El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-12-24
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON KIN, FouFTA QUARTER, IN
TERNATioNALssERiEs. DEG. rs.


Text of tho Lesson. Heb. l. 1-9-Memory
Verses. 1. a-Golden Text, Luke II. IL.
Commentary Prepared by the Rev. d. M.
stearns.
copyright. 1898. by D. NJ. .Stearns1
Instead Of a quarterly review we are
given the choice of Christmas lesson
| which probably many will prefer.
/. "God, who at sundry times and in dt-
vers manners spake in times past unto the
fathers by the prophets - We have in pre-
yious lessons been considering how God
by the prophets entreated the people to turn
| again to Him that He might bless them,
| and since the time when in the garden OF
Eden He sought Adam with the question
"Where art thou?'' He has been ever seek
ing to win man back to Himself. He does
this in different ways, as it is written in
Hos. xii, 10, II have also spoken by the
prophets, and I have multiplied visions
and used similitudes by the ministry of the
prophets lob Mxiii, 80, 80, in the light
Of the previous part Of the chapter, tells
how in many ways He does this. The
great thing to be remembered is that what
ever or whoever may be the instrumental
ity it is God Himself that is doing it.
Q. Hath in these last days spoken unto
us by His Son, whom He hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom also He made
the worlds" The Son Himself referred
to this when in Math. xxi, 81, in the para
BILE of the vineyard, He speaks of the F'ac
Their as last OF all sending to them His son,
saying, "They will reverence my Son. -"
But instead of reverencing Him they took
Him and slew Him. He came unto His
own, and His own received Him not. His
own people would not have Him and His
own possessions found no room for Him,
just as at His birth there was no room for
Him in the inn, and when they crucifed
Him He was mum bered with transgressors,
and they made His grave with the wicked.
8. "Who, being the brightness of-His
glory and the express image of His person,
and UNFOLDING all things by the word of
His power, when He had by Himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right
hand Of the Majesty on high" God was
in Christ He was God manifest in the
flesh Oh Cor: " 1871 Tim. iii, 49, but
the glory that was in Him was generally
concealed It was yelled by His mortal
body (Heb. z, 20)s yet on the Mount OF
TRANSPORTATION it shone forth. and was
witnessed by the favored three (u Pet /,
II; John j, IA. The phrase express
image" is just the word character" in
the Greek and is, i think, used nowhere
else. In Jesus Christ we see the character
Of God, and there is no character in us
Christ in us He, by the sacrifice of Him
self, put away forever the sins of all who
receive Him. He has made provision for
the salvation of all, but those only who
come receive the benefit. How can they
come unless they hear? -r
4. "Being made SO much better than
the angels, as He hath by Inheritance OBJ
tanned more excellent name than they"
The angels are ministering spirits sent
forth to minister unto the heirs of saliva
ton, but to any of them God never said,
"Sit on my right hand until make thine
enemies thy footstooP' oversees Is, 14).
He made Himself for a little while inferior
ture that He might in due time lift us up
to His position (chapter ii, 5-1S).
s. For unto which of the angels said
He at any time, Thou art my Son, this
day have begotten thee?" And, again, 81
will be to Him Father and He shall be
to me Son." The first quotation here
refers to His resurrection from the dead
Cps. ii, 2; Acts xiii, 33); the second to His
being heir to the throne of David (II Sam.
vii, 14). No angel can ever sit on David's
throne, nor can an angel ever possess a
mortal body made immortal The word
"better" is one of the key words of this
epistle, and in chapters and ii the central
thought seems to be "better than angels"
while in the following chapters it is bet
and we are to run with patience the race
that is set before US, looking unto Jesus"
and waiting for Him to come back from
heaven He was with power declared to
be the Son of God by the resurrection from
the dead. and we shall be fully manifest
as sons of God in the resurrection.
6. "And again when He bringeth in the
first begotten into the world He saith, And
let all the angels of God worship Him.
The margin says, when He bringeth
again, and evidently refers to His second
coming in power and glory, and this is the
sense of Ps. Xvii, from which the quota
ton is made, for it speaks of His reign and
His Judgment Of His enemies and His
kingdom. 1t is written in Dan. vii, 10,
in connection with the Judgment, that
thousand thousands ministered unto Him
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood
before Him.
z. ''And of the angels He saith, Who
maketh His angels spirits and His minis |
tiers a flame of fire. This is from Ps. civ,
4, which is full of Gods care of His crea-
lures and ends with the first halleluiah in
Scripture. In Ps. Gill; 20, we read, BLESS
the Lord, We His angels, that excel in
strength, that do His commandments,
hearkening unto the voice of His word, "
and in the last verse of onr lesson chapter |
we learn that they all minister unto the |
heirs of salvation. They ministered unto |
our Lord, who for a little time made Him |
self lower than they. They minister unto |
us, who are for the present inferior to |
them, but when He shall appear we shall |
be like Him, in immortal resurrection |
bodies.
8. "But unto the Son He saith, Thy |
throne, o God, is forever and ever; a scep-
ter of righteousness is the scepter of Thy |
This verse and the next are |
from the forty fifth psalm, which tells of
the King and His marriage, and is also
told in Math XIV ind Rev. xix as proceed |
ing the kingdom. Notice that the Son is |