The Expositor's Bible: The Epistles of St. Peter Part 10

_Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour._ In the days of Job, when G.o.d asked of Satan, "Whence comest thou?" his answer was, "From going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it" (Job i. 7). Of this Old Testament language the Apostle here makes partial use in his description of the enemy of mankind. He walketh about in the earth, which is his province, for he is called the prince of this world (John xii. 31) and the G.o.d of this world (2 Cor. iv. 4). And the Greek word ??t?d????, "adversary," which St. Peter uses as a translation of the Hebrew "Satan," is well chosen, for it describes not an ordinary enemy, but one who acts as an opponent would in a court of law. Such was Satan from the first, an accuser. In Job's case he accused the Patriarch to his G.o.d: "Doth Job serve G.o.d for nought?"

"Put forth Thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, or touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse Thee to Thy face." In earlier days he appears as the accuser of G.o.d Himself: "Ye shall not surely die, for G.o.d doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as G.o.d, knowing good and evil" (Gen.

iii. 4, 5). And with such-like suggestions he a.s.sails the faithful continually, speaking either to their unguarded hearts, or by the words of his servants, of whom he has no lack. St. Paul dreaded his power for the Thessalonian converts: "I sent that I might know your faith, lest by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labour should be in vain" (1 Thess. iii. 5). And St. Peter's words are dictated by the same fear; he has the same wish to keep the flock steadfast in their faith. To them Satan's whisperings would be after this sort: "You are forgotten of G.o.d"; "Love could never leave you so long in trial." Or his agents would say in scorn, "How can you talk of freedom, when your life is one long torment? What is the profit of faith, when it gives you no liberty?" And such questions are perilous to feeble minds. The Apostle marks the great danger by a comparison which Ezekiel (xxii. 25) had used before him, speaking of the tempter as a roaring lion, ever hungry for his prey. There is but one weapon which can vanquish him. "This is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith" (1 John v. 4). St. Peter's lesson is the same as St. John's.

_Whom withstand steadfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are accomplished in your brethren who are in the world._ The steadfast faith must be the firm foundation of G.o.d; and the same thoughts, which St. Paul commends as a correction of those who have erred concerning the truth, are those most fit to be urged upon St.

Peter's converts to render them steadfast. "The Lord knoweth them that are His" (2 Tim. ii. 19), and with the Lord to know is to care for and to save. And "let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness." This is the perfect law, the law of true liberty, and he who continueth therein, being not a hearer that forgetteth, but a doer that worketh, shall be blessed in his doing.

Thus resting on G.o.d and thus ruling himself, he shall be kept from the snares of the enemy, and having withstood in the evil day, shall still be made able to stand.

And to such steadfastness the brethren are to be moved by the knowledge that others are in the same affliction. How shall such knowledge minister support? The mere knowledge that others bear a like burden does not strengthen our own shoulders; to hear of others' pains will not relieve our own. Not so. But just as it is a power in warfare when men see their leader before them, facing the same perils, hear his voice cheering them by his courage, inspiring them with his hope; just as it is a support to brave men to find brave brethren at their side in the conflict, animated by the same spirit, marching forward to the same victory, so is it in the Christian struggle. All Christians are to be steadfast, the elders like the leaders of an army, the younger like the soldiers who follow, that, moving with one spirit against the foe, feeling that each is like-minded with all the rest, while all are equally conscious of the importance of victory, they may grasp hands as they go forward, and be heartened thereby, being sure that in the danger they will have helpers at their side.

And that he may give the more emphasis to this idea of unity, in which, though the suffering is common to all, yet the hope is also common, and the victory is promised to all, the Apostle does not speak of the converts as a mult.i.tude of brethren, but uses a noun in the singular number, naming them (as the margin of the Revised Version indicates) "a brotherhood" (?de?f?t??). And when they regarded themselves as "a brotherhood in the world," the thought would have its comforting as well as its painful aspect. The world, as Scripture speaks of it, is void of faith. Hence the believer, while he lives in it, is amid jarring surroundings, and is sure to suffer. "In the world ye shall have tribulation." But it is not to last for ever, nor for long. "The world pa.s.seth away, but he that doeth the will of G.o.d abideth for ever." And though the brotherhood in the world must suffer, yet there is that other brotherhood beyond; and there the suffering will not be remembered for the glory that shall be revealed in us.

_And the G.o.d of all grace, who called you unto His eternal glory in Christ, after that ye have suffered a little while, shall Himself perfect, stablish, strengthen you._ Being now about to sum up the great work of Christian advancement, in which from first to last the power is bestowed by G.o.d, St. Peter finds no t.i.tle more fitting to express the Divine love than "the G.o.d of _all_ grace." The invitation to become partakers of the glory which Christ has won by His sufferings, won that He may bestow it upon men, was G.o.d's free call.

Our sufferings, the discipline which the Father employs to purge and purify us, are to last but a little while. Then those whom He has called He will also justify, and those whom He justifies He will in the end glorify. Thus St. Paul (Rom. viii. 30) describes the operations of Divine grace. St. Peter, with the same lesson, uses words more after his own graphic manner. He gives us a picture of G.o.d's work in its several stages. First G.o.d will complete in all its parts the work which He has begun. He will make it so that He can p.r.o.nounce it very good, as He did when the worlds _were perfected_ in the first creation (Heb. xi. 3), making His people to be so _perfected_ that they may be as their Master (Luke vi. 40). Then He will sustain and support that which He has brought to its best estate.

There shall not be, as in the first creation, any falling away. New gifts shall be bestowed by the Holy Spirit, through the ministration of the word. It was for such a purpose that St. Paul longed to visit the Roman Church, that he might impart unto them some spiritual gift, to the end that they might be _established_. And what has been perfected and established shall also by the same grace be made strong, that it may endure and withstand all a.s.saults.

In many ancient texts a fourth verb is given, which the Authorised Version renders "settle." It signifies "to set on a firm foundation,"

and it is of the figurative character which marks St. Peter's language, and, beside this, is not uncommon in the New Testament (Matt. vii. 25; Luke vi. 48; Heb. i. 10, etc.). But the verbs immediately preceding have no direct reference to a building, and the addition arises probably from a marginal note, made to ill.u.s.trate the text and by some later scribe incorporated with it. The whole pa.s.sage brings to mind Christ's injunction to the Apostle, "When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."

_To Him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen._ A fitting doxology to follow the Apostle's enumeration of the riches of Divine grace. He who feels that every gift he has is from above will with ready thankfulness welcome G.o.d's rule, and seek to submit himself thereto, making it the law of his life here, as he hopes it will be hereafter.

_By Silva.n.u.s, our faithful brother, as I account him, I have written unto you briefly._ Silva.n.u.s was that Silas who accompanied St. Paul in his second missionary journey through the districts of Phrygia and Galatia (Acts xvi. 6), to which St. Peter addresses his letter. To send it by the hand of one known and esteemed among these Churches for his former labours and for his friends.h.i.+p with the great Apostle of the Gentiles would secure acceptance for it, while the bearer would testify to the unity of the doctrine preached by the two Apostles. He who had been a faithful brother to St. Paul was so also to St. Peter, and was by him commended to the Churches. For the expression, _I account him_, implies no doubt or question in the Apostle's own mind.

It is the utterance of a matured opinion. The verb (??????a?) is that which St. Paul uses: "I _reckon_ that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. viii. 18). To St. Paul something of the future glory had been shown, and he had felt abundance of present suffering. He had taken account of both sides, and could speak with certainty. The brevity of St. Peter's letter could be supplemented by the words of his messenger. For Silas himself was a prophet (Acts xv.

32), and fitted to exhort and confirm the brethren.

_Exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of G.o.d: stand ye fast therein._ The grace in its several stages has just been summarised: the calling, the perfecting, stablis.h.i.+ng, strengthening; and the whole letter is occupied in showing that at every advance G.o.d puts His servants to the test. But the Apostle knows that agents of the adversary are busily scattering the tares of doubt and disbelief where G.o.d had sown His good seed. The wrestling is not against flesh and blood alone, but against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual host of wickedness. Hence the form of his exhortation: _Stand fast_.

_She that is in Babylon, elect together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Mark my son. Salute one another with a kiss of love._ It is most natural to refer these words to a Church, and not to any individual.

Some have interpreted them as an allusion to St. Peter's wife, whom, as we know from St. Paul (1 Cor. ix. 5), he sometimes had as a companion in his travels. But there is a degree of inappropriateness in speaking of a single person as elect along with these various Churches of Asia, whereas the Church in Babylon might fitly have such a distinction. It is unnecessary, too, to explain Babylon (as some have done) as intended for Rome. There was no conceivable reason in St. Peter's day why, when he was writing to lands under Roman dominion, if he meant to speak of the city in Italy, he should not call it by its real name. The Mark here named was most probably the John whose surname was Mark (Acts xii. 12), whose mother was a friend of St. Peter's from the earliest days of his apostolic labours. He, too, had been a companion of St. Paul for a time, and made another link between the two great Apostles. St. Peter calls him "son" because it is likely that both the mother and her son were won to the new teaching by him, and he employs the term of affection just as St. Paul does of Timothy, his convert (1 Tim. i. 2, 18; 2 Tim. i. 2). The salutation by a kiss is frequently mentioned. It is called "a holy kiss" (Rom. xvi. 16; 1 Cor. xvi. 20; 2 Cor. xiii. 12; 1 Thess. v. 26) in St. Paul's language. We find from Justin Martyr[12] that it had come to be used in his day as part of the ceremonial preceding the Holy Communion. It was to be a token of perfect love, according to the name which St. Peter here gives it. An evil construction was soon put upon it by the enemies of the faith; and after a long history it fell into disuse, even in the East, where such manner of salutation is more common than in the West. In his final words the Apostle has embodied the benediction of which the kiss was meant to be the symbol.

[12] _Apol._ i. 65.

_Peace be unto you all that are in Christ._ This is the bond which unites believers into one fellows.h.i.+p. To be in Christ is to be of the brotherhood which has been so significantly marked just before for its unity. And in these last clauses we have examples of the force of the tie. Individuals are brought by it into close communion, as Peter himself with Silas and with Mark, whom he speaks of in terms of family love. To the Churches Silas is commended as a brother in the faith, which faith establishes a bond of strength between the distant Churches which have been called into it together. Well might the heathen, wonderstruck, exclaim, "See how these Christians love one another!" And the Apostle's own words mark the all-embracing character of the love: _all that are in Christ_. They are all brethren, children of the common Father, inheritors of the same promises, pilgrims on the same journey, sustained by the same hope, servants of the same Lord, and strengthened, guided, and enlightened by the one Spirit, who is promised to abide with Christ's Church for ever.

THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST. PETER

XIX

_THE SAVING KNOWLEDGE OF G.o.d_

"Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our G.o.d and Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of G.o.d and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His Divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and G.o.dliness, through the knowledge of Him that called us by His own glory and virtue; whereby He hath granted unto us His precious and exceeding great promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the Divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by l.u.s.t."--2 PETER i. 1-4.

In the salutation of this second letter the Apostle describes himself in fuller form than in the first: _Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ_. Some have seen in this description a testamentary character, as though the Epistle contained his parting counsels. The words form an epitome of his whole life. As Simon, son of Jonas, he lived his life in Judaism until Christ's call summoned him to be a fisher of men. "Peter" is the Christ-given name, which marked an advance in spiritual illumination, an advance that fitted him to be one of the chief heralds of G.o.d manifest in the flesh. As a servant (or rather, bondservant) of Jesus Christ, he stands on the same level with those to whom he writes, though the service to which he has been called may be in character different from theirs. Jesus had said to the twelve, and through them to the whole body of believers, "One is your Master, even the Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant" (Matt. xxiii. 10). And here comes forward that other aspect of Christian service. The servants of Christ are, for His sake, servants to all the brotherhood (2 Cor. iv. 5). As an apostle he speaks with authority, an authority greater than can be possessed by any future age. The solemn character of the office is stamped by Christ's words, "As My Father sent Me, even so send I you"; and the Churches are reminded, as they think of the apostolic office, that the Lord who commissioned the twelve to be His servants said, "He that heareth you heareth Me, and He that despiseth you despiseth Me."

St. Peter does not, as in his former letter, name the Churches to which he is writing; but afterwards (iii. 1) he states that this is his second letter to them. We may therefore conclude that the same persons are addressed as before. Here he speaks of them as _them that have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our G.o.d and Saviour Jesus Christ_. Some have thought that here the Apostle's words are specially addressed to those among the converts who had been won from heathendom, and now were made partakers of the same faith with himself and others who, like him, had been born Jews, and so heirs in part to G.o.d's precious promises. But, as he has just made mention of his apostolic office, it seems easier to refer "us" to the Apostles. If this be the sense, then--though in the allusion to his office and authority they must have recognised the points wherein his communing with Christ had made him to differ from them--these words set forward that aspect of the Christian life wherein all the faithful are equal. The graces, gifts, and opportunities which G.o.d bestows are according to men's power to improve them; but faith, in its saving efficacy and preciousness, is the same for every believer.

And when he speaks of this faith as being in the righteousness of our G.o.d and Saviour Jesus Christ, we see that he is thinking of righteousness in that sense in which he uses the word afterwards in this Epistle (iii. 13): as that perfect righteousness which belongs to the new heavens and the new earth, and hence to G.o.d Himself.

To this righteousness each "stranger and sojourner" in the world is striving to attain by faith, and by each exercise thereof he is raised nearer to his lofty aim. His faith, like the patriarch's of old, is counted unto him for righteousness. The fruit of each man's faith will be ?s?t???--"alike precious"--when the journey is ended.

For it will be salvation in the presence of the perfect righteousness.

As in the Saviour's parable the welcome was the same to him who had rightly used his two talents as to him who had done the like with five, so each faithful servant of Christ, working righteousness according to his power here, shall be called up into the joy of his Lord. For the joys of heaven all will not have the same capacity; but for each, according to his power to receive it, there will be fulness of joy. Nor should the word "obtained" pa.s.s unnoticed. It is the word used of Judas (Acts i. 17), who _obtained_ part of the apostolic ministry on the call of Jesus. So here, too, the call into the faith is of G.o.d; and it is when men obey it that they progress in Divine graces and go forward unto righteousness.

_Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of G.o.d and of Jesus our Lord._ The first words are the same with the Apostle's prayer in the opening of the First Epistle. And to no stage of the Christian life can such a wish be inappropriate. To grow in grace, and so in peace, is the Christian's daily bread; and the thought of this seems to be uppermost in St. Peter's mind in this letter, that thus the falling away, to which he sees the converts are likely to be exposed, may be counteracted. The danger was arising from the boastful parade of a knowledge (???s??) falsely so called (1 Tim. vi.

20). Before this letter was written teachers had risen within the Church who professed to have a deeper and more mysterious interpretation of the doctrines of the Gospel. This esoteric enlightenment they specially named "knowledge," and led men astray by profitless inquiries concerning the absolute nature of G.o.d and the manner of His communication with the world. To this teaching St. Paul is referring when he speaks of "foolish questions" and "endless genealogies," and it is this which St. Peter rebukes so vehemently in the next chapter of this letter. As an antidote for the poison, he urges the converts to seek after a true and full knowledge (?p????s??) of the Father and the Son. No single word can adequately represent this term, which became the watchword of all the Christian teachers. It is that knowledge of the truth which St. Paul so often commends to Timothy (1 Tim. ii. 4; 2 Tim. iii. 7) and speaks of as that acknowledging of the truth, allowing it to be effective on the life, which follows repentance (2 Tim. ii. 25); it is specially the knowledge of G.o.d and of things Divine; it is that knowledge which must temper religious zeal (Rom. x. 2) that it may be effective; it is the knowledge against which if a man sin (Heb. x. 26) he is verily reprobate. And this true knowledge can only come of faithful service.

He shall know the Lord who loves to do His will. Do the works, and ye shall know of the doctrine.

_Seeing that His Divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and G.o.dliness._ The work, though great, becomes not impossible; the dangers and difficulties, though abundant, are not insurmountable. For it is not on us that the victory depends. G.o.d hath begotten us again unto a lively hope through Christ's resurrection; and Christ has promised to be with His servants all the days, even unto the end of the world. There is a free gift of Divine power for all our needs, everything to foster the spiritual life and to guide into the way of holiness. Wisdom will be given that we may understand G.o.d's will and choose aright, strength to persevere in the midst of trial, boldness to make confession of the Lord before men, and watchfulness lest we, as did the teachers of error, wax overconfident.

All things are granted; all things may be ours.

_Through the knowledge of Him that called us by His own glory and virtue._ Here the same full knowledge (?p????s??) of which the Apostle has just been speaking is to become the channel of all our blessings: to know G.o.d, who has made Himself to be known through Christ Jesus. G.o.d's glory and virtue--that is, His Divine power--have been manifested in Him. The disciples beheld them in Christ's miracles. "This beginning of His signs did Jesus, ... and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed on Him" (John ii. 11), and of His whole life St. John says, "We beheld His glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father. He dwelt among us full of grace and truth" (John i. 14). This is what St. Peter means by "virtue." And still in the hearts of men through the Spirit the same manifestation is given. He illumines them, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of G.o.d in the face of Jesus Christ.

_Whereby He hath granted unto us His precious and exceeding great promises._ In Christ G.o.d has offered men all the blessings of the new covenant: repentance; faith; justification; eternal life. He, with the Son and the Spirit, comes unto the faithful and makes His abode with them. Thus they are made members of Christ's mystical body. He dwells in their hearts by faith; He gives them power to become sons of G.o.d: they are adopted of G.o.d, who sent His only-begotten Son into the world that they might live through Him. These are the precious promises granted, but not forced upon men, set forth in all their greatness in the life and love of Jesus; and men are invited to choose them. And the choice is made by patiently doing the will of G.o.d so far as it is revealed to each man; after that we shall receive the promises (Heb.

x. 36).

_That through these ye may become partakers of the Divine nature._ This is the Divine scheme for man's restoration; this is the change of which St. Paul speaks to the Corinthians (2 Cor. ii. 18), and which he ill.u.s.trates by the glorified face of Moses. The prophet was called up into Mount h.o.r.eb, and drew near to the presence of Jehovah; the Lord spake with him face to face out of the midst of the fire, and his countenance was illumined by the eternal glory. But the radiance was bestowed on Moses alone; the people might not draw near: and the glory shed on him was transient, so that he veiled his face lest the people should mark its pa.s.sing away. But since the manifestation of G.o.d in Christ all men may draw near, and be made partakers of unfading glory.

It is not with Zion as with Sinai. The way is open to all, nor will the glory pa.s.s away from those who have been blessed with it. For now we all, with unveiled face, reflect as a mirror the glory of the Lord, and, with progress in holiness, are transformed into the same image, as from the Lord the Spirit. Thus men _become_--for it is a gradual process--partakers of the Divine nature, and being drawn more near to G.o.d while they live here, are fitted through His mercy, when the last call comes, to go up higher and sit down at the marriage-supper of the Lamb, their life having been a constant putting on of the wedding garment.

_Having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by l.u.s.t._ This is the victory that overcometh the world, but it is a conquest which men cannot win unaided, nay, where the truest bravery, the surest hope, is in speedy flight. Like Lot from Sodom must the Christian hasten away from the l.u.s.ts of the world, casting no look behind him, nor tarrying to dally with them for a moment. For the flesh is weak, and the prince of this world is mighty in his evil domain, and, that he may lead men astray, will ofttimes transform himself into an angel of light; and within the soul of man he has his confederate powers, the cravings of this human nature, which thinks the baits of the enemy are pleasant to the eyes, and it may be they look fit to make one wise. And so in the eyes of the tempted ones, as in the eyes of the senseless bird of the Proverbs, the net seems spread in vain; in their own fancy they seem able to go on without being entangled, and Satan encourages the delusion. After that the stages are easy, but they are all downhill. Men first walk after their own l.u.s.ts; then they are led by them, then obey them, and at last become their slaves. This is the corruption, the ruin, from which the Christian is aided to flee through seeking the glory of G.o.d as it is set before him in the Saviour's works and words. Drawn by these, he turns away his gaze from the world and its l.u.s.ts; his eyes no longer behold vanity to love it. He has begun to learn of Jesus, and every new lesson makes him stronger in the faith; and by degrees he is enabled to bring forth into light, and bear witness to, the knowledge which he has gained of the glory of G.o.d as it s.h.i.+nes in the face of Jesus Christ. So not he alone, but those who behold his escape and mark his growth in grace, may give G.o.d the praise, saying, "This hath G.o.d wrought," for they shall perceive that it is His work.

XX

_WHO SHALL ASCEND INTO THE HILL OF THE LORD?_

"Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply virtue; and in _your_ virtue knowledge; and in _your_ knowledge temperance; and in _your_ temperance patience; and in _your_ patience G.o.dliness; and in _your_ G.o.dliness love of the brethren; and in _your_ love of the brethren love. For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he that lacketh these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins. Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never stumble: for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."--2 PETER i. 5-11.

The Apostle has just set forth in all their fulness the riches of Divine grace: the precious faith, followed by the bestowal of all helps toward life and G.o.dliness, and with the large promises of G.o.d to rely on for the future, promises whereby those who seek to renounce the things which are not of the Father, but of the world, may become partakers of the Divine nature. These blessings are a.s.sured, are in store, but only for those who manifest a desire to receive them. How this desire shall be shown, how it shall constantly grow stronger and be ever fulfilling, until it attain perfect fruition in Christ's eternal kingdom, is the next instruction. _Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply virtue._ The plenteousness of the Divine bounty is proclaimed that it may evoke an earnest response from all who receive it. What shall I render unto the Lord for all the benefits which He hath done, and is doing, unto me? is to be the heart's cry of the feeblest of G.o.d's saints. For the boundless ocean of grace asks that there should be mingled with it some drops of human duty. G.o.d will heal the bite of the serpents in the wilderness, but to gain the blessing the wounded ones, even in their suffering, must turn their eyes to the appointed symbol of healing. Christ's power will cure ten lepers, but He first sends them away to do their little in the path of obedience: "Go, show yourselves to the priest." Thus the Apostle's exhortation here, _Adding on your part all diligence_. The diligence of which he speaks is that sort of endeavour which springs from a sense of duty: an earnest zeal and will to accomplish whatever it finds to do; that does not linger till some great work offers, but hastens to labour in the immediate present. This is the spirit in which Christian advance will be made. And the lines on which such progress will go he now describes as though each new step were evolved from, and were a natural development of, that which preceded it. The faith which the Christian holds fast is the gift of G.o.d, and it contains the germs of every grace that can follow. These the believer is to foster with diligence.

St. Peter begins his scale of graces thus: _In your faith supply virtue_. Here virtue means the best development of such power as a man possesses. It may be little or great, but in its kind it is to be made excellent. And here it is that the Christian workers in every sphere must surpa.s.s others. They work from a higher motive. What they do is a constant attestation of their faith, is done as in G.o.d's sight, and in the confidence that in every act it is possible to give Him glory.

There can be no carelessness in such lives, for they are filled with a sense of responsibility, which is the first-fruit of a living faith.

And in St. Peter's figurative word the believer is said to supply each grace in turn because he contributes by his careful walk to wake it into life, to make it active, and let it s.h.i.+ne as a light before men.

_And in your virtue knowledge_, he continues. For, with duty rightly done, there comes illumination over the path of life: men understand more of G.o.d's dealings, and hence bring their lives into closer harmony with His will. And we have Christ's own a.s.surance, "If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching" (John vii. 17).

And the same is true not only of the Lord's own lessons, but of all the promptings of the Spirit in men's hearts. If they hearken to the voice which whispers, "This is the way," it will become at every stage plainer, and there will be shown to them not only the how, but the wherefore.

_And in your knowledge temperance._ There is a knowledge which puffeth up, giving not humility, which is the fruit of true knowledge, but self-conceit. Of the evil effects thereof the Apostle knew much. Out of it grew extravagance in thought, and word, and action; and its mischief was threatening the infant Churches. Against it the temperance which he commends is to be the safeguard, and it is a virtue which can be manifested in all things. He who possesses it has conquered himself, and has won his way thus to stability of mind and consistency of conduct. "His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord,"

and so he can go forward to the Apostle's next stage of the heavenward journey: _And in your temperance patience_. This is the true sequence of spiritual self-control. Life is sure to supply for the G.o.dly man trials in abundance. But he is daily striving to die unto the world. The effort fixes his mind firmly on the Divine purposes, and lifts him above the circ.u.mstances of time. He is a pilgrim and sojourner amidst them, but is in no bondage to them, nor will he be moved, even by great afflictions, to waver in his trust. He can look on, as seeing Him that is invisible, and can persevere without being unduly cast down.

_And in your patience G.o.dliness._ The mystery of G.o.dliness--that is, G.o.dlikeness--was made known by the Incarnation. The Son of G.o.d became man, that men might through Him be made sons of G.o.d. And G.o.dliness in the present world is Christ made manifest in the lives of His servants. Toward this imitation of Christ the believer will aspire through his patience. He takes up the cross and bears it after his Master, and thus begins his disciples.h.i.+p, of which the communion with Christ waxes more intimate day by day. Such was the G.o.dliness of St.

Paul. It was because he had followed the Lord in all that He would have him to do that the Apostle was bold to exhort the Corinthians, "Be ye imitators of me;" but he adds at once, "as I am of Christ" (1 Cor. xi. 1). And when he sends Timothy to recall his teaching to their minds he says, "He shall put you in remembrance of my ways which are in Christ." By such a walk with Christ His servants are helped forward towards the fulfilment of the two tables of the moral law, to which St. Peter alludes in his next words: _And in your G.o.dliness love of the brethren; and in your love of the brethren love_. The last-named love (???p?) is that highest love, the love of G.o.d to men, which is set up as the grand ideal towards which His servants are constantly to press forward; but from this the love of the brethren cannot be severed, nay it must be made the stepping-stone unto it. For, as another Apostle says, "he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, cannot love G.o.d, whom he hath not seen" (1 John iv. 20). But love of the brethren is not to be narrowed in the verse before us or elsewhere to love of those who are already known to the Churches as brethren in the Lord. The Gospel of Christ knows no such limits. The commission of the Master was, "Go ye forth into all the world." All mankind are to be won for Him; all are embraced in the name of brethren. For if they be not so now, it is our bounden duty to endeavour that they shall be so. And in thus interpreting we have the mind of Christ with us, who came to seek and to save them that were lost, to die for the sins of the whole world, and who found His brethren among every cla.s.s who would hear His words and obey them. We have with us, too, the acts of G.o.d Himself, who would have all men come to the knowledge of the truth, and who, with impartial love, maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth His rain upon the just and the unjust, that thus even the evil and unjust may be won to own His Fatherhood. Such Divine love is the end of the commandment (1 Tim. i. 5), and terminates the list of those graces the steps whereto St. Paul has more briefly indicated when he says the love which is most like G.o.d's springs from a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned. In this way shall men be borne upward into the hill of the Lord.

The knowledge of Christ is a lesson in which we cannot be perfected till we behold Him as He is, but yet through it from the first we receive the earnest and pledge of all that is meant by life and G.o.dliness, and the culture of the Divine gifts will yield a rich increase of the same knowledge. _For if these things are yours and abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ._ Men in this life can draw nearer unto this full knowledge, and the bliss of each new gain prompts to more zealous exertion. There can be no relaxation of effort, no remissness, in such a quest. For hope is fostered by the constant experience of a deepening knowledge, and receives continual pledges that the glory to be revealed is far above what is already known. The enlightened vision grows wider and ampler; and the path, which began in faith, s.h.i.+neth more and more unto the perfect day. The world offers other lights to its votaries, but they lead only into darkness. _For he that lacketh these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his old sins._ He who has taken no heed to foster within him the light which is kindled by faith, and which can only be kept alive by the grace of the Divine Spirit, is blind, yea blind indeed, for he is self-blinded. He has quenched the inward light which was of G.o.d's free gift, and made the light within him to be darkness, a darkness, like Egypt's, which may be felt. Such a man has no insight into the glories of the celestial vision, no joy of the widening prospect which captivates the gaze of the spiritual man. He can see only things close at hand, and is as one bowed downward to the earth, groping a dreary way, with neither hope nor exaltation at the end. For he has forgotten--nay, St. Peter's words are stronger and very striking--????? ?a??--he has taken hold upon forgetfulness, made a deliberate choice of that course which obliterates all remembrance of G.o.d's initial gift of grace to cleanse him from his old sins. Unmindful of this purification, he has admitted into the dwelling where the Spirit of G.o.d would have made a home other spirits more wicked than those first cast out. They have entered in, and dwell there. There is a marked contrast between this expression and the word used for G.o.d's gift of faith (ver. 1). That a man receives (?a???) as the bounty of his Lord's love; and if treasured and used, it proves itself the light of life for this world and the next. The wrong path he chooses for himself (?a??), and its close is the blackness of the dark.