The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-12-28
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON |, FIRST QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. I.

.Ne"OCy verses, l-S-UoAdCh ASAt'
John i, documentary Prepared by
Rev. D. II. Stcarns.
copyright, 1904, by American Press Association.l
Beginning the study Of this, in some
respects, most marvellous Of all the
gospels, and on this first day Of
new year, let me quote some words
from Dr.. Andrew Murray applicable
to the whole Bible, and, of course, to
this portion Of it: The central thought
of this book is God; its one object is
to reveal God, His glory, His will, His
| love. In reading it our chief desire
should be to know God. May our life
and heart be as full Of God as this
book is" 1t is only in Christ that we
can see and know God (verse 1S), for
He also said, 'He that hath seen 11e
hath seen the Father Chapter xiv, o.,
and this gospel was written that we
might believe that Jesus IS the Christ,
the Son Of God, and believing have
life through His Name Xxx, 31). One
has said that here John reveals Him
as mot Of this world" xvii, 16) for the
contemplation Of :ose who, like Him,
by His grace, ot of this world.
In the first nree verses we are
carried back to Gen. i, l, and we see
Him as God, the Creator Of all things
Compare COL i, 1G, II, and consider
Him as the all wise and all powerful
Creator until your heart can gladly
say Jer. xxi, II, and find the comfort
and the result that the apostles did
in Acts ", 24-31 May our hearts and
lives ever proclaim that to us Jesus IS
God, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace Qsa. ix,
6, ..
In Him are life and light, and nowhere
else, for all else is darkness, and dark
ness cannot comprehend light. "He
that hath the Son bath life, and he
that hath not the Son hath not life
4 John V, 12). His first recorded ut
terance in Scripture is, LET there be
light (Gen. i, -, and it is recorded
Of Him, God is light, and in Him IS
no darkness at all'' 4 John i, 81. He
said Of Himself, 81 am the light Of the
world" and again, Il am the way
and the truth and the life Chapters
viii, -; xiv, g.
In verses S to 8 John the Baptist is
spoken Of as a witness sent from God
to bear witness of the light, and this
also is in a sense the calling Of every
believer, for he said, ''Ye shall receive
the power Of the Holy Ghost coming
upon you, and ye shall be witnesses un-
to me" (Acts /, S, margin). We are to
walk as He walked q John ii, g, and as
with Him so with US the life is the
light, and our lives are either telling
for Him or against Him always. When
once the light has shined in our hearts
we are to die continually to self that
the life Of Jesus may be, manifest IN
US OF Cor. iv, 10, I'D.
Unknown in the world which He
had made, despised and rejected by
the nation to whom He specially came,
esteemed as root out Of dry ground,
as one having neither form nor come
liness; oppressed and afflicted and per-
secuted, and finally crucihed as an evil
doer, such was His treatment from
those whom He came TO bless. he
said to them, GLOW often would I
have gathered you, and ye would not"
Verse 12 is to me one Of the best IN
the book; it IS to my mind the simplest
possible definition Of believing and
must be borne In mind wherever after
ward we find the word "belieye" in
this gospel. it tells me how to become
child Of God, begotten Of God. 1t IS
not hereditary, nor can it be accom-
pished by any will or power Of man,
but every sinner who having heard OF
Jesus Christ as the Saviour Of sinners
can truly say, II do receive Him as my
personal Saviour" is hereby assured
that thus receiving Fin he is entitled
to all the privileges OF child Of God.
Compare Rom. iii, "a; ", 5; vi, %; <,
4; Tit Iii, 5. We are also taught
here that not all people are children Of
God, as some would have US believe,
but only such as truly receive the Lord
Jesus Christ as their life and light, be-
neving him to be God manifest in the
flesh, the only revealer Of the Father,
the one who as God appeared to man
In all the Old Testament story from
Gen. il onward, who in due time be-
came man, made Of a woman, made
under the law to redeem them that
were under the law-Christ, who re-
deems us from the curse Of the law,
being made a curse for US (Gal. iT, 4;
iii, 49,. John the Baptist says, "He
was before me" (yerse 15); our Lord
Himself said, Before Abraham was,
I am," and again in His prayer to His
Father He said, 20 Father, glorify
thou me with Thine own self, with the
glory which I had with Thee before
the world was" John will, IS; xvii, 81.
The law, holy and just and good,
setting forth the only righteousness
which could satisfy God, could not
give life, for if there had been q law
given which could have given life,
verify, righteousness should have been
by the law (Gal. ill, 2D, but the law
can only prove men guilty that they
may be justified freely by Bis grace
through the redemption that is i'll
Christ Jesus, who is the end Of the
law for Righteousness to all who be.
lieve Rom. iii, 1924; x, 4. Not only
did grace and truth come by Him, but
He was full Of grace and truth. He
IS the truth, God IS the God Of truth,
the Split is the Spirit Of truth, in
Him we see the truth as to what GOD
desires man to be, in mans treatment
Of Him we see the truth as to what
mans heart Is toward God, and then
His loving and saving such as We are
show forth the exceeding abundant
grace Of God q Tim. i, 14). If we
understood it more fully now we would
ma nnifc the grace Of God ALWAYS or