SERMON XXII.
THE FREE GIFTS OF GOD.

WHITSUNDAY.

1 COR. ii. 12.

"We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things which are freely given us of God."

THE Church's collect for Whitsunday mentions two gifts of the Holy Ghost, and instructs us to pray for them together. Those two gifts are Wisdom and Joy, "to have a right judgement in all things, " and "evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort." We, the Christians who are now living, when we say that collect, put our Lord in mind of what He did for the first Christians on the first Whitsunday. He "taught the hearts of His faithful people, by sending upon them the light of His Holy Spirit." Such sayings represent to us the condition of Christians, here in this present world, as being, in some respects, like that of children in a school. Christ our Teacher; His Creed our lesson; our hearts the tablet on which that lesson is written; His Spirit, that by which it is written: as S. Paul says of his own instructions, that they were written "not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." So it is now, and so it has been from the beginning. Men think that they learn Christian knowledge at school, by reading such and such lessons, getting by heart the answers to such and such questions. And it is very true that such things, rightly used, are helps to knowledge; but they are not the same as Christian knowledge by a great deal; they are but words, in which a child, yea or a man, may be perfect, and yet not know anything really of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. To learn certain words and sayings, and the history, how certain things happened, is what any may do for himself, if he will take the trouble. The spirit of the world, that is, men's natural skill knowledge and understanding, what they are born with, or what they obtain by experience, will enable them to say the right words; but it will never help them to have the right thoughts. The Apostles, they might have known in other ways, as Pilate and the chief priests knew, the things which happened about the Death and Passion of our Lord; but to know the power and virtue of that Death, to enter into the true spirit and meaning of it, that is what the whole world and all its wisdom could never have taught anyone. That kind of knowledge must be God's special teaching: the Apostles, to have that knowledge, received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God. The Third Person in the Blessed Trinity, Whom Christ our Lord sent down as on this day to dwell in men's hearts, uniting them to Himself, He only could teach us really to know, what we may easily enough teach ourselves to answer and talk about, the things which are freely given us of God, the great matters which He has done for us, for no merit of ours, but entirely of His free gift. We can neither judge of these things rightly, nor rejoice in them holily, without Him.

What a great and wonderful thought is here! That, whenever a person thinks worthily on the secrets of God as made known to us in the Bible by the Church, that person is under the immediate teaching of God's Spirit: he is partaker, in some slight measure, of that which is called inspiration: the Breath of God is breathed into him, more or less, in the same sort of way as it was breathed of old into the Apostles and Prophets. What a fearful thing, then, must it be, for any one to deal carelessly and irreverently with Christian instruction; which, so far as it is anything real and good in any wise, is the very teaching of the Most High and Holy God, the Wisdom from above conversing with us, not face to face, nor word to word, but, as a holy Bishop once said, "thought to thought." Truly we know not what we do, when we turn away from such good and holy meditations. Still less, when, having been favoured with them, we depart to our old ways, our old sins. And even when men fall short of such extreme impiety, it is no small guilt and danger which they bring on themselves, by talking and thinking of the ways of God and Christ without deep and due humility, as in God's presence. So our Lord warned the Jews, when they received disrespectfully His sayings concerning the Bread which came down from Heaven, "Murmur not among yourselves: no man can come unto Me, except the Father, which hath sent Me, draw him." "No man can come unto Me, except it be given him of My Father." As if He had said, ''you think, the truths of the Gospel, the meaning of the Scriptures, the lessons of the Church, are matters on which you may use your judgement, just as on things of this world, relying on your own skill and sense. Be not deceived: it is not so. Left to your own skill and sense, you will surely go wrong in these things. If you are right in them, it is only because the Father is drawing you to Him by His Spirit." Think earnestly on this, and let it make you very humble, very full of fear and reverential awe, like persons who, being present at some aweful religious ceremony, scarce dare lift up their eyes or draw their breath: like Moses, when he hid his face and was afraid to look upon God: like our Lord's disciples, when at various times they were afraid to ask Him questions, knowing, as S. John says, that He was the Lord. So ought we all to tremble and restrain ourselves, when divine matters are spoken or thought of, those matters, which we know the Holy Ghost has kept for His own especial teaching.

S. Paul in the text speaks especially of "the things which are freely given us of God." "The Spirit which is of God," he says, helps us to know about those things: the spirit of the world, mere human skill or learning, never could have obtained us that knowledge. Consider for a moment what these things are, "freely given us of God," the knowledge of which is so divine and aweful. Some of them are already bestowed on us in this world: for some we must wait until it please Him to bring us to a better world. Now already, even in this world, we are, by the special working of the good Spirit, born again; already in this world we are made "members of Christ, children of God, inheritors of the kingdom of heaven." We have learned to say this long ago: we have said it over and over, as often as we have said our catechism: but are we used, really and in earnest, to meditate upon it? How often do we try to withdraw our thoughts from the company and concerns of this present world, and to fix them on this great truth, that we are members of Christ; really and truly united to Him Who was made Man and died for us on the Cross? How often have we said to ourselves, when temptation came near, and we were in danger of evil thoughts, "Do we not know that our bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then bear the thought of taking the members of Christ and making them the members of an harlot?" Do we, or do we not, force ourselves to respect and love all Christians that come in our way, considering that they, as well as we, are members of Him Who died on the Cross; of His Body, of His flesh and of His bones?

Again, God has freely given us to be His own children. We may say to Him, "Abba, Father." We may kneel before Him as often as we please, saying, "Our Father, which art in heaven." What have we done, what are we doing, in the way of earnest meditation on this great gift? How many troubles have we borne patiently, from a deep conviction and feeling, "It is our Father; He knows best; He doth not afflict willingly?" How many good works have we set about, not for any present or worldly purpose, but with sincere purpose, that our Father's Fame should be honoured and His Will done? How frequently have we ventured on what we know to be right, not minding the foolish wonder and unkind sayings, which we might bring on ourselves, so long as we could but obtain approbation from our Father out of sight?

But God freely gave us also to be "inheritors of the kingdom of heaven." When, of ourselves we were but dust and under sentence to return to dust, for our own and our father's sins, He breathed into us by His Spirit the breath of everlasting life; He gave us the hope of reigning for ever with Christ. Look back, my brethren: remember your own ways of thought. How much of your daily time and care is taken up with recollection of this great thing? How near have you come as yet to the good advice of the wise man, "Whatsoever thou takest in hand, remember the end." Remember the great end of all things: remember death and judgement: remember eternity: remember that what you now do will make a difference to you for ever. Have these been your sayings to yourself to-day? or yesterday? or the day before that? Have you ever made it a rule to have such thoughts?

These are some of the good gifts, which Christ gave us when He made us Christians: and He gave them quite freely. We had not done, we could not do anything, to win for ourselves so great blessings. We were but little infants in our nurses' arms, unable to have any thoughts of our own at all: and as full of natural corruption, as much by our own nature inclined to evil, as any of the millions born in heathen lands, or before the coming of Christ, whom God never called to Himself in this world, at all. This is our election: and we ought to think more of it than we do. We ought to be more thankful than we are, for not having been born or left among those, who never had the chance of being made members of Christ. They are by very far the greater part of mankind. Even at this present time there are supposed to be in the world, by hundreds of millions, more unbelievers than believers. Who elected and chose us out; us, I say, who are here present, that we should be here in Christ's portion, rather than far away in the portion of the enemy? Surely this also is much to be thought upon, that every one of these great things is freely given to us of God. They are all of grace, not of debt. They came not of our works or deservings; they were a mere and pure gift, as much as our life and being was so.

God's gifts to us in Holy Baptism were freely given; yet when we think of them under the guidance of His Spirit, we shall remember that they are not yet absolutely ours: we may forfeit them, if we choose to do so. We never could have won them for ourselves, but we may lose them for ourselves. This also is a point to be much borne in mind. If you think of the privileges of Christianity as being yours for certain, you have great reason to fear that your thoughts are breathed into you by the spirit of the world, not by the Spirit of God. For the Spirit of God ever whispers, "Be not high-minded, but fear. Remember that you are running a race; and the prize is not yet won. Keep yourself under, both body and soul: bring yourself into subjection, lest after all you be a cast-away." So speaks the Spirit of God to the souls of Christians, even the most saintly, while they are yet in this world.

Thus He teaches us to "have a right judgement in all things:" but for the other part of the Church's Whitsuntide prayer, that "we may evermore rejoice in His holy comfort," for that He rather bids us look on to the other world. For our comfort He reveals to us, what "eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man: the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." He so far reveals heaven to His faithful and obedient ones, that they may have a sure and certain hope of it, and a dim and mysterious delight in meditating on it, and considering what it may be. As those who are to be introduced to some wise and kind person, who has done great things for them, but whom they have never yet seen, naturally spend much time beforehand in conjecturing how he will look, who will attend him, under what circumstances they shall be admitted to so great an honour: so those who have the Spirit of Christ may be expected to turn their thoughts, in humble hope and joy, towards that moment of glory and perfection, when they shall see Him face to face, see Him as He is, and be made like unto Him.

And even in this world, they may take to themselves this great comfort, that they look at things, in some measure, as Jesus Christ does: they have the mind of Christ; a fellow-feeling and sympathy with Him. Although they know themselves to be full of sin and error, and never for a moment imagine that they are quite right in any one thing, yet Almighty God mercifully allows them, on the whole, the witness of a good conscience: they go on, from day to day and from hour to hour, in a reasonable hope, that they are on Christ's side, and not on the side of His enemy: that their sentences and thoughts about things are, on the whole, such as He approves: that He is with them and not against them, guiding them upwards, not suffering them to fall more and more away from Him.

Such is the good and comfortable hope of those who practise indeed in Christ's school, keeping the commandments as well as learning them by rote. They must not be disheartened, if others misunderstand them. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." And many persons, by sin and unbelief, have brought themselves more or less back into this their natural condition; they, of course, find fault with holiness when they see it, just as a heathen person would have done. We must deal calmly and charitably with them, but we must not be disheartened by what they say or think of us.

Neither again let it daunt us too much, if we feel, as surely almost every one of us must feel, that we are but beginners and babes in Christ; requiring, as the Apostle speaks afterwards, to be fed with milk and not with meat. We may well indeed be humbled and ashamed, that we so long continue in that imperfect state, when, for the time, perhaps, we ought to be teachers. Well may it humble and shame, but it must not discourage us. If we are sorry to be but children in understanding, let us strive at least to be children, i. e. inexperienced, in malice and mischief; and He will help us, by degrees, to a more manly way of understanding things also. Put off carnal thoughts, thoughts of pleasing yourself. Be ready to take the lowest place, without inwardly praising yourself for doing so. Pray, strive, watch, against envying and strife and divisions. Be content to learn in Christ's school, which is the Church, instead of making out ways of your own. Try to fix your thoughts very often on the Presence and teaching of the good Spirit: learn more and more to fear and reverence Him, as actually abiding in your heart, and to think tremblingly of holy things, as pertaining especially to Him. These are safe and sure ways to have the Holy Ghost for our teacher through life, and our Comforter in the last great Day.

Project Canterbury