“FOR finding fault with them, he saith, Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” Heb. 8:8.
HAVING now seen with whom the new covenant is made, namely, with Israel and Judah, and how the Gentiles come in to share in its blessing, namely, by joining themselves to the commonwealth of Israel through Christ, thus becoming Abraham's seed, we now inquire,
When was the new covenant made? In Matt. 26:26-30, we have an account of the institution of the Lord's supper. After he had broken the bread, “He took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying; Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” The blood of Christ is the blood of the new covenant, the word testament, as already noticed, being the same as covenant. The disciples present on this occasion were Jews, and there, as representatives of the whole Christian church, they entered into the new covenant with the Lord. God had now set forth Christ as the Saviour of the world, virtually proposing to all that if they would receive him and his offering, on the conditions which he, in his divine teaching for three years and a half, had set before them, they should receive the remission of their sins, as it was for this purpose that his blood was shed. And they by partaking of those emblems, accepted the arrangement.
The next day Christ's blood was actually shed upon the cross, and there the new covenant was ratified and sealed. Paul says, “For a testament is of force after men are dead; otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.” From that moment the new covenant was in force. And right in connection with this fact we call attention to what Paul says concerning the ratification of a covenant: “Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth thereto.” Gal. 3:15.
When a covenant is once confirmed no change can be made in it, not an item can be added, and not an item can be taken from it. And if this is true of a covenant made by man, how much more of one made by the Lord! After the new covenant was ratified, therefore, upon the cross, no addition whatever could be made to it, and nothing taken from it.
Now we ask where Sunday-keeping comes in. Where was that incorporated into the new covenant as one of its provisions and duties? We have never yet heard the claim put forth that it originated the other side of the cross. It is always placed this side, Then it is too late. It could not be added after the covenant was confirmed by the blood of the cross, on Paul's showing. Even if its origin could be traced back to the days of the apostles, it would avail nothing. We deny that it can be traced to that early date. It is lost in the theological bosh and bogs of the days of Constantine. But if it could be traced beyond that, to the days of the earlier fathers, to the days of the apostles, to the day of Pentecost, even to the day of the resurrection, still “Too late!” must be branded upon its brazen brow, and we must regard it as an interloper, an intruder, a usurper, a fraud, and a deception. It has no place in the new covenant, and we are under no obligation thereto.
But what of the Sabbath? We answer, The Minister of the new covenant was careful to affirm its perpetuity and consequent binding obligation in this dispensation, by affirming in the most positive manner, the perpetuity and immutability of that law of which it is an integral part; that law which is the standard of righteousness, and from which not a jot or tittle was to pass while the heavens and the earth should remain. Matt. 5:17-20.
And the prophecy of the new covenant, itself, has something very emphatic to say about the law. Under this covenant says God, “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.” As Paul quotes it, it reads, “I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts.” To what law does this prophecy refer? To that which was the law of God in the days of Jeremiah, which no one will dispute was the ten commandments. If it does not mean this, then it should have read, I will put a new law into their minds, and write it in their hearts.
And if, as our opponents contend, the law of ten commandments was the old covenant to be abolished, the prophecy of the change should have read, This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: I will abolish my law, and take it out of their way. Or if the law was not to be abolished, but only changed, that fact should have been noted in some such language as this: This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: I will change my law, and adapt it to the genius of the gospel dispensation.
But it says nothing of this kind, as the reader has sufficiently noticed. It says, I will put my law into their inward parts, and write it in their hearts. I will incorporate it into their very being; I will take away the carnal mind which is not subject to the law of God, so that it will be their delight to keep it in sincerity and truth.
And this is further indicated in the fact that when the Minister of the new covenant came to take away the first and establish the second, he said, “I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea thy law is within my heart.” Ps. 40:8; Heb. 10:5-9. And as he was, in all holy affections and loyalty to God, so must all his followers be.
But if we take the ground of our opponents, what is the difference between the old and new covenants? The old covenant being the ten commandments which people were then to obey, the new covenant is the code of requirements in force under this dispensation. And what are these? The same exactly as the original ten with the Sabbath left out! The old covenant was therefore imperfect and faulty because the Lord had inadvertently put a Sabbath into it; so he undertakes to make a better one by giving the same law over again, leaving the Sabbath out. But as soon as this is done, lo! it is found that the Sabbath cannot be dispensed with; for even man's physical necessities imperatively demand it. Mentally, morally and physically, society would plunge into complete anarchy and ruin, were it not for this beneficent institution.
Now what shall be done? Under these circumstances men step in to remedy this defect which the Lord has made in the new covenant; and the apostles, or somebody else, give to the church a new Sabbath. Then having a Sabbath inserted, is not the new covenant identically the same as the old? Oh! no; for another day is taken, which, as a Sabbath, has no foundation in fact, and no earthly significance whatever, and the Sabbath is put upon that day, and then it is all right! So the old covenant was one with a seventh-day Sabbath, and the new is one with a first-day Sabbath. The trouble, then, was not with the Sabbath in itself considered but only with the day on which it was kept. And the only trouble with the day, we must conclude, was, that it was a day on which God rested in the beginning; for that alone gave it all its significance.
This is a fair statement of the case; but does it look like the work of the Lord? Does it not look like the short-sighted and blundering work of men, or rather like the work of the great foe of all righteousness, who is working behind the scenes, to impel mankind into every species of error and confusion?
If, then, under the new covenant that law which requires the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath is written in the heart of every believer, how does it happen that multitudes who have lived under this covenant, and who have certainly enjoyed the blessing and favor of God, have lived and died in the observance of the first day of the week? This is with many a very perplexing question. But we think it is subject to a fair and consistant solution. We reply, that these persons have had the true principle of obedience implanted in their hearts. And they have kept the first day of the week, because they have for a time labored under a misapprehension of what the law requires. In keeping that day, they supposed honestly they were rendering obedience to the fourth commandment of the decalogue; or in not keeping any day in a true Sabbatical sense, they have supposed honestly that God's law required nothing of the kind at their hands. Had they become convinced that the fourth commandment required of them the observance of the seventh day, whether they were keeping another day or no day, would they not have immediately changed their practice accordingly? Assuredly, every individual of them. Otherwise the principle of obedience was not in their hearts, and they were not in covenant relation with God.
Therefore, leaving them with the Lord, who will deal with all in accordance with the light they have enjoyed, and the sincerity with which they have followed it, it becomes us all to look rather for the truth of our time, and to our own circumstances and obligations. Paul speaks of times of ignorance which God winked at, and other times of greater light when he commanded all men everywhere to repent. Our times are of this latter character. Covering after covering, which the great apostasy has thrown over the law of God and other portions of his truth, has been lifted off, and men are accountable to God for the increasing light. We are living in days of reform preparatory to the coming of Christ, and we have reached the last reform; for we can find nothing higher nor holier than that law of liberty which is designed to develop perfect characters in us, and by which we are to be judged in the last day. Jas. 2:10-12. Friend, you may heretofore have honestly kept the first day of the week for the Sabbath, and have enjoyed the favor of God; but you can do so no longer. The light has now come clearly forth; and before whomsoever it is set, he has no longer a cloak for following the traditions of men.
Blessed be God, for so graciously condescending to take mankind into covenant relation with himself. Reader, are you yet a stranger from these covenants of promise? If so, you are without hope. The present brief scene of turmoil and trouble, and then the regrets, the remorse, and the pains of the second death, for privileges unimproved and mercies abused, are your only portion. In place of this infinite evil, you may have infinite good. Join yourself to the commonwealth of Israel. Christ is the way; and he invites you to come. The promises are of value untold, and will soon be fulfilled. The opportunity will expire by limitation when Christ concludes his work as priest. Come while you may. And soon in that heavenly city, which bears upon the twelve foundations with which it is garnished the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and upon its twelve gates of pearl, the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, and into which all who have entered into covenant relation with God, both of the literal and spiritual seed, will have a right to enter, you will realize what an infinite blessing was couched in that arrangement through which God condescended to be our God, and took us to be his people. U. S.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES.
SOUL IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
THE word soul, in the Old Testament, is translated principally from the Hebrew word, neh-phesh, which occurs 745 times, and is translated soul about 473 times.
Neh-phesh—Soul. The texts in which this word is translated soul are so numerous that we will not take space for them here. The reader, however, will have no difficulty in determining its use, when we state the fact that the word soul in every instance in the Old Testament comes from neh-phesh, with the following exceptions; Job xxx, 15, where soul comes from n'dee-vah, and Isa. lvii, 16, where it comes from n'shah-mah.
It is translated forty-three different ways. Besides the above, it is rendered by the various pronouns, and breath, beast, fish, creature, ghost, pleasure, desire, etc. Neh-phesh is never rendered spirit.
Neh-phesh in Gesenius' Heb. Lex. is defined as follows : "1. Breath. 2. The vital spirit, as the Greek psuche, and Latin anima, through which the body lives, i. e., the principle of life manifested in the breath." To this is also ascribed "whatever has respect to the sustenance of life by food and drink, and the contrary. Here the Eng. version often renders it by soul, but improperly." "3. The rational soul, mind, animus, as the seat of feelings, affections and emotions." "4. Concr., living thing, animal, in which is the neh-phesh, life."
Soul, in Job xxx, 15. "They pursue my soul [margin, my principal one] as the wind," is from the Hebrew word n'dee-vah which does not occur elsewhere in the Bible, and evidently has no such meaning as soul. Gesenius' Heb. Lexicon defines it thus : "Nobility; tropically, elevated and happy state, excellency."
SOUL IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
The word soul in the New Testament is rendered from psuche, and that only, and occurs 105 times. It is translated soul, life, mind, heart, us, and you, as follows:—
When Paul says in Rom. 2:6, that God "will render to every man according to his deeds," he adds in the next verse this important statement: "To them who by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honor and immortality, eternal life." Now it is manifest that this work of rendering to every man according to his deeds can only be wrought after the examination of those deeds in the judgment. It must be in consequence of the decision of the judgment that the things promised are rendered to men. It is also evident that the gift of immortality is one of the things thus rendered. As the righteous receive this gift in the very act of being resurrected from the grave, it is certain that the decision of the judgment passes upon them before the voice of the archangel and the trump of God awaken them to immortal life.
This part of the judgment work takes place where our Lord finishes his priesthood; for his last work as priest is to secure the acquittal of his people, and to obtain the decision that their sins shall be blotted out. We have learned from the Scriptures that the heavenly temple has two holy places. A further examination will evince the fact that there are two parts to the ministration of Christ; and that his last work is at the tribunal of his Father, in the tabernacle of the testimony, where it is determined who shall receive immortality.
The Levitical priests served "unto the example and shadow of heavenly things." Heb. 8:5. The most important part of the service pertaining to the earthly sanctuary was that which was performed within the second apartment on the tenth day of the seventh month. Lev. 16. This is generally considered as typifying the events of the whole gospel dispensation. But we think the evidence conclusive that this chapter is a typical representation of that part of our Lord's work which is embraced in the hour of God's judgment, or in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he begins to sound.
The sixteenth chapter of Leviticus is devoted solely to the work of finishing the yearly round of service in the earthly sanctuary. This was wrought on the great day of atonement, and was of the most impressive character. First, the high priest was solemnly admonished that he was such only in a typical sense and not such in reality. For on this day, which was by far the most impressive of all, and when he entered the most holy place of the sanctuary, he must put on the plainest and humblest dress, laying aside that splendid dress which the law prescribed for him to wear on other occasions. Lev. 16:4, compared with Ex. 28. He was also to make a public acknowledgment of his own sinfulness by proceeding to offer a sin-offering for himself. Lev. 16:3, 6, 11-14. No part of this can be typical of our Lord's work, for it was expressly designed to impress upon the mind the infirmity and sinfulness of the high priest.
But this being accomplished, the high priest entered upon that work which directly shadowed forth the work of atonement. He took from the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin-offering. Lev. 16:5. On these two goats he was to cast lots; one lot was for the goat to be sacrificed, and one for the scape-goat. Then he slew the goat upon which the lot fell for a sacrifice, and with his blood he entered into the second apartment of the sanctuary. This blood he sprinkled before the mercy-seat and upon it. He did this for two purposes: 1. To make atonement for the people; 2. To cleanse the sanctuary by removing from it the sins of the people of God. Then the high priest returned into the first apartment and cleansed the altar from the sins of the people. The sanctuary being cleansed, the high priest comes out of the door of the building and having caused the live goat to be brought, he lays both his hands upon his head and confesses over him all the transgressions of the children of Israel in all their sins. These he puts upon the head of the goat and sends him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat thus sent bears away all their iniquities into a land not inhabited. Lev. 16:7-10, 15-22.
The work of the high priest on the day of atonement was not his whole work in putting away sin. While the ministration was confined to the first apartment which was for the whole period of the year but this day, the priest offered the blood of sin-offering in that apartment to make reconciliation, i. e., to begin the work of atonement. Lev. 4. It was by this very work that the sins were transferred to the sanctuary through the blood of sin-offering. The high priest on the day of atonement takes up this unfinished work and completes it. The business of the day is to finish the great work of atonement for the people of God, and to remove their sins from the sanctuary, and place them upon the head of the scape-goat. The work in the second apartment of the earthly sanctuary does not therefore represent the whole gospel dispensation, but simply that part of it devoted to the finishing of the mystery of God in the days of the seventh angel's voice when he begins to sound; in other words, it is the work embraced in that period of time denominated the hour of God's judgment.
There was a period in "the example and shadow of heavenly things" devoted to the finishing of the high priest's work. There is such a period devoted to the finishing of the work of Christ in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, at the conclusion of the gospel dispensation. That work in the "shadow of good things to come," was accomplished in the second apartment of the earthly sanctuary. This work in like manner is wrought in the second apartment of the sanctuary in heaven. It is a remarkable fact that the opening of the second apartment of the temple in heaven is an event located under the seventh angel's voice, i. e., in the very time when the work of probation is to be finished. Rev. 10:7; 11:15-19.
The opening of the second apartment of the heavenly temple is with manifest reference to the accomplishment of the events which transpire in the finishing of the mystery of God. These are, 1. The session of the judgment by the Ancient of Days. Dan. 7:9-14; Rev. 11:18; 14:6, 7. 2. The conclusion of the priesthood of Christ at this tribunal in the blotting out of sins. Acts 3:19, 20. 3. The coronation of Christ. Rev. 11:15-17; Dan. 7:13, 14; Ps. 2:6-9. 4. Then the pouring out of the vials of the wrath of God. Rev. 11:18; 15; 16.
The Saviour's priesthood terminates in the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. But the very occasion on which it terminates is that of the blotting out of the sins of his people, when the Father sits in judgment. Again, the blotting out of the sins of the people of God is the very counterpart of that work in the holiest of the earthly sanctuary, whereby the sins were removed from the sanctuary to be placed upon the head of the scape-goat. The session of the investigative judgment must therefore take place in that apartment of the heavenly temple which witnesses the conclusion of our Lord's priesthood. And hence we understand that the opening of that apartment of the temple in heaven which contains the ark of the testament is for the session of the judgment described in Dan. 7. The position of the Father during this session of the investigative judgment in the second apartment of the "greater and more perfect tabernacle," is evidently alluded to in the following texts:—
Zech. 2:13: "Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord; for he is raised up out of his holy habitation."
Hab. 2:20: "But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him."
The Father enters the second apartment that he may sit in judgment. Dan. 7. The Son presents himself at his tribunal that he may finish, as high priest, his great work of atonement for the dead and the living. While the judgment of the righteous dead is going forward probation remains to the righteous living. And hence it is that after the hour of God's judgment has come, the third angel proclaims the latest message of mercy to the world of mankind. But when the sins of the righteous dead have been blotted out, and the righteous living have been prepared for the close of their probation by the work of the third angel, the Son of God terminates his priesthood, and takes his place as king upon the great white cloud. Rev. 14:6-14.
J. N. A.
Thoughts on the Book of Daniel.
By Uriah Smith
CHAPTER XI—CONTINUED.
VERSE 41. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
The facts stated relative to the campaign of the French against Turkey, and the repulse of the former at St. Jean d'Acre, were drawn chiefly from the Encyclopedia Americana. From the same source we gather further particulars respecting the retreat of the French into Egypt, and the additional reverses which compelled them to evacuate that country.
Abandoning a campaign in which one-third of the army had fallen victims to war and the plague, the French retired from St. Jean d'Acre, and after a fatiguing march of twenty-six days, re-entered Cairo in Egypt. They thus abandoned all the conquests they had made in Judea; and the "glorious land," Palestine, with all its provinces, here called "countries," fell back again under the oppressive rule of the Turk. Edom, Moab, and Ammon, lying outside the limits of Palestine, south and east of the Dead Sea and Jordan, were out of the line of march of the Turks from Syria to Egypt, and so escaped the ravages of that campaign. On this passage, Adam Clarke has the following note: "These and other Arabians they [the Turks] have never been able to subdue. They still occupy the deserts, and receive a yearly pension of forty thousand crowns of gold from the Ottoman emperors to permit the caravans with the pilgrims for Mecca to have a free passage."
Verse 42. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
On the retreat of the French to Egypt, a Turkish fleet landed 18,000 men at Aboukir. Napoleon immediately attacked the place, completely routing the Turks, and re-establishing his authority in Egypt. But at this point, severe reverses to the French arms in Europe called Napoleon home to look after the interests of his own country. The command of the troops in Egypt was left with Gen. Kleber, who, after a period of untiring activity for the benefit of the army, was murdered by a Turk in Cairo, and the command was left with Abdallah Menou. With an army which could not be recruited, every loss was serious.
Meantime, the English government, as the ally of the Turks, had resolved to wrest Egypt from the French. March 13, 1800, an English fleet disembarked a body of troops at Aboukir. The French gave battle the next day, but were forced to retire. On the 18th, Aboukir surrendered. On the 28th, reinforcements were brought by a Turkish fleet, and the grand vizier approached from Syria with a large army. The 19th, Rosetta surrendered to the combined forces of the English and Turks. At Ramanieh, a French corps of 4000 men was defeated by 8000 English and 6000 Turks. At Elmenayer, 5000 French were obliged to retreat, May 16, by the vizier who was pressing forward to Cairo with 20,000 men. The whole French army was now shut up in Cairo and Alexandria. Cairo capitulated June 27, and Alexandria, Sept. 2. Four weeks after, Oct. 1, 1801, the preliminaries of peace were signed at London.
"Egypt shall not escape," were the words of the prophecy. This language would imply that Egypt would be brought into subjection to some power from whose dominion it would desire to be released. As between the French and Turks, how did this question stand with the Egyptians? They preferred French rule. In R. R. Madden's travels in Egypt, Nubia, Turkey, and Palestine, in the years 1824-27, published in London in 1829, it is stated that the French were much regretted by the Egyptians, and extolled as benefactors; that "for the short period they remained, they left traces of amelioration," and that, if they could have established their power, Egypt would now be comparatively civilized. In view of this testimony the language would not be appropriate if applied to the French; for the Egyptians did not desire to escape out of their hands. They did desire to escape from the hands of the Turks, but could not.
Verse 43. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
In illustration of this verse we quote the following from "Historic Echoes of the voice of God," p. 49:—
"History gives the following facts: When the French were driven out of Egypt, and the Turks took possession, the sultan permitted the Egyptians to reorganize their government as it was before the French invasion. He asked of the Egyptians neither soldiers, guns, nor fortifications, but left them to manage their own affairs independently, with the important exception of putting the nation under tribute to himself. In the articles of agreement between the sultan and the pasha of Egypt, it was stipulated that the Egyptians should pay annually to the Turkish government a certain amount of gold and silver, and 'six hundred thousand measures of corn, and four hundred thousand of barley.'"
"The Libyans and the Ethiopians," "the Cushim," says Dr. Clarke, "the unconquered Arabs," who have sought the friendship of the Turks, and many of whom are tributary to them to the present time.
Verse 44. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to take away many.
On this verse also Dr. Clarke has a note which is worthy of mention. He says: "This part of the prophecy is allowed to be yet unfulfilled." His note was printed in 1825. In another portion of his comment, he says: "If the Turkish power be understood, as in the preceding verses, it may mean that the Persians on the east, and the Russians on the north, will at some time greatly embarrass the Ottoman government."
Between this conjecture of Dr. Clarke's and the late Crimean war, there is certainly a striking coincidence, inasmuch as the very powers he mentions, the Persians on the east and the Russians on the north, were the ones which instigated that conflict. Tidings from these powers troubled him. Their attitude and movements incited the sultan to anger and revenge. Russia being the more aggressive party was the object of attack. Turkey declared war on her powerful northern neighbor in 1853. The world looked on in amazement to see a government which had long been called the sick man of the east, a government whose army was dispirited and demoralized, whose treasuries were empty, whose rulers were vile and imbecile, and whose subjects were rebellious, and threatening secession, rush with such impetuosity into the conflict. The prophecy said that they should go forth with "great fury;" and when they thus went forth, the profane vernacular of an American writer described them as fighting "like devils." England and France, it is true, soon came to the help of Turkey; but she went forth in the manner described, and, as is reported, gained victory after victory, before receiving the assistance of these powers.
U. S.
The Sonship of Christ.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
THE DIVINE SON OF THE INFINITE GOD INSEPARABLY UNITED HIMSELF WITH HUMANITY, AND BEING AGAIN EXALTED TO THE THRONE OF GOD, HAS LINKED FINITE MAN WITH THE INFINITE GOD.
We believe that the testimony already presented has abundantly proved the above proposition, as wonderful as it is. At first, man was only created in the image of God. He was simply formed of the dust, and made alive by the power of God. His greatest honor consisted in being in the image of God himself. This was a wonderful honor, but still there was an infinite chasm between man and his Creator. Man was only a creature. There was no spark of divinity in him. He was even lower than the angels. Satan came in designing to destroy man entirely and defeat the noble work of God; and he was in a fair way of succeeding. Now God interferes in man's behalf, not only to defeat the work of Satan and save man from his power, but to turn this event to the glory of God and the infinite exaltation of man himself. In his great love for man God sends his own Son (John 3:16), to take man's nature and thus link humanity with divinity, whereby divinity was inseparably connected with humanity, so that both became as it were one family. Heb. 2: 14-16; Eph. 3: 14, 15.
After thus taking man's nature, this person, who is now truly both the Son of God and the Son of man, is exalted to the right hand of God in the heavens where he sits upon a throne with his infinite Father, cherubin, seraphim, angels, dominions and all powers in heaven and earth being made subject to him. Eph. 1: 20-23. Hence we truly have an elder brother, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, sitting at the right hand of God. This nature he will never give up. To all eternity he will remain the Son of God, the man Jesus of Nazareth. What a wonderful thought for poor, frail, suffering, sinning, dying, man! He need no longer despair. How true it is that help5has been laid upon one that is mighty, one who is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him!
Let us here briefly notice what an exalted nature the New Testament has given to Christ. It teaches that he has authority over all nature. Matt. 8:3. He has power to delegate this to others. Matt. 10:1. He has authority over men. John 5:21, 22. He is Lord of heaven, and the eternal worlds. Matt. 26:64. He is the world's King and Judge. Matt. 25:31-46. He is the searcher of hearts. Rev. 2:23. He has power to pardon sins. Matt. 9:6. Has delegated this power to others. He is the well-spring of life. John 4:13, 14. The author of salvation. Matt. 7:21. Will raise the dead. John 5:21, 25. Now has all power. Matt. 28:18. Is to be honored as the Father. John 5:23. We must have faith in him the same as in the Father, John 6:27, and trust him as we trust the Father, John 14:1, and must love him, 1 Cor. 16:22. He is the Creator of all things, Col. 1:16, upholds the world by his power. Heb. 1:3. Is Lord of lords, and King of kings. Rev. 19:16. Contains in himself the fullness of the godhead. Col. 2:9.
How exalted to be linked to the throne of God, to be adopted into the family of the infinite Creator! This is a higher honor than even the holy angels possess. How this thought ought to inspire our souls and nerve us for the conflict! God himself is now actually become our Father, not simply by creation as he is the Father of the angels, but by family relations, so that we can now cry, Abba Father. Truly may the apostle exclaim: "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." 1 John 3:1-3. What manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God! Love beyond all parallel; honor beyond all conception; Who can measure it?
Though we have virtually already proved all these points, yet we will briefly notice a few scriptures out of the many directly bearing upon this proposition. That man at first was simply created in the image of God we learn from Gen. 1:26-27. That he apostatized, and fell under the power of the enemy, we learn from Gen. 3. That God so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son for it, is stated in John 3:16. That when Christ came into the world, he took not the nature of angels, but the nature of man upon him, is stated by Paul in Heb. 2:14-16. That the Word of God, who was in the beginning with the Father, and who made all the world, that he actually become flesh is stated in John 1:1-14; 1 John 1:1. That he had flesh and bones after his resurrection is positively asserted by Christ himself in Luke 24:39-43. That this body of flesh and bones was actually translated to heaven, and there sits on the right hand of God is stated in Acts 2:29-36. Rev. 1:18; 5:5-14.
There the man Christ Jesus, our elder brother, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, now officiates as our high priest, our intercessor with God. "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man." Heb. 8:1, 2. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." 1 Tim. 2:5. Mark that it is the man Christ Jesus who is our mediator. There he sits as a man, as the representative of our race, to plead and intercede for us; and as he is God's own Son and partaker of his Father's divinity, holy, righteous and undefiled, he has the unlimited confidence of the Father. Hence John truly says, "If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
At the close of his mediatorial work, this man Christ Jesus is to come in the clouds of heaven. He comes, not simply as the Son of God, but as he is in deed and in truth, the Son of man. This he himself said to the high priest: "Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: Nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Matt. 26:64. Christ is particular everywhere to keep this fact prominent, that in his very highest office and greatest glory he still retains the nature of man, and is not ashamed of the relationship. He mediates before God as a man; he sits on the right hand of God as the Son of man, and as a man he comes in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. When he thus comes, then we shall be made like him. 1 John 3:1, 2. These mortal bodies will then be purified, and made like his body. Thus the apostle says: "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body." Phil. 3:20, 21. Then indeed and truly will men form a part of the family of God. "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named." Eph. 3:14, 15.
D. M. CANRIGHT.
Activity and Persistence
If we scrutinize the lives of men of genius, we shall find that activity and persistance are their leading peculiarities. Obstacles cannot intimidate, nor labor weary, nor drudgery disgust them.