LIFE AND INCORRUPTION
‘Life and Incorruption.’
2 Timothy 1:10 (R.V.)
The more we contrast the conceptions of the life after death in the two Testaments, the more certain does it become that the life and incorruption of which our text speaks is absolutely a New Testament conception, and that it was Christ, and especially His Resurrection, that converted the dim and confused hopes of existence after death into the certainties of a true life in a true and incorruptible body.
I. And yet men often think and speak as if our hope of immortality and of a true life after death could be maintained independently of the historical fact that Christ rose again from the dead, and took again the body which had hung upon the cross. There are indeed, I fear, indications that this inability to recognise the certain and vital truth that not only our own future—the future of the individual—but the future of this world in which we dwell—yea, verily, and of the whole universe—are bound up with the fact of the Lord’s resurrection—there are indications, I say, that the ability to realise this is increasing rather than diminishing.
II. But it is on real union with Christ that the life and in-corruption which He brought to light alone can be vouchsafed to us. Our life is then bound up with His life. As His body was laid in the tomb, so will ours be laid in the chambers of the grave. As He, in soul and spirit, vouchsafed to enter the waiting world of the departed, so shall we enter that mystic realm. As He rose with His own veritable body, so shall we rise with our own bodies as those bodies shall have become inwardly fashioned during our earthly pilgrimage, by our deeds in the body, and by the tenor of our whole life and conversation.
—Bishop Ellicott.

CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE
‘I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.’
2 Timothy 1:12
St. Paul knows what none of the wise men of this world know. He knows his Saviour. Here we have an account of this knowledge and the use he made of it.
I. The deposit which St. Paul made.—He speaks of having ‘committed’ something—a remarkable expression, which indicates that the transaction is of great importance. Now what was it that St. Paul had committed? Without a doubt, he committed his soul. Why had he done so? It has been well said, because he was so convinced of its value. You cannot save yourself, you cannot sanctify yourself, and therefore if your soul is to be safe it must be placed in the hands of another. But St. Paul committed not only his soul, though it was the most precious thing he had, but himself, body, soul, and spirit; he committed his cares, his hopes, his prospects, all he desired, wished, and hoped for, he made a complete and entire surrender of everything he had to Jesus Christ.
II. The persuasion which He had about it.—What was the confidence he expressed about this deposit which he had made? What was his persuasion? ‘I am persuaded,’ he says, that ‘He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him.’ What did he mean?
(a) That Christ was able to keep him from finally falling away.
(b) That He was able to keep him from being overwhelmed in the days of sorrow, temptation, discouragement, affliction, and darkness.
(c) That God was able to keep the soul which he had thus committed to Him from falling into sin. This is a far greater demand on his faith than any other. He believed Christ was ‘able to guard him from stumbling’ ( Jude 1:24).
III. The ground upon which this persuasion rested.—It was personal knowledge of Him Whom he trusted. ‘I know Whom I have believed,’ not ‘what.’ Not the doctrines of the Gospel, though no man knew them better. The writer of the Epistle to the Romans was no novice in Christian doctrine, but he says nothing about doctrines. ‘I know Whom.’ Not a doctrine but a Person.
Rev. E. W. Moore.
Illustration
‘During the last illness of the late Dr. Alexander, of Princeton, he was visited by a former student. After a few words of conversation had been exchanged, the venerable doctor said to the young disciple, “Give me some text to help me, quote me some text that will strengthen me for the last battle.” And the young man repeated the words, “I know ‘in’ Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” “No,” said the doctor, “that is not right; it is not ‘ in Whom,’ it is ‘ Whom.’ I will not have even a preposition between me and my Saviour.” “I know Whom.” ’

THE CHURCH AND ITS FAITH
‘That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost Which dwelleth in us.’
2 Timothy 1:14
There is no Church throughout the world that has a nobler or more sublime faith than the Church of England. What are we doing to preserve the sublimity of this faith? Are we trying to preserve its noble simplicity? Are we trying to do honour to our own Church, or are we content to be honoured by her in living on the glory of her past?
I. We ought to support such agencies as the Church uses to promote its efforts throughout the civilised world. Every Churchman ought to be a missionary in the best sense of the word. Every Churchman who believes that the Church represents the best symbol of God’s truth ought to subscribe to the utmost of his power to support the Church in all its agencies—both national and parochial.
II. We ought in our own circles to proclaim the Church’s faith.—We ought to present its claim to our friends; not to let ourselves be held back by that false liberalism which teaches that any form of faith is as good as another. We ought to feel that we have access to the Well of Living Water for which the whole world is athirst.
III. We ought to live our daily lives so as to set forth before men the moral and spiritual loveliness of the faith we have received. It is a shame to us that we see men and women outside the Church who are living holier, purer, and more devoted lives than we are. We ought to see that, little though our life may be, though we may be poor, men may be able to say that the faith in us has helped towards goodness and faithful service. Do not be Church people only in name. Do not let this faith seem to you merely a thing to argue about. Open your hearts to this faith which commends itself to your reason. Open your innermost spirit to this faith which alone can satisfy your soul. Let us live in it! Let us set it forth before men visibly in all that we think, in all that we do, in all that we are.
Illustration
‘It is the Church of England which represents the religious genius of the country. The Church of England has made the British race what it is. It is the Church of England that struggled for long centuries to secure the liberty and freedom which is our boast to-day; it is the Church of England that broke down the tyranny of kings; it is the Church of England that shattered paralysing ecclesiasticism; it is the Church of England that gave us the Word of God in our own tongue; it is the Church of England which has established the schools, colleges, and universities for the advancement of learning; it is the Church of England that alone until quite recent times provided for the education of the poor. This may seem to us a very boastful theme, but it is a theme that you may take to the highest Court of History and substantiate for yourselves.’