HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 1.-.An ezhortation to perfection. "Having therefore these promises," which the apostle had just mentioned (eh. vi. 16-18), what were the Corinthians expected to be? "Sons and daughters" of the Father, God in Christ. But the condition w:J.S, "Be ye separate, touch not the unclean thing, a.nd I will receive you." There was a charai:ter involved(" sons and daughters"); there wa.s something to be done(" come out from among them, 11,nd be ye separate"); then "I will receive you." St. Paul is specific in his a.ppeal; "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness [defilement] of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." The enlarged heart, of which he had been speaking and would soon spea.k again, has a tender voice, a.ddressini;( them as " dearly beloved." N otbing magisterial appears; he is one of them-" Let us cleanse ourselves; '1 nor has he any doubt of their ability to do this thing. Separation f~om old associations,. changes in customs and habits, ca.11 for firm resolution and self-denial ; but he is well assured that God makes no promise without giving ample strength for the accept.ing party to comply with the terms offered. If the promises embr:acrd eve~y good connecte_d with th~ir relation to God wi_a Father, then they_ must _be like God 1u Christ ; they were to entertain no views of God, except as God _in C~n.st, but were tu reverence love serve him in this one sinole0 and coooplete relattonslup. The ground, motive i~rul;e of action were to sprin" frorn this consideration-God in Christ as LI F1thor: I so, the rii;hieotline$s of Chri.:.t was ~ot only to h3 the r~asou vf their 176 THE SECOND EPIST~ TO 'l'HE CORINTHIANS. [on. vn. 1-10,
ju~tiocnlion before the law of reclitn<lc, lrnt they were also to have that righteoueneee as a property of personal character. lly nature they were far gone from righteousness; they were defiled, born in sin; grace had already been communicated to renew their e,il chnrncter ; he bad written to them as " washed, sanctified, justified " in the "name" of Christ, and by "t.he Spirit of our God." As yet the work was o;ly begun. Much was to be done. Sinful tendencies were in them which had never como under the eye of consciousness. Enemies lurked within and without, of whom they were unaware .. Imper~ect as they and he were, they must_ go on to pe_rfection. Strength consisted. 1D puttmg forth strength, to be stronger. First of all, this perfection was to be sought by purifying themselves from evil. What an amount of corruption stil: remained. was seen in the fact of the filthiness in the flesh and spirit. Ee.eh po.rt of our complex nature ~as vit-!ated, and each comb~ned with the ~ther in opposing the progresii necessary to attam holmess. There were vices of the e.mmal. me.n. '!'here were vices of the moral man. And there were vices resulting from the union of the two eo the.t a thorough and complete cleansing was required. " All filthiness; " no matter' of what class or kind, hereditary or acquired, local as respected tbe wickedness of Corinth, or general as belonging to the human family, the wrong-doing among you from the Judaizers, from the free-thinkers, from all your ambitious partisanships,-" cleanse" you~elves from "all filthiness," whether of the "flesh" or the " spirit." 'l'his was the negati,e side of a great and imperative duty, not all, but much, and very much, since, until this were done, they could take no direct steps towards perfection. Observe now that gross bodily sins were not the only lusts. 'l'empers and dispositions were just as urgent as passions and appetites in seeking unlawful enjoyments. Reflect on this point. "The spirit in us lusteth to envy." Inordinate affections led to transgression', Nay,' they often excited the body to wicked indulgences. Physical organs are frequently torpid ; they are aroused by images in the intellect, and stin:!.ulated by an impure imagination ; and, furthermore, after these organs, because of age or over-gratifioation, have little or no originating force, and are well-nigh worn out, the recollections of past pleasures kindle the expiring embers into a flame. Thus, indeed, depravity assumes its most licentious forms. For it is not the animal man that is the chief or the most dangerous factor in this sort of iniquity. The intellectual and moral man descends into corporeal abuses, and then it is these temptations are strongest. In many of these sins there is an element of sentiment supplied by an unholy imagination, which makes them far more tyrannical and debauching than they would be otherwise. And hence it is not the beastly possibility in man that is the greatest danger, but the Satanic agency brought to bear on the body by means of the spirit. It ie the devil of the spirit that is the devil of the body. A terrible conjunction this, and yet it is not a co=on spectacle. Ordinarily the incipient stage of vice is a bodily evil merely. It is a matter of blood and nerves. Not such does it remain long. Satan knows his citadel, and hastens to its occupancy. While it does continue, a man may be l'~asoned with; he is open to shame, conscience may be reached, and concurrent motives made operative on his feelings, but when physical vice allies itself with spirit, men "glory in their shame," and are "taken captive by Satan at hie will." In the final outcome there is but one will. and it is Satan's will Much more than this cleansing fl'om the "filthiness of the flesh and spirit" ·is nece~sary, if "these promises" are to be fully realized. Therefore he adds, "perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Here we have the positive side of that experience which is demanded of those who are the" sons and daughters" of God in Christ. It is inward holiness. Under the Law, beasts were clean and unclean; things, vessels, places, were externally holy; emblems and symbols of purity abounded ; manners, customs, domestic and national ueages, were so ordered as to impress on the senses the difference between good and evil. Under the gospel, spiritual holiness is demanded. The circumcision ie of the heart, not of the flesh; the sanitary idea of the human body, so frequently set forth in the Old Testament, is changed into that of the body as the temple of the Holy Ghost ; and hence, no eooner does the Lord Jesus begin to unfold the constitution of the new kingdom in the sermon on the mount, than he speaks directly to the heart. Righteoueness must exceed the righteousneee of scribes and Pharisees. Impure thoughts are forbidden. Passions ,that have no outward voice utter their binfulness in the ear of God; and fetll ings that eBCape not into -wisible acts ,re realities in the light of eternity. Inasmuch as the on, vll. 1-16.J 'l'HE SECOND El'IS'l'LE TO 'l'HE COHrNTHIAN8. 177