re many, are
one body in Christ, and severally members one of another. 6 And having
gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us.

THE FRUITS OF FAITH.

1. In the preceding sermons I have treated sufficiently of faith and
love; and of crosses and afflictions, the promoters of hope. Faith,
love and affliction bound the Christian's life. It is unnecessary that
I should further discourse on these topics. As they--or anything
pertaining to the life of the Christian--present themselves, reference
may be had to those former postils. It is my purpose now briefly to
make plain that the sum of all divine doctrine is simply Jesus Christ,
as we have often heard.

2. This epistle lesson treats not of faith, but of the fruits of
faith--love, unity, patience, self-denial, etc. Among these fruits,
the apostle considers first the discipline of the body--the
mortification of evil lusts. He handles the subject here in a manner
wholly unlike his method in other epistles. In Galatians he speaks of
crucifying the flesh with its lusts; in Hebrews and Colossians, of
putting off the old man and mortifying the members on earth. Here he
mentions presenting the body as a sacrifice; he dignifies it by the
loftiest and most sacred terms. Why does he so?

First, by making the terms glorious, he would the more emphatically
urge us to yield this fruit of faith. The whole world regards the
priest's office--his service and his dignity--as representing the acme
of nobility and exaltation; and so it truly does. Now, if one would be
a priest and exalted before God, let him set about this work of
offering up his body to God; in other words, let him be humble, let
him be nothing in the eyes of the world.

3. I will let every man decide for himself the difference between the
outward priesthood of dazzling character and the internal, spiritual
priesthood. The first is confined to a very few individuals; the
second, Christians commonly share. One was ordained of men,
independently of the Word of God; the other was established through
the Word, irrespective of human devices. In that, the skin is
besmeared with material oil; in this, the heart is internally anointed
with the Holy Spirit. That applauds and extols its works; this
proclaims and magnifies the grace of God, and his glory. That does not
offer up the body with its lusts, but rather fosters the evil desires
of the flesh; this sacrifices the body and mortifies its lusts. The
former