The Uniting Name.
I. A set of Galilean fishermen were bidden to teach or make disciples of all nations. In some way or other these Galileans did make disciples among Jews, the worshippers of the I AM, the Jehovah; among Greeks, the worshippers of human heroes and the forms of nature. Consider what was necessary to bring these two portions of the world into a common fellowship. Those words which He spoke as He stood on the mount, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and earth," were indeed most necessary before they could believe that power would descend on them to execute His command. Only if He had reconciled earth and heaven, only if He had conquered the visible as well as the invisible world, only if both were gathered up in Him, could they have the credentials or the inner might which were needed for heralds to the nations. "Go ye therefore," was the natural sequence to this assurance. But it was not enough. They were messengers from God to men, as he was who had seen the vision in the burning mount. They had as much necessity to ask as Moses had, "Behold, when we come unto them, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent us unto you, and they shall say to us, What is His name? what shall we say unto them?" The answer was given before the question had arisen, "Go ye, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
II. The name, the new and awful name, was proclaimed. But it was not merely proclaimed. The nations were not merely to be told, "It is this Being whom henceforth you are to worship; to this name the names of the Delphic Apollo and the Jove of the Capitol must bow." Go ye, it was said, and baptize all nations into this name. Speak not of it as if it stood aloof from them, as if it were afar off them. This mystery is about them, embracing them, sustaining them. The more we study this history, the more we shall be convinced that the preaching of this name and the baptism into this name were the mighty powers by which the divided worship, the demon worship of the old world was overthrown. And this because it was felt that there was one inclusive Truth revealed to mankind; a Truth which we cannot comprehend, but which comprehends us; a living Truth, which speaks itself out in a Person, not in a proposition; a Truth into which we must be received, and which will then go with us through life and death, meeting us in every new stage of our education, interpreting itself to us by our own individual trials, and by all the trials through which the world, or any section of it, is appointed to pass, bringing within its circle the sage and the little child.
F. D. Maurice, Sermons,vol. iv., p. 33.
The Church and the World.
As Christ was sent by the Father, so is the Church sent by Christ. Jesus was sent to be the Revelation and Representative of the Father, to testify of Him, to declare Him, to do His will, and to finish His work. He was a true and faithful Witness; He was the perfect Servant, whose meat it was to do the Father's will; He declared the name of God, and finished the work. Now Christ sends us into the world that we may show forth His life, that we may be His witnesses, that His light and love may shine, attract, and bless men through us, that men may behold in us Christ, as they beheld the Father in Him. As Christ was, so are we in the world. The Church is in the world. The reason is threefold: (1) the glory of God; (2) that she may follow Jesus, who through suffering entered into glory; (3) to promote the conversion of sinners. "From the life of Jesus," said the old Germans, "we can learn all things;" we can learn Christ, and to know Him is to know all things that pertain unto life and godliness. Let us, then, continually study Him as the Model; we must represent Christ in our lives.
I. And first, let us remember the object of Christ's life. He was sent. He never forgot that He came not to do His own will, but the will of the Father that sent Him. Thus He was constantly the Servant of God, the Representative of the Father. Now we are sent by Jesus, and all that we are and have, all our words and works, are to be viewed in the light of mission and service.
II. Jesus came in lowliness. His birth, infancy, childhood, and youth are characterized by the emblems of poverty and obscure humility. What are we to learn from this? Are we not to follow the Master? We may not be poor, but we are to love poverty. We ought not to trust in earthly riches and honour, in the things which the world esteems and pursues; we ought to remember that our influence and our power are spiritual, and that the garment of the true Church is that of a servant, of a stranger and pilgrim.
III. Jesus was the Son of God; He came from above. Thus the Church is born of God, of incorruptible seed. Her life is none other than the life of Christ, the risen Head, the life of the Spirit, who dwelleth in us. We exert influence and power in the world simply by our being blameless and harmless, the sons of God, living Christ's life, manifesting the Divine nature, of which we are partakers who have escaped the corruption of the world through lust. In this lowliness and in this power the Church is able to go to the whole world with love and sympathy, announcing substance in the midst of emptiness and vain shadows, eternal life in the midst of death and sorrow, peace to the heavy-laden conscience, love to the aching and thirsting heart, forgiveness and renewal, health and joy, to the wounded and contrite.
A. Saphir, Christ and the Church,p. 160.
The history of the Apostolic Church is the guide-book of the Church of every age. The Holy Ghost has not given us a record of the subsequent history of Christ's people, and we are convinced that the description of the Apostolic Church given to us by the Spirit is all that we need for our instruction and encouragement. What, then, were the characteristic features of the Apostolic Church?
I. We read that the Pentecostal congregation of Jerusalem continued steadfast in the Apostles' doctrine, and in fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Deeply rooted and grounded in the knowledge and love of Christ, they cast forth their roots as Lebanon, their branches spread extensively; there were continually added to their number true believers. The Church spreads when she is intense in her spiritual life; she spreads when she deepens; she expands by concentration.
II. We are told that the Church of Jerusalem was regarded by the people with awe and with favour. This shows that the Church manifested both the holiness and love of God.
III. The Apostolic Church was full of joy and peace in believing, by the power of the Holy Ghost. The reality of Apostolic faith explains their joyousness and their heavenly-mindedness. The Apostolic Christians believed, they trusted in Jesus; and they rejoiced in Him who was their loving Redeemer, and who was coming again to give them the kingdom.
IV. The Apostolic Church was the home of love. Jesus was their Centre. In Him they were one. Where Christ's Spirit is, there love dwells and reigns. Love rooted in the heart, strong, sweet, and tender; love in deed and in truth, manifesting itself in the words of consolation, counsel, and encouragement, all the deeds of help and self-sacrifice.
V. The Church of Christ in the Apostolic times was organized. While there is no intervening priesthood or mediation between earth and heaven, the Lord Jesus blesses, feeds, and rules the flock through the ministryof believers, chosen and set apart for this solemn work. The object of the ministry is the ingathering of souls, and the edifying of the Body of Christ. The permanence of the ministry comprises the whole dispensation. The existence of the ministry promotes and strengthens the unity and equality of believers.
A. Saphir, Christ and the Church,p. 190.
References: Matthew 28:19; Matthew 28:20. D. Thomas, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xxii., p. 198; Clergyman's Magazine,vol. xix., pp. 79, 81; G. E. L. Cotton, Sermons to English Congregations in India,p. 114.