January 30

And bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth.—Colossians 1:6.

IN these words the apostle magnifies the gospel by a view both of its efficacy and its nature.

And bringeth forth fruit. These first words show the efficacy of the gospel in producing faith, love, and holiness in the hearts of them that hear; in regard to which, preaching is aptly compared to sowing, and the word to seed, which, cast into good ground, bringeth forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

The apostle, therefore, here speaks of that spiritual fruit which is perceived in conversion, and in the entire change of manners and hearts, when men overwhelmed before in vices, begin to bloom in virtue, and become resplendent in holiness.

The Fathers everywhere laud this efficacy of the gospel. Clemens, for instance, where he says, "The gospel of Christ hath tamed the fiercest beasts, namely, very wicked men:" and Lactantius observes, "The wisdom of philosophers does not extirpate vices, but conceals them: the precepts of God change the whole man; the old Adam being cast out, they render him A NEW CREATURE." This is depicted in the prophet Isaiah by an elegant similitude: As the rain cometh down from heaven, and returneth not thither again, but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and bud; so shall my word not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

And on this passage, it is worth while to observe, that the apostle immediately subjoins the bearing of fruit to the preaching and hearing of the gospel: from which fact he teaches us that the power of the gospel consists, not so much in the illumination of the understanding, as in the reformation of the will. If this tree be not made good, and produce not the good fruits of holiness and newness of life, in vain we glory in the gospel; which falls upon unholy men not as a benefit, but as their condemnation. The earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth thorns and briers, is rejected and is nigh unto cursing.

From the day ye heard of it. The efficacy of the gospel is magnified from the circumstance of time; as soon as it was preached it began to work. Here is double praise bestowed upon the Colossians; first, for their docility, because they had immediately embraced the gospel; secondly, for their constancy, because they hitherto persist and abide in the same.

Observe, Hearers of the gospel must not procrastinate, but from the moment of its being preached they are bound both to believe it, and to bring forth fruit. Thus the apostle, To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. And truly it is the voice of the devil which says, Give the present time to sin, the future to God and the gospel; yield the flower of your age to sin, the residue to religion.

Nor, secondly, is it sufficient, as soon as the gospel is offered, to receive it with joy, and bring forth fruit; but it behooves us to persevere in each,—both in faith and in holiness. The parable of the stony ground is well known, which received seed, and brought forth fruit, yet to which it is imputed as a fault, that those fruits withered away through the heat of the sun. This inconstancy is also blamed in the Ephesian church, Revelation 2:4: I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love: —repent, and do the first works. “The past things perish,” says Cyprian, “if those things which were begun cease to go on to perfection.”

The grace of God in truth. He magnifies the gospel from that peculiar feature whereby it is distinguished from the law. For the law declares the will of God imperatively, and imposes its mandates upon us; the gospel shows the will of God savingly, and offers us grace in Christ: And these distinctions are not to be confounded by persons who would not obscure the gospel.

Here the error of the Papacy is detected, who promise to the regenerate grace and salvation in the doctrine of the law. For they teach that men are justified by inherent righteousness, and merit salvation by their works. If justification and salvation are by the law, why should the gospel be called the doctrine of grace, and be distinguished by this title from the law? Let Paul decide this question, Rom. iii.: By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested—by the faith of Christ. For all have sinned and are justified freely by his grace. Aquinas himself, convinced by such evident testimony, writes in this manner, “The legitimate use of the law is, that man should not attribute to it what is not contained in it: the hope of justification therefore does not stand in moral precepts, but in faith alone.”

In truth: that is, in truth and sincerity, free from all external disguise and hypocrisy; this is spoken to the praise of the Colossians, who, not by outward pretence, but in reality, were embracing the gospel.

Whence arises this clear evidence, that neither the name of Christian, nor of the gospel, can any ways profit men, if the reality of the things themselves be wanting. For he who is not a true Christian, is not a Christian at all; he who is not truly evangelical, is not evangelical at all. Hence that rebuke denounced against the Angel of the church at Sardis, Revelation 3:1: Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

"I see the perfect law requires Truth in the inward parts; Our full consent, our whole desires, Our undivided hearts."