Chapter XIV: Part IV (1)

The Apostolic Church and the Church of To-Day

LESSON XL

THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD

The apostolic Church, as was observed in the Student's Text Book, found itself from the beginning in the midst of an environment more or less actively hostile. If we had been in Jerusalem at about the year 30, we should have observed a small group of disciples of Jesus, outwardly conforming to Jewish customs, but inwardly quite different from their countrymen. In Corinth and in other pagan cities of the Greco-Roman world, the contrast between the Church and its environment was even more striking; these cities were sunk in superstition and vice; the Church was leading, in the eyes of the world, a very peculiar life.

The presence of a common enemy led in the apostolic age to a closer union among the Christians themselves, and so it will always be. When Christian people realize the power of the enemy against whom they are all fighting, then they will have no time to fight among themselves. The Christian life is a warfare against sin--sin in a thousand deadly forms. In such a warfare, if we are to be good soldiers, we must all stand shoulder to shoulder.

The apostolic Church was waging an audacious warfare against the intrenched forces of heathenism and sin. Fortunately it had a Leader; and by that Leader alone it won the victory. The Leader was Christ. The primary relation of the soldier is the relation to the commander; the relation of the individual soldiers to one another is dependent upon that. So we shall study to-day the lordship of Christ; by that study, the work of the whole quarter will be introduced.

1. TERMS DESCRIPTIVE OF DISCIPLESHIP

The lordship of Christ may profitably be studied by an examination of some of the various names which in the New Testament are applied to the Church and its individual members. The individual titles should be studied first. After all, the Church exists for the individual believer rather than the individual believer for the Church. The primary relation is the relation between Christ and the individual soul. Brotherhood comes only through the union of individuals with a common Lord.

(=1=) "=Christians.="--Probably the first title that occurs to us to-day to designate the individual members of the Church is the title "Christian"; yet as a matter of fact that title appears only three times in the New Testament, and then only as it was taken from the lips of unbelievers. In accordance with the explicit testimony of Acts 11:26, the name was given for the first time at Antioch; it had no place, therefore, in the early Jerusalem church. A moment's thought will reveal the reason. The name "Christians" would have meant to a Jew adherents of the "Christ," or the "Messiah." Obviously no Jew would have applied such a name specifically to the disciples of Jesus; for all the Jews, in one sense or another, were adherents of the Messiah. The Jews were adherents of him by way of anticipation; the disciples thought he had already appeared; but all earnest Jews alike would have rejoiced to be called by his name.

Evidently the name was applied in Antioch by the pagan population. The Church had become so clearly separate from Judaism that a separate name for it was required. The name "Christian" suggested itself very naturally. "Jesus Christ" was forever on the lips of these strange enthusiasts! "The Christ" was indeed also spoken of by the Jews, but only careful observers would necessarily be aware of the fact. The Messianic hope was an internal concern of the synagogues, with which outsiders would usually have little to do. The new sect, on the other hand, brought the title "Christ" out from its seclusion; "Christ" to these enthusiasts was something more than a title, it was becoming almost a proper name; like "Jesus," it was a designation of the Founder of the sect, and accordingly the adjective derived from it could be used to designate the sect itself.

In Acts 26:28, the name appears as used by Agrippa; in I Peter 4:16, also, it is evidently taken from the lips of the opponents of the faith. The Christians, however, Peter implies, need not be ashamed of the name which has been fastened upon them. Rather let them strive to be worthy of it! It is the highest honor to be called by the name of Christ; and if they are true "Christians," their confession will redound to the glory of God.

In modern times, the name is often misapplied; the use of it is broadened and weakened. Nations are declared to be Christian although only a very small percentage of their citizens really deserve the name; teaching is called Christian though it is only similar in some respects to the teaching of Christ. Such a use of terms should be avoided wherever possible; the original poignancy of the designation should be restored. Properly speaking, "Christian" means not "like Christ" but "subject to Christ." A Christian is not one who admires Christ or is impressed with Christ's teaching or tries to imitate Christ, but one to whom Christ is Saviour and Lord.

Are we willing to be known as "Christians" in that sense? At the time of First Peter, it would have been a serious question; an affirmative answer would have meant persecution and perhaps death. But it is also a serious question to-day. Confession of Christ involves solemn responsibilities; dishonor to the "Christian" means dishonor to Christ; the unworthy servant is a dishonor to his Master. But let us not fear; Christ is Helper as well as Lord.

(=2=) "=Disciples.="--The earliest designation of the followers of Jesus was "disciples" or "learners"; during the earthly ministry perhaps scarcely any other designation was commonly used. Jesus appeared at first as a teacher; the form of his work was somewhat like that of other teachers of the Jews. Nevertheless, although he was a teacher from the beginning, he was also from the beginning something more. He had not only authority, but also power; he was not only Teacher, but also Saviour. His followers were not merely instructed, but were received into fellowship; and that fellowship made of them new men. "Disciples" in the Gospels is more than "learners" or "students"; it is a fine, warm, rich word; the Teacher was also Friend and Lord.

The same term was continued in the early Palestinian Church, and the resurrection had brought an incalculable enrichment of its meaning. The "disciples" were not merely those who remembered the words of Jesus, but those who had been redeemed by his blood and were living now in the power of his Holy Spirit. If we use the term, let it be in the same lofty sense. Let us be learners, indeed; let us hear the words of Jesus, as they are recorded in the Gospels; but let us hear them not from a dead teacher, but ever anew from the living Lord.

(=3=) "=Saints.="--A third designation is "saints." This term is used as a title of the Christians in Acts 9:13,32,41; 26:10, and frequently in the epistles of Paul and in the Apocalypse. Its use in the New Testament is very different from some uses of it that appeared at a later time. The Roman Catholics, for example, employ the term as a title of honor for a number of persons carefully limited by the Church; Protestants often designate by it persons of exceptional purity or goodness. In the New Testament, on the contrary, the title "saints" is clearly applied to all Christians.

In the original Greek the word is exactly the same as a word meaning "holy"; it is simply the adjective "holy" used as a noun. "Saints," therefore, really means "holy persons." Unfortunately, however, the word "holy," as well as the word "saint" has undergone modifications of usage. "Holy," in the Bible, is not simply another word for "good" or "righteous," but expresses a somewhat different idea. It has the idea of "sacred" or "separate"--separate from the world. God is holy not merely because he is good, but because he is separate. Undoubtedly his goodness is one attribute--perhaps the chief attribute--that constitutes the separateness; but other attributes also have their place. His omnipotence and his infinitude, as well as his goodness, make him "holy."

The word "holy" or "saint" as applied to Christians has fundamentally the same meaning. Believers are "holy" because they are in communion with the holy God and therefore separate from the world. Undoubtedly the most obvious element in their separateness is their goodness; the moral implications of the term "holy" are sometimes so prominent that the specific meaning of the word seems obscured. But that specific meaning is probably never altogether lost. Christians are called "saints" because they are citizens, not of the present evil world, but of a heavenly kingdom.

The familiar word, thus interpreted, has a startling lesson for the modern Church. Can modern Christians be called "saints," in the New Testament sense? Are we really separate from the world? Are we really "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people" (A. V.)? Do we really feel ourselves to be strangers and pilgrims in the earth? Or are we rather salt that has lost its savor? Have we become merged in the life of the world?

(=4=) "=Brethren.="--A fourth designation is concerned, not with the relation of the believer to Christ or to the world, but with the relation of believers among themselves. That designation is "brethren." It is a very simple word; it requires little explanation; the rich meaning of it will be unfolded in the whole of this quarter's study.

(=5=) "=Church.="--After studying the New Testament terms that denote the disciples of Jesus individually, it will now be well to turn for a moment to the chief designation of the body of disciples considered as a unit. That designation is "church," or in the Greek form, "ecclesia."

The word "ecclesia" is in itself a very simple term indeed. It is derived from the verb "call" and the preposition "out." An "ecclesia" is a body of persons called out from their houses to a common meeting place, in short it is simply an "assembly," and an assembly of any kind. This simple use of the word is found in Acts 19:32,39,41; the Greek word which is there translated "assembly" is exactly the same word as that which is elsewhere translated "church."

Even before New Testament times, however, the word had begun to be used in a special, religious sense. Here, as so often, the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament prepared the way for New Testament usage. In the Septuagint the word "ecclesia" was used to denote the solemn assembly of the people of Israel. That assembly was of course religious as well as political; for Israel was a theocratic nation. Hence it was no abrupt transition from previous usage when the New Testament writers selected the word "ecclesia" to denote the Christian congregation.

In the New Testament, the word is used in various ways. In the first place, it designates the body of Christians who lived in any particular place. So, for example, the epistles of Paul are addressed to individual "churches." In the second place, however, the word designates the whole body of Christians throughout the world. This usage is prominent in the Epistle to the Ephesians, but it also appears even in the Gospels, in the memorable words of Jesus at Cæsarea Philippi. Matt. 16:18. It is a wonderfully grand conception which is thus disclosed by the familiar word. "The Church" is a chosen people, ruled by the Lord himself, a mighty army, engaged, not in earthly warfare, but in a spiritual campaign of salvation and love.

(=6=) "=The Kingdom of God.="--One further conception requires at least a word. What is meant by "the kingdom of God"? This conception is evidently related to the conception of "the Church," but the two are not identical. The kingdom of God is simply that place or that condition where God rules. As the kingdom of Cæsar was the territory over which Cæsar held sway, so the kingdom of God is the realm where God's will is done. In one sense, of course, the kingdom of God embraces the whole universe, for nothing is beyond the reach of God's power. But in the New Testament the term is used in a far deeper sense; it is used to denote the realm where God's will is done, not of necessity, but by willing submission. Wherever human hearts and wills are in true accord with the will of God, there the "kingdom" has come.

In one sense the kingdom of God belongs to the future age. It is never realized fully upon earth; there is here always some lurking trace of sinful resistance. Nevertheless, in the New Testament the kingdom is by no means always represented as future. Though it has not yet been fully realized, it is already present in principle; it is present especially in the Church. The Church gives clear, though imperfect, expression to the idea of the kingdom; the Church is a people whose ruler is God.

Entrance into the Church is not to be obtained by human effort; it is the free gift of God through the Lord Jesus Christ. No other gift is so glorious. If we are members of that chosen people, we need fear nothing in heaven or on earth.

2. PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS

Two lessons should be conveyed by our study of to-day: in the first place the lesson of separateness, and in the second place the lesson of unity. Neither can be truly learned without the other. There can be no true Christian unity if individual members of the Christian body make common cause with the unbelieving world. A knowledge of the common enemy will draw us all into closer fellowship. That fellowship need not necessarily be expressed in a common organization; but it will be expressed at least in a common service. Separateness from the world will not mean leaving the world to its fate; the Christian salvation will be offered freely to all. But the gravity of the choice should never, by any false urbanity, be disguised. It is no light difference whether a man is within the people of God or without; there is a definite line of demarcation, and the passing of it means the transition from death into life.

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IN THE LIBRARY.--Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": articles on "Church," "Disciple," "Christian." Hastings, "Dictionary of the Bible": Gayford, article on "Church." Hort, "The Christian Ecclesia." Charteris, "The Church of Christ." Westcott, "The Two Empires: The Church and the World," in "The Epistles of St. John," pp. 250-282. "The Epistle to Diognetus," introduction and translation in Lightfoot, "The Apostolic Fathers," pp. 487-489, 501-511. Erdman, "Coming to the Communion."

LESSON XLI

THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE

1. A PHILOSOPHY, OR A TESTIMONY?

In the Student's Text Book the Christian message has been represented as primarily a piece of good news, a story of something that happened. That representation does not pass unchallenged to-day. Many suppose that the message of the apostles was concerned simply with reflection upon eternal truths. For centuries, it is said in effect, men had been reflecting upon the problems of God and the world and sin; what the apostles did in Jerusalem and elsewhere was simply to provide better instruction on these great themes; Jesus had taught men that God is a Father, the apostles simply continued his teaching.

Such a view, of course, can be held only by rejecting or distorting the testimony of the New Testament. If the book of The Acts is correct, if Paul is correct, then the preaching that founded the apostolic Church was not better instruction about old facts, but information about a new fact. Before Jesus came, the world was lost under sin; but Jesus lived and died and rose again, and gave salvation to all who would receive. According to the New Testament, Jesus did not come to tell men that they were God's children; he came to make them God's children. John 1:12; Gal. 4:3-5. Without him they were under God's wrath and curse; but by faith in him, by acceptance of his sacrifice of himself for them, by receiving from his Spirit the power to believe, they could call God Father. On the day of Pentecost Jesus was presented as more than a Teacher; he was presented as a Saviour.

2. THE EFFECTS OF THE MESSAGE

=(1) In the Apostolic Age.=--The effects of that presentation have been considered briefly in the Student's Text Book, and what was said there might easily be supplemented. The conversion of the three thousand was only a beginning. The new spirit of the Christian community, the brotherly love and holy joy of the disciples, indeed everything that will be treated in the lessons of the quarter, were the result of a simple piece of news. By the wise men of the world--then as now--the message was despised, but "the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." I Cor. 1:25.

This lesson offers a singular opportunity to the teacher. The Christian message in the apostolic Church was a message of power. The story of its progress is full of dramatic vigor; it appeals even to the non-Christian historian. The story of the apostolic age is full of surprises--the sudden transformation of bitter Jewish enemies into humble disciples; the triumphant spread of the faith when everything seemed opposed; the establishment of Christian churches in the very centers of pagan vice; the astonishingly rapid preparation for the conquest of the empire; and all this accomplished not by worldly wisdom, but by simple men who only had a bit of news--a bit of news, and God!

=(2) In the History of the Church.=--The triumphs of the gospel, however, were not confined to the age of the apostles. The apostolic age was prophetic of the Christian centuries. There were many days of darkness; but the Church always emerged again triumphant. So it will be to-day. God has not deserted his people; he will attest his truth with the power of his Spirit; there is no room for discouragement. One thing, however, should be remembered; the victories of the Church are victories, not of brilliant preachers, not of human wisdom or human goodness, but of the cross of Christ. Under that banner all true conquests move.

3. THE PRESENTATION OF THE MESSAGE

The Christian message was presented in the apostolic Church in many different ways. The gospel was everywhere essentially the same, but the presentation of it was adapted to the needs of particular hearers, and the understanding of it became ever more complete under the illumination of the Holy Spirit. It is interesting to collect the various types of missionary speeches that are found in the New Testament.

=(1) The Missionary Preaching of the Jerusalem Church.=--The early chapters of The Acts preserve a number of speeches that were addressed to Jews. As might have been expected, these speeches are intended primarily to prove the Messiahship of Jesus. If that could be proved, then--among the Jews--the rest would follow. The Messiahship was proved first by an appeal to the Scriptures, and second by the fact of the resurrection. Even the death of Jesus on the cross, which was to the Jews a stumblingblock, was predicted by the prophets, and so served to prove that Jesus was the promised One. The resurrection was also predicted; and the resurrection was established first by the simple testimony of eyewitnesses and second by the wonderful works of the living Christ.

These early speeches contain only a little of the full truth of the gospel. In them, for example, the significance of the death of Christ as an atonement for sin is not fully explained. Such omissions were due no doubt to two causes.

(a) Limitations Due to the Hearers.--In the first place, the peculiar needs of the hearers had to be considered. The hearers were Jews; to them the death of the Messiah was an unheard-of paradox; to them the cross was a stumblingblock. Before the inner meaning of the crucifixion could be explained, obviously the objections derived from it needed to be overcome. The first task of the missionaries was to show that Jesus, although he had been crucified, was the Messiah. That was done by an appeal to prophecy and to the plain fact of the resurrection. After conviction had thus been produced, it would be time enough to show that what was at first regarded as a stumblingblock was really the supreme act of divine grace.

(b) Limitations Due to an Early Stage of Revelation.--The omissions in the early speeches were due, however, not merely to the peculiar needs of the hearers, but also to limitations in the knowledge of the apostles. Christian truth was not all revealed at once; undoubtedly the full explanation of the cross, the full exposition of the atonement, was revealed only when the disciples could bear it. Such is the divine method, even in revelation. The disciples were brought gradually, by the gracious leading of the Holy Spirit, into ever richer knowledge of the truth.

(c) The Significance of the Cross.--Nevertheless, the meagerness of the early teaching must not be exaggerated. In the very first missionary speech of Peter, Jesus was represented as "delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." Acts 2:23. What happened "by the determinate counsel ... of God" was no meaningless chance; the crucifixion was not a victory of evil over God, it must have had some beneficent purpose. Furthermore, Jesus himself had explained what that purpose was. He had spoken of giving his life a ransom for many, Mark 10:45; still more plainly, on the last solemn passover evening, he had represented his death as sacrificial. These words were certainly not forgotten in the Jerusalem church; they were called to mind in the repeated celebration of the Lord's Supper, and must have formed the subject of meditation. The Jerusalem Christians knew that Jesus' death was a death on their behalf.

(d) The Lordship of Jesus.--The lordship of Jesus, moreover, was fully recognized from the very beginning. The risen Christ had ascended into glory, and had poured forth his mighty Spirit. The believer was no mere learner of the words of a dead teacher; he was called into communion with a Lord and Saviour. Such communion meant nothing less than an entirely new life, in which sin could have no rightful place. It was a life of conflict, but also a life of hope. The Saviour would come again in like manner as he had gone. The spiritual victory, already won, would be perfected by a final victory in every realm.

=(2) The Missionary Preaching of Paul.=--The gospel of the early preachers was a glorious message. It was a piece of glad tidings, such as the world had never known. Yet even greater things were in store; even more wondrous mysteries were to be revealed. They were revealed especially through the instrumentality of the apostle Paul. The gospel had been preached from the beginning, but much of its deeper meaning was reserved for Paul.

(a) Truth and Error.--In the teaching of Paul, truth became plainer by being contrasted with error. The original apostles had really been trusting in the atonement of Christ for salvation; but now that trust became plainer and more explicit by being contrasted with works of the law. The original apostles had really grasped the inner significance of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament; but now that significance became still plainer by the contrast with Pharisaic legality. Now at length the death and resurrection were represented sharply and clearly as great representative acts in which the believer shares through faith. The original apostles were not overwhelmed and confused by the new revelation; they recognized the grace of God. Their perfect agreement with Paul exhibited the unity of the apostolic gospel.

Scarcely anything would be more interesting than a full collection of the missionary speeches of Paul. Such a collection, however, has not been preserved. The writings that we possess from the hand of Paul are not missionary addresses, but letters written to those who were already Christians. We should not, however, complain of the providence of God. God has not thought good to give us everything, but what he has given us is enough.

(b) Information Provided by The Acts.--The book of The Acts, in the first place, affords valuable information. The author was interested, indeed, chiefly in beginnings. The examples of Paul's missionary preaching which Luke has preserved, are perhaps preliminary to evangelism, rather than evangelism itself. The speech at Pisidian Antioch shows how Paul proved the Messiahship of Jesus. In winning the Jews, that proof was the first step. The Pauline gospel indeed appears, but it appears only at the very end of the speech. The speech at Athens is still more clearly of preliminary character. Monotheism needed to be established before the gospel of Christ could be understood. Despite their necessary limitations however, these speeches are instructive. They show, in the first place, that Paul adapted his preaching to the needs of his hearers. He did not preach the same sermon mechanically to all. He sought really to win men over, he began with what his hearers could understand. They show, in the second place, that all preliminary matters were kept strictly subordinate. These matters were not made an end in themselves, as is often the case in the modern Church, but were merely a means to an end. No matter where he began, Paul always proceeded quickly to the center of the gospel. Both at Pisidian Antioch and at Athens, he hastened on to the resurrection.

(c) Information Provided by the Epistles.--The Pauline Epistles, in the second place, though they are addressed to Christians, really afford sufficient information, at least in outline, about the missionary preaching of Paul. Incidental references are sufficient to show at least that the cross and the resurrection were the center and core of it. The Thessalonians, for example, under the preaching of Paul, "turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivereth us from the wrath to come." This little passage is worth pages of exposition. Preaching to Gentiles is here reviewed in epitome, though of course not with studied symmetry and completeness. The knowledge of the one true God formed of course, for Gentiles, the starting point for all the rest, but from that starting point the preacher at once proceeded to tell of the work of Christ. Just as illuminating are passages like I Cor. 2:2; Gal. 3:1. In Corinth Paul knew nothing save "Jesus Christ, and him crucified"; in Galatia the story of the cross was made so plain that it was as though Jesus Christ crucified were held up before the eyes of the Galatians on a great picture or placard. The famous passage in First Corinthians, ch. 15:1-8, is, however, perhaps clearest of all. At the very beginning Paul had spoken of the death of Christ and the resurrection. The death, moreover, was not presented as a mere inspiring story of a holy martyrdom, but as a death "for our sins"; and the resurrection was supported not primarily by an inward experience, but by simple testimony.

Apostolic preaching was everywhere essentially the same. The apostles never began, like many modern preachers, with exhortation; though they proceeded to exhortation, they always began with facts. What was always fundamental was the simple story of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ crucified and risen was the subject of the good news that conquered the world. When will the modern Church take up the message with new power? We do not know. The times are in God's hand. But when the blessed day comes, it will be a day of victory.

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IN THE LIBRARY.--Bunyan, "The Pilgrim's Progress." Warfield, "The Saviour of the World," and "The Power of God Unto Salvation" (the latter in "The Presbyterian Pulpit"). Hodge, "The Way of Life."

LESSON XLII

THE WORD AND THE SACRAMENTS

This lesson and the two following are intended primarily to encourage in the student the diligent use of "the means of grace." The wise teacher will keep the practical purpose steadily in view. That practical purpose may now be examined a little more in detail. Why should the example of the apostolic Church be followed in the matter of Bible-reading, of the sacraments, of prayer, of Christian meetings? What was God's purpose in providing these simple exercises of the Christian life--what benefit do we receive from them? Perhaps the briefest and simplest answer is that we receive from them what is often known as "reality" in religion.

1. REALITY IN RELIGION

Many Christians are puzzled by the lack of the sense of "reality" in their Christian life. They have believed in Christ, but often he seems far from them. It is not so much that positive doubts have arisen, though certainly the lack of fervency gives doubt its opportunity. Rather is it an inexplicable dulling of the spiritual eye. The gospel still seems wonderful to the intellect, but to the heart it has somehow lost its power.

=(1) The Need of Diligence.=--This condition is due very often to a neglect of "the means of grace," which we shall study in this lesson and the two lessons following. It is a great mistake to suppose that the spiritual life is altogether beyond our control. Undoubtedly it is instituted only by an immediate exercise of the divine power, independent of the human will; undoubtedly the maintenance of it would be impossible without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, in that work of maintenance, we have a very definite part. Many Christians suppose that any performance of religious exercises merely for duty's sake, without immediate spiritual profit, is a mere form. This supposition is erroneous. Not performance of religious exercises without spiritual profit, but performance of them without the desire of spiritual profit, is formalism. The appointed means of grace must continue to be used even when no immediate benefit can be discerned. In the reading of the Bible, in prayer, in public worship, the Christian should first of all do his duty. The result may safely be left to God.

=(2) The Danger of Neglect.=--Without such attention to duty, the Christian life becomes merely a matter of inclination. In times of great spiritual distress we call upon God for comfort and help; but in the long, level weeks of comparative prosperity we think we can do without him. Such thoughts are the height of folly. God is not our servant, he is not one who can safely be left out of our thoughts except when we think we especially need him. If we neglect God in time of prosperity, we may call in vain when adversity comes.

=(3) The Reward of Duty.=--The religious life is not merely a matter of inclination; it must be diligently fostered. Such attention to duty, however, will never be merely drudgery. It may begin with drudgery, and it may become drudgery again at times, but if persisted in, it will be an ever-widening avenue of joy and power.

2. THE STUDY OF THE BIBLE

The reading of the Bible is such a simple thing, and so obviously necessary to the Christian life, that it requires comparatively little discussion. Despite its indispensableness, however, it is being sadly neglected to-day. Our fathers learned the Bible with a thoroughness which to-day is almost unknown. The change is full of danger. A Bible-reading Church is possessed of power; without the Bible the Church loses its identity altogether and sinks back into the life of the world. The process, unfortunately, has gone to considerable lengths. How may it now be checked?

=(1) The Study Should Be Made Interesting.=--Something, no doubt, may be done by making the study of the Bible more interesting. Certainly the Bible does not yield in interest to any other branch of knowledge. The Bible does not merely present spiritual truth; it presents it in a wonderfully rich and varied way. If the study of the Bible is stupid, the fault lies not in the subject matter, but in the student or in the teacher.

=(2) The Motive of Duty.=--Nevertheless, a mere appeal to the interest of the students is entirely insufficient. After all, there is no royal road to learning--not to Biblical learning any more than to the learning of the world. Solid education can never be attained without hard work; education that is easy is pretty sure to be worthless. Especially at the beginning the chief appeal in education must be to a sense of duty. So it is in the case of the Bible. The Bible is the word of God; obviously it may not be neglected. Let us study it, then, primarily because the study of it is an obvious duty. As a matter of fact the duty will soon become a pleasure, but let not that be the motive. Let us read the Bible regularly and persistently, in entire independence of changing impulse. That is the kind of study that is blessed of God. Superficial study, determined by mere inclination, may at first sight seem just as good. But when adversity or temptation comes, then the difference appears. It is the difference between a house built upon the sand and a house built upon the rock. The two houses look alike, but when the rains descend and the floods come, one falls and the other stands. The Christian whose knowledge of the Bible is obtained by old-fashioned, patient study, never interrupted by changing inclination, has dug deep and founded his house upon the rock.

=(3) The Example of the Apostolic Church.=--The example of the apostolic Church in the matter of the means of grace is especially significant. In the apostolic age, it might have seemed as though these simple exercises might be dispensed with. What need of regularly appointed forms when the Holy Spirit was so immediately manifested? Yet as a matter of fact all of the essential forms of Christian custom were present from the beginning. Regularity and diligence were cherished even in the first exuberance of the Jerusalem church. Enthusiasm of spiritual life did not lead to the despising of ordinary helps; the early disciples "continued stedfastly," "day by day," "with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart." Acts 2:46.

The use which the apostolic Church made of the Bible might seem to some modern men particularly surprising. A book religion, men say, is a stagnant religion; living faith is independent of dead documents; it is only when the early enthusiasm is lost that belief becomes crystallized in submission to venerable authority. This sort of religious philosophy shatters on the plain facts of the apostolic age. Admittedly that was an age of freshness and independence. There never has been such an outburst of religious enthusiasm as that which planted the faith in Jerusalem and carried it like wildfire throughout the civilized world. Yet another fact is equally plain--this wonderful enthusiasm was coupled with the utmost reverence for a book. Nothing could exceed the unquestioning submission which the early Christians paid to the Old Testament Scriptures. The exuberance of apostolic Christianity was intertwined with a book religion!

The explanation, of course, is simple. Submission to a human book means stagnation; but genuine submission to the Word of God means always what it meant in the apostolic age--heroism and victory and life.

3. BAPTISM

=(1) Baptism and Circumcision.=--The sacrament of baptism had its truest predecessor in circumcision, the Old Testament sign of union with the covenant people. Baptism as well as circumcision is a sign of the covenant, though the varied symbolism marks the advance of the new covenant over the old.

=(2) Christian Baptism and the Baptism of John.=--In form, moreover, and to a considerable extent also in meaning, Christian baptism in the early Church was prepared for by the baptism of John the Baptist, which had even been continued by the disciples of Jesus during Jesus' earthly ministry. John 4:1,2. Both the baptism of John and Christian baptism symbolized cleansing from sin. Compare Acts 2:38 with Matt. 3:6,11.

Christian baptism, however, differed from every rite that had preceded it by its definite reference to Christ, and by its definite connection with a new manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

=(3) Baptism "Into Christ."=--In the apostolic writings, baptism is sometimes spoken of as a baptism "into Christ." Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3. The meaning of this phrase has often been obscured both in translation and in interpretation. The phrase "into Christ" in this connection means something more than "with reference to Christ"; it means rather "into a position within Christ." The Christian, according to a common Pauline expression, is "in Christ"; he is in such close union with Christ that the life of Christ might almost be described as the atmosphere which he breathes. To be baptized "into Christ" means to come by baptism into this state of blessed union with the Saviour.

=(4) Baptism and Faith.=--At this point, however, a serious question arises. How can baptism be described as the means by which the Christian comes into union with Christ, when at other times salvation is declared to be by faith? One solution of the difficulty would be simply to say that baptism and faith are both necessary--a man must believe if he is to be saved, but he must also be baptized. Clearly, however, this view does not represent the meaning of the New Testament. The passages where faith alone is represented as the condition of salvation are too strong; especially the vigorous contrast which Paul sets up between faith and works prevents any inclusion of such a work as baptism along with faith as an additional condition of acceptance with God. The true solution is that baptism is related to faith, or rather to the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit, as the sign is related to the thing signified. Baptism represents the work of the Spirit; it is a means which the Spirit uses. If it stood alone, it would be a meaningless form, but when it is representative of spiritual facts it becomes a channel of divine grace.

4. THE LORD'S SUPPER

The celebration of the Lord's Supper in the Jerusalem church was probably connected in some way with "the breaking of bread," which is mentioned in Acts 2:42. Every common meal was an expression of Christian communion, but the solemn words of Christ at the Last Supper could not have been forgotten. Here, as so often, the book of The Acts affords little information about the internal affairs of the Church.

Fortunately, Paul, in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, is far more explicit, and inferences can be drawn from him with regard even to Jerusalem. Paul represents the Lord's Supper, not as an innovation, but as something that had been given to the Corinthians as a matter of course, at the very beginning of their Christian lives; evidently the sacrament was celebrated universally in the churches; Paul had "received" the account of the institution of the Supper from the Lord through the first Christians.

In Corinth, as was also probably the case in the early days in Jerusalem, the Supper was celebrated in connection with the common meals of the Christian community. Certain abuses had arisen; the rich brought food and drink with them and feasted luxuriously in the presence of their poorer brethren; the spiritual significance of the Supper was profaned. Against such abuses Paul enunciates the great principle that the Supper does not work a magical benefit; if partaken of irreverently it brings condemnation rather than blessing.

In I Cor. 10:14-22, the Lord's Supper appears as a warning against participation in heathen feasts. The pagan fellow citizens of the Corinthian Christians, by their religious feasts, held communion with idols; the Christians cannot remain with them and at the same time commune with Christ. A man must take his choice--either Christ or idols; he must choose either the Lord's Supper or heathen feasts. Here the Lord's Supper appears especially as a sign of communion with Christ, as in ch. 11:26 it appears especially as a commemoration of his death. These two aspects of the Supper, and their intimate connection with each other, should now be explained a little more in detail.

=(1) A Representation of the Death of Christ.=--The Lord's Supper, as is observed in the Student's Text Book, is representative of the death of Christ on our behalf. In many passages of the New Testament, the significance of that death is explained in words; in the Lord's Supper it is represented in visible form. The Lord's Supper is related to the story of the gospel, as the picture or the acted representation is related to ordinary discourse. In the broken bread and poured-out wine we not only apprehend with the mind, but actually see the broken body and shed blood of the Lord. Of course that does not mean, as the Roman Catholic Church teaches, that the bread and wine are actually by a miracle, at every celebration of the Supper, changed into the body and blood of Christ, but only that they represent them. The very simplicity of the sacrament should have guarded against misinterpretation. An actual image of the dying Saviour might lead to idolatry, or to an overemphasis upon the details of the scene on Calvary; the simple representation that Christ ordained is enough to be vivid, without being enough to become misleading.

=(2) A Representation of Our Union with Christ.=--The Supper represents the death of Christ not as a mere drama, remote from us, but as a death on our behalf. In the Supper we do not merely witness the breaking of the bread and the pouring out of the wine; we partake of the bread and wine ourselves. Plainly the symbolism means that we who are disciples of Christ do not merely admire the holy self-sacrifice of Christ, but rather receive the benefits of it. We feed upon the body and blood of Christ in the high spiritual sense that by faith we obtain from Christ's death pardon for our sins and a fresh start in the full favor of God. These benefits we obtain not by our own efforts, but by a free gift. It was Christ himself who broke the bread and poured out the wine on the last evening before the crucifixion; it is also Christ who, through his minister, at every celebration of the sacrament, is represented as offering to us his body and blood.

The Lord's Supper, therefore, is not merely a commemoration of an event in the past; it is also the symbol of a present fact. It symbolizes the blessed communion of believers with one another and with Christ.

5. THE SACRAMENTS MORE THAN A PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL

So far we have considered the sacraments merely as one means of proclaiming the gospel. The Bible proclaims the gospel in words; the sacraments proclaim it in pictures. Even if that were all, the sacraments would be of great value. By these symbolic actions the gospel message attains a new vividness and definiteness.

As a matter of fact, however, baptism and the Lord's Supper are more than peculiar ways of making a vivid presentation of the gospel. They were instituted especially by Christ, and the Holy Spirit has connected with them a special blessing. The Spirit can use what means he will, and he has chosen to use these. In the Lord's Supper, for example, the Lord is really present in the midst of his people. He is not present, indeed, in "a corporal and carnal manner"; but his spiritual presence is a blessed fact.

The sacraments, therefore, should not be neglected. In themselves, when unaccompanied by faith, they are valueless; and they are not necessary for salvation. Ordinarily, however, they are a chosen means of blessing. When God wills, other means can take their place, but under all ordinary circumstances they are used. Certainly they should not be neglected without adequate cause. They have been provided by God, and God is wiser than men.

The Lord's Supper should be received with solemnity; but sometimes young Christians have perhaps an exaggerated dread of it. The error of the Corinthian Christians should indeed be carefully avoided; wanton carelessness in the solemn act will of course bring the condemnation of God. But the Supper does not demand perfection, even in faith; on the contrary it is intended to help to remove imperfection. The Lord's Supper is not a dangerous bit of magic, where any little mistake might break the charm. Let us partake of it with a simple prayer, and leave the results to the goodness of God.

* * * * *

IN THE LIBRARY.--Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": article on "Lord's Supper"; Purves, article on "Baptism." W. W. Moore, "The Indispensable Book." Candlish, "The Christian Sacraments" (In "Handbooks for Bible Classes," edited by Dods and Whyte). Lilley, "The Lord's Supper."

LESSON XLIII

PRAYER

1. THE ANSWERER OF PRAYER

The prayers of the apostolic age reveal with startling clearness the apostolic conception of God; and one chief reason why our prayers fall short of the apostolic standard is that our idea of God is different.

=(1) God Is a Person.=--In the first place, true prayer always conceives of God as a Person; whereas much of modern religious thinking conceives of him as only another name for the world. Human life, it is said, is a part of the life of God; every man, to some degree, is divine. Such a philosophy makes prayer logically impossible. It is impossible for us to speak to an impersonal world-force of which we ourselves are merely an expression; the personal distinction between man and God is absolutely essential to prayer.

The transcendence of God as over against the world is grandly expressed in the prayer of the Jerusalem church, which was studied in the Student's Text Book; the Jerusalem Christians addressed God as the Lord who made "the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is." Acts 4:24. God, in other words, is not another name for the world, but Creator of the world. He is indeed present in the world; not a single thing that happens is independent of him; the world would not continue for a moment without God's sustaining hand. But that means, not that God is identical with the world, but that he is Master of it. God pervades all things; he is present everywhere; but he is also free.

That conception pervades all the prayers of the apostolic Church; in all of them man comes to God as one person to another. God is free; God can do what he will; through Christ he is our Father. He is not bound by his own works; he is independent of nature; he will overrule all things for the good of his children. Such is the God that can answer prayer.

=(2) God Is an Infinite and Holy Person.=--If, however, the prayers of the apostolic age conceive of God as a Person, they also conceive of him as very different from men. Here, also, they provide a salutary example for the modern Church. Many devout Christians of to-day, in avoiding the error which has just been described, in thinking of God plainly as a person, are inclined to fall into the opposite mistake. In their clear realization of God as a person they think of him as a person exactly like ourselves. They regard the difference between God and man as a difference of degree rather than a difference of kind; they think of God as merely a greater man in the sky. The result of such thinking is disastrous for prayer. Prayer, to be sure, is here not absolutely destroyed; communion with God remains possible; but such communion is degraded. Communion loses that sense of mystery and awe which properly belongs to it. Man becomes too familiar with God; God takes merely the leading place in a circle of friends; religion descends to the plane of other relationships. Prayer to such a God is apt to become irreverent. If our prayers are to lift us fully into the presence of God they must never lie on the same plane with the communion that we enjoy with our fellow men, but must be filled with a profound sense of God's majesty and power.

The danger of permitting prayer, on account of its very privilege, to become a commonplace thing is one that threatens us all. It may be overcome, however, in the first place, by the contemplation of nature. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork"--and it is a terrible, mysterious God that they reveal. The stupendous vastness of the universe and the baffling mystery of the surrounding infinity oppress the thoughtful mind with a profound sense of insignificance. And God is the Maker and Ruler of it all, the One in whom all the mystery finds its explanation! Such is the employment of nature in the prayer of the Jerusalem church. Acts 4:24.

All the prayers of the apostolic Church illustrate the principle which is now being emphasized. There is never anything trite or vulgar about the prayers that are contained in the New Testament; they are all characterized by a wonderful dignity and reverence.

If the infinity and omnipotence of God should prevent any irreverence in our prayers, the thought of his holiness is perhaps even more overwhelming. We are full of impurity. Who can stand before the white light of God's awful judgment throne?

=(3) God Is a Gracious Person.=--Nevertheless, despite the majesty and holiness of God, he invites us into his presence. It is a stupendous wonder. No reasoning could have shown it to be probable; only ignorance can regard it as a matter of course. If God were only a somewhat greater man, there would have been comparatively little mystery in prayer; but communion with the infinite and eternal and holy One, the unfathomed cause of all things, is the wonder of wonders. It is a wonder of God's grace. It is too wonderful to be true; yet it has become true in Christ. True prayer brings us not before some God of our own devising, before whom we could stand in our own merit without fear, but into the dread presence of Jehovah. Let us not hesitate to go; God has called us; he loves us as a Father, far more than we can ever love him. Prayer is full of joy; the joy is so great that it is akin to fear.

2. THE INFLUENCE OF JESUS' TEACHING UPON THE PRAYERS OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH

In studying the prayers of the apostolic age, it must always be remembered that they stood upon the foundation of Jesus' example and precept.

=(1) The Example of Jesus.=--With all his power and holiness Jesus was not above asking for strength to perform his gracious work; after that long, wearying day in Capernaum he "departed into a desert place, and there prayed." Mark 1:35. In the hour of agony in Gethsemane, he prayed a truly human, though holy, prayer: "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; remove this cup from me: howbeit not what I will, but what thou wilt." Ch. 14:36. Prayer, moreover, was not something which Jesus reserved for himself; clearly it was a privilege which he extended to all his disciples. In the prayer that he taught his disciples, he summed up all that our prayer should be. Matt. 6:9-15.

=(2) God as Father.=--One thing in particular was derived by the apostolic Church from Jesus--the conception of God as Father. This conception appears in the epistles of Paul as a matter of course; evidently it was firmly established among the readers; it no longer required defense or explanation. Yet it had not lost, through long repetition, one whit of its freshness; in Paul it is never a mere phrase, but always a profound spiritual fact.

Obviously this idea of the fatherhood of God was of particular importance for prayer. It taught the disciples "to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, able and ready to help" them. A characteristic way of addressing God even in the Gentile churches of Paul was "Abba, Father." Gal. 4:6; Rom. 8:15. The Aramaic word "Abba" is sufficient to show that this hallowed usage was based ultimately upon the teaching and example of Jesus; the word was the very one that Jesus had used both in his own prayers, for example in Gethsemane, Mark 14:36, and in the "Lord's Prayer" which he taught to his disciples.