But the apostle claims "wisdom" for the gospel. The counterfeit has been exposed, and the genuine coin is now presented. And how does he proceed to verify his right to use a term that, in the estimation of all thinkers, commanded respect and admiration? He will honour the Word; he will restore its meaning and clear it of obscurity, nay, expand its significance and invest it with a charm not known before. Solomon had used his splendid intellect to give the word "wisdom" a wide currency among his people, and Socrates had laboured for the Greeks in a similar way, each of them an agent of Providence, to teach intellect its legitimate uses and rescue it from bondage to the senses. And there was that old world in which these men, under very different circumstances and sharing very unlike illumination, had taught their countrymen what they knew of wisdom, and this remnant of its former state - the mere effigy of earlier grandeur - stood confronting St. Paul at Corinth, with its conceits, prejudices, and animosities, arrayed most of all against him, because he resisted, so bravely its earthly arts and methods. From a far loftier standpoint than Greeks and Jews acknowledged, an infinite distance, indeed, between the disputants of either side, he preached wisdom that came from God - a wisdom long hidden and hence called "a mystery," but now revealed in the fulness of the times. Yet, during the ages when this wisdom had been concealed, when eye and ear and the subtlest imagination had been unable to probe the secret, when human thought had exhausted itself in vain research, and had sunk at last into unnatural content with its own imbecility, - through all this probation of intellect in the school of the senses, God had reserved "the hidden wisdom" for "our glory." The demonstration of man's utter weakness had to be made, and Judaea and Greece had been chosen to make it. Rome's task was to gather up the results and exhibit them in a solidified form; nor could there have been such a Rome as that of the Caesars unless the experiment with the "wisdom of this world," and of the "princes of this world," had proved a failure disastrous in the extreme. That time had passed. And now this "hidden wisdom" had been made known as a spiritual certainty, which was nothing less than a "demonstration of the Spirit and of power." "There is a spirit in man," and it "knoweth the things of a man." Who can gainsay its consciousness? Who can appeal from its testimony to anything higher in himself? So too the Spirit of God "searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God," and, furthermore, the Holy Spirit is given to our spirit so that we "might know the things that are freely given to us of God." Just before St. Paul had stated that the mystery, the hidden wisdom, had been held back for "our glory." And is not the truth of that statement now attested? Understand wherein "our glory" lies. It is in this - man has a spirit, and God communicates his own secret intelligence unto it in the shape of a "demonstration of the Spirit and of power." Not wisdom alone, not only perception and reflection, but realization and assimilation in the attending form of power, the act of the recipient of grace not being the functional act of a faculty, but of the whole mind; "comparing spiritual things with spiritual" - the spirit of the renewed man most fully conscious of itself, because of the presence of God's Spirit and the expansion thereby of its own consciousness, What a comparing power suddenly wakens! What an outreaching process begins! This capacity of comparing, beginning our development in childhood and continuing till old age, is one of the mind's foremost activities. It is susceptible of more culture than any mental property. The inventive genius of poets and artists, the skill of the great novelist, the discriminating power of the sagacious statesman, are alike dependent on the diversified energy of comparison. Accuracy of judgment, depth of insight, breadth of sympathy so essential to largeness of view, are mainly due to this quality. Give it fair treatment, and three score and ten years witness its beautiful efflorescence. But its spiritual uses are its noblest uses. "Comparing spiritual things with spiritual" is its grandest office. When the human spirit receives the Divine Spirit, what a glorious enlargement, by reason of the superaddition of "the things of God," to the domain of thought, emotion, impulse! Calmly the mind works on; its laws never disturbed, its strength invigorated, its ideal of greatness opened in fuller radiance, its range and compass widened by a new horizon, a motive power brought to bear it never knew, and the repose of strength deepening evermore in the peace of Christ. - L.

I. EXPLAIN THE CHARACTER HERE MENTIONED AS NECESSARY TO DISCERN TRUE WISDOM.

1. The apostle means by "them that are perfect," such as have attained that measure of understanding which is necessary to comprehend the wise design of the whole, and perfect consistency of the several doctrines of Christianity.

2. "Perfect men" conveys the idea of minds unprejudiced, and free from the bias of irregular passions and affections; and this is indeed necessary to a just understanding of things: for truth can never appear as it is through a gross and fallacious medium.

3. A sincere and upright heart is another character essential to the perfect man. Wisdom flies the grasp of a dishonest mind; and, though it were possible he could find it, he would soon let it go; for the double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.

II. SHOW THE WISDOM OF GOD MANIFESTED IN THE REDEMPTION OF MAN BY JESUS CHRIST, ACCORDING TO THE DOCTRINE OF HIS APOSTLES.

1. We read clear characters of Divine wisdom in the discovery that the gospel has given man of his true state.

2. The wisdom of God, by the gospel, is visible in the glorious end it purposes and publishes to the world, that is, the salvation of sinners.

3. Our thoughts might trace with pleasure a vast variety of topics to illustrate the wisdom of God in the means He hath chosen to accomplish the mighty design of His mercy to mankind. To reconcile sinners to Himself, He hath chosen the fittest Mediator that could possibly be, His only begotten and well-beloved Son: the only one who could approach God without terror, and converse with men without pollution; who alone could make up the peace by laying His hand upon both. But another thought, which I cannot pass, to magnify the wisdom if God in the redemption of man discovered by the gospel, and that is to observe how it draws the greatest good from the greatest evil, taking occasion from sin to honour God, by raising man to a more exalted state.

4. The wisdom of God discovers itself in the honourable terms of mercy which the gospel hath established.(1) Faith, or a firm persuasion of all that God hath recorded in His Word: the most plain and speedy way to truth, particularly in those matters which the bulk of mankind have not time or capacity to trace; and the only way in matters which the reason of man could not discover or comprehend.(2) Repentance, or amendment of life, is another term of salvation wisely fixed, because without it the guilty can never be fit objects of mercy, or capable of happiness.

5. As it exceeds the power of man to work such a change of heart and life in himself, the wisdom of God is manifested in the direction and assistance He hath provided to bring His mighty purpose to effect.(1) For his direction, He hath given him such a system of precepts, such an assemblage of illustrious examples, as the wisdom of man could never devise, as the history of mankind could never furnish.(2) That men, seriously concerned to be saved, might not fall short of the end of their faith, the gospel hath done what no other law or doctrine so much as pretends. It hath assured us of sufficient help and ability to practise the duties it teacheth. And we may come boldly to the throne of grace, not only to obtain mercy, but to find grace to help in the time of need.Conclusion:

1. The folly of infidels, who spend all their wit and learning to oppose the gospel of Christ, the plan of Divine wisdom, a system so friendly to virtue, which they pretend to patronise; a scheme so directly calculated to purify the hearts and refine the manners of mankind.

2. Since the gospel of Christ reveals the wise counsels of God for the salvation of men, it must be our duty, who preach it, to understand more and more of the unsearchable riches of Christ, that we may speak to others with greater success and better hope.

3. To the hearers of the gospel let me only say (James 1:21).

(Wm. Beat.)

I. THAT is —

1. Changeable.

2. Presumptuous.

3. Fallible.

II. THIS is —

1. Divine.

2. Eternal.

3. Enjoyed by the perfect.

(J. Lyth, D. D.)

A blind tortoise lived in a well. Another tortoise, a native of the ocean, in its inland travels happened to tumble into this well. The blind one asked of his new comrade whence he came. "From the sea." Hearing of the sea, he of the well swam round a little circle, and asked, "Is the water of the ocean as large as this?" "Larger," replied he of the sea. The well tortoise then swam round two-thirds of the well, and asked if the sea was as big as that. "Much larger than that," said the sea tortoise. "Well, then," asked the blind tortoise, "is the sea as large as this whole well?"Larger," said the sea tortoise. "If that is so," said the other, "how big, then, is the sea?" The sea tortoise replied, "You having never seen any other water than that of your well, your capability of understanding is small. As to the ocean, though you spent many years in it, you would never be able to explore the half of it, nor to reach the limit, and it is utterly impossible to compare it with this well of yours." The tortoise replied, "It is impossible that there can be a larger water than this well; you are simply praising up your native place in vain words.(J. Gilmour, M. A.)

I. IS GLORIOUS IN ITS NATURE.

1. Apprehensible only by the perfect.

2. Not of this world.

3. Divine in its origin.

4. Adapted to secure eternal happiness.

II. IS UNDISCOVERABLE BY HUMAN REASON (ver. 8).

1. Proved by the ignorance and conduct of the princes of this world.

2. By the unsearchableness of the Divine purpose.

III. Is REVEALED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD (ver. 10).

1. He searcheth the deep things of God.

2. Communicates them to man.

IV. CAN ONLY BE COMMUNICATED BY THE HELP OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD (vers. 13).

1. We must use the words of the Spirit.

2. He must create spiritual discernment.

V. IS REALISED AND ENJOYED BY THOSE WHO ABE SPIRITUALLY ENLIGHTENED (vers. 15, 16). Who —

1. Judge all things.

2. Are understood by none.

3. For God is unsearchable.

4. Have the mind of Christ.

(J. Lyth, D. D.)

It is necessary to bear in mind that the "wisdom" with which the apostle was confronted was not the vigorous and lofty aspirations of Aristotle and Plato, but the hollow and worn-out sophistries of the last days of the Greek rhetoricians. Still, although a different turn would doubtless have been given to the whole argument if the living power of the gospel had been met not by a dead form, but by a power which, though of lower origin, and moving in a different sphere, was still living like itself, the general truth here urged remains the same. It is not by intellectual, but by moral and spiritual excellence, that the victories of the gospel have been achieved. Religion is not philosophy. But although the two spheres of intellect and Christianity are thus distinct, the apostle also wishes to show that there is in Christianity an element analogous to that by which intellectual wants are gratified; as though he had said, "Although the Christian lives in a world of his own, yet in that world he is independent of all besides (what the philosophers would have called αὐταρκης), and the more fully his Christian stature is developed, he will find every craving of his nature the more completely satisfied." This element he here introduces under the names of "wisdom," "the Spirit," and "solid food" as distinct from "milk." Taking into comparison the other passages (John 3:12; John 16:12; Hebrews 6:1), where a similar contrast is drawn between the higher and lower stages of Christian progress, the reference seems not to be to any exhibition of new doctrines, but to the deep spiritual intuitions which have always been regarded as the highest privilege of advanced Christian goodness. Thomas a Kempis says that "a pure heart penetrates the secrets of heaven and hell; the "beatific vision has always been regarded as the consummation of our intellectual and moral perfection; and the analogy which is here drawn between the perceptions of the human intellect and those of the enlightened spirit might be illustrated abundantly from the biographies and devotions of good men in all ages. What this was in its highest or most extraordinary form may be seen in the account of St. Paul's rapture (2 Corinthians 12:1, 4) or of St. John's (Revelation 1:10; Revelation 4:2). What it was in its more ordinary form may be seen in the whole atmosphere of St. John's first Epistle, especially in the connection between love and knowledge which pervades it, and which is illustrated in chap. 1 Corinthians 13:8, 12 of this Epistle. See also Romans 11:33, 34; Ephesians 1:8, 17, 18. This use of the passage —

I. ACCORDS WITH THE WORDS EMPLOYED. "Wisdom," although suggested in the first instance by the contemporary philosophy, derives its religious sense chiefly from its use in Proverbs and Ecclesiasticus, where it is applied not to the gaining of new truths, theological or natural, but to a deeper practical insight into moral truth. This general sense is further limited in this passage by the indication of its subject, viz., the "glory" or blessedness of Christians, which in vers. 8, 10 assumes such a prominence as to be almost identified with the "wisdom" itself that seeks it. And the faculty by which this wisdom is obtained is described emphatically as "spiritual— "the Spirit." The word is chosen partly from the frequent use of the phrase both in Greek and Hebrew, to express the intellect-chiefly as expressive of a direct connection with God. It is the "inspiration" which in Scripture is ascribed to every mental gift (Exodus 31:3; Job 32:8, &c.), but which is specially applicable to the frame of mind (to use the modern form of speech founded on the same metaphor) "breathes the atmosphere" of heaven. The same sense also —

II. AGREES WITH THE GENERAL CONTEXT AND OCCASION. When the apostle says, "But to us God revealed it by His Spirit," the use of the first person, here as elsewhere, indicates that, though speaking of believers generally, he especially refers to his own experience. The consciousness of his spiritual gifts, especially of his spiritual insight into things invisible, was always present with him, and never more so than at the period of these two Epistles (1 Corinthians 14:18; 2 Corinthians 12:1, 4). And this tendency to dwell on the inward, as distinct from the outward blessings of the gospel — on the things which "eye hath not seen nor ear heard," as distinguished from the things which the eyes of the first apostles had seen and their ears had heard — was a peculiarity of St. Paul's teaching.

III. IT BEST SUITS THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CORINTHIAN CHRISTIANS, who had no especial need of new intellectual truths, nor, if they had, was there any especial impediment to their reception. But higher consciousness of the Divine presence; a knowledge deep and comprehensive, as being grounded in love; an insight into the spiritual world — were gifts which, on the one hand, the apostle might well long to give them, and which were yet, on the other, most alien to their state of faction and bitterness. How could they, who were absorbed in their contentions, enter into the atmosphere of peace which .surrounds the throne of God? How could they, who were for ever insisting on particular names and party watchwords, enjoy the vision where all else is lost in the sense of communion with Christ? Controversy and party spirit may sharpen the natural faculties of shrewdness and disputation, but few sins more dim the spiritual faculty by which alone all things are rightly judged. These disputes and rivalries were "of the flesh," no less than the sensual passions which are commonly so classed; and, if so, they have no place in heaven, they are directly opposed to "the Spirit.(Dean Stanley.)

I. IN RELATION TO ITS GREAT END. The gospel is glad tidings of good. This good is —

1. Most suitable. God, who well knows our nature, has adapted His gifts to its wants.

2. Permanent. God has formed us to endure for ever; and the good which He has prepared for us is enduring also.

3. Divine. God has revealed Himself as the chief, the only satisfying good. He only can fill the powers of the soul — He only subsists through every changing scene. Let us admire the wisdom of God in proposing such a good to us; and let us recollect that such a good as is proposed to us in the gospel is to be found nowhere else.

II. IN RELATION TO THE MEDIUM THROUGH WHICH IT IS COMMUNICATED.

1. The salvation of the race is made to turn on the death of an individual. This is above all the ideas of men; it never could enter the human mind that one man could be saved through the mediation of many, much less that all could be saved through the mediation of one. This was "a stumbling-block to the Jews," &c. But this displays the highest wisdom. It is not an individual merely, but an individual fashioned expressly for the work. In the person of Christ we see a man with a person capable of suffering; and a Divine person, to make His sufferings meritorious. Had Christ been mere man, there could have been no merit; had He not been man, He could not have suffered. Had the question been asked, "How shall man be just with God?" it could not have been answered to eternity; but, "in the fulness of time, God sent forth His Son," &c. The way to reconcile the justice and the mercy of God could never have been conceived but for the wisdom of God in fitting this God-man and sending Him to suffer for the sins of the world.

2. The wisdom appears in Christ's defeating Satan by the very weapons which he employed to subvert His designs. By the Cross of Christ God has, as it were, reversed the order of things. In the first Adam man fell by aspiring to be as God; Jesus Christ, the second Adam, saves by condescending to become man. Man was indebted for his ruin to an evil spirit; he owes his recovery to a good Spirit. As man was ensnared by deceit and vanity and became miserable, he is liberated by truth and purity and becomes happy. The machinery of Satan is thus turned upon himself.

III. IN THE DISPENSATION OF THE GOSPEL the wisdom of God appears —

1. In the manner in which the truths of the gospel are taught. There are two modes of communicating instruction: the one is by facts, the other is by argument. The latter mode is generally considered the most efficient, and was most commonly employed by the ancients in their schools of learning. But many subtleties were resorted to in this mode of teaching. Learning was clothed in such a garb that it did not even attract the attention of the common people; they could not comprehend it, they could not be benefited by it. But God taught by facts. "I came declaring unto you the testimony of God." Such were the facts the apostles asserted, that the truths they taught must stand or fall by those facts. And these facts are the very soul of the gospel. He who believes that the apostles spake truth, that Jesus Christ really came, and died, and rose again, and ascended, must also believe that He died for the salvation of sinners. And he who considers the number of these witnesses, their character, the harmony of their testimony, their miracles, and refuses to believe their testimony, will be found turning the gospel of the Saviour against himself. In all this the wisdom of God's teachings appears above the teachings of the philosophers. They retired from the crowd; but heavenly wisdom is addressed to all, and is founded upon facts that all may understand.

2. In committing the dispensation of the gospel to men. They can enter into the states of those whom they address; they can comfort those that mourn by the same consolations with which they have been comforted; they can have access to them at all times. And not only was the dispensation of the gospel committed to men, but to men of obscure station and mean talents (1 Corinthians 1:26, 31). Had God employed the great and the wise to propagate His gospel, suspicions might have been raised in the minds of men that its success was to be ascribed to the elevated talent and station of its propagators. But the greatest effects have been produced more by piety than by talent. God will not divide His success with any human being.

(R. Hall, M. A.)

I. THE WISDOM OF THE GOSPEL IS —

1. Divine.

2. Transcendent.

3. Spiritual.

4. Practical.

II. ITS RESERVED COMMUNICATION.

1. Among the perfect who believe, study, practise it.

2. Because they only can understand, appreciate, and profit by it.

(J. Lyth, D. D.)

is demonstrated —

I. BY ITS ORIGIN. It proceeds —

1. Not from the wise and mighty of this world.

2. But from the hidden depths of the Godhead.

II. BY ITS PURPOSE, which is —

1. Not realised in time.

2. But in eternal glory.

III. BY ITS ESSENTIAL MYSTERY.

1. Unknown to the greatest in times past.

2. Undiscoverable by reason or sense.

IV. BY THE MODE OF ITS REVELATION.

1. Through the Spirit of God.

2. To the spirit of man.

(J. Lyth, D. D.)

I. ITS NATURE. Wisdom. The wisdom of a system may be determined —

1. By the character of the end it contemplates, A system which aims at an insignificant or unworthy end would scarcely be considered wise. The end the gospel aimed at was the restoration in human souls of supreme sympathy with God. This man lost in the Fall. Its absence is the cause of all the evils that curse the world; its restoration is the soul's salvation. When the value and the influence of one soul are considered, is not this restoration, even in one case, a grand end? But the gospel aims at it in all souls.

2. By the fitness of the means it employs. Though a system contemplate a grand end, yet ii the means are unadapted it could scarcely be called wise. The means Christianity employs to generate this love for God are —(1) A personal manifestation of God.(2) A human manifestation of God. God in the form of an angel, e.g., would not awaken this affection. God in any form but man's would rather terrify and repel than inspire with confidence and hope.(3) A loving manifestation of God. A manifestation of coldness or anger would never awaken love. Love alone begets love. These things are essential, and the gospel in Christ gives us a personal, human, loving manifestation of God. It is, therefore, emphatically the "wisdom of God." It is Divine philosophy.

II. A RULE FOR ITS PREACHERS. "We speak wisdom among them that are perfect." The word "perfect" has, some think, an allusion to the heathen mysteries. These mysteries were religious observances of a secret kind, open only to the initiated. The apostle clearly means by the word "perfect" those in the Christian community who were more advanced in the knowledge of Christ, who stood most in contrast with those who are but "babes in Christ." One of three ideas may be attached to the language of the apostle. Either that he had an exoteric and esoteric doctrine for men, or that the most advanced Christian alone could discern the wisdom of his doctrine, or that he adapted his teaching to the capacity of his hearers. Which of these ideas are we to accept? Not the first, for Paul had not two messages, one for those who were without the Church, and one for those within — one for those who had high capacity, and one for those who had weak. His message to all was one — God's love to the world through Christ. Not the second, for the man who was the least advanced in the Christian life must have some appreciation of the gospel. It was the last, namely, that he accommodated his teaching to the capacity of his hearers. In another place he tells the Christians at Corinth that he had hitherto "fed them with milk, and not with meat, because they were not able to bear it." His conduct I take as a rule for all true preachers. The great saving facts of the gospel are few and simple, viz., that Christ died and rose again. But the doctrines connected with these facts and their relation to man, God, the universe, and phases of truth which can only be appreciated by those who have attained to certain stages in Christian knowledge and experience. The Great Teacher has said, "I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now."

III. AN OBLIGATION UPON ITS HEARERS. If the higher aspects of gospel religion can only be appreciated by those who are "perfect," those who have attained to a high stage of Christian knowledge, it is manifestly their duty to endeavour to advance beyond the "first principles of the oracles of God." This duty hearers owe —

1. To themselves. The more knowledge man has of the wisdom of the gospel, the more power he has within him to purify his affections, exalt his character, and bless his being. The ignorant Christian is feeble, fickle, uninfluential.

2. To their minister. The man who has to minister to hearers who make no progress in Divine truth is limited in his thoughts to the mere rudimentals of the gospel. His motives for pulpit study weaken, and he becomes the commonplace utterer of platitudes.

3. To the system of Christ. The glorious system of Christ, which is "the wisdom of God," will only grow in power, influence, and extent in the world as men's knowledge of it increases.

(D. Thomas, D. D.)

1. It must not be thought that the gospel despises wisdom. The gospel is itself wisdom, only it is God's wisdom and net man's. "We speak wisdom... yet a wisdom not of this world." There is nothing which some of us need more just now than a demonstration of this sort.

2. It is constantly assumed that the progress of knowledge has exploded the gospel; that the cultivated intellect leaves faith behind; that the triumph of reason means the overthrow of religion.

3. This is bad enough, but what is worse is that some Christian people countenance such a view. They look askance at science, believing it to be an enemy of the faith. Huxley and Tyndal are very terrible names to them. They are uncomfortable when they find their sons are beginning to question and to think. Reason has an unpleasing suggestion of "The Age of Reason" and the French Revolution. Then these good people quote, "Not many wise are called," omitting the qualifying "after the flesh."

4. Does Christ relinquish His claim on able men? No. The Christian religion is distinguished from all other religions in this, that it is an appeal to the reason, it calls into play all its powers and welcomes all the established results of science. It asks us to believe that we may know and understand. It calls for faith, but only that faith which reason allows or requires. And as the religion differs from other religions, so our Scriptures are distinguished by their constant eulogy of wisdom. The Bible is not only an appeal to the conscience; it is also an appeal to the brain. It is so constructed that it demands diligent study.

I. WHO ARE THE NATURAL MEN NOWADAYS WHO CORRESPOND TO THOSE WHO, IN ST. PAUL'S TIME, WERE INCAPABLE OF RECEIVING THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD?

1. Those who tell us that matter can explain Spirit, that thought is a mere function of a grey, unthinking substance called the brain. Now they cannot receive the wisdom of the gospel — not because they are wiser than every one else, but because their wisdom is after the flesh, and a limited and foolish kind of wisdom. So far from being really wise, they do not even comprehend the question which agitates all earnest men, viz., the meaning of the spiritual world of which you are all more or less conscious. They say, "The spiritual world is only part and parcel of the material world with which we are familiar." But if thought comes from brain, then it must be already a thinking brain from which it comes. If spirit is a mere outcome of matter, then it must be already a spiritual matter which produces it. Materialism cannot apprehend the wisdom of the gospel, for it has juggled away the very meaning of its terms — spiritual and material.

2. Those who speak as if the understanding could answer all the questions and meet all the needs of the human spirit. The understanding ,cannot comprehend God; therefore, say they, God does not exist. The understanding cannot explain the freedom of the will; therefore the will is not free. And not admitting the existence of God or the freedom of the will, moral responsibility is quickly discredited. On the same showing love and hope and self-sacrifice ought to be dismissed as chimeras — and perhaps by some they are. Now, such people cannot understand the wisdom of the gospel; not because they are so much cleverer than all the world, only because they have made a rather childish mistake, they have not noticed the limits within which the understanding is able to work; they are like men who should deny that the atmosphere exists because they cannot walk on it as the birds of the air can. The understanding is only a part of our being. Every man is more than understanding; he is also heart, conscience, will. The understanding is only absolute within its own sphere.

II. THE WISDOM WHICH PAUL "SPEAKS AMONG THE PERFECT" IS NOTHING LESS THAN THE INDWELLING OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD IN THE SPIRIT OF THE CHRISTIAN MAN. Just as consciousness alone can be aware of our own inward life, so God's consciousness alone can understand the depths of God; and only by being made partakers of God's consciousness can we search those depths.

1. Such an indwelling Spirit will rescue us from the two errors on which we have been reflecting: of materialism and the undue exaltation of the powers of our own understanding. This indwelling Spirit forces us to recognise that the world and life, as we see them, stand forth out of an encircling sea of mystery in which their origins and issues are hidden. It makes us glad to learn from science all about the process of development, but it clearly teaches us that in the last resort it is only in the will of God that either the world or the life upon it could have its birth and find its issue.

2. But this wisdom of the gospel is more than an admission of mystery and of our own limitations. It comes to us as the explanation of the mystery and as the aid of our limitations. The gospel gives us the key to creation, culminating in humanity, the Incarnate God-Man — Christ Jesus; the key to man's great dumb longing for God in God's great uttered longing for man; the key to the heavy sorrow which oppresses the life of man, in the suffering of the God-man; the key to the dead weight of sin in the complete and voluntary sacrifice of Christ.

3. Nor is this all; in the mind of Christ, an intellect in which there meets the fullest understanding of God with the most tender sympathy for man, is really hidden a treasure of wisdom, a solution of all the questionings of our imperfect spirits. "We have the mind of Christ." The humble and unlearned believer is made partaker of that wonderful mind, is allowed to share its workings, and so to apprehend the answer which it is always giving to the searchings of man.

III. THUS, AS WE REFLECT ON PAUL'S PREGNANT SENTENCES, WE BECOME AWARE THAT THE GOSPEL DOES NOT SUPPRESS WISDOM; IT IS A WISDOM FAR SURPASSING THE WISDOM OF THE WORLD. It would be the greatest mistake to suppose that by the "wisdom" of 1 Corinthians 1:20, 21, 26 Paul means the reason, or the exercise or products of reason. Indeed, there is not a little almost unintentional irony in his use of the word, and his comment on its rarity among the "called." He speaks rather as one might speak to a number of miners who have just come out of the bowels of the earth into the broad light of day. "You see your calling, my friends; not many torchbearers among you; not many people carry safety-lamps." No; and, indeed, under so glorious an expanse of sunlit blue there is not for the general purposes of life much need of them. We have had among us in this generation many brilliant "natural" men, highly gifted with wisdom after the flesh. There was the late Professor Clifford; there are Haeckel, Maudsley and Spencer. Have they thrown light upon the universal question? Why are we-intelligent spiritual beings, with conscience, will, and hearts — why are we here at all; whence coming, whither going? So far from superseding this wisdom of which Paul speaks, they fall very short of it. For the most part they modestly confess they have no answer to the question. But Paul has an explanation; and to spiritual minds reason is satisfied.

(R. F. Horton, D. D.)

I. A SYSTEM OF CONSUMMATE WISDOM.

1. Devised by God.

2. Before the world began.

3. To our glory.

II. A SYSTEM OF MYSTERY.

1. Hidden from the world.

2. Mysteriously communicated.

3. Among the perfect, who believe and act upon it.

(J. Lyth, D. D.)

I. THE REVELATION OF THIS MYSTERY IS MADE — "THEM THAT ARE PERFECT," i.e., those who have qualifications for receiving the wisdom.

1. Of course, we are told at once that this is the ignorant conceit of religious people. But why ignorant conceit? You do not speak of the ignorant conceit of the physician, or of the engineer, or of the chemist, or of the artist, or of the poet. Nay, does not the ignorant conceit belong rather to those who think that without faculty, without study, they can understand as well as the most assiduous and learned? A spiritual man must know that he has a faculty of spiritual discernment, just as a poet knows that he has a faculty of poetic discernment. And an unspiritual man should know this also, that he has not the spiritual faculty which the other man has. The great doctrine of the apostle is that in religious things right feeling, a right disposition, is the condition of all knowledge. "If any man will do His will," &c. If you begin with an ignorant or unspiritual man by simply instructing his understanding in the hope that his heart will be affected, you have this difficulty — his hardened spiritual feeling will hinder understanding. We all know how difficult it is to make men understand what they do not like. All the training of a university will not make some men mathematicians. Again, if a man does not love truth and honesty, you cannot make him true and honest by expounding truth or honesty; you must begin by creating within him a feeling of truth and honesty; then you can easily teach him what things are true and honest. You must have a moral faculty for discerning moral things.

2. I think, therefore, we may see the profound wisdom of the gospel method. It begins by setting man's feeling right, producing in him a desire for holiness and a hatred of evil. The apostle tells us that this is the working of the Spirit of God. Take the little faults of men; you cannot reform a habit or a temper by merely teaching about it — nay, by a mere resolution of the will. The root of the thing is in the love for it, and you must begin by destroying this and cultivating love for good, or you will never succeed. You can cure a bad passion only by producing a good one; you can expel an evil affection only by the Spirit of God.

3. The way of the world in seeking religious truth and life is to investigate evidence, to exercise the reasoning faculties — just as you would investigate a problem of history, or demonstrate a proposition in mathematics or logic. Hence it is that so many learned philosophers and theologians never attain to Christianity; to them it is simply an intellectual study; they study it as they would study Buddhism or Mohammedanism. They can understand theology as a science of God; they can understand religion as a theory and a morality; but they have no conception of its spiritual character. "The natural man discerneth not the things of the Spirit"; they are discerned only by a spiritual faculty.

II. BUT THEN IT IS WISDOM, EVEN TO THE PERFECT, OF A MYSTERIOUS KIND.

1. A man cannot reason out such a system as God's salvation by Christ; it is discerned, as Paul says, by spiritual recognition, just as the poetry of a landscape cannot be discerned by a mere mathematician, by a mere engineer. Christianity is a revelation of facts, not a mere notion; Christ tells us what God is, that He is "our Father in heaven"; what God has done, that God "has given His only begotten Son, because He so loved the world." Now these facts could not have been imagined, could not have been demonstrated by human reasoning. But when they are testified by God, when they are proved by evidence to be facts, then, if I am a "perfect," i.e., a spiritual man, I at once feel that this revelation of God in Christ is true; that it is exactly suited to my personal need; it "commends itself to every man's conscience in the sight of God." None of the princes of this world in thought or in politics have believed. They did not see the principles of truth, righteousness, and love that were manifested by Jesus Christ. Had they seen these as the man of spiritual feeling sees them, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Pilate had some philosophical knowledge; he felt even an interest in and wanted to save Christ. He talked with Him about His kingdom and about the truth; but Pilate's corrupt selfishness, his political interests, permitted him to sentence a man to crucifixion — whom he knew to be innocent. There was the moral blindness in close conjunction with the philosophical intelligence.

2. Every teaching about God must have mystery pertaining to it that can never be revealed. This is true, indeed, of everything in human life. Let a man begin to think about God and about moral being, and how soon he comes to a blank wall that he cannot penetrate! Well, it is not that God purposely conceals things, it is that we cannot comprehend them. Instead of adding to the mystery of God, we understand more of God through Jesus Christ than we can on any other theory. And yet how much remains that is impenetrable! We are compelled to exclaim, "Oh! the depths," &c. Who can fathom the mystery of the incarnation, of the atonement, of the quickening of spiritual life in men, &c. In the love of Christ, in the love of God, there are heights and depths that pass knowledge. And yet observe —(1) That there are no mysterious things in Christianity. Christianity has no sacred rites, inscrutable puzzles, artificial concealments.(2) That Christian mysteries are revealed to men so far as they are qualified to discern them. Nothing in Christianity is purposely concealed. The religious life of us men and women who have to do with the business of this great city, is never so powerfully moved, so loftily inspired, so practically directed, as when we simply stand before the great Christian doctrines.(3) What a practical temper this gives to the religious life! What a passionate desire for God, for the study of God, in His Word, in prayer, in worship!(4) The domain of the knowable is sufficient for all the practical needs of man. It is so in science. We eat without knowing the chemistry of food; we act without knowing the philosophy of motion. It is so in religion. I may, however ignorant of the higher mysteries of being, practically realise the life of virtue and piety. The way of life through Christ is plain.

(H. Allon, D. D.)

In the verses which precede the text, St. Paul reviews the motives which actuated him, and the line of conduct he had pursued during his ministry at Corinth. When he went there, two courses were open to him. He might have aimed to gain personal adherents, merely using Christianity as a means of displaying the extraordinary powers of mind. Nor can we doubt that he would have been successful. The other course was for him to gain believers in the gospel he preached, and disciples for the Master whom he served. Without the least hesitation, he chose the latter as his aim. Self was studiously kept in the background. This faithful man could say, with perfect sincerity, "We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord"; whilst he assigns this as his motive, "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." Now the steadfast pursuance of this plan, by St. Paul and his colleagues, gave a marked feature to the early Churches. I refer to their singular and rapidly acquired independence of apostolic care. Scarcely was a community of believers gathered, although it might be in the midst of some heathen city, before the little flock were left to themselves, to be instructed by their native teachers, and to preserve their fidelity by mutual oversight. Indeed, but for this, the progress of Christianity could not have been so rapid as it was. Its chief original agents were very few, and if they had been compelled to remain long in one place, only a much smaller portion of the world could have been covered by their labours. Here, in the text, we have described two foundations on which our faith may rest — "the wisdom of men," and "the power of God," and we have to make our election between them.

I. THE HUMAN FOUNDATION. "The wisdom of men."

1. The personal influence of good and wise men in the Christian Church is an ordinance of God, and when kept within proper limits, is an incalculable blessing. It is perfectly right, as well as perfectly natural, that any man who is endowed with eminent gifts, added to sincere piety and fervent earnestness, should win the respect, affection, and confidence of brethren. They involuntarily place themselves under his direction, taking him as their guide and teacher. He becomes a high authority in their estimation. So far all is lawful; but go beyond this, and the most serious consequences follow. If any man was ever entitled to the kind of authority I have described, it was St. Paul, who not only had these personal excellences, but possessed supernatural inspiration. Yet hear how he limits that authority, and indicates a point where it would fail him — "Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Again, "Be ye followers of me"; but observe, he adds the qualification, "even as I also am of Christ." These limits to human influence, however, are commonly disregarded. There are human teachers who are not only allowed to be influential, but omnipotent; not only good, but perfect; not only wise, but infallible. Respect for them passes into blind obedience; affection into something very much like idolatry. Their utterances are regarded as above criticism. Whatever they say is taken as gospel; not because of its intrinsic truth and reasonableness, but because they say it. This is clearly a form of the evil which St. Paul so earnestly deprecated when he wrote, "that your faith should not stand in the wisdom ,of men."

2. This undue influence of men in matters of religion is not only exercised through their oral teaching, and over those who are personally acquainted with them, but also through their writings. No man who is sincerely anxious about his spiritual culture, and is glad of light, from any quarter, upon the most important of all subjects, can afford to neglect the stores of Christian thought which have come down to us as precious legacies from the past, or which are still issuing from the press. And yet the teachers, however wise and good, who speak to us through their books, ought to be listened to with the same cautious reserve as those who address us in an audible voice. They ought to be treated as helps, not as final authorities. Is it not a very common thing to hear the inquiry, not "What saith the Scriptures?" but, "What say the fathers? What saith St. Chrysostom? What saith St. Augustine?" And the answer obtained is considered as final. The opinions of commentators, the systems of theologians, and even the beautiful dreams of Christian poets, may be useful to us, but to take our religion from them alone is to let our faith stand in the wisdom of men.

3. A faith which rests on such a foundation must of necessity be insecure. If men have given us our faith, men can take it away from us. What one has built up, another can destroy. Are there not multitudes continually undergoing such changes of religious belief? They are ever passing from one teacher to another; the last and newest is sure to have them. No anchorage, no stability for them! Staggered by each new scientific theory, which appears hostile to religion, or captivated by the last vagary of superstition, they are "children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men." But insecurity of belief is not the only evil in their case. The life they live is as unstable as the faith they hold. Character degenerates, and every semblance of piety disappears, when the influence which gave birth to it is withdrawn.

II. THE DIVINE FOUNDATION. "The power of God." We recognise this phrase as one which the apostle uses elsewhere. "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation." In the previous chapter he had said — "We preach Christ crucified.., the power of God." When, therefore, he desires that faith should stand in the power of God, he means that it should rest upon the gospel, and especially upon Christ, who is the gospel's central Object. This grand revelation has been made to the world once for all. It is open to universal, to individual inspection. We may be very thankful to another for telling us what he sees in Christ. For if he is a man of eminent piety, who has looked long and earnestly, with an eye whose perceptions love has quickened, and holiness has purified, he may point out to us some features which would otherwise have escaped our dimmer vision. But what he tells us should rather stimulate than supersede our personal observation. All such helps should be like the guide books which a traveller takes with him when he ascends a mountain. If he did not consult them now and then, he might miss some points of interest in the panorama which lies around him. But then he does not allow them to prevent him from using his own eyes. It is evident, however, that St. Paul meant something more than the contact of individual minds with Divine truth, when he speaks of faith standing in the power of God. The power of God can never give stability to faith until it actually enters the soul and exerts its mighty influence there; until Christianity ceases to be a mere set of opinions, and becomes a vital experience. It may seem very satisfactory to say — "my religion is not to be found in the teaching or writings of men, it is contained between the covers of the Bible." But if your religion is shut up there it is a worthless thing. It is not the perception, but the entrance of God's Word that giveth light, and heat, and life, to our dark, cold, dead nature. It is when the power of God brings peace to our conscience, and submission to our wayward will, and purity to our sinful heart, that it makes our faith a strong and indestructible thing.

(B. Bird.)

According to Scriptures there are two remedies for unbelief; one the way of argument, the other the way of experiment. In these two ways it is possible to establish the great doctrines of revelation. A careful investigation of the "Evidences of Christianity" is exceedingly helpful to some persons. But it is well to remember that historical knowledge is one thing, belief another. They may quicken the intellect; they do not necessarily enkindle devotion in the soul. Again, Christ's Church has had a noble history — one with which we do well to acquaint ourselves. Still, a knowledge of its sufferings, sorrows, trials, losses, triumphs, and glories does not necessarily produce faith. There are some, not a few, who endeavour by a process of speculation to strengthen their faith in God and in His revealed will. It is admitted that in matters of religious faith reason should be satisfied. Intelligent service is what our Heavenly Father demands. Commending most heartily the application of reason to the solution of questions connected with religion, we are nevertheless justified in severely condemning the spirit of rationalism. Ratienslistic speculation has accomplished but little good in the world. Some persons are disposed to view truth in abstract form. They endeavour to comprehend what is, always has been, and for ever must remain incomprehensible to finite minds. Argument, it is true, has its place in the defence of Scripture. It establishes God's people in the truth. It by no means follows, however, that arguments, however potent they may be, will convince the prejudiced. Proof is not conviction. The establishment of the facts is not the removal of antagonism to the facts. Moreover, the way of argument, when exhaustive, is exceedingly laborious. We would find it quite inconvenient to believe nothing till we had established it by unanswerable arguments. May I believe nothing in astronomy, nothing in geology, nothing in chemistry until I have possessed myself of all the arguments bearing upon the subjects? Must I analyse every species of food before eating anything? Supposing I have the ability to do so, will I ever have the opportunity of examining critically all the arguments bearing upon Christianity? There assuredly must be some more direct method of establishing the truth. Yes, says Christ, "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of Myself." Yes, says Paul, "Your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." "Stand in the wisdom of men." How could our faith rest secure on such a tottering foundation? Man's wisdom is folly. Look at the seething whirlpool of opinions, philosophies and elaborate systems, all driven by the breath of some new metaphysical nondescript into the gurgling vortex of endless oblivion. What metaphysical truth has been so firmly established that no defiant caviller has presumed to call it in question? Shall we found our faith on this ever-heaving ocean? No. Do and know. Stand in the power of God and live. There is then a more direct way of securing faith than by the toilsome process of argumentation. The seeker after truth may experiment. He may test God. He may test doctrine. He may test religion. He may test prayer. He may test piety. He may do and know. Does he lack faith in the efficacy of Christ's merit? Let him come to Christ. They who have cordially accepted the Saviour have never questioned His saving ability. Do any question the preciousness of Jesus' love? "Oh taste and see that the Lord is gracious." God, then, has seen fit to allow His system of faith to be tested by actual experiment. He invites us, commands us to try it in our own experiences. In this age the inductive method of philosophising is universally accepted. Scientific truths are established by a carefully conducted series of experiments, not by a priori reasoning. The ancient philosophers endeavoured to determine the facts of each science by reasoning from first principles. "Cease your blind reasoning," said Bacon. "Sit as learners at the feet of Nature and listen to what she has to say. Gather up the facts. Arrange them logically. Form generalisations. Interpret nature." As a result of the adoption of this method, the physical sciences have made gigantic strides in these last days. To most of us, therefore — for we insensibly imbibe the spirit of the age — it is a question of no small moment: "Are the doctrines of revealed religion open to experiment?" We answer, Yes, we may make a scientific investigation of the truths we are asked to adopt. In adopting this method of establishing truth, however, it should be borne in mind that we have no right to make our own selection of the tests. I have no right to say, "If there is a sovereign ruler of the universe, let Him speak to me in an audible voice from heaven." Are we justified in imitating the cavillers of the Saviour's time and exclaiming, "We would see a sign"? "To such no sign shall be given." Though there are experiments that would be irreverent, there are others that are entirely proper.

(J. S. Van Dyke, D. D.)

Corinthians, PaulCorinthAge, Although, Becoming, Believers, Belonging, Complete, Doomed, Full, Fullgrown, Grown, Howbeit, However, Impart, Leaders, Mature, Message, Naught, Nothing, Nought, Pass, Passing, Perfect, Present, Princes, Rulers, Speak, Though, Useless, Wisdom, Yet1. Paul declares that his preaching,
4. though it bring not excellence of speech, or of human wisdom,
5. yet consists in the power of God;
6. and so far excels the wisdom of this world, that the natural man cannot understand it.

1 Corinthians 2:6

     5191   thought
     5716   middle age
     5904   maturity, spiritual
     5956   strength, human

1 Corinthians 2:4-8

     8366   wisdom, source of

1 Corinthians 2:6-7

     5919   popularity
     8367   wisdom, importance of

1 Corinthians 2:6-8

     4027   world, fallen
     5204   age
     5509   rulers

1 Corinthians 2:6-10

     5548   speech, divine

1 Corinthians 2:6-12

     6710   privileges

1 Corinthians 2:6-16

     1180   God, wisdom of

May the Thirtieth Finding the Deep Things
"The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." --1 CORINTHIANS ii. 7-12. The deep things of God cannot be discovered by unaided reason. "Eye hath not seen:" they are not to be apprehended by the artistic vision. "Ear hath not heard:" they are not unveiled amid the discussion of the philosophic schools. "Neither hath entered into the heart of man:" even poetic insight cannot discern them. All the common lights fail in this realm. We need another illumination, even that provided …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

November the Eighth the Organ of Spiritual vision
1 CORINTHIANS ii. 9-16. Our finest human instruments fail to obtain for us "the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." Art fails! "Eye hath not seen." The merely artistic vision is blind to the hidden glories of grace. Philosophy fails! "Neither hath ear heard." We may listen to the philosopher as he spins his subtle theories and weaves his systematic webs, but the meshes he has woven are not fine enough to catch "the deep things of God." Poetry fails! "Neither hath it entered …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

The Apostle's Theme
'I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.'--1 COR. ii. 2. Many of you are aware that to-day I close forty years of ministry in this city--I cannot say to this congregation, for there are very, very few that can go back with me in memory to the beginning of these years. You will bear me witness that I seldom intrude personal references into the pulpit, but perhaps it would be affectation not to do so now. Looking back over these long years, many thoughts …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

Heaven
I have hinted that this passage is most commonly applied to heaven, and I shall myself also so apply it in some measure, this morning. But any one who reads the connexion will discover that the apostle is not talking about heaven at all. He is only speaking of this--that the wisdom of this world is not able to discover the things of God--that the merely carnal mind is not able to know the deep spiritual things of our most holy religion. He says, "We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

Natural or Spiritual?
This morning I propose--and O that God the Holy Spirit may bear witness in our hearts!--I propose, first of all, to dwell a little while upon the great truth that natural men do not receive the things of the Spirit of God, but count them foolishness; in the second place, I shall show, for a moment only, that the reason of the rejection of the things of God cannot be because they are really foolish, for they are not so; thirdly, we shall come to the inference that the reason why the natural man rejects …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 7: 1861

1 Corinthians ii. 12
We have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God. And, therefore, he goes on to say, our language is different from that of others, and not always understood by them; the natural man receiveth not the things of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. That is, they are discerned only by a faculty which he has not, namely, by the Spirit; and, therefore, as beings devoid of reason cannot understand the truths …
Thomas Arnold—The Christian Life

My Life in Christ
MY LIFE IN CHRIST or Moments of Spiritual Serenity and Contemplation, of Reverent Feeling, of Earnest Self-Amendment, and of Peace in God: EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY OF ST. JOHN OF KRONSTADT (ARCHPRIEST JOHN ILIYTCH SERGIEFF) Translated, with the Author's sanction, from the Fourth and Supplemented Edition BY E. E. GOULAEFF, ST. PETERSBURG NOTE. I do not precede my book by any introduction: let it speak for itself. Everything contained in it is but a gracious enlightenment which was bestowed upon my …
John Calvin—My Life in Christ

The Personality of the Holy Spirit.
Before one can correctly understand the work of the Holy Spirit, he must first of all know the Spirit Himself. A frequent source of error and fanaticism about the work of the Holy Spirit is the attempt to study and understand His work without first of all coming to know Him as a Person. It is of the highest importance from the standpoint of worship that we decide whether the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, worthy to receive our adoration, our faith, our love, and our entire surrender to Himself, …
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

No Minister Ought to Keep a Faithful Person from the Communion, that Does Desire and Ask It, Whilst He Doth not Know his Conscience Defiled with Mortal Sin.
The Council of Trent, treating of the Preparation which Priests and Layman ought to make for the worthy Receiving of the Holy Eucharist, hath these following words, (Sess. 13, Cap. 17.) The Custom of the Church makes it clear, that Examination and Proof is necessary in order to the Communion; that no man, knowing himself guilty of mortal Sin, though he may seem Contrite to himself, come to the Sacrament, unless he have before been at Sacramental Confession. Which comprehends all Christians, and even …
Miguel de Molinos—The Spiritual Guide which Disentangles the Soul

And These Signs are Sufficient to Prove that the Faith of Christ Alone Is...
80. And these signs are sufficient to prove that the faith of Christ alone is the true religion. But see! you still do not believe and are seeking for arguments. We however make our proof "not in the persuasive words of Greek wisdom [1128] " as our teacher has it, but we persuade by the faith which manifestly precedes argumentative proof. Behold there are here some vexed with demons;'--now there were certain who had come to him very disquieted by demons, and bringing them into the midst he said,--Do …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

Letter xv (Circa A. D. 1129) to Alvisus, Abbot of Anchin
To Alvisus, Abbot of Anchin He praises the fatherly gentleness of Alvisus towards Godwin. He excuses himself, and asks pardon for having admitted him. To Alvisus, Abbot of Anchin. [18] 1. May God render to you the same mercy which you have shown towards your holy son Godwin. I know that at the news of his death you showed yourself unmindful of old complaints, and remembering only your friendship for him, behaved with kindness, not resentment, and putting aside the character of judge, showed yourself …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Of Certain Outward Temptations and Appearances of Satan. Of the Sufferings Thereby Occasioned. Counsels for those who Go On
Unto Perfection. 1. Now that I have described certain temptations and troubles, interior and secret, of which Satan was the cause, I will speak of others which he wrought almost in public, and in which his presence could not be ignored. [1] 2. I was once in an oratory, when Satan, in an abominable shape, appeared on my left hand. I looked at his mouth in particular, because he spoke, and it was horrible. A huge flame seemed to issue out of his body, perfectly bright, without any shadow. He spoke …
Teresa of Avila—The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus

Letter Lix. To Marcella.
An answer to five questions put to Jerome by Marcella in a letter not preserved. The questions are as follows. (1) What are the things which eye hath not seen nor ear heard (1 Cor. ii. 9)? Jerome answers that they are spiritual things which as such can only be spiritually discerned. (2) Is it not a mistake to identify the sheep and the goats of Christ's parable (Matt. xxv. 31 sqq.) with Christians and heathens? Are they not rather the good and the bad? For an answer to this question Jerome refers …
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

On the Words of the Gospel, John v. 25,"Verily, Verily, I Say unto You, the Hour Cometh, and Now Is, when the Dead Shall Hear The
1. Our hope, Brethren, is not of this present time, nor of this world, nor in that happiness whereby men are blinded that forget God. This ought we above all things to know, and in a Christian heart hold fast, that we were not made Christians for the good things of the present time, but for something else which God at once promiseth, and man doth not yet comprehend. For of this good it is said, "That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

"Seek First the Kingdom of God," &C.
Matt. vi. 33.--"Seek first the kingdom of God," &c. It may seem strange, that when so great things are allowed, and so small things are denied, that we do not seek them. The kingdom of God and his righteousness are great things indeed, great not only in themselves, but greater in comparison of us. The things of this world, even great events, are but poor, petty, and inconsiderable matters, when compared with these. Yet he graciously allows a larger measure of these great things relating to his kingdom …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"That which we have Seen and Heard, Declare we unto You, that Ye Also May have Fellowship with Us,"
1 John i. 3.--"That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us," &c. There are many things that you desire to hear, and it may be are usually spoken of in public, which the generality of men's hearts are more carried after. But truly, I should wrong myself and you both if I should take upon me to discourse in these things, which, it may be, some desire, for direction or information concerning the times, for I can neither speak of them with so much …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"Because the Carnal Mind is Enmity against God, for it is not Subject to the Law of God, Neither Indeed Can Be. "
Rom. viii. 7.--"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Unbelief is that which condemns the world. It involves in more condemnation than many other sins, not only because more universal, but especially because it shuts up men in their misery, and secludes them from the remedy that is brought to light in the gospel. By unbelief I mean, not only that careless neglect of Jesus Christ offered for salvation, but that which is the …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Preface. And as to Christ Thy Lord
Preface. and as to Christ thy Lord, most comely "as the lily among thorns," being his "love among the daughters," Cant. ii. 2. so also, thou, in a special way, art the dearly beloved and longed for, the joy and crown, of every sincere servant of Christ in the gospel, Phil. iv. 1. Thou art, if not the only, yet the chief object of their labours, their work being either to confirm and strengthen thee in thy way, that thou mayest so stand fast in the Lord, or remove impediments, make crooked things …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Ministry of the New Covenant
"Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men; being made manifest that ye are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God: not in tables of stone, but in tables that are hearts of flesh. And such confidence have we through Christ Godward: not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God: who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants

The Book of the Covenant
"And Moses took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words."-EX. xxiv. 7, 8; comp. HEB. ix. 18-20. HERE is a new aspect in which to regard God's blessed Book. Before Moses sprinkled the blood, he read the Book of the Covenant, and obtained the …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants

The Death of the Righteous
'For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' Phil 1:1I. Paul was a great admirer of Christ. He desired to know nothing but Christ, and him crucified. I Cor 2:2. No medicine like the blood of Christ; and in the text, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' I. For to me to live is Christ. We must understand Paul of a spiritual life. For to me to live is Christ, i.e.' Christ is my life; so Gregory of Nyssa; or thus, my life is made up of Christ. As a wicked man's life is made up of sin, …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

These Discussions, Therefore, Concerning the Different Deserts of Married Women...
19. These discussions, therefore, concerning the different deserts of married women, and of different widows, I would not in this work enter upon, if, what I am writing unto you, I were writing only for you. But, since there are in this kind of discourse certain very difficult questions, it was my wish to say something more than what properly relates to you, by reason of certain, who seem not to themselves learned, unless they essay, not by passing judgment to discuss, but by rending to cut in pieces …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

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