1. This text is also a letter of admonition, teaching what manner of
fruit properly results from faith. Paul deals kindly with the
Colossians. He does not command, urge nor threaten, as teachers of the
Law must do in the case of those under the Law. He persuades them with
loving words in view of the blessing and grace of God received, and in
the light of Christ's own example. Christians should act with
readiness and cheerfulness, being moved neither by fear of punishment
nor by desire for reward, as frequently before stated. This admonition
has been so oft repeated in the preceding epistle lesson that we know,
I trust, what constitutes a Christian. Therefore we will but briefly
touch on the subject.
"Put on, therefore."
2. In the epistle for New Year's day we have sufficiently explained
the meaning of "putting on"; how by faith we put on Christ, and he us;
how in love we put on our neighbor, and our neighbor us. The Christian
apparel is of two kinds--faith and love. Christ wore two manner of
garments--one whole and typical of faith, the other divided and
typical of love.
Paul here has reference to the latter garment, love. He would teach us
Christians the manner of ornaments and apparel we are to wear in the
world; not silk or precious gold. To women these are forbidden of
Peter (1 Pet 3, 3), and of Paul (1 Tim 2, 9). Love for our neighbor is
a garment well befitting us--that love which leads us to concern
ourselves about the neighbor and his misfortunes. Such love is called
the ornament of a Christian character--an ornament in the eyes of men.
3. Observe the tender and sacred style of the apostle's admonition, a
style he is wont to use toward us. He does not drive us with laws, but
persuades by reminding us of the ineffable grace of God; for he terms
us the "elect of God," and "holy" and "beloved." He would call forth
the fruits of faith, desiring them to be yielded in a willing,
cheerful and happy spirit. The individual who sincerely believes and
trusts that before God he is beloved, holy and elect, will consider
how to sustain his honors and titles, how to conduct himself worthily
of them; more, he will love God with a fervor enabling him to do or
omit, or to suffer, all things cheerfully, and will never know how to
do enough. But he who doubts such attitude of God toward himself will
not recognize the force of these words. He will not feel the power of
the statement that we are holy, beloved, elect, in the sight of God.
4. Let us disregard, therefore, the saints who elect and love
themselves; who adorn themselves with the works of the Law; who
observe fasts and discipline; who regard raiment and position, for
they are unwilling to be sinners before God. Our ornaments are unlike
these, and not associated with such mockeries. They are honesty,
sincerity, good works, service to our neighbor. We are unfettered by
laws regarding food, raiment, times, etc. We are holy in the sight of
God, before whom none can be holy until he sees himself a sinner and
rejects his own righteousness. But the class mentioned are holy in
their own estimation; therefore, they ever remain wicked--sinners in
the sight of God. We are beloved of God because we despise ourselves,
we judge and condemn ourselves and reject our self-love. The others,
because they love and esteem themselves, are despicable and
unacceptable in the sight of God. Again, we are chosen of God for the
reason that we despise ourselves as filth. Such God chooses, and has
chosen from eternity. Because the would-be saints elect themselves,
God will reject them, as indeed he has from eternity. Now, this is
what Paul means by these words,
"A heart of compassion."
5. They stand for a part of the ornament, the beautiful, charming
Christian jewel, that becomes us better in the sight of God than
pearls, precious stones, silk and gold become us in the eyes of the
world. "A heart of compassion" is evidence of the true Christian. Paul
would say: "Not simply in external deed, or in appearance, are ye to
be merciful, but in the inmost heart." He refers to that sincere and
whole-souled mercy characteristic of the father and mother who witness
the distress of a child for whom they would readily expose their lives
or sacrifice all they possess. The Christian's mind and heart should
be constantly devoted to merciful deeds, with an ardor so intense as
to make him unaware he is doing good and compassionate acts.
6. With this single phrase Paul condemns the works and arbitrary rules
of hypocritical saints, whose severity will not permit them to
associate with sinners. Their rigorous laws must be all-controlling.
They do nothing but compel and drive. They exhibit no mercy, but
perpetual reproach, censure, condemnation, blame and bluster. They can
endure no imperfection. But among Christians many are sinners, many
infirm. In fact, Christians associate only with these; not with
saints. Christians reject none, but bear with all. Indeed, they are as
sincerely interested for sinners as they would be for themselves were
they the infirm. They pray for the sinners, teach, admonish, persuade,
do all in their power to reclaim. Such is the true character of a
Christian. So God, in Christ, has dealt with us and ever deals. So
Christ dealt with the adulteress (Jn 8, 11) when he released her from
her tormentors, and with his gracious words influenced her to
repentance and suffered her to depart. We read of St. Antony having
said that Paphrutius knew how souls are to be saved, because he
rescued a certain individual from brethren who persecuted and
oppressed him for his transgression. See "Lives of the Fathers."
Were God to deal with us according to the rigor of his laws, we should
all be lost. But he mercifully suspends the Law. Isaiah says (ch. 9,
4): "For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the
rod of his oppressor, thou hast broken." God now only persuades.
7. Note how involved in the Law and in hypocrisy they still are who
esteem themselves prominent saints and at the same time are intolerant
of the infirmities of Christians. If they fail to find perfect
holiness--a miracle of purity--in those who possess Christ and know
the Gospel, then nothing is as it should be; the heavens are on the
point of falling and the earth about to be destroyed. They can only
judge, censure and deride, saying: "Oh, yes, he is truly evangelical;
indeed, he is a visionary!" Thus they indicate their utter blindness.
With the beam constantly in their own eyes, they show how little they
know of Christ.
Know, then, when you meet one so ready to censure and condemn, one
requiring absolute perfection in Christians--know that such a one is
merely an enforcer of the Law, a base hypocrite, a merciless jailer,
with no true knowledge of Christ. As, with Christians, there is no law
but all is love, so neither can there be judgment, condemnation and
censure. And he who calls another a visionary is certainly a visionary
ten-fold himself. In the thing for which he judges and condemns
another, he condemns himself. Since he ignores mercy and all but the
Law, he finds no mercy in the sight of God; in fact, he has never
experienced, never tasted, God's mercy. To his taste, both God and
neighbor are bitter as gall and wormwood.
8. But tender mercy is to be shown only to Christians and only among
Christians. With the rejecters and persecutors of the Gospel we must
deal differently. It is not right that my charity be liberal enough to
tolerate unsound doctrine. In the case of false faith and doctrine
there is neither love nor patience. Against these it is my duty
earnestly to contend and not to yield a hair's breadth.
Otherwise--when faith is not imperiled--I must be unfailingly kind and
merciful to all notwithstanding the infirmities of their lives. I may
not censure, oppress nor drive; I must persuade, entreat and tolerate.
A defective life does not destroy Christianity; it exercises it. But
defective doctrine--false belief--destroys all good. So, then,
toleration and mercy are not permissible in the case of unsound
doctrine; only anger, opposition and death are in order, yet always in
accordance with the Word of God.
9. On the other hand, they who are mercifully tolerated must not
imagine that because they escape censure and force, their beliefs and
practices are right. They must not construe such mercy as
encouragement to become indolent and negligent, and to continue in
their error. Mercy is not extended them with any such design. The
object is to give them opportunity to recover zeal and strength. But
if they be disposed to remain as they are, very well; let them alone.
They will not long continue thus; the devil will lead them farther
astray, until finally they will completely apostatize, even becoming
enemies to the Gospel. Such will be their end if they permit mercy to
be lavished upon them in vain. We may not be indolent and asleep in
the matter of our false doctrines, relying upon the fact that we are
not despised nor constrained of men. There is particular need to be
active and diligent, for the devil neither sleeps nor rests. We need
beware that he does not lead us where we will never enjoy God's mercy.
"Kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering."
10. These words represent the other elements of Christian character.
Kindness you will find defined in the second epistle lesson for the
early Christmas service. It characterizes the conduct of the
individual who is gentle and sympathetic to all; who repels none with
forbidding countenance, harsh words or rude deportment. We Germans
would call such a one affable and friendly disposed. Kindness is a
virtue not confined to certain works; it modifies the whole life. The
kindly person is obliging to everyone, not displeased with any, and is
attractive to all men. In contrast are those peculiar characters who
have pleasure in nothing but their own conceits; who insist on others
accommodating themselves to them and their ways, while they yield to
none. Such individuals are termed "uncivil."
11. But the liberality of kindness is not to be extended to false
doctrine. Only relative to conduct and works is it to be exercised. As
oft before stated, love with all its works and fruits has no place in
the matter of unsound doctrine. I must love my neighbor and show him
kindness whatever the imperfections of his life. But if he refuses to
believe or to teach sound doctrine, I cannot, I dare not, love him or
show him kindness. According to Paul (Gal 1, 8-9), I must hold him
excommunicated and accursed, even though he be an angel from heaven.
Thus remarkably do faith and love differ and are distinct. Love will
be, must be, kind even to the bitterest enemy so long as he assails
not faith and doctrine. But it will not, it cannot, tolerate the
individual who does, be it father, mother or dearest friend. Deut 13,
6-8. Love, then, must be exercised, not in relation to the doctrine
and faith of our neighbor, but relative to his life and works. Faith,
on the contrary, has to do, not with his works and life, but with his
doctrine and belief.
12. I think we must know by this time the meaning of "lowliness" of
mind--esteeming one's self least and others greater. As Christ
illustrates it, occupying the lowest seat at the wedding, and this
cheerfully. We are to serve even when our service is not desired, and
to minister unto our enemies. So Christ humbled himself before Judas
the betrayer, and before all of us. He came, not to be served, but to
serve. That humbleness of mind is a rare virtue is not to be wondered
at, for every Christian grace is a rarity. Particularly are graces
lacking with those who, professing to know most of Christ, find
something to censure in all Christians. Christianity Paul calls a
mystery of God; and it is likely to continue so.
13. "Meekness" is opposed to anger. The meek man is not easily excited
to exhibit anger, to curse, smite, hate, or wish evil to any, even an
enemy. To refrain thus is an art. Hypocrites--in fact, all the
world--can be meek toward friends and those who treat them well. But
true meekness and humility will remain only among the elect and
beloved saints of God, as Paul here implies. Even among these are many
deficient in all, or at least a large part, of the Christian graces.
Hypocrites may thus find something to censure, something whereat to be
offended, in the beloved, elect saints of God. And the true saints
have occasion to exercise mercy, humility, meekness and forbearance.
They whom Paul here terms elect and beloved saints of God, though
slightly deficient in humility, meekness and forbearance, are not
therefore unholy, not rejected and despised.
14. Paul makes a distinction between longsuffering and forbearance, as
in Romans 2, 4: "Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and
forbearance and longsuffering?" In "longsuffering" we have the thought
here and there expressed by God in the Psalms and elsewhere by the
Hebrew "arich apaim"--"slow to wrath." God patiently bears with evil.
Indeed, he repeatedly delays vengeance, apparently more ready to
forgive than to punish, even under extreme provocation and having just
reason to chastise. Longsuffering extends farther than patience.
Patience bears evil and injustice; but longsuffering delays
punishment. It does not design to punish; it would not take hasty
revenge. Unlike the revengeful, it wishes no one evil. Many we see,
indeed, who suffer much and are patient but at the same time trust in
a final avenging. The longsuffering Christian, however, is opposed to
revenge, desiring the sinner to amend his ways.
"Forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a
complaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye."
15. In this verse all law is abolished among Christians. One is not
permitted to demand, through process of law, the recovery of his
property. He must forgive and yield. Christ's example enjoins this
principle; he has forgiven us. And what is the extent of his
forgiveness? He pardons past sins, but that is not all; as John says
(1 Jn 2, 1-2), "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteousness and he is the propitiation for our
sins."
16. Note, it is the true Christian saints whom Paul describes, but he
looks upon them as infirm to the extent of offending and complaining
against one another. This is a state of affairs by no means becoming
Christians and saints. So I say Christ's kingdom is a mystery obscure
beyond the power of our preaching and teaching sufficiently to
explain. Unbelievers cannot be induced to work, but believers cannot
be withheld from working. Some would not believe and some would not
love.
It is true of Christ's kingdom that his Christians are not perfectly
holy. They have begun to be holy and are in a state of progression.
There are still to be found among them anger, evil desire, unholy
love, worldly care and other deplorable infirmities, remains of the
old Adam. Paul speaks of these things as burdens which one must bear
for a neighbor (Gal 6, 2), and in Romans 15, 1, he admonishes us to
"bear the infirmities of the weak." Likewise Christ loved his apostles
much and suffered much from them, and he still daily bears with his
own.
17. Some, enumerating the fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians
5, 22-23, say a Christian should be gentle, meek, longsuffering,
chaste; and they look upon this passage as a law commanding such
fruits. Hence they refuse to recognize as Christians any who fail to
possess the fruits in perfection. Now, such individuals cannot believe
there is a Christ, certain as the fact is. They judge malignantly,
complaining that Christians do not exist. They take offense at Christ
for his superior wisdom. For Christ has given us scriptural authority
for knowing Christians by their fruits. He says (Mt 7, 16), "By their
fruits ye shall know them." Here they are emphatic.
18. Can you locate the failure of such an individual? He fails in the
fact that he understands absolutely nothing of Christ's kingdom. For
he misinterprets the passages referring to Christians. He understands
the statement that Christians should be kind and meek, to mean they
must never become angry, must bear anything and show impatience toward
none; if they do not so, they cannot be Christians, for they have not
the fruits. Dear man, what but his own blindness can lead him to such
a conclusion? He fancies Christianity to be a holy order of
perfection, altogether without infirmity, a perfection as in heaven
among the angels. But tell me, where do the Scriptures speak thus of
Christians?
But whoso recognizes Christianity as a progressive order yet in its
beginning, will not be offended at the occasional manifestation of
ungentleness, unkindness and impatience on the part of a Christian;
for he remembers that Christians are commanded to bear one another's
burdens and infirmities. He knows that the enumeration of the fruits
of the Spirit is not a record of laws the observance of which is
imperative or Christ will be denied. He is aware the passage is to be
interpreted as meaning that Christians are to strive to be kind; that
is the mark at which they aim. However, even though they have made a
beginning and some progress in this virtue, they often are unkind and
bear fruits directly the opposite of the fruits of the Spirit. True,
the text quoted says we should be kind, but it does not say we are
kind. We are tending toward it, we are in a state of progression; but
during the progress much of the old and as yet untransformed nature is
intermingled.
19. Know, then, that in a mysterious way Christ is in his saints, and
beware of judging or condemning anyone when you have not positive
assurance that he believes and teaches contrary to the Gospel. But
whoso does oppose the Gospel, you may safely judge to be without
Christ, and under the sway of the devil. Pray for such a one and
admonish him, in the hope of his conversion. But in the case of one
who endorses and honors the Gospel, observe Paul's comment (Rom 14,
4): "Who art thou that judgest the servant of another? to his own lord
he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be made to stand; for the Lord
hath power to make him stand." And again (1 Cor 10, 12): "Wherefore
let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." Christ
would be at the same time hidden and revealed, found and not found. He
permits the intermingling of some infirmities with the fruits of the
Spirit, that he may conceal himself, and that malicious judges may be
offended.
"And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of
perfectness."
20. From longsuffering and meekness the apostle distinguishes love and
other jewels of spiritual beauty whereof we have already heard, though
all are comprehended in love. As faith is the chief element of
Christian character, so love is chief of the fruits of the Spirit, the
jewel of surpassing beauty. Therefore Paul says, "Above all these
things put on love." Love transcends mercy, kindness, meekness and
humility. Paul calls it "the bond of perfectness" because it unites
human hearts; not a partial unity, based on similarity or close
relationship, but a complete unity among all men and in all relations.
It makes us of one mind, one heart, one desire. It permits no one to
originate a peculiar order of doctrine or faith. All who love are of
the same belief. Consequently there is the same purpose of heart with
the poor and the rich, with rulers and subjects, the ill and the well,
the high and the low, the honored and the disgraced. The loving heart
permits all to share in its good; more, it participates in the
adversities of all men, regarding them as its own. Where love is,
perfect unity and communion obtain in every event, good or bad. It is
a most perfect bond.
21. Where love is lacking, hearts are united and aims single in but
few relations; in most things there is disagreement. For instance:
Robbers have a common bond, but it is no more than a common purpose in
committing robbery and murder. Worldly friends are of the same mind so
far as concerns their own interests. Monks are united in relation to
their order and their honor. Herod and Pilate agreed, but simply in
regard to Christ. For the most part it is exceptional that one monk,
priest or layman agrees with another. Their bond of union is weak;
they are as chaff bound with straw.
"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which also ye
were called."
22. There is much to threaten the sundering of love's bond. The devil
never sleeps, but continually stirs up discord and unrest. Paul does
not deny that the bond is assailed. But he exhorts us to resist,
remembering that love must be exercised by opposition. He admonishes
us to let the peace of Christ have dominion in our hearts. The thought
of the verse is: Though the peace of the world and the flesh abides
not, though you must witness the forces of discord and disruption,
nevertheless let your hearts have peace in Christ.
We spoke of the peace of God in the epistle selection for the Fourth
Sunday in Advent--Philippians 4, 7. This is the peace whereunto the
Gospel calls; not the peace of the world, the flesh or the devil, but
the peace that passeth all understanding, of which Paul tells us. We
are to hold the peace of God, not only when all is well, but when sin,
death, the flesh, the world and all calamities rage.
"And be ye thankful."
23. "Thankfulness" here may be taken in either of two senses: First,
thankfulness toward God, Paul's thought being: Let the remembrance of
all God has done for you move you to gratitude for his grace and
mercy, a gratitude to which shall succeed love and peace. Secondly, we
may understand thankfulness toward men--gratitude for all the benefits
received from our fellows. The apostle elsewhere (2 Tim 3, 2) speaks
of there being, in the last days, among other vices, that of
"unthankfulness" of men toward each other. Let everyone make choice
for himself of the two applications. It is my opinion, since Paul
later takes up the subject of gratitude to God, and since he is here
handling that of love to our neighbor--it is my opinion he has
reference here to gratitude to our fellowmen. This, I think, is his
meaning.
Man is glad to have love shown him; he is quite willing to receive
good from others and to be dealt with according to the Gospel. At the
same time, he is not disposed to manifest love to his fellows: favors
shown him are lost upon his ingratitude. Though love is not defeated
by ungratefulness--for it bears all things (1 Cor 13, 7)--yet
unthankfulness produces weariness and aversion; and it is a base,
unjust and shameful thing for one who continually lends assistance not
to be served in return.
24. Paul says on this topic (Gal 6, 6), "Let him that is taught in the
Word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things." And he
declares (1 Tim 5, 17) that they who labor in the Word and doctrine
are worthy of double honor. In the ninth chapter of First Corinthians
he speaks at length on how teachers are entitled to support, saying
the mouth of the threshing ox should not be muzzled; that would be
gross ingratitude. Of such unthankfulness he here hints. It is true
today, and ever has been, that preachers of the Word of God must in
general seek their own bread, and receive ingratitude as their reward
for the wonderful blessings they confer. Were it their part to
celebrate masses and indulgences, gratitude would be forthcoming;
great would be the gifts and service rendered them as expression of
thankfulness. But just as ungratefully were the Levites treated under
the old Law, in contrast with the favor shown the priests of idols and
groves.
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching
and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts unto God."
25. This verse appropriately follows the injunction to be thankful.
Paul would say: Be careful to honor teachers and preachers, being
grateful that they handle the Word and may richly impart it to you. I
do not imagine Paul refers to the giving of the Word of God from
heaven, for it is not within man's power to so give it; God alone can
commit it to us. So he has done and continues to do. On every occasion
when he permits the Gospel to be preached, he showers the message upon
us abundantly, withholding no essential knowledge. But, after it is
given, we ought to be thankful and to faithfully read and hear it,
sing and speak it, and meditate upon it day and night. And it should
be our part to secure teachers enough to minister it to us liberally
and continuously. This is what is meant by letting the Word of God
dwell among us richly.
26. Satiated, indolent spirits soon grow tired and dismiss their
pastors to go wherever they wish. The latter are forced to seek a
living by other work, and thus God's Word is neglected and becomes
rare and thinly sown in the land. Nehemiah (ch. 13, 10) complains that
the Levites, because of lack of support, were forced to leave their
worship and temple and flee to the fields or start false worship and
fables to mislead the people. They then received enough to exist--they
became wealthy.
It has come about in the Christian Church that as often as the support
of godly pastors and teachers has grown to be a burden, as Augustine
laments has been the case, these have been either forced to neglect
the Word to labor for their own support, or forced to invent that
wretched, accursed worship now prevalent throughout the world and
whereby the preachers have attained lordly position. With the revival
of the Gospel the financial difficulty mentioned is recurring, and it
will continue to recur. One hundred dollars cannot now be raised for
the support of a good schoolmaster or preacher where formerly a
thousand dollars--yes, incomputible sums--were contributed toward
churches, institutions, masses, vigils and the like. Once more God
punishes ingratitude by permitting his preachers to withdraw wholly
from the ministry and to engage in their own support, or by sending
upon the people even greater delusions than ever, which defraud them
of wealth and destroy body and soul. For they refuse to let the Word
of God dwell among them richly. Paul adds the modifying phrase,
"In all wisdom."
27. Were we to have the Word of God so richly as to ring in every
street corner, to be sung everywhere by all children--as they designed
who into the pulpits and the lessons introduced canonical prayers and
singing and reading--what would all this profit without an
understanding mind--without wisdom? For the Word of God was given to
make us wise. It was intended that we should understand it; that it
should be preached and sung intelligibly. And they who minister it,
who sing and speak it, ought to be wise, understanding everything
pertaining to the salvation of the soul and the honor of God. That is
what it means to have the Word of God dwell among us in all wisdom.
Here Paul briefly overthrows the vociferous practices of the churches
and monasteries where so much preaching and reading obtain while at
the same time the Gospel is not understood. He seems to have foreseen
the coming time when the Word of God should freely prevail, but with
no resulting wisdom; the time when men should daily increase in
ignorance and fanaticism until they should become mere dolts, so
completely void of wisdom as to call vociferation and boasting divine
worship, and to regard that preaching the salvation of souls.
28. What it is to teach and to admonish has been frequently explained.
Here Paul makes the duty of instruction common to all
Christians--"teaching and admonishing one another." That is, aside
from the regular office of preaching, each is to teach himself and
others, thus making everyday use of the Word of God, publicly and
privately, generally and specially.
29. As I see it, the apostle's distinction of the three words--psalms,
hymns and spiritual songs--is this: "psalms" properly indicates those
productions of David and others constituting the Book of Psalms;
"hymns" refers to the songs of the prophets occasionally mentioned in
the Scriptures--songs of Moses, Deborah, Solomon, Isaiah, Daniel,
Habakkuk, with the Magnificat, the Benediction, and the like, called
"Canticles"; "spiritual songs" are those not written in the Scriptures
but of daily origin with men. Paul calls these latter "spiritual" to a
greater degree than psalms and hymns, though he recognizes those as
themselves spiritual. He forbids worldly, sensual and unbecoming
songs, desiring us to sing of spiritual things. It is then that our
songs are calculated to benefit and instruct, as he says.
30. But what is the significance of Paul's phrase "with grace"? I
offer the explanation that he refers to the grace of God and means
that the singing of spiritual songs is to be voluntary, uncompelled,
spontaneous, rendered with cheerfulness and prompted by love; not
extorted by authority and law, as is the singing in our churches
today. No one sings, preaches or prays from a recognition of mercy and
grace received. The motive is a hope for gain, or a fear of
punishment, injury and shame; or again, the holiest individuals bind
themselves to obedience, or are driven to it, for the sake of winning
heaven, and not at all to further the knowledge of the Word of
God--the understanding of it richly and in all wisdom, as Paul desires
it to be understood. I imagine Paul has in mind the charm of music and
the beauty of poetry incident to song. He says in Ephesians 4, 29:
"Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good
for edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that
hear." Likewise should songs be calculated to bring grace and favor to
them who hear. Foul, unchaste and superfluous words have no place
therein, nor have any inappropriate elements, elements void of
significance and without virtue and life. Hymns are to be rich in
meaning, to be pleasing and sweet, and thus productive of enjoyment
for all hearers. The singing of such songs is very properly called in
Hebrew singing "with grace," as Paul has it. Of this character of
songs are the psalms and hymns of the Scriptures; they are good
thoughts presented in pleasing words. Some songs, though expressed in
charming words, are worldly and carnal; while others presenting good
thoughts are at the same time expressed in words inappropriate,
unattractive and devoid of grace.
"Singing with grace in your hearts unto God."
31. Paul does not enjoin silence of the lips. He would have words of
the mouth proceed from the heart sincerely and fervently; not
hypocritically, as Isaiah mentions (ch. 29, 13), saying: "This people
draw nigh unto me, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor
me, but have removed their heart far from me." Paul would have the
Word of God to dwell among Christians generally, and richly to be
spoken, sung and meditated upon everywhere; and that understandingly
and productive of spiritual fruit, the Word being universally prized.
He would that men thus sing unto the Lord heartfelt praise and thanks.
He says let the Word "dwell" among you. Not merely lodge as a guest
for a night or two, but abide with you forever. He is constantly
apprehensive of human doctrines.
"And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
32. The works of Christians are not circumscribed by name, time nor
place. Whatever Christians do is good; whenever done it is timely;
wherever wrought it is appropriately. So Paul names no work. He makes
no distinction, but concludes all works good, whether it be eating or
drinking, speaking or keeping silence, waking or sleeping, going or
staying, being idle or otherwise. All acts are eminently worthy
because done in the name of the Lord Jesus. Such is Paul's teaching
here. And our works are wrought in the name of the Lord Jesus when we
by faith hold fast the fact that Christ is in us and we in him in the
sense that we no longer labor but he lives and works in us. Paul says
(Gal 2, 20), "It is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me."
But when we do a work as of ourselves, then it is wrought in our own
name and there is nothing good about it.
33. The expression "in the name of God," or "Go in the name of Jesus,"
is frequently uttered falsely and in cheer hypocrisy. The saying is,
"All misfortunes rise in the name of God." For teachers of false
doctrines habitually offer their commodities in the name of God. They
even come in the name of Christ, as he himself foretells. Mt 24, 24.
To sincerely and earnestly speak and work in Jesus' name, necessarily
the heart must accord with the utterances of the mouth. As the lips
declare in the name of God, so must the heart confidently, with firm
faith, hold that God directs and performs the work. Peter teaches the
same (1 Pet 4, 11): "If any man ministereth [perform anything],
ministering as of the strength which God supplieth." Then will the
venture prosper. No Christian should undertake to do any deed in his
own ability and directed by his own judgment. Rather let him be
assured that God works with and through him. Paul says (1 Cor 9, 26):
"I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating
the air."
34. Such an attitude will result in praise and thanks to God as the
one to whom are due all honor and praise for every good thing. So Paul
teaches and also Peter. Immediately after declaring that we are to
work according to the ability which God gives, Peter adds "that in all
things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ." But he who
undertakes anything in his own ability, however he may glorify God
with his lips, lies and deceives, like the hypocrite in the Gospel.
Thankfulness, therefore, is the only duty we can perform unto God; and
this is not to be rendered of ourselves, but through our Mediator,
Jesus. Without him none can come to the Father, none can be accepted.
Of this fact we have often spoken.
_Third Sunday Before Lent_
Text: First Corinthians 9, 24-27; 10, 1-5.
24 Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth
the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain. 25 And every man that
striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they
do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I
therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the
air: 27 but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any
means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be
rejected. 1 For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant, that our
fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2
and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and
did all eat the same spiritual food; 4 and did all drink the same
spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed
them: and the rock was Christ. 5 Howbeit with most of them God was not
well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.