T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
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disciples w ent everywhere preaching the Word, th e Apostles were th e only ones who did no t go. Acts 8:1. The phe nomenal grow th of th e early church can only he- explained by th e fact th a t all its members were enthusiastic m is sionaries who made it th e ir chief con cern to preach th e Gospel. The mes sage of th e g reat commission is to all th e nations. The word tran slated “ teach” is no t often used elsewhere. It means “ in stru ct them of my p u r poses.” The command to baptize does no t refer to the nations, as the Greek gender shows in M ark’s version, bu t to those th a t believe in God’s plan and accept it for themselves. Baptism testi fies th a t they w ho 'b elieve are dead to all the hum an ambitions of th e present age and alive to the resu rrection life of the age to come. It is by no means a fu lfillm e n t.of th e g reat commission to sprinkle a crowd of ten thousand un ta u g h t heathen w ith holy w ater as the Jesu it m issionaries did in China and pronounce them Christians. If one were forced to accept an altern ativ e it were b etter to evangelize them w ithout baptizing them th an to baptize them w ithout evangelizing them. SUNDAY, July 13. Eph. 4:1-6. One Lord, One Lilith, One Baptism. Monotheism is th e only rational faith . Reason says “ one God or no God.” While th ere may be any num ber of superior beings, from the n atu re of th e case, th e re can be b u t one su preme Being. Christ m ust be accepted not only as Saviour bu t as Lord also. As Saviour He delivers us from the gu ilt of sin. As Lord He saves us from the power of sin and ru les our daily life. While th e re are gods many and lords many, to us th ere is bu t one God th e F a th e r of whom are all things and we in H im ; and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we by Him. 1 Cor. 8:6. There can be b u t one over- lord in a hum an life. While we can not serve God and mammon, we m ust serve God or mammon. Rom. 6:16. A saved soul rejoices in the lordship of Jesus. Acts 9:6. The one faith is th a t system of revealed tru th or body of doctrine which was once for all delivered to the saints. Jud e 3. It is contained in the Scriptures and when th e canon of Scripture closed, no addition can be made to it. The accretions of time are the additions of men having no au tho rity and deserving no consideration.
This faith is referred to by our Lord in Luke 18:8. “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh shall He find th e faith on the e a rth ? ” The ch aracter of th e question carries a negative impli cation. The one baptism is th a t opera tion of th e Holy Spirit which un ites a believer to Christ and to His church. While th e phrase “Baptism of th e Holy S p irit” is no t a S criptural term , never theless by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body w hether we be Jews or Gentiles. 1 Cor. 12:13. Our experience being' characterized by th is constant singularity, th e Apostle exhorts us to keep the unity of the Spirit in th e bond of peace. The ordinance of the Lord’s supper sets fo rth how th e new life of the believer is to be continued. I t must be sustained by feeding upon something akin to it. This living sup ern atu ral substance is Christ himself. John 6:51- 58. The supper is not a means of feed ing upon Christ b u t a means of showing th a t we do feed on Christ in our h earts by faith. It grows out of the Scrip tu ra l fact and so Christ ordained the m aterial expression of it. A ugustine’s comment on John 6:57 was “Believe and thou h ast eaten.” The supper symbolizes the death of Christ. In the separation of th e elements, the blood in which is th e life, from th e body which it vivifies, we are rem inded th a t death has taken place. The emblems of suffering and death are eaten and being assim ilated w ith our bodies be come life-giving. The p arta k er declares his personal reliance on Christ’s sacri fice as th e only ground of his accept ance w ith God and th e only means of sp iritu al and etern al life. 1 Cor. 10:14- 22. It is an act of g ratefu l commemor ation. It has a retrospective aspect as a service done in remembrance of Christ’s compassion in suffering and dying for us. It carries us back to the cross and th e sepulchre and becomes a memorial of faith as well as a feast of love. It has a prospective and prophetic aspect as a type of th e m arriage supper of th e Lamb in Heaven. Matt. 26:29. I t is no t a memorial of death merely, bu t of death conquered by life. The seal of th e efficacy of Christ’s death was given in th e resurrection. We are only to observe th e supper till He comes. It is th u s a prophecy of hope which car ries us forward to join the risen Lord MONDAY, Ju ly 14. Matt. 26:20-30. The Lord’s Supper.
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