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THE K I N G ' S BUS I NE S S
January, 1938
N O T E S on Christian Endeavor
d u a l i t y Attracts f
By M A R Y G . G O O D N E R
The sublime dignity of the human body is measured by the fact that the Lord Jesus came to the earth in a human form. It was the divine medium of dealing with earthly, sin-cursed creatures. Christ was the Word, or the expression of the eternal Father’s righteousness and love. It was through a human body that Christ offered Himself on the cross for the sins of mankind. The most brilliant thought that any one might conceive would be ineffective if that thought had not the medium of a tongue or a hand to express it or write it down. Thus we are the means which -the Lord God has chosen of revealing His love and His eter nal plan to others who have not yet been united with His body. , Do we realize our high and holy calling? Oh, young people, if we only fully grasped the verity that in this age God has in large measure limited Himself to His Word and to His people as the expres sion of His will and plan, we would fully surrender our wills to His, to be directed by Him as He endues with His power. An arm, a hand, or a leg is useful as long as it is obedient to the central control of the m ind; these members are ineffectual when they are paralyzed. Are we paralyz ing any part of the body of Christ because of our sin, disobedience, or selfishness? Helps for the Leader I. F used by the S pirit The cold elements of an amalgam lie to gether side by side in the crucible, but as separate and distinct as if miles apart until the sudden lightning flame of the voltaic arc fuses them into a new creation. In like manner human beings may live together in the home or in the church and be, in spirit, as far apart as the poles. Only by the power of the Holy Spirit can even God’s people be united (1 Cor. 12:13). — H urlbutt . II. S uffering T ogether It is a principle of pathology that no or gan of the body, no limb, no muscle, no part whatsoever, can suffer injury without in some way affecting injuriously every other part. And the higher the organiza tion, the keener is the consciousness of this injury. This is true of the church (1 Cor. 12:26).— S elected . III. C onvincing P ower The two great characteristics of the early Christians were brotherly love and an en thusiasm of gladness in which these Chris tians lived that unique thing in the world which convinced the world of the reality of Christ’s grace. It is that love, the fact of a church united in love, which will conquer skepticism and convince the world again. Isolated Christians may show other vir tues—purity, integrity, courage— but for
FEBRUARY 6, 1938 MANY, YE T ONE 1 C orinthians 12:12-27 Meditation on the Lesson
Paul, both in his letter to the Ephesians and in his first Epistle to the Corinthians, employs the striking figure of the human body when referring to the relationship which exists between Christ and His church. When we are born again by the Spirit of God, we are united to the Lord Jesus Christ as integral, functioning members of His body, of which He is the Head. Although this is a fitting illustration, it is imperfect, just as any other earthly object would be inadequate to describe the wonderful union of saved ones with the Lord Jesus. An arm, a leg, or even the head of a human body can be severed, but the body of the Lord Jesus Christ is an eternal unit; it can never be separated, because it is of one Spirit. There are many marked resemblances be tween a human body and the body of Christ. There is one life which vitalizes every part of our human bodies, and the blood which courses through our veins comes from one source. So it is with our life in Christ; He is the Life which gives power to every member of His body. Again, the head is the controlling member of the body—that part which has the power of knowing, feeling, and choosing. When Christ is the acknowledged Head of His body, composed of believers, there will be harmony in function and cooperation in the performing of that which the Lord Jesus wills. Neither philosophy, theology, nor physi ology can define the line of cleavage be tween the body and soul, or spirit. That mysterious part of us, the personality, is inextricably bound up with our bodies while we are yet in the flesh. W e are so closely associated in our various physical members that pain or suffering in one part of our being affects the whole. So it is with true believers in Christ when a spirit of love and unity exists; we share the bur dens and joys of fellow Christians.
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