The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1899-04-21
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON ", SECOND QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, APRIL 20.


John xiv, documentary Prepared
by the Rev. D. M. stearns.
copyright, 1899, by D. M. stearns.1
/. "Let not your heart be troubled; We
believe in God, believe also In Me-" It is
the last night before His great agony, and
one would think that He would need some
one to comfort Him, but with entire self
renunciation He comforts these weak ones
and us through them. He teaches us that
In the world we shall have tribulation
xvi, 88), but we need not have our hearts
troubled. In Math. xiv, 8, He says: eye
shall hear Of wars and rumors of wars
See that ye be not troubled" In Isa
XVI, 8, the secret of perfect peace is shown
to be a mind staid on Him.
Q. 81 go to prepare place for you. :"
When on earth, He lived for us and died
for us and rose again. Now in heaven He
ever Hveth to make intercession for us
and, as He said, is preparing a place for
us. We may not understand these many
mansions now and just what they mean,
but it should suffice to know that He who
loved us enough to give Himself for us
and bear our sins in His own body on the
cross is preparing place for us in glory
1t will be worthy of Him who prepares it.
8. 81 will come again and receive you
unto Myself. F" He wants us with Him to
see and share His glory (chapter xvii, %,
24). Concerning His coming again see
Acts i, II; Thess. iv, IS; Heb. tx, 49,;
Titus ii, 13; Rev. i, 7-12. Do not think of
His coming as death or the coming of the
Spirit at Pentecost or any other event, but
always as His literal personal return, first
to the air for His saints and later to the
earth with His saints to set up His king
dom here on the earth with Israel as a
center.
4. "And whittier go ye know, and the
way We know" He had often told them
that He had come from the Father and
would return to the Father. He had also
told them that He would die and rise
again the third day. So had they believed
His words they might have known much
more than they did To Him the going
to the Father was very real, for with the
Father He had been from all eternity.
5. "Lord, we know not" Thus said
Thomas, who also after the resurrection
said, Except 1 shall see, will not be-
lieve" Chapter Xxx, 49, He knew not be-
cause he believed not Some want to see,
and some want to understand before they
will believe. Such not only grieve the
Spirit, but lose much personal joy To
them the Lord says: "Be not faithless, but
believing Blessed are they that have not
seen, yet have believed" (chapter Xxx, 81,
29).
6. "Jesus saith unto him, / am the way
and the truth and the life" He is the
new and living way (Heb. K, 20), in con-
trast to all the forms Of the ceremonial
law, and as the antitype of all types and
substance of all shadows. He is the truth,
for God is the God of truth (Isa lxv, 16),
and His word is truth John xvii, ~. In
Him is life, and He is our life. He that
hath the Son hath life John /, 4; Col iii,
4; I John V, II, 12). There is no other
way to heaven or to the Father (Acts
iv, 12).
z. eff We had known Me, ye should have
known My Father also, and from hence
forth ye know Him and have seen Him. y
To know God is life indeed and peace and
joy and foretaste of heaven. 1t is better
than all the riches or wisdom or might of
this world (John xvii, 8; Job xxi, 21 !;
Jer. tx, 23, 24). How wise are those who
give themselves up to know our Lord
Jesus Christ as revealed to us in the Scrip
lures, and thus to know the Fatherl
g. "Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew
us the Father, and it sufficeth us" He
had said many such words-as "The Fa-
Their sent Me, :" "The Father is with Me, I"
81 and My Father are one, +" II do always
those things that please Him." and from
such sayings they might have gathered
that to know Him was to know the Father.
g. "He that hath seen Me hath seen the
Father" He is the image of the invisible
God, the brightness of His glory, and the
express image of His person (Col. /, Is;
Heb. i, 81. Shall we ever see the Father
We shall expect to and yet be satisfied if
In the glory we see only, as John saw, on
the throne one like the appearance of
jasper and q sardine stone (Rev. iv, 81.
Whom no man hath seen, nor can sec Il
Tim. vi, 16) may mean no mortal man.
10. "Believest thou not that | am in
the Father and the Father in Me?" Then
He adds that all His words and works
were not His, but the Fathers. He takes
no credit to Himself for anything. AS to
His words He says elsewhere that the Fa-
ther gave Him commandment what He
should say and speak xii, 49). 1t was the
same with prophets and apostles; they
were given by God the words which they
should speak lex. iv, 12; Jer. /, z, 8;
Eek. ii, q; iii, A; Math. x, 20).
IL. "Believe Me for the very works
sake. In the previous verse He asks if
they do not believe that He is in the Fa-
ther and the Father in Him, but now He
commands them to believe it and calls
upon the works as evidence. In chapter
v, $780,, He says that the Father and His
word and works all bear witness that He
Is what He says He is-one with the Fa-
ther, the Lord God of the holy prophets,
the Messiah of Israel, the Son of God. He
is the Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father Prince of Peace lisa
TX, O..
10. "Verily, verify, say unto you, he
that believeth ON Me, the works that do
shall he do also; and greater works than
these shall he do, because go unto My
Father" Thus will be manifest the union
of the believer with Christ as His union
with the Father was made manifest. 1t
is God who worketh In us both to will and
to do of His good pleasure, and He will
work in us those things which are pleas
ing in His sight phil. ii, 13; Heb. xiii
2D.
IS. "And whatsoever ye shall ask in My
no Iok mill Il %I~A Al