THE K I N G ' S BUS I NE S S children of God we must love those whom He loves.S-Plummer. We ought to love one another. Love is absolutely selfless. If we are willing to be chan nels through which God’s love flows to others, there need be no limit to the fullness of that holy current.—Meyer. v. 13. He hath given us of His Spir it. Where the Spirit of God is there God is. Love is His first fruit. (Gal. 5:22.)— Jamieson. v. 15. Jesus is the Son of God. I think he who believes in the Deity of Christ has all history, etymology and .philosophy on his side. My dependence is not founded upon the construction of a phrase or the mood and tense of a verb. I rely upon Christ’s moral reach and spiritual compass. When He touched my soul into life I did not call for a Greek grammar or a Hebrew lexi con to find how the thing stood. I be lieve because “ once I was blind, now I see” . The heart is sometimes a bet ter interpreter than the understanding. What better proof do I- want? God dwelleth in me.#§-Parker. Christ was either the grandest, guiltiest of impos tors by a marvelous and most subtle re finement of wickedness, or He was God manifest in the flesh.—Johnson. v. 16. We have known and believed. True faith according_to John is a faith of knowledge and experience. True knowledge is a knowledge of faith.—* Luecke. v. 17. Boldness in the day of judg ment. Literally “ confidence” , the same Greek word as 3:21 to which this pas sage is a parallel. The opposite to fear (v. 18; see Acts 24:25; Rom. 2:16). The design of Christ’s propitiatory death was to deliver from the bondage of fear.-—Alford. v. 18. There is no fear in love. Pear is always revolving in the mind the pun ishment deserved.— Estius. Pear by an ticipating punishment has the foretaste of it even now. Perfect love is incom patible with such a self-punishing fear. Godly fear of offending God is quite distinct from selfish fear of consciously deserved punishment.—- Bengel. Love casteth out fear. What love does he as sert to be perfect but that which puts fear to flight and gives courage to con fess Christ? What penalty will he ap point as the punishment of fear but that which he who denies Christ is to pay, who has to be slain body and soul in hell?— Tertullian. v. 20. Whom he hath seen. Nature
295 is prior to grace and we by nature love things seen before we love things un seen.— Estius. The eyes are out lead ers in love. Seeing is an incentive to love,— Ecumenius. If we do not love the brethren, the visible representatives of God, how can we love God, the in visible One1 whose children they are? The true ideal of man lost in Adam, is realized in Christ in whom God is re vealed as He is. and man as he ought to be. Thus by faith in Christ we learn to love both the true God and the true man and so to love the brethren as bear ing His image.— J. F. & B. v. 21. This commandment from Him. Besides the argument from the common feeling of men (v. 20) he here adds a stronger one from God’s expressed com mand. (Mt. 22:39.)— Brown. isg Loving One Another. Luke 10:25-37. ¿5-37. Memory Verses “ Let us love one an other.” 1 John 4:7. Approach: (Bring to class two small electric flashlights; one in which battery has given out and does not give any light when pressed, and the other one ■ in perfect order giv- BEGINNERS ing forth light when AND PRIMARY pressed.) Now let Mabel L. Merrill me see if you boys and girls know what this is in my hand? A light. Now Charles, you say it is a light but I do not see any light; you take it and see if you see any light about it. Now Charles was right, it was a light, but now the battery has given out, and while it looks all right, it really is not a light when it does not let its light shine forth, so we can not call it a light as it is now, can we? Well, now here is another one just like it, and I wonder if it is a light or just a make believe one. O, it is really a light and shines forth nice and bright. It is just what it looks to be, a light, and while the othei; one also looks like a light, yet it does not give any light. These lights are like some people, they look, and talk like they can do certain things
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