,libraries7 ,transcriber's ,note3 ,a few minor typographical errors and inconsistencies have been silently corrected4 ,all advertising material has been placed at the end of the text4 ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,editor of ,the ,expositor1 etc4 ,,colossians ,,and ,,philemon ,,by ,,alexander ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,london ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row ,,mcmii ,,the ,,epistles ,,of ,,st4 ,,paul ,,to ,,the ,,colossians ,,and ,,philemon ,,by ,,alexander ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,,tenth ,,edition ,london3 ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row ,,mcmii ,printed by ,hazell1 ,watson1 ,viney1 ,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury4 ,,contents4 ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,the ,,colossians4 ,,page ,chap4 ,i4 v4 #a1 #b4 ,the ,writer and the ,readers #a v4 #c-h4 ,the ,prelude #ba v4 #i-ab4 ,the ,prayer #ch v4 #ab-ad4 ,the ,father's ,gifts through the ,son #ed v4 #ae-ah4 ,the ,glory of the ,son in ,his ,relation to the ,father1 the ,universe1 and the ,church #gj v4 #ai-bb4 ,the ,reconciling ,son #he v4 #bb1 #bc4 ,the ,ultimate ,purpose of ,reconciliation and its ,human ,conditions #ajj v4 #bd-bg4 ,joy in ,suffering1 and ,triumph in the ,manifested ,mystery #aaf v4 #bh1 #bi4 ,the ,christian ,ministry in its ,theme1 ,methods1 and ,aim #acb ,chap4 ,,ii4 v4 #a-c4 ,paul's ,striving for the ,colossians #aea v4 #d-g4 ,conciliatory and ,hortatory ,transition to ,polemics #afh v4 #h-aj4 ,the ,bane and the ,antidote #ahe v4 #aa-ac4 ,the ,true ,circumcision #aii v4 #ad1 #ae4 ,the ,cross the ,death of ,law and the ,triumph over ,evil ,powers #bac v4 #af-ai4 ,warnings against ,twin ,chief ,errors based upon ,previous ,positive ,teaching #bbf v4 #bj-bc4 ,two ,final ,tests of the ,false ,teaching #bdb ,chap4 ,,iii4 v4 #a-d4 ,the ,present ,christian ,life a ,risen ,life #beg v4 #e-i4 ,slaying ,self the ,foundation ,precept of ,practical ,christianity #bga v4 #i-aa4 ,the ,new ,nature wrought out in ,new ,life #bij v4 #ab-ad4 ,the ,garments of the ,renewed ,soul #cje v4 #ae-ag4 ,the ,practical ,effects of the ,peace of ,christ1 the ,word of ,christ1 and the ,name of ,christ #cbj v4 #ah1 ,ch4 iv41 #a4 ,the ,christian ,family #cce ,chap4 ,,iv4 v4 #b-f4 ,precepts for the ,innermost and ,outermost ,life #ced v4 #g-i4 ,tychicus and ,onesimus1 the ,letter-,bearers #cga v4 #aj-ad4 ,salutations from the ,prisoner's ,friends #chf v4 #ae-ah4 ,closing ,messages #djb ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,philemon4 ,chap4 ,i4 v4 #a-c #dag v4 #d-g #dcb v4 #h-aa #ddg v4 #ab-ad #dei v4 #ae-ai #dgj v4 #bj-be #dhc ,i4 ,,the ,,writer ,,and ,,the ,,readers4 ,paul1 an ,apostle of ,christ ,jesus through the will of ,god1 and ,timothy our brother1 to the saints and faithful brethren in ,christ which are at ,colossae3 ,grace to you and peace from ,god our ,father4--,,col4 i1 #a1 #b 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,we may say that each of ,paul's greater epistles has in it one salient thought4 ,in that to the ,romans1 it is ,justification by faith2 in ,ephesians1 it is the mystical union of ,christ and ,his ,church2 in ,philippians1 it is the joy of ,christian progress2 in this epistle1 it is the dignity and sole sufficiency of ,jesus ,christ as the ,mediator and ,head of all creation and of the ,church4 ,such a thought is emphatically a lesson for the day4 ,the ,christ whom the world needs to have proclaimed in every deaf ear and lifted up before blind and reluctant eyes1 is not merely the perfect man1 nor only the meek sufferer1 but the ,source of creation and its ,lord1 ,who from the beginning has been the life of all that has lived1 and before the beginning was in the bosom of the ,father4 ,the shallow and starved religion which contents itself with mere humanitarian conceptions of ,jesus of ,nazareth needs to be deepened and filled out by these lofty truths before it can acquire solidity and steadfastness sufficient to be the unmoved foundation of sinful and mortal lives4 ,the evangelistic teaching which concentrates exclusive attention on the cross as the work of ,christ1 needs to be led to the contemplation of them1 in order to understand the cross1 and to have its mystery as well as its meaning declared4 ,this letter itself dwells upon two applications of its principles to two classes of error which1 in somewhat changed forms1 exist now as then--the error of the ceremonialist1 to whom religion was mainly a matter of ritual1 and the error of the speculative thinker1 to whom the universe was filled with forces which left no room for the working of a personal ,will4 ,the vision of the living ,christ ,who fills all things1 is held up before each of these two1 as the antidote to his poison2 and that same vision must be made clear to-day to the modern representatives of these ancient errors4 ,if we are able to grasp with heart and mind the principles of this epistle for ourselves1 we shall stand at the centre of things1 seeing order where from any other position confusion only is apparent1 and being at the point of rest instead of being hurried along by the wild whirl of conflicting opinions4 ,i desire1 therefore1 to present the teachings of this great epistle in a series of expositions4 ,before advancing to the consideration of these verses1 we must deal with one or two introductory matters1 so as to get the frame and the background for the picture4 7#a7 ,first1 as to the ,church of ,colossae to which the letter is addressed4 ,perhaps too much has been made of late years of geographical and topographical elucidations of ,paul's epistles4 ,a knowledge of the place to which a letter was sent cannot do much to help in understanding the letter1 for local circumstances leave very faint traces1 if any1 on the ,apostle's writings4 ,here and there an allusion may be detected1 or a metaphor may gain in point by such knowledge2 but1 for the most part1 local colouring is entirely absent4 ,some slight indication1 however1 of the situation and circumstances of the ,colossian ,church may help to give vividness to our conceptions of the little community to whom this rich treasure of truth was first entrusted4 ,colossae was a town in the heart of the modern ,asia ,minor1 much decayed in ,paul's time from its earlier importance4 ,it lay in a valley of ,phrygia1 on the banks of a small stream1 the ,lycus1 down the course of which1 at a distance of some ten miles or so1 two very much more important cities fronted each other1 ,hierapolis on the north1 and ,laodicea on the south bank of the river4 ,in all three cities were ,christian ,churches1 as we know from this letter1 one of which has attained the bad eminence of having become the type of tepid religion for all the world4 ,how strange to think of the tiny community in a remote valley of ,asia ,minor1 eighteen centuries since1 thus gibbeted for ever6 ,these stray beams of light which fall upon the people in the ,new ,testament1 showing them fixed for ever in one attitude1 like a lightning flash in the darkness1 are solemn precursors of the last ,apocalypse1 when all men shall be revealed in the brightness of ,his coming4 ,paul does not seem to have been the founder of these ,churches1 or ever to have visited them at the date of this letter4 ,that opinion is based on several of its characteristics1 such1 for instance1 as the absence of any of those kindly greetings to individuals which in the ,apostle's other letters are so abundant1 and reveal at once the warmth and the delicacy of his affection3 and the allusions which occur more than once to his having only heard of their faith and love1 and is strongly supported by the expression in the second chapter where he speaks of the conflict in spirit which he had for you1 and for them at ,laodicea1 and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh4 ,probably the teacher who planted the gospel in ,colossae was that ,epaphras1 whose visit to ,rome occasioned the letter1 and who is referred to in verse #g of this chapter in terms which seem to suggest that he had first made known to them the fruit-producing word of the truth of the gospel4 7#b7 ,note the occasion and subject of the letter4 ,paul is a prisoner1 in a certain sense1 in ,rome2 but the word prisoner conveys a false impression of the amount of restriction of personal liberty to which he was subjected4 ,we know from the last words of the ,acts of the ,apostles1 and from the ,epistle to the ,philippians1 that his imprisonment did not in the least interfere with his liberty of preaching1 nor with his intercourse with friends4 ,rather1 in the view of the facilities it gave that by him the preaching might be fully known1 it may be regarded1 as indeed the writer of the ,acts seems to regard it1 as the very climax and topstone of ,paul's work1 wherewith his history may fitly end1 leaving the champion of the gospel at the very heart of the world1 with unhindered liberty to proclaim his message by the very throne of ,caesar4 ,he was sheltered rather than confined beneath the wing of the imperial eagle4 ,his imprisonment1 as we call it1 was1 at all events at first1 detention in ,rome under military supervision rather than incarceration4 ,so to his lodgings in ,rome there comes a brother from this decaying little town in the far-off valley of the ,lycus1 ,epaphras by name4 ,whether his errand was exclusively to consult ,paul about the state of the ,colossian ,church1 or whether some other business also had brought him to ,rome1 we do not know2 at all events1 he comes and brings with him bad news1 which burdens ,paul's heart with solicitude for the little community1 which had no remembrances of his own authoritative teaching to fall back upon4 ,many a night would he and ,epaphras spend in deep converse on the matter1 with the stolid ,roman legionary1 to whom ,paul was chained1 sitting wearily by1 while they two eagerly talked4 ,the tidings were that a strange disease1 hatched in that hotbed of religious fancies1 the dreamy ,east1 was threatening the faith of the ,colossian ,christians4 ,a peculiar form of heresy1 singularly compounded of ,jewish ritualism and ,oriental mysticism--two elements as hard to blend in the foundation of a system as the heterogeneous iron and clay on which the image in ,nebuchadnezzar's dream stood unstably--had appeared among them1 and though at present confined to a few1 was being vigorously preached4 ,the characteristic ,eastern dogma1 that matter is evil and the source of evil1 which underlies so much ,oriental religion1 and crept in so early to corrupt ,christianity1 and crops up to-day in so many strange places and unexpected ways1 had begun to infect them4 ,the conclusion was quickly drawn3 ,well1 then1 if matter be the source of all evil1 then1 of course1 ,god and matter must be antagonistic1 and so the creation and government of this material universe could not be supposed to have come directly from ,him4 ,the endeavour to keep the pure ,divinity and the gross world as far apart as possible1 while yet an intellectual necessity forbad the entire breaking of the bond between them1 led to the busy working of the imagination1 which spanned the void gulf between ,god ,who is good1 and matter which is evil1 with a bridge of cobwebs--a chain of intermediate beings1 emanations1 abstractions1 each approaching more nearly to the material than his precursor1 till at last the intangible and infinite was confined and curdled into actual earthly matter1 and the pure was darkened thereby into evil4 ,such notions1 fantastic and remote from daily life as they look1 really led by a very short cut to making wild work with the plainest moral teachings both of the natural conscience and of ,christianity4 ,for if matter be the source of all evil1 then the fountain of each man's sin is to be found1 not in his own perverted will1 but in his body1 and the cure of it is to be reached1 not by faith which plants a new life in a sinful spirit1 but simply by ascetic mortification of the flesh4 ,strangely united with these mystical ,eastern teachings1 which might so easily be perverted to the coarsest sensuality1 and had their heads in the clouds and their feet in the mud1 were the narrowest doctrines of ,jewish ritualism1 insisting on circumcision1 laws regulating food1 the observance of feast days1 and the whole cumbrous apparatus of a ceremonial religion4 ,it is a monstrous combination1 a cross between a ,talmudical rabbi and a ,buddhist priest1 and yet it is not unnatural that1 after soaring in these lofty regions of speculation where the air is too thin to support life1 men should be glad to get hold of the externals of an elaborate ritual4 ,it is not the first nor the last time that a misplaced philosophical religion has got close to a religion of outward observances1 to keep it from shivering itself to death4 ,extremes meet4 ,if you go far enough east1 you are west4 ,such1 generally speaking1 was the error that was beginning to lift its head in ,colossae4 ,religious fanaticism was at home in that country1 from which1 both in heathen and in ,christian times1 wild rites and notions emanated1 and the ,apostle might well dread the effect of this new teaching1 as of a spark on hay1 on the excitable natures of the ,colossian converts4 ,now we may say1 ,what does all this matter to us8 ,we are in no danger of being haunted by the ghosts of these dead heresies4 ,but the truth which ,paul opposed to them is all important for every age4 ,it was simply the ,person of ,christ as the only manifestation of the ,divine1 the link between ,god and the universe1 its ,creator and ,preserver1 the ,light and ,life of men1 the ,lord and ,inspirer of the ,church1 ,christ has come1 laying ,his hand upon both ,god and man1 therefore there is no need nor place for a misty crowd of angelic beings or shadowy abstractions to bridge the gulf across which ,his incarnation flings its single solid arch4 ,christ has been bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh1 therefore that cannot be the source of evil in which the fulness of the ,godhead has dwelt as in a shrine4 ,christ has come1 the fountain of life and holiness1 therefore there is no more place for ascetic mortifications on the one hand1 nor for ,jewish scrupulosities on the other4 ,these things might detract from the completeness of faith in the complete redemption which ,christ has wrought1 and must becloud the truth that simple faith in it is all which a man needs4 ,to urge these and the like truths this letter is written4 ,its central principle is the sovereign and exclusive mediation of ,jesus ,christ1 the ,god-man1 the victorious antagonist of these dead speculations1 and the destined conqueror of all the doubts and confusions of this day4 ,if we grasp with mind and heart that truth1 we can possess our souls in patience1 and in its light see light where else is darkness and uncertainty4 99 99 99 99 99 ,so much then for introduction1 and now a few words of comment on the superscription of the letter contained in these verses4 ,i4 ,notice the blending of lowliness and authority in ,paul's designation of himself4 ,an ,apostle of ,christ ,jesus through the will of ,god4 ,he does not always bring his apostolic authority to mind at the beginning of his letters4 ,in his earliest epistles1 those to the ,thessalonians1 he has not yet adopted the practice4 ,in the loving and joyous letter to the ,philippians1 he has no need to urge his authority1 for no man among them ever gainsaid it4 ,in that to ,philemon1 friendship is uppermost1 and though1 as he says1 he might be much bold to enjoin1 yet he prefers to beseech1 and will not command as ,apostle1 but pleads as the prisoner of ,christ ,jesus4 ,in his other letters he put his authority in the foreground as here1 and it may be noticed that it and its basis in the will of ,god are asserted with greatest emphasis in the ,epistle to the ,galatians1 where he has to deal with more defiant opposition than elsewhere encountered him4 ,here he puts forth his claim to the apostolate1 in the highest sense of the word4 ,he asserts his equality with the original ,apostles1 the chosen witnesses for the reality of ,christ's resurrection4 ,he1 too1 had seen the risen ,lord1 and heard the words of ,his mouth4 ,he shared with them the prerogative of certifying from personal experience that ,jesus is risen and lives to bless and rule4 ,paul's whole ,christianity was built on the belief that ,jesus ,christ had actually appeared to him4 ,that vision on the road to ,damascus revolutionised his life4 ,because he had seen his ,lord and heard his duty from ,his lips1 he had become what he was4 ,through the will of ,god is at once an assertion of ,divine authority1 a declaration of independence of all human teaching or appointment1 and a most lowly disclaimer of individual merit1 or personal power4 ,few religious teachers have had so strongly marked a character as ,paul1 or have so constantly brought their own experience into prominence2 but the weight which he expected to be attached to his words was to be due entirely to their being the words which ,god spoke through him4 ,if this opening clause were to be paraphrased it would be3 ,i speak to you because ,god has sent me4 ,i am not an ,apostle by my own will1 nor by my own merit4 ,i am not worthy to be called an ,apostle4 ,i am a poor sinner like yourselves1 and it is a miracle of love and mercy that ,god should put ,his words into such lips4 ,but ,he does speak through me2 my words are neither mine nor learned from any other man1 but ,his4 ,never mind the cracked pipe through which the ,divine breath makes music1 but listen to the music4 ,so ,paul thought of his message2 so the uncompromising assertion of authority was united with deep humility4 ,do we come to his words1 believing that we hear ,god speaking through ,paul8 ,here is no formal doctrine of inspiration1 but here is the claim to be the organ of the ,divine will and mind1 to which we ought to listen as indeed the voice of ,god4 ,the gracious humility of the man is further seen in his association with himself1 as joint senders of the letter1 of his young brother ,timothy1 who has no apostolic authority1 but whose concurrence in its teaching might give it some additional weight4 ,for the first few verses he remembers to speak in the plural1 as in the name of both--we give thanks1 ,epaphras declared to us your love1 and so on2 but in the fiery sweep of his thoughts ,timothy is soon left out of sight1 and ,paul alone pours out the wealth of his ,divine wisdom and the warmth of his fervid heart4 ,,ii4 ,we may observe the noble ideal of the ,christian character set forth in the designations of the ,colossian ,church1 as saints and faithful brethren in ,christ4 ,in his earlier letters ,paul addresses himself to the ,church2 in his later1 beginning with the ,epistle to the ,romans1 and including the three great epistles from his captivity1 namely1 ,ephesians1 ,philippians1 and ,colossians1 he drops the word ,church1 and uses expressions which regard the individuals composing the community rather than the community which they compose4 ,the slight change thus indicated in the ,apostle's point of view is interesting1 however it may be accounted for4 ,there is no reason to suppose it done of set purpose1 and certainly it did not arise from any lowered estimate of the sacredness of the ,church1 which is nowhere put on higher ground than in the letter to ,ephesus1 which belongs to the later period2 but it may be that advancing years and familiarity with his work1 with his position of authority1 and with his auditors1 all tended to draw him closer to them1 and insensibly led to the disuse of the more formal and official address to the ,church in favour of the simpler and more affectionate superscription1 to the brethren4 ,be that as it may1 the lessons to be drawn from the names here given to the members of the ,church are the more important matter for us4 ,it would be interesting and profitable to examine the meaning of all the ,new ,testament names for believers1 and to learn the lessons which they teach2 but we must for the present confine ourselves to those which occur here4 ,saints--a word that has been wofully misapplied both by the ,church and the world4 ,the former has given it as a special honour to a few1 and decorated with it mainly the possessors of a false ideal of sanctity--that of the ascetic and monastic sort4 ,the latter uses it with a sarcastic intonation1 as if it implied much cry and little wool1 loud professions and small performance1 not without a touch of hypocrisy and crafty self-seeking4 ,saints are not people living in cloisters after a fantastic ideal1 but men and women immersed in the vulgar work of every-day life and worried by the small prosaic anxieties which fret us all1 who amidst the whirr of the spindle in the mill1 and the clink of the scales on the counter1 and the hubbub of the market-place and the jangle of the courts1 are yet living lives of conscious devotion to ,god4 ,the root idea of the word1 which is an ,old ,testament word1 is not moral purity1 but separation to ,god4 ,the holy things of the old covenant were things set apart from ordinary use for ,his service4 ,so1 on the high priest's mitre was written ,holiness to the ,lord4 ,so the ,sabbath was kept holy1 because set apart from the week in obedience to ,divine command4 ,sanctity1 and saint1 are used now mainly with the idea of moral purity1 but that is a secondary meaning4 ,the real primary signification is separation to ,god4 ,consecration to ,him is the root from which the white flower of purity springs most surely4 ,there is a deep lesson in the word as to the true method of attaining cleanness of life and spirit4 ,we cannot make ourselves pure1 but we can yield ourselves to ,god and the purity will come4 ,but we have not only here the fundamental idea of holiness1 and the connection of purity of character with self-consecration to ,god1 but also the solemn obligation on all so-called ,christians thus to separate and devote themselves to ,him4 ,we are ,christians as far as we give ourselves up to ,god1 in the surrender of our wills and the practical obedience of our lives--so far and not one inch further4 ,we are not merely bound to this consecration if we are ,christians1 but we are not ,christians unless we thus consecrate ourselves4 ,pleasing self1 and making my own will my law1 and living for my own ends1 is destructive of all ,christianity4 ,saints are not an eminent sort of ,christians1 but all ,christians are saints1 and he who is not a saint is not a ,christian4 ,the true consecration is the surrender of the will1 which no man can do for us1 which needs no outward ceremonial1 and the one motive which will lead us selfish and stubborn men to bow our necks to that gentle yoke1 and to come out of the misery of pleasing self into the peace of serving ,god1 is drawn from the great love of ,him ,who devoted ,himself to ,god and man1 and bought us for ,his own by giving ,himself utterly to be ours4 ,all sanctity begins with consecration to ,god4 ,all consecration rests upon the faith of ,christ's sacrifice4 ,and if1 drawn by the great love of ,christ to us unworthy1 we give ourselves away to ,god in ,him1 then ,he gives ,himself in deep sacred communion to us4 ,i am thine has ever for its chord which completes the fulness of its music1 ,thou art mine4 ,and so saint is a name of dignity and honour1 as well as a stringent requirement4 ,there is implied in it1 too1 safety from all that would threaten life or union with ,him4 ,he will not hold ,his possessions with a slack hand that negligently lets them drop1 or with a feeble hand that cannot keep them from a foe4 ,thou wilt not suffer him who is consecrated to ,thee to see corruption4 ,if ,i belong to ,god1 having given myself to ,him1 then ,i am safe from the touch of evil and the taint of decay4 ,the ,lord's portion is ,his people1 and ,he will not lose even so worthless a part of that portion as ,i am4 ,the great name saints carries with it the prophecy of victory over all evil1 and the assurance that nothing can separate us from the love of ,god1 or pluck us from ,his hand4 ,but these ,colossian ,christians are faithful as well as saints4 ,that may either mean trustworthy and true to their stewardship1 or trusting4 ,in the parallel verses in the ,epistle to the ,ephesians 7which presents so many resemblances to this epistle7 the latter meaning seems to be required1 and here it is certainly the more natural1 as pointing to the very foundation of all ,christian consecration and brotherhood in the act of believing4 ,we are united to ,christ by our faith4 ,the ,church is a family of faithful1 that is to say of believing1 men4 ,faith underlies consecration and is the parent of holiness1 for he only will yield himself to ,god who trustfully grasps the mercies of ,god and rests on ,christ's great gift of ,himself4 ,faith weaves the bond that unites men in the brotherhood of the ,church1 for it brings all who share it into a common relation to the ,father4 ,he who is faithful1 that is1 believing1 will be faithful in the sense of being worthy of confidence and true to his duty1 his profession1 and his ,lord4 ,they were brethren too4 ,that strong new bond of union among men the most unlike1 was a strange phenomenon in ,paul's time1 when the ,roman world was falling to pieces1 and rent by deep clefts of hatreds and jealousies such as modern society scarcely knows2 and men might well wonder as they saw the slave and his master sitting at the same table1 the ,greek and the barbarian learning the same wisdom in the same tongue1 the ,jew and the ,gentile bowing the knee in the same worship1 and the hearts of all fused into one great glow of helpful sympathy and unselfish love4 ,but brethren means more than this4 ,it points not merely to ,christian love1 but to the common possession of a new life4 ,if we are brethren1 it is because we have one ,father1 because in us all there is one life4 ,the name is often regarded as sentimental and metaphorical4 ,the obligation of mutual love is supposed to be the main idea in it1 and there is a melancholy hollowness and unreality in the very sound of it as applied to the usual average ,christians of to-day4 ,but the name leads straight to the doctrine of regeneration1 and proclaims that all ,christians are born again through their faith in ,jesus ,christ1 and thereby partake of a common new life1 which makes all its possessors children of the ,highest1 and therefore brethren one of another4 ,if regarded as an expression of the affection of ,christians for one another1 brethren is an exaggeration1 ludicrous or tragic1 as we view it2 but if we regard it as the expression of the real bond which gathers all believers into one family1 it declares the deepest mystery and mightiest privilege of the gospel that to as many as received ,him1 to them gave ,he power to become the ,sons of ,god4 ,they are in ,christ4 ,these two words may apply to all the designations or to the last only4 ,they are saints in ,him1 believers in ,him1 brethren in ,him4 ,that mystical but most real union of ,christians with their ,lord is never far away from the ,apostle's thoughts1 and in the twin ,epistle to the ,ephesians is the very burden of the whole4 ,a shallower ,christianity tries to weaken that great phrase to something more intelligible to the unspiritual temper and the poverty-stricken experience proper to it2 but no justice can be done to ,paul's teaching unless it be taken in all its depth as expressive of that same mutual indwelling and interlacing of spirit with spirit which is so prominent in the writings of the ,apostle ,john4 ,there is one point of contact between the ,pauline and the ,johannean conceptions1 on the differences between which so much exaggeration has been expended3 to both the inmost essence of the ,christian life is union to ,christ1 and abiding in ,him4 ,if we are ,christians1 we are in ,him1 in yet profounder sense than creation lives and moves and has its being in ,god4 ,we are in ,him as the earth with all its living things is in the atmosphere1 as the branch is in the vine1 as the members are in the body4 ,we are in ,him as inhabitants in a house1 as hearts that love in hearts that love1 as parts in the whole4 ,if we are ,christians1 ,he is in us1 as life in every vein1 as the fruit-producing sap and energy of the vine is in every branch1 as the air in every lung1 as the sunlight in every planet4 ,this is the deepest mystery of the ,christian life4 ,to be in ,him is to be complete4 ,in ,him we are blessed with all spiritual blessings4 ,in ,him1 we are chosen1 ,in ,him1 ,god freely bestows ,his grace upon us4 ,in ,him we have redemption through ,his blood4 ,in ,him all things in heaven and earth are gathered4 ,in ,him we have obtained an inheritance4 ,in ,him is the better life of all who live4 ,in ,him we have peace though the world be seething with change and storm4 ,in ,him we conquer though earth and our own evil be all in arms against us4 ,if we live in ,him1 we live in purity and joy4 ,if we die in ,him1 we die in tranquil trust4 ,if our gravestones may truly carry the sweet old inscription carved on so many a nameless slab in the catacombs1 ,in ,christo1 they will also bear the other ,in pace 7,in peace74 ,if we sleep in ,him1 our glory is assured1 for them also that sleep in ,jesus1 will ,god bring with ,him4 ,,iii4 ,a word or two only can be devoted to the last clause of salutation1 the apostolic wish1 which sets forth the high ideal to be desired for ,churches and individuals3 ,grace be unto and peace from ,god our ,father4 ,the ,authorized ,version reads1 and the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 but the ,revised ,version follows the majority of recent text-critics and their principal authorities in omitting these words1 which are supposed to have been imported into our passage from the parallel place in ,ephesians4 ,the omission of these familiar words which occur so uniformly in the similar introductory salutations of ,paul's other epistles1 is especially singular here1 where the main subject of the letter is the office of ,christ as channel of all blessings4 ,perhaps the previous word1 brethren was lingering in his mind1 and so instinctively he stopped with the kindred word ,father4 ,grace and peace--,paul's wishes for those whom he loves1 and the blessings which he expects every ,christian to possess1 blend the ,western and the ,eastern forms of salutation1 and surpass both4 ,all that the ,greek meant by his ,grace1 all that the ,hebrew meant by his ,peace1 the ideally happy condition which differing nations have placed in different blessings1 and which all loving words have vainly wished for dear ones1 is secured and conveyed to every poor soul that trusts in ,christ4 ,grace--what is that8 ,the word means first--love in exercise to those who are below the lover1 or who deserve something else2 stooping love that condescends1 and patient love that forgives4 ,then it means the gifts which such love bestows1 and then it means the effects of these gifts in the beauties of character and conduct developed in the receivers4 ,so there are here invoked1 or we may call it1 proffered and promised1 to every believing heart1 the love and gentleness of that ,father whose love to us sinful atoms is a miracle of lowliness and longsuffering2 and1 next1 the outcome of that love which never visits the soul emptyhanded1 in all varied spiritual gifts1 to strengthen weakness1 to enlighten ignorance1 to fill the whole being2 and as last result of all1 every beauty of mind1 heart1 and temper which can adorn the character1 and refine a man into the likeness of ,god4 ,that great gift will come in continuous bestowment if we are saints in ,christ4 ,of ,his fulness we all receive and grace for grace1 wave upon wave as the ripples press shoreward and each in turn pours its tribute on the beach1 or as pulsation after pulsation makes one golden beam of unbroken light1 strong winged enough to come all the way from the sun1 gentle enough to fall on the sensitive eyeball without pain4 ,that one beam will decompose into all colours and brightnesses4 ,that one grace will part into sevenfold gifts and be the life in us of whatsoever things are lovely and of good report4 ,peace be unto you4 ,that old greeting1 the witness of a state of society when every stranger seen across the desert was probably an enemy1 is also a witness to the deep unrest of the heart4 ,it is well to learn the lesson that peace comes after grace1 that for tranquillity of soul we must go to ,god1 and that ,he gives it by giving us ,his love and its gifts1 of which1 and of which only1 peace is the result4 ,if we have that grace for ours1 as we all may if we will1 we shall be still1 because our desires are satisfied and all our needs met4 ,to seek is unnecessary when we are conscious of possessing4 ,we may end our weary quest1 like the dove when it had found the green leaf1 though little dry land may be seen as yet1 and fold our wings and rest by the cross4 ,we may be lapped in calm repose1 even in the midst of toil and strife1 like ,john resting on the heart of his ,lord4 ,there must be first of all1 peace with ,god1 that there may be peace from ,god4 ,then1 when we have been won from our alienation and enmity by the power of the cross1 and have learned to know that ,god is our ,lover1 ,friend and ,father1 we shall possess the peace of those whose hearts have found their home1 the peace of spirits no longer at war within--conscience and choice tearing them asunder in their strife1 the peace of obedience which banishes the disturbance of self-will1 the peace of security shaken by no fears1 the peace of a sure future across the brightness of which no shadows of sorrow nor mists of uncertainty can fall1 the peace of a heart in amity with all mankind4 ,so living in peace1 we shall lay ourselves down and die in peace1 and enter into that country1 afar beyond the stars1 where grows the flower of peace4 ,the ,rose that cannot wither1 ,thy fortress and thy ease4 ,all this may be ours4 ,paul could only wish it for these ,colossians4 ,we can only long for it for our dearest4 ,no man can fulfil his wishes or turn them into actual gifts4 ,many precious things we can give1 but not peace4 ,but our brother1 ,jesus ,christ1 can do more than wish it4 ,he can bestow it1 and when we need it most1 ,he stands ever beside us1 in our weakness and unrest1 with ,his strong arm stretched out to help1 and on ,his calm lips the old words--,my grace is sufficient for thee1 ,my peace ,i give unto you4 ,let us keep ourselves in ,him1 believing in ,him and yielding ourselves to ,god for ,his dear sake1 and we shall find ,his grace ever flowing into our emptiness and ,his settled peace keeping our hearts and minds in ,christ ,jesus4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,prelude4 ,we give thanks to ,god the ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 praying always for you1 having heard of your faith in ,christ ,jesus1 and of the love which ye have toward all the saints1 because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens1 whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel1 which is come unto you2 even as it is also in all the world bearing fruit and increasing1 as it doth in you also1 since the day ye heard and knew the grace of ,god in truth2 even as ye learned of ,epaphras our beloved fellow-servant1 who is a faithful minister of ,christ on our behalf1 who also declared to us your love in the ,spirit4--,,col4 i4 #c-h4 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,this long introductory section may at first sight give the impression of confusion1 from the variety of subjects introduced4 ,but a little thought about it shows it to be really a remarkable specimen of the ,apostle's delicate tact1 born of his love and earnestness4 ,its purpose is to prepare a favourable reception for his warnings and arguments against errors which had crept in1 and in his judgment were threatening to sweep away the ,colossian ,christians from their allegiance to ,christ1 and their faith in the gospel as it had been originally preached to them by ,epaphras4 ,that design explains the selection of topics in these verses1 and their weaving together4 ,before he warns and rebukes1 ,paul begins by giving the ,colossians credit for all the good which he can find in them4 ,as soon as he opens his mouth1 he asserts the claims and authority1 the truth and power of the gospel which he preaches1 and from which all this good in them had come1 and which had proved that it came from ,god by its diffusiveness and fruitfulness4 ,he reminds them of their beginnings in the ,christian life1 with which this new teaching was utterly inconsistent1 and he flings his shield over ,epaphras1 their first teacher1 whose words were in danger of being neglected now for newer voices with other messages4 ,thus skilfully and lovingly these verses touch a prelude which naturally prepares for the theme of the epistle4 ,remonstrance and rebuke would more often be effective if they oftener began with showing the rebuker's love1 and with frank acknowledgment of good in the rebuked4 ,i4 ,we have first a thankful recognition of ,christian excellence as introductory to warnings and remonstrances4 ,almost all ,paul's letters begin with similar expressions of thankfulness for the good that was in the ,church he is addressing4 ,gentle rain softens the ground and prepares it to receive the heavier downfall which would else mostly run off the hard surface4 ,the exceptions are1 #b ,corinthians2 ,ephesians1 which was probably a circular letter2 and ,galatians1 which is too hot throughout for such praises4 ,these expressions are not compliments1 or words of course4 ,still less are they flattery used for personal ends4 ,they are the uncalculated and uncalculating expression of affection which delights to see white patches in the blackest character1 and of wisdom which knows that the nauseous medicine of blame is most easily taken if administered wrapped in a capsule of honest praise4 ,all persons in authority over others1 such as masters1 parents1 leaders of any sort1 may be the better for taking the lesson--provoke not your--inferiors1 dependents1 scholars--to wrath1 lest they be discouraged--and deal out praise where you can1 with a liberal hand4 ,it is nourishing food for many virtues1 and a powerful antidote to many vices4 ,this praise is cast in the form of thanksgiving to ,god1 as the true fountain of all that is good in men4 ,how all that might be harmful in direct praise is strained out of it1 when it becomes gratitude to ,god6 ,but we need not dwell on this1 nor on the principle underlying these thanks1 namely that ,christian men's excellences are ,god's gift1 and that therefore1 admiration of the man should ever be subordinate to thankfulness to ,god4 ,the fountain1 not the pitcher filled from it1 should have the credit of the crystal purity and sparkling coolness of the water4 ,nor do we need to do more than point to the inference from that phrase having heard of your faith1 an inference confirmed by other statements in the letter1 namely1 that the ,apostle himself had never seen the ,colossian ,church4 ,but we briefly emphasize the two points which occasioned his thankfulness4 ,they are the familiar two1 faith and love4 ,faith is sometimes spoken of in the ,new ,testament as towards ,christ ,jesus1 which describes that great act of the soul by its direction1 as if it were a going out or flight of the man's nature to the true goal of all active being4 ,it is sometimes spoken of as on ,christ ,jesus1 which describes it as reposing on ,him as the end of all seeking1 and suggests such images as that of a hand that leans or of a burden borne1 or a weakness upheld by contact with ,him4 ,but more sweet and great is the blessedness of faith considered as in ,him1 as its abiding place and fortress-home1 in union with1 and indwelling in whom the seeking spirit may fold its wings1 and the weak heart may be strengthened to lift its burden cheerily1 heavy though it be1 and the soul may be full of tranquillity and soothed into a great calm4 ,towards1 on1 and in--so manifold are the phases of the relation between ,christ and our faith4 ,in all1 faith is the same1--simple confidence1 precisely like the trust which we put in one another4 ,but how unlike are the objects6--broken reeds of human nature in the one case1 and the firm pillar of that ,divine power and tenderness in the other1 and how unlike1 alas6 is the fervency and constancy of the trust we exercise in each other and in ,christ6 ,faith covers the whole ground of man's relation to ,god4 ,all religion1 all devotion1 everything which binds us to the unseen world is included in or evolved from faith4 ,and mark that this faith is1 in ,paul's teaching1 the foundation of love to men and of everything else good and fair4 ,we may agree or disagree with that thought1 but we can scarcely fail to see that it is the foundation of all his moral teaching4 ,from that fruitful source all good will come4 ,from that deep fountain sweet water will flow1 and all drawn from other sources has a tang of bitterness4 ,goodness of all kinds is most surely evolved from faith--and that faith lacks its best warrant of reality which does not lead to whatsoever things are lovely and of good report4 ,barnabas was a good man1 because1 as ,luke goes on to tell us by way of analysis of the sources of his goodness1 he was full of the ,holy ,ghost1 the author of all goodness1 and of faith by which that ,inspirer of all beauty of purity dwells in men's hearts4 ,faith then is the germ of goodness1 not because of anything in itself1 but because by it we come under the influence of the ,divine ,spirit whose breath is life and holiness4 ,therefore we say to every one who is seeking to train his character in excellence1 begin with trusting ,christ1 and out of that will come all lustre and whiteness1 all various beauties of mind and heart4 ,it is hard and hopeless work to cultivate our own thorns into grapes1 but if we will trust ,christ1 ,he will sow good seed in our field and make it soft with showers and bless the springing thereof4 ,as faith is the foundation of all virtue1 so it is the parent of love1 and as the former sums up every bond that knits men to ,god1 so the latter includes all relations of men to each other1 and is the whole law of human conduct packed into one word4 ,but the warmest place in a ,christian's heart will belong to those who are in sympathy with his deepest self1 and a true faith in ,christ1 like a true loyalty to a prince1 will weave a special bond between all fellow-subjects4 ,so the sign1 on the surface of earthly relations1 of the deep-lying central fire of faith to ,christ1 is the fruitful vintage of brotherly love1 as the vineyards bear the heaviest clusters on the slopes of ,vesuvius4 ,faith in ,christ and love to ,christians--that is the ,apostle's notion of a good man4 ,that is the ideal of character which we have to set before ourselves4 ,do we desire to be good8 ,let us trust ,christ4 ,do we profess to trust ,christ8 ,let us show it by the true proof--our goodness and especially our love4 ,so we have here two members of the familiar triad1 ,faith and ,love1 and their sister ,hope is not far off4 ,we read in the next clause1 because of the hope which is laid up for you in the heavens4 ,the connection is not altogether plain4 ,is the hope the reason for the ,apostle's thanksgiving1 or the reason in some sense of the ,colossians' love8 ,as far as the language goes1 we may either read ,we give thanks 444 because of the hope1 or the love which ye have 444 because of the hope4 ,but the long distance which we have to go back for the connection1 if we adopt the former explanation1 and other considerations which need not be entered on here1 seem to make the latter the preferable construction if it yields a tolerable sense4 ,does it8 ,is it allowable to say that the hope which is laid up in heaven is in any sense a reason or motive for brotherly love8 ,i think it is4 ,observe that hope here is best taken as meaning not the emotion1 but the object on which the emotion is fixed2 not the faculty1 but the thing hoped for2 or in other words1 that it is objective not subjective2 and also that the ideas of futurity and security are conveyed by the thought of this object of expectation being laid up4 ,this future blessedness1 grasped by our expectant hearts as assured for us1 does stimulate and hearten to all well-doing4 ,certainly it does not supply the main reason2 we are not to be loving and good because we hope to win heaven thereby4 ,the deepest motive for all the graces of ,christian character is the will of ,god in ,christ ,jesus1 apprehended by loving hearts4 ,but it is quite legitimate to draw subordinate motives for the strenuous pursuit of holiness from the anticipation of future blessedness1 and it is quite legitimate to use that prospect to reinforce the higher motives4 ,he who seeks to be good only for the sake of the heaven which he thinks he will get for his goodness--if there be any such a person existing anywhere but in the imaginations of the caricaturists of ,christian teaching--is not good and will not get his heaven2 but he who feeds his devotion to ,christ and his earnest cultivation of holiness with the animating hope of an unfading crown will find in it a mighty power to intensify and ennoble all life1 to bear him up as on angel's hands that lift over all stones of stumbling1 to diminish sorrow and dull pain1 to kindle love to men into a brighter flame1 and to purge holiness to a more radiant whiteness4 ,the hope laid up in heaven is not the deepest reason or motive for faith and love--but both are made more vivid when it is strong4 ,it is not the light at which their lamps are lit1 but it is the odorous oil which feeds their flame4 ,,ii4 ,the course of thought passes on to a solemn reminder of the truth and worth of that ,gospel which was threatened by the budding heresies of the ,colossian ,church4 ,that is contained in the clauses from the middle of the fifth verse to the end of the sixth1 and is introduced with significant abruptness1 immediately after the commendation of the ,colossians' faith4 ,the ,apostle's mind and heart are so full of the dangers which he saw them to be in1 although they did not know it1 that he cannot refrain from setting forth an impressive array of considerations1 each of which should make them hold to the gospel with an iron grasp4 ,they are put with the utmost compression4 ,each word almost might be beaten out into a long discourse1 so that we can only indicate the lines of thought4 ,this somewhat tangled skein may1 on the whole1 be taken as the answer to the question1 ,why should we cleave to ,paul's gospel1 and dread and war against tendencies of opinion that would rob us of it8 ,they are preliminary considerations adapted to prepare the way for a patient and thoughtful reception of the arguments which are to follow1 by showing how much is at stake1 and how the readers would be poor indeed if they were robbed of that great ,word4 ,he begins by reminding them that to that gospel they owed all their knowledge and hope of heaven--the hope whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel4 ,that great word alone gives light on the darkness4 ,the sole certainty of a life beyond the grave is built on the ,resurrection of ,jesus ,christ1 and the sole hope of a blessed life beyond the grave for the poor soul that has learned its sinfulness is built on the ,death of ,christ4 ,without this light1 that land is a land of darkness1 lighted only by glimmering sparks of conjectures and peradventures4 ,so it is to-day1 as it was then2 the centuries have only made more clear the entire dependence of the living conviction of immortality on the acceptance of ,paul's gospel1 how that ,christ died for our sins according to the ,scriptures1 and that ,he was raised again the third day4 ,all around us1 we see those who reject the fact of ,christ's resurrection finding themselves forced to surrender their faith in any life beyond4 ,they cannot sustain themselves on that height of conviction1 unless they lean on ,christ4 ,the black mountain wall that rings us poor mortals round about is cloven in one place only4 ,through one narrow cleft there comes a gleam of light4 ,there and there only is the frowning barrier passable4 ,through that grim canyon1 narrow and black1 where there is only room for the dark river to run1 bright-eyed ,hope may travel1 letting our her golden thread as she goes1 to guide us4 ,christ has cloven the rock1 the ,breaker has gone up before us1 and by ,his resurrection alone we have the knowledge which is certitude1 and the hope which is confidence1 of an inheritance in light4 ,if ,paul's gospel goes1 that goes like morning mist4 ,before you throw away the word of the truth of the gospel1 at all events understand that you fling away all assurance of a future life along with it4 ,then1 there is another motive touched in these words just quoted4 ,the gospel is a word of which the whole substance and content is truth4 ,you may say that is the whole question1 whether the gospel is such a word8 ,of course it is2 but observe how here1 at the very outset1 the gospel is represented as having a distinct dogmatic element in it4 ,it is of value1 not because it feeds sentiment or regulates conduct only1 but first and foremost because it gives us true though incomplete knowledge concerning all the deepest things of ,god and man about which1 but for its light1 we know nothing4 ,that truthful word is opposed to the argumentations and speculations and errors of the heretics4 ,the gospel is not speculation but fact4 ,it is truth1 because it is the record of a ,person who is the ,truth4 ,the history of ,his life and death is the one source of all certainty and knowledge with regard to man's relations to ,god1 and ,god's loving purposes to man4 ,to leave it and ,him of whom it speaks in order to listen to men who spin theories out of their own brains is to prefer will-o'-the-wisps to the sun4 ,if we listen to ,christ1 we have the truth2 if we turn from ,him1 our ears are stunned by a ,babel4 ,to whom shall we go8 ,thou hast the words of eternal life4 ,further1 this gospel had been already received by them4 ,ye heard before1 says he1 and again he speaks of the gospel as come unto them1 and reminds them of the past days in which they heard and knew the grace of ,god4 ,that appeal is1 of course1 no argument except to a man who admits the truth of what he had already received1 nor is it meant for argument with others1 but it is equivalent to the exhortation1 ,you have heard that word and accepted it1 see that your future be consistent with your past4 ,he would have the life a harmonious whole1 all in accordance with the first glad grasp which they had laid on the truth4 ,sweet and calm and noble is the life which preserves to its close the convictions of its beginning1 only deepened and expanded4 ,blessed are they whose creed at last can be spoken in the lessons they learned in childhood1 to which experience has but given new meaning6 ,blessed they who have been able to store the treasure of a life's thought and learning in the vessels of the early words1 which have grown like the magic coffers in a fairy tale1 to hold all the increased wealth that can be lodged in them6 ,beautiful is it when the little children and the young men and the fathers possess the one faith1 and when he who began as a child1 knowing the ,father1 ends as an old man with the same knowledge of the same ,god1 only apprehended now in a form which has gained majesty from the fleeting years1 as ,him that is from the beginning4 ,there is no need to leave the ,word long since heard in order to get novelty4 ,it will open out into all new depths1 and blaze in new radiance as men grow4 ,it will give new answers as the years ask new questions4 ,each epoch of individual experience1 and each phase of society1 and all changing forms of opinion will find what meets them in the gospel as it is in ,jesus4 ,it is good for ,christian men often to recall the beginnings of their faith1 to live over again their early emotions1 and when they may be getting stunned with the din of controversy1 and confused as to the relative importance of different parts of ,christian truth1 to remember what it was that first filled their heart with joy like that of the finder of a hidden treasure1 and with what a leap of gladness they first laid hold of ,christ4 ,that spiritual discipline is no less needful than is intellectual1 in facing the conflicts of this day4 ,again1 this gospel was filling the world3 it is in all the world bearing fruit1 and increasing4 ,there are two marks of life--it is fruitful and it spreads4 ,of course such words are not to be construed as if they occurred in a statistical table4 ,all the world must be taken with an allowance for rhetorical statement2 but making such allowance1 the rapid spread of ,christianity in ,paul's time1 and its power to influence character and conduct among all sorts and conditions of men1 were facts that needed to be accounted for1 if the gospel was not true4 ,that is surely a noteworthy fact1 and one which may well raise a presumption in favour of the truth of the message1 and make any proposal to cast it aside for another gospel1 a serious matter4 ,paul is not suggesting the vulgar argument that a thing must be true because so many people have so quickly believed it4 ,but what he is pointing to is a much deeper thought than that4 ,all schisms and heresies are essentially local1 and partial4 ,they suit coteries and classes4 ,they are the product of special circumstances acting on special casts of mind1 and appeal to such4 ,like parasitical plants they each require a certain species to grow on1 and cannot spread where these are not found4 ,they are not for all time1 but for an age4 ,they are not for all men1 but for a select few4 ,they reflect the opinions or wants of a layer of society or of a generation1 and fade away4 ,but the gospel goes through the world and draws men to itself out of every land and age4 ,dainties and confections are for the few1 and many of them are like pickled olives to unsophisticated palates1 and the delicacies of one country are the abominations of another2 but everybody likes bread and lives on it1 after all4 ,the gospel which tells of ,christ belongs to all and can touch all1 because it brushes aside superficial differences of culture and position1 and goes straight to the depths of the one human heart1 which is alike in us all1 addressing the universal sense of sin1 and revealing the ,saviour of us all1 and in ,him the universal ,father4 ,do not fling away a gospel that belongs to all1 and can bring forth fruit in all kinds of people1 for the sake of accepting what can never live in the popular heart1 nor influence more than a handful of very select and superior persons4 ,let who will have the dainties1 do you stick to the wholesome wheaten bread4 ,another plea for adherence to the gospel is based upon its continuous and universal fruitfulness4 ,it brings about results in conduct and character which strongly attest its claim to be from ,god4 ,that is a rough and ready test1 no doubt1 but a sensible and satisfactory one4 ,a system which says that it will make men good and pure is reasonably judged of by its fruits1 and ,christianity can stand the test4 ,it did change the face of the old world4 ,it has been the principal agent in the slow growth of nobler manners1 purer laws which give the characteristic stamp to modern as contrasted with pre-,christian nations4 ,the threefold abominations of the old world--slavery1 war1 and the degradation of woman--have all been modified1 one of them abolished1 and the others growingly felt to be utterly un-,christian4 ,the main agent in the change has been the gospel4 ,it has wrought wonders1 too1 on single souls2 and though all ,christians must be too conscious of their own imperfections to venture on putting themselves forward as specimens of its power1 still the gospel of ,jesus ,christ has lifted men from the dungheaps of sin and self to set them with princes1 to make them kings and priests2 has tamed passions1 ennobled pursuits1 revolutionised the whole course of many a life1 and mightily works to-day in the same fashion1 in the measure in which we submit to its influence4 ,our imperfections are our own2 our good is its4 ,a medicine is not shown to be powerless1 though it does not do as much as is claimed for it1 if the sick man has taken it irregularly and sparingly4 ,the failure of ,christianity to bring forth full fruit arises solely from the failure of professing ,christians to allow its quickening powers to fill their hearts4 ,after all deductions we may still say with ,paul1 it bringeth forth fruit in all the world4 ,this rod has budded1 at all events2 have any of its antagonists' rods done the same8 ,do not cast it away1 says ,paul1 till you are sure you have found a better4 ,this tree not only fruits1 but grows4 ,it is not exhausted by fruit-bearing1 but it makes wood as well4 ,it is increasing as well as bearing fruit1 and that growth in the circuit of its branches that spread through the world1 is another of its claims on the faithful adhesion of the ,colossians4 ,again1 they have heard a gospel which reveals the true grace of ,god1 and that is another consideration urging to steadfastness4 ,in opposition to it there were put then1 as there are put to-day1 man's thoughts1 and man's requirements1 a human wisdom and a burdensome code4 ,speculations and arguments on the one hand1 and laws and rituals on the other1 look thin beside the large free gift of a loving ,god and the message which tells of it4 ,they are but poor bony things to try to live on4 ,the soul wants something more nourishing than such bread made out of sawdust4 ,we want a loving ,god to live upon1 whom we can love because ,he loves us4 ,will anything but the gospel give us that8 ,will anything be our stay1 in all weakness1 weariness1 sorrow and sin1 in the fight of life and the agony of death1 except the confidence that in ,christ we know the grace of ,god in truth8 ,so1 if we gather together all these characteristics of the gospel1 they bring out the gravity of the issue when we are asked to tamper with it1 or to abandon the old lamp for the brand new ones which many eager voices are proclaiming as the light of the future4 ,may any of us who are on the verge of the precipice lay to heart these serious thoughts6 ,to that gospel we owe our peace2 by it alone can the fruit of lofty devout lives be formed and ripened2 it has filled the world with its sound1 and is revolutionising humanity2 it and it only brings to men the good news and the actual gift of the love and mercy of ,god4 ,it is not a small matter to fling away all this4 ,we do not prejudge the question of the truth of ,christianity2 but1 at all events1 let there be no mistake as to the fact that to give it up is to give up the mightiest power that has ever wrought for the world's good1 and that if its light be quenched there will be darkness that may be felt1 not dispelled but made more sad and dreary by the ineffectual flickers of some poor rushlights that men have lit1 which waver and shine dimly over a little space for a little while1 and then die out4 ,,iii4 ,we have the ,apostolic endorsement of ,epaphras1 the early teacher of the ,colossian ,christians4 ,paul points his ,colossian brethren1 finally1 to the lessons which they had received from the teacher who had first led them to ,christ4 ,no doubt his authority was imperiled by the new direction of thought in the ,church1 and ,paul was desirous of adding the weight of his attestation to the complete correspondence between his own teaching and that of ,epaphras4 ,we know nothing about this ,epaphras except from this letter and that to ,philemon4 ,he is one of you1 a member of the ,colossian ,church 7iv4 #ab71 whether a ,colossian born or not4 ,he had come to the prisoner in ,rome1 and had brought the tidings of their condition which filled the ,apostle's heart with strangely mingled feelings--of joy for their love and ,christian walk 7verses #d1 #h71 and of anxiety lest they should be swept from their steadfastness by the errors that he heard were assailing them4 ,epaphras shared this anxiety1 and during his stay in ,rome was much in thought1 and care1 and prayer for them 7iv4 #ab74 ,he does not seem to have been the bearer of this letter to ,colossae4 ,he was in some sense ,paul's fellow-servant1 and in ,philemon he is called by the yet more intimate1 though somewhat obscure1 name of his fellow-prisoner4 ,it is noticeable that he alone of all ,paul's companions receives the name of fellow-servant1 which may perhaps point to some very special piece of service of his1 or may possibly be only an instance of ,paul's courteous humility1 which ever delighted to lift others to his own level--as if he had said1 ,do not make differences between your own ,epaphras and me1 we are both slaves of one ,master4 ,the further testimony which ,paul bears to him is so emphatic and pointed as to suggest that it was meant to uphold an authority that had been attacked1 and to eulogize a character that had been maligned4 ,he is a faithful minister of ,christ on our behalf4 ,in these words the ,apostle endorses his teaching1 as a true representation of his own4 ,probably ,epaphras founded the ,colossian ,church and did so in pursuance of a commission given him by ,paul4 ,he also declared to us your love in the ,spirit4 ,as he had truly represented ,paul and his message to them1 so he lovingly represented them and their kindly affection to him4 ,probably the same people who questioned ,epaphras' version of ,paul's teaching would suspect the favourableness of his report of the ,colossian ,church1 and hence the double witness borne from the ,apostle's generous heart to both parts of his brother's work4 ,his unstinted praise is ever ready4 ,his shield is swiftly flung over any of his helpers who are maligned or assailed4 ,never was a leader truer to his subordinates1 more tender of their reputation1 more eager for their increased influence1 and freer from every trace of jealousy1 than was that lofty and lowly soul4 ,it is a beautiful though a faint image which shines out on us from these fragmentary notices of this ,colossian ,epaphras--a true ,christian bishop1 who had come all the long way from his quiet valley in the depths of ,asia ,minor1 to get guidance about his flock from the great ,apostle1 and who bore them on his heart day and night1 and prayed much for them1 while so far away from them4 ,how strange the fortune which has made his name and his solicitudes and prayers immortal6 ,how little he dreamed that such embalming was to be given to his little services1 and that they were to be crowned with such exuberant praise6 ,the smallest work done for ,jesus ,christ lasts for ever1 whether it abide in men's memories or no4 ,let us ever live as those who1 like painters in fresco1 have with swift hand to draw lines and lay on colours which will never fade1 and let us1 by humble faith and holy life1 earn such a character from ,paul's master4 ,he is glad to praise1 and praise from ,his lips is praise indeed4 ,if ,he approves of us as faithful servants on ,his behalf1 it matters not what others may say4 ,the ,master's ,well done will outweigh labours and toils1 and the depreciating tongues of fellow-servants1 or of the ,master's enemies4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,prayer4 ,for this cause we also1 since the day we heard it1 do not cease to pray and to make request for you1 that ye may be filled with the knowledge of ,his will1 in all spiritual wisdom and understanding1 to walk worthily of the ,lord unto all pleasing1 bearing fruit in every good work1 and increasing in the knowledge of ,god2 strengthened with all power1 according to the might of ,his glory1 unto all patience and longsuffering with joy2 giving thanks unto the ,father4--,,col4 i4 #i-ab 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,we have here to deal with one of ,paul's prayers for his brethren4 ,in some respects these are the very topmost pinnacles of his letters4 ,nowhere else does his spirit move so freely1 in no other parts are the fervour of his piety and the beautiful simplicity and depth of his love more touchingly shown4 ,the freedom and heartiness of our prayers for others are a very sharp test of both our piety to ,god and our love to men4 ,plenty of people can talk and vow who would find it hard to pray4 ,paul's intercessory prayers are the high-water mark of the epistles in which they occur4 ,he must have been a good man and a true friend of whom so much can be said4 ,this prayer sets forth the ideal of ,christian character4 ,what ,paul desired for his friends in ,colossae is what all true ,christian hearts should chiefly desire for those whom they love1 and should strive after and ask for themselves4 ,if we look carefully at these words we shall see a clear division into parts which stand related to each other as root1 stem1 and fourfold branches1 or as fountain1 undivided stream1 and four heads into which this river of ,christian life is parted4 ,to be filled with the knowledge of ,god's will is the root or fountain-source of all4 ,from it comes a walk worthily of the ,lord unto all pleasing--the practical life being the outcome and expression of the inward possession of the will of ,god4 ,then we have four clauses1 evidently co-ordinate1 each beginning with a participle1 and together presenting an analysis of this worthy walk4 ,it will be fruitful in all outward work4 ,it will be growing in all inward knowledge of ,god4 ,because life is not all doing and knowing1 but is suffering likewise1 the worthy walk must be patient and long-suffering1 because strengthened by ,god ,himself4 ,and to crown all1 above work and knowledge and suffering it must be thankfulness to the ,father4 ,the magnificent massing together of the grounds of gratitude which follows1 we must leave for future consideration1 and pause1 however abruptly1 yet not illogically1 at the close of the enumeration of these four branches of the tree1 the four sides of the firm tower of the true ,christian life4 ,i4 ,consider the ,fountain or ,root of all ,christian character--that ye may be filled with the knowledge of ,his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding4 ,one or two remarks in the nature of verbal exposition may be desirable4 ,generally speaking1 the thing desired is the perfecting of the ,colossians in religious knowledge1 and the perfection is forcibly expressed in three different aspects4 ,the idea of completeness up to the height of their capacity is given in the prayer that they may be filled1 like some jar charged with sparkling water to the brim4 ,the advanced degree of the knowledge desired for them is given in the word here employed1 which is a favourite in the ,epistles of the ,captivity1 and means additional or mature knowledge1 that deeper apprehension of ,god's truth which perhaps had become more obvious to ,paul in the quiet growth of his spirit during his life in ,rome4 ,and the rich variety of forms which that advanced knowledge would assume is set forth by the final words of the clause1 which may either be connected with its first words1 so meaning filled 444 so that ye may abound in 444 wisdom and understanding2 or with the knowledge of ,his will1 so meaning a knowledge which is manifested in4 ,that knowledge will blossom out into every kind of wisdom and understanding1 two words which it is hard to distinguish1 but of which the former is perhaps the more general and the latter the more special1 the former the more theoretical and the latter the more practical3 and both are the work of the ,divine ,spirit whose sevenfold perfection of gifts illuminates with perfect light each waiting heart4 ,so perfect1 whether in regard to its measure1 its maturity1 or its manifoldness1 is the knowledge of the will of ,god1 which the ,apostle regards as the deepest good which his love can ask for these ,colossians4 ,passing by many thoughts suggested by the words1 we may touch one or two large principles which they involve4 ,the first is1 that the foundation of all ,christian character and conduct is laid in the knowledge of the will of ,god4 ,every revelation of ,god is a law4 ,what it concerns us to know is not abstract truth1 or a revelation for speculative thought1 but ,god's will4 ,he does not show ,himself to us in order merely that we may know1 but in order that1 knowing1 we may do1 and1 what is more than either knowing or doing1 in order that we may be4 ,no revelation from ,god has accomplished its purpose when a man has simply understood it1 but every fragmentary flash of light which comes from ,him in nature and providence1 and still more the steady radiance that pours from ,jesus1 is meant indeed to teach us how we should think of ,god1 but to do that mainly as a means to the end that we may live in conformity with ,his will4 ,the light is knowledge1 but it is a light to guide our feet1 knowledge which is meant to shape practice4 ,if that had been remembered1 two opposite errors would have been avoided4 ,the error that was threatening the ,colossian ,church1 and has haunted the ,church in general ever since1 was that of fancying ,christianity to be merely a system of truth to be believed1 a rattling skeleton of abstract dogmas1 very many and very dry4 ,an unpractical heterodoxy was their danger4 ,an unpractical orthodoxy is as real a peril4 ,you may swallow all the creeds bodily1 you may even find in ,god's truth the food of very sweet and real feeling3 but neither knowing nor feeling is enough4 ,the one all-important question for us is--does our ,christianity work8 ,it is knowledge of ,his will1 which becomes an ever active force in our lives6 ,any other kind of religious knowledge is windy food2 as ,paul says1 it puffeth up2 the knowledge which feeds the soul with wholesome nourishment is the knowledge of ,his will4 ,the converse error to that of unpractical knowledge1 that of an unintelligent practice1 is quite as bad4 ,there is always a class of people1 and they are unusually numerous to-day1 who profess to attach no importance to ,christian doctrines1 but to put all the stress on ,christian morals4 ,they swear by the ,sermon on the ,mount1 and are blind to the deep doctrinal basis laid in that sermon itself1 on which its lofty moral teaching is built4 ,what ,god hath joined together1 let no man put asunder4 ,why pit the parent against the child8 why wrench the blossom from its stem8 ,knowledge is sound when it moulds conduct4 ,action is good when it is based on knowledge4 ,the knowledge of ,god is wholesome when it shapes the life4 ,morality has a basis which makes it vigorous and permanent when it rests upon the knowledge of ,his will4 ,again3 ,progress in knowledge is the law of the ,christian life4 ,there should be a continual advancement in the apprehension of ,god's will1 from that first glimpse which saves1 to the mature knowledge which ,paul here desires for his friends4 ,the progress does not consist in leaving behind old truths1 but in a profounder conception of what is contained in these truths4 ,how differently a ,fijian just saved1 and a ,paul on earth1 or a ,paul in heaven1 look at that verse1 ,god so loved the world that ,he gave ,his only begotten ,son6 ,the truths which are dim to the one1 like stars seen through a mist1 blaze to the other like the same stars to an eye that has travelled millions of leagues nearer them1 and sees them to be suns4 ,the law of the ,christian life is continuous increase in the knowledge of the depths that lie in the old truths1 and of their far-reaching applications4 ,we are to grow in knowledge of the ,christ by coming ever nearer to ,him1 and learning more of the infinite meaning of our earliest lesson that ,he is the ,son of ,god who has died for us4 ,the constellations that burn in our nightly sky looked down on ,chaldean astronomers1 but though these are the same1 how much more is known about them at ,greenwich than was dreamed at ,babylon6 ,,ii4 ,consider the ,river or ,stem of ,christian conduct4 ,the purpose and outcome of this full knowledge of the will of ,god in ,christ is to walk worthily of the ,lord unto all pleasing4 ,by walk is of course meant the whole active life2 so that the principle is brought out here very distinctly1 that the last result of knowledge of the ,divine will is an outward life regulated by that will4 ,and the sort of life which such knowledge leads to1 is designated in most general terms as worthy of the ,lord unto all pleasing1 in which we have set forth two aspects of the true ,christian life4 ,worthily of the ,lord6 ,the ,lord here1 as generally1 is ,christ1 and worthily seems to mean1 in a manner corresponding to what ,christ is to us1 and has done for us4 ,we find other forms of the same thought in such expressions as worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called 7,eph4 iv4 #a71 worthily of saints 7,rom4 xvi4 #b71 worthy of the gospel 7,phil4 i4 #bg71 worthily of ,god 7#a ,thess4 ii4 #ab71 in all of which there is the idea of a standard to which the practical life is to be conformed4 ,thus the ,apostle condenses into one word all the manifold relations in which we stand to ,christ1 and all the multifarious arguments for a holy life which they yield4 ,these are mainly two4 ,the ,christian should walk in a manner corresponding to what ,christ has done for him4 ,do ye thus requite the ,lord1 ,o foolish people1 and unwise8 was the mournful wondering question of the dying ,moses to his people1 as he summed up the history of unbroken tenderness and love on the one side1 and of disloyalty almost as uninterrupted on the other4 ,how much more pathetically and emphatically might the question be asked of us6 ,we say that we are not our own1 but bought with a price4 ,then how do we repay that costly purchase8 ,do we not requite ,his blood and tears1 ,his unquenchable1 unalterable love1 with a little tepid love which grudges sacrifices and has scarcely power enough to influence conduct at all1 with a little trembling faith which but poorly corresponds to ,his firm promises1 with a little reluctant obedience8 ,the richest treasure of heaven has been freely lavished for us1 and we return a sparing expenditure of our hearts and ourselves1 repaying fine gold with tarnished copper1 and the flood of love from the heart of ,christ with a few niggard drops grudgingly squeezed from ours4 ,nothing short of complete self-surrender1 perfect obedience1 and unwavering unfaltering love can characterize the walk that corresponds with our profound obligations to ,him4 ,surely there can be no stronger cord with which to bind us as sacrifices to the horns of the altar than the cords of love4 ,this is the unique glory and power of ,christian ethics1 that it brings in this tender personal element to transmute the coldness of duty into the warmth of gratitude1 so throwing rosy light over the snowy summits of abstract virtue4 ,repugnant duties become tokens of love1 pleasant as every sacrifice made at its bidding ever is4 ,the true ,christian spirit says3 ,thou hast given ,thyself wholly for me3 help me to yield myself to ,thee4 ,thou hast loved me perfectly3 help me to love ,thee with all my heart4 ,the other side of this conception of a worthy walk is1 that the ,christian should act in a manner corresponding to ,christ's character and conduct4 ,we profess to be ,his by sacredest ties3 then we should set our watches by that dial1 being conformed to ,his likeness1 and in all our daily life trying to do as ,he has done1 or as we believe ,he would do if ,he were in our place4 ,nothing less than the effort to tread in ,his footsteps is a walk worthy of the ,lord4 ,all unlikeness to ,his pattern is a dishonour to ,him and to ourselves4 ,it is neither worthy of the ,lord1 nor of the vocation wherewith we are called1 nor of the name of saints4 ,only when these two things are brought about in my experience--when the glow of ,his love melts my heart and makes it flow down in answering affection1 and when the beauty of ,his perfect life stands ever before me1 and though it be high above me1 is not a despair1 but a stimulus and a hope--only then do ,i walk worthy of the ,lord4 ,another thought as to the nature of the life in which the knowledge of the ,divine will should issue1 is expressed in the other clause--unto all pleasing1 which sets forth the great aim as being to please ,christ in everything4 ,that is a strange purpose to propose to men1 as the supreme end to be ever kept in view1 to satisfy ,jesus ,christ by their conduct4 ,to make the good opinion of men our aim is to be slaves2 but to please this ,man ennobles us1 and exalts life4 ,who or what is ,he1 whose judgment of us is thus all-important1 whose approbation is praise indeed1 and to win whose smile is a worthy object for which to use life1 or even to lose it8 ,we should ask ourselves1 ,do we make it our ever present object to satisfy ,jesus ,christ8 ,we are not to mind about other people's approbation4 ,we can do without that4 ,we are not to hunt after the good word of our fellows4 ,every life into which that craving for man's praise and good opinion enters is tarnished by it4 ,it is a canker1 a creeping leprosy1 which eats sincerity and nobleness and strength out of a man4 ,let us not care to trim our sails to catch the shifting winds of this or that man's favour and eulogium1 but look higher and say1 ,with me it is a very small matter to be judged of man's judgment4 ,i appeal unto ,caesar4 ,he1 the true ,commander and ,emperor1 holds our fate in ,his hands2 we have to please ,him and ,him only4 ,there is no thought which will so reduce the importance of the babble around us1 and teach us such brave and wholesome contempt for popular applause1 and all the strife of tongues1 as the constant habit of trying to act as ever in our great ,taskmaster's eye4 ,what does it matter who praise1 if ,he frowns8 or who blame1 if ,his face lights with a smile8 ,no thought will so spur us to diligence1 and make all life solemn and grand as the thought that we labour1 that whether present or absent1 we may be well pleasing to ,him4 ,nothing will so string the muscles for the fight1 and free us from being entangled with the things of this life1 as the ambition to please ,him who has called us to be soldiers4 ,men have willingly flung away their lives for a couple of lines of praise in a despatch1 or for a smile from some great commander4 ,let us try to live and die so as to get honourable mention from our captain4 ,praise from ,his lips is praise indeed4 ,we shall not know how much it is worth1 till the smile lights ,his face1 and the love comes into ,his eyes1 as ,he looks at us1 and says1 ,well done6 good and faithful servant4 ,,iii4 ,we have finally the fourfold streams or branches into which this general conception of ,christian character parts itself4 ,there are four participial clauses here1 which seem all to stand on one level1 and to present an analysis in more detail of the component parts of this worthy walk4 ,in general terms it is divided into fruitfulness in work1 increase in knowledge1 strength for suffering1 and1 as the climax of all1 thankfulness4 ,the first element is--bearing fruit in every good work4 ,these words carry us back to what was said in ver4 #f about the fruitfulness of the gospel4 ,here the man in whom that word is planted is regarded as the producer of the fruit1 by the same natural transition by which1 in our ,lord's ,parable of the ,sower1 the men in whose hearts the seed was sown are spoken of as themselves on the one hand1 bringing no fruit to perfection1 and on the other1 bringing forth fruit with patience4 ,the worthy walk will be first manifested in the production of a rich variety of forms of goodness4 ,all profound knowledge of ,god1 and all lofty thoughts of imitating and pleasing ,christ1 are to be tested at last by their power to make men good1 and that not after any monotonous type1 nor on one side of their nature only4 ,one plain principle implied here is that the only true fruit is goodness4 ,we may be busy1 as many a man in our great commercial cities is busy1 from ,monday morning till ,saturday night for a long lifetime1 and may have had to build bigger barns for our fruits and our goods1 and yet1 in the high and solemn meaning of the word here1 our life may be utterly empty and fruitless4 ,much of our work and of its results is no more fruit than the galls on the oak-leaves are4 ,they are a swelling from a puncture made by an insect1 a sign of disease1 not of life4 ,the only sort of work which can be called fruit1 in the highest meaning of the word1 is that which corresponds to a man's whole nature and relations2 and the only work which does so correspond is a life of loving service of ,god1 which cultivates all things lovely and of good report4 ,goodness1 therefore1 alone deserves to be called fruit--as for all the rest of our busy lives1 they and their toils are like the rootless1 lifeless chaff that is whirled out of the threshing-floor by every gust4 ,a life which has not in it holiness and loving obedience1 however richly productive it may be in lower respects1 is in inmost reality blighted and barren1 and is nigh unto burning4 ,goodness is fruit2 all else is nothing but leaves4 ,again3 the ,christian life is to be fruitful in every good work4 ,this tree is to be like that in the apocalyptic vision1 which bare twelve manner of fruits1 yielding every month a different sort4 ,so we should fill the whole circuit of the year with various holiness1 and seek to make widely different forms of goodness our own4 ,we have all certain kinds of excellence which are more natural and easier for us than others are4 ,we should seek to cultivate the kind which is hardest for us4 ,the thorn stock of our own character should bear not only grapes1 but figs too1 and olives as well1 being grafted upon the true olive-tree1 which is ,christ4 ,let us aim at this all-round and multiform virtue1 and not be like a scene for a stage1 all gay and bright on one side1 and dirty canvas and stretchers hung with cobwebs on the other4 ,the second element in the analysis of the true ,christian life is--increasing in the knowledge of ,god4 ,the figure of the tree is probably continued here4 ,if it fruits1 its girth will increase1 its branches will spread1 its top will mount1 and next year its shadow on the grass will cover a larger circle4 ,some would take the knowledge here as the instrument or means of growth1 and would render increasing by the knowledge of ,god1 supposing that the knowledge is represented as the rain or the sunshine which minister to the growth of the plant4 ,but perhaps it is better to keep to the idea conveyed by the common rendering1 which regards the words in knowledge as the specification of that region in which the growth enjoined is to be realized4 ,so here we have the converse of the relation between work and knowledge which we met in the earlier part of the chapter4 ,there1 knowledge led to a worthy walk2 here1 fruitfulness in good works leads to1 or at all events is accompanied with1 an increased knowledge4 ,and both are true4 ,these two work on each other a reciprocal increase4 ,all true knowledge which is not mere empty notions1 naturally tends to influence action1 and all true action naturally tends to confirm the knowledge from which it proceeds4 ,obedience gives insight3 ,if any man wills to do ,my will1 he shall know of the doctrine4 ,if ,i am faithful up to the limits of my present knowledge1 and have brought it all to bear on character and conduct1 ,i shall find that in the effort to make my every thought a deed1 there have fallen from my eyes as it were scales1 and ,i see some things clearly which were faint and doubtful before4 ,moral truth becomes dim to a bad man4 ,religious truth grows bright to a good one1 and whosoever strives to bring all his creed into practice1 and all his practice under the guidance of his creed1 will find that the path of obedience is the path of growing light4 ,then comes the third element in this resolution of the ,christian character into its component parts--strengthened with all power1 according to the might of ,his glory1 unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness4 ,knowing and doing are not the whole of life3 there are sorrow and suffering too4 ,here again we have the ,apostle's favourite all1 which occurs so frequently in this connection4 ,as he desired for the ,colossians1 all wisdom1 unto all pleasing1 and fruitfulness in every good work1 so he prays for all power to strengthen them4 ,every kind of strength which ,god can give and man can receive1 is to be sought after by us1 that we may be girded with strength1 cast like a brazen wall all round our human weakness4 ,and that ,divine power is to flow into us1 having this for its measure and limit--the might of ,his glory4 ,his glory is the lustrous light of ,his self-revelation2 and the far-flashing energy revealed in that self-manifestation is the immeasurable measure of the strength that may be ours4 ,true1 a finite nature can never contain the infinite1 but man's finite nature is capable of indefinite expansion4 ,its elastic walls stretch to contain the increasing gift4 ,the more we desire1 the more we receive1 and the more we receive1 the more we are able to receive4 ,the amount which filled our hearts to-day should not fill them to-morrow4 ,our capacity is at each moment the working limit of the measure of the strength given us4 ,but it is always shifting1 and may be continually increasing4 ,the only real limit is the might of ,his glory1 the limitless omnipotence of the self-revealing ,god4 ,to that we may indefinitely approach1 and till we have exhausted ,god we have not reached the furthest point to which we should aspire4 ,and what exalted mission is destined for this wonderful communicated strength8 ,nothing that the world thinks great3 only helping some lone widow to stay her heart in patience1 and flinging a gleam of brightness1 like sunrise on a stormy sea1 over some tempest-tossed life4 ,the strength is worthily employed and absorbed in producing all patience and longsuffering with joy4 ,again the favourite all expresses the universality of the patience and longsuffering4 ,patience here is not merely passive endurance4 ,it includes the idea of perseverance in the right course1 as well as that of uncomplaining bearing of evil4 ,it is the steering right onward1 without bating one jot of heart or hope2 the temper of the traveller who struggles forward1 though the wind in his face dashes the sleet in his eyes1 and he has to wade through deep snow4 ,while patience regards the evil mainly as sent by ,god1 and as making the race set before us difficult1 longsuffering describes the temper under suffering when considered as a wrong or injury done by man4 ,and whether we think of our afflictions in the one or the other light1 ,god's strength will steal into our hearts1 if we will1 not merely to help us to bear them with perseverance and with meekness as unruffled as ,christ's1 but to crown both graces--as the clouds are sometimes rimmed with flashing gold--with a great light of joy4 ,that is the highest attainment of all4 ,sorrowful1 yet always rejoicing4 ,flowers beneath the snow1 songs in the night1 fire burning beneath the water1 peace subsisting at the heart of endless agitation1 cool airs in the very crater of ,vesuvius--all these paradoxes may be surpassed in our hearts if they are strengthened with all might by an indwelling ,christ4 ,the crown of all1 the last of the elements of the ,christian character1 is thankfulness--giving thanks unto the ,father4 ,this is the summit of all2 and is to be diffused through all4 ,all our progressive fruitfulness and insight1 as well as our perseverance and unruffled meekness in suffering1 should have a breath of thankfulness breathed through them4 ,we shall see the grand enumeration of the reasons for thankfulness in the next verses4 ,here we pause for the present1 with this final constituent of the life which ,paul desired for the ,colossian ,christians4 ,thankfulness should mingle with all our thoughts and feelings1 like the fragrance of some perfume penetrating through the common scentless air4 ,it should embrace all events4 ,it should be an operating motive in all actions4 ,we should be clear-sighted and believing enough to be thankful for pain and disappointment and loss4 ,that gratitude will add the crowning consecration to service and knowledge and endurance4 ,it will touch our spirits to the finest of all issues1 for it will lead to glad self-surrender1 and make of our whole life a sacrifice of praise4 ,i beseech you1 brethren1 by the mercies of ,god1 that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice4 ,our lives will then exhale in fragrance and shoot up in flashing tongues of ruddy light and beauty1 when kindled into a flame of gratitude by the glow of ,christ's great love4 ,let us lay our poor selves on that altar1 as sacrifices of thanksgiving2 for with such sacrifices ,god is well-pleased4 ,,iv4 ,,the ,,father',s ,,gifts ,,through ,,the ,,son4 ,the ,father1 who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light2 who delivered us out of the power of darkness1 and translated us into the kingdom of the ,son of ,his love2 in whom we have our redemption1 the forgiveness of our sins4--,,col4 i4 #ab-ad 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,we have advanced thus far in this ,epistle without having reached its main subject4 ,we now1 however1 are on its verge4 ,the next verses to those now to be considered lead us into the very heart of ,paul's teaching1 by which he would oppose the errors rife in the ,colossian ,church4 ,the great passages describing the person and work of ,jesus ,christ are at hand1 and here we have the immediate transition to them4 ,the skill with which the transition is made is remarkable4 ,how gradually and surely the sentences1 like some hovering winged things1 circle more and more closely round the central light1 till in the last words they touch it1 444 the ,son of ,his love6 ,it is like some long procession heralding a king4 ,they that go before1 cry ,hosanna1 and point to him who comes last and chief4 ,the affectionate greetings which begin the letter1 pass into prayer2 the prayer into thanksgiving4 ,the thanksgiving1 as in these words1 lingers over and recounts our blessings1 as a rich man counts his treasures1 or a lover dwells on his joys4 ,the enumeration of the blessings leads1 as by a golden thread1 to the thought and name of ,christ1 the fountain of them all1 and then1 with a burst and a rush1 the flood of the truths about ,christ which he had to give them sweeps through ,paul's mind and heart1 carrying everything before it4 ,the name of ,christ always opens the floodgates in ,paul's heart4 ,we have here then the deepest grounds for ,christian thanksgiving1 which are likewise the preparations for a true estimate of the worth of the ,christ who gives them4 ,these grounds of thanksgiving are but various aspects of the one great blessing of ,salvation4 ,the diamond flashes greens and purples1 and yellows and reds1 according to the angle at which its facets catch the eye4 ,it is also to be observed1 that all these blessings are the present possession of ,christians4 ,the language of the first three clauses in the verses before us points distinctly to a definite past act by which the ,father1 at some definite point of time1 made us meet1 delivered and translated us1 while the present tense in the last clause shows that our redemption is not only begun by some definite act in the past1 but is continuously and progressively possessed in the present4 ,we notice1 too1 the remarkable correspondence of language with that which ,paul heard when he lay prone on the ground1 blinded by the flashing light1 and amazed by the pleading remonstrance from heaven which rung in his ears4 ,i send thee to the ,gentiles 444 that they may turn from darkness to light1 and from the power of ,satan unto ,god1 that they may receive remission of sins1 and an inheritance among them which are sanctified4 ,all the principal phrases are there1 and are freely recombined by ,paul1 as if unconsciously his memory was haunted still by the sound of the transforming words heard so long ago4 ,i4 ,the first ground of thankfulness which all ,christians have is1 that they are fit for the inheritance4 ,of course the metaphor here is drawn from the inheritance given to the people of ,israel1 namely1 the land of ,canaan4 ,unfortunately1 our use of heir and inheritance confines the idea to possession by succession on death1 and hence some perplexity is popularly experienced as to the force of the word in ,scripture4 ,there1 it implies possession by lot1 if anything more than the simple notion of possession2 and points to the fact that the people did not win their land by their own swords1 but because ,god had a favour unto them4 ,so the ,christian inheritance is not won by our own merit1 but given by ,god's goodness4 ,the words may be literally rendered1 fitted us for the portion of the lot1 and taken to mean the share or portion which consists in the lot2 but perhaps it is clearer1 and more accordant with the analogy of the division of the land among the tribes1 to take them as meaning for our 7individual7 share in the broad land which1 as a whole1 is the allotted possession of the saints4 ,this possession belongs to them1 and is situated in the world of light4 ,such is the general outline of the thoughts here4 ,the first question that arises is1 whether this inheritance is present or future4 ,the best answer is that it is both2 because1 whatever additions of power and splendour as yet unspeakable may wait to be revealed in the future1 the essence of all which heaven can bring is ours to-day1 if we live in the faith and love of ,christ4 ,the difference between a life of communion with ,god here and yonder is one of degree and not of kind4 ,true1 there are differences of which we cannot speak1 in enlarged capacities1 and a spiritual body1 and sins cast out1 and nearer approach to the fountain itself of heavenly radiance2 but he who can say1 while he walks amongst the shadows of earth1 ,the ,lord is the portion of my inheritance1 will neither leave his treasures behind him when he dies1 nor enter on the possession of a wholly new inheritance1 when he passes into the heavens4 ,but while this is true1 it is also true that that future possession of ,god will be so deepened and enlarged that its beginnings here are but the earnest1 of the same nature indeed as the estate1 but limited in comparison as is the tuft of grass which used to be given to a new possessor1 when set against the broad lands from which it was plucked4 ,here certainly the predominant idea is that of a present fitness for a mainly future possession4 ,we notice again--where the inheritance is situated--in the light4 ,there are several possible ways of connecting that clause with the preceding4 ,but without discussing these1 it may be enough to point out that the most satisfactory seems to be to regard it as specifying the region in which the inheritance lies4 ,it lies in a realm where purity and knowledge and gladness dwell undimmed and unbounded by an envious ring of darkness4 ,for these three are the triple rays into which1 according to the ,biblical use of the figure1 that white beam may be resolved4 ,from this there follows that it is capable of being possessed only by saints4 ,there is no merit or desert which makes men worthy of the inheritance1 but there is a congruity1 or correspondence between character and the inheritance4 ,if we rightly understand what the essential elements of heaven are1 we shall have no difficulty in seeing that the possession of it is utterly incompatible with anything but holiness4 ,the vulgar ideas of what heaven is1 hinder people from seeing how to get there4 ,they dwell upon the mere outside of the thing1 they take symbols for realities and accidents for essentials1 and so it appears an arbitrary arrangement that a man must have faith in ,christ to enter heaven4 ,if it be a kingdom of light1 then only souls that love the light can go thither1 and until owls and bats rejoice in the sunshine1 there will be no way of being fit for the inheritance which is light1 but by ourselves being light in the ,lord4 ,light itself is a torture to diseased eyes4 ,turn up any stone by the roadside and we see how unwelcome light is to crawling creatures that have lived in the darkness till they have come to love it4 ,heaven is ,god and ,god is heaven4 ,how can a soul possess ,god1 and find its heaven in possessing ,him8 ,certainly only by likeness to ,him1 and loving ,him4 ,the old question1 ,who shall stand in the ,holy ,place8 is not answered in the gospel by reducing the conditions1 or negativing the old reply4 ,the common sense of every conscience answers1 and ,christianity answers1 as the ,psalmist does1 ,he that hath clean hands and a pure heart4 ,one more step has to be taken to reach the full meaning of these words1 namely1 the assertion that men who are not yet perfectly pure are already fit to be partakers of the inheritance4 ,the tense of the verb in the original points back to a definite act by which the ,colossians were made meet1 namely1 their conversion2 and the plain emphatic teaching of the ,new ,testament is that incipient and feeble faith in ,christ works a change so great1 that through it we are fitted for the inheritance by the impartation of a new nature1 which1 though it be but as a grain of mustard seed1 shapes from henceforth the very inmost centre of our personal being4 ,in due time that spark will convert into its own fiery brightness the whole mass1 however green and smokily it begins to burn4 ,not the absence of sin1 but the presence of faith working by love1 and longing for the light1 makes fitness4 ,no doubt flesh and blood cannot inherit the ,kingdom of ,god1 and we must put off the vesture of the body which has wrapped us during the wild weather here1 before we can be fully fit to enter the banqueting hall2 nor do we know how much evil which has not its seat in the soul may drop away therewith--but the spirit is fit for heaven as soon as a man turns to ,god in ,christ4 ,suppose a company of rebels1 and one of them1 melted by some reason or other1 is brought back to loyalty4 ,he is fit by that inward change1 although he has not done a single act of loyalty1 for the society of loyal subjects1 and unfit for that of traitors4 ,suppose a prodigal son away in the far off land4 ,some remembrance comes over him of what home used to be like1 and of the bountiful house-keeping that is still there2 and though it may begin with nothing more exalted than an empty stomach1 if it ends in ,i will arise and go to my ,father1 at that instant a gulf opens between him and the riotous living of the citizens of that country1 and he is no longer fitted for their company4 ,he is meet for the fellowship of his father's house1 though he has a weary journey before he gets there1 and needs to have his rags changed1 and his filth washed off him1 ere he can sit down at the feast4 ,so whoever turns to the love of ,god in ,christ1 and yields in the inmost part of his being to the power of ,his grace1 is already light in the ,lord4 ,the true home and affinities of his real self are in the kingdom of the light1 and he is ready for his part in the inheritance1 either here or yonder4 ,there is no breach of the great law1 that character makes fitness for heaven--might we not say that character makes heaven8--for the very roots of character lie in disposition and desire1 rather than in action4 ,nor is there in this principle anything inconsistent with the need for continual growth in congruity of nature with that land of light4 ,the light within1 if it be truly there1 will1 however slowly1 spread1 as surely as the grey of twilight brightens to the blaze of noonday4 ,the heart will be more and more filled with it1 and the darkness driven back more and more to brood in remote corners1 and at last will vanish utterly4 ,true fitness will become more and more fit4 ,we shall grow more and more capable of ,god4 ,the measure of our capacity is the measure of our possession1 and the measure in which we have become light1 is the measure of our capacity for the light4 ,the land was parted among the tribes of ,israel according to their strength2 some had a wider1 some a narrower strip of territory4 ,so1 as there are differences in ,christian character here1 there will be differences in ,christian participation in the inheritance hereafter4 ,star differeth from star4 ,some will blaze in brighter radiance and glow with more fervent heat because they move in orbits closer to the sun4 ,but1 thank ,god1 we are fit for the inheritance1 if we have ever so humbly and poorly trusted ourselves to ,jesus ,christ and received ,his renewing life into our spirits4 ,character alone fits for heaven4 ,but character may be in germ or in fruit4 ,if any man be in ,christ1 he is a new creature4 ,do we trust ourselves to ,him8 ,are we trying1 with ,his help1 to live as children of the light8 ,then we need not droop or despair by reason of evil that may still haunt our lives4 ,let us give it no quarter1 for it diminishes our fitness for the full possession of ,god2 but let it not cause our tongue to falter in giving thanks to the ,father who made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light4 ,,ii4 ,the second ground of thankfulness is1 the change of king and country4 ,god delivered us out of the power of darkness1 and translated us into the kingdom of the ,son of ,his love4 ,these two clauses embrace the negative and positive sides of the same act which is referred to in the former ground of thankfulness1 only stated now in reference to our allegiance and citizenship in the present rather than in the future4 ,in the deliverance there maybe a reference to ,god's bringing ,israel out of ,egypt1 suggested by the previous mention of the inheritance1 while the translation into the other kingdom may be an illustration drawn from the well known practice of ancient warfare1 the deportation of large bodies of natives from conquered kingdoms to some other part of the conqueror's realm4 ,we notice then the two kingdoms and their kings4 ,the power of darkness1 is an expression found in ,luke's ,gospel 7xxii4 #ah71 and it may be used here as a reminiscence of our ,lord's solemn words4 ,power here seems to imply the conception of harsh1 arbitrary dominion1 in contrast with the gracious rule of the other kingdom4 ,it is a realm of cruel and grinding sway4 ,its prince is personified in an image that ,a,eschylus or ,dante might have spoken4 ,darkness sits sovereign there1 a vast and gloomy form on an ebon throne1 wielding a heavy sceptre over wide regions wrapped in night4 ,the plain meaning of that tremendous metaphor is just this--that the men who are not ,christians live in a state of subjection to darkness of ignorance1 darkness of misery1 darkness of sin4 ,if ,i am not a ,christian man1 that black three-headed hound of hell sits baying on my doorstep4 ,what a wonderful contrast the other kingdom and its ,king present6 ,the kingdom of--not the light1 as we are prepared to hear1 in order to complete the antithesis1 but--the ,son of ,his love1 who is the light4 ,the ,son who is the object of ,his love1 on whom it all and ever rests1 as on none besides4 ,he has a kingdom in existence now1 and not merely hoped for1 and to be set up at some future time4 ,wherever men lovingly obey ,christ1 there is ,his kingdom4 ,the subjects make the kingdom1 and we may to-day belong to it1 and be free from all other dominion because we bow to ,his4 ,there then sit the two kings1 like the two in the old story1 either of them on his throne1 clothed in his robes1 at the entering in of the gate of the city4 ,darkness and ,light1 the ebon throne and the white throne1 surrounded each by their ministers2 there ,sorrow and ,gloom1 here ,gladness and ,hope2 there ,ignorance with blind eyes and idle aimless hands1 here ,knowledge with the sunlight on her face1 and ,diligence for her handmaid2 here ,sin1 the pillar of the gloomy realm1 there ,righteousness1 in robes so as no fuller on earth could white them4 ,under which king1 my brother8 ,we notice the transference of subjects4 ,the sculptures on ,assyrian monuments explain this metaphor for us4 ,a great conqueror has come1 and speaks to us as ,sennacherib did to the ,jews 7#b ,kings xviii4 #ca1 #cb71 ,come out to me 444 and ,i will take you away to a land of corn and wine1 that ye may live and not die4 ,if we listen to ,his voice1 ,he will lead away a long string of willing captives and plant them1 not as pining exiles1 but as happy naturalized citizens1 in the kingdom which the ,father has appointed for the ,son of ,his love4 ,that transference is effected on the instant of our recognising the love of ,god in ,jesus ,christ1 and yielding up the heart to ,him4 ,we too often speak as if the entrance ministered at last to a believing soul into the kingdom of our ,lord and ,saviour1 were its first entrance therein1 and forget that we enter it as soon as we yield to the drawings of ,christ's love and take service under the king4 ,the change then is greater than at death4 ,when we die1 we shall change provinces1 and go from an outlying colony to the mother city and seat of empire1 but we shall not change kingdoms4 ,we shall be under the same government1 only then we shall be nearer the ,king and more loyal to ,him4 ,that change of king is the real fitness for heaven4 ,we know little of what profound changes death may make1 but clearly a physical change cannot effect a spiritual revolution4 ,they who are not ,christ's subjects will not become so by dying4 ,if here we are trying to serve a ,king who has delivered us from the tyranny of darkness1 we may be very sure that ,he will not lose ,his subjects in the darkness of the grave4 ,let us choose our king4 ,if we take ,christ for our heart's ,lord1 every thought of ,him here1 every piece of partial obedience and stained service1 as well as every sorrow and every joy1 our fading possessions and our undying treasures1 the feeble new life that wars against our sins1 and even the very sins themselves as contradictory of our deepest self1 unite to seal to us the assurance1 ,thine eyes shall see the ,king in ,his beauty4 ,they shall behold the land that is very far off4 ,,iii4 ,the heart and centre of all occasions for thankfulness is the ,redemption which we receive in ,christ4 ,in whom we have our redemption1 the forgiveness of our sins4 ,the ,authorized ,version reads redemption through ,his blood1 but these words are not found in the best manuscripts1 and are regarded by the principal modern editors as having been inserted from the parallel place in ,ephesians 7i4 #g71 where they are genuine4 ,the very heart then of the blessings which ,god has bestowed1 is redemption1 which consists primarily1 though not wholly1 in forgiveness of sins1 and is received by us in the ,son of ,his love4 ,redemption1 in its simplest meaning1 is the act of delivering a slave from captivity by the payment of ransom4 ,so that it contains in its application to the effect of ,christ's death1 substantially the same figure as in the previous clause which spoke of a deliverance from a tyrant1 only that what was there represented as an act of ,power is here set forth as the act of self-sacrificing ,love which purchases our freedom at a heavy cost4 ,that ransom price is said by ,christ ,himself to be ,his life1 and ,his ,incarnation to have the paying of that price as one of its two chief objects4 ,so the words added here by quotation from the companion ,epistle are in full accordance with ,new ,testament teaching2 but even omitting them1 the meaning of the clause is unmistakable4 ,christ's death breaks the chains which bind us1 and sets us free4 ,by it ,he acquires us for ,himself4 ,that transcendent act of sacrifice has such a relation to the ,divine government on the one hand1 and to the sin of the world1 as a whole1 on the other1 that by it all who trust in ,him are delivered from the most real penal consequences of sin and from the dominion of its darkness over their natures4 ,we freely admit that we cannot penetrate to the understanding of how ,christ's death thus avails4 ,but just because the rationale of the doctrine is avowedly beyond our limits1 we are barred from asserting that it is incompatible with ,god's character1 or with common justice1 or that it is immoral1 and the like4 ,when we know ,god through and through1 to all the depths and heights and lengths and breadths of ,his nature1 and when we know man in like manner1 and when1 consequently1 we know the relation between ,god and man as perfectly1 and not till then1 we shall have a right to reject the teaching of ,scripture on this matter1 on such grounds4 ,till then1 let our faith lay hold on the fact1 though we do not understand the how of the fact1 and cling to that cross which is the great power of ,god unto salvation1 and the heart-changing exponent of the love of ,christ which passeth knowledge4 ,the essential and first element in this redemption is the forgiveness of sins4 ,possibly some misconception of the nature of redemption may have been associated with the other errors which threatened the ,colossian ,church1 and thus ,paul may have been led to this emphatic declaration of its contents4 ,forgiveness1 and not some mystic deliverance by initiation or otherwise from the captivity of flesh and matter1 is redemption4 ,there is more than forgiveness in it1 but forgiveness lies on the threshold2 and that not only the removal of legal penalties inflicted by a specific act1 but the forgiveness of a father4 ,a sovereign pardons when he remits the sentence which law has pronounced4 ,a father forgives when the free flow of his love is unhindered by his child's fault1 and he may forgive and punish at the same moment4 ,the truest penalty of sin is that death which consists in separation from ,god2 and the conceptions of judicial pardon and fatherly forgiveness unite when we think of the remission of sins as being the removal of that separation1 and the deliverance of heart and conscience from the burden of guilt and of a father's wrath4 ,such forgiveness leads to that full deliverance from the power of darkness1 which is the completion of redemption4 ,there is deep meaning in the fact that the word here used for forgiveness1 means literally1 sending away4 ,pardon has a mighty power to banish sin1 not only as guilt1 but as habit4 ,the waters of the gulf stream bear the warmth of the tropics to the icy north1 and lave the foot of the glaciers on its coast till they melt and mingle with the liberating waves4 ,so the flow of the forgiving love of ,god thaws the hearts frozen in the obstinacy of sin1 and blends our wills with itself in glad submission and grateful service4 ,but we must not overlook the significant words in which the condition of possessing this redemption is stated3 in ,whom4 ,there must be a real living union with ,christ1 by which we are truly in ,him in order to our possession of redemption4 ,redemption through ,his blood is not the whole message of the ,gospel2 it has to be completed by ,in ,whom we have redemption through ,his blood4 ,that real living union is effected by our faith1 and when we are thus in ,him1 our wills1 hearts1 spirits joined to ,him1 then1 and only then are we borne away from the kingdom of the darkness and partake of redemption4 ,we cannot get ,his gifts without ,himself4 ,we observe1 in conclusion1 how redemption appears here as a present and growing possession4 ,there is emphasis on we have4 ,the ,colossian ,christians had by one definite act in the past been fitted for a share in the inheritance1 and by the same act had been transferred to the kingdom of ,christ4 ,already they possess the inheritance1 and are in the kingdom1 although both are to be more gloriously manifested in the future4 ,here1 however1 ,paul contemplates rather the reception1 moment by moment1 of redemption4 ,we might almost read we are having1 for the present tense seems used on purpose to convey the idea of a continual communication from ,him to ,whom we are to be united by faith4 ,daily we may draw what we daily need--daily forgiveness for daily sins1 the washing of the feet which even he who has been bathed requires after each day's march through muddy roads1 daily bread for daily hunger1 and daily strength for daily effort4 ,so day unto day may1 in our narrow lives1 as in the wide heavens with all their stars1 utter speech1 and night unto night show knowledge of the redeeming love of our ,father4 ,like the rock that followed the ,israelites in the wilderness1 according to ,jewish legend1 and poured out water for their thirst1 ,his grace flows ever by our sides and from its bright waters we may daily draw with joy4 ,and so let us lay to heart humbly these two lessons2 that all our ,christianity must begin with forgiveness1 and that1 however far advanced we may be in the ,divine life1 we never get beyond the need for a continual bestowal upon us of ,god's pardoning mercy4 ,many of us1 like some of these ,colossians1 are ready to call ourselves in some sense followers of ,christ4 ,the speculative side of ,christian truth may have attractions for some of us1 its lofty morality for others4 ,some of us may be mainly drawn to it by its comforts for the weary2 some may be looking to it chiefly in hope of a future heaven4 ,but whatever we are1 and however we may be disposed to ,christ and ,his ,gospel1 here is a plain message for us2 we must begin by going to ,him for pardon4 ,it is not enough for any of us to find in ,him wisdom1 or even righteousness1 for we need redemption which is forgiveness1 and unless ,he is to us forgiveness1 ,he will not be either righteousness or wisdom4 ,we can climb a ladder that reaches to heaven1 but its foot must be in the horrible pit and miry clay of our sins4 ,little as we like to hear it1 the first need for us all is forgiveness4 ,everything begins with that4 ,the inheritance of the saints1 with all its wealth of glory1 its immortal life and unfading joys1 its changeless security1 and its unending progress deeper and deeper into the light and likeness of ,god1 is the goal1 but the only entrance is through the strait gate of penitence4 ,christ will forgive on our cry for pardon1 and that is the first link of a golden chain unwinding from ,his hand by which we may ascend to the perfect possession of our inheritance in ,god4 ,whom ,he justified1 them1 and them only1 ,he will glorify4 ,v4 ,,the ,,glory ,,of ,,the ,,son ,,in ,,his ,,relation ,,to ,,the ,,father1 ,,the ,,universe ,,and ,,the ,,church4 ,who is the image of the invisible ,god1 the firstborn of all creation2 for in ,him were all things created1 in the heavens and upon the earth1 things visible and things invisible1 whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers1 all things have been created through ,him and unto ,him2 and ,he is before all things1 and in ,him all things consist4 ,and ,he is the head of the body1 the church3 who is the beginning1 the firstborn from the dead2 that in all things ,he might have the pre-eminence4--,,col4 i4 #ae-ah 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,as has already been remarked1 the ,colossian ,church was troubled by teachers who had grafted on ,jewish belief many of the strange speculations about matter and creation which have always had such a fascination for the ,eastern mind4 ,to us1 they are apt to seem empty dreams1 baseless and bewildering2 but they had force enough to shake the early ,church to its foundation1 and in some forms they still live4 ,these teachers in ,colossae seem to have held that all matter was evil and the seat of sin2 that therefore the material creation could not have come directly from a good ,god1 but was in a certain sense opposed to ,him1 or1 at all events1 was separated from ,him by a great gulf4 ,the void space was bridged by a chain of beings1 half abstractions and half persons1 gradually becoming more and more material4 ,the lowest of them had created the material universe and now governed it1 and all were to be propitiated by worship4 ,some such opinions must be presupposed in order to give point and force to these great verses in which ,paul opposes the solid truth to these dreams1 and instead of a crowd of ,powers and angelic ,beings1 in whom the effulgence of ,deity was gradually darkened1 and the spirit became more and more thickened into matter1 lifts high and clear against that background of fable1 the solitary figure of the one ,christ4 ,he fills all the space between ,god and man4 ,there is no need for a crowd of shadowy beings to link heaven with earth4 ,jesus ,christ lays ,his hand upon both4 ,he is the head and source of creation2 ,he is the head and fountain of life to ,his ,church4 ,therefore ,he is first in all things1 to be listened to1 loved and worshipped by men4 ,as when the full moon rises1 so when ,christ appears1 all the lesser stars with which ,alexandrian and ,eastern speculation had peopled the abysses of the sky are lost in the mellow radiance1 and instead of a crowd of flickering ineffectual lights there is one perfect orb1 and heaven is overflowed4 ,we see no creature any more save ,jesus only4 ,we have outgrown the special forms of error which afflicted the ,church at ,colossae1 but the truths which are here set over against them are eternal1 and are needed to-day in our conflicts of opinion as much as then4 ,there are here three grand conceptions of ,christ's relations4 ,we have ,christ and ,god1 ,christ and ,creation1 ,christ and the ,church1 and1 built upon all these1 the triumphant proclamation of ,his supremacy over all creatures in all respects4 ,i4 ,we have the relation of ,christ to ,god set forth in these grand words1 the image of the invisible ,god4 ,apparently ,paul is here using for his own purposes language which was familiar on the lips of his antagonists4 ,we know that ,alexandrian ,judaism had much to say about the ,word1 and spoke of it as the ,image of ,god3 and probably some such teaching had found its way to ,colossae4 ,an image is a likeness or representation1 as of a king's head on a coin1 or of a face reflected in a mirror4 ,here it is that which makes the invisible visible4 ,the ,god who dwells in the thick darkness1 remote from sense and above thought1 has come forth and made ,himself known to man1 even in a very real way has come within the reach of man's senses1 in the manhood of ,jesus ,christ4 ,where then is there a place for the shadowy abstractions and emanations with which some would bind together ,god and man8 ,the first thought involved in this statement is1 that the ,divine ,being in ,himself is inconceivable and unapproachable4 ,no man hath seen ,god at any time1 nor can see ,him4 ,not only is ,he beyond the reach of sense1 but above the apprehension of the understanding4 ,direct and immediate knowledge of ,him is impossible4 ,there may be1 there is1 written on every human spirit a dim consciousness of ,his presence1 but that is not knowledge4 ,creatural limitations prevent it1 and man's sin prevents it4 ,he is the ,king invisible1 because ,he is the ,father of ,lights dwelling in a glorious privacy of light1 which is to us darkness because there is in it no darkness at all4 ,then1 the next truth included here is1 that ,christ is the perfect manifestation and image of ,god4 ,in ,him we have the invisible becoming visible4 ,through ,him we know all that we know of ,god1 as distinguished from what we guess or imagine or suspect of ,him4 ,on this high theme1 it is not wise to deal much in the scholastic language of systems and creeds4 ,few words1 and these mainly ,his own1 are best1 and he is least likely to speak wrongly who confines himself most to ,scripture in his presentation of the truth4 ,all the great streams of teaching in the ,new ,testament concur in the truth which ,paul here proclaims4 ,the conception in ,john's ,gospel of the ,word which is the utterance and making audible of the ,divine mind1 the conceptions in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews of the effulgence or forthshining of ,god's glory1 and the very image1 or stamped impress of ,his substance1 are but other modes of representing the same facts of full likeness and complete manifestation1 which ,paul here asserts by calling the man ,christ ,jesus1 the image of the ,invisible ,god4 ,the same thoughts are involved in the name by which our ,lord called ,himself1 the ,son of ,god2 and they cannot be separated from many words of ,his1 such as he that hath seen ,me hath seen the ,father4 ,in ,him the ,divine nature comes near to us in a form that once could be grasped in part by men's senses1 for it was that of the ,word of life which they saw with their eyes and their hands handled1 and which is to-day and for ever a form that can be grasped by mind and heart and will4 ,in ,christ we have the revelation of a ,god who can be known1 and loved1 and trusted1 with a knowledge which1 though it be not complete1 is real and valid1 with a love which is solid enough to be the foundation of a life1 with a trust which is conscious that it has touched rock and builds secure4 ,nor is that fact that ,he is the revealer of ,god1 one that began with ,his incarnation1 or ends with ,his earthly life4 ,from the beginning and before the creatural beginning1 as we shall see in considering another part of these great verses1 the ,word was the agent of all ,divine activity1 the arm of the ,lord1 and the source of all ,divine illumination1 the face of the ,lord1 or1 as we have the thought put in the remarkable words of the ,book of ,proverbs1 where the celestial and pure ,wisdom is more than a personification though not yet distinctly conceived as a person1 ,the ,lord possessed me in the beginning of ,his way4 ,i was by ,him as one brought up--or as a master worker--with ,him1 and ,i was daily ,his delight 444 and ,my delights were with the sons of men4 ,and after the veils of flesh and sense are done away1 and we see face to face1 ,i believe that the face which we shall see1 and seeing1 shall have beauty born of the vision passing into our faces1 will be the face of ,jesus ,christ1 in which the light of the glory of ,god shall shine for the redeemed and perfected sons of ,god1 even as it did for them when they groped amid the shows of earth4 ,the law for time and for eternity is1 ,i have declared ,thy name unto ,my brethren and will declare it4 ,that great fathomless1 shoreless ocean of the ,divine nature is like a closed sea--,christ is the broad river which brings its waters to men1 and everything liveth whithersoever the river cometh4 ,in these brief words on so mighty a matter1 ,i must run the risk of appearing to deal in unsupported statements4 ,my business is not so much to try to prove ,paul's words as to explain them1 and then to press them home4 ,therefore ,i would urge that thought1 that we depend on ,christ for all true knowledge of ,god4 ,guesses are not knowledge4 ,speculations are not knowledge4 ,peradventures1 whether of hope or fear1 are not knowledge4 ,what we poor men need1 is a certitude of a ,god who loves us and cares for us1 has an arm that can help us1 and a heart that will4 ,the ,god of pure theism is little better than a phantom1 so unsubstantial that you can see the stars shining through the pale form1 and when a man tries to lean on him for support1 it is like leaning on a wreath of mist4 ,there is nothing4 ,there is no certitude firm enough for us to find sustaining power against life's trials in resting upon it1 but in ,christ4 ,there is no warmth of love enough for us to thaw our frozen limbs by1 apart from ,christ4 ,in ,him1 and in ,him alone1 the far off1 awful1 doubtful ,god becomes a ,god very near1 of ,whom we are sure1 and sure that ,he loves and is ready to help and cleanse and save4 ,and that is what we each need4 ,my soul crieth out for ,god1 for the living ,god4 ,and never will that orphaned cry be answered1 but in the possession of ,christ1 in ,whom we possess the ,father also4 ,no dead abstractions--no reign of law--still less the dreary proclamation1 ,behold we know not anything1 least of all1 the pottage of material good1 will hush that bitter wail that goes up unconsciously from many an ,esau's heart--,my father1 my father6 ,men will find ,him in ,christ4 ,they will find ,him nowhere else4 ,it seems to me that the only refuge for this generation from atheism--if it is still allowable to use that unfashionable word--is the acceptance of ,christ as the revealer of ,god4 ,on any other terms religion is rapidly becoming impossible for the cultivated class4 ,the great word which ,paul opposed to the cobwebs of ,gnostic speculation is the word for our own time with all its perplexities--,christ is the ,image of the ,invisible ,god4 ,,ii4 ,we have the relation of ,christ to ,creation set forth in that great name1 the firstborn of all creation1 and further elucidated by a magnificent series of statements which proclaim ,him to be agent or medium1 and aim or goal of creation1 prior to it in time and dignity1 and its present upholder and bond of unity4 ,the firstborn of all creation4 ,at first sight1 this name seems to include ,him in the great family of creatures as the eldest1 and clearly to treat ,him as one of them1 just because ,he is declared to be in some sense the first of them4 ,that meaning has been attached to the words2 but it is shown not to be their intention by the language of the next verse1 which is added to prove and explain the title4 ,it distinctly alleges that ,christ was before all creation1 and that ,he is the agent of all creation4 ,to insist that the words must be explained so as to include ,him in creation would be to go right in the teeth of the ,apostle's own justification and explanation of them4 ,so that the true meaning is that ,he is the firstborn1 in comparison with1 or in reference to1 all creation4 ,such an understanding of the force of the expression is perfectly allowable grammatically1 and is necessary unless this verse is to be put in violent contradiction to the next4 ,the same construction is found in ,milton's ,adam1 the goodliest man of men since born1 ,his sons1 the fairest of her daughters1 ,eve4 where of distinctly means in comparison with1 and not belonging to4 ,the title implies priority in existence1 and supremacy4 ,it substantially means the same thing as the other title of the only begotten ,son1 only that the latter brings into prominence the relation of the ,son to the ,father1 while the former lays stress on ,his relation to ,creation4 ,further it must be noted1 that this name applies to the ,eternal ,word and not to the incarnation of that ,word1 or to put it in another form1 the divinity and not the humanity of the ,lord ,jesus is in the ,apostle's view4 ,such is the briefest outline of the meaning of this great name4 ,a series of clauses follow1 stating more fully the relation of the firstborn ,son to ,creation1 and so confirming and explaining the title4 ,the whole universe is1 as it were1 set in one class1 and ,he alone over against it4 ,no language could be more emphatically all-comprehensive4 ,four times in one sentence we have all things--the whole universe--repeated1 and traced to ,him as ,creator and ,lord4 ,in the heavens and the earth is quoted from ,genesis1 and is intended here1 as there1 to be an exhaustive enumeration of the creation according to place4 ,things visible or invisible again includes the whole under a new principle of division--there are visible things in heaven1 as sun and stars1 there may be invisible on earth1 but wherever and of whatever sort they are1 ,he made them4 ,whether thrones or dominions1 or principalities or powers1 an enumeration evidently alluding to the dreamy speculations about an angelic hierarchy filling the space between the far off ,god1 and men immersed in matter4 ,there is a tone of contemptuous impatience in ,paul's voice1 as he quotes the pompous list of sonorous titles which a busy fancy had coined4 ,it is as if he had said1 ,you are being told a great deal about these angel hierarchies1 and know all about their ranks and gradations4 ,i do not know anything about them2 but this ,i know1 that if1 amid the unseen things in the heavens or the earth1 there be any such1 my ,lord made them1 and is their master4 ,so he groups together the whole universe of created beings1 actual or imaginary1 and then high above it1 separate from it1 its ,lord and ,creator1 its upholder and end1 he points to the majestic person of the only begotten ,son of ,god1 ,his ,firstborn1 higher than all the rulers of the earth1 whether human or superhuman4 ,the language employed brings into strong relief the manifold variety of relations which the ,son sustains to the universe1 by the variety of the prepositions used in the sentence4 ,the whole sum of created things 7for the ,greek means not only all things1 but all things considered as a unity7 was in the original act1 created in ,him1 through ,him1 and unto ,him4 ,the first of these words1 in ,him1 regards ,him as the creative centre1 as it were1 or element in which as in a storehouse or reservoir all creative force resided1 and was in a definite act put forth4 ,the thought may be parallel with that in the prologue to ,john's ,gospel1 ,in ,him was life4 ,the ,word stands to the universe as the incarnate ,christ does to the ,church2 and as all spiritual life is in ,him1 and union to ,him is its condition1 so all physical takes its origin within the depths of ,his ,divine nature4 ,the error of the ,gnostics was to put the act of creation and the thing created1 as far away as possible from ,god1 and it is met by this remarkable expression1 which brings creation and the creatures in a very real sense within the confines of the ,divine nature1 as manifested in the ,word1 and asserts the truth of which pantheism so called is the exaggeration1 that all things are in ,him1 like seeds in a seed vessel1 while yet they are not identified with ,him4 ,the possible dangers of that profound truth1 which has always been more in harmony with ,eastern than with ,western modes of thought1 are averted by the next preposition used1 all things have been created through ,him4 ,that presupposes the full1 clear demarcation between creature and creator1 and so on the one hand extricates the person of the ,firstborn of all creation from all risk of being confounded with the universe1 while on the other it emphasizes the thought that ,he is the medium of the ,divine energy1 and so brings into clear relief ,his relation to the inconceivable ,divine nature4 ,he is the image of the invisible ,god1 and accordingly1 through ,him have all things been created4 ,the same connection of ideas is found in the parallel passage in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 where the words1 through ,whom also ,he made the worlds1 stand in immediate connection with being the effulgence of ,his glory4 ,but there remains yet another relation between ,him and the act of creation4 ,for ,him they have been made4 ,all things come from and tend towards ,him4 ,he is the ,alpha and the ,omega1 the beginning and the ending4 ,all things spring from ,his will1 draw their being from that fountain1 and return thither again4 ,these relations which are here declared of the ,son1 are in more than one place declared of the ,father4 ,do we face the question fairly--what theory of the person of ,jesus ,christ explains that fact8 ,but further1 ,his existence before the whole creation is repeated1 with a force in both the words1 ,he is1 which can scarcely be given in ,english4 ,the former is emphatic--,he ,himself--and the latter emphasizes not only pre-existence1 but absolute existence4 ,he was before all things would not have said so much as ,he is before all things4 ,we are reminded of ,his own words1 ,before ,abraham was1 ,i am4 ,in ,him all things consist or hold together4 ,he is the element in which takes place and by which is caused that continued creation which is the preservation of the universe1 as ,he is the element in which the original creative act took place of old4 ,all things came into being and form an ordered unity in ,him4 ,he links all creatures and forces into a co-operant whole1 reconciling their antagonisms1 drawing all their currents into one great tidal wave1 melting all their notes into music which ,god can hear1 however discordant it may sometimes sound to us4 ,he is the bond of perfectness1 the key-stone of the arch1 the centre of the wheel4 ,such1 then1 in merest outline is the ,apostle's teaching about the ,eternal ,word and the ,universe4 ,what sweetness and what reverential awe such thoughts should cast around the outer world and the providences of life6 ,how near they should bring ,jesus ,christ to us6 ,what a wonderful thought that is1 that the whole course of human affairs and of natural processes is directed by ,him who died upon the cross6 ,the helm of the universe is held by the hands which were pierced for us4 ,the ,lord of ,nature and the ,mover of all things is that ,saviour on whose love we may pillow our aching heads4 ,we need these lessons to-day1 when many teachers are trying hard to drive all that is spiritual and ,divine out of creation and history1 and to set up a merciless law as the only ,god4 ,nature is terrible and stern sometimes1 and the course of events can inflict crushing blows2 but we have not the added horror of thinking both to be controlled by no will4 ,christ is ,king in either region1 and with our elder brother for the ruler of the land1 we shall not lack corn in our sacks1 nor a ,goshen to dwell in4 ,we need not people the void1 as these old heretics did1 with imaginary forms1 nor with impersonal forces and laws--nor need we1 as so many are doing to-day1 wander through its many mansions as through a deserted house1 finding nowhere a ,person who welcomes us2 for everywhere we may behold our ,saviour1 and out of every storm and every solitude hear ,his voice across the darkness saying1 ,it is ,i2 be not afraid4 ,,iii4 ,the last of the relations set forth in this great section is that between ,christ and ,his ,church4 ,he is the head of the body1 the ,church2 who is the beginning1 the firstborn from the dead4 ,a parallel is plainly intended to be drawn between ,christ's relation to the material creation and to the ,church1 the spiritual creation4 ,as the ,word of ,god before incarnation is to the universe1 so is the incarnate ,christ to the ,church4 ,as in the former1 ,he is prior in time and superior in dignity1 so is ,he in the latter4 ,as in the universe ,he is source and origin of all being1 so in the ,church ,he is the beginning1 both as being first and as being origin of all spiritual life4 ,as the glowing words which described ,his relation to creation began with the great title the ,firstborn1 so those which describe ,his relation to the ,church close with the same name in a different application4 ,thus the two halves of ,his work are as it were moulded into a golden circle1 and the end of the description bends round towards the beginning4 ,briefly1 then1 we have here first1 ,christ the head1 and the ,church ,his body4 ,in the lower realm the ,eternal ,word was the power which held all things together1 and similar but higher in fashion is the relation between ,him and the whole multitude of believing souls4 ,popular physiology regards the head as the seat of life4 ,so the fundamental idea in the familiar metaphor1 when applied to our ,lord is that of the source of the mysterious spiritual life which flows from ,him into all the members1 and is sight in the eye1 strength in the arm1 swiftness in the foot1 colour in the cheek1 being richly various in its manifestations but one in its nature1 and all ,his4 ,the same mysterious derivation of life from ,him is taught in ,his own metaphor of the ,vine1 in which every branch1 however far away from the root1 lives by the common life circulating through all1 which clings in the tendrils1 and reddens in the clusters1 and is not theirs though it be in them4 ,that thought of the source of life leads necessarily to the other1 that ,he is the centre of unity1 by ,whom the many members become one body1 and the maze of branches one vine4 ,the head1 too1 naturally comes to be the symbol for authority--and these three ideas of seat of life1 centre of unity1 and emblem of absolute power1 appear to be those principally meant here4 ,christ is further the beginning to the ,church4 ,in the natural world ,he was before all1 and source of all4 ,the same double idea is contained in this name1 the ,beginning4 ,it does not merely mean the first member of a series who begins it1 as the first link in a chain does1 but it means the power which causes the series to begin4 ,the root is the beginning of the flowers which blow in succession through the plant's flowering time1 though we may also call the first flower of the number the beginning4 ,but ,christ is root2 not merely the first flower1 though ,he is also that4 ,he is head and beginning to ,his ,church by means of ,his resurrection4 ,he is the firstborn from the dead1 and ,his communication of spiritual life to ,his ,church requires the historical fact of ,his resurrection as its basis1 for a dead ,christ could not be the source of life2 and that resurrection completes the manifestation of the incarnate ,word1 by our faith in which1 ,his spiritual life flows into our spirits4 ,unless ,he has risen from the dead1 all ,his claims to be anything else than a wise teacher and fair character crumble into nothing1 and to think of ,him as a source of life is impossible4 ,he is the beginning through ,his resurrection1 too1 in regard of ,his raising us from the dead4 ,he is the first-fruits of them that slept1 and bears the promise of a mighty harvest4 ,he has risen from the dead1 and therein we have not only the one demonstration for the world that there is a life after death1 but the irrefragable assurance to the ,church that because ,he lives it shall live also4 ,a dead body and a living head cannot be4 ,we are knit to ,him too closely for the ,fury with the abhorred shears to cut the thread4 ,he has risen that ,he might be the firstborn among many brethren4 ,so the ,apostle concludes that in all things ,he is first--and all things are1 that ,he may be first4 ,whether in nature or in grace1 that pre-eminence is absolute and supreme4 ,the end of all the majesty of creation and of all the wonders of grace is that ,his solitary figure may stand clearly out as centre and lord of the universe1 and ,his name be lifted high over all4 ,so the question of questions for us all is1 ,what think ye of ,christ8 ,our thoughts now have necessarily been turned to subjects which may have seemed abstract and remote--but these truths which we have been trying to make clear and to present in their connection1 are not the mere terms or propositions of a half mystical theology far away from our daily life1 but bear most gravely and directly on our deepest interests4 ,i would fain press on every conscience the sharp-pointed appeal--,what is this ,christ to us8 ,is ,he any thing to us but a name8 ,do our hearts leap up with a joyful ,amen when we read these great words of this text8 ,are we ready to crown ,him ,lord of all8 ,is ,he our head1 to fill us with vitality1 to inspire and to command8 ,is ,he the goal and the end of our individual life8 ,can we each say--,i live by ,him1 in ,him1 and for ,him8 ,happy are we1 if we give to ,christ the pre-eminence1 and if our hearts set ,him first1 ,him last1 ,him midst and without end4 ,,vi4 ,,the ,,reconciling ,,son4 ,for it was the good pleasure of the ,father that in ,him should all the fulness dwell2 and through ,him to reconcile all things unto ,himself1 having made peace through the blood of ,his cross2 through ,him1 ,i say1 whether things upon the earth1 or things in the heavens4 ,and you1 being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works1 yet now hath ,he reconciled in the body of ,his flesh through death4--,,col4 i4 #ai-bb 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,these words correspond to those which immediately precede them1 inasmuch as they present the same sequence1 and deal with ,christ in ,his relation to ,god1 to the universe1 and to the ,church4 ,the strata of thought are continuous1 and lie here in the same order as we found them there4 ,there we had set forth the work of the pre-incarnate ,word as well as of the incarnate ,christ2 here we have mainly the reconciling power of ,his cross proclaimed as reaching to every corner of the universe1 and as culminating in its operations on the believing souls to whom ,paul speaks4 ,there we had the fact that ,he was the image of ,god laid as basis of ,his relation to men and creatures2 here that fact itself apprehended in somewhat different manner1 namely1 as the dwelling in ,him of all fulness1 is traced to its ground in the good pleasure of the ,father1 and the same ,divine purpose is regarded as underlying ,christ's whole reconciling work4 ,we observe1 also1 that all this section with which we have now to deal is given as the explanation and reason of ,christ's pre-eminence4 ,these are the principal links of connection with the previous words1 and having noted them1 we may proceed to attempt some imperfect consideration of the overwhelming thoughts here contained4 ,i4 ,as before1 we have ,christ in relation to ,god4 ,it was the good pleasure of the ,father that in ,him should all the fulness dwell4 ,now1 we may well suppose from the use of the word fulness here1 which we know to have been a very important term in later full-blown ,gnostic speculations1 that there is a reference to some of the heretical teachers' expressions1 but such a supposition is not needed either to explain the meaning1 or to account for the use of the word4 ,the fulness--what fulness8 ,i think1 although it has been disputed1 that the language of the next chapter 7ii4 #i71 where we read ,in ,him dwelleth all the fulness of the ,godhead bodily1 should settle that4 ,it seems most improbable that with two out of three significant words the same1 the ellipse should be supplied by anything but the third4 ,the meaning then will be--the whole abundance1 or totality of ,divine powers and attributes4 ,that is1 to put it in homelier words1 that all that ,divine nature in all its sweet greatness1 in all its infinite wealth of tenderness and power and wisdom1 is embodied in ,jesus ,christ4 ,we have no need to look to heavens above or to earth beneath for fragmentary revelations of ,god's character4 ,we have no need to draw doubtful inferences as to what ,god is from the questionable teachings of nature1 or from the mysteries of human history with its miseries4 ,no doubt these do show something of ,him to observant hearts1 and most to those who have the key to their meaning by their faith in a clearer revelation4 ,at sundry times and in divers manners1 ,god has spoken to the world by these partial voices1 to each of which some syllables of ,his name have been committed4 ,but ,he has put ,his whole name in that messenger of a ,new ,covenant by whom ,he has finally declared ,his whole character to us1 even ,his ,son1 in whom it was the good pleasure of the ,father that all the fulness should dwell4 ,the word rendered dwell implies a permanent abode1 and may have been chosen in order to oppose a view which we know to have prevailed later1 and may suspect to have been beginning to appear thus early1 namely1 that the union of the ,divine and the human in the person of ,christ was but temporary4 ,at all events1 emphasis is placed here on the opposite truth that that indwelling does not end with the earthly life of ,jesus1 and is not like the shadowy and transient incarnations of ,eastern mythology or speculation--a mere assumption of a fleshly nature for a moment1 which is dropped from the re-ascending ,deity1 but that1 for evermore1 manhood is wedded to divinity in the perpetual humanity of ,jesus ,christ4 ,and this indwelling is the result of the ,father's good pleasure4 ,adopting the supplement in the ,authorized and ,revised ,versions1 we might read the ,father pleased--but without making that change1 the force of the words remains the same4 ,the ,incarnation and whole work of ,christ are referred to their deepest ground in the will of the ,father4 ,the word rendered pleased implies both counsel and complacency2 it is both pleasure and good pleasure4 ,the ,father determined the work of the ,son1 and delighted in it4 ,caricatures intentional or unintentional of ,new ,testament teaching have often represented it as making ,christ's work the means of pacifying an unloving ,god and moving ,him to mercy4 ,that is no part of the ,pauline doctrine4 ,but he1 as all his brethren1 taught that the love of ,god is the cause of the mission of ,christ1 even as ,christ ,himself had taught that ,god so loved the world that ,he sent ,his ,son4 ,on that ,rock-foundation of the will--the loving will of the ,father1 is built the whole work of ,his ,incarnate ,son4 ,and as that work was the issue of ,his eternal purpose1 so it is the object of ,his eternal delight4 ,that is the wonderful meaning of the word which fell gently as the dove descending on ,his head1 and lay on ,his locks wet from ,his baptism1 like a consecrating oil--,this is ,my beloved ,son1 in whom ,i am well pleased4 ,god willed that so ,he should be2 ,he delighted that so ,he was4 ,through ,christ1 the ,father purposed that ,his fulness should be communicated to us1 and through ,christ the ,father rejoices to pour ,his abundance into our emptiness1 that we may be filled with all the fulness4 ,,ii4 ,again1 we have here1 as before ,christ and the ,universe1 of which ,he is not only ,maker1 ,sustainer1 and ,lord1 but through the blood of ,his cross reconciles all things unto ,himself4 ,probably these same false teachers had dreams of reconciling agents among the crowd of shadowy phantoms with which they peopled the void4 ,paul lifts up in opposition to all these the one ,sovereign ,mediator1 whose cross is the bond of peace for all the universe4 ,it is important for the understanding of these great words to observe their distinct reference to the former clauses which dealt with our ,lord's relation to the universe as ,creator4 ,the same words are used in order to make the parallelism as close as may be1 ,through ,him was creation2 through ,him is reconciliation4 ,all things--or as the ,greek would rather suggest1 the universe--all things considered as an aggregate--were made and sustained through ,him and subordinated to ,him2 the same all things are reconciled4 ,a significant change in the order of naming the elements of which these are composed is noticeable4 ,when creation is spoken of1 the order is in the heavens and upon the earth--the order of creation2 but when reconciliation is the theme1 the order is reversed1 and we read things upon the earth and things in the heavens--those coming first which stand nearest to the reconciling cross1 and are first to feel the power which streams from it4 ,this obvious intentional correspondence between these two paragraphs shows us that whatever be the nature of the reconciliation spoken of here1 it is supposed to affect not only rational and responsible creatures who alone in the full sense of the word can be reconciled1 as they only in the full sense of the word can be enemies1 but to extend to things1 and to send its influence through the universe4 ,the width of the reconciliation is the same as that of the creation2 they are conterminous4 ,that being the case1 reconciliation here must have a different shade of meaning when applied to the sum total of created things from what it has when applied to persons4 ,but not only are inanimate creatures included in the expression2 it may even be made a question whether the whole of mankind is not excluded from it1 not only by the phrase all things but also from the consideration that the effect of ,christ's death on men is the subject of the following words1 which are not an explanation of this clause1 but an addition to it1 introducing an entirely different department of ,christ's reconciling work4 ,nor should we lose sight of the very significant omission in this section of the reference to the angelic beings who were named in the creation section4 ,we hear nothing now about thrones or dominions or principalities or powers4 ,the division into visible and invisible is not reproduced4 ,i suggest the possibility that the reason may be the intention to represent this reconciliation as taking effect exclusively on the regions of creation below the angelic and below the human1 while the reconciliation1 properly so called1 which is brought to pass on alienated men is dealt with first in the following words4 ,if this be so1 then these words refer mainly to the restitution of the material universe to its primal obedience1 and represent ,christ the ,creator removing by ,his cross the shadow which has passed over nature by reason of sin4 ,it has been well said1 ,how far this restoration of universal nature may be subjective1 as involved in the changed perceptions of man thus brought into harmony with ,god1 and how far it may have an objective and independent existence1 it were vain to speculate4#a ,scripture seems to teach that man's sin has made the physical world subject to vanity2 for1 although much of what it says on this matter is unquestionably metaphor only1 portraying the ,messianic blessings in poetical language never meant for dogmatic truth1 and although unquestionably physical death reigned among animals1 and storms and catastrophes swept over the earth long before man or sin were here1 still--seeing that man by his sin has compelled dead matter to serve his lusts and to be his instrument in acts of rebellion against ,god1 making a league with the stones of the field against his and their ,master--seeing that he has used earth to hide heaven and to shut himself out from its glories1 and so has made it an unwilling antagonist to ,god and temptress to evil--seeing that he has actually polluted the beauty of the world and has stained many a lovely scene with his sin1 making its rivers run red with blood--seeing that he has laid unnumbered woes on the living creatures--we may feel that there is more than poetry in the affirmation that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together1 and may hear a deep truth1 the extent of which we cannot measure1 in ,milton's majestic lines-- ,disproportioned ,sin ,jarred against ,nature's chime1 and with harsh din ,brake the fair music that all creatures made ,to their great ,lord1 whose love their motion swayed4 ,here we have held forth in words1 the extent of which we can measure as little1 the counter-hope that wherever and however any such effect has come to pass on the material universe1 it shall be done away by the reconciling power of the blood shed on the cross4 ,that reconciling power goes as far as ,his creative power4 ,the universe is one1 not only because all created by the one personal ,divine ,word1 nor because all upheld by ,him1 but because in ways to us unknown1 the power of the cross pierces its heights and depths4 ,as the impalpable influences of the sun bind planets and comets into one great system1 so from ,him on ,his cross may stream out attractive powers which knit together far off regions1 and diverse orders1 and bring all in harmonious unity to ,god1 who has made peace by the blood shed on the cross1 and has thereby been pleased to reconcile all things to ,himself4 ,and a ,priest's hand through creation ,waveth calm and consecration4 ,it may be that the reference to things in heaven is like the similar reference in the previous verses1 occasioned by some dreams of the heretical teachers4 ,he may merely mean to say3 ,you speak much about heavenly things1 and have filled the whole space between ,god's throne and man's earth with creatures thick as the motes in the sunbeam4 ,i know nothing about them2 but this ,i know1 that1 if they are1 ,christ made them1 and that if among them there be antagonism to ,god1 it can be overcome by the cross4 ,as to reconciliation proper1--in the heavens1 meaning by that1 among spiritual beings who dwell in that realm1 it is clear there can be no question of it4 ,there is no enmity among the angels of heaven1 and no place for return to union with ,god among their untroubled bands1 who hearken to the voice of ,his word4 ,but still if the hypothetical form of the clause and the use of the neuter gender permit any reference to intelligent beings in the heavens1 we know that to the principalities and powers in heavenly places the cross has been the teacher of before unlearned depths in the ,divine nature and purposes1 the knowledge of which has drawn them nearer the heart of ,god1 and made even their blessed union with ,him more blessed and more close4 ,on no subject is it more necessary to remember the limitations of our knowledge than on this great theme4 ,on none is confident assertion more out of place4 ,the general truth taught is clear1 but the specific applications of it to the various regions of the universe is very doubtful4 ,we have no source of knowledge on that subject but the words of ,scripture1 and we have no means of verifying or checking the conclusions we may draw from them4 ,we are bound1 therefore1 if we go beyond the general principle1 to remember that it is one thing1 and our reckoning up of what it includes is quite another4 ,our inferences have not the certainty of ,god's word4 ,it comes to us with ,verily1 verily4 ,we have no right to venture on more than ,perhaps4 ,especially is this the case when we have but one or two texts to build on1 and these most general in their language4 ,and still more1 when we find other words of ,scripture which seem hard to reconcile with them1 if pressed to their utmost meaning4 ,in such a case our wisdom is to recognise that ,god has not been pleased to give us the means of constructing a dogma on the subject1 and rather to seek to learn the lessons taught by the obscurity that remains than rashly and confidently to proclaim our inferences from half of our materials as if they were the very heart of the gospel4 ,sublime and great beyond all our dreams1 we may be sure1 shall be the issue4 ,certain as the throne of ,god is it that ,his purposes shall be accomplished--and at last this shall be the fact for the universe1 as it has ever been the will of the ,father--,of ,him1 and through ,him1 and to ,him are all things1 to whom be glory for ever4 ,to that highest hope and ultimate vision for the whole creation1 who will not say1 ,amen8 ,the great sight which the seer beheld in ,patmos is the best commentary on our text4 ,to him the eternal order of the universe was unveiled--the great white throne1 a snowy ,alp in the centre2 between the throne and the creatures1 the ,lamb1 through ,whom blessing and life passed outwards to them1 and their incense and praise passed inwards to the throne2 and all around the living creatures1 types of the aggregate of creatural life1 the elders1 representatives of the ,church redeemed from among men1 and myriads of the firstborn of heaven4 ,the eyes of all alike wait upon that slain ,lamb4 ,in ,him they see ,god in clearest light of love and gentlest might--and as they look and learn and are fed1 each according to his hunger1 from the fulness of ,christ1 every creature which is in heaven1 and on the earth1 and under the earth1 and such as are in the sea1 and all that are in them1 will be heard saying ,blessing1 and honour1 and glory1 and power1 be unto ,him1 that sitteth upon the throne1 and unto the ,lamb for ever4 ,,iii4 ,christ1 and ,his ,reconciling ,work in the ,church4 ,we have still the parallel kept up between the reconciling and the creative work of ,christ4 ,as in verse #ah ,he was represented as the giver of life to the ,church1 in a higher fashion than to the universe1 so1 and probably with a similar heightening of the meaning of reconciliation1 ,he is here set forth as its giver to the ,church4 ,now observe the solemn emphasis of the description of the condition of men before that reconciling work has told upon their hearts4 ,they are alienated--not aliens1 as if that were their original condition1 but alienated1 as having become so4 ,the same thought that man's sin and separation from ,god is a fall1 something abnormal and superinduced on humanity1 which is implied in reconciliation or restoration to an original concord1 is implied in this expression4 ,and enemies in your mind--the seat of the enmity is in that inner man which thinks1 reflects1 and wills1 and its sphere of manifestation is in evil works which are religiously acts of hostility to ,god because morally they are bad4 ,we should not read by wicked works1 as the ,authorized ,version does1 for the evil deeds have not made them enemies1 but the enmity has originated the evil deeds1 and is witnessed to by them4 ,that is a severe indictment1 a plain1 rough1 and as it is thought now-a-days1 a far too harsh description of human nature4 ,our forefathers no doubt were tempted to paint the depravity of human nature in very black colours--but ,i am very sure that we are tempted just in the opposite direction4 ,it sounds too harsh and rude to press home the old-fashioned truth on cultured1 respectable ladies and gentlemen4 ,the charge is not that of conscious1 active hostility1 but of practical want of affection1 as manifested by habitual disobedience or inattention to ,god's wishes1 and by indifference and separation from ,him in heart and mind4 ,and are these not the habitual temper of multitudes8 ,the signs of love are joy in the company of the beloved1 sweet memories and longings if parted1 eager fulfilment of their lightest wish1 a quick response to the most slender association recalling them to our thoughts4 ,have we these signs of love to ,god8 ,if not1 it is time to consider what temper of heart and mind towards the most loving of ,hearts and the most unwearied of ,givers1 is indicated by the facts that we scarcely ever think of ,him1 that we have no delight in ,his felt presence1 that most of our actions have no reference whatever to ,him and would be done just the same if there were no ,god at all4 ,surely such a condition is liker hostility than love4 ,further1 here1 as uniformly1 ,god ,himself is the ,reconciler4 ,he--that is1 ,god1 not ,christ1 has reconciled us4 ,some1 indeed1 read ye have been reconciled1 but the preponderance of authority is in favour of the text as it stands1 which yields a sense accordant with the usual mode of representation4 ,it is we who are reconciled4 ,it is ,god who reconciles4 ,it is we who are enemies4 ,the ,divine patience loves on through all our enmity1 and though perfect love meeting human sin must become wrath1 which is consistent with love1 it never becomes hatred1 which is love's opposite4 ,observe finally the great means of reconciliation3 ,in the body of ,his flesh--that is1 of course1 ,christ's flesh--,god has reconciled us4 ,why does the ,apostle use this apparently needless exuberance of language--the body of ,his flesh8 ,it may have been in order to correct some erroneous tendencies towards a doctrine which we know was afterwards eagerly embraced in the ,eastern ,churches1 that our ,lord's body was not truly flesh1 but only a phantasm or appearance4 ,it may have been to guard against risk of confounding it with ,his body the ,church1 spoken of in the #ahth verse1 though that supposes a scarcely credible dulness in his readers4 ,or it may more naturally be accounted for as showing how full his own mind was of the overwhelming wonder of the fact that ,he1 ,whose majesty he has been setting forth in such deep words1 should veil ,his eternal glories and limit ,his far reaching energies within a fleshly body4 ,he would point the contrast between the ,divine dignity of the ,eternal ,word1 the ,creator and ,lord of the universe1 and the lowliness of ,his incarnation4 ,on these two pillars1 as on two solid piers1 one on either continent1 with a great gulf between1 the ,divinity of ,christ on one side1 ,his ,manhood on the other1 is built the bridge by which we pass over the river into the glory4 ,but that is not all4 ,the ,incarnation is not the whole gospel4 ,the body of ,his flesh becomes the means of our reconciliation through death4 ,christ's death has so met the requirements of the ,divine law that the ,divine love can come freely forth1 and embrace and forgive sinful men4 ,that fact is the very centre of the revelation of ,god in ,christ1 the very secret of ,his power4 ,he has died4 ,voluntarily and of ,his own love1 as well as in obedience to the ,father's loving will1 ,he has borne the consequences of the sin which ,he had never shared1 in that life of sorrow and sympathy1 in that separation from ,god which is sin's deepest penalty1 and of which the solemn witness comes to us in the cry that rent the darkness1 ,my ,god1 ,my ,god1 why hast ,thou forsaken ,me8 and in that physical death which is the parable in the material sphere of the true death of the spirit4 ,we do not know all the incidence of ,christ's death4 ,the whole manner of its operation has not been told us1 but the fact has been4 ,it does not affect the ,divine heart4 ,that we know1 for ,god so loved the world1 that ,he sent ,his ,son4 ,but it does affect the ,divine government4 ,without it1 forgiveness could not have been4 ,its influence extends to all the years before1 as to all after1 ,calvary1 for the fact that ,man continued to be after ,man had sinned1 was because the whole ,divine government from the first had respect to the sacrifice that was to be1 as now it all is moulded by the merit of the sacrifice that has been4 ,and in this aspect of the case1 the previous thoughts as to the blood of the cross having power in the material universe derive a new meaning1 if we regard the whole history of the world as shaped by ,christ's sacrifice1 and the very continuance of humanity from the first moment of transgression as possible1 because ,he was the ,lamb slain before the foundation of the world1 whose cross1 as an eternal fact in the ,divine purpose1 influenced the ,divine government long before it was realized in time4 ,for us1 that wondrous love--mightier than death1 and not to be quenched by many waters--is the one power that can change our alienation to glad friendship1 and melt the frost and hard-ribbed ice of indifference and dread into love4 ,that1 and that alone1 is the solvent for stubborn wills1 the magnet for distant hearts4 ,the cross of ,christ is the key-stone of the universe and the conqueror of all enmity4 ,if religion is to have sovereign power in our lives1 it must be the religion built upon faith in the ,incarnate ,son of ,god1 who reconciles the world to ,god upon ,his cross4 ,that is the only faith which makes men love ,god and binds them to ,him with bands which cannot be broken4 ,other types of ,christianity are but tepid2 and lukewarm water is an abomination4 ,the one thing that makes us ground our rebellious arms and say1 ,lord1 ,i surrender1 ,thou hast conquered1 is to see in ,christ's life the perfect image of ,god1 and in ,his death the all-sufficient sacrifice for sin4 ,what does it avail for us that the far-reaching power of ,christ's cross shoots out magnetic forces to the uttermost verge of the heavens1 and binds the whole universe by silken blood-red cords to ,god1 if it does not bind me to ,him in love and longing8 ,what does it avail that ,god is in ,christ1 reconciling the world to ,himself1 if ,i am unconscious of the enmity1 and careless of the friendship8 ,each man has to ask himself1 ,am ,i reconciled to ,god8 ,has the sight of ,his great love on the cross won me1 body and soul1 to ,his love and service8 ,have ,i flung away self-will1 pride and enmity1 and yielded myself a glad captive to the loving ,christ who died8 ,his cross draws us1 ,his love beckons us4 ,god pleads with all hearts4 ,he who has made peace by so costly means as the sacrifice of ,his ,son1 condescends to implore the rebels to come into amity with ,him1 and prays us with much entreaty to receive the gift4 ,god beseeches us to be reconciled to ,himself4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,bp4 ,lightfoot1 ,on ,coloss41 p4 #bbf4 ,,vii4 ,,the ,,ultimate ,,purpose ,,of ,,reconciliation ,,and ,,its ,,human ,,conditions4 ,to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before ,him3 if so be that ye continue in the faith1 grounded and stedfast1 and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard1 which was preached in all creation under heaven2 whereof ,i ,paul was made a minister4--,,col4 i4 #bb1 #bc 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,the ,apostle has been sketching in magnificent outline a vast system1 which we may almost call the scheme of the universe4 ,he has set forth ,christ as its ,lord and centre1 through ,whom all things at first came into being1 and still continue to be4 ,in parallel manner he has presented ,christ as ,lord and ,centre of the ,church1 its lifegiving ,head4 ,and finally he has set forth ,christ as the ,reconciler of all discords in heaven and earth1 and especially of that which parts sinful men from ,god4 ,and now he shows us here1 in the first words of our text1 the purpose of this whole manifestation of ,god in ,christ to be the presenting of men perfect in purity1 before the perfect judgment of ,god4 ,he then appends the condition on which the accomplishment of this ultimate purpose in each man depends--namely1 the man's continuance in the faith and hope of the ,gospel4 ,that leads him to gather up1 in a series of clauses characterizing the ,gospel1 certain aspects of it which constitute subordinate motives and encouragements to such stedfastness4 ,that is1 ,i think1 the outline connection of the words before us1 which at first sight seem somewhat tangled and difficult to unravel4 ,i4 ,we have then1 first1 to consider the ultimate purpose of ,god in the work of ,christ4 ,to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before ,him4 ,it may be a question whether these words should be connected with now hath ,he reconciled1 or whether we are to go farther back in the long paragraph1 and make them dependent on it was the good pleasure of the ,father4 ,the former seems the more natural--namely1 to see here a statement of the great end contemplated in our reconciliation to ,god2 which1 indeed1 whatever may be the grammatical construction preferred here1 is also1 of course1 the ultimate object of the ,father's good pleasure4 ,in the word present there is possibly a sacrificial allusion1 as there is unquestionably in its use in ,rom4 xii41 ,present your bodies a living sacrifice2 or there may be another and even more eloquent metaphor implied1 that of the bringing of the bride to the husband by the friend of the bridegroom4 ,that lovely figure is found in two instances of the use of the word in ,paul's epistle 7#b ,cor4 ii4 #b1 to present you as a chaste virgin to ,christ1 and ,eph4 v4 #bg1 that ,he might present it to ,himself a glorious ,church71 and possibly in others4 ,it certainly gives an appropriate and beautiful emblem here if we think of the presentation of the bride in virginal beauty and purity to her ,lord at that last great day which is the bridal day of the perfected ,church4 ,there is1 however1 no need to suppose any metaphor at all1 nor any allusion beyond the general meaning of the word--to set in the presence of4 ,the sacrificial reference is incongruous here1 and the bridal one not indicated by anything in the context1 as it is in the instances just quoted4 ,one thing is clear1 that the reference is to a future presentation in the day of judgment1 as in another place1 where ,paul says1 ,he 444 shall raise up us also 444 and shall present us 7#b ,cor4 iv4 #ad74 ,in the light of that revealing day1 ,his purpose is that we shall stand holy1 that is1 devoted to ,god and therefore pure--without blemish1 as the offerings had to be1 and unreproveable1 against whom no charge can be brought4 ,these three express a regular sequence2 first1 the inward principle of consecration and devotion to ,god1 then its visible issue in stainless conduct and character1 and then its last consequence1 that in the judgment of ,god and of men we shall stand acquitted of blame1 and every accusation drop away from our dazzling purity1 like muddy water from the white wing of the sea-bird as it soars4 ,and all this moral perfectness and unblameableness is to be not merely in the judgment of men1 but before ,him1 the light of whose pure eyes and perfect judgment discovers all stains and evils4 ,they must be spotless indeed who are without fault before the throne of ,god4 ,such1 then1 is the grand conception of the ultimate purpose and issue of ,christ's reconciling work4 ,all the lines of thought in the preceding section lead up to and converge in this peak4 ,the meaning of ,god in creation and redemption cannot be fully fathomed without taking into view the future perfecting of men4 ,this ,christian ideal of the possibilities for men is the noblest vision that can animate our hopes4 ,absolute moral purity which shall be recognised as perfect by the perfect ,judge1 and a close approach to ,god1 so as that we shall be before ,him in a manner unknown here--are hopes as much brighter than those which any other systems of belief print on the dim canvass curtain of the future1 as the ,christian estimate of man's condition apart from ,christ is sadder and darker than theirs4 ,christianity has a much more extended scale of colours than they have4 ,it goes further down into blackness for the tints with which it paints man as he is1 and further up into flashing glories of splendour for the gleaming hues with which it paints him as he may become4 ,they move within narrow limits of neutral tints4 ,the ,gospel alone does not try to minimise man's evil1 because it is triumphantly confident of its power to turn all that evil into good4 ,nothing short of this complete purity and blamelessness satisfies ,god's heart4 ,we may travel back to the beginning of this section1 and connect its first words with these1 ,it pleased the ,father1 to present us holy and spotless and blameless4 ,it delights ,him thus to effect the purifying of sinful souls1 and ,he is glad when ,he sees ,himself surrounded by spirits thus echoing ,his will and reflecting ,his light4 ,this is what he longs for4 ,this is what ,he aims at in all ,his working--to make good and pure men4 ,the moral interest is uppermost in ,his heart and in ,his doings4 ,the physical universe is but the scaffolding by which the true house of ,god may be built4 ,the work of ,christ is the means to that end1 and when ,god has got us1 by such lavish expenditure1 to be white like ,himself1 and can find nothing in us to condemn1 then1 and not till then1 does ,he brood over us satisfied and glad at heart1 resting in ,his love1 and rejoicing over us with singing4 ,nor will anything short of this complete purity exhaust the power of the ,reconciling ,christ4 ,his work is like an unfinished column1 or ,giotto's ,campanile1 all shining with marbles and alabasters and set about with fair figures1 but waiting for centuries for the glittering apex to gather its glories into a heaven-piercing point4 ,his cross and passion reach no adequate result1 short of the perfecting of saints1 nor was it worth ,christ's while to die for any less end4 ,his cross and passion have evidently power to effect this perfect purity1 and cannot be supposed to have done all that is in them to do1 until they have done that with every ,christian4 ,we ought then to keep very clear before us this as the crowning object of ,christianity3 not to make men happy1 except as a consequence of holiness2 not to deliver from penalty1 except as a means to holiness2 but to make them holy1 and being holy1 to set them close by the throne of ,god4 ,no man understands the scope of ,christianity1 or judges it fairly1 who does not give full weight to that as its own statement of its purpose4 ,the more distinctly we1 as ,christians1 keep that purpose prominent in our thoughts1 the more shall we have our efforts stimulated and guided1 and our hopes fed1 even when we are saddened by a sense of failure4 ,we have a power working in us which can make us white as the angels1 pure as our ,lord is pure4 ,if it1 being able to produce perfect results1 has produced only such imperfect ones1 we may well ask1 where the reason for the partial failure lies4 ,if we believed more vividly that the real purpose and use of ,christianity was to make us good men1 we should surely labour more earnestly to secure that end1 should take more to heart our own responsibility for the incompleteness with which it has been attained in us1 and should submit ourselves more completely to the operation of the might of the power which worketh in us4 ,nothing less than our absolute purity will satisfy ,god about us4 ,nothing less should satisfy ourselves4 ,the only worthy end of ,christ's work for us is to present us holy1 in complete consecration1 and without blemish1 in perfect homogeneousness and uniformity of white purity and unreproveable in manifest innocence in ,his sight4 ,if we call ourselves ,christians let us make it our life's business to see that that end is being accomplished in us in some tolerable and growing measure4 ,,ii4 ,we have next set forth the conditions on which the accomplishment of that purpose depends3 ,if so be that ye continue in the faith1 grounded and stedfast1 and not moved away from the hope of the ,gospel4 ,the condition is1 generally speaking1 a stedfast adherence to the ,gospel which the ,colossians had received4 ,if ye continue in the faith1 means1 ,i suppose1 if ye continue to live in the exercise of your faith4 ,the word here has its ordinary subjective sense1 expressing the act of the believing man1 and there is no need to suppose that it has the later ecclesiastical objective sense1 expressing the believer's creed1 a meaning in which it may be questioned whether the word is ever employed in the ,new ,testament4 ,then this continuance in the faith is further explained as to its manner1 and that first positively1 and then negatively4 ,they are to be grounded1 or more picturesquely and accurately1 founded1 that is1 built into a foundation1 and therefore stedfast1 as banded into the firm rock1 and so partaking of its fixedness4 ,then1 negatively1 they are not to be moved away2 the word by its form conveying the idea1 that this is a process which may be continually going on1 and in which1 by some force constantly acting from without1 they may be gradually and imperceptibly pushed off from the foundation--that foundation is the hope evoked or held out by the ,gospel1 a representation which is less familiar than that which makes the ,gospel itself the foundation1 but is substantially equivalent to it1 though with a different colour4 ,one or two plain lessons may be drawn from these words4 ,there is an if1 then4 ,however great the powers of ,christ and of ,his work1 however deep the desire and fixed the purpose of ,god1 no fulfilment of these is possible except on condition of our habitual exercise of faith4 ,the ,gospel does not work on men by magic4 ,mind1 heart and will must be exercised on ,christ1 or all ,his power to purify and bless will be of no avail to us4 ,we shall be like ,gideon's fleece1 dry when the dew is falling thick1 unless we are continually putting forth living faith4 ,that attracts the blessing and fits the soul to receive it4 ,there is nothing mystical about the matter4 ,common sense tells us1 that if a man never thinks about any truth1 that truth will do him no good in any way4 ,if it does not find its road into his heart through his mind1 and thence into his life1 it is all one as if there were no such truth1 or as if he did not believe it4 ,if our creed is made up of truths which we do not think about1 we may just as well have no creed4 ,if we do not bring ourselves into contact with the motives which the ,gospel brings to bear on character1 the motives will not mould our character4 ,if we do not1 by faith and meditation1 realize the principles which flow from the truth as it is in ,jesus1 and obtain the strength which is stored in ,him1 we shall not grow by ,him or like ,him4 ,no matter how mighty be the renewing powers of the ,gospel wielded by the ,divine ,spirit1 they can only work on the nature that is brought into contact with and continues in contact with them by faith4 ,the measure in which we trust ,jesus ,christ will be the measure in which ,he helps us4 ,he could do no mighty works because of their unbelief4 ,he cannot do what ,he can do1 if we thwart ,him by our want of faith4 ,god will present us holy before ,him if we continue in the faith4 ,and it must be present faith which leads to present results4 ,we cannot make an arrangement by which we exercise faith wholesale once for all1 and secure a delivery of its blessings in small quantities for a while after1 as a buyer may do with goods4 ,the moment's act of faith will bring the moment's blessings2 but to-morrow will have to get its own grace by its own faith4 ,we cannot lay up a stock for the future4 ,there must be present drinking for present thirst2 we cannot lay in a reserve of the water of life1 as a camel can drink at a draught enough for a long desert march4 ,the ,rock follows us all through the wilderness1 but we have to fill our pitchers day by day4 ,many ,christians seem to think that they can live on past acts of faith4 ,no wonder that their ,christian character is stunted1 and their growth stopped1 and many a blemish visible1 and many a blame to be brought against them4 ,nothing but continual exercise of faith1 day by day1 moment by moment1 in every duty1 and every temptation1 will secure the continual entrance into our weakness of the strength which makes strong and the purity which makes pure4 ,then again1 if we and our lives are to be firm and stable1 we must have a foundation outside of ourselves on which to rest4 ,that thought is involved in the word grounded or founded4 ,it is possible that this metaphor of the foundation is carried on into the next clause1 in which case the hope of the ,gospel would be the foundation4 ,strange to make a solid foundation out of so unsubstantial a thing as hope6 ,that would be indeed to build a castle on the air1 a palace on a soap-bubble1 would it not8 ,yes1 it would1 if this hope were not the hope produced by the ,gospel1 and therefore as solid as the ever-enduring ,word of the ,lord on which it is founded4 ,but1 more probably1 the ordinary application of the figure is preserved here1 and ,christ is the foundation1 the ,rock1 on which builded1 our fleeting lives and our fickle selves may become rock-like too1 and every impulsive and changeable ,simon ,bar ,jonas rise to the mature stedfastness of a ,peter1 the pillar of the ,church4 ,translate that image of taking ,christ for our foundation into plain ,english1 and what does it come to8 ,it means1 let our minds find in ,him1 in ,his ,word1 and whole revealing life1 the basis of our beliefs1 the materials for thought2 let our hearts find in ,him their object1 which brings calmness and unchangeableness into their love2 let our practical energies take ,him as their motive and pattern1 their strength and their aim1 their stimulus and their reward2 let all hopes and joys1 emotions and desires1 fasten themselves on ,him2 let ,him occupy and fill our whole nature1 and mould and preside over all our actions4 ,so shall we be founded on ,christ4 ,and so founded1 we shall1 as ,paul here beautifully puts it1 be stedfast4 ,without that foundation to give stability and permanence1 we never get down to what abides1 but pass our lives amidst fleeting shadows1 and are ourselves transient as they4 ,the mind whose thoughts about ,god and the unseen world are not built on the personal revelation of ,god in ,christ will have no solid certainties which cannot be shaken1 but1 at the best1 opinions which cannot have more fixedness than belongs to human thoughts upon the great problem4 ,if my love does not rest on ,christ1 it will flicker and flutter1 lighting now here and now there1 and even where it rests most secure in human love1 sure to have to take wing some day1 when ,death with his woodman's axe fells the tree where it nestles4 ,if my practical life is not built on ,him1 the blows of circumstance will make it reel and stagger4 ,if we are not well joined to ,jesus ,christ1 we shall be driven by gusts of passion and storms of trouble1 or borne along on the surface of the slow stream of all-changing time like thistle-down on the water4 ,if we are to be stable1 it must be because we are fastened to something outside of ourselves that is stable1 just as they have to lash a man to the mast or other fixed things on deck1 if he is not to be washed overboard in the gale4 ,if we are lashed to the unchangeable ,christ by the cords of love and faith1 we too shall1 in our degree1 be stedfast4 ,and1 says ,paul1 that ,christ-derived stedfastness will make us able to resist influences that would move us away from the hope of the ,gospel4 ,that process which their stedfastness would enable the ,colossians successfully to resist1 is described by the language of the ,apostle as continuous1 and as one which acted on them from without4 ,intellectual dangers arose from false teachings4 ,the ever acting tendencies of worldliness pressed upon them1 and they needed to make a distinct effort to keep themselves from being overcome by these4 ,if we do not take care that imperceptible1 steady pressure of the all-surrounding worldliness1 which is continually acting on us1 will push us right off the foundation without our knowing that we have shifted at all4 ,if we do not look well after our moorings we shall drift away down stream1 and never know that we are moving1 so smooth is the motion1 till we wake up to see that everything round about is changed4 ,many a man is unaware how completely his ,christian faith has gone till some crisis comes when he needs it1 and when he opens the jar there is nothing4 ,it has evaporated4 ,when white ants eat away all the inside of a piece of furniture1 they leave the outside shell apparently solid1 and it stands till some weight is laid upon it1 and then goes down with a crash4 ,many people loose their ,christianity in that fashion1 by its being nibbled away in tiny flakes by a multitude of secretly working little jaws1 and they never know that the pith is out of it till they want to lean on it1 and then it gives under them4 ,the only way to keep firm hold of hope is to keep fast on the foundation4 ,if we do not wish to slide imperceptibly away from ,him who alone will make our lives stedfast and our hearts calm with the peacefulness of having found our ,all1 we must continuously make an effort to tighten our grasp on ,him1 and to resist the subtle forces which1 by silent pressure or by sudden blows1 seek to get us off the one foundation4 ,,iii4 ,then lastly1 we have a threefold motive for adherence to the ,gospel4 ,the three clauses which close these verses seem to be appended as secondary and subordinate encouragements to stedfastness1 which encouragements are drawn from certain characteristics of the ,gospel4 ,of course1 the main reason for a man's sticking to the ,gospel1 or to anything else1 is that it is true4 ,and unless we are prepared to say that we believe it true1 we have nothing to do with such subordinate motives for professing adherence to it1 except to take care that they do not influence us4 ,and that one sole reason is abundantly wrought out in this letter4 ,but then1 its truth being established1 we may fairly bring in other subsidiary motives to reinforce this1 seeing that there may be a certain coldness of belief which needs the warmth of such encouragements4 ,the first of these lies in the words1 the ,gospel1 which ye heard4 ,that is to say1 the ,apostle would have the ,colossians1 in the face of these heretical teachers1 remember the beginning of their ,christian life1 and be consistent with that4 ,they had heard it at their conversion4 ,he would have them recall what they had heard then1 and tamper with no teaching inconsistent with it4 ,he also appeals to their experience4 ,do you remember what the ,gospel did for you8 ,do you remember the time when it first dawned upon your astonished hearts1 all radiant with heavenly beauty1 as the revelation of a ,heart in heaven that cared for you1 and of a ,christ ,who1 on earth1 had died for you8 ,did it not deliver you from your burden8 ,did it not set new hope before you8 ,did it not make earth as the very portals of heaven8 ,and have these truths become less precious because familiar8 ,be not moved away from the ,gospel 'which ye have heard4' ,to us the same appeal comes4 ,this word has been sounding in our ears ever since childhood4 ,it has done everything for some of us1 something for all of us4 ,its truths have sometimes shone out for us like suns1 in the dark1 and brought us strength when nothing else could sustain us4 ,if they are not truths1 of course they will have to go4 ,but they are not to be abandoned easily4 ,they are interwoven with our very lives4 ,to part with them is a resolution not to be lightly undertaken4 ,the argument of experience is of no avail to convince others1 but is valid for ourselves4 ,a man has a perfect right to say1 ,i have heard ,him myself1 and ,i know that this is indeed the ,christ1 the ,saviour of the world4 ,a ,christian may wisely decline to enter on the consideration of many moot questions which he may feel himself incompetent to handle1 and rest upon the fact that ,christ has saved his soul4 ,the blind man beat the ,pharisees in logic when he sturdily took his stand on experience1 and refused to be tempted to discuss subjects which he did not understand1 or to allow his ignorance to slacken his grasp of what he did know4 ,whether this man be a sinner or no1 ,i know not3 one thing ,i know1 that1 whereas ,i was blind1 now ,i see4 ,there was no answering that1 so by excommunicating him they confessed themselves beaten4 ,a second encouragement to stedfast adherence to the ,gospel lies in the fact that it was preached in all creation under heaven4 ,we need not be pedantic about literal accuracy1 and may allow that the statement has a rhetorical colouring4 ,but what the ,apostle means is1 that the gospel had spread so widely1 through so many phases of civilisation1 and had proved its power by touching men so unlike each other in mental furniture and habits1 that it had showed itself to be a word for the whole race4 ,it is the same thought as we have already found in verse #f4 ,his implied exhortation is1 ,be not moved away from what belongs to humanity by teachings which can only belong to a class4 ,all errors are transient in duration and limited in area4 ,one addresses itself to one class of men1 another to another4 ,each false1 or exaggerated1 or partial representation of religious truth1 is congenial to some group with idiosyncrasies of temperament or mind4 ,different tastes like different spiced meats1 but the gospel1 human nature's daily food1 is the bread of ,god that everybody can relish1 and which everybody must have for healthy life4 ,what only a certain class or the men of one generation or of one stage of culture can find nourishment in1 cannot be meant for all men4 ,but the great message of ,god's love in ,jesus ,christ commends itself to us because it can go into any corner of the world1 and there1 upon all sorts of people1 work its wonders4 ,so we will sit down with the women and children upon the green grass1 and eat of it1 however fastidious people whose appetites have been spoiled by high-spiced meat1 may find it coarse and insipid4 ,it would feed them too1 if they would try--but whatever they may do1 let us take it as more than our necessary food4 ,the last of these subsidiary encouragements to stedfastness lies in1 whereof ,i ,paul was made a minister4 ,this is not merely an appeal to their affection for him1 though that is perfectly legitimate4 ,holy words may be holier because dear lips have taught them to us1 and even the truth of ,god may allowably have a firmer hold upon our hearts because of our love for some who have ministered it to us4 ,it is a poor commentary on a preacher's work if1 after long service to a congregation1 his words do not come with power given to them by old affection and confidence4 ,the humblest teacher who has done his ,master's errand will have some to whom he can appeal as ,paul did1 and urge them to keep hold of the message which he has preached4 ,but there is more than that in the ,apostle's mind4 ,he was accustomed to quote the fact that he1 the persecutor1 had been made the messenger of ,christ1 as a living proof of the infinite mercy and power of that ascended ,lord1 whom his eyes saw on the road to ,damascus4 ,so here1 he puts stress on the fact that he became a minister of the gospel1 as being an evidence of ,christianity4 ,the history of his conversion is one of the strongest proofs of the resurrection and ascension of ,jesus ,christ4 ,you know1 he seems to say1 what turned me from being a persecutor into an apostle4 ,it was because ,i saw the living ,christ1 and heard the words of ,his mouth1 and1 ,i beseech you1 listen to no words which make ,his dominion less sovereign1 and ,his sole and all sufficient work on the cross less mighty as the only power that knits earth to heaven4 ,so the sum of this whole matter is--abide in ,christ4 ,let us root and ground our lives and characters in ,him1 and then ,god's inmost desire will be gratified in regard to us1 and ,he will bring even us stainless and blameless into the blaze of ,his presence4 ,there we shall all have to stand1 and let that all-penetrating light search us through and through4 ,how do we expect to be then found of ,him in peace1 without spot and blameless8 ,there is but one way--to live in constant exercise of faith in ,christ1 and grip ,him so close and sure that the world1 the flesh and the devil cannot make us loosen our fingers4 ,then ,he will hold us up1 and ,his great purpose1 which brought ,him to earth1 and nailed ,him to the cross1 will be fulfilled in us1 and at last1 we shall lift up voices of wondering praise to ,him who is able to keep us from falling1 and to present us faultless before the presence of ,his glory with exceeding joy4 ,,viii4 ,,joy ,,in ,,suffering1 ,,and ,,triumph ,,in ,,the ,,manifested ,,mystery4 ,now ,i rejoice in my sufferings for your sake1 and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of ,christ in my flesh for ,his body's sake1 which is the ,church2 whereof ,i was made a minister according to the dispensation of ,god which was given me to you-ward to fulfil the word of ,god1 even the mystery which hath been hid from all ages and generations2 but now hath it been manifested to ,his ,saints1 to ,whom ,god was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the ,gentiles1 which is ,christ in you1 the hope of glory4--,,col4 i4 #bd-bg 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,there are scarcely any personal references in this ,epistle1 until we reach the last chapter4 ,in this respect it contrasts strikingly with another of ,paul's epistles of the captivity1 that to the ,philippians1 which is running over with affection and with allusions to himself4 ,this sparseness of personal details strongly confirms the opinion that he had not been to ,colossae4 ,here1 however1 we come to one of the very few sections which may be called personal1 though even here it is rather ,paul's office than himself which is in question4 ,he is led to speak of himself by his desire to enforce his exhortations to faithful continuance in the gospel1 and1 as is so often the case with him in touching on his apostleship1 he as it were1 catches fire1 and blazes up in a grand flame1 which sheds a bright light on his lofty enthusiasm and evangelistic fervour ,the words to be considered now are plain enough in themselves1 but they are run together1 and thought follows thought in a fashion which makes them somewhat obscure2 and there are also one or two difficulties in single words which require to be cleared up4 ,we shall perhaps best bring out the course of thought by dealing with these verses in three groups1 of which the three words1 ,suffering1 ,service1 and ,mystery1 are respectively the centres4 ,first1 we have a remarkable view taken by the prisoner of the meaning of his sufferings1 as being endured for the ,church4 ,that leads him to speak of his relation to the ,church generally as being that of a servant or steward appointed by ,god1 to bring to its completion the work of ,god2 and then1 as ,i said1 he takes fire1 and1 forgetting himself1 flames up in rapturous magnifying of the grand message hid so long1 and now entrusted to him to preach4 ,so we have his ,sufferings for the ,church1 his service of ,stewardship to the ,church1 and the great ,mystery which in that stewardship he had to unveil4 ,it may help us to understand both ,paul and his message1 as well as our own tasks and trials1 if we try to grasp his thoughts here about his work and his sorrows4 ,i4 ,we have the ,apostle's triumphant contemplation of his sufferings4 ,i rejoice in my sufferings for your sake1 and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of ,christ in my flesh for ,his body's sake1 which is the ,church4 ,the ,revised ,version1 following the best authorities1 omits the who with which the ,authorized ,version begins this verse1 and marks a new sentence and paragraph1 as is obviously right4 ,the very first word is significant3 ,now ,i rejoice4 ,ay2 it is easy to say fine things about patience in sufferings and triumph in sorrow when we are prosperous and comfortable2 but it is different when we are in the furnace4 ,this man1 with the chain on his wrist1 and the iron entering into his soul1 with his life in danger1 and all the future uncertain1 can say1 ,now ,i rejoice4 ,this bird sings in a darkened cage4 ,then come startling words1 ,i on my part fill up that which is lacking 7a better rendering than 'behind'7 of the afflictions of ,christ4 ,it is not surprising that many explanations of these words have tried to soften down their boldness2 as1 for instance1 afflictions borne for ,christ1 or imposed by ,him1 or like ,his4 ,but it seems very clear that the startling meaning is the plain meaning1 and that the sufferings of ,christ here1 as everywhere else1 are the sufferings borne by ,christ4 ,then at once the questions start up1 ,does ,paul mean to say that in any sense whatever the sufferings which ,christ endured have anything lacking in them8 or does he mean to say that a ,christian man's sufferings1 however they may benefit the ,church1 can be put alongside of the ,lord's1 and taken to eke out the incompleteness of ,his8 ,surely that cannot be6 ,did ,he not say on the cross1 ,it is finished8 ,surely that sacrifice needs no supplement1 and can receive none1 but stands the one sacrifice for sins for ever6 ,surely1 ,his sufferings are absolutely singular in nature and effect1 unique and all-sufficient and eternal4 ,and does this ,apostle1 the very heart of whose gospel was that these were the life of the world1 mean to say that anything which he endures can be tacked on to them1 a bit of the old rags to the new garment8 ,distinctly not6 ,to say so would be contradictory of the whole spirit and letter of the ,apostle's teaching4 ,but there is no need to suppose that he means anything of the sort4 ,there is an idea frequently presented in ,scripture1 which gives full meaning to the words1 and is in full accordance with ,pauline teaching2 namely1 that ,christ truly participates in the sufferings of ,his people borne for ,him4 ,he suffers with them4 ,the head feels the pangs of all the members2 and every ache may be thought of as belonging1 not only to the limb where it is located1 but to the brain which is conscious of it4 ,the pains and sorrows and troubles of ,his friends and followers to the end of time are one great whole4 ,each sorrow of each ,christian heart is one drop more added to the contents of the measure which has to be filled to the brim1 ere the purposes of the ,father who leads through suffering to rest are accomplished2 and all belong to ,him4 ,whatsoever pain or trial is borne in fellowship with ,him is felt and borne by ,him4 ,community of sensation is established between ,him and us4 ,our sorrows are transferred to ,him4 ,in all our afflictions ,he is afflicted1 both by ,his mystical but most real oneness with us1 and by ,his brother's sympathy4 ,so for us all1 and not for the ,apostle only1 the whole aspect of our sorrows may be changed1 and all poor struggling souls in this valley of weeping may take comfort and courage from the wonderful thought of ,christ's union with us1 which makes our griefs ,his1 and our pain touch ,him4 ,bruise your finger1 and the pain pricks and stabs in your brain4 ,strike the man that is joined to ,christ here1 and ,christ up yonder feels it4 ,he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of ,his eye4 ,where did ,paul learn this deep lesson1 that the sufferings of ,christ's servants were ,christ's sufferings8 ,i wonder whether1 as he wrote these words of confident yet humble identification of himself the persecuted with ,christ the ,lord1 there came back to his memory what he heard on that fateful day as he rode to ,damascus1 ,saul1 ,saul1 why persecutest thou ,me8 ,the thought so crushing to the persecutor had become balm and glory to the prisoner1--that every blow aimed at the servant falls on the ,master1 who stoops from amid the glory of the throne to declare that whatsoever is done1 whether it be kindness or cruelty1 to the least of ,his brethren1 is done to ,him4 ,so every one of us may take the comfort and strength of that wonderful assurance1 and roll all our burdens and sorrows on ,him4 ,again1 there is prominent here the thought that the good of sorrow does not end with the sufferer4 ,his sufferings are borne in his flesh for the body's sake1 which is the ,church1--a remarkable antithesis between the ,apostle's flesh in which1 and ,christ's body for which1 the sufferings are endured4 ,every sorrow rightly borne1 as it will be when ,christ is felt to be bearing it with us1 is fruitful of blessing4 ,paul's trials were in a special sense for ,his body's sake1 for of course1 if he had not preached the gospel1 he would have escaped them all2 and on the other hand1 they have been especially fruitful of good1 for if he had not been persecuted1 he would never have written these precious letters from ,rome4 ,the ,church owes much to the violence which has shut up confessors in dungeons4 ,its prison literature1 beginning with this letter1 and ending with ,pilgrim's ,progress1 has been among its most cherished treasures4 ,but the same thing is true about us all1 though it may be in a narrower sphere4 ,no man gets good for himself alone out of his sorrows4 ,whatever purifies and makes gentler and more ,christlike1 whatever teaches or builds up--and sorrows rightly borne do all these--is for the common good4 ,be our trials great or small1 be they minute and every-day--like gnats that hum about us in clouds1 and may be swept away by the hand1 and irritate rather than hurt where they sting--or be they huge and formidable1 like the viper that clings to the wrist and poisons the life blood1 they are meant to give us good gifts1 which we may transmit to the narrow circle of our homes1 and in ever widening rings of influence to all around us4 ,have we never known a household1 where some chronic invalid1 lying helpless perhaps on a sofa1 was a source of the highest blessing and the centre of holy influence1 that made every member of the family gentler1 more self-denying and loving8 ,we shall never understand our sorrows1 unless we try to answer the question1 ,what good to others is meant to come through me by this8 ,alas1 that grief should so often be self-absorbed1 even more than joy is6 ,the heart sometimes opens to unselfish sharing of its gladness with others2 but it too often shuts tight over its sorrow1 and seeks solitary indulgence in the luxury of woe4 ,let us learn that our brethren claim benefit from our trials1 as well as from our good things1 and seek to ennoble our griefs by bearing them for ,his body's sake1 which is the ,church4 ,christ's sufferings on ,his cross are the satisfaction for a world's sins1 and in that view can have no supplement1 and stand alone in kind4 ,but ,his afflictions--a word which would not naturally be applied to ,his death--do operate also to set the pattern of holy endurance1 and to teach many a lesson2 and in that view every suffering borne for ,him and with ,him may be regarded as associated with ,his1 and helping to bless the ,church and the world4 ,god makes the rough iron of our natures into shining1 flexible1 sharp steel1 by heavy hammers and hot furnaces1 that ,he may shape us as ,his instruments to help and heal4 ,it is of great moment that we should have such thoughts of our sorrows whilst their pressure is upon us1 and not only when they are past4 ,i now rejoice4 ,most of us have had to let years stretch between us and the blow before we could attain to that clear insight4 ,we can look back and see how our past sorrows tended to bless us1 and how ,christ was with us in them3 but as for this one1 that burdens us to-day1 we cannot make it out4 ,we can even have a solemn thankfulness not altogether unlike joy as we look on those wounds that we remember2 but how hard it is to feel it about those that pain us now6 ,there is but one way to secure that calm wisdom1 which feels their meaning even while they sting and burn1 and can smile through tears1 as sorrowful and yet always rejoicing2 and that is to keep in very close communion with our ,lord4 ,then1 even when we are in the whitest heat of the furnace1 we may have the ,son of man with us2 and if we have1 the fiercest flames will burn up nothing but the chains that bind us1 and we shall walk at liberty in that terrible heat1 because we walk with ,him4 ,it is a high attainment of ,christian fortitude and faith to feel the blessed meaning1 not only of the six tribulations which are past1 but of the present seventh1 and to say1 even while the iron is entering the quivering flesh1 ,i now rejoice in my sufferings1 and try to turn them to others' good4 ,,ii4 ,these thoughts naturally lead on to the statement of the ,apostle's lowly and yet lofty conception of his office--whereof 7that is1 of which ,church7 ,i was made a minister1 according to the dispensation of ,god1 which was given me to you-ward1 to fulfil the word of ,god4 ,the first words of this clause are used at the close of the preceding section in verse #bc1 but the whereof there refers to the gospel1 not as here to the ,church4 ,he is the servant of both1 and because he is the servant of the ,church he suffers1 as he has been saying4 ,the representation of himself as servant gives the reason for the conduct described in the previous clause4 ,then the next words explain what makes him the ,church's servant4 ,he is so in accordance with1 or in pursuance of1 the stewardship1 or office of administrator1 of ,his household1 to which ,god has called him1 to you-ward1 that is to say1 with especial reference to the ,gentiles4 ,and the final purpose of his being made a steward is to fulfil the word of ,god2 by which is not meant to accomplish or bring to pass its predictions1 but to bring it to completion1 or to give full development to it1 and that possibly in the sense of preaching it fully1 without reserve1 and far and wide throughout the whole world4 ,so lofty and yet so lowly was ,paul's thought of his office4 ,he was the ,church's servant1 and therefore bound to suffer cheerfully for its sake4 ,he was so1 because a high honour had been conferred on him by ,god1 nothing less than the stewardship of ,his great household the ,church1 in which he had to give to every man his portion1 and to exercise authority4 ,he is the ,church's servant indeed1 but it is because he is the ,lord's steward4 ,and the purpose of his appointment goes far beyond the interests of any single ,church2 for while his office sends him especially to the ,colossians1 its scope is as wide as the world4 ,one great lesson to be learned from these words is that ,stewardship means service2 and we may add that1 in nine cases out of ten1 service means suffering4 ,what ,paul says1 if we put it into more familiar language1 is just this3 ,because ,god has given me something that ,i can impart to others1 ,i am their servant1 and bound1 not only by my duty to ,him1 but by my duty to them1 to labour that they may receive the treasure4 ,that is true for us all4 ,every gift from the great ,householder involves the obligation to impart it4 ,it makes us ,his stewards and our brethren's servants4 ,we have that we may give4 ,the possessions are the ,householder's1 not ours1 even after ,he has given them to us4 ,he gives us truths of various kinds in our minds1 the gospel in our hearts1 influence from our position1 money in our pockets1 not to lavish on self1 nor to hide and gloat over in secret1 but that we may transmit ,his gifts1 and ,god's grace fructify through us to all4 ,it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful2 and the heaviest charge1 that he had wasted his ,lord's goods1 lies against every one of us who does not use all that he possesses1 whether of material or intellectual or spiritual wealth1 for the common advantage4 ,but that common obligation of stewardship presses with special force on those who say that they are ,christ's servants4 ,if we are1 we know something of ,his love and have felt something of ,his power2 and there are hundreds of people around us1 many of whom we can influence1 who know nothing of either4 ,that fact makes us their servants1 not in the sense of being under their control1 or of taking orders from them1 but in the sense of gladly working for them1 and recognising our obligation to help them4 ,our resources may be small4 ,the ,master of the house may have entrusted us with little4 ,perhaps we are like the boy with the five barley loaves and two small fishes2 but even if we had only a bit of the bread and a tail of one of the fishes1 we must not eat our morsel alone4 ,give it those who have none1 and it will multiply as it is distributed1 like the barrel of meal1 which did not fail because its poor owner shared it with the still poorer prophet4 ,give1 and not only give1 but pray them with much entreaty to receive the gift2 for men need to have the true ,bread pressed on them1 and they will often throw it back1 or drop it over a wall1 as soon as your back is turned1 as beggars do in our streets4 ,we have to win them by showing that we are their servants1 before they will take what we have to give4 ,besides this1 if stewardship is service1 service is often suffering2 and he will not clear himself of his obligations to his fellows1 or of his responsibility to his ,master1 who shrinks from seeking to make known the love of ,christ to his brethren1 because he has often to go forth weeping whilst he bears the precious seed4 ,,iii4 ,so we come to the last thought here1 which is of the grand ,mystery of which ,paul is the ,apostle and ,servant4 ,paul always catches fire when he comes to think of the universal destination of the gospel1 and of the honour put upon him as the man to whom the task was entrusted of transforming the ,church from a ,jewish sect to a world-wide society4 ,that great thought now sweeps him away from his more immediate object1 and enriches us with a burst which we could ill spare from the letter4 ,his task1 he says1 is to give its full development to the word of ,god1 to proclaim a certain mystery long hid1 but now revealed to those who are consecrated to ,god4 ,to these it has been ,god's good pleasure to show the wealth of glory which is contained in this mystery1 as exhibited among the ,gentile ,christians1 which mystery is nothing else than the fact that ,christ dwells in or among these ,gentiles1 of whom the ,colossians are part1 and by ,his dwelling in them gives them the confident expectation of future glory4 ,the mystery then of which the ,apostle speaks so rapturously is the fact that the ,gentiles were fellow-heirs and partakers of ,christ4 ,mystery is a word borrowed from the ancient systems1 in which certain rites and doctrines were communicated to the initiated4 ,there are several allusions to them in ,paul's writings1 as for instance in the passage in ,philippians iv4 #ab1 which the ,revised ,version gives as ,i have learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry1 and probably in the immediate context here1 where the characteristic word perfect means initiated4 ,portentous theories which have no warrant have been spun out of this word4 ,the ,greek mysteries implied secrecy2 the rites were done in deep obscurity2 the esoteric doctrines were muttered in the ear4 ,the ,christian mysteries are spoken on the housetop1 nor does the word imply anything as to the comprehensibility of the doctrines or facts which are so called4 ,we talk about mysteries1 meaning thereby truths that transcend human faculties2 but the ,new ,testament mystery may be1 and most frequently is1 a fact perfectly comprehensible when once spoken4 ,behold ,i show you a mystery3 ,we shall not all sleep1 but we shall all be changed4 ,there is nothing incomprehensible in that4 ,we should never have known it if we had not been told2 but when told it is quite level with our faculties4 ,and as a matter of fact1 the word is most frequently used in connection with the notion1 not of concealment1 but of declaring4 ,we find too that it occurs frequently in this ,epistle1 and in the parallel letter to the ,ephesians1 and in every instance but one refers as it does here1 to a fact which was perfectly plain and comprehensible when once made known2 namely1 the entrance of the ,gentiles into the ,church4 ,if that be the true meaning of the word1 then a steward of the mysteries will simply mean a man who has truths1 formerly unknown but now revealed1 in charge to make known to all who will hearken1 and neither the claims of a priesthood nor the demand for the unquestioning submission of the intellect have any foundation in this much abused term4 ,but turning from this1 we may briefly consider what was the substance of this grand mystery which thrilled ,paul's soul4 ,it is the wonderful fact that all barriers were broken down1 and that ,christ dwelt in the hearts of these ,colossians4 ,he saw in that the proof and the prophecy of the world-wide destination of the gospel4 ,no wonder that his heart burned as he thought of the marvellous work which ,god had wrought by him4 ,for there is no greater revolution in the history of the world than that accomplished through him1 the cutting loose of ,christianity from ,judaism and widening the ,church to the width of the race4 ,no wonder that he was misunderstood and hated by ,jewish ,christians all his days6 ,he thinks of these once heathens and now ,christians at ,colossae1 far away in their lonely valley1 and of many another little community--in ,judaea1 ,asia1 ,greece1 and ,italy2 and as he thinks of how a real solid bond of brotherhood bound them together in spite of their differences of race and culture1 the vision of the oneness of mankind in the ,cross of ,christ shines out before him1 as no man had ever seen it till then1 and he triumphs in the sorrows that had helped to bring about the great result4 ,that dwelling of ,christ among the ,gentiles reveals the exuberant abundance of glory4 ,to him the mystery was all running over with riches1 and blazing with fresh radiance4 ,to us it is familiar and somewhat worn4 ,the vision splendid1 which was manifestly a revelation of hitherto unknown ,divine treasures of mercy and lustrous light when it first dawned on the ,apostle's sight1 has faded somewhat into the light of common day for us1 to whom the centuries since have shown so slow a progress4 ,but let us not lose more than we can help1 either by our familiarity with the thought1 or by the discouragements arising from the chequered history of its partial realization4 ,christianity is still the only religion which has been able to make permanent conquests4 ,it is the only one that has been able to disregard latitude and longitude1 and to address and guide condition of civilization and modes of life quite unlike those of its origin4 ,it is the only one that sets itself the task of conquering the world without the sword1 and has kept true to the design for centuries4 ,it is the only one whose claims to be world-wide in its adaptation and destiny would not be laughed out of court by its history4 ,it is the only one which is to-day a missionary religion4 ,and so1 notwithstanding the long centuries of arrested growth and the wide tracts of remaining darkness1 the mystery which fired ,paul's enthusiasm is still able to kindle ours1 and the wealth of glory that lies in it has not been impoverished nor stricken with eclipse4 ,one last thought is here1--that the possession of ,christ is the pledge of future blessedness4 ,hope here seems to be equivalent to the source or ground of the hope4 ,if we have the experience of ,his dwelling in our hearts1 we shall have1 in that very experience of ,his sweetness and of the intimacy of ,his love1 a marvellous quickener of our hope that such sweetness and intimacy will continue for ever4 ,the closer we keep to ,him1 the clearer will be our vision of future blessedness4 ,if ,he is throned in our hearts1 we shall be able to look forward with a hope1 which is not less than certainty1 to the perpetual continuance of ,his hold of us and of our blessedness in ,him4 ,anything seems more credible to a man who habitually has ,christ abiding in him1 than that such a trifle as death should have power to end such a union4 ,to have ,him is to have life4 ,to have ,him will be heaven4 ,to have ,him is to have a hope certain as memory and careless of death or change4 ,that hope is offered to us all4 ,if by our faith in ,his great sacrifice we grasp the great truth of ,christ for us1 our fears will be scattered1 sin and guilt taken away1 death abolished1 condemnation ended1 the future a hope and not a dread4 ,if by communion with ,him through faith1 love1 and obedience1 we have ,christ in us1 our purity will grow1 and our experience will be such as plainly to demand eternity to complete its incompleteness and to bring its folded buds to flower and fruit4 ,if ,christ be in us1 ,his life guarantees ours1 and we cannot die whilst ,he lives4 ,the world has come1 in the persons of its leading thinkers1 to the position of proclaiming that all is dark beyond and above4 ,behold6 we know not anything1 is the dreary end of the whole matter--infinitely sadder than the old ,ecclesiastes1 which from vanity of vanities climbed to fear ,god and keep ,his commandments1 as the sum of human thought and life4 ,i find no ,god2 ,i know no future4 ,yes6 ,paul long ago told us that if we were without ,christ we should have no hope1 and be without ,god in the world4 ,and cultivated ,europe is finding out that to fling away ,christ and to keep a faith in ,god or in a future life is impossible4 ,but if we will take ,him for our ,saviour by simple trust1 ,he will give us ,his own presence in our hearts1 and infuse there a hope full of immortality4 ,if we live in close communion with ,him1 we shall need no other assurance of an eternal life beyond than that deep1 calm blessedness springing from the imperfect fellowship of earth which must needs lead to and be lost in the everlasting and completed union of heaven4 ,,ix4 ,,the ,,christian ,,ministry ,,in ,,its ,,theme1 ,,methods ,,and ,,aim4 ,whom we proclaim1 admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom1 that we may present every man perfect in ,christ2 whereunto ,i labour also1 striving according to ,his working1 which worketh in me mightily1--,,col4 i4 #bh1 #bi 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,the false teachers at ,colossae had a great deal to say about a higher wisdom reserved for the initiated4 ,they apparently treated the ,apostolic teaching as trivial rudiments1 which might be good for the vulgar crowd1 but were known by the possessors of this higher truth to be only a veil for it4 ,they had their initiated class1 to whom their mysteries were entrusted in whispers4 ,such absurdities excited ,paul's special abhorrence4 ,his whole soul rejoiced in a gospel for all men4 ,he had broken with ,judaism on the very ground that it sought to enforce a ceremonial exclusiveness1 and demanded circumcision and ritual observances along with faith4 ,that was1 in ,paul's estimate1 to destroy the gospel4 ,these ,eastern dreamers at ,colossae were trying to enforce an intellectual exclusiveness quite as much opposed to the gospel4 ,paul fights with all his might against that error4 ,its presence in the ,church colours this context1 where he uses the very phrases of the false teachers in order to assert the great principles which he opposes to their teaching4 ,mystery1 perfect or initiated1 wisdom1--these are the key-words of the system which he is combating2 and here he presses them into the service of the principle that the gospel is for all men1 and the most recondite secrets of its deepest truth the property of every single soul that wills to receive them4 ,yes1 he says in effect1 we have mysteries4 ,we have our initiated4 ,we have wisdom4 ,but we have no whispered teachings1 confined to a little coterie2 we have no inner chamber closed to the many4 ,we are not muttering hierophants1 cautiously revealing a little to a few1 and fooling the rest with ceremonies and words4 ,our whole business is to tell out as fully and loudly as we can what we know of ,christ1 to tell to every man all the wisdom that we have learned4 ,we fling open the inmost sanctuary1 and invite all the crowd to enter4 ,this is the general scope of the words before us which state the object and methods of the ,apostle's work2 partly in order to point the contrast with those other teachers1 and partly in order to prepare the way1 by this personal reference1 for his subsequent exhortations4 ,i4 ,we have here the ,apostle's own statement of what he conceived his life work to be4 ,whom we proclaim4 ,all three words are emphatic4 ,whom1 not what--a person1 not a system2 we proclaim1 not we argue or dissertate about4 ,we preach--the ,apostle associates himself with all his brethren1 puts himself in line with them1 points to the unanimity of their testimony--whether it were they or ,i1 so we preach4 ,we have all one message1 a common type of doctrine4 ,so then--the ,christian teacher's theme is not to be a theory or a system1 but a living ,person4 ,one peculiarity of ,christianity is that you cannot take its message1 and put aside ,christ1 the speaker of the message1 as you may do with all men's teachings4 ,some people say3 ,we take the great moral and religious truths which ,jesus declared4 ,they are the all-important parts of ,his work4 ,we can disentangle them from any further connection with ,him4 ,it matters comparatively little who first spoke them4 ,but that will not do4 ,his person is inextricably intertwined with ,his teaching1 for a very large part of ,his teaching is exclusively concerned with1 and all of it centres in1 ,himself4 ,he is not only true1 but ,he is the truth4 ,his message is1 not only what ,he said with ,his lips about ,god and man1 but also what ,he said about ,himself1 and what ,he did in ,his life1 death1 and resurrection4 ,you may take ,buddha's sayings1 if you can make sure that they are his1 and find much that is beautiful and true in them1 whatever you may think of him2 you may appreciate the teaching of ,confucius1 though you know nothing about him but that he said so and so2 but you cannot do thus with ,jesus4 ,our ,christianity takes its whole colour from what we think of ,him4 ,if we think of ,him as less than this chapter has been setting ,him forth as being1 we shall scarcely feel that ,he should be the preacher's theme2 but if ,he is to us what ,he was to this ,apostle1 the sole ,revealer of ,god1 the ,centre and ,lord of creation1 the ,fountain of life to all which lives1 the ,reconciler of men with ,god by the blood of ,his cross1 then the one message which a man may be thankful to spend his life in proclaiming will be1 ,behold the ,lamb6 ,let who will preach abstractions1 the true ,christian minister has to preach the person and the office--,jesus the ,christ4 ,to preach ,christ is to set forth the person1 the facts of ,his life and death1 and to accompany these with that explanation which turns them from being merely a biography into a gospel4 ,so much of theory must go with the facts1 or they will be no more a gospel than the story of another life would be4 ,the ,apostle's own statement of the gospel which he preached distinctly lays down what is needed--how that ,jesus ,christ died4 ,that is biography1 and to say that and stop there is not to preach ,christ2 but add1 ,for our sins1 according to the ,scriptures1 and that ,he was raised again the third day1--preach that1 the fact and its meaning and power1 and you will preach ,christ4 ,of course there is a narrower and a wider sense of this expression4 ,there is the initial teaching1 which brings to a soul1 who has never seen it before1 the knowledge of a ,saviour1 whose ,cross is the propitiation for sin2 and there is the fuller teaching1 which opens out the manifold bearings of that message in every region of moral and religious thought4 ,i do not plead for any narrow construction of the words4 ,they have been sorely abused1 by being made the battle-cry for bitter bigotry and a hard system of abstract theology1 as unlike what ,paul means by ,christ as any cobwebs of ,gnostic heresy could be4 ,legitimate outgrowths of the ,christian ministry have been checked in their name4 ,they have been used as a cramping iron1 as a shibboleth1 as a stone to fling at honest and especially at young preachers4 ,they have been made a pillow for laziness4 ,so that the very sound of the words suggests to some ears1 because of their use in some mouths1 ignorant narrowness4 ,but for all that1 they are a standard of duty for all workers for ,god1 which it is not difficult to apply1 if the will to do so be present1 and they are a touch-stone to try the spirits1 whether they be of ,god4 ,a ministry of which the ,christ who lived and died for us is manifestly the centre to which all converges and from which all is viewed1 may sweep a wide circumference1 and include many themes4 ,the requirement bars out no province of thought or experience1 nor does it condemn the preacher to a parrot-like repetition of elementary truths1 or a narrow round of commonplace4 ,it does demand that all themes shall lead up to ,christ1 and all teaching point to ,him2 that ,he shall be ever present in all the preacher's words1 a diffused even when not a directly perceptible presence2 and that ,his name1 like some deep tone on an organ1 shall be heard sounding on through all the ripple and change of the higher notes4 ,preaching ,christ does not exclude any theme1 but prescribes the bearing and purpose of all2 and the widest compass and richest variety are not only possible but obligatory for him who would in any worthy sense take this for the motto of his ministry1 ,i determined not to know anything among you1 save ,jesus ,christ and ,him crucified4 ,but these words give us not only the theme but something of the manner of the ,apostle's activity4 ,we proclaim4 ,the word is emphatic in its form1 meaning to tell out1 and representing the proclamation as full1 clear1 earnest4 ,we are no muttering mystery-mongers4 ,from full lungs and in a voice to make people hear1 we shout aloud our message4 ,we do not take a man into a corner1 and whisper secrets into his ear2 we cry in the streets1 and our message is for 'every man4' ,and the word not only implies the plain1 loud earnestness of the speaker1 but also that what he speaks is a message1 that he is not a speaker of his own words or thoughts1 but of what has been told him to tell4 ,his gospel is a good message1 and a messenger's virtue is to say exactly what he has been told1 and to say it in such a way that the people to whom he has to carry it cannot but hear and understand it4 ,this connection of the ,christian minister's office contrasts on the one hand with the priestly theory4 ,paul had known in ,judaism a religion of which the altar was the centre1 and the official function of the minister was to sacrifice4 ,but now he has come to see that the one sacrifice for sins for ever leaves no room for a sacrificing priest in that ,church of which the centre is the ,cross4 ,we sorely need that lesson to be drilled into the minds of men to-day1 when such a strange resurrection of priestism has taken place1 and good1 earnest men1 whose devotion cannot be questioned1 are looking on preaching as a very subordinate part of their work4 ,for three centuries there has not been so much need as now to fight against the notion of a priesthood in the ,church1 and to urge this as the true definition of the minister's office3 we preach1 not we sacrifice1 not we do anything2 we preach1 not we work miracles at any altar1 or impart grace by any rites1 but by manifestation of the truth discharge our office and spread the blessings of ,christ4 ,this conception contrasts on the other hand1 with the false teachers' style of speech1 which finds its parallel in much modern talk4 ,their business was to argue and refine and speculate1 to spin inferences and cobwebby conclusions4 ,they sat in a lecturer's chair2 we stand in a preacher's pulpit4 ,the ,christian minister has not to deal in such wares2 he has a message to proclaim1 and if he allows the philosopher in him to overpower the herald1 and substitutes his thoughts about the message1 or his arguments in favour of the message1 for the message itself1 he abdicates his highest office and neglects his most important function4 ,we hear many demands to-day for a higher type of preaching1 which ,i would heartily echo1 if only it be preaching2 that is1 the proclamation in loud and plain utterance of the great facts of ,christ's work4 ,but many who ask for this really want1 not preaching1 but something quite different2 and many1 as ,i think1 mistaken ,christian teachers are trying to play up to the requirements of the age by turning their sermons into dissertations1 philosophical or moral or aesthetic4 ,we need to fall back on this we preach1 and to urge that the ,christian minister is neither priest nor lecturer1 but a herald1 whose business is to tell out his message1 and to take good care that he tells it faithfully4 ,if1 instead of blowing his trumpet and calling aloud his commission1 he were to deliver a discourse on acoustics and the laws of the vibration of sonorous metal1 or to prove that he had a message1 and to dilate on its evident truth or on the beauty of its phrases1 he would scarcely be doing his work4 ,no more is the ,christian minister1 unless he keeps clear before himself as the guiding star of his work this conception of his theme and his task--,whom we preach--and opposes that to the demands of an age1 one half of which require a sign1 and would again degrade him into a priest1 and the other calls for wisdom1 and would turn him into a professor4 ,,ii4 ,we have here the varying methods by which this one great end is pursued4 ,admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom4 ,there are then two main methods--admonishing and teaching4 ,the former means admonishing with blame1 and points1 as many commentators remark1 to that side of the ,christian ministry which corresponds to repentance1 while the latter points to that side which corresponds to faith4 ,in other words1 the former rebukes and warns1 has to do with conduct and the moral side of ,christian truth2 the latter has chiefly to do with doctrine1 and the intellectual side4 ,in the one ,christ is proclaimed as the pattern of conduct1 the new commandment2 in the other1 as the creed of creeds1 the new and perfect knowledge4 ,the preaching of ,christ then is to be unfolded into all warning1 or admonishing4 ,the teaching of morality and the admonishing of the evil and the end of sin are essential parts of preaching ,christ4 ,we claim for the pulpit the right and the duty of applying the principles and pattern of ,christ's life to all human conduct4 ,it is difficult to do1 and is made more so by some of the necessary conditions of our modern ministry1 for the pulpit is not the place for details2 and yet moral teaching which is confined to general principles is woefully like repeating platitudes and firing blank cartridges4 ,everybody admits the general principles1 and thinks they do not apply to his specific wrong action2 and if the preacher goes beyond these toothless generalities1 he is met with the cry of personalities4 ,if a man preaches a sermon in which he speaks plainly about tricks of trade or follies of fashion1 somebody is sure to say1 going down the chapel steps1 ,oh6 ministers know nothing of business1 and somebody else to add1 ,it is a pity he was so personal1 and the chorus is completed by many other voices1 ,he should preach ,christ1 and leave secular things alone4 ,well6 whether a sermon of that sort be preaching ,christ or not depends on the way in which it is done4 ,but sure ,i am that there is no preaching ,christ completely1 which does not include plain speaking about plain duties4 ,everything that a man can either do rightly or wrongly belongs to the sphere of morals1 and everything within the sphere of morals belongs to ,christianity and to preaching ,christ4 ,nor is such preaching complete without plain warning of the end of sin1 as death here and hereafter4 ,this is difficult1 for many people like to have the smooth side of truth always put uppermost4 ,but the gospel has a rough side1 and is by no means a soothing syrup merely4 ,there are no rougher words about what wrongdoers come to than some of ,christ's words2 and he has only given half his ,master's message who hides or softens down the grim saying1 ,the wages of sin is death4 ,but all this moral teaching must be closely connected with and built upon ,christ4 ,christian morality has ,jesus for its perfect exemplar1 ,his love for its motive1 and ,his grace for its power4 ,nothing is more impotent than mere moral teaching4 ,what is the use of perpetually saying to people1 ,be good1 be good8 ,you may keep on at that for ever1 and not a soul will listen1 any more than the crowds on our streets are drawn to church by the bell's monotonous call4 ,but if1 instead of a cold ideal of duty1 as beautiful and as dead as a marble statue1 we preach the ,son of man1 whose life is our law incarnate2 and instead of urging to purity by motives which our own evil makes feeble1 we re-echo ,his heart-touching appeal1 ,if ye love ,me1 keep ,my commandments2 and if1 instead of mocking lame men with exhortations to walk1 we point those who despairingly cry1 ,who shall deliver us from the body of this death8 to ,him who breathes ,his living spirit into us to set us free from sin and death1 then our preaching of morality will be preaching the gospel and be preaching ,christ4 ,this gospel is also to be unfolded into teaching4 ,in the facts of ,christ's life and death1 as we ponder them and grow up to understand them1 we get to see more and more the key to all things4 ,for thought1 as for life1 ,he is the alpha and omega1 the beginning and the ending4 ,all that we can or need know about ,god or man1 about present duty or future destiny1 about life1 death1 and the beyond1--all is in ,jesus ,christ1 and to be drawn from ,him by patient thought and by abiding in ,him4 ,the ,christian minister's business is to be ever learning and ever teaching more and more of the manifold wisdom of ,god4 ,he has to draw for himself from the deep1 inexhaustible fountains2 he has to bear the water1 which must be fresh drawn to be pleasant or refreshing1 to thirsty lips4 ,he must seek to present all sides of the truth1 teaching all wisdom1 and so escaping from his own limited mannerisms4 ,how many ministers' ,bibles are all dog-eared and thumbed at certain texts1 at which they almost open of themselves1 and are as clean in most of their pages as on the day when they were bought6 ,the ,christian ministry1 then1 in the ,apostle's view1 is distinctly educational in its design4 ,preachers and hearers equally need to be reminded of this4 ,we preachers are poor scholars ourselves1 and in our work are tempted1 like other people1 to do most frequently what we can do with least trouble4 ,besides which1 we many of us know1 and all suspect1 that our congregations prefer to hear what they have heard often before1 and what gives them the least trouble4 ,we often hear the cry for simple preaching1 by which one school intends simple instruction in plain1 practical matters1 avoiding mere dogma1 and another intends the simple gospel1 by which is meant the repetition over and over again of the great truth1 ,believe on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and thou shalt be saved4 ,god forbid that ,i should say a word which might even seem to under-estimate the need for that proclamation being made in its simple form1 as the staple of the ,christian ministry1 to all who have not welcomed it into their hearts1 or to forget that1 however dimly understood1 it will bring light and hope and new loves and strengths into a soul6 ,but the ,new ,testament draws a distinction between evangelists and teachers1 and common sense insists that ,christian people need more than the reiteration of that message from him whom they call their teacher4 ,if he is a teacher1 he should teach2 and he cannot do that1 if the people who listen to him suspect everything that they do not know already1 and are impatient of anything that gives them the trouble of attending and thinking in order to learn4 ,i fear there is much unreality in the name1 and that nothing would be more distasteful to many of our congregations than the preacher's attempt to make it truly descriptive of his work4 ,sermons should not be quiet resting places4 ,nor is it quite the ideal of ,christian teaching that busy men should come to church or chapel on a ,sunday1 and not be fatigued by being made to think1 but perhaps to be able to sleep for a minute or two and pick up the thread when they wake1 quite sure that they have missed nothing of any consequence4 ,we are meant to be teachers1 as well as evangelists1 though we fulfil the function so poorly2 but our hearers often make that task more difficult by ill-concealed impatience with sermons which try to discharge it4 ,observe too the emphatic repetition of every man both in these two clauses and in the following4 ,it is ,paul's protest against the exclusiveness of the heretics1 who shut out the mob from their mysteries4 ,an intellectual aristocracy is the proudest and most exclusive of all4 ,a ,church built upon intellectual qualifications would be as hard and cruel a coterie as could be imagined4 ,so there is almost vehemence and scorn in the persistent repetition in each clause of the obnoxious word1 as if he would thrust down his antagonists' throats the truth that his gospel has nothing to do with cliques and sections1 but belongs to the world4 ,to it philosopher and fool are equally welcome4 ,its message is to all4 ,brushing aside surface diversities1 it goes straight to deep-lying wants1 which are the same in all men4 ,below king's robe and professor's gown1 and workman's jacket and prodigal's rags1 beats the same heart with the same wants1 wild longings1 and weariness4 ,christianity knows no hopeless classes4 ,but its highest wisdom can be spoken to the little child and the barbarian1 and it is ready to deal with the most forlorn and foolish1 knowing its own power to warn every man and to teach every man in all wisdom4 ,,iii4 ,we have here the ultimate aim of these diverse methods4 ,that we may present every man perfect in ,christ ,jesus4 ,we found this same word present in verse #bb4 ,the remarks made there will apply here4 ,there the ,divine purpose of ,christ's great work1 and here ,paul's purpose in his1 are expressed alike4 ,god's aim is ,paul's aim too4 ,the ,apostle's thoughts travel on to the great coming day1 when we shall all be manifested at the judgment seat of ,christ1 and preacher and hearer1 ,apostle and convert1 shall be gathered there4 ,that solemn period will test the teacher's work1 and should ever be in his view as he works4 ,there is a real and indissoluble connection between the teacher and his hearers1 so that in some sense he is to blame if they do not stand perfect then1 and he in some sense has to present them as in his work--the gold1 silver1 and precious stones which he has built on the foundation4 ,so each preacher should work with that end clear in view1 as ,paul did4 ,he is always toiling in the light of that great vision4 ,one sees him1 in all his letters1 looking away yonder to the horizon1 where he expects the breaking of its morning low down in the eastern sky4 ,ah6 how many formal pulpit and how many a languid pew would be galvanised into intense action if only their occupants once saw burning in on them1 in their decorous deadness1 the light of that great white throne6 ,how differently we should preach if we always felt the terror of the ,lord1 and under its solemn influence sought to persuade men6 ,how differently we should hear if we felt we must appear before the ,judge1 and give account to ,him of our profitings by ,his word6 ,and the purpose which the true minister of ,christ has in view is to present every man perfect in ,christ ,jesus4 ,perfect may be used here with the technical signification of initiated1 but it means absolute moral completeness4 ,negatively1 it implies the entire removal of all defects2 positively1 the complete possession of all that belongs to human nature as ,god meant it to be4 ,the ,christian aim1 for which the preaching of ,christ supplies ample power1 is to make the whole race possess1 in fullest development1 the whole circle of possible human excellences4 ,there is to be no one-sided growth but men are to grow like a tree in the open1 which has no barrier to hinder its symmetry1 but rises and spreads equally on all sides1 with no branch broken or twisted1 no leaf worm-eaten or wind-torn1 no fruit blighted or fallen1 no gap in the clouds of foliage1 no bend in the straight stem1--a green and growing completeness4 ,this absolute completeness is attainable in ,christ1 by union with ,him of that vital sort brought about by faith1 which will pour ,his ,spirit into our spirits4 ,the preaching of ,christ is therefore plainly the direct way to bring about this perfecting4 ,that is the ,christian theory of the way to make perfect men4 ,and this absolute perfection of character is1 in ,paul's belief1 possible for every man1 no matter what his training or natural disposition may have been4 ,the gospel is confident that it can change the ,ethiopian's skin1 because it can change his heart1 and the leopard's spots will be altered when it eats straw like the ox4 ,there are no hopeless classes1 in the glad1 confident view of the man who has learned ,christ's power4 ,what a vision of the future to animate work6 ,what an aim6 ,what dignity1 what consecration1 what enthusiasm it would give1 making the trivial great and the monotonous interesting1 stirring up those who share it to intense effort1 overcoming low temptations1 and giving precision to the selection of means and use of instruments6 ,the pressure of a great1 steady purpose consolidates and strengthens powers1 which1 without it1 become flaccid and feeble4 ,we can make a piece of calico as stiff as a board by putting it under an hydraulic press4 ,men with a fixed purpose are terrible men4 ,they crash through conventionalities like a cannon ball4 ,they1 and they only1 can persuade and arouse and impress their own enthusiasm on the inert mass4 ,behold1 how great a matter a little fire kindleth6 ,no ,christian minister will work up to the limits of his power1 nor do much for ,christ or man1 unless his whole soul is mastered by this high conception of the possibilities of his office1 and unless he is possessed with the ambition to present every man perfect in ,christ ,jesus4 ,,iv4 ,note the struggle and the strength with which the ,apostle reaches toward this aim4 ,whereunto ,i labour also1 striving according to ,his working1 which worketh in me mightily4 ,as to the object1 theme1 and method of the ,christian ministry1 ,paul can speak1 as he does in the previous verses1 in the name of all his fellow workers3 ,we preach1 admonishing and teaching1 that we may present4 ,there was substantial unity among them4 ,but he adds a sentence about his own toil and conflict in doing his work4 ,he will only speak for himself now4 ,the others may say what their experience has been4 ,he has found that he cannot do his work easily4 ,some people may be able to get through it with little toil of body or agony of mind1 but for himself it has been laborious work4 ,he has not learned to take it easy4 ,that great purpose has been ever before him1 and made a slave of him4 ,i labour also2 ,i do not only preach1 but ,i toil--as the word literally implies--like a man tugging at an oar1 and putting all his weight into each stroke4 ,no great work for ,god will be done without physical and mental strain and effort4 ,perhaps there were people in ,colossae who thought that a man who had nothing to do but to preach had a very easy life1 and so the ,apostle had to insist that most exhausting work is brain work and heart work4 ,perhaps there were preachers and teachers there who worked in a leisurely1 dignified fashion1 and took great care always to stop a long way on the safe side of weariness2 and so he had to insist that ,god's work cannot be done at all in that fashion1 but has to be done with both hands1 earnestly4 ,the immortal garland is to be run for1 not without dust and heat4 ,the racer who takes care to slack his speed whenever he is in danger of breaking into a perspiration will not win the prize4 ,the ,christian minister who is afraid of putting all his strength into his work1 up to the point of weariness1 will never do much good4 ,there must be not only toil1 but conflict4 ,he labours1 striving--that is to say1 contending--with hindrances1 both without and within1 which sought to mar his work4 ,there is the struggle with one's self1 with the temptations to do high work from low motives1 or to neglect it1 and to substitute routine for inspiration and mechanism for fervour4 ,one's own evil1 one's weaknesses and fears and falsities1 and laziness and torpor and faithlessness1 have all to be fought1 besides the difficulties and enemies without4 ,in short1 all good work is a battle4 ,the hard strain and stress of this life of effort and conflict made this man ,paul the aged while he was not old in years4 ,such soul's agony and travail is indispensable for all high service of ,christ4 ,how can any true1 noble ,christian life be lived without continuous effort and continual strife8 ,up to the last particle of our power1 it is our duty to work4 ,as for the sleepy1 languid1 self-indulgent service of modern ,christians1 who seem to be chiefly anxious not to overstrain themselves1 and to manage to win the race set before them without turning a hair1 ,i am afraid that a large deduction will have to be made from it in the day that shall try every man's work1 of what sort it is4 ,so much for the struggle2 now for the strength4 ,the toil and the conflict are to be carried on according to ,his working1 which worketh in me mightily4 ,the measure of our power then is ,christ's power in us4 ,he whose presence makes the struggle necessary1 by ,his presence strengthens us for it4 ,he will dwell in us and work in us1 and even our weakness will be lifted into joyful strength by ,him4 ,we shall be mighty because that mighty ,worker is in our spirits4 ,we have not only ,his presence beside us as an ally1 but ,his grace within us4 ,we may not only have the vision of our ,captain standing at our side as we front the foe--an unseen presence to them1 but inspiration and victory to us--but we may have the consciousness of ,his power welling up in our spirits and flowing1 as immortal strength1 into our arms4 ,it is much to know that ,christ fights for us2 it is more to know that ,he fights in us4 ,let us take courage then for all work and conflict2 and remember that if we have not striven according to the power--that is1 if we have not utilised all our ,christ-given strength in ,his service--we have not striven enough4 ,there may be a double defect in us4 ,we may not have taken all the power that he ,has given1 and we may not have used all the power that we have taken4 ,alas1 for us6 we have to confess both faults4 ,how weak we have been when ,omnipotence waited to give ,itself to us6 ,how little we have made our own of the grace that flows so abundantly past us1 catching such a small part of the broad river in our hands1 and spilling so much even of that before it reached our lips6 ,and how little of the power given1 whether natural or spiritual1 we have used for our ,lord6 ,how many weapons have hung rusty and unused in the fight6 ,he has sowed much in our hearts1 and reaped little4 ,like some unkindly soils1 we have drunk in the rain which cometh oft upon it1 and have not brought forth herbs fit for ,him by whom it is dressed4 ,talents hid1 the ,master's goods squandered1 power allowed to run to waste1 languid service and half-hearted conflict1 we have all to acknowledge4 ,let us go to ,him and confess that1 we have most unthankful been1 and are unprofitable servants indeed1 coming far short of duty4 ,let us yield our spirits to ,his influence1 that ,he may work in us that which is pleasing in ,his sight1 and may encircle us with ever-growing completeness of beauty and strength1 until ,he present us faultless before the presence of ,his glory with exceeding joy4 ,x4 ,,paul',s ,,striving ,,for ,,the ,,colossians4 ,for ,i would have you know how greatly ,i strive for you1 and for them at ,laodicea1 and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh2 that their hearts may be comforted1 they being knit together in love1 and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding1 that they may know the mystery of ,god1 even ,christ1 in ,whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden4--,,col4 ii4 #a-c 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,we have seen that the closing portion of the previous chapter is almost exclusively personal4 ,in this context the same strain is continued1 and two things are dwelt on3 the ,apostle's agony of anxiety for the ,colossian ,church1 and the joy with which1 from his prison1 he travelled in spirit across mountain and sea1 and saw them in their quiet valley1 cleaving to the ,lord4 ,the former of these feelings is expressed in the words now before us2 the latter1 in the following verses4 ,all this long outpouring of self-revelation is so natural and characteristic of ,paul that we need scarcely look for any purpose in it1 and yet we may note with what consummate art he thereby prepares the way for the warnings which follow4 ,the unveiling of his own throbbing heart was sure to work on the affections of his readers and to incline them to listen4 ,his profound emotion in thinking of the preciousness of his message would help to make them feel how much was at stake1 and his unfaltering faith would give firmness to their less tenacious grasp of the truth which1 as they saw1 he gripped with such force4 ,many truths may be taught coolly1 and some must be4 ,but in religious matters1 arguments wrought in frost are powerless1 and earnestness approaching to passion is the all-conquering force4 ,a teacher who is afraid to show his feelings1 or who has no feelings to show1 will never gather many disciples4 ,so this revelation of the ,apostle's heart is relevant to the great purposes of the whole letter--the warning against error1 and the exhortation to stedfastness4 ,in the verses which we are now considering1 we have the conflict which ,paul was waging set forth in three aspects3 first1 in itself2 second1 in regard to the persons for whom it was waged2 and1 finally and principally1 in regard to the object or purpose in view therein4 ,the first and second of these points may be dealt with briefly4 ,the third will require further consideration4 ,i4 ,there is first the conflict1 which he earnestly desired that the ,colossian ,christians might know to be great4 ,the word rendered in the ,authorised ,version conflict1 belongs to the same root as that which occurs in the last verse of the previous chapter1 and is there rendered striving4 ,the ,revised ,version rightly indicates this connection by its translation1 but fails to give the construction as accurately as the older translation does4 ,what great strife ,i have would be nearer the ,greek1 and more forcible than the somewhat feeble how greatly ,i strive1 which the ,revisers have adopted4 ,the conflict referred to is1 of course1 that of the arena1 as so often in ,paul's writings4 ,but how could he1 in ,rome1 wage conflict on behalf of the ,church at ,colossae8 ,no external conflict can be meant4 ,he could strike no blows on their behalf4 ,what he could do in that way1 he did1 and he was now taking part in their battle by this letter4 ,if he could not fight by their side1 he could send them ammunition1 as he does in this great ,epistle1 which was1 no doubt1 to the eager combatants for the truth at ,colossae1 what it has been ever since1 a magazine and arsenal in all their warfare4 ,but the real struggle was in his own heart4 ,it meant anxiety1 sympathy1 an agony of solicitude1 a passion of intercession4 ,what he says of ,epaphras in this very ,epistle was true of himself4 ,he was always striving in prayer for them4 ,and by these wrestlings of spirit he took his place among the combatants1 though they were far away1 and though in outward seeming1 his life was untouched by any of the difficulties and dangers which hemmed them in4 ,in that lonely prison-cell1 remote from their conflict1 and with burdens enough of his own to carry1 with his life in peril1 his heart yet turned to them and1 like some soldier left behind to guard the base while his comrades had gone forward to the fight1 his ears listened for the sound of battle1 and his thoughts were in the field4 ,his prison cell was like the focus of some reverberating gallery in which every whisper spoken all round the circumference was heard1 and the heart that was held captive there was set vibrating in all its chords by every sound from any of the ,churches4 ,let us learn the lesson1 that1 for all ,christian people1 sympathy in the battle for ,god1 which is being waged all over the world1 is plain duty4 ,for all ,christian teachers of every sort1 an eager sympathy in the difficulties and struggles of those whom they would try to teach is indispensable4 ,we can never deal wisely with any mind until we have entered into its peculiarities4 ,we can never help a soul fighting with errors and questionings until we have ourselves felt the pinch of the problems1 and have shown that soul that we know what it is to grope and stumble4 ,no man is ever able to lift a burden from another's shoulders except on condition of bearing the burden himself4 ,if ,i stretch out my hand to some poor brother struggling in the miry clay1 he will not grasp it1 and my well-meant efforts will be vain1 unless he can see that ,i too have felt with him the horror of great darkness1 and desire him to share with me the benedictions of the light4 ,wheresoever our prison or our workshop may be1 howsoever ,providence or circumstances--which is but a heathenish word for the same thing--may separate us from active participation in any battle for ,god1 we are bound to take an eager share in it by sympathy1 by interest1 by such help as we can render1 and by that intercession which may sway the fortunes of the field1 though the uplifted hands grasp no weapons1 and the spot where we pray be far from the fight4 ,it is not only the men who bear the brunt of the battle in the high places of the field who are the combatants4 ,in many a quiet home1 where their wives and mothers sit1 with wistful faces waiting for the news from the front1 are an agony of anxiety1 and as true a share in the struggle as amidst the battery smoke and the gleaming bayonets4 ,it was a law in ,israel1 ,as his part is that goeth down to the battle1 so shall his part be that abideth by the stuff4 ,they shall part alike4 ,they were alike in recompense1 because they were rightly regarded as alike in service4 ,so all ,christians who have in heart and sympathy taken part in the great battle shall be counted as combatants and crowned as victors1 though they themselves have struck no blows4 ,he that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward4 ,,ii4 ,we notice the persons for whom this conflict was endured4 ,they are the ,christians of ,colossae1 and their neighbours of ,laodicea1 and as many as have not seen my face in the flesh4 ,it may be a question whether the ,colossians and ,laodiceans belong to those who have not seen his face in the flesh1 but the most natural view of the words is that the last clause introduces the whole class to which the persons previously enumerated belong1#b and this conclusion is confirmed by the silence of the ,acts of the ,apostles as to any visit of ,paul's to these ,churches1 and by the language of the ,epistle itself1 which1 in several places1 refers to his knowledge of the ,colossian ,church as derived from hearing of them1 and never alludes to personal intercourse4 ,that being so1 one can understand that its members might easily think that he cared less for them than he did for the more fortunate communities which he had himself planted or watered1 and might have suspected that the difficulties of the ,church at ,ephesus1 for instance1 lay nearer his heart than theirs in their remote upland valley4 ,no doubt1 too1 their feelings to him were less warm than to ,epaphras and to other teachers whom they had heard4 ,they had never felt the magnetism of his personal presence1 and were at a disadvantage in their struggle with the errors which were beginning to lift their snaky heads among them1 from not having had the inspiration and direction of his teaching4 ,it is beautiful to see how1 here1 ,paul lays hold of that very fact which seemed to put some film of separation between them1 in order to make it the foundation of his especial keenness of interest in them4 ,precisely because he had never looked them in the eyes1 they had a warmer place in his heart1 and his solicitude for them was more tender4 ,he was not so enslaved by sense that his love could not travel beyond the limits of his eyesight4 ,he was the more anxious about them because they had not the recollections of his teaching and of his presence to fall back upon4 ,,iii4 ,but the most important part of this section is the ,apostle's statement of the great subject of his solicitude1 that which he anxiously longed that the ,colossians might attain4 ,it is a prophecy1 as well as a desire4 ,it is a statement of the deepest purpose of his letter to them1 and being so1 it is likewise a statement of the ,divine desire concerning each of us1 and of the ,divine design of the gospel4 ,here is set forth what ,god would have all ,christians to be1 and1 in ,jesus ,christ1 has given them ample means of being4 7#a7 ,the first element in the ,apostle's desire for them is that their hearts may be comforted4 ,of course the ,biblical use of the word heart is much wider than the modern popular use of it4 ,we mean by it1 when we use it in ordinary talk1 the hypothetical seat of the emotions1 and chiefly1 the organ and throne of love2 but ,scripture means by the word1 the whole inward personality1 including thought and will as well as emotion4 ,so we read of the thoughts and intents of the heart1 and the whole inward nature is called the hidden man of the heart4 ,and what does he desire for this inward man8 ,that it may be comforted4 ,that word again has a wider signification in ,biblical1 than in nineteenth century ,english4 ,it is much more than consolation in trouble4 ,the cloud that hung over the ,colossian ,church was not about to break in sorrows which they would need consolation to bear1 but in doctrinal and practical errors which they would need strength to resist4 ,they were called to fight rather than to endure1 and what they needed most was courageous confidence4 ,so ,paul desires for them that their hearts should be encouraged or strengthened1 that they might not quail before the enemy1 but go into the fight with buoyancy1 and be of good cheer4 ,is there any greater blessing in view both of the conflict which ,christianity has to wage to-day1 and of the difficulties and warfare of our own lives1 than that brave spirit1 which plunges into the struggle with the serene assurance that victory sits on our helms and waits upon our swords1 and knows that anything is possible rather than defeat8 ,that is the condition of overcoming--even our faith4 ,the sad heart tires in a mile1 but the strong hopeful heart carries in its very strength the prophecy of triumph4 ,such a disposition is not altogether a matter of temperament1 but may be cultivated1 and though it may come easier to some of us than to others1 it certainly ought to belong to all who have ,god to trust to1 and believe that the gospel is ,his truth4 ,they may well be strong who have ,divine power ready to flood their hearts1 who know that everything works for their good1 who can see1 above the whirl of time and change1 one strong loving ,hand which moves the wheels4 ,what have we to do with fear for ourselves1 or wherefore should our hearts tremble for the ark of ,god1 seeing that ,one fights by our sides who will teach our hands to war and cover our heads in the day of battle8 ,be of good courage1 and ,he shall strengthen thine heart4 7#b7 ,the way to secure such joyous confidence and strength is taught us here1 for we have next1 ,union in love1 as part of the means for obtaining it--,they being knit together in love4 ,the persons1 not the hearts1 are to be thus united4 ,love is the true bond which unites men--the bond of perfectness1 as it is elsewhere called4 ,that unity in love would1 of course1 add to the strength of each4 ,the old fable teaches us that little fagots bound together are strong1 and the tighter the rope is pulled1 the stronger they are4 ,a solitary heart is timid and weak1 but many weaknesses brought together make a strength1 as slimly built houses in a row hold each other up1 or dying embers raked closer burst into flame4 ,loose grains of sand are light and moved by a breath2 compacted they are rock against which the ,atlantic beats in vain4 ,so1 a ,church1 of which the members are bound together by that love which is the only real bond of ,church life1 presents a front to threatening evils through which they cannot break4 ,a real moral defence against even intellectual error will be found in such a close compaction in mutual ,christian love4 ,a community so interlocked will throw off many evils1 as a ,roman legion with linked shields roofed itself over against missiles from the wall of a besieged city1 or the imbricated scales on a fish keep it dry in the heart of the sea4 ,but we must go deeper than this in interpreting these words4 ,the love which is to knit ,christian men together is not merely love to one another1 but is common love to ,jesus ,christ4 ,such common love to ,him is the true bond of union1 and the true strengthener of men's hearts4 7#c7 ,this compaction in love will lead to a wealth of certitude in the possession of the truth4 ,paul is so eagerly desirous for the ,colossians' union in love to each other and all to ,god1 because ,he knows that such union will materially contribute to their assured and joyful possession of the truth4 ,it tends1 he thinks1 unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding1 by which he means the wealth which consists in the entire1 unwavering certitude which takes possession of the understanding1 the confidence that it has the truth and the life in ,jesus ,christ4 ,such a joyful stedfastness of conviction that ,i have grasped the truth is opposed to hesitating half belief4 ,it is attainable1 as this context shows1 by paths of moral discipline1 and amongst them1 by seeking to realize our unity with our brethren1 and not proudly rejecting the common faith because it is common4 ,possessing that assurance1 we shall be rich and heart-whole4 ,walking amid certainties we shall walk in paths of peace1 and re-echo the triumphant assurance of the ,apostle1 to whom love had given the key of knowledge3--we know that we are of ,god1 and we know that the ,son of ,god is come1 and hath given us an understanding1 that we may know ,him that is true4 ,in all times of religious unsettlement1 when an active propaganda of denial is going on1 ,christian men are tempted to lower their own tone1 and to say1 ,it is so1 with somewhat less of certainty1 because so many are saying1 ,it is not so4 ,little ,rhoda needs some courage to affirm constantly that it was even so1 when apostles and her masters keep assuring her that she has only seen a vision4 ,in this day1 many professing ,christians falter in the clear assured profession of their faith1 and it does not need a keen ear to catch an undertone of doubt making their voices tremulous4 ,some even are so afraid of being thought narrow1 that they seek for the reputation of liberality by talking as if there were a film of doubt over even the truths which used to be most surely believed4 ,much of the so-called faith of this day is all honeycombed with secret misgivings1 which have in many instances no other intellectual basis than the consciousness of prevalent unbelief and a second-hand acquaintance with its teachings4 ,few things are more needed among us now than this full assurance and satisfaction of the understanding with the truth as it is in ,jesus4 ,nothing is more wretched than the slow paralysis creeping over faith1 the fading of what had been stars into darkness4 ,a tragedy is being wrought in many minds which have had to exchange ,christ's ,verily1 verily1 for a miserable perhaps1 and can no longer say ,i know1 but only1 ,i would fain believe1 or at the best1 ,i incline to think still4 ,on the other hand1 the full assurance of the understanding brings wealth4 ,it breathes peace over the soul1 and gives endless riches in the truths which through it are made living and real4 ,this wealth of conviction is attained by living in the love of ,god4 ,of course1 there is an intellectual discipline which is also needed4 ,but no intellectual process will lead to an assured grasp of spiritual truth1 unless it be accompanied by love4 ,as soon may we lay hold of truth with our hands1 as of ,god in ,christ with our understandings alone4 ,this is the constant teaching of ,scripture--that1 if we would know ,god and have assurance of ,him1 we must love ,him4 ,in order to love human things1 it is necessary to know them4 ,in order to know ,divine things1 it is necessary to love them4 ,when we are rooted and grounded in love1 we shall be able to know--for what we have most need to know and what the gospel has mainly to teach us is the love1 and unless the eye with which we look is love1 how shall we know love8 ,if we love1 we shall possess an experience which verifies the truth for us1 will give us an irrefragable demonstration which will bring certitude to ourselves1 however little it may avail to convince others4 ,rich in the possession of this confirmation of the gospel by the blessings which have come to us from it1 and which witness of their source1 as the stream that dots some barren plain with a line of green along its course is revealed thereby1 we shall have the right to oppose to many a doubt the full assurance born of love1 and while others are disputing whether there be any ,god1 or any living ,christ1 or any forgiveness of sins1 or any guiding providence1 we shall know that they are1 and are ours1 because we have felt the power and wealth which they have brought into our lives4 7#d7 ,this unity of love will lead to full knowledge of the mystery of ,god4 ,such seems to be the connection of the next words1 which may be literally read unto the full knowledge of the mystery of ,god1 and may be best regarded as a co-ordinate clause with the preceding1 depending like it on being knit together in love4 ,so taken1 there is set forth a double issue of that compaction in love to ,god and one another1 namely1 the calm assurance in the grasp of truth already possessed1 and the more mature and deeper insight into the deep things of ,god4 ,the word for knowledge here is the same as in i4 #i1 and here as there means a full knowledge4 ,the ,colossians had known ,christ at first1 but the ,apostle's desire is that they may come to a fuller knowledge1 for the object to be known is infinite1 and endless degrees in the perception and possession of ,his power and grace are possible4 ,in that fuller knowledge they will not leave behind what they knew at first1 but will find in it deeper meaning1 a larger wisdom and a fuller truth4 ,among the large number of readings of the following words1 that adopted by the ,revised ,version is to be preferred1 and the translation which it gives is the most natural and is in accordance with the previous thought in chapter i4 #bg1 where also the mystery is explained to be ,christ in you4 ,a slight variation in the conception is presented here4 ,the mystery is ,christ1 not in you1 but in ,whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge4 ,the great truth long hidden1 now revealed1 is that the whole wealth of spiritual insight 7knowledge71 and of reasoning on the truths thus apprehended so as to gain an ordered system of belief and a coherent law of conduct 7wisdom71 is stored for us in ,christ4 ,such being in brief the connection and outline meaning of these great words1 we may touch upon the various principles embodied in them4 ,we have seen1 in commenting upon a former part of the ,epistle1 the force of the great thought that ,christ in ,his relations to us is the mystery of ,god1 and need not repeat what was then said4 ,but we may pause for a moment on the fact that the knowledge of that mystery has its stages4 ,the revelation of the mystery is complete4 ,no further stages are possible in that4 ,but while the revelation is1 in ,paul's estimate1 finished1 and the long concealed truth now stands in full sunshine1 our apprehension of it may grow1 and there is a mature knowledge possible4 ,some poor ignorant soul catches through the gloom a glimpse of ,god manifested in the flesh1 and bearing his sins4 ,that soul will never outgrow that knowledge1 but as the years pass1 life and reflection and experience will help to explain and deepen it4 ,god so loved the world that ,he gave ,his only begotten ,son--there is nothing beyond that truth4 ,grasped however imperfectly1 it brings light and peace4 ,but as it is loved and lived by1 it unfolds undreamed-of depths1 and flashes with growing brightness4 ,suppose that a man could set out from the great planet that moves on the outermost rim of our system1 and could travel slowly inwards towards the central sun1 how the disc would grow1 and the light and warmth increase with each million of miles that he crossed1 till what had seemed a point filled the whole sky6 ,christian growth is into1 not away from ,christ1 a penetrating deeper into the centre1 and a drawing out into distinct consciousness as a coherent system1 all that was wrapped1 as the leaves in their brown sheath1 in that first glimpse of ,him which saves the soul4 ,these stages are infinite1 because in ,him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge4 ,these four words1 treasures1 wisdom1 knowledge1 hidden1 are all familiar on the lips of the latter ,gnostics1 and were so1 no doubt1 in the mouths of the false teachers at ,colossae4 ,the ,apostle would assert for his gospel all which they falsely claimed for their dreams4 ,as in several other places of this ,epistle1 he avails himself of his antagonists' special vocabulary1 transferring its terms1 from the illusory phantoms which a false knowledge adorned with them1 to the truth which he had to preach4 ,he puts special emphasis on the predicate hidden by throwing it to the end of the sentence--a peculiarity which is reproduced with advantage in the ,revised ,version4 ,all wisdom and knowledge are in ,christ4 ,he is the ,light of men1 and all thought and truth of every sort come from ,him ,who is the ,eternal ,word1 the ,incarnate ,wisdom4 ,that ,incarnate ,word is the perfect ,revelation of ,god1 and by ,his one completed life and death has declared the whole name of ,god to ,his brethren1 of which all other media of revelation have but uttered broken syllables4 ,that ascended ,christ breathes wisdom and knowledge into all who love ,him1 and still pursues1 by giving us the ,spirit of wisdom1 ,his great work of revealing ,god to men1 according to ,his own word1 which at once asserted the completeness of the revelation made by ,his earthly life and promised the perpetual continuance of the revelation from ,his heavenly seat3 ,i have declared ,thy name unto ,my brethren1 and will declare it4 ,in ,christ1 as in a great storehouse1 lie all the riches of spiritual wisdom1 the massive ingots of solid gold which when coined into creeds and doctrines are the wealth of the ,church4 ,all which we can know concerning ,god and man1 concerning sin and righteousness and duty1 concerning another life1 is in ,him ,who is the home and deep mine where truth is stored4 ,in ,christ these treasures are hidden1 but not1 as the heretics' mysteries were hidden1 in order that they might be out of reach of the vulgar crowd4 ,this mystery is hidden indeed1 but it is revealed4 ,it is hidden only from the eyes that will not see it4 ,it is hidden that seeking souls may have the joy of seeking and the rest of finding4 ,the very act of revealing is a hiding1 as our ,lord has said in ,his great thanksgiving because these things are 7by one and the same act7 hid from the wise and prudent1 and revealed to babes4 ,they are hid1 as men store provisions in the ,arctic regions1 in order that the bears may not find them and the shipwrecked sailors may4 ,such thoughts have a special message for times of agitation such as the ,colossian ,church was passing through1 and such as we have to face4 ,we too are surrounded by eager confident voices1 proclaiming profounder truths and a deeper wisdom than the gospel gives us4 ,in joyful antagonism to these1 ,christian men have to hold fast by the confidence that all ,divine wisdom is laid up in their ,lord4 ,we need not go to others to learn new truth4 ,the new problems of each generation to the end of time will find their answers in ,christ1 and new issues of that old message which we have heard from the beginning will continually be discerned4 ,let us not wonder if the lessons which the earlier ages of the ,church drew from that infinite storehouse fail at many points to meet the eager questionings of to-day4 ,nor let us suppose that the stars are quenched because the old books of astronomy are in some respects out of date4 ,we need not cast aside the truths that we learned at our mother's knees4 ,the central fact of the universe and the perfect encyclopaedia of all moral and spiritual truth is ,christ1 the ,incarnate ,word1 the ,lamb slain1 the ascended ,king4 ,if we keep true to ,him and strive to widen our minds to the breadth of that great message1 it will grow as we gaze1 even as the nightly heavens expand to the eye which stedfastly looks into them1 and reveal violet abysses sown with sparkling points1 each of which is a sun4 ,lord1 to whom shall we go8 ,thou hast the words of eternal life4 ,the ordinary type of ,christian life is contented with a superficial acquaintance with ,christ4 ,many understand no more of ,him and of ,his gospel than they did when first they learned to love ,him4 ,so completely has the very idea of a progressive knowledge of ,jesus ,christ faded from the horizon of the average ,christian that edification1 which ought to mean the progressive building up of the character course by course1 in new knowledge and grace1 has come to mean little more than the sense of comfort derived from the reiteration of old and familiar words which fall on the ear with a pleasant murmur4 ,there is sadly too little first-hand and growing knowledge of their ,lord1 among ,christian people1 too little belief that fresh treasures may be found hidden in that field which1 to each soul and each new generation struggling with its own special forms of the burdens and problems that press upon humanity1 would be cheaply bought by selling all1 but may be won at the easier rate of earnest desire to possess them1 and faithful adherence to ,him in whom they are stored for the world4 ,the condition of growth for the branch is abiding in the vine4 ,if our hearts are knit together with ,christ's heart in that love which is the parent of communion1 both as delighted contemplation and as glad obedience1 then we shall daily dig deeper into the mine of wealth which is hid in ,him that it may be found1 and draw forth an unfailing supply of things new and old4 ,,footnotes3 #b ,bishop ,lightfoot1 in loc4 ,,xi4 ,,conciliatory ,,and ,,hortatory ,,transition ,,to ,,polemics4 ,this ,i say1 that no one may delude you with persuasiveness of speech4 ,for though ,i am absent in the flesh1 yet am ,i with you in the spirit1 joying and beholding your order1 and the stedfastness of your faith in ,christ4 ,as therefore ye received ,christ ,jesus the ,lord1 so walk in ,him1 rooted and builded up in ,him1 and stablished in your faith1 even as ye were taught1 abounding in thanksgiving4--,,col4 ii4 #d-g 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,nothing needs more delicacy of hand and gentleness of heart than the administration of warning or reproof1 especially when directed against errors of religious opinion4 ,it is sure to do harm unless the person reproved is made to feel that it comes from true kindly interest in him1 and does full justice to his honesty4 ,warning so easily passes into scolding1 and sounds to the warned so like it even when the speaker does not mean it so1 that there is special need to modulate the voice very carefully4 ,so in this context1 the ,apostle has said much about his deep interest in the ,colossian ,church1 and has dwelt on the passionate earnestness of his solicitude for them1 his conflict of intercession and sympathy1 and the large sweep of his desires for their good4 ,but he does not feel that he can venture to begin his warnings till he has said something more1 so as to conciliate them still further1 and to remove from their minds other thoughts unfavourable to the sympathetic reception of his words4 ,one can fancy some ,colossians saying1 ,what need is there for all this anxiety8 ,why should ,paul be in such a taking about us8 ,he is exaggerating our danger1 and doing scant justice to our ,christian character4 ,nothing stops the ear to the voice of warning more surely than a feeling that it is pitched in too solemn a key1 and fails to recognise the good4 ,so before he goes further1 he gathers up his motives in giving the following admonitions1 and gives his estimate of the condition of the ,colossians1 in the two first of the verses now under consideration4 ,all that he has been saying has been said not so much because he thinks that they have gone wrong1 but because he knows that there are heretical teachers at work1 who may lead them astray with plausible lessons4 ,he is not combating errors which have already swept away the faith of the ,colossian ,christians1 but putting them on their guard against such as threaten them4 ,he is not trying to pump the water out of a water-logged vessel1 but to stop a little leak which is in danger of gaping wider4 ,and1 in his solicitude1 he has much confidence and is encouraged to speak because1 absent from them as he is1 he has a vivid assurance1 which gladdens him1 of the solidity and firmness of their faith4 ,so with this distinct definition of the precise danger which he feared1 and this soothing assurance of his glad confidence in their stedfast order1 the ,apostle at last opens his batteries4 ,the #fth and #gth verses are the first shot fired1 the beginning of the monitions so long and carefully prepared for ,they contain a general exhortation1 which may be taken as the keynote for the polemical portion of the ,epistle1 which occupies the rest of the chapter4 ,i4 ,we have then first1 the purpose of the ,apostle's previous self-revelation4 ,this ,i say--this namely which is contained in the preceding verses1 the expression of his solicitude1 and perhaps even more emphatically1 the declaration of ,christ as the revealed secret of ,god1 the inexhaustible storehouse of all wisdom and knowledge4 ,the purpose of the ,apostle1 then1 in his foregoing words has been to guard the ,colossians against the danger to which they were exposed1 of being deceived and led astray by persuasiveness of speech4 ,that expression is not necessarily used in a bad sense1 but here it evidently has a tinge of censure1 and implies some doubt both of the honesty of the speakers and of the truthfulness of their words4 ,here we have an important piece of evidence as to the then condition of the ,colossian ,church4 ,there were false teachers busy amongst them who belonged in some sense to the ,christian community4 ,but probably these were not ,colossians1 but wandering emissaries of a ,judaizing ,gnosticism1 while certainly the great mass of the ,church was untouched by their speculations4 ,they were in danger of getting bewildered1 and being deceived1 that is to say1 of being induced to accept certain teaching because of its speciousness1 without seeing all its bearings1 or even knowing its real meaning4 ,so error ever creeps into the ,church4 ,men are caught by something fascinating in some popular teaching1 and follow it without knowing where it will lead them4 ,by slow degrees its tendencies are disclosed1 and at last the followers of the heresiarch wake to find that everything which they once believed and prized has dropped from their creed4 ,we may learn here1 too1 the true safeguard against specious errors4 ,paul thinks that he can best fortify these simple-minded disciples against all harmful teaching by exalting his ,master and urging the inexhaustible significance of ,his person and message4 ,to learn the full meaning and preciousness of ,christ is to be armed against error4 ,the positive truth concerning ,him1 by preoccupying mind and heart1 guards beforehand against the most specious teachings4 ,if you fill the coffer with gold1 nobody will want1 and there will be no room for1 pinchbeck4 ,a living grasp of ,christ will keep us from being swept away by the current of prevailing popular opinion1 which is always much more likely to be wrong than right1 and is sure to be exaggerated and one-sided at the best4 ,a personal consciousness of ,his power and sweetness will give an instinctive repugnance to teaching that would lower ,his dignity and debase ,his work4 ,if ,he be the centre and anchorage of all our thoughts1 we shall not be tempted to go elsewhere in search of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge which are hid in ,him4 ,he who has found the one pearl of great price1 needs no more to go seeking goodly pearls1 but only day by day more completely to lose self1 and give up all else1 that he may win more and more of ,christ his ,all4 ,if we keep our hearts and minds in communion with our ,lord1 and have experience of ,his preciousness1 that will preserve us from many a snare1 will give us a wisdom beyond much logic1 will solve for us many of the questions most hotly debated to-day1 and will show us that many more are unimportant and uninteresting to us4 ,and even if we should be led to wrong conclusions on some matters1 if we drink any deadly thing1 it shall not hurt us4 ,,ii4 ,we see here the joy which blended with the anxiety of the solitary prisoner1 and encouraged him to warn the ,colossians against impending dangers to their faith4 ,we need not follow the grammatical commentators in their discussion of how ,paul comes to invert the natural order here1 and to say joying and beholding1 instead of beholding and rejoicing as we should expect4 ,no one doubts that what he saw in spirit was the cause of his joy4 ,the old man in his prison1 loaded with many cares1 compelled to be inactive in the cause which was more to him than life1 is yet full of spirit and buoyancy4 ,his prison-letters all partake of that rejoicing in the ,lord1 which is the keynote of one of them4 ,old age and apparent failure1 and the exhaustion of long labours1 and the disappointments and sorrows which almost always gather like evening clouds round a life as it sinks in the west had not power to quench his fiery energy or to blunt his keen interest in all the ,churches4 ,his cell was like the centre of a telephonic system4 ,voices spoke from all sides4 ,every ,church was connected with it1 and messages were perpetually being brought4 ,think of him sitting there1 eagerly listening1 and thrilling with sympathy at each word1 so self-oblivious was he1 so swallowed up were all personal ends in the care for the ,churches1 and in the swift1 deep fellow-feeling with them8 ,love and interest quickened his insight1 and though he was far away1 he had them so vividly before him that he was as if a spectator4 ,the joy which he had in the thought of them made him dwell on the thought--so the apparently inverted order of the words may be the natural one and he may have looked all the more fixedly because it gladdened him to look4 ,what did he see8 ,your order4 ,that is unquestionably a military metaphor1 drawn probably from his experiences of the ,praetorians1 while in captivity4 ,he had plenty of opportunities of studying both the equipment of the single legionary1 who1 in the #fth chapter of ,ephesians1 sat for his portrait to the prisoner to whom he was chained1 and also the perfection of discipline in the whole which made the legion so formidable4 ,it was not a multitude but a unit1 moving altogether if it move at all1 as if animated by one will4 ,paul rejoices to know that the ,colossian ,church was thus welded into a solid unity4 ,further1 he beholds the stedfastness of your faith in ,christ4 ,this may be a continuation of the military metaphor1 and may mean the solid front1 the close phalanx which your faith presents4 ,but whether we suppose the figure to be carried on or dropped1 we must1 ,i think1 recognise that this second point refers rather to the inward condition than to the outward discipline of the ,colossians4 ,here then is set forth a lofty ideal of the ,church1 in two respects4 ,first there is outwardly1 an ordered disciplined array2 and secondly1 there is a stedfast faith4 ,as to the first1 ,paul was no martinet1 anxious about the pedantry of the parade ground1 but he knew the need of organization and drill4 ,any body of men united in order to carry out a specific purpose have to be organized4 ,that means a place for every man1 and every man in his place4 ,it means co-operation to one common end1 and therefore division of function and subordination4 ,order does not merely mean obedience to authority4 ,there may be equal order under widely different forms of polity4 ,the legionaries were drawn up in close ranks1 the light-armed skirmishers more loosely4 ,in the one case the phalanx was more and the individual less2 in the other there was more play given to the single man1 and less importance to corporate action2 but the difference between them was not that of order and disorder1 but that of two systems1 each organized but on somewhat different principles and for different purposes4 ,a loosely linked chain is as truly a chain as a rigid one4 ,the main requirement for such order as gladdened the ,apostle is conjoint action to one end1 with variety of office1 and unity of spirit4 ,some ,churches give more weight to the principle of authority2 others to that of individuality4 ,they may criticise each other's polity1 but the former has no right to reproach the latter as being necessarily defective in order4 ,some ,churches are all drill and their favourite idea of discipline is1 ,obey them that have the rule over you4 ,the ,churches of looser organization1 on the other hand1 are no doubt in danger of making too little of organization4 ,but both need that all their members should be more penetrated by the sense of unity1 and should fill each his place in the work of the body4 ,it was far easier to secure the true order--a place and a task for every man and every man in his place and at his task--in the small homogeneous communities of apostolic times than it is now1 when men of such different social position1 education1 and ways of thinking are found in the same ,christian community4 ,the proportion of idlers in all ,churches is a scandal and a weakness4 ,however highly organized and officered a ,church may be1 no joy would fill an apostle's heart in beholding it1 if the mass of its members had no share in its activities4 ,every society of professing ,christians should be like a man of war's crew1 each of whom knows the exact inch where he has to stand when the whistle sounds1 and the precise thing he has to do in the gun drill4 ,but the perfection of discipline is not enough4 ,that may stiffen into routine if there be not something deeper4 ,we want life even more than order4 ,the description of the soldiers who set ,david on the throne should describe ,christ's army--men that could keep rank1 they were not of double heart4 ,they had discipline and had learned to accommodate their stride to the length of their comrades' step2 but they had whole-hearted enthusiasm1 which was better4 ,both are needed4 ,if there be not courage and devotion there is nothing worth disciplining4 ,the ,church that has the most complete order and not also stedfastness of faith will be like the ,german armies1 all pipeclay and drill1 which ran like hares before the ragged shoeless levies whom the first ,french ,revolution flung across the border with a fierce enthusiasm blazing in their hearts4 ,so the ,apostle beholds with joy the stedfastness of the ,colossians' faith toward ,christ4 ,if the rendering stedfastness be adopted as in the ,rev4 ,ver41 the phrase will be equivalent to the firmness which characterizes or belongs to your faith4 ,but some of the best commentators deny that this meaning of the word is ever found1 and propose foundation 7that which is made stedfast74 ,the meaning then will either be the firm foundation 7for your lives7 which consists of your faith1 or1 more probably1 the firm foundation which your faith has4 ,he rejoices1 seeing that their faith towards ,jesus ,christ has a basis unshaken by assaults4 ,such a rock foundation1 and consequent stedfastness1 must faith have1 if it is to be worthy of the name and to manifest its true power4 ,a tremulous faith may1 thank ,god6 be a true faith1 but the very idea of faith implies solid assurance and fixed confidence4 ,our faith should be able to resist pressure and to keep its ground against assaults and gainsaying4 ,it should not be like a child's card castle1 that the light breath of a scornful laugh will throw down1 but a tower of strength ,that stands foursquare to all the winds that blow4 ,we should seek to make it so1 nor let the fluctuations of our own hearts cause it to fluctuate4 ,we should try so to control the ebb and flow of religious emotion that it may always be near high water with our faith1 a tideless but not stagnant sea4 ,we should oppose a settled conviction and unalterable confidence to the noisy voices which would draw us away4 ,and that we may do so we must keep up a true and close communion with ,jesus ,christ4 ,the faith which is ever going out towards ,him1 as the sunflower turns sunwards1 will ever draw from ,him such blessed gifts that doubt or distrust will be impossible4 ,if we keep near our ,lord and wait expectant on ,him1 ,he will increase our faith and make our hearts fixed1 trusting in the ,lord4 ,so a greater than ,paul may speak even to us1 as ,he walks in the midst of the golden candlesticks1 words which from ,his lips will be praise indeed3 ,though ,i am absent in the flesh1 yet am ,i with you in the spirit1 joying and beholding your order and the stedfastness of your faith in ,me4 ,,iii4 ,we have here1 the exhortation which comprehends all duty1 and covers the whole ground of ,christian belief and practice4 ,therefore--the following exhortation is based upon the warning and commendation of the preceding verses4 ,there is first a wide general injunction4 ,as ye received ,christ ,jesus the ,lord1 so walk in ,him1 i4e4 let your active life be in accord with what you learned and obtained when you first became ,christians4 ,then this exhortation is defined or broken up into four particulars in the following clauses1 which explain in detail how it is to be kept4 ,the general exhortation is to a true ,christian walk4 ,the main force lies upon the as4 ,the command is to order all life in accordance with the early lessons and acquisitions4 ,the phrase ye received ,christ ,jesus the ,lord presents several points requiring notice4 ,it is obviously parallel with as ye were taught in the next verse2 so that it was from their first teachers1 and probably from ,epaphras 7i4 #g7 that they had received ,christ4 ,so then what we receive1 when1 from human lips1 we hear the gospel and accept it1 is not merely the word about the ,saviour1 but the ,saviour ,himself4 ,this expression of our text is no mere loose or rhetorical mode of speech1 but a literal and blessed truth4 ,christ is the sum of all ,christian teaching and1 where the message of ,his love is welcomed1 ,he ,himself comes in spiritual and real presence1 and dwells in the spirit4 ,the solemnity of the full name of our ,saviour in this connection is most significant4 ,paul reminds the ,colossians1 in view of the teaching which degraded the person and curtailed the work of ,christ1 that they had received the man ,jesus1 the promised ,christ1 the universal ,lord4 ,as if he had said1 ,remember whom you received in your conversion--,christ1 the ,messiah1 anointed1 that is1 fitted by the unmeasured possession of the ,divine ,spirit to fulfil all prophecy and to be the world's deliverer4 ,remember ,jesus1 the man1 our brother2--therefore listen to no misty speculations nor look to whispered mysteries nor to angel hierarchies for knowledge of ,god or for help in conflict4 ,our gospel is not theory spun out of men's brains1 but is1 first and foremost1 the history of a brother's life and death4 ,you received ,jesus1 so you are delivered from the tyranny of these unsubstantial and portentous systems1 and relegated to the facts of a human life for your knowledge of ,god4 ,you received ,jesus ,christ as ,lord4 ,he was proclaimed as ,lord of men1 angels1 and the universe1 ,lord and ,creator of the spiritual and material worlds1 ,lord of history and providence4 ,therefore you need not give heed to those teachers who would fill the gulf between men and ,god with a crowd of powers and rulers4 ,you have all that your mind or heart or will can need in the human ,divine ,jesus1 who is the ,christ and the ,lord for you and all men4 ,you have received ,him in the all-sufficiency of ,his revealed nature and offices4 ,you have ,him for your very own4 ,hold fast that which you have1 and let no man take this your crown and treasure4 ,the same exhortation has emphatic application to the conflicts of to-day4 ,the ,church has had ,jesus set forth as ,christ and ,lord4 ,his manhood1 the historical reality of ,his ,incarnation with all its blessed issues1 ,his ,messiahship as the fulfiller of prophecy and symbol1 designated and fitted by the fulness of the ,spirit1 to be man's deliverer1 ,his rule and authority over all creatures and events have been taught1 and the tumults of present unsettlement make it hard and needful to keep true to that threefold belief1 and to let nothing rob us of any of the elements of the full gospel which lies in the august name1 ,christ ,jesus the ,lord4 ,to that gospel1 to that ,lord1 the walk1 the active life1 is to be conformed1 and the manner thereof is more fully explained in the following clauses4 ,rooted and built up in ,him4 ,here again we have the profound in ,him1 which appears so frequently in this and in the companion ,epistle to the ,ephesians1 and which must be allowed its proper force1 as expressing a most real indwelling of the believer in ,christ1 if the depth of the meaning is to be sounded4 ,paul drives his fiery chariot through rhetorical proprieties1 and never shrinks from mixed metaphors if they more vigorously express his thought4 ,here we have three incongruous ones close on each other's heels4 ,the ,christian is to walk1 to be rooted like a tree1 to be built up like a house4 ,what does the incongruity matter to ,paul as the stream of thought and feeling hurries him along8 ,the tenses of the verbs1 too1 are studiously and significantly varied4 ,fully rendered they would be having been rooted and being builded up4 ,the one is a past act done once for all1 the effects of which are permanent2 the other is a continuous resulting process which is going on now4 ,the ,christian has been rooted in ,jesus ,christ at the beginning of his ,christian course4 ,his faith has brought him into living contact with the ,saviour1 who has become as the fruitful soil into which the believer sends his roots1 and both feeds and anchors there4 ,the familiar image of the first ,psalm may have been in the writer's mind1 and naturally recurs to ours4 ,if we draw nourishment and stability from ,christ1 round whom the roots of our being twine and cling1 we shall flourish and grow and bear fruit4 ,no man can do without some person beyond himself on whom to repose1 nor can any of us find in ourselves or on earth the sufficient soil for our growth4 ,we are like seedlings dropped on some great rock1 which send their rootlets down the hard stone and are stunted till they reach the rich leaf-mould at its base4 ,we blindly feel through all the barrenness of the world for something into which our roots may plunge that we may be nourished and firm4 ,in ,christ we may be like a tree planted by the river of water2 out of ,him we are as the chaff1 rootless1 lifeless1 profitless1 and swept at last by the wind from the threshing floor4 ,the choice is before every man--either to be rooted in ,christ by faith1 or to be rootless4 ,being built up in ,him4 ,the gradual continuous building up of the structure of a ,christian character is doubly expressed in this word by the present tense which points to a process1 and by the prefixed preposition represented by up1 which points to the successive laying of course of masonry upon course4 ,we are the architects of our own characters4 ,if our lives are based on ,jesus ,christ as their foundation1 and every deed is in vital connection with ,him1 as at once its motive1 its pattern1 its power1 its aim1 and its reward1 then we shall build holy and fair lives1 which will be temples4 ,men do not merely grow as a leaf which grows green and broad1 and takes no care4 ,the other metaphor of a building needs to be taken into account1 to complete the former4 ,effort1 patient continuous labour must be put forth4 ,more than forty and six years is this temple in building4 ,a stone at a time is fitted into its place1 and so after much toil and many years1 as in the case of some mediaeval cathedral unfinished for centuries1 the topstone is brought forth at last4 ,this choice1 too1 is before all men--to build on ,christ and so to build for eternity1 or on sand and so to be crushed below the ruins of their fallen houses4 ,stablished in your faith1 even as ye were taught4 ,this is apparently simply a more definite way of putting substantially the same thoughts as in the former clauses4 ,possibly the meaning is stablished by faith1 the ,colossians' faith being the instrument of their establishment4 ,but the ,revised ,version is probably right in its rendering1 stablished in1 or as to1 your faith4 ,their faith1 as ,paul had just been saying1 was stedfast1 but it needed yet increased firmness4 ,and this exhortation1 as it were1 translates the previous ones into more homely language1 that if any man stumbled at the mysticism of the thoughts there1 he might grasp the plain practicalness here4 ,if we are established and confirmed in our faith1 we shall be rooted and built up in ,jesus1 for it is faith which joins us to ,him1 and its increase measures our growth in and into ,him4 ,there then is a very plain practical issue of these deep thoughts of union with ,jesus4 ,a progressive increase of our faith is the condition of all ,christian progress4 ,the faith which is already the firmest1 and by its firmness may gladden an ,apostle1 is still capable of and needs strengthening4 ,its range can be enlarged1 its tenacity increased1 its power over heart and life reinforced4 ,the eye of faith is never so keen but that it may become more longsighted2 its grasp never so close but that it may be tightened2 its realisation never so solid but that it may be more substantial2 its authority never so great but that it may be made more absolute4 ,this continual strengthening of faith is the most essential form of a ,christian's effort at self-improvement4 ,strengthen faith and you strengthen all graces2 for it measures our reception of ,divine help4 ,and the furthest development which faith can attain should ever be sedulously kept in harmony with the initial teaching--even as ye were taught4 ,progress does not consist in dropping the early truths of ,jesus ,christ the ,lord for newer wisdom and more speculative religion1 but in discovering ever deeper lessons and larger powers in these rudiments which are likewise the last and highest lessons which men can learn4 ,further1 as the daily effort of the believing soul ought to be to strengthen the quality of his faith1 so it should be to increase its amount--abounding in it with thanksgiving4 ,or if we adopt the reading of the ,revised ,version1 we shall omit the in it1 and find here only an exhortation to thanksgiving4 ,that is1 in any case1 the main idea of the clause1 which adds to the former the thought that thanksgiving is an inseparable accompaniment of vigorous ,christian life4 ,it is to be called forth1 of course1 mainly by the great gift of ,christ1 in whom we are rooted and builded1 and1 in ,paul's judgment it is the very spring of ,christian progress4 ,that constant temper of gratitude implies a habitual presence to the mind1 of ,god's great mercy in ,his unspeakable gift1 a continual glow of heart as we gaze1 a continual appropriation of that gift for our very own1 and a continual outflow of our heart's love to the ,incarnate and ,immortal ,love4 ,such thankfulness will bind us to glad obedience1 and will give swiftness to the foot and eagerness to the will1 to run in the way of ,god's commandments4 ,it is like genial sunshine1 all flowers breathe perfume and fruits ripen under its influence4 ,it is the fire which kindles the sacrifice of life and makes it go up in fragrant incense-clouds1 acceptable to ,god4 ,the highest nobleness of which man is capable is reached when1 moved by the mercies of ,god1 we yield ourselves living sacrifices1 thank-offerings to ,him ,who yielded ,himself the sin-offering for us4 ,the life which is all influenced by thanksgiving will be pure1 strong1 happy1 in its continual counting of its gifts1 and in its thoughts of the ,giver1 and not least happy and beautiful in its glad surrender of itself to ,him who has given ,himself for and to it4 ,the noblest offering that we can bring1 the only recompense which ,christ asks1 is that our hearts and our lives should say1 ,we thank thee1 ,o ,lord4 ,by ,him1 therefore1 let us offer the sacrifice of praise to ,god continually1 and the continual thanksgiving will ensure continuous growth in our ,christian character1 and a constant increase in the strength and depth of our faith4 ,,xii4 ,,the ,,bane ,,and ,,the ,,antidote4 ,take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit1 after the tradition of men1 after the rudiments of the world1 and not after ,christ3 for in ,him dwelleth all the fulness of the ,godhead bodily1 and in ,him ye are made full1 ,who is the head of all principality and power4--,,col4 ii4 #h-aj 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,we come now to the first plain reference to the errors which were threatening the peace of the ,colossian community4 ,here ,paul crosses swords with the foe4 ,this is the point to which all his previous words have been steadily converging4 ,the immediately preceding context contained the positive exhortation to continue in the ,christ ,whom they had received1 having been rooted in ,him as the tree in a fertile place by the rivers of water1 and being continually builded up in ,him1 with ever-growing completeness of holy character4 ,the same exhortation in substance is contained in the verses which we have now to consider1 with the difference that it is here presented negatively1 as warning and dehortation1 with distinct statement of the danger which would uproot the tree and throw down the building1 and drag the ,colossians away from union with ,christ4 ,in these words the ,bane and ,antidote are both before us4 ,let us consider each4 ,i4 ,the ,poison against which ,paul warns the ,colossians is plainly described in our first verse1 the terms of which may require a brief comment4 ,take heed lest there shall be4 ,the construction implies that it is a real and not a hypothetical danger which he sees threatening4 ,he is not crying wolf before there is need4 ,any one--perhaps the tone of the warning would be better conveyed if we read the more familiar somebody2 as if he had said--,i name no names--it is not the persons but the principles that ,i fight against--but you know whom ,i mean well enough4 ,let him be anonymous1 you understand who it is4 ,perhaps there was even a single somebody who was the centre of the mischief4 ,that maketh spoil of you4 ,such is the full meaning of the word--and not injure or rob1 which the translation in the ,authorized ,version suggests to an ,english reader4 ,paul sees the converts in ,colossae taken prisoners and led away with a cord round their necks1 like the long strings of captives on the ,assyrian monuments4 ,he had spoken in the previous chapter 7ver4 #ac7 of the merciful conqueror who had translated them from the realm of darkness into a kingdom of light1 and now he fears lest a robber horde1 making a raid upon the peaceful colonists in their happy new homes1 may sweep them away again into bondage4 ,the instrument which the man-stealer uses1 or perhaps we may say1 the cord1 whose fatal noose will be tightened round them1 if they do not take care1 is philosophy and vain deceit4 ,if ,paul had been writing in ,english1 he would have put philosophy in inverted commas1 to show that he was quoting the heretical teachers' own name for their system1 if system it may be called1 which was really a chaos4 ,for the true love of wisdom1 for any honest1 humble attempt to seek after her as hid treasure1 neither ,paul nor ,paul's ,master have anything but praise and sympathy and help4 ,where he met real1 however imperfect1 searchers after truth1 he strove to find points of contact between them and his message1 and to present the gospel as the answer to their questionings1 the declaration of that which they were groping to find4 ,the thing spoken of here has no resemblance but in name to what the ,greeks in their better days first called philosophy1 and nothing but that mere verbal coincidence warrants the representation--often made both by narrow-minded ,christians1 and by unbelieving thinkers--that ,christianity takes up a position of antagonism or suspicion to it4 ,the form of the expression in the original shows clearly that vain deceit1 or more literally empty deceit1 describes the philosophy which ,paul is bidding them beware of4 ,they are not two things1 but one4 ,it is like a blown bladder1 full of wind1 and nothing else4 ,in its lofty pretensions1 and if we take its own account of itself1 it is a love of and search after wisdom2 but if we look at it more closely1 it is a swollen nothing1 empty and a fraud4 ,this is what he is condemning4 ,the genuine thing he has nothing to say about here4 ,he goes on to describe more closely this impostor1 masquerading in the philosopher's cloak4 ,it is after the traditions of men4 ,we have seen in a former chapter what a strange heterogeneous conglomerate of ,jewish ceremonial and ,oriental dreams the false teachers in ,colossae were preaching4 ,probably both these elements are included here4 ,it is significant that the very expression1 the traditions of men1 is a word of ,christ's1 applied to the ,pharisees1 whom ,he charges with leaving the commandment of ,god1 and holding fast the tradition of men 7,mark vii4 #h74 ,the portentous undergrowth of such traditions which1 like the riotous fertility of creepers in a tropical forest1 smother and kill the trees round which they twine1 is preserved for our wonder and warning in the ,talmud1 where for thousands and thousands of pages1 we get nothing but ,rabbi ,so and ,so said this1 but ,rabbi ,so and ,so said that2 until we feel stifled1 and long for one ,divine ,word to still all the babble4 ,the ,oriental element in the heresy1 on the other hand1 prided itself on a hidden teaching which was too sacred to be entrusted to books1 and was passed from lip to lip in some close conclave of muttering teachers and listening adepts4 ,the fact that all this1 be it ,jewish1 be it ,oriental teaching1 had no higher source than men's imaginings and refinings1 seems to ,paul the condemnation of the whole system4 ,his theory is that in ,jesus ,christ1 every ,christian man has the full truth concerning ,god and man1 in their mutual relations1--the authoritative ,divine declaration of all that can be known1 the perfect exemplar of all that ought to be done1 the sun-clear illumination and proof of all that dare be hoped4 ,what an absurd descent1 then1 from the highest of our prerogatives1 to turn away from ,him that speaketh from heaven1 in order to listen to poor human voices1 speaking men's thoughts6 ,the lesson is as needful to-day as ever4 ,the special forms of men's traditions in question here have long since fallen silent1 and trouble no man any more4 ,but the tendency to give heed to human teachers and to suffer them to come between us and ,christ is deep in us all4 ,there is at one extreme the man who believes in no revelation from ,god1 and1 smiling at us ,christians who accept ,christ's words as final and ,himself as the ,incarnate truth1 often pays to his chosen human teacher a deference as absolute as that which he regards as superstition1 when we render it to our ,lord4 ,at the other extremity are the ,christians who will not let ,christ and the ,scripture speak to the soul1 unless the ,church be present at the interview1 like a jailer1 with a bunch of man-made creeds jingling at its belt4 ,but it is not only at the two ends of the line1 but all along its length1 that men are listening to traditions of men and neglecting the commandment of ,god4 ,we have all the same tendency in us4 ,every man carries a rationalist and a traditionalist under his skin4 ,every ,church in ,christendom1 whether it has a formal creed or no1 is ruled as to its belief and practice1 to a sad extent1 by the traditions of the elders4 ,the freest of the ,nonconformist ,churches1 untrammelled by any formal confession1 may be bound with as tight fetters1 and be as much dominated by men's opinions1 as if it had the straitest of creeds4 ,the mass of our religious beliefs and practices has ever to be verified1 corrected and remodelled1 by harking back from creeds1 written or unwritten1 to the one ,teacher1 the endless significance of ,whose person and work is but expressed in fragments by the purest and widest thoughts even of those who have lived nearest to ,him1 and seen most of ,his beauty4 ,let us get away from men1 from the ,babel of opinions and the strife of tongues1 that we may hear the words of ,his mouth6 ,let us take heed of the empty fraud which lays the absurd snare for our feet1 that we can learn to know ,god by any means but by listening to ,his own speech in ,his ,eternal ,word1 lest it lead us away captive out of the ,kingdom of the ,light6 ,let us go up to the pure spring on the mountain top1 and not try to slake our thirst at the muddy pools at its base6 ,ye are ,christ's1 be not the slave of men4 ,this is ,my beloved ,son1 hear ye ,him4 ,another mark of this empty pretence of wisdom which threatens to captivate the ,colossians is1 that it is after the rudiments of the world4 ,the word rendered rudiments means the letters of the alphabet1 and hence comes naturally to acquire the meaning of elements1 or first principles1 just as we speak of the ,a ,b ,c of a science4 ,the application of such a designation to the false teaching1 is1 like the appropriation of the term mystery to the gospel1 an instance of turning the tables and giving back the teachers their own words4 ,they boasted of mysterious doctrines reserved for the initiated1 of which the plain truths that ,paul preached were but the elements1 and they looked down contemptuously on his message as milk for babes4 ,paul retorts on them1 asserting that the true mystery1 the profound truth long hidden and revealed1 is the word which he preached1 and that the poverty-stricken elements1 fit only for infants1 are in that swelling inanity which called itself wisdom and was not4 ,not only does he brand it as rudiments1 but as rudiments of the world1 which is worse--that is to say1 as belonging to the sphere of the outward and material1 and not to the higher region of the spiritual1 where ,christian thought ought to dwell4 ,so two weaknesses are charged against the system3 it is the mere alphabet of truth1 and therefore unfit for grown men4 ,it moves1 for all its lofty pretensions1 in the region of the visible and mundane things and is therefore unfit for spiritual men4 ,what features of the system are referred to in this phrase8 ,its use in the ,epistle to the ,galatians 7iv4 #c71 as a synonyme for the whole system of ritual observances and ceremonial precepts of ,judaism1 and the present context1 which passes on immediately to speak of circumcision1 point to a similar meaning here1 though we may include also the ceremonial and ritual of the ,gentile religions1 in so far as they contributed to the outward forms which the ,colossian heresy sought to impose on the ,church4 ,this then is ,paul's opinion about a system which laid stress on ceremonial and busied itself with forms4 ,he regards it as a deliberate retrogression to an earlier stage4 ,a religion of rites had come first1 and was needed for the spiritual infancy of the race--but in ,christ we ought to have outgrown the alphabet of revelation1 and1 being men1 to have put away childish things4 ,he regards it further as a pitiable descent into a lower sphere1 a fall from the spiritual realm to the material1 and therefore unbecoming for those who have been enfranchised from dependence upon outward helps and symbols1 and taught the spirituality and inwardness of ,christian worship4 ,we need the lesson in this day no less than did these ,christians in the little community in that remote valley of ,phrygia4 ,the forms which were urged on them are long since antiquated1 but the tendency to turn ,christianity into a religion of ceremonial is running with an unusually powerful current to-day4 ,we are all more interested in art1 and think we know more about it than our fathers did4 ,the eye and the ear are more educated than they used to be1 and a society as aesthetic and musical as much cultured ,english society is becoming1 will like an ornate ritual4 ,so1 apart altogether from doctrinal grounds1 much in the conditions of to-day works towards ritual religion4 ,nonconformist services are less plain2 some go from their ranks because they dislike the bald worship in the chapel1 and prefer the more elaborate forms of the ,anglican ,church1 which in its turn is for the same reason left by others who find their tastes gratified by the complete thing1 as it is to be enjoyed full blown in the ,roman ,catholic communion4 ,we may freely admit that the ,puritan reaction was possibly too severe1 and that a little more colour and form might with advantage have been retained4 ,but enlisting the senses as the allies of the spirit in worship is risky work4 ,they are very apt to fight for their own hand when they once begin1 and the history of all symbolic and ceremonial worship shows that the experiment is much more likely to end in sensualising religion than in spiritualising sense4 ,the theory that such aids make a ladder by which the soul may ascend to ,god is perilously apt to be confuted by experience1 which finds that the soul is quite as likely to go down the ladder as up it4 ,the gratification of taste1 and the excitation of aesthetic sensibility1 which are the results of such aids to worship1 are not worship1 however they may be mistaken as such4 ,all ceremonial is in danger of becoming opaque instead of transparent as it was meant to be1 and of detaining mind and eye instead of letting them pass on and up to ,god4 ,stained glass is lovely1 and white windows are barnlike1 and starved1 and bare2 but perhaps1 if the object is to get light and to see the sun1 these solemn purples and glowing yellows are rather in the way4 ,i for my part believe that of the two extremes1 a ,quaker's meeting is nearer the ideal of ,christian worship than ,high ,mass1 and so far as my feeble voice can reach1 ,i would urge1 as eminently a lesson for the day1 ,paul's great principle here1 that a ,christianity making much of forms and ceremonies is a distinct retrogression and descent4 ,you are men in ,christ1 do not go back to the picture book ,a ,b ,c of symbol and ceremony1 which was fit for babes4 ,you have been brought in to the inner sanctuary of worship in spirit2 do not decline to the beggarly elements of outward form4 ,paul sums up his indictment in one damning clause1 the result of the two preceding4 ,if the heresy have no higher source than men's traditions1 and no more solid contents than ceremonial observances1 it cannot be after ,christ4 ,he is neither its origin1 nor its substance1 nor its rule and standard4 ,there is a fundamental discord between every such system1 however it may call itself ,christian1 and ,christ4 ,the opposition may be concealed by its teachers4 ,they and their victims may not be aware of it4 ,they may not themselves be conscious that by adopting it they have slipped off the foundation2 but they have done so1 and though in their own hearts they be loyal to ,him1 they have brought an incurable discord into their creeds which will weaken their lives1 if it do not do worse4 ,paul cared very little for the dreams of these teachers1 except in so far as they carried them and others away from his ,master4 ,the ,colossians might have as many ceremonies as they liked1 and welcome2 but when these interfered with the sole reliance to be placed on ,christ's work1 then they must have no quarter4 ,it is not merely because the teaching was after the traditions of men1 after the rudiments of the world1 but because being so1 it was not after ,christ1 that ,paul will have none of it4 ,he that touches his ,master touches the apple of his eye1 and shades of opinion1 and things indifferent in practice1 and otherwise unimportant forms of worship1 have to be fought to the death if they obscure one corner of the perfect and solitary work of the ,one ,lord1 who is at once the source1 the substance1 and the standard of all ,christian teaching4 ,,ii4 ,the ,antidote4--,for in ,him dwelleth all the fulness of the ,godhead bodily1 and in ,him ye are made full1 who is the head of all principality and power4 ,these words may be a reason for the warning--,take heed1 for2 or they may be a reason for the implied exclusion of any teaching which is not after ,christ4 ,the statement of its characteristics carries in itself its condemnation4 ,anything not after ,christ is ipso facto wrong1 and to be avoided--for1 etc4 ,in ,him is placed with emphasis at the beginning1 and implies and nowhere else4 ,dwelleth1 that is1 has its permanent abode2 where the tense is to be noticed also1 as pointing to the ascended ,christ4 ,all the fulness of the ,godhead1 that is1 the whole unbounded powers and attributes of ,deity1 where is to be noted the use of the abstract term ,godhead1 instead of the more usual ,god1 in order to express with the utmost force the thought of the indwelling in ,christ of the whole essence and nature of ,god4 ,bodily1 that points to the ,incarnation1 and so is an advance upon the passage in the former chapter 7ver4 #ai71 which speaks of the fulness dwelling in the ,eternal ,word1 whereas this speaks of the ,eternal ,word in whom the fulness dwelt becoming flesh4 ,so we are pointed to the glorified corporeal humanity of ,jesus ,christ in ,his exaltation as the abode1 now and for ever1 of all the fulness of the ,divine nature1 which is thereby brought very near to us4 ,this grand truth seems to ,paul to shiver to pieces all the dreams of these teachers about angel mediators1 and to brand as folly every attempt to learn truth and ,god anywhere else but in ,him4 ,if ,he be the one sole temple of ,deity in whom all ,divine glories are stored1 why go anywhere else in order to see or to possess ,god8 ,it is folly2 for not only are all these glories stored in ,him1 but they are so stored on purpose to be reached by us4 ,therefore the ,apostle goes on1 and in ,him ye are made full2 which sets forth two things as true in the inward life of all ,christians1 namely1 their living incorporation in and union with ,christ1 and their consequent participation in ,his fulness4 ,every one of us may enter into that most real and close union with ,jesus ,christ by the power of continuous faith in ,him4 ,so may we be grafted into the ,vine1 and builded into the ,rock4 ,if thus we keep our hearts in contact with ,his heart and let ,him lay ,his lip on our lips1 ,he will breathe into us the breath of ,his own life1 and we shall live because ,he lives1 and in our measure1 as ,he lives4 ,all the fulness of ,god is in ,him1 that from ,him it may pass into us4 ,we might start back from such bold words if we did not remember that the same apostle who here tells us that that fulness dwells in ,jesus1 crowns his wonderful prayer for the ,ephesian ,christians with that daring petition1 that ye may be filled with all the fulness of ,god4 ,the treasure was lodged in the earthen vessel of ,christ's manhood that it might be within our reach4 ,he brings the fiery blessing of a ,divine life from ,heaven to earth enclosed in the feeble reed of ,his manhood1 that it may kindle kindred fire in many a heart4 ,freely the water of life flows into all cisterns from the ever fresh stream1 into which the infinite depth of that unfathomable sea of good pours itself4 ,every kind of spiritual blessing is given therein4 ,that stream1 like a river of molten lava1 holds many precious things in its flaming current1 and will cool into many shapes and deposit many rare and rich gifts4 ,according to our need it will vary itself1 being to each what the moment most requires1--wisdom1 or strength1 or beauty1 or courage1 or patience4 ,out of it will come whatsoever things are lovely1 whatsoever things are of good report1 as ,rabbinical legends tell us that the manna tasted to each man like the food for which he wished most4 ,this process of receiving of all the ,divine fulness is a continuous one4 ,we can but be approximating to the possession of the infinite treasure which is ours in ,christ2 and since the treasure is infinite1 and we can indefinitely grow in capacity of receiving ,god1 there must be an eternal continuance of the filling and an eternal increase of the measure of what fills us4 ,our natures are elastic1 and in love and knowledge1 as well as in purity and capacity for blessedness1 there are no bounds to be set to their possible expansion4 ,they will be widened by bliss into a greater capacity for bliss4 ,the indwelling ,christ will enlarge the place of ,his habitation1 and as the walls stretch and the roofs soar1 ,he will fill the greater house with the light of ,his presence and the fragrance of ,his name4 ,the condition of this continuous reception of the abundant gift of a ,divine life is abiding in ,jesus4 ,it is in ,him that we are being filled full--and it is only so long as we continue in ,him that we continue full4 ,we cannot bear away our supplies1 as one might a full bucket from a well1 and keep it full4 ,all the grace will trickle out and disappear unless we live in constant union with our ,lord1 whose ,spirit passes into our deadness only so long as we are joined to ,him4 ,from all such thoughts ,paul would have us draw the conclusion--how foolish1 then1 it must be to go to any other source for the supply of our needs6 ,christ is the head of all principality and power1 he adds1 with a reference to the doctrine of angel mediators1 which evidently played a great part in the heretical teaching4 ,if ,he is sovereign head of all dignity and power on earth and heaven1 why go to the ministers1 when we have access to the ,king2 or have recourse to erring human teachers1 when we have the ,eternal ,word to enlighten us2 or flee to creatures to replenish our emptiness1 when we may draw from the depths of ,god in ,christ8 ,why should we go on a weary search after goodly pearls when the richest of all is by us1 if we will have it8 ,do we seek to know ,god8 ,let us behold ,christ1 and let men talk as they list4 ,do we crave a stay for our spirit1 guidance and impulse for our lives8 ,let us cleave to ,christ1 and we shall be no more lonely and bewildered4 ,do we need a quieting balm to be laid on conscience1 and the sense of guilt to be lifted from our hearts8 ,let us lay our hands on ,christ1 the one sacrifice1 and leave all other altars and priests and ceremonies4 ,do we look longingly for some light on the future8 ,let us stedfastly gaze on ,christ as ,he rises to heaven bearing a human body into the glory of ,god4 ,though all the earth were covered with helpers and lovers of my soul1 as the sand by the sea shore innumerable1 and all the heavens were sown with faces of angels who cared for me and succoured me1 thick as the stars in the milky way--all could not do for me what ,i need4 ,yea1 though all these were gathered into one mighty and loving creature1 even he were no sufficient stay for one soul of man4 ,we want more than creature help4 ,we need the whole fulness of the ,godhead to draw from4 ,it is all there in ,christ1 for each of us4 ,whosoever will1 let him draw freely4 ,why should we leave the fountain of living waters to hew out for ourselves1 with infinite pains1 broken cisterns that can hold no water8 ,all we need is in ,christ4 ,let us lift our eyes from the low earth and all creatures1 and behold no man any more1 as ,lord and ,helper1 save ,jesus only1 that we may be filled with all the fulness of ,god4 ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,true ,,circumcision4 ,in whom ye were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands1 in the putting off of the body of the flesh1 in the circumcision of ,christ2 having been buried with ,him in baptism1 wherein ye were also raised with ,him through faith in the working of ,god1 who raised ,him from the dead4 ,and you1 being dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh1 you1 ,i say1 did he quicken together with ,him1 having forgiven us all our trespasses4--,,col4 ii4 #aa-ac 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,there are two opposite tendencies ever at work in human nature to corrupt religion4 ,one is of the intellect2 the other of the senses4 ,the one is the temptation of the cultured few2 the other1 that of the vulgar many4 ,the one turns religion into theological speculation2 the other1 into a theatrical spectacle4 ,but1 opposite as these tendencies usually are1 they were united in that strange chaos of erroneous opinion and practice which ,paul had to front at ,colossae4 ,from right and from left he was assailed1 and his batteries had to face both ways4 ,here he is mainly engaged with the error which insisted on imposing circumcision on these ,gentile converts4 ,i4 ,to this teaching of the necessity of circumcision1 he first opposes the position that all ,christian men1 by virtue of their union with ,christ1 have received the true circumcision1 of which the outward rite was a shadow and a prophecy1 and that therefore the rite is antiquated and obsolete4 ,his language is emphatic and remarkable4 ,it points to a definite past time--no doubt the time when they became ,christians--when1 because they were in ,christ1 a change passed on them which is fitly paralleled with circumcision4 ,this ,christian circumcision is described in three particulars3 as not made with hands2 as consisting in putting off the body of the flesh2 and as being of ,christ4 ,it is not made with hands1 that is1 it is not a rite but a reality1 not transacted in flesh but in spirit4 ,it is not the removal of ceremonial impurity1 but the cleansing of the heart4 ,this idea of ethical circumcision1 of which the bodily rite is the type1 is common in the ,old ,testament1 as1 for instance1 ,the ,lord thy ,god will circumcise thine heart 444 to love the ,lord thy ,god with all thine heart 7,deut4 xxx4 #f74 ,this is the true ,christian circumcision4 ,it consists in the putting off the body of the flesh--for the sins of is an interpolation4 ,of course a man does not shuffle off this mortal coil when he becomes a ,christian1 so that we have to look for some other meaning of the strong words4 ,they are very strong1 for the word putting off is intensified so as to express a complete stripping off from oneself1 as of clothes which are laid aside1 and is evidently intended to contrast the partial outward circumcision as the removal of a small part of the body1 with the entire removal effected by union with ,christ4 ,if that removal of the body of the flesh is not made with hands1 then it can only be in the sphere of the spiritual life1 that is to say1 it must consist in a change in the relation of the two constituents of a man's being1 and that of such a kind that1 for the future1 the ,christian shall not live after the flesh1 though he live in the flesh4 ,ye are not in the flesh1 but in the ,spirit1 says ,paul1 and again he uses an expression as strong as1 if not stronger than that of our text1 when he speaks of the body as being destroyed1 and explains himself by adding that henceforth we should not serve sin4 ,it is not the body considered simply as material and fleshly that we put off1 but the body considered as the seat of corrupt and sinful affections and passions4 ,a new principle of life comes into men's hearts which delivers them from the dominion of these1 and makes it possible that they should live in the flesh1 not according to the lusts of the flesh1 but according to the will of ,god4 ,true1 the text regards this divesting as complete1 whereas1 as all ,christian men know only too sadly1 it is very partial1 and realised only by slow degrees4 ,the ideal is represented here1--what we receive in ,him1 rather than what we actually possess and incorporate into our experience4 ,on the ,divine side the change is complete4 ,christ gives complete emancipation from the dominion of sense1 and if we are not in reality completely emancipated1 it is because we have not taken the things that are freely given to us1 and are not completely in ,him4 ,so far as we are1 we have put off the flesh4 ,the change has passed on us if we are ,christians4 ,we have to work it out day by day4 ,the foe may keep up a guerilla warfare after he is substantially defeated1 but his entire subjugation is certain if we keep hold of the strength of ,christ4 ,finally1 this circumcision is described as of ,christ1 by which is not meant that ,he submitted to it1 but that ,he instituted it4 ,such being the force of this statement1 what is its bearing on the ,apostle's purpose8 ,he desires to destroy the teaching that the rite of circumcision was binding on the ,christian converts1 and he does so by asserting that the gospel has brought the reality1 of which the rite was but a picture and a prophecy4 ,the underlying principle is that when we have the thing signified by any ,jewish rites1 which were all prophetic as well as symbolic1 the rite may--must go4 ,its retention is an anachronism1 as if a flower should shut1 and be a bud again4 ,that is a wise and pregnant principle1 but as it comes to the surface again immediately hereafter1 and is applied to a whole series of subjects1 we may defer the consideration of it1 and rather dwell briefly on other matters suggested by this verse4 ,we notice1 then1 the intense moral earnestness which leads the ,apostle here to put the true centre of gravity of ,christianity in moral transformation1 and to set all outward rites and ceremonies in a very subordinate place4 ,what had ,jesus ,christ come from heaven for1 and for what had ,he borne ,his bitter passion8 ,to what end were the ,colossians knit to ,him by a tie so strong1 tender and strange8 ,had they been carried into that inmost depth of union with ,him1 and were they still to be laying stress on ceremonies8 ,had ,christ's work1 then1 no higher issue than to leave religion bound in the cords of outward observances8 ,surely ,jesus ,christ1 who gives men a new life by union with ,himself1 which union is brought about through faith alone1 has delivered men from that yoke of bondage1 if ,he has done anything at all4 ,surely they who are joined to ,him should have a profounder apprehension of the means and the end of their relation to their ,lord than to suppose that it is either brought about by any outward rite1 or has any reality unless it makes them pure and good4 ,from that height all questions of external observances dwindle into insignificance1 and all question of sacramental efficacy drops away of itself4 ,the vital centre lies in our being joined to ,jesus ,christ--the condition of which is faith in ,him1 and the outcome of it a new life which delivers us from the dominion of the flesh4 ,how far away from such conceptions of ,christianity are those which busy themselves on either side with matters of detail1 with punctilios of observance1 and pedantries of form8 ,the hatred of forms may be as completely a form as the most elaborate ritual--and we all need to have our eyes turned away from these to the far higher thing1 the worship and service offered by a transformed nature4 ,we notice again1 that the conquest of the animal nature and the material body is the certain outcome of true union with ,christ1 and of that alone4 ,paul did not regard matter as necessarily evil1 as these teachers at ,colossae did1 nor did he think of the body as the source of all sin4 ,but he knew that the fiercest and most fiery temptations came from it1 and that the foulest and most indelible stains on conscience were splashed from the mud which it threw4 ,we all know that too4 ,it is a matter of life and death for each of us to find some means of taming and holding in the animal that is in us all4 ,we all know of wrecked lives1 which have been driven on the rocks by the wild passions belonging to the flesh4 ,fortune1 reputation1 health1 everything are sacrificed by hundreds of men1 especially young men1 at the sting of this imperious lust4 ,the budding promise of youth1 innocence1 hope1 and all which makes life desirable and a nature fair1 are trodden down by the hoofs of the brute4 ,there is no need to speak of that4 ,and when we come to add to this the weaknesses of the flesh1 and the needs of the flesh1 and the limitations of the flesh1 and to remember how often high purposes are frustrated by its shrinking from toil1 and how often mists born from its undrained swamps darken the vision that else might gaze on truth and ,god1 we cannot but feel that we do not need to be ,eastern ,gnostics1 to believe that goodness requires the flesh to be subdued4 ,every one who has sought for self-improvement recognises the necessity4 ,but no asceticisms and no resolves will do what we want4 ,much repression may be effected by sheer force of will1 but it is like a man holding a wolf by the jaws4 ,the arms begin to ache and the grip to grow slack1 and he feels his strength ebbing1 and knows that1 as soon as he lets go1 the brute will fly at his throat4 ,repression is not taming4 ,nothing tames the wild beast in us but the power of ,christ4 ,he binds it in a silken lash1 and that gentle constraint is strong1 because the fierceness is gone4 ,the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb1 and a little child shall lead them4 ,the power of union with ,christ1 and that alone1 will enable us to put off the body of the flesh4 ,and such union will certainly lead to such crucifying of the animal nature4 ,christianity would be easy if it were a round of observances2 it would be comparatively easy if it were a series of outward asceticisms4 ,anybody can fast or wear a hair shirt1 if he have motive sufficient2 but the putting off the body of the flesh which is not made with hands1 is a different and harder thing4 ,nothing else avails4 ,high-flown religious emotion1 or clear theological definitions1 or elaborate ceremonial worship1 may all have their value2 but a religion which includes them all1 and leaves out the plain moralities of subduing the flesh1 and keeping our heel well pressed down on the serpent's head1 is worthless4 ,if we are in ,christ1 we shall not live in the flesh4 ,,ii4 ,the ,apostle meets the false teaching of the need for circumcision1 by a second consideration2 namely1 a reference to ,christian ,baptism1 as being the ,christian sign of that inward change4 ,ye were circumcised1 says he--being buried with ,him in baptism4 ,the form of expression in the ,greek implies that the two things are cotemporaneous4 ,as if he had said--,do you want any further rite to express that mighty change which passed on you when you came to be in ,christ8 ,you have been baptised1 does not that express all the meaning that circumcision ever had1 and much more8 ,what can you want with the less significant rite when you have the more significant8 ,this reference to baptism is quite consistent with what has been said as to the subordinate importance of ritual4 ,some forms we must have1 if there is to be any outward visible ,church1 and ,christ has yielded to the necessity1 and given us two1 of which the one symbolises the initial spiritual act of the ,christian life1 and the other the constantly repeated process of ,christian nourishment4 ,they are symbols and outward representations1 nothing more4 ,they convey grace1 in so far as they help us to realise more clearly and to feel more deeply the facts on which our spiritual life is fed1 but they are not channels of grace in any other way than any other outward acts of worship may be4 ,we see that the form of baptism here presupposed is by immersion1 and that the form is regarded as significant4 ,all but entire unanimity prevails among commentators on this point4 ,the burial and the resurrection spoken of point unmistakably to the primitive mode of baptism1 as ,bishop ,lightfoot1 the latest and best ,english expositor of this book1 puts it in his paraphrase3 ,ye were buried with ,christ to your old selves beneath the baptismal waters1 and were raised with ,him from these same waters1 to a new and better life4 ,if so1 two questions deserve consideration--first1 is it right to alter a form which has a meaning that is lost by the change8 second1 can we alter a significant form without destroying it8 ,is the new thing rightly called by the old name8 ,if baptism be immersion1 and immersion express a substantial part of its meaning1 can sprinkling or pouring be baptism8 ,again1 baptism is associated in time with the inward change1 which is the true circumcision4 ,there are but two theories on which these two things are cotemporaneous4 ,the one is the theory that baptism effects the change1 the other is the theory that baptism goes with the change as its sign4 ,the association is justified if men are circumcised1 that is1 changed when they are baptised1 or if men are baptised when they have been circumcised4 ,no other theory gives full weight to these words4 ,the former theory elevates baptism into more than the importance of which ,paul sought to deprive circumcision1 it confuses the distinction between the ,church and the world1 it lulls men into a false security1 it obscures the very central truth of ,christianity--namely that faith in ,christ1 working by love1 makes a ,christian--it gives the basis for a portentous reproduction of sacerdotalism1 and it is shivered to pieces against the plain facts of daily life4 ,but it may be worth while to notice in a sentence1 that it is conclusively disposed of by the language before us--it is through faith in the operation of ,god that we are raised again in baptism4 ,not the rite1 then1 but faith is the means of this participation with ,christ in burial and resurrection4 ,what remains but that baptism is associated with that spiritual change by which we are delivered from the body of the flesh1 because in the ,divine order it is meant to be the outward symbol of that change which is effected by no rite or sacrament1 but by faith alone1 uniting us to the transforming ,christ8 ,we observe the solemnity and the thoroughness of the change thus symbolised4 ,it is more than a circumcision4 ,it is burial and a resurrection1 an entire dying of the old self by union with ,christ1 a real and present rising again by participation in ,his risen life4 ,this and nothing less makes a ,christian4 ,we partake of ,his death1 inasmuch as we ally ourselves to it by our faith1 as the sacrifice for our sins1 and make it the ground of all our hope4 ,but that is not all4 ,we partake of ,his death1 inasmuch as1 by the power of ,his cross1 we are drawn to sever ourselves from the selfish life1 and to slay our own old nature2 dying for ,his dear sake to the habits1 tastes1 desires and purposes in which we lived4 ,self-crucifixion for the love of ,christ is the law for us all4 ,his cross is the pattern for our conduct1 as well as the pledge and means of our acceptance4 ,we must die to sin that we may live to righteousness4 ,we must die to self1 that we may live to ,god and our brethren4 ,we have no right to trust in ,christ for us1 except as we have ,christ in us4 ,his cross is not saving us from our guilt1 unless it is moulding our lives to some faint likeness of ,him who died that we might live1 and might live a real life by dying daily to the world1 sin1 and self4 ,if we are thus made conformable to ,his death1 we shall know the power of ,his resurrection1 in all its aspects4 ,it will be to us the guarantee of our own1 and we shall know its power as a prophecy for our future4 ,it will be to us the seal of ,his perfect work on the cross1 and we shall know its power as ,god's token of acceptance of ,his sacrifice in the past4 ,it will be to us the type of our spiritual resurrection now1 and we shall know its power as the pattern and source of our supernatural life in the present4 ,thus we must die in and with ,christ that we may live in and with ,him1 and that twofold process is the very heart of personal religion4 ,no lofty participation in the immortal hopes which spring from the empty grave of ,jesus is warranted1 unless we have ,his quickening power raising us to-day by a better resurrection2 and no participation in the present power of ,his heavenly life is possible1 unless we have such a share in ,his death1 as that by it the world is crucified to us1 and we unto the world4 ,,iii4 ,the ,apostle adds another phase of this great contrast of life and death1 which brings home still more closely to his hearers1 the deep and radical change which passes upon all ,christians4 ,he has been speaking of a death and burial followed by a resurrection4 ,but there is another death from which ,christ raises us1 by that same risen life imparted to us through faith--a darker and grimmer thing than the self-abnegation before described4 ,and you1 being dead through your trespasses1 and the uncircumcision of your flesh4 ,the separate acts of transgression of which they had been guilty1 and the unchastened1 unpurified1 carnal nature from which these had flowed1 were the reasons of a very real and awful death2 or1 as the parallel passage in ,ephesians 7ii4 #b7 puts it with a slight variation1 they made the condition or sphere in which that death inhered4 ,that solemn thought1 so pregnant in its dread emphasis in ,scripture1 is not to be put aside as a mere metaphor4 ,all life stands in union with ,god4 ,the physical universe exists by reason of its perpetual contact with ,his sustaining hand1 in the hollow of which all ,being lies1 and it is1 because ,he touches it4 ,in ,him we live4 ,so also the life of mind is sustained by ,his perpetual inbreathing1 and in the deepest sense we see light in ,his light4 ,so1 lastly1 the highest life of the spirit stands in union in still higher manner with ,him1 and to be separated from ,him is death to it4 ,sin breaks that union1 and therefore sin is death1 in the very inmost centre of man's being4 ,the awful warning1 ,in the day thou eatest thereof1 thou shalt surely die1 was fulfilled4 ,that separation by sin1 in which the soul is wrenched from ,god1 is the real death1 and the thing that men call by the name is only an outward symbol of a far sadder fact--the shadow of that which is the awful substance1 and as much less terrible than it as painted fires are less than the burning reality4 ,so men may live in the body1 and toil and think and feel1 and be dead4 ,the world is full of sheeted dead1 that squeak and gibber in our streets1 for every soul that lives to self and has rent itself away from ,god1 so far as a creature can1 is dead while he liveth4 ,the other death1 of which the previous verse spoke1 is therefore but the putting off of a death4 ,we lose nothing of real life in putting off self1 but only that which keeps us in a separation from ,god1 and slays our true and highest being4 ,to die to self is but the death of death4 ,the same life of which the previous verse spoke as coming from the risen ,lord is here set forth as able to raise us from that death of sin4 ,he hath quickened you together with ,him4 ,union with ,christ floods our dead souls with ,his own vitality1 as water will pour from a reservoir through a tube inserted in it4 ,there is the actual communication of a new life when we touch ,christ by faith4 ,the prophet of old laid himself upon the dead child1 the warm lip on the pallid mouth1 the throbbing heart on the still one1 and the contact rekindled the extinguished spark4 ,so ,christ lays ,his full life on our deadness1 and does more than recall a departed glow of vitality4 ,he communicates a new life kindred with ,his own4 ,that life makes us free here and now from the law of sin and death1 and it shall be perfected hereafter when the working of ,his mighty power shall change the body of our humiliation into the likeness of the body of ,his glory1 and the leaven of ,his new life shall leaven the three measures in which it is hidden1 body1 soul1 and spirit1 with its own transforming energy4 ,then1 in yet higher sense1 death shall die1 and life shall be victor by ,his victory4 ,but to all this one preliminary is needful--having forgiven us all trespasses4 ,paul's eagerness to associate himself with his brethren1 and to claim his share in the forgiveness1 as well as to unite in the acknowledgment of sin1 makes him change his word from you to us4 ,so the best manuscripts give the text1 and the reading is obviously full of interest and suggestiveness4 ,there must be a removal of the cause of deadness before there can be a quickening to new life4 ,that cause was sin1 which cannot be cancelled as guilt by any self-denial however great1 nor even by the impartation of a new life from ,god for the future4 ,a gospel which only enjoined dying to self would be as inadequate as a gospel which only provided for a higher life in the future4 ,the stained and faultful past must be cared for4 ,christ must bring pardon for it1 as well as a new spirit for the future4 ,so the condition prior to our being quickened together with ,him is ,god's forgiveness1 free and universal1 covering all our sins1 and given to us without anything on our part4 ,that condition is satisfied4 ,christ's death brings to us ,god's pardon1 and when the great barrier of unforgiven sin is cleared away1 ,christ's life pours into our hearts1 and everything lives whithersoever the river cometh4 ,here then we have the deepest ground of ,paul's intense hatred of every attempt to make anything but faith in ,christ and moral purity essential to the perfect ,christian life4 ,circumcision and baptism and all other rites or sacraments of ,judaism or ,christianity are equally powerless to quicken dead souls4 ,for that1 the first thing needed is the forgiveness of sins1 and that is ours through simple faith in ,christ's death4 ,we are quickened by ,christ's own life in us1 and ,he dwells in our hearts by faith4 ,all ordinances may be administered to us a hundred times1 and without faith they leave us as they found us--dead4 ,if we have hold of ,christ by faith we live1 whether we have received the ordinances or not4 ,so all full blown or budding sacramentarianism is to be fought against to the uttermost1 because it tends to block the road to the ,city of ,refuge for a poor sinful soul1 and the most pressing of all necessities is that that way of life should be kept clear and unimpeded4 ,we need the profound truth which lies in the threefold form which ,paul gives to one of his great watchwords3 ,circumcision is nothing1 and uncircumcision is nothing1 but the keeping of the commandments of ,god4 ,and how1 says my despairing conscience1 shall ,i keep the commandments8 ,the answer lies in the second form of the saying--,in ,christ ,jesus neither circumcision availeth anything1 nor uncircumcision1 but a new creature4 ,and how1 replies my saddened heart1 can ,i become a new creature8 ,the answer lies in the final form of the saying--,in ,jesus ,christ neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision1 but faith which worketh4 ,faith brings the life which makes us new men1 and then we can keep the commandments4 ,if we have faith1 and are new men and do ,god's will1 we need no rites but as helps4 ,if we have not faith1 all rites are nothing4 ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,cross ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,law ,,and ,,the ,,triumph ,,over ,,evil ,,powers4 ,blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us1 which was contrary to us1 and took it out of the way1 nailing it to ,his cross2 and having spoiled principalities and powers1 ,he made a show of them openly1 triumphing over them in it4--,,col4 ii4 #ad1 #ae 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,the same double reference to the two characteristic errors of the ,colossians which we have already met so frequently1 presents itself here4 ,this whole section vibrates continually between warnings against the ,judaising enforcement of the ,mosaic law on ,gentile ,christians1 and against the ,oriental figments about a crowd of angelic beings filling the space betwixt man and ,god1 betwixt pure spirit and gross matter4 ,one great fact is here opposed to these strangely associated errors4 ,the cross of ,christ is the abrogation of the ,law2 the cross of ,christ is the victory over principalities and powers4 ,if we hold fast by it1 we are under no subjection to the former1 and have neither to fear nor reverence the latter4 ,i4 ,the ,cross of ,christ is the death of ,law4 ,the law is a written document4 ,it has an antagonistic aspect to us all1 ,gentiles as well as ,jews4 ,christ has blotted it out4 ,more than that1 ,he has taken it out of the way1 as if it were an obstacle lying right in the middle of our path4 ,more than that1 it is nailed to the cross4 ,that phrase has been explained by an alleged custom of repealing laws and cancelling bonds by driving a nail into them1 and fixing them up in public1 but proof of the practice is said to be wanting4 ,the thought seems to be deeper than that4 ,this antagonistic law is conceived of as being1 like the world1 crucified in the crucifixion of our ,lord4 ,the nails which fastened ,him to the cross fastened it1 and in ,his death it was done to death4 ,we are free from it1 that being dead in which we were held4 ,we have first1 then1 to consider the handwriting1 or1 as some would render the word1 the bond4 ,of course1 by law here is primarily meant the ,mosaic ceremonial law1 which was being pressed upon the ,colossians4 ,it is so completely antiquated for us1 that we have difficulty in realising what a fight for life and death raged round the question of its observance by the primitive ,church4 ,it is always harder to change customs than creeds1 and religious observances live on1 as every maypole on a village green tells us1 long after the beliefs which animated them are forgotten4 ,so there was a strong body among the early believers to whom it was flat blasphemy to speak of allowing the ,gentile ,christian to come into the ,church1 except through the old doorway of circumcision1 and to whom the outward ceremonial of ,judaism was the only visible religion4 ,that is the point directly at issue between ,paul and these teachers4 ,but the modern distinction between moral and ceremonial law had no existence in ,paul's mind1 any more than it has in the ,old ,testament1 where precepts of the highest morality and regulations of the merest ceremonial are interstratified in a way most surprising to us moderns4 ,to him the law was a homogeneous whole1 however diverse its commands1 because it was all the revelation of the will of ,god for the guidance of man4 ,it is the law as a whole1 in all its aspects and parts1 that is here spoken of1 whether as enjoining morality1 or external observances1 or as an accuser fastening guilt on the conscience1 or as a stern prophet of retribution and punishment4 ,further1 we must give a still wider extension to the thought4 ,the principles laid down are true not only in regard to the law1 but about all law1 whether it be written on the tables of stone1 or on the fleshy tables of the heart or conscience1 or in the systems of ethics1 or in the customs of society4 ,law1 as such1 howsoever enacted and whatever the bases of its rule1 is dealt with by ,christianity in precisely the same way as the venerable and ,god-given code of the ,old ,testament4 ,when we recognise that fact1 these discussions in ,paul's ,epistles flash up into startling vitality and interest4 ,it has long since been settled that ,jewish ritual is nothing to us4 ,but it ever remains a burning question for each of us1 ,what ,christianity does for us in relation to the solemn law of duty under which we are all placed1 and which we have all broken8 ,the antagonism of law is the next point presented by these words4 ,twice1 to add to the emphasis1 ,paul tells us that the law is against us4 ,it stands opposite us fronting us and frowning at us1 and barring our road4 ,is law then become our enemy because it tells us the truth8 ,surely this conception of law is a strange contrast to and descent from the rapturous delight of psalmists and prophets in the law of the ,lord4 ,surely ,god's greatest gift to man is the knowledge of ,his will1 and law is beneficent1 a light and a guide to men1 and even its strokes are merciful4 ,paul believed all that too4 ,but nevertheless the antagonism is very real4 ,as with ,god1 so with law1 if we be against ,him1 ,he cannot but be against us4 ,we may make ,him our dearest friend or our foe4 ,they rebelled 444 therefore ,he was turned to be their enemy and fought against them4 ,the revelation of duty to which we are not inclined is ever unwelcome4 ,law is against us1 because it comes like a taskmaster1 bidding us do1 but neither putting the inclination into our hearts1 nor the power into our hands4 ,and law is against us1 because the revelation of unfulfilled duty is the accusation of the defaulter and a revelation to him of his guilt4 ,and law is against us1 because it comes with threatenings and foretastes of penalty and pain4 ,thus as standard1 accuser and avenger1 it is--sad perversion of its nature and function though such an attitude be--against us4 ,we all know that4 ,strange and tragic it is1 but alas6 it is true1 that ,god's law presents itself before us as an enemy4 ,each of us has seen that apparition1 severe in beauty1 like the sword-bearing angel that ,balaam saw standing in the way between the vineyards1 blocking our path when we wanted to go frowardly in the way of our heart4 ,each of us knows what it is to see our sentence in the stern face4 ,the law of the ,lord should be to us sweeter than honey and the honeycomb1 but the corruption of the best is the worst1 and we can make it poison4 ,obeyed1 it is as the chariot of fire to bear us heavenward4 ,disobeyed1 it is an iron car that goes crashing on its way1 crushing all who set themselves against it4 ,to know what we ought to be and to love and try to be it1 is blessedness1 but to know it and to refuse to be it1 is misery4 ,in herself she wears the ,godhead's most benignant grace1 but if we turn against her1 ,law1 the daughter of the voice of ,god1 gathers frowns upon her face and her beauty becomes stern and threatening4 ,but the great principle here asserted is--the destruction of law in the cross of ,christ4 ,the cross ends the law's power of punishment4 ,paul believed that the burden and penalty of sin had been laid on ,jesus ,christ and borne by ,him on ,his cross4 ,in deep1 mysterious1 but most real identification of ,himself with the whole race of man1 ,he not only ,himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses1 by the might of ,his sympathy and the reality of ,his manhood1 but the ,lord made to meet upon ,him the iniquity of us all2 and ,he1 the ,lamb of ,god1 willingly accepted the load1 and bare away our sins by bearing their penalty4 ,to philosophise on that teaching of ,scripture is not my business here4 ,it is my business to assert it4 ,we can never penetrate to a full understanding of the rationale of ,christ's bearing the world's sins1 but that has nothing to do with the earnestness of our belief in the fact4 ,enough for us that in ,his person ,he willingly made experience of all the bitterness of sin3 that when ,he agonised in the dark on the cross1 and when from out of the darkness came that awful cry1 so strangely compact of wistful confidence and utter isolation1 ,my ,god1 ,my ,god1 why hast ,thou forsaken ,me8 it was something deeper than physical pain or shrinking from physical death that found utterance--even the sin-laden consciousness of ,him who in that awful hour gathered into ,his own breast the spear-points of a world's punishment4 ,the cross of ,christ is the endurance of the penalty of sin1 and therefore is the unloosing of the grip of the law upon us1 in so far as threatening and punishment are concerned4 ,it is not enough that we should only intellectually recognise that as a principle--it is the very heart of the gospel1 the very life of our souls4 ,trusting ourselves to that great sacrifice1 the dread of punishment will fade from our hearts1 and the thunder-clouds melt out of the sky1 and the sense of guilt will not be a sting1 but an occasion for lowly thankfulness1 and the law will have to draw the bolts of her prison-house and let our captive souls go free4 ,christ's cross is the end of law as ceremonial4 ,the whole elaborate ritual of the ,jew had sacrifice for its vital centre1 and the prediction of the ,great ,sacrifice for its highest purpose4 ,without the admission of these principles1 ,paul's position is unintelligible1 for he holds1 as in this context1 that ,christ's coming puts the whole system out of date1 because it fulfils it all4 ,when the fruit has set1 there is no more need for petals2 or1 as the ,apostle himself puts it1 when that which is perfect is come1 that which is in part is done away4 ,we have the reality1 and do not need the shadow4 ,there is but one temple for the ,christian soul--the temple of ,his body4 ,local sanctity is at an end1 for it was never more than an external picture of that spiritual fact which is realised in the ,incarnation4 ,christ is the dwelling-place of ,deity1 the meeting-place of ,god and man1 the place of sacrifice2 and1 builded on ,him1 we in ,him become a spiritual house4 ,there are none other temples than these4 ,christ is the great priest1 and in ,his presence all human priesthood loses its consecration1 for it could offer only external sacrifice1 and secure a local approach to a worldly sanctuary4 ,he is the real ,aaron1 and we in ,him become a royal priesthood4 ,there are none other priests than these4 ,christ is the true sacrifice4 ,his death is the real propitiation for sin1 and we in ,him become thank-offerings1 moved by ,his mercies to present ourselves living sacrifices4 ,there are none other offerings than these4 ,so the law as a code of ceremonial worship is done to death in the cross1 and1 like the temple veil1 is torn in two from the top to the bottom4 ,christ's cross is the end of law as moral rule4 ,nothing in ,paul's writings warrants the restriction to the ceremonial law of the strong assertion in the text1 and its many parallels4 ,of course1 such words do not mean that ,christian men are freed from the obligations of morality1 but they do mean that we are not bound to do the things contained in the law because they are there4 ,duty is duty now because we see the pattern of conduct and character in ,christ4 ,conscience is not our standard1 nor is the ,old ,testament conception of the perfect ideal of manhood4 ,we have neither to read law in the fleshy tables of the heart1 nor in the tables graven by ,god's own finger1 nor in men's parchments and prescriptions4 ,our law is the perfect life and death of ,christ1 who is at once the ideal of humanity and the reality of ,deity4 ,the weakness of all law is that it merely commands1 but has no power to get its commandments obeyed4 ,like a discrowned king1 it posts its proclamations1 but has no army at its back to execute them4 ,but ,christ puts ,his own power within us1 and ,his love in our hearts2 and so we pass from under the dominion of an external commandment into the liberty of an inward spirit4 ,he is to ,his followers both law and impulse4 ,he gives not the law of a carnal commandment1 but the power of an endless life4 ,the long schism between inclination and duty is at an end1 in so far as we are under the influence of ,christ's cross4 ,the great promise is fulfilled1 ,i will put ,my law into their minds and write it in their hearts2 and so1 glad obedience with the whole power of the new life1 for the sake of the love of the dear ,lord who has bought us by ,his death1 supersedes the constrained submission to outward precept4 ,a higher morality ought to characterise the partakers of the life of ,christ1 who have ,his example for their code1 and ,his love for their motive4 ,the tender voice that says1 ,if ye love ,me1 keep ,my commandments1 wins us to purer and more self-sacrificing goodness than the stern accents that can only say1 ,thou shalt--or else6 can ever enforce4 ,he came not to destroy1 but to fulfil4 ,the fulfilment was destruction in order to reconstruction in higher form4 ,law died with ,christ on the cross in order that it might rise and reign with ,him in our inmost hearts4 ,,ii4 ,the ,cross is the triumph over all the powers of evil4 ,there are considerable difficulties in the interpretation of verse #ae2 the main question being the meaning of the word rendered in the ,authorized ,version spoiled1 and in the ,r4 ,v4 having put off from ,himself4 ,it is the same word as is used in iii4 #i1 and is there rendered have put off2 while a cognate noun is found in verse #aa of this chapter1 and is there translated the putting off4 ,the form here must either mean having put off from oneself1 or having stripped 7others7 for oneself4 ,the former meaning is adopted by many commentators1 as well as by the ,r4 ,v41 and is explained to mean that ,christ having assumed our humanity1 was1 as it were1 wrapped about and invested with ,satanic temptations1 which ,he finally flung from ,him for ever in ,his death1 which was ,his triumph over the powers of evil4 ,the figure seems far-fetched and obscure1 and the rendering necessitates the supposition of a change in the person spoken of1 which must be ,god in the earlier part of the period1 and ,christ in the latter4 ,but if we adopt the other meaning1 which has equal warrant in the ,greek form1 having stripped for ,himself1 we get the thought that in the cross1 ,god has1 for ,his greater glory1 stripped principalities and powers4 ,taking this meaning1 we avoid the necessity of supposing with ,bishop ,lightfoot that there is a change of subject from ,god to ,christ at some point in the period including verses #ac to #ae--;an expedient which is made necessary by the impossibility of supposing that ,god divested ,himself of principalities or powers--and also avoid the other necessity of referring the whole period to ,christ1 which is another way out of that impossibility4 ,we thereby obtain a more satisfactory meaning than that ,christ in assuming humanity was assailed by temptations from the powers of evil which were1 as it were1 a poisoned garment clinging to ,him1 and which ,he stripped off from ,himself in ,his death4 ,further1 such a meaning as that which we adopt makes the whole verse a consistent metaphor in three stages1 whereas the other introduces an utterly incongruous and irrelevant figure4 ,what connection has the figure of stripping off a garment with that of a conqueror in his triumphal procession8 ,but if we read spoiled for ,himself principalities and powers1 we see the whole process before our eyes--the victor stripping his foes of arms and ornaments and dress1 then parading them as his captives1 and then dragging them at the wheels of his triumphal car4 ,the words point us into dim regions of which we know nothing more than ,scripture tells us4 ,these dreamers at ,colossae had much to say about a crowd of beings1 bad and good1 which linked men and matter with spirit and ,god4 ,we have heard already the emphasis with which ,paul has claimed for his ,master the sovereign authority of ,creator over all orders of being1 the headship over all principality and power4 ,he has declared1 too1 that from ,christ's cross a magnetic influence streams out upwards as well as earthwards1 binding all things together in the great reconciliation--and now he tells us that from that same cross shoot downwards darts of conquering power which subdue and despoil reluctant foes of other realms and regions than ours1 in so far as they work among men4 ,that there are such seems plainly enough asserted in ,christ's own words4 ,however much discredit has been brought on the thought by monastic and ,puritan exaggerations1 it is clearly the teaching of ,scripture2 and however it may be ridiculed or set aside1 it can never be disproved4 ,but the position which ,christianity takes in reference to the whole matter is to maintain that ,christ has conquered the banded kingdom of evil1 and that no man owes it fear or obedience1 if he will only hold fast by his ,lord4 ,in the cross is the judgment of this world1 and by it is the prince of this world cast out4 ,he has taken away the power of these ,powers who were so mighty amongst men4 ,they held men captive by temptations too strong to be overcome1 but ,he has conquered the lesser temptations of the wilderness and the sorer of the cross1 and therein has made us more than conquerors4 ,they held men captive by ignorance of ,god1 and the cross reveals ,him2 by the lie that sin was a trifle1 but the cross teaches us its gravity and power2 by the opposite lie that sin was unforgivable1 but the cross brings pardon for every transgression and cleansing for every stain4 ,by the cross the world is a redeemed world1 and1 as our ,lord said in words which may have suggested the figure of our text1 the strong man is bound1 and his house spoiled of all his armour wherein he trusted4 ,the prey is taken from the mighty and men are delivered from the dominion of evil4 ,so that dark kingdom is robbed of its subjects and its rulers impoverished and restrained4 ,the devout imagination of the monk-painter drew on the wall of the cell in his convent the conquering ,christ with white banner bearing a blood-red cross1 before whose glad coming the heavy doors of the prison-house fell from their hinges1 crushing beneath their weight the demon jailer1 while the long file of eager captives1 from ,adam onwards through ages of patriarchs and psalmists and prophets1 hurried forward with outstretched hands to meet the ,deliverer1 who came bearing ,his own atmosphere of radiance and joy4 ,christ has conquered4 ,his cross is ,his victory2 and in that victory ,god has conquered4 ,as the long files of the triumphal procession swept upwards to the temple with incense and music1 before the gazing eyes of a gathered glad nation1 while the conquered trooped chained behind the chariot1 that all men might see their fierce eyes gleaming beneath their matted hair1 and breathe more freely for the chains on their hostile wrists1 so in the world-wide issues of the work of ,christ1 ,god triumphs before the universe1 and enhances ,his glory in that ,he has rent the prey from the mighty and won men back to ,himself4 ,so we learn to think of evil as conquered1 and for ourselves in our own conflicts with the world1 the flesh1 and the devil1 as well as for the whole race of man1 to be of good cheer4 ,true1 the victory is but slowly being realised in all its consequences1 and often it seems as if no territory had been won4 ,but the main position has been carried1 and though the struggle is still obstinate1 it can end only in one way4 ,the brute dies hard1 but the naked heel of our ,christ has bruised his head1 and though still the dragon ,swinges the scaly horror of his folded tail1 his death will come sooner or later4 ,the regenerating power is lodged in the heart of humanity1 and the centre from which it flows is the cross4 ,the history of the world thenceforward is but the history of its more or less rapid assimilation of that power1 and of its consequent deliverance from the bondage in which it has been held4 ,the end can only be the entire and universal manifestation of the victory which was won when ,he bowed ,his head and died4 ,christ's cross is ,god's throne of triumph4 ,let us see that we have our own personal part in that victory4 ,holding to ,christ1 and drawing from ,him by faith a share in ,his new life1 we shall no longer be under the yoke of law1 but enfranchised into the obedience of love1 which is liberty4 ,we shall no longer be slaves of evil1 but sons and servants of our conquering ,god1 who woos and wins us by showing us all ,his love in ,christ1 and by giving us ,his own ,son on the ,cross1 our peace-offering4 ,if we let ,him overcome1 ,his victory will be life1 not death4 ,he will strip us of nothing but rags1 and clothe us in garments of purity2 ,he will so breathe beauty into us that ,he will show us openly to the universe as examples of ,his transforming power1 and ,he will bind us glad captives to ,his chariot wheels1 partakers of ,his victory as well as trophies of ,his all-conquering love4 ,now thanks be unto ,god1 which always triumphs over us in ,jesus ,christ4 ,,xv4 ,,warnings ,,against ,,twin ,,chief ,,errors1 ,,based ,,upon ,,previous ,,positive ,,teaching4 ,let no man therefore judge you in meat1 or in drink1 or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day3 which are a shadow of things to come2 but the body is ,christ's4 ,let no man rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshipping of the angels1 dwelling in the things which he hath seen1 vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind1 and not holding fast the ,head1 from whom all the body1 being supplied and knit together through the joints and bands1 increaseth with the increase of ,god4--,,col4 ii4 #af-ai 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,let no man therefore judge you4 ,that therefore sends us back to what the ,apostle has been saying in the previous verses1 in order to find there the ground of these earnest warnings4 ,that ground is the whole of the foregoing exposition of the ,christian relation to ,christ as far back as verse #i1 but especially the great truths contained in the immediately preceding verses1 that the cross of ,christ is the death of law1 and ,god's triumph over all the powers of evil4 ,because it is so1 the ,colossian ,christians are exhorted to claim and use their emancipation from both4 ,thus we have here the very heart and centre of the practical counsels of the ,epistle--the double blasts of the trumpet warning against the two most pressing dangers besetting the ,church4 ,they are the same two which we have often met already--on the one hand1 a narrow ,judaising enforcement of ceremonial and punctilios of outward observance2 on the other hand1 a dreamy ,oriental absorption in imaginations of a crowd of angelic mediators obscuring the one gracious presence of ,christ our ,intercessor4 ,i4 ,here then we have first1 the claim for ,christian liberty1 with the great truth on which it is built4 ,the points in regard to which that liberty is to be exercised are specified4 ,they are no doubt those1 in addition to circumcision1 which were principally in question then and there4 ,meat and drink refers to restrictions in diet1 such as the prohibition of unclean things in the ,mosaic law1 and the question of the lawfulness of eating meat offered to idols2 perhaps also1 such as the ,nazarite vow4 ,there were few regulations as to drink in the ,old ,testament1 so that probably other ascetic practices besides the ,mosaic regulations were in question1 but these must have been unimportant1 else ,paul could not have spoken of the whole as being a shadow of things to come4 ,the second point in regard to which liberty is here claimed is that of the sacred seasons of ,judaism3 the annual festivals1 the monthly feast of the new moon1 the weekly ,sabbath4 ,the relation of the ,gentile converts to these ,jewish practices was an all-important question for the early ,church4 ,it was really the question whether ,christianity was to be more than a ,jewish sect--and the main force which1 under ,god1 settled the contest1 was the vehemence and logic of the ,apostle ,paul4 ,here he lays down the ground on which that whole question about diet and days1 and all such matters1 is to be settled4 ,they are a shadow of things to come but the body is of ,christ4 ,coming events cast their shadows before4 ,that great work of ,divine love1 the mission of ,christ1 ,whose goings forth have been from everlasting1 may be thought of as having set out from the ,throne as soon as time was1 travelling in the greatness of its strength1 like the beams of some far-off star that have not yet reached a dark world4 ,the light from the ,throne is behind ,him as ,he advances across the centuries1 and the shadow is thrown far in front4 ,now that involves two thoughts about the ,mosaic law and whole system4 ,first1 the purely prophetic and symbolic character of the ,old ,testament order1 and especially of the ,old ,testament ritual4 ,the absurd extravagance of many attempts to spiritualize the latter should not blind us to the truth which they caricature4 ,nor1 on the other hand1 should we be so taken with new attempts to reconstruct our notions of ,jewish history and the dates of ,old ,testament books1 as to forget that1 though the ,new ,testament is committed to no theory on these points1 it is committed to the ,divine origin and prophetic purpose of the ,mosaic law and ,levitical worship4 ,we should thankfully accept all teaching which free criticism and scholarship can give us as to the process by which1 and the time when1 that great symbolic system of acted prophecy was built up2 but we shall be further away than ever from understanding the ,old ,testament if we have gained critical knowledge of its genesis1 and have lost the belief that its symbols were given by ,god to prophesy of ,his ,son4 ,that is the key to both ,testaments2 and ,i cannot but believe that the uncritical reader who reads his book of the law and the prophets with that conviction1 has got nearer the very marrow of the book1 than the critic1 if he have parted with it1 can ever come4 ,sacrifice1 altar1 priest1 temple spake of ,him4 ,the distinctions of meats were meant1 among other purposes1 to familiarize men with the conceptions of purity and impurity1 and so1 by stimulating conscience1 to wake the sense of need of a ,purifier4 ,the yearly feasts set forth various aspects of the great work of ,christ1 and the sabbath showed in outward form the rest into which ,he leads those who cease from their own works and wear ,his yoke4 ,all these observances1 and the whole system to which they belong1 are like out-riders who precede a prince on his progress1 and as they gallop through sleeping villages1 rouse them with the cry1 ,the king is coming6 ,and when the king has come1 where are the heralds8 and when the reality has come1 who wants symbols8 and if that which threw the shadow forward through the ages has arrived1 how shall the shadow be visible too8 ,therefore the second principle here laid down1 namely the cessation of all these observances1 and their like1 is really involved in the first1 namely their prophetic character4 ,the practical conclusion drawn is very noteworthy1 because it seems much narrower than the premises warrant4 ,paul does not say--therefore let no man observe any of these any more2 but takes up the much more modest ground--let no man judge you about them4 ,he claims a wide liberty of variation1 and all that he repels is the right of anybody to dragoon ,christian men into ceremonial observances on the ground that they are necessary4 ,he does not quarrel with the rites1 but with men insisting on the necessity of the rites4 ,in his own practice he gave the best commentary on his meaning4 ,when they said to him1 ,you must circumcise ,titus1 he said1 ,then ,i will not4 ,when nobody tried to compel him1 he took ,timothy1 and of his own accord circumcised him to avoid scandals4 ,when it was needful as a protest1 he rode right over all the prescriptions of the law1 and did eat with ,gentiles4 ,when it was advisable as a demonstration that he himself walked orderly and kept the law1 he performed the rites of purification and united in the temple worship4 ,in times of transition wise supporters of the new will not be in a hurry to break with the old4 ,i will lead on softly1 according as the flock and the children be able to endure1 said ,jacob1 and so says every good shepherd4 ,the brown sheaths remain on the twig after the tender green leaf has burst from within them1 but there is no need to pull them off1 for they will drop presently4 ,i will wear three surplices if they like1 said ,luther once4 ,neither if we eat are we the better1 neither if we eat not are we the worse1 said ,paul4 ,such is the spirit of the words here4 ,it is a plea for ,christian liberty4 ,if not insisted on as necessary1 the outward observances may be allowed4 ,if they are regarded as helps1 or as seemly adjuncts or the like1 there is plenty of room for difference of opinion and for variety of practice1 according to temperament and taste and usage4 ,there are principles which should regulate even these diversities of practice1 and ,paul has set these forth1 in the great chapter about meats in the ,epistle to the ,romans4 ,but it is a different thing altogether when any external observances are insisted on as essential1 either from the old ,jewish or from the modern sacramentarian point of view4 ,if a man comes saying1 ,except ye be circumcised1 ye cannot be saved1 the only right answer is1 ,then ,i will not be circumcised1 and if you are1 because you believe that you cannot be saved without it1 ,christ is become of none effect to you4 ,nothing is necessary but union to ,him1 and that comes through no outward observance1 but through the faith which worketh by love4 ,therefore1 let no man judge you1 but repel all such attempts at thrusting any ceremonial ritual observances on you1 on the plea of necessity1 with the emancipating truth that the cross of ,christ is the death of law4 ,a few words may be said here on the bearing of the principles laid down in these verses on the religious observance of ,sunday4 ,the obligation of the ,jewish sabbath has passed away as much as sacrifices and circumcision4 ,that seems unmistakably the teaching here4 ,but the institution of a weekly day of rest is distinctly put in ,scripture as independent of1 and prior to1 the special form and meaning given to the institution in the ,mosaic law4 ,that is the natural conclusion from the narrative of the creative rest in ,genesis1 and from our ,lord's emphatic declaration that the sabbath was made for man--that is to say1 for the race4 ,many traces of the pre-,mosaic sabbath have been adduced1 and among others we may recall the fact that recent researches show it to have been observed by the ,accadians1 the early inhabitants of ,assyria4 ,it is a physical and moral necessity1 and that is a sadly mistaken benevolence which on the plea of culture or amusement for the many1 compels the labour of the few1 and breaks down the distinction between the ,sunday and the rest of the week4 ,the religious observance of the first day of the week rests on no recorded command1 but has a higher origin1 inasmuch as it is the outcome of a felt want4 ,the early disciples naturally gathered together for worship on the day which had become so sacred to them4 ,at first1 no doubt1 they observed the ,jewish sabbath1 and only gradually came to the practice which we almost see growing before our eyes in the ,acts of the ,apostles1 in the mention of the disciples at ,troas coming together on the first day of the week to break bread1 and which we gather1 from the ,apostle's instructions as to weekly setting apart money for charitable purposes1 to have existed in the ,church at ,corinth2 as we know1 that even in his lonely island prison far away from the company of his brethren1 the ,apostle ,john was in a condition of high religious contemplation on the ,lord's day1 ere yet he heard the solemn voice and saw the things which are4 ,this gradual growing up of the practice is in accordance with the whole spirit of the ,new ,covenant1 which has next to nothing to say about the externals of worship1 and leaves the new life to shape itself4 ,judaism gave prescriptions and minute regulations2 ,christianity1 the religion of the spirit1 gives principles4 ,the necessity1 for the nourishment of the ,divine life1 of the religious observance of the day of rest is certainly not less now than at first4 ,in the hurry and drive of our modern life with the world forcing itself on us at every moment1 we cannot keep up the warmth of devotion unless we use this day1 not merely for physical rest1 and family enjoyment1 but for worship4 ,they who know their own slothfulness of spirit1 and are in earnest in seeking after a deeper1 fuller ,christian life1 will thankfully own1 the week were dark but for its light4 ,i distrust the spirituality which professes that all life is a sabbath1 and therefore holds itself absolved from special seasons of worship4 ,if the stream of devout communion is to flow through all our days1 there must be frequent reservoirs along the road1 or it will be lost in the sand1 like the rivers of higher ,asia4 ,it is a poor thing to say1 keep the day as a day of worship because it is a commandment4 ,better to think of it as a great gift for the highest purposes2 and not let it be merely a day of rest for jaded bodies1 but make it one of refreshment for cumbered spirits1 and rekindle the smouldering flame of devotion1 by drawing near to ,christ in public and in private4 ,so shall we gather stores that may help us to go in the strength of that meat for some more marches on the dusty road of life4 ,,ii4 ,the ,apostle passes on to his second peal of warning1--that against the teaching about angel mediators1 which would rob the ,colossian ,christians of their prize1--and draws a rapid portrait of the teachers of whom they are to beware4 ,let no man rob you of your prize4 ,the metaphor is the familiar one of the race or the wrestling ground2 the umpire or judge is ,christ2 the reward is that incorruptible crown of glory1 of righteousness1 woven not of fading bay leaves1 but of sprays from the tree of life1 which dower with undying blessedness the brows round which they are wreathed4 ,certain people are trying to rob them of their prize--not consciously1 for that would be inconceivable1 but such is the tendency of their teaching4 ,no names will be mentioned1 but he draws a portrait of the robber with swift firm hand1 as if he had said1 ,if you want to know whom ,i mean1 here he is4 ,four clauses1 like four rapid strokes of the pencil1 do it1 and are marked in the ,greek by four participles1 the first of which is obscured in the ,authorised ,version4 ,delighting in humility and the worshipping of angels4 ,so probably the first clause should be rendered4 ,the first words are almost contradictory1 and are meant to suggest that the humility has not the genuine ring about it4 ,self-conscious humility in which a man takes delight is not the real thing4 ,a man who knows that he is humble1 and is self-complacent about it1 glancing out of the corners of his downcast eyes at any mirror where he can see himself1 is not humble at all4 ,the devil's darling vice is the pride which apes humility4 ,so very humble were these people that they would not venture to pray to ,god6 ,there was humility indeed4 ,so far beneath did they feel themselves1 that the utmost they could do was to lay hold of the lowest link of a long chain of angel mediators1 in hope that the vibration might run upwards through all the links1 and perhaps reach the throne at last4 ,such fantastic abasement which would not take ,god at ,his word1 nor draw near to ,him in ,his ,son1 was really the very height of pride4 ,then follows a second descriptive clause1 of which no altogether satisfactory interpretation has yet been given4 ,possibly1 as has been suggested1 we have here an early error in the text1 which has affected all the manuscripts1 and cannot now be corrected4 ,perhaps1 on the whole1 the translation adopted by the ,revised ,version presents the least difficulty--dwelling in the things which he hath seen4 ,in that case the seeing would be not by the senses1 but by visions and pretended revelations1 and the charge against the false teachers would be that they walked in a vain show of unreal imaginations and visionary hallucinations1 whose many-coloured misleading lights they followed rather than the plain sunshine of revealed facts in ,jesus ,christ4 ,vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind is the next feature in the portrait4 ,the self-conscious humility was only skin deep1 and covered the utmost intellectual arrogance4 ,the heretic teacher1 like a blown bladder1 was swollen with what after all was only wind2 he was dropsical from conceit of mind1 or1 as we should say1 intellectual ability1 which after all was only the instrument and organ of the flesh1 the sinful self4 ,and1 of course1 being all these things1 he would have no firm grip of ,christ1 from whom such tempers and views were sure to detach him4 ,therefore the damning last clause of the indictment is not holding the ,head4 ,how could he do so8 ,and the slackness of his grasp of the ,lord ,jesus would make all these errors and faults ten times worse4 ,now the special forms of these errors which are here dealt with are all gone past recall4 ,but the tendencies which underlay these special forms are as rampant as ever1 and work unceasingly to loosen our hold of our dear ,lord4 ,the worship of angels is dead1 but we are still often tempted to think that we are too lowly and sinful to claim our portion of the faithful promises of ,god4 ,the spurious humility is by no means out of date1 which knows better than ,god does1 whether ,he can forgive us our sins1 and bend over us in love4 ,we do not slip in angel mediators between ourselves and ,him1 but the tendency to put the sole work of ,jesus ,christ into commission1 is not dead4 ,we are all tempted to grasp at others as well as at ,him1 for our love1 and trust1 and obedience1 and we all need the reminder that to lay hold of any other props is to lose hold of ,him1 and that he who does not cleave to ,christ alone1 does not cleave to ,christ at all4 ,we do not see visions and dream dreams any more1 except here and there some one led astray by a so-called spiritualism1 but plenty of us attach more importance to our own subjective fancies or speculations about the obscurer parts of ,christianity than to the clear revelation of ,god in ,christ4 ,the unseen world has for many minds an unwholesome attraction4 ,the ,gnostic spirit is still in full force among us1 which despises the foundation facts and truths of the gospel as milk for babes1 and values its own baseless artificial speculations about subordinate matters1 which are unrevealed because they are subordinate1 and fascinating to some minds because unrevealed1 far above the truths which are clear because they are vital1 and insipid to such minds because they are clear4 ,we need to be reminded that ,christianity is not for speculation1 but to make us good1 and that ,he who has fashioned their hearts alike1 has made us all to live by the same air1 to be nourished by the same bread from heaven1 to be saved and purified by the same truth4 ,that is the gospel which the little child can understand1 of which the outcast and the barbarian can get some kind of hold1 which the failing spirit groping in the darkness of death can dimly see as its light in the valley--that is the all-important part of the gospel4 ,what needs special training and capacity to understand is no essential portion of the truth that is meant for the world4 ,and a swollen self-conceit is of all things the most certain to keep a man away from ,christ4 ,we must feel our utter helplessness and need1 before we shall lay hold on ,him1 and if ever that wholesome lowly sense of our own emptiness is clouded over1 that moment will our fingers relax their tension1 and that moment will the flow of life into our deadness run slow and pause4 ,whatever slackens our hold of ,christ tends to rob us of the final prize1 that crown of life which ,he gives4 ,hence the solemn earnestness of these warnings4 ,it was not only a doctrine more or less that was at stake1 but it was their eternal life4 ,certain truths believed would increase the firmness of their hold on their ,lord1 and thereby would secure the prize4 ,disbelieved1 the disbelief would slacken their grasp of ,him1 and thereby would deprive them of it4 ,we are often told that the gospel gives heaven for right belief1 and that that is unjust4 ,but if a man does not believe a thing1 he cannot have in his character or feelings the influence which the belief of it would produce4 ,if he does not believe that ,christ died for his sins1 and that all his hopes are built on that great ,saviour1 he will not cleave to ,him in love and dependence4 ,if he does not so cleave to ,him he will not draw from ,him the life which would mould his character and stir him to run the race4 ,if he do not run the race he will never win nor wear the crown4 ,that crown is the reward and issue of character and conduct1 made possible by the communication of strength and new nature from ,jesus1 which again is made possible through our faith laying hold of ,him as revealed in certain truths1 and of these truths as revealing ,him4 ,therefore1 intellectual error may loose our hold on ,christ1 and if we slacken that1 we shall forfeit the prize4 ,mere speculative interest about the less plainly revealed corners of ,christian truth may1 and often do1 act in paralysing the limbs of the ,christian athlete4 ,ye did run well1 what hath hindered you8 has to be asked of many whom a spirit akin to this described in our text has made languid in the race4 ,to us all1 knowing in some measure how the whole sum of influences around us work to detach us from our ,lord1 and so to rob us of the prize which is inseparable from ,his presence1 the solemn exhortation which ,he speaks from heaven may well come1 ,hold fast that thou hast2 let no man take thy crown4 ,,iii4 ,the source and manner of all true growth is next set forth1 in order to enforce the warning1 and to emphasize the need of holding the ,head4 ,christ is not merely represented supreme and sovereign1 when ,he is called the head4 ,the metaphor goes much deeper1 and points to ,him as the source of a real spiritual life1 from ,him communicated to all the members of the true ,church1 and constituting it an organic whole4 ,we have found the same expression twice already in the ,epistle2 once as applied to ,his relation to the body1 the ,church 7i4 #ah71 and once in reference to the principalities and powers4 ,the errors in the ,colossian ,church derogated from ,christ's sole sovereign place as fountain of all life natural and spiritual for all orders of beings1 and hence the emphasis of the ,apostle's proclamation of the counter truth4 ,that life which flows from the head is diffused through the whole body by the various and harmonious action of all the parts4 ,the body is supplied and knit together1 or in other words1 the functions of nutrition and compaction into a whole are performed by the joints and bands1 in which last word are included muscles1 nerves1 tendons1 and any of the connecting bands which strap the body together4 ,their action is the condition of growth2 but the ,head is the source of all which the action of the members transmits to the body4 ,christ is the source of all nourishment4 ,from ,him flows the life-blood which feeds the whole1 and by which every form of supply is ministered whereby the body grows4 ,christ is the source of all unity4 ,churches have been bound together by other bonds1 such as creeds1 polity1 or even nationality2 but that external bond is only like a rope round a bundle of fagots1 while the true1 inward unity springing from common possession of the life of ,christ1 is as the unity of some great tree1 through which the same sap circulates from massive bole to the tiniest leaf that dances at the tip of the farthest branch4 ,these blessed results of supply and unity are effected through the action of the various parts4 ,if each organ is in healthy action1 the body grows4 ,there is diversity in offices2 the same life is light in the eyes1 beauty in the cheek1 strength in the hand1 thought in the brain4 ,the more you rise in the scale of life the more the body is differentiated1 from the simple sac that can be turned inside out and has no division of parts or offices1 up to man4 ,so in the ,church4 ,the effect of ,christianity is to heighten individuality1 and to give each man his own proper gift from ,god1 and therefore each man his office1 one after this manner and another after that4 ,therefore is there need for the freest possible unfolding of each man's idiosyncrasy1 heightened and hallowed by an indwelling ,christ1 lest the body should be the poorer if any member's activity be suppressed1 or any one man be warped from his own work wherein he is strong1 to become a feeble copy of another's4 ,the perfect light is the blending of all colours4 ,a community where each member thus holds firmly by the ,head1 and each ministers in his degree to the nourishment and compaction of the members1 will1 says ,paul1 increase with the increase of ,god4 ,the increase will come from ,him1 will be pleasing to ,him1 will be essentially the growth of ,his own life in the body4 ,there is an increase not of ,god4 ,these heretical teachers were swollen with dropsical self-conceit2 but this is wholesome1 solid growth4 ,for individuals and communities of professing ,christians the lesson is always seasonable1 that it is very easy to get an increase of the other kind4 ,the individual may increase in apparent knowledge1 in volubility1 in visions and speculations1 in so-called ,christian work2 the ,church may increase in members1 in wealth1 in culture1 in influence in the world1 in apparent activities1 in subscription lists1 and the like--and it may all be not sound growth1 but proud flesh1 which needs the knife4 ,one way only there is by which we may increase with the increase of ,god1 and that is that we keep fast hold of ,jesus ,christ1 and let ,him not go1 for ,he is our life4 ,the one exhortation which includes all that is needful1 and which being obeyed1 all ceremonies and all speculations will drop into their right place1 and become helps1 not snares1 is the exhortation which ,barnabas gave to the new ,gentile converts at ,antioch--that with purpose of heart they should cleave unto the ,lord4 ,,xvi4 ,,two ,,final ,,tests ,,of ,,the ,,false ,,teaching4 ,if ye died with ,christ from the rudiments of the world1 why1 as though living in the world1 do ye subject yourselves to ordinances4 ,handle not1 nor taste1 nor touch 7all which things are to perish with the using71 after the precepts and doctrines of men8 ,which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship1 and humility1 and severity to the body2 but are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh4--,,col4 ii4 #bj-bc 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,the polemical part of the ,epistle is now coming to an end4 ,we pass in the next chapter1 after a transitional paragraph1 to simple moral precepts which1 with personal details1 fill up the remainder of the letter4 ,the antagonist errors appear for the last time in the words which we have now to consider4 ,in these the ,apostle seems to gather up all his strength to strike two straight1 crashing1 final blows1 which pulverize and annihilate the theoretical positions and practical precepts of the heretical teachers4 ,first1 he puts in the form of an unanswerable demand for the reason for their teachings1 their radical inconsistency with the ,christian's death with ,christ1 which is the very secret of his life4 ,then1 by a contemptuous concession of their apparent value to people who will not look an inch below the surface1 he makes more emphatic their final condemnation as worthless--less than nothing and vanity--for the suppression of the flesh--the only aim of all moral and religious discipline4 ,so we have here two great tests by their conformity to which we may try all teachings which assume to regulate life1 and all ,christian teaching about the place and necessity for ritual and outward prescriptions of conduct4 ,ye are dead with ,christ4 ,all must fit in with that great fact4 ,the restraint and conquest of the flesh is the purpose of all religion and of all moral teaching--our systems must do that or they are naught1 however fascinating they may be4 ,i4 ,we have then to consider the great fact of the ,christian's death with ,christ1 and to apply it as a touch-stone4 ,the language of the ,apostle points to a definite time when the ,colossian ,christians died with ,christ4 ,that carries us back to former words in the chapter1 where1 as we found1 the period of their baptism considered as the symbol and profession of their conversion1 was regarded as the time of their burial4 ,they died with ,christ when they clave with penitent trust to the truth that ,christ died for them4 ,when a man unites himself by faith to the dying ,christ as his ,peace1 ,pardon1 and ,saviour1 then he too in a very real sense dies with ,jesus4 ,that thought that every ,christian is dead with ,christ1 runs through the whole of ,paul's teaching4 ,it is no mere piece of mysticism on his lips1 though it has often become so1 when divorced from morality1 as it has been by some ,christian teachers4 ,it is no mere piece of rhetoric1 though it has often become so1 when men have lost the true thought of what ,christ's death is for the world4 ,but to ,paul the cross of ,christ was1 first and foremost1 the altar of sacrifice on which the oblation had been offered that took away all his guilt and sin2 and then1 because it was that1 it became the law of his own life1 and the power that assimilated him to his ,lord4 ,the plain ,english of it all is1 that when a man becomes a ,christian by putting his trust in ,christ ,who died1 as the ground of his acceptance and salvation1 such a change takes place upon his whole nature and relationship to externals as is fairly comparable to a death4 ,the same illustration is frequent in ordinary speech4 ,what do we mean when we talk of an old man being dead to youthful passions or follies or ambitions8 ,we mean that they have ceased to interest him1 that he is separated from them and insensible to them4 ,death is the separator4 ,what an awful gulf there is between that fixed white face beneath the sheet1 and all the things about which the man was so eager an hour ago6 ,how impossible for any cries of love to pass the chasm6 ,his sons come to honour1 and he knoweth it not4 ,the business which filled his thoughts1 crumbles to pieces1 and he cares not4 ,nothing reaches him or interests him any more4 ,so1 if we have got hold of ,christ as our ,saviour1 and have found in ,his cross the anchor of souls1 that experience will deaden us to all which was our life1 and the measure in which we are joined to ,jesus by our faith in ,his great sacrifice1 will be the measure in which we are detached from our former selves1 and from old objects of interest and pursuit4 ,the change may either be called dying with ,christ1 or rising with ,him4 ,the one phrase takes hold of it at an earlier stage than the other2 the one puts stress on our ceasing to be what we were1 the other on our beginning to be what we were not4 ,so our text is followed by a paragraph corresponding in form and substance1 and beginning1 ,if ye then be risen with ,christ1 as this begins1 ,if ye died with ,christ6 ,such detachment from externals and separation from a former self is not unknown in ordinary life4 ,strong emotion of any kind makes us insensible to things around1 and even to physical pain4 ,many a man with the excitement of the battle-field boiling in his brain1 receives but recks not of a wound4 ,absorption of thought and interest leads to what is called absence of mind1 where the surroundings are entirely unfelt1 as in the case of the saint who rode all day on the banks of the ,swiss lake1 plunged in theological converse1 and at evening asked where the lake was1 though its waves had been rippling for twenty miles at his mule's feet4 ,higher tastes drive out lower ones1 as some great stream turned into a new channel will sweep it clear of mud and rubbish4 ,so1 if we are joined to ,christ1 ,he will fill our souls with strong emotions and interests which will deaden our sensitiveness to things around us1 and will inspire new loves1 tastes and desires1 which will make us indifferent to much that we used to be eager about and hostile to much that we once cherished4 ,to what shall we die if we are ,christians8 ,the ,apostle answers that question in various ways1 which we may profitably group together4 ,reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin 7,rom4 vi4 #aa74 ,he died for all1 that they which live should no longer live unto themselves 7#b ,cor4 v4 #ad1 #ae74 ,ye are become dead to the law 7,rom4 vii4 #f74 ,by the cross of ,christ1 the world hath been crucified unto me1 and ,i unto the world4 ,so then1 to the whole mass of outward material things1 all this present order which surrounds us1 to the unrenounced self which has ruled us so long1 and to the sin which results from the appeals of outward things to that evil self--to these1 and to the mere outward letter of a commandment which is impotent to enforce its own behests or deliver self from the snares of the world and the burden of sin1 we cease to belong in the measure in which we are ,christ's4 ,the separation is not complete2 but1 if we are ,christians at all1 it is begun1 and henceforward our life is to be a dying daily4 ,it must either be a dying life or a living death4 ,we shall still belong in our outward being--and1 alas6 far too much in heart also--to the world and self and sin--but1 if we are ,christians at all1 there will be a real separation from these in the inmost heart of our hearts1 and the germ of entire deliverance from them all will be in us4 ,this day needs that truth to be strongly urged4 ,the whole meaning of the death of ,christ is not reached when it is regarded as the great propitiation for our sins4 ,is it the pattern for our lives8 has it drawn us away from our love of the world1 from our sinful self1 from the temptations to sin1 from cowering before duties which we hate but dare not neglect8 has it changed the current of our lives1 and lifted us into a new region where we find new interests1 loves and aims1 before which the twinkling lights1 which once were stars to us1 pale their ineffectual fires8 ,if so1 then1 just in as much as it is so1 and not one hair's breadth the more1 may we call ourselves ,christians4 ,if not1 it is of no use for us to talk about looking to the cross as the source of our salvation4 ,such a look1 if it be true and genuine1 will certainly change all a man's tastes1 habits1 aspirations1 and relationships4 ,if we know nothing of dying with ,christ1 it is to be feared we know as little of ,christ's dying for us4 ,this great fact of the ,christian's death with ,christ comes into view here mainly as pointing the contradiction between the ,christian's position1 and his subjection to the prescriptions and prohibitions of a religion which consists chiefly in petty rules about conduct4 ,we are dead says ,paul1 to the rudiments of the world1--a phrase which we have already heard in verse #h of this chapter1 where we found its meaning to be precepts of an elementary character1 fit for babes1 not for men in ,christ1 and moving principally in the region of the material4 ,it implies a condemnation of all such regulation religion on the two grounds1 that it is an anachronism1 seeking to perpetuate an earlier stage which has been left behind1 and that it has to do with the outsides of things1 with the material and visible only4 ,to such rudiments we are dead with ,christ4 ,then1 queries ,paul1 with irresistible triumphant question--why1 in the name of consistency1 do you subject yourself to ordinances 7of which we have already heard in verse #ad of the chapter7 such as handle not1 nor taste1 nor touch8 ,these three prohibitions are not ,paul's1 but are quoted by him as specimens of the kind of rules and regulations which he is protesting against4 ,the ascetic teachers kept on vehemently reiterating their prohibitions1 and as the correct rendering of the words shows1 with a constantly increasing intolerance4 ,handle not is a less rigid prohibition than touch not4 ,the first says1 ,do not lay hold of2 the last ,do not even touch with the tip of your finger4 ,so asceticism1 like many another tendency and habit1 grows by indulgence1 and demands abstinence ever more rigid and separation ever more complete4 ,and the whole thing is out of date1 and a misapprehension of the genius of ,christianity4 ,man's work in religion is ever to confine it to the surface1 to throw it outward and make it a mere round of things done and things abstained from4 ,christ's work in religion is to drive it inwards1 and to focus all its energy on the hidden man of the heart1 knowing that if that be right1 the visible will come right4 ,it is waste labour to try to stick figs on the prickles of a thorn bush--as is the tree1 so will be the fruit4 ,there are plenty of pedants and martinets in religion as well as on the parade ground4 ,there must be so many buttons on the uniform1 and the shoulder belts must be pipe-clayed1 and the rifles on the shoulders sloped at just such an angle--and then all will be right4 ,perhaps so4 ,disciplined courage is better than courage undisciplined4 ,but there is much danger of all the attention being given to drill1 and then1 when the parade ground is exchanged for the battle-field1 disaster comes because there is plenty of etiquette and no dash4 ,men's lives are pestered out of them by a religion which tries to tie them down with as many tiny threads as those with which the ,liliputians fastened down ,gulliver4 ,but ,christianity in its true and highest forms is not a religion of prescriptions but of principles4 ,it does not keep perpetually dinning a set of petty commandments and prohibitions into our ears4 ,its language is not a continual ,do this1 forbear from that1--but ,love1 and thou fulfillest the law4 ,it works from the centre outwards to the circumference2 first making clean the inside of the platter1 and so ensuring that the outside shall be clean also4 ,the error with which ,paul fought1 and which perpetually crops up anew1 having its roots deep in human nature1 begins with the circumference and wastes effort in burnishing the outside4 ,the parenthesis which follows in the text1 all which things are to perish with the using1 contains an incidental remark intended to show the mistake of attaching such importance to regulations about diet and the like1 from the consideration of the perishableness of these meats and drinks about which so much was said by the false teachers4 ,they are all destined for corruption1 for physical decomposition--in the very act of consumption4 ,you cannot use them without using them up4 ,they are destroyed in the very moment of being used4 ,is it fitting for men who have died with ,christ to this fleeting world1 to make so much of its perishable things8 ,may we not widen this thought beyond its specific application here1 and say that death with ,christ to the world should deliver us from the temptation of making much of the things which perish with the using1 whether that temptation is presented in the form of attaching exaggerated religious importance to ascetic abstinence from them or in that of exaggerated regard and unbridled use of them8 ,asceticism and ,sybaritic luxury have in common an over-estimate of the importance of the material things4 ,the one is the other turned inside out4 ,dives in his purple and fine linen1 and the ascetic in his hair shirt1 both make too much of what they shall put on4 ,the one with his feasts and the other with his fasts both think too much of what they shall eat and drink4 ,a man who lives on high with his ,lord puts all these things in their right place4 ,there are things which do not perish with the using1 but grow with use1 like the five loaves in ,christ's hands4 ,truth1 love1 holiness1 all ,christlike graces and virtues increase with exercise1 and the more we feed on the bread which comes down from heaven1 the more shall we have for our own nourishment and for our brother's need4 ,there is a treasure which faileth not1 bags which wax not old1 the durable riches and undecaying possessions of the soul that lives on ,christ and grows like ,him4 ,these let us seek after2 for if our religion be worth anything at all1 it should carry us past all the fleeting wealth of earth straight into the heart of things1 and give us for our portion that ,god whom we can never exhaust1 nor outgrow1 but possess the more as we use ,his sweetness for the solace1 and ,his all-sufficient ,being for the good1 of our souls4 ,the final inconsistency between the ,christian position and the practical errors in question is glanced at in the words after the commandments and doctrines of men1 which refer1 of course1 to the ordinances of which ,paul is speaking4 ,the expression is a quotation from ,isaiah's 7xxix4 #ac7 denunciation of the ,pharisees of his day1 and as used here seems to suggest that our ,lord's great discourse on the worthlessness of the ,jewish punctilios about meats and drinks was in the ,apostle's mind1 since the same words of ,isaiah occur there in a similar connection4 ,it is not fitting that we1 who are withdrawn from dependence on the outward visible order of things by our union with ,christ in ,his death1 should be under the authority of men4 ,here is the true democracy of the ,christian society4 ,ye were redeemed with a price4 ,be not the servants of men4 ,our union to ,jesus ,christ is a union of absolute authority and utter submission4 ,we all have access to the one source of illumination1 and we are bound to take our orders from the one ,master4 ,the protest against the imposition of human authority on the ,christian soul is made not in the interests of self-will1 but from reverence to the only voice that has the right to give autocratic commands and to receive unquestioning obedience4 ,we are free in proportion as we are dead to the world with ,christ4 ,we are free from men not that we may please ourselves1 but that we may please ,him4 ,hold your peace1 ,i want to hear what my ,master has to command me1 is the language of the ,christian freedman1 who is free that he may serve1 and because he serves4 ,,ii4 ,we have to consider one great purpose of all teaching and external worship1 by its power in attaining which any system is to be tried4 ,which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship1 and humility1 and severity to the body1 but are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh4 ,here is the conclusion of the whole matter1 the parting summary of the indictment against the whole irritating tangle of restrictions and prescriptions4 ,from a moral point of view it is worthless1 as having no coercive power over the flesh4 ,therein lies its conclusive condemnation1 for if religious observances do not help a man to subdue his sinful self1 what1 in the name of common sense1 is the use of them8 ,the ,apostle knows very well that the system which he was opposing had much which commended it to people1 especially to those who did not look very deep4 ,it had a show of wisdom very fascinating on a superficial glance1 and that in three points1 all of which caught the vulgar eye1 and all of which turned into the opposite on closer examination4 ,it has the look of being exceeding devotion and zealous worship4 ,these teachers with their abundant forms impose upon the popular imagination1 as if they were altogether given up to devout contemplation and prayer4 ,but if one looks a little more closely at them1 one sees that their devotion is the indulgence of their own will and not surrender to ,god's4 ,they are not worshipping ,him as ,he has appointed1 but as they have themselves chosen1 and as they are rendering services which ,he has not required1 they are in a very true sense worshipping their own wills1 and not ,god at all4 ,by will-worship seems to be meant self-imposed forms of religious service which are the outcome not of obedience1 nor of the instincts of a devout heart1 but of a man's own will4 ,and the ,apostle implies that such supererogatory and volunteered worship is no worship4 ,whether offered in a cathedral or a barn1 whether the worshipper wear a cope or a fustian jacket1 such service is not accepted4 ,a prayer which is but the expression of the worshipper's own will1 instead of being not my will but ,thine be done1 reaches no higher than the lips that utter it4 ,if we are subtly and half unconsciously obeying self even while we seem to be bowing before ,god2 if we are seeming to pray1 and are all the while burning incense to ourselves1 instead of being drawn out of ourselves by the beauty and the glory of the ,god towards whom our spirits yearn1 then our devotion is a mask1 and our prayers will be dispersed in empty air4 ,the deceptive appearance of wisdom in these teachers and their doctrines is further manifest in the humility which felt so profoundly the gulf between man and ,god that it was fain to fill the void with its fantastic creations of angel mediators4 ,humility is a good thing1 and it looked very humble to say1 ,we cannot suppose that such insignificant flesh-encompassed creatures as we can come into contact and fellowship with ,god2 but it was a great deal more humble to take ,god at ,his word1 and to let ,him lay down the possibilities and conditions of intercourse1 and to tread the way of approach to ,him which ,he has appointed4 ,if a great king were to say to all the beggars and ragged losels of his capital1 ,come to the palace to-morrow2 which would be the humbler1 he who went1 rags and leprosy and all1 or he who hung back because he was so keenly conscious of his squalor8 ,god says to men1 ,come to ,my arms through ,my ,son4 ,never mind the dirt1 come4 ,which is the humbler3 he who takes ,god at ,his word1 and runs to hide his face on his ,father's breast1 having access to ,him through ,christ the ,way1 or he who will not venture near till he has found some other mediators besides ,christ8 ,a humility so profound that it cannot think ,god's promise and ,christ's mediation enough for it1 has gone so far ,west that it has reached the ,east1 and from humility has become pride4 ,further1 this system has a show of wisdom in severity to the body4 ,any asceticism is a great deal more to men's taste than abandoning self4 ,they will rather stick hooks in their backs and do the swinging poojah1 than give up their sins or yield up their wills4 ,it is easier to travel the whole distance from ,cape ,comorin to the shrine of ,juggernaut1 measuring every foot of it by the body laid prostrate in the dust1 than to surrender the heart to the love of ,god4 ,in the same manner the milder forms of putting oneself to pain1 hair shirts1 scourgings1 abstinence from pleasant things with the notion that thereby merit is acquired1 or sin atoned for1 have a deep root in human nature1 and hence a show of wisdom4 ,it is strange1 and yet not strange1 that people should think that1 somehow or other1 they recommend themselves to ,god by making themselves uncomfortable1 but so it is that religion presents itself to many minds mainly as a system of restrictions and injunctions which forbids the agreeable and commands the unpleasant4 ,so does our poor human nature vulgarise and travesty ,christ's solemn command to deny ourselves and take up our cross after ,him4 ,the conclusive condemnation of all the crowd of punctilious restrictions of which the ,apostle has been speaking lies in the fact that1 however they may correspond to men's mistaken notions1 and so seem to be the dictate of wisdom1 they are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh4 ,this is one great end of all moral and spiritual discipline1 and if practical regulations do not tend to secure it1 they are worthless4 ,of course by flesh here we are to understand1 as usually in the ,pauline ,epistles1 not merely the body but the whole unregenerate personality1 the entire unrenewed self that thinks and feels and wills and desires apart from ,god4 ,to indulge and satisfy it is to die1 to slay and suppress it is to live4 ,all these ordinances with which the heretical teachers were pestering the ,colossians1 have no power1 ,paul thinks1 to keep that self down1 and therefore they seem to him so much rubbish4 ,he thus lifts the whole question up to a higher level and implies a standard for judging much formal outward ,christianity which would make very short work of it4 ,a man may be keeping the whole round of them and seven devils may be in his heart4 ,they distinctly tend to foster some of the works of the flesh1 such as self-righteousness1 uncharitableness1 censoriousness1 and they as distinctly altogether fail to subdue any of them4 ,a man may stand on a pillar like ,simeon ,stylites for years1 and be none the better4 ,historically1 the ascetic tendency has not been associated with the highest types of real saintliness except by accident1 and has never been their productive cause4 ,the bones rot as surely inside the sepulchre though the whitewash on its dome be ever so thick4 ,so the world and the flesh are very willing that ,christianity should shrivel into a religion of prohibitions and ceremonials1 because all manner of vices and meannesses may thrive and breed under these1 like scorpions under stones4 ,there is only one thing that will put the collar on the neck of the animal within us1 and that is the power of the indwelling ,christ4 ,the evil that is in us all is too strong for every other fetter4 ,its cry to all these commandments and ordinances of men is1 ,jesus ,i know1 and ,paul ,i know1 but who are ye8 ,not in obedience to such1 but in the reception into our spirits of ,his own life1 is our power of victory over self4 ,this ,i say1 ,walk in the ,spirit1 and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh4 ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,present ,,christian ,,life1 ,a ,,risen ,,life4 ,if then ye were raised together with ,christ1 seek the things that are above1 where ,christ is1 seated on the right hand of ,god4 ,set your mind on the things that are above1 not on the things that are upon the earth4 ,for ye died1 and your life is hid with ,christ in ,god4 ,when ,christ1 ,who is our life1 shall be manifested1 then shall ye also with ,him be manifested in glory4--,,col4 iii4 #a-d 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,we have now done with controversy4 ,we hear no more about heretical teachers4 ,the ,apostle has cut his way through the tangled thickets of error1 and has said his say as to the positive truths with which he would hew them down4 ,for the remainder of the letter1 we have principally plain practical exhortations1 and a number of interesting personal details4 ,the paragraph which we have now to consider is the transition from the controversial to the ethical portion of the ,epistle4 ,it touches the former by its first words1 ,if ye then were raised together with ,christ1 which correspond in form and refer in meaning to the beginning of the previous paragraph1 ,if ye died with ,christ4 ,it touches the latter because it embodies the broad general precept1 ,seek the things that are above1 of which the following practical directions are but varying applications in different spheres of duty4 ,in considering these words we must begin by endeavouring to put clearly their connection and substance4 ,as they flew from ,paul's eager lips1 motive and precept1 symbol and fact1 the present and future are blended together4 ,it may conduce to clearness if we try to part these elements4 ,there are here two similar exhortations1 side by side4 ,seek the things that are above1 and ,set your mind on the things that are above4 ,the first is preceded1 and the second is followed by its reason4 ,so the two laws of conduct are1 as it were1 enclosed like a kernel in its shell1 or a jewel in a gold setting1 by encompassing motives4 ,these considerations1 in which the commandment are imbedded1 are the double thought of union with ,christ in ,his resurrection1 and in ,his death1 and as consequent thereon1 participation in ,his present hidden life1 and in ,his future glorious manifestation4 ,so we have here the present budding life of the ,christian in union with the risen1 hidden ,christ2 the future consummate flower of the ,christian life in union with the glorious manifested ,christ2 and the practical aim and direction which alone is consistent with either bud or flower4 ,i4 ,the present budding life of the ,christian in union with the risen1 hidden ,christ4 ,two aspects of this life are set forth in verses #a and #c--raised with ,christ1 and ye died1 and your life is hid with ,christ4 ,a still profounder thought lies in the words of verse #d1 ,christ is our life4 ,we have seen in former parts of this ,epistle that ,paul believed that1 when a man puts ,his faith in ,jesus ,christ1 he is joined to ,him in such a way that he is separated from his former self and dead to the world4 ,that great change may be considered either with reference to what the man has ceased to be1 or with reference to what he becomes4 ,in the one aspect1 it is a death2 in the other1 it is a resurrection4 ,it depends on the point of view whether a semicircle seems convex or concave4 ,the two thoughts express substantially the same fact4 ,that great change was brought about in these ,colossian ,christians1 at a definite time1 as the language shows2 and by a definite means--namely1 by union with ,christ through faith1 which grasps ,his death and resurrection as at once the ground of salvation1 the pattern for life1 and the prophecy of glory4 ,so then1 the great truths here are these2 the impartation of life by union with ,christ1 which life is truly a resurrection life1 and is1 moreover1 hidden with ,christ in ,god4 ,union with ,christ by faith is the condition of a real communication of life4 ,in ,him was life1 says ,john's ,gospel1 meaning thereby to assert1 in the language of our ,epistle1 that in ,him were all things created1 and in ,him all things consist4 ,life in all its forms is dependent on union in varying manner with the ,divine1 and upheld only by ,his continual energy4 ,the creature must touch ,god or perish4 ,of that energy the ,uncreated ,word of ,god is the channel--with ,thee is the fountain of life4 ,as the life of the body1 so the higher self-conscious life of the thinking1 feeling1 striving soul1 is also fed and kept alight by the perpetual operation of a higher ,divine energy1 imparted in like manner by the ,divine ,word4 ,therefore1 with deep truth1 the psalm just quoted1 goes on to say1 ,in ,thy light shall we see light--and therefore1 too1 ,john's ,gospel continues3 ,and the life was the light of men4 ,but there is a still higher plane on which life may be manifested1 and nobler energies which may accompany it4 ,the body may live1 and mind and heart be dead4 ,therefore ,scripture speaks of a threefold life3 that of the animal nature1 that of the intellectual and emotional nature1 and that of the spirit1 which lives when it is conscious of ,god1 and touches ,him by aspiration1 hope1 and love4 ,this is the loftiest life4 ,without it1 a man is dead while he lives4 ,with it1 he lives though he dies4 ,and like the others1 it depends on union with the ,divine life as it is stored in ,jesus ,christ--but in this case1 the union is a conscious union by faith4 ,if ,i trust to ,him1 and am thereby holding firmly by ,him1 my union with ,him is so real1 that1 in the measure of my faith1 ,his fulness passes over into my emptiness1 ,his righteousness into my sinfulness1 ,his life into my death1 as surely as the electric shock thrills my nerves when ,i grasp the poles of the battery4 ,no man can breathe into another's nostrils the breath of life4 ,but ,christ can and does breathe ,his life into us2 and this true miracle of a communication of spiritual life takes place in every man who humbly trusts himself to ,him4 ,so the question comes home to each of us--am ,i living by my union with ,christ8 do ,i draw from ,him that better being which ,he is longing to pour into my withered1 dead spirit8 ,it is not enough to live the animal life2 the more it is fed1 the more are the higher lives starved and dwindled4 ,it is not enough to live the life of intellect and feeling4 ,that may be in brightest1 keenest exercise1 and yet we--our best selves--may be dead--separated from ,god in ,christ1 and therefore dead--and all our activity may be but as a galvanic twitching of the muscles in a corpse4 ,is ,christ our life1 its source1 its strength1 its aim1 its motive8 ,do we live in ,him1 by ,him1 with ,him1 for ,him8 ,if not1 we are dead while we live4 ,this life from ,christ is a resurrection life4 ,the power of ,christ's resurrection is threefold--as a seal of ,his mission and ,messiahship1 declared to be the ,son of ,god1 by ,his resurrection from the dead2 as a prophecy and pledge of ours1 now is ,christ risen from the dead1 and become the first-fruits of them that slept2 and as a symbol and pattern of our new life of ,christian consecration1 likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be indeed dead unto sin4 ,this last use of the resurrection of ,christ is a plain witness of the firm1 universal and uncontested belief in the historical fact1 throughout the ,churches which ,paul addressed4 ,the fact must have been long familiar and known as undoubted1 before it could have been thus moulded into a symbol4 ,but1 passing from that1 consider that our union to ,christ produces a moral and spiritual change analogous to ,his resurrection4 ,after all1 it is the moral and not the mystical side which is the main thing in ,paul's use of this thought4 ,he would insist1 that all true ,christianity operates a death to the old self1 to sin and to the whole present order of things1 and endows a man with new tastes1 desires and capacities1 like a resurrection to a new being4 ,these heathen converts--picked from the filthy cesspools in which many of them had been living1 and set on a pure path1 with the astounding light of a ,divine love flooding it1 and a bright hope painted on the infinite blackness ahead--had surely passed into a new life4 ,many a man in this day1 long familiar with ,christian teaching1 has found himself made over again in mature life1 when his heart has grasped ,christ4 ,drunkards1 profligates1 outcasts1 have found it life from the dead2 and even where there has not been such complete visible revolution as in them1 there has been such deep-seated central alteration that it is no exaggeration to call it resurrection4 ,the plain fact is that real ,christianity in a man will produce in him a radical moral change4 ,if our religion does not do that in us1 it is nothing4 ,ceremonial and doctrine are but means to an end--making us better men4 ,the highest purpose of ,christ's work1 for which ,he both died and rose and revived1 is to change us into the likeness of ,his own beauty of perfect purity4 ,that risen life is no mere exaggeration of mystical rhetoric1 but an imperative demand of the highest morality1 and the plain issue of it is3 ,let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body4 ,do ,i say that ,i am a ,christian8 ,the test by which my claim must be tried is the likeness of my life here to ,him who has died unto sin1 and liveth unto ,god4 ,but the believing soul is risen with ,christ also1 inasmuch as our union with ,him makes us partakers of ,his resurrection as our victory over death4 ,the water in the reservoir and in the fountain is the same2 the sunbeam in the chamber and in the sky are one4 ,the life which flows into our spirits from ,christ is a life that has conquered death1 and makes us victors in that last conflict1 even though we have to go down into the darkness4 ,if ,christ live in us1 we can never die4 ,it is not possible that we should be holden of it4 ,the bands which ,he broke can never be fastened on our limbs4 ,the gates of death were so warped and the locks so spoiled when ,he burst them asunder1 that they can never be closed again4 ,there are many arguments for a future life beyond the grave1 but there is only one proof of it--the ,resurrection of ,jesus ,christ4 ,so1 trusting in ,him1 and with our souls bound in the bundle of life with our ,lord the ,king1 we can cherish quiet thankfulness of heart1 and bless the ,god and ,father of our ,lord who hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of ,jesus ,christ from the dead4 ,this risen life is a hidden life4 ,its roots are in ,him4 ,he has passed in ,his ascension into the light which is inaccessible1 and is hidden in its blaze1 bearing with ,him our life1 concealed there with ,him in ,god4 ,faith stands gazing into heaven1 as the cloud1 the visible manifestation from of old of the ,divine presence1 hides ,him from sight1 and turns away feeling that the best part of its true self is gone with ,him4 ,so here ,paul points his finger upwards to where ,christ is1 sitting at the right hand of ,god1 and says--,we are here in outward seeming1 but our true life is there1 if we are ,his4 ,and what majestic1 pregnant words these are6 ,how full1 and yet how empty for a prurient curiosity1 and how reverently reticent even while they are triumphantly confident6 ,how gently they suggest repose--deep and unbroken1 and yet full of active energy6 ,for if the attitude imply rest1 the locality--at the right hand of ,god--expresses not only the most intimate approach to1 but also the wielding of the ,divine omnipotence4 ,what is the right hand of ,god but the activity of ,his power8 and what less can be ascribed to ,christ here1 than ,his being enthroned in closest union with the ,father1 exercising ,divine dominion1 and putting forth ,divine power4 ,no doubt the ascended and glorified bodily manhood of ,jesus ,christ has a local habitation1 but the old psalm might teach us that wherever space is1 even there ,thy right hand upholds1 and there is our ascended ,lord1 sitting as in deepest rest1 but working all the work of ,god4 ,and it is just because ,he is at the right hand of ,god that ,he is hid4 ,the light hides4 ,he has been lost to sight in the glory4 ,he has gone in thither1 bearing with ,him the true source and root of our lives into the secret place of the ,most ,high4 ,therefore we no longer belong to this visible order of things in the midst of which we tarry for a while4 ,the true spring that feeds our lives lies deep beneath all the surface waters4 ,these may dry up1 but it will flow4 ,these may be muddied with rain1 but it will be limpid as ever4 ,the things seen do not go deep enough to touch our real life4 ,they are but as the winds that fret1 and the currents that sway the surface and shallower levels of the ocean1 while the great depths are still4 ,the circumference is all a whirl2 the centre is at rest4 ,nor need we leave out of sight1 though it be not the main thought here1 that the ,christian life is hidden1 inasmuch as here on earth action ever falls short of thought1 and the love and faith by which a good man lives can never be fully revealed in his conduct and character4 ,you cannot carry electricity from the generator to the point where it is to work without losing two-thirds of it by the way4 ,neither word nor deed can adequately set forth a soul2 and the profounder and nobler the emotion1 the more inadequate are the narrow gates of tongue and hand to give it passage4 ,the deepest love can often only love and be silent4 ,so1 while every man is truly a mystery to his neighbour1 a life which is rooted in ,christ is more mysterious to the ordinary eye than any other4 ,it is fed by hidden manna4 ,it is replenished from a hidden source4 ,it is guided by other than the world's motives1 and follows unseen aims4 ,therefore the world knoweth us not1 because it knew ,him not4 ,,ii4 ,we have the future consummate flower of the ,christian life in union with the manifested1 glorious ,christ4 ,the future personal manifestation of ,jesus ,christ in visible glory is1 in the teaching of all the ,new ,testament writers1 the last stage in the series of ,his ,divine human conditions4 ,as surely as the ,incarnation led to the cross1 and the cross to the empty grave1 and the empty grave to the throne1 so surely does the throne lead to the coming again in glory4 ,and as with ,christ1 so with ,his servants1 the manifestation in glory is the certain end of all the preceding1 as surely as the flower is of the tiny green leaves that peep above the frost-bound earth in bleak ,march days4 ,nothing in that future1 however glorious and wonderful1 but has its germ and vital beginning in our union with ,christ here by humble faith4 ,the great hopes which we may cherish are gathered up here into these words--shall be manifested with ,him4 ,that is far more than was conveyed by the old translation--shall appear4 ,the roots of our being shall be disclosed1 for ,he shall come1 and every eye shall see ,him4 ,we shall be seen for what we are4 ,the outward life shall correspond to the inward4 ,the faith and love which often struggled in vain for expression and were thwarted by the obstinate flesh1 as a sculptor trying to embody his dream might be by a block of marble with many a flaw and speck1 shall then be able to reveal themselves completely4 ,whatever is in the heart shall be fully visible in the life4 ,stammering words and imperfect deeds shall vex us no more4 ,his name shall be in their foreheads--no longer only written in fleshly tables of the heart and partially visible in the character1 but stamped legibly and completely on life and nature4 ,they shall walk in the light1 and so shall be seen of all4 ,here the truest followers of ,christ shine like an intermittent star1 seen through mist and driving cloud3 ,then shall the righteous blaze forth like the sun in the kingdom of ,my ,father4 ,but this is not all4 ,the manifestation is to be with ,him4 ,the union which was here effected by faith1 and marred by many an interposing obstacle of sin and selfishness1 of flesh and sense1 is to be perfected then4 ,no film of separation is any more to break its completeness4 ,here we often lose our hold of ,him amidst the distractions of work1 even when done for ,his sake2 and our life is at best but an imperfect compromise between contemplation and action2 but then1 according to that great saying1 ,his servants shall serve ,him1 and see ,his face1 the utmost activity of consecrated service1 though it be far more intense and on a nobler scale than anything here1 will not interfere with the fixed gaze on ,his countenance4 ,we shall serve like ,martha1 and yet never remove from sitting with ,mary1 rapt and blessed at ,his feet4 ,this is the one thought of that solemn future worth cherishing4 ,other hopes may feed sentiment1 and be precious sometimes to aching hearts4 ,a reverent longing or an irreverent curiosity1 may seek to discern something more in the far-off light4 ,but it is enough for the heart to know that we shall ever be with the ,lord2 and the more we have that one hope in its solitary grandeur1 the better4 ,we shall be with ,him in in glory4 ,that is the climax of all that ,paul would have us hope4 ,glory is the splendour and light of the self-revealing ,god4 ,in the heart of the blaze stands ,christ2 the bright cloud enwraps ,him1 as it did on the mountain of transfiguration1 and into the dazzling radiance ,his disciples will pass as ,his companions did then1 nor fear as they enter into the cloud4 ,they walk unshrinking in that beneficent fire1 because with them is one like unto a ,son of man1 through whom they dwell1 as in their own calm home1 amidst the everlasting burning1 which shall not destroy them1 but kindle them into the likeness of its own flashing glory4 ,then shall the life which here was but in bud1 often unkindly nipt and struggling1 burst into the consummate beauty of the perfect flower which fadeth not away4 ,,iii4 ,we have the practical aim and direction which alone is consistent with either stage of the ,christian life4 ,two injunctions are based upon these considerations--seek1 and set your mind upon1 the things that are above4 ,the one points to the outward life of effort and aim2 the other to the inward life of thought and longing4 ,let the things above then1 be the constant mark at which you aim4 ,there is a vast realm of real existence of which your risen ,lord is the centre and the life4 ,make it the point to which you strive4 ,that will not lead to despising earth and nearer objects4 ,these1 so far as they are really good and worthy1 stand right in the line of direction which our efforts will take if we are seeking the things that are above1 and may all be stages on our journey ,christwards4 ,the lower objects are best secured by those who live for the higher4 ,no man is so well able to do the smallest duties here1 or to bear the passing troubles of this world of illusion and change1 or to wring the last drop of sweetness out of swiftly fleeting joys1 as he to whom everything on earth is dwarfed by the eternity beyond1 as some hut beside a palace1 and is great because it is like a little window a foot square through which infinite depths of sky with all their stars shine in upon him4 ,the true meaning and greatness of the present is that it is the vestibule of the august future4 ,the staircase leading to the presence chamber of the king may be of poor deal1 narrow1 crooked1 and stowed away in a dark turret1 but it has dignity by reason of that to which it gives access4 ,so let our aims pass through the earthly and find in them helps to the things that are above4 ,we should not fire all our bullets at the short range4 ,seek ye first the kingdom of ,god--the things which are above4 ,set your mind on these things1 says the ,apostle further4 ,let them occupy mind and heart--and this in order that we may seek them4 ,the direction of the aims will follow the set and current of the thoughts4 ,as a man thinketh in his heart1 so is he4 ,how can we be shaping our efforts to reach a good which we have not clearly before our imaginations as desirable8 ,how should the life of so many professing ,christians be other than a lame creeping along the low levels of earth1 seeing that so seldom do they look up to see the ,king in ,his beauty and the land that is very far off8 ,john ,bunyan's man with the muckrake grubbed away so eagerly among the rubbish1 because he never lifted his eyes to the crown that hung above his head4 ,in many a silent1 solitary hour of contemplation1 with the world shut out and ,christ brought very near1 we must find the counterpoise to the pressure of earthly aims1 or our efforts after the things that are above will be feeble and broken4 ,life goes at such a pace to-day1 and the present is so exacting with most of us1 that quiet meditation is1 ,i fear me1 almost out of fashion with ,christian people4 ,we must become more familiar with the secret place of the most ,high1 and more often enter into our chambers and shut our doors about us1 if in the bustle of our busy days we are to aim truly and strongly at the only object which saves life from being a waste and a sin1 a madness and a misery--the things which are above1 where ,christ is4 ,where ,christ is4 ,yes1 that is the only thought which gives definiteness and solidity to that else vague and nebulous unseen universe2 the only thought which draws our affections thither4 ,without ,him1 there is no footing for us there4 ,rolling mists of doubt and dim hopes warring with fears1 strangeness and terrors wrap it all4 ,but if ,he be there1 it becomes a home for our hearts4 ,i go to prepare a place for you--a place where desire and thought may walk unterrified and undoubting even now1 and where we ourselves may abide when our time comes1 nor shrink from the light nor be oppressed by the glory4 ,my knowledge of that life is small1 ,the eye of faith is dim1 ,but 'tis enough that ,christ knows all1 ,and ,i shall be with ,him4 ,into that solemn world we shall all pass4 ,we can choose whether we shall go to it as to our long-sought home1 to find in it ,him who is our life2 or whether we shall go reluctant and afraid1 leaving all for which we have cared1 and going to ,him whom we have neglected and that which we have feared4 ,christ will be manifested1 and we shall see ,him4 ,we can choose whether it will be to us the joy of beholding the soul of our soul1 the friend long-loved when dimly seen from afar2 or whether it shall be the vision of a face that will stiffen us to stone and stab us with its light4 ,we must make our choice4 ,if we give our hearts to ,him1 and by faith unite ourselves with ,him1 then1 when ,he shall appear1 we shall have boldness1 and not be ashamed before ,him at ,his coming4 ,,xviii4 ,,slaying ,,self ,,the ,,foundation ,,precept ,,of ,,practical ,,christianity4 ,mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth2 fornication1 uncleanness1 passion1 evil desire1 and covetousness1 the which is idolatry2 for which things' sake cometh the wrath of ,god upon the sons of disobedience2 in the which ye also walked aforetime1 when ye lived in these things4 ,but now put ye also away all these2 anger1 wrath1 malice1 railing1 shameful speaking out of your mouth3 lie not one to another4--,,col4 iii4 #e-i 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,mortify therefore--wherefore8 ,the previous words give the reason4 ,because ye died with ,christ1 and because ye were raised together with ,him4 ,in other words1 the plainest1 homeliest moral teaching of this ,epistle1 such as that which immediately follows1 is built upon its mystical theology4 ,paul thinks that the deep things which he has been saying about union with ,christ in ,his death and resurrection have the most intimate connection with common life4 ,these profound truths have the keenest edge1 and are as a sacrificial knife1 to slay the life of self4 ,creed is meant to tell on conduct4 ,character is the last outcome and test of doctrine4 ,but too many people deal with their theological beliefs as they do with their hassocks and prayer books and hymn books in their pews--use them for formal worship once a week1 and leave them for the dust to settle on them till ,sunday comes round again4 ,so it is very necessary to put the practical inferences very plainly1 to reiterate the most commonplace and threadbare precepts as the issue of the most recondite teaching1 and to bind the burden of duty on men's backs with the cords of principles and doctrines4 ,accordingly the section of the ,epistle which deals with ,christian character now begins1 and this therefore knits the two halves together4 ,that word protests against opposite errors4 ,on the one hand1 some good people are to be found impatient of exhortations to duties1 and ready to say1 ,preach the gospel1 and the duties will spring up spontaneously where it is received2 on the other hand1 some people are to be found who see no connection between the practice of common morality and the belief of ,christian truths1 and are ready to say1 ,put away your theology2 it is useless lumber1 the machine will work as well without it4 ,but ,paul believed that the firmest basis for moral teaching and the most powerful motive for moral conduct is the truth as it is in ,jesus4 ,i4 ,we have here put very plainly the paradox of continual self-slaying as the all-embracing duty of a ,christian4 ,it is a pity that the ,r4 ,v4 has retained mortify here1 as that ,latinized word says to an ordinary reader much less than is meant1 and hides the allusion to the preceding contest4 ,the marginal alternative make dead is1 to say the least1 not idiomatic ,english4 ,the suggestion of the ,american revisers1 which is printed at the end of the ,r4 ,v41 put to death1 is much better1 and perhaps a single word1 such as slay or kill might have been better still4 ,slay your members which are upon the earth4 ,it is a vehement and paradoxical injunction1 though it be but the echo of still more solemn and stringent words--pluck it out1 cut it off1 and cast it from thee4 ,the possibility of misunderstanding it and bringing it down to the level of that spurious asceticism and severity to the body against which he has just been thundering1 seems to occur to the ,apostle1 and therefore he hastens to explain that he does not mean the maiming of selves1 or hacking away limbs1 but the slaying of the passions and desires which root themselves in our bodily constitution4 ,the eager haste of the explanation destroys the congruity of the sentence1 but he does not mind that4 ,and then follows a grim catalogue of the evil-doers on whom sentence of death is passed4 ,before dealing with that list1 two points of some importance may be observed4 ,the first is that the practical exhortations of this letter begin with this command to put off certain characteristics which are assumed to belong to the ,colossian ,christians in their natural state1 and that only afterwards comes the precept to put on 7ver4 #ab7 the fairer robes of ,christlike purity1 clasped about by the girdle of perfectness4 ,that is to say1 ,paul's anthropology regards men as wrong and having to get right4 ,a great deal of the moral teaching which is outside of ,christianity1 and which does not sufficiently recognise that the first thing to be done is to cure and alter1 but talks as if men were1 on the whole1 rather inclined to be good1 is for that very reason perfectly useless4 ,its fine precepts and lofty sentiments go clean over people's heads1 and are ludicrously inappropriate to the facts of the case4 ,the serpent has twined itself round my limbs1 and unless you can give me a knife1 sharp and strong enough to cut its loathsome coils asunder1 it is cruel to bid me walk4 ,all men on the face of the earth need1 for moral progress1 to be shown and helped first how not to be what they have been1 and only after that is it of the slightest use to tell them what they ought to be4 ,the only thing that reaches the universal need is a power that will make us different from what we are4 ,if we are to grow into goodness and beauty1 we must begin by a complete reversal of tastes and tendencies4 ,the thing we want first is not progress1 the going on in the direction in which our faces are turned1 but a power which can lay a mastering hand upon our shoulders1 turn us right round1 and make us go in the way opposite to that4 ,culture1 the development of what is in us in germ1 is not the beginning of good husbandry on human nature as it is4 ,the thorns have to be stubbed up first1 and the poisonous seeds sifted out1 and new soil laid down1 and then culture will bring forth something better than wild grapes4 ,first--mortify2 then--put on4 ,another point to be carefully noted is that1 according to the ,apostle's teaching1 the root and beginning of all such slaying of the evil which is in us all1 lies in our being dead with ,christ to the world4 ,in the former chapter we found that the ,apostle's final condemnation of the false asceticism which was beginning to infect the ,colossian ,church1 was that it was of no value as a counteractive of fleshly indulgence4 ,but here he proclaims that what asceticism could not do1 in that it was weak through the flesh1 union with ,jesus ,christ in ,his death and risen life will do2 it will subdue sin in the flesh4 ,that slaying here enjoined as fundamental to all ,christian holiness1 is but the working out in life and character of the revolution in the inmost self which has been effected1 if by faith we are joined to the living ,lord1 who was dead and is alive for evermore4 ,there must1 however1 be a very vigorous act of personal determination if the power of that union is to be manifested in us4 ,the act of slaying can never be pleasant or easy4 ,the vehemence of the command and the form of the metaphor express the strenuousness of the effort and the painfulness of the process1 in the same way as ,paul's other saying1 crucify the flesh1 does4 ,suppose a man working at some machine4 ,his fingers get drawn between the rollers or caught in some belting4 ,another minute and he will be flattened to a shapeless bloody mass4 ,he catches up an axe lying by and with his own arm hacks off his own hand at the wrist4 ,it takes some nerve to do that4 ,it is not easy nor pleasant1 but it is the only alternative to a horrible death4 ,i know of no stimulus that will string a man up to the analogous spiritual act here enjoined1 and enjoined by conscience also1 except participation in the death of ,christ and in the resulting life4 ,slay your members which are upon the earth means tears and blood and more than blood4 ,it is easier far to cut off the hand1 which after all is not me1 than to sacrifice passions and desires which1 though they be my worst self1 are myself4 ,it is useless to blink the fact that the only road to holiness is through self-suppression1 self-annihilation2 and nothing can make that easy and pleasant4 ,true1 the paths of religion are ways of pleasantness and paths of peace1 but they are steep1 and climbing is never easy4 ,the upper air is bracing and exhilarating indeed1 but trying to lungs accustomed to the low levels4 ,religion is delightsome1 but self-denial is always against the grain of the self which is denied1 and there is no religion without it4 ,holiness is not to be won in a moment4 ,it is not a matter of consciousness1 possessed when we know that we possess it4 ,but it has to be attained by effort4 ,the way to heaven is not by the primrose path4 ,that leads to the everlasting bonfire4 ,for ever it remains true that men obtain forgiveness and eternal life as a gift for which the only requisite is faith1 but they achieve holiness1 which is the permeating of their characters with that eternal life1 by patient1 believing1 continuous effort4 ,an essential part of that effort is directed towards the conquest and casting out of the old self in its earthward-looking lusts and passions4 ,the love of ,jesus ,christ and the indwelling of ,his renewing spirit make that conquest possible1 by supplying an all-constraining motive and an all-conquering power4 ,but even they do not make it easy1 nor deaden the flesh to the cut of the sacrificial knife4 ,,ii4 ,we have here a grim catalogue of the condemned to death4 ,the ,apostle stands like a jailer at the prison door1 with the fatal roll in his hand1 and reads out the names of the evil doers for whom the tumbril waits to carry them to the guillotine4 ,it is an ugly list but we need plain speaking that there may be no mistake as to the identity of the culprits4 ,he enumerates evils which honeycombed society with rottenness then1 and are rampant now4 ,the series recounts various forms of evil love1 and is so arranged as that it starts with the coarse1 gross act1 and goes on to more subtle and inward forms4 ,it goes up the stream as it were1 to the fountain head1 passing inward from deed to desire4 ,first stands fornication1 which covers the whole ground of immoral sexual relations1 then all uncleanness1 which embraces every manifestation in word or look or deed of the impure spirit1 and so is at once wider and subtler than the gross physical act4 ,then follow passion and evil desire2 the sources of the evil deeds4 ,these again are at once more inward and more general than the preceding4 ,they include not only the lusts and longings which give rise to the special sins just denounced1 but all forms of hungry appetite and desire after the things that are upon the earth4 ,if we are to try to draw a distinction between the two1 probably passion is somewhat less wide than desire1 and the former represents the evil emotion as an affection which the mind suffers1 while the latter represents it as a longing which it actively puts forth4 ,the lusts of the flesh are in the one aspect kindled by outward temptations which come with terrible force and carry men captive1 acting almost irresistibly on the animal nature4 ,in the other aspect they are excited by the voluntary action of the man himself4 ,in the one the evil comes into the heart2 in the other the heart goes out to the evil4 ,then follows covetousness4 ,the juxtaposition of that vice with the grosser forms of sensuality is profoundly significant4 ,it is closely allied with these4 ,it has the same root1 and is but another form of evil desire going out to the things which are on the earth4 ,the ordinary worldly nature flies for solace either to the pleasures of appetite or to the passion of acquiring4 ,and not only are they closely connected in root1 but covetousness often follows lust in the history of a life just as it does in this catalogue4 ,when the former evil spirit loses its hold1 the latter often takes its place4 ,how many respectable middle-aged gentlemen are now mainly devoted to making money1 whose youth was foul with sensual indulgence8 ,when that palled1 this came to titillate the jaded desires with a new form of gratification4 ,covetousness is promoted vice1 lust superannuated4 ,a reason for this warning against covetousness is appended1 inasmuch as 7for such is the force of the word rendered 'the which'7 it is idolatry4 ,if we say of anything1 no matter what1 ,if ,i have only enough of this1 ,i shall be satisfied2 it is my real aim1 my sufficient good1 that thing is a god to me1 and my real worship is paid to it1 whatever may be my nominal religion4 ,the lowest form of idolatry is the giving of supreme trust to a material thing1 and making that a god4 ,there is no lower form of fetish-worship than this1 which is the real working religion to-day of thousands of ,englishmen who go masquerading as ,christians4 ,,iii4 ,the exhortation is enforced by a solemn note of warning3 ,for which things' sake the wrath of ,god cometh upon the children of disobedience4 ,some authorities omit the words upon the children of disobedience1 which are supposed to have crept in here from the parallel passage1 ,eph4 v4 #f4 ,but even the advocates of the omission allow that the clause has preponderating support1 and the sentence is painfully incomplete and abrupt without it4 ,the ,r4 ,v4 has exercised a wise discretion in retaining it4 ,in the previous chapter the ,apostle included warning in his statement of the various branches into which his ,apostolic activity was divided4 ,his duty seemed to him to embrace the plain stern setting forth of that terrible reality1 the wrath of ,god4 ,here we have it urged as a reason for shaking off these evil habits4 ,that thought of wrath as an element in the ,divine nature has become very unwelcome to this generation4 ,the great revelation of ,god in ,jesus ,christ has taught the world ,his love1 as it never knew it before1 and knows it now by no other means4 ,so profoundly has that truth that ,god is love penetrated the consciousness of the ,european world1 that many people will not hear of the wrath of ,god because they think it inconsistent with ,his love--and sometimes reject the very gospel to which they owe their lofty conceptions of the ,divine heart1 because it speaks solemn words about ,his anger and its issues4 ,but surely these two thoughts of ,god's love and ,god's wrath are not inconsistent1 for ,his wrath is ,his love1 pained1 wounded1 thrown back upon itself1 rejected and compelled to assume the form of aversion and to do its strange work--that which is not its natural operation--of punishment4 ,when we ascribe wrath to ,god1 we must take care of lowering the conception of it to the level of human wrath1 which is shaken with passion and often tinged with malice1 whereas in that affection of the ,divine nature which corresponds to anger in us1 there is neither passion nor wish to harm4 ,nor does it exclude the co-existence of love1 as ,paul witnesses in his ,epistle to the ,ephesians1 in one verse declaring that we were the children of wrath1 and in the next that ,god loved us with a great love even when we were dead in sins4 ,god would not be a holy ,god if it were all the same to ,him whether a man were good or bad4 ,as a matter of fact1 the modern revulsion against the representation of the wrath of ,god is usually accompanied with weakened conceptions of ,his holiness1 and of ,his moral government of the world4 ,instead of exalting1 it degrades ,his love to free it from the admixture of wrath1 which is like alloy with gold1 giving firmness to what were else too soft for use4 ,such a ,god is not love1 but impotent good nature4 ,if there be no wrath1 there is no love2 if there were no love1 there would be no wrath4 ,it is more blessed and hopeful for sinful men to believe in a ,god who is angry with the wicked1 whom yet ,he loves1 every day1 and who cannot look upon sin1 than in one who does not love righteousness enough to hate iniquity1 and from whose too indulgent hand the rod has dropped1 to the spoiling of ,his children4 ,with the froward ,thou wilt show ,thyself froward4 ,the mists of our sins intercept the gracious beams and turn the blessed sun into a ball of fire4 ,the wrath cometh4 ,that majestic present tense may express either the continuous present incidence of the wrath as exemplified in the moral government of the world1 in which1 notwithstanding anomalies1 such sins as have been enumerated drag after themselves their own punishment and are avenged in kind1 or it may be the present tense expressive of prophetic certainty1 which is so sure of what shall come1 that it speaks of it as already on its road4 ,it is eminently true of those sins of lust and passion1 that the men who do them reap as they have sown4 ,how many young men come up into our great cities1 innocent and strong1 with a mother's kiss upon their lips1 and a father's blessing hovering over their heads6 ,they fall among bad companions in college or warehouse1 and after a little while they disappear4 ,broken in health1 tainted in body and soul1 they crawl home to break their mothers' hearts--and to die4 ,his bones are full of the sins of his youth1 which shall lie down with him in the dust4 ,whether in such extreme forms or no1 that wrath comes even now1 in plain and bitter consequences on men1 and still more on women who sin in such ways4 ,and the present retribution may well be taken as the herald and prophet of a still more solemn manifestation of the ,divine displeasure1 which is already as it were on the road1 has set out from the throne of ,god1 and will certainly arrive here one day4 ,these consequences of sin already realised serve to show the set and drift of things1 and to suggest what will happen when retribution and the harvest of our present life of sowing come4 ,the first fiery drops that fell on ,lot's path as he fled from ,sodom were not more surely precursors of an overwhelming rain1 nor bade him flee for his life more urgently1 than the present punishment of sin proclaims its sorer future punishment1 and exhorts us all to come out of the storm into the refuge1 even ,jesus1 who is ever even now delivering us from the wrath which is ever even now coming on the sons of disobedience4 ,,iv4 ,a further motive enforcing the main precept of self-slaying is the remembrance of a sinful past1 which remembrance is at once penitent and grateful4 ,in the which ye also walked aforetime1 when ye lived in them4 ,what is the difference between walking and living in these things8 ,the two phrases seem synonymous1 and might often be used indifferently2 but here there is evidently a well marked diversity of meaning4 ,the former is an expression frequent in the ,pauline ,epistles as well as in ,john's2 as for instance1 to walk in love or in truth4 ,that in which men walk is conceived of as an atmosphere encompassing them2 or1 without a metaphor1 to walk in anything is to have the active life or conduct guided or occupied by it4 ,these ,colossian ,christians1 then1 had in the past trodden that evil path1 or their active life had been spent in that poisonous atmosphere--which is equivalent to saying that they had committed these sins4 ,at what time8 ,when you lived in them4 ,that does not mean merely when your natural life was passed among them4 ,that would be a trivial thing to say1 and it would imply that their outward life now was not so passed1 which would not be true4 ,in that sense they still lived in the poisonous atmosphere4 ,in such an age of unnameable moral corruption no man could live out of the foul stench which filled his nostrils whenever he walked abroad or opened his window4 ,but the ,apostle has just said that they were now living in ,christ1 and their lives hid with ,him in ,god4 ,so this phrase describes the condition which is the opposite of their present1 and may be paraphrased1 ,when the roots of your life1 tastes1 affections1 thoughts1 desires were immersed1 as in some feculent bog1 in these and kindred evils4 ,and the meaning of the whole is substantially--,your active life was occupied and guided by these sins in that past time when your inward being was knit to and nourished by them4 ,or to put it plainly1 conduct followed and was shaped by inclinations and desires4 ,this retrospect enforces the main exhortation4 ,it is meant to awaken penitence1 and the thought that time enough has been wasted and incense enough offered on these foul altars4 ,it is also meant to kindle thankfulness for the strong1 loving hand which has drawn them from that pit of filth1 and by both emotions to stimulate the resolute casting aside of that evil in which they once1 like others1 wallowed4 ,their joy on the one hand and their contrition on the other should lead them to discern the inconsistency of professing to be ,christians and yet keeping terms with these old sins4 ,they could not have the roots of half their lives above and of the other half down here4 ,the gulf between the present and past of a regenerate man is too wide and deep to be bridged by flimsy compromises4 ,a man who is perverse in his two ways1 that is1 in double ways1 shall fall in one of them1 as the ,book of ,proverbs has it4 ,the attempt to combine incompatibles is sure to fail4 ,it is impossible to walk firmly if one foot be down in the gutter and the other up on the curb-stone4 ,we have to settle which level we shall choose1 and then to plant both feet there4 ,v4 ,we have1 as conclusion1 a still wider exhortation to an entire stripping off of the sins of the old state4 ,the whole force of the contrast and contrariety between the ,colossian ,christians' past and present lies in that emphatic now4 ,they as well as other heathen had been walking1 because they had been living1 in these muddy ways4 ,but now that their life was hid with ,christ in ,god2 now that they had been made partakers of ,his death and resurrection1 and of all the new loves and affinities which therein became theirs2 now they must take heed that they bring not that dead and foul past into this bright and pure present1 nor prolong winter and its frosts into the summer of the soul4 ,ye also4 ,there is another ye also in the previous verse--ye also walked1 that is1 you in company with other ,gentiles followed a certain course of life4 ,here1 by contrast1 the expression means you1 in common with other ,christians4 ,a motive enforcing the subsequent exhortation is in it hinted rather than fully spoken4 ,the ,christians at ,colossae had belonged to a community which they have now left in order to join another4 ,let them behave as their company behaves4 ,let them keep step with their new comrades4 ,let them strip themselves1 as their new associates do1 of the uniform which they wore in that other regiment4 ,the metaphor of putting clothing on or off is very frequent in this ,epistle4 ,the precept here is substantially equivalent to the previous command to slay1 with the difference that the conception of vices as the garments of the soul is somewhat less vehement than that which regards them as members of the very self4 ,all these are to be put off4 ,that phrase points back to the things previously spoken of4 ,it includes the whole of the unnamed members of the class1 of which a few have been already named1 and a handful more are about to be plucked like poison flowers1 and suggests that there are many more as baleful growing by the side of this devil's bouquet which is next presented4 ,as to this second catalogue of vices1 they may be summarised as1 on the whole1 being various forms of wicked hatred1 in contrast with the former list1 which consisted of various forms of wicked love4 ,they have less to do with bodily appetites4 ,but perhaps it is not without profound meaning that the fierce rush of unhallowed passion over the soul is put first1 and the contrary flow of chill malignity comes second2 for in the spiritual world1 as in the physical1 a storm blowing from one quarter is usually followed by violent gales from the opposite4 ,lust ever passes into cruelty1 and dwells hard by hate4 ,a licentious epoch or man is generally a cruel epoch or man4 ,nero made torches of the ,christians4 ,malice is evil desire iced4 ,this second list goes in the opposite direction to the former4 ,that began with actions and went up the stream to desire2 this begins with the sources1 which are emotions1 and comes down stream to their manifestations in action4 ,first we have anger4 ,there is a just and righteous anger1 which is part of the new man1 and essential to his completeness1 even as it is part of the image after which he is created4 ,but here of course the anger which is to be put off is the inverted reflection of the earthly and passionate lust after the flesh2 it is1 then1 of an earthly1 passionate and selfish kind4 ,wrath differs from anger in so far as it may be called anger boiling over4 ,if anger rises keep the lid on1 do not let it get the length of wrath1 nor effervesce into the brief madness of passion4 ,but on the other hand1 do not think that you have done enough when you have suppressed the wrath which is the expression of your anger1 nor be content with saying1 ,well1 at all events ,i did not show it1 but take the cure a step further back1 and strip off anger as well as wrath1 the emotion as well as the manifestation4 ,christian people do not sufficiently bring the greatest forces of their religion and of ,god's ,spirit to bear upon the homely task of curing small hastinesses of temper1 and sometimes seem to think it a sufficient excuse to say1 ,i have naturally a hot disposition4 ,but ,christianity was sent to subdue and change natural dispositions4 ,an angry man cannot have communion with ,god1 any more than the sky can be reflected in the storm-swept tide2 and a man in communion with ,god cannot be angry with a passionate and evil anger any more than a dove can croak like a raven or strike like a hawk4 ,such anger disturbs our insight into everything2 eyes suffused with it cannot see2 and it weakens all good in the soul1 and degrades it before its own conscience4 ,malice designates another step in the process4 ,the anger boils over in wrath1 and then cools down into malignity--the disposition which means mischief1 and plans or rejoices in evil falling on the hated head4 ,that malice1 as cold1 as clear1 as colourless as sulphuric acid1 and burning like it1 is worse than the boiling rage already spoken of4 ,there are many degrees of this cold drawn1 double distilled rejoicing in evil1 and the beginnings of it in a certain faint satisfaction in the misfortunes of those whom we dislike is by no means unusual4 ,an advance is now made in the direction of outward manifestation4 ,it is significant that while the expressions of wicked love were deeds1 those of wicked hate are words4 ,the blasphemy of the ,authorised ,version is better taken1 with the ,revised1 as railing4 ,the word means speech that injures1 and such speech may be directed either against ,god1 which is blasphemy in the usual sense of the word1 or against man4 ,the hate blossoms into hurtful speech4 ,the heated metal of anger is forged into poisoned arrows of the tongue4 ,then follows shameful speaking out of your mouth1 which is probably to be understood not so much of obscenities1 which would more properly belong to the former catalogue1 as of foul-mouthed abuse of the hated persons1 that copiousness of vituperation and those volcanic explosions of mud1 which are so natural to the angry ,eastern4 ,finally1 we have a dehortation from lying1 especially to those within the circle of the ,church1 as if that sin too were the child of hatred and anger4 ,it comes from a deficiency of love1 or a predominance of selfishness1 which is the same thing4 ,a lie ignores my brother's claims on me1 and my union with him4 ,ye are members one of another1 is the great obligation to love which is denied and sinned against by hatred in all its forms and manifestations1 and not least by giving my brother the poisoned bread of lies instead of the heavenly manna of pure truth1 so far as it has been given to me4 ,on the whole1 this catalogue brings out the importance to be attached to sins of speech1 which are ranked here as in parallel lines with the grossest forms of animal passion4 ,men's words ought to be fountains of consolation and sources of illumination1 encouragement1 revelations of love and pity4 ,and what are they8 ,what floods of idle words1 foul words1 words that wound like knives and sting and bite like serpents1 deluge the world6 ,if all the talk that has its sources in these evils rebuked here1 were to be suddenly made inaudible1 what a dead silence would fall on many brilliant circles1 and how many of us would stand making mouths but saying nothing4 ,all the practical exhortations of this section concern common homely duties which everybody knows to be such4 ,it may be asked--does ,christianity then only lay down such plain precepts8 ,what need was there of all that prelude of mysterious doctrines1 if we are only to be landed at last in such elementary and obvious moralities8 ,no doubt they are elementary and obvious1 but the main matter is--how to get them kept4 ,and in respect to that1 ,christianity does two things which nothing else does4 ,it breaks the entail of evil habits by the great gift of pardon for the past1 and by the greater gift of a new spirit and life principle within1 which is foreign to all evil1 being the effluence of the spirit of life in ,christ ,jesus4 ,therefore the gospel of ,jesus ,christ makes it possible that men should slay themselves1 and put on the new life1 which will expel the old as the new shoots on some trees push the last year's lingering leaves1 brown and sere1 from their places4 ,all moral teachers from the beginning have agreed1 on the whole1 in their reading of the commandments which are printed on conscience in the largest capitals4 ,everybody who is not blind can read them4 ,but reading is easy1 keeping is hard4 ,how to fulfil has been wanting4 ,it is given us in the gospel1 which is not merely a republication of old precepts1 but the communication of new power4 ,if we yield ourselves to ,christ ,he will nerve our arms to wield the knife that will slay our dearest tastes1 though beloved as ,isaac by ,abraham4 ,if a man knows and feels that ,christ has died for him1 and that he lives in and by ,christ1 then1 and not else1 will he be able to crucify self4 ,if he knows and feels that by ,his pardoning mercy and atoning death1 ,christ has taken off his foul raiment and clothed him in clean garments1 then1 and not else1 will he be able1 by daily effort after repression of self and appropriation of ,christ1 to put off the old man and to put on the new1 which is daily being renewed into closer resemblance to the image of ,him who created him4 ,,xix4 ,,the ,,new ,,nature ,,wrought ,,out ,,in ,,new ,,life4 ,seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings1 and have put on the new man1 which is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of ,him that created him3 where there cannot be ,greek and ,jew1 circumcision and uncircumcision1 barbarian1 ,scythian1 bondman1 freeman2 but ,christ is all1 and in all4--,,col4 iii4 #i-aa 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,in previous section we were obliged to break the close connection between these words and the preceding4 ,they adduce a reason for the moral exhortation going before1 which at first sight may appear very illogical4 ,put off these vices of the old nature because you have put off the old nature with its vices1 sounds like1 ,do a thing because you have done it4 ,but the apparent looseness of reasoning covers very accurate thought which a little consideration brings to light1 and introduces a really cogent argument for the conduct it recommends4 ,nor do the principles contained in the verses now under examination look backward only to enforce the exhortation to put aside these evils4 ,they also look forward1 and are taken as the basis of the following exhortation1 to put on the white robes of ,christlikeness--which is coupled with this section by therefore4 ,i4 ,the first thing to be observed is the change of the spirit's dress1 which is taken for granted as having occurred in the experience of all ,christians4 ,we have already found the same idea presented under the forms of death and resurrection4 ,the death is equivalent to the putting off of the old1 and the resurrection to the putting on of the new man4 ,that figure of a change of dress to express a change of moral character is very obvious1 and is frequent in ,scripture4 ,many a psalm breathes such prayers as1 ,let ,thy priests be clothed with righteousness4 ,zechariah in vision saw the high-priestly representative of the nation standing before the ,lord in filthy garments1 and heard the command to strip them off him1 and clothe him in festival robes1 in token that ,god had caused his iniquity to pass from him4 ,christ spoke ,his parable of the man at the wedding feast without the wedding garment1 and of the prodigal1 who was stripped of his rags stained with the filth of the swine troughs1 and clothed with the best robe4 ,paul in many places touches the same image1 as in his ringing exhortation--clear and rousing in its notes like the morning bugle--to ,christ's soldiers1 to put off their night gear1 the works of darkness1 and to brace on the armour of light1 which sparkles in the morning sunrise4 ,every reformatory and orphanage yields an illustration of the image1 where the first thing done is to strip off and burn the rags of the new comers1 then to give them a bath and dress them in clean1 sweet1 new clothes4 ,most naturally dress is taken as the emblem of character1 which is indeed the garb of the soul4 ,most naturally habit means both costume and custom4 ,but here we have a strange paradox introduced1 to the ruining of the rhetorical propriety of the figure4 ,it is a new man that is put on4 ,the ,apostle does not mind hazarding a mixed metaphor1 if it adds to the force of his speech1 and he introduces this thought of the new man1 though it somewhat jars1 in order to impress on his readers that what they have to put off and on is much more truly part of themselves than an article of dress is4 ,the old man is the unregenerate self2 the new man is1 of course1 the regenerate self1 the new ,christian moral nature personified4 ,there is a deeper self which remains the same throughout the change1 the true man1 the centre of personality2 which is1 as it were1 draped in the moral nature1 and can put it off and on4 ,i myself change myself4 ,the figure is vehement1 and1 if you will1 paradoxical1 but it expresses accurately and forcibly at once the depth of the change which passes on him who becomes a ,christian1 and the identity of the person through all change4 ,if ,i am a ,christian1 there has passed on me a change so thorough that it is in one aspect a death1 and in another a resurrection2 in one aspect it is a putting off not merely of some garb of action1 but of the old man1 and in another a putting on not merely of some surface renovation1 but of a new man--which is yet the same old self4 ,this entire change is taken for granted by ,paul as having been realised in every ,christian4 ,it is here treated as having taken place at a certain point of time1 namely when these ,colossians began to put their trust in ,jesus ,christ1 and in profession of that trust1 and as a symbol of that change1 were baptized4 ,of course the contrast between the character before and after faith in ,christ is strongest when1 like the ,christians at ,colossae1 converts have been brought out of heathenism4 ,with us1 where some knowledge of ,christianity is widely diffused1 and its indirect influence has shaped the characters even of those who reject it1 there is less room for a marked revolution in character and conduct4 ,there will be many true saints who can point to no sudden change as their conversion2 but have grown up1 sometimes from childhood1 under ,christian influences1 or who1 if they have distinctly been conscious of a change1 have passed through it as gradually as night passes into day4 ,be it so4 ,in many respects that will be the highest form of experience4 ,yet even such souls will be aware of a new man formed in them which is at variance with their own old selves1 and will not escape the necessity of the conflict with their lower nature1 the immolation and casting off of the unregenerate self4 ,but there are also many people who have grown up without ,god or ,christ1 who must become ,christians by the way of sudden conversion1 if they are ever to become ,christians at all4 ,why should such sudden change be regarded as impossible8 ,is it not a matter of every-day experience that some long ignored principle may suddenly come1 like a meteor into the atmosphere1 into a man's mind and will1 may catch fire as it travels1 and may explode and blow to pieces the solid habits of a lifetime8 ,and why should not the truth concerning ,god's great love in ,christ1 which in too sad certainty is ignored by many1 flame in upon blind eyes1 and change the look of everything8 ,the ,new ,testament doctrine of conversion asserts that it may and does4 ,it does not insist that everybody must become a ,christian in the same fashion4 ,sometimes there will be a dividing line between the two states1 as sharp as the boundary of adjoining kingdoms2 sometimes the one will melt imperceptibly into the other4 ,sometimes the revolution will be as swift as that of the wheel of a locomotive1 sometimes slow and silent as the movement of a planet in the sky4 ,the main thing is that whether suddenly or slowly the face shall be turned to ,god4 ,but however brought about1 this putting off of the old sinful self1 is a certain mark of a ,christian man4 ,it can be assumed as true universally1 and appealed to as the basis of exhortations such as those of the context4 ,believing certain truths does not make a ,christian4 ,if there have been any reality in the act by which we have laid hold of ,christ as our ,saviour1 our whole being will be revolutionized2 old things will have passed away--tastes1 desires1 ways of looking at the world1 memories1 habits1 pricks of conscience and all cords that bound us to our ,god-forgetting past--and all things will have become new1 because we ourselves move in the midst of the old things as new creatures with new love burning in our hearts and new motives changing all our lives1 and a new aim shining before us1 and a new hope illuminating the blackness beyond1 and a new song on our lips1 and a new power in our hands1 and a new ,friend by our sides4 ,this is a wholesome and most needful test for all who call themselves ,christians1 and who are often tempted to put too much stress on believing and feeling1 and to forget the supreme importance of the moral change which true ,christianity effects4 ,nor is it less needful to remember that this resolute casting off of the garment spotted by the flesh1 and putting on of the new man1 is a consequence of faith in ,christ and is only possible as a consequence4 ,nothing else will strip the foul robes from a man4 ,the moral change comes second1 the union with ,jesus ,christ by faith must come first4 ,to try to begin with the second stage1 is like trying to begin to build a house at the second story4 ,but there is a practical conclusion drawn from this taken-for-granted change4 ,our text is introduced by seeing that2 and though some doubts may be raised as to that translation and the logical connection of the paragraph1 it appears on the whole most congruous with both the preceding and the following context1 to retain it and to see here the reason for the exhortation which goes before--,put off all these1 and for that which follows--,put on1 therefore1 the beautiful garment of love and compassion4 ,that great change1 though taking place in the inmost nature whensoever a heart turns to ,christ1 needs to be wrought into character1 and to be wrought out in conduct4 ,the leaven is in the dough1 but to knead it thoroughly into the mass is a lifelong task1 which is only accomplished by our own continually repeated efforts4 ,the old garment clings to the limbs like the wet clothes of a half-drowned man1 and it takes the work of a lifetime to get quite rid of it4 ,the old man dies hard1 and we have to repeat the sacrifice hour by hour4 ,the new man has to be put on afresh day by day4 ,so the apparently illogical exhortation1 ,put off what you have put off1 and put on what you have put on1 is fully vindicated4 ,it means1 ,be consistent with your deepest selves4 ,carry out in detail what you have already done in bulk4 ,cast out the enemy1 already ejected from the central fortress1 from the isolated positions which he still occupies4 ,you may put off the old man1 for he is put off already2 and the confidence that he is will give you strength for the struggle that still remains4 ,you must put off the old man1 for there is still danger of his again wrapping his poisonous rags about your limbs4 ,,ii4 ,we have here1 the continuous growth of the new man1 its aim and pattern4 ,the thought of the garment passes for the moment out of sight1 and the ,apostle enlarges on the greatness and glory of this new man1 partly as a stimulus to obeying the exhortation1 partly1 with allusion to some of the errors which he had been combating1 and partly because his fervid spirit kindles at the mention of the mighty transformation4 ,the new man1 says he1 is being renewed4 ,this is one of the instances where minute accuracy in translation is not pedantic1 but clear gain4 ,when we say1 with the ,authorised ,version1 is renewed1 we speak of a completed act2 when we say with the ,revised ,version1 is being renewed1 we speak of a continuous process2 and there can be no question that the latter is the true idea intended here4 ,the growth of the new man is constant1 perhaps slow and difficult to discern1 if the intervals of comparison be short4 ,but like all habits and powers it steadily increases4 ,on the other hand1 a similar process works to opposite results in the old man1 which1 as ,paul says in the instructive parallel passage in the ,epistle to the ,ephesians 7iv4 #bb71 waxeth corrupt1 after the lusts of deceit4 ,both grow according to their inmost nature1 the one steadily upwards2 the other with accelerating speed downwards1 till they are parted by the whole distance between the highest heaven and the lowest abyss4 ,so mystic and awful is that solemn law of the persistent increase of the true ruling tendency of a man's nature1 and its certain subjugation of the whole man to itself6 ,it is to be observed that this renewing is represented in this clause1 as done on the new man1 not by him4 ,we have heard the exhortation to a continuous appropriation and increase of the new life by our own efforts4 ,but there is a ,divine side too1 and the renewing is not merely effected by us1 nor due only to the vital power of the new man1 though growth is the sign of life there as everywhere1 but is the renewing by the ,holy ,ghost1 whose touch quickens and whose indwelling renovates the inward man day by day4 ,so there is hope for us in our striving1 for ,he helps us2 and the thought of that ,divine renewal is not a pillow for indolence1 but a spur to intenser energy1 as ,paul well knew when he wove the apparent paradox1 work out your own salvation1 for it is ,god that worketh in you4 ,the new man is being renewed unto knowledge4 ,an advanced knowledge of ,god and ,divine realities is the result of the progressive renewal4 ,possibly there may be a passing reference to the pretensions of the false teachers1 who had so much to say about a higher wisdom open to the initiated1 and to be won by ceremonial and asceticism4 ,their claims1 hints ,paul1 are baseless2 their pretended secrets a delusion2 their method of attaining them a snare4 ,there is but one way to press into the depths of the knowledge of ,god--namely growth into ,his likeness4 ,we understand one another best by sympathy4 ,we know ,god only on condition of resemblance4 ,if the eye were not sunlike how could it see the sun8 says ,goethe4 ,if thou beest this1 thou seest this1 said ,plotinus4 ,ever1 as we grow in resemblance1 shall we grow in knowledge1 and ever as we grow in knowledge1 shall we grow in resemblance4 ,so in perpetual action and reaction of being and knowing1 shall we draw nearer and nearer the unapproachable light1 and receiving it full on our faces1 shall be changed into the same image1 as the moonbeams that touch the dark ocean transfigure its waves into silver radiance like their own4 ,for all simple souls1 bewildered by the strife of tongues and unapt for speculation1 this is a message of gladness1 that the way to know ,god is to be like ,him1 and the way to be like ,him is to be renewed in the inward man1 and the way to be renewed in the inward man is to put on ,christ4 ,they may wrangle and philosophize who will1 but the path to ,god leads far away from all that4 ,it may be trodden by a child's foot1 and the wayfaring man though a fool shall not err therein1 for all that is needed is a heart that desires to know ,him1 and is made like ,him by love4 ,half the secret lies in the great word which tells us that we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is1 and knowledge will work likeness4 ,the other half lies in the great word which tells us that blessed are the pure in heart1 for they shall see ,god1 and likeness will work a more perfect knowledge4 ,this new man is being renewed after the image of ,him that created him4 ,as in the first creation man was made in the image of ,god1 so in the new creation4 ,from the first moment in which the supernatural life is derived from ,christ into the regenerated spirit1 that new life is like its source4 ,it is kindred1 therefore it is like1 as all derived life is4 ,the child's life is like the father's4 ,but the image of ,god which the new man bears is more than that which was stamped on man in his creation4 ,that consisted mainly1 if not wholly1 in the reasonable soul1 and the self-conscious personality1 the broad distinctions which separate man from other animals4 ,the image of ,god is often said to have been lost by sin1 but ,scripture seems rather to consider it as inseparable from humanity1 even when stained by transgression4 ,men are still images of ,god1 though darkened and carved in ebony4 ,the coin bears ,his image and superscription1 though rusty and defaced4 ,but the image of ,god1 which the new man bears from the beginning in a rudimentary form1 and which is continually imprinting itself more deeply upon him1 has for its principal feature holiness4 ,though the majestic infinitudes of ,god can have no likeness in man1 however exalted1 and our feebleness cannot copy ,his strength1 nor our poor blind knowledge1 with its vast circumference of ignorance1 be like ,his ungrowing and unerring knowledge1 we may be holy as ,he is holy2 we may be imitators of ,god as beloved children1 and walk in love as ,he hath loved us2 we may walk in the light as ,he is in the light1 with only the difference between ,his calm1 eternal being1 and our changeful and progressive motion therein2 we may even be perfect as our ,father is perfect4 ,this is the end of all our putting off the old and putting on the new4 ,this is the ultimate purpose of ,god1 in all ,his self-revelation4 ,for this ,christ has come and died and lives4 ,for this the ,spirit of ,god dwells in us4 ,this is the immortal hope with which we may re-create and encourage our souls in our often weary struggles4 ,even our poor sinful natures may be transformed into that wondrous likeness4 ,coal and diamond are but varying forms of carbon1 and the blackest lump dug from the deepest mine1 may be transmuted by the alchemy of that wondrous transforming union with ,christ1 into a brightness that shall flash back all the glory of the sunlight1 and gleam for ever1 set in one of ,his many crowns4 ,,iii4 ,we have here finally the grand unity of this new creation4 ,we may reverse the order of the words as they stand here1 and consider the last clause first1 inasmuch as it is the reason for the doing away of all distinctions of race1 or ceremony1 or culture1 or social condition4 ,christ is all4 ,wherever that new nature is found1 it lives by the life of ,christ4 ,he dwells in all who possess it4 ,the ,spirit of life in ,christ is in them4 ,his blood passes into their veins4 ,the holy desires1 the new tastes1 the kindling love1 the clearer vision1 the gentleness and the strength1 and whatsoever things beside are lovely and of good report1 are all ,his--nay1 we may say1 are all ,himself4 ,and1 of course1 all who are ,his are partakers of that common gift1 and ,he is in all4 ,there is no privileged class in ,christ's ,church1 as these false teachers in ,colossae had taught4 ,against every attempt to limit the universality of the gospel1 whether it came from ,jewish ,pharisees or ,eastern philosophers1 ,paul protested with his whole soul4 ,he has done so already in this ,epistle1 and does so here in his emphatic assertion that ,christ was not the possession of an aristocracy of intelligence1 but belonged to every soul that trusted ,him4 ,necessarily1 therefore1 surface distinctions disappear4 ,there is triumph in the roll of his rapid enumeration of these clefts that have so long kept brothers apart1 and are now being filled up4 ,he looks round on a world1 the antagonisms of which we can but faintly imagine1 and his eye kindles and his voice rises into vibrating emotion1 as he thinks of the mighty magnetism that is drawing enemies towards the one centre in ,christ4 ,his catalogue here may profitably be compared with his other in the ,epistle to the ,galatians 7iii4 #bh74 ,there he enumerates the three great distinctions which parted the old world3 race 7,jew and ,greek71 social condition 7bond and free71 and sex 7male and female47 ,these1 he says1 as separating powers1 are done away in ,christ4 ,here the list is modified1 probably with reference to the errors in the ,colossian ,church4 ,there cannot be ,greek and ,jew4 ,the cleft of national distinctions1 which certainly never yawned more widely than between the ,jew and every other people1 ceases to separate1 and the teachers who had been trying to perpetuate that distinction in the ,church were blind to the very meaning of the gospel4 ,circumcision and uncircumcision separated4 ,nothing makes deeper and bitterer antagonisms than differences in religious forms1 and people who have not been born into them are usually the most passionate in adherence to them1 so that cleft did not entirely coincide with the former4 ,barbarian1 ,scythian1 is not an antithesis1 but a climax--the ,scythians were looked upon as the most savage of barbarians4 ,the ,greek contempt for the outside races1 which is reflected in this clause1 was largely the contempt for a supposed lower stage of culture4 ,as we have seen1 ,colossae especially needed the lesson that differences in culture disappeared in the unity of ,christ1 for the heretical teachers attached great importance to the wisdom which they professed to impart4 ,a cultivated class is always tempted to superciliousness1 and a half cultivated class is even more so4 ,there is abundance of that arrogance born of education among us to-day1 and sorely needing and quite disbelieving the teaching that there are things which can make up for the want of what it possesses4 ,it is in the interest of the humble virtues of the uneducated godly as well as of the nations called uncivilized1 that ,christianity wars against that most heartless and ruinous of all prides1 the pride of culture1 by its proclamation that in ,christ1 barbarian1 ,scythian and the most polished thinker or scholar are one4 ,bondman1 freeman is again an antithesis4 ,that gulf between master and slave was indeed wide and deep2 too wide for compassion to cross1 though not for hatred to stride over4 ,the untold miseries of slavery in the old world are but dimly known2 but it and war and the degradation of women made an infernal trio which crushed more than half the race into a hell of horrors4 ,perhaps ,paul may have been the more ready to add this clause to his catalogue because his thoughts had been occupied with the relation of master and slave on the occasion of the letter to ,philemon which was sent along with this to ,colossae4 ,christianity waged no direct war against these social evils of antiquity1 but it killed them much more effectually by breathing into the conscience of the world truths which made their continuance impossible4 ,it girdled the tree1 and left it to die--a much better and more thorough plan than dragging it out of the ground by main force4 ,revolution cures nothing4 ,the only way to get rid of evils engrained in the constitution of society is to elevate and change the tone of thought and feeling1 and then they die of atrophy4 ,change the climate1 and you change the vegetation4 ,until you do1 neither mowing nor uprooting will get rid of the foul growths4 ,so the gospel does with all these lines of demarcation between men4 ,what becomes of them8 ,what becomes of the ridges of sand that separate pool from pool at low water8 ,the tide comes up over them and makes them all one1 gathered into the oneness of the great sea4 ,they may remain1 but they are seen no more1 and the roll of the wave is not interrupted by them4 ,the powers and blessings of the ,christ pass freely from heart to heart1 hindered by no barriers4 ,christ founds a deeper unity independent of all these superficial distinctions1 for the very conception of humanity is the product of ,christianity1 and the true foundation for the brotherhood of mankind is the revelation in ,christ of the fatherhood of ,god4 ,christ is the brother of us all2 ,his death is for every man2 the blessing of ,his gospel is offered to each2 ,he will dwell in the heart of any4 ,therefore all distinctions1 national1 ceremonial1 intellectual or social1 fade into nothingness4 ,love is of no nation1 and ,christ is the property of no aristocracy in the ,church4 ,that great truth was a miraculous new thing in that old world1 all torn apart by deep clefts like the grim canyons of ,american rivers4 ,strange it must have seemed to find slaves and their masters1 ,jew and ,greek1 sitting at one table and bound in fraternal ties4 ,the world has not yet fully grasped that truth1 and the ,church has woefully failed in showing it to be a reality4 ,but it arches above all our wars1 and schisms1 and wretched class distinctions1 like a rainbow of promise1 beneath whose open portal the world shall one day pass into that bright land where the wandering peoples shall gather together in peace round the feet of ,jesus1 and there shall be one fold because there is one ,shepherd4 ,,xx4 ,,the ,,garments ,,of ,,the ,,renewed ,,soul4 ,put on therefore1 as ,god's elect1 holy and beloved1 a heart of compassion1 kindness1 humility1 meekness1 longsuffering2 forbearing one another1 and forgiving each other1 if any man have a complaint against any2 even as the ,lord forgave you1 so also do ye3 and above all these things put on love1 which is the bond of perfectness4--,,col4 iii4#ab-ad 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,we need not repeat what has been already said as to the logic of the inference1 ,you have put off the old man1 therefore put off the vices which belong to him4 ,here we have the same argument in reference to the new man who is to be put on because he has been put on4 ,this therefore rests the exhortation both on that thought1 and on the nearer words1 ,christ is all and in all4 ,because the new nature has been assumed in the very act of conversion1 therefore array your souls in vesture corresponding4 ,because ,christ is all and in all1 therefore clothe yourselves with all brotherly graces1 corresponding to the great unity into which all ,christians are brought by their common possession of ,christ4 ,the whole field of ,christian morality is not traversed here1 but only so much of it as concerns the social duties which result from that unity4 ,but besides the foundation for the exhortations which is laid in the possession of the ,new ,man1 consequent on participation in ,christ1 another ground for them is added in the words1 as ,god's elect1 holy and beloved4 ,those who are in ,christ and are thus regenerated in ,him1 are of the chosen race1 are consecrated as belonging especially to ,god1 and receive the warm beams of the special paternal love with which ,he regards the men who are in some measure conformed to ,his likeness and moulded after ,his will4 ,that relation to ,god should draw after it a life congruous with itself--a life of active goodness and brotherly gentleness4 ,the outcome of it should be not mere glad emotion1 nor a hugging of one's self in one's happiness1 but practical efforts to turn to men a face lit by the same dispositions with which ,god has looked on us1 or as the parallel passage in ,ephesians has it1 ,be imitators of ,god1 as beloved children4 ,that is a wide and fruitful principle--the relation to men will follow the relation to ,god4 ,as we think ,god has been to us1 so let us try to be to others4 ,the poorest little fishing cobble is best guided by celestial observations1 and dead reckoning without sun or stars is but second best4 ,independent morality cut loose from religion will be feeble morality4 ,on the other hand1 religion which does not issue in morality is a ghost without substance4 ,religion is the soul of morality4 ,morality is the body of religion1 more than ceremonial worship is4 ,the virtues which all men know1 are the fitting garments of the elect of ,god4 ,i4 ,we have here then an enumeration of the fair garments of the new man4 ,let us go over the items of this list of the wardrobe of the consecrated soul4 ,a heart of compassion4 ,so the ,revised ,version renders the words given literally in the ,authorised as bowels of mercies1 an expression which that very strange thing called conventional propriety regards as coarse1 simply because ,jews chose one part of the body and we another as the supposed seat of the emotions4 ,either phrase expresses substantially the ,apostle's meaning4 ,is it not beautiful that the series should begin with pity8 ,it is the most often needed1 for the sea of sorrow stretches so widely that nothing less than a universal compassion can arch it over as with the blue of heaven4 ,every man would seem in some respect deserving of and needing sympathy1 if his whole heart and history could be laid bare4 ,such compassion is difficult to achieve1 for its healing streams are dammed back by many obstructions of inattention and occupation1 and dried up by the fierce heat of selfishness4 ,custom1 with its deadening influence1 comes in to make us feel least the sorrows which are most common in the society around us4 ,as a man might live so long in an asylum that lunacy would seem to him almost the normal condition1 so the most widely diffused griefs are those least observed and least compassionated2 and good1 tender-hearted men and women walk the streets of our great cities and see sights--children growing up for the gallows and the devil1 gin-shops at every corner--which might make angels weep1 and suppose them to be as inseparable from our civilization as the noise of wheels from a carriage or bilge water from a ship4 ,therefore we have to make conscious efforts to put on that sympathetic disposition1 and to fight against the faults which hinder its free play4 ,without it1 no help will be of much use to the receiver1 nor of any to the giver4 ,benefits bestowed on the needy and sorrowful1 if bestowed without sympathy1 will hurt like a blow4 ,much is said about ingratitude1 but very often it is but the instinctive recoil of the heart from the unkind doer of a kindness4 ,aid flung to a man as a bone is to a dog usually gets as much gratitude as the sympathy which it expresses deserves4 ,but if we really make another's sorrows ours1 that teaches us tact and gentleness1 and makes our clumsy hands light and deft to bind up sore hearts4 ,above all things1 the practical discipline which cultivates pity will beware of letting it be excited and then not allowing the emotion to act4 ,to stimulate feeling and do nothing in consequence is a short road to destroy the feeling4 ,pity is meant to be the impulse toward help1 and if it is checked and suffered to pass away idly1 it is weakened1 as certainly as a plant is weakened by being kept close nipped and hindered from bringing its buds to flower and fruit4 ,kindness comes next--a wider benignity1 not only exercised where there is manifest room for pity1 but turning a face of goodwill to all4 ,some souls are so dowered that they have this grace without effort1 and come like the sunshine with welcome and cheer for all the world4 ,but even less happily endowed natures can cultivate the disposition1 and the best way to cultivate it is to be much in communion with ,god4 ,when ,moses came down from the mount1 his face shone4 ,when we come out from the secret place of the ,most ,high we shall bear some reflection of ,his great kindness whose tender mercies are over all ,his works4 ,this kindness is the opposite of that worldly wisdom1 on which many men pride themselves as the ripe fruit of their knowledge of men and things1 and which keeps up vigilant suspicion of everybody1 as in the savage state1 where stranger and enemy had only one word between them4 ,it does not require us to be blind to facts or to live in fancies1 but it does require us to cherish a habit of goodwill1 ready to become pity if sorrow appears1 and slow to turn away even if hostility appears4 ,meet your brother with kindness1 and you will generally find it returned4 ,the prudent hypocrites who get on in the world1 as ships are launched1 by greasing the ways with flattery1 and smiles1 teach us the value of the true thing1 since even a coarse caricature of it wins hearts and disarms foes4 ,this kindness is the most powerful solvent of illwill and indifference4 ,then follows humility4 ,that seems to break the current of thought by bringing a virtue entirely occupied with self into the middle of a series referring exclusively to others4 ,but it does not really do so4 ,from this point onwards all the graces named have reference to our demeanour under slights and injuries--and humility comes into view here only as constituting the foundation for the right bearing of these4 ,meekness and longsuffering must stand on a basis of humility4 ,the proud man1 who thinks highly of himself and of his own claims1 will be the touchy man1 if any one derogates from these4 ,humility1 or lowly-mindedness1 a lowly estimate of ourselves1 is not necessarily blindness to our strong points4 ,if a man can do certain things better than his neighbours1 he can hardly help knowing it1 and ,christian humility does not require him to be ignorant of it4 ,i suppose ,milton would be none the less humble1 though he was quite sure that his work was better than that of ,sternhold and ,hopkins4 ,the consciousness of power usually accompanies power4 ,but though it may be quite right to know myself in the strong points1 as well as in the weak1 there are two considerations which should act as dampers to any unchristian fire of pride which the devil's breath may blow up from that fuel4 ,the one is1 ,what hast thou that thou hast not received8 the other is1 ,who is pure before ,god's judgment-seat8 ,your strong points are nothing so very wonderful1 after all4 ,if you have better brains than some of your neighbours1 well1 that is not a thing to give yourself such airs about4 ,besides1 where did you get the faculties you plume yourself on8 ,however cultivated by yourself1 how came they yours at first8 ,and1 furthermore1 whatever superiorities may lift you above any men1 and however high you may be elevated1 it is a long way from the top of the highest molehill to the sun1 and not much longer to the top of the lowest4 ,and1 besides all that1 you may be very clever and brilliant1 may have made books or pictures1 may have stamped your name on some invention1 may have won a place in public life1 or made a fortune--and yet you and the beggar who cannot write his name are both guilty before ,god4 ,pride seems out of place in creatures like us1 who have all to bow our heads in the presence of ,his perfect judgment1 and cry1 ,god be merciful to me a sinner6 ,then follow meekness1 long-suffering4 ,the distinction between these two is slight4 ,according to the most thorough investigators1 the former is the temper which accepts ,god's dealings1 or evil inflicted by men as ,his instruments1 without resistance1 while the latter is the long holding out of the mind before it gives way to a temptation to action1 or passion1 especially the latter4 ,the opposite of meekness is rudeness or harshness2 the opposite of long-suffering1 swift resentment or revenge4 ,perhaps there may be something in the distinction1 that while long-suffering does not get angry soon1 meekness does not get angry at all4 ,possibly1 too1 meekness implies a lowlier position than long-suffering does4 ,the meek man puts himself below the offender2 the long-suffering man does not4 ,god is long-suffering1 but the incarnate ,god alone can be meek and lowly4 ,the general meaning is plain enough4 ,the hate of hate1 the scorn of scorn1 is not the ,christian ideal4 ,i am not to allow my enemy always to settle the terms on which we are to be4 ,why should ,i scowl back at him1 though he frowns at me8 ,it is hard work1 as we all know1 to repress the retort that would wound and be so neat4 ,it is hard not to repay slights and offences in kind4 ,but1 if the basis of our dispositions to others be laid in a wise and lowly estimate of ourselves1 such graces of conduct will be possible1 and they will give beauty to our characters4 ,forbearing and forgiving are not new virtues4 ,they are meekness and long-suffering in exercise1 and if we were right in saying that long-suffering was not soon angry1 and meekness was not angry at all1 then forbearance would correspond to the former and forgiveness to the latter2 for a man may exercise forbearance1 and bite his lips till the blood come rather than speak1 and violently constrain himself to keep calm and do nothing unkind1 and yet all the while seven devils may be in his spirit2 while forgiveness1 on the other hand1 is an entire wiping of all enmity and irritation clean out of the heart4 ,such is the ,apostle's outline sketch of the ,christian character in its social aspect1 all rooted in pity1 and full of soft compassion2 quick to apprehend1 to feel1 and to succour sorrow2 a kindliness1 equable and widespread1 illuminating all who come within its reach2 a patient acceptance of wrongs without resentment or revenge1 because a lowly judgment of self and its claims1 a spirit schooled to calmness under all provocations1 disdaining to requite wrong by wrong1 and quick to forgive4 ,the question may well be asked--is that a type of character which the world generally admires8 ,is it not uncommonly like what most people would call a poor spiritless creature4 ,it was a new man1 most emphatically1 when ,paul drew that sketch1 for the heathen world had never seen anything like it4 ,it is a new man still2 for although the modern world has had some kind of ,christianity--at least has had a ,church--for all these centuries1 that is not the kind of character which is its ideal4 ,look at the heroes of history and of literature4 ,look at the tone of so much contemporary biography and criticism of public actions4 ,think of the ridicule which is poured on the attempt to regulate politics by ,christian principles1 or1 as a distinguished soldier called them in public recently1 puling principles4 ,it may be true that ,christianity has not added any new virtues to those which are prescribed by natural conscience1 but it has most certainly altered the perspective of the whole1 and created a type of excellence1 in which the gentler virtues predominate1 and the novelty of which is proved by the reluctance of the so-called ,christian world to recognise it even yet4 ,by the side of its serene and lofty beauty1 the heroic virtues embodied in the world's type of excellence show vulgar and glaring1 like some daub representing a soldier1 the sign-post of a public-house1 by the side of ,angelico's white-robed visions on the still convent walls4 ,the highest exercise of these more gaudy and conspicuous qualities is to produce the pity and meekness of the ,christian ideal4 ,more self-command1 more heroic firmness1 more contempt for the popular estimate1 more of everything strong and manly1 will find a nobler field in subduing passion and cherishing forgiveness1 which the world thinks folly and spiritless1 than anywhere else4 ,better is he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city4 ,the great pattern and motive of forgiveness is next set forth4 ,we are to forgive as ,christ has forgiven us2 and that as may be applied either as meaning in like manner1 or as meaning because4 ,the ,revised ,version1 with many others1 adopts the various reading of the ,lord1 instead of ,christ1 which has the advantage of recalling the parable that was no doubt in ,paul's mind1 about the servant who1 having been forgiven by his ,lord all his great debt1 took his fellow-servant by the throat and squeezed the last farthing out of him4 ,the great transcendent act of ,god's mercy brought to us by ,christ's cross is sometimes1 as in the parallel passage in ,ephesians1 spoken of as ,god for ,christ's sake forgiving us1 and sometimes as here1 ,christ is represented as forgiving4 ,we need not pause to do more than point to that interchange of ,divine office and attributes1 and ask what notion of ,christ's person underlies it4 ,we have already had the death of ,christ set forth as in a very profound sense our pattern4 ,here we have one special case of the general law that the life and death of our ,lord are the embodied ideal of human character and conduct4 ,his forgiveness is not merely revealed to us that trembling hearts may be calm1 and that a fearful looking for of judgment may no more trouble a foreboding conscience4 ,for whilst we must ever begin with cleaving to it as our hope1 we must never stop there4 ,a heart touched and softened by pardon will be a heart apt to pardon1 and the miracle of forgiveness which has been wrought for it will constitute the law of its life as well as the ground of its joyful security4 ,this new pattern and new motive1 both in one1 make the true novelty and specific difference of ,christian morality4 ,as ,i have loved you1 makes the commandment love one another a new commandment4 ,and all that is difficult in obedience becomes easier by the power of that motive4 ,imitation of one whom we love is instinctive4 ,obedience to one whom we love is delightful4 ,the far off ideal becomes near and real in the person of our best friend4 ,bound to him by obligations so immense1 and a forgiveness so costly and complete1 we shall joyfully yield to the cords of love which draw us after ,him4 ,we have each to choose what shall be the pattern for us4 ,the world takes ,caesar1 the hero2 the ,christian takes ,christ1 in whose meekness is power1 and whose gentle long-suffering has been victor in a sterner conflict than any battle of the warrior with garments rolled in blood4 ,paul says1 ,even as the ,lord forgave you1 so also do ye4 ,the ,lord's prayer teaches us to ask1 ,forgive us our trespasses1 as we also forgive4 ,in the one case ,christ's forgiveness is the example and the motive for ours4 ,in the other1 our forgiveness is the condition of ,god's4 ,both are true4 ,we shall find the strongest impulse to pardon others in the consciousness that we have been pardoned by ,him4 ,and if we have grudgings against our offending brother in our hearts1 we shall not be conscious of the tender forgiveness of our ,father in heaven4 ,that is no arbitrary limitation1 but inherent in the very nature of the case4 ,,ii4 ,we have here the girdle which keeps all the garments in their places4 ,above all these things1 put on love1 which is the bond of perfectness4 ,above all these does not mean besides1 or more important than1 but is clearly used in its simplest local sense1 as equivalent to over1 and thus carries on the metaphor of the dress4 ,over the other garments is to be put the silken sash or girdle of love1 which will brace and confine all the rest into a unity4 ,it is the girdle of perfectness1 by which is not meant1 as is often supposed1 the perfect principle of union among men4 ,perfectness is not the quality of the girdle1 but the thing which it girds1 and is a collective expression for the various graces and virtues1 which together make up perfection4 ,so the metaphor expresses the thought that love knits into a harmonious whole1 the graces which without it would be fragmentary and incomplete4 ,we can conceive of all the dispositions already named as existing in some fashion without love4 ,there might be pity which was not love1 though we know it is akin to it4 ,the feeling with which one looks upon some poor outcast1 or on some stranger in sorrow1 or even on an enemy in misery1 may be very genuine compassion1 and yet clearly separate from love4 ,so with all the others4 ,there may be kindness most real without any of the diviner emotion1 and there may even be forbearance reaching up to forgiveness1 and yet leaving the heart untouched in its deepest recesses4 ,but if these virtues were thus exercised1 in the absence of love they would be fragmentary1 shallow1 and would have no guarantee for their own continuance4 ,let love come into the heart and knit a man to the poor creature whom he had only pitied before1 or to the enemy whom he had at the most been able with an effort to forgive2 and it lifts these other emotions into a nobler life4 ,he who pities may not love1 but he who loves cannot but pity2 and that compassion will flow with a deeper current and be of a purer quality than the shrunken stream which does not rise from that higher source4 ,nor is it only the virtues enumerated here for which love performs this office2 but all the else isolated graces of character1 it binds or welds into a harmonious whole4 ,as the broad ,eastern girdle holds the flowing robes in position1 and gives needed firmness to the figure as well as composed order to the attire2 so this broad band1 woven of softest fabric1 keeps all emotions in their due place and makes the attire of the ,christian soul beautiful in harmonious completeness4 ,perhaps it is a yet deeper truth that love produces all these graces4 ,whatsoever things men call virtues1 are best cultivated by cultivating it4 ,so with a somewhat similar meaning to that of our text1 but if anything1 going deeper down1 ,paul in another place calls love the fulfilling of the law1 even as his ,master had taught him that all the complex of duties incumbent upon us were summed up in love to ,god1 and love to men4 ,whatever ,i owe to my brother will be discharged if ,i love ,god1 and live my love4 ,nothing of it1 not even the smallest mite of the debt will be discharged1 however vast my sacrifices and services1 if ,i do not4 ,so end the frequent references in this letter to putting off the old and putting on the new4 ,the sum of them all is1 that we must first put on ,christ by faith1 and then by daily effort clothe our spirits in the graces of character which ,he gives us1 and by which we shall be like ,him4 ,we have said that this dress of the ,christian soul which we have been now considering does not include the whole of ,christian duty4 ,we may recall the other application of the same figure which occurs in the parallel ,epistle to the ,ephesians1 where ,paul sketches for us in a few rapid touches the armed ,christian soldier4 ,the two pictures may profitably be set side by side4 ,here he dresses the ,christian soul in the robes of peace1 bidding him put on pity and meekness1 and above all1 the silken girdle of love4 ,in peace1 there's nothing so becomes a man ,as modest stillness and humility2 ,but when the blast of war blows in our ears1 then put on the whole armour of ,god1 the leathern girdle of truth1 the shining breastplate of righteousness1 and above all1 the shield of faith--and so stand a flashing pillar of steel4 ,are the two pictures inconsistent8 must we doff the robes of peace to don the armour1 or put off the armour to resume the robes of peace8 ,not so2 both must be worn together1 for neither is found in its completeness without the other4 ,beneath the armour must be the fine linen1 clean and white--and at one and the same time1 our souls may be clad in all pity1 mercifulness and love1 and in all the sparkling panoply of courage and strength for battle4 ,but both the armour and the dress of peace presuppose that we have listened to ,christ's pleading counsel to buy of ,him white raiment that we may be clothed1 and that the shame of our nakedness do not appear4 ,the garment for the soul1 which is to hide its deformities and to replace our own filthy rags1 is woven in no earthly looms1 and no efforts of ours will bring us into possession of it4 ,we must be content to owe it wholly to ,christ's gift1 or else we shall have to go without it altogether4 ,the first step in the ,christian life is by simple faith to receive from ,him the forgiveness of all our sins1 and that new nature which ,he alone can impart1 and which we can neither create nor win1 but must simply accept4 ,then1 after that1 come the field and the time for efforts put forth in ,his strength1 to array our souls in ,his likeness1 and day by day to put on the beautiful garments which ,he bestows4 ,it is a lifelong work thus to strip ourselves of the rags of our old vices1 and to gird on the robe of righteousness4 ,lofty encouragements1 tender motives1 solemn warnings1 all point to this as our continual task4 ,we should set ourselves to it in ,his strength1 if so be that being clothed1 we may not be found naked--and then1 when we lay aside the garment of flesh and the armour needed for the battle1 we shall hear ,his voice welcoming us to the land of peace1 and shall walk with ,him in victor's robes1 glistening so as no fuller on earth could white them4 ,,xxi4 ,,the ,,practical ,,effects ,,of ,,the ,,peace ,,of ,,christ1 ,,the ,,word ,,of ,,christ1 ,,and ,,the ,,name ,,of ,,christ4 ,and let the peace of ,christ rule in your hearts1 to the which also ye were called in one body2 and be ye thankful4 ,let the word of ,christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom2 teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs1 singing with grace in your hearts unto ,god4 ,and whatsoever ye do in word or in deed1 do all in the name of the ,lord ,jesus1 giving thanks to ,god the ,father through ,him4--,,col4 iii4 #ae-ag 7,rev4 ,vers474 ,there are here three precepts somewhat loosely connected1 of which the first belongs properly to the series considered in our last section1 from which it is only separated as not sharing in the metaphor under which the virtues contained in the former verses were set forth4 ,in substance it is closely connected with them1 though in form it is different1 and in sweep is more comprehensive4 ,the second refers mainly to ,christian intercourse1 especially to social worship2 and the third covers the whole field of conduct1 and fitly closes the series1 which in it reaches the utmost possible generality1 and from it drops to the inculcation of very special domestic duties4 ,the three verses have each a dominant phrase round which we may group their teaching4 ,these three are1 the peace of ,christ1 the word of ,christ1 the name of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,i4 ,the ,ruling ,peace of ,christ4 ,the various reading peace of ,christ1 for peace of ,god1 is not only recommended by manuscript authority1 but has the advantage of bringing the expression into connection with the great words of the ,lord1 ,peace ,i leave with you1 ,my peace ,i give unto you4 ,a strange legacy to leave1 and a strange moment at which to speak of ,his peace6 ,it was but an hour or so since ,he had been troubled in spirit1 as ,he thought of the betrayer--and in an hour more ,he would be beneath the olives of ,gethsemane2 and yet1 even at such a time1 ,he bestows on ,his friends some share in ,his own deep repose of spirit4 ,surely the peace of ,christ must mean what ,my peace meant2 not only the peace which ,he gives1 but the peace which lay1 like a great calm on the sea1 on ,his own deep heart2 and surely we cannot restrict so solemn an expression to the meaning of mutual concord among brethren4 ,that1 no doubt1 is included in it1 but there is much more than that4 ,whatever made the strange calm which leaves such unmistakable traces in the picture of ,christ drawn in the ,gospels1 may be ours4 ,when ,he gave us ,his peace1 ,he gave us some share in that meek submission of will to ,his ,father's will1 and in that stainless purity1 which were its chief elements4 ,the hearts and lives of men are made troubled1 not by circumstances1 but by themselves4 ,whoever can keep his own will in harmony with ,god's enters into rest1 though many trials and sorrows may be his4 ,even if within and without are fightings1 there may be a central peace subsisting at the heart of endless agitation4 ,we are our own disturbers4 ,the eager swift motions of our own wills keep us restless4 ,forsake these1 and quiet comes4 ,christ's peace was the result of the perfect harmony of all ,his nature4 ,all was co-operant to one great purpose2 desires and passions did not war with conscience and reason1 nor did the flesh lust against the ,spirit4 ,though that complete uniting of all our inner selves in the sweet concord of perfect obedience is not attained on earth1 yet its beginnings are given to us by ,christ1 and in ,him we may be at peace with ourselves1 and have one great ruling power binding all our conflicting desires in one1 as the moon draws after her the heaped waters of the sea4 ,we are summoned to improve that gift--to let the peace of ,christ have its way in our hearts4 ,the surest way to increase our possession of it is to decrease our separation from ,him4 ,the fulness of our possession of ,his gift of peace depends altogether on our proximity to the ,giver4 ,it evaporates in carrying4 ,it diminishes as the square of the distance from the source4 ,so the exhortation to let it rule in us will be best fulfilled by keeping thought and affection in close union with our ,lord4 ,this peace is to rule in our hearts4 ,the figure contained in the word here translated rule is that of the umpire or arbitrator at the games1 who1 looking down on the arena1 watches that the combatants strive lawfully1 and adjudges the prize4 ,possibly the force of the figure may have been washed out of the word by use1 and the rule of our rendering may be all that it means4 ,but there seems no reason against keeping the full force of the expression1 which adds picturesqueness and point to the precept4 ,the peace of ,christ1 then1 is to sit enthroned as umpire in the heart2 or1 if we might give a mediaeval instead of a classical shape to the figure1 that fair sovereign1 ,peace1 is to be ,queen of the ,tournament1 and her eyes rain influence and adjudge the prize4 ,when contending impulses and reasons distract and seem to pull us in opposite directions1 let her settle which is to prevail4 ,how can the peace of ,christ do that for us8 ,we may make a rude test of good and evil by their effects on our inward repose4 ,whatever mars our tranquillity1 ruffling the surface so that ,christ's image is no longer visible1 is to be avoided4 ,that stillness of spirit is very sensitive and shrinks away at the presence of an evil thing4 ,let it be for us what the barometer is to a sailor1 and if it sinks1 let us be sure a storm is at hand4 ,if we find that a given course of action tends to break our peace1 we may be certain that there is poison in the draught which as in the old stories1 has been detected by the shivered cup1 and we should not drink any more4 ,there is nothing so precious that it is worth while to lose the peace of ,christ for the sake of it4 ,whenever we find it in peril1 we must retrace our steps4 ,then follows appended a reason for cultivating the peace of ,christ to which also ye were called in one body4 ,the very purpose of ,god's merciful summons and invitation to them in the gospel was that they might share in this peace4 ,there are many ways of putting ,god's design in ,his call by the gospel--it may be represented under many angles and from many points of view1 and is glorious from all and each4 ,no one word can state all the fulness to which we are called by ,his wonderful love1 but none can be tenderer and more blessed than this thought1 that ,god's great voice has summoned us to a share in ,christ's peace4 ,being so called1 all who share in it of course find themselves knit to each other by possession of a common gift4 ,what a contradiction then1 to be summoned in order to so blessed a possession1 and not to allow it sovereign sway in moulding heart and life6 ,what a contradiction1 further1 to have been gathered into one body by the common possession of the peace of ,christ1 and yet not to allow it to bind all the members in its sweet fetters with cords of love6 ,the sway of the peace of ,christ in our hearts will ensure the perfect exercise of all the other graces of which we have been hearing1 and therefore this precept fitly closes the series of exhortations to brotherly affections1 and seals all with the thought of the one body of which all these new men are members4 ,the very abruptness of the introduction of the next precept gives it force1 and be ye thankful1 or1 as we might translate with an accuracy which perhaps is not too minute1 become thankful1 striving towards deeper gratitude than you have yet attained4 ,paul is ever apt to catch fire as often as his thought brings him in sight of ,god's great love in drawing men to ,himself1 and in giving them such rich gifts4 ,it is quite a feature of his style to break into sudden bursts of praise as often as his path leads him to a summit from which he catches a glimpse of that great miracle of love4 ,this interjected precept is precisely like these sudden jets of praise4 ,it is as if he had broken off for a moment from the line of his thought1 and had said to his hearers--,think of that wonderful love of your ,father ,god4 ,he has called you from the midst of your heathenism1 ,he has called you from a world of tumult and a life of troubled unrest to possess the peace which brooded ever1 like the mystic dove1 over ,christ's head2 ,he has called you in one body1 having knit in a grand unity us1 ,jews and ,gentiles1 so widely parted before4 ,let us pause and lift up our voices in praise to ,him4 ,true thankfulness will well up at all moments1 and will underlie and blend with all duties4 ,there are frequent injunctions to thankfulness in this letter1 and we have it again enjoined in the closing words of the verses which we are now considering1 so that we may defer any further remarks till we come to deal with these4 ,,ii4 ,the ,indwelling ,word of ,christ4 ,the main reference of this verse seems to be to the worship of the ,church--the highest expression of its oneness4 ,there are three points enforced in its three clauses1 of which the first is the dwelling in the hearts of the ,colossian ,christians of the word of ,christ1 by which is meant1 as ,i conceive1 not simply the presence of ,christ in the heart1 as an inward monitor1#c but the indwelling of the definite body of truths contained in the gospel which had been preached to them4 ,that gospel is the word of ,christ1 inasmuch as ,he is its subject4 ,these early ,christians received that body of truth by oral teaching4 ,to us it comes in the history of ,christ's life and death1 and in the exposition of the significance and far-reaching depth and power of these1 which are contained in the rest of the ,new ,testament--a very definite body of teaching4 ,how can it abide in the heart8 or what is the dwelling of that word within us but the occupation of mind and heart and will with the truth concerning ,jesus revealed to us in ,scripture8 ,this indwelling is in our own power1 for it is matter of precept and not of promise--and if we want to have it we must do with religious truth just what we do with other truths that we want to keep in our minds--ponder them1 use our faculties on them1 be perpetually recurring to them1 fix them in our memories1 like nails fastened in a sure place1 and1 that we may remember them1 get them by heart1 as the children say4 ,few things are more wanting to-day than this4 ,the popular ,christianity of the day is strong in philanthropic service1 and some phases of it are full of evangelistic activity1 but it is wofully lacking in intelligent grasp of the great principles involved and revealed in the gospel4 ,some ,christians have yielded to the popular prejudice against dogma1 and have come to dislike and neglect the doctrinal side of religion1 and others are so busy in good works of various kinds that they have no time nor inclination to reflect nor to learn1 and for others the cares of this world and the lusts of other things1 entering in1 choke the word4 ,a merely intellectual ,christianity is a very poor thing1 no doubt2 but that has been dinned into our ears so long and loudly for a generation now1 that there is much need for a clear preaching of the other side--namely1 that a merely emotional ,christianity is a still poorer1 and that if feeling on the one hand and conduct on the other are to be worthy of men with heads on their shoulders and brains in their heads1 both feeling and conduct must be built on a foundation of truth believed and pondered4 ,in the ordered monarchy of human nature1 reason is meant to govern1 but she is also meant to submit1 and for her the law holds good1 she must learn to obey that she may be able to rule4 ,she must bow to the word of ,christ1 and then she will sway aright the kingdom of the soul4 ,it becomes us to make conscience of seeking to get a firm and intelligent grasp of ,christian truth as a whole1 and not to be always living on milk meant for babes1 nor to expect that teachers and preachers should only repeat for ever the things which we know already4 ,that word is to dwell in ,christian men richly4 ,it is their own fault if they possess it1 as so many do1 in scant measure4 ,it might be a full tide4 ,why in so many is it a mere trickle1 like an ,australian river in the heat1 a line of shallow ponds with no life or motion1 scarcely connected by a thread of moisture1 and surrounded by great stretches of blinding shingle1 when it might be a broad water--waters to swim in8 ,why1 but because they do not do with this word1 what all students do with the studies which they love8 ,the word should manifest the rich abundance of its dwelling in men by opening out in their minds into every kind of wisdom4 ,where the gospel in its power dwells in a man's spirit1 and is intelligently meditated on and studied1 it will effloresce into principles of thought and action applicable to all subjects1 and touching the whole round horizon of human life4 ,all1 and more than all1 the wisdom which these false teachers promised in their mysteries1 is given to the babes and the simple ones who treasure the word of ,christ in their hearts1 and the least among them may say1 ,i have more understanding than all my teachers1 for ,thy testimonies are my meditation4 ,that gospel which the child may receive1 has infinite riches in a narrow room1 and1 like some tiny black seed1 for all its humble form1 has hidden in it the promise and potency of wondrous beauty of flower1 and nourishment of fruit4 ,cultured and cared for in the heart where it is sown1 it will unfold into all truth which a man can receive or ,god can give1 concerning ,god and man1 our nature1 duties1 hopes and destinies1 the tasks of the moment1 and the glories of eternity4 ,he who has it and lets it dwell richly in his heart is wise2 he who has it not1 at his latter end shall be a fool4 ,the second clause of this verse deals with the manifestations of the indwelling word in the worship of the ,church4 ,the individual possession of the word in one's own heart does not make us independent of brotherly help4 ,rather1 it is the very foundation of the duty of sharing our riches with our fellows1 and of increasing ours by contributions from their stores4 ,and so--teaching and admonishing one another is the outcome of it4 ,the universal possession of ,christ's word involves the equally universal right and duty of mutual instruction4 ,we have already heard the ,apostle declaring it to be his work to admonish every man and to teach every man1 and found that the former office pointed to practical ethical instruction1 not without rebuke and warning1 while the latter referred rather to doctrinal teaching4 ,what he there claimed for himself1 he here enjoins on the whole ,christian community4 ,we have here a glimpse of the perfectly simple1 informal public services of the early ,church1 which seem to have partaken much more of the nature of a free conference than of any of the forms of worship at present in use in any ,church4 ,the evidence both of this passage and of the other ,pauline ,epistles1 especially of the first ,epistle to the ,corinthians 7xiv47 unmistakably shows this4 ,the forms of worship in the apostolic ,church are not meant for models1 and we do not prove a usage as intended to be permanent because we prove it to be primitive2 but the principles which underlie the usages are valid always and everywhere1 and one of these principles is the universal though not equal inspiration of ,christian men1 which results in their universal calling to teach and admonish4 ,in what forms that principle shall be expressed1 how safeguarded and controlled1 is of secondary importance4 ,different stages of culture and a hundred other circumstances will modify these1 and nobody but a pedant or religious martinet will care about uniformity4 ,but ,i cannot but believe that the present practice of confining the public teaching of the ,church to an official class has done harm4 ,why should one man be for ever speaking1 and hundreds of people who are able to teach1 sitting dumb to listen or pretend to listen to him8 ,surely there is a wasteful expenditure there4 ,i hate forcible revolution1 and do not believe that any institutions1 either political or ecclesiastical1 which need violence to sweep them away1 are ready to be removed2 but ,i believe that if the level of spiritual life were raised among us1 new forms would naturally be evolved1 in which there should be a more adequate recognition of the great principle on which the democracy of ,christianity is founded1 namely1 ,i will pour out ,my ,spirit on all flesh--and on ,my servants and on ,my handmaidens ,i will pour out in these days of ,my ,spirit1 and they shall prophesy4 ,there are not wanting signs that many different classes of ,christian worshippers have ceased to find edification in the present manner of teaching4 ,the more cultured write books on the decay of preaching2 the more earnest take to mission halls and a freer service1 and lay preaching2 the more indifferent stay at home4 ,when the tide rises1 all the idle craft stranded on the mud are set in motion2 such a time is surely coming for the ,church1 when the aspiration that has waited millenniums for its fulfilment1 and received but a partial accomplishment at ,pentecost1 shall at last be a fact3 would ,god that all the ,lord's people were prophets1 and that the ,lord would put ,his ,spirit upon them6 ,the teaching and admonishing is here regarded as being effected by means of song4 ,that strikes one as singular1 and tempts to another punctuation of the verse1 by which ,in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another should make a separate clause1 and in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs should be attached to the following words4 ,but probably the ordinary arrangement of clauses is best on the whole4 ,the distinction between psalms and hymns appears to be that the former is a song with a musical accompaniment1 and that the latter is vocal praise to ,god4 ,no doubt the psalms meant were chiefly those of the ,psalter1 the ,old ,testament element in the early ,christian worship1 while the hymns were the new product of the spirit of devotion which had naturally broken into song1 the first beginnings of the great treasure of ,christian hymnody4 ,spiritual songs is a more general expression1 including all varieties of ,christian poesy1 provided that they come from the ,spirit moving in the heart4 ,we know from many sources that song had a large part in the worship of the early ,church4 ,indeed1 whenever a great quickening of religious life comes1 a great burst of ,christian song comes with it4 ,the onward march of the ,church has ever been attended by music of praise2 as well the singers as the players on instruments have been there4 ,the mediaeval ,latin hymns cluster round the early pure days of the monastic orders2 ,luther's rough stormy hymns were as powerful as his treatises2 the mystic tenderness and rapture of ,charles ,wesley's have become the possession of the whole ,church4 ,we hear from outside observers1 that one of the practices of the early ,christians which most attracted heathen notice was1 that they assembled daily before it was light and sang hymns of praise to one ,christus as to a god4 ,these early hymns were of a dogmatic character4 ,no doubt1 just as in many a missionary ,church a hymn is found to be the best vehicle for conveying the truth1 so it was in these early ,churches1 which were made up largely of slaves and women--both uneducated4 ,singing the gospel is a very old invention1 though the name be new4 ,the picture which we get here of the meetings of the early ,christians is very remarkable4 ,evidently their gatherings were free and social1 with the minimum of form1 and that most elastic4 ,if a man had any word of exhortation for the people1 he might say on4 ,every one of you hath a psalm1 a doctrine4 ,if a man had some fragment of an old psalm1 or some strain that had come fresh from the ,christian heart1 he might sing it1 and his brethren would listen4 ,we do not have that sort of psalmody now4 ,but what a long way we have travelled from it to a modern congregation1 standing with books that they scarcely look at1 and worshipping in a hymn which half of them do not open their mouths to sing at all1 and the other half do in a voice inaudible three pews off4 ,the best praise1 however1 is a heart song4 ,so the ,apostle adds singing in your hearts unto ,god4 ,and it is to be in grace1 that is to say1 in it as the atmosphere and element in which the song moves1 which is nearly equivalent to by means of the ,divine grace which works in the heart1 and impels to that perpetual music of silent praise4 ,if we have the peace of ,christ in our hearts1 and the word of ,christ dwelling in us richly in all wisdom1 then an unspoken and perpetual music will dwell there too1 a noise like of a hidden brook singing for ever its quiet tune4 ,,iii4 ,the all-hallowing ,name of ,jesus4 ,from worship the ,apostle passes to life1 and crowns the entire series of injunctions with an all-comprehensive precept1 covering the whole ground of action4 ,whatsoever ye do1 in word or deed--then1 not merely worship1 specially so called1 but everything is to come under the influence of the same motive4 ,that expresses emphatically the sanctity of common life1 and extends the idea of worship to all deeds4 ,whatsoever ye do in word--then words are doings1 and in many respects the most important of our doings4 ,some words1 though they fade off the ear so quickly1 outlast all contemporary deeds1 and are more lasting than brass4 ,not only the word of the ,lord1 but1 in a very solemn sense1 the word of man endureth for ever4 ,do all in the name of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,that means at least two things--in obedience to ,his authority1 and in dependence on ,his help4 ,these two are the twin talismans which change the whole character of our actions1 and preserve us1 in doing them1 from every harm4 ,that name hallows and ennobles all work4 ,nothing can be so small but this will make it great1 nor so monotonous and tame but this will make it beautiful and fresh4 ,the name now1 as of old1 casts out devils and stills storms4 ,for the name of the ,lord ,jesus is the silken padding which makes our yokes easy4 ,it brings the sudden strength which makes our burdens light4 ,we may write it over all our actions4 ,if there be any on which we dare not inscribe it1 they are not for us4 ,thus done in the name of ,christ1 all deeds will become thanksgiving1 and so reach their highest consecration and their truest blessedness4 ,giving thanks to ,god the ,father through ,him is ever to accompany the work in the name of ,jesus4 ,the exhortation to thanksgiving1 which is in a sense the ,alpha and the ,omega of the ,christian life1 is perpetually on the ,apostle's lips1 because thankfulness should be in perpetual operation in our hearts4 ,it is so important because it presupposes all-important things1 and because it certainly leads to every ,christian grace4 ,for continual thankfulness there must be a continual direction of mind towards ,god and towards the great gifts of our salvation in ,jesus ,christ4 ,there must be a continual going forth of our love and our desire to these1 that is to say--thankfulness rests on the reception and the joyful appropriation of the mercies of ,god1 brought to us by our ,lord4 ,and it underlies all acceptable service and all happy obedience4 ,the servant who thinks of ,god as a harsh exactor is slothful2 the servant who thinks of ,him as the giving ,god rejoices in toil4 ,he who brings his work in order to be paid for it1 will get no wages1 and turn out no work worth any4 ,he who brings it because he feels that he has been paid plentiful wages beforehand1 of which he will never earn the least mite1 will present service well pleasing to the ,master4 ,so we should keep thoughts of ,jesus ,christ1 and of all we owe to ,him1 ever before us in our common work1 in shop and mill and counting-house1 in study and street and home4 ,we should try to bring all our actions more under their influence1 and1 moved by the mercies of ,god1 should yield ourselves living thank-offerings to ,him1 who is the sin-offering for us4 ,if1 as every fresh duty arises1 we hear ,christ saying1 ,this do in remembrance of ,me1 all life will become a true communion with ,him1 and every common vessel will be as a sacramental chalice1 and the bells of the horses will bear the same inscription as the high priest's mitre--,holiness to the ,lord4 ,to lay work on that altar sanctifies both the giver and the gift4 ,presented through ,him1 by whom all blessings come to man and all thanks go to ,god1 and kindled by the flame of gratitude1 our poor deeds1 for all their grossness and earthliness1 shall go up in curling wreaths of incense1 an odour of a sweet smell acceptable to ,god by ,jesus ,christ4 ,,footnotes3 #c ,lightfoot4 ,,xxii4 ,,the ,,christian ,,family4 ,wives1 be in subjection to your husbands1 as is fitting in the ,lord4 ,husbands1 love your wives1 and be not bitter against them4 ,children1 obey your parents in all things1 for this is well-pleasing in the ,lord4 ,fathers1 provoke not your children1 that they be not discouraged4 ,servants1 obey in all things them that are your masters according to the flesh2 not with eyeservice1 as men-pleasers2 but in singleness of heart1 fearing the ,lord3 whatsoever ye do1 work heartily1 as unto the ,lord1 and not unto men2 knowing that from the ,lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance3 ye serve the ,lord ,christ4 ,for he that doeth wrong shall receive again for the wrong that he hath done3 and there is no respect of persons4 ,masters1 render unto your servants that which is just and equal2 knowing that ye also have a ,master in ,heaven4--,,col4 iii4 #ah-;iv4 #a 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,this section deals with the ,christian family1 as made up of husband and wife1 children1 and servants4 ,in the family1 ,christianity has most signally displayed its power of refining1 ennobling1 and sanctifying earthly relationships4 ,indeed1 one may say that domestic life1 as seen in thousands of ,christian homes1 is purely a ,christian creation1 and would have been a new revelation to the heathenism of ,colossae1 as it is to-day in many a mission field4 ,we do not know what may have led ,paul to dwell with special emphasis on the domestic duties1 in this letter1 and in the contemporaneous ,epistle of the ,ephesians4 ,he does so1 and the parallel section there should be carefully compared throughout with this paragraph4 ,the former is considerably more expanded1 and may have been written after the verses before us2 but1 however that may be1 the verbal coincidences and variations in the two sections are very interesting as illustrations of the way in which a mind fully charged with a theme will freely repeat itself1 and use the same words in different combinations and with infinite shades of modification4 ,the precepts given are extremely simple and obvious4 ,domestic happiness and family ,christianity are made up of very homely elements4 ,one duty is prescribed for the one member of each of the three family groups1 and varying forms of another for the other4 ,the wife1 the child1 the servant are bid to obey2 the husband to love1 the father to show his love in gentle considerateness2 the master to yield his servants their dues4 ,like some perfume distilled from common flowers that grow on every bank1 the domestic piety which makes home a house of ,god1 and a gate of heaven1 is prepared from these two simples--obedience and love4 ,these are all4 ,we have here then the ideal ,christian household in the three ordinary relationships which make up the family2 wife and husband1 children and father1 servant and master4 ,i4 ,the ,reciprocal ,duties of wife and husband--subjection and love4 ,the duty of the wife is subjection1 and it is enforced on the ground that it is fitting in the ,lord--that is1 it is1 or perhaps it became at the time of conversion1 the conduct corresponding to or befitting the condition of being in the ,lord4 ,in more modern language--the ,christian ideal of the wife's duty has for its very centre--subjection4 ,some of us will smile at that2 some of us will think it an old-fashioned notion1 a survival of a more barbarous theory of marriage than this century recognises4 ,but1 before we decide upon the correctness of the apostolic precept1 let us make quite sure of its meaning4 ,now1 if we turn to the corresponding passage in ,ephesians1 we find that marriage is regarded from a high and sacred point of view1 as being an earthly shadow and faint adumbration of the union between ,christ and the ,church4 ,to ,paul1 all human and earthly relationships were moulded after the patterns of things in the heavens1 and the whole fleeting visible life of man was a parable of the things which are in the spiritual realm4 ,most chiefly1 the holy and mysterious union of man and woman in marriage is fashioned in the likeness of the only union which is closer and more mysterious than itself1 namely that between ,christ and ,his ,church4 ,such then as are the nature and the spring of the ,church's subjection to ,christ1 such will be the nature and the spring of the wife's subjection to the husband4 ,that is to say1 it is a subjection of which love is the very soul and animating principle4 ,in a true marriage1 as in the loving obedience of a believing soul to ,christ1 the wife submits not because she has found a master1 but because her heart has found its rest4 ,everything harsh or degrading melts away from the requirement when thus looked at4 ,it is a joy to serve where the heart is engaged1 and that is eminently true of the feminine nature4 ,for its full satisfaction1 a woman's heart needs to look up where it loves4 ,she has certainly the fullest wedded life who can reverence her husband4 ,for its full satisfaction1 a woman's heart needs to serve where it loves4 ,that is the same as saying that a woman's love is1 in the general1 nobler1 purer1 more unselfish than a man's1 and therein1 quite as much as in physical constitution1 is laid the foundation of that ,divine ideal of marriage1 which places the wife's delight and dignity in sweet loving subjection4 ,of course the subjection has its limitations4 ,we must obey ,god rather than man bounds the field of all human authority and control4 ,then there are cases in which1 on the principle of the tools to the hands that can use them1 the rule falls naturally to the wife as the stronger character4 ,popular sarcasm1 however1 shows that such instances are felt to be contrary to the true ideal1 and such a wife lacks something of repose for her heart4 ,no doubt1 too1 since ,paul wrote1 and very largely by ,christian influences1 women have been educated and elevated1 so as to make mere subjection impossible now1 if ever it were so4 ,woman's quick instinct as to persons1 her finer wisdom1 her purer discernment as to moral questions1 make it in a thousand cases the wisest thing a man can do to listen to the subtle flow of silver-paced counsel which his wife gives him4 ,all such considerations are fully consistent with this apostolic teaching1 and it remains true that the wife who does not reverence and lovingly obey is to be pitied if she cannot1 and to be condemned if she will not4 ,and what of the husband's duty8 ,he is to love1 and because he loves1 not to be harsh or bitter1 in word1 look or act4 ,the parallel in ,ephesians adds the solemn elevating thought1 that a man's love to the woman1 whom he has made his own1 is to be like ,christ's to the ,church4 ,patient and generous1 utterly self-forgetting and self-sacrificing1 demanding nothing1 grudging nothing1 giving all1 not shrinking from the extreme of suffering and pain and death itself--that he may bless and help--such was the ,lord's love to ,his bride1 such is to be a ,christian husband's love to his wife4 ,that solemn example1 which lifts the whole emotion high above mere passion or selfish affection1 carries a great lesson too as to the connection between man's love and woman's subjection4 ,the former is to evoke the latter1 just as in the heavenly pattern1 ,christ's love melts and moves human wills to glad obedience1 which is liberty4 ,we do not say that a wife is utterly absolved from obedience where a husband fails in self-forgetting love1 though certainly it does not lie in his mouth to accuse1 whose fault is graver than and the origin of hers4 ,but1 without going so far as that1 we may recognise the true order to be that the husband's love1 self-sacrificing and all-bestowing1 is meant to evoke the wife's love1 delighting in service1 and proud to crown him her king4 ,where there is such love1 there will be no question of mere command and obedience1 no tenacious adherence to rights1 or jealous defence of independence4 ,law will be transformed into choice4 ,to obey will be joy2 to serve1 the natural expression of the heart4 ,love uttering a wish speaks music to love listening2 and love obeying the wish is free and a queen4 ,such sacred beauty may light up wedded life1 if it catches a gleam from the fountain of all light1 and shines by reflection from the love that binds ,christ to ,his ,church as the links of the golden beams bind the sun to the planet4 ,husbands and wives are to see to it that this supreme consecration purifies and raises their love4 ,young men and maidens are to remember that the nobleness and heart-repose of their whole life may be made or marred by marriage1 and to take heed where they fix their affections4 ,if there be not unity in the deepest thing of all1 love to ,christ1 the sacredness and completeness will fade away from any love4 ,but if a man and woman love and marry in the ,lord1 ,he will be in the midst1 walking between them1 a third who will make them one1 and that threefold cord will not be quickly broken4 ,,ii4 ,the ,reciprocal ,duties of children and parents--obedience and gentle loving authority4 ,the injunction to children is laconic1 decisive1 universal4 ,obey your parents in all things4 ,of course1 there is one limitation to that4 ,if ,god's command looks one way1 and a parent's the opposite1 disobedience is duty--but such extreme case is probably the only one which ,christian ethics admit as an exception to the rule4 ,the ,spartan brevity of the command is enforced by one consideration1 for this is well-pleasing in the ,lord1 as the ,revised ,version rightly reads1 instead of to the ,lord1 as in the ,authorised1 thus making an exact parallel to the former fitting in the ,lord4 ,not only to ,christ1 but to all who can appreciate the beauty of goodness1 is filial obedience beautiful4 ,the parallel in ,ephesians substitutes for this is right1 appealing to the natural conscience4 ,right and fair in itself1 it is accordant with the law stamped on the very relationship1 and it is witnessed as such by the instinctive approbation which it evokes4 ,no doubt1 the moral sentiment of ,paul's age stretched parental authority to an extreme1 and we need not hesitate to admit that the ,christian idea of a father's power and a child's obedience has been much softened by ,christianity2 but the softening has come from the greater prominence given to love1 rather than from the limitation given to obedience4 ,our present domestic life seems to me to stand sorely in need of ,paul's injunction4 ,one cannot but see that there is great laxity in this matter in many ,christian households1 in reaction perhaps from the too great severity of past times4 ,many causes lead to this unwholesome relaxation of parental authority4 ,in our great cities1 especially among the commercial classes1 children are generally better educated than their fathers and mothers1 they know less of early struggles1 and one often sees a sense of inferiority making a parent hesitate to command1 as well as a misplaced tenderness making him hesitate to forbid4 ,a very misplaced and cruel tenderness it is to say would you like8 when he ought to say ,i wish4 ,it is unkind to lay on young shoulders the weight of too much liberty1 and to introduce young hearts too soon to the sad responsibility of choosing between good and evil4 ,it were better and more loving by far to put off that day1 and to let the children feel that in the safe nest of home1 their feeble and ignorant goodness is sheltered behind a strong barrier of command1 and their lives simplified by having the one duty of obedience4 ,by many parents the advice is needed--consult your children less1 command them more4 ,and as for children1 here is the one thing which ,god would have them do3 ,obey your parents in all things4 ,as fathers used to say when ,i was a boy--not only obedience1 but prompt obedience4 ,it is right4 ,that should be enough4 ,but children may also remember that it is pleasing--fair and good to see1 making them agreeable in the eyes of all whose approbation is worth having1 and pleasing to themselves1 saving them from many a bitter thought in after days1 when the grave has closed over father and mother4 ,one remembers the story of how ,dr4 ,johnson1 when a man1 stood in the market place at ,lichfield1 bareheaded1 with the rain pouring on him1 in remorseful remembrance of boyish disobedience to his dead father4 ,there is nothing bitterer than the too late tears for wrongs done to those who are gone beyond the reach of our penitence4 ,children obey your parents in all things1 that you may be spared the sting of conscience for childish faults1 which may be set tingling and smarting again even in old age4 ,the law for parents is addressed to fathers1 partly because a mother's tenderness has less need of the warning provoke not your children1 than a father's more rigorous rule usually has1 and partly because the father is regarded as the head of the household4 ,the advice is full of practical sagacity4 ,how do parents provoke their children8 ,by unreasonable commands1 by perpetual restrictions1 by capricious jerks at the bridle1 alternating with as capricious dropping of the reins altogether1 by not governing their own tempers1 by shrill or stern tones where quiet1 soft ones would do1 by frequent checks and rebukes1 and sparing praise4 ,and what is sure to follow such mistreatment by father or mother8 ,first1 as the parallel passage in ,ephesians has it2 wrath--bursts of temper1 for which probably the child is punished and the parent is guilty--and then spiritless listlessness and apathy4 ,i cannot please him whatever ,i do1 leads to a rankling sense of injustice1 and then to recklessness--it is useless to try any more4 ,and when a child or a man loses heart1 there will be no more obedience4 ,paul's theory of the training of children is closely connected with his central doctrine1 that love is the life of service1 and faith the parent of righteousness4 ,to him hope and gladness and confident love underlie all obedience4 ,when a child loves and trusts1 he will obey4 ,when he fears and has to think of his father as capricious1 exacting or stern1 he will do like the man in the parable1 who was afraid because he thought of his master as austere1 reaping where he did not sow1 and therefore went and hid his talent4 ,children's obedience must be fed on love and praise4 ,fear paralyses activity1 and kills service1 whether it cowers in the heart of a boy to his father1 or of a man to his ,father in heaven4 ,so parents are to let the sunshine of their smile ripen their children's love to fruit of obedience1 and remember that frost in spring scatters the blossoms on the grass4 ,many a parent1 especially many a father1 drives his child into evil by keeping him at a distance4 ,he should make his boy a companion and playmate1 teach him to think of his father as his confidant1 try to keep his child nearer to himself than to anybody beside1 and then his authority will be absolute1 his opinions an oracle1 and his lightest wish a law4 ,is not the kingdom of ,jesus ,christ based on ,his becoming a brother and one of ourselves1 and is it not wielded in gentleness and enforced by love8 ,is it not the most absolute of rules8 and should not the parental authority be like it--having a reed for a sceptre1 lowliness and gentleness being stronger to rule and to sway than the rods of iron or of gold which earthly monarchs wield8 ,there is added to this precept1 in ,ephesians1 an injunction on the positive side of parental duty3 ,bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the ,lord4 ,i fear that is a duty fallen wofully into disuse in many ,christian households4 ,many parents think it wise to send their children away from home for their education1 and so hand over their moral and religious training to teachers4 ,that may be right1 but it makes the fulfilment of this precept all but impossible4 ,others1 who have their children beside them1 are too busy all the week1 and too fond of rest on ,sunday4 ,many send their children to a ,sunday school chiefly that they themselves may have a quiet house and a sound sleep in the afternoon4 ,every ,christian minister1 if he keeps his eyes open1 must see that there is no religious instruction worth calling by the name in a very large number of professedly ,christian households2 and he is bound to press very earnestly on his hearers the question1 whether the ,christian fathers and mothers among them do their duty in this matter4 ,many of them1 ,i fear1 have never opened their lips to their children on religious subjects4 ,is it not a grief and a shame that men and women with some religion in them1 and loving their little ones dearly1 should be tongue-tied before them on the most important of all things8 ,what can come of it but what does come of it so often that it saddens one to see how frequently it occurs--that the children drift away from a faith which their parents did not care enough about to teach it to them8 ,a silent father makes prodigal sons1 and many a grey head has been brought down with sorrow to the grave1 and many a mother's heart broken1 because he and she neglected their plain duty1 which can be handed over to no schools or masters--the duty of religious instruction4 ,these words which ,i command thee1 shall be in thine heart2 and thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children1 and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house4 ,,iii4 ,the ,reciprocal ,duties of servants and masters--obedience and justice4 ,the first thing to observe here is1 that these servants are slaves1 not persons who have voluntarily given their work for wages4 ,the relation of ,christianity to slavery is too wide a subject to be touched here4 ,it must be enough to point out that ,paul recognises that sum of all villanies1 gives instructions to both parties in it1 never says one word in condemnation of it4 ,more remarkable still2 the messenger who carried this letter to ,colossae carried in the same bag the ,epistle to ,philemon1 and was accompanied by the fugitive slave ,onesimus1 on whose neck ,paul bound again the chain1 so to speak1 with his own hands4 ,and yet the gospel which ,paul preached has in it principles which cut up slavery by the roots2 as we read in this very letter1 ,in ,christ ,jesus there is neither bond nor free4 ,why then did not ,christ and ,his apostles make war against slavery8 ,for the same reason for which they did not make war against any political or social institutions4 ,first make the tree good and his fruit good4 ,the only way to reform institutions is to elevate and quicken the general conscience1 and then the evil will be outgrown1 left behind1 or thrown aside4 ,mould men and the men will mould institutions4 ,so ,christianity did not set itself to fell this upas tree1 which would have been a long and dangerous task2 but girdled it1 as we may say1 stripped the bark off it1 and left it to die--and it has died in all ,christian lands now4 ,but the principles laid down here are quite as applicable to our form of domestic and other service as to the slaves and masters of ,colossae4 ,note then the extent of the servant's obedience--in all things4 ,here1 of course1 as in former cases1 is there presupposed the limit of supreme obedience to ,god's commands2 that being safe1 all else is to give way to the duty of submission4 ,it is a stern command1 that seems all on the side of the masters4 ,it might strike a chill into many a slave1 who had been drawn to the gospel by the hope of finding some little lightening of the yoke that pressed so heavily on his poor galled neck1 and of hearing some voice speaking in tenderer tones than those of harsh command4 ,still more emphatically1 and1 as it might seem1 still more harshly1 the ,apostle goes on to insist on the inward completeness of the obedience--not with eyeservice 7a word of ,paul's own coining7 as men-pleasers4 ,we have a proverb about the worth of the master's eye1 which bears witness that the same fault still clings to hired service4 ,one has only to look at the next set of bricklayers one sees on a scaffold1 or of haymakers one comes across in a field1 to see it4 ,the vice was venial in slaves2 it is inexcusable1 because it darkens into theft1 in paid servants--and it spreads far and wide4 ,all scamped work1 all productions of man's hand or brain which are got up to look better than they are1 all fussy parade of diligence when under inspection and slackness afterwards--and all their like which infect and infest every trade and profession1 are transfixed by the sharp point of this precept4 ,but in singleness of heart1 that is1 with undivided motive1 which is the antithesis and the cure for eyeservice--and fearing ,god1 which is opposed to pleasing men4 ,then follows the positive injunction1 covering the whole ground of action and lifting the constrained obedience to the earthly master up into the sacred and serene loftiness of religious duty1 whatsoever ye do1 work heartily1 or from the soul4 ,the word for work is stronger than that for do1 and implies effort and toil4 ,they are to put all their power into their work1 and not be afraid of hard toil4 ,and they are not only to bend their backs but their wills1 and to labour from the soul1 that is1 cheerfully and with interest--a hard lesson for a slave and asking more than could be expected from human nature1 as many of them would1 no doubt1 think4 ,paul goes on to transfigure the squalor and misery of the slave's lot by a sudden beam of light--as to the ,lord--your true ,master1 for it is the same word as in the previous verse--and not unto men4 ,do not think of your tasks as only enjoined by harsh1 capricious1 selfish men1 but lift your thoughts to ,christ1 who is your ,lord1 and glorify all these sordid duties by seeing ,his will in them4 ,he only who works as to the ,lord1 will work heartily4 ,the thought of ,christ's command1 and of my poor toil as done for ,his sake1 will change constraint into cheerfulness1 and make unwelcome tasks pleasant1 and monotonous ones fresh1 and trivial ones great4 ,it will evoke new powers1 and renewed consecration4 ,in that atmosphere1 the dim flame of servile obedience will burn more brightly1 as a lamp plunged into a jar of pure oxygen4 ,the stimulus of a great hope for the ill-used1 unpaid slave1 is added4 ,whatever their earthly masters might fail to give them1 the true ,master whom they really served would accept no work for which ,he did not return more than sufficient wages4 ,from the ,lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance4 ,blows and scanty food and poor lodging may be all that they get from their owners for all their sweat and toil1 but if they are ,christ's slaves1 they will be treated no more as slaves1 but as sons1 and receive a son's portion1 the exact recompense which consists of the inheritance4 ,the juxtaposition of the two ideas of the slave and the inheritance evidently hints at the unspoken thought1 that they are heirs because they are sons--a thought which might well lift up bowed backs and brighten dull faces4 ,the hope of that reward came like an angel into the smoky huts and hopeless lives of these poor slaves4 ,it shone athwart all the gloom and squalor1 and taught patience beneath the oppressor's wrong1 the proud man's contumely4 ,through long1 weary generations it has lived in the hearts of men driven to ,god by man's tyranny1 and forced to clutch at heaven's brightness to keep them from being made mad by earth's blackness4 ,it may irradiate our poor lives1 especially when we fail1 as we all do sometimes1 to get recognition of our work1 or fruit from it4 ,if we labour for man's appreciation or gratitude1 we shall certainly be disappointed2 but if for ,christ1 we have abundant wages beforehand1 and we shall have an overabundant requital1 the munificence of which will make us more ashamed of our unworthy service than anything else could do4 ,christ remains in no man's debt4 ,who hath first given1 and it shall be recompensed to him again8 ,the last word to the slave is a warning against neglect of duty4 ,there is to be a double recompense--to the slave of ,christ the portion of a son2 to the wrong doer retribution for the wrong that he has done4 ,then1 though slavery was itself a wrong1 though the master who held a man in bondage was himself inflicting the greatest of all wrongs1 yet ,paul will have the slave think that he still has duties to his master4 ,that is part of ,paul's general position as to slavery4 ,he will not wage war against it1 but for the present accept it4 ,whether he saw the full bearing of the gospel on that and other infamous institutions may be questioned4 ,he has given us the principles which will destroy them1 but he is no revolutionist1 and so his present counsel is to remember the master's rights1 even though they be founded on wrong1 and he has no hesitation in condemning and predicting retribution for evil things done by a slave to his master4 ,a superior's injustice does not warrant an inferior's breach of moral law1 though it may excuse it4 ,two blacks do not make a white4 ,herein lies the condemnation of all the crimes which enslaved nations and classes have done1 of many a deed which has been honoured and sung1 of the sanguinary cruelties of servile revolts1 as well as of the questionable means to which labour often resorts in modern industrial warfare4 ,the homely1 plain principle1 that a man does not receive the right to break ,god's laws because he is ill-treated1 would clear away much fog from some people's notions of how to advance the cause of the oppressed4 ,but1 on the other hand1 this warning may look towards the masters also2 and probably the same double reference is also to be discerned in the closing words to the slaves1 and there is no respect of persons4 ,the servants were naturally tempted to think that ,god was on their side1 as indeed ,he was1 but also to think that the great coming day of judgment was mostly meant to be terrible to tyrants and oppressors1 and so to look forward to it with a fierce un-,christian joy1 as well as with a false confidence built only on their present misery4 ,they would be apt to think that ,god did respect persons1 in the opposite fashion from that of a partial judge--namely1 that ,he would incline the scale in favour of the ill-used1 the poor1 the down-trodden2 that they would have an easy test and a light sentence1 while ,his frowns and ,his severity would be kept for the powerful and the rich who had ground the faces of the poor and kept back the hire of the labourer4 ,it was therefore a needful reminder for them1 and for us all1 that that judgment has nothing to do with earthly conditions1 but only with conduct and character2 that sorrow and calamity here do not open heaven's gates hereafter1 and that the slave and master are tried by the same law4 ,the series of precepts closes with a brief but most pregnant word to masters4 ,they are bid to give to their slaves that which is just and equal1 that is to say1 equitable4 ,a startling criterion for a master's duty to the slave who was denied to have any rights at all4 ,they were chattels1 not persons4 ,a master might1 in regard to them1 do what he liked with his own2 he might crucify or torture1 or commit any crime against manhood either in body or soul1 and no voice would question or forbid4 ,how astonished ,roman lawgivers would have been if they could have heard ,paul talking about justice and equity as applied to a slave6 ,what a strange new dialect it must have sounded to the slave-owners in the ,colossian ,church6 ,they would not see how far the principle1 thus quietly introduced1 was to carry succeeding ages2 they could not dream of the great tree that was to spring from this tiny seed-precept2 but no doubt the instinct which seldom fails an unjustly privileged class1 would make them blindly dislike the exhortation1 and feel as if they were getting out of their depth when they were bid to consider what was right and equitable in their dealings with their slaves4 ,the ,apostle does not define what is right and equal4 ,that will come4 ,the main thing is to drive home the conviction that there are duties owing to slaves1 inferiors1 employes4 ,we are far enough from a satisfactory discharge of these yet2 but1 at any rate1 everybody now admits the principle--and we have mainly to thank ,christianity for that4 ,slowly the general conscience is coming to recognise that simple truth more and more clearly1 and its application is becoming more decisive with each generation4 ,there is much to be done before society is organized on that principle1 but the time is coming--and till it is come1 there will be no peace4 ,all masters and employers of labour1 in their mills and warehouses1 are bid to base their relations to hands and servants on the one firm foundation of justice4 ,paul does not say1 ,give your servants what is kind and patronising4 ,he wants a great deal more than that4 ,charity likes to come in and supply the wants which would never have been felt had there been equity4 ,an ounce of justice is sometimes worth a ton of charity4 ,this duty of the masters is enforced by the same thought which was to stimulate the servants to their tasks3 ye also have a ,master in heaven4 ,that is not only stimulus1 but it is pattern4 ,i said that ,paul did not specify what was just and right1 and that his precept might therefore be objected to as vague4 ,does the introduction of this thought of the master's ,master in heaven1 take away any of the vagueness8 ,if ,christ is our ,master1 then we are to look to ,him to see what a master ought to be1 and to try to be masters like that4 ,that is precise enough1 is it not8 ,that grips tight enough1 does it not8 ,give your servants what you expect and need to get from ,christ4 ,if we try to live that commandment for twenty-four hours1 it will probably not be its vagueness of which we complain4 ,ye have a ,master in heaven is the great principle on which all ,christian duty reposes4 ,christ's command is my law1 ,his will is supreme1 ,his authority absolute1 ,his example all-sufficient4 ,my soul1 my life1 my all are ,his4 ,my will is not my own4 ,my possessions are not my own4 ,my being is not my own4 ,all duty is elevated into obedience to ,him1 and obedience to ,him1 utter and absolute1 is dignity and freedom4 ,we are ,christ's slaves1 for ,he has bought us for ,himself1 by giving ,himself for us4 ,let that great sacrifice win our heart's love and our perfect submission4 ,o ,lord1 truly ,i am ,thy servant1 ,thou hast loosed my bonds4 ,then all earthly relationships will be fulfilled by us2 and we shall move among men1 breathing blessing and raying out brightness1 when in all1 we remember that we have a ,master in heaven1 and do all our work from the soul as to ,him and not to men4 ,,xxiii4 ,,precepts ,,for ,,the ,,innermost ,,and ,,outermost ,,life4 ,continue stedfastly in prayer1 watching therein with thanksgiving2 withal praying for us also1 that ,god may open unto us a door for the word1 to speak the mystery of ,christ1 for which ,i am also in bonds2 that ,i may make it manifest1 as ,i ought to speak4 ,walk in wisdom toward them that are without1 redeeming the time4 ,let your speech be always with grace1 seasoned with salt1 that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one4--,,col4 iv4 #b-f 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,so ends the ethical portion of the ,epistle4 ,a glance over the series of practical exhortations1 from the beginning of the preceding chapter onwards1 will show that1 in general terms we may say that they deal successively with a ,christian's duties to himself1 the ,church1 and the family4 ,and now1 these last advices touch the two extremes of life1 the first of them having reference to the hidden life of prayer1 and the second and third to the outward1 busy life of the market-place and the street4 ,that bringing together of the extremes seems to be the link of connection here4 ,the ,christian life is first regarded as gathered into itself--coiled as it were on its centre1 like some strong spring4 ,next1 it is regarded as it operates in the world1 and1 like the uncoiling spring1 gives motion to wheels and pinions4 ,these two sides of experience and duty are often hard to blend harmoniously4 ,the conflict between busy ,martha1 who serves1 and quiet ,mary1 who only sits and gazes1 goes on in every age and in every heart4 ,here we may find1 in some measure1 the principle of reconciliation between their antagonistic claims4 ,here is1 at all events1 the protest against allowing either to oust the other4 ,continual prayer is to blend with unwearied action4 ,we are so to walk the dusty ways of life as to be ever in the secret place of the ,most ,high4 ,continue stedfastly in prayer1 and withal let there be no unwholesome withdrawal from the duties and relationships of the outer world1 but let the prayer pass into1 first1 a wise walk1 and second1 an ever-gracious speech4 ,i4 ,so we have here1 first1 an exhortation to a hidden life of constant prayer4 ,the word rendered continue in the ,authorised ,version1 and more fully in the ,revised ,version by continue stedfastly1 is frequently found in reference to prayer1 as well as in other connections4 ,a mere enumeration of some of these instances may help to illustrate its full meaning4 ,we will give ourselves to prayer1 said the apostles in proposing the creation of the office of deacon4 ,continuing instant in prayer says ,paul to the ,roman ,church4 ,they continuing daily with one accord in the ,temple is the description of the early believers after ,pentecost4 ,simon ,magus is said to have continued with ,philip1 where there is evidently the idea of close adherence as well as of uninterrupted companionship4 ,these examples seem to show that the word implies both earnestness and continuity2 so that this injunction not only covers the ground of ,paul's other exhortation1 ,pray without ceasing1 but includes fervour also4 ,the ,christian life1 then1 ought to be one of unbroken prayer4 ,what manner of prayer can that be which is to be continuous through a life that must needs be full of toil on outward things8 ,how can such a precept be obeyed8 ,surely there is no need for paring down its comprehensiveness1 and saying that it merely means--a very frequent recurrence to devout exercises1 as often as the pressure of daily duties will permit4 ,that is not the direction in which the harmonising of such a precept with the obvious necessities of our position is to be sought4 ,we must seek it in a more inward and spiritual notion of prayer4 ,we must separate between the form and the substance1 the treasure and the earthen vessel which carries it4 ,what is prayer8 ,not the utterance of words--they are but the vehicle2 but the attitude of the spirit4 ,communion1 aspiration1 and submission1 these three are the elements of prayer--and these three may be diffused through a life4 ,it is possible1 though difficult4 ,there may be unbroken communion1 a constant consciousness of ,god's presence1 and of our contact with ,him1 thrilling through our souls and freshening them1 like some breath of spring reaching the toilers in choky factories and busy streets2 or even if the communion do not run like an absolutely unbroken line of light through our lives1 the points may be so near together as all but to touch4 ,in such communion words are needless4 ,when spirits draw closest together there is no need for speech4 ,silently the heart may be kept fragrant with ,god's felt presence1 and sunny with the light of ,his face4 ,there are towns nestling beneath the ,alps1 every narrow filthy alley of which looks to the great solemn snow-peaks1 and the inhabitants1 amid all the squalor of their surroundings1 have that apocalypse of wonder ever before them1 if they would only lift their eyes4 ,so we1 if we will1 may live with the majesties and beauties of the great white throne and of ,him that sat on it closing every vista and filling the end of every commonplace passage in our lives4 ,in like manner1 there may be a continual1 unspoken and unbroken presence of the second element of prayer1 which is aspiration1 or desire after ,god4 ,all circumstances1 whether duty1 sorrow or joy1 should and may be used to stamp more deeply on my consciousness the sense of my weakness and need2 and every moment1 with its experience of ,god's swift and punctual grace1 and all my communion with ,him which unveils to me ,his beauty--should combine to move longings for ,him1 for more of ,him4 ,the very deepest cry of the heart which understands its own yearnings1 is for the living ,god2 and perpetual as the hunger of the spirit for the food which will stay its profound desires1 will be the prayer1 though it may often be voiceless1 of the soul which knows where alone that food is4 ,continual too may be our submission to ,his will1 which is an essential of all prayer4 ,many people's notion is that our prayer is urging our wishes on ,god1 and that ,his answer is giving us what we desire4 ,but true prayer is the meeting in harmony of ,god's will and man's1 and its deepest expression is not1 ,do this1 because ,i desire it1 ,o ,lord2 but1 ,i do this because ,thou desirest it1 ,o ,lord4 ,that submission may be the very spring of all life1 and whatsoever work is done in such spirit1 however secular and however small it be1 were it making buttons1 is truly prayer4 ,so there should run all through our lives the music of that continual prayer1 heard beneath all our varying occupations like some prolonged deep bass note1 that bears up and gives dignity to the lighter melody that rises and falls and changes above it1 like the spray on the crest of a great wave4 ,our lives will then be noble and grave1 and woven into a harmonious unity1 when they are based upon continual communion with1 continual desire after1 and continual submission to1 ,god4 ,if they are not1 they will be worth nothing and will come to nothing4 ,but such continuity of prayer is not to be attained without effort2 therefore ,paul goes on to say1 ,watching therein4 ,we are apt to do drowsily whatever we do constantly4 ,men fall asleep at any continuous work4 ,there is also the constant influence of externals1 drawing our thoughts away from their true home in ,god1 so that if we are to keep up continuous devotion1 we shall have to rouse ourselves often when in the very act of dropping off to sleep4 ,awake up1 my glory6 we shall often have to say to our souls4 ,do we not all know that subtly approaching languor8 and have we not often caught ourselves in the very act of falling asleep at our prayers8 ,we must make distinct and resolute efforts to rouse ourselves--we must concentrate our attention and apply the needed stimulants1 and bring the interest and activity of our whole nature to bear on this work of continual prayer1 else it will become drowsy mumbling as of a man but half awake4 ,the world has strong opiates for the soul1 and we must stedfastly resist their influence1 if we are to continue in prayer4 ,one way of so watching is to have and to observe definite times of spoken prayer4 ,we hear much now-a-days about the small value of times and forms of prayer1 and how1 as ,i have been saying1 true prayer is independent of these1 and needs no words4 ,all that1 of course1 is true2 but when the practical conclusion is drawn that therefore we can do without the outward form1 a grave mistake1 full of mischief1 is committed4 ,i do not1 for my part1 believe in a devotion diffused through a life and never concentrated and coming to the surface in visible outward acts or audible words2 and1 as far as ,i have seen1 the men whose religion is spread all through their lives most really are the men who keep the central reservoir full1 if ,i may so say1 by regular and frequent hours and words of prayer4 ,the ,christ1 whose whole life was devotion and communion with the ,father1 had ,his nights on the mountains1 and rising up a great while before day1 ,he watched unto prayer4 ,we must do the like4 ,one more word has still to be said4 ,this continual prayer is to be with thanksgiving--again the injunction so frequent in this letter1 in such various connections4 ,every prayer should be blended with gratitude1 without the perfume of which1 the incense of devotion lacks one element of fragrance4 ,the sense of need1 or the consciousness of sin1 may evoke strong crying and tears1 but the completest prayer rises confident from a grateful heart1 which weaves memory into hope1 and asks much because it has received much4 ,a true recognition of the lovingkindness of the past has much to do with making our communion sweet1 our desires believing1 our submission cheerful4 ,thankfulness is the feather that wings the arrow of prayer--the height from which our souls rise most easily to the sky4 ,and now the ,apostle's tone softens from exhortation to entreaty1 and with very sweet and touching humility he begs a supplemental corner in their prayers4 ,withal praying also for us4 ,the withal and also have a tone of lowliness in them1 while the us1 including as it does ,timothy1 who is associated with him in the superscription of the letter1 and possibly others also1 increases the impression of modesty4 ,the subject of their prayers for ,paul and the others is to be that ,god may open unto us a door for the word4 ,that phrase apparently means an unhindered opportunity of preaching the gospel1 for the consequence of the door's being opened is added--to speak 7so that ,i may speak7 the mystery of ,christ4 ,the special reason for this prayer is1 for which ,i am also 7in addition to my other sufferings7 in bonds4 ,he was a prisoner4 ,he cared little about that or about the fetters on his wrists1 so far as his own comfort was concerned2 but his spirit chafed at the restraint laid upon him in spreading the good news of ,christ1 though he had been able to do much in his prison1 both among the ,praetorian guard1 and throughout the whole population of ,rome4 ,therefore he would engage his friends to ask ,god to open the prison doors1 as ,he had done for ,peter1 not that ,paul might come out1 but that the gospel might4 ,the personal was swallowed up2 all that he cared for was to do his work4 ,but he wants their prayers for more than that--that ,i may make it manifest as ,i ought to speak4 ,this is probably explained most naturally as meaning his endowment with power to set forth the message in a manner adequate to its greatness4 ,when he thought of what it was that he1 unworthy1 had to preach1 its majesty and wonderfulness brought a kind of awe over his spirit2 and endowed1 as he was1 with apostolic functions and apostolic grace2 conscious1 as he was1 of being anointed and inspired by ,god1 he yet felt that the richness of the treasure made the earthen vessel seem terribly unworthy to bear it4 ,his utterances seemed to himself poor and unmelodious beside the majestic harmonies of the gospel4 ,he could not soften his voice to breathe tenderly enough a message of such love1 nor give it strength enough to peal forth a message of such tremendous import and world-wide destination4 ,if ,paul felt his conception of the greatness of the gospel dwarfing into nothing his words when he tried to preach it1 what must every other true minister of ,christ feel8 ,if he1 in the fulness of his inspiration1 besought a place in his brethren's prayers1 how much more must they need it1 who try with stammering tongues to preach the truth that made his fiery words seem ice8 ,every such man must turn to those who love him and listen to his poor presentment of the riches of ,christ1 with ,paul's entreaty4 ,his friends cannot do a kinder thing to him than to bear him on their hearts in their prayers to ,god4 ,,ii4 ,we have here next1 a couple of precepts1 which spring at a bound from the inmost secret of the ,christian life to its circumference1 and refer to the outward life in regard to the non-,christian world1 enjoining1 in view of it1 a wise walk and gracious speech4 ,walk in wisdom towards them that are without4 ,those that are within are those who have fled for refuge to ,christ1 and are within the fold1 the fortress1 the ark4 ,men who sit safe within while the storm howls1 may simply think with selfish complacency of the poor wretches exposed to its fierceness4 ,the phrase may express spiritual pride and even contempt4 ,all close corporations tend to generate dislike and scorn of outsiders1 and the ,church has had its own share of such feeling2 but there is no trace of anything of the sort here4 ,rather is there pathos and pity in the word1 and a recognition that their sad condition gives these outsiders a claim on ,christian men1 who are bound to go out to their help and bring them in4 ,precisely because they are without do those within owe them a wise walk1 that if any will not hear the word1 they may without the word be won4 ,the thought is in some measure parallel to our ,lord's words1 of which perhaps it is a reminiscence4 ,behold ,i send you forth--a strange thing for a careful shepherd to do--as sheep in the midst of wolves2 be ye therefore wise as serpents4 ,think of that picture--the handful of cowering frightened creatures huddled against each other1 and ringed round by that yelping1 white-toothed crowd1 ready to tear them to pieces6 ,so are ,christ's followers in the world4 ,of course1 things have changed in many respects since those days2 partly because persecution has gone out of fashion1 and partly because the world has been largely influenced by ,christian morality1 and partly because the ,church has been largely secularized4 ,the temperature of the two has become nearly equalized over a large tract of professing ,christendom4 ,so a tolerably good understanding and a brisk trade has sprung up between the sheep and the wolves4 ,but for all that1 there is fundamental discord1 however changed may be its exhibition1 and if we are true to our ,master and insist on shaping our lives by ,his rules1 we shall find out that there is4 ,we need1 therefore1 to walk in wisdom towards the non-,christian world2 that is1 to let practical prudence shape all our conduct4 ,if we are ,christians1 we have to live under the eyes of vigilant and not altogether friendly observers1 who derive satisfaction and harm from any inconsistency of ours4 ,a plainly ,christian life that needs no commentary to exhibit its harmony with ,christ's commandments is the first duty we owe to them4 ,and the wisdom which is to mould our lives in view of these outsiders will discern both time and judgment1 will try to take the measure of men and act accordingly4 ,common sense and practical sagacity are important accompaniments of ,christian zeal4 ,what a singularly complex character1 in this respect1 was ,paul's--enthusiastic and yet capable of such diplomatic adaptation2 and withal never dropping to cunning1 nor sacrificing truth6 ,enthusiasts who despise worldly wisdom1 and therefore often dash themselves against stone walls1 are not rare2 cool calculators who abhor all generous glow of feeling and have ever a pailful of cold water for any project which shows it1 are only too common--but fire and ice together1 like a volcano with glaciers streaming down its cone1 are rare4 ,fervour married to tact1 common sense which keeps close to earth and enthusiasm which flames heaven high1 are a rare combination4 ,it is not often that the same voice can say1 ,i count not my life dear to myself1 and ,i became all things to all men4 ,a dangerous principle that last1 a very slippery piece of ground to get upon6--say people1 and quite truly4 ,it is dangerous1 and one thing only will keep a man's feet when on it1 and that is1 that his wise adaptation shall be perfectly unselfish1 and that he shall ever keep clear before him the great object to be gained1 which is nothing personal1 but that ,i might by all means save some4 ,if that end is held in view1 we shall be saved from the temptation of hiding or maiming the very truth which we desire should be received1 and our wise adaptation of ourselves and of our message to the needs and weaknesses and peculiarities of those who are without1 will not degenerate into handling the word of ,god deceitfully4 ,paul advised walking in wisdom2 he abhorred walking in craftiness4 ,we owe them that are without such a walk as may tend to bring them in4 ,our life is to a large extent their ,bible4 ,they know a great deal more about ,christianity1 as they see it in us1 than as it is revealed in ,christ1 or recorded in ,scripture--and if1 as seen in us1 it does not strike them as very attractive1 small wonder if they still prefer to remain where they are4 ,let us take care lest instead of being doorkeepers to the house of the ,lord1 to beckon passers-by and draw them in1 we block the doorway1 and keep them from seeing the wonders within4 ,the ,apostle adds a special way in which this wisdom shows itself--namely1 redeeming the time4 ,the last word here does not denote time in general1 but a definite season1 or opportunity4 ,the lesson1 then1 is not that of making the best use of all the moments as they fly1 precious as that lesson is1 but that of discerning and eagerly using appropriate opportunities for ,christian service4 ,the figure is simple enough2 to buy up means to make one's own4 ,make much of time1 let not advantage slip1 is an advice in exactly the same spirit4 ,two things are included in it2 the watchful study of characters1 so as to know the right times to bring influences to bear on them1 and an earnest diligence in utilizing these for the highest purposes4 ,we have not acted wisely towards those who are without unless we have used every opportunity to draw them in4 ,but besides a wise walk1 there is to be gracious speech4 ,let your speech be always with grace4 ,a similar juxtaposition of wisdom and grace occurred in chapter iii4 #af4 ,let the word of ,christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom 444 singing with grace in your hearts2 and there as here1 grace may be taken either in its lower aesthetic sense1 or in its higher spiritual4 ,it may mean either favour1 agreeableness1 or the ,divine gift1 bestowed by the indwelling ,spirit4 ,the former is supposed by many good expositors to be the meaning here4 ,but is it a ,christian's duty to make his speech always agreeable8 ,sometimes it is his plain duty to make it very disagreeable indeed4 ,if our speech is to be true1 and wholesome1 it must sometimes rasp and go against the grain4 ,its pleasantness depends on the inclinations of the hearers rather than on the will of the honest speaker4 ,if he is to redeem the time and walk wisely to them that are without1 his speech cannot be always with such grace4 ,the advice to make our words always pleasing may be a very good maxim for worldly success1 but it smacks of ,chesterfield's ,letters rather than of ,paul's ,epistles4 ,we must go much deeper for the true import of this exhortation4 ,it is substantially this--whether you can speak smooth things or no1 and whether your talk is always directly religious or no--and it need not and cannot always be that--let there ever be in it the manifest influence of ,god's ,spirit1 ,who dwells in the ,christian heart1 and will mould and sanctify your speech4 ,of you1 as of your ,master1 let it be true1 ,grace is poured into thy lips4 ,he in whose spirit the ,divine ,spirit abides will be truly ,golden-mouthed2 his speech shall distil as the dew1 and whether his grave and lofty words please frivolous and prurient ears or no1 they will be beautiful in the truest sense1 and show the ,divine life pulsing through them1 as some transparent skin shows the throbbing of the blue veins4 ,men who feed their souls on great authors catch their style1 as some of our great living orators1 who are eager students of ,english poetry4 ,so if we converse much with ,god1 listening to ,his voice in our hearts1 our speech will have in it a tone that will echo that deep music4 ,our accent will betray our country4 ,then our speech will be with grace in the lower sense of pleasingness4 ,the truest gracefulness1 both of words and conduct1 comes from heavenly grace4 ,the beauty caught from ,god1 the fountain of all things lovely1 is the highest4 ,the speech is to be seasoned with salt4 ,that does not mean the ,attic salt of wit4 ,there is nothing more wearisome than the talk of men who are always trying to be piquant and brilliant4 ,such speech is like a pillar of salt--it sparkles1 but is cold1 and has points that wound1 and it tastes bitter4 ,that is not what ,paul recommends4 ,salt was used in sacrifice--let the sacrificial salt be applied to all our words2 that is1 let all we say be offered up to ,god1 a sacrifice of praise to ,god continually4 ,salt preserves4 ,put into your speech what will keep it from rotting1 or1 as the parallel passage in ,ephesians has it1 let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth4 ,frivolous talk1 dreary gossip1 ill-natured talk1 idle talk1 to say nothing of foul and wicked words1 will be silenced when your speech is seasoned with salt4 ,the following words make it probable that salt here is used also with some allusion to its power of giving savour to food4 ,do not deal in insipid generalities1 but suit your words to your hearers1 that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one4 ,speech that fits close to the characteristics and wants of the people to whom it is spoken is sure to be interesting1 and that which does not will for them be insipid4 ,commonplaces that hit full against the hearer will be no commonplaces to him1 and the most brilliant words that do not meet his mind or needs will to him be tasteless as the white of an egg4 ,individual peculiarities1 then1 must determine the wise way of approach to each man1 and there will be wide variety in the methods4 ,paul's language to the wild hill tribes of ,lycaonia was not the same as to the cultivated1 curious crowd on ,mars' ,hill1 and his sermons in the synagogues have a different tone from his reasonings of judgment to come before ,felix4 ,all that is too plain to need illustration4 ,but one word may be added4 ,the ,apostle here regards it as the task of every ,christian man to speak for ,christ4 ,further1 he recommends dealing with individuals rather than masses1 as being within the scope of each ,christian1 and as being much more efficacious4 ,salt has to be rubbed in1 if it is to do any good4 ,it is better for most of us to fish with the rod than with the net1 to angle for single souls1 rather than to try and enclose a multitude at once4 ,preaching to a congregation has its own place and value2 but private and personal talk1 honestly and wisely done1 will effect more than the most eloquent preaching4 ,better to drill in the seeds1 dropping them one by one into the little pits made for their reception1 than to sow them broadcast4 ,and what shall we say of ,christian men and women1 who can talk animatedly and interestingly of anything but of their ,saviour and ,his kingdom8 ,timidity1 misplaced reverence1 a dread of seeming to be self-righteous1 a regard for conventional proprieties1 and the national reserve account for much of the lamentable fact that there are so many such4 ,but all these barriers would be floated away like straws1 if a great stream of ,christian feeling were pouring from the heart4 ,what fills the heart will overflow by the floodgates of speech4 ,so that the real reason for the unbroken silence in which many ,christian people conceal their faith is mainly the small quantity of it which there is to conceal4 ,a solemn ideal is set before us in these parting injunctions--a higher righteousness than was thundered from ,sinai4 ,when we think of our hurried1 formal devotion1 our prayers forced from us sometimes by the pressure of calamity1 and so often suspended when the weight is lifted2 of the occasional glimpses that we get of ,god--as sailors may catch sight of a guiding star for a moment through driving fog1 and of the long tracts of life which would be precisely the same1 as far as our thoughts are concerned1 if there were no ,god at all1 or ,he had nothing to do with us--what an awful command that seems1 ,continue stedfastly in prayer6 ,when we think of our selfish disregard of the woes and dangers of the poor wanderers without1 exposed to the storm1 while we think ourselves safe in the fold1 and of how little we have meditated on and still less discharged our obligations to them1 and of how we have let precious opportunities slip through our slack hands1 we may well bow rebuked before the exhortation1 ,walk in wisdom toward them that are without4 ,when we think of the stream of words ever flowing from our lips1 and how few grains of gold that stream has brought down amid all its sand1 and how seldom ,christ's name has been spoken by us to hearts that heed ,him not nor know ,him1 the exhortation1 ,let your speech be always with grace1 becomes an indictment as truly as a command4 ,there is but one place for us1 the foot of the cross1 that there we may obtain forgiveness for all the faulty past and thence may draw consecration and strength for the future1 to enable us to keep that lofty law of ,christian morality1 which is high and hard if we think only of its precepts1 but becomes light and easy when we open our hearts to receive the power for obedience1 which1 as this great ,epistle manifoldly teaches1 is ,christ in you1 the hope of glory4 ,,xxiv4 ,,tychicus ,,and ,,onesimus1 ,,the ,,letter-,,bearers4 ,all my affairs shall ,tychicus make known unto you1 the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-servant in the ,lord3 whom ,i have sent unto you for this very purpose1 that ye may know our estate1 and that he may comfort your hearts2 together with ,onesimus1 the faithful and beloved brother1 who is one of you4 ,they shall make known unto you all things that are done here4--,,col4 iv4 #g-i 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,in ,paul's days it was perhaps more difficult to get letters delivered than to write them4 ,it was a long1 weary journey from ,rome to ,colossae1--across ,italy1 then by sea to ,greece1 across ,greece1 then by sea to the port of ,ephesus1 and thence by rough ways to the upland valley where lay ,colossae1 with its neighbouring towns of ,laodicea and ,hierapolis4 ,so one thing which the ,apostle has to think about is to find messengers to carry his letter4 ,he pitches upon these two1 ,tychicus and ,onesimus4 ,the former is one of his personal attendants1 told off for this duty2 the other1 who has been in ,rome under very peculiar circumstances1 is going home to ,colossae1 on a strange errand1 in which he may be helped by having a message from ,paul to carry4 ,we shall not now deal with the words before us1 so much as with these two figures1 whom we may regard as representing certain principles1 and embodying some useful lessons4 ,i4 ,tychicus may stand as representing the greatness and sacredness of small and secular service done for ,christ4 ,we must first try1 in as few words as may be1 to change the name into a man4 ,there is something very solemn and pathetic in these shadowy names which appear for a moment on the page of ,scripture1 and are swallowed up of black night1 like stars that suddenly blaze out for a week or two1 and then dwindle and at last disappear altogether4 ,they too lived1 and loved1 and strove1 and suffered1 and enjoyed3 and now--all is gone1 gone2 the hot fire burned down to such a little handful of white ashes4 ,tychicus and ,onesimus6 two shadows that once were men6 and as they are1 so we shall be4 ,as to ,tychicus1 there are several fragmentary notices about him in the ,acts of the ,apostles and in ,paul's letters1 and although they do not amount to much1 still by piecing them together1 and looking at them with some sympathy1 we can get a notion of the man4 ,he does not appear till near the end of ,paul's missionary work1 and was probably one of the fruits of the ,apostle's long residence in ,ephesus on his last missionary tour1 as we do not hear of him till after that period4 ,that stay in ,ephesus was cut short by the silversmiths' riot--the earliest example of trades' unions--when they wanted to silence the preaching of the gospel because it damaged the market for shrines1 and also was an insult to the great goddess6 ,thereupon ,paul retired to ,europe1 and after some months there1 decided on his last fateful journey to ,jerusalem4 ,on the way he was joined by a remarkable group of friends seven in number1 and apparently carefully selected so as to represent the principal fields of the ,apostle's labours4 ,there were three ,europeans1 two from ,asia--meaning by that name1 of course1 only the ,roman province1 which included mainly the western seaboard--and two from the wilder inland country of ,lycaonia4 ,tychicus was one of the two from ,asia2 the other was ,trophimus1 whom we know to have been an ,ephesian 7,acts xxi4 #bi71 as ,tychicus may not improbably have also been4 ,we do not know that all the seven accompanied ,paul to ,jerusalem4 ,trophimus we know did1 and another of them1 ,aristarchus1 is mentioned as having sailed with him on the return voyage from ,palestine 7,acts xxvii4 #b74 ,but if they were not intended to go to ,jerusalem1 why did they meet him at all8 ,the sacredness of the number seven1 the apparent care to secure a representation of the whole field of apostolic activity1 and the long distances that some of them must have travelled1 make it extremely unlikely that these men should have met him at a little port in ,asia ,minor for the mere sake of being with him for a few days4 ,it certainly seems much more probable that they joined his company and went on to ,jerusalem4 ,what for8 ,probably as bearers of money contributions from the whole area of the ,gentile ,churches1 to the poor saints there--a purpose which would explain the composition of the delegation4 ,paul was too sensitive and too sagacious to have more to do with money matters than he could help4 ,we learn from his letter to the ,church at ,corinth that he insisted on another brother being associated with him in the administration of their alms1 so that no man could raise suspicions against him4 ,paul's principle was that which ought to guide every man entrusted with other people's money to spend for religious or charitable purposes--,i shall not be your almoner unless some one appointed by you stands by me to see that ,i spend your money rightly--a good example which1 it is much to be desired1 were followed by all workers1 and required to be followed as a condition of all giving4 ,these seven1 at all events1 began the long journey with ,paul4 ,among them is our friend ,tychicus1 who may have learned to know the ,apostle more intimately during it1 and perhaps developed qualities in travel which marked him out as fit for the errand on which we here find him4 ,this voyage was about the year #eh ,a4,d4 ,then comes an interval of some three or four years1 in which occur ,paul's arrest and imprisonment at ,caesarea1 his appearance before governors and kings1 his voyage to ,italy and shipwreck1 with his residence in ,rome4 ,whether ,tychicus was with him during all this period1 as ,luke seems to have been1 we do not know1 nor at what point he joined the ,apostle1 if he was not his companion throughout4 ,but the verses before us show that he was with ,paul during part of his first ,roman captivity1 probably about ,a4,d4 #fb or #fc2 and their commendation of him as a faithful minister1 or helper of ,paul1 implies that for a considerable period before this he had been rendering services to the ,apostle4 ,he is now despatched all the long way to ,colossae to carry this letter1 and to tell the ,church by word of mouth all that had happened in ,rome4 ,no information of that kind is in the letter itself4 ,that silence forms a remarkable contrast to the affectionate abundance of personal details in another prison letter1 that to the ,philippians1 and probably marks this ,epistle as addressed to a ,church never visited by ,paul4 ,tychicus is sent1 according to the most probable reading1 that ye may know our estate1 and that he may comfort your hearts--encouraging the brethren to ,christian stedfastness1 not only by his news of ,paul1 but by his own company and exhortations4 ,the very same words are employed about him in the contemporaneous letter to the ,ephesians4 ,evidently1 then1 he carried both epistles on the same journey2 and one reason for selecting him as messenger is plainly that he was a native of the province1 and probably of ,ephesus4 ,when ,paul looked round his little circle of attendant friends1 his eye fell on ,tychicus1 as the very man for such an errand4 ,you go1 ,tychicus4 ,it is your home2 they all know you4 ,the most careful students now think that the ,epistle to the ,ephesians was meant to go the round of the ,churches of ,asia ,minor1 beginning1 no doubt1 with that in the great city of ,ephesus4 ,if that be so1 and ,tychicus had to carry it to these ,churches in turn1 he would necessarily come1 in the course of his duty1 to ,laodicea1 which was only a few miles from ,colossae1 and so could most conveniently deliver this ,epistle4 ,the wider and the narrower mission fitted into each other4 ,no doubt he went1 and did his work4 ,we can fancy the eager groups1 perhaps in some upper room1 perhaps in some quiet place of prayer by the river side2 in their midst the two messengers1 with a little knot of listeners and questioners round each4 ,how they would have to tell the story a dozen times over6 how every detail would be precious6 how tears would come and hearts would glow6 how deep into the night they would talk6 and how many a heart that had begun to waver would be confirmed in cleaving to ,christ by the exhortations of ,tychicus1 by the very sight of ,onesimus1 and by ,paul's words of fire6 ,what became of ,tychicus after that journey we do not know4 ,perhaps he settled down at ,ephesus for a time1 perhaps he returned to ,paul4 ,at any rate1 we get two more glimpses of him at a later period--one in the ,epistle to ,titus1 in which we hear of the ,apostle's intention to despatch him on another journey to ,crete1 and the last in the close of the second ,epistle to ,timothy1 written from ,rome probably about ,a4,d4 #fg4 ,the ,apostle believes that his death is near1 and seems to have sent away most of his staff4 ,among the notices of their various appointments we read1 ,tychicus have ,i sent to ,ephesus4 ,he is not said to have been sent on any mission connected with the ,churches4 ,it may be that he was simply sent away because1 by reason of his impending martyrdom1 ,paul had no more need of him4 ,true1 he still has ,luke by him1 and he wishes ,timothy to come and bring his first minister1 ,mark1 with him4 ,but he has sent away ,tychicus1 as if he had said1 ,now1 go back to your home1 my friend6 ,you have been a faithful servant for ten years4 ,i need you no more4 ,go to your own people1 and take my blessing4 ,god be with you6 ,so they parted1 he that was for death1 to die6 and he that was for life1 to live and to treasure the memory of ,paul in his heart for the rest of his days4 ,these are the facts2 ten years of faithful service to the ,apostle1 partly during his detention in ,rome1 and much of it spent in wearisome and dangerous travelling undertaken to carry a couple of letters4 ,as for his character1 ,paul has given us something of it in these few words1 which have commended him to a wider circle than the handful of ,christians at ,colossae4 ,as for his personal godliness and goodness1 he is a beloved brother1 as are all who love ,christ2 but he is also a faithful minister1 or personal attendant upon the ,apostle4 ,paul always seems to have had one or two such about him1 from the time of his first journey1 when ,john ,mark filled the post1 to the end of his career4 ,probably he was no great hand at managing affairs1 and needed some plain common-sense nature beside him1 who would be secretary or amanuensis sometimes1 and general helper and factotum4 ,men of genius and men devoted to some great cause which tyrannously absorbs attention1 want some person to fill such a homely office4 ,the person who filled it would be likely to be a plain man1 not gifted in any special degree for higher service4 ,common sense1 willingness to be troubled with small details of purely secular arrangements1 and a hearty love for the chief1 and desire to spare him annoyance and work1 were the qualifications4 ,such probably was ,tychicus--no orator1 no organiser1 no thinker1 but simply an honest1 loving soul1 who did not shrink from rough outward work1 if only it might help the cause4 ,we do not read that he was a teacher or preacher1 or miracle worker4 ,his gift was--ministry1 and he gave himself to his ministry4 ,his business was to run ,paul's errands1 and1 like a true man1 he ran them faithfully4 ,so then1 he is fairly taken as representing the greatness and sacredness of small and secular service for ,christ4 ,for the ,apostle goes on to add something to his eulogium as a faithful minister--when he calls him a fellow-servant1 or slave1 in the ,lord4 ,as if he had said1 ,do not suppose that because ,i write this letter1 and ,tychicus carries it1 there is much difference between us4 ,we are both slaves of the same ,lord who has set each of us his tasks2 and though the tasks be different1 the obedience is the same1 and the doers stand on one level4 ,i am not ,tychicus' master1 though he be my minister4 ,we have both1 as ,i have been reminding you that you all have1 an owner in heaven4 ,the delicacy of the turn thus given to the commendation is a beautiful indication of ,paul's generous1 chivalrous nature4 ,no wonder that such a soul bound men like ,tychicus to him6 ,but there is more than merely a revelation of a beautiful character in the words2 there are great truths in them4 ,we may draw them out in two or three thoughts4 ,small things done for ,christ are great4 ,trifles that contribute and are indispensable to a great result are great2 or perhaps1 more properly1 both words are out of place4 ,in some powerful engine there is a little screw1 and if it drop out1 the great piston cannot rise nor the huge crank turn4 ,what have big and little to do with things which are equally indispensable8 ,there is a great rudder that steers an ironclad4 ,it moves on a pintle a few inches long4 ,if that bit of iron were gone1 what would become of the rudder1 and what would be the use of the ship with all her guns8 ,there is an old jingling rhyme about losing a shoe for want of a nail1 and a horse for want of a shoe1 and a man for want of a horse1 and a battle for want of a man1 and a kingdom for loss of a battle4 ,the intervening links may be left out--and the nail and the kingdom brought together4 ,in a similar spirit1 we may say that the trifles done for ,christ which help the great things are as important as these4 ,what is the use of writing letters1 if you cannot get them delivered8 ,it takes both ,paul and ,tychicus to get the letter into the hands of the people at ,colossae4 ,another thought suggested by the figure of ,paul's minister1 who was also his fellow-slave1 is the sacredness of secular work done for ,christ4 ,when ,tychicus is caring for ,paul's comfort1 and looking after common things for him1 he is serving ,christ1 and his work is in the ,lord4 ,that is equivalent to saying that the distinction between sacred and secular1 religious and non-religious1 like that of great and small1 disappears from work done for and in ,jesus4 ,whenever there is organization1 there must be much work concerned with purely material things3 and the most spiritual forces must have some organization4 ,there must be men for the outward business of the house of ,god as well as white-robed priests at the altar1 and the rapt gazer in the secret place of the ,most ,high4 ,there are a hundred matters of detail and of purely outward and mechanical sort which must be seen to by somebody4 ,the alternative is to do them in a purely mechanical and secular manner and so to make the work utterly dreary and contemptible1 or in a devout and earnest manner and so to hallow them all1 and make worship of them all4 ,the difference between two lives is not in the material on which1 but in the motive from which1 and in the end for which1 they are respectively lived4 ,all work done in obedience to the same ,lord is the same in essence2 for it is all obedience2 and all work done for the same ,god is the same in essence1 for it is all worship4 ,the distinction between secular and sacred ought never to have found its way into ,christian morals1 and ought for evermore to be expelled from ,christian life4 ,another thought may be suggested--fleeting things done for ,christ are eternal4 ,how astonished ,tychicus would have been if anybody had told him on that day when he got away from ,rome1 with the two precious letters in his scrip1 that these bits of parchment would outlast all the ostentatious pomp of the city1 and that his name1 because written in them1 would be known to the end of time all over the world6 ,the eternal things are the things done for ,christ4 ,they are eternal in ,his memory who has said1 ,i will never forget any of their works1 however they may fall from man's remembrance4 ,they are perpetual in their consequences4 ,true1 no man's contribution to the mighty sum of things that make for righteousness can very long be traced as separate from the others1 any more than the raindrop that refreshed the harebell on the moor can be traced in burn1 and river1 and sea4 ,but for all that1 it is there4 ,so our influence for good blends with a thousand others1 and may not be traceable beyond a short distance1 still it is there3 and no true work for ,christ1 abortive as it may seem1 but goes to swell the great aggregate of forces which are working on through the ages to bring the perfect ,order4 ,that ,colossian ,church seems a failure4 ,where is it now8 ,gone4 ,where are its sister ,churches of ,asia8 ,gone4 ,paul's work and ,tychicus' seem to have vanished from the earth1 and ,mohammedanism to have taken its place4 ,yes6 and here are we to-day in ,england1 and ,christian men all over the world in lands that were mere slaughterhouses of savagery then1 learning our best lessons from ,paul's words1 and owing something for our knowledge of them to ,tychicus' humble care4 ,paul meant to teach a handful of obscure believers--he has edified the world4 ,tychicus thought to carry the precious letter safely over the sea--he was helping to send it across the centuries1 and to put it into our hands4 ,so little do we know where our work will terminate4 ,our only concern is where it begins4 ,let us look after this end1 the motive2 and leave ,god to take care of the other1 the consequences4 ,such work will be perpetual in its consequences on ourselves4 ,though ,israel be not gathered1 yet shall ,i be glorious4 ,whether our service for ,christ does others any good or no1 it will bless ourselves1 by strengthening the motives from which it springs1 by enlarging our own knowledge and enriching our own characters1 and by a hundred other gracious influences which ,his work exerts upon the devout worker1 and which become indissoluble parts of himself1 and abide with him for ever1 over and above the crown of glory that fadeth not away4 ,and1 as the reward is given not to the outward deed1 but to the motive which settles its value1 all work done from the same motive is alike in reward1 howsoever different in form4 ,paul in the front1 and ,tychicus obscure in the rear1 the great teachers and path-openers whom ,christ through the ages raises up for large spiritual work1 and the little people whom ,christ through the ages raises up to help and sympathize--shall share alike at last1 if the ,spirit that moved them has been the same1 and if in different administrations they have served the same ,lord4 ,he that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet--though no prophecy come from his lips--shall receive a prophet's reward4 ,,ii4 ,we must now turn to a much briefer consideration of the second figure here1 ,onesimus1 as representing the transforming and uniting power of ,christian faith4 ,no doubt this is the same ,onesimus as we read of in the ,epistle to ,philemon4 ,his story is familiar and need not be dwelt on4 ,he had been an unprofitable servant1 good-for-nothing1 and apparently had robbed his master1 and then fled4 ,he had found his way to ,rome1 to which all the scum of the empire seemed to drift4 ,there he had burrowed in some hole1 and found obscurity and security4 ,somehow or other he had come across ,paul--surely not1 as has been supposed1 having sought the ,apostle as a friend of his master's1 which would rather have been a reason for avoiding him4 ,however that may be1 he had found ,paul1 and ,paul's ,master had found him by the gospel which ,paul spoke4 ,his heart had been touched4 ,and now he is to go back to his owner4 ,with beautiful considerateness the ,apostle unites him with ,tychicus in his mission1 and refers the ,church to him as an authority4 ,that is most delicate and thoughtful4 ,the same sensitive regard for his feelings marks the language in which he is commended to them4 ,there is now no word about a fellow-slave--that might have been misunderstood and might have hurt4 ,paul will only say about him half of what he said about ,tychicus4 ,he cannot leave out the faithful1 because ,onesimus had been eminently unfaithful1 and so he attaches it to that half of his former commendation which he retains1 and testifies to him as a faithful and beloved brother4 ,there are no references to his flight or to his peculations4 ,philemon is the person to be spoken to about these4 ,the ,church has nothing to do with them4 ,the man's past was blotted out--enough that he is faithful1 exercising trust in ,christ1 and therefore to be trusted4 ,his condition was of no moment--enough that he is a brother1 therefore to be beloved4 ,does not then that figure stand forth a living illustration of the transforming power of ,christianity8 ,slaves had well-known vices1 largely the result of their position--idleness1 heartlessness1 lying1 dishonesty4 ,and this man had had his full share of the sins of his class4 ,think of him as he left ,colossae1 slinking from his master1 with stolen property in his bosom1 madness and mutiny in his heart1 an ignorant heathen1 with vices and sensualities holding carnival in his soul4 ,think of him as he came back1 ,paul's trusted representative1 with desires after holiness in his deepest nature1 the light of the knowledge of a loving and pure ,god in his soul1 a great hope before him1 ready for all service and even to put on again the abhorred yoke6 ,what had happened8 ,nothing but this--the message had come to him1 ,onesimus6 fugitive1 rebel1 thief as thou art1 ,jesus ,christ has died for thee1 and lives to cleanse and bless thee4 ,believest thou this8 ,and he believed1 and leant his whole sinful self on that ,saviour1 and the corruption faded away from his heart1 and out of the thief was made a trustworthy man1 and out of the slave a beloved brother4 ,the cross had touched his heart and will4 ,that was all4 ,it had changed his whole being4 ,he is a living illustration of ,paul's teaching in this very letter4 ,he is dead with ,christ to his old self2 he lives with ,christ a new life4 ,the gospel can do that4 ,it can and does do so to-day and to us1 if we will4 ,nothing else can2 nothing else ever has done it2 nothing else ever will4 ,culture may do much2 social reformation may do much2 but the radical transformation of the nature is only effected by the love of ,god shed abroad in the heart1 and by the new life which we receive through our faith in ,christ4 ,that change can be produced on all sorts and conditions of men4 ,the gospel despairs of none4 ,it knows of no hopelessly irreclaimable classes4 ,it can kindle a soul under the ribs of death4 ,the filthiest rags can be cleaned and made into spotlessly white paper1 which may have the name of ,god written upon it4 ,none are beyond its power2 neither the savages in other lands1 nor the more hopeless heathens festering and rotting in our back slums1 the opprobrium of our civilization and the indictment of our ,christianity4 ,take the gospel that transformed this poor slave1 to them1 and some hearts will own it1 and we shall pick out of the kennel souls blacker than his1 and make them like him1 brethren1 faithful and beloved4 ,further1 here is a living illustration of the power which the gospel has of binding men into a true brotherhood4 ,we can scarcely picture to ourselves the gulf which separated the master from his slave4 ,so many slaves1 so many enemies1 said ,seneca4 ,that great crack running through society was a chief weakness and peril of the ancient world4 ,christianity gathered master and slave into one family1 and set them down at one table to commemorate the death of the ,saviour who held them all in the embrace of ,his great love4 ,all true union among men must be based upon their oneness in ,jesus ,christ4 ,the brotherhood of man is a consequence of the fatherhood of ,god1 and ,christ shows us the ,father4 ,if the dreams of men's being knit together in harmony are ever to be more than dreams1 the power that makes them facts must flow from the cross4 ,the world must recognise that ,one is your master1 before it comes to believe as anything more than the merest sentimentality that all ye are brethren4 ,much has to be done before the dawn of that day reddens in the east1 when1 man to man1 the wide world o'er1 shall brothers be1 and much in political and social life has to be swept away before society is organized on the basis of ,christian fraternity4 ,the vision tarries4 ,but we may remember how certainly1 though slowly1 the curse of slavery has disappeared1 and take courage to believe that all other evils will fade away in like manner1 until the cords of love shall bind all hearts in fraternal unity1 because they bind each to the cross of the ,elder ,brother1 through whom we are no more slaves but sons1 and if sons of ,god1 then brethren of one another4 ,,xxv4 ,,salutations ,,from ,,the ,,prisoner',s ,,friends4 ,aristarchus my fellow-prisoner saluteth you1 and ,mark1 the cousin of ,barnabas 7touching whom ye received commandments2 if he come unto you1 receive him71 and ,jesus1 which is called ,justus1 who are of the circumcision3 these only are my fellow-workers unto the kingdom of ,god1 men that have been a comfort unto me4 ,epaphras1 who is one of you1 a servant of ,christ ,jesus1 saluteth you1 always striving for you in his prayers1 that ye may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of ,god4 ,for ,i bear him witness1 that he hath much labour for you1 and for them in ,laodicea1 and for them in ,hierapolis4 ,luke1 the beloved physician1 and ,demas salute you4--,,col4 iv4 #aj-ad 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,here are men of different races1 unknown to each other by face1 clasping hands across the seas1 and feeling that the repulsions of nationality1 language1 conflicting interests1 have disappeared in the unity of faith4 ,these greetings are a most striking1 because unconscious1 testimony to the reality and strength of the new bond that knit ,christian souls together4 ,there are three sets of salutations here1 sent from ,rome to the little far-off ,phrygian town in its secluded valley4 ,the first is from three large-hearted ,jewish ,christians1 whose greeting has a special meaning as coming from that wing of the ,church which had least sympathy with ,paul's work or converts4 ,the second is from the ,colossians' towns-man ,epaphras2 and the third is from two ,gentiles like themselves1 one well known as ,paul's most faithful friend1 one almost unknown1 of whom ,paul has nothing to say1 and of whom nothing good can be said4 ,all these may yield us matter for consideration4 ,it is interesting to piece together what we know of the bearers of these shadowy names4 ,it is profitable to regard them as exponents of certain tendencies and principles4 #a4 ,these three sympathetic ,jewish ,christians may stand as types of a progressive and non-ceremonial ,christianity4 ,we need spend little time in outlining the figures of these three1 for he in the centre is well known to every one1 and his two supporters are little known to any one4 ,aristarchus was a ,thessalonian 7,acts xx4 #d71 and so perhaps one of ,paul's early converts on his first journey to ,europe4 ,his purely ,gentile name would not have led us to expect him to be a ,jew4 ,but we have many similar instances in the ,new ,testament1 such for instance1 as the names of six of the seven deacons 7,acts vii4 #e71 which show that the ,jews of the dispersion1 who resided in foreign countries1 often bore no trace of their nationality in their names4 ,he was with ,paul in ,ephesus at the time of the riot1 and was one of the two whom the excited mob1 in their zeal for trade and religion1 dragged into the theatre1 to the peril of their lives4 ,we next find him like ,tychicus1 a member of the deputation which joined ,paul on his voyage to ,jerusalem4 ,whatever was the case with the other1 ,aristarchus was in ,palestine with ,paul1 for we learn that he sailed with him thence 7,acts xxvii4 #b74 ,whether he kept company with ,paul during all the journey we do not know4 ,but more probably he went home to ,thessalonica1 and afterwards rejoined ,paul at some point in his ,roman captivity4 ,at any rate here he is1 standing by ,paul1 having drunk in his spirit1 and enthusiastically devoted to him and his work4 ,he receives here a remarkable and honourable title1 my fellow-prisoner4 ,i suppose that it is to be taken literally1 and that ,aristarchus was1 in some way1 at the moment of writing1 sharing ,paul's imprisonment4 ,now it has been often noticed that1 in the ,epistle to ,philemon1 where almost all these names re-appear1 it is not ,aristarchus1 but ,epaphras1 who is honoured with this epithet2 and that interchange has been explained by an ingenious supposition that ,paul's friends took it in turn to keep him company1 and were allowed to live with him1 on condition of submitting to the same restrictions1 military guardianship1 and so on4 ,there is no positive evidence in favour of this1 but it is not improbable1 and1 if accepted1 helps to give an interesting glimpse of ,paul's prison life1 and of the loyal devotion which surrounded him4 ,mark comes next4 ,his story is well known--how twelve years before1 he had joined the first missionary band from ,antioch1 of which his cousin ,barnabas was the leader1 and had done well enough as long as they were on known ground1 in ,barnabas' 7and perhaps his own7 native island of ,cyprus1 but had lost heart and run home to his mother as soon as they crossed into ,asia ,minor4 ,he had long ago effaced the distrust of him which ,paul naturally conceived on account of this collapse4 ,how he came to be with ,paul at ,rome is unknown4 ,it has been conjectured that ,barnabas was dead1 and that so1 ,mark was free to join the ,apostle2 but that is unsupported supposition4 ,apparently he is now purposing a journey to ,asia ,minor1 in the course of which1 if he should come to ,colossae 7which was doubtful1 perhaps on account of its insignificance71 ,paul repeats his previous injunction1 that the church should give him a cordial welcome4 ,probably this commendation was given because the evil odour of his old fault might still hang about his name4 ,the calculated emphasis of the exhortation1 receive him1 seems to show that there was some reluctance to give him a hearty reception and take him to their hearts4 ,so we have an undesigned coincidence4 ,the tone of the injunction here is naturally explained by the story in the ,acts4 ,so faithful a friend did he prove1 that the lonely old man1 fronting death1 longed to have his affectionate tending once more2 and his last word about him1 ,take ,mark1 and bring him with thee1 for he is profitable to me for the ministry1 condones the early fault1 and restores him to the office which1 in a moment of selfish weakness1 he had abandoned4 ,so it is possible to efface a faultful past1 and to acquire strength and fitness for work1 to which we are by nature most inapt and indisposed4 ,mark is an instance of early faults nobly atoned for1 and a witness of the power of repentance and faith to overcome natural weakness4 ,many a ragged colt makes a noble horse4 ,the third man is utterly unknown--,jesus1 which is called ,justus4 ,how startling to come across that name1 borne by this obscure ,christian6 ,how it helps us to feel the humble manhood of ,christ1 by showing us that many another ,jewish boy bore the same name2 common and undistinguished then1 though too holy to be given to any since4 ,his surname ,justus may1 perhaps1 like the same name given to ,james1 the first bishop of the ,church in ,jerusalem1 hint his rigorous adherence to ,judaism1 and so may indicate that1 like ,paul himself1 he came from the straitest sect of their religion into the large liberty in which he now rejoiced4 ,he seems to have been of no importance in the ,church1 for his name is the only one in this context which does not re-appear in ,philemon1 and we never hear of him again4 ,a strange fate his6 to be made immortal by three words--and because he wanted to send a loving message to the ,church at ,colossae6 ,why1 men have striven and schemed1 and broken their hearts1 and flung away their lives1 to grasp the bubble of posthumous fame2 and how easily this good ,jesus which is called ,justus has got it6 ,he has his name written for ever on the world's memory1 and he very likely never knew it1 and does not know it1 and was never a bit the better for it6 ,what a satire on the last infirmity of noble minds6 ,these three men are united in this salutation1 because they are all three1 of the circumcision2 that is to say1 are ,jews1 and being so1 have separated themselves from all the other ,jewish ,christians in ,rome1 and have flung themselves with ardour into ,paul's missionary work among the ,gentiles1 and have been his fellow-workers for the advancement of the kingdom--aiding him1 that is1 in seeking to win willing subjects to the loving1 kingly will of ,god4 ,by this co-operation in the aim of his life1 they have been a comfort to him4 ,he uses a half medical term1 which perhaps he had caught from the physician at his elbow1 which we might perhaps parallel by saying they had been a cordial to him--like a refreshing draught to a weary man1 or some whiff of pure air stealing into a close chamber and lifting the damp curls on some hot brow4 ,now these three men1 the only three ,jewish ,christians in ,rome who had the least sympathy with ,paul and his work1 give us1 in their isolation1 a vivid illustration of the antagonism which he had to face from that portion of the early ,church4 ,the great question for the first generation of ,christians was1 not whether ,gentiles might enter the ,christian community1 but whether they must do so by circumcision1 and pass through ,judaism on their road to ,christianity4 ,the bulk of the ,palestinian ,jewish ,christians naturally held that they must2 while the bulk of ,jewish ,christians who had been born in other countries as naturally held that they need not4 ,as the champion of this latter decision1 ,paul was worried and counter-worked and hindered all his life by the other party4 ,they had no missionary zeal1 or next to none1 but they followed in his wake and made mischief wherever they could4 ,if we can fancy some modern sect that sends out no missionaries of its own1 but delights to come in where better men have forced a passage1 and to upset their work by preaching its own crotchets1 we get precisely the kind of thing which dogged ,paul all his life4 ,there was evidently a considerable body of these men in ,rome2 good men no doubt in a fashion1 believing in ,jesus as the ,messiah1 but unable to comprehend that he had antiquated ,moses1 as the dawning day makes useless the light in a dark place4 ,even when he was a prisoner1 their unrelenting antagonism pursued the ,apostle4 ,they preached ,christ of envy and strife4 ,not one of them lifted a finger to help him1 or spoke a word to cheer him4 ,with none of them to say1 ,god bless him6 he toiled on4 ,only these three were large-hearted enough to take their stand by his side1 and by this greeting to clasp the hands of their ,gentile brethren in ,colossae and thereby to endorse the teaching of this letter as to the abrogation of ,jewish rites4 ,it was a brave thing to do1 and the exuberance of the eulogium shows how keenly ,paul felt his countrymen's coldness1 and how grateful he was to the dauntless three4 ,only those who have lived in an atmosphere of misconstruction1 surrounded by scowls and sneers1 can understand what a cordial the clasp of a hand1 or the word of sympathy is4 ,these men were like the old soldier that stood on the street of ,worms1 as ,luther passed in to the ,diet1 and clapped him on the shoulder1 with ,little monk6 little monk6 you are about to make a nobler stand to-day than we in all our battles have ever done4 ,if your cause is just1 and you are sure of it1 go forward in ,god's name1 and fear nothing4 ,if we can do no more1 we can give some one who is doing more a cup of cold water1 by our sympathy and taking our place at his side1 and so can be fellow-workers to the kingdom of ,god4 ,we note1 too1 that the best comfort ,paul could have was help in his work4 ,he did not go about the world whimpering for sympathy4 ,he was much too strong a man for that4 ,he wanted men to come down into the trench with him1 and to shovel and wheel there till they had made in the wilderness some kind of a highway for the ,king4 ,the true cordial for a true worker is that others get into the traces and pull by his side4 ,but we may further look at these men as representing for us progressive as opposed to reactionary1 and spiritual as opposed to ceremonial ,christianity4 ,jewish ,christians looked backwards2 ,paul and his three sympathisers looked forward4 ,there was much excuse for the former4 ,no wonder that they shrank from the idea that things divinely appointed could be laid aside4 ,now there is a broad distinction between the divine in ,christianity and the divine in ,judaism4 ,for ,jesus ,christ is ,god's last word1 and abides for ever4 ,his divinity1 ,his perfect sacrifice1 ,his present life in glory for us1 ,his life within us1 these and their related truths are the perennial possession of the ,church4 ,to ,him we must look back1 and every generation till the end of time will have to look back1 as the full and final expression of the wisdom and will and mercy of ,god4 ,last of all ,he sent unto them ,his ,son4 ,that being distinctly understood1 we need not hesitate to recognise the transitory nature of much of the embodiment of the eternal truth concerning the eternal ,christ4 ,to draw the line accurately between the permanent and the transient would be to anticipate history and read the future4 ,but the clear recognition of the distinction between the ,divine revelation and the vessels in which it is contained1 between ,christ and creed1 between ,churches1 forms of worship1 formularies of faith on the one hand1 and the everlasting word of ,god spoken to us once for all in ,his ,son1 and recorded in ,scripture1 on the other1 is needful at all times1 and especially at such times of sifting and unsettlement as the present4 ,it will save some of us from an obstinate conservatism which might read its fate in the decline and disappearance of ,jewish ,christianity4 ,it will save us equally from needless fears1 as if the stars were going out1 when it is only men-made lamps that are paling4 ,men's hearts often tremble for the ark of ,god1 when the only things in peril are the cart that carries it1 or the oxen that draw it4 ,we have received a kingdom that cannot be moved1 because we have received a ,king eternal1 and therefore may calmly see the removal of things that can be shaken1 assured that the things which cannot be shaken will but the more conspicuously assert their permanence4 ,the existing embodiments of ,god's truth are not the highest1 and if ,churches and forms crumble and disintegrate1 their disappearance will not be the abolition of ,christianity1 but its progress4 ,these ,jewish ,christians would have found all that they strove to keep1 in higher form and more real reality1 in ,christ2 and what seemed to them the destruction of ,judaism was really its coronation with undying life4 ,,ii4 ,epaphras is for us the type of the highest service which love can render4 ,all our knowledge of ,epaphras is contained in these brief notices in this ,epistle4 ,we learn from the first chapter that he had introduced the gospel to ,colossae1 and perhaps also to ,laodicea and ,hierapolis4 ,he was one of you1 a member of the ,colossian community1 and a resident in1 possibly a native of1 ,colossae4 ,he had come to ,rome1 apparently to consult the ,apostle about the views which threatened to disturb the ,church4 ,he had told him1 too1 of their love1 not painting the picture too black1 and gladly giving full prominence to any bits of brightness4 ,it was his report which led to the writing of this letter4 ,perhaps some of the ,colossians were not over pleased with his having gone to speak with ,paul1 and having brought down this thunderbolt on their heads2 and such a feeling may account for the warmth of ,paul's praises of him as his fellow-slave1 and for the emphasis of his testimony on his behalf4 ,however they might doubt it1 ,epaphras' love for them was warm4 ,it showed itself by continual fervent prayers that they might stand perfect and fully persuaded in all the will of ,god1 and by toil of body and mind for them4 ,we can see the anxious ,epaphras1 far away from the ,church of his solicitude1 always burdened with the thought of their danger1 and ever wrestling in prayer on their behalf4 ,so we may learn the noblest service which ,christian love can do--prayer4 ,there is a real power in ,christian intercession4 ,there are many difficulties and mysteries round that thought4 ,the manner of the blessing is not revealed1 but the fact that we help one another by prayer is plainly taught1 and confirmed by many examples1 from the day when ,god heard ,abraham and delivered ,lot1 to the hour when the loving authoritative words were spoken1 ,simon1 ,simon1 ,i have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not4 ,a spoonful of water sets a hydraulic press in motion1 and brings into operation a force of tons' weight2 so a drop of prayer at the one end may move an influence at the other which is omnipotent4 ,it is a service which all can render4 ,epaphras could not have written this letter1 but he could pray4 ,love has no higher way of utterance than prayer4 ,a prayerless love may be very tender1 and may speak murmured words of sweetest sound1 but it lacks the deepest expression1 and the noblest music of speech4 ,we never help our dear ones so well as when we pray for them4 ,do we thus show and consecrate our family loves and our friendships8 ,we notice too the kind of prayer which love naturally presents4 ,it is constant and earnest--always striving1 or as the word might be rendered1 agonizing4 ,that word suggests first the familiar metaphor of the wrestling-ground4 ,true prayer is the intensest energy of the spirit pleading for blessing with a great striving of faithful desire4 ,but a more solemn memory gathers round the word1 for it can scarcely fail to recall the hour beneath the olives of ,gethsemane1 when the clear paschal moon shone down on the suppliant who1 being in an agony1 prayed the more earnestly4 ,and both ,paul's word here1 and the evangelist's there1 carry us back to that mysterious scene by the brook ,jabbok1 where ,jacob wrestled with a man until the breaking of the day1 and prevailed4 ,such is prayer2 the wrestle in the arena1 the agony in ,gethsemane1 the solitary grapple with the traveller unknown2 and such is the highest expression of ,christian love4 ,here1 too1 we learn what love asks for its beloved4 ,not perishable blessings1 not the prizes of earth--fame1 fortune1 friends2 but that ye may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of ,god4 ,the first petition is for stedfastness4 ,to stand has for opposites--to fall1 or totter1 or give ground2 so the prayer is that they may not yield to temptation1 or opposition1 nor waver in their fixed faith1 nor go down in the struggle2 but keep erect1 their feet planted on the rock1 and holding their own against every foe4 ,the prayer is also for their maturity of ,christian character1 that they may stand firm1 because perfect1 having attained that condition which ,paul in this ,epistle tell us is the aim of all preaching and warning4 ,as for ourselves1 so for our dear ones1 we are to be content with nothing short of entire conformity to the will of ,god4 ,his merciful purpose for us all is to be the goal of our efforts for ourselves1 and of our prayers for others4 ,we are to widen our desires to coincide with ,his gift1 and our prayers are to cover no narrower space than ,his promises enclose4 ,epaphras' last desire for his friends1 according to the true reading1 is that they may be fully assured in all the will of ,god4 ,there can be no higher blessing than that--to be quite sure of what ,god desires me to know and do and be--if the assurance comes from the clear light of ,his illumination1 and not from hasty self-confidence in my own penetration4 ,to be free from the misery of intellectual doubts and practical uncertainties1 to walk in the sunshine--is the purest joy4 ,and it is granted in needful measure to all who have silenced their own wills1 that they may hear what ,god says1--,if any man wills to do ,his will1 he shall know4 ,does our love speak in prayer8 and do our prayers for our dear ones plead chiefly for such gifts8 ,both our love and our desires need purifying if this is to be their natural language4 ,how can we offer such prayers for them if1 at the bottom of our hearts1 we had rather see them well off in the world than stedfast1 matured and assured ,christians8 ,how can we expect an answer to such prayers if the whole current of our lives shows that neither for them nor for ourselves do we seek first the kingdom of ,god and ,his righteousness8 ,,iii4 ,the last salutation comes from a singularly contrasted couple--,luke and ,demas1 the types respectively of faithfulness and apostasy4 ,these two unequally yoked together stand before us like the light and the dark figures that ,ary ,scheffer delights to paint1 each bringing out the colouring of the other more vividly by contrast4 ,they bear the same relation to ,paul which ,john1 the beloved disciple1 and ,judas did to ,paul's master4 ,as for ,luke1 his long and faithful companionship of the ,apostle is too well known to need repetition here4 ,his first appearance in the ,acts nearly coincides with an attack of ,paul's constitutional malady1 which gives probability to the suggestion that one reason for ,luke's close attendance on the ,apostle was the state of his health4 ,thus the form and warmth of the reference here would be explained--,luke the physician1 the beloved4 ,we trace ,luke as sharing the perils of the winter voyage to ,italy1 making his presence known only by the modest we of the narrative4 ,we find him here sharing the ,roman captivity1 and1 in the second imprisonment1 he was ,paul's only companion4 ,all others had been sent away1 or had fled2 but ,luke could not be spared1 and would not desert him1 and no doubt was by his side till the end1 which soon came4 ,as for ,demas1 we know no more about him except the melancholy record1 ,demas hath forsaken me1 having loved this present world2 and is departed unto ,thessalonica4 ,perhaps he was a ,thessalonian1 and so went home4 ,his love of the world1 then1 was his reason for abandoning ,paul4 ,probably it was on the side of danger that the world tempted him4 ,he was a coward1 and preferred a whole skin to a clear conscience4 ,in immediate connection with the record of his desertion we read1 ,at my first answer1 no man stood with me1 but all men forsook me4 ,as the same word is used1 probably ,demas may have been one of those timid friends1 whose courage was not equal to standing by ,paul when1 to use his own metaphor1 he thrust his head into the lion's mouth4 ,let us not be too hard on the constancy that warped in so fierce a heat4 ,all that ,paul charges him with is1 that he was a faithless friend1 and too fond of the present world4 ,perhaps his crime did not reach the darker hue4 ,he may not have been an apostate ,christian1 though he was a faithless friend4 ,perhaps1 if there were departure from ,christ as well as from ,paul1 he came back again1 like ,peter1 whose sins against love and friendship were greater than his--and1 like ,peter1 found pardon and a welcome4 ,perhaps1 away in ,thessalonica1 he repented him of his evil1 and perhaps ,paul and ,demas met again before the throne1 and there clasped inseparable hands4 ,let us not judge a man of whom we know so little1 but take to ourselves the lesson of humility and self-distrust6 ,how strikingly these two contrasted characters bring out the possibility of men being exposed to the same influences and yet ending far away from each other6 ,these two set out from the same point1 and travelled side by side1 subject to the same training1 in contact with the magnetic attraction of ,paul's strong personality1 and at the end they are wide as the poles asunder4 ,starting from the same level1 one line inclines ever so little upwards1 the other imperceptibly downwards4 ,pursue them far enough1 and there is room for the whole solar system with all its orbits in the space between them4 ,so two children trained at one mother's knee1 subjects of the same prayers1 with the same sunshine of love and rain of good influences upon them both1 may grow up1 one to break a mother's heart and disgrace a father's home1 and the other to walk in the ways of godliness and serve the ,god of his fathers4 ,circumstances are mighty2 but the use we make of circumstances lies with ourselves4 ,as we trim our sails and set our rudder1 the same breeze will take us in opposite directions4 ,we are the architects and builders of our own characters1 and may so use the most unfavourable influences as to strengthen and wholesomely harden our natures thereby1 and may so misuse the most favourable as only thereby to increase our blameworthiness for wasted opportunities4 ,we are reminded1 also1 from these two men who stand before us like a double star--one bright and one dark--that no loftiness of ,christian position1 nor length of ,christian profession is a guarantee against falling and apostasy4 ,as we read in another book1 for which also the ,church has to thank a prison cell--the place where so many of its precious possessions have been written--there is a backway to the pit from the gate of the ,celestial ,city4 ,demas had stood high in the ,church1 had been admitted to the close intimacy of the ,apostle1 was evidently no raw novice1 and yet the world could drag him back from so eminent a place in which he had long stood4 ,let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall4 ,the world that was too strong for ,demas will be too strong for us if we front it in our own strength4 ,it is ubiquitous1 working on us everywhere and always1 like the pressure of the atmosphere on our bodies4 ,its weight will crush us unless we can climb to and dwell on the heights of communion with ,god1 where pressure is diminished4 ,it acted on ,demas through his fears4 ,it acts on us through our ambitions1 affections and desires4 ,so1 seeing that miserable wreck of ,christian constancy1 and considering ourselves lest we also be tempted1 let us not judge another1 but look at home4 ,there is more than enough there to make profound self-distrust our truest wisdom1 and to teach us to pray1 ,hold ,thou me up1 and ,i shall be safe4 ,,xxvi4 ,,closing ,,messages4 ,salute the brethren that are in ,laodicea1 and ,nymphas1 and the ,church that is in their house4 ,and when this epistle hath been read among you1 cause that it be read also in the ,church of the ,laodiceans2 and that ye also read the epistle from ,laodicea4 ,and say to ,archippus1 ,take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the ,lord1 that thou fulfil it4 ,the salutation of me ,paul with mine own hand4 ,remember my bonds4 ,grace be with you4--,,col4 iv4 #ae-;end 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,there is a marked love of triplets in these closing messages4 ,there were three of the circumcision who desired to salute the ,colossians2 and there were three ,gentiles whose greetings followed these4 ,now we have a triple message from the ,apostle himself--his greeting to ,laodicea1 his message as to the interchange of letters with that ,church1 and his grave1 stringent charge to ,archippus4 ,finally1 the letter closes with a few hurried words in his own handwriting1 which also are threefold1 and seem to have been added in extreme haste1 and to be compressed to the utmost possible brevity4 ,i4 ,we shall first look at the threefold greeting and warnings to ,laodicea4 ,in the first part of this triple message we have a glimpse of the ,christian life of that city1 ,salute the brethren that are in ,laodicea4 ,these are1 of course1 the whole body of ,christians in the neighbouring town1 which was a much more important place than ,colossae4 ,they are the same persons as the ,church of the ,laodiceans4 ,then comes a special greeting to ,nymphas1 who was obviously a brother of some importance and influence in the ,laodicean ,church1 though to us he has sunk to be an empty name4 ,with him ,paul salutes the ,church that is in their house 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,whose house8 ,probably that belonging to ,nymphas and his family4 ,perhaps that belonging to ,nymphas and the ,church that met in it1 if these were other than his family4 ,the more difficult expression is adopted by preponderating textual authorities1 and his house is regarded as a correction to make the sense easier4 ,if so1 then the expression is one of which in our ignorance we have lost the key1 and which must be content to leave unexplained4 ,but what was this ,church in the house8 ,we read that ,prisca and ,aquila had such both in their house in ,rome 7,rom4 xvi4 #e7 and in ,ephesus 7#a ,cor4 xvi4 #ai71 and that ,philemon had such in his house at ,colossae4 ,it may be that only the household of ,nymphas is meant1 and that the words import no more than that it was a ,christian household2 or it may be1 and more probably is1 that in all these cases there was some gathering of a few of the ,christians resident in each city1 who were closely connected with the heads of the household1 and met in their houses more or less regularly to worship and to help one another in the ,christian life4 ,we have no facts that decide which of these two suppositions is correct4 ,the early ,christians had1 of course no buildings especially used for their meetings1 and there may often have been difficulty in finding suitable places1 particularly in cities where the ,church was numerous4 ,it may have been customary1 therefore1 for brethren who had large and convenient houses1 to gather together portions of the whole community in these4 ,in any case1 the expression gives us a glimpse of the primitive elasticity of ,church order1 and of the early fluidity1 so to speak1 of ecclesiastical language4 ,the word ,church has not yet been hardened and fixed to its present technical sense4 ,there was but one ,church in ,laodicea1 and yet within it there was this little ,church--an imperium in imperio--as if the word had not yet come to mean more than an assembly1 and as if all arrangements of order and worship1 and all the terminology of later days1 were undreamed of yet4 ,the life was there1 but the forms which were to grow out of the life1 and to protect it sometimes1 and to stifle it often1 were only beginning to show themselves1 and were certainly not yet felt to be forms4 ,we may note1 too1 the beautiful glimpse we get here of domestic and social religion4 ,if the ,church in the house of ,nymphas consisted of his own family and dependants1 it stands for us as a lesson of what every family1 which has a ,christian man or woman at its head1 ought to be4 ,little knowledge of the ordering of so-called ,christian households is needed to be sure that domestic religion is wofully neglected to-day4 ,family worship and family instruction are disused1 one fears1 in many homes1 the heads of which can remember both in their father's houses2 and the unspoken aroma and atmosphere of religion does not fill the house with its odour1 as it ought to do4 ,if a ,christian householder have not a ,church in his house1 the family union is tending to become a synagogue of ,satan4 ,one or other it is sure to be4 ,it is a solemn question for all parents and heads of households1 ,what am ,i doing to make my house a ,church1 my family a family united by faith in ,jesus ,christ8 ,a like suggestion may be made if1 as is possible1 the ,church in the house of ,nymphas included more than relatives and dependants4 ,it is a miserable thing when social intercourse plays freely round every other subject1 and taboos all mention of religion4 ,it is a miserable thing when ,christian people choose and cultivate society for worldly advantages1 business connections1 family advancement1 and for every reason under heaven--sometimes a long way under--except those of a common faith1 and of the desire to increase it4 ,it is not needful to lay down extravagant1 impracticable restrictions1 by insisting either that we should limit our society to religious men1 or our conversation to religious subjects4 ,but it is a bad sign when our chosen associates are chosen for every other reason but their religion1 and when our talk flows copiously on all other subjects1 and becomes a constrained driblet when religion comes to be spoken of4 ,let us try to carry about with us an influence which shall permeate all our social intercourse1 and make it1 if not directly religious1 yet never antagonistic to religion1 and always capable of passing easily and naturally into the highest regions4 ,our godly forefathers used to carve texts over their house doors4 ,let us do the same in another fashion1 so that all who cross the threshold may feel that they have come into a ,christian household1 where cheerful godliness sweetens and brightens the sanctities of home4 ,we have next a remarkable direction as to the interchange of ,paul's letters to ,colossae and ,laodicea4 ,the present ,epistle is to be sent over to the neighbouring ,church of ,laodicea--that is quite clear4 ,but what is the ,epistle from ,laodicea which the ,colossians are to be sure to get and to read8 ,the connection forbids us to suppose that a letter written by the ,laodicean ,church is meant4 ,both letters are plainly ,pauline epistles1 and the latter is said to be from ,laodicea1 simply because the ,colossians were to procure it from that place4 ,the from does not imply authorship1 but transmission4 ,what then has become of this letter8 ,is it lost8 ,so say some commentators2 but a more probable opinion is that it is no other than the ,epistle which we know as that to the ,ephesians4 ,this is not the occasion to enter on a discussion of that view4 ,it will be enough to notice that very weighty textual authorities omit the words ,in ,ephesus1 in the first verse of that ,epistle4 ,the conjecture is a very reasonable one1 that the letter was intended for a circle of ,churches1 and had originally no place named in the superscription1 just as we might issue circulars ,to the ,church in----1 leaving a blank to be filled in with different names4 ,this conjecture is strengthened by the marked absence of personal references in the letter1 which in that respect forms a striking contrast to the ,epistle to the ,colossians1 which it so strongly resembles in other particulars4 ,probably1 therefore1 ,tychicus had both letters put into his hands for delivery4 ,the circular would go first to ,ephesus as the most important ,church in ,asia1 and thence would be carried by him to one community after another1 till he reached ,laodicea1 from which he would come further up the valley to ,colossae1 bringing both letters with him4 ,the ,colossians are not told to get the letter from ,laodicea1 but to be sure that they read it4 ,tychicus would see that it came to them2 their business was to see that they marked1 learned1 and inwardly digested it4 ,the urgency of these instructions that ,paul's letters should be read1 reminds us of a similar but still more stringent injunction in his earliest epistle 7#a ,thess4 v4 #bg71 ,i charge you by the ,lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren4 ,is it possible that these ,churches did not much care for ,paul's words1 and were more willing to admit that they were weighty and powerful1 than to study them and lay them to heart8 ,it looks almost like it4 ,perhaps they got the same treatment then as they often do now1 and were more praised than read1 even by those who professed to look upon him as their teacher in ,christ6 ,but passing by that1 we come to the last part of this threefold message1 the solemn warning to a slothful servant4 ,say to ,archippus1 ,take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the ,lord1 that thou fulfil it4 ,a sharp message that--and especially sharp1 as being sent through others1 and not spoken directly to the man himself4 ,if this ,archippus were a member of the ,church at ,colossae1 it is remarkable that ,paul should not have spoken to him directly1 as he did to ,euodia and ,syntyche1 the two good women at ,philippi1 who had fallen out4 ,but it is by no means certain that he was4 ,we find him named again1 indeed1 at the beginning of the ,epistle to ,philemon1 in such immediate connection with the latter1 and with his wife ,apphia1 that he has been supposed to be their son4 ,at all events1 he was intimately associated with the ,church in the house of ,philemon1 who1 as we know1 was a ,colossian4 ,the conclusion1 therefore1 seems at first sight most natural that ,archippus too belonged to the ,colossian ,church4 ,but on the other hand the difficulty already referred to seems to point in another direction2 and if it be further remembered that this whole section is concerned with the ,church at ,laodicea1 it will be seen to be a likely conclusion from all the facts that ,archippus1 though perhaps a native of ,colossae1 or even a resident there1 had his ministry in connection with that other neighbouring ,church4 ,it may be worth notice1 in passing1 that all these messages to ,laodicea occurring here1 strongly favour the supposition that the epistle from that place cannot have been a letter especially meant for the ,laodicean church1 as1 if it had been1 these would have naturally been inserted in it4 ,so far1 therefore1 they confirm the hypothesis that it was a circular4 ,some may say1 ,well1 what in the world does it matter where ,archippus worked8 ,not very much perhaps2 and yet one cannot but read this grave exhortation to a man who was evidently getting languid and negligent1 without remembering what we hear about ,laodicea and the angel of the ,church there1 when next we meet it in the page of ,scripture4 ,it is not impossible that ,archippus was that very angel1 to whom the ,lord ,himself sent the message through ,his servant ,john1 more awful than that which ,paul had sent through his brethren at ,colossae1 ,because thou art neither cold nor hot1 ,i will spue thee out of ,my mouth4 ,be that as it may1 the message is for us all4 ,each of us has a ministry1 a sphere of service4 ,we may either fill it full1 with earnest devotion and patient heroism1 as some expanding gas fills out the silken round of its containing vessel1 or we may breathe into it only enough to occupy a little portion1 while all the rest hangs empty and flaccid4 ,we have to fulfil our ministry4 ,a sacred motive enhances the obligation--we have received it in the ,lord4 ,in union with ,him it has been laid on us4 ,no human hand has imposed it1 nor does it arise merely from earthly relationships1 but our fellowship with ,jesus ,christ1 and incorporation into the true ,vine1 has laid on us responsibilities1 and exalted us by service4 ,there must be diligent watchfulness1 in order to fulfil our ministry4 ,we must take heed to our service1 and we must take heed to ourselves4 ,we have to reflect upon it1 its extent1 nature1 imperativeness1 upon the manner of discharging it1 and the means of fitness for it4 ,we have to keep our work ever before us4 ,unless we are absorbed in it1 we shall not fulfil it4 ,and we have to take heed to ourselves1 ever feeling our weakness and the strong antagonisms in our own natures which hinder our discharge of the plainest1 most imperative duties4 ,and let us remember1 too1 that if once we begin1 like ,archippus1 to be a little languid and perfunctory in our work1 we may end where the ,church of ,laodicea ended1 whether he were its angel or no1 with that nauseous lukewarmness which sickens even ,christ's longsuffering love1 and forces ,him to reject it with loathing4 ,,ii4 ,and now we come to the end of our task1 and have to consider the hasty last words in ,paul's own hand4 ,we can see him taking the reed from the amanuensis and adding the three brief sentences which close the letter4 ,he first writes that which is equivalent to our modern usage of signing the letter--the salutation of me ,paul with mine own hand4 ,this appears to have been his usual practice1 or1 as he says in #b ,thess4 7iii4 #ag71 it was his token in every epistle--the evidence that each was the genuine expression of his mind4 ,probably his weak eyesight1 which appears certain1 may have had something to do with his employing a secretary1 as we may assume him to have done1 even when there is no express mention of his autograph in the closing salutations4 ,we find for example in the ,epistle to the ,romans no words corresponding to these1 but the modest amanuensis steps for a moment into the light near the end3 ,i ,tertius1 who write the epistle1 salute you in the ,lord4 ,the endorsement with his name is followed by a request singularly pathetic in its abrupt brevity1 ,remember my bonds4 ,this is the one personal reference in the letter1 unless we add as a second1 his request for their prayers that he may speak the mystery of ,christ1 for which he is in bonds4 ,there is a striking contrast in this respect with the abundant allusions to his circumstances in the ,epistle to the ,philippians1 which also belongs to the period of his captivity4 ,he had been swept far away from thoughts of self by the enthusiasm of his subject4 ,the vision that opened before him of his ,lord in ,his glory1 the ,lord of ,creation1 the ,head of the ,church1 the throned helper of every trusting soul1 had flooded his chamber with light1 and swept guards and chains and restrictions out of his consciousness4 ,but now the spell is broken1 and common things re-assert their power4 ,he stretches out his hand for the reed to write his last words1 and as he does so1 the chain which fastens him to the ,praetorian guard at his side pulls and hinders him4 ,he wakes to the consciousness of his prison4 ,the seer1 swept along by the storm wind of a ,divine inspiration1 is gone4 ,the weak man remains4 ,the exhaustion after such an hour of high communion makes him more than usually dependent2 and all his subtle profound teachings1 all his thunderings and lightnings1 end in the simple cry1 which goes straight to the heart3 ,remember my bonds4 ,he wished their remembrance because he needed their sympathy4 ,like the old rags put round the ropes by which the prophet was hauled out of his dungeon1 the poorest bit of sympathy twisted round a fetter makes it chafe less4 ,the petition helps us to conceive how heavy a trial ,paul felt his imprisonment1 to be little as he said about it1 and bravely as he bore it4 ,he wished their remembrance too1 because his bonds added weight to his words4 ,his sufferings gave him a right to speak4 ,in times of persecution confessors are the highest teachers1 and the marks of the ,lord ,jesus borne in a man's body give more authority than diplomas and learning4 ,he wished their remembrance because his bonds might encourage them to steadfast endurance if need for it should arise4 ,he points to his own sufferings1 and would have them take heart to bear their lighter crosses and to fight their easier battle4 ,one cannot but recall the words of ,paul's ,master1 so like these in sound1 so unlike them in deepest meaning4 ,can there be a greater contrast than between ,remember my bonds1 the plaintive appeal of a weak man seeking sympathy1 coming as an appendix1 quite apart from the subject of the letter1 and ,do this in remembrance of ,me1 the royal words of the ,master8 ,why is the memory of ,christ's death so unlike the memory of ,paul's chains8 ,why is the one merely for the play of sympathy1 and the enforcement of his teaching1 and the other the very centre of our religion8 ,for one reason alone4 ,because ,christ's death is the life of the world1 and ,paul's sufferings1 whatever their worth1 had nothing in them that bore1 except indirectly1 on man's redemption4 ,was ,paul crucified for you8 ,we remember his chains1 and they give him sacredness in our eyes4 ,but we remember the broken body and shed blood of our ,lord1 and cleave to it in faith as the one sacrifice for the world's sin4 ,and then comes the last word3 ,grace be with you4 ,the apostolic benediction1 with which he closes all his letters1 occurs in many different stages of expression4 ,here it is pared down to the very quick4 ,no shorter form is possible--and yet even in this condition of extreme compression1 all good is in it4 ,all possible blessing is wrapped up in that one word1 ,grace4 ,like the sunshine1 it carries life and fruitfulness in itself4 ,if the favour and kindness of ,god1 flowing out to men so far beneath ,him1 who deserve such different treatment1 be ours1 then in our hearts will be rest and a great peacefulness1 whatever may be about us1 and in our characters will be all beauties and capacities1 in the measure of our possession of that grace4 ,that all-productive germ of joy and excellence is here parted among the whole body of ,colossian ,christians4 ,the dew of this benediction falls upon them all--the teachers of error if they still held by ,christ1 the ,judaisers1 the slothful ,archippus1 even as the grace which it invokes will pour itself into imperfect natures and adorn very sinful characters1 if beneath the imperfection and the evil there be the true affiance of the soul on ,christ4 ,that communication of grace to a sinful world is the end of all ,god's deeds1 as it is the end of this letter4 ,that great revelation which began when man began1 which has spoken its complete message in the ,son1 the heir of all things1 as this ,epistle tells us1 has this for the purpose of all its words--whether they are terrible or gentle1 deep or simple--that ,god's grace may dwell among men4 ,the mystery of ,christ's being1 the agony of ,christ's cross1 the hidden glories of ,christ's dominion are all for this end1 that of ,his fulness we may all receive1 and grace for grace4 ,the ,old ,testament1 true to its genius1 ends with stern onward-looking words which point to a future coming of the ,lord and to the possible terrible aspect of that coming--,lest ,i come and smite the earth with a curse4 ,it is the last echo of the long drawn blast of the trumpets of ,sinai4 ,the ,new ,testament ends1 as our ,epistle ends1 and as we believe the weary history of the world will end1 with the benediction3 ,the grace of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ be with you all4 ,that grace1 the love which pardons and quickens and makes good and fair and wise and strong1 is offered to all in ,christ4 ,unless we have accepted it1 ,god's revelation and ,christ's work have failed as far as we are concerned4 ,we therefore1 as fellow-workers with ,him1 beseech you that ye receive not the grace of ,god in vain4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,philemon4 ,i4 ,paul1 a prisoner of ,christ ,jesus1 and ,timothy our brother1 to ,philemon our beloved and fellow-worker1 and to ,apphia our sister1 and to ,archippus our fellow-soldier1 and to the ,church in thy house3 ,grace to you and peace from ,god our ,father and the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4--,,philem4 #a-c 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,this ,epistle stands alone among ,paul's letters in being addressed to a private ,christian1 and in being entirely occupied with a small though very singular private matter2 its aim being merely to bespeak a kindly welcome for a runaway slave who had been induced to perform the unheard-of act of voluntarily returning to servitude4 ,if the ,new ,testament were simply a book of doctrinal teaching1 this ,epistle would certainly be out of place in it2 and if the great purpose of revelation were to supply material for creeds1 it would be hard to see what value could be attached to a simple1 short letter1 from which no contribution to theological doctrine or ecclesiastical order can be extracted4 ,but if we do not turn to it for discoveries of truth1 we can find in it very beautiful illustrations of ,christianity at work4 ,it shows us the operation of the new forces which ,christ has lodged in humanity--and that on two planes of action4 ,it exhibits a perfect model of ,christian friendship1 refined and ennobled by a half-conscious reflection of the love which has called us no longer slaves but friends1 and adorned by delicate courtesies and quick consideration1 which divines with subtlest instinct what it will be sweetest to the friend to hear1 while it never approaches by a hair-breadth to flattery1 nor forgets to counsel high duties4 ,but still more important is the light which the letter casts on the relation of ,christianity to slavery1 which may be taken as a specimen of its relation to social and political evils generally1 and yields fruitful results for the guidance of all who would deal with such4 ,it may be observed1 too1 that most of the considerations which ,paul urges on ,philemon as reasons for his kindly reception of ,onesimus do not even need the alteration of a word1 but simply a change in their application1 to become worthy statements of the highest ,christian truths4 ,as ,luther puts it1 ,we are all ,god's ,onesimuses2 and the welcome which ,paul seeks to secure for the returning fugitive1 as well as the motives to which he appeals in order to secure it1 do shadow forth in no uncertain outline our welcome from ,god1 and the treasures of ,his heart towards us1 because they are at bottom the same4 ,the ,epistle then is valuable1 as showing in a concrete instance how the ,christian life1 in its attitude to others1 and especially to those who have injured us1 is all modelled upon ,god's forgiving love to us4 ,our ,lord's parable of the forgiven servant who took his brother by the throat finds here a commentary1 and the ,apostle's own precept1 ,be imitators of ,god1 and walk in love1 a practical exemplification4 ,nor is the light which the letter throws on the character of the ,apostle to be regarded as unimportant4 ,the warmth1 the delicacy1 and what1 if it were not so spontaneous1 we might call tact1 the graceful ingenuity with which he pleads for the fugitive1 the perfect courtesy of every word1 the gleam of playfulness--all fused together and harmonized to one end1 and that in so brief a compass and with such unstudied ease and complete self-oblivion1 make this ,epistle a pure gem4 ,without thought of effect1 and with complete unconsciousness1 this man beats all the famous letter-writers on their own ground4 ,that must have been a great intellect1 and closely conversant with the ,fountain of all light and beauty1 which could shape the profound and far-reaching teachings of the ,epistle to the ,colossians1 and pass from them to the graceful simplicity and sweet kindliness of this exquisite letter2 as if ,michael ,angelo had gone straight from smiting his magnificent ,moses from the marble mass to incise some delicate and tiny figure of ,love or ,friendship on a cameo4 ,the structure of the letter is of the utmost simplicity4 ,it is not so much a structure as a flow4 ,there is the usual superscription and salutation1 followed1 according to ,paul's custom1 by the expression of his thankful recognition of the love and faith of ,philemon and his prayer for the perfecting of these4 ,then he goes straight to the business in hand1 and with incomparable persuasiveness pleads for a welcome to ,onesimus1 bringing all possible reasons to converge on that one request1 with an ingenious eloquence born of earnestness4 ,having poured out his heart in this pleasure adds no more but affectionate greetings from his companions and himself4 ,in the present section we shall confine our attention to the superscription and opening salutation4 ,i4 ,we may observe the ,apostle's designation of himself1 as marked by consummate and instinctive appreciation of the claims of friendship1 and of his own position in this letter as a suppliant4 ,he does not come to his friend clothed with apostolic authority4 ,in his letters to the ,churches he always puts that in the forefront1 and when he expected to be met by opponents1 as in ,galatia1 there is a certain ring of defiance in his claim to receive his commission through no human intervention1 but straight from heaven4 ,sometimes1 as in the ,epistle to the ,colossians1 he unites another strangely contrasted title1 and calls himself also the slave of ,christ2 the one name asserting authority1 the other bowing in humility before his ,owner and ,master4 ,but here he is writing as a friend to a friend1 and his object is to win his friend to a piece of ,christian conduct which may be somewhat against the grain4 ,apostolic authority will not go half so far as personal influence in this case4 ,so he drops all reference to it1 and1 instead1 lets ,philemon hear the fetters jangling on his limbs--a more powerful plea4 ,paul1 a prisoner1 surely that would go straight to ,philemon's heart1 and give all but irresistible force to the request which follows4 ,surely if he could do anything to show his love and gratify even momentarily his friend in prison1 he would not refuse it4 ,if this designation had been calculated to produce effect1 it would have lost all its grace2 but no one with any ear for the accents of inartificial spontaneousness1 can fail to hear them in the unconscious pathos of these opening words1 which say the right thing1 all unaware of how right it is4 ,there is great dignity also1 as well as profound faith1 in the next words1 in which the ,apostle calls himself a prisoner of ,christ ,jesus4 ,with what calm ignoring of all subordinate agencies he looks to the true author of his captivity6 ,neither ,jewish hatred nor ,roman policy had shut him up in ,rome4 ,christ ,himself had riveted his manacles on his wrists1 therefore he bore them as lightly and proudly as a bride might wear the bracelet that her husband had clasped on her arm4 ,the expression reveals both the author of and the reason for his imprisonment1 and discloses the conviction which held him up in it4 ,he thinks of his ,lord as the ,lord of providence1 whose hand moves the pieces on the board--,pharisees1 and ,roman governors1 and guards1 and ,caesar2 and he knows that he is an ambassador in bonds1 for no crime1 but for the testimony of ,jesus4 ,we need only notice that his younger companion ,timothy is associated with the ,apostle in the superscription1 but disappears at once4 ,the reason for the introduction of his name may either have been the slight additional weight thereby given to the request of the letter1 or more probably1 the additional authority thereby given to the junior1 who would1 in all likelihood1 have much of ,paul's work devolved on him when ,paul was gone4 ,the names of the receivers of the letter bring before us a picture seen1 as by one glimmering light across the centuries1 of a ,christian household in that ,phrygian valley4 ,the head of it1 ,philemon1 appears to have been a native of1 or at all events a resident in1 ,colossae2 for ,onesimus1 his slave1 is spoken of in the ,epistle to the ,church there as one of you4 ,he was a person of some standing and wealth1 for he had a house large enough to admit of a ,church assembling in it1 and to accommodate the ,apostle and his travelling companions if he should visit ,colossae4 ,he had apparently the means for large pecuniary help to poor brethren1 and willingness to use them1 for we read of the refreshment which his kindly deeds had imparted4 ,he had been one of ,paul's converts1 and owed his own self to him2 so that he must have met the ,apostle1--who had probably not been in ,colossae1--on some of his journeys1 perhaps during his three years' residence in ,ephesus4 ,he was of mature years1 if1 as is probable1 ,archippus1 who was old enough to have service to do in the ,church 7,col4 iv4 #ag71 was his son4 ,he is called our fellow-labourer4 ,the designation may imply some actual co-operation at a former time4 ,but more probably1 the phrase1 like the similar one in the next verse1 our fellow-soldier1 is but ,paul's gracefully affectionate way of lifting these good people's humbler work out of its narrowness1 by associating it with his own4 ,they in their little sphere1 and he in his wider1 were workers at the same task4 ,all who toil for furtherance of ,christ's kingdom1 however widely they may be parted by time or distance1 are fellow-workers4 ,division of labour does not impair unity of service4 ,the field is wide1 and the months between seedtime and harvest are long2 but all the husbandmen have been engaged in the same great work1 and though they have toiled alone shall rejoice together4 ,the first man who dug a shovelful of earth for the foundations of ,cologne ,cathedral1 and he who fixed the last stone on the topmost spire a thousand years after1 are fellow-workers4 ,so ,paul and ,philemon1 though their tasks were widely different in kind1 in range1 and in importance1 and were carried on apart and independent of each other1 were fellow-workers4 ,the one lived a ,christian life and helped some humble saints in an insignificant1 remote corner2 the other flamed through the whole then civilized western world1 and sheds light to-day3 but the obscure1 twinkling taper and the blazing torch were kindled at the same source1 shone with the same light1 and were parts of one great whole4 ,our narrowness is rebuked1 our despondency cheered1 our vulgar tendency to think little of modest1 obscure service rendered by commonplace people1 and to exaggerate the worth of the more conspicuous1 is corrected by such a thought4 ,however small may be our capacity or sphere1 and however solitary we may feel1 we may summon up before the eyes of our faith a mighty multitude of apostles1 martyrs1 toilers in every land and age as our--even our--work-fellows4 ,the field stretches far beyond our vision1 and many are toiling in it for ,him1 whose work never comes near ours4 ,there are differences of service1 but the same ,lord1 and all who have the same master are companions in labour4 ,therefore ,paul1 the greatest of the servants of ,christ1 reaches down his hand to the obscure ,philemon1 and says1 ,he works the work of the ,lord1 as ,i also do4 ,in the house at ,colossae there was a ,christian wife by the side of a ,christian husband2 at least1 the mention of ,apphia here in so prominent a position is most naturally accounted for by supposing her to be the wife of ,philemon4 ,her friendly reception of the runaway would be quite as important as his1 and it is therefore most natural that the letter bespeaking it should be addressed to both4 ,the probable reading our sister 7,r4,v471 instead of our beloved 7,a4,v471 gives the distinct assurance that she too was a ,christian1 and like-minded with her husband4 ,the prominent mention of this ,phrygian matron is an illustration of the way in which ,christianity1 without meddling with social usages1 introduced a new tone of feeling about the position of woman1 which gradually changed the face of the world1 is still working1 and has further revolutions to affect4 ,the degraded classes of the ,greek world were slaves and women4 ,this ,epistle touches both1 and shows us ,christianity in the very act of elevating both4 ,the same process strikes the fetters from the slave and sets the wife by the side of the husband1 yoked in all exercise of noble end1--namely1 the proclamation of ,christ as the ,saviour of all mankind1 and of all human creatures as equally capable of receiving an equal salvation4 ,that annihilates all distinctions4 ,the old world was parted by deep gulfs4 ,there were three of special depth and width1 across which it was hard for sympathy to fly4 ,these were the distinctions of race1 sex1 and condition4 ,but the good news that ,christ has died for all men1 and is ready to live in all men1 has thrown a bridge across1 or rather has filled up1 the ravine2 so the ,apostle bursts into his triumphant proclamation1 ,there is neither ,jew nor ,greek1 there is neither bond nor free1 there is neither male nor female2 for ye are all one in ,christ ,jesus4 ,a third name is united with those of husband and wife1 that of ,archippus4 ,the close relation in which the names stand1 and the purely domestic character of the letter1 make it probable that he was a son of the wedded pair4 ,at all events1 he was in some way part of their household1 possibly some kind of teacher and guide4 ,we meet his name also in the ,epistle to the ,colossians1 and1 from the nature of the reference to him there1 we draw the inference that he filled some ministry in the ,church of ,laodicea4 ,the nearness of the two cities made it quite possible that he should live in ,philemon's house in ,colossae and yet go over to ,laodicea for his work4 ,the ,apostle calls him his fellow-soldier1 a phrase which is best explained in the same fashion as is the previous fellow-worker1 namely1 that by it ,paul graciously associates ,archippus with himself1 different as their tasks were4 ,the variation of soldier for worker probably is due to the fact of ,archippus' being the bishop of the ,laodicean ,church4 ,in any case1 it is very beautiful that the grizzled veteran officer should thus1 as it were1 clasp the hand of this young recruit1 and call him his comrade4 ,how it would go to the heart of ,archippus6 ,a somewhat stern message is sent to ,archippus in the ,colossian letter4 ,why did not ,paul send it quietly in this ,epistle instead of letting a whole ,church know of it8 ,it seems at first sight as if he had chosen the harshest way2 but perhaps further consideration may suggest that the reason was an instinctive unwillingness to introduce a jarring note into the joyous friendship and confidence which sounds through this ,epistle1 and to bring public matters into this private communication4 ,the warning would come with more effect from the ,church1 and this cordial message of goodwill and confidence would prepare ,archippus to receive the other1 as rain showers make the ground soft for the good seed4 ,the private affection would mitigate the public exhortation with whatever rebuke may have been in it4 ,a greeting is sent1 too1 to the ,church in thy house4 ,as in the case of the similar community in the house of ,nymphas 7,col4 iv4 #ae71 we cannot decide whether by this expression is meant simply a ,christian family1 or some little company of believers who were wont to meet beneath ,philemon's roof for ,christian converse and worship4 ,the latter seems the more probable supposition4 ,it is natural that they should be addressed2 for ,onesimus1 if received by ,philemon1 would naturally become a member of the group1 and therefore it was important to secure their good will4 ,so we have here shown to us1 by one stray beam of twinkling light1 for a moment1 a very sweet picture of the domestic life of that ,christian household in their remote valley4 ,it shines still to us across the centuries1 which have swallowed up so much that seemed more permanent1 and silenced so much that made far more noise in its day4 ,the picture may well set us asking ourselves the question whether we1 with all our boasted advancement1 have been able to realize the true ideal of ,christian family life as these three did4 ,the husband and wife dwelling as heirs together of the grace of life1 their child beside them sharing their faith and service1 their household ordered in the ways of the ,lord1 their friends ,christ's friends1 and their social joys hallowed and serene--what nobler form of family life can be conceived than that8 ,what a rebuke to1 and satire on1 many a so-called ,christian household6 ,,ii4 ,we may deal briefly with the apostolic salutation1 ,grace to you and peace from ,god our ,father and the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 as we have already had to speak of it in considering the greeting to the ,colossians4 ,the two main points to be observed in these words are the comprehensiveness of the ,apostle's loving wish1 and the source to which he looks for its fulfilment4 ,just as the regal title of the ,king1 whose ,throne was the ,cross1 was written in the languages of culture1 of law1 and of religion1 as an unconscious prophecy of ,his universal reign2 so1 with like unintentional felicity1 we have blended here the ideals of good which the ,east and the ,west have framed for those to whom they wish good1 in token that ,christ is able to slake all the thirsts of the soul1 and that whatsoever things any races of men have dreamed as the chiefest blessings1 these are all to be reached through ,him and ,him only4 ,but the deeper lesson here is to be found by observing that grace refers to the action of the ,divine heart1 and peace to the result thereof in man's experience4 ,as we have noted in commenting on ,col4 i4 #b1 grace is free1 undeserved1 unmotived1 self-springing love4 ,hence it comes to mean1 not only the deep fountain in the ,divine nature1 that ,his love1 which1 like some strong spring1 leaps up and gushes forth by an inward impulse1 in neglect of all motives drawn from the lovableness of its objects1 such as determine our poor human loves1 but also the results of that bestowing love in men's characters1 or1 as we say1 the graces of the ,christian soul4 ,they are grace1 not only because in the aesthetic sense of the word they are beautiful1 but because1 in the theological meaning of it1 they are the products of the giving love and power of ,god4 ,whatsoever things are lovely and of good report1 all nobilities1 tendernesses1 exquisite beauties1 and steadfast strengths of mind and heart1 of will and disposition--all are the gifts of ,god's undeserved and open-handed love4 ,the fruit of such grace received is peace4 ,in other places the ,apostle twice gives a fuller form of this salutation1 inserting mercy between the two here named2 as also does ,st4 ,john in his second ,epistle4 ,that fuller form gives us the source in the ,divine heart1 the manifestation of grace in the ,divine act1 and the outcome in human experience2 or as we may say1 carrying on the metaphor1 the broad1 calm lake which the grace1 flowing to us in the stream of mercy1 makes1 when it opens out in our hearts4 ,here1 however1 we have but the ultimate source1 and the effect in us4 ,all the discords of our nature and circumstances can be harmonized by that grace which is ready to flow into our hearts4 ,peace with ,god1 with ourselves1 with our fellows1 repose in the midst of change1 calm in conflict1 may be ours4 ,all these various applications of the one idea should be included in our interpretation1 for they are all included in fact in the peace which ,god's grace brings where it lights4 ,the first and deepest need of the soul is conscious amity and harmony with ,god1 and nothing but the consciousness of ,his love as forgiving and healing brings that4 ,we are torn asunder by conflicting passions1 and our hearts are the battleground for conscience and inclination1 sin and goodness1 hopes and fears1 and a hundred other contending emotions4 ,nothing but a heavenly power can make the lion within lie down with the lamb4 ,our natures are like the troubled sea1 which cannot rest1 whose churning waters cast up the foul things that lie in their slimy beds2 but where ,god's grace comes1 a great calm hushes the tempests1 and birds of peace sit brooding on the charmed wave4 ,we are compassed about by foes with whom we have to wage undying warfare1 and by hostile circumstances and difficult tasks which need continual conflict2 but a man with ,god's grace in his heart may have the rest of submission1 the repose of trust1 the tranquillity of him who has ceased from his own works3 and so1 while the daily struggle goes on and the battle rages round1 there may be quiet1 deep and sacred1 in his heart4 ,the life of nature1 which is a selfish life1 flings us into unfriendly rivalries with others1 and sets us battling for our own hands1 and it is hard to pass out of ourselves sufficiently to live peaceably with all men4 ,but the grace of ,god in our hearts drives out self1 and changes the man who truly has it into its own likeness4 ,he who knows that he owes everything to a ,divine love which stooped to his lowliness1 and pardoned his sins1 and enriched him with all which he has that is worthy and noble1 cannot but move among men1 doing with them1 in his poor fashion1 what ,god has done with him4 ,thus1 in all the manifold forms in which restless hearts need peace1 the grace of ,god brings it to them4 ,the great river of mercy which has its source deep in the heart of ,god1 and in ,his free1 undeserved love1 pours into poor1 unquiet spirits1 and there spreads itself into a placid lake1 on whose still surface all heaven is mirrored4 ,the elliptical form of this salutation leaves it doubtful whether we are to see in it a prayer or a prophecy1 a wish or an assurance4 ,according to the probable reading of the parallel greeting in the second ,epistle of ,john1 the latter would be the construction2 but probably it is best to combine both ideas1 and to see here1 as ,bengel does in the passage referred to in ,john's ,epistle1 votum cum affirmatione--a desire which is so certain of its own fulfilment1 that it is a prophecy1 just because it is a prayer4 ,the ground of the certainty lies in the source from which the grace and peace come4 ,they flow from ,god the ,father and the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,the placing of both names under the government of one preposition implies the mysterious unity of the ,father with the ,son2 while conversely ,st4 ,john1 in the parallel passage just mentioned1 by employing two prepositions1 brings out the distinction between the ,father1 who is the fontal source1 and the ,son1 who is the flowing stream4 ,but both forms of the expression demand for their honest explanation the recognition of the divinity of ,jesus ,christ4 ,how dare a man1 who thought of ,him as other than ,divine1 put ,his name thus by the side of ,god's1 as associated with the ,father in the bestowal of grace8 ,surely such words1 spoken without any thought of a doctrine of the ,trinity1 and which are the spontaneous utterance of ,christian devotion1 are demonstration1 not to be gainsaid1 that to ,paul1 at all events1 ,jesus ,christ was1 in the fullest sense1 ,divine4 ,the double source is one source1 for in the ,son is the whole fulness of the ,godhead2 and the grace of ,god1 bringing with it the peace of ,god1 is poured into that spirit which bows humbly before ,jesus ,christ1 and trusts ,him when ,he says1 with love in ,his eyes and comfort in ,his tones1 ,my grace is sufficient for thee2 ,my peace give ,i unto you4 ,,ii4 ,i thank my ,god always1 making mention of thee in my prayers1 hearing of thy love1 and of the faith which thou hast toward the ,lord ,jesus1 and toward all the saints2 that the fellowship of thy faith may become effectual1 in the knowledge of every good thing which is in you1 unto ,christ4 ,for ,i had much joy and comfort in thy love1 because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through thee1 brother4--,,philem4 #d-g 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,paul's was one of those regal natures to which things are possible that other men dare not do4 ,no suspicion of weakness attaches to him when he pours out his heart in love1 nor any of insincerity when he speaks of his continual prayers for his friends1 or when he runs over in praise of his converts4 ,few men have been able to talk so much of their love without betraying its shallowness and self-consciousness1 or of their prayers without exciting a doubt of their manly sincerity4 ,but the ,apostle could venture to do these things without being thought either feeble or false1 and could unveil his deepest affections and his most secret devotions without provoking either a smile or a shrug4 ,he has the habit of beginning all his letters with thankful commendations and assurances of a place in his prayers4 ,the exceptions are #b ,corinthians1 where he writes under strong and painful emotion1 and ,galatians1 where a vehement accusation of fickleness takes the place of the usual greeting4 ,but these exceptions make the habit more conspicuous4 ,though this is a habit1 it is not a form1 but the perfectly simple and natural expression of the moment's feelings4 ,he begins his letters so1 not in order to please and to say smooth things1 but because he feels lovingly1 and his heart fills with a pure joy which speaks most fitly in prayer4 ,to recognise good is the way to make good better4 ,teachers must love if their teaching is to help4 ,the best way to secure the doing of any signal act of ,christian generosity1 such as ,paul wished of ,philemon1 is to show absolute confidence that it will be done1 because it is in accordance with what we know of the doer's character4 ,it's a shame to tell ,arnold a lie3 he always trusts us1 the ,rugby boys used to say4 ,nothing could so powerfully have swayed ,philemon to grant ,paul's request1 as ,paul's graceful mention of his beneficence1 which mention is yet by no means conscious diplomacy1 but instinctive kindliness4 ,the words of this section are simple enough1 but their order is not altogether clear4 ,they are a good example of the hurry and rush of the ,apostle's style1 arising from his impetuosity of nature4 ,his thoughts and feelings come knocking at the door of his lips in a crowd1 and do not always make their way out in logical order4 ,for instance1 he begins here with thankfulness1 and that suggests the mention of his prayers1 v4 #d4 ,then he gives the occasion of his thankfulness in v4 #e1 ,hearing of thy love and of the faith which thou hast1 etc4 ,he next tells ,philemon the subject matter of his prayers in v4 #f1 ,that the fellowship of thy faith may become effectual1 etc4 ,these two verses thus correspond to the two clauses of v4 #d1 and finally in v4 #g he harks back once more to his reasons for thankfulness in ,philemon's love and faith1 adding1 in a very lovely and pathetic way1 that the good deeds done in far off ,colossae had wafted a refreshing air to the ,roman prison house1 and1 little as the doer knew it1 had been a joy and comfort to the solitary prisoner there4 ,i4 ,we have1--then1 here the character of ,philemon1 which made ,paul glad and thankful4 ,the order of the language is noteworthy4 ,love is put before faith4 ,the significance of this sequence comes out by contrast with similar expressions in ,ephesians i4 #ae3 ,your faith in the ,lord ,jesus1 and love unto all the saints 7,a4,v47 and ,colossians i4 #d3 ,your faith in ,christ ,jesus1 and the love which ye have toward all the saints1 where the same elements are arranged in the more natural order1 corresponding to their logical relation2 viz41 faith first1 and love as its consequence4 ,the reason for the change here is probably that ,onesimus and ,epaphras1 from whom ,paul would be likely to hear of ,philemon1 would enlarge upon his practical benevolence1 and would naturally say less about the root than about the sweet and visible fruit4 ,the arrangement then is an echo of the talks which had gladdened the ,apostle4 ,possibly1 too1 love is put first1 because the object of the whole letter is to secure its exercise towards the fugitive slave2 and seeing that the ,apostle would listen with that purpose in view1 each story which was told of ,philemon's kindness to others made the deeper impression on ,paul4 ,the order here is the order of analysis1 digging down from manifestation to cause3 the order in the parallel passages quoted is the order of production ascending from root to flower4 ,another peculiarity in the arrangement of the words is that the objects of love and faith are named in the reverse order to that in which these graces are mentioned1 the ,lord ,jesus being first1 and all the saints last4 ,thus we have1 as it were1 faith towards the ,lord ,jesus imbedded in the centre of the verse1 while thy love 444 toward all the saints1 which flows from it1 wraps it round4 ,the arrangement is like some forms of ,hebrew poetical parallelism1 in which the first and fourth members correspond1 and the second and third1 or like the pathetic measure of ,in ,memoriam1 and has the same sweet lingering cadence2 while it also implies important truths as to the central place in regard to the virtues which knit hearts in soft bonds of love and help1 of the faith which finds its sole object in ,jesus ,christ4 ,the source and foundation of goodness and nobility of character is faith in ,jesus the ,lord4 ,that must be buried deep in the soul if tender love toward men is to flow from it4 ,it is the very pulse of the machine4 ,all the pearls of goodness are held in solution in faith4 ,or1 to speak more accurately1 faith in ,christ gives possession of ,his life and ,spirit1 from which all good is unfolded2 and it further sets in action strong motives by which to lead to every form of purity and beauty of soul2 and1 still further1 it brings the heart into glad contact with a ,divine love which forgives its ,onesimuses1 and so it cannot but touch the heart into some glad imitation of that love which is its own dearest treasure4 ,so that1 for all these and many more reasons1 love to men is the truest visible expression1 as it is the direct and necessary result1 of faith in ,christ4 ,what is exhaled from the heart and drawn upwards by the fervours of ,christ's self-sacrificing love is faith2 when it falls on earth again1 as a sweet rain of pity and tenderness1 it is love4 ,further1 the true object of faith and one phase of its attitude towards that object are brought out in this central clause4 ,we have the two names which express1 the one the divinity1 the other the humanity of ,christ4 ,so the proper object of faith is the whole ,christ1 in both ,his natures1 the ,divine-human ,saviour4 ,christian faith sees the divinity in the humanity1 and the humanity around the divinity4 ,a faith which grasps only the manhood is maimed1 and indeed has no right to the name4 ,humanity is not a fit object of trust4 ,it may change2 it has limits2 it must die4 ,cursed be the man that maketh flesh his arm1 is as true about faith in a merely human ,christ as about faith in any other man4 ,there may be reverence1 there may be in some sense love1 obedience1 imitation2 but there should not be1 and ,i see not how there can be1 the absolute reliance1 the utter dependence1 the unconditional submission1 which are of the very essence of faith1 in the emotions which men cherish towards a human ,christ4 ,the ,lord ,jesus only can evoke these4 ,on the other hand1 the far off splendour and stupendous glory of the ,divine nature becomes the object of untrembling trust1 and draws near enough to be known and loved1 when we have it mellowed to our weak eyes by shining through the tempering medium of ,his humanity4 ,the preposition here used to define the relation of faith to its object is noteworthy4 ,faith is toward ,him4 ,the idea is that of a movement of yearning after an unattained good4 ,and that is one part of the true office of faith4 ,there is in it an element of aspiration1 as of the soaring eagle to the sun1 or the climbing tendrils to the summit of the supporting stem4 ,in ,christ there is always something beyond1 which discloses itself the more clearly1 the fuller is our present possession of ,him4 ,faith builds upon and rests in the ,christ possessed and experienced1 and just therefore will it1 if it be true1 yearn towards the ,christ unpossessed4 ,a great reach of flashing glory beyond opens on us1 as we round each new headland in that unending voyage4 ,our faith should and will be an ever-increasing fruition of ,christ1 accompanied with increasing perception of unreached depths in ,him1 and increasing longing after enlarged possession of ,his infinite fulness4 ,where the centre is such a faith1 its circumference and outward expression will be a widely diffused love4 ,that deep and most private emotion of the soul1 which is the flight of the lonely spirit to the single ,christ1 as if these two were alone in the world1 does not bar a man off from his kind1 but effloresces into the largest and most practical love4 ,when one point of the compasses is struck deeply and firmly into that centre of all things1 the other can steadily sweep a wide circle4 ,the widest is not here drawn1 but a somewhat narrower1 concentric one4 ,the love is toward all saints4 ,clearly their relation to ,jesus ,christ puts all ,christians into relation with one another4 ,that was an astounding thought in ,philemon's days1 when such high walls separated race from race1 the slave from the free1 woman from man2 but the new faith leaped all barriers1 and put a sense of brotherhood into every heart that learned ,god's fatherhood in ,jesus4 ,the nave of the wheel holds all the spokes in place4 ,the sun makes the system called by its name a unity1 though some planets be of giant bulk and swing through a mighty orbit1 waited on by obedient satellites1 and some be but specks and move through a narrow circle1 and some have scarce been seen by human eye4 ,all are one1 because all revolve round one sun1 though solemn abysses part them1 and though no message has ever crossed the gulfs from one to another4 ,the recognition of the common relation which all who bear the same relation to ,christ bear to one another has more formidable difficulties to encounter to-day than it had in these times when the ,church had no stereotyped creeds and no stiffened organizations1 and when to the flexibility of its youth were added the warmth of new conviction and the joy of a new field for expanding emotions of brotherly kindness4 ,but nothing can absolve from the duty4 ,creeds separate1 ,christ unites4 ,the road to the reunion of ,christendom is through closer union to ,jesus ,christ4 ,when that is secured1 barriers which now keep brethren apart will be leaped1 or pulled down1 or got rid of somehow4 ,it is of no use to say1 ,go to1 let us love one another4 ,that will be unreal1 mawkish1 histrionic4 ,the faith which thou hast toward the ,lord ,jesus will be the productive cause1 as it is the measure1 of thy love toward all the saints4 ,but the love which is here commended is not a mere feeling1 nor does it go off in gushes1 however fervid1 of eloquent emotion4 ,clearly ,philemon was a benefactor of the brotherhood1 and his love did not spend only the paper money of words and promises to pay1 but the solid coin of kindly deeds4 ,practical charity is plainly included in that love of which it had cheered ,paul in his imprisonment to hear4 ,its mention1 then1 is one step nearer to the object of the letter4 ,paul conducts his siege of ,philemon's heart skilfully1 and opens here a fresh parallel1 and creeps a yard or two closer up4 ,surely you are not going to shut out one of your own household from that wide-reaching kindness4 ,so much is most delicately hinted1 or rather1 left to ,philemon to infer1 by the recognition of his brotherly love4 ,a hint lies in it that there may be a danger of cherishing a cheap and easy charity that reverses the law of gravity1 and increases as the square of the distance1 having tenderness and smiles for people and ,churches which are well out of our road1 and frowns for some nearer home4 ,he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen1 how shall he love his brother whom he hath not seen8 ,,ii4 ,in v4 #f we have the apostolic prayer for ,philemon1 grounded on the tidings of his love and faith4 ,it is immediately connected with the prayers of v4 #d by the introductory that1 which is best understood as introducing the subject matter of the prayer4 ,whatever then may be the meaning of this supplication1 it is a prayer for ,philemon1 and not for others4 ,that remark disposes of the explanations which widen its scope1 contrary1 as it seems to me1 to the natural understanding of the context4 ,the fellowship of thy faith is capable of more than one meaning4 ,the signification of the principal word and the relation expressed by the preposition may be variously determined4 ,fellowship is more than once used in the sense of sharing material wealth with ,christ's poor1 or more harshly and plainly1 charitable contribution4 ,so we find it in ,romans xv4 #bf and #b ,corinthians ix4 #ac4 ,adopting that meaning here1 the of must express1 as it often does1 the origin of ,philemon's kindly gifts1 namely1 his faith2 and the whole phrase accords with the preceding verse in its view of the genesis of beneficence to the brethren as the result of faith in the ,lord4 ,the ,apostle prays that this faith-begotten practical liberality may become efficacious1 or may acquire still more power2 i4e4 may increase in activity1 and so may lead to the knowledge of every good thing that is in us4 ,the interpretation has found extensive support1 which takes this as equivalent to a desire that ,philemon's good deeds might lead others1 whether enemies or friends1 to recognise the beauties of sympathetic goodness in the true ,christian character4 ,such an explanation hopelessly confuses the whole1 and does violence to the plain requirements of the context1 which limit the prayer to ,philemon4 ,it is his knowledge of which ,paul is thinking4 ,the same profound and pregnant word is used here which occurs so frequently in the other epistles of the captivity1 and which always means that deep and vital knowledge which knows because it possesses4 ,usually its object is ,god as revealed in the great work and person of ,christ4 ,here its object is the sum total of spiritual blessings1 the whole fulness of the gifts given us by1 and1 at bottom1 consisting of1 that same ,christ dwelling in the heart1 who is revealer1 because ,he is communicator1 of ,god4 ,the full1 deep knowledge of this manifold and yet one good is no mere theoretical work of the understanding1 but is an experience which is only possible to him who enjoys it4 ,the meaning of the whole prayer1 then1 put into feebler and more modern dress is simply that ,philemon's liberality and ,christian love may grow more and more1 and may help him to a fuller appropriation and experience of the large treasures which are in us1 though in germ and potentiality only1 until brought into consciousness by our own ,christian growth4 ,the various readings in us1 or in you only widen the circle of possessors of these gifts to the whole ,church1 or narrow it to the believers of ,colossae4 ,there still remain for consideration the last words of the clause1 unto ,christ ,they must be referred back to the main subject of the sentence1 may become effectual4 ,they seem to express the condition on which ,christian fellowship1 like all ,christian acts1 can be quickened with energy1 and tend to spiritual progress2 namely1 that it shall be done as to the ,lord4 ,there is perhaps in this appended clause a kind of lingering echo of our ,lord's own words1 in which ,he accepts as done unto ,him the kindly deeds done to the least of ,his brethren4 ,so then this great prayer brings out very strongly the goal to which the highest perfection of ,christian character has still to aspire4 ,philemon was no weakling or laggard in the ,christian conflict and race4 ,his attainments sent a thrill of thankfulness through the ,apostle's spirit4 ,but there remained very much land to be possessed2 and precisely because he had climbed so far1 does his friend pray that he may mount still higher1 where the sweep of view is wider1 and the air clearer still4 ,it is an endless task to bring into conscious possession and exercise all the fulness with which ,christ endows ,his feeblest servant4 ,not till all that ,god can give1 or rather has given1 has been incorporated in the nature and wrought out in the life1 is the term reached4 ,this is the true sublime of the ,christian life1 that it begins with the reception of a strictly infinite gift1 and demands immortality as the field for unfolding its worth4 ,continual progress in all that ennobles the nature1 satisfies the heart1 and floods the mind with light is the destiny of the ,christian soul1 and of it alone4 ,therefore unwearied effort1 buoyancy1 and hope which no dark memories can dash nor any fears darken should mark their temper1 to whom the future offers an absolutely endless and limitless increase in the possession of the infinite ,god4 ,there is also brought out in this prayer the value of ,christian beneficence as a means of spiritual growth4 ,philemon's communication of faith will help him to the knowledge of the fulness of ,christ4 ,the reaction of conduct on character and growth in godliness is a familiar idea with ,paul1 especially in the prison epistles4 ,thus we read in his prayer for the ,colossians1 fruitful in every good work1 and increasing in the knowledge of ,god4 ,the faithful carrying out in life of what we already know is not the least important condition of increasing knowledge4 ,if a man does not live up to his religion1 his religion shrinks to the level of his life4 ,unoccupied territory lapses4 ,we hold our spiritual gifts on the terms of using them4 ,the practice of convictions deepens convictions2 not that the exercise of ,christian graces will make theologians1 but it will give larger possession of the knowledge which is life4 ,while this general principle is abundantly enforced in ,scripture and confirmed by experience1 the specific form of it here is that the right administration of wealth is a direct means of increasing a ,christian's possession of the large store treasured in ,christ4 ,every loving thought towards the sorrowful and the needy1 every touch of sympathy yielded to1 and every kindly1 ,christlike deed flowing from these1 thins away some film of the barriers between the believing soul and a full possession of ,god1 and thus makes it more capable of beholding ,him and of rising to communion with ,him4 ,the possibilities of wealth lie1 not only in the direction of earthly advantages1 but in the fact that men may so use it as to secure their being received into everlasting habitations4 ,modern evangelical teachers have been afraid to say what ,paul ventured to say on this matter1 for fear of obscuring the truth which ,paul gave his life to preach4 ,surely they need not be more jealous for the doctrine of justification by faith than he was2 and if he had no scruples in telling rich men to lay up in store for themselves a good foundation for the time to come1 by being ready to communicate1 they may safely follow4 ,there is probably no more powerful cause of the comparative feebleness of average ,english ,christianity than the selfish use of money1 and no surer means of securing a great increase in the depth and richness of the individual ,christian life than the fuller application of ,christian principle1 that is1 of the law of sacrifice1 to the administration of property4 ,the final clause of the verse seems to state the condition on which ,philemon's good deeds will avail for his own growth in grace1 and implies that in him that condition is fulfilled4 ,if a man does deeds of kindness and help to one of these little ones1 as unto ,christ1 then his beneficence will come back in spiritual blessing on his own head4 ,if they are the result of simple natural compassion1 beautiful as it is1 they will reinforce it1 but have no tendency to strengthen that from which they do not flow4 ,if they are tainted by any self-regard1 then they are not charitable deeds at all4 ,what is done for ,christ will bring to the doer more of ,christ as its consequence and reward4 ,all life1 with all its varied forms of endurance and service1 comes under this same law1 and tends to make more assured and more blessed and more profound the knowledge and grasp of the fulness of ,christ1 in the measure in which it is directed to ,him1 and done or suffered for ,his sake4 ,,iii4 ,the present section closes with a very sweet and pathetic representation of the ,apostle's joy in the character of his friend4 ,the for of v4 #g connects not with the words of petition immediately before1 but with ,i thank my ,god 7v4 #d71 and gives a graceful turn--graceful only because so unforced and true--to the sentence4 ,my thanks are due to you for your kindness to others1 for1 though you did not think of it1 you have done me as much good as you did them4 ,the love which gives ,paul such great joy and consolation is not love directed to himself1 but to others2 and the reason why it gladdened the ,apostle was because it had refreshed the hearts of sorrowful and needy saints in ,colossae4 ,this tender expression of affectionate joy in ,philemon's good deeds is made wonderfully emotional by that emphatic brother which ends the verse1 and by its unusual position in the sentence assumes the character of a sudden1 irrepressible shoot of love from ,paul's heart towards ,philemon1 like the quick impulse with which a mother will catch up her child1 and cover it with caresses4 ,paul was never ashamed of showing his tenderness1 and it never repels us4 ,these final words suggest the unexpected good which good deeds may do4 ,no man can ever tell how far the blessing of his trivial acts of kindness1 or other pieces of ,christian conduct1 may travel4 ,they may benefit one in material fashion1 but the fragrance may reach many others4 ,philemon little dreamed that his small charity to some suffering brother in ,colossae would find its way across the sea1 and bring a waft of coolness and refreshing into the hot prison house4 ,neither ,paul nor ,philemon dreamed that1 made immortal by the word of the former1 the same transient act would find its way across the centuries1 and would smell sweet and blossom in the dust to-day4 ,men know not who are their audiences1 or who may be spectators of their works2 for they are all bound so mystically and closely together1 that none can tell how far the vibrations which he sets in motion will thrill4 ,this is true about all deeds1 good and bad1 and invests them all with solemn importance4 ,the arrow shot travels beyond the archer's eye1 and may wound where he knows not4 ,the only thing certain about the deed once done is1 that its irrevocable consequences will reach much farther than the doer dreamed1 and that no limits can be set to the subtle influence which1 for blessing or harm1 it exerts4 ,since the diameter of the circle which our acts may fill is unknown and unknowable1 the doer who stands at the centre is all the more solemnly bound to make sure of the only thing of which he can make sure1 the quality of the influence sent forth2 and since his deed may blight or bless so widely1 to clarify his motives and guard his doings1 that they may bring only good wherever they light4 ,may we not venture to see shining through the ,apostle's words the ,master's face8 ,even as ,christ did for us with ,god the ,father1 says ,luther1 thus also doth ,st4 ,paul for ,onesimus with ,philemon2 and that thought may permissibly be applied to many parts of this letter1 to which it gives much beauty4 ,it may not be all fanciful to say that1 as ,paul's heart was gladdened when he heard of the good deeds done in far-off ,colossae by a man who owed to him his own self so we may believe that ,christ is glad and has great joy in our love to ,his servants and in our kindliness1 when ,he beholds the poor work done by the humblest for ,his sake4 ,he sees and rejoices1 and approves when there are none but ,himself to know or praise2 and at last many1 who did lowly service to ,his friends1 will be surprised to hear from ,his lips the acknowledgment that it was ,himself whom they had visited and succoured1 and that they had been ministering to the ,master's joy when they had only known themselves to be succouring ,his servants' need4 ,,iii4 ,wherefore1 though ,i have all boldness in ,christ to enjoin thee that which is befitting1 yet for love's sake ,i rather beseech1 being such a one as ,paul the aged1 and now a prisoner also of ,jesus ,christ2 ,i beseech thee for my child1 whom ,i have begotten in my bonds1 ,onesimus2 who was aforetime unprofitable to thee1 but now is profitable to thee1 and to me4--,,philem4 #h-aa 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,after honest and affectionate praise of ,philemon1 the ,apostle now approaches the main purpose of his letter4 ,but even now he does not blurt it out at once4 ,he probably anticipated that his friend was justly angry with his runaway slave1 and therefore1 in these verses1 he touches a kind of prelude to his request with what we should call the finest tact1 if it were not so manifestly the unconscious product of simple good feeling4 ,even by the end of them he has not ventured to say what he wishes done1 though he has ventured to introduce the obnoxious name4 ,so much persuading and sanctified ingenuity does it sometimes take to induce good men to do plain duties which may be unwelcome4 ,these verses not only present a model for efforts to lead men in right paths1 but they unveil the very spirit of ,christianity in their pleadings4 ,paul's persuasives to ,philemon are echoes of ,christ's persuasives to ,paul4 ,he had learned his method from his ,master1 and had himself experienced that gentle love was more than commandments4 ,therefore he softens his voice to speak to ,philemon1 as ,christ had softened ,his to speak to ,paul4 ,we do not arbitrarily spiritualize the words1 but simply recognise that the ,apostle moulded his conduct after ,christ's pattern1 when we see here a mirror reflecting some of the highest truths of ,christian ethics4 ,i4 ,here is seen love which beseeches where it might command4 ,the first word1 wherefore1 leads back to the preceding sentence1 and makes ,philemon's past kindness to the saints the reason for his being asked to be kind now4 ,the ,apostle's confidence in his friend's character1 and in his being amenable to the appeal of love1 made ,paul waive his apostolic authority1 and sue instead of commanding4 ,there are people1 like the horse and the mule1 who understand only rough imperatives1 backed by force2 but they are fewer than we are apt to think1 and perhaps gentleness is never wholly thrown away4 ,no doubt1 there must be adaptation of method to different characters1 but we should try gentleness before we make up our minds that to try it is to throw pearls before swine4 ,the careful limits put to apostolic authority here deserve notice4 ,i might be much bold in ,christ to command4 ,he has no authority in himself1 but he has in ,christ4 ,his own personality gives him none1 but his relation to his ,master does4 ,it is a distinct assertion of right to command1 and an equally distinct repudiation of any such right1 except as derived from his union with ,jesus4 ,he still further limits his authority by that noteworthy clause1 that which is befitting4 ,his authority does not stretch so far as to create new obligations1 or to repeal plain laws of duty4 ,there was a standard by which his commands were to be tried4 ,he appeals to ,philemon's own sense of moral fitness1 to his natural conscience1 enlightened by communion with ,christ4 ,then comes the great motive which he will urge1 for love's sake1--not merely his to ,philemon1 nor ,philemon's to him1 but the bond which unites all ,christian souls together1 and binds them all to ,christ4 ,that grand1 sacred principle1 says ,paul1 bids me put away authority1 and speak in entreaty4 ,love naturally beseeches1 and does not order4 ,the harsh voice of command is simply the imposition of another's will1 and it belongs to relationships in which the heart has no share4 ,but wherever love is the bond1 grace is poured into the lips1 and ,i enjoin becomes ,i pray4 ,so that even where the outward form of authority is still kept1 as in a parent to young children1 there will ever be some endearing word to swathe the harsh imperative in tenderness1 like a sword blade wrapped about with wool1 lest it should wound4 ,love tends to obliterate the hard distinction of superior and inferior1 which finds its expression in laconic imperatives and silent obedience4 ,it seeks not for mere compliance with commands1 but for oneness of will4 ,the lightest wish breathed by loved lips is stronger than all stern injunctions1 often1 alas6 than all laws of duty4 ,the heart is so tuned as only to vibrate to that one tone4 ,the rocking stones1 which all the storms of winter may howl round and not move1 can be set swinging by a light touch4 ,una leads the lion in a silken leash4 ,love controls the wildest nature4 ,the demoniac1 whom no chains can bind1 is found sitting at the feet of incarnate gentleness4 ,so the wish of love is all-powerful with loving hearts1 and its faintest whisper louder and more constraining than all the trumpets of ,sinai4 ,there is a large lesson here for all human relationships4 ,fathers and mothers1 husbands and wives1 friends and companions1 teachers and guides of all sorts1 should set their conduct by this pattern1 and let the law of love sit ever upon their lips4 ,authority is the weapon of a weak man1 who is doubtful of his own power to get himself obeyed1 or of a selfish one1 who seeks for mechanical submission rather than for the fealty of willing hearts4 ,love is the weapon of a strong man who can cast aside the trappings of superiority1 and is never loftier than when he descends1 nor more absolute than when he abjures authority1 and appeals with love to love4 ,men are not to be dragooned into goodness4 ,if mere outward acts are sought1 it may be enough to impose another's will in orders as curt as a soldier's word of command2 but if the joyful inclination of the heart to the good deed is to be secured1 that can only be done when law melts into love1 and is thereby transformed to a more imperative obligation1 written not on tables of stone1 but on fleshy tables of the heart4 ,there is a glimpse here into the very heart of ,christ's rule over men4 ,he too does not merely impose commands1 but stoops to entreat1 where ,he indeed might command4 ,henceforth ,i call you not servants1 but friends2 and though ,he does go on to say1 ,ye are ,my friends1 if ye do whatsoever ,i command you1 yet ,his commandment has in it so much tenderness1 condescension1 and pleading love1 that it sounds far liker beseeching than enjoining4 ,his yoke is easy1 for this among other reasons1 that it is1 if one may so say1 padded with love4 ,his burden is light1 because it is laid on ,his servant's shoulders by a loving hand2 and so1 as ,st4 ,bernard says1 it is onus quod portantem portat1 a burden which carries him who carries it4 ,,ii4 ,there is in these verses the appeal which gives weight to the entreaties of love4 ,the ,apostle brings personal considerations to bear on the enforcement of impersonal duty1 and therein follows the example of his ,lord4 ,he presents his own circumstances as adding power to his request1 and as it were puts himself into the scale4 ,he touches with singular pathos on two things which should sway his friend4 ,such a one as ,paul the aged4 ,the alternative rendering ambassador1 while quite possible1 has not congruity in its favour1 and would be a recurrence to that very motive of official authority which he has just disclaimed4 ,the other rendering is every way preferable4 ,how old was he8 ,probably somewhere about sixty--not a very great age1 but life was somewhat shorter then than now1 and ,paul was1 no doubt1 aged by work1 by worry1 and by the unresting spirit that o'er-informed his tenement of clay4 ,such temperaments as his soon grow old4 ,perhaps ,philemon was not much younger2 but the prosperous ,colossian gentleman had had a smoother life1 and1 no doubt1 carried his years more lightly4 ,the requests of old age should have weight4 ,in our days1 what with the improvements in education1 and the general loosening of the bonds of reverence1 the old maxim that the utmost respect is due to children1 receives a strange interpretation1 and in many a household the ,divine order is turned upside down1 and the juniors regulate all things4 ,other still more sacred things will be likely to lose their due reverence when silver hairs no longer receive theirs4 ,but usually the aged who are such aged as ,paul was1 will not fail of obtaining honour and deference4 ,no more beautiful picture of the bright energy and freshness still possible to the old was ever painted than may be gathered from the ,apostle's unconscious sketch of himself4 ,he delighted in having young life about him--,timothy1 ,titus1 ,mark1 and others1 boys in comparison with himself1 whom yet he admitted to close intimacy as some old general might the youths of his staff1 warming his age at the genial flame of their growing energies and unworn hopes4 ,his was a joyful old age too1 notwithstanding many burdens of anxiety and sorrow4 ,we hear the clear song of his gladness ringing through the epistle of joy1 that to the ,philippians1 which1 like this1 dates from his ,roman captivity4 ,a ,christian old age should be joyful1 and only it will be2 for the joys of the natural life burn low1 when the fuel that fed them is nearly exhausted1 and withered hands are held in vain over the dying embers4 ,but ,christ's joy remains1 and a ,christian old age may be like the polar midsummer days1 when the sun shines till midnight1 and dips but for an imperceptible interval ere it rises for the unending day of heaven4 ,paul the aged was full of interest in the things of the day2 no mere praiser of time gone by1 but a strenuous worker1 cherishing a quick sympathy and an eager interest which kept him young to the end4 ,witness that last chapter of the second ,epistle to ,timothy1 where he is seen1 in the immediate expectation of death1 entering heartily into passing trifles1 and thinking it worth while to give little pieces of information about the movements of his friends1 and wishful to get his books and parchments1 that he might do some more work while waiting for the headsman's sword4 ,and over his cheery1 sympathetic1 busy old age there is thrown the light of a great hope1 which kindles desire and onward looks in his dim eyes1 and parts such a one as ,paul the aged by a whole universe from the old whose future is dark and their past dreary1 whose hope is a phantom and their memory a pang4 ,the ,apostle adds yet another personal characteristic as a motive with ,philemon to grant his request3 ,now a prisoner also of ,christ ,jesus4 ,he has already spoken of himself in these terms in v4 #a4 ,his sufferings were imposed by and endured for ,christ4 ,he holds up his fettered wrist1 and in effect says1 ,surely you will not refuse anything that you can do to wrap a silken softness round the cold1 hard iron1 especially when you remember for ,whose sake and by ,whose will ,i am bound with this chain4 ,he thus brings personal motives to reinforce duty which is binding from other and higher considerations4 ,he does not merely tell ,philemon that he ought to take back ,onesimus as a piece of self-sacrificing ,christian duty4 ,he does imply that highest motive throughout his pleadings1 and urges that such action is fitting or in consonance with the position and obligations of a ,christian man4 ,but he backs up this highest reason with these others3 ,if you hesitate to take him back because you ought1 will you do it because ,i ask you8 and1 before you answer that question1 will you remember my age1 and what ,i am bearing for the ,master8 ,if he can get his friend to do the right thing by the help of these subsidiary motives1 still1 it is the right thing2 and the appeal to these motives will do ,philemon no harm1 and1 if successful1 will do both him and ,onesimus a great deal of good4 ,does not this action of ,paul remind us of the highest example of a similar use of motives of personal attachment as aids to duty8 ,christ does thus with ,his servants4 ,he does not simply hold up before us a cold law of duty1 but warms it by introducing our personal relation to ,him as the main motive for keeping it4 ,apart from ,him1 ,morality can only point to the tables of stone and say3 ,there6 that is what you ought to do4 ,do it1 or face the consequences4 ,but ,christ says3 ,i have given ,myself for you4 ,my will is your law4 ,will you do it for ,my sake8 ,instead of the chilling1 statuesque ideal1 as pure as marble and as cold1 a ,brother stands before us with a heart that beats1 a smile on ,his face1 a hand outstretched to help2 and ,his word is1 ,if ye love ,me1 keep ,my commandments4 ,the specific difference of ,christian morality lies not in its precepts1 but in its motive1 and in its gift of power to obey4 ,paul could only urge regard to him as a subsidiary inducement4 ,christ puts it as the chief1 nay1 as the sole motive for obedience4 ,,iii4 ,the last point suggested by these verses is the gradual opening up of the main subject matter of the ,apostle's request4 ,very noteworthy is the tenderness of the description of the fugitive as my child1 whom ,i have begotten in my bonds4 ,paul does not venture to name him at once1 but prepares the way by the warmth of this affectionate reference4 ,the position of the name in the sentence is most unusual1 and suggests a kind of hesitation to take the plunge1 while the hurried passing on to meet the objection which he knew would spring immediately to ,philemon's mind is almost as if ,paul laid his hand on his friend's lips to stop his words1--,onesimus then is it8 that good-for-nothing6 ,paul admits the indictment1 will say no word to mitigate the condemnation due to his past worthlessness1 but1 with a playful allusion to the slave's name1 which conceals his deep earnestness1 assures ,philemon that he will find the formerly inappropriate name1 ,onesimus--i4e4 profitable--true yet1 for all that is past4 ,he is sure of this1 because he1 ,paul1 has proved his value4 ,surely never were the natural feelings of indignation and suspicion more skilfully soothed1 and never did repentant good-for-nothing get sent back to regain the confidence which he had forfeited1 with such a certificate of character in his hand6 ,but there is something of more importance than ,paul's inborn delicacy and tact to notice here4 ,onesimus had been a bad specimen of a bad class4 ,slavery must needs corrupt both the owner and the chattel2 and1 as a matter of fact1 we have classical allusions enough to show that the slaves of ,paul's period were deeply tainted with the characteristic vices of their condition4 ,liars1 thieves1 idle1 treacherous1 nourishing a hatred of their masters all the more deadly that it was smothered1 but ready to flame out1 if opportunity served1 in blood-curdling cruelties--they constituted an ever-present danger1 and needed an ever-wakeful watchfulness4 ,onesimus had been known to ,philemon only as one of the idlers who were more of a nuisance than a benefit1 and cost more than they earned2 and he apparently ended his career by theft4 ,and this degraded creature1 with scars on his soul deeper and worse than the marks of fetters on his limbs1 had somehow found his way to the great jungle of a city1 where all foul vermin could crawl and hiss and sting with comparative safety4 ,there he had somehow come across the ,apostle1 and had received into his heart1 filled with ugly desires and lusts1 the message of ,christ's love1 which had swept it clean1 and made him over again4 ,the ,apostle has had but short experience of his convert1 but he is quite sure that he is a ,christian2 and1 that being the case1 he is as sure that all the bad black past is buried1 and that the new leaf now turned over will be covered with fair writing1 not in the least like the blots that were on the former page1 and have now been dissolved from off it1 by the touch of ,christ's blood4 ,it is a typical instance of the miracles which the gospel wrought as every-day events in its transforming career4 ,christianity knows nothing of hopeless cases4 ,it professes its ability to take the most crooked stick and bring it straight1 to flash a new power into the blackest carbon1 which will turn it into a diamond4 ,every duty will be done better by a man if he have the love and grace of ,jesus ,christ in his heart4 ,new motives are brought into play1 new powers are given1 new standards of duty are set up4 ,the small tasks become great1 and the unwelcome sweet1 and the difficult easy1 when done for and through ,christ4 ,old vices are crushed in their deepest source2 old habits driven out by the force of a new affection1 as the young leaf-buds push the withered foliage from the tree4 ,christ can make any man over again1 and does so re-create every heart that trusts to him4 ,such miracles of transformation are wrought to-day as truly as of old4 ,many professing ,christians experience little of that quickening and revolutionising energy2 many observers see little of it1 and some begin to croak1 as if the old power had ebbed away4 ,but wherever men give the gospel fair play in their lives1 and open their spirits1 in truth and not merely in profession1 to its influence1 it vindicates its undiminished possession of all its former energy2 and if ever it seems to fail1 it is not that the medicine is ineffectual1 but that the sick man has not really taken it4 ,the low tone of much modern ,christianity and its dim exhibition of the transforming power of the gospel is easily and sadly accounted for without charging decrepitude on that which was once so mighty1 by the patent fact that much modern ,christianity is little better than lip acknowledgment1 and that much more of it is wofully unfamiliar with the truth which it in some fashion believes1 and is sinfully negligent of the spiritual gifts which it professes to treasure4 ,if a ,christian man does not show that his religion is changing him into the fair likeness of his ,master1 and fitting him for all relations of life1 the reason is simply that he has so little of it1 and that little so mechanical and tepid4 ,paul pleads with ,philemon to take back his worthless servant1 and assures him that he will find ,onesimus helpful now4 ,christ does not need to be besought to welcome ,his runaway good-for-nothings1 however unprofitable they have been4 ,that ,divine charity of ,his forgives all things1 and hopes all things of the worst1 and can fulfil its own hope in the most degraded4 ,with bright1 unfaltering confidence in ,his own power ,he fronts the most evil1 sure that ,he can cleanse2 and that1 no matter what the past has been1 ,his power can overcome all defects of character1 education1 or surroundings1 can set free from all moral disadvantages adhering to men's station1 class1 or calling1 can break the entail of sin4 ,the worst needs no intercessor to sway that tender heart of our great ,master whom we may dimly see shadowed in the very name of ,philemon1 which means one who is loving or kindly4 ,whoever confesses to him that he has been an unprofitable servant1 will be welcomed to ,his heart1 made pure and good by the ,divine ,spirit breathing new life into him1 will be trained by ,christ for all joyful toil as ,his slave1 and yet ,his freedman and friend2 and at last each once fugitive and unprofitable ,onesimus will hear the ,well done1 good and faithful servant6 ,,iv4 ,whom ,i have sent back to thee in his own person1 that is1 my very heart3 whom ,i would fain have kept with me1 that in my behalf he might minister unto me in the bonds of the gospel3 but without thy mind ,i would do nothing2 that thy goodness should not be as of necessity1 but of free will4--,,philem4 #ab-ad 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,the characteristic features of the ,epistle are all embodied in these verses4 ,they set forth1 in the most striking manner1 the relation of ,christianity to slavery and to other social evils4 ,they afford an exquisite example of the courteous delicacy and tact of the ,apostle's intervention on behalf of ,onesimus2 and there shine through them1 as through a semi-transparent medium1 adumbrations and shimmering hints of the greatest truths of ,christianity4 ,i4 ,the first point to notice is that decisive step of sending back the fugitive slave4 ,not many years ago the conscience of ,england was stirred because the ,government of the day sent out a circular instructing captains of men-of-war1 on the decks of which fugitive slaves sought asylum1 to restore them to their owners4 ,here an ,apostle does the same thing--seems to side with the oppressor1 and to drive the oppressed from the sole refuge left him1 the horns of the very altar4 ,more extraordinary still1 here is the fugitive voluntarily going back1 travelling all the weary way from ,rome to ,colossae in order to put his neck once more beneath the yoke4 ,both men were acting from ,christian motives1 and thought that they were doing a piece of plain ,christian duty4 ,then does ,christianity sanction slavery8 ,certainly not2 its principles cut it up by the roots4 ,a gospel1 of which the starting-point is that all men stand on the same level1 as loved by the one ,lord1 and redeemed by the one cross1 can have no place for such an institution4 ,a religion which attaches the highest importance to man's awful prerogative of freedom1 because it insists on every man's individual responsibility to ,god1 can keep no terms with a system which turns men into chattels4 ,therefore ,christianity cannot but regard slavery as sin against ,god1 and as treason towards man4 ,the principles of the gospel worked into the conscience of a nation destroy slavery4 ,historically it is true that as ,christianity has grown slavery has withered4 ,but the ,new ,testament never directly condemns it1 and by regulating the conduct of ,christian masters1 and recognising the obligations of ,christian slaves1 seems to contemplate its continuance1 and to be deaf to the sighing of the captives4 ,this attitude was probably not a piece of policy or a matter of calculated wisdom on the part of the ,apostle4 ,he no doubt saw that the ,gospel brought a great unity in which all distinctions were merged1 and rejoiced in thinking that in ,christ ,jesus there is neither bond or free2 but whether he expected the distinction ever to disappear from actual life is less certain4 ,he may have thought of slavery as he did of sex1 that the fact would remain1 while yet we are all one in ,christ ,jesus4 ,it is by no means necessary to suppose that the ,apostles saw the full bearing of the truths they had to preach1 in their relation to social conditions4 ,they were inspired to give the ,church the principles4 ,it remained for future ages1 under ,divine guidance1 to apprehend the destructive and formative range of these principles4 ,however this may be1 the attitude of the ,new ,testament to slavery is the same as to other unchristian institutions4 ,it brings the leaven1 and lets it work4 ,that attitude is determined by three great principles4 ,first1 the message of ,christianity is primarily to individuals1 and only secondarily to society4 ,it leaves the units whom it has influenced to influence the mass4 ,second1 it acts on spiritual and moral sentiment1 and only afterwards and consequently on deeds or institutions4 ,third1 it hates violence1 and trusts wholly to enlightened conscience4 ,so it meddles directly with no political or social arrangements1 but lays down principles which will profoundly affect these1 and leaves them to soak into the general mind4 ,if an evil needs force for its removal1 it is not ready for removal4 ,if it has to be pulled up by violence1 a bit of the root will certainly be left and will grow again4 ,when a dandelion head is ripe1 a child's breath can detach the winged seeds2 but until it is1 no tempest can move them4 ,the method of violence is noisy and wasteful1 like the winter torrents that cover acres of good ground with mud and rocks1 and are past in a day4 ,the only true way is1 by slow degrees to create a state of feeling which shall instinctively abhor and cast off the evil4 ,then there will be no hubbub and no waste1 and the thing once done will be done for ever4 ,so has it been with slavery2 so will it be with war1 and intemperance1 and impurity1 and the miserable anomalies of our present civilization4 ,it has taken eighteen hundred years for the whole ,church to learn the inconsistency of ,christianity with slavery4 ,we are no quicker learners than the past generations were4 ,god is patient1 and does not seek to hurry the march of ,his purposes4 ,we have to be imitators of ,god1 and shun the raw haste which is half-sister to delay4 ,but patience is not passivity4 ,it is a ,christian's duty to hasten the day of the ,lord1 and to take part in the educational process which ,christ is carrying on through the ages1 by submitting himself to it in the first place1 and then by endeavouring to bring others under its influence4 ,his place should be in the van of all social progress4 ,it does not become ,christ's servants to be content with the attainments of any past or present1 in the matter of the organization of society on ,christian principles4 ,god has more light to break forth from ,his word4 ,coming centuries will look back on the obtuseness of the moral perceptions of nineteenth century ,christians in regard to matters of ,christian duty which1 hidden from us1 are sun-clear to them1 with the same half-amused1 half-tragic wonder with which we look back to ,jamaica planters or ,south ,carolina rice growers1 who defended slavery as a missionary institution1 and saw no contradiction between their religion and their practice4 ,we have to stretch our charity to believe in these men's sincere religion4 ,succeeding ages will have to make the same allowance for us1 and will need it for themselves from their successors4 ,the main thing is1 for us to try to keep our spirits open to all the incidence of the gospel on social and civic life1 and to see that we are on the right side1 and trying to help on the approach of that kingdom which does not cry1 nor lift up1 nor cause its voice to be heard in the streets1 but has its coming prepared as the morning1 that swims up1 silent and slow1 and flushes the heaven with an unsetting light4 ,,ii4 ,the next point in these verses is ,paul's loving identification of himself with ,onesimus4 ,the ,a4,v4 here follows another reading from the ,r4,v42 the former has thou therefore receive him1 that is1 mine own bowels4 ,the additional words are unquestionably inserted without authority in order to patch a broken construction4 ,the ,r4,v4 cuts the knot in a different fashion by putting the abrupt words1 himself that is1 my very own heart1 under the government of the preceding verb4 ,but it seems more probable that the ,apostle began a new sentence with them1 which he meant to have finished as the ,a4,v4 does for him1 but which1 in fact1 got hopelessly upset in the swift rush of his thoughts1 and does not right itself grammatically till the receive him of v4 #ag4 ,in any case the main thing to observe is the affectionate plea which he puts in for the cordial reception of ,onesimus4 ,of course mine own bowels is simply the ,hebrew way of saying mine own heart4 ,we think the one phrase graceful and sentimental1 and the other coarse4 ,a ,jew did not think so1 and it might be difficult to say why he should4 ,it is a mere question of difference in localizing certain emotions4 ,onesimus was a piece of ,paul's very heart1 part of himself2 the unprofitable slave had wound himself round his affections1 and become so dear that to part with him was like cutting his heart out of his bosom4 ,perhaps some of the virtues1 which the servile condition helps to develop in undue proportion1 such as docility1 lightheartedness1 serviceableness1 had made him a soothing and helpful companion4 ,what a plea that would be with one who loved ,paul as well as ,philemon did6 ,he could not receive harshly one whom the ,apostle had so honoured with his love4 ,take care of him1 be kind to him as if it were to me4 ,such language from an ,apostle about a slave would do more to destroy slavery than any violence would do4 ,love leaps the barrier1 and it ceases to separate4 ,so these simple1 heart-felt words are an instance of one method by which ,christianity wars against all social wrongs1 by casting its caressing arm around the outcast1 and showing that the abject and oppressed are objects of its special love4 ,they teach too how interceding love makes its object part of its very self2 the same thought recurs still more distinctly in v4 #ag1 ,receive him as myself4 ,it is the natural language of love2 some of the deepest and most blessed ,christian truths are but the carrying out of that identification to its fullest extent4 ,we are all ,christ's ,onesimuses1 and ,he1 out of ,his pure love1 makes ,himself one with us1 and us one with ,him4 ,the union of ,christ with all who trust in ,him1 no doubt1 presupposes ,his ,divine nature1 but still there is a human side to it1 and it is the result of ,his perfect love4 ,all love delights to fuse itself with its object1 and as far as may be to abolish the distinction of ,i and thou4 ,but human love can travel but a little way on that road2 ,christ's goes much farther4 ,he that pleads for some poor creature feels that the kindness is done to himself when the former is helped or pardoned4 ,imperfectly but really these words shadow forth the great fact of ,christ's intercession for us sinners1 and our acceptance in ,him4 ,we need no better symbol of the stooping love of ,christ1 ,who identifies ,himself with ,his brethren1 and of our wondrous identification with ,him1 our ,high ,priest and ,intercessor1 than this picture of the ,apostle pleading for the runaway and bespeaking a welcome for him as part of himself4 ,when ,paul says1 ,receive him1 that is1 my very heart1 his words remind us of the yet more blessed ones1 which reveal a deeper love and more marvellous condescension1 ,he that receiveth you receiveth ,me1 and may reverently be taken as a faint shadow of that prevailing intercession1 through which he that is joined to the ,lord and is one spirit with ,him1 is received of ,god as part of ,christ's mystical body1 bone of ,his bone1 and flesh of ,his flesh4 ,,iii4 ,next comes the expression of a half-formed purpose which was put aside for a reason to be immediately stated4 ,whom ,i would fain have kept with me2 the tense of the verb indicating the incompleteness of the desire4 ,the very statement of it is turned into a graceful expression of ,paul's confidence in ,philemon's goodwill to him1 by the addition of that on thy behalf4 ,he is sure that1 if his friend had been beside him1 he would have been glad to lend him his servant1 and so he would have liked to have had ,onesimus as a kind of representative of the service which he knows would have been so willingly rendered4 ,the purpose for which he would have liked to keep him is defined as being1 that he might minister to me in the bonds of the ,gospel4 ,if the last words be connected with me1 they suggest a tender reason why ,paul should be ministered to1 as suffering for ,christ1 their common ,master1 and for the truth1 their common possession4 ,if1 as is perhaps less probable1 they be connected with minister1 they describe the sphere in which the service is to be rendered4 ,either the master or the slave would be bound by the obligations which the ,gospel laid on them to serve ,paul4 ,both were his converts1 and therefore knit to him by a welcome chain1 which made service a delight4 ,there is no need to enlarge on the winning courtesy of these words1 so full of happy confidence in the friend's disposition1 that they could not but evoke the love to which they trusted so completely4 ,nor need ,i do more than point their force for the purpose of the whole letter1 the procuring a cordial reception for the returning fugitive4 ,so dear had he become1 that ,paul would like to have kept him4 ,he goes back with a kind of halo round him1 now that he is not only a good-for-nothing runaway1 but ,paul's friend1 and so much prized by him4 ,it would be impossible to do anything but welcome him1 bringing such credentials2 and yet all this is done with scarcely a word of direct praise1 which might have provoked contradiction4 ,one does not know whether the confidence in ,onesimus or in ,philemon is the dominant note in the harmony4 ,in the preceding clause1 he was spoken of as1 in some sense1 part of the ,apostle's very self4 ,in this1 he is regarded as1 in some sense1 part of ,philemon4 ,so he is a link between them4 ,paul would have taken his service as if it had been his master's4 ,can the master fail to take him as if he were ,paul8 ,,iv4 ,the last topic in these verses is the decision which arrested the half-formed wish4 ,i was wishing indeed1 but ,i willed otherwise4 ,the language is exact4 ,there is a universe between ,i wished and ,i willed4 ,many a good wish remains fruitless1 because it never passes into the stage of firm resolve4 ,many who wish to be better will to be bad4 ,one strong ,i will can paralyse a million wishes4 ,the ,apostle's final determination was1 to do nothing without ,philemon's cognisance and consent4 ,the reason for the decision is at once a very triumph of persuasiveness1 which would be ingenious if it were not so spontaneous1 and an adumbration of the very spirit of ,christ's appeal for service to us4 ,that thy benefit--the good done to me by him1 which would in my eyes be done by you--should not be as of necessity1 but willingly4 ,that as is a delicate addition4 ,he will not think that the benefit would really have been by constraint1 but it might have looked as if it were4 ,do not these words go much deeper than this small matter8 ,and did not ,paul learn the spirit that suggested them from his own experience of how ,christ treated him8 ,the principle underlying them is1 that where the bond is love1 compulsion takes the sweetness and goodness out of even sweet and good things4 ,freedom is essential to virtue4 ,if a man could not help it there is neither praise nor blame due4 ,that freedom ,christianity honours and respects4 ,so in reference to the offer of the gospel blessings1 men are not forced to accept them but appealed to1 and can turn deaf ears to the pleading voice1 ,why will ye die8 ,sorrows and sins and miseries without end continue1 and the gospel is rejected1 and lives of wretched godlessness are lived1 and a dark future pulled down on the rejecters' heads--and all because ,god knows that these things are better than that men should be forced into goodness1 which indeed would cease to be goodness if they were4 ,for nothing is good but the free turning of the will to goodness1 and nothing bad but its aversion therefrom4 ,the same solemn regard for the freedom of the individual and low estimate of the worth of constrained service influence the whole aspect of ,christian ethics4 ,christ wants no pressed men in ,his army4 ,the victorious host of priestly warriors1 which the ,psalmist saw following the priest-king in the day of his power1 numerous as the dewdrops1 and radiant with reflected beauty as these1 were all willing--volunteers4 ,there are no conscripts in the ranks4 ,these words might be said to be graven over the gates of the kingdom of heaven1 ,not as of necessity1 but willingly4 ,in ,christian morals1 law becomes love1 and love1 law4 ,must is not in the ,christian vocabulary1 except as expressing the sweet constraint which bows the will of him who loves to harmony1 which is joy1 with the will of ,him who is loved4 ,christ takes no offerings which the giver is not glad to render4 ,money1 influence1 service1 which are not offered by a will moved by love1 which love1 in its turn1 is set in motion by the recognition of the infinite love of ,christ in ,his sacrifice1 are1 in ,his eyes1 nought4 ,an earthenware cup with a drop of cold water in it1 freely given out of a glad heart1 is richer and more precious in ,his sight than golden chalices swimming with wine and melted pearls1 which are laid by constraint on ,his table4 ,i delight to do ,thy will is the foundation of all ,christian obedience2 and the servant had caught the very tone of the ,lord's voice when he said1 ,without thy mind ,i will do nothing1 that thy benefit should not be1 as it were1 of necessity1 but willingly4 ,v4 ,for perhaps he was therefore parted from thee for a season1 that thou shouldest have him for ever2 no longer as a servant1 but more than a servant1 a brother beloved1 specially to me1 but how much rather to thee1 both in the flesh and in the ,lord4 ,if then thou countest me a partner1 receive him as myself4 ,but if he hath wronged thee at all1 or oweth thee aught1 put that to mine account2 ,i ,paul write it with mine own hand1 ,i will repay it3 that ,i say not unto thee how that thou owest to me even thine own self besides4--,,philem4 #ae-ai 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,the first words of these verses are connected with the preceding by the for at the beginning2 that is to say1 the thought that possibly the ,divine purpose in permitting the flight of ,onesimus was his restoration1 in eternal and holy relationship1 to ,philemon1 was ,paul's reason for not carrying out his wish to keep ,onesimus as his own attendant and helper4 ,i did not decide1 though ,i very much wished1 to retain him without your consent1 because it is possible that he was allowed to flee from you1 though his flight was his own blamable act1 in order that he might be given back to you1 a richer possession1 a brother instead of a slave4 ,i4 ,there is here a ,divine purpose discerned as shining through a questionable human act4 ,the first point to note is1 with what charitable delicacy of feeling the ,apostle uses a mild word to express the fugitive's flight4 ,he will not employ the harsh naked word ran away4 ,it might irritate ,philemon4 ,besides1 ,onesimus has repented of his faults1 as is plain from the fact of his voluntary return1 and therefore there is no need for dwelling on them4 ,the harshest1 sharpest words are best when callous consciences are to be made to wince2 but words that are balm and healing are to be used when men are heartily ashamed of their sins4 ,so the deed for which ,philemon's forgiveness is asked is half veiled in the phrase he was parted4 ,not only so1 but the word suggests that behind the slave's mutiny and flight there was another ,will working1 of which1 in some sense1 ,onesimus was but the instrument4 ,he was parted--not that he was not responsible for his flight1 but that1 through his act1 which in the eyes of all concerned was wrong1 ,paul discerns as dimly visible a great ,divine purpose4 ,but he puts that as only a possibility3 ,perhaps he departed from thee4----,he will not be too sure of what ,god means by such and such a thing1 as some of us are wont to be1 as if we had been sworn of ,god's privy council4 ,perhaps is one of the hardest words for minds of a certain class to say2 but in regard to all such subjects1 and to many more1 it is the motto of the wise man1 and the shibboleth which sifts out the patient1 modest lovers of truth from rash theorists and precipitate dogmatisers4 ,impatience of uncertainty is a moral fault which mars many an intellectual process2 and its evil effects are nowhere mote visible than in the field of theology4 ,a humble perhaps often grows into a verily1 verily--and a hasty1 over-confident verily1 verily1 often dwindles to a hesitating perhaps4 ,let us not be in too great a hurry to make sure that we have the key of the cabinet where ,god keeps ,his purposes1 but content ourselves with perhaps when we are interpreting the often questionable ways of ,his providences1 each of which has many meanings and many ends4 ,but however modestly he may hesitate as to the application of the principle1 ,paul has no doubt as to the principle itself3 namely1 that ,god1 in the sweep of ,his wise providence1 utilizes even men's evil1 and works it in1 to the accomplishment of great purposes far beyond their ken1 as nature1 in her patient chemistry1 takes the rubbish and filth of the dunghill and turns them into beauty and food4 ,onesimus had no high motives in his flight2 he had run away under discreditable circumstances1 and perhaps to escape deserved punishment4 ,laziness and theft had been the hopeful companions of his flight1 which1 so far as he was concerned1 had been the outcome of low and probably criminal impulses2 and yet ,god had known how to use it so as to lead to his becoming a ,christian4 ,with the wrath of man ,thou girdest ,thyself1 twisting and bending it so as to be flexible in ,thy hands1 and the remainder ,thou dost restrain1 ,how unlike were the seed and the fruit--the flight of a good-for-nothing thief and the return of a ,christian brother6 ,he meant it not so2 but in running away from his master1 he was running straight into the arms of his ,saviour4 ,how little ,onesimus knew what was to be the end of that day's work1 when he slunk out of ,philemon's house with his stolen booty hid away in his bosom6 ,and how little any of us know where we are going1 and what strange results may evolve themselves from our actions6 ,blessed they who can rest in the confidence that1 however modest we should be in our interpretation of the events of our own or of other men's lives1 the infinitely complex web of circumstance is woven by a loving1 wise ,hand1 and takes shape1 with all its interlacing threads1 according to a pattern in ,his hand1 which will vindicate itself when it is finished6 ,the contrast is emphatic between the short absence and the eternity of the new relationship3 for a season--literally an hour--and for ever4 ,there is but one point of view which gives importance to this material world1 with all its fleeting joys and fallacious possessions4 ,life is not worth living1 unless it be the vestibule to a life beyond4 ,why all its discipline1 whether of sorrow or joy1 unless there be another1 ampler life1 where we can use to nobler ends the powers acquired and greatened by use here8 ,what an inconsequent piece of work is man1 if the few years of earth are his all6 ,surely1 if nothing is to come of all this life here1 men are made in vain1 and had better not have been at all4 ,here is a narrow sound1 with a mere ribbon of sea in it1 shut in between grim1 echoing rocks4 ,how small and meaningless it looks as long as the fog hides the great ocean beyond6 ,but when the mist lifts1 and we see that the narrow strait leads out into a boundless sea that lies flashing in the sunshine to the horizon1 then we find out the worth of that little driblet of water at our feet4 ,it connects with the open sea1 and that swathes the world4 ,so is it with the hour of life2 it opens out and debouches into the for ever1 and therefore it is great and solemn4 ,this moment is one of the moments of that hour4 ,we are the sport of our own generalisations1 and ready to admit all these fine and solemn things about life1 but we are less willing to apply them to the single moments as they fly4 ,we should not rest content with recognising the general truth1 but ever make conscious effort to feel that this passing instant has something to do with our eternal character and with our eternal destiny4 ,that is an exquisitely beautiful and tender thought which the ,apostle puts here1 and one which is susceptible of many applications4 ,the temporary loss may be eternal gain4 ,the dropping away of the earthly form of a relationship may1 in ,god's great mercy1 be a step towards its renewal in higher fashion and for evermore4 ,all our blessings need to be past before reflection can be brought to bear upon them1 to make us conscious how blessed we were4 ,the blossoms have to perish before the rich perfume1 which can be kept in undiminished fragrance for years1 can be distilled from them4 ,when death takes away dear ones1 we first learn that we were entertaining angels unawares2 and as they float away from us into the light1 they look back with faces already beginning to brighten into the likeness of ,christ1 and take leave of us with ,his valediction1 ,it is expedient for you that ,i go away4 ,memory teaches us the true character of life4 ,we can best estimate the height of the mountain peaks when we have left them behind4 ,the softening and hallowing influence of death reveals the nobleness and sweetness of those who are gone4 ,fair country never looks so fair as when it has a curving river for a foreground2 and fair lives look fairer than before1 when seen across the ,jordan of death4 ,to us who believe that life and love are not killed by death1 the end of their earthly form is but the beginning of a higher heavenly4 ,love which is in ,christ is eternal4 ,because ,philemon and ,onesimus were two ,christians1 therefore their relationship was eternal4 ,is it not yet more true1 if that were possible1 that the sweet bonds which unite ,christian souls here on earth are in their essence indestructible1 and are affected by death only as the body is8 ,sown in weakness1 will they not be raised in power8 ,nothing of them shall die but the encompassing death4 ,their mortal part shall put on immortality4 ,as the farmer gathers the green flax with its blue bells blooming on it1 and throws it into a tank to rot1 in order to get the firm fibre which cannot rot1 and spin it into a strong cable1 so ,god does with our earthly loves4 ,he causes all about them that is perishable to perish1 that the central fibre1 which is eternal1 may stand clear and disengaged from all that was less ,divine than itself4 ,wherefore mourning hearts may stay themselves on this assurance1 that they will never lose the dear ones whom they have loved in ,christ1 and that death itself but changes the manner of the communion1 and refines the tie4 ,they were as for a moment dead1 but they are alive again4 ,to our bewildered sight they departed and were lost for a season1 but they are found1 and we can fold them in our heart of hearts for ever4 ,but there is also set forth here a change1 not only in the duration but in the quality of the relation between the ,christian master and his former slave1 who continues a slave indeed1 but is also a brother4 ,no longer as a servant1 but more than a servant1 a brother beloved1 specially to me1 but how much rather to thee1 both in the flesh and in the ,lord4 ,it is clear from these words that ,paul did not anticipate the manumission of ,onesimus4 ,what he asks is1 that he should not be received as a slave4 ,evidently then he is to be still a slave in so far as the outward fact goes--but a new spirit is to be breathed into the relationship4 ,specially to me2 he is more than a slave to me4 ,i have not looked on him as such1 but have taken him to my heart as a brother1 as a son indeed1 for he is especially dear to me as my convert4 ,but however dear he is to me1 he should be more so to thee1 to whom his relation is permanent1 while to me it is temporary4 ,and this ,brotherhood of the slave is to be felt and made visible both in the flesh--that is1 in the earthly and personal relations of common life1 and in the ,lord--that is1 in the spiritual and religious relationships of worship and the ,church4 ,as has been well said1 ,in the flesh1 ,philemon has the brother for his slave2 in the ,lord1 ,philemon has the slave for his brother4 ,he is to treat him as his brother therefore both in the common relationships of every-day life and in the acts of religious worship4 ,that is a pregnant word4 ,true1 there is no gulf between ,christian people now-a-days like that which in the old times parted owner and slave2 but1 as society becomes more and more differentiated1 as the diversities of wealth become more extreme in our commercial communities1 as education comes to make the educated man's whole way of looking at life differ more and more from that of the less cultured classes1 the injunction implied in our text encounters enemies quite as formidable as slavery ever was4 ,the highly educated man is apt to be very oblivious of the brotherhood of the ignorant ,christian1 and he1 on his part1 finds the recognition just as hard4 ,the rich mill-owner has not much sympathy with the poor brother who works at his spinning-jennies4 ,it is often difficult for the ,christian mistress to remember that her cook is her sister in ,christ4 ,there is quite as much sin against fraternity on the side of the poor ,christians who are servants and illiterate1 as on the side of the rich who are masters or cultured4 ,but the principle that ,christian brotherhood is to reach across the wall of class distinctions is as binding to-day as it was on these two good people1 ,philemon the master and ,onesimus the slave4 ,that brotherhood is not to be confined to acts and times of ,christian communion1 but is to be shown and to shape conduct in common life4 ,both in the flesh and in the ,lord may be put into plain ,english thus3 ,a rich man and a poor one belong to the same church2 they unite in the same worship1 they are partakers of the one bread1 and therefore1 ,paul thinks1 are one bread4 ,they go outside the church door4 ,do they ever dream of speaking to one another outside8 ,a brother beloved in the ,lord--on ,sundays1 and during worship and in ,church matters--is often a stranger in the flesh on ,mondays1 in the street and in common life4 ,some good people seem to keep their brotherly love in the same wardrobe with their ,sunday clothes4 ,philemon was bid1 and all are bid1 to wear it all the week1 at market as well as church4 ,,ii4 ,in the next verse1 the essential purpose for which the whole letter was written is put at last in an articulate request1 based upon a very tender motive4 ,if then thou countest me as a partner1 receive him as myself1 ,paul now at last completes the sentence which he began in v4 #ab1 and from which he was hurried away by the other thoughts that came crowding in upon him4 ,this plea for the kindly welcome to be accorded to ,onesimus has been knocking at the door of his lips for utterance from the beginning of the letter2 but only now1 so near the end1 after so much conciliation1 he ventures to put it into plain words2 and even now he does not dwell on it1 but goes quickly on to another point4 ,he puts his requests on a modest and yet a strong ground1 appealing to ,philemon's sense of comradeship--if thou countest me a partner--a comrade or a sharer in ,christian blessings4 ,he sinks all reference to apostolic authority1 and only points to their common possession of faith1 hope1 and joy in ,christ4 ,receive him as myself4 ,that request was sufficiently illustrated in the preceding chapter1 so that ,i need only refer to what was then said on this instance of interceding love identifying itself with its object1 and on the enunciation in it of great ,christian truth4 ,,iii4 ,the course of thought next shows--,love taking the slave's debts on itself4 ,if he hath wronged thee1 or oweth thee aught4 ,paul makes an if of what he knew well enough to be the fact2 for no doubt ,onesimus had told him all his faults1 and the whole context shows that there was no uncertainty in ,paul's mind1 but that he puts the wrong hypothetically for the same reason for which he chooses to say1 was parted instead of ran away1 namely1 to keep some thin veil over the crimes of a penitent1 and not to rasp him with rough words4 ,for the same reason1 too1 he falls back upon the gentler expressions1 wronged and oweth1 instead of blurting out the ugly word stolen4 ,and then1 with a half-playful assumption of lawyer-like phraseology1 he bids ,philemon put that to his account4 ,here is my autograph--,i ,paul write it with mine own hand--,i make this letter into a bond4 ,witness my hand2 ,i will repay it4 ,the formal tone of the promise1 rendered more formal by the insertion of the name--and perhaps by that sentence only being in his own handwriting--seems to warrant the explanation that it is half playful2 for he could never have supposed that ,philemon would exact the fulfilment of the bond1 and we have no reason to suppose that1 if he had1 ,paul could really have paid the amount4 ,but beneath the playfulness there lies the implied exhortation to forgive the money wrong as well as the others which ,onesimus had done him4 ,the verb used here for put to the account of is1 according to the commentators1 a very rare word2 and perhaps the singular phrase may be chosen to let another great ,christian truth shine through4 ,was ,paul's love the only one that we know of which took the slave's debts on itself8 ,did anybody else ever say1 ,put that on mine account8 ,we have been taught to ask for the forgiveness of our sins as debts1 and we have been taught that there is ,one on whom ,god has made to meet the iniquities of us all4 ,christ takes on ,himself all ,paul's debt1 all ,philemon's1 all ours4 ,he has paid the ransom for all1 and ,he so identifies ,himself with men that ,he takes all their sins upon ,him1 and so identifies men with ,himself that they are received as ,himself4 ,it is ,his great example that ,paul is trying to copy here4 ,forgiven all that great debt1 he dare not rise from his knees to take his brother by the throat1 but goes forth to show to his fellow the mercy which he has found1 and to model his life after the pattern of that miracle of love in which is his trust4 ,it is ,christ's own voice which echoes in put that on mine account4 ,,iv4 ,finally1 these verses pass to a gentle reminder of a greater debt3 ,that ,i say not unto thee how that thou owest to me even thine own self besides4 ,as his child in the ,gospel1 ,philemon owed to ,paul much more than the trifle of money of which ,onesimus had robbed him2 namely his spiritual life1 which he had received through the ,apostle's ministry4 ,but he will not insist on that4 ,true love never presses its claims1 nor recounts its services4 ,claims which need to be urged are not worth urging4 ,a true1 generous heart will never say1 ,you ought to do so much for me1 because ,i have done so much for you4 ,to come down to that low level of chaffering and barter is a dreadful descent from the heights where the love which delights in giving should ever dwell4 ,does not ,christ speak to us in the same language8 ,we owe ourselves to ,him1 as ,lazarus did1 for ,he raises us from the death of sin to a share in ,his own new1 undying life4 ,as a sick man owes his life to the doctor who has cured him1 as a drowning man owes his to his rescuer1 who dragged him from the water and breathed into his lungs till they began to work of themselves1 as a child owes its life to its parent--so we owe ourselves to ,christ4 ,but ,he does not insist upon the debt2 ,he gently reminds us of it1 as making ,his commandment sweeter and easier to obey4 ,every heart that is really touched with gratitude will feel1 that the less the giver insists upon his gifts1 the more do they impel to affectionate service4 ,to be perpetually reminded of them weakens their force as motives to obedience1 for it then appears as if they had not been gifts of love at all1 but bribes given by self-interest2 and the frequent reference to them sounds like complaint4 ,but ,christ does not insist on ,his claims1 and therefore the remembrance of them ought to underlie all our lives and to lead to constant glad devotion4 ,one more thought may be drawn from the words4 ,the great debt which can never be discharged does not prevent the debtor from receiving reward for the obedience of love4 ,i will repay it1 even though thou owest me thyself4 ,christ has bought us for ,his servants by giving ,himself and ourselves to us4 ,no work1 no devotion1 no love can ever repay our debt to ,him4 ,from ,his love alone comes the desire to serve ,him2 from ,his grace comes the power4 ,the best works are stained and incomplete1 and could only be acceptable to a ,love that was glad to welcome even unworthy offerings1 and to forgive their imperfections4 ,nevertheless ,he treats them as worthy of reward1 and crowns ,his own grace in men with an exuberance of recompense far beyond their deserts4 ,he will suffer no man to work for ,him for nothing2 but to each ,he gives even here great reward in keeping ,his commandments1 and hereafter an exceeding great reward1 of which the inward joys and outward blessings that now flow from obedience are but the earnest ,his merciful allowance of imperfections treats even our poor deeds as rewardable2 and though eternal life must ever be the gift of ,god1 and no claim of merit can be sustained before ,his judgment seat1 yet the measure of that life which is possessed here or hereafter is accurately proportioned to and is1 in a very real sense1 the consequence of obedience and service1 ,if any man's work abide1 he shall receive a reward1 and ,christ's own tender voice speaks the promise1 ,i will repay1 albeit ,i say not unto thee how thou owest to ,me even thine own self besides4 ,men do not really possess themselves unless they yield themselves to ,jesus ,christ4 ,he that loveth his life shall lose it1 and he that loseth himself1 in glad surrender of himself to his ,saviour1 he and only he is truly lord and owner of his own soul4 ,and to such an one shall be given rewards beyond hope and beyond measure--and1 as the crown of all1 the blessed possession of ,christ1 and in it the full1 true1 eternal possession of himself1 glorified and changed into the image of the ,lord who loved him and gave ,himself for him4 ,,vi4 ,yea1 brother1 let me have joy of thee in the ,lord refresh my heart in ,christ4 ,having confidence in thine obedience ,i write unto thee1 knowing that thou wilt do even beyond what ,i say4 ,but withal prepare me a lodging3 for ,i hope that through your prayers ,i shall be granted unto you4 ,epaphras1 my fellow prisoner in ,christ ,jesus1 saluteth thee2 and so do ,mark1 ,aristarchus1 ,demas1 ,luke1 my fellow workers4 ,the grace of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ be with your spirit4 ,amen4--,,philem4 #bj-be 7,rev4 ,ver474 ,we have already had occasion to point out that ,paul's pleading with ,philemon1 and the motives which he adduces1 are expressions1 on a lower level1 of the greatest principles of ,christian ethics4 ,if the closing salutations be left out of sight for the moment1 there are here three verses1 each containing a thought which needs only to be cast into its most general form to show itself as a large ,christian truth4 ,i4 ,verse #bj gives the final moving form of the ,apostle's request4 ,onesimus disappears1 and the final plea is based altogether on the fact that compliance will pleasure and help ,paul4 ,there is but the faintest gleam of a possible allusion to the former in the use of the verb from which the name ,onesimus is derived--,let me have help of thee2 as if he had said1 ,be you an ,onesimus1 a helpful one to me1 as ,i trust he is going to be to you4 ,refresh my heart points back to v4 #g1 ,the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by thee1 and lightly suggests that ,philemon should do for ,paul what he had done for many others4 ,but the ,apostle does not merely ask help and refreshing2 he desires that they should be of a right ,christian sort4 ,in ,christ is very significant4 ,if ,philemon receives his slave for ,christ's sake and in the strength of that communion with ,christ which fits for all virtue1 and so for this good deed--a deed which is of too high and rare a strain of goodness for his unaided nature1--then in ,christ he will be helpful to the ,apostle4 ,in that case the phrase expresses the element or sphere in which the act is done4 ,but it may apply rather1 or even also1 to ,paul1 and then it expresses the element or sphere in which he is helped and refreshed4 ,in communion with ,jesus1 taught and inspired by ,him1 the ,apostle is brought to such true and tender sympathy with the runaway that his heart is refreshed1 as by a cup of cold water1 by kindness shown to him4 ,such keen sympathy is as much beyond the reach of nature as ,philemon's kindness would be4 ,both are in ,christ4 ,union with ,him refines selfishness1 and makes men quick to feel another's sorrows and joys as theirs1 after the pattern of ,him who makes the case of ,god's fugitives ,his own4 ,it makes them easy to be entreated and ready to forgive4 ,so to be in ,him is to be sympathetic like ,paul1 and placable as ,he would have ,onesimus4 ,in ,christ carries in it the secret of all sweet humanities and beneficence1 is the spell which calls out fairest charity1 and is the only victorious antagonist of harshness and selfishness4 ,the request for the sake of which the whole letter is written is here put as a kindness to ,paul himself1 and thus an entirely different motive is appealed to4 ,surely you would be glad to give me pleasure4 ,then do this thing which ,i ask you4 ,it is permissible to seek to draw to virtuous acts by such a motive1 and to reinforce higher reasons by the desire to please dear ones1 or to win the approbation of the wise and good4 ,it must be rigidly kept as a subsidiary motive1 and distinguished from the mere love of applause4 ,most men have some one whose opinion of their acts is a kind of embodied conscience1 and whose satisfaction is reward4 ,but pleasing the dearest and purest among men can never be more than at most a crutch to help lameness or a spur to stimulate4 ,if however this motive be lifted to the higher level1 and these words thought of as ,paul's echo of ,christ's appeal to those who love ,him1 they beautifully express the peculiar blessedness of ,christian ethics4 ,the strongest motive1 the very mainspring and pulsing heart of ,christian duty1 is to please ,christ4 ,his language to ,his followers is not1 ,do this because it is right1 but1 ,do this because it pleaseth ,me4 ,they have a living ,person to gratify1 not a mere law of duty to obey4 ,the help which is given to weakness by the hope of winning golden opinions from1 or giving pleasure to1 those whom men love is transferred in the ,christian relation to ,jesus4 ,so the cold thought of duty is warmed1 and the weight of obedience to a stony1 impersonal law is lightened1 and a new power is enlisted on the side of goodness1 which sways more mightily than all the abstractions of duty4 ,the ,christ ,himself makes ,his appeal to men in the same tender fashion as ,paul to ,philemon4 ,he will move to holy obedience by the thought--wonderful as it is--that it gladdens ,him4 ,many a weak heart has been braced and made capable of heroisms of endurance and effort1 and of angel deeds of mercy1 all beyond its own strength1 by that great thought1 ,we labour that1 whether present or absent1 we may be well-pleasing to ,him4 ,,ii4 ,verse #ba exhibits love commanding1 in the confidence of love obeying4 ,having confidence in thine obedience ,i write unto thee1 knowing that thou wilt do even beyond what ,i say4 ,in v4 #h the ,apostle had waived his right to enjoin1 because he had rather speak the speech of love1 and request4 ,but here1 with the slightest possible touch1 he just lets the note of authority sound for a single moment1 and then passes into the old music of affection and trust4 ,he but names the word obedience1 and that in such a way as to present it as the child of love1 and the privilege of his friend4 ,he trusts ,philemon's obedience1 because he knows his love1 and is sure that it is love of such a sort as will not stand on the exact measure1 but will delight in giving it pressed down and running over4 ,what could he mean by do more than ,i say8 ,was he hinting at emancipation1 which he would rather have to come from ,philemon's own sense of what was due to the slave who was now a brother1 than be granted1 perhaps hesitatingly1 in deference to his request8 ,possibly1 but more probably he had no definite thing in his mind1 but only desired to express his loving confidence in his friend's willingness to please him4 ,commands given in such a tone1 where authority audibly trusts the subordinate1 are far more likely to be obeyed than if they were shouted with the hoarse voice of a drill-sergeant4 ,men will do much to fulfil generous expectations4 ,even debased natures will respond to such appeal2 and if they see that good is expected from them1 that will go far to evoke it4 ,some masters have always good servants1 and part of the secret is that they trust them to obey4 ,england expects fulfilled itself4 ,when love enjoins there should be trust in its tones4 ,it will act like a magnet to draw reluctant feet into the path of duty4 ,a will which mere authority could not bend1 like iron when cold1 may be made flexible when warmed by this gentle heat4 ,if parents oftener let their children feel that they had confidence in their obedience1 they would seldomer have to complain of their disobedience4 ,christ's commands follow1 or rather set1 this pattern4 ,he trusts ,his servants1 and speaks to them in a voice softened and confiding4 ,he tells them ,his wish1 and commits ,himself and ,his cause to ,his disciples' love4 ,obedience beyond the strict limits of command will always be given by love4 ,it is a poor1 grudging service which weighs obedience as a chemist does some precious medicine1 and is careful that not the hundredth part of a grain more than the prescribed amount shall be doled out4 ,a hired workman will fling down his lifted trowel full of mortar at the first stroke of the clock1 though it would be easier to lay it on the bricks2 but where affection moves the hand1 it is delight to add something over and above to bare duty4 ,the artist who loves his work will put many a touch on it beyond the minimum which will fulfil his contract4 ,those who adequately feel the power of ,christian motives will not be anxious to find the least that they durst1 but the most that they can do4 ,if obvious duty requires them to go a mile1 they will rather go two1 than be scrupulous to stop as soon as they see the milestone4 ,a child who is always trying to find out how little would satisfy his father cannot have much love4 ,obedience to ,christ is joy1 peace1 love4 ,the grudging servants are limiting their possession of these1 by limiting their active surrender of themselves4 ,they seem to be afraid of having too much of these blessings4 ,a heart truly touched by the love of ,jesus ,christ will not seek to know the lowest limit of duty1 but the highest possibility of service4 ,give all thou canst2 high heaven rejects the lore ,of nicely calculated less or more4 ,,iii4 ,verse #bb may be summed up as the language of love1 hoping for reunion4 ,withal prepare me a lodging3 for ,i hope that through your prayers ,i shall be granted unto you4 ,we do not know whether the ,apostle's expectation was fulfilled4 ,believing that he was set free from his first imprisonment1 and that his second was separated from it by a considerable interval1 during which he visited ,macedonia and ,asia ,minor1 we have yet nothing to show whether or not he reached ,colossae2 but whether fulfilled or not1 the expectation of meeting would tend to secure compliance with his request1 and would be all the more likely to do so1 for the very delicacy with which it is stated1 so as not to seem to be mentioned for the sake of adding force to his intercession4 ,the limits of ,paul's expectation as to the power of his brethren's prayers for temporal blessings are worth noting4 ,he does believe that these good people in ,colossae could help him by prayer for his liberation1 but he does not believe that their prayer will certainly be heard4 ,in some circles much is said now about the prayer of faith--a phrase which1 singularly enough1 is in such cases almost confined to prayers for external blessings1--and about its power to bring money for work which the person praying believes to be desirable1 or to send away diseases4 ,but surely there can be no faith without a definite ,divine word to lay hold of4 ,faith and ,god's promise are correlative2 and unless a man has ,god's plain promise that ,a4 ,b4 will be cured by his prayer1 the belief that he will is not faith1 but something deserving a much less noble name4 ,the prayer of faith is not forcing our wills on ,god1 but bending our wills to ,god's4 ,the prayer which ,christ has taught in regard to all outward things is1 ,not my will but ,thine be done1 and1 ,may ,thy will become mine4 ,that is the prayer of faith1 which is always answered4 ,the ,church prayed for ,peter1 and he was delivered2 the ,church1 no doubt1 prayed for ,stephen1 and he was stoned4 ,was then the prayer for him refused8 ,not so1 but if it were prayer at all1 the inmost meaning of it was be it as ,thou wilt2 and that was accepted and answered4 ,petitions for outward blessings1 whether for the petitioner or for others1 are to be presented with submission2 and the highest confidence which can be entertained concerning them is that which ,paul here expresses3 ,i hope that through your prayers ,i shall be set free4 ,the prospect of meeting enhances the force of the ,apostle's wish2 nor are ,christians without an analogous motive to give weight to their obligations to their ,lord4 ,just as ,paul quickened ,philemon's loving wish to serve him by the thought that he might have the gladness of seeing him before long1 so ,christ quickens ,his servant's diligence by the thought that before very many days ,he will come1 or they will go--at any rate1 they will be with ,him1--and ,he will see what they have been doing in ,his absence4 ,such a prospect should increase diligence1 and should not inspire terror4 ,it is a mark of true ,christians that they love ,his appearing4 ,their hearts should glow at the hope of meeting4 ,that hope should make work happier and lighter4 ,when a husband has been away at sea1 the prospect of his return makes the wife sing at her work1 and take more pains or rather pleasure with it1 because his eye is to see it4 ,so should it be with the bride in the prospect of her bridegroom's return4 ,the ,church should not be driven to unwelcome duties by the fear of a strict judgment1 but drawn to large1 cheerful service1 by the hope of spreading her work before her returning ,lord4 ,thus1 on the whole1 in this letter1 the central springs of ,christian service are touched1 and the motives used to sway ,philemon are the echo of the motives which ,christ uses to sway men4 ,the keynote of all is love4 ,love beseeches when it might command4 ,to love we owe our own selves beside4 ,love will do nothing without the glad consent of him to whom it speaks1 and cares for no service which is of necessity4 ,its finest wine is not made from juice which is pressed out of the grapes1 but from that which flows from them for very ripeness4 ,love identifies itself with those who need its help1 and treats kindnesses to them as done to itself4 ,love finds joy and heart solace in willing1 though it be imperfect1 service4 ,love expects more than it asks4 ,love hopes for reunion1 and by the hope makes its wish more weighty4 ,these are the points of ,paul's pleading with ,philemon4 ,are they not the elements of ,christ's pleading with ,his friends8 ,he too prefers the tone of friendship to that of authority4 ,to ,him ,his servants owe themselves1 and remain for ever in ,his debt1 after all payment of reverence and thankful self-surrender4 ,he does not count constrained service as service at all1 and has only volunteers in ,his army4 ,he makes ,himself one with the needy1 and counts kindness to the least as done to ,him4 ,he binds ,himself to repay and overpay all sacrifice in ,his service4 ,he finds delight in ,his people's work4 ,he asks them to prepare an abode for ,him in their own hearts1 and in souls opened by their agency for ,his entrance4 ,he has gone to prepare a mansion for them1 and ,he comes to receive account of their obedience and to crown their poor deeds4 ,it is impossible to suppose that ,paul's pleading for ,philemon failed4 ,how much less powerful is ,christ's1 even with those who love ,him best8 ,,iv4 ,the parting greetings may be very briefly considered1 for much that would have naturally been said about them has already presented itself in dealing with the similar salutations in the epistle to ,colossae4 ,the same people send messages here as there2 only ,jesus called ,justus being omitted1 probably for no other reason than because he was not at hand at the moment4 ,epaphras is naturally mentioned singly1 as being a ,colossian1 and therefore more closely connected with ,philemon than were the others4 ,after him come the two ,jews and the two ,gentiles1 as in ,colossians4 ,the parting benediction ends the letter4 ,at the beginning of the epistle ,paul invoked grace upon the household from ,god our ,father and the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,now he conceives of it as ,christ's gift4 ,in him all the stooping1 bestowing love of ,god is gathered1 that from ,him it may be poured on the world4 ,that grace is not diffused like stellar light1 through some nebulous heaven1 but concentrated in the ,sun of ,righteousness1 who is the light of men4 ,that fire is piled on a hearth that1 from it1 warmth may ray out to all that are in the house4 ,that grace has man's spirit for the field of its highest operation4 ,thither it can enter1 and there it can abide1 in union more close and communion more real and blessed than aught else can attain4 ,the spirit which has the grace of ,christ with it can never be utterly solitary or desolate4 ,the grace of ,christ is the best bond of family life4 ,here it is prayed for on behalf of all the group1 the husband1 wife1 child1 and the friends in their home ,church4 ,like grains of sweet incense cast on an altar flame1 and making fragrant what was already holy1 that grace sprinkled on the household fire will give it an odour of a sweet smell1 grateful to men and acceptable to ,god4 ,that wish is the purest expression of ,christian friendship1 of which the whole letter is so exquisite an example4 ,written as it is about a common1 every-day matter1 which could have been settled without a single religious reference1 it is saturated with ,christian thought and feeling4 ,so it becomes an example of how to blend ,christian sentiment with ordinary affairs1 and to carry a ,christian atmosphere everywhere4 ,friendship and social intercourse will be all the nobler and happier1 if pervaded by such a tone4 ,such words as these closing ones would be a sad contrast to much of the intercourse of professedly ,christian men4 ,but every ,christian ought by his life to be1 as it were1 floating the grace of ,god to others sinking for want of it to lay hold of1 and all his speech should be of a piece with this benediction4 ,a ,christian's life should be an epistle of ,christ written with ,his own hand1 wherein dim eyes might read the transcript of ,his own gracious love1 and through all his words and deeds should shine the image of his ,master1 even as it does through the delicate tendernesses and gracious pleadings of this pure pearl of a letter1 which the slave1 become a brother1 bore to the responsive hearts in quiet ,colossae4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #gs4 #f;d4 each vol4 ,,first ,,series1 #ahhg-h4 ,colossians4 ,by the ,rev4 ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,mark4 ,by the ,right ,rev4 the ,bishop of ,derry4 ,genesis4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 #a ,samuel4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d4 #b ,samuel4 ,by the same ,author4 ,hebrews4 ,by ,principal ,t4 ,c4 ,,edwards1 ,d4,d4 ,,second ,,series1 #ahhh-i4 ,galatians4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,the ,pastoral ,epistles4 ,by the ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,isaiah ,i4--,,xxxix4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,book of ,revelation4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,,milligan1 ,d4,d4 #a ,corinthians4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,john4 ,by the ,most ,rev4 the ,archbishop of ,armagh4 ,,third ,,series1 #ahhi-ij4 ,judges and ,ruth4 ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,jeremiah4 ,by the ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,,ball1 ,m4,a4 ,isaiah ,,xl4--,,lxvi4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,st4 ,matthew4 ,by the ,rev4 ,j4 ,,monro ,,gibson1 ,d4,d4 ,exodus4 ,by the ,right ,rev4 the ,bishop of ,derry4 ,st4 ,luke4 ,by the ,rev4 ,h4 ,,burton1 ,m4,a4 ,,fourth ,,series1 #ahij-ia4 ,ecclesiastes4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,samuel ,,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,james and ,st4 ,jude4 ,by the ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,proverbs4 ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,f4 ,,horton1 ,d4,d4 ,leviticus4 ,by the ,rev4 ,s4 ,h4 ,,kellogg1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,prof4 ,m4 ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by ,prof4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,,fifth ,,series1 #ahia-b4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by the ,rev4 ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 #a and #b ,thessalonians4 ,by ,prof4 ,,james ,,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,book of ,job4 ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,ephesians4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,prof4 ,m4 ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,vol ,,ii4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by ,prof4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,sixth ,,series1 #ahib-c4 #a ,kings4 ,by the ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,canterbury4 ,philippians4 ,by ,principal ,,rainy1 ,d4,d4 ,ezra1 ,nehemiah1 ,esther4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,adeney1 ,m4,a4 ,joshua4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by the ,rev4 ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,peter4 ,by ,prof4 ,,rawson ,,lumby1 ,d4,d4 ,,seventh ,,series1 #ahic-d4 #b ,kings4 ,by the ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,canterbury4 ,romans4 ,by the ,right ,rev4 ,h4 ,c4 ,g4 ,,moule1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,books of ,chronicles4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 #b ,corinthians4 ,by ,prof4 ,,james ,,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,numbers4 ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by the ,rev4 ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,iii4 ,,eighth ,,series1 #ahie-f4 ,daniel4 ,by the ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,canterbury4 ,the ,book of ,jeremiah4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 ,deuteronomy4 ,by ,prof4 ,,andrew ,,harper1 ,b4,d4 ,the ,song of ,solomon and ,lamentations4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,adeney1 ,m4,a4 ,ezekiel4 ,by ,prof4 ,,john ,,skinner1 ,m4,a4 ,the ,book of the ,twelve ,prophets4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,two ,vols4 ,the ,expositor's ,bible4 ,edited by ,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,crown #hvo1 #gs4 #f;d4 each4 ,,old ,,testament ,,volumes4 ,,genesis4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,,exodus4 ,by the ,right ,rev4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,chadwick1 ,d4,d41 ,bishop of ,derry4 ,,leviticus4 ,by the ,rev4 ,s4 ,h4 ,,kellogg1 ,d4,d4 ,numbers4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,d4,d4 ,,deuteronomy4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,,andrew ,,harper1 ,m4,a41 ,b4,d4 ,,joshua4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,,judges ,,and ,,ruth4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,d4,d4 #a ,,samuel4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 #b ,,samuel4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 #a ,,kings4 ,by the ,very ,rev4 ,,dean ,,farrar1 ,d4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 #b ,,kings4 ,by the ,very ,rev1 ,,dean ,,farrar1 ,d4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,,the ,,books ,,of ,,chronicles4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 ,,ezra1 ,,nehemiah1 ,,and ,,esther4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,adeney1 ,m4,a4 ,,job4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,d4,d4 ,,psalms4 ,by ,rev4 ,,alex4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,three ,volumes4 ,,proverbs4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,f4 ,,horton1 ,m4,a4 ,,ecclesiastes4 ,by ,rev4 ,,samuel ,,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,,the ,,song ,,of ,,solomon ,,and ,,the ,,lamentations ,,of ,,jeremiah4 ,by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,adeney1 ,m4,a4 ,,isaiah4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,,adam ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,two ,volumes4 ,,jeremiah4 ,by ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,,ball1 ,m4,a4 ,,jeremiah4 ,chaps4 xxi4-lii4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 ,,ezekiel4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,,skinner1 ,m4,a4 ,,daniel4 ,by the ,very ,rev4 ,,dean ,,farrar1 ,d4,d41 ,f4,r4,s4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,twelve ,,prophets4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,,adam ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,two ,volumes4 ,the ,expositor's ,bible4 ,edited by ,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,crown #hvo1 #gs4 #f;d4 each4 ,,new ,,testament ,,volumes4 ,,st4 ,,matthew4 ,by ,rev4 ,j4 ,,monro ,,gibson1 ,d4,d4 ,,st4 ,,mark4 ,by the ,right ,rev4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,chadwick1 ,d4,d41 ,bishop of ,derry4 ,,st4 ,,luke4 ,by ,rev4 ,,henry ,,burton1 ,m4,a4 ,,st4 ,,john4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,two ,volumes4 ,,the ,,acts ,,of ,,the ,,apostles4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,t4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,two ,volumes4 ,,romans4 ,by ,rev4 ,h4 ,c4 ,g4 ,,moule1 ,m4,a4 #a ,,corinthians4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 #b ,,corinthians4 ,by ,rev4 ,,james ,,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,,galatians4 ,by ,rev1 ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,,ephesians4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,,philippians4 ,by ,rev4 ,principal ,,rainy1 ,d4,d4 ,,colossians ,,and ,,philemon4 ,by ,rev4 ,,alex4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,,thessalonians4 ,by ,rev4 ,,james ,,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,,the ,,pastoral ,,epistles4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,,hebrews4 ,by ,rev4 ,principal ,t4 ,c4 ,,edwards1 ,d4,d4 ,,the ,,epistles ,,of ,,st4 ,,james ,,and ,,st4 ,,jude4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,,the ,,epistles ,,of ,,st4 ,,peter4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,,lumby1 ,d4,d4 ,,the ,,epistles ,,of ,,st4 ,,john4 ,by the ,most ,rev4 ,w4 ,,alexander1 ,d4,d41 ,lord ,archbishop of ,armagh4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,revelation4 ,by ,rev4 ,prof4 ,w4 ,,milligan1 ,d4,d4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4