Are you a boy or girl upon whom God can depend without ever being dis appointed? Can your Sunday school teacher always depend upon you to be in your Sunday school class ? Can your pas tor depend upon you to attend the church services and prayer meeting? Pray that your Lord will never be disappointed in you as His child! March 9, 1952 PAUL, A PRISONER FOR CHRIST Phil. 3:4b-17 Pointers on the Lesson Next in our series of the “ Early Fol lowers of Jesus” is the Apostle Paul. He is the object of our study today. The lesson presents Paul’s commitment to Christ, his dramatic experiences, radiant joy, vital faith, his strength made per fect in weakness, his endurance under trying circumstances, and his utter de pendence upon Christ. No better por tion of Scripture to focus attention upon this valiant servant of the Lord could have been chosen than the Philippian passage tp which we now turn our at tention. Paul’s Repudiation of the Flesh 4b-7 In this section Paul uses his own experience to illustrate what he had just said in verse 3, namely, that believers “have no confidence in the flesh.” From the natural viewpoint there were many reasons why Paul might have gloried in the flesh. In this respect he had many things in his favor. His circumcision testified that he was born within the circle of the Abrahamic covenant (v. 5). He was also “ of the stock of Israel” (v. 5), that is, he was no mere proselyte. His lineage could be traced back for generations. Moreover, he was a Ben- jamite (v. 5). When the ten tribes re volted following the time of Solomon, the tribe of Benjamin remained true to Jehovah’s central city and loyal to the true kingly line. According to the flesh, Paul might easily have prided himself on his connection with this tribe. To the depths of his being he was a He brew (v. 5). Then, too, he was a Pharisee, the most orthodox of the sects of his time (v. 5), and was a strict observer of the outward righteousness which this sect advocated (v. 6). Paul had discovered that all of these things amounted to nothing as far as the welfare of the soul was concerned. He had found Christ who was all in all to him. Compared to Him all else was insignificant (v. 7). Paul’s Steadfast Determination 8-11 It is quite evident that many years of service have intervened between verses 7 and 8, but there is no change in the Apostle’s attitude toward spiritual things. He still recognized that in his flesh there was nothing of value. All his hope lay in Christ. He determined that he would learn to know Him better
him a self-effacing man (vv. 25,26). Evi dently he felt that Paul could do a bet ter work than he at Antioch; thus he was willing to fade out of the picture and let Paul minister where otherwise he might have carried on alone. He Was a Member of the First Missionary Party Acts 13:1-3 Antioch had been a well-taught church. There came a time when it felt its obligations to the regions beyond. The Spirit of God was definitely in their thinking and He so worked in the minds of the membership there that “ Barnabas and Saul” were chosen as the first mis sionary team to put forth a definite effort toward winning the Gentiles to Christ. His activity in this respect made him a bridge between the Jewish-Chris- tian community at Jerusalem and the Gentile world. Helps for the Children Barnabas, A Trusted Follower Acts 4:36,37; 9:26,27; 11:22-30; 15:22-26 Memory Verse: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13). When the apostles were starting the very first churches after their Lord had returned to Heaven, many of the people brought money to help them in God’s service. One man, Barnabas, sold his land, and brought the money, and gave it to the apostles. Later, the great mission ary Paul came to Jerusalem and wanted to join the group of disciples. Because he had been such a wicked man in the past, the disciples were afraid of him. Barnabas was friendly to Paul, and told the other Christians how the Lord Jesus had changed Paul’s life so that he was one of them now. When a great number of people were saved in the town of Antioch, the church at Jerusalem sent Barnabas there to report to them what God was doing. Many more were saved in Antioch through the preaching of Barnabas. Soon Barnabas went to Tar sus to bring Saul back to Antioch. To gether they taught the Christians there for a year. It was in this city that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ were first called “ Christians.” During a time when Christians in another city were in great need, the Antioch Christians sent an offering to them by Paul and Bar nabas. Barnabas had been so faithful in his work for the Lord Jesus, that when a dispute arose in the church, he and Paul took some of the Christians to Jerusalem that they might talk together and pray together about the problem. God’s Word says that Barnabas was “beloved” by the church. God knew that whenever He needed someone upon whom He could depend, He could choose Barnabas and never be disappointed in him. If Barnabas had not been de pendable in his early Christian life, God could never have used him to do great things in His service in later years. F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 5 2
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