The Thessalonians gave such evidence of "the work of faith" (1: 3), that the apostle

Paul, who would not be easily satisfied in such matters, said that he had "no need to

speak anything", yet in chapter 3:, even after he had received good tidings of their faith,

and had been comforted by their faith, he still desired to see them that he might perfect

that which was lacking in their faith. There seems on every hand this aspect of truth, and

it is this special phase that permeates the teaching of the Epistle to the Philippians. We

have before pointed out that fundamental doctrine is not the feature of that epistle; the

apostle is dealing with the things that accompany salvation; he reminds them that it had

been graciously given them not only to believe, but to suffer. The offering of Christ is

not set forth as the great redemption, but as the great example, sin and the forgiveness of

sin are not doctrines that the theme of Philippians demands; the subject of sin and

redemption must be settled before the teaching of Philippians can be appreciated. In

every dispensation there seem to have been those who "have gone on unto perfection",

but they have been a minority. Joshua and Caleb are examples; these two men were the

only adults who crossed both the Red Sea and the Jordan, the others, including Moses

and Aaron, though redeemed, never entered the land of promise. The Sermon on the

mount has this special teaching in view, for after introducing a series of beatitudes that

call for a high order of faith (Matt. 5: 1-12), and a character that can be likened to salt and

light (13-16), the Lord, by a six-fold emphasis, "Ye have heard", "but I, I say unto you",

teaches a deeper spirituality than was possible under the law, summing up the whole by

the words, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect".

These words are not "the laws of the kingdom", although they anticipate its spirit.

In the kingdom that is coming there will be no room for such words as, "Blessed are

ye when men shall revile you and persecute you", or "Whosoever shall smite thee on the

right cheek, turn to him the other also". These counsels are very pertinent, however, to

the time when the wilderness has still to be traveled and the promised land is still

unentered. Rightly understood, the Sermon on the Mount is to the believers of the

kingdom dispensation what Philippians is to the dispensation of the mystery. Suffering,

meekness, yieldingness ("moderation", Phil. 4: 5), the mind of Christ, conformity to His

death, these the elements that go towards "perfecting". To the "babes", to those who

"walked as men", to those who at Corinth were "as carnal" and not "as spiritual" the

apostle could not speak of deep and advanced truth; among them that were perfect,

however, he did speak of "the wisdom of God in a mystery, which God had ordained

before the ages unto their glory".

That the teaching should find opponents among those who should be its exponents is

no proof that it is not scriptural. Those who may feel the call of the Word to venture on

this pathway do so, indeed, with fear and trembling, they least of all say anything

concerning their own attainments, and however much those who miss their meaning may

seek to destroy their witness or misrepresent their teaching, they must persevere in their,

oft-times, lonely path. One thing is certain, and that is, that those who take their place

with the lowly apostle will never be found saying other than "not as though I were

already perfected". When we have in deed as well as in word "counted all things loss",

when it is true of us that "Christ shall be magnified in our bodies whether by life or by