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TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S January, 1940 INTERNAT IONAL L E SSON Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Childrens Division Object Lesson Golden Text Illustration By B. B. S utcliffe By G retchen S ibley By H elen G ailey By E lmer L. W ilder By A lan S. P earce Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain , President of Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Ind.
FEBRUARY 4, 1940
The moment Christ is received as per sonal Saviour, the Holy Spirit enters that life. Thus every Christian is in dwelt by the Third, Person of the Trin ity. The sacredness of the Christian’s physical body must continually be em phasized. Hence the exhortation is given to glorify God in both the body and the spirit, because both belong to Him. m. T he E ndeavor of the C hristian M an (2 Cor. 6:16 to 7:1) The standard for every Christian is holiness, because God is holy. The holi ness—made possible only by the indwell ing of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the born-again believer—is to be main tained by the person’s willing separa tion from all that is not akin to God. The sharp distinction between the old and the new natures is clearly set forth in this passage. Holiness will be manifested by a with drawal from all that is of the world and not of God, all that is dominated by Satan, and all that denies the heavenly character of the Christian. However, we must guard against the idea, held by some dear souls, that this withdrawal from Satan and the world precedes ac ceptance with God. Simple faith in Jesus Christ as personal Saviour is the only means of obtaining salvation; the degree of fellowship with the Father which the saved sinner enjoys will de pend upon the degree of separation that is practiced. Moreover, holiness is to be an indi vidual matter (7:1). Filthiness of the flesh is a fearful thing, but filthiness of the spirit is worse. The former is mani fest to the eyes of men (cf. Gal. 5:19- 21), but the latter is seen by the eyes of God. Sacredness of life will be main tained by full yieldedness to the indwell ing Spirit, which will issue in fulfilling God’s purpose for the life here on earth. Points and Problems I,: “ So God created man in his own image” (Gen. 1:27). The “image” of God may be found in at least three charac teristics of man. God is a personal Be ing, and man is like God in this respect. No animal has what we call personality. Again, God is an intelligent Being, and man is like his Maker also in this re spect. We sometimes speak of animals as being intelligent, but no animal has the power of reflective thought which man possesses. Third, God is a moral Being, and man also has a moral nature.
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HOLDING LIFE SACRED
G enesis 1 :27-31; 1 C orinthians Genesis 1*27 So God created man in his own Image, in the Image of God created ne him; male and female created he. them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, dnd multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it* and have dominion over the fish of the sea. and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 2© And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, It was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 1 Corinthians 6*10 W hat! know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price* therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. 2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk In them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 7 *1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. GOLDEN TEXT* «For ye are bought with a price* therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6*20). DEVOTIONAL READING* Matt. 9*35-38. Outline and Exposition % T he O rigin of M an (Gen. 1:27-31) HE origin of man was in God’s direct and immediate act (v. 27). The Idea that there was such a thing as “natural selection” on the part of existing material, is wholly an imag ination of man’s mind. This passage teaches that "God created man.” The [ These lessons are developed from outlines prepared by the Committee on Improved Uniform Lessons of the In ternational' Council. The outlines are copyrighted by the. International Coun cil of Religious Education and used by permission. The Scripture portions quoted are from the King James Ver sion unless otherwise stated .]
6:19, 20; 2 C orinthians 6:16 to 7:1 Bible and the theory of evolution are mutually exclusive. Not a line of Scrip ture indicates that evolution is true, but there is much that indicates it is false. No one can believe the Bible and, at the same time, believe in evolution, either materialistic or theistic. God’s purpose in creating man was that man should have dominion over creation. The creation was placed un der man’s control, and it would appear that before sin entered the world, cre ated beings instinctively knew that man ruled for God and with His blessing, and thus yielded glad obedience. But today man’s dominion depends upon the dread and fear that God has placed, upon creation (cf. Gen. 9). If man rules the lower creation today, he must first tame it, and then must keep it tamed or it reverts to its wild state. Full provision was made for the sus tenance of the man, who was then a veg etarian (vs. 29-31). Everything that God had made was “very good,” and was for the use of man. But sin entered, by man’s consent, and marred the former happy state. Even this terrible occur rence was covered by the grace of God, for the coming in of sin led to God’s providing for a new creation “in Christ” where sin would be put away, and the ideal relationship established “in Christ.” n. T he C haracter of the C hristian M an (1 Cor. 6:19, 20) The Christian is to be directed by the Lord, not by himself. By His own blood, Christ has purchased the Christian (cf. 1 Pet. 1:18, 19). The Lord Jesus Christ owns him and hence should govern and control him. Whether men believe and act upon this principle or not, it still remains true that Christ in His atone ment made salvation available to the whole world. Alas! that some are found who deny the Lord who bought them! (cf. 2 Pet. 2:1). BLACKBOARD LESSON "9E ORE BOUGHT UJITH 0 PRICE: THERE FORE GLORIFy GOD in HOUR BODST s ^ i s l S l j
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