EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
The Service of Christ is set forth in the Epistle of to-day as no slavery,
but a sonship. Those who do the works of a true obedience to Him
do them by the help of the Spirit of God; those who are led by the Spirit
of God are adopted children of Him whose Only-begotten received the same
Spirit without measure; those who are adopted sons of God are heirs of
His eternal gifts, joint-heirs with Christ Himself, reigning with Him as
priests and kings for ever. Such is the course of the Apostle's reasoning
and revelation; and it is further illustrated by the words of our Lord
in the Gospel, which, as the saying of the Eternal Word, living and powerful
and sharper than any two-edged sword, discriminates between those who only
say unto Him, "Lord, Lord," by an outward profession, and those whose sonship
is made evident by their fruits, the doing of the will of God.
