The Pulpit Commentary — Colossians — Section 73

hns not w<irk~;" "Can _tbnt ~-iith,s~v~ n 1~s ~J,,s. ii. 17, 11)? Ours is a II faith working thr0ngh lo,,·. The qmckcnrng :Spmt w1thm 11s will bring forth" fruit arLer his kind" (Gnl. v. 22, 23). One o_f th~ most cha~acteristic f11.1its is love. "The lo,e which yo hnve townrd all the sarnts. We chensh love toward them because in spito of nil their failings, they are bc.lo,ed children of our Father God (l John iv. 7; v. 1). IV. OUR FRUITS ARE VISIDLE AND PERMANENT. They are such as an Epnphras coulcl discern Rnrl re~o_rt. (?ur lig~1ts ~hine ; our good_ v,orks are seen ( cf. 1 'l'he~s. i. 7-!J ; 3 John 6). 'lh1s fru1t-beanng 1s prompt. "Since the day," etc. The fruit itself multiplies; the gospel is "healing fruit and increasing." Side by sido with the out- ,vard growth of the gospel (which may be illustrated by the notices of the increase of t.he Church in J udrea from the "about a hundred and twenty" to the" many myriads" of Acts xxi. 20; and from progress in our own days), there is tbo ripening of Cbristinn charncter (2 Thess. i. 8; Heb. vi. 10) and the leavening influence of the gospel on modem society. For all these things we thank God, but especially if our fruit is permanent. 'l'he gospel still u bearin_g fruit in us (Ps. i. 3). Our hearts are not tho ,;tony or thorny ground. Christ's object is being fulfilled (John xv. 16). We have not forgotten our first love; our last works are more than our first. "The past thingR perish if those things which were begun· cease to go on to perfection" (Cyprian). Growth and persistence are ea.uses for sincerest thanks. V. "TnE ITO!'E WHICH IS LAID UP m THE REA VENS" SUSTAms OUR FAITH AND LOVE. "Faith . . . and love •.. because of the hope." This hope laid up is itself one of the things "hoped for." It is a reserved blessing, part of that great goodness of Goel "laid up for them that fear thee" (Ps. xxxi. 19; 1 Pet. i. 4, 5). But the links in the chain of spiritual blessings we have examined unite our souls here to tho inheritance yonder (Rom. viii. 24, 25). Such hope maketh not ashamed (Rom. v, 5; Jude 20, 21). If our souls are not firmly moored to that object of hope "laid up for us in the heavens," let us ask-Which is the missing link ?-E. S. P.