Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1910-07-16

f
neighbors ana friemas sod ehliireu waf
fering az eferuBF - uutetahae ter8Hrs
AT the haHaa "a dea0ns amd tuFu
around and pfsl~s tsaa enc leuieF ca
this hehaift FaaT Brother Edwards
had. ws believe. hut smaH eaaeen,
tiou ~ Divine 4ustlce ana fitrins 1eVe
And hss diHlrn.fv was fhnf b. aiH naf
eee what h now - dAsfinrt and clear
10 Bible sfudents. uaHseiF tha1 re ni
bic fEell a. whAeh ~ hmmanlty aae~ n
not place - fnrfuFr net - saast iassa.
ness ~ ail. bot tha grave slseoi hatsss
the tomb
Instead 81 CHRIST ana sac salnfa
praislng God heenuss ~ ths tertuF~s
Of the poor EFoaning eFeation. TIE 70
vine program shines re~pienienfif
showing us that the Redeemss ana bis
Church win for . tbou.and wears BE-
engaged IN a missionary werk 81 fhs
sublimest and most gignutie eh@racseF
"a work DOT only for living remnant
OF the race. bot one which vii Do.
clude In It's blessing ell the thousands
Of millions OF humanity under the Dt
vine sentence. The wages of atn h
death" Truly the Scriptures declare.
As the heavens are higher than the
earth. so are Gods ways higher thar
mans ways and Gods plans ioftier
than mans conceptions.
Notice next the context Sc Paul.
after mentioning Christ 80 the Head
Of the Body. the Church. who is the
frst-begotten. the hrst-born from the
dead, that In all things he might have
the pre-eminence. adds. For u pleased
the Father that In him should all fui.
ness dwell" and that tafter having
made peace through the blood Of bis
cross by him 10 reconcile oil things
unto himself-botb the things In earth
and things In heaven" tColossians /.
1920. The Apostle indicates the great
scope of Christs work as II shall be
eventually when finished. lie In ap-
pointed OF the Father to establish peace
and righteousness throughout the Uni
verse. But he has not yet accom-
plished all of this. He has only begun.
He has died for the sins Of the world.
as well as for the sins of the Church.
But he has not yet offered to Justice
the satisfaction for the worlds sins:
He first appears before God as the
great Advocate for the elect Church.
"called" of God In advance to be 'the
Bride, the Lambs Wife" Note how
the Apostle expresses this thought IN
our text, verse Fl.
Tho Church First Rseonoilsd.
"And you, that were sometime
alienated, and enemies In your mind
by wicked works. yet now hath be
reconciled In the body OF his desh
through death. to present you holy and
unblamable and unreprovable In his
(the Father's) sight. II We continue In
the faith" etc.
Who are these and why are they
reconciled in advance Of the remainder
of the world-brought In advance into
fellowship with the Father by the Re
deemer as his Bride2 These were by
nature children of wrath even as
others" By nature they were alien
ated and enemies in their mind by
wicked works. They were unlike the
Redeemer, who was holy, harmless
and indebted and separate from sin
ners" Why teen did Gods grace
specially come to this classic US who
are Of the Church Of Christ. accepted
in the Beloved" one2 What did we do
or could we do to contribute to this
nf Ad hncfoxuah Tho
Apostle assures us further along the
same line. that the elect Church by
nature was not superior to the world
from which 1t was selected. He de
clares that it contains not many great.
not many learned, not many rich. but
chiefly the poor of this world, rich In
faith, many OF them ignoble as re-
spects birth and natural advantages of
herediity. The difference between
these and others was, first, that they
had IAN ear to hear" the Divine mes
sage. Sometimes this hearing ear
came to them through sorrow and trib-
ulation. In their WEAKNESS and heavi-
ness they heard the Masters voice.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and
are heavy-laden and ] will give you
rest" (Matthew XII, 28. They heard
this voice, while some OF their neigh
bors more favorably situated heard 1t
not. But still further blessing came
to them as they responded and drew
near to the Lord by faith and prayer
Desiring to come nearer and nearer
they strove to put away all flltbiness
of the flesh-sin in Its every form-the
while realizing that they could not
cleanse themselves. Then II was that
the Master informed them Of the terms
upon which they might join his Church
1.-THE Body of Christ which is the
Church" They must make full con-
secration of themselves TO God and to
righteousness, even unto death. They
must do this with a full understanding
that 1t would take them out of touch
with the world and the spirit of the
world, while bringing them into closer
relationship with the Father and with
the Son They were assured that IL
they thus presented their little all to