Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1913-09-25

generated m q
| and women. On
such ~ these the Lord Jesus Christ
bestovs spiritual gifts according to
His grace. rs the rest Of the verse
says These "girts" are for the use
and blessing OF the whole church. and
are described In general terms In
the following verse as apostles. proph-
cts. evangelists. pastors and teach
/ ers.
Note this, that while we all believe
In education and especially In an ed
ucated ministry, jet all the colleges.
and seminaries and Bible institutes
In the world can not make such apos-
tie, prophet. evangelist. pastor or
teacher. They have tried to make
them and have turned out graduates
that looked and acted like them, per.
haps. but they were not the real thing.
and the church has suffered by the
imposition. A true apostle. prophet.
evangelist. pastor q teacher 10 the
gift of the Great Head OF the Church
in his body. He IL Z spirit.taught and
Spirit-endowed man and when the
church sees or heaS such an one It
recognizes his divne commission
whether he has the imprimatur Of .
school or not.
What Ministers Are For.
Now. specifically. what are these
gifts" bestowed upon the church for |?
The answer Of the text verse 10. FOR
the perfecting OF the saints," which
means all true believers, for every BE-
lever on the Lord Jesus Christ be-
comes 4 saint the moment he 20 b.
lieves. But when the saints are thus
perfected" enlightened. strengthensd
in the knowledge 81 the Lord. what
are they to do, The answer 10 to
engage In the work OF ministering
for the edifying building up) Of the
body OF Christ" Verse Ia
Here comes in the question OF Chris
tian vacations for young people Who
may not have the gift Of apostles.
prophets. evangeiists. pastors or teach
ers. There Is a work OF minis;ering
for them TO do nevertheless, when
they are perfected for II By those
who have been truly set apart for that
task
What Is the nature Of this work, n
the student output OF the Moody Bible
institute may be taken as a criterion.
there Is wide variety In IL We have
been taking q census Of 9 ZOO to 5000
young men and women Who have pass
al fh~Qngh .A erxsx a
that some are pastors or assistant
pastors. and some are wives OF pas
tors. for the last named In . calling
for which Christian young women
need a distinct training. Some are
evangelists or evangelistic singers,
both men and women: some are home
missionaries: some are teachers in
Young Mems and Young Women's
Christian associations: some are su-
perintendents Of missions and hos
pitfalls: some are matrons, deaeonesses
and nurses. while still others have
simply gone into commercial or pro-
fessional pursuits. and. in the case
OF women. are occupied in home du-
| ties. II Is a most interesting fact
that a large number Of Christian
young men and women secure a train.
ing in the Bible and practical meth
DDS OF Christian work In order to re-
| turn to their customary vacations at
home, in church or In business and
put what they have learned into prac.
tice in the common round. the triv.
ial task" Of every day. which IL a.
truly work of ministering- in the
gospel sense az anything they could
do. and a sphere in which It Ia greatl,
| needed
Every "Jointr Of Value.
This brings US to the closing words
OF Paul on this topic. In verse Is
where. keeping up the figure Of the
church being the body Of Christ. he
says, From whom the whole body 1t
ly joined and compacted BY that which
every john supplieth maketh
Increase OF the body In other words
every single joint in this spiritual or
ganism II Of value to the whole. which
means that not one OF Us Christians
can be spared in the exercises Of ouI
vocation whatever or wherever Il may
7
be. The smallest visible joint In the
human body may be that Of the little
finger. II seems Of comparatively 1T
tie worth, but let it get -out Of Joint
for a while, and what happensf Tha
whole body soon becomes aware Of Il
and in time may be put out Of com
mission" because OF H. So you and
may have a small opinion Of ourselves
In the organism Of Christ's spiritual
body. and from one point Of view II
10 becoming that We should. neverths
less It In necessary that We do our
part q else AL the members suffer.
We may not be apostles. evangelists
prophets. pastors or teachers. but VI
are that which ID represented by q
Joint" and need to be always in
anion with the Head, and with tbs
other members Of the body II the
whole ahall be pronted and increased
The vital question. however. II thai
suggested at the beginning. are you
included In the word -USr' II ID
not enough to live in a Christian land
not enough to be . church member.
The principle OF conscience 10 In
every heart. but the pendulum Otter
requires . touch from without to maks