Having referred to this scripture a few months back, it becomes necessary, through a misconception, to add a few words. Our former remarks were confined to the expression— “all them also that love His appearing,” which we regarded, and still regard, as characteristic of all believers. Together with this, it is undoubtedly true that the passage treats of reward for labor, for fidelity in service. This is evident from the context, and hence it is not to be inferred that all who love the Lord’s appearing will receive the same crown of righteousness. Such a thought is forbidden by the words, “The righteous Judge.” He will discriminate between one and another, and will decide upon the service of each with unerring accuracy, and will, in His grace, assign to each a crown of righteousness according to His righteous estimate of the work of each—work produced by grace, and then by grace rewarded. As another has written, “The work of the Spirit through us is rewarded by the crown of righteousness, and everyone will have a reward according to his labor. Christ brings us all, according to the grace of God, into the enjoyment of His own glory, to be with Him and like Him. This is our common portion according to the eternal counsels of God; but a place is prepared by the Father, and given by the Son, according to the work wrought by the power of the Spirit in each believer in his particular position. It is not Paul only who will receive this crown from the righteous Judge; all who love the Lord’s appearing will appear with Him in the glory that is personally destined to each, and that is adjudged to him when the Lord appears.” It will thus be seen that to maintain that “all who love His appearing” applies to all believers is in no way inconsistent with the teaching of the doctrine of rewards in this scripture.