The Prayers of St. Paul Part 1
The Prayers of St. Paul.
by W. H. Griffith Thomas.
PREFACE
The t.i.tle of the present series is a sufficient indication of its purpose.
Few preachers, or congregations, will face the long courses of expository lectures which characterised the preaching of the past, but there is a growing conviction on the part of some that an occasional short course, of six or eight connected studies on one definite theme, is a necessity of their mental and ministerial life. It is at this point the projected series would strike in. It would suggest to those who are mapping out a scheme of work for the future a variety of subjects which might possibly be utilised in this way.
The appeal, however, will not be restricted to ministers or preachers. The various volumes will meet the needs of laymen and Sabbath-school teachers who are interested in a scholarly but also practical exposition of Bible history and doctrine. In the hands of office-bearers and mission-workers the "Short Course Series" may easily become one of the most convenient and valuable of Bible helps.
It need scarcely be added that while an effort has been made to secure, as far as possible, a general uniformity in the scope and character of the series, the final responsibility for the special interpretations and opinions introduced into the separate volumes, rests entirely with the individual contributors.
One of the most valuable elements in the Epistles of St. Paul is their revelation of the writer's spiritual life. While they are necessarily doctrinal and theological, dealing with the fundamental realities of the Christian religion, they are also intensely personal, and express very much of the Apostle's own experience. They depict in a marked degree the sources and characteristics of the spiritual life. This is especially seen when the various prayers, thanksgivings, doxologies, and personal testimonies are considered.
I.
GRACE AND HOLINESS.
I.
GRACE AND HOLINESS.
"Now G.o.d Himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before G.o.d, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints."--1 THESS. iii. 11-13.
There are few more precious subjects for meditation and imitation than the prayers and intercessions of the great Apostle. He was a man of action because he was first and foremost a man of prayer. To him both aspects of the well-known motto were true: "To pray is to labour," and "To labour is to pray."
There is no argument for or justification of prayer; nor even an explanation. It is a.s.sumed to be the natural and inevitable expression of spiritual life. Most of the Apostle's prayers of which we have a record are concerned with other people rather than with himself, and they thus reveal to us indirectly but very really what St. Paul felt to be the predominant needs of the spiritual life.
In this series of studies we propose to look at some of these prayers, and to consider their direct bearing upon our own lives. Taking the Epistles in what is generally regarded to be their chronological order, we naturally commence with the prayer found in 1 Thess. iii. 11-13. In this pa.s.sage we have what is not often found, a prayer for himself a.s.sociated with prayer for others.
1. HIS PRAYER FOR HIMSELF (ver. 11).
Let us notice _Who it is to Whom he prays_--"G.o.d Himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ." The a.s.sociation of Christ with G.o.d as One to Whom prayer is addressed is of course very familiar to us, but it ought never to be forgotten that when the Apostle penned these words the a.s.sociation was both striking and significant. For consider: these words were written within twenty-five years of our Lord's earthly life and ascension, and yet here is this quiet but clear a.s.sociation of Him with the Father, thus testifying in a very remarkable and convincing way to His G.o.dhead as the Hearer of prayer. And this fact is still more noticeable in the original, for St. Paul in this verse breaks one of the familiar rules of grammar, whether of Greek or English. It is well known that whenever there are two nouns to a verb the verb must be in the plural; and yet here the Greek word "direct" is in the singular, notwithstanding the fact that there are two subjects, the Father and Christ. The same feature is to be found in 2 Thess. ii. 17. It is evident from this what St. Paul thought of our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is in such simple, indirect testimonies that we find the strongest and most convincing proofs that the early Church believed in the Deity of our Lord.
Let us consider _what it is for which he prays_--"Direct our way." He asks for guidance. There had been certain difficulties in the way of his return to Thessalonica. He had been hindered, and now asks that G.o.d would open the way for him to go back to his beloved friends. Nothing was outside the Apostle's relationship to G.o.d, and nothing was too small about which to pray to G.o.d. As it has been well said: "Nothing is so small that we do not honour G.o.d by asking His guidance of it, or insult Him by taking it out of His hands." The need of guidance is a very real one in every Christian life, and the certainty of guidance is just as real. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord" (Ps. x.x.xvii. 23); and this is as true now as ever. "I will guide thee with Mine eye" (Ps. x.x.xii. 8) is a promise for all time, and we may confidently seek guidance in prayer whenever it is needed. The answer to our prayer will come in a threefold way. G.o.d guides us by His Spirit, reigning supreme within our hearts. He also guides us by the counsels and principles of His Word. These two agree in one, for the Holy Spirit never guides contrary to the Word. And then, in the third place, He guides us by His Providence, so that when the Word, the Spirit, and Providence in daily circ.u.mstances agree we may be sure that the guidance has been given.
2. HIS PRAYER FOR OTHERS (vers. 12, 13).
Consider the _immediate request_ he makes--"The Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men." He asks for _love_ on their behalf, that G.o.d would grant them this greatest of all gifts--"the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before Him." Love in the New Testament is no mere sentiment, for it involves self-sacrifice. It is not limited to emotion; it expresses itself in energy. It does not evaporate in feeling; it expresses itself in fact. "Love is of G.o.d," for "G.o.d is love"; and the Apostle in praying this prayer asks for the supreme gift of their lives.
The measure of the gift is noticeable--"Increase and abound in love." The "increase" has to do with their inner life, their hearts being more and more enlarged in capacity to possess this love; the "abounding" has to do with their outward life, and points to the overflow of that love towards others.
Consider, too, the _objects_ of this love--"Toward one another, and toward all men." There was, first of all, the special love to be shown toward Christians, according to the "new commandment" (John xiii. 34). In the New Testament the emphasis is laid again and again upon brother-love, or love of the brethren, and the brotherhood. This was something entirely new in the world's history--a new tie or bond, the union of hearts in Christ Jesus. To see how these Christians loved one another was a proof of this new affection based upon the new commandment. But, further, their love was to extend beyond their fellow-Christians--even to "all men," just as we have in St. Peter's Epistle, in that long chain of graces, first, love of the brethren, and then, love towards all (2 Pet. i. 7).
And yet it may perhaps be asked, How is it possible for us to love everybody? What about those who are not lovely and lovable--how can we love these? It may help us to remember that there is a clear distinction between _loving_ and _liking_. While it is impossible to _like_ everybody, it is a.s.suredly possible to love everybody. A mother loves her wayward son, but she cannot like him, for there is practically nothing "alike"
between them. In the same way we may love with the love of compa.s.sion if we cannot love with the love of complacency, and thus fulfil our Lord's command and realise the answer to the Apostle's prayers. This, we may be perfectly certain, is the supreme thing, and our Christianity will count for nothing in the eyes of men if it is not permeated and energised through and through with active, whole-hearted, Christ-like love.
Consider the _ultimate purpose_ he expresses--"To the end He may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness." The love for which he prays is to be expressed in holiness. The meaning of holiness throughout the Old and New Testaments is "separateness." The idea is that of a life separated unto G.o.d, dedicated, consecrated to His service. Wherever the words "holiness,"
"sanctification," and their a.s.sociated and cognate expressions are found, the root idea is always that of separation rather than of purification. It involves the whole-hearted and entire dedication of the life to G.o.d. The cognate word "saint" does not strictly mean "one who is pure," but "one who belongs to G.o.d."
The sphere of this holiness is to be in "your hearts." It is always to be noticed that in Scripture the "heart" includes the intellect, the emotions, and the will. In a word, it is the centre of our moral and spiritual being; and when this is understood we can see at once the point and importance of the heart being holy, for it is only another way of saying that our entire being is to be separated from all else in order to be possessed by, and consecrated to, G.o.d.
The standard of holiness is also brought before us in this prayer--"Stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness." The Apostle prays that they may be steadfast, not weak and vacillating. The great need was for solidity and steadfastness, as it is in the present day, for it is only when the heart is established by grace and in holiness that it can in any true sense serve G.o.d. This emphasis on a fixed or stablished heart is brought before us several times in Holy Scripture (cf. Ps. lvii. 7, cviii.
1, cxii. 7; Heb. xiii. 9).
And steadfast hearts will be "unblameable" hearts, hearts that are not blameworthy. A clear distinction is to be drawn between unblameable hearts and unblemished hearts. A little child may perform a task which in the result is full of blemishes, though the child, having done his best, is entirely without blame. In like manner, though the believer is not free from blemish, it is nevertheless possible for him to live free from blame.
This is the meaning of the Apostle, and the reason of his prayer.
In all this we can see the close connection between love and holiness.
When our hearts are filled to overflowing with the love of G.o.d to us, and of our love to Him, the inevitable result is holiness, a heart separated unto G.o.d, "strengthened with all might," and "ready unto every good work."
Consider the _great incentive_ he urges--"Before G.o.d, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints." The Apostle puts before his readers the great future to which they were to look, and he urges upon them this love and this holiness in the light of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and all that it will mean to the people of G.o.d. St.
Paul draws a wonderful picture of that day in a very few words. He speaks first of all of G.o.d's presence there: "Before G.o.d, even our Father." Then he reminds us of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And last of all he tells us that "the saints" will be there also. Thus, surrounded by our fellow-Christians, and in the presence of our G.o.d and Saviour, we shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known, with hearts "unblameable in holiness."
This, then, is what the Apostle prays for his beloved friends in Thessalonica--abounding love and perfect holiness. This is Christianity and the normal Christian life. How simple it all is, summed up in the words Love and Holiness. And yet how searching it is! The simplest things are often the most difficult, and while it is possible for the believer to do great things and to shine in great crises, it is not always so easy to go on loving day by day, and to continue growing in grace and holiness, until the heart becomes so stablished in grace that our Christianity becomes the permanent character of our life. Yet this is G.o.d's purpose for each one of us. And the fact that the Apostle prayed for this is a clear proof that an answer was expected, and that the purpose can be realised.
II.
CONSECRATION AND PRESERVATION.
II.
CONSECRATION AND PRESERVATION.
"And the very G.o.d of peace sanctify you wholly: and I pray G.o.d your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it."--1 THESS. v. 23, 24.
As we consider these prayers of the Apostle, we become increasingly aware of what he felt to be the most important elements in the Christian life.