Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1908-06-25
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INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM.
MENTS FOR JUNE %.

INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM.
MENTS FOR JUNE %.
Subject: Temperance, Ephesians g.:
O-2O- Golden Text, Eph. 5:18
Commit Verses 10, 18-Com.
mentary.
TIME.-A. D. 81. PLACE.--Rome
EXPOSITION.-I. No Fellowship
With the Unfruitful Works Of Dark.
! ness, Ola. The believer in Christ is
,, a child of light ". 81, there can be
no fellowship between light and dark
ness, the believer must therefore re.
fuse all fellowship with the works Of
darkness (cf. 3 Cor. GID. This set
ties our duty about the theatre, dance.
etc. etc. These works Of darkness
bring forth no fruit for God (Rom.
6:2D. So far from having fellow
ship with them we should "even re-
/ prove them" i. e., expose and rebuke
their badness. Darkness" does much
of its work ''in secret" light does its
work in the open. The things done
by those who are "of the darkness
! in secret 1t is disgraceful even to men,
ton. Many sins are better unde-
scribed. Don't let out the darkness,
but let in the light. The light makes
everything manifest, and that which
is thus made manifest by turning the
light on to it becomes light itself (v,
13, r. W The believer who has
any fellowship with darkness is
asleep. The sinner is deau iCf. EpH.
2:D. God calls the sleeping believ-
or, the one who is having fellowship
with the unfruitful works of dark
ness, to awake from his sleep and
arise out from among the dead, /. e.,
from the sinners with whom he is
fellowshipping, as live man among
corpses (cf Ro, 13:1D.
ii. Understanding What the VIII Of
the Lord is, 1917. 1t will not do to
, Carclessly take it for granted that our
walk is all right unless we have
looked very minutely into it, There
are two kinds of walk, the walk OF
the unwise and the walk of the wise.
In order to walk wisely we must buy
up the opportunity" ". 16 r. w.,
! Marg) AS the far. sighted merchant
buys up all that which he sees to be
of large and constantly increasing
value, so we must lay hold of every
swiftly passing opportunity of doing
ood and of growth in the knowledge
| Of and likeness to God. The fact that
! the days are evil" is not reason for
discouragement. but for more ear
nest improvement of every opportu-
nifty that offers. This is a reason for
not being foolish" (v. II, r. ", a
sry strorg word, literally without
>ason," sense. ess). The only way to
void being foolish is by under
! tanding what the will of the Lord
s." The Lord here IL Jesua Tvs. 20
and 81.
III. Filled With the Spirit, 1920.
Paul here takes up one especial form
Of folly fruit of darkness that has
cursed every age since the days of
Noah, drunkenness (Gen. 9:20-25).
Perhaps Paul warns against this spe-
cial form of folly because it is the
root of almost every other kind of
folly. But by Gods wondrous grace
one who has been drunkard may
be washed" "sanctified," Justified"
and may then inherit the kingdom of
God Il Cor. Gid. In drunkenness
there is "excess" or riot" Or. ", in
corrigibleness, abandoned profigacy) {.
Any one who has had any experience
of life knows how true this is The
irunkard becomes lost to every noble
ambition and holy desire. Note that
1t is drunkenness, not merely with
whisky and rum, but drunkenness
with wine that Paul warns against
and proposes as the cure for drunk
enness the only sure cure, being
filled with the Spirit" To be filled
with the Spirit" means to have the
Holy Spirit take possession of the
whole being Luke 1:41, AZ, 81;
Acts ga; AS; BIB. 8, 100. 1t Is
nearly synonymous with being "bap-
tized with the Holy Ghost" except
ing that the expression being "bap-
tized" with the Spirit Is never used
Of a second experience, while being
filled" is (cf. Acts lis with 2:1-4
and 10:44-46 with IL, Is, 16). When
one is drunk with wine," wine takes
possession of every faculty, and when
Dne is filled with the Spirit" the
Spirit takes possession of every fac
ulty. Intoxication is the DEVILS coun-
terfeit of being filled with the Spirit.
The effects of being filled with the
Spirit is that one is lifted on to a su-
pernatural plane of life and activity.
The best way to keep man from
having recourse to the devils stimu.
lation is to have him filled with Gods
He that knows the wine of heaven
(Is. 55:D will not want the wine of
hell. The literal force of the words
translated "be filled with the Spirit"
is ''be getting filled with Tor in) the
Spirit" /. e., be getting constantly
filled. One filling is not enough,
there must be a constant inpouring.
AS to how to be filled with the
Spirit" study Acts 2:3S; 5:32: Luke
11:14; Acts 4:31; S:15-17. When
one is filled with the Spirit he will be
full of joy and song (v. 19), there
will be melody not only upon his lips,
but in his heart as well (cf Is. 65
14). But the songs will not be the
songs OF this world, but psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs" The
Spirit-filled man is taken up with
God and Christ (Acts ga, II; 4:31,
33) and his songs will be about
Christ. The Spirit-filled man will
also be filled with thanksgiving ".
20). He will be returning thanks all
the time (cf. Ps. 34:D and 'for all
things His Spirit-illumined soul
will see something to be thankful to
God for in everything Il Cor. IA; |
Thess. 1:2, 3;;~2; 13; Q Thess, 1:3.
2:13; Acts 5:41; 1925; Job 1:2D