"how great things he must suffer." Straightway the revelation of sorrow began, for the stay at Damascus was interrupted by a conspiracy of the Jews, aml he sought refu;:,:e in Aro.bia. All the intervening years had been years of suffering, the first link of the unbroken chain forged by the hatred of the Jews at Damascus, the last up to this period forged by the same hands at Corinth, and the issue of his experience was that he bau learned to glory in his weakness.-L. Ver. 4:.-A different gospel. 'fhat the apostle we.a pained, distressed, and mortified by the partial success with which the false teachers, his opponents, had met at Corinth, is very obvious from his bitter and sarcastic language. He reproached the Corinthian~ that, indebted as they were to his labours, and grateful as they had shown themselves for the benefits conferrod upon them through him, they were nevertheless ready to forget the lessons they had learned and the teacher they had revered, and to allow themselves to be led away into false and delusive doctrines. l. THAT IS A DIFFERENT GOSPEL WHICH PROCLAIMS ANOTHER JESUS. The Judaizing teachers acknowledged that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, but they 8eem to have represented him as merely human, as merely a prophet, as destitute of Divine claims upon the faith and reverence of men. The form of error changes, whilst the sub- stance remains. In our own day there are public teachers who commend Jesus to the admiration and the imitation of men, but who ridicule or despise the notion that he is the one Saviour, that he is the rightful Lord, of humanity. II. THAT IS A DIFFERENT GOSPEL wmOH BREATHES ANOTHEB SPIRIT THAN THAT OF THE NEw TESTAMENT. The Jndaizers taught the doctrine of the letter, the doctrine of bondage to the Law. In this their religion was contradictory to the religion of Jesus, of Paul, of John, who upheld the religion of liberty, who taught that the heart inflamed with Divine love will itself prompt to deeds of obedience, who discountenanced the merely formal and mechanical compliance with the letter of the Law, as altogether insufficient. In our own day there are those who lay all stress upon the form, upon that which is external and bodily ; these proclaim a "different gospel." Ill. THAT IS A DIFFERENT GOSPEL WilICH NEGLECTS TO OFFEIJ. THE FREE SALVATION' OF GoD TO SINFUL MAN. Whether this be the consequence of a defective view of man's sinful condition, or of a failure to enter into the glorious counsels of Di vine compassion, or of an unworthy desire to retu.in a priestly power in their own hands, the result is that, if there be anything that can be called a gospel, it is a different gospel. In truth, there is but one gospel-that which is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, a gospel which is worthy of all love and of all acceptation.-T. Ver. 7.-Gratuitous ministry. It has been usual for all communities who possess religious ordinances and organizations to set apart an order of men to officiate as the representatives of the people generally, and to maintain them either by voluntary offerings or by public provision. The Lord Jesus sanctioned the maintenance of the Christian ministry by his general principle," The labourer is worthy of bis hire." And no one has more vigorously vindicated the right of spiritual teachers and preachers to live at the expense of those whom they benefit than has the Apostle Paul. Yet for himself, as the text and context prove, he was determined to waive this right, and to preach the gospel of God for nought. Why was this ? J. THE PRINCIPLE OF GRATUITOUS MINISTRY IS THE BENEVOLENCE AND SACRIFICE OF CHRIST, Of our Lord Jesus we know that, though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, that he had not where to lay his head, that he had no possessions in this world which was yet his own. The spirit of the Master bas in a greater or less measure penetrated the disciples. They have felt the force of the appeal, "Freely ye have received, freely give." No other religion bas a supernatural power mighty enough to overcome the selfishness and self-seeking so characteristic of human nature. II. THE ALM OF GRATUITOUS MINISTRY IS THE SALVATION OF MEN. It is not expected that men should labour without fee or reward in order to supply the ordinary bodily and social wants of their fellow-men. The apostle preached at Corinth .a~idst weak- ness, weariness, discouragement, and ingratitude, because he_ sough~ the sp1~1tual welfare of the population of that wealthy, intellectual, but profligate city. His heart was moved by the spectacle of vice and idolatry which encumbered him on every side, and, 282 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. [ CII, XI, 1-39,
being in possession of the true and only remedy, he l!ought to bring it within the reach and urge it upon the accept~nce of all. Ill. THE SPECIAL PURPOSE OF GRATUITOUS MINISTRY IS TO REMOVE THE MINISTRY ADOVE THE SUSPICION OF INTERESTED MOTIVES. It is upon this that the Apostle PRul in this pas~age lays such stress. There were professing Christians' who were ready <'nough to bring the charge of covetousness against the apostle of the Gentiles e.nd so to undPrmine his credit and aut.hority. There was one way in which such deslgns might be 8urely and conclusively defeated, and, although this was a way involvino- self-denial to himself, Paul adopted it. He laboured. with his hands, he accepted help from the poor Christians of Macedonia, so that he might hold himself altogether free from any suspicion of working at Corinth for the sa.ke of anything he might receive from the C'-0rinthians. Herein he exemplified his own axiom, "All things are lawful, but all things are not expedient." APPLICATION. 1. Learn the wonderful and unique power of the Christian religion, which alone is capable of vanquishing the sinful selfishness of human nature. 2, Learn the importance of so acting as not to leave room even for suspicion or calumny to injure Christian character and cripple Christian usefulness.-T.