Our last lesson covered the first ten verses of the second chapter of Galatians, but we did not particularly study the last portion of the section. Accordingly we shall begin our study this week with the sixth verse, in order to keep the connection.
“But of those who seemed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me; God accepteth no man’s person); for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me; but contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter (for he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles); and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship: that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.
“But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles; but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him, inasmuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Gal. 2:6–16.
Not in Doubt.
Paul did not go up to Jerusalem in order to get a difficult point settled. He did not go up to the apostles and elders to find out whether he had been preaching the truth or error for seventeen years. Those who were leaders among the brethren “added nothing” to him. He had seen the Lord Jesus, and he knew whom he had believed (2 Tim. 1:12); and as he had not received the Gospel from any man (Gal. 1:11, 12), he did not need that any man should teach him what it is (1 John 2:26, 27). He went up because the Lord sent him. The Lord knew that the brethren in Jerusalem needed his testimony, and the new converts needed to know that those whom God sent spoke the words of God, and therefore all spoke the same thing. They needed the assurance that as they had turned from many gods to the one God, the truth is one, and there is but one Gospel for all men.
No Monopoly of Truth.
“Whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me; God accepteth no man’s person.” There is no man or body of men on earth that has a monopoly of truth,—a corner, so to speak, so that whoever wishes it must come to him. Truth is independent of men. Truth is of God, for Christ, who is the shining of His glory, and the very impress of His substance (Heb. 1:3), is the truth (John 14:6). Whoever gets the truth, must get it from God, and not from any man, just as Paul received the Gospel. God may and does use men as instruments or channels, but He alone is the Giver. Every man on earth may be the possessor of just as much of the truth as he is willing to use, and no more. See John 7:17; 12:35, 36. He who would act the pope, thinking to hold a monopoly of the truth, and compel people to come to him for it, dealing it out here, and withholding it there, loses all the truth that he ever had, if he ever really had any. Truth and popery can not exist together; no pope, or man with a popish disposition, has the truth. As soon as a man receives the truth, he ceases to be a pope. If the pope of Rome should get converted, and become a disciple of Christ, that very hour he would vacate the papal seat.
The Biggest Not Always the Best.
Just as there is no man who has a monopoly of truth, so there are no places to which men must necessarily go in order to find it. The brethren in Antioch did not need to go to Jerusalem to learn the truth, or to find out if what they had was the genuine article. The fact that truth was first proclaimed in a certain place, does not prove that it can be found only there, or4that it can be found there at all. In fact, the last places in the world to go to with the expectation of finding or learning truth, are the cities where the Gospel was preached in the first centuries after Christ, as Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Alexandria, etc. Paul did not go up to Jerusalem to them that were apostles before him, but began to preach.
The Papacy arose in part in this way: It was assumed that the places where the apostles, or some of them, had preached must have the truth in its purity, and that all men must take it from there. It was also assumed that the people of a city must know more of it than the people in the country or in a village. So from all bishops being on an equality, as at the beginning, it soon came to pass that the “country bishops” (chorepiscopoi) were rated as secondary to those who officiated in the cities. Then when that spirit crept in, of course the next step was necessarily a strife among the city bishops to see which one should be greatest; and the unholy struggle went on until Rome gained the coveted place of power.
But Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a place that was “little among the thousands of Judah” (Micah 5:2), and nearly all His life lived in Nazareth, a little town of so poor repute that a man in whom there was no guile said, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:45–47). Afterward Jesus took up His abode in the wealthy city of Capernaum, but was always known as “Jesus of Nazareth.” It is no farther to heaven from the smallest village, or even the smallest lonely cabin on the plain, than it is from the largest city or a bishop’s palace. And God, “the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy,” dwells with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit. Isa. 57:15.
It Is God That Works.
“He that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles.” The Word of God is living and active. Heb. 4:12, R.V. Whatever activity there is in the work of the Gospel, if there is any work done, it is all of God. Jesus “went about doing good; . . . for God was with Him.” Acts 10:38. He Himself said, “I can of Mine own self do nothing.” John 5:30. “The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works.” John 15:10. So Peter spoke of Him as “a Man approved of God . . . by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him.” Acts 2:22. The disciple is not greater than his Lord. Paul and Barnabas, therefore, at the meeting in Jerusalem, told “what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.” Acts 15:12. Paul declared that he labored to “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus; . . . striving according to His working, which worketh in me mightily.” Col. 1:28, 29. This same power it is the privilege of the humblest believer to possess; “for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good-pleasure.” Phil. 2:13.
Recognizing the Gift.
The brethren in Jerusalem showed their connection with God by recognizing the grace that was given to Paul and Barnabas. When Barnabas first went to Antioch, and saw the grace of God that was working there, he “was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 11:21–24. The other apostles perceived that God had chosen Paul for a special work among the Gentiles, and they gave to him the right hand of fellowship, only requesting that he would remember the poor among his own nation, and this he had already shown his willingness to do. Acts 11:27–30. So Paul and Barnabas returned to their work.
Withstanding Peter.
“But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.” We need not magnify nor dwell upon the mistakes of Peter or any other good man, because that is not profitable for us; but we must note this overwhelming proof that Peter was never considered the “prince of the apostles,” and that he never was, or considered himself to be, pope. Fancy any priest, bishop, or cardinal, withstanding Leo XIII. to the face in a public assembly. He would be considered extremely fortunate if the papal guards allowed him to escape with his life for thus presuming to oppose “the vicar of the Son of God.” But Peter made a mistake, and that upon a vital matter of doctrine, because he was not infallible, and meekly accepted the rebuke that Paul gave him, like the sincere, humble Christian that he was. Infallibility is not the portion of any man; and the greatest man in the church of Christ has no lordship over the weakest. “One is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.”
Making a Difference.
When Peter was at the conference in Jerusalem, he told the facts about the receiving of the Gospel by the Gentiles, at his mouth, saying, “God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” Acts 15:8, 9. God put no difference between Jews and Gentiles in the matter of the purification of the heart, because, knowing the hearts, He knew that “there is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” so that there is no other way than for all to be “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Rom. 3:22–24. But after having been shown this fact by the Lord; after having preached to the Gentiles and witnessed the gift of the Holy Ghost to them, the same as to Jewish believers; after having eaten with them, and faithfully defended his course; after having given a clear testimony in conference that God made no difference between Jews and Gentiles; and even immediately after himself making no difference, Peter suddenly, as soon as some came who he thought would not approve of such freedom, began to make a difference. “He withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.” This was, as Paul says, dissimulation, and was not only wrong in itself, but was calculated to confuse and mislead the disciples.
Contrary to the Truth of the Gospel.
A wave of fear seems to have passed over the Jewish believers, for “the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.” This in itself was of course not walking “uprightly, according to the truth of the Gospel;” but the mere fact of dissembling was not the whole of the offense against the truth of the Gospel. Under the circumstances it was a public denial of Christ, just as much as that of which Peter had once before, through sudden fear, been guilty. We have all been too often guilty of the same sin to warrant us from sitting in judgment; we can only note the fact, and the natural consequence, as a warning to ourselves. See now how the action of Peter and the others was a virtual denial of Christ, altho unintentional. There had just been a great controversy over the question of circumcision. It was a question of justification and salvation,—whether men were saved by faith alone in Christ, or by outward forms. Clear testimony had been borne that salvation is by faith alone; but now, while the controversy is still alive, while the “false brethren” are still propagating their errors, these loyal brethren suddenly discriminated against the Gentile believers, because they were uncircumcised, in effect saying to them, “Except ye be circumcised, ye can not be saved.” Their actions said, “We also are in doubt about the power of faith in Christ alone to save men; we really believe that salvation depends on circumcision and the works of the law.” Such a denial of the truth of the Gospel Paul could not stand, and he at once struck directly at the root of the matter.
“Sinners of the Gentiles” and of the Jews.
“If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Paul said to Peter, “We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles.” Did he mean that they, being Jews, were therefore not sinners?—By no means, for he immediately adds that they had believed on Jesus Christ for justification. They were sinners of the Jews, and not sinners of the Gentiles; but whatever things they had to boast of as Jews, all had to be counted loss for the sake of Christ. Nothing availed them anything except faith in Christ; and since this was so, it was evident that the Gentile sinners could be saved directly by faith in Christ, without going through the dead forms which had been of no service to the Jews.
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Tim. 1:15. “All have sinned,” and stand alike guilty before God; but all, of whatever race or class, can accept this saying, “This Man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.” A circumcised sinner is no better than an uncircumcised one; a sinner who stands as a church-member is no better than one who is outside. The sinner who has gone through the form of baptism is no better than the sinner who has never made any profession of religion. Sin is sin, and sinners are sinners, whether in the church or out; but, thank God, Christ is the propitiation for our sins, as well as for the sins of the whole world. There is hope for the unfaithful professor of religion, as well as for the one who has never named the name of Christ.
“Justified.”
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, . . . we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified,” says the apostle. The meaning of the word “justified” is made righteous. In an accommodated sense we use the term “justified” of a man who has not done wrong in a thing whereof he is accused. But, strictly speaking, such an one needs no justification, since he is already just; his righteous deed justified him. But since all have sinned, there are none just or righteous before God; therefore they need to be justified, or made righteous, which God does. Now the law of God is righteousness. See Rom. 7:12; 9:30, 31; Ps. 119:172. Therefore Paul did not disparage the law, altho he declared that no man could be made righteous by the law. No; so highly did he appreciate the law, that he believed in Christ for the righteousness which the law demands but can not give. “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the5likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Rom. 8:3, 4.
“The Faith of Christ.”
Much is lost in reading the Scriptures by not noting exactly what they say. Here we have literally “the faith of Christ,” just as in Rev. 14:12 we have “the faith of Jesus.” He is the Author and Finisher of faith. Heb. 12:2. God has “dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3), in giving Christ to every man. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17); and Christ is the Word. All things are of God. It is He who gives repentance and forgiveness of sins.
There is therefore no opportunity for any one to plead that his faith is weak. He may not have accepted and made use of the gift, but there is no such thing as “weak faith.” A man may be “weak in faith,” that is, may be afraid to depend on faith, but faith itself is as strong as the Word of God. There is no faith but the faith of Christ; everything else professing to be faith is a spurious article.
Here is comfort. Whoever will accept the faith of Jesus, has that which is as sure to work righteousness in him, and to save him, as the victory of Christ over sin and death is assured. He gives to us His own tried and approved faith. It has not a flaw, and we need not fear to use it; it will not fail us in any contest. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Eph. 2:8. We are saved by nothing less than God’s unchangeable Word, and by Christ’s own personal confidence in that Word. We are not exhorted to try to do as well as He did, or to try to exercise as much faith as He had, but simply to take His faith and let it work by love and purify the heart.
Believing Is Receiving.
“As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” John 1:12. That is, as many as believed on His name received Him. To believe on His name is to believe that He is the Son of God; to believe that He is the Son of God, means to believe that He is come in the flesh, in human flesh, in our flesh, for His name is “God with us;” so to believe on His name means simply to believe that He dwells personally in every man,—in all flesh. We do not make it so by believing it; it is so, whether we believe it or not; we simply accept the fact, which all nature reveals to us.
It follows, then, as a matter of course that, believing in Christ, we are justified by the faith of Christ, since we have Him personally dwelling in us, exercising His own faith. All power in heaven and earth is in His hands, and, recognizing this, we simply allow Him to exercise His own power in His own way.
Personal Experience.
The reader will now see the object of Paul’s narrative. Instead of beginning with abstract argument, to convince the Galatians of their error, he began with telling his own personal experience. That led him to tell what he said on another occasion when some had erred concerning the faith. But all the time he is dealing with facts. He is telling what he knows, and the burden of the whole is personal acquaintance with Christ. The Gospel is no dead thing, no abstract doctrine, no “works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves” (Titus 3:5, R.V.), but a personal acceptance of the personal Christ, who alone has power to work salvation. Christ as a living Saviour, always and everywhere present, always active and mighty to save, is the theme of the apostle’s letter from first to last, but especially in the portion now before us, and that which follows.
E. J. WAGGONER.
WHERE CAIN SECURED A WIFE.
By F. C. Gilbert
Modern infidelity has acted a great deal like the foxes in the desert, and when chased from one position, has fled to another. The Word of God is so powerful as to close their mouths against almost any opposition; but now, when its simple truths are shown to be consistent and harmonious, the modern skeptic finds himself badly cornered; he draws himself up several inches taller, and, with great bluster, propounds the question, “Where did Cain get his wife?” He feels that now he has gained a great victory; for this problem can not be explained to harmonize with other statements of the Bible relative to the beginnings of the human race. And many professed Christians feel quite troubled because they can not answer this question as they think it ought to be answered, and at times almost think the Lord has not given sufficient testimony concerning the circumstances and location of Cain’s matrimonial venture.
We have no disposition to satisfy any person’s inquisitiveness; but we believe the Bible clears itself upon this point so definitely and distinctly that he who will may run and read. If the Word of God was studied more and picked to pieces less, mines of valuable knowledge would be gained which would prepare the lover of the Word always to give an answer to every man. Let us, then, note the circumstances connected with this narrative as recorded in Genesis 4.
Cain and Abel had each brought an offering to the Lord. The Lord had accepted the latter’s, because it was pleasing to Him and in harmony with His wish. But the former’s was refused, because it was not given in faith. This made Cain very wroth; and, tho God told him the cause of his non-acceptance, he harbored a spirit of revenge against his brother. Some time after this they were both in the field at their various occupations, and a contention seems to have arisen between them. Cain became very furious, and in his wrath he arose and slew his brother. The Lord then called upon the murderer, and informed him of the guilt of his deed, and immediately pronounced his doom: “And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.” Verses 11, 12. Cain then felt the weight of his guilt, and appealed to the Lord for mercy, saying, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.” Verse 13. He was promised that his life would not be taken in revenge; and, as a pledge of that promise, the Lord placed a mark upon him which would warrant his protection.
The trial having ended, the record says, “And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.” Verse 16. The word rendered “Nod” in this passage in verses 12 and 14 is translated vagabond, and has no reference to any particular spot or territory. As Cain himself expresses it in verse 14, “Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from Thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.” The thought in verse 16 is this: After the murderer had received his sentence, he left the presence of God, and went out, wandering, or vagabonding, conscious of the fact that he must thus spend the remainder of his life. The word in the Hebrew for Nod is in its participial form, and a literal translation of the text would read, “And Cain went forth from the presence of the Lord; and dwelt in the land, wandering on the east side of Eden.”
But I hear some one querying, Is it not recorded that he went to a definite spot on the east of Eden? and therefore is not this the name of a literal country? To the first question we reply in the affirmative, but negatively to the second. This difficulty will be removed, however, by reading the last verse of chapter 3: “So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” From this it appears that when Cain’s parents were driven from their Edenic abode, they located eastward of the garden, and there made their home. When the divine sentence was rendered upon Cain, he merely left the field where God had met him, and went wandering about in the region where his parents lived.
The Scriptures do not say that Cain married after this experience; he may have been married before he committed the crime. Of course he would have to wed his sister, as there were no other people in the world besides his own family. Some time after this, how long we do not know, neither is it necessary to learn, he built a city, and called it after the name of his son. And he spent the rest of his life in wandering, or vagranting, as the divine sentence declared he should. The word “Nod,” like many other words in the Bible, has never been translated, but simply transferred. It is found but three times in the whole Bible, twice referring to Cain’s vagabondage (verses 12, 14), and the third time mentioned in verse 16.
Thus we see the harmony that exists in the Word of God on this point, as on all others. But while many will spend much time quibbling about such minute points, which are in nowise essential nor particularly helpful, the plan of salvation is clearly stated and simple to comprehend, and they would be amply repaid for the time devoted to its study. Let us, therefore, study more to learn of the wonderful life of God, of the divine life of Christ, of the life of the soul, and such trivial things will not be considered worthy of so much thought and discussion. F. C. GILBERT.
THE LILY OF THE VALLEY.
By Emma L. Pardon
BEFORE me, as I sit and rest, there stands
A vase of lilies beautiful and sweet;
They seem to charm my weariness away,
Their power to soothe and calm is so complete.
Tho calm their outward form, on looking close,
The spark of fire within each bell I've found,
That proves their mission one of love to man,
And makes our hearts to God's own praise redound.
Amidst their cool, broad, sheltering leaves they stand,
Modestly hiding in their safe retreat,
Exerting over all an influence kind,
Gladdening the eye, and rendering life more sweet.
Behold the sick-room; enters in a child,
Bearing sweet lilies in her little palm;
With feeble eagerness the sick one turns;
Thy soothing presence bringeth rest and balm.
Behold sad parents by a little grave;
With lilies of the valley low they bend,
And gently cover her, their only child,
Whose brief career a perfume sweet did lend.
O lily of the vale, our Lord chose thee
An emblem of Himself; and oft my mind
Doth turn from symbol to reality,
To Jesus, holy, glorious, loving, kind.
EMMA L. PARDON.
Albany, N. Y.
GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT.
The Spirit of God is the power of God. The gift of the Spirit is the gift of power manifested in various ways, but above all in triumph over sin. The baptism of the Spirit is the baptism of power; for “ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” We should, therefore, expect that there would be manifest among those who have the gift of the Spirit power which is not possessed by the world. We have, therefore, among the gifts of the Spirit,
Miracles.
The word in the New Testament comes from two words, dunamis, meaning power, the same word from which dynamite comes; and sēmeion, a sign token, wonder, indicative of the power and mission of him who performs the sign. In the Revised Version the latter is usually rendered “sign.” The former word, “miracle,” or “mighty work.” There is also another word, teras, meaning wonder, occurring in the plural, coupled with “signs.” See Acts 5:12.
Many of the Lord’s miracles are called signs, because they were tokens of His divine power and mission. In Acts 8:13 we have both “the miracles and signs which were done.” In Heb. 2:4 all three words are used: “God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will.”
The signs were just what God had predicted, and would be convincing tokens to them which heard and saw. See Matt. 11:3–6. The wonders were the things which the people were not used to seeing, which were not common, and which could not be accounted for in the ordinary operations of the laws of nature. The miracles, the manifestation of mighty powers, often constituted the sign and the wonder. Healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead, walking on the water, feeding the multitude, stilling the storm, converting souls, are examples of Christ’s mighty miracles.
And yet all these mighty works are but little more to the child of God of simple intelligent faith than the every-day operations and manifestations of God’s mighty power through a nature marred by sin. Read Genesis 1 and Isaiah 40. God is still Creator, Redeemer, Upholder.
This earth is under the curse of sin. The life, the power, of God, always normally operating for life and good in harmony with God’s righteous law, is in this world perverted by sin. Sin by perverting that power works out sickness, disease, destruction, misery, death. But frequently the great Wonder-worker manifests His power above the perverted laws of earth, in harmony with His own perfect, unperverted law. Every time a soul is converted, God so works. Every time a victory is gained over sin and lust, it is God’s mighty power, operating in harmony with His law, triumphing over a sin-perverted law.
Christ is still the Mighty Worker. “The Lord’s hand is not shortened.” His Spirit is still almighty. And it is still true to His church and to individual souls, “Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” But does this mean that every one will be a worker of miracles, of wonders?—By no means. God by His Spirit divideth “to every man severally as He will,” with divers miracles and “gifts of the Holy Ghost according to His own will.” Ask for the gift of the Spirit; “receive ye the Holy Ghost,” that you may be fitted for service; but the service and the fitting rest with God.
Other Gifts.
“Healings.”—“Gifts of healings” are among the gifts of the Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:9, 28. The Greek word means to restore, to heal the mind or body. So Jesus declared that the Father had sent Him “to heal the broken-hearted.” He told His disciples as He sent them forth, “Heal the sick.” See Matt. 10:1, 8; Luke 9:1, 2. It is a part of the divine mission of our Lord Jesus Christ. He not only “bore our sins,” but “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” Matt. 8:17. “Who forgiveth all our iniquities, who healeth all our diseases,” is not a mere poetic expression; it is a great truth. Neither must the child of God wait till the resurrection of the last day for this manifestation of His power. True it is that not till then will mortal man be perfectly whole, clothed with God’s immortality; but as the world knows health, and beyond, man may possess it by divine power. That the Lord does not heal all that are sick is no evidence that He will not heal. It is the duty and the privilege of every sick one to yield himself to God’s simple laws of life and health, to eat and drink and do all things to His glory (1 Cor. 10:31), and then to believe and know God’s healing Word. See Mark 16:18; James 5:13–16. So much in brief. We shall consider it more fully hereafter.
“Helps.”—The Greek word occurs only here. It refers, evidently, to a special gift of helping, of knowing how, and where, and when to help. See Luke 1:53, 54, as to how God helped Israel.
“Governments.”—The governments which God has set in His church are by elders, presbyters, or bishops. The Greek word means to steer. So ought the elders in God’s church to be pilots or guides, who follow the chart, not “lords over God’s heritage,” but men filled with the Spirit, able to give wise counsel and admonition. See 1 Peter 5:1–4; 1 Tim. 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9, for those who have to do with the government of God in the church; and see 1 Peter 5:5; Heb. 13:7, 17, and other passages, for the duty of the church in general toward these servants of God.
“Tongues.”—God gave the gift of tongues on the day of Pentecost, and elsewhere as it was needed. See Acts 2:7–11. They are for signs to unbelievers. God will still bestow them in answer to faith where His servants have need.
In addition to the above, mentioned in 1 Cor. 12:28, we have mentioned in Rom. 12:7, 8, giving, exhortation, ministry—common gifts, but not less blessed, to be used by nearly all in the church of Christ. How many have a wealth of strength, or means, or money, who would be blessed by giving it to God for service of humanity! Who is there in the church of Christ that can not minister something—a kind word, a smile, a look, a cup of cold water, some little act to cheer and help one poor soul on the way to life? How easily to such a talent is added that of “exhortation” to a better life! The church is dying for failure to use common gifts. God would bestow more if the lesser common gifts to all were used. But the one talent is buried, and others are not bestowed by the Master. O, yield to God’s service, whatever it be! Give all to Him. “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”
IN WHOM IS YOUR HOPE OF IMMORTALITY.
The Christian Conservator of November 30 edited by Bishop William Dillon (United Brethren), says:—
While materialists and Adventists descant on man's mortality, and deny him the capacity to survive death, it is refreshing to read the sound words of J. F. Clark, who says: “One of the most convincing arguments for immortality is the undying appetite of the soul for knowledge, love, progress. As we approach the turn of life it never occurs to us that it is time to fold our arms, close our eyes, and bid farewell to nature, poetry, art, friendship, business. . . . We build houses, begin books, undertake operations, just as if we were to live forever, which shows, I think, that the sense of immortality destroys all sense of death as we grow old.” Or read Plato's language: “Can the soul be destroyed?—No; but if in this present life it has shunned being governed by the body, and has governed itself within itself, and has separated from the body in a pure state, taking nothing sensual away with it, does it not then depart to that which resembles itself—to the invisible, the divine, the wise, the immortal? And on its arrival there, is it not freed from errors, ignorance, fears, wild passions, and all other human evils? Does it not in truth pass the rest of its existence with the gods?”
We wish to call the reader's attention to the above, from a paper edited by one who has for years made it a sort of specialty to defend man's inherent immortality. Here are two evidences presented, one from the natural man's desire, and the other, the reasonings of a pagan philosopher. Of course man desires life. Satan recognized this when he said, “Yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.” And, knowing that men desire above all things else to live, he has deceived them the more readily as to the conditions of life. The greater part have been led to believe that man has life in himself. It is the old Edenic falsehood, “Ye shall not surely die; . . . ye shall be as God.” “The desire of the wicked shall perish.” Ps. 112:10; Prov. 10:28. All the pagan idolatry, all the errors of Spiritualism, the adoration of saints, and the worship of Mary, the mother of Jesus, the “orthodox” hell, and the Catholic purgatory, are based upon the old Satanic lie, “Ye shall not surely die.” And the best evidence which can be presented that man is immortal, is this false hope of carnal men and pagan philosophy. God “only hath immortality.” Christ will bestow it when He shall come again, to all who seek for it by “patient continuance in well-doing.” 1 Tim. 6:16; Rom. 2:7; 1 Cor.715:51-54. There is life only in Christ. In whom do you trust, friend, Satan and Plato, or Christ and His Word?
