Dodge City times., 1883-12-20
THE INDWELLING CHRIST.

At the Union churbh Rev. \. P. George, Dodgc's
Methodist pastor, preached on ''The Indwelling
Christ He spoke substantially as follows:
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all
wisdom."-Col iii: 16
"The words of the text are taken from the cpis-
tie to the church at Coliosse, church for which
Paul gave thanks to God and the father OF our
Lord Jesus Christ, and one for which the apostle
praying always In this chapter he showeth
where We should seck Christ, be cxhartcd TO NOR
tillcation, to put off the old name, to put on
Christ, eshcrting 10 charity, humanity and to
yar;ons duties arising from the family relation
The text which is IN the midst of the Paul's
exhortation, is a positive apostolic command. 1t
is not suggestion, or an index pointing in a good
way, but an inspired command like, in spirit and
in lettert to the teachings of the Master himself
Being thus it demands our most careful attention.
The commands are the yard-sticks, hy which we
are to measure our lives We must study the
same to enable to read the figures and the
marks ard we should scek their application, in
order to understand the duty required, and to
measure the distance from time to eternity from
earth to heaven.
The main thongit in the text, that about which
all others centre and devolve and upon which
al others depend, is that which we are command
ed to have indwelling III us. This summons, at
first, our attention. What il it thus Indicated:
it is, in the words Of the text the word of Christ
And what, you inquire, il the word of Christ, the
Logos of the trinity? 1t is the expression of God
In proof, let us go for scripture to the gospel
of the beloved. He opens his chapter of good
news by telling US that sin the beginning was the
word, and the word was with God, and the word
was God This first Of John, and the seventeen
verses following il, Dean Afford regards as not on
" the introduction to the book s'but prologue
in which is contained the substance and subject of
the whole gospel" The key word in this passage
is the term using the Greek, Logus-word. John
offers no explanation Of it. He assumed that it
is we'll understood by those to whom he wrote 1t
primarily means spoken word. Then it means
the expression OF anything. Hence says Dr.
Buttz, ''to my mind it means Gods expression of
himself to the world" Cremcr says: ..Thc word
here denotes Christ to be him in whom had been
hidden from eternity, and especially from the be-
ginning of the world what God had to say to man;
and who represents what has come fully to light
in the New Testament message of grace and mer-
cy.' OF this Logos, John tells Us that it 'waa
made flesh, and dwclt among u.s."
twelve, doubtless using Peter as their spokesman,
at the time of the first trouble in the apostolic
church, said it is not reason that we should leave
the word Of God and serve tables that is, to at
tend to the temporal affairs Of the church, "bnt
we will Civ: ourselves continually to prayer, and
to the ministry OF the word" And again at that
time when 'there great persecution against
the church which at Jerusalem, and they were
all scattered abroad throughout the regions Of Ju
dea and Samaria,' it is said that 'they that were
scattercd abroad went everywhere preaching the
word" Then Phillip who was one of the ''perse-
cuted'' and one scattered abroad ''went down.
we are told, ITO the city of Samaria and preached
Christ there 'sThe wor1 and ''Chrst'' are thus
seen to be interchangeable terms each signifying
the other When as in the text the two terms arc
used the expression is simply made stronger and
the more emphatic.
This, however, is not simply that that the minis
ters of the word preach. 1t is also the possession
of his people. When Christ would condemn the
wicked Jews, who ''sought to slay him because he
had done these things on the Sabbath day, the
time he had cured the man (which had an infrmi-
ty thirty and eight years" he said: "ie have not
his word abiding in yOu. for whom he hafh sent,
him ye believe not and on another occasion,
when after Jesus had preached himself the lght OF
the world and s'nlany believe on Him, then
said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him
il ye continue in my word, then arc ye my Dis
ciples indeed, and We shall knox the truth and the
truth shall make you free When we read OF the |
consolation and mutual love between Christ and
his members under the parable OF the viIie, We
trd the master saying to his disciples jst before
going out to be betraycd-Judas not being with |
are you clear through the word
have spoken unto you. am the vine, ye are the |
branches; he that abideth in me, and In him the |
same brngcth forth mnch fruit
~ well rs hearing ti,c vor' or Christ II Is the