted in the beloved." All this won- 
 
198 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 drous scheme is to tlie glory of His grace. He uses 
 therefore the highest terms in order to express it. Grace 
 alone would not suffice, glory alone would not serve, 
 but both. It is "to the praise of the glory of his 
 grace." Meanwhile it is again presented to us in this 
 new fact, that we are brought in as objects of His per- 
 fect favour in the Beloved. Such is the measure, if 
 measure it can be called, of the grace wherein we stand. 
 
 But then those in respect of whom God the Father 
 had such thoughts were in point of fact sinners. The 
 next verse shows that this is not forgotten, for account 
 is taken of the fact, and it is provided for. The same 
 " Beloved " who accounts to us for the counsels of God 
 has brought in redemption. In Him we enter into 
 favour, "in whom we have redemption through his blood, 
 the forgiveness of offences/' not exactly according to the 
 praise of his glory, " but according to the riches of His 
 grace." It is a present thing in every sense, though, of 
 course, needed for heaven and eternity. Hence the 
 expression does not go beyond the riches of God's grace. 
 Thus is touched, incidentally, the need of our souls as 
 offenders against God, but only so far as to show that it 
 was in no way overlooked. 
 
 Next the apostle turns to the boundless scene that lies 
 before us, as in the preceding verses he had looked at 
 what is behind us. And why is all this? Clearly God 
 has a purpose, a settled and glorious plan to gather the 
 whole universe under Christ as its Head. Are those that 
 He has brought into a share of His own moral nature 
 and the relationship of sons to be left out of this? In 
 nowise : even now He has abounded toward them " in 
 aU wisdom and prudence." These words do not attribute 
 to God all wisdom and prudence, which certainly would 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 199 
 
 be uotliing new; but they intimate that He has now con- 
 ferred on His saints all wisdom and prudence. It is truly 
 an astonishing statement. The contrast is with Adam, 
 who had a knowledge that was suited to his own place 
 and relationship. Accordingly we hear in Genesis ii. 
 how he gave names to all that was put under him. And 
 as to his wife, he instantly understands, though he had 
 been in a deep sleep while she was being formed. But 
 when presented to him, he knows all that it was meet 
 for him to know then. He knows instinctively that she 
 was part of himself, and gives her a name suitably. 
 Such seems to have been the measure of Adam's wis- 
 dom and prudence. As being the image and glory of 
 God on earth, he is the one that gives names to his 
 companion, or to the subject creation. It is not merely 
 that he accepts names given him by God, but God 
 delights in putting him in this place of lordship, and to 
 a certain extent also of fellowship — lordship to that 
 which is below him, and fellowship as regarded his wife. 
 Thus, then, Adam acts and speaks. 
 
 But the saints, now being made the objects of these 
 heavenly counsels of God, have a wisdom and prudence 
 of their own, quite peculiar to the new creation in Christ, 
 and its proper relations : God puts no limits to it. In 
 point of fact, He looks for the expression and exercise of 
 it, be assured, from all of us, though no doubt according 
 to our measure. It is no use merely taking it up as a 
 name or barren title. Our God and Father does look for 
 the display of the mind of Christ in us, so that we should 
 be able to form a judgment according to Himself, and to 
 express it about whatever comes before us. For if we 
 are in Christ, we have a vantage ground which makes aU 
 things clear. Christ is not darkness but light, and puts 
 
200 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 all in the light; He makes us to be children of the light, 
 that so we may be able to judge ourselves, not discerned 
 by man as such, but capable of discerning whatever 
 claims our attention. Such is the place of a Christian, 
 and a wondrous place it is, flowing from the nature 
 and relationship which we possess by the grace of our 
 God. 
 
 But the connection is important. God has "abounded 
 toward us in all wisdom and prudence ; having made 
 known unto us [what is the special proof of it] the 
 mystery of his will." This does not yet appear; for 
 there is nothing to indicate to mankind what He pur- 
 poses to do. It is an absolutely new thing ; and this 
 new purpose is *' according to the good pleasure which 
 he hath purposed in himself : that in the dispensation 
 of the fulness of times he might gather together in one 
 all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and 
 which are on earth, even in him; in whom also we 
 have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated ac- 
 cording to the purpose of him who worketh all things 
 after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to 
 the praise of his glory," &o. 
 
 Here the apostle repeats that high, large, and blessed 
 phrase already so familiar to us, "that we should be 
 to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ ; 
 in whom ye also [trusted]." It was not confined to 
 those that had their hope founded on Christ while 
 the nation refused Him. Paul was one of those ; and 
 there were others at Ephesus, as we weU know — in 
 point of fact the first nucleus of the assembly there. 
 The first saints and faithful in the city of Ephesus, as 
 Acts xix. shows, were persons who had been baptized 
 with the baptism of John, and afterwards brought from 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 201 
 
 Jewish to Christian ground by the apostle Paul. Hence 
 he says, "that we should be to the praise of liis glory, 
 who first trusted in Christ," referring to himself and 
 any other saints who had been chosen from the people 
 of the Jews. At the same time there is no exclusion 
 of Gentile believers, but the reverse. "In whom ye 
 also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the 
 gospel of your salvation." For the mass subsequently 
 brought in were Gentiles, and the gospel of salvation 
 they forthwith received, without going through the 
 intermediate steps that the others knew. The Jews, or 
 those who had been under Jewish teaching, had been 
 for a while in an infantine state, or an Old Testament 
 condition; but the Gentiles by faith passed simply 
 and directly into the full Christian blessing. "In whom 
 also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the 
 holy Spirit of promise, who is the earnest of our 
 inheritance until the redemption of the purchased pos- 
 session, unto the praise of his glory." 
 
 It cannot have escaped observation that there are 
 two great parts in that which has come before us. The 
 first is nature; the second is relationship. The Holy 
 Ghost is here viewed according to these two. Connected 
 with nature, He has sealed us, as it is said here and 
 elsewhere ; and connected with relationship, He is the 
 earnest. For "if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and 
 joint -heirs with Christ." The Holy Ghost thus takes 
 a corresponding part. Just as Christ is the sample and 
 model whether of nature or relationship, so the Holy 
 Ghost is not without His own proper place in bringing 
 the saint into the reality, knowledge, and enjoyment of 
 both. The Holy Ghost gives us the certainty and joyful 
 assurance of our place as saints; the Holy Ghost at 
 
202 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 the same time gives us the foretaste of the bright in- 
 heritance of God that lies beyond. 
 
 Then follows a prayer of the apostle — the first of 
 those he pours out for the Ephesian saints. Naturally 
 this prayer grows out of the two great truths he had 
 been urging. He prays for the saints " that the God of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory [for this is 
 what his mind connected with it], may give unto you 
 the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge 
 of him, the eyes of your understanding being en- 
 lightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his 
 calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inherit- 
 ance in the saints." These are the two former points. 
 The " hope of his calling" is the bright prospect of the 
 saints themselves, as they are in Christ before God. 
 " The riches of the glory of his inheritance " embrace, 
 of course, that vast scene of creation which is to be 
 put under the glorified saints. He prays accordingly 
 that they might enter into both, realizing the holy 
 peaceful atmosphere of the one, and the glorious expec- 
 tations that were bound up with the other ; for clearly 
 the future is before his mind. But then he adds a third 
 point, which was not given in the previous part of the 
 chapter ; namely, that they might know " what is the 
 exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, 
 according to the working of his mighty power, which he 
 wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead." 
 
 This last was of all -importance to the saints, and 
 the rather as that power had already been put forth. 
 It shines in full contrast with Israel. If the latter 
 enquired how God had interfered most conspicuously 
 for them, no doubt they were reminded of the power 
 that brought them out of the land of Egypt. This 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 203 
 
 was always their comfort in the midst of disasters and 
 troubles. The God that divided the Eed Sea, and 
 brought them across Jordan, was equal to any difficulty 
 that might ever assail them again. In the prophets this 
 too remains always the standard, until God exert His 
 power in another way, when He shall be no longer 
 spoken of as Jehovah that brought them out of the 
 land of Egypt, but out of the north country into their 
 land, where He shall settle them for ever. Thus Israel 
 stands in the permanent remembrance of power tliat 
 redeemed them from the land of Egypt, and in the 
 anticipation of a still greater manifestation that will 
 eclipse whatever had been seen of old. 
 
 But the Christian is even now himself, with his 
 fellow-saints, the object of the very same power which 
 never can be outshone — the power that raised up Christ 
 from the dead. We wait for nothing greater nor its 
 match ; we await the results of this glorious power for 
 the body and the creation; but we look for no new put- 
 ting forth of power which can enter into competition 
 with that which God has already shown in Christ. The 
 moment that Jesus presents Himself as the answer to 
 what has been put forth already, the saints rise or are 
 changed in the twinkling of an eye. Besides, it is not 
 merely that the body will immediately respond to the call 
 of the Lord Jesus, but even now the very same power 
 has wrought toward us in making us Christians which 
 " wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, 
 and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly 
 places, far above aU principality, and power, and might, 
 and dominion, and every name that is named, not only 
 in this age, but also in that which is to come : and 
 hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be 
 
204 INTEODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 the head over all things to the church, which is his 
 body, the fulness of him that fiUeth all in all." Such is 
 the power that has wrought now — wrought toward us 
 even while we are in this world. 
 
 Accordingly, in chapter ii., the apostle pursues this 
 train, and shows that it is not another exertion of power, 
 but a part of the very same work of God which raised 
 up Jesus from the dead. In other words, Christ was 
 not raised up as an insulated individual, severed from 
 all others by His glory and their sin and shame. The 
 gospel of God's grace proclaims the very reverse. He 
 was raised up as the great manifestation of divine power 
 for effectuating God's counsels as well as redemption. 
 Not only was His resurrection this manifestation, but 
 also whatever God put forth toward us was in virtue of 
 that display of His energy — was, so to speak, morally 
 included in that power which raised up Christ from the 
 dead. This clearly is of the deepest possible interest to 
 the saints. Throughout the epistle all the secret is just 
 this — God would associate us with Christ (that is, of 
 course, in everything that is consistent with the mainte- 
 nance of the divine glory). Whatever could contribute 
 to it, whatever fell in according to it, everything that 
 God Himself could do to bind us up with Christ, 
 sharing with us all that is glorious in Christ His own 
 Son, even to His holy nature and relationship with the 
 Father, as far as this could be conferred on a creature, 
 is no more than God had in His heart — yea, is what 
 God has given us now, and will display in heavenly 
 places ere long. 
 
 So the apostle says, "You hath he quickened, who 
 were dead in offences and sins;" for now we can 
 bear to learn anything, however humiliating, and He 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 205 
 
 pan speak of anything, no matter how exalted or holy. 
 God had never so spoken of man before. In Eomans 
 the sinner is regarded as alive in sins ; and death, the 
 death of Christ, is the means of deliverance. In Ephe- 
 sians death is the very first place where we find even 
 Christ. Not a word is said of sending Him into the 
 world, or of His life and labours there, any more than 
 of our doing this or being that. The first place where 
 Christ is seen is in the grave whence God according to 
 the mightiest action of His almighty power raised Him 
 up. It was an absolutely new thing : never was seen 
 one so glorious, never can there be another so trium- 
 phant, as the power there put forth. Man, Satan, yea, 
 the judgment of God that had gone forth against Him 
 because of our sins, had no force to detain Him in the 
 grave. That judgment had fallen on Him necessarily and 
 unsparingly; but in the face of everything calculated 
 to hinder, God's power broke up the last stronghold of 
 the enemy. There was Jesus lying in the grave; and 
 from that grave God raised Him, and set Him on the 
 highest pinnacle of heaven's glory — not only of that 
 which then was, but that ever shall be. Such is the 
 very power that has taken you and me up in divine 
 grace, and wrought toward us. The very power that 
 brought you out of the world and of your sins is the 
 power that raised up Christ from the dead, set Him in 
 the heavenly places, and gave Him as head over all 
 things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of 
 that glorious Head to whom it is united. 
 
 This is pursued then first with reference to the Gen- 
 tiles, for now the order is reversed. In chapter i. he 
 began with the Jews, and then showed the Gentiles 
 brought in; but now he begins with the outer circle 
 
206 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 where the Gentiles were. "And you hath he quickened, 
 who were dead in offences and sins; wherein in time 
 past ye walked according to the course of this world, 
 according to the prince of the power of the air, the 
 spirit that now worketh in the children of disobe- 
 dience." What can be conceived more dreadful than 
 such a condition, positively without spiritual life, dead 
 in offences and sins ! Not only so, but they had walked 
 according to the course of that which is most of all 
 offensive to God — "of this world, according to the prince 
 of the authority of the air, the spirit that now worketh 
 in the children of disobedience ; " for indeed they were, 
 one as much as another, children of disobedience. 
 "Among whom also we all," &c., for he does not let slip 
 the Jews, but turns round on their estate, equally life- 
 less as the Gentiles. They might otherwise think them- 
 selves more or less superior. He had spoken of the 
 poor idolatrous Gentiles and their awful condition ; but 
 " we all," says he, — putting himself along with them, — 
 Jews as we were, children of the covenant and what 
 not, were none the less dead in offences and sins. 
 "Among whom also we all had our conversation in 
 time past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires 
 of the flesh and of the mind ; and were by nature the 
 children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, who is 
 rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 
 even when we were dead in sins, quickened us to- 
 gether with Christ (by grace ye are saved), and raised 
 us up together." Now he unites both in this place of 
 richest blessing ; for He has even "made us sit together 
 in heavenly places in Christ Jesus : that in the ages 
 to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his 
 grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 207 
 
 In truth it is His grace to the full, and for heaven (not 
 earth), though given to us to know here before we get 
 there ; " for by grace are ye saved." The whole work is 
 thus presented in its completeness from first to last ; 
 nevertheless, it is only " through faith " as yet. This is 
 and must be the medium, as far as the saints are con- 
 cerned, grace being the spring on God's part : " and 
 that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of 
 works, lest any man should boast. Eor we are his 
 workmanship." 
 
 It is clearly not a question of righteousness here, 
 or consistency with any known standard of judg- 
 ment. God would frame a new sort of workmanship 
 worthy of Himself; and therefore aU question of ante- 
 cedent measures disappears. Eighteousness supposes a 
 claim in the first place, however met; even though it 
 may be God's righteousness, still it is God acting in 
 consistency with Himself and His own claims. But in 
 Ephesians we are in presence of a new creation in Christ, 
 where claim is out of the question. Who would demand 
 of God to make the objects of His mercy like Christ 
 the Son ? Who could, before He revealed His purpose, 
 have so much as conceived such a dealing possible ? 
 Even now, though plainly made known in this epistle 
 and elsewhere, how few Christians there are who rest in 
 it as their assured portion ! So totally and absolutely is 
 it outside the range of human thought and feeling that 
 the dijfficulty is to drop self, to cut all the strings that 
 bind us to human nature and the world, to see all 
 ended even now that is connected with the present 
 course of this age, so that we may be simply occupied 
 and filled with that heavenly blessedness which God 
 unfolds to our souls. 
 
208 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 However this be, " We are his workmanship, created 
 in Christ Jesus unto good works," — a peculiar kind of 
 good works, suited to the relationship in which we 
 stand. This is the great point to seize always through- 
 out Scripture. There never can be spiritual understand- 
 ing, unless souls let in this after all plain principle, 
 that the suited good depends on the relationship in 
 which we are placed, whether to God, or to any other. 
 The good for an Israelite, for a Gentile, for a man, 
 is wholly different from the good for a Christian, 
 because their relationships are not the same as his. 
 Now we are Christians; and this decides the character 
 of the duties we have to pay, or of the good works 
 which He has before prepared that we should walk in 
 them ; for " we are his workmanship, created in Christ 
 Jesus " for this very purpose. It is not at all put as a 
 question of command according to the law ; but " God 
 had before prepared," as a part of His wonderful scheme, 
 "that we should walk in them." He merely now 
 touches on the principle, as he had before let us see not 
 merely God's counsels from before the foundation of the 
 world, but the manner and means of their application 
 through Christ our Lord to us in time. Hence the con- 
 dition in which we were found here below came into 
 view ; and, as we have seen, it 'was total ruin, whether 
 Jew or Gentile be looked at. 
 
 But now from verse 11 of chapter ii. the apostle 
 enters into particulars, and shows that the bringing 
 down from God's own heights of these glorious coun- 
 sels and making them thus manifest in man here below, 
 completely sets aside the Jewish system, or rather sup- 
 poses the setting aside of all Jewish elements. Hence, 
 being " Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Un- 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 209 
 
 circumcision by that which is called the Circumcision 
 in the flesh made by hands ; [the apostle bids such 
 remember] that at that time ye were without Christ, 
 being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and 
 strangers from the covenants of promise, having no 
 hope, and without God in the world." And what had 
 God done now ? Had He brought the Gentiles into the 
 place that Israel once occupied ? ' The Jews had re- 
 jected their own Messiah. Of old they had forfeited 
 every claim according to the law, and were spared and 
 kept in God's mercy and faithfulness. But now they had 
 consummated their rebellion by refusing the Christ of 
 God. What was to be done ? Would God send out and 
 bring in the Gentiles to fill their place ? Another plan 
 discloses itself The Jews who believe are taken out of 
 their former place, as much as the Gentiles, who had no 
 place. Both are now introduced by grace into an en- 
 tirely new and heavenly place in Christ, which was not 
 so much as heard of before. Accordingly not only 
 does he enforce the truth first presented in the end of 
 chapter i., the church which is the body of 'Christ, but 
 he also still more qualifies it as a " new man," and as 
 "one body;" because, in treating of the two objects 
 of grace, and component parts of the church, Jews and 
 Gentiles who believe, he shows that God does not pur- 
 pose to form two societies of these saints, but one body. 
 It is not a mere aggregate of Gentiles into the well- 
 known line of old blessing, but one new man, not 
 merely fresh in time, but of an absolutely new order, 
 never seen or experienced before. It is not again a sim- 
 ple question of a new nature, but of a new man : the 
 first Adam, with all remedial or corrective dealings in 
 him disappear, and one new man comes before our view. 
 
 p 
 
210 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Here again the apostle brings in the relation of the 
 Holy Ghost to the new thing. The consequence is that 
 we find the Spirit of God, now sent down from heaven, 
 not only putting the saints into relationship with the 
 Father, but, besides, dwelling in them and making them 
 God's habitation through the Spirit. 
 
 Thus we have at last the church developed in its two 
 main characters. It has its heavenly association as the 
 one body of Christ; it has its earthly place and respon- 
 sibility as the "habitation of God through the Spirit." 
 All this, it will be observed, is consequent on the cross. 
 The one was not at all, nor was the other in such sort 
 before. God had a dwelling-place of old in Israel ; but 
 it was a house made with hands, however magnifical, 
 that followed the tabernacle of witness in the desert, 
 in both of which the Shechinah, or visible sign of His 
 glory, deigned to dwell. Such is not the character of 
 God's dwelling now. It is neither the tabernacle, nor 
 the temple, but His habitation in Spirit. It is not, of 
 course, a display of glory before men's eyes ; yet is it 
 most real — a proper dwelling of God on earth, answer- 
 ing to, though not necessarily coextensive with, those 
 who are constituted the body of Christ glorified on high. 
 Not that the body is there yet, but that the body of 
 Christ is heavenly in its character, although in fact on 
 the earth now. Besides, as we have seen, the church is 
 the dwelling-place of God through the Holy Ghost's 
 presence here below. 
 
 This leads to the third chapter, in which the apostle 
 unfolds things parenthetically. It is a revelation of God 
 that comes in at the time when the Jews have, at least 
 temporarily, lost their place altogether. The very struc- 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 211 
 
 ture of the chapter, as has been noticed, is a sort of 
 confirmation of this. The chapter itself is a parenthesis. 
 "For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ 
 for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation 
 [administration or stewardship] of the grace of God 
 which is given me to you- ward : how that by revelation 
 he made known unto me the mystery (as I wrote afore 
 in few words ; whereby, when ye read, ye may under- 
 stand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) ; which 
 in other ages was not made known unto the sons of 
 men, as it is now revealed." Observe, therefore, that 
 what was the first in counsel is the last in revelation. 
 
 Accordingly, when all was complete in the communi- 
 cation of God's plans in the Bible, there was one subject 
 that was left a blank. Paul was the chosen witness to 
 fill up that blank. He wrote in few words no doubt, 
 but he has written with divine perfection, and clearly 
 enough for those by God's grace made competent to 
 understand, let the words be ever so few. Many wonder 
 that such truths as these should not have more words 
 used in communicating them. But profound truths are 
 for those who have spiritual understandings ; and such 
 do not require many words to comprehend them. When 
 persons are only learning the elements of truth, the 
 grace of God provides precept on precept, line on line, for 
 those who want it. If He is showing needy souls how 
 they may be forgiven of God, He displays it in a thou- 
 sand forms; if the need of righteousness. He repeats 
 it over and over again. But it is not so with the 
 revelation of the mystery. There is a certain spiritual 
 competence supposed, — a due preparation not only of 
 heart, but also of knowledge; or, as the apostle said, 1 
 "we speak wisdom among them that are perfect." Here / 
 
 p 2 
 
212 INTEODUCTORY LECTUEES. 
 
 no lengthy exposition would be wanted about it, be- 
 cause they were not so infantine as to suppose that the 
 truth of God depends on the number of times that a 
 thing is asserted. Once is enough for the intelligent. 
 
 God therefore has not been pleased in the heights of 
 divine truth to repeat words in the same way as His 
 grace leads Him to do when He is helping the babes. 
 Hence the apostle Paul, in what is by no means the 
 simplest utterance he has given, writes in few words. 
 He could condescend. We know how he would bend 
 down and be as it were a Gentile to one without law, 
 and a Jew to one under law, to do good to souls. 
 
 But now he speaks briefly. He was not constrained 
 to enter into a full or long explanation. But as he said 
 that by revelation it was made known to him, so he 
 would from God communicate it to them. " Which in 
 other ages Avas not made known unto the sons of men, 
 as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets 
 by the Spirit." It is remarkable that the mystery, 
 though revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in 
 the power of the Holy Ghost, was not revealed ly them. 
 It was revealed by Paul alone. Eevealed to all the 
 apostles and prophets of the New Testament, to one as 
 much as another, it never seems to have taken such a 
 hold of the others as of Paul. In point of fact, from 
 his conversion right through, the revelation of the 
 mystery was involved. That which comforted his soul 
 was Christ in heavenly glory far above all things. As 
 the light that shone then was brighter than the sun at 
 noonday, so in the vision the truth about to be learnt 
 was entirely outside and superior to the present or the 
 past. It was grace in its deepest character and in its 
 highest form, and so tlie apostle Paul was the suited 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 213 
 
 vessel that God employed to instruct others, — not merely 
 the one to whom the revelation was made, but by whom 
 the revelation was to be communicated. It is revealed 
 to us here. 
 
 We must carefully remember that the mystery does 
 not mean the church merely. It is the mystery of Christ 
 emphatically; and the part about Christ is the higher 
 of the two. The church is but a consequence ; and we 
 bless God for this, and bless Him also that we know the 
 church is but the complement of Christ. One might dis- 
 trust a mystery, if it centred in the church. Who that 
 knows what man is, and God, as Christ has made both 
 known, would dare to rest in any one person or thing 
 which did not find its brightest form in Christ Himself? 
 And the reason is simple; so inadequate is the creature, 
 so untrustworthy is the first Adam, that one might well 
 be certain the true meaning of the Bible was lost to 
 him who judged otherwise. Such an one must have 
 only got the lower end of the line, and not the fuU 
 truth in its own native purity and freshness from God. 
 Impossible that the Head should not be there as well 
 as the body; and the apostle speaks as to Christ yet 
 more than as to the assembly. 
 
 God then brings out His own secret, after having kept 
 it hidden from all past ages and generations, though, of 
 course, it has been before Him from the beginning. If 
 God reveals it now, the idea of man — of ourselves — 
 being the first and main object in the mind of God is 
 impossible. It is the mystery of Christ; and this is 
 what secures the blessing in its fulness and purity for 
 the church of God. Therefore we need never fear, no 
 matter what the blessing and the privilege may be. If | 
 it be illustrated in Christ, if it be bound up with Him, 
 
214 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 fear not to trust simply and to believe implicitly. Enter 
 boldly into the sweetness of His grace and fulness of 
 His glory. We never can go astray, if we follow the 
 path of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 Though it is the mystery of Christ, it is not ex- 
 clusively about Christ. So in chapter v. he says, " This 
 is a great mystery : but I speak concerning Christ and 
 the church." Is there not good reason for saying that 
 the church is but a consequence ? The church follows; 
 and as it belongs to Christ, so it is a part of Him. 
 Hence, to make the mystery to be the church is a very 
 serious moral as well as doctrinal mistake. 
 
 The apostle adds that it was now revealed of the 
 Spirit, "That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and 
 of the same body, and partakers of His promise in 
 Christ by the gospel : whereof I was made a minister, 
 according to the gift of the grace of God given unto 
 me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, 
 who am less than the least of all saints" — there is 
 nothing like this truth, where it is learnt from the Holy 
 Ghost, for humblincj the soul, were it even the greatest 
 of the apostles, — "is this grace given, that I should 
 preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of 
 Christ ; and make all see what is the fellowship [rather 
 administration] of the mystery, which from the begin- 
 ning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all 
 things [by Jesus Christ ?] : to the intent that now unto 
 the principalities and powers in heavenly places might 
 be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God." 
 
 God had something more to teach those who are the 
 natural denizens of heaven. They had to learn what 
 they had never known. They had seen creation, and 
 sung at the sight. They had seen the ways of God 
 
THE. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 215 
 
 with man, and with Israel; and surely they had entered 
 into the glory of God that was involved in all His 
 ways. Nevertheless, whether it was creation, whether 
 man or favoured Israel, there was so much the more 
 painful a declension that portended the judgment of God 
 upon them. Thus there were dark shadows, and lower- 
 ing clouds. But now appeared something altogether 
 new. Latest of all, God divulged His wonderful scheme 
 in which the man that came from above, the Son that 
 became a man, the Word made flesh, had gone down to 
 the very lowest in order to make good the glory of God 
 morally in the scene where He had been most put to 
 shame. But now, consequent on His resurrection from 
 the dead, and of the place given Him in heaven above all, 
 there was made known to these very principalities and 
 powers " the manifold wisdom of God," — made known 
 to them before it came to pass, the sure deliverance of 
 the whole scene of creation, of man, of Israel, as well as 
 of the earth. But not merely this. That man who came 
 down but was found alone to the end of His earthly 
 course would now be alone no more; He would have 
 a new and suited body, believing Jews and Gentiles 
 fellow- heirs and of the same body. Most wholesome 
 blessedness ! for who should be more above the feelings 
 of jealousy than those who delight in that which shows 
 the greatness, and the glory, and the perfect goodness 
 of God in His greatest work? This, then, was what 
 was needed for the principalities and powers, and this 
 is what they behold in the church of God. 
 
 The apostle accordingly is now led at the sight of 
 the mystery of Christ into another prayer, in which h 
 asks " the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ [for now he 
 takes up the other relationship], of whom the whole 
 
216 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 [rather, every] family in heaven and earth is named, 
 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his 
 glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in 
 the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts 
 by faith ; being rooted and grounded in love, that ye 
 may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the 
 breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to 
 know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that 
 ye may be filled with all the fulness of God." 
 
 Here the prayer is not, as in the first chapter, that 
 they might know the power that had wrought toward 
 them ; it is now that their hearts might be in the secret 
 of His grace according to the power that works in them. 
 That is, he looks at the inner source, not merely at the 
 glorious results. Here he prays to the Father of our 
 Lord Jesus, not simply to the God that had raised up 
 the Christ from the dead, and was glorifying Him on 
 high. It will be observed that the desire is not merely 
 that they might be enlightened as to the special glory 
 of their standing, but that their hearts might be filled 
 with the love of Christ, and this too as a present thing 
 filling them to overflowing, though surely not to cease 
 in the ages to come. "Unto him that is able to do 
 exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, 
 according to the power that worketh in us, unto him 
 be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all 
 ages, world without end." This is not a question there- 
 fore of the place or standing of the Christian, but rather 
 of his condition or state, which the Spirit would have 
 in unison with the love of Him who alone made either 
 possible. Consequently here it is not an energy al- 
 ready put forth, but he pleads that Christ might dwell 
 by faith in their hearts. It is not a conferred position, 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 217 
 
 however blessed, but practical enjoyment — even that 
 Christ Himself might be habitually the object before 
 them, now that all question of deliverance and blessing 
 was settled in their favour. It was all a known thing 
 that they were blessed by — yea, with — Christ, forming 
 a part of Christ, expressly fellow -heirs, and of the 
 same body. But now, founded on this, the apostle prays 
 thus for them, that the Holy Ghost would so act in the 
 inner man that there might be no hindrance to Christ, 
 and that they might know, not the Holy Ghost (for this 
 they did not doubt), but Christ dwelling there by His 
 power constantly. 
 
 Unquestionably the Spirit of God does evermore 
 dwell in the Christian, though I am not aware that 
 He is ever said to dwell in our hearts. He may shed 
 abroad the love of God therein ; but He is rather said 
 to dwell in us, making the body God's temple. Here 
 the apostle would have Christ to be more the satisfying 
 object of our affections. This is the point. Far be it 
 from us just to know that He loves us through the 
 word of God, as a security to us, like a dry parchment 
 deed of gift that we quietly keep in a strong box. 
 Eather is the very gospel to the sinner free and full, 
 that, having the certainty of the divine fulness of our 
 blessing, our hearts may be now open to enjoy Christ, 
 and be occupied with His love. " That Christ may dwell 
 in your hearts by faith;" not that ye, being rooted and 
 grounded in love, but "rooted," &c., that ye "may be 
 able to comprehend with all saints." It is not here 
 deliverance, let it be ever so complete; it is not the 
 knowledge of our position in Christ as in chap. i. ; but 
 rather the converse — Christ dwelling in us by faith, 
 and the heart entering into the positive excellency of 
 
218 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 the Son, the only adequate object of the Father's own 
 delight. Hence it was that they might "be able to 
 comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, 
 and length, and depth, and height; and to know the 
 love of Christ." It is not only the full extent of glory, 
 but the sole satisfying spring, Christ thus dwelling in 
 our hearts in the consciousness of His love — " to know 
 the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye 
 might be filled with all the fulness of God." He is 
 the ultimate blessedness with which we are filled, the 
 One in whom we most confide, being the Son, in whom 
 dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 
 
 Thus, having Him who is the centre of all glory 
 dwelling in our affections by faith, we enter into, and 
 become established in, the grace which is the secret of 
 it all. In communion with the objects of it, we go 
 out into the resulting scenes of glory on every side; 
 knowing Christ's love though unknowable, and fiUed 
 into God's fulness though infinite. The apostle con- 
 cludes his prayer with an ascription of glory to Him 
 in the Church unto all generations of the age of the 
 ages, able to do far above all we ask or think according 
 to His power which works in us. It is thus seen to 
 be founded on the great facts and standing privileges 
 mentioned at the end of chap. ii. ; but it is the desire 
 that the saints should know God's present power to an 
 indefinite extent working in them in spiritual enjoy- 
 ment, through the Holy Ghost's power, giving us to 
 have Christ the definite and constant object of the heart. 
 
 Chapter iv. begins the proper exhortatory portion, 
 and here, first of all, urges a walk in view of such a 
 calling as is ours, diligently keeping the unity of the 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 219 
 
 Spirit in the bond of peace. Then the diversities are 
 brought before us. " I therefore, the prisoner of the 
 Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation 
 wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meek- 
 ness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love." 
 The very truth whicli, learnt and enjoyed in the Holy 
 Ghost, conduces to all lowliness and meekness, as 
 it calls for mutual forbearance in love, flesh would 
 abuse to all pride and vain - gloriousness, to high- 
 minded contempt of others, and bitter self-confidence. 
 Than these nothing less becomes those so blessed. 
 Oh that we might have grace to walk in communion 
 with such grace ! But if we are to walk thus, let us 
 not forget the prayer for the state of our hearts which 
 precedes these exhortations. Knowledge of standing, 
 and a state answering to Christ's love, are the basis of a 
 walk worthy of our calling. " The unity of the Spirit" 
 seems to be the general name for that great fact which is 
 now established — that unity of which Christ is the chief, 
 and to which we all belong. The apostle treats it as 
 our business diligently to observe it. It is impossible 
 for flesh to be true to it. This is as it should be. An 
 easy path could not be divine, as men and things are 
 on earth. We need, but we have, the Holy Spirit who 
 is surely all-sufficient, if looked to. It is impossible to 
 exaggerate the snares and difficulties of Christendom. 
 
 But what are difficulties to the Spirit of God ? This 
 is the great want — simple, genuine faith in the Holy 
 Ghost. He is equal to all, and would have us count on 
 His presence and power answering to the name of 
 Christ. What has all the confusion of men to do with 
 the glorious reality that God has established — His unity, 
 of which we all form part by the power of His Spirit? 
 
220 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 What does it matter about times, persons, or circum- 
 stances, if tlie Spirit abide to enable us, according to 
 Scripture, diligently to keep His own unity ? Numbers 
 are of small account here. The Lord might be where 
 there are only two gathered together unto His name. 
 If but two acted accordingly, they ought to be and would 
 be an expression of the unity of the Spirit. What is 
 the value of any other unity ? It can never rise above 
 its human source. Evidently also, it is no essential 
 matter for present practice of faithfulness, whether few 
 or many see and feel it : this is a question for God's 
 will, who will act for His own glory, whether by many 
 or by few. Let this then rest in His hands. Be it our 
 part with diligence (for this is needed) "to keep the 
 unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." 
 
 Then we hear the particulars, and in a very orderly 
 manner. "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as 
 ye are called in one hope of your calling." This verse 
 states the intrinsic unij;y that never passes awayp^be- 
 ginning with the fact of "one body;" then the effi(3%t 
 power, one Spirit ; and lastly the cause of it all in tl-ie 
 calling of grace. Nothing touches these. ^^ 
 
 In the next verse we have that which has been ju^ ^y 
 designated the unity of profession, where all thif^-s 
 may come in to mar. Hence it is said, " One Lord<" 
 which is precisely that which is owned in the commo'h 
 creed of Christendom. And as there is one Lord, so 
 " one faith." It is neither "faith" nor " the faith." That 
 is, it may not be sincere, nor even doctrinally the truth 
 that is held; but we hear of "one faith" in contrast with 
 Judaism on one hand, and with Paganism on the other. 
 Hence "one baptism" follows, which the context shows 
 to be the plain initiatory rite of Christian profession, 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 221 
 
 and nothing else. In the verse before the apostle had 
 spoken of the "one Spirit," and hence it would be 
 superfluous to introduce the statement of His baptism 
 here, even if the adjuncts did not exclude the idea. 
 
 Thus we have had, first of all, the great spiritual 
 reality which is always true of Christians, and of 
 none else. They, and only they, have "one Spirit" 
 dwelling in them. They only have the "one hope of 
 their calling." But the moment you come to the " one 
 Lord," this city, yea every city in Christendom, is a 
 witness to a wide -spread profession of His name. As 
 He is outwardly called on, so there is everywhere the 
 " one faith," which does not mean (alas ! we know too 
 well) saving faith necessarily, but the faith of Chris- 
 tendom ; and accordingly " one baptism " is its mark, 
 because thus they are put on or take the ground of 
 professing the one Lord and one faith. 
 
 Lastly, "one God and Father of all." Here we come to 
 what is universal. Each circle hitherto was getting larger 
 and larger. First there was the true company that had 
 divine life and the Spirit of God ; secondly, the circle 
 of profession very much more extensive; and thirdly 
 remains the universal unity, which embraces not Chris- 
 tendom only, but all the creatures of God included 
 under their one God and Father — whatever derived its 
 being from God, the God that created all things, as we 
 were told in chapter iii. 9. He consequently is the "one 
 God and Father of all," not merely of all believers, 
 for this is a mistake of its force, but of all absolutely; 
 just as we were told in verse 15 of that same chapter, 
 that of Him every family in heaven and earth is named. 
 No matter whether Jews or Gentiles, principalities or 
 powers, every family is derived from this universal 
 
222 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 source of existence — " One God and Father of all, who 
 is above all [there we find His supremacy], and through 
 all [there we find His permeance, if one may so say, as 
 the support of the whole universe], and in you all" 
 [His intimacy with the saints]. The moment the apostle 
 comes to inward relationship, he leaves the universality 
 of phrase and speaks only of the saints of God — ''in 
 you all." No statement can be conceived more exact. 
 
 Now we must turn to the diversities. " But to every 
 [each] one is given grace according to the measure of 
 the gift of Christ." And as the unity flowed from the 
 power of the Spirit sent down from heaven; so now 
 when we come to gifts, it is expressly connected with 
 Christ in glory. "Wherefore he saith, when he as- 
 cended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave 
 gifts unto men. Now that he ascended, what is it but 
 that he also descended first into the lower parts of the 
 earth ? He that descended is the same also that as- 
 cended." Yes, but He did not go up as He came down 
 from above. He came a divine person filled with love; 
 and He went a man also, triumphant not with love 
 only but in righteousness and power, to give effect 
 to all the glorious counsels of His Father, which un- 
 judged sin would have for ever frustrated. He went 
 up after all the working of evil had been really defeated 
 and destroyed in the sight of God. Satan is allowed 
 to go on for a little while longer, because God is 
 gathering out the joint-heirs, while the evil developes 
 itself in a new form. Man had been shown to be the 
 enemy of all righteousness, and now betrays him^self 
 , the enemy of all grace. As the end of the latter will be 
 ^incomparably worse than the former, so judgment will 
 ( be commensurate with man's apostasy from grace ; for 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 223 
 
 the Lord must come from heaven, "in flaming fire 
 taking vengeance on them that know not God, and on 
 them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 Meanwhile, before a blow is struck at man's failure 
 in the presence of righteousness, or at his apostasy from 
 grace, that blessed Saviour, the only begotten Son in 
 the bosom of the Father, the Son of man who is in 
 heaven, went down to the very uttermost, and (having 
 exhausted the powers of evil, and blotted out all that 
 could rise against the objects of God's grace,) Avas raised 
 and seated by God in heaven. He takes His place there, 
 of course always the Son ; but, wonderful to say, humanity 
 makes an integral and everlasting part, so to speak, of 
 that divine person, the Son of God. And here is the 
 key, and that which accounts for the astonishing dis- 
 play of what God is now doing in man. How could it 
 be otherwise, seeing that He who sits on His throne, 
 far above every creature in God's presence and in all 
 ages, is a man, but withal the very Son of God ? The 
 Son is as truly man as God, and as such gives gifts to 
 men. Angels are not the object. They had a dis- 
 tinguished place before the Son became man. Since 
 then it is not so much they that have lost, but man in 
 and by Christ that has gained such a place as they 
 never had nor could have. Never were they to reign ; 
 never will they be one with Christ like the saints. 
 They are "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister 
 for them who shall be heirs of salvation." 
 
 But Christ at the right hand of God gives gifts unto 
 men ; and, as it is said here, " He gave some, apostles ; 
 and some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and some, 
 pastors and teachers;" — bringing in both the highest 
 
224 INTRODUCTOHY LECTURES. 
 
 gifts and also those ordinarily requisite for the good of 
 the saints. I say "requisite," simply in view of Christ's 
 love towards the church. It is not a question of ren- 
 dering a testimony of the power of God working in 
 man and dealing with the first creation. In Corin- 
 thians we have this, and properly in its place. There 
 we have tongues, miracles, &c. ; because all that is con- 
 nected with man in the flesh and in the world is a sign 
 to unbelievers, showing them the goodness of God, and 
 the defeat of that wicked power which governs human 
 nature as it is. 
 
 But in the epistle to the Ephesians we have none of 
 these dealincrs with the first man, but that which forms 
 and nourishes the new creation. Hence we have those 
 gifts alone which are the expression of the grace of 
 Christ toward the saints that He loves, for ministerial 
 work, for the building up of His body. In this order He 
 gave them — the body to be edified, and ministry carried 
 on, but always the individual first. The building up of 
 the body is the fruit of God's blessing the individual 
 saints. It cannot be otherwise. It is in vain to look for 
 the church's prosperity, if saints individually do not 
 grow up unto Christ. And so these gifts are given, as 
 it is said, "till we all come in the unity of the faith, 
 and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect 
 man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of 
 Christ : that we henceforth be no more children, tossed 
 to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doc- 
 trine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, 
 whereby they lie in wait to deceive ; but speaking the 
 truth in love, may grow up unto him in all things, 
 which is the head, even Christ." 
 
 Then we have in the centre of this chapter no longer 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 225 
 
 the unity or the gifts differing, but the moral walk of 
 the saints. And what is the first lesson of the truth as 
 it is in Jesus ? This ; — not only that we hear of the 
 one body, and that saints compose this body, but that a 
 new man is seen. Introducing this great practical truth, 
 he reminds them of what they had been, but also tells 
 them what they are now. Our duties flow from what 
 we are, or are made. And what then is the truth as it 
 is in Jesus ? Our having put off the old man, and our 
 having put on the new man. Such is the truth, if 
 indeed we have learnt the Christ as God teaches Him. 
 Anything short of this is not the true Christian measure. 
 Jesus could occupy Himself in divine love. Self would 
 have hindered ; had there been a particle, it would have 
 ruined both His person and His work ; but this is not 
 the truth as it is in Jesus. He came so as to be left 
 absolutely free to occupy Himself in love for God's 
 glory and our desperate need. And now, in Him who is 
 dead and risen, the Christian has put completely off the 
 old man, is being renewed in the spirit of his mind, and 
 has put on the new man, which according to God is 
 created in righteousness and holiness of truth. 
 
 Not only is there this new man that God has created 
 after the image of Christ in contrast with the first 
 Adam, but this is the ground why all moral evil is to be 
 judged, beginning with deceit and falsehood. "Where- 
 fore putting away lying, speak every man truth with 
 his neighbour : for we are members one of another. Be 
 ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon 
 your wrath : neither give place to the devil. Let the 
 stealer steal no more." How solemn to learn what the 
 old man is in its most detestable forms, against all 
 which the Christian is warned ! " Let no corrupt com- 
 
226 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 munication proceed out of your mouth, but that which 
 is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister 
 grace unto the hearers." 
 
 But, besides the new man which lives in dependence, 
 we need to guard against losing power according to 
 God. " Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye 
 are sealed unto the day of redemption." Thus the great 
 basis of all our walk is, that the old man has been 
 judged in Jesus, and the new man we have already put 
 on; but, moreover, the Holy Ghost is given, and we are 
 sealed by Him. Thus we have a new nature which 
 hates sin, and the Holy Ghost which gives power for 
 that which is good. 
 
 Then he adds the great exemplar and spirit of it all, 
 according to the forgiveness with which God met us 
 in Christ. " Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, 
 forgiving one another, even as God in Christ hath for- 
 given you." But there is yet more. To forgive another's 
 wrongs is not enough for a Christian. No doubt it is 
 a giving up of self, and therefore the fruit of divine 
 grace. But in Ephesians God cannot but have us imitate 
 His own ways as they have shone in Christ. He Him- 
 self is the measure of the walk of the new man, and 
 the manifestation of it is Christ Himself Nothing short 
 of this suffices. What has God done ? He has forgiven 
 you in Christ; and you are called to do the same. But was 
 this all ? Was there only this ? Was there not positive 
 love, far beyond forgiveness ? And what is the mani- 
 festation of love? Not the law, but Christ. "Be ye 
 therefore followers of God, as dear children ; and walk 
 in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given 
 himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a 
 sweet-smelling savour." 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 227 
 
 Do you think this devotedness too much? yea, im- 
 possible? Not so. Take a passage in 2 Corinthians 
 (viii. 5), which has been before us only a short time 
 ago: "And this they did, not as we hoped, but first 
 gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the 
 will of God." How blessed is the character and the 
 spring of Christian service! Think of their giving 
 themselves first to the Lord, then to us by the will of 
 God. It is just the answer to the grace of God in 
 Christ. Nor is there full Christian service, except in 
 proportion as it is according to this pattern and in this 
 power. In Christ it was, of course, absolutely perfect : 
 He did give Himself for us. But this was not enough. 
 He might have given Himself ever so truly in pity for 
 us ; but it would not have been perfection, had He not 
 " given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God 
 for a sweet -smelling savour." And so accordingly all 
 that is acceptable takes this shape. "But fornication, 
 and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once 
 named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthi- 
 ness, nor foolish talking [even light words dishonour 
 the Christian, as being contrary to Christ], nor jesting, 
 which are not convenient : but rather giving of thanks. 
 Tor this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean 
 person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any 
 inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." 
 
 But there are other elements. God is not only love 
 but light; and inasmuch as this epistle reveals how 
 fully God associates us with Christ according to His 
 own nature, so having first shown us the privilege of 
 loving, as He Himself loved us in Christ, now it shows 
 that we are made "light in the Lord." But it is not 
 said that we are love. This would be too strong, yea, 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 false. Love is God's nature, but it is a sovereign pre- 
 ro(yative in Him. In His own actings it has no motive 
 or spring except in Himself. This could not be true of 
 us. We need both motive and object, and hence could 
 not be said to be love ; because not we, but only God 
 acts from Himself, as much as for Himself. Impossible 
 that the creature could be or do so ; and therefore the 
 creature is never said to be love. But there is love 
 after a divine sort in the new nature, which is said to be 
 light, because this is the necessity of the new nature. 
 Impossible that the new nature could countenance sin; 
 the very essence of it is rejection and exposure of what 
 is contrary to God. It is sensitive about sin; detects and 
 detests it thoroughly. Hence we are said to be " light 
 in the Lord," and we need to shake off the things of 
 death that encumber the light, and hinder it. And 
 so Christ gives us more light. For the word is, "Awake, 
 thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ 
 shall give thee light." But just as before, in the walk 
 which shuts out hatred, and anger, and so on, we were 
 warned against grieving the Spirit of God ; so the power 
 of the Holy Ghost asserts itself here. Here it is not 
 merely " Grieve not the Holy Spirit." He goes farther, 
 and says, " Be filled with the Spirit." " Be not drunk 
 with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the 
 Spirit ; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns 
 and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your 
 heart to the Lord." 
 
 And is this all? It is not. There has been the full 
 unfolding of God's love, and the answer to it in the 
 saints here below in their nature, and in the ways that 
 manifest the new nature. But, besides, we have rela- 
 tionships ; and now we have God manifesting Himself 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 229 
 
 in eacli of our positions, and showing us that these 
 are meant to give us opportunity of glorifying God 
 by the good works that were before ordained of God. 
 Accordingly he brings in the most important of them, 
 first, the wife and the husband ; then, children and their 
 parents ; and, finally, servants and masters. 
 
 All through these then we have, but more particularly 
 in the first, the interweaving of the duty with the 
 manifestation of God's grace: "Christ also loved the 
 church." It is not now either sovereign love, or love of 
 complacency. There was the sovereign love of God in 
 Christ forgiving us ; there was love of complacency, 
 inasmuch as we were to love according to that love 
 with which we were loved, as shown us in the matchless 
 love of Christ. But now there is love of relationship 
 as well ; and here too Christ appears, who is the pattern 
 and perfection of grace in every respect. " Husbands, 
 love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, 
 and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and 
 cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that 
 he might present it to himself" Just look into this 
 revelation of His love. How everything is connected 
 with Christ ! He gave Himself for us. What was it for ? 
 "That he might present it to himself [not merely to 
 the Father, but present it to himself] a glorious church, 
 not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that 
 it should be holy and without blemish." More than 
 this ; for " no man ever yet hated his own flesh ; but 
 nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the 
 church." Ever3rwhere Christ Jesus Himself is inter- 
 mixed with every portion. He Himself is the begin- 
 ning, He Himself the end, He Himself all the way 
 through. He gave Himself as the beginning; and He 
 
230 INTRODUCTOKY LECTURES. 
 
 presents it to Himself as the end. Meanwhile He 
 tenderly cares for the church. " He that loveth his wife 
 loveth himself; ... for we are members of his body, of 
 his flesh, and of his bones." " This is a great mystery," 
 he adds at the close ; " but I speak as to Christ and as 
 to the church." 
 
 Then we have the children, who are called to obey 
 their parents in the Lord. It was not a question of the 
 flesh : how could this be trusted ? Let them obey in 
 the Lord. To honour one's father and mother was both 
 an obligation and had a special promise under law. 
 And if children that had a relationship with their 
 parents in the flesh and under law did so (for it was 
 indeed right), how much more did it become Christian 
 children to pay them reverence ? 
 
 This is followed up by an exhortation to parents: 
 "And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath : 
 but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the 
 Lord." Thus is the Lord ever presented as the pattern. 
 Then come the slaves similarly. He was privileged to. 
 do all as unto Christ ; as the master again must remem- 
 ber that he had his own Master in heaven. This also 
 answers to the grand doctrine of this epistle. 
 
 Then the apostle introduces us to another topic. It 
 is not the source of the blessing (chap, i.) ; nor the place 
 into which we are now brought as being made one with 
 Christ (chap, ii.) ; nor the objects to whom we are bear- 
 ing testimony, (chap, iii.) The closing theme shows 
 us where and with whom are our true conflicts as 
 Christians. As such we have not properly to fight with 
 flesh at all, any more than to fight with the world. 
 All other combats are outside the calling of a Christian. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 231 
 
 1 do not deny but that a Christian may slip elsewhere. 
 But as long even as he is merely in conflict with his 
 own nature, he can hardly be said to be on Christian 
 ground at all. He may be a converted person; and God 
 may be truly dealing with him in the way of gracious 
 action. A really awakened soul may still have a great 
 many unsettled questions in agitation within him. 
 He has not come to God consciously. Now the very 
 baptism of a Christian man is the confession of the 
 truth, that God has in Christ judged flesh root and 
 branch. Is not this the meaning of the institution? 
 How far the person has realised it is another matter; 
 but such is the meaning of baptism. Judging what I 
 am, I confess that all my blessing is in the Saviour, 
 who did not merely come to bless me as a living man 
 in the world, but died and is risen again; and I, con- 
 fessing Him who is thus dead and risen, have part 
 in His death. The conflict of the Christian is not 
 therefore with flesh, still less is it with the world, but 
 with Satan, and with his power, viewed as interposing 
 and hindering our enjoyment of our heavenly blessing. 
 
 Is not this the meaning of the combat as described 
 here? The wrestling is not with flesh and blood, 
 "but against principalities, against powers, against the 
 world-rulers of this darkness, against spiritual wicked- 
 ness in heavenly places." The English translators did 
 not know what to make of the apostle, and so they 
 changed it to "high places," which was an unwarrantable 
 liberty, and gives the most perverse meaning. This has 
 misled many beside the poor Puritans, who fancied 
 they were called of God, as a Christian duty, to strive 
 against kings and all in authority, when not satisfied 
 with their ways or measures. I mention this, because 
 
232 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 it is a striking proof that an error imported into Scrip- 
 ture leads even right-minded men into sad evil. It is 
 expressly not against any powers that were living and 
 acting in the world. The conflict is against Satan and 
 his hosts. Just as the Canaanites tried to keep the 
 Israelites out of the land which God assured Moses the 
 tribes were to have for their possession, so Satan's great 
 effort is to hinder the saints of God from realizing their 
 blessedness in heavenly places. 
 
 But for this the most careful provision is laid on 
 us. The first thing is to "be strong in the Lord, 
 and in the power of his might." That is, all our 
 strength is to lean on another, even the Lord. The 
 next thing is that we take " the whole armour of God, 
 that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, 
 and, having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having 
 your loins girt about with truth [inwardly applied, 
 and thus bracing us morally], and having on the 
 breast -plate of righteousness." The internal state is 
 the great point here. Carefully remember this. Our 
 standing is quite another matter, which itself could not 
 avail here. The panoply is against Satan and not God. 
 It is a question not of acceptance before God, but of 
 resisting the enemy who would take advantage of loose 
 ways and a bad conscience. The breast -plate means 
 the practical righteousness of the saint himself. "And 
 your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of 
 peace." So should our walk be. Besides, take "the 
 shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench 
 all the fiery darts of the wicked one." It is the confi- 
 dent trust of the heart in the favour of God in which 
 we stand, not the remembrance of our first subjection 
 to the gospel. Finally, "receive the helmet of salva- 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 233 
 
 tion, [there the head is lifted up, not in presumption, 
 but with none the less joy and courage,] and the sword 
 of the Spirit," which is expressly said to be the word 
 of God. The defensive comes before the offensive; 
 and all should follow dependence on the Lord. The 
 sword must be the real intrinsic power of the word 
 wielded in the Spirit, which does not spare anything. 
 Thus, first blessed, strengthened, and enjoying the grace 
 and truth of God in Christ, we can then go out with 
 the sword of the Spirit to deal with what is contrary 
 to His nature, which Satan would use to obstruct our 
 realization of our heavenly privileges. 
 
 Finally, there is the activity now for others, just as 
 before there Avas dependence for ourselves. "Praying 
 always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, 
 and watching thereunto with all perseverance and sup- 
 plication for all the saints ; and for me [as the apostle 
 blessedly adds], that utterance may be given unto me, 
 that I may open my mouth boldly to make known 
 the mystery of the gospel" — (what a gracious way of 
 encouraging and strengthening saints, gi^^ng them a 
 feeling of the value of their prayers, both in the sight of 
 God, and in fellowship with the most blessed apostle 
 that God ever gave the church !) — " for which I am an 
 ambassador in bonds : that therein I may speak boldly, 
 as I ought to Speak." He felt his need and that of the 
 work. Also he counted on their loving desire to know 
 his affairs, as well as to have their hearts comforted 
 through Tychicus. 
 
234 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 PHILIPPIANS. 
 
 There is no epistle in the New Testament which gives 
 so little space to the development of doctrine as this to 
 the Philippians. Need it be said that it has not the less 
 its own proper office on that account? And what is 
 this but the unfolding of the truth in the heart and in 
 the ways of the Christian ? Hence it is that, although 
 doctrine is sparse, if not almost excluded, nevertheless 
 what little appears comes in as ancillary to the main 
 purpose. It is interwoven with practical appeal, and 
 indeed the chief development of doctrine (namely, in 
 the second chapter) forms a ground of exhortation. 
 
 Accordingly, from the very starting-point, we are 
 prepared for a difference of tone and character. The 
 apostle drops entirely his official status in addressing 
 the saints at Philippi. He associates Timothy with 
 himself, — not merely, as elsewhere, himself apostle anji 
 Timothy in some other relation, but here conjointly — 
 "Paul and Timotheus, the servants of 'Jesus Christ." 
 He thus takes a common place with his beloved son in 
 the gospel. This place throughout is one of promoting, 
 enlarging, deepening, and purifying the experience of 
 the saints themselves in that which filled his own heart 
 with joy in the Lord. We shall see the importance of 
 this elsewhere. It is what enabled him to look at the 
 saints, as he called them to look at one another, esteem- 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 235 
 
 ing others, as lie says, better than themselves. Had it 
 been a question of his apostolic dignity, this could not 
 have been; but an apostle even could, and did, and 
 loved to, take the place of one that served others whom 
 he viewed directly in their relationship to Christ. His 
 own place toward them was but to serve them in love. 
 Such did, such was, Christ. There is nothiog so high as 
 that which we all have been made in our blessed Lord. 
 So here at the beginning he simply takes the place 
 of servant with Timothy, owning all the saints as well as 
 the officials in their place : " To all the saints in Christ 
 Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and 
 deacons." This last is but a confirmation of the same 
 truth. It is not at all a question of ecclesiastical order, 
 in which naturally the chief guides would have froot 
 rank. The apostle is here contributing to that which 
 shall never pass away, and hence begins with the 
 "saints in Christ Jesus" as such. These Philippians 
 will not be less saints in heaven, where there can be 
 no such charges as " bishops or deacons." I do not say 
 that the fruits of the loving service of any one of them 
 will be forgotten there; nor that even glory will not 
 bear the impress of that which has been really of the 
 Holy Ghost here. Nevertheless there is that which is 
 suited only to the conditions of time; there is that 
 which, given here, survives all change. The apostle loved 
 to give God's place and value to everything ; and here 
 it is the mingling of Christ with the circumstances of 
 every day. It is the forming of the heart with the 
 affections and the judgments of the Lord. It is the 
 imbuing of the Christian with that which is life ever- 
 lasting, but the life that he is now living by " the faith 
 of the Son of God, who loved him and gave himself 
 
236 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 for him." Hence he at once begins, not with a doc- 
 trinal preparation after the introduction, but the intro- 
 duction brings us as usual into the general spirit if not 
 special object of the epistle. " I thank my God for my 
 whole remembrance of you," says he, after his usual 
 salutation and wish, " always in every prayer of mine 
 making request for you all with joy." 
 
 There is no epistle that so abounds in joy. This is 
 the more remarkable because it is so intensely practical. 
 For we can all understand joy in believing; we can 
 readily feel how natural is joy to the Christian who 
 dwells on his eternal portion. The trial is to keep 
 that joy undimmed in the midst of the difficulties and 
 sorroAvs that every day may bring. This epistle treats 
 of daily sorrows and difficulties, yet does it manifestly 
 overflow with joy, which all the dangers, sufferings, and 
 trials only made the more triumphant and conspicuous. 
 
 So he brings before them another remarkable feature 
 of it — their fellowship ; and this fellowship too with the 
 gospel. Their happy and bright state in Christ did not 
 dim their fellowship with the gospel. But whatever might 
 be their own proper joy, whatever might be their delight 
 in that which God works in the church, they had full 
 and simple-hearted fellowship with His good news. It 
 had always been so, as the apostle gives us to learn. It 
 was not some sudden fit, if one may so say, nor was it 
 the influence of passing circumstances. It was a calm, 
 fixed, cordial habit of their souls, which indeed had 
 distinguished them from the first. This was now among 
 the last outpourings of the apostle's heart, as he him- 
 self had almost arrived at the end of his active labours, 
 if indeed it was not absolutely their end. He was in 
 prison, long shut out from that which had been his 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 237 
 
 joyful service, though in constant toil and suffering for 
 so many years. But his spirit was as bright as ever, his 
 joy perfectly fresh, deep, and flowing. And now he 
 would have them looking to Christ, that no damp should 
 gather round their hearts from anything that might 
 befall him, — that nothing which happened, whether 
 to themselves, to other saints, or even to the apostle, 
 should interfere for a moment with their unclouded and 
 abounding confidence in the Lord. So he tells them that 
 he always thus remembered them for their "fellowship 
 with the gospel from the first day until now, beino- 
 confident of this very thing, that he who hath begun a 
 good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 There is not even the allowance of the possibility of 
 their turning aside from the bright career both of possess- 
 ing a Saviour they knew, and of enjoying Him increas- 
 ingly. He had no theory that first love must necessarily 
 wane and cool down, but the very reverse. Himself the 
 striking witness to the contrary, he looked for nothino- 
 less in the saints he so dearly loved. Indeed that which 
 had drawn out the epistle was the proof that the trying 
 circumstances of the apostle had but called out their 
 affections. His being out of sight rather made the 
 remembrance of his words and ways the more distinct, 
 and imparted a chastened earnestness to their desires of 
 pleasing the Lord. " Being confident," he therefore says, 
 " of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good 
 work will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ, even 
 as it is meet for me to think this of you all." It is not 
 one who cherished a trust in the Lord's fidelity spite of 
 what was visible. This counting on the Lord the apostle 
 might have even where things were wrong. It was so 
 
238 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 as to the Corinthians ; nay, it was not wholly wanting 
 for the Galatians, though that which they allowed im- 
 perilled the foundations of grace and faith. But the 
 practical ways and spirit of the Philippians were the 
 living evidence not only of life, but, so to speak, of 
 vigorous health in Christ. So it was right for him to 
 anticipate good and not evil, not as in the authorized 
 version and other translations, because " / have you in 
 my heart," which would be no ground of assurance for 
 them, but because "ye have me in your heart," which 
 showed their spiritual feelings to be true and sound. 
 This seems to me the real meaning, which the margin 
 gives rightly. 
 
 It is a thing more important in practice than many 
 suppose. There is no more common device of Satan 
 than to seek the destruction of the power of testimony 
 by the allowance of evil insinuations against him who 
 renders it. Of course, the enemy would have desired 
 above all and at any cost to lower such an one as the 
 apostle Paul in the loving esteem of God's saints, more 
 particularly where all had been sweet and happy ; but, 
 notwithstanding every effort, grace hitherto had pre- 
 vailed, and these saints at Philippi felt the more for the 
 apostle when he was a prisoner. When God does not 
 interpose, men are apt to allow reflections and reasonings. 
 Not seldom do they begin to question whether it can 
 be possible that such a one is really of value to the 
 church of God. Would God in this case let His servant 
 be so long kept away from the gospel or the church ? 
 Surely there must have been something seriously wrong 
 to judge in him ! 
 
 It was not thus that the true-hearted Philippians 
 felt; and spiritual feeling is worth more than all 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 239 
 
 reasoning. Their affections were right. Eeasonings on 
 such matters are in general miserably wrong. Their 
 sympathies, drawn out by the afflictions of the apostle 
 in his work, were the workings of the Holy Spirit in 
 their souls — at least the instincts of a life that was of 
 Christ, and that judged in view of Him, and not accord- 
 ing to appearances. They had him in their heart, as 
 he says, "Inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the 
 defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are par- 
 takers with me of grace," or " of my grace." " For God 
 is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the 
 bowels of Jesus Christ." For his was a heart deeply 
 sensible of love, and consequently he was not one that 
 had sought either to make the saints dependent upon 
 him, and still less did the apostle depend on the saints 
 for anything that was the fruit of grace in them. He 
 desired not anj^thing for himself, but only what should 
 abound to their account in the day of Jesus Christ. 
 This he must wish for them, if he wished them well. 
 Accordingly he prays for them, that as they had shown 
 this true and unabated love for himself as Christ's 
 servant, so their love might abound yet more and more, 
 and this too in knowledge and in all judgment. 
 
 This is the great value of Christian experience. It 
 is not love growing less but more, and this abounding 
 in intelligence and knowledge, which could not be looked 
 for in saints just beginning their career. There is no 
 necessity — and where is the epistle that more thoroughly 
 disproves the thought of any necessity? — that a saint 
 should decline. To abound in love is far from declen- 
 sion. To "abound yet more and more," — to have that 
 love tempered by divinely given wisdom and divinely 
 exercised judgment, — is the very reverse of going back. 
 
240 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Their true and constant progress was what the apostle 
 had before his own soul in prayer for them, instead of 
 coolly giving up the saints, as if the new nature must 
 grow feebler day by day — as if the things of the world 
 must overcome faith, and the things which are seen 
 outweigh those which are unseen and eternal. Is this 
 your measure of the love of Christ? Is He really so 
 far from any of those that call upon Him ? 
 
 Thus, then, he prays for them, and to this end, — not 
 that they might become more intelligent merely — not 
 that they might grow more able to discourse of divine 
 things, though I doubt not that there would be growth 
 in these respects also; but all here has an eminently 
 practical form, — "that ye may approve things that are 
 more excellent; that ye may be pure and without 
 offence tiU the day of Christ." Such is the thought that 
 the apostle had before his soul of that which became the 
 Christian. He would have one who begins with Christ 
 to <^o on with Christ, have nothing but Christ before 
 his eyes, and pursue this path without a stumble till the 
 day of Christ. It is a blessed and refreshing picture 
 even in thought. Oh that the Lord might make it true 
 of His own! This is certainly what the apostle here 
 puts before these saints. " Filled," says he, " with the 
 fruit of righteousness, which is by Jesus Christ;" for it 
 is all supposed to be fruit, not isolated fruits here and 
 there, but as a whole, which adds greatly to the strength 
 of it. It should be "the fruit of righteousness, which 
 is by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." 
 
 Then he turns, not to doctrine after this opening, but 
 to circumstances, — to circumstances, however, iUumined 
 with Christ. The most ordinary details are taken out 
 of their own pettiness (though it is really a little mind 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILTPPIANS. 241 
 
 which counts them petty), and are made simple and 
 genuine, and this through Christ Jesus intermingled 
 with them. Oh, it is a blessed thing, that in the midst 
 of the sorrows of this world, the Holy Spirit knows how 
 thus to blend the name of Christ, as the sweetest balm, 
 with the sorrow, however bitter, and to make the very 
 memory of the grief pleasant because of Christ, who 
 deigns to let Himself into it all. It was this that so 
 cheered the apostle's heart in his loneliness often, in his 
 desertion sometimes, when the sight of a brother would 
 have given fresh courage to his heart. Looking to the 
 Lord, as it is the life-breath of love, so it adds to the 
 value of brotherly kindness in its season. Thus we 
 know how on approaching Eome Paul was lifted up 
 and comforted, as he saw those who came to greet him. 
 But there he was soon to experience the faltering of 
 brethren ; there he was to see not one standing by him 
 in the hour of his shame and need. He must be con- 
 formed to his Master in all things ; and this was one of 
 them. But out of the midst of bitter experience he 
 had learned Christ, as even he had never known Him 
 before. He had proved long the power and the joy of 
 Christ for every day, and for every circumstance of it. 
 It was such an one, truly the servant of Jesus Christ, 
 and so much the more their servant because His, even 
 their servant for Jesus' sake — it was such an one that 
 wi'ote from Eome to the tried saints at Philippi. Nor 
 was he in that which he was about to write without 
 deep feeling; but he had learned Christ for all; and 
 this is the key-note of the epistle from the first, though 
 only uttered distinctly at the last. He had learned 
 practically what Christ is, and what He does, and what 
 He can enable even the least to do, (as he says himself, 
 
 R 
 
242 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 "less than the least of all saints/') and so much the 
 •more, because the least in his own eyes. 
 
 Thus then he writes, telling them, "I would ye 
 should understand, brethren, that the things which 
 happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the 
 furtherance of the gospel." He knew well how much 
 they might be tried by the report of his own imprison- 
 ment, and no deliverance coming as yet. But he had 
 himself gone through the trial ; he had weighed it all ; 
 he had brought it into the presence of God. He had 
 put all, as it were, into the hands of Christ, who had 
 Himself given him His own comfort about it. "I 
 would, then, that ye should understand, that the things 
 which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the 
 furtherance of the gospel." Once you are right about 
 Christ, you are right about everything while He is before 
 you. There is nothing assuredly right, on the other 
 hand, where Christ is not the object of the soul. With 
 Him you will be right about the gospel, right about the 
 church, right about doctrine, walk, and service. There 
 is not one of these tilings but may in itseK become the 
 veriest snare ; and so much the more dangerous because 
 each looks fair. What looks and sounds better than 
 the saints of God ? what than the ministry of Christ ? 
 what than the testimony for God? Yet there is not 
 one of these tilings that has not become the ruin of 
 souls ; and there are none that ought to know this bet- 
 ter than those I am addressing this night. Who have 
 had more mournful proofs of the danger of putting 
 saints practically in the place of Christ? Who have 
 had more palpable witness that service may become the 
 object rather than Christ ? Has it not been the rock on 
 which many a gallant bark has made shipwreck ? 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 243 
 
 But now the apostle was shut out from every labour 
 apparently. Surely he, most of all, must have felt the 
 change — the heart that took in the Gentile.s, that swept 
 the circle of lands from Jerusalem to Illyricum, that 
 yearned over Spain, ever going out farther and farther, 
 boundless in his desires for the salvation of souls. He 
 was for a considerable time a prisoner. He is at Eome, 
 where he desired to be, no doubt, but which he had never 
 expected to visit as one in bonds. And that he ever was 
 anything but a prisoner there, man at least cannot say. 
 A prisoner he was ; and such is all that Scripture tells 
 about him there. We may see the moral harmony of 
 that lot with his testimony, and how suitable it seems 
 that he, who was above all men identified with the gos- 
 pel of the glory of Christ, should be a prisoner, and 
 nothing but a prisoner in Eome. At any rate, such is 
 the picture that the Holy Spirit gives of him there. 
 And now as he had Christ before his soul, in this way 
 the gospel itself, he can feel, is only promoted so much 
 the more. Far from him was the vanity of being the 
 man first to preach Christ in the great metropolis. He 
 forgot himself in the gospel. His desire above all was 
 that Christ's name might go forth. This was very dear 
 to him, let God use whom he would. The things that 
 happened to him he could therefore judge calmly and 
 clearly. What seemed to some the death of the gospel 
 was in point of fact distinctly for the furtherance of it. 
 
 The manner, too, in which these things happened 
 seemed to make all as remote as possible from furthering 
 the gospel; but here again he brings in Christ. This 
 disperses all clouds from the soul. This filled Paul 
 with sunshine ; and he would have others to enjoy the 
 same bright light which the name of Christ cast on 
 
 K 2 
 
244 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 every object. And mark, it is not the anticipation of light 
 with Christ in heaven, but His light now while He is 
 in heaven shining on the heart, and on the circumstances 
 of the pathway here below. He says that they had 
 happened rather for the furtherance of the gospel, — " so 
 that my bonds in Christ are manifest;" for this is the 
 way in which he looks at it — "my bonds in Christ." 
 Oh, how honourable, how sweet and precious, to have 
 bonds in Christ ! Other people would have merely 
 thought of or seen bonds under the Eoman emperor, 
 the bonds of that great city that ruled over the kings 
 of the earth. Not so Paul. They were bonds in Christ ; 
 how then could he be impatient under them ? How 
 could any murmur who believed they were really bonds 
 in Christ ? " My bonds in Christ," he says, " are mani- 
 fest in all the palace." Strange way of God ! but so it 
 was that thus the gospel, the glad tidings of His grace, 
 should reach the highest quarters. They were " mani- 
 fest in all the palace, and in all other places ; and 
 many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by 
 my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word with- 
 out fear." 
 
 Blessed is this confidence in Christ, and wondrous 
 are His ways ! Who would have expected that the 
 timid man Nicodemus, and the honourable councillor 
 Joseph of Arimathea, would have been brought out 
 at the very time when even the apostles themselves 
 had fled trembling with fear? Yet they were the 
 witnesses of Christ whom God had put forth at the 
 close; for it was manifestly of Him. God never can 
 fail; and the very trials that would seem to crush 
 all hope for the glory of Christ on the earth are the 
 precise occasions in which God proves that after all it 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 245 
 
 is He alone who triumphs, while man always fails even 
 if he be an apostle. But the weakest of saints (how 
 much more this greatest of the apostles !) cannot but be 
 conqueror, more than conqueror, where the heart is 
 filled with Christ. There was victory to his faith by 
 the grace of God. And so, too, he could now read and 
 interpret all things in that bright light around him. 
 Had he occupied himself with the persons that were so 
 preaching the gospel, how disconsolate he must have 
 been ! What might you and I have thought of such ? 
 Is it too much to say that many a groan would have 
 gone forth from us that are here ? Instead of this a 
 song of joy and thanks comes from the blessed man of 
 God at Eome; for, as he says here, "Some indeed preach 
 Christ even of envy and strife ; and some also of good 
 will. The one preach Christ of contention, not sincere- 
 ly," — nor was this all, but — "supposing to add affliction 
 to my bonds." 
 
 i^ot only was an utterly wrong spirit indulged in 
 the w^ork itself, and toward others engaged actually 
 in it; but even as to the apostle, shut out from such 
 service, a desire to pain and wound was not wanting. 
 " The one preach Christ of contention supposing to add 
 affliction to my bonds : but the other of love, knowing 
 that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What 
 then ? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, 
 or in truth, Christ is preached." Christ is the sovereign 
 balm for every wound; and it was the apostle's joy, 
 whatever men's spirit might be, not only to enjoy Christ 
 himself, but that His name was being proclaimed far 
 and wide by many lips, that souls might hear and live. 
 Whatever the motives, whatever the manner, the Lord 
 would surely deal with these in His own day ; but, at 
 
246 INTRODUCTOKY LECTURES. 
 
 any rate, Christ was now preached, and God would use 
 this both for His own glory and for the salvation of 
 souls. 
 
 Hence, says he, " I therein do rejoice, yea, and will 
 rejoice. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation 
 through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of 
 Christ Jesus." We must carefully remember throughout 
 all this epistle that "salvation" never means acceptance. 
 If this be borne in mind a large part of the difficulty 
 that some have found completely disappears. Impos- 
 sible that anything done by other saints should turn to 
 one's acceptance any more than what is done by himself. 
 The apostle uses salvation throughout his letter to the 
 Philippians (nor is it confined to this scripture only) in 
 the sense of the complete and final triumph over all the 
 power of Satan. Hence it may be remarked that in 
 the epistle to the Philippians it is not a question of 
 lusts of the flesh ; the flesh is not so much as named 
 here, except in a religious way ; not in its gross sins, as 
 man would judge, but in its pretensions to religion. See 
 for instance chapter iii. Hence the conflict is never with 
 internal evil, but rather with Satan. For such conflict we 
 need the power of the Lord and the whole armour of 
 God. But that power displays itself not in our strength, 
 or wisdom, or any conferred resources. The supply of 
 the Spirit of Christ Jesus shows itself in dependence, 
 and this expresses itself therefore in prayer to God. 
 And observe, too, that the apostle felt the value of 
 others' prayers. They contributed to his victory over 
 the foe. How lovely that even such a man should speak, 
 not merely of his own prayers, but of theirs, turning all 
 to such account. " This shall turn," says he, " to my 
 salvation through your prayers, and the supply of the 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 247 
 
 Spirit of Jesus Christ." There is nothing so unaffectedly 
 humble as real faith, and, above all, that character of 
 faith which lives on Christ, and which consequently 
 lives Christ. Such was the apostle's faith. To him to 
 live was Christ. 
 
 " According to my earnest expectation and my hope, 
 that in nothing 1 shall be ashamed." If he desired for 
 them that they should be without one stumble till the 
 day of Christ, it was the purpose to which grace had 
 girded up his own loins. But " that in nothing I shall 
 be ashamed." A\Tiat a word, and how calculated to make 
 us ashamed ! It is not a question of acceptance in 
 Christ. No; it is practical. It is his state and experience 
 every day, as to which his hope was that in nothing 
 he should be ashamed ; " but that with all boldness, as 
 always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my 
 body, whether it be by life, or by death." 
 
 And what is it that gave such a hope to one that 
 owns himself the chief of sinners and less than the 
 least of aU saints ? There was but one spring of power 
 — even Christ. And, let me observe, it is not merely 
 that Christ is my life. Sweet and wondrous word to 
 say that Christ is our life ; but the question is, how are 
 we living ? Are we living out that life which we have ? 
 Is this the life that is practically exercised ? or are there 
 mingled ways and mixed motives? Is there the struggle 
 of the old with the appearance sometimes of the new? 
 Does this content our hearts ? Or is it, on the settled 
 judgment of the old as altogether and only self and sin, 
 that we are habitually manifesting Christ? Have we 
 that one blessed person as the hope, motive, beginning, 
 end, way, and power of all that occupies us from day 
 to day ? It was so with the apostle. May it be so 
 
248 INTRODUCTOKY LECTURES. 
 
 with US ! " To me" may each say truly, " to live is 
 Christ." 
 
 Habitually, indeed throughout this epistle, we find 
 the word "me," and a very different "me" from the "me" 
 of Eomans vii. There it was an unhappy " me," though 
 distinct from the flesh : " wretched man that I am !' 
 Here it would be, happy man that I am ! He is one 
 who has his joy exclusively from and in Christ. When 
 first he tasted it, he found it so sweet that he cared for 
 none other. And thus it was the power of the Spirit of 
 God that gave him to look out in the midst of all that he 
 passed through day by day, that all, whatever it might 
 be, should be done to Christ, and so too all by Christ, 
 the Holy Ghost working it, so to speak, in his soul to 
 give him simply and settledly in everything that oc- 
 curred an opportunity of having Christ Himself as the 
 substance of his living and serving, no matter what 
 might come in the course of duty. " To me to live is 
 Christ, and to die is gain." In any case, indeed, to the 
 Christian, death is gain ; but he could best say it who 
 could say, " To me to live is Christ," who could say it 
 not merely as the faith of Him, but as a matter of sim- 
 ple, unconstrained, spontaneous enjoyment of Christ in 
 practical ways. 
 
 Now he proceeds to give his reason. It is his own 
 personal experience; and this is the reason why we have 
 " I " so often here. It is not legal experience, for which 
 you must turn to the chapter spoken of in Eomans vii., 
 the only bit of a saint's experience under law, as far as 
 I know, that the New Testament affords (certainly in the 
 epistles). But here is the proper experience of a Chris- 
 tian. It is the apostle giving us what his heart was 
 occupied with when he could not go forth in the activi- 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 249 
 
 ties of work, and when it seemed as if he had nothing 
 to do. Now we all know that when a man is carried on 
 the top of the wave, when the winds fill the sails and 
 all goes prosperously, when hearts are gladdened in sor- 
 row, when one witnesses the joy of fresh deliverance 
 from day to day, it is a comparatively easy thing. But 
 to one cut off from such work it was, in appearance at 
 least, a heavy burden and an immense trial ; but Christ 
 changes all for us. His yoke is easy, and His burden 
 light. It is Christ, and Christ only, that thus disposes 
 of grief and pressure. And so accordingly His servant 
 says here, " If I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my 
 labour." 
 
 It is needless to recount the comments on these 
 words. They really mean, this is worth my while, — 
 a well-known phrase in Latin too. He puts it as a 
 matter left for him to judge of and decide by Christ. 
 " If I live in the flesh, it is worth my while." But if 
 not, what then ? Why, it was gain. As far as he was 
 concerned, therefore, why could he choose? In a certain 
 sense too he could not, and in another he would not 
 choose. Christ was so truly before his heart, that in fact 
 there was no self left unjudged to warp the choice. This 
 is what brings him, if one may so say, into the dilemma 
 of love. If he left this world, he would be with Christ ; 
 if he lived longer in this world, Christ was with him. 
 In short, he was so living Christ, that it was only a 
 question of Christ here and of Christ there. After all 
 it was better for Christ to choose, not for him. But the 
 moment he has Christ before him thus, he judges ac- 
 cording to the affections of Christ, and he looks at the 
 need of saints here below. 
 
 The question is at once settled as a matter of faith. 
 
250 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Thougli he wist not to choose what between the two 
 before, when the need of souls rises before him, he says 
 that he shall live, and is not yet going to die. Through 
 the wonderful sight of the love of Christ, this answered 
 the question to his faith, leaving all circumstances 
 entirely aside. Witnesses, prosecutors, judges, emperor, 
 everybody, became, in point of fact, nothing to him. " I 
 can do all things," as he says elsewhere, " through liim 
 that strengtheneth me." So he could settle now about his 
 life and death. " Therefore," says he, " though I am in 
 a strait betwixt two," as he had said before, " having a 
 desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far 
 better : nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more need- 
 ful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I 
 shall abide and continue with you all for your further- 
 ance and joy of faith ; that your rejoicing may be more 
 abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you 
 again." 
 
 Only he desires that their conversation should be as 
 it became the gospel of Christ. It was not merely their 
 calling in Christ, their being Christians, that was before 
 him, but a walk as it became the gospel of Christ. It 
 is not at all as the objects of the gospel, but as having 
 fellowship with it, their hearts bound up and identified 
 with all the trials and difficulties that the gospel was 
 sustaining in its course throughout the world. " Only 
 let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of 
 Christ." Thus fervour of desire for others is the happy 
 index of this whenever coupled with adequate know- 
 ledge of ourselves. But how can this be unless the 
 heart is perfectly at ease as to itself ? " Only let your 
 conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ." 
 Let me press this, because alas ! there is no small ten- 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIAXS. 251 
 
 dency whenever people know the gospel well, if this be 
 all, to settle down, thinking they have nothing more to 
 do with the matter. It was not so with the Philippians. 
 They had so much the more to do because Christ had 
 done all for their souls. They were coupled with the 
 gospel in all its conflict and progress. It was not because 
 of their own personal interest, though this was great 
 and fresh, but they loved that it should go forth. They 
 identified themselves, therefore, with all who were de- 
 claring it throughout the world. Hence he desired that 
 their conversation should be as became such zeal ; " that 
 whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may 
 hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with 
 one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel ; 
 and in nothing terrified by your adversaries : which is 
 to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of 
 salvation, and that of God." 
 
 This is the more important, because such fear is the 
 main -weapon of Satan. It is always the power of 
 Satan that is in view here. He is resrarded as the true 
 adversary, working, of course, by human means ; but none 
 the less is it his power. It may be remarked here, that 
 from an expression often misunderstood in chapter ii. 
 it might seem as if the apostle wished somehow to 
 weaken their confidence. So unbelief interprets, but 
 most assuredly it is wrong. The apostle does call for 
 "fear and trembling" on the part of the saints in that 
 chapter; but there is not an atom of dread or doubt in it. 
 He -svould have them realize the solemnity of the strife 
 that is going on. He desires for them, not anxiety 
 about the issue of it, but true gravity of spirit, because 
 of feeling that it is a question between God and the 
 devil, and that we have to do with that struggle in the 
 
252 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 most direct way. We need to draw from God, the 
 spring and the only supplier of power that can resist 
 the devil; but, at the same time, that we have the 
 devil to resist in His power is a conviction that may 
 well demand "fear and trembling;" and this, lest in 
 such a conflict we should let in anything of self, which 
 would at once give a handle to the devil. In Him, we 
 know, who was the perfect model in the same warfare, 
 which He fought single-handed, conquering for God's 
 glory and for us, the prince of this world came, and 
 had nothing in Him, absolutely nothing. With us it is 
 far otherwise; and only as we live on Christ do we 
 remove, as it were, from the enemy's hand that which 
 would furnish him abundant occasion. 
 
 In rich measure did the apostle live thus himself 
 — it was the one thing he did ; and he would have the 
 saints to be living in it too. "In nothing," says he, 
 "terrified by your adversaries [this is the other side] : 
 which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to 
 you of salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is 
 given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on 
 him, but also to suffer for his sake." Thus the very 
 suffering which unbelief might interpret wrongly, and 
 regard as a severe chastening, and so cause the heart to 
 be cast down, instead of taking comfort before God, — • 
 the suffering for Christ's sake is a gift of His love, as 
 much a gift as the believing in Christ for the salvation 
 of the soul. For, in point of fact, through this epistle 
 salvation is seen as going on from first to last, and not yet 
 complete, being never viewed as such till the conflict 
 with Satan is altogether closed. Such is the sense of it 
 here. Hence he speaks of the conflict which they once 
 saw to be in him, and now heard to be in him. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 253 
 
 Next, not only did he exhort them not to be terrified 
 by the power of Satan, which is itself an evident and 
 solemn sign of perdition to those that oppose the saints 
 of God ; but he calls on them to cast out the sources 
 of disunion among themselves ; and this he does in the 
 most touching way. They had been manifesting their 
 mindful love for the apostle, who on his part was cer- 
 tainly not forgetful of its least token. If, then, they 
 really loved him, — " If there be therefore any consola- 
 tion in Christ, if there be any comfort of love, any 
 fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies," — he 
 would venture to seek another proof of it. That there 
 was all this abundantly in these saints he did not doubt; 
 they had just shown him the fruit of love personally. 
 Did he want more for himself? Far from it. There 
 was another way which would best prove it to his 
 heart ; it was not something future secured to Paul in 
 his need, which would be the way of nature, not of love 
 or faith. Not so : Christ is always better; and so says 
 he, "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having 
 the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let 
 nothing be done through strife or vain-glory." There 
 is always danger of these, and the more so where there 
 is activity among souls. There was evidently energy 
 among these Philippians. This commonly is apt to 
 give occasion for strife as well as vain-glory. No saints 
 are outside the danger. 
 
 Nothing, then, would the apostle have done in strife 
 or vain-glory ; " but in lowliness of mind each esteem- 
 ing other better than themselves." Let me look at 
 another as he is in Christ. Let me think of myself 
 as one that is serving Him (oh, how feebly and fail- 
 ingly !) in this relationship, and it is an easy thing to 
 
254 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 esteem others better than myself. It is not sentiment, 
 but a genuine feeling, thus "looking not each at his 
 own things, but each also at the things of others." 
 Now the saint that has Christ Himself before him looks 
 abroad with desires according to the activity of divine 
 love. 
 
 " Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 
 Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it 
 not robbery to be equal with God : but made himself 
 of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a 
 servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and 
 being found in fashion as a man, he humbled liimself." 
 There are two chief stages of His humiliation flowing 
 out of His perfect love. First of all He emptied Him- 
 self, becoming a slave and a man ; and having thus 
 come down, so as to take His place in the likeness of 
 men, He, found in figure as a man, humbled Himself, 
 becoming obedient even to the lowest point of degra- 
 dation here below. He " became obedient unto death, 
 even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath 
 highly exalted him, and given him a name which is 
 above every name : that at the name of Jesus every 
 knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in 
 earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue 
 should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of 
 God the Father." 
 
 It will be observed that there is no such thing in the 
 first instance as "to the glory of God," when we hear 
 of all bowing in the name of Jesus. To the confession 
 of His Lordship is added "to the glory of God the 
 Father." The reason is, in my judgment, perfectly beau- 
 tiful. "Jesus" is His own name. His personal name. 
 Jesus is Jehovah, although a man ; consequently the 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS, 255 
 
 bowing in that name to the glory of God the Father 
 does not occur to the apostle. Why, then, is it so in 
 the next instance ? Because he looks at Jesus, not in 
 His own personal right and glory, where necessarily all 
 must bow, but rather at Him in His official place as 
 Lord — the place He has righteously acquired as man. 
 This is wholly distinct from His own intrinsic eternal 
 glory. He was made Lord and Christ. The moment 
 you look at what He is made, then it is to the glory of 
 Him who thus exalted Him. It was God the Father 
 that made Him Lord and Christ, but God the Father 
 never made Him Jehovah. He was Jehovah, equal 
 with God tlie Father. Impossible that He could be 
 made Jehovah. Eeason and sense are out of the ques- 
 tion, though reason must reject a creature's becoming 
 God. Such a notion is unknown to scripture, and 
 revolting to the spiritual mind. Hence we see the 
 great importance of this truth. All error is founded 
 on a misuse of a truth against the truth. The only 
 safeguard of the saints, of those that love the truth and 
 Himself, is simple subjection to the word of God — to 
 the whole truth He has revealed in scripture. 
 
 Evidently, therefore, two glories of Jesus are referred 
 to here. There is His own personal glory; and this 
 first. The other is what suits it, but a conferred posi- 
 tion. If Jehovah so served, it was but natural that He 
 should be made Lord of all, and so He is. It was due 
 to His humiliation and obedience; and so it is here 
 treated. 
 
 Thus, in both parts of the history of Christ, pre- 
 sented to us in no obscure contrast with the first 
 Adam, we have first of all His own glory, who humbled 
 Himself to become a servant. The very fact, or way of 
 
256 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 putting it, supposes Him to be a divine person. Had 
 He not been God in His own being and title, it would 
 have been no humiliation to be a servant, nor could it 
 be indeed a question of taking such a place. The arch- 
 angel is at best but a servant ; the highest creature, far 
 from having to stoop in order to become a servant, can 
 never rise above that condition. Jesus had to empty 
 Himself to become a servant. He is God equally with 
 the Father. But having deigned to become a servant. 
 He goes down lower still. He must retrieve the glory 
 of God in that very death which confessedly had brought 
 the greatest shame on God outwardly. For God had 
 made the world full of life ; He " saw every thing that 
 He had made, and, behold, it was very good," and Satan 
 apparently won the victory over Him in it. All here 
 below was plunged under the sentence of death through 
 Adam's sin; and God's word could but seal it till 
 redemption. 
 
 The Lord Jesus not only comes down into the place 
 of servant in love among men, but goes down into the 
 last fortress of the enemy's power. He breaks it com- 
 pletely, becomes conqueror for ever, wins the title for 
 God's grace to deliver righteously every creature, save 
 only those who, far from receiving Christ, dare to re- 
 ject Him because of that very nature which He took 
 on Him, and that infinite work on the cross which had 
 caused Him suffering to the utmost in working all out for 
 the glory of God. Oh, is it not awful to think, that the 
 best proof of the love of Christ and of His glory is the 
 very ground which the base heart of man turns into a 
 reason for denying both His love and His glory? But so 
 it is; and thus the food of faith becomes the poison of 
 unbelief But the day is coming when "every knee shall 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 257 
 
 bow, of tilings in lieaven, and things in earth, and 
 things under the earth." Not that all shall be de- 
 livered and centred in Him, but that all must bow. 
 All who believe shall surely shine in His glory; and 
 the universal creation, which, belonging to Him as His 
 inheritance. He will share with His own, shall be re- 
 conciled and delivered in due time. But there are the 
 things, or if you will, the persons under the earth which 
 can never be delivered. Yet these shall bow, no less 
 than those in heaven, or on earth. In His name all 
 must bow. Thus the difference between reconciliation 
 and subjection is manifest. The lost must bow; the 
 devils must bow ; the lake of fire must own the glory 
 of Him who has power to cast them there, as it is said, 
 " unto the glory of God the Father." But all in heaven 
 and on earth shall be in reconciliation with God and 
 headed up in Christ, with whom the Church shall share 
 the unbounded inheritance. (Compare Eph. i. and Col. i.) 
 But all, even these in hell, must confess that Jesus 
 Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 
 
 But now the apostle turns to the use that he makes 
 of so blessed a pattern, " Wherefore, my beloved, as ye 
 have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but 
 now much more in my absence." It was the exact re- 
 verse in good of what the Galatians were in evil, for 
 they had been cordial and bright when the apostle was 
 with them; but directly his back was turned, their hearts 
 were alienated. Even he who knew them well mar- 
 velled that they were so soon shifting, not only from 
 him, but from the gospel, after he left them. But with 
 the Philippians there was increased jealousy for Christ. 
 They were more obedient in his absence than in his 
 
258 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 presence. Hence he calls upon them, as one that could 
 not be with them to help them in the conflict, to work 
 out their own salvation. Such is the force of the ex- 
 hortation. This epistle is therefore eminently instruc- 
 tive to those who could not have an apostle with them. 
 God was pleased, even whilst the apostle was alive, to 
 set him aside and to prove the power of faith where he 
 was not. 
 
 Hence he says, " Work out your own salvation with 
 fear and trembling." It is not the dread of losing 
 the Saviour of their souls, but because they felt for His 
 name; "for it is God which worketh in you both to 
 will and to do of His good pleasure." Therefore he 
 intreated them to "do all things without murmurings 
 and reasonings, that they might be blameless and harm- 
 less, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a 
 crooked and perverse nation, among whom they shone 
 as lights in the world ; holding forth the word of life." 
 It is a description that might almost do for Christ 
 himself, so high is the standard for those that belong 
 to Christ. Christ was surely blameless in the highest 
 sense, as His ways were harmless, — "holy, harmless, 
 undefiled," as it is said elsewhere. Christ was Son of 
 God in a sole and supreme sense. Christ was "without 
 rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation." 
 Christ shone as the true light in the world — the light 
 of life. Christ held it forth ; nay, more, He was it. For 
 what believer would deny that, however close the con- 
 formity, there is always that dignity and perfection 
 which is proper to Christ, and exclusively His? Let 
 us uphold the glory of His person, but, nevertheless, 
 let us not forget how the apostle's picture of the 
 saint resembles the Master! Like another apostle 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 259 
 
 (2 John 8) he does not hesitate to blend with all this 
 an appeal to their hearts for his own service in their 
 well-being. 
 
 "That" (says he, after he had exhorted the Philip- 
 pians thus to stand,) "I may rejoice in the day of 
 Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured 
 in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice 
 and service of your faith." How truly he accounted 
 himself less than the least of them! How gladly 
 would he be a libation upon the sacrifice of their 
 faith ! He esteemed men better than himself. He too 
 in love still keeps up the servant -character, and gives 
 them as it were the Christ -character. This is the un- 
 failing secret of it all — the true source of humility in 
 service. "For the same cause also do ye joy and rejoice 
 with me. But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timo- 
 theus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good 
 comfort, when I know your state." 
 
 And now there is the most lovely picture of Christ 
 again; for it is always Christ here, and this again 
 practically. Timothy was very dear to him, and was 
 then with him; but he is going to part with the one 
 that was so much the more valued by him in his 
 solitariness and sorrow because of his circumstances at 
 Rome. Indeed he esteemed others better than himself. 
 He is just about to send Timothy from himself that 
 he might know about them. "For I have no man 
 likeminded, who will naturally care for your state." 
 Timothy shared the unselfishness of the apostle's heart. 
 "For they all seek their own." It might have been thought 
 that so much the more would Paul need his love and 
 services. Whatever he needed, love is never itself but 
 
 s 2 
 
260 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 in unselfish action and suffering. I speak of Christian 
 love, of course. " For all seek their own, not the things 
 which are Jesus Christ's. But ye know the proof of 
 him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with 
 me in the gospel. Him therefore I hope to send pre- 
 sently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. 
 But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come 
 shortly. Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you 
 Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, 
 and fellow -soldier, but your messenger, and he that 
 ministered to my wants." 
 
 He loves, we see, to couple with the relationship to 
 himself what was related to them. Epaphroditus was 
 his fellow- servant, and indeed more than that — "my 
 brother, and companion in labour, and fellow- soldier, 
 but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. 
 For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness." 
 Why ? because he himself had been sick ? No ; but 
 "because that ye had heard that he had been sick." 
 How lovely that this it was that pained him — unselfish 
 love ! the love of Christ everywhere ! " For indeed he 
 was sick nigh unto death : but God had mercy on him." 
 Was this all the apostle had to say? Not so. "And 
 not on him only, but on me also," (what a difference 
 is made when love inter23rets !) " lest I should have 
 sorrow upon sorrow. I sent him therefore the more 
 carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, 
 and that I may be [not rejoicing here, but] the less 
 sorrowful." He did feel it. Love feels acutely — nothing 
 so much ; but it triumphs. " Eeceive him therefore in 
 the Lord with all gladness ; and hold such in repu- 
 tation" (he would turn it again to practical profit as to 
 others) : " because for the work of Christ he was nigh 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 261 
 
 Tinto death, not regarding his life, to supply yonr lack 
 of service toward me." 
 
 This chapter then looks for the working of the 
 gracious feelings of Christ Himself in the Christian 
 individually, showing us, first, the fulness of them all in 
 Christ in contrast with the first Adam. But it gives 
 us also the effect of Christ in the saints eventually — of 
 Paul himself, of Timothy, of Epaphroditus, and indeed 
 of the Philippian saints. It shows us grace practically 
 in different measures and forms. But the grace of Christ 
 wrought in them all; and that was the great joy and 
 delight of the apostle's heart. 
 
 In chapter iii. it is not the display of intrinsic affec- 
 tion in Christ, or the gracious dispositions of Christ in 
 the saints. Not the passive side of the Christian as being 
 in the w^orld, but the active comes before us. Accord- 
 ingly, this being not so directly the subject of the epistle 
 though a very important part of it, it comes in paren- 
 thetically in a large measure, not now in any wise as 
 a question of truth or development of the mystery of 
 Christ, as we saw in Ephesians iii., but, nevertheless, as 
 a parenthesis; for he resumes afterwards the internal 
 side again, as we shall see in chapter iv. Energy is not 
 the best or highest aspect of Christianity. There is real 
 power, there is strength from God that works in the 
 saint; but the feelings of Christ, the mind of Christ 
 morally, is better than all energy. Nevertheless, energy 
 there is, and this assuredly judges what is contrary 
 to Christ. 
 
 Here, accordingly, it is not the outgoings of love, but 
 the zeal that burns indignantly as to what dishonours 
 the Lord. This is one of the main features of our 
 
262 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 chapter. "Finally," says lie, "my brethren, rejoice in 
 the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me 
 indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware 
 of dogs." In Matthew xxiii. we have woe upon woe 
 pronounced upon scribes and Pharisees, and so it is here. 
 As it was a true though distressing part for Christ to 
 judge religious evil, something akin could not be absent 
 here; but at the same time it was by no means a 
 prominent characteristic of Christ's task here below — 
 far from it. It was a necessary duty sometimes as 
 things are on the earth, but nothing more ; and so it is 
 still. "Beware of evil workers; beware of the con- 
 cision." 
 
 "For we are the circumcision, which worship God 
 in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no 
 confidence in the flesh." This is the only allusion, as 
 far as I know, to flesh in this epistle, but it is flesh in 
 its religious form, and not as a source of evil lusts and 
 passions. It is all judged, and its religious form not 
 least, by Christ. " Though," says he, " I might also have 
 confidence in the flesh. If any other" — carrying on the 
 same thought of the flesh — " if any other man thinketh 
 that he hath matter of trust in the flesh, I more. Cir- 
 cumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of 
 the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews ; 
 as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, per- 
 secuting the church; touching the righteousness which 
 is in the law, blameless." And what did the apostle 
 do with all this roll of fleshly advantages? It was 
 seen laid in the grave of Christ. " What things were 
 gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ." Will it be 
 said that this is what the apostle felt, and did, and suf- 
 fered in the freshness of his first acquaintance with 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 263 
 
 Christ ? It was also what he carried up to the moment 
 of writing to the Philippians as ardently as ever. 
 " Yea," said he, " and I count all things but loss." It is 
 not only his reckoning in the first fervour of love for 
 the Saviour. "Yea doubtless, and I count all things 
 but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ 
 Jesus my Lord." 
 
 Such experience is both a real and a precious boon. 
 Let us not mistake in this ; let us not be driven from 
 it by a too common misuse. That which men call by 
 this name is really the trial of what flesh is under law 
 much more than experience of Christ. But let us not 
 be turned aside, and think that it is merely a question 
 of believing and of knowing our place secure ; but let 
 us live of that very Christ who is our life. This is 
 what he did, and accordingly this is the source, not 
 merely of a firm faith and confidence as to the issue, 
 but of present joy and all-overcoming power. This is 
 what gives force to our affections, and rivets them on 
 Christ. This is, accordingly, what flows forth in praise 
 from himself, and in calling out praise from other hearts. 
 So he says here, " For the excellency of the knowledge 
 of Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the 
 loss of all things, and do count them but dung." Thus 
 the two things are repeated — the past judgment and the 
 present power : " and do count them but dung, that I 
 may win Christ." This will be, no doubt, at the end of 
 the journey: the faithful win Christ where He is. For 
 it is not meant looking to Him now, or having Him as 
 one's life: to win Christ means having Him at the other 
 side. He always looks there in Philippians. 
 
 It is not at all a question of what one has here. This 
 has its most weighty place elsewhere; but when it is a 
 
264 INTEODUCTOEY LECTUEES. 
 
 question of experience, the end cannot be here. There 
 is the present joy of Christ ; but this does not content 
 the souL The more one enjoys Christ here, the more 
 one wants to be with Him there. "That I may win 
 Christ," therefore he says ; " and be found in him, not 
 having mine own righteousness, which is of the law." 
 This was precisely what he desired when a Jew. Now, 
 ha^dng seen Christ, if he could even bring his own 
 righteousness into heaven, he would not. It would be 
 mere independence of Christ if he could have stood 
 without a single flaw, as blameless, in fact, as in a 
 certain sense outwardly he was under the law, until 
 the Spirit of God gave him to see what he was in 
 God's mind. Then he found himself a dead man — 
 condemned and powerless. But supposing it possible 
 to be clothed with the righteousness of the law, he 
 would not have it now. He had got a better righteous- 
 ness, and he desired nothing so much as to be found in 
 Christ, having that which is through faith of Christ, 
 the righteousness which is of God by faith. Nothing 
 but the righteousness that was of God as its source 
 satisfied him. It is the only place in Scripture where 
 the phrase means, not simply the righteousness of God 
 in point of character, but the righteousness of God in 
 point of sowrce. Such is the meaning here. Elsewhere 
 it is God's or divine righteousness. Here the object 
 seems to be to make its difference from legal obedience 
 more felt — the contrast with the law more complete. 
 
 " That I may know him." Now here we have what is 
 present; so that the passage presents some difficulty to 
 souls because of intermingling the present with the 
 future. Thus easily do we fall into error, because the 
 human mind likes to have either one thing or another. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIAKS. 265 
 
 and thus avoid all difficulty in Scripture, having each 
 squared according to our notions. But it is not so that 
 God has written His word. Xevertheless, God will 
 surely teach His own, and knows how to clear up what 
 is hidden from them. He has written His word not to 
 perplex, but to enlighten. Thus the true bearing of 
 the passage is, that from the first the eye of faith is 
 fixed steadily on the end of the journey. "That I may 
 win Christ, and be found in him" — where not a vestige 
 of self remains, but all will be Christ, and nothing but 
 Christ. This is the righteousness whose source is 
 in God ; it is also by faith of Christ, and not through 
 the law, which, of course, would have man's righteous- 
 ness if it could. 
 
 But now he adds, " That I may know him" (speaking 
 of entrance by faith into communion with Christ) — 
 "that I may know him, and the power of his resur- 
 rection." This is open to the heart now. "And the 
 fellowship of his sufferings" — again and certainly a 
 present thing, not relating to heaven. "Being made 
 conformable to his death:" — this too is clearly in the 
 world now. " If by any means I might attain unto the 
 resurrection from the dead."* Clearly we here look out 
 
 * There is no reasonable doubt that tbe received text is wrong, 
 followed by the Authorised Version ("of," instead of "from" the 
 dead). The Alexandrian, Vatican, Sinai, Clermont, and St. Germain 
 Uncials, supported by some ten cursives, very many versions, and the 
 chief Greek and Latin ecclesiastical writers read ti]v iKavaaradiv 
 Tiijv IK viKpwv. Codd. F and G, by manifest error, read twv Ik, and 
 this seems to have been corrected (or rather corrupted) in order to 
 make sense into twv (omitting Ik) in K and L and the mass of cur- 
 sives. But in my opinion the sense, and even the Greek, seems bad ; 
 for on the one hand both itavaaraaiv and the drift of the argument 
 point to a resurrection of favour and blessedness, not to that in which 
 the unjust must rise to judgment; while on the other hand rwv 
 vexpuiv would imply the dead, i.e. all the dead, as a class. Hence I 
 
266 INTEODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 of the world and into a state to come, when we have 
 the consummation of our hopes and the end of the 
 journey. This is what he calls " salvation." It cannot 
 be till the Christ is risen according to the pattern of 
 Christ Himself. 
 Thus we see here the power of a risen and a heavenly 
 
 cannot but consider it a surprising error in Griesbacli that he edited 
 the received text in this place. Alter and Matthaei followed according 
 to their plan the manuscripts before them; but the latter was too 
 good a scholar not to feel the difference, though he appears to impute 
 it to a corrector for the sake of elegance in his second edition. Long 
 before them, Mill had given his judgment in favour of the more ancient 
 reading ; and Wetstein repeated it apparently with approval. Bengel 
 hesitated ; but Dr. Wells in this, as in many other instances, showed 
 his sound judgment and quiet courage in rejecting the common text, 
 and adopting that which has by far the best authorities. 
 
 Dr. S. T. Bloomfield indeed (Addit. Annotations in loc.) admits 
 that the external testimony is quite in its favour, though it is hard to 
 see what he means by the internal evidence being in this case denied ; 
 for he suggests himself that rrfv sk may have been a correction pro- 
 ceeding from those who thought that the sense which the context 
 requires, "the resurrection from the dead," could not be extracted 
 from l^av. tCjv viKpwv. The critical reading he owns has force and 
 propriety; but he does "not see why i^avdaT. tHjv viKpCov should not 
 of itself have the same sense as that conveyed, with more propriety of 
 expression (and for that reason likely to be adopted in the early 
 Uncial MSS.), ttav. ttIjv «k vsicpiov. Little probable is it that the 
 reading, k^avacrr. r-qv Ik tGjv veKputv should have been altered to tK 
 Tu)v vsKp. There is great reason to think that the Ik arose from 
 those who thought it necessary to the sense, and did not see that it 
 could be fetched from the k^ in IKavcKTT. Hence I am inclined to retain 
 l^av. Tu)v vtKp. as bl popular diudi familiar mode of expression (suitable 
 to the persons addressed), according to which the expressions dg ttjv 
 k%av. rSiv advert — as at Rom. iv. 16, and elsewhere — to the state of 
 the persons in question, that state or kind of resurrection unto life of 
 those who have died in the Lord, and whose resurrection will be a 
 resurrection unto life and glory, their bodies being raised incorruptible, 
 and both body and soul united for ever with the Lord. See 1 Thess. 
 iv. 6-18." 
 
 I have transcribed this note at length, because it is a fair sample 
 of Dr. B.'s critical, scholastic, and exegetic manner. Enough has 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 267 
 
 Christ, not now treated doctrinally as in 1 Corinthians 
 XV. or 2 Corinthians v. and elsewhere, but as that which 
 bears on the Christian for the constant experience of 
 every day. Hence that which judged and put aside 
 religion after the flesh, righteousness after the law, all 
 that was now 'eft completely and for ever behind, and 
 
 been already said above, before I even knew of his reasoning, to 
 prove bow vmfounded it is in every point of view. The internal 
 evidence {i.e. tbe scope of the context) is as decidedly for ttjv Ik as the 
 weightiest external witnesses. How the text got gradually changed 
 from the most correct form {not correction) in the early Uncials has 
 been explained. When the distinction of the resurrection of the just 
 from that of the unjust got lost in Christendom, and all were merged 
 in the error of one general indiscriminate resurrection, one can 
 understand that people would not feel the impropriety of substitutii?g 
 Tail/ for TTJV Ik (for as to riijv Ik twv, of which Dr. B. speaks, it exists 
 in no document whatever). There is therefore not the slightest ground 
 to countenance the rather dangerous idea, that the apostle did not 
 employ a phrase analogous to the correct one which is found else- 
 where in the New Testament, and adopted " a popular and familiar 
 mode of expression," i.e. a really inaccurate mode. And why should 
 our Lord adopt a correct form to the Sadducees (Luke xx. repeated in 
 Acts iv.), and Paul an incorrect one to the Philippians ? Who can 
 understand why it should be " suitable to the persons addressed," on 
 Dr. B's showing ? Of the two, the converse would be more intelli- 
 gible; but my conviction is that both the Lord and His apostle 
 used similar and correct phraseology, as did the Holy Spirit elsewhere. 
 And as to Eom. iv. 17 (which was probably meant rather than 16), 
 it has no bearing on the matter, as it is there merely a question of 
 God's power displayed in quickening the dead, and calling things that 
 are not in being as in being, and in no way distinguishing the resur- 
 rection of life from that of judgment. When the state or kind of 
 resurrection is meant to be expressed, the anarthrous form is requisite, 
 as we see in verse 24 of this very chapter, and regiilarly so. (See Rom. 
 i. 4.) I believe, therefore, that kKavdcrTaaiv, especially if Ik be sup- 
 posed to be fetched (as Dr. B. says) from t^avdcTTj is incompatible 
 with tCjv vEKpuiv, the one conveying the notion of a selected com- 
 pany, and the other of the dead universally. Modem editors of value, 
 however differing in their system of recension agree in the ancient 
 as against the received reading; so Scholz, Lachmann, Tischendorf, 
 Ellicott, Alford, Tregelles, Wordsworth, &c. 
 
268 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 the saint is set on the road that nothing can satisfy 
 him but being in the same glorious condition with Christ 
 Himself. Hence he says, " Xot as though I had already 
 attained, either were already perfect ; but I follow after, 
 if that I may apprehend that for which also I am 
 apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not 
 myself to have apprehended : but this one thing I do, 
 forgetting those things which are behind." This, care- 
 fully remember, does not mean forgetting sins. Far 
 from losing sight of our past ways, it is a very whole- 
 some thing indeed to remember them: we are never 
 safe in forgetting what we are and have been. What 
 he means by forgetting the things that are behind is, 
 that we should not think of any progress we may have 
 made in following Christ, — that we should lose sight of 
 everything calculated to give us self-satisfaction. This 
 were to spoil all, because it would please the flesh. 
 
 It is our progress then that we are to forget. Let us be 
 humbled on account of our sins. Self-judgment, where 
 grace is known, is a most wholesome exercise of soul ; 
 and we shall have it in perfection even in heaven itself 
 before the judgment-seat of Christ. One of the elements 
 of heavenly happiness will be the calm and settled 
 knowledge of all that we have been here below. This 
 will not detract for an instant from the perfect enjoy- 
 ment of Christ, but rather promote it so much the more, 
 making it more evidently and always pure grace even 
 in glory. Thus "forgetting those things which are 
 behind " refers to the progress that we may make. True 
 experience is still the great theme which the apostle 
 has in hand here as well as in his own personal history. 
 He was too much bent on what was before to be 
 occupied with calling to mind what was behind him ; 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 269 
 
 it must have impeded him in the race. " Let us there- 
 fore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded : and if in 
 any thing ye be otherwise [i. e. differently] minded, this 
 also will God reveal to you." Differences there may 
 be among the saints, and especially when we come 
 to the question of experience. But in truth it may 
 betray itself in doctrine and practice in various shapes. 
 
 And what is the true divine rule ? Is it agreeing to 
 differ? This is but a poor human resource, as un- 
 worthy of the saints as of the truth of God, who would 
 not have us to wink at any mistake. It is no rule, but 
 an evasion. There is, however, a sure and only divine 
 standard : as far as we have attained, our call is to 
 walk in the same path. And this is true from the first 
 moment of our career as God's children. For, let me 
 ask, what is our title to communion ? What is it that 
 brings us into the blessed fellowship that we enjoy ? 
 There is but one title, there can be no sufficient ground 
 but the name of Christ — Christ known and confessed 
 in the Holy Ghost ; and where He is simply before us, 
 the progress is most real, if not always easy and sensible. 
 It is not meant that there are no difficulties, but that 
 Christ makes the burden light and all happy to the 
 praise of God's grace ; whereas any other means or 
 measure detracts from His glory and draws attention 
 to self. 
 
 Supposing, for instance, we mingle with Christ know- 
 ledge or intelligence about this truth or that practice, 
 does it not give a necessary prominence to certain dis- 
 tinctive points, which so far must make Christ of less 
 account? Even, therefore, if you could have (what is 
 impossible) ever so much real spiritual knowledge 
 along with Christ, who would so much as notice these 
 
270 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 acquisitions in comparison with Christ 1 Let us merely 
 take up a single point of the primary ground of fitness 
 for fellowship, which is often a difficulty with the 
 saints. Yet the truth as to this abides, not only at 
 the starting-point, but all the way through. What is 
 there that you can rightly plead but Christ's own 
 name ? And this ground is one which always brings in 
 the strength of the Holy Ghost, as it is based on God's 
 mighty work of redemption. If right here, we are at 
 one, so to speak, with His present purposes. What is 
 the Spirit now doing? He is exalting Christ. It is 
 not merely exalting His work, or His cross ; it is not 
 so much His blood, as Christ Himself. The name of 
 Christ Himself is the true centre of the saints ; unto 
 this the Spirit gathers. As he had said elsewhere 
 before, so he says here, "Be followers together of me, 
 and mark them wliich walk so as ye have us for an en- 
 sample. For many walk, of whom I have told you 
 often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the 
 enemies of the cross of Christ." Thus, as at the begin- 
 ning of the chapter, there was the energy that went 
 out against the evil workers, with a religious mind 
 after the flesh, so now there is the energy that bursts 
 forth against those that were misusing Christianity, 
 making it an earthly system, setting their mind on 
 things here below, under the name of the Lord Jesus ; 
 and between the two, is set forth the positiveness, if 
 one may so speak, of Christ Himself 
 
 It is plain, then, that in Philippians ii. the great 
 spring of power is the love and the glory of Him who 
 came down; who, even when He did so come, went 
 down still lower, where none could accompany Him. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 271 
 
 Yet we may follow, and seek conformity unto His 
 death ; but there was that in His death on the cross 
 which could be His alone. 
 
 In Philippians iii. there is no coming down from 
 glory in the power of divine love, resulting in His ex- 
 altation by and for the glory of God the Father after a 
 new sort. Here we see One who is in glory, and on 
 whom the eye of the believer is set ; and accordingly 
 the judgment of evil is from the side of heaven. The 
 one thing that suits is to pursue the glory before him, 
 till he is in the same glory along with Christ. This is 
 the object set before us in Philippians iii. The one 
 therefore, T say, is the passive side of the Christian ; 
 the other is his activity. The passive shines in Christ 
 coming down ; the active is realized by the eye that is 
 fixed on Christ, who is actually in glory. This sepa- 
 rates from all, and judges the best of man to be dung, 
 as the former conforms the heart after His love. 
 
 The last chapter is founded on both. The apostle 
 takes up, no doubt, the sweet affections of chapter ii., 
 but then they are strengthened by the energy that Christ 
 seen in glory imparts, as in chapter iii. Hence he thus 
 opens, "Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and 
 longed for, my joy and crown." One cannot overlook 
 the amazing strength with which he speaks even of his 
 affections. "My joy and crown," "my dearly beloved." 
 Not that there were not difficulties ; there were many. 
 *'I beseech Evodia" (we may just notice the true form 
 in passing ; Euodias sounds like a man's name, whereas 
 here it is really a woman). "I beseech Evodia, and 
 beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the 
 Lord. Yea \^iot and], I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, 
 
272 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 help those women which labour with me." According 
 to the true meaning it is not others, but those very sisters 
 that he commends to Epaphroditus in desire for their 
 blessing, "which labour with me in the gospel [or 
 seeing that they shared the conflict of the gospel with 
 me]." "Laboured" gives a wrong sense. Many hence have 
 wrongly gathered that they were preachers. There is 
 really no reason to suppose that they preached at all. 
 What they did seems a much more proper thing, in my 
 judgment, for a woman. They shared the conflict of the 
 gospel; they partook of the reproach that covered those 
 who preached it. This is lost in the idea of labouring 
 in it. We must think rather of the conflict of the 
 gospel : there was often for all concerned disgrace, and 
 pain, and scorn. 
 
 Let nobody suppose me to insinuate that a woman 
 is not in place when exercising, according to the Scrip- 
 ture, any gift God has given her. Women may have 
 gifts as well as men. We are not to suppose that, 
 because we are men, we monopolise all the gifts of 
 Christ. Let us see to it that we walk according to the 
 place which God has given us. At the same time, God's 
 word is to me plain as to the manner in which the gifts 
 are to be exercised. And is there not evidently a path of 
 unobtrusiveness (for the veil or sign of power on the wo- 
 man's head is no vain figure) which most befits a woman ? 
 I believe that a woman shines most where she does not 
 appear. Hers is a more delicate place than that which 
 becomes the man, and one which a man attempting it 
 would awkwardly fill. But while a man is quite unfit 
 to do a woman's work, can it be doubted that a woman 
 brings no honour to herself, or to the Lord, by attempt- 
 ing to do a man's task ? The Lord has laid down their 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 273 
 
 places respectively with distinctness. It is ignorance and 
 absurdity to answer such scriptures by the text, that in 
 Christ there is neither male nor female. We do not 
 speak of standing in Christ now, but of their allotted 
 services. In this we hear of difference ; and scripture 
 does not obliterate but contrariwise asserts it, and treats 
 the practical denial of it as a scandal brought in by 
 Corinthian headiness. No doubt the new creation is 
 essentially neither male nor female ; it is not a race per- 
 petuated in a fleshly way ; but all things are of God 
 and in Christ. Notwithstanding, it has been already 
 explained that the man has a relative place as the 
 image and glory of God, being set in a remarkable 
 position between God and the w^oman in matters of 
 outward decorum. 
 
 Eeturning, however, to the women Evodia and Syn- 
 tyche, they had devoted themselves to an exceedingly 
 happy and prized service. They joined with those 
 who preached the truth and partook of their oblo- 
 quy. They helped them, and in that sense " laboured " 
 if you will. At any rate they endured the conflicts 
 of the gospel in its earlier days at Philippi. Why 
 should women expose themselves ? Why go in the way 
 of crowds of .soldiers or civil officers ? Why should such 
 as they face the unmannerly officials that took advan- 
 tage of the imperial government to treat wath injury 
 those identified with the gospel? Love does not calcu- 
 late these costs and dangers, but goes calmly forward, 
 come what will, trouble, scorn, or death. No wonder the 
 apostle was grieved to think of differences among such 
 women as these. " Help them " (says he) '* with Clement 
 also, and with my other fellow-labourers, whose names 
 are in the book of life." 
 
 T 
 
274 INTKODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Finally, lie calls them again to rejoice, and now with 
 more emphasis than ever. "Eejoice in the Lord alway." 
 In sorrow ? Yes. In affliction, in prison, everywhere. 
 "Eejoice in the Lord alway : and again I say, Eejoice." 
 He did not make a mistake. He did not forget, but 
 meant what he said. "Again I say, Eejoice." Let your 
 moderation go along with it, because along with this 
 joy there might be a certain enthusiastic spirit that 
 would hinder calm judgment. But this is not the 
 character of Christian joy. " Let your moderation be 
 known unto all men;" that is, the meekness and gentle- 
 ness which bends to the blow, instead of resisting it 
 in the spirit that ever asserts its rights and lights for 
 them. Have rather that spirit which counts nothing as 
 a right to be claimed, but all one has as gifts of grace 
 to be freely used in this world, because one has Christ 
 in view. "Let your moderation be known unto all 
 men," strengthened by this consolatory truth, — "the 
 Lord is at hand." 
 
 And this nearness of Christ I take simply to be 
 the blessed hope here made a practical power. It is 
 not the Lord at hand to succour one now and here from 
 time to time. No one denies this, which is, or ought to 
 be, no new thing for a Christian. He means the Lord, 
 really, personally, at hand ; as he had said in the end 
 of the last chapter, that this was what w^e look for. 
 " Our conversation is in heaven ; from whence we wait 
 for the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour" — for this is the 
 true meaning of it. And this puts the doctrine, as far 
 as there is doctrine in the epistle, in a very clear light. 
 There is no looking at Him as Saviour on the cross 
 merely ; but when He comes for us, there wdll be in the 
 final sense (as ever in our epistle) " salvation." Thus he 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 275 
 
 anticipates the removal of the last trace of the first 
 Adam ; he looks for our being brought fully, even as to 
 the body, into the likeness of the Second Man, the last 
 Adam. This is salvation in truth. Hence he says, "AVe 
 look for the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour : who shall 
 change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like 
 unto his glorious body, according to the working where- 
 by he is able to subdue all things unto himself." It 
 does not matter how unlike they may be, or how op- 
 posed ; it does not matter what vessels of shame and 
 misery they may have been now; "He is able to subdue 
 all things unto himself." 
 
 Then, as to our practical every -day expectation, "the 
 Lord is at hand." And, accordingly, why should one 
 be a prey to care, if this be really so ? " Be anxious [or 
 be careful] for nothing; but in everything" — this is the 
 resource — "in everything by prayer and supplication, 
 with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known 
 unto God." Better not make them known to men ; it 
 is a dangerous snare. By all means let them be made 
 known unto God. There is something which ought to 
 be made known unto men, namely, the not fighting 
 for your rights. " Let your moderation be made known 
 unto men." "Let your requests be made known unto 
 God." It is not that you have failed, perhaps, or broken 
 down in some particular. Certainly this is painful and 
 humbling. But it is better for you to lose your cha- 
 racter, than for Christ through you to lose His; for 
 you are responsible to display the character of Christ. 
 "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The 
 Lord is at hand." " Let your requests," whatever they 
 may be, "be made known unto God;" and not only 
 so, but " with thanksgiving." You may be perfectly sure 
 
 T 2 
 
276 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 of an answer when you make known your requests : 
 therefore let it be with thanksgiving. And what is the 
 result? "And the peace of God, which passeth all 
 understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds 
 through Christ Jesus," — feeling, judgment, everything, 
 guarded and governed by this precious peace of God. 
 The peace which God has in everything He will com- 
 municate to keep you in everything ; and not only so, 
 but the heart, being free from care, will enter into what 
 pleases Him. And therefore, "whatsoever things are 
 honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things 
 are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever 
 things are of good report ; if there be any virtue, and 
 if there be any praise, think on these things." In- 
 stead of occupying oneself with all one hears that 
 would cast down, now that we have committed all 
 that is miserable to God, we can s,o on delightino^ in 
 the goodness of God, as well as in its fruits. In God 
 there is ample supply. All we want is, that the eye of 
 faith be a little open ; but it is only Christ before the 
 eye that keeps it open. 
 
 Then he turns to what had drawn out the epistle. "I 
 rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your 
 care of me hath flourished again ; wherein ye were also 
 careful, but ye lacked opportunity." So tender, so delicate 
 is his sense, that he would not spare what was needful 
 if there had been any want of thought, but at the 
 same time he hastens to make whatever apology love 
 could suggest. "Not," says he, "that I speak in respect 
 of want : for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am," 
 — this is the great design of the epistle; it was not 
 truth that was made known simply, but experience 
 that was grown into — "I have learned, in whatsoever 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 277 
 
 state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how 
 to be abased, and I know how to abound : every where 
 and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to 
 be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can 
 do all things through him who strengtheneth me." At 
 the same time he intimates his value for their love, and 
 takes care that his was independence founded on de- 
 pendence, — an independence of circumstances which 
 finds its strength in simple and absolute dependence 
 upon God. 
 
 So the apostle lets them know that he owned their 
 hearty love ; " not," he says, " because I desire a gift." 
 For no personal end did he mention their grace ; "but 
 I desire fruit that may abound to your account." It 
 was not that he wanted more. We know well that 
 as men have sarcastically said, gratitude is a kind of 
 fishing for fresh favours. There was the very reverse in 
 Paul's case. As he tells them, fruit that might abound 
 to their account was all that his heart really yearned 
 after. Tlieir gift to him was " an odour of a sweet smell, 
 a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God." What a 
 God is ours, so to treat that which, connected with the 
 world, Christ Himself calls "unrighteous mammon !" His 
 goodness can even take this up and thus make it fragrant 
 even to Himself. " But my God shall supply all your 
 need." How rich and full he was of the goodness of 
 the God he had proved so long and could reccommend 
 so well ! And there is not now merely His riches of 
 grace, but he looks forward into the glory where he was 
 going, and can say, "My God shall supply all your need 
 according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." 
 
 Thus with salutations of love he closes this most 
 characteristic and cheering even of Paul's epistles. 
 
278 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 COLOSSIANS. 
 
 The most cursory reader discerns at once that the 
 epistle to the Colossians is the counterpart of that to 
 the Ephesians. They are in nowise the same, but may 
 be viewed each as a supplement to the other. The 
 epistle to the Ephesians developes the body in its rich 
 and varied privileges ; the epistle to the Colossians 
 brings before us the Head, and not only this, but the 
 glories of Him who holds that relation to the church. 
 There was no doubt a suitability for each line of truth 
 in the wants of the saints respectively addressed ; nor 
 do 1 think it can be intelligently questioned that the 
 condition of the Ephesian saints was better than that 
 of those at Colosse. 
 
 To the former the Holy Ghost could launch out 
 into the fulness of our blessing in Christ. The God 
 and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is our God and 
 Father ; and He has blessed with every possible bless- 
 ing, and in the highest sphere and on the best ground. 
 There was no hindrance to the flow of the Spirit in 
 unfolding the truth. To the Colossians the Holy Ghost 
 has to speak about their state, and along with this to 
 present the truth of Christ as a remedy for it ; not so 
 much as the centre of blessedness and joy in the com- 
 munion of the saints, but as supplying the true and only 
 divine corrective to the efforts of Satan, who would drag 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 279 
 
 them down into tradition on the one hand, and into 
 philosophy on the other, the too common snares of human 
 nature, and the latter more particularly for cultivated 
 and reasoning minds. It is evident, therefore, that to 
 enter on the privileges of the church, the body of Christ, 
 would have in nowise met the evil which the enemy 
 was seeking to inflict on the Colossians. They needed 
 to be drawn away from every theme and object but 
 Christ Himself. They needed to learn especially the 
 vanity of all that man's mind delights in. They needed 
 to know, I will not say, that Christ sufiices only ; but 
 that there is such fulness of blessing and glory in Christ 
 as utterly to eclipse and condemn all that flesh would 
 glory in. Hence, too, a main part of the difference be- 
 tween these two epistles. There are many nice shades 
 in detail ; but I have referred now to that which is the 
 principal point wdience the two lines of truth diverge. 
 It is, however, evident from what has been remarked, 
 that the two letters do in the most remarkable manner 
 correspond to each other ; the one presenting the Head, 
 the other the body. Thus they have a closer connec- 
 tion than any others in the New Testament. 
 
 We may proceed to trace now the course of the Spirit 
 of God in this deeply instructive epistle. The apostle 
 addresses the Colossian Christians in terms substantially 
 similar to those w^hich are addressed to the saints at 
 Ephesus. Here he gives prominence, it is true, to their 
 being " brethren." Of course the Ephesian saints were 
 so ; but here it is expressed. It was not so unmingied 
 an address as where he views them simply as they were 
 in Christ. The expression " brethren," though of course 
 flowing from Christ, brings forward their relationship 
 by grace to each other. 
 
280 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Next we enter on the apostle's thanksgiving. It was 
 not so in the Ephesian epistle, where one of the richest 
 developments of divine truth precedes any particular 
 allusion to the saints in that city. Here he at once 
 addresses himself, after the thanksgiving, to their con- 
 dition and of course to their need First, as usual, he 
 owns what they had of God. "We give thanks to God 
 and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always 
 for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, 
 and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the 
 hope which is laid up for you in heaven." It is not, as 
 in the Ephesian epistle, the riches of the glory of God's 
 inheritance in the saints, but closely resembles a com- 
 paratively lower line of things which comes before us 
 in the first epistle of Peter. It need hardly be said 
 that they were equally true, and each in its place most 
 appropriate, but not all equally elevated. The hope 
 laid up for us in heaven supposes a position on the 
 earth. The epistle to the Ephesians views the saint as 
 already blessed by God in heavenly places in Christ. 
 In the one they are waiting to be taken to heaven in 
 an actual sense; in the other they belong already to 
 heaven by virtue of their union with Christ. 
 
 Yet it remains true, that "the hope is laid up for 
 you," as he says, "in heaven, whereof ye heard before 
 in the word of the truth of the gospel ; which is come 
 unto you, as it is in all the world : and bringeth forth 
 fruit and groweth, as also in you, since the day ye 
 heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth." All 
 momentous and blessed, but nevertheless by no means 
 the same fulness of privilege of which he could discourse 
 at once in writing to the Ex^hesians. "As ye also learned 
 of Epaphras our dear feUow- servant, who is for you a 
 
THE EPISTLE .TO THE COLOSSIANS. 281 
 
 faithful minister of Christ ; who also declared unto us 
 your love in the Spirit." This is the only allusion to 
 the Spirit, as far as I remember, in the epistle. It 
 does not present the Spirit of God as a person down 
 here, though He is a person of course, but rather as 
 characterizing the love. The love was not natural affec- 
 tion ; it was love in the Spirit : but this is very far from 
 the rich place given to His personal presence and action 
 elsewhere. 
 
 On the other hand, the epistle to the Ephesians 
 abounds with such allusions. There is not a chapter 
 in it where the Holy Ghost has not a most important 
 and essential place. If you look at the saints indi- 
 vidually, He is the seal and the earnest. He is also 
 the power of all their growth iji understanding the 
 things of God. Only through Him are the eyes of the 
 heart enlightened to know what God has wrought and 
 secured for the saints. So again by Him alone do all, 
 Jews and Gentiles, draw near to the Father. In the 
 Spirit are both buHt together for God's habitation. He it 
 is who has now revealed the mystery that was kept hid 
 through ages and generations. He it is who strengthens 
 the inner man to enjoy through Christ all the fulness 
 of God. He only is the constitutive power of the unity 
 that we are exhorted to keep. He it is who works in 
 the various gifts of Christ, welding them together, so 
 that it may be truly Christ through His body. He it 
 is, the Holy Spirit of God, who we are warned not to 
 grieve. He it is who fills the saints, guarding them from 
 the excitement of the flesh, and guiding into that holy 
 joy which issues in thanksgiving and praise. For the 
 Christian and the church must sing their own psalms, 
 hymns, and spiritual songs. He it is finally who gives 
 
282 IXTEODLXTOllY LECTUEES. 
 
 vigour for all the holy conflicts we have to wage with 
 the adversary. Thus it matters not what part of Ephe- 
 sians is looked at. AVe have now traversed the varied 
 contents of the epistle, and it is evident that the Holy 
 Ghost forms an integral part of the divine truth un- 
 folded in it from beginning to end. 
 
 This makes it so much the more striking, the 
 epistle to the Colossians being the complement of an 
 epistle so full of the Spirit, that there should be in the 
 former so marked an absence of Him, that He is only 
 referred to once, and only as characterizing the love of 
 the saints. It may be added that what is said of the 
 same truth is in Colossians attributed to Christ, or 
 that life which we have in Christ. To the Ephesians, 
 the Holy Ghost is treated as a divine person acting for 
 the glory of Christ, but this in the saints and in the 
 church. Also the reason seems obvious. When men's 
 eyes are turned away from Christ, the doctrine of the 
 Spirit might add to the danger and delusion, as it has 
 wrought in all ages to puff up men not established in 
 Christ. For inasmuch as the Spirit does act in the 
 church — in man, if the eye be not on Christ and only 
 on Him, the action of the Spirit, whether in the indi- 
 vidual or the church, gives importance to both. In such 
 a state dwelling on it would detract from Christ's glory; 
 whereas when Christ alone is the object of believers, 
 they can bear to know and to dwell upon, and to enter 
 into, and understand, the various operations of the 
 Spirit, which turns so much the more to the glory of 
 Christ. 
 
 Another reason is this, that the presence of the Spirit 
 of God, both in the individual and in tlie church, is a 
 most essential ]3art of christian privileges, while, for the 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 283 
 
 reasons already alleged, it was not for the well-being of 
 their souls that it should be unfolded here. The whole 
 point therefore of this epistle is a recall to Christ Him- 
 self, because of what had crept in through Satan's wiles. 
 The needed and only remedy was to turn the eyes of 
 the saints from other objects, even their own privileges, 
 and to fix them on Christ. Hence, though the Holy 
 Ghost is really on earth, dwelling in the saint and in 
 the church, yet under such circumstances, to occupy the 
 mind even with the blessed Spirit, would clearly have 
 interfered with His own great aim in glorifying Jesus. 
 Therefore, as it seems, does He call away undividedly to 
 Christ. When the soul has been in peace weaned from 
 all else, and found all its joy and boast in Christ, it 
 can then hear more freely. Not that there may not be 
 danger even then; save that as long as the eye is on 
 Christ there is none, because what is inconsistent with 
 His name is refused. The Spirit, having secured His 
 glory, is more at liberty as to every other topic. 
 
 In the next place, we have the apostle's prayer: "For 
 this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not 
 cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be 
 filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and 
 spiritual understanding ; that ye might walk worthy of 
 the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good 
 work, and growing by the knowledge of God." It is 
 plain that however blessed this is, still it supposes wants, 
 and a measure of weakness, and this for the ordinary walk 
 of the Christian ; that they might "walk worthy of the 
 Lord," says he. He could not say in this epistle "worthy 
 of your vocation," as in writing to the Ephesians. He 
 does not even say worthy of Christ, but "of the Lord." 
 That is, he brings in His authority, for there can be no 
 
284 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 mistake for the Christian more profound than to sup- 
 pose that the presentation of the Lord as such is the 
 more elevated for the saint. It is most true in its place ; 
 but it addresses rather the sense of responsibility than 
 the communion of affections of the children of God. 
 If a man does not own Him to be Lord, he is nothing 
 whatever; but one may bow to Him as Lord, and yet be 
 painfully insensible to the higher glory of His person, 
 and to the depths of His grace. Alas ! multitudes have 
 so failed, nor is anything more common at this present 
 moment, even as it was always so. 
 
 The Spirit of God, as in the Acts of the Apostles, 
 began with the simplest confession of Christ's name. 
 This is habitually His way. That which brought in 
 thousands on the day of Pentecost and afterwards was 
 the preaching and the faith that Jesus was made Lord. 
 But not a few of those that were baptized from early as 
 in later days turned out untrue to the glory of Christ. 
 We can readily understand that the Spirit did not bring 
 out the fulness of the glory of Christ then, but as it was 
 needed. Nor is it denied that some souls enjoyed a 
 remarkable maturity of intelligence, so that from the 
 beginning they saw, believed, and preached Jesus in a 
 deeper glory than His Lordship. There is no one that 
 rises before our mind's eye more readily and strikingly 
 in this respect than the apostle Paul himself But the 
 apostle was singular in this; for even those who did 
 know that Christ was the Son of the living God, in the 
 highest and eternal sense, seemed but little to have 
 preached it, at any rate in their earlier testimony. As 
 the withering evils of Satan came in, the value of that 
 which their hearts clung to formed an increasing part 
 of their testimony, until at last the full, undiminished, 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 285 
 
 and even brightening truth of His divine glory was 
 brought out in all its fulness. True, and known to some 
 from the first, the Spirit would brook no hiding of it in 
 order to meet the daring of men and the subtilty of the 
 enemy, who were taking advantage of the lower glory 
 of Christ, so as to deny all that was higher — His deity 
 and eternal Sonship. 
 
 It appears to me then that, in writing to the Colos- 
 sians, the terms employed by the Spirit of God afford 
 clear evidence that their souls at Colosse rested on by 
 no means the same firm and lofty ground as that which, 
 the epistle to the Ephesians contemplates ; and the 
 apostle consequently could not appeal in their case to the 
 same mighty motives which at once rose, by the Holy 
 Ghost's inspiration, in the apostle's heart in writing 
 the kindred epistle. "That ye might walk worthy of the 
 Lord unto all pleasing," urges he, "being fruitful in every 
 good work." For Christianity is not a mere thing of 
 doing this or not doing that; it is a growth, because it is 
 of the Spirit in life and power. If, as men have fabled, 
 spiritual beings sprang forth ready armed, as well as in 
 fulness of wisdom and vigour, it would not be Christi- 
 anity. Babes, young men, and fathers : such is in grace 
 as in nature the divine way with us. God has been 
 pleased to call the church a body; and so in truth it 
 is. As also, looked at individually, the Christian is a 
 son of God, so there should be a growth up to Christ 
 in all things. There is scarce anything more offensive 
 than a child who looks, talks, and acts the old man. 
 Every right-minded person revolts from it as a lusus 
 natuTce, and a piece of affectation or acting. So, in 
 spiritual things, the mere taking up and repeating 
 thoughts, deep and high but unproved experience, 
 
286 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 cannot be the fruit of the Spirit of God's teaching. 
 Nothing more lovely (whether spiritually, or even in 
 its place naturally) tlian that each should be just what 
 God has made him, only thenceforth diligently seeking 
 increase of inward power by the operation of God's 
 grace. There is then a healthful progress in the Lord. 
 While there is no doubt that which requires to be cut 
 down or pruned on every side, there is a gradual 
 development of divine life in the saints of God ; and 
 this, as being through the Spirit's use of the truth, by 
 no means can be all at once. In no case indeed is 
 it really so. 
 
 Thus it is then that for these saints the desire is that 
 they should steadily advance. In material science it is 
 not so, in schools of doctrine it is not so : there is some- 
 thing altogether circumscribed, in known limits, and 
 definite enough to satisfy the mind of man. All that is 
 to be got in certain provinces may be acquired after no 
 long study. The Spirit of God applies the truth of Jesus 
 Christ, which resists all such thoughts as human. The 
 Colossians from their dabbling with tradition and phi- 
 losophy were in danger on this side. So, says he, ''being 
 fruitful in every good work, and growing (not exactly 
 in, but) by the knowledge of God." But still there is 
 growth supposed. How could it be otherwise if by the 
 knowledge of God ? He is the only divine source, sphere, 
 and means of real growth for the soul. But there is far 
 more than growth in knowledge, or even by the know- 
 ledge of God. There is not only the contemplative side 
 but the active, and this makes the saint truly passive ; 
 for if we are strengthened, it is mainly not to do, but 
 to endure in a world which knows not Christ. Thus we 
 are "strengthened with all might, according to the power 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 287 
 
 of liis glory, unto all patience and longsuffering with 
 joy fulness." 
 
 How good as well as vast the mind of the Spirit of 
 God ! Who could ever have combined with God's glory 
 such a place for man too ? No man, I will not say 
 anticipated, but approached in thought such a portion 
 for souls on earth. See how and for what the apostle 
 gives thanks again. Although there were difficulties 
 and hindrances, how much, he feels, there is for wdiich 
 to praise our God and Father : " Giving thanks unto 
 the Father, which hath made us meet" (and observe 
 well, it is not merely for the certainty that He loill, bat 
 in the peaceful assurance that He has made us meet) 
 "to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in 
 light." Human words fail to add to such a thought. 
 His grace has qualified us now for His glory : such, as 
 far as this goes, is the clear meaning of the Holy 
 Ghost. He looks not at some advanced souls at 
 Colosse, but at all the saints there. There were evils 
 to be corrected, dangers to be warned against ; but if 
 he thinks of that which the Father has in view for 
 them, and of them in view of His glory, less he 
 could not say, neither could he say more. The Father 
 has made them meet already for the inheritance of 
 the saints in light; and this, too, fully taking into 
 account the awful state of the heathen world, and their 
 past personal wickedness when drawn to God in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus, " who hath delivered us from 
 the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the 
 kingdom of the Son of his love : in whom we have 
 redemption [through his blood, is added to the Ephe- 
 sians] even the forgiveness of sins." 
 
 At this point we come to one of the main and dis- 
 
288 INTEODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 tinctive objects of the epistle. Who and what is the 
 Son of His love, in whom we have redemption ? Little 
 did the Colossians conceive that their endeavour to add 
 to the truth of the gospel was in reality to detract 
 from His glory. Their desire, we may be sure, was as 
 well meant as any mistake can be. Like others, they 
 may have reasoned that if Christianity had done such 
 great things in the hands of fishermen, tax-gatherers, 
 or the like (who could be of no great account in the 
 world's scale, or in the schools of men), what might it 
 not accomplish if it were but arrayed in the wisdom 
 of philosophy; if it possessed the ornaments of litera- 
 ture and science; if it went forth on its career of 
 victory with that which attracts the feelings and com- 
 mands the intellect among humanity ? The Holy 
 Spirit brings in that which completely judges and 
 sets aside all such speculations. No one, no thing, can 
 add to Christ's power, lustre, or value in any one 
 respect. If you knew Him better, you would feel it 
 yourself. Infinitely vainer is the thought for any man 
 to impart fresh worth to Christ, than for David to have 
 met Goliath in Saul's armour. Indeed, the trappings 
 which men so cry up are a positive hindrance to Christ ; 
 and in the precise measure in which they are prized, 
 they reduce their votaries to slavery, and the faith they 
 profess to zero. Judge these same things, and they may 
 become of some account to the glory of God. But treat 
 them as means desirable to attract the world, or as 
 objects to be valued for their own sake by Christians, 
 and as they are intruders, so they will prove to be 
 aliens, and enemies of the glory of Christ. 
 
 Christ is the image of God, in fulness and perfection; 
 He only showed out the invisible God. Tradition never 
 
"THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSI ANS. 289 
 
 manifested the true God. Philosophy, on the contrary, 
 made matters worse, as indeed did the resources of 
 human religion. Clirist, and Christ alone, has truly 
 represented God to man, as He alone was perfect man 
 before God. And as He is the image of the invisible 
 God, so is He the first-born of all creation; for the 
 Holy Spirit here brings together a kind of antithesis 
 as to Christ in relation to God, and in relation to 
 the creature. Of God He is the image, not exactly in 
 an exclusive, but assuredly in the only adequate sense. 
 Others may be — as the Christian is — we know, and man 
 even in a certain and real way as a creature. But, as 
 truly and fully making God known, there is none but 
 Christ. He is the truth; He is the expression of what 
 God is. This is the fountain of all true knowleds^e, and 
 so Christ is the truth as to everything and every one. 
 In this phrase, however, all that the apostle asserts 
 is in relation to the invisible God. Utterly impossible 
 that man should see Him who is invisible : he needed 
 one to bring God down to him, and display His word 
 and ways, and Christ is that one image of the invisible 
 God. 
 
 Besides, Christ is the first-born of all creation. Not, 
 of course, that He was the earliest on the earth like 
 Adam. In point of time the world had grown com- 
 paratively old before Jesus appeared. How then could 
 He that came and was seen in the midst of men four 
 thousand years after Adam was made, — how could He 
 be in any sense first-born of all creation? We have 
 not to imagine a reason, for the Spirit of God has 
 given His own, and this will be found to set aside all 
 others. Every thought of man is vain in the presence 
 of His wisdom. Jesus is the first-born, no matter when 
 
 U 
 
290 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 He appeared. Had it been possible, consistently with 
 other plans of God (which it was not), for Him to be 
 the last (in point of fact) born here below, He had 
 been the first-born all the same. Impossible that He 
 could be aught but the first-born. And why? Because 
 He was the greatest, the best, the holiest ? For none 
 of these reasons, though He was all this, and more. 
 Still less was it because of anything conferred on Him, 
 whether of power or office. On no such ground, nor 
 on all together, was He the first-born. The word of 
 God assigns one greater than all, which is the true and 
 only key to the person and work of Christ : " Eor by 
 him were all things created." 
 
 Oh, what majesty, as well as adaptation to need, in 
 the truth of God ! It has only to be heard by a heart 
 touched by grace to carry conviction. But alas ! there 
 is in fallen man, as such, a will that hates the truth, 
 and despises the grace of God. Does it not prove both 
 by being jealous of the glory of Christ ? It remains, 
 however, that He is the first-born of all creation, because 
 He is the Creator of all things, above or below, material 
 or spiritual : " For by him were all things created, that 
 are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and in- 
 visible." It is not a question of the lower ranks of 
 creation only, but takes in the highest : " whether they 
 be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers : 
 all things were created by him." Do you say, Yes, but 
 why might not God create by the highest as an instru- 
 ment ? There is more said even here to maintain the 
 full glory of Christ. All things were created by Him, no 
 doubt ; but they were created for Him also — not by Him 
 for the Father. They were created hi/ Him, and for 
 Him, equally with the Father. And as if this were not 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 291 
 
 euough, we are further told that He is before all things, 
 and by (ev) Him all things consist. He is the upholder 
 of all creation, so that the very universe of God subsists 
 in virtue of Him. Without Him all sinks at once into 
 dissolution. 
 
 Nor is this all. He is the Head of the body — one of 
 the chief topics of this epistle. Such is His relationship 
 to the church. And how is He the Head of the body ? 
 Not because He is the first-born of all creation simply, 
 nay, nor because He is the creator of all. Neither His 
 headship of all creation as the Heir of all things, nor 
 His creatorial rights, would in themselves give a suf- 
 ficient title to be the Head of the body. In it is 
 another kind of blessedness and glory; for it a new 
 order of existence appears ; and not least of all beings 
 we ought to understand this difference. Who can be 
 so deeply concerned as the Christian ? for if we have 
 any part or lot in Christ, if we belong to the church of 
 God, we ought clearly to know the character of our own 
 blessing. Christ it is who determines this, as all else. 
 But the distinctive character is that He is "the begin- 
 ning, the first-born from the dead" — not merely the first- 
 born of, but the first-born out of. He is the first-born 
 from among the dead, as well as the Head and first- 
 born Heir of all subsisting creation. Thus it is that 
 He rises into a new condition, leaving behind that 
 which had fallen under vanity or death through its 
 sinning chief, the first Adam. He has annulled the 
 power of him that had the power of death — that word 
 so terrible for the heart of man, and most surely foreign 
 to the mind and heart of our God and Father, but a 
 stern necessity that came in through rebellion. 
 
 Wliere sin brought man, grace brought Christ. And the 
 
 u 2 
 
292 INTEODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 glory of His person enabled Him in grace and obedience 
 to go down into depths never before fathomed; and out 
 of the whole scene, not of a rejecting guilty world 
 only, but of the realm of death (and such a death!) 
 Jesus emerged. And now He is risen from the dead, 
 the beginning of a new order of existence altogether; 
 and as He is the Head, so the church is His body — 
 founded, indeed, on Christ, but on Him dead and risen. 
 As such — not born merely, but risen again from the 
 dead — He is the beginning. All question, therefore, 
 of what existed before His death and resurrection is at 
 once excluded. He who believes this would understand 
 that it was still an unrevealed secret during Old Testa- 
 ment times. The dealings of God were not only not 
 on the principle of a body on earth, united to a glorified 
 Head, once dead and risen, but incompatible with such 
 a state of things. Thus whoever by faith receives 
 simply the intimation of this verse, as of a crowd of 
 other scriptures, has all this very needless controversy 
 closed for him ; he knows and is sure by divine 
 teaching that Jesus was not merely the highest of that 
 creation which had been already, but the beginning 
 of a new thing and its Head. This He was pleased to 
 begin in resurrection from the dead. It was in no wise 
 the old thing, elevated by the glory of Him who had 
 deigned to descend into it, but a new state of things, 
 of which the risen Christ is both the Head and be- 
 ginning ; as it is said, " Who is the beginning, the first- 
 born from the dead ; that in all things he might have 
 the pre-eminence." 
 
 As this gives ns the new estate, and position, and 
 relation in which stands the glorious person of the Lord 
 Jesus, so next we have a view of His work suitably to 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 293 
 
 the object of the epistle: "For all the fulness was 
 pleased in him to dwell." I take the liberty of rendering 
 the verse correctly, as is well known to most of my 
 brethren now present. There are few here, it is to be 
 supposed, who are not already aware that to put in 
 "the Father" (as is done in the Authorized Version in 
 italics) is to take away from the Son without warrant 
 and dangerously. It was not the Father, but the God- 
 head. It pleased the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost. So the fulness of the Godhead was pleased to 
 dwell in Him. Yet even this did not reconcile man to 
 God, but the very reverse rather; it proved that man 
 was irreconcilable as far as he was concerned. 
 
 If a divine person was pleased to appear here below, 
 and to bring in unimagined goodness and power, dealing 
 with every need and every one with whom He came in 
 contact, and who sought or even accepted His gracious 
 action, it might have been supposed that man could not 
 resist such unhesitating love and unmeasured power. 
 But the actual result demonstrated beyond doubt that 
 never before was witnessed such hearty, universal, and 
 causeless hatred as against Jesus the Son of God. There 
 was, there could be, no lack of the attractiveness of love 
 and power in Him who went about doing good ; yet 
 miserable hearts did not turn to Him, save where the 
 grace of God the Father drew them to the only adequate 
 expression of Himself None could pretend that He 
 had ever refused a single soul; none could say that they 
 had gone empty away. Their motives were far from 
 good sometimes. They might come for what they could 
 get ; but at length they would not have Him or any- 
 thing He had to give on any terms. They had done 
 with Him, and, as far as will was concerned, they had 
 
294 INTEODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 done with Him for ever. The cross terminated the 
 awful struggle and heart-breaking sight of man thus 
 manifestly led captive of the devil at his will. 
 
 And w^hat was to be done ? Ah ! this was the serious 
 question, and this it was which God was waiting to solve. 
 He meant to reconcile man spite of himself ; He would 
 prove His own love to be the conqueror of his hatred. 
 Let man be unmendable, let his enmity be beyond all 
 thought, God, in the calmness of His own wisdom, and 
 in the strength of His unwearied grace, accomplishes 
 His purpose of redeeming love at the very moment 
 when man consummates his wickedness. It was at the 
 cross of Christ. And so it was that, when all seemed 
 to fail, all was won. The fulness of the Godhead dwelt 
 in Jesus ; but man would have none of it, and proved 
 it above all in the cross. Yet the cross was the precise 
 and only place where the foundation that cannot be 
 moved was laid. As he says, "having made peace through 
 the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto 
 himself ; by him, I say, whether it be things on earth or 
 things in heaven." 
 
 First the apostle brings in all things as a whole, 
 the universal creaturehood, earthly and heavenly ; thus 
 giving us an adequate notion of the perfect triumph of 
 God at the time when it seemed as if Satan had com- 
 pletely succeeded through man against the counsels of 
 God. But is this all ? Is it merely that all the universe 
 has thus, in the cross of the Loixi Jesus, a foundation 
 laid for their reconciliation ? There is a present witness 
 of the victory of Jesus. The universe goes on as before, 
 the lower creation at least subject to vanity; but God 
 (and it is like Him) hastens to use His victory, though 
 not yet as far as outward things are concerned. This 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 295 
 
 remains for the day of Christ's glory, and will fill a 
 most important part in the purposes of God. But God 
 has even now a far greater purpose at heart. What 
 could be more vast than the reconciliation of all things 
 in heaven and earth ? The veriest victims of Satan, the 
 open enemies of Christ, the fiercest — powerless let them 
 be, but the fiercest in their will of opposition against 
 God — are precisely those that God has already recon- 
 ciled to Himself; and this wdiere Satan had but just 
 appeared to conquer in leading them to crucify Christ. 
 In that field of blood where His ancient people joined 
 the idolatrous Gentiles, and indeed incited them to plant 
 the cross for their own Messiah — there it is that God's 
 grace has established a righteous deliverance for such 
 as He has reconciled. 
 
 Satan is allowed apparently to go on as if he had 
 won the final victory; but God brings the truth of what 
 He has done into the heart where Satan had most of all 
 deceived before. "You that were sometime alienated 
 and enemies in your mind," says he (for the full truth 
 is brought before them as to their condition), "enemies 
 in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he recon- 
 ciled in the body of his flesh through death." While 
 He lived, this work was wholly unaccomplished. The 
 incarnation, blessed and precious as it is, never recon- 
 ciled man to God. It presented to us the person of Him 
 who was to reconcile; in itself it was thus a most 
 important step towards the reconciliation ; but, in fact, 
 there was no reconciliation yet for a solitary soul : the 
 cross of Christ wrought it all. "In the body of his flesh 
 through death, to present you holy and unblameable and 
 unreproveable in his sight." What a change ! 
 
 But he adds : " If ye continue in the faith grounded 
 
296 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 and settled;" and we must not weaken this. It is not 
 at all, " since ye continue." Scripture must not be sacri- 
 ficed rudely to our seeming comfort. Besides, when 
 men thus slur over its true force, and would extract 
 consolation where God intends warning, it is a proof 
 not of firm but of weak faith. For assuredly God is 
 not trusted where there is so much as a desire thus to 
 alter or turn aside a single word, for one's own con- 
 venience or any pretext whatsoever. Yet there is 
 nothing more common ; it is precisely what men, and 
 sometimes Christians to no small extent, are doing now 
 very generally ; and what have they gained by it ? 
 
 A father's stroke that chastises the erring is a mercy. 
 To receive it as the faithful blow of our best friend 
 in His own word may not seem the readiest way to- 
 ward comfort ; but the comfort that we get in the end 
 from Him who thus smites is both real and stable, and 
 rich in profit to the soul. But the apostle meant not 
 so much to administer consolation to these Colossian 
 saints as to caution them. They needed rather reproof, 
 and they are warned that the course on which they were 
 entering was slippery and perilous. The pursuit of 
 tradition or of philosophy, as a graft on Christianity, 
 continually tends to bring in that which poisons the 
 springs of truth, and grace is always annulled by either. 
 Therefore he might well press, "If ye continue." 
 
 All the blessedness that Christ has procured is for 
 those that believe; but this of course supposes that 
 they hold Him fast. Hence it runs : " If ye continue 
 in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved 
 away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, 
 and which was preached to every creature which is 
 under heaven." The language does not in the smallest 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 297 
 
 degree insinuate that there is any uncertainty for a 
 believer. We must never allow one truth to be either 
 shut out or enfeebled by another; but then we need 
 also to remember that there are, and have always been, 
 those that, having begun seemingly well, have ended by 
 becoming the enemies of Christ and the church. Even 
 antichrists are not from without in their origin. " They 
 went out from us, because they were not of us." There 
 are no enemies so deadly as those who, having received 
 enough truth to over-balance them and to abuse to their 
 own self - exaltation, turn again, and would rend the 
 church of God, wherein they learnt all that gives them 
 power to be specially mischievous. The apostle could 
 not but dread the slide on w^hich the Colossians found 
 themselves; and the more so as they themselves had 
 no fears, but on the contrary thought highly of that 
 which had attracted their minds. If there was danger, 
 certainly it was love to admonish them; and in this 
 spirit he therefore says, " If ye continue in the faith, 
 grou.nded and settled." 
 
 As for the apostle he lays before them another point. 
 He was a minister both of the gospel, and, as is said a 
 little later, of the church — two very different spheres, 
 seldom united in the same individual. He was minister 
 of both, and of the latter, it would seem, in a peculiar 
 and weighty sense : not merely as ministering to the 
 church, but as the instrument that God has employed 
 to make known to us its character and calling more 
 than any other. Indeed we may say that Paul presents 
 the gospel as the display of divine righteousness beyond 
 all, while he alone developes in his epistles the mystery 
 of Christ and the church. This may seem a strong 
 statement, and I wonder at none feeling surprised, till 
 
298 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 they have rigidly examined it with the scriptures ; for 
 probably no one could believe it unless he had proved 
 its truth. 
 
 But I must repeat that there is not a single apostle 
 who so much as speaks of being justified by faith, 
 except the apostle of the Gentiles. James notori- 
 ously presents what many think hard — in my judgment 
 quite reconcilable, equally inspired of God, and most 
 important for man, but not the same thing, nor for the 
 same end. It is somewhat startling at first sight to 
 realize such a fact, but if it be a fact — as I unqualifiedly 
 assert — is it not of great moment to understand it ? 
 Neither James nor Peter, neither John nor Jude, treat 
 of justification before God by faith in Jesus. Who has 
 done so ? Paul only. I am very far from insinuating 
 that Peter, James, John, Jude, and all the rest, did not 
 preach justification by faith. But it was given to Paul, 
 and to Paul alone, to communicate this great truth in 
 his epistles; and he alone has used the well-known 
 phrase. None of the others has touched on it — not one. 
 They have undoubtedly taught that which is consistent 
 with it and even supposes it. They have pressed other 
 truth, which is incompatible with anything else but 
 justification by faith ; he asserts it often and openly. 
 
 Thus the most perfect harmony reigns between all 
 the apostles; but Paul was emphatically minister of 
 the gospel, and minister of the church. Not only did 
 he preach tlie one and teach the other (which the others 
 no doubt did too), but he has committed to inspired 
 writings the gospel as none other did ; and he has, alone 
 of all, brought out the church in the fullest way. He 
 might well, therefore, say (and what a serious occasion 
 for the Colossians that it was needful to say it as an 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 299 
 
 admonition !) he was minister of both. Yet there were 
 men not wanting then that denied him to be an 
 apostle. The most honoured servants of God invari- 
 ably stir up the keenest opposition from man. But 
 woe to such iniquitous and ungrateful adversaries ! and 
 none the less because they name the name of the Lord. 
 Some of old were not Jews nor Gentiles, but baptized 
 men and women. It was they that yielded to these 
 feelings of hostility. They might detract little or nothing 
 as to his personal qualities ; they might even affect to 
 condescend and patronize. But that for whicli they 
 w^ere opposed to him was the very thing for which, 
 most of all, they should have owned their debt under 
 God. Satan knew well w^iat he sought in alienating 
 many a Christian from this blessed man of God, and 
 in carping at his ministry, and the testimony lie was 
 given to bear. 
 
 The apostle, however, speaks of his service in these 
 two respects : the gospel, which is universal in its aspect 
 to every creature under heaven ; and the church, whicli 
 is a special and chosen body. As for the gospel, it is 
 not a question whether every creature hears, but such 
 is the sphere ; and doubtless if the apostle could have 
 preached to every individual in the world, he w^ould 
 have gladly done it. At any rate this was his mission. 
 There was no class under ban, nor was any individual 
 refused the beams of its heavenly light. In its own 
 nature like the rays from the sky, it w^as the sun not 
 for one part of the world alone, but for every quarter. 
 So to the church he says, "I rejoice in my sufferings for 
 you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions 
 of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, wdiich is the 
 church: whereof I am made a minister, according to 
 
300 INTRODUCTOKY LECTURES. 
 
 the dispensation [or stewardship] of God which is 
 given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God." 
 
 Space was left : a revelation was yet lacking. God had 
 given the law ; He had embodied His past ways in an 
 inspired history of His people ; He had given prophets 
 to proclaim what was future. But for all that a gap was 
 left on which, when filled up, types might more or less 
 bear, wholly different from the history, and not more 
 answering to the prophecy. How was it then to be 
 filled up ? Our Lord Himself marked the break in His 
 reading of Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth. See 
 the same thing in the famous seventy weeks of Daniel. 
 You come to that space from time to time in the pro- 
 phets. Paul w^as the one that God raised up to fill the 
 gap. Not that others did not supplement this or that. 
 As w^e know, the church is built on the foundation, not 
 of Paul, but of His holy apostles and prophets. Mark 
 and Luke, although they were not apostles, were surely 
 prophets. The foundation of the apostles and prophets 
 took in the Tew Testament writers in general. The 
 apostle brings in his own special part. It was neither 
 a gospel contributed, nor a sublime series of prophetic 
 visions. His function was to fill up the word of God, — 
 " even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and 
 from generations, but now is made manifest to his 
 saints : to whom God would make known w^hat is the 
 riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles ; 
 which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." 
 
 Hence we learn, it may be seasonable to remark, 
 that the shape given to the mystery here is not that 
 Christ is exalted in heaven, and that the church, by 
 the Holy Ghost sent down thence, is united to Him 
 the Head there. This is the doctrine of the epistle to 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 301 
 
 the Epliesians. Here we see the other side — Christ in 
 or among you Gentiles, "the hope of glory." In the 
 epistle to the Colossians, glory is always that which we 
 are waiting for. There is no such thing here as our 
 sitting in heavenly places. It is heavenly glory that is 
 waited for, but only in hope. Christ was now in these 
 Gentiles who believed the hope of a heavenly glory in 
 prospect for them. It is another aspect of the mystery, 
 but as true in its place as what we find in Ephesians ; 
 not so high, but in itself precious, and not less differing 
 from the expectation raised by the Old Testament. 
 What we read of there is that, when Christ had come, 
 He forthwith sets up His kingdom, in which the Jews 
 are promised to be His specially favoured subjects. 
 They are not indeed to reign with Him : this was by 
 no man and at no time promised to them. But they are 
 to be the people in whose midst the glory of Jehovah 
 will take up its abode. Here the apostle speaks of 
 another system altogether : Christ come, but the glory 
 not yet apparent, but only coming. Meanwhile, instead 
 of the Jews enjoying glory along with Christ in their 
 midst, rejected by the Jews, Christ is in the Gentiles; 
 and they who receive His name are waiting for hea- 
 venly glory with Christ. It is a quite different state 
 of things from what could be gathered from the Old 
 Testament. Not a prophet, not even the smallest shred 
 of any prophecy, reveals such a truth. It was an ab- 
 solutely new truth, in contrast with the ancient and 
 millennial order, yet altogether different from what is 
 found in the Ephesians ; nevertheless they both con- 
 stitute substantive parts of the mystery. 
 
 Thus the mystery includes, first, Christ as Head above, 
 Ave though here being united by the Holy Ghost to Him 
 
302 . INTRODUCTOKY LECTURES. 
 
 glorified. Secondly, Christ, meanwhile, is in or among 
 the Gentiles here below. Were He among the Jews, 
 it would be the introduction of the promised earthly 
 glory. But it is not so. The Jews are enemies, and 
 unbelieving; the Gentiles are specially the object of 
 God's present ways. Having Christ among them, 
 heavenly glory is their hope, even to share with Him 
 that glor)'". This, then, shows Christ, in a certain sense, 
 in the Gentiles here below ; as, in the Ephesians, Christ 
 is seen above and we in Him. There Jew or Gentile is 
 all alike, and those who believe the gospel are by the 
 Spirit united to Him as His body, Here the Gentiles 
 in particular have Him in them, the pledge of their 
 participating in His heavenly glory by and by. And 
 as this was so blessed and novel a truth, the apostle 
 states his own earnestness about it — " whom we preach, 
 warning every man, and teaching every man in all wis- 
 dom; that w^e may present every man perfect in Christ." 
 There is no slovenliness here; no careless assump- 
 tion that, because you are members of Christ's body, 
 all else must be right, and may be left; for he who 
 knew best the faithful love of Christ is none the 
 less urgent individually with "every man." Hence his 
 unflagging expenditure of labour. Hence the spending 
 of heart and thought that "every man" might be thus 
 built up in the truth, and especially the heavenly truth 
 of Christ, which was entrusted to his stewardship 
 and ministry, "warning every man and teaching every 
 man, that we may present every man full grown in 
 Christ." This is the meaning of "perfect." There is 
 no reference to a question of evil within, but of arriving 
 at maturity in Christ, instead of babes, resting merely 
 in forgiveness. " Whereunto I also labour, striving ac- 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIAXS. 303 
 
 cording to his working, which worketh in me mightily." 
 Thus the striving of the apostle was by no means only 
 in the way of evangelizing. There was much more than 
 this. It influenced him deeply and habitually in all 
 the anxieties of love. 
 
 "For I would that ye knew what great conflict I 
 have for you, and them at Laodicea, and for as many as 
 have not seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts 
 might be comforted, being knit together in love, and 
 unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, 
 to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of 
 the Father, and of Christ; in whom [or rather which] 
 are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." 
 The mystery is now revealed, even the relation of Christ 
 and the church; the actual testimony of God's counsels in 
 Christ to those who compose His body. And as a rule, it 
 is always what God is actually doing that is the urgently 
 needed truth. Special wants may spring up and claim 
 attention at particular moments ; but since Christ was 
 set on high, this is the truth for the saints, and for a very 
 simple and sufficient reason — it is what God the Father 
 designed for the day of salvation. It is of this Christ 
 is the objective centre and Head. In this we have what 
 the Spirit occupies Himself with as sent down from 
 heaven. Satan being invariably the personal and per- 
 sistent antagonist of Christ, whatever is God's purpose 
 in Christ becomes peculiarly the object of Satan's hatred 
 and hostility. 
 
 Hence, as the apostle Paul was one on whom God 
 set particular honour in developing the mystery, and 
 communicating it in inspired words also, so he was 
 more than any other called to suffer the consequences 
 in this present evil world. His labours were not 
 
304 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 merely indefatigable, but accompanied by the sorest 
 trial and anguish of spirit, as well as continual detrac- 
 tion with public hatred and persecution. Everything 
 which could break the heart of a holy man from day to 
 day he passed through. Yet, carrying out his ministry 
 with continual tears, he looked before men as one 
 whom none of these things moved. Nevertheless, he 
 lets the Colossians know what he went through for 
 their sakes and other saints wlio were before his heart, 
 even though unknown in the flesh. "And this I say, 
 lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. 
 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you 
 in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the 
 steadfastness of your faith in Christ." There was much 
 that was blessed at Colosse; and the apostle loves to give 
 full credit for it. "As ye have therefore received Christ 
 Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him : rooted and built up 
 in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been 
 taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." In fact, 
 this w^as their fault: they were not content with Christ 
 and Him only. Not appreciating His glory and fulness, 
 they did not see that the secret of true wisdom and 
 blessing is in going on to know more of Christ than is 
 already possessed. Such is the only sure root of all 
 blessing, and in this above all is real faith and spiritu- 
 ality shown. Is the heart satisfied with Him ? Do we 
 feel and know that we can add nothing to Him ? Is it 
 all we want to draw from Him ? 
 
 Then he brings in, accordingly, his first solemn cau- 
 tion. "Beware," says he, "lest any man spoil you through 
 philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, 
 after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." 
 Here we have the mingling, I apprehend, of natural man's 
 
I 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 305 
 
 philosopliy, and religious man's tradition. These things- 
 at first sight appear far apart, but they are not so in 
 result. They may seem to be far as the poles asunder ; 
 but in point of fact, there is nothing that more shows- 
 an energetic spirit of evil at work in the world than the 
 way in which he marshals and combines these two 
 armies, that outwardly look enemies to each other. Have 
 you not proved it ? Somehow or another, freethinkers 
 and superstitious men coalesce in reality. Tliere is no 
 feature of the present day more remarkable than the 
 success with which Satan is massing, as it were, his 
 forces, bringing together at the very same point, where 
 they are wanted, these two parties ; that is to say, the 
 heavier arms of human tradition, and the lighter ones 
 of man's philosophy. This is the reason why at each 
 grave juncture you will find that ritualists will as a 
 rule support rationalists, and rationalists will try to 
 extenuate the proceedings of ritualists. They may wear 
 the semblance of being altogether hostile to each other : 
 they are both of them only hostile to the truth. They 
 both are thoroughly and essentially ignorant of Christ ; 
 but the Christ that they ignore, for religion or reason, 
 is that blessed Person not so much as He who here lived 
 and laboured, as especially dead and risen. They use 
 freely His name ; they in word and bodily exercise do 
 Him no small reverence ; but without faith all is vain. 
 
 Beloved, the Christ that lue know gives no glory to 
 the first man; neither does He put honour on ordi- 
 nances or human priesthood. How He would have been 
 exalted, if He had consented to shed the halo of His 
 own glory on the race as such! But our Lord is the 
 Christ who condemned the first man. Fallen humanity 
 by Him was detected and judged root and branch. This 
 
 X 
 
306 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 cannot be forgiven by all who cleave to the first man, 
 on the side either of ordinances or of philosophy, IIow 
 can man brook that he, and the world that he has built 
 np since he lost Eden, should be made nothing of? It 
 is impossible to look for it from human nature. He 
 who probed it all cannot be endured. We must and do 
 judge all things as they are. This is truth about them; 
 and He who is the truth told it out. The cross of Christ 
 is the death -knell of the world in all its pretensions 
 before God. His grave is man's grave. Brethren, the 
 Christ that God has made known to us is the Christ 
 that man scorned, cast out and crucified. But He is the 
 Christ that God raised from the dead and seated in 
 heavenly glory. And this is the truth that is so offen- 
 sive to flesh in every form. Never will it be received, 
 either by the world's religion, or by its philosophy. 
 
 How vain and perilous — at least for themselves — was 
 the effort of the Colossians ! They were endeavouring 
 to strike an alliance between Christ and the world. 
 They had really themselves slipped away in heart : no 
 such hope had found favour otherwise. It was not 
 wonderful that he said in chapter i., "If ye continue 
 in the faith rooted and grounded, and not moved away 
 from the hope of the gospel." They had been moving 
 away, not perhaps so rapidly as the Galatians ; in faith 
 they had been infirm. And now the apostle would 
 recall them : " Walk in him, rooted and built up in 
 him." Let them beware of pliilosophy and tradition ; 
 "for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead 
 bodily." It is not to be found in tradition, still less in 
 philosophy. 
 
 Philosophy is an idol of man or nature, a blind substi- 
 tute for the knowledge of God. It is false and ruinous, 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 307 
 
 whether it leaves Him out or brings Him. in — whether 
 it denies the true God, or makes everything a sham god. 
 Atheism and Pantheism are the ultimate results of 
 philosophy, and both in reality set God aside. As to 
 tradition, it invariably puts man as far off from God as 
 it can, and calls this religion. The truth in Christ is not 
 merely that pod came down to man in love, but that 
 man, the believer in Christ, is now dead and risen 
 in Him. Is Christ in the glorious presence of God ? 
 The Christian is one with Him. Accordingly, he 
 brings in now for this object the twofold truth : " for 
 in him," says he, " dwelleth all the fulness of the God- 
 head bodily. And ye are complete in him." How 
 blessed! If He is the fulness, you are made full in 
 Him, "which is the head of all principality and power." 
 Away, then, with every pretence to add to Him ; away 
 with all possible expedients to give lustre to Christ ! 
 "He is the head of all principality and power: in whom 
 also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made 
 without hands, in putting off the body of the flesh [for 
 so it runs] by the circumcision of Christ : buried with 
 him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen." 
 
 Constructively, to my mind, this points to the great 
 sign of His death. It is in baptism rather than in 
 Him. Hence it seems to me not in whom, but rightly 
 " wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith 
 of the operation of God." Thus baptism is not limited 
 to signifying death. Yet it is never the sign either 
 of life or of bloodshedding, but of a state of privilege 
 beyond. When the apostle was told to wash away his 
 sins, calling on the name of the Lord, blood does not 
 seem to have been meant, but water. For this is the 
 sign not so much of what would expiate as cleanse. 
 
 X 2 
 
308 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 But the cleansing as well as expiation is by the death 
 of Christ, out of whose side flowed both. 
 
 Here the doctrine carries one a little farther than 
 either Eomans vi. or 1 Peter iii. There is death and 
 burial of all we were ; but there is here at least resur- 
 rection with Christ — death and resurrection. In Romans 
 the emphatic point is simply death, because the argu- 
 ment of the apostle in chapter vi. does not admit of 
 going beyond the truth that the baptized believer is 
 alive from the dead — not exactly risen, but alive unto 
 God. In Colossians the argument requires that our 
 resurrection with Christ, as well as death and burial, 
 should be distinctly stated. And so it is. "Buried 
 with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with 
 him through the faith of the operation of God, who 
 has raised him from the dead." 
 
 He applies the truth to the case in hand after this : 
 " And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircum- 
 cision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with 
 him, having forgiven us all trespasses ; blotting out the 
 handwriting of ordinances that was against us." He does 
 not say "against you," because, in truth, the Colossian 
 saints had never been under the law and its ordinances; 
 they had been Gentiles. But whereas he said, "that 
 you, being dead," were now thus raised, so he says, 
 "blotting it out against us;" for aU that we, poor Jews, 
 could boast — the ordinances — were against us instead 
 of being for us, and they are gone now. 
 
 "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that 
 was against us, wliich was contrary to us, and took 
 it out of the way, nailing it to his cross ; and having 
 spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of 
 them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIAXS. 309 
 
 therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect 
 of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath 
 days : which are a shadow of things to come ; but the 
 body is of Christ." Thus is seen first of all, in virtue 
 of the dead and risen Christ in whom they believed, 
 that they were quickened and all their trespasses for- 
 given, — two things here strikingly united together. The 
 very life that I have in Christ is a witness that my 
 sins are forgiven. It is not merely the life of a Christ 
 that lived in this world, but the life of Him that was 
 lifted up on the cross, and bore my sins there. But 
 now the work is done, and the atonement is accepted 
 before that new life is gjiven me in Him risen. 
 
 One cannot therefore be quickened together with Christ 
 without having one's trespasses, yea, all (for if not all, 
 none) forgiven. The guilt which a broken law charged 
 on the conscience is gone by an act infinitely more 
 glorifying to God than the personal righteousnesses of 
 all the men that ever lived, not to speak of the con- 
 scious pardon which is also secured to those who 
 possess it. Had you to do with the law ? The mighty 
 work of Christ has entirely delivered from it. The 
 sentence is blotted out; the power of Satan is spoiled 
 openly; Christ risen triumphs over all. There is no 
 new means of grace ; there is no development, still less 
 supplement to Christ. The one and same Christ it is 
 who has settled everything. 
 
 As to the Jewish rites and feasts that some were 
 endeavouring to re-impose, take for an instance the 
 Sabbath, which is the stronger, because it was from the 
 beginning of the first man, yet unfallen, and of course 
 long before the Jewish people. "Let no man judge 
 you" is the exhortation. They were shadows. Have you 
 
310 INTRODUCTOKY LECTUEES. 
 
 not got the substance ? Why be found running from 
 the substance after the shadow ? " Let no man beguile 
 you of your reward in a vohintary humility and wor- 
 shipping of angels, intruding into those things which 
 he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 
 and not holding the head." Thus the fact of prying 
 into that which God has not revealed, and man has 
 not seen, — such as speculations about angels, — is the 
 patent proof that the heart is not really satisfied with 
 its portion. This is not holding the Head. He who 
 keeps fast Christ thus, in conscious union with Him, 
 could never be cravino: after anf;fels. In Christ the 
 saint is above them, and leaves them to God without 
 anxiety or envy. We know well that God is making 
 a good use of them, and that, in point of fact, if we 
 meddle, it can only be to loss and confusion. "And 
 not holding the head, from which all the body by joints 
 and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit 
 together, increaseth with the increase of God." 
 
 ISText, the doctrine is applied still more definitely. 
 " Wherefore," says he, " if ye be dead with Christ " — • 
 which is one grand part of his subject — " if ye be dead 
 with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as 
 though living [or alive] in the world, are ye subject to 
 ordinances?" Of course it is not at all being dead to 
 what a man had as a natural life in the world. Such 
 is not the Christian life, which is really the life of Him 
 that died and rose again. He died — this is the point 
 here — and therefore I am dead too. But if I am dead, 
 what have I to do with those things that only affect 
 men as long as they live? Certainly they have no 
 relation to me now risen with Him. A man alive in the 
 world is under these ordinances^ and owns them. Such. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 311 
 
 was the position of Israel. They were a people living 
 in the world, and the whole system of Judaism sup- 
 posed and dealt with a people in the world. 
 
 In moral truth, as well as literal fact, the veil, shadow- 
 ing their state, was not yet lifted up from the unseen 
 world. But the lirst characteristic result of Christ's 
 work on the cross was the veil that shut up the holiest 
 rent from top to bottom. Thus it begins, not with the 
 incarnation (for sin was not yet judged, nor man brought 
 to God), but with the cross, with redemption. There 
 was no Christianity — i.e., no deliverance of man and 
 setting him in the Second Man — before Christ became 
 first-born from among the dead. Clearly, therefore, the 
 whole character of the new system depends, first, on 
 the Deity of the incarnate Saviour, and, secondly, on 
 the glorious truths of His atoning death and of His 
 resurrection. Thus we should hold Him fast, not 
 only in other respects, but in this special relation of 
 " Head." 
 
 So he says, "If ye be dead with Christ from the 
 rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the 
 w^orld, are ye subject to ordinances ?" Then he gives a 
 specimen of these : " Touch not ; taste not ; handle 
 not." But this is not the character of Christianity, but 
 of Judaism. It pertains to a life in this world to say, 
 " Touch not ; taste not ; handle not." It is all well for 
 a Jew, because he has got his abstinences and his 
 restrictions. But this is not at all the divine way of 
 dealing with the Christian. We are not Jews; we 
 have our place in Christ dead and risen, or are nothing. 
 Such prohibitory commands had their day; but the 
 time of reformation is come. It is a question now of 
 truth and holiness in the Spirit — of Christ, in short. 
 
B12 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 These restrictions dealt with meats and drinks, and 
 such like things, which perish in the using. The 
 Christian never stood on any such fleshly ground. He 
 is dead with Christ; consequently he has passed out 
 of the sphere to which such dealings apply. "Which 
 things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, 
 and humility, and neglecting of the body ; not in any 
 honour to the satisfying of the flesh." Proud, fallen 
 nature is satisfied even by these efforts to put down the 
 body ; whereas God would have the body to have a 
 certain honour in its own place, and that of the Chris- 
 tian is the temple of the Holy Ghost. Thus in every 
 way the ritualistic system is false, and a traitor to Him 
 who died on the cross. 
 
 But there is far more than that : "If ye then be risen 
 with Christ." Here we enter not merely what clears 
 one out from the rudiments of the world, but what 
 introduces us into the new thing. We need the positive 
 as well as the negative ; and as w^e have just had the 
 latter, so the former now comes before us. Instead of 
 letting the reins free now to run in the race of im- 
 proving the world and bettering society, or any of the 
 objects that occupy men as such, the saints of God 
 should abstain altogether. Many who really love the 
 Lord are in this quite misguided as to the duty of the 
 Christian here below. " If ye then be risen with Christ, 
 seek those things which are above, where Christ sittetli 
 on the right hand of God." And as if that were not 
 precise enough, it is added, " Set your affection on 
 things above." It is rather "your mind;" for here, how- 
 ever important the state of the heart, it is a question 
 simply of the whole bent and judgment. " Set your 
 mind on things above, not on things on the earth." It 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 313 
 
 is not merely bringing the heavenly into them, so to 
 speak; and decidedly not of joining the two things 
 together. The Colossians, like others, would have liked 
 this well enough ; it is just what they were about, and 
 the very thing that the apostle is here correcting. The 
 apostle will not sanction such an amalgam, but refuses 
 it ; and we must remember that in these exhortations 
 it was the Lord acting by the Spirit in His servant. 
 " Set your mind on things above, not on things on the 
 earth ; for ye are dead." 
 
 'N'ote well again that it is not here man striving 
 to become dead, which is a notion unknown to the 
 revelation of God, new or old. In fact there was not 
 even the thought of striving to be dead before the death 
 of Christ came; and when He died, the Spirit in due 
 time revealed not alone that He died for us, but that 
 we died in Him. Thus no room was left for striving 
 to die. The Christian owns his death in his very 
 baptism ; and what is wanted is not effort to attain, but 
 the Spirit's power in acting on the truth by faith. This 
 it is that always settles the difficulties in the great 
 conflict that rages now as ever, and more than ever, 
 between human religion and the truth of God. Since 
 men have a certain knowledge of Christ's death, they 
 are striving to die. It is the law in a new and im- 
 possible shape. That is the meaning of all that seems 
 good in the world's piety. It is an effort to become 
 dead to what is wrong ; to cultivate what is felt to be 
 glorifying to God; to avoid what is contrary to His 
 will, and injurious to the soul. But does this so much 
 as resemble the provision of grace for the Christian ? 
 Is this the truth ? Must we not first and foremost be 
 subject to the truth ? If I have Christ as a Saviour at 
 
314 INTllODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 all, instead of struggling to die in the sense meant, I 
 am called to believe that I am already dead. 
 
 It is remarkable that the two well-known and stand- 
 ing institutions — I will not call them ordinances — of 
 Christianity, baptism and the Lord's supper, are the plain 
 and certain expression of death in grace. When a per- 
 son is baptized, this is the meaning of the act ; nor lias 
 it any true force, but is an illusion, otherwise. For the 
 baptized soul confesses that the grace of God gives 
 death to sin in Him who died and rose again. The 
 Jew looked only for a mighty King Messiah ; the Chris- 
 tian is baptized into the death of Him who suffered on 
 the cross, and finds not alone his sins forgiven, but sin, 
 the flesh, condemned, and himself now viewed of God 
 as dead to all ; for nothing less is set forth in bap- 
 tism. Thus it is from the first the expression of a 
 most needed truth, which remains the comfort of grace 
 throughout the whole Christian career, and is therefore 
 never repeated. Again, on each Lord's day, when we 
 are gathered together to Christ's name, what is before 
 us according to God's word and will ? A substantially 
 similar blessing is stamped on the table of the Lord. 
 When the Christians unite in breaking bread, they 
 show forth the death of Christ till He come. It is not 
 a mere duty that has to be done ; but the heart is in 
 presence of the objective fact that He died for us, His 
 body. As believing in Him, this is our place. Such 
 is the basis of the liberty wherewith Christ has set us 
 free. It is a liberty founded on death, displayed in 
 resurrection, known in the Spirit. Having this in the 
 soul, one is entitled to have it in the body also at His 
 coming. Besides, we are one bread, one body. 
 
 Hence we find the glorious future display referred 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 315 
 
 to here: "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear;" for 
 we have both " ye are dead," and " your life is hid with 
 Christ in God." We may be content to be hidden while 
 He is hidden ; but He is not always to be out of sight. 
 The Christian will have all the desires of the new man 
 gratified. Now he may have the blessed enjoyment 
 of communion with Christ, but it is a Christ crucified 
 on earth. His glory is in heaven. A man seeks to 
 shine in the world now ; it is a heedless if not heartless 
 forgetfulness, that here He knew nothing but rejection. 
 Am I then false or true to the constant sign of my 
 Master's death ? Am I to court the honour of those 
 who refused Clirist, and gave Him a cross ? Am I to 
 forget His glory in the presence of God ? Ought I not, 
 in my measure of faith, to be the expression of both ? 
 Ought I not to share my Master's shame and dishonour 
 here? Ought I not to wait to enter the same glory 
 with the Christ of God? So it is said here, "When 
 Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also 
 appear with him in glory." Accordingly the path of 
 Christian duty is grounded on these wondrous truths. 
 " Mortify therefore your members which are upon the 
 earth ; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil 
 concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry." 
 What a humbling consideration that those so blessed 
 (dead, as we have said, and risen with Christ) are here 
 told to mortify what is most shameful and shameless ! 
 But so it is. It is really what man is ; and such is the 
 nature which alone we had as children of Adam. These 
 are alas ! in the singularly energetic language of the 
 Spirit of God here called the members of the man. 
 " Mortify therefore your members which are upon the 
 the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection. 
 
316 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 
 for which things' sake, the wrath of God cometh on the 
 children of disobedience : in the which ye also walked 
 sometime." 
 
 It is no use denying the plain truth " when ye lived 
 in them;" it is blessed to know that we are dead now. 
 Let us hearken, "But now, ye also put off all these." Here 
 we come not merely to that which is displayed in the 
 forms of the corruption that goes on through things or 
 persons outside us, as it were, but by inner feelings of 
 violence : " But now ye also put off all these ; anger, 
 wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of 
 your mouth." Falsehood, too, is judged as it never was 
 before, " Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put 
 off the old man with his deeds ; and have put on the 
 new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the 
 image of him that created him." Not Adam, but Christ 
 is the standard — Christ who is God as well as man ; 
 *' where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision 
 nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free : 
 but Christ is all, and in all." How blessed ! — " Christ 
 is all, and in all." 
 
 Thus the believer can look round full of joy upon his 
 brethren ; he can count up souls from every tribe, tongue, 
 and station. Who has been overlooked in the compre- 
 hensive and active grace of our God ? And what is he 
 then entitled to see? Christ in them. And what a 
 deliverance from self to see Christ in them ! Yes, but 
 Christ is "all" as truly as He is "in all." Oh, to forget all 
 that which produces jealousy, pride, vanity, each and 
 every feeling contrary to God and unedifying to man; 
 to be comforted and to comfort others with such a 
 truth — Christ is all, and Christ is in all! Such is God's 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 317 
 
 word, and are we, or are we not, entitled to say so now ? 
 Sorrowful circumstances may, alas! require us to pro- 
 nounce on evil ways in order to look into this evil doc- 
 trine or that ; but the apostle speaks now of the saints 
 in their ordinary and normal manner. Does not this 
 still abide true ? Am I entitled, as I look upon Chris- 
 tians henceforth, to see nothing but Christ in any and 
 Christ in every one ? Yes, Christ is in all, and Christ is 
 all. " Put on, therefore" (says he, in the enjoyment of 
 such grace. Now comes the positive character to be borne) 
 — " Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and be- 
 loved." How like the description is to Christ Himself! 
 He was God's chosen One in the highest sense; He was 
 the holy and beloved. Who ever appealed in distress, and 
 did not find in Him bowels of mercies, kindness, humble- 
 ness of mind, meekness, longsuffering ? Then follows 
 that which could be said of us alone. "If any man 
 have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, 
 so also do ye." Porgiving one another is fortified by 
 His example who did no sin, neither was evil found in 
 His mouth. Christ on earth was a blessed pattern of 
 forgiveness and forbearance. "Even as Christ forgave 
 you." He now brings Him in openly, and to ourselves. 
 But there is a crowning quality: "And above all these 
 things put on charity," because this is, as nothing else 
 can be, the fullest sign of that which God is Himself, 
 the energy of His nature. His light may detect, but 
 His love is the spring of all His ways. No matter 
 what may be the demand, love is after all most essential 
 and influential too. It lies at the bottom when we 
 think of the wants of the saints of God here below. 
 There is a figure especially characteristic of the divine 
 nature morally considered — I need not say light, as we 
 
318 INTKODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 are told more fully in the epistle to the Ephesians. 
 Yet above all the saints are to put on charity, which is 
 the bond of perfectness ; " and let the peace of Christ 
 rule," for so it reads, not the peace of God, but the 
 peace of Christ. Everything in our epistle is traced up 
 to Christ as the head of all possible blessing. 
 
 So "let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts;" that 
 is, the very peace which Christ Himself lived and moved 
 in. Let Eis peace rule. He knows everything and feels 
 everything. T may be perfectly certain, whatever may 
 be my sorrow or travail of spirit about anything, Christ 
 feels far more deeply (yea, infinitely deeper than any 
 other) those that may excite any of us. Yet He has 
 absolute peace, never broken or ruffled for an instant. 
 And in us, poor feeble souls, why should not this peace 
 rule in our hearts, to the which also w^e are called in 
 one body? "And be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ" 
 (it was God's word, but still called the word of Christ 
 here) "dwell in you richly in all wisdom." There might 
 be a word of God which was not in the same w^ay the 
 word of Christ. There are many portions of the scrip- 
 tures that do not by any means suit or suppose the 
 estate and path of the Christian. "And let the word of 
 Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and 
 admonishing one another." It is not Christ Himself, as 
 in Ephesians iii., the wondrous issue even now in us 
 by the power of the Spirit ; but, at least, in His word 
 is found (what the Colossians needed) an active and 
 most pure spring of instruction and counsel, and mutu- 
 ality of help by it. Such is the fruit of His word thus 
 dwelling in us. Nor is this all. " In psalms and hymns 
 and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to 
 the Lord." It matters little how well tauo^ht the saint 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSI ANS. 319 
 
 may be, nor how he may know the moral beauty and the 
 unfailing wisdom of the word, if positive fruit be not 
 increased: if the spirit and power of worship abound 
 not, there is something altogether short, or wrong. 
 " And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the 
 Father by him." Thus, even if there be not actually 
 formal praise, the Lord looks for thankfulness of heart, 
 as counting on love in everything. 
 
 After this follow particular exhortations, on which 
 we need not at present dwell. We have wives and 
 husbands, children and fathers, servants and masters, 
 brought together successively up to the first verse of 
 chapter iv., w^hich should, of course, close chapter iii. 
 rather than begin a new one. 
 
 Then come general injunctions. " Continue in prayer, 
 and w^atch in the same with thanksgiving." Neither 
 completeness in Christ, nor joyful sense of heavenly 
 relationship, nor heed to our own relations in this life, 
 should weaken for an instant, but rather minister to 
 an increased sense of the need and value of depend- 
 ing on God. 'Not is continuance in prayer all; but 
 vigilant watch in the same, which does not let slip 
 the just occasion for supplication ; and as all things 
 were to be done with thanksgiving, so prayer also, 
 w^hich would assuredly not forget the need of those in 
 the forefront of the spiritual w^arfare and toil of love. 
 " Watch in the same with thanksgiving ; withal praying 
 also for us, that God would open unto us a door of 
 utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I 
 am also in bonds : that I may make it manifest, as I 
 ought to speak." Nor is there to be unwatchfulness, 
 but consideration in love of those without. " Walk in 
 
320 INTEODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the 
 time. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned 
 with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer 
 every man." The fit time and suited speech, always in 
 grace, not without faithfulness Godward, how good and 
 needful they are ! 
 
 Further, we see how Christian love delights to com- 
 municate and to hear. It was his confidence in their 
 love; and this is shown not merely in his desire 
 to hear about them, but in the conviction that they 
 would like to hear about him. Can anything be SNveeter 
 than this genuine simplicity of affection and mutual 
 interest ? In a man it would be vain and curious : it 
 is blessed in a Christian. No right-minded man, as 
 such, could take for granted that others would care to 
 know about his affairs any more than he theirs, unless 
 indeed in case of a relation, or a friend, or a public 
 and extraordinary personage. But here writes the 
 lowly-minded apostle, in the full assurance that, though 
 he had never seen them, or they him, it would be real 
 and mutual gratification to know about one another 
 from him who went between them. AVhat a spring of 
 power is the love of Christ! Truly charity is "the 
 bond of perfectness." "And my state shall Tychicus 
 declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a 
 faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord : whom 
 I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he 
 m.ight know your state, and comfort your hearts ; with 
 Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one 
 of you. They shall make known unto you all things 
 which are done here." 
 
 Then come allusions to his various fellow-prisoners 
 and fellow-servants, particularly noting Epaphras, who 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 321 
 
 laboured fervently in prayer for them. This, I am 
 sure, should not be weakened, brethren. We know 
 that there is danger on all sides. We may have proved 
 how sadly everything of the sort has been perverted; 
 but tliere is a sense, and a most weighty one too, in 
 which we cannot too mucli strengthen the links of love 
 between the saints of God, and that too where there 
 is a real holy ministry for their good. And this the 
 apostle was doing, and particularly for one that came 
 from them. We might well suppose that there was 
 some hindrance to the full flow of affection on their 
 part. But the apostle took every pains to show how 
 great was the love of Epaphras for them ; for his faith- 
 ful spirit knew some little of that which the apostle 
 knew well, — that the more abundantly he loved, the 
 less he was loved. " For I bear him record, that he hath 
 a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea." 
 His was by no means a love inactive or limited. There 
 was no such notion as only caring for the saints in his 
 own particular place. Paul narrowed himself to no 
 local ties, nor should we allow such a thing for an 
 instant. All the saints belong to "us, as we belong to 
 all of them. And so he mentions particularly others, 
 even if some little felt this link. " Luke, the beloved 
 physician, and Demas, greet you. Salute the brethren 
 which are in Laodicea, ISTymphas, and the church which 
 is in his house. And when this epistle is read among 
 you, cause that it be read also in the church of the 
 Laodiceans." It is evident, therefore, that these apos- 
 tolic epistles were meant to circulate among the saints. 
 And perhaps this may be the key to what we are next 
 told: "And ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea." 
 The epistle to Laodicea is not said : so we have no suffi- 
 
 Y 
 
322 INTRODUCTOKY LECTURES. 
 
 cient reason to trouble ourselves about there being a 
 lost portion of the inspired writings. There is no proof 
 of the sort. I am aware that men have reasoned much 
 about it ; but this is a proof that evidence fails. Why 
 should we heed conjecture? Had they prayed more, 
 the result might have been to better purpose. Possibly 
 apostles may have written epistles that were not intended 
 for the permanent instruction of the church ; but that 
 what was so intended is lost w^e may resolutely deny 
 from all we know of our God. Whatever insinuates it 
 denies that He has adequately yjrovided for His church 
 here below : this He has surely done in every form in His 
 w^ord. There is no imperfectness in that word, neither 
 does any ground exist to suppose that any part of it has 
 vanished away. No doubt we may detect the flaws of 
 man's necjlio;ence, not knowinsr how to treat with be- 
 coming care the precious deposit of truth; but there is 
 nothing more. That is to say, there may be a difference 
 of reading here and there which impairs the full beauty 
 and accuracy of the blessed word of God ; but, as to 
 the substance, the most timid may be assured that you 
 have it in the worst editions of Christendom. Do not 
 be uneasy at the talk of critics : it is natural for dealers 
 to cry up their wares. They live in minute points and 
 uncertainty. 
 
 As this epistle then is not said to have been addressed 
 to Laodicea, we may gather that it was either from 
 that church, or, if apostolic, going its round from one 
 assembly to another. If the latter, it had got to Laodicea, 
 whence the Colossiaus were to procure it in their turn. 
 
 Archippus was to take heed to the ministry he had 
 received in the Lord. No doubt the hint is w^anted by 
 some of us still. May He make and keep us faithful ! 
 
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 323 
 
 FIEST AND SECOND THESSALONIANS. 
 
 There is a special interest in examining the epistles to 
 the Thessalonians, more particularly the first, because, 
 in point of fact, it was the earliest of the letters of the 
 apostles ; and as the first on the part of Paul, so also 
 to an assembly found in the freshness of its faith, and 
 in the endurance of no small suffering for Jesus' sake. 
 This has given a colour to the character of the epistle. 
 Besides, the very truth which most strongly charac- 
 terized the assembly there — the habitual waiting for 
 the Lord Jesus — was that which the enemy perverted 
 into a means of danger. It is always thus. Whatever 
 God has specially given to the church, whatever He 
 has caused to be brought out in any marked manner at 
 any time, is that which we may expect Satan to sap 
 and undermine with all diligence. We might have 
 supposed, d 'priori, that any characteristic truth A^^ould 
 be that in which the children of God would be more 
 earnest, and strong, and united. Undoubtedly it is that 
 for which they are specially responsible; but for this 
 very reason they are the object of the continual and' 
 subtle attacks of Satan in respect of it. 
 
 Now these epistles (for both in fact show us the 
 same truth, but on different sides, guarding it against a 
 different means used by the enemy to injure the saints) 
 present on their very face, in great fulness of applica- 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 tion, the hope of the Christian, and that which sur- 
 rounds it and flows from it. At the same time, the 
 Spirit of God in no way limits Himself to that one 
 subject in all its parts; but as we receive the truth in' 
 its fulness in Christ, so we have the great elements of 
 Christianity, as well as the attractive state of the 
 believers in Thessalonica, formed by the hope which 
 animated them, and by the truth in general seen in its 
 light. The apostle writes to them in a manner to confirm 
 their faith : " Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto 
 the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the 
 Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ." He does not 
 mean by this to set forth any great advance, any high 
 standing on the part of the believer, as has been some- 
 times drawn from these words, but rather the contrary. 
 It was the infantine condition of the assembly of the 
 Thessalonians which appears to have suggested this 
 mode of address from the apostle. Just as the babe 
 of the family would be an especial object of a father's 
 concern — more particularly if peril surrounded it, so 
 does the apostle cheer the church of the Thessalonians, 
 by speaking of their being in God the Father, and in 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. (Compare John x. 28, 29.) It 
 is as children, not merely in the sense of being born of 
 God, but as babes ; and the Spirit of God views the 
 assembly of the Thessalonians in this way. As a proof 
 that this is correct, it may be noticed that there does 
 not appear at this time to have been any regular over- 
 sight established in their midst. There is no hint of 
 elders appointed here as yet, any more than at Corinth. 
 There was no small vigour; but, at the same time, it 
 had the stamp of youth. The fresh flow of affection 
 filled their hearts, and the beauty of the truth had but 
 
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 325 
 
 just dawned, as it were, on their souls. This, and more 
 of kindred character, may be traced very clearly. And 
 we find here an instructive lesson how to deal with 
 the entrance of error, and the dangers that threaten the 
 children of God, more particularly such as may be com- 
 paratively unformed in the common faith. 
 
 After his salutation the apostle, as usual, gives thanks 
 to God for them all, making mention of them in his 
 prayers, as he says : " Eemembering without ceasing your 
 work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope 
 in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our 
 Father." From the outset we find the eminently prac- 
 tical shape which the truth had taken ; as indeed must 
 always be the case where there is the care and activity 
 of the Spirit of God. There is no truth that is not 
 given both to form the heart, and to guide the steps of 
 the saints, so that there may be a living and a fruitful 
 service flowing to God from it. Such was the case 
 with these Thessalonians ; their work was the work of 
 faith, and their labour had love for its spring; and 
 more than that, their hope was one which had proved 
 its divine strength by the power of endurance which 
 it had given them in the midst of their afflictions. It 
 was really the hope of Christ Himself, as it is said — 
 " patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight 
 of God and our Father." Thus, we see, all was kept in 
 conscience before God ; for this is the meaning of the 
 words — "in the sight of God and our Father." 
 
 All this brings them before the soul of the apostle in 
 confidence, as being simple-hearted witnesses, not only 
 of the truth, but of Christ the Lord. " For our gospel," 
 he says, "came not unto you in word only, but also in 
 power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; 
 
326 INTKODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 as ye know what manner of men we were among you 
 for your sake." The apostle could unburden himself, 
 and speak freely. With the Corinthians he could not 
 so open his heart : there was such fleshly vaunting 
 among them that the apostle speaks to them with no 
 small reserve. But here it is otherwise ; and as there 
 was fervent love in their hearts and ways, so the apostle 
 could speak out of the very same love ; for assuredly 
 love was not less on his part. Hence he could enlarge 
 with joy on that which was before him — the manner in 
 which the gospel had come to them ; and this is of no 
 small consequence in the ways of God. We should by 
 no means pass by a due consideration of the manner in 
 which God deals either with individual souls, or with 
 saints, in any special place. For all things are of God. 
 The effect of a storm of persecution, accompanying the 
 introduction of the gospel, could not have been without 
 its weight in forming the character of the saints who 
 received the truth; and, yet more, the way in which 
 God had wrought — particularly in him who was the 
 bearer of His message — at that time would not be 
 without its modifying influence in giving such a 
 direction to it as would be for the Lord's glory and 
 praise. I doubt not, therefore, that the apostle's en- 
 trance among them, the notable accompanying circum- 
 stances of it, the faith and love that had been then 
 tried — of course, habitually there, but, nevertheless, 
 put at that juncture to the proof to a remarkable 
 degree at Thessalonica — had all their source in God's 
 good guidance; so that those that were to follow in 
 the wake of the same faith, who would have to stand 
 and suffer in the name of the same Lord Jesus at a 
 later day, were thus strengthened and fitted, as no other 
 
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 327 
 
 way could have done so well, for what was to befall 
 them. 
 
 The apostle, therefore, does not hesitate to say, "Ye 
 became followers of us and of the Lord, having received 
 the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy 
 Ghost : so that ye were ensamples to all that believe 
 in Macedonia and Achaia." And this was so true that 
 the apostle did not need to say anything in proof of it. 
 The very world wondered how the word wrought among 
 these Thessalonians. Men were struck by it; and what 
 impressed even people outside was this — that they not 
 only abandoned their idols, but henceforth were serving 
 the one living and true God, and were waiting for His 
 Son from heaven. Such was the testimony, and an un- 
 commonly bright one it is. But, indeed, simplicity is 
 the secret for enjoying the truth, as well as for receiving 
 it; and we shall find always that it is the sure mark 
 of God's power in the soul by His word and Spirit. 
 For there are two things that characterize divine 
 teaching : real simplicity, on the one hand, and, on the 
 other, that definiteness which gives the inward con- 
 viction to the Christian that what he has is the truth 
 of God. It might be too much to expect the develop- 
 ment, or, at any rate, a large exercise of such precision 
 as this among the Thessalonians as yet; but one may 
 be sure that if there was true simplicity at first, it 
 would lead into distinctness of judgment ere long. We 
 shall find some features of this kind for our guidance, 
 and I hope to remark upon them as they come before 
 me. 
 
 But, first of all, take notice that the first description 
 which is given of them, in relation to the coming of the 
 Lord, is simply awaiting the Son of God from heaven. 
 
328 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 We do not well to fasten upon this expression more 
 than it was intended to convey. It does not appear to 
 me to mean anything more than the general attitude of 
 the Christian in relation to Him whom he expects from 
 above. It is the simple fact of their looking for the 
 same Saviour who had already come, whom they had 
 known — that Jesus who had died for them and was raised 
 again from the dead, their Deliverer from the wrath to 
 come. Thus they were waiting for this mighty and gra- 
 cious Saviour to come from heaven. How He was 
 coming they knew not; what would be the effects of 
 His coming they knew little. They of course knew 
 nothing about the time, no soul does ; it is reserved in 
 the hands of our God and Father; but they were, as 
 became babes, waiting for Him according to His own 
 word. Whether He would take them back into the 
 heavens, or at once enter on the kingdom under tlie 
 whole heaven, I am persuaded they did not know at 
 this time. 
 
 It seems therefore a mistake to press this text, as if it 
 necessarily taught Christ's coming in order to translate 
 saints into heaven. It leaves the aim, mode, and 
 result an entirely open matter. We may find ourselves 
 sometimes forcing scripture in this way; but be assured, 
 it is true wisdom to draw from scripture no more than 
 it distinctly undertakes to convey. It is much better, 
 if with fewer texts, to have them more to the purpose. 
 We shall find ere long the importance of not multiply- 
 ing proof- texts for any particular aim, but of seeking 
 rather from God the definite use of each scripture. 
 ISTow all that the apostle has here in view is to remind 
 the Thessalonian saints that they were waiting for that 
 same Deliverer, who was dead and risen, to come from 
 
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 329 
 
 heaven. It is likely that as His coming is presented in 
 the character of Son of God, it may suggest more to the 
 spiritual mind, and probably did suggest more to them 
 at a later day. I am only speaking of what is impor- 
 tant to bear in mind at their first conversion. It was 
 the simple truth that the divine person, who loved 
 them and died for them, was coming back from heaven. 
 What would be the manner and the consequences they 
 had yet to learn. They were waiting for Him who had 
 proved His love for them deeper than death or judg- 
 ment ; and He was coming : how could they but love 
 Him and wait for Him ? 
 
 The second chapter pursues the subject of the apos- 
 tle's ministry in connection with their conversion. He 
 had not left them when they had been brought to the 
 knowledge of Christ. He had laboured among them. 
 "For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto 
 you, that it was not in vain : but even after we had 
 suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye 
 know, at PhiHppi, we were bold in our God to speak 
 unto you the gospel of God with much contention." 
 The apostle had gone on in persevering faith, undis- 
 turbed by that which had followed. He was not to be 
 turned aside from the gospel. It had brought trouble 
 on him, but he persevered. " For our exhortation," he 
 says, "was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in 
 guile: but as we were allowed of God to be put in trust 
 with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, 
 but God, which trieth our hearts. For neither at any 
 time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke 
 of covetousness ; God is witness : nor of men sought 
 
330 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 we glory, neitlier of you, nor yet of others, when we 
 might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ." 
 
 Here we see how entirely his ministry had been 
 above the ordinary motives of men. There was no self- 
 seeking. It was not a question of exalting himself, or 
 of earthly personal gaiu; nor, on the other hand, was 
 there the indulging of the passions, either gross or 
 refined None of these things had a place in his heart, 
 as he could appeal to God solemnly. Their own con- 
 sciences were witnesses of it. But, more than that, love 
 and tenderness of care had wrought toward them. " We 
 were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her 
 children : so being affectionately desirous of you, we 
 were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel 
 of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were 
 dear unto us." What a picture of gracious interest in 
 souls, and of this, not in Him who has the full expres- 
 sion of divine love, but in a man of like passions with 
 ourselves ! For if we must ever look for the per- 
 fection of it in Christ alone, it is good for us to see the 
 life and love of Christ in one who had to contend with 
 the very same evils which we have in our nature. 
 
 Here, then, we have the lovely picture of the grace of 
 the apostle in watching over these young Christians ; and 
 this he presents in a two-fold form. First, when in the 
 most infantine condition, as a nurse he cherished them; 
 but when they grew a little, he pursued his course, 
 "labouring night and day, because we would not be 
 chargeable unto any of you, preaching unto you the 
 gospel of God. As ye know how we exhorted and com- 
 forted and charged every one of you, as a father doth 
 his children." As they advanced spiritually, so the 
 character of ministering to their need was changed; but 
 
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 331 
 
 it was the very same love in exhorting them as a father, 
 which had cared for them as a nurse. This may be the 
 beau ideal of a true pastor ; but it is the picture of a 
 real apostle of Christ, of Paul among the Thessalonians, 
 whose one desire was that they should walk worthy of 
 God, who had called them to His kingdom and glory. " For 
 this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, 
 when ye received the word of God which ye heard of 
 us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is 
 in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh 
 ^ also in you that believe." 
 
 Then follows a sketch of that suffering which faith 
 entails, as sooner or later it must come; and as he had 
 charged them to walk worthy of God, who had cheered 
 them with the prospect of the unseen and eternal things, 
 so he would have them to prove by their constancy and 
 endurance that it was God's word which so pow^erfuUy 
 wrought in them, spite of all man could do. "For ye, 
 brethren, became followers of the chunjhes of God 
 which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus : for ye also have 
 suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as 
 they have of the Jews : who both killed the Lord Jesus, 
 and their own prophets" — not exactly their own pro- 
 phets, but the prophets — "and have persecuted us; 
 and they please not God, and are contrary to all men : 
 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles." What a con- 
 trast with the grace of God ! The people who had the 
 prestige of religion could not endure that the gospel 
 should go to the despised Gentiles, their enemies. Yet 
 why should they have been so careful of it, since they 
 did not believe in it themselves ? How came to pass this 
 their sudden interest in the spiritual welfare of the hea- 
 then? Whence originated this unwearied zeal to deprive 
 
332 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 others of the gospel they themselves scorned ? If the 
 gospel were such an irrational and immoral and trum- 
 pery matter as they professed to consider it, how was it 
 that they spared no pains to prejudice men against it, 
 and to persecute its preachers ? Men do not usually 
 feel thus — do not set themselves so bitterly and con- 
 tinuously against that which does not prick their con- 
 sciences. One can understand it where there is the 
 sense of a good of which they are not prepared to avail 
 themselves : the rebellious heart vents itself then in 
 implacable hatred at seeing it go to others, who per- 
 adventure would receive it gladly. It is man always the 
 enemy, the persistent antagonist of God, and more 
 particularly of His grace. But it is religious man, as 
 the Jew was, here and everywhere — man with a mea- 
 sure of traditional truth, who feels thus sore at the 
 operations of God in His mighty grace. 
 
 But the apostle as he had shown us men the objects 
 of the gospel, and the constant interest of grace in 
 Christians, contrasted with those who hindered because 
 they hated the grace of God, so he also lets them know 
 the affectionate desire that was not weakened by absence 
 from it, but rather the contrary. "But we, brethren, 
 being taken from you for a short time in presence, not 
 in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to see your 
 face with great desire." There is nothing so real upon 
 earth as the love of Christ reproduced by the Spirit in 
 the Christian. " Wherefore we would have come unto 
 you, even I Paul, once and again ; but Satan hindered 
 us." There is a reality for evil in Satan, the great per- 
 sonal enemy, as much in a certain sense as there is in 
 Christ for good. Let us not forget it. 
 
 On the other hand, what is the encouragement to 
 
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE TKESSALONIANS. 333 
 
 suffering love and toil along the road ? " What is our 
 hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?" It matters little 
 what the circumstances may be in regard to true ministry 
 in the grace of Christ. Trial shows how superior it is 
 to circumstances. Bodily presence or absence only tests 
 it. Afflictions only prove its strength. Distance only 
 gives room to its expression to those who are absent. 
 The unfailing and only adequate comfort is the certain 
 re-union of those who minister, and those who are 
 ministered to, in the day when all opposition will van- 
 ish, and around the board where all the fruits of true 
 ministry, whether of a nurse or of a father that ex- 
 horts those who are growing up in the truth, will be 
 tasted in the joy of our Lord. The apostles and their 
 companions in labour were content to wait for the 
 reward of loving oversight exercised among the saints 
 of God. 
 
 But this did not in the slightest degree hinder the 
 apostle's tender sympathy with those who were pressed 
 down by any special sufferings. For Christianity is not 
 dreamy or sentimental, but most real in. its power of 
 adapting itself to every need. It is the true deliverance 
 from aU that is fictitious, whether on the side of reason 
 or of imagination in the things of God. Superstition has 
 its perils; but quite as much has the dogmatism of mere 
 intellect. Scripture raises the believer above both ; yet 
 the apostle shows what anxiety of feeling was his about 
 the Thessalonians. He did not doubt the Lord's watch- 
 ful eye. Nevertheless all his heart was in movement 
 about them. He had sent Timotheus when he could not 
 go himself; and he was rejoiced to hear the good ac- 
 count which he thus gleaned through him, for he 
 dreaded lest they might be shaken by the great wave of 
 
334 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 trouble that was sweeping over them. No doubt they 
 had been prepared for this in a measure; for he had 
 told them, when with them, that they were appointed 
 thereunto. 
 
 But now, how cheered was his spirit to find that the 
 tempter had been foiled ! Timotheus had come with 
 good tidings of their faith and love. Spite of all, they 
 had "good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly 
 to see us, as we also to see you." Love was still fervent, 
 as in him, so in them. " Therefore, brethren, we were 
 comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by 
 your faith: for now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." 
 But in the midst of thanksgiving he prays for them. 
 
 We may notice two prayers particularly in this epistle. 
 The first occurs at the end of chapter iii., and the second 
 at the end of the last chapter. The first is more parti- 
 cularly a review of the entrance of the gospel among 
 the Thessalonian saints and of his own ministry, which 
 was no doubt meant to be suggestive to them of the 
 true character and method of serving the Lord in deal- 
 ing with all men. He winds it np with prayer to the 
 effect : "Now God himself and onr Father, and our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord 
 make you to increase and abound one toward another, 
 and toward all men, even as we do toward you : to the 
 end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holi- 
 ness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." 
 
 Here at once we come to very distinct guidance for 
 our thoughts; and this in more ways than one. He 
 prays not that they may be established in holiness, in 
 order that they might love one another, but that they 
 might abound in love, in order that they might be 
 
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 335 
 
 established in holiness. Love always precedes holiness. 
 It is true from conversion — from the beginning of the 
 work in the soul — and it is also true to the last. What 
 first raises the heart to God is some faint sense of His 
 love in Christ. I do not say anything at all like the 
 love of God shed abroad in the heart by the Holy 
 Spirit given us. There may then be no power to rest on 
 divine love ; there can be no abounding in love in such 
 a state. But, for all that, there is a hope of love — if it 
 be the feeblest thought ; if it be only that " there is 
 bread enough and to spare" for the merest prodigal 
 that betakes himself to the father's house. If we look 
 at God and Christ, and at the grace that suits the 
 Father's counsels and the Son's work, I admit all this 
 is a scanty measure — a poor thing on their part, to give 
 a servant's portion in such a house. But it was no 
 small prize for the heart of a sinner, darkened and nar- 
 rowed by selfishness, and the indulgence of lust and 
 passion. And what is sin in every form but selfishness ? 
 We know how this shuts up the heart, and how it de- 
 stroys every expectation of goodness in others. The 
 grace of God, contrariwise, works and kindles, it may 
 be, a very little spark at first, but still a beginning of 
 what is truly great, good, and eternal. Accordingly, as 
 we read, the prodigal starts from the far country, and 
 cannot rest — though there was incomparably more ear- 
 nestness on the part of the father to meet him, as well 
 we know ; for it was not the prodigal that ran to the 
 father, but the father to the prodigal. And thus it is 
 always. The same true working of love, however 
 at first dimly seen, that wakes the sinner from his 
 wretched bed of sin — for rest it cannot be called — this 
 rouses him from the guilty dreams of death. On the 
 
336 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 other hand, it is the fulness of love which gives the 
 heart to enter into the riches of grace towards us, shed- 
 ding abroad, not an earnest of it, but itself in the heart. 
 And this holiness, not in desire only, but real and deep, 
 keeps pace with love. 
 
 It is not, of course, my present task to unfold the 
 wonderful way in which that love has been proved to 
 us. It does not come before me now, nor is it for me to 
 leave my theme even to speak of its display in Christ, 
 by whom God commends His own love to us, in that, 
 while yet sinners, we were reconciled to God by the 
 death of His Son, till we can joy in Himself through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ. But I affirm that all practical 
 holiness is the fruit of the love to which the heart has 
 surrendered, and which it receives simply and enjoys 
 fully. This, then, is true of the soul that is only seek- 
 ing to know the grace of God. 
 
 But here he earnestly desires their growth in holiness, 
 and prays for them that they might "increase and abound 
 in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as 
 we do toward you: to the end he may stablish your 
 hearts unblameable in holiness." And the manner in 
 which this is connected with the coming of Christ here 
 is very noticeable. He supposes it to be. flowing out of 
 love, and going on in holiness, proceeding unbroken, 
 until the saint finds himself at last in the display 
 of glory; not when Christ comes to take us up, but 
 when God brings us with Him. Why (let me ask) is 
 there not presented His coming to receive the saints 
 in this chapter, as in the next ? Because our walking 
 in love and holiness is the question in the hand of 
 the Holy Spirit; and this has the most intimate con- 
 nection with Christ's appearing, when we come with 
 
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. Wdl 
 
 Him. And for this there is a simple reason. Where 
 the walk comes in, we have clearly responsibility before 
 the saints. Now the appearing of the Lord Jesus is 
 that which will manifest us in the results of responsi- 
 bility. Then we shall each see, when self-love can no 
 longer darken our j udgment of ourselves, or our estimate 
 of others, when nothing but the truth shall remain and 
 be displayed of all that has been wrought in us, or 
 done by us. For the Lord will assuredly come to 
 translate us to His presence; but He will also cause us 
 to appear with Him in glory, when He appears ; and 
 when this moment arrives, it will be made manifest how 
 far we have been faithful, and how far faithless. All 
 will be turned to His own glory. Accordingly then in 
 this chapter iii. we see the reason why, as it appears to 
 me, the Spirit directs attention to His coming vnth all 
 His saints, not for them. 
 
 The next portion, or second half of the epistle, opens 
 with practical exhortation. The early part insists on 
 purity; then follow a few words on love. It might seem 
 strauge that it should be needful to guard these saints, 
 walking as we have seen so simply and delightfully, 
 aiTainst unclean offences even in the closest relations of 
 life — that Christian men should be warned against 
 fornication and adultery; but we know that so desperate 
 is the evil of the flesh, that no circumstances nor posi- 
 tion can secure, yea, even the joy of the blessing of 
 God's grace, without exercise of conscience and self- 
 judgment; and hence these solemn admonitions from 
 the Lord. It was particularly needed at that time and 
 in Greece, because such sins were rather sanctioned 
 than judged in the heathen world. Even mankind in 
 
 z 
 
338 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 later days have profited enormously by the change. 
 They can now no doubt enrich themselves with truth, 
 and talk largely about holiness; but how little they 
 knew of either before they borrowed from Scripture! It 
 is all stolen goods, every bit of real value. The men 
 of whom they are the successors were unclean to the 
 last degree. The Aristotles and Platos were really not fit 
 for decent company. I admit our Grecians would scowl 
 at such an estimate, or scorn it ; but they lack the ele- 
 ments for forming an adequate moral appraisal, or they do 
 not look the facts in the face, plain enough as they are. 
 If knowingly they endorse or make light of such morals 
 as Plato counted desirable for his republic, it cannot be 
 doubted where they themselves are. Undoubtedly there 
 were some fine speculations, but nothing more; for men 
 thought that talking about morality would do as w^ell 
 as the thing itself. It is Christ, and Christ alone, that 
 has brought in the very truth of God in word and deed. 
 It was unknown to man before : still more the ultimate 
 proof in the cross that He is love. Christ first displayed 
 absolute purity in the very nature which had revelled 
 in lust and passion heretofore. 
 
 But the Thessalonians in general might not have esti- 
 mated its importance fully, being young in the truth. 
 There was doubtless good reason why the apostle in 
 writing to them had to lay great stress on moral purity. 
 The fact is, that it was a matter of course then for men 
 to live just as they listed. There was no restriction, 
 except so far as mere human vengeance or punishments 
 of the law might deter them. Men indulged themselves 
 in anything they could do safely. And so indeed it is 
 to this day, except so far as Christianity or the pro- 
 fession of it prevents them. 
 
 i 
 
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 339 
 
 After speaking of purity, the 'apostle treats of loving 
 one another, and adds that there was no need to say 
 much about it. They themselves were taught of God ; 
 they knew what they were called to in brotherly love. 
 But he does exhort them to be quiet and to mind 
 their own business, working with their own hands, as 
 he not only commanded them when in their midst, but 
 exemplified it from day to day himself He had it 
 deeply at heart that they should walk reputably toward 
 those without, and have need of no one or thing. 
 
 But we come in the next place to a main topic of 
 the epistle. They had fallen into a serious mistake as 
 to some of the brethren that had fallen asleep. They 
 feared that these departed saints would miss much at 
 the coming of the Lord — in fact, that they would lose 
 their part in the joyful meeting between the Lord Jesus 
 and His saints. This at once shows us that we must 
 not estimate the Thessalonian believers according to 
 that standard which these mistakes helped to elicit 
 from the Holy Ghost. We have the advantage of the 
 entire development of the truth, much of which was 
 the inspired correction of evils and errors. The New 
 Testament, you must remember, was not then written ; 
 a very small part — one gospel, or at most perhaps two, 
 and not one of the epistles. Thus, except the teaching 
 that they had received from the apostle during his com- 
 paratively short stay in Thessalonica, they had little or 
 no means of further instruction in the truth, and we 
 know how easily that which is only heard passes away. 
 We may learn from this the invaluable blessing we 
 have, not merely in the word, but in the written word 
 of God — scripture. However, at this time, for the most 
 part, the New Testament books were not yet written. 
 
 z 2 
 
340 INTKODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 It was that part of scripture which most of all con- 
 cerned these saints. We must not, therefore, wonder 
 that they were ignorant of what had regard to their 
 brethren who had fallen asleep. On the other hand, it is 
 not meant that they entertained any fears of their being 
 lost. This could not arise in the minds of souls grounded 
 in what the apostle calls our gospel ; and no charge is 
 so much as hinted of any failure in this respect. Still 
 a delay might have been conceived before they entered 
 into full blessedness. One can understand their per- 
 plexity for want of light on what the Lord would do 
 with them. They did not know whether they would 
 then enter the kingdom, or how, or when. These were 
 questions unsolved. 
 
 The Holy Ghost meets their difficulties now, and 
 tells them to this effect : " I would not have you to be 
 ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, 
 that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope. 
 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even 
 so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with 
 him." Clearly we hear again of the Lord coming, and 
 bringincr these saints with Him. It is not the Lord, 
 however, receiving them to Himself, but bringing them 
 with Him. That is, we have once more the Lord coming 
 in glory with His saints already glorified. When that 
 moment comes, at any rate, they will be with Him. 
 Such is the first statement of the apostle. But this 
 very truth, which made part of their old difficulty, 
 raises another difficulty. How could the saints that 
 had fallen asleep come with Him now? How could 
 all the saints appear in glory with Christ ? They seem 
 to have understood that when the Lord came, there 
 would be saints here below waiting for Christ; and that 
 
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 341 
 
 these would somehow be with Him in glory. But they 
 were utterly perplexed as to the saints that had fallen 
 asleep. They did not know what to make of the interim 
 — if indeed they suspected an interim. They did not 
 know the process by ^vhich the Lord would deal with 
 those that had died ; and it is now explained. 
 
 " For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, 
 that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of 
 the Lord shall not prevent [shall in no wise anticipate] 
 them which are asleep." If they had remained alive, 
 no difficulty had been felt in the case. Some in our day 
 seem to feel a good deal surprised at such a difficulty 
 as this ; but the truth is that the sorrow of the Thes- 
 salonians arose from the simplicity of their faith, and 
 men's feeling no difficulty now is partly owing to their 
 lack of any genuine faith in it. Had they more faith, 
 they might have their perplexities too, not at the end, 
 but, as usual, at the beginning. It was certainly so 
 with the Thessalonians at this time. It is always the 
 effect of faith at first. I^ewly-entered light gives occa- 
 sion to the perception of much which we cannot solve 
 at once. But God comes in to the aid of the believer, 
 and in His own grace and time solves one difficulty 
 after another. Then the apostle clears it up thus: "We 
 which are alive and remain unto the coming [or pre- 
 sence] of the Lord," &c. The word " coming " means 
 the fact of being present in contrast with absence. "We 
 wliich are alive and remain unto the presence of the 
 Lord shall not precede them which are asleep." I take 
 the liberty of changing the word "prevent," which is 
 old English, into a phrase which gives the same mean- 
 ing as " prevent " when the translation was made. 
 
 We "shall not precede them which are asleep." 
 
342 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Thus, suppose we are waiting for Christ to come, and 
 that He comes, we shall not be before those saints that 
 have departed previously. How can this be? It is 
 answered in the next verse. " For the Lord himself," 
 says he, " shall descend from heaven with a shout, with 
 the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God : 
 and the dead in Christ shall rise first : then we which 
 are alive and remain shall be caught up together with 
 them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so 
 shall we ever be with the Lord." Thus it is evident 
 that, if there be a moment of difference, it is in favour 
 of the sleepers, and not of those which remain alive. 
 Those that are asleep are first wakened up. Bear in 
 mind, sleep is for the body ; the soul is never said or 
 supposed in scripture to be asleep. But those who are 
 asleep in their graves will be wakened up by the shout 
 (KeXevcr/Att) of the Lord Jesus ; for the word means the 
 call of a commander to his men that follow, or of an 
 admiral to his sailors. It is from one who has a rela- 
 tion to others under his authority; it is not a vague 
 call to those that may not own his command, but to 
 his own people. 
 
 It is evident, therefore, that the notion entertained by 
 some, that this shout must be heard by men in general, 
 is refuted by these words, as well as other facts. Men 
 in general have no such relation to the Lord. It is a 
 shout that is heard by those to whom it appertains. 
 Not a word, therefore, includes — but, rather the con- 
 trary, shuts out — those to whom Christ stands in no 
 such connection. In other words, it is the Lord's call 
 to His own, and accordingly the dead in Christ rise 
 first, as the immediate fruit of it. "Then we, the living 
 that remain, shall be caught up together with them in 
 
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 343 
 
 tlie clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall 
 we ever be with the Lord." This at once dispels the 
 difficulty as to those who were asleep. So far from 
 missing the moment of meeting between the Lord and 
 His own, they rise first ; we immediately join them ; 
 and thus both together are caught up to meet the Lord 
 in the air, and so shall we ever be with Him. 
 
 Then the apostle, having left with the Thessalonians 
 the comfort of this about their brethren, turns to the 
 day of the Lord, or His appearing. " But of the times 
 and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write 
 unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day 
 of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." " The 
 day of the Lord " is invariably in Scripture that period 
 when the Lord will come in manifest and awful judg- 
 ment of sinful men. It is never applied to any dealing 
 with the Christian as on the earth. We find a very 
 particular application of it, which seems connected with 
 the saints. This is not exactly called the day of the 
 Lord, but " the day of Christ." Confessedly there is a 
 connection between the two. The day of Christ means 
 that aspect of the day of the Lord, in which those who 
 are in Christ will have their special place in the king- 
 dom assigned. Consequently, where it is a question of 
 the fruit of labour in the service of Christ, reward of 
 faithfulness, or anything of the kind, "the day of Christ" 
 is mentioned. 
 
 But "the day of the Lord," as such, is invariably 
 the day of the Lord's dealing in judgment with man 
 as such on the earth. Of that day, then, the apostle 
 felt no need to write. It was already known perfectly 
 that the day of the Lord is coming as a thief in the 
 night. This was a matter of Old Testament statement 
 
344 IXTRODUCTOKY LECTURES. 
 
 and phraseology. All the prophets speak of it. If 
 you search from Isaiah to Malachi, you will find that 
 the day of eTehovah is that moment of divine inter- 
 vention when man is no longer allowed to pursue his 
 own path, when the Lord God will deal with the world's 
 system in all its parts, when the idols of the nations 
 shall all perish together with their benighted votaries. 
 But the Lord Himself shall be exalted in that day, and 
 His people shall be brought into their true place, and 
 the Gentiles shall accept theirs. This will be the time 
 of displayed divine government. Jehovah will take 
 Zion as the central seat of His earthly throne, and all 
 peoples shall submit to His authority in the person of 
 Christ. 
 
 Hence, therefore, the apostle, when he speaks of the 
 day of the Lord, alludes to it as already too notorious 
 to need fresh words about it. The Thessalonians did 
 not require to be instructed as to that. But this makes 
 most plain the distinction of the manner in which the 
 saints and mankind will be dealt with. When he treats 
 of the Lord's coming, they require to be instructed ; 
 where he speaks about the day of Jehovah, they do 
 not. The day of Jehovah was matter of common know- 
 ledi:je from the Old Testament. To a scribe instructed 
 thus, there was no doubt about its bearing. Not even 
 a Jew disputed about it, and of course a Christian 
 would be subject to the testimony of God in the Old 
 Testament. But a Christian might not know that which 
 most of all it was desirable for him to understand, — the 
 manner in which his own proper hopes would link 
 themselves with the day of Jehovah. 
 
 It is exactly there many make such utter confusion ; 
 for they do not distinguish between the hope of the 
 
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 345 
 
 Christian and "the day" for the world. And this lets out a 
 great secret — the heart's desire to think of the two things 
 together. We can all understand that people would like 
 to have the best of both. But it cannot be done. Hence 
 in speaking of the day of the Lord (and I draw your 
 attention to it, because we shall find its importance in 
 the next epistle) he says, " When they shall say, Peace 
 and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, 
 as travail upon a woman with child." He does not say 
 " you," but " they." Why this difference ? When he is 
 speaking about the presence of the Lord, he says "you," 
 "we;" but when treating of the day of Jehovah, he 
 says " they." 
 
 Indeed, the apostle excludes the believer; for he 
 says, "Ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that, day 
 should overtake you as a thief" Besides, he gives a 
 moral reason, "Ye are children of light, and the chil- 
 dren of the day : we are not of the night, nor of 
 darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others ; but 
 let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in 
 the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in 
 the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, 
 putting on the breastplate of faith and love ; and for an 
 helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not ap- 
 pointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord 
 Jesus Christ." Salvation here means complete deliverance 
 not yet come — the redemption of the body and not that 
 of the soul alone. For Christ "died for us, that whether 
 we wake or sleep, we should live together with him." 
 
 Carefully remember that waking or sleeping here 
 has reference to the body; it has no reference at all 
 to anything of moral state. It is impossible that the 
 Spirit of God should say that, whether in a right state 
 
346 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 or wroncf, we should live to^icether with Him. The Holv 
 Spirit never makes light of the condition of sin. Nor 
 is there anything more foreign to the tone of scripture, 
 than that the Spirit of God should treat with indif- 
 ference the question whether a saint was in a good or a 
 bad state. He had no doubt just used the words " wake 
 or sleep " in another sense ; but he seems to me to 
 assume the impossibility of a saint applying them in a 
 moral sense when he pursues the subject farther. In 
 verse 6, for instance, the sleeping and watching are 
 moral states; but when we come down to verse 10, they 
 refer to the question of life or death in the body, and 
 not to the saints' ways. In fact this manner of taking 
 up words, and applying them in another sense, will be 
 found to be one of the characteristics of the abrupt, 
 animated, and forcible style of the apostle. 
 
 I should not make the remark if I had not known 
 excellent men sometimes in considerable danger from 
 overlooking this, and taking scripture in a narrow and 
 pseudo-literal sense. But this is not the way to under- 
 stand the Bible. It is one of the great misuses to 
 which a concordance exposes those who are caught by 
 verbal analogies, instead of entering into the scope of 
 thought and real meaning. 
 
 We shall live with Him then. " Wherefore," he says, 
 "comfort yourselves together, and edify one another." 
 Then he gives them certain instructions; and I add 
 this observation, which is one of practical importance. 
 He calls upon these young believers to know those 
 who laboured among them, and were over them, or took 
 the lead in the Lord, and admonished them. They were 
 to esteem them very highly in love for their work, being 
 at peace at the same time among themselves. 
 
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 347 
 
 This exhortation, always right, has, to my own mind, 
 great wisdom and worth for us now; for the simple 
 reason that, so far, we stand in a measure, as to cir- 
 cumstances — though not from the same cause — with 
 these Thessalonian saints. Assuredly they were in a 
 comparatively infantine condition, quite as much or 
 more than those I am now addressing. Yet if saints, 
 no matter how informed, then had among them those 
 that laboured and were over them in the Lord, surely 
 the same Lord gives still the same helps and govern- 
 ments. He raises up and sends His workmen in the 
 world, and those who bring in that moral power and 
 wisdom which enable some to take the lead. Hence 
 it is beyond just controversy — from the case of the 
 Thessalonians (and it is not alone) — that for some to 
 be over others in the Lord did not depend on apostolical 
 appointment. It is a defective and even mistaken idea 
 to restrict it to this, though it is admitted that the 
 apostles used to appoint such elders. But the essence 
 of what we find here is, that in that appointment 
 spiritual power and might did show itself in this way ; 
 and that the greatest of the apostles exhorts the saints 
 to acknowledge those who were thus — and only thus — 
 over them in the Lord, altogether independently of any 
 apostolic act. No doubt the due external appointment 
 was desirable and important in its place. But what of 
 places (and I would add, what of times) where it could 
 not be had ? 
 
 These are our circumstances now; for no matter 
 how much we might welcome and value such out- 
 ward appointment, Ave cannot have it. Without the 
 proper scriptural authority, who is to appoint ? Any 
 body unquestionably, and leaders especially, might imi- 
 
348 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 tate Paul and Barnabas, or Titus. But, assuredly, mere 
 imitation is nothing, or worse ; and those that take 
 the lead, or are qualified to do so, are the persons 
 to be appointed — not to appoint, if we really bow to 
 the Lord. More than this — direct authority from the 
 Lord for the purpose was needed. Where is it now ? 
 The moment you make an appointing power of your 
 own, it is evident that its authority cannot rise above 
 its source. If it is only a humanly given authority, 
 it can exercise no more than a human power. But the 
 apostle — or rather the prescient Spirit of God — meets 
 various contingencies in the exhortation, and shows that 
 a company of believers, even though not long gathered, 
 might have more than one in their midst qualified to 
 lead the rest, and entitled to respect and love on the 
 score of their work, as thus labouring. If there be such 
 now, (and who will deny it ?) are the saints not called 
 on to know them ? Are there none who labour among 
 them — none that take the lead among them in the 
 Lord ? It is evident that there ought to be no flinching 
 from such a truth as this. For the present and long- 
 existing confusion of Christendom in no way neutralizes 
 it, but rather creates a fresh reason for adhering to it, 
 as to all scripture. No doubt it may not be always 
 pleasant to high-minded men ; but be assured, it is a 
 thing of no small moment in its place. 
 
 Again, under the circumstances of Thessalonica, as 
 there must have been danger of headiness, the apostle 
 calls on the brethren to watch against unruly ways. The 
 two things would be likely to go together : peace pro- 
 motes love and respect. Disorderly folk are apt to know 
 nobody over them in the Lord. Hence he calls on all to 
 admonish them, to comfort the faint-hearted, to support 
 
SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 349 
 
 the weak, to be patient toward all. Then follows a 
 cluster of other exhortations on which I need not dwell 
 now. My object is not so much to insist on the ex- 
 hortatory part of the epistle, as to present the general 
 thread of design that runs though each, so as to give a 
 comprehensive view of its structure. 
 
 The Second Epistle takes up another difficulty. It 
 was written in view of another abuse of the truth of 
 the Lord's coming — a danger that threatened the saints. 
 As the first epistle was intended to guard the saints 
 from an error about the dead, the second epistle was 
 more particularly meant to correct them about the 
 living. They were distressed at finding that some of 
 their brethren died before the Lord came. So filled 
 were they with the constant expectation of Christ from 
 heaven, that it never occurred to them that a single 
 Christian might depart from the world before His return. 
 How they must have realized, in their habitual waiting, 
 the nearness of that blessed hope ! They now learnt 
 that they need not sorrow on such a score ; for the dead 
 in Christ shall rise first, and then we, the living at His 
 coming, shall be caught up with them to join the Lord 
 together. But the second epistle grew out of another 
 and more serious error. We have seen that they were 
 greatly alarmed and agitated. The apostle was really 
 uneasy about them lest the tempter should tempt them, 
 and his labour come to nought — lest, moved by their 
 sore affliction, they should fall into fear about the awful 
 day of the Lord, which the enemy knows well how to 
 use. 
 
 Everybody who has read Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 
 and the lesser prophets knows what they tell us of the 
 
350 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 horrors for men when the day of Jehovah comes upon 
 the earth, — that it will be a day of dismay and darkness, 
 when all earthly things are utterly confused, and the 
 people of God seem about to be swallowed up by their 
 enemies. False doctrine ever sets one truth against an- 
 other ; and it was not wanting among the Thessalonians 
 at this time. For some sought to persuade them that 
 the day of the Lord was even then arrived. They 
 probably argued that their troubles were part of the 
 circumstances of that day. Certainly they sought to 
 shake them by pretending that the day of the Lord was 
 actually there. There was such fearful persecution and 
 trouble among them, that this might be plausibly enough 
 mixed up as supporting the idea that the day of the 
 Lord was begun. For this false rumour seems to imply 
 that they must have given some sort of figurative colour 
 to " that day" (as it was certainly so used in Old Testa- 
 ment prophecy). At any rate, they must have supposed 
 that "the day of the Lord" did not necessarily require 
 the presence of the Lord Himself In other words, they 
 might think, as many Christians since have imagined, 
 that a dreadful time of trouble must befall the world 
 before the Lord comes to receive His own to Himself 
 above. 
 
 This second epistle was written to disabuse the minds 
 of the Thessalonian saints ; and indeed it directly tends 
 to set all Christians free from any anxiety of the kind, 
 though, of course, there may be persecution again, as 
 there was then, and repeatedly afterwards, especially 
 from Pagan and from Papal Eome. But this is wholly 
 different from the dread which the enemy sought to 
 infuse among the Thessalonians. The apostle accordingly 
 sets himself to this task. First of all he comforts them. 
 
SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 351 
 
 " Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church 
 of the Thessaloniaus in God our Father and the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, We are bound to thank God always for 
 you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith 
 groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of 
 you all toward each other aboundeth ; so that we our- 
 selves glory in you." It may be noticed that he leaves 
 out " the patience of hope." How comes this ? It was 
 exactly the hope that was no longer bright in their 
 liearts. So far the enemy had succeeded. They had 
 been comforted, but they had lost somewhat of the light 
 and joy of the hope. They were moved more or less by 
 their tribulation ; not perhaps so much by the outward 
 pressure as by the insinuation of Satan through false 
 teaching, which is a far more dangerous thing for the 
 child of God. It is plain that the apostle merely men- 
 tions their faith growing, and their love increasing. He 
 no longer praises nor names their patience of hope, but 
 rather prays for them in chapter iii. in such a way as to 
 show there was a lack in this respect. That is, he takes 
 up two of the qualities mentioned in the first epistle, 
 and not the third. This, which was bound up with the 
 whole structure of the first epistle, is left out of the 
 second. There was too good reason for it. For the time 
 they had let it slip, as I have just explained. It is true 
 that the apostle tells them, ''we glory in you in the 
 churches of God for your patience and faith " (he does 
 not speak of their "patience of ^ope") "in all your per- 
 secutions and tribulations that ye endure." They w^ere 
 holding on, and not giving up Christ ; but their souls 
 had not the former spring through Christ their hope. 
 We shall have the evidence of this more fully soon. 
 
 There was "a manifest token," says he, "of the right- 
 
352 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 eous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy 
 of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer," So 
 far it was well. " Seeing it is a righteous thing with 
 God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you ; 
 and to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord 
 Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty 
 angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that 
 know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ." Observe the reason why he brings in 
 "that day." It was a false doctrine about the day, which 
 draws out an explanation of its nature and its relation 
 to the coming of the Lord. When that day comes, it 
 will not fall with its troubles on the children of God. 
 In truth the Lord will then execute judgment on their 
 enemies — I do not mean on the dead till the close, but 
 on the quick or living. It will be no more in some 
 figurative and preparatory sense of exceeding affliction, 
 or of natural overthrow; but its description here is the 
 Lord Jesus revealed from heaven in flaming fire. There 
 will be no doubt about its nature or effects. Every eye 
 shall see Him. 
 
 That is, even chapter i. plainly prepares us for the 
 complete discomfiture of the illusory and alarming 
 dreams which these false teachers had been foisting in 
 under false colours among the Thessalonian saints. But 
 he pursues the matter farther. He will take vengeance 
 on two classes — on those that know not God, and those 
 that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 These seem the Gentiles and the Jews respectively; but 
 why do not we find here some allusion to the third 
 class — His relation to the church of God? Because 
 those who compose the church are no longer here. 
 
 Thus it is shown that the Lord wiU deal with all on 
 
SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 353 
 
 earth, — not merged in one, but discriminated; for He 
 executes judgment, and hence does not confound those 
 who differ in a common class. There is thus a definite 
 distinction drawn ; but this so much the more precisely 
 leaves out the Christian. Its force is more understood 
 the more it is weighed. The apostle does not declare all 
 at once, but prepares the way with much circumspection. 
 When he says "them that know not God," he means 
 the idolatrous Gentiles. Then he adds with another 
 article, " and those that obey not the gospel of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ" (not, as we have it in English here, "and 
 that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus;" as if all 
 w^ere one and the same class). There are two classes, 
 and therefore accuracy would seem to call on us to 
 make the sense more definite — " and on them that obey 
 not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." At all events, 
 whatever mode of rendering may be preferred, I have 
 no hesitation in saying that such is the sense of the 
 Greek, and nothing else. They are the Gentiles, who 
 knew not God, (or, as Bengel has it, "qui in ethnica 
 ignorantia de Deo versantur,") and the Jews, who might 
 know God after a sort and to a certain point beyond 
 Gentiles, but who did not obey the gospel of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. (" Judaeis maxime, quibus evangelium de 
 Christo praedicatum fuerat.") For unbelief is always 
 convicted by the test that God employs ; and the day 
 of the Lord will deal with every form. The Gentiles 
 that know not God will be punished, and the Jews that 
 abuse the forms of Old Testament revelation to disobey 
 the gospel will not escape, still less nominal and apos- 
 tate Christendom. 
 
 The reason why no notice is taken of Christians as 
 then on earth we shall see assigned a little lower down : 
 
 A A 
 
354 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 I merely now remark that lie could not put himself 
 in either of those two classes. It is evident that on 
 whomsoever that day is to fall it has no bearing on 
 such. If therefore the Christians were troubled now, 
 it was in no way the same character of trouble as that 
 which shall be in the day of the Lord. The teaching of 
 those who had spread this impression was utterly false; 
 and if they claimed the highest sanction for it, they 
 were worse than mistaken — they were the guilty tools of 
 Satan. But as to both the classes we have seen described 
 by the apostle, they "shall be punished with everlasting 
 destruction," both " from the presence of the Lord, and 
 from the glory of his power ; when he shall come to be 
 glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them 
 that believed :" for this is the full force of it. 
 
 In the new age people will be blessed abundantly; 
 but the blessing of the millennium does not exactly 
 take the shape of belief. They shall behold the glory of 
 the Lord. Such is their form as assigned by scripture. 
 The earth shall be filled with the knowledge — not with 
 the faith, but with the knowledge — of the glory of Je- 
 hovah, as the waters cover the sea. It will be in count- 
 less cases the fruit of true divine teaching ; but know- 
 ledge describes it better than faith ; and we may easily 
 understand the difference. They will behold the glory, 
 they will look upon the Lord, no longer hidden but 
 displayed. The blessed spoken of in our chapter are 
 clearly those that have already believed. So indeed the 
 apostle states : " Wherefore we pray always for you, 
 that our God would count you worthy of the calling, 
 and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the 
 work of faith with power ; that the name of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, 
 
SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 355 
 
 according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 Next (ch. ii.) he comes to the special error in ques- 
 tion. " Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ .... that ye be not soon 
 shaken in mind nor troubled, neither in spirit nor by 
 word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of the 
 Lord is present." It is well known that " of the Lord " 
 (not of Christ) is unquestionably required by the best 
 manuscripts, and other ancient witnesses. 
 
 'Evea-rrjKe does not mean "at hand," but actually come. 
 I do not enter into any long proof of this just now, 
 having already done so elsewhere. Suffice it to say, 
 that the word occurs in half a dozen places in the New 
 Testament, and nowhere can bear any sense but the 
 one alleged. Nor does it ever convey any such meaning 
 as "at hand" in any correct Greek author. It has been 
 so thought; but it is a mistake. It always means 
 loresent, in contrast with future ever so imminent. So 
 in two instances of the New Testament it stands over 
 against future things ; as when it is expressly said (in 
 Eomans viii. and 1 Cor. iii.), "things present and things 
 to come." The latter might be "at hand," but not the 
 former. The things to come are in pointed opposition 
 to those actually arrived. Again, we have (Gal. i. 4) 
 "this present evil world." This is now only. The age to 
 come is not evil lout good. It is in contrast with the 
 present. And so as to " for the time then present," 
 (Heb. ix.) and " for the present necessity." (1 Cor. vii.) 
 It is not a question of the future, but solely of the 
 present; a necessity now, and at no other time. In 
 short, it is the regular word for "present." If a Greek 
 meant to say "present" in contrast with the future, 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 there was no more empliatic word to use. What, then, 
 can be conceived more calculated to destroy the right 
 understanding of this epistle than the common mis- 
 translation ? Such is the true sense of the word, I am 
 bold to say. 
 
 But clearly this gives an immense help to the under- 
 standing of the passage. The apostle appeals to the 
 saints. It is not a question of teaching in this verse, 
 but the apostle beseeches them by a certain powerful 
 motive, which was still in their souls. He does not 
 mean, "We beseech you concerning," as some conceive, 
 but as our English version says, "by." It is a legitimate 
 meaning of the preposition with words of entreaty. He 
 uses the hope of being gathered to Christ at His coming 
 as a motive why they should not listen to those mis- 
 leading the saints. Now mark the character of this 
 false teaching. It was not the excitement of hope, but 
 of terror produced on the spirit. It caused them to 
 shake, hindering them from a settled, holy, hearty wait- 
 ing for Christ. The error occupied them with the terrors 
 of some intervening trouble. The pretence was that all 
 the afflictions they had been enduring were parts or 
 signs of the well-known day of trouble, the day of the 
 Lord. Not at all, says the apostle : the trouble of that 
 day will befall the enemies, not the friends, of the Lord. 
 As tliey knew that every believer loved His name, the 
 notion propagated was wholly astray. It was morally 
 false, as ignoring in the first place His unfailing and 
 perfect love for them. 
 
 Therefore he could say, "We beseech you, brethren, 
 by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gather- 
 ing together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in 
 mind, nor troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by 
 
SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 357 
 
 letter as by us, as that the day of the Lord is present." 
 Do you not know that Christ is coming for you, and 
 that the first aim and effect of His coming will be your 
 gathering together to meet Him in the air? Why, 
 therefore, be uneasy at such a rumour about His day, 
 with all its awful associations ? You have been taught 
 that from God; why be disturbed by this effort of the 
 enemy, who falsely pretends to the Spirit and word, and 
 an alleged letter of mine ? That day will fall on the 
 world. Indeed, the apostle had implied in the opening 
 of this epistle, as well as in the latter part of his first, 
 that the day of the Lord does not concern the saints, 
 who were sons of light and of day. They would come 
 accordingly with that day, instead of its overtaking 
 them as a thief by night, because so it comes on whom 
 it may. It comes from the Lord in His execution of 
 judgment on a guilty world; and the very fact of their 
 being sons of light ought to have proved that it cannot 
 surprise such, because they belonged to the region 
 whence it comes. 
 
 With striking pithiness he briefly points to the ways 
 of deceit and darkness which accompanied the notion, 
 and betrayed its real source. Truth refuses an admix- 
 ture of falsehood; and the pretence that any had a 
 spiritual intimation to themselves, or a word for others, 
 that the day of the Lord was really come, was mani- 
 festly of the serpent, not of God. Such and so rapid 
 are the steps of evil, one wrong leading to another. But 
 the allegation that they had the apostle's own authority 
 for the delusion gave him a direct opportunity to con- 
 tradict the error. "Let no man deceive you by any 
 means: for [it shall not come] unless there shall come 
 the apostasy first, and the man of sin be revealed, the 
 
358 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 son of perdition." These are two different things. The 
 apostle affirms that the day cannot be before both. 
 Christendom will have abandoned the faith, and the 
 man of sin must be revealed. What a prospect ! Do the 
 children of God believe it ? We know the world has 
 wholly opposite expectations. Those who allow them- 
 selves with so little seriousness to bear the excellent 
 name of the Lord will openly fall away from the con- 
 fession of the gospel; and then a suited leader into the 
 gulf of perdition will soon appear for the apostates. 
 
 I am perfectly persuaded that some of the most 
 important parts of Satan's means of bringing about 
 the apostasy are now actively at work. God has been 
 graciously filling many hearts with joy and comfort of 
 the truth. He has given not a few to believe these 
 words, the moral signs of which are becoming daily 
 more and more manifest. The apostasy again must 
 come, and, in contrast with the man of righteousness, 
 the man of sin be revealed, even the final Judas, " the 
 son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself 
 above every one called God, or an object of veneration; 
 so that he sitteth down in the temple of God, showing 
 himself that he is God." How sharply in contrast 
 with the Lord Jesus, who, though really God, in love 
 became man, in order to accomplish the glorious coun- 
 sels of God and man's salvation by grace ! This one is 
 the son of perdition to the ruin of those who trust 
 him. Although he be but a man, and the man of 
 sin, he takes the place of being the true God here on 
 earth, and this too, not in the world, but in the temple 
 of God of that time. Thus he not merely takes the 
 place of God here below, but actually as such enters 
 His temple. I do not doubt that the temple will 
 
SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 359 
 
 then be in Jerusalem ; so that as Christendom began 
 at Jerusalem, the holy city will be its last scene of 
 sinful pride and of divine judgment, though not its 
 only place of judgment. Jerusalem ! Kome ! — they are 
 two names of most solemn import as to the subject to 
 which I am briefly alluding. " Eemember ye not that, 
 when I was yet with you, I told you these things ? 
 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be 
 revealed in his time." It is no absolute restraint, but 
 provision only ; for he must be revealed in his own 
 season. 
 
 The reference to previous teaching left the matter in 
 comparative obscurity, and has given rise to a great deal 
 of discussion. I think the true answer neither difficult 
 nor uncertain. It is evident that what withholds or 
 restrains must be a power superior to man or Satan, and 
 of a nature totally opposite to the man of sin. As this 
 is the embodiment, or rather head, of evil, so that which 
 restrains his revelation would naturally be the power 
 of good which suppresses as long as God pleases the 
 full manifestation of the lawless one. There seems to be 
 a good reason why the matter is put in this general, if 
 not vague, manner. What withholds is presented as a 
 principle or power in an abstract way, and not as a 
 person only. It might, I suppose, assume a different 
 shape at different times. 
 
 Thus we find ourselves within narrow limits in order 
 to fix the restraint and the restrainer. The Thessa- 
 lonians, who were but young in truth, already knew 
 what restrains, " that he might be revealed in his own 
 time. For the mystery of iniquity" [or "lawlessness," 
 which is the true force of the word] "doth already 
 work: only there is one who restraineth now until 
 
360 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 he be taken away; and then shall the lawless one be 
 revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the 
 breath of his mouth, and shall destroy with the appear- 
 ing of his coming" or presence. Evidently, then, we find 
 here a power that hinders the manifestation of the law- 
 less one — a power which is also a person. Where do 
 we find one that effectually checks the plans of Satan, 
 a person no less than a power ? We need not consider 
 long, but answer, without hesitation, the Spirit of God. 
 Undeniably He is both a power and a person; and 
 save in Him it will be far from easy, if possible, to find 
 an answer that combines these two distinct intimations, 
 as well as both the character and the extent of the power 
 involved. It can hardly be said to be the Spirit of God 
 dwelling in the church, except in the most general way. 
 We must recollect that the Holy Spirit not only dwells 
 there, but also acts providentially in the government of 
 the world. I am far from meaning that, when the 
 church is gone. He will restrain the powers of the world 
 much lonsjer. There are men of the world who have no 
 confidence in its stability ; though it exercises no salu- 
 tary fear over their souls, and they cling to it all the 
 same. I am sure that no Christian man should trust it 
 for a moment. They are not called to promise fair 
 things to that which cast out and slew the Lord of 
 glory. They know that its doom is coming quickly, 
 but not till they have formally rejected the truth, and 
 accepted the man of sin. But no matter what the 
 wicked will of man and the wiles of Satan may be, 
 they will not be able absolutely to extinguish divinely- 
 controlled government among men as soon as they 
 desire. There is One that still restrains, who could 
 always indeed, but who will cease only when, according 
 
SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 361 
 
 to God, the time for the final outburst arrives. It does 
 not, I think, terminate at once, even when the Lord 
 shall have come and taken up His saints, both those 
 that sleep and all those alive and waiting for Him. I 
 say "all," for, you must remember, it is invariably 
 assumed in scripture that every saint waits for Christ. 
 The notion that a person may be a saint, and not 
 looking for His coming, does not enter into the mind of 
 the Holy Spirit. One may fall, of course, into a wrong 
 state from bad teaching or careless ways ; but if Christ 
 is my life and righteousness, I shall surely love Him ; 
 and if so, I must want to see and be with Him in the 
 condition of glory, where alone such life and righteous- 
 ness, and the love that gave them, have their just display 
 and results. Hence it is always assumed that every 
 Christian is, in the knowledge of His love, waiting for 
 Christ to come and receive us to Himself, that we may 
 be with Him in the Father's house before He executes 
 judgment oa the world. Till then the Spirit of God 
 acts as a check on the designs of Satan; and even after 
 the church is gone (as I think) He will restrain for a 
 short space. 
 
 From the Apocalypse we learn that for a little while 
 God carries out certain agencies of blessing. Not only 
 does He not immediately cease to deal with souls, but 
 we do not at once see either the apostasy or the man 
 of sin. This is a consideration that bears on the ques- 
 tion; for undoubtedly it is not the will of man that 
 either sheds blessing on souls or restrains the proudest 
 effort of Satan. After the church is taken up, then the 
 Spirit of God works; and this doubly. He will bring 
 souls into the knowledge of the testimony that God 
 will then raise up to meet the existing circumstances, 
 
362 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 for His own glory as well as in His pitiful mercy to 
 man. But, besides, He will even then restrain the 
 powers that be from falling instantaneously into the 
 devices of the devil. At a certain given moment, which 
 the Eevelation clearly defines, Satan will be cast down 
 from heaven, and will then bring forward his long- 
 meditated plan. The empire that has disappeared from 
 among men for so long, that the wise men of the world 
 think its resurrection impossible — the Koman empire — 
 will come forward clothed with a diabolical energy. 
 This is the moment when the Spirit ceases to restrain. 
 Accordingly the Western empire will use all its might, 
 and Satan will help it, to establish a politico-religious 
 power in Jerusalem, who will be the head of the Jews, 
 and at the same time the religious chief of the West. 
 Such is the issue of idolatrous Christ-rejecting Judaism 
 and of apostate Christendom. The man of sin will sit 
 and be worshipped as God, in His temple at Jerusalem. 
 This will enable the Eoman empire still to carry on its 
 political game of opposition to the Eastern powers. The 
 West, I say, will support and be supported by the 
 Antichrist, and consequently must share in the awful 
 destruction that the Lord will Himself execute when 
 He appears. Angels will do their part, and the breath 
 of the Lord like a stream of brimstone; for they will 
 be caught red-handed in their opposition to the Lamb, 
 little knowing that He is Lord of lords and King of 
 kings. As for the civil and religious leaders, the beast 
 and the false prophet, they will be consigned to ever- 
 lasting destruction, without even the form of trial. 
 Nothing less awaits these last and seemingly greatest 
 leaders of the world's false glory. But, remember, the 
 flower of the West (of these lands that boast of religion, 
 
SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS. 363 
 
 and civilization, and progress) shall perisli in this 
 destruction of the revived imperial power and its Jewish 
 ally. 
 
 I dare not prophesy smooth things to our own 
 country and race. I believe that all these kingdoms 
 of the West, now so confident in their resources and 
 power, will fall helplessly into the hands of Satan at 
 last. At Jerusalem the man of sin, as at Eome, the 
 civil head of empire, with his confederate but subject 
 kings, will be the two beasts of Eev. xiii. It is not 
 the time to enter into further details now; but I may 
 state my conviction, that the man of sin, whom 2 Thess. 
 shows enthroned in God's temple, will be the accepted 
 Messiah of the deceived Jews in Jerusalem, as the first 
 beast is the imperial head at Eome ; for the civil power 
 will then be separate from the religious, and we all 
 know how ardently men desire this now. But its ac- 
 complishment will have results far different from what 
 most look for. 
 
 I confess I am struck by the solemn fact, that one 
 cannot speak of these subjects, even at short intervals 
 of time, without perceiving new features which, in 
 principle, bring us more and more up to the brink 
 of the precipice. I do then, from every point of view, 
 warn all those who are looking for bright hopes on the 
 earth, and promising improvement to men. It is serious 
 to observe that the lawless one here described and 
 reserved for such a destiny is related very nearly to the 
 mystery of lawlessness which was then at work, as the 
 apostle let us know, and which has gone on increasing, 
 and is immensely increased now. It is true that the law- 
 less one will not be revealed until the restraint of the 
 Spirit of God over the world is removed. This appears 
 
364 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 to me to be the unforced deduction from the apostle's 
 statement, compared with the light thrown on the sub- 
 ject by other Scriptures, which, by common consent, 
 treat of the same time and point. It is the Spirit of 
 God ceasing to restrain in the world as well as in the 
 church, since He will for a brief space both act on 
 souls and restrain Satan in the world, after the church 
 has been caught up to heaven. 
 
 This I consider a comprehensive and correct view of 
 what is revealed. It is put generally here both as " he 
 who withholds" and as "that which withholds." The 
 particular from of withholding power might differ accord- 
 ing to varying circumstances. The Christians of old used 
 to think the Eoman empire withheld them. Nor was 
 their idea far from the mark ; because the empire was 
 assuredly among the powers ordained of God, as I do 
 not doubt emperors, kings, presidents, &c., are still. But 
 the hour hastens when the powers that be will cease to 
 derive their authority from God; when the West above 
 all will openly renounce the true God, and the beast 
 will rise up from the abyss. Our chapter adds a true 
 picture of the extent to which the man of sin will be 
 allowed to go in diabolical imitation of what God wrought 
 by Christ when here below. It is the hour of retribu- 
 tion, when the proud apostates who refused the truth 
 accept and perish in the lie of the enemy. How blessed 
 the lot of the saints which the apostle contrasts with 
 this! (Verses 13-17.) 
 
 The next chapter (iii.) closes the epistle with divers 
 desires, and a prayer for them that the Lord v/ould 
 direct their hearts into the love of God, and into the 
 patience of Christ. The key-note is thus maintained 
 
SECOND EPISTLE TO THE TKESSALONIANS. 365 
 
 from first to last. As Christ waits to come, so should 
 we, that we may meet Him then. But the apostle would 
 not have this hope nor the Lord Himself dishonoured by 
 the reproach of disorderly ways. And thus he nowhere 
 more enjoins the duty of honourable industry, appealing 
 to his own example, than in the epistles which most 
 insist on Christ's coming as the proximate and constant 
 hope of the Christian. If any would pervert such a 
 truth, or any other, to idleness and disorder, he was to 
 be marked as unworthy of Christian companionship, 
 not of course counted an enemy (like the wicked or 
 heretics), but admonished as a brother. Idleness is fruit- 
 ful of disorder and the foe of peace, which the apostle 
 desired for them from the Lord of peace Himself always 
 and in every way. 
 
 May we seriously heed the truth, and its immediate 
 application to our consciences and ways ! May God 
 give us quiet energy without restlessness or excitement, 
 but so much the more calmly, because of the realized 
 nearness of the Lord's return, and the solemn con- 
 sequences for all mankind ! Oh for an earnest, burning 
 zeal; for self-denying love ; for hearts devoted to Christ, 
 which might warn men of their impending destruction, 
 that, if they have not been won by His love, they may 
 at least tremble at the hopeless inextricable ruin in 
 which their unbelief will soon leave them for ever. 
 
366 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 FIRST AND SECOND TIMOTHY. 
 
 We enter now on the confidential communications of 
 the apostle to some of his fellow-labourers, and to- 
 night on the epistles to Timothy. The two have much 
 in common, but they have also not a little that is dis- 
 tinct. The first epistle is characterized by laying down 
 the order which becomes both individuals and the church 
 of God viewed as His house. We shall find, I trust, 
 how remarkably His care for godly moral order, which 
 descends into the family, into the relations of children 
 and parents, of servants and masters, of man and 
 woman, is also bound up with some of the main doc- 
 trines of the epistle. At the same time, while this 
 pertains more particularly to the first epistle, there 
 is a striking expression which meets us on the very 
 threshold, and belongs not merely to these two epistles, 
 but also to that addressed to Titus. God is not here 
 regarded as our Father, but as our Saviour God. We 
 have in harmony with this none of the special privileges 
 of the family of God. The relationships before us 
 wear another character. Thus, we have nothing at all 
 about the body of Christ ; we hear nowhere again of 
 the bride of the Lamb ; but what tallies with God as 
 a Saviour, It is not Christ our Saviour, though, of 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 367 
 
 course, He is so ; but there is broader truth pressed — 
 even of God our Saviour, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 This prepares for much that we shall find. God, as 
 a Saviour God, is certainly in contrast with His dealings 
 under law, or in government. Nevertheless it takes in 
 also His preserving care, which extends far beyond 
 believers, though Very especially toward believers. It 
 embraces also that which is much deeper than presi- 
 dential care, even the salvation which is in course of 
 accomplishment through Christ. I do not say accom- 
 plished ; because salvation here, as elsewhere, must not 
 be limited simply to redemption, but goes out into the 
 results of that mighty work on the cross, whereby the 
 soul is kept all the way through the wilderness, and 
 the body of humiliation changed into the likeness of 
 the Lord's glorious body. 
 
 Accordingly, Paul introduces himself as the "apostle 
 of Jesus Christ by commandment of God." Authority 
 has a large place in these epistles ; thence the apostle 
 shows it was not his writing to his child Timothy in 
 this respect without the Lord. It was not merely love, 
 it was not simply that the Spirit of God empowered 
 him to meet need, but he styles himself in it the 
 " apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God 
 our Saviour, and Christ Jesus, our hope ; to Timothy, 
 my true child in faith : grace, mercy, and peace," &c. 
 
 Another feature of these epistles meets us in the 
 place which is given to mercy. I do not merely now 
 refer to what has been often observed — the introduc- 
 tion ; but we shall find that mercy is wrought into the 
 tissues and substance of the epistle. Mercy supposes 
 the need, the constant wants, the difficulties, the dan- 
 gers, of the saints of God. It supposes also that God 
 
368 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 is acting in love, and in full view of these difficulties. 
 Hence we find that, while there is jealous care, there 
 is also a remarkable tenderness, which appears every 
 now and then, in these epistles ; and this is just and 
 beautiful in its season. The apostle was drawing 
 toward the close of his career, and (although all be in- 
 spired, and he was a rare jewel even among the apostles) 
 there is, I am persuaded, an evidence of a tone more 
 suitable to the growing trials and necessities of the 
 saints of God; a tenderness towards those that were 
 faithful and tried, that is far more manifest here than 
 in the earlier epistles. I do not say that all was not in 
 its due time and measure, but we can well understand 
 it. As a faithful servant, he had been for many years 
 not only leading on, but sharing too the hardest of the 
 fight, and had gone through perils such as had left 
 many of his companions behind. Shame, afflictions, 
 persecutions, the enticements of Satan too, had drawn 
 away some that had been in the foremost ranks of old. 
 He was now left with comparatively few of the familiar 
 faces of those he had loved and laboured with so long. 
 We can easily understand, then, how calculated such 
 circumstances were to draw out the expression of a love 
 that was always there, but that would be in a more 
 comely and suitable manner expressed at such a con- 
 juncture of circumstances. This we shall find in these 
 epistles. He writes to Timothy as his genuine child ; it 
 is not at all the usual way in the earlier epistles. It was 
 his Bethany. Here and now was the opening of that 
 long pent-up heart. At the same time he was also 
 laying an important commission on one that was raised 
 up of God for the purpose, who was comparatively 
 young, who would soon have to fight his way without 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 369 
 
 the sympathy and the countenance of one that had 
 been so blest to him. Hence he says here, " Grace, 
 mercy, and peace." He felt his need, but certainly the 
 mercy was not lacking in God, but rich and ready to 
 flow. " Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father 
 and Jesus Christ our Lord. As I besought thee to 
 abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia." 
 We see the love that even an apostle adopts towards 
 his child in faith. It was not at all a peremptory word, 
 though full of earnest desire for the work of the Lord. 
 He wishes Timothy to stay, " that thou mightest charge 
 some not to be teachers of other doctrine, nor to give 
 heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister 
 questions, rather than God's administration* which is 
 in faith." 
 
 Then he explains what the nature of this charge was. 
 Often, I fear, "commandment" gives the English reader 
 a wrong impression. I do not say that "commandment" 
 is not correct, but that so naturally do people in Christen- 
 dom turn to what we call the Ten Commandments, or 
 ten words of the law, that whenever the word "com- 
 mandment" occurs, you may expect many, even children 
 of God, who might and ought to know better, at once 
 unconsciously turning back to the law. But so far was 
 
 * The true reading, represented by i^ [Cod. Sin.) and all other uncials 
 save the Clermont, and almost if not all the cursive manuscripts, is 
 oiKovon'iav, dispensation, in the sense of administration, or steward- 
 ship. Even Matthsei joins the rest of the critics, with the Gomphitm- 
 sian Polijfjlott, against the received oiKodo^iLav, which he considers a 
 mere blunder of S for v by Erasmus's printers. But this does not 
 account for the Latin, Syriac (save later), Gothic, &c.; even supposing 
 d was the slip of the scribe. It is evident that "edification" is not 
 the point in question, but the right order of the house of God, and 
 this in faith. Internal evidence is thus as strong as external as to 
 the true reading. 
 
 B B 
 
370 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 this from being the writer's thought here, that we shall 
 find him in a moment deprecating most strongly that 
 whole system of idea as a misuse of the law. What 
 the apostle means by the commandment is the charge 
 that he was laying on his child in the faith and fellow- 
 labourer Timothy. The end of the charge or command- 
 ment "is love out of a pure heart, and of a good 
 conscience, and of faith unfeigned." It was, in point of 
 fact, not merely that charge that he was giving him, but 
 the charge touched the truth of the gospel; it was the 
 care of the faith, jealousy for the revelation of God 
 Himself, our Saviour God in Christ. The end of all 
 this was "love, and a good conscience, and faith un- 
 feigned." And so then, as remarked already, far from 
 leaving the smallest reason for any perversely to con- 
 found this with the law, the apostle instantly turns to 
 that perverting of the law, which is so natural to the 
 heart of man. "From which some having swerved 
 have turned aside unto vain jangling; desiring to be 
 law-teachers; understanding neither what they say, nor 
 whereof they affirm;" and thereupon he parenthetically, 
 as disposing of this matter, shows what the lawful use 
 of the law is. They were not to suppose that he meant 
 that God could make anything without a real use. As 
 there is no creature of God that has not its value, so 
 certainly the law of God has its right field of applica- 
 tion, and its own proper use. Thus he vindicates God 
 in what He has given, as well as afterwards in what He 
 has made, and nowhere so much as in this epistle do 
 we find this. 
 
 At the same time it is evident that he consigns the 
 law to what we may call a comparatively negative use. 
 The use of the law is to condemn, to kill, to deal with 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 371 
 
 evil. This never could be the full expression of God. 
 It does keep up a witness to God's hatred of evil no 
 doubt; those that are presumptuous it leaves without 
 excuse. But a Christian, who takes up the law as 
 the rule of his own life, must in the very first instance 
 give up his place as being in Christ, and abandon 
 that righteousness of God which he is made in Him. 
 The law was not enacted for the Christian. It is not, 
 of course, that any Christian deliberately intends such 
 folly; but this is really what the error implies. The 
 very principle of taking the law for himself is the 
 abandonment (without knowing or intending it) of all 
 his blessing in Christ. To apply it thus is ignorance 
 of the mind of God It was never designed for such a 
 purpose. But there remains the lawful use of the law. 
 It was made not for the righteous, but for an unrighteous 
 man. Clearly what Satan here aimed at was to put the 
 saints under the law. But the apostle will not hear of 
 it, treating it as simply condemnatory of the bad, and 
 in no way either the power or the rule of what is good 
 for the believer. "Knowing this, that the law is not 
 made for a righteous man, but for lawless and dis- 
 obedient, for ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and 
 profane, for smiters of fathers and smiters of mothers, 
 for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile 
 themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for 
 perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is 
 contrary to sound doctrine." 
 
 A weighty sentence, and eminently characteristic also 
 of these epistles. The time was appropriate for it. The 
 saints (at Epliesus especially) had heard a great deal of 
 heavenly truth. There was also an effort, as we see, to 
 correct what was supposed to be a defect, in those that 
 
 B B 2 
 
372 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 were living on heavenly fare, by supplementing their 
 truth with the law. But this is all wrong, cries the 
 apostle. It is an unwitting denial not only of Chris- 
 tians, but even of your place as righteous men. Very 
 different from this is the true and divine principle. 
 But "sound doctrine" is brought in here; and we shall 
 see how very beautifully this is applied in the epistle at 
 a later point. For a moment he just touches on the 
 wholesome thought, then turns to a higher one. There 
 is in Christ that which lifts entirely out of nature, and 
 puts one before God according to all that is in his 
 heart — his counsels of glory for us in Christ. In fact, 
 immediately after this he calls what he preached the 
 "gospel of the glory" ("the glorious gospel," as it is 
 styled in our version,) "of the blessed God." "According 
 to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was 
 committed to my trust." He takes great pains to show 
 that no glory that is revealed in Christ, no blessedness 
 in our total clearance from flesh, no setting of the 
 believer free before God in Christ Jesus, impairs, but, 
 on the contrary, gives importance to " sound doctrine." 
 By "sound doctrine" we shall find that he brings 
 in the nicest care for the least relations of this life, as 
 flowing from the grace and truth of God. This is the 
 true guard against an abuse of heavenly truth; not 
 putting persons under law, which is inevitable bondage 
 and condemnation, that brings no glory to God, nor 
 power or holiness to the man. But at the same time 
 heavenly truth, so far from being inconsistent, never 
 shines so much as when it is seen in the smallest details 
 of walk in the home, in the family, in the ordinary 
 occupation, in the bearing and tone of a man in his life 
 day by day. It is not merely in the assembly; neither 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 373 
 
 is it in worship only; it is not certainly in ministerial 
 work alone, but in the quiet home. The relationship of 
 a servant to his master gives a blessed opportunity in its 
 place for showing out what the truth of the glory is to 
 faith, and what the strength of the grace which is come 
 to man in Christ the Lord. This is what we shall find 
 in these epistles to Timothy — that the apostle combines 
 in his own wonderful way his reference to ordinary 
 duty, and even enters into the smallest matters of this 
 life, according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed 
 God. He refers to his own case; for he was so much 
 the better a preacher of the gospel, because he so deeply 
 felt himself an object of the grace of God, who revealed 
 it in Christ to him. What can be conceived more 
 remarkably characteristic of the man ? The bearing of 
 the passage is therefore intensely personal and practical. 
 "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled 
 me, for that he counted me faithful, appointing me unto 
 ministry." He does not forget this, but he takes care 
 to assert another and a far nearer and more immediate 
 want — "who was before a blasphemer, and a perse- 
 cutor, and insolent: but I obtained mercy, because I 
 did it ignorantly in unbelief And the grace of our 
 Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love 
 which is in Christ Jesus." 
 
 This accordingly brings out a statement of the 
 gospel : '* Faithful is the word, and worthy of all 
 acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to 
 save sinners ; of whom I am chief Howbeit for this 
 cause I obtained mercy." It is always mercy, as may 
 be observed. It is not so much a question of righteous- 
 ness ; justification is not here prominent, as in other 
 epistles. "I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus 
 
374 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 Christ might shew forth all long-suffering, for a pattern 
 to them which should hereafter believe on him to life 
 everlasting." This draws out his ascription of praise 
 and thanksgiving to the Lord ; and then he repeats the 
 words of the fifth verse : " This charge I commit unto 
 thee." It is not the law, nor an}^ supposed adaptation 
 of it, to direct the path of those who receive the gospel. 
 "This charge," he maintains, is the commandment of 
 our Saviour God. It is that which He is sending out 
 now, and nothing else. " This charge I commit to 
 thee, child Timothy, according to the prophecies which 
 v/ent before on thee, that thou mightest war the good 
 warfare; holding faith, and a good conscience, which 
 some having put away, concerning faith have made 
 shipwreck." 
 
 There again we find the same mingling of the faith 
 and good conscience as we had earlier. Some having 
 put away, not the faith, but a good conscience, made 
 shipwreck of the faith. Thus, no matter what you 
 may hold or appear to delight in, abandoning jealousy 
 over your ways, giving up self-judgment in the great 
 or small matters which each day brings before us, is 
 fatal. It may be a very little sin that is allowed, 
 but this, where it is unjudged in God's sight, becomes 
 the beginning of a very great evil. Having put away 
 a good conscience, their ship no longer answers the 
 helm, and as to faith they make shipwreck : " of whom 
 is Hymenffius and Alexander, whom I have delivered 
 unto Satan, that they may be instructed not to blas- 
 pheme." Satan's power is regarded and really is in 
 the outside world. The apostle had delivered these 
 men to him. The power to torment and harass the soul 
 with fears does not belong to the house of God, where, 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 375 
 
 as we shall find, His presence is known, and this is 
 incompatible with fear, with doubt, with question of 
 acceptance and of blessing in His sight. The apostle 
 had given up to the enemy these men, who had aban- 
 doned all that was holy, not only in practice, but also 
 afterwards, as a consequence, in faith. They were con- 
 signed to Satan, not necessarily to be lost — surely not ; 
 but that they might be so troubled, by proving what 
 the power of Satan is by the flesh, and in the world, 
 that they might be thus brought back broken in all their 
 bones, and glad to find a refuge again in the house of 
 God. Better surely not to need such discipline ; but, if 
 we do need it, how precious to know that God turns it 
 to account in His grace, that they might be thoroughly 
 dealt with and exercised in the conscience ! 
 
 In the next chapter (ii.) the apostle carries on his care 
 as to what was becoming. This, you will find, is a main 
 topic of the epistle. It is not merely instruction for 
 saints, or conversion of sinners, but also the comeliness 
 that belongs to the saints of God — their right attitude 
 toward those without as well as those within. In it 
 we begin with what is toward those in authority, that 
 are without. " 1 exhort therefore, that, first of all, sup- 
 plications, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, 
 be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are 
 in eminence ; that we may pass a quiet and peaceable 
 life in all godliness and gravity." May it not be a 
 question whether we are sufficiently careful and exer- 
 cised in heart, as to that which becomes us in this 
 respect? Do we really enter on our due place of in- 
 tercession, and exercise that which becomes us before 
 God, as having so blessed a function — the mind of God 
 
376 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 in this world, and care for those that seem to be outside 
 our reach? But in truth to stand in this world in known 
 and near relationship with a Saviour God, with One 
 that we know, at once brings before us also those that 
 are outside. Christianity fosters no spirit of harsh 
 unruly independence. And what then becomes us in 
 respect of them? Prayer, intercession, even for the 
 highest, let them be kings or in eminence; they need 
 it most. Nothing but the strong sense of the infinite 
 blessing of the place that grace has given us could lead 
 to or keep up such prayer. But sometimes we are apt 
 to settle down in the enjoyment of the grace, without 
 reflecting on that which becomes us as to those outside 
 it. Trom pre-occupation within, how often we forget 
 those without ! 
 
 But the reason goes deeper. " For this is good and 
 acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour ; who desires 
 that all men should be saved :" speaking now of His 
 gracious willingness. Not His counsels but His nature 
 rises before us. We must be blind if we fail to see 
 that a great point in these epistles is the good and 
 loving nature of God, that would have us look at all 
 men without exception. It is another thing how far the 
 counsels of God work, how far the effectual work of 
 His grace is applied ; but nothing alters God's nature. 
 And this is true both in the spirit of grace that becomes 
 the saints, and also in their zealous care for the glory 
 of God. Hence he says : " There is one God, and one 
 mediator between God and men." This is always the 
 ground and character of the First and Second of Timothy. 
 It is not the Father and His family ; it is God and man. 
 And it is not merely God as He once dealt with Israel, 
 for then this Mediator was not. There was a promise. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 377 
 
 but the Mediator of grace was not come. But now, apart 
 from the heavenly relations that are ours, and much 
 that we know and enjoy by the Holy Ghost in our 
 hearts here below, there is this that needs to be looked 
 after and maintained, that is, the public character — if 
 we may so speak — of the Christian, and that which 
 belongs to him thus broadly before men. It is the testi- 
 mony of God as a Saviour God, of a God that has to 
 do with men. Accordingly He has revealed Himself in 
 a Mediator. Thus he speaks of Hira : " There is one 
 God, and one mediator between God and men, the man 
 Christ Jesus ; who gave himself a ransom for all, the 
 testimony in its own season. Whereunto I was ap- 
 pointed a preacher and an apostle (I speak the truth in 
 Christ, and lie not), a teacher of Gentiles in faith and 
 truth." 
 
 His general exhortation is pursued, but still in view 
 of the due and decent outward order, of that which met 
 the eye even of an unconverted person. " I will there- 
 fore that the men" — that is, not women — "that the men 
 pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without wrath 
 and disputing." There are occasions and places where 
 it would be wholly unsuitable for women to speak, but 
 as to men they pray everywliere. There is no place 
 where it is not in season, but let it be " without wrath 
 and disupting," or "reasoning." Either would be al- 
 together opposed to the spirit of prayer. Prayer is the 
 expression of dependence on God; and wrangling on 
 the one hand, and all angry feeling on the other, even 
 supposing it might have some righteousness about it, 
 still are unsuitable to prayer. Thus, what may have its 
 place may really be uncomely in drawing near to God. 
 A spirit of reasoning would be quite as out of place. 
 
B78 INTRODUCTOEY LECTURES. 
 
 But witli regard to woman he says, " In like manner 
 also, that the women adorn themselves in orderly guise, 
 with modesty and sobriety ; not with plaits and gold, or 
 pearls, or costly array." It does not matter what may 
 be the particular taste and habits of the day or of the 
 country, the Christian woman, as much as the Christian 
 man, ought to be above the age, and unlike the world. 
 And indeed it is this very want that he here takes oc- 
 casion to connect with Christianity itself in its outward 
 order before man ; so that we may truly desire that our 
 Saviour God should not lose, as it were. His character 
 in and by His people ; for this is the great point that 
 the apostle is so full of in these epistles. Such is the 
 way in which a woman can contribute to a right and 
 godly testimony as well as a man. 
 
 But he pursues it a little more. He says, "Let the 
 woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer 
 not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the 
 man." In truth he really goes somewhat beyond this. 
 A woman might say, " I do not usurp authority; I only 
 exercise it." But this precisely is what is wrong. It 
 is forbidden to be exercised. Nothing therefore can be 
 more exclusive. It does not matter, if the man may be 
 weak and the woman strong ; it would have been better 
 they had thought of this before they became husband 
 and wife. But even thus no excuse avails ; the woman 
 is not to exercise authority over the man ; nor (need I 
 add ?) in any other relationship. For this he traces 
 things to their roots. "Adam was first formed, then 
 Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman 
 being quite deceived was in transgression." That is, he 
 decides things with that marvellous power which God 
 gave him beyond any of the other apostles of tracking 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 379 
 
 the stream to its source, both in man and to God ; and 
 this ruling of the case he deduces from the unquestion- 
 able facts of the beginning of divine history as to the 
 man and woman. The man was not deceived, in a 
 certain sense: so much the worse; he was a bold sinner. 
 The woman was weak and misled by the serpent ; the 
 man deliberately did what he did — with his eyes open. 
 Adam sinned against God knowingly. Of course it 
 was dreadful and ruinous ; nevertheless this shows the 
 difference in their character from the outset. Men 
 as a class are not so liable to be deceived as woman 
 She is more open to be taken in by appearance. The 
 man may be ruder and worse — bolder in his sin, but 
 still the Lord remembers this even to the last. At the 
 same time the apostle mingles this with that which is 
 the lot of women here below : " But she shall be pre- 
 served in childbearing, if they continue in faith and 
 charity and holiness with sobriety." It is not merely 
 if " she," but if " they " continue. How serious is the 
 word for both man and woman ! In the government 
 of God He mingles the most solemn things with that 
 which is the most thoroughly personal, showing how 
 He would have the conscience exercised, and jealous 
 care even on such a matter as this. I do not ao-ree 
 with those who refer the childbearing to the Incarnation. 
 
 And now he comes (chapter iii.), not so much to 
 comely order as to the outside, or as to the relation of 
 man and woman, but to the ordinary governments and 
 helps of the saints. He takes up what was of a graver 
 kind, and touching more on spiritual things, namely, 
 bishops (or elders) ; then deacons ; and this leads him 
 naturally to the house of God. " Faithful is the word, 
 
380 INTEODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 If any one aspireth to oversight, he desireth a good 
 work. The overseer then must be blameless, husband 
 of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to 
 hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker; 
 but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that ruleth 
 well his own house, having his children in subjection 
 with all gravity." It is plain that this is not at all a 
 question of spiritual gift. One might be endowed with 
 a good gift and yet not have a well-regulated house. 
 Perhaps the wife might not behave properly, or the 
 children be unruly: no matter what his gift, if the wife 
 or the family were a dishonour, he could not be an 
 overseer (for this is the simple and true meaning of 
 "bishop"). 
 
 In early days persons were brought in to the confes- 
 sion of Christ who had been Pagans, and trained up in 
 its habits. Some of these had more than one wife. A 
 true and gifted Christian one might be; but if such were 
 his unhappy position, he was precluded from exercising 
 formal oversight. The evil of polygamy could not be 
 corrected at that time by strong measures. (Since then 
 in Christendom it is dealt with as criminal.) To dismiss 
 his wives would be wrong. But the Holy Spirit by such 
 an injunction applied a principle which was destined to 
 undermine, as in fact it did undermine, polygamy in 
 every form. There was a manifest censure conveyed in 
 the fact, that a man with two or more wives could not 
 be set in the charge of elder or deacon. A man was not 
 refused as a confessor of Christ, nor was he forbidden 
 to preach the gospel, because such might have been his 
 sad circumstances at home. If the Lord called him by 
 His grace, or gave him as a gift to the church, the church 
 bowed. But an elder or bishop was to be one that not 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 381 
 
 only had a suitable gift for liis work, but also in the 
 family or in his circumstances must be free from all 
 appearance of scandal on the name of the Lord. He 
 must have a good report, and be morally irreproachable 
 in himself and his household. There might be trial or 
 sorrow, — few families were without both; but what 
 is spoken of here is something that damaged the public 
 repute of the assembly. For this very reason the grand 
 point for local oversight was moral weight. It was not 
 only the ability to inform, counsel, or rebuke, but in 
 order to do all tliis efficiently a certain godly influence 
 proved at home and abroad. In the practical difficulties 
 with which an elder or bishop would be called to inter- 
 fere continually in an assembly, there should never be 
 room for those whose conduct might be in question to 
 point to flaws in his own home, or in his own open life 
 and spirit. Thus wisely and holily did the Spirit 
 demand that he should be a person of good report him- 
 self, that neither past ways nor present habits should 
 in the least degree compromise the office; and again, 
 with a stainless reputation as well as a man of some 
 spiritual experience in his family — "one that ruleth well 
 his own house, having his children in subjection with 
 all gravity ; not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride 
 he fall into the condemnation of the devil." These 
 things would not apply to a man's ministry in the word. 
 A Christian may begin to preach almost as soon as he 
 believed the word of truth, the gospel of salvation; but 
 for one to be clothed with a public and responsible 
 place as elder in an assembly is another thing altogether. 
 As a rule the apostle never appointed persons elders 
 directly after they were converted. A certain time was 
 needful for the Spirit of God to work in the soul, and 
 
382 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 discipline tliem in the midst of their brethren. They 
 would then and thus manifest certain capabilities and 
 moral qualities, and acquire weight, which would make 
 them respected and valued, besides gaining experience 
 in godly care for the well-being of the saints of God. 
 All these things, where there were circumstantial requi- 
 sites, relative and personal suitability, would mark out 
 a person for this office. 
 
 Besides, though this is not said here, in order to be 
 an overseer, one must be appointed by a valid authority; 
 and the only one recognised by Scripture is an apostle 
 or an apostolic delegate. Thus the Christians that a 
 superficial observer of the present day might. tax with 
 inattention to godly order in these respects are in truth 
 those alone who are really adhering to it. For manifestly 
 to set up men in such a position of charge without a 
 proper validating authority is really to vitiate all in its 
 very springs. Those who refuse to exceed their powers 
 are clearly in the right, — not those who imitate the 
 apostles without warrant from the Lord. I am perfectly 
 satisfied therefore that ^hose now gathered to His name 
 have been mercifully and truly led of God in not pre- 
 suming to appoint elders or bishops. They do not pos- 
 sess the needful authority more than others ; and there 
 they stop, using, and blessing God for, such things as 
 they have. Appointment must always raise the ques- 
 tion, who they are that appoint. And it is impossible 
 for an honest man of intelligence to find a scriptural 
 answer, so as to sanction those who pretend to ordain, 
 or those who claim to be duly ordained, in Christendom. 
 There was no difiiculty in primitive days. Here indeed 
 (if we except a debatable allusion in another place) 
 the apostle does not touch the subject of appointment 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 383 
 
 as he does to Titus. He merely puts before Timothy 
 the qualities requisite for both the local charges. 
 
 After the overseers he turns to the deacons. " Like- 
 wise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, 
 not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; 
 holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. 
 And let these also first be proved." The modern deacon 
 in the larger and national bodies has no resemblance 
 to this, and is indeed an unmeaning form. It is a mere 
 noviciate for the so-called presbyters who compose the 
 body of the clergy. Of old no inexperienced man ought 
 to have been in such a position. Even though it was a 
 function about outward things, still they were to be first 
 proved. "Then let them use the office of a deacon, 
 being found blameless. Even so must their wives be 
 grave." It is plain on the face of it that this is more 
 particularly insisted on for the deacons than for the 
 elders. The reason was, that as the deacons had to do 
 more with externals, there was greater danger of their 
 wives making mischief and heart-burning. They might 
 interfere with these matters, which we know are apt to 
 gender strife, as they cast a gloom over the Pentecostal 
 Church at an early day. There was not the same tempta- 
 tion for the wives of the elders or overseers. Hence it 
 is written here, "Even so must their wives be grave, not 
 slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons 
 be the husbands of one wife." In this we find the same 
 thing as was said of the elders: both must rule their 
 children and their own houses well. "For they that 
 have served well purchase to themselves a good degree, 
 and much boldness in faith which is in Christ Jesus." 
 
 Then the apostle sums up these regulations, and says, 
 " These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto 
 
884 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 thee shortly: but if I tarry long, that thou mayest 
 know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house 
 of God/' (may we, too, profit by his words, beloved 
 brethren !) " which is the church of the living God, the 
 pillar and ground of the truth." The church is the 
 guardian of the truth, its sole responsible witness on 
 the earth. The church owes all in the grace of our 
 Lord Jesus to the truth. It may not be competent to 
 define the truth : inspired men have done so. At the 
 same time it is bound to hold forth God's word as the 
 truth, and to allow nothing inconsistent with it in the 
 doctrine or ways of the assembly. For we are called to 
 be a manifestation of the truth before the world, even 
 of that which goes beyond that of which the church is 
 the embodiment. The acts done should always be an 
 expression of the truth. It is a most important duty, 
 therefore, and one requiring continual watchfulness. 
 God alone can vouchsafe or keep it good. 
 
 Truly, there are often difficulties that arise in the 
 church of God, and prudence might suggest many plans 
 to meet the difficulty ; but then it is the house of God, 
 not merely the house of the prudent or the good. It 
 is a divine institution. It has nothing in common 
 with well-intentioned men doing their best. Let the 
 matter be ever so simple, whether it be a question of 
 discipline or order, it should express the truth of God 
 applied to the case. This shows the exceeding solem- 
 nity of either advising or resisting any course that 
 might be the will of God in any particular matter. 
 Excellent desires, zeal, honesty, are in no way sufficient 
 for the purpose. God can employ the most feeble 
 member of the assembly ; but still ordinarily one looks 
 for better guides. One might expect that while God 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 385 
 
 would give no allowance to a man presuming on gift or 
 experience, — because the moment you begin to assume 
 to yourself or to others, there is danger, — but never- 
 theless, surely one might expect that God would, by 
 suitable means, bring out that which is wholesome, and 
 true, and godly — in short, what would express His own 
 mind on any given subject. 
 
 These are among the reasons why the apostle main- 
 tains it here. We have it viewed in its outward comely 
 order in this world, but the principle of the maintenance 
 of this, and nothins? less than this, always remains true. 
 No renewed state gives any reason for abandoning it. 
 The great thing is never to let details swamp the prin- 
 ciple. There is always a way for those who, consciously 
 weak, distrust themselves ; and this is to wait, to refuse 
 to act until God shows His way. Faith waits till it gets 
 a distinct word from God. No doubt it is hard to be 
 at one's wits' end, but it is a good thing for the soul. 
 So here : he bids Timothy to take heed to these things, 
 in case he himself tarried. 
 
 And what is that truth especially which characterizes 
 the church? This is another instance of the tone of 
 the epistle. " Without controversy great is the mystery 
 of godliness." Mark the expression " mystery of godli- 
 ness," or piety. It is not simply the mystery of Christ 
 in the church, but the " mystery of godliness." " God * 
 was manifested in flesh, was justified in Spirit, was seen 
 of angels, was preached among Gentiles, was believed on 
 in [the] world, was received up in glory." It is not God 
 reigning over a people here below. This was no mystery, 
 but the wonted expectation of all Israel, indeed, of 
 
 * Cod. Sin. (t^) agrees with the great authorities which give oq, 
 "who" (or others, b, "which") instead of Qsog, "God." 
 
 C C 
 
386 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 saints before Israel. They expected the Messiah, the 
 Eedeemer to come, the One that would make good the 
 promises of God. But now "God was manifested in 
 flesh, was justified in Spirit." The power of the Holy 
 Ghost had shown itself all through His life, had been 
 proved to the uttermost in His death, and now marked 
 Him out as Son of God in resurrection. He was 
 " seen of angels," not of man alone ; He was " preached 
 among Gentiles," instead of beinfy found on a throne 
 amongst the Jews ; He was " believed on in the world," 
 instead of manifestly governing it by power. Another 
 state of things altogether is present : it is Christianity ; 
 but Christianity viewed in the person of Christ Him- 
 self, in the grand bearings of His own person and His 
 work ; not as forming a heavenly body, nor even pur- 
 suing the special privileges of the habitation of God 
 through the Spirit ; but laying the foundation for the 
 house of God, as the scene and support of His truth 
 and moral order before the world. The whole matter is 
 closed by Jesus, not only " believed on in the world," 
 but " received up in glory." 
 
 Now what is the reason why this is brought in here? 
 It seems to be set in contrast with the speculations of 
 men (chap, iv.) who wanted to interweave with Chris- 
 tianity certain dreams of a fancied spirituality above 
 the gospel. What was this scheme ? They fancied 
 that the gospel would be a still better system if the 
 converts would eat no meat ; if they would not marry, 
 and so on. This was their notion of bringing in some 
 "higher life," superior to anything that the apostles 
 had taught. How does he meet them? He shows here 
 the "mystery of godliness;" but along with this, and 
 immediately after it, he brings in the most necessary 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 387 
 
 fundamental truth. This is the point that has much 
 struck my mind in speaking of 1 Timothy at this time. 
 
 That is to say, there is a combination of God's 
 revelation in Christ, in most essential and even lofty 
 features, with the plainest and simplest truth of God as 
 to creation. Now, you will find that the way in which 
 false doctrine enters habitually is in contrast with 
 this. Men thus break down, who despise common 
 duties; they are far too good or too great for occupy- 
 ing themselves with the homely things that become a 
 Christian man or woman. They may perhaps weave 
 the love of Christ (we will suppose) into some high- 
 flown speculations ; but they set aside that which 
 connects itself every day with moral propriety. Oh, 
 how often this has been the case ! how one could easily 
 recount one name after another, if it would become 
 any so to do ! Such then is the way in which error 
 is prone to show itself The man who most of all 
 brings out what is heavenly and divine is he who should 
 be devoted and obedient in the simplest duties of every 
 day. This very epistle is the witness of it. Whereas 
 the moment one sanctions the principle of making 
 little of the family relations, setting aside duty, neglect- 
 ing it personally, and making it even a boast to do so, 
 as if jealousy for the Lord's glory were mere legalism, 
 the result will be that, while they set aside the common 
 claims of every day's duty, the conscience is ruined, 
 and shipwreck of the faith is inevitable. They first 
 cast aside a good conscience, and then the faith itself 
 comes to nothing. 
 
 Thus the apostle brings the reader into close juxta- 
 position with the mystery of godliness, or, as it is 
 emphatically called, the mystery of piety. The glorious 
 c c 2 
 
388 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 person of Christ is traced through from His mani- 
 festation in flesh, or incarnation, until He is beheld 
 " received up in glory." The work of God proceeds in 
 the church on earth founded on this. In contrast with 
 it chapter iv. follows up : " But the Spirit speaketh 
 expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from 
 the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines 
 of demons ; in hypocrisy of liars, cauterised in their 
 own conscience, forbidding to marry, [bidding] to ab- 
 stain from meats, which God created to be received 
 with thanksgiving of those that are faithful and know 
 the truth." Some necessary changes are here made, so 
 as to convey what seems to me the meaning. Then 
 he proceeds : "For every creature of God is good," &c. 
 We can hardly descend to anything lowlier than this. 
 
 But these airy speculators had completely forgotten 
 God. They despised the simple self-evident truth that 
 every creature of God is good. So, too, we see that 
 they put a disparagement on the basis of family life, 
 and the social system — marriage. Not to marry through 
 devotedness to God's w^ork may be right and most 
 blessed ; but here it was a pretension to superior sanc- 
 tity. As a principle and practice, Christian people 
 were urged not to marry at all. Now the moment that 
 this ground is taken, the same apostle who tells us what 
 he believed to be the best thing (namely, to be free from 
 fresh ties, so as to care only for the Lord), defends reso- 
 lutely the sanctity of marriage, and resents the blow 
 struck at the creatures of God. It was really a slight of 
 His outward love, and of His providential arrangements. 
 Danger threatens wherever there is a virtual setting 
 aside of God's rights, no matter what the plea. Oriental 
 philosophy, which tinctured some of the Greeks, fos- 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 389 
 
 tered these high soarings of men. As usual, Paul brings 
 in God, and the dream is dissipated. The moment you 
 use anything so as to set aside the plain duty of every 
 day, you prove yourself to be losing the faith, to have 
 slipped from a good conscience, to have fallen a victim 
 to the enemy's deceits; and what will be the end of 
 it? 
 
 The apostle then gives personal counsel to Timothy, 
 of a very salutary character. As he also desires that 
 none should despise his youth, so he urges that he 
 should be a model of the believers, in word, conversa- 
 tion, love, faith, and purity. He was to give himself to 
 reading, to exhortation, to teaching, and not to neglect 
 his gift, given him through prophecy, in the imposition 
 of the hands of the presbytery or elderhood. Nothing 
 simpler, nor more wholesome. It might have been 
 thought that one so specially endowed as Timothy was 
 not called to occupy himself thus, and be wholly in 
 them, that his profiting should appear to all. But no ; 
 grace and gift create a corresponding responsibility, 
 instead of absolving from it. Timothy must give heed to 
 himself, as well as to the teaching ; and he must continue 
 in them, instead of relaxing after a rigorous beginning. 
 Depend upon it that those who seek to give out had 
 better take care that they take in ; that both labourers 
 and those laboured amongst may ever grow in the truth. 
 Doing thus, Timothy would save both himself and those 
 that heard him. 
 
 In chapter v. the apostle gives needful directions to 
 Timothy as regards an elder. He was not to be rebuked 
 sharply, but to be entreated as a father. Undoubtedly 
 Timothy stood in a prominent place of trust and service ; 
 but this gave no exemption from the comeliness that 
 
390 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 becomes every one — especially a young man. The 
 apostle had maintained his post of honour in the pre- 
 ceding chapter ; now he will not let him forget the due 
 consideration of others. How often does over-frankness 
 drop words which rankle in the memory of an elder, 
 easily floated over when love flows freely, but when it 
 ebbs, an occasion of shipwreck ! Again, "younger men 
 as brethren; the elder women as mothers; the younger 
 as sisters, with all purity." Nothing more beautiful, 
 more tender, more holy; nothing more calculated to edify 
 and cement the saints to the glory of God, whilst His 
 wisdom enters into all circumstances, with an easy 
 elasticity which is characteristic of His grace. 
 
 So too we find divinely- furnished regulations as to 
 those who ought to be cliargeable to the assembly — what 
 was right in the case of the younger widows — what was 
 desirable as to younger women in general; and then 
 a^ain the oblic^ations toward elders, not now w^hen 
 faulty, but in their ordinary functions and service. 
 " Let the elders that preside well be counted worthy of 
 double honour, especially they who labour in the word 
 and doctrine." But what if they were charged with 
 wrong? "Against an elder receive not an accusation, 
 but before two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke 
 before all, that others also may fear/' Prejudice and 
 partiality must be eschewed at all cost. Finally, care 
 must be taken to avoid any compromise of the name of 
 the Lord. Thus the well-known sign of blessing in the 
 outward act of laying on hands was to be done circum- 
 spectly. " Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be 
 partaker of other men's sins : keep thyself pure." 
 
 There is condescension even to so small a point 
 seemingly as to tell him not to be a water-drinker. It 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 391 
 
 would seem that Timothy's scrupulous conscience felt 
 the dreadful habits of those times and lands so as to 
 bring him into bondage ; but the apostle, not in a mere 
 private note, but in the body of the inspired letter 
 itself, sets aside his scruples, and bids him " use a little 
 wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities." 
 I am aware that men have cavilled at this, yielding to 
 their own thoughts of what they deem fit subjects for 
 the pen of inspiration ; but if we exclude anything 
 whatever from the range of the Spirit of God, we make 
 it to be merely a question of the will of man. And 
 what must issue from this ? There is nothing either too 
 great or too little for the Holy Spirit. Is there any- 
 thing that may not, that ought not, to be a question of 
 doing God's will ? Thus, if a person takes wine, or any- 
 thing else, except to please God, and is not in danger on 
 the score of morality, certainly he has lost all adequate 
 sense of his own place as a witness of the glory of God. 
 How happy ought we to be that God gives us perfect 
 liberty ! only let us see to it that we use it solely for His 
 praise. 
 
 In the last chapter (vi.) comes the question of servants 
 and their masters, which also it was important to regu- 
 late ; for we all know that a servant might turn to a 
 selfish account that his master and himself were brethren 
 in Christ. It is all very well for the master to say so; 
 and certainly he should never act without bearing in 
 mind his own spiritual relationship to his servant ; but 
 I do not think it becomes a servant to say " brother " to 
 his master. My business is to know him as my master. 
 i^o doubt it would be grace on his part to own me as 
 his brother. Everything therefore where grace is at 
 work will be found to have its blessed place. Whoever 
 
392 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 thought differently (and such have never been wanting) 
 was puffed up, and could only suggest evil. 
 
 Then he touches on the value of piety with a con- 
 tented mind in contrast with the love of money, and its 
 various snares in this age as in all that are past. These 
 things will be found dealt with successively, until at 
 last the apostle calls on the man of God to flee these 
 things himself, and to pursue the path of righteousness, 
 &c., as well as strive in tlie good combat of faith; 
 otherwise a man of God was in no degree free from 
 danger. He was to lay hold of eternal life, to which he 
 had been called, and had confessed the good confession 
 before many witnesses, and this in view of the great 
 event which will display our fidelity or the lack of it — 
 the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which in its 
 own time the blessed and only Potentate shall show. 
 At the same time he calls on him to charge them that 
 are rich neither to be high-minded nor rely on aught so 
 uncertain. What would give weight to the charge? 
 That he was above such desires himself, trusting in the 
 living God, who affords us all things richly for enjoy- 
 ment. Let them be rich in good works, liberal in dis- 
 tributing, ready to communicate, laying up for them- 
 selves a good foundation for the future, that they may 
 lay hold of what is really life. " Timothy, keep that 
 which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and 
 vain babblings, and oppositions of false -named know- 
 ledge, which some professing have erred concerning the 
 faith. Grace be with thee.*' 
 
 Turning to the Second Epistle, we find that, although 
 there is the same grand truth of the Saviour God main- 
 tained, the state of things had become sensibly worse. 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 393 
 
 and the liour for the apostle's departure from the world 
 was drawing near. Accordingly, there is a depth of 
 feeling that one may safely say far exceeds the first 
 epistle, although it had shown so much tenderness 
 and care both for Timothy and the faithful of those 
 days. But now there were other reasons for it, namely, 
 that Christians were neglecting godliness and order. 
 They had been long accustomed to the truth, and alas ! 
 human nature began to show itself out in indifference. 
 There was no longer the freshness of a new thing ; and 
 where the heart was not kept up in communion with 
 the Lord, the value of divine things was less felt, if it 
 did not quite fade away. Accordingly^ in much grief 
 of heart, the apostle writes to his tried and trembling 
 child in the faith, and seeks to strengthen him, above all 
 things not to be discouraged, and to make up his mind 
 to endure hard things. "Paul, an apostle of Jesus 
 Christ by the will of God, according to the promise." 
 It is not " the commandment," as of authority, but "ac- 
 cording to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus." 
 The crumbling away of everything here was before the 
 apostle; and accordingly it is one of the peculiar fea- 
 tures of this second epistle, that he brings out that 
 which never can decay — which was before there was 
 a world to dissolve— namely, that life which was in 
 Christ Jesus before the world began. 
 
 Thus the apostle comes to the close of his ministry, 
 and touches upon the line of St. John. There is no part 
 of John's doctrine more strikingly characteristic than 
 life in Christ. Now we see that when Paul was touching 
 the confines of that difficult and most perilous moment 
 when John was to be left alone, he brings out as his 
 last note that very truth which John was to develops 
 
394 INTEODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 with special care and fulness. " To Timothy, my dearly- 
 beloved child : Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the 
 Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom 
 I serve from my forefathers," — what singular language 
 this from Paul ! How comes it so? Paul "the aged," as 
 he says, was just about to leave this world. Activity of 
 service was no longer before him. This he had known 
 most extensively, but it was closed ; no longer had he 
 before him any prospect of having to fight the battles 
 of the church of God. He had fought the good fight 
 of faith. Others must do that kind of work in future. 
 But now before his heart — just as in principle before 
 the dying Lord Himself, wonderful to say — two things 
 come together : a deeper sense of what is in God, as 
 revealed in Christ Himself, before there was any crea- 
 tion at all ; and on the other hand so much the deeper 
 sense also of what could be owned in nature. Now 
 these seem to many very difficult indeed to combine. 
 They appear to think that if you hold life in Christ to 
 be the one thing that is most precious, to be the prize 
 that your heart reverts to, all owning of anything short 
 of this would be out of place ; but it is exactly the 
 contrary. When the Lord was entering on His ministry 
 He says, "Woman, what have I to do with thee ?" But 
 when dying upon the cross, He calls to John to behold 
 His mother. We find a precisely similar kind of com- 
 bination in Paul. Of course it was infinitely higher, it 
 is needless to say, in the Master ; but the servant was 
 as closely as possible following in His steps. 
 
 It is beautiful to trace this double working and cur- 
 rent of the apostle — that is, what is imperishable, above 
 and beyond nature; and, along with this, the utmost 
 value put on everything that he would own in those 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 395 
 
 naturally bound up with him — those of either family 
 that feared God. " I thank God, whom I serve from 
 my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceas- 
 ing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night 
 and day, greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of 
 thy tears." He had not said a word about them before. 
 There was infirmity in the character of Timothy. There 
 might be a mixture of timid shrinking from pain and 
 shame. He was one that needed to lean on an arm 
 stronger than his own. It was a part of his lot. Thus 
 it was that God had made him : there was no use deny- 
 ing it. But the apostle at the same time owns, and 
 loves to own, that which another might perhaps despise. 
 There was no despising natural links or spiritual here, 
 far from it. 
 
 Timothy, again, winced under trials, — too sensitive to 
 slights, disappointments, and the manifold griefs that 
 came upon him. But the apostle remembered it all, 
 felt deeply for if not with him, and greatly desiring to 
 see him once more. His own desire after going to 
 the Lord did not prevent this, but the reverse: "that 
 I may be filled with joy : when I call to remembrance 
 the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first 
 in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice ; and 
 I am persuaded that in thee also." I refer to this 
 just to remark that such links as these, which are con- 
 nected with nature, all come before the apostle's mind, 
 at the very moment when a spurious feeling would have 
 judged it precisely the time to banish and forget them. 
 There are persons who think that the approach of death 
 is intended to blot out everything here. Not so the 
 apostle Paul. In that large heart which weighed so justly 
 and with single eye, there was a deepening feeling as 
 
396 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 to all that he saw around him ; there was a realizing of 
 the importance of things of which he had said not a 
 word before. For him the light of eternity already- 
 shone strongly on present things, instead of taking 
 him completely out of them. And tliis, I believe, is 
 much to be considered. 
 
 "I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the 
 gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of 
 my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of 
 fear" (it was what Timothy was manifesting), "but 
 of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not 
 thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord " 
 (there must, I suppose, have been some ground for the 
 exhortation), " nor of me his prisoner : but be thou 
 partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to 
 the power of God ; who hath saved us, and called us 
 with an holy calling, not according to our works, but 
 according to his own purpose and grace, which was 
 given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Here 
 we have him recurring to that which was entirely out- 
 side nature, and before its very platform existed. At 
 tlie same time there is the carrying on his full notice 
 of everything found here below that would be a source 
 of comfort to one who anticipated the ruin of Chris- 
 tendom. 
 
 Afterwards he also speaks of his own work and of 
 that which he was suffering. Instead of hiding either 
 from Timothy, he points all out to him. He wants to 
 accustom his mind to expect hardship instead of shirk- 
 ing it. He tells him further to " hold fast the form of 
 sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and 
 love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which 
 was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 397 
 
 dwelleth in us." At the same time he shows also his 
 sense of the kindness of a particular individual and 
 his family. "The Lord give mercy unto the house of 
 Onesiphorus ; for he oft refreshed me, and was not 
 ashamed of my chain ; but, when he was in Rome, he 
 sought me out very diligently, and found me." It 
 appears it was not merely in Rome. " The Lord grant 
 unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that 
 day." The same tone of mercy is equally promised in 
 this epistle as in the last. "And in how many things he 
 ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well." 
 
 In the second chapter he turns to another theme, 
 he instructs and exhorts Timothy as to communicating 
 (not authority, or status, or gift, but) truth to others. 
 It is not a question here about elders, but what would 
 abide all the same when elders could not be duly ap- 
 pointed. He is now looking at the state of disorder in 
 the house of God, instead of contemplating it in its 
 public integrity, as in the first epistle. There was a 
 state of things coming when it would be impossible to 
 have local charges chosen according to the full sanction 
 which they had in apostolic days. Indeed it may be 
 well to remark here, that we never read of Timothy 
 appointing bishops or elders. Possibly he did appoint 
 them ; but there is no scriptural proof of it. Titus, we 
 know, did so ; but God took care that it should never 
 be positively stated about Timothy. The peculiar task 
 confided to the latter was care of doctrine much more 
 than of outward order. As far as appointment went, 
 Titus had a commission to establish elders in each city 
 of Crete; but not so Timothy, as far as the inspired 
 records speak. 
 
398 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 "Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that 
 is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast 
 heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit 
 thou to faithful men." We must not be afraid of a 
 manifest duty because it has been abused. There are 
 those who shrink from helping on others in order to the 
 work and doctrine of the Lord. This I cannot but con- 
 sider as a proof of want of faith. What is a man w^ell 
 taudit in the truth for, if not to communicate his 
 knowledge to others that are faithful, but not equally 
 instructed in the word of God ? Surely if it is an urgent 
 call to convey what we know of Christ and the truth 
 to those that know nothing, it is a great privilege to 
 help to contribute a greater knowledge of the truth to 
 those that know little. The great thing is to do the 
 will of God, let others say what they please ; and so 
 the apostle Paul exhorts Timothy. It is to be supposed 
 that the younger labourer cowered somewhat, unwilling 
 to incur the odious charge, so easily made but hard to 
 refute, of setting himself up and taking the place of 
 some great one. This might deter a sensitive saint 
 from his duty. But, says the apostle, " be strong in the 
 grace that is in Christ Jesus." This was to touch the 
 right chord in his heart. Had the Lord Jesus not sent 
 him ? Why then yield to the enemy ? Assuredly he 
 would rejoice to scare Timothy from the field of serving 
 Christ, and would shrink from no means to secure it. 
 
 "And the things that thou hast heard of me among 
 many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, 
 who shall be able to teach others also." He would not 
 have him to be spreading doubtful opinions ; but what 
 he had heard from the apostle himself he need not 
 scruple to give out freely. Let me remark, that there 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 399 
 
 are comparatively few indeed that receive tnitli without 
 help of others directly from God. A great many certainly 
 flatter themselves that they are thus favoured ; but the 
 cases are uncommon where it is more than pretence. The 
 fact is that God loves to make His children mutually 
 dependent ; and if we are only humble, there are very 
 few saints from whom we may not derive some good, 
 though not always in the same way. Nor do I at all 
 see that any Christians should be above learning, if 
 others can teach. At any rate the apostle presses this 
 very strongly on Timothy. He was to communicate 
 the things he had learnt of Paul, that they might be 
 able to teach others also. 
 
 Next he comes to a more personal need. "Thou 
 therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus 
 Christ." To take pains and to endure are requisite even 
 in what pertains to this life. "No man that warreth 
 entangleth himself with the affairs of this life" (he must 
 be unencumbered, and undivided in his object) ; " that 
 he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 
 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not 
 crowned, except he strive lawfully." He must take care 
 of the manner in which he strives. And then again "the 
 husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of 
 the fruits." Eather he must " labour before he partake 
 of the fruits." That is, he must first labour, and then 
 partake of the fruits. God takes care of His people, and 
 ensures them a blessed end. At the same time He 
 will have them undividedly for Himself; and He is also 
 jealous of the way in which they seek even the ends of 
 God. 
 
 Then the apostle puts before them a blessed model 
 of that which he had before his own soul. " Consider 
 
400 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 what I say ; and the Lord give thee understanding in 
 all things. Eemember that Jesus Christ, of the seed 
 of David, was raised from the dead according. to my 
 gospel." This is a very striking word. For he does 
 not say Jesus Christ simply in His connection with the 
 church, but " of the seed of David," the fulfiller of the 
 promises, and object of the prophecies. Even if we 
 look at Him so, He was raised from the dead. Eesur- 
 rection is the form and character of the lowest blessings 
 of which Jesus is the dispenser; much more is He 
 risen to exalt God in the highest. Death and resurrec- 
 tion, then, are thus put before this servant of God ; 
 the more remarkably, because the point here is a prac- 
 tical and not a doctrinal question. He was to remember, 
 then, "that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was 
 raised from the dead according to my gospel : wherein 
 I suffer trouble, as an evil-doer, even unto bonds ; but 
 the word of God is not bound." Paul suffered as he 
 taught : a single eye to Christ and His grace made 
 him consistent. " Put them in remembrance, charginof 
 them before the Lord that they strive not about words 
 to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. 
 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman 
 that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the 
 word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings." 
 It was thus Paul treated the proud reasonings and 
 speculations of man; withal briefly touching on those 
 that had gone entirely astray — Hymenseus and Philetus. 
 It was not merely now that they had made their con- 
 sciences bad and slipped away from faith. Their own 
 word would eat as a canker, and do harm to others as 
 well as to themselves, " who concerning the truth have 
 erred, saying that the resurrection is past already ; and 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 401 
 
 overthrow the faith of some." This was to reverse 
 the lesson of a risen Christ, and to open the way for 
 all laxity. It was a kindred error, though in an oppo- 
 site direction, to that which false teachers sought to 
 infuse among the Thessalonians : there that the day of 
 the Lord was come, producing panic; here that the 
 resurrection was past, leading to ease. The one was 
 suited to upset the young, the other to beguile the 
 old. 
 
 Then the apostle brings out most important directions 
 for the days that were then coming in, but now come, 
 and more. Questions are before him more serious than 
 a maintenance of order. How are we to walk so as 
 to please the Lord when disorder reigns, claiming to 
 be the only true order? In a measure, no doubt, the 
 truth is in Christendom, and only there ; for one can- 
 not look for the truth in Judaism or heathenism now. 
 Judaism had its divine institutions and hopes, but the 
 truth is found in Christendom only : nevertheless in 
 Christendom, who fails to discern Jewish elements and 
 heathenish enormities? How is a man to walk in 
 such a state of things as this ? In the former epistle, 
 Timothy was told how to behave in the house of God, 
 as yet in order ; but now we are told how to behave 
 in such a state of things as the present disorder. "The 
 foundation of God standeth sure [or, the firm foun- 
 dation of God standeth], having this seal. The Lord 
 knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that 
 nameth the name" — not of "Christ," but — "of the Lord 
 depart from iniquity." I must do so, if I own Him only 
 in the indispensable truth of His Lordship — if I own 
 Him simply as the One that has authority over my soul. 
 And a less confession than this God never permitted 
 
 D D 
 
402 • INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 the church to accept ; nor in fact in Jerusalem itself 
 was less ever accepted than the naming the name of 
 the Lord. God had made Jesus to be Lord and Christ, 
 preached Peter on that day of power, when as yet much 
 lay hid, and the great instrument of the revelation of the 
 myster}^ was still shrouded in the darkness of midnight. 
 But, if one confesses the name of the Lord, the word 
 is imperative: "let him depart from iniquity." The 
 disorder might be so great that we might make mis- 
 takes in our anxiety ; but " The Lord knoweth them 
 that are his." On the other hand, if a soul confesses the 
 name of the Lord, he must have done with iniquity. 
 
 This of itself indicates that the epistle provides 
 for a time when it is no longer simply a question of 
 recognising persons coming out of the world. It is 
 needful to exercise judgment now. One must try 
 disorders and prove profession. Truth and holiness 
 and endurance are wanted, not authority or outward 
 order. "Why cannot a man be as simple now as in 
 apostolic times? Why not baptize at once every soul 
 around ? It would not be accordant with the mind of 
 God. It is a duty in the present state of confusion to 
 use scriptural means ; and here we have our warrant, 
 as in the epistles we find more. Whatever therefore 
 may be right in certain cases, the assembly of God 
 ought never to be forced to put every case on the same 
 dead level — ought never to be bound by any special 
 process, as if it were unalterable. The cause of this 
 is the present confusion, and accordingly the apostle 
 brings a picture of it before Timothy's mind. 
 
 " In a great house there are not only vessels of gold 
 and of silver, but also of wood and of earth ; and some 
 to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. , 403 
 
 purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto 
 honour, sanctified, and meet for the ^master's use, and 
 prepared unto every good work." That is, it is not 
 enough that I should walk with the Lord individually, 
 but I must clear myself of association with that which 
 is contrary to His name. Such is the meaning of 
 purging himself. It is not the question of discipline — 
 dealing with evil ways; but here we are in a state of 
 things where we are in danger of being mixed up 
 with vessels unto the Lord's dishonour. Nothing can 
 sanction this. I am not at liberty of course to leave 
 Christendom, I dare not get out of the great house at 
 all ; indeed I cannot (at any rate without becoming an 
 apostate) leave the house of God, however bad its state 
 may be. This is evidently not the true remedy — to 
 abandon the confession of Christ : only an apostate 
 could think of it. On the other hand, it is unholy to 
 tamper with evil. Therefore it is incumbent for the 
 Christian to look to this gravely, — never to be dragged 
 by the fear of breaking unity into accrediting what 
 dishonours the Lord. Now this is in particular a diffi- 
 culty for saints, when they have revived before the soul 
 the blessedness of maintaining the unity of the Spirit. 
 It can never cease to be a Christian's duty to main- 
 tain the unity of the Spirit ; but it is not maintaining 
 the unity of the Spirit to couple wdth the name of the 
 Lord that which is fleshly and sinful. It is well to 
 be exclusive of sin, but of nothing else. It is well to 
 maintain the largest heart for everything that is really 
 of Christ. But we must exclude that which is contrary 
 to His name; and the very same desire to prove one's 
 love, one's faith, one's appreciation of Christ, will make 
 one anxious not to be dragged into that which is not 
 
 D D 2 
 
404 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 for His glory. " If a man therefore purge himself from 
 these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and 
 meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every 
 good work." 
 
 But then another thing. He lets Timothy know that 
 while he laid this on others, he must look carefully to 
 his own w^ays. " Flee also youthful lusts : but follow 
 righteousness, faith, charity, peace." It is not simply 
 now to follow these, as urged in the first epistle (vi. 11); 
 but he adds a most characteristic word in the second 
 epistle. And this, I apprehend, is the reason. He forbad 
 his going on in association with those that dishonour 
 the Lord, with vessels to dishonour; but he tells him 
 to follow these things "with them that call on the 
 Lord out of a pure heart." Therefore, isolation is 
 never desirable, though it may be sometimes necessary. 
 But no man ought to separate himself from the chil- 
 dren of God, unless it be a dire necessity for the Lord ; 
 it is clearly not according to Christ. It seems to me, I 
 confess, that if there were simplicity of faith, the Lord 
 would give one eyes to see some at least that call upon 
 the Lord out of a pure heart. 
 
 Thus we have everything cared for here ; the state of 
 confusion is clearly depicted, as it then was beginning, 
 and as results have proved yet more. How gracious 
 of the Lord to point out the path for the saint, separate 
 from that which grieves the Lord, yet enjoying all that 
 He sees good for us of the privileges of Christianity ! 
 Otherwise this might have seemed to be (what unbelief 
 taunts and stigmatizes it, spite of His sanction) pride 
 of heart and presumption. And the comfort is that, if 
 prepared to cleave to the will of the Lord alone, w^e 
 shall have, through His grace, fellowship with the true- 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 405 
 
 hearted. "Follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, 
 with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 
 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing 
 that they do gender strifes. And a servant of the Lord 
 must not strive, but be gentle toward all, apt to teach, 
 forbearing, in meekness correcting those that oppose, if 
 perhaps God may give them repentance for acknow- 
 ledgment of the truth, and they may for his will wake 
 up out of the snare of the devil, having been taken 
 captive by him." This was always the becoming tone ; 
 but now it is imperiously necessary, as well as wise 
 and good. 
 
 Then in chapter iii. he proceeds to show us not 
 merely a picture of the condition that Christianity will 
 fall into, but, besides, a state of things that would be 
 produced by this confusion. Here we find the perilous 
 times fairly brought before us. " !Men shall be lovers 
 of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blas- 
 phemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 
 without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, 
 incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 
 traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more 
 than lovers of God." Things are very much taking 
 this direction of late, and at the present moment. Take 
 what is called physical Christianity — a stupid, gross, 
 and heathenish phrase, but just enough to show where 
 people are drifting to. It answers not a little to the 
 kind of thing set forth here. As we know, there may 
 be over it all a certain form of godliness, but under- 
 neath it is really wickedness. This the apostle guq,rds 
 Timothy against, and indeed ourselves. He warns him 
 how seduction would go on more and more, but " from 
 
406 INTRODUCTORY LECTURES. 
 
 such turn a^vay," No matter what the reasons or ex- 
 cuses for joining with them, "turn away." 
 
 Then he points out the two principal guards for the 
 faithful, in such a perilous state. The first is the moral 
 character of the source or channel whence Timothy had 
 derived what he knew. "Thou hast fully known my 
 doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, 
 charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions." It is the 
 whole spiritual experience, so to speak, of the apostle. 
 He was to continue in the things which he had learned, 
 and had been assured of, knowing of whom he had 
 learned them — a very important point. Persons some- 
 times say it does not matter who taught ; but God does 
 not treat the matter so lightly. It is often a .very great 
 safeguard for the saint of God ; for, after all, it makes 
 no small difference who says this or that. A word al- 
 together unbecoming in one mouth might be most 
 proper in another. The apostle well knew that the God 
 who had brought these glorious truths to man, the God 
 that had manifested His grace, had given a witness of 
 their reality in the man from whom he had learned 
 them ; and this was meant to have an enduring effect 
 on the conscience and heart of Timothy. For it is 
 not dogma pure and simple, it is not mere instruction ; 
 and we may thank God for it. It is an immense bless- 
 ing that we have the truth not only in a book, but in 
 a practical shape, the truth that comes out of the heart 
 and from the lips of living men of God. Accordingly 
 the apostle reminds Timothy of this. 
 
 At the same time there is not the smallest slight of 
 th^ only and abiding standard. He brings out the 
 infinite value of the Scriptures, that is of what was 
 written, the one transcendent resource for perilous times 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 407 
 
 when we have not the presence and personal help of 
 apostles. It is not merely what had been preached, but 
 what is in a permanent shape for the good of the saints 
 of God here below, which elicits the remarkable asser- 
 tion of its peculiar worth. "Every scripture" — for this 
 is the proper force of the passage — " Every scripture 
 is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for 
 doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in 
 righteousness : that the man of God may be perfect, 
 thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 
 
 The closing chapter (iv.) then gives his solemn charge, 
 and at the same time his own expression of what was 
 before him. As Timothy was about to enter upon a new 
 phase of his ministry, without the apostle's presence or 
 living counsel, the latter charges him with great em- 
 phasis, "before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and 
 his kingdom ; preach the word, be instant in season, 
 out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long- 
 suffering and doctrine." And the reason why he makes 
 it so urgent not to be turned aside was, that the time 
 would come when men would not endure sound doc- 
 trine; but after their own lusts they should heap to 
 themselves teachers, having itching ears; and tliey 
 should turn away their ears from the truth, and should 
 be turned unto fables. " But watch thou in all things, 
 endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make 
 full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be 
 offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I 
 have fought a good hght, I have finished my course, I 
 have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me 
 a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
 
408 INTEODUCTOKY LECTURES. 
 
 judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, 
 but unto all them also that love his appearing." Thus 
 he looks not to the coming of the Lord to receive him 
 to Himself, but to the " appearing of the Lord," which 
 is the usual side of the truth taken in these epistles. 
 The reason is obvious. The coming of the Lord will 
 in no way manifest the faithfulness of the servant ; His 
 appearing will. At " that day" will be the display of 
 whatever has been endured, as well as done, for the 
 Lord's sake. 
 
 With this prospect he comforts Timothy no less 
 than his own spirit; but at the same time he speaks 
 as to joining him, with a glance at one that had for- 
 saken him. "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved 
 this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica ; 
 Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke 
 is with me." He was comparatively alone. If he does 
 not hide the sorrowful view of an old fellow-labourer's 
 cooling in zeal, with all its dangers, the consolation is 
 also before Timothy both of those that go on in faithful 
 labour, and of one at least restored. " Take Mark, and 
 bring him with thee : for he is profitable to me for the 
 ministry." So we find that God knows how to temper 
 the bitter with the sweet, always doing the right thing 
 in the right place and time. 
 
 Thus he comforts Timothy at the same time that he 
 admonishes him. In the midst of all, he is told to 
 bring the cloak that he left at Troas with Carpus, and 
 the books, but especially the parchments. This again 
 has stumbled the minds of men. They cannot under- 
 stand an inspired apostle talking about a cloak in the 
 midst of a divinely given pastoral charge. The reason 
 is manifest: they themselves savour of the things of 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 409 
 
 men, and not of God. There is nothing that more 
 shows God than His ability to combine that which 
 is eternal with care for the smallest things of this life. 
 It was not then an indifferent matter to God. The 
 Holy Spirit would make it to be most practical and 
 precious. Be assured, that if you do not bring the 
 Spirit of God into these matters, perhaps your cloak, 
 perhaps a book, will become a snare to you. To many a 
 man and woman has a little bit of dress done no small 
 injury, just because they think it is too little for the 
 Spirit of God to direct them in. "The cloke," then 
 says he, " that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou 
 comest, bring with thee, and the books," — not only the 
 clothing, but even that w^hich he is to read, — "especially 
 the parchments ; " — what he was going to write on, 
 probably. "Alexander the coppersmith did me much 
 evil : the Lord reward him according to his w^orks : of 
 whom be thou ware also ; for he hath greatly withstood 
 our words." 
 
 Finally, we have his assertion of the blessed Lord's 
 care, and his confidence in Him that He would preserve 
 him from all evil to His heavenly kingdom ; closing 
 this solemn and touching epistle (it would seem the 
 last words he wrote) with salutations to various saints. 
 
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