2 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth… A beautiful title frequently conferred upon the people of God in Scripture, They are called believers, since they exercise faith in Christ; disciples, as they place themselves under the teaching of Christ; servants, as they are pledged to do his bidding; children, as they are adopted into the family of God; and saints, since they are to live holily - "That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke [blemish], in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world" (Philippians 2:15). Christian saintship lays emphasis upon Christian holiness. 1. Upon present Christian holiness. It is not that we are to be saints in heaven only, but saints on earth. And we can have no well-founded expectation of being holy there unless we are holy here. It is the easiest thing in the world to be holy in the future] All are saints next year. But who is a saint now? The true child of God is - must be, or he cannot be a true child of God. 2. Upon universal Christian holiness. All real believers are real saints. Not so with the Romish Church, which canonizes a certain number, some of them very strange ones. Not as in our New Testament (erroneously continued in the Revised Version), Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, etc., as though these were saints because of their eminence in the Church. All Christians are saints. The idea of a Christian as a believer and nothing more is preposterous and utterly unscriptural. If a man believes, we want to know what his belief has done for him - what effects it produces. If it does nothing, it is nothing. Belief, says one, unites me to Christ. Very good; but Christ ridiculed the idea of a branch being united to the true Vine without bringing forth fruit. Belief, says another, alters my condition; being in Christ by faith, I am a "new creature." Excellent; but if you are a "new creature," let us see that you are, else we shall be apt to think that you are the old creature with a new name. "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead" (James 2:17). A true belief is ever followed by holiness. This, however, only suggests how much false belief there must be. True belief is something like the firing of a loaded cannon. If there be true firing the shot will be propelled. So, if we truly believe, we shall be propelled along the course of holiness. It would be but a poor thing if Christianity made us something very excellent in another world, and left us just as it found us in this. Holiness is, no doubt, progressive, But love of holiness, desire of holiness, striving after holiness, and some realization of holiness, are the possession of every true child of God. I. HOLINESS IN HEART. Not the mere approval of holiness. Many applaud holiness who do not possess it and who do not want to possess it. It must reign in the centre of our being. A child of the devil has unholiness reigning in his heart, but a child of God has holiness upon the heart-throne. "Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom .... Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:6-10). Holiness must begin in the heart; a holiness tacked on to us goes for very little. Many commence with outward reformation, when what they need is inward. The holiness of not a few is very indifferent fruit hung on to the branches of a dead tree. It is the pushing round of the hands of a clock which has no works behind the dial-plate. Mere external holiness is of nothing worth; God looks upon the heart. External saint-ship is the most miserable of shams. II. HOLINESS IN THOUGHT. Some pass for holy livers who are very unholy thinkers. But if the heart be pure the thoughts are likely to be. Christ attached the same guilt to evil thinking as to evil doing (Matthew 5:28). It is not what we do, but what we want to do! Moreover, evil thinking is the father of evil doing. A child of God may be overtaken by a fault, sudden temptation may carry him away; but to think evil, to plan or purpose evil, is against the genius of his life. We should watch carefully our thoughts. III. HOLINESS IN WORD. No man could tame the tongue, so God came to tame it. The true saint is pure in speech. The true saint speaks holily, not cantingly. Whenever a man speaks after a sanctimonious, shuffling, canting fashion, he is speaking under the inspiration of the devil. Some religious talking is peculiarly unholy; it sickens and disgusts; it is enough to turn the stomach of leviathan. But those who thus talk think they are infinitely pious, imagining probably that God Almighty measures his people's faces to ascertain how much grace there is in their hearts, and accounts them holy in proportion to their ability to pour forth unmeaning, impertinent or pretentious twaddle. We should speak holily, and then we shall be as far removed as we possibly can be from speaking sanctimoniously. And we should remember the power of words. IV. HOLINESS IN DEED. Our actions will, as a general rule, show what we are, especially our unstudied actions. The true child of God is not only holy in profession, but in practice. The good tree will bring forth good fruit. Men judge us chiefly by what we do. The saint desiring the honour of God will let his light so shine that men may see his good works, and thus be led to glorify the Father in heaven. We shall not persuade either man or God that we are saints unless we act as saints. A secret holiness is no holiness. If we alone know that we are holy, we may be quite sure that we are unholy. V. HOLINESS IS THE SPIRIT OF THE LIFE. The child of God is to have the fragrance of holiness pervading his life. The general bent of his life will be holy. To aid in the attainment of holiness we have: 1. A Pattern. Christ. He was "without fault." We are to seek to be like him. "as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy" (1 Peter 1:15). 2. A Helper. The Holy Ghost. To (1) dwell within us; (2) sanctify us; (3) aid us in every emergency. Without holiness our prospect is dark; for "without holiness no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). - H. Parallel Verses KJV: Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia: |
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