The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 238

~11n givo, And Job reminds ns how the good man, tho gracious man gets his reward in the love of the poor whom he seeks to bless (Job xxix. 11-17). ' II!. So~L-CULTUilE, For it \s _a steadfast _law of soul-lire, that it cannot grow hy keepmg; 1t can only grow by g1vmg, expendmg. The law of receiving more 0,,.race i~ this-we must use up, in goocl generous deeds, the grace that we have. IV. PowER TO DO M0nE oooD. See the extract from F. W. Robertson given in the introduction to this homily. ""!· DIVINE FAVOUR, Which. must include those rewards of the heavenly worlrl which now escape our apprehension, because they can only be presented to us in material forms and figures. T. Binney says, "Beneficent acts, right in spirit and principle though they may be forgotten by the doer-who may not let his 'left hand kno\v what his right hand doeth '-are not forgotten by him to whose will they have an ultimate respect, and by whom they are received as a sacrifice. They have a relation to God and are regarded by him long after they have been accomplished and have passed away from the memory of man, They do not terminate with their being finished and done with here, or, so to speak, with the immediate pleasurable impression on the Divine mind. That impression is retained and prolonged. He to whom they rise up as incense gives to them, as it were, a substantial embodiment in the upper world-lays them up there as valuable treasure belonging to his children, and thinks of and surveys them with satisfaction and complacency."-R. T. Ver. 15.-The unspeakable Gift. This can refer to none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, who himself said, in such a striking way to the woman of Samaria, " If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water" (John iv. 10). In Jesus Christ" dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." And "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son" (comp. Rom. v. 15; vi. 23; Heh. vi. 4). I. CHRIST IS A GIFT. This is but reminding us that salvation is altogether of grace. We in no sense can be said to have purchased Christ. Nor did any merit of ours attract him. Nor by any power of ours did we win him. God pitied us in our lost ~state, and gave his Son. A priceless Gift indeed, seeing that it includes: 1. Pardon. 2. Peace. 3. Eternal life. II. CHRIST IS Goo's GIFT. This reminds us that salvation is a Divine work. We read of the" grace of God" and the" gift by grace." And" when there was no eye to pity and no arm to save, his own arm brought salvation." Salvation is said to be of God to show us: 1. It is not some human scheme. This is the essential difference between Christ's salvation and all other salvations. They are human devices-philo- sophies or religions; this is Divine intervention, arrangement, and revelation ; God's power directly working in God's way. It is indeed God himself saving men. To trnst in any merely human redemption schemes is like hoping to save a drowning man with a rope that is too short. 2. To give us right views of God. Man's usual thought of God is that of an offended King or stern Judge. But the unspeakable Gift reveals the higher truth that God is love, and the gift being that of a Son unfolds the sublime fact that God is Father. So we know God through his gift. III. CHRIST IS AN UNSPEAKABLY PRECIOUS GIFT. This reminds us that salvation is priceless. It is beyond all possibility that we could speak worthily (1) all the glory of Christ himself; (2) all the sorrow Christ went through; (3) all the needs whl.;h Jesus can meet; or (4) all the love that Jesus feels. The apostle felt overwhelmed with the thought of it, and spoke of the" love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." IV. CHRIST IS A GIFT OI•'FERED FOR OUR ACCEPTANCE. It suffices no man to know that this Gift has come; nor to know that others have received it to the joy and rejoicing of their hearts. No man can offer worthy heart-thanksgiving for this Gift until he has personally accepted it, sufficiently proved it, and can speak for himself of the pricelessness of it. The law is this: "He that hath the Son bath life.'' And he can "thank God for his unspeakable Gift.''-R, 'l'.  THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORIN1'HIANS. [en. x, 1-18,