ii; ,ill life \\-c cnt. into a 1,hnt. lo find what life is, hut it eludes the finest perception. Cl11·i,, inn~, t.hcn, cannot be cxpcckd to understand the mystery of the lifo of God in tl,e snul. And, npnrt from that, we can only imperfectly understand our experiences. Our life goes forw:nd Recording to tha thought and ,vorking of One unseen. (3) It is a l{f't of l,iddcnfdlow.sliip with Clwist. It commanced in that region of the soul which ;, penl'lrated only by our owo eye and by the eye of God. 'l.'here with Christ we dcdi~;1ted ourseh·es to him. 'l.'here we lmva fellowship with Christ, in our joys, ,·\'en in onr earthly j,,ys. There we hava fellowship with Christ in our sorrows even our so1-ro11·s of rep,·utance and painful struggles after virtue. And there he is with us to ':nc~urage ~sin nll ~l)e efforts we \mt fort~ for the ~dvancement of his cause. (4) It 1.s 111.dden in Goel. l he worldly life bas its roots III the world. The life which con,i~ts in fdlo\l·s1,ip with Christ is hidden because itis lived in God. He is essentially l,idden-the invisible God; he is called in this Epistle, elsewhere, a God that bideth l1ims,·lf. Our life, then, has its roots hi<lden in him, in his eternal purpose and inexhaustible goo,1ness. JU. IT~ FUTURE MANIFESTATIO~. "When Christ, who is our Life, shall be manifested, tlien shall ye also with him be manifested iu glory." The Christian life is to be mnnifcst.ed to men. ,ve are to 1111\ke our light so shiue before men that others, seeing our good works, may glorify our Father which is in heaven. Dut the manifestation referred to here is that to which we are to look forward as the crown of our being. 1. It results from our relation to Christ. Our life is not only with him, but he is ow· J,ife. He is the life of our life. The essential thing iu the relation here is that, thus Ii l'ing within us, he gives type and form to our life. 2. It results from his manifestation. 'J'l,ere is a manifestation yet before him. "When Christ . . . shall be manifested." It is irnpliccl tl,at at present he is in a condition of concealment. He is concealed from the world. Many think that he and his cause arc under a cloud. He is, to a certain extent, manifested in heaven; but he is not manifested in the full meaning of his work, in his full glory as Saviour. His .manifestation will be our manifestation. We shall be completely vindicated before men. It will be made completely manifest that we are sons of Gud and friends of Christ. Christ within us will work out till we are made glorious in body and in soul with his glory.-R. F.
Vers. fi-11.-Dying before rising. There is an alternating between dying and rising. llaving carried out the idea of rising, the apostle goes back to the idea of dying ; and, before this paragraph is concluded, he goes back to the idea of rising. I. MORTIFYING OF OUR MEMBERS WITII REFERENCE TO TWO SINS. "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth." It is not a ground of condemnation that our members are upon the earth. The idea is simply the members through which we J,old corre~pondence with earth. Of these members, collectively, the apostle says," I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sncrifice." Our members may be instruments of righteousness or instruments of unrig:hteousneiis. We are to mortify them by refusing to use them as instruments of •mrigl.iteousness. 1. Sensuality. "Fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire." There are four words used to describe this sin. 'l.'he first describes a special form of uncleanness. The second is wider, and includes all forms of uncleanness. The third is wider still, and describes such heated desire as may lead to uncleanness, The fourth is widest of all, and includes all such desire as implies want of purity of feeling. 2. Covetousness. "And covetousness, the which is idolatry." The article being used with "covetousness" (not with the other four words) indicates the introduction of a. new class. 'l'he,e four form one class; and this fifth is a class by itself. The fact that it i~ associakd (as in Ephesians) with forms of sensuality marks the sense which tho apostle had of its evil character. There is not here tho thou11:ht that it is to be among the tbini;s which aro not to be named. Dut there is the thought, which follows in Ephesian-s, that covltousness is idolatry; that is to say, idolatry by pre-eminence. Sensu- ality is al~o idolatry. It is making au i<lol of self in the form of lower and momentary enjoyment. Covetuusness has a certain aspect of unselfishness. It is a giving up of J,re8ent enjoyment; it is e. giving up even of future enjoyment. But when unveiled it is really a more systematic form of selfishness. It is making an idol of self, not in the fonn of future enjoyment, but ,which is no better) in tho form of the means of en. m. 1-20,J 'l'IIE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. Jg,j