The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1913-12-30


Give without hoping for gifts in re-
turn-every gift at this season should
be love token. We value the gift
not so much for its monetary worth
as because of the love and fellowship
of which it is a reminder 1t is emf
nently proper that friends and parents
should prepare gifts for others in Sc
cret, and keep them until the oppor-
tune time for presentation. In all this
they are merely copying the Heavenly
Father, who is thus preparing for the
world the wonderful gifts of the Mes
sianic Kingdom, described as a feast
of fat things for all people"
But there are other gifts which
should not be kept back merely for
Christmas time Each one, and espe-
cially each Christian, should every day
shed forth on life's pathway gifts and
blessings that would bring joy, cheer.
20 many hearts-the kindly word, the
nod of recognition, especially to one In
less favored circumstances the kindly
look, the word or act of sympathy.
Oh, how much these gifts mean to the
poor world. whom the Apostle Paul
describes as the grooming creationl
Many of them have little that they
know how to enjoy in the present life,
and no prospect beyond. How blank
such lives, What godly pleasure
comes from casting upon them an oc-
casional ray of sunshinel
At times financial help may be APP
propriate in proportion to our ability.
| At times counsel and friendship and
sympathy would be of more value than
money What we all need is to ne
more and more filed with the Spirit of
our Father in Heaven-the Spirit of
our Savior-the Spirit of love. joy.
peace. This Spirit. like radium. is con
| tinually giving off. yet never lacking in
I quality God is the abundant supply.
He who thus loves and gives is con
tinually a recipient from God more
abundantly; and his treasure store of
| joy and pleasure is IN ever-increaSing
one. regardless of what his outward
| circumstances and conditions may be-
"Gavc Gifts Unto Men,"
| Writing TO the Ephesians AS. st.
Paul notes gifts specially bestowed
upon the Church-of the Father, by
the Son. He says, when He [Christ
assembled up on High, He led captivity
| captive and gave gifts unto men"
| More literally it reads, HE led forth
multitude of captives. bestowing
gifts unto men, The Apostle quotes
| from the Psalms a poetic description
representing Jesus as great Conquer
or who had vanquished the enemy and
was returning home with the spoils.
| The enemy Is Sin and Death.
Jesus by His sacrifice gained the
victory and the right to control the
millions of Adams race who were In
bondage to Sin and Death. He had
humbled Himself, had become a man.
had given His life a Ransom for all.
had been raised from the dead by the
| power OF the Father, and had then as
cended a conquering Hero. welcomed
by the Father and acclaimed by the
angelic hosts.
The multitude of captives in His
train have not yet come into sight
merely the vanguard, the Church. And
the Church will not be fully delivered
until all of its members shall have been
changed to glory, honor and immortsli-
| ty beyond the veil. as sharers in the
First Resurrection. Soon the Heaven
| ly portion of the delivered captives
will have followed the Leader into the
presence of the Father
Then for thousand years the other
captives will be following on. AS st.
Paul declares, it will be EVERY man
in his own order" or company. or reg
iment The ranks will ultimately in
clude the entire race Of Adam and
himself. All those willing to be led
forth from captivity will attain again
the full liberty of the sons of God.
lost through Adams disobedience. and
the right to recovery of the same re
deemed for them at Calvary.
But the Apostle mentions the trium-
| phal entry of Jesus into Heaven it.
self merely as an incidental, prefacing
his statement that our Lord immedi-
ately began to give gifts to men. The
first gifts, bestowed at Pentecost, were
to the Church. Indeed. all of Jesus
| gifts thus far have been to His follow
ers. The prophecy from which the
Apostle quotes takes in the world.
however. declaring that the gifts are
for the rebellious also. psalm 6S:1S.
Jesus Gifts to the Church.
| st. Paul, continuing, tells us the spe.
cial gifts bestowed by Jesus upon His
| Church: "And He gave some Apostles.
and some prophets, and some evan
| gelists, and some pastors and teach
ers." Jesus tells us about some false
apostles. We can readily suppose that
there have crept into the Church also
| false teachers. false pastors, associat-
ing godliness with gain, as the Apes
| tie explains. All the same we are to
have in mind that there are true Apos-
ties, prophets. pastors, and teachers
| appointed by the Redeemer as His spe-
cial gifts to the Church, as His spe-
cial representatives In the Church, for
their guidance and blessing
We further read of the object and
purpose of these gifts: they were ''for
the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying
| OF the Body of Christ: till we all come
in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God. unto a
perfect Man. unto the measure of the
stature of the fulness of Christ"
Only in proportion as Apostles,
prophets. pastors and teachers fulfil
this mission are they really the Lords
gifts to His Church. Consider that
these were not appointed for the
world, but for the saints-and not
merely to start them in the way of
saintship, but especially to perfect
them as saints. And this perfecting of
the saints is not merely an instruc-
ton of them in knowledge. nor merely
the bringing of them to an apprecia-
ton of the joys and the peace of the
Lord. but preparation of them for
the work of ministry-the work of
service. All the saints are to be serv.
ants, even as the Lord Jesus. the
greatest Saint. was Servant Of all.
Whoever does not learn to be sery-
ant OF God. a servant of righteous
ness, a servant of the brethren. will
not have learned the lessons necessary
for share In the Kingdom Besides.
the Kingdom itself will be a service
to mankind for human uplift. and only