Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1916-07-26
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON FOR JULY 80
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Text of the Lesson, Cor. !, IL, to II,
5. Memoir yVerses, i, 22-24-Gold-
en- Text, Gal. vi, documentary
Prepared by Rev. ID. Nj. Stearns.


1t is not many weeks since we had
a Whitsuntide study in ! Cor H. and
now we are 10 have three studies in
the letters To the Corinthians. with an
other a few weeks later The epistles
tell us of the church in this age and
how we should live to glorify God.
and therefore these studies ought TO
be most helpful. May the Spirit speak
to our hearts. Sosthenes. who is as
ISOLATED with Paul in this epistle. was
one Of the rulers of the synagogue who
was privileged TO suffer shame public.
ly for Christ's sake Il. l. Acts xviii,
ID. The church of God at Corinth
meant the company of sinners who had
become saints by believing the good
news concerning Jesus Christ and re-
ceiving Him as their Saviour
How great sinners they had been is
seen In chapter vi. 0, 10; but, being
purchased with precious blood, they
were now in Christ Jesus, saints. wash.
ed, sanctified and justified, wholly by
the grace of God, apart from any mer-
it or works of theirs q, pa; vi, IL;
Acts Xxx, 2S). They were saved by
the cross of Christ, which is the pow.
er OF God q, 49,. Christ Jesus was
made unto them. as He is TO all be-
levers, wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption ii, ., !. c,
30), for all that Christ is before God
He makes His redeemed TO be- AS He
is so are we in this world Il John iv,
10. which may mean that as He is
before God so He makes His people
to be even while we remain in these
mortal bodies. There is another truth
in this. and that is that as the world
regards and treats Him we must ex
pect the same, for we are here for
Him, In His name, as His witnesses.
Although the standing before God in
Christ of every saved sinner is so alb
solutely perfect, yet in these mortal
bodies we are weakness itself. SO that
he had TO reprove these believers as
being carnal because of their envying
and strife and factions. standing for
this or that teacher instead of glorying
In the Lord alone q. %, 81; iii. IT. 81.
%; lisa. ii. ~. Because of their un-
worthy conduct some were weak and
sickly and some were dying, forgetting
that If we would judge ourselves we
might escape much Christening Of the
Lord Chapter xi, 30-32). We must ex.
pect trials. but we shall never have
more than He will give us grace TO
bear (chapter X. 49,, and we should be
careful not to bring unnecessary trials
upon ourselves. The wisdom of this
world and every arm of flesh we must
persistently turn away from, and,
though we may be foolish and weak
and base and of no account in the eyes
of the world, yet If fully yielded TO
Christ He will be glorified in us. Apart
from Him we are nothing and can do
nothing, but we can do all things
through Christ, who strengthened US
XIV, 10; John V, 8; Phil iv, 49,.
Probably the greatest reason why
our Christian experience does not
measure up TO our standing, why we
are not as to our daily life what we
ought TO be, is because we fail TO grasp
by faith what we really are in Christ,
and, not seeing the fullness which is
already ours in Him. we try to attain TO
II by our own efforts. If we only knew
by believing what is written what is
the hope of His calling and what the
riches of the glory OF His Inheritance
in the saints and what is the exceeding
greatness of His power toward us
(Eph. /, IS, 19). we would live better
lives because of what we really are in
Christ before God. Next to the assur-
ance of what we are now because of
His finished work there IS nothing so
purifying. separating uplifting, as the
knowledge of what we shall be at His
coming q John I'll, 49, Note what is
written in this epistle concerning 1t in
chapters 1, q iv, 8; vi, .; xi. %: XIV,
23-51; xvi, %, and may the thought
of fellowship with Him In His king.
dom and glory make us more gladly
willing to have fellowship with Him
now in humiliation and suffering
Il John /, 3; Phil. iii. TO- He is pleas
ed to call us "'laborers together with
Him." and yet He does it all, working
in us both to will and TO do of His
good pleasure chapter iii. 8; Phil. ii.
13; Heb. xiii, 90, 2D. We are bought
with price. even the precious blood
of Christ. that we may be temples Of
the Holy Spirit, who worketh in each
one as He will when He can have the
right of way in US chapter vi. 10. 20:
xii. lid,
The one only foundation is Jesus
Christ, the sure foundation (chapter iii,
IL; lisa. xviii, 16; / Pet ii. O., all else
being as sand. refuge Of lies Matt.
vii. 20. 81; lisa. xviii. 10. But we
may be safely on this foundation and
yet so build. so live, that the building,
tine daily life, not being acceptable to
God, shall not be approved in that day.
but rejected and the believer suffer ir-
reparable loss and find himself just
barely saved-saved as by fire (chapter
iii, 12-15). This was evidently what
Paul had I'm mind when he spoke Of