Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-07-28
international 9tssol1s.
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON VI, THIRD QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, AUG. 8.

LESSON vi, THIRD QUARTER, IN Eli
NATIONAL SERIES, AUG. 8.
Text Of the Lesson, Thess. iv, 8, to v, q
Memory Verses, 16-1S-Golden Text,
John xiv, documentary by the Rev
d. M. Stearns.
9. "But as touching brotherly love, ye
need not that I write unto you, for ye
yourselves are taught of God to love one
another" The epistle Is addressed to the
church Of the Thcssalonians in God the
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, those
who, having heard the gospel, received the
word and turned from their idols unto
God, to serve the living and true God and
to wait for His Son from heaven, even
Jesus who delivered them from the wrath
to come (chapter l, 1, 8, 6, 8, 10). He ex-
horts them to walk worthy Of God, who
has called them to His kingdom and glory,
and to seek in all things to please God and
not man Chapters II, 4; iv, y.
10. "And indeed ye do 1t toward all the
brethren which are in all Macedonia. But
we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase
more and more" There Is always room
for increase in love and in all the fruit OF
the Spirit, for we can never manifest the
fruit as fully as Christ did, and yet He is
our only example. He Is ever seeking
much more fruit, for no branch Is bearing
all that it might.
II. "And that ye study to be quiet, and
to do your own business, and to work with
your own hands as we commanded you. "
In later epistle he said that If any would
not work neither should they eat QI
Thess. iii, 10y. The word here translated
"study" (philotimeomaD is used only
three times. The other two places are Rom.
xv, 20; II Cor. V, 8. The late DR.. A. j.
Gordon loved to call attention to the truth
that the word signifies "to be ambitious" "
or to use ones utmost endcavor to accom-
plish a thing, and that in Shese three pas
sages we have lawful threefold ambition
for every believer-viz, to mind ones own
business, be we'll pleasing to God, and
preach the gospel where Christ has not yet
been named.
10. "That ye may walk honestly toward
them that are without, and that ye may
have lack of nothing" We are to provide
things honest in the sight of all men
(Rom. xii, ~, but we should take special
pains to be in every sense upright before
unbelievers. They will not read the Bible,
but they will and do read people, and they
ought to be able to read something Of the
Bible in tho life of every Christian. One
has said that Christian ought to be a
large print, clear type Bible that any one
can read easily. Such upright people can
not lack any good (Ps. lxxxiv, 1I.
13. "But would not have you to be
ignorant, brethren, concerning them which
are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as 9TH
ers which have no hope" While teaching
them how to live on the earth as Chris
tians the fact was ever before them that
some were passing away. Death was do
ing his cruel work. And what about those
who die in the Lord2 While Rev. xiv, 13,
has special reference to those who In the
days of the manifestation of satan's great
est power will rather die than deny Chri t,
vet it Is always true, BLESSED are the dead
who die in the Lord" There Is the gain,
and the very far better phil. 1, 81, 28).
IA. "For If we believe that Jesus died
and rose again, even so them also which
sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. "
To die is gain, and to be with Christ is
far better. But that Is not the whole of 1t,
for after the resurrection Of the righteous
all the saints are coming back with Him
when He comes to Judge the nations, save
Israel and begin His reign on earth.
IS. "For this we say unto you by the
word of the Lord that we which are alive
and remain unto tho coming of tho Lord
shall not prevent them which are asleep. "
The R. V. says in the last clause of this
verse, "Shall in nowise precede them that
are fallen asleep" Rotterdam says that
we shall Gin nowise get before" them
which arc fallen asleep. 1t would seem
that the Christians thought that their
friends who had died had lost somewhat
by not being allowed to remain until the
Lord should come, but the assertion here
is very emphatic that those who are alive
on the earth when Christ shall come shall
have no advantage over those who have
died in Christ, and who have been some
time absent from tho body and present
with the Lord.
16. "For the Lord Himself shall descend
from heaven with shout, with the voice
of the archangel and with the trump OF
God, and the dead in Christ shall rise
first" AS at the first coming of Christ,
in humiliation to suffer and die and rise
from the dead, there were many events
covering many years, at least 80, so at
His second coming to reign there will be
many events covering many years. The
coming with Him Of verse ID and chapter
iii, 18, and Rev. xix, 11-l6, Is the last
stage of His second coming and must be
preceded by the events Of verses 10, II. He
cannot bring us with Him until He gets
US all with Him.
II. "Then we which are alive and re-
main shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord IN the
air, and 80 shall we ever be with the
Lord" I like to fancy this as actually oc'
curing, and often say to my many con-
gregations "Let us now imagine 1t tax.
ing place" The Lord Himself, not an
angel, nor the Holy Spirit, but this same
Jesus (Acts l, 11), shall leave the right
hand of the Father and descend to the air.
Like mighty magnet He will attract to
Himself all the members Of His body. The
dead in Christ shall rise. They who have
been with Him absent from the body shall
reinhabit their bodies risen from the grave
and made like unto His glorious body.
1S. "Wherefore comfort one another
with these words" I think there Is nc
other verse just like this in the Bible. In
lisa. xl, /, 2, the prophet is told to comfort
Jerusalem and Israel, and it Is In connec.
tion with the coming Of the Lord. In II
Cor. /, 8, 4, the God of all comfort com
forts us that we may comfort others with
our comfort, whatever 1t Is. But here are
the very words with which we are to COM
fort those who are bereaved. We are not
to say, like David, shall go to them, but
they cannot come to me. On the contrary,
we are to think Of the possibility Of their
ion hn6iQc