Chapter I · (continued 2)

3. Man’s estrangement and hostility are evident in his actions.—“By wicked works” (ver. 21). Man is stimulated by his sinful mind to perpetrate the most outrageous acts of rebellion against God, and to indulge in the most fiendish cruelty towards his fellow-man. But there are “wicked works” that may not figure in the criminal columns of the newspapers, nor be detected by the most vigilant watcher. To cherish envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness is equally heinous in the sight of God, and an unmistakable evidence of hostility towards Him. Sin conceived in the mind will, sooner or later, manifest itself in action.

II. Man is reconciled to God in Christ.—1. The distinguished blessing. “Yet now hath He reconciled” (ver. 21). To effect this all that is necessary is to persuade the sinner to cease his rebellion and submit to God. In Christ God is reconciled to the sinner; there is no need to persuade Him. He is love; the sinner is enmity. He is light; the sinner is darkness. He is nigh unto the sinner, but the sinner is afar off. The great object is to destroy the sinner’s enmity, that he may have Divine love; bring him from darkness into Divine light; bring him from his evil works nigh unto God, and reconciliation is the result (Biblical Museum). The amity existing between the soul and God, and which sin had interrupted, is now restored. Dear as are the friendships of earth, none can equal friendship with God.

The loftiest communion of the soul with God is renewed. In this the soul finds its strength, consolation, life, rapture. How much does that man lose whose heart is not reconciled to God?

2. The gracious medium of the blessing.—“In the body of His flesh through death” (ver. 22). The apostle here refers in the most explicit terms to the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ and shows that the great work of reconciliation was effected in His body, and through death, for that body was crucified and actually died. The apostle perhaps aimed at correcting certain pseudo-spiritualistic notions regarding the person of Christ, busily propagated by the false teachers; some of whom held that Christ was an angelic emanation which animated the man Jesus for a time and withdrew from Him before He suffered. While maintaining the proper deity and glory of Christ’s nature, the apostle plainly indicates that the Divine method of reconciliation was by the incarnation and sacrificial death of Christ. He thus exalts the significance and value of the death of Christ. Reconciliation was not accomplished by the faultless example of Christ’s life or the supernal wisdom of His teaching, but by His crucifixion and death. The cross, with its unfathomable mystery, is to them that perish foolishness; but to them that believe it is still the power and wisdom of God.

III. The Divine purpose in reconciliation is to promote man’s highest blessedness.—The magnificence of the believer’s future career will be in marked contrast with the obscurity and imperfection of the present; but even in this life he is lifted by the reconciling grace of God to a high standard of moral excellence. The terms here employed, while referring to the same spiritual state, delineate its different aspects.

1. The highest blessedness of man consists in his moral purity.—“To present you holy” (ver. 22). This shows the condition of the soul in relation to God; it is freely offered to Him as a living sacrifice; the inward consciousness is wholly consecrated to the permanent indwelling of the Holy One; every thought, affection, and aspiration of the soul is hallowed; the whole man is enriched, ennobled, and radiant with a holy character.

2. The highest blessedness of man consists in his personal blamelessness.—“Unblameable” (ver. 22). This aspect of character has reference to one’s self; it is the development in the outward life of the purity and consecration of the heart; it is a sacrificial term and means without blemish. The soul is inspired with a sense of integrity, and of always acting for the best. When Socrates was asked, just before his trial, why he did not prepare himself for his defence, he calmly answered, “I have been doing nothing else all my life.” A noble, blameless life is its own defence.

3. The highest blessedness of man consists in his freedom from censure.—“Unreproveable in His sight” (ver. 22). This feature of a holy character has reference to others. If man thus purified and blessed can bear the piercing glance of Him whose scrutiny no defect can escape, his character is unchallengeable. To be accepted and approved of God places him beyond the accusations of man or demon; the subtle insinuations of the Great Accuser are powerless to hurt. “It is God that justifieth; who is he that condemneth?” To be holy, unblameable, and unreproveable in the sight of God is to enjoy the highest honour and completest bliss. This is the ultimate result of reconciliation in Christ.

Lessons.—1. Sin is the great foe of God and man. 2. The death of Christ is the means of reconciling sinful man to God. 3. The aim of reconciliation is to produce an irreproachable character.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Ver. 21. Reconciliation by Christ.

I. Estrangement.—1. The cause—by wicked works. 2. The result—not merely that God is angry, but we have become enemies to God.

II. Reconciliation.—1. Christ has reconciled man to God. 2. He hath reconciled man to man. 3. He hath reconciled man to Himself. 4. He hath reconciled man to duty.—Robertson.

Ver. 22. Holiness the Supreme End of Reconciliation.

Holiness an inward state and an outward result.—“Holy, unblameable and unreproveable.”

Holiness alone can satisfy God.—“In His sight.”

Holiness is the final completion of the soul.—“To present you.”

MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE 23.

The Condition of Man’s Final Blessedness.

The ripest fruits can only be produced and gathered by careful and unremitting culture; so, the enjoyment of the final blessings of reconciliation is conditioned upon continued allegiance to the Gospel and the diligent practice of its precepts. We are taught in this verse that the ultimate presentation to God of a perfectly holy and blameless character depends upon the believer’s firm and persevering attachment to the Gospel. Observe—

I. Man’s final blessedness depends upon his unswerving continuance in the faith.—The faith is a comprehensive term; it is inclusive of all the great saving truths of the Gospel, and of man’s many-sided relation to them. There is implied:

1. A continuance in the doctrines of the faith.—What a man believes has a powerful influence in moulding his character. The truths submitted to our faith shed light upon matters of transcendent import and worth. The baffled and inquiring mind, straining with painful eagerness after light, finds its satisfaction and rest amid the soothing radiance of revealed truth. “In returning and rest shall ye be saved” (Isa. xxx. 15). Unbelief lures the soul from its restful confidence, sets it adrift amidst the cross currents of bewilderment and doubt, and exposes it to moral shipwreck and irrevocable loss. The soul’s eternal safety is ensured, not by an infatuated devotion to mere opinions about certain dogmas, but by an intelligent, firm, and constant faith in Divine verities.

2. A continuance in the profession of the faith.—The believer is a witness for the truth; and it is an imperative duty to bear testimony for Christ before the world (Rom. x. 9, 10). This is done when we unite in fellowship and service with the external Church of Christ on earth. The Church, as the representative of Christ, witnesses for Him in the life and conduct of its individual members. There is nothing binding as to the special form this witness-bearing should take in each particular case; nor is any man compelled, for the sake of profession, to wed himself to any particular branch of the Church catholic. There may be reasons that render it justifiable, and even necessary, for a man to sever himself from any given religious community and join another; but on no conceivable ground can he be liberated from the duty of an open profession of his faith in Christ; his future acceptability to God hinges on his fidelity in this duty (Matt. x. 32).

3. A continuance in the practice of the faith.—Faith supplies the motive and rule of all right conduct. The test of all preceptive enactment and profession is in the life. The Christian character is developed and perfected, not by believing or professing, but by doing the will of God. The rewards of the future will be distributed according to our deeds (Rom. ii. 6–10).

4. Continuance in the faith must be permanent.—“Grounded and settled.” The edifice, to be durable, must be well founded, that it may settle into a state of firmness and solidity; so faith, in order to survive the storms and temptations of this world, and participate in the promised good of the future, must be securely grounded and settled in the truth. In order to permanency in the faith, the truth must be—(1) Apprehended intelligently. (2) Embraced cordially. (3) Maintained courageously.

II. Man’s final blessedness depends upon his unchanging adherence to the Gospel hope.—1. The Gospel reveals a bright future. It inspires the hope of the resurrection of the body, and of the glorification of it and the soul together in the eternal life of the future. Faith and hope are inseparably linked together; they mutually succour and sustain each other; they rise or fall together. Hope is the unquestioning expectation of the fruition of those things which we steadily believe. It is compared to an anchor, which, cast within the veil, fastened and grounded in heaven, holds our vessel firm and steady amid the agitations and storms of life’s tempestuous sea. The Gospel is the only source of genuine, deathless hope; all hopes grounded elsewhere wither and perish.

2. The Gospel to be effectual must come in contact with the individual mind.—“Which ye have heard.” Epaphras had declared to them the Divine message. It had been brought to them; they had not sought it. Having heard and received the Gospel, to relinquish its blessings would be inexcusable and ungrateful. In some way, either by direct preaching or otherwise, the Gospel must come to man. There is no power of moral reformation in the human heart itself; the germinant principle of a better life must come from without; it is conveyed in the Gospel word.

3. The Gospel is adapted to universal man.—“Which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.” Already it had spread into every part of the then known world, and its power was felt in every province of the Roman empire. The fine prophetic instinct of the apostle saw the universal tendency of the Gospel, and, in spirit, anticipated the fulfilment of its generous mission. His motive is to emphasise the universality of the unchangeable Gospel which is offered without reserve to all alike, and to appeal to its publicity and progress as the credential and guarantee of its truth. It is adapted to all men; it proclaims its message in all lands and is destined to win the world to Christ. The faith and hope of the believer are based, not upon the uncertain declarations of false teachers, but upon that Gospel, which is unchangeable in its character and universal in its appeal and adaptability to humanity; a strong reason is thus furnished for personal steadfastness.

4. The Gospel invested the apostle with an office of high authority.—“Whereof I Paul am made a minister.” Paul participated in the blessings of the Gospel; he had felt its transforming power, and from his personal experience of its preciousness could, with the greater assurance and force, exhort the Colossians to continue in the faith. But in addition to this the Gospel was committed to the apostle as a sacred trust and for faithful ministration; and while dwelling on the broad charity of the Gospel as involving the offer of grace to the Gentiles, he is impressed with the dignity and responsibility of his office as he interjects, somewhat abruptly, but with exquisite modesty, the words, “Whereof I Paul am made a minister.” It has been said of man that he is the priest and interpreter of nature; that it is his function to observe and test phenomena and interpret the laws that govern the material world. Another writer has said that “man is the organ of revelation for the Godhead.” God can find no adequate form of revelation for Himself in the impersonal forces of nature; only through a being in His own image can He unfold to the universe His adorable character. But the highest office to which man can be elevated is to be a ministrant of Gospel light and grace to his fellow-man.

5. There is an implied possibility of relinquishing our hold of the Gospel hope.—“Be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel.” The words do not necessarily imply doubt, but suggest the necessity for constant circumspection, vigilance, and care. The multiplicity and fulness of our blessing may prove a snare to us; prosperity tempts us to relax watchfulness, and we are in danger of becoming a prey to the wiles of the wicked one. Our retention of the Gospel hope is rendered immovable by constant waiting upon God in fervent prayer, by a growing acquaintance with the Word of promise, by continually anticipating in thought the bliss of the future.

Lessons.—1. The Gospel provides the surest basis for faith and hope. 2. Man’s ultimate blessedness depends on his continued fidelity.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF VERSE 24.

The Joy of Suffering for the Church.

A stolid indifference to suffering and a heroic endurance of the same were not unknown to the ancient pagans; but it is Christianity alone that has taught us to rejoice in afflictions; it supplies an ecstasy of emotion that renders us oblivious for the time being of encompassing trials. The apostle, as he pondered over the mighty work of reconciliation, and as he caught a glimpse of the amazing extent of Divine mercy, could not but rejoice even in his sufferings. In this verse he expresses his joy that, in suffering for the Church, he supplements that which was lacking in the afflictions of Christ. Observe—

I. The representative character of the apostle’s sufferings.—1. The apostle represented the suffering Saviour. “The afflictions of Christ.” We are not to suppose that the sufferings of Christ were incomplete in themselves or in their value as constituting a sufficient atonement. The passion of Christ was the one full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. In this sense there could be no deficiency in Christ’s sufferings, for Christ’s sufferings being different in kind from those of His servants, the two are incommensurable. Neither the apostle nor any other could represent the expiatory and sacrificial aspect of the Redeemer’s sufferings. But while His personal sufferings are over, His afflictions in His people still continue. He so thoroughly identifies Himself with them that their trials, sorrows, persecutions, and afflictions become His own. The apostle represented the suffering Saviour in what he endured for Christ and the Church. Thus, he declared to the Corinthians, “The sufferings of Christ abound in us.” The Church to-day is the representative of the suffering Saviour, and so completely is He identified with His people that He endures in them the pangs of hunger and thirst, shares their sickness and imprisonment, and reckons every act of kindness done to them as done to Himself (Matt. xxv.).

2. The sufferings of the apostle supplemented what was lacking in the afflictions of Christ.—“And fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh.” In harmony with the representative character of the Church, we can understand how the afflictions of every saint and martyr do supplement the afflictions of Christ. Every age of the Church has its measure of suffering. The Church is built up by repeated acts of self-denial in successive individuals and successive generations. They continue the work which Christ began. They bear their part, and supplement what is deficient in the sufferings of Christ (2 Cor. i. 7; Phil. iii. 10). As an apostle, Paul was a representative man, and his share in filling up what was wanting in these afflictions was considerable. In his own flesh he bore unexampled hardship, indignities, and distress. “In labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prison more frequent, in deaths oft.” The great Head of the Church was made perfect through suffering; so must the body be in all its relations and development. Through tribulation, more or less evident and intense, we must enter the kingdom. Suffering in itself has no virtue to elevate moral character; it is effective to this end only as it tends to fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ, only as it is borne for Christ, and in the Spirit of Christ. The great Mediator suffered to effect our salvation; and His people, on their part, fill up the suffering needed for the perfection of their spiritual life and for the full display of the Divine glory.

II. The vicarious character of the apostle’s sufferings.—“For His body’s sake, which is the Church.” The greater part of the suffering of the believer in this world is vicarious—is endured on behalf of others. It is thus we most nearly approach the spirit and example of Christ. St. Paul, as the pioneer missionary, the wise and edifying instructor, the diligent and anxious overseer, occupied a prominent and important position among the Churches, and his sufferings on their behalf would benefit them in many ways.

1. The apostle’s sufferings for the Church confirmed the faith of her converts.—Thousands are shy in embracing Christianity, because they shrink from the suffering it seems to involve; thousands more retire from the Christian profession for the same reason. An example like that of Paul’s—a man profoundly sincere, intensely earnest, calm and unmoved by the stoutest opposition, and triumphant amid acutest sufferings—encourages the timid and strengthens and confirms the tempted and wavering.

2. The apostle’s sufferings were for the consolation of the Church.—Writing to the Corinthians, he says: “Whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation.” Suffering makes us more capable of sympathising with others. “Great hearts can only be made by great troubles. The spade of trouble digs the reservoir of comfort deeper and makes more room for the water of consolation.” The richest anointing of Divine comfort is bestowed in the moment of severest suffering, and the consolation of one is the consolation of many. When Mr. James Bainham, who suffered under the reign of Henry VIII., was in the midst of the flames which had half consumed his arms and legs, he said aloud: “Oh, ye Papists, ye look for miracles, and here now you may see a miracle; for in this fire I feel no more pain than if I were in a bed of down, but it is to me a bed of roses!”

3. The apostle’s sufferings for the Church tended to promote her increase.—The more the Egyptians afflicted the Hebrews the more they multiplied and grew. The devil’s way of extinguishing goodness is God’s way of advancing it. The apostle could testify, in the midst of his sufferings, that “the things which have happened to me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.” Suffering seals the word spoken with a sacred and impressive significance. Many a convert has been won to the truth by the irresistible example of a suffering life.

III. The high-toned spirit of the apostle’s sufferings.—“Who now rejoice in my suffering for you.” Nature shrinks from suffering. It is altogether above nature to triumph in suffering. It is Christianity alone that lifts the spirit into the tranquil region of patient endurance and inspires us with joy in tribulation. It is not a love of suffering for its own sake—not a mad, morbid craving for the ghastly honours of a self-sought martyrdom; but there is a nameless charm about the truths of Christianity that exalts the mind, thrills the soul, and transmutes sorrow into joy. Paul was imprisoned at Rome, bound in a chain for the Gospel, when he wrote this epistle; but as the thoughts suggested by his theme grew in full-orbed magnificence before his mental vision—as he contemplated the lavish wealth of God’s mercy in the call of the Gentiles who constituted the greater portion of the world’s population—and as he saw all the glory of being allowed to share, and even to supplement, the sufferings of Christ, he rose above the consideration of his own personal trials, and in a sudden outburst of thanksgiving could exclaim, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you.” Let us not repine at our afflictions. Not only is our own soul chastened and purified; but every pang, every tear, every trial in our lot, is a contribution to the filling up of that which is still behind in the afflictions of Christ. It baptises suffering with a new meaning, and arrays it in a new dignity, when it is viewed as a grand means of promoting the perfection, the purity, and unfading glory of the whole Church.

Lessons.—1. It is an unspeakable honour to suffer for the Church of Christ. 2. The personal experience of the grace of Christ renders suffering for Him a joy. 3. The glory of the future will outweigh all we have suffered for the Church below.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Verses 25–27.

The Pre-eminent Honour and Sublime Theme of the Christian Ministry.

The highest dignity and most solemn responsibility are conferred on man when he is entrusted with the ministration of God’s Word. It is the infinite condescension of God that we have this treasure in earthen vessels. He who, in the exercise of His unchallengeable wisdom, calls man to this work, can alone inspire and endow him with the necessary intellectual and moral fitness for the awful charge. In these verses we learn that the apostle was appointed a minister of the Church—a steward in God’s household—charged to preach without reserve the whole Gospel of God, to dispense to the Gentiles the stores which His bountiful grace provided. Note:—

I. The Christian ministry is a Divine institution.—1. The true minister is Divinely commissioned. “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you” (ver. 25). The word “dispensation” involves the idea of stewardship. God governs His Church, not as a tyrant, who rules what is not his own; not as a monarch, who knows not a thousandth part of his subjects; but as a father, who knows, loves, and provides for his own children. The apostle was entrusted with a stewardship in God’s household; he was “a steward of the mysteries of God.” He received the office from God. This invested it with the highest dignity; yet he was the minister of the Church, and it was his joy to serve it, whatever might be the labour, sacrifice, or suffering entailed. The Christian ministry is not a lordship, but a stewardship; the minister is solemnly commissioned of God to maintain, defend, and dispense the truth that saves and edifies. There are moments when the minister can derive stimulus and courage for his work only by falling back upon the irrefutable fact of his Divine call.

2. The true minster is charged with the most complete proclamation of the Divine Word.—“To fulfil the word of God” (ver. 25)—to preach fully, to give its most complete development to. The apostle had declared the Gospel in all its depth and breadth of meaning, its wealth of blessing, and amplitude of revelation. He had proclaimed it in every direction, in harmony with his insight into its universal fitness and sufficiency. Fulfil implies the figure of a measure to be filled. The true minister is empowered to preach the Word of God in all the fulness of its internal import, and in accord with the universality of its outward purpose. Whether palatable or unpalatable, he must not shun to declare everywhere the whole counsel of God. The fulness there is in Christ and the urgent needs of humanity alike demand this.

II. The Christian ministry deals with a theme of profound significance and ineffable worth.—1. It is designated a mystery. “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations” (ver. 26). Mystery in the Scripture sense does not mean something actually incomprehensible, but something concealed or unknown until it please God to reveal it; something beyond the human mind to discover for itself, and which can only be attained by Divine aid. The mystery comprehended two leading features—the Divine purpose in saving man through a suffering and crucified Saviour, and the free admission of the Gentiles on equal terms with the Jews to the privileges of the covenant. Unlike the heathen mysteries, which were confined to a narrow circle, the Christian mystery is freely communicated to all. The mystery was concealed from the ages, which may be referred to the angels; and from the generations, which may be referred to men. Though faintly shadowed in types and figures, the truth would never have been discovered by man. In the revelation of the mystery the apostle applauded the lavish wealth of the Divine goodness. The Gospel is still a mystery to the unconverted.

2. It is a mystery unveiled to those who are morally fitted to understand it.—“But now is made manifest to His saints” (ver. 26). God chose His own time for making known the mystery of the Gospel. Like all the Divine procedures, the development was gradual, increasing in clearness and completeness as the fulness of time approached; that time embraced the advent of the incarnate Son of God, His ascension and enthronement in heaven, and the descent of the revealing Spirit. It is an axiom in optics that the eye only sees what it brings with it the power to see; and it is equally true in spiritual things that the soul comprehends the revelation of God only as it is prepared and fitted by the good Spirit. The holier the organ of Divine revelation, the clearer the vision. It was not to the dignitaries of imperial Rome or the ruling powers of Judea, but to humble shepherds that the tidings of the Saviour’s advent were first announced; not to the aristocracy of Pharisaic or Sadducean intellect, but to the plain, unlettered, believing fishermen of Galilee that the full glory of salvation by Christ was disclosed. Augustine has said, “Illiterate men rise and seize heaven, while we, with all our learning, are rolling in the filth of sin.”

3. The revelation of the mystery was an act of the Divine will.—“To whom God would make known” (ver. 27). There was nothing impelling Him to unfold this mystery but His own good pleasure. It was His sovereign will to disclose to the humble and devout, rather than to the proud and self-sufficient, the wondrous praise and glory of the Gospel. The most sincere seeker after holiness could not of himself discover the mystery. But though made known in its richer spiritual developments only to the good, the good pleasure of God has put the knowledge of it within the reach of all.

4. The revelation of the mystery endowed humanity with a vast inheritance of moral wealth.—“What is the riches of the glory of this mystery” (ver. 27). The terms employed seem inadequate to convey the meaning intended. It is impossible fully to explain or illustrate the sublime truths they indicate. The Gospel is a mystery full of glory—a glory unique, resplendent, unsurpassable; and this glory is dowered with riches, abundant, inexhaustible, and Divine. The riches of the glory appear in the manifestation of the nature and attributes of God which the mystery supplies, and also in the moral wealth that has descended upon man. Here is the most lavish provision for the salvation of sinful and perishing humanity—an inheritance of imperishable bliss. (1) This inheritance enriched the most needy. It was exhibited “among the Gentiles” (ver. 27). The Jews were the children of promise and possessed every religious privilege; the Gentiles were the children of mercy, and never dared to dream of enjoying the blessings of the Gospel. In the revelation of the mystery to them, the dispensation of grace achieved its greatest triumphs and displayed its transcendent glory. Here, too, was its wealth, for it overflowed all barriers of caste or race. Judaism was “beggarly” in comparison, since its treasures sufficed only for a few. The glory of the Gospel was never so brilliant as in the moral transformations it effected among the degraded Gentiles. (2) This inheritance includes the hope inspired by the indwelling Christ. “Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (ver. 27). The mystery of the Gospel begins and ends in Christ, and Christ is in every believer the hope of glory. Only in Christ can we hope for the highest glory, and in Him we infallibly find all the blessedness we can enjoy in this world or expect in the future. In Him we have here as seed what we shall have in Him there as harvest. “Even now we sit there in Him and shall sit with Him in the end.”

Lessons.—1. The Christian ministry involves solemn responsibilities. 2. The transcendent theme of the Christian ministry is Divinely revealed. 3. Personal experience of the grace of God endows man with the clearest insight into its mystery, and the most satisfying possession of its spiritual riches.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 25–27. The Glory of the Gospel—

A mystery once hidden, but now revealed (vers. 26, 27).

Enriches all nations with moral blessings.

Is entrusted to Divinely authorised messengers to make known (vers. 25, 27).

Ver. 27. Christ in you the Hope of Glory.

I. What it implies of present experience.—1. Generally—Christ among you. 2. Personally—Christ in you.

II. What is presages.—“The hope of glory.”

1. Personal glory—in the perfection of being where the servant is like his Lord.

2. Relative glory—sharing the throne with Jesus, and sharing in His triumph and glory.—Preacher’s Magazine.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Verses 28, 29.

The Secret of Effective Preaching.

Much has been written concerning the inefficiency of the modern pulpit; and it has been argued that the press is now the great and successful rival of the preacher and must ere long render his office nugatory. This prediction might possibly be fulfilled if the preaching of the Gospel was simply a human institution and depended only on man for its permanency. But when we remember that preaching is a Divine ordinance, and is adapted to reach and stir the heart as no other agency can, the preacher’s function can never cease while human nature remains what it is, or while God honours His own institution with His blessing. Only as the pulpit is faithful to its grand theme and lofty mission will it be effective. The deepest want of the age is Christ; and that preaching will be irresistibly potent that most adequately represents Him. These verses reveal to us the secret of effective preaching.

I. In order to effectiveness in preaching Christ must be the changeless theme.—“Whom we preach” (ver. 28).

1. Preach Christ as to the special characteristic and unrivalled excellencies of His person.—The greatest men who ever lived, however brilliant and capacious their genius or stupendous their labours, never made so profound and widespread an impression upon humanity as Christ has done and is now doing. Their influence operated for only a limited period; His pervades all time—past, present, and future; theirs was confined to a narrow locality, His is diffused through the universe. The person of Christ is unique in this—that it combines two natures, the Divine and the human. It was necessary He should be both God and man in order to fully accomplish the work He voluntarily undertook. As God, He met and satisfied all the requirements of Deity; and as man—putting Himself in our place—He realised and reached the extremities of our need, and thus fairly laying hold of us, gathering up and grasping the roots of our corrupt nature, He raised from sin to holiness, from earth to heaven. He is Emmanuel—God with us.

2. Preach Christ in His mediatorial character.—As the Prophet who testified of the truth of God; as the Priest, who, by His one offering of Himself on the cross, has atoned for sin and made reconciliation possible; and as the King who has vanquished all our spiritual enemies and demands our absolute allegiance to His rule.

3. Preach Christ as the Saviour of every man, and as the only Saviour.—The threefold repetition of the phrase “every man” has a special significance, and emphasises the universality of the Gospel. This great truth, a truth which the apostle sacrificed his life in establishing, had been endangered by the doctrine of a ceremonial exclusiveness taught by the Judaizers in several places, and was now endangered by the doctrine of an intellectual exclusiveness taught by the Gnosticizers at Colossæ. Christ must be proclaimed as the Saviour of men of every class, community, and country. He is the only Saviour, for “there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts iv. 12). The preaching of Christ is no narrow theme but stands essentially related to all the noblest truths of the universe.

II. In order to effectiveness variety of method must be adopted.—The declaration of the truth must be:—

1. Authoritative.—“Whom we preach” (ver. 28). The New Testament idea of preaching involves three elements—the announcement of joyful tidings; the proclamation of truth as by a herald, urgently and authoritatively; and the conviction and persuasion of men to belief by means of arguments. The preacher is the ambassador of God, and the message must be delivered as coming from Him, in His name, and by His authority.

2. Admonitory.—“Warning every man” (ver. 28). Sin has placed man in imminent peril, and its tendency is to deaden his sensibilities and render him oblivious of his danger. Hence, he must be roused to concern and repentance by faithful remonstrance, by earnest exhortation, by solemn admonition, by impassioned appeal.

3. Instructive.—“Teaching every man” (ver. 28). Not only must the emotions be swayed, but the understanding enlightened. It is not enough to convince the unbeliever of his error, not enough to bring home to the lover of sin the vileness and enormity of his transgressions, but by clear and forcible exposition and persuasion the fill of the individual offender must be seized, and with firm, yet loving pressure biassed to seek after the light, truth, and purity that once were shunned.

4. With shrewd insight as to its adaptability.—”In all wisdom” (ver. 28). The ancients spoke of a blind faith in their mysteries which belonged to the many, and of a higher knowledge that was confined to the few. The apostle, while declaring that in the Gospel the fullest wisdom was offered to all alike, without restriction, exercised discretion as to the method in which he presented it to the individual. The style of his address at Athens would be different from that adopted at Jerusalem. This involves a study of character, and of what goes to make it—habits, customs, opinions, sympathies, and the general circumstances of life-culture.

III. In order to effectiveness man must be aided in realising the highest ideal of the Christian character.—“That we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (ver. 28). The Gospel is a mirror in which is glassed the portrait of the character after which each believer is to model his own. That character is not simply a development of one’s own natural manhood, so much as it is something added to and thrown around that manhood, lifting it into dignity and transfiguring it with a glorious beauty. The Gospel reveals the ideal of the Christian character after which the soul is continually to aspire. That ideal, in all its loveliness and witchery, is projected before the soul’s inmost vision in the Spirit and life of the man Christ Jesus. He who approximates nearest to the Christly character attains the highest moral perfection. It is the sublime mission of the preacher not to gratify the intellect, charm the imagination, or expand the mind by propagating the ideas of a transcendental philosophy; but to strengthen the soul in the great contest with evil, to supply it with holiest motives, to promote its spiritual progress, to present it “perfect in Christ Jesus.”

IV. In order to effectiveness there must be self-denying toil and the vigorous forth-putting of Divinely inspired energy.—“Whereunto I also labour, striving according to His working which worketh in me mightily” (ver. 29). All great ideas have cost the solitary and individual thinker unspeakable labour, and not a little suffering in the endeavour to elaborate and make them known and set them in their due relation before the world. The world is ruled by ideas; but the revolution they occasion is a slow and painful process. The apostle was the custodian of a great idea—that the Gospel was intended for all and must be fully preached to all. The idea is familiar to us; but it was new to that age and revolutionised the whole realm of human thought. If the apostle had been content to preach an exclusive Gospel, he might have saved himself more than half the troubles of his life. But he saw the magnitude of the issues at stake; he espoused the God-given truth with all the strength of his great nature; he confronted the colossal prejudices of the ages; he trained himself in the discipline of self-denying toil; he suffered as only the true martyr-soul can suffer; he strove with an agony of earnestness to make known the whole truth; and, aided by the mighty working of the Divine power within him, he triumphed signally. Preaching is always effective when it is the consentaneous outworking of the Divinely imparted energy within the man. The preacher alone, however strenuous his efforts, is powerless; but inspired and strengthened by the Divine Spirit, and acting in harmony with His promptness and help, he is mighty to prevail.

Lessons.—1. Every sermon should be full of Christ. 2. The preacher should be master of every method that will ensure success. 3. That sermon will be most effective that is prepared and preached under the most direct influence of the Divine Spirit.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Ver. 28. Apostolic Preaching.

They preached Christ as the only foundation of a sinner’s hope of salvation.

As the object of supreme love.

As the source of our supplies.

As the model of our lives.—W. Antiff, D.D.

Ver. 29. The Christian Ministry—

Involves strenuous labour and patient suffering.

Is dependent on Divine help.

Ascribes all its success to God.