upon him Let him only be able to say, " My Beloved
is mine, and I am his," and he desires no more. In possessing Christ, he possesses all things'1."]
In connexion however with this gift we must
notice,
II. His duty —
Privilege and duty are inseparable. Though we receive all from God as a free gift, we yet have duties to perform. If we have received Christ, we must " walk in him :"
1. In dependence on him —
[" In Christ is every thing treasured up for us :" and " we must receive every thing out of his fulness." There must be no dependence whatever upon ourselves, but an entire reliance " on him for wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." Our whole life must be one continued act of "faith in the Son of God, who loved us, and gave himself for use."]
2. In conformity to him —
[As he is to us a source of all spiritual blessings, so is he unto us an example to which we must be conformed. His zeal for God must be transfused into our souls, and his love to man be copied in the whole of our intercourse with mankind'. If we profess to " abide in him, we must walk in all things as he walked*."]
But this duty is, in fact,
III. His privilege —
The diversity of metaphors in this passage greatly enriches the subject, without at all distracting our minds. Our duty and our privilege are to walk in Christ,
1. Firmly —
[The use of a root is, not only to convey nourishment to the branches, but to keep the tree steadfast amidst all the storms and tempests by which it may be assailed. And we, so far from being cast down by all the storms that may assault us, must take occasion from them to shoot our roots more deeply into this divine soil, and to take more fkm hold of him by whom alone we can be upheld.-]
2. Progressively —
d 1 Cor. iii. 22, 23. e Gal. ii. 20.
f John iv. 34. 1 John iii. 16. s 1 John ii. 6