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Is this the Saviour of the world? Is this the King of the Jews, nay, and the Prince of the kings of the earth? Yes, this is he, who, though he was rich, yet, for our sakes, became thus poor. However, these wise men were so wise as to see through this veil, and in this despised babe to discern the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father; they did not think themselves balked or baffled in their enquiry; but, as having found the King they sought, they presented themselves first, and then their gifts, to him. 1. They presented themselves to him: they fell down, and worshipped him. We do not read that they gave such honour to Herod, though he was in the height of his royal grandeur; but to this babe they gave this honour, not only as to a king (then they would have done the same to Herod), but as to a God. Note, All that have found Christ fall down before him; they adore him, and submit themselves to him. He is thy Lord, and worship thou him. It will be the wisdom of the wisest of men, and by this it will appear they know Christ, and understand themselves and their true interests, if they be humble, faithful worshippers of the Lord Jesus. 2. They presented their gifts to him. In the eastern nations, when they did homage to their kings, they made them presents; thus the subjection of the kings of Sheba to Christ is spoken of (Ps. 72:10), They shall bring presents, and offer gifts. See Isa. 60:6. Note, With ourselves, we must give up all that we have to Jesus Christ; and if we be sincere in the surrender of ourselves to him, we shall not be unwilling to part with what is dearest to us, and most valuable, to him and for him; nor are our gifts accepted, unless we first present ourselves to him living sacrifices. God had respect to Abel, and then to his offering. The gifts they presented were, gold, frankincense, and myrrh, money, and money’s-worth. Providence sent this for a seasonable relief to Joseph and Mary in their present poor condition. These were the products of their own country; what God favours us with, we must honour him with. Some think there was a significancy in their gifts; they offered him gold, as a king, paying him tribute, to Caesar, the things that are Caesar’s; frankincense, as God, for they honoured God with the smoke of incense; and myrrh, as a Man that should die, for myrrh was used in embalming dead bodies. - Matthew Henry.
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Here we have a wonderful exhortation in Philippians 1. It is interesting to note that Paul and co-inspired author Timothy address the epistle to the "saints" which literally means "holy ones" of the ekklesia. The eternal church is primarily in view. The epistle was written about 62 A.D. and it appears the believers in Philippi were suffering servere persecution, perhaps most likely from Jewish opposition. But to us today the scripture of course goes far beyond this:
"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." (1 Timothy 3:12-17).
The Bible was written for us today so we must ask, what are these verses teaching us today? As we do, it should be noted that those in opposition to the gospel have been common in every generation.
Look at the spiritual condition of being in Christ compared to the opponent; how much sweeter and fragrant is the soul who has the faith of Christ given to them through His blood! Those who seek to dicredit or harm us as we bring the gospel are marked for their own doom. Therefore, let us be earnest and suffer for our faith.
One may ask what about the phrase in the text that says "to believe in Him"? How is that so? We believe in Him only in the sense that our belief is a gift given to us by the LORD.
Suffering for the sake of Jesus is honorable. Often in the future it strengthens us as we comfort others who are afflicted. And in our suffering we look forward to better things:
"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matthew 5:11,12).
Let's take a look at 2 Timothy concerning this, where is chapter 2 another excellent parallel is found:
"Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us" (2 Timothy 2:9-12).
So much unlike the world where loss is loss, loss for Christ is an honor and gift; this is much the nature of the spiritual life in our LORD. So we as Christians should be ever careful of our mindset as we suffer but yet remain hopeful.
The wicked may fight against the children of God but as they do they just hasten their own demise. The more fiercely they insult those who do God's will the more they bring upon themselves destruction.
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