Salvation by Grace
(No. 2741)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, AUGUST 25, 1901.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT NEW PARK STREET CHAPEL, SOUTHWARK, ON A THURSDAY EVENING, IN THE
SUMMER OF 1859.
"By Grace you are saved." Ephesians 2:5.
THE cardinal error against which the Gospel of Christ has to contend is
the effect of the tendency of the human heart to rely upon salvation by
works. The great antagonist to the Truth of God, as it is in Jesus, is
that pride of man which leads him to believe that he can be, at least
in part, his own savior. This error is the prolific mother of
multitudes of heresies! It is through this falsehood that the pure
stream of the Truth of God has been tainted so that, instead of flowing
on in one clear pure river, it has been sadly polluted. There have been
many who have sought to hinder the flowing of the Water of Life, or to
divert the stream from its proper current. Many have tried to mingle
the fancies and fallacies of men with the Truth as it is in Jesus, in
order, thereby, to make it more palatable to poor, fallen, human
nature.
It is my belief that all great reforms in the Church of Christ must
have for their basis the declaration of the Doctrine revealed in my
text–"By Grace you are saved." The tendency of the Church, like that
of the world, is to fly away from this Truth which is really the sum
and substance of the Gospel. A departure from this Doctrine is, in my
opinion, the essence of those many errors which, springing up from time
to time, have troubled and divided the Church and marred the beauty of
the spouse of Christ.
In all times, whenever this Doctrine has been obscured, the Church has
become either heretical or Laodicean. She has either held some
dangerous and damnable heresy, or she has held only a portion of the
Truth and held it with so feeble a grasp that it has lost its ancient
power in her hands–so that her enemies have prevailed against her. The
mightiest men in all ages of the Church's history–those who have been
the means of bringing the greatest good into her midst, and the most
usefulness into the world–have been those who, rising up like Samson
when called to do valiant deeds on behalf of Israel, have made this the
distinguishing characteristic of their ministry–the Doctrine of
Salvation by Grace in contradistinction of salvation by works.
In Augustine's day, there had been a grievous falling away from the
simplicity of the Gospel. And when he arose and preached to the world
this glorious Truth of God, there was an influence for good which, I
believe, staved off the great Romish heresy, at least for a time. Had
the Church and the world but listened to his voice and accepted his
teaching, Popery would have been an impossibility! Then later, when
Romanism had waxed exceedingly strong, the Lord raised up Martin Luther
who taught this as the great central Truth of Christianity, that
sinners are justified by faith–not by works. After Luther came another
distinguished teacher of the Doctrine of Grace–John Calvin, a man far
better instructed in the Truth of the Gospel than even Martin Luther
was–and he pushed this grand Doctrine to its legitimate consequences.
Luther had, as it were, undammed the stream of Truth by breaking down
the barrier which had kept back the living waters in the great
reservoir–but the stream was turbid and carried down with it much that
ought to have been left behind. Then Calvin came and cast salt into the
waters and purified them, so that they flowed on in a clear, sweet,
pure stream to gladden and refresh the Church of God and to quench the
thirst of poor parched sinners.
Calvin preached, as his great staple Doctrine, the great Truth in my
text, "By Grace you are saved." It is common, in these days, to call
those ministers who dwell mainly upon this Doctrine, "Calvinists." But
we do not accept that title without qualification. We are not ashamed
of it and we would rather be called "Calvinists" than have any other
name
except that which is our true one. We hold and assert again and again,
that the Truth of God which Calvin preached, the Truth of God which
Augustine thundered out with all his might–was the very Truth of God
which the Apostle Paul had long before written in his Inspired Epistles
and which is most clearly revealed in the discourses of our blessed
Lord Himself! We desire to preach the Truth of God, the whole Truth of
God and nothing but the Truth of God! We are not the followers of any
mere man–we do not derive our Inspiration from Calvin's Institutes and
Commentaries, but from the Word of God itself! Yet we hold the
Doctrines commonly called, "Calvinism," to be none other than the
essential basement Doctrines of our holy faith. These were the truths
that Whitefield preached and that produced the great revival in his
days! And these must be the Doctrines to which the Church of God must
again return, if the Church of Rome is to be razed to its deep
foundations, or souls to be converted in great multitudes, or the
Kingdom of Christ to come!
My text relates to the Doctrine of Salvation by Grace and, coming to
it, I ask you to notice, first, that the Apostle addresses certain
people who were saved. Next, I want you to notice the meanings of the
term, "Grace," as applied in the Scriptures. And I shall finish with
some consolatory and practical inferences.
I. In the first place, THE APOSTLE ADDRESSES CERTAIN PEOPLE, TO WHOM HE
SAYS, "YOU ARE SAVED." He does not say, "You shall be saved," or, "You
hope to be saved." He speaks to them as persons already "saved." Now,
there are no people on the face of the earth who can be correctly
described as "saved" unless it can also be said of them that they are
saved by Grace!
I see two things in this part of my text and, first, the Apostle
mentions a present salvation. He speaks not to people who were to be
saved when they died, or who hoped to be saved in some future state,
but he addresses those who actually were saved–who had salvation, not
in prospect, but in present enjoyment–who had passed out of a state of
condemnation into that of salvation and who looked upon their salvation
as being as sure, as certain, as really theirs as their houses, their
lands, or their lives!
A present salvation cannot consistently be preached by any beside those
who hold the Doctrine that salvation is by Grace. Is there a Roman
Catholic, in the whole world, who, in harmony with his own creed, can
say that he is saved? No, there is not one! In fact, lying as that
creed does, it does not profess to put anyoneinto a position in which
he can say, "I am saved." No, the Romish Church not only postpones
salvation to the day of death, but positively beyond it! There was
Daniel O'Connell, of whom the Pope said that he was his greatest
subject in Europe–yet it is not many years ago that we were informed
that he was in "purgatory." It was a hard thing that such a faithful
disciple of the Pope should be sent there, yet he was no worse off than
the bishops, archbishops and cardinals, for, according to the Romish
teaching, they all go to "purgatory!" Of course, the Pope lets them out
after a certain time, but that is all he professes to offer– salvation
after a future indefinite period–he never pretends to say to anyone,
"You are saved now." That would be a lie too gross even for the Pope
and priests of Rome to utter! There is no such thing as a present
salvation in the whole of the Romish Church.
Nor is this possible under any system except that of salvation by
Grace. Bring up the good Dissenters, and the good Churchmen, the men
and women who are regular in their attendance on outward ordinances.
Whatever the ceremonies of their church may be, they observe them with
the most indefatigable industry. They have been "baptized" and
confirmed. They have "taken the sacrament," or sat at the communion
table–according to the phraseology of their different churches–and
they believe that, by their constant attention to the outward
observances of worship, they will assuredly be saved! But speak to any
one of these people, and ask if he can say, "I know that my sins are
forgiven"–he will be astonished at your enquiry, and will reply, "I
would not have the presumption to say such a thing!"
Appeal to the very best of them, the most devoted, the most earnest,
the most indefatigable of those who are seeking salvation by their own
works, and ask if they have obtained eternal life. You cannot find one
who has done so–they are all hoping that, through the mercy of God,
they may somehow and sometime be saved–but none of them will declare
that they are now saved. From those who join us in church fellowship, I
frequently hear such remarks as this, "I attended my church every day
in the week. I repeated the prayers regularly, but I never found any
rest to my soul until I trusted wholly in Christ." From others who
attended certain Dissenting places of worship, I have had such
expressions as this, "I went up to the House of God and I heard my
minister exhort me to be patient in sickness, to love my God and my
neighbor, and I tried to do my best to obey his exhortations, but I
never could say that I was a saved man, or use the con-
fident language of the spouse, 'My Beloved is mine, and I am His,'
until I learned that salvation is all of Grace and, by His Grace,
trusted in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ."
No, my dear Friends, under the theory of salvation by works, whatever
form it may take–whether it appears in the garb of Popery, or hides
itself under the veil of Protestantism–it is always substantially the
same–a man's own works cannot pretend to offer to him the blessing of
a present salvation! Take the Arminian theory, which is the least
objectionable of all forms of salvation by works–cut it asunder–and
you will find that there is a strong taint of Popery even there.
"But," asks someone, "do not Arminians rejoice to say that they are
already saved?" Yes, but their assertion is contradicted by the
assurance which they will give you directly afterwards, that they may
finally perish. Although they are now saved, their safety is something
like that of a wrecked mariner who, after being tossed to and fro in a
stormy sea, is washed up on a rock, from which he may presently be
hurled back into the raging billows! Their safety is not like that of
the man who has been carried into the lighthouse, or brought to land in
the lifeboat, for they believe that, after all they have experienced,
they may be lost. It is not salvation that the Arminian possesses–he
is only in a salvable state. His condition is that of a man who, if he
continues to repent and believe, shall be saved, but he is not truly
saved now –he has not been built upon that sure, certain, solid
foundation upon which the true Believer is resting. He cannot sing,
with Toplady–
"The terrors of Law, and of God
With me can have nothing to do!
My Savior's obedience and blood
Hide all my transgressions from view!
My name from the palms of His hands
Eternity will not erase–
Impressed on His heart it remains
In marks of indelible Grace.
Yes, I to the end shall endure,
As sure as the earnest is given–
More happy, but not more secure,
The glorified spirits in Heaven!" Such a salvation as that–a present
one, enjoyed now in all its fullness, in all its riches, in all its
boundless lengths, and breadths, and depths and heights–is not
possible under any other system but that of salvation by Grace, and by
Grace alone! We, of all men living, who preach the Doctrine of
Salvation by Grace, can proclaim a present salvation in all its
fullness.
In our text we also see that the Apostle speaks of a perfect salvation.
We teach that the moment a man believes in Christ, he is not merely put
into a salvable state, not half saved–he is not placed in a position
where, if he remains, he will be saved, but concerning which there is a
fear that he may fall from it–but that he is already completely saved!
I verily believe that the saints in Heaven, albeit they have received
the crown of salvation, are not, as to its essential reality, more
truly saved than the meanest and weakest Believer in Christ who is
struggling through floods of temptation here upon earth.
For what is it to be saved? It is to have sin forgiven and to be
"accepted in the Beloved." The moment a sinner believes in Jesus, his
sins are as much pardoned as they ever will be! They are as fully and
as finally blotted out of God's Book of Remembrance as they would be if
he should live a thousand years of piety. He is as completely clear, as
far as the forgiveness of his sins is concerned, as he will be when he
stands at the right hand of the Judge at the Last Great Day.
To be saved, however, includes more than forgiveness of sins–it
includes the imputation of the righteousness of Christ and, in this
sense, also, the meanest Believer in Him is as much saved as the
celestial spirits in the Paradise above. Is the robe of Christ's
righteousness spread over the Apostles? So is it, at this hour, around
the poorest person on earth who is trusting in Jesus! Are those who
sing God's praises before His Throne in Glory clothed in the fair white
linen which is the righteousness of the saints? Even so are all
Believers here below! Each saint is, as John Kent says–
"With his spotless vesture on, Holy as the Holy One."
Covered with Christ's righteousness, God sees no spot in His people!
"But," asks someone, "are not the saints in Heaven more secure than
Believers on earth?" Believers on earth are not secure from temptation,
but they are secure from destruction–not from tribulation, but from
condemnation! They are not exempt from care, woe and suffering, but
they are forever delivered from the wrath of God and the damnation of
Hell. Not an angel in Heaven is more certain of the eternal love of God
than is the feeblest Believer upon earth! If your soul is committed to
the hands of Christ, you can never perish! I speak no more strongly
than His own utterances warrant, for Jesus has said, "My sheep hear My
voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish." To the woman at the well of
Sychar, our Savior said, "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give
him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in
him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." We are
complete in Him–perfected in all the essentials of salvation!
Now, mark, under no system of Doctrine whatever is perfect salvation in
this world contemplated except under that scheme which teaches that we
are saved by Grace. Under the plan of salvation proposed by the
work-mongers, there is no completeness in any of its aspects. Under the
old Mosaic dispensation in which God most clearly revealed Himself as
the Judge of His people, all "those sacrifices which they offered year
by year continually" could not "make the comers thereunto perfect."
There was, "in those sacrifices, a remembrance again made of sins every
year." However attentive they might be to all the observances of the
Ceremonial Law, their salvation was not perfect. But Christ, "by one
offering has perfected forever them that are sanctified" and,
therefore, He has "sat down at the right hand of God."
Now if under that noblest form of the Covenant of Works, complete
salvation was not to be secured, how is it likely to be attained in any
of those corrupt systems in which, while men profess to set aside the
old Covenant of Works, they yet expect to find salvation? No man but he
who believes the Doctrines of Grace talks about being completely saved.
Ask the Arminian–the fairest and best specimen, sometimes the best of
men, though miserably mistaken as to his beliefs– what can he say? He
tells you that if he perseveres in well-doing, in faith and in
repentance, he will be saved. Ask him whether he is completely saved,
or whether there is something more yet to be done and he will tell you
that there is many a step yet to be taken before he will reach full
salvation. He may talk about a finished righteousness, but he does not
know how it is attained!
We hold that Believers are complete in Christ even now and that, die
whenever they may, they will enter into His Presence as being already
perfect in Him. Oh, how sweet it is to enjoy a present salvation, which
is, at the same time, a perfect salvation! How grateful should we be
that it is presented to us in the Covenant of Grace and that it is
revealed to us in those blessed portions of Holy Scripture which tell
us of the wonderful Grace of God which He has manifested towards His
people! "You are saved." Oh, how sweet are these words! Pause, Beloved,
a moment or two, and rejoice over them. "You are saved"–saved now, at
this present instant–if you are Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ!
II. Now we are to notice THE MEANINGS OF THE TERM, "GRACE," AS EMPLOYED
IN THE SCRIP-
TURES–"By Grace you are saved."
First, it means that if we are saved, it must be a matter of free
favor. There is nothing in us that could ever merit God's esteem, or
give Him such delight as to lead Him to bestow upon us the blessings of
eternal salvation. If we ask why any individuals are rescued from the
ruins of the Fall and enabled to believe in Jesus, the only answer is,
"Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight." Certainly, we
were not saved because of our talents, for the most talented often
remain unconverted. We were not saved because of our wealth, for most
of us have none. We were not saved because of the excellence of our
disposition, or the holiness of our character, for, even since our
conversion, we cannot think of our best services without shame and
confusion of face. If I look upon the people of God, either in the mass
or as individuals, instead of imagining that there was anything in them
to cause God to love them, I am compelled to say that there seems to
have been far more to move Him to destroy them than to save them! Will
not all Believers here confess that they are saved not because of
anything good in them, but because of Grace most full, and free, and
unconstrained?
Further, we are saved by Grace as a matter of Divine operation. From
the first holy desire in the soul, to the last shout of victory in the
dying hour, salvation is by the operation of the Almighty. Whatever is
not worked in you, by God's Grace, will be an injury, not a blessing,
to you. If any of you have a faith, or a repentance, or any condition
of heart or life which is of your own making, get rid of it, for there
is nothing good in it! That so-called faith which is not the gift of
God is really presumption–and that repentance which is not godly
sorrow worked by God in the soul, needs
to be repented of! I am sure that all there is of good in any saint
must have been put there by the Holy Spirit, for it would not have
sprung up of itself. Human hearts will naturally grow weeds, but not
those rare exotics, those flowers of Heaven, the Christian Graces!
These must be Divinely implanted and nurtured, and grow up entirely by
the exercise of that same Omnipotence which raised Christ from the
dead!
I will go even further and say that if Divine Grace should carry us
every inch of the road to Heaven but one, we would be lost because of
that last inch! If, in the edifice of our soul's salvation, there is
even one stone left for us to put in its place, unassisted by God's
Grace, that building will never be completed! From first to last, all
must be of Grace. I agree with the highest doctrinalist upon this
point, that there is not, and there cannot be a good thing in the heart
of any man if it was not worked there by the Sovereign Grace of God.
"Well, but," says one, "is it not the duty of men to repent and to
believe?" Certainly it is, but I am not speaking of their duty. Their
lack of power does not excuse them from obedience to God's command. If
a man owed another a thousand pounds, it would be his duty to pay his
debt, whether he had the ability or not. And, inasmuch as it is man's
duty to repent and to believe, herein is the Glory of God's Grace made
manifest, in that He accomplishes, by his Grace, what man could never
have done! I can truly say that as far as I have gone in the Divine
life, there has been nothing good in me but that which has come from
God. Let others give their own testimony–if they have any good thing
which they have produced, let them glory in it! But I have nothing
whereof to glory and must say to the Lord, "You have worked all my
works in me as far as they have been any good, but, as for myself, I
would cover my face and cry, 'Unclean, unclean, unclean.' Lord, have
mercy upon Your servant!"
III. Now, to close, I want to draw some CONSOLATORY AND PRACTICAL
INFERENCES.
First, how humble that man ought to be who is saved by Grace! The
Arminian says that he can stand or fall according to his own will.
Ought he not to be proud? What a fine fellow he is! Sing a Psalm in
your own honor, Sir, and when you get to Heaven, take all the glory to
yourself! You say that you have done part yourself–you admit that the
Lord did a great deal for you, but that your own free will settled the
matter. Very well, then, give the glory to yourself–sing your own
praises forever and ever! But the true Believer says, "I was as clay in
the hands of the potter when the Lord began with me. I was senseless,
dead, corrupt, till the Lord took me in hand and quickened and changed
me, and made me what I am–and I would go back to what I was before if
He did not keep me by His Grace. But I know that what His Grace has
commenced, He will certainly complete, and to Him be all the Glory!"
Next, if we are saved by Grace, we, of all people, should have
compassion on those who are out of the way If we are on the road to
Heaven, we were brought onto it by Grace and, therefore, we ought to be
very considerate of those who are not on it. That good man, John
Newton, used to say, "A Calvinist who gets angry with the ungodly" is
inconsistent with his profession. He knows that no man can receive this
Doctrine except by the Grace of God–so, if God has not given to these
men the Grace to receive this Doctrine, rather pray for them than get
angry with them–and ask that they may receive the Truth in which your
soul delights."
Then, once again, here is a word of comfort If we are saved–are saved,
mark you–what shall make us sad and unhappy at heart? "Oh!" says one,
"I am so poor." Yes, but you are saved! You are a Believer in Christ,
so you are saved. "But," says another, "I am so afflicted." Yes, but
you are saved. "But," says another, "I am often so neglected and
despised." Yes, but you are saved. Oh, what joy would that thought have
caused, a little while ago, when the burden of all your sins was upon
you! You used to say, "Oh, if I could but be sure that I was saved, I
would not mind if I had nothing but a crust of bread and a cup of
water! If I could but know that my sins were forgiven, I would not mind
being shut up anywhere in the world! If I might know that I was
Christ's, the world might say what it liked about me."
Now you do know it, for you are on the Rock and you are saved–so why
are you sad? You may now be despised, but, remember, the time is coming
when you shall be glorified with Christ! You may be now forgotten by
your friends, but your Savior's eyes are on you and your name is on His
heart! You are sad, yes, but you are secure! If you believe in Jesus,
you may be cast down but you cannot be destroyed! You may be forsaken
for a while, but you can never be cast away! Come then–
"Children of the heavenly King, As you journey, sweetly sing– Sing
your Savior's worthy praise, Glorious in His works and ways."
Lastly, one word to those who cannot say that they are saved. My dear
Friends, there is very much in this text that should cheer and comfort
you. The men who are saved are saved by Grace–by God's free favor.
There was nothing in them to recommend them to God. You have been
confessing, "O Lord, I do not feel as I ought to feel" He does not want
your feelings as a recommendation. If saved, you are to be saved as a
matter of free favor and not as a matter of merit in any sense
whatever. "But," says one, "I cannot repent, I cannot believe." My dear
Friend, you are not going to be saved by anything that youcan do in
your own strength. You need repentance. Do not try to work it for
yourself–the Lord will work repentance in you. You need faith. Do not
go about to seek faith in yourself–you will never find it there– seek
it from Christ. He is the Author as well as the Finisher of faith!
"By Grace you are saved." Go and carry this text into every den and sty
of pollution in London! Tell it to the murderer, the thief, the
blasphemer, the harlot! Tell it to the man who cannot repent, and
cannot pray, and cannot believe! Tell him that salvation is by Grace,
and is worked in us by God the Holy Spirit and, as the hymn says–
"Heaven with the echo shall resound, And all the earth shall hear."
Go, then, my Brothers and Sisters, and spread the Doctrine of Salvation
by Grace, for this old watchword of the Church is the source of her
victory! And when once this shall be her battle-cry, her triumph is
sure! The headstone of God's spiritual temple shall be brought forth
with shouts, crying, "Grace, Grace unto it."
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: 1 CORINTHIANS 12; 13:1-3.
1 Corinthians 12:1, 2. Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I
would not have you ignorant You know that you were Gentiles, carried
away unto these dumb idols, even as you were led. Although the members
of the church at Corinth were highly favored with spiritual gifts, they
do not seem to have known how to use them. Paul points out to them, in
this chapter, how ignorant they were concerning the very gifts which
they possessed. They did not know how to put them to proper use in the
service of God. The Apostle, therefore, reminds these gift-exalted
Corinthians that, only a little while before, they were heathens,
carried away by lies and superstition, and worshipping dumb idols. They
had nothing, therefore, to boast of and it is probable that if we look
back to the hole of the pit from where we were dug, we shall find no
more occasion for boasting than they had.
3. Therefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the
Spirit of God call Jesus accursed. I suppose that in their assemblies,
where everybody talked who liked, there were some people who even spoke
blasphemy. They professed to be under the guidance of the Spirit of God
and yet they stood up and called Jesus accursed. Where there is no rule
nor order, there is pretty sure to be something very mischievous before
long. Paul gives them to understand that this kind of talk could not go
unrebuked.
3. And that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy
Spirit If a man really knows Jesus as his Lord, and he declares that
Truth of God, then you may fully accept it as being in harmony with the
teaching of the Spirit of
God.
4-7. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit And there
are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are
diversities of operations, but it is the same God which works all in
all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to
profit all. It is given in order that he may, himself, profit, and also
that he may be the means of profiting those who hear him.
8. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom. He is
prudent–an experienced man–fit to lead the young, the feeble and
those who are less instructed than he is himself.
8. To another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit. He has a wide
range of practical acquaintance with God's Word and though he may not
be so judicious as the Brother who was just mentioned, yet he is a man
of knowledge.
9. To another faith by the same Spirit. Paul probably means here some
special kind of faith. Perhaps the faith that enabled its possessor to
work miracles.
9, 10. To another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another
the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of
spirits. So that he is able to detect the impostors who come even into
the nominal Church of Christ. They did come then, and they will
continue to come even to the end.
10, 11. To another divers kinds of tongues; to another the
interpretation of tongue: but all these works that one and the same
Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will Whatever our gifts
as a church, or as individuals, may be, they all come from the same
Spirit. This should tend to promote unity among us. Let us all trace
whatever gift we have to the hand that gave it, and to the Spirit that
worked it. Let us feel that we are so many pipes connected with one
fountain and, therefore, as all the good that we convey comes from the
one Source, let us give all the honor and glory of it to the Spirit of
God from whom it comes.
12. For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members
of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ That, is
to say, Christ visible–the Church of Christ. We are members of His
mystical body. He is the Head, but all who are quickened by the Spirit
of God are one with Him.
13, 14. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we
are Jews or Gentiles, whether we are bond or free; and have been all
made to drink into one Spirit For the body is not one member, but many.
By the way in which some people act, you might almost imagine that the
body was one member and that the one member was a tongue–but it is not
so. God never intended that in the assembly, all should speak. Let
those speak to whom He has given the power to speak. He does not lay
all burdens upon one back–let each man bear the personal burden which
God has placed upon his back.
15. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the
body; is it therefore not of the body? Where are you, dear child of
God, who are in the position of the foot? Have you been comparing
yourself with some eminent Christian who did much in his Master's
service? And have you sorrowfully asked, "Why cannot I do what he did?
I am only a poor foot, always touching the ground, often limping and
frequently needing to be washed." Well, suppose you could be made into
a hand, it might be a gain to you in some respects, but it might be a
loss to the rest of the body. It would certainly be a loss to any of
you if your feet were to be turned into hands, for you have need of
feet! And the Church, which is here called by the name of Christ, needs
its feet as much as it needs its hands. The mercy is that even if you
have, in your anxiety–perhaps I ought to say in your unbelief–been
saying, "Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body," it does not
matter what you have said, for that does not alter the fact! "Is it
therefore not of the body?" Of course, it is still of the body,
whatever it may say!
16. And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the
body; is it therefore not of the body?Oh, by no means! The ear has its
proper purpose to fulfill. It is designed for a special service in the
body which no other member can render. We must never compare ourselves
among ourselves and wish to be somebody else. You are bad enough as you
are, dear Friend, but you would probably be much worse if you were
somebody else. You may think that you are a very poor ear, but you
would decidedly make a much worse eye. Even if your ear is dull of
hearing, it can, at any rate, hear better than it can see! It can do
its own work better than it could do the work of any other member of
the body–and so can you as a member of Christ's mystical body.
17. 18. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing?If the
whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now has God set the
members, everyone of them in the body as it has pleased Him. That is
the best rule for each part of our body–"as it has pleased Him." Could
any of you suggest a better place for your eyes than where they are? We
have read the old heathen fable of a giant who had one eye in the
middle of his forehead–and whenever I have seen his portrait sketched
by fancy, I have felt, at once, that it was no improvement upon the
human face! No, the eyes are best where they are–and so the ears–and
so is the mouth. They are all best just where they are. So are you, my
Brother or my Sister, best where you are, if you are in the place where
God evidently meant you to be.
19. Andifthey were all one member, where were the body?There would be
no body at all!
20, 21. But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye
cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of you. You know how very
quick the hand always is to go up to the eye when it is in danger. You
do not have to wait to tell it what to do, but in an instant, the hand
is up, for there is a feeling between the members of the same body.
"The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of you." And the hand
never feels that it may leave the eye to take care of it-self–it is
ready to protect it at once.
21-23. Nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. No, much
more those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are
necessary: and those members of the body which we think to be less
honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely
parts have more abundant comeliness. They are covered and concealed and
so we take more trouble with them than we do with other parts of our
body.
24. For our comely parts have no need: but God has tempered the body
together, having given more abundant honor to that part which lacked.
Here is a lesson for us with regard to church fellowship–always to
take most notice of those who are the least noticeable, and to be most
gentle with those who require the most tenderness. You know that there
are some of our fellow members who are not all we should like them to
be. We believe that they are children of God, but they are, somehow or
other, "cut on the cross." They are crotchety and weak in many ways.
Now, we should try, as far as we can, to adapt ourselves to them. If
you have ever had the gout very badly, you know that if a person walks
across the room too heavily, you feel it. Do you, therefore, say to
your father, when he is thus laid aside, "You cannot expect me to take
notice of such a thing as that? Nor would you be so cruel as to say to
anybody else, "If he has a gouty foot, I cannot help it and I shall
tread on it every now and then." No, you are not so brutal as that! So,
if there is a member of the body that is more tender than the rest, and
especially if that tenderness is the result of disease, let us try to
minister to it as far as we possibly can. Let us give "more abundant
honor to that part which lacks."
25. That there should be no schism in the body. That is, no division,
no tear in the body. 25, 26. But that the members should have the same
care, one for another. And whether one member suffers, all the
members suffer with it; or one member is honored, all the members
rejoice with it. I am afraid that this second half of the verse refers
to a duty which is more neglected than is the other. It is an easier
thing to suffer with those that suffer than it is to rejoice with those
that rejoice. And I will tell you why it is so–because, in giving
compassion to those that suffer, you have some sense of dignity.
Condescension is often a sort of pride, but when a Brother is better
off than you are– when he has more talent than you have–when he is
more successful than you are–for you to go and rejoice with him and be
as glad as if it were all your own gladness–yes, to enter into his
joy, and say, "God be thanked, my Brother, for your prosperity! I would
increase it if I could, for I feel that I am a partner with you!"–ah,
this needs great Grace. So, may God continually give us more Grace and
deliver us from everything like envy, which is of Satan, and yet is all
too common even among professing Christians!
27-31. Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And
God has set some in the church, first Apostles, secondarily Prophets,
thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps,
governments, diversities of tongues. Are all Apostles? Are all
Prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all the
gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But
covet earnestly the best gifts and yet show I unto you a more excellent
way.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a
tinkling cymbal And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand
all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that
I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And
though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my
body to be burned, and have not charity, it profits me nothing. God
grant us Grace, then, that we may abound in this most excellent Grace
of a true Christian life which is infinitely more essential than the
highest gifts or the most remarkable talents that God Himself can
bestow upon us!