XIII.

_RULERS AND RULED._

"But we beseech you, brethren, to know them that labour among you,

and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; and to esteem them

exceeding highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among

yourselves. And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly,

encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be longsuffering toward

all. See that none render unto any one evil for evil; but alway

follow after that which is good, one toward another, and toward

all."--1 THESS. v. 12-15 (R.V.).

At the present moment, one great cause of division among Christian

churches is the existence of different forms of Church government.

Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians are separated

from each other much more decidedly by difference of organisation than

by difference of creed. By some of them, if not by all, a certain form

of Church order is identified with the existence of the Church itself.

Thus the English-speaking bishops of the world, who met some time ago

in conference at Lambeth, adopted as a basis, on which they could

treat for union with other Churches, the acceptance of Holy Scripture,

of the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, of the Apostles'

and Nicene creeds, and of the Historic Episcopate. In other words,

diocesan bishops are as essential to the constitution of the Church as

the preaching of the Word of God and the administration of the

Sacraments. That is an opinion which one may say, without offence, has

neither history nor reason on its side. Part of the interest of this

Epistle to the Thessalonians lies in the glimpses it gives of the

early state of the Church, when such questions would simply have been

unintelligible. The little community at Thessalonica was not quite

without a constitution--no society could exist on that footing--but

its constitution, as we see from this passage, was of the most

elementary kind; and it certainly contained nothing like a modern

bishop.

"We beseech you," says the Apostle, "to know them that labour among

you." "To labour"[20] is the ordinary expression of Paul for such

Christian work as he himself did. Perhaps it refers mainly to the work

of catechising, to the giving of that regular and connected

instruction in Christian truth which followed conversion and baptism.

It covers everything that could be of service to the Church or any of

its members. It would include even works of charity. There is a

passage very like this in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, (xvi.

15 f.), where the two things are closely connected: "Now I beseech

you, brethren (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the

firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have set themselves to minister

unto the saints), that ye also be in subjection unto such, and to

every one that helpeth in the work and laboureth." In both passages

there is a certain indefiniteness. Those who labour are not

necessarily official persons, elders, or, as they are often called in

the New Testament, bishops, and deacons; they may have given

themselves to the work without any election or ordination at all. We

know that this is often the case still. The best workers in a church

are not always or necessarily found among those who have official

functions to perform. Especially is it so in churches which provide no

recognition for women, yet depend for their efficiency as religious

agencies even more on women than on men. What would become of our

Sunday Schools, of our Home Missions, of our charities, of our

visitation of the sick, the aged, and the poor, but for the labour of

Christian women? Now what the Apostle tells us here is, that it is

_labour_ which, in the first instance, is entitled to respect. "Know

them that labour among you," means "Know them for what they are";

recognise with all due reverence their self-denial, their

faithfulness, the services they render to you, their claim upon your

regard. The Christian labourer does not labour for praise or flattery;

but those who take the burden of the church upon them in any way, as

pastors or teachers or visitors, as choir or collectors, as managers

of the church property, or however else, are entitled to our

acknowledgment, and ought not to be left without it. There is no doubt

a great deal of unknown, unheeded, unrequited labour in every church.

That is inevitable, and probably good; but it should make us the more

anxious to acknowledge what we see, and to esteem the workers very

highly in love because of it. How unseemly it is, and how unworthy of

the Christian name, when those who do not work busy themselves with

criticising those who do,--inventing objections, deriding honest

effort, anticipating failure, pouring cold water upon zeal. That is

bad for all, but bad especially for those who practise it. The

ungenerous soul, which grudges recognition to others, and though it

never labours itself has always wisdom to spare for those who do, is

in a hopeless state; there is no growth for it in anything noble and

good. Let us open our eyes on those who labour among us, men or women,

and recognise them as they deserve.

There are two special forms of labour to which the Apostle gives

prominence: he mentions as among those that labour "them that are over

you in the Lord, and admonish you." The first of the words here

employed, the one translated "them that are over" you, is the only

hint the Epistle contains of Church government. Wherever there is a

society, there must be order. There must be those through whom the

society acts, those who represent it officially by words or deeds. At

Thessalonica there was not a single president, a minister in our

sense, possessing to a certain extent an exclusive responsibility; the

presidency was in the hands of a plurality of men, what Presbyterians

would call a Kirk Session. This body, as far as we can make out from

the few surviving indications of their duties, would direct, but not

conduct, the public worship, and would manage the financial affairs,

and especially the charity, of the church. They would as a rule be

elderly men; and were called by the official name, borrowed from the

Jews, of elders. They did not, in the earliest times, preach or teach;

they were too old to learn that new profession; but what may be called

the administration was in their hands; they were the governing

committee of the new Christian community. The limits of their

authority are indicated by the words "in the Lord." They are over the

members of the church in their characters and relations as church

members; but they have nothing to do with other departments of life,

so far as these relations are unaffected by them.

Side by side with those who preside over the church, Paul mentions

those "who admonish you." Admonish is a somewhat severe word; it means

to speak to one about his conduct, reminding him of what he seems to

have forgotten, and of what is rightly expected from him. It gives us

a glimpse of discipline in the early Church, that is, of the care

which was taken that those who had named the Christian name should

lead a truly Christian life. There is nothing expressly said in this

passage about doctrines. Purity of doctrine is certainly essential to

the health of the Church, but rightness of life comes before it. There

is nothing expressly said about teaching the truth; that work belonged

to apostles, prophets, and evangelists, who were ministers of the

Church at large, and not fixed to a single congregation; the only

exercise of Christian speech proper to the congregation is its use in

admonition, _i.e._, for practical moral purposes. The moral ideal of

the gospel must be clearly before the mind of the Church, and all who

deviate from it must be admonished of their danger. "It is difficult

for us in modern times," says Dr. Hatch, "with the widely different

views which we have come to hold as to the relation of Church

government to social life, to understand how large a part discipline

filled in the communities of primitive times. These communities were

what they were mainly by the strictness of their discipline.... In the

midst of 'a crooked and perverse nation' they could only hold their

own by the extreme of circumspection. Moral purity was not so much a

virtue at which they were bound to aim as the very condition of their

existence. If the salt of the earth should lose its savour, wherewith

should it be salted? If the lights of the world were dimmed, who

should rekindle their flame? And of this moral purity the officers of

each community were the custodians. 'They watched for souls as those

that must give account.'" This vivid picture should provoke us to

reflection. Our minds are not set sufficiently on the practical duty

of keeping up the Christian standard. The moral originality of the

gospel drops too easily out of sight. Is it not the case that we are

much more expert at vindicating the approach of the Church to the

standard of the non-Christian world, than at maintaining the necessary

distinction between the two? We are certain to bring a good deal of

the world into the Church without knowing it; we are certain to have

instincts, habits, dispositions, associates perhaps, and likings,

which are hostile to the Christian type of character; and it is this

which makes admonition indispensable. Far worse than any aberration in

thought is an irregularity in conduct which threatens the Christian

ideal. When you are warned of such a thing in your conduct by your

minister or elder, or by any Christian, do not resent the warning.

Take it seriously and kindly; thank God that He has not allowed you to

go on unadmonished; and esteem very highly in love the brother or

sister who has been so true to you. Nothing is more un-Christian than

fault-finding, nothing is more truly Christian than frank and

affectionate admonishing of those who are going astray. This may be

especially commended to the young. In youth we are apt to be proud and

wilful; we are confident that we can keep ourselves safe in what the

old and timid consider dangerous situations; we do not fear

temptation, nor think that this or that little fall is more than an

indiscretion; and, in any case, we have a determined dislike to being

interfered with. All this is very natural; but we should remember

that, as Christians, we are pledged to a course of life which is not

in all ways natural; to a spirit and conduct which are incompatible

with pride; to a seriousness of purpose, to a loftiness and purity of

aim, which may all be lost through wilfulness; and we should love and

honour those who put their experience at our service, and warn us

when, in lightness of heart, we are on the way to make shipwreck of

our life. They do not admonish us because they like it, but because

they love us and would save us from harm; and love is the only

recompense for such a service.

How little there is of an official spirit in what the Apostle has been

saying, we see clearly from what follows. In one way it is specially

the duty of the elders or pastors in the Church to exercise rule and

discipline; but it is not so exclusively their duty as to exempt the

members of the Church at large from responsibility. The Apostle

addresses the whole congregation when he goes on, "Be at peace among

yourselves. And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly,

encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be longsuffering toward

all." Let us look more closely at these simple exhortations.

"Admonish," he says, "the disorderly." Who are they? The word is a

military one, and means properly those who leave their place in the

ranks. In the Epistle to the Colossians (ii. 5) Paul rejoices over

what he calls the solid front presented by their faith in Christ. The

solid front is broken, and great advantage given to the enemy, when

there are disorderly persons in a church,--men or women who fall short

of the Christian standard, or who violate, by irregularities of any

kind, the law of Christ. Such are to be admonished by their brethren.

Any Christian who sees the disorder has a right to admonish them; nay,

it is laid upon his conscience as a sacred duty tenderly and earnestly

to do so. We are too much afraid of giving offence, and too little

afraid of allowing sin to run its course. Which is better--to speak to

the brother who has been disorderly, whether by neglecting work,

neglecting worship, or openly falling into sin: which is better, to

speak to such a one as a brother, privately, earnestly, lovingly; or

to say nothing at all to him, but talk about what we find to censure

in him to everybody else, dealing freely behind his back with things

we dare not speak of to his face? Surely admonition is better than

gossip; if it is more difficult, it is more Christlike too. It may be

that our own conduct shuts our mouth, or at least exposes us to a rude

retort; but unaffected humility can overcome even that.

But it is not always admonition that is needed. Sometimes the very

opposite is in place; and so Paul writes, "Encourage the

fainthearted." Put heart into them. The word rendered "fainthearted"

is only used in this single passage; yet every one knows what it

means. It includes those for whose benefit the Apostle wrote in chap.

iv. the description of Christ's second coming,--those whose hearts

sunk within them as they thought they might never see their departed

friends again. It includes those who shrink from persecution, from the

smiles or the frowns of the un-Christian, and who fear they may deny

the Lord. It includes those who have fallen before temptation, and are

sitting despondent and fearful, not able to lift up so much as their

eyes to heaven and pray the publican's prayer. All such timid souls

need to be heartened; and those who have learned of Jesus, who would

not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax, will know how

to speak a word in season to them. The whole life of the Lord is an

encouragement to the fainthearted; He who welcomed the penitent, who

comforted the mourners, who restored Peter after his triple denial, is

able to lift up the most timid and to make them stand. Nor is there

any work more Christlike than this. The fainthearted get no quarter

from the world; bad men delight to trample on the timid; but Christ

bids them hope in Him, and strengthen themselves for battle and for

victory.

Akin to this exhortation is the one which follows, "Support the weak."

That does not mean, Provide for those who are unable to work; but, Lay

hold of those who are weak in the faith, and keep them up. There are

people in every congregation whose connection with Christ and the

gospel is very slight; and if some one does not take hold of them,

they will drift away altogether. Sometimes such weakness is due to

ignorance: the people in question know little about the gospel; it

fills no space in their minds; it does not awe their weakness, or

fascinate their trust. Sometimes, again, it is due to an unsteadiness

of mind or character; they are easily led away by new ideas or by new

companions. Sometimes, without any tendency to lapsing, there is a

weakness due to a false reverence for the past, and for the traditions

and opinions of men, by which the mind and conscience are enslaved.

What is to be done with such weak Christians? They are to be supported.

Some one is to lay hands upon them, and uphold them till their

weakness is outgrown. If they are ignorant, they must be taught. If

they are easily carried away by new ideas, they must be shown the

incalculable weight of evidence which from every side establishes the

unchangeable truth of the gospel If they are prejudiced and bigoted,

or full of irrational scruples, and blind reverence for dead customs,

they must be constrained to look the imaginary terrors of liberty in

the face, till the truth makes them free. Let us lay this exhortation

to heart. Men and women slip away and are lost to the Church and to

Christ, because they were weak, and no one supported them. Your word

or your influence, spoken or used at the right time, might have saved

them. What is the use of strength if not to lay hold of the weak?

It is an apt climax when the Apostle adds, "Be longsuffering toward

all." He who tries to keep these commandments--"Admonish the

disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, support the weak"--will have

need of patience. If we are absolutely indifferent to each other, it

does not matter; we can do without it. But if we seek to be of use to

each other, our moral infirmities are very trying. We summon up all

our love and all our courage, and venture to hint to a brother that

something in his conduct has been amiss; and he flies into a passion,

and tells us to mind our own business. Or we undertake some trying

task of teaching, and after years of pains and patience some guileless

question is asked which shows that our labour has been in vain; or we

sacrifice our own leisure and recreation to lay hold on some weak one,

and discover that the first approach of temptation has been too strong

for him after all. How slow, we are tempted to cry, men are to respond

to efforts made for their good! Yet we are men who so cry,--men who

have wearied God by their own slowness, and who must constantly appeal

to His forbearance. Surely it is not too much for us to be

longsuffering toward all.

This little section closes with a warning against revenge, the vice

directly opposed to forbearance. "See that none render unto any one

evil for evil; but alway follow after that which is good, one toward

another, and toward all." Who are addressed in this verse? No doubt, I

should say, all the members of the Church; they have a common interest

in seeing that it is not disgraced by revenge. If forgiveness is the

original and characteristic virtue of Christianity, it is because

revenge is the most natural and instinctive of vices. It is a kind of

wild justice, as Bacon says, and men will hardly be persuaded that it

is not just. It is the vice which can most easily pass itself off as

a virtue; but in the Church it is to have no opportunity of doing so.

Christian men are to have their eyes about them; and where a wrong has

been done, they are to guard against the possibility of revenge by

acting as mediators between the severed brethren. Is it not written in

the words of Jesus, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be

called sons of God?" We are not only to refrain from vengeance

ourselves, but we are to see to it, as Christian men, that it has no

place among us. And here, again, we sometimes have a thankless task,

and need to be longsuffering. Angry men are unreasonable; and he who

seeks the blessing of the peacemaker sometimes earns only the ill name

of a busybody in other men's matters. Nevertheless, wisdom is

justified of all her children; and no man who wars against revenge,

out of a heart loyal to Christ, can ever be made to look foolish. If

that which is good is our constant aim, one toward another, and toward

all, we shall gain the confidence even of angry men, and have the joy

of seeing evil passions banished from the Church. For revenge is the

last stronghold of the natural man; it is the last fort which he holds

against the spirit of the gospel; and when it is stormed, Christ

reigns indeed.

[20] Those "who toil among you and preside over you and admonish you"

are identified by Wight (_Composition of the Four Gospels_, p. 12) as

"the catechists, the presbyters, and evangelists." The third case is

certainly doubtful; and the fact that the article is used only once

makes the whole attempt at such a discrimination of officials

illegitimate.