iR the power to f!Cnerate in man the true Christl_y character; it is that transformative i;lass into which as we look we get changed into the same image from "glory to glory." CoNOLUBioN. Learn from this : 1. The supreme interest of man. What is that ?· -learning, wealth, fame? No; Ohristl,;ness. He who has this has everything; all things are his. He who has not this has "nothing," says Paul. 2. The grandest distinctions amon.1Jst men. What are they ?-sages, soldiers, sovereigns? No; spiritual sires. '!'he man who generates in another the Christly character has don" a greater work than any ~age as sage, king as king, has ever done. Every man may and ought to become a spiritual father. Vers. 16-21.-Siz subjects worth reflection. "Whereiore I beseech you, be ye followers of me," etc. There are six noteworthy subjects ir. the9e verse9. I. A REMARKABLE BEQUEST. "Be ye followers of me." \Vere Paul an ordinary man, such an exhortation would resound with arrogance; but he was a man of pre- eminent excellence, Christly in spirit, deportment, and ministry. There were three reasons why they should imitate him. 1. He was a.follower of Christ. There was no living man who had followed his Master so closely. Elsewhere he says, "Be ye followers of me, as I also am of Christ." 2. He was their spiritual father. He had begotten them in the gospel ; they were his moral offspring. They had numeron9 instructors, but he was their father; they gave them ideas, he gave them character. 3. He was no partisan, Other teachers amongst them became the leaders of parties, these parties were contending one with another; but Pan! belonged to no party, he followed Christ, knew "nothing amongst men but Christ, and him crucified." Such a man was justified in calling on others to follow him. "Ministers," says an old writer, "should so live that their people may take pattern from them, and even after their copy; they 8hould guide them by their lives as well as bv their lips, go before them on the way to heaven, and not content themselves with pointing." II. A HIGH 'l'ESTIMONY. "For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my hcloved son, an<l faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every Church." He is dear to me as a "son;" ho is "faithful in the Lord;'' he knows my "ways." High testimony this. And this is the man he promises to send to them. What for? '!'hat he might give them good reasons why they should be followers of him. I do not want you to follow me in the dark; I send him that he may throw light upon my ways everywhere, "in every Church.'' A man must have a high consciousness of rectitude who can trust the representation of his character to one who knows him a8 well as a son knows his father, and withal a mau of incorruptible honesty. III. A FOOLISH EXULTATION. "Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you.'' 'l'here were those in the Church at Curinth who were out of sympathy with Paul, and who had no desire that he should visit them, and as the "wish is father to the thought," when they heard he was coming they would not believe it. \Vhen the intelligence that he was sending Timothy to them reached them, they ,~ould be likely to say, "This proves the truth of our assertion; he is afraid to come himself, and so he sends Timothy." In this they seem to have rejoiced; they were" puffed up." Now, I rail this a.foolish exultation, because the visit of Paul to them was what they deeply 11ecdcd, and was intended to confer on them the highest blessing. How often do wu foolishly rejoice in deliverauce from visitations fraught with priceless blessings I " Ye fearful sC1inte, fresh courage take, The clouds yo so much dread Are big with mercy, an,l shall break In blessings 011 your head.'' (Cowper.) IV. AN EXEMPLARY DECISION. "But I will come to you shortly if the Lord will," clc. Paul believed that God had a will concerning him, and that will detenniued his destiny. Hence on this he basud all his calculations in life; all his pbrns and purposes were subject to that will. "If the Lord will." This is an exemplary decision. His will iM not only absolute and righteous, b1rt benevolent; thererorc to acquiesce in that will is not only right, but wise. "Go to now, ye that say, 'l'o-Jay or to-morrow we wtll 11'.l TUE Fll:Sl' EPISTLE '1'0 'l'HE COnIN'l'HIANS. [en. 1v. 1-21.
go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain; whereas •·e know not what will be 011 the morrow." • Y. A GLORIOUS SYSTEM. " For the kingdom of God is not in word, hut in power." 11y this be mc,ms, I presume, the gospel ministry. It is a divinely regal "kin,qdorn;" it is not a thicg of sentiments or ceremony; it is invested with Divine authority. It is not a thi11g of mere "word; " it transcends all lan'!uage, however logical in force or rhetorical in benuty; it is "power "-the" power of God unto salvation." YI. A SOLEMN PROPOSAL. "\Vhat will ye? shall I come unto yon with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness r" In any case I shall come as a father. Shall I come as a father to chastise you with a "rod," or with looks of "love" and words of -commendation and sympathy? God's minister is bound to deal with men according to their states of mind. His ministry to some must be as the severity of Sinai, with ot.hers as the tenderness of Calvary. Evermore is it true that the effects of Divine ,isitations depend on the spirit in which they are received, and what this spirit shall be is for man to determine. God says to every man, "What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or i11 love, and in the spirit of meekness?" This is the solemn proposal.