November 1931
498
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
—man changing the seed from wheat to mustard. The re sult is something big and boastful. The apostle meets this with a boasting or glorying of his own, only of a godly sort, to put them to shame. Thus “boast” (or glory) occurs thirty-one times in the epistle and is its outstanding feature. The remedy is found in Philippians—humility, even a “lowliness of mind” such as was in Christ, leading to a humble life (Phil. 3:1-8). Instead of rejoicing or glory ing in ourselves, we are to “rejoice in the Lord alway” (Phil. 4:4). Galatians and Colossians. Galatians introduces the woman and her leavening work, just as we found her in the fourth parable and in the fourth letter from heaven (cf. Matt. 13:33; Rev. 2:20ff). In the church, there are subtly at work those who would break away from the sim plicity of saving,’ justifying faith in Christ, by bringing men under the bondage of legalism and formalism. The apostle writes to the Galatians to warn believers against re garding anything as needful for salvation other than believ ing in Christ. All else is carnal in purpose, “to rnake a fair showing in the flesh,” To illustrate this, the apostle uses the bondwoman, Hagar, in contrast with the freewoman, Sarah, and gives the warning that “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” And again we find the remedy by reading across the diagram—this time in Colossians. We combat and escape all such carnality of belief and practice as we realize our complete redemption in Christ, “blotting out the handwrit ing of ordinances that was against us, . . . nailing it to his cross” (Col. 2:14). Read through the second chapter, with its further warning: “Let no man beguile you.” Note that the whole remedy is summed up in our holding fast the Head, from whom all the body derives its all of wis dom, life, and power to walk becomingly. T h e N ew M an — H ead and B ody We have never seen our Head, nor have we seen His body, for it is mystical and invisible. Yet we have assured ly been given a portrait of this new man, with Head in heaven and body on earth, the two in a union that will find its consummation in the coming of the Head (Thessa lonians) . Beloved, close your eyes—for it is a picture for the spiritual eye—and reproduce for yourself the portrait. Let it stand before you as definitely as the Gentile colossus of Daniel 2. Think through the Gospels and see Christ, mani fested to be the spiritual Head. Come to the Acts, and see the body beginning to be formed. Think of the born-again Jews and the born-again Gentiles as constituting the arms. Romans gives the body proper, the truths that form “the vitals” of the Christian life. With 1 Corinthians, this new personality is spoken of as a body having “members”— limbs, etc. The life is to be lived in a Christian “walk” in the world. The two groups of three epistles each constitute the legs, the one with its problems, the other with Christ’s perfections. And when the body is complete, then comes the crowning day—not the grave, but a catching away to our heavenly home, at the coming of the Head, as portrayed in Thessalonians, thus to be “for ever with the Lord.” May every one of us be able to say that we have “seen the Lord” and that we have seen ourselves identified with Him in this portrait. And having seen, henceforth may we say with Paul, “To me to live is Christ.” [The end]
we are about to make use of them. Particularly would we do well to turn to the September issue for the study in Matthew 13 to see the four personalities at work in the spiritual realm : Christ, Satan, man, and woman ; then we 1should get clearly, in mind the nature of the opposition of fered by the latter three. Now we are going to use these parables and their per sonalities as the interpretative’key to an understanding of the arrangement and contents of the Church Epistles. The application results in the following : To th e N atural M an 1. Romans Christ — Gospel—Four States To th e C arnal M an T o t h e S pir itual M an 2. 1 Corinthians 5. Ephesians Satan—Divisions Oneness in Christ 3. 2 Corinthians 6. Philippians Man—Boasting Humility—Rejoicing in Christ 4. Galatians 7, Colossians Woman—Leavening Completeness in Christ R eady for the H arvest 8 . 1 Thessalonians ' 2 Thessalonians Rapture of Wheat Wrath for Tares . Our comment, which could readily be expanded into as many studies as there are epistles, must necessarily be limited and scarcely more than suggestive. Romans. The first epistle is the complete presentation of God’s remedy for the natural man. It begins by con fronting him with a life-size portrait of himself, Jew and Gentile, in his natural state. What he needs is the gospel (Rom. 1 :16). Therein Christ is offered as the “seed” of a new life. As in the parable of the sower there were four states of soil and four experiences resulting from relation ship with the seed, so in Romans there are four states : condemnation without Christ, justification through receiv ing Christ, sanctification through a heart-life set apart to Him, fruitfulness through a life yielded to Him in ser vice. The correspondence between the parable and the epistle is far from fanciful ; it is real and deep. 1 Corinthians and Ephesians. Satan’s subtle hand is shown in the state of the Corinthian church, causing di visions, sensuality, divorces, lawsuits, and all manner of ir regularities.. Paul charges the Corinthians with being car nal, evidence of which is found in these unseemly things among them, in which they “walk as men” ; that is, as the unsaved and unregenerate. What is the remedy? Ephesians gives it. (Read across the diagram.) In Christ we are one, His body, abiding in Him, drawing our life from Him. When this relationship is realized—and this is the practical exhortation of Ephe sians, that we “keep the unity” into which He has brought us (Eph. 4 :l-6)—then we “no longer walk” as the natural or carnal about us (Eph. 4:17), but we walk in love, in light, and in truth. Thus the spiritual man, spiritual be cause he is in vital union with Christ, is enabled to walk worthy of the calling wherewith he is called. 2 Corinthians and Philippians. The conditions in the Corinthian church, revealed in the apostle’s first letter, are now bearing fruit in a self-consciousness and a self-exal tation, rather than in a Christ-çonsciousness and a Christ- exaltation. Man is here boasting of himself rather than glorying in the Lord. It is the same spirit as in the parable
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