election of office-bearers is taking place
nowadays, of men, say, to manage the temporal affairs of Christ's
Church, who ever thinks of looking out for "men full of the Holy
Ghost"? Many a man is elected to office in the Church of the Living
God who "has not the Spirit of Christ" at all--who is therefore not
a child of God, much less "full of the Holy Ghost." "He is a man of
social position, a man of means; if he is not full of the Holy
Ghost, he is at least full of this world's goods, and you know he
will be a pillar in our Church." Yes, as some one has well remarked,
he will be a _cater_-pillar! The Church of the New Testament does
not need pillars of that kind. The Church of Jesus Christ and His
apostles does not require to be propped up by children of the devil.
What right have we to ask an "alien," a man who is "without Christ,"
"having no hope and without God in the world," to assist in managing
and controlling Father's House? Such was not apostolic practice. "Be
ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" (2 Cor. vi. 14).
What an amount of unequal yoking there is in many of our Churches,
although the Church's Lord expressly forbids it! "Thou shalt not
plough with an ox and an ass together" (Deut. xxii. 10).

Who is responsible for this unequal yoking? Is it not the Church members
that elect these men and put them into office in the Church of God? Church
members, beware! next time offices are to be filled in your Church,
whether they have to do with the temporal affairs or with the spiritual,
remember apostolic advice, "Look ye out from among you men full of the
Spirit." When we get back in this matter to apostolic practice, we may
hope to get back apostolic blessing, but not till then.

Acts vi. 5, "Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit." In
those brave days of old it was a case of demand and supply.
Wanted--seven men full of the Holy Ghost; and immediately they were
forthcoming! Is the trouble nowadays in the demand or in the supply?
In both. The demand for Spirit-filled men is very slack; but even
if the demand revived to-morrow, how lamentably few in our Churches
could be found bearing the trade mark as "up to sample!" Still there
are not wanting signs of revival in both demand and supply. Let us
remember that Stephen's companions were