September, 1938
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
301
I N T E R N A T I O N A L L E S S O N Commentary Outline and Exposition B lackboard Lesson C hildren s D ivision G olden T ext Illustration O bject Lesson By B. B. S utcliffe B y G retchen S ibley B y H elen G ailey B y A lan S. P earce B y E lmer L. W ilder Points and P roblem s B y A lva J. M c C lain
O CTO BER 2, 1938 THE ONE TRUE GOD E xodus 20:2, 3: I saiah 45:22; M ark 12:28-34; 1 C orinthians 8:4-6
be loved with the whole being—heart, soul, mind, and strength (vs. 29, 3 0). T o this the scribe agreed (vs. 32, 3 3 ), as every man must agree if he would deal honestly with God. Our Lord recognized the scribe’s under standing, knowledge, and agreement with what had been said, and told him he was not far from the kingdom (v. 34). But the kingdom is not entered by means of mere intellectual assent. One thing is necessary for entrance into the family of the redeem ed, and only one: the new birth (cf. John 3 :1 -7 ). And the new birth comes by sim ple faith in Christ as one’s personal Saviour. IV. T he O pposition (1 Cor. 8:4-6) Opposition to the supremacy of the liv ing God rises from Satan who lures man into worship of “idols” of every sort. While the idol is “nothing in the world” (vs. 4, 5 ), yet its nothingness appeals to fallen human nature and leads away from the true God. But “to us there is one God, the Father” (v. 6 ). Here the pronouns us and w e are applicable only to those who have received Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour; the words do not apply to all men. W e must exercise care lest we leave with our classes the modern heresy of the universal Father hood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. There is no such teaching as this found in the Word of God. T o know God as Father, we must come to Him through the atoning work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Points and Problems 1. "And G od sp ake all these words" (Ex. 2 0 :1 ). It is rather too bad that the Lesson Committee did not see fit to include this first brief verse of chapter 20 in this week’s lesson, for we have here one of the Bible’s clearest claims for the divine inspira tion of its writings. The Bible does not, as some assert, present humanity’s gropings upward after God, but rather the voluntary and sovereign revelation of God Himself to man. God spake all these words.” It should also be noted that inspiration extends not merely to the thoughts of the Bible but also to the very words. 2. ‘There is one G od; and there is none other" (Mk. 12:32). The scribe who said this to our Lord knew his Bible, and was commended for his words. See verse 33. He gave a perfect definition of the great truth of the unity of God as revealed in the Old Testament. There are two distinct sides to this truth: First, the true God is one God; that is, He is one as to His being or essence. Second, He is the only God; that is, apart from Him there is no God. 3. It should be understood, o f course, that the truth of the unity o f G od d oes not forbid the idea o f a plurality o f persons within the being o f the one true God. The
Exodus 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Isaiah 45:22 Look unto me, and he ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Mark _12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and_ with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Mas ter, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: . 33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all^ the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered dis creetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question . 1 Corinthians 8 :4 As concerning therefore the eating' of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. . Golden T ext: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deut. 6 .5 ), D evotional R eading: Psalm 67. Outline and Exposition I. T he C ommand (E x . 20:2, 3) F OR the present quarter, the general subject is “The Ten Commandments and the Teachings of Jesus.” W e must remember that the Ten Commandments did not originate in the ingenuity of Moses, and certainly not in Babylonian or other sources, but came directly from God after He brought Israel out of the land of Egypt (v. 2 ). W e must remember, too, that Is rael’s redemption did not depend upon whether or not the nation observed these [T hese lessons a re developed from out lines prepared by the Comm ittee on Im proved Uniform Lessons o f the Interna tional Council. T h e outlines are copyrighted by the International Council o f Religious Education and used by permission. T he Scripture portions quoted are from the King Jam es Version unless otherw ise stated. —E ditor .]
commandments. Israel had been redeemed by blood before she received the law. But Israel did not know her sinfulness. The law was given because the people already were sinners—as the presence of idols among them revealed (cf. v. 3 ). For ourselves, we know that the law is for the lawless and disobedient (1 Tim. 1:9, 10). It tells what a man ought to do and be, and pronounces a curse upon all who do not meet its demands. In order to do what the law requires, one must have life; and in order to be what the law demands, one must have righteousness. The natural man has neither life nor righteousness. Hence the law condemns every man. It thus reveals that every man needs the grace bestowed apart from the law, the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The law, because of its perfection, cannot show mercy (Heb. 10: 2 8), nor forgive (Heb. 2 :2 ), nor justify (Rom. 3 :2 0 ), nor give power (Rom. 5 :6 ), nor give life (Gal. 3 :2 1 ). It can only de mand these things and condemn the individ ual when these qualities are absent. II. T he I nvitation (Isa. 45:22) In view of what the law is and does, it is comforting to hear God’s gracious invita tion: Look unto me, and be ye saved.” When the sinner will look *o God alone, he will find salvation from the law’s curse as well as from sin’s power. Being slow to allow God to have all the glory, the sinner attempts to add something to that which God provides; he endeavors to reform his own life, or to become in some way better fitted to receive salvation, whereas his helplessness is his only recom mendation for salvation. The inclusiveness of God’s way is re vealed in the words, “all the ends of the earth.” No one is shut out from His grace. III. T he R evelation (Mk. 12:28-34) This scribe propounded the greatest ques tion that man could ask (v. 2 8). He cer tainly did not mean to inquire what was the first commandment in order, but the first in importance. In other words, he was ask ing: “What is my first duty?” The first commandment is that God shall BLACKBOARD LESSON •THOU SHHLT LOUE THE LOUD TW GOD WITH ALL TUIBE HEAKT, AITD UJITHALITALI 50UL,nnD UJITH ALLTHH miGMT"DEUT.6t5
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