158 p THE KING’ S BUSINESS Humbled and Exalted FEBRUARY 13, 1916. LESSON VII. Phil. 2:1-11. (Commit vs. 5-7). G olden T e x t : “ For ye know the grace o f our Lord Jesus Christ, that*though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.”—2 Cor. 8:9.
DA ILY BIBLE READINGS Mon., Feb. 7—Phil. 2:1-11. (The Lesson.) Tues., Feb. 8—1 Thess. 2:13-17. Wed., Feb. 9—Hebrews 1.
Thurs., Feb. 10—Rom. 14:1-12. Fri., Feb. 11—Matt. 20:20-28. Sat., Feb. 12—Matt. 23:1-12. Sun., Feb. 13—Luke 22:24-30.
EXPOSIT ION AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
vs. 1, 2. “I f there be (is) therefore any consolation ( comfort) in Christ, if any comfort (consolation) of love, if any fel lowship of - the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies (lender mercies and compassions), fulfill ye my joy, that ye beMkeminded (o f the same mind), having the same love, being o f one accord, o f one mind.” Just why the lesson should skip from studies in the Acts o f the Apostles to this passage from one o f Paul’s epistles it is difficult to say. Certainly this passage was not written at this time in the Apostolic his tory, Saul o f Tarsus was not yet con verted and had not become Paul the Apos tle. The lesson is an excellent one, one o f the most excellent in the whole Bible, but why it appears here we cannot tell. There may have, been some reason for it,' but none appears. The events in the last lesson occurred probably in A. D. 30. This epistle was written 31 or 32 years later. In the next lesson we come back to A. D. 3d again, or thereabouts. The epistle from which this passage is taken should be studied as a whole. It was written by Paul, when he was a prisoner at Rome, to thePhilippians, who had just sent a substantial testimony o f ' their love and gratitude to him. In the opening chapter i
Paul has referred to his own trials and sufferings in which he rejoices, and from that had gone on to speak o f the conflict and suffering that were before them. The great need among them was that o f unity. He had already hinted at the need o f unity in verse 27 o f the preceding chapterj and now returns to it. If there was to be oppo sition from without, certainly Christians should stand together. And just so today, especially in the face o f the tremendous opposition to Christianity that there is from without, Christians should stand together. Paul’s form o f appeal for unity is very tender and pathetic. He urges them to unity in order to comfort and console him. Their unity would “ fulfill;” i. e., fill full, his own joy. He had already told them that he was rejoicing in them (ch. 1:4), but he desired them to fill his joy in them to the brim, and the way to fill his joy to the full was' by being “of the same mind, having the same love, being o f one accord, o f one- mind.” There was nothing that would so comfort, and con sole, and gladden Paul as their unity. But it is, not only Paul who longs for the unity o f God’s people; our Lord Himself longs for the unity, o f His people even more than Paul (John 17:21). The words “ for
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker