+I. Holiness an inward state and an outward result.+--"Holy,
unblameable and unreproveable."
+II. Holiness alone can satisfy God.+--"In His sight."
+III. Holiness is the final completion of the soul.+--"To present you."
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 23.
_The Condition of Man's Final Blessedness._
The ripest fruits can only be produced and gathered by careful and
unremitting culture; so, the enjoyment of the final blessings of
reconciliation is conditioned upon continued allegiance to the Gospel
and the diligent practice of its precepts. We are taught in this
verse that _the ultimate presentation to God of a perfectly holy and
blameless character depends upon the believer's firm and persevering
attachment to the Gospel._ Observe--
+I. Man's final blessedness depends upon his unswerving continuance
in the faith.+--The _faith_ is a comprehensive term; it is inclusive
of all the great saving truths of the Gospel, and of man's many-sided
relation to them. There is implied:
1. _A continuance in the doctrines of the faith._--What a man
believes has a powerful influence in moulding his character. The
truths submitted to our faith shed light upon matters of transcendent
import and worth. The baffled and inquiring mind, straining with
painful eagerness after light, finds its satisfaction and rest amid
the soothing radiance of revealed truth. "In returning and rest shall
ye be saved" (Isa. xxx. 15). Unbelief lures the soul from its restful
confidence, sets it adrift amidst the cross currents of bewilderment
and doubt, and exposes it to moral shipwreck and irrevocable loss.
The soul's eternal safety is ensured, not by an infatuated devotion
to mere _opinions_ about certain dogmas, but by an intelligent, firm,
and constant faith in Divine verities.
2. _A continuance in the profession of the faith._--The believer is a
witness for the truth; and it is an imperative duty to bear testimony
for Christ before the world (Rom. x. 9, 10). This is done when we
unite in fellowship and service with the external Church of Christ on
earth. The Church, as the representative of Christ, witnesses for Him
in the life and conduct of its individual members. There is nothing
binding as to the special form this witness-bearing should take in
each particular case; nor is any man compelled, for the sake of
profession, to wed himself to any particular branch of the Church
catholic. There may be reasons that render it justifiable, and even
necessary, for a man to sever himself from any given religious
community and join another; but on no conceivable ground can he be
liberated from the duty of an open profession of his faith in Christ;
his future acceptability to God hinges on his fidelity in this duty
(Matt. x. 32).
3. _A continuance in the practice of the faith._--Faith supplies the
motive and rule of all right conduct. The test of all preceptive
enactment and profession is in the life. The Christian character is
developed and perfected, not by believing or professing, but by
_doing_ the will of God. The rewards of the future will be
distributed according to our deeds (Rom. ii. 6-10).
4. _Continuance in the faith must be permanent._--"Grounded and
settled." The edifice, to be durable, must be well founded, that it
may settle into a state of firmness and solidity; so faith, in order
to survive the storms and temptations of this world, and participate
in the promised good of the future, must be securely grounded and
settled in the truth. In order to permanency in the faith, the truth
must be--(1) _Apprehended intelligently._ (2) _Embraced cordially._
(3) _Maintained courageously._
+II. Man's final blessedness depends upon his unchanging adherence to
the Gospel hope.+--1. _The Gospel reveals a bright future._ It
inspires the hope of the resurrection of the body, and of the
glorification of it and the soul together in the eternal life of the
future. Faith and hope are inseparably linked together; they mutually
succour and sustain each other; they rise or fall together. Hope is
the unquestioning expectation of the fruition of those things which
we steadily believe. It is compared to an anchor, which, cast within
the veil, fastened and grounded in heaven, holds our vessel firm and
steady amid the agitations and storms of life's tempestuous sea. The
Gospel is the only source of genuine, deathless hope; all hopes
grounded elsewhere wither and perish.
2. _The Gospel to be effectual must come in contact with the
individual mind._--"Which ye have heard." Epaphras had declared to
them the Divine message. It had been brought to them; they had not
sought it. Having heard and received the Gospel, to relinquish its
blessings would be inexcusable and ungrateful. In some way, either by
direct preaching or otherwise, the Gospel must come to man. There is
no power of moral reformation in the human heart itself; the
germinant principle of a better life must come from without; it is
conveyed in the Gospel word.
3. _The Gospel is adapted to universal man._--"Which was preached to
every creature which is under heaven." Already it had spread into
every part of the then known world, and its power was felt in every
province of the Roman empire. The fine prophetic instinct of the
apostle saw the universal tendency of the Gospel, and, in spirit,
anticipated the fulfilment of its generous mission. His motive is to
emphasise the universality of the unchangeable Gospel which is
offered without reserve to all alike, and to appeal to its publicity
and progress as the credential and guarantee of its truth. It is
adapted to all men; it proclaims its message in all lands and is
destined to win the world to Christ. The faith and hope of the
believer are based, not upon the uncertain declarations of false
teachers, but upon that Gospel, which is unchangeable in its
character and universal in its appeal and adaptability to humanity; a
strong reason is thus furnished for personal steadfastness.
4. _The Gospel invested the apostle with an office of high
authority._--"Whereof I Paul am made a minister." Paul participated
in the blessings of the Gospel; he had felt its transforming power,
and from his personal experience of its preciousness could, with the
greater assurance and force, exhort the Colossians to continue in the
faith. But in addition to this the Gospel was committed to the
apostle as a sacred trust and for faithful ministration; and while
dwelling on the broad charity of the Gospel as involving the offer of
grace to the Gentiles, he is impressed with the dignity and
responsibility of his office as he interjects, somewhat abruptly, but
with exquisite modesty, the words, "Whereof I Paul am made a
minister." It has been said of man that he is the priest and
interpreter of nature; that it is his function to observe and test
phenomena and interpret the laws that govern the material world.
Another writer has said that "man is the organ of revelation for the
Godhead." God can find no adequate form of revelation for Himself in
the impersonal forces of nature; only through a being in His own
image can He unfold to the universe His adorable character. But the
highest office to which man can be elevated is to be a ministrant of
Gospel light and grace to his fellow-man.
5. _There is an implied possibility of relinquishing our hold of the
Gospel hope._--"Be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel." The
words do not necessarily imply doubt, but suggest the necessity for
constant circumspection, vigilance, and care. The multiplicity and
fulness of our blessing may prove a snare to us; prosperity tempts us
to relax watchfulness, and we are in danger of becoming a prey to the
wiles of the wicked one. Our retention of the Gospel hope is rendered
immovable by constant waiting upon God in fervent prayer, by a
growing acquaintance with the Word of promise, by continually
anticipating in thought the bliss of the future.
+Lessons.+--1. _The Gospel provides the surest basis for faith and
hope._ 2. _Man's ultimate blessedness depends on his continued
fidelity._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE_ 24.
_The Joy of Suffering for the Church._
A stolid indifference to suffering and a heroic endurance of the same
were not unknown to the ancient pagans; but it is Christianity alone
that has taught us to rejoice in afflictions; it supplies an ecstasy
of emotion that renders us oblivious for the time being of
encompassing trials. The apostle, as he pondered over the mighty work
of reconciliation, and as he caught a glimpse of the amazing extent
of Divine mercy, could not but rejoice even in his sufferings. In
this verse he _expresses his joy that, in suffering for the Church,
he supplements that which was lacking in the afflictions of Christ._
Observe--
+I. The representative character of the apostle's
sufferings.+--1. _The apostle represented the suffering Saviour._
"The afflictions of Christ." We are not to suppose that the
sufferings of Christ were incomplete in themselves or in their value
as constituting a sufficient atonement. The passion of Christ was the
one full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and
satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. In this sense there
could be no deficiency in Christ's sufferings, for Christ's
sufferings being different in kind from those of His servants, the
two are incommensurable. Neither the apostle nor any other could
represent the expiatory and sacrificial aspect of the Redeemer's
sufferings. But while His personal sufferings are over, His
afflictions in His people still continue. He so thoroughly identifies
Himself with them that their trials, sorrows, persecutions, and
afflictions become His own. The apostle represented the suffering
Saviour in what he endured for Christ and the Church. Thus, he
declared to the Corinthians, "The sufferings of Christ abound in us."
The Church to-day is the representative of the suffering Saviour, and
so completely is He identified with His people that He endures in
them the pangs of hunger and thirst, shares their sickness and
imprisonment, and reckons every act of kindness done to them as done
to Himself (Matt. xxv.).
2. _The sufferings of the apostle supplemented what was lacking in
the afflictions of Christ._--"And fill up that which is behind of the
afflictions of Christ in my flesh." In harmony with the
representative character of the Church, we can understand how the
afflictions of every saint and martyr do supplement the afflictions
of Christ. Every age of the Church has its measure of suffering. The
Church is built up by repeated acts of self-denial in successive
individuals and successive generations. They continue the work which
Christ began. They bear their part, and supplement what is deficient
in the sufferings of Christ (2 Cor. i. 7; Phil. iii. 10). As an
apostle, Paul was a representative man, and his share in filling up
what was wanting in these afflictions was considerable. In his own
flesh he bore unexampled hardship, indignities, and distress. "In
labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prison more
frequent, in deaths oft." The great Head of the Church was made
perfect through suffering; so must the body be in all its relations
and development. Through tribulation, more or less evident and
intense, we must enter the kingdom. Suffering in itself has no virtue
to elevate moral character; it is effective to this end only as it
tends to fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ,
only as it is borne for Christ, and in the Spirit of Christ. The
great Mediator suffered to effect our salvation; and His people, on
their part, fill up the suffering needed for the perfection of their
spiritual life and for the full display of the Divine glory.
+II. The vicarious character of the apostle's sufferings.+--"For His
body's sake, which is the Church." The greater part of the suffering
of the believer in this world is vicarious--is endured on behalf of
others. It is thus we most nearly approach the spirit and example of
Christ. St. Paul, as the pioneer missionary, the wise and edifying
instructor, the diligent and anxious overseer, occupied a prominent
and important position among the Churches, and his sufferings on
their behalf would benefit them in many ways.
1. _The apostle's sufferings for the Church confirmed the faith of
her converts._--Thousands are shy in embracing Christianity, because
they shrink from the suffering it seems to involve; thousands more
retire from the Christian profession for the same reason. An example
like that of Paul's--a man profoundly sincere, intensely earnest,
calm and unmoved by the stoutest opposition, and triumphant amid
acutest sufferings--encourages the timid and strengthens and confirms
the tempted and wavering.
2. _The apostle's sufferings were for the consolation of the
Church._--Writing to the Corinthians, he says: "Whether we be
afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation." Suffering makes
us more capable of sympathising with others. "Great hearts can only
be made by great troubles. The spade of trouble digs the reservoir of
comfort deeper and makes more room for the water of consolation." The
richest anointing of Divine comfort is bestowed in the moment of
severest suffering, and the consolation of one is the consolation of
many. When Mr. James Bainham, who suffered under the reign of Henry
VIII., was in the midst of the flames which had half consumed his
arms and legs, he said aloud: "Oh, ye Papists, ye look for miracles,
and here now you may see a miracle; for in this fire I feel no more
pain than if I were in a bed of down, but it is to me a bed of roses!"
3. _The apostle's sufferings for the Church tended to promote her
increase._--The more the Egyptians afflicted the Hebrews the more
they multiplied and grew. The devil's way of extinguishing goodness
is God's way of advancing it. The apostle could testify, in the midst
of his sufferings, that "the things which have happened to me have
fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel." Suffering
seals the word spoken with a sacred and impressive significance. Many
a convert has been won to the truth by the irresistible example of a
suffering life.
+III. The high-toned spirit of the apostle's sufferings.+--"Who now
rejoice in my suffering for you." Nature shrinks from suffering. It
is altogether above nature to triumph in suffering. It is
Christianity alone that lifts the spirit into the tranquil region of
patient endurance and inspires us with joy in tribulation. It is not
a love of suffering for its own sake--not a mad, morbid craving for
the ghastly honours of a self-sought martyrdom; but there is a
nameless charm about the truths of Christianity that exalts the mind,
thrills the soul, and transmutes sorrow into joy. Paul was imprisoned
at Rome, bound in a chain for the Gospel, when he wrote this epistle;
but as the thoughts suggested by his theme grew in full-orbed
magnificence before his mental vision--as he contemplated the lavish
wealth of God's mercy in the call of the Gentiles who constituted the
greater portion of the world's population--and as he saw all the
glory of being allowed to share, and even to supplement, the
sufferings of Christ, he rose above the consideration of his own
personal trials, and in a sudden outburst of thanksgiving could
exclaim, "_Now_ I rejoice in my sufferings for you." Let us not
repine at our afflictions. Not only is our own soul chastened and
purified; but every pang, every tear, every trial in our lot, is a
contribution to the filling up of that which is still behind in the
afflictions of Christ. It baptises suffering with a new meaning, and
arrays it in a new dignity, when it is viewed as a grand means of
promoting the perfection, the purity, and unfading glory of the whole
Church.
+Lessons.+--1. _It is an unspeakable honour to suffer for the Church
of Christ._ 2. _The personal experience of the grace of Christ
renders suffering for Him a joy._ 3. _The glory of the future will
outweigh all we have suffered for the Church below._
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.--Verses_ 25-27.
_The Pre-eminent Honour and Sublime Theme of the Christian Ministry._
The highest dignity and most solemn responsibility are conferred on
man when he is entrusted with the ministration of God's Word. It is
the infinite condescension of God that we have this treasure in
earthen vessels. He who, in the exercise of His unchallengeable
wisdom, calls man to this work, can alone inspire and endow him with
the necessary intellectual and moral fitness for the awful charge. In
these verses we learn that the apostle was appointed a minister of
the Church--a steward in God's household--charged to preach without
reserve the whole Gospel of God, to dispense to the Gentiles the
stores which His bountiful grace provided. Note:--
+I. The Christian ministry is a Divine institution.+--1. _The true
minister is Divinely commissioned._ "Whereof I am made a minister,
according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you"
(ver. 25). The word "dispensation" involves the idea of stewardship.
God governs His Church, not as a tyrant, who rules what is not his
own; not as a monarch, who knows not a thousandth part of his
subjects; but as a father, who knows, loves, and provides for his own
children. The apostle was entrusted with a stewardship in God's
household; he was "a steward of the mysteries of God." He received
the office from God. This invested it with the highest dignity; yet
he was the minister of the Church, and it was his joy to serve it,
whatever might be the labour, sacrifice, or suffering entailed. The
Christian ministry is not a lordship, but a stewardship; the minister
is solemnly commissioned of God to maintain, defend, and dispense the
truth that saves and edifies. There are moments when the minister can
derive stimulus and courage for his work only by falling back upon
the irrefutable fact of his Divine call.
2. _The true minster is charged with the most complete proclamation
of the Divine Word._--"To fulfil the word of God" (ver. 25)--_to
preach fully, to give its most complete development to._ The apostle
had declared the Gospel in all its depth and breadth of meaning, its
wealth of blessing, and amplitude of revelation. He had proclaimed it
in every direction, in harmony with his insight into its universal
fitness and sufficiency. _Fulfil_ implies the figure of a measure to
be filled. The true minister is empowered to preach the Word of God
in all the fulness of its internal import, and in accord with the
universality of its outward purpose. Whether palatable or
unpalatable, he must not shun to declare everywhere the whole counsel
of God. The fulness there is in Christ and the urgent needs of
humanity alike demand this.
+II. The Christian ministry deals with a theme of profound
significance and ineffable worth.+--1. _It is designated a mystery._
"Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations"
(ver. 26). Mystery in the Scripture sense does not mean something
actually incomprehensible, but something concealed or unknown until
it please God to reveal it; something beyond the human mind to
discover for itself, and which can only be attained by Divine aid.
The mystery comprehended two leading features--the Divine purpose in
saving man through a suffering and crucified Saviour, and the free
admission of the Gentiles on equal terms with the Jews to the
privileges of the covenant. Unlike the heathen mysteries, which were
confined to a narrow circle, the Christian mystery is freely
communicated to all. The mystery was concealed _from the ages,_ which
may be referred to the angels; and _from the generations,_ which may
be referred to men. Though faintly shadowed in types and figures, the
truth would never have been discovered by man. In the revelation of
the mystery the apostle applauded the lavish wealth of the Divine
goodness. The Gospel is still a mystery to the unconverted.
2. _It is a mystery unveiled to those who are morally fitted to
understand it._--"But now is made manifest to His saints" (ver. 26).
God chose His own time for making known the mystery of the Gospel.
Like all the Divine procedures, the development was gradual,
increasing in clearness and completeness as the fulness of time
approached; that time embraced the advent of the incarnate Son of
God, His ascension and enthronement in heaven, and the descent of the
revealing Spirit. It is an axiom in optics that the eye only sees
what it brings with it the power to see; and it is equally true in
spiritual things that the soul comprehends the revelation of God only
as it is prepared and fitted by the good Spirit. The holier the organ
of Divine revelation, the clearer the vision. It was not to the
dignitaries of imperial Rome or the ruling powers of Judea, but to
humble shepherds that the tidings of the Saviour's advent were first
announced; not to the aristocracy of Pharisaic or Sadducean
intellect, but to the plain, unlettered, believing fishermen of
Galilee that the full glory of salvation by Christ was disclosed.
Augustine has said, "Illiterate men rise and seize heaven, while we,
with all our learning, are rolling in the filth of sin."
3. _The revelation of the mystery was an act of the Divine
will._--"To whom God would make known" (ver. 27). There was nothing
impelling Him to unfold this mystery but His own good pleasure. It
was His sovereign will to disclose to the humble and devout, rather
than to the proud and self-sufficient, the wondrous praise and glory
of the Gospel. The most sincere seeker after holiness could not of
himself discover the mystery. But though made known in its richer
spiritual developments only to the good, the good pleasure of God has
put the knowledge of it within the reach of all.
4. _The revelation of the mystery endowed humanity with a vast
inheritance of moral wealth._--"What is the riches of the glory of
this mystery" (ver. 27). The terms employed seem inadequate to convey
the meaning intended. It is impossible fully to explain or illustrate
the sublime truths they indicate. The Gospel is a mystery full of
glory--a glory unique, resplendent, unsurpassable; and this glory is
dowered with riches, abundant, inexhaustible, and Divine. The riches
of the glory appear in the manifestation of the nature and attributes
of God which the mystery supplies, and also in the moral wealth that
has descended upon man. Here is the most lavish provision for the
salvation of sinful and perishing humanity--an inheritance of
imperishable bliss. (1) _This inheritance enriched the most needy._
It was exhibited "among the Gentiles" (ver. 27). The Jews were the
children of promise and possessed every religious privilege; the
Gentiles were the children of mercy, and never dared to dream of
enjoying the blessings of the Gospel. In the revelation of the
mystery to them, the dispensation of grace achieved its greatest
triumphs and displayed its transcendent glory. Here, too, was its
wealth, for it overflowed all barriers of caste or race. Judaism was
"beggarly" in comparison, since its treasures sufficed only for a
few. The glory of the Gospel was never so brilliant as in the moral
transformations it effected among the degraded Gentiles. (2) _This
inheritance includes the hope inspired by the indwelling Christ._
"Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (ver. 27). The mystery of
the Gospel begins and ends in Christ, and Christ is in every believer
the hope of glory. Only in Christ can we hope for the highest glory,
and in Him we infallibly find all the blessedness we can enjoy in
this world or expect in the future. In Him we have here as seed what
we shall have in Him there as harvest. "Even now we sit there in Him
and shall sit with Him in the end."
+Lessons.+--1. _The Christian ministry involves solemn
responsibilities._ 2. _The transcendent theme of the Christian
ministry is Divinely revealed._ 3. _Personal experience of the grace
of God endows man with the clearest insight into its mystery, and the
most satisfying possession of its spiritual riches._
_GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES._