“For we know that, if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from Heaven; if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord (for we walk by faith, not by sight); we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.” 2 Cor. 5: 1-9.
A CORRESPONDENT who has lately accepted the truth, desires an explanation of the above scripture. It has been presented as proof that the soul is immortal, and that it exists as an intelligent, conscious entity separate from the body between death and the resurrection. It is said that “absent from the body” is the death of the body; and “present with the Lord” is the disembodied soul in the presence of God. But no such doctrine is taught by the apostle.
The subject of the apostle’s discourse which drew out the above words, was not the intermediate state; it was this life as contrasted with the life to come; it was this time of light affliction which was working out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; it was the things temporal as contrasted to the things eternal. The temporal things are seen by mortal eyes; the eternal are now seen only by faith. These were the objects before the apostle when he wrote the words which are quoted at the head of this article. In this scripture he presents not two conditions,—life and death,—but three conditions, this life, death, and the life to come. The first he describes by “the earthly house of this tabernacle,” “in this,” “this tabernacle,” “mortality,” and “at home in the body.” He designates the second condition—death—by the terms, “dissolved,” “found naked,” and “unclothed.” The third, the future immortal life, is indicated by “a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens,” “clothed upon with our house which is from Heaven,” “being clothed,” “clothed upon,” “swallowed up of life,” “absent from the body,” and “present with the Lord.” With this explanation of terms, the passage is easily understood.
The objective part of the apostle’s words is the future immortal life. That was the goal to be798reached, the object of his hope, the fulfillment of his most ardent desires. Obstacles may intervene, but it will come. Death may destroy this earthly tabernacle, but we know God has something better. “For we know,” says the apostle, “that, if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved [that is, though we may die], we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens.” There is an immortal life, which Christ will give beyond the grave.
But the apostle did not wish to obtain it this way. He did not desire the intermediate state, and yet why should he not desire it, if that means to be “present with the Lord”? It does not mean this. Death is an enemy (1 Cor. 15: 26); it comes in consequence of sin (James 1: 15); it is the legitimate progeny of Satan, who has the power of death (Heb. 2: 14). Death was not what the apostle longed for; he longed for the presence of God, in the immortal life. While God will redeem us forever, though we do die or are dissolved, he will redeem some who do not pass through death, who are not “unclothed,” whose house is not dissolved. For this the apostle groans, “earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from Heaven.” He longs that “immortality” should be “swallowed up of life.” This takes place at the resurrection, when Christ comes again. “Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Cor. 15: 51-55. A parallel text to the scripture under consideration is Rom. 8: 23: “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” The redemption of our bodies will be when Christ comes. “For our conversation [citizenship] 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, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” Phil. 3: 20, 21. Therefore, “mortality” will be “clothed upon,” or swallowed up of life, when Christ shall come again and make his faithful ones like himself.
“Present with the Lord” relates to the same time, the coming of Christ. Nowhere is it said in the Bible that we will be with the Lord at death; for death is the enemy that shuts the saints in the prison-house of the grave. 1 Cor. 15: 26, et al. But the Scriptures do expressly state that the saints are to be with the Lord at his second coming: “For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4: 16, 17; John 14: 1-3.
That the coming of Christ is the time to which Paul referred, is fully evident from the fact that the thing for which the apostle groaned was the thing for which God had wrought him. “Now he that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God.” That is, God has worked out, produced us, quarried us out from the world, for this purpose. The same word is used in chapter 4: 17, where it is said that the light affliction worketh for us, or worketh out for us, an exceeding weight of glory. That is, these are the means by which God is fitting us for the glory beyond. He has not produced us for death, which is the consequence, or wages, of sin, or the end of wrath. He did not call us through Christ that we might be “unclothed,” and enter the grave’s dark portals. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” John 3: 36. “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake [are alive at Christ’s coming] or sleep [die before he comes], we should live together with him.” 1 Thess. 5: 9, 10. Therefore the self-same thing for which the apostle groaned, and for which God had called him, is immortal life in the presence of the Lord; and this life will be given at the second coming of Christ.
And to confirm this promise of the new life, God gives to each of his children “the earnest of the Spirit,” called in Rom. 8: 23, “the first-fruits of the Spirit.” “Earnest,” says Worcester, is “part of the price paid for property or goods sold, or money given in token that a bargain is ratified, or to bind a contract, often called ‘earnest money.’” That portion of his Spirit which God places upon his people is the earnest money, or pledge that God will do all that he has promised, if they will but meet the conditions. And God promises men life, not death. Christ’s coming is life, not death. Col. 3: 3. Then the faithful whose house has been “dissolved,” or taken down, will receive the house from Heaven, immortal life. Then the faithful who are “not found naked,” or “unclothed,” who are alive at his coming, will be “clothed upon” with immortality, and “mortality” will be “swallowed up of life.”
The passage therefore under consideration furnishes no proof whatever of a conscious intermediate state, but does present how highly the apostle regarded the coming of Christ, and how he longed for that coming. It is a strong proof of the real life and the glorified, resurrected body beyond the grave.
M. C. W.
HOW IT MAY BE ACCOMPLISHED.
By Editor
THE Interior has in its November supplement some extracts from what purport to be the Scriptures of the most ancient Egyptians, and in commenting on them it takes occasion to eulogize to some extent the Egyptian sun-god, Osiris, contrasting him with Baal and Dagon, the Asiatic conceptions of Deity. It then says:—
“The Christian would have no difficulty in worshiping Osiris. Osiris was God. Osiris was to God what the sun shining through a murky haze is to the sun rising in unclouded splendor. His outlines and attributes, and his attitude toward man as Creator, Father, Saviour, and righteous Judge, are all there, and not so very dimly, either. The obscuring veil between Ptah-hotep and God was a good deal more transparent than that which hangs before the devotee in every Roman Catholic fane. Abraham came out of Ur into a theological sunrise. God unveiled himself, and Abraham became the apostle of the monotheistic reformation, which restored the primitive church. If we are going to allow Romanism to stand in our view as a Christian church, despite its corruptions, we will find it hard to exclude Ptah-hotep and his fellow-worshipers of Osiris. There is a shorter drop between the Jehovah of the first of Genesis and the Osiris of Egypt than there is between the Christ of the gospels and the Christ of the Vatican. If we count as Christian the worshipers of Mary, and admit that they have enough of truth to save them, we shall certainly find no difficulty in including among the elect the followers of Ptah-hotep and Zoroaster, and other sages of the ancient world who worshiped God.”
It then goes on, consistently with the above, to deny that Abraham was “the sole and solitary member of the church living on earth during his time,” and claims that from all the heathen nations there was “a mighty flood pouring into the golden city.” The Interior’s position is consistent. If the Catholic Church be a Christian church, then it is certain that the worshipers of Osiris and of Apollo cannot be barred from the list. But when that is granted, it must also be claimed that it was unnecessary for the Lord to bring Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees, and a mistake to deliver the Israelites from Egypt, in order that they might serve him. Straws show which way the wind blows; and the indications are that the long-dreamed-of temporal millennium, when all the world shall be converted, will be brought about by the acknowledgment of not only Catholics, but Mohammedans, Buddhists, and the most enlightened heathen nations as Christians. If the Catholic Church is to be acknowledged as Christian there is no reason why the heathen religion should not be called Christian also.
OTHER USES OF TRIALS.
By M. C. W.
ONE of the uses of trials, to which we referred last week, is to reveal to us the imperfections and defects of our character. We may not know what lusts lurk in our sinful flesh, until tested. If the temptation is resisted, the lust is crucified, the victory is ours. But if we fall, the trial may be a benefit in that it has revealed the "weak spot" in our character. Henceforth, by watchfulness and faith in that strength which Christ alone can give, "out of weakness" we may be "made strong." Heb. 11: 34.
There are other trials which do not come to those defective in character. If they are defective, they never reveal it by being overcome by the trial. Such a trial was brought to Abraham when the messenger of the Lord said to him: "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." Gen. 22: 2.
Whether the enemy of all good suggested to the loving father's heart that the message was only evil, or unreal, we know not. This we know, it was sufficiently evident to Abraham that the command was from God. If he was assailed by doubts, his acts showed it not. We know that his human feelings must have suffered. His bright boy of promise to be slain by his own hand! What a night must have been that first one after the message was delivered!
How feeling would prompt him to linger! How, day after day, as he journeyed by the side of his loved boy, was his heart wrung with anguish unspeakable! And during the silent nightwatches of the journey between his home and Mount Moriah, with the son of promise by his side, what agonized prayers must have escaped to God for grace and strength to endure and obey! And strength was granted, and faith triumphed over such a trial as mortal never knew. And that great example of simple faith in God has shone out from the sacred page through all past centuries, to cheer, encourage, and confirm the faltering hearts of God's people as they were met with the terrible trials of life. It brought God's blessing to Abraham, but its great purpose was doubtless the blessing it has been and will be to others.
God thus manifested the power of faith in Paul. He was not only chosen to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, but said the Lord to Ananias, "I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." Acts 9: 16. And Paul knew that this was his lot, knew that wherever he might go, "bonds and afflictions" waited for him. Acts 20: 23. A list of some of these trials and persecutions is given in the eleventh chapter of 2 Corinthians. Was it pleasurable to his physical feelings? Did not the flesh cry out for more ease? Did it not cost him struggles? Listen to his own words:—
"I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air; but I keep under my body [press down, discipline, beat my body], and bring it into subjection." 1 Cor. 9: 26, 27. "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." 2 Cor. 4: 8, 9.
These passages, and many others which might be given, show something of the terrible trials through which the apostle passed. He wrote them, not to complain; on the contrary, they are inspired by the Spirit of God for our benefit, to show how faith has, and therefore can, triumph over all trials, till these great trials, from an earthly standpoint, become to the child of faith the "light affliction, which is but for a moment" and which "worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 2 Cor. 4: 17.
Now all these afflictions were not for the apostle alone. If that had been their sole purpose, they never would have been recorded. But God overruled the great apostle's life, and his Spirit inspired its record for the benefit of the children of God who should meet trials in the future. This is one of the purposes which God has in permitting such sore trials on his faithful ones. They show us the power of divine grace, and the triumph of simple faith over all earthly affliction, and they especially fit the one who bears them to be a help to others. It is to this object of trials that the apostle refers in the following comforting passage:—
"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, we our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation." 2 Cor. 1: 3-6.
And these precious assurances ought to lead us to that One who not only suffered great afflictions, but "was in all points tempted [tried] like as we are," who was made "in all things . . . like unto his brethren." The grace and consolation which come from Christ infinitely abound above the afflictions and trials. Then, afflicted soul, learn the lesson which the trial through grace is designed to teach. If the trial still remain, bear it patiently, hopefully, for Christ's sake, and thus will be manifested through you the power of God's grace, and the beauty of simple faith. You will reap its fruitage when you are glorified with Christ.
THE SURE WORD CANNOT FAIL.
The psalmist, speaking of the heavens and the earth, says: "They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed." Now read the following from "A Bird's-eye View of the World," by the eminent French geographer, Onesime Reclus, and you will see how facts sustain the prophecy:—
"In three or four generations the year 2000 will dawn on men dismayed at the sight of exhausted continents, worn-out islands, rivers run dry, forests consumed, the world ripe, and famine at the gates. The planet will be old, but, more than that, it will be mutilated."
He has put the time off too long, but he shows the fact that the world is getting old and worn out. This one fact is sufficient to show that the end cannot be far off. The sure word of prophecy cannot fail. Soon the time will come when this old earth, the scene of so many bloody wars, will be renewed, and made to blossom as the rose; and then "the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever."
OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY.
RESISTING THE TRUTH.
(Lesson 2, January 12, 1889.)
1. WHEN Moses and Aaron delivered their message to Pharaoh, what answer did they get?
"And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." Ex. 5:1, 2.
2. Of what did Pharaoh accuse them?
"And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens." Verses 4, 5.
3. What additional burden was placed on the Israelites in consequence?
"And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore; let them go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish aught thereof; for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labor therein; and let them not regard vain words." Verses 6-9.
4. When Moses the second time repeated God's promise to the Israelites, how did they receive his words?
"And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel; but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage." Ex. 6:9.
5. How did this make Moses feel about going again before Pharaoh?
"And Moses spake before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?" Verse 12.
6. What assurance did the Lord give him?
"And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet." Ex. 7:1.
7. What was meant by this?
"Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land." Ex. 7:2. "And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God." Ex. 4:16.
8. What was Moses told to do when Pharaoh should ask for a miracle?
"When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a miracle for you, then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent." Ex. 7:9.
9. When this miracle was performed, what did Pharaoh's sorcerers do?
"And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded; and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods." Verses 10-12.
10. What manifestation of God's power followed this act of the magicians?
"But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods." Verse 12, last clause.
11. What effect did the rejection of this evidence have upon Pharaoh?
"And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken." Verse 13, see Revised Version.
12. What were Moses and Aaron told to do next?
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the795waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone." Verse 19.
13. What was the result?
"And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt." Verses 20, 21.
14. What destroyed the effect of this miracle upon Pharaoh?
"And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the Lord had said." Verse 22.
15. What plague was next threatened, if the king should refuse to let the people go?
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs." Ex. 8:1, 2.
16. Was this done?
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt." Verses 5, 6.
17. How severe was this plague?
"And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs. And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants." "And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt." Verses 3, 4, 6.
18. What did the magicians do?
"And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt." Verse 7.
19. What request and promise did Pharaoh then make?
"Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord." Verse 8.
20. Why did not his magicians and sorcerers remove the plague? See note.
21. What is a magician?—"One skilled in magic; one who practices the black art; an enchanter, a necromancer; a sorcerer or sorcerers."—Webster. See also definition of "magic."
22. What is sorcery?—"Divination by the assistance or supposed assistance of evil spirits; or the power of commanding evil spirits; magic; enchantment; witchcraft."—Webster. See also definition of "witchcraft" and "enchantment."
23. Whom did the heathen worship?
"But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God; and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils." 1 Cor. 10:20.
24. Then on whose side were Pharaoh and his magicians?
25. What does the Bible say is Satan's sole work?
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8. (Concluded next week.)
NOTES.
If in our version the word "Jehovah" were allowed to appear wherever it does in the corresponding place in the Hebrew, the sense would often appear more clearly. "Jehovah" is the distinctive title of the one true God. Paul says, "There be gods many, and lords many; but to us there is but one God." He is the one who made all things, and who exists by his own power. This God, Pharaoh did not know. When Moses and Aaron said, "Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Let my people go," he rudely exclaimed, "Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, neither will I let Israel go." If Moses had said, as our version indicates, "Thus saith the Lord," it would not have been distinctive, for the sun-god, which Pharaoh worshiped, corresponded to the Canaanitish Baal, which means "lord." Pharaoh knew many lords and gods, and one above all, the sun-god, which was known as "the lord;" he knew Ra, and Osiris, and Isis, and Phthah, and Set, but he did not know Jehovah, the only Lord. He might have known God, but, like the other heathen, he did not like to retain God in his knowledge. Still God gave him this opportunity to know and to recognize him; and when Pharaoh haughtily said, "I know not Jehovah," the Lord brought judgments upon him until he was forced to confess his power.
"AND the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works?" The word "let" is used in its primitive sense of hindering, or causing to cease. That this is so, is shown by the next verse, where the king continues, "Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens." Whatever opinion may be held as to the reason, this much is certain, that in consequence of the coming of Moses and Aaron, and what they had said, the Israelites had to some extent ceased from their work. This is still further shown by the fact that Pharaoh said of them, "They be idle" (verse 8), and to them, "Ye are idle, ye are idle" (verse 17). It was because of this that the king increased their task, compelling them to make brick without straw.
To the Jews Jesus once said, "Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you." John 12:35. Nothing is more evident than that when a person turns away from the light he goes into darkness. Light and darkness are opposite conditions, so that if a man is not in the light he is in the dark. That proposition needs no argument. It was on this principle that Pharaoh's heart was hardened. Ample evidence of the superiority of God's power over that of Satan, as exhibited through the magicians, was given to Pharaoh, but when he refused to accept it, that very rejection was a hardening of his heart. The light which, if it were accepted, would acquaint him with God, was rejected, and by thus shutting himself farther away from God, hardness of heart and blindness of mind necessarily followed. For this no one was to blame but Pharaoh himself. The Revised Version renders Ex. 7:9 thus: "And Pharaoh's heart was hardened."
The only reason that can be given why the magicians did not remove the plague of frogs, is that they could not. That they would gladly have done everything in their power to destroy the effect of the miracle upon the mind of Pharaoh, and to make him believe that the power that was with Moses was no greater than that with them, there is no reason to doubt. It is most reasonable, also, to conclude that as the king had called the magicians to his assistance for the purpose of withstanding Moses, he would first call upon them to remove the plague. But they could not. The fact that Pharaoh was obliged to call upon Moses and Aaron to remove the plague, was an additional humiliation, and emphasized the fact that the power that was with them was greater than that power that was with the magicians.
THE words, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ," used to introduce Mark's narrative, evidently mean the beginning of the earthly ministry of our Lord, and the events which immediately preceded it. Commenting upon this text Dr. George F. Pentecost says: "Had Mark been writing of the beginning of the being and work of Christ, like John, he must have gone back into eternity, where he was with the Father; had he desired to write from the beginning of the gospel as declared to man, he must have gone back to the garden of Eden, where Christ's coming was first announced to Adam and Eve." And this is true, for the promise of redemption to our first parents, the promise to Abraham, and the truth preached to the children of Israel, was the gospel, the good news of salvation from sin and from its awful penalty. Christ is set forth in the Scriptures as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13: 8), and the whole throng of the redeemed, from Adam to the last soul ransomed from the pit of destruction, will ascribe their salvation to God and to the Lamb. Rev. 7: 9, 10.
But the gospel means much more than simply salvation from the penalty of sin. It means purity even in this life. "She shall bring forth a son," said the angel, "and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins." Matt. 1: 21. The great end to be attained is not simply eternal life; God is to be honored in our salvation, and that can be done only by the complete vindication in each one of our hearts of the righteousness of his Government. The mere bestowal of eternal life, unending existence, would not be a vindication of the righteousness of God's law; that which is to be attained is holiness, without which eternal existence would be alike impossible and undesirable. This we must get through Christ, whom the apostle tells us "is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." The last is the logical result of the others. God will not, yea, cannot, imbue with eternal life that which is antagonistic to his very being, neither can he suffer that to become extinct which is in harmony with him. Christ was raised from the dead because, being without sin, it was not possible that he should be holden of death (Acts 2: 24); and likewise those who have been made partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1: 4), those in whom the Spirit of God dwells, shall be quickened by his Spirit that dwelleth in them. Rom. 8: 11. As it is written, "Righteousness tendeth to life," but "the wages of sin is death."
THE value of the gospel is derived from the divinity of its Author. It is "the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." In one sense all are the sons of God, but it is not in any such sense as this that the term is applied to Christ. His absolute divinity is most clearly set forth in the Scriptures. In Isa. 9: 6 he is called, "Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." And in John 1: 1-3, 14 we read: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made." "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." While the apostle Paul tells us that he is "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Rom. 1: 4. And of the value of the gospel he says (verse 16): "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
THE gospel was not new to the world in the days of John the Baptist, but the personal work and ministry of that gospel by the Son of God was new. Hitherto the Lord of the vineyard (Luke 20) had sent his servants to receive of the fruit, but now he would send his Son. But before him was to go a messenger, "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." John was this messenger. The fruit which the Lord would fain have received from his vineyard (the house of Israel and the men of Judah, Isa. 5: 7) was the fruit of righteousness. Says the prophet: "He looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry." And it was for this reason that John came preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
THE Jewish people had almost entirely lost sight of the object of the coming of the promised Saviour. They looked for a political deliverer, but Jesus was coming to save them from their sins, to deliver them from the dominion of Satan, not from the power of the empire of Rome. He was coming to call, not the righteous, but sinners to repentance; but before he could help any they must realize their need of help; and it was John's mission to turn the thoughts of the people from themselves to God, away from their own "righteousness, which is of the law," to "that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Phil. 3: 9. John's preaching was calculated to prepare the people to receive Christ not as an earthly king but as a spiritual deliverer.
ONE notable feature in John's work was the humble spirit in which it was done. It was no part of his mission to exalt himself. He came saying, "There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose." But while worthy of note, John's humility was only what we would expect in the forerunner of the Saviour. The spirit of self-exaltation is entirely foreign to the gospel of Christ. The great Captain of our salvation humbled himself, and they who would be Christ's must crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts.
MANY have queried why it was necessary for Christ to be baptized. He was not a sinner, and even John seemed to feel that the rite could have no significance in the case of the Saviour of the world. But Jesus said, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." The following comment, made in substance by an able writer on the International Lessons, may serve to throw some light upon this text:—
Jesus, when he came to this world, came not only in behalf of sinners, but he so identified himself with them that he judicially took their place under the law and assumed their condition because of sin. Therefore he stood forth as the representative and substitute for sinners, and walked before them in the way of confession and appropriation.
Christ's baptism was a significant type of his own death, or rather burial and resurrection, and we have in it two things: first, the way in which he was to fulfill all righteousness, viz., by dying and being raised again; and second, the way in which we come into righteousness, viz., by union with him we die to sin and become alive to righteousness. This death and resurrection to newness of life we signify by our baptism.
NORWALK, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CAL.
By E. A. Briggs
I HAVE been preaching for three weeks at this place, and laboring to bring the Norwalk church nearer to God. The Lord seems to have added his blessing to these efforts, as is shown by forward steps in the missionary work, promises from several to attend meeting more regularly hereafter, and many resolutions expressed to become better acquainted with the contents of our denominational books. There has also been considerable outside interest in our meetings, and five persons have signed the covenant, two have been baptized, and three have been received into the church. My post-office address for some weeks will be Rivera, Los Angeles County, California.