December 1931
558
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
(^Jniernational LESSON COMMENTARY Outline and Exposition Blackboard Outlines By B. B. Sutcliffe By Bessie B. B u rch Golden Text Illustrations By A lan S. Pearce Children’s Division In Holy Places By H elen G ailey By H e rb e rt H .T ay
hood of man. Those who believe on Christ, and only those, are “born of God.” Fur ther, this regeneration does not come by self-effort. It is not “of the will of the flesh” (cf. John 3:6; Jer. 13:23; Job 14: 4), Moreover, it does not come hy the ef forts of organized society. It is not “of the will of man.” Eugenics, legislation, education—all that man can do—are insuf ficient to produce regeneration. It comes only by being “born of God.” That is, it is a community of life with one who did not need to be born again; it is the impar- tation of spiritual life to those who were dead to it. It is something produced by the procreative act of God, a new creation, “born from above” (cf. 2 Cor. 5: 17; Eph. 2:10; 1 Pet. 1:23; Jas. l:18j:Gal. 6:15). It comes to those who receive Christ, or believe on Him. III. T he I ncarnation of C hrist (14-17), “The Wold was made flesh,” or “be came,” as the Revised Version reads. This is something absolutely unique in the world’s history. He became by His own volition. Consciously and deliberately, He decided to enter humanity and to live on earth as a man. His incarnation was not the creation of another personality; but a personality already existing entered a new mode of existence, by His own design and intention and for His own purposes. He “was made in the likeness of men” (cf. Phil. 2:5-7); literally, He made Himself man, and He “took on him” human form (cf. Heb. 2:16). The glory that was then visible, was the glory of His deity, not of His humanity; the glory of the eternal be ing of God, not the glory of the Mount of Transfiguration. To this John bears witness when he de clares that this One who became incarnate “cometh after” him ; that is, in manifesta tion or in time, and was “preferred before” him; that is, in rank, dignity, and power; and “he was before” him, in nature and ex istence. The difference between this One, God in carnate, and Moses is shown in verse 17. The law came by Moses; it demanded deeds, but gave no enabling power, and it revealed the sinner. Grace came by Jesus Christ; it declared that all was done, it gave strength to live for God, and it re vealed the Saviour. IV. T he R evelation of C hrist (18). God in nature is above us. We behold His power and deity (cf. Psa. 19 :1; Rom. 1 :20), but we cannot find Him there. Na ture appalls us by its vastness and appar ent indifference to all suffering. God in providence is beyond our comprehension, but we see His wisdom there (cf. Rom. 11:33;'Eph. 1:11). God in law is against us, though His justice is seen in the law, the very perfection of which is our undo-
JANUARY 3, 1932 THE SON OF GOD BECOMES MAN J ohn 1 :1-18
I. T he D eity of J esus C hrist (1-10>.
Golden T e x t: ' “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9).
In these verses, there are seven marks of the deity of Jesus Christ. First, we read, “in the beginning was the Word.” This does not refer to the beginning of creation (Gen. 1:1), nor to the beginning of the earthly ministry of Christ (1 John 1:1); but it relatéis to the eternal existence of God. Gód is like a circle, having neither beginning nor end. He is the “I AM,” the ever-present One. Matthew, in his gospel, goes back to the beginning of Jewish his tory; Mark proceeds from the beginning of the gospel of Christ; Luke starts with the beginning of man; but John begins with the beginning of God Himself in the dateless, timeless eternity. In that begin ning “was the Word.” The Word is eter nal. Second, “the Word was with God.” This speaks of His separate and distinct personality. Third, “the Word was God.” This recalls His eternal essence with God; God would not be God without this One who is called the Word. Fourth, “the same was in the beginning with Godj’l speaking of his co-eternity with God. He was with God; He did not become, as a cre ated being, but He was ever the uncreated One. Whenever God was, the Word was. Fifth, “all things were made by him.” This refers not only to the non-eternity of mat ter, but to the creatorship of the Word. Sixth, “in him was life.” He is the only source of life, the fountain head, the One in whom all things live and move and have their being. Seventh, “in him was life; and the life was the light of men.” He is the only source of light (cf. vs. 4-10). As He shone in the darkness, the darkness appre hended it not; that is, did not overcome it. II. . R egeneration T hrough J esus C hrist (11-13). “He came unto his own [His own. things or possessions—neuter] and his own [His own people—masculine] received him not.” He was rejected by the masses of the peo ple. But the expression, “as many as re ceived him,” indicates that there were in dividuals who did receive Him. To receive Him, or to believe on His name, means not merely to believe that He spoke the truth, but to believe on H im ; that is, to trust in, to commit unto, and to act upon what is believed. Those who thus believe on His name, or receive Him, are regenerated, or born of God. This regeneration does not come through human ancestry. Grace does not descend from father to son. There is no such thing in Scripture as a universal Fa therhood of God and a universal brother
T h e Stable in Bethlehem I n our lesson , the statement is made that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” That means that Christ was made in the likeness of sinful flesh. It is only when we understand the nature of His birthplace that we fully realize the humiliation of the incarnation. The Church of the Nativity in Bethle
hem is built over a cave, in the earth. Helena, the mother of Constantine, was told that in this cave “the W o r d wa s ma d e flesh.” In memory of that event, she built this church in about 325 A. D. Whether or not the cave below the
altar in the Church of the Nativity is the actual birthplace of Christ, we do not know. We do know, however, that caves were then, and are even now, used for stables. On the hill of Adullam, where David hid in his flight from Saul, there are several caves being used as stables today. These are formed by natural outcroppings of rock on the hillside. The opening to the cave is about six feet high, and fifteen feet across. The shepherds of the community have walled up the entrance, leaving an opening about three feet wide for the sheep and cattle to enter. Within, one sees a cavern about fifteen by twenty feet in size, with a dirt floor and stone ceiling. In one corner is a semicircle of stones on the ground, into which a few wisps of straw have been thrown. This is the manger. The atmosphere of the stable is dark and repelling, and one is glad to get back again into the fresh air outside. Into such a cavern, the mother of Jesus was forced to retire to give birth to her son. Into such a dark and dismal stable, the immortal and eternal Christ came, when He began His sojourn among us. He became poor, that we might be rich. O utline a n d Exposition The lessons for the present quarter will be found in the Gospel according to John. The purpose of this gospel, expressed in John 20:31, should be constantly borne in mind: “These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
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