“THESE MEN”
briefly and pray that our lives may be marked by the same elements so essen tial for effective service. “ These men”— their office “ Servants o f . . .God.” It was thus that Paul was pleased to refer to himself as he placed his name at the head of an epistle (Rom. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Tit. 1:1). So also with James (Jas. 1:1), and Peter (2 Pet. 1:1), and Jude. They had been redeemed by God from the law, from sin, and death and hell. They had been bought at a great price, the pre cious blood of the Son of God, so that they were no longer their own. Their in debtedness to God was such that they could never repay, and so they were pleased to be His bondservants, to carry out the good pleasure of His will and to obey His commands. They belonged to God—were His property for His use. So testified Paul before the tempest- tossed passengers apparently doomed on the ship at the mercy of the maddened storm, as he assured them of salvation from the word of “ God . . . whose I am, and whom I serve.” As the servants of God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, they became also the servants of men. “ Though I be free from all men,” wrote Paul to the Corinthians, “ yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more” (1 Cor. 9:19). “ We preach . . . Christ Jesus the Lord; and our selves your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5) It was not with a sense of religious superiority, nor price of citi zenship as a Roman that Paul went among the people. His Lord had emptied Himself and taken upon Himself the form of a servant (Phil. 2 :7), and thus it must be with him. An attitude which savors of pride and superiority among the people to whom he goes will sooner or later produce resentment and spoil the witness of the missionary. “ Our selves your servants fo r - Jesus’ sake” must be the principle. “ These men”— their God “ Servants of the most high God.” What a vision of God and faith in Him these men had! “ That ye may know . . . the exceeding greatness of his power,” Paul prayed for the Ephesians (1:19). Then he. goes on to refer to that place given by God to His Son, “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (1:21). “ God that made the world and all things therein . . . Lord of heaven and earth,” he proclaimed to the Athenians (Acts 17:24). He is terrible in His wrath, holy in His ways, exceeding rich in mercy, and His love passeth knowledge. He “ is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, accord-
By Rev. Claude E. Copperwheat*
IC f I ^HESE MEN” were mission aries. They left their mark upon the communities they touched. Their presence was soon felt and people began to talk. This is very evident as we follow the course of Paul and his companions on their missionary journeys, and note what people were stirred to say about them. Comments concerning these men came from different places and various kinds of people. As we place them together, we secure a picture of the characteristics which we believe should mark the mis sionary and his work for all time. In Philippi it was a woman, spirit- possessed, who made herself a burden and a nuisance as she followed Paul and Silas around from day to day with her cries, “ These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17). In Jerusalem, it was James from the chair of the church council who caused to be written this tribute to Paul and Barnabas, “Men that have hazarded
their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 15:26). In Thessa- lonica the incited mob was stirred to cry out concerning Paul and Silas, “ These that have turned the world up side down are come hither also” (Acts 17:6). And finally, the town clerk of Ephesus, in his endeavor to bring peace and quiet to the city thrown into tumult and confusion by the opponents of Paul and his companions, cried out, “ These m en... are neither robbers of churches [temples], nor yet blasphemers of your goddess” (Acts 19:37). These remarks, coming from friend and foe, and prompted by differing motives, are nevertheless all true, and reveal the quality of the missionaries whom God was pleased to use so mightily by His Spirit in those glorious days of the early campaigns. As we read through the words care fully, we notice six things concerning these pioneers which made an impres sion on the people with whom they came into contact. Let us examine them
*Missionary of The European Christian Mission in France.
The Colosseum in Rome, once a scene of gladiatorial combat and Christian martyrdom. Page Eight
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