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Metropolitan
Tabernacle Pulpit.
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SPIRITUAL
KNOWLEDGE AND ITS PRACTICAL RESULTS.
______
A
Sermon
DELIVERED
ON LORD’S-DAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 30TH, 1883,
BY
C.
H. SPURGEON ,
AT
THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"For this cause we
also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray
for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with
the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord
unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work,
and increasing in the knowledge of God." —
Colossians i. 9,10.
FOR the church that was at
Colosse Paul gave hearty thanks to God for many most
important blessings, especially for their faith, their
love, and their hope. It would be a very useful
exercise to our hearts if we would often give
thanks to God for the gifts and graces which we
discover in our Christian brethren. I am afraid we are
more inclined to spy out their faults, and to suppose
that we deplore them, than we are to discern the work
of the Holy Spirit in them, and from the bottom of our
hearts to give thanks to God for them. Paul felt
encouraged by what he saw in the Colossian believers
to pray to God to enrich them yet further. It should
be our desire that our best brethren should be better,
and that those who are most like Jesus should he still
more completely conformed to his image. We cannot more
wisely show our love to our friends than by first
acknowledging the grace which is in them, and then by
praying that God may give them more. Paul, as with an
eagle eye, surveyed the church at Colosse, which he
loved so well, and he noted that it was somewhat
lacking in knowledge. The Colossian brotherhood
differed considerably from the church at Corinth,
which abounded in talent, and was enriched with all
knowledge. The Colossians had fewer gifted brethren
among them who could act as teachers, and, though this
was no fault of theirs, it impoverished them in the
matter of knowledge, and as Paul would not have them
come behind in any desirable attainment, he therefore
prayed for them that they might be filled with
knowledge in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
If you read this epistle through, you will observe
that Paul frequently alludes to knowledge and wisdom.
To the point in which he judged the church to be
deficient he turned his prayerful attention. He would
not have them ignorant. He knew that spiritual
ignorance is the constant source of error,
instability, and sorrow; and therefore he desired that
they might be soundly taught in the things of God. Not
that they were destitute of saving knowledge already,
for he says in the sixth verse that they "knew the
grace of God in truth," and that they had brought
forth fruits meet for salvation; but saving knowledge,
though it be the most essential attainment, is not the
only knowledge which a Christian should seek after. He
longs to be useful as well as to be safe. Being
himself delivered out of darkness he strives to bring
others into the marvellous light of grace. Paul would
have his brethren thoroughly furnished for sacred
service, knowing the will of the Lord themselves, and
able to teach others. He desired for them that they
might possess comforting knowledge, strengthening
knowledge, edifying knowledge, sanctifying knowledge,
directing knowledge; so that they might be ready for
all the trials, duties, and labours of life.
Upon this subject I am
led to make four observations, and to enlarge upon
each of them. May the Holy Spirit by this discourse
build us up in the knowledge of God.
I. My first subject is THE GREAT VALUE OF
INTERCESSORY PRAYER; for as soon as Paul felt his
heart burning with love to the saints at Colosse, and
had heard of the work of the Spirit among them, he
began to show his love by lifting up his heart in
prayer for them. He did that for them which he knew
would bless them.
Notice, that
intercessory prayer is a very important part of the
work of christians for one another. We are not
sent into the world to live unto ourselves, but we are
members of one body, and each member is expected to
contribute to the health and the comfort of the whole.
It is true we can not all preach, but we can all pray;
we cannot all distribute alms from our substance, but
we can all offer prayer from our hearts. In temporal
things we may not be able to enrich the church for
lack of substance; but if we fail to bless the church
by our prayers it will be for lack of grace. Whatever
you fail in, dearly beloved,—and I pray that you
may in nothing come behind,—yet do not fail in
prayer for all the saints, that every blessing may
abound towards them.
Intercessory prayer is
to be esteemed as an invaluable proof of love,
and as the creator of more love. The man who will
truly pray for me will certainly forgive me readily if
I offend him; he will relieve me if I am in necessity;
and he will be prepared to assist me if I am engaged
in a service too hard for me. Give us your earnest
prayers, and we know that we live in your hearts. How
sweet it is to be permitted thus to manifest our love
to one another! When our hand is palsied we can still
pray; when our eye grows dim we can see to pray ; when
by sickness we are altogether laid aside we can still
pray; and when we meet with cases in which we arc
unable to help, and yet are moved with sympathy for a
brother, our sympathy can always find one open
channel, for we can pray, and by prayer call in the
aid of one whose help is effectual. Therefore, by your
love to your Lord, and to all those who are in him, I
beseech you abound in intercessory prayer, as the
apostle did.
Intercessory prayer,
again, is most valuable, because it is an
infallible means of obtaining the blessings
which we desire for our friends. It is not in vain
that we ask, for it is written, "Everyone that asketh
receiveth." It is not in vain that we intercede for
others, for the Lord delights to answer such
petitions. The unselfish devotion which pleads as
eagerly for others as for itself is so pleasing to the
Lord that He puts great honour upon it. If we desire
any blessing for our friends our best course is to
pray: even if we would have them to be filled with
knowledge in all wisdom our safest course is to pray
that it may be so. Of course, we must not forget to
instruct them and to aid them in their own studies as
far as lieth in our power, for every honest prayer
supposes the use of all proper means; but the
instruction which we offer will be of no service
unless we first bring down the blessing of God upon
it, that thereby our friends may be made willing to
learn, and. may receive the truth not as the word of
man, but as from the Lord himself None but spiritual
teaching will nourish spiritual life. The Holy Ghost
must teach divine truth to the heart, or it will never
be truly known. Whatsoever thou wisely desirest for
thy friend go about to get it for him, but hasten
first to the throne of grace. If thou wouldst have thy
friend converted, if thou wouldst have him
strengthened, if thou wouldst have him taught of God,
if thou wouldst have him quickened to a nobler life,
and elevated to a higher consecration, do him this
great service—take his case before the Lord in
prayer; and in so doing thou hast gone the wisest way
to work to enrich him.
Note, brethren, for I am
keeping to my text closely, that such intercessory
prayer will be all the more valuable if it is our
immediate resort. The apostle says, "Since the
day we heard it, we do not cease to pray for you." He
began to pray at once. Whenever you perceive the work
of the Spirit in any heart, pray at once, that the
holy change may proceed with power. Whenever you
discover any lack in a brother begin on the day you
hear of it to pray that his lack may be supplied.
There should be no delaying of prayer. "He gives twice
who gives quickly" is a human proverb, but I believe
that when we pray speedily we shall often find that
God in answering quickly gives us a double blessing.
Usually he shall win worldly riches who is the most
diligent in the pursuit of them, and assuredly he
shall be richest towards God who is most diligent in
supplication. Linger not a minute, speed thee to the
mercy— seat. Now is the accepted time; the Lord
waits to be gracious to thee. The Lord indicates to
thee what thy prayer shall be by the news which thou
hast just heard of thy friend; therefore, bring his
case at once before the throne of grace. Divine
providence has brought the needful subject for prayer
under thy notice; therefore, this day begin to pray
about it.
Our prayers will be all
the more valuable if they are incessant as well
as immediate. "We cease not," said Paul,
"to pray for you since the day we heard it." "Oh,"
says one, "was Paul always praying for the Colossians
from the day he heard of their welfare? It may have
been months and years; did he never cease to pray?" I
answer, he was always praying for them in the sense
which he explains: he adds, "and to desire." Now,
desire is the essence of prayer; in fact, desire is
the kernel of prayer, and the vocal expressions which
we call by the name of prayer are often but its shell;
inward desire is the life, the heart, the reality of
prayer. Though you cannot always be speaking in
prayer, you can always be desiring in prayer. The
miser is always desiring riches, though he is not
always talking about his gold and silver; and the man
who loves his fellow-men, and desires their profit, is
really always praying for their benefit, though he is
not always lifting up his voice in supplication.
"Since the day we heard it," saith Paul, "we do not
cease to pray for you." The act of prayer is blessed,
the habit of prayer is more blessed, but the spirit of
prayer is the most blessed of all; and it is this that
we can continue for months and years. The act of
prayer must, from force of circumstances, be sometimes
stayed; but the habit of prayer should be fixed and
unvarying; and the spirit of prayer, which is fervent
desire, should be perpetual and abiding. We can hardly
realize the value to the church and to the world of
that intercessory prayer which ceases not day nor
night, but without fail ascends before the Lord from
the whole company of the faithful, as the incense
ascended from the altar.
Dear friends, our
intercessory prayer will be all the more precious if
it is an intense expression unto God. J suppose
that by the use of the word "desire" here, the apostle
not only explains how he continued to pray, but in
what manner he prayed—with "desire." Remember how
our Lord puts it—"with desire have I desired to
eat this passover with you before I suffer." I wish we
could always say "with desire have I desired in
prayer. I did not repeat a merely complimentary
benediction upon my friends, but I pleaded for them as
for my life; I importuned with God; I offered an
effectual inwrought prayer, which rose from the depths
of my heart to the heights of heaven, and obtained an
audience with God." Fervency is a great essential for
victorious prayer. God grant us to be importunate, for
then we shall be invincible.
One more observation,
and I have done with this. Intercessory prayer is
increased in value when it is not from one person
alone, but is offered in intimate union with other
saints. Paul says, "We also," not "I only," but
"We also, since the day we heard it,
cease not." If two of you agree as touching anything
concerning the kingdom, you have the blessing secured
to you by a special promise of God. Remember how
Abraham prayed for the cities of the plain, but
succeeded not until Lot also added his supplication
for Zoar. Then the little city was spared. I compare
Abraham’s intercession to a ton weight of prayer,
and poor Lot’s I can hardly reckon to have been
more than half an ounce, but still that half ounce
turned the scale. So here is Paul, and with him is
youthful Timothy, who, compared with Paul, is
inconsiderable; yet Paul’s-prayer is all the more
effectual because Timothy’s prayer is joined with
it. Our Lord sent out his servants by two and two, and
it is well when they come back to him in prayer two
and two. I commend to you, brethren and sisters, the
habit of frequent prayer together. When a Christian
friend drops in, his visit will perhaps end in mere
talk unless you secure its spiritual profit by at
least a few minutes spent in united prayer. I
frequently during the day, when a friend comes in upon
the Master’s business, say, "Let us pray before
you go," and I always find the request is welcomed.
Such prayers do not occupy much time, and if they did,
it might be well spent; but such united supplications
oil the wheels of life’s heavy wain, and cause it
to move with less of that creaking which we too often
hear. "I alone" is certainly a good word in prayer;
but "we also" is a better one. Let us link hands and
intercede for our brethren and the whole church of
God.
Thus have I expatiated
upon the excellences which increase the value of
intercessory prayer. Use much this heavenly art. It is
effectual for ten thousand ends. It turneth every way
to bless the church. Brethren, pray for us, pray for
all saints, pray for all sinners, and by so doing you
will be the benefactors of your age.
II. Our second observation from the text is
this—we learn here THE PRECIOUSNESS OF SPIRITUAL
KNOWLEDGE; for all this earnest, ceaseless prayer is
offered for this end, "That ye might be filled with
the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual
understanding." Here let us speak of the usefulness
and blessedness of that spiritual knowledge for which
the apostle and his friend cried incessantly unto the
Lord.
First, consider the
men for whom this knowledge is desired. They
are saints and faithful brethren, of whom we read that
they " knew the grace of God in truth," and were
"bringing forth fruit" unto God. For those who know
the Lord already we must not cease to pray. They are
not beyond the need of our prayers while they are in
this life. We may pray for those who know nothing of
the Lord, that he would open their blind eyes; but
even those who have been taught of God already are in
need of our supplications that they may learn yet
more. We have great encouragement to pray that they
may be filled with all knowledge, since the Lord has
already done so much for them. We dare not say in this
case that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, for
a little knowledge of the things of God may suffice to
save the soul; but more knowledge is a most desirable
thing for those who have that little knowledge. Pray
therefore for them. Let not your prayers plead only
and altogether for the unconverted, but entreat for
our young converts that they may be further edified.
It will be an ill day when we are so engaged in
seeking lost sheep that we forget the lambs. It would
be very mischievous for us to neglect our work at home
in order to carry on warfare with the adversary
abroad. No, let us cry to God daily in prayer that the
stones lately quarried may be built up upon the one
foundation, and embedded in the walls of the church of
God unto eternal glory. We desire life for the dead,
health for the living, and maturity for the healthy.
For the deeper instruction of our younger brethren let
us pray.
Of this desirable
knowledge, what is the measure? We desire for
them "that they may be filled with the knowledge of
his will." "Filled"—this is grand scholarship, to
have the mind, and heart, and the whole of our manhood
filled with knowledge. Paul would not have a believer
ignorant upon any point: he would have him filled with
knowledge, for when a measure is full of wheat there
is no room for chaff. True knowledge excludes error.
The men that go after false doctrine are usually those
who know little of the word of God; being untaught
they are unstable, ready to be blown about with every
wind of doctrine. If you leave empty spots in your
minds unstored with holy teaching, they will be an
invitation to the devil to enter in and dwell there.
Fill up the soul, and so shut out the enemy. Paul
desired the Colossian saints to be filled—filled
up to the brim with the knowledge of God’s will.
Brethren, we would have you know all that you can know
of God’s truth. Rome flourishes by man’s
ignorance, but the New Jerusalem rejoices in light. No
knowledge of the revealed will of God can ever do you
any harm if it be sanctified. Do not be afraid of what
they call "high doctrines," or the "deep things of
God." They tell us that those things are secrets, and
therefore we ought not to pry into them. If they are
secrets, there is no fear that anybody can pry into
them; but the truths revealed in the word are no
longer secrets, seeing that they are revealed to us by
the Spirit of God, and as far as they are revealed it
should be our desire to understand them, so as to be
filled with the knowledge of them.
Let us try to know
divine truth more and more intimately. You know a man,
for you pass him in the streets with a nod; you know
another man far better, for you lodge in the same
house with him; you know him best of all when you have
shared his trouble, partaken in his joy, and have, in
fact, had fellowship with him by blending your two
lives in one common stream of friendship. When you
learn a spiritual truth endeavour to know it out and
out; to know its foundation and upbuilding; to know it
by the application of the Spirit to your own soul so
that you are filled with it. You may have knowledge in
the brain, but it may not run into your spirit, so as
to penetrate, and permeate, and saturate your spirit,
till you are filled therewith. Oh, to get the gospel
into one’s entire nature, and to be like the
waterpots of Cana, filled up to the brim! Lord, fill
thy poor children with the knowledge of thy will!
This makes me notice
what the matter of this knowledge is; "filled
with the knowledge of his will." What is that? It
means the revealed will of God. Paul would have the
Colossians know what the Lord has revealed, as far as
human mind could grasp it, whether it were doctrine,
precept, experience, or prophecy. How well it is to
know the preceptive will of God. Our prayer should
daily be, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Lord,
teach me what is sin, and what is righteousness, that
I may discern things which are excellent. Whereas
there are questions in the church of God itself upon
what the will of the Lord is, Lord help me not to care
to know what is the will of this learned doctor, or
what is the will of a certain assembly, but what is
the Lord’s will. "To the law and to the
testimony," this is our touchstone. Our desire is to
be filled with the knowledge of the Lord’s will
so as to do it without fail. Especially would we know
the will of God, as it constitutes the gospel; for
Jesus says, "This is the will of him that sent me,
that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on
him, may have everlasting life." Oh, to know his will
in that respect most clearly, so as to go and tell it
out on all sides, that men may know the way of life,
and may be led into it by our word! Once more we read
in 1 Thessalonians iv. 3: "This is the will of God,
even your sanctification." Oh, to be filled with the
knowledge of the Lord’s will till you know what
sanctification means, and exhibit it in your daily
life! It is yours to teach men what God means by
holiness. Your mission is not fulfilled, and the will
of God is not accomplished unless you are sanctified.
This it is with which we need to be filled.
Know anything, know
everything that is worth knowing. "That the soul be
without knowledge is not good." Never attempt to run
side by side with the agnostic whose glory it is that
he knows nothing; but let it be your delight to know
all that can be learned out of the Book of the Lord,
by the teaching of the Holy Ghost. Concentrate your
faculties upon the will of God. Here dive into the
deeps and climb up to the heights, and be afraid of
nothing; ask the Holy Spirit to saturate you with
truth, as Gideon’s fleece was wet with the dew of
heaven, as the golden pot was filled with manna, or as
Jordan is filled in the time of harvest, when it
overfloweth all its banks.
Still we have not done,
for we must now notice the manner as well as
the matter of this knowledge: "in all wisdom and
spiritual understanding." Wisdom is better than
knowledge, for wisdom is knowledge rightly used.
Knowledge may find room for folly, but wisdom casts it
out. Knowledge may be the horse, but wisdom is the
driver. When a man hath knowledge it is like the corn
which is laid in the barn; but wisdom is the fine
flour prepared for food. We want Christian people not
only to know, but to use what they know. Happy is he
who knows what to do at the right time! Many people
are very knowing half an hour after it is too late;
but to be filled with wisdom is to be able at once to
apply knowledge rightly in difficult cases. Wisdom
enables you to bring your knowledge practically to
bear upon life, to separate between the precious and
the vile, to deal with your fellow Christians in their
different conditions, and to deal with sinners and
those that are without. You need wisdom so to conduct
your affairs that nothing therein shall scandalize the
weak, or bring dishonour upon the name of Christ; for
mere knowledge will not suffice for this. Knowledge is
the blade, wisdom is the full corn in the ear.
Knowledge is the cloth, but wisdom is the garment.
Knowledge is the timber, but wisdom hath builded her
house. May all our knowledge be sanctified by grace
and attended with the guidance of the Spirit that we
may become wise to know what the will of the Lord
is.
"All wisdom," saith the
apostle—many-handed wisdom, wisdom of all sorts,
wisdom that will serve you in the shop, wisdom that
will be useful in the counting-house, wisdom that will
aid the church of God, and wisdom that will guide you
if you are cast among the vilest of mankind. May you
"be filled with knowledge in all wisdom."
But that wisdom which
operates without must be attended by a spiritual
understanding which is powerful within. I hardly know
how to explain this: it is an inward knowledge of
truth, the knowledge of the inward parts of things. It
is a spiritual discernment, taste, experience, and
reception of truth, whereby the soul feeds upon it,
and takes it into herself. We know many men who know
much but understand nothing. They accept implicitly
what they are taught, but they have never considered
it, weighed it, estimated it, found out the roots of
it, or seen the heart of it. Oh, to have in the church
men full of spiritual understanding! These can say
that they have tasted and handled the good word of
life, and have proved and tested the truth as it is in
Jesus. You know how it was with the sacrifices of old:
a man who was poor brought turtle-doves or pigeons,
and of these we read of each bird, "The priest shall
cleave it with the wings thereof, but shall not divide
it asunder:" but a man who was rich in Israel brought
a bullock or a sheep, and this offering was not only
cleft down the middle, but further divided, and the
fat and the "inwards" are mentioned in detail.
‘The poorer sacrifice represents the offering of
the uninstructed; they have never rightly divided the
word of God, and know not its fulness of meaning; but
the man who is rich in grace is comparable to him who
brought hiss bullock; for he can enter into detail and
see the secret meanings of the.. Word. There is a deep
which lieth under, and he that is taught of the Lord
shall find it. "The secret of the Lord is with them
that fear him; and he will show them his covenant;"
and blessed are they that are taught of the Lord so as
to read the mystery of his grace!
Here, then, is a grand
petition for us. To go back to our first head, let our
intercessory prayers go up for all our brethren. Lord,
teach them thy word. Let them know thy book from cover
to cover, and let the truths therein revealed enter
into them until they are filled to the brim: then
grant thou them the skill to use in daily life the
knowledge which thy Spirit has imparted, and may they
more and more in their inmost souls be guided into all
truth, that they may comprehend with all saints what
are the heights, and depths, and know the love of
Christ which passeth knowledge.
III. Now, thirdly, let us see in the text a lesson
concerning THE PRACTICAL RESULT OF SPIRITUAL
KNOWLEDGE. Paul prays for his friends "that ye might
be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom
and spiritual understanding that ye might walk worthy
of the Lord unto all pleasing." See, see the drift of
his prayer—"that ye may walk." Not that ye might
talk, not that ye might sit down and meditate, and
enjoy yourselves, but "that ye might walk." He aims at
practical results.
He desires that the
saints may he instructed so that they may walk
according to the best model. By walking worthy of
the Lord Jesus we do not understand in any sense that
he expected them to possess such worthiness as to
deserve to walk with the Lord; but he would have them
live in a manner that should be in accordance with
their communion with Christ. You would not have a man
walk with Christ through the streets to-day clothed in
motley garments, or loathsome with filth: would you?
No, if a man be a leper, Christ will heal him before
he will walk with him. Let not a disciple walk so as
to bring disgrace upon his Lord! When you walk with a
king, you should be yourself royal in gait; when you
commune with a prince you should not act the clown.
Dear friends, may you know so much of Jesus that your
lives shall become Christ-like, fit to be put side by
side with the character of Jesus, worthy of your
perfect Lord. This is a high standard, is it not? It
is always better to have a high standard than a low
one, for you will never go beyond that which you set
up as your model. If you get a low standard you will
fall below even that. It is an old proverb, "He that
aims at the moon will shoot higher than he that aims
at a bush." It is well to have no lower standard than
the desire to live over again the life of the Lord
Jesus—a life of tenderness, a life of
self-sacrifice, a life of generosity, a life of love,
a life of honesty, a life of holy service, a life of
close communion with God. Mix all virtues in due
proportion, and that is the life of Jesus towards
which you must press forward with all your heart.
Next, the apostle would
have us get knowledge in order that we may so live as
to be pleasing to our best friend—"worthy
of the Lord unto all pleasing." Is not that beautiful?
To live so as to please God in all respects! Some live
to please themselves, and some to please their
neighbours, and some to please their wives, and some
to please their children, and some live as if they
wished to please the devil; but our business is to
please him in all things whose servants we are.
Without faith it is impossible to please him; so away
with unbelief! Without holiness no man shall see him,
much less please him; therefore let us follow after
holiness, and may the Lord work it in us. "Unto all
pleasing "—so that we may please God from the
moment we rise in the morning to the time when we lie
down, ay, and please him even when we are asleep: that
we may eat and drink so as to please him; that we may
speak and think so as to please him; that we may go or
stay so as to please him; that we may rejoice or
suffer so as to please him—"walking worthy of the
Lord unto all pleasing." Oh, blessed man, whose life
is pleasing to God in all respects! The apostle Paul
desires that we may be filled with knowledge to this
very end. If I do not know the will of God how can I
do the will of God? At least, how can there be
anything pleasing to God which is ignorantly done
without an intent to do his will? I fear that many
children of God grieve their heavenly Father much
through sins of ignorance—an ignorance in which
they ought not to remain a single day. Be it clearly
understood that sins of ignorance are truly sins. They
have not about them the venom and the aggravation
which are found in sins against light and knowledge,
but still they are sins; for the measure of our duty
is not our light, but the law of God itself. If a man
pleads that he follows his conscience, yet this will
not excuse his wrong-doing if his conscience is an
unenlightened conscience, and he is content to keep it
in the dark. You are to obey the will of the Lord:
that will is the standard of the sanctuary. Our
conscience is often like a deficient weight, and
deceives us; be it ours to gather a clear knowledge of
the word, that we may prove what is that perfect and
acceptable will of God. The law makes no allowance for
errors committed through false weights; when a man
says, "I thought my weights and measures were all
right," he is not thereby excused. The law deals with
facts, not with men’s imaginations; the weights
must actually be correct, or the penalty is exacted;
so is it with conscience, it ought to be instructed in
the knowledge of the divine will, and if it is not so,
its faultiness affords no justification for evil.
Hence the absolute necessity of knowledge in order to
true holiness. God grant us grace to know his will,
and then to obey it "unto all pleasing."
Look at the text
again—" That ye might walk worthy of the Lord
unto all pleasing, being fruitful" Paul would have us
producing the best fruit. Without knowledge we
cannot be fruitful; at least in the points whereof we
are ignorant we must fail to bring forth fruit.
Therefore would he have us to be right well taught,
that we may abundantly produce fruit unto God’s
glory. He says, "fruitful in every good work"; and
this means much. He desires us to be as full of good
works as we can hold. Some are hindered in this
because they do not know how to set about holy
service. How can a man be fruitful as a preacher if he
does not know what to preach? True, he may preach the
elementary doctrine of the cross, but even that he
will be apt to set forth in a blundering manner. For
certain, a man cannot teach what he does not know. The
zealous, but untaught man, would be much more fruitful
if he had a clearer understanding of divine timings.
In daily life, if in knowledge you are ignorant as to
the things of God, you will be ready to become the
prey of any false teacher who may chance to pick you
up. In hundreds of ways ignorance will make you run
risks, lose opportunities of usefulness, and fall into
dangerous mistakes. Knowledge is food to the true
heart, and strengthens it for the Lord’s work.
Oh, to have knowledge placed like good soil around the
roots of the soul, to fertilize the mind, that thus
the clusters of usefulness may be as large as those of
Eshcol: beautiful, plentiful, sweet, and fall. May our
Lord, ‘the King of Israel, to whom the vineyard
belongs, receive an abundant reward for all his labour
for the vines which he has planted.
There is another note in
this verse which I beg you to notice. Paul would have
them cultivate a comprehensive variety of the best
things. He says—" Fruitful in every
good work." Here is room and range enough—"in
every good work." Have you the ability to preach the
gospel? Preach it! Does a little child need
comforting? Comfort it! Can you stand up and vindicate
a glorious truth before thousands? Do it! Does a poor
saint need a bit of dinner from your table? Send it to
her. Let works of obedience, testimony, zeal, charity,
piety, and philanthropy all be found in your life. Do
not select big things as your special line, but
glorify the Lord also in the littles—"fruitful in
every good work." You never saw in nature a tree which
yielded all sorts of fruit, and you never will. I have
seen a tree so grafted that it produced four kinds of
fruit at one time, but I remarked that it was a poor
business in reference to two of the varieties; for one
of the grafts, more natural than the others to the
parent stem, drew off the most of the sap, and
flourished well, but robbed the other branches. The
second sort of fruit managed to live pretty fairly,
but not so well as it would have done on its own stem.
As for the third and fourth, they were mere attempts
at fruit of the smallest size. This tree was shown to
me as a great curiosity; it is not likely that
practical gardeners will be encouraged by the
experiment. But what would you think of a tree upon
which you saw grapes, and figs, and olives, and
apples, and all other good fruits growing at one time?
This is the emblem of what instructed believers will
become: they will produce all sorts of goodness and
graciousness to the honour of their heavenly Father. I
have no doubt that you will naturally abound most in
certain good works for which you have the largest
capacity, but still nothing ought to come amiss to
you. In the great house of the church we want servants
who will not be simply cooks or housemaids, but
general servants, maids of all work, prepared to do
anything and everything. I have known persons in
household employment in England who would not do a
turn beyond their special work to save their
masters’ lives: these are a sort of servants of
whom the fewer the better. In India this is carried to
a ridiculous extreme. The Hindoo water-bearer will not
sweep the house, nor light a fire, nor brush your
clothes—he will fetch water, and nothing else:
you must, therefore, have a servant for each separate
thing, and then each man will do his own little bit,
but he will not go an inch beyond. When we enter into
Christ’s church we should come prepared to wash
the saints’ feet, or bear their burdens, or bind
up their wounds, or fight their foes, or act as
steward, or shepherd, or nurse. It has been well said
that if two angels in heaven were summoned to serve
the Lord, and there were two works to be done, an
empire to be ruled, or a crossing to be swept, neither
angel would have a choice as to which should be
appointed him, but would gladly abide the will of the
Lord. Let us be equally prepared for anything, for
everything by which fruit can be produced for the
Well-beloved.
Why is it that some are
not fruitful in this comprehensive way? Because they
are not filled with knowledge in all wisdom. When a
man says, "You ask me to do the lowest work!
Don’t you know that I am a man of remarkable
ability who should have higher work to do?" I venture
to assert that he is an ignorant man. Self-assertion
is ignorance on horseback. You have probably read of a
certain renowned corporal in the American service a
century ago. A general as he rode along saw a body of
men endeavouring to lift timber. They were
shorthanded, and the work lagged, but their famous
corporal stood by ordering them about at a magnificent
rate. The general passed and said, "Why don’t you
lend them help and put your shoulder to it?" "Why,
sir," said the great little officer, "how can you
think of such a thing? Do you know who I am? I am a
corporal!" The general got off his horse, pulled off
his coat, and helped to move the timber, and by his
judicious help the soldiers achieved their task. Then
he turned to the high and mighty gentleman and said,
"Mr. Corporal, next time you want a man to do such
work as this you can send for me: I am General
Washington." Just so the Lord Jesus Christ if he were
here would gladly do a thousand things which his poor
little servants are too great to touch. I know you,
dear brother, you are too experienced, too old, too
learned to help the Sunday-school! I know you are too
respectable to give away a tract! Pray get out of such
ignorant ways of thinking, and ask to be useful in all
possible ways. If you have done a little, do much; if
you have done much, do more; and when you have done
more, ask for grace to proceed to the highest possible
degree of usefulness for your Lord.
IV. And now, fourthly, notice THE REFLEX ACTION OF
HOLINESS UPON KNOWLEDGE. We have only a few moments
left; let my few words sink into your hearts.
"Fruitful in every good work"—what then?
"increasing in the knowledge of God." Look at that. It
seems, then, that holiness is the road to
knowledge. God has made it so. If any man will do
his will he shall know of the doctrine. If you read
and study, and cannot make out the meaning of
Scripture, get up and do something, and it may be, in
the doing of it, you shall discover the secret.
Holiness of heart shall increase the illumination of
your mind.
Will you kindly observe
that this knowledge rises in tone? for Paul
first prayed that they "might be filled with the
knowledge of God’s will" but now he implores for
them an increase in the knowledge of God himself. Oh,
blessed growth, first to know the law, and them to
know the Law-giver! first to know the precept, and
then to know the mouth from which it comes! This is
the height of knowledge, to see Christ and know the
Father, and learn how to say from the heart, "Truly
our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son
Jesus Christ."
I would call your
willing attention to another thought. The apostle, if
he is to be judged according to his outward language,
often utters impossible things, and yet his every
sentence is not only full of deep meaning, but is
strictly correct. Notice his language here: in the
ninth verse he says, "that ye might be filled with the
knowledge of his will." Can anything go beyond this?
The vessel is filled right up to the brim, what can it
have more? Yet the apostle says, "increasing in the
knowledge of God." What can that mean? If the mind is
full to the brim, how can it receive more? If the man
is full of knowledge, how can his knowledge increase?
Can there be any increase after that? I propose to you
the riddle. Here is the answer of it: Make the vessel
larger, and then there can be an increase. This
solution of the difficulty requires no great wit to
discover it. So that Paul plainly teaches us here
that, if we have so increased in knowledge as to be
full, he would have us increased in capacity to
know yet more; he would have our manhood enlarged,
our powers of reception increased, that we might grow
from being children to be young men, and from young
men to be fathers, and so may be filled—filled,
always filled with all the fulness of God! The Lord
grant unto us to perceive with humility, that if we
are already full of knowledge, we can still advance,
for we "have not yet attained." Let no man think that
he can go no further. "There is," says Augustine, "a
certain perfection according to the measure of this
life, and it belongs to that perfection that such a
perfect man should know that he is not yet perfect."
To that I heartily subscribe. There is a certain
fulness to be found in this life according to the
measure of a man, and it belongs to that fulness that
the man should know that he can yet increase in
knowledge. Holy Bernard says "he is not good at all
who doth not desire to be better." I also subscribe to
that saying. Some might become good if they were not
puffed up with the fancy of their own perfection.
Others are somewhat commendable, but will never grow
because they judge themselves to be full-grown
already. I would have you filled, and yet have room
for more: filled with all knowledge, filled with all
holiness, filled with the indwelling Spirit, filled
with God, and yet increasing in knowledge, in
holiness, in likeness to God, and in all good things
evermore to his glory. The Lord add his blessing for
Jesus’ sake. Amen.
________________________
PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE
Sermon—Colossians i.
______________________
HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"—178, 048,
640.
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