The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1905-01-04
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON II, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. 8.

LESSON Il, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. 8.
Text of the Lesson, john j, 1884.
Memory Verses, &c, 27-GolGen Text.
john j, 2o-Commentary Prepared
by Rev. D. VI. Stenrns.
iCopyright, 1905, by American Press Association
Let US never forget the reason why
this gospel was written. THAT ye
might believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, and that, believing, ye
might have life through His name
Xxx 81. AS we saw in last lesson, In
! Him was life and it is always true,
IN Him is life" and nowhere else IS
life 10 be found. ''He that hath not
the Son of God whatever else he may
havel hath not life" II John V, 12l. He
also is light and love, and nowhere else
are these to be found but in Him. In
Him alone is redemption (Acts ", ID.
ITO Him give all the prophets witness,
that through His name whosoever be-
lieveth in Him shall receive remission
of sins (Acts Y, 49,. The prophet who
bears testimony In this lesson is John
the Baptist, Of whom Jesus said,
among those that are born Of women
there Is not a greater prophet than
John the Baptist" duke vii, 81. To
bear witness, testimony or record Is all
one. IN verses {, S and Is Of our les
son chapter the word is translated wit
ness" in verses 19, 80, 81, it is "rec-
ord" in chapter iii, 80, 33, it is "testi-
nony." The important point is that
the one to whom testimony is borne IS
"the Son Of Cod" 'the word made
fesh,'' the only revealer Of the ta-
ther.
The Lord had said to Moses, Il will
raise them up a prophet from among
their brethren like unto thee, and Will
put my words in His mouth" (Deut-
xviii. ls). He also said in Nal. ", 5,
.|Behold, will send you Elijah the
prophet before the coming Of the great
and dreadful day of the Lord" The
Jews, not seeming to recognize the
prophet like unto Moses as their Mes
siah, inquire Of John If he is the
Christ or Elijah or that prophet. he
does not attempt by his superior knowl-
edge to teach them nor to correct their
misapprehension, but meekly insists
that he is the voice Of one crying IN the
wilderness, MAKE straight the way Of
the Lord" Qsa. Il, -. Our Lord Jesus
testified Of him that he was the one
spoken Of in Nal. iii, !, Behold, send
My messenger before thy face, which
shall prepare thy way before thee
See Matt. xi, 10. BE was only mes
senger, the voice Of another. The mes
sage was not his own, but that OF the
one who sent him. Unless it is so with
the Lords messengers today they run
N vain and speak in vain.
!, When the messengers from the Pharl-
sees asked him for his authority to
baptize he again referred them to Him
who sent him, saying, There standeth
cne among you whom ye know not,
whose shoes latchet I am not worthy
to unloose" (verse ~. To take OF
ones shoe meant that the place trod-
den upon or the matter in hand was
not that Of the person whose shoe was
removed, but Of superior having pow
er and wisdom to control, guide and
accomplish the business in hand. See
carefully Elk. Iii, 5; Josh. i, 8; ', 10;
Isa. lviii, 49, John was authorized
only to deliver his message, to do the
work appointed him and point people
to the one of whom he was the herald
The Lord Jesus Christ IS the only one
able or worthy to accomplish that
which the Father sent Him to do (ReV.
', 10. The next day after the Phari-
sees had sent to him, John, seeing
Jesus, cried, Behold the Lamb Of God
which taketh away the sin of the
world" (verse 29).
The great questions are: How can sin
be put away? How can sins be for
given? How can a sinner be justified
before God? For until this great bar
rier Is removed there can be no fellow
ship between sinful man and holy
God. We are living in days when from
so called orthodox pulpits the doctrine
Of mans total depravity is scoffed at,
and consequently Saviour to die In
the sinners stead, suffering for our
sins, is to such people wholly unneces-
sary. But the word Of God, which IS
forever settled In heaven Cps. cxix, S9),
plainly teaches mans utter sinfulness
and the necessity Of sinless man to
die IN the sinners stead (Ro1n. III and
and all Scripture). He whom John
points out is the Lamb Of God, With
out blemish and without spot, whose
precious blood alone can take away sin
q Pet /, 19).
That He should be made manifest to
Israel, John bare witness Of Him (Te1se
81, but Israel would not have Him.
They despised and rejected and killed
Him and compelled Him to say to
them, Behold, your house is left unto
you desolate, for say unto you ye
shall not see Ne henceforth till ye shall
say, Blessed is He that cometh in the
name Of the Lord" Matt. xiii, 3S, 39).
That time will come-it even now draw
eth highland they shall say as they see
Him coming in glory: 80 this IS our
God. We have waited for Him and
He will save US" Qsa. XIV, 81. Mean
while all who truly receive Him, trust
ing only in His precious blood to save
them, and thus become children Of God
(verse l2), are commissioned to be Ills
witnesses, in the power Of the holy
Spirit, to the ends Of the earth, that
His elect church, His body, may be
gathered out Of all nations and the