possessions upon n prccnrious tenure. 'l'hey arc very short leaseholders, or rather they are tenants-at-will. Believers arc the freeholders, and at last" the meek shall inherit the earth." 'l'he child of God has not yet" come of age;" but his title is good, and now he enjoys as much of his inheritance as is good for him in his present state. But as believers look a.t the world they can say," It is ours-all of it, and all things in it work together for our good." Cowper says- "The Christian looks abroad into the varied field Of nature, and, though poor perhaps eompar'<l With those whose mansions glitter in his sight, Co.lie the delightful scenery all his own. His nre the mountains, and the valleys his, Ancl the resplendent rivers; his t' enjoy With e. propriety that none C'-an feel But who, with filial confidence inspir'd, Can lift to heaven an unpresumptuous eye, And smiling say, 'My Father me.de them all.'" 3. Life. Without Christ there is nothing worthy of the name of life. Life is emphatic- ally the believer's. What possibilities it has for him! how vast are his opportunities! Pity it is that some believers seem only half alive to this. 'l'he child of God has in life the experience most likely to benefit him: mercies, joys, trials, temptations, pains- all his, to do him good. The lives of others are also controlled for the welfare of the redeemed. 4. Death. Death, a precious possession. 'l'hc entrance to the life immortal. Death conquered has beco::ne the believer's servant. Death, the dire loss of the impenitent, the great gain of the saints. The death of those outside the Church is ordered for the well-being of those within. God strikes down the foes of his people when the right hour has come. 5. Things present. The present order and movement in the world; all governments and powers; the march of the ages ;-all these thin"S are made subse1·vieut to the great work of redemption. "God moves in a mysterious ~ay " but always moves/or his people. 6. Things to come. Not only the present order ~f the worid, but the future. Believers often tremble for what is coming; the Church quakes, for she dreads some future movement, glimmerings of which she can discern, perhaps, in the present. But God is in the future, giving that future to his people. All discoveries, all increase of knowledge, all progress, shall be for the weal of Zion : ·" The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." And the believer reckons amongst thin"s to collle, the heavenly world, the life immortal, the higher service, the perfected natur~ the unsullied joy. All these are his. How rich, how blessed, is he! 7. .d.ll things'. Marvellous truth, that there is nothing of which he can say, "It is not mine." II. SECURED BY THE BELIEVER'S CONNECTION WITH CHRIST. Believers are Christ's. lHis servants? yes; his friends? yes; but his "brethren," and thus "heirs" with him - " joint-heirs with Christ" (Rom. viii. 17). Christ is God's. All that the Father bath ,is the Son's. All that the Son hath belongs to those that are his ; and this is "all things." What an amazing transformation, then, there is in conversion! The unsaved .has nothing; the saved, "all things." Are we unutterably poor or infinitely rich? The question is answered when another is: "Are we Christ's? "-H.
Vers. l-9.-0hristian teachers and their work. The apostle has still in view the -dissensions prevailing in the Corinthian Church. Throughout the first four chapters this subject is never absent from his mind, even when it is most in the background. The spirit of party, with the various phases of thought and life that found expressiun therein, suggests the several topics on which he enlarges. l. THE CHRISTIAN TEACHER ADAPTS HIS TEACllING TO THE CAPACITIES OF HIS HEARERS. (Vers. 1-4.) Paul has already said (eh.ii. 6) that he" spake wisdom among the perfect," and here he presents the other side. 1. At Corinth he had to deal with carnal Christians. In the last verses of the previous chapter he has contrasted the natural man and the spiritual man, the latter alone being able to discern the things of -she Spirit. Here the comparison is not between Christians and non-Christians, but between different classes of Christians, distiuguished according to spiritual attainment. Every bclieYer in Christ is a spiritual man as compared with those who do not believe ; 116 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO 'IHE CORINTHIANS. [cn.m. 1-W.