Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.
Be ye also enlarged is a fatherly plea to give back in return an open and enlarged heart for the love already shown. To be enlarged is the opposite of being narrow and contracted in thought and planning, which brings leanness of soul and spiritual poverty. It means opening the heart wide toward God in full purpose and diligent repentance, so that self is crucified and Christ possesses the soul temple in place of a straitened spirit that complains of others. This enlarging is inseparable from coming out from the world and unbelievers and cleansing from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, as the condition for God to receive His people and be a Father to them as sons and daughters. The call is urgent now, for now is the accepted time and day of salvation with the Lord soon to come, and it belongs to the higher education that safeguards families and schools from conformity to the world.
Enlarged Heart Explained
The call is fatherly, spoken as to children, asking for a recompense in kind — an enlarged, open heart given back in return for the affection and earnest appeal already shown. To be enlarged is the opposite of being narrow and contracted in spiritual devising and thinking. That narrowness and contraction bring dearth of soul and spiritual poverty.
To be enlarged toward God is to have the eyes opened to discern spiritual things. It is to turn to God with full purpose of heart and to make diligent work of repentance in order to obtain the sanctification of the Spirit. Then self is crucified and Christ takes possession of the soul-temple, bringing unity with the Spirit of God, instead of complaining of others from a straitened heart.
An enlarged heart expresses love to God, believes that God is working, puts away personal ideas, and unites and works with brethren in trust that others can work together. It does its best cheerfully and lovingly and patiently and hopefully. It does not stand in its own light but hides self in Jesus, so that God can make the one thus hidden His mouthpiece to speak to others and give courage and hope to souls. It refuses weary, sickly weakness, and when tired and full of care and worry and self-pity it stops work and goes apart to rest awhile rather than worrying out of the arms of Jesus.
The call to be enlarged is addressed to one whose whole center and circumference is self. Grasping every advantage and drawing in everything within reach like a whirlwind is selfishness reigning, and it is spiritual deception of heart and spirit and soul and flesh and bones. The plea is to fall on the Rock and be broken, to humble the heart before God without delay, and to surrender whole heart and soul and strength and mind to undo what has been done. That surrender is with brokenness for putting the Saviour to shame and for making the heart wayward when Jesus offers blessing, yet there is still hope for such a one who surrenders at once.
Separation and Divine Sonship
2 Corinthians 6:13 belongs to the conditions set out in 2 Corinthians 6:1-18, which are of great importance and in no case to be neglected. That chapter sets out the Christian experience and the graces to be received by meeting its conditions.
Believers are the temple of the living God, in whom God dwells and walks and whose God He is while they are His people. Therefore there can be no concord of Christ with Belial, no part of belief with unbelief, and no agreement of the temple of God with idols. Every servant of God is to be under the sanctification of the Holy Spirit on this ground.
The verse calls for separation in spirit and in practice from the world and from unbelievers. It calls God's people to come out, to be separate, to touch not the unclean thing, and to cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit in perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This is the condition for God to receive believers and to be a Father to them as His sons and daughters.
Those who take the name of Christian are under obligation as workers together with Him who do not receive the grace of God in vain. They are to reveal Christ's character in works as His chosen representatives to an apostate world. Those who receive God's great goodness become debtors to share it with Greeks and Barbarians, wise and unwise.
Whoever enters the strait gate and travels the narrow path cast up for the ransomed will meet obstacles, tribulation, bruising of spirit, hard speeches, ridicule and persecution. The world rubs hard against him, and earthly authorities require conformity to laws and customs that would make him disloyal to God, and there he finds the cross in the way to life. Obedience must be complete, in every word and act showing God honor, including the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as the sign between God and His people brought to view in the third angel's message. Unless united to Christ as the limpet to the rock, the strong downward current will sweep him off his feet to be found with the rebellious at last.
One bought with a price, whose time, talents and influence are the Lord's, must not set up in business for self, unite with unbelievers in medical work, or link up with the world. He must do the Lord's bidding, learn daily of Him, and receive the grace of Christ the great Medical Missionary. He is to work in connection with believing physicians, wearing the yoke of Christ in meekness and lowliness under the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.
Urgency and Daily Living
Paul's appeal to be enlarged is especially fitting for the present time because the Lord is soon to come and perilous times lie ahead. The call presses with immediacy because the present moment is ever the eternal present, there is no tomorrow that belongs to anyone, and the present is the accepted time and the day of salvation. Its blessings are to be grasped as special favors, and grasping them requires earnest labor to seek and encourage right thoughts and pure and holy purposes, since such thoughts and purposes do not come naturally.
The appeal belongs to the Laodicean message directed to the people of God in their present spiritual condition. It forms part of what constitutes the higher education, for no education stands higher than the principles laid down in 2 Corinthians 6, and nothing in all the world in the line of education is so exalted as the instruction contained there. That higher education is the same as was given to the early disciples, it is given through the Word by chosen messengers, and the Holy Spirit must impress its truth upon the mind. Those who labor in schools and sanitariums must not make the grave mistake of falling into line with the world by studying what the world studies and becoming familiar with what the world becomes familiar with, but must give special attention to searching the Word. Students are to study this appeal diligently in order to comprehend it, believers are to advance just as far as the Word will take them and to work intelligently for this higher education, and their righteousness is to be the sign of their understanding of the will of God committed through His messengers.
The chapter in which the appeal stands sets forth the Christian experience and the graces to be received by meeting its conditions, and in this it offers encouragement to parents to seek conversion and faithfully guide their families in serving God. Its instructions are precious and are to be put into practice, for following them safeguards families from the errors against which the churches are warned.
Be ye also enlarged is a fatherly plea to give back in return an open and enlarged heart for the love already shown. To be enlarged is the opposite of being narrow and contracted in thought and planning, which brings leanness of soul and spiritual poverty. It means opening the heart wide toward God in full purpose and diligent repentance, so that self is crucified and Christ possesses the soul temple in place of a straitened spirit that complains of others. This enlarging is inseparable from coming out from the world and unbelievers and cleansing from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, as the condition for God to receive His people and be a Father to them as sons and daughters. The call is urgent now, for now is the accepted time and day of salvation with the Lord soon to come, and it belongs to the higher education that safeguards families and schools from conformity to the world.
Enlarged Heart Explained
The call is fatherly, spoken as to children, asking for a recompense in kind — an enlarged, open heart given back in return for the affection and earnest appeal already shown. To be enlarged is the opposite of being narrow and contracted in spiritual devising and thinking. That narrowness and contraction bring dearth of soul and spiritual poverty.
To be enlarged toward God is to have the eyes opened to discern spiritual things. It is to turn to God with full purpose of heart and to make diligent work of repentance in order to obtain the sanctification of the Spirit. Then self is crucified and Christ takes possession of the soul-temple, bringing unity with the Spirit of God, instead of complaining of others from a straitened heart.
An enlarged heart expresses love to God, believes that God is working, puts away personal ideas, and unites and works with brethren in trust that others can work together. It does its best cheerfully and lovingly and patiently and hopefully. It does not stand in its own light but hides self in Jesus, so that God can make the one thus hidden His mouthpiece to speak to others and give courage and hope to souls. It refuses weary, sickly weakness, and when tired and full of care and worry and self-pity it stops work and goes apart to rest awhile rather than worrying out of the arms of Jesus.
The call to be enlarged is addressed to one whose whole center and circumference is self. Grasping every advantage and drawing in everything within reach like a whirlwind is selfishness reigning, and it is spiritual deception of heart and spirit and soul and flesh and bones. The plea is to fall on the Rock and be broken, to humble the heart before God without delay, and to surrender whole heart and soul and strength and mind to undo what has been done. That surrender is with brokenness for putting the Saviour to shame and for making the heart wayward when Jesus offers blessing, yet there is still hope for such a one who surrenders at once.
Separation and Divine Sonship
2 Corinthians 6:13 belongs to the conditions set out in 2 Corinthians 6:1-18, which are of great importance and in no case to be neglected. That chapter sets out the Christian experience and the graces to be received by meeting its conditions.
Believers are the temple of the living God, in whom God dwells and walks and whose God He is while they are His people. Therefore there can be no concord of Christ with Belial, no part of belief with unbelief, and no agreement of the temple of God with idols. Every servant of God is to be under the sanctification of the Holy Spirit on this ground.
The verse calls for separation in spirit and in practice from the world and from unbelievers. It calls God's people to come out, to be separate, to touch not the unclean thing, and to cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit in perfecting holiness in the fear of God. This is the condition for God to receive believers and to be a Father to them as His sons and daughters.
Those who take the name of Christian are under obligation as workers together with Him who do not receive the grace of God in vain. They are to reveal Christ's character in works as His chosen representatives to an apostate world. Those who receive God's great goodness become debtors to share it with Greeks and Barbarians, wise and unwise.
Whoever enters the strait gate and travels the narrow path cast up for the ransomed will meet obstacles, tribulation, bruising of spirit, hard speeches, ridicule and persecution. The world rubs hard against him, and earthly authorities require conformity to laws and customs that would make him disloyal to God, and there he finds the cross in the way to life. Obedience must be complete, in every word and act showing God honor, including the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as the sign between God and His people brought to view in the third angel's message. Unless united to Christ as the limpet to the rock, the strong downward current will sweep him off his feet to be found with the rebellious at last.
One bought with a price, whose time, talents and influence are the Lord's, must not set up in business for self, unite with unbelievers in medical work, or link up with the world. He must do the Lord's bidding, learn daily of Him, and receive the grace of Christ the great Medical Missionary. He is to work in connection with believing physicians, wearing the yoke of Christ in meekness and lowliness under the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.
Urgency and Daily Living
Paul's appeal to be enlarged is especially fitting for the present time because the Lord is soon to come and perilous times lie ahead. The call presses with immediacy because the present moment is ever the eternal present, there is no tomorrow that belongs to anyone, and the present is the accepted time and the day of salvation. Its blessings are to be grasped as special favors, and grasping them requires earnest labor to seek and encourage right thoughts and pure and holy purposes, since such thoughts and purposes do not come naturally.
The appeal belongs to the Laodicean message directed to the people of God in their present spiritual condition. It forms part of what constitutes the higher education, for no education stands higher than the principles laid down in 2 Corinthians 6, and nothing in all the world in the line of education is so exalted as the instruction contained there. That higher education is the same as was given to the early disciples, it is given through the Word by chosen messengers, and the Holy Spirit must impress its truth upon the mind. Those who labor in schools and sanitariums must not make the grave mistake of falling into line with the world by studying what the world studies and becoming familiar with what the world becomes familiar with, but must give special attention to searching the Word. Students are to study this appeal diligently in order to comprehend it, believers are to advance just as far as the Word will take them and to work intelligently for this higher education, and their righteousness is to be the sign of their understanding of the will of God committed through His messengers.
The chapter in which the appeal stands sets forth the Christian experience and the graces to be received by meeting its conditions, and in this it offers encouragement to parents to seek conversion and faithfully guide their families in serving God. Its instructions are precious and are to be put into practice, for following them safeguards families from the errors against which the churches are warned.