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| 1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. |
Be subject – To earthly powers as respects earthly things. R4317:4
Neither Jesus nor the apostles interfered with earthly rulers in any way. A266
Paul as well as Jesus used argument in his own defense, not only with the mobs, but also before judges; but they never resisted the law. R5005:5
If any commission be given to the Lord's people to execute judgment this side of the veil it would be so explicit as to leave no room for doubt. R5451:4
The spirit of submission, rather than of contention, is enjoined upon the Church in its relationship to the civil ordinances of men. R1553:2
God has not commissioned us to strike the image. The Heavenly Father will do the smiting. Q82:2
To resist all such laws would be to array one's self in violent and fruitless opposition to the whole present order of things. R1464:1*
The Lord's people are to be subject to the worldly governments and dominions; but then these are turned over to Jesus and his joint-heirs and God's Kingdom is to be established, never to be removed. Q797:4
Among those things "written aforetime for our edification" is the dream of Nebuchadnezzar and its divine interpretation through Daniel, illustrating the true Church and the governments of this world. A252
God leaves his Church and all men for a time under the control of earthly governments, assuring us that shortly the kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of our Lord and his anointed. R362:5
The higher powers – Except when they conflict with God's laws. A266, F591; R5840:4
It is comparatively easy to be subject to the higher powers in civilized lands today. There is at least an endeavor to render a show of justice. R3179:3
It is when we get before our minds a view of the atrocious government which prevailed in the Apostle's day that we get the full scope of this injunction. R3179:3
The people of God should pre-eminently stand for law and order. R4486:3, 5952:5
There is no power but of God – The Kingdom of heaven suffers violence now, but the time of her deliverance is at hand. R1464:1*
The powers that be – The present order of things. R1461:1, 1464:1*
God permits them; yet he has full power to make changes. It is not for us to seek to overthrow them. R5526:5, 5466:3, 3179:3
Evil as these Gentile governments have been, they were permitted for a wise purpose. A250
The Lord Jesus and the apostles and the early Church were all law-abiding, though they were separate from and took no share in the governments of this world. A266
During the Gospel age, the Kingdom of Christ has existed only in its incipient stage--without the crown, possessing only the scepter of promise: subject to the "powers that be"--the Gentile kingdoms. B81
Are ordained – Are permitted to rule during the Times of the Gentiles. B81; D77; R5513:1, 2685:2, 1464:1*
God during the present evil world not only permits Satan to be its prince but also permits the earthly governments of his appointing. R362:5
God gave power to the Gentile governments; we are to recognize them, not fight against them. Q82:2
Jesus and the apostles taught the Church to obey the laws and to respect those in authority because of their office even if they were not personally worthy of their esteem. A266; R1555:5
It is his will that we should suffer injustice rather than expend our strength to interrupt the present order of things. R1464:1*
Nebuchadnezzar, the kings of Israel, Pharaoh, and Cyrus of Persia show God's vital interest as to who shall come forward and who shall be retarded when matters affect his plan. Q501:6
Of God – So as to prove the inability of fallen men to govern themselves. A250; D77
The Lord guides in the affairs of nations now, only in so far as such oversight will promote the fulfillment of his own purposes. R5466:5; Q501:7
God decreed that the time of Gentile rule should continue until the appointed time for Christ to reign in righteousness. The powers that be are imperfect but ordained to continue for a time. R1464:1*
They are not God's kingdoms; "Gentiles" (as used in Scripture) are "heathen," outsiders, not God's people. But God gave them power, and we are not to seek to disrupt that power. Q82:2
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| 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves judgment.
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Resisteth the power – The follower of Jesus may flee from an adversary, or he may resist him to the extent of proper expostulation, but he is to be thoroughly responsive to all government. R5005:5
Ordinance of God – God has not authorized kings to represent him nor is he responsible for their deeds and acts, but he is so controlling matters as to cause them to outwork his arrangements. Q502:1
We have nothing to do with the making of the social laws which prohibit labor on the first day of the week, but we obey them as civil laws, and find it to be to our profit as well as to our pleasure. R1732:2
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| 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: |
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| 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. |
He is the minister of God – The governments of the earth have a lease of power which carries a certain responsibility; they are to be ministers of justice. R1912:5
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| 5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. |
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| 6 For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. |
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| 7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. |
To all their dues – Custom, fear, honor. R3180:1
Men and rulers; in financial as well as political matters. R3179:6
We owe a real debt to our parents, to our community and government, and to our Creator; for life and many blessings and privileges. R3029:3
We are to be in the world, not as citizens but as aliens--law-abiding aliens, rendering unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. R2002:4; F594
As the Church is to esteem and honor its members according to their ability and usefulness as servants to the whole body, so it should honor mankind in general. R1163:2
The new creature, freed from the rivalries of the flesh, and inspired by the generous impulses of the holy Spirit, has no occasion for rivalry which would hinder the proper appreciation of others. F590
No one has a right to render another less than his due, nor to do injury to another. Discipleship means something more than merely rendering to every man his due. R5005:3
The new creation should be found amongst the most law-abiding of the present time--not agitators, not quarrelsome, not faultfinders. F591
We do not owe it to others to vote or participate in political strifes. R3180:1; F593
We suggest that the followers of Christ seek by every proper means to avoid participation in war. To become a member of the army and to put on a military uniform implies the duties and obligations of a soldier. R5755:4, 5928:2
There could be nothing against our conscience in going into the army if unable in any legal and proper manner to obtain exemption. We have no fear of death, but we could not fire upon a fellow creature. R3180:1; F594
Tribute – The tax payable by a subject nation to the principal power. R3180:1
The Church is to pay appointed taxes and to offer no resistance to any established law. A266
Custom – A tariff duty, or tax, levied for the support of the government. R3180:1
Fear – Respectful deference or submission. R3830:5
Reverence, in saluting a representative of the government, in the sense of obedience and duty, regardless of his personal character; different from honor or respect. R3180:2
Honour to whom honour – The new creation sees grounds for faultfinding in the present imperfect arrangements; but they also see that human agitation and revolution is powerless to bring about the perfection of the Kingdom. F591
It is as a help to the right course that Paul points to justice as a consideration for rendering honor, respect and service to whom it is due. R1556:1
Kings are not always personally worthy of honor; but honor is always due to the office, which is "ordained of God." (Rom. 13:1) R1555:5, 1163:2
There is danger that some might render too much honor to human instruments. R2079:5
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| 8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. |
Owe no man anything – Habitual petty borrowing indicates improper neglect and troublous annoyance. F569
"Let your moderation be known unto all men." (Phil. 4:5) All expenditures should be curtailed and brought, not only down to the income, but a little less--leaving some for our future, for the Lord, or for the poor. F565
Even to natural Israel, the house of servants, the Lord laid down the injunction that if faithful to him they should be lenders, not borrowers. (Deut. 15:6) F564
The new creature should be glad to acknowledge fully the earthly rights and claims of others--his own rights and claims of an earthly kind having been renounced in favor of the spiritual, the heavenly. F590
New creatures should realize that they are debtors to the Lord to an untold amount, and thus they are to have so generous a feeling toward all mankind that they will desire to pay off every obligation. R3029:3
The Apostle declared that he was a debtor to the Jews and the Greeks. We likewise owe a debt to our parents, to the community in which we live, and to our nation. R3029:3
It is simple justice that our lives shall testify to our appreciation of all, and be a help toward the best interests of each with whom we have to do. R3029:6
Brotherly love could lend or even give, to assist a brother in necessity. F567
Be generous, tender-hearted, err on the side of too great generosity rather than to be hard-hearted, selfish. R5005:6
An obligation of friendship is a lifelong debt--a loan of money or credit on which the friend expected and received no gain or profit. Endeavors to make it good should always remain with the debtor. F566
Families are not responsible for their deceased's debts. F567
Each should be very careful how he goes into debt. If obliged to borrow he should give some security; otherwise, he had better wait until the Lord arranges things some other way. Q61:2
Unless you can give security and pay the debt when it becomes due. R3180:2
The placing of a mortgage on one's property is acceptable. F567
Never jeopardize your own credit, nor risk your own business, nor impoverish your own family in order to help others. F569
The laws concerning bankruptcy may be used in business debts, as the Jubilee canceled Israel's debts. F566
To love one another – We should by love serve one another. R31:6
We can never discharge this obligation, to love. It is upon us every hour of life, and enters into all of life's interests. Other obligations we may meet and be through with, but not this debt. R4401:2
Love may go beyond the law and do more than justice could require--in self-sacrifice--but it cannot do less. R5006:4
This is our obligation toward God, the Church, our families, and all men, even our enemies. R4401:2, 3180:3, 1789:1
God so loved the world, even while they were yet sinners, that he redeemed them at great cost. We also should love them with the same tender compassion; if we love God, we will delight to do so. R1789:2
If we have the spirit of the Lord, we will make every allowance for the infirmities of the flesh, the strength of temptation and the imperfections of knowledge, and know we also are short of perfection. R1712:5
"Let us love, not in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:18) R32:2
It does not seem necessary or prudent to alarm the world respecting coming distress, but be full of mercy. "None of the wicked shall understand." "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Dan. 12:10; Matt. 6:34) F592
That loveth another – He that loveth all others so that he is constantly seeking to do them good is following the holy law, the perfect will of God. R3029:6
When we thus love, we will watch every word and action, lest we should offend our brother, for we would not hurt the feelings of any one whom we love. R31:6
Hath fulfilled the law – Particular about little parts of the Law, Pharisees were careless with its spirit of love. Jesus declared that his followers must be more right in heart than the Pharisees or they could not be begotten. R5007:4
"The righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit." (Rom. 8:4) R5005:2
The Ten Commandments were not given to the Church, but the spirit of them is comprehended in the word love, which is the law of the new creation. R4856:5
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| 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. |
For this – If any follower of Jesus should violate the Ten Commandments and teach men so to do, it would be done through ignorance and misunderstanding, and would mark him as weak, a follower of Jesus on a low plane. R5007:2
We (the followers of Jesus) are not under the Law Covenant, but under Grace. We are to keep the divine law as nearly as we possibly can and to accept by faith God's arrangement--"by his stripes we are healed." (1 Pet. 2:24) R5005:2
The commands of the Decalogue were merely attempts to bring down to the natural man's comprehension the real spirit of the divine Law. R3030:1
Thou shalt not – All of these commands presuppose a fallen condition of mind. R4401:3
These were proper enough for the house of servants, but when the house of sons was instituted, the law of love was substituted. R3030:1
Commit adultery – Self-love and self-gratification lie back of adultery. R4401:3
Kill – Self-love and self-gratification lie back of murder. R4401:3
Steal – A result of selfishness, the opposite of love. R4401:3
Whoever loves his brother would not wish to steal from him either his property or his good name. R5266:1
It would be rather incongruous for the Lord to say this to the Church, for they would have passed from every such condition of mind before they could become his. R4856:5
Bear false witness – The opposite of love. R4401:3
Covet – Selfishness, the opposite of love, leads to coveting the things belonging to another. R4401:3
Other commandment – If there be any other thing that should be prohibited, any other thing contrary to the law of God. R3030:2
Love – Greek, agape, disinterested charity, benevolence. R2807:4
Meets all the requirements of the "shalt nots" of the Ten Commandments, and much more. R3180:4, 3030:2
To love another because he loved us, to give to another in the hope that he would equally befriend us, to do any good act with a hope to have as good or better return, would be selfish. R5005:6
All the commandments are covered in the covenant of love. Those who are in Christ would not injure their neighbor's interests nor in any manner encroach upon his rights. R5006:4
Thy neighbour – In so doing we will be fulfilling the law toward him to the best of our ability. R5006:4
Loving our neighbor would be only a part of the fulfilling of the entire love to God. R3180:4
As thyself – Not as he loves us. R3030:2
The same love to our neighbor that we have for ourselves, the same desire for his welfare, his prosperity, his happiness, his health, reputation, property, feelings. R4401:3
It does not say "Better than thyself:" Christ's course of self-sacrifice in our behalf went beyond this requirement. R3804:6, 3805:1
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| 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. |
Love – Greek, agape, disinterested love. R2807:5
The mark of Christian character. R2754:1, 4153:6, 2807:4
Without which no other grace of character would be truly beautiful. R2202:2
God is pleased to give his holy Spirit, the spirit of love. Love does not see the faults of others nor is it blind to its own. It is not a general critic or fault-finder. It is sympathetic, helpful. R2590:2
Love delights to bless. Against its pure and benevolent instincts there is no law. It is noble, generous, free, frank, unselfish, kind, tender-hearted, pitiful, helpful and true. R1789:1
None will ever have full divine approval without the full establishment in the heart and character of this divine quality. R4443:2
Supreme love to God and the neighbor is that disposition of heart that will make us victorious in every trial and temptation. R3830:5; SM163:T
There is a danger of manifesting a brotherly love where it should be withheld, and that in the interest of the brother. R3033:3
"God is love." So when man is restored again to the image of God--"very good"--man also will be a living expression of love. R2607:4
Inherited sin is in strong opposition to this law of love. R5123:4
Worketh no ill – Nor does it wish ill. R5687:5
No injury of any sort. R4401:3
It rejoices not to find flaws; it does not seek for them. R5274:2
But delights itself rather in deeds of kindness and benevolence. R1738:1, 3030:2
Love for all the brethren is a sure indication that we love as new creatures. This love means we will do them no injury, that we will speak no evil respecting them, that we will not even surmise evil. R5348:4
If one willfully injures another, he has to the same extent injured himself. Q798:4
Whoever would work ill to his neighbor, with full knowledge, would not have love. Ignorance, superstition, misunderstanding, and imperfection of the flesh might work ill unintentionally. R4850:1
If we injure our neighbor in word, act or thought, it must have been from a bad motive--unless we did it ignorantly. R4524:1
Some of our Catholic and Protestant friends have worked ill to their neighbors. We cannot say that they had no love, but that they did not have it to the degree required by the Law. R4850:1
"Speak evil of no man." (Titus 3:2) R3030:4
The true soldier starts a campaign against the well-intrenched evils and weaknesses of his fallen flesh. His drill recognizes that perfect love must rule, and that evil speaking comes from evil thinking. R3275:4
The Lord receives us into his school, which means instruction. God purposes that all in this school shall come to the place where their hearts will approve only that which is approved of the Lord. R3275:4
Therefore – This gives us the thought that the Apostle had in mind the Jewish Law and not the law of the New Creation. R4850:2
Love is – Greek, agape, disinterested love. R2807:5
Noble, generous, free, frank, unselfish, kind, tender, pitiful and true. R1789:1
Love expresses the full measure of the Law's requirements. R5287:2
The spirit of God's Law. R614:6; SM11:1
The kind of love epitomized in our Lord's command, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself." (Matt. 22:37, 39) A246
Love might go much further than would justice. And the Church shall love on the highest plane of life. R5072:2
If we have pure, fervent love, and walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. R1188:1
Our warmest affections, our profoundest gratitude, and our implicit faith and obedience should be manifested in our conduct toward our heavenly Father in an effort to learn and do his will. R1117:5*
Love for the Lord would prompt one to be obedient to his just commands. Q799:T
A loving spirit affects our health and strength, spiritual and physical; our faces will show that we by faith grasp the promises and daily strive to live so as to maintain our relationship with the Lord. SM338:2
Supreme love to God (laying hold upon his mighty power, trusting his wisdom) and then to the neighbor as to self (pure, peaceable, kind) is that disposition of heart that will make us victorious in trial. R3830:5
When we speak of embroidering our robes for the inspection of the Lord or for the marriage, embroidery represents love. SM259:1
The superiority of love is that it will endure throughout eternity. R4042:6
In their endeavor to measure up to the divine standards, some are in danger of erring in an opposite direction--of manifesting a brotherly love where it should be withheld in the interest of the brother. R3033:3
The reward of the "sheep" will be granted because they cultivated love. The Lord will consider their loving deeds as done unto him, counting them his brethren, though they will be human and he divine. R2606:5
When man is restored again to the image of God--"very good"--man also will be love. R195:6, 2607:4, 655:5
Selfishness, the work of the Devil, displaces love. Selfish ambitions have a distracting influence and remove us from the Lord. Anger, malice, hatred, and envy are branches from this root of selfishness. R5099:6
The fulfilling – The "thou shalt nots" might be multiplied indefinitely to fit the thousands of occurrences in daily life, but the one "thou shalt" covers the entire situation. R5287:2
Love to God would lead us to do all those things which are inculcated in his Word; and love for our neighbor would lead us to fulfill all our obligations toward them. R5359:6
Love delights to bless, and against its pure and benevolent instincts there is no law. R1789:1
This text is speaking to "everyone that believeth," for whom "Christ is the end of the Law"; those whose love to God produces a spirit of obedience. "The righteousness of the Law is fulfilled in us." (Rom. 10:4; 8:4) R315:2
We who are in Christ Jesus have the righteousness of the Law fulfilled in us. R5099:6, 2757:1
Filled full, completely met; requires that the heart shall be full of love. R4850:1, 3030:4
Love shall be the test, not only of his deeds; but also of his words and thoughts. SM11:1
"The end or purpose of the divine commandment is love out of a pure heart and a good conscience." (1 Tim. 1:5) R4153:6
When we were sinners, aliens from God, Christ died for us. Can we not in part repay him by loving in return? If we have his spirit, we will love him; for love begets love. R31:5
Merely abstaining from evil and loving our neighbor as ourselves would not fulfill the law as given to the new creature, but it would fill the Law of justice given to the Jews. R4850:2
The divine law which the Apostle had specially before his mind was the Law given to Israel (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18). All the mind and soul and strength are required to fulfill this Law. R4850:1
To be a member of the Royal Priesthood who covenant to lay down their lives as a sacrifice, requires more than mere fulfilling the demands of the Law. It requires love to a self-sacrificing degree. R5644:4
Love for God controls life as respects holiness; and love for the neighbor, as respects earthly justice. R4374:4
If we cultivate and possess the heart quality of love (God-likeness) it will be acceptable--because Jesus' sacrifice makes good all deficiency. R5369:6, 4567:6
Whoever comes short of this law of love in heart intention is unfit for the Kingdom, and will not be of the Little Flock or Great Company. During the Millennial age, all must attain perfect love actually. R4401:2
Whoever has most of it will come nearest to the standard. R3754:4
Jesus told the rich young ruler, "One thing thou lackest." You have not apprehended the spirit of the law. You have been getting the shell, but have overlooked the essence--love. (Mark 10:21) R2728:2
With the world, at the beginning of the new age, it would be a law quite over their heads to say, You should love everybody. They would need to have some simple statements, such as the Decalogue. R4856:5
Of the law – The divine law; especially the Law given to Israel. R4850:1, 5359:6, 2269:4; SM469:1
The law of love is the real law of God. It was written in the perfect nature of the first perfect man, when he was created in God's likeness and image. R1499:2
We have been freed from the letter of the Law by the death of Christ. If we walk after the spirit of the Law (love), there is no condemnation. We may thus have life through Christ. R614:6
The dominion of earth conferred upon man was to be exercised in harmony with the law of love. A246
The Ten Commandments were not given to the Church, but the spirit of them is comprehended in the word love, which is the law of the new creation. R4856:5, 4850:1
When man is restored again to the image of God--"very good"--man will be love, as "God is love." R655:5
Those who have made a consecration to the Lord constitute the pure in heart. But the purity of their hearts and wills does not remove the battle they wage. The law of their depraved members is of selfishness. R5123:5
Godlikeness is love-likeness. Our great Creator, the only living and true God, is thus seen in contrast with all the gods of the heathen, who are pitiless, merciless, vengeful, devilish. SM469:2
Human reasoning can be earthly and selfish; while the wisdom from above, reasoning on the basis of a proved divine revelation, is pure, peaceable, gentle. R1567:4
If we have pure and fervent love, and if we walk not after the flesh but after the spirit, the law is reckoned as fulfilled in us. R1188:1
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| 11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed. |
And that – Having considered our duty to rulers and neighbors the Apostle next turns to the Christian's duty toward himself. R3180:5
Knowing the time – Knowing that the time is short in which to build up this godlike and Christlike character. R3830:5
The time for the establishment of the Kingdom is very nigh. R5450:3
The near approach of the day of Christ when virtue will meet its just reward. R1789:4
The chronology is the basis of nearly all the suggestions of prophetic interpretations set forth, but the chronology of the Bible is not stated with great clearness: fractions ignored--breaks are in it. R5450:5
Our acceptance of chronology is based on faith that God wished that we might have some knowledge of the times and seasons, and yet wished that it might be so obscure and indefinite as to require our faith. R5450:5
All readers should use their own judgment along the lines of chronology. R5450:6
We look for the Church Federation to reach its climax of organization and power prior to the full ending of the Gospel age and the glorification of the last members of the Church. R5450:6
High time to awake – Greek, egeiro, to arouse, stir. R1512:2
To a closer walk and intimate fellowship with God. R3830:6
Time for earnest searching and self-examination, not allowing things of this present evil world to absorb our thoughts and energies to the imperiling of our heavenly hopes. R5770:3
Each day, week, month and year should find us more awake and more zealous and more appreciative of our wonderful privileges. R4401:6
Let us assist in awakening all the wise virgins from the lethargy which misunderstandings of God's Word have induced. HG264:1
The Apostle was addressing Christians in whom the new life had been begun. But after the early Christian experience of turning from sin to righteousness, there comes later to some a measure of carelessness. R4401:5
Out of sleep – Drowsiness, a spirit of the world, when the beautiful truths lose some of their freshness. R4401:5
Out of ignorance, superstition, blindness, sordidness. R3180:5
Some, surrounded by the cares of this life, or weary in the struggle against sin, have become drowsy, so stand in need of this stirring exhortation. R3830:6
Our salvation – We do not know exactly how many days still remain before that glorious consummation. R5450:2
Only "believers" (in a reckoned sense) grasp "the hope of salvation" and anticipate it by faith. We are "heirs of salvation," and are "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." (1 Thes. 5:8; Heb. 1:14; 1 Pet. 1:5) R2051:2
Nearer than – We do not know exactly how many days remain before the change of first resurrection; we cannot say positively just what day or hour the Messianic blessings will begin. But they are nearing. R5450:2
This should increase our zeal. R3295:2
As we review the leadings of divine providence, let God's goodness and mercy stimulate our confidence in him. Let us render thanks for the past and lift up our heads, realizing that our deliverance is near. R2738:4
The consummation of this Gospel age is now at the door. It will end in a great time of trouble. The great crisis, the great clash that will consume the ecclesiastical heavens and the earth is very near. R5450:3
The greater nearness should make many features of that salvation much more conspicuous. Thus we see that the foundation has been laid for God's return of favor to humanity--a sin- offering and atonement. HG670:4
Nearer than when the first members of the Body of Christ walked in this narrow way of self-sacrifice. R4513:4
The Apostle wrote after four thousand years had passed and when the fifth was under way. We live when the entire six thousand-year days are in the past and the Millennium is chronologically already begun. R4401:6
The early Church could only speak of time from a general standpoint. They knew that time was passing, the day of deliverance was drawing near, and it was closer at hand than when they had first believed. R3030:5
When we believed – When we first believed. R4513:4
Nothing could shake our faith in the divine plan of the ages--that all the families of the earth will be blessed, that God sent his Son to be man's Redeemer, that the Church has been called to share with Jesus. R5450:2
"Faithful is he who called us, who also will do it." (1 Thes. 5:24) R5450:2
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| 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. |
The night – That period of darkness which set in after Adam fell. R5097:2
The six days preceding the Millennial age constitute the night time, in which sin abounds, in which "darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people." (Isa. 60:2) R3030:5
The Jewish people had the light of the moon, the Law Covenant and its promises, which shines with a light reflected from the sun. But they often went from the light of their Law and walked in the shadows. R5338:5
This is the time mentioned by the prophet in which "weeping endures for the night." (Psa. 30:5) R3030:5; HG415:4
Is far spent – More than two-thirds gone at the time the Apostle wrote. R3030:5, 5768:3, 3180:6; HG415:4
From whatever standpoint we view the matter, it must be that the night-time of sin is far spent. It must be that the morning of the new dispensation is near. R4401:6
A short time from God's standpoint, and even from the human standpoint it would be a short time to each individual. R3180:6
The day – The Millennial age is reckoned as the seventh day--the Sabbath or rest day. R3030:5
The Millennial age has already begun; the day of the Lord is now at hand, now present. R5769:4, 5770:5, 3830:6, 1155:5
The glorious Sabbath day. R5768:3
The last day, the great seventh day. R5339:4
From different perspectives, the Gospel age may be called day, or the first advent of our Lord, or the Reformation following the Dark Ages, or the present time. But now the Sun of Righteousness will rise. R5097:3
We are living in the early dawn of a new dispensation, and as soon as the harvest of the Gospel age shall have been garnered, "the kingdoms of this world" shall "become the Kingdom of our Lord." (Rev. 11:15) R5097:3
When virtue will meet its just reward, and when sin and selfishness will be exposed in all their horrid deformity. R1789:4
Is at hand – The apostles and early Church were living in the fifth day. There was only one more day to intervene before the seventh. R5339:5
How much more appropriate is this exhortation to us who are now living--to us who already see with the eye of faith the Day Star, and the first rays of the Millennial morning's light. R3030:5
We are living in the early dawn of a new dispensation. R5097:3, 3180:6
Even now the gray streaks of dawn appear. R3830:6
The Lord designed that the second coming should be constantly an incentive throughout the age. R3180:6
In the great revolutions of thought in this wonderful "Day of Jehovah," it is refreshing to observe that the dim outlines of God's purpose are beginning to dawn upon the minds of sincere thinkers. R1154:2
Cast off – Live in accordance with our citizenship and our responsibilities toward the Prince of Light and in opposition to the prince of darkness, his works and his ways. R5339:6
Because we are no longer in sympathy with the things of darkness. R3030:6
Works of darkness – "Darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people." Satan is called the prince of darkness, and he is working in the children of disobedience. (Isa. 60:2; Eph. 2:2) R5338:2
The darkness is the result of ignorance, superstition and misunderstanding--the whole heathen world is in gross darkness. R5769:5
Those things done in the dark; works of sin. These are not done in the open, as a rule. R5769:6
Evil has brought sorrow and the darkness of ignorance and superstition among mankind until human affairs have become demoralized. R5097:2
Injustice. R3030:6
Superstition and ignorance. R5098:1, 5769:5
Everything that is selfish and sinful. R5339:6, 5768:3
Everything pertaining to sin and error. R4401:6
Any works that will not stand the fullest approval in the light of the new dispensation. R3181:1
Things occult, things not in fullest harmony with the Lord. R4402:2
"Abstain from all appearance of evil." (1 Thes. 5:22) It would not be consistent with righteousness to do otherwise, as well as abstaining from the evil itself, because we love purity and delight in moral excellence. R1789:4
God's power overrules the wrath of man and makes it to praise him; the remainder, which will not accomplish good, but which would be subversive of the divine arrangements, he will restrain. (Psa. 76:10) R3179:6
The Jews were in darkness in respect to God's plan and the meaning of the promise to Abraham and his seed respecting the blessing of the world. R5769:5
Let us – Who are of the day. R5098:1
The majority of the world would doubtless prefer right rather than wrong if all the conditions were favorable. But the Lord is now calling the ones who say, I will devote my all to do what is right. R5338:3
Put on – That we may stand approved in that day. R1789:4
As our necessary preparation for the trials of this particular time. R3181:1, 4401:6
We have enlisted with Christ, and we will fight against the enemies of our new nature. We will strive earnestly, that we may be associated with the Lord in his Kingdom of righteousness. R5339:6
We change our will and also our outward appearance and habits of life, enabling us to represent our Lord as his ambassadors--changed into our Lord's likeness, as we get clearer views of his glorious character. R3030:6
The armour of light – The armor of righteousness and truth. R3831:1
To protect you, not as a robe, but as an armor over the robe--put on the breastplate of righteousness and take the sword of the spirit. (Eph. 6:14, 17) R5770:1, 3030:6
The armor which protects from the darts of the Adversary, and includes the helmet of salvation. R5339:6
Light is made the Christian's shield, whose beams search into every nook and cranny of earth's impurity. R135:6
The whole armor of God; not a useless weight, but a necessary protection in battle. R5098:1
That we may stand approved in that day. R1789:4
The Christian is learning of his own weaknesses and of God's mercy, and growing strong in battling for the right day by day. R5638:6
Those who will be joint-heirs with Messiah must learn obedience. They must not only be outwardly obedient, but inwardly obedient to the spirit or intent of the Lord's law. R5638:3
The Jews had stars--Abraham, David and the prophets. These were luminaries that shed more or less light upon their pathway. R5338:5
When Jesus came, he was the one chosen of God to be the Light of the world. But he was not this light to all. His light was very local, and sometimes obscure because of the ignorance and blindness prevalent. R5338:6
Wherever the true light of Jesus comes it reproves these works of darkness. R5770:1
The true children of God as candles are to set themselves upon the candlestick (and not to put their light under a bushel) to give light to all in darkness about them. R3030:5
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| 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. |
Let us walk – Let us daily progress. R5340:4
Live. R4402:2
Honestly – Honest with God, honest with ourselves, with our neighbors, and with the brethren. R3031:2
Not only in money matters, but also in the treatment of neighbors and the brethren, and above all in confessions respecting God and our faith. R5098:3, 3181:3, 3031:2
In the sense of conscientiously, openly, having nothing that we would need to secrete from the whole world, if they were able to understand our motives. R5340:1
Becomingly; in harmony with our faith, our hope, our appreciation of the Lord, our appreciation of the morning light. R4402:1
A pastoral exhortation to be on guard against the sins and principles which generally prevailed. R5770:4
As in the day – As though we were living in the broad daylight. R5098:5
Works of darkness thrive at night. R5770:5
Live as those will be living when the Millennial day shall have fully come. R5770:5, 3181:2
The shadows of night still linger. It is much more difficult now than if the day had fully come and all the allurements of darkness were banished by the bright shining of the Sun of Righteousness. R3031:1
Joy cometh in the morning of the (seventh) Millennium when "the sun of righteousness" shall chase the darkness away, and cause the earth to be filled with the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. (Psa. 30:5; Mal. 4:2; 2 Cor. 4:6) R3030:5
Not in rioting – A spirit of anarchy, a lack of orderly behavior. R5341:1
Worldly revelries, time-killing pleasures. R3181:4
Of the grossest sinners nor in the refined figurative reveling of worldliness, fashion and ostentation. R3031:2
And drunkenness – The Spirit of the Lord gives a sober mind, a thoughtful mind, a reasonable mind. Some may become careless in their walk. The only proper course is to avoid all excess and worldliness. R5340:5
Babylon made drunk the inhabitants of the earth with a stupefaction of the mind, a crazed condition. (Rev. 17:2) R5340:5
No saint should ever be intoxicated; no drunkard shall inherit the Kingdom of God. "They that tarry long at the wine" reached that condition through habit, expecting that they could be moderate. (Prov. 23:30) R5098:6
One can become intoxicated with pleasure of any kind. R4402:1
Intoxication with the spirit of the world, as respects wealth, business, dress, music, art. R3181:4, 5340:4, 5098:6
Not in chambering – Unlawful intercourse or fellowship--including things of darkness, sins, the occult, things that are not in fullest harmony with the Lord. R4402:2
Inordinateness in sexual matters. R3181:5
We are betrothed to the Lord Jesus, as his Bride and are to be separate from the world, pure in heart, undefiled by wrong union with Babylon. (Rev. 14:4) R3031:4
Improper associations. R3031:4, 5098:5
And wantonness – Selfishness; may apply to refined kinds of self-gratification; pampering of appetites and failure to sacrifice earthly pleasures in the service of the Lord or in doing good to all we contact. R4402:2
In worldliness or sectarianism. R3031:4
Strife – Contention, willfulness, arousing jealousy and ambition on behalf of self or others, for prominence in the Body. R5098:6, 3181:6
We should follow peace, seek to promote the interests of peace in our home, our neighborhood, and amongst the Lord's people. R4402:2
We are not to indulge in strife of the national sort, leading to wars; nor of the commercial sort, leading to injustice and unkind competition; nor amongst the brethren. R3031:4
And envying – Indicating a wrong condition of heart on the part of the transgressor that would eventually bar him from the Kingdom. R5098:6, 3181:5
Jealousy is a fruitful source of much injury in the Church. No other evil quality can lead to more harm to ourselves and others. R4402:3
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| 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. |
Put ye on – Put on his character. R5641:3, 3181:6
Substitute our garment of the old nature with new clothing, the livery of heaven, so others may know us outwardly as children of God. R4402:3,4
"Your citizenship is in heaven." (Phil. 3:20, Revised Version) R3179:6
Implies a change of will. R3031:4
Put on his loving, generous, noble, pure spirit: study and copy his life, which was an illustration of the perfect law of God. R1789:4
Lord Jesus Christ – The mind or disposition, the spirit of love and loyalty, which characterized him. R5770:4, 3831:1, 1789:4
The work of a life-time. R4402:4
To stop trying to be good, and only give your attention to gaining a knowledge of God's plan, would not lead men to a higher and purer life, as the apostles exhort. R121:1*
Make not provision – The "Vow unto the Lord" is helpful to many along this line. R4402:5
In proportion as we yield to the improper desires of the flesh, in that same proportion the flesh will prosper and the spiritual new nature will languish. R3031:5
We should not shape our affairs so as to yield to any of the demands of the flesh, which are contrary to the will of the Lord. R3031:5, 3181:6; CR455:4
The mind, and the desires, of the flesh are to be considered as mortal enemies. R2336:3
Completely ignore the desires of the old nature, thus manifesting the singleness and fixedness of your purpose to follow him. R1789:4
For the flesh – The flesh generally has its own way; for that reason the overcoming self-sacrificers will be but a Little Flock. R4402:5
For a list of the works of the flesh see Gal. 5:19-21. R121:1*
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