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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
SUNDAY, April 20. 1 Cor. 15:50-58. Victory Over the Grave. The resurrection of Christ is a mat ter of the most practical and vital inter est and should be carefully studied as an essential constituent of salvation. Christianity is not merely a code of ethics to govern conduct. It is a vital dynamic to transform men into a holy immortality. It is set forth in concrete form in the career of Jesus Christ Who declares Himself as “He that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore.” Rev. 1:18. Moreover death is an enemy, even the last enemy that shall be destroyed. When we are called upon to lay some loved one away in the grave, we are warranted in say ing, “An enemy hath done this.” It is useless to recite beautiful poetry at the funeral service and cover the casket with flowers. Brokenhearted mourners are neither deceived nor comforted by such a masquerade. It is only the gos pel of the resurrection that can avail to dry the falling tear and turn the shadow of death into the morning. 1 Thess. 4:13-18. MONDAY, April 21. Joel 2:21-32. The Holy Spirit Promised. When our Saviour left the earth, He left two unfulfilled promises behind Him, viz., the promise of the Father, Luke 24:49, and the promise of His own return. Jno. 14:3. The former was ful filled ten days after His departure. The latter still awaits fulfillment. Eight hun dred years before Pentecost the prophet Joel described an end-time experience, (after many days) the chief character istic of which would be, the pouring out of the Spirit upon all flesh. The Saviour declares to His disciples, Acts 1:5, that they shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit “not after many days,” that is, prior to the time indicated by the prophet Joel. This statement links Pentecost with Joel’s prophecy and also separates it in time by the length of the present church age.. Peter explains the phenomena of Pentecost by identifying it with Joel’s prophecy as the same in kind. There is an im mense difference, however, in degree. One hundred and twenty Jews are by no means equivalent to “all flesh.” Cf. 1 Pet. 1:24. If we may coin a word, Pentecost was the Ailment, a prelim inary anticipation, the fulfillment taking place when Jesus comes. This suggests a possible reason why the Holy Spirit desires so ardently and prays for the second coming of our Lord, Rev. 22:17,
facts of the gospel of the kingdom and made the second coming of the Son of Man in His kingdom a plain and expected event. We should not regard the 1Christ of the forty days as a dis appearing vision hut as the Christ of all the ages who is saying to us all, “I am with you all the days even unto the end of the world.” FRIDAY, April 18. 1 Cor. 15:1-11. The Resurrection a Fact. From the nature of the case it is impossible to prove the incarnation. The resurrection is the best authenti cated fact in history. It was attested by the Roman soldiers, the linen clothes, the angels, many who saw Him after wards and His own assertions before and after the event. All the claims of Christ rest on the fact that He arose from the dead. Our new life dates nót from the cross but from the tomb. He was raised for our justification. The resurrection was wholly supernatural. We can neither explain nor understand it with our present knowledge. The authority of Christ as a teacher of sup ernatural truth rests upon His miracles and especially upon the miracle of the resurrection. Upon this alone we may safely rest the proof that the Scrip tures are the Word of God, for it car ries with it irresistibly all the other miracles of the sacred narrative. SATURDAY, April 19. 1 Cor. 15:12-24. Christ the First-Fruits. The resurrection of Christ was a natural necessity, since His human body ■vías not necessarily subject to death and He could die only by outward compulsion or voluntary surrender. He is called the first-fruits of them that slept, not because He was the first One to arise from the dead. Others had risen before Him but they all died again, because they were raised to the old natural life of the flesh. He was the first One who did not die again because He was raised to the supernatural life of the Spirit. The first-fruits are of the same kind as the harvest. The resur rection of Christ was a pledge and prophecy of our own. His resurrection was wholly supernatural. Ours will be also. His resurrection body had no fixed form or appearance but became at His will, whatever He desired. John 20:14; Mark 16:12. In our present body we groan, being burdened, 2 Cor. 5:4, because it controls our spirits, but with the resurrection body, the reverse will be the case
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