THE MESSAGE OF TITUS

THE MESSAGE OF TITUS

            In considering this letter we need again to remind ourselves of the inter-relation between the two letters to Timothy and this one to Titus.

            In the first letter to Timothy we saw that the true function of the Church is that it should be the pillar and ground of the truth. In order that this function may be fulfilled, it is necessary that every local church should be properly organized.

            As in the second letter to Timothy we saw the perfect equipment of the minister, his prevailing method, and his special work; in this letter we see the true Church of Jesus Christ so far as her ecclesiastical order is concerned. It is a very remarkable thing that this letter has to do with a church of Jesus Christ in a most difficult place. Paul described the Cretans by quotation from one of their own poets, as "liars, evil beasts, slow bellies." In this letter also the most startling and amazing thing as to the possibility of Christian life is said concerning those who are in this most difficult position, and of those who are in the most trying circumstances, the bond-slaves. The apostle declared that they were to "adorn the doc­trine of God."

            Thus in order to show the true spiritual power of the Church, and the possibility of the lowest exercising it, the most difficult soil was selected, the most difficult circum­stances were employed; and of those in the midst of trying and impossible conditions of life the finest possibilities were postulated. Thus the Spirit of God teaches us that the Church of God can be the pillar and ground of the truth in the most dark, desolate, and difficult places of the earth; and that men and women whose circumstances are most trying and difficult, can fulfill the highest function of Christianity, that of "adorning the doctrine of God our Savior in all things."

            The central teaching of this letter is that of its revelation of the true Church of Jesus Christ; and its abiding appeal that the Church is true to Jesus Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ is revealed in its true order; as to motive, method, and might. We could appropriately write as a motto over this letter, the words, "Let everything be done decently and in order."

            The motive of church order is revealed in a phrase at the very beginning of the letter; "The truth which is according to godliness." That word "godliness" we found in the first letter to Timothy, "great is the mystery of godliness." That is the truth of which the Church is to be the pillar and ground. More than half our disputes within the one universal Church are disputes about order; whereas if we were more occupied with the reason for order, there would be very much less division about it. The passion of the apostle when he sent Titus to Crete and wrote to him there, was a passion for the truth which is according to godliness, that godliness of which the mystery is great.

            The motive of the order is further ex­plained, first negatively as the apostle shows that the result of the setting in order of the church will be that of convicting the gain­sayers. In that connection we have the threefold description of the Cretans already referred to, "Liars, evil beasts, slow bellies." These are the things of animalism; and the business of the church, by its revelation of truth, is to correct and convict the gain­sayers, those who by their animalism speak against godliness.

            Second, there is a positive value. That we find stated in the second chapter in the midst of the great passage on grace, in which the apostle declared that "the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world." The Cretans were liars; Christians were to live soberly. The Cretans were evil beasts, sensual, animalistic, and fierce in their passions as against one another; Christians were to live righteously, that is, in right relation­ships with the world around them. The Cretans were slow bellies; Christians were to live godly.

            That is the motive for setting the church in order. The saints who constitute it are to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts in their own lives, and so become God's negative forces, in the midst of the cities in which they live and move and have their being. To set our church in order so that we may worship as we desire to worship, is to act from a low motive. That the church may be the pillar and ground of the Truth; upon which and from which shall flash the light of truth; in order that the forces of death and darkness and devilry may be rebuked; ought to be the motive behind all church organization.

            The method of church order is that of oversight. Elders were to be appointed, and the apostle explains the office by the use of the word "bishop." A bishop is one in oversight, one who watches, one who sees clearly. The bishop is seen to be a pastor of the flock in Acts 20.

            The matter of ultimate importance is that we understand that the office of a bishop is that of oversight. Ruskin draws attention to this fact, and in his caustic way he asks whether the bishop is aware that down yonder alley Bill has been knocking Nancy's teeth out, and if not, he declares that he is not a bishop, though his miter be as high as a steeple. The function of the office may be described as first, active; and then, passive. The one placed in oversight by the Holy Spirit through the gift bestowed and through grace abounding, must have a clear vision of the truth of God of which the Church is to be the pillar and ground; he must also have a clear vision of the prevailing conditions in the midst of which the Church is to flash and shine; he must finally have a clear vision of the true method in oversight.

            The bishop is to speak, exhort, reprove; and these words are not idly chosen. He is to speak, that is, to enunciate truth. That is his first business, but it is not his last business. He is to exhort, that is he is to apply the truth to local conditions. That is his second business, but it is not his last business. He is to reprove, that is, he is to insist upon obedience to the truth. That is the threefold activity of the man in oversight. He is placed in oversight by the Holy Spirit of God, or he has no claim to oversight. The method of the order of the Church is that of over­sight by men appointed by the Spirit of God.

            The might of the Church's order is revealed in that great passage already quoted, the recitation of which is always a revelation and 'interpretation. How does the passage open? "The grace of God hath appeared!" How does it end?  "The appearing of the glory." The facts and forces of the two epiphanies constitute the true strength of church government, and church order, and church service. "The grace of God hath appeared . . . looking for the appearing of the glory." I have sometimes said that if I were to build a new church I should like to call it the church of the two Epiphanies; the epiphany of grace; and the epiphany of glory. When was the first? When He came. When will be the second? When He comes. The first was the Advent of grace; the second will be the Advent of glory. When we see the first Advent we see “Glory as of the only begotten from the Father." That was the Advent of grace. When we see the Second Advent, we shall see the final unveiling of grace. The one universal Church of God; the assembly of believers by whatever human name it is called; lives between the light of the first Advent and the light of the second; the first Advent, which was the setting of the Sun in blood, and the second, which shall be the rising of the Sun in glory. Between these we live, and the forces of the first and the forces of the second, the dynamic that came from the Cross, the inspiration which comes from the Crowning, constitute the might of church order, both for the overseer and for the flock in order that the Church may be the pillar and ground of the Truth.

            The abiding appeal of this letter is that the Church shall be true to Jesus Christ Who is the Truth. The inclusive church responsibility is to adorn the doctrine. The individual Christian responsibility is to be careful to maintain good works. The consequent responsibility of those in oversight is to affirm confidently these things.

            The inclusive responsibility of the Chris­tian Church is to adorn the doctrine. Paul says this of the bond-slave, a servant in the most difficult situation and condition of life, and certainly if such can adorn the doctrine all others can. The word translated "adorn" is kosmeo, and is derived from the Greek word kosnzos, a word suggesting order and beauty. When our Lord spoke of the virgins wise and foolish, and declared that at midnight the cry went out, Behold the bridegroom cometh; He said that they trimmed their lamps. "Trimmed" is the same word as here is translated “adorn." To trim the lamp was to snuff the wick. That is the way to adorn the doctrine. A wick is snuffed that the flame may burn the brighter; and in proportion as that poor carbon of our life knows the principle of the Cross, which is the snuffing of the wick, we adorn the doctrine. It does seem so impossible to adorn the doctrine; but it is not so. I once heard Dr. Watkinson illustrate this. He said; here is a piece of music. I take it up and look at it. I notice that the marks upon the page are darker and thicker here, and more straggling there; I am told it is a wonderful piece of music, but I cannot comprehend it. Presently someone comes and takes the piece of music, and plays it upon an instrument; and so the player adorns the music. The player does not compose it, is quite unequal to composing it, but he plays it, interprets it, adorns it, to his fellow-man who has no knowledge of it. That is the great business of the Christian Church, to adorn the doctrine. We cannot create the doctrine; the doctrine is created; but this great mystery of godliness the Church is to adorn by living it. That is the supreme responsibility of the Church.

            The individual Christian responsibility is to carefully maintain good works. That phrase does not refer to charitable philan­thropy. It does not mean doing meritorious things in order to win salvation. It means doing all good, true, noble, beautiful things, out of the forces of salvation. Alone, I cannot perfectly adorn the doctrine; but I can watch and be careful to maintain good works, and in that measure I con­tribute to the adorning of the doctrine. That is the individual responsibility.

            The consequent responsibility of those in oversight; bishops, elders, pastors, (all three the same man-Acts 20) those gifted and having grace, is that they affirm confidently. We do not help men and women to adorn the doctrine when we debate our doubts in their presence. We may have doubts; I suppose every man has them. I have them, doubts and difficulties, questionings, problems, but I never preach them. Let us wait until the light has become clearer if there be a subject on which we are in doubt, before we speak about it. We are to affirm confidently the essential, funda­mental things of the Christian faith epitomized in that passage concerning the mystery of godliness.

            Our general application may be briefly made. First this letter reveals to me the fact that the power of the Church in the world is that of her revelation of the truth of God. I dare not begin an exposition of that, yet ponder it well. The Church is not influential because she is able to manipulate the affairs of the State. The Church is powerful in the measure in which she is revealing the truth of God in her own life. That is the central truth of this letter. Concerning the Church this also is revealed, that all overseers must be men themselves under the dominion of the truth; and the principle of selecting a leader, a bishop, must be that of his mastery by the truth; and I am not now referring merely to those who preach; but to all those who hold office in the Christian Church. Trustees, managers, deacons, stewards, who have been appointed because of their wealth or social influence and leadership in your business world, are a hindrance and not a help. It is on the basis of spiritual life, resulting from mastery by the truth, that all must be placed in office in the Christian Church if she is to fulfill her function.

            The application of the letter to over­seers therefore is; first that the power of the overseer is that of the truth and not that of his office. No man has any real power because he holds office.       The only power of the overseer is that of the truth he proclaims, and confidently affirms, until it captures and masters those who hear it.

            The measure of success in oversight there­fore, is the measure in which the Church

exercises the power of the truth.

            The test of success is not the crowd; but the souls transformed under the power of the Word who adorn the doctrine, and thus fulfill the holy function of being the pillar and ground of the truth.

THE MESSAGE OF 2 TIMOTHY

THE MESSAGE OF 2 TIMOTHY

            In our consideration of this letter, in order to discover its main teaching, the cen­tral teaching of the first letter is assumed. That letter teaches us that the true function of the Christian Church is the proclamation of the Truth in the world, and that the true function of the Christian minister is that of the exposition of the Truth in the Church.

            Between the writing of the first letter and this one, some period had elapsed. Paul, who was in prison when he wrote the great epistles, had been liberated when he wrote the first letter to Timothy; but was again in prison before he wrote this second one; and there is practically no question that this is the last writing that ever came from his pen.

            The reason of the writing of this second letter to Timothy was that of the perils threatening the Church, which were likely to prevent the Church fulfilling its function as the pillar and ground of the truth. These perils lie described in the words: "Know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof."

            That is a picture of what the apostle saw happening in the Church; it was being in­vaded by godlessness and worldliness. The Church is the pillar and ground of the Truth, and if the Church fails, then the Truth ceases to be proclaimed to the world; and that was the reason of the writing of this letter. The great missionary heart of Paul was troubled about the Church, be­cause where the Church fails to give its testimony, the city abides in darkness. In view of these perils he wrote to Timothy, upon whom there necessarily rested grave responsibility.

            The purpose of the letter then, was that of preparing Timothy for the fulfillment of his responsibility for the Church, in order to the maintenance of its testimony; and therefore it is pre-eminently a letter to those who are in the ministry of the Word.

            The central teaching of this letter is that of its revelation of the true minister of Jesus Christ. The content is the message. The order is so systematic; the movement is so regular, the method is so logical, that any young man preparing for the ministry, or any man in the ministry, may read it as a letter to himself from this great apostle, and from God Himself by the Spirit through the apostle.

            The letter gives us a perfect picture of the true minister of Jesus Christ, and that in three respects; those namely of his perfect equipment; of his prevailing methods; and of his ultimate work.

            The perfect equipment of the Christian minister is revealed in two words, gift and grace. In the old days when a candidate presented himself for the work of the minis­try, the questions asked were: Has this young man gifts, and has he grace? I am not sure that we always ask those questions today. Yet these are the best qualifi­cations; and no man can be a true minister of the Word in the Church, and no church can call a man to be a minister, and no seminary can make a man a minister if he lack these.

            A man can become a minister of the Word only when a gift is bestowed upon him by the Head of the Church through the Holy Spirit. That is the highest qualification. Roman Catholics speak of a vocation; it is a great word. The vocation, according to the New Testament, is received with the bestowment of the gift. The gift bestowed is the first qualification for the Christian ministry.

            But grace also is necessary, with all that word means, of fellowship with Christ and with God, and the consequent approximation to the character of Christ and of God; the appropriation of the very resources of Christ and of God, and these so reacting upon the character as to make it the character of light and life and love.

            The gifts are described in the Ephesian letter: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. . . . He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”

            The gift of the apostle is that of the first messenger, the pioneer, the missionary. The gift of the prophet is that of the ability to discover what the Word of God has to say, not so much to the individual as to the nation, the age. The gift of the evangelist enables a man to tell the account of Jesus with such wooing winsomeness that men are drawn toward Him, and are won for the Kingdom and the Church. The gift of the pastor and teacher enables a man to watch the flock and to feed them. A gift is in itself a Divine deposit, flaming in fire, burning in heat, driving in energy; that is the first thing.

            Beyond this there must be grace, that infinite resource of God at our disposal through Christ, which creates the tone of our preaching and the temper of our living, bringing all into harmony with the character of God.

            The prevailing methods of the true Christian minister are those of construction and character. He is to aim at the development in holiness of those to whom he ministers; and this by the guarding of his own character, so that it may express concretely the truth he preaches. These are the true methods. As to constructive work, he builds upon foundations, and watching the building, patiently corrects it where it is faulty, testing it ever by the Word.

            "Every Scripture inspired of God, is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction." The whole idea of that passage is that of character building. The first word refers to authori­tative teaching, upon which a man can depend, upon which he can build. Reproof does not mean rebuke, it means proof over again. The Greek word is figurative and suggests the letting down of a plumb line by the side of a building to test its straight­ness. Correction means pulling the thing that is out of line into the straight. Instruction means construction that is carrying the building higher. That is the work of the Christian minister. All the gifts of the ministry of the Word tend to the building of character according to the will of God.

            The utmost work of the Christian minister is twofold; first to know the writings; and then to preach and teach the Word. No man can exercise the Christian ministry, whatever be the nature of his gift, who does not abide in the Scriptures. His business is to preach the Word, not to destroy it, not to defend it, but to preach it.

            The abiding appeal of this letter to the Christian minister is contained in the charge

of the apostle, "Fulfill thy ministry." This is necessary as to equipment, methods, and work.

As to equipment, the first responsibility concerns the gift; and is declared in the words, "Stir up the gift of God which is in thee." To stir up is to set on fire, to fan to a flame. The gift received for the ministry is a thing of fire, we are to fan it to a flame; and not allow it to burn to an ember. Are we not all in danger of allowing the fire to die down? There is nothing the Christian minister has to guard against more earnestly than the danger that he should come to the hour when the Word of God ceases to move him. It is a subtle danger. We are always handling the Word, reading it, studying it; and unless we are careful, it will cease to surprise us, cease to amaze us; and the gift, whether of apostle, prophet, evangelist, or pastor, will become dull and dead.

            The second responsibility as to equip­ment concerns the grace, and is revealed in the words: "Be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." We must not neglect the means of grace, in the true full sense of the word. Let no minister imagine that he of all men can afford to neglect prayer and devotional study of his Bible, and that fellowship with God which, being neglected, the fire always burns dimly, the pulse beats slowly, and the Christian life is poorer than it ought to be. "Be strengthened in the grace." "Fulfil thy ministry."

            As to methods, our responsibility for construction is declared in the simple and yet incisive charge, "Give diligence"; while our responsibility as to our own character, if we are to construct character in others, is declared in the words; "Flee youthful lusts, and follow after righteous­ness, faith, love, peace . . . foolish and ignorant questionings refuse." "Fulfill thy ministry."

            As to work, we fulfill our responsibility as to the Scriptures when we abide in them; and as to the Church, by being instant in season and out of season.

            All this is but the gathering out of sentences, the whole teaching of the letter being in mind. These are the revelations of the secrets of success in the Christian ministry.

            This letter emphasizes the fact that the teaching of the Word is the corrective of

all the perils that threaten the Church; just as the preaching of the Word, and the Word incarnate in the lives of the saints who constitute the Church, is the corrective of all the perils that threaten the city and the nation. In proportion as we really know this Word of God, all the things which sap the life of the Church and make her devoid of power are corrected. The Church must flourish by the preaching of the Word. Nothing will take its place. Whether it be a church, or a para-church organization taking the name and responsibility of Christian work in the world, if it neglect the Word, it robs itself of power, and sooner or later the whole must crumble to pieces. The churches that have placed the preaching of the Word at the center of their life, and have aimed at its embodi­ment in the lives of their members, are the churches which have truly served their day and generation.

            Consequently the Church must recognize the importance of the ministry of the Word. I think a grave peril threatening us today is that the churches take so little interest in the men who go to our colleges and seminaries. They have turned over the training of their precious creeds and doctrines to those who have not held true to those precious truths.

            I think the hour must come when the churches recognize that their men who have left the local church for training come back with their minds opened to doctrines untrue to the faith that Paul was warning against concerning the perils threatening the local Church, which were likely to prevent the Church fulfilling its function as the pillar and ground of the truth.

            Let the Church take back this responsibility and understand how important and sacred a thing this ministry of the Word is. The Church should be able to say: We recognize this man has gift and grace, and because he has gift and grace he is called to the ministry; therefore we will see to it that he has time for preparation and training, in order that his gift may be realized and his ministry fulfilled. Yes, let the church take back the training of her ministers as was true with the men who were the pastors of the first churches. How quaint a thought and how novel. The seminaries do not have the commission from the Lord to take over this work as the churches have allowed them. The church itself was commissioned to produce men and Paul tells Timothy to teach others that they might teach others. This was never a seminary setting but a church setting. The Conservative Grace Brethren train their own men within the local church in a practical setting where ministry is learned as well as needed.

            The first note of application to the minister is one of comfort if he be indeed a minister of Jesus Christ. If he has the gift and grace, then this letter brings him comfort, and it is comfort coming from the testimony of a man whose ministry of the Word was closing. This man, anxious about Timothy, and anxious that the Church should fulfill its function, anxious therefore that this young minister should be able to fulfill his function in order that the Church might fulfill her function in the world, said: "I know Him Whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard my deposit.” That phrase, "my deposit," may mean something deposited with Him, or something deposited with me. The popular interpretation has been that He is able to take care of something we have given over to Him. I think the apostle meant that the Lord is able to take care of a deposit which He commits to us, the deposit of Truth. If I have gift and grace, I need waste no time guarding the truth or defending it. I am sorry for the man who thinks his business is to go about defending the Truth. The Lord is able to take care of that. The safety of the deposit is the fundamental word of comfort to the man who wants to preach the Word of God.

            The responsibility of the minister is that of the trusteeship of the Word of God. I hold the Word of God as a trustee; it is mine for others. If I am called into this ministry and am given a gift, the gift means power to convey; that is the peculiar quality that makes a man a minister. Con­sequently the Truth is a deposit which He is able to guard and of which I become the trustee. I am in debt to other men for all I know of the Truth, and I cannot get out of debt so long as there remains one single sphere of my influence, in which that has not been heard which has been entrusted to me.

            The final application of this letter to the minister is that it calls him to fidelity to the trusteeship of the deposit, fidelity to the exercise of the gift in order that the Truth may be known to other men; fidelity because of Christ's appearing presently; because of the formalism that is growing within the Church; and because gaps in the ranks are always occurring.

            The appeal is a constant appeal. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers fulfill their ministry and pass on; but the Word abides, and the responsibility of those who follow in their train abides. When next we hear of some laborer fallen in the forefront, some teacher of the Word, let us say; So help us God, a little more faithfulness, a little more of passion, a little more of suffering, a little more of out­poured life, and the victory will be won.

THE MESSAGE OF 1 TIMOTHY

THE MESSAGE OF 1 TIMOTHY

            This letter is the first of three; which, while separated from each other in that they were written at different times and to two persons, are yet correlated in that they deal with one subject, that of the relation between the minister and the Church. They were all written to men occupying positions of responsibility in re­gard to churches of Jesus Christ; Timothy in Ephesus, and Titus in Crete.

            The doctrine of the Church, and the fundamental doctrine concerning the minis­try, we find in other of Paul's writings which we have already considered; and the things therein taught must be kept in mind as we come to these letters which while so largely personal, are yet full of relative values. We find in our study of the New Testament that sometimes the Church is spoken of, sometimes the churches, some­times a church. That is to say, the word is used in reference to the whole Church, the complete Church. It is also used of local churches. Whereas it is perfectly true that there is one Church of God; it is equally true that there was the church at Ephesus, the church at Corinth, and so on. In that sense therefore we use the word "churches"; not that these churches are divided each from the other; but that the whole Church is divided by locality, by circumstances, by geographical distances, into churches. In the New Testament it is evident that every local church was a microcosm of the universal Church, and all the great fundamental doctrines concerning the universal Church, are equally applicable to the local church. Timothy was in oversight of the church at Ephesus; Titus was fulfilling a special work in connection with the church in Crete; and these letters were written to these men holding positions of spiritual responsibility for very definite and specific purposes, and their theme is that of the inter-relation of the minister of the Word, and the Church.

            The first part of 1 Timothy deals with the charge of the minister, that over which he has care, the church. The second part is the apostolic charge to the minister con­cerning his consequent responsibility. In these three letters then the great theme is that of the church and the minister. The first letter to Timothy is general and funda­mental; the letter to Titus deals principally with the method by which the minister is to set the church in order; and in the second letter to Timothy the particular subject is that of the minister's personal responsibility.

            Having thus recognized the inter-relation­ships of these letters we may now turn our attention to the first.

            The central teaching of this first letter to Timothy is that of its revelation of the true function of the church; and the true function of the minister.

            The true function of the church is the proclamation of Truth in the world. The true function of the minister is that of the exposition of Truth in the Church. The one function for which the Church exists is that of the proclamation of Truth in the world. The one function for which the ministry is created is that of the exposition of Truth within the Church. That is the exact thought underlying Paul's teaching in the Ephesian letter concerning the universal Church. In that letter, when we turn from the discussion of the Church's predestination, edification, and vocation, to the application of the truth in detail, we find Paul writing "I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the calling wherewith ye were called"; and in close connection declaring that when Jesus ascended and received gifts, "He gave some to be apostles; and some pro­phets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering"; that is to say that the saints are to fulfill the ministry, and men qualified by gifts are to perfect the saints for the fulfillment of that ministry. The ministry of the Church is that of the proclamation of the truth of God in the world. The ministry created by gifts be­stowed is that of perfecting the saints. The saints are to be perfected by the truth. The one function of the ministry then, is the exposition in the Church, of the truth which the Church is to proclaim to the world.

            That is the central teaching of this letter in application to the local church.

            The true function of the Church then is that of the declaration of the Truth to the world.

"That thou mayest know how men ought to behave themselves in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And with­out controversy great is the mystery of godliness; He Who was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, received up in glory."

            There we reach the central light of the epistle concerning the true function of the Church. The Church is an instrument; it is "the pillar and ground of the truth"; it is that upon which the truth is to be displayed; it is that upon which the truth is to be so raised up that men may see it. This is in perfect agreement with the teaching of our Lord.

            "Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand and it shineth unto all that are in the house. Even so let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

            The value of the Church in the world is that of the Truth which the Church reveals, proclaims; that Truth is light, which flashes upon the darkness, rebuking it, dissipating it, making it easy for men who are stumbling to find their way.

            The apostle immediately, compre­hensively, and most marvelously described the Truth in the words "without con­troversy great is the mystery of godliness."

            The word which most simply conveys the meaning of the Greek word here translated "godliness" is the old word piety. It has largely dropped out of use in recent years, and for some reasons we are not sorry, for it was very much abused. Yet that is the real thought of godliness, and if we use it, as did our fathers, to describe religion in life, relationship to God in the actualities of everyday life, we have the true thought of godliness.

            Where is this piety? Where is this life of relationship to God to be seen? The answer to such inquiries is to be found in the fact that the apostle imme­diately passed from the abstract ideal of godliness to a concrete and positive Person in Whom the idea was perfectly revealed; "He Who was manifested in the flesh."

            For poetic beauty of expression Humphrey's translation of this passage in the Cambridge Bible is very fine;

"Who in flesh was manifested,
Pure in spirit was attested;

By angels' vision witnessed

Among the nations heralded;

By faith accepted here,

Received in glory there!"

            According to that setting of the passage, the three couplets suggest the central facts in the life and work of Jesus; the first the life-account; the second the angels desiring to look into the mystery, and the nations hearing the ministry; the third the victory among men by faith, and the ascension.

            Though it is poetic and beautiful, I do not think that it reveals the deepest values of the passage.

Rotherham thus translates;—

"Who was made manifest in flesh,

Was declared righteous in spirit,

Was made visible unto messengers;

Was proclaimed among nations,

Was believed on in (the) world,

Was taken up in glory."

            So far as I have any right to express an opinion, I do not hesitate to say that I consider that to be a most accurate, and beautiful translation. It covers far more than the life-account of Jesus when He was in the world, including the whole mystery of godliness manifested, beginning with the life-account, and ending with the Second Advent.

            The first line deals with the whole fact of the human life; "Who was made manifest in flesh." The second line "Was declared righteous in spirit," refers to the resurrection from the dead, for it was by the resurrection from the dead that He was "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness." The third line "Was made visible unto messengers," needs to be carefully noticed. The Greek word is sometimes translated

"angels," and sometimes "messengers"; and here I believe Rotherham is quite right in translating it messengers. The messengers were not angels in our general sense, but those who saw Him after resurrection, and who became the first apostles of the new movement. The immediate result of that manifestation to the messengers is declared in the fourth line "Was proclaimed among nations"; and the spiritual result in the fifth "Was believed on in (the) world." These two facts of proclamation and belief are going forward now. The last line "Was taken up in glory," refers to the Ascension of our Lord, and ultimately to that hour when, completed in His saints, His whole body perfected at the Second Advent, Christ and His Church as an eternal unit, pass into the heavens.

            The great mystery of godliness then, according to this earliest hymn of the Church, is that of the manifestation of godliness in the flesh of the Son of Man; the declaration of His righteousness by resurrection; that risen One made visible to messengers, who proclaim the resurrec­tion which is the foundation truth of Christianity; the proclamation issuing in the belief which brings men into living union with the manifested One; and ultimately, the complete manifestation in the Church in her union with Christ.

            Thus the true function of the Church of God in the world is that of the pro­clamation of godliness; the Christ, and all those associated with Him, manifesting to the world the true life of piety, of religion, of godliness.

            The true function of the minister then is that of the exposition of Truth in the Church.       This is to be done by teaching, by exhortation, and by example.

            The word is full of solemnity, one that always searches the heart of those who are called to the ministry of the Word.

            It is not by orthodoxy of intellectual comprehension merely, that this work can be done. It is only as Truth is incarnate in the life of the teacher, that the teacher has the power to prepare others to reveal the Truth. The responsibility of the Church in regard to the ministry is that it shall incarnate the Truth taught, in order that it may fulfill its function in the world as the pillar and ground of the Truth, that from which the glory and light of the Truth flashes upon the darkness of the world.

            The abiding appeal to the Church is that the instrument must be fitted for the fulfillment of the function. The highest matter of importance in the life of the Church is that she shall be an instrument able to proclaim the Truth.

            First her gospel must be an unchanged gospel. There must be no turning aside to false knowledge and heresies, such as Gnosticism and others that were then creeping in; no turning aside from the one doctrine of godliness manifested in flesh; the great faith once delivered to the saints in the Person of Christ, and multiplied in exposi­tion through all these who share His life. The Church must be true to her gospel.

            Second, her worship must be unceas­ing; hence that whole section which deals so wonderfully with the subject of prayer.

            Finally she must be responsive to the authority of a faithful ministry.

            In order to be an instrument fulfilling their true function the church needs a gospel unchanged, worship unceasing, and an unfailing ministry.

            The responsibility of the minister may be described in the same way. The instrument must be fitted for the fulfillment of function. That fitness on the part of the minister con­sists of unswerving loyalty to truth; con­sistent behavior, that is behavior towards others in harmony with the truth pro­claimed; and realization of godliness in personal life; that is personal life harmonious with the truth, mastered by the truth, responsive to the truth.

            There is an immediate application of this message to the Church of God, and I choose to make it, having thus seen the positive teaching, by a negative statement. Let the Church beware of the things that hinder. They are false doctrines; failure in prayer; false government. False doctrine is any doctrine that denies the essential truths focused in the apostolic statement. When the Church relaxes her hold upon any vital part of the essential truth of the New Testament, she is weakening her testimony. Failure of prayer is so obvious a secret of failure that it only needs to be stated. False government is government by men who lack the godly character. Both bishops and deacons must be men of true Christian character who actually meet the specifications laid out and without any deviation from a literal reading of the verses. We have been too eager to seek men for other reasons, than for the highest; and to put them in charge of the affairs of the Christian Church. Those in oversight should be men full of faith and the Holy Ghost, men whose lives are transformed by the great doctrines for which the Church stands. Oversight must be in fulfillment of the truth, by incarnation of the truth; or what hope is there that the Church will rise to the fulfillment of her function in the world?

            The application to the minister is that he is warned against failure in doctrine; failure in duty; and failure in diligence. No man can be in the ministry of Jesus Christ and fulfill the ideals of this letter to Timothy without putting into the business of his ministry, the business of his study, the busi­ness of his exposition, the business of his life, all the forces of his being.

            Our sources of strength are sufficient. Truth itself, if known and responded to, will make us free from all the things that hinder us in the fulfillment of our service. Let those who teach the Word of God, whether in the larger assembly, or in the smaller circle, remember that teaching is only valu­able and dynamic in the measure in which it is given, not by intellectual processes merely, but by volitional obedience and the changed life that results. How often we need to remind ourselves of the word of Emerson, "I cannot hear what you say for listening to what you are." Let us solemnly remember it in the presence of God. How­ever orthodox the thing we say, however godly the method of our presentation of the truth, unless the life harmonizes, it is not only true that the things said will have no effect, it is true that the things said become a blasphemy and an impertinence.

            The Church of God in the world today has as her function, the proclamation of the truth of godliness. Those who teach the Word of God have as their responsibility, that they give such exposition of the truth in teaching and life that the Church shall be equipped for her great work. May He Who has honored us with the sacred responsibility fit us for the fulfillment of the duty.

THE MESSAGE OF 2 THESSALONIANS

THE MESSAGE OF 2 THESSALONIANS

            The second letter to the Thessalonians was a sequel to the first; but the purpose was different. The purpose of the first letter was comfort, while that of the second was correction.

            To understand this letter it is important that we should recognize the circumstances of these Thessalonian Christians at the time when Paul wrote. Of these, we have no historical picture. The Book of the Acts tells the story of the founding of the church, and of the departure of the apostle; but gives no account of the subsequent history of the church. From these letters we may learn the condition of affairs in Thessalonica so far as these Christians were concerned.

            We must keep in mind the conditions referred to in our last study. They are distinctly described in the beginning of this letter; "We ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure; which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer " (1:4, 5).

            These people were enduring persecutions and afflictions, and the apostle recognized the reason of the persecution and affliction; they suffered for the Kingdom of God. These experiences of trial had called forth the first letter, and they had not changed when this second was written.

            In this, however, new conditions are clearly revealed. These arose in all probability from a misreading of the first letter, accentuated perhaps by the arrival in Thessalonica of spurious letters, purporting to be from Paul himself, but in reality sent by someone else; and also from the teach­ing of certain people in Thessalonica.

            The new conditions are seen in the first two verses of the second chapter; "Now we beseech you, brethren, touch­ing the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto Him; to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is now present."

            They were in danger of being shaken from their mind. That phrase is an attempt at literalness in translation, which it is not easy to improve upon, and yet it hardly conveys the idea of the text. Dr. Findlay's translation is very graphic because more literal; he renders it "shaken out of your wits." These Thessalonian Christians were alarmed, perturbed; and the apostolic word was a protest against that attitude of mind; because such mental disturbance produced another condition which is described in verse eleven of chapter three; "We hear of some that walk among you disorderly, that work not at all, but are busybodies."

            In these two references we have a de­scription of the new conditions. In the midst of their trials they were suffering from mental disturbance, which resulted in disorderly conduct. Their mental distur­bance was caused by the fact that they were expecting the immediate manifesta­tion of Jesus in judgment to set up the Kingdom of God. The result was dis­orderly conduct. A great many abandoned their toil, gave up work in order to wait; yet they had to live, and consequently they were eating at other people's charges; and they became busybodies. In Paul's actual statement there is a play upon words, as though he should say, you are busy about everything except your own business. Thus it is seen that the conditions obtaining when he wrote his first letter were still continued; they were in affliction and persecution for the sake of the Kingdom of God. But now there was this added trouble, they were mentally disturbed, by his first letter partly, and by letters received "as from us"; they were expecting that the day of the Lord was close at hand, that He would immediately manifest Him­self in judgment to set up the Kingdom; and the result of it was that very many of them had given up their daily callings, and had become busybodies. Paul had written his first letter dealing with the fact of the Second Advent in order to comfort them. Now he heard from Thessa­lonica, that many of them were giving up work, and waiting for the coming of the Day of the Lord and the establishment of the Kingdom. This second letter was written in order to correct that false view.

            It may be said therefore that Paul wrote this letter for two purposes. First, to correct a false view of the Advent; and second, to correct false conduct arising out of such a false view. In these two purposes of the apostle we discover the essential message of this letter, its living, lasting, and immediate teaching; and in that part in which he corrected the false conduct, we discover the abiding appeal.

            The central teaching of this letter is that of its setting forth of the Christian position concerning the day of the Lord. Students of Holy Scripture will at once recognize that phrase. So far as we are able by in­ternal evidence to date the writings of the Old Testament we believe that the prophecy of Joel must be placed at a very early period, and therefore that he was the first to make use of it. From that time the phrase constantly recurs in the writings of the prophets. When we come to the New Testament the idea and the phrase are still present. In this letter the apostle explained to these Thessalonian Christians the relation of the Day of the Lord to the New Testament covenant, and the New Testament economy.

            The importance of this teaching cannot be over-estimated. The old phrase of the Hebrew prophets and the New Testament writers obtains until now. We are con­stantly using it in our common speech.

            Yet while the phrase is Scriptural and valu­able, we very often use it in entire ignorance of its meaning according to Scripture.

            Consequently difficult and mystical as this subject may seem to be, we have no right to pass it idly over. It is most important that we should know what Holy Scripture says to us concerning "the Day of the Lord" and its relation to the Christian covenant.

            There are two things we need especially to notice in considering this teaching; first the careful distinction which the apostle made; and secondly, his definite teaching concerning the Day of the Lord.

            First then as to the distinction. He had written to them telling them that “the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the arch­angel, and with the trump of God." He had written in such a way as to fasten their attention upon that Advent as the hope of Christian souls. He now wrote to them to tell them that “the day of the Lord" was not near, that it could not come until certain things had happened. Now the question is, did Paul in his second letter contradict the teaching of the first? Some expositors say, yes; that when Paul wrote his first letter he said one thing, and that when he wrote his second letter he modified his statement in the direction of actual change of teaching.

            Now let us carefully observe the distinc­tion which he made, a distinction which has given rise to the view that the second letter contradicted the first. The whole burden of the first letter is this; He is coming again; wait for Him. The whole burden of the second letter is this; He cannot come yet; continue your work. Here is the apparent contradiction. As a matter of fact there is no contradiction.

            The first chapter of the letter is largely introductory. When we come to the second chapter we find this distinction made; "We beseech you, brethren, touching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto Him; to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is now present; let no man beguile you in any wise; for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed."

            The distinction there between "our gathering together unto Him," and "the day of the Lord" is obvious. The whole purpose of the paragraph is to show the difference between the two.

            In the first place let us carefully notice the Greek word Parousia. That word simply means presence; it does mean the actual, positive, personal Presence. We shall see that the same word is used about the anti­christ; the man of sin is to have a parousia. It is a word always used with reference to the Second Advent, and suggests that it is to be personal as was the first, as definite, as positive, as visible. No man can make his appeal to the authority of Scripture without believing that He Who came is coming. We may differ as to the details; but the fact that Jesus is to come again, as surely as He came, the New Testament most certainly teaches. Parousia is the word used to describe that Coming. That Coming, that Presence, was the theme of his first letter to these people. At the close of every great section therein that word occurs. It is as though he now said; I wrote to you about the Presence; I want to say some­thing else about it, I desire to make a distinction.

            That distinction is not between the Parousia and the "Day of the Lord"; but between "our gathering together unto Him" and "the Day of the Lord." The trouble in the Thessalonian church resulted from confusion between two aspects of the Parousia, or Presence of Jesus; those namely of "our gathering together unto Him" and "the day of the Lord."

            They had received his first letter, in which he had said; "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

            That is a description of "our gathering together unto Him" at His Parousia or Coming.

He now wrote to tell them they were not to be troubled and disturbed as though "the Day of the Lord" were at hand.

            Thus he revealed the fact that there is a distinction to be made when considering the Parousia or Coming of the Lord, between "our gathering together unto Him," and "the day of the Lord." The apostle de­sired to teach these Christians that their relation to the Parousia was that of people waiting to be gathered unto Him; and that "the day of the Lord" was not that in which they were personally interested, so far as their habits of life were concerned.

            Nevertheless it is an interesting subject; and one full of importance. Therefore he proceeded with care to deal with the subject.

            He first declared that before "the day of the Lord" comes, there will be apostasy and a revelation of the man of sin; and then clearly described the man of sin, and the method of his manifestation; "He that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God. Re­member ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know that which restraineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his season. For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work; only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of His coming; even he, whose coming is according to the work­ings of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders."

            In that paragraph there are three matters we need specially to notice; first, the de­scription of existing conditions; second, the declaration that there will be a crisis; and third, the teaching concerning the ultimate day of the Lord.

            First as to the present facts. The apostle mentions two; first, the fact that the "mys­tery of lawlessness cloth already work"; and second, the fact that there is "One that restraineth."

            I am perfectly well aware of how many interpretations there have been of this passage. Everything depends upon the view held of the person here referred to. There are three descriptions; "lawless one," "son of perdition," "man of sin." The history of the interpretation of this passage is the history of the Christian Church for almost two thousand years. Early Christians believed that the power that hindered the manifestation of the antichrist was the Roman Empire. Then there came a time when Christians believed that the power that prevented was the State. Views as to the man of sin have changed in the same way. There are those even today who say that the spirit of antichrist is Romanism, and that the ulti­mate man of sin will be the Pope of Rome. And some believe that the State, organized under the government of God, is the restraining force. My own view is that they are all right, and that they are all wrong. They are all right in that they all discover the working of the mystery of lawlessness; but they are wrong in that they have not apprehended the fullness of the apostolic teaching. "The mystery of lawlessness" is one of the most remarkable of Bible phrases as a definition of sin; I cannot say of evil, because evil is not only the actual moral wrong, but all that results from it, of pain and suffering. Lawlessness is the root trouble with human life indi­vidually, socially, nationally, and racially. The apostle spoke of it as "the mystery of lawlessness," and he used that word mystery as he did in all his letters. A mystery according to the Greek philo­sopher was something that could only be known to an inner circle of initiated, and hardly known to them. A mystery according to Paul was something that no man could discover, but which God reveals. The "mystery of lawlessness" is that hidden, subtle, underlying force, ruining, blighting, spoiling humanity and creation. That lawlessness has been revealed. Jesus Christ came not only to reveal God and man, but the Devil also, by dragging him out of darkness into light that man might see him. The mystery underneath; the root of all humanity's maladies and diseases; the hidden spring of poison from which the polluting rivers flow; is lawlessness. This, the apostle declared, is already at work.

            But he declared also that there is a restraining power opposing it, so that it cannot come to full manifestation; "there is one that restraineth," and I believe that he referred to the Church of God, as created by and indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. As all these great truths are found in germ and potentiality in the teaching of Jesus, let us go back to the Manifesto of the King. He said to His disciples; "Ye are the salt of the earth . . . ye are the light of the world." What is the effect of salt? It is aseptic. What is the effect of light? It is illuminative. All brought about by indwelling.

            Lawlessness is corruption; it is darkness. The Church is salt, to prevent the spread of corruption; it is light flashing upon the darkness, so that lawlessness is hindered from full victory, and the men of lawless­ness cannot accomplish all their dastardly works. That is true of the Church of God and the Spirit of God in the world at this present moment. Lawlessness is working; it is an attitude of heart, of mind, of will. If the Church of God, the whole company of new-born souls, were lifted out of the world (raptured-forcibly taken), and taken right away, what would be the result? Lawlessness would have its full manifestation. The thing that saves America, Europe, Asia, Far East, South America, Russia, Philippines, Japan, China and the rest of the world from unutterable corruption, and from the deepest darkness is the presence in it of the Holy Spirit of God through Christian men and women. That then, is the present condition of affairs. The mystery of lawlessness working, but the Holy Spirit through the Church restraining.

            The second matter to be observed is the apostle's declaration that there will very soon come a crisis. It will come when He that restraineth is taken away, that is when the Spirit is withdrawn. When will the Spirit be withdrawn? When the Church of God is withdrawn, and never until then. "I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever." When will the Church be withdrawn? At "our gathering together unto Him" at His coming. When He that restraineth is withdrawn, the man of sin, the son of perdition, the lawless one, will have his apocalypse, his parousia. The apostle teaches with great distinctness that at last lawlessness will have its final manifestation in some one person, a despot far worse than any the world has ever yet seen; and yet one characterized, not by the old-fashioned brutality of the beast, but by the oppression and cruelty of culture and refinement. If you would know the character of that one, the man of sin, we have the revelation in Paul's description; "He that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped."

            He will be entirely godless, but of so remarkable a character as to persuade men that he is himself divine.

            The final matter is that of the ultimate fact which will bring the Day of the Lord.

At last, all evil focused in a person and manifested; there will be an epiphany of the parousia of the Lord—that is a very remarkable phrase; not His parousia merely; that includes the whole fact of the Advent. There will be first of all that aspect of the coming which will result in the gathering together of His own to Himself by rapture; when that happens, that which restrains being taken away, lawlessness will come to its head, and will have its mani­festation in a person. Then the parousia, the presence of Christ in which His own have been gathered to Him, will become an epiphany; a flaming, shining glory; destroying the man of sin, and setting up that Kingdom on the earth which is the Kingdom of the iron rod; the rule of perfect, inflexible justice; the reign of the One Who does not judge by the seeing of the eyes or the hearing of the ears, but with righteous judgment.

            How often as we look at human life, or see its portrayal in literature, we feel that this is what the world ultimately needs. Then for the first time the world will come to the realization of the breadth, beauty, and beneficence of the will of God. I have no hope in presidents, kings, or parliaments, or policy, for the ultimate establishment of the Kingdom. Only by the presence of the Christ, returning with the saints He has gathered to Himself, shall be set up and established His Kingdom in the world. The manifestation of the presence will be for the destruction of the lawless one, and the establishment of the Kingdom.

            The abiding appeal of this letter is first a call to courage. Paul said; Do not let your mind be disturbed, do not be shaken out of your wits. Let your heart be comforted and established. Courage is always an affair of the heart. Comforted is from the same root as the word which

is used for the Holy Spirit; a word of great strength, which suggests a sense of peace and quietness. Let your heart be comforted and established.

            It is also a call to conduct. Get on with your work! Wait and work! The man who gives up the fulfillment of his daily vocation to wait for Christ is doing exactly what some of these Thessalonian Christians had been doing. The work to which the apostle referred is the practical, commonplace work of everyday life; that actual work by which a man supplies the necessities of his physical life.

            So let us wait, with calm and steady hearts, knowing that there will be a gather­ing together to Him; and afterwards, an epiphany of the presence, when lawlessness having come to manifestation in a person, will be smitten to its death, and the King­dom of God will be established.

            The application of this letter to the Christian Church is in its interpretation of our own times; these are days of lawless­ness, and, thank God, of restraint also.

            The gravest peril that we have to confront is not that of socialism, nor that of feudal­ism; it is rather that of a growing spirit of rebellion against all government; lawlessness. America is unfolding due to the lawlessness of its own government to its very constitution. And not only in America but it is abroad everywhere. The gravest menace to our national life is that of the man who leaves out God, mocks at authority, all due to the fact that the authority over him is lawless also and so vaunts his own independence. Wherever you find him, the mark of the beast is on him. And a despot is about to show to lead them all. It is imperative that the Church should realize this.

            But let the Church remember that there is One that restraineth; the mighty grip of God is on all the forces which seem to be making for lawlessness, restraining them until He be ready that they shall manifest themselves. The crisis is coming; it will be for the world, first the unveiling of the man of sin; and then the unveiling and apocalypse of the Lord Jesus. Our hearts are to be firm and steady in absolute assurance that in that last unveiling it is not the Lord Jesus Christ, but the man of sin, who will be destroyed. Only let us also remember that in the interim the Church is the instrument of restraint. She is salt, and she is light, by the indwelling and power of the Holy Spirit.

            What is the application to the individual? The measure in which I share the life of the Christ is the measure in which I am exercis­ing restraint. Let each Christian ask then; How far am I by influence of speech and work restraining lawlessness? And then let us remember that the measure in which we restrain lawlessness in the world is the measure in which there is no lawlessness in our own hearts.

THE MESSAGE OF 1 THESSALONIANS

THE MESSAGE OF 1 THESSALONIANS

            This letter thrills with conflicting emotions. On the one hand there are evidences of the apostle's unbounded joy and satisfaction in the work accomplished at Thessalonica. On the other hand there are equally clear evidences of his concern for the Thessalonian Christians in view of the circumstances of peril in which they lived.

            The letter differs from any we have already considered; not because it was written at an earlier period in the ministry of the apostle; but because the need calling for it was different. I draw attention to this, because it has been said that this was one of the first of Paul's letters, and that when he wrote the later ones he had entirely departed from some of the posi­tions he held when he wrote this one.

            All Paul's letters were written with some very definite, immediate, and local purpose. Paul did not sit down intending to write a system of theology or to write letters for the Universal Church; but he neverthe­less did both these things in the purpose and economy of the inspiring Spirit of God, though quite unconsciously to himself at the time. He wrote to the people whom he named, and on some subject of imme­diate importance to them.

            In all the letters we have considered so far, some great doctrine of the faith, or duty of the Church has been discussed. Here there is no definite teaching of that kind. This is not a letter stating a great doctrine of the faith. This is not a letter insisting upon some special duty of the Church. In two verses only do we find anything in the nature of definite teaching which is new; "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord " (4:16, 17). (The Rapture)

            In that brief paragraph we have the only passage which is of the nature of positive statement. And let us be careful even in regard to this. It is not an announcement of the fact of the, Second Advent. It does declare the fact, but that is not the purpose of the statement of the apostle. Neither is it a defense of the truth of the Second Advent.

            It becomes a defense, for it is an apostolic and inspired declaration; but that is not its purpose. It is rather a simple statement of the order of events at the Advent, made for the comfort of be­reaved Christians. It must be taken in connection with that which has preceded it, beginning at the thirteenth verse; "We would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep." (Died-passed away)

            Having written this the apostle gave the order of events, showing that at the Second Advent of Jesus those that have fallen on sleep will take precedence of those that remain. That is the purpose of the declaration. Thus, the only positive state­ment of truth in this letter is, after all, an incidental part of the argument.

            It is nevertheless obvious, alike to the casual and most critical student of this letter that the fact of the Second Advent of Jesus was paramount in the mind of the writer from beginning to end. Its glory gleams on every page and shines through every argument, and was the utmost matter in all that he had to say to these Thessalonian Christians.

            Let us attempt to discover the reason of this. Paul's work in Thessalonica had been characterized by the most remarkable spiritual awakening, and that in spite of peculiarly vindictive opposition and perse­cution, the history of which is found in the Acts of the Apostles. He came to Thessalonica and for three Sabbaths he spoke in the synagogue; then he turned to the Gentiles, and there was a marvelous awakening, followed by most vicious opposition, so that Paul was compelled to escape from Thessalonica, to Berea, to Athens, and finally to Corinth. At Corinth he was joined by Timothy, whom he had left behind, and from whom he learned of the state of his Thessalonian converts. Only a few months elapsed between his first coming to Thessalonica and the writing of this letter.

            These Thessalonian Christians were firm in their loyalty to the gospel which had been declared unto them; but they were enduring suffering, persecution, and affliction for the sake of the Kingdom of God. To these people Paul wrote; and the letter therefore was one intended to comfort those who were suffering for their loyalty to that King Jesus, for preaching Whom, the apostle had been sent away. What more natural then than that His Advent of vindication and victory should be upper­most in his thought? He could best comfort them by reminding them that the unseen King to Whom they were loyal, would again be manifested, and would vindicate their loyalty in the grace and glory of His Second Advent.

            The essential message of this letter therefore, is that of the relation of the Second Advent to Christian experience. The letter does not deal doctrinally with the Advent; it takes the fact for granted, and applies it.

            It does take the fact for granted. No man can read this letter without seeing that when Paul wrote it he believed that as surely as Jesus had been seen in this world, He would be seen again; that as certainly as He had once appeared, He would appear again; that as certainly as there had been a coming to suffering, there would be a coming to sovereignty. To go back to the brief paragraph already quoted; the simplest honest reading of it can leave no doubt that the apostle referred to an actual coming of the same Jesus Who had already come. That is the force of the introductory phrase, "the Lord Himself." Why the introduction of that word "Him­self" unless it be to emphasize the fact of the personal Advent of Jesus? No com­ment is needed. Of course, it might be pertinent for us to discuss the question whether Paul was right or wrong. My business, however, is simply to emphasize what Paul said and meant. There are those who say that he was mistaken. In that view there is necessarily involved the question of the inspiration and authority of these letters. Our attitude is that of belief in their inspiration and authority.    The teaching of Paul was in harmony with that of the Lord; "Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when cometh in His own glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels." "The Lord Himself shall de­scend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

            Thus Paul reaffirmed Christ's definite declaration.

The central teaching of this letter then is that of the relation of the Second Advent to Christian experience. This fact of the coming of Jesus is the final argument, producing faith. This fact of the Second Advent of Jesus is the abiding confidence, inspiring labor. This fact of the coming of Jesus is the ultimate victory, creating patience. In the introduction to this letter the apostle declared that he remembered without ceasing their work of faith, their labor of love, and their patience of hope. These are the facts of Christian experience. The work of faith is that act of faith by which men become Christians. Said Jesus, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent." That work of faith is followed necessarily and inevit­ably by the labor of love. That labor of love is maintained through all circum­stances by the patience of hope. These are the three attitudes of the Christian life.

            Let us carefully notice how the first three chapters end. The first ends with the words

"to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivereth us from the wrath to come."

            The second ends, "What is our hope, or joy, or crown of glorying? Are not even ye, before our Lord Jesus at His coming? For ye are our glory and our joy." The third ends, "To the end He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints."

            These are all references to the Advent. The first indicates that which I have named as the first fact, the relation of the Advent to Christian experience in its be­ginning. The final argument producing faith is that of the coming of Jesus. They turned from idols to God to serve God and to wait for His Son. The last argument producing faith was the declaration that the One Who had come was coming again. They were to wait for Him. Think of the actual circumstances of these Thessalonians; they were living in the midst of idols that could be seen; their Lord was unseen. They were men who had been brought up in the midst of idolatry, worshipping things seen and handled, which appealed to the senses; and they turned to an unseen God. What was the last argument persuading them to do this? The fact that He would yet again be manifested; and that at His Advent there would be the vindication of faith in sight. When they turned to God from idols, they turned toward a restored order, from the disorder in the midst of which they were living; toward the estab­lishment of the Kingdom, from the anarchy in the midst of which they had been living, from the anarchy of idolatry to the Govern­ment of God. When they did that, they did it, determining to wait for the Son. Faith acted not only upon the declaration that He has come, but that He is coming again. Faith is a venture which trusts in the first corning, and waits for the second. Thus the Second Advent is the final argument producing faith.

            Then, as in the power of faith they turned to their labor of love, the Second Advent became their abiding confidence, inspiring that labor. They turned "to serve a living and true God." When they turned to the unseen God, having heard the declaration that the Son should be revealed again, de­termining to wait for the Son, they turned to serve this living and true God.            The reward of service will be received when the Son returns. In order to comfort these Thessalonian Christians in the midst of their suffering, Paul spoke of his own experience; "What is our hope, or joy, or crown of glorying? Are not even ye, before our Lord Jesus at His coming?" The reward of Christian service is, in its finality and com­pletion, postponed until the Second Advent. There is a sense in which rewards come in the act of service. In the Corinthian letter the apostle deals with that phase of the truth, "Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, foras­much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." The reward of service is in the service, in the immediate success of service; but the great reward, the ultimate gladness, will be when those whom we have led to Christ by patience and by persever­ance and persistence, in the midst of toil and travail, are presented faultless (perfect)at His coming.

            As I watch this apostle on his journeys, the intrepid missionary, pressing forever on to the regions beyond, suffering perils by land and sea, from enemies and false brethren; glowing in his heart forevermore, as the inspiration of his labor of love, is that glad hour when those who are won for Christ will be presented faultless (perfect) in the glory of the Second Advent.

            Finally, the Christian experience is made up not only of the work of faith and the labor of love, but also of the patience of hope. The ultimate victory, creating the patience, is to be won at the Second Advent. "To the end He may establish your hearts . . . before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints." That conviction of the heart produces patience.     Patience in this matter of personal salvation, with ourselves; not with ourselves as severed from Him, or as apart from Him; not with ourselves as disloyal to Christ. But even when loyal to Christ we are disappointed. If we are satisfied with ourselves it is an evil thing for us spiritually. How dissatisfied with ourselves we become whenever we think of ourselves; but at His coming He will establish us, unblameable in holiness. Not for a moment is this to be an excuse for carelessness in Christian life, but on the contrary it is to be a perpetual inspiration, driving us toward approximation to that final perfection, lest, as John says, we be ashamed from Him at His coming. We shall be patient with ourselves if we are loyal, in proportion as our hearts are resting in the glory of the Advent. We know that then we shall be perfected.

            Then also this conviction will give us patience with God. We have all experi­enced hours in which, because of our frailty, we have been inclined to be impatient with God; impatient with God about the world. If we have ever come very near the world's agony, there have been moments when it has seemed as though God were doing no­thing. But when we see this fact of the Second Advent, and know that by a crisis in the future, as definite as the crisis in the past, God will consummate the thing that today is being prepared for by processes, and then the heart is patient with God, and with all conditions. Here suffer a word of per­sonal testimony. If you take away from me the doctrine of the Second Advent of Christ, which is to be a crisis in human his­tory as definite as the first, I am the most pessimistic of men. If you tell me that the work of the missionary is to convert the world by preaching, I am hopeless indeed But when I realize that the work of missions is to evangelize the world by the preaching of the Gospel for a witness; and that beyond the advent there will be a new age in which human history will be perfected; then I wait with patience for the crisis which is to come, and serve, as God helps me, in order to hasten that coming, the coming of our Lord Himself.

            Thus the central teaching of the letter is of the Second Advent in relation to the whole fact of Christian experience. It is the last argument producing faith. How can I turn to God? He Who came, is coming! Then I will trust and wait. The fact of that Advent is the abiding confidence which inspires labor. Then shall I know the real result of my toil, and that makes me quite careless about present statistics and figures. Then the sheaves of the harvest will be garnered; the statistics of God will be published. Then the heart will know its final joy, when in the presence of Christ we see men, women, and little children, whom we have tried to help and win for Him. The fact of that coming produces the patience which is the very strength of life, for then we shall be perfected and the ways of God vindicated.

            The abiding appeal of this letter is that we should respond to this great truth of the second coming of our Lord. How are we to respond?

            First in our own life, by sanctification. The life of sanctification is the true response to the doctrine of the Second Advent. The life of sanctification is that of personal purity; love of the brethren; and honesty in the world. That is response to the doctrine.

            If we believe that He may in any day disturb us in our work, or in any night wake us from our sleep by His own voice, how pure we shall desire our personal life to be, that we may be ready; how we shall love the brethren, lest He should come and find us quarrelling; how honestly we shall live before the world.

            What is the response to this fact in the presence of death? First there is comfort for the bereaved. "If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him." Then, what rapture and gladness, what uniting of severed friendships when partings are no more. Oh the com­fort of that!

            “Comfort one another with these words." This is the transfiguration or death, the abolition of death.

            If there come what men call death, to the child of God, then the child of God will lay down his head and sleep, knowing that when the Lord shall come, he will he awakened before those who are left; that he will be changed first, that in their transfiguration there may be perfect re­union. Yet we wait not for death, but labor.

            In view of the judgment that lies beyond death what is the response to this truth? The Advent is not a question of times and seasons; would God the Church believed that? It is the study of this Advent in connection with calendars and almanacs that has brought the whole subject into disrepute. There is a Day of God of which the ancient prophets spoke, which will be a Day of Judgment; but we are not appointed to judgment but to salvation and to deliverance from the disasters of that day.

            It is my own personal and strong con­viction that this truth of the Second Advent is the light that has failed in the history of the Christian Church. I am sometimes inclined to think that I am a very lonely man as an expositor today in the view I take of the Second Advent. I believe that the results of the loss of this doctrine to the Church are; unbelief, and return to idols; indolence, which issues in strife; and impatience, which issues in sin; the oppo­sites of the great things which Paul describes, as the work of faith, the labor of love, and the patience of hope. The measure, in which this great doctrine becomes vital and real, is the measure of faith, the measure of labor, the measure of patience.

            If this is the light that failed, it is also a light which was given again, and then strangely obscured during the twentieth century. God raised up certain men of vision, and restored this great truth; but the most amazing wonder and calamity is that they have so largely obscured the light by making it the one and only fact for which they have cared anything; waiting without working; singing about the Advent, without suffering in order to hasten its coming; treating the Advent as though it were a method by which God would gather them away to everlasting rest, while He let the rest of the world drift to darkness and death. That is a lie. It is a more terrible heresy than to forget the Advent. Belief in the Second Advent of Jesus should be the inspiration of all things that are of service and sacrifice.

            Paul ended his letter by the prayer, "The God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, Who will also do it." The sanctification of the spirit, soul, and body, consists in that waiting for Jesus which is the waiting of unceasing service; not in gazing at the stars, not in attempting to decipher hieroglyphics, not in fatuous endeavors to fix a date.

            With that music of the Second Advent in our souls, with the assurance in our hearts that He Who came will come; we will wait and watch, while we love and labor. Thus waiting, the time will soon pass, and we shall see Him and be like Him.