The Pulpit Commentary — Philippians — Section 50

spirit.. They preached ~rom IC envy and strife.'' This shows beyond question that the ,1 udaizing party-the hitter Rntagonists of Paul-were at work in Rome, preaching in the!r way the ~ospel; .r:encbing it, not fro1;11 pure love to Christ and souls, but to gratify their O\\'n factious spmt and to serve tb~1r_ own little sect. A sectarian preaching of the gospel has, alas! ever been common; 1t 1s rampant t.:>-day in England-men pre111:h- ing for sects rather than for souls. The other class of preachers in Rome were those who preached of IC good will" and" of love." 'l'hese had in them that love of Christ which ~onstrained them to proclaim the gospel. They had no factious spirit; they ,.-ere neither of the party of Cephas nor of Paul, but of Christ only; they knew "nothina amongst men ssve Jesus Christ, and him crucified." Oh that we had more of such preachers in this age! John Wesley, in modern times, was one of the splendid examples of this class of preachers; he broke himself off from all sects, and would, I have no doubt, have recoiled with pain at the idea of a sect ever being formed bearing his name. 2. The apostle's sublime nwgnanimity in relation to all preachers. "What then? Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea., and will rejoice." He overlooks the motives that prompt men t.o proclaim Christ in his exultation in the fact that Christ was preached. The motives belong to God, and he will deal with them; the message is for humanity, and its proclamation by every t.ongue would render service. Should we not enter into this spirit ? If the gospel is preached, whether by Papists or Protestants, Ritualists or Evangelicals, Churchmen or Dissenters, what matters to us so long as it is preached? So long as the clarion sends its blast to warn those who have never before heard of the approaching danger, what matters it whose lungs supply the breath? Let us try to catch the magna.n.imous spirit of Paul, and to imitate his splendid example in this respect.. "I aaw one ma.n, armed simply with God's Wortl, Enter the son! of many fellow.men, And pierce 1.h.em sharply as a two-edged sword, While censcience echoed ha.ck hi.a words a.gain, Till, even as showClB of fertilizing rain Sink through the bosom of tile valley clod, So theu hearts opened to the wholesome pain, And hundreds 1.-uelt upon the Bowery sod, One good man's ea.rnest prayer.the liu.k 'twixt them and God." D.T. Ycrs. 19, 20.-The magriifyi11J1 of Christ the supreme end of life. "For I know that this shall tum to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesu.s Christ, according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that .in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death." Here the apostle e:xpresses the belief that all the endeavours of his enemies, especially of those who, he said, sought to add "affliction to his bonds," will turn out to his deliverance. The word "salvation" here does not refer to salvation of the soul, but to Paul's temporal rescue and security. In the twenty-fifth and t~enty-sixth v?rses of ~his chapte~ he ut~rs very clearly his assurance that he should be d~hvcred f:o°!,his e~mies and continue with tht: Philippiaus for tht:ir "furtherance and JOY of faith. It 1s now many years ago, ,, hen a boy, I attended the ministry of Il_ev. Caleb Morris, at F?tter _Lane Chapel, and ti,e sermon he prea(hed the Sunday previou.s to my first entenng his. church was on tniE ten. It wa.s his first discourse after a dangerous and protracted illness, and the vc •,osition he drew from the passage and la.id down wa.a that "usefulness is the aim of , .e~y ,1cnuin,; evangelical ministry." He then ~ent on to remark that the pass~ge ,_ w«e.swi that in order to be useful, three thmgs were necessary. 1. To magmfy ti2st. "Chr~t Ehall be macrnified in my body," etc. 2. To render all the circum- nane;eg of life subsenient to that end. 3. To have supplies of the Spirit of Christ. I proceed, in a somcwLat modified form, to give some of the beautiful thoughts of that c!istir.gu;shcd preacl.er. I. The supreme purpose of life is to Jd'.AONIFY CIIRIBT. "Christ shall be magnified.'' J:ve y living man is either an injury or a blessing to creation-every ba<l man ii an 0 OH, I, 1-30.] THE EPISTLE TO TIIE PHILIPPIANS.