MARK AND 1ST CORINTHIANS.

With Mark's pen the Spirit of God sets before us the great divine-human Servant of God and men. The works of Jesus are the special theme. His longer discourses, found in Matthew and Luke, like, the sermon on the mount and the parables of the kingdom of heaven, are omitted or much shortened in Mark. What we see here is the great Hand and Heart of love at work!

With untiring energy the ministering One passes from one case of need to another; healing following His word and touch. If He stops to teach, it is still to serve. We trace His steps with growing wonder, for a strange power and vigor is in the narrative. The very spirit of service breathes through it. Matthew tells us of Christ's royal birth, and traces His genealogy back to David and Abraham, the roots of Messianic promise. Luke gives the birth and infancy of a human Child, with a genealogy of the Son of man and woman's Seed back to Adam. John takes us back to God the Word, the Creator. But Mark's theme is neither the kingship, humanity, nor the divinity of Christ, and he does not introduce his book with genealogy, birth, infancy, or divine antecedents.

His introduction is abrupt. It consists of one sentence-" The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." These are the credentials of the Servant. He is Jesus, a man, yet Jehovah the Saviour. He is the Christ, anointed of God for His mission. He is the Son of God, with divine power and authority. It is enough ! The coming forth of such an One to minister is, indeed, ".the beginning" and foundation of "good news"!

Each of the three main divisions of the Gospel can be viewed from a touching standpoint.

The Son of God offers His service in Mark 1:-5:He finds men undone, confessing sentence of death in baptism. At once He is baptized with them, offering Himself to die in their stead. He preaches the good news of the kingdom, announcing that the time is at hand. Next He does the works of the kingdom, proving both His power and willingness to serve man's need. He teaches with divine authority, casts out demons, heals diseases, forgives sins, commands the powers of nature.

What is the result ? They reject Him and His work. The forgiveness of sins they call blasphemy. They murmur because He eats and drinks with sinners, and quibble because He does good on the Sabbath. They plot to kill Him, and charge that it is in league with Satan that He delivers from Satan's power! Thus we have,

The rejected Servant still serving (6:-10:45). We need not dwell upon this, but may ponder over His words and acts of love, viewed from this standpoint. The coil tightens round Him; the shadows deepen; He is the Man of sorrows. Yet His love knows not how to falter, and He moves on to shame and death along a path fragrant with deeds of grace.

The crucified Servant still serving is the climax of the book (10:46-16:). The service at the cross in Mark has the full dread character of the sin-offering-Christ "made a curse" (Gal. 3:13), enduring divine "indignation and wrath" (Psa. 102:10), forsaken of God (Mark 15:34). While men were slaying Him, He was bearing for them the penalty of their sins! Marvelous Servant, beside whom all others pale and fade! Marvelous love, whose heights and depths we may forever explore, but never fathom!

How different is our service, seen in i Corinthians ! We walk not alone as He did, but in fellowship with the saints, fellow-members of the Church, His Body. Practical directions for this are the subject of this epistle, which is a kind of divine assembly-manual. We note some of its main points.

The Assembly a unity is the point in 1:1-16. The epistle addresses not some, but all Christians. Such have a competency in Christ, and should not be mere followers of men. Christ is undivided; should there be parties or divisions among Christians ?The existence of sects and denominations is condemned.

The Assembly is unworldly (1:17-31). It is founded on the Cross-Christ crucified. Nor has God chosen what the world esteems, but foolish and weak things. This is our calling. Neither the world nor the flesh has a place. Christ only is God's, wisdom for us-our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. In Him alone we glory.

The mind of Christ should characterize us (2:). Christian fellowship is fellowship in supernatural things, deep things of God, revealed by His Spirit, which the natural man cannot enter into. Even we who are called need to be spiritual in order to enjoy and understand them. If we act like natural men, how shall we discern things which belong only to the spiritual, or Spirit-led?

These principles are practically applied (3:, 4:). The Corinthian saints were unspiritual, with a party spirit, worldly wisdom, worldly ways. In correcting them the apostle brings out another great truth:

The Assembly is God's building, God's temple, indwelt by the Spirit of God. Paul laid the foundation of truth concerning the Church. Let all take care how they build thereon. Saints who build not according to the truth will suffer loss. They will be saved as " through the fire," which burns up their bad work. While unregenerate destroyers of God's temple, God will destroy.

Sin must be judged by the Christian company (5:). If we are God's building, God's temple, we must purge out all defilement. We are to put away from among ourselves, and neither " eat " nor " keep company " with professing Christians guilty of sin such as is here described. Thus the unity elsewhere desired does not involve the going on with such persons. But if they repent, the division may be healed.

The judging of evil does not mean that we should be insisting upon our personal rights (6:1-7). If we are Christlike, let us suffer wrong. Nor have we any license to sin (6:8-20). Our bodies are members of Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit, to be used in glorifying God. Chapter 7:gives directions concerning marriage.

Again, we are not to stumble weak consciences, nor to please ourselves (8:, 9:). In connection with this we have-

The Lord's table, with its loaf and cup of blessing, typical of Christian fellowship (10:). We cannot link the Lord's table with that of demons; and as we are viewed as always at the Lord's table, this fellowship with Him separates us from all fellowship inconsistent with it.

The Lord's Supper follows (11:). It is the characteristic Christian feast, a memorial of Christ's death, in celebration of which saints " come together in assembly." We are to observe it in self-judgment, tolerating no evil.

The power for ministry in the Assembly is the Spirit of God (12:). He has baptized all Christians into one body, the body of Christ, and given different gifts to the individual members. He is also the indwelling Power, to guide and use each member as He wills.

Love, however, must prompt all Christian service (13:). Otherwise it is nothing, whatever be one's gift or knowledge. Let us learn how love behaves itself from this chapter, and test all our service by it.

The assembly meeting for edification is described, and abuses guarded against (14:). How beautiful-this order and liberty, all being done unto edification, the spirits of the prophets subject to the prophets, and the prophets in subjection to the Spirit of God! May we know more of it in practice! In God's thought each assembly is a band of anointed prophets.

Resurrection, the foundation and hope of the assembly, is the theme of chapter 15:Wondrous doctrine! It is the real foundation of all the practical directions of this epistle. The true Assembly of Christ is a risen, heavenly body, acting in the energy of resurrection-life derived from her Head !