The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1912-05-28

able that the Apostle erred in this
statement and that the fact is the re-
verse-that these gifts were provided
for the conversion of the world, and
that the Apostle thoroughly misunder-
stood the matter and supposed thar
they were given for the perfecting Of
the saints. for the edifying of the
Body of Christ? No! We are to be
taught by the Apostles and may be
sure that there is no mistake. no error
in his statement
Notice the force of the expression.
the perfecting of the saints 1t is
not sufficient that believers have lit
tie knowledge, a little faith, and a
measure Of sanctihcation or devotion
to the Lord, for after they have receiv-
ed and attained all of these things
they still need the instruction of the
Apostles and ministers pastors and
teachers. provided by the great Head
of the Church for their perfection
Ali there Is a force and depth of
meaning in that word peTtecting We
remember that of our Head it is writ
ten, being made perfect through suf
fering. He became the Author of eter
nal salvation TO all who obey Him
So His followers are to be made per
feet through suffering.
The Masters perfecting. indeed. was
q little different from ours. and yet
there is a similarity between the two.
He was perfect before He humbled
Himself; He was still perfect as the
Man Christ Jesus. who gave Himself;
but as result of His conservation He
received begetting of the Holy Spirit
to the divine nature. and His develop
ment as New Creature required that
He faithfully carry out His VOW
or covenant of sacrifice, in the do
ing Of the will of the Heavenly Fa-
Their. By such faithfulness He per-
fected Himself on the Divine plane
that is, He proved Himself worthy ac-
cording to the covenant-"Worthy is
the Lamb that was slain, to receive
glory, honor, dominion and power"
Similarly the followers of Jesus are
to be sharers with Him in the suffer
ings of this present time and in the
glories which shall follow, for IF we
suffer with Him we shall also reign
with Him." Although we are imper-
feet in the flesh. while He was perfect,
yet the robe Of His righteousness, the
merit Of His sacrifice, covers all Of our
blemishes and makes us, as His foot
step followers. holy and acceptable be-
fore the Father. as joint-sacrifcers
with Jesus.
The begetting of the Holy Spirit
starts us in the life Divine. We are not
to be perfected in the flesh. but in the
spirit. and our perfection and accept
ance with the Father will be demon
strated by our loyalty of heart and the
fullness and thoroughness with which
we submit our all to the Divine will
and seek to glorify God in our bodies
and spirits, which are His. Our justi-
fication comes to us as a reward of
faith, regardless of works, bu. our gIO-
rif1cation will follow only as a reward
for faithfulness-"Be thou faithful
unto death, and l will give thee
crown of life"
These Gifts Are Lasting.
Not merely for a few days or years
were these gifts to the Church pro-
vided; on the contrary, they were to
endure throughout this entire Age,
until the Church perfected shall pass
beyond the veil and be forever with
her Redeemer. to share His glory,
honor and Immortality. The Lord
from time to time has raised up evan
gelists, pastors and teachers for this
glorious service Of preparing the
''chaste virgin" the Church. to be the
Bride in glory. But the Apostolic
office, as represented in The Twelve,
specially provided by the Father. has
continued and needs no replenishment
We still have their Instructions as
fully as the early Church, that the
man Of God may be perfect, thorough
ly furnished unto every good work" .
That the Apostle did not understand
the matter to be merely for day. but
throughout this Age, until the COM
pletion of the Church. is clearly evil
denced by His statement, namely, that
all these gifts were for the edif1cation
of the Body of Christ and the per-
fecttng of the saints to the last-"until
we all come to the unity Of the faith
and to the knowledge of the Son of
God, unto perfect Man, unto the
measure Of the stature of the fitness
Of Christ. Verse 10.
This is wonderful statement, how
ever we view it. Shall we say that it
applies to each individual member of
the Church Of Christ and that each
Individual must come into that full
unity OF faith, and that full knowledge
of the Son of God, and the perfection
of manhood in Christ, and to a devel.
oped stature or maturity in Christ?
Or shall we understand the meaning
to be, until the entire Church of Christ
shall have reached a full knowledge
and shall, as whole, have come to
the condition of a perfect Man, of
which Christ is the Head and we are
the members-to the full development
or stature of the Amounted, the Mes
siah, Head and members? We be-
lieve that the latter is the Apostles
thought.
Nevertheless, it cannot be disputed
that the selection of these members all
the way down the Age must have been
along the lines here indicated. Indi-
one partially developed would
not be fitted for the Kingdom One
not in the unity of the faith would not
be suitable. One not developed to the
proper measure or stature as a Chris
tan would not be suitable. Nothing
is more plain than that the individual
Christian needs great deal of instruc-
ton, editication, building up in the |
holy faith, testing, proving. chiseling.
fitting, preparing before he
shall be ready for place in the glori- |
Gus Temple of God. the Church in
glory
Gods People No Longer Need Be Mis-
led.
This thought is confirmed by the sue
ceeding verses. in which the Apostle
tells us that by the assistance of these,
the Divinely provided gifts. teachers,
etc., Gods people need no longer. like
to be tossed to and fro, and
be misled by the sleight of men and
cunning craftiness of those who would
deceive. On the contrary. being sim
cere, and speaking the truth in love