Title Page |
Preface |
Chapter 1 - ROMANS |
|
The Epistle to the
Romans more than any
other a complete
treatise on the
fundamentals of
Christian doctrine,
-- No fresh
revelations from God
can nullify those
which preceded them,
-- The points of
truth that introduce
the epistle, --
Faith—obedience its
character, -- The
apostle’s desire to
communicate with
those he had never
seen, -- Beware of
contracted views of
salvation, --
Conscious
deliverance in the
power of the Holy
Spirit should be the
result of the gospel
preached, -- The
meaning of the
phrase, “From faith
to faith,” -- Not
all that is now
revealed is the
gospel, -- Holding
the truth in
unrighteousness, who
do it, -- The moral
history of man, --
What the natural
conscience of man
can do, -- God’s
judgment of man in
respect of
conscience and of
law, -- The place of
the Jew in this
estimate of man, --
Condemned by that in
which he blindly
made his boast, --
Righteousness of
God, what is it? --
Præter—mission of
sins, -- God looks
for the sinner’s
submission, not his
victory, -- The
question is not what
man should be for
God, but what God
can be and is for
man, -- Abraham the
proof of the value
of faith in
justification before
God, -- Abraham’s
circumcision never
constituted his
righteousness, --
The connection of
the promise to
Abraham with
resurrection, --
What gives peace
with God? --
Creature standing
gone forever; the
glory of God the
only ground now, --
The difference
between man’s guilt
and man’s nature, --
Justification of
life, -- Sin and
death are proof of
one man’s
disobedience with or
without law, -- Life
and liberty are
proofs of one man’s
obedience, --
Practical holiness
is not founded on
Christ having died
for my sins, but on
my being dead to
sin, -- Baptism
means not that I
must die to sin, but
that I have died to
it, -- Remission of
sins and deliverance
from sin essentially
different, -- Christ
dead and risen is
the answer to both,
-- God has not only
pardoned the sinner,
but condemned the
fallen nature, --
Flesh and Spirit
contrasted, -- The
Spirit as a power, a
divine person
dwelling in us, --
How does the gospel
affect Israel’s
distinctive place?
-- The blessing of
being a son of
Abraham depends on
its descent through
Isaac, -- Israel,
lost but for mercy,
are but on a level
with Gentiles, --
The stumbling--stone
the key to Israel’s
coming ruin, --
“Whosoever,” --
Israel forced to
bear witness that
the heathen should
be brought in, --
Israel past,
present, and future,
in Romans -- Zion
the scene of final
triumph, -- Our
reception of one
another according to
Christ’s reception
of us, to the glory
of God, -- True
ministry gives not
merely truth but
suited truth to the
saints.. |
Chapter 2 - FIRST
CORINTHIANS.
|
|
The unfolding of the
assembly in a
practical way is the
object of this
epistle, -- The
unbelief of
Christendom tries to
annul this epistle
more than any other,
-- No amount of
gift, in few or
many, can of itself
produce holy
spiritual order, --
Corinth saw the
early rise of the
Church of God among
the Gentiles, --
Christ crucified
puts all man’s glory
in the dust, -- Jew
and Greek— opposite
as the poles— agree
thoroughly in
slighting the cross,
-- The cross more
than redemption
merely, -- Christ
crucified the
death—knell for all
man’s wisdom, power,
and righteousness,
-- Man incapable of
fathoming the depths
of divine things, --
The Holy Spirit the
sole means of
communicating
blessing to the
saints, -- How
little many a young
convert knows what
will best lead him
on! -- What care
each servant needs
to take how and what
he builds! -- The
Apostle’s lowliness
a source of reproach
among men, -- his
highest glory before
God, -- Church
discipline, -- Who
are to exercise it?
-- The Holy Spirit’s
estimate of sin;
what is a railer? --
Brother going to law
with brother, -- Why
personal purity is
essential to a
Christian, --
Revelation and
inspiration, -- The
commandment of the
Lord, and a
spiritual judgment,
-- Marriage. The
position of a slave,
-- What a wonderful
antithesis of man is
the Second Man! --
Without
responsibility
nothing is more
ruinous than power
and liberty, -- What
grace does in
respect to matters
of right, -- How to
use a gift, -- The
danger of liberty
lapsing into
license, -- True
ground is no ground
for false conduct,
-- The grace of
Christ and the
authority of the
Lord, -- People
generally fail in
that of which they
boast most, --
Woman’s place in the
assembly, -- What
became her if she
had the gift of
prophecy? -- The
Agape and its
influence on the
Lord’s Supper, --
The Apostle’s
regulation
concerning it, --
Spiritual powers and
their source, -- In
the spiritual body
there are important
members not seen at
all, -- The church a
vessel of power for
the maintenance of
God’s glory, and
responsible for this
here below, -- Gifts
that suppose the
exercise of
spiritual
understanding have a
far higher place
than others, -- The
aim and purpose of
prophesying, -- The
difference between
the power of the
Spirit and the power
of a demon, -- The
connection between
Christianity and the
resurrection, --
From what root of
evil clerisy has
grown, -- Man likes
to understand before
he believes—this is
ruinous to faith, --
What is meant by a
“mystery,” -- We
shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be
changed, -- Do we
every one of us give
as we are prospered
by the way? -- A
selfish personal
keeping to ourselves
of what we have is
even worse than a
too lavish
expenditure, --
Liberty and
responsibility of
ministry in their
mutual relations, --
It is good to
maintain the
specialty of
ministry in the
Lord. |
Chapter 3 - SECOND
CORINTHIANS. |
|
Contrast between
first and second
epistles, --
Resemblance to the
Epistle to the
Philippians, --
Contrast with
Philippians, --
Mutual consolation
and affliction, --
The power of the
Holy Spirit working
in the new man lifts
the believer
completely above the
flesh, -- “Yea and
nay,” -- Satan has
not lost but
acquired in the
dominion of the
world a higher place
by the crucifixion
of the Lord Jesus
Christ, -- The
devotion of
apostolic love, --
Directions for
dealing with the
humbled delinquent
of the first
epistle, -- There is
nothing like a
manifestation of
grace to call out
grace, --
Righteousness in
Christ connected
with heavenly glory,
-- The saints a
letter of
commendation, -- The
Lord that Spirit
that giveth life, --
The Spirit of the
Lord, -- The
ministrations of
death, life,
righteousness, and
glory, -- The
ministration of the
Spirit over and
above life, -- come
down from the
exalted man in
glory, -- The vessel
that contains the
heavenly treasure,
-- Liveliness of
nature hinders the
manifestation of the
treasure, but its
judgment leaves room
for the light to
shine out, -- For we
which live are
always delivered
unto death, --
“Clothed” and
“naked,” -- Clothed
upon, that mortality
may be swallowed up
of life, -- Always
confident, -- The
judgment--seat of
Christ, -- and those
who stand at it, --
The effect of
manifestation, --
Contrast of
Messianic hopes with
a higher glory, -- A
Christian not
occupied with a
Messiah come to
bless the world, --
In Christ, and what
it signifies, -- God
was in Christ not
is), -- A sinner
awakened takes God’s
part against
himself, -- It is
never right to be
narrow, and always
wrong to be lax, --
Responsibility,
individual as well
as corporate, --
Inspiration far
above the will of
man, and the fruit
of the action of the
Holy Spirit, --
Contributions for
saints, -- Trials of
the Apostle in his
labors of love, --
The prizes and
honors the world
gave him, -- A man
in Christ taken up,
in contrast with
Paul in a basket let
down, -- Patience a
sign of apostleship,
-- Conclusion. |
Chapter 4 -
GALATIANS. |
|
A
serious and grieved
spirit manifest in
the epistle, -- The
fountain of grace
touched by the
intrusion of
perverted law, --
Christianity knows
nothing of
successional
arrangements, -- The
facts of
Christianity, and
their value for the
mind and walk, --
Abruptness of the
opening of the
Galatian letter, --
Integrity of the
gospel as preached
by Paul; any
departure from it
for another fatal,
-- Rome, seeking to
derive her authority
from Peter,
proclaims her
identity with the
circumcision, --
Connection between a
servant and his
testimony, --
Jealousy of man,
when the grace of
God works in a new
channel and gives
the go--by to
antiquity, -- The
Apostle separated
from man by God, in
order to proclaim
more strikingly the
singular ministry
peculiar to him, --
Conference with
flesh and blood out
of place with a
perfect revelation,
-- Revelation of His
Son in Paul and to
Peter and the rest,
-- Man, craving an
appearance of unity
and strength,
sacrifices heaven
for earth, Spirit
for flesh, -- True
desire for unity
knows how to walk
alone with God, --
Singularity of
Paul’s conversion
set in the highest
place at the outset,
-- Tenderness
towards his nation
does not prevent his
snapping every
earthly link with
it, -- His testimony
characteristically
heavenly, -- Unity
secured by deciding
at Jerusalem the
question of
circumcision for
Gentiles, -- The
case of Titus, -- No
interference with
the work which
others had been
given to do, -- The
gravity of Peter’s
easy--going
yieldingness to the
Judaizing party, --
Peter’s act went to
maintain a
difference between
Jew and Gentile, --
The true way to
measure things is by
their effect on
Christ’s glory, --
The history of the
flesh is soon over,
but the history that
faith opens into
never closes, --
Everyone who goes
back from such a
gospel frustrates,
as far as it goes,
the grace of God, --
The cross judges the
legalism of
Galatians, as it
judged the
worldliness of
Corinthians, -- The
law holds out, but
never gives,
blessing, --
Gentiles were not
under the curse of
the law, -- The
relation of law to
the promises, --
“The seed” in its
plurality, -- “The
seed” in its unity,
-- Christ the true
Heir of all the
promises of God, --
Promise was before
the law, and flowed
out of the grace of
God, -- “God is
one,” contrasted
with the law which
supposed two
parties, -- In grace
God in the person of
His Son speaks and
accomplishes all, --
Had grace and law
been working
together, there
would have been two
antagonistic roads
to blessing, -- A
person is not
baptized into his
own death, but into
the death of Christ,
-- Old and New
Testament saints
contrasted, --
“Abba,” the cry of
the saint and
Christ, -- Going
back to Judaic
elements is going
back to heathenism,
-- Idolatry no less
gross because Jesus
is the subject of
it, -- Days and
months and times and
years, sensible
helps to idolatry,
-- “Be as I am; for
I am as ye are,” --
An infirmity in the
flesh, -- A stickler
for law proves
himself an
Ishmaelite, --
Jerusalem and its
desolate condition
under law, -- There
is no power for walk
resulting from mere
forgiveness of sins,
-- Sense of duty is
not power, --
Liberty first, power
and love afterward,
-- Occupation with
Christ alone
produces the love
the law claimed, --
Power may be lost,
responsibility
never, -- Eternal
life in a double
sense: I have it and
I seek it, -- If you
take up the law in
one particular, you
must take it up
altogether, --
Christianity brings
everything to a
climax, and settles
all questions, --
“The marks of the
Lord Jesus,” in
contrast with
circumcision. |
Chapter 5 -
EPHESIANS. |
|
God from Himself and
for Himself, as the
adequate motive and
object before Him,
even His own glory,
-- The tendency to
set aside what is
personal for what is
corporate, -- There
is no place good
enough for Christ,
the Son, but heaven,
-- Our blessing
independent of the
old creation, --
Angels not adequate
judges of what
pertains to us, --
“Child” differs in
dignity from “Son”
in its application
to the Lord or the
saints, -- The
mistakes of human
philosophy in its
thoughts of the
Godhead have arisen
from importing the
question of time, --
A divine nature
given to us in its
qualities of
holiness and love,
-- The terms wisdom
and prudence applied
to the saints, --
Not to be taken up
as names or barren
titles, -- There is
nothing to indicate
to mankind at large
what God purposes to
do, -- Nature and
relationship, -- The
riches of the glory
of the inheritance,
-- The Christian is
even now the object
of the very same
power that raised up
Christ from the
dead, -- Christ was
not raised up as an
insulated
individual, severed
from others, -- The
sinner’s place
contrasted in Romans
and Ephesians, --
Jew and Gentile in
their mutual
relation as sinners,
-- God’s new
workmanship, --
which workmanship we
Christians are, -- A
new man in which Jew
and Gentile lose
their distinctive
place, -- The
heavenly and the
earthly aspect of
the church, -- That
which was first in
counsel is last in
revelation, -- The
mystery revealed to
holy apostles and
prophets was not
revealed by them
all, -- The mystery
does not mean the
church merely, --
but Christ, and the
church as a
consequence, -- What
the principalities
and powers behold,
-- The difference
between the prayer
of the first and
that of the third
chapter, -- Rooted
that ye may be able,
and so forth, --
Knowing Christ’s
love, though
unknowable, and
God’s fullness,
though infinite, --
The unity of the
Spirit, -- Intrinsic
unity, and of
profession, --
Universal unity, --
Diversities, -- A
man seated on the
throne of God has
given gifts to men,
-- In vain to look
for the church’s
prosperity, if
individual saints do
not grow up unto
Christ, -- Our
duties flow from
what we are or are
made, -- God would
have us imitate His
own ways, as they
have shone in
Christ, -- Nor is
there full Christian
service, except in
proportion as it is
according to this
pattern, -- Light is
a necessity of the
new nature, --
Christ is the
pattern and
perfection of grace
in every
relationship, --
What true Christian
conflict is, -- not
with flesh and
blood, or nature,
but with Satan, --
The armor of God, --
Activity for others,
dependence for
ourselves. |
Chapter 6 -
PHILIPPIANS. |
|
Practical appeal
rather than doctrine
the subject of this
epistle, -- Mingling
Christ with the
affairs of every
day, -- Joy undimmed
in the midst of the
trials and sorrows
of ordinary life, --
There is no theory
that first love must
necessarily cool
down, but the
contrary, -- The
power of testimony
destroyed by the
allowance of evil
insinuations against
him who renders it,
-- but Christian
experience is
developed in
abounding love --
Begin with Christ,
go on with Christ,
until the day of
Christ, -- Looking
to the Lord, -- Once
right about Christ,
you are right about
everything while He
is before you, --
The moral harmony in
the fact, that he
who preached the
gospel of the glory
of Christ should be
a prisoner at Rome,
-- “My bonds in
Christ,” --
Affliction added to
bonds, -- “This
shall turn to my
salvation,” -- “In
nothing I shall be
ashamed,” -- “I” and
“me” of Romans and
Philippians
contrasted, -- Fruit
of labor; its
meaning, --
Conversation
becoming to the
gospel of Christ, --
Fear and trembling
has no dread or
doubt in it, --
Suffering for
Christ’s sake is a
gift of His love, --
Energy apt to give
occasion for strife
and vain--glory, --
Two chief stages of
Christ’s humiliation
flowing out of His
perfect love, -- All
error founded on a
misuse of a truth
against the truth,
-- An archangel at
best but a servant,
and can never rise
above it. Jesus
emptied Himself to
become one, -- The
difference between
reconciliation and
subjection, -- The
Apostle’s picture of
the saint resembles
the Master, -- The
true source of
humility in service,
-- Unselfish love,
-- The third chapter
parenthetical, to
bring in the active
side of the
Christian in
contrast with the
passive, -- The only
allusion to flesh in
this epistle is in
connection with its
religious form, --
What it is to win
Christ, -- To be in
Christ is better
than to have the
righteousness of the
law, -- Resurrection
from the dead, --
Critical note on τὴν
ἐξανάστασιν τῶν
νεκρῶν, --
continued, --
Forgetting those
things that are
behind refers to the
progress that we may
make, --
“Differently minded”
is not agreeing to
differ, -- The name
of Christ is the
true center of the
saints, -- The last
chapter founded on
the active and
passive aspects of
the Christian, -- A
woman shines most
where she does not
appear, -- Labor or
conflict in the
gospel, --
Moderation, --
Requests, to whom to
be made known, --
Having committed
what is miserable to
God, we can go on
rejoicing in His
goodness, --
Independence founded
on dependence. |
Chapter 7 -
COLOSSIANS. |
|
A
counterpart, but a
supplement, to
Ephesians, --,) the
one presenting the
Head, the other the
body, -- Resemblance
to Peter’s Epistles,
-- The essential
place of the Holy
Spirit in Ephesians,
-- The striking
absence of allusion
to Him in
Colossians, -- This
epistle a recall to
Christ Himself, --
One may bow to
Christ as Lord, and
yet be painfully
insensible to the
higher glories of
His person, --
Christianity is a
thing of gradual
growth in the soul,
-- and not
circumscribed by
known limits, like
philosophy, -- The
inheritance of the
saints in light, --
Christianity,
instead of being
helped by human
philosophy, is only
hindered and
extinguished by it,
-- Why is Christ
first--born of all
creation? -- As
Creator of all
things, -- How is
Christ Head of the
body? -- As
firstborn from the
dead, -- The
fullness of Godhead
dwelt in Jesus, --
but man would have
none of it, and
proved it above all
in the cross, --
Satan allowed,
apparently, to go on
as if he had won the
final victory, --
“If ye continue in
the faith,” -- A
minister of the
gospel and of the
church, two
different spheres,
-- Only Paul treats
of justification by
faith, -- The gospel
to every creature
under heaven; the
church a select
body, -- A gap,
which Paul was
deputed specially to
write about, --
altogether in
contrast with
ancient or
millennial glory, --
He who knows best
the faithful love of
Christ, is none the
less an energetic
laborer, -- What God
is actually doing is
the truth that needs
pressing, -- The
secret of true
wisdom and blessing
is in going on to
know more of Christ
than is already
possessed, --
Ritualists and
rationalists play
into each other’s
hands, -- The cross
of Christ is the
death--knell of the
world, -- Atheism
and Pantheism are
the ultimate results
of philosophy, --
The doctrine of
baptism here is
contrasted with
Romans, -- One
cannot be quickened
with Christ without
having all
trespasses forgiven,
-- In what consists
“not holding the
head,” -- There was
no Christianity
before Christ rose
from the dead, --
The Ritualistic
system traitorous to
Him who died on the
cross, -- Striving
to be dead to what
is wrong is but the
law in a new and
impossible shape, --
Baptism, and the
Lord’s Supper, --
Ought I not to share
my Master’s shame
and dishonor here?
-- Corruption of
inner feeling in
contrast with that
which goes on
outside of us, --
Put on charity, --
The peace “of
Christ,” --
Continuance in
prayer, -- What a
spring of power is
the love of Christ!
-- Paul narrowed
himself to no local
ties, -- There are
no portions of the
sacred writings
lost. |
Chapter 8 -
THESSALONIANS |
|
Any truth specially
given by God is
immediately the
object of Satan’s
continual and subtle
attacks, -- “In God
the Father” suggests
an infantine
condition rather
than an advanced
stage, -- How to
deal with the
entrance of error
and the dangers that
threaten the
children of God, --
We should consider
the manner God deals
with saints in any
special place, --
Simplicity is the
secret for enjoying
the truth as well as
for receiving it, --
Do not attempt to
draw from Scripture
more than it
undertakes to
convey, -- What the
first chapter
teaches in respect
to the Lord’s
coming, -- How the
Apostle adapted his
ministrations to the
advancing
requirements of the
Thessalonians, -- A
sketch of that
suffering which
faith entails, --
Why men oppose the
truth, --
Christianity not
dreamy nor
sentimental, but
most real in its
power of adapting
itself to every
need, -- The two
prayers in this
epistle, -- Love
always precedes
holiness, -- which
is the fruit of the
love to which the
heart has
surrendered, -- Why
Thessalonians should
be warned of even
the grossest sins,
-- The Aristotles
and Platos not fit
for decent company,
-- Disadvantages
Thessalonians
labored under, and
which do not fall to
our lot, -- They had
no fear of being
lost, but were not
clear what the Lord
would do with them,
-- Newly entered
light gives occasion
to the perception of
much which we cannot
solve at once, --
The character of the
“shout,” and by whom
it will be heard, --
The “day of the
Lord” never applied
to any dealing with
the Christian as on
the earth, -- It was
too notorious a
period to need fresh
words about it, --
The presence of the
Lord and the day of
Jehovah, if
confounded, reveal a
secret of the heart,
-- “Wake or
sleep,”—beware of
verbal analogies, --
For some to be over
others in the Lord
did not depend on
apostolic
appointment only, --
Disorderly folk are
apt to know nobody
over them in the
Lord, -- The object
of the second
epistle, -- The
terrors of “that
day” used by the
enemy to unsettle
during a period of
persecution, --
Traceable to a lack
of that “patience of
hope” which
characterized an
early faith, -- The
two classes on whom
vengeance will fall
in “that day,” --
Gentiles know not
God, and Jews obey
not the gospel of
our Lord Jesus
Christ, -- Both are
the guilty tools of
Satan, and shall be
punished with
everlasting
destruction, --
Ἐνἐστηκε does not
mean “at hand,” but
“actually come,” --
The trouble of “that
day” will befall the
enemies, not the
friends, of the
Lord, -- If one is
taught a truth by
God, why be troubled
about what comes
from any other
quarter? -- Some of
the most important
parts of Satan’s
means for bringing
about the apostasy
are now actively at
work, -- Jerusalem
and Rome, -- The
restraint and the
restrainer, -- Every
Christian waits for
Christ with more or
less intelligence,
-- Events following
the removal of the
restraint, -- With
startling rapidity
events in our day
are leading on to
the brink of the
precipice, -- The
idea that the Roman
empire is the
restraining power
not altogether wide
of the mark, -- The
patience of Christ
is a keynote
maintained from
first to last. |
Chapter 9 - FIRST
AND SECOND TIMOTHY. |
|
Confidential communication from the Apostle to some of his fellow laborers, -- A
Saviour God is in contrast with His dealings under law or government, --
Mellowed tone observable in the writings of the apostle as he drew to the close
of his career, -- How the term “commandment” is sometimes misused, -- The
negative use of the law, -- The law not enacted for the Christian, -- Sound
doctrine—what is comprised in it, -- Ordinary duties of life in connection with
the gospel of the glory, -- The faith and a good conscience, -- Delivery to
Satan—its object, -- How often pre--occupation within makes us forget those
without, -- Exhortation pursued in respect of that which would meet the eye even
of an unconverted person, -- The way in which a woman can contribute to a right
and godly testimony, -- Woman, and her lot here below, -- The personal
qualifications of an overseer, -- Home influence in its relation to the house of
God, -- The invalidity of present appointment to office, -- The qualifications
of deacons and their wives, -- We are called to be a manifestation of the truth
before the world, -- Faith waits till it gets a distinct word from God, -- The
mystery of godliness, -- and its connection with the minutest affairs of
work--a--day life, -- Every creature of God is good, -- Those who seek to give
out had better take care they take in, -- The decorum that becomes everyone,
especially a young man, enjoined upon Timothy, -- There is nothing either too
great or too little for the Holy Spirit, -- The value of piety with a contented
mind.
The character of the second epistle, -- A deep sense of what can be owned in
nature can only follow a due apprehension of what God is— nature set aside, --
Timothy’s sensitive nature finds full sympathy in the Apostle’s large heart, --
while he accustoms his mind to expect hardship instead of shirking it, -- The
disorder of the house of God in this epistle, -- In such a state of things, do
the will of God; let others say what they please, -- There are very few saints
from whom we may not derive some good, though not always in the same way, -- A
single eye to Christ and His grace made Paul consistent, -- The firm foundation
of God stands, -- Why one cannot deal as simply with people now as in apostolic
times, -- It is not maintaining the unity of the Spirit to couple with the name
of the Lord that which is fleshly and sinful, -- Isolation never desirable,
though sometimes necessary, -- “Physical Christianity” a heathenish phrase, but
designating much that finds its place in these last days, -- It is a matter of
no little importance who says this or that, -- The importance of preaching the
word when men will not endure sound doctrine, -- The coming of the Lord in no
way manifests the faithfulness of the servant; the appearing will, -- A book or
a cloak not too small a matter to bring the Spirit of God into. |
Chapter 10 - Titus.
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More
prominence is given
to external order in
writing to Titus
than to Timothy, --
To acknowledge the
truth which is after
godliness is always
a duty, even after
the house of God has
been grievously
affected, -- God’s
elect, -- The truth
of eternal life is
brought out far more
fully in the decay
of Christian
profession, -- There
was no such thing as
preaching known
during the most
considerable part of
the world’s history,
-- The universality
of the testimony of
grace in contrast
with the narrow
limits of law, --
Summary of the
world’s history, to
show that eternal
life in Christ
before the world
began shines out
most brilliantly at
its close, -- The
circle of Divine
life may seem
narrow, but nothing
can rival it in
point of large and
deep affection, --
When a ministry of
death and
condemnation was in
question, a limit
was good and wise;
but with eternal
life and remission
of sins, how
different! -- John
takes up the very
point at which Paul
leaves off, -- The
present state of
Christendom renders
it fitting that
there should be
“things wanting”
now, -- but then
that makes the Word
of God the more
precious to those
who feel the lack,
-- No one can
appoint, save those
who have authority
so to do, -- A state
of ruin always tests
the heart more than
when things are in
primitive order, --
Eldership is likely
to be passed by,
under the more
attractive service
of the word in
public work, -- If
we see men who have
the qualities, and
do the work of
elders, we should
respect them as
such, -- Elders are
a local charge, --
National character
to be taken into
account when dealing
with souls, -- Never
interpose the
teacher, nor the
mere letter of a
duty, between the
soul and the Lord,
-- Nothing more
marks Christianity
than its elasticity
and breadth, -- The
power of Christ
lends dignity to the
very smallest thing
that occupies the
heart and mind, --
There is no
relationship, not a
single thing of the
most ordinary kind,
that does not become
a test, -- If God
pays particular
attention to any, it
is to those that man
as such
despised--slaves, --
Distinction between
worldly and fleshly
lusts, -- The
falsehood of either
ameliorating human
nature or of
improving the world
will soon end in
worse confusion and
in sorest judgment,
-- The antagonist of
the Son of God has
prompted men to
abuse His grace so
as to deny His
glory, -- The
difference between
“the washing of
regeneration” and
“the renewing of the
Holy Ghost,” --
Plain everyday need
goes along with the
deepest truth, --
What is a heretic?
-- What to do with a
heretic, -- The
whole root of it is
self, -- Heresies in
-- Corinthians
--:--, -- It is a
great mistake to
suppose that there
may not be such a
thing as arrangement
in ministry, -- Yet
it is not everybody
that possesses a
competent judgment
about such a matter. |
Chapter 11 -
PHILEMON. |
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This has altogether
a different
character from the
epistles that have
lately been
occupying us, --
Philemon, Apphia,
Archippus, -- What
movements of heart
about a runaway
slave! -- The most
excellent of men
have broken down
occasionally by the
pettiest things that
entice or provoke
self, -- Would Paul
the prisoner and the
aged make an
ineffectual claim on
the heart of
Philemon? -- The
delicacy of feeling
and the sense of
propriety which
grace forms are
truly exquisite, --
It is not always a
question of doing a
right thing, but of
doing it in the
right way, --
Christianity is not
a system of earthly
righteousness, but
the unfolding of the
grace of Christ and
of heavenly hopes,
-- The heart that
could stand out
against such appeals
of grace was far
from Philemon. |
Chapter 12 -
HEBREWS. |
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Reasons for
supposing Paul to be
the writer of this
epistle, -- His name
suppressed because
he takes the place
of a teacher and not
of an apostle, --
The epistle is a
consummate treatise
upon the bearing of
Christ and
Christianity on the
law and the
prophets, -- Paul
would show them thus
the infinite dignity
of the Messiah whom
they had received,
-- Who so suitable
to introduce Jesus,
the rejected
Messiah, at the
right hand of God,
as Saul of Tarsus?
-- A striking
absence of allusion
to the one body, --
But there was One
dearer to the heart
of Paul than the
church itself, --
Reduce the glory of
Christ, and you
equally lower your
judgment of the
state of man, --
Previous revelation
to Israel partial
and piecemeal, but
in Christ the
fullness of the
truth shines out, --
The place angels
held in the Jewish
mind, -- used to
bring into greater
relief the
astonishing place of
man in the person of
Christ, -- God never
singled out an
angel, and said,
“Thou art My Son!”
-- But unto the Son
He saith, “Thy
throne, O God,” --
Messiah is called
“Jehovah,” and that
in His deepest
shame, -- The
perfection of
Messiah’s submission
in contrast with the
permanence of
Jehovah, -- Then His
exaltation on high
as man till the hour
of judgment on His
foes, -- The glory
of Christ as Son of
Man, -- Man—his
position in the
world to come, --
Christ’s death the
ground of
reconciliation for
the universe, -- The
doctrine of the
epistle, and its
suitability to the
wants of the
believer traversing
the wilderness, --
Common place of the
Sanctifier with the
sanctified, -- Sin
atoned for, persons
reconciled, --
Chapters -- and
-- introduce the
basis of the
high--priesthood;
chapters -- and -- a
digression, linking
themselves, however,
with the first two,
--a The Apostle and
high priest of our
profession is in
contrast with that
of the Jews, --
Difficulty at first
in reconciling the
fact of a Messiah
come, and gone to
glory, with a people
left in shame and
sorrow, -- explained
by the fact, that
the path of the
people of God is a
path of faith now,
just as it was
before, -- What is
the meaning of the
rest of God? -- “We
which have believed
do enter into
rest”—its bearing,
-- God had rested
from His works, but
had never rested in
them, -- The rest is
still beyond, --
“There remaineth
therefore a rest,”
-- Mistake to apply
the rest to rest of
conscience, -- In
chapter -- we enter
on the priesthood,
-- “For every high
priest taken from
among men” cannot
apply to Christ, --
Such is not the
Priest God has given
us, -- At the same
time there is no
forgetfulness of the
suffering obedience
of Christ’s place
here below, --
Religious tradition
and philosophy are
the main sources of
spiritual dullness,
-- Hebrews pressed
as to their
excessive danger of
abandoning Christ
for religious
traditions, -- The
word of the
beginning of Christ,
-- The description
of a confessor with
all the crowning
evidences of the
gospel, but not a
converted man, --
κοινωνὶ and μέτοχοι,
-- Renewal to
repentance an
impossibility, and
why, -- The promise
to Abraham, and the
hope set before us,
-- The weakest faith
that the New
Testament
acknowledges—fleeing
for refuge, --
Followed by strong
consolation—even
that which enters
within the veil, --
The great
theme—Christ a
priest forever after
the order of
Melchisedec—resumed,
-- The time for the
proper exercise of
the Melchisedec
priesthood of Christ
is not yet arrived,
-- Meanwhile the
Spirit of God
directs attention,
not to the exercise,
but to the order of
the Melchisedec
priest, -- The
indisputable
superiority of the
Melchisedec
priesthood to that
of Aaron, -- This
Priest was to be a
living, undying
Priest, -- Jehovah’s
oath, -- A Priest
always in connection
with the people of
God; never as such
with those outside,
-- It became God
that Christ should
go down to the
uttermost—us that He
should be exalted to
the highest, -- “On
high” and “in the
heavens,” -- The
exercise of the
functions of Christ
as a Priest, -- and
as a Mediator of the
new covenant, --
Remarkable how
little the Holy
Spirit appears in
this epistle, -- Why
the tabernacle is
always referred to,
and not the temple,
-- Why allusion to
the sanctuary is
made, -- The rent
veil, -- διαθήκη
means “testament” as
well as “covenant,”
-- Why it should be
“testament” in two
places alone and
covenant in all
others, -- ὀ
διαθέμενος is
rightly rendered
“the testator,” --
The contracting
party had not to
die, -- The death of
Christ, both in the
sense of a victim
sacrificed and of a
testator, though a
double figure, is
evident to all, --
There is but one
offering and one
suffering of Christ
once for all, -- He
who was without sin
in His person and
all His life, had
everything to do
with sin on the
cross, --
Christianity comes
in between the work
of Christ and His
coming in glory, --
“Conscience of sins”
means a dread of
God’s judging one
because of his sins,
-- A book which none
ever saw but God and
His Son, -- Εἰς τὸ
διηνικἐς does not
express for
eternity, but “for
continuance,” -- The
Jew never understood
his law till the
light of Christ on
the cross and in
glory shone on it,
-- In chapter -- are
warnings for those
who turn from
Christianity; in
chapter -- for those
who turn from the
one sacrifice, --
Similarities in the
two chapters, --
What faith is, -- A
simple word of
Scripture settles a
thousand questions,
-- Reason is ever
drawing conclusions:
God is, and reveals
what is, -- Faith
brings God into
everything, --
Abraham and his
faith, -- Moses acts
in faith, not
policy, -- What is
the “better thing”
provided for us? --
The reward of the
life of faith, -- In
this epistle the old
and new natures are
not separated, as in
the other epistles,
-- Saints are here
dealt with as to
their walk, -- There
is nothing more
serious than to set
grace against
holiness, -- A
magnificent picture
of Christianity in
contrast with
Judaism, -- Sinai
and Zion, -- The
special glories of
Zion, -- The
heavenly city that
Abraham looked for,
-- The spirits of
just men made
perfect, -- How the
most awful threat is
turned into the most
blessed promise, --
Practical
exhortations, --
Christendom takes
the middle ground of
Judaism, -- Access
into the holiest
involves also the
place of ashes
outside the camp, --
Are these two things
true of you? -- All
the effort of
Christendom is first
to deny the one, and
then to escape from
the other, -- God’s
final call, -- Two
kinds of sacrifice
to which we are now
called, -- Closing
remarks, -- No place
of death to sin, the
law, or the world,
no privilege of
union with Christ,
will enable a soul
to dispense with the
truths contained in
this Epistle to the
Hebrews. |
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