And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.
The fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ
Separation is one of the evil fruits of sin. God loves union. When He created Adam He bound together the whole family of man in one common link. Hence it is one great end of the gospel to restore this union, which was one leading subject in the Saviour’s intercessory prayer (John 17:1-26.). Christianity imparts to us the love of one common God and Saviour, and infuses into all one common spirit. St. Paul had imbibed largely of this spirit. He knew what it was to feel communion of spirit even in the absence of all personal knowledge. Such was the case with regard to the Church at Rome (Romans 1:8; Romans 15:22; Romans 15:29). Note--
I. The subject of the apostle’s confidence. To carry the glad tidings of salvation to those who are altogether ignorant of them--this might seem to be one sense in which the minister of Christ might be said to “come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.” Nor, perhaps, is this application wholly to be excluded. If he chiefly refers here to his ministry within the Church, he yet might include the blessing of adding to its numbers from without. And certainly the conversion of sinners must be one great blessing for which we are to look as the end of our work. Yet it is of the ministry to the saints that Paul more expressly speaks. Hence, observe that this expectation will be realised--
1. If Christ should become more precious to the flock. “To you that believe He is precious.” All you want is treasured up in Him. We come, then, “in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ,” if the fruit of our ministry be to make Him to dwell in our thoughts and hearts--if it be to set Him always before us in all things, and to do all things in His name.
2. If the Holy Ghost in all His operations should be more honoured by us. We are placed under the dispensation of the Spirit. He is our teacher, sanctifier, preserver; and our progress must be in proportion as we are taught by and made submissive to Him. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit”; and then we “shall come in the fulness,” etc.
3. If the ordinances of the Church, as such, should be more valued by us, Jesus Christ, as the head of His Church, has provided for its edification. It is by submitting to His ways, and not walking in our own, that we may hope to be built up in holy things. If we come to them not as mere forms, but as filled with the Spirit of the living God, then shall we have just cause to adopt the language of the text.
4. If Christ shall be more magnified by us. This will be in proportion as we are transformed into the image of Christ, and are able to manifest His holy character. To have the mind that was in Christ, to make Him the centre around which we move, is included in “the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.”
II. The grounds on which he rests his confidence.
1. Not any power or wisdom in himself. These weapons he knew well are too weak to be employed in so great a warfare.
2. Something personal, however, might have had to do with it--e.g.,
(1) His own conviction of the great truths which he ministered. He could say, “I know whom I have believed,” etc. Now, this must unquestionably tend to engender confidence as to the success of the ministry, when we can speak of those things which we know of a truth in our own souls.
(2) His consciousness of sincerity, and purity of intention (2 Corinthians 2:17; 2 Corinthians 4:7). It inspires confidence to feel that it is at no partial exhibition of God’s truth we aim; no favourite doctrine, no select portions, but the whole of God’s revealed counsel so far as He teaches it to us.
3. These, however, after all, may be termed rather auxiliaries of the apostle’s confidence than its foundation; the foundation of it is doubtless to be found primarily, in the promised blessing of God, and the presence of Christ in all His ordinances. “Paul may plant, and Apollos water, but God giveth the increase.” (W. Dodsworth, A. M.)
The fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ
I. The nature of these blessings--
1. Spiritual.
2. Undeserved.
3. Blessings of peace.
II. Their abunbance in their--
1. Variety.
2. Supply.
3. Sufficiency for all, in this life and the next.
III. Their free dispensation.
1. To saints.
2. To sinners. (J. Lyth, D.D.)
The fulness of gospel blessing
That was a privileged man who could say this. Did he do so in the confidence of apostolic power, in the strength of some special Divine mission? I think not. There are many who carry with them their own atmosphere, radiators of holiness, overflowing with affection and full of heaven, whom you cannot be near and not feel that “a virtue goes out of them”; their very presence is a benediction. And those are the same men who are lowly enough to confess the power, not their own, but Christ’s. But who are they? Those who live so near to God that they are always breathing in the Divine; and such was Paul. Observe these words in their series and their climax.
I. Christ. And in His holy anointing is all which you can ever want for time or for eternity. A ransom paid, a life hidden, a friend at the throne, a brother at the side; all love, and all loveliness.
II. The gospel. For you, poor miserable sinner, He died. He has “loved you with an everlasting love,”--between you and heaven, between you and God, there is no barrier.
III. The blessing of the gospel of Christ.
1. You are at peace. You know it in your heart’s deep secret places that you are safe.
2. You shall serve Him, see Him, be like Him, enjoy Him for ever,
3. And your forgiveness shall become your holiness. He is in you, and you in Him, by living union. Therefore “as He is, so shall you be in this world.”
4. You shall be blessed and be a blessing.
IV. The fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. It is all done. No fact in history more sure, more complete. The heavens are not complete; the angels are not perfect. But His work and His people are. An eternity of happiness--of usefulness, and of God. Conclusion:
1. Do not be afraid of a full, free gospel. It will neither make you presumptuous nor indolent. Nothing humbles like being loved. And how shall a man conquer his sins, and do good works, if he have not a motive? What motive is strong enough but the love of God?
2. Therefore, let me take care to preach, and you to receive, a full gospel. Not half fear and half hope; not half self and half Christ; not a partial pardon; not a change which is to come; not a possible heaven.
3. Now, when we meet, we are to come together with this “blessing.” Woe to me if I do not so preach as to bring “this fulness of the blessing” to you! And woe to you if you do not so pray as to bring it to me! Very great is my privilege to preach it, and very large will be your loss, if, from prejudice, or fear, or unbelief, or Satan’s wiles, or men’s false teaching, you refuse it, or add to it conditions which God has never placed--or abate one iota from it.
4. And to one another you are to be a “blessing.” When you go to a man, and try to speak faithfully to him, when you are teaching your child, when you engage in some work of mercy, or in each day’s common converse, or recognise the promise. (J. Vaughan, M.A.)
The fulness of the blessing
A doctor may come with healing or with failure, because his remedies are fallible. A statesman may come with progress or retrogression, because his measures are only fallible; but a servant of Christ comes with nothing but blessing. Indeed, the house of God is the one place on earth where blessing abounds always. The home may be miserable; business disappointing; the Senate House the scene of turmoil; but in the house of God there broods unruffled peace. Blessedness is the watermark of Christianity, and just as you know a five-pound note by the watermarks upon it, so you will know the message, as to whether it is Divine, by this: it makes men blessed. Its morality is the high road to blessedness. The life of its Founder is the blessed life. His death leads to man’s reconciliation with God. His resurrection tells us that man’s last enemy is destroyed. Its message is well called a gospel.
I. It is a certain blessing.
1. Because the messenger is sent of God. God can make all things sure; not man, but God. Paul had often said to God, “O Lord, let me preach the gospel at Rome,” and God at length heard his prayers; but what a strange answer it was! But all through life he had been led to see that the God who had called him to that work of the ministry would also show him when and where he was to carry on the ministry. Now that--
(1) Helps the hearer. There is a communication from heaven; it comes through the man--very imperfect, but the trappings of the messenger must never make us forget his Divine message.
(2) It helps the speaker. He is taken away from man; he breaks through the ensnaring influences of the sense, and he sees nothing, feels nothing but God and the souls of men.
2. When the people are prepared to receive the message. There is a vital difference between a prepared and an unprepared people. You may have the best seed in the world, but unless you choose carefully the best soil you will not get the best fruit. There is a mysterious power of self-choosing in every one, which enables men to resist all appeals. Vain, then, are all our reasonings and pleadings. They are showers on a rock, sunlight on a barren desert.
II. A full blessing. There is--
1. The fulness of giving that comes from the Divine love to us. To all things else there is a limit, and it is very difficult for us to rise to the conception of a Being whose power is illimitable. We see suggestions of it in the sky, the rolling prairie, and the immense sea. Now, the same God rules in grace as in Nature; and in His dealings with the spirits of men we may expect He will exercise the same largeness. And we are not disappointed. Indeed, the greatness of the gospel baffles many. They measure the Infinite Reason, love, and plans by the littleness of their own; and when they find themselves confronted by the incarnation, deity, atonement, and resurrection of Christ, they find the greatness and the glory too much for their faith. But so it should not be with us. It is said that the Highlanders who dwell among the rocky fastnesses get a strength and heroism which do not come out of the plain. It is so in spiritual things. Here the air is keen. The mountain solitudes of truth are trodden by few; but when once we have stood on those glorious heights we know God as we have never known Him before. But just as in the mountain regions there will be here and there a little chalet where the sun rests in quiet and cheering warmth, so the truth of God subdivides itself, and rests on every converted heart.
2. The fulness of the human reception. On the Divine side there is love given to us; on the human side there is faith receiving God’s gifts. “Not the hearer only of the Word.” Oh, how often we stop here! We think that a ministry is successful when numbers of attentive hearers are drawn to hear the word; and this is so far a great gain. But pews may be full, and yet hearts may be empty. What we must pray for is not that these seats may be full only, but our souls also. The whole question of our having a full blessing or of having half or none hangs upon our faith. It is not faith in our minister, in one another, in this building, and in these outward services. These, no doubt, are all helpful gifts, but our great need is a full faith in Christ. (S. Pearson, M. A.)
The fulness of the gospel
I. In what it consists. In--
1. A full Christ for empty sinners.
2. A full salvation for lost sinners.
3. A full assurance for doubting sinners.
4. A full restoration for fallen sinners.
5. A full comfort for sorrowful sinners.
6. Fulness of food for hungry sinners.
7. Fulness of love, joy, hope, peace for all.
II. What we are to do with it.
1. Believe it.
2. Receive it.
3. Enjoy it.
4. Live it.
5. Impart it.
6. Die with it in our hearts and on our tongues. (Bp. Villiers.)
The blessings of the gospel
I. The gospel originates from a source of supreme elevation.
1. Men form their opinions of existing systems by referring to the character of their founders. The absence, e.g., of dignity and worth in the founders of systems, is always converted into an argument against the principles they have propounded; and vice versa. This mode of reasoning is, of course, liable to abuse, but if it be applied aright to the gospel and its Founder, it will be discovered as possessing every claim on reverence, admiration, and love. To Christ the gospel is indebted for its existence; and hence in the text the association of His name. Christ unfolded its promises and principles, established its laws, performed its confirmatory miracles, bestowed its efficacy, and constituted those arrangements by which it was to be propagated in the world.
2. There are truths with regard to Him which render Him a character of matchless elevation.
(1) He was without sin.
(2) His human nature was invested with an especial appointment from God the Father.
(3) He was essentially and eternally Divine.
(4) Besides these dignifying truths with regard to Christ, there are His resurrection, ascension, and session as the triumphant Mediator at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Wonder, then, at the amazing dignity which the gospel receives in consequence of its association with such a Being, and measure the imperious claim which the gospel possesses on the reverence, faith, and obedience of mankind.
II. The gospel is fraught with abundant blessings to the world. The very term “gospel” verifies this proposition, Note--
1. The nature of the blessings which the gospel is able to impart. When we speak of these we seem as though we stood at the entrance of a beauteous garden, within whose limits we cannot stir a step without plucking flowers, and beholding fruits on the trees of life, whose “leaves are for the healing of the nations.” The gospel imparts to man
(l) A knowledge of God and of all spiritual truth (Romans 16:25; 2 Corinthians 4:6; 2 Timothy 1:9-10). The communication of this knowledge is essential to all real dignity, to all moral worth, and to the introduction of man into that state where “we shall know even as also we are known.”
(2) A deliverance from the guilt and the power of sin (Romans 3:23-26; Ephesians 2:12-17). Will anyone compare the difference between a state of condemnation and of justification, of pollution, and of holiness, and not at once perceive that here are given blessings so vast that no intellect can compute them, and no fancy conceive them?
(3) Abundant consolation and support amidst all sorrow (2 Corinthians 4:8-9; 2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
2. The extent to which these blessings are to be diffused. A great portion of the value of the blessing depends upon its extent. Now, if the gospel had possessed but a restricted constitution, so as by implication to pass a sentence of outlawry on any portion of the human family, there would be a vast subtraction from its value. But its expansiveness was indicated in prophecy, by Christ’s parables, instructions, and example, and by those series of commissions which He gave to His apostles. Its operations truly have been as yet imperfect, yet there is to arrive an era when the gospel shall become the property of our race. “The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth,” etc. And so replete shall be the then weight of blessing, when the groanings of creation shall have been hushed, when its travailing shall have been terminated, and when peace and liberty and joy shall have become the charter of our free and emancipated race, that then shall be totally verified the title of the gospel, “the fulness of the blessings of the gospel of Christ.”
III. The ministry is the appointed instrument for conveying the blessings of the gospel to mankind. The apostle is speaking as one engaged in the exercise of the ministry of the Word. It must be clear that there is here a connection instituted between the ministry and the efficacy of the gospel (Romans 10:13-17; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20). There is a solemn call on us--
1. To acquire a perfect knowledge of its contents, and freely and faithfully to declare it to our fellow-men.
2. To honour the ministry by giving “earnest heed” to the things which you hear, remembering that he that despiseth us despiseth not man, but God.
In conclusion, let me remind you--
1. Of the awful danger that will be incurred on your part by the rejection of the gospel.
2. Of your duty to assist in its propagation. (J. Parsons.)