T HE K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S Possibly he h eard th e ro aring of the lions which had been starved th a t they m ight f e a s tth e more readily upon Chris tian s flesh. * His only though t was to preach th e Gospel to Nero and his court and he adds as a trifling and unimpor ta n t m atter, “ I was delivered out of the m outh of th e lion.” He closes w ith this trium p h a n t assurance: “The Lord will deliver me from every evil "work and w ill' preserve me unto H is heavenly kingdom , to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” 2 Tim. 4:16-18. SATURDAY, Oct. 11. Acts 20:25-35. Peed the Church of the Lord. Those who are called elders in verse 17 are addressed as bishops in verse 28. A lthough th e titles are two, th e office is one. The Revised Version is to be preferred to th e Authorized in th is case. It is a fau lty rend ering which places th e bishops “ over” th e flock. P aul knew of no one who was over th e church bu t th e Lord Jesus. In John 21:15-17, P ete r is commissioned as a shepherd or pastor. In Luke 5:10 he had been com missioned to do th e work of a fisherman or evangelist. The shepherd’s business is feeding and tending th e lambs and sheep. In P e te r’s first epistle, Ch. 5:1-4, he passes on to others th e same exhorta tion. The application of th e word “ flock” to th e church reveals the sim plicity of its constitution, Wherever th e people of God were gathered, th ere was a p a rt of th e flock. The flock was scattered th roughou t th e world, b u t is always one. There are many folds, but only one flock. John 10:16 R. V. Some of th e sheep are in heaven and some on ea rth b u t all were bought a t the same tim e and bear th e m ark of the same owner. How significant and eloquent is the silence of S cripture concerning any priestly functions! Not a word is said a s .to th e necessity of having properly appointed p riests who should offer sac rifice and perform certain ceremonies. Heaven is now th e sphere of priestly m inistry. There are no priests on earth today and if Christ H imself were still on earth , he would no t be a priest. Heb. 8:4. There is no need to add any th ing to the precious blood of th e Lamb of God and to usurp an office which is being perform ed by th e g reat High P rie st in heaven is sacrilege. P eter is satisfied to call him self an elder and to address th e others as being on an equal ity w ith himself, w ith th e sole excep tion of th e ir not having w itnessed as
963 he had, th e sufferings of th e chief Shep herd by which th e flock was purchased. Acts 20:28. SUNDAY, Oct. 12. 1 Tim. 4:6-16. A Good Minister of Jesus Christ. The Christian view of life does not reg ard religion as a system of negatives b u t as an impelling and constraining force th a t will sanctify th e whole being. Men are not won to the life in Christ by negatives. Timothy m ust therefo re be nourished him self in the faith and doctrine which he offers to others. Then follows th e con trast between the high est exercise and train in g of th e body and th a t exercise of godliness which in volves th e m astery of both soul and body. The Greeks possessed th e science of a perfect self-mastery, b u t th e ir self cu ltu re began and ended w ith self. It m ight be wholesome and even intellec tu a l b u t it never could become spiritual. I t b rough t no help from above, and never contemplated th e soul. Chris tia n ity appropriated th e Greek words “ education,” “ exercise,” “ discipline” and “ conflict,” and lifted them into a higher sphere. It carried them into the inn er life of man. It set hum an hope beyond a fading lau rel w reath and an earth ly rew ard and fixed it upon life etern al and th e world to come. Through th e Holy Spirit- it brought home to men th e secret of an unfailing and glorious victory. The first duty of a good min ister of Jesu s Christ for th e sake of others, is to give heed to him self and to th e doctrine, th a t he may be a work man who needeth no t to be ashamed, righ tly laying out th e Word of tru th as a ploughman who makes a straig h t fu r row, or a road-m aker who lays his road correctly. 2 Tim. 2:15. Grace to be lieve carries w ith it th e desire to fitly adorn th e doctrine, “ th e good doctrine” standing in b righ t con trast to old wives’ fables. MONDAY, Oct. 13. Mark 1:29-39. Jesus in Peter’s Home. The word tran slate d “ fo rthw ith ,” “ imm ediately” or “ straigh tw ay ” occurs eighty tim es in the New Testam ent and of these instances fo rty are found in th e Gospel of Mark. It is a revelation of th e ceaseless activity of our Lord’s liie. He had no in tervals of rest. One m iracle followed ano ther in rapid suc cession. We sometimes envy th e op po rtun ity th a t was enjoyed by Simon, Zaccheus and th e household a t Beth any, fo rgetting th a t th e same happy
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