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diff --git a/old/63636-0.txt b/old/63636-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7dbf296..0000000 --- a/old/63636-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7691 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Glad Tidings, by Ellet Joseph Waggoner - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Glad Tidings - -Author: Ellet Joseph Waggoner - -Release Date: November 4, 2020 [EBook #63636] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GLAD TIDINGS *** - - - - -Produced by Brian Wilson, David King, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - The Glad Tidings - - THE GLAD TIDINGS - - By - E. J. WAGGONER - - - PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING CO. - Oakland, Cal. - New York. - Kansas City, Mo. - 1900 - - - - -Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1900, by PACIFIC PRESS -PUBLISHING COMPANY, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, -Washington, D. C. - -ENTERED AT STATIONERS’ HALL, LONDON, ENGLAND. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - -CHAPTER I. - -The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Real Gospel 9 - -CHAPTER II. - -Life by the Faith of Christ, the Truth of the Gospel 54 - -CHAPTER III. - -Redeemed from the Curse, to the Blessing of Abraham 95 - -CHAPTER IV. - -The Adoption of Sons 159 - -CHAPTER V. - -The Spirit’s Power over the Flesh 195 - -CHAPTER VI. - -The Glory of the Cross 230 - - - - - PREFACE. - - -The Epistle to the Galatians, together with its companion, the Epistle -to the Romans, was the source, through the Spirit, of the Reformation of -the sixteenth century, the key-note of which was, “The just shall live -by faith.” The reformation then begun is not yet complete, and the same -watchword needs to be sounded now as then. If the people of God will -become filled with the truth so vividly set forth in this epistle, both -the church and the world will be stirred as profoundly as in the days of -Luther. May this speedily be the case, and thus the times of restoration -of all things be hastened! - - - - - The Glad Tidings - - -It is quite common, in writing upon any book in the Bible, to spend some -time on an “Introduction” to the book in question—setting forth the -nature of it, the circumstances under which it was written, and the -probable purpose of the writer, together with many other things, partly -conjectural, and partly derived from the book itself. All such -statements the reader has to take on the authority of the one making -them, since, not having yet studied the book, he can not judge for -himself. The best way is to introduce him at once to the study of the -book, and then he will, if diligent and faithful, soon learn all that it -has to reveal concerning itself. We learn more of a man by talking with -him than by hearing somebody talk about him. So we will proceed at once -to the study of the Epistle to the Galatians, and let it speak for -itself. - -Nothing can take the place of the Scriptures themselves. If all would -study the Bible as prayerfully and as conscientiously as they ought, -giving earnest heed to every word, and receiving it as coming directly -from God, there would be no need of any other religious book. Whatever -is written should be for the purpose of calling people’s attention more -sharply to the words of Scripture; whatever substitutes any man’s -opinions for the Bible, so that by it people are led to rest content -without any further study of the Bible itself, is worse than useless. -The reader is, therefore, most earnestly urged to study, first of all, -the Scripture text very diligently and carefully, so that every -reference to it will be a reference to a familiar acquaintance. May God -grant that this little aid to the study of the Word may make every -reader better acquainted with all Scripture, which is able to make him -wise unto salvation. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Real Gospel. - - -“Paul, an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but through Jesus -Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the -brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Grace to you -and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave -Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil -world, according to the will of our God and Father; to whom be the glory -forever and ever. Amen. - -“I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from Him that called you in -the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; which is not another -gospel; only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the -Gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach -unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him -be anathema. As we have said before, so say I now again, If any man -preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him -be anathema. For am I now persuading men, or God? or am I seeking to -please men? if I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of -Christ. - -“For I make known to you, brethren, as touching the Gospel which was -preached by me, that it is not after man. For neither did I receive it -from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of -Jesus Christ. For ye have heard of my manner of life in time past in the -Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, -and made havoc of it; and I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many -of mine own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for -the traditions of my fathers. But when it was the good pleasure of God, -who separated me, even from my mother’s womb, and called me through His -grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the -Gentiles; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood; neither went -I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went away -into Arabia; and again I returned unto Damascus. - -“Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and -tarried with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, -save James the Lord’s brother. Now touching the things which I write -unto you, behold, before God, I lie not. Then I came into the regions of -Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown by face unto the churches of -Judea which were in Christ; but they only heard say, He that once -persecuted us now preacheth the faith of which he once made havoc; and -they glorified God in me.” Galatians 1, R. V. - -[Sidenote: An Apostolic Salutation.] - -The first five verses form a greeting such as, with the exception of the -first verses of the book of Romans, is not to be found elsewhere in the -Bible, and, consequently, nowhere else in the world. It contains the -whole Gospel. If there were no other portion of Scripture accessible, -this contains sufficient to save the world. If we would study this small -portion as diligently, and prize it as highly, as if there were no more, -we should find our faith and hope and love infinitely strengthened, and -our knowledge of the rest of the Bible much increased. In reading it, -let the Galatians sink out of sight, and let each one consider it the -voice of God, through His apostle, speaking to him to-day. - -[Sidenote: A Good Commission.] - -An apostle is one who is sent. Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ, and -of God, the Father, who raised Him from the dead. He had good backing. A -messenger’s confidence is in proportion to the authority of the one who -sends him, and to his confidence in that authority and power. Paul knew -that he was sent by the Lord, and he knew that the power of God is the -power that raises from the dead. Now “he whom God hath sent speaketh the -words of God.” John 3:34. Thus it was that Paul spoke with authority, -and the words which he spoke were the commandments of God. 1 Cor. 14:37. -So in reading this epistle, or any other in the Bible, we have not to -make allowance for the writer’s personal peculiarities and prejudices. -It is true that each writer retains his own individuality, since God -chooses different men to do different work solely on account of their -different personality; but it is God’s Word in all, and nothing need be -taken off from the authority of the message, and set down to the score -of prejudice or early education. - -It is well to remember that not only the apostles, but every one in the -church, is commissioned to “speak as the oracles of God.” 1 Peter 4:11. -All who are in Christ are new creatures, having been reconciled to God -by Jesus Christ; and all who have been reconciled are given the word and -ministry of reconciliation, so that they are ambassadors for Christ, as -though God by them, even as by Christ, was beseeching men to be -reconciled to Himself. 2 Cor. 5:17-20. This is a wonderful support -against discouragement and against fear to speak God’s message. The -ambassadors of earthly governments have authority proportionate to the -power of the king or ruler whom they represent; but Christians represent -the King of kings and Lord of lords. - -[Sidenote: Apostles Are of God.] - -“God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, -thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings,” etc. 1 -Cor. 12:28. Let it be borne in mind that all these are set in the church -by God Himself. No other can do it. It is impossible for men to make a -true apostle or prophet. There are certain people in the world who say -to others, Why do you not have apostles and prophets, etc., in the -church? ignoring the fact that God has them in His church until this -day, although they are often unrecognized, even as the apostleship of -Paul and the others was often denied. Then there are some combinations -of people who claim to have all these among them. Reading that God has -set them in the church, they see that the true church of God ought to -have apostles, prophets, etc. Accordingly they appoint some to be -apostles, others to be prophets, and others to be teachers, and then -they point to these as evidence that they are the true church of God. -The fact is, however, that this is the strongest possible proof that -they are not the church of God. If they were the church of God, apostles -and prophets would be set among them by God Himself; but the fact that -they themselves are obliged to make apostles and prophets, shows that -they have none in fact. They are simply setting up a dummy to hide the -absence of the reality; but the presence of the sham only emphasizes the -absence of the real. - -[Sidenote: Not of Men.] - -All Gospel teaching is based upon and derives its authority from the -fact of the Divinity of Christ. The apostles and prophets were so fully -imbued with this truth that it appears everywhere in their writings. In -the very first verse of this epistle we find it in the statement that -Paul was not an apostle of men, nor by any man, but by Jesus Christ, who -is “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15), “the effulgence of His -glory, and the very image of His substance” (Heb. 1:1-3, R. V.); He was -in the beginning with God, and was God, before the world was. John 1:1; -17:5. “He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Col. -1:17, R. V. - -[Sidenote: The Father and the Son.] - -“Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead,” are -associated on equal terms. “I and My Father are One.” John 10:30. They -both sit upon one throne. Heb. 1:3; 8:1; Rev. 3:21. The counsel of peace -is between them both. Zech. 6:12, 13. Jesus was the Son of God all His -life, although He was of the seed of David according to the flesh; but -it was by the resurrection from the dead, which was accomplished by the -power of the Spirit of holiness, that His Sonship was demonstrated to -all. Rom. 1:3, 4. This epistle has the same authority as Paul’s -apostleship: it is from Him who has power to raise the dead, and from -Him who was raised from the dead. - -[Sidenote: The Churches of Galatia.] - -Galatia was a province in Asia Minor, so called from the fact that it -was inhabited by Gauls,—people who came from the country now known as -France. They settled in the territory which took its name from them -(Gaul-atia—Galatia), in the third century before Christ. They were, of -course, pagans, their religion being quite similar to that of the -Druids, of Britain. Paul was the one who first preached Christianity to -them, as we read in Acts 16:6; 18:23. The country of Galatia also -included Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, which were visited by Paul, with -Barnabas, on his first missionary journey. Acts 14. - -[Sidenote: Grace and Peace Be to You.] - -This is the word of the Lord, let it be remembered, and therefore means -more than man’s word. The Lord does not deal in empty compliments. His -word is substantial; it carries with it the thing which it names. God’s -word creates, and here we have the very form of the creative word. - -God said, “Let there be light; and there was light,” and so on through -the whole creation, “He spake, and it was.” So here, “Let there be grace -and peace to you,” and so it is. “The grace of God hath appeared, -bringing salvation to all men.” Titus 2:11. “Peace I leave with you, My -peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” John -14:27. “Peace, peace to him that is afar off, and to him that is near, -saith the Lord.” Isa. 57:19. God has sent grace and peace, bringing -righteousness and salvation to all men—even to you, whoever you are, and -to me. When you read this third verse of the first chapter of Galatians, -do not read it as a sort of complimentary phrase,—as a mere passing -salutation to open the real matter at hand,—but as the creative word -that brings to you personally all the blessings of the peace of God, -that passeth all understanding. It is to us the same word that Jesus -spoke to the woman: “Thy sins are forgiven.” “Go in peace.” Luke -7:48-50. Peace is given to you; therefore, “let the peace of God rule in -your hearts.” - -[Sidenote: The Gift of Christ.] - -This grace and peace come from Christ, “who gave Himself for our sins.” -“Unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the -gift of Christ.” Eph. 4:7. But this grace is “the grace that is in -Christ Jesus.” 2 Tim. 2:1. Therefore we know that Christ Himself is -given to every one of us. The fact that men live is an evidence that -Christ has been given to them, for Christ is “the life,” and the life is -the light of men, and this life-light “lighteth every man that cometh -into the world.” John 1:4, 9; 14:6. In Christ all things consist (Col. -1:17), and thus it is that since God “spared not His own Son, but -delivered Him up for us all,” He can not do otherwise than, with Him, -freely “give us all things.” Rom. 8:32. “His Divine power hath given -unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” 2 Peter 1:3. -The whole universe is given to us in Christ, and the fulness of the -power that is in it is ours for the overcoming of sin. God counts each -soul of as much value as all creation. Christ has, by the grace of God, -tasted death for every man (Heb. 2:9), so that every man in the world -has received the “unspeakable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15). “The grace of God, -and the gift by grace, which is by one Man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded -unto many,” even to all; for “as by the offense of one judgment came -upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of One the -free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” Rom. 5:15, 18. - -[Sidenote: Christ Not Divided.] - -The question is asked, “Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you?” -(1 Cor. 1:13), the answer obviously being in the negative. In that -Christ is given to every man, each person gets the whole of Him. The -love of God embraces the whole world, but it also singles out each -individual. A mother’s love is not divided up among her children, so -that each one receives only a third, a fourth, or a fifth of it; each -one is the object of all her affection. How much more so with the God -whose love is more perfect than any mother’s, and who Himself is love! -Isa. 49:15. Christ is the light of the world, the Sun of Righteousness. -But light is not divided among a crowd of people. If a room full of -people be brilliantly lighted, each individual gets the benefit of all -the light, just as much as though he were alone in the room. So the life -of Christ lights every man that comes into the world, and in every -believing heart Christ dwells in all His fulness. Sow a seed in the -ground, and you get many seeds, each one having as much life as the one -sown. So Christ, the true Seed, whence everything of worth comes, gives -to all the whole of His life. - -[Sidenote: Our Sins Purchased.] - -Christ “gave Himself for our sins.” That is to say, He bought them, and -paid the price for them. This is a simple statement of fact; the -language used is that commonly employed in referring to purchases. “How -much did you give for it?” or, “How much do you want for it?” are -frequent questions. When we hear a man say that he gave so much for a -certain thing, what do we at once know?—We know that that thing belongs -to him, because he has bought it. So when the Holy Spirit tells us that -Christ gave Himself for our sins, of what should we be equally -sure?—That He has bought our sins, and that they belong to Him, and not -to us. They are ours no longer, and we have no right to them. Every time -we sin we are robbing the Lord, for we must remember that Christ has -purchased not merely the specific acts of sin that we have committed, -and that are in the past, but the sins that are in us, and which break -forth. In this faith there is righteousness. - -[Sidenote: He Has Bought Us, Too.] - -This follows from the fact that He has purchased our sins, to deliver us -from ourselves. Our sins are part of ourselves; nay, they are the whole -of us, for our natural lives are nothing but sin. Therefore, Christ -could not buy our sins without buying us also. Of this fact we have many -plain statements. He “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from -all iniquity.” Titus 2:14. “Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with -a price.” 1 Cor. 6:19. “Ye were redeemed, not with corruptible things, -with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your -fathers; but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and -without spot, even the blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 1:18, 19, R. V. - -[Sidenote: “Accepted in the Beloved.”] - -How often the Gospel worker hears some one say, “I am so sinful that I -am afraid the Lord will not accept me;” and even people who have long -professed to be Christians, often mournfully wish that they could be -sure of their acceptance with God. Now the Lord has given no ground for -any such doubts. The question of acceptance is forever settled by what -we have just read. Christ has bought us, together with all our sins, and -has paid the price. That shows that He has accepted us. Why does a man -go to the shop and buy an article?—Because he wants it. If he has paid -the price for it, having examined it so as to know what he was buying, -does the merchant worry lest he will not accept it?—Not at all; the -merchant knows that it is his business to get the goods to the purchaser -as soon as possible. If he does not deliver the goods to the purchaser, -he is guilty of fraud. The buyer will not indifferently say, “Well, I -have done my part, and if he doesn’t care to do his, he need not—that’s -all; he may keep the things if he wants to.” No; he will visit the shop, -and say, “Why have you not given me what belongs to me?” He will take -vigorous measures to come into possession of his property. Even so it is -not a matter of indifference to Jesus whether we surrender ourselves to -Him or not. He longs with an infinite yearning for the souls that He has -purchased with His own blood. “The Son of man is come to seek and to -save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10. God has “chosen us in Him before -the foundation of the world,” and so “He hath made us accepted in the -Beloved.” Eph. 1:4-6. - -[Sidenote: “This Present Evil World.”] - -Christ gave Himself for our sins, “that He might deliver us from this -present evil world.” He will take from us that which He bought, which is -our sinfulness. In so doing, He delivers us from this “present evil -world.” That shows us that “this present evil world” is nothing but our -own sinful selves. It is “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the -eyes, and the pride of life.” 1 John 2:16. We ourselves make all the -evil there is in the world. It is man that has made the world evil. “By -one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death -passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Rom. 5:12. We need not -try to throw the blame upon somebody else; we ourselves provide all the -evil that can possibly injure us. - -The story is told of a man whose besetting sin was a violent temper. He -would frequently become very angry, but he laid all the blame upon the -people with whom he lived, who were so exasperating. Nobody, he -declared, could do right among such people. So he resolved, as many -others have done, to “leave the world,” and become a hermit. He chose a -cave in the forest for his dwelling-place, far from any other human -habitation. In the morning he took his jug to a spring near by to get -water for his morning meal. The rock was moss-grown, and the continual -flow of water had made it very slippery. As he set his jug down under -the stream, it slid away. He put it back, and again it was driven away. -Two or three times was this repeated, and each time the replacing of the -jug was done with increasing energy. Finally the hermit’s patience was -utterly exhausted, and exclaiming, “I’ll see if you’ll not stay!” he -picked the vessel up and set it down with such vehemence that it was -broken to pieces. There was nobody to blame but himself, and he had the -good sense to see that it was not the world around him but the world -inside of him that made him sin. Doubtless very many can recognize some -experience of their own in this little story. - -Luther, in his monk’s cell, whither he had gone to escape from the -world, found his sins more grievous than ever. Wherever we go, we carry -the world with us; we have it in our hearts and on our backs,—a heavy, -crushing load. We find that when we would do good, “evil is present” -with us. Rom. 7:21. It is present, always, “this present evil world,” -until, goaded to despair, we cry out, “O wretched man that I am! who -shall deliver me from this body of death?” Even Christ found His -greatest temptations in the desert, far away from human habitations. All -these things teach us that hermits and monks are not in God’s plan. -God’s people are the salt of the earth; and salt, no matter how good it -is, is of no use if shut up in a box; it must be mingled with that which -is to be preserved. - -[Sidenote: Deliverance.] - -That which God has promised, He is “able also to perform.” He “is able -to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” Eph. 3:20. -He “is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless -before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” Jude 24. He gave -Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us, and He did not die in -vain. Deliverance is ours. Christ was sent “to open the blind eyes, to -bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness -out of the prison house.” Isa. 42:7. Accordingly He cries out to the -captives, “Liberty!” To them that are bound He proclaims that the prison -doors are open. Isa. 61:1. To all the prisoners, He says, “Go forth.” -Isa. 49:9. Each soul may say, if he will, “O Lord, truly I am Thy -servant; I am Thy servant, and the son of Thine handmaid; Thou hast -loosed my bonds.” Ps. 116:16. The thing is true, whether we believe it -or not. We are the Lord’s servants, even though we stubbornly refuse to -serve; for He has bought us; and, having bought us, He has broken every -bond that hindered us from serving Him. If we but believe, we have the -victory that has overcome the world, 1 John 5:4, R. V.; John 16:33. The -message to us is that our “warfare is accomplished,” our “iniquity is -pardoned.” Isa. 40:2. We have but to shout, as Israel did before -Jericho, to see that God has given to us the victory. God “hath visited -and redeemed His people.” Luke 1:68. Out of Zion has come the Deliverer, -to turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Rom. 11:26. “Thanks be to God, -which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” - - “My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!— - My sin, not in part, but the whole, - Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more, - Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!” - -[Sidenote: The Will of God.] - -All this deliverance is “according to the will of our God and Father.” -The will of God is our sanctification. 1 Thess. 4:3. He willeth that all -men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Tim. 2:4. -And He “worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.” Eph. -1:11. “What! do you mean to teach universal salvation?” We mean to teach -just what the Word of God teaches,—that “the grace of God hath appeared, -bringing salvation to all men.” Titus 2:11, R. V. God has wrought out -salvation for every man, and has given it to him; but the majority spurn -it, and throw it away. The Judgment will reveal the fact that full and -complete salvation was given to every man, and that the lost have -deliberately thrown away their birthright possession. Thus every mouth -will be stopped. - -The will of God is, therefore, something to rejoice in, and not -something to be accepted with a wry face, and merely endured. Even -though it involves suffering, it is for our good, and is designed to -work “for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Rom. -8:28; 2 Cor. 4:17. In the law His will is revealed (Rom. 2:18), and we -should, therefore, study it, saying with Christ, “I delight to do Thy -will, O My God.” Ps. 40:8. - -Here is the comfort of knowing the will of God. He wills our deliverance -from the bondage of sin; therefore, we can pray with the utmost -confidence, and with thanksgiving; for “this is the confidence that we -have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth -us; and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we -have the petitions that we desired of Him.” 1 John 5:14, 15. Blessed -assurance! Let us ever with glad and humble hearts pray, “Thy will be -done in earth, as it is in heaven.” - -[Sidenote: To God Be the Glory.] - -Not simply, “To Him be glory,” as in the common version, but “To whom be -the glory,” as in the Revision. “Thine is the kingdom; and the power, -and the glory.” All glory is God’s, whether men acknowledge it or not. -To give Him the glory is not to impart anything to Him, but to recognize -a fact. We give Him the glory by acknowledging that His is the power. -“It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves.” Ps. 100:3. Power and -glory are the same, as we learn from Eph. 1:19, 20, which tells us that -Christ was raised from the dead by the exceeding greatness of God’s -power, and from Rom. 6:4, where we learn that “Christ was raised up from -the dead by the glory of the Father.” Also when Jesus by His wondrous -power had turned water to wine, we are told that in the performance of -the miracle, He “manifested forth His glory.” John 2:11. So when we say -that to God is the glory, we are saying that the power is all from Him. -We do not save ourselves, for we are “without strength.” But God is the -Almighty, and He can and does save. If we confess that all glory belongs -to God, we shall not be indulging in vainglorious imaginations or -boastings, and then will God be glorified in us. “Let your light so -shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your -Father which is in heaven.” Matt. 5:16. - -The last proclamation of “the everlasting Gospel,”—that which announces -the hour of God’s Judgment come,—has for its burden, “Fear God, and give -glory to Him;” “and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the -sea, and the fountains of waters.” Rev. 14:6, 7. Thus we see that the -Epistle to the Galatians, which says, “To Him be the glory,” is the -setting forth of the everlasting Gospel. And it is emphatically a -message for the last days. Let us study it, and heed it, that we may -help to hasten the time when “the earth shall be filled with the -knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Hab. -2:14. - -[Sidenote: A Critical Case.] - -The abruptness with which the apostle plunges into the midst of his -subject shows how urgent was the matter that called forth his epistle. -His spirit seemed to be on fire, and, seizing his pen, he wrote as only -one can write who feels upon his heart the burden of souls about to rush -to destruction. - -[Sidenote: Who Calls Men?] - -“God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son -Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Cor. 1:9. “The God of all grace, who hath -called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus,” etc. 1 Peter 5:10. -“The promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar -off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:39. Those that -are near, and those that are afar off, include all that are in the -world; therefore, God calls everybody. Not all come, however. “The very -God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and -soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus -Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it.” 1 Thess. -5:23, 24. It is God who calls men. - -[Sidenote: Separating from God.] - -Since the Galatian brethren were separating from Him that had called -them, and as God is the one who graciously calls men, it is evident that -they were separating from God. Thus we see that it was no slight thing -that called forth this epistle. Paul’s brethren were in mortal danger, -and he could not spend time on compliments, but must needs get at once -to the subject, and present it in as clear and direct terms as possible. - -It may be well in passing to note an opinion that sometimes obtains, -namely, that Paul referred to himself as the one who had called the -Galatian brethren, and from whom they were removing. A little thought -should convince anybody of the fallacy of this idea. First, consider the -positive evidence, a little of which is already noted, that it is God -who calls. Remember also that it was Paul himself who said that the -apostasy would be the result of men’s seeking to draw away disciples -after themselves (Acts 20:30); he, as the servant of Christ, would be -the last man to draw people to himself. It is true that God uses agents, -of whom Paul was one, to call men, but it is God, nevertheless, that -calls. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself;” we are -ambassadors for Christ, so that now it is God beseeching men by us -instead of by Christ, to be reconciled to Himself. There may be many -mouths, but there is only one voice. - -It is a small matter to be joined to or separated from men, but a matter -of vital importance to be joined to God. Many seem to think that if they -are only “members in good standing” in this or that church, they are -secure. But the only thing worth considering is, Am I joined to the -Lord, and walking in His truth? If one is joined to the Lord, he will -very soon find his place among God’s people, for those who are not God’s -people will not have a zealous, consistent follower of God among them -very long. See Isa. 66:5; John 9:22, 33, 34; 15:18-21; 16:1-3; 2 Tim. -3:1-5, 12. When Barnabas went to Antioch, he exhorted the brethren that -with purpose of heart they would “cleave unto the Lord.” Acts 11:22, 23. -That was all that was necessary. If we do that, we shall certainly be -with God’s own people. - -[Sidenote: Without God.] - -Those who were departing from God were “without God in the world,” just -to the extent that they were removed from Him. But those who are in that -condition are Gentiles, or heathen. Eph. 2:11, 12. It is evident, -therefore, that the Galatian brethren were relapsing into heathenism. It -could not be otherwise; for whenever any Christian loses his hold upon -God, he inevitably and even unconsciously drops back into the old life -from which he had been saved. Each backslider will take up the -particular habits to which he was formerly a slave. No more hopeless -condition can exist in the world than to be without God. - -[Sidenote: Another Gospel.] - -The Gospel is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that -believeth.” Rom. 1:16. God Himself is the power, so that separation from -God means separation from the Gospel of Christ, who is the power of God. -Nothing can be called a gospel unless it professes to give salvation. -That which professes to offer nothing but death, can not be called a -gospel. “Gospel” means “joyful news,” “good tidings,” and a promise of -death does not answer that description. In order for any false doctrine -to pass as the Gospel, it must pretend to be the way of life; otherwise -it could not deceive men. It is evident, therefore, that the Galatians -were being seduced from God, by something that promised them life and -salvation, but by a power other than that of God, namely, their own -power. This other gospel was solely a human gospel. The question -consequently would be, Which is the true Gospel? Is it the one that Paul -preached? or the one the other men set forth? Therefore, we see that -this epistle must be an emphatic presentation of the true Gospel as -distinguished from every false gospel. - -[Sidenote: No Other Gospel.] - -Just as Jesus Christ is the only power of God, and there is no other -name than that of Jesus, given among men, whereby salvation can be -obtained, so there can be only one Gospel. “Power belongeth unto God,” -and to Him alone. See Ps. 62:9-11. A sham is nothing. A mask is not a -man. So this other gospel, to which the Galatian brethren were being -enticed, was only a perverted gospel, a counterfeit, a sham, and no real -gospel at all. Some versions give verses 6 and 7 thus: “I marvel that ye -are so soon removed ... unto another gospel, although there is not any -other.” Since there is no other gospel now, there never could have been -any other, for God changes not. So the Gospel which Paul preached to the -Galatians, as well as to the Corinthians,—“Jesus Christ and Him -crucified,”—was the Gospel that was preached by Enoch, Noah, Abraham, -Moses, and Isaiah. “To Him give all the prophets witness, that through -His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.” -Acts 10:43. - -[Sidenote: “Accursed.”] - -If any man, or even an angel from heaven, should preach any other gospel -than that which Paul preached, he would bring himself under a curse. -There are not two standards of right and wrong. That which will bring a -curse to-day would have produced the same result five thousand years -ago. Thus we find that the way of salvation has been exactly the same in -every age. The Gospel was preached to Abraham (Gal. 3:8), angels being -sent to him; and the prophets preached the Gospel (1 Peter 1:11, 12). -But if the Gospel preached by them had been different from that preached -by Paul, they would have been accursed. - -Why should one be accursed for preaching a different gospel?—Because he -is the means of fastening others in the curse, by leading them to trust -for their salvation in that which professes to be power, but which is -nothing. Since the Galatians were removing from God, it is evident that -they were trusting to supposed human power—their own power—for -salvation. But no man can save another (Ps. 49:6, 7), therefore, “cursed -be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose -heart departeth from the Lord.” Jer. 17:5. The one who leads men into -the curse must, of course, himself be accursed. - -“Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way.” Deut. -27:18. If this be so of the one who causes a physically blind man to -stumble, how much more must it apply to one who causes a soul to stumble -to its eternal ruin! To delude people with a false hope of salvation,—to -cause them to put their trust in that which can by no means deliver -them,—what could possibly be more wicked? It is to lead people to build -their house over the bottomless pit. Well might the apostle deliberately -reiterate his anathema. Here, again, we see the gravity of the situation -that called forth this epistle. - -[Sidenote: “An Angel from Heaven.”] - -But is there any danger, any possibility, that an angel from heaven -would preach any other than the one, true Gospel?—Most assuredly, -although it would not be an angel recently come from heaven. We read of -“the angels that sinned” (2 Peter 2:4), and “kept not their first -estate, but left their own habitation” (Jude 6), and that the habitation -from which they were cast was heaven (Rev. 12:7-9). Now “Satan himself -is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if -his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness.” 2 -Cor. 11:14, 15. It is they who come professing to be the spirits of the -departed, and to bring messages fresh from the realms above (where the -departed are not), and preaching invariably “another gospel” than the -Gospel of Jesus Christ. Beware of them. “Beloved, believe not every -spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God.” 1 John 4:1. “To -the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, -it is because there is no light in them.” Isa. 8:20. No one need be -deceived, so long as he has God’s Word. Nay, it is impossible for -anybody to be deceived while he holds to the Word of God. That is a -light to the way. - -[Sidenote: Not Men-Pleasers.] - -It is admitted by churchmen that in the first three centuries the church -became leavened with paganism, and that, in spite of reformations, much -of paganism still remains. Now this was the result of trying to please -men. The bishops thought that they could gain influence over the heathen -by relaxing some of the strictness of the principles of the Gospel, -which they did, and the result was the corruption of the church. -Self-love is always at the bottom of efforts to conciliate and please -men. The bishops desired (often, perhaps, without being conscious of it) -to draw away disciples after themselves. Acts 20:30. In order to gain -the favor of the people, they had to compromise and pervert the truth. -This was what was being done in Galatia; men were perverting the Gospel -of Christ. But Paul was not of that class; he was seeking to please God, -and not men. He was the servant of God, and God was the only one whom he -needed to please. He who seeks to please men, is the servant of men, and -not of God. - -This principle is true in every grade of service. The house-servants or -the shop assistants who labor only to please men, will not be faithful -servants, for they will do good work only where it will be seen, but -will slight any task that can not come under the eye of their employers. -So Paul exhorts: “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to -the flesh; not with eye service, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of -heart, fearing God; and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the -Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the -reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Col. 3:22-24. -He who cares for nothing else but to serve and please God, will render -the best service to men. - -This is a thing that needs to be impressed upon all. Christian workers -especially need it. There is a tendency to dull the edge of truth, lest -we should lose the favor of some wealthy or influential person. How many -have stifled conviction, fearing the loss of money or position! Let -every one of us remember this: “If I yet pleased men, I should not be -the servant of Christ.” But this does not mean that we shall be stern -and uncourteous. It does not mean that we willingly offend any. God is -good to all. He is kind to the unthankful and the unholy. Jesus went -about doing good, speaking words of love and comfort. We are to be -soul-winners, and so must have a winning manner; but we are to win souls -to God, and, therefore, must exhibit only the attractiveness of the -loving, crucified One. We serve Christ by allowing His Spirit to control -us. - - “Who best - Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best.” - -[Sidenote: “Not of Man.”] - -Note how this epistle emphasizes the fact that the Gospel is divine, not -human. In the first verse the apostle states that he was not sent by -man, nor to represent any man. Again he says that he is not anxious to -please men, but only Christ; and now it is made very clear that the -message he bore was wholly from heaven. By birth and education he was -opposed to the Gospel, and when he was converted it was by a voice from -heaven. Read the accounts of his conversion in Acts 9:1-22; 22:3-16; -26:9-20. The Lord Himself appeared to him in the way as he was breathing -threatening and slaughter against the saints of God. - -There are no two persons whose experience in conversion is the same, yet -the general principles are the same in all. In effect, every person must -be converted just as Paul was. The experience will seldom be so -striking, but if it is genuine, it must be a revelation from heaven as -surely as Paul’s was. “All thy children shall be taught of the Lord.” -Isa. 54:13; John 6:45. “Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath -learned of the Father, cometh unto Me.” “The anointing which ye have -received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; -but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and -is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him.” 1 -John 2:27. - -Do not make the mistake of supposing that this does away with the -necessity for any human agency in the Gospel. If it did, then the -apostles would have been self-condemned, because they were preachers of -the Gospel. God has set apostles, prophets, teachers, etc., in the -church (1 Cor. 12:28); but it is the Spirit of God that works in all -these. “He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God.” John 3:34. -Therefore, no matter by whom anybody first hears the truth, he is to -receive it as coming direct from heaven. The Holy Spirit enables those -who wish to do God’s will to tell what is truth as soon as they see or -hear it, and they accept it, not on the authority of the man through -whom it came to them, but on the authority of the God of truth. We may -be as sure of the truth which we hold and teach as the apostle Paul was. -But whenever anybody cites the name of some highly-esteemed preacher or -doctor of divinity, to justify his belief, or to give it more weight -with some person whom he would convince, you may be sure that he himself -does not know the truth of what he professes. It may be the truth, but -he does not know for himself that it is true. It is everybody’s -privilege to know the truth (John 8:31, 32); and when one holds a truth -directly from God, ten thousand times ten thousand great names in its -favor do not add a feather’s weight to its authority; nor is his -confidence in the least shaken if every great man on earth should oppose -it. It is a grand thing to be built on the Rock. - -[Sidenote: The Revelation of Jesus Christ.] - -Note that it is not simply a revelation from Jesus Christ, but the -“revelation of Jesus Christ.” It was not simply that Christ told Paul -something, but that Christ Himself revealed Himself to Paul, and in him, -and He is the truth. That this is what is meant here may be seen from -verse 16, where we read that God revealed His Son in Paul, that he might -preach Him among the heathen. The mystery of the Gospel is Christ in the -believer, the hope of glory. Col. 1:25-27. The Holy Spirit is Christ’s -personal representative. Christ sends Him, that He may abide with us -forever. The world receives Him not, because it sees Him not; “but ye -know Him,” says Christ; “for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” -John 14:16, 17. Only so can the truth of God be known and be made known. -Christ does not stand afar off and lay down right principles for us to -follow; but He impresses Himself upon us, takes possession of us, as we -yield to Him, and makes manifest His life in our mortal flesh. 2 Cor. -4:11. Without this life shining forth, there can be no preaching of the -Gospel. Note that Jesus was revealed in Paul, in order that Paul might -preach Him among the heathen. He was not to preach about Christ, but to -preach, to present, Christ Himself. “We preach not ourselves, but Christ -Jesus the Lord.” 2 Cor. 4:5. - -God is waiting and anxious to reveal Christ in every man. We read of men -“who hold down the truth in unrighteousness,” and that “that which may -be known of God is manifest in them,” even as in everything that God has -made His “everlasting power and Divinity” are clearly seen. Rom. -1:18-20, R. V. Now Christ is the truth (John 14:6), and He is the power -of God (1 Cor. 1:24), and the Divinity of God (John 1:1). Therefore, -Christ is the truth that the wicked are holding down. He is the Divine -Word of God, present in men, that they may do it. Deut. 30:14; Rom. -10:6-8. That Christ is in all men is evident from the fact that they -live; but He is so held back and kept down that it is difficult to -discern Him. Nay, in most men the opposite character is revealed, the -mere fact of living and breathing being in many cases the only evidence -that Christ is there. Yet He is there, patiently waiting to be -revealed,—longing for the time to come when the Word of God may have -free course and be glorified, and the perfect life of Jesus of Nazareth -be manifested in mortal flesh. This may take place in “whosoever will,” -no matter how sinful and degraded he is now. It pleases God to do it -now; cease, then, to resist. - -[Sidenote: Personal History.] - -From the twelfth verse of the first chapter till the middle of the -second, we have a narrative of personal history, told for a definite -purpose. In Paul’s experience we see the truth of the Gospel, and how it -has nothing to gain from men, but everything to give. The apostle shows -that all his early life was against his being influenced by the Gospel, -for he studied that which was opposed to it, and he bitterly opposed it. -Then he was converted when there was no Christian near him, and he had -next to no association with Christians for years afterward. All this of -which the Galatians had been previously informed, it was necessary to -repeat in order that it might be clear to all that Paul was not bringing -them another human invention. - -Note, in passing, the word “conversation,” which occurs several times in -the Bible in a sense that is not now common. Compare the Revised -Version, and we find that it means “manner of life.” Paul’s -“conversation in time past” was his early life. See the old and the -Revised Version of 1 Peter 1:18. - -[Sidenote: “Concerning Zeal, Persecuting the Church.”] - -This is what Paul said of himself, in his Epistle to the Philippians. -Phil. 3:6. How great his zeal was he himself tells. He says that he -persecuted the church of God “beyond measure,” and “wasted it,” or, as -in the Revision, “made havoc of it.” See also Acts 8:3. Before Agrippa -he said: “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things -contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in -Jerusalem; and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having -received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to -death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every -synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad -against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.” Acts 26:9-11. -In an address to the Jews in Jerusalem, who knew his life, he said, “I -persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons -both men and women.” Acts 22:4. This he did because, as the previous -verse says, he was “zealous toward God.” So full of this sort of zeal -was he that he breathed nothing but “threatenings and slaughter.” Acts -9:1. - -It seems almost incredible that any one professing to worship the true -God, can have such false ideas of Him as to suppose that He is pleased -with that kind of service; yet Saul of Tarsus, one of the most bitter -and relentless persecutors of Christians that ever lived, could say -years afterward, “I have lived in all good conscience before God until -this day.” Acts 23:1. Although kicking against the pricks (Acts 9:5), -and endeavoring to silence the growing conviction that would force -itself upon him as he witnessed the patience of the Christians, and -heard their dying testimonies to the truth, Saul was not wilfully -stifling the voice of conscience. On the contrary, he was striving to -preserve a good conscience, and so deeply had he been indoctrinated with -the Pharisaic traditions, that he felt sure that these inconvenient -prickings must be the suggestions of an evil spirit, which he was in -duty bound to suppress. So the prickings of the Spirit of God had for a -time only led him to redouble his zeal against the Christians. Of all -persons in the world, Saul, the self-righteous Pharisee, had no bias in -favor of Christianity. Yet his misdirected zeal was a “zeal for God,” -and this fact made him good material for a Christian worker. - -[Sidenote: Paul’s Profiting.] - -Paul “profited,” made advancement, “in the Jews’ religion,” above many -of his equals, that is, those of his own age, among his countrymen. He -had possessed every advantage that was possible to a Jewish youth. “An -Hebrew of the Hebrews” (Phil. 3:5), he was nevertheless a free-born -Roman citizen (Acts 22:26-28). Naturally quick and intelligent, he had -enjoyed the instruction of Gamaliel, one of the wisest doctors of the -law, and had been “taught according to the perfect manner of the law of -the fathers.” Acts 22:3. After the “straitest sect” among the Jews, he -lived a Pharisee, and was “a Pharisee of the Pharisees,” so that he was -“more exceedingly zealous of the traditions” of the fathers than any -others of his class. Grown to manhood, he had become a member of the -great council among the Jews,—the Sanhedrim,—as is shown by the fact -that he gave his vote (Acts 26:10, R. V.) when Christians were condemned -to death. Added to this, he possessed the confidence of the high priest, -who readily gave him letters of introduction to the rulers of all the -synagogues throughout the land, with authority to seize and bind any -whom he found guilty of “heresy.” He was, indeed, a rising young man, on -whom the rulers of the Jews looked with pride and hope, believing that -he would contribute much to the restoration of the Jewish nation and -religion to their former greatness. There had been a promising future -before Saul, from a worldly point of view; but what things were gain to -him, those he counted loss for Christ, for whose sake he suffered the -loss of all things. Phil. 3:7, 8. - -[Sidenote: The Traditions of the Fathers, not the Religion of Christ.] - -Paul says, “I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of mine own age -among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions -of my fathers.” It is easy to see that “the Jews’ religion” was not the -religion of God and Jesus Christ, but was human tradition. People make a -great mistake in considering “Judaism” as the religion of the Old -Testament. The Old Testament no more teaches Judaism than the New -Testament teaches Roman Catholicism. The religion of the Old Testament -is the religion of Jesus Christ. It was His Spirit that was in the -prophets, moving them to present the same Gospel that the apostles -afterwards preached. 1 Peter 1:10-12. When Paul was “in the Jews’ -religion” he did not believe the Old Testament, which he read and heard -read daily, because he did not understand it; if he had, he would have -believed on Christ. “For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, -because they knew Him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are -read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning Him.” -Acts 13:27. - -The traditions of the fathers led to transgression of the commandments -of God. Matt. 15:3. God said of the Jewish people (as a whole): “This -people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with their -lips; but their heart is far from Me. But in vain they do worship Me, -teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Verses 8, 9. On the -Sabbath days the rulers read in the synagogues from the Scriptures, and -for this instruction there was no reproof. Jesus said: “The scribes and -the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat; all therefore whatsoever they bid you -observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works; for they -say, and do not.” Matt. 23:2, 3. Jesus had no word of condemnation for -Moses and his writings. He said to the Jews, “Had ye believed Moses, ye -would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me.” John 5:46. Everything, -therefore, which the scribes read and commanded from his writings was to -be followed; but the example of the readers was to be shunned, for they -did not obey the Scriptures. Christ said of them, “They bind heavy -burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but -they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” Matt. -23:4. These were not the commandments of God, for “His commandments are -not grievous” (1 John 5:3); and the burdens were not of Christ, for His -burden is light (Matt. 11:30). - -We hear much about the “Judaizing teachers,” who sought to pervert the -Galatians, and we know that they who were teaching “another gospel” were -Jews; but we must not fall into the error of supposing that these -“Judaizing teachers” were presenting the Bible, or any part of it, to -the new converts, or trying to get them to follow the Scriptures written -by Moses. Far from it; they were leading them away from the Bible, and -substituting for its teaching the commandments of men. This was what -roused the spirit of Paul. The “Jews’ religion” was an entirely -different thing from the religion of God, as taught in the law, the -prophets, and the psalms. - -[Sidenote: “Separated unto the Gospel of God.”] - -These are the words with which Paul described himself in the Epistle to -the Romans: “Called to be an apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God.” -Rom. 1:1. So here he says that God “separated me from my mother’s womb, -and called me by His grace.” Gal. 1:15. That God chose Saul to be an -apostle, before Saul himself had any thought that he should ever be even -a Christian, is evident from the sacred narrative. On his way to -Damascus, whither, “breathing out threatenings and slaughter,” he was -proceeding with full authority to seize, bind, and drag to prison all -Christians, both men and women, Saul was suddenly arrested, not by human -hands, but by the over-powering glory of the Lord. Three days afterward -the Lord said to Ananias, when sending him to give Saul his sight, “He -is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles.” Acts -9:15. God arrested Saul in his mad career of persecution, because He had -chosen him to be an apostle. So we see that the pricks against which -Saul had been kicking were the strivings of the Spirit to turn him to -the work to which he had been called. - -But how long before this had Saul been chosen to be the messenger of the -Lord?—He himself tells us that he was “separated,”—“set apart,”—from his -birth. He is not the first one of whom we read that from birth he was -chosen to his life-work. Recall the case of Samson. Judges 13:2-14. John -the Baptist was named, and his character and life-work were described, -months before he was born. The Lord said to Jeremiah: “Before I formed -thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the -womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” -Jer. 1:5. The heathen king Cyrus was named more than a hundred years -before he was born, and his part in the work of God was laid out for -him. Isa. 44:28; 45:1-4. - -These are not isolated cases, but are recorded for the purpose of -showing us that God rules in the world. It is as true of all men as it -was of the Thessalonians, that “God hath from the beginning chosen” them -“to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the -truth.” 2 Thess. 2:13. It rests with every one to make that calling and -election sure. And he who “willeth that all men should be saved, and -come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:3, 4, R. V.), has also -appointed “to every man his work” (Mark 13:34). He who leaves not -Himself without witness even in the inanimate creation (Acts 14:17; Rom. -1:20), would fain have man, His highest earthly creation, willingly give -such witness to Him as can be given only by human intelligence. All men -are chosen to be witnesses for God, and to each is his labor appointed. -All through life the Spirit is striving with every man, to induce him to -allow himself to be used for the work to which God has called him. Only -the Judgment Day will reveal what wonderful opportunities men have -recklessly flung away. Saul, the violent persecutor, became the mighty -apostle. Who can imagine how much good might have been done by the men -whose great power over their fellows has been exerted only for evil, if -they had yielded to the influence of the Spirit? Not every one can be a -Paul; but the thought that each one, according to the ability that God -has given him, is chosen and called of God to witness for Him, will, -when once grasped, give to life a new meaning. - -The knowledge of this truth will not only make life more real for us, -leading us to seek to know the will of God for us individually, and to -submit wholly to Him, that He may use us to do the work for which He has -designed us, but it will tend to make us more considerate of others, and -not to despise the least. What a wonderful, a joyous, and yet a solemn -thought, as we see men moving about, that to each one of them God has -given a work of his own to do. They are all servants of the Most High -God, each one assigned to special service. It is a wondrous privilege, -and a wondrous responsibility. How few are doing the work God would have -them do! We should be extremely careful not to hinder any person in the -slightest degree from doing his heaven-appointed task. - -Another thing that we should remember is that it is God who gives to -every man his work. Each one is to receive his orders from God, and not -from men. Therefore, we should beware of dictating to men concerning -their duty. God can make it plain to them, as well as to us; and if they -will not hear Him, they will not be likely to hear us, even if we could -direct them in the right way. “It is not in man that walketh to direct -his steps” (Jer. 10:23), much less to direct the steps of some other -man. - -[Sidenote: Conferring with Flesh and Blood.] - -“Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.” This statement is -made for the purpose of showing that the apostle did not receive the -Gospel from any human being. He saw Christ, and accepted Him, then he -went to Arabia, and came back to Damascus, and not till three years -after his conversion did he go up to Jerusalem, where he stayed only -fifteen days, and saw only two of the apostles. Moreover, the brethren -were afraid of him, and would not at first believe that he was a -disciple; so it is evident that he did not receive the Gospel from any -man. - -But there is much to learn from Paul’s not conferring with flesh and -blood. To be sure, he had no need to, since he had the Lord’s own word; -but such a course as his is by no means common. For instance, a man -reads a thing in the Bible, and then must ask some other man’s opinion -before he dare believe it. If none of his friends believe it, he is -fearful of accepting it. If his pastor, or some commentary, explains the -text away, then away it goes; flesh and blood gain the day against the -Spirit and the Word. - -Or, it may be that the commandment is so plain that there is no -reasonable excuse for asking anybody what it means. Then the question -is, Can I afford to do it? Will it not cost too much sacrifice? The most -dangerous flesh and blood that one can confer with is one’s own. It is -not enough to be independent of others; in matters of truth one needs to -be independent of one’s self. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; -and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Prov. 3:5. “He that trusteth -in his own heart is a fool.” Prov. 28:26. - -A pope is one who presumes to occupy the place in counsel which -rightfully belongs to God alone. The man who makes himself pope, by -following his own counsel, is just as bad as the man who dictates to -another, and is more likely to be led astray than is the man who follows -some pope other than himself. If one is to follow a pope at all, it -would be more consistent to accept the pope of Rome, because he has had -more experience in popery than any other. But none is necessary, since -we have the Word of God. When God speaks, the part of wisdom is to obey -at once, without taking counsel even of one’s own heart. The Lord’s name -is “Counselor” (Isa. 9:6), and He is “wonderful in counsel.” Hear Him! -“He will be our Guide forevermore.” - -[Sidenote: “Immediately.”] - -Note that word. Paul did not stop to parley. He lost no time. He thought -he was serving God when he was persecuting the church, and the minute he -found out his mistake he turned about. When he saw Jesus of Nazareth, he -recognized Him as his Lord, and immediately cried out, “Lord, what wilt -Thou have me to do?” He was ready to be set to work in the right way, -and that immediately. It is an example well worth consideration. Would -that everybody might truthfully say, “I made haste, and delayed not to -keep Thy commandments.” Ps. 119:60. “I will run the way of Thy -commandments, when Thou shalt enlarge my heart.” Verse 32. - -[Sidenote: Gentiles—Heathen.] - -Paul tells us that Christ was revealed in him, that he might preach Him -among the heathen. In the Revision we have the word “Gentiles” used -instead of “heathen.” There is no difference. The two words are used -interchangeably in the English Bible, for wherever they occur, they are -translated from only one Greek word, or, if it be in the Old Testament, -the corresponding Hebrew word. Let us note a few instances. - -In 1 Cor. 12:2 we read, “Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away -unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.” This is from the ordinary -word for “heathen,” and the text itself shows that Gentiles are -idol-worshipers—heathen. Take notice that the Corinthians “were -Gentiles;” they ceased to be such on becoming Christians. - -Eph. 2:11, 12: “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles -in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the -Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were -without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and -strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God -in the world.” Surely, to be a Gentile is to be in a most unenviable -condition. - -We are told that “God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out -of them a people for His name.” Acts 15:14. And James referred to the -believers in Antioch and elsewhere as those who “from among the Gentiles -are turned to God.” God’s people are taken out from among the Gentiles, -but on being taken out, they cease to be Gentiles. Abraham, the father -of Israel, was taken from among the heathen (Joshua 24:2), so that all -Israel are taken from among the Gentiles. Thus it is that “all Israel -shall be saved” by the coming in of the fulness of the Gentiles. Rom. -11:25, 26. - -In Ps. 2:1-3 we might lawfully read, “Why do the Gentiles rage, and the -people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and -the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His -anointed [that is, against Christ, for Christ means ‘anointed’], saying, -Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” -How often we see this fulfilled in the cases of individuals, who, with a -triumphant air, exclaim: “Show me a place where the Gentiles are -commanded to keep the ten commandments!” meaning that they are Gentiles, -and thinking thus to cast away from themselves the laws of God. It is no -honorable class in which they place themselves. It is true that the -Gentiles are not commanded to keep the commandments, as Gentiles, for -that would be impossible; as soon as they accept Christ, and the law of -the Spirit of life in Him, they cease to be Gentiles. How solicitous God -is to save people from their Gentile state, is shown by His sending the -apostle Paul (to say nothing of Christ) to bring them to Himself. - -[Sidenote: A Prophet to the Gentiles.] - -In this connection it is worth while to note that God was as anxious for -the conversion of the Gentiles three thousand years ago as He is to-day. -The Gospel was preached to them before the first advent of Christ, as -well as it was afterwards. Paul was not the first one who preached to -the Gentiles after Christ, although he was sent specially to them. He -was known as the apostle to the Gentiles, yet everywhere he went he -preached to the Jews first, and as long as they would hear him. So it -was before Christ. By many agencies God made Himself known among all -nations, yet Jeremiah was specially chosen as the prophet to the -Gentiles, or heathen. In Jer. 1:5, “Before thou camest forth out of the -womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations,” -the Hebrew word from which the word “nations” is translated is the very -same that is regularly translated “heathen.” “Why do the heathen rage?” -Ps. 2:1. “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles: Prepare war,” etc. -“Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen.” Joel 3:9-11. The words -“heathen” and “Gentile” in these texts are the same as the word -“nations,” in Jer. 1:5. This can be seen by comparing the old with the -Revised Version. So the Lord said to Jeremiah, “I sanctified thee, and I -ordained thee, a prophet unto the Gentiles.” Let no one say that God -ever at any time confined His truth to any one people, whether Jew or -Gentile. “There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the -same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.” Rom. 10:12. - -[Sidenote: The New Convert Preaching.] - -As soon as Paul was converted, “straightway he preached Christ in the -synagogues.” Acts 9:20. Was it not marvelous that he should at once be -able to preach so powerfully?—Indeed it was, as it is marvelous that any -man can preach Christ. That anybody should be able to preach Christ in -very truth, involves no less a mystery than Christ manifest in the -flesh. But do not let anybody suppose that Paul got his knowledge -instantaneously, without any study. Remember that he had all his life -been a diligent student of the Scriptures. It was not an uncommon thing -for a rabbi to be able to repeat the greater portion or the whole of the -Hebrew Scriptures from memory, and we may be sure that Paul, who had -made more advancement than any others of his age, was as familiar with -the words of the Bible as a bright schoolboy is with the multiplication -table. But his mind was blinded by the traditions of the fathers, which -had been drilled into him at the same time. The blindness which came -upon him when the light shone round him on the way to Damascus, was but -a picture of the blindness of his mind; and the seeming scales that fell -from his eyes when Ananias spoke to him, indicated the shining forth of -the Word within him, and the scattering of the darkness of tradition. -Paul’s case was very different from that of a new convert who has never -read or studied the Bible. Such an one can, indeed, tell what Christ has -done for him, and may thereby do much good; but he needs much study of -the Scriptures to make him able to show men the way of life perfectly, -and lead them in the way of righteousness. - -[Sidenote: Paul in Arabia.] - -Many have thought that it was while Paul was in Arabia that he had his -wonderful revelations, and was taken up into heaven, where he heard -“unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” This may -well be, although it is by no means probable that his visions of -heavenly things were confined to that time. All his life through the -apostle was in close communion with heaven, and we may be sure that “the -heavenly vision” was never hidden from his sight. So, also, we may be -sure that, since preaching was his life-work, he did not spend all the -months he was in Arabia in study and contemplation. He had been so -severe a persecutor, and had received so richly of God’s grace, that he -counted all the time lost in which he could not reveal that grace to -others, feeling, “Woe is me, if I preach not the Gospel.” He preached in -the synagogues in Damascus, as soon as he was converted, before he went -into Arabia; so it is but natural to conclude that he preached the -Gospel to the Arabs. He could preach there without the opposition that -he always received when among the Jews, and, therefore, his labors would -not so much interfere with his meditation on the new worlds that had -just opened before him. - -[Sidenote: The Persecutor Preaching.] - -Wonderful, indeed, it was to hear that “he that once persecuted us, now -preacheth the faith of which he once made havoc.” In view of the case of -Saul of Tarsus, let no one look on any opposer of the Gospel as -incorrigible. Those who make opposition are to be instructed with -meekness, for who knows but that God will give them repentance to the -acknowledgment of the truth? One might have said of Paul, He has had the -light as clearly as any man can have it. He has had every opportunity; -he has not only heard the inspired testimony of Stephen, but he has -heard the dying confessions of many martyrs; he is a hardened wretch, -from whom it is useless to expect any good. Yet that same Saul became -the greatest preacher of the Gospel, even as he had been the most bitter -persecutor. Is there a malignant opposer of the truth? Do not strive -with him, and do not reproach him. Let him have all the bitterness and -strife to himself, while you hold yourself to the Word of God and to -prayer. It may not be long till God, who is now blasphemed, will be -glorified in him. - -[Sidenote: Glorifying God.] - -“And they glorified God in me.” How different Paul’s case was from that -of those to whom he said, “The name of God is blasphemed among the -Gentiles through you” (Rom. 2:24)! Every one who professes to be a -follower of God should be a means of bringing glory to His name, yet -many cause it to be blasphemed; and to have the name of God blasphemed -through us is as bad as to be ourselves open blasphemers. How can we -cause His name to be glorified?—“Let your light so shine before men, -that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in -heaven.” Matt. 5:16. - - - RECAPITULATION. - - -Let us now take a brief glance at the chapter as a whole. - -The greeting, embracing the first five verses, tells us the name and -calling of the writer of the epistle, and his authority. It incidentally -notes the fact that Christ is Divine. A benediction is pronounced, from -God the Father, and Jesus Christ the Son. Christ gave Himself for our -sins,—purchased them,—thus to deliver us from this present evil world. -Our sins constitute this present evil world. Our sins belong to Christ, -not to us; so by the power of His death and resurrection, in which He -gave Himself for our sins, we may be kept from them. It is the will of -God to save us, so that there can be no doubt as to our acceptance. To -God belongs the glory, because His is the kingdom and the power. - -The next two verses show us the condition of the churches in Galatia at -the time the epistle was written, and thus make known to us why it was -written. They were departing from God, being led astray by some who were -perverting the Gospel of Christ, preaching a pretended gospel instead of -the one only Gospel, which is the power of God to salvation to every one -that believes. The marvel of the thing is the same as that expressed in -Jer. 2:12, 13: “Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly -afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For My people have -committed two evils: they have forsaken Me the Fountain of living -waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no -water.” - -Then in the next two verses (8, 9) we find a curse pronounced on any -one, even though it were the apostle himself, or an angel from heaven, -who should presume to teach any other gospel than that he had preached. -This shows the seriousness of the situation. The Galatian brethren were -being placed under the curse by the accursed preachers who preached a -false gospel. - -Following this, in verses 10-12, the apostle shows himself to be the -servant of Christ, because he was seeking to please God only, and not -men. The preachers who perverted the souls of men, would preach smooth -things,—things in harmony with human nature,—to draw away disciples -after them; Paul preached only the plain truth of God, which he received -not through any man, but direct from heaven. - -Lastly we have the beginning of a little narrative of personal -experience, which is continued more than half way through the second -chapter. In this Paul refers to his life before his conversion, when he -persecuted the church; mentions his conversion, which was the revelation -of Christ in him; tells why he was called, and how promptly he responded -to the call; and lastly shows how he had no opportunity to get the -Gospel from apostles and brethren who were believers before him, even if -he had wished to, since he had no connection with them for years after -his conversion. The force of this will appear more plainly as we -proceed. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - Life by the Faith of Christ, the Truth of the Gospel. - - -There are doubtless many who are reading this little book, not out of -curiosity to see what another person thinks about the Epistle to the -Galatians, but for help in arriving at an understanding of that -much-discussed portion of Scripture. With each one of these I wish to -hold a little personal talk before we proceed further with our study. -Every portion of Scripture is connected with every other portion; as -soon as we learn one thing thoroughly, making it a part of ourselves, it -joins us and aids us in the search for more knowledge, just as each -morsel of food that we eat and assimilate assists us in our labor for -our daily bread. If, therefore, we proceed in the right way with the -study of the Epistle to the Galatians, we shall have opened a wide door -to the whole Bible. - -The way to knowledge is very simple, so simple that many people despise -it. It is not, however, to be despised, for, in spite of the -oft-repeated statement to the contrary, there is - - - A Royal Road to Knowledge, - - -and that road is open to all. Here are the directions, laid down by the -king who, to the highest degree, proved it to be the right way:— - -“My son, if thou wilt receive My words, and hide My commandments with -thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart -to understanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up -thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and -searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the -fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth -wisdom; out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” Prov. -2:1-6. - -It was in a dream that God appeared to Solomon, and promised to give him -wisdom, but it was not by idle dreaming that the wisdom came. Solomon -did not go to sleep, and wake up to find himself the wisest man that -ever lived. He longed for knowledge so much that he did, indeed, dream -of it by night, but he worked for it by day. The foregoing Scripture -tells his experience. - -Wisdom and knowledge concerning everything are to be found in God’s -Word; and if you would understand the Word of God, you must study it. No -man on earth can give you his knowledge. Another may aid you by his -experience, so that it need not take you as long as it took him; he may -direct you how and where to work; but whatever any one really knows he -must acquire for himself. When you have traveled over a road a thousand -times, you know every turn in it, no matter how many there are, and can -see the whole way in your mind. So after you have thought through a -portion of Scripture time after time, you will at last be able to see -the whole of it, and every separate statement in it, at a single glance. -And when you can do that, you will see in it what no man on earth can -tell you. - -It is useless to think to understand a detached sentence that may -present special difficulty, without reference to the connection. If I -should bring you a letter, and, pointing to a sentence near the close, -should ask you to tell me what my correspondent means, you would at once -ask, “What is he writing about? what does he say in what precedes?” If I -should reply that I didn’t wish you to know the subject of the letter, -and would not allow you to read it from the beginning, you would say, -“Then I can not help you.” But if I should put the letter into your -hands, asking you to help me to understand the difficult sentence, you -would at once read the letter carefully from the beginning, making sure -that you understood everything as you read, and then, with all that -preceded the difficult sentence clearly in your mind, you would expect -to understand the sentence itself. Even thus reasonably should we deal -with the Bible. - -Therefore, to each one I say: Study the very words of the text. Go over -them again and again; and every time you begin the study of a new -portion, go back to the beginning and review all that you have been -over. It is a royal method, and it yields royal results. - -The first chapter of Galatians gives us a brief, comprehensive view of -what the Gospel is, of the condition of the Galatian brethren, and of -Paul’s personal experience. The second chapter refers to the meeting -held in Jerusalem, seventeen years after Paul’s conversion, and tells us -what was the subject of controversy, and Paul’s relation to it. The -apostle’s sole burden was to preserve “the truth of the Gospel” among -the brethren. Having the first chapter clearly in mind, we may proceed -to the study of the second, remembering that it is but a continuation of -the first. - -“Then after the space of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem -with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me. And I went up by revelation; -and I laid before them the Gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but -privately before them who were of repute, lest by any means I should be -running, or had run, in vain. But not even Titus who was with me, being -a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised; and that because of the false -brethren privily brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty -which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage; to -whom we gave place in the way of subjection, no, not for an hour; that -the truth of the Gospel might continue with you. But from those who were -reputed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: -God accepteth no man’s person)—they, I say, who were of repute, imparted -nothing to me; but contrariwise, when they saw that I had been intrusted -with the Gospel of the uncircumcision, even as Peter with the Gospel of -the circumcision (for He that wrought for Peter unto the apostleship of -the circumcision wrought for me also unto the Gentiles); and when they -perceived the grace that was given unto me, James and Cephas and John, -they who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right -hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto -the circumcision; only they would that we should remember the poor; -which very thing I was also zealous to do. - -“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I resisted him to the face, because he -stood condemned. For before that certain came from James, he did eat -with the Gentiles; but when they came, he drew back and separated -himself, fearing them that were of the circumcision. And the rest of the -Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that even Barnabas 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 Cephas -before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest as do the Gentiles, and -not as do the Jews, how compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the -Jews? We being Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, yet -knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, save -through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we -might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law; -because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, -while we sought to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found -sinners, is Christ a minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build up -again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a transgressor. For -I through the law died unto the law, that I might live unto God. I have -been crucified with Christ; yet I live; and yet no longer I, but Christ -liveth in me; and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in -faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave -Himself up for me. I do not make void the grace of God; for if -righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for naught.” -Galatians 2, R. V. - -[Sidenote: Another Visit to Jerusalem.] - -“Fourteen years after,” following the natural course of the narrative, -means fourteen years after the visit recorded in Gal. 1:18, which was -three years after the apostle Paul’s conversion. The second visit, -therefore, was seventeen years after his conversion, or about the year -51 A. D., which coincides with the time of the conference in Jerusalem, -which is recorded in Acts 15. It is with that conference, and the things -that led to it, and grew out of it, that the second chapter of Galatians -deals. In reading this chapter, therefore, the fifteenth of Acts must be -understood and borne in mind. - -[Sidenote: That New Gospel.] - -In the first chapter of Galatians (verses 6, 7) we are told that some -were troubling the brethren, by perverting the Gospel of Christ, -presenting a false gospel, and pretending that it was the true Gospel. -In Acts 15:1 we read that “certain men which came down from Judea taught -the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of -Moses, ye can not be saved.” This, we see, was the other gospel, which -was not another, since there is only one, but which was being palmed off -upon the brethren as the true Gospel. That these men who brought this -teaching professed to be preaching the Gospel, is evident from the fact -that they professed to tell the people what they must do to be saved. -Paul and Barnabas would not give any place to the new preaching, but -withstood it, in order, as Paul tells the Galatians, “that the truth of -the Gospel might continue with you.” Gal. 2:5. The apostles had “no -small dissension and disputation with them.” Acts 15:2. The controversy -was no insignificant one, but was between the real Gospel and a -counterfeit. The question was a vital one for the new believers, and has -no less interest for us; it concerns our salvation. - -[Sidenote: A Denial of Christ.] - -A glance at the experience of the church at Antioch, to whom this new -gospel was brought, will show that it did in the most direct manner deny -the power of Christ to save. The Gospel was first brought to them by -brethren who had been scattered by the persecution that arose on the -death of Stephen. These brethren came to Antioch “preaching the Lord -Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them; and a great number -believed, and turned unto the Lord.” Acts 11:19-21. Then the apostles -sent Barnabas to assist in the work; and he, “when he came, and had seen -the grace of God, 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 and of faith; and much people was added unto the -Lord.” Verses 22-24. Then Barnabas found Saul, and together they labored -with the church in Antioch for more than a year. Verses 25, 26. There -were in the church prophets and teachers, and as they ministered unto -the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost spoke to them, telling them to -separate Barnabas and Saul to the work to which He had called them. Acts -13:1-3. So we see that the church there had had much experience in the -things of God. They were acquainted with the Lord and with the voice of -the Holy Spirit, who witnessed that they were children of God. And now -after all this, these men said to them, “Except ye be circumcised after -the manner of Moses, ye can not be saved.” That was as much as to say, -All your faith in Christ, and all the witness of the Spirit, are nothing -without the sign of circumcision. The sign of circumcision, without -faith, was exalted above faith in Christ without any outward sign. The -new gospel was a most direct assault upon the Gospel, and a flat denial -of Christ. - -[Sidenote: “False Brethren.”] - -It is no wonder that Paul styles those who presented this teaching, -“false brethren,” who had, as the Danish strongly expresses it, “sneaked -in.” Gal. 2:4. To the Galatians he said of them, “There be some that -trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ.” Gal. 1:7. The -apostles and elders, in their letter to the churches, said of those men, -“Certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting -your souls.” Acts 15:24. And they further added that they “gave no -commandment” to them. Verse 24, R. V. That is to say, these teachers -were “false brethren,” who were not recognized by the apostles as -teachers, who were speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after -themselves. There have been many such since that time. So vicious was -their work that the apostle said, “Let them be accursed.” They were -deliberately seeking to undermine the Gospel of Christ, and thus to -destroy the souls of the believers. - -[Sidenote: “The Sign of Circumcision.”] - -These false brethren had said, “Except ye be circumcised after the -manner of Moses, ye can not be saved.” Literally, you have not power to -be saved. They made salvation only a human thing, resulting solely from -the exercise of human power. They had no knowledge of what circumcision -really is. “He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that -circumcision, which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew, which is -one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and -not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” Rom. 2:28, -29. There was a time, after Abraham believed God, when he listened to -the voice of Sarai, instead of to God, and sought to fulfil the promises -of God by the power of his own flesh. See Genesis 16. The result was a -failure—a bond-servant instead of an heir. Then God appeared to him -again, exhorting him to walk before Him with singleness of heart, and -repeating His covenant. As a reminder of his failure, and of the fact -that “the flesh profiteth nothing,” Abraham received “the sign of -circumcision,”—a cutting off of the flesh. This was to show that since -in the flesh “dwelleth no good thing,” the promises of God can be -realized only by the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, -through the Spirit. “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in -the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the -flesh.” Phil. 3:3. Abraham was, therefore, really circumcised as soon as -he received the Spirit through faith in God. “And he received the sign -of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had -yet being uncircumcised.” Rom. 4:11. Outward circumcision was never -anything more than a sign of the real circumcision of the heart; when -this was absent, the sign was a fraud; but when the real circumcision -was present, the sign could be dispensed with. Abraham is “the father of -all them that believe, though they be not circumcised.” The “false -brethren” who visited the church at Antioch, subverting the souls of the -disciples, and those of the same class who afterwards troubled the -Galatians, perverting the Gospel of Christ, were substituting the empty -sign for the reality. With them the shell of the nut without the kernel -counted for more than the kernel without the shell. - -[Sidenote: “The Flesh Profiteth Nothing.”] - -Jesus said, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth -nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are -life.” John 6:63. The people of Antioch and Galatia had trusted in -Christ for salvation; now there were some who sought to induce them to -trust in the flesh. They did not tell them that they were at liberty to -sin. Oh, no; they told them that they must keep the law! Yes, they must -do it themselves; they must make themselves righteous without Jesus -Christ. For circumcision stood for the keeping of the law. Now the real -circumcision was the law written in the heart by the Spirit; but these -“false brethren” wished the believers to trust in the outward form of -circumcision, as a substitute for the Spirit’s work; so that the thing -which was given as a sign of righteousness by faith, became only a sign -of self-righteousness. The false brethren would have them circumcised -for righteousness and salvation; but Peter said, “Through the grace of -our Lord Jesus Christ we believe to be saved.” Just as Paul wrote, “With -the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth -confession is made unto salvation.” Rom. 10:10. “Whatsoever is not of -faith is sin.” Rom. 14:23. Therefore, all the efforts of men to keep the -law of God by their own power, no matter how earnest and sincere they -may be, can never result in anything but imperfection—sin. “All our -righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Isa. 64:6. - -[Sidenote: “A Yoke of Bondage.”] - -When the question came up in Jerusalem, Peter said to those who would -have men seek to be justified by their own works, instead of by faith in -Christ, “Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of -the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” Acts -15:10. This yoke was a yoke of bondage, as is shown by Paul’s words, -that the “false brethren” sneaked in “to spy out our liberty which we -have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.” Gal. 2:4. -Christ gives freedom from sin. His life is “the perfect law of liberty.” -“By the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20), but not freedom from -it. “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” -(Rom. 7:12), just because it gives the knowledge of sin by condemning -it. It is a sign-post, which points out the way, but does not carry us. -It can tell us that we are out of the way; but Jesus Christ alone can -make us walk in it; for He is the way. Sin is bondage. Prov. 5:22. Only -those who keep the commandments of God are at liberty (Ps. 119:45); and -the commandments can be kept only by faith in Christ (Rom. 8:3, 4). -Therefore, whoever induces people to trust in the law for righteousness, -without Christ, simply puts a yoke upon them, and fastens them in -bondage. When a man has been convicted by the law as a transgressor, and -cast into prison, he can not be delivered from his chains by the law -which holds him there. But that is no fault of the law: just because it -is a good law, it can not say that a guilty man is innocent. So these -Galatian brethren were brought into bondage by men who were foolishly -and vainly seeking to exalt the law of God by denying Him who gave it, -and in whom alone its righteousness is found. - -[Sidenote: Why Paul Went Up to Jerusalem.] - -The record in Acts says that it was determined at Antioch that Paul and -Barnabas and some others should go up to Jerusalem about this matter. -But Paul declares that he went up “by revelation.” Gal. 2:2. Paul did -not go up simply on their recommendation, but the same Spirit moved both -him and them. He did not go up to learn the truth of the Gospel, but to -maintain it. He went, not to find out what the Gospel really is, but to -communicate the Gospel which he had preached among the heathen. Those -who were chief in the conference imparted nothing to him. He had not -been preaching for seventeen years that of which he stood in doubt. He -knew whom he believed. He had not received the Gospel from any man, and -he did not need to have any man’s testimony that it was genuine. When -God has spoken, an indorsement by man is an impertinence. 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. - -[Sidenote: The Gospel Not Magic.] - -The great lesson taught by this experience, to which Paul referred the -Galatians, is that there is nothing in this world that can confer grace -and righteousness upon men, and that there is nothing in the world that -any man can do, that will bring salvation. The Gospel is the power of -God unto salvation, and not the power of man. Any teaching that leads -men to trust in any object, whether it be an image, a picture, or -anything else, or to trust for salvation in any work or effort of their -own, even though that effort be directed toward the most praiseworthy -object, is a perversion of the truth of the Gospel,—a false gospel. -There are in the church of Christ no “sacraments” that by some sort of -magical working confer special grace on the receiver; but there are -things that a man who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, and who is -thereby justified and saved, may do as an expression of his faith. The -only thing in the world that has any efficacy in the way of salvation, -is the life of God in Christ. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and -that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any -man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus -unto good works, which God hath before prepared that we should walk in -them.” Eph. 2:8-10, margin. This is “the truth of the Gospel,” and it -was for this that Paul stood. It is the Gospel for all time. - -[Sidenote: Galatians and the Gospel.] - -In this chapter the apostle says that he withstood the false teaching -which was now misleading the Galatian brethren, in order that “the truth -of the Gospel” might remain with them. Compare this with his -introduction, in the first chapter, and his vehement assertions -concerning the Gospel which he had preached to them, and his -astonishment that they were now forsaking it, and it will be -self-evident that the epistle must contain nothing else but the Gospel -in the most forcible form of expression. Many have misunderstood it, and -have derived no personal gain from it, because they have thought that it -was but a contribution to the “strivings about the law,” against which -Paul himself warned the brethren. - -[Sidenote: 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. -Neither names nor numbers have anything to do with determining what is -truth. The truth is no more mighty, nor to be accepted more readily, -when it is presented by ten thousand princes than when maintained by a -single humble, laboring man. And there is no more presumptive evidence -that ten thousand men have the truth than that one has it. 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. - -[Sidenote: 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, or that 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 at once 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 He 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 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. - -[Sidenote: Appearances Are Nothing.] - -God looks at what a man is, and not at what he seems to be. What he -seems to be is what men estimate him to be, and depends largely on the -eyes of those who look at him; what he is, is the measure of the power -and wisdom of God that is in him. God does not set any store upon -official position. It is not position that gives authority, but -authority that gives the real position. Many a humble, poor man on -earth, with never an official title to his name, has occupied a position -really higher and of greater authority than that of all the kings of the -earth. Authority is the unfettered presence of God in the soul. - -[Sidenote: 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, 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 14:10. 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. -The name of Jesus is Emmanuel, “God with us.” God with Jesus caused Him -to go about doing good. He is unchangeable; therefore, if we truly have -Jesus, God with us, we, likewise, shall go about doing good. - -[Sidenote: 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. Those who are moved by the Spirit of God will -always be quick to discern the workings of the Spirit in others. The -surest evidence that any one knows nothing personally of the Spirit is -that he can not recognize His working. The other apostles had the Holy -Spirit, and they perceived that God had chosen Paul for a special work -among the Gentiles; and, although his manner of working was different -from theirs, for God had given him special gifts for his special work, -they freely 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 in Antioch. - -[Sidenote: Perfect Unity.] - -We must not lose sight of the object Paul had in mind in referring to -the meeting in Jerusalem. It was to show that there was no difference of -opinion among the apostles nor in the church as to what the Gospel is. -There were “false brethren,” it is true, but inasmuch as they were -false, they were no part of the church, the body of Christ, who is the -truth. Many professed Christians, sincere persons, suppose that it is -almost a matter of necessity that there be differences in the church. -“All can not see alike,” is the common statement. So they misread Eph. -4:13, making it read that God has given us gifts, “till we all come into -the unity of the faith.” What the Word teaches is that “in the unity of -the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,” we all come “unto a -perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” -There is only “one faith” (Eph. 4:5), “the faith of Jesus,” as there is -only one Lord; and those who have not that faith must necessarily be out -of Christ. It is not at all necessary that there be the slightest -difference upon any question of truth. Truth is the Word of God, and the -Word of God is light; nobody but a blind man ever has any trouble to see -a light that shines. The fact that a man has never in his life seen any -other light used at night, except that from a tallow candle, does not in -the least stand in the way of his recognizing that the light from an -electric lamp is light, the first moment he sees it. There are, of -course, different degrees of knowledge, but never any controversy -between those different degrees. All truth is one. - -[Sidenote: 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, and -never 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 self-styled -“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 he meekly -accepted the rebuke that Paul gave him, like the sincere, humble -Christian that he was. If there were such a thing as a human head to the -church, it would evidently be Paul, instead of Peter, as appears from -the whole narrative. Paul was sent to the Gentiles, and Peter to the -Jews; but the Jews formed only a very small portion of the church; the -converts from the Gentiles soon outnumbered them, so that their presence -was scarcely discernible. All these Christians were largely the fruit of -Paul’s labors, and they naturally looked up to him more than to others, -so that Paul could say that upon him daily came “the care of all the -churches.” 2 Cor. 11:28. But infallibility is not the portion of any -man, and Paul himself did not claim it. 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.” “Be subject one to another.” - -[Sidenote: Making a Difference.] - -When Peter was at the conference in Jerusalem, he told the facts about -the receiving of the Gospel by the Gentiles, through his preaching, -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. -Yet, after having been shown this fact by the Lord; after having -preached to the Gentiles, and after having witnessed the gift of the -Holy Ghost to them, the same as to Jewish believers; after having eaten -with those Gentile converts, and faithfully defending 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. The fact that this was dissimulation, which was apparent, -only emphasizes the fact that there was no real difference among the -brethren. It was fear, not faith, that for the moment controlled Peter. - -[Sidenote: 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 permit us to sit in judgment; we can only note the fact and the -natural consequence, as a warning to ourselves. - -See how the action of Peter and the others was a virtual, although -unintentional, denial of Christ. 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: and 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; faith in -Christ is well, but there’s something more to do; it is not in itself -sufficient. Such a denial of the truth of the Gospel Paul could not -endure, and he at once struck directly at the root of the matter. - -[Sidenote: “Sinners of the Gentiles,” and Sinners of the Jews.] - -Paul said to Peter, “We ... 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, and which were given largely as the result of their -unbelief. - -“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 not -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 sinner who has never named the name of -Christ. The same Gospel that is preached to the world, must be preached -to the church; for there is only one Gospel. It serves to convert -sinners in the world, as well as sinners who stand as church-members, -and at the same time it renews those who are really in Christ. - -[Sidenote: “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,” said the apostle. -The meaning of the word “justified” is “made righteous.” This is the -exact term that appears in other languages, which are not composed of -foreign terms. The Latin word for righteousness is _justitia_. To be -just is to be righteous. Then we add the termination _fy_, from the -Latin word, meaning “to make,” and we have the exact equivalent of the -simpler term, “make 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. He was -justified in his deed. 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, -although he declared that no man could be made righteous by the law, -meaning, of course, the law written on stones or in a book. 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 the likeness 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 law, -which declares all men to be sinners, could not justify them except by -declaring that sin is not sin; and that would not be justification, but -a self-contradiction in the law. - -[Sidenote: The Law Can Not Justify.] - -“By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Shall we say, -Then we will do away with the law? That is what every confirmed criminal -thinks. Persistent law-breakers would gladly do away with the law which -declares them guilty and will not say that wrong is right. But the law -of God can not be abolished, for it is the statement of the will of God. -Rom. 2:18. In very fact it is the life and character of God. “The law is -holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Rom. 7:12. We read -the written law, and find in it our duty made plain. But we have not -done it; therefore we are guilty. “All have sinned, and come short of -the glory of God.” “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Rom. -3:23, 12. Moreover, there is not one who has strength to do the law, its -requirements are so great. Then it is very evident that no one can be -justified by the works of the law, and it is equally evident that the -fault is not in the law, but in the individual. Let the man get Christ -in the heart by faith, and then the righteousness of the law will be -there also, for Christ says, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, -Thy law is within My heart.” Ps. 40:8. He who would throw away the law -because it will not call evil good, would reject God because He “will by -no means clear the guilty.” Ex. 34:7. But God will remove the guilt, -will make the sinners righteous, that is, in harmony with the law, and -then the law which before condemned them will witness to their -righteousness. - -[Sidenote: “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. Christ alone is righteous; -He has overcome the world, and He alone has power to do it; in Him -dwelleth all the fulness of God, because the law—God Himself—was in His -heart; He alone has kept and can keep the law to perfection; therefore, -only by His faith,—living faith, that is, His life in us,—can we be made -righteous. - -But this is sufficient. He is a “tried Stone.” The faith which He gives -to us is His own tried and approved faith, and it will not fail us in -any contest. 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. It will do it; take it! - -[Sidenote: 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. God does “exceedingly abundantly,” by “the -power that worketh in us.” - -[Sidenote: Christ Not the Minister of Sin.] - -Jesus Christ is “the Holy and Righteous One.” Acts 3:14, R. V. “He was -manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.” 1 John 3:5. He -not only “did no sin” (1 Peter 2:22), but He “knew no sin” (2 Cor. -5:21). Therefore, it is impossible that any sin can come from Him. He -does not impart sin. In the stream of life that flows from the heart of -Christ, through His wounded side, there is no trace of impurity. It is -“a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal.” He is not the -minister of sin, that is, He does not minister sin to anybody. If in any -one who has sought—and not only sought, but found—righteousness through -Christ, there is afterwards found sin, it is because the person has -dammed up the stream, allowing the water to become stagnant. The Word -has not been given free course, so that it could be glorified; and where -there is no activity, there is death. No one is to blame for this but -the person himself. Let no professed Christian take counsel of his own -imperfections, and say that it is impossible for a Christian to live a -sinless life. It is impossible for a true Christian, one who has full -faith, to live any other kind of life. “How shall we, that are dead to -sin, live any longer therein?” Rom. 6:2. “Whosoever is born of God doth -not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him; and he can not sin, -because he is born of God.” 1 John 3:9. Therefore “abide in Him.” - -[Sidenote: What Was Destroyed?] - -“If I build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a -transgressor.” We ask again, What was destroyed, the building up of -which will prove us to be transgressors? Remembering that the apostle is -talking of those who have believed in Jesus Christ, that they might be -justified by the faith of Christ, we find the answer to the question in -Rom. 6:6: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that -the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve -sin.” Also Col. 2:10, 11: “Ye are complete in Him, which is the head of -all principality and power; in whom also ye are circumcised with the -circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of -the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” That which is destroyed is the -body of sin, and it is destroyed only by this personal presence of the -life of Christ. It is destroyed in order that we may be freed from its -power, and may no longer need to serve it. It is destroyed for -everybody, for Christ in His own flesh has abolished “the enmity,” the -carnal mind; not His own, for He had none, but ours. Our sins, our -weaknesses, were upon Him. For every soul the victory has been gained, -and the enemy has been disarmed. We have only to accept the victory -which Christ has won. The victory over all sin is already a reality; our -faith in it makes it real to us. The loss of faith puts us outside the -reality, and the old body of sin looms up again. That which is destroyed -by faith is built up again by unbelief. Remember that this destruction -of the body of sin, although performed by Christ for all, is, -nevertheless, a present, personal matter with each individual. - -[Sidenote: “Dead to the Law.”] - -Many seem to fancy that “dead to the law” means the same as that the law -is dead. Not by any means. The law must be in full force, else no one -could be dead by means of it. How does a man become dead to the law?—By -receiving its full penalty, which is death. He is dead, but the law -which put him to death is still as ready as ever to put to death another -criminal. Suppose, now, that the man who was executed for gross crimes -should, by some miraculous power, come to life again, would he not still -be dead to the law?—Certainly; nothing that he had done could be -mentioned to him by the law; but if he should again commit crimes, the -law would again execute him, but as another man. We say now that I, -through the law, am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. By the -body of Christ I am raised from the death which I have suffered by the -law because of my sin, and now I walk “in newness of life,” a life unto -God. Like Saul of old, I am by the Spirit of God “turned into another -man.” 1 Sam. 10:6. This is the Christian’s experience. That this is the -case is shown by what follows. - -[Sidenote: Crucified with Christ.] - -“I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ -liveth in me.” Christ was crucified; He was “delivered for our offenses, -and raised again for our justification.” Rom. 4:25. But unless we are -crucified with Him, His death and resurrection profit us nothing. If the -cross of Christ is separated from us, and outside of us, even though it -be but by so much as a moment of time and an hair’s breadth of space, it -is to us all the same as if He were not crucified. No one was ever saved -simply by looking forward to a cross to be erected and a Christ to be -crucified at some indefinite time in the future, and no one can now be -saved simply by believing that at a certain time in the past Christ was -crucified. No; if men would see Christ crucified, they must look neither -forward nor backward, but upward; for the arms of the cross that was -erected on Calvary reach from Paradise lost to Paradise restored, and -embrace the whole world of sin. The crucifixion of Christ is not a thing -of but a single day. He is “the Lamb that hath been slain from the -foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8, R. V.); and the pangs of Calvary -will not be ended as long as a single sin or sinner exists in the -universe. Even now Christ bears the sins of the whole world, for “in Him -all things consist;” and when at the last He is obliged to cut off the -irreclaimably wicked in the lake of fire, the anguish which they suffer -will be only that which the Christ whom they have rejected suffered on -the cross. - -[Sidenote: Where the Cross Is.] - -Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree. 1 Peter 2:24. He was -“made a curse for us,” in that He hung on the tree. Gal. 3:13. On the -cross He bore not only the weakness and sin of humanity, but also the -weakness of the earth. Thorns are the sign of the curse, the weakened, -imperfect condition of the earth (Gen. 3:17, 18; 4:11, 12); and on the -cross Christ bore the crown of thorns. Therefore, all the curse, every -trace of it, is borne by Christ,—by Christ crucified. Wherever, -therefore, we see any curse, or wherever there is any curse, whether we -see it or not, there is the cross of Christ. This can be seen again from -the following: The curse is death, and death kills; the curse is in -everything, yet everywhere we see life. Here is the miracle of the -cross. Christ suffered the curse of death, and yet lived. He is the only -one that could do it. Therefore, the fact that we see life everywhere, -also in ourselves, in spite of the curse which is everywhere, is -positive proof that the cross of the Crucified One is there bearing it. -So it is that not only every blade of grass, every leaf of the forest, -and every piece of bread that we eat has the stamp of the cross of -Christ on it, but, above all, we have the same. Wherever there is a -fallen, sin-scarred, miserable human being, there is also the Christ of -God crucified for him and in him. Christ on the cross bears all things, -and the sins of that man are on Him. Because of unbelief and ignorance -the man feels all the weight of the heavy burden, but the load is on -Christ, nevertheless. It is easy for Christ, but heavy for the man; if -the man will believe, he may be relieved of the load. In short, Christ -bears the sins of all the world on the cross. Therefore, wherever sin is -found, there we may be sure is the cross of Christ. - -[Sidenote: Where Sin Is.] - -Sin is a personal matter. A man is guilty only of his own sins, and not -of those which another has committed. Now I can not sin where I am not, -but only where I am. Sin is in the heart of man; “for from within, out -of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, -murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an -evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness; all these evil things come from -within.” Mark 7:21-23. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and -desperately wicked.” Jer. 17:9. Sin is in every fiber of our being by -nature. We are born in sin, and our life is sin, so that sin can not be -taken from us without taking our life. What I need is freedom from my -own personal sin,—that sin which not only has been committed by me -personally, but which dwells in the heart,—the sin which constitutes the -whole of my life. - -[Sidenote: Bound by Sin.] - -“His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be -holden with the cords of his sins.” Prov. 5:22. “For though thou wash -thee with niter, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked -before Me, saith the Lord.” Jer. 2:22. My sin is committed by myself, in -myself, and I can not separate it from me. Cast it on the Lord? Ah, yes, -that is right, but how? Can I gather it up in my hands, and cast it from -me, so that it will light upon Him?—I can not. If I could separate it -but a hair’s breadth from me, then I should be safe, no matter what -became of it, since it would not be found in me. In that case I could -dispense with Christ; for if sin were not found on me, it would make no -matter to me where it was found. If I could gather up my sins so as to -lay them upon Christ crucified apart from me, then I would not need to -put them on Him. They would then be away from me, and that would clear -me. But no works of any kind that I can do can save me; therefore, all -my efforts to separate myself from my sins are unavailing. - -[Sidenote: Christ Bears the Sin in Us.] - -It is evident from what has been said that whoever bears my sins must -come where I am, yea, must come into me. And this is just what Christ -does. Christ is the Word, and to all sinners, who would excuse -themselves by saying that they can not know what God requires of them, -He says, “The Word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy -heart, that thou mayest do it.” Deut. 30:11-14. Therefore, He says, “If -thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in -thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be -saved.” Rom. 10:9. What shall we confess about the Lord Jesus?—Why, -confess the truth, that He is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy -heart, and believe that He is there risen from the dead. “Now that He -ascended, what is it but that He also descended first into the lower -parts of the earth?” Eph. 4:9. The risen Saviour is the crucified -Saviour. As Christ risen is in the heart of the sinner, therefore, -Christ crucified is there. If it were not so, there would be no hope for -any. A man may believe that Jesus was crucified eighteen hundred years -ago, and may die in his sins; but he who believes that Christ is -crucified and risen in him, has salvation. - -All that any man in the world has to do in order to be saved, is to -believe the truth, that is, to recognize and acknowledge facts, to see -things just as they actually are, and to confess them. Whoever believes -that Christ is crucified in him, which is the fact in the case of every -man, and confesses that the crucified Christ is also risen, and that He -dwells in him by and with the power of the resurrection, is saved from -sin, and will be saved as long as he holds fast his confession. This is -the only true confession of faith. - -What a glorious thought that, wherever sin is, there is Christ, the -Saviour from sin! He bears sin, all sin, the sin of the world. Sin is in -all flesh, and so Christ is come in the flesh. Christ is crucified in -every man that lives on earth. This is the word of truth, the Gospel of -salvation, which is to be proclaimed to all, and which will save all who -accept it. - -[Sidenote: Living by Faith.] - -In the tenth chapter of Romans, as already noted, we learn that Christ -is in every man, “a very present help in trouble.” He is in the sinner, -in order that the sinner may have every incentive and facility for -turning from sin to righteousness. He is “the way, the truth, and the -life.” John 14:6. There is no other life than His. He is the life. But, -although He is in every man, not every man has His righteousness -manifested in his life; for some “hold down the truth in -unrighteousness.” Rom. 1:18, R. V. Now Paul’s inspired prayer was that -we might be strengthened with might by the Spirit of God in the inner -man, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith;” “that ye might be -filled with all the fulness of God.” Eph. 3:16-19. The difference, then, -between the sinner and the Christian is this: that, whereas Christ -crucified and risen is in every man, in the sinner He is there -unrecognized and ignored, while in the Christian He dwells there by -faith. - -Christ is crucified in the sinner, for wherever there is sin and the -curse, there is Christ bearing it. All that is needed now is for the -sinner to be crucified with Christ, to let Christ’s death be his own -death, in order that the life of Jesus may be manifested in his mortal -flesh. Faith in the eternal power and Divinity of God, that are seen in -all the things that He has made, will enable any one to grasp this -mystery. The seed is not quickened “except it die.” 1 Cor. 15:36. -“Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; -but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” John 12:24. So the one who -is crucified with Christ, begins at once to live, but it is as another -man. “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” - -[Sidenote: The Life of the World.] - -“But Christ was actually crucified eighteen hundred years, and more, -ago, was He not?”—Certainly. “Then how can it be that my personal sins -were upon Him? or how can it be that I am now crucified with Him?”—Well, -it may be that we can not understand the fact, but that makes no -difference with the fact. But when we remember that Christ is the life, -even “that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested -unto us” (1 John 1:2), we may understand something of it. “In Him was -life; and the life was the light of men,”—“the true light, which -lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:4, 9. - -Christ is larger than the Man Jesus of Nazareth, whom the eyes of all -men could see. Flesh and blood,—that which the eyes can see,—can not -reveal “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matt. 16:16, 17. “Eye -hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of -man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God -hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit.” 1 Cor. 2:9, 10. So no man, no -matter how well acquainted he was with the Carpenter of Nazareth, could -call Him Lord but by the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 12:3. By the Spirit, His own -personal presence, He can dwell in every man on earth, and fill the -heavens as well, a thing which Jesus, in the flesh could not do. -Therefore, it was expedient for Him to go away, and send the Comforter. -“He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Col. 1:16, 17, -R. V. Jesus of Nazareth was the manifestation of Christ in the flesh; -but the flesh was not Christ, for “the flesh profiteth nothing.” It is -the Word which was in the beginning, and whose power upholds all things, -that is the Christ of God. The sacrifice of Christ, so far as this world -is concerned, dates from the foundation of the world. While Christ was -going about doing good in Judea and Galilee, He was in the bosom of the -Father making reconciliation for the sins of the world. - -The scene on Calvary was the manifestation of what has taken place as -long as sin has existed, and will take place until every man is saved -who is willing to be saved: Christ bearing the sins of the world. He -bears them now. One act of death and resurrection was sufficient for all -time, for it is eternal life that we are considering; therefore, it is -not necessary for the sacrifice to be repeated. That life pervades and -upholds all things, so that whoever accepts it by faith has all the -benefit of the entire sacrifice of Christ. By Himself He “made -purification of sins.” Whoever rejects the life, or is unwilling to -acknowledge that the life which he has is Christ’s life, loses, of -course, the benefit of the sacrifice. - -[Sidenote: The Faith of the Son of God.] - -Christ lived by the Father. John 6:57. His faith in the word that God -gave Him was such that He repeatedly and positively maintained that when -He died He should rise again the third day. In this faith He died, -saying, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit.” Luke 23:46. That -faith which gave Him the victory over death (Heb. 5:7), because it gave -Him the complete victory over sin, is the faith which He exercises in -us, when He dwells in us by faith; for He is “the same yesterday, and -to-day, and forever.” It is not we that live, but Christ that lives in -us, and uses His own faith to deliver us from the power of Satan. “What -have we to do?”—Let Him live in us in His own way. “Let this mind be in -you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” How can we let Him?—Simply by -acknowledging Him; by confessing Him. We can not understand, so as to -explain the mystery of Christ in us the hope of glory, but everything in -nature that serves to sustain our life teaches us the fact. The sunlight -that shines upon us, the air that we breathe, the food that we eat, and -the water that we drink, are all means of conveying life to us. The life -that they convey to us is none other than the life of Christ, for He is -the life, and thus we have constantly before us and in us evidence of -the fact that Christ can live in us. If we allow the Word to have free -course in us, it will be glorified in us, and will glorify us. - -[Sidenote: The Gift for Me.] - -“Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” How personal this is. I am the -one whom He loved. Each soul in the world can say, “He loved me, and -gave Himself for me.” Leave Paul out of the question in reading this. -Paul is dead, but the words that he wrote are yet alive. It was true of -Paul, but no more so than of every other man. They are the words which -the Spirit puts in our mouths, if we will but receive them. The whole -gift of Christ is for each individual me. Christ is not divided, but -every soul gets the whole of Him, just the same as if there were not -another person in the world. Each one gets all the light that shines. -The fact that there are millions of people for the sun to shine upon, -does not make its light any the less for me; I get the full benefit of -it, and could not get more if I were the only person in the world. It -shines for me. So Christ gave Himself for me, the same as if I were the -only sinner in the world; and the same is true of every other sinner. -When you sow a grain of wheat, you get many more grains of the same -kind, each one having the same life, and just as much of it, as the -original seed had. So it is with Christ, the true Seed. In dying for us, -that we may also become the true seed, He gives to every one of us the -whole of His life. “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” - -[Sidenote: Christ Not Dead in Vain.] - -“I do not frustrate the grace of God; for if righteousness come by the -law, then Christ is dead in vain.” This is the summing up of the case. -It is the substance of what has preceded. If righteousness came by the -law, then there would have been no use for the death of Christ. The law -itself can do nothing except point out men’s duty; therefore, to speak -of righteousness coming by the law, means by our works, by our -individual effort. So the text is equivalent to the statement that if we -could save ourselves, Christ died for nothing; for salvation is the one -thing to be gained. Well, we can not save ourselves; and Christ is not -dead in vain; therefore there is salvation in Him. He is able to save -all that come unto God by Him. Some must be saved, else He has died in -vain; but He has not died in vain; therefore, the promise is sure: “He -shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the -Lord shall prosper in His hand, He shall see of the travail of His soul, -and shall be satisfied.” Isa. 53:10, 11. “Whosoever will,” may be of the -number. Since He died not in vain, see to it “that ye receive not the -grace of God in vain.” - - - - - CHAPTER III. - Redeemed from the Curse, to the Blessing of Abraham. - - -The two chapters of Galatians that we have already studied give us -sufficient idea of the entire book, so that we can practically take -leave of the Galatian brethren, and consider it as addressed solely to -us. The circumstances that called forth the writing of the epistle were -that the Galatians, having accepted the Gospel, were led astray by false -teachers, who presented to them “another gospel,” that is, a counterfeit -gospel, since there is but one for all time and for all men. The way it -was presented to them was, “Except ye be circumcised after the manner of -Moses, ye can not be saved.” Outward circumcision was given as a sign of -righteousness which the individual already possessed by faith. Rom. -4:11. It was a sign that the law was written in the heart by the Spirit, -and it was, therefore, only a mockery and a sham when the law was -transgressed. Rom. 2:25-29. But for one to be circumcised in order to be -saved, was to put his trust in works of his own and not in Christ. Now, -although there is in these days no question as to whether or not a man -should submit to the specific rite of circumcision in order to be saved, -the question of salvation itself, whether by human works or by Christ -alone, is as live a one as ever. - -Instead of attacking their error, and combating it with hard argument, -the apostle begins with experience, the relation of which illustrates -the case in hand. In this narrative he has occasion to show that -salvation is wholly by faith, for all men alike, and not in any degree -by works. As Christ tasted death for every man, so every man who is -saved must have Christ’s personal experience of death and resurrection -and life. Christ in the flesh does what the law could not do. Gal. 2:21; -Rom. 8:3, 4. But that very fact witnesses to the righteousness of the -law. If the law were at fault, Christ would not fulfil its demands. He -shows its righteousness by fulfilling, or doing, what it demands, not -simply for us, but in us. The grace of God in Christ attests the majesty -and holiness of the law. We do not frustrate the grace of God; if -righteousness could come by the law, then would Christ be dead in vain. -But to claim that the law could be abolished, or could relax its claims, -and thus be of no account, is also to say that Christ is dead in vain. -Let it be repeated, righteousness can not possibly come by the law, but -only by the faith of Christ; but the fact that the righteousness of the -law could be attained in no other way by us than by the crucifixion and -resurrection and life of Christ in us, shows the infinite greatness and -holiness of the law. - -“O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you, before whose eyes Jesus -Christ was openly set forth crucified? This only would I learn from you, -Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of -faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now -perfected in the flesh? Did ye suffer so many things in vain? if it be -indeed in vain. He therefore that supplieth to you the Spirit, and -worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by -the hearing of faith? Even as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned -unto him for righteousness. Know therefore that they which be of faith, -the same are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God -would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Gospel beforehand unto -Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed. So then they -which be of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham. For as many as -are of the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, Cursed -is every one which continueth not in all things that are written in the -book of the law, to do them. Now that no man is justified by the law in -the sight of God, is evident; for, The righteous shall live by faith; -and the law is not of faith; but, He that doeth them shall live in them. -Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for -us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree; that -upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus; -that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. - -“Brethren, I speak after the manner of men, Though it be but a man’s -covenant, yet when it hath been confirmed, no one maketh it void, or -addeth thereto. Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his -seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy -seed, which is Christ. Now this I say: A covenant confirmed beforehand -by God, the law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, doth -not disannul, so as to make the promise of none effect. For if the -inheritance is of the law, it is no more of promise; but God hath -granted it to Abraham by promise. What then is the law? It was added -because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise -hath been made; and it was ordained through angels by the hand of a -mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one; but God is one. Is -the law then against the promises of God? God forbid; for if there had -been a law given which could make alive, verily righteousness would have -been of the law. Howbeit the Scripture hath shut up all things under -sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to them -that believe. - -“But before faith came, we were kept in ward under the law, shut up unto -the faith which should afterwards be revealed. So that the law hath been -our tutor to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. -But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor. For ye are -all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as -were baptized into Christ did put on Christ. There can be neither Jew -nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and -female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus. And if ye are Christ’s, -then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise.” Galatians 3, R. -V. - -[Sidenote: The Sin of Witchcraft.] - -The apostle asks those who are departing from God and His truth, “Who -hath bewitched you?” “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to -hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, -and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.” 1 Sam. 15:22, 23. If you -look up this text in the Bible, you will see that in both instances the -words “is as” are added. The literal Hebrew is, “Rebellion is the sin of -witchcraft, and stubbornness is iniquity and idolatry.” And how -so?—Plainly enough, for stubbornness and rebellion are rejection of God; -and he who rejects God, puts himself under the control of evil spirits. -All idolatry is devil-worship. “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, -they sacrifice to devils.” 1 Cor. 10:20. There is no middle ground. -Christ says, “He that is not with Me is against Me.” Matt. 12:30. That -is, disobedience, rejection of the Lord, is the spirit of antichrist. -The Galatian brethren were, as we have already seen, departing from God, -and consequently they were inevitably, although perhaps unconsciously, -relapsing into idolatry. - -[Sidenote: The Safeguard against Spiritualism.] - -Spiritualism is only another name for ancient witchcraft and -soothsaying. It is a fraud, but not the kind of fraud that most people -think it is. There is reality in it. It is a fraud in that while it -professes to receive communications from the spirits of the dead, it has -communication only with the spirits of devils, since “the dead know not -anything.” To be a Spiritualist medium is to give one’s self to the -control of demons. Now there is only one protection against this, and -that is to hold fast to the Word of God. He who lightly regards God’s -Word, severs himself from association with God, and puts himself within -Satan’s influence. Even though a man denounce Spiritualism in the -strongest terms, if he does not hold to God’s Word, he will sooner or -later be carried away by the strong delusion. Only by keeping the Word -of Christ’s patience can men be kept from the temptation that is coming -on all the world. Rev. 3:10. “The spirit that now worketh in the -children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2), is the spirit of Satan, the spirit -of antichrist; and the Gospel of Christ, which reveals the righteousness -of God (Rom. 1:16, 17), is the only possible salvation from it. - -[Sidenote: Christ Crucified before Us.] - -“Who did bewitch you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set -forth crucified?” Jesus was set forth before the Galatians, when Paul -preached to them, as openly crucified before their eyes. So vivid was -the presentation, that they could actually see Christ crucified. It was -not skilful word-painting on the part of Paul, nor imagination on the -part of the Galatians, for then it would have been only deception. No; -it was an actual fact; Christ was there, crucified, before their eyes, -and Paul by the Spirit enabled them to see Him. We know that it was not -Paul’s skill in making beautiful word pictures that enabled them to -fancy that they saw the crucifixion, for elsewhere Paul says that he -determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and that -he purposely and carefully refrained from using the wisdom of words, for -fear that he should make the cross of Christ without effect. 1 Cor. -1:17, 18; 2:1-4. The experience of the Galatians in this matter was not -peculiar to them. The cross of Christ is a present thing. The -expression, “Come to the cross,” is not an empty form of words, but an -invitation that can be literally complied with. Christ is crucified -before us, and each blade of grass, each leaf in the forest, reveals the -fact. Yea, we have the testimony in our own bodies, in that, although -sinful and corruptible, we yet live. Not until one has seen Christ -crucified before his eyes, and can see the cross of Christ at every -turn, does one know the reality of the Gospel. Let those scoff who will; -the fact that a blind man can not see the sun, and denies that it -shines, will not deter one who sees it from talking of its glory. Many -there are who can testify that it is something more than a figure of -speech, when the apostle says that Christ was crucified before the eyes -of the Galatians. They have had the experience. God grant that this -study of Galatians, before it is finished, may be the means of opening -the eyes of many more, so that they may see Christ crucified before -their eyes, and know Him crucified in them and for them. - -[Sidenote: A Good Beginning.] - -The question, “Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the -hearing of faith?” admits of but one answer. It was by the hearing of -faith. The Spirit is given to those who believe. John 7:39; Eph. 1:13. -The question also shows that the Galatians had received the Holy Spirit. -There is no other way of beginning the Christian life. “No man can say -that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.” 1 Cor. 12:3. In the -beginning the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, begetting -life and activity in the creation; for without the Spirit there is no -motion—no life. “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the -Lord of hosts.” Zech. 4:6. The Spirit of God alone can carry out the -perfect will of God, and no works that a man can do can bring Him into -the soul, any more than a dead man can manufacture the breath by which -he can be made to live and move. Those to whom Paul addressed this -Epistle had seen Christ crucified before their eyes, and had accepted -Him through the Spirit. Have you also seen and accepted Him? - -[Sidenote: Hold Fast the Beginning.] - -“Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now perfected in -the flesh?” Foolish is but a feeble term for it. The man who has not -power to begin a work, has strength to finish it! He who has not -strength to put one foot before the other, or even to stand alone, has -strength enough in himself to win a race! Impossible. Who has power to -beget himself? No one; we come into this world without having begotten -ourselves; we are born without strength; and, therefore, all the -strength that ever manifests itself in us, comes from another than -ourselves. It is all given to us. The new-born babe is the -representative of man. “A man is born into the world.” All the strength -that any man has of himself is found in the infant as it utters its -first cry with its first breath. And even that feeble strength is not of -itself. Even so in things spiritual. “Of His own will begat He us with -the Word of truth.” James 1:18. We can no more live righteous lives by -our own strength than we could beget ourselves. The work that is begun -by the Spirit, must be carried to completion by the Spirit. “We are made -partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence -steadfast unto the end.” Heb. 3:14. “He which hath begun a good work in -you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Phil. 1:6. And He -alone can do it. - -[Sidenote: Experience in the Gospel.] - -“Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He -therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among -you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” -These questions show that the experience of the Galatian brethren had -been as deep and as real as would be expected from those before whose -eyes Christ was openly crucified. The Spirit had been given to them, -miracles had been wrought among them, and even by them, for the gifts of -the Spirit accompany the gift of the Spirit; and as the result of this -living Gospel among them, they had suffered persecution; for “all that -will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 Tim. 3:12. -This makes the case the more serious. Having shared the sufferings of -Christ, they were now departing from Him; and this departure from -Christ, through whom alone righteousness can come, was marked by -disobedience to the law of truth. They were insensibly but inevitably -transgressing the law to which they were looking for salvation. - -[Sidenote: Abraham Believed God.] - -The questions asked in verses 3, 4, and 5 suggest their own answer. The -Spirit was ministered, and miracles were wrought, not by works of law, -but by “the hearing of faith,” that is, by the obedience of faith, for -faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Rom. 10:17. Thus Paul’s labor, -and the first experience of the Galatians, were exactly in line with the -experience of Abraham, whose faith was accounted for righteousness. Let -it be remembered that the “false brethren” who preached “another -gospel,” even the false gospel of righteousness by works, were Jews, and -claimed Abraham for their father. It would be their boast that they were -children of Abraham, and they would appeal to their circumcision as -proof of the fact. But the very thing upon which they relied as proving -them to be children of Abraham, was proof that they were not; for -“Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” -Abraham had the righteousness of faith before he was circumcised. Rom. -4:11. “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the -children of Abraham.” Abraham was not justified by works (Rom. 4:2, 3), -but his faith “wrought righteousness.” - -The same trouble still exists. People take the sign for the substance, -the end for the means. They see that righteousness reveals itself in -good works; therefore, they assume that the good works bring the -righteousness. Righteousness gained by trusting, good works wrought -without working, seem to them impractical and fanciful. They call -themselves “practical” men, and believe that the only way to have a -thing done is to do it. But the truth is that all such men are highly -impractical. A man absolutely “without strength” can not do anything, -not even so much as to raise himself up to take the medicine that is -offered him; and any counsel for him to try to do it would be -impractical. Only in the Lord is there righteousness and strength. Isa. -45:24. “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall -bring it to pass. And He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the -light.” Ps. 37:5, 6. Abraham is the father of all who believe for -righteousness, and of those only. The only practical thing is to trust, -even as he did. - -[Sidenote: The Gospel to the Gentiles.] - -“The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, -preached the Gospel beforehand unto Abraham.” This verse will bear much -reading. An understanding of it will guard one against many errors. And -it is not difficult to understand; simply hold to what it says, and you -have it. - -(_a_) For one thing, the verse shows us that the Gospel was preached at -least as early as the days of Abraham. - -(_b_) It was God Himself who preached it; therefore, it was the true and -only Gospel. - -(_c_) It was the same Gospel that Paul preached; so that we have no -other Gospel than that which Abraham had. - -(_d_) The Gospel differs in no particular now from what it was in -Abraham’s day; for his day was the day of Christ. John 8:56. - -God requires just the same things now that He required then, and nothing -more. - -Moreover, the Gospel was then preached to the Gentiles, for Abraham was -a Gentile, or, in other words, a heathen. He was brought up as a -heathen, for “Terah, the father of Abraham,” “served other gods” (Joshua -24:2), and was a heathen till the Gospel was preached to him. So the -preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles was no new thing in the days of -Peter and Paul. The Jewish nation was taken out from among the heathen, -and it is only by the preaching of the Gospel to the heathen that Israel -is built up and saved. See Acts 15:14-18; Rom. 11:25, 26. The very -existence of the people Israel always was and still is a standing proof -that God’s purpose is to save a people from among the Gentiles. It is in -fulfilment of this purpose that Israel exists. - -Thus we see that the apostle takes the Galatians, and us, back to the -fountain-head,—to the place where God Himself preaches the Gospel to us -Gentiles. No Gentile can hope to be saved in any other way or by any -other gospel than that by which Abraham was saved. - -[Sidenote: Blessed with Abraham.] - -“So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” Mark -the close connection between this and the preceding verse. The Gospel -was preached to Abraham in the words, “In thee shall all nations be -blessed.” (It should be remembered, in passing, that the words -“heathen,” or “Gentiles,” as in the Revised Version, and “nations,” in -verse 8, come from the very same Greek word.) This blessing is the -blessing of righteousness through Christ, as we learn from Acts 3:25, -26: “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God -made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all -the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised -up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of -you from his iniquities.” Because God preached the Gospel to Abraham, -saying, “In thee shall all the nations of the earth be blessed,” those -who believe are blessed with the faithful Abraham. There is no blessing -for any man except the blessing which Abraham received, and the Gospel -preached to him is the only Gospel there is for any people under heaven; -for besides the name of Jesus, in whom Abraham believed, “there is none -other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” In -Him “we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of -sins.” Col. 1:14. The forgiveness of sins carries with it all blessings. - -[Sidenote: A Contrast: Under the Curse.] - -Note the sharp contrast in verses 9 and 10. “They which be of faith are -blessed,” but “as many as are of the works of the law are under the -curse.” Faith brings the blessing; works bring the curse, or, rather, -leave one under the curse. The curse is on all, for “he that believeth -not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of -the only-begotten Son of God.” John 3:18. Faith removes the curse. - -Who are under the curse?—“As many as are of the works of the law.” Note -that it does not say that those who do the law are under the curse, for -that would be a contradiction of Rev. 22:14: “Blessed are they that do -His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may -enter in through the gates into the city.” “Blessed are the undefiled in -the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.” Ps. 119:1. - -So, then, they that are of faith are keepers of the law; for they that -are of faith are blessed, and those who do the commandments are blessed. -By faith they do the commandments. The Gospel is contrary to human -nature, and so it is that we become doers of the law, not by doing, but -by believing. If we worked for righteousness, we should be exercising -only our own sinful human nature, and so would get no nearer to -righteousness, but farther from it; but by believing the “exceeding -great and precious promises,” we become partakers of the Divine nature -(2 Peter 1:4), and then all our works are wrought in God. “The Gentiles, -which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, -even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed -after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of -righteousness. Wherefore?—Because they sought it not by faith, but as it -were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling-stone; -as it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a Stumbling-stone and Rock of -offense; and whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.” Rom. -9:30-33. - -[Sidenote: What the Curse Is.] - -No one can read Gal. 3:10 carefully and thoughtfully without seeing that -the curse is transgression of the law. Disobedience to God’s law is -itself the curse; for “by one man sin entered into the world, and death -by sin.” Rom. 5:12. Sin has death wrapped up in it. Without sin death -would be impossible, for “the sting of death is sin.” 1 Cor. 15:56. “As -many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.” Why? Is it -because the law is a curse?—Not by any means. “The law is holy, and the -commandment holy, and just, and good.” Rom. 7:12. Why, then, are as many -as are of the works of the law under the curse?—Because it is written, -“Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written -in the book of the law to do them.” Mark it well: They are not cursed -because they do the law, but because they do not do it. So, then, we see -that being of the works of the law does not mean that one is doing the -law. No; “the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject -to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Rom. 8:7. All are under the -curse, and he who thinks to get out by his own works, remains there. The -curse consists in not continuing in all things that are written in the -law; therefore, the blessing means perfect conformity to the law. This -is as plain as language can make it. - -[Sidenote: Blessing and Cursing.] - -“Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; a blessing, -if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you -this day; and a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord -your God.” Deut. 11:26-28. This is the living word of God, addressed to -each one of us personally. “The law worketh wrath” (Rom. 4:15), but the -wrath of God comes only on the children of disobedience (Eph. 5:6). If -we truly believe, we are not condemned, but only because faith brings us -into harmony with the law—the life of God. “Whoso looketh into the -perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful -hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” -James 1:25. - -[Sidenote: Good Works.] - -The Bible does not disparage good works. On the contrary, it exalts -them. “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou -affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful -to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable.” Titus -3:8. The charge against the unbelieving is that they are “unto every -good work reprobate.” Titus 1:16. Timothy was exhorted to “charge them -that are rich in this world,” “that they do good, that they be rich in -good works.” 1 Tim. 6:17, 18. And the apostle Paul prayed for us all, -that we might “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful -in every good work.” Col. 1:10. Still further, we are assured that God -has created us in Christ Jesus “unto good works,” “that we should walk -in them.” Eph. 2:10. - -He has Himself prepared these works for us, wrought them out, and laid -them up for all who trust in Him. Ps. 31:19. “This is the work of God, -that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:29. Good works are -commended, but we can not do them. They can be performed only by the One -who is good, and that is God. If there be ever any good in us, it is God -who worketh in us. There is no disparagement of anything that He does. -“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, -that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting -covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in -you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to -whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Heb. 13:20, 21. - -[Sidenote: Who Are the Just?] - -When we read the frequent statement, “The just shall live by faith,” it -is necessary to have a clear idea of what the word “just” means. If we -read the same text in the Revised Version, we shall learn. It has it, -“The righteous shall live by faith.” To be justified by faith is to be -made righteous by faith. “All unrighteousness is sin” (1 John 5:17), and -“sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). Therefore, all -unrighteousness is transgression of the law, and of course all -righteousness is obedience to the law. So we see that the just, or -righteous, man is the man who obeys the law, and to be justified is to -be made a keeper of the law. - -[Sidenote: How to Become Just.] - -Righteousness is the end to be obtained, and the law of God is the -standard. “The law worketh wrath,” because “all have sinned,” and “the -wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” How shall we -become doers of the law, and thus escape wrath, or the curse? The answer -is, “The righteous shall live by faith.” By faith, not by works, we -become doers of the law. “With the heart man believeth unto -righteousness.” Rom. 10:10. That no man is justified by the law in the -sight of God, it is evident. From what does it appear?—From this,—that -“the just shall live by faith.” If righteousness came by works, then it -would not be by faith; “if by grace, then is it no more of works; -otherwise grace is no more grace.” Rom. 11:6. “To him that worketh is -the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh -not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is -counted for righteousness.” Rom. 4:4, 5. There is no exception, no -half-way working. It is not said that some of the just shall live by -faith, or that they shall live by faith and works, but, simply, “the -just shall live by faith,” and that proves that it is not by their own -works. All of the just are made and kept just by faith alone. This is -because the law is so holy. It is greater than can be done by man; only -Divine power can accomplish it; so by faith we receive the Lord Jesus, -and He lives the perfect law in us. - -[Sidenote: The Law Not of Faith.] - -“The law is not of faith.” Of course it is the written law, no matter -whether in a book or on tables of stone, that is here referred to. That -law simply says, “Do this,” or, “Do not do that.” “The man that doeth -them shall live in them.” That is the sole condition on which the -written law offers life. Works, and works only, commend themselves to -it. How those works are obtained is of no consequence to it, provided -they are present. But none have done the requirements of the law, and so -there can be no doers of the law, that is, none who in their own lives -can present a record of perfect obedience. - -[Sidenote: Life Is Action.] - -“The man that doeth them shall live in them.” But one must be alive in -order to do. A dead man can do nothing, and he who is “dead in -trespasses and sins” can do no righteousness. Christ is the only one in -whom there is life, for He is the life, and He alone has done and can do -the righteousness of the law. When, instead of being denied and -repressed, He is acknowledged and received, He lives in us all the -fulness of His life, so that it is no more we but Christ living in us, -and then His obedience in us makes us righteous. Our faith is counted -for righteousness, simply because our faith appropriates the living -Christ. In trust we yield our bodies as temples of God; Christ, the -Living Stone, is enshrined in the heart, which becomes God’s throne, and -so the living law is our life; for out of the heart are the issues of -life. - -[Sidenote: The Real Question at Issue.] - -Let the reader pay particular attention to the fact that there is in -this epistle no controversy over the law, as to whether or not it should -be obeyed. No one had claimed that the law was abolished, or changed, or -had lost its force. The epistle contains no hint of any such thing. The -question was not if the law should be kept, but how it was to be kept. -Justification—being made righteous—was admitted to be a necessity; the -question was, Is it by faith, or by works? The false brethren were -persuading the Galatians that they must be made righteous by their own -efforts; Paul was by the Spirit showing that all such attempts were -useless, and could result only in fastening more firmly the curse upon -the sinner. Righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ is set forth to -all men in all time as the only real righteousness. The false teachers -made their boast in the law, but through breaking it caused the name of -God to be blasphemed. Paul made his boast in Christ, and by the -righteousness of the law, to which he thus submitted, caused the name of -God to be glorified in him. - -[Sidenote: The Sting of Sin.] - -That death is the curse is evident from the last part of verse 13, -“Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” Christ was made a curse -for us, in that He hung on a tree, that is, was crucified. But sin is -the cause of death. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by -sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Rom. -5:12. “The sting of death is sin.” 1 Cor. 15:56. So we have the -substance of verse 10 thus, that those who do not continue in the things -written in the law are dead. That is, disobedience is death. And this is -what the Scripture says: “When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth -sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” Sin contains -death, and men out of Christ are “dead in trespasses and sins.” It -matters not that they walk about seemingly full of life, the words of -Christ are, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His -blood, ye have no life in you.” John 6:53. “She that liveth in pleasure -is dead while she liveth.” 1 Tim. 5:6. It is a living death—a body of -death—that is endured. Rom. 7:24. Sin is the transgression of the law; -the wages of sin is death. The curse, therefore, is the death that is -carried about concealed even in the most attractive sin. “Cursed is -every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the -book of the law to do them.” - -[Sidenote: Redemption from the Curse.] - -“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law.” Let us stop right -here and contemplate this fact, leaving the way of redemption for later -consideration. We need to consider the statement very carefully, for -some who read it straightway rush off frantically exclaiming, “We don’t -need to keep the law, because Christ has redeemed us from the curse of -it,” as though the text said that Christ redeemed us from the curse of -obedience. Such read the Scriptures to no profit. The curse, as we have -seen, is disobedience. “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all -things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” Therefore, -Christ has redeemed us from disobedience to the law. God sent forth His -Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, “that the -righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us.” Rom. 8:4. - -Some one may lightly say, “Then we are all right; whatever we do is -right so far as the law is concerned, since we are redeemed.” It is true -that all are redeemed, but not all have accepted redemption. Many say of -Christ, “We will not have this Man to reign over us,” and thrust the -blessing of God from them. But redemption is for all; all have been -purchased with the precious blood—the life—of Christ, and all may be, if -they will, free from sin and death. By that blood we are redeemed from -our “vain manner of life.” 1 Peter 1:18, R. V. - -Stop and think what this means; let the full force of the announcement -impress itself upon your consciousness. “Christ hath redeemed us from -the curse of the law,”—from not continuing in all its righteous -requirements. We need not sin any more. He has snapped asunder the cords -of sin that bound us, so that we have but to accept His salvation in -order to be free from every besetting sin. It is not necessary for us -any longer to spend our lives in earnest longings for a better life, and -in vain regrets for desires unrealized. Christ raises no false hopes, -but He comes to the captives of sin, and cries to them, “Liberty! Your -prison doors are open. Go forth.” What more can be said? Christ has -gained the complete victory over “this present evil world,” over “the -lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” and -our faith in Him makes His victory ours. We have but to accept it. - -[Sidenote: Christ Made a Curse for Us.] - -That “Christ died for the ungodly” is evident to all who read the Bible. -He “was delivered for our offenses.” Rom. 4:25. The Innocent suffered -for the guilty; the Just for the unjust. “He was wounded for our -transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of -our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like -sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the -Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isa. 53:5, 6. But death -came by sin. Death is the curse that has passed upon all men, simply -because “all have sinned.” So, as Christ was “made a curse for us,” it -follows that Christ was “made to be sin on our behalf.” 2 Cor. 5:21, R. -V. He bore “our sins in His own body” up to the tree. 1 Peter 2:24, -margin. Note that our sins were “in His body.” It was no superficial -work that He undertook. The sins were not merely figuratively laid on -Him, but they were actually in Him. He was made a curse for us, made to -be sin for us, and consequently suffered death for us. - -To some this truth seems repugnant; to the Greeks it is foolishness, and -to the Jews a stumbling-block, but “to us who are saved, it is the power -of God.” For bear in mind that it was our sins that He bore in His own -body—not His own sins. The same scripture that tells us that He was made -to be sin for us, assures us that He “knew no sin.” The same text that -tells us that He carried our sins “in His own body,” is careful to let -us know that He “did no sin.” The fact that He could carry our sin about -with Him, and in Him, being actually made to be sin for us, and yet not -do any sin, is to His everlasting glory and our eternal salvation from -sin. All the sins of all men were on Him, yet no person ever discovered -the trace of sin upon Him. No sin was ever manifested in His life, -although He took all sin upon Himself. He received it and swallowed it -up by the power of the endless life in which He swallows up death. He -can bear sin, and yet be untainted by it. It is by this marvelous life -that He redeems us. He gives us His life, so that we may be freed from -every taint of the sin that is in our flesh. - -Christ, “in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and -supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to -save Him from death,” “was heard in that He feared.” Heb. 5:7. But He -died! Yes; but no one took His life from Him; He laid it down, that He -might take it again. John 10:17, 18. The pangs of death were loosed, -“because it was not possible that He should be holden of it.” Acts 2:24. -Why was it not possible for death to hold Him, even though He -voluntarily put Himself in its power?—Because He “knew no sin;” He took -sin upon Himself, but was saved from its power. He was “in all things” -“made like unto His brethren,” “in all points tempted like as we are” -(Heb: 2:17; 4:15), and since He could of Himself do nothing (John 5:30), -He prayed to the Father to keep Him from being overcome and thereby -falling under the power of death. And He was heard. In His case these -words were fulfilled: “The Lord God will help Me; therefore shall I not -be confounded; therefore have I set My face like a flint, and I know -that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth Me; who will -contend with Me?” Isa. 50:7, 8. - -Whose sin was it that thus oppressed Him, and from which He was -delivered?—Not His own, for He had none. It was your sin and mine. Our -sins have already been overcome—vanquished. We have to fight only with -an already defeated foe. When you come to God “in the name of Jesus,” -having surrendered yourself to His death and life, so that you do not -bear His name in vain, because Christ liveth in you, you have only to -remember that every sin was on Him, and is still on Him, and that He is -the conqueror, and straightway you will say, “Thanks be to God, which -giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “Now thanks be -unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh -manifest the savor of His knowledge by us in every place.” 2 Cor. 2:14. - -[Sidenote: The Revelation of the Cross.] - -In Gal. 3:13 we are brought back to the subject presented in Gal. 2:20 -and 3:1,—the ever-present cross. The subject is inexhaustible, but the -following few facts may serve to open it up to our minds:— - -1. The redemption from sin and death is accomplished through the cross. -Gal. 3:13. - -2. The Gospel is all contained in the cross; for the Gospel is “the -power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Rom. 1:16), -and “unto us which are saved” the cross of Christ “is the power of God” -(1 Cor. 1:18). - -3. Christ is revealed to fallen men only as the Crucified and risen One. -There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby salvation -may be obtained (Acts 4:12), and, therefore, it is all that God sets -forth before men, since He does not wish to confuse them. “Christ and -Him crucified,” is all that Paul wished to know; it is all that any man -needs to know. Thus the one thing that men need is salvation; if they -get that, they get all things; but salvation is found only in the cross -of Christ; therefore, God puts before the eyes of men nothing else: He -gives them just what they need. Jesus Christ is by God set forth openly -crucified before the eyes of every man, so that there is no excuse for -any to be lost, or to continue in sin. - -4. Christ is set forth before men only as the crucified Redeemer; and -since that from which men need to be saved is the curse, He is set forth -as bearing the curse. Wherever there is any curse, there is Christ -bearing it. We have already seen that Christ bore, and still bears, our -curse, in that He bears our sin. He also bears the curse of the earth -itself, for He bore the crown of thorns, and the curse pronounced on the -earth was, “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth.” Gen. 3:18. -So the whole creation, which now groans under the curse, has been -redeemed through the cross of Christ. Rom. 8:19-23. - -5. It is only on the cross that Christ bears the curse, for His being -made a curse for us was indicated by His hanging on the cross. The cross -is the symbol of the curse, but also of deliverance from the curse, -since it is the cross of Christ, the Conqueror and Deliverer. The very -curse itself, therefore, presents the cross, and proclaims our -deliverance. - -6. Where is the curse? Ah, where is it not? The blindest can see it, if -he will but acknowledge the evidence of his own senses. Imperfection is -a curse, yea, that is the curse; and imperfection is on everything -connected with this earth. Man is imperfect, and even the finest plant -that grows from the earth is not as perfect as it might be. There is -nothing that meets the eye that does not show the possibility of -improvement, even if our untrained eyes can not see the absolute -necessity of it. When God made the earth, everything was “very good,” -or, as the Hebrew idiom has it, “good exceedingly.” God Himself could -see no chance, no possibility, for improvement. But now it is different. -The gardener spends his thought and labor trying to improve the fruits -and flowers under his care. And since the best that the earth produces -reveals the curse, what need be said of the gnarled, stunted growths, -the withered and blasted buds and leaves and fruits, and the noxious, -poisonous weeds? Everywhere “hath the curse devoured the earth.” Isa. -24:6. - -7. What, then, is the conclusion of the whole matter? Is it -discouragement? Nay; “for God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to -obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. 5:9. Although the -curse is visible everywhere,— - - “Change and decay in all around I see,”— - -yet things live, and men live. But the curse is death, and no man and no -thing in creation can bear death and still live. Death kills. But Christ -is He that liveth, and was dead, and is alive forevermore. Rev. 1:18. He -alone can bear the curse—death—and still live. Therefore, the fact that -there is life on the earth and in man, in spite of the curse, is proof -that the cross of Christ is everywhere. Every blade of grass, every leaf -of the forest, every shrub and tree, every flower and fruit, even the -bread that we eat, is stamped with the cross of Christ. In our own -bodies is Christ crucified. Everywhere is that cross; and as the -preaching of the cross is the power of God, which is the Gospel, so it -is that the everlasting power of God is revealed in all things that He -has made. That is “the power that worketh in us.” Eph. 3:20. Rom. -1:16-20, compared with 1 Cor. 1:17, 18, amounts to a plain declaration -that the cross of Christ is seen in all the things that God has -made—even in our own bodies. - -[Sidenote: Courage from Despair.] - -“Innumerable evils have compassed me about; mine iniquities have taken -hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the -hairs of mine head; therefore my heart faileth me.” Ps. 40:12. But not -only may we with confidence cry unto God out of the depths, but God in -His infinite mercy has so ordered it that the very depths themselves are -a source of confidence. The fact that we are in the depths of sin, and -yet live, is proof that God Himself, in the person of Christ on the -cross, is present with us to deliver us. So everything, even the curse, -for everything is under the curse, preaches the Gospel. Our own weakness -and sinfulness, instead of being a cause of discouragement, are, if we -believe the Lord, a pledge of redemption. Out of weakness we are made -strong. “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him -that loved us.” Rom. 8:37. Truly, God has not left Himself without -witness among men. “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness -in himself.” 1 John 5:10. - -[Sidenote: The Blessing from the Curse.] - -Christ bore the curse, in order that the blessing might come to us. He -bears the curse now, being crucified before us, and in us, and we with -Him, that we may continually experience the blessing. Death to Him is -life to us. If we willingly bear about in our bodies the dying of the -Lord Jesus, the life also of Jesus will be manifested in our mortal -flesh. 2 Cor. 4:10, 11. He was made to be sin for us, that we might be -made the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor. 5:21. What is the blessing -that we receive through the curse that He bears? It is the blessing of -salvation from sin; for as the curse is the transgression of the law -(Gal. 3:10), the blessing consists in turning away every one of us from -our iniquities (Acts 3:26). Christ suffered the curse, even sin and -death, “that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through -Jesus Christ.” And what is the blessing of Abraham? The writer of this -Epistle, having stated that Abraham was made righteous by faith, adds: -“Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God -imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose -iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man -to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” Rom. 4:6-8. And then he shows -that this blessing comes on the Gentiles as well as on the Jews who -believe, because Abraham received it when he was uncircumcised, “that he -might be the father of all them that believe.” The blessing is freedom -from sin, even as the curse is the doing of sin; and as the curse -reveals the cross, so we find that the very curse is by the Lord made to -proclaim the blessing. The fact that we live, although we are sinners, -is the assurance that deliverance from the sin is ours. “While there’s -life there’s hope,” says the adage. Yes, because the Life is our hope. -Thank God for the blessed hope! The blessing has come upon all men; for -“as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; -even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto -justification of life.” Rom. 5:18. God, who is “no respecter of -persons,” “hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly -places in Christ.” Eph. 1:3. It is ours to keep. If any one has not this -blessing, it is because he has not recognized the gift, or has -deliberately thrown it away. - -[Sidenote: A Finished Work.] - -“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,”—from sin and death. -This He has done by “being made a curse for us,” and so we are freed -from all necessity of sinning. Sin can have no dominion over us if we -accept Christ in truth, and without reserve. This was just as much a -present truth in the days of Abraham, Moses, David, and Isaiah, as it is -to-day. More than seven hundred years before the cross was raised on -Calvary, Isaiah, who testified of the things which he understood, -because his own sin had been purged by a live coal from God’s altar, -said: “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; ... He -was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; -the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are -healed.... The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isa. -53:4-6. “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, -as a cloud, thy sins; return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee.” Isa. -44:22. Long before Isaiah’s time, David wrote: “He hath not dealt with -us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” “As far -as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions -from us.” Ps. 103:10, 12. - -“We which have believed do enter into rest,” because “the works were -finished from the foundation of the world.” Heb. 4:3. The blessing that -we received is “the blessing of Abraham.” We have no other foundation -than that of the apostles and prophets. Eph. 2:20. It is a full and -complete salvation that God has provided; it awaits us as we come into -the world; and we do not relieve God of any burden by rejecting it, nor -do we add to His labor by accepting it. - -[Sidenote: “The Promise of the Spirit.”] - -Christ hath redeemed us, “that we might receive the promise of the -Spirit through faith.” Do not make the mistake of reading this as though -it were “that we might receive the promise of the gift of the Spirit.” -It does not say that, and it does not mean that, as a little thought -will show. Christ has redeemed us, and that fact proves the gift of the -Spirit, for it was only “through the eternal Spirit” that He offered -Himself without spot to God. Heb. 9:14. But for the Spirit, we should -not know that we were sinners; much less should we know redemption. The -Spirit convinces of sin and of righteousness. John 16:8. “It is the -Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.” 1 John 5:6. -“He that believeth hath the witness in himself.” Christ is crucified in -every man; that, as we have already seen, is shown in the fact that we -are all under the curse, and Christ alone, on the cross, bears the -curse. But it is through the Spirit that Christ dwells on earth among -men. Faith enables us to receive the testimony of this witness, and -rejoice in that which the possession of the Spirit assures. - -Note further: The blessing of Abraham comes on us, in order that we may -receive the promise of the Spirit. But it is only through the Spirit -that the blessing comes; therefore, the blessing can not bring to us the -promise that we shall receive the Spirit. We already have the Spirit -with the blessing. But, having the blessing of the Spirit, namely, -righteousness, we are sure of receiving that which the Spirit promises -to the righteous, namely, an everlasting inheritance. In blessing -Abraham God promised him an inheritance. The expression, “the promise of -the Spirit,” is used, as is plainly to be seen, in the same sense as -“the promise of God,” “the gift of God;” that is, the promise or the -gift which God bestows. The Spirit is the pledge of all good. - -[Sidenote: The Spirit the Pledge of Inheritance.] - -All God’s gifts are in themselves promises of more. There is always much -more to follow. God’s purpose in the Gospel is to gather together in one -all things in Jesus Christ, “in whom also we have obtained an -inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who -worketh all things after the counsel of His own will; that we should be -to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also -trusted, after that ye heard the Word of truth, the Gospel of your -salvation; in whom also after that [or when] ye believed, ye were sealed -with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our -inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the -praise of His glory.” Eph. 1:10-14. - -Of this inheritance we must speak further later on. Suffice it now to -say that it is the inheritance promised to Abraham, whose children we -become by faith. The inheritance belongs to all who are children of God -through faith in Christ Jesus; and the Spirit that marks our sonship is -the promise, the pledge, the first-fruits of that inheritance. Those who -accept Christ’s glorious deliverance from the curse of the -law,—redemption not from obedience to the law, for obedience is not a -curse, but from disobedience to the law,—have in the Spirit a taste of -the power and the blessing of the world to come. - -[Sidenote: The Promise Was Made to Abraham.] - -It will be seen that Abraham is the one about whom this chapter centers. -He is the one to whom the Gospel of world-wide salvation was preached. -He believed, and received the blessing, even the blessing of -righteousness. All who believe are blessed with believing Abraham. They -who are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. Christ hath -redeemed us from the curse, in order that the blessing of Abraham might -come on us. “To Abraham and his seed were the promises made.” “If the -inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise; but God gave it to -Abraham by promise.” Thus it is clear that the promise to us is the -promise that was made to Abraham,—the promise of an inheritance,—and in -which we share as his children. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse, -that we might receive the inheritance of righteousness. Christ through -the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, to purge our -consciences from dead works to serve the living God; because “He is the -Mediator of the new covenant, that by means of death ... they which are -called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” Heb. 9:14, 15. - -[Sidenote: “And His Seed.”] - -“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And -to seeds, as of many; but as of one; and to thy Seed, which is Christ.” -There is here no play upon words; the issue is a vital one. The -controversy is over the way of salvation, whether it is by Christ alone, -or by something else, or by Christ and something or somebody else. Many -people imagine that it is by them,—that they must save themselves by -making themselves good. Many others think that Christ is a valuable -adjunct, a good assistant to their efforts; while others still are -willing to give Him the first place, but not the only place. They regard -themselves as good seconds. It is the Lord and they who do the work. But -our text shuts off all this assumption and self-assertion. Not seeds, -but the seed. Not many, but one. “And to thy Seed, which is Christ.” -Christ is the One. - -[Sidenote: Not Two Lines.] - -We hear much about the “spiritual seed” and the “literal seed” of -Abraham. If that contrast meant anything at all, it would mean a -fanciful seed as opposed to a real seed. The opposite of _spiritual_ is -_fleshly_, and the fleshly seed, as we shall see later on, is not the -real seed, but only a bond-servant, to be cast out, having no share -whatever in the inheritance. So there is no fleshly seed of Abraham. The -spiritual seed, however, is a literal, or real, seed, even as Christ is -“a quickening Spirit,” and yet most real. It is possible for men walking -about in the body, in this world, to be wholly spiritual, and such they -must be, or else they are not children of Abraham. “They that are in the -flesh can not please God.” “Flesh and blood doth not inherit the kingdom -of God.” There is only one line of descendants from Abraham, only one -set of real children, and they are those who are of faith,—those who, by -receiving Christ by faith, receive power to become sons of God. - -[Sidenote: Many Promises in One.] - -But while the Seed is singular, the promises are plural. It is not -merely one specific promise that was made to Abraham and his Seed, but -promises. God has nothing for any man that was not promised to Abraham; -and all the promises of God are conveyed in Christ, in whom Abraham -believed. “For how many soever be the promises of God, in Him is the -yea; wherefore also through Him is the Amen, unto the glory of God -through us.” 2 Cor. 1:20. - -[Sidenote: The Promised Inheritance.] - -That the thing promised, and the sum of all the promises, is an -inheritance, is clearly seen from Gal. 3:15-18. The sixteenth verse has -just been noted, and the seventeenth verse tells us that the law, coming -in four hundred and thirty years after the promise was made and -confirmed, can not make it of none effect; “for if the inheritance be of -the law, it is no more of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by -promise.” Verse 18. What this promised inheritance is may be seen by -comparing the verse just quoted with Rom. 4:13: “For the promise, that -he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, -through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” And so, -although the heavens and the earth which are now are “reserved unto fire -against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men,” when “the -heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt -with fervent heat,” we, “according to His promise, look for new heavens -and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” 2 Peter 3:7, 12, 13. -This is the heavenly country for which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob looked. - -[Sidenote: An Inheritance without Curse.] - -“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse; ... that we might receive the -promise of the Spirit through faith.” This “promise of the Spirit” we -have seen to be the possession of the whole earth made new—redeemed from -the curse; for “the creation itself also shall be delivered from the -bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of -God.” The earth, fresh and new from the hand of God, perfect in every -respect, was given to man for a possession. Gen. 1:27, 28, 31. Man -sinned, and brought the curse upon himself. Christ has taken the whole -curse, both of man and of all creation, upon Himself. He redeems the -earth from the curse, that it may be the everlasting possession that God -originally designed it to be, and He also redeems man from the curse, -that he may be fitted for the possession of such an inheritance. This is -the sum of the Gospel. “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus -Christ our Lord.” Rom. 6:23. This gift of eternal life is included in -the promise of the inheritance, for God promised the land to Abraham and -to his seed for “an everlasting possession.” Gen. 17:7, 8. It is an -inheritance of righteousness, because the promise that Abraham should be -heir of the world was through the righteousness of faith. Righteousness, -eternal life, and a place in which to live eternally,—these are all in -the promise, and they are all that could possibly be desired or given. -To redeem man, but to give him no place in which to live, would be an -incomplete work; the two things are parts of one whole, for the power by -which we are redeemed is the power of creation,—the power by which the -heavens and the earth are made new. When all is accomplished, “there -shall be no more curse.” Rev. 22:3. - -[Sidenote: The Covenants of Promise.] - -That the covenant and promise of God are one and the same thing, is -clearly seen from Gal. 3:17, where it appears that to disannul the -covenant would be to make void the promise. In Genesis 17 we read that -God made a covenant with Abraham to give him the land of Canaan—and with -it the whole world—for an everlasting possession; but Gal. 3:18 says -that God gave it to him by promise. God’s covenants with men can be -nothing else than promises to them: “Who hath first given to Him, and it -shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to -Him, are all things.” Rom. 11:35, 36. It is so rare for men to do -anything without expecting an equivalent, that theologians have taken it -for granted that it is the same with God. So they begin their -dissertations on God’s covenant with the statement that a covenant is “a -mutual agreement between two or more persons, to do or refrain from -doing certain things.” But God does not make bargains with men, because -He knows that they could not fulfil their part. After the flood God made -a covenant with every beast of the earth, and with every fowl; but the -beasts and the birds did not promise anything in return. Gen. 9:9-16. -They simply received the favor at the hand of God. That is all we can -do. God promises us everything that we need, and more than we can ask or -think, as a gift. We give Him ourselves, that is, nothing, and He gives -us Himself, that is, everything. That which makes all the trouble is -that even when men are willing to recognize the Lord at all, they want -to make bargains with Him. They want it to be a “mutual” affair—a -transaction in which they will be considered as on a par with God. But -whoever deals with God must deal with Him on His own terms, that is, on -a basis of fact—that we have nothing and are nothing, and He has -everything and is everything, and gives everything. - -[Sidenote: The Covenant Confirmed.] - -The covenant, that is, the promise of God to give men the whole earth -made new, after having made them free from the curse, was “confirmed -before of God in Christ.” He is the Surety of the new covenant, even the -everlasting covenant. “For how many soever be the promises of God, in -Him is the yea; wherefore also through Him is the Amen, unto the glory -of God through us.” 2 Cor. 1:20, R. V. In Him we have obtained the -inheritance (Eph. 1:11), for the Holy Spirit is the first-fruits of the -inheritance, and the possession of the Holy Spirit is Christ Himself -dwelling in the heart by faith. God blessed Abraham, saying, “In thy -Seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed,” and this is -fulfilled in Christ, whom God has sent to bless us in turning us away -from our iniquities. Acts 3:25, 26. - -[Sidenote: Confirmed by an Oath of God.] - -“When God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, -He sware by Himself; ... for men verily swear by the greater; and an -oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, -willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the -immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two -immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might -have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the -hope set before us; which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both -sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; -whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high -priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Heb. 6:13-20. Compare -Gen. 22:15-18. - -It was the oath of God, therefore, that confirmed the covenant made to -Abraham; that promise and oath to Abraham are our ground of hope, our -strong consolation; they are “sure and steadfast,” because the oath sets -forth Christ as the pledge, the surety, and “He ever liveth.” He upholds -all things by the word of His power. Heb. 1:3. “In Him all things -consist.” Col. 1:17, R. V. Therefore, when God “interposed Himself by an -oath,” which is our consolation and hope in fleeing for refuge from sin, -He pledged His own existence, and with it the entire universe, for our -salvation. Surely a firm foundation for our hope is laid in His -excellent Word. - -[Sidenote: The Law Can Not Make the Covenant Void.] - -Do not forget as we proceed that the covenant and the promise are the -same thing, and that it conveys land, even the whole earth made new, to -Abraham and his seed; and remember also that, since only righteousness -is to dwell in the new heavens and the new earth promised to Abraham and -his seed, the promise includes the making righteous of all who believe. -This is done in Christ, in whom the promise is confirmed. Now, “though -it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, -or addeth thereto.” Gal. 3:15. How much more must this be the case with -God’s covenant! Therefore, since perfect and everlasting righteousness -was assured by the covenant made with Abraham, which was also confirmed -in Christ, by the oath of God, it is impossible that the law, which was -spoken four hundred and thirty years later, could introduce any new -feature. The inheritance was given to Abraham by promise, but if after -four hundred and thirty years it should transpire that now the -inheritance must be gained in some other way, then the promise would be -of no effect, and the covenant would be made void. But that would -involve the overthrow of God’s government, and the ending of His -existence; for He pledged His own existence to _give_ Abraham and his -seed the inheritance and the righteousness necessary for it. “For the -promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or -to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” -Rom. 4:13. The Gospel was as full and complete in the days of Abraham as -it has ever been or ever will be. No addition to it, or change in its -provisions or conditions, could possibly be made after God’s oath to -Abraham. Nothing can be taken away from it as it thus existed, and not -one thing can ever be required from any man more than what was required -of Abraham. - -[Sidenote: What Is the Use of the Law?] - -This is the question that the apostle Paul asks in verse 19, both for -the purpose of anticipating the objections of the Antinomians, and also -that he may the more emphatically show the place of the law in the -Gospel. The question is a very natural one. Since the inheritance is -wholly by promise, and a covenant confirmed can not be changed,—nothing -can be taken from it, and nothing added to it,—why did the law come in -four hundred and thirty years afterward? “Wherefore then serveth the -law?” More literally, Why then the law? What business has it here? What -part does it act? Of what use is it? - -[Sidenote: The Question Answered.] - -“It was added because of transgressions.” Let it be understood that “the -entering of the law” at Sinai was not the beginning of its existence. -The law of God existed in the days of Abraham, and was kept by him. Gen. -26:5. God proved the children of Israel, as to whether they would keep -His law or not, more than a month before the law was spoken upon Sinai. -Ex. 16:1-4, 27, 28. - -[Sidenote: “It Was Added.”] - -The word here rendered “added” is the same as that rendered “spoken” in -Heb. 12:19: “They that heard entreated that the word should not be -spoken to them any more.” It is the same word that occurs in the -Septuagint rendering of Deut. 5:22, where we read that God spoke the ten -commandments with a great voice; “and He added no more.” So we may read -the answer to the question, “Wherefore then the law?” thus: “It was -spoken because of transgressions.” It is the reprover of sin. - -[Sidenote: Because of Transgressions.] - -“Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound.” Rom. 5:20. In -other words, “that sin by the commandment might become exceeding -sinful.” Rom. 7:13. It was given under circumstances of the most awful -majesty, as a warning to the children of Israel that by their unbelief -they were in danger of losing the promised inheritance. They did not, -like Abraham, believe the Lord; and “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” -But the inheritance was promised “through the righteousness of faith,” -and, therefore, the unbelieving Jews could not receive it. So the law -was spoken to them, to convince them that they had not the righteousness -that was necessary for the possession of the inheritance; for, although -righteousness does not come by the law, it must be witnessed by the law. -Rom. 3:21. In short, the law was given to show them that they had not -faith, and so were not true children of Abraham, and were therefore in a -fair way to lose the inheritance. God would have put His law into their -hearts, even as He put it into Abraham’s heart, if they had believed; -but when they disbelieved, yet still professed to be heirs of the -promise, it was necessary to show them in the most marked manner that -their unbelief was sin. The law was spoken because of transgression, or, -what is the same thing, because of the unbelief of the people. - -[Sidenote: Self-Confidence Is Sin.] - -“Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just -shall live by his faith.” Hab. 2:4. The people of Israel were full of -self-confidence and of unbelief in God, as is shown by their murmuring -against God’s leading, and by their assumption of ability to do anything -that God required, or to fulfil His promises. They had the same spirit -as their descendants, who asked, “What shall we do, that we might work -the works of God?” John 6:28. They were so ignorant of God’s -righteousness that they thought that they could establish their own -righteousness as an equivalent. Rom. 10:3. Unless they saw their sin, -they could not avail themselves of the promise. Hence, the necessity of -the speaking of the law. - -[Sidenote: The Ministration of Angels.] - -“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to do service for the -sake of them that shall inherit salvation?” Heb. 1:14, R. V. Just what -office the “thousands of angels” who were at Sinai had to perform, we -can not know; but we do know that they have a close and deep interest in -everything that concerns man, although the preaching of the Gospel is -necessarily not committed to them. When the foundations of the earth -were laid, “all the sons of God shouted for joy;” and a multitude of the -heavenly host sang praises when the birth of the Saviour of mankind was -announced. They are attendants upon the King of kings, waiting to “do -His pleasure, harkening unto the voice of His word.” It would not be -otherwise than that they should attend as a royal body-guard when the -law was proclaimed, and, of course, they were not there merely for pomp -and parade. Stephen said to the murderous Sanhedrim: “Ye stiff-necked -and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; -as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your -fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the -coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and -murderers; who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and -have not kept it.” Acts 7:51-53. Of him who is now the adversary, the -devil, it was said, “Thou sealest up the sum,” measure, or pattern. Eze. -28:12. The French of Segond has it, “Thou puttest the seal to -perfection,” and the Danish, “Thou stampest the seal upon the fit -ordinance,” indicating that before his fall he was what might be termed -the keeper of the seal, and that it was his duty to affix it to every -ordinance passed. Angels “excel in strength,” and the fact that they -were all present at the giving of the law shows that it was an event of -the greatest magnitude and importance. - -[Sidenote: In the Hand of a Mediator.] - -For the present we may pass by the question of time involved in the -phrase, “till the Seed should come, to whom the promise was made,” since -our present study is the relation of the law to the promise. The law was -given to the people from Sinai “in the hand of a Mediator.” Who was this -Mediator?—There can be only one answer: “There is one God, and one -Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” 1 Tim. 2:5. “Now a -mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.” God is one, the -people are the other, and Christ Jesus is the Mediator. Just as surely -as God is one party to the transaction, Christ must be the Mediator, for -there is no other mediator between God and men. “Neither is there -salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given -among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12. - -[Sidenote: Christ’s Work as Mediator.] - -Man has wandered from God, and rebelled against Him. “All we like sheep -have gone astray.” Our iniquities have separated between us and Him. -Isa. 59:1, 2. “The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not -subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Rom. 8:7. Christ came -that He might destroy the enmity, and reconcile us to God; for He is our -peace. Eph. 2:14-16. Christ “suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, -that He might bring us to God.” 1 Peter 3:18. Through Him we have access -to God. Rom. 5:1, 2; Eph. 2:18. In Him the carnal mind, the rebellious -mind, is taken away, and the mind of the Spirit given in its stead, -“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. Christ’s work -is to save that which was lost, to restore that which was broken, to -reunite that which was separated. His name is “God with us;” and so with -Him dwelling in us we are made “partakers of the Divine nature.” 2 Peter -1:4. - -It should be understood that Christ’s work as Mediator is not limited -either as to time or extent. To be Mediator means more than to be -intercessor. Christ was Mediator before sin came into the world, and -will be Mediator when no sin is in the universe, and no need for -expiation. “In Him all things consist.” He is the very impress of the -Father’s being. He is the life. Only in and through Him does the life of -God flow to all creation. He is, then, the means, medium, mediator, the -way, by which the light of life pervades the universe. He did not first -become Mediator at the fall of man, but was such from eternity. No one, -not simply no man, but no created being, comes to the Father but by -Christ. No angel can stand in the Divine presence except in Christ. No -new power was developed, no new machinery, so to speak, was required to -be set in motion by the entering of sin into the world. The power that -had created all things only continued in God’s infinite mercy, to work -for the restoration of that which was lost. In Christ were all things -created, and, therefore, in Him we have redemption through His blood. -Col. 1:14-17. The power that pervades and upholds the universe is the -power that saves us. “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding -abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that -worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus -throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” - -[Sidenote: The Law Not against the Promise.] - -“Is the law then against the promises of God?”—Not by any means. Far -from it. If it were, it would not be in the hands of a Mediator, Christ; -for all the promises of God are in Him. 2 Cor. 1:20. So we find the law -and the promise combined in Christ. We may know that the law was not and -is not against the promises of God, from the fact that God gave both the -promise and the law. We know, also, that the giving of the law -introduced no new element into the covenant, since, having been -confirmed, nothing could be added to or taken from it. But the law is -not useless, else God would not have given it. It is not a matter of -indifference whether we keep it or not, for God commands it. But, all -the same, it is not against the promise, and brings no new element in. -Why?—Simply because the law is in the promise. The promise of the Spirit -includes this: “I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in -their hearts.” Heb. 8:10. And this is what God indicated had been done -for Abraham when “He gave him the covenant of circumcision.” Read Rom. -4:11; 2:25-29; Phil. 3:3. - -[Sidenote: The Law Magnifies the Promise.] - -The law, as already seen, is not against the promise, because it is in -the promise. The promise that Abraham and his seed should inherit the -world, was “through the righteousness of faith.” But the law is -righteousness, as God says: “Harken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, -the people in whose heart is My law.” Isa. 51:7. So, then, the -righteousness which the law demands is the only righteousness that can -inherit the promised land, but it is obtained, not by the works of the -law, but by faith. The righteousness of the law is not attained by human -efforts to do the law, but by faith. See Rom. 9:30-32. Therefore, the -greater the righteousness which the law demands, the greater is seen to -be the promise of God; for He has promised to give it to all who -believe. Yea, He has sworn it. When, therefore, the law was spoken from -Sinai, “out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick -darkness, with a great voice,” accompanied by the sounding of the trump -of God, and with the whole earth quaking at the presence of the Lord and -all His holy angels, thus indicating the inconceivable greatness and -majesty of the law of God, it was, to every one who remembered the oath -of God, but a revelation of the wondrous greatness of God’s promise; for -all the righteousness which the law demands, He has sworn to give to -every one who trusts Him. The “loud voice” with which the law was -spoken, was the loud voice that from the mountain-tops proclaims the -glad tidings of the saving mercy of God. See Isa. 40:9. God’s precepts -are promises; they must necessarily be such, because He knows that men -have no power. All that God requires is what He gives. When He says, -“Thou shalt not,” we may take it as His assurance that if we but trust -Him He will preserve us from the sin against which He warns us. He will -keep us from falling. - -[Sidenote: Conviction of Sin and of Righteousness.] - -Jesus said of the Comforter, “When He is come, He will reprove the world -of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” John 16:8. Of Himself He -said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” -Mark 2:17. “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they -that are sick.” A man must feel his need before he will accept help; he -must know his disease before he can apply the remedy. Even so the -promise of righteousness will be utterly unheeded by one who does not -realize that he is a sinner. The first part of the comforting work of -the Holy Spirit, therefore, is to convince men of sin. So “the Scripture -hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ -might be given to them that believe.” “By the law is the knowledge of -sin.” Rom. 3:20. He who knows that he is a sinner is in the way to -acknowledge it; and “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to -forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John -1:9. Thus the law is in the hands of the Spirit an active agent in -inducing men to accept the fulness of the promise. No one hates the man -who has saved his life by pointing out to him an unknown peril; on the -contrary, such an one is regarded as a friend, and is always remembered -with gratitude. Even so will the law be regarded by the one who has been -prompted by its warning voice to flee from the wrath to come. He will -ever say, with the psalmist, “I hate vain thoughts, but Thy law do I -love.” - -[Sidenote: Righteousness and Life.] - -“If there had been a law given which could make alive, verily -righteousness would have been of the law.” This shows us that -righteousness is life. It is no mere formula, no dead theory or dogma, -but is living action. Christ is the life, and He is, therefore, our -righteousness. “The Spirit is life because of righteousness.” The law -written on two tables of stone, could not give life, any more than could -the stones on which it was written. All its precepts are perfect, but -the flinty characters can not transform themselves into action. He who -receives only the law in letter, has a “ministration of condemnation,” -and death. But “the Word was made flesh.” In Christ, the Living Stone, -the law is life and peace. Receiving Him through the “ministration of -the Spirit,” we have the life of righteousness, which the law approves. - -This twenty-first verse shows that the giving of the law was to -emphasize the importance of the promise. All the circumstances attending -the giving of the law,—the trumpet tone, the awful voice, the quaking -earth, the “fire, and blackness, and tempest,” the thunders and -lightnings, the bounds about the mount, beyond which it was death to -pass,—all these told that “the law worketh wrath” to “the children of -disobedience.” But the very fact that the wrath which the law works -comes only on the children of disobedience, proves that the law is good, -and that “the man that doeth them shall live in them.” Did God wish to -discourage the people?—Not by any means. The law must be kept, and the -terrors of Sinai were designed to drive them back to the oath of God, -which four hundred and thirty years before had been given to stand to -all people in all ages as the assurance of righteousness through the -crucified and ever-living Saviour. - -[Sidenote: All Shut Up in Prison.] - -Note the similarity between verses 8 and 22. “The Scripture hath -concluded [that is, shut up] all under sin, that the promise by faith of -Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.” “The Scripture, -foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached -before the Gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be -blessed.” We see that the Gospel is preached by the same thing—the -Scripture—that shuts men up under sin. The word “conclude” means -literally “shut up,” just as is given in verse 23. Of course, a person -who is shut up by the law is in prison. In human governments a criminal -is shut up as soon as the law can get hold of him; God’s law is -everywhere present, and always active, and, therefore, the instant a man -sins he is shut up. This is the condition of all the world, “for all -have sinned,” and “there is none righteous, no, not one.” - -Those disobedient ones to whom Christ preached in the days of Noah were -“in prison.” 1 Peter 3:19, 20. But they, like all other sinners, were -“prisoners of hope.” Zech. 9:12. God “hath looked down from the height -of His sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; to hear the -groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death.” -Ps. 102:19, 20. Christ is given “for a covenant of the people, for a -light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the -prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the -prison house.” Isa. 42:6, 7. - -Let me speak from personal experience to the sinner who does not yet -know the joy and freedom of the Lord. Some day, if not already, you will -be sharply convicted of sin by the Spirit of God. You may have been full -of doubts and quibbles, of ready answers and self-defense, but then you -will have nothing to say. You will then have no doubt about the reality -of God and the Holy Spirit, and will need no argument to assure you of -it; for you will know the voice of God speaking to your soul, and will -feel, as did ancient Israel, “Let not God speak with us, lest we die.” -Then you will know what it is to be shut up in prison,—in a prison whose -walls seem to close on you, not only barring all escape, but seeming to -suffocate you. The tales of people condemned to be buried alive with a -heavy stone upon them, will seem very vivid and real to you, as you feel -the tables of the law crushing out your life, and a hand of marble seems -to be breaking your very heart. Then it will give you joy to remember -that you are shut up for the sole purpose that “the promise by faith of -Jesus Christ” might be accepted by you. As soon as you lay hold of that -promise,—the key that will unlock any door in Doubting Castle,—the -prison doors will fly open, and you can say, “Our soul is escaped as a -bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we are -escaped.” Ps. 124:7. - -[Sidenote: Under the Law, Under Sin.] - -We have just read that the Scripture hath shut up all under sin, that -the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that -believe. Before faith came, we were kept in ward under the law, shut up -unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. We know that -whatsoever is not of faith is sin (Rom. 14:23); therefore, to be under -the law is identical with being under sin. We are under the law solely -because we are under sin. The grace of God brings salvation from sin, so -that when we accept God’s grace we are no longer under the law, because -we are freed from sin. Those who are under the law, therefore, are the -transgressors of the law. The righteous are not under it, but are -walking in it. - -[Sidenote: The Law a Jailer, a Taskmaster.] - -“So that the law hath been our tutor unto Christ, that we might be -justified by faith.” The words “to bring us” are marked both in the old -version and the new as having been added to the text, so we have dropped -them out. It really makes no material difference with the sense whether -they are retained or omitted. It will be noticed also that the new -version has “tutor” in the place of “schoolmaster.” This is better, but -the sense is still better conveyed by the word that is used in the -German and Scandinavian translations, which signifies “master of a house -of correction.” The single word in our language corresponding to it -would be jailer. The Greek word is the word which we have in English as -“pedagogue.” The _paidagogos_ was the slave who accompanied the boys to -school to see that they did not play truant. If they attempted to run -away, he would bring them back, and had authority even to beat them to -keep them in the way. The word has come to be used as meaning -“schoolmaster,” although the Greek word has not at all the idea of a -schoolmaster. “Taskmaster” would be better. The idea here is rather that -of a guard who accompanies a prisoner who is allowed to walk about -outside the prison walls. The prisoner, although nominally at large, is -really deprived of his liberty just the same as though he were actually -in a cell. The fact is that all who do not believe are “under sin,” -“shut up” “under the law,” and that, therefore, the law acts as their -jailer. It is that that shuts them in, and will not let them off; the -guilty can not escape in their guilt. God is merciful and gracious, but -He will not clear the guilty. Ex. 34:6, 7. That is, He will not lie, by -calling evil good; but He provides a way by which the guilty may lose -their guilt. Then the law will no longer be against them, will no longer -shut them up, and they can walk at liberty. - -[Sidenote: Only One Door.] - -Christ says, “I am the door.” John 10:7, 9. He is also the sheepfold and -the Shepherd. Men fancy that when they are outside the fold they are -free, and that to come into the fold would mean a curtailing of their -liberty; but it is exactly the reverse. The fold of Christ is “a large -place,” while unbelief is a narrow prison. The sinner can have but a -narrow range of thought; the true “free thinker” is the one who -comprehends with all saints what is the length, and breadth, and depth, -and height of the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. Outside of -Christ is bondage; in Him alone is there freedom. Outside of Christ, the -man is in prison, “holden with the cords of his sins.” Prov. 5:22. “The -strength of sin is the law.” It is the law that declares him to be a -sinner, and makes him conscious of his condition. “By the law is the -knowledge of sin;” and “sin is not imputed when there is no law.” Rom. -3:20; 5:13. The law really forms the sinner’s prison walls. They close -in on him, making him feel uncomfortable, oppressing him with a sense of -sin, as though they would press his life out. In vain he makes frantic -efforts to escape. Those commandments stand as firm as the everlasting -hills. Whichever way he turns he finds a commandment which says to him, -“You can find no freedom by me, for you have sinned.” If he seeks to -make friends with the law, and promises to keep it, he is no better off, -for his sin still remains. It goads him and drives him to the only way -of escape—“the promise by faith of Jesus Christ.” In Christ he is made -“free indeed,” for in Christ he is made the righteousness of God. In -Christ is “the perfect law of liberty.” - -[Sidenote: The Law Preaches the Gospel.] - -“But,” says one, “the law says nothing of Christ.” No; but all creation -does speak of Christ, proclaiming the power of His salvation. We have -seen that the cross of Christ, “Christ and Him crucified,” is to be seen -in every leaf of the forest, and, indeed, in everything that exists. Not -only so, but every fiber of man’s being cries out for Christ. Men do not -realize it, but Christ is “the Desire of all nations.” It is He alone -that “satisfies the desire of every living thing.” Only in Him can -relief be found for the world’s unrest and longing. Now since Christ, in -whom is peace, “for He is our peace,” is seeking the weary and -heavy-laden, and calling them to Himself, and every man has longings -that nothing else in the world can satisfy, it is evident that if the -man is awakened by the law to keener consciousness of his condition, and -the law continues goading him, giving him no rest, and shutting up every -other way of escape, the man must at last find the Door of Safety, for -it always stands open. He is the City of Refuge, to which every one -pursued by the avenger of blood may flee, sure of finding a welcome. In -Christ alone will the sinner find release from the lash of the law, for -in Christ the righteousness of the law is fulfilled, and by Him it is -fulfilled in us. Rom. 8:4. The law is so far from requiring men to keep -it in order to be saved, as some suppose, that it will not allow anybody -to be saved unless he has “the righteousness which is of God by -faith,”—the faith of Jesus Christ. - -[Sidenote: When Faith Is Come.] - -Strangely enough, many have supposed that there was a definite time -fixed for faith to come. This passage has been “interpreted” to mean -that men were under the law until a certain time in the history of the -world, and that at that time faith came, and then they were henceforth -free from the law. The coming of faith they make synonymous with the -manifestation of Christ on earth. We can not say that anybody ever -thought so, for such an “interpretation” indicates utter absence of -thought about the matter. It would make men to be saved in bulk, -regardless of any concurrence on their part. It would have it that up to -a certain time all were in bondage under the law, and that from that -time henceforth all were free from sin. A man’s salvation would, -therefore, depend simply on the accident of birth, If he lived before a -certain time, he would be lost; if after, he would be saved. Such an -absurdity need not take more of our time than the statement of it. No -one can seriously think of the idea that the apostle is here speaking of -a fixed, definite point of time in the history of the world, dividing -between two so-called “dispensations,” without at once abandoning it. - -When, then, does faith come? “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by -the Word of God.” Rom. 10:17. Whenever a man receives the Word of God, -the word of promise, which brings with it the fulness of the law, and no -longer fights against it, but yields to it, then faith comes to him. -Read the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, and you will see that faith came -from the beginning. Since the days of Abel, men have found freedom by -faith. The only time fixed is “now,” “to-day.” “Now is the accepted -time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” “To-day if ye will hear His -voice, harden not your hearts.” - -[Sidenote: Putting on Christ by Baptism.] - -“As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” -“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were -baptized into His death?” Rom. 6:3. It is by His death that Christ -redeems us from the curse of the law; but we must die with Him. Baptism -is “the likeness of His death.” We rise to walk “in newness of life,” -even Christ’s life. See Gal. 2:20. Having put on Christ, we are one in -Him. We are completely identified with Him. Our identity is lost in His. -It is often said of one who has been converted, “He is so changed you -would not know him; he is not the same man.” No, he is not. God has -turned him into “another man.” Therefore, being one with Christ, he has -a right to whatever Christ has, and a right to “the heavenly places” -where Christ sits. From the prison house of sin, he is exalted to the -dwelling-place of God. This, of course, presupposes that baptism is with -him a reality, not a mere outward form. It is not simply into the -visible water that he is baptized, but “into Christ,” into His life. - -[Sidenote: Baptism Doth Save Us.] - -The word “baptism,” which is the Greek word transferred, not translated, -has but one meaning, namely, to plunge into, to dip, to immerse. The -Greek blacksmith baptized his iron in the water, to cool it. The -housewife baptized her dishes in water, in order to clean them; and for -the same purpose all would baptize their hands in water. Yea, every man -would baptize himself frequently, going to the _baptisterion_, that is, -the immersing pool, for that purpose. We have the same word transferred -as “baptistery.” It was and is a place where people could plunge in, and -be wholly immersed in water. - -That is not being “baptized into Christ,” but it indicates what must be -our relation to Him when we are baptized into Him. We must be swallowed -up and lost to sight in His life. Only Christ will henceforth be seen, -so that “it is no more I, but Christ,” for “we are buried with Him by -baptism into death.” Rom. 6:4. Baptism doth save us “by the resurrection -of Jesus Christ” from the dead (1 Peter 3:21), because we are “baptized -into His death,” that “like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the -glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” -Being reconciled to God by the death of Christ, we are “saved by His -life.” Rom. 5:10. So baptism into Christ, not the mere form, but the -fact, does save us. - -This baptism is “the answer of a good conscience toward God.” If there -be not a good conscience toward God, there is no Christian baptism. -Therefore, the person to be baptized must be old enough to have a -conscience in the matter. He must have a consciousness of sin, and also -of forgiveness by Christ. He must know the life that is manifested, and -must willingly give up his old life of sin for the new life of -righteousness. - -Baptism is “not the putting away of the filth of the flesh” (1 Peter -3:21), not the outward cleansing of the body, but the purging of the -soul and conscience. There is a fountain opened for sin and for -uncleanness (Zech. 13:1), and this fountain is the blood, the life of -Christ. That life flows in a stream from the throne of God, in the midst -of which is the slain Lamb (Rev. 5:6), even as it flowed from the side -of Christ on the cross. When, “through the eternal Spirit,” He had -offered Himself to God, there flowed from His side blood and water (John -19:34), “for there are three who bear witness, the Spirit, and the -water, and the blood; and the three agree in one” (1 John 5:8, R. V.). -All these are also one with the Word, which is Spirit and life. John -6:63. Christ “loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might -sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word.” Eph. -5:25, 26. Literally, “a water bath in the Word.” In being buried in the -water, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the -conscientious believer signifies his acceptance of the water of life, -the blood of Christ, which cleanses from all sin, and that he gives -himself to live henceforth by every word that proceeds out of the mouth -of God. From that time he disappears from sight, and only the life of -Christ is manifested in his mortal flesh. - -[Sidenote: One in Christ, the Seed.] - -“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there -is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” “There -is no difference.” This is the key-note of the Gospel. All are alike -sinners, and all are saved in the same way. They who would make a -distinction on the ground of nationality, claiming that there is -something different for the Jew than for the Gentile, might just as well -make a difference on the ground of sex, claiming that women can not be -saved in the same way and at the same time as men, or that a servant can -not be saved in the same way as his master. No; there is but one way, -and all human beings, of whatever race or condition, are equal before -God. “Ye are all one in Christ Jesus,” and Christ is the One. So it is -that “He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy -Seed, which is Christ.” “For ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye -be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the -promise.” There is but one seed, but it embraces all who are Christ’s. - -[Sidenote: Only One Man.] - -In putting on Christ, we “put on the new man, which after God is created -in righteousness and true holiness.” Eph. 4:24. He has abolished in His -flesh the enmity,—the carnal mind,—“for to make in Himself of twain one -new man.” Eph. 2:15. He alone is the real man,—“the Man Christ Jesus.” -Outside of Him there is no real manhood. We come unto “a perfect man” -only when we arrive at “the measure of the stature of the fulness of -Christ.” Eph. 4:13. In the fulness of time God will gather together in -one all things in Christ. There will be but one Man, and only one Man’s -righteousness, even as the seed is but one. But “if ye be Christ’s, then -are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” - -[Sidenote: “Until the Seed Should Come.”] - -It needs not many words now to determine what is meant by the phrase, -“till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.” We know what -the seed is,—all who are Christ’s,—and we know that it has not yet come -in its fulness. To be sure, Christ was once manifested on earth in the -flesh, but He did not receive the promised inheritance, any more than -Abraham did. Abraham had not so much as to put his foot on (Acts 7:5), -and Christ had not where to lay His head. Moreover, Christ can not come -into the inheritance until Abraham does also, for the promise was “to -Abraham and to his seed.” The Lord by the prophet Ezekiel spoke of the -inheritance at the time when David ceased to have a representative on -his throne on earth, and He foretold the overthrow of Babylon, Persia, -Greece, and Rome, in these words: “Remove the diadem, and take off the -crown; this shall not be the same; exalt him that is low, and abase him -that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no -more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him.” Eze. -21:26, 27. - -So Christ sits on His Father’s throne, “from henceforth expecting till -His enemies be made His foot-stool.” Soon will He come, but not until -the last soul has accepted Him that can by any possibility be induced to -accept salvation. Those who are led by the Spirit of God, are the sons -of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, so that Christ can not come into -the inheritance before they do. The seed is one, not divided. When He -comes to execute judgment, and to slay those who said, “We will not have -this Man to reign over us,” He comes “with ten thousands of His holy -ones.” Jude 14. - -Then will the seed be complete, and the promise will be fulfilled. And -until that time the law will faithfully perform its task of stirring up -and pricking the consciences of sinners, giving them no rest until they -become identified with Christ, or cast Him off altogether. Do you accept -the terms? Will you cease your complaints against the law which would -save you from sinking into a fatal sleep? And will you in Christ accept -its righteousness? Then, as Abraham’s seed, and an heir according to the -promise, you can rejoice in your freedom from the bondage of sin, -singing:— - - “I’m the child of a King, - The child of a King, - With Jesus my Saviour, - I’m the child of a King.” - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - The Adoption of Sons. - - - A LITTLE RETROSPECT. - - -It is absolutely impossible to exhaust any portion of Scripture. The -more one studies it, the more one sees in it, and not only that, but the -more one becomes conscious of the fact that there is much more in it -than appears to view. The Word of God, like Himself, is absolutely -unfathomable. One’s understanding of any given portion of the Scripture -depends on the thoroughness of his knowledge of that which precedes it. -Let us, therefore, give a little further attention to that portion of -the third chapter of this Epistle which treats of - - - The Seed. - - -First of all, it must be borne in mind that Christ is the Seed. That is -plainly stated. But Christ did not live for Himself, and He is not heir -simply for Himself. He has won an inheritance, not for Himself, but for -His brethren. God’s purpose is to “gather together in one all things in -Christ.” He will finally put an end to divisions of every kind, and He -does it now in those who accept Him. In Christ there are no distinctions -of nationality, and no classes and ranks. No Christian thinks of any -other man as English, German, French, Russian, Turk, Chinese, or -African, but simply as a man, and, therefore, a possible heir of God -through Christ. If that other man, no matter what his race or nation, be -also a Christian, then the bond becomes mutual, and, therefore, still -stronger. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor -free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ -Jesus.” It is for this reason that it is impossible for a Christian to -engage in war. He knows no distinction of nationality, but regards all -men as his brothers. But the chief reason why he can not engage in -warfare is that the life of Christ is his life, for he is one with -Christ; and it would be as impossible for him to fight as it would be -for Christ to seize a sword and wield it in self-defense; and two -Christians can no more fight against each other than Christ can fight -against Himself. - -However, we are not now engaged in discussing war, but are merely -showing the absolute unity of believers in Christ. They are one. There -is, therefore, but one Seed, and that is Christ; for, however many -millions of true believers there may be, they are only one in Christ. -Each man has his own individuality, but it is in every case only the -manifestation of some phase of the individuality of Christ. In a human -body there are many members, and all members have, not the same office, -but differ in their individuality; yet there is absolute unity and -harmony in every healthy body. With those who have put on the new man, -which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him, -“there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, -Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free; but Christ is all, and in all.” Col. -3:11. - - - The Harvest. - - -In Christ’s explanation of the parable of the tares and the wheat, we -are told that “the good seed are the children of the kingdom.” Matt. -13:38. The man would not allow the tares to be pulled out of the wheat, -because in the early stage it would be difficult to distinguish in every -case between the wheat and the tares, and some of the wheat would be -destroyed. So he said, “Let both grow together until the harvest; and in -the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first -the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat -into my barn.” It is in the harvest that the seed is gathered. Everybody -knows that. But what the parable especially shows is that it is in the -harvest that the seed is fully manifested; in short, that the seed comes -at harvest time. The harvest only waits for the seed to be fully -manifested and matured. But “the harvest is the end of the world.” So -the time when “the seed should come to whom the promise was made,” is -the end of the world, when the time comes for the promise of the new -earth to be fulfilled. Indeed, the seed can not possibly be said to come -before that time, since the end of the world will come just as soon as -the last person who can be induced to accept Christ has done so; and the -seed is not complete as long as there is one grain lacking. - -Read now, in the nineteenth verse of the third chapter, that the law was -spoken because of transgression, “till the seed should come to whom the -promise was made.” What do we learn from that?—Simply this, that the law -as spoken from Sinai, without the change of a single letter, is an -integral part of the Gospel, and must be presented in the Gospel until -the second coming of Christ, at the end of the world. “Till heaven and -earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law.” -And what of the time when heaven and earth pass, and the new heaven and -the new earth come?—Then the law will not be needed written in a book, -for men to preach to sinners, showing them their sins, for it will be in -the heart of every man. Heb. 8:10, 11. Done away?—Not by any means; but -indelibly engraved in the heart of every individual, written not with -ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. - -With the truth concerning the seed before us, and the parable of the -wheat and the tares fresh in our minds, let us proceed in our study. - -“But I say that so long as the heir is a child, he differeth nothing -from a bond-servant, though he is lord of all; but is under guardians -and stewards until the term appointed of the father. So we also, when we -were children, were held in bondage under the rudiments of the world; -but when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a -woman, born under the law, that He might redeem them which were under -the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are -sons, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, -Abba, Father. So that thou art no longer a bond-servant, but a son; and -if a son, then an heir through God. - -“Howbeit at that time, not knowing God, ye were in bondage to them which -by nature are no gods; but now that ye have come to know God, or rather -to be known of God, how turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly -rudiments, whereunto ye desire to be in bondage over again? Ye observe -days, and months, and seasons, and years. I am afraid of you, lest by -any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain. - -“I beseech you, brethren, be as I am, for I am as ye are. Ye did me no -wrong; but ye know that because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached -the Gospel unto you the first time; and that which was a temptation to -you in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but ye received me as an -angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. Where then is that gratulation of -yourselves? for I bear you witness, that, if possible, ye would have -plucked out your eyes and given them to me. So then am I become your -enemy, because I tell you the truth? They zealously seek you in no good -way; nay, they desire to shut you out, that ye may seek them. But it is -good to be zealously sought in a good matter at all times, and not only -when I am present with you. My little children, of whom I am again in -travail until Christ be formed in you, yea, I could wish to be present -with you now, and to change my voice; for I am perplexed about you. - -“Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? -For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the handmaid, and -one by the freewoman. Howbeit the son by the handmaid is born after the -flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise. Which -things contain an allegory; for these women are two covenants; one from -Mount Sinai, bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar. Now this -Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to the Jerusalem that now -is; for she is in bondage with her children. But the Jerusalem that is -above is free, which is our mother. For it is written:— - - “Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; - Break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; - For more are the children of the desolate than of her which hath the - husband. - -“Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But as then he -that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the -Spirit, even so it is now. Howbeit what saith the Scripture? Cast out -the handmaid and her son; for the son of the handmaid shall not inherit -with the son of the freewoman. Wherefore, brethren, we are not children -of a handmaid, but of a freewoman.” Galatians 4, R. V. - -[Sidenote: A Statement of Fact.] - -It must be apparent to all that the chapter division makes no difference -in the subject. The third chapter closes with a statement as to who are -heirs, and the fourth chapter proceeds with a study of the question of -heirship. The first two verses explain themselves. They are a simple -statement of fact. Although a child may be heir to a vast estate, he has -no more to do with it until he is of age, than a servant has. If he -should never come of age, then he would never actually enter upon his -inheritance. He would have lived all his life as a servant, so far as -any share in the inheritance is concerned. Now for - - - The Application. - - -“So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the -rudiments of the world.” If we look ahead to the fifth verse, we shall -see that the state here known as “children” is that before we receive -“the adoption of sons.” It represents the condition before we were -redeemed from the curse of the law, that is, before we were converted. -It does not, therefore, mean children of God, as distinguished from -worldlings, but the “children” of whom the apostle speaks in Eph. 4:14, -“tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by -the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to -deceive.” In short, it refers to us in our unconverted state, when we -“were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” - -[Sidenote: The Rudiments of the World.] - -“When we were children,” we were in bondage under the rudiments of the -world. No one who has the slightest acquaintance with the Lord needs to -be told that the rudiments of the world have nothing in common with Him, -and do not proceed from Him. “For all that is in the world, the lust of -the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of -the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the -lust thereof.” 1 John 2:16, 17. The friendship of the world is enmity -with God. “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the -enemy of God.” James 4:4. It is from “this present evil world” that -Christ came to deliver us. We are warned to “take heed lest there shall -be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain -deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, -and not after Christ.” Col. 2:8. The bondage to the rudiments of the -world is the condition of walking “according to the course of this -world,” “in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh -and of the mind;” being “by nature the children of wrath.” Eph. 2:1-3. -It is the same bondage that is described in Gal. 3:22-24, before faith -came, when we were under the law, “under sin.” It is the condition of -men who are “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of -Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and -without God in the world.” Eph. 2:12. - -[Sidenote: All Men Possible Heirs.] - -It may be asked, If such is the condition of those here referred to as -“children,” how can they be spoken of as heirs? The answer is plain. It -is on the principle that it is not manifest who constitute the seed, -until the harvest. God has not cast off the human race; therefore, since -the first man created was called “the son of God,” it follows that all -men are heirs in the sense that they are in their minority. As already -learned, “before faith came,” although all were wanderers from God, we -were kept under the law, guarded by a severe master, “shut up,” in order -that we might be led to accept the promise. What a blessed thing it is -that God counts even the ungodly, those who are in the bondage of sin, -as His children,—wandering, prodigal sons, but still children. God has -made all men “accepted in the Beloved.” This probationary life is given -us for the purpose of giving us a chance to acknowledge Him as Father, -and to become sons indeed. But, unless we come back to Him, we shall die -as slaves of sin. - -[Sidenote: “The Fulness of the Time.”] - -Christ came in the fulness of time. A parallel statement to this is -found in Rom. 5:6: “When we were yet without strength, in due time -Christ died for the ungodly.” But the death of Christ serves for those -who live now and for those who lived before He was manifested in the -flesh in Judea, just as well as for the men who lived at that time. His -death made no more change eighteen hundred years ago than it did four -thousand years ago. It had no more effect on the men of that generation -than on the men of any other generation. It is once for all, and, -therefore, has an equal effect on every age. “The fulness of time” was -the time foretold in prophecy, when the Messiah should be revealed; but -the redemption was for all men in all ages. He was foreordained before -the foundation of the world, but was “manifest in these last times.” 1 -Peter 1:20. If it had been God’s plan that He should have been revealed -in this century, or even not until the last year before the close of -time, it would have made no difference with the Gospel. “He ever -liveth,” and He ever has lived, “the same yesterday, and to-day, and -forever.” It is “through the eternal Spirit” that He offers Himself for -us (Heb. 9:14), so that the sacrifice is equally present and efficacious -in every age. - -[Sidenote: “Born of a Woman.”] - -God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, and, therefore, a veritable -man. He lived an average lifetime on this earth in the flesh, and -suffered all the ills and troubles that fall to the lot of “man that is -born of woman.” “The Word was made flesh.” Christ always designated -Himself as “the Son of man,” thus forever identifying Himself with the -whole human race. The bond of union can never be broken. - -[Sidenote: “Born under the Law.”] - -Being born of a woman, Christ was necessarily born under the law, for -such is the condition of all mankind, and “in all things it behooved Him -to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and -faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation -for the sins of the people.” Heb. 2:17. He takes everything on Himself. -“He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.” “Himself took our -infirmities, and bare our disease.” Matt. 8:17, R. V. “All we like sheep -have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord -hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” He redeems us by coming into -our place literally, and taking our load off our shoulders. “Him who -knew no sin He made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the -righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Cor. 5:21, R. V. In the fullest sense of -the word, and to a degree that is seldom thought of when the expression -is used, He became man’s substitute. That is, He permeates our being, -identifying Himself so fully with us that everything that touches or -affects us touches and affects Him. He is not our substitute in the -sense that one man is a substitute for another, in the army, for -instance, the substitute being in one place, while the one for whom he -is substitute is somewhere else, engaged in some other service. No; -Christ’s substitution is far different. He is our substitute in that He -substitutes Himself for us, and we appear no more. We drop out entirely, -so that it is “not I, but Christ.” Thus we cast our cares on Him, not by -picking them up and with an effort throwing them on Him, but by humbling -ourselves into the nothingness that we are, so that we leave the burden -resting on Him alone. Thus we see already how it is that He came - - - “To Redeem Them That Were under the Law.” - - -He does it in the most practical and real way. Whom does He -redeem?—“Them that were under the law.” We can not refrain from -referring for a moment to the idea that some have that this expression, -“to redeem them that were under the law,” has a mere local application. -They would have it that it means that Christ freed the Jews from the -necessity of offering sacrifices, or from any further obligation to keep -the commandments. Well, suppose we take it as referring only to the -Jews, and especially to those who lived at the time of His first advent; -what then?—Simply this, that we shut ourselves off from any place in the -plan of redemption. If it was only the Jews that were under the law, -then it was only the Jews that Christ came to redeem. Ah, we do not like -to be left out, when it comes to the matter of redemption! Then we must -acknowledge that we are, or were before we believed, “under the law;” -for Christ came to redeem none but those who were under the law. “Under -the law,” as we have already seen, means condemned by the law as -transgressors. Christ did “not come to call the righteous, but sinners -to repentance.” But the law condemns none but those who are amenable to -it, and who ought to keep it. Therefore, since Christ redeems us from -the law, from its condemnation, it follows that He redeems us to a life -of obedience to it. - -[Sidenote: “That We Might Receive the Adoption of Sons.”] - -“Beloved, now are we the sons of God.” 1 John 3:2. “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. This is an altogether different state -from that described in the third verse as “children.” In that state we -were “a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear -the law of the Lord.” Isa. 30:9. Believing on Jesus, and receiving the -adoption of sons, we are described “as obedient children, not fashioning -yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.” 1 Peter -1:14. Christ said, “I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is -within My heart.” Ps. 40:8. Therefore, since He becomes our substitute, -as described in the last paragraph but one, literally taking our place, -not instead of us, but coming into us, and living our life in us and for -us, it necessarily follows that the same law must be within our hearts -when we receive the adoption of sons. - -[Sidenote: The Witness of the Spirit.] - -“It is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.” 1 -John 5:6. “Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His -Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father,” or, Father, Father. Oh, -what joy and peace come with the entering of the Spirit into the heart -as a permanent resident; not as a guest merely, but as sole proprietor! -Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus -Christ, so that we “joy in God,” rejoicing even in tribulations, having -hope that never disappoints, because “the love of God is shed abroad in -our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Rom. 5:1-5. Then -we can love even as God does; we have the same love, because we have the -Divine nature. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that -we are the children of God.” “He that believeth hath the witness in -himself.” - -[Sidenote: “No More a Servant, but a Son.”] - -“Thou art no more a servant, but a son.” It will be seen that as there -are two kinds of children, so there are two classes of servants. In the -first part of this chapter we have the word “children” used to designate -those who are not “of full age,” and have not their senses exercised to -discern both good and evil. Heb. 5:14. The promise is to them, even as -it is “to all that are afar off,” but it remains to be seen if they -will, by accepting it, become partakers of the divine nature, and so -sons of God indeed. While thus the children of wrath, men are servants -of sin, not servants of God. The Son of God is a servant, but a servant -in a far different sense from the servant here referred to. The -character of the servant depends on the master whom he serves. In this -chapter the word “servant” invariably applies, not to servants of God, -who are really sons, but to the bond-servants of sin. Between such a -servant and a son there is a vast difference. The slave can not possess -anything; he has no control over himself, and this is his distinguishing -characteristic. The free-born son, on the contrary, has dominion over -every created thing, as in the beginning, because he has the victory -over himself; for “he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; -and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” - -[Sidenote: “If a Son, Then an Heir.”] - -When the prodigal son was wandering from the father’s house, he differed -nothing from a servant, because he was a servant, doing the most menial -drudgery. In that condition he came back to the old homestead, feeling -that he deserved no better place than that of a servant. But the father -saw him while he was yet a long way off, and ran and met him, and -received him as a son, and, therefore, as an heir, although he had -forfeited all right to heirship. So we have forfeited our right to be -called sons, and have squandered away the inheritance; yet God receives -us in Christ as sons indeed, and gives us the same rights and privileges -that Christ has. Although Christ is now in heaven at the right hand of -God, “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, -and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that -which is to come” (Eph. 1:20, 21), He has nothing that He does not share -with us; for “God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He -loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened [made alive] us -together with Christ, and hath raised us up together, and made us sit -together in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 2:4-6). Christ is one with -us in our present suffering, that we may be one with Him in His present -glory. He “hath exalted them of low degree.” Even now “He raiseth up the -poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to -set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory.” 1 -Sam. 2:8. No king on earth has so great possessions, nor so much actual -power, as the poorest peasant who knows the Lord as his Father. - -[Sidenote: Heathen Bondage.] - -The apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthians, said, “Ye know that ye -were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.” -1 Cor. 12:2. Even so it was with the Galatians. To them he wrote, “Not -knowing God, ye were in bondage to them which by nature are no gods.” If -this fact is borne in mind, it will save the reader from falling into -some very common errors in opinion concerning this Epistle. The -Galatians had been heathen, worshiping idols, and in bondage to the most -degrading superstitions. Bear in mind that this bondage is the same as -that which is spoken of in the preceding chapter,—they were “shut up” -under the law. It was the very same bondage in which all unconverted -persons are, for in the second and third chapters of Romans we are told -that “there is no difference; for all have sinned.” The Jews themselves, -who did not know the Lord by personal experience, were in the same -bondage,—the bondage of sin. “Every one that committeth sin is the -bond-servant of sin.” John 8:34, R. V. And “he that committeth sin is of -the devil.” 1 John 3:8. “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they -sacrifice to devils, and not to God.” 1 Cor. 10:20. If a man is not a -Christian, he is a heathen; there is no middle ground. If the Christian -apostatizes, he immediately becomes a heathen. We ourselves once walked -“according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the -power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of -disobedience” (Eph. 2:2), and we “were aforetime foolish, disobedient, -deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, -hateful, hating one another” (Titus 3:3, R. V.). So we also were “in -bondage to them which by nature are no gods.” The meaner the master, the -worse the bondage. What language can depict the horror of being in -bondage to corruption itself? - -[Sidenote: In Love with Bondage.] - -“Now that ye have come to know God, or rather to be known of God, how -turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments, whereunto ye -desire to be in bondage over again?” Is it not strange that men should -be in love with chains? Christ has proclaimed “liberty to the captives, -and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” (Isa. 61:1), -saying to the prisoners, “Go forth,” and to them that are in darkness, -“Show yourselves” (Isa. 49:9); yet men who have heard these words, and -have come forth, and have seen the light of “the Sun of Righteousness,” -and have tasted the sweets of liberty, actually turn round and go back -into their prison, submit to be bound with their old chains, even -fondling them, and labor away at the hard treadmill of sin. Who has not -had something of that experience? It is no fancy picture. It is a fact -that men can come to love the most revolting things, even death itself; -for Wisdom says, “All they that hate Me love death.” Prov. 8:36. In the -Epistle to the Galatians we have a vivid picture of human experience. - -[Sidenote: Observing Heathen Customs.] - -“Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.” This was an -evidence of their bondage. “Ah,” says some one, “they had gone back to -the old Jewish Sabbath; that was the bondage against which Paul would -warn us!” How strange it is that men have such an insane hatred of the -Sabbath, which the Lord Himself gave to the Jews, in common with all -other people on the earth, that they will seize upon every word that -they think they can turn against it, although in order to do so they -must shut their eyes to all the words that are around it! Anybody who -reads the Epistle to the Galatians, and thinks as he reads, must know -that the Galatians were not Jews. They had been converted from -heathenism. Therefore, previous to their conversion they had never had -anything to do with any religious custom that was practised by the Jews. -They had nothing whatever in common with the Jews. Consequently, when -they turned again to the “weak and beggarly elements” to which they were -willing again to be in bondage, it is evident that they were not going -back to any Jewish practise. They were going back to their old heathen -customs. “But were not the men who were perverting them Jews?”—Yes, they -were. But remember this one thing, when you seek to turn a man away from -Christ to some substitute for Christ, you can not tell where he will -end. You can not make him stop just where you want him to. If a -converted drunkard loses faith in Christ, he will take up his drinking -habits as surely as he lives, even though the Lord may have taken the -appetite away from him. So when these “false brethren”—Jewish opposers -of “the truth of the Gospel” as it is in Christ—succeeded in seducing -the Galatians from Christ, they could not get them to stop with Jewish -ceremonies. No; they inevitably drifted back to their old heathen -superstitions. - -[Sidenote: Forbidden Practises.] - -Read the tenth verse again, and then read Deut. 18:10: “There shall not -be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass -through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or -an enchanter, or a witch.” Now read what the Lord says to the heathen -who would shield themselves from just judgment that is about to come -upon them: “Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now -the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, -and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.” Isa. 47:13. -Here we see that the very things to which the Galatians were returning, -were forbidden by the Lord when He brought Israel out of Egypt. Now we -might as well say that when God forbade these things He was warning the -Israelites against keeping the Sabbath, as to say that Paul was -upbraiding the Galatians for keeping it, or that he had any reference to -it whatever. God forbade these things at the very time when He gave the -commandment concerning Sabbath-keeping. So far back into their old ways -had the Galatians gone that Paul was afraid lest all his labor on them -had been in vain. They were forsaking God and returning to “the weak and -beggarly elements of the world,” which no reverent person can think of -as ever having had any connection with God. They were changing their -glory for “that which doth not profit” (Jer. 2:11); for “the customs of -the heathen are vain.” - -There is just as much danger for us in this respect as there ever was -for any people. Whoever trusts in himself, having any confidence -whatever in the flesh, is worshiping the works of his own hands instead -of God, just as truly as does any one who makes and bows down to a -graven image. It is so easy for a man to trust to his own supposed -shrewdness, to his ability to “take care of himself,” and to forget that -the thoughts even of the wise are vain, and that there is no power but -of God. “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the -mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; -but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and -knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, -and righteousness, in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith -the Lord.” Jer. 9:23, 24. - -[Sidenote: The Messenger Not Personally Affronted.] - -“He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God.” John 3:34. The -apostle Paul was sent by God and the Lord Jesus Christ, and did not -speak his own words. He was a messenger, bearing a message from God, and -not from any man. The work was not his, nor any other man’s, but God’s, -and he was but the humble instrument, the earthen vessel, which God had -chosen as the means of carrying His glorious Gospel of grace. Therefore, -Paul did not feel affronted when his message was unheeded or even -rejected. “Ye have not injured me at all,” he says. He did not regret -the labor that he had bestowed upon the Galatians, on his own account, -as though it were so much of his time wasted; but he was fearful for -them, lest his labor had been in vain as far as they were concerned. The -man who from the heart can say, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but -unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth’s sake” (Ps. -115:1), can not feel personally injured if his message is not received. -Whoever becomes irritated or angry when his teaching is slighted or -ignored or scornfully rejected, shows either that he has forgotten that -it was God’s words that he was speaking, or else that he had mingled -with them or substituted for them words of his own. This is what has led -to all the persecution that has disgraced the professed Christian -church. Men have arisen speaking perverse things to draw away disciples -after themselves, and when their sayings and customs were not heeded, -they have been offended, and have visited their vengeance on the -so-called heretics. No one in all the ages has ever suffered persecution -for failure to obey the commandments of God, but only for neglect of -human customs and traditions. It is a grand thing always to be zealous -in a good thing, but let the zeal be according to sanctified knowledge. -The zealous person should frequently ask himself, Whose servant am I? If -he is God’s servant, then he will be content with delivering the message -that God has given him, leaving vengeance to God, to whom it belongs. - -[Sidenote: Power in Weakness.] - -“Ye know that because of an infirmity of the flesh I preached the Gospel -unto you the first time.” From the incidental statements in this Epistle -we can easily gather the history of the experience of the Galatian -brethren, and of Paul’s relation to it. Having been detained in Galatia -by physical weakness, he preached the Gospel “in demonstration of the -Spirit and of power,” so that the people saw Christ crucified among -them, and, accepting Him, were filled with the power and joy of the Holy -Ghost. Their joy and blessedness in the Lord was testified to publicly, -and they suffered much persecution in consequence; but this they counted -as nothing. Paul, in spite of his unsightly appearance (compare 1 Cor. -2:1-5; 2 Cor. 10:10), was received as God’s own messenger, because of -the joyful news that he brought. So highly did they appreciate the -riches of grace which he had opened up to them, that they would gladly -have given their own eyes to supply his deficiency. All this is referred -to in order that the Galatians may see from what they have fallen, as -they consider their present barrenness, and that they may know that the -apostle was disinterested in his solicitude for them. He told them the -truth once, and they rejoiced in it; it is not possible that he is -become their enemy because he continues to tell them the same truth. - -But there is still more in these personal references. We must not -imagine that Paul was pleading for personal sympathy when he referred to -his afflictions, and to the great inconvenience under which he had -labored. Far from it. Not for a moment did he lose sight of the purpose -for which he was writing, namely, to show that “the flesh profiteth -nothing,” but that everything of good is from the Holy Spirit of God. -The Galatians had “begun in the Spirit.” Paul was naturally small of -stature, and weak in body, and was suffering special affliction when he -first met them; yet, in spite of his almost absolute helplessness, he -preached the Gospel with such mighty power that none could fail to see -that there was a real, although unseen, presence with him. The Gospel is -not of man, but of God. It was not made known to them by the flesh, and -they were not indebted to the flesh for any of the blessings that they -had received. What blindness, what infatuation, then, for them to think -to perfect by their own efforts that which nothing but the power of God -could begin! Have we learned this lesson? - -[Sidenote: Where Is the Blessedness?] - -Everybody who has ever had any acquaintance with the Lord, knows that in -accepting Him there is joy. It is always expected that a new convert -will have a beaming countenance, and a joyful testimony. So it had been -with the Galatians. But now their expressions of thanksgiving had given -place to bickering and strife. See Gal. 5:15. Is it not strange that -people do not expect that old Christians will have as much enthusiasm as -young converts? that it is taken for granted that the first joy, and the -warmth of the first love, will gradually die away? So it is, but so it -should not be. That which God has against His people is this, that they -have left their first love. Rev. 2:4. “The path of the just is as the -shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.” Prov. -4:18. Note that this is the path of the just, and the just are they who -live by faith. When men turn from the faith, or attempt to substitute -works for it, the light goes out. Jesus said, “These things have I -spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy -might be full.” John 15:11. He gives the oil of joy—the Holy Spirit—for -mourning, and that is abiding. The life is manifested that we might have -fulness of joy. 1 John 1:1-4. The fountain of life is never exhausted; -the supply is never diminished. If, therefore, our light grows dim, and -our joy gives place to a dull, monotonous grind, we may know that we -have turned aside out of the way of life. - -[Sidenote: Desiring to Be under the Law.] - -“Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?” -After what we have already had, there will be no one to come with the -objection that to be under the law can not be a very deplorable -condition, else the Galatians would not have desired to be under it. -“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are -the ways of death.” Prov. 16:25. How many there are who love ways that -everybody except themselves can see are leading them direct to death; -yes, there are many who, with their eyes wide open to the consequences -of their course, will persist in it, deliberately choosing “the -pleasures of sin for a season,” rather than righteousness and length of -days. To be “under the law” of God is to be condemned by it as a sinner -chained and doomed to death, yet many millions besides the Galatians -have loved the condition, and still love it. Ah, if they would only hear -what it says! There is no reason why they should not hear it, for it -speaks in thunder tones. “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” - -[Sidenote: “What Saith the Law?”] - -It saith, “Cast out the bondwoman and her son; for the son of the -bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” It speaks -death to all who take pleasure in the beggarly elements of the world. -“Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written -in, the book of the law to do them.” To what place shall the wicked -bond-servant be cast out?—“Into outer darkness; there shall be weeping -and gnashing of teeth.” “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as -an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be -stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of -hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” Therefore, -“Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in -Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.” Mal. 4:1, 4. All -who are under the law, whether they be called Jews or Gentiles, -Christians or Mohammedans, are in bondage to Satan,—in the bondage of -transgression and sin,—and are to be cast out. “Every one that -committeth sin is the bond-servant of sin. And the bond-servant abideth -not in the house forever; the son abideth forever.” Thank God, then, for -“the adoption of sons.” - -[Sidenote: “Two Sons.”] - -Those false teachers would persuade the brethren that in turning from -whole-hearted faith in Christ and trusting to works which they -themselves could do, they would become children of Abraham, and so heirs -of the promises. They forgot that Abraham had two sons. I myself have -talked with a Jew according to the flesh, who did not know that Abraham -had more than one son; and there are many Christians who seem to think -that to be descended from Abraham, after the flesh, is all-sufficient to -insure one a share in the promised inheritance. “They which are the -children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the -children of the promise are counted for the seed.” Rom. 9:8. Now of the -two sons of Abraham, one was born after the flesh, and the other was by -promise, born of the Spirit. “By faith even Sarah herself received power -to conceive seed when she was past age, since she counted Him faithful -who had promised.” Heb. 11:11, R. V. Hagar was an Egyptian slave. The -children of a slave woman are always slaves, even though their father be -a freeman; and so Hagar could bring forth children only to bondage. But -long before Ishmael was born, the Lord had plainly signified to Abraham, -who wished that his servant Eliezer might be his heir, that it was not a -bond-servant, even though born in his house, that He had promised him, -but a free-born son,—a son born of a freewoman. God has no slaves in His -kingdom. - -[Sidenote: “These Are the Two Covenants.”] - -What are the two covenants?—The two women, Hagar and Sarah; for we read -that Hagar is Mount Sinai, “which gendereth to bondage.” That is, just -as Hagar could not bring forth any other kind of children than slaves, -so the law, even the law that God spoke from Sinai, can not beget -freemen. It can do nothing but hold them in bondage. “The law worketh -wrath;” “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” The same is true of -the covenant from Sinai, for it consisted merely of the promise of the -people to keep that law, and had, therefore, no more power to make them -free than the law itself had,—no more power than they already had in -their bondage. Nay, rather, it “gendered to bondage,” since their making -it was simply a promise to make themselves righteous by their own works, -and man in himself is “without strength.” - -Consider the situation: The people were in the bondage of sin; they had -no power to break their chains; but the speaking of the law made no -change in their condition; it introduced no new feature. If a man is in -prison for crime, you can not release him by reading the statutes to -him. It was the law that put him there, and the reading of it to him -only makes his captivity more painful. - -“Then did not God Himself lead them into bondage?”—Not by any means; -since He did not induce them to make that covenant at Sinai. Four -hundred and thirty years before that time He had made a covenant with -Abraham, which was sufficient for all purposes. That covenant was -confirmed in Christ, and, therefore, was a covenant from above. See John -8:23. It promised righteousness as a free gift of God through faith, and -it included all nations. All the miracles that God had wrought in -delivering the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage were but -demonstrations of His power to deliver them and us from the bondage of -sin. Yes, the deliverance from Egypt was itself a demonstration not only -of God’s power, but also of His desire to lead them from the bondage of -sin, that bondage in which the covenant from Sinai holds men, because -Hagar, who is the covenant from Sinai, was an Egyptian. So when the -people came to Sinai, God simply referred them to what He had already -done, and then said, “Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, -and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above -all people; for all the earth is Mine.” Ex. 19:5. To what covenant did -He refer?—Evidently to the one already in existence, His covenant with -Abraham. If they would simply keep God’s covenant, that is, God’s -promise,—keep the faith,—they would be a peculiar treasure unto God, for -God, as the possessor of all the earth, was able to do with them all -that He had promised. The fact that they in their self-sufficiency -rashly took the whole responsibility upon themselves, does not prove -that God led them into making that covenant, but the contrary. He was -leading them out of bondage, not into it, and the apostle plainly tells -us that covenant from Sinai was nothing but bondage. - -Further, if the children of Israel who came out of Egypt had but walked -“in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being -yet uncircumcised” (Rom. 4:12), the law would never have been spoken -from Sinai; “for the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, -was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the -righteousness of faith” (Rom. 4:13). Faith justifies, makes righteous; -if the people had had Abraham’s faith, they would have had the -righteousness that he had; and then there would have been no occasion -for the entering of the law, which was “spoken because of -transgression.” The law would have been in their hearts, and they would -not have needed to be awakened by its thunders to a sense of their -condition. God never expected, and does not now expect, that any person -can get righteousness by the law proclaimed from Sinai; and everything -connected with Sinai shows it. Yet the law is truth, and must be kept. -God delivered the people from Egypt, “that they might observe His -statutes, and keep His laws.” Ps. 105:45. We do not get life by keeping -the commandments, but God gives us life in order that we may keep them. - -[Sidenote: The Two Covenants Parallel.] - -Note the statement which the apostle makes when speaking of the two -women, Hagar and Sarah: “These are the two covenants.” So then the two -covenants existed in every essential particular in the days of Abraham. -Even so they do to-day; for the Scripture says now as well as then, -“Cast out the bondwoman and her son.” We see then that the two covenants -are not matters of time, but of condition. Let no one flatter himself -that he can not be under the old covenant, because the time for that is -passed. The time for that is passed only in the sense that “the time -past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the -Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, -revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries.” 1 Peter 4:3. - -[Sidenote: Difference Between the Two.] - -The difference is just the difference between a freewoman and a slave. -Hagar’s children, no matter how many she might have had, would have been -slaves, while those of Sarah would necessarily be free. So the covenant -from Sinai holds all who adhere to it in bondage “under the law;” while -the covenant from above gives freedom, not freedom from obedience to the -law, but freedom from disobedience to it. The freedom is not found away -from the law, But in the law. Christ redeems from the curse, which is -the transgression of the law. He redeems us from the curse, that the -blessing may come on us; and the blessing is obedience to the law. -“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.” -Ps. 119:1. This blessedness is freedom. “I will walk at liberty; for I -seek Thy precepts.” Ps. 119:45. - -The difference between the two covenants may be put briefly thus: In the -covenant from Sinai we ourselves have to do with the law alone, while in -the covenant from above, we have the law in Christ. In the first -instance it is death to us, since the law is sharper than any two-edged -sword, and we are not able to handle it without fatal results; but in -the second instance we have the law “in the hand of a Mediator.” In the -one case it is what we can do; in the other case it is what the Spirit -of God can do. Bear in mind that there is not the slightest question in -the whole Epistle to the Galatians as to whether or not the law should -be kept. The only question is, How shall it be done? Is it to be our own -doing, so that the reward shall not be of grace but of debt? or is it to -be God working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure? - -[Sidenote: Mount Sinai and Mount Zion.] - -“This Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which -now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is -above is free, which is the mother of us all.” As there are the two -covenants, so there are two cities to which they pertain. Jerusalem -which now is pertains to the old covenant—to Mount Sinai. It will never -be free, but will be replaced by the city of God, the heavenly -Jerusalem, “which cometh down out of heaven.” Rev. 3:12; 21:1-5. It is -the city for which Abraham looked, the “city which hath foundations, -whose builder and maker is God.” Heb. 11:10; Rev. 21:14. There are many -who build great hopes—all their hope—on Jerusalem which now is. For such -the veil remaineth “untaken away in the reading of the old testament.” 2 -Cor. 3:14. They are in reality looking to Mount Sinai and the old -covenant for salvation, and it is not to be found there. “For ye are not -come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, -nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a -trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated -that the word should not be spoken to them any more (for they could not -endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the -mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart; and so -terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake); -but ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, -the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the -general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in -heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made -perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood -of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” Heb. -12:18-24. - -Whoever looks to the present Jerusalem for blessings, is looking to the -old covenant, to Mount Sinai, to bondage; whoever worships with his face -toward the New Jerusalem, and who expects blessings only from it, is -looking to the new covenant, to Mount Zion, to freedom; for “Jerusalem -which is above is free.” From what is it free?—Free from sin; and since -it is our mother, it begets us anew, so that we also become free from -sin. Free from the law?—Yes, certainly, for the law has no condemnation -for them who are in Christ Jesus. - -But do not let anybody deceive you with vain words, telling you that you -may now trample God’s law underfoot,—that law which He Himself -proclaimed in such awful majesty from Sinai. Coming to Mount Sion,—to -Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of -sprinkling,—we become free from sin,—from transgression of the law. The -basis of God’s throne in Zion is His law. From the throne proceed the -same “lightnings and thunderings and voices” (Rev. 4:5; 11:19) as from -Sinai, because the selfsame law is there. But it is “the throne of -grace,” and, therefore, in spite of the thunders, we come to it boldly, -assured that from God, the Judge of all, who sits upon the mercy-seat, -we shall obtain mercy. Nay, more, we shall also find grace to help in -time of need,—grace to help us in the hour of temptation to sin,—for out -of the midst of the throne, from the slain Lamb (Rev. 5:6), flows the -river of water of life, bringing to us from the heart of Christ “the law -of the Spirit of life.” We drink of it, we bathe in it, and we find -cleansing from all sin. - -“Why didn’t the Lord bring the people directly to Mount Zion then, where -they could find the law as life, and not to Mount Sinai, where it was -only death?” - -That is a very natural question, and one that is easily answered. It was -because of their unbelief. When God brought Israel out of Egypt, it was -His purpose to bring them to Mount Zion as directly as they could go. -When they had crossed the Red Sea, they sang an inspired song, of which -this was a part: “Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth the people which Thou -hast redeemed; Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy -habitation.” “Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain -of Thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for -Thee to dwell in, in the sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have -established.” Ex. 15:13, 17. If they had continued singing, they would -very soon have come to Zion; for the redeemed of the Lord “come with -singing unto Zion,” and everlasting joy is upon their heads. Isa. 35:10; -51:11. The dividing of the Red Sea was the proof of this. See verse 10. -But they soon forgot the Lord, and murmured in unbelief. Therefore “the -law was added because of transgressions.” It was their own fault—the -result of their sinful unbelief—that they came to Mount Sinai instead of -to Mount Zion. - -Nevertheless, God did not leave Himself without witness of His -faithfulness. At Mount Sinai the law was in the hand of the same -Mediator, Jesus, to whom we come when we come to Zion; and from the Rock -in Horeb, which is Sinai, flowed the living stream, the water of life -from the heart of Christ. Ex. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4. There they had not -merely the picture, but the reality, of Mount Zion. Every soul whose -heart there turned to the Lord, would have beheld His unveiled glory, -even as Moses did, and, being transformed by it, would have found the -ministration of righteousness, instead of the ministration of -condemnation. “His mercy endureth forever;” and even upon the clouds of -wrath from which proceed the thunders and lightnings of the law, shines -the glorious face of the Sun of Righteousness, and forms the bow of -promise. - -[Sidenote: “The Son Abideth Ever.”] - -“Cast out the bondwoman and her son; for the son of the bondwoman shall -not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” “The bond-servant abideth -not in the house forever; the son abideth forever.” John 8:35, R. V. -Here is comfort for every soul. You are a sinner, or, at best, “trying -to be a Christian,” and you tremble with terror at these words, as you -realize that you are in bondage,—that sin has a hold upon you, and you -are bound by the cords of evil habits. Ah, you must learn not to be -afraid when the Lord speaks, for He speaks peace, even though it be with -a voice of thunder! The more majestic the voice, the greater the peace -that He gives. Take courage! The son of the bondwoman is the flesh and -its works. “Flesh and blood can not inherit the kingdom of God; neither -doth corruption inherit incorruption.” But God says, “Cast out the -bondwoman and her son,” and if you are willing that His will shall be -done in you as it is done in heaven, He will see that the flesh and its -works are cast out from you, and you will be “delivered from the bondage -of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” That -command which so frightened you is simply the voice commanding the evil -spirit to depart, and to come no more into you. It speaks to you victory -over every sin. Receive Christ by faith, and you have the power to -become the son of God, heir of a kingdom which can not be moved, but -which, with all its people, abideth forever. - -[Sidenote: “Stand Fast, Therefore.”] - -Where shall we stand?—“In the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us -free.” And what freedom is that?—It is the freedom of Christ Himself, -whose delight was in the law of the Lord, because it was in His heart. -Ps. 40:8. “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me -free from the law of sin and death.” Rom. 8:2. We stand only by faith. - -In this freedom there is no trace of bondage. It is perfect liberty. It -is liberty of soul, liberty of thought, as well as liberty of action. It -is not that we are simply given the ability to keep the law, but we are -given the mind that finds delight in doing it. It is not that we comply -with the law because we see no other way of escape from punishment; that -would be galling bondage. It is from such bondage that God’s covenant -releases us. No; the promise of God, when accepted, puts the mind of the -Spirit into us, so that we find the highest pleasure in obedience to all -the precepts of God’s Word. The soul is as free as a bird soaring above -the mountain-tops. It is the glorious liberty of the children of God, -who have the full range of “the breadth, and length, and depth, and -height” of God’s universe. It is the liberty of those who do not have to -be watched, but who can be trusted anywhere, since their every step is -but the movement of God’s own holy law. Why be content with bondage, -when such limitless freedom is yours? The prison doors are open; walk -out into God’s freedom. - - “Out of my shameful failure and loss, - Jesus, I come. Jesus, I come. - Into the glorious gain of Thy cross, - Jesus, I come to Thee. - Out of earth’s sorrows, into Thy balm, - Out of life’s storm, and into Thy calm, - Out of distress to jubilant psalm, - Jesus, I come to Thee. - - “Out of unrest and arrogant pride, - Jesus, I come. Jesus, I come. - Into Thy blessed will to abide, - Jesus, I come to Thee. - Out of myself to dwell in Thy love, - Out of despair into raptures above, - Upward for aye on wings like a dove, - Jesus, I come to Thee.” - - - - - CHAPTER V. - The Spirit’s Power over the Flesh. - - -With freedom did Christ set us free; stand fast therefore, and be not -entangled again in a yoke of bondage. - -“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that, if ye receive circumcision, Christ -will profit you nothing. Yea, I testify again to every man that -receiveth circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Ye are -severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen -away from grace. For we through the Spirit by faith wait for the hope of -righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth -anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love. Ye were -running well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This -persuasion came not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth -the whole lump. I have confidence to you-ward in the Lord, that ye will -be none otherwise minded; but he that troubleth you shall bear his -judgment, whosoever he be. But I, brethren, if I still preach -circumcision, why am I still persecuted? then hath the stumbling-block -of the cross been done away. I would that they which unsettle you would -even cut themselves off. - -“For ye, brethren, were called for freedom; only use not your freedom -for an occasion to the flesh, but through love be servants one to -another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou -shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one -another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. - -“But I say, Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the -flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against -the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not -do the things that ye would. But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not -under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, -fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, -strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, heresies, envyings, -drunkenness, revelings, and such like; of the which I forewarn you, even -as I did forewarn you; that they which practise such things shall not -inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, -peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, -temperance; against such there is no law. And they that are of Christ -Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof. - -“If we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also walk. Let us not be -vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.” Galatians 5, -R. V. - - * * * * * - -The connection between the fourth and fifth chapters of Galatians is -closer than between any other two, so much so that it is difficult to -see how anybody could ever have hit upon the idea of making a chapter -division. One can not possibly close his reading of the fourth chapter -with the thirty-first verse, but must take in the first verse of the -fifth chapter, as we have done. But we have not by any means learned all -from that verse that we may, and we therefore dwell upon it longer. - -[Sidenote: The Freedom That Christ Gives.] - -When Christ was manifest in the flesh, His work was to proclaim -“deliverance to the captives,” and “to set at liberty them that are -bruised.” The miracles that He performed were practical illustrations of -this work, and one of the most striking may well be considered at this -stage of our study. - -“And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And, -behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen -years, and was bowed together, and could in nowise lift up herself. And -when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him, and said unto her, Woman, thou -art loosed from thine infirmity. And He laid His hands on her; and -immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.” Luke 13:10-13. - -Then when the hypocritical ruler of the synagogue complained because -Jesus did this miracle on the Sabbath, He referred to how each one would -loose his ox or ass from the stall, and lead him to water, and then -said:— - -“And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath -bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath -day?” - -Two features in this case are worthy of special note: The woman was -bound by Satan, and she had a spirit of infirmity, or absence of -strength. - -Now note how accurately this describes our condition before we meet -Christ. - -1. We are bound by Satan, “taken captive by him at his will.” “Every one -that committeth sin is the bond-servant of sin” (John 8:34), and “he -that committeth sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). “His own iniquities -shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of -his sins.” Prov. 5:22. Sin is the cord with which Satan binds us. - -2. We have a spirit of infirmity, and can in nowise lift ourselves up, -or free ourselves from the chains that bind us. It was when we were -“without strength” that Christ died for us. Rom. 5:6. Now these two -words, “without strength,” are translated from the very same word that -is rendered “infirmity” in the account of the woman whom Jesus healed. -She was “without strength.” To be without strength means to have no -strength at all. That is our condition. - -[Sidenote: What Jesus Does for Us.] - -What now does Jesus do for us?—He takes the weakness, and gives us in -return His strength. “We have not an High Priest which can not be -touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” Heb. 4:15. “Himself took -our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” Matt. 8:17. He becomes all -that we are, in order that we may become all that He is. He was “born -under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.” He hath -delivered us from the curse, being made a curse for us, that the -blessing might come to us. Although He knew no sin, He was made to be -sin for us, “that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 -Cor 5:21. - -[Sidenote: Why He Does It.] - -Why did Jesus make that woman free from her infirmity?—In order that she -might walk at liberty. Certainly it was not in order that she might -continue of her own free will to do that which before she was obliged to -do. And why does He make us free from sin?—In order that we may live -free from sin. On account of the weakness of our flesh, we are unable to -do the righteousness of the law; therefore Christ, who is come in the -flesh, and who has power over all flesh, strengthens us with might by -His Spirit in the inner man, that the righteousness of the law may be -fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. We -can not tell how He does it; He alone knows how it is done, because He -alone has the power; but we may know the reality of it. - -[Sidenote: Present Freedom.] - -Pay special attention to the words of Jesus to the woman, uttered while -she was yet bound down, and unable to lift herself up: “Thou art loosed -from thine infirmity.” “Thou art loosed,” present tense. That is just -what He says to us. To every captive He has proclaimed deliverance. The -woman “could in nowise lift up herself;” yet at the word of Christ she -at once stood erect. She could not do it, yet she did. The things that -are impossible for men are possible for God. “The Lord upholdeth all -that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.” Ps. 145:14. -Faith does not make facts; it only lays hold of them. There is not a -single soul that is bowed down with the weight of sin which Satan hath -bound on him, whom Christ does not lift up. Freedom is his; he has only -to make use of it. Let the message be sounded far and wide. Let every -soul hear it, that Christ has given deliverance to every captive. -Thousands will rejoice at the news. - -Christ came to restore that which was lost; He redeems us from the -curse; He hath redeemed us; therefore the liberty wherewith He makes us -free is the liberty that existed before the curse came. Man was made a -king. It was not merely the one individual first created who was made -king, but all mankind. “In the day that God created man, in the likeness -of God made He him; male and female created He them; and blessed them, -and called their name Adam,” that is, man. Gen. 5:1, 2. “And God said, -Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have -dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and -over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing -that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in -the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And -God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and -replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion,” etc. The -dominion, we see, was given to every human being, male and female. - -This dominion was universal. When God made man, He “put all things in -subjection under his feet. For in that He put all in subjection under -him, He left nothing that is not put under him.” Heb. 2:8. The dominion -was not confined to this planet; for when God crowned man with glory and -honor, He set him over the works of His hands (Heb. 2:7), and we read, -“Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and -the heavens are the works of Thine hands” (Heb. 1:10). This shows how -free man was before the curse came; for it is self-evident that a ruler -must have absolute freedom, at least as far as his dominion extends, -else he is not ruler. - -It is true that now we do not see all things put under man; “but we -behold Him who hath been made a little lower than the angels, even -Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, -that by the grace of God He should taste death for every man” (Heb. 2:9, -R. V.), and thus redeem every man from the curse of the lost dominion. -“Crowned with glory and honor.” A crown implies kingship, and Christ’s -crown is that which man had when he was set over the works of God’s -hands. Accordingly, Christ (as man, mind you, in the flesh), just as He -was about to ascend to heaven after the resurrection, said: “All power -is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore.” Matt. 28:18, -19. This indicates that the same power is given to us in Him; and this -is made certain by the inspired prayer that we might know the exceeding -greatness of God’s power in us who believe, “according to the working of -His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from -the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far -above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every -name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to -come; and hath put all things under His feet;” and this prayer is -followed by the statement that God has made us alive in Christ, and -“raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in -Christ Jesus.” Eph. 1:18-22; 2:1-6. - -Christ has tasted death for us as man, and through the cross has -redeemed us from the curse. If we are crucified with Him, we are also -risen with Him, and made to sit together with Him in the heavenly -places, with all things under our feet. If we do not know this, it is -only because we have not allowed the Spirit to reveal it to us. The eyes -of our heart need to be enlightened by the Spirit, that we may know what -is “the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His -inheritance in the saints.” The exhortation to those who are dead and -risen with Christ is, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, -that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Rom. 6:12. That shows that -we are masters. We have authority over sin, that it shall have no -dominion over us. - -We have redemption through the blood of Christ, even the forgiveness of -sin (Eph. 1:7); and when He “washed us from our sins in His own blood,” -He “made us kings and priests unto God and His Father.” Rev. 1:5, 6. -Glorious dominion! Glorious freedom! Freedom from the power of the -curse, even while surrounded by it; freedom from “this present evil -world,”—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of -life! The freedom of the universe (power in heaven and on earth), so -that neither “the prince of the power of the air” nor the “rulers of the -darkness of this world” can have any dominion over us! It is the freedom -and authority that Christ had when He said, “Get thee hence, Satan.” And -the devil immediately left Him. It is authority “over all the power of -the enemy.” Luke 10:19. It is such freedom that nothing in heaven or -earth can coerce us, to make us do anything against our will. God will -not attempt it, for we hold our freedom from Him; and no one else can do -it. It is power over the elements, so that they will serve us, instead -of controlling us. We shall learn to recognize Christ and His cross in -everything, so that the curse will be powerless over us, and our minds -and bodies will not be subject to every change in the weather. Our -health will spring forth speedily; for the life of Jesus will be -manifest in our mortal flesh. Such glorious liberty no tongue or pen can -describe. Believe in it as the Holy Spirit makes it known, accept it, -and stand fast in it; yea, stand fast! - -[Sidenote: “Stand Fast.”] - -“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them -by the breath of His mouth.” “He spake, and it was done; He commanded, -and it stood fast.” Ps. 33:6, 9. The same word that created the starry -host, speaks to us, “Stand fast!” It is not a command that leaves us as -helpless as before, but one which carries the performance of the act -with it. Recall the cases of the lame men who were healed. John 5:5-9; -Acts 3:2-8; 14:8-10. The command does the thing commanded. The heavens -did not create themselves, but were brought into existence by the word -of the Lord. Then let them be your teachers. “Lift up your eyes on high, -and see who hath created these, that bringeth out their host by number; -He calleth them all by name; by the greatness of His might, and for that -He is strong in power, not one is lacking.” Isa. 40:26, R. V. “He giveth -power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth -strength.” Isa. 40:29. Listen to the words, “Stand fast!” - -[Sidenote: A Question of Profit.] - -“If ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing.” It should -be understood that much more is involved than the mere rite of -circumcision. The proof of this is found in the fact that this Epistle, -which has so much to say about circumcision, has been preserved by the -Lord for us, and contains the Gospel message for all time; yet -circumcision as a rite is not a burning, living question now. Nobody is -seeking to have Christians submit to the rite of circumcision in the -flesh. - -The question under consideration is how to obtain -righteousness—salvation from sin—and the inheritance of righteousness. -The fact is that it can be obtained only by faith—by receiving Christ -into the heart, and allowing Him to live His life in us. Abraham had -this righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ, and God gave Him -circumcision as a sign of that fact. It had a peculiar significance to -Abraham, serving continually to remind him of his failure, when he -tried, by means of the flesh, to fulfil God’s promise. The record of it -serves the same purpose for us. It signifies that “the flesh profiteth -nothing,” and is not, therefore, to be depended on. The mere fact of -being circumcised did not make Christ of no avail, for Paul was himself -circumcised, and as a matter of expediency he had Timothy circumcised. -Acts 16:1-3. But Paul did not count his circumcision nor any other -external thing of any value (Phil. 3:4-7), and when it was proposed to -circumcise Titus, as a thing necessary to salvation, he would not allow -it (Gal 2:3-5). - -That which was to be only the sign of an already-existing fact, was -taken by subsequent generations as the means of establishing the fact. -Circumcision, therefore, stands in this Epistle as the representative of -all kinds of work done by men with a view of obtaining righteousness. -Outward circumcision, in the flesh, which was what Judaizing teachers -were seeking to impose on believers from among the Gentiles as the great -means of salvation (see Acts 15:1), stands for the works of the flesh, -as opposed to the Spirit. - -Now the truth is stated that if a person does anything with the -expectation of being saved by it, that is, of getting salvation by his -own work, Christ profits him nothing. If Christ be not accepted as a -complete Redeemer, He is not accepted at all. That is to say, if Christ -be not accepted for what He is, He is rejected. He can not be other than -what He is. Christ is not divided; and He does not share with any other -person or thing the honor of being Saviour. Therefore it is easy to see -that if any one were circumcised with a view to receiving salvation -thereby, that would show absence of faith in Christ as the -all-sufficient and only Saviour of mankind. - -God gave circumcision as a sign of faith in Christ; the Jews perverted -it into a substitute for faith. So when a Jew boasted in his -circumcision, he was boasting of his own righteousness. This is shown by -verse 4: “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are -justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” This is no -disparagement of the law, but of man’s ability to keep the law. It is -the glory of the law that it is so holy, and its requirements are so -great, that no man is able to attain to the perfection of it. Only in -Christ is the righteousness of the law ours; and true circumcision is to -worship God in Spirit, to rejoice in Christ Jesus, and to put no -confidence in the flesh. Phil. 3:3. - -[Sidenote: In Debt to the Law.] - -“I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor -to do the whole law.” - -“There!” exclaims some one, “that shows that the law is a thing to be -avoided; for Paul says that those who are circumcised have got to do the -whole law; and he warns them not to be circumcised.” - -Not quite so hasty, my friend. Stick a little more closely to the text. -Read it again, and you will see that the bad thing is not the law, nor -the doing of the law, but that the thing to be avoided is being a debtor -to the law. Is there not a vast difference? It is a good thing to have -food to eat and clothes to wear, but it is a sorrowful thing to be in -debt for these necessary things. Sadder yet is it to be in debt for -them, and yet to lack them. - -A debtor is one who owes something. He who is in debt to the law, owes -what the law demands, namely, righteousness. Therefore, whoever is in -debt to the law is under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is every -one that continueth not in all things that are written in the book of -the law to do them.” So to attempt to get righteousness by any other -means than by faith in Christ is to incur the curse of eternal debt. He -is eternally in debt, for he has nothing wherewith to pay; yet the fact -that he is in debt to the law,—debtor to do the whole law,—shows that he -ought to do it all. How shall he do it?—“This is the work of God, that -ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” John 6:29. Let him cease trusting -in himself, and receive and confess Christ in his flesh, and then the -righteousness of the law will be fulfilled in him, because he will not -walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit. - -[Sidenote: “The Hope of Righteousness by Faith.”] - -“For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” -Don’t pass this verse by without reading it more than once, or you will -think that it says something that it does not say. And as you read it, -think of what you have already learned about the promise of the Spirit. - -Don’t imagine that this verse teaches that, having the Spirit, we must -wait for righteousness. Not by any means; the Spirit brings -righteousness. “The Spirit is life because of righteousness.” Rom. 8:10. -When He is come, He will convince the world of sin and of righteousness. -John 16:8. Whoever, therefore, receives the Spirit, has the conviction -of sin, and has also the righteousness which the Spirit shows him that -he lacks, and which the Spirit alone can bring. - -What is the righteousness which the Spirit brings?—It is the -righteousness of the law; this we know, “for we know that the law is -spiritual.” Rom. 7:14. - -What, then, about the “hope of righteousness,” for which we wait through -the Spirit? Notice that it does not say that we through the Spirit hope -for righteousness, but that we wait for the hope of righteousness by -faith, that is, the hope which the possession of righteousness brings. -Let us briefly go over this matter in detail. It will not take long, for -we have already studied it, and all that we have to do is to refresh our -minds. - -1. The Spirit of God is “the Holy Spirit of promise.” Not the Spirit -promised, but the Spirit the possession of whom insures to us the -promise of God. - -2. That which God has promised to us, as children of Abraham, is an -inheritance. The Holy Spirit is the earnest or pledge of this -inheritance, until the purchased possession is redeemed and bestowed -upon us. Eph. 1:13, 14. - -3. This inheritance that is promised is the new heavens and the new -earth, “wherein dwelleth righteousness.” 2 Peter 3:13. - -4. The Spirit brings righteousness; for the Spirit is Christ’s -representative, the means by which Christ Himself, who is our -righteousness, comes to dwell in our hearts. John 14:16-18. - -5. Therefore the hope which the Spirit brings is the hope which the -possession of righteousness brings, namely, the hope of an inheritance -in the kingdom of God, the earth made new. - -6. The righteousness which the Spirit brings to us is the righteousness -of the law of God, which by the Spirit is written in our hearts, instead -of on tables of stone. Rom. 2:29; 2 Cor. 3:3. - -7. The sum of the whole matter, therefore, is this, that if we will -wholly distrust ourselves, and will acknowledge that in us there -dwelleth no good thing, and that consequently no good thing can come -from us; and so, instead of thinking ourselves so powerful that we can -do the law, will allow the Holy Spirit to fill us, that thus we may be -filled with the righteousness of the law, we shall have living hope -dwelling in us. The hope of the Spirit—the hope of righteousness by -faith—has no element of uncertainty in it; it is positive assurance. But -in nothing else is there any hope. He who has not “the righteousness -which is of God by faith,” has no hope whatever. Only Christ in us is -“the hope of glory.” - -[Sidenote: No Power Except in Faith.] - -“For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor -uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” The word here rendered -“availeth” is the same word that is rendered “able” in Luke 13:24; Acts -15:10; 6:10. In Phil. 4:13 it is rendered “can do.” The statement, -therefore, amounts to this: Circumcision is not able to do anything, -neither is uncircumcision; but faith alone, which works by love, can do -anything. This faith which works by love is found only in Christ Jesus. - -But what is it that there is talk about doing?—Nothing else than the law -of God. No man can do it, whatever his state or condition. The -uncircumcised man has no power to keep the law, and circumcision has no -power to enable him to do it. One may boast of his circumcision, and -another may boast of his uncircumcision, but both are alike vain. By the -law of faith boasting is excluded (Rom. 3:27); for since the faith of -Christ alone can keep the righteousness of the law, there is no chance -for us to tell what we have done. - - - “All to Christ I owe.” - - -[Sidenote: Hindered.] - -The Galatian brethren had started well, for they had “begun in the -Spirit;” but somebody had hindered them in the way. The question is, -“Who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” God’s law is the -truth (Ps. 119:142), and the Galatian brethren had started out to obey -it; they had succeeded in the beginning, but later on had been hindered -in their progress. Why?—“Because they sought it not by faith, but as it -were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that -stumbling-stone.” Christ is the way, and the truth, and the life, and -there is no stumbling in Him. He is made unto us righteousness; the -perfection of the law is in Him, for His life is the law. - -[Sidenote: “The Offense of the Cross.”] - -The cross is and always has been a symbol of disgrace. To be crucified -was to be subjected to the most ignominious death known. The apostle -said that if he preached circumcision, that is, righteousness by works, -the offense of the cross would cease. The offense of the cross is that -it is a confession of human frailty and sin, and of inability to do any -good thing. To take the cross of Christ means to depend solely on Him -for everything, and this is the abasement of all human pride. Men love -to fancy themselves independent. They have no objection to any goodness -that they themselves can do. One might preach “morality” to a band of -robbers, or to any heathen, and it would be well received, so long as -they were exhorted to get it by their own efforts. Indeed, they would -feel flattered, rather than otherwise, for such, preaching would imply -that they were already righteous in themselves. But let the cross be -preached; let it be made known that in man dwelleth no good thing, and -that all must be received as a gift, and straightway somebody is -offended. - -[Sidenote: Liberty to Serve, Not to Sin.] - -“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty -for an occasion to the flesh; but by love serve one another.” The two -preceding chapters tell about bondage, imprisonment. Before faith comes, -we are shut up under sin, debtors to the law. The faith of Christ sets -us free, but as we are set at liberty, the admonition is given us, “Go, -and sin no more.” We have been set at liberty from sin, not at liberty -to sin. How many make a mistake here! Many sincere people imagine that -in Christ we are at liberty to ignore the law, and to set it at -defiance, forgetting that the transgression of the law is sin. 1 John -3:4. To serve the flesh is to commit sin, “because the carnal mind is -enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither -indeed can be.” Rom. 8:7. So when the apostle exhorts us not to use our -liberty for an occasion of the flesh, he simply warns us not to misuse -the liberty which Christ gives us, and to bring ourselves into bondage -again by transgressing the law. Instead of this, we should by love serve -one another; for love is the fulfilling of the law. - -Recall what has been said in this chapter concerning the liberty -wherewith Christ makes us free. He gives us the liberty of the first -dominion. But remember that God gave the dominion to mankind, and that -in Christ all are made kings. This shows that the only human being over -whom any Christian has the right to rule is himself. The great man in -Christ’s kingdom is he who rules his own spirit. As kings, our subjects -are found in the lower orders of created beings, in the elements, and in -our own flesh, but not in our fellow-men. We are to serve them. We are -to have in us the mind that was in Christ while He was still in the -royal court in heaven, “in the form of God,” which led Him to take “the -form of a servant.” Phil. 2:5-7. He did not change His nature in coming -to this earth, but only His form; therefore, as Anointed King in Zion, -He was a servant. This is further seen by the fact that He washed the -feet of the disciples, with full consciousness of the fact that He was -their Master and Lord, and that He came from God and went to God. John -13:3-13. Moreover, when all the redeemed saints appear in glory, Christ -Himself “shall gird Himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will -come forth and serve them.” Luke 12:37. The greatest freedom is found in -service—in service rendered to our fellows in the name of Jesus. He who -does the greatest service—not greatest as men reckon, but what they -would call lowest—is the greatest. This we learn from Christ, who is -King of kings and Lord of lords, because He is servant of all, -performing service that nobody else would or could do. God’s servants -are all kings. - -[Sidenote: Love Fulfils the Law.] - -Love is not a substitute for the keeping of the law, but is the -perfection of it. Just here it would be well to read 1 Cor. 13. “Love -worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the -law.” Rom. 13:10. “If any man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, -he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how -can he love God whom he hath not seen?” 1 John 4:20. If, therefore, a -man loves his neighbor it must be that he loves God. “Love is of God,” -for “God is love.” Therefore love is the life of God. If that life be in -us, and be given free course, the law will necessarily be in us, for -God’s life is the law for all creation. That life of love was manifested -in the gift of Himself for the world. “Hereby perceive we the love of -God, because He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our -lives for the brethren.” - -[Sidenote: Love Is Unselfishness.] - -This follows from the foregoing; for since love means service, and -service means the doing of something for others, it is evident that love -takes no thought of itself, and that he who loves has no thought but of -how he may bless others. So we read, “Love suffereth long, and is kind; -love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not -behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not -account of evil.” 1 Cor. 13:4, 5, R. V. - -It is just on this vital point that everybody in the world is making or -has made a mistake. Happy are they who have found out their mistake, and -have come to the understanding and practise of true love. “Love seeketh -not her own.” Therefore self-love is not love at all, in the right sense -of the word. It is only a base counterfeit. Yet the most of that which -in the world is called love, is not really love for another, but is love -of self. Even that which should be the highest form of love known on -earth, the love which is used by the Lord as a representation of His -love for His people,—the love of husband and wife,—is more often -selfishness than real love. Leaving out of the question, as unworthy of -notice, marriages that are formed for the purpose of gaining wealth or -position in society, it is a fact, which all will recognize when their -attention is called to it, that in nearly every case the parties to a -marriage are thinking more of their own individual happiness than of the -happiness of the other. Of course this condition of things exists in -varying degrees, and in proportion as real, unselfish love exists, is -there real happiness; for it is a lesson that the world is slow to -learn, that true happiness is found only when one ceases to seek for it, -and sets about making it for others. - -[Sidenote: “Love Never Faileth.”] - -Here again is a test which shows that much that is called love is not -love. Love never ceases. The statement is absolute, never. There is no -exception, and no allowance made for circumstances. Love is not affected -by circumstances. We often hear about one’s love growing cold, but that -is something that can never happen. Love is always warm, always flowing; -nothing can freeze the fountain of love. Love is absolutely endless and -unchangeable, simply because it is the life of God. There is no other -love than the love of God, therefore the only possibility for true love -to be manifested among mankind is for the love of God to be shed abroad -in the heart by the Holy Spirit. - -[Sidenote: Why Love?] - -Sometimes when a declaration of love is made, the loved one asks, “Why -do you love me?” Just as if anybody could give a reason for love! Love -is its own reason. If the lover can tell just why he loves another, then -that very answer shows that he does not really love. Whatever object he -names as a reason for love, may sometime cease to exist, and then his -supposed love ceases to exist; but “love never faileth.” Therefore love -can not depend upon circumstances. So the only answer that can be given -to the question as to why one loves, is “because,” because of love. Love -loves, simply because it is love. Love is the quality of the individual -who loves, and he loves because he has love, irrespective of the -character of the object. The truth of this is seen when we go back to -God, the Fountain of love. He is love; love is His life; but no -explanation of His existence can be given. The highest human conception -of love is to love because we are loved, or because the object of our -love is lovable. But God loves the unlovely, and those who hate Him. “We -also were aforetime foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts -and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. -But when the kindness of God our Saviour, and His love toward man, -appeared, not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, -but according to His mercy He saved us.” Titus 3:3, 4, R. V. “If ye love -them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the -same?” “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven -is perfect.” Matt. 5:46, 48. - -[Sidenote: Working no Ill.] - -“Love worketh no ill to his neighbor.” The word “neighbor” means whoever -dwells near. Love, therefore, extends to everything with which it comes -in contact. He who loves must necessarily love everybody. It may be -objected that love does make distinctions, and the case of husband and -wife, or of any of the members of a family, may be cited. But the -objection does not hold, for the family relation, rightly understood, -was instituted in order that by a union love might the more effectually -be manifested to others. On the principle that strength is not merely -doubled, but increased tenfold, by union, as shown by the statement that -“one shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight,” union -multiplies the working value of love. If two persons, each of whom has -this unselfish love to all mankind, unite in love, then their union -makes them ten times better able to serve others. If any one thinks this -is too high a standard, let him remember that we are considering a very -high thing—the highest thing in the universe. We are talking of love, -absolute and unqualified, as it comes from heaven, and not that which -has been dragged through the mire of earth. Poor, frail human beings -certainly need the very best. - -Since love worketh no ill to his neighbor, it obviously follows that -Christian love,—and there is really no other love, as we have seen,—does -not admit of wars and fightings. No philosophy can ever make it appear -that it does a man any good to kill him. When the soldiers asked John -the Baptist what they should do, as followers of the Lamb of God, to -whom he pointed, he replied, “Do violence to no man.” Luke 3:14. Those -who asked were “soldiers on service,” as we see from the margin of the -Revised Version. And the margin also gives as the alternative rendering -of John’s answer, “Put no man in fear.” It would be a very mild war in -which this command was followed. If an army were composed of -Christians,—true followers of Christ,—when they came in contact with the -enemy, instead of shooting them, they would find out what they needed, -and supply their wants. “If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, -give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his -head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Rom. 12: -20, 21. - -[Sidenote: “Take Heed.”] - -“But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not -consumed one of another.” See into what danger the Galatians had run by -following evil counsel. By departing from the simplicity of the faith, -they were bringing themselves under the curse, and in danger of hell -fire. For “the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue -among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire -the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” James 3:6. The -tongue has devoured more than the sword, for the sword would never be -drawn if it were not for the unruly tongue. No man can tame it, but God -can. He had done it in the case of the Galatians, when their mouths were -filled with blessing and praise; but what a change had again taken -place! As the result of their later instruction, they had descended from -blessing to bickering, and instead of talking to edification, were about -to devour one another. - -[Sidenote: “The Leaven of Malice and Wickedness.”] - -Verses 8 and 9, following the question, “Who did hinder you that ye -should not obey the truth?” manifestly apply here as well as there, -since biting and devouring are very strong evidences of not obeying the -truth. “This persuasion cometh not of Him that calleth you.” God is the -God of peace. Of Christ, the Prince of peace, it was said, “He shall not -strive” (Matt. 12:19); therefore “the servant of the Lord must not -strive” (2 Tim. 2:24). The Gospel of Jesus Christ is “the Gospel of -peace.” Eph. 6:15. When there is bickering and strife in the church, be -sure that the Gospel has been sadly perverted. Let no one flatter -himself on his orthodoxy, or his soundness in the faith, while he has a -quarrelsome disposition, or can be provoked to quarrel. Dissension and -strife are the marks of departure from the faith, if one was ever in it; -for, “being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord -Jesus Christ.” Rom. 5:1. We are not merely at peace with God, but we -have peace with Him—His peace. So this new persuasion, which led to -strife and the devouring of one another with the tongue of unholy fire, -did not come from God, who had called them into the Gospel. Only a step -aside often leads to a wide divergence. Two lines of railway may seem to -lie parallel, yet insensibly they diverge until they lead in opposite -directions. “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” A seemingly -“little error,” no matter what it be, has in it the germ of all -wickedness. “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one -point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10. A single false principle -adhered to, will wreck the whole life and character. The little foxes -spoil the vines. - -[Sidenote: The Works of the Flesh.] - -What are the works of the flesh?—Here is a sample list of them: -“Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, -witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, -heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings.” Not a -pleasant-sounding list, is it? But it is not all of them, for the -apostle adds, “and such like.” There is a good deal to think about in -this list, taken in connection with the statement that “they which do -such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Compare this list -with that given by the Lord in Mark 7:21-23, as the things that come -from within, from the heart of man. They are the very life of the -natural man. They belong to man by nature. Compare both these lists with -the list given in Rom. 1:28-32, as the things done by the heathen, who -did not like to retain God in their knowledge. They are the things that -are done by all who do not know the Lord. - -Then compare these lists of sins with the list given by the apostle Paul -in 2 Tim. 3:1-5, of things that will be done in the last days by those -who even have a form of godliness. It will be noticed that all these -lists are essentially the same. When men turn from “the truth of the -Gospel,” which is the power of God unto salvation to every one that -believeth, they inevitably fall under the power of these sins. - -[Sidenote: “There Is No Difference.”] - -There is only one flesh of man (1 Cor. 15:39), since all the inhabitants -of the earth are descendants of the one pair—Adam and Eve. “By one man -sin entered into the world” (Rom. 5:12), so that whatever sin there is -in the world is common to all flesh. Therefore it is that in the plan of -salvation “there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the -same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.” Rom. 10:12. See -also Rom. 3:21-24. No person on earth can boast over another, or has any -right to despise another because of his sinful, degraded condition. The -sight or knowledge of low vices in any people, instead of making us feel -complacent over our superior morality, ought, on the contrary, to fill -us with sorrow and shame; for it is but a reminder to us of what our -human nature is. The works that manifest themselves in that murderer, -that drunkard, or that libertine, are simply the works of our flesh. The -flesh of mankind has nothing else in its power but just such works as -are described in this chapter. - -[Sidenote: “And Such Like.”] - -Read again that list of the works of the flesh. Some of them are -generally recognized as very bad, or, at any rate, as not respectable; -but others are commonly regarded as venial sins, if not absolute -virtues. Notice, however, the words “and such like,” which indicate that -all the things here named are identical in character. The Scripture -tells us that hatred is murder. “Whosoever hateth his brother is a -murderer.” 1 John 3:15. Moreover, anger is also murder, as shown by the -Saviour in Matt. 5:21, 22. Envy, which is so common, also contains -murder in it. But who regards emulation as sinful? Isn’t emulation -encouraged everywhere? Are not children from their infancy taught to -strive to surpass somebody else? Is not emulation fostered, not only in -schools of all kinds, but also in the home and in the church? In the -Sabbath-school, emulation is fostered by the records that are often read -out. So far from being regarded as sinful in the extreme, it is -cultivated. And yet the Word of God assures us that it is of the same -kind as adultery, fornication, murder, and drunkenness, and that they -which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Is it not a -fearful thing? - - * * * * * - -The love of self, the desire for the supremacy, is the source of all the -other sins that are mentioned. Out of that have grown innumerable -murders; and yet many mothers are unconsciously training their children -in that very evil, even while striving to bring them up properly, by -saying: “Now see if you can behave better than so and so.” “See if you -can not learn to read or play better than such an one.” “See if you can -not keep your clothes looking as nice as that one.” All such -expressions, which are everyday words in thousands of households, are -teaching emulation, setting a false standard. The child is not taught to -distinguish between the right and the wrong, and to love the right, but -is simply trained to appear better than somebody else. That leads to -self-deception and Pharisaism, for all that is thought necessary is to -present a better appearance than others, while the heart is corrupt. -Those others may not be of very high character, and so the emulator is -satisfied, even in this faulty exertion, with simply appearing better -than some one who is himself very bad. Go through the entire list, and -study each word carefully. Ah, the abominable works of the flesh are -lurking where many least suspect them! They are wherever human flesh is, -and are manifest in some form or other wherever the flesh is not -crucified. Sin coucheth at the door. - -[Sidenote: The Flesh and the Spirit in Conflict.] - -The flesh and the Spirit of God have nothing in common. They are -“contrary the one to the other,” that is, they lie over against each -other, like two active foes, each eagerly watching the opportunity to -crush the other. The flesh is corruption; it can not inherit the kingdom -of God, because corruption doth not inherit incorruption. 1 Cor. 15:50. -The flesh can not be converted; it must be destroyed. The carnal -(fleshly) mind “is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law -of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh can -not please God.” Rom. 8:7, 8. Here is the secret of the backsliding of -the Galatians, and of the trouble which so many find in living the -Christian life. The Galatians began in the Spirit, but thought to attain -to perfection by the flesh (chapter 3:3), a thing as impossible as to -reach the stars by delving in the earth. So many people desire to do -right, but, not having definitely and fully yielded to the Spirit, they -can not do the things that they would. The Spirit strives with them, and -has partial control, or is at times quite fully yielded to, and they -have a rich experience; then the Spirit is grieved, the flesh asserts -itself, and they seem like other persons. They are swayed at times by -the mind of the Spirit, and at times by the mind of the flesh (Rom. -8:6), and so, being double-minded, they are unstable in all their ways -(James 1:8). It is a most unsatisfactory position in which to be. - -[Sidenote: The Spirit and the Law.] - -“If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” “For we know -that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin.” Rom. 7:14. -The flesh and the Spirit are in opposition; but against the fruits of -the Spirit there is no law. Gal. 5:22, 23. Therefore the law is against -the works of the flesh. The carnal mind is “not subject to the law of -God.” So those who are in the flesh can not please God, but are “under -the law.” This is another clear proof of the fact that to be “under the -law” is to be a transgressor of it. “The law is spiritual;” therefore -all who are led by the Spirit are in full harmony with the law, and so -they are not under it. - -Here again we see that the controversy was not whether or not the law -should be kept; that never at that time came into the mind of anybody -professing godliness. But the question was concerning how it could be -fulfilled. The Galatians were being led astray by the flattering -teaching that they themselves had power to do it, while the heaven-sent -apostle strenuously maintained that only through the Spirit could it be -kept. This he showed from the Scriptures, from the history of Abraham, -and from the experience of the Galatians themselves. They began in the -Spirit, and as long as they continued in the Spirit, they ran well; but -when they substituted themselves for the Spirit, immediately the works -began to manifest themselves, which were wholly contrary to the law. The -Holy Spirit is the life of God; God is love; love is the fulfilling of -the law; the law is spiritual. Therefore whoever would be spiritual must -submit to the righteousness of God, which is witnessed to by the law, -but is gained only through the faith of Jesus Christ. Whoever is led by -the Spirit must keep the law, not as a condition of receiving the -Spirit, but as the necessary result. - -We often find people who profess to be so spiritual, so wholly led by -the Spirit, that they do not need to keep the law. They admit that they -do not keep the law, but say that it is the Spirit that leads them to do -as they do, and that, therefore, it can not be sin, even though opposed -to the law. Such persons make the terrible mistake of substituting their -own carnal mind for the mind of the Spirit. They have confounded the -flesh with the Spirit, and have thus put themselves in the place of God. -That is the very worst kind of popery. To speak against the law of God, -is to speak against the Spirit. They are terribly blinded, and should -pray, “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy -law.” - -[Sidenote: The Fruit of the Spirit.] - -The first-fruit of the Spirit is love, and “love is the fulfilling of -the law.” Joy and peace come next, for, “being justified by faith, we -have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “And not only so, -but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Rom. 5:1, 11. -Christ was anointed with the Holy Ghost (Acts 10:38), or, as stated in -another place, “with the oil of gladness” (Heb. 1:9). The service of God -is a joyful service. The kingdom of God is “righteousness, and peace, -and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Rom. 14:17. He who is not glad, not -occasionally merely, but all the time,—glad in adversity as well as in -prosperity,—does not yet know the Lord as he should. The words of Christ -lead to fulness of joy. John 15:11. - -Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, -temperance, must come forth spontaneously from the heart of the true -follower of Christ. They can not be forced. But they do not dwell -naturally in us. It is natural for us to be angry and exasperated, -instead of gentle and long-suffering, when opposed. Note the contrast -between the works of the flesh and the fruits of the Spirit. The first -come naturally; therefore, in order for the good fruit to be borne, we -must be made completely over into new creatures. “A good man out of the -good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good.” Luke -6:45. Goodness comes not from any man, but from the Spirit of Christ -continually dwelling in him. - -[Sidenote: Christ’s by Crucifixion.] - -“They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the passions and -lusts.” It is by death that we become joined to Christ. As many as are -baptized into Christ, have put on Christ (Gal. 5:27), and as many as -have been baptized into Christ, have been baptized into His death (Rom. -6:3). “Our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be -destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead -is freed from sin.” Rom. 6:6, 7. “I am crucified with Christ; -nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life -which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who -loved me, and gave Himself for me.” Gal. 2:20. This is the experience of -every true child of God. “If any man be in Christ, he is a new -creature.” 2 Cor. 5:17. He still lives in the flesh, to all outward -appearance the same as other men, yet he is in the Spirit, and not in -the flesh. Rom. 8:9. He lives in the flesh a life that is not of the -flesh, and the flesh has no power over him, but, so far as its works are -concerned, is dead. “The body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is -life because of righteousness.” - -[Sidenote: Walking in the Spirit.] - -“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Is there any -doubt as to whether or not we live in the Spirit?—Not the slightest, nor -is there any implied. Because we live in the Spirit, we are in duty -bound to submit to the Spirit. Only by the Spirit’s power—the same -Spirit that in the beginning hovered over the face of the deep and -brought order out of chaos—can any person live. “The Spirit of God hath -made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” Job 33:4. -By the same breath were the heavens made. Ps. 33:6. The Spirit of God is -the life of the universe. The Spirit of God in our nostrils (Job 27:3) -keeps us in life. The Spirit is the universal presence of God, in whom -“we live, and move, and have our being.” We are dependent on the Spirit -for life, and therefore should walk according to, or be guided by, the -Spirit. This is our “reasonable service.” - -What a wondrous possibility is here set forth! To live in the flesh as -though the flesh were spirit. “There is a natural body, and there is a -spiritual body.” “Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but -that which is natural; and afterwards that which is spiritual.” 1 Cor. -15:44, 46. The natural body we now have; the spiritual body all the true -followers of Christ will receive at the resurrection. See 1 Cor. -15:42-44, 50-53. Yet in this life, in the natural body, men are to be -spiritual,—to live just as they will in the future spiritual body. “Ye -are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God -dwell in you.” Rom. 8:9. “The natural man receiveth not the things of -the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he -know them; because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is -spiritual judgeth all things.” 1 Cor. 2:14, 15. - -“Except a man be born again [from above], he can not see the kingdom of -God.” “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born -of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:3, 6. By our natural birth we inherit -all the evils enumerated in this fifth chapter of Galatians, “and such -like.” We are fleshly; corruption rules in us. By the new birth we -inherit the fulness of God, being made “partakers of the Divine nature, -having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 -Peter 1:4. “The old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful -lusts” (Eph. 4:22), is crucified, and “put off,” “that the body of sin -might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Rom. 6:6). -Abiding in the Spirit, walking in the Spirit, the flesh with its lusts -has no more power over us than if we were actually dead and in our -graves. It is then the Spirit of God alone that animates the body. The -Spirit uses the flesh as an instrument of righteousness. The flesh is -still corruptible, still full of lusts, still ready to rebel against the -Spirit, but as long as we yield our wills to God, the Spirit holds the -flesh in check. If we waver, if we in our hearts turn back to Egypt, or -if we become self-confident, and so relax our dependence on the Spirit, -then we build again the things that we destroyed, and again make -ourselves transgressors. But this need not be. Christ has “power over -all flesh,” and He has demonstrated His ability to live a spiritual life -in human flesh. - -This is the Word made flesh, God manifest in the flesh. It is the -revelation of “the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that we -might be filled with all the fulness of God.” With this Spirit of love -and meekness ruling us, we shall not be desirous of vainglory, provoking -one another, envying one another. All things will be of God, and this -will be acknowledged, so that none will have any disposition to boast -over another. - -This Spirit of life in Christ—the life of Christ—is given freely to all. -“Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” “For the Life -was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you -that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto -us.” “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - The Glory of the Cross. - - -In the last part of the fifth chapter, and in the sixth, we learn the -practical character of the entire Epistle. Hasty readers are likely to -think that there is a division in it, and that the latter part treats of -practical, spiritual life, while the first part is devoted to -theoretical doctrines. This is a great error. No part of the Bible is -theory; it is all fact. There is no part of the Bible that is not -spiritual and practical. Moreover, it is all doctrine. Doctrine means -teaching. Christ’s talk to the multitudes on the mount is called -doctrine, because “He opened His mouth and taught them.” Some people -express a sort of contempt for doctrine; they speak slightingly of it, -as though it belonged to the realm of abstruse theology, and not to -practical, every-day life. Such ones unconsciously do dishonor to the -preaching of Christ, which was nothing else but doctrine. That is to -say, He always taught the people. All true doctrine is intensely -practical; it is given to men for no other purpose than to be practised. - -[Sidenote: Sermonizing Not Doctrine.] - -People are led into this error by a wrong use of words. That which they -call doctrine, and which they speak of as impractical, is not doctrine, -but sermonizing. That is impractical, and has no place in the Gospel. No -preacher of the Gospel ever “delivers a sermon.” If he does, it is -because he chooses for a time to do something else besides preach the -Gospel. Christ never delivered a sermon. Instead of that, He gave the -people doctrine; that is to say, He taught them. He was “a Teacher sent -from God.” So the Gospel is all doctrine; it is instruction in the life -of Christ. - -The object of this Epistle is clearly seen in this closing portion. It -is not to furnish ground for controversy, but to silence it by leading -the readers to submit themselves to the Spirit, whose fruits are love, -joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness. Its purpose is to -reclaim those who are sinning against God by “trying to serve” Him in -their “own weak way,” and to lead them to serve indeed “in newness of -Spirit.” All the so-called argument of the preceding portion of the -Epistle is simply the demonstration of the fact that “the works of the -flesh,” which are sin, can be escaped only by the circumcision of the -cross of Christ,—by serving God in Spirit, and having no confidence in -the flesh. - - * * * * * - -“Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye which are -spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of meekness; looking to -thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and -so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man thinketh himself to be -something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let each man -prove his own work, and then shall he have his glorying in regard of -himself alone, and not of his neighbor. For each man shall bear his own -burden. - -“But let him that is taught in the Word communicate unto him that -teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for -whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth -unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that -soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us -not be weary in well-doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint -not. So then, as we have opportunity, let us work that which is good -toward all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of -the faith. - -“See with how large letters I have written unto you with mine own hand. -As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they compel you to -be circumcised; only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of -Christ. For not even they who receive circumcision do themselves keep -the law; but they desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in -your flesh. But far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our -Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world hath been crucified unto me, -and I unto the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor -uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as shall walk by this -rule, peace be unto them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. - -“From henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear branded on my body -the marks of Jesus. - -“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. -Amen.” Galatians 6, R. V. - -[Sidenote: A Radical Change.] - -When men set out to make themselves righteous, pride, emulation, -vainglory, boasting, criticism, fault-finding, and backbiting, leading -to open quarrels, are the result. So it was with the Galatians, and so -it will ever be. It can not be otherwise. Each individual has his own -conception of the law,—for, having determined to be justified by the -law, he reduces it to the level of his own mind, so that he may be -judge,—and can not resist examining his brethren, as well as himself, to -see if they are up to his measure. If his critical eye detects one who -is not walking according to his rule, he at once proceeds to “deal with -the offender,” who, if humble submission—not to God, but to his -judges—be not tendered, must be turned out of the church, lest the robes -of “our righteousness” be defiled by contact with him. The -self-righteous ones constitute themselves their brother’s keeper, to the -extent of keeping him out of their company, lest they should be -disgraced. In marked contrast with this spirit, which is all too common -in the church, is the exhortation with which this chapter opens. Instead -of hunting for faults, that we may condemn them, we are to hunt for -sinners, that we may save them. - -[Sidenote: “Sin Coucheth at the Door.”] - -To Cain God said, “If thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and -unto thee is its desire, but thou shouldest rule over it.” Gen. 4:7, R. -V., margin. Sin is a venomous beast, lurking in secret, watching every -opportunity to spring upon and overcome the unwary. Its desire is to -ensnare us, but power has been given us to rule over it. “Let not sin -therefore reign in your mortal body.” Nevertheless it is possible (not -necessary) for the most zealous ones to be overtaken. “These things -write I unto you, that ye may sin not. And if any man sin, we have a -Comforter with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous; and He is the -propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole -world.” 1 John 2:1, 2, R. V., margin. So, even though a man be overtaken -in any trespass, he is to be restored, and not thrust further away. - -[Sidenote: The Gospel Means Restoration.] - -“For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? -if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he -not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh -that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say -unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine -which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which -is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.” Matt. -18:11-14. Christ is now in the heavens “until the times of restoration -of all things.” - -[Sidenote: Save the One.] - -The Lord represents His work by the case of the shepherd who seeks after -the one sheep that has gone astray. The work of the Gospel is an -individual work. Even though under the preaching of the Gospel thousands -accept it in one day, as the result of one discourse, it is because of -its effect on each individual heart. When the preacher, in speaking to -thousands, addresses each one individually, then he is doing the work of -Christ. So if a man be overtaken in a fault, restore such an one, in the -spirit of meekness. No man’s time is so precious that it is wasted when -devoted to the salvation of one single person. Some of the most -important and glorious truths that we have on record as uttered by -Christ, were addressed to only one listener. He who looks after and -cares for the single lambs of the flock, is a good shepherd. - -[Sidenote: The Ministry of Reconciliation.] - -“God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing -their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto [put into] us the -word of reconciliation.” 2 Cor. 5:19. He “His own self bare our sins in -His own body.” 1 Peter 2:24. He did not impute our trespasses to us, but -took them all on Himself. “A soft answer turneth away wrath.” Christ -comes to us with gentle words, not harshly chiding us, in order that He -may win us. He calls us to come to Him and find rest; to exchange our -galling yoke of bondage, and heavy burden, for His easy yoke and light -burden. - -[Sidenote: In Christ’s Stead.] - -All Christians are one in Christ. There is but one seed—all are embraced -in Christ, the Representative Man. Therefore “as He is, so are we in -this world.” 1 John 4:17. Christ was in this world as an example of what -men ought to be, and of what His true followers will be when wholly -consecrated to Him. To His disciples He says, “As My Father hath sent -Me, even so send I you,” and to this end He clothes them with His own -power through the Spirit. “God sent not His Son into the world to -condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” John -3:17. Therefore we are not sent to condemn, but to save. Hence the -injunction, “If a man be overtaken in a fault, ... restore such an one.” -This is not to be limited to those who are associated with us in church -capacity. We are sent as ambassadors for Christ, to beseech men, in -Christ’s stead, to be reconciled to God. 2 Cor. 5:20. The whole universe -provides no greater work; no higher office can be found in heaven or -earth than that of ambassador for Christ, which is the office of even -the lowliest and most despised soul that is reconciled to God. - -[Sidenote: “Ye Which Are Spiritual.”] - -Only such ones are called upon to restore the erring; none others can do -it. The Holy Spirit alone must speak through those who would reprove and -rebuke. It is Christ’s own work that is to be done, and only by the -power of the Spirit can anybody be a witness to Him. But would it, then, -not be great presumption for anybody to go to restore a brother? Would -it not be as much as claiming that he himself is spiritual? It is indeed -no light matter to stand in Christ’s place to any fallen man; and the -design of God is that each one should take heed to himself, “considering -thyself lest thou also be tempted.” It is plain that the rule here laid -down is calculated to work a revival in the church. As soon as a man is -overtaken in a fault, the duty of each one is—not straightway to talk to -somebody about him, nor even to go directly to the erring one himself, -but—to ask himself, How do I stand? Am I not guilty, if not of the same -thing, of something equally bad? May it not even be that some fault in -me has led to his fall? Am I walking in the Spirit, so that I could -restore him, and not drive him further away? This would result in a -complete reformation in the church, and it might well be that by the -time the others had got into condition to go to the faulty one, he might -also have recovered himself from the snare of the devil. - -[Sidenote: Bound in Heaven.] - -In giving directions how to deal with one who has committed a trespass -(Matt. 18:10-18), the Saviour said, “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever -ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall -loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Does this mean that God -pledges Himself to be bound by any decision that any company of men -calling themselves His church may make?—Certainly not. Nothing that is -done on earth can change God’s will. The history of the church, as we -have it for nearly eighteen hundred years, is a record of mistakes and -errors, of self-aggrandizement, and of putting self in the place of God. -Who can read the history of the councils of the church, and say that God -was in any of them, or that He either prompted or sanctioned any of -their decrees? - -What, then, did Christ mean?—Just what He said. His instruction shows -that He meant that the church should be spiritual,—filled with the -spirit of meekness,—and that every one who spoke should “speak as the -oracles of God.” Only the Word of Christ should be in the heart and -mouth of all who deal with a trespasser. When this is the case, it -follows, since God’s Word is settled forever in heaven, that whatever is -bound on earth must necessarily be bound in heaven. But this will not be -the case unless the Scriptures are strictly followed in letter and in -spirit. - -[Sidenote: “The Law of Christ.”] - -This is fulfilled by bearing one another’s burdens, because the law of -Christ’s life is to bear burdens. “All we like sheep have gone astray; -we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him -the iniquity of us all.” Isa. 53:6. “Surely He hath borne our griefs, -and carried our sorrows.” Whoever would fulfil His law must have His -life in him, still doing the same work for the strayed and fallen. - -“In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that -He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to -God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He -Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are -tempted.” Heb. 2:17, 18. He knows what it is to be sorely tempted, and -He knows how to overcome. Yea, although He “knew no sin,” He was made -even to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in -Him. 2 Cor. 5:21. He took every one of our sins, and confessed them -before God as His own. Even so He comes to us. Instead of upbraiding us -for our sin, He opens His heart to us, and tells us how He has suffered -with the same infirmity, and that He knows all the hardship, the pain, -the sorrow, and the shame. Thus He draws us to Himself, and wins our -confidence. Knowing that He has passed through the same experience, that -He has been down into the very depths, we are ready to listen to Him -when He talks about the way of escape. We know that He is talking from -experience. - -The greatest part, therefore, of the work of saving sinners is to show -ourselves one with them. That is to say, it is in the confession of our -own faults that we save others. The man who feels himself without sin, -is not the man to restore the sinful. He who goes to one who is -overtaken in any trespass, and says, “How in the world could you ever do -such a thing? I never did a thing like that in my life, and I can’t see -how anybody with any sense of self-respect could do so,” might far -better stay at home. God chose one Pharisee, and only one, to be an -apostle, but he was not sent forth until he could acknowledge himself to -be the chief of sinners. 1 Tim. 1:15. It is humiliating to confess sin. -That is true, but the way of salvation is the way of the cross. It was -only by the cross that Christ could be the Saviour of sinners. Therefore -if we would share His joy, we must with Him endure the cross, despising -the shame. Remember this fact: It is only by confessing our own sins -that we can save others from their sins. Only thus can we show them the -way of salvation; for it is he who confesses his sins that obtains -cleansing from them, and so can lead others to the fountain. - -[Sidenote: Man Is Nothing.] - -“If a man thinketh himself to be something, when he is nothing, he -deceiveth himself.” Mark those words, “when he is nothing.” It does not -say that we should not think ourselves to be something until we are -something. No; it is a statement of the fact that we are nothing. Not -merely a single individual, but all nations, are nothing before the -Lord. If we ever at any time think ourselves to be something, we deceive -ourselves. And we often do deceive ourselves, and thus mar the work of -the Lord. Remember the law of Christ. Although He was everything, He -emptied Himself. He obliterated Himself, that the work of God might be -done. “The servant is not greater than his lord.” God alone is great; -“every man at his best state is altogether vanity.” God alone is true, -but every man a liar. When we acknowledge this, and live in -consciousness of it, then we are where the Spirit of God can fill us, -and then God can work through us. The “man of sin” is he that exalteth -himself. 2 Thess. 2:3, 4. The child of God is the one who humbles -himself. - -[Sidenote: Bear Your Own Burdens.] - -“For every man shall bear his own burden.” Is this a contradiction of -verse 2?—By no means. When the Scripture tells us to bear one another’s -burdens, it does not tell us to throw our burdens on one another. Each -one is to cast his burden on the Lord. Ps. 55:22. He bears the burden of -the whole world, of all mankind, not in mass, but for each individual. -We cast our burdens on Him, not by gathering them up in our hands, or -with our mind, and hurling them from ourselves to one who is at a -distance. That can never be done. Many have tried to get rid of their -burden of sin and pain and care and sorrow, but have failed, and have -felt it roll back upon their own heads heavier than ever, until they -have well-nigh sunk in despair. What was the trouble?—Simply this: they -regarded Christ as at a distance from them, and they felt that they -themselves must bridge the gulf. It is impossible. The man who is -“without strength” can not cast his burden the length of his arm, and as -long as we keep the Lord at arm’s length, we shall not know rest from -the weary load. It is when we recognize and confess Him in us, as our -sole support, our life, the One whose power it is that makes every -motion, and so confess that we are nothing, and sink out of sight, no -longer deceiving ourselves, that we leave the burden resting on Christ. -He knows what to do with it, and yoking up with Him we learn of Him how -to bear the burdens of others. - -Then how about bearing our own burden?—Ah, it is the Divine “power that -worketh in us” that bears it! “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless -I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” It is I, and yet it is not -I, but Christ. Now I have learned the secret. I will not weary somebody -else with the story of my burden, but will bear it myself, yet not I, -but Christ in me. There are people enough in the world who have not yet -learned this lesson of Christ, so that every child of God will always -find work to do in bearing burdens for others; his own he will intrust -to the Lord, to find whom he has no further to go than to his own heart. -Is it not blessed to have “One who is mighty” always under the burden -which falls upon our shoulders? - -This lesson we learn from the life of Christ. He went about doing good, -for God was with Him. He comforted the mourners, He bound up the -broken-hearted, He healed all that were oppressed of the devil. Not one -who came to him with a tale of sorrow or a distressing malady was turned -away without relief; “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by -Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our -sicknesses.” Matt. 8:17. And then when night sent the multitude to their -beds, He sought the mountain or the forest, that in communion with the -Father, by whom He lived, He might find a fresh supply of life and -strength for His own soul. “Let every man prove his own work.” “Examine -yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye -not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be -reprobates?” 2 Cor. 13:5. “Though He was crucified through weakness, yet -He liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak with Him, but we -shall live with Him by the power of God.” Verse 4, margin. So if our -faith proves to us that Christ is in us,—and faith proves to us the -reality of the fact,—we have rejoicing in ourselves alone, and not in -another. We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and our joy does -not depend upon any other person in the world. Though all should fail -and be discouraged, we can stand, for the foundation of -God—Christ—standeth sure. - -Therefore let no one who calls himself a Christian be content to lean on -somebody else, but let him, though he be the weakest of the weak, be a -burden-bearer,—a worker together with God,—in Christ bearing quietly and -uncomplainingly his own burdens, and those of his neighbors also. He can -discover some of the burdens of his uncomplaining brother, and bear -them, and the other will do likewise. So the rejoicing of the weak will -be, “The Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my -salvation.” - -[Sidenote: Communicating Good Things.] - -“Let him that is taught in the Word communicate unto him that teacheth -in all good things.” There can be no doubt but that this refers -primarily to temporal support. “The laborer is worthy of his hire.” If a -man gives himself wholly to the ministry of the Word, it is evident that -the things necessary for his sustenance must come from those who are -taught. But this by no means exhausts the meaning of the injunction. The -one who is taught in the Word must communicate to the teacher “in all -good things.” Mutual help is the burden of this chapter. “Bear ye one -another’s burdens.” Even the teacher who is supported by those who are -taught, is to assist others pecuniarily. Christ and the apostles, who -had nothing of their own—for Christ was the poorest of the poor, and the -disciples had left all to follow Him—nevertheless distributed to the -poor out of their little store. See John 13:29. - -When the disciples told Jesus to send the hungry multitudes away, that -they might buy themselves victuals, He said, “They need not depart; give -ye them to eat.” Matt. 14:16. He was not trifling with them; He meant -what He said. He knew that they had nothing to give the people, but they -had as much as He had. They did not perceive the power of His words, so -He Himself took the few loaves and dealt out to the disciples, and thus -they did really feed the hungry people. But His words to them meant that -they should do just what He did. How many times our own lack of faith in -Christ’s Word has hindered us from doing good and communicating (Heb. -13:16), the sacrifices which please God. - -As the teachers contribute not only the Word but temporal support as -well, so those who are taught in the Word should not confine their -liberality merely to temporal t hings. It is a mistake to suppose that -ministers of the Gospel never stand in need of spiritual refreshment, or -that they can not receive it from the weakest in the flock. No one can -ever tell how much the souls of teachers are encouraged by the -testimonies of faith and joy in the Lord, which come from the mouths of -those who have heard the Word. It is not simply that the teacher sees -that his labor is not in vain. The testimony may have no reference -whatever to anything that he has done; but a humble soul’s joyful -testimony to what God has done for him, will often, through the -refreshment it gives the teacher of the Word, be the means of -strengthening the souls of hundreds. - -[Sidenote: Sowing and Reaping.] - -“Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” A simple statement -of fact, that can not be made plainer by any amount of talk. The -harvest, which is the end of the world, will reveal what the sowing has -been, whether wheat or tares. “He that soweth to his flesh shall of the -flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the -Spirit reap life everlasting.” “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap -in mercy; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, -till He come and rain righteousness upon you.” Hosea 10:12. “He that -trusteth in his own heart is a fool,” and equally foolish is he who -trusts in other men, as is seen from the next verse: “Ye have plowed -wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies; -because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty -men.” “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his -arm,” whether it be his own flesh or that of some other man. “Blessed is -the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.” Jer. -17:5, 7. - -Everything enduring comes from the Spirit. The flesh is corrupt, and it -corrupts. He who consults only his own pleasure,—fulfilling the desires -of the flesh and of the mind,—will reap a harvest of corruption and -death. But “the Spirit is life because of righteousness,” and he who -consults only the mind of the Spirit, will reap everlasting glory; for -“if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, -He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal -bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.” “For if ye live after the -flesh, ye shall die; but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds -of the body, ye shall live.” Rom. 8:11, 13. Wonderful! If we live, we -die; if we die, we live! This is the testimony of Jesus: “Whosoever will -save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for My -sake shall find it.” Matt. 16:25. - -This does not mean the loss of all joy in this present time. It does not -mean undergoing a continual deprivation and penance, going without -something that we long for, for the sake of getting something else by -and by. It does not mean that life in this present time shall be a -living death, a long-drawn-out agony. Far from it. That is a crude and -false idea of the Christian life—the life that is found in death. No; -whoever comes to Christ and drinks of the Spirit, has in himself “a well -of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14. The joy of -eternity is his now. His joy is full day by day. He is abundantly -satisfied with the fatness of God’s house, drinking of the river of -God’s own pleasure. He has all that he longs for, because his heart and -his flesh cry out only for God, in whom is all fulness. Once he thought -he was “seeing life,” but now he knows that he was then but gazing into -the grave, the pit of corruption. Now he begins really to live, and the -joy of the new life is “unspeakable, and full of glory.” So he sings:— - - “Now none but Christ can satisfy, - None other name for me; - There’s love, and life, and lasting joy, - Lord Jesus, found in Thee.” - -A shrewd general always seeks to seize upon the strongest positions; so -wherever there is a rich promise to believers, Satan tries to distort -it, so as to make it a source of discouragement. Accordingly, he has -made many believe that the words, “He that soweth to his flesh shall of -the flesh reap corruption,” mean that they must all their lives, even -after being born of the Spirit, suffer the consequences of their former -life of sin. Some have supposed that even in eternity they would have to -bear the scars of their old sins, saying, “I can never hope to be what I -should have been if I had never sinned.” - -What a libel on God’s mercy, and the redemption that is in Christ Jesus! -That is not the freedom wherewith Christ makes us free. The exhortation -is, “As ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to -iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to -righteousness unto holiness;” but if the one who thus yields himself to -righteousness must always be handicapped by his former bad habits, that -would prove that the power of righteousness is less than that of sin. -But that is not so. Grace abounds over sin, and is as mighty as the -heavens. - -Here is a man who for gross crimes has been condemned to imprisonment -for life. After a few years’ imprisonment he receives a free pardon, and -is set at liberty. Some time afterward we meet him, and see a -fifty-pound cannon-ball attached to his leg by a huge chain, so that he -can move about only with the greatest difficulty. “Why, how is this?” we -ask in surprise. “Were you not given your freedom?” “Oh, yes,” he -replies, “I am free; but I have to wear this ball and chain as a -reminder of my former crimes.” One would not think such “freedom” as -that very desirable. - -Every prayer inspired by the Holy Ghost is a promise of God; and one of -the most gracious of these is this: “Remember not the sins of my youth, -nor my transgressions; according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy -goodness’ sake, O Lord.” Ps. 25:7. When God forgives our sins, and -forgets them, He gives us such power to escape from them that we shall -be as though we had never sinned. By the “exceeding great and precious -promises,” we are made “partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped -the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:4. Man fell -by partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; the Gospel -presents such a redemption from the fall, that all the black memories of -sin are effaced, and the redeemed ones come to know only the good, like -Christ, “who knew no sin.” - -Yes; they that sow to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, as -we have all proved in ourselves. “But ye are not in the flesh, but in -the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” The Spirit -has power to free us from the sins of the flesh, and from all their -consequences. Christ “loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He -might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, -that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, -or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without -blemish.” Eph. 5:25-27. “By His stripes we are healed.” The memory of -sin,—not of individual sins,—will be perpetuated in eternity only by the -scars in the hands and feet and side of Christ, which are the seal of -our perfect redemption. - -[Sidenote: Be Not Weary.] - -How naturally the exhortation follows, “Let us not be weary in -well-doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” It is so -easy for us to get tired doing good, that is, when we are not looking to -Jesus. We like to have little intermissions, because constant doing good -seems too much of a strain. But that is only when we have not fully -learned the joy of the Lord, which is the strength that enables us to -keep from getting weary. “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their -strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and -not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.” Isa. 40:31. - -But that which is especially referred to here, as the context shows, is -not simply the resisting of temptation in our own flesh, but the helping -of others. Here we need to learn a lesson from Christ, who “shall not -fail nor be discouraged till He have set judgment in the earth.” Though -nine out of ten whom He relieved never showed the least sign of -appreciation, it made no difference with Him. He came to do good, and -not to be appreciated. Therefore, “in the morning sow thy seed, and in -the evening withhold not thine hand; for thou knowest not whether shall -prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” -Eccl. 11:6. We can not tell how much we shall reap, nor from which of -the seed that we sow. Some may fall by the wayside, and be snatched away -before it has time to take root, and other may fall on stony ground, -where it will wither, and still other may fall among thorns, and be -choked; but one thing is certain, and that is that we shall reap. We do -not know whether the morning sowing or the evening sowing will prosper, -or whether both shall alike be good; but there is no possibility that -both can be bad. One or the other alone may prosper, or else both may be -good. Isn’t that encouragement enough for us not to be weary in -well-doing? The ground may seem poor, and the season may not be -favorable, so that the prospect for a crop may be most unpromising, and -we may be tempted to think that all our labor is wasted. Not so; “in due -season we shall reap, if we faint not.” “Therefore, my beloved brethren, -be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, -forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor. -15:58. - -[Sidenote: Make No Difference.] - -“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, -especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” In this we see -that the apostle speaks of temporal help, for it needs no special -exhortation to preach the Word to those who are not of the household of -faith; they are the ones to whom it is specially to be preached; but -there is a natural tendency—natural, I say, not spiritual—to limit -charities to those who are called “deserving.” We hear much about “the -worthy poor.” But we are all unworthy of the least of God’s blessings, -yet He showers them upon us continually. “If ye do good to them which do -good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And -if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for -sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your -enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your -reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest; for -He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” - -[Sidenote: Seek the Opportunity.] - -Note especially the beginning of the tenth verse. “As we have therefore -opportunity,” let us do good unto all men. Doing good to others is to be -considered a privilege to be enjoyed, and not an irksome duty to be -discharged. Men do not speak of disagreeable things as opportunities. No -one says that he had an opportunity to injure himself, or that he had an -opportunity to lose some money. On the contrary, a man will speak of an -opportunity to make some money, or to escape from some threatened -danger. It is thus that we are to consider doing good to the needy. But -opportunities are always sought for. Men are always on the lookout for -an opportunity to get gain. So the apostle teaches us that we should be -seeking opportunities to help some one. This Christ did. He “went about -doing good.” He traveled about the country on foot, searching -opportunities to do somebody some good, and He found them. He did good, -“for God was with Him.” His name is Immanuel, which means, “God with -us.” Now, as He is with us all the days, even to the end of the world, -so God is with us, doing good to us, that we also may do good. “We then, -as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive not the -grace of God in vain.” To this end, “receive ye the Holy Ghost.” - -[Sidenote: Closing Words.] - -We come now to the close of this most wonderful letter. Even as the -whole of the Gospel is contained in the greeting, so we find it in the -end. The apostle literally knew nothing else save Jesus Christ and Him -crucified. He could not greet his friends without mentioning it. In -every chapter of this Epistle, but especially in the last two, do we see -how directly it is addressed to us. Everybody uses verses 1, 7-10 as -applicable now, without any thought of the Galatians; but just as surely -as these verses mean us, just the same as though the Galatians had never -lived, so does the entire Epistle. - -The consuming zeal of the apostle Paul in writing it is seen in the fact -that, contrary to his usual custom, he seized the pen and wrote the -Epistle with his own hand. Verse 11. As intimated in chapter 4, the -apostle suffered from weak eyes, which hindered him much in his work, or -would have hindered him but for the power of God resting on him; so that -it was necessary for him always to have some one with him, to minister -unto him, and to serve as amanuensis. From the Second Epistle to the -Thessalonians (chapter 2:2) we learn that some took advantage of this -fact to write letters to the churches in Paul’s name, which troubled the -brethren; but in the close of that Epistle (chapter 3:16-18) Paul -indicated to them how they might know an epistle that came from him. No -matter by whom the body of it was written, he wrote the salutation and -the signature with his own hand. So great was the urgency in this case, -however, that he wrote the entire Epistle himself. - -[Sidenote: Only a Show.] - -We can not deceive God, and it is useless to deceive ourselves or -others. “The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward -appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” 1 Sam. 16:7. The -circumcision in which the “false brethren” were seeking to induce the -Galatians to trust, meant self-righteousness, instead of righteousness -by faith. They had the law only as “the form of righteousness and of -truth.” With their works they could make “a fair show in the flesh,” but -it was only an empty show; there was no reality in it. They could seem -righteous without suffering persecution for the cross of Christ. - -They did not indeed keep the law; not by any means; for the flesh is -opposed to the law of the Spirit, and “they that are in the flesh can -not please God.” But they desired converts to “our faith,” as so many -call the particular theories which they hold. Christ said, “Woe unto -you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to -make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him two-fold more the -child of hell than yourselves.” Matt. 23:15. Such teachers glory in the -flesh of their “converts.” If they can count so many as belonging to -“our denomination,” so much “gain” in the past year, they feel -virtuously happy. Numbers and appearances count for much with men, but -for nothing with God. - -[Sidenote: Real and Lasting Glory.] - -“God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus -Christ.” Why glory in the cross?—Because by it the world is crucified to -us, and we to the world. The Epistle ends where it begins,—with -deliverance from “this present evil world,” and it is the cross alone -that accomplishes the deliverance. The cross is the symbol of -humiliation, therefore we glory in it, because in humility is -exaltation. - -[Sidenote: God Revealed in the Cross.] - -Read the words of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah: “Let not the wise -man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, -let not the rich man glory in his riches.” Jer. 9:23. - -Why should not the wise man glory in his wisdom?—Because so far as it is -his own wisdom, it is foolishness. “The wisdom of this world is -foolishness with God.” “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that -they are vain.” 1 Cor. 3:19, 20. No man has any wisdom in which to -glory, for his own wisdom is foolishness, and wisdom which God gives is -something to cause humility instead of pride. - -What about might? “All flesh is grass,” Isa. 40:6. “Every man at his -best state is altogether vanity.” Ps. 39:5. “Men of low degree are -vanity, and men of high degree are a lie; to be laid in the balance, -they are altogether lighter than vanity.” But “power belongeth unto -God.” Ps. 62:9, 11. - -As to riches, they are “uncertain.” 1 Tim. 6:17. Man “heapeth up riches, -and knoweth not who shall gather them.” “Riches certainly make -themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.” Prov. 23:5. -Only in Christ are found unsearchable and abiding riches. - -Man, therefore, has absolutely nothing in which to boast, for what is -there left of a man when he has nothing that can be called wealth, no -wisdom whatever, and absolutely no strength? Everything that man is or -has comes from the Lord. Therefore it is that he that glorieth is to -glory in the Lord. 1 Cor. 1:31. - -Now put this text with Gal. 6:14. The same Spirit inspired them both, so -that there is no contradiction. One text says that we are to glory only -in the knowledge of the Lord; the other says that there is nothing in -which to glory save the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The conclusion, -therefore, is that in the cross we find the knowledge of God. To know -God is eternal life, and there is no life for mankind except through the -cross of Christ. So again we see most clearly that all that may be known -of God is revealed in the cross. Aside from the cross, there is no -knowledge of God. - -This shows us again that the cross is seen in all creation, for the -everlasting power and divinity of God, even all that may be known of -Him, are seen in the things that He has made. The power of God is seen -in the things that are made, and the cross is the power of God. 1 Cor. -1:18. Out of weakness God brings strength; He saves men by death, so -that even the dead may rest in hope. No man can be so poor, so weak and -sinful, so degraded and despised, that he may not glory in the cross. -The cross takes him just where he is, for it is the symbol of shame and -degradation, and reveals the power of God in him, and in that there is -ground for everlasting glory. - -[Sidenote: The Cross Crucifies.] - -The cross cuts us off from the world. Glory! for then it unites us to -God, because the friendship of the world is enmity with God; “whosoever -therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4. -Through His cross Christ has destroyed the enmity. Eph. 2:15, 16. “And -the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will -of God abideth forever.” Then let the world pass away. - - “Fade, fade, each earthly joy, - Jesus is mine; - Break every tender tie, - Jesus is mine. - Dark is the wilderness; - Earth has no resting-place; - Jesus alone can bless; - Jesus is mine.” - -[Sidenote: The Cross Elevates.] - -Jesus said, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto -Me.” This He said signifying what death He should die, namely, the death -of the cross. He humbled Himself to death, even the death of the cross; -“wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which -is above every name.” Phil. 2:8, 9. He descended “first into the lower -parts of the earth. He that descended is the same also that ascended up -far above all heavens, that He might fill all things.” Eph. 4:9, 10. It -was through death that He ascended to the right hand of the Majesty in -the heavens. It was the cross that lifted Him up from earth to heaven. -Therefore it is the cross alone that brings us glory, and so it is the -only thing in which to glory. The cross, which means derision and shame -from the world, lifts us away from this world, and sets us with Christ -in the heavenly places; and the power by which it does this is “the -power that worketh in us,” even the power that works in and upholds all -things in the universe. - -[Sidenote: The Cross Creates.] - -“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor -uncircumcision, but a new creature.” That is, neither circumcision nor -uncircumcision has any power. Salvation does not come from man, whatever -his state or condition, or whatever he may do. In an uncircumcised state -he is lost, and if he be circumcised he is no nearer salvation. Only the -cross has power to save. The only thing that is of any value is a new -creature, or, as indicated in the margin of the Revision, “a new -creation.” “If any man be in Christ, there is a new creation;” and it is -only through death that we become joined to Him. Rom. 6:3. - - “Nothing in my hand I bring; - Simply to Thy cross I cling.” - -The cross makes a new creation, so that here again we see a reason for -glorying in it; for when the new creation came from the hand of God in -the beginning, “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God -shouted for joy.” Job 38:7. - -[Sidenote: The Sign of the Cross.] - -Put together all the texts that we have read, which show: (1) That the -cross of Christ is the only thing in which to glory; (2) that whoever -glories must glory only in the knowledge of God; (3) that God hath -chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty, so that none -might glory save in Him; and, (4) that God is revealed in the things -that He has made, and that creation, which manifests God’s power, also -presents the cross, because the cross of Christ is the power of God, and -God is made known by it. What have we?—This, that the power that it took -to create the world, and all things that are in it,—the power that is -exerted to keep all things in existence,—is the power that saves those -who trust in it. This is the power of the cross. - -So the power of the cross, by which alone salvation comes, is the power -that creates, and that continues to work in all creation. But when God -creates a thing, it is “very good;” so in Christ, in His cross, there is -“a new creation.” “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for -good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.” Eph. -2:10, R. V. It is in the cross that this new creation is wrought, for -its power is the power by which “in the beginning God created the -heavens and the earth.” This is the power that keeps the earth from -utter destruction under the curse; which brings about the changing -seasons,—seed-time and harvest,—and that will at last renew the face of -the earth, so that “it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with -joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the -excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord, -and the excellency of our God.” - -“The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have -pleasure therein. His work is honorable and glorious; and His -righteousness endureth forever. He hath made His wonderful works to be -remembered; the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.” Ps. 111:2-4. - -Here we see that the wonderful works of God reveal His righteousness, -and His grace and compassion as well. This is another evidence that His -works reveal the cross of Christ, in which infinite love and mercy are -centered. - -But “He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered;” or, “He hath -made a memorial for His wonderful works.” Why does He wish men to -remember and declare His mighty acts?—In order that they may not forget, -but may trust in, His salvation. He would have men continually meditate -on His works, that they may know the power of the cross. It is in the -works of His hands that we triumph. Ps. 92:4. So when God had made the -heavens and earth, and all their host, in six days, “He rested on the -seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the -seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it He had rested from -all His work which God created and made.” Gen. 2:2, 3. - -The cross conveys to us the knowledge of God, because it shows us His -power as Creator. Through the cross we are crucified unto the world, and -the world unto us; that is, by the cross we are sanctified. But -sanctification is the work of God, not of man. Only His divine power can -accomplish the great work. In the beginning God sanctified the Sabbath, -as the crown of His creative work—the evidence that His work was -finished, the seal of perfection, and therefore He says, “Moreover also -I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they -might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” Eze. 20:12. - -So we see that the Sabbath—the seventh day—is the true sign of the -cross. It is the memorial of creation, and redemption is -creation,—creation through the cross. In the cross we find the complete -and perfect works of God, and are clothed with them. Crucified with -Christ means the utter giving up of self, acknowledging that we are -nothing, and trusting absolutely in Christ. In Him we rest; in Him we -find the Sabbath. The cross takes us back to the beginning, into “that -which was from the beginning.” The resting upon the seventh day of the -week is but the sign of the fact that in the perfect work of God, as -seen in creation,—in the cross,—we find rest from sin. - -“But it is difficult to keep the Sabbath; my business will suffer;” “I -couldn’t make a living and keep the Sabbath;” “It is so unpopular.” Oh, -yes; nobody ever said that it was a specially pleasing thing to be -crucified! “Even Christ pleased not Himself.” Read the fifty-third -chapter of Isaiah. Christ was not very popular, and least so of all when -He was crucified. The cross means death; but it means also the entrance -into life. There is healing in Christ’s wounds, blessing in the curse -that He bore, life in the death that He suffered. Who dare say that he -trusts Christ for everlasting life if he dare not trust Him for a few -years or months or days of life in this world? Accept the Sabbath of the -Lord, and you will find that it means the cross to a degree that you -never before dreamed of, and therefore “a far more exceeding and eternal -weight of glory.” - -Now say once more, and say it from the heart: “Far be it from me to -glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the -world hath been crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” If you can say -that in truth, you will find tribulations and afflictions so easy that -you can glory in them. - - “Hallelujah, what a Saviour!” - -[Sidenote: The Glory.] - -It is by the cross that everything is sustained, for “in Him all things -hold together,” and He does not exist in any other form than that of the -crucified One. But for the cross, there would be universal death. Not a -man could breathe, not a plant could grow, not a ray of light could -shine from heaven, if it were not for the cross. Now “the heavens -declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork.” Ps. -19:1. They are some of the things that God has made. No pen can describe -and no artist’s brush can depict the wondrous glory of the heavens; yet -that glory is but the glory of the cross of Christ. This follows from -the facts already learned, that the power of God is seen in the things -that are made, and that the cross is the power of God. The glory of God -is His power, for “the exceeding greatness of His power to usward” is -seen in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (Eph. 1:19, 20), -and “Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father” -(Rom. 6:4). It was for the suffering of death that Jesus was crowned -with glory and honor. Heb. 2:9. So we see that all the glory of the -innumerable stars, with their various colors, all the glory of the -rainbow, the glory of the clouds gilded by the setting sun, the glory of -the sea, and of blooming fields and green meadows, the glory of the -spring-time and of the ripened harvest, the glory of the opening bud and -the perfect fruit,—yea, all the glory that Christ has in heaven, as well -as the glory that will be revealed in His saints when they shall “shine -forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father,” even “as the stars -forever and ever,”—is the glory of the cross. How can we ever think of -glorying in anything else? - -[Sidenote: The Israel of God.] - -“As many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, -and upon the Israel of God.” The rule of glory! what a grand rule to -walk by! Are there two classes here mentioned?—No; that can not be, for -the Epistle has been devoted to showing that all are one in Christ -Jesus. “And ye are complete in Him, which is the Head of all -principality and power; in whom also ye are circumcised with the -circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of -the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; buried with Him in baptism, -wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of -God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins -and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with -Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” Col. 2:10-13. “We are the -circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ -Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” Phil. 3:3. This -circumcision constitutes us all the true Israel of God, for this is the -victory over sin, and “Israel” means an overcomer. No longer are we -“aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,” “no more strangers and -foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of -God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, -Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone.” Eph. 2:12, 19, 20. -So we shall join the throng that “shall come from the east and west, and -shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of -heaven.” - -[Sidenote: The Marks of Christ.] - -“From henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear in my body the marks -of the Lord Jesus.” The Greek word rendered “marks” is the plural of -“stigma,” which we have incorporated into our own language. It signifies -shame and disgrace, even as of old it meant a mark branded into the body -of a culprit, or of a recaptured runaway slave, to show to whom he -belonged. Such are the marks of the cross of Christ. The marks of the -cross were upon Paul. He had been crucified with Christ, and he carried -the nail-prints. They were branded on his body. They marked him as the -bond-servant, the slave of the Lord Jesus. Let no one, then, interfere -with him; he was not the servant of men. He owed allegiance to Christ -alone, who had bought him. Let no one seek to get him to serve man or -the flesh, because Jesus had branded him with His mark, and he could -serve no other. Moreover, let men beware how they sought to interfere -with his liberty in Christ, or how they treated him, for his Master -would surely protect His own. Have you those marks? Then you may glory -in them, for such boasting is not vain, and will not make you vain. - -Ah, what glory there is in the cross! All the glory of heaven is in that -despised thing. Not in the figure of the cross, but in the cross itself. -The world does not reckon it glory, but then it did not know the Son of -God, and it does not know the Holy Spirit, because it can not see Him. -May God open our eyes to see the glory, so that we may reckon things at -their true value. May we consent to be crucified with Christ, that the -cross may glorify us. In the cross of Christ there is salvation. In it -is the power of God to keep us from falling, for it lifts us up from -earth to heaven. In the cross there is the new creation, which God -Himself pronounces “very good.” In it is all the glory of the Father, -and all the glory of the eternal ages. Therefore God forbid that we -should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the -world is crucified to us, and we unto the world. - - “In the cross of Christ I glory, - Towering o’er the wrecks of time; - All the light of sacred story - Gathers round its head sublime.” - -Therefore— - - “Since I, who was undone and lost, - Have pardon through His name and Word; - Forbid it, then, that I should boast, - Save in the cross of Christ, my Lord.” - - “Where’er I go, I’ll tell the story - Of the cross, of the cross; - In nothing else my soul shall glory, - Save the cross, save the cross; - And this my constant theme shall be, - Through time and in eternity, - That Jesus tasted death for me, - On the cross, on the cross.” - - - - - BIBLE STUDENTS’ LIBRARY. - - -The postage as given in the following tables is based on one cent for -four ounces, but where your tract society has the pound-rate privilege, -postage will be only one-fourth this amount. - - - No. Title. 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Package. - - 1 Bible Sanctification 10 $1 00 $0 06 - - 10 Scripture References 25 50 05 - - 14 The Sufferings of Christ 25 “ ” - - 16 Christ in the Old Testament 25 25 03 - - 25 Sanctuary and the Judgment 25 “ ” - - 26 Sabbath and the New Testament 25 “ ” - - 27 The Bible 25 “ ” - - 42 Elihu on the Sabbath 25 “ ” - - 43 Ten Commandments not Revised 25 “ ” - - 46 Without Excuse 50 “ ” - - 47 Thoughts for the Candid 50 “ ” - - 48 Which Day Do You Keep and Why? 50 “ ” - - 51 Is Man Immortal? 50 “ ” - - 52 Why Not Found Out Before 50 “ ” - - 53 The Sabbath and the Law 5 1 00 07 - - 55 Order of Events in Judgment 5 75 05 - - 57 Tent-Meeting Lessons—Life of Christ 25 25 03 - - 58 Matthew 24 10 1 00 08 - - 61 Tent-Meeting Lessons on Sin and 50 25 03 - Righteousness - - 63 Sure Foundation and Keys of the Kingdom 25 “ ” - - 64 Full Assurance of Faith 25 “ ” - - 65 Great Day of the Lord 25 63 06 - - 67 Bible Election 25 38 05 - - 68 The Old Testament in the New 25 “ ” - Dispensation - - 69 “Jewish” Christians Are Israelites 50 25 03 - Indeed - - 70 Immortality of the Soul 25 50 05 - - 72 Christ and His Righteousness 10 1 50 08 - - 73 Can We Keep the Sabbath? 25 25 03 - - 74 The Counterfeit and the Genuine 25 0 25 0 03 - - 75 Living by Faith 25 “ ” - - 76 Bible Questions and Answers Concerning 25 “ ” - Man - - 77 The Talents 25 “ ” - - 79 Baptism: Its Significance 25 “ ” - - 80 Sunday: Origin of Its Observance in the 10 1 50 08 - Christian Church - - 81 God’s Message for To-day 50 25 03 - - 83 Angels: Their Nature and Ministry 5 1 00 10 - - 85 Twofold Evidence of Acceptance with God 50 25 03 - - 86 Justification, Regeneration, 25 “ ” - Sanctification. By M. C. Wilcox - - 90 The Bible Doctrine of the Trinity 25 “ ” - - 95 From Sabbath to Sunday 50 “ ” - - 97 The Sun of Righteousness 10 1 00 08 - - 99 Prediction, Interpretation, Fulfilment 25 25 03 - - 100 The Rest That Remains for the People of 50 “ ” - God - - 103 Should Christians Be Members of Secret 25 38 05 - Societies? - - 104 Justified by Faith. By Mrs. E. G. White 25 25 03 - - 105 The Way to Christ. By Mrs. E. G. White 25 “ ” - - 107 Who Changed the Sabbath? 25 38 05 - - 108 Life: Its Source and Purpose 10 1 00 “ - - 110 Appeal to Methodists 50 25 03 - - 111 Tormented Forever and Ever 25 ” “ - - 112 Spiritualism: Its Source and Character 25 ” “ - - 114 The Identical Seventh Day 25 ” “ - - 115 Waymarks to the Holy City 25 ” “ - - 117 Prophetic Lights; Illustrated 5 2 50 19 - - 118 Christ Tempted as We Are 25 25 03 - - 119 The Kingdom of Christ: Its Nature and 25 ” “ - Subjects - - 121 The Temporal Millennium 25 38 05 - - 122 Perfection of the Law of God 25 ” “ - - 124 Manner of Christ’s Coming 25 0 25 0 03 - - 125 The Privilege of Prayer 25 ” “ - - 127 Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King 25 ” “ - - 128 Christ Our Advocate. _Illustrated_ 10 1 00 07 - - 130 The Seal of God and the Mark of the 25 50 05 - Beast. _Illustrated_ - - 131 The Sure Word of Prophecy. _Illustrated_ 10 1 00 ” - - 133 Righteousness 25 25 03 - - 134 The Lord’s Day 10 1 50 06 - - 135 Honor Due to God 10 1 00 “ - - 136 The Millennial Age 25 03 - - 137 New Testament Sabbath 25 ” “ - - 138 America’s Crisis. _Illustrated_ 25 50 05 - - 140 The Saints’ Inheritance 10 1 00 07 - - 143 Truth for the Times 25 25 03 - - 144 The Eastern Question 25 ” “ - - 145 Will a Man Rob God? 10 1 00 08 - - 146 Rich Man and Lazarus 25 25 03 - - 147 Home Missionary Work 25 50 05 - - 148 The Sabbath in Prophecy 25 ” “ - - 149 From Glory to Glory 25 38 ” - - 150 Rome’s Arraignment of Sabbath Breakers 25 25 03 - - 152 The Alarm of War 25 50 05 - - 153 The Arming of the Nations 25 2 50 12 - - 154 Sabbath in the Greek 50 25 03 - - 155 Wonders of the 19th Century 25 50 05 - - 156 Spiritual Gifts 25 62 06 - - 157 Seal of God and Its Counterfeit 25 50 05 - - 158 Natural Food of Man 10 2 50 07 - - 159 Christian Patriotism 10 1 50 11 - - 160 Labor and Money Power 25 50 05 - - 161 Marshaling of Nations 10 1 00 06 - - 162 The Glad Tidings 5 1 25 - - - - - APPLES OF GOLD LIBRARY. - - - No. Title. 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Boulevard, Atlanta, Ga. 571 Yonge St., Toronto, Ont. - - -DISCOUNT. - - -We want all tract buyers to receive the 40 per cent discount which is -allowed those who buy 100 or more at a time in unbroken packages, hence -the foregoing information as to the size of packages, and postage per -package. - -Postage is always added when this liberal discount is allowed. - - - - - Thoughts from the - Mount of Blessing - -BY MRS. E. G. WHITE - - -A reverential exposition of the sermon on the mount. It is difficult to -praise this volume too highly. 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