THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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mother? And is it not a picture of God? III. The Endlessness of Lore. 1. Prophecies will one day be a th ing of the past, for all shall have been fulfilled as so many have been already. 2. Tongues will one day be unnec essary, because we shall speak th e language of Heaven. 3. Knowledge even now gives way to increasing and more correct knowl edge, and today’s knowledge is tomor row ’s ignorance. 4. The present age in spite of boasted superiority is an age of failure w ritten large. Proof— Europe. 5. Christian experience now should be a growing experience. Childishness is a term of reproach when applied to adults. Child-likeness is a very differ ent characteristic. The form er should be “ p u t away” ; th e later should be cultivated (Mark 10:15; Matt. 18:2, 3 ). 6. The perfect will come when the P erfect One, comes, and not till then. 7. When we are made perfect a t His coming we shall not only be perfect in knowledge, b u t perfect also in l o v e - in ch aracter, “ like H im ” (1 John 3 :1 ,' 2 ). 8. Love is g reatest of all, for it lasts when all else is gone. It is etein al. IV. How to Get Love. Love is not of th is world. It is an exotic. I t has to be imported from ano th er clime, and im parted by an- others power. Love is th e fru it of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us (Gal. 5 :2 2 ). To have love we must have Him. To receive Him we must first be “ born again ” (John 3 :3 ). Our p a rt in being “ born ag ain” is to believe on th e Lord Jesus Christ (Jo h n 3:14, 16; 5 :2 4 ). Then to the one who is “born again ” God im parts H is Spirit (Acts 5 :32 ; Luke 11:13; Acts 1 :8 ). See also Eph. 1:13, 14; Rom. 8:9, Love is the fru it of the
S pirit (Gal. 5 :2 2 ). Love cannot be “worked up.” I t only “ grows” out. “Love is a law, not an emotion, or an affection; it is the principle of the im- p a rta tio n ra th e r th an of the reception of good; the grand law of unselfish and universal benevolence.”—A. T. Pierson. This is indeed a lo v e , lesson. Our chapter is one of the wonders of the world. It is the eloquence of letters, life and love. I t is w ritten in the tongue of men. Love HEART OF is m an’s language for THE LESSON all ' speak it, and the T. C. H orton language of angels, for it is H eaven’s lan guage. The only rival to th is chapter is John 17, and Psalm 23, and the essence of all th ree is John 3 :16. T hat verse is the h ea rt of the Gospel, and th is chapter is the Gospel of th e heart. The love spoken of here, is not hum an love, not n atu ra l love, b u t the love of God. The g reatest th ing in the world is faith, and it is the foundation thing. Love is th e fru it and flower of faith. There has been and is much fool ish, sentim ental ta lk and w ritten word about love as designated here, b u t it is the love of God inw rought by the Holy Ghost, the outflow of th e love of God H imself th rough the channel of the hum an life. Only one person has exem plified love in its Divine perfection and th a t person is Jesu s Christ. Now read th e name of Jesu s Christ in place of th e word “ ch arity ” in our chapter and see how perfectly He fills , every possible attrib u te. Look a t th e gifts named. All are inferior to love, and w orthless w ithout it, as th e first th ree verses prove. W hat is eloquence, or prophetic insight, or mystic insight, lim itless learning, m artyrdom for opin ion? They are, vanity of vanities w ith ou t love. How the Bible rings the changes on th e word “ love!” ,; How th e Deity is
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